Goodwin - BX9315 G6 v1

qo .An Expojition of the Epifile ~of Arithmetick that ever was; and yet none of us Creatures had ever come in– &rrn. X. to this after·account or fecond union with God, under Chrifi; if God himfelf had ~not come into and made one of this firfi account and highefi union, that is, of God a11d a Creaturemaking o1lePerfo1J. Deny Chrifi to be God,and deny him to be Head, and diffolv~ all our union with God as alfo reconc1hat1on unto God, the foundation of all IS taken away. 'fhe mut;ble Creature could never fix unto God, but by this fure and immutable foundation. Secondly, Come we then to Creatures, among them there is another divilion ; for as God bath made two Worlds, fo two poiie!!ors of them; the .Angels, the Jntelledual Natures of the World apove, and u~ Men on Earth the lower World. 'Tis tr~e, that becaufe the redemption of Men was in his eye, as well as this of Union·ofall things;therefore he took 11ot the ~tatttre of .AtJgels; and belides,therein there was a more fpecial refped:and inclination had unto men, rather than unto the Angels, as He6:z.. fhews : yet withal it mufl alfo be affirmed, that in order to the fetching in of this General Union of a/J things 6oth i11 Earth atJd Heavm; this was the only way to comprehend and grafp both, and all. To take into one perfon with him one itidividuat Nature of mmt, rather than any other; and herebj•, and 6y tllis atone, he bath fum'd up all in Heaven and Earth in his Per– fen. Not only, becaufe in the Nature of man, as in a little world, all things are fum'd up in both Worlds; Man having a fpirit, which like the Angels can fubli!l: alone,out of the body,and live in their World i.e. in Heaven. But he bath a Body alfo, which conlifts of all forts of Creatures here below, the Heathens obferved, and -their Poets feigned a piece of every thing elfe went to make up man. Whereas, had he taken the nature of Angels, then the all things 011 earth had been <jllite left out of this account, for though Man hath aSpirit like that of the Angelica! Nature; yet that Spirit being ordained to dwell in a Body , and that Body being a part of man, and confiitutive of him as fuch; (and therefore Chrifi proves the refitrredion of the Body of .A6raham by this,that elfe it's not .Aura– ham, the Man .A6raham, unlefs Soul and Body be joyned.) But upon a further ground we fhall fee it was, that in taking of Man's Nature he took in Angels alfo, ,that is, the conditio11 of .Augets. 'Tis true, had he to have been no more but an E ,zrthlymmt, (as .Adam, histype)this ~efir;n.of taking i~ .all h~dfallen fhort ; but the perfon who aiiumes and takes 1nto h1s perfon this tnd1V1dual Nature of man, being God the Son of God, tbat man whom he fo aiiumes, is in!lantly a Heavenly mm1, as to his condition, I Cor. I)•47,48. And although the fub!lance of his Nature is the fame that ours, yet the Hate is Heavenly, and to be .-J,'AfJ<'" as .A11gels: yea ,Jar a6ovt allprincipalities mtdpowtrs, Ephef.I, yea, all Hro: veus, Heb.7.2). 'Tis not his right only to be in Heaven, but he is Lord of it, tbe Lordfrom Heavm,a~ I Cor") ·47• and other Scriptures fpeak,(as .'lohn.~. q.) and 1S fpoken as 1f, as he IS Man,he had firfl6em aflt1a/Jy m heavm,becaufe it was a real condefcenlion in him to take our Nature, with its frailty, by which he be– cams (for a little while) tower thaiJ the .Angets,Heb.z. His natural due was that Heavenly !late, and to be as glorious as he is now. Here then is in an in!lant all in Heaven and Earth met, and all their intere!l:; for though man could fay, he hath ot<r Natt<re; yet the Angels could withal infiantly reply, but he is our Cotm– I'J' mmt, by right we fhould have him here, and there he mufi in the end be, and livefor ever. None of his Creatures could fay, We have a Ki11g and Head i11 whom we have 110/ha~e nor a/JiatJce tttJto. You know how fharp the Contention grew between the Mm of Judah and the Te11 Tribes, 2 Sam. I 9· about 'David their King; He u nigh aki11 to mJay the Men of .'lt<dah,ver.41. Ftdbofottrjlejh, mtd6one of our 6ot~t. They of ,'lttdah plead, (as he was 'David,) fo V, I 1. but he bath favrd 11s out of the hands of our memies,and delivered us out of the hmtds o/ the PhitJ(Iins, (as he was King,) fay theTm Tribes. And thereupon the Men ot Ifrael anfwered, We have tm parts i11 the King, a11d we havt more rigbt ;, ZJ,•vidtbrmye. But, my Brethren, here neither ·things on Earth, neither things mHeaven, need either of them to complain or quarrel about the like in Chrifi; for God bath fum'd up all in their King,_'lelies, that fo he might become their Ca– tho(Jck Ki11g and Univerfal Head; He is jle(h of ourjlejh, and 6o11e of o11r bone, a11d ( 6y 6irth) ski11 t• tss, might Man fay, which the Angels cannot, But

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