St. Luke ii. 32.

A Light to lighten the Gentiles.

HOUGH the Jewish Nation
was, by the Designment of
GOD, to be fo happy above
all other Nations of the
World, that the Meffiah, or

Saviour, was to defcend from one of their
Tribes; yet was he not to be born, and
come into the World for their Benefit on-
ly, as they indeed vainly imagined; but
his coming was to be of universal Benefit
to Mankind, that all other Nations, as
well as they, might be Bleffed in him,
when by his Means they fhould all fee
and feel the Salvation of God.

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On this

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Account was he, by the Prophet Haggai ftyled, The Defire of all Nations, Hag. ii. 7. And it was more than once exprefly foretold of him by another, above 700 Years before he was born, viz. by the Evangelical Prophet Ifaiah, That God would give him a Light to the Gentiles, that he might be for Salvation unto the Ends of the Earth, Ifai. xlii. 1, 6. and xlix. 6. The very fame Thing which good old Simeon, fill'd with the Spirit of GoD, here prophefied of him, when he took him up in his Arms in the Temple, and bleffed God, and faid, Lord, now letteft thou thy Servant depart in Peace according to thy Word, for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation, which thou haft prepared before the Face of all People, A Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of thy People Ifrael. The former Part of this Prophecy began to be fulfilled very foon, as we hope the latter Part will alfo be in God's good Time.

AND indeed a Great and Glorious Work of GOD this was, and highly worthy of the great Lover of Souls, thus to take Compaffion upon a miferably dark be

nighted

nighted World, as that of the Gentiles was, and to caufe a Light to fpring up, even the Sun of Righteousness to arife with bealing in his Wings, on them who fat in Darkness, and in the Shadow of Death.

THIS is the Subject I propofe to entertain your Mediations with at this Time. A Subject, I hope, not improper to be treated on on this Occafion, the Solemn Anniversary Meeting of this Honourable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

Now that I may treat of it in the moft ufeful Manner, fo as to beget in our Minds a due Senfe of the immenfe Goodnefs of GOD, in thus giving his Son to be a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and of our Obligations confequent upon it, I apprehend it will be proper for me to do thefe Two Things.

Firft, To endeavour to reprefent to you the fad, forlorn, wretched State of the Gentile World, before CHRIST our Lord and Saviour was born.

Secondly, To fhew what was done by him for the Enlightning of it, and the happy Confequences enfuing thereupon.

HAVING done both thefe, I fhall conclude with a fuitable Application.

Firft, I fhall endeavour to represent to you the fad, forlorn, wretched State of the Gentile World, before CHRIST Our Lord and Saviour was born.

Now in order to this, we may obferve, that this is continually fet out to us in the Holy Scriptures, under the Metaphor of Darkness, St. Luke i. 79. To give Light to them that fit in Darkness. Acts xxvi. 18. To open their Eyes, (that is, the Gentiles) and to turn them from Darkness to Light, and from the Power of Satan unto God. Ephef. v. 8. For ye were fometimes Darkness, but now are ye Light in the Lord. And in many other Places, too well known, to want to be recited here before this Auditory. Now we all know, that Darkness is a very melancholy, un

comfortable

comfortable State. He that walketh in Darkness, fays our Saviour, St. John xii. 35. knoweth not whither be goeth. He cannot go forward with any comfortable Affurance of Safety, as he that walketh in the Light may do, for his Mind is in fome Confufion, by Reafon of the Danger he is in; he may fall into a Pit, or into a Snare, fome fatal Mifchief may attend him, his next Step, for ought he knows, may be to his Ruine. Which gives all Mankind a natural Averfion to it, a Fear and Dread of it, and makes them rejoice at the Return of the Light and Day. And well therefore might the faddeft State, that ever Mankind was in, be represented by Darkness. A Darkness, in this refembling that of Egypt, that it was a Darkness which might be felt. It was a Darkness far more uncomfortable than that of the Night, occafioned by the withdrawing of the Light of the Sun, and is removed again when that returns the next Morning: For it was a Darkness drawn over the Understanding of Men; it affected their better Part, the nobleft Faculty of the Soul. Their Reafon was clouded with fo thick a Veil of Ignorance and Error, A 4

that