Whither is_ thy Belo'Vedgone. 397 From the firfi q~efl:ion, What is thy Beleved.? sE R.XVIJI Here is a fecond (upon better information) Whither u thy Belovedgone~ that we-may fleke him with thee?Nothing is leffe then graceat the,firfr, nothing in the world fo little in proportion. The . Kingdome ot Heaven is compared to a graineof Mlt,tl· muftard-feed, that is, the wm ke of grace in rhe heart, as we/11 as in the preaching of the Gofpell, in the beginning is little. It is true of the worke of grace, as well as of the word ofgrace, that it is like· a graine of mufl:ard-feed at firft, .. What is thy Belovedenquires the Church at firfi; but when ilie hearesoi theexcellency ofChrifi, thenwhither i5 thy Belovedgone ? Grace begets , grace, there is ac nexionand knitting together in Retigion,good thingsbeget good things: It is a ftrange thing inReligion, qaw great a matter arifeth of a little beginning. The woman of Sa– rn~tri4 hadbut a fmall beginning of grace, and . yet !he prefendy drew Jlany of her neighbours to beleeve in Ch.ri!l:. So t..Andrew, John r. As . foone as he was converted he finds his brother Simon,and telshim that he had found the U11tfsir tU ,and fo brings him to Chrift~aad Philipas foon as he had got a fparke of Faith himfelfe, hee . drawes alfo NathAnieU to come to Chrifi. Paul Phil.I.JJ, . fpeaks of bis bonds, how the noife of them was in c£[ars Court,and many beleeved the very re– port,which howfoever it isnot a werking caufe, yet it may be apreparing,inducing,leading caufe to fuch things, from one thing to another, till there follow this change and full converfion. You .
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=