Of Eletlion, foed. He Interprets this Promife to have proceeded tram, and to declare Gods "-"'-"' Eternal purpofe of Eletl:wn--.-by h,s mfertmg by way of Glofs,, thofe Cilop. ,. few words the ]mmtuabtlttyof hu Counfd, as tllat wh1ch lusPromifc Pro-~ ceeded frodJ, and exprciTed • Perj: '7· wherem God WJitmg mou abmulrmlly to/hew tmto the Heirs of Promt[e the lmmutabtltty,of hu Couufet, cmifirmed it /;y m 1 Oath: And what IS the Immutability ot Ius Counfel ; But h 15 un– changeable Decrees? A promife made b)' God to us IS o!'e thing , and Gods Counfel is another ; h1s Counfels are Ius Decrees withm h1mfelf, from Everlafling, as Ephef. 14, .9, 10. And what other is. a Promife with an Oath but Gods Immutable Counfel ·, or Eletl:ion put into Promife? And who ;re the Heirs of Promife, but the fame whom 10 Rom. 9· he terms the Childrm of Promife? ( A11d if Children, thm Hetrs; fuel! as Jjaac there is faid to have been,) Rom. 9· 7, 8. Ne1ther becaufe they are the Seed of A6raham, are they all Children; but in lfaac/halt thy Sud be called: That is, they which ore the Ch1idren of the Flefh , thele are not the Chlidrtn of God· but the Ghildrcn of the Promife, are counted for the Seed, , B~t though we have feen the Eletl:ion to have obtained it in Faith run A– hrah.1m, yet that is bur one part of my Aifernon; you may yet enquire con– cerning the other part : Are there none recorflled to have been [ rhe Refl J as thofe that were 61i11ded? So to fet offthe Grace of Abr.ahams Etetl:ion, and render it the more con{picuous? Yet verily ; even in his Fathe1's Houfe his own Brother Nahor. You no.tonly read n?tof his not removing With A6raham, as Converted w1th h1~ to hiS Rehgwn ( whtch hiS Father Terah re– penting did, and Lot,) of wh1ch you may read, Gm, 1I.) Bu_t Nahor would not Stir not he, a foot , though Father and Brothers and Srfler went out from u; of the Catdees, but remained flill with his Idolatrous CountreJ•men, and continued an Idolater, and dtrived it down as his Religion to ~is Pofle– rity. You [mow, or have heard it I fuppofe, but of the Story of Laballs ( Nahors ·Gtand-child) his Images, ·Gen. ll· •9· which !:Jimfelfcalls his Gods, 'Verf; ~o. As alfo ho'V , when Jacob and he came to take an Oath , ]:1co6 {ware by the Godof hu Fatber Ifaac (who was then living: ) And L.~ban fware by th'e God of hi& Gra11d-(ather Nahor., f!erf. 53• Yea, and in the plural, callcth them tbe Gods ['i:)·'?t:t] Tbe Gods ofAbraham, and the Gods of Nahor, Judge betw'een us: Whether meaning thereby that at fir!I Abraham himfelf had fer– ved the fame Gods that Nahor had done, or that Laban joined Nabori Go~s with Abraham's, the true God, and fo that Nahor ferved both, fo to blind.himfelfand Jacob by Oath? I have not time now to difpll{e: For how– ever, thereby 'tis plain, That Laba11 profelfed to worlbip thofe Gods, and fo other God• be!ides the true, which the jealous God will in no wife bear inthofe he calls to draw neer unto him to Worfhip him. WhereasJaco(i i'wears only by the feat of his Father lfaac, that In, whom, lfa.<c feared. And anfwerably, Laban profeiTeth further, that thefe Gods he fwore by, were the Gods which his Father B~thuet, agd his Grand-father .MJhor, A6ra– ham's own Brother, had Worfhipped •~ their Gods. So then you fee of what Religion they of rhat line were ef , and that they had continued Jdol•ters, iri their 'fuccellive generations, ana thereby are maniteflly declared to have been of the Refi that wore blinded. Ahraham's Family (as a w~tthy lrfterpreter hath obferved) did in his ncltt See Rivtwio aha Immediate Suocellion, bear theType or Refemblance of the future Condi· Gwfin ~mti.on of the Chm<c~ :J and in hi's Family and next SucceiTors, •there fell out of ~:~o,;~;;;;;: all olhrr the mofl pregnant Jnflances of Eletl:ion and Prererition : For as his ,.,.p, D•mum Farnily was thdirflo part, to t'he ,Epitome of the enfuing; Who~e, •nd acoor- ~!,;;b;~~;· d1hgly the~cnptbre hath made the mofi lingular obfervanoos hereof. 'There f•i/Jt '"""''" are two pms of,In!\'ances m that Family 1. Of lf,Jac and 1/hmaet, the Im- tlt~•,•."f•l•m mediate Sons of Abraham. Then zly, Of]aco6 and Efau, the Sons of l{61Jc, :;·j~•;,;,~:;P· Extant wh1lfi Ahrahamwas alive. rorum q.. ,.. • mrnin hoc Ar~ tUMtlltf n'tgfiginMdtbtt; fiJ 111A~im~ J tQnnotnti(/itn4 Vti natura cljNsu a r{l {iiptr (t~i ronft•r.strguccl;{iam voluntlts, tmaqltt ratioqutt tx h11minibuJ (ibi f-:cit fili~s; q~~rmadm1dmt~ igit•r in [11.mifir: Abrah:tmi ptr E.!l!lio11tm (1141n Jifcrtvit fratrts Nt 1-illJHt f'.. [tt b.trn,alm excludmtur Domo,qu•lfl~o~U ip{t Abr.aham alittr {l4,Jiiff,t; fi' tnim ptr etu1iommfum ~rtr1111111 di{mvit (ilhu prDmif– fionisquibusfidtm dart 11tlNit1 •t in[1mi11t A.ir.s!Ja.IIH cm{mltur; ab ;js qui carnMpr.rrotJ.fiv.: t111gtntts, non {¥nt Jjratitlf ltcnM dum {piritum. J, That
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