to the EPHESIANS. Fellow-Apofiles; tho he complains ofhimfelf, M born out ofTime, and as ~ne put to this School long after them. Thus ./Uofes alfo undervalumg the Egyptum Leaming (wherein he exreUed, Aas 7.22. as well as the Pleajitres ofth•t Court, having an Eye to the reconrpence ofReward to come; was accordingly in a Proportion recompenfed even in this Life, as with being exalted to be a Kmg over the.People of God (a greater Dignity than Egypt afforded) Deut. 33· for hts leavmg the EgyptianCourt; fo wit~ being made the Prophet ofthe Old Tefbment for his re– nouncing oftheir Learnmg; to whomGod revealed hun[elf,a11d h" Law, as never to any other Prophet,Numb.12.6. He was the Giver of that Law,which by the con– fef!ion ofall the Heathens excelled theirs ; and therein made fuch an eminent Type ofChrifr his Prophetical Office, as no Prophet was afore or after him, Deut. 18.15. And fo much for the Excellency ofthis Epifrle. Yet let me add this, That ofall Epifiles, that to the Colojfians comes neareft to it, in the Matter and Argument thereof; and in many things, the one is a Comment upon the other; only in the Docrrine ofGod, Free Grace, and Everlajiing Love (which is that Myfiery ofthe Myfrery ofChrifr.) This far excells it. 2. In the fecond Place, for the Occajon ofthis Epiftle, Interpreters are much put to it to find what it fhould havebeen,nor need we trouble ourThoughts much, ifwe find not any; for perhaps the Apoftle took one, (as a good Heart is apt when there is no fet Occafiongiven) for to do Good; which feems all the Occa– fion of that other Apoftle's writing his, 2 Pet. 1.13. I thinkit meet, as long M I am in thi< Tabernacle, tojiiryo1t up, &c. But for any fpecial one ofthis, the befr and inoft probable, which I by conjeCture can find,. is that which the Apoflle by the Spirit ofProphecy forefaw, ACI. 20. where callmg all the Elders of.Ephefus toge– ther (even the Elders ofthis Church, which here he writeth unto, as you may fee ver.17.) be tells them ver.29. I kt;zow thi< that afier my departure foal/grievo111 Wolves enter in am011gjou; alfo ofyourown[elver jhaU Men arife, jpealqng perverfe things, to draw away Difciples after them. He forewarns both, that fome oftheir own Elders fhould rife up (for oftentimes fo it falleth out in Churches) and alfo that others from other Churches and places fhould enter in among them (Wolves he calls them) teaching perverfe things. And I k_now this, f.1ys he; he knew it by the fame Spirit ofProphecy and Revelation, thatver. 25. he fays, hekztewhejhollldfeetheir Face no 11tore. And altho he perhaps knew not the particular Errors which they fhould teach; yet in General, you fee he knew that grofs Errors,overthrowing the Foun– dation ofthe Gofpel,fhouldarifeamongfr them,andbe taught. Now therefore to prevent their being carried away with any ofthofe Errors, whatever they might prove to be,he writeth this Epiftle in a pofitive way, to e£labliil1 them afore-hand in the greateft Truths ofthe Gofpel. And what is the great and main Argument ofthis Epi!lle, efpecially in the firfr partofit? It is to lay open the Docrrine of Free Grace, and ofGod's Eternal Love in, and Redemption by Chrifl, and the Bleffings iffuing therefrom; and the dependance that our Salvation bath·on both. The Apoftlenot knowing what particular Errours fhould arife, he yet choofeth to teach fuch Docrrines, as might be the mofr univerfal Preventives to all whatever, that were ofany dangerous Confequence ; and for this Purpofe of all other Do– ll:rines, be pitcheth upon this of Free Grace. The Obfervation then is this. ObC: That ifChrijiians Judgments he well a11d throughly gro11nded in the'])oe/rine ofGod's Free Grace, and Eternal Love, and Redemption through Jef111 Chriji alone, andin the moft Spiritstal Inward Operations ofGod's Spirit, which he enn11merates to have been experilmntally comnmnicated; That !Vi! Iftnce them againji all El'rors,yM "'"Y theneven venturethun front talqng in any Faljhood ofanygreat Mon;,mt. Their Souls being wellJbod with the prepa,.ation ofthe Gojpel of'Peace, (to ufe the Apo£lle's Si– militude, as it is in the 6thofthis Epifrle, ver. 1 5.) Then, as they areTentation– Proofin refpecr ofSm,or pracrical Doubtings, (which is the Apoftle's Scope there) fo in like manner,when their Judgments are thus fhod with the Docrrine ofGrace, they are Errour-Proofalfo, (I [peak in refpell: oftaking in any dangerous Herefy) and this fully agrees with whatthe Apoflle direcrs, Heb. 13. 9· Be not (faith he) carried awa1 wilh divers and flr(lllge Dullrines. He calls them divers or various Doarines,
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