Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

First, because Gods Love and free Grace is the first ⟨p. 510⟩original mover in our salvation. If God did begin His work upon prevision of any thing in and from our selves, we should never dare to come unto Him, because we should never find any thing in our selves to ground His mercy towards us upon. But now the Love of God is so absolute and independent, that it doth not only require nothing in us to excite and to call it out, but it is not so much as grounded upon Christ himself. I speak of His first Love and Grace: Christ was not the impulsive cause of Gods first Love to mankind, but was Himself the great gift which God sent to men therein to testify that He did freely love them before. God so loved the ¹World, that He gave His Son. Herein is Love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us and sent His Son. The love must needs go before the gift, because the gift is an effect, a token, a testimony of the Love. Christ first ^aloved the Church, before He gave Himself for it. Now then if the first Love of God to man was not procured, merited, or excited by Christ Himself as Mediator; but was altogether absolute: ^bmuch less doth the Love of God ground it self upon any thing in us. The whole series of our Salvation is made up without respect to any thing of ours, or from us. ^cHe Loved us without cause or ground in our selves. For we Love Him, because He first loved us. He elected us of mere grace, without cause or ground from our selves. ^dThere is a remnant, saith the Apostle, according to the Election of grace; and if of grace, then is it no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. He called us without Intuition of any thing in our selves, ^e[Greek or Hebrew], saith the Apostle, not according to our own works, but according to His purpose and grace He called us with an Holy calling. He Justified us without any ground in or from our selves,