Of 1:../efJion. 443 Yea further, God will take a Defire, or Thought of ours, and amidlt the~ great heap of Evil., he will ft arch out the lealt fcrap of Good ; as we Chap. 8. loarch for every Ltne of a dead Author of worth, among Scribltngs, that v-v'V nothmg of his might penfh. Well, but this IS not all that God will do for you; I wi/J ."ccep1 ( fays God) the ljf11es of your Bodies, (and rhis though you be fat hers of no more but t~1e Body, os the Apo!lle fpealh, Htbr, 12. 9·) and thofe Souls (which I Joyned and put Into thofe Bodies) though born in fin , !hall notwithfianding, for their Fathers fake (who yet communicates the Body only, which is but the fbet~th of the Soul, as 'D.mtel calls It, 'D.m. 7· I5.) be converted, and made holy. Seeing 1 have begun to fhew Grace to their Perfans, I will extend it yet further, even to all that belongs to them: Yea, though tbc Cafe be furrher fuch, that thefe Children be begotten by Unbelicvtrs, whofc Seed I hate, and thot my Children have but an half part in them; yet I will fhew Mercy ro them , and my Grace fhall further prevail, not againfi the Child's owri Sin only, but the other Parents Curfe alfo; that fo Grace may every way be Grace. God will ihew Grace in Cafes wherein Men will not ; See Jer. 3• 1, 2, They fay, Jj a mms put tiWt!J! hi, Wife, and jhe go from him, and buome m10ther mans, fhatJ he rtttl.rtJ tttJio ~er lJgaill? jhaU 11ot th.>t Land be grtatly po011ted l but thou hafl plt~;·ea' tht harlot .with ma- '!Y lovtrs: ) 'tl return agai7s to me, j<Iith tht Lord. L1jt up thi11e tyts !IIJIO the htgh places, and fee where thou ha(/ 11ot 6em litn wi.th: in tht wa~s haft thou fat for them M tht Arabian m the wtlderntJS, a11d thou bafl po/Jttted tht Laud with thy whoredoms, and with thy wickedncfs. As there is an out-f/retchtd .llrm of Power, fo of Grace alfo, that exrends it felf to the utmofi reach of kindnefs beyond all · Oppofitions, and carries out a Mercy to the full extenfion of it. When we firfi turn to God, all that we then think of, is to have our fins pardoned, and we wonder that God 010uld vouchfafe fo great a Mercy to us. But dofi thou . wonder at this l Do but give thy fdf up to Fr:e Grace, and thou fl>>lt fee greater works than thefe: ihou fhalt fee even fins turned to thy good, thy Perfon in favour with the great God, ~nd advanced tp the height of glory to fit upon Chrif\'s Throne. If~ Beggar were to be married to a Prince, fl>e would think it a great matte( to have good Lodging, and Meat enough ; but if he take her to be his Wife, fhe mufi be a Qyeen, and have al.l a Q!>eens Royalties and Attendance. The Prodigal thought it a great matter to get but tmat mo11gh in his Fathers Houfr, and to be but .u "" hirtd Servant : but doth his Father mean to entertain hi!Tl ag•in, it fhall be, as a Son, and if fo, he will then run lo mt:tt him , and make " &aft, and fet him at the ttpptr md of tht Tt~b!e, and manifef\ expref. lions of Joy: If he fhews love , he will !hew it indeed. And as ic falls out here in this Cafe in hand, that Grace carries it , and proves a Blcillng to a Believers Child ag•infi the other Parents Curfe, when he is an Un– believer:So doth Free Grace many times procure many a Bldling lor m •gainO; the many fiops,and bars,and exceptions which our fins do put in again!\ thePro· mifes of God: Grace,l ;ke a mighty R.iver,will break,and bear down all before it (that interpofeth it felf to interrupt the current of it) and will in the end work it felf out. Tht Si11 of Ma11 /hall 1101 makt tht Promife of' God •f ?Jone ef· feet, Ram. l· l• .'Jaco6 was bleft by !(ace, but he got it by a lye, which (one would think) fhould have forfeited the Bleiling; and had it not been the Bleiling of the Covenant of Grace, it had' 'Tu trtu ( fays J(aac trem– bling) he h(lth deceived me; b11t ht i4 blef1, aud he jhr~/i be 6/e(/,Go~t{. 27·l3· Though Men will be Men, yet GodwillbeGod, and his Gifrsand Grants without Repentance. He will not recall them, If the Promife be given out of Grace, then Grace will fhew it felf Groce, and remove Sin, the ob!lacle of its receiving. The very Salvation of the Ele~ is often through their Sins put to a great venture: And the Apof\le Peter fays, The Righteo.u are .fcarce/y (<lvtd, (though certainly) there do fuch f\rong Oppofitions fall out, and fuch Diverfions of the Stream; •nd yet Grace works it out, and bears all down: It feems indeed oft times to carry it L I I 2 hardly
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