First, That God the Father hath appointed him as a common remedy for the sins and miseries of his people, in all parts and quarters of the world. So in the covenant of redemption, betwixt the Father and the Son, the Lord expresseth himself, Isa. xlix. 6. and he said, " It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant, " to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of " Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou " may est be my salvation unto the end of the earth." Suitable whereunto is that prophecy, Isa. lii. 15. " He shall sprinkle many " nations." If God had not appointed him for, he could not be desired by all nations.
And, indeed, herein the grace of God doth admirably shine
forth in the freeness of it, that even the most barbarous nations
are not excluded from the benefits of redemption by Christ. This
bat the apostle admires, that Christ should he preached to the
SERM. XIII. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 227
Gentiles, 1 Tim. iii. 16. a people that seemed to be lost in the dark- ness of idolatry; yet even for them Christ was given by the ther, "Ask of me (saith he) and I will give thee the Heathen for " thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy k' possession."
Secondly, Christ, the desire of nil nations, plainly notes the suffi- ciency that is in him, to supply the wants of the whole world ; as the sun in the heavens suffices all nations for light and influence, so doth the Sun of righteousness suffice for the redemption, justifi- cation, sanctification and salvation of the people of God all over the world ; Isa. xlv. 22. " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye " ends of the earth."
Thirdly, It implies the reality that is in godliness. It shews you that religion is no fancy, as the atheistical world would persuade us ; and this evidently appears in the uniform effects of it upon the hearts of all men, in all nations of the world, that are truly reli- gious : all their desires, like so many needles touched by one and the same loadstone, move towards Jesus Christ, and all meet to- gether in one and the same blessed object, Christ. Were it possible for the people of God to come out of all nations, kindreds and languages in the world, into one place, and there confer and com- pare the desires and workings of their hearts, though they never saw each other's faces, nor heard of each other's names, yet, as face answers to face in a glass, so would their desires after Christ answer to each other. All hearts work after him in the same man- ner ; what one saith, all say : These are my troubles and burdens, these my wants and miseries ; the same things my desires and fears : one and the same Spirit works in all believers throughout the world ; which could never be if religion were but a fancy, as some call it ; or a combination or confederacy, as others call it : fancies are as various as faces ; and confederacies presuppose mu- tual acquaintance and conference.
Fourthly, Christ, the desire of all nations, implies the vast extent his kingdom hath, and shall have in the world ; out of every na- tion under heaven some shall be brought to Christ, and to heaven by him ; and though the number of God's elect, compared with the multitudes of the ungodly in all nations, is but a remnant, a little flock ; and, in that comparative sense, there are few that shall be saved ; yet considered absolutely, and in themselves, they are a vast number, which no man can number, Matth. viii. 11. " Many " shall come from the east, and from the west, and shall sit " down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom " of heaven." In order whereunto, the gospel, like the sun in the heavens, circuits the world. It arose in the east, and takes its course towards the western world; rising, bv degrees, upon the
228 THE METHOD OF GRACE. SEHM. XIII.
remote, idolatrous nations of the earth : out of all which a num- ber is to be saved, even " Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to " God," Psal. lxviii. 31. And this consideration should move us to pray earnestly for the poor Heathens, who yet sit in darkness, and the shadow of death ; there is yet hope for them.
Fi, thly, It holds forth this, that when God opens the eyes of men to see their sin and danger by it, nothing but Christ can give them satisfaction : it is not the amenity, fertility, riches and plea- sures, the inhabitants of any kingdom of the world do enjoy, that can satisfy the desires of their souls : when once God touches their hearts with the sense of sin and misery, then Christ, and none but Christ is desirable and necessary, in the eyes of such persons. Many kingdoms of the world abound with riches and pleasures ; the providence of God hath carved liberal portions of the good things of this life to many of them, and scarce left any thing to their desires that the world can afford. Yet all this can give no satisfaction without Jesus Christ, the desire of all nations, the one thing necessary, when once they come to see the necessity and ex- cellency of him : then take the world who will, so they may have Christ, the desire of their souls. Thus we see upon what grounds and reasons Christ is stiled the desire of all nations.
Object. But there lies one great objection against this truth, which must be solved ; viz. if Christ be the desire of all nations, how comes it to pass, that Jesus Christ finds no entertainment in so many nations of the world among whom Christianity is hissed at, and Christians not tolerated to live among them ? Who see no beauty in him that they should desire him.
Sol. First, We must remember the nations of the world have their times and seasons of conversion ; those that once embraced Christ, have now lost him, and idols are now set up in the places where he once was sweetly worshipped. The sun of the gospel is gone down upon them, and now shines in another Hemisphere ; and so the nations of the world are to have their distinct days and seasons of illumination. The gospel, like the sea, gaineth in one place what it loseth in another ; and in the times and seasons ap- pointed by the Father, they come successively to be enlightened in the knowledge of Christ; and then shall the promise be fulfilled, Isa. xlix. 7. " Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his " holy One, To him w?hom man despiseth, to him whom the na- " tion abhorreth, to a servant of rulers ; kings shall see and arise. " princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful."
Secondly, Let it also be remembered, that although Christ be rejected by the rulers and body of many nations ; yet he is the desire of all the elect of God dispersed and scattered among those nations.
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