their

eyes, and exclude it; although some are blind, and do not see it. That mystical Sun of Righteousness, saith St. Ambrose, is risen to all, came to all, did suffer and rose again for all-but if any one doth not believe in Christ, he defrauds himself of the general benefit. As if one shutting the windows should exclude the beams of the sun, the sun is not therefore not risen to all. They compare our Lord to a physician, who professes to relieve and cure all that shall have recourse to his help; but doth cure only those who seek for remedy, and are willing to take the medicine; because all, saith St. Ambrose again, do not desire cure, but most do shun it, lest the ulcer should smart by medicaments; therefore volentes curat, non astringit invitos; he cures only the willing, doth not compel those that are unwilling; they only receive health, who desire medicine. Evangelical grace, say they, is like a fountain standing openly, to which all men have free access; at which all men may quench their thirst, if they will inquire after it, and go thereto. The fountain of life,' saith Arnobius, 'is open to all; nor is any man hindered or driven from the right of drinking it.' The covenant of grace is, say they, a door standing open to all, whereinto all have liberty to enter. When an entrance,' saith St. Chrysostom, being opened to all, and there being nothing that hinders, some being wilfully naught abide without, they have no other but their own wickedness to impute their destruction unto.'

And again he puts the question, If Christ enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, how is it that so many remain unenlightened?' &c. To which he answers, 'That if some, wilfully shutting the eyes of their minds, will not receive the beams of this light, it is not from the nature of light that those remain still in darkness, but from the wickedness of those who wilfully deprive themselves of the gift of it,' &c.

St. Gregory Nazianzen resembles the grace of baptism (as to its community and freedom of use) to the breathing of the air, to the spreading of light, to the vicissitude of seasons, to the aspect of the creation; things most obvious and common to all.

If this answer do not fully satisfy, I adjoin farther,

2. That God, beside that ordinary provision, is ready to in

terpose extraordinarily in disclosing his truth to them who are worthy of such favor, and fit to receive it; and that God's general desire and design of revealing his truth to all men is very well consistent with his providential (not only negative and permissive, but even positive and active) withholding the discovery thereof from some persons, yea some nations; for that neither his wisdom, goodness, or justice might permit him, that he should impart that revelation to such persons whom he seeth altogether indisposed to comply therewith, and unfit to profit thereby; who have extremely abused the lesser graces, and not improved or misimproved the lesser talents afforded them; detained inferior truths in unrighteousness, and have not liked to retain God in their knowlege,' have therefore justly been delivered up to a reprobate sense; who have so depraved their minds with wicked prejudices and affections, that the truth being offered to them, they would certainly either stupidly neglect it, or scornfully reject it; or if admitting it in show, would unworthily abuse it; so that from the imparting the means of knowing it, no glory to God, no benefit to man would accrue, but rather contempt of God and prejudice to men would ensue on it; there are some persons of that wicked and gigantic disposition, (contracted by evil practice,) that, should one offer to instruct them in truth, or move them to piety, would be ready to say with Polyphemus in Homer, Odyss. . 273, 4.

Νήπιος εἷς, ὦ ξεῖν, ἢ τηλόθεν εἰλήλουθας,

Ος με θεοὺς κέλεαι ἢ δειδίμεν, ἢ ἀλέασθαι.

Friend, you are a fool, or a great stranger to me,
Who advisest me to fear or regard the Deity.

Who is the Lord,

Or (which is the same) with Pharaoh: that I should obey his voice? I know not the Lord, neither will let Israel go,' (or neither will I do as you in God's name admonish me;) who, like that unhappy prince, by no efficacy of arguments, no wonders of power are to be convinced of their folly, or converted from their wickedness: some, like those of Chorazin and Bethsaida, whom not all the powerful discourses spoken to them, all the mighty works done in them, sufficient to have brought Tyre and Sidon to repentance, can induce to

mind or obey the truth: unto which sort of people (except on some particular occasions, and for special reasons) it is not expedient that divine truth should be exposed. We may also observe how our Lord being asked by St. Jude a question like to ours; Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not to the world?' thus resolves it: If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him:' implying the ordinary reason of God's making a difference in the discoveries of himself to be the previous disposition and behaviors of men toward God; and interpretatively toward our Lord himself.

