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¡6Q
ephejäna,Chap.I.
V
E
R.
S.
meanes
; in thefe fpirituail
things, he maketh them
lay all on
Gods
mercy
and
purpofe,never taking heed to
means.
r/!
z.
We
fee it
is
hopefull,where God giveth meanes, which bring to
life;
where
he manifefteth
that
wifedome
of
the Gofpell,which
is
a meane
predeftinated
to our glory
,
that God hath
there
a
gracious
worke
to-
ward
fome:
W
hile
a
man
doth
carry Reapers further into
his field, it
is a
ligne hehath fome
Corne to be inned;
So
is
it
with God.
T
/o;.
Let
us
labour
to
acknowledge
God
and
his
molt
wife
order,
in all
things
which
have befallen
us.
If
we finde
that
our courtes before our
converfions, and
the things
befallen
us
lince,
have
brought
us
neerer
God,
then
it
is a
feale
to us,
that
we are
the
predeftinated
of
the
Lord
;
thofe whom he doth bring
nearer him
by
meanes
in
time, thofe
he
did
predeftinate
to
draw to himfelfe
in
fuch
order, from
all
eternity
:
Wee
will
fay in
choler, when things come
crofl'e
upon
us,Now
1
was ordained
to
it,!
think
it
mau
my
deftinit:But
happy
is
he,who
can
by event
learn
to
fee
how God
hath deftinated before-hand every
thing
for his
good.
DeilI.
Obferve
of
whomwe
may
fay
this,that they
are predeftinated,even
of
fuch as
have beleevedand are
fan(
ified;the perfons which are ordained
to
life
and predeftinated, they
are
called,
that
is
brought to
have
a
true
fairh,and juftified,andthey
(hall
be
glorified. This
chain of
foure
linkes
is
fuch,
two,whereof
are kept
with God
in
heaven ,
two
arelet
downe
into earth,as
itwere5This chaine
is
focoùpled,that whofoever
are
with
-
inthefe midlinkes,arewithinthe
two utmoft alfo.While
a
man carrieth
a
frame or plot
of
this
or that
in his
minde, we cannot
fay
what
is his
meaning,bnt when he now doth execute
it,
thenwe know what
he had
predeftinated,and
afore.hand
defigned
within himfelf.When
God doth
lay
the foundation
of
faith and holineffe, fuch
as
fhall
never befubver-
ted,then
wemay know
that
he
did
predeftinate in
histime, to worke
a
glorious worke
in
loch
a
perfon
;
How
precious then
is
this faith which
purifieth
the heart, which doth
let us be able, even
to read our
names
written
in
this predeftination
of
God
,
as a
Booke
or
regifter
of life;
which maketh
us difcerne
our
felves
in
that
ftate,
that
all
things
(hall
workefor our goode
every winde,even
the
croffeft,
(hall
help
us
to
the
haven
of
true
happineffe.
I
know faithfull foules
cannot
alwaies
finde
this
comfort,
becaufe
they
finde
themfelves worfe,
rather
thenbetter,
for many things which betide them
;
but we mutt not
be
difmayed,
thingsworke together, when thou
feefi
the
laft
with the
firft
,
then thou
fhalt
fee
that harmony
which
is in
all,for thy
belt good. A
Phyfitian
doth with
one
thing or two,make
that
man more
lick
then
ever ,
whom
yetat
length he molt
comfortably
healeth:But
what
I
fpake
of
this cir-
cumftance
in
the former verfe,may hither
alfo be reduced.
Onely
let
us
rP.y
endeavour
to
know our
felves predeftinated
by him, for this
is
our
flrength,which cannot be
fhaken,
when
we
know that
God hath
deter-
mined
and
contrived fuch meanes
as
(hall infallibly
bring
us
to
glory;
this
knowne,we may
fay,lf
God
he
with
us ,who
fhaühe
aping
use'
Doc!.
That
we
¡amid
be adopted
through
Chrifi.]
Obferve
what God bath
de-
termined tobring
us
unto before
all
worlds,
even
to this, that
we fhould
1
be