~ Sam. V. ~ An Expojition of the Epifile SERMON v. VERSES 4,5,&c. According ao he bath cbofen m in him before thefounda~ tion of the World: that we jhould be boly,&c. - 1N the third Verfe the Apo!He premifeth a general Propolition, which he afterward breaks into Particulars. His fcope being to !hew how all Bte.(Jmgs depend both upon God's election before all Worlds, and how likewife upon Jefus Chrifi, [who bath bleffidtu with a/J jpiritual ble_ffi11gs i11 btnvenly thi11gs (or places) itJ Chrifl,] fo faith the third Verfe. (If you obferve it) in thofe words there is the .Act of bleillng [Who hatb bteffid tU;] and there are the Ble_ffings themfelves wherewith we are bleifed. I !hewed before, both out of the coherence of thefe words with thofe that folloW, ver.4. and other Scriptures, that the time when God befiowed all thefe Bleillngs upon us in Chrifi, was when he chofe us, even before all Worlds. To which accords that in -z.1im.t.9- He bath ct.•lled tM nccordi11g to his ow" purpoje al!d grace, which wMgivmUf i11 ']efU< Cbrifl before the world 6egmt. That Grace there, .is all one with tbeje Bl~{fi11gs here, they being all wrapped up in that one expreillon of Grace: And that which is called a Gift there, is called a Blt_ffi11g us _here. And if you look_ into Gm.27-l7· y0~ !hall ~nd, that [to Btefs J is all one With.[toGive J (thougll It be not actually given nll afterwards:) For fo we read, that when /jaac fpeaks to Efauof his 6/e_ffing of _'Jacob, he fays, 1 have mnde him thy Lord, and all his Brethrm have I [givm] to himfor -8erva11ts, (Jaco~ was but a poor man then, but Ifaac had blefi him, aod· [6 had given him all thefe things;) a11dwith Com and Wi11e have I fitj/aifted him, (orjt~pportedhim,) as it is in the Margin. Now, what is here in the third Verfe exprelfed•in the general, the Apofile cometh to explain particularly in the Verfes following. There are two things (as I faid before) in that third Verfe; there'is the Act of Blt{fi11g, and there are the Blr_ffings wherewith God hath blelfed us. Anfwerably in this 4 and 5th Verfes the Apofile difiinctly mentioneth, r. The Act of Bte[fing tobe in Electing and Predefiinating of us, [accordi11g M he hath EletiedUf,] fo ver,4, [mtdPredeflinatedUf,] fo wr.). and Then he mentions twopartictJiar Blej}tiJgs, with which in Election and Prcdefiination he hath blelfed us, Holi•ufl, ver, 4• and Adoption of Chitdrftl,ver.5. and all this in Jefus Chrijl. And fo you have the coherence of thefe words. According M hehath chofmU<in him:] Thofe words [Hehathchofen ttsiiJ him] have bred more controverlie than any fo few words almofi in the whole l_lible,. and do therefore require Come time to open them. Firfi, Some fay, This [choo.ft11g Uf i11 him] implies, that Cod choofeth us, as forefuing us to believe i11 Chrij/, becaufe 6_y Faith it is we are ill Chrijl, and by faith only : And therefore this Phrafe [choojing Uf i11 him] (namely in Chrifi) noteth out the State of the Perfon of a Believer, that he isill Chrif/, or one with Chri(l6y Faith. And fo in God's choice we are conlidered MBelievers, (ac– cording to this Oyinion ;) and this is one great place alledged for Etectiott to be out of Faith Jorejem: For (fay they) 110 man is;,, Chrifl till jttch time tU he believeth: mzd Godchoofethtts itJ Chrifl; therefore he chooftth 011/yforejuing them to be Believers on Chrifl• In
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