Of Eleflion. ~ 2 [Who] hath called--Evmthe God ofall Grace, ~nd therefore will EooK IV, certainly carry it on. f"J\Jl In the firfl of thefe the weight of the Argument rdls properly upon that refpeCl which God bath towards the Worl1, wh1ch out of Grace he bath wrought, He h~tth ca/1ed. In the Second lhall be confidered, that he Ca/1iug VS as the God ofa!J G•·ace, and lhewn himfclffo highly to be fuch, even in calling, that therefore we may be fure he will carry on all other workings which are necelfary to bring us to Glory. 3· That he bath called us into Glory. 4· Into Etnnat G!orr. 5. Into [Hi<] Ete1 naf Glory; . The Handling of which as they Explain theTextfo, each andallofthefe make for Vs, and afcertain Us that God will carry us through all Temptations, f§c, I begin with the Fiffr, That he bath Called. There arc two things under this Head to be Handled, I. Some things concerning the work of Calling, necelfary to be premi· fed. 11. That a true and Eff"ttltlal Calling of God, is a work ofthat kind; and PerfeCtion for kind, and proceeding from, and out of that Grace which I have fpoken of, as God bath engaged himfelJto carry it on to perfeCtion. As tothe Firft l lhall only fay thefe few things. J. ASaints being Called, is the firll immediate fruit and breaking forth of Eletltng ptirpo{it~g Grace. The River ran under ground ~ram Eternity, and rifes and bubbl,·s' p therein firll. and then runs above ground ro Eternity: lt is that firfl and great difference that God puts between man, and man; the firfl mark God fets upo11 hu Sheep, whereby he owns them, and vifibh calls them HIS. Rom. 8. jO. Whom beharh Predej/i11attd, them he hath djo called: That's the lirfl and next benefit unto that in Gods heart, viz, Predellination : You have the fame in 2 Tim. J. 9· who bath ca/1etlus accordmg to hi& Pt~rpofe and Grace; and hence!14ake your CaUmg a11d ElttiJOn furt, 2 Pet. '. 10. He lingles forth C4/lmg of all things elfe, calling upon us to make it fure, and thereby Eledion will be made fure, that is, made fure to your Faith. It is not that Eledion is not fure without it, The fout~datto" ofthe Lord amzdtthjure before he calls; but it is not made fure to our Faith thereby. The Apollles therefore dofpcakone uniform Langu•ge, ofone Woof and Tlued; and ofa li!(C cxrcnr, C!ther when writing to Saints, they fay men called to be s,zints, that's one Title, as 2 Cor, 1, 2. Vnto the Chrtrch ofGod whzch u ,zt Corinth, wlled to 6e S!litLis, or Saints by Calling, As alfo when they write ro them under the notion ofEl et/, as 1 Pet. 5· 1 )• The Church, fays he, E!ef1etl, toge– ther wtthyotJ, &c. and you know that ofthe Elet/ Lady, 2 Job. Ver[.1. Thefe are made terms cqnivalern: in men Called, and thereby the Apo!tles fignifie that they acknowledge no other calling to be true Calling, but what was the immediate and proper fru :t of EleCtion, of which I havobeen Difcourling : For there are term<commenrurate, that is, ofequal extent to be truly and Spi· rituall v Calkd, and ro be EleCted, Commenfurate, as to the fame Perfons ; None are called in their fenfe ofCaJ:ing that are not Eled, and there are none EleCt, but either fuch as are, or fhall be Called. A Second thing I premife, is, That a true and Spiritual Calling (fa I fhall hereafter call and norifie ir) is the foundation ofallthe Adings ofGrace wbich afterwards do follow, and thence it is that the weigl!t and llrels of dus whole matter of makingEletlio" furt, is put upon this Calling: For cvery Spiritual acting ofGrace,to the end ofa Mans life,evidenceth that lirfl work of Callinfi to be found ond faving, and fo conduc;·th to makt a mans Calling, and EleCtiOn Sure. This isevident in that forecited place of Peter, M ake yourCaUtng mid E!eel!oiJji~re ; He bath that at the 1oth Perfe, But he had before Prem,fed tWO
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=