By REV. JOHN FLAVEL (1677).
THE next remarkable performance of Providence for the people of God, which I will instance, shall be with respect to its ordering the occasions, instruments, and means of their conversion.
In nothing doth Providence shine forth more gloriously in this world, than it doth in this performance for the people of God. How curiously soever its hand hath moulded your bodies, how tenderly soever it had preserved them, and how bountifully soever it had provided for them; if it had not also ordered some means or other for your conversion, all the
- Memoirs, p. 12.
* From Flavel’s Treatise on the Mystery of Providence.—Editor.
former favours and benefits it had done for you had signified little. This, oh this, is the most excellent benefit you ever received from its hand! You are more beholden to it for this, than for all your other mercies. And, in opening this performance of Providence, I cannot but think your hearts must be deeply affected. This is a subject, which every gracious heart loves to steep its thoughts in. It is certainly the sweetest history that ever they repeated; they love to think and talk of it. The places where, and instruments by whom this work was wrought, are exceedingly endeared to them for the work’s sake; yea, endeared to that degree, that, for many years after, their hearts have melted, when they have but passed occasionally by those places, or but seen the faces of those persons, who were used as instruments, in the hand of Providence, for their good. As no doubt but Jacob’s Bethel was ever after that night sweet to his thoughts, so other saints have had their Bethels as well as he. Oh blessed places, times, and instruments! Oh the deep, the sweet impressions, never to be razed out of the memory or heart, that this providence has made upon those on whom it wrought this blessed effect at years of discretion, and in a more sensible way!
But lest any poor soul should be discouraged under the display of this providence, because he cannot remember the time, place, instruments and manner wherein, and by which conversion-work was wrought, I will therefore premise this necessary distinction, to prevent injury to some, whilst I design benefit to others. Conversion, as to the subject of it, may be considered two ways; either as it is more sensibly wrought in persons of riper years, who, in their youthful days, were more profane and vile; or upon persons in their tender years, into whose hearts grace was more insensibly and indiscernibly instilled by God’s blessing upon pious education. In the former sort, the distinct acts of the Spirit, as illuminating, convincing, humbling, drawing them to Christ, and sealing them, are more evident and discernible; in the latter, more obscure and confused: they can remember that God gave them an esteem and liking of godly persons, care of duty, and conscience of sin; but as to the time, place, instruments, and manner of the work, they can give but a slender account of them. However, if the work be savingly wrought in them, there is no reason they should be troubled because the circumstances of it are not so evident to them as they are to others. Let the substance and reality of the work appear, and there is no reason to afflict yourselves, because the evidence of such circumstances is wanting.
But, yet, where the circumstances as well as substance are clear to men; when we can call to remembrance the time when, the place where, the instrument by whom that work was wrought, it must needs be exceedingly sweet; and they cannot but yield a fresh delight to the soul every time they are reflected upon.
There are many of the following occasions which, it may be, we took for stragglers, when they first besfell us; but they proved scouts sent out from the main body of providence, which they make way for.
Now there are divers things in those providences, that are connected with this work, are exceedingly sweet and taking, as:—
- The wonderful strangeness and unaccountableness of this work of Providence in casting us into the way, and ordering the occasions, yea, the minutest circumstances about this work. This you find in Acts viii, 26-30,
etc. The eunuch, at that very instant when he was reading the prophet Isaiah, hath an interpreter, one among a thousand, that joins his chariot just as his mind was, by a fit occasion, prepared to receive the first light of the knowledge of Christ.
And how strange was that change, how far soever it went, upon Naaman the Syrian! recorded II Kings, v. 1-4, that the Syrians, in their incursions, should bring away this girl (likely her beauty was the inducement), and she must be presented to Naaman’s wife, and relate to her the power of God, that accompanied the prophet; though you find in that particular case there had never been an instance given before, Luke iv, 27. Doubtless the whole of this affair was guided by the signal direction of Providence.
So for the conversion of the Samaritans it is observed, John iv, 4. Christ must needs go that way, because it lay just in the road betwixt Judea and Galilee, and that at the sixth hour, that is, high noon, he rests himself upon Jacob’s well, still seeming to have no other design but his own refreshment, by sitting and drinking there; but, oh! what a train of blessed providences follows this, which seemed but an accidental thing! First, the woman of Samaria, and then, many more in that city, are brought to believe in Christ, as you find in verses 29 and 41.
It is noted by Melchior Adam, in the life of Junius, how very an atheist he grew in his younger years; but, in order to his conversion to God, first a wonderful preservation of his life, in a public tumult at Lyons, in France, must make way, which forces from him the acknowledgment of a Deity; then his father sends for him home, and with much gentleness persuades him to read the scriptures; he lights upon the first of John, and with it, he sensibly feels a divine, supernatural majesty and power seizing his soul, which brought him over by a complete conversion to Jesus Christ. Thus, as the woman of Tekoa told David, “doth God devise means to bring back his banished.”
Lavater tells us, that many Spanish soldiers, going into the wars of Germany, were there converted to Christ, by falling into the cities and towns inhabited by godly ministers and Christians.
Mr. Robert Bolton, though an excellent scholar, yet in his younger years was a very irreligious person, and a jeerer of holy men; but, being cast into the company of the godly Mr. Peacock, was, by him, brought to repentance, and proved a famous instrument in the church of Christ.
