fused over several nations, being watchful in guiding and moving men to good, and withdrawing them from evil; neither is there reason why such an appropriation of special graces and blessings (on special reasons) unto some should be conceived to limit or contract God's general favor, or to withdraw his ordinary graces from others. God surely (who is πλovocos év éλéeɩ, rich in mercy ; yea, hath ὑπερβάλλοντα πλοῦτον χάριτος, excessive riches of grace') is not so poor or parsimonious, that being liberal to some should render him sparing toward others; his grace is not like the sea, which if it overflow on one shore, must therefore retire from another; if it grow deep in one place, must become shallower in another. Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened?' it is a question in Micah; and, 'Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?' is another question in Isaiah: No; The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear;' at any time, in any place; he is no less able, no less ready than he ever was, to afford help to his poor creatures, wherever it is needful or opportune. As there was of old an Abimelech among the Philistines, whom God by special warning deterred from commission of sin; a divine Melchisedeck among the Canaanites; a discreet and honest Jethro in Midian; a very religious and virtuous Job in Arabia; who by complying with God's grace, did evidence the communication thereof in several nations; so it is not unreasonable to suppose the like cause now, although we cannot by like attestation certify concerning the particular effects thereof. We may at least discern and show very conspicuous footsteps of divine grace, working in part, and producing no despicable fruits of moral virtue, (of justice and honesty, temperance and sobriety, benignity and bounty, courage and constancy in worthy enterprises, meekness, patience, modesty, prudence, and discretion, yea, of piety and devotion in some manner,) even among Pagans, which if we do not allow to have been in all respects so complete as to instate the persons endued with them, or practisers of them, in God's favor, or to bring them to salvation; yet those qualities and actions (in degree, or in matter at least, so good and so conformable to God's law) we can hardly deny to have been the gifts of God, and the effects of divine grace;

they at least themselves acknowleged so much; for, Nulla sine Deo mens bona est, 'No mind is good without God,' said Seneca; and, Θεία μοίρα φαίνεται παραγιγνομένη ἡ ἀρετὴ, οἷς wapayíveraι, ' Virtue appears to proceed from a divine dispensation to them who partake of it,' said Socrates: and, Aï ἄρισται φύσεις, ἀμφισβητήσιμοι ἐν μετρίῳ τῆς ἄκρας ἀρετῆς πρὸς τὴν ἐσχάτην μοχθηρίαν καθωρμισμέναι, δέονται ξυναγωνίστου Θεοῦ καὶ ξυλλήπτορος τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ θάτερα τὰ κρείττω ῥοπῆς καὶ χειραγωγίας. paywyías. The best natured souls being constituted in the middle between the highest virtue and extreme wickedness, do need God to be their succorer and assistant in the inclining and leading them to the better side;' saith Max. Tyr. xxii. St. Austin himself, who seems the least favorable in his judgment concerning their actions and state, who calls their virtues but images and shadows of virtue (non veras, sed verisimiles) splendid sins; acknowleges those virtuous dispositions and deeds to be the gifts of God, to be laudable, to procure some reward, to avail so far, that they, because of them, shall receive a more tolerable and mild treatment from divine justice; which things considered, such persons do at least by virtue of grace imparted to them, obtain some part of salvation, or an imperfect kind of salvation, which they owe to our Lord, and in regard whereto he may be called in a sort their Saviour.

But although the torrent of natural pravity hath prevailed so far, as that we cannot assign or nominate any (among those who have lived out of the pale) who certainly or probably have obtained salvation, yet doth it not follow thence, that a sufficient grace was wanting to them. contrary to the intents of grace grace. For we see that the same versally overborne and defeated other means and methods designed and dispensed by God for the instruction and emendation of mankind.

The most universal practice doth not evince a defect of cause hath in a manner uni

God's spirit did long strive with the inhabitants of the old world yet no more than one family was bettered or saved thereby. God by his good spirit instructed the Israelites in the wilderness, as Nehemiah saith, yet no more than two per

* Sen. Ep. 73.

