saith he Thus in holy Job you shall see what a complication of Wickedness there was to bring about his afflictions there was the Devil's Malice seeking to ruine and destroy him there was also the Malice of wicked Men the Chaldeans and Sabeans and yet Job 1.21 he ascribes all to the Providence of God The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord. So David when his Son Absalom rebelled against him still he cries It is the Lord c. Thus in the Book of the Lamentations when Israel had been so barbarously destroyed by their Enemies yet they referred all to the Providence of God yea Beloved in that act of the betraying and murthering of our Saviour thô there was so much Wickedness in Men yet our blessed Saviour expresly saith it was the cup that his heavenly Father gave him to drink and therefore in all unjust oppressions it is our work and duty to look above Men to the Providence of God therefore we must hear the voice of the Rod and him who hath appointed it and not dwell too much upon the Instruments or Second Causes they are but as the Ax or the Staff or the Rod it is God's Hand that limits orders and appoints them for holy and gracious ends And so much for the first part how that all the Actions of wicked Men are ordered by the Will and Providence of God Secondly I come now to enquire how far the holy and righteous God can or doth concur in the evil actions of Men that He doth so is most certain but how far is the Question and most Interpreters have been puzl'd in this matter but I shall endeavour to do it first negatively for I will tell you the truth lies between two Extreams 1. It is the highest Blasphemy for any from these places of Scripture to charge God with being the Author of Sin 2. There is another Extream to be avoided to think this Providence of God is only a bare permission of Sin and then I shall shew you afterward more particularly of the influence and concurrence of the most holy wise and good God in the evil actions of wicked Men. First Almighty God is not neither can be the Author or proper Cause of any Sin that I shall lay down for a great truth that He never works Sin it self or moves us to sin inwardly that He doth not necessitate Men to sin because from these conclusions some Adversaries would charge Sin upon God God can neither do Sin nor compel us to sin to affirm this would be very Blasphemy for first God is the Supream Good he is all Goodness Holiness and Light and there can be no Evil no Darkness in him for to ascribe Evil of Sin to the Supream Good is to make light the cause of darkness Heb. 6.18 It is impossible for God to lye Again he that hates Sin he that forbids it and severely punishes it it is impossible he should be the Author of Sin It would be the unjustest thing in the World for God to punish that which himself causes Again I consider if God should do so Sin would be no Sin for all Sin is that which is a contrariety to God's Will and Law and therefore the Apostle St. James tells us Let no man say when he is tempted that he is tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil nether tempteth he any man It is inconsistent with the holiness and purity of God to be in any wise the Author of Sin therefore St Basil saith It is as high a Blasphemy to make God the Author of Sin as to deny him to be a God No beloved all Sin comes from the Creature Thy destruction is of thy self tho' God makes use of it for gracious purposes as for example the Envy and Malice of Joseph's Brethren came from themselves but only God ordered it for the good of his People We must distinguish between the cause of Sin and the use of Sin Man is the cause of Sin and the Actor of Sin but God can use Sin for purposes beyond what Man design'd by it You know the Viper has Poyson in it which is of a destructive nature and yet a skilful Physician can make use of this Poyson as an Antidote against Poyson I will draw this as a second Caution That in God's ordering and making use of Sin there is more than his bare permission of Sin that is to let Men be wicked and take no farther care in it No I say in all those places I have quoted as his sending Joseph into Egypt c. it implies an Efficiency The most Sins that are done in the World are done by evil Men and tho' God be not the Author yet he is the Orderer the Governor and Disposer of them A wise King can make use of a Traytor to bring to pass his own ends so God makes use of wicked mens Sins to work contrary to their ends So Joseph's Brethren never thought of bringing about God's end in their malice against him So a Physician applys Leaches to draw out corrupt Blood but they only desire to satisfie their Lust So God makes use of wicked mens Covetousness and Ambition to chastise his People and do them good SECT II. I Shall now enter upon this great Point but I must tell you with as much fear and trembling as ever I did upon any Subject namely How far the holy and wise God doth or may concur in the evil actions of sinful Men. I shall keep close to the Scripture and shew you in nine particulars 1. God doth concur by permitting of them that is by not hindring the committing those Sins as he might have done