4 /In Expofition of the Epifile ~ in _this Reddition or Parallel on our l'"rt, he_.~entions not the Power of God, ~ as m the other, but only £1llsto magmfy Grace, ( bcfidcs the more particular Ac- • count and Obfervation upon tt to be gtven 111 the due place,) tt was becaufe he had fhewed the engagement of Power fufliciemly in the 19th Verfc, which the Rea– der's Mind would therefore carry along with him, an<! the Matter it [elf necef– farily included it; as al[o to hold forth, that befides this of Power, that alfo of Grace, Mercy, Love, Kmd,nds, and all in God, were as deeply engaged, He meets with new Attributes, that di[cover them[elves, and appear in it; and above all, Grace and Mercy, which was the lupreme original Caufe, and which God's defign was to magnify as chief, and as his utmofl: end, more t!Jan and above.Power or any other Attribute, or all other Attributes, that arc manifefl:ed in thisWork a; that which did fet Power and all el[e on work; hereby the more to take their Hearts with that which God values in his Heart mofl:, the Grace and Love in Him[elf: And this_alfo, becaufe Grac~ and Mercy more eminently,, appears in that W_ork that 1: m ':'s, and m the favmg us; but Power more eminently in that on Chnfl:, as tt IS 111 htm. Thus artificial IS the Apofl:le to fet out his Matter to the fullefl: advantage, when he negleB:eth Art in Speech mofl:. This in general of'the whole feven Ver[es. The General Scope of the three ftrjl Verfes. · To begin with his Defcription of the State of Nature in the three firfl: Verfes : And therein let me firfl: give you the general Scope thereof. The Apofl:le is larger in the fetting forth t~e Greatnefs thereof, than he is in thofe other two Heads that follow. And, as 111 the Parallel on Chrifl:'s part he enlargeth mofl: upon the Termime ad quem, the Glory he was advanced to; on the contrary, in that of ours, he fpends mofl: of his Difcourfe upon the Termin111 a q11o, the State ofDeath we are railed out of. i\nd his Scope and Drift thereiu was double: I. T'0 fet out the exceeding Greatnefs of Power, which is put forth in our Sal– vation, and e[pecially in that which is already done for us, in our Q,tickning and Converfion, as a Pawn of what follows. And that is mofl: illuf\rated, and made manifefl:, by the Confideration of the Difficulties and Oppofition from that State we lay in afore: Whereas on the contrary, the Greatnefs of that Po'fer fhewn in Chrifl:, (which bath perfected all in him already) was feen and drawn forth mofl:, in the befl:owing upon a Man crucified, in fo much weaknefs, fo great a Glory, and invefl:ing him with fo great a Power. · Now to fet out the Greatnefs of this Power that goes to quicken us, every word in this Defcription of our natural State cloth ferve. • 1. Not only dead, without any Principle ofLife to raife themfelves, and what a Power muf\ go to quicken one that is dead ? But dead in Sins and TrefPa.JJes, in Sins of all forts, dead, and dead again, with ten thoufand Deaths, ( for every Sin is a Death) ; like a Man, that is not only kill'd with one Stab or mortal .Wound, but his Body is full of Thruf\s throughout his Vitals, an hundred, yea, a thoufand Stabs. And then, 2. Tho dead to that Life he is to be raifed unto, yet alive to Sin, a Life that is contrary, and which is habitually f\rengthned by loAg Cuf\om; for the Text fays, In which we walkpd. And this Life ofSin is firfl: to be taken away, and feeks to the utmofl: to i>referve and defend it felf. And, 3· There are befides, three great Hinderances, over ancd above this, to be overcome, in the doing of which the Greatnefs of the Power of God is !hewn: Here is: · Firjl:; A Correfpondency ":ith the World, which all Men by Nature hold ; they are carried with the Mulntude and Crowd of all other Men: they wal/z ac– cordi"g to the Courfe of thi& World, and there are many Engagements to the Men of this World; that Gang a~d Stream of Unregenerate Men, that carry and hurry Men with them as Men 111 a Crowd are earned, and affimulate Men to them– fclves: All th;fe faith he do environ and befiege all in a Man. And in that refpefr,to fetch a Man out dom his natural Condition,is as much as to fetch a Man out of the great Turl{.s Court, out of his_Dominiom, in a hof\ile way; therefore lt
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=