4. Again, If we consider another circumstance, it adds to the mystery ; that is, tJie suddenness of the conquest. The world was conquered to the faith and obedience of Christ. In a short time after Christ, one man, St Paul, spread the gospel almost all the world over; he conquered almost all the world ; he spread the savour of the gospel like lightning, suddenly and strongly, because there was an almighty power and Spirit accompanying the glorious gospel; and thereupon it came to be thus effectual with the world.
5. Again, It is a wonder in respect of Christ, whom the world ' believed on.' What was Christ ? Indeed, he was the Son of God, but he appeared in abased flesh, in the form of a ' servant.' He was crucified. And for the proud world to believe in a crucified Saviour, it was a mystery.
* That is, ' wise.'— G. j Cf. Vol. III. page 9, footuote.— G.
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6. Lastly, It is a great mystery, especially ■///• respect of faith itself, faith being so contrary to the nature of man. For the heart of man, where faith is wrought, to go out of itself, and to embrace a beginning, and principle, and rising of life from another ; to seek justification and salvation by the righteousness and obedience of another ; for the proud heart of man to stoop to this, to acknowledge no righteousness of its own to stand before the tribunal of God, but to have all derived from Jesus Christ ; to fetch forgiveness of sins out of the death of another ; to wrap itself iu the righteousness and obedience of Christ, given of God for it : the heart of man, without a supernatural work of the Spirit to subdue it, will never yield to this, because proud flesh and blood will alway have somewhat in itself to doat upon, and to set it out before God ; and when it finds nothing in itself, then it despairs. For the heart of man thus to go out of itself, and rely only upon the righteousness of Christ, not having its own righteous- ness, this is the greatest mystery. Especially for a guilty soul, that hath its eyes opened to discern of its own estate ; for a conscience awakened to trust in God, being a holy God, a just God : for these two to meet to- gether, God, and a doubting, galled, misgiving conscience, forecasting the worst ; for such a conscience to find peace by this act of faith casting itself upon Christ, this is more than can be done by any power of nature.
There is somewhat in nature for all legal obedience. Man naturally hath some seeds, to love his parents, to hate murder, and the like ; but to go out of himself, and cast himself upon God's love and mercy in Christ, there is no seeds of this in nature, but all against faith in Christ. Ofttimes when a man is cast down, all in the world seems to make against him ; and then for a man to have his heart raised up by an almighty power to ' believe,' certainly this must be a mystery. I say, when all makes against him ; his conscience makes against him, and the judgment of God against him, and Satan's temptations against him — all the frame of things present seems to be against him — God himself ofttimes seems to be against him, to be an offended God, justly oflended with his sins. For the soul in this case to cast itself upon God in Christ, there must needs be a hidden and excellent deep work on the soul. This is the greatest mystery. The greatest difficulty is in this branch, considering how contraiy to the heart of man faith is.
Let us take heed of shallow conceits of faith, as if it were an easy common universal grace to ' believe.' No, beloved ! It is a supernatural powerful work. Saint Paul sets it out divinely and largely in Eph. i. 18. He calls it the ' mighty power of God.' It requires not only a power, but an almighty power, to raise the heart of man to believe. For even as the work of redemption by Christ is a greater work in itself than the work of creation, so also the work of conversion.
1. Though they be all one to an infinite power, yet the thing itself is more difiicult, to make the heart of man to believe, than to make a ivorld of nothing ; for when God made the world there was nothing to oppose- There he had to do with simply nothing. But when God comes to make the heart believe, he finds opposition and rebellion. He finds man against himself. He finds the heart and conscience against itself. He finds opposition from Satan, that helps man's distrustful heart. Then all meet together, afiiictions, the sense of God's anger and man's guilty conscience. Now to make such a man believe, is more than to create a world.
2. And as God shewed more power, so he shewed m,ore mercy in the work of redemj)tion than in the creation. In the creation there he did good to a good man ; Adam was created good, and he should, had he stood, have