Sermon IX (continued, part 2)
I will give you but a familiar instance, that the knowledge of this one
thing is worth all the rest. Suppose that one had lived in Solomon s time,
had been a subject to Solomon, a great favourite in his court, and had run
into treason, so that it was in Solomon s power to take away his life, and
Solomon should yet use him exceeding kindly, open to him all his heart,
you know that he had the most knowledge that ever man had, both in mat
ters of nature and in the book of the law, and he should tell him all his
notions ; and he had as many notions in his head as there were sands on
the sea-shore, for it is said he had a heart as large, he had a vast knowledge ;
and suppose that Solomon should have told him all these, this poor man,
being a traitor and in Solomon s power to put him to death when he would,
if he had known but one thing of him, that Solomon would but say to him,
< I will pardon thy treason, I will save thee, thou shalt not die, this would
have pleased him more than all the knowledge Solomon could have imparted
to him. So I say here, we are traitors, and have deserved death, and it is
in God s power to destroy us. If now God reveals unto thee that he hath
an intent to save sinners, haply he doth conceal other things from thee ; thou
hast not a large understanding, thou canst not take in much ; but this I
know, that God hath a mind to save sinners in Christ, and I will give up
myself unto him. But dost thou know further that he meaneth to save
thee 1 It is worth all the knowledge else in the world. Why ? Because it
is the mystery of his will.
ObSt 2. See the grace of God in applying himself to all sorts of believers,
in revealing the gospel to weak as well as strong ; he hath applied himself
to weak capacities. If the gospel lay all in great hidden wisdom and
rationalities, and that a man must know all the depths of wisdom in it, all
the rationalities of it, the coherence of one truth with another, before he can
be saved, many poor weak understandings should have been undone, and
never should have come to be saved. God doth load your hearts but with
one truth, / will save sinners in and through Christ. Hast thou learnt^ this
^in the gospel 1 This will save thee, the gospel is the mystery of his will.
And, my brethren, he hath applied himself to weak understandings in faith
too. Why did he choose faith of all graces to save a man by ? Because the
poorest in the world, the weakest understanding, can believe and trust. When he heareth that God will save sinners, he is able to trust God as
144 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON IX.
strongly and as firmly as the wisest understanding man in the world. Nay, your weak men, they are aptest to believe, they are more suited for faith ; let them but have this revealed to them, that God will save poor sinners, it
lies but in a trust. When a man s heart is convinced of this, and a poor soul is able to do it, he doth it as strongly as the greatest understanding in the world can do. Thus God hath applied himself.
Obs. 3. Though the gospel be a mystery, yet you see God hath made it known. Observe from hence, that God cares not who knows it ; he kept it indeed hidden awhile, but now he would have all men see it. So it is, Eph. iii. 9, 10, That all men might see what is the fellowship of the mystery, &c. It is the glory of God and of our religion, that we desire to have all known, all the mysteries of it. We do not as the Papists do, that keep things from the people. Know it to the uttermost in God s name, and let all God s people in their sphere and place prophesy ; let them be all as
prophets, to know the uttermost mystery of God s will. God hath abounded, not to ministers only, but to all his saints, in all wisdom and prudence, and hath made known the mystery of his will to them ; let them all get what knowledge they can of it. It was not the nature of other religions to do so. The wise heathens, and the priests of the Egyptians and other heathen
nations, had mysteries in their religion, but they kept them as mysteries, they never told the people of them. Popery, you know, is called a mystery of iniquity, as this is called the mystery of God s will; for the devil hath made a gospel for his eldest son, as God hath for his Son. But what is the reason they will not let you know it, but keep you in ignorance ? Because
it is a mystery of iniquity, and people would come to see the iniquity of it, if
^ they knew the mystery of it. But the gospel, it is the mystery of God s will. Saith God, All that ye know by me is, that I will save poor sinners, that I delight in mercy. I care not who knows this, saith God. It is a matter of grace, and therefore he makes known the mystery of his will. This is the glory of our God, and the glory of our religion, and the glory of the gospel. Would that all the saints in the world understood every tittle of this book ! then our sermons would be understood, and we should preach with ease, my brethren. God desires this, and we desire it, to have all men know the mystery of his will.
According to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself. III. That which remaineth is this, that which was the moving cause of making known the mystery of his will, and of calling home those whom he had
called, and shall call to the end of the world. It is according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed in himself.