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sons did get into Canaan: that people afterward had afforded to them great advantages of knowlege and excitements to piety, (so that God intimates that he could not have done more for them, in that regard, than he had done.) Yet, There is none that understandeth, or seeketh after God,' was a complaint in the best times. The Pagans had the means of knowing God, as St. Paul affirmeth, yet generally they grew vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; from which like cases and examples we may infer that divine grace might be really imparted, although no effect correspondent to its main design were produced. Neither, because we cannot allege any evident instances of persons converted or saved by virtue of this grace, (this parcior occultiorque gratia, more sparing and secret grace,' as the good writer de Vocatione Gentium calls it,) are we forced to grant there were none such; but as in Israel when Elias said, the children of Israel have 'forsaken God's covenant, thrown down his altars, and slain his prophets with the sword; and I, I only am left;' there were yet in Israel, living closely, seven thousand knees, who had not bowed to Baal:' so among the generations of men, commonly overgrown with ignorance and impiety, there might, for all that we can know, be divers persons indiscernible to common view, who, by complying with the influences of God's grace, have obtained competently to know God, and to reverence him; sincerely to love goodness, and hate wickedness; with an honest heart, to observe the laws of reason and righteousness, in such a manner and degree which God might accept; so that the grace afforded might not only sufficere omnibus in testimonium, (suffice to convince all men,) but quibusdam in remedium, (to correct and cure some,) as that writer de Voc. Gent. speaks. The consideration of God's nature and providence doth serve farther to persuade the truth of this assertion. If God be rich in mercy' and bounty toward all his creatures, as such, (and such he frequently asserts himself to be,) if he be all-present and all-provident, as he certainly is, how can we conceive him to stand as an unconcerned spectator of what men do, in affairs of this consequence? That he should be present beholding men to run precipitantly into desperate mischiefs and miscarriages, without offering to stay or obstruct

them; struggling with their vices and follies, without affording them any relief or furtherance; assaulted by strong temptations, without yielding any support or succor; panting after rest and ease, without vouchsafing some guidance and assistance toward the obtaining them? How can he see men invincibly erring and inevitably sinning, without making good what the psalmist says of him: 'Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will he teach sinners in the way;' to withhold his grace in such cases, seemeth inconsistent with the kind and compassionate nature of God, especially such as now it stands, being reconciled to mankind, by the Mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus.' He also, that is so bountiful and indulgent toward all men in regard to their bodies and temporal state; 'who preserveth their life from destruction,' who protecteth them continually from danger and mischief; who openeth his hand, and satisfieth the desires of every living thing; who satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness;' who, as St. Paul speaketh, filleth men's hearts with food and gladness;' is it likely that he should altogether neglect their spiritual welfare, and leave their souls utterly destitute of all sustenance or comfort; that he should suffer them to lie fatally exposed to eternal death and ruin, without offering any means of redress or recovery? To conceive so of God, seemed very unreasonable even to a Pagan philosopher: 'Do you think,' saith Max. Tyrius, that divination, poetry, and such like things, are by divine inspiration insinuated into men's souls, and that virtue (so much better, and so much rarer a thing) is the work of moral art? You have forsooth a worthy conceit of God, who take him to be liberal in bestowing mean things, and sparing of better things.' He that,' as St. Paul saith, giveth to all men life, breath, and all things,' will he withhold from any that best of gifts, and most 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 save a creature and subject of his; the thing wherein he so much delighteth? From hence also, that God hath vouchsafed general testimonies of his goodness, inducements to seek him, footsteps whereby he may be discovered and known, a light of reason and law of nature written on men's hearts; attended

with satisfactions, and checks of conscience; so many dispositions to knowlege and obedience, as St. Paul teacheth us; we may collect that he is not deficient in communicating interior assistances, promoting the good use and improvement of those talents; for that otherwise the bestowing them is frustraneous and useless; being able to produce no good effect; yea, it rather is an argument of unkindness, being apt only to produce an ill effect in those on whom it is conferred; an aggravation of sin, an accumulation of guilt and wrath on them.

If it be said, that having such grace is inconsistent with the want of an explicit knowlege of Christ, and of faith in him; why may not we say, that as probably (so St. Chrysostom, vid. Mont. App. I.) most good people before our Lord's coming received grace without any such knowlege or faith; that as to idiots and infants, our Saviour's meritorious performances are applied (in a manner unknowable by us) without so much as a capacity to know or believe any thing; that so we (to whom God's judgments are inscrutable, and his ways uninvestigable) know not how grace may be communicated unto, and Christ's merits may avail for other ignorant persons ? in respect to whom we may apply that of St. John; The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.' However, that such persons may have a grace capacifying them to arrive to that knowlege and faith, to which fuller communications of grace are promised; so that in reasonable esteem (as we shall presently show) the revelation of evangelical truth, and the gift of faith, may be supposed to be conferred on all men-so that we may apply to them that in the Revelation; Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in unto him, and sup with him, and he with me;' (that is, Behold, I allure every man to the knowlege and embracing of Christianity; if any man will open his mind and heart, so as to comply with my solicitations, I am ready to bestow on him the participation of evangelical mercies and blessings :) and to such persons those promises and rules in the gospel may appertain; He that asketh receiveth; he that seeketh findeth; to him that knocketh it shall be opened: The heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.' • He that is ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ πιστὸς,