Of EleCiion. And befides the P~rfonal indwelling of the Father in the Son, which Divines ~ oll Circumce!fion ofthe Perfons ; Thofe Phrafes do import all forts ofintimate Chal'• 7· acqua intance, and knowledge of each other : w.e ufe to fay' we know filCh (J ~ mmt as if we were wtthw htm : Now the Father ts m the Son, and the Son m the Father and fo are perfectly acquaintecl one with the other: And therefore . accordingly that which follows, that They [.dljo] may be One ill Vs, is as much, as for him to have prayed, that they ~n ltke mmmer, may partake of, and enjoy in a like communion, and entercourfe mVs, and wnh Vs, as we are. And fuch a bleffed intercourfe between the Father, and the Son, the 5th Verf. of this Chapterlhewsto have been from Everlafting; the Glory I hadw ith thee aforethe World was: As alfo Chrift had in his Sermon, Chap. t6. q, '4· towards the end of it made mention of, Whatfoevtr the Spirit /hall [hearl that jhall hrJptak: He}hall glorifie me, and take of mitu: .All the Father bath u miru, ']Ohe Scriptures do prefent the Three Perfons, not only as three Witneffes to us, but as three bleffed Companions ofa knot, and Society among themfelves; enjoying Fellowfhip. and Delights accordingly in themfelves: And indeed if this had been wanting, there had not been an abundant, or a cornpleat happinefs; for much of fweetnlifs lies in Society : ( The fweetnefs of a mans Friend, is Solomo11s Character) which ifthe Divine Nature had not af– forded, in having in it three Perfons really diftinct, knowing, rejoycin~ in, glorying of, and (peaking unto each other, there had not been a perfection of illclrednefs: But tram torth of this Society, an All-fatiety did, and duth arife: The Son is prelcnted as in the bofom of the Father, Job. r. I8. Nomao bath Jem Godat any time: Tht ouly begotton So11, which u in the 6ofom oftk~ F-z– ther, he hatb dectartd htm. And Job. ro. 1 )• .As the Fathtr knows mt, e– vmfo I know the Father: And the Son [peaks 11ot, 61'1 what ht httJrs oftht Fathtr: As you find again, and faid in that Gofpel of'John ; nor cloth the Spi· rit fpeak but what he hears of both, Job. I6. q, I4, I), Howbeit, whm the Spirit of truth is came, he wi IJgttide you i11to a!J tr1tth : For hejba!J not Jptak ofhimfelf: But wbat(oever hejha!J bear,. that {hall he'Jpeak, ,md wi!J /htw y_o11 tbzngs to come, Hejha!Jglorifie mt,for hejha/1 recetve ofmiru, andjhall jhew it untoyofl, AIJ thi11gs that the Father bath, art mine: therefort faill1, That he jhall take of rni11e, andjba!Jjhew it t111to ) '011. And this Fellowfhip, and Communion mutual is,and was matter ofinfinite delight, and pleafure in them; as Wi{dom, i.e. the Son declares, Prov. 8. 30. in there uttering what had been between t:,e Father and him, afore the World, Then WM I bJ him, a1 one brought "P with him, and I was daily hi! delight, rejO)'Cittg always before him: And this he fays, was before the World; and thm, when their delights thus lay in what by way ofintercourfe had paffed between him, ond hisFather, as thofe words, rejoyci~g always [ afort fnm] Cignify tllat He,as a Companion had been always in his light, his prefence, his company, gow con formable and lil<c unto, and next to thefc Del ights,which had been between themfelves,were their Delights in tht Sons ofmm, Voj. 3'· Rejoyci11g ;, the habitable parts of the Earth, and my deltghts were with the S~ts of mm. The Sons ofmm are foci able Creatures, intelligent, and underftanding; and much of their de– lights lie in mutual converfes: Now the delights ofthefe Divine Perfons with the Sons ofmen, afore the World was, lay much in thoughts t~ken up ~fore~and; .ofwhat a fweet fellow!hip one day the~ fhould have, in admitting them mto an mumate converfe, znd acquaintance "'ith themfelves: The Sons ofmen were their delights, not as things that are uncapable of converfe, are faid to be; but winch the correfpondencies held among perfon• do afford: You read in the Apoftle John, 1 Joh.1.3. ofa Fellowfhip which we now have with the Fathtr, f1"d thr Son, a11d thty withw; and as in Verf. 7• that following clau(e expounds it, we haveftOowfhip o11e wtth allother; that is, they with u', and we with them : And it was the thoughts ofthefe mutual delights, in our, and their fcl– lowfllip one day to be had and enjoyed, when we fhould actually exifr, was a fpecial Objective matter ofdelight unto thicr thoughts fo long afore; They in– finitely pleafed themfelve in the view, and contemplation ofthis: Now when I fay 1t was fuch, both to the Father, as well as to the Son, my ground even in that placeo[thcProverbs is, Chap. 8, Verf 30, 31. That although it be Wifdom
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