Great Mystery
These God will have in the church together—the mystery of godliness and ungodliness, of Christ and antichrist. Why? That the one may be a foil to the other. And how shall men magnify, and relish, and highly esteem this mystery I speak of, except they look by way of opposition to the mystery of antichrist, and see how contrary those courses are?
Alas! the reason why they so oppose as they do the gospel, and the purity of it, is, because they are contrary mysteries. That must be maintained by ignorance. The gospel, that is a mystery, that must be revealed; and God hath ordained that it should be revealed more and more. Therefore those that would second popery, that are friends of that, they are enemies to the gospel, and to the publishers of it; they cannot carry their conveyance handsomely.* All popish spirits are enemies to the mystery of godliness, because where this is, it blows upon the 'mystery of iniquity;' as indeed the overthrowing of error is the discovering of it; for none would willingly be cozened. Popery must be discovered with the breath of Christ; that is, with a mystery which is too sharp a breath for his mystery to feel. Therefore blame them not, that they are so bitter opposites to the publishing of divine truths; the one mystery consumes the other. As Moses' rod devoured all the other rods, so truth eats up all opposite errors whatsoever. See but in experience. Wheresoever truth is planted—the gospel and ordinances, and religion of God—how Satan 'falls down like lightning,' and antichrist falls, Luke 10:18. But this by the way, to give a lustre to the other. There are many other mysteries besides the mystery of iniquity in popery. Every trade hath its mystery; and there are mysteries and secrets of state. But this is the mystery of all mysteries, that we should give ourselves most of all to understand.
'Great Mystery.'
1. That is the adjunct. It is a 'great mystery.' And here I might be endless; for it is not only great as a mystery—that is, there is much of it concealed—but it is a great and excellent mystery, if we regard whence it came, from the bosom of God, from the wisdom of God. If we regard all that had any hand in it—God the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, the angels attending upon the church; the apostles, the penmen; preachers and ministers, the publishers of it—it is a 'great mystery.'
2. If we regard the end of it, to bring together God and man—man that was fallen, to bring him back again to God, to bring him from the depth of misery to the height of all happiness; a 'great mystery' in this respect.
3. Again, It is 'great,' for the manifold wisdom that God discovered in the publishing of it, by certain degrees: first, in types, then after he came to truths; first, in promises, and then performances. First, the Jews were the church of God; and then comes in the Gentiles: a sweet, manifold, and deep wisdom. It was a great mystery in the manner of conveying of it from time to time, from the beginning of the world.
4. Again, It is a great mystery, for that it works. For it is such a mystery as is not only a discovery of secrets, but it transforms those that know it and believe it. We are transformed by it to the likeness of Christ, of whom it is a mystery; to be as he is, full of grace. It hath a transforming, changing power. It gives spiritual sight to the blind, and spiritual ears to the deaf, and spiritual life to the dead.
Whatsoever Christ did in the days of his flesh to the outward man, that he doth by his Spirit to the inward man, even by the publication of this mystery; wonders are wrought by it daily.
5. If we consider any part of it: Christ, or his church, or anything, it is a mystery, and a 'great mystery.' It must needs be great, that the very angels desire to pry into, 1 Pet. 1:12.
6. If we regard those that could not pry into it; as it is 1 Cor. 2:6, 8, that the wise men of the world understood nothing of it: 'Where is the philosopher?' &c. There are no parts in the world that could ever enter into this. It is above the sharpest wit, the deepest judgment, the reachingest head. They are all nothing here. It is a 'great mystery.' It is a depth above all depths of natural parts whatsoever. It is a wondrous depth. It hath all dimensions, 'the depth and height of the love of God in Christ,' and the 'unsearchable riches of Christ,' saith the apostle Paul.* 7. Again, it is a great mystery, because it makes us great. It makes times great, and the persons great that live in those times. What made John Baptist greater than all the prophets and others in those times? Because he saw Christ come in the flesh. What made those after John Baptist greater than he? They saw Christ ascend gloriously; that John Baptist did not. So persons and times are more or less glorious, as they have greater or less manifestation of this mystery. Great is that mystery itself that makes all things great; that makes times and persons great. What made the times of Christ so great? 'Happy are the eyes that see that that your eyes see, and the ears that hear that that your ears hear,' Mat. 13:16. Why? Because the Messiah was come. What made the second temple greater than the first? The first, which was Solomon's temple, was more magnificent than the other. Oh it was because Christ came in the time of the second temple and taught there. So it is the manifestation of Christ's truth that makes times and places glorious. Will he not make the soul glorious then where he is? Certainly he doth. What makes these times glorious? But that we have unthankful, dark hearts, or else we
would acknowledge they are blessed times that all of us have lived in under the gospel. What makes them so glorious? The glorious gospel that shines in these times out of Egyptian darkness of popery. Little thankful are we for it, and that threateneth a removal of the gospel; for, being great things, and disesteemed, and undervalued—men living under the gospel as bad as under paganism—will God continue these great things among us, to be thus vilified and disesteemed?
Let us take heed therefore that we set a higher price on religion. It is a mystery, and a great mystery; therefore it must have great esteem.
It brings great comfort and great privileges. It is the 'word of the kingdom.' It is a 'glorious gospel;' not only because it promiseth glory, but it makes the soul glorious, more excellent than other persons. Let us raise a greater esteem in our hearts of this excellent truth. It is a 'great mystery.'
