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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42721	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 George Gifford.	Gifford, George, d. 1620.	1695 (1695)	Wing G694; ESTC R25460	29,026	38

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

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