him, therefore he giveth you his Spirit as an earnest; therefore nothing can be more to the comfort of God's saints. Thus vast and various is the Holy Ghost in his writing, and in his aims in both these expressions. We are God's inheritance; he is our inheritance: the Holy Ghost is an earnest to us; he is an earnest to God, ' until the redemption of the purchased possession.'

Now you have the meaning of the words, I will give you an observation or two from them.

Obs. First, see the love of God.

1. That God should not only bestow an inheritance upon us, but bestow himself upon us, for himself is this inheritance; and not only make us heirs of him, but make us his own inheritance too, for so the word possession will bear it; that that God, who is blessed for ever and needeth no creature, should call his people his inheritance, which he liveth upon as it were,-for you know that a man's inheritance is that he liveth upon,-call them his purchased possession: here was love.

2. That he should purchase this inheritance by the blood of Christ, and pay so dear for it. They are not only his inheritance, but his purchased inheritance too; he did it to shew his love the more.

3. When he had bought us by Christ, he sheweth yet a further love; for though we were bought, and the price was paid, we still lie in sins, and therefore he sendeth his Spirit into our hearts to rescue us thence, to subdue us, to redeem us; until the redemption of the purchased possession he giveth the Spirit as an earnest.

4. He doth this to make sure work, that he might not lose us.

5. He giveth us this Spirit as an earnest to assure us in the meantime, to comfort us. He doth not only reserve heaven for us, (as it is 1 Pet. i. 4,) but he is careful to give us the Comforter while we are here, beforehand. You see the love of God.

Obs. In the second place, do but observe, from what hath been opened, some arguments of the greatness of the glory of heaven.

Great men

1. Heaven is an inheritance given, and God's inheritance. give inheritances answerable to their greatness; what inheritance then will God give? Himself, my brethren, as you heard before: heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ.' You cannot be more happy than God can make you, or than Jesus Christ is, and you are co-heirs with him. 2. How great must that inheritance be, when 'joy in the Holy Ghost' is but the earnest ! The earnest, you know, is but part in hand; it is but a sixpence, it may be, to a thousand pounds. Then, as a father well saith, how great is the possession, when the earnest is thus great! Take joy in the Holy Ghost, it filleth your hearts fuller of joy than all the good things in the world will do. So David telleth you, more than corn, and wine, and oil. Are you in distress? It carrieth you above all those distresses: 'We rejoice in tribulation,' saith the Apostle; they made nothing of tribulation. Nay, saith he, rejoice when you fall into divers of them. This the Holy Ghost doth. If the earnest do this, shall a little piece of it do this, what will the possession itself be? If you mark it, the great inheritance is to come.

3. It is called the purchased possession, if you interpret it of heaven. Purchased by what? By the blood of Christ. What think you will the purchase of Christ's blood come to? Do but think. A king's ransom is used to express a great sum; what will the ransom by the blood that was made a ransom,-so the text saith, 1 Tim. ii. 6,-what will the ransom by the blood of God come to? When Jesus Christ laid down his blood, saith he,

Let my heirs take out all that blood of mine in glory and grace. What will that glory come to, think you?

4. It is both a redemption and a possession. Two things in hell make men miserable, and divines know not which is the greater. The one is pœna damni, that they have lost heaven and happiness, and that wringeth them; the other is pœna sensus, the feeling of the wrath of God. The glory of heaven answerably, which makes us happy, consisteth of two things: a redemption from misery, and the possession of happiness.

III. There is yet one thing more in the text, which I must speak something unto ere I conclude; they are the last words in the 14th verse, Unto the praise of his glory.

It is a thing mentioned as the end of all. It is mentioned in the 6th verse as the end of election; ' to the praise of the glory of his grace.' It is mentioned in the 12th verse, in his application to the Jews; that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.' It is mentioned here again in the 14th verse, when he maketh application of all unto the Gentiles; 'in whom ye also trusted, &c. unto the praise of his glory.'

You shall find that, in all the enumerations of the benefits of God towards us, these two things come in again and again, ‘in Christ,' and 'to the praise of his glory.' That 'in Christ' cometh in nine times; to the praise of his glory' cometh in thrice. There is a trinity of glory unto God, as there are Three Persons whom he had distinctly mentioned as the authors of our salvation; both God the Father, and God the Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood,' at the 7th verse; and God the Holy Ghost, 'by whom ye are sealed,' 'who is the earnest of our inheritance,' ver. 13.

