withholdeth his Grace, whereby they might have been enlightned in their Understandings, and wrought upon in their Hearts; but fometimes alfo withdraweth the Gifts which they had, and expofeth them to fuch Objects as their Corruption makes Occafion of Sin: And withal, gives them over to their own Lufts, the Temptations of the World, and the Power of Satan: Whereby it comes to pass, that they harden themselves, even under thofe Means, which God ufeth for the foftning of others". obtained that which he feeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the reft were blinded. v. 8. According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of flumber, eyes that they fhould not fee, and ears that they fhould not hear unto this day. * Deut. 29.4. Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to fee, and ears to hear, unto this day. VII. As dren of Ifrael: their ftrong holds wilt thou fet on fire, and their young men wilt thou flay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. v. 13. And Hazael faid, But what, is thy fervant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha anfwered, The Lord hath fhewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria: a Pfal, 81. 11. But my people would not hearken to my voice: Y Matth. 13. 12. For whofoever and Ifrael would none of me. v.12. hath, to him fhall be given, and So I gave them up unto their own he fhall have more abundance: bur hearts luft: and they walked in whofoever hath not, from him fhall their own counfels. z Thef. 2. 10. be taken away, even that he hath. And with all deceivableness of unMat. 25. 29. For unto every one that righteousness in them that perish; hath fhall be given, and he shall because they received not the love have abundance but from him of the truth; that they might be that hath not shall be taken away, saved. v. 11. And for this cause even that which he hath. God fhall fend them ftrong delufion, that they fhould believe a lie. v. 12. That they all might be damned, who believed not the truth,but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Deut. 2. 30. But: Sihon king of Hefhbon would not let us pafs by him: for the Lord thy God hardned his spirit, and made his heart obftinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. 2 Kings 8. 12. And Hazael faid, Why weepeth my Lord? And he answered, Becaufe I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the chil b Exodus 7.3. And I will harden Pharaohs heart, and multiply my figns and my wonders in the land of Egypt. With Ex. 8. 15. But when Pharaoh faw that there was refpite, he VII. As the Providence of God doth in general, reach to all Creatures; fo after a most special manner, it taketh Care of his Church, and difpofeth all Things to the good thereof. he hardned his heart, and hearkned not unto them; as the Lord had faid. v. 32. And Pharaoh hardned his heart at this time alfo, neither would he let the people go. 2 Cor. 2. 15. For we are unto God a fweet favour of Chrift, in them that are faved, and in them that perish. v. 16. To the one we are the favour of death unto death; and to the other, the favour of life unto life: And who is fufficient for these things? Ifa. 8. 14. And he shall be for a fanctuary; but for a ftone of ftumbling, and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Ifrael, for a gin, and for a fnare to the inhabitants of Jerufalem. 1 Peter 2.7. Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious: but unto them which be difobedient, the ftone which the builders difallowed, the fame is made the head of the corner. v. 8. And a stone of ftumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto alfo they were appointed. Ifa. 6. 9. And he faid, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and fee indeed, but perceive not. v. 1o. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and fhut their eyes: left they fee with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,and convert and be healed. With Acts 28. 26. Saying, Go unto this people, and fay, Hearing ye shall hear, and fhall not understand; and feeing ye shall fee, and not perceive. v. 27. For the heart of this people is waxed CHAP gross,and their ears are dull of hearing,and their eyes have they closed; left they should fee with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. VII. 1 Tim. 4. 10. For therefore we both labour, and suffer reproach, because we truft in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, fpecially of thofe that believe. Amos 9. 8. Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the finful kingdom, andI will deftroy it from off the face ofthe earth; faving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, faith the Lord. v. 9. For lo, I will command, and I will fift the house of If rael among all nations, like as corn is fifted in a five, yet fhall not the leaft grain fall upon the earth. Rom. 8. 28. And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Ifa. 43. 3. For I am the Lord thy God, the holy One of Ifrael, thy faviour: I gave Egypt for thy ranfom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. v. 4. Since thou waft precious in my fight, thou haft been honourable, and I have loved thee:therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life... Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy feed from the eaft, and gather thee from the weft. v. 14. Thus faith the Lord your redeemer, the holy One of Ifrael,For your fake I have fent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whofe cry is in the fhips. I. Gen Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punifhment thereof.. UR first Parents being feduced by the Subtilty and Temptation of Satan, finned in eating the forbidden Fruit. This their Sin, God was pleafed, according to his wife and holy Counfel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own Glory b. II. by this Sin they fell from their original Righteoufnefs and Communion with God c, and fo became dead in Sind, and wholly defiled in all the Faculties and Parts of Soul and Body . III. They 1. Gen. 3. 13. And the Lord God faid unto the woman, What is this that thou haft done? And the woman faid, The ferpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 2 Cor. 11.3. But I fear left by any means, as the ferpent beguiled Eve through his fubtilty, fo your minds fhould be corrupted from the fimplicity that is in Christ. Rom. 11. 32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. in the garden, in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the prefence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden. Eccl. 7. 