any room for Discontent When any Troubles come that which makes them bitter is to consider the Wickedness of the Instruments We are apt to say Oh that false Servant that treacherous Child if God had done this or that it would not have troubled us Why beloved look into the Text it is not they but God that did it for holy and wife ends Sudden and unexpected Accidents are great causes of Afflictions to have a Child or Friend cut off by some unexpected Accident yet we must consider tho' there be such a thing as Chance or Fortune to us there is nothing falls out but by the Wisdom of Almighty God As Deut. 19.5 compared with Exod. 21.13 God suffers not a Sparrow to fall to the Ground without his Providence much less will he do so by Men all things that are Chance to us are eternally determin'd by God I have heard many tender-spirited persons say Oh I am afraid I have not done all I should in this or that matter as Martha said Lord if thou hadst been here our Brother had not dyed But I say when God has signified his Will by the Event then we are to rest satisfied God knows how to order our Ignorance and Follies to his own holy and wise ends Again when we think upon the Injuries of wicked men the best Comfort is to quiet our selves as David The Lord has sent this Shimei to curse David Again when we see a Deluge of Wickedness and Prophaneness overflow a Nation it is one of the greatest causes of Sorrow to a good man as it was to David Rivers of water run down mine eyes because men keep not thy law It is a just cause of of Sorrow that you are all called to at this time but yet beloved we ought not to be too much grieved God will not suffer his holy Name to be always prophaned God can make this overspreading of Wickedness turn to the Good of the Nation Prov. 19.31 The counsel of the Lord shall stand they cannot go one step further than God orders and he can and will over-rule them Again this will be of great comfort to us in all the Riddles of God's Providence when we see holy men oppress'd and wicked men for a time to prosper in all these intricate Providences God Almighty will bring to pass his own wise and holy Ends adore the Lord when you cannot comprehend him The wicked have one Work to do and God has another judge not of Providences by their present faces and appearances He that had seen Joseph afflicted and in the Dungeon how could he have thought that had been the way to a Throne therefore do not judge of God's Works before you see the Effects of them God has a Work and Purpose and it shall be brought to pass let men oppose and cross it as much as they can therefore it is one of the greatest parts of Wisdom to resign up our Souls to God in the darkest Providences when we can see neither Sun Moon nor Stars Lord I resign up my self to thee tho' I cannot comprehend thy design at present Lastly If God works together with wicked men and turns all their Actions contrary to their own meaning why then we ought to work together with God I shall shew you how we may draw Good from the Sins of wicked men when the Sins of wicked men bring me to see my own and to watch and walk more holily with God and more diligently seek after Heaven and Heavenly things when the Malice of my Enemies is a means to encrease my Grace why then beloved I draw Good out of Evil. Again As to the Publick when we see Wickedness abound we may draw Good out of it we may now look upon our selves to be Witnesses for God and to live well in the midst of a wicked Nation when we see a Deluge of Drunkenness to abhor that Sin so much the more So as to the Spirit of Whoredome among us this should make us strive to be so much the more chaste and careful against all Company that may tempt us When we see a Spirit of Formality and Negligence in the Service of God this should make us so much the more fervent and to love Holiness the better And when you see People come to such a measure of Prophaneness as for many years together to omit the Lord's Supper this should make us more diligent in our Preparations to it The best way to overthrow Popery is to live well like good Protestants and especially I would not have a Protestant tell a wilful Lye and by this means we may turn our present Dangers to a good issue If we thus repent thus live and thus pray unto God c. FINIS
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
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
by his permission and for this we are much obliged to God for keeping wicked Men and Devils in Bonds and for limiting their Malice and Enmity for if God should give leave to them to execute their Power and Malice all the World would quickly be in flames 2. God concurs in the evil actions of Men by a general concurrence and co-operation in the action it self for you must know God Almighty has an immediate influence and concourse in all the actions of his Creatures both good and bad Acts 17.28 In him we live and move and have our being It is that which all Christians and most Philosophers do agree in That all actions of the Creature do depend upon the motion and influence of the first Cause I will instance in those that curse and swear and blaspheme the Name of God they could not move their Tongues if God did not give them leave and co-operate in the action so the power whereby a Thief steals is from God But here they do not make God the cause of their Sin in a moral but in a physical sence they say well That God doth concur as to the natural action it self but not to the sinfulness in that action God concurrs to the natural action but the obliquity of it proceeds from the wickedness of the Sinner's Will 3. God doth concur by his Providence in administring occasions and opportunities which wicked Men do abuse to