Reynolds - Houston-Packer Collection BX5133.R485 T47 1642

lohn 3 16. I Iohn aEph.5.z5c G Rom,9, I I c I lohn 44T c,. Hofea 14.4 dRom.IIe5,6 e z Tim, r9, f Rom.3. 24)4, 5 S, Io, g Eph.z.8,9, `I be 'Life, of oribina'll móver ill otir falvatidn. if God did bcginne His wórke upón previfion Of any thing in"and from Our (elves, we thould never dare to come unto Him, becaufe wee thould never linde any thing in our felves to ground His mercy towards us upon. But now the Love of God is fo abfolute and independant, that it loth not only re- quire nothing in us to excite and to cal itout,biut it is not to miich as grounded upon Chrift himfelfe. I fj cake of His firfi Love and Grace : Chrift was not the ìmpulfive caufe of Gods firfi Love to mankinde, but was Hirnfelfe the great gift which God fent to men therein to teftifie that Hee did freely love them-before. God fo loved the World,that He gave His Son, Hereiln ie Lotie ;tint that we loved Him, but that Heloved scs and fenr'Hïù Sim; The love milt needs goebefore the gift, becaufe the gift is a4 effe5t, a token, a tefitmony of the Love. Chrift firft a loved the Church ,before He gave Himfel fe for it. Now then if the tïrti Love of God to man was notprocured merited, or excited by Chrift Himfelfe as Mediator ; but was altogether abfolute : b much leffe loth the Love of God ground it felte uponany thing in us. Thewhole feries of our Salvation is made up without refped to any thing of ours; or from us. c HeLoved us without (..aufè or ground in otit (elves. For we Live Him, becaufe Hee firff loved us:He ele}ed us of meere grace,wíthout caufe or ground from our felves. cl There isa remnant,faith th . Apoftle,according to the EleRion ofgrace;and if of grace, then is it no more of wore s, otherwife grace is no more grace. Hee called us without Intuition of any thing in our lélves, e rei1;Pry) crp59z 7r faith the Apoffle, not according to our own works,but according to His pur- ple and grace He called us' with an holy c,i!'ling. He j ulti- fied us without any ground in or from our felves, f freely by his grace,when we were enemks & uugodb perfons,He faveth us without any ground in and from our felv's.g By grace ye are fav'd through faïthgC that not of There

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