A scrap of paper accidentally coming to view hath been used as an occasion of conversion. This was the case of a minister in Wales, who had two livings, but took little care of either. He being at a fair, bought something at a pedlar’s standing, and rent off a leaf of Mr. Perkin’s catechism to wrap it in, and reading a line or two in it, God set it home so as it did the work.
The marriage of a godly man, into a carnal family, hath been ordered by Providence for the conversion and salvation of many therein. Thus we read, in the life of that renowned English worthy, Mr. John Bruen, that, in his second match, it was agreed that he should have one year’s diet in his mother-in-law’s house: during his abode there that year (saith Mr. Clark), the Lord was pleased, by his means, graciously to work upon her soul, as also upon his wife’s sister, and half-sister, their brothers, Mr. William and Mr. Thomas Fox, with one or two of the servants in that family.
The reading of a good book hath been the means of bringing others to Christ. And thus we find many of the German divines converted by reading Luther’s books. Yea, and what is more strange, Mr. Sleyden, in his Commentary, tells us, that Vergerius, though he were present an eye and ear witness to that doleful case of Spira, which one would think should move a stone, yet still continued so firm to the Pope’s interest, that when he fell into some suspicion among the cardinals, he resolved to purge himself by writing a book against the German apostates; but, whilst he read the Protestant books, out of no other design but to confute them, whilst he is weighing the arguments, is himself convinced, and brought to Christ. He, finding himself thus overcome by the truth, imparts his conviction to his brother, a zealous Papist also; this brother deplores the misery of his case, and seeks to reclaim him; but Vergerius, entreating him to weigh well the Protestant arguments, he also yields; and so both immediately betook themselves to preach justification, by the free grace of God, through the blood of Christ.
Yea, not only the reading of a book, or hearing of a minister, but, which is most remarkable, the very mistake or forgetfulness of a minister hath been improved by Providence for this end and purpose. Augustine, once preaching to his congregation, forgot the argument which he first proposed, and fell upon the errors of the Manichees, beside his first intention; by which discourse, he converted one Firmus, his auditor, who fell down at his feet weeping, and confessing he had lived a Manichee many years. Another I knew, who, going to preach, took up another Bible than that he designed, in which, not only missing his notes, but the chapter also in which his text lay, was put to some loss thereby; but, after a short pause, he resolved to speak to any other scripture that might be presented to him, and accordingly, read the text, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise” (II Peter iii, 9), and though he had nothing prepared, yet the Lord helped him to speak both methodically and pertinently from it: by which discourse a gracious change was wrought upon one in the congregation, who hath since given good evidence of a sound conversion, and acknowledged this sermon to be the first and only means thereof.
The accompanying of others, in a neighbourly, civil visit, has been overruled to the same end. Thus many of the Jews accompanied Mary into Bethany, designing only to manifest their civil respect, but there they met Christ, saw the things which he did, and believed on him (John xi, 45).
Mr. Firmin, in his Real Christian, tells us of one who had lived many years in a town where Christ had been as clearly and as long preached as in any town in England. This man, when he was about seventy-six years of age, went to visit a sick neighbour. “A Christian friend of mine,” saith my author, “came to see him also; and finding this old man there, whom he judged to be one that lived upon his own stock, civility, good works, etc., he purposely fell into that discourse to show how many persons lived upon their duties, but never came to Christ. The old man, sitting by the bed-side, heard him, and God was pleased to convince him, that he was such a person, who had lived upon himself, without Christ, to that day; and would say afterwards, Had I died before threescore and sixteen, I had perished, for I knew not Christ.”
The committing of a godly man to prison hath been the method of Providence to save the soul of a poor keeper. So Paul was made a prisoner,
to make his keeper a spiritual freeman (Acts xvi, 27). The like success had Dr. Barnes, in Queen Mary’s day, who celebrated the Lord’s supper in prison with his converted keeper.
The scattering of ministers and Christians, by persecution, from cities and towns, into the ignorant and barbarous parts of the country, hath been the way of Providence to find out and bring home some lost sheep that were found there to Jesus Christ (Acts viii, 1, 4). The like signal event hath since followed upon the like scattering of godly ministers, whereof there are many pregnant instances at this day.
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 Philemon, to Rome, where, by a strange providence (possibly a mere curiosity to see the prisoners), he falls into Paul’s hands, who begat him to Christ in his bonds (Philemon 10-16).
Going to hear a sermon in jest hath proved some men’s conversion in earnest. The above-named Mr. Firmin, in the fore-cited 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, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John v, 14), he could not contain; and in that sermon the Lord changed his heart, though so bitter an enemy, that the 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 portion is known of him!”
The dropping of some grave and weighty word, accidentally, in the presence of vain, carnal persons; the death of a husband, wife, or child; a fit of sickness, with a thousand other such like occasions, have been thus improved, by Providence, to the conversion of souls.
And no less remarkable and wonderful are the designs of Providence, in ordering the removes, and governing the motions of ministers, 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 by 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 essayed to go into Bithynia, the Spirit suffered them not (verse 7), but a man of Macedonia, that is an angel in the shape or habit of a man of that country, appeared to Paul in a vision, and prayed him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (verse 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 minister of their own, and few durst come among them; and
there did the Lord, beyond all expectation, open a door, and several profane 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 turning 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’s serious discourse upon this subject, he left them, and went on his journey; but this discourse made such an impression, that the person had no rest till he opened his trouble to a godly minister, 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. Oh! how unsearchable are the methods of Providence in this matter.