Christ must be preached ; but to whom ? ' To the Gentiles.'
Here lies the mystery, that Christ, who was ' manifest in the flesh, justi- fied in the Spirit,' &c., should be ' preached to the Gentiles.' What were the Gentiles ? Before Christ's time they were ' dogs,' in our Saviour Christ's censure. ' Shall I give the children's bread to dogs ?' Mat. xv. 27. Before Christ's time they ' sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death,' Ps. cvii. 10. Before Christ's time they were ' the halt and the lame,' that he, the great feast-maker, sent to bid come in, Luke xiv. 21. They were ' aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,' without Christ, ' without God in the world,' Ej^h. ii. 12 ; without God because they were without Christ. It is not to be imagined in what misery the poor Gentiles were before the coming of Christ, except some few proselytes that joined themselves to the Jewish Church, for the Gentiles worshipped devils. What were all their gods but devils ? They were under the kingdom of Satan when the gospel came to be preached among them. They were ' translated ' out of the kingdom of Satan, into the blessed and glorious kingdom of Christ, Col. i. 13. Yet we see here, notwithstanding, they were such kind of people ; the mystery of the gospel is preached to these, ' to the Gentiles.'
It was such a mystery as St Peter himself, although he were acquainted with it ofttimes by Christ, and he might read of it in the prophets, yet, notwithstanding, he was to be put in mind of it. Acts x. 13. When he was to go to Cornelius he saw a vision full of beasts, and a voice sajnng, ' Kill and eat,' and indeed, the ' Gentiles' were little better than beasts. They were esteemed so before they had the gospel, and the preaching of it to them. You see it was a mystery to St Peter himself.
Ohj. But why did God suffer the Gentiles to ' walk in their own ways ?' as the apostle saith. Acts xiv. 16. Why did he neglect and overlook the Gentiles, and suSer them to go on ' in their own ways,' so many thousand years before Christ came ? Were they not God's creatures as well as the Jews ?
I answer, This is a mystery, that God should suffer those witty* people, that were of excellent parts, to go on ' in their own ways.' But there was matter enough in themselves. We need not call God to our bar to answer for himself. They were malicious against the light they knew. They imprisoned the light of nature that they had, as it is Rom. i. 21. They were unfaithful in that they had. Therefore, besides that it is a mystery, God may well be excused. Do but look to the judgment that some of the heathens had of divine things, what reprobate and malicious judgments they had, how basely they esteemed of the Jews. The Jewish nation, saith Tully, shew how God regards them, in that she hath been overcome * That is, ' wise.' — G. , , •
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SO oft, by Nebuchadnezzar and Pompey, &c.* What a reasoning was this. And that proud historian Tacitus, how scornfully doth he speak of Christians (/.•), It is not to be imagined the pride that was in the heathens against the Jewish religion, especially the Christian religion, how they scorned and persecuted it, in the beginning of it. So you see, in the best of the heathen men there was matter and ground of God's just condemning of them ; therefore we need not quarrel with God against that.
Ohj. But here is another mystery. Why the Gentiles, being all alike naught, t God should leave the better of the Gentiles, and reveal Christ to the worst. Were not Socrates, and Plato, and such like, more goodly moralists than the Corinths and Ephesians ? What kind of people were the Corinthians ? A proud people, ' fornicators, idolaters ;' as the apostle saith, * such were some of you,' Eph. v. 8, and 1 Cor. vi. 11. Here is a mystery.
Ans. It is God's sovereignty. We must let God do what he will. ' He will be merciful to whom he will be merciful,' and ' he will neglect whom he will.' Saith Austin, ' We must be very reverent in these matters ;' it is most safe to commit all to God, and usurp no judgment here flj. It is a mystery ; yet there is some satisfying reason may be given why the Gentiles were called, when Christ came in the flesh, and not before ; besides many prophecies foretold that it should be so, and some reason may be given w'hy it was so.
Because they were to be incorporate to the Jews, to be ' fellow-citizens ' with the church of the Jews, They were to be of God's household, as it is excellently and largely set down in Eph. ii. 19. Now Christ coming took down the ' partition-wall.' Christ is the centre in whom they meet, in whom they are one. Therefore they met one with another when Christ came, because he is the Saviour of both. He is the ' corner-stone' whereupon both are built. So that now they are ' fellow- citizens' since Christ came.