Plain Sermons, Preached at Archbishop Tenison's Chapel

My brethren, the law of nature has imposed, and the Word of God therefore approves, that we should look about and provide for our necessities.  Wherever there is power to do this, the power must be exercised, or we must run the risk of want.  The lilies of the field are fed by God’s own hand with nourishment, which they cannot seek.  The unfledged bird has but to open its mouth to receive the food, which divinely implanted instinct has caused the parent to bring; but when it is grown it must itself make provision—it must search the trees for berries and the earth for worms, or it must die of starvation.  God takes thought for sparrows, yet He requires, if I may so speak, that they should think for themselves; and thereby He teaches us, confirming this teaching by plain words of revelation, that it is incumbent upon us to make provision for our necessities, and so, of course, to think about them.