Fifthly, The design and end of this blindness under the Gospel is most dreadful, so saith my Text, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Answerable whereunto are those words, Isa. 6. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and 1shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart; and convert, and be healed. ⟨p. 586⟩So that it is plain, this blinding is a praeludium to damnation, as the covering of Hamans face was to his destruction. When the Lord hath no purpose of grace and mercy to a mans soul, then to bring about the damnation of that man by a righteous permission; many occasions of blindness befall him, which Satan improves effectually unto his eternal ruin, among which fatal occasions, blind guides, and scandalous professors are none of the least, they shall be fitted with Ministers suitable to their humours, who shall speak smooth things: if a man walk in the Spirit, and falsehood (i. e. by an [Greek or Hebrew]—the spirit of falsehood) do lie saying, I will prophesy to thee of wine and strong drink. he shall even be the prophet of this people: and the slips and falls of professors shall do the Devil not a little service in this his fatal design. Mat. 18. 7. Woe to the world because of offences: This shall blind them, and harden them to purpose. Thus you see what a dreadful Judgement this is, a stroke of God upon the soul which cuts off all the present comforts of Christ and Religion from it, takes away the bridle of restraint from sin, and makes way for the final ruin of the soul. A far greater Judgement it is, than the greatest calamity or affliction, which can befall us in this world. If our names suffer by the greatest reproaches, our bodies by the most painful diseases, our estates by the greatest losses; if God strike every comfort we have in this world dead by affliction: all this is nothing compared with this blinding Judgement of God upon the soul. For they may come from the tender love of God to us, Heb. 12. 6. But this is the effect of his wrath, they may cleanse sin, Isa. 27. 9. but this increases it; they often prove occasions of conversion, Job 36. 8, 9. but this is the great obstruction to it.
Fifthly, The design and end of this blindness under the Gospel is most dreadful, so saith my Text, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Answerable whereunto are those words, Isa. 6. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and 1shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart; and convert, and be healed. ⟨p. 586⟩So that it is plain, this blinding is a praeludium to damnation, as the covering of Hamans face was to his destruction. When the Lord hath no purpose of grace and mercy to a mans soul, then to bring about the damnation of that man by a righteous permission; many occasions of blindness befal him, which Satan improves effectually unto his eternal ruine, among which fatal occasions, blind guides, and scandalous professors are none of the least, they shall be fitted with Ministers suitable to their humours, who shall speak smooth things: if a man walk in the Spirit, and falshood (i. e. by an 〈non-Latin alphabet〉—the spirit of falshood) do lie saying, I will prophesie to thee of wine and strong drink. he shall even be the prophet of this people: and the slips and falls of professors shall do the Devil not a little service in this his fatal design. Mat. 18. 7. Wo to the world because of offences: This shall blind them, and harden them to purpose. Thus you see what a dreadful Judgement this is, a stroak of God upon the soul which cuts off all the present comforts of Christ and Religion from it, takes away the bridle of restraint from sin, and makes way for the final ruine of the soul. A far greater Judgement it is, than the greatest calamity or affliction, which can befal us in this world. If our names suffer by the greatest reproaches, our bodies by the most painful diseases, our estates by the greatest losses; if God strike every comfort we have in this world dead by affliction: all this is nothing compared with this blinding Judgement of God upon the soul. For they may come from the tender love of God to us, Heb. 12. 6. But this is the effect of his wrath, they may cleanse sin, Isa. 27. 9. but this increases it; they often prove occasions of conversion,
- 1Ira est Dei non intelligere delicta, ne sequatur poenitentia, Cyp. Ep. 3. Percussi sunt animi caecitane ut nec intelligant delicta, nec plangant: indignantis Dei major haec est ira, Cypr. de lapsis.
