Of EleClion. Eye ofGrace upon this Nation, as to make thema l'oruon aniJ lnheriraoce un-~ to himfelf: For (fays he) as thereby expre!ling Gods fpecial Love by this,~ Verf. 9· For the Lord1 Portion u hu People; Jacob u the Lot ofhu lnheri- · tanct. And by the(e, and the like expre!lions, It IS, that Election is lignified in many Places Parallel to thiS, as 'Deut. 7• 6. The Lordthy God hathchofon thee to /;ea (puial people Utito himfolf, above aOpeople that are upotz theface ofthe Earth. Pfal. 1 H· 4· For the Lord hath chofen Jacob UtJio himfd{; and lfraelfor hi&pecttlzar Treafure. And you fee it is fo in my Text. Which though as it is fpoken of that whole Nation, was but in a Type; .Yet in that Type was lhewed, That in that Nation peculiarly, there were thofe his Chofen People , that were Ordained to Eternal Communi on with himfelf. Well, but you may demand what became ofthe other Nations, and what was the general condition of them? Truely, thetr Lot fell to be the [ Rrfl J to fpeak in the Language ofthe Text, The Apofile hath given a briet Refolve; lAnd that being added, doth make the proofof the other part ofthe Doctrine, and fo rhe whole ofit compleat.) Acts 14· 15', 16. We Preach toyou ( faies Pat~! to the Lyflrimu) That you would turn from thefo vatJitieJ; (So he rearms their Idol! andfatfeGod,, they generally Wor01ipped) to the livitJg God. Wr preach untoyou, that yejhou!dtttrnfrom thtfr vanitJtJ, U!<to the li– ving God, which made Heavm tmd Earth, attd thr Sea, and a!I the thingr that are thrrein. Who itJ timrs paflfuffereda/JNation~ to walk i11 their own wap. Which he adds, to lhew how the Condition of all Nations was the fame with that of thefe Lrflrim1s, given up to the fame Idolatry. The Ilfue then of all comes, to what is in the fexr, that the Ref/w.re /;linded. God took Election out from among the Jews. For himfelt; A11dthe Refl were left to thf Connfe!!J oftheir ow" Wi!JJ. We might here leave off, and fit down and:rake breath; Forthe Twothou– fand Years and upwards fpace that follow. As having1een how, and where Eledion was difpofed of; Together w ith the Preterition ofthe Refi, That God had alo11e know11, and owned the Jewtfh N•tion, and an Elellion pro– ceed forth from amongfi them ; As by the Prophet AmoJ, a long while after the times (we have been now upon ) God utters himfelf. And fo we might come immediately to the Times of the New Tefiamenr; Bur that we find a· mong Hr6trs Children both before and after it grew up into a Body as aNa– tion for Numbers, fomeeminenr Obfervations in the Story ofthe Old Tefia– ment : How Election went on to make the like difference, even among!l them---. And hath (as if the Holy Ghofi delighted todo it) Recorded many apparent particular lnfiances ofan Election. And the Refi to have run along in their Families, and TrJbes : And this I am bound to do, the rather, becaufe our Apofile in thefe· 9th. roth. 1 rth. Chapters to the Roma11s, lnlifis e– fpecially on thofe Infiances, as mofi apparent Examples ofwhat I Pur– fue. 1 . B'fort theygrrwup to bt a N,ztio>~ (for Num6tr) aJ in1Eg1pt, they became the Genealogy of J'em and He6rr, is fer down Gen. 1 '• fromVrrj: 27. to the end ofrhe Chapter, and Centers in A6rah,,m, So then we are to begin anew in Him, and from Him, whom God made his Covenantwith; For Him and his Seed after, faying, I will be thy God, And of thy Children, which was Indefinitely fpoken, But the Apofile informs us All were not Children, but thofe were the Ci1ildren, that were Children of Prom.ife; That is, tbofe whom God in giving our the Promifes, did intend theretO; And they were only his Eled. . The Prophet Ifai. Chap. )I. 1, 2. Calls upon that People to confider A6ra– ham theiC Founder and Original. Look unto the Rock whence ye are Hewen, and to the hole o(rhe Pit whence ye are Digged. Look unto A6raham your Father, and unto Sarah, that bare you; For r aotled Him alone, and Blelfed Hir.1, and increafed Him, And unto what lhould <they look at in Him or Her? ' ' At what his condition was afore !lis Calling, a Server ofother Gods, until hi5
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