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
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
Physician can make use of Poison to expel Poison so tho' Sin in it self be so evil wholly evil yet God Almighty can make it serve his best and wisest ends For the truth of this proposition I may observe to you that the greatest actions that ever God brought to pass in the World have been occasion'd by the Sins of wicked men as the occasion of sending Christ was the Sin of Adam and the bringing to pass our Redemption could not be done without the concurrence of wicked actions as Acts 2.22 By wicked hands you have crucified and slain him saith the Apostle and Acts 4.27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus Herod Pontius Pilate and the People of Israel are gathered together Consider how much wickedness there was in that act the Treachery of Judas the Envy of the Pharisees the Covetousness of the Soldiers the Cruelty of the rest and yet all this God made use of to bring to pass the most glorious action that ever was in the World I will give you some more Instances of this and mention two things whereby I shall more evidently demonstrate That God does make use of the Sins of wicked men for good purposes 1. for the manifestation of his own Glory 2. For the great good he doth thereby in the World Rom. 3.7 The truth of God aboundeth by my lye unto his glory and he maketh the wrath of man to praise him I shall mention Five Attributes of God that are more especially illustrated by God's permitting and ordering the Sins of wicked men 1. The Attribute of God's Patience and Long suffering he proclaims himself The Lord God merciful and long suffering Where could there have been room for the exercise of his Patience and Long-suffering if there be no Sin So Rom. 9 22. How should we know God's Patience if with much long suffering he did not endure the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction 2. The glory of his Justice God's punishing of Sinners could not have been known without the permission of Sin I will get my self glory over Pharoah how so by executing my Judgments upon him for Sin For this cause have I raised thee up that I may shew forth my power in thee and make known my glory in all the earth And there is no question but the Glory of God is shewn forth in the manifestation of his Wrath both here and hereafter 3. The Glory of his Mercy and Free Grace appears in pardoning Sin how could that have been done if there had been no Sin Rom. 5.20 Where sin abounded grace did much more abound In a word all the Riches of God's Mercy and Goodness and Free Grace to the Creature supposes Sin it could not be without Sin had Man remained without Sin Christ had never died there had been no Covenant of Grace 4. The Glory of God's admirable Wisdom appears in ordering and governing the Sins of the World the chief part of his Wisdom consists in bringing to pass those ends by means that seem most improbable and unlikely Thus 't is in matters of State-policy it is the greatest part of Wisdom to know how to govern evil and discontented Subjects There is nothing in the World so contrary in it self to the Glory of God as Sin is nothing that God more hates Now is not this the glory of his Wisdom to make wicked Men and Devils themselves when they strive most to oppose his glory than to do him most honour I will give you several Instances sometimes in opposing the Counsels of wicked men and taking them in their own craft and so He did Pharoah that what wicked men design for the ruine of his People he can turn it to their advantage Nazianzen saith That the Masterpiece of God's wisdom is to make Enemies do his own work Lastly It makes appear the greatness of his Power the greatness of his power appears in working without means or contrary to means it was to make a thing of nothing when God created the World yet there seems to be greater power in turning Evil to Good than in making the World because here is nothing to contribute but all as may be to oppose it It is the Almighty Power of God that brings light out of darkness and evil out of good and the greatest good out of the greatest evil The second general Head is to shew the good that God works in the World by wicked Men. I beseech you to mind these things 1. God makes use of wicked men sometimes as the Instruments of his Vengeance to punish other wicked men thus many times he uses evil Angels but especially evil men to destroy his Enemies one wicked man to execute his Justice upon another so he doth when he raiseth up great Princes to be Instruments of his Vengeance and Plagues upon a wicked Nation Thus God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to punish Israel when they had sinned but he dreamed nothing at all of serving God's Ends but only his own Ambition but yet he was God's Instrument Many times we are ready to quarrel at God's Providence when we see wicked Princes conquer and destroy and invade when they have no just Right but we consider not they are acted by a higher Hand sometimes God doth it by private men sometimes he raiseth up one Oppressor to punish another Oppressor sometimes he raises up rebellious Children to punish Parents who had been disobedient when they were Children sometimes he punishes some persons with Treachery and Unfaithfulness which had been formerly treacherous and unfaithful themselves 2. God makes use of the Sins of wicked men to chastise and punish his own People when they have offended and sinned against him God makes the Sins of wicked men as Rods to chastise them and bring them back from their wandrings I will give you one or two famous Instances of this Isa 10.5 O Assyrian the rod of mine anger the staff in their hand is my indignation see the 6 7 to the 12. ver God tells us he had a work to do by the King of Assyria namely to punish a hypocritical Nation but his design was only to kill and destroy Another Instance you have 2 Sam. 12.11 and so on You know David had sinned a great Sin an indelible Sin that God always remembred tho' upon David's Repentance God pardon'd him yet he told him he would raise up a Sword out of his own Bowels to correct him first one of his own Sons incestuously ravishes his own Sister then Absalom murthers his Brother then God raises up this Son to be a scourge to him by lying with his Wives and Concubines and after by raising up a long Rebellion against him And how many Sins were committed in these matters and yet all this God made use of for chastising of David and bringing him to Repentance I will give you a familiar Instance to illustrate this to you from a Leach's drawing of Blood the Physician applys them they draw Blood to satisfie their natural
