3 78 TheTriTiledgé ofthe Faithful, ór, ThePriviledge, thereinyou may obferve twopoints; First the kind of it, Life.. . Secondly, the ground of it, grace: Thepartakers of this privilcdge are fet forth in a compounded Article, 3'oy st- heirs, Coheirs, heirstogether, having relation toWomen. Coherence. _The Pimple confideration of theWord, flews the right they have to the fore- named priviledge, they are heirs. The compound thews theextentofit,Co- beirr, one with another, Men and Women, heirs together of the ;race of life; Thatyet youmaya little more diftini ly difcern thefcope of-the Apoftle iiithis Tekt::. in a wordsnote the inforen2é.óftitùpnttitiátwhieh gocitihefère,orthe con- ne&ion of it therewith. Lift up therefore youreyes but a li; tic higher to the words going before, and you may obferve the Apoftic givinga diredion to men to honour Women, notwithflandiñg they are the weaker veffels : Vefels they arc, therefore' capable of that whichGod Ihall bepleafed to infufe into them, his grace : they are weakveffels, fo are men alfo, they are earthenveffels : thefe are the weak r ; thefe comparatively may be fail to be as glaffie ve/fels, and yet notwithstanding, youhave t acon'mon laying, that a glafs with good keeping may laft as lone;as in earthenPót, but both brittle: Now notwithstanding this Sex be beittle,and the weaker,yet to be honoured,and that upon this ground,becaufe partakers withMen,and as well as Men, of the greatest priviledge, thegrace oflife. Were this a meeting for the folemnization of a Marriage,Ì might further descant upon this plainfong, that arifeth from the inference of Mens honouring ofwomen. What have I faid,ifit were a Marriage folemnity? -furely, howfoever here be before our eyes, the eyes ofour bodies, avtfibleobjeEtofmortality yet notwithstanding, here is behindus,an invifible occafion of rejoycing,as at a Marriagefolemnity,to the eyes ofour foul,underftanding,and faith : for while here we liven the world,Jefus' Christ our Spoufe, he path his friends, friendsof the Bridegroom, his Minifters and meffengers, that in his name come to us, woo us, ufeall themeans that may be, to moveus to accept of Chrift for our Lord and Husband ; when a man accepts of this offer, there is then the contra&eonfummated, in regardofthe Mutual content that paffeth between the one and the other ;' Chrift having his Proxies here,we the ¡ Minifters beingfor him ; and every believing foul for himfelf. This contra6t con tinueth fo long as here we remain in this world ;. whenwe depart, the body is Iaid inthe Bride-bed, quietly to rest, and fleep, tilt the Bridegroom bepleafed to come and awake his Spoufe, and it will beableffedvoice that he (hallcomewithal, Come ye bleffed ofmy Father, receive thekingdomprepared foryonfrorri the beginningofthe world. As for the foul, that goeth immediately to Chrift, and is in his Fathers boufe with him; the Spoufe in that part, with her Husband theLord Chrift, enjoying an eternal, inviolable communion, and fweet fociety. Buthowfoever this is thus to the invifible eyes ofthefoul,we now mull lookupon l the obje& here before us ; and anfwerablyorder our matter ; and therefore with this touch I let pals the inference, and come to the fubftance of the Text. Y ouheard thefun ; your heard the parts. But we must here proceed, Huefferon and Proteron, and clean invert the order of the words,as I hope your felves will dif- cern, ifyou do but well mark the order and method : Life is in the last place; grace before it ; the right,thatcometh before it ; and the extent ofthat right, be. fore. all. I fuppofe therefore you will thinkthat first it is meet,to lay forth the pri- haveg, fell, Li of thedExtent of that tfright ground ad of thi order ofthe right purpofe to fol- low. Th. 6d£ First, therefore concerningthePriviledgeitfelf, Life. Tench of the brevity fake, I forbear to fpeak much of the divers acceptations of life, and 'Text. diftindtions thereof, asitisin the Creator ;theonly true God, Fa:her, Son,andholy Explication. Spirit: or as it is in the invifible and glorious creatures, the Angels: oras it is in men, who are animated bya real-citable foul: or as it is in thofe creatures that are guided only by fenfe, Beasts, Fowl, Fifh : or otherwife, as in Trees and Plants,that cane forth out of the earth, having a vegetative life only. The
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