The irony of the Master
After serving his master, John Marrant wants to leave. The master offers him everything including money and other luxuries to remain with him but he refuses. Being a slave, it is ironic that John refuses the advances of such a good-hearted master. This is an opportunity looked forward to by many slaves but the author gives it away. Otherwise, he is going to be traded with worse masters afterward. He writes:
“The time I had engaged to serve my master being expired, he persuaded me to stay with him, and offered me anything, or any money, not to leave him.” John Marrant later regrets his decision not to stay with the master because he is now looking forward to being traded to any other master as long as he earns a living.
The Irony of the Sabbath Day
The title of the book is "Lords Wonderful Dealings" but John Marrant seems to act in the opposite direction. After he leaves his first master and goes to live with his mother in the village, he goes fishing and hunting during the Sabbath Day instead of going to church. According to the Seventh Day Adventists, it is against God's wishes for one not to attend church more so during the Sabbath. The author says:
“His entreaties proving ineffectual, I quitted his service, and visited my mother in the country; with her I stayed for two months, living without God or hope in the world, fishing, and hunting in the Sabbath Day."
The Irony of Medication
When John Marrant is brought home after he fainted in a church service, his sister calls a doctor who prescribes medication for him. The doctor gives instructions to his sister on how the medication is to be administered. Ironically, John refuses to take the medication hoping for the Lord's intervention. He forgets that the doctors treat and then the Lord heals. He writes:
“She sent for two other doctors, but no medicine they prescribed I could take. No, no; it may be asked, a wonderful spirit who can cure? As well as who can bear?”
The Irony of the Church Minister
The author refuses to take any medication and believes it is God who can cure. However, it is ironic that when the minister comes to check on him, he says that his coming is making his situation worse. Initially, he believes that it is only God through his servants who can cure but ironically turns around to say that the presence of God's sent minister is making his situation even worse. He says:
“On the fourth day, the minister Mr. Whitefield had desired to visit me came to see me, and being directed upstairs, when he entered the room, I thought he made my distress much worse.”
The Irony of Rejection
John Marrant is rejected by his people starting from his mother and the community because of his Christian values. Every member of the community persecutes him to the extent that he desires to commit suicide. This is ironic because it should be the contrary since he does no wrong to the community. A saved man is God-fearing and does the right things all the time. However, despite doing what is right according to God's doctrines, John is persecuted by the people who should comfort and support him. He writes:
“Upon this, I went home, and finding them all hardened, or worse than before, and everybody saying I was crazy; but a little sister I had, about nine years of age, used to cry when she saw them persecute me, and continuing about five weeks and three days, I thought it was better for me to die than to live among such people.”
