preparations; nor doth that fide which in human estimation is strongeft, always prevail and get the better.

Nor yet bread to the wife; Neque doctorum panem esse : So fome render the words, that learned men are not always fecured against poverty and want.

Nor yet riches to men of understanding; for fo fome interpreters tranflate the words, Neque induftriis divitias effe, that thofe who take most pains do not always get the greatest eftates.

Nor yet favour to men of skill; that is, to those who understand men and bufinefs, and how to apply themfelves dextrously to the inclinations and interefts of princes and great men. Others interpret these words more generally, Neque teritorum artificum efle gratiam; that those who excel moft in their feveral arts and profeffions, do not always meet with fuitable encouragement: but because the word which is here rendered favour, is fo frequently ufed by Solomon for the favour of princes, the former fenfe seems to be more eafy and natural.

But time and chance happeneth to them all; that is,. faith Aben Ezra, there is a fecret providence of God, which fometimes prefents men with unexpected oppor tunities, and interpofeth accidents, which no human wisdom could forefee; which gives fuccefs to very unlikely means, and defeats the fwift, and the ftrong, and the learned, and the industrious, and them that are beft verfed in men and bufinefs, of their feveral ends and defigns.

It fometimes happens, that he that is swiftest, by a fall, or by fainting, or by fome other unlucky accident, may lofe the race.

It fometimes falls out, that a much smaller and weaker number, by the advantage of ground, or of a pafs; by a ftratagem, or by a fudden surprise, or by fome other accident and opportunity, may be victorious over a much greater force.

And that an unlearned man, in comparison, by favour, or friends, or by fome happy chance of fetting out to the best advantage the little learning he has, before one that hath lefs, may arrive at great things; when perhaps, at the fame time, the man that is a hundred

hundred times more learned than he, may be ready to farve.

And that men of no great parts and industry, may ftumble into an estate, and by fome cafual hit in trade may attain fuch a fortune, as the man that hath toiled and drudged all his life, fhall never be able to reach.

And, laftly, that a man of no great ambition or design, may fall into an opportunity, and, by happening upon the mollia tempora fandi, fome foft and lucky feafon of addrefs, may flide into his prince's favour, and all on the fudden be hoisted up to that degree of dignity and efteem, as the defigning man, who hath been laying trains to blow up his rivals, and waiting opportunities all his days to worm others out, and to fkrew himself in, fhall never be able to attain.

The words thus explained, contain this general propofition, which fhall be the fubject of my following difcourse :

That, in human affairs, the most likely means do not always attain their end, nor does the event conftantly anfwer the probability of fecond caufes; but there is a fecret providence which governs and over-rules all things, and does, when it pleafes, interpose to defeat the most hopeful and probable defigns.

In the handling of this propofition, I fhall do thefe three things.

1. I fhall confirm and illustrate the truth of it, by an induction of the particulars which are instanced in, here in the text.

2. I fhall give fome reafon and account of this, why the providence of God doth fometimes interpofe to hinder and defeat the most probable defigns.

3. I fhall draw fome inferences from the whole, suitable to the occafion of this day. In all which, I shall endeavour to be as brief as conveniently I can.

I. For the confirmation and illustration of this propofition, That the most likely means do not always attain their end; but there is a fecret providence, which overrules and governs all events, and does, when it pleases, interpose to defeat the most probable and hopeful designs. This is the general conclufion which Solomon proves by

this induction of particulars in the text. And he instanceth in the most probable means for the compaffing of the several ends which most men in this world propose to themselves. And the great darlings of mankind are, victory, riches, and honour. I do not mention pleasure, because that feems rather to refult from the use and enjoyment of the other. Now, if a man defign victory, what more probable means to overcome in a race, than fwiftnefs? what more likely to prevail in war, than ftrength? If a man aim at riches, what more proper to raise an eftate, than understanding and industry? If a man afpire to honour, what more likely to prefer him to the King's favour and fervice, than dexterity and fkill in bufinefs? And yet experience fhews, that thefe means, as probable as they feem to be, are not always fuccefsful for the accomplishment of their several

ends.

