SECTION III. Q9 hope. If the Jews or Gentiles, who have ever heard the preach- ing of the gospel of Christ, in its clear light and evidence, re. . nounce the gospel and this Saviour, and rebel against this grace, I cannot find any claim, that they can have to the forgiveness of sins, or to their acceptance with God and eternal life. X. Where there is an entire and invincible ignorance of all God's appointed methods of grace, both patriarchal, Jewish and christian, if there should be any person humbly asking forgive- ness of God, and diligentin following every dictate of his own çonscience, and longing after some further discoveries of divine grace and his own duty, I will not deny but that God may con- descend to save him, through the extensive merits of the Media. tor, by sovereign and unpromised mercy; though he cannot claim the pardon of his sins or acceltance with God, because he has no revelation of grace made to him. Or if God see it neces- sary to acquaint him with any explicit methods of his grace, in order to his salvation, I am persuaded, wheresoever he finds such a sineere soul, he will inwardly illuminate him, by his own Spirit of revelation, or will send an angel or an apostle to him, as hedid to Cornelius, to speak words to him, whereby he shall he sared ; Acts xi. 14. And I have given this as one rea- son of it before, viz. because, if there can be found any such humble sincere seeker after God, it is God himself has wrought this religious temper in the heart, and he will not forsake the workof his own hands. XL But the modern deists, who are obstinate in their infi- delity; and the apostates in our age and nation, who have re- nounced their faith, can takeno manner of sanctuary under the examples ofthese men, Job, Jethro, Melchisedec, and Cornelius ; nor can they borrow a grain of ease to their consciences, nor one glimpse of hope from all the concessions I have made in favour of the heathen nations: For they have much clearer light mani- fested to them, than any of the persons I havebeen speaking of; either in ancient or modern times, and some of them at least, seem to wink against the sun-beams, content to dwell in dark- ness, and fondof heathenism. I would ask any ofour English infidels this plain question, Whether Cornelius himself could have claimed or expected acceptance with God and salvation, if hehadrefused to believe, and obey the doctrines and duties of the religion, which God revealed to him, by the means ofan angeL And an apostle? And if they themselves abuse so glorious a light, as shines among them in Great Britain, not only Job and Melchisedec, and Cornelius, but even the poor Muscovitesand Laplanders, and all the blindest part of the heathen world, will rise up against them in the great day ; even Sodom and Gomor= rah, the negroes and hottentots of Africa, and the wild American savages, will stand in judgment against them, and condemn
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