and this is expressed Acts 14.16 He suffer'd them to walk in their own ways saith the Apostle I confess 't is very clear so far for no Sin in the World could be done if God did not permit them And I will shew you several ways whereby God hinders the commission of Sin thus he hinder'd Abimelech from committing folly with Abraham's Wife Gen. 20.6 so he hinder'd Balaam when he came with a resolution to curse Israel he hinder'd Esau from hurting his Brother Jacob. Nay the Devils in Hell are under Chains God can hinder them and does hinder them when he will We read he could not touch Job nor his Cattel till God had given him liberty There are several ways and means whereby God does this 1. By taking away the power of wicked Men as he did of Jeroboam when he stretched forth his hand against the Prophet sometime when he stirs up another power to deliver his People from Oppression sometimes by secretly enclining the Hearts of Men to do good to such as they designed to hurt as he did by Laban when he went after Jacob so God sent Abigail to divert David from exercising his intended Revenge against Nabal Now when God removes these impediments this is the first way of God's concurrence when he does it
is constantly verified in Scripture and by Experience in the World that God may suffer good People to be afflicted and injuriously dealt with in just causes and wicked Men to prosper and bring wicked and unjust actions to pass so when God raises up a great King to be a Scourge to his Neighbors he will give him Wisdom Policy and Success and also when the Lord is resolved to punish a Nation he can take away their Wisdom and Success Thus God many times suffers the Tabernacles of Robbers to prosper and suffers good men for good causes to fall into the hands of wicked and unreasonable men Christ himself saith that the Power Pilate had to crucifie him he had it from God but you will say Is this no prejudice to his Holiness I answer no for God doth not give wicked men Success as a reward of their actions but to make use of them as the Instruments of his Providence as suppose a King should make use of a very wicked man to be his Hangman this doth not reflect upon the Goodness of the Prince The eighth way of God's Providence in governing wicked men and their actions and I desire you to take notice of it is by limiting governing and disposing wicked men and their actions that they shall not be able to hurt whom they will nor when they will but just so far as God would have it as we find in Joseph's Brethren their design was to murther him but 1. God stirs up Reuben to divert that purpose well afterwards God to bring his Ends to pass le ts them sell him and at that very moment orders the Midianites to come by How admirably was this matter ordered and limited by God So for the time God will not suffer wicked men to act at one time and yet will suffer the same to bring about their purposes at another time So it was with the Jews they would oftentimes have taken Christ but could not because the hour was not yet come but afterwards he tells them I taught daily in the temple and you laid no hands on me but now is your hour So we may observe how God doth sometimes stop Fire from doing Mischief and at another time suffers it to break out with irresistible violence so also for the continuance of wicked men in their actions it is said The Rod of the wicked shall not always rest upon the Lot of the righteous It may come upon them but it shall not rest upon them so God will not suffer good men to be tempted above what they are able wicked men shall not be able to put one dram into the Cup of bitterness more than what God has appointed Indeed this is the foundation of all our Comfort to remember that whatever we may suffer wicked men are but as an Ax in God's Hand they cannot as to time or continuance or degrees go beyond what God has purposed The last way is by God's over-ruling and ordering the Effects of Sin beyond and many times contrary to the purpose and design of Sinners and this makes up the compleat government of Sin So it was in Joseph's case As for you you thought evil but God meant it for good to bring to pass as it is at this day to save much people alive You meant it for evil and indeed beloved in one and the same action there are different ends proposed Many times wicked men design nothing but to bring about their own Malice Covetousness and Envy but God turns it to many wise and holy ends So in Job's case the Devil's design was to make him curse and blaspheme God but God's design was to make Job bless him So God is said to send Assyria against Israel to punish a hypocritical Nation but he thinks not so his design is to root up and destroy much People his design was to plunder and destroy but God's design was to correct Sin So it was in the Sufferings of our Blessed Saviour the Pharisees out of envy sought to murder him Pilate only for fear condemned him the Soldiers all that they meant was their Profit but now the Envy and Malice of the one and the Covetousness of the other God over-ruled to bring to pass the greatest Blessing that ever befel Mankind the Death and Resurrection of Christ so that God can make wicked men work his ends when they seem most to cross them Thus Physicians can make an Antidote to expel Poison out of Poison it self And I conclude this point in telling you that the most excellent Works of God's Providence that were ever brought to pass in the World are when He makes use of the sinful actions of Men to effect matters quite contrary to what they intended Thus I have endeavoured to clear the Providence of God from any mistake of Injustice or Unholiness and have shewn how the holy and wise God over-rules and governs the evil actions of wicked Men and Devils SECT III. I Come now to the third Point and that is That God Almighty can make good use of the sinful actions of wicked Men that what they intend for Evil that he can and often does turn to Good This is here expressed in the Text God sent me before you to preserve life and I will ground this upon another expression of Joseph Gen. 50.20 As for you you thought evil against me but God meant it for good You shall observe in this Story that the design of his Brethren was nothing but the gratifying their own Envy and Malice in sending him away the Ishmaelites in buying him meant nothing but their own profit Potifer's Wife we read minded nothing but her own Lust and yet all these things were over-ruled by God Almighty for the good of his Church I shall here handle that God Almighty doth turn the Sins of wicked men to good he makes them serve his designs for good I shall here vindicate the Providence of God from the great Quarrel that has been against it in all Ages by reason of the actions of wicked men and the great wickedness that is in the World for it is a Saying of the Atheists That if the World be governed by a God so just holy and wise why is there so much wickedness in the World Can he not hinder it I shall therefore shew you that God's permitting so much Sin in the World is a fruit of his infinite Goodness because he can bring so much good out of it St. Austin saith God that is infinitely good and powerful would not permit Sin in the World if he were not able to make that Sin turn to some great Good All wicked Men and Devils are under God's Dominion he over rules all their actions and there is no Evil in second causes but he makes it serve his own holy and wise ends It is true Sin as it is in the Creature is the greatest deformity darkness and disorder in the World but God Almighty is able to order it as a wise
THE Great Mystery OF PROVIDENCE OR The various Methods of GOD in Ordering and Over-ruling the Actions of Wicked Men and Devils to great and glorious Purposes With the Vindication of his Holiness therein BEING The Substance of several SERMONS preached by the Reverend Judicious and Orthodox Divine Mr. GEORGE GIFFORD Late Minister of St. Dunstan in the East London HEB. XI 4. He being dead yet speaketh LONDON Printed for S. Crouch at the Corner of Pope's-head Alley near the Royal Exchange in Cornhill 1695. TO THE READER NEXT to the Knowledge and Belief of a God and the Essentials of Religion there is not any Truth of greater moment or more needful to be rightly known of all persons than this before us namely How far the holy and righteous God is or may be concerned in or make use of the evil Actions of wicked Men and Devils without any Impeachment of his Righteousness and Holiness or making him the Author or Approver of Sin the Ignorance or Misunderstanding of which in all Ages has exceedingly promoted Atheism and Irreligion among the Wicked of the World who take occasion from hence to think and say in their Hearts if not with their Mouths either there is no God or He is not a Righteous and a Holy God And the Consideration of the Prosperity of Wicked Men in their Evil Actions and the Suffering of Good Men thereby have been an occasion of stumbling and offence to holy Persons as we find in Scripture The Truth of this matter lies in the middle between two Extreams as the Author hereof has informed us who was a very Judicious and Orthodox Divine of great Note in this City I doubt not but the Reader if he brings a serious Mind to know Truth and not to cavil at it will find this matter so plainly and truly tho' briefly stated and determined as to answer all material Objections of Atheistical and Prophane Gainsayers and such as are wise in their own Conceit and to be a Foundation to good Men of Patience and Resignation to the Will of God in all Sufferings and Calamities publick and private from evil Men and instead of murmuring and repining will cause them to adore that Infinite Wisdom and Goodness that can bring Good out of Evil and over rule all the Sins and Follies of Men to the greater manifestation of his own glorious Attributes and the Good and Welfare of his Church These Sermons having been calculated only for a popular Auditory the Reader must expect no other Eloquence than that of the Apostle Paul's great plainness of Speech which best becomes Divinity and especially the weighty Subject before us Therefore I shall conclude with only one Request to the Reader That he will peruse these Lines with the same Spirit which the Author declares he had in the delivery of them