to theE PH E SlA N S. I. MeditatioJt, r. 'Tis an infinite favour we are admitted to, and priviledge youchfafed to crea– tures and indeed the highefi, not on!y topr.ay to God to obtam all bleilings,and togi~e thanks to him when we have them; a'!d further to glorifY him tor the glory that is in him; but beyond all thts,to6/efs htm for all the blelfednefs tlm IS in him and for him:to take m our Amm, our Euge to hts own bleifednels,as m ltke manne~ he doth our Fairh,as a Seal to his tr11th mzdf aith/ttbtefs. Oh, what is it! He was not content to be bleifed alone, bur he mufi blefs us, and make us partak– ers thereo£ But further as if not perfect without us, he bleifeth himfelf in our returns and echoes of bleffing to his bleifednefs, that fo we in him, and he in us, might be blefi together for evermore, Amm. z. MeditatioiJ, w Srrm.lf. \.JV"V. 2.. You have feen it a peculiar character of the Saints, thus out of good will to blefs God, thy Saints they bttjs thee, . 'Twas Ius end why he had ~aints; faid he with himfelf, they will do that whtch none of my other works will do, they wilt blefs me, for none elfe have good will to me, andwhoever biej– foth him, are firfl blefl of him. Hafi thou, or doll thou find in thy heart, thus to blefs God, and findefi all within thee riling up in the doing of it ? Blefs God, 0 my Soul, and all that is within mt: Go home, thou art a S~int I warrant rr. 1 • thee. 'Twas .'fobs Grace, the Lord bath takm, yet bleffed be the 11ame of the ' .rop , Lord. You will fay, that was Old Tellament Grace: yea, and 'tis New Tefiament Grace too ; you fee it in our Apofile the greatefl of Sahzts, fo we may write him however he writes bimfelf the Leaft. His heart was full of this, and fo it came out fir(\; he could not hold at the firfi to utter it when he was to fpeak to thefe he wrote to, he mull needs begin to fpeak by way of bleiling God : yea, 'tisthe highe!l and bell Grace in Heaven it felf. The Angels,though not themfelves, but Men only , have benefit by Chri!ls blood. He died tor Men, not Angels; and therefore it is only the Choms of Men that fiog, Rev. ) ·9•' Thou hafl redeemed tts by thy bloodout of all Nations: yet V .11. the Angels are brought in bleiling Chri!l alfo; and that for this, that be WM jlai11, v . r 1 , 12." A nd I beheld and heard the voice :of mmty A ngels rou11d about the Thro11e, ,mdthe Beajls a11dthe Elders, andthe11umberoj them wcu ten thotlja11d times ten thotljmzd, andthoufand"s of thou(mtds; faying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb, [that was jlai11,] to receive power attd riches, and wi(dom a11d jlrmgth, a11d ho11ot<r andglory, a11d BlejJi11g. Worthy is the Lamb that wM jlain.(they mention nothing elf• of him,) ana then BleffiJJg comes in at !aft as the E /,,, the highefr note that Heavenly Quire can reach to. The like at his birtlt~ their Song was to blefs him for Peace 011 Earth, good will to mm, (they mention not themfelves,) but purely for good will to Men, becaufe it brought .~tory to God011 high, (as there) they heartily rejoyced in that glory God lhould have in his difJ>enfations towards us, This for our BleJ!ing of God on our parts, Bleffed be Go~. (I I.) I!. The Per[o11 w ho, and thejlyle under which our Apo!lle bleifcth him: The God a11d Father of our Lord Jejiu Chrifl. ] It is not only,Bleifed beGodthe Father,but the GodandFather of Chrifl : nor only the God who is the Fatherof Chrill,but •o e,;, '!I ,.]nf,the God mzd Father of Chrtfl.Otherwtfe K•i [And] were here redundant; but as conjoyned thus between tbofe two,lhews that both thefe Titles do fpcak each of them a feveral relation of God unto Chnfi; or what God is unto Chrifi,He is his Godandhis Father. The ltke mann~r of fpeech we have ( when elfewhere Chri!l is fpoken of) two Ti· ties of Ius m the fame fort locked together with that K•i· 'oe,a,'!l,]np,2 Pet.l.ti . ~Ev J'J,g.l~~y~ T'¥ 611' np.iJy, ~ cn.>1'il,o®- ?i,u!;v 1!1,-i' X~ie>~, fpeaking tO 'them that believe in the Righteouf.
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