1. Take heed of joining superstition and popish trash uith it, or the like, that will eat out the very heart of the gospel, and sets up man in the place of Christ.
♦ Cf. note i. Vol. I. p. 101.— G. t That is, ' purity.'— G.
THE FOUNTAIN OPENED. 513
2. Again, Take heed of decaying in our first love. We see God tlireatenetli the churcli of Ephesus, for not cherisliing and maintaining her first love ; that he would remove not only the gospel, but the ' candlestick,' the church itself. For security in abundance and plenty, and decay in her first love, God threateneth that he will scatter the candlestick, the church itself, into foreign places.
3. Again, A sin against the gospel is unfraitfalness under it. When men shall have the blessed influence of the gospel, the soul-saving truth, the good word to be long among them, and to be as barren under it as if they were pagans ; for the gospel to have no more power over our souls than if we had no gospel at all ; that there is no difierence between us and heathens in regard of our conversations ; to go no further then they, nay, not so far in honesty, and justice, and sobriety : let us take heed of these and the like sins against the gospel. And I say, it should be a ground of labouring the conversion of those that be savages, be they never so barbarous, to labour to gain them to Christ. There are indeed some hindrances. There be Jannes and Jambres among them, instruments of the devil, to keep them in blindness and ignorance, and then custom that they are bred in, — which prevails most with the sorriest people, — for ignorant people that have their wits determined to one way they are so strong in it, as they are not to be untaught ; as it is hard to teach a beast, because he is taught to go one way, for want of variety of conceptions, being void of reason. Now, people by nature are little better than beasts. Therefore they are so fixed and determined in that way they are brought up in, and are so settled by the devil and those priests among them, and by the tyranny of those that have come among them, the Spaniards, &c., that hath hin- dered their conversion much, yet, take them as bad as they can be, God hath a time for them. What were we of this nation sixteen hundred years agone ? There is a fulness of the Gentiles to come in ; and certainly it is not yet come fully. For it is probable, nay, more than probable, that there are some people that never had the gospel ; and the fulness of the Gentiles must come in before the other mystery of the calling of the Jews. I speak it to encourage those that have interest that way, not to take violent courses with them. There is nothing so voluntary as faith. It must be wrought by persuasions, not by violence ; and there is a ground of encouragement hence, that since the coming of Christ there is a liberty for all nations to come in, Christ must be ' preached to the Gentiles.'
To conclude this point. Let us consider that we are those Gentiles that have enjoyed this preaching of Christ; and it is the glory of our nation. It is not our strength, or riches, or any ornament above others, that sets us forth, so much as this, that we have the gospel * preached ' among us, that these blessed streams run so plentifully everywhere among us. Let us labour to value this inestimable benefit. Where the gospel is not ' preached,' there the places are salt-pits, despicable places, whatsoever they are else, as it is in Ezekiel.* They are under the kingdom of Satan. It is the glory of a nation to have the truth among them. ' The glory of Israel' was gone when the ark was taken, 1 Sam. iv. 21. The religion and truth we enjoy it is our ark ; our glory is gone if we part with that. Therefore, whatsoever God takes from us, let us desire that he would still continue the gospel of truth, that he would still vouchsafe to dwell among ns, and not leave us. What were all things in the world besides, if we had not the blessed truth of God ? We must leave all ere long. Therefore let * Query, Zeph. ii. 9 ? But cf. also Ezek. xlvii. 11.— G.
VOIi. v. K k
614 TUE FOUNTAIN OPENED.
ns labour to have Iho eyes of our undcrstandiug enlightened, to conceive aright of tho dilVorenco of things, and to value oursolvcs by this, that Christ is ' mauifostcd ' to us ; iuid thereby wc have interest in Christ, more than by any interest and part and portion in the world besides. For then Christ will delight to be with us still, when wo make much of him, and esteem, and prize, and value him.
♦ Believed on in the world.'
After ' preached to tho Gentiles,' he joins ' believed on in tho world,' to shew that faith ' comes by hearing.' Indeed, ' preaching' is the ordinance of God, sanctified for the begetting of faith, for tho opening of the under- standing, for the drawing of tho will and aflectious to Christ. Faith is the marriage of tho soul to Christ. Now in marriage there must not be a mis- take and error in tho person, for then it is a kind of nullity. Now that the person to whom we are to be married by faith may bo known to us, there is an ordinance of preaching set up, to lay open our own beggary and necessity, what wc are without him ; and to open the riches of our husband, the nobility, and privileges, and whatsoever is glorious in Christ, that tho church may know what a kind of husband she is like to have. In Kom. X. 14, seq., you have the scala cceU, the ladder of heaven, as a good old mart3'r called it ; and we must not presume to alter the staves of that ladder (m). ' How can they call upon him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe without a preacher ? and how shall they preach unless they be sent ?' Here is preaching, and believing, and then prayer. There are some that are bitter against this ordinance of preaching, and advance'another excellent ordinance of prayer, to the disparagement of this : if they would join them both together, it were well. You see what the apostle saith : ' How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe without a preacher?' without this ordinance of preaching ? shewing that we cannot have the spirit of pra^yer without faith, nor faith without preaching. And the wise man saith, ' He that turns his ear from hearing the law ' (under what pretence soever), ' his prayer shall be abominable,' Prov. xxviii. 9. The prayers of such men that would cry down this ordinance, how are they like to be accepted ? They are abominable. We see here the apostle sets them down in this degree, hearing, and believing, and prayer ; and here in this place preaching goes before believing.