namely with a holy Fear and Trembling and then I doubt not but he will receive that benefit and advantage by them as shall give abundant cause to bless GOD for them which is the Chief End of the Publisher J. D. Advertisement A Discourse upon Usury or lending Money for Encrease occasion'd by Mr. David Jones's late Farewel-Sermon proving by undeniable Arguments the Lawfulness thereof and answering his plausible Objections from Scripture-Counsels and Fathers against it Published at the request of several judicious and sober Christians for the satisfaction of all such as have or may be concerned in this matter of so general and weighty importance Printed for Sam. Crouch at the Corner of Popes-head-Alley next Cornhill GEN. XLV 8. So that it was not you that sent me hither but GOD. THE joyful discovery of Joseph to his Brethren I have already spoken of out of this Chapter after his rough treating of them after so many Fears and Dangers at last the Sun breaks out from these Clouds and then he cries out I am Joseph And there I handled that this was an Emblem of God's dealing with his own People He leads them at first into crooked Paths but then after all these Tempests and Storms there will be Joy and Peace at the last And I proposed to you how that after some great Affliction but above all Spiritual Desertion when God has shewn himself a long time as it were an Enemy to his People at last he shines forth and saith I am your God and Saviour The second thing I have handled is Joseph's pardoning and loving his Brethren that had so barbarously sold him to be a Slave he is now so far from revenging himself of them that he loves and embraces them And upon this I handled that high and excellent Duty of loving and forgiving those that injure us that the true and noblest way of revenging Injuries was by overcoming Evil with Good I come now to the next thing and that is the Arguments Joseph makes use of to comfort his Brethren that were so overcome with Shame and Fear He doth three times repeat it the first is drawn from the Providence of God in working this great thing It was not you that sent me hither but God as if he should have said Do not look any more upon Second Causes It is true it was a Fault in you who sold me but look upon the good Hand and Providence of God in it God sent me before you and it was not you that sent me hither but God This so frequent inculcating of it was to raise up them and also us to a serious Contemplation how all the Evils of Men are order'd by the wise Providence of God to good purposes In this action God and they both worked together they sold Joseph and God sent him for Good for the preservation of God's Church in Jacob's Family I shall by God's assistance six here for some time upon the Providence of God in over-ruling the Actions of wicked Men. First Here is an Ingeniosa Charitas see how often Joseph repeats his acknowledgments of the Hand and Providence of God in this matter I observe there is nothing will make us more willing to forgive them that have done us any Injury than to look up to the Providence of God and refer all to that we are apt to look to Instruments and Second Causes and not think of the Hand of God in them Secondly God sent me before you to preserve you a Posterity and to save your Lives by a great Deliverance and it was not you that sent me hither but God I observe here God's gracious Providence and Care over his Church and Children so long before providing for their Safety It is one of the most excellent Observations of God's Providence towards his Children in the whole Scripture When God intended to bring a most dreadful Famine upon the World in which Jacob and his Family might probably have perished yet God made a provision for him and them 20 years before-hand in such a way as Jacob and Joseph never thought of He sends Joseph 20 years before hand to be a Harbinger for
his Church and People God after a secret and ineffable manner does order all Events so that at last they tend to the good of his Church as we find several cross Providences in this History of Joseph and his Brethren yet they all contribute to this good end and conclusion This should teach us in all the Difficulties and Troubles that besal God's Church and when we know not what will become of us to resign up all to the Providence of God he will take care and provide for us by such means as we little dream of Thirdly I shall treat of the Providence of God in governing and over-ruling the Actions of wicked Men It was not you that sent me hither but God and yet certainly Beloved they had a hand in the Action I observe from hence it was God that over-ruled their Counsels all the Actions of sinful Men yea of the Devils themselves are ordered by a strange but yet most wise Councel of God himself It is a point of great concern to resolve how the Righteousness and Holiness of God can consist in ordering and ruling of the Sins of Mankind There is a great Difference among Interpreters how to reconcile the Providence of God in the Actions of sinful Men with his Holiness Justice and the Liberty and Freedom of Mankind Therefore First I shall demonstrate from this Example