To the praise of his glory. It referreth first to the persons; when he had spoken of the salvation of the Jews, ver. 11, 12, there he mentioneth their salvation to be 'to the praise of his glory.' When he speaks it again to the Gentiles, there he sounds it out again, to the praise of his glory.'

That the Gentiles should be added to the Church, therein was God exceedingly glorified. So it is said in the Acts, when they saw that God had given repentance to the Gentiles, then they glorified God. And though in making application both to the Jew and Gentile, he reckoneth apart something of the one and something of the other, that are in common to be applied to both; yet in his application he distinctly mentioneth, 'to the praise of his glory.' So in the conclusion of his application to the Jew, in the 12th verse, to the praise of his glory.' So in the conclusion of his application to the Gentile, in the 14th verse.

As it referreth thus to the persons, that God should have glory for converting the Gentiles, turning them; so likewise it referreth to the special benefits he had mentioned. He had mentioned their believing, he had mentioned their being sealed up, and having the Holy Ghost as an earnest of their inheritance: to the praise of his glory,' saith he.

Every new benefit should have 'to the praise of his glory' added to it in our hearts. Dost thou believe? Live to the praise of his glory. Hast thou assurance added to thy faith, and a being sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise? There is a further expectation that thou shouldest be to the praise of his glory; for God hath in that, if thou beest sealed, glorified thee, for to that it hath reference. He that is sealed up to the day of salvation, and hath 'joy unspeakable and glorious,' that hath his heart filled with it, hath not only the Spirit of grace, but, as the Apostle saith, 1 Peter iv. 14, he hath the Spirit of glory resting on him. He hath the beginnings of glory in his heart, therefore it is expected that he should live much more to God's

glory. It is the expression of Peter, in that 1 Peter i. 9, as by the coherence appeareth, and as I have shewed already, that those which are filled with 'joy unspeakable and glorious,' which are the words just before, do receive the end of their faith; they do receive it at present, they have part of their wages; they are partly in heaven, especially at the time when they have it. Therefore if God glorify them, it is expected much more of such that they should live to his glory. And self-love in these is secured, it is provided for, which useth to bustle in those which want assurance; but God hath quieted and secured that principle in thee, that now thou must lay out all for God's glory.

Or else, in the last place, 'unto the praise of his glory' may have relation-and so Piscator carries it, and there is none of these references but it is to be taken in-to the 'redemption of the purchased possession.' There is a purchased possession to the praise of his glory; God hath appointed us and sealed us up unto it.

My brethren, why hath God appointed an inheritance, a heaven to his children? It is to the praise of his glory. God will be glorified in nothing more than in the greatness of that glory which he bestoweth upon his children at last. How great therefore shall their glory be, when the utmost glory of God, the utmost praise of his glory, of his manifestative glory,-for that is meant by the praise of his glory; glory is his essential glory, the praise of it is the manifestation of his glory,-when this must arise out of his glorified creatures? We shall by this see how glorious a God he is, by seeing how glorious and happy he can make creatures to be. In 2 Thess. ii. 14, he saith there, that we are ordained unto the obtaining,' siç gitoínow, 'of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.' The words may be read, as in the original they are, and interpreters read them, either to the obtaining glory in Christ, or else to the obtaining the same glory Jesus Christ hath; and either of both argue this glory to be infinitely glorious. 2 Thess. i. 10,

'When he shall come,' saith he, 'to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.' This same purchased possession is to the praise of his glory. Then will Jesus Christ be manifested how glorious he is; but where and how? In them that believe; in shewing how glorious he can make them to be.

SERMON XVIII.

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, &c.—VER. 15, 16.

General coherence and parts of the words :—

In the former verse he had set forth the causes of salvation and the original and fundamental benefits of election, predestination, redemption, calling, &c., from the 3d verse to the 11th. And then from the 11th to this 15th verse he had made application of it, both to the Jews, of which nation he was,— 'in whom we have obtained an inheritance,'—and then to the Gentiles, under the persons of those Ephesians, 'in whom ye also trusted,' and so obtained an inheritance. After which, at the 15th verse, he beginneth to express his own particular affection to them, upon God's having endowed them with all those blessings before, thereby provoking these Ephesians, unto whom he had applied these great benefits, unto two great duties.

