to theE P H E S I AN S. 77 I. For Himfelf: The End of Eleflio11. ~ Serm.Vl. ~ I !hall for an enlargement and confirmation of this, run over fame places in the Old ;nd New Teilament wherein the fame expreJJion is lingly and in this general fenfe ufed, That G•dchof~ tu for himfelf, and not limitedly unto this one particular unto Adoptwn to lumfelf. . 1 • In the Old Teflament, Pjal 4+ Know that the Lord h,tth Jet apart him th, 1 t isgodlyfor himfelf. What is it to fet apart, butto choofe and fever from the reft even as here in the Text, to Rej(rve, doth imply? 2 • A~d Secondly, Who was it that he fpeaks of? 'Davidhimfclf; whom elfewh~re God had chofen, Pfat.Sg.tg,w. ~- And Thirdly, For what, or whom did God choofe him? Not to King!hip only, but [for him(elf] fays that Text. And therein conlifts the hetght, the top– glory of our EleCtron, as tt was of lus. The word [Set apart] tA the Hebrew fignilies M,tgnifyi"gor Exatti11g; and Amfworth puts both together, and tran– flates it thus, Bath marveOorljly_or wot~derfu!lyjeparated. Now thts great and wonderful exaltation lies in his feparating, cbooling us for himfelf. To have fetus apart for Kingdoms, for all the:Giories found in Heaven and Earth, had not been fo much as to feparate us for bimfelf; and agreeing with this is that Ifai,4l· 2 o,2l. My People, My Chofen: [o he had ftylcd them in ver,2o, And it imme– diatelyfollows,v. 2I, This People have !formed for my fe!f, they fhaO (hew forth my praife; which latter words are explicative of the former, [My Chofmj There is a double formation , one in and by Regeneration, &c. as that Phrafe, TtU Clmjl beformed in )•ou,lhews. But this is but an imperfeCt formation; as thofe words alfo imply : Nor is it all the forming of Chrift in us that is yet to be, for it is to be perfeCted in Glory. But there was a foregoing one in God's ever– lafiing Decree of choofing us, .ll1y People, .ll1y Chojm; and that is the greatefi formation of all. God's eternal Choice was the womb wherein this birth was firft conceived, and therein perfeCtly formed as to what we !hould be for ever. Vavid fpeaking of his body, maketh a double formation of it, Pfai.Il9· Firfi, one in the womb, which God faw and had an eye upon, that it lhould be done according to his mind and model; and of this he fpeaksvero~5. Myfitb{fallct Wtf.S tJot hidfrom thee whm I wao i11 fecret, m1dcrtnoujly wrought i11 the loweft parts of the earth. The other in God's Decree, v.I6. !11 thy book all my mem6ers were writttn. In like manner there is a double Spiritual formation of the EleCl:, and of their Souls: One in IileCtion, which was the whole of what they !hould be to his praife ; therein it was that we were blefl with all Spiritual blef– lings at once, God·cafl tlle Mould of all we 010uld be : All formations in this life are but imperfeCt draughts, wrought by piece-meal, according to that pat– tern they are all, to eternity, but feveral degrees of perfeCting and filling up the Idea of that firfl draught in God's heart, ot what he chafe us to be, which he purpofed within himfelf, Eph.t. I I. In that Mould wersall the prints engraven, which we were,by being cafl in, to bear the Image of. And in this refpeCl: he is faid in Ifaiah to have formed them, They (haO jbew forth my praift; which is the fame tenor of language wtth Eph. I.),&6. Havi11g predefiinatedut to him– fe!f, to the praift if' theglory of hi< Grace. If you defire yet a plainer Scripture; wherein this phrafe is i11 termi11u, ap· plied unto God's chooling his People as the end thereof, take that inPfal. 135-4For the Lord bath chofm Jacob for himfttf, rmd Ifrael for his pmtliar trrafiJre. . This for the Old Teflament, In the Newyou have the fame, beftdes this in the Epiflle to the Ephe(imrs, Rom.I 1-4- I have reji:rvtdto my j(lf [even thoufmtd mm, who have 11ot bowed the k11ee to the Image of Baal. Here is a prelident of Eleefion alledged of fcveri thoufand Men in E!Jjah's. times, whicl1 is thus exprelfed there by God, I hm" left or rejerved to myfelj,~c. And this in the fifth Verfe heexprelly terms A" tlef;fio11of Grace: Even _(o thm, at thi.r prefeJJt time atjo there is a rem11ant accordmg to the elef1ior1 of Grace. His [Evm fo thml interprets God's mind tn that fpcech of histo Elijah, 1 Kings '9·18. by way o(parallel, acid manifcfily
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