to the E P H E S I A N S. 33 SERMON Ill. VERSE3. [Who bath blefJed mwith a!J bleffingi.j I . Come to the third general head the ~extwas divided into; the matter for whichheblelfethGod, namely, forh1s blelling us With all blellings, (who bath 6/ef!ed ur with all htef!ings.) . • . . . , . Who] (God· ) as he alone is blelfed , fiyled therefore the blef!ed one, Marc, louMt>ll•r· 1 4- fo he alo~e blelfeth, and is alone a~le to do it; and others when they blefs, their blellings are but invocations upon h1~, that he w~:mld blefs fome other perfooin what they defire for him; fo all parucularbeoedtcbons.made by Parents or others, run in Scripture as Gm, 48. 15, t 6; whtch that Saymg once for all other lhews, wehtefs you in the 1zame of th~ L_ord,Pfal, ug.8, Yea,when man1s made an inflrument of conveighing good tlungs Unto u~, yet he. cannot make them blellings; for this they have recourfe to God. And m fo domg all have there· by acknowledged him the fountain of all bleflings and blelfednefs; and fo even Baalam himfelf confdfed to Balak, Numb. 22. ~8. and Chap. 2 J· 8, zo. I wot that he whom thott 6/rf!ej/ is 6/ef!ed. N11m. 22. 6. Who,] I /hewed afore in general, that the AEoftle blelfeth God under the con• fide ration of being the Godm1dFather ofClmfl, becaufe thereby be becomes or1r God, and our Father alfo, I /hall add now, how that under each of thefe confi• deratibhs or relations it is that he blelfeth us. That which in general I !hall premife, as common to the Explication of thefe two particulars lafl mentioned, is that notion commonly rei:eiv'd among the Schoolmen , (which I gladly took tip from them. ) . That one requijite iilgredi· Aq,fi.u/uuil: ent to move God to love, and tb /hew mercy unto us mtellJgent Creatures of the ~· J""d~ Sons of Men, is an apprehending ourmifery, at[uam, as hu ow;1. And again, ,":J;,Jr;;,:';~ 'IJeur llonmiferewr tJijipropter amorem, i11 quantum amat 110s 1411quam alrqttid""'''"'· · fiti. ThatGod bath mercy onus,by apprehendh1g ourmifery m hu ow11,qttod fit per imi01um affdltls,which is done,byanttnion oftijfe8io11 to us; love 6y and God i6 11ot executively rJJtrci{tll, but for h~< love, and is fo far merciful to us, as he looks at us, ttt aliquidji1i, as we are jomethi11g of hu own, or jomethi11g of him· [elf. This I greedrly take hold of 1 to illu!lrate and carry on the ground and foundati• on of the fpeciallove he bears to his Eleit,and as agreeing with what tbe Scrip– tures fay; both that love is i11 God,(which no man can deny to be in the nature of God to love, for heloves himfelf, his Son, ~c.) And that love i4 the groimd of merc)·, and by the fame reafon, fpecial electing love the ground of mercy in God to !inners. Thus Ephef. 1.. 4· But God who JS rith i11 11zercy, (having in th<!– foregoing·verfes,fet forth our finfulnefs and mifery,)For thegreat love wherewitb he lovedur,&c.And .Aqui11as his tamum ill quamum, is made the meafure of the great and lflfinite difference of his love to creatures. There is a common love to men as cteat!Jres , .fo he loves everl mall a1Jd thi11g he hat~ made; but where he · /hews fpecral mercres,as Pardo" of fiJJ,aild the like, there IS an i11 quaH/um, by an b01v far he loves,as the foundation of that, ajpeciai!IJ'lle. But flill the queflion wrll ?e, what lhould be the ground of a fpeciallove in God to fome, with fuch an mfimte d.ffercnce of that loVe from wllat it is to others in commonI .AquirJas refolves that, with this further foutldation, to be a!iquid (ui; to make thofe he fpecJally loves fame way bis ow11, and then the confequence of that to be, to look upon therr mifery as bi1 own; and with that the Scriptures alfo agrce,Jj'ry 6l· 9· f In
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