Chapter III
Another demonstration of the excellency of the gospel, that it is a secret mystery,
a hidden and concealed wisdom.
( Which hath been hidden from ages and from generations^ dC. COL. I. 26.
2. I come now to the second of those properties or adjuncts that are attri buted or ascribed unto the gospel, mentioned in this 26th verse, to set forth
the glory of it, and that is the secrecy and hiddenness of it. Hidden, saith he, from ages and from generations. That which is here translated hid is, in Rom. xvi. 25, silent, not spoken
of; it was kept secret, at least the mystery of it. Now to him, saith
( that is of power to stablish you, according to my gospel, and the
he,
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. The apostle Paul, in all
the foregoing part of the epistle, had laid open the great things of this
gospel, and now at the latter end of all, in the conclusion of it, because
that it is the revelation of the gospel for which we are most of all to
bless God, he makes that doxology, or closeth it with this praise and
thanksgiving unto God, Now, to him that is of power to stablish you,
according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to
the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, to God only wise be glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen. He doth involve and interweave the mention of the glory and
excellency of this gospel as that for which there is glory to be given to
CHAP. III.] GLOEY OF THE GOSPEL. 281
God in all ages and by all nations (for so the doxology runs), and this for
ever.
It is said here to be hid from ages and from generations. Interpreters, some of them, do make a difference between these two, namely, ages and
generations, that the one doth import all those times of eternity (if they may be called times) before the world was ; and the other all the times
that have been since God made this world, since indeed time was. I shall
give you the sense in which the gospel may be said to be hid in both
respects.
If, in the first place, we take from ages to be all the time before the world was ; as in Acts xv. it is, Known unto God (saith he) are his works, even from everlasting ; then this gospel was hid with God, even from ever
lasting. In 1 Cor. ii. 7, he saith, it is the mystery and hidden wisdom which God hath ordained before the world ; and in Rev. xiv. 6, it is called
the everlasting gospel. And therefore you shall observe likewise in the
place quoted even now, Rom. xvi. 25, 26, he saith, it is a mystery, which was kept secret since the world began so our translators read it ; it is
the same word which is used here for ages and is now made manifest,
according to the commandment of the everlasting God. Why comes in
the epithet of that God which hath been from everlasting, but because the
gospel hath been so too, and hath been kept secret, not only from the time
since the world began, but from, everlasting also ?
You will say unto me, In what respect should the gospel be said to be hid even from everlasting, when there was no creature to know it ?
I answer, because it was that knowledge which in God s esteem, even from everlasting, he resolved he would be sparing of, and ordained to reserve
to himself. The things of the gospel they were (as the apostle tells us, 1 Cor. ii. 10) the deep things of God, that lay (as I may so speak) at the bottom of his heart, the great secrets, which he esteemed such even from everlasting. And whereas for other kind of knowledge he had but a common regard, not much caring or standing upon it, when he should re
veal it, and so thought with himself. As for the knowledge of other things, I can set no time for the revelation of them (that is, in respect of any
peculiar account or value I have of them, though all things fall within my
decree), but I will give means to mankind to know anything else presently; but this of the gospel, saith he, I will reserve. Other things in God that he meant to reveal, they lay uppermost in his thoughts, &c., they were common, he cared not how soon they were known. But these were the
deep things of God ; God hath not been sparing or nice (as I may express
it) of any other knowledge whatsoever, that in this world he meant to re veal to the sons of men, either the knowledge of the creature, or of his law ; but this of the gospel he locked up in his own breast, he had a peculiar cabinet for it, and it lay under a lock of his own decree not to manifest it
* hid in God, even from everlasting. There is a phrase in 1 Cor. ii. 10. Speaking of this gospel (as in that chapter he doth), he saith, The Spirit searcheth
till the fulness of time should come. And therefore it is said to be
all things, yea, the deep things of God. It is expressed after the manner of men, and that phrase with that emphasis, Yea, the deep things of God,
implies that God, as other artists, and those that are wise, when he hath
anything that is rare, and which he cares not to let every one see, keeps it
close. In the like manner, you have a phrase at the 9th verse of that chapter, Eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things (the things of the gospel, namely, for he speaks of the
282 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. III.
gospel in that chapter) which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Prepared, when ? Why, prepared even from everlasting, for, as Austin
well expresseth it, the decrees of God (saith he) they are but the prepara
tions, the contrivements of all those benefits and mercies which God in tended to bestow upon us.
