,transcribed from the #ahai ,r4 ,thomas 
edition by ,david ,price1 email         
ccx#jgdpglaf4org                        
,picture3 ,public domain book cover     
,,the ,,gracious                        
,,designs ,,of ,,god                    
,,accomplished1                         
,,by ,,the                              
,,malice ,,of ,,his ,,enemies4          
,,being ,,the ,,substance ,,of          
,an ,address1                           
,delivered on ,,wednesday1 ,november    
#bdth1 #ahai1                           
,,at ,,the ,,surrey ,,tabernacle1       
,,by ,j4 ,,church1                      
,being the ,day of his ,deliverance4    
99 99 99 99 99         ,commit thy ,way 
unto the ,,lord2 trust also in him1 and 
he shall bring                       it 
to pass4--,,psalm xxxvii1 #eth ,verse4  
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,southwark3               ,,printed    
,,by ,r4 ,,thomas1 ,,red ,,lion         
,,street1 ,,borough4                    
#ahai4                                  

99 99 99 99 99          ,,an ,,address1 
c4                    ,but ,god meant it
 unto good4--,,gen4 l4 #bjth verse4     
,,the sacred pages are designed by the  
,god of all grace1 to reveal the        
glorious salvation of lost1 ruined1     
guilty man4  ,the adorable ,author of   
this inestimable blessing1 with its     
amazing contrivance1 and the means      
appointed for the knowledge and         
enjoyment of it--the eternal love of    
,god  as the source1 the finished work  
of ,christ1 ,god-,man ,mediator1 and the
  gracious energy and operations of the 
,holy-making ,spirit1 are the  appointed
 means for the accomplishment and       
application of this glorious  salvation4
  ,this is the subject matter of the    
,gospel1 as set forth in the  word1 and 
experienced by all who are taught of    
,god2 and while we would  adore the     
sacred ,trinity in ,unity1 for the      
revelation of his gracious  will1 in the
 matter of a sinner's salvation from    
merited ruin1 so we  desire1 at the same

 time1 to search the scriptures for all 
the suited  promises and encouragements 
therein given to the believer1 in his   
complicated trials2 and whatever may be 
the nature of those trials1 the  ,bible 
fully assures him1 that a covenant ,god 
has marked out his path in  love1 and in
 infinite wisdom2 and though the hand of
 ,god may lay heavy  upon him in deep   
afflictions1 and the dispensations of   
divine providence  may be very dark1 and
 his trials very severe1 it is a mercy  
to know1 to  believe1 and be enabled to 
rest on the ,staff of divine            
faithfulness2 ever  bearing in mind1    
that the grand design of every conflict1
 is to answer  the purposes of the      
divine glory2 and1 ultimately1 to bring 
the believer  to himself1 to great      
nearness and conformity to ,christ1 and1
 finally1 to  everlasting bliss4  ,for  
our light afflictions1 which are but for
 a  moment1 worketh for us an exceeding 
and eternal weight glory1 while we  look
 not at the things which are temporal4  

,the instrument a wise and gracious     
,father may use1 to answer these ends1  
may be singular2 and frequently they are
 those who are very dear to our  hearts1
 and nearly allied in nature1           
profession1 or friendship4  ,such1      
alas6 may be permitted to distress the  
mind and grieve the heart1 by the       
exercise of malice1 arising from some   
predominant evil disposition1 and       
frequently without any apparent cause1  
save that of envy2 but the ,lord  who   
has decreed to permit this1 has also    
decreed to over-rule it1 for our        
spiritual1 and sometimes even for our   
temporal good4  ,the ,lord very         
frequently makes the evil devised       
against us by ,satan and his emissaries1
  answer many valuable purposes2 and so 
wisely manages those things1 which      
appear to be the greatest evils1 to be  
the greatest advantage to us1 and  to   
effect his own glory in some mysterious 
way4  ,our mercy1 under every           
dispensation1 is to lay passive in his  

