An Expifttion of the Epijlle S ~ Thirdly; By minding us of the condition we were in, when as God thus did ~ fhew mercy to us : Even ( faith he ) when we were dead in Sins. Fourthly; To take our Hearts the more, he fets it out by the Benefits we are achr'!nced to, which are three: We are tptic/zned with Chriji, rifen with Chrijl, jit together with Chrijl in heavenly J>laces. And, Lafl of all ; That Chrifl may be magnified, and have a praife in it, as he is God-Man, Mediator, as well as God, he faith, that all this is done in Chrlll: and with Chrift, as the inll:rumental Caufe, and reprefentative Head; and meri: torious Caufe of all this. And fo now you have the parts of thefe Words. II. I fl1all now begin the Expofition of them, and run over every one Of theni feverally and apart. '13ut J It refers to that God, chap. 1. that had predejlinated, &f:. Jero1fle f.1itb, that this fame [but J is fuperlluous, and he would have it blotted out and thinks it crept into the Copy as it were unawares. But it is a word which u'fher– eth in a great Turn, he having mentioned the State of Nature before, and fets an empba(is upon all that follows. And you fhall find, that upon the like occafion Phrafesakin to this come in,which we all tranflate [but. J Paul having fpoken ofhis own unregenerate condition, and the Mercy fhewn him by God as then, comes in with the like [but, J when he would magnify the Mercy !hewn him, in 1 Tim. I . 13. I JWIS a blafjhemer, ll perfecutor, a.nd injurious; [but J I obtained Mercy. Likewife, Tit. 3· you !hall find, the ltke [but] comes in, and upon the very f.1me occafion: He had defcribed our unregenerate eflate at the 3dverf. We were fometimes foolijb, difobedient, deceived, ferving divers Lu.Jis and Pleafores, living in M,,lice and Envy, hatefol, and hatmg one another: [But l (faith he, v. 4·) after tbat the kjndmji and love of God ~~~~ Savio11r toward~ Man appeared, according to bis .Mercy he faved 11s, &c. And tt ts fo far from bemg fuperlluous, that like rohn Baptijl, it foreruns the manifell:ation of the richell: Grace in God. It is, Filjl, (when it comes in thus) a Parucle of Admiration, wondering at God in it. So in that place ofTimothy, I was injurioHT, and a blajphemer ; [ lmt J I obtained Mercy : 0 wonderful! who would not have made a [ lmt J at me? '13nt ( faith he) I obtained Mercy. He ufhers it in as with all:onifhment and ad– miration, and therefore ends his Speech with a Doxology, v. 17. Vnto the King eternal, &c. be Glory for ever, Amen. So here, Being dead in Sins a11d T~'~if}affis, and Cbildren af Wrath, [ B11t J God, who i1 rich in Mercy, &c. Secondly; It is alfo a [But J ofoppofition, to what might have been gene– rally in all Mens thoughts and apprehenfions, clear contrary to, and beyond what we could think : So in ufual fpeech we ufe the particle [But, J when we turn our fpecch a clear contrary way. It is therefore a door of hope, and it makes to me the greatefl in the Scripture. Suppofe, that after the Apoll:le in fpeaking this, having concluded Man's finfi1l condition, as here, with this, Children of Wrath, ( which flrikes into all Mens Souls inconceivable Horror, ) he had mentioned God ne~t, without this [ B11t J and there paufed, and made a fufpence offpeecb, and left the reil: to our thoughts; how would we have wildered our felves in fears, and .have thought thus with our felves? God, that is by Nature holy, as we finfi1l, can behold no Iniquity, aud a God fo jull:, as in punifhing and de– ll:roying the Sinner, he !hall infinitely glorify himfelf; a God fo powerful in Wrath, that be is able to revenge to the uttermoll: ; and fo abfolute in Sove– reignty, that we are the Clay, be is the Potter, If therefore for our filth he throw us to dell:ruB:ion, we could not reply, Why doll: thou fo? we being fo obnoxious, he could dell:roy us without an excufe: A God withall fo a\1-fu!– ficient, and rich in Bleflednefs in himfelf; aud when he had dell:royed us accord– ing to onr dcfert, and his own provocation in himfelf thereto, he could never find any lots or want of us, or he could have created new Creatures : How would all our Souls, like Adam's, have melted within us, and meditated Terror! But none of all rhis, but the quite contrary, But God that is rich in Merry, &c. There is a Mine fprung, neither Adam nor Angels knew of at the firft. It doth tend alfo to u(her in all fort of oppofite things to what he had f.1id before ; he had
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