Secondly, It is said to be hidden also from generations, that is, from ages since the world began. So the apostle speaks, looking backward to former
times. I shall give you the particulars, in respect of which it was said to be hidden from all generations past.
The gospel, as it is now revealed, was hid from all nations.
(1.) It was hid from the Gentiles, so as it was new to them ; and that is
plainly one of the apostle s scopes here. He writes to Gentiles, and he would magnify the mercy of the revelation of the gospel unto them ; and
therefore if you mark it, he saith, ver. 27, To whom (namely, the saints) God would make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles. And so likewise you have it in Eph. iii. 8, Unto me, who am
less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ; and to make all men
see what is the fellowship of the mystery (namely, to the Gentiles, that
they should partake of it), which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God ; insomuch, as some interpreters would make in all
these places, both that in Rom. xvi. 25, and this place in the Ephesians, and likewise this text in the Colossians, the mystery intended to be the
revealing of the gospel unto the Gentiles. But it is clear that is not the
meaning. The mystery that was kept hid is not only that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, but it is the things of the gospel itself;
it is the mystery of the glory of it ; it is Christ the hope of glory ; and it
is, in the Ephesians, the unsearchable riches of Christ ; and more plain, in 1 Pet. i., the things concealed to former times there, are not only said
to be the revelation of these things to the Gentiles, but the things them
selves, the salvation itself, as you shall find if you read the 10th, llth, and
12th verses of that chapter.
(2.) It was kept hid even from the Jews also ; it is therefore indeed called a mystery ; for what is properly a mystery ? It is not the thing merely
hid, wholly kept so close as that there is nothing said about it, but when
there is that said about it which doth obscurely and darkly reveal it, and
yet hath a further meaning, which afterwards cometh to be opened. Even
* they two
thus as to the words that Adam spoke concerning his wife, that
should be one flesh, what saith the apostle of it, in Eph. v. 32 ? This is a
great mystery, saith he. Why ? Because darkly under the union of man and wife was intended the union of Christ and his church. I speak, saith
he, concerning Christ and his church. Now it is therefore called a mystery even to the Jews, because although they had the gospel, the substance of it, yet it was veiled, and the carnal Jew he understood all in the letter, and looked to nothing in the gospel ; and as you have it in 2 Cor. iii. 13, there was a veil put over Moses his
face, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of
that which is abolished, namely, to what was revealed unto them under
the law. But now the gospel is come, all is open (as if you should speak of a riddle, and when you have done, give the meaning of it), and then
they saw that all that the prophets and Moses had written was written con
cerning Christ. But I say, the Jews in the time of the law saw not this
mystery intended in it. You shall find this in that place of the Romans I
CHAP. III.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 283
quoted even now, chap, xvi., ver. 25, 26, According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made
manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets mark that expression
* according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to
all nations. Would you know, saith he, why the gospel is called a mys
tery ? God hath hid a great deal of it obscurely up and down among the
prophets, and Christ hath sent out his apostles to make known and reveal what all those prophets intended, which they themselves did not know, not
in the clearness of it as we do ; they had as it were the letter, we have the
mystery unfolded. Therefore says the apostle Peter (1 Pet. i. 10), Of which salvation ihe prophets inquired and searched diligently, who pro phesied of the grace that should come unto you ; unto whom it was re
vealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things that are now reported unto you, &c. So that indeed the mystery, and the
meaning, and the end at which all those things aimed that the prophets
delivered, they themselves fully knew not ; they were to write the Scrip
tures, and they inquired after, and searched diligently what those things which they wrote did signify ; but it was answered them, that not unto
themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things that are now re
ported. But now in the times of the gospel (saith he in Eom. xvi.) By the scriptures of the prophets, it is made known unto all nations. Men had only hints before, but now by opening the prophets, and laying things
together, the whole business is unfolded, and this mystery is come out. And this is properly a mystery, and in this respect the gospel was a mystery, hidden even from the Jews themselves. Therefore, to give you another
place, there is a little particle in Eph. iii. 5, very observable, By revela
tion he made known unto me the mystery, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men. What, did they know nothing of the
gospel ? Yes, saith the apostle, they might, but.it was in a mystery, it was not made known to them, saith he, as it is now revealed; mark
that particle, made known as it is now, to his holy apostles and pro
phets, that is, the prophets of the New Testament, upon whom the Holy Ghost fell, who opened unto them all those prophecies of the Old Testa
ment, and they saw clearly nothing but Jesus Christ in them. Hid it was, you see, from the Gentiles ; hid it was also from the Jews, in respect of the
revelation of it. Hid it was also,
(3.) From the angels, and from Adam in innocency. The angels might know that they were to have a head, in whom God did unite them unto
himself, and they might know it as the fathers of the Old Testament knew there should be a Messiah, by whom they should be redeemed ; but how, and who, and what he was, they knew not ; and in that respect they are said, in 1 Pet. i. 10, 11, to pry into these things, which place I shall not mention much, but I shall give you another place, which will compre hend both, namely, that the great things of the gospel were kept hidden from angels and from man also. And it is in 1 Cor. ii. 9, compared with
Isa. Ixiv. 4 (out of which the words in the Corinthians are taken), As it
is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him. Now in Isaiah it is thus,
* Since the beginning of the world, men have not
heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor hath the eye seen, God, besides
thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. To open these words a little. When he saith there in the Corinthians, Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, &c., it hath reference to what was said, ver. 7, We
284 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. III.
