0( EleClion. There are no p1ffages fall out in the World, that have more contulion in r~ them, than S ,,,,,/s femptations, in the varieties of them, exercifcd on the Chap.'+ Spirits of Holy Men, B:lievers. A poor Believers Heart in Temptarion hath. ~ the Face of the Chaos ; and darknef1 and deformity covers and ovcrfrrea ds it: The Devil C..ts abro~ding upon the Surface of it;_ And yet there are no paffages out of whrch God bnngs forth a greater Ltght and Glory , in t11e iOuc; even as he then did Light, yea, ttlis whole World out of that darknefs. To break open this fmall Box of Ointment, I have afore opened the figni– ficany of this word, here ufed, but DoCtrinally thtn: What I lhall now add, is in Application, by w2y of Comtort; I. The word here ufed ha eh refpeC.l:to God's eternal decree and appointment, as laying forth and fetting out all and every one of them, Sufferings in particular, whtch each !hall futfer; as like– wife, as having ordered them all in a glorious wifdom, to the greatefl: good. Thus Gerardon the place, quoting Rom. 8. 28, 29. Aad we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God; to them who are the Called, tlccordmg to hu purpofe: For whom he didforektlow, he aljo did pre– de~mate, lo 6t conformed to the image of hu Son; that he might /;e the fir~ /;orn amongjl many Bretbrm. The coherence whereof with the former,fp~ai<S this, That therefore all things, and fo Temptations, work, and work toge– ther for good, 'tis the common task and work of all, and that becaufe they ore fo aforehand appointed and defigned by God fo to do; by that God that chofeus, and fOreknew us, astaere; The God of a!IGrace, as here: So that the Apofiles fcope heroin is, Qtliet your fdves by Faith as concerning them; let Temptatio11s, or rather let God have theperfect work of them upoA you, by them in you, and the end will be glorious: Satan is in nU your Trials, bul working out God's great ends, to his own greater confulioo, and your good. Know ( fays he) that it is God's work which is a carrying on in all thefe; and his work is always peifett, Veut. j2. 4- and if ever he thewed his skill, his artifice, in any work, it is in this; tor there is nothing he ever aimed at more, than the Devil's Confulion, and your Salvation; and tha~ as they are both carried on together in and by every Temptation of yours. And there is not one of them, no not t~e leafl:, but tend to m•keptrfelt the whole of God's defign, upon the whole Body of his EleCt, and no one c•n be wanting·to the compleating of them: And at the latter Day, thy fe lf wouldfl: not have wanted one of them, how grievous foeverthey are at prefent, when thou !halt fee how each of thine conduce to the fimjhittg an whole, perfod-, and exact fl:ory of the Body and Spoufe of Chrifr,to be joyned as a Supplement to that great Hiflory of Chrifi's: And6/effidtherefore iJ the man that tndureth Temprarion, 'Tis fl:range, tha-t the fending of Satan fhould be termed a G•fr, yet fo it is; There was givm me the Meffiuger of Satmt, or; the Angel tmd Meffinger Sata11: The words bear both, 2 Cor. 12. 7. 2, For thy comfort in thy Sufferings, this wore;,.,,.;~"', (as I have fhew· ed before) hath a refpeet unto the perfeCting and finifhing Chrifl:'s Sufferings. 'Tis Calvin's obfervation on the words; Per(ici i11 .fidel16us qt~otidie, qru dt- s" C•lvi• •• fun.t pajfio1libus Chriffi: that is , That hereby are ptr(eeftd i11 the Saints ,.,,... . (I rather fay with theApofrle) which arr 6ehilldof the Suffi:rings of Chri(l; and do rather underfrand .them to be a new addition to Chrifr's Suffaings, in a conformity unto him, w)iich yet he is ple~fed to reckon his: ~nd here, of our Temptalio•u, rherris an;.; added, fo making it a compouud,\vhrch may,, and here doth import, amaking perjefl a thing that h..dgo"e afore; ana{o an adding a new perfection unto another former fi•ufbmg, thereby to render the former yct~ore perjefl. . . The only difficulty in this point is, That whereas I rnClude Satmls ::(empta. tio11s to (in, and the failings of the Satots rnto lin, upon hiS TemptatiOns, t<l be a part, (and if apart, the greatefl: part) of the Sufferiugs here'inrended; How thefe can be accounted the po[efli11g, or an addition to die Sufferings of f;brijl, as our _H~ad. ' My
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=