119 ,eá;4,1rgóBams. Dog.. Ephefians;Chap,i. VE Now followeth the ground ofall thefe benefits intime;havingbeam predeftinate : Which is defcribed from the purpofe going before, ha- ving beenpredeftinate, according tohis purpofe : whichpurpofe is argued from the author ofit, who is notnamed, but defcribed : In the defcrip- tion three things are to be noted; Firft, his a&ion or working; who worketh : Secondly, the obje& ; all things : Thirdly, the manner; after the counfellof his will. To fpeake a word ofPrede/lination according to purpofe, which is here madethe ground of all the former, and fo to come to this defcrip- tion, in which wemuff dwell with more diligent confederation for the unfolding ofit. For Predefiinetion fee above.But it may beaskedwhat is this purpofe, according to which we are Paid here to be ptedefiinate. We readeof fome purpofed and ordained to theobtaining of life,4tits 13.1.1Thef.5. Now Gods purpofe and ordinance touching the end, doth feeme to follow upon Gods ele&ion : forwhen we have a will to doe any thing, there followeth upon this, in theminde, a fetled purpofe to effe& it ; fo when God bath loved fome to life, there commeth to be as it were in God a fetled purpofe ofbringing fome to life, whichonce fetled, all things come to be predeftinated, for performance ofit : and Rom, p, this may be grounded, when he faith, that the purpere ofGod, which is accordingto eletiien, might before : Wherefore I deeme foreknowledge bywhich God now about to choofe, knoweth whom he will choofe; eletìion by whichhe fetteth his love to lifeon fome before otherfome; purpofe fetled ofbringing fome to life before otherfome ; thefe belong all to the fame benefir, utZ Ele&ion : Foreknowledge as that which goeth before; for God doth not blindly choofe heknoweth not whom: purpofe following it, as a fhadow Both thebody, and therefore where the oneis named, the other by difcourfe are ro be underftood : He hath purpofed us to attaine life through Chrifl, he hath chofen us to attaine life, as Ram. 8. There whom he didforeknow him[rife to choofe andpurpofe tontelife,tbofewhom he predeflinated: And thus you feewhy it is Paidpre- deflinate, according to purpofe. But note here by what method the Apoftle doth gather themfelves to have beenepredeflinated, even à pofterieri; from this that they were now called, juflified, that they had received an inheritance by faith, he gathereth that they had beene pre- deftinate. Obferve then. What is the way to finde our felves tohave beene predeftinate before all worlds,even to finde that we are called,jultified,fan&ified : Wemutt goe upby thefe fiayres,or we cannot come to the height ofGods coon. fell. Looke asby the counterpaneofa Leafe orWill,we knowwhat isin the originali Will, which it may beis kept a hundred miles from us: fo by thefe things written in our heartsin Gods time, wemayknow and reade what things it pleafed him from everlafting topurpofe towards us: But in this point we have before beene large. Tocome to thedefcription ofthe author ofthis purpofe,accordingto which we werepredeftinate: the partsto be marked in it havebinmen- tioned;
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