An Expofition of the Epijlle ~ and alfo the way ofGod's ft1ewing Love to his People ; and the meaning is that ~God cloth not now difpenfe Heaven,and Glorr,and_HappinefsmeerlyoutofGrace, and out of hiS Prcrogauve, meerly to !hew forth his own Glory and Riches as the firft importcth, and it is ;-veil for us be cloth fo, fo~ that_argues it to be the' great Happinefs; but further faith the Apoftle, h_e d~th Jt ·~nh the greateft Kindnefs that can be, with a Bemgmty, With a Rqoycmg, With a Ht;_artinefs. My Bre– thren, all thefe fweet Words that are put for Goodnefs and Sweetnefs and the like the Septuagint ufe this very Word for them all, throughout the whc51e Old Tefta: ment. To give yon one Infbnce, it is, in I Pet. r. IO. Th~tyou may taft how good tie Lord 11; tt IS the C1me Word thatts here, how fweet he IS! All Difpofitions of Sweetncfs and Fricndl!nels are implied in this Word Kindnefs; How great is thy Goudne(s w/JTcb tho11 basE_Lad HPfor them thdt fiar thee ! the Septuagint reads it, How great is tly Kindmfi! It IS difhnl.l: from Mercy,and fuperaddeth to Mercy.Eph+ult. BeJC ~ind oue to another, and tender hearted, &c. It is difli~gui!hed from 1ong– Suffcnng, m 2 Cor. 6. 6. it 1s made the root ofMercy and all m God, inTit. 3 . 4 . f.tith he, we arc thus and thus, B11t after that the Kindneji and Love ofGod our Savi– om· towllrds Mun ap~eared, then foand ro. . Kindnefs there (a_s one well obferveth,) is the Root, htS nJtivc Swectnefs of his D1fpofiuon, which mclmeth him to Love which as the effel.l: thereof follows. Therefore the Apoflle goes to the hot: tom of God's Heart, when he adds this, His l(jndmji towards tn in Chrift Jifr~ . It implies this, that God is glad ofall the Glory he be!l:ows upon us, that he rejoyceth over us, as the Phrafe is, in }er.32.41. I wiU rejoyce over them todo them good, faith he, fo God will rejoice over you in glorifying ofyou: It imports that he will not do it meerly to !hew his Riches, as AhajiiCrJif made a Feafl, and invited all his Nobles, to !hew the Riches of his glorious Kingdom; God indeed will bring us to Heaven, and !hew the exceeding Riches ofhis Grace, ~nd that is the chiefeft end he aims at: But now AhafiiCms, be did not do this in Kindnefs, it was more to !hew his Riches and Glory than his Kindnefs ; but God, as he will there !hew forth the exceding Riches of his Grace, for the glorifying of it, fo he will do it in all the fweetnefs and kindnefs that your Souls can deftre or ex– pel.l:. My Brethren, it is well for us, that the proportion of glorifying us will be anfwerable to the exceeding Riches ofhis own Grace, and the Glory that he !hall have from thence; and that that !hall be the meafure of our Happinefs. But to add this to it, for the manner of it, that he will do it with all Affection, with his whole Heart, and in all Kindnefs ; this infinitely fweetens it to us. It is therefore, I fay, a good word indeed, and comes in well, In kjndnefi to tn, the word [ hi< J not being in the Greek. The Phrafe fitly ferves to !hew the man. ner of his difpenfing to be thus in a bountiful way, and in a benign, kind, and willing way; and fo Interpreters carry it: !i(!am liberaliter, quam mag– nifire, &c. And then [ i11 kjndnifr J may be added : He will then fhcw forth the ex– ceeding Riches of /.lis Grace, in hi< Kindneji towards liS; that is, in the fame kind– nefs wherewith he bath begun to quicken us. You may fee how kind he will be in Heaven, by finding how kind he is now, by the very fame Kindnefs he will difpence all Glory to you in the World to come. And fo much now, why that [in his Kindnifr] is added to the manifeflation of the Riches ofhis Grace. The next thing is, [towards tu.] You know the former Interpretation carries it thus, that he made thefe Ephejans Inftances ofthe Grace he will then !hew forth in the Ages to come. But if you refer it to Heaven, there is more in it; or when the Apoflle tells them, that God would make them Patterns ofhisGrace to others,the Comfort will be to others,not fo much to themfelves; but when he faith, God will fi1cw forth towards them all Glory in theWorld to come,this fulleth perfonally upon th~mfelves, and comforts them immediatly. And, my Brethren, this could not but mightily raife their Hearts indeed: For when we !hall hear, that God intends in Heaven to lay forth the Riches ofhis Grace, that may be fuppofed to be meant i_ndefinitdy, as the common condition of all the Saints; hut when he fball add, L in hi< Kindnefi towardJ you,] you are the Men that !hall be the Objects of •!I ' * this
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=