hand1 to believe in his love1 and  to be
 humbled before him1 well knowing that  
he worketh all things after  the counsel
 of his own will2 and while the mind is 
thus engaged to hear1  also on universal
 goodwill to those who may injure us1   
quite forgetting1  and freely forgiving 
them1 as we have been forgiven1 to      
conceal as much  as possible their      
infirmities1 even while we plead our own
 innocence2 and  in exculpating         
ourselves1 we cannot be too careful to  
avoid reflecting  upon those1 who have  
dealt so cruelly with us4  ,this is the 
spirit of  true religion and genuine    
christianity4    ,i am led into these   
observations from the history before us1
 an history  fraught with deep          
instruction to the ,lord's people4  ,few
 can read this  tale unmoved1 and all   
must see the propriety of ,solomon's    
remark3--,who can  stand before envy8   
,our first father ,adam could not1 nor  
pious ,abel1 nor  ,david2 yea1 the ,son 
of ,god himself fell a victim to this   

malign  influence1 this satanic         
principle2 and the history of the pious 
patriarch  ,joseph1 is another awful    
evidence of this truth4  ,i recommend   
this  history to you1 and hope you will 
gain much spiritual instruction2 but    
above all1 do not let this very         
interesting consideration pass          
unnoticed1  in almost every circumstance
 recorded of ,joseph1--that a greater   
than  ,joseph is here1 one infinitely   
more illustrious1 even the person of the
  dear and adorable ,redeemer1 the      
spiritual ,joseph1 the ,zaaph ,paaneah1 
the ,revealer of gospel secrets1 and the
 ,saviour of the ,land4  ,dear indeed   
to the ,father1 as the ,son of his love1
 and the ,object of his delight2 as     
,god1 as ,god-,man1 as the ,head of his 
,elect ,body2 and the ,mediator1        
,righteousness1 and ,glory of his       
,church2 while all the promises and     
prophecies1 shadows and types1 with     
every illustrious character in the  old 
,testament history1 pointed to him1 and 

shadowed him forth to the  faith of the 
,church before his coming2 and indicated
 his deep  humiliation1 and his final   
exaltation1 when angels and saints      
should  adore him1 in our nature1 as the
 ,lamb in the midst of the throne1 while
  ungodly sinners and devils should     
tremble at his presence4  ,his holy     
nature1 like ,joseph's coat of          
distinguished favour1 was sweetly and   
richly diversified with the various     
graces of the ,holy ,spirit4            
,commissioned by his ,father1 agreeable 
to ancient stipulation1 and  covenant   
agreement1 he came to seek the eternal  
felicity of his brethren4  ,but ,oh6 the
 dreadful blindness and enmity of the   
human heart1 even many  of those who    
were dear to him1 became his betrayers  
and murderers3 a  ,judah sold his       
brother for twenty pieces of silver1 and
 a ,judas sold his  master for ten more4
  ,he was tempted by the world1 but he  
resisted it3  falsely accused--he was   
imprisoned under the sentence of death1 

in all its  horrid forms2 and when on   
the ,cross his divine compassion1 and   
his awful  sovereignty1 was displayed in
 saving a fellow sufferer1 and hearing  
the  other in his awful state of        
rebellion4  ,the appointed hour of his  
exaltation was come1 and he was taken   
from prison and from death2 raised1     
spiritualized1 and conquering1 he again 
revealed what merciful and awful  events
 would take place in the land of ,judea3
 he was received up into  glory1 the    
human nature was exalted into high and  
glorious union with the  ,deity1 and as 
,god-,man1 to him every knee shall bow1 
and own him ,lord of  all4  ,the        
treasures of grace are in his hands1 for
 the benefit of his  people1 and to him 
all must come for the supply of their   
wants2 while his  adorable hand of      
awful1 but gracious providence1 executes
 the purposes of  his grace1 and brings 
the objects of his love1 and the        
purchase of his  blood1 to his feet4    
,convinced of their enmity1 envy and    

cruelty1  ignorance and contempt1 they1 
by the power of all-conquering grace1   
are  brought to seek his favour1 confess
 their sins1 supplicate his throne1  and
 obtain the pardon of their             
transgressions4  ,to these he makes     
himself  known1 and treats them as      
brethren and friends1 without upbraiding
 them4    ,this is compassion1 like a   
,god3 they are invited to dwell near    
him1 and  the spiritual good of all the 
land is before them1 as the earnest of  
that  glory which he has in reversion   
for them4  ,fresh scenes in providence  
are  opened to them2 trouble1 age1 or   
sickness comes on1 death and eternity is
  in view1 doubts and fears may again   
invade the mind1 in the bitter          
reflection of past sins4  ,the soul once
 more drops at the feet of ,jesus1  and 
once more petitions him to forgive and  
forget his folly--the bowels of  mercy  
yearn in the loving heart of our elder  
,brother1 over us1 and he  again renews 
the promise of pardon1 with power to the

