An Expojition of th~ Epiflle ~ Kingdom made out of all, both in Heaven and Earth, fc:ittered from him, Semz. XI. and reduced again; how infinitely doth this fer out God and Chrili? It is ~beyond the thoughts of Men and Angels, to invent fuch a thing as this. No liory ever had fuch a winding up as this. Read all Hiliories , all Ro– mances that men are pleafed with all, they have not the lhadow of fuch a plot as this. Take all the plots of all the great ones of the Eatth, and all their petty plots come to nothing. The Wifdom of the World is Folilhnefs; in com– parifon of this, We preach Wifdom, (faith the Apo!Ue,) in a Myliery,which none of the Princes of the World knew 1 their wifdom comes to nothing before this, it all vanifheth. To fet up fo great a Monarch that bath Allyance to all his Subjects, and to make him King of all the World, of both Worlds, and to have fome out ofall, in Heaven and in Earth , to be made Subjects unto him , and he in his own perfon to have all things in him ; and they .falling from God, he being able to knit them all again a fecond time. Withozlt cotttroverfie, (faith he, 1 Tim. 3· tilt,) Great ut he Myflery of godlitu[s. What is it 1 This very thing I have fpoken of. It is firft, Godmanifefled itJthe Ftefh, God and Man fummed up in one, it could never have entred into the heart of Man or Angel , to have a thought that the Son of God fhould have taken a Creature up into his own perfon thus,and fuch a Creature as alllhould be fummed up in him.Juflijitd i1J the Spirit, that is, at his Refurredion. Stmof .Angels,tobe their head. Preached t11J/o the Gentites,6elieved on ill the World,to be the head of them on Earth by Faith too. This is a Myftery, without Controverfy, no man that readeth it or heareth it, but he muft fall down before it. This is not man, this is not the wit of Angels,this is without controverfy, from an Omnifcient underflanding, that knoweth all things and bath infinite depth in him; nay, my Brethren, of all the Arguments that e– ver fell upon my underftanding, to convince me, that there is a God, there is none like unto this. ASecond Obfervation is this. See the feveral flep• of the goodnefs of God to his Creatures in thefe three particulars, which that which I have handled doth lhew. Firll, There is his limple goodnefs, as he is a Creator, communicating himfelfunto them, as to Creatures by the Law of Creation, but not beyond their due, .as Creatures. This was the ftate of Adam in innocency, and this was the flate of the Angels that fell. Then Secondly , there is a further de– gree of goodnefs lhewed, which becometh grace, which bath a peculiarnefs in it, it is fupernatural, it is beyond the common tye of Creation, to keep them trom falling ; this he fhewed to the Angels that flood, .when he let the other fall, which prevented them from falling. Well, but there is a third degree beyond all, that i~, when actually they did fall, (as the Elec:t of the. Sons of men did, ) then here 1s nches of mercy, to gather them all to lumfelf, m h1m again and that by his blood. This is the mercy, this is the top of the mercies of 'cod 1 and the truth is, to lhew forth this, he lhut up all under fin, that he might have mercy upon all. It was but to lhew mercy fo much the further, There was his . mercf in preventing this, but there is inlinit~ depth of mercy in recovering out of th1s, when they were all fcatteredfrom h1m, to gather them together again. SER.;
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