to the E PH E S1AN S. 35 to of the head of him, th.<t WtHJeparatedfromhu_ Brethrtn (as Jpfeph,was,) t'J\../'1 a!d thus Gngularly he bleiTeth Jojeph, as feparate lrom and above all the other~ Tribes ) and thus God bleiTeth us, out of infinite good will, and thus it is an~- tural and a kindly Ad to come from Fathers, and thus God bleiTeth us. It 1s the fi~ll fruit of good will,. tha~ is, of t'hat 1Jalurat tove and car~ whtth ~ar~nt~ bear their Children, that 1:S, 1t doth all j love m Fathers, IS that pnnctple that doth of it felf provoke them to wilh the greatell good to thetr Ch1ldren, which if any good be in their own power to give, they give it from tl\at principle . and when they have it not in their own power to bi:fiow, if they are Holy men, and have an interell in God the. Fo.untain of all good, they ufe .thai: interell and invacate God to bellow tt, whtch mvocanng ot God for them we ufe to call61ejfing a Child,. which is as much 1 as in them hes to do. Nb~ as Chrill lays ofg!vit~g_ good tbmgs tMo tbe~r Cbttdrm, (and Parents bleiling 1s but.• grving their Chtldren good thmgs by mvocattng ot.God to bellow the ID, . as tt 1S cal· led in Ijaac'sble!ling, Gen. 27. 37·) Ij ; •ott fhtn lmng wrl ( fays Chnll) Mat. 1 r. th•t is, are full of felf-Jo~e, that of.1tfelfwould tempt yo.u to keep, and re· cain to your felves, and no~ willingly to gtve away any good tht~g) yetye k11ow bow ( fays Chrill, ) that ts you have the hearts, and the affetbons by a natural inllinct to fpy out the bell things for your Children, which ):~>U judge to be fuch. And ifye klloW bow togivegood things toyour Chrldrm, ~owtnttdJmore ( fays Chrill, ) (halt ;•our Father which" in Heavm , who to thts very end was pleaf'd to become a Father to you,and has all ili Heavm to bellow; Even that God who· is llyled the 6/tffed 01/t in Scripture, _who is an Ocean of all bleiTednefs, . whi~h feeks an outlet for itfelf to commumcate to Creatures, whom he bath loved and chofen.; and h•th been pleafed to bear that relation towards us, to this great end he bath done all this to po\lr out his bleffednefs by, and through that rela• tion towards us, upon us his adoptedSons; and who,by what he finds to be natural in himfelf towards his own natural Son, ( whoin be 6/ejfoth every day fol' e~ vel' PfaJ. 45'· 2.) He for his fake and relation to its is farther pleas'd to powet forth a!fo all ble!lings alfo upon us ,having become in Chrill a Father to us; and fo to bear fuch a good will to us i11 Chnjf, as members of him, and a Spoufe ttl him. H<~th bhffidwith aJt 6/e.Jfings.] You fee here both the ad of grate ori Gods part, bellowing good on us, is expreiTed by 6/effing, and the thi11gs bellowed are called 61e/Ji1tgs. . He gives one and the fame denomination or name to either; which argues tht• expreaion of Mefling to be full and as adequate as could be cho– fen ferth. I lhall endeavour to explicate both fhe 11ame and thing it felf; wbat it i& to ble{s M o11 Gods pal't, and what u a 6lejfi1tg, and what it is that truly makes and cenfiirutes-good-things to be ~lejfi;tgs to us; I. For the word 6/e.Jfing, or to6/efs. ft is evident by that extenlive eompre– irenfivene&of .fpeeeh which the Apollle here ufeth, thatthewhole,the total,and all particular good things (which he after enumerates,) which Godever means to give, or the Gofpel promifes, even ( all of them, ) they are to the utmoft fpoken of tmdtr andby this word of 6/ejfiHg. And it is worth <iurcdnfideratiori that it is that ortginal word, under which the promife of.the Covmmtt of gra~; was at the iirll gtven to A11rabam the Father of all the fatthful· as which coo• ta!ned all particular good things, ~his Loyns did that feed to 'whom that pro· mtfe was made. And thts I mennon now at firll as a fundamental corifiderarion, that will have a great and neceiTary influence into the explitotion of the particli– lors that follow in this verie. '!he Apofile here framing thefe words with an eyeof all.uGon to.and companfon between thofe promiles given rhen, ant! thefe promtfes whtch the Gofpel here declares; therefore unto that promife gtven then we lhall have recourfe aBairi and again, to make our Apofile's meaning here the more manl~ell: That before me at the prefent is, that the fum and fub– llance of Gofpel ptomtfes began then to be fee forth and expreiTed, under this blelfed wordof61ejfing. I w ill blefs thet, faid God to A6raham, a11d ii1 tbn a/J tht Fam1lus of tbt Earth/ha{/ te blej](d; Gen. 12. i,J. And again becaufe it cou!d nor be better expreiTed by ariy other word, God doth but double the fame faymg, !n6t~/]i11g!wilt6ttjsther. Grn, :u.tj. tlmis, Iwi/6/efs thee, m1d F 2 6/rfs
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