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained afore the world. And it hath reference also to ver. 8, where
* which wisdom none of the princes of this world knew ; and he
it is said,
brings a proof why none of the princes, none of the corrupt men of the world ever knew it, a majore, from a far greater argument ; for, saith he, these great things which the gospel reveals for the salvation of the elect, have not only not entered into the heart of corrupt men, but they have not
entered into the heart of innocent man, not into the heart of Adam himself. How do I prove that ? From that in Isa. Ixiv. 4, Since the beginning of
the world, saith he, men have not heard, &c., which phrase the apostles often use, when they speak of the gospel being hidden, as in Eph. iii. 9, he saith, It hath been hid from the beginning of the world. But you will say, he excludes not angels. Why, truly, if you consult the place in
Isaiah, he saith, that none hath seen, God, besides thee. Who doth he speak to ? To Jesus Christ, as a distinct person from his Father. Why ?
It is clear by this, because he changeth the phrase, None hath seen, God, besides thee, what he hath prepared ; not what thou hast prepared, but what he hath prepared; as if he had said, besides thee, God the Son, knewest what God the Father hath prepared for those that love him, none
else but only Jesus Christ, which was in God s bosom, knew it. Neither
eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man. There is but those three ways of knowing, either from the inward natural
principles, which are in the heart of man ; and so a thing enters into a man s heart from the principles of reason, which are in a man s self. Why, saith he, all the principles that were sown in Adam s heart, or in any man s
heart else, would not have afforded this knowledge, it would not have
entered into a man s heart. And then all the way of knowledge by the eye, or observation of the creatures, could never have afforded this knowledge, or the least jot of it. No ; all the hearing by the ear, all the communica
tion that God should have made to Adam, would not have laid open these
things to him. And it is plain, that Isaiah speaks of the things of the
gospel, not only by the quotation of his words by the apostle Paul, but from the desire of the church there, that God would bow the heavens and come down, and reveal these things to them.
* Bow the heavens, saith
* and come down, touch the mountains, &c. Even as the mountains, when God gave the law, bowed down before him, so he expresseth the
he,
revealing of the gospel under the same terms.
