Of Eletlion. 6rnbrn':· And (ball no! that God, of whom the fame Apofilc )ohtJ faith , ~' that He" love tt fo!f, Chap. 4· ' 6. God" love; that ts, He ts all love towards.Chap. 1.. his own Children; tor thot ts the meantng ol a there: And of wl:om he alfo~ f' ith immediately, alore the aforecited Speech, in the Gxteenth ver(e of the t hird Cbupttr, Hert!J)' pnuive WP the lov•of God, becauje he laid dowtl /;i& l<je for IM; ond thereupon he obliges us, and we o11gbt to lay dowu 011 r lives , f or tbe 8Yethren: Shall not he, I fay, it he feeth a Son of Ins in pure need of fpiritual grace, and deltverance out of Temptatton, Jhall not he draw out his bowels toward' him ? Or elfe tt would be fatd, How doth this Love, t.his All– grace, by which the Apollle Peter here fets him forth; how doth it dwell iri him, the fountain of all Grace and Love? And he perfwades and obligeth us ro lay down our lives for, and relieve our Brethrens needs, becau{e he bath pro· felfed to love us fo, as to l.ty dowtt hi& ltje for m. Now to Apply this: Suppofe th01 Chrifi himfelf were alive, or that any were alive that were comtmiiionated by him to htal aU mam"r of 'Dt(eaju; as the Apofiles were, Mmth. to. 1. woutd any of you that had (I'le make the fuppofition) the worfi Difeafe that ever any man had, yea, that you had ne– ver heard of to have been lince the World began; wouldfi thou refufe to m'ke trial, whether he· would, or could heal thee! or no 1. Now God hath fer up his Bills, as I may fay, upon every pofi, proclaunrog lumlelf to be tbe Godof all grace, the God that bealeth thee, Exod, 1 i · 26. and e'fewhere hath applycd it unto Souls, Tb,lt healeth aU thy dtfeafrs, mJd forgtves aUthyfou,Pfal. IO)• That hMJeth thy 6ackjltdi11gs, Hof. '4· + and often backllidmg is the moft defperate cafe of all other; yet the God of aU gract hath undertaken to heal them. And as bad a cafe as a Saint is capable of after Calling, is that in lja. 57· '7· For the iniquity of hiscovetouj;uj] WM I wrotb, mtd (inote 1h1m; I htd me, and was wrotb; •nd he went ott frowardly ill the w 'Y of bu ht<lrt. He did not only fall into interrupted or intermitred Ads of badtllid tng , but he went on, as in a courfe for a while , i11 the W <lJ' of bu be,~rt, and that f roward– ly: Well, but what faith the God of .all grace to this? I have f~en bu w .'Ys, 1 mdwitl brat bhn, verfe t8. And Ho(ea gtvestlushts reafon ot ",even be– caufe br i. a God of grace, verfe 2. and loves freely,vrr(e + I wtll heal thetr hackfliding,and I Wttt love them freely; that's the reafon of it: And recttve w gmctouffy, fay they accordingly, vrrfe 2, when they return to him; (o wt!l we render che calves of our ltps. The Love that is in the heart of God, will in the end caufe him to turn all Anger. towards them, away : For mwe a11ger i& tflrned awayfrom him, as it follows in the fame, ver(r 4• A1tJ I wilt 6e (anew) tU the dew t<nto Ifrael , mtd he jball grow tU the Lilly, and fo forth i. Who i. wjjt, a11d ht jbalJ tmderf/u1ld tbeje things; prt~dent, mtd be /ball /wow them : For tbewtJytof the L ordarrrtght, and the jufl jhJJJ walk in thtm; though rhey may often fall in their way: but the tra,ifgrelfors,that were never favingl y called, /hall fa!!, if they perfifi, tl•erri11. It is the Conclufi– onof that Chapter and Prophecy, andfervestoprovc this other place in p,_ ter, That God is the God of aft grace in difpenling fupplies anfwerab1c to the needs, difireffes, temptations, and fins of hts Elect Children. Ill. He is a God of aft gr.1ce ef!ential!y; or in tefped that in his Nature he hath infinite riches of grace, Which is the Root and fountain of thefe hts de– figns, to maintain and make good ~his his All· Difpenfarory of Grace: He is tht God of aft grace; that is, he ts an A!l-graciou. God in himfelt, even as well as that he is fa id to be a God Almtgbty, which is an effential Attribute. He fays not, that God is aft gr,•ce, for lte is jufi alfo: As when 'tis (aid he is Almtghty, it imports not that he hath no Attribute elfe: But he fays, he IS a .God of A!! Grace; that is, that no Perftdion that lhnuld make him elfenrially gracious, is wanting in him : He is an All gnicious God, and fo in his Narure : There isa Sea o ' Grace in him, to feed all the Streams that his purpofes or di– Jpenfations of Grace are to ilfuo forth: And fo our,Confolation from hence is~ That all the Grace that ts the Nature of God, IS 10 thts Promtfe, of Ius bemg a God of all Grace to his Children,declared to be engaged to afford fuppl ies un– to his poor People; even to the utmoU expending~ and laying~ forth of thofe· riches
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