176 The Refemb/,wce betwixt nalttral, &c. State IH. power of God, in making fuch a creature of the co-rruptible feed, and much more in bringing forth the new _creature frorn fa fmall b-eginn ings! il is as 1hi little cloud like a · man 's hand, _which fpread till heaven ru.•as black wiih cloud.l– a n_d ru..•ind, and thr:re was a great rain, I Kings xviii, 44· 4). -i i man gets a word at a fermon, which hpndreds be– fi de him hear and let Oip : but it remains with him, works in him, aod never leaves him, till the little world be turned: upfide down by it ; that is, till he become a new man. It is like the vapour that got up into AhafuertiJ's head, and cut off fleep fwm his eyes, Ej//;er vi. 1. which P' oved a fpring . of fuch motions, as never ceafed, until l'rlordecai, in roy <d pomp, was brough..t on horfe-.back threugh the flreer, proud Hamau tJUdging at his foot; the fame Hama tJafterwa rds hanged, !Vlordeca i advanced, and the church del ivered from f-laman's hellifh plot. The grain of muflard f ad-becom.. ~ th a tree, Matth : xiii 3'• 22. God loves to bring great things out of fmall beginnings. Sixthly, Natural generation is carried· on by d~grees., jobs. 10. Hajl thou not poured me out as milk, ·and curd– l~:d me like chee-ft ? So is regeneration. Jt is with the fod ordinar ily, in regeneration, as with,the blind man cured by our Lord, who fir!t/tt"'UJ men as tren <tv~1i,~ing, afterwarc 's, every -man clearly, Maah. viii. 23, 24. 25. Jt is true, re– gene, ation being ftr itl:ly fpeaking, a pgffing from death to . life, the foul is q_tJ ickened in a moment: likeas, when the embryo i-s brou.ght to perf~&,ion in t-he womb, the ·roul is iilfufd into the lifelefs Jtimp. Neverthelefs, we may ima– gine fomewhat like conception in fpiritual generation., whereby. the foul is p-repared fo r quicken ing : and the new c.reatu-re is capab le of growth, '1 Pet., ii .: ?. and of life mere · abu!Jdant!y. John ~ - 10 . ' Seventhfy, In both there are-new relations . The regene-– rate m!J.y call God, Father ; for they are his children, John i. I 2, 1 3· beg_o.tten ·o.f him, I Pet. i. 3 T he bride, the Lamb'-t – 'Wi.fe, (that is the church) is t'heir mother, Gal. iv . . :z i• Iht;y ar~ related,..as brethern, as) ifl-ers, to angels and glo– rified faints , tire .familj of heaven . They are of the heaven1-v ftock : and the meanelt of them , the bafo thin-g s of the ~orld, 1. Cor. i . ·28.. the kinl efs things (as th - wo rd im– ports2who can not boa!t of the blood that runs in their veins, a~ce:
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