An Eocpojition of the Epiftle ------ ~Faith and Love are the Graces that God works by the Perfon of the HolyGhoft, Ser.XVIr. given unto thee. The Apo{\le inftanceth in thefe two in the next verfe to the ~ Text· For this caufe (faith he) I have givm tha11!ts for your Fa.tb i11 Chnjl, andt~ve to all the Samts. Hath the Holy Gho!t wrought thefe in thy heart? Thefe are an Earne!l that the Perfon of the Holy Ghoft is given unto thee; and the Perfon of the Holy Ghoft being given unto thee, is an Earneft, that that In– heritance that God hath appointed tor his Children !hall be thine. That Spirit dwelling in thee that dwelt in Chrift, fl1all raife up thy mortal body, as it raifed upChrills. Now, My Brethr;n, I muft come in the Second place, and fhew you how, thougl1 in general in a more large fenfe, the Holy Ghoft is faid to be the Earneft of our Inheritance ; yet in a more proper fenfe it is fpoken in refpeCl; of the work of Alfurance, which the Holy Ghoft works in us; that is, the peculiar, fpecial thing that the Holy Gholt hath in his eye :and why? Becaufe he coupleth 'it with Sealing,faith he;He bathfoaled us by his Spirit,who is the Earnejl,name– ly as a Sealer, ., one that giveth Alfurance; we have AIIurance in us of our Re– demption, &c. Compare but Ephef.4· JO· with this verfe; there y<~u read, We are (ealed tothe day oJ redemptton; that is, Gnd hath wrought Alfurance in us, that we !hall be redeemed, and he hath fealed us up to the day of Redemption. Here it is, Who is the Earnejl of our l11htritmtce, wttil the redempti011, (!)c. ·so that both import the work of AIIurance. · The end of an Earne!t is tOwork Alfurance in the party that it is given unto, as well as a Seal. You !hall find in 2 Cor. 1. 2 ,., 22. fpeaking of eflab!Jjhi11g us m Chrif/, (it is a place I have often quoted) of his working AJ(ura11ce in our hearts of bein$ in Chri!t,. he calleth it in the next verfe,. Seating tu, mtd giving 11s tht Earntfl of the Sptrst in our hearts. He menuoneth them both, and putteth them both together, as being that whereby the Holy Gho!t doth e!tabli!h us. And in that be addeth, He bath given 1f5 the Ear11ef/ of the Spirit in our hearts, for that is the Phrafe there. · The place in • (:or.5. )· I quoted even now, men– tioneth onlygivi11g of the Spirit; but in that place of 1 Cor.r.2o. he is fa id to givr the Earnejl of the Spir# in,our heart.r. What is the meaning of that? It importeth a work upon the heart, to aiiure and e!tabli!h the heart; that it is not only an Earne!t from God to the perlen, t<? make the thing fure to him; but it is nn Earneft wrought in the heart ot the man to whom the thing is given·in a fpecial manner. And that that is the meaning of it, read the next verfe in that 2 Cor.). Therefore, faith he, (becaufe we have this Earne!t) we are a/wai-f! co11jidmt. Now, my Brethren, the gre_at bufinefs is this, feeing the Et~rnefl of the Spirit is put for giving AIIurance, and the Seal111g of the Spirit is put for the gtving AIIurance too, how to diftingui!h thefe two : or rather, what is it that the one Similitude holdeth forth more eminently, and what doth the other mainly im– port ? I had thought fometime, that the Earne!t of the Sl'irit had been fome further thing than the Sealingof the Spirit ; but certainly it importeth the fame thing, only as the manner of Scripture Similitudes is, wherein one Simile falleth lhort the other helpeth it out. So they both imply the work of AIIurance; He halh jealed11s by the Spirit, who iJ a11 Earuejl; that is, as aSealer he is an Ear– ne!t: yet Seali11g implieth one thing in AIIurance, the Earnefl of the Spirit implieth another. You will askme, how we !hall difiingui!h thefe two ? I !hall do it briefly as God hath given me light. You know the Soul of man hath two great faculties that are wrought upon, he hath an Under!tanding, he hath a Will and Affedions. Now as we believe with the whole heart, fo we are afiured with the whole heart too. There is a work both upon the Underftanding and upon the Will; by the one a man knoweth his e!tate in grace, his Under– fianding is fully convinced of it; the Will and Affedids do ta!te the fweetnefs of it before-hand. You !hall find Rom.).)· fpeaking of Affurance, which he caOeth Hope, (as he doth elfewhere) he faith, Becaufe the Love of God is jhed abroad in our hearts; not only into one faculty, but into all faculties both into the under!tanding and will. Now
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