Sinfulness So Jer. 5.22 God tells us of laying a stambling block in the way of Sinners He gives or lays before them things that perhaps are not sinful in themselves as when he gives to wicked men Health Strength Wealth Prosperity Beauty c. these have no harm in themselves but when they take occasion to abuse them to their Lusts and there are some that make their Table a Snare to them Nay those things that in their own nature would tend to make them better yet they take occasion to make themselves worse by them as for instance How often does good Admonition make some Men the worse nay I tell you the very Divinity and Miracles of Christ did harden the Pharisees Hearts nay sometimes when God by his Providence does suffer Men to fall into wicked Company as he did Joseph when his Brethren design'd to murther him God did at the same time order some Midianites to go by that they might sell him to them The fourth way of God's concurrence is by withdrawing his Grace and leaving Men to the power of their Lusts Wicked men have a violent inclination to many Sins which God in his Providence many times restrains but when he leaves them up to themselves they quickly run into the commission of them they are oftentimes as a Dog chained up that cannot do the Mischief he has a mind to When God saith of wicked Men as he did to Ephraim when he was joyned to Idols Let him alone when God leaves them so to their Sin as to be without any Afflictions or Terrors of Conscience it is the most dreadful Judgment in the World And by this you may understand those Scriptures where God is said to blind and harden Sinners Hearts This is most righteous and just that they who despise God's Grace and wilfully run into Sin that God should punish them with their own Sins and say He that is filthy let him be filthy still O this is the most dreadful Judgment in the World when Men are given up by God to their own Lusts The fifth way is when God leaves Sinners to the temptations of the Devil or of wicked Men as when he leaves them up to wicked Acquaintance to tempt them and flatter them in their sins I will give you 2 or 3 Instances in Scripture thus God permitted a lying Spirit to go forth in the Nation of the Israelites God saith Go and thou shalt prevail so Ezek. 14. God tells them that for the Sins of the People he would leave them up to wicked and false Prophets and when they come to enquire of them they shall deceive them and this as a Punishment of their former Sins So 2 Thes 2. the coming and prevailing of Antichrist is there said to be with all deceivableness of unrighteousness with all power and signs and lying wonders God may suffer false Prophets to work signs and wonders and to come with all deceivableness of unrighteousness but what was the reason because they did not receive the truth in the love of it that they might be saved and therefore God gave them over to strong Delusions to believe Lyes that they may be damned I pray God we are not in a great measure concerned in this point you see God hath sent forth a lying Spirit whereby our Adversaries have drawn away thousands what is the reason because they have not lived up to the Light of the Gospel When Popery comes it makes People unnatural to Parents to destroy Cities and Kingdoms why certainly Beloved as the Apostle saith 2 Tim. 2.16 such are taken captive of the Devil at his will that is whatever Sin the Devil gives them opportunity to commit when he tempts them to Uncleanness or Drunkenness they are ready to act it such like Judas are given into the full possession of Satan A sixth way of God's Providence in sinful actions and I desire you to take notice of it is a directing by his secret Providence the Sinner to such or such a particular Object which perhaps he was indifferent to before as for example sake a wicked Man may be covetous or angry or cruel now it may be indifferent to him which of these Sins he commits but God in his secret Providence lets him go out upon one and not upon another like a great Mastiff in chains it is indifferent to him who he bites and hurts if he be loosed but the Owner lets him loose upon one that he would have him hurt and he accordingly falls upon him And therefore Solomon tells us A man deviseth his own way but the Lord directs his steps Nebuchadnezzar the great King of Babylon was resolved to fall upon some of his Neighbours he could not tell whether he should fall upon Amon or Judea now God in his Providence directed him to fall upon Judea so 1 Chron. 5.26 it is said God stirred up the spirit of Pul to go against Israel and this is done without any Sin to be therefore imputed to God It is said the hearts of Kings are in the hand of the Lord and he turns them as the rivers of water It is an alusion to those Countries where there was little Rain from Heaven all their Gardens and Meadows were water'd by standing Waters or Pools where they had Sluces and Gutters which they could pull up and so let the Water run which way they pleased So God can order the Hearts of Kings as shall best please him A seventh way is when God gives wicked Men power and success and to prosper in unjust actions this
