Secondly, It is a dreadful judgment, if we consider the object about which the understanding is blinded, which is Jesus Christ, and union with him ; regeneration, and "the nature and necessity thereof. For this blindness is not universal, but respective and particular. A man may have abundance of light and knowledge in things natural and moral ; but spiritual things are hidden from his eyes. Yea, a man may know spiritual things in a natural way, which increaseth his blindness ; but he cannot discern them spiri- tually ; this is a sore judgment, and greatly to be bewailed. " Thou hast hid these things (said Christ) from the wise and pru- " dent, and hast revealed them unto babes," Mat. xi. 25. Learned and knowing men are ignorant of those things, which very babes in Christ understand. They are prudent in the management of earthly affairs ; but to save their own souls they have no knowledge. They are able, with Berengarius, to dispute de omni scibili, of every thing investigable by the light of nature ; yea, to open the scripture solidly, and defend the doctrines and truths of Christ against his adversaries successfully ; and yet blinded in the great mystery of regeneration, Blindness in part, (saith the apostle) is happened unto Israel ? and that, indeed was the principal part of knowledge, viz. the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and him crucified, we see farther than they. The literal knowledge of Jesus Christ shines clearly in our understanding. We are only blinded about those things which should give us saving interest in him, about the effectual application of Christ to our own souls.
466 THE METHOD OF GRACE. SERM. XXXV.
Thirdly, The dreadful nature of this spiritual blindness farther appears from the consideration of the season in which it befals men, which is the very time of God's patience, and the only op- portunity they have for salvation; after these opportunities are over, their eyes will be opened to see their misery, but alas, too late. Upon this account, Christ shed those tears over Jerusalem, Luke xix. 42. " O that thou hadst known, at least in this thy day, the " things that belong to thy peace ; but now they are hid from « thine eyes." Now the season of grace is past and gone; oppor- tunities are the golden spots of time, and there is much time in a short opportunity, as there are many pieces of silver in one piece of gold. Time signifies nothing when opportunities are gone ; to be blinded in the very season of salvation, is the judgment of all judgments, the greatest misery incident to man; to have our eyes opened when the seasons of salvation are past, is but an aggra- vation of misery : there is a twofold opening of men's eyes to see their danger, viz.
1 . Graciously to prevent danger.
2. Judicially to aggravate misery.
They whose eyes are not opened graciously in this world, to see their disease and remedy in Christ, shall have their eyes opened judicially in the world to come, to see their disease without any remedy. If God open them now, it is by way of prevention ; if they be not opened till then, it will produce desperation.
Fourthly, The horrible nature of this judgment farther appears from the exceeding difficulty of curing it, especially in men of ex- cellent natural endowments and accomplishments, John ix. 40, 41. " And some of the Pharisees which were with him, heard these " words, and said unto him, Are we blind also ? Jesus said unto " them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin : but now ye say, " We see : therefore your sin remained!," q. d. the pride and conceitedness of your heart and obstinacy and incurableness to your blindness ; these are " the blind people that have eyes ;" Isa. lxiii. 8. In seeing they see not. The conviction of such men is next to an impossibility.
Fifthly, The design and end of this blindness under the gospel is most dreadful * ; so saith my text, " The god of this world hath ^ blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light u of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, " should shine unto them." Answerable whereunto are those words, Isa. vi. 10. " Make the heart of this people fat, and make
* It is a sign of God's displeasure, when men understand not their faults lest repen- tance follow. Ci/pr. En. 2. But to be smitten with blindness of mind, so as neither to know nor lament their faults, is a higher evidence of the displeasure of an angry God,
SERM. XXXV. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 4GT
" make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they sec with " their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their " hearts, and convert, and be healed.r) So that it is plain, this blinding is a prceludium to damnation, as the covering of Haman s face was to his destruction. When the Lord hath no purpose of grace and mercy to a man's soul, then, to bring about the damna- tion of that man by a righteous permission, many occasions of blindness befal him, which Satan improves effectually unto his eternal ruin ; among which fatal occasions, blind guides and scan- dalous professors are none of the least ; they shall be fitted with ministers suitably to their humours, which shall speak smooth things : If a man walk in the spirit and falsehood, (i. e. by an sv dia, dvotv, — the spirit of falsehood) do lie, saying, I will prophesy to thee of wine and strong drink, he shall even be the prophet of this people : and the slips and falls of professors shall do the devil not a little service in this his fatal design ; Mat. xviii. 7. " Wo to " the world because of offences." This shall blind them, and har- den them to purpose. Thus you see what a dreadful judgment this is, a stroke of God upon the soul, which cuts off all the present com- forts of Christ and religion from it, takes away the bridle of re- straint from sin, and makes way for the final ruin of the soul. A far greater judgment it is than the greatest calamity or affliction which can befal us in this world. If our names suffer by the great- est reproaches, our bodies by the most painful diseases, our estates by the greatest losses ; if God strike every comfort we have in this world dead by affliction ; all this is nothing, compared with this blinding judgment of God upon the soul ; for they may come from the tender love of God to us, Heb. xii. 6. but this is the effect of his wrath ; they may cleanse sin, Isa. xxvii. 9. but this increases it ; they often prove occasions of conversion, Job xxxvi. 8, 9. but this is the great obstruction to it. In a word, they only wound the flesh, and that with a curable wound ; but this stabs the soul, and that with a mortal wound.
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