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God in them. So he speaks in the psalmist, "I will guide thee with mine eye," Psal. xxxii, 8.

$39. Obs. 21. The greater evidence God gives of his power and goodness in any of his works, the louder is his voice in them, and the greater is the sin of those who neglect them; and if men will shut their eyes against the light, they justly perish in their darkness. God sometimes hides his power; Heb. iii, 4, "there was the hiding of his power." But sometimes he causeth it to shine forth. As in the same place, "he had horns coming out of his hand." Horns, or shining beams, rays of glory, arose from his hand, or his power in its manifestation by his works. He caused his wisdom and power to shine forth in them, as the sun gives out light in its full strength and beauty; then for men not to take notice of them, will be a signal aggravation of their sin, and hastening of their punishment. Now we can never know what appears of God in his works, unless by a due consideration of them we endeavor to understand them, or his mind in them. Again,

$40. Obs. 22. The end of all God's works, of his mighty works of providence, towards a person, a church, or nation, is to bring them to faith and dependence. "Who is wise, and he shall understand those things? Prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall therein," Hos. xiv, 9. There is scarce a leaf in the book of God, or a day in the course of his providence, that doth not judge and condemn the folly and stupidity of their pride, who disregard the instructive lessons of Divine Providence. "Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor consider the operations of his hands, he

shall destroy them and not build them up," Psalm XXV, 5.

$41. Obs. 23. God is pleased oftentimes to grant great outward means to those in whom he will not work more effectually by his grace. Who had more of the first than the Israelites in the wilderness? As the works of God amongst them were the greatest and most stupendous that ever he had wrought from the foundation of the world; so the law was first vocally given and promulgated amongst them; and not only so, they had the gospel also preached to them as well as we; not so clearly but no less truly, Heb. iv, 1. God might well say of them as he did afterwards of their posterity; "what could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?" Isa. v, 3; for fencing, and planting, and stoning, nothing more could have been done. He did not, indeed, exert an effectual power of inward grace during their enjoyment of the outward means; and in like manner when our Lord Jesus Christ preached the gospel to all; yet it was to some only it was given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Matt. xiii, 11–16. I know some are displeased at this; but for the most part they are such as will be pleased with nothing that God either saith or doth, or can do or say, unless he would give them a law or gospel to save them in and with their sins. They are ready to dispute that God is unjust, if he gave not grace to every man to use or abuse at his pleasure, whilst themselves hate grace and dispute it, and think it not worth acceptance if laid at their doors. But who art thou, O man, that disputest against God? Nay the righteousness of God in this matter is most conspicuous: for,

(1.) God is not obliged to grant any special privilege, as to the outward means of grace, to any of the

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sons of men. And to shew his sovereignty and absolute freedom herein, he always granted them with great variety in a distinguishing manner. So he did of old; "He shewed his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not done so to any nation, and as for his judgments they have not known them," Psal. cxlvii, 19, 20. These outward means themselves were their peculiar privilege. was the advantage of the Jews that to them, and to them alone, were committed the oracles of God, Rom. iii, 2. And as God granted these outward means of grace to them alone, so he might have justly denied them to them also; or else he might have granted them to all others to their exclusion. For he dealt not thus with them, because they were of themselves better than those who were excluded from their privileges; Deut. vii, 6-8. And thus God dealeth even to this day with the nations of the world. Some he entrusteth with the gospel, and some have not the sound of it approaching them. Man would not abide in the condition wherein God made him, Eccles. vii, 29. And God may justly leave him in that condition, into which by sin he hath cast himself. That he will afford outward means to any, is of mere liberality and bounty; and shall we say he is unjust if he give no more, when no rule or law of justice obligeth him to what he doth?

(2.) Even outward means themselves, when singly dispensed, have many blessed ends which shall be effected by them; for they all tend variously to the glory of God. That the wisdom, holiness, goodness, righteousness, and severity of God be exalted and glorified, as they are in the dispensation of the outward means of grace, though eventually not effectual to the salvation of some, is a matter of great rejoicing to all believers, as including important privileges. So saith our Savior,

Matt. xi, 23, "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell, for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." The exaltation of Capernaum consisted in its enjoyment of the outward means of grace, in the Redeemer's preaching and miracles. And although the end of all was that she was to be brought down to hell for her obstinacy in unbelief; yet whilst she enjoyed these things, she had a real privilege, and was much exalted thereby. There are then many mercies in this one of the outward means of grace, considered absolutely and in itself. Moreover,

(3. Where God grants the use of the outward means of grace to any, ordinarily, if not always, he hath a design to communicate by them special saving grace to some. The gracious means granted to the people in the wilderness, where they seem to have had as sad an event as ever any means had in the world, were not lost, notwithstanding as to their use of conveying special grace to some. Some, yea doubtless many, were converted to God by them, and made obedient. That they died in the wilderness is no argument as to individuals, that they died all penally; for they were members and parts of that people, that provoking generation, which God dealt with according to the demerit of the community. And so many fall and are cut off penally in national desolations, as those desolations are just punishments for the sins of that nation, though themselves were not personally guilty of them. Now the saving of one soul is worth the preaching of the gospel to a whole nation for many years. And whilst God carries on his work visibly, he will take care secretly that not one hidden grain of his Israel shall fall to the ground.

$42. Obs. 24. No privileges, no outward means of grace, no other advantage whatever will secure men in a course of sinning from the wrath and justice of God. Who could be made partakers of more things of that kind than were his people at that time? Besides the great privilege derived to them from their fathers, in that they were the posterity of Abraham the friend of God, and had the token of his covenant in their flesh, they had newly erected amongst them a glorious church state, wherein they were entrusted with all the ordinances of God's worship. These privileges the apostle sums up, Rom. ix, 4, 5, "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God and the promises; whose are the fathers." Doubtless they bare themselves high on these things. So when they contended with Moses and Aaron, their plea was, that all the people were holy. Some cry they are the church, and some boast of other things; but be men what they will, their privileges and advantages what they can desire; if they are secure and obstinate sinners, the wrath of God at one time or other will overtake them. For although the hand of churchprivilege should join in with the hand of secular advantage, yet the guilty shall not go unpunished.

$43. Obs. 25. The heart of God is greatly concerned in the sins of men; especially of those who on any account are his people, and so esteemed. Men live, and act, and speak, as if they thought God very little concerned in what they do, especially in their sins; they think that God is altogether as themselves, Psal. 1, 21. But it is far otherwise. For God,

(1.) Is concerned in point of honor in what we do. He made us for his glory and honor; but nothing of this can we any way assign to him but by our obedi

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