Gospel reconciliation, or, Christ's trumpet of peace to the world

CHAP. 11 Uses of Gods beginning with man to be Reconciled. Use. 1. Admire his goodness in beginning, seeing he had no need of us; and had so great advantage against us. Use. 2. Begin to seek peace even with our inferiors. Use. 3. The certainty of our salvation being reconciled. Use. 4. Not to be backward and hang off when God calls to duty.

CHAP. 11 Ʋses of Gods beginning with man to be Reconciled. Use. 1. Admire his goodness in beginning, seeing he had no need of us; and had so great advantage against us. Use. 2. Begin to seek peace even with our inferiors. Use. 3. The cetrainty of our salvation being reconciled. Use. 4. Not to be backward and hang off when God calls to duty.

A Fourth Particular propounded at the beginning of this treatise in the first chapter, is this. That God begins first with man to be reconciled unto him. In this great work of making peace, it is God that begins it. God was in Christ Reconciling the world to himself. In which part of the verse there are these four things further to be handled.

First, That God begins the work. Secondly, That it is in Christ. Thirdly, That God was a doing of this, even from eternity. And Lastly. That the Subject of this is the World.

There was a word or two, hinted of the first of these in the last chapter. It is God that begins the work of our Reconciliation; and if he had not begun, we would never have had thoughts of it, we would never have known how to have gone about to have reconciled our selves unto him, and although we could have known how to have done it, yet our stout, and stubborn hearts would never have yielded unto God; it is God that must begin the work. And he doth not only begin with us, but indeed he continueth too: although he hath begun, yet if he do not go on, and after our rejecting being reconciled unto him the first, and second, and third, and fourth time; if he should not still himself begin the work