| 3 the manner after which they were ordained: being called and prepared from the foundation of world, according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to a preparatory redemption for such; and thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others reject the spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while if it had not been for this they might have had as great privileges as their brethren. Or in fine; in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the only begotten son, who was prepared; and thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they might also enter into his rest, this high priesthood being after the order of his son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words being without beginning of days or and [end] of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things.
Rom. ix:11, 12 For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As we have before shewn [shown] why God chose Abraham to be the father of the faithful, viz. because he knew he would command his children and his household after him, so now we see by this why the purposes of God according to election should stand, and that for his oaths sake. Gen. xxii;16,17,18. By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that it [in ?] blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. Here the Lord Jesus, coming through the seed of Abraham, is again referred to, through whose sufferings and death, or in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed, or made alive as they had died in Adam, 1 Cor. xv.22. In this, election is made manifest, for God elected or chose the children of Israel to be his peculiar people, and to them belong the covenants and promises, and all the blessings received by the Gentiles come through the covenants to Abraham and his seed; for through the unbelief of the Jews (Rom. xi:17) they were broken off, and the Gentiles were broken off, and the Gentiles were grafted in; but they stand by faith, , Rom. xi:20, and not by the oath of election; therefore it becometh them to fear lest they cease quickly to bear fruit, and be broken off, [verse 21] that the Jews may be grafted in again, for they shall be grafted in again, if they abide not in unbelief.
The Gentiles became partakers of the blessings of election and promises through faith and obedience, as Peter says, writing to the strangers scattered abroad, 1 Peter, lst chap. who were the Gentiles, the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctification of the spirit unto obedience: 1 Peter ii:9, for ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew [show] forth the praises of him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous [marvelous] light, [verse 10] which in time past were not a people, but now are the people of God; which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Why were they a peculiar people? Because God had chosen that generation of Gentiles, and conferred on them the blessings, which descended through the priesthood, and the covenants unto the house of Israel, or grafted them into the good olive tree: Rom. xi:17 and thus the house of Israel became ministers of salvation to the Gentiles; and this is what the house of Israel was elected unto, not only their own salvation, but through them salvation unto all others, John iv:22, for salvation is of the Jews; Rom. xi:11, and through their fall salvation is come unto the gentiles. Among the promised seed, we find Jesus Christ neither last nor least, but the great high priest and head of all, who was chosen to lay down his life for the redemption of the world, for without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sins, Heb. ix:22.
Deut. vii:6, 7, 8, 9. Moses bears; a similar testimony with Peter, and Paul to the principles of election; for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
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