When I opened the 5th verse, I shewed that tvdox/a, the good pleasure of his will, was that which of all things else he is pleased most with, though he willeth other things. Here it is simply said, according to his good plea sure, but the thing is all one. It was out of the good pleasure of his will that he did choose us and predestinate us to glory, to adoption, to perfect holiness, as the 4th and 5th verses have it. And it is out of the same good will that he makes known the gospel savingly to any one s heart, and con verts him, and turns him to him.
It is a known place, that in Matt. xi. 25, (to confirm this to you,) At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes : even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight, or/ obrw; eysviro zudorJa. The word is the same that is here. It was thy good pleasure that thou shouldest put this difference, to reveal it unto
EPH. I. 8, 9.J TO THE EPHESIANS. 14f
some, and those babes, and pass by the wise and prudent. He speaks it of making known the mystery of his will, the thing in the text. Now, when he saith, I thank thee, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes, for so it seemed good in thy sight, it is not that he doth make the ground, the terminus of it, to be in God s hiding of it simply from the wise or from the prudent ; but the thing he giveth thanks for is his revealing it to babes. Only, here is the mercy set off the more, there is this foil cast upon it, that he hideth it from the wise and prudent, while he revealeth it unto babes ; and herein is seen, by refusing some and taking others, the good pleasure of his will.
It is a like speech too, that in Rom. vi. 17, God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which you were delivered into. He doth not thank God that they were the servants of sin simply ; but that which he thanketh God for was, that they had obeyed that form of doctrine they were delivered unto ; only seeing they were the servants of sin once, the mercy is set off by this so much the more. Just so here, Father, I thank thee, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes ; for even so it seemed good in thy sight. I shall have recourse to this place by and by.
You have the like in 1 Cor. i. 21, where the same phrase is used, the same word of God s good pleasure that is here ; and it is spoken of God s reveal ing the gospel to the babes of the world, as you may read there throughout the chapter. Not many wise, nor many noble, &c. ; and the reason was
this, because God would confound wise men after the flesh, by enabling poor creatures to save their own souls.
I will make but an observation out of this, and so pass from it. 06s. God s making known the mystery of his will and the preaching of the gospel, and enlightening of men unto life by the gospel, doth not De pend upon, nor is it dispensed according to, preparations in the creature, but it is according to his good pleasure. There are those that affirm otherwise, but this one place, compared with many others, sufficiently confutes it : Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure. If you would know why the gospel is preached in that powerful manner in England or in London, and not in many other places of the world and not in many other places of the kingdom, it is merely upon the good pleasure of God.
It is a thing that will never be answered. Why did God suffer the Gen tiles so long, three thousand years, to walk in their own ways without reveal ing to them the mystery of his will, for it was three thousand years and up ward after Abraham, and chose the Jews to whom he would make known his law ? He dealt not so with any nation, saith the Psalmist ; neither had the heathen the knowledge of his law. It was merely God s good pleasure. Moses tells them, Detit. ix. 6, that it was not for their righteousness ; for they were a stiff-necked people. In obstinacy they surpassed all other nations ; they were the most perverse and the most unbelieving people of any other in the world. And, Deut. x. 14, Behold, saith he, the heaven of heavens is the Lord s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people. It was merely the good pleasure of his will that did it. And why doth Moses mention his title, of being Lord of heaven and earth, but to shew that this proceeded from his sovereignty, that he chose this people and revealed the word to them ? All the earth, VOL. i. K
H6 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON IX.
saith he, is mine, and I have angels in heaven ; I need no man upon earth at
all. He might have left them all to their own ways. The heaven of heavens is mine; the earth also, with all that is therein.
You shall find in that place I quoted even now, Matt. xi. 25, that Christ resolveth it, why God revealed it to babes, into the same principle, by the
title he giveth God there when he giveth him thanks : I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou, &c. God sheweth his
liberty in this. And do but mark upon what occasion those words of Christ s come in. At that time, saith the text, Jesus answered and said, Father, I thank thee, &c. Our Saviour had in the 20th and 21st verses upbraided the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe to thee, Chorazin ! woe to thee, Bethsaida ! if the mighty works which were done in thee, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes. If God had gone and revealed the gospel according to preparations in men, certainly he would not have passed by Tyre and Sidon, and preached it to Chorazin and Bethsaida ; for he saith that Tyre and Sidon would have made better use of it, they would have repented long ago. And Tyre was of all nations the most ingenuous to the Jews ; they helped to build the temple, you know ; yet God passed by them. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and revealed them to babes. Thou goest in revealing the gospel by no such conditions in men, but dost it as the Lord of heaven and earth, out of thy good pleasure. And so much for that, according to his good pleasure.