Having gone over all these places, there is one place more, in which all
that I have said out of the Romans, and out of the Corinthians, and out of
the Colossians, and out of the Ephesians, concerning the hiddenness of this
wisdom, is in a manner contained, and it is in the Old Testament, and for
aught I know, in the oldest book of the Old Testament, even in Job, chap,
xxviii., which I shall open to jou as clearly as I can ; the truth is, I had
not thought it had lain in that place, till I found the learned Ainsworth refer
to it, though but in a word. Most interpreters, I find, refer all the matter in that 28th chapter to the 12th verse of the 27th chapter, and that there Job begins his preface to all
the discourse that follows. I will teach you, saith he it is translated
by the hand of God ; but Piscator reads it, Of the hand of God, that
is, that shall be the subject I speak of, and that which is with the Almighty
will I not conceal, that which is secret and laid up with him. Where he
professeth to hint to them a secret counsel and wisdom, which was in God
beyond what they had spoken, a wisdom which they knew little of, and
CHAP. III.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 285
whicn God kept secret from all living. All the discourses of Job s friends, what had they been about ? They had been about God s outward dispensa
tions, how God punisheth wicked men for their sins, and they confine them
selves to that discourse, to the works of God s providence, and an enumera
tion of his legal proceedings in a way of justice to sinners, which was a common ordinary notion then in the world, and which suited those times under the law of nature, under which it is thought Job lived. Now in this
they prided themselves in their discourse; therefore Job, to confound them,
and not only to confute them, but shame them too, he professeth to hint to them another wisdom, which they did not exercise their thoughts about. Why, saith he, ver. 12, you speak nothing but what is ordinary, Behold,
all ye yourselves have seen it ; why then are ye thus altogether vain ? or
boast yourselves of such a knowledge as you have uttered, by which you condemn me, as if I were a wicked man ? For by it they had condemned
him, because God punished wicked men according to their works ; and so Job goes on to repeat what they had said, as you will see if you compare the 13th verse to the end with the 20th chapter. But, saith he, whereas
you think that this knowledge you have uttered hath such a great deal of
depth in it, I will tell you, or teach you of the hand of God, that is, of God s eternal purpose, for so you shall find it (as Piscator well observeth) in Acts iv. interpreted ; They were gathered together, saith he,
* to do whatsoever thy hand and counsel determined before to be done.
* I will not conceal (saith Job) that which is with the Almighty; there is a
higher wisdom, which he in his eternal purpose hath ordered, beyond that which you see in the works of his ordinary providence, which you neither mind nor search into. Having thus prefaced his following discourse, he doth in the 28th chapter, as both Beza and Jansonius observeth, begin to
speak of this wisdom, and to commend it to them. And see how he sets
it out, you shall see it will fall in and open all the scriptures I have already mentioned.
First, He compares that wisdom, which he would set their thoughts awork upon, which they neglected, and out of the rigour of their legal spirits condemned him, he compares it, I say, first, with all human wisdom, and he tells them plainly this, that there is a great deal of wisdom in the hearts
of men ; and instanceth in the art that men have to find out all the precious
things that are hid in the bowels of the earth ; so ver 1, He findeth out where there is a vein for silver, and a place for gold ; he taketh iron out
of the earth, and he hath such skill as he can make brass out of a stone ; and if a flood break out while he is digging under the earth, he can over come that difficulty and remove it ; and he digs up stones out of the earth where bread grows. One would have thought man should have been con tented with bread. No ; but he digs up the earth, where he finds stones that
are the place of sapphires, and which hath dust of gold ; and, ver. 10, says he, He is able to cut out rivers among the rocks, for he speaks of man and his wisdom, which God hath given him in all this, and his eye seeth
every precious thing. Well, but when he had thus described the art of man, from the first verse to the 12th, saith he, though men have all this
skill and this art, Yet where shall wisdom be found, and where is the
place of understanding ? And by wisdom here he means the same that Solomon doth in the Proverbs, viz., that wisdom that shall save men, as
appears in the last verse ; for Job interlaceth many discourses of Christ, speaks of him as the redeemer : I shall see him with these eyes, saith he ; and he whom he calleth the Redeemer elsewhere, in this chapter he
286 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. III.
calls wisdom, which was to be the ordinary phrase of the Old Testament, and so of those times, by which they did call the Messiah. He complains in the 13th verse, that man, who had all this art and skill to find out all
things else, yet he sought not after this ; Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living ; you may go almost
all the world over and hear no man speak of it, no man values it. He
speaks not of that wisdom which is in God infinitely, for that is not a thing for man to obtain, and so under that consideration to value it as Paul did, when he esteemed all as dung in comparison of it. Man knows it not, saith
he, he would never have enhanced the price of it (as afterward, ver. 16, It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the
sapphire ), but to raise up the hearts to seek it. He speaks just as Solomon doth in Prov. viii., when he speaks of Christ.
