ture: Old things are passed away: Behold, all things are become new; and all things are of God."

2 Cor, viii. 16, 17. "Thanks be to God, who put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation. But being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you." So the next chapter speaks of the Corinthians' forwardness and readiness in their bounty to the poor saints, not as of necessity, but with freedom and cheerfulness, according to the purpose of their own hearts or wills; but yet speaks of their charity as just cause of much thanksgiving to God; and speaks expressly of thanksgiving to him for such a subjection of them to the gospel, and liber- . al distribution to them.

Gal. i. 15, 16. "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles," compared with 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7, and the account which he gives himself of his conversion, Acts xxvi. 16....18.

Gal. ii. 19, 20. "I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

Gal. v. 22, 23, &c. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."

§ 58. The apostle, in Eph. i. 18....20, speaks of some exceeding great work of power, by which they that believe are distinguished. But a bodily resurrection is no such distinguishing work of power. See the words: "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ Jesus, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places." The apostle repeats the same thing in substance again in chapter iii. 14, and fol lowing verses, and tells us what sort of knowledge he desired,

and so earnestly prayed that they might receive, and what is the power that he speaks of: "That they may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." And tells by what means God would dwell in their hearts by faith, &c. verses 16, 17. And he tells us in verse 20, what is the power of God he speaks of. See Rom. xv. 13. 1 Pet. i. 3....5, and 2 Thess. i. 11, 12. See also what the apostle speaks of as an effect of God's glorious power, Col. i. 11.

Eph. i. 18....20, is to be taken in connexion with the words which follow in the beginning of the next chapter; which is a continuation of the same discourse, where the apostle abundantly explains himself. In those words, there is an explanation of what had before been more figuratively represented. He here observes, that those that believe, are the subjects of a like exceeding greatness of power that Christ was, when he was raised from the dead, and set at God's own right hand in heavenly places. And then in the prosecution of this discourse he shows how, viz. in our being raised from the dead, being dead ourselves in trespasses and sins, and raised as Christ was, and made to sit together with him in heavenly places; and this he speaks of, not only as the fruit of the exceeding greatness of his power, but of the riches of his mercy, and exceeding riches of his grace; by grace in opposition to works; that it is by faith which is the gift of God. The apostle repeats it over and over, that it is by grace, and then explains how; not of works; and that our faith itself, by which it is, is not of ourselves, but is God's gift; and that we are wholly God's workmanship; and that all is owing to God's foreordaining that we should walk in good works. I know not what the apostle could have said more. See Eph. ii. 1....10.

$ 59. In Eph. iii. it is spoken of as a glorious mystery of God's will, contrived of old, and determined from the founda. tion of the world, and his eternal purpose, &c. that God would

bring in the Gentiles as fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Which confirms the promises of the Old Testament; shews that they were not foretold only as foreseen, but foredetermined, as what God would bring to pass. This is also spoken of elsewhere, as the fruit of God's eternal purpose, his election, &c. as our adversaries acknowledge.

§ 60. Sincerity itself is spoken of as coming from God. Phil. i. 10. That ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence in the day of Christ." And elsewhere God is represented as “ creating a clean heart, renewing a right spirit, giving an heart of flesh," &c. The apostle "gives thanks for the faith and love of the Colossians, their being delivered from the power of darkness, &c. and prays that they may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and might, agreeable to their knowledge, being fruitful in every good work; and for their perseverance, and that they might be made meet for the reward of the saints." Col. i. 3, 4, 9....13. This argues all to flow from God as the giver. Their first faith, and their love that their faith was attended with, and their knowledge and spiritual wisdom and prudence, and walking worthy of the Lord, and universal obedience, and doing every good work, and increasing in grace, and being strengthened in it, and their perseverance and cheerfulness in their obedience, and being made meet for their reward, all are from God. They are from God as the determining cause; else, why does the apostle pray that God would bestow or effect these things, if they be not at his determination whether they shall have them or not? He speaks of God's glorious power as manifested in the bestowment of these things.

Col. ii. 13. "And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him."

Col. iii. 10. "Have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

See how many things the apostle gives thanks to God for in the Thessalonians, and prays for them. 2 Thess. i. 3, 4, 11, 12, and ii. 17, 18, and iii. 3, 4, 5. 1 Thess. i. verse 2, to the end, and chap. ii. verses 13, 14, and chap. iii. 9, 10, 12, 13, chap. v. 23, 24. 1 Thess. iii. 12. "The Lord make you to increase and abound in love," &c.

1 Thess. iv. 10. "But

as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I should write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it towards all the brethren." 1 Thess. v. 23, 24. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that hath called you, who also will do it."

2 Thess. i. 3, 4. "We are bound to thank God always for you, because your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth ; so that we glory in you, for your faith and patience in all your persecutions and tribulations.”

ers;

The apostle thanks God for his own prayers, and for oth2 Tim. i. 3. If they are from God, then doubtless also our prayers for ourselves, our very prayers for the Spirit, are from him.

The prophet ascribes persons' prayers to their having the spirit of grace and supplication. True acceptable prayer is spoken of, Rom. viii. as being the language of the Spirit; not that I suppose that the very words are indited, but the disposition is given. 2 Tim. i. 7. "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Tim. ii. 9. "Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

Heb. xiii. 20, 21. "Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work, and to do his

will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen." See Eph. i. 19, 20, and 1 Cor. i. latter end. Heb. xii. 2. "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," compared with Philip. i. 5. James i. 5....8. "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God, that giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavereth, is like a wave of the sea, driven of the wind and tossed. For let not that man think he shall obtain any thing of the Lord. A doubleminded man is unstable in all his ways." So that, in order to a man's having any reason to expect to be heard, he must first have faith, and a sincere, single heart. And what that is which the apostle calls wisdom, may be learnt from chap. iii. 17, 18. "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." In chap. i. 5, &c. above cited, God is spoken of as the giver of this wisdom; and in the following part of the chapter, he is spoken of as the giver of this and every benefit of that kind; every thing that contains any thing of the nature of light or wisdom, or moral good; and this is represented as the fruit of his mere will and pleasVerses 16, 17, 18. "Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." See John i. 13, and iii. 8.

ure.

The scope of the apostle, and connexion of his discourse, plainly shew that the apostle means to assert that all moral good is from God. In the preceding verses, he was warning those he wrote to, not to lay their sins, or pride, or lusts to the charge of God, and on that occasion he would have them be sensible that every good gift is from God, and no evil; that God is the Father of light, and only of light; and that no darkness is from him, because there is no darkness in him; no