Sermon I. Of the N AT I v 1 T r E. __J;· ----------~----~--~~~~--~ know, aJ!i•mpjit, and tpprebendit, both, tl!ke; but apprebendit, with farre nidreferV"Ouran<f zeale, than the other. Aj[umpjit, any common ordmary dung; apprehend1t, a thmg ofpncc, which we hold deere 1 and much_eil:eeme of. . Now :to the former companfon, ofwhat.thcy, and what we, (but fpec1ally, V'1hat we,) addethis;hree-foldconlideration: I. That He denied itthe Angels, ·o, denied itperen-Jr– torilyJ·dvJ\1=; Neither looked; norCdlled, norfe;lt, nonvent afterthem :.Neither tooke bold of . them, norfulfered them to take hold ofH1m, or any prom1fe from H1m: Demed lt them, and denied it them thus. 2. But,grantedlt us; and granted Jt, how ~ fhat Hefollowed us firil:; andthar,withpaine: Andfeaz.edon us, afrer; and that with greatdejire · Weflying, and not worth rhe following: andJ;ing, and not worth the taking up. 'That He gaven~t leave for ustocometo Him: or,Cate fiill;artd fulfered us to rerurne,and take hold: (yet, th1s He d1d.) .>That He did not lookeafter us, nortall after us, nor(endafter us onely :(yct,all this Hedicf; too.) l But, Himfelfe rofeomofHis place;andctmeafter us; and with hand and foot, made afi:erus: Followedus, with Hisfeet ;andfe~don us,with His bands; and tl:iat,pcl'Viam,nott ajfit~npti,miJ,fedapprebe1JfioniS, (the manner, more than the thingic fdfe.) All thefe,ifwelay rogerhcr,and, when we have done; \Vetgh them well, 1t is ablcroworke wuh us. Surely, it mull: needs demonfiratc to us,the care, the love, theajfeEIIon, He had to us, \VC know no aaufe why; being but(as Abrahamwas) .dr<If, and, (as Abrahams (ud (Ia_cob) faith )lefq and not Gen.,S.if. worthy of any one of thefe: No, riot ofthe meaneft ofhiJ merctes, EfpeClally, when the 3>,1<~ .fame thing fogracioully granted us, was denied to no leffc perfons', than the Angus, farre morewonhy than we. Sure,He would nor have done it for us, and not forthem;ifHe had notefieemed ofus, made more account ofus,than ofthem. And yet,behold a farre greater than all thefe: Which is,apprebendit{emm. He took not i! theperfon, but He tooke thefeed, (that is) the N•turc ofman. Many there be, that can bee In ap~~ content to take upon them thepetfons, and to reprefent them, whofenatures, nothing could h·~d<t . hire them once to take upon them•But, thefeed is the Nature ;,yea,(as the Philofopher faith) Semell. nat1 1 r" intimum, the very internal/ejfence of nature is thefeed. The Apoftle lheweth,what his meaning is, ofthis taking tbefeed, when (the 'Verfe next afore, faveone) he faith, that Fora[ m11ch .u the ,·hildrm werepartakers of]lejh andbl~ud, Hu al(o wculdtakepart witb them, by ft.- Verfe 1 :s: kingtbe(ame. I'o taketheftejhandblclld, Hemufl: needs take the feed· for, from the.feed, thejlejbandhlo11dcfoth proceed: which is nothing elfe but the bleffedapprebenfionofour Ntttnre, by thisdayer 'l{g.ti'Vitie. Whereby, He, :;nd we, become not onlyoneftefh; (asmanand wifedoe, by conjugatlllfl.ivn:) but, even one blottdroo, (~s bretbrenJby nat<trall11nion:) Per Eph.ps; ~mmaJimtlu (!a1th the Apdile,mthe next verfeafter agame) fin onlyJet afide: Aftkeand futa- •J>· bleto us in allthings :ftefh, and blo11d, and nat11re and all. So taking thefeedof Abrabam, as VciCe 17 • that He became (Himfelfe) thefeed of <..Abrabam: So was, and fo is truely termed; in the - - - ' Scriptures. Which is it, thlt cloth confummate, and knit up all this point, and is the head o£ ·all_. Fo;,inall other apprehenfions, we may l~t goe, and lay downe, when we will ;but,this~ th1s takmg on the(eed, thenat1we ofn1ln, can never be put off. It is anafnmption, without a depofition. oneweare,He and we, and [owe mufi be; One, as this Day, fo for even · And, emergent, or iffuing from this, arc all thofe otherapprehendings, or[ea{11rts ofthe' perfonsofmen, (by which, Go o layeth hold onthem, and bringeth them backefrom er• rourro truth, and from linne to grace,) that have beene, from the beginning, or lhall bee ro theend ofthe world. That; ofAbrahamhimfelfe, whom G oo laid hold of, and brought from out of V R ofthe Cbaldeans,and the Idols,he there worfl1ipped. That, ofour <..Apojll~ Gea.•f.i, Samt Paul, that was apprehended in the way to Damafcus. That, ofSaint Peter; that in the t,;t~9;!: very ace oflinne, was fened onwithbitterremorfefor it. All thofe: and all thefe, whereby ~~·61~ men daily are latd hold ofin (fririt, and takenfrom the by-paths of!in, and errour,aDd reduced IOtothe nght way;and !0their perfons recovered to Godandfeazed to His ufe.All thefc: "f!rehenjion~, (ofthebranches,) come from this apprehenli~n (of the seed:) they all have · }.tr begmmng and their being, from tbio dayes taking, evenSemen apprebendit. our recei'Ving fi 15 Spmt, for Hts talangourflejb. Thisfeed, wherewith Abraham is made the fonne ofGod; . ro~h1~ed,wherewith CnRisT ismadethefonne of<..Abraham. u on H. >the end, y; hy He thus tooke upon Htm rhe feed ofAbrabam,was,becaufe He took P lm, to dchver the feed of Abraham. Deliver them Hee could 'hot~ except Hee B 3 dc!l:royed r ' /
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=