An Expofttion of the Epiftle To give you fome Scripture to confirm this Interpretation. Firfi in 1'Pet.1.g. Ser. XVII. there he calleth tne People of God (he ufeth the very fame phrafe that is uitd ~ here,) ,.a, ,;,,..,,,r,~,, a pec11lwr People, or a pttrcbrljedpof!ej}Joll to God, (fo you may read Lt,) hedothallude untothatinExod.•9·)· whence he takes the word, where they arc faid to be a aboly People, a pecttlwr Treafure, or all 11lbentmtu unto God. And fo now, as he calleth Heaven our l11berzt,mce m the for– mer words , io he calleth us that are redeemed God's l11btntmtce in thefe words. I /hall name no more places, but that'Deut.;2.19• The Lord's portio" is his People, Jacob u the lot of hu l11heritauce. And then, whereas " is faid, they are apurchajed I11berztaua; my Brethren, it is well added, .for the People of God arefo; they are not only God's Inheritance by choice, but they are his by purchale. The word """""''"'• as all Greczam acknowledge, is to get a thmg by Jabv,r, by cojl, and by couquejl, and fo it is more than '"""1& ; they are not only· hts lnhentance, but they are his p11rchajedpojJejJio11, his purchajed Iuhentauce. Look inw /lct.2o. 28. faith he, The Ch11rcb whom be batb pm·chajed wtth tbe blood of God. The word ufed for purcbajed there, is the fame word that is ufed here. This is the glory of the People of God, that they are God's purchajed ones ; not only his Inheritance, but his pt<rcbajrd Inheritance. ASecond Interpretation is this; Bypttrcbafedpoffi/]ion here is meant Heaven it felt: The fame thing which he had fpoken of belore, calling it there an Inhe– rit,mce, here be calleth it a pttrcbafed pojJejJio11. For this there is as exprefs a Scnpture as for the former; Heb.J0,39· Wt are 1101 of tboje tbat draw back to perdttloll, but of them tbat believe, .;, menrof,~,, tmto their jalvatio11; (it is the fame word that is here;) we tranllate it U11to the ["alvatio11oj thnr Sottls, wbid1 Salvauon is purchaled by the blood of Chrifi. So tbat now his fcope is, to note out the glory of Heaven to conlifi in two things: Firfi,in a perfe<'.l: R.edemption, freeing us from alliin and mifery; and Secondly, in a glorious polletiion , pur– chafed by the Blood of Chrift. Now, faith he, He u tbe Eanufl of our I~theritmtCt, tmtil the redemptio11 of otJrpttrchajed poffi./]io11. But only the phrafe, you will fay, is harlh to interpret it of Heave11; for how, you will fay, is there a Redemptio11? for Heaven is not faid to be redumed; it is bought indeed, but how is it faid to be redumed? I Anfwer two things. In the lirfi place, it is faid to be the rttlemptio11of this polfeilion w refpett of the perfons to be redeemed and poffeft of tt. That is tometimesatmbuted to Heave11, whtch is not meant of it, but of the Per(ons that lhall come thither. As for Example, It is called an Inheritance immortal a11d tmdtjiled; why? Becaufe we lhall be undefiled whco we come thither. I go (faith Chrifi) to prepare aplace foryou. It was prepared from the beginning of the world; he faith fo, becaufe tbry were to be prepared. So, becaufe we are to be redeemed and to be poffefi of it; therefore it is called the redemptio11 of the pof!ejJioll, that is, by which, when we are redeemed, we /hall be poffe!l ~~ . And, my Brethren, it is not an improper phrafe to fay, the redemption of thi.J poffeJ!ioll, of Heaven; why ? becaufe there lieth a great many clogs in our way to it, which mufi be removed; there lies Sin and Satan, in whofe hands we are, and Death, and all thefe we mufi be redeemed from; all thefe mufi be removed before we have dear and quiet poffeilio~ therefore it is faid, the Sp>nt is a Seal until the redemption of the purchafed puffeflion. As a man that bath an Efiate, and right to it good enough, but he is troubled with Suits in law that keep him from the polfeilion of it; it may be called the redemptiofl of !m polfcffion, when all is paid, and all Suits are at an end. If you ask me, Which of thefe two the Holy Ghofi meaneth? Clearly and plainly, my Brethren, he meaneth both, and .it is the greatefi elegancy in the Writings of the Holy Ghofi, that he lhould intend both, (as you lhall fee by and by.) For
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=