66 An Expo(ttion of the Epifile ~ Firft therefore, lf it be taken thus, that God chafe you from eternity ; you Serm. V. fee then that God's love is everla!ling. Do you therefore value it by the eter– ~ nity of it, as Chriftdoth .7oh11 17.24- Thott (fayshe) !ovedflmebrfore thefou1l06jerv.I. dmiotJ of the wo..td. Chri!l (you fee) makes a great matter of it, and why 010uld not we? If a man were in love with a Maid when fhe was a Child , and his love towards her grew up together with her, it endears his love the mor~ unto her. It is true of Love, as it is of Wine, that the older it is, the better it is. Obferv. 2 • Secondly, Let God's love have the fame vahtation with you, that the love of God himfell had of you. You fee (accordmg to the Interpretauon grven) that he chafe you before he purpofed to make the world; he prelerred you to all the world. Wefpeaknot(as I faidbefore)of the priority of time; for all things came up at once before God, but of what his aim and intention primarily pitcht upon. TheWorld was but ca!l in, as he faith, Mat. 6. ll• All other thi1tgs /hall bt [{~tptr·odded. J Have you the fame valuation of God, and of his love ? Thus 'llr~vtdhad, Whom(fays he)have I i" Heavm, b11t thu? And there is 11011e to ""'"earth i11 comparifo" of thee. Value God and his love more than all the world, though there were millions of them. He valued you before the world; and therefore is beforehand with you in his love, He not only loved you from everla!ling c whereas your love is bu't of yc!lerday ;) but in the valuation of it, he loved you before all worlds,and preferred you to all worlds: though you loved the world firft, before you loved him, 1 Joh11 2,\f. If mtj mmt!ovtthe wortd,the love of tbeF.Jtha is not in him.Why is not the love of the Father in him?Becaufe the Father loved us before the world was. And wore a Mans heart taken with the love of the Father, certainly he would prefer it before all the world; for the love of God the Father preferred him before all the world. Overlook we this world, no matter what becometh of it, or of us in it. We took 11ot (fays ths Apo{lle) at thi11gs Temporal: look we to the other world, unto which God hath chofen and predcfiinated us. . . . 06ferv 3 A Third Ob[trvati011or lnf!ruefi01t : See the R.eafon why all things in this · • world do further God's decree of EleCtion. All thi11gs work together for goorf to thrm that !ovr God. In God's purpofe and intention you came firfi up before the world, as you may fee in that Chri!lian Inventory, 1Cor. 3.22. ( the place be– fore cited) All things r~re yottrs, Paul, Apollo, Cephas, the World, thi11gs prefent. tbi11gs to come, Ltje, 'llrath, a~tdall are .)'Ottrs; and good reafon why, God chofe you before them all, and fo plotted the bu(Jnefs, that all things in this world f110uld be fo marf11alled as to further and fubferve the decree of EleCtion. He appointed that thou fhouldft be poor, another rich; thou low, another ho– nourable; one man to be deformed, another beautiful; one man to have thefe and thefe crofTes and affiic:tions in the world, and anothe~ few or none at all. And all this l'ariety is to further their falvation in a feveral way; all is fubordl– nated unto EleCtion. God ordained our Being and condition of living in this world, in fubordination to that other world. .7ames faith, He cho(e the Poor of this world; but how? not as fir{l fore-feeing them poor, and fo pitching on them for falvation; but having chofen their Perfons nakedly and fimply con(!. dered, he ordained they fhould for the mo!l part be poor, fo to glorifie his Grace the more,(which is the end of Election:) and fo he ordained whofe Children we f110uld be,wbich yet is the original ofourBeing;this was not plotted fir!l,and then we chofen to falvation ; but we were chofen to falvation,and then God allotted or de!linated the feveral Times we fhould live in, who !hould be our Parents. and what our conditions; and all as means fubordinate to EleCtion, fo to illu!lrute his Grace the more. And therefore care not what thy Parentage,or what thy cond[. tion is here : Thou wert by God contidered a< that which he meant to make thee, even a brave and glorious.Creature, ere ever the contideration of what thy con– dition here fhould be, came in ; this e!late of thine here being but the way unto that thy Country and Inheritance. 06Jerv+ In the Fourth place; See here the reafon why nothing in this world can feparate a man from the love of God. What fays the Apof\le,Rom.8.j8? He makes a mighty challenge, he challengeth A11gets and Mm, 'llot11i11io11s and Pri1zcipa– !ities,f5c. all things in this world, and in the world to come: and I am perJwaded
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