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A38031 Sermons on special occasions and subjects ... by John Edwards ... Edwards, John, 1637-1716. 1698 (1698) Wing E211; ESTC R39657 221,769 511

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short of the other in this that he hath not attain'd to that Spiritual discerning of Evangelical truths which the Apostle speaks of and without which it is utterly impossible to have such a knowledge of them as will be effectual to Salvation and Happiness I will add only one Text more 2 Cor. 4. 3. If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world i.e. Satan hath blinded the minds of them who believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them Here it is implied that the Gospel is hid from some persons yea and we are told from whom viz. such as according to the foregoing stile of the Apostle are Natural men those that live in their sins and suffer their minds to be blinded and perverted to be corrupted and debauch'd by the Diabolick Spirit the Prince and Ruler of this lower world To such the Gospel and the Truths of it are meer Darkness Thus it abundantly appears from the Sacred Writ whence we are to fetch our discoveries concerning these things that the Proposition which I laid down is an impregnable and unshaken Truth viz. that Christianity retains still the nature of a Mystery and that more especially as so some persons The Reason is plain because Natural Strength is not sufficient of it self to discover these Divine Truths Unless the Soul be illuminated by the Holy Spirit these remain unintelligible and wholly ineffectual and useless as to any Saving vertue and efficacy This I take to be the meaning of our Saviour's words Iohn 3. 3. Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God Unless as the Apostle speaks he be renewed in the spirit of his mind and that by the power of the Holy Ghost he cannot understand aright the Truths of the Gospel which is call'd frequently the kingdom of God and of heaven he cannot see he cannot enter into as 't is express'd in v. 5. those divine things This is that which our Saviour avers Mat. 11. 27. Neither knoweth any man the Father but the Son and he to whosoever the Son will reveal him viz. by an Inward and Effectual Discovery for they had the Outward Revelation then When the Apostle St. Peter acknowledged Christ to be the Son of the living God our Saviour told him that flesh and blood had not reveal'd this to him but his Father who is in heaven Mat. 16. 17. It was not the work of Nature but of the Spirit of God the Father that had effectually wrought this Knowledge in him This sort of Light is peculiarly from the Father of lights this Singular Wisdom is from above and accordingly as some interpret that place Iohn 3. 13. the knowledge of these Heavenly and Spiritual things is call'd ascending up to heaven From thence is deriv'd that Insight into the things of God which no Natural man hath attain'd to For in this Degenerate State of mankind the Great Points of our Religion are under a Seal and lock'd up from us and are never to be disclosed till a Divine Light opens our eyes We must of necessity remain Blind till that Eye-Salve Rev. 3. 18. be effectually applied And it can be applied only by the Holy Spirit whose proper work it is to dispel that spiritual darkness whereby the mind is indisposed to understand and discern divine matters aright This is variously express'd in the Holy Writings viz. by such terms as these shining in our hearts to give the light of knowledge 2 Cor. 4. 6. giving us an understanding to know 1 John 5. 20. enlightning the eyes of our understanding Eph. 1. 18. an Vnction from the Holy One 1 John 2. 20. Which cannot be better paraphras'd and explain'd than in the words of an Eminent Prelate of our Church The same Spirit which revealeth the Object of Faith generally to the Universal Church doth also illuminate the understanding of such as believe that they may receive the Truth For Faith is the gift of God not only in the Object but also in the Act. And afterwards in the Close he hath these words We affirm not only the Revelation of the Will of God but also the Illumination of the Soul of Man to be part of the office of the Holy Spirit of God against the Old and New Palagians So that Judicious Writer It is this Holy Instructor that disposes the mind to receive the light of Divine Truth by curing it of its Natural Darkness and Ignorance and by preparing the heart to receive its Rays There is required a Special Grace of the Holy Ghost to enlighten the Soul and to make due impressions upon it The ●aculty of the Understanding must be puri●ied and so made fit to apprehend Spiritual objects This is part of the Renewed Nature and Regenerate Principle and consequently where this is not the Great Doctrines of Christianity are Hidden Secrets and Unknown Mysteries From what hath been said I will only draw these Two Corollaries 1. It is no wonder that the Followers of Socinus will not acknowledge Christianity to be a Mystery for they hold there is no necessity of ● Supernatural Light no need of Illumination from the Spirit in order to the due apprehending and understanding of the Divine Truths of the Gospel There is they say in all men that natural ability whereby they are capable of discerning all Spiritual and Heavenly matters in a spiritual way They are enabled by virtue of an Inbred Power in their minds abstract from what is Supernatural to perceive and believe as they ought all the Evangelical doctrines propounded to them Wolzogen ridicules the Internal and Supernatural Illumination I have been speaking of Velthusius an Author that is much applauded by some of Socinus's follwers tells us plainly That the knowledge of a regenerate and unregenerate man concerning the things and mysteries of faith differs not from the light of Reason I appeal to the Intelligent whether this be not an approach to an Heresie long since condemned in the Christian Church It is well known that it was the Pelagian Error to assert that men can attain to a perfect knowledge of their duty and an ability to perform it by meer Natural Reason by the bare help of that light which Nature gives them And in this as well as some other Points the Socinians symbolize with those Ancient Hereticks They cry up Reason as the Only thing in Religion this with them like the Archaeus among the Chymists doth all feats produces all operations Though these men seem to be great Abhorrers of those who talk of the Light within them yet it is evident that they allow of the very same Principle and Practise they equal the Light of Reason to the Holy Scripture and say it will serve instead of this and that it is as good as Scripture because all men may be Saved by it Therefore this they urge
