to theE P HE S I A N S. My Brethren, There is as great a ~owerand a greater, (if we may make Corn-~ parifons) in convertmg at firfr, than 10 keep10g alterward. Rom.; .9, 10, The A- :lermon po(lle makes it there a greater work tp reconCile m, 6et1Jt. enemtes, than to keep_ XXIII. us friends,being reconciled. It IS a greater work to put hfe mto a dead man ( ot ~ which the comparifon is there) than _to keep life m !urn, you knowhtat wJIJ do that. Converlion is a gr~ater work 10 fome regards, than glonfymg a man 1s; why ' Becaufe the glorifymg aman 1s but agradual change, It IS but from Grace to Gl~ry . but to convert aman is a fpecial change, it altereth the Hate of a mari, aWolf b;cometh a Lamb, it altereth the kind,the other added~ but a new degree. Now vherefore, if the Apofrle's fcope, be (as mofr evidently a IS) t_hey may know his power, to the e~d to comfort them, to take all doubts awoy. 1 hey knewrbe hope of his CtJOing before,he prayed for that10 the former verfe; That they m1ght kuow the riches of the glory of hJS lnherJtarJa, that he prayed for 1n the lafl: words before: Now, that they might know the Power th<~t wouldkeep them, according to their hope, rmtothat j(Jivation. So that now it agreetl1 well with this fcope of the Apot\!e. Again in the Second place,Suppole tlte Apofrle's fcope be to comfort them,and to frreng;hen their Faith in this point, that there ihall be an Almighty power pLlt forth in them to ra1fe them up at the latter day; you !hall find, (take th1s m too) That they miy know the Po~r that firfi converted them, is the fl:rongefr Argu– ment-that can be toperfwadethem of the other. My meaning is this, That the firongeft Argument that could be brought to perfwade the Ephejta11s, to frreng– then their Faith, That an Alm•ghty power ihould one day work to ra1fe them from death to glory. I fay,the llrongeft Argument to work this in them,is to fee the Power thatfirfi converted them. Here is one Argument indeed to frrengthen their Faith,namely,They faw by Faith their Head .7efiu Chrifl to have been raifed from death to glory ; but then add but this to it, We faw as great a Power, and found as great a Power in working Faith inus,and Converlion in us,in changing our hearts,as was put forth in railing of Chr1fr from death to life; here is a double Argu~ent. ~nd fo_ indeed, I find mofl: of the Greek Fathers run that way in their mterpreung tlus place. The .Apoflle, fay they,doth declare wh,ll Godalready hath do1u for them and in them; how he had wrought them to believe6y anAl– mighty power, tof/rmgthm '_lild cortjirm their Faith for thefillure, that be would jhewforth thefame Power znrai/ittg them tep from death to life. To this purpofe Theophita[f and Chryfoflom, I name h1m becaule he was as much for the treedom of Will as any other, being an Oratour to perfwade men to turn to God; a holy and a good man, as good as .Auf/ill that was of another mind, living in he f•me Age with him, yet he interpreteth this place of working Faith at.firfl ; for to this purpofe is his fpeech. The Apof/le's JCope, faith he, is to demot?f/r"l/e by wh,,t al– ready was manifeflectin them, 11amely, The Power of God 111 workmg F:uth; to raife up theit· hearts to believe what was 1101 ma111jejled, namely, The rmfi-Ig of them upfrom death to life: It6eing,laith he, a f'ar morewouderj11l work to per• f"lade a Soul to believe in Chrif/, tha11 to raife ttp a deadman, a far more admi– ra/;/e work of the two, To raij'e ttp a dead man, faith he, God made but o11e word of it, (I fpeak it to !hew that that is his fcope) f:azr~rus aYJje, ttndherh,zt was dead arofe, and ct~me forth bound hmtdandfeet, (;ic, Saith Pettr to Tab1tha, Arife,andjbeopenedhtr eyes a11djatr11p.But here it colts God man y words when he cometh to convert a man? How oftrn Wo11/d I have gmhered )Otl 1 wder wy wjttg_s? I alledge it to th1s purpofe, to fi1ew that they likewile interpret it to this fenle, that by what they had already cxpcr1ence ot in their own heart<, they might from thence fee and believe that great power that would work in them hereafter. And whereas now (take the other fenfe) all tl~<: weight of the Argument to perfwade the1r Faith of the truth of this, that thry jbaO o11e d.')' 6e rt~~Jtd upfrom the dead,I.eth upon their meer Faith to believe,th.1t God r.1i(edt:p Cbrt(/, wh1ch JS a tlung they d1d not fee, nor had experience of. Take this Argu. ment in too, That a Believer bath found the fame Power in him in working Fa,th that wrought in Chrifr; he hath not only a double Argumenr, but an Argument in his own experien,ce of that Power,and (o more (uitable to him for his heart to be more taken with it, and he hath this comfort befides, that that Power whicl, c~nverred me is engag'd,and will certainly keep me,aod raifc me up at the lafr day, So that the Apo(lle's fcope will be every way more full. Q_,l 2 AnJ
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