44. glorious Gospel hath not shined to them, (πãs év éтúpλwσsv; SERM. how then did God blind them? faith St. Chryfoftom,) oủx LXXIII. ἐνεργήσας εἰς τοῦτο, ἄπαγε· not by any eficacy of his upon them toward that ; fe on that ; ἀλλ ̓ ἀφεὶς καὶ συγχωρήσας, but by permiffion and conceffion; for fo the Scripture is wont to fpeak; Επειδὰν γὰρ αὐτοὶ ἠπίστησαν πρῶτοι, καὶ ἀναξίους ἑαυτοὺς κατεσκεύασαν τῷ ἰδεῖν τὰ μυστήρια, καὶ αὐτὸς λοιπὸν εἴασεν· ἀλλὰ τί ἔδει ποιῆσαι ; πρὸς βίαν ἕλκειν, καὶ ἐκκαλύπλειν μὴ βουλομένοις ἰδεῖν ; ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἂν κατεφρόνησαν, καὶ οὐκ ἂν εἶδον. Seeing, faith he, they disbelieved firft, and conftituted themfelves unworthy to see the myfteries, even God at last let them alone; for what should he have done? Should he have drawn them violently, and discovered it to them being unwilling to fee? They would then have more despised it, and not have feen it. God is ever willing and ready to Luke xix. dispense his mercies and favours, but he is not wont to do 2 Cor. vi. 2. it extraordinarily, (or befide the course of his ordinary pro- Rom. xiii. vifion,) but in a proper and fit season, (in that xaipòs evπpóoSEXTOS, acceptable time and day of falvation, when he seeth men capable of receiving them;) which feafon commonly dependeth upon man's will and choice, or the results of them. Καθόλυ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς οἶδεν τούς τε ἀξίους τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ Clem. μή· ὅθεν τὰ προσήκοντα ἑκάςοις δίδωσιν. Σωτὴρ γάρ ἐσιν· οὐχὶ ρ. 105. τῶν μὲν, τῶν δ ̓ οὐ πρὸς δὴ ὅσον ἐπιτηδειότητος ἕκαςος εἶχεν, τὴν ἑαυτῶ διένειμεν εὐεργεσίαν· for faith Clemens Alex. in his 7th of the Stromata, where he clearly and fully affirms our present doctrine) Our Lord is not the Saviour of fome and not of others: but, according as men are fitly difpofed, he hath diftributed his beneficence to all. St. Auguftine Quæft. 68. himself fomewhere fpeaketh no lefs; or rather more: Tom. iv. Præcedit aliquid in peccatoribus, faith he, quo, quamvis Part. i. nondum fint juftificati, digni efficiantur juftificatione: et occultiffiidem præcedit in aliis peccatoribus quo digni fint obtufione. mis meritis, But, 11. Strom. vii. P. e Quæft.83. Venit de &c. Ibid. 3. If all these confiderations do not thoroughly fatisfy us concerning the reafon of God's proceedings in this cafe, we may confider that God's providence is infcrutable and impenetrable to us; that, according to the Pfalmist, as God's mercy is in the heavens, and his faithfulness Pfal. xxxvi. 6. ŞERM. reacheth to the clouds; fo his righteousness is like the great LXXIII. mountains, (too high for our reafon to climb,) and his 33. judgments, Toλλǹ abuσσos, a great abyfs, too deep for our feeble understanding to fathom; that his ways are more fubtile and spiritual than to be traced by our dim and grofs fight. So upon contemplation of a like cafe, although, as it seems, hardly so obscure or unaccountable as this, the cafe concerning God's conditional rejection of that people, whom he in a special manner had so much Rom. xi. and fo long favoured, St. Paul himself doth profefs. That therefore although we cannot fully refolve the difficulty, we notwithstanding without distrust should adhere to those pofitive and plain declarations, whereby God representeth 2 Pet. iii. 9. himself seriously designing and earnestly defiring, That all men fhould come to the knowledge of the truth; that none fhould perish, but that all fhould come to repentance; not doubting but his declared mind, and his fecret providence, although we cannot thoroughly discern or explain their confiftency, do yet really and fully confpire. But no farther at this time. SERMON LXXIV. THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION I TIM. iv. 10. -The living God; who is the Saviour of all men, efpecially of thofe that believe. 8. As our Saviour was fuch to all men by his doctrine, SERM. or the general discovery of all faving truth; fo may he LXXIV. be esteemed fuch in regard to his exemplary practice; whereby upon the open ftage of the world, and in the common view of all that would attend unto him, he did represent a living pattern of all goodness; by imitating which, we may certainly attain falvation. He that will confider his practice fhall find it admirably fitted for general inftruction and imitation; calculated for all places and all forts of people; fuited to the complexions, to the capacities, to the degrees, to the callings of all men; so that every fort of men may from it draw profitable direction, may in it find a copy, even of his particular behaviour: for he was a great Prince, illuftrious in birth, excellent in glory, and abounding in all wealth; yet was born in obfcurity, lived without pomp, and feemed to poffefs nothing; fo teaching men of high