286 The excallerroy of the righteosrfnefe of Sagti:fication, life of Cod Intimating that when the foul comes to have this: righteoufneffe it comes to live the life that God Both himfelf; how is that, the fame life that is in the nature of God ; The foul acting as God ads, comes to live the life of God ; as, when a creature shall act as God alts, and make the fame end that God makes, and works towards this end as God worker, this is the life of God, for Gods life it confits in this, in wil ling himfeif the highell good, and acting as unto an ultimate end, and ordering all his undertakingsto fuite with his end, this is the excellencyof God, and a Saint comes to live the life of God, he propounds God to be the chiefefl good, the glory of God the ultimate end of all his actions, and drives all his defignes to this end ; And herein confifls the excellency of this life of fanctiflcation, and thus a Saint doth in his meafure, though he be not able to reach up to the top and height of this glory, yet every Saint in his meafure doth attaine this end ; how defireable then is this righteoufneffe, that makes the foul to live that life bete, which it mull live, and shall to all eter- nity. Fifthly, It is the very glory of God in the foul of man ; the foul doth not only come to live the life of God, but it conies to be the very glory of God : Rom. 3. z 3. All have finned and came fhort -of the glory of God,or as it is in the O:riginal,'depriv'd of the glory of God, we are now depriv'd of the righteouGaefs Adam was firfl made in ; Adam he was Elated in a glorious be- ing in Paradife, but he loll that righteoufneffe; and in that condition he was the glory ofGod,being the exce'ilentell crea- ture that God made,but he finning,did deface that. excellency: Now-when this is renewed in-the Godsgloryis come in- to the foul, men defire glory in ithe world ; what are the thoughts and the defires of all men almoft after, but rhofe things thatmay advance themfelves and their own honour ; how defirous then is Gods glory, or ought itto be unto us,this lhines in the foules of the Saints ; and to have a principle that r eTall hold forth -this glory according to the meafure of grace received, this is very 'excell'ent ; that a poor wretch 4aould come to fuch'a bight of excellency to hold forth the glory
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