Secondly, As he compares it with all the knowledge that man hath, so with all the knowledge that the creatures materially can afford. Go over
all the creatures, they all do not contain one jot of that wisdom : so saith the 14th verse,
* The depth saith, It is not in me ; and the sea saith, It is not in me ; for they do afford to man s understanding no hint at all of any such thing, not a whit to be known of the knowledge of God in Christ is in the whole frame of nature. Whence cometh wisdom then ? (ver. 20) and where is the place of understanding ? seeing it is hid from the eyes of
all living, and kept close from the fowls of heaven. Whence comes it ? That is, Who is the author of it ? And where is it to be found ? That is, What is the subject matter of it ? The depth affordeth it not, it is not to be found there ; the creatures, though they hold forth the footsteps of God,
yet they do not hold forth this wisdom. He tells us afterward, in ver. 23, that God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof, for (as the apostle saith, in Eph v.) it lies hid in God ; and Job saith, that God had kept it close, and doth keep it close from all ; and so he reckons
up all things that are to be reckoned up, he reckons up the sons of men.
It is hid, saith he, from the eyes of all living, that is, of mankind, and
kept close from the fowls of heaven (as you have it in your margins), as
metaphorically he calleth angels ; for otherwise, why would he ascend from the eyes of all living, speaking of man, to the fowls of heaven, unless he
spake of such creatures as have more understanding than man, namely,
angels, for so in Scripture they are called ? And, saith he, ver. 22, Go down to destruction and death, and they will say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears ; all our forefathers that are dead, they knew not the way of it neither, though they have heard the fame of it. The
devil heard it when he was cursed, he heard it with a witness, that both his ears tingled when he heard it ; and all our fathers that are dead heard the fame of it, knew there was such a thing, as Job also did, but
they had not that clear revelation of it. It being hidden therefore from all
these, it is God, saith he, that understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof; that God that looks to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven ; that God that makes a weight for the
winds, and that weigheth the waters by measure ; that God, when he made
a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then did he see it, and (as your margin hath it) did number it, or resolved it in
his mind ; he recounted it, he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. He saw it ; that is, he had it in his view, as the chiefest wisdom of all else,
greater than whatever else he was adoing in making the world. And he numbered it ; that is, he accounted it as the choicest of all knowledge else.
CHAP. III.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 287
And he prepared it, as a further thing than the wisdom he stamped upon the creature, and he did as it were by study search it out. You find these
phrases fall in with what the apostles themselves use of it.
If you ask me what wisdom this is that Job speaks thus of, it is (as I
hinted afore) that wisdom whereby men are saved, which was the title
that then in those old times they gave to the Messiah, and the fear of him, and the knowledge of him, and of God. If you look in Prov. viii. (and this book of Job was written long afore that of the Proverbs), you shall
find that Solomon useth the same expressions that Job here doth, and he makes a description of Jesus Christ under the title of Wisdom, and of that way of salvation that was then but obscurely revealed, and afterward more
fully manifested in the times of the gospel, even the hidden wisdom of
God, as the apostle calls it. Solomon, in that 8th of the Proverbs, ver. 11,
saith that the knowledge of it is better than rubies, and that all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. Job useth the same
expression, ver. 18, No mention shall be made of coral or of pearls, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. Had it been the wisdom of God
himself, which God everlastingly keepeth to himself, and is not to be pried
into, Job would not have put that price upon it to incite men to the search
of it. ~: So likewise you shall find that Solomon makes the same complaints that Job doth, that the sons of men receive it not, value it not. And as Job saith, that
* God, when he made a decree for the rain, then did he see
that wisdom and prepared it, and searched it out ; so Solomon useth the same expressions also,
* When he established the clouds above (it is the same expression), when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when he gave to the sea his decree, &c., Prov. viii. 28 ; then saith Wisdom, I was there, and was daily his delight, &c. And that you may see how one
Scripture openeth another, you shall find in Eph. iii., where it is called a hidden wisdom, he saith, To make all men see what is the fellowship of
the mystery, which from the beginning of the world was hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ. Now, what saith Job, and what saith Prov. viii. ? Saith Job, When God did give a decree for the rain, when he established the clouds above, saith Solomon, then did he see this, he had this in his eye ; but he kept it close as a further wisdom than what he was a-making, and stamping upon the creatures. It was hid in God, saith the apostle,
* who created all things by Jesus Christ. In the strength of Christ, God-man, did he create all things, and had then in his eye the Lord Jesus, whom he meant to propound to the creature as the head of the creation. It is a wisdom also which is not in nature, but distinct from
it ; for Job saith, When he made the world, he saw this. And then he useth the very same phrases that are used of the gospel.