Or else we may fuppofe, that Solomon by these instances did intend to reprefent the chief engines and inftruments of human designs and actions. Now, there are five things more especially which do eminently qualify a man for any undertaking; expedition and quicknets of dif patch, ftrength and force, providence and forecast, diligence and induftry, knowledge and infight into men and bufinefs and fome think, that Solomon did intend to represent these several qualities by the several instances in the text. The race is not to the fwift; that is, men of the greatest expedition and dispatch do not always fucceed: for we fee that men do sometimes outrun bufinefs, and make hafte to be undone. Nor the battle to the ftrong; that is, neither does force and strength always carry it. Nor yet bread to the wife; which fome underftand of the provident care and pains of the husbandman, whose harvest is not always answerable to his labour and hopes. Nor yet riches to men of understanding, or induftry; that is, neither is diligence in business always crowned with fuccefs. Nor yet favour to men of skill; that is, neither have they that have the greatest dexterity in the management of affairs always the fortune to rife. And if we take the words in this fenfe, the thing will come much to one. But I rather approve the first interpretation, as being less forced, and nearer to the letter.

So

So that the force of Solomon's reafoning is this: If the swiftest do not always win the race, nor the strongeft always overcome in war; if knowledge and learning do not always fecure men from want, nor industry always make men rich, nor political skill always raise men to high place; nor any other means that can be inftanced in as moft probable, do conftantly and infallibly fucceed then it must be acknowledged, that there is fome other cause which mingles itself with human affairs, and governs all events; and which can, and does when it pleafes, defeat the most likely, and bring to pass the most improbable designs. And what elfe can that be imagined to be, but the secret and over-ruling providence of almighty God? When we can find no other, we are very unreasonable if we will not admit this to be the caufe of fuch extraordinary events, but will obftinately impute that to blind neceffity or chance which hath fuch plain characters upon it of a divine power and wisdom.

I might be large upon every one of those instances in the text, and illuftrate them by pat and lively examples both out of fcripture and other histories. But I fhall briefly pafs over all of them, but the fecond, The battle is not to the strong.

The race is not to the fwift. If we understand this literally, it is obvious to every man, to imagine a great many accidents in a race, which may fnatch victory from the fwifteft runner. If we understand it as the Chaldee paraphrafe does, with relation to war, that the fwifteft does not always overcome or escape in the day of battle; of this Afahel is an eminent inftance, who though he was, as the fcripture tells us, light of foot as a wild roe, yet did he not efcape the fpear of Abner. It feems, that, among the ancients, fwiftnefs was looked upon as a great qualification in a warrior; both because it ferves for a fudden affault and onfet, and likewise for that which in civility we call a nimble retreat. And therefore David, in his poctical lamentation over those two great captains, Saul and Jonathan, takes particular notice of this warlike quality of theirs: They were (fays he) fwifter than eagles, ftronger than lions. And the conftant character which Homer gives of Achilles, one of his principal heroes, is, that he was fwift of foot. The po

et

et feigns of him, that, by fome charm or gift of the gods, he was invulnerable in all parts of his body except his heel; and that was the part to which he trusted, and in that he received his mortal wound: the wife poet hereby inftructing us, that many times our greatest danger lies there, where we place our chief confidence and fafe

ty..

Nor yet bread to the wife, or to the learned. The poverty of poets is proverbial; and there are frequent inftances in hiftory, of eminently learned perfons that have been reduced to great ftraits and neceffities.

Nor yet riches to men of understanding. By which, whether we understand men of great parts, or of great diligence and industry; it is obvious to every man's obfervation, that an ordinary capacity and understanding does ufually lie more level to the bufinefs of a common trade and profeffion, than more refined and elevated parts; which lie rather for fpeculation than practice, and are better fitted for the pleasure and ornament of conversation, than for the toil and drudgery of business: as a fine razor is admirable for cutting hairs, but the dull hatchet much more proper for hewing a hard and knotty piece of timber. And even when parts and industry meet together, they are many times lefs fuccefsful in the raising of a great estate, than men of much lower and flower understandings: because these are apt to admire riches, which is a great fpur to industry; and because they are perpetually intent upon one thing, and mind but one bufinefs, from which their thoughts never ftraggle into vain and ufelefs inquiries after knowledge, or news, or publick affairs; all which being foreign to their business, they leave to those who are, as they are wont to fay of them in fcorn, more curious, and too wife to be rich.

Nor yet favour to men of skill. All history is full of inftances of the cafual advancement of men to great favour and honour, when others, who have made it their ferious ftudy and bufinefs, have fallen fhort of it. I could give a famous example in this kind, of the manifold and manifeft difappointment of a whole order of men; the flyeft and most fubtle, in their generation, of all the children of this world; the most politically infti

tuted,