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King. 9.

(hall be suffered to do unto us: Saying, when men shall ask them Deut. 29. wherefore hath the Lord done thus 22, 28. unto this Land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger even because they have forsaken jer. 22. 8. the covenant of the Lord God of their Fathers, and walked not in his ways.

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HOLY LIFE,

THE

BEAUTY

OF

Christianity.

2. Tim. 2. 19..

And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.

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Imothy, unto whom this chap.4, 5

Epistle was writ, was an was an Ephef. 4.
Evangelist, that is, in-11

ferior to Apostles and

extraordinary Prophets, and above ordinary Pastors and Teachers. And he with the rest of those under his

circumstances was to go with the Aponles

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Apostles hither, and thither, to be disposed of by them as they saw need for the further edification of those who by the Apoftolical Ministry were converted to the Faith : And hence it is that Titus was left at Tim.1.3. Creet, and that this Timothy was left at Ephefus. For they were to do a work for Christ in the world, which the Apostles were to begin, and leave upon their hand to finish. Now when the Apostles departed from places, and had left these Evangelists in their stead, usually there did arise foine badSpirits among those people, where these were left for the furtherance of the Faith. This is manifest by both the Epistles to Timothy, and also by that to Titus: wherefore Paul, upon whom these two Evangelists waited for the fulfilling of their Ministry, writeth unto them while they abode where he left them, con. cerning those turbulent Sprits which they met with, and to teach them how yet further they ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and

ground of truth. And to this pur

pose

pose he gives them severally divers instructions (as the judicious Reader may easily understand) by which he incourageth them to the profecution of that service which for Christ they had to do for those people where he had left them, and also instructeth them how to carry it towards their disturbers, which last he doth, not only Doctrinally, but also by shew ing them by his example and practice, what he would have them do...

This done, he laboureth to comfort Timothy with the remembrance of the stedfastness of Gods eternal de. cree of Election, because grounded on his foreknowledge, saying, tho Hymeneus and Philetus have erred from the Faith, and by their fall, have overthrown the Faith of fome, Yet the foundation of God standeth fure, having this Seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his: Now lest this lait hint should still incourage some to be remifs and carnally fecure, an l.: foolish, as I suppose this Doctrine abused, had incouraged them to be before: Therefore the Apostle immediately conjoynth to it, th's exhortation: And, let every one that namelk

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