1. Unto thanksgiving unto God, who had bestowed such great things on them.

2. To the further increasing in grace, through the knowledge of them both; which he provokes them to by shewing what his own prayers and thanksgivings were to God for them.

Now he provokes them to these two duties most strongly, and yet but secretly and impliedly. He doth not say in express words, Wherefore, do ye give thanks, and do ye pray, &c.; but he doth more, he lays before them his own example, 'Wherefore,' saith he, 'I also do give thanks for you, and have not ceased to pray for you since I heard of your faith and love.' And this must needs strike all their hearts. Hath Paul, that is but as a stander-by, such a sense of the greatness of those things God hath bestowed upon us, that he giveth thanks for us, and out of his love to God and our souls prayeth that we may attain the knowledge of, and an increase in that knowledge of these things? How much more should we ourselves do it! If I, saith Paul; for he frameth his expression to such a meaning, xai iyù; even I, saith he,—or I also, as it is here translated,-do give thanks unto God for you, making mention of you in my prayers, then you yourselves much more should do it.

There are three things in these 15th and 16th verses.

First, What Paul did for them; which are two. 1. He gave thanks for them. 2. He had prayed for them; both amplified by this, 'without ceasing.' There is, secondly, The occasion of these; Having heard, saith he-1. Of their faith in Christ; 2. Of their love to all saints.

Then, thirdly, there is The subject-matter or cause of his thanks, noted out in this particle' wherefore,' dia Touro, or 'for this,' I give thanks, which referreth to all those benefits he had before enumerated, made theirs hereby.

Exposition of the words :

Wherefore. This holds out the cause of his thanksgiving; and, first, it referreth to what he saith in the next words, 'hearing of your faith and love.' You shall find in that parallel epistle to the Colossians, chap. i. 3, 4, the same in the very same words: 'We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have to all the saints.' This was the cause of his giving thanks, their faith in Christ, and the love which they had to all the saints, as graces which did evidence their interest in all those benefits.

It referreth also, secondly, to all that went before. Paul had a comprehensive eye to all the benefits mentioned in the former verses, which God had bestowed upon them; this wherefore draweth all in. When I consider, saith

he, how God hath elected you, predestinated you, redeemed you by the blood of his Son, given you faith, sealed you up by his Spirit, which Spirit is the earnest of your inheritance; dià rouro, 'for this cause,' saith he, since I heard of your faith and love, and of your increase in these things, and so was confirmed thereby of the certainty of your interest in all these, I do give thanks for you, and I cease not to do it. Paul's giving of thanks for those he writes to, although usual in other epistles, yet is with this difference here from what elsewhere, namely, in respect of his ordering the bringing of it in. In other epistles it comes in in the preface or beginning, and stands alone and entire by itself; but here he ranks it in the midst of a discourse, after a large, exact, doctrinal enumeration of the great benefits we have in Christ, and withal after an application to the Ephesians, by shewing them their personal interest in those benefits; and so it comes in a way of coherence to all the rest foregoing, and upon occasion of those benefits. So as indeed Paul, looking back through this small particle, did rouro, for this cause, upon all the former beams of grace and benefits mentioned, and having taken a full and a summary prospect of them, gives thanks in the consideration of them for these Ephesians.

Yea, and, thirdly, this particle referreth to the very last words immediately before, to the praise of his glory.' God, saith he, had made this the end of all the benefits of our salvation, that himself should be glorified for them: wherefore I give thanks to God for you, and give him the praise of his glory on your behalf. God is not to lose his end, it is therefore my duty: wherefore I cease not to give thanks for you, &c. These three particulars, to which the words refer, are the cause of his thanks.

Obs. Now the observation and meditation from hence is this: That the consideration of the greatness of the benefits of God towards us, when we take a full prospect of them, such as here the Apostle had given them, and withal our interest therein, with application to ourselves, which the Apostle here likewise made, together with this, that the end of all these is the praise of his glory, when the soul considereth all this, it is provoked to give thanks to God. Learn, then, by this the way of stirring up your hearts to thankfulness to God. Take a view of all his benefits to you in Christ, labour to see your interest in them, and then consider that all this God hath ordained not for my salvation only, but for the praise of his glory. All this, . if thoroughly apprehended by a fresh view of faith, will at any time move a good heart to give thanks to God.

Wherefore I.—Let us a little take notice of the grace of Paul, to quicken our own hearts by the example of it, he was the highest example of grace,