A Bag of Poison Cast by Satan, by John Flavel.

A Bag of Poison Cast by Satan, by John Flavel.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.—2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
~ Matthew 4:8-9

But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
~ 2 Corinthians 3:14

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
~ Isaiah 6:10

He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
~ John 12:40

At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
~ Matthew 11:25

They whose eyes are not opened graciously in this world to see their disease and remedy in Christ shall have their eyes opened judicially in the world to come to see their disease without any remedy. If God open them now, it is by way of prevention. If they be not opened until then, it will produce desperation.

The horrible nature of this judgment further appears from the exceeding difficulty of curing it, especially in men of excellent natural endowments and accomplishments. “And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (Joh 9:40-41), q. d., the pride and conceitedness of your heart and obstinacy and incurableness to your blindness. These are “the blind people that have eyes” (Isa 43:8). In seeing, they see not (see Mat 13:13). The conviction of such men is next to an impossibility.

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: “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (Isa 6:10). So that it is plain (that) this blinding is a prelude to damnation, as the covering of Haman’s face was to his destruction (Est 7:8-10). When the Lord hath no purpose of grace and mercy to a man’s 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 (those) fatal occasions, blind guides and scandalous professors are none of the least. They shall be fitted with ministers suitably to their humors, which shall speak smooth things. “If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood (i.e., by a spirit of falsehood) do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people” (Mic 2:11). And the slips and falls of professors shall do the devil not a little service in this his fatal design. “Woe unto the world because of offences” (Mat 18:7). This shall blind them and harden them to purpose.

Thus, you see what a dreadful judgment this is—a stroke of God upon the soul that 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 judgment it is than the greatest calamity or affliction that 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 judgment of God upon the soul. For they (afflictions) may come from the tender love of God to us, but this is the effect of His wrath. They may cleanse sin (Heb 12:6; Isa 27:9), but this (blindness) increases it. They often prove occasions of conversion (Job 36:8-9), but this (blindness) is the great obstruction to it. In a word, they only wound the flesh, and that with a curable wound; but this stabs the soul, and that with a mortal wound.

If this is the case of the unbelieving world—to be so blinded by the god of this world—how little should we value the censures and slanders of this blind world?

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