of by God as the mediate or second cause of it; he conveys it by the
power and influence of natural means. But this spiritual knowledge,
spoken of in the text, is that God is the author of, and none else:
he reveals it, and flesh and blood reveals it not. He imparts this
knowledge immediately, not making use of any intermediate natural
causes, as he does in other knowledge. What has passed in the
preceding discourse naturally occasioned Christ to observe this;
because the disciples had been telling how others did not know Him,
but were generally mistaken about Him, and divided and confounded in
their opinions of Him: but Peter had declared his assured faith, that
He was the Son of God. Now it was natural to observe, how it was not
flesh and blood that had revealed it to him, but God: for if this
knowledge were dependent on natural causes or means, how came it to
pass that they, a company of poor fishermen, illiterate men, and
persons of low education, attained to the knowledge of the truth;
while the scribes and Pharisees, men of vastly higher advantages
and greater knowledge and sagacity in other matters, remained in
ignorance? This could be owing only to the gracious distinguishing
influence and revelation of the Spirit of God. Hence, what I would
make the subject of my present discourse from these words, is this
doctrine. That there is such a thing as a spiritual and divine light,
immediately imparted to the soul by God, of a different nature from
any that is obtained by natural means.

1. Those convictions that natural men may have of their sin and misery
is not this spiritual and divine light. Men in a natural condition may
have convictions of the guilt that lies upon them, and of the anger of
God, and their danger of divine vengeance. Such convictions are from
light or sensibleness of truth. That some sinners have a greater
conviction of their guilt and misery than others, is because some have