not be misinterpreted And now I have produced every individual place of Scripture where the word Mystery occurs and I have faithfully and impartially set them before the Considerate in their true and proper light that they may have a view of the right and genuine meaning of them and not misunderstand and misapply the word as some have done to the great prejudice of Truth but that more especially they may be convinc'd of this that Mystery as it is applied in the Sacred Writ to the Christian Doctrines expresses the Nature of them and lets us know that Christianity hath this Title given it because it is a Real Mystery in it self Wherefore after I have thus clear'd the way I will offer this Proposition and make it good that the Sublime Truths of the Christian Religion still retain and ever shall the nature of a Mystery This in general is evident from that idea and notion which we have of a Mystery which we learn from the Original denotation of the word whether we borrow it from the Hebrew or Greek viz. that it is some Hidden Secret thing some thing Shut up for such are the Chief Doctrines and Truths of the Gospel they are in a great measure hid and as it were lock'd up from us Many of the Articles of our Christian Faith are cover'd with great Darkness a Veil is cast over them and we are not able to penetrate into them Thus Christianity is a Mystery But particularly and distinctly to demonstrate this I will insist upon these two Heads 1 Christianity is an incomprehensible Mystery in a special manner to some 2. In a more extensive way of speaking it is so to all I begin with the first Christianity is in a special and singular way a Mystery to some persons and ever will be Those whom I here mean are all such as according to the Apostle's Emphatick stile lie in their wickedness continue in their state of Degeneracy and Corruption and have felt nothing of the Divine Birth and Renovation which are the sole gift of the Holy Spirit These as long as they remain in this wretched state are in darkness as the same Inspired Writer speaks that is they have no Effectual and Saving Knowledge of the divine Truths of the Gospel they understand nothing of them to any purpose for these cannot be thus known but by Divine Illumination by a Supernatural discovery from above which they wilfully debar themselves of Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast reveal'd them unto babes saith our Blessed Lord Mat. 11. 33. Therefore to the former of these the Fundamental doctrines of the Gospel concerning the Redemption of mankind by the Blood of Iesus and much more the doctrines of Regeneration Faith Self-denial Mortification c. are no other than Mysteries yea insignificant Iargon to them We hear the same Infallible Master speaking at another time thus It is given it is a Particular Donation a Special Grant unto you my Disciples to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven but to them i.e. the whole Multitude who are not Enlightned it is not given Mat. 13. 11. There are such representations of those Heavenly and Divine things made by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the Regenerate as are not to be found in others Which is according to those other Sayings of our Saviour The Spirit of Truth the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him i.e. in a Saving way but ye know him Joh. 14. 17. O righteous Father the world hath not known thee Joh. 17. 25. They are in the dark and all thy Sacred Truths are Riddles to them And this is the Apostolical doctrine The Natural man receives not discerns not entertains not the things of the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2. 14. The Natural or Animal man here meant saith an Ancient Father of the Church is he that lives according to the flesh and hath not his mind yet enlightned by the Spirit But he adds this to the Character That he is one that hath only that inbred and humane knowledge which the Creator furnishes all mens minds with And so other Ancient Writers interpret the words as we shall hear afterwards According to the Learned Grotius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not one that is govern'd by the affections of his fleshly part but he that is lead only by the light of Humane Reason he that hath no other light but that of Nature This Interpretation of this Learned Writer is the more considerable because the persons I 'm concern'd with at present have so great an esteem and veneration and that not unjustly for him and boast that he is theirs It appears they are mistaken for now he is ours whilst he directly and expresly avows the Apostle's Natural or Animal Man to be one that is wholly conducted by the light of Natural Reason and Humane Wisdom Such a one having no Supernatural guidance and direction cannot as long as he is such attain to a Right Knowledge of the things of God because they are foolishness unto him as the Apostle here subjoyns Nay he adds further he cannot know them there is no Possibility of the thing That the Natural man should rightly perceive the things of the Spirit of God implies as evident a Contradiction as to say a Blind man should be able to see things visible So a Judicious Divine of our Church expresses himself concerning this matter The ground of the Apostle's Assertion follows which is very remarkable These things saith he of the Spirit of God can't be known by a Natural man because they are Spiritually discerned Spiritual things are discover'd and known in a peculiar way and such as is proper to Good and Holy men only These persons have an inward sense and conviction of the Reality of the things and they know the true Value and Worth of them They know them so as to make them their own proper Concern they know them so as to feel an influence from them on their hearts affections and lives Thus a Religious person knows and discovers these things in an other manner than Natural and Vnregenerate men do It is true the knowledge of both these is alike as to some sort of discoveries relating to Holy things Thus not only the Grammatical Critical Rhetorical Historical and Philosophical part of the Bible may be understood by the one as well as the other for the Worst men may have as great an insight into these as the Best but even the Theological part of this Inspired Book so far as is meant by it the meer Speculative and Notional discovery of Divine Truths may be equally known by both But to know the Truths contain'd in this Sacred Volume so as to be better'd by them is from Supernatural Light alone and this is it which distinguishes the Spiritual from the Natural man This latter falls