Which he purposed in himself. IV. These words which he purposed in himself/ some copies, and as good as any other, leave ^osdsTo out, and so they do not refer them to the 9th
verse., "but to the 10th. He purposed in himself to gather together in one all things in Christ. Yet because some have it, and thus you see it is read, and indeed more generally by interpreters, therefore by referring them to this 9th verse, let us see the reason why these words, which he purposed in him
self, come in after all as having relation to his good pleasure.
It might first be said, It is true God doth it out of his good pleasure, but
yet notwithstanding, though his own will cast it, is there nothing at all he looks at in the creature why he doth it ?
Nothing at all ! It is, saith he, his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself, merely in and out of himself. He looked to nothing but him
self, when he did thus purpose eternal salvation to any, or to call them by the gospel.
And, secondly, whereas they might inquire, and say, Was it out of a fixed
will, taken up from everlasting thus 1
Yes, saith he, it was not a mere velleity, but it was a purpose, secum statutum, he purposed with himself, unalterably ; so, indeed, Beza saith that God s purpose is mentioned to shew the firmness of election, as in Rom. viii. 28, where the purpose of God is mentioned, to shew the firmness and sta
bility of his will and. resolution in it : He purposed. If the words be referred to the 9th verse, then you may observe from thence these two things out of it :
1. That effectual calling is the fruit of God s everlasting good-will to us, James i. 18, Of his own will he hath begotten us. It was his will and his purpose he took up from everlasting. His begetting us is of his will, of his purpose, which he purposed, saith he, in himself. And therein now, our
EPH. I. 8, 9.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 147
begetting differeth from that of Christ s. Christ is his natural Son. As he
is the second Person, he begat him not of his will ; as he is man, indeed, so he came under God s decree as well as we ; but as he is the natural Son of God, the second Person, he was not begotten of his will : but so are we by an everlasting purpose, by an everlasting decree, which he purposed in him
self. So that, my brethren, look how you are called, and when you are called ; it was all as God had plotted it from everlasting. He appointed that thou shouldest go to such a sermon, and there hear such a word spoken as should strike thy heart. It may be it was spoken by the by, or it may be thou earnest into the church by the by, and thoughtest to go to another
place, but God turned thee in. This was plotted from everlasting. God doth his great works by the by oftentimes, and so he converteth souls ; yet they are plotted from everlasting. It is his purpose within himself. There is one word yet in this 9th verse, which he purposed in himself. Some read it sv at, which he purposed in him, namely, in Christ. But because that is so much before and after, certainly he meaneth sv avr&, in
himself; the word signifieth either, as I have formerly shewed what is the meaning of that. He did not view anything in us, or out of himself, when he decreed anything concerning us. God hath no efficient cause to move him but his own will. He hath no final cause that ultimately moveth him, but his own glory and his Son s. He consults with nothing ; he looks not out of himself As he understandeth all things by himself and by his
essence, so that, that casteth his will this way or that way, is himself. The meaning is not but that something out of God moved God, if we would
speak strictly. I shall shew you why
: for, take the glory of his grace, that you know moveth him ; so the 6th verse telleth us, He did predestinate us, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Now the praise of the glory of his
grace is a thing out of God, for it is that manifestative glory that ariseth from the hearts of men and angels to him, upon his works that he declareth to the sons of men. It is that which ariseth out of all. He looked and saw
that, in the creature which he made, there would be such a praise arising. This moveth him, and yet it is out of himself. How, then, is he said to
purpose all in himself?
In one word, thus : although the praise of the glory of his grace is but a creature, yet relatively it is God, it is his own, it is himself, it hath relation to himself. My glory, saith he, I will not give to another; no, not this
glory which thus ariseth out of the creature ; not only his essential glory, but not that manifestative glory he hath out of all things. It is incommunicable to any creature. Though it be not essentially himself, yet relatively it is ; therefore, Prov. xvi 3, he is said to have made all things for himself, and the wicked for the day of evil. And now to say that the praise of the glory of his grace moved him, is all one as to say himself moved himself ; because
it is his, and it is incommunicably his. So much now for that 9th verse.
148 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON