Of Ele8ion. "-"'-"of afore, Vrrf. 7,8;9. having but one Father, but not one Mother; and yet he BooK Ill. argues it from them allo. But here are Two who had 011e and the fame Fa– ~ ther and Mother,of whom alfo they came not in a fucce!lion of time,one in one year , the other in a year after, as Brethren ule to do ; but both were conce>ved at one time, yea infiant, which thofe words Indigitate, Verj. 10 , \'Vhen Rebccca had conceived [6y one] evenourFather I[a.tc, at one and the ad of Generation, lhe concived them both out of the fame fub£\ance of matter that came from Ifaac's Loyns at once; where (when f~ll'n into her Wog~b) there was a divifion made by God's providence, one part thereof fett!ihg to the one fide of her Womb and made Efrm, another to the other and made Ja– co6; they were Twins: And as we fay of Two pieces of the fame cloth cut out for feveral ufes; there was but a pair of il>eirs went between them: No difference whether in worth or works forefeen or the like; born alfo at the fame birth, wherein if there were any difference, Efatt had it; for he wa• the Elde£\, and foby the Law then in force had the dignity of the Birrhrighr. And afore rhey were born God declared his different purpofe and council about • them, Tht ElderJhall fervt the Totmgtr, and fo be depnved of hisBirthright, and thereby of the Blelfing and of the Inheritance of Cm~aan, the T) pc of Heaven. Now this neernels ofrelation and circumfiance heightned the Love in the purpofe of God according to Eledion; that is, his difcriminating purpofe in his freely havtng aforehand chofen the one and rejeded the other: For to that very porpofe God in Malachi mentions it to fet out and greaten his Love to .1aco6, as Paul in this his citation of it cloth to make good his affenion of the different Grace in the promile of Salvation, whereof Eledion was the Origi· nal, and the·Promifes the extrad Copy. Yea, and to this purpofe of aggran· diflng God's love to .1aco6 it is that Pa11l alfo intends it, as thofe words in 1'erf. ;to. which are introdudory to this in!lance, do thew [Not 011/y thul t!ic. a1 conneding this new in!lance with the former inllance of J)hmael and Ifaac, Verf. 7 and 9· and both to the fame purpofe ; who, although A6rabam's Chil– dren, yet on I(,zac was the Blelfing fctt!ed and entailed, and not l(hmael, which greatned God's fpecial Love to lfaac in that relped,Well,but faith theA– poflle [Not 011/y 1hu l infiance or example of lfaac's &c. cloth lhew thi>, but much more that which I now bring (faith he) of Jaco6 and Efau; and from both I have what I perfue to make good, viz. That the nearnefs of fuch relations through circumllances therein that do make relation between Bre– thren the nearefl, ought to be a matter of provoking fuch perfons Eleded to glorify God's grace towards their perticular, and taking up God's own words to fay with themfelves, H.zth 11ot God lowdmt mzd that with a trmzfCendmt difcrimilzation, whe11 ht bath afore mine tyts laid rzfidrtho[e that lay i1t1he fame Wom6 that I did, or that were my Brethrefl 0 Jhe fame Father, or perhaps mJ partnts themft!vts? And you may and ought to extend this comparative to other relations and circum!lances wherein thyfelf and others do !land, and are or have been yoak– &1 and coupled together in, though not riling up to fo great a nearnefs. Thus Peter and the' Apo!lles did, that 1rsdMwho eat bread at Chrifl's Table with them, was an Apollle fent forth as well as they ; For ht WM 1111mbrtd with tu, mzd badobtainedpart of thu MimjiY_!, Ad. 1, 17. fhould prove a cafia– way and themfelves chofen; Compare thts, Job. 1 5· 18. I Jpeak 110t ofyou aD, I k11ow whom I have chojtll; 6ut that the Scripture may bt fulfilled, He tbaJ eatth6readwith me hatb lzft 11p hu htel agazfl me. And Job. 17. 12. While I waswiththtm in tht world, I keptthem ill thyNamt; tho(ethat thouga· vefl mt I hrzvt kept, and 11011t of them u lofi 6ut tht J'o11 of Ptrdition, that tht J'cript11rt might beft~!(iUed. T ake for confirmation of this the in!lance of the Two Theives, both Brethren in iniquity and fellows in the fame condem· nation in being crucifitd togethtr, the one on Chrifi's Right Hand and the o· ther on his Lelt; and that whilfi they were hanging on the Crofs, Eledion fllould break forth in the one and call him, and Chrifi !110uld take him wirhin an hour or two after into Paradife to himfelf, and the other lelt to his own ac– curfed curling Spirit, and at ~he fame time dying with the other lhould go to Hell.
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