Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	believer_n	church_n	visible_a	1,349	5	9.2573	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65668	An essay to revive the primitive doctrine and practice of infant-baptism in the resolution of four questions I. What are the reasons of God's appointing the token of the covenant to be applyed to the infant-seed of his people? II. What is the good or benefit they receive thereby? III. What is the duty of parents towards their children as bearing the token of the covenant? IV. What is the improvement that children as grown up to years of maturity, may and ought to make of the token, as applyed to them in their infancy / by Joseph Whiston ...	Whiston, Joseph, d. 1690.	1676 (1676)	Wing W1690; ESTC R38586	159,793	270

sense of any difference between the Seed of Believers and the Seed of unbelievers is no rational ground for any to conclude either that there is no such special care extended to or exercised over the former or that they receive no benefit or advantage thereby The ways of God are in the Seas his paths in the deep Waters as for his footsteps they are not known Psal 77.19 How many glorious designs does our Lord Christ carry on for the good of his Family and the several members thereof when yet neither the time when the first foundation of them was laid nor the various workings of Providence in their accomplishment is discerned or observed either by the men of the World yea or by Saints themselves only when they are brought to their intended perfection they give abundant cause to those who reap the fruit of them to admire and say it was good for them that they ever had a place in that Kingdom or Family over which is the excellency of that God who rideth upon the Heaven of Heavens and whose strength is in the Clouds Who that hath any true knowledg of Christ and hath his senses at all exercised to discern between things that differ would willingly be removed from under this special providential care of Christ though it were to be set over the greatest Empire in the World yea though yet continued under that general providence that extends to the whole Creation of God So that not to descend to particulars to be under the special providence of Christ must be granted to be a singular good by all those that will not disclaim Christianity and avow themselves open Infidels Now I say the Infant-seed of Believers as admitted into the visible Church Kingdom and Family of Christ are under that special providential care he exercises over it but now Parents by disclaiming their Seed's interest in the Covenant and refusing on that account to admit them into the visible Churh by the Application of the Token of the Covenant to them do if not absolutly yet at least what in them lyes deprive them of this priviledge and leave them under only that general and common providence that is exercised over the dark places of the earth that are full of the habitations of cruelty and oh that men yea that Christians should become so cruel to the fruit of their own bodies CHAP. IV. The good redounding to the Infant-seed of Believers from their admission into and membership in the visible Church Kingdom or Family of Christ further opened in a third instance viz. They stand nigher than the rest of Mankind to and are the more especial Objects of the Promises of saving Grace Some of these Promises mentioned The full Good contained in them unfolded That the Seed of Believers as members of the visible Church do stand nigher to them than the rest of Mankind fully proved An exaggeration of Parents evil in rejecting their Childrens Church-membership 3. THirdly and especially the Infant-seed of Believers as members of the visible Church stand nigher than the rest of Mankind do to and answerably are the more especial objects of the Promises of saving Grace The Promises I have reference to are such as these Isa 54.13 Jer. 31.31 That the very first special or saving Grace I mean inherent or renewing Grace whereby the Image of God is renewed in and reinstamped upon the soul is originally from God and not from Man himself needs no other proof than the bare recital of those Scriptures that affirm it John 3.3 7. compared with John 1.13 Ephes 2.8 10. James 1.17 18. c. That the Promises aforementioned and unto which I have reference do contain and hold forth saving Grace and at least that Isai 54.13 the very first special or saving Grace is sufficiently evident from the words themselves so from the application our Lord Christ makes of that Promise in John 6.44 45. where we see our Lord Christ applyes these teachings of God to those effectual teachings and drawings of the Father whereby sinners are brought to him and which whosoever do injoy do actually come to him and shal be raised up by him at the last day that is unto Life and Glory And yet farther that these Promises I now reser unto have their accomplishment in New-Testament-times and that during the present administration is undeniably secured both by our Lord Christ and the Apostles interpretation and application of them compare those forecited Texts with John 6.44 45. Heb. 8.11 So that as all special or saving Grace especially that first whereby the soul is drawn and united unto Christ is originally from God so these Promises do hold