SERM. ordinary reason of God's making a difference in the LXXIII. discoveries of himself to be the previous disposition

1 Cor. xii.

7.

37.

Matt. xix.

27.

Luke xix.

8.9.

and behaviours of men toward God; and interpreta

tively toward our Lord himself.

That God doth commonly observe this method (plainly suitable to divine justice, wisdom, and goodness) to dispense the revelation of his truth according to men's disposition to receive it, and aptness to make Matt. iii. 8. a fruitful and worthy use of it, to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, as St. John Baptist spake; and to withhold it from those who are indisposed to admit it, or unfit to profit by it; we may from divers express passages and notable instances (beside many probable intimations) of scripture learn. We may Matt. iv.18. on the one hand observe, that those whom our SaJohn i. 24, viour did choose to call, were persons disposed easily upon his call to comply; to forsake their fathers and John i. 47. their nets; to leave their receipts of custom; to reMatt. xxi. linquish all, (relations, occupations, estates,) and to follow him; faithful Israelites, without guile, like Nathaniel, (that is, as is probably conjectured, St. Bartholomew;) men honestly devout, and charitable, like Zaccheus ; that he chose to converse with publicans and sinners, men apt to be convinced of their errors, and touched with the sense of their sins; apt to see their need of mercy and grace, and therefore ready to entertain the overtures of them; that he blesses God for revealing his mysteries to babes, (to innocent and well meaning, imprejudicate and uncorrupted persons,) such as if men were not, they Matt. xviii. could in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven, 3. xix. 14. or become Christians; those poor in spirit, of whom 1 Cor. i. 27. is the kingdom of heaven; those foolish things which God chooses as most fit objects of his mercy

Luke v. 31.

v. 3.

LXXIII.

xxiii. I.

and grace; that he enjoined his disciples, in their SERM. travels for the promulgation and propagation of the gospel, to inquire concerning the worthiness or fitness of persons, and accordingly to make more close applications to them: Into what city or village ye Matt. x. 11. enter, inquire who therein is worthy; and entering in abide there. Of this proceeding we have a notable instance in Cornelius, who for his honest piety (correspondent to the proportion of knowledge vouchsafed him) was so acceptable to God, that in regard thereto he obtained from him the revelation of truth in a peculiar and extraordinary manner. And St. Paul was another most remarkable example thereof; who for the like reason was so wonderfully called, as himself intimates, describing himself to have been Snλwτns Oεov, zealously affected toward God, accord- Acts xxii.3. ing to the righteousness in the law, blameless; one i that had continually behaved himself with all good phil. iii. 6. conscience toward God; who even in the persecution Acts xxvi. of God's truth did proceed with an honest meaning, Gal. i. 14. and according to his conscience, for which cause he saith, that God had mercy on him; foreseeing how willingly he would embrace the truth, and how earnestly promote it. We may also observe, how in the Acts of the Apostles the Holy Spirit commonly Acts xxvi. directed the apostles to such places, where a competent number of people were well disposed to receive the truth; who were εὔθετοι εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, Luke ix.62. well disposed to the kingdom of heaven, and consequently by God's foresight (τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον) ordained to have the word of eternal life (the rò Acts xiii. σwτnρion Oεou, as it is in a parallel place called) dis-xxviii. 28. covered to them: such people as the Bereans, men ingenuous and tractable; who consequently enter

9.

1 Tim. i. 3.

48. xvii. 11.

SERM. tained the word, μerà пάons прoluμías, with all LXXIII. promptitude and alacrity. To such persons God

9, 10.

sometimes by extraordinary revelation directed the apostles to preach; as to the Corinthians, in respect to whom the Lord spake to St. Paul in a vision, sayActs xviii. ing, Fear not, but speak, and be not silent; for I am with thee, because noλús éσtí μos λaòs, there is for me much people in this city; much people whom I see disposed to comply with my truth. So in behalf Acts xvi. 9.of the Macedonians, avýρ тis Maкedwv, a certain man of Macedonia, was in a vision seen to St. Paul, exhorting him and saying, Passing into Macedonia, help us. Thus on that hand doth God take special care that his truth be manifested to such as are fitly qualified to embrace it and use it well: thus is God ready to make good that answer of Pothinus (bishop of Lions, and immediate successor to St. Irenæus) to the prefect, who asking him who was the Christians' Euseb. v. 1. God, was answered, 'Eav is abios, yvwon, If thou be worthy, thou shalt know; thus, as the Wise Man Wisd.vi. 16. divinely saith, the divine Wisdom, ağíous avtñs πepiépXeTaι Tovoa, goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her; sheweth herself favourable unto them in their ways, and meeteth them in every thought.