There are four things said of it: (1.) he saw it; (2.) recetisuit (so Piscator translates it), he numbered it with himself, recounted it ; (3.) he did
prepare it ; (4.) he searched it out. Now, do but look in 1 Cor. ii.. 9, 10, where the apostle speaks of this hidden wisdom, and you have the very same
* We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which God ordained before the world. The things which God hath prepared (the Septuagint useth the very same words in the Greek which the apostle doth here) and then he searcheth it out ; the Spirit, saith he, searcheth the deep things of God. And, my brethren, to add this as the conclusion, it is that wisdom by which men were then saved that Job had here in his eye. Now, what wisdom was L that men were saved by then ? It was by that obscure knowledge they had of God in Christ held forth in the promise,
phrases,
288 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. III.
which did cause them to cleave to him, and to fear him, and to worship him, and to depart from evil. Now, look in Prov. viii., and compare it with the last verse of this 28th of Job. Saith he there, ver. 12, speaking of wisdom,
* I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge. The
fear of the Lord is to hate evil, &c. ; and, ver. 20, I lead in the way of
righteousness, &c. And so he goes on, and in the conclusion shews how
that the knowledge of Christ, and of the gospel as it was then revealed, did work men to cleave unto God, to fear God, and to depart from evil ; that was the way whereby men were saved then. So Job tells his friends here ; you tell me, saith he, of God s dealings with me in an outward way of providence, but you mind not the wisdom of God. What is that?
* The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart from evil, is
understanding. Now, in the Jewish language, the piety of those times, by which they are said to believe in God and to be religious, is still ex
* the fear of the Lord. And he in the New Testament that is
pressed by
called a believer, in the Old is called a man that feareth God, for that was the wisdom Christ was made unto men in the Old Testament. I say, as
faith is the great thing on which the language of the New Testament runs, so the fear of the Lord is the language of the Old. There is a world of
* Come, ye children, and I will teach you the fear of the
places for it.
Lord, Ps. xxxiv. 11. Therefore it is called the beginning of wisdom when
they come thus to know God ; for it is called the fear of the Lord, because
it was that by which they were to fear God and come to the Messiah, a
fear which made them wise unto salvation. The same Christ, by teaching them his fear then, made them wise to salvation, which teacheth us now ;
only our religion is expressed by faith, theirs by fear, because there was
little gospel mixed with it ; it wrought in a legal way, in a way of bondage then, ours in a way of adoption. So that it is clear that Job speaks of
that wisdom whereby men are saved, according to the notion of those
times, having some hint of some further wisdom which was hid in God, which was not in angels nor in men, and which God himself in the end would reveal. And so you have, as I conceive, truly the meaning of that
place in Job.
Use. Is the gospel thus a hidden wisdom, hidden from ages and from
generations ? This should cause us to value and put the highest worth and esteem upon it. Amongst all other considerations that should move us to it, this is not the least. We see the greatest wits of the world, and
the greatest understandings, have still been taken with antiquity, with any
learning and knowledge that is ancient, especially when it is hidden too. How do men prize an old copy of a father (as they are called), which hath
lain hidden in some hole in a manuscript, and is now revealed ! How doth a great scholar value such a thing
! -They think it a glory to be the
publisher of such a thing. To have an old copy of the New Testament, though it doth not differ three words throughout the whole from what we commonly have, yet if it be an old copy (as lately one of the Septuagint, written thirteen hundred years ago, was sent over*), what a value is there
set upon it ! If the prophecy of Enoch, which Jude quoteth (and such a
thing they say is extant in Africa f), were now found out, how would it be
* Doubtless the famous Alexandrian manuscript, which was sent from Constanti
nople, as a present to Charles I., in 1628. Goodwin was not aware that it contains the New Testament, as well as the Septuagint version of the Old. ED.