8. Again, It is a great mystery, if compared to all other mysteries.
Creation was a great mystery, for all things to be made out of nothing, order out of confusion; for God to make man a glorious creature of the dust of the earth, it was a great matter. But what is this in comparison for God to be made man? It was a great and wondrous thing for Israel to be delivered out of Egypt and Babylon; but what are those to the deliverance out of hell and damnation by the gospel? What are the mysteries of nature, the miracles of nature, the loadstone, &c., to these supernatural mysteries? There are mysteries in the providence of God, in governing the world, mysteries of Satan, mysteries of iniquity, that deceive the world. 'The wise men of the world all wonder at the beast,' Rev. 13:3, a great mystery. But what are all mysteries, either of nature or hell, to this
'great mystery'? I might be endless in the point.
Use 1. First of all, learn hence from blessed St Paul how to be affected when we speak and think of the glorious truth of God; that we should work upon our hearts, to have large thoughts and large expressions of it. St Paul thought it not sufficient to call it a mystery, but a great mystery. He doth not only call it 'riches,' but unsearchable riches.' So when he speaks of the fruits of the gospel, what strange words the Scripture hath: 'Peace of conscience that passeth understanding,'
Philip. 4:7; and, 'joy unspeakable and glorious,' 1 Peter 1:8; 'we are brought out of darkness into marvellous light,' 1 Peter 2:9; as if all things were full of wonder in the gospel, both the thing and the fruits of it. Surely all that have the same spirit, and have their eyes open to see in any measure these excellent mysteries, they are in some measure so disposed as the blessed apostle was; that is, they have full hearts, and answerable to that, they have full expressions. Out of the riches and treasure of the heart the mouth will speak. Therefore let us be ashamed of the deadness, and dulness, and narrowness of our hearts, when we are to conceive or speak of these things, and labour to have full expressions of them.
(1.) And that we may the better do this, let us labour to have as deep conceits in our understandings as we can of that mystery of sinfulness that is in us, and that mystery of misery. It is not to be conceived the cursed state we are in by nature. It is not to be conceived what a depth of corruption is in this heart of ours, and how it issues out in sinful thoughts, and speeches, and actions every day.
Indeed, there is a height, and breadth, and depth of corruption in man's heart; and there is a height, and breadth, and depth of the misery of man. For as it is said of this blessed estate, 'neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive the things that God hath prepared for those that love him,' Isa. 64:4. So indeed, neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive the misery that
men are in by nature; only there are some flashes of conscience, to give a little taste in this world, of that misery that men in the state of nature fall into, when they go hence. Therefore the more clear knowledge we have of the mystery of corruption—how prone our hearts are to deceive us—and of the great misery we are in by nature, the more we shall wonder at the boundless and bottomless goodness of God in the mystery of our salvation. The one will sharpen the appetite of the other. And, indeed, we ought to have views of these two every day, to look to the state we are brought out of if we believe.
If we be not yet in the state of grace, consider but what we are, how little there is between us and eternal destruction, that we are ready to drop into hell irrecoverably; and withal, consider again the infinite love of God in Jesus. These be things fit to take up our thoughts.
(2.) Again, If we would have large and sensible thoughts and apprehensions of these things, such as the blessed apostle, let us set some time apart to meditate of these things, till the heart be warmed; let us labour to fasten our thoughts, as much as we can, on them every day; to consider the excellency of this mystery of religion in itself, and the fruit of it in this world and in the world to come. It is a good employment; for from thence we shall wonder at nothing in the world besides. What is the reason that men are taken up with admiration of petty mysteries, of poor things? Because their thoughts were never raised up to higher considerations. A wise man will wonder at nothing, because he knows greater things than those objects presented to him, he hath seen greater measures than those; so it is with a wise Christian. Do you think he will stand wondering at great and rich men, at great places and honours, and such things?
Indeed, he knows how to give that respect that is due. Alas!* he hath had greater matters in the eye of his soul, and hath what is great in this world to him, to whom the world itself is not great. What is great in this world to him to whom Christ is great; to whom heaven and
the mysteries of religion are great? All things else are little to him to whom these things are great. Christ took up his disciples, when they said, 'O, Master, what kind of stones are here?' Here are 'goodly stones and buildings' indeed. 'Oh,' saith Christ, 'are these the things you wonder at? I tell you, that not one stone shall be left upon another,' Mat. 24:2. So it is the nature of shallow men to wonder at the things of this world, to be taken with empty vain things. Are these the things we wonder at? If we would wonder, let us come to religion. There we have him 'whose name is Wonderful,' Isa. 9:6.
Christ's name is Wonderful, because all is wonderful in Christ. He is wonderful in his person, in his offices, in the managing of them; to bring us to life by death, to glory by shame. He is wonderful in his government of his church, to govern by afflictions, by conforming us to himself, to bring us to glory; to perfect his work in abasement; to bring it low that he may raise it after. There are wonders every way in Christ, not only in himself, but in all his courses. There is 'peace that passeth understanding,' joy unspeakable and glorious. Religion will teach us what to admire† at. We see those that are under antichrist, under the mystery of iniquity, it is said, Rev. 17:8, 'They wonder at the beast.' Oh what a goodly order they have among them, one under another! What a wise fabric it is! What a linking together of things!
All is wonderful. Indeed, it is fit for them to wonder at, that have not seen these wondrous mysteries of the gospel; but those that have spiritual eye-salve to enlighten the eye of their souls, to see these blessed mysteries how great they are, they will be far from wondering at any earthly thing, much less at the mystery of antichrist. It is a 'great mystery,' therefore, Use 2. Let us bring great endeavours to learn it, and great respect towards it, and great love to God for it. Let every thing in us be answerable to this 'great mystery,' which is a 'great mystery.'