And on the other hand, that God withholds the special discoveries of his truth, upon account of men's indispositions and demerits, may likewise very plainly appear. We may suppose our Lord to have observed himself what he ordered to his disciples; Matt. vii. Not to give that which is holy to dogs, nor to cast their pearls before swine, (not to expose the holy and precious truth to very lewd and fierce people, who would snarl at it and trample upon it:) we may allow God in his dispensation of his truth and

6.

LXXIII.

Matt. x. II.

57, 58.

grace to do what he bids the apostles to do: before SERM. he enters into any house, or applies himself to any person, to examine whether the house or person be 'ETT. worthy, that is, willing to receive him, and apt to treat him well; if not, to decline them. Our Lord, Matt. xiii. we see, did leave even his own country, seeing men there were not disposed to use him with due honour and regard; seeing they were possessed with vain prejudices, apt to obstruct the efficacy of his divine instructions and miraculous performances; so that he was not likely (according to the ordinary way of divine providence) to produce any considerable effect towards their conversion. He could not, it is said, do many miracles there, because of their unbelief; he could not, that is, according to the most just and wise rules he did observe, he would not do them; because he perceived the doing them would not conduce to any good purpose; that they were not apt to look upon those works as the effects of divine power and goodness, performed for their benefit, (for inducing them to faith and repentance,) but rather that the doing them would expose God's mercy to contempt or reproach, at least to neglect or disregard. Hence our Saviour declined conversing with persons indisposed to (those xiko, who cannot 1 Cor. ii. δέχεσθαι τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος) receive benefit by his instruction and example; to grow wiser or better by his conversation; as the Pharisees and Scribes; men Matt. xxi. prepossessed with corrupt opinions and vicious affec-31. tions, obstructive to the belief of his doctrine and observance of his laws; and worldly persons; proud and self-conceited, crafty and deceitful, covetous, ambitious, and worldly men, incorrigibly tinctured with that opóμa rs σapkos, carnal wisdom and affec- Rom. viii.

14.

7.

SERM. tion; which is enmity to God; so that it is not LXXIII. subject to the law of God, nor can be; inextricably James iv.4. engaged in the friendship of the world, which is enmity to God: to such men the gospel would cer

I John ii.

15.

tainly be a scandal or a folly: they would never be 1 Cor. i. 23. able to relish or digest the doctrine of purity, selfdenial, patience, and the like doctrines opposite to Mat. xi. 25. carnal sense and conceit which it teacheth. From such wise and prudent men (conceited of their little

wisdoms, and doting upon their own fancies) God did conceal those heavenly mysteries, which they 1 Cor. i. 26. would have despised and derided: those many wise

James ii. 5. according to the flesh, many powerful, many noble,

7.

God did not choose to call into his church. Accordingly we may observe in the history of the apostles, that God's Spirit did prohibit the apostles passing through some places, it discerning how unsuccessful (at those seasons, in those circumstances, according to those dispositions of men) their preaching would Acts xvi. 6, be: Passing through Phrygia and Galatia, being hindered by the Spirit to speak the word in Asia; coming to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. Moreover there is plainly the like reason why God should withhold his saving truth from some people, as why he should withdraw it from others; when it is abused or proves fruitless: but of such withdrawing we have many plain instances, attended with the declaration of the reasons of them: our Lord proMatt. xxi. phesied thus concerning the Jews; I say unto you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation doing the fruits thereof; they, when our Saviour would have gathered them under his wings, wilfully refusing.

43.