The Tenth Direction

I beseech you observe this though you should forget many others. Make a good interpretation of God's ways towards you, if there can be any good interpretation made of God's ways towards you, make it. You think it much if you have a friend that should always make bad interpretations of your ways towards him, you would take that ill. If you should converse with people that you cannot speak a word in their hearing but they are ready to make an ill interpretation of it, and take it in an ill sense, you would think their company to be very tedious to you. It is very tedious to the Spirit of God when we make such ill interpretations of His ways towards us. If God deals with us otherwise than we would have Him, if there can be any sense worse than other made of it, we will be sure to make it. As thus, when an affliction does befall you, there may be many good senses made of God's works towards you, you should think thus. It may be God intends only to try me by this. It may be God saw my heart too much set upon the creature, and so intends to show me what there is in my heart. It may be that God saw that if my estate did continue I should fall into sin, that the better my estate were the worse my soul would be. It may be God intended only to exercise some grace. It may be God intends to prepare me for some great work which He has for me. Thus you should reason.

But we on the contrary make bad interpretations of God's thus dealing with us, and say, God does not mean this, surely the Lord means by this to manifest His wrath and displeasure against me, and this is but a furtherance of further evils that He intends towards me. Just as they did in the wilderness; God has brought us hither to slay us. This is the worst interpretation that possibly you can make of God's ways. Oh why will you make these worst interpretations when there may be better? In 1 Corinthians 13:5, when the Scripture speaks of love (says the text) Love thinks no evil. Love is of that nature that if there may be ten interpretations made of a thing, if nine of them be naught and one good, Love will take that which is good and leave the other nine. And so though there might be ten interpretations presented to you concerning God's ways towards you, and if but one be good and nine naught, you should take that one that is good and leave the other nine. I beseech you consider, God does not deal by you as you deal with Him. Should God make the worst interpretation of all your ways towards Him, as you do of His towards you, it would be very ill with you. God is pleased to manifest His love thus to us, to make the best interpretations of what we do, and therefore it is, that God does put a sense upon the actions of His people that one would think could hardly be. As thus, God is pleased to call those perfect that have but any uprightness of heart in them, He accounts them perfect. Be you perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect; uprightness in God's sense is perfection. Now alas when we look into our own hearts we can scarce see any good at all there, and yet God is pleased to make such an interpretation as to say, it is perfect. When we look into our own hearts we can see nothing but uncleanness. God, He calls you His Saints, He calls the meanest Christian that has the least grace under the greatest corruption, His Saint. You say, we cannot be Saints here, but yet in God's esteem we are Saints. You know the usual title the Holy Ghost gives (in several of the Epistles) to those that had any grace, any uprightness, is, To the Saints in such a place. You see what an interpretation God puts upon them, they are Saints to Him, and so I might name in diverse other particulars. God makes the best interpretation of things, if there be abundance of evil and a little good, God rather passes by the evil and takes notice of the good. That sometimes I have made use of, which is a very observable place in Peter, concerning Sarah. Sarah had a speech to her husband in Genesis 18:12. She called her husband lord, but there was but that one good word in an ill speech, it was an unbelieving speech. But yet when the Apostle mentions that speech in 1 Peter 3:6 the Holy Ghost leaves all the ill, and commends her for calling her husband lord, for putting a reverend title upon her husband. Thus how graciously does God deal with us? If there be but one good word among a great many ill, what an interpretation God makes! So should we do, if there be but any one good interpretation that we can make of a thing we should rather make use of the good one than of the ill. Oh my brethren, (I would I could now speak only to such as are godly) retain good thoughts of God, take heed of judging God to be a hard Master, make good interpretations of His ways, and that's a special means to help you to contentment in all your courses.

Please take note of this, even if you forget much else that has been said. Put the best possible interpretation on God's ways toward you — wherever a good interpretation can be made, make it. You would think it unfair if a friend constantly put the worst construction on everything you did toward him. If you spent time with people who twisted every word you said into something negative, you would find their company exhausting. It is very grievous to the Spirit of God when we do the same to Him — putting the worst interpretation on everything He does toward us. When God deals with us differently from what we wanted, we tend to find the worst possible meaning in it. When affliction comes, many good interpretations of God's work are available to you. You could think: perhaps God is only testing me by this. Perhaps God saw that my heart was too set on earthly things, and He intends to show me what is in my heart. Perhaps God saw that if my prosperity continued, I would fall into sin — that the better my outward condition, the worse my soul would be. Perhaps God intends to exercise some particular grace in me. Perhaps God is preparing me for some greater work He has for me. This is how you should reason.

Instead, we do the opposite: we put the worst interpretation on God's dealings and say, "Surely the Lord is showing His wrath and displeasure against me, and this affliction is only the beginning of worse things to come." Just as Israel did in the wilderness: "God has brought us here to kill us." That is the worst possible interpretation of God's ways. Why make the worst interpretation when a better one is available? In 1 Corinthians 13:5, speaking of love, Scripture says: "Love thinks no evil." Love is such that if ten interpretations of a thing are possible — nine bad and one good — love will take the good one and leave the other nine. So even if ten interpretations of God's ways toward you presented themselves, and nine were bad and one was good, you should take the good one and leave the nine. Consider this: God does not deal with you the way you deal with Him. If God put the worst interpretation on all your ways toward Him, as you do on His toward you, things would go very badly for you. God shows His love to us by putting the best interpretation on what we do. He calls those who have even a little genuine uprightness of heart "perfect." "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" — in God's accounting, uprightness is perfection. When we look into our own hearts, we can barely see any good at all — and yet God is pleased to call it perfect. When we look inward, we see nothing but corruption. Yet God calls us His saints — He calls even the weakest Christian, with the least grace under the greatest corruption, His saint. We may say we cannot be saints in this life — but in God's sight we are. You know how the Holy Spirit addresses those with any grace, any uprightness, throughout the epistles: "To the saints" in such and such a place. See what interpretation God puts on them — they are saints to Him. God makes the best interpretation of things: where there is much evil and a little good, God passes over the evil and takes notice of the good. Consider what we see in Peter's letter regarding Sarah. Sarah spoke to her husband in Genesis 18:12 — and it was an unbelieving speech, with only one good element: she called her husband "lord." Yet when the apostle references that speech in 1 Peter 3:6, the Holy Spirit passes over all the bad and commends her for giving her husband a title of respect. How graciously God deals with us! If there is even one good word among many bad ones, what an interpretation God makes of it. We should do the same: if there is any good interpretation available, take it rather than the bad one. My brothers and sisters — I wish I could now speak only to the godly — keep good thoughts of God. Guard against judging God to be a hard Master. Put good interpretations on His ways. That is a special means of helping you toward contentment in all of life.