A servant running away from his master (likely upon no other design but to live an idle life) ; yet falling into such places and companies as providence ordered (in a design to him unknown) hath thereby been brought to be the servant of Christ. This was the very case of Onesimus, who ran away from his master Phile- mon to Home ; where, by a strange providence, (possibly a mere curiosity to see the prisoners), he there falls into Paul's hands, "who begat him to Christ in his bonds, Philem. ver. 10, 11, 12, IS, 14, 15, 16.
Going to hear a sermon in jest hath proved some men's conver- sion in earnest. The above-named Mr. Firmin, in the forecited book, tells us of a notorious drunkard^ whom the drunkards called father^ that one day would needs go to hear what Wilson said, out of no other design it seems but to scoff at that holy man ; but in the prayer before sermon, his heart began to thaw ; and when he read his text, which was John v. 14. " Sin no more, lest a worse " thing come unto thee -^ he could not contain : and in that sermon the Lord changed his heart, though so bitter an enemy, that tlie minister on lecture-days was afraid to go to church before his shop~ door. '' Lo, these are parts of his ways ; but how small a por- " tion is known of him 'l'^
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The dropping of some grave and weiglUy word accidentally, in tlie presence of vain carnal persons, the death of an husband, wife, or child, a fit of sickness, with a thousand other such like occa- sions, have been thus improved by providence to the conversion of souls.
And no less remarkable and wonderful are the designs of provi- dence in ordering the removes, and governing the motions of minis- ters from place to place in order unto the conversion of souls. Thus oftentimes it carries them to places where they intended not to go ; God having (unknown to them) some elect vessels there, who must be called b)-^ the gospel.
Thus Paul and Timothy (a sweet and lovely pair) when they were travelling through Phrygia and Galatia, were forbid to preach the word in Asia, to which probably their minds inclined, Acts xvi. 6. And when they assayed to go into Bithynia, the Spirit suffered them not, ver. 7. But a man of Macedonia, (i. e. an an- gel in the shape or habit of a man of that country, appeared to Paul in a vision, and prayed him, saying, " Come over into Mace- *' donia, and help us," ver. 9. and there did God open the heart of Lydia.
I knew a pious minister, now with God, who falling in his study upon a very rousing subject, intended for his own congregation, was strongly moved when he had finished it, to go to a rude, vile, profane people about five miles off, and first preach it to them. After many wrestlings with himself^ not being willing to quench any motion that might be supposed to come from the Spirit of God, he obeyed, and went to this people, who had then no mi- nister of their own, and few durst come among them. And there did the Lord, beyond all expectation, open a door, and several pro- fane ones received Christ in that place, and engaged this minister to a weekly lecture among them, in which many souls were won . to God.
The same holy man, at another time, being upon a journey, passed by a company of vain persons, who were wrestling upon a green near the road : and just as he came against the place, one of them had thrown his antagonist, and stood triumphing in his strength and activity. This good man rode up to them, and turn- ing his speech to this person ; told him. Friend, I see you are a strong man ; but let not the strong man glory in his strength : you must know, that you are not to wrestle with* flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickednesses : how sad will it be, that Satan should at last trip up the heels of your hope, and give you an eternal overthrow ! and after about a quarter of an hour' serious discourse upon this subject, he left them and went
882 DIVINE CONDUCT ; OR,
on his journey. But this discourse made such an Impression, that the person had no rest, till he opened his trouble to a godly mi- nister, who, wisely following the work upon his soul, saw at last the blessed issue thereof in the gracious change of the person, whereof he afterwards gave the minister a joyful account. O how unsearchable are the methods of providence in this matter !
Nay, what is 3'et more wonderful, the providence of God hath sometimes ordered the very malice of Satan, and the wickedness of men, as an occasion of eternal good to their souls. A very me- morable example whereof, I shall here give the reader, faithfully relating what not many years past, fell out in my own observation in this place, to the astonishment of many spectators.
In the year 1673, there came into this port a ship of Pool, in her return from Virginia ; in which ship was one of that place, a lusty young man of twenty-three years of age, who was surgeon in the ship. This person, in the voyage, fell into a deep melancholy, which the devil greatly improved to serve his own design for the ruin of this poor man : however, it pleased the Lord to restrain him from any attempts upon his own life, until he arrived here. But shortly after his arrival, upon the Lord's day, early in the morning (being in bed with his brother) he took a knife, prepared for that purpose, and cut his own throat, and withal leaped out of the bed ; and though the wound was deep and large, yet thinking it might not soon enough dispatch his wretched life, desperately- thrust it into his stomach, and so lay wallowing in his own blood, till his brother awakening, made a cry for help. Hereupon a fhy^ sician and a surgeon coming in, found the wound in his throat mor- tal ; and all they could do at present, was only to stitch it and apply a plaister, with a design rather to enable him to speak for a little while, than with any expectation of cure ; for before that, he breathed through the wound, and his voice was inarticulate.
In this condition I found him that morning ; and apprehending him to be within a few minutes of eternity, I laboured to work upon his heart the sense of his condition, telling him, I had but little time to do any thing for him, and therefore desired him to let me know, what his own apprehensions of his present condition were .? He told me he hoped in God for eternal life. I replied^ that I feared his hopes were ungrounded, for that the scripture tells us, " No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him :" but this was self-murder, the grossest of all murders. And insisting upon the aggravation and heinousness of the fact, I perceived his vain confidence began to fall, and some meltings of heart appeared in him. He then began to lament with many tears his sin and misery, and asked m.e, if there might yet be hope for one that had destroy- ed himself, and shed his own blood 'i I replied, the sin indeed is
THE MYSTERY OF PROVlDEKCE. 383