Of Eletlion. ~ 1, That If,1.1C was a Child ofpure Election Grace; as the aforehand caufe BooK l. of his Faith and Holincfs , and not the fubfequentof Election without Works ~and that asfuch he wascafi into Abraham'~ bofom, as a pretious gift, whil!l Jjhmarl was excluded from that Blelling, ts ev1dent enough from the 1\ory it– felf in Mo(es, altltough the Apofile lhould not have moreover exprefly told us fo and alledged it to that purpofe: For that God, e' re he was Conceived lhoMld d'~clare him Heir of the lame Salvation with Abrahdm, and immuta: bly and irreverftbly E!late the Covenant of Grace upon him as an Inheritance fetled on him by an entail wi1h a profelfed differenc6 from Ijhmael, Gen. 17 , 19, w, 21. AtidGod Jatd, Sarat1 thy Wife fbaU butr thu a So11 tndad, and thou {b411call hu Name Ifaac; and I wrU Eflablt/b my Covmant with him for an Ew rla(/i1tg Covtnant, and with hi< jud ajttr him. A11d as for Iil: mael, I havt heard thee: Behold, I have bltfftd hrm, and wilt make him fruitful/, attd I will multiply him exceedingly; Twtlvt Prinm /ball he beget, and I wtlt makt hzm a Grtat Nattol/, Bttt m1 Covenant wilt I tj/a6tijh w ith Ifaac, whom Sarahjha/1 btar tmto thn, at thi4 Jet timt in thr nrxt )•tar; which you know how the Apo!lle applies unto the Covenant rj, Grace and works, Gal. 4· 2.2, 2l, 24, 25, 26, For zt" wrztten , that Abraham hadtwo Sons, the one by a6ond·matd, the othrr by .1 Frte-womav. BtJt hr who was of the Bond-woman w.u born afttr thr Flejh : But iuof the Frrr– woman, was by Promife. Which things are of Allegory; for theft are the two Covena11ts: the <>ne from ·Mount Sinai, which gendrtth to Bondage , whichu Agar.For this Agar in Mottnt Sinai inArabia,andan(wereth toJerufa– lem,which 110W u,and i4 in bondagt withher Children: But Jerufalem, which u abovt, is Free, wh-ich is tht Mother of Uf all. And that afterwards , wbil!l Ifaac was but young, and lay as a Sacrifice bound upon the Altar, God lbould b_y an Oath'confirm the Promifes made of blelling him, Gm. 22. 16. By my jtl(have I Swor11; and with him his fpiritual Seed, Verf. 17. In 6/ef– .ftug I willblejs thu, mtd inmultrj>lring I wt!l multiply thy Seed M the Stars of the Heavm, and as the Smtd which u 11po11 the Stt~ Jbort; a11d thy Sud jhaU pof(e{s the Gate of hi4 Enemin, Whereof lfaac was the fir{\ included and intendod, for it was as in reference to, and upon occafion of him, that God ut~ered it. Tho" ha(/ not withtldthy Son, thy 011/y Son, from Verf. ~~therefore I wiUmttltiply thee i11 him in jo numtrotu'a Seed as art tht .Stars or Sauds, This Oath (as we afore ob(erved out of the Apo!lles Interpreta– tion of it ) was intended of the Spiritual Seed, the Heirs of Promife, fuch as Ifaac wa•, tl·e ,declared Son of Promife; and this Oath declared how that Promife proceeded from Gods Immutable Counfel, as the Apo!lle Inter– prets it, which is EleElion, that fure Foundation, the Lord kltows who art hi<, and knew well what he then did in fo [wearing. And lball we think that Gods Oath and irrevocable Promife was built and founded upon the Im– mutability oflfaac's Free· will-Grace, and fuch helps ( as he lhould by Free– will ufe them) which he lhould for the Future have in Abrahamr Fainily, in Common with Ijhmael. Ifaac was yetto live a long while in the World, and might according to the Principles of Free-will-Grace have fallen away and pro– ved unregenerate i and God could have no fuch fure and certain afiurance of him as to venture ( as I may fo fay ) an Oath upon him , with a peremptory irreverfiblc Ble!Ti~g of him. What, and E!lablilh hi• Everla!ling Covenant with him upon tl).e uncertain ficklenefs and mutability of Free-will, no other– wife? Nay would God have pawned by Oath his owo felf, 6y my (tlf havt I f..e~orn, fo as to ceafe to be God , if Ifaac ~nd A6rah1m both lhould ceafe to perfevere in Faith to the End of their Lives (for it Wa! A!Jrahams Cafe alfo according to their Pofttion to have been alli!led, but according to the Rule of Free-will-Graces alli!lance) ns furely as God faidJrtrely,&c.The Foundation of ofthisOath lay deeper inGods own Heart,it lay in the Immutability ofhis own Counlel ; which he purpofed within himfelf, wherewith he invincibly re– fumed and undertook to carry on I{;zac's anQ Abraham's Wills to the end: Not in the Stability of what he forefaw was within thernfelves. But we need fpend no more time upon this of I{aac , nor would ha\'e done, had it not made for a Comfortableillue to us all, of which by and by. The
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