but that he would declare to them the Purpofe of God, which they were ignorant of. The fame Ufe of the Word you may meet with in our bleffed Saviour himself: When he had defcribed the future State of the Church in Parables to the Jews, and came afterwards to explain them to the Disciples, he tells them the Reafon of his Proceeding; Because, fays he, unto you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but unto them it is not given. All Futurities, because known only to God, are Mysteries; but, when revealed, they are no longer fo, being made known and manifeft. Thus, 'tis plain, St. Paul uses the Word in 1 Cor. xiii, where he joins the Gift of Prophecy and the Knowledge of Mysteries together: Though I have, fays he, the Gift of Prophecy, and underftand all Myfteries and all Knowledge: Where 'tis plain what he means by Mysteries, fince they are to be understood by the Gift of Prophecy. In the fourth Chapter of the fame Epiftle he fhews what Account we are to make of our Paftors and Teachers: Let a Man, fays he, fo account of us, as of the Minifters of Chrift, and Stewards of the Myfteries of God. His Meaning is not, that they were Preachers of Myfteries in the vulgar Notion of it, that is, of Things which

no-body

no-body can understand; but that God had entrusted them with his Purposes and Intentions in the Salvation of Mankind, which they, like good Stewards, were to dispense to the whole Family, by declaring and revealing the whole Will of God.

The fame Apoftle fays, Chap. ii. 7. We Speak the Wisdom of God in a Mystery; and in the next Words explains what he means by Mystery, even the hidden Wifdom which God ordained before the World to our Glory: And in the tenth Verse he tells us, this is no longer hidden, but the Mystery is laid open; God having revealed it unto us by his Spirit. In the fame Sense we read of the Mystery of Faith: Where we are not to understand the Apoftle to mean incomprehenfible Articles of Faith, but the Revelations of God's Purposes and Defigns, which through Faith we receive, and are therefore styled the Mysteries of Faith.

In this Sense the Gospel is full of Mysteries, as containing the fecret Purposes of God's hidden Wisdom in the Redemption of the World, which were made manifeft by Chrift Jefus, who brought Life and Immortality to Light. Against this Gospel Senfe of Mystery the common Objections have no Force; fince Mysteries here are not understood to be fuch Things

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Things as Reafon cannot receive, but fuch Things as proceed from the hidden Wisdom of God, and are made manifeft in the Gospel of Christ.

Let us then, in the fecond Place, proceed to fhew, That the Notion of Myfteries, against which the Objection lies, does not belong to the Gofpel. The Objection represents a Mystery as a Thing inconceivable, and altogether irreconcileable to human Reafon. But fuch Mysteries there are none in the Gospel of Christ. If Men, learned or unlearned, have run themselves into Contradictions by endeavouring to explain the Mysteries of God farther than he has explained them, be that to themselves: Let not the Gospel be charged with their Errors and Mistakes. Nothing indeed has proved more fatal to Religion, than the vain Attempts of Men to dive into the unrevealed Mysteries of God, and to account for, upon Principles of human Reason, the Things which proceed from the hidden Wisdom of God. All the fecret Purposes of Providence are, in the Senfe of the Scripture, Mysteries; as likewise all Knowledge which God has not revealed. Of such Mysteries are there many: But then they concern not us to inquire after; if they did, God would reveal them

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them to us. God has declared to us, That he has an only-begotten Son, and that he was the Perfon who came down from Heaven for our Deliverance: That he has an holy Spirit, who fhall fanctify our Hearts, and be affifting to us in working out our Salvation. This, and agreeable to this, is the Scripture Doctrine: And a Man would be put to it to fix any Abfurdity, or fo much as feeming Contradiction, upon this Doctrine, or any thing faid concerning it in Scripture. Concerning these Perfons there are indeed exceeding great Myfteries, which are not revealed: God has not told us, or enabled us to conceive, how his Son and his Spirit dwell in him, or how they came from him. These therefore are properly Mysteries, which are hidden in the fecret Wisdom of God, and which we are no-where called upon to inquire after. It is eafy, I think, to take God's Word, that he has a Son and a Spirit, who dwell with him and in him from all Eternity; a Son who came to our Affiftance, a Spirit who is ever with us to guide us into Truth: Thefe Things, I fay, are easy to be believed, without entering into the Difficulties arifing from natural and philofophical Inquiries, which the Scripture nowhere encourages us to feek after: And, as

long

long as Men keep close to the Rule and Doctrine of Scripture, they will find no Cause to enter into the great Complaints raised against Myfteries. The Scripture has revealed indeed wonderful Things to us, and for the Truth of them has given us as wonderful Evidence; fo that they are well qualified to be the Objects of our Faith: For fuch God defigned them, and not for the Exercise of our Vanity and Curiofity, or, as you call it, of our Reafon. If it is not reasonable to believe God upon the Gospel Evidence, there is an End of all Mysteries; but, if it is reasonable, there must be an End of all farther Inquiries: And I think common Sense will teach us not to call God to Account, or pretend to enter into the Reason of his Doings.