 soul1 that we may  go down to the grave
 in peace4  ,and as it respects their   
conduct to him1  he calls up their      
attention to the design of ,god1 in all 
his  dispensations2 that ,god meant to  
glorify the riches of his grace1 and in 
their salvation to make himself a       
glorious name4  ,now1 therefore1 be  ye 
not grieved nor angry with yourselves2  
ye thought evil against me1  but ,god   
meant it unto good4    ,this is evident1
 when we take a view of the conduct of  
,joseph's brethren1  and the over-ruling
 their malice and cruelty1 to answer the
 appointed  end4  ,ah6 little did those 
persons know what ,god intended to do1  
when  they maliciously combined to      
destroy him2 but1 being restrained from 
their diabolical purpose1 they were     
directed1 or rather impelled1 by an     
unseen power1 to sell him for a slave4  
,but ,god meant to honour ,joseph1  to  
make his own name glorious in an        
idolatrous land2 to save many nations   
from ruin1 to preserve their very lives 

who had designed to take away  their    
brother's2 to the family of ,israel1    
till they should become a great  nation2
 to fulfil his own promises to ,abraham1
 through whom the ,messiah  was to      
spring4  ,thus ,god meant it unto good4 
,i proceed to illustrate this truth1 by 
a variety of important                  
circumstances4--,the dreadful fall of   
man effected by the malice of ,satan1   
who hated the image of ,god1 and envied 
the felicity of our first  parents--who 
meant to destroy them1 and eternally    
ruin all whom they  represented4        
,satan1 alas6 succeeded1 in a measure2  
but ,god1 who had  decreed to permit    
that wretch to manifest his malice      
against him1 decreed  also to over-rule 
it3 he meant it unto good1 even to      
magnify his grace1  display his power1  
testify his hatred to sin1 glorify his  
justice1  manifest his wisdom1 and shew 
his amazing love1 in the gift of his    
dear  ,son1 for their redemption from   
sin1 the worst of evils1 and from hell1 

the worst of miseries4  ,thus ,god meant
 it unto good4    ,this fact may be     
clearly seen in the amazing history of  
our dear ,lord4  ,god permitted ,satan  
to go out of his limitted bounds1 and to
 use his  utmost influence to destroy   
the ,prince of ,life4  ,he urged that   
blood-hound1 ,herod1 to murder the      
,babes of ,bethlehem1 in hopes of       
destroying the ,saviour of guilty man4  
,while he preached the gospel1  wrought 
miracles1 and was working out a         
righteousness for his dear  people1     
,satan stirred up the ,scribes and      
,pharisees1 the ,jews and ,priests1  to 
vent all the malice of their hearts     
against him1 and so hold him up to      
public contempt2 and in his last        
conflicts1 we may see the malice of men 
and devils1 by all the calumny and      
reproach1 with a load of inconceivable  
sorrow with which they loaded the       
immaculate ,lamb of ,god4  ,the malice  
of  the ,priests and ,doctors of the    
,law1 the weakness of ,pilate1 and the  

rage  of an easy persuaded              
populace--herein we see the malice of   
,satan3 he  thought evil against the    
,saviour1 but ,god meant it for good1   
and effected  only what he had before   
determined to bring about4  ,the        
intentions of the  enemy1 and the       
designs of ,jehovah1 were infinitely    
remote2 the ,god of all  grace meant to 
glorify all his sublime perfections1 by 
the obedience1  sufferings1 and         
conquests of the ,saviour--the          
magnifying his holy law1 the  satisfying
 his own justice1 and the redemption of 
his ,church2 the  overthrow of ,satan's 
empire1 and the downfal of sin and      
death--,thus ,god  meant it unto good4  
,we may trace this subject still        
further1 and take a view of the         
sufferings of the martyrs in every age1 
from the days of righteous ,abel1  to   
the last saint who may be called to seal
 the truth with his blood4  ,those who  
loved the ,saviour1 and loved not their 
lives unto death1  endured every species

