Of Elef1ion. '""'...A..P"l cxprefly fpeaks ofBicilings which God gives bzs beloved o11es, as the words BooK V. immediately foregoing do tell us, of which this bleiling of Children he makes ~ the lafl and greatell : And it is alfo as certain, that he {peaks of Children, as fuppofed holy andgodly ; ( Fzlzj reE!i, Jays the fameJ'oraphrafl) for otherwife ther are not •. Reward; bur as Solom01z full often fpeaks of a foolifh or ungod– ly Child, He IS acurfe, t1 jbam(, a11d (arrow to hzm that 6tgat him, and to her that brought him forth: The 'Pj(zlm was made(as appears by the Title of it,) Of or For So!omou, and therefore (as it is more than probable ) was penned (as that other Pfalm, the 72. whtch bears the fame Title) by 'David tile Fa– thtr, Of and For Solomon his So11; who was for his Father's fake, thr beloved 1 God, 2 Sam. JZ, 24, 2)• and upon whom thr j11rt Covnumt and Mercies of 'Davzdwere entailed, together wnh hiS Kmgdom; and what is faid in this P(alm, in the verfts before fitly agrees to him, for he it was who was to build God's Hotzje, to keep and preferve ,7erufalem rhe City, and the Kingdom, in Peace, and to have rr(l, or as the Pfalmifl calls it,ver(e ~· quiet jleepgiven h;m by God) from all hi4 enemies round about him: And for thi•,compare the Pro– phelieof him, 1 Chro11~ 22, 9, 10. with the lnflru<~hons here given him in the three firfl verfes of this Pfolm, and you will fee how fitly this l'(a!m concerns him. Now, this Solomon thus owned and beloved of God, 'David himfelf lool<t at as a Child g iven for a Rewardof all his Piety and Uprightntfs; and therefore upon his rejoycing in fo great a Bleiling, he takes occaf10n indcfin:te– ly to pronounce of other holy men's Children,beloved of God alfo; (fo to raife up their hearts,) that which to his comfort he had found true of his beloved So. lomo11: And fhis upon a juO: ground ; for as the Covenant made with 'D.zvzd,is fet forth unto us,as the Exemplar orDraught ofGod's likeC!:ovenaot with his E– lect; fo Solomon, 'David's Son, is here by 'Davidconlidercd, as the Pattern or Proto-type of all the like Children of godly Parents, on them bellowed by venue of that fame Covenant by which SolomotJ was on him. So os indeed this i5 the true fcope of the Royal Prophet here; Lo, Juch Children as Solomon was (holy and be!ovtd of God) they are all hrritage of tht Lord, a rich mzd grtat reward; a11d b!tfJed u the man that bath hu quiver j11lt of thtm. Now fucit CllildreA may be underO:ood to be a11 i11heritancr, t:!>c. ia a double rtfpetl:. 1. Unto their Parent•, an inheritance and a great reward to them frwz the Lord; or, ~. The i11heritanct of the Lord himfelf, through and for their Pa– rents fake: The words here will bear that latter Reading a!ft>, and fo by both, the Senfe will be made more full; and then the meaning is, That as they are a choice and peculiar gift given by God unto their Parents, (as his Rewards ufe to be) fo withal, a choice and peculiar People unto God himfelf, (as his ]1tht– ritanct is faid to be;) and fo not only an Heritage (as our Tranllarion carries it) From the Lordas the 'D011or, (as lfai. 54· 17. and in fome other places,the word Heritage is raken ;) but further, They are the iltheritatJce of the Lord, as the owner andpoJJeffor of them; that is, fuoh Children, they are his EJect, his Beloved, his Chofen, among whom his Polfeilions and his peculiar People lye. Thus every where in Scripture, to be the choje11 Ptople ofGod,and to be his Inheritance are all one; for in!lance, P{al. 28. u, Save thy people and thi11e inheritallct.And Pfal.ll ·•>.Bieffed is the Natio11 who(eGod ts the Lord, and thePeop!e whom he h"th cho(mfor hislnhrritanct.Thus in theNewTe!lament likewife,as well as in the Old;t Ptt.5.j.theApofl!e calls the Church the Lords herittJge;and though they being thus God's chofen for his Propriety and cheice Inheritance,it is,that they become(what follows)the highefl Rewardunto their Fathers of their uprighttte[s; and fo by being firfl the Inberilmtce of thr Lord, they become a11 inheritanufrom tht Lord unto their Parents, even the richefl they can poifefs. And thus this Readingofthewords is fo far from excluding the other,( name!y of their being their Fathers inh.ritance,)that it is improved and raifed thereby,and the due value put upon thisBiefling given;for what great– e.r favour can there be than this, that God fhould firO: take their Children to be an Inheritance to himfelf,and fo makethemHeit ofall things, and when they are thus ennobled, and enriched, then to put them into their Parents'arms as a rich Tnherirance to them! And then as Chrifl fa id ( ]oh~t '7· 6. ) Of the Chtldrm which God hatlgivm him, lo may they; Thty were thi!IC, a11d thotz gave(i thtm
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=