Of Eleflion. Holy Ghoj/, which ht}hed on 1M abutidant!y, throttgh Jt(m Chrijl our S,;viour. ~ That being jttj/ifitd6y hu Grace, we fboutd 6e m!ldt He~rs accmiit~g to thf Chap. 5· hope of etrrnat Lift, ~Tit, 5, 6, 7· ~--.J If, Now for tht fecond thi•;g, viz. The Argummts of Comfort lfnd Support from hmce, That thm Godw•IJ, M the famt God of all Gract, carry thee on through a!JTemptations. , Confider he having thus begun as a God of all Grace, to juflifie thee in thi• mamur, and to fanctifie thee at once; what is it that now lhould divert or iri– terruptthis great God ofall Grace from this going on to carry thee through?He mull be diretl:ed either, . I. By the Guilt of Sin riling up, and committed after calling. Or, 2, By the Power of Sin , recovering again its flrength in thee. - J, NotbytheGuiltofSinsafterwards(ifanything they did, they would provoke him not to continue his Grace to thee:) And it is they mull begin to turn Gods Heart off from thee, if any thing elfe do: But none of thefe lhall be able to do it.---For confider, if he juflified thee at firfl from fuch an heap of fins, M a God of a!J Grace, and that he thereby becomes engaged to continue aGodof a!J Grace even afterto thee, then furely he will not flick at pardoning thy after.Sins , and therefore they lhall hinder. But todemonflrate this, by comparing matters as they flood in this refped: afore Calling, with the !late thereofafter. Compart we things with thi11gs a– fort atld after. I, Then before Calling be pardoned a continued courfe of !inning for many years, wherein there had been laid up heaps upon heaps; But the pardoning of thy Sins after Calling, is at worfi but of backOidings, repaired and filled up with many great Repemances coming between : And if, as aGodof Grau to thee , he pardoned a tract or courfe of Sinning, he will much more, and may more eaftly continue to forgive fuch backfliding ( fo entermingled with fe· rious Repentance,) although they have bee:;t reiterated Sins, fain into again and again: TtmsC!J 6ackjlidi11g Ifrael, for I am marriedto thtt, fayi God, Jtr. 3· '4· Married lhe had been to God afore, but had gone a whoring from him: And though in that cafe, Man had not mercy enough to receive a Wife again, but would fland upon point of honour in it, as Vtrf. ,·, They f~ if a Man put away hi< Wift , a11d jbtgo from bim , and etcome anotbtr Mans • jba!Jhe return unto htr agaiiJ? Shatl11ot that Land6tgrtal/y potluttd? But thou haft pl,;id tht Harlot with many lovers ,yet rttum again to mt,jaith the Lord. Tet, fays God, Vtrj, r2. ytt rtturn, 0 backjliding Ifrael, for I am merciful. Belides that, I am already engaged by marriage, (and when is that but at ones firfl converfion, then it is that God was efpoufed to thtt ) and did then give up my felf to be a God of all Grace to thee: Moreover,l am as merciful M ever I wM, and I cannot, but I mufl forgive thee, and that upon the lowefi terms thou canfl delire, and I can with honour grant; Only do thou aclwowledge thi11t sniquity, that thotl hafl tranfgrrffedagainjl tht Lord thyGod, atsd hafl Jcattered thy ways to th• flran.~er1 under tveryg•·tentree; and that yo11 have 11ot obeyedmy voict, (aith the Lord, Vcrf. r~·As ifhe bad faid , fo eafily am I prevailed with; for it mufl be acknowledged the lenfi of requilitcs unto reconciliation in fo high a breach; yea, and even that alfo this 'A•7!,, he that fame God of Grace in my text, dot~ promife to give them an Heart to do fo, and moreover to heat thtir backflidings alfo, out of the {ame love and Grace, that (o he may honourably come off to pardon them, he performt;d the Condition bimfelfthu~ in .the fame Chapt. Vtrf. '9· though he fiicks at 1t, and makes a demur upon 1t ( 1t be1og the h1ghefl act he could per– form in a caufe fo grievous) within himi'elf. How jhaU I put thtt amo11g tht Children, andgive tl,tt all Heritage, ~c. yet himfelf foon thinks how to bring it about; And I (aidthottfba!tc•!J mt Father, andfha!J not depart from me. He might well fay at the udVtr{c, Rtturn, 0 ~e backj/itling Chitdrn:, when bimfelfgave them power to return; and withal farther promifeth,IwiU healtheir6ackjlidings,fo in the fame verfe, And their Hearts were accordingly N n moved
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