LXXII.

17. xvii. 27.

is the work of moral art? You have forfooth a worthy con- SERM. ceit of God, who take him to be liberal in beflowing mean things, and fparing of better things. He that, as St. Paul Acts xvii. faith, giveth to all men life, breath, and all things, will he 25. withhold from any that beft of gifts, and moft worthy of him to give, that grace whereby he may be able to serve him, to praise him, to glorify him, yea, to please and gratify him; to fave a creature and subject of his; the thing wherein he fo much delighteth? From hence alfo, Acts xiv. that God hath vouchfafed general teftimonies of his good- Rom. i. 19% nefs, inducements to feek him, footsteps whereby he may ii. 15. be discovered and known, a light of reason and law of nature written upon men's hearts; attended with fatisfactions, and checks of confcience; fo many difpofitions to knowledge and obedience, as St. Paul teacheth us; we may collect that he is not deficient in communicating interior affiftances, promoting the good ufe and improvement of those talents; for that otherwife the bestowing them is fruftraneous and ufelefs; being able to produce no good effect; yea, it rather is an argument of unkindnefs, being apt only to produce an ill effect in those upon whom it is conferred; an aggravation of fin, an accumu lation of guilt and wrath upon them.

If it be faid, that having fuch grace is inconfiftent with the want of an explicit knowledge of Chrift, and of faith in him; why may not we fay, that as probably (fo St. Chryfoftom, vid. Mont. App. I.) moft good people before our Lord's coming received grace without any fuch knowledge or faith; that as to idiots and infants, our Saviour's meritorious performances are applied (in a manner unknowable by us) without fo much as a capacity to know or believe any thing; that fo we (to whom God's judgments are infcrutable, and his ways uninveftigable) Rom. xi. know not how grace may be communicated unto, and Christ's merits may avail for other ignorant perfons? in respect to whom we may apply that of St. John; The John i. 5.

* Η πολλῇ ἄξιον νομίζεις τὸ θεῖον, πρὸς μὲν τὰ φαῦλα καλῶς καὶ ἀφθόνως παρεσκευ ασμένον, πρὸς δὲ τὰ κρείττω ἄπορον.

33.

giay.

XV. 22.

SERM. light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it LXXII. not. However, that fuch perfons may have a grace ca pacifying them to arrive to that knowledge and faith, tơ which fuller communications of grace are promised; fo that in reasonable efteem (as we shall presently fhew) the revelation of evangelical truth, and the gift of faith, may be supposed to be conferred upon all men-so that we Rev. iii. 20. may apply to them that in the Revelation; Behold, I stand, Εἰ τυφλοὶ ἦTs, ex av at the door and knock; if any man will hear my voice, and XETI ȧμag- open the door, I will come in unto him, and fup with him, John ix. 41. and he with me; (that is, Behold, I allure every man to the knowledge and embracing of Christianity; if any man will open his mind and heart, fo as to comply with my folicitations, I am ready to bestow upon him the participation of evangelical mercies and bleffings :) and to fuch perfons those promises and rules in the Gospel may appertain; He that afketh receiveth; he that feeketh findeth; to him that knocketh it shall be opened: The heavenly FaLuke xix. ther will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. He that is ἐν ἐλαχίσῳ πιςός, (faithful in the ufe of the leaft Luke xix. grace,) shall be rewarded. And, To him that hath (or that diligently keepeth and husbandeth what he hath) shall more be given.

Luke xi. 10, 13.

17.

26.

And how God fometimes dealeth with such persons the eminent inftances of St. Paul and Cornelius do fhew. But concerning this point I spake fomewhat before, and have perhaps been too large now; I fhall only add that saying of the wife writer de Voc. Gen. A pious mind, faith he, fhould not, I think, be troubled at that question, which is made concerning the converfion of all, or not all men; if we will not obfcure those things which are clear, by those things which are fecret; and while we wantonly infift upon things fhut up, we be not excluded from thofe which are open and plains. Which in effect is the fame with this; that fince we are plainly taught, that our Lord is the Sa

• Puto quod pius fenfus non debeat in ea quæftione turbari, quæ de omnium et non omnium hominum converfione generatur; fi ea quæ clara funt non de his quæ occulta funt obscuremus, et dum procaciter infiftimus claufis excludamur ab apertis, &c. Lib. i, cap. 8.

viour of all men; and it is confequent thence, that he SERM. hath procured grace fufficiently capacifying all men to LXXII. obtain falvation; we need not perplex the business, or obscure so apparent a truth, by debating how that grace is imparted; or by labouring overmuch in reconciling the difpenfation thereof with other difpenfations of Providence.

