~00 Of Ele8ion. r~'"fV Evan~elil\s and the Ails record. So all this was exemplified firft in l11m:c!t. ~~ and l•t: , v. ho hirnfclf h.ath been ex~rcifed in temptations and fuflCrmgs , is rl;; all\dl fo:e-warncr and HlflruCtcr of others. You knnw our Saviour dtd there– upon rake occaGon ro command 'tim, that whm he lhould beconvn·ted or ,.,. j/urcd, he fllOuid.flr"'gthm h" Brethrm, LNke 22. Jt• And this our l:oly A· pollle, )OU fee, t>cartiu!lymtndlulof, andtbattothe ut mofl; and hath k1·c it behi-nd him, for all hrs brethrtn to 1he end of the world, the greatefl C'on– folatory againfl Satan, and all Temptauons, that hath in fo fe w words fallen from any -"Poili·cs i>en. t\nd when I mon: fcrioully compare things _together, I am !lrongly indt:• ced to thtni< and believe, that Peter, m utterrng the le words of Exhortation and. Comf·rt in the 8th, gtb, and 10th 7.mjcs , had thofe very palfages of Cnnl\ to hnnfel t, m Ius eye and vtew, And be your felvcs the Judges. Luke 22.Jr. A11d tbe Lcrdja1d , Simon, Simon, behold , Sutan hatb dtjired to /;,,veyou, tb.zt br m.~r (ift JOII '"wheat. And obferve the Parallel. '• ,f,,t,m barb fought] That is, obtained leave of God , by_fee king, nu (Peter) to wumow thee; and fl1ake forth all grace out of thee : Thus Chrifi toPettr. Correfpondently Peter here to us. [Satan]Jor<r A dverj.n:y, goes [faking] wbow of you be m:;y (havcleave to) devour : And as CLrilt gave 'i'rtc>·iore·warning there, foPeter here his Brethren, 2. Chrifi pra;·ed that his [faithjatt "ot ;] That was the matter of Chrift's Prayet for h.mon that occafton. Faith's not failing, is Satan's foiling: An• fwerably the fubjeCl matter ofou,r Apoflle alfo in his Exhortation here is,whom Ep!J. 6. r6. Hj/{1 f!ecftl{lwrhefmb: As that which is the mofl effeCtual remedy and !hit!d ofrcf;(\anccot all other. It is not [in the fairh]., underftanding the Oo. clrine of Fa;rhonly. as fome would feem to reflrain it, becl ufe ot tl;C Article •i' .,.frl, but [in the Grace of Faith] as Catvin more genuinely: Ar.d the Grace of F<~ttb is loemment in it felf, and hath fo great an hand, and bears fo great a flrefs in this bulincfs ol Temptations, that it deferved horc the honour ofthis Article. l· Strengthm thy Brethrm] There are but two words, yet both are here j,. tennil.u. K11owi1;g tbat the fume A/fi1l1ions uc acromplljhtd in [5our Bu– thrm] in the world; fo verfe 9· There's the o•u: And then verfe w. Aflu )·e b 1vejPJjirtd God wt/J [STRENGTHEN] you; thcrt•; the other. So pub\iOJeth he the Comfort and Concernment thtrcof to all his Brethren in the world; and,cements not himfdf to utter it barely in the very fame word of j/rengt bn;i11g, but further furroundeth that for the more abundant Confolati– on with a multipJ,cationof words :o the fame intent"). He !hall rtj/ore ) 'Ou , (f;t G,ll. 6. r.) xoun!pnn) that is, when you are fain, jet you i11 ji!Jnl ag.1i11, wh:ch ''""s 'Peter's very cafe; flabh(b,[ f/renstbtn] fettle J'OU. 4· Lafily. (which is not to be neglec1ed) Clmfl in llrengthoing Peter's 'Faith againfi Satan, fets a [Bm] I have pr")•td , as in direCt oppofttion unro all that Satan could do: And Pettr, when he had fct forth Satan as our pro· fdfed Adverfary in the grcntcfl drcadfulncfs, l1e 1 hen in like manner of oppofl– tion, brings in his in tended Confolatory with a (But God] the Godofa/J Grace 0· _7tju< chnfl, f.!k. fet in i"ulla ray and counter •&ainft him on our behalf , as olll' V~tdutakrr, Cu >rdian, and the flrmgth of our bUJrts for tver.--– This for an ln:roduClory Preface, and (it may be) not a little conducing to cl if– cover the main Scope ol the words. · ' Thefe words areTbePubtick Faith of Htavm, that is, of God and Ch•·ifl, given for the J.rfe Co11d11rf of a/J tht CaUed of God, tbror1gb a!J Temptations mid Affmtts i11 thu '1J)or!d, 111110 Gtor)•. . Two things more at prefcnt requilite to our underfl:anding this to be hts · Sc:"!.pc. . . . . ' . That under the Phrafe of Ajj/i{/,ons tn the mnth verfe, ond S~tf]enngr in the trnth, not omw.ll'd PerjecutiotiS only or chiefly are intrndtd to te c<'miortcd og, infl , but all inw.Jrd dffllllt.<, either from our own Lu~s or Sa· t~w, :md (o ;dl [cmpt.lttonJ whatfocvcr; Thts the coherence, wrcnt and cx– tenL of this Confolatory Exhortation 01ews; Be jober and watch, fo the 8th ver{t;
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