434 Of Elef110n. ·~may fee how his cho.ce runs;lfr,ut whom I have chofm, the Sud of my Frie11d: BooK V. you have it a!fo pleaded by them , 2Chro11. 20. 7· Art not thouo"r God, who ~did(/ drtveottl tbe tltbrtbllant.l of th1.1 Land befort thy prople ljrael aud gavrjl it to the Seed of Abraham thy fritnd for tver! ' But the R.eafons which I mofi aim at, may be fetcht from that comly and like onfwerable proportion tha t thi, his Difpenfation holds,. with his other ways of Grace. It is jufi IIl<e the courfe he holds in other his Proceedings of Grace toward his Eled; which I have long obferved conformed ro thefc Rules following, which all are found to hold in this alfo, and fo may fcrvc as fa ma– ny R.eafons of the Point. , , I have long obferved it by many Infiances, that God in his ways of Grace lince th~ fall,ufcth ( os much as poilibly may fiand with Grace ) his old Inflitu– tions given to Man in lnnocency, and takes them all in for to fubferve Grace and l<eeps unto them : And it is his honour fo to do ; for thereby he much up: holds the Glory of bis Wifdom, and confiancy to himfelf; that he will not be put out of his way by Mans fin. Therefore look what end he appointed any thing for in Innocency , he under Grace takes it, and fo far as it will any way ferve to that end, he ufcth it and retains it, varying from it as little as may be. The old Statutes of the firlt Foundation he takes, and tranOares them into rhis New Foundation. And thus he having ordained Marriage in lnoocency to derive his Covenant Elf works together with his Image unto Mankind; there– fore he ufeth it !\ill to that very end to convey his Covenant of Grace fo far as may bf. But to clear this Rule to you , upon which this Reafon is founded, namely that God doth indeed obferve fame fuch like Rule as this in his way of Grace, '· Firlt fee it in the Law, which (if any thing) was like to fall mofl cro(s to any ufe under the Covenant of Grace; and you fhall fee tha t all the ends God intended it for, he brings about under the Gofpel, in a fubferving w• y unto Grace : God gave Man a Law to give him life [do tbi.1 J with promife to reward him for his works, and that wit h ltfe, [ a11d tbot; jbaltlive J even as wages are given to a Labourer who is worthy of his hire. T his was the Pri– mitive ordinance of the Law at firfi; bur Mans fin perverted and put the Law clean by from attaining this its end. The cotnmandmelft which war ordaintd to life, I f omtd to 6e tmto death; Rom.7. 10 . which gave a full demonfiration of Sins being fo above meafure Sinful, that it fhould fo u{terly pervert Gods ordi– nance, as the Apo{\!e fpeaks, verjt 1 3· But will God now be utterly put by from ufing at all the Law under Grace to this end? No; he will fhew that the Sin of Man cannot wholly make void the ordinance of God : He will not cafi it away , becaufe Sin bath fpoiled it; but will find out a new way how under Graco to m>ke ufe of it to this end. And although t8 make that direct ufe of it, that it had before (namely to fave and ju!\ifie Man by the Tenure of its Covenant, Do tbi.l mtd livr,) is as incompatible with Grace as Sin it felf is ; (as the Apofilefuews, Rom.;.27,28.andCbap. 4· 14.and (b,lp. JJ ,6. )fo that indeed, if a Man iliould be jufiified by the Law, it were not ofGrace, ( fe < i1g they are.:..J,•7•) yet God loves his own lnfiitut ion {o well, that all the indirect uie it can ferve to, it fuall, fo far as it may l'lsnd with Grace, So Rom. 3· ult. 'Do we make votd the Law tbrotlgh Faith? No, we r(/.tblifh it •11 that may be; for though the Law cannot bring to life, it fdf being weak· ned through Sin, Rom. 8. 3· yet it thall bring mtto Cbnfl , Gatat. 3. 24. and he fuall give Lite, and Jufiification: And how fuall Chrifl give Life, by the Rrgh– teoufnefs of the Law {\,11! For though the R.ighteoufncfs of the Law perfor– med by us, cloth not ju!\ifie us; yet that Rightcoufnefs by which ~e are ju!\ificd, fhall not be any other than the R.ightcoufnefs of that Law perlormed by any other, even by Chrifi; God refolved !\ill to make ufe of ir, as In as wdl f\and with Grace. So though it be not the Righteoufnefs ~ 7;; .''~'' (as the Phrafc is Phi/.;. 9.) yet it isJl•.lo~ni'vl~·: The Rigbteottfnefs of the 0 Law, materiall y taken, which is fitljitted in our Jufiification , Rom. 8..4· though not the Righteoufnefs of the Law formally taken, thot is, which ;u– fiifies by the Tenure of it, and by the force it bath from the Law, and the Covenant of it: A, the Ad of a Man put out of Office, is not formally the fame
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