Of EM/ion. f'-A./'1 law, but utzder gr·ace: that is, if you be admitted once into Grace, and under BooK IV. its Dominion, and are become Subjects thereof, ye are thereby taken into the ~ protection of Grace, and the Soveraignty thereof, and it is the greateft Soveragn, (as you have heard) and will be fure to take care of you. But our Apofile contents not himfelf to fpeak thus low, but fetches his main firength wherewith to hearten us againfi all a!faults from a higher Region of Arguments, he flies.up to the highefi that can be, The God of all grace, who bath called w i11to glory: No lefs. The firfi foot we fet upon, alter our Calling, is into glory, and not into a fiate of grace only: He hath fetled that upon us irrecoverably, andhath ingaged himfelf, as ~e is a Godof"" grace, to fee to "• to guard and bung us to that Glory, as Wtth a Garrifon, all along . forthe whole of that Glory is become our right; and fure, if you have the God of all Grace as the Efiator,and then the Alfur~r ofit to us, to maintain his own , act; and then as for Glory it fclf, the thing eftated into,you are fure enough of that in all renfon every way, upon the uttermofi of Securities that can be given, that is, virtually upon all and above all Security whatfoever. And be– caufe this alfordeth us the highefi Arguments, therefore it was, he cho{e ra– ther thus to exprefs himfelf, Who bath calltdtu intoglory. This Glory was the /irfi-born of God's thoughts, and of his intentions to– wards us, this was the firfi thing that rofe up in the heart of the God of aJl Grace, in his good will to us, for it was the end and upfhot of all his defigns, and all other in this life, are but as,the means and the way thereto, This was hisend, and his fupream end, next his own glory.; and therefore firfi in inten– tion, which moved him to call us; AC1s 1 ~· 4S: As m.Jny tU were ordained to etemat life, 6elievtd. And accordingly, bei11g glorified is placed lafily, as being the ultimate upfhot of our beingcalled and;ujlified,which,as the means are in execution placed firfi. Rom. 8. jO. The ordaining of us to his glory, wa; his highefi refi and Complacency. Luke 12. p. It is (and was) the Father's pleafure to give you a Kingdom, and the place where it is to be injoyed was the firft of all his works. Matth. 2). l4· Comt ' '' bleffid of my Father, inht· rittheKitJgdomprepartdfor you, fromtht foundation of the World. It is that Heaven which was created the firfi day, Gm. 1. 1. Hence, when Election comes to break forth /irfi in calling, God's heart ii fo intent upon this glory, as his firfi and lafi end , that although he fufpend the giving us the po!fe!lion for fome years, yet he will not fufpend the giving the full cornpleat right of the whole, and that from the firfi, he cannot forbear that, but infiantly upon cal– ling, gives forth a Patent of it, which is here e~prefTed by s Calling us inro Olo(y. And as God then efiated us into it, fo Chrifi alfo as then receives us into it, Rom. 1~· 7· Rtceiveye o11e a11other, tU Chrifl alfo rteeived"' to tht glory of God. He hath now received us into an indi!feizable right thereunto, although that when we come to dye, we all fiill cry out to him for another receiving of us, as Sttphm, Lord 1ef~~< receive myJpirit; that is, into the actual po!fe!li– on of what, as to right, he had received us into before. And we find the Scripture elfewhere, atthe fame, and n0 lower rate, to fpeak, than that when we are called we are faved, 2 Tim. t.g. Who bath (aved m, a11d called w with a holy Calti11g. The whole of Salvati0n is !lated upon us then. And when you confider this, you will readily acknowledge it eligible to fol– low after his fiiling God the Godof all Grace, than to fay, who bath calledus imo glory, rather than into grace, as that which wai mofi becoming the great God of all Grace: For he that is the God of all Grace, fhould give the whole, and all ofthat Grace he ever intended to befiow in the firfi moment whereia he began to make a difcovery of his Grace unto us. This is to act like the God of all Grace indeed, and t~erefore its mofi properly faid, The God of all Grace bath call~d tu to Glory. And here let us fiand and wonder at this his difpenfation,that •fter heflwuld have done this fo great and fo firange an ad, once for all, that ther~afrer his dc– fign and ordination fhould be tofet out at once, Temptations, Oppofirions, Difficulties to encounter and conflict withal; and for him to.overcome for us, and by us, and this for the fpacc of many years to come after , between th!s Jus
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