to the EPH ES I A N S. ears, before the Gmtiles ihould ?<:called; he would not have Chrift come into~ ihe world, till he ihould break up a1s Decrees, ull there Jhould be t~e great birth Serm.Xlf, of his everlafiing Purpofes, t~at both ]ew and Gfli/Jie ihould come 10. . ~ When Chrifi was to come 10to the World, ~e was not to llay long for his re– ward What was his reward that he bargam d !or I Not !or theJrwonly, but a!fo f~r theGmtile. Ifai,49·5 ,6. it is driven there, by God the Father, bargain– wife: when he faw that he was to die only for the Jew, faith he,. ver-4- J have laboured i1l vain, a11d [pmtmyflre>~,gthfor 11ought. But what faJth God m an– fwer to him at the 6th verfe, Is it a light thm$ that thott jhouldejl h my Ser– VtJIIt, to raijeztp the Tribes of Jaco6, and. to rejlorethe prefervedof Ifrad? . J wit/ alf"o give theefor a light to the G_mt•les,. that thot< m{llflbe "!!' falvatJ01J 1111to the mds of the Earth. Our SaViOUr Chnll would have complamed, 1f he had not had theGmtiles brought in after his death; therefore God ordered his coming into the World th~n, when he meant to have both Jew and Ge11ti/e to be brought in; then Jhould the dpres of alt N1JtJo11s come, as you !mow he 1s called. And there w•s a grea.tdeal of reafon, that God lhould fuffer the Gnuiles and. all the World to lie in /in, long before Chrill came, that there might be a fulnefs of feafon for his coming.. Why? I will give you Scripture reafon. Firfl, He would have Mankind try all the ways they could for to be faved, and when they had tried, all in vain, Lo your Phylician, faith he, there is he that ihall help you. You have it All.J7.26,27,28,29, He fpeaks expre/ly to the point; (to open the Text) he telleth the Athenians there, ver, 26. that Godhfld made of o11e 6/oudalt Nations of men, and determzned thnr tzmes atJd the 6otmdsof their habitation; and he was pleafed to fet fuch times wherein the Gentiles Jhould walk in their own ways: he would afford them but. the help of nature, That they (hot1ld (eel< the Lord 1 v~rfe 27. if happily they "!ightfetl after him, find him in Jus works by gropmg m the dark, though, fatth he, he be uot far from every one ofyou. Let them try all the1r works of nature, whatever might do them any good; when he faw all thefe would lland you in no llead, then, faith he, he fende th his Son into the World. When they had tried all in vain, then there was a fulnefs of feafon. God11ow, faith he, verfe 30. commandeth all mm every where to repent. I will pack this with another Scripture, it is r Cor. 1. 21. He had left the World, theGmtttes, totheirPhilofophy, (thewifdom of the World, he calleth it, verj;2o.) to find out the way to be faved. Where is the Wifdom of this World? You Philofophers, where are you? God(faith he) h,,th made footijh the wzfdomof" this World. All the light that Nature bath, how made he it foolilh ?After thr~t(faith he,v.o 1 ,)the world 6ywifdom knew 11ot God. I will try you, whether by that wifdom I gave you by nature you will come to know me, I will turn Nature every way. Mark now, Ajier that, faith he, when through their-corrupt wifdom they did abufe that light God gave them, and inllead of knowing God, worihipped Idols, itplrajedGod 6y the (oolt/htujs (Jf Preacbi11g, to fave them that believe among the Gmtiles; to fend Chrifl, and by the pceach– ing of the Gofpel to fave thefe poor Gemiles, after they had tried all ways. So that it was the fttlllejs of feafo" every way. I will but add one Scripture more, and fo I will leave it. It was lit that a]J men ll1ould corrupt their ways to the full, before the Me.!fiah came.As they Jhould try all ways, how they could grope after God, and pervert all the wifdom and light God gave them, fo to be corrupted to the Uttermofl; for then the Phylician comes mofl feofonable to adminiller Phylick, when the difeafe is at the height. Read but the 14thand the nPj:J!ms, and read thelaflverfeof both. TheA– pofi!e quoteth both thofe two Pfalms in Rom. 3·'i· to ihew that all Mankind was corrupt. The Foot bath (aid in hi& heart thrrt i& 110 God; corrupt they are a11d hu.ve done abomi?Jab/e, tbey are altogeth;r 6ecome filthy, there u 11011e that doth good, 110 not one; their throat i& an open Sepulchre, f!ic. What followeth ? Oh, that tbe Redeemer wouldcome 011t of Zio11! That is the lafl verfe of thofe Pfalms. When 'David, by the Spirit of Prophecy, fore-faw that all men ihould corrupt their ways, that they were all full of wickednefs, and that the World could never bi fa ved of themfelves, and that they had tried all fort of ways to help
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