That God doth commonly observe this method (plainly suitable to divine justice, wisdom, and goodness;) to dispense the revelation of his truth according to men's disposition to receive it, and aptness to make a fruitful and worthy use of it, to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance,' as St. John Baptist spake ; and to withhold it from those who are indisposed to admit it, or unfit to profit by it; we may from divers express passages and notable instances (beside many probable intimations) of Scripture learn. We may on the one hand observe that those whom our Saviour did choose to call, were persons disposed easily on his call to comply; to forsake their fathers and their nets; to leave their receipts of custom; to relinquish all, (relations, occupations, estates,) and to follow him; faithful Israelites, without guile, like Nathaniel, (that is, as is probably conjectured, St. Bartholomew;) men honestly devout, and charitable, like Zaccheus; that he chose to converse with publicans and sinners, men apt to be convinced of their errors, and touched with the sense of their sins; apt to see their need of mercy and grace, and therefore ready to entertain the overtures of them; that he blesses God for revealing his mysteries to babes, (to innocent and well meaning, imprejudicate and uncorrupted persons,) such as if men were not, they could in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven, or become Christians; those poor in spirit, of whom is the kingdom of heaven;' those foolish things which God chooses as most fit objects of his mercy and grace; that he enjoined his disciples, in their travels for the promulgation and propagation of the gospel, to inquire concerning the

worthiness or fitness of the persons, and accordingly to make more close applications to them: Into what city or village ye enter, inquire who therein is worthy;' and entering in abide there. Of this proceeding we have a notable instance in Cornelius, who for his honest piety (correspondent to the proportion of knowlege vouchsafed him) was so acceptable to God, that in regard thereto he obtained from him the revelation of truth in a peculiar and extraordinary manner. And St. Paul was another most remarkable example thereof; who for the like reason was so wonderfully called, as himself intimates, describing himself to have been 2ŋλwrйs Оcov, zealously affected toward God, according to the righteousness in the law, blameless;' one that had 'continually behaved himself with all good conscience toward God;' who even in the persecution of God's truth did proceed with an honest meaning, and according to his conscience, for which cause he saith that God had mercy on him; foreseeing how willingly he would embrace the truth, and how earnestly promote it. We may also observe, how in the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit commonly directed the Apostles to such places, where a competent number of people were well disposed to receive the truth; who were evlεTOL εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ‘well disposed to the kingdom of heaven,' and consequently by God's foresight (reraypéro eis 2wny aiwvior) ordained to have the word of eternal life' (the Ζωὴν αἰώνιον) rò σwrηpiov Оeou, as it is in a parallel place called) discovered to them; such people as the Bereans, men ingenuous and tractable; who consequently entertained the word, μerà ñáoŋs pоouμías, with all promptitude and alacrity. To such persons God sometimes by extraordinary revelation directed the Apostles to preach; as to the Corinthians, in respect to whom the Lord spake to St. Paul in a vision, saying, Fear not, but speak, and be not silent; for I am with thee, because woλús éori po Xaòs, there is for me much people in this city;' much people whom I see disposed to comply with my truth. So in behalf of the Macedonians, ἀνήρ τις Μακεδών, ‘a certain man of Macedonia,' was in a vision seen to St. Paul, exhorting him and saying, Passing into Macedonia, help us.' Thus on that hand doth God take special care that his truth be manifested to such as are fitly qualified to embrace it and use it well: thus is God

ready to make good that answer of Pothinus, (Bishop of Lions, and immediate successor to St. Iræneus) to the prefect, who asking him, Who was the Christians' God,' was answered, 'Ear is ǎžios yvwon, If thou be worthy, thou shalt know; thus, as the wise man divinely saith, the divine wisdom, ážíovs avrñs περιέρχεται ζητοῦσα, ‘goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her; showeth herself favorable unto them in their ways, and meeteth them in every thought.'

And on the other hand, that God withholds the special discoveries of his truth, on account of men's indispositions and demerits, may likewise very plainly appear. We may suppose our Lord to have observed himself, what he ordered to his disciples; Not to give that which is holy to dogs, nor to cast their pearls before swine,' (not to expose the holy and precious truth to very lewd and fierce people, who would snarl at it and trample on it:) we may allow God in his dispensation of his truth and grace to do what he bids the Apostles to do: before he enters into any house, or applies himself to any person, to examine whether the house or person be worthy, that is, willing to receive him, and apt to treat him well; if not, to decline them. Our Lord, we see, did leave even his own country, seeing men there were not disposed to use him with due honor and regard; seeing they were possessed with vain prejudices, apt to obstruct the efficacy of his divine instructions and miraculous performances; so that he was not likely (according to the ordinary way of divine providence) to produce any considerable effect towards their conversion. He could not,' it is said, 'do many miracles there, because of their unbelief;' he could not, that is, according to the most just and wise rules he did observe, he would not do them; because he perceived the doing them would not conduce to any good purpose; that they were not apt to look on those works as the effects of divine power and goodness, performed for their benefit, (for inducing them to faith and repentance,) but rather that the doing them would expose God's mercy to contempt or reproach, at least to neglect or disregard. Hence our Saviour declined conversing with persons indisposed to (those vxikoì, who cannot δέχεσθαι τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος) receive benefit by his instruction and example; to grow wiser or better by his conversation;