Of Ele8ion. ~ bath ,,botmded tow,Jrds tU ill alt wi(t!om rmd prudwce: Havi11g made k>towJS BooK IV. unto tf4 tbe m1jlerr of his W1lt, according to hugoodplrafure which he bath ~ pwpa(td tn hmtft!l Which are bellowed on us alfo, as by the Decree and the ./t1t.ws, afore the fall, in bringing us to glory; and for t he bellowing ofthefe the good ple,•frtre of this Will, whtch he bud pt<rpofedi11 htm{elf, again come; in, as a farther decree to befiow them;and thenTo the prmfe oj the glory of his g•·ore , is brought in in the clofe of his Enumeration of the tir11 fort of Bene– tits that depend not on the tall; for grace is fcen in them, as well asin thofe o– ther of Redemption ,unto which alfo apart,the Riches of his Grace are afcribed as rhe fountain of them. ' Our Elellio11, &c. tmto 6orh forts are in Chrifl, fo exprdly of the firfl Su– per!apfarian ~enefits, Verf, 4· We are chofm in Chrif/, &c•.And indeed, if of Grace, then 10 Ckrt(l. Chnflts as large and extenfive m hts lnHrumenrality, as Grace IS m ordatmng. Now then here I clap tn thiS, thac Chn!l, as Head is confidcred as the foundation of thofe firll fort of Benefits beflowed upon Ma~ conlldercd as unfalo ; and Cbrill, as Jefiu , or Redeemer, is the Author of the Benefits of Redemption. I {hall only End in this, That as all thole firfl Benefits do not depend upon Mans having fmned firfl, fa that this foundation ·of Chrifl, conlidered as an He,.d to tls, might be, .and was a-fufficient ground to beflow them upon us in EleCtion, upon our relation to him, as given of God , as he is Chrill, and as he is an Head and Hufbmid to us. For firfl, to mal<e us holy and immutable before God in Love, our relation toChrill, os an Head , was a fufficient, though not the whole ground for it, as I have elfewhere lhewn. If Chrill takes the pure Creature to relation to himfelf, he being theholy of holies, mwintd of God, we fhall be made un– changeably holy in and through Chrift; for by that Relation we are called his, 1 Cor. 'I'• 25. It was Chrill fixt the Angels and made them unchangea– ble. Second!y , Our being Adopted Sons to God, will in a duene{s follow upon our being given to Chrilt as Head; for as he is the Natural Son of God, there• fore by vmue of our relation to him limply, as fuch we may well' become A– dopted Children by marriage with him, as a Spoufe becomes the Daughter of the father to whofeSon fhe is married;there needed not the fall nor his redemp– tion. LJ!'"wife, thirdly , to fee God faa to faa, which by the right of Adop– tion we have, it is but being made Members of Chrill, of him as ofan Head, to be brought to that utmoll glory, to have it deligned for us, it did not de– pend upon Chrifls being a Redeemer only, becaufe it was natural to Jefus Chrifl to fee God face to face, and we having R.elation to him, come to the fame Intcrefl. So that in the 4t h Place, That we are g raciot<fly acctpted itl the /;eloved: This rl•pended not upon the fuppofal of t he fall, nor upon Chrifl conlidered as 'JefHJ only , but the very tle!ation of otir perfons to him as an Husband; Thi11e thtywere, a11d thougaveflthemme, will do all this. The(e things to clear my meaning beingpremifed, I come to that which is proper to the Point in hand, which is, What doth this our Rrlatzo1l to Chrifl, as Cbrifl and an Head, and God's Love to us in Chrill as fuch, contribute unto our fecurity, that we fhall invin– cibly be carried on to glory, maugre all Oppofitions? For Anfwer; I lay this for an unquellionable Maxim, That that in Chrift which fixcth Gods Heart moll firmly unto us, That that mufl needs fee the flronp;eft and firmefl motive to God rocarry us on unto Salvation ; for in the Text he profcffeth himfelfengaged to do it, as he isa God of all Grace or of Love to us, through Chrifl. That thing therefore, which in Chrifi fixetl1 him moll firmly, mufl needs be fuppofed to move him mofl to perform this. Now confider when in that 1 Epbef. 6, he is faid to have gracio11(1y accepted us i11 tbis bi's Beloved; whether of the two, his being a R edeemer unto us, Je· {m , or his being his beloved Son and Cbrif/, which of tbefe two mufl be the Principal Motive to Love and accept us, and which of them is intended in that place?
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