of God's Glory excuse the Sin I answer No the Sin is not the less sinful upon that account as Rom. 3.8 for God needs not our Sins to bring to pass his Glory God will not have us break his Commands out of a pretence to bring to pass his Glory it is not lawful for the greatest Glory to God or Good of Mankind to commit the least Sin to break God's Laws for God's Glory is not lawful upon any pretence And therefore they that can deceive and do Injuries to others and perhaps their whole Lives have been a course of Injustice and this under the thoughts and pretence of doing good with what they get and bringing Glory to God it is nothing else but a Delusion and Deceit But thou Hypocrite what need has God of thy Robberies to do him service So the Jesuites have determin'd that in defence of the Catholick Cause a man may tell a Lye because it is to a good end to carry on their Cause I shall shew you something of their Doctrine about Equivocation from their own allowed Writers 1. It is determin'd that officious Lyes when they injure none and do good to others they are at most but venial Sins So the consequence is if they tell an officious Lye for the preservation of themselves but especially for the honour of God and the good of their Society it is but a venial a pardonable Sin this most of the Papists hold 2. They tell us of the Doctrine of Equivocation that some things as they are spoken are directly Sins but if we keep any other true sence in our Minds it is reconcilable to Truth Again they tell us Some things a man is bound to deny and that upon Oath That if a Priest from Confession knows any thing of Adultery or Murder in another and he be examin'd in the matter he may lawfully forbear to tell the truth or deny it and the reason is because he knows it under the Seal of Confession And they made great use of this Doctrin in the Powder Treason Again they hold When they are called before an unlawful Judge as they hold us to be Hereticks they may lye and forswear but especially they hold That no Civil Judge can judge a Priest Again they hold If they are accused before a Judge and the Crime is not clearly proved and if they have any way to evade the Witnesses they may lye and forswear themselves with a mental reservation till the case be made out as clear as the Sun Again they averr That at their Executions they may deny their Crimes too because when they have confessed to a Priest and received Absolution they are in a state of Salvation and absolved from their Sins Therefore fix this in your Hearts That for the greatest Good in the World it is not lawful to commit the least Sin SECT V. MY third Inference is this If all the Sins of Men be order'd and govern'd by God the only true way to secure our selves from hurt by wicked men is to make our Peace with God It follows most directly true for if all the Sins of wicked men be order'd limited and over-ruled by God the most secure method in all Troubles is to make our Peace with God for if God be ours all the Malice of the Devils in Hell and wicked Men on Earth shall do us no harm The first Lesson we are to learn under every Rod is to believe God's Hand in it It is a thing beloved that we all acknowledge in the notion yet certainly one of the hardest things in practise Micah 6. the Prophet tells us It is the greatest part of wisdom to bear the rod and him who has appointed it for the greatest cause of our impenitency under God's heavy Judgments is because Men generally look no higher than the Second Causes we impute our Troubles to our own Negligence and the Malice of Men but look not up to God Isa 36.11 When thou liftest up thy hand they will not see it So Jer. 5.12 when the Prophet told them God had sent the Assyrian to punish them they denied it and said It is not the Lord. Beloved we are loth in any Affliction we suffer to acknowledge God's Hand in it and the reason is because it would be a secret acknowledgment of our own Guilt Thus if there happen to be a Defeat in War we reckon it comes only by Negligence or Cowardise or if a Fire happens we say this is the Malice of Men but we never look up to God in all this This is the great cause of Impenitence for how can we repent of our Sins if we believe we are only injured by Men and not punished by GOD We ought to believe there is no evil in a City but what the Lord has done all Evils that come either immediately from God's Hand or from the Malice Wickedness and Injustice of Men GOD has a hand in all Thus Job when the Chaldeans and Sabeans had robbed him he ascribes it to the Lord and not to their Injustice Isa 10.5 When a plundering Army was to be sent 't is said God sent them so when Absalom rebelled and sought the ruine of his Father it is said God would stir up evil to him out of his own house So 1 Kin. 11. when Solomon follow'd strange Women then God stirred up Enemies against him God sometimes raises up base and sordid men to be Plagues and Scourges to the most powerful People for the Sins of such a People So Beloved if we are proud and confident in our own Strength our Sins may expose us to be a Prey to the basest Nation in the World Again sometimes God limits the Career of wicked men as he does the proud Waves of the Sea saying Hitherto shalt thou go and no further When God has done with his Instruments he will destroy them It follows then that it is the greatest Folly for men to seek to remove their Afflictions so long as they continue in their Sins against God for what Folly is it to look to the Instrument and not to the Hand that moves it it is as if a poor Prisoner should court the Executioner and not seek to the Judge All these are our Follies For first we can with no reason expect God should remove his Judgments while we continue in our Sins if God does for a time cease Judgments we must not take it as a Pardon of our Sins or a Removal of our Judgment but only a Reprieve for a time If God does withdraw one Rod or Judgment that we may fear he will find new ones to chastise a wicked People as the Angel cried One woe is past and another woe cometh So long as we provoke God tho' sometimes we may prevail against men that are Instruments of his Wrath we shall not always he will have new Instruments to do his Work It follows therefore in the last place our only safe way is to make our Peace with God for if