Secondly, The impossibility of coming to Christ, without the Father's teachings, evidently appears from the indisposedness of man, the subject of this change ; " The natural man receives not " the things which are of God," 1 Cor. ii. 14. Three things must be wrought upon man, before he can come to Christ : His blind understanding must be enlightened ; his hard and rocky heart must be broken and melted ; his stiff, fixed, and obstinate will must be conquered and subdued : but all these are effects of a supernatural power. The illumination of the mind is the peculiar work of God, 2 Cor. iv. 6. Rev. iii. 17. Eph. v. 8. The breaking and melting of the heart is the Lord's own work ; it is he that giveth repentance, Acts v. 31. It is the Lord that " takes away the heart *' of stone, and giveth an heart of flesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. It is he that poureth out the spirit of contrition upon man, Zech. xii. 10. The changing of the natural bent and inclination of the will, is the Lord's sole prerogative, Phil. ii. 13. All these things are effect- ually done in the soul of man, when God teacheth it, and never till then.
Thirdly, The nature of faith, by which we come to Christ, plainly shews the impossibility of coming without the Father's teaching. Every thing in faith is supernatural ; the implantation of the habit of faith is so, Eph. ii. 8. It is not of ourselves, but the gift of God ; it is not an habit acquired by industry, but infused by grace, Phil. i. 29. The light of faith, by which spiritual things are discerned, is supernatural, Heb. xi. 1, 27. It seeth things that are invisible. The adventures of faith are supernatural ; for '* against hope, a man believeth in hope, giving glory to God," Rom. iv. 18. By faith a man goetli unto Christ, against all the dictates and discouragements of natural sense and reason. The self-denial of faith is supernatural ; the cutting off the right-hand, and plucking out of right-eye sins, must needs be so, Matt. v. 29. The victories and conquests of faith do all speak it to be superna- tural ; it overcomes the strongest oppositions from without, Heb. xi. 33, 34. It subdueth and purgeth the most obstinate and deep- rooted corruptions within, Acts xv. 9. It overcometh all the blandishments and charming allurements of the bewitching world, 1 John v. 4. All which considered, how evident is the conclusion, that none can come to Christ without the Father's teachings ? The uses follow.
First use for information.
Inference 1. How notoriously false and absurd is that doctrine
SERM. XXIII. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 823
which assertcth the possibility of believing without the efficacy of supernatural grace? The desire of self-sufficiency was the ruin of Adam, and the conceit of self-sufficiency is the ruin of multitudes of his posterity. This doctrine is not only contradictory to the current st ream of scripture, Phil. ii. IS. 1 John i. IS. 'With many other scrip- tures ; but it is also contradictory to the common sense and experi- ence of believers ; yet the pride of nature will strive to maintain what scripture and experience plainly contradict and overthrow.
Inf. 2. Hence ice may also triform ourselves, how it cometh to pass that so many rational, wise and learned men miss Christ, whilst the simple and illiterate, even babes in natural knowledge, obtain interest in him, and salvation by him. The reason hereof is plainly given us by Christ, in Matth. xiii. 11. "To you it is given to know the " mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." It is the dropping and dews of divine teaching upon one, and not upon another, that dryeth up the green tree, and maketh the drv tree to flourish. Many natural men have very fine brains, search- ing wits, solid judgments, nimble fancies, tenacious memories ; they can search out the mysteries of nature, solve the phcenomena, satisfy the enquiries of the most curious ; they can measure the earth, discover the motions of the heavens ; but after all take up their place in hell, when, in the mean time, the statutes of the Lord (by the help of his teachings) make zoisc the simple, Psal. xix. 17. It is no matter how dull and incapable the scholar be, if God undertake to be the teacher. I remember, Austin speaks of one who was commonly reputed a fool, and yet he could not but judge him to be truly godly, and that by two signs of grace which ap- peared in him ; one was, his seriousness when he heard any dis- courses of Christ ; the other was, his indignation manifested against sin. It was truly said by those two Cardinals, (who, riding to the council of Constance, overheard a. poor shepherd in the fields with tears bewailing his sins) Surgent indoeti ct rapient caelum ; The unlearned will rise and take heaven, whilst we with all our learning shall descend into hell.
hif.3. This also informs Us of the true reason of the strange and various successes of the gospel upon the souls of men. Here we see why the ministry of one man becomes fruitful, and another's barren ; yea why the labours of the same poor man prosper exceedingly at one time, and not at another ; these things are according as the teach- ings of God do accompany our teachings. We often see a weaker and plainer discourse blessed with success, whilst that which is more artificial, neat and laboured, comes to nothing. St. Austin hath a pretty similitude to illustrate this ; Suppose, saith he, two conduits, the one very plain, the other curiously carved and adorn- ed with images of lions, eagles, $c. the water doth not refresh
THE METHOD OF GRACE. SERM. XXIII.
and nourish as it cometh from such a curious conduit, but as it is water. Where we find most of man, we frequently find least of God. I speak not this to encourage carelessness and laziness, but to provoke the dispensers of the gospel to more earnestness and frequent prayer for the assistance and blessing of the Spirit upon their labours, and to make men less fond of their own gifts and abilities ; blear-eyed Leah may bear children, when beautiful Ra- chel proves barren.