Bates - BT775 B274 1675

in COYttaftig 't; ttlá' ilettrnpti0n; 43 min flitds his enemy, will he let himgo well away ? But Ch. VIII. God when we were all at his Mercy,fpar'd and fav'dus. -N. Befides, Rebels fometimes follicit the favour of their Prince by their Acknowledgments, their Tears and Supplications, the tellimonies of their Repentance: but Man perfifted in his fierce enmity, and had the weapons ofdefiance in his harids ag :inf} his Creator ; he trampled on his Laws and defpifedhis Deity, yet then the Lord of Hoft became the God of peace. In (hors, there was nothing to call forth the Divine Companion but ourmifery : The Breach began on Man's part, but Reconciliation onGod's Mercyopen'dhis melting Eye, and preventednot only our defert, but our expec`ati- on and de(ires. The defign was laid from Eternity. God forefaw our fin and our mifery, and appointed a saviour before the foxndation of the World. 'Twas the i PC"2a za molt early and pure Love to provide a ranfom for us Ira. 53° 'a. before we had a being 5 thereforewe could not be de- ferving, nor defirous of it; and after we were made, we deferv'd nothing but damnation. 2. The graceof God eminently appears in Mans re- covery, by comparing his fiate with that ofthe fallen Angels who are left under mifery : this is a fpecial cir- cumftance that magnifies the favour; and to make it more fenfible to us, it will be convenient briefly to confider the firft fiate of the Angels, their fall, and their punifhment. God in creating the World, formed two natures ca- pable of his Image and Favour, to glorifie and enjoy him, Angels, and Men; and plac'd them in the princi- pal parts of the Univerfe, Heaven and Earth. The Angels were the eldeft Off-fpring ofhis Love, . the purer'. productions of that fupreme Light: Man in his belt Rate was inferiour to them. A great number y,fay, a, ofthem kept not theirfirftRateof integrityand felicity. Jud. áo Their

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