rank to be fober, mild, and humble; not to reft in, not to regard much, not to hug and cling to the accommodations and fhows of worldly state; teaching those of mean degree to be patient, content, and cheerful in their ftation. He was exceedingly wife and knowing, without bound SERM. or measure; yet made no oftentation of extraordinary LXXIV. knowledge, of sharp wit, of deep fubtilty; did not vent 15. high, dark, or intricate notions; had in his practice no reaches and windings of craft or policy; but was in his doctrine very plain and intelligible, in his practice very open and clear; fo that what he commonly faid or did, not only philofophers and ftatesmen, but almost the fimpleft idiots might eafily comprehend; fo that those might thence learn not to be conceited of their superfluous wisdom; these not to be difcouraged in their harmless ignorance; both having thence an equally fufficient inftruction in all true righteousness, a complete 2 Tim. iii. direction in the paths to happiness, being thereby σopicóuevoi eis owτnpíav, made wife and learned to falvation. He did not immerse himself in the cares, nor engage himself into the bufineffes of this world; yet did not withdraw himself from the company and conversation of men: he retired often from the crowd, that he might converse with God and heavenly things; he put himself into it, that he might impart good to men, and benefit the world, declining no fort of society; but indifferently converfing with all; difputing with the doctors, and eating with the publicans; whence thereby both men of contemplative and quiet difpofitions or vocations, and men of busy spirits, or of active lives, may be guided respectively; those not to be morofe, fupercilious, rigid, contemptuous toward other men; these not to be so poffeffed or entangled with the world, as not to reserve some leifure for the culture of their minds, not to employ fome care upon the duty of piety and devotion; both may learn, whether in private retirements, or in public conversation and employment, especially to regard the service of God and the benefit of men: thus was the example of our Lord accommodated for all men; especially conducting them in the hardest and roughest parts of the way leading to blifs, the acclivities and afperities of duty; felf-denial, or neglect of worldly glory and fleshly pleasure, patience, humility, general charity; fhewing us the poffibility of performing fuch duties, and encouraging us thereto. Through these Zwns. Acts iii. 15, Pet. v. 4. σέφανον. Rev. ii. 10. difficult and dangerous paffages (as a refolute chieftain of SERM. life) he undauntedly marched before us, charging, beat- LXXIV. ing back, and breaking through all oppofite forces, all'Agnyis enemies, all temptations, all obftacles; enduring painfully the most furious affaults of the world; boldly withstanding and happily conquering the moft malicious rage of hell; fo that victory and falvation we shall be certain of, if we pursue his steps, and do not bafely (out of faintness 1 Pet. ii. 21. or falfehood) defert fo good a leader; we fhall not fail of the unfading crown, if with patience we run the race that Heb. xii. 2. is fet before us, looking unto the Captain and Perfecter of 'Apagávciour faith, Jefus, who, for the joy propofed unto him, en- voy rus doğus dured the cross, defpifed the fhame, and hath fat down atsigaves the right hand of the throne of God. Would it not raife as. and inflame any courage to fee his commander to adven- Jam. i. 12. ture fo boldly upon all hazards, to endure fo willingly all hardships? Whom would not the fight of fuch a fore-s. runner animate and quicken in his course; who, by running in the straight way of righteousness with alacrity and conftancy, hath obtained himself a most glorious crown, and holdeth forth another like thereto, for the reward of those who follow him? Now as our Lord's doctrine, fo did his example, in the nature and defign thereof, respect and appertain to all men, it being also like the light of heaven, a common spectacle, a public guide, to guide our steps in the way of peace: if it do not appear fo, if it do not effectually direct all, it is by accident and beside God's intention; it is by the fault of them who should propound it, or of them who have not eyes fit or worthy to behold it; briefly, what was faid concerning the univerfal revelation of Chriftian doctrine may be applied to Chrift's practice, 9. Jefus is the Saviour of all men, as having combated and vanquished all the enemies of man's welfare and happinefs; difpoffeffing them of all their pretences and ufurpations over man, difarming them of all their power and force against him; enabling us to withstand and overcome them, Man's falvation hath many adverfaries of different nature and kind; fome directly oppugning it, fome for Heb. vi. 20. |