 of persecution1 for the love they bore 
to truth1  having felt its power1 and   
enjoyed its reality1 were opposers of   
,satan's  kingdom1 and ,satan aimed to  
extirpated them from the earth3 but the 
more  the truth has been opposed1 the   
more the church has been oppressed1 the 
more it has ever prospered3 what their  
enemies aimed at1 was to degrade  the   
religion of the ,son of ,god1 to abolish
 the gospel1 and to ruin  immortal      
souls2 but in this they have ever       
failed1 and ever will1 because  ,god has
 meant the sufferings of his people1 and
 the malice of their  enemies1 to good4 
,the history of the experience of       
saints1 in all ages1  prove the same1 as
 may be seen in the trial of ,abraham1  
when called to  sacrifice his ,son2 and 
by faith he obtained this name1 the     
,father of the  faithful1 and the       
,friend of ,god4  ,in the deep trials1  
and accumulated  afflictions of ,job1   
,satan plotted against him1 to destroy  
him--he traduced  him as an hypocrite   

before ,god1 though he was the most     
sincere man then  living2 he extended   
his malice to the ruin of his family1 in
 order to  provoke him to curse ,god4   
,he stirred up his wife for the same    
tremendous  purpose1 and then set his   
brethren to accuse him of hypocrisy1 of 
living  in some secret sin1 alledging   
that such uncommon trials never befel a 
real saint1 as befel ,job2 but this was 
judging after the flesh1 for which  the 
,lord afterwards reproved them2 and     
though they were good men1 yet  they did
 not speak the thing that was right1    
concerning ,god or his  servant ,job4   
,yet these things were all meant by     
infinite wisdom for  good2 to answer    
,god's own gracious purposes1 to shew   
,job the desperate  evil of his own     
heart1 and the insufficiency of his own 
righteousness1 to  justify him before   
,god4    ,the oppression of the         
,israelites in ,egypt1 was intended to  
break the  backs and the hearts of      
,god's people1 but ,god intended to get 

himself a  glorious name in their       
deliverance1 and the overthrow of their 
enemies4  ,when ,korah1 ,dathan1 and    
,abiram conspired against the           
,priesthood1 this was  a sore affliction
 to ,moses and ,aaron2 their aim was to 
degrade the  priestly office1 and to    
bring the ,lord's own servants into     
contempt  amongst the people2 this was  
permitted1 as ,god intended to over-rule
 it1  that his servants might be more   
fully confirmed in their office1 to     
honor  his own sacred institutions1 and 
to give a public testimony of his       
approbation of his own servants4  ,this 
was for good to them4  ,the hand of  the
 ,lord was soon known among his         
servants1 and his indignation towards   
his enemies4  ,the history of ,david is 
another instance of this truth3  ,satan 
stirred up ,saul to hunt him as a       
,partridge upon the mountains2  ,absalom
 and ,ahithophel to plot against his    
life and his kingdom1 with  almost      
innumerable foes all his reign4  ,satan 

well knew that the ,messiah  was to come
 of the seed of ,david1 and it was at   
him he aimed1 in all the  afflictions of
 ,david3 but ,god meant it unto good1 to
 answer many valuable  ends4  ,the ,holy
 ,spirit kept up his mind in great      
spirituality1 and he was  then enabled  
to compose many blessed ,psalms1 which  
were1 doubtless1 a  peculiar blessing to
 the ,saviour1 on earth1 and has been a 
choice  treasure to his tried family    
ever since4    ,we might proceed to     
illustrate this subject by a cloud of   
witnesses1 but  you have the sacred     
pages in your hands1 and can read them  
for  yourselves4  ,i might mention the  
history of ,naomi and ,ruth1 of         
,mordecai  and ,esther1 and many more1  
but shall only remark1 that the falling 
out of  brethren1 and the divisions made
 in churches1 though designed by ,satan1
  to put a stop to the spread and force 
of truth1 yet1 it has frequently  been  
found to bring about some gracious      
purpose of ,god1 and the  dissemination 

of the very truth ,satan aimed to stop  
in its progress4  ,this truth is found  
also in the daily experience of ,god's  
children2 and  however numerous their   
foes1 and complicated their trials1 it  
is the work  and wisdom of their faith  
to look above them1 to the gracious     
purposes of  ,god1 in covenant love and 
wisdom1 who is working all things after 
the  counsel of his will4  ,it is true1 
the designs of ,god may be hid from the 
believer's view for a time1 and the     
trial may be long1 dark1 and            
distressing1 yet1 faith can rest upon   
this truth1 ,the ,lord hath his ways  of
 grace and mercy1 in the whirlwind and  
in the storm2 and though in  common     
trials we may be able to read ,god's    
designs1 and to trace the  footsteps of 
the flock1 in our painful experience1   
yet there are cases to  be found amongst
 the ,lord's people1 of an extraordinary
 nature1 wherein  we can only exclaim   
with the ,palmist1 ,thy way1 ,oh ,god1  
is in the  sea1 thy paths in the mighty 

