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Show c1Jr1@ isflrft~urs, thenwearehk• them that foug_bt me not; I [aid behold me! behold me! unto a nation that was not caUed by my n•me; 1 bave [prod out my h•nds aU the day ttnto a rtbeUiouspeople, which wal~th in a way that was not good, after their own th,r<gbts, &c. Ofea 2. 1 9· I will bttroth thee unto me forever. , ·God compareth himfclfto a lover, who moves firll; he dod1 not fay, thou ]halt betroth thy {elf unto me, but I wiU betrotb thee unto me, God moves lid!; but let me open this in a few particu. Iars. ,, Our Beloved i1 ours, firl! by an eternal el!l1ion, Eph. 1. 4• He h"'b cho[<n us in him before the foundation of the world: th\s the Apolite Ro"'· 9· 2 3. calletln a preparing before hand unto gfory; ·and illullraring· it by God>ehoice of Jacob; and E[au, v. I• r. faith it was b•fore the children were bcr11, or had tlone good or evil: now when we are told that was bdore the found•tion of the werld,before we have done good or evil,bcfore we nw~ qmt, it,manifeflly gives the firfi parts in this love unto God ; but Atmiltia•u and others have found out a way to elude this, and to give mall'a moving influ~ nce upon that Divine love which i!fued from God; before the foundation of the world was laid, before we were born: Go'd (fay. they.,flre,Pw,llnt fuch a~tdjrl<hperfinu would believe,repent altd lir·e tin holy life, and fo cbofe them to eternal l!fe.Accotding tQ this Doctrine, we chofe God, he did not chufe us; we gave to hiin ,firfi; and his giving to us is but a.recomptnce, of that which we firfi gave unto him. ~elides, ,how lhtiuld God. forefeo that this or that man Mould believe, repent,.liv-e holily, perfev.ere if he had no.t fitft determined fo to encline their wills, ,an~ chaQge·their heart~? jflthel" fay man hath a powyr ofhimfelf to thefc things, what hetomes of thofeScriptures, which tell us, that it isgiven tomanbotbto.,,U and to do, of his good pleafure ; that it is given 10 hjm to believe, Phil. 1. 29. That r.o (Jlan cometh to tho Son, but·be· "'bom thrfa· tim bawetb ; That the "'"Y of mall is not in bimfolf: now if our believing, repenting, hol)'llifeo,P.erfevering, dependeth upon G~s election, furely it could not be the caufe of it. Belides, the Scrtp· ture doth every-where mention Election as an a{J of grace, not of dtbt, Luk. 12.3 2. Eph. 1. r r. This is a plain making Salvatio~, to depend upon our works as a meritoriou~ caufe, for what IS Faith but a work ? The Scripture tells us not that as many as God forefa,w would believe, h'e ordained to eternal life, but as m>Jnyas '117~~e, 0rd~ined to lift believed, Act. 1 3· _48. and reckons up, GaUmg as a fruit of Predeffination,. Rom. 8. 29. Eut I mull· not run out · tlus then nJe are hi;. this dif~ourfe into the fLtll length, let this be fufficicnt to cllabliOr you agamll this d~eam ofE/e{Jioll >~ponfore[em work.f:Eidiio,eft pcrfo~ tarum, no11 q11ahtatum, God chafe perfons not qualities us not ours; .indeed we~ had nothing for him to chufe, but what' he :Uutt firll gtve unto us. Secondly, Our Beloved was firll ours, by [tparation and tlo1wion. Hewasfet apartforru, to be our Saviour and we were given ttnto him. Thus he is called Rev. r 3· 8. 'Ib; Lamb Jlain [rom the fo•ndatiOII of ~be world; that is , whom the Father determined lhould .he flam, and who had confented to be flain : the Apolllc Pettr fa•th, I Pet. 1. 20. he wat fore. ordained before tbe [01mdati"' ofthe world, hence he is called Gods elefJ, I[ 42. 1. the firjl-horn a. mong/1 many Brethren, Rom. 8. 29, and we are faid to be chr'.fen in h1m, Eph. 1. 4· And as he was from eternity fore-ordained by the act or the '!'rinity, to be the head of the Body of the elect, and to be their Savwur; fo they were given umo him, Joh. 17. 6. Tbi11e theywereth•u gaveft them to me,and v. 12. thofe whom thou gavcfi me. fly an eternal act, Chrill was given to them, ordained for them, and they Wt're ~!ven unto him as his people, by him to be brought unto eternal hfc: Thus he was firll theirs. Thirdly,, He was theirs by an eternal 'Covmant, a fiipularion made betwixt the eternal Father and tbe Son of his love; Chrifi covenanted on their part~, ~. For the meant of Redemption, and 2 • For the means of Appltcauon.For the mearu ofRedemptim that hefonhem would do what his F~ther required ; that he w~uld for t~em ta~e fte/h,and become the firft-born among!f many Brethren!; that m that fleth,perfonally united to the Divine nature, he would fulfer death, thed 'blllod, withot1! "hich ( fuch was the Jullice of God) there could be no remillion. 2. For the means of Ap. plication, that (hey by grace derived from him, thould do whatfoe~~ r ihe Fathers will was as to them in order to Salvation · that they'thould believe, repent, live, holily, perfevere to the end': and the Father .covemnt~d w\th him, that doing thefe th.ings they· thould obtam everlalhng hfe, and Salvation of his grace· heoce thofe phrafes, I wiU give tbce for a covount for the peoplt, If. -42. 6. ~f. 4 9:8. hence he is faid to be the furety of a better covena111. This IS a ~h~rd w~y by which our Beloved was ours before we were his. All thts whtl~ we have been fpeaking, offuch acts of grace, as we Were .wholly tgnorant of when they were done ; they were from etermty before we had any being, and therefore it w lS impolfible p p p 2 475 |