he rules and governs all then without him all the Devils and wicked Men in the World shall do us no harm if the Lord of Hosts be for us all Devils and wicked being of his Host they cannot act but by his permission When a man's ways please the Lord he maketh his Enemies to be at peace with him When therefore we fear to suffer from wicked men or when we are under their hands then we are to look up and see God's hand in all and to make our Peace with him I do not speak this that we are to neglect all prudent and careful means to prevent Mischief from wicked men as for example sake Suppose they do injuriously take away our Estates or assault our Lives we are bound to use all Care and to seek the Help of the Magistrate to preserve our selves nay Magistrates are bound to use all possible means to oppose those wicked men that would hurt us God has never promis'd to help the idle slothful and lazy but the diligent and those that use all probable means in subserviency to God's Providence nay when God does discover the Designs of wicked men and put into a Nations hands the means to prevent them and they will not lay hold on them it is a fearful sign of Destruction Beloved I have often thought what in such cases we ought to do the first thing we ought to begin with is to look up to God above all Second Causes and to say when any Trouble comes Is not the Hand of God in all this There is indeed much Treachery Malice and Cruelty in Man but is it not all order'd by a wise and holy God The second thing is to enquire into the cause why the Lord is angry with us to search what Sin has gone before this Judgment when God cuts us short of our Estates to remember how unthankful we have been for them and how ill we have used them Thirdly before we begin to deal with our Enemies we ought first to begin with our Sins to subdue them and implore God's Help against them It would be a better sign of England's Happiness to see us reform our Sins than to see all our Enemies under our Feet Psal 81.13 14. If God orders and limits the Sins of wicked men then our Duty is hearty and fervent Prayer to Almighty God for if he sends them he hath power to take them away Thus penitent Ephraim cries Come let us return to the Lord for he hath wounded us and he will heal us Thus Jacob before he contended with his Brother Esau he first wrestles and prevails with God in Prayer Thus Moses when Israel was fighting with Amalek his Hands were lifted up to God in Prayer So the good Emperor Theodosius when he had laid all night prostrate on the Ground in Prayer and had thereby overcome God then he got an easie Victory over his Enemies And dearly beloved I wish we had done so or would do so I am sure this is one of the best ways to prevail with God under the Circumstances we are in There is none of you but what are sensible of the Danger we are now in and as to the Instruments there has been as much Wickedness us'd as was ever known in any Nation to contrive the Death of a King and the Subversion of our Religion as to them it is without any cause at all yet in respect of God it is most righteous and if He should give us up into their hands we must say That God is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works That long Peace we have abus'd to Luxury and other Sins God may justly take it away from us but above all for our living so negligently and being so lukewarm under that Religion God has given us our Wickedness will justifie the worst Judgments that can befal us but beloved God is merciful and hath put some stop to the Designs of our Enemies and oh that we may now return to the Lord by true and unfeigned Repentance It is our Sins that give Strength to the Papists and Jesuites if we did but live up to the Religion we profess all the Jesuits in Rome and Devils in Hell can never do us any hurt It is not only a politick Reformation by punishing Offenders that will do our business or by making severer Laws no these are good in their kind but the only way for us is to be good and walk answerable to the Gospel we profess I have indeed thought if God Almighty please to make a full discovery of this Plot it will be a deadly Blow to Jesuitism and to Popery it self but we cannot expect it without a Reformation of our selves Again if God orders all the Sins of wicked men then 't is a Foundation of true Patience and Comfort in all our Sufferings to consider they all come from a holy wise and righteous God Dearly beloved I will give you one Remedy against all Discontents Fears and Troubles and that is to see God's Hand in every Affliction and I will shew you how to improve them It was a true Argument the Saints used to content themselves with so old Eli when he heard the sad news of Judgment denounced against his Family It is the Lord saith he let him do what seemeth him good So David when he was under great Distresses I opened not my mouth for it was thy doing Thus when he was reproached by Shimei The Lord hath sent Shimei to curse David Thus we find holy Hezekiah when he was told of the ruine of his House and Kingdom Good is the word of the Lord. So our Saviour under his bitter agony saith The cup which my heavenly father hath given me shall I not drink it So St. Chrysostom tells us All the Malice and Rage of Men when it comes into God's hand loses its Sting Plutarch wrote against them that deny the Providence of God and uses this Argument That by so doing they did take away all Comfort from People under their Affliction Did I believe the Affairs of this World were order'd by wicked men and God was only a bare Spectator I do assure you I could not live with Comfort one moment but when I know that in all the Confusions and Troubles which they cause here below they cannot do one thing more than what God has order'd and appointed I lay my self down and rest in God's Bosom and that for these Reasons 1. Because they are order'd by a God that is our Soveraign Lord and can do with us what he pleases 2. Tho' we deserve it not from them yet we have Sins that do call for it 3. When I consider that notwithstanding all these Confusions yet God can limit and over-rule all as he pleases And lastly when I also consider that God can make all these things end in the good of his Church and make wicked men do his Work and his Church-service against their own wills where then can there be