29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have fought out many inventions. Rom. 3. 23. For all have finned and come short of the glory of God, d Gen. 2. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou fhalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt furely die. Eph. 2. 1. And you bath he quickned, who were dead in trefpaffes and fins. IL Gen. 3.6. And when the woman faw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be defired to make one wife; the took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave: alfo unto e Tit. 1. 15. Unto the pure all her husband with her, and he did eat. v.7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked:and they fewed figleaves together, and made themfelves aprons. v. 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking things are pure: but unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving, is nothing pure, but even their mind and confcience is defiled. Gen. 6. s. And God faw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts III. They being the Root of all Mankind, the Guilt of this Sin was imputed, and the fame. - Death thoughts of his heart, was only the face of the earth, and hath de evil continually. Jer. 17. 9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked, who can know it? Rom. 3. 16. As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one. v. II. There is none that understandeth; there is none that feeketh after God. v. 12, They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable,there is none that doth good, no not one. v. 13. Their throat is an open fepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of afps is under their lips. v. 14. Whofe mouth is full of curfing and bitternefs. v. 15. Their feet are swift to fhed blood. v. 16. Deftruction and mifery are in their ways. v. 17. And the way of peace have they not known. v. 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes. III. f Gen. 1. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them. v. 28. And God bleffed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and fubdue it: and have dominion over the fifh of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And Gen. 2. 16. And the Lord God commanded the man, faying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayeft freely eat. v. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eateft thereof, thou fhalt furely die. And Acts 17. 26. And hath made of one blood, all nations of men, for to dwell on all termined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation: With Rom. 5. 12. Wherefore, as by one man fin entred into the world, and death by fin; and fo death paffed upon all men, for that all have finned. v. 15. But not as the offence, fo alfo is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead; much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jefus Chrift, hath abounded unto many. v. 16. And not as it was by one that finned, fo is the gift for the judgment was by one to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. v. 17. For if by one mans offence, death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteoufness, shall reign in life by one, Jefus Chrift. v.18. Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation: even fo by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. v. 19. For as by one mans disobedience, many were made finners: fo by the obedience of one, fhall many be made righteous. And 1 Cor. 15.21. Forfince by man came death, by man came alfo the refurrection of the dead. v.22. For as in Adam all die, even fo in Chrift, shall all be made alive. *v.45. And fo it is written, The firft man Adam was made a living foul, the last Adam was made a quickning fpirit. v. 49. And as we have born the image of the earthy, we alfo fhall bear the image of the heavenly. & Pfal. Death in Sin and corrupted Nature, conveyed to all their Pofterity, defcending from them by ordinary Generation 8. IV. From this original Corruption, whereby we are utterly indifpofed, difabled, and made oppofite to all Good", and wholly inclined to all Evil, do proceed all actual Tranfgreffions *. V. This Corruption of Nature during this Life, doth : Pfalm 51. 5. Behold, I was fhapen in iniquity and in fin did my mother conceive me. Gen. 5. 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a fon in his Own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. Fob 14. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one. Fob 15. 14. What is man that he fhould be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he fhould be righteous? IV. Rom. 5. 6. For when we were yet without ftrength, in due time Chrift died for the ungodly. Rom. 8.7. Because the carnal mind is enmity againft God: for it is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Rom. 7. 18. For I know, that in me (that is in my fiefh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is prefent with me, but how to perform that which is good,I find not. Col. 1. 21. And you that were fometime alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet How hath he reconciled. ground any more for mans fake;for the imagination of mans heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again fmite any more,. every thing living as I have done. Rom. 3.10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one: v. 11. There is none that underftandeth, there is none that feeketh after God. v. 12. They are all gone out of the way,. they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth. good, no not one. k Jam. 1. 14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed. v isa Then when luft hath conceived, it' bringeth forth fin: and fin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Eph. 2.2. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course. of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the fpirit that now worketh in the children of difobedience. v. 3. Among whom alfo we all had our converfation in times paft, in the lufts of our flesh, fulfilling the defires of the flesh, and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Matth. 15.. 19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, V. 11 Jahi Gen. 6. 5. And God faw that he wickedness of man was great in he earth, and that every imaginaion of the thoughts of his heart, was only evil continually. Gen. 8. 1. And the Lord fmelled a fweer avour, and the Lord faid in his cart, I will not again curfe the blafphemies. D |