J. Church

“ But even these, and every future temptation, God means for good; they shew us the malice of Satan, they drive us as prisoners of hope to the strong hold for strength, and make us well acquainted with his devices. When God hides his face, he only means to shew us what we are without Christ; and when any saint is permitted to fall into sin, God means to over-rule that fall, to humble the soul, and shew it the need of divine keeping every moment. ”

“ The history of the experience of saints, in all ages, prove the same, as may be seen in the trial of Abraham, when called to sacrifice his Son; and by faith he obtained this name, the Father of the faithful, and the Friend of God. In the deep trials, and accumulated afflictions of Job, Satan plotted against him, to destroy him—he traduced him as an hypocrite before God, though he was the most sincere man then living; he extended his malice to the ruin of his family, in order to provoke him to curse God. ”

“ The malice of the Priests and Doctors of the Law, the weakness of Pilate, and the rage of an easy persuaded populace—herein we see the malice of Satan: he thought evil against the Saviour, but God meant it for good, and effected only what he had before determined to bring about. The intentions of the enemy, and the designs of Jehovah, were infinitely remote; the God of all grace meant to glorify all his sublime perfections, by the obedience, sufferings, and conquests of the Saviour—the magnifying his holy law, the satisfying his own justice, and the redemption of his Church ”

“ While I pray daily for grace to walk as becometh the gospel of Christ, in holiness and righteousness, as an evidence of being delivered from my enemies, and from the hand of those who unjustly hate me, that while they intended me evil, God meant it unto good. ”

“ Satan begins to display his envy and malice in a more terrible way, if the good work is begun by a storm from Sinai, in a deep law-work on the soul; he will endeavour to drive the poor sinner to black despair; and if the work of God in the heart, is by more gentle means, he will try to distress the soul, because the work has not been, in all respects, like that which may be in another soul. ”

“ While I am daily praying for grace, to walk worthy the honour done me, as it respects my long afflictions and deep distresses of mind, I shall not work upon your feelings in the detail of them, suffice it to say, that I shall ever maintain that it was the most weak, cruel, and scandalous prosecution, which ever took place in this highly favored land—had it been justly merited, these were, besides the prosecution, such unparalleled cruelties exercised towards me, as perhaps were never known in the memory of man ”

“ This truth is found also in the daily experience of God’s children; and however numerous their foes, and complicated their trials, it is the work and wisdom of their faith to look above them, to the gracious purposes of God, in covenant love and wisdom, who is working all things after the counsel of his will. It is true, the designs of God may be hid from the believer’s view for a time, and the trial may be long, dark, and distressing, yet, faith can rest upon this truth, The Lord hath his ways of grace and mercy, in the whirlwind and in the storm ”

“ Those who loved the Saviour, and loved not their lives unto death, endured every species of persecution, for the love they bore to truth, having felt its power, and enjoyed its reality, were opposers of Satan’s kingdom, and Satan aimed to extirpated them from the earth: but the more the truth has been opposed, the more the church has been oppressed, the p. 11more it has ever prospered: what their enemies aimed at, was to degrade the religion of the Son of God, to abolish the gospel, and to ruin immortal souls ”

“ God means that every loss and cross, every trial, reproach, and mortification, whether deserved or not, shall wean us from the world, beckon us home, and make us sit loose from every undue attachment to the creature ”

“ Sin, as daily felt p. 15within, and as perpetually trying the believer, is to shew us our daily need of the Atonement, applied to the conscience; and our daily infirmities shew us our need of a better, yea, of an infinitely meritorious righteousness, wrought out by the dear God-Man Mediator, and imputed to all that believe in him, for their complete justification before God. The reluctance which we often find to prayer, and every other sacred duty, is meant to shew us our need of quickening, and renewing grace ”

“ I might mention the history of Naomi and Ruth, of Mordecai and Esther, and many more, but shall only remark, that the falling out of brethren, and the divisions made in churches, though designed by Satan, to put a stop to the spread and force of truth, yet, it has frequently been found to bring about some gracious purpose of God, and the dissemination of the very truth Satan aimed to stop in its progress. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Many connected with the business are satisfied, being well paid for their trouble. Envious Preachers are satisfied, that my popularity and public usefulness is for ever at an end—that part of the public, who were prejudiced, and who never took the trouble to search into the business, but guided by bare hear-say, these have been satisfied, that I have, in their opinion, met with my deserts ”

“ 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 ”

“ God permitted Satan to go out of his limitted bounds, and to use his utmost influence to destroy the Prince of Life. He urged that blood-hound, Herod, to murder the Babes of Bethlehem, in hopes of destroying the Saviour of guilty man. While he preached the gospel, wrought miracles, and was working out a righteousness for his dear people, Satan stirred up the Scribes and Pharisees, the Jews and Priests, to vent all the malice of their hearts against him, and so hold him up to p. ”