to the EPH E S I AN S. And (o was my Underllanding, like the rhibgs I valued, fuit~d t<l them; as the ~ things were llefhly, fo I valued them as fuch, by reafon ot my fleflJiy under- .Sermo11. f!aoding. and fa the Apellle ufeth the phrafe Rom.8. )· Thry that rlrt afzer tht XXV. flejb, m11;d1he rhmgs of rhejlefb; that is, the. difpofition of the Mmd, and the ~ things are fnitcd each to other as a Natural ob)etl: and the Faculty, as the Eye rn the Body •nd Corporeal objetl:s. Aman that is nothing but of a flefl,.ly uodcr- !!aoding all his delight, and knowledge, and approbatron of thmgs, IS accord• ing to th~ !lelh, As on the contrary, in the lame place, he that is afttr th~ Spwil, hefavoureth and lmowet11 the r~i1~,gs that are a_fter the Spirit, valueth them according to what they are mGods Book, at a Sp1mual rate. Now, faith he, when I was thus Carnal, I knew all things thus alter the flefh; I counted myfelf(faithhcinPhJ/.~·2>l:) to have thefe and thefe pnviledges, I wasa Bm)amite, an He6rfw, tot1ch1ng the Law a Pharifu, co11ctrtJmg the rJghtt011foefs which u i11 tbt Law, 6/qmetefs. He wa~ a Scholar, and profited more than his egnals, and thefe thmgs he valued h1mfelf and otl!ers by. And the truth is, a Carnal man, take him pra~ically, and thus he l<noweth and elleem. eth of things: lea (faith he) I knrw Chnft rifier theflefo. lt is the highell Inllance that can be: One would think, that if he lhould know any thing fpiritually, he lhould know Chrill fpiritually, if he k?ew him at .aH; for there is no Carnal comehnefs 10 h1m todef1re h1m, that Ob)eel: IS fo fptmual as Is not capable of flef11ly knowltdgc, Yes, faith he, I knew Clp,fi aflfr the flefo; for the truth is, when he was a Pharifee, he thought the Me.f!iah would have teen a great King, and 010uld have come in pomp and llate to deliver his Nation, as you know tile opinion of the Jews was, L11ke 17.20. The kiugdom of God cometh 11ot with obfervation, or with pomp,for fo good Interpreters render it,and tte oppofttion in the 21th verfe makes for it, Thr kingdom of Godis within yon, it is Spiritual. Now, as the reil of the .'fews, fo I valued the Me.f!iah thus, and I thought thus carnally of him; But, faith he, when I came to be converted, from hmceforth, from the time I was convened, I k11ew him Jo 110 more. I faw then the Mejjiah to be fuch a one as the r4 and 1}th Verfes hath defcribed him, not one that fhould come with pomp, but one that fhould be crucified, and die, and rife again, and thereby ta·ke a\\;ay our fins, for fo in the 14th Verfe he is defcribed, which is the occafion of this fpeech. This was the Me.f!iah I be. gat! to know when I was converted, and I volued him according to pardon of fin and working Grace in me. He came to know this M e.f!i,,h fpiritually, and after another manner. Well now, to draw up to that I aim at How ca!Jle the Apollle,or what was the reafan the Apollle, after his converfioo,fhoula have this change in his l<nowledge, that before he fhoul~ know all things after the jlejb, and now he knoweth all things in another manner? ' Read the next words, Therefore, or as the word 4" will bear, Therefore, lie– cau(e, (foP1jcdtor renders it, 'and fays it is an Illative panicle put for a Rotional, or the reafon of what went afore, Whe'rrfore, or Becau(e,) he that is i11 Chri(l u t111ew Crer1111re; Old things are pajl aWa)', behold all thi•~,gs are become 1Vew. As 1f he fhould have fa1d, W,ll you have the reafon why that 1 know nothing, nor even any more after the llefl,, no not Chrill himfel t ? lt is becaufc I am a 11ew Creattlre,that isthereafon of it. I have had a new principle wrought in my underllaodmg, by wh1ch all my thoughts are turned, all my former thouolus perifh, as a man's doth when he dieth. I do notfet a value upon men for Ho;our and Riches, and for theircomforts in this life. I ·fet that value once upon Chrill h•mlelf,and)udgedof h1m; bur now I judge of men and things in a fpiritual way, accordmg to what they are 10 Hohnefs and the World to come, I judge by God's Books, and not what they are in.Men's Book< or in the World's Books: You fee that which caufed this was a new <;:reation. Oldthillgs areP'ifl aW:1)',6ehold allthmgs are 6ecome New. . '' . · ·Se that for a ma? to have true Spiritual knowledge, which yet men are aptirt thm thoughts to flight, and thmk ft;> be the leoll of all things to be wrought it mull hnve no lefs power than ,J~plwent to thi; Creation,it mull have the e.Vc;ed– '"ggreat11ejs of thepowN· of God to go to it:·.i So much for the Firll particular. The work on the Underllanding. ' T t 2 Now
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