First, The general publishing of the gospel unto "all nations," with the right that it hath to be preached to " every creature," Matt, xxviii. 19; Mark xvi. 15; because the way of salvation which it declares is wide enough for all to walk in. There is enough in the remedy it brings to light to heal all their diseases, to deliver them from all their evils. If there were a thousand worlds, the gospel of Christ might, upon this ground, be preached to them all, there being enough in Christ for the salvation of them all, if so be they will derive virtue from him by touching him in faith ; the only way to draw refresh- ment from this fountain of salvation. It is, then, altogether in vain which some object, that the preaching of the gospel to all is altoge- ther needless and useless, if Christ died not for all ; yea, that it is to make God call upon men to believe that which is not true, — namely, that Christ died for them; for, first, besides that amongst those
298 THE DEATH OF DEATH. [BOOK IV.
nations whither the gospel is sent tliere are some to be saved ("I have much people,") which they cannot be, in the way that God hath appointed to do it, unless tlie gosj)el be preached to others as well as themselves; and besides, secondly, that in the economy and dispensa- tion of the new covenant, by which all external differences and privi- leges of people, tongues, and nations being abohshed and taken away, the word of grace was to be preached without distinction, and all men called everywhere to repent; and, thirdly, that when God calleth upon men to believe, he doth not, in the first place, call upon them to believe that Christ died for them, but that there is no name under heaven given unto men whereby they might be saved, but only of Jesus Christ, through whom salvation is preached ; — I say, besides these certain truths, fully taldrig off that objection, this one thing of which we speak is a sufficient basis and ground for all those general precepts of preaching the gospel unto all men, even that sufficiency which we have described.
Secondly, That the preachers of the gospel, in their particular congregations, being utterly unacquainted Avith the purpose and secret counsel of God, being also forbidden to pry or search into it, Deut. xxix. 29, may from hence justifiably call upon every man to believe, with assurance of salvation to every one in jDarticular upon his so doing, knowing, and being fully persuaded of this, that there is enough in the death of Christ to save every one that shall so do; leaving the purpose and counsel of God, on whom he will bestow faith, and for whom in particular Christ died (even as they are com- manded), to himself.
And this is one principal thing, which, being well observed, will crush many of the vain flourishes of our adversaries ; as will in par- ticular hereafter appear.
2. A second thing to be considered is, the economy or adminis- tration of the new covenant in the times of the gospel, with the amplitude and enlargement of the kingdom and dominion of Christ after his appearance in the flesh; whereby, all external dillerences being taken away, the name of Gentiles removed, the partition -wall broken down, the promise to Abraham that he should be heir of the world, as he was father of the fiiithful, was now fully to be accom- plished. Now, this administration is so opposite to that dispensation which was restrained to one people and family, who were God's peculiar, and all the rest of the world excluded, that it gives occasion to many general expressions in the Scripture ; which are far enough from comprehending a universality of all individuals, but denote only a removal of all such restraining exceptions as were before in force. So that a consideration of the end whcreunto these general expressions are used, and of what is aimed at by them, will clearly
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manifest their nature, and how they are to be understood, with whom they are that are intended by them and comprehended in them. For it being only this enlargement of the visible kingdom of Christ to all nations in respect of right, and to many in respect of fact (God having elect in all those nations to be brought forth, in the several generations wherein the means of grace are in those places em- ployed), that is intended, it is evident that they import only a dis- tribution of men through all differences whatsoever, and not a uni- versal collection of all and every one; the thing intended by them requiring the one and not the other. Hence, those objections which are made against the particularity of the ransom of Christ, and the restraining of it only to the elect, from the terms of all, all men, all nations, the world, the whole world, and the like, are all of them exceeding weak and invalid, as wresting the general expressions of the Scripture beyond their aim and intent, they being used by the Holy Ghost only to evidence the removal of all personal and national distinctions, — the breaking up of all the narrow bounds of the Old Testament, the enlai'ging the kingdom of Christ beyond the bounds of Jewry and Salem, abolishing all old restrictions, and opening a way for the elect amongst all people (called "The fulness of the Gen- tiles,") to come in ; there being now "neither Greek nor Jew, circumci- sion nor uncircumcision. Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all, and in all," Col. iii. 11. Hence the Lord promiseth to "pour out his Spirit upon all flesh," Joel ii. 28 ; which Peter interpreteth to be accomplished by the filling of the apostles with the gifts of the Spirit, that they might be enabled to preach to several nations. Acts ii. 17, '"'having received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations" Rom. i. 5 ; — not the Jews only, but some among all nations, "the gospel being the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek," verse 1 6 ; intending onl}^, as to salvation, the peculiar bought by Christ, which he "redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation," Rev. v. 9, where ye have an evident distribution of that which in other places is generally set down ; the gospel being com- manded to be preached to all these nations. Matt, xxviii. 19, that those bought and redeemed ones amongst them all might be brought home to God, John xi. 52. And this is that which the apostle so largely sets forth, Eph. ii. 14-17. Now, in this sense, which we have explained, and no other, are those many places to be taken which are usually urged for universal grace and redemption, as shall after- ward be declared in particular.