3. The connection of this comfortable attainment, with her gracious state, is implied in the word then, Then was I, &c. That is, when I was a wall, and by faith rested on him, I found this favour, and not before: It holds out no causality betwixt the one and the other, but a peremptory connection of order and time; for, though Gods love of benevolence, whereby he purposeth good to us (such as was his love to Jacob, before he had done good or evil, Rom. 9. 13.) and also his love of beneficence, whereby he actively confers, and brings about our conversion and regeneration, go before our believing in him, and our love to him, and is the cause of our loving of him (who love him because he first loved us) yet his love of complacency, whereby he shows himself delighted with the graces, which by his love he hath bestowed on us, doth follow, in order of nature, upon our faith in him, and love to him: So, Joh. 14. 21, 23. He that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and what is meant by this love, the words following clear, I will manifest my self to him, and so, vers. 23. having said, my father will love him, it's added, we will come and make our abode with him. This then is the sum of this verse, I am by faith founded on him, and united to him, ⟨p. 457⟩and so am a wall, and have breasts, who by nature once was not a wall, and had no breasts, by which union my breasts becoming as towers, I did find favour from him, and had his presence friendly manifested to me. The scope, as appears from the coherence of this verse with the former, is to make good from her experience the truth and certainty of the promises, which he had made for the encouragement of the little sister, and for comforting of her self, who had been seriously pleading with him on her behalf: Thus, these promises are faithful, saith she; for, in my comfortable experience I have found it so, I was once without the evidence of his love, as now others are; but being by faith engaged to him, I have found favour of him, so as others may be assured of obtaining the like, and on the same terms, if when he is bespeaking them by the Gospel, they will close with Christ, and by faith unite with him.
3. The connexion of this comfortable attainment, with her gracious state, is implyed in the word then, Then was I, &c. That is, when I was a wall, and by faith rested on him, I found this favour, and not before: It holds out no causality betwixt the one and the other, but a peremptory connexion of order and time; for, though Gods love of benevolence, whereby he purposeth good to us (such as was his love to Iacob, before he had done good or evil, Rom. 9. 13.) and also his love of beneficence, whereby he actively confers, and brings about our conversion and regeneration, go before our believing in him, and our love to him, and is the cause of our loving of him (who love him because he first loved us) yet his love of complacency, whereby he shews himself delighted with the graces, which by his love he hath bestowed on us, doth follow, in order of nature, upon our faith in him, and love to him: So, Ioh. 14. 21, 23. He that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and what is meant by this love, the words following clear, I will manifest my self to him, and so, vers. 23. having said, my father will love him, it's added, we will come and make our abode with him. This then is the sum of this verse, I am by faith founded on him, and united to him, ⟨p. 457⟩and so am a wall, and have brests, who by nature once was not a wall, and had no brests, by which union my brests becoming as towers, I did find favour from him, and had his presence friendly manifested to me. The scope, as appears from the coherence of this verse with the former, is to make good from her experience the truth and certainty of the promises, which he had made for the encouragement of the little sister, and for comforting of her self, who had been seriously pleading with him on her behalf: Thus, these promises are faithful, saith she; for, in my comfortable experience I have found it so, I was once without the evidence of his love, as now others are; but being by faith engaged to him, I have found favour of him, so as others may be assured of obtaining the like, and on the same terms, if when he is bespeaking them by the Gospel, they will close with Christ, and by faith unite with him.