130 Dr. Bate's forenoon Sermon, encoura.c.t,e them toperfeverance;and partly he fortifies them againft Back7fliding, by thole terrible judgments winch he threa tiled a gainft Revolters, as you may read, chap,6,7. 2. As they were liable to this Apoftacy upon the account ofPerfcclition, fo upon the account oft he unfetledneffe and inftability of their own fpirits. There were [eve- ral of thole who had given up,their names toChrifl:, who did com- pare the Ceremonies of the bliw with the purity of the Gorpe",, Now the Avon., to fecnre them from this mixture, his great defign is to reprefent the vanity and infeaivenetTe of all the' Ceremonial law, and to expreffe and prove the venue and efficacy of the Lord Tears his death , which was the fubftance of all the fhadow. And this takes up one great part of his diicourfe with them. Now in there two verfes he fiammes up, by way of Recapitulati- on, all that which he had difcourfed ofat large ; and in them you may °Verve there two things. (I.) A Defcription of God, to whom he addreffes this prayer. (2.) The Subflance of the prayer it felf. The Defcription ofGod, that he amplifies by thefe two things : (a.) FromAttributes and ClIalities of God, (if I may fo expreffe it) Now (faith he) the God of peace. (a.) From the effeas ofhis power and love, That brought again from the deadour Lord Jefus, that great Shepbeardof the Sheep. And thele Titles,they Are not here fet down to adorn his dilcourle, meetly as an Ornament, but they have all a peculiar efficacy, as to theobtaining 'of the requeft which here he makes for them. I 11141 begin with the &If, the Defcription of God from that Attri- bute. (Now the God ofpeace) The Title that is ufed in the Old rella- ment frequently is this, [TheLord ofFleisi but in the New he is called, The G od ofPeace. There were darker reprefentations of the mercy and Love of God then, the more ful diicoveries of his grace were reierved till the coming of Chrift. Their difcoveries under the Old refitment, were but as the Day-far which ulhered in the Sun of Righteoujiiele. Now this Title of the God of peace imparts two things ;, (L) That he is the Authour ofpeace; and works it. (-.3,) That he kVes and delights in peace. Fir ft, That he is the Authour of it : And if you confider Peace in all its notions and-kinds, it is a fruit of God, and that which de- kendS fro- mhim r Peace 'in Nature is the harmony that is be- tween all theparts-of die world, the union that is between the dif:- agreeing - Elea-lents, that is from God: for without him , the whole Creitiod would prefently disband, and l'eturn to its fifft Chaos of confulion.
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