firfi prefented thee to . him, when thou wen gtven to him, from Everlafting, ~ which made himfirll: m love W1th thee ; and then havmg the hue of what ac· Chap. 6. cording tothatOriginal,himfelfis a drawing on thee •?dmeans to perfect, this~· we fee takes his heart, efpec101Jy the latter, becaufe 1t 1S tobe his ow 11 workman!hip : As it lclfens, if not altogether fwallows . up the pre(ent thoughts of thy defoni!llty, efpemlly when that IS to contmue for fo fmall a time. I f, as fome Rom~nceshavefeined a Lover, a King fuppofe, had a Beautiful Wife betrothed to h1m, whofe Pu~ure (as the manner is) were fent over •– forehand t? him, before himfelf did fee her; but when fhc_is Shipt to come, or otherwife 10 her Journey, fhe falls fick offome loathfom 01feafe, as the Small– Pox, fuppofe, or Lep~o[y, and yet fuppofe you imagine tlu t he knew before fhe fhould come to htm, fhe fhould be refiored to her firfi primitive BeautY,; though he would be tr?ubled for her prefent dlfafier, and dtfiemper, or difeafe, yet he would eafily qutet h1mfelf, for that httle fpaco ofttme, 1n which her in– firmity,thoug~ greatly disfiguring her,is toc~Atinue: Or,ifwe further fuppofe him prefent with her, to be her alone Ph1fictan that cureth her, and refioreth her unto that firfi perfect be:ruty, which he knew certainly he could, •nd fhould do; He would fhew all love and peace towards her, though her Difeafe were loathfome, in hope of her recovery; and this is perfectly the cafe here between Cbrifi, and the Church, Verfo 25. Heubands lovryour Wives,M Chrifl alfo lovedthr Church; he that loveth hu Wife, loveth htmfetf. For nri man)•ethatethhuownjle~, !Jutnourljhethtt, andchert}hrthit 1 tven.u the Lordthr Church. If a mans own Hefh be difeafed with the worfi and fowlefi of Oifeafes, though he hates the Difeafe, yet he loves his own llefh, and feeks out for the Cure ofit, he oourifhes it, and cherifhes it; nowfo doth Chrifi much more upon that Ground, that we are hi4 own flrfh, that we are membfr; Dj hi< Body, Vrrf. 3"• ~~hisflr/h, qnd ~~his 6onr, much more then Man and Wife are, to whom th1s Exhortanon IS d11ected, Vtrj. p ,.p, H· In this cafe therefore Jefus Chrifi isfo far from hating us,. who are his own llefh, that he applies all fo_rts of R.emedtes,, w!tha firong patten~e for the Cure of our In~ firmities and IS moved to do tt With the greater Pattence, becaufe he knows we iball 'be refiored to perfect health and foundnefs indeed, and himfelf1ball be the healer, and then with an infinite Love, and joy, and Glory to himfelf, he prefents us to himfelf mofi Glorious, without fpot, or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. Toconcl~de,I may fay ofthis Argument, what the Apofile doth, 1 Job. 2 . 1 • Beloved, no111 we are the Sons ofGod, and it doth notyrt appear what wrfbatt be. but we know that when he }hat! apprar, Wf /halt bf tUr him. Doth he no~ Ipeak this to quiet them under t~eir un_Jilunefs to God, and Chrifi, iti this World l And do not God and Chnfi famfie themfclves, and fatisfie their hearts towards you in !he midfi of all your Complaints of, and about your {elves? I may fay ofth1s,even as they, Beloved, now bath God calledyou in– to Glory, and though it doth no.t appear to us what we fhall be, nor what w eare in refpect of our T ltle to thiS Glory, but we are full ofcontrary hateful iniquities, yet it appe.ars to Chrifi w!tat you are, and what you fhall be; and there is that timecommg, wher~mhr fht?lJ pre{tntyougloriom withoutf ault, and in the mean ttme bear W1th h1m, and 1f,as .!ohn fays,To them we know Verf. 1 • then to be fure GOD and Chrill:knowsthis much more. ' 2. Calleclinto [ETERNAL] Glory. Hereby is implied not fimply that the Glory is Eternal, as an adjunct ofit,. but that our Calling and Efia.tement thereby is into the Eternity ofthat Glory, as well as into the Glory lt felf. We arr Catlrd into Eternal Glory M fuch. That imports two things, as other Gofpel Scriptures explain it to us. r. Firft,
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