to the EPHESIAN S. ~53 ~ Now then I !ball come to fuch Obfervations, as !ball bemade out of all thefe Serm.XD(. Sences, for they may all· ftand together ; and I !ball begin with that fir{t Sence I ~ delivered in this Difcourfe. The firft Obfervation, which belongs to that.firlr Sence given, namely, That 1f holds forth the htgheft End of God, the Mantfeftatton of hu own Glory and Grace; is this : . That God's.utmoft End in Man's Salvation, is, the Chewing forth of what is in Obfcrv. ~~ himfdf, and the making of it known, that it may be glorified, efpecially to · fbew forth the Riches of his Grace. Thts is the natural Coherence of thefe Words. My Bnotbren, God is glorified by being made known, and that was it that moved his Will to fbew forth what was inhim. You have an expre!S place for it in RMI. 9· 22. What if God .wiUing for to mak.f ?own the Riches of his Glory i? What the Nature of God IS, none can knowm 1t felf; thererore it mull: be fet forth in EffeCts. In I Tin;. 6. I 5· the Apoftle there Chewing us the reafon, why Jefus Chrift fball one day come and appear in Glory, and in the Glory ofthe Father, as himfelf tells us ; he faith it is this : Which in hw time, (faith he) he p1aU ftJ<w, (!peaking in the words before, of the appearing of our Lord Jefus Chrift,) who is theblejfed and only 'PotentRte, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lordt : Who .,ty h4th lmmort•lity, dweUing in the Light which vo Mm c•n approach 11nto ; whom no Man hath fien, or c•n fie ; to whom be I-Iono11r and Power everI•fling. .Amm. I take the meaning of the words to be this : God (faith he) is in himfelf a God bleffed, infinitely bleffed in himfelf; he is"a Sovereign one that may chufe whether he will communicate this Bleffednc!S to any Creature: yea, or no; he dwells in Light inacceffible, which no eye can fee: there muft therefore be a Chewing forth,fome way or other, ofthis Glory of his, if that ever we co_me to know it, or be Partake':" of .his. Bleffedne!S. He ·bath (faith he ) fent hts Son, and he means to fend bun prmctpally agam at the latter Day, to this end, That he that is the bleffed God in himfelf, that is the only Potentate, the Sovereign Lord, that doth dwell in Light no Man can fee into, that in his Son we may behold him, that he may manifeft himfelf, that he may make known, that he may fbew forth and communicate that Bleffedne!S which is in himfel£ Now as this is the reafon why Jefus O!rift fball appear at the latter Day ; fo this is the Reafon alfo, why God bath !hewn forth any thing of his Grace, or of his Goodne!S before the latter Day, unto the Sons of Men: and becaufe that God cannot manifell: himfelf to the full, he bath therefore invented fo many feveral ways, he bath therefore taken an Eternity of Ages to do it. A fecond Obfervation is this : That of all things in God, the chiefand utmoft Obferv. 2 • thing he defireth to !hew forth is, the Riches of his Grace. And the reafon of it is clearly this, Becaufe it is his Riches, that is, it is his Excellency. The word here, \zrtpf1&Moi!e<, which we tranflate exceeding, it is attributed to Power, in the 19th verfe of the firft Chapter, The exceeding Gre•tne(i ofhw Power: But when be comes to fpeak of Grace, he faith, The exceeding Riches of his Grace, beeaufe, I fay, it is his Excellenc,Y. · And, my Brethren, becaufe it is theManifeftation ofthe Riches ofhis Grace, itar– gues alfo,that his end ofmanifefting himfelf,was not wholly for himfelf,but to com– municate unto others; why? BecaufeGrace is wholly communicative; there can be no other Interpretation of Jbewittg Riches ofGr•ce, but to dogood unto others. If he had faid, that the fupreme End had been the Manifeftation of his Power and Wifdom, it might ha.ve imported fomething he would .have gotten from the Creature, not by communicating any thing unto them, but manifefting thefe upon them: he could have fbewn his Power and Wifdom upon them, as he bath done upon Men he bath caft into Hell, and yet communicated no BleffednelS to them. No, faith God, my highell: and chiefeft End is not fo much to get any thing 'from you, but to fbew forth the Riches of my Grace towards you. That look as Faith, which is the higheft Grace in us, it is meerly a receiving Grace frorn God : So take Grace, which is the chief thing God would exalt, what is it
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