SERMON LXXIII.

THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION
ASSERTED AND EXPLAINED.

Judg. iii. 9,

I TIM. iv. IO.

-The living God; who is the Saviour of all men, efpecially of thofe that believe.

JESUS SERM. 5. is the Saviour of all men, as the conductor of LXXIII. all men into and through the way of falvation. It is a very proper title, and moft due to those brave captains, who by their wisdom and valour have freed their country from straits and oppreffions. So were those judges and princes, who anciently delivered Ifrael from their enemies, Neh. ix. 27. commonly styled: In the time of their trouble, say the Levites in Nehemiah, when they cried unto thee, thou heardeft them from heaven; and, according to thy manifold mercies, thou gavest them Saviours, who faved them out of the hand of the enemy; so are Othniel and Ehud particularly called; and Mofes fignally: The fame, faith St. Stephen of him, did God fend to be ἄρχοντα καὶ λυτρωτήν, α Commander and a Saviour (or Redeemer) to the children of Ifrael; for that he by a worthy and happy conduct did free them from the Egyptian flavery. And thus was Demetrius by the Athenians (for his delivering them from the Macedonian fubjection, and restoring their liberty to them) entitled, svepyéτns xai owryp, a benefactor and faviour. Thus with greatest reafon is Jefus fo called, Heb. ii. 10. as being άpxnyès τns σwrnplas, the Captain of Salvation, Acts iii. 15. (fo he is called by the Apostle to the Hebrews,) ¿pxnyòs

15.

AЄts vii. 35.

Zons, (the Captain of Life, as St. Peter names him, the SERM. chief Leader unto eternal life,) ¿pxnyòs wiσTews, (the Cap- LXXIII. tain of our Faith; he that hath revealed that faving doc- Heb. xii. 2. trine, which is the power of God to falvation :) and these Rom. i. 16. titles we have conjoined by St. Peter in the Acts; Him A&s v. 31. hath God exalted, åpxnyòv xai owrñpa, as a Captain and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Ifrael, and remission of fins. This he is to us feveral ways, by direction both inftructive and exemplary; by his protection and governance; by his mating and quelling the enemies of man's falvation; which things more specially and completely he hath performed in respect to faithful Chriftians, yet in a manner alfo he hath truly done them for and toward all men; as we shall diftinctly confider.

Rom. xvi.

6. Jefus is the Saviour of all men, we fay, as having perfectly discovered and demonstrated the way and means of falvation; the gracious purposes of God concerning it; the duties required by God in order to it; the great helps and encouragements to feek it; the mighty determents from neglecting it; the whole will of God, and concernment of man in relation thereto; briefly, all saving truths he hath revealed unto all men: myfteries of truth, Col. i. 26. which were hidden from ages and generations, which no 25. fancy of man could invent, no understanding could reach, no reason could by difcuffion clear, (concerning the na ture, providence, will, and purpose of God; the nature, original, and state of man; concerning the laws and rules of practice, the helps thereto, the rewards thereof, whatever is important for us to know in order to happiness,) he did plainly discover, and bring to light; he did with valid forts of demonstration affert and confirm. The doing which, (as having fo much efficacy toward falvation, and being ordinarily fo neceffary thereto,) is often called faving; as particularly by St. James; when he faith, He Jam. v. 20. that turns a finner from the error of his way, fhall fave a foul from death. And by St. Paul; Take heed to thy 1 Tim. iv. word and doctrine; for fo doing thou shalt fave thyself, and 16. thy hearers. That our Lord hath thus (according to his defign, and according to reasonable esteem) faved all men, 1 Cor. ix.

22.