waters1 and thy footsteps are not       
known4  ,deep in unfathomable mines4    
,yet1 as grace teaches1 and faith       
gathers strength1 notwithstanding all   
our rebellion1 self-will1 unbelief  and 
carnal sense1 suspicion1 doubts1 and    
fears1 we are brought to stand  still1  
and watch till the ,lord unfolds the    
mystery4  ,but        ,unbelief is sure 
to err1         ,and scan his work in   
vain1      ,god is his own interpreter1 
,and he will make it plain4    ,every   
thing that may befal the grace-taught   
christian1 from his new  birth1 till his
 glorification1 is designed to do him   
good2 yea1 from his  infancy to his     
death1 when called out of darkness into 
marvelous light4  ,satan begins to      
display his envy and malice in a more   
terrible way1 if  the good work is begun
 by a storm from ,sinai1 in a deep      
law-work on the  soul2 he will endeavour
 to drive the poor sinner to black      
despair2 and if  the work of ,god in the
 heart1 is by more gentle means1 he will

 try to  distress the soul1 because the 
work has not been1 in all respects1 like
  that which may be in another soul4    
,but even these1 and every future       
temptation1 ,god means for good2 they   
shew us the malice of ,satan1 they      
drive us as prisoners of hope to the    
strong hold for strength1 and make  us  
well acquainted with his devices4  ,when
 ,god hides his face1 he only  means to 
shew us what we are without ,christ2 and
 when any saint is  permitted to fall   
into sin1 ,god means to over-rule that  
fall1 to humble  the soul1 and shew it  
the need of divine keeping every moment4
  ,sin1 as  daily felt within1 and as   
perpetually trying the believer1 is to  
shew us  our daily need of the          
,atonement1 applied to the conscience2  
and our daily  infirmities shew us our  
need of a better1 yea1 of an infinitely 
meritorious righteousness1 wrought out  
by the dear ,god-,man ,mediator1 and    
imputed to all that believe in him1 for 
their complete justification  before    

,god4  ,the reluctance which we often   
find to prayer1 and every  other sacred 
duty1 is meant to shew us our need of   
quickening1 and  renewing grace2 and the
 accusations of the enemy are meant to  
shew us our  need of an advocate with   
the ,father4  ,god means that every loss
 and  cross1 every trial1 reproach1 and 
mortification1 whether deserved or not1 
shall wean us from the world1 beckon us 
home1 and make us sit loose from  every 
undue attachment to the creature2 and   
every grief1 occasioned by  the loss of 
those who are dear to our hearts1 is to 
shew us our need of  that ever-living1  
ever-loving1 and everlasting ,friend1   
even ,jesus4  ,the  prevalence of error1
 is to stir up our zeal1 to shew the    
reality of our  attachment and affection
 to ,christ and his cause4  ,all this   
blessed work  is carried on by the power
 of ,god the ,holy ,spirit1 in the      
hearts of those  who are loved with an  
everlasting love1 chosen in ,christ     
,jesus1 redeemed  by his blood1 kept by 

his powers and called by his grace4     
,well may the  apostle mark it down as a
 branch of spiritual knowledge to the   
,church1 in  these words--,and we know  
that all things work together for good1 
to  them that love ,god1 and are the    
called according to his purpose4    ,by 
way of concluding these general remarks1
 which are only designed to  stir up the
 mind by way of remembrance1 and not    
merely to inform you  7because you      
already know these things7 ,i would take
 this opportunity of  making only a few 
general observations on my late         
affairs--which may1  indeed1 be very    
uninteresting to others1 but it more    
especially relates  to the little circle
 of my own friends1 to whom ,god has    
made me useful1  and who esteem me only 
for the truth's sake4  ,i cannot1 ,i do 
not expect  any others to notice it1    
except as usual1 to turn it into        
ridicule1 and  go on to hold it up1 as  
well as myself1 to contempt2 but this ,i
 am so  inured to1 that ,i regard it    

