to the E PHE S I AN S. SERMON XII. Ep I:i E s. •. IO; ·Ac~ording tf) his good pleafure which he bath purpofed in himfolf, in the difPenfation of the fulnefs oftime, to gather together in one all _thing I in Chrift, both _wh~cb are in Heaven. and whtch are on Earth,even tn hzm. THefe words ( as i have formerly, in opening the Coherence of them, lbewed)do hold forth thefull pt<rpo{e,the wholeBirth that lay hid inGods . eternal Pu~pofes an9 Decrees. All that God pu~pofed, both concerning Chri!l: and concermng us, h1m as a Head, and us as Members, theyare all ga– thered into this one exprelfton, He J;Urpofed to gatherfit 11! otre i11 Chrijf, both thzngs i11 Heaven, mtdthmgs on E.arth. That by thmgs m Heaven, are meant Angds i have fhewed: That by things on l!:arth are meant Mm , I have fhewed ~lfo. There areatllhittgs in Heaven, for there are feveral offices of An– gels at lea.fi; and there areatt thittgs on Ea_rth, there are feveral forts of Men: Now God bath gathered together all· tlungs m otJe, The great thing to be open~d, (as I promifed at lir!t,) which containeth in it all that God intended both toward Chri!l: and us; it is this word, which is tranllateq togather together i11 o111, dv,a.X.t1ct.ha.uJillt-"«t. It is a teemingword, a pregnant word, that.containeth all that God intended toward Chri!l: and us in the womb of it. At the fir!l:, I did give you four approved fignifications bf it, that none that knoweth and !l:udieth the meaning of the word, can deny, The Fir!l:, It lignifieth afummmg up, a ca!l:ing up of feveral Figures into one totatjum. . The Second is, It is agatheri11g together of feveral Members or Parts u11to o11e Head. The Third, (which is rather an addition unto the Second,) it is a gatherittg of them again. There is dv~, a doing of it the {eco11d time. . The Fourth is, A reducing things unto theirfirjf pritJciples, to theirfirjf ejlau, ltJjfa11rare, as I ilialllhew you apon, I gave you thefe,when I made entrance into the words, to be the four feveral meanings of it. There is a Fifth, which I will not J:tand upon. And thefe four contain, all that God intended both towards Chri!l: and us. Fir(\, As a foundati~n to the great R,e!l:aurarion of all things, the great Re– .capitulation and gathenng of all under one Head, Gdd layeth this foundation, He {ttmmetb up att thillg 111 Chrifl's Perjim. He was to make him a Head, and he would malic him a Head that fhould partake of all the Body; one that fhould be~ lit anda meet Head, fit tobe King of both Worlds. He ca!l:eth up, fummeth up tn h1m, tnto one total, all d1v1lions what(oever, atJ thi11gs i11 Earth and at! thi11gs i11 Heavm. . Hefummeth up in him, God and the Creature; that was the firll great di– vifion. He fummeth up in him, the nature of Man arid the condition of Angels; for he IS an Heavenly man, and far above Angels. It IS h1s due, and he po!Telfeth it now. · He !ummeth up in man's Nature alfurrted, both j ewand Gmtile j for he came of both. Thus ~ Serm.X ff. ~
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