to theE P H E SI A N S. Myfleries in their Religion, but they kept them as Myfleries, they never told the~ p pie of them. Popery you know is called a My!tety of Iniquity , as rhi, is Serm. IX. called the Myfiery of God's will, for the Devil hath made a Gofpel for his eldefi ~ Son, as God hath for his Son. But what IS ~he reafon they will ~ot let y_ou know it, bur keep you in ignorance? Becaufe 1t ts a myflery ol IntqUJty'· and People would come to fee the iniquity of It,. If they knew the myflery of 1t. But t~1e Gofpel, it is the Myfiery of Gods wlil; fa~th God, all that you know by me ts, that I will fave poor Sinners, that I del1ght 10 Mercy, I care not who knows tillS, faith God, it is a matter of Grace, and therefore he makes known th~ _Myfiery of his will. ThisisthcGloryofourGod, and the glory of our Rehgton, and the glory of the Gofpel. Would all the Saints in the world underfiood eve~ ry Tittle of this 13ook ~ then our Sermons would be under!lood, and we 1l10uld preach with cafe My Brethren, God delircs tlm, and we delire n, to have all men lmow the myfiery of his will. Accordi11g to hiJ goodpteajitre, which he h<Jth purpofed in himfetj. That which remaineth is this, That which was the moving caufe of niakitig known the myfiery of his will, and of calling home thofe whom he had called, and fhall call to the end of the World; It is accordi11g to hiJgoodpleajitre which he h,Jd pttrpo(ed in h11nfe!f. When I opened the I' th. verfe, I fl1ewed that, ;,J',,.fd., the good pleafure of his will, was that which ofall things elfe he is pleafed moll with, though he \villeth other things. Here it is limply faid, A6Cordi11g to hu goodpteafitre, but the thing is a11 one. It was out of the good plearure ofhis will, that be did choofe us and predefiinate us to gl~rJ:, to adoption, to perfect holinefs, as the 4th. and )th•. verfes have it. And tt ts out of the fame good will that he makes known the Gofpel favingly to any onesheart, and converts him, ~nd turns him to him. . It is a known place, that mMat. r 1. 2)· (to confirm tbu to you,) At that time 'Jtfits mtf<i!Jeredand{aid;I thtmk thee,O Father, LordofHeaven rmd Earth, thatthotthajl hid thefe thilzgs from the wifr and prttdmt, rmd haft revealed them tmto Babrs, even Jo Fathrr, for fo itfeemed good in thyfight t1•*1•<l)'h•1• '""'"'•· The word i• the fame that is here. It was thy good pleafure, that thou lhouldefi put this difference, to reveal it unto fome, and thofe Babes, and pafs by the wife and prudent: He fpeaks it of m~king known the myfiery of his will, the thing in the Text. Now, when he fatth, ltha1lk thee, becati{t tbouhajl hid thefe thmgs from the wift andpmdmt, andh.zf/ revealedthem to Bilbes, for Jo itJeemedgoodin thyjight; It is not that he doth make the ground, the ttrtiu1ttts of it, to be in Gods hiding of it limply from the wife dr li'om the pniderit; but the thing he giveth thanks for, it is, his revealing it to Babes. Only, here is the mercy fct off the more, there is this foil cafi upon it, that he hideth it from the wife and prudent, while he revealeth it unto Babes, and herein is feen by refufing fome and taking others, the good pleafure ofhis will. . . It is a like fpeech too, that in Rom. 16, •7· God be thanked, that ~ou 1!Jtre the fervants of Sm, btttyou htJVe obeyedfrom the heart, that form of Vofirilu whichyott wert dt!ivered iltJo._ He doth not thank God that they were the fer.– vants oflin limply,but that which he thankethGod for,was,that they had obeyed that form of Doctnne they w~re delivered u~to, only feeing they were the fer– vanrs of fin once, the mercy ts fet off by thzs fo much the more. Ju!l fo here, Fathtr,l thmzk thn, becmtje thou haft hidthefe thhzgsfrom the wife andpr11dent, m1d hafl rrvealedthemtmto Babes, for tVeiJ fo If fumed good in thyjight. I fhall have recourfe to this place by and by. You have the like in 'Cor, r. 21. where the fame phrafe is ufed, the fame word of Gods good ploafure that is here; and it is fpoken of God's revealing the Gofpel to the Babes of the Wor!d, as you may read there throughout the Chap·, ter. Not many ":Ife, nor many, noble, &c. and the reafon was tbis,becaufe God would confound wtfe men after the flefh, by enabling poor Creatures to fave iheir own Souls. ' I will make but an Obfervation out of this, aridfo pafs from it. God'~
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