An Expo{ttion of the Epifole ' ~ Thus he cafi up all forts of Divifions into one total Sum in Chrifi's Perfon lir!l:, Serm.XfT. and made that a toundation unto a Second; ond that ts thts, To gather togtther v-v--..J all things in Earth a11d i1l Heave,. tmder 011e Head, that ,is both Headof .An• gels a11dMm; that .A1if,tls and _Mm, do make. up o11egreat .Aflociation tmder this otu Head andMotzarch, Chnfi; midthat of all forts of .A1Jgels, m1d of att forts of Mm, make what divijioll ; •otJ wilt, Natio11s, To11gtus, Kindreds, Si•J· IIers, Ranks, whatfoever; he gtJthereth togtther of att jttcb, and makes up a Body to Chrif/. That is the Second. · The Third was this,(which .I ~nrredupon in the Iafi difcourfe) That he hath made a fecotzdgatheri11g of alJ things in o11e. In Chrifi there is a fecond ga– tiJering. Tl]ere is a twofql\) Union of Creatures reafonable, with God, and among(\ themfelves, a lirfi and a fecond; drd., is not to be loft. Yea, and.he bath gathered together again the ftcottd fi"'!e after a fcatterin~, when they were dif• perfed, broken all in pieces; he makes up all again in Chrifi, to make his glory fo much the more illufirious. '· · In the lirfi place there w~s a lirfi gathering of all things unto God, as under a Head, which was thatgatheri11g of aft in Het~vm alldi n Earthby the Law of Creation; wh1ch I explained in Four things. Firfi, That both {1ngtls and Men were, by that Law of Creation, united to God. It was their que fo to be; a natural due, if he would make them C(rea– tures reafonable. Yet Secondly, So, as they were both uqited to God; but by the fame like common Tie, they might both fall in pieces. Then Thirdly, There was a Peace between both thefe among themfelves, if not ~n Alfociation; which indeed the Scripture holds not forth; but a Peace there was. , · And then Fourt hly, In fome refpetl: this might be faid to be in Chrifi; not as a Head undertaking for both , but by his natural due : It was his right, if he were to be a Creature, to be the Head of that Creation, the begiuning of th~ Creatio11 of God, as he is called, Rev_. J• 24, Now, I fhewed, thereis "ftcotJdgathering i11 Chrifl, as a Head undertaking botI\ for Men and Angels. Firfi, !or the .A1Jgets parts, It was the thing I fhewed you ; the neceffi– ty of a Secoud Vt1i01z, and that in Chrifi. I cannot fiand to repeat the particulars, They needed both confirming Grace , as I fhewed out of Job. 4· 18. compared with Jo6 15, 15. They needed elevating Grace to that fulnefsof the Vifio" of God, which is only Chrifi's natural due, as ']oh, I .I 8. Nont ht~th jtm the Father; it is not only 110 ma11, but it is oJl•l<, none, but only by way of participation from him, who lay in the bofom of the Father. There is a Vifion of God, which the A11gels were not created unto, which in Chrifi they are raifed up unto. , Then, Again, I lhewed there was a kind of reconcitiatiotl of them, a ga– thering together in that refpect, as the Phrafe, Cotofi.?.o. importeth,where all things are faid to be r.econcited, 6oth i11 Heavm a11d i1l Earth. It is not aproper Reconciliation indeed; but when God faw that his Angels ferved him fo , the inofi part of them, he chargeth the refi with fot!.y: It was in their nature to do it, he could not trufi them; it might have made him repent, that ever he made Angels. Chrifi takes this olf, (it is not an actual falling, but a poffible falling, )and fixeth them to God for ever. Thus he gatberei all thi11gs i~: Htaven to himftif by ajecoudgatheri11g; for that is the Point. · Now, that which I am to handle is this, That there is a Seco11d gatheritsg of Mm , of alJ thi11gs on Earth ; and that is clearer than the other. God, he cloth not preferve Men only from a danger of fcattering, by a {tcond' Vmo11 with himfelf in and through Chrifi, but he actually prekrveth them. He !heweth not his Grace of pre(ervt~tion only; he withdraweth, or he leaveth them unto themfelvcs, fuffereth them all to turn head againfi him ; to turn Re– bels, to the end he might get Glory by a further degree of Grace toward them, tolhew forth the riches of his Merry in their recovery. · And
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=