That all the Actions of Men even their sinful Actions are under the Providence of God they sold Joseph and God sent him Secondly I shall enquire what Essiciency or Concurrence the holy God hath in the sinful Actions of Ungodly Men. Thirdly I shall enquire into the Ends of such Orderings how God works and ordains the Actions of wicked Men to Ends beyond what they desired or designed This is a point that I look upon as most seasonable to be well weighed and considered under our present Disquiets and Fears I shall begin with the first That the Actions of Men and Devils both good and bad yea all the Sins of wicked Men and Devils are under the government of the Providence of God 1. I shall prove the point by four or five places of Scripture the first shall be drawn from those general places in Scripture that ascribe every thing to the Will and Providence of God so Psal 35.6 Whatever the Lord pleased that did he in Heaven and in Earth There is nothing comes to pass without the Will of God Dan 4.35 He doth according to his will in all the armies of Heaven and Earth and none can stay his hand Voluntas Dei est omnium rerum necessitas There are many things it is true that are contrary to the preceptive part of God's Will but there is nothing comes to pass without the Providence of God or against what he would have done yea the Devils themselves when they most cross the preceptive Will of God they do then most fulfill the Will of his Providence There are many devices in the heart of man but the councel of the Lord that shall stand Whatever designs Men or Devils may have yet he tells us they all act but according to the providential Will of God The 2. Head is this That such Actions as are brought to pass by wicked Men are said to be done by the eternal Councel and Ordination of God they are the Contrivance of God's Decrees it was so in this case of Joseph God had decreed Joseph's advancement in Egypt yet this was not brought to pass without the Sin of his Brethren I will give you one Instance in Scripture That Action that proved the greatest Blessing to Mankind of any in the World yet was brought to pass by the greatest Villany in the Instruments that ever was in the World I mean the Suffering of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Acts 2.23 Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God you have taken and by wicked hands crucified and slain In the same Action there was the Wickedness and Envy of the Scribes and Pharisees there was the Villany and Treachery of Judas in betraying of him yet he saith all this was done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God So Acts 4.27 28. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus both Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done This is a singular Comfort that all things come to pass not according to wicked Mens Counsels but according to what God doth determine 3. Wicked Men when they do the unjustest actions yet they are said to be the Instruments of God's Providence to execute his Counsels his Designs and Purposes I will give you some sew of them Isa 10.5 God's Church were to be invaded by the Assyrians O Assyrain the rod of mine anger and the staff in their hand is mine indignation I will send him against an hypocritical nation Well look to the 7th Verse Howbeit he meaneth not so neither doth he think so but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations That is this proud Prince thinks of nothing of God's Providence and Purposes in this matter his design is to gratifie his Pride and Revenge and Covetousness but God Almighty gives way to it for other holy and wise ends And again v. 15. Shall the ax beast it self against him that heweth therewith or shall the saw magnifie it self against him that shaketh it There is a great emphasis in these words to shew that wicked Men and their Actions are all in the Hands of God as the Ax and the Saw in the Hand of the Workman 4. That even when wicked Men go about wicked Actions God is said to stir them up to it so in this Instance of Joseph and in that Isa 10.6 God is said to send the Assyrians against an hypocritical Nation to punish and chastise them So 2 Sam. 12.11 you see there Beloved God threatens to raise up evil against David in his own house that is by the Rebellion of his Son Absalom and his Villany and Insolence against his Father's Wives and Concubines but was God the cause of this Wickedness in Absalom No but Absalom having these Lusts in him God permitted him to exercise them for the punishment of David's Sin So 2 Sam. 16.11 Shimei doth unjustly revile David but saith David The Lord hath sent Shimei to curse David but this was to punish David for his former Sins Psal 105.23 it is said He turned the hearts of the Egyptians to hate his people and to deal subtilly with his servants He made use of their Sin for righteous ends 5. I do observe out of Scripture that the Children of God whenever they suffered most unjustly from wicked Men yet they have not imputed it so much to the Instruments as to the Justice of God as for example I will give you here an Instance in Joseph It was not you that sent me hither but God