t The book, which was long believed to be extant in Africa, was at length found
CHAP. III.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 289
valued ! If it were common here, how would it be esteemed ! Solomon, you know, wrote of herbs and plants, from the cedar of Lebanon to the
hyssop that springs out of the wall ; if these books that are lost were now
found, what a price would we set upon them ! my brethren, a far
greater than the wisdom of Solomon is here, and far more ancient ; for here
is the wisdom that was hid in God from ages and generations, even before
the world was, which lay at the bottom of his heart, which are the deep
things of God. Here is a whole edition (for so the gospel is) of a new
testament, of a new knowledge of God, in comparison of what the fathers had. Here is the wisdom of God himself, which was kept close from the
Gentiles, from all nations, four thousand years, kept hid from Adam in
innocency, kept hid from angels, kept hid from all, that his own Spirit even searcheth into these deep things of God. How should this whet on our
souls to be skilful in, and to study this gospel, and to know all the secrets of it ; to seek unto God for that holy and blessed Spirit who writ this word, and hath hid herein all the treasures of knowledge which are to be revealed
to us. This did commend it to the primitive times. Paul still in all his
epistles, as you have seen in that of the Romans, in this of the Colossians, in that of the Ephesians, in that of the Corinthians, makes it a mighty matter, that unto them this gospel was revealed that was hid before, that God had broke up a new treasury, not of notional divinity, but of the know
ledge of himself, even the mystery of the Father and of Christ, as it is called
in Col. ii. 1. But you will say unto me, this indeed did mightily commend it to our
forefathers, that lived in the primitive times, to whom it was first made known. In regard to them it was admirable, that it should be four thousand
years before it was revealed, and then made known unto them, and that they should be the first ; but for us, we are born under it, and it hath now been
sixteen hundred years since it was made manifest. Therefore, what is this
to commend it to us ?
I answer first, It did lie hid, however, four thousand years afore the world knew it ; and that thou shouldst have thy lot to be born in the days of the revealing of this gospel, and shouldst come to know these things which were hid to the ages before, is a favour ; for thou mightest have been born in the midst of those four thousand years.
But, secondly, so did God order it in his great wisdom, that though the law was given (I parallel it so) in Moses his time, yet there was a time (as that of Manasseh s, and of other of those kings) in which the law was in a manner lost, and the priest searching in the temple doth by chance find it. This hath been the case of the gospel since God delivered it to these times ; for this doctrine of the gospel in the greatest glory, and the riches of the
secrets of it, was obscured for more than a thousand years, yea, from the
very apostles time a mystery of iniquity began to work, and another gospel to be raised up that darkened the true one by degrees, till antichristianism
overspread the world ; whenas all the world, and the learned men of the
world, ran after the rudiments of the world, and not after Jesus Christ ; and the world was spoiled through school divinity, and through philosophy, as the apostle speaks, Col. Ji. 8. And it is not many years since that
by the traveller Bruce, who brought home three copies of it in the Ethiopia lan guage. It was edited by Archbishop Laurence, and published in 1821. It is clearly proved not to be the Book of the prophet Enoch, but the production of a Jew of that name, who wrote not earlier than the middle of the second century of the Christian era. ED. VOL. IV. T
290 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. III.
great and glorious breaking forth of the gospel began in the time of Luther, when God did break up another Indies. He gave the pope a world, the
Spanish world, the West Indies ; he set them a-work about the first part of the wisdom spoken of in that 28th of Job, to find out a vein for the
silver, and a place for the gold. And he gave another Indies of the gospel unto us of the protestant churches, and it had been happy for us to have
7 have done theirs. But, my brethren, though God began and renewed the knowledge of this gospel, yet the saints
kept ours, and to improve it as the}
will find digging work enough in it, even to the end of the world. You shall
find in the very midst of the book of Revelation, when fourteen chapters of it were spent, that it is there said, ver. 6,
* I saw another angel fly in
the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth. He speaks of the time of antichrist, for in the 13th
chapter he describeth the beast, how he ascendeth out of the sea ; and in the 14th, he describes the saints under antichrist, and how he tyrannized over them, especially at the latter end, when the light of the glorious gospel of Christ breaks forth. And whereas they accuse the gospel of novelty ; no, it is an everlasting gospel, saith he. And God did set a-work many before us to preach this gospel ; and how did they begin to preach it ? for
it went on by degrees. They fell upon images first, they bade people take heed. Fear God, and give glory to him, and worship him, that made heaven and earth ; that was the first great thing which the protestants laid
open, when they first began to preach the gospel. Afterwards they began to challenge Rome with being the antichrist, that was the second angel. And then a third comes, and saith, that whosoever drinks of her waters, and of her cup, shall everlastingly be tormented ; so that men that are learned and knowing men, living in that religion, cannot be saved. And then in the 15th and 16th chapters, there come seven angels out of the
