to the EP BES l A N S. ~ Bll.~ \,t will ~ ohjet\Cl<l, Ar~ Ages in the; l'tw~l. taken, (or the. Tim~~ after the ~ Day. .Qf Judgmeut wEterllitJr, w!J.eye ther~ is no Flux of Ti!lle? For that (my Bretbrc;o ) tht: Sqripture cfien expreffeth in the Plqral alfo. t ou read of the Phrafe, /Qr ever and ever, you have it in the Rev~laJion again and again, We fbaQ reign withCbr!J! jqr ever and flier; it is~Q~ Ages and Ages, if you will, or for Evers, for Eterm~t~s; you have the fame IT\ Rom. 16. ~7· If you will but look into the third Chapter of this Epil1le, verf 22. you fhall find, that it is in the Plural as well as here : VntQ him be Glory in the Ch11rch by Chrifi 1efos, thro~tgho11t all Ages, World wi(hout end. He means I\Ot only this World, but the World that is to come too; and. why? Be~~fe that ~o come is the Ag( of Ages, it is theSemla. Semloru'll, tt bath a!\ Ages wtthm the Circumference of it. The Days of Darknefs, they are many ; and the Days of Glory, they are many too. And God bath fo much Riches of Orace to fhew forth, which is the con– <;hJJiQ.n of all, .~s.it requires an E.terq\ty to do i~ iQ, therefore he bath taken time enoll.g'h to do tt 111: In the .Ages tq {Q/Pe, ( (atth he ) IQ fhew forth the Ri(het of hif Grm. And then, imp).?!'tv~.>v, is not only Ages fllcceeding one another, but to come upon; and yet if 'to, why fbm\ld there not be Succeffion in the Wodd to come ? There is not a variation diflinguifhed as ours is, by Births aqd Deatqs of Men, as we make Ages. But it is no more but this, the Ages tbat !hall come upon U$ ; for Time of.duration, it is e1<.trinfecal, it i~ an extern~! thing to tts : · as the Phrafe in D4n. 4· t6. imports, Let [C'iJCn Times pafs •ver hint. So tha~ Time of Eternity doth pals over us, come qpon us, it i~ an eterqa\Ji'lux ofTime. And. altbo there be not a variation, fllch as ours, yet ther~ i~ a fQcceQi.oq of Ou• ratiou : and ~ho th~re h~ no Sun, or MooQ, <;>r Years, and we !hall qot ti)ere meafur~: Time by tb,e famQ Olafs, Of by the Gnne (;loci>, a~ here ;_ yet i~ i~ a con– tinued flllx of:Ti!Jic:, an etem~l Succe(liqn, that lllllfi neecjs ai'Comp3ny Crea• tur~s; for it is Gocl ooly tb~t gathers ~11 Time in one Momeqt, ~nd iq his va!t !king encifeles it, and contra{£$ all to one Center and Mowent. It is a foolifh l)ifpute the Schqolmeo h;we, that there !hall b!: no fuch Succeffion in Eternity ; the wifefi of tbe!l), Scotus, and the boliell; of them, Bonadventurf, are qf ano– ·ther mind. Indeed in 'J1!v. IQ. 6. it is faid, Time ftNll be no lungfr; bu_t th.at i~ meant of the Time of the Perfecution of the Cb11rcb, of GQ<!. The Phrafe then not being aver(e t9 this Senee, let me now fhew you the firength of thislnterpretotion, for jpdeed nothing will gre~teq Heaven to us more thau tbis. I {ball argue all fort§ of way~ Fir/l; I (hall argue this Senoe ~nd"Meaniqg, and in ar~ingopen the word~, and (ee 4ow all give up tbemfelv~s with parallel Scriptures to th_is Il)terpre– tation. In the fir!l: place, Do b1u confider, that here is God's ultimate and highefi end that he bath in the Salvation of MJ>n held fortb. All in a manqer acknQwle~g this: He thatis rich in Mercy inhis own Being, as "'+ here, the final Caufe that moved him, or which he aimed at, is, that he might maPife.fi tQ the qtmofl thQfe Riches of Mercy. And as it is the final Caufe, fo the utmofi of his Defign concerning Man's Salvation is held fonh; be mentioni it therefore it;J th~ Clofe of all, in the L•nguage of a final Event, That i11 the Age! If cqme he nlight jhefll t.he excee#ing Ricbes qfhis Grace: Now then confider !M thefe two dlings ? i~ is evident that the Apo!Ue bad in this Chapter two things in his eye : lJe had, fir(l, thl' m~gnifying and feuing forth the Kindnefs of God toward~ thefe Ephejpns, and other the Ele61: of God ; and this Grace (et forth in their Salvatiop, in all the parts l>f Salvation. And by !hewing the Greatne!S of this Salvation, in aJl ~he pa.rts of it, he comes to magnify the Greatnefs of this Grace, as well ~~ by the depth of ~ifery th~t Men were taken out of. The fum of all is dear to be tbi~, ~omag– mfy Graoe, and to magnify Salvation, as the litrnofl perfect\<;>n of what God meant to bringMen to. This, I fay, is clearly his Scope. If then his Seope be, to magnify the Riches of Grace in the height of it, ( and therefore he uf~th the * H h highell:
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