not1 and though they ever intended much 
evil  against me1 ,i am fully persuaded 
that ,god means it for good4    ,in the 
first place1 ,i would bow my knees to   
the ,god of all grace and  mercy1 and   
adore him for his stupendous love and   
condescension1 his  power1 his          
faithfulness and truth1 which have been 
so long and so  conspicuously manifested
 to me1 during the whole of this long   
and heavy  affliction--the health of    
body1 the kind and miraculous           
providences1 which  have been so        
abundantly bestowed upon me--the        
comforts and multiplied  favors which   
have been showered upon one so unworthy 
as ,i am1 and while  deprived of the    
means of providence1 ,i look back with  
holy wonder1  rapture1 and surprize1 at 
the wonder-working hand of my good ,god 
and  ,father2 but above all1 for the    
aboundings of his grace in my soul1     
through the gracious teachings and      
leadings of his ,holy ,spirit1 that he  
has more than ever led me to see the    

evil1 the infinite evil there is in     
sin1 the depth of human depravity1 the  
justice of ,god in the damnation of     
sinners--his patience1 kind forbearance1
 long sufferings and amazing  mercy4    
,these subjects have deeply affected my 
heart1 and1 ,i hope1 yea1 ,i  am sure1  
have overcome1 melted me into godly     
sorrow1 and deep humility4  ,the        
glorious plan of salvation has more than
 ever been opened to my  wondering view1
 and the ever gracious ,almighty ,spirit
 has made me  savingly acquainted with  
the person1 the love1 and the work of   
the dear  ,redeemer1 with the stability 
of his everlasting covenant1 and the    
eternal  transactions of the ,holy      
,three2 before all worlds1 concerning   
the  complete salvation of guilty man4  
,i bless1 praise1 and adore the ,lord   
the ,holy ,spirit1 that he has ever     
thus visited my soul with his           
quickening1 renewing1 reproving1 and    
consoling influences2 that in the place 
of my captivity he has again and  again 

assured my soul of her part and lot in  
himself1 in the love of the  ,father1   
and in the doing and dying of the       
,saviour2 which has produced            
evangelical repentance1 increasing      
hatred to sin1 fervent love to ,god1    
and willing and cheerful obedience to   
his laws2 that he has supported my      
spirit in the deep affliction1 and      
brought me near to himself2 subdued     
what was wrong1 and led me to see       
wherein ,i have erred2 chastened1       
scourged1 afflicted1 tried1 and brought 
me low2 taught me many important        
lessons for my future benefit1 and      
glorified his own grace in my soul1  and
 has at last led me to say1 he has done 
all things well1 praise ye the  ,lord4  
,in the second place1 as is my duty to  
do1 ,i make this public  acknowledgement
 of my gratitude1 for the special1 long1
 unwearied1 and  unreserved kindness of 
my friends1 to me1 during this severe   
trial1 which  has lasted above three    
years4  ,the support of myself1 the     

support of my  children1 and the ability
 afforded me for the relief of some     
hundreds1  during my confinement1 and   
which relief and support has been owing 
to the  affection and sympathy of many  
females1 from the very best and noblest 
motives1 also from some gentlemen in the
 fear and love of ,god--men1 whose      
conduct and characters are agreeable to 
the word of ,god1 who have  accompanied 
their generosity with many prayers for  
the sanctification of  my troubles1 and 
which prayers have1 ,i believe1 been    
answered to my  felicity1 and1 ,i trust1
 the future joy of their hearts1 as     
influenced by  that holy charity that   
rejoiceth not in iniquity1 but rejoices 
in the  truth4  ,nor do ,i forget their 
kind exertions in the support of the    
cause  of ,god and truth1 within these  
walls1 though wrecked with dissentions1 
and injured by many1 who shall be       
nameless here1 as ,i hope to forgive    
every injury ,i have received4    ,i    
might here mention1 were it prudent1    

some particular persons1 whom the  ,lord
 has raised up to seek the welfare of   
this oppressed ,church--persons  whom ,i
 scarcely knew before1 but who have been
 the instruments of much  good to us4   
,i beg them to accept this my warmest   
gratitude and  acknowledgement4    ,in  
the next place1 ,i take this opportunity
 of returning my grateful  thanks to    
that large body of persons1 who1 though 
many were strangers to  me1 did1 so     
willingly1 and in so kind a manner1     
readily subscribe their  names to the   
petition1 which was presented to the    
,secretary of ,state for  my            
enlargement1 and which was refused1 for 
very judicious reasons2 the  good       
effects of which we hope shortly to see4
    ,while ,i am daily praying for      
grace1 to walk worthy the honour done   
me1 as  it respects my long afflictions 
and deep distresses of mind1 ,i shall   
not  work upon your feelings in the     
detail of them1 suffice it to say1 that 
,i  shall ever maintain that it was the 

most weak1 cruel1 and scandalous        
prosecution1 which ever took place in   
this highly favored land--had it  been  
justly merited1 these were1 besides the 
prosecution1 such  unparalleled         
cruelties exercised towards me1 as      
perhaps were never known  in the memory 
of man2 but ,i forgive the prosecutor1  
and consider him only  as the tool of a 
party1 and may ,god pardon his          
falsehoods4  ,but ,i cannot  easily     
forget the cruelty and joyful malice of 
little ,doeg the ,edomite1  ,saul and   
,nabal1 ,rabshakeh1 ,rab ,mag1 ,rab     
,saris1 ,samgar ,nebo1 and ,nergal      
,sharezer4    ,that the honorable and   
learned ,judge1 who tried the cause1    
should act as  he did1 was not to be    
wondered at1 when we reflect upon the   
misrepresentations which were made to   
him2 nor could any other verdict be     
expected from a jury1 however candid and
 impartial1 when we call to mind  the   
circulation of the many thousand        
scandalous pamphlets1 filled with  the  

most abominable falsehood--it is        
computed that above ten thousands  were 
circulated in a very few days1 and some 
thousands which contained a  hundred    
palpable lies--,what other verdict could
 naturally be expected8  ,i  beg leave1 
however to state1 that ,i am not the    
less affected to the ,law  of the ,land1
 because ,i have been so severely and   
cruelly handled2 the  situation ,i have 
just left has given me all opportunity  
to appreciate  their value4  ,i shall   
ever reverence and esteem them1 and     
endeavour to  obey them1 with the ,laws 
of ,christ2 and in reference to myself1 
in my own  individual circumstances1 ,i 
have paid the debt for the supposed     
violation  of them4  ,whether guilty or 
not1 is not now the point1 the debt of  
long affliction is paid1 not do ,i wish 
my most inveterate foes to pass  through
 three such painful years as ,i have4   
,i trust1 however1 they are  satisfied4 
,i only aimed at giving satisfaction1 by
 enduring the heavy  penalty2 ,i might  

have avoided it1 by quitting the        
country1 after paying  the bail1 which  
was but twenty pounds each2 but ,i was  
conscious ,i had  done nothing of a     
criminal nature1 that ,i was quite      
innocent of the  intent imputed to      
me--,why then should ,i gratify the     
wishes of certain  parties1 by flying   
from my country and friends8  ,the ,laws
 of the land  are satisfied2 the        
,prosecutor is satisfied1 although he   
had declared to  many that ,i was guilty
 of no assault whatever4  ,little ,doeg 
the  ,edomite1 is satisfied1 although ,i
 never injured him1 or spake            
disrespectfully of his family2 he is1 no
 doubt1 well pleased with the  long     
train of my inconceivable sorrows1 the  
tears and distresses of my  children1   
and the grief of thousands4  ,many      
connected with the business  are        
satisfied1 being well paid for their    
trouble4  ,envious ,preachers  are      
satisfied1 that my popularity and public
 usefulness is for ever at an  end--that

 part of the public1 who were           
prejudiced1 and who never took  the     
trouble to search into the business1 but
 guided by bare hear-say1  these have   
been satisfied1 that ,i have1 in their  
opinion1 met with my  deserts2 but      
those1 who best know about the affair1  
will never be  satisfied with the       
cruelty ,i have experienced4    ,i am   
satisfied that it was all divinely      
appointed1 that it has taught  me many  
important lessons1 and has produced the 
fruits of righteousness  to the glory of
 ,god4  ,the ,congregation is satisfied 
with my return to  them1 in hopes of    
being more blest than they were before1 
by subjects of  truth1 learnt in the    
school of deep affliction4  ,neighbours 
around1 who  esteem me as a neighbour1  
are satisfied with my return1 and my    
,family  particularly share in the      
satisfaction4  ,thus1 ,i hope1 as all   
have  satisfaction1 the matter of eleven
 years contention is at an end4         
,while ,i pray daily for grace to walk  

as becometh the gospel of ,christ1 in   
holiness and righteousness1 as an       
evidence of being delivered from my     
enemies1 and from the hand of those who 
unjustly hate me1 that while they       
intended me evil1 ,god meant it unto    
good4                                   
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,finis4