temple, and they still reveal more and more. Thus doth God by degrees go on, so that within these hundred years, we in our age, ever since that
great light first broke out (especially here in this kingdom), have had the
light of the gospel rising still clearer and clearer, and so it will do till anti
christ be destroyed, for he is to be destroyed, to be melted (so the word is) by the dawning of the Sun of righteousness, who is coming upon the world. Therefore in Isa. xi. 8 he saith,
* The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the. waters cover the sea ; he hath the like expression in Hab. ii. And he speaks of the latter times, for he speaks of those times
before, and upon the calling of the Jews ; and that is clear by ver. 11 of
that Isa. xi., It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time, to recover the remnant of his people ; he had
delivered them out of captivity once, and he shall do it again the second
time, saith he. Now go take Ezekiel : he prophesieth likewise of those
latter times, and he useth the same expression of the overflowing of waters
by degrees, in Ezek. xlvii. Speaking of a glorious temple, that was to be
set up in the latter days (that is clear by all the passages of that prophecy), he saith, he saw waters issue from under the threshold of the house, that is, of the church ; and saith he, first I was led through waters, and
the waters came up to the ankles ; afterwards the waters were to the knees, and then to the loins, and at length a river that could not be passed over,
for the waters were risen, waters to swim in ; and when he was returned to
the brink of the river (that you may know what times he speaks of), he
saith, There were very many trees on the one side, and on the other. Now compare this with Rev. xxii. There you have the same trees and the,
CHAP. III.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 291
same waters (speaking of the latter times of the gospel too, as Ezekiel doth), whose leaves did heal the nations every month. So that he speaks of the
growing of the knowledge 6f the gospel by degrees, which should be as
waters that cover the sea. The like you have in Zechariah, where he pro-
phesieth, that in the latter times there should come a day, which should be
clearer towards evening. In the times before this, saith he, it shall be
neither light nor dark (which I believe are our times), and it shall begin to
clear up towards evening (it is in Zech. xiv. 6, 7) ; and he useth the same
* shall go out from Jerusalem, &c. And Dan. xii. 4, Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
expression concerning water, ver. 8, Living waters, saith he,
I speak it for this, that although the gospel was revealed to the apostles so long ago, yet God hath so ordered it, that to us now it is new again. My brethren, let me say this to you, it is a faith once given/ so Jude
tells us. When the apostles had given it out of their hands, what, will God send apostles to recover this gospel again ? No ; it is a greater glory for God by degrees, and by ordinary light in the hearts of his ministers and his people, to recover this gospel (which was thus blasted by antichrist
in the latter days), that it shall have the same purity in doctrine and govern ment that was in the primitive times ; I say, for God to do this by degrees and by ordinary means, it is a greater glory than to send apostles. It were an easy matter for him to pour out his Spirit upon men immediately, as he
did then ; but he chooseth rather to do it by ordinary means, as he hath
done, yea, and will go on to do it, and will never leave to do it, till he hath brought it to that height, when Jesus Christ shall come to possess his
kingdom, the brightness of whose coming, the dawnings of it, shall consume
antichristian doctrine and worship. It is a greater matter for him to work
a miracle by ordinary means in a way of ordinary providence, than to shew
these great miracles that he did among the Jews, and the like ; as indeed he hath in an ordinary way done as great matters for this kingdom, as ever he did in Egypt for the bringing of his people out of that l/ondage. It is, I say, an easy matter for God to go and create a new world, and the like ; but therein lies his glory, that he will restore things, and reduce them to
the primitive purity, by ordinary means, and not send extraordinary persons to do it.
Antichrist brought in all his darkness by degrees, and it shall go out by
degrees. The mystery of iniquity began to work in the hearts of men in the apostles times, and darkness grew more and more till midnight. So the mystery of the gospel works likewise, and these dawnings shall increase more and more till the perfect day ; and the issue of all these confusions that are now, when Jesus Christ hath done his work, will be some glorious
thing. God hath given pastors and teachers (as the apostle saith), to all
ages, and one age doth teach another, and they all tend to the edifying of the body of Christ, till we come unto a perfect man, unto a measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ. All the light of the former ages is drawn down to this age, and in this age men suck in their very education the
light of the former ages, and so are prepared for a further growth ; and so
in the end, the latter age of the world will have a fulness of stature again. And the scope of all this is, though it is a mystery, yet God hath so or dered it in his providence, to endear it to us, to make it a new mystery to
us, even as if he had had apostles afresh ; for it was obscured, and it hath broke out afresh after it lay hid a thousand years.
292 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. IV.