The excellency of the rig'hteoufnejfe.or sarctifcatien. God as it were, but not Gods Image ; if fo be that a man trod on the fand of the Sea, there would no: remain the Image of the man, but only the footsteps ; we cannot fiy ( the man be- ing gone) that there is the image of fuch a man, but there is his footsteps ; So all the manifeflations of God in the world in creation and providence, they thew forth the footsteps of God, that God bath been here, all the creation holds forth the footíteps of the molt high, but when we behold a Saint we fee the glary of God, there we behold the face of God ; as in the z of Genefis, where the councell was call'd, Come let to make mq e, how ? after our footíteps, no, But after our own image : Now grace is the renewing of this glorious Image ; for we mutt know that this excellent peece.of Gods Image by mans fall was all defaced, and blurr'd,there was a blacknetie and de- formity upon this glorious excellency, but now grace is a re- newing óf this image again : The foul it reprefenrs God in a lively way, the image of a man in his child it is more lively then in a piece of wood,'tis po`fible to draw it iii fuch an ex- cellency and feature, that it may be every way like the man, but yet not fo like a mans image as is his child ;; grace in the heart is the image of God livelily reprefented, God may fee himfelf there as a father fees himfelf in the face of his child God cannot fee himfelf fo in all the world as in a Saint,if fo be God would fay, where shall. I behold my Image ; if he went to a &s of providence, he might fee his footíteps, if he went to works of creation, he might fee his power and wifdome, but furely when he goes into the heart of a Saint, there he fees his Image molt glorious ; furely'then, grace it is an excellent thing ; The prolatipe of this Image was in Christ without meafure, he received of this grace without =afire, and we from his fullnelle receive even of this grace , grace for grace. Fourthly, The excellency of this righteoufneffe it appears in thi', in that it is the very-life of God himfelfe, a man may fee his image but nor his life, but nowgrace it is Gods life; that exnre'lion hints lo much unto us that we have in 4 Ephef. 18. Having the underiandin& darlued,being alienated from the IfC
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