SOUTHWARK:
PRINTED BY R. THOMAS, RED LION STREET, BOROUGH.
1819.
AN ADDRESS, &c.
But God meant it unto good.—Gen. l. 20th verse.
The sacred pages are designed by the God of all grace, to reveal the glorious salvation of lost, ruined, guilty man. The adorable Author of this inestimable blessing, with its amazing contrivance, and the means appointed for the knowledge and enjoyment of it—the eternal love of God as the source, the finished work of Christ, God-Man Mediator, and the gracious energy and operations of the Holy-making Spirit, are the appointed means for the accomplishment and application of this glorious salvation. This is the subject matter of the Gospel, as set forth in the word, and experienced by all who are taught of God; and while we would adore the sacred Trinity in Unity, for the revelation of his gracious will, in the matter of a sinner’s salvation from merited ruin, so we desire, at the same time, to search the scriptures for all the suited promises and encouragements therein given to the believer, in his complicated trials; and whatever may be the nature of those trials, the Bible fully assures him, that a covenant God has marked out his path in love, and in infinite wisdom; and though the hand of God may lay heavy upon him in deep afflictions, and the dispensations of divine providence may be very dark, and his trials very severe, it is a mercy to know, to believe, and be enabled to rest on the Staff of divine faithfulness; ever bearing in mind, that the grand design of every conflict, is to answer the purposes of the divine glory; and, ultimately, to bring the believer to himself, to great nearness and conformity to Christ, and, finally, to everlasting bliss. For our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, worketh for us an exceeding and eternal weight glory, while we look not at the things which are temporal.
The instrument a wise and gracious Father may use, to answer these ends, may be singular; and frequently they are those who are very dear to our hearts, and nearly allied in nature, profession, or friendship. Such, alas! may be permitted to distress the mind and grieve the heart, by the exercise of malice, arising from some predominant evil disposition, and frequently without any apparent cause, save that of envy; but the Lord who has decreed to permit this, has also decreed to over-rule it, for our spiritual, and sometimes even for our temporal good. The Lord very frequently makes the evil devised against us by Satan and his emissaries, answer many valuable purposes; and so wisely manages those things, which appear to be the greatest evils, to be the greatest advantage to us, and to effect his own glory in some mysterious way. Our mercy, under every dispensation, is to lay passive in his hand, to believe in his love, and to be humbled before him, well knowing that he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will; and while the mind is thus engaged to hear, also on universal goodwill to those who may injure us, quite forgetting, and freely forgiving them, as we have been forgiven, to conceal as much as possible their infirmities, even while we plead our own innocence; and in exculpating ourselves, we cannot be too careful to avoid reflecting upon those, who have dealt so cruelly with us. This is the spirit of true religion and genuine christianity.
I am led into these observations from the history before us, an history fraught with deep instruction to the Lord’s people. Few can read this tale unmoved, and all must see the propriety of Solomon’s remark:—Who can stand before envy? Our first father Adam could not, nor pious Abel, nor David; yea, the Son of God himself fell a victim to this malign influence, this satanic principle; and the history of the pious patriarch Joseph, is another awful evidence of this truth. I recommend this history to you, and hope you will gain much spiritual instruction; but above all, do not let this very interesting consideration pass unnoticed, in almost every circumstance recorded of Joseph,—that a greater than Joseph is here, one infinitely more illustrious, even the person of the dear and adorable Redeemer, the spiritual Joseph, the Zaaph Paaneah, the Revealer of gospel secrets, and the Saviour of the Land. Dear indeed to the Father, as the Son of his love, and the Object of his delight; as God, as God-Man, as the Head of his Elect Body; and the Mediator, Righteousness, and Glory of his Church; while all the promises and prophecies, shadows and types, with every illustrious character in the old Testament history, pointed to him, and shadowed him forth to the faith of the Church before his coming; and indicated his deep humiliation, and his final exaltation, when angels and saints should adore him, in our nature, as the Lamb in the midst of the throne, while ungodly sinners and devils should tremble at his presence. His holy nature, like Joseph’s coat of distinguished favour, was sweetly and richly diversified with the various graces of the Holy Spirit. Commissioned by his Father, agreeable to ancient stipulation, and covenant agreement, he came to seek the eternal felicity of his brethren. But Oh! the dreadful blindness and enmity of the human heart, even many of those who were dear to him, became his betrayers and murderers: a Judah sold his brother for twenty pieces of silver, and a Judas sold his master for ten more. He was tempted by the world, but he resisted it: falsely accused—he was imprisoned under the sentence of death, in all its horrid forms; and when on the Cross his divine compassion, and his awful sovereignty, was displayed in saving a fellow sufferer, and hearing the other in his awful state of rebellion. The appointed hour of his exaltation was come, and he was taken from prison and from death; raised, spiritualized, and conquering, he again revealed what merciful and awful events would take place in the land of Judea: he was received up into glory, the human nature was exalted into high and glorious union with the Deity, and as God-Man, to him every knee shall bow, and own him Lord of all. The treasures of grace are in his hands, for the benefit of his people, and to him all must come for the supply of their wants; while his adorable hand of awful, but gracious providence, executes the purposes of his grace, and brings the objects of his love, and the purchase of his blood, to his feet. Convinced of their enmity, envy and cruelty, ignorance and contempt, they, by the power of all-conquering grace, are brought to seek his favour, confess their sins, supplicate his throne, and obtain the pardon of their transgressions. To these he makes himself known, and treats them as brethren and friends, without upbraiding them.
This is compassion, like a God: they are invited to dwell near him, and the spiritual good of all the land is before them, as the earnest of that glory which he has in reversion for them. Fresh scenes in providence are opened to them; trouble, age, or sickness comes on, death and eternity is in view, doubts and fears may again invade the mind, in the bitter reflection of past sins. The soul once more drops at the feet of Jesus, and once more petitions him to forgive and forget his folly—the bowels of mercy yearn in the loving heart of our elder Brother, over us, and he again renews the promise of pardon, with power to the soul, that we may go down to the grave in peace. And as it respects their conduct to him, he calls up their attention to the design of God, in all his dispensations; that God meant to glorify the riches of his grace, and in their salvation to make himself a glorious name. Now, therefore, be ye not grieved nor angry with yourselves; ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good.
This is evident, when we take a view of the conduct of Joseph’s brethren, and the over-ruling their malice and cruelty, to answer the appointed end. Ah! little did those persons know what God intended to do, when they maliciously combined to destroy him; but, being restrained from their diabolical purpose, they were directed, or rather impelled, by an unseen power, to sell him for a slave. But God meant to honour Joseph, to make his own name glorious in an idolatrous land; to save many nations from ruin, to preserve their very lives who had designed to take away their brother’s; to the family of Israel, till they should become a great nation; to fulfil his own promises to Abraham, through whom the Messiah was to spring. Thus God meant it unto good.
I proceed to illustrate this truth, by a variety of important circumstances.—The dreadful fall of man effected by the malice of Satan, who hated the image of God, and envied the felicity of our first parents—who meant to destroy them, and eternally ruin all whom they represented. Satan, alas! succeeded, in a measure; but God, who had decreed to permit that wretch to manifest his malice against him, decreed also to over-rule it: he meant it unto good, even to magnify his grace, display his power, testify his hatred to sin, glorify his justice, manifest his wisdom, and shew his amazing love, in the gift of his dear Son, for their redemption from sin, the worst of evils, and from hell, the worst of miseries. Thus God meant it unto good.