to the E P H E S I A N S. Nothing at all' It is, faith he, hisgoodp!eajitre, which he purpofe~ in him- ~ fdf. mecrly in and out of htmfelf. He lool;ed to nothing but hirnfelt, when he Ser.fn.lX. did ;hus purpofe eternal fa!varion toany, or to call them by the Gofpel. . ~ And Secondly , whereas they might enqmre, and fay; Was It out ol a fixed will, taken up from everlafiing thus? . . Yes faith he lt was not a meer Velleity, but lt was a purpofe, {ec11m{latut 11111 . he purpofed wi;h himfelf, unalterably: fo indeed Bez,, fa~th, that God's 'Pur~ poje is mentioned to fhew the lirmncfs of Eldho11, a• mRom. 8. 28. where the l'urpofe of God is mentioned, to fhew the firmnefs and ftabiiJty of l11s will and refolution in It, He purpojed. If the words bc·referred tothegth verfe, then you may obferve.from thence thefe two thing~ out of it; 1• ThattffeCl:ual Calling is the fruit of God's everlafiing good will to us,."fam. 1 .1 8. Of his ow11 w dl he bath /;egotlt11tJJ, . J_t was his will and his porpofe he took up from everlafiing. His begemng us, It IS of htswiii,of Ius purpofe, whicb hepurpofi:d(faith he) m him[e!j. And therem now, our begetting d1ffereth from that of Chnll's. Chrift is his Natural Son : As he is the Second Perfon , he be– gat him not of his will ; as he is Man indeed, fo he came under God's Decree as well as we: but as he is the Natural Son of God, the Second Perfon, he was not begotten of his will; but fo are we by an everlalling Purpofe, by an everlafi.ing Decree which he purpofedin himfelf. So that (my Brethren) look how you are call~d, and when you are called; it was all as God had plotted it from ever– lofting. He appointed that thou fhouldeft go to fuch a Sermon, and there hear [uch a word fpoken as fhould ftrike thy heart, It may be it was fpoken by the by, or it may be thou cameft into the Church by the by, and thoughtefi to go to ano• ther place, but God turned thee in: this was plotted from everlafiing. God doth his great works by the by oftennmes, and fo he converteth Souls; yet they are plotted from everlafiing.. Tt is his purpofe within himfelf. . . There IS one word yet m thiS 9th ver[e [ whrch he pttrpofodm htm{eiJ;] [ome read it ;,.,;T,J, which he purpofed ;,. him, namely m Chrift. But becaufe that is fo much afore and after, certainly he meanoth iv .~T<J, i1t him{eiJ. The word figni– lietheither, (as J haveformerlyfhewed what is the meaning of that;) he did not view any thing in us, or out of himfelf, when he decreed any thing con– cerning us. God hath no efficient caufe to move him, but his own Will. He hath no final caufe that ultimately moveth him, but his own glory and his Sons. He confults with nothing; he looks not out of himfelf: As he underftandeth all things by himfelf, and by his Elfence, fo that that cafteth his Will this way or that way, it is himfelf. The meaning is not, but that fomething out of God mo– ved God, if we would fpeak ftriCl:ly : I f1131l fhew you why; for take the glory of his Grace, that you know moveth him, fo the 6thverfe telleth us, He didpre– defti,att us to the praife of theglory of his grace. Now the pratfe of the glory of hisgraa, is a thing out of God, for it is that manifeftative Glory that arifeth from the hearts of Men and Angels to him, upon his works that he declareth to the Sons of Men; it is that which arifeth out of all. He looked and faw that iri the Creature which he made, there would be fuch a praife arifing; this moveth him,and yet it is out of himfelf. How then is he faid to purpofe all in himfelf? Jn one word thus; Althouhg theprai[e of theglory of hugrace, is but a Crea• ture; yet relatively it is God, it is his own, it is himfelf, it hath relation to him• felf. Myglo>J{faith he) I wi!J notgive to another, no not this glory which thus arifeth out of the Creature: Not only his Elfentia! glory, but not that Mani– fefiativ~ glory he hath out of all things, it is incommunicable to any Creature : though tt be not effeotially himfelf, yet relatively it is; therefore ·Prov.t6. he is faid to have made a!J thingsfor himfeiJ, andthe wickedfor the day of evt!. And nowt? fay, tha~ the prmfe of theglory of his Grace moved him, is all one as to fay, h1mfelf moved h1mfelf; becaufe it is his, and it is incommunicably hts. Sd much now for that 91h verfe. SER·
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