forth and assure that Grace unto some in New-Testament-times during the present administration of the Covenant of Grace Now I say the Infant-seed of Believers as incorporated into the visible Church by the Application of the Token of the Covenant to them do stand nigher to these Promises than the rest of Mankind do and are the more especial Objects of them and consequently they have and were Parents saithful in the discharge of their duty would more abundantly have their accomplishment especially among them But that we may more clearly see how great a good and advantage the Seed of Believers in this respect have by their membership in the visible Church I shall do two things 1. First shew more particularly what is the good that is contained in these Promises and 2. Secondly prove that the Seed of Believers do stand nigher to them than the rest of Mankind To begin with the first viz. What the good contained in these Promises is and that is twofold the former implyed and presupposed the latter more plainly expressed First the good contained in these Promises is the vouchsafement of such outward means as are ape and sufficient according to the ordinary dealings of God with and his ordinary wayes of working Grace in Men instrumentally to convey Grace to and work it in the heart these means in the general are the outward communication or publication of the Doctrine of Redemption and Salvation by Christ The Doctrine of the Gospel declaring the way of Redemption and Salvation by Christ as some ways communicated to the understanding and applyed to the soul is the means by and through which God does ordinarily work Grace in those whose Salvation he intends I mean it of such whose capacities admit of their reception of Grace that way Now when God promises Grace he implicitely promises the means by which it may according to the ordinary way of his dealings with men be wrought in those intended in the Promises But before I proceed it may not be altogether unuseful to remove one objection that may possibly arise in the minds at least of some men Obj. Possibly it may be said These Promises seem rather to exclude than include any external means for it is expressly said when these Promises come to have their accomplishment men shall not teach every

in the latter age of the World Now they will not be able to lay claim to an actual Covenant-relation between God and them for that Covenant was long since broken through their unbelief but they have abode for God and God hath abode for them and as having so abode the one for the other they call him their God and incourage themselves by the consideration of the designation as I may so speak that God hath made of them for himself and of himself to be a God and Husband unto them giving them a kind of incomplete and remote interest in him to return to God Those that God hath kept for himself and for whom he abides he will readily receive when they return to him And this may greatly incourage Patents with reference to their Chirldren as grown up though they do not evidence any saving work of Grace ye they are kept from one or another of the ways whereby the Covenant is broken it may be they abide for God and he abides for them he may keep them out of a desgin yet at last to marry them to himself And as it may incourage Parents in their hopes concerning their Children so it may greatly incourage Children to close in with Christ and thereby renew their Covenant with God So that we may see though it cannot be properly determined how long the Covenant-interest of Children is continued upon their Parents account yet that should be no prejudice to their taking the full incouragement to believe and close in with Christ and seek for that Grace promised to inable them thereunto that their Covenant-state hath an aptitude to yeeld to them They may take all the incouragements afore declared that they have though there be an uncertainty about the precise time when the condition of the Covenant devolves upon themselves To come then to a close I shall only speak a few words to the Children of Believers and let me say to you You now see what a glorious state you are in asunder the Covenant and interested in the Promises thereof Will you now refuse so great Salvation yea will you not only refuse so great Grace when offered but reject it when granted to you by neglecting to take hold of the Covenant already entred with you or seeking unto God for his Spirit through whose assistance your duty will be made easie and delightful to you and this not only when you are under the greatest obligations to accept of the Covenaut but when you have so many incouragements above what the rest of Mankind have to hope for a ready acceptation with God and concurrence of his Spirit and Blessing to assist you in the performance of your duty and succeed all your endeavours for Grace Oh how will you of all Persons appear at the great day of the Lord that is ready to come upon you Where do you think to stand at that day Were you to get into such an estate your incouragements would be less but it is only your continuance in that state that you are to secure God hath as I may so speak brought you again into Paradise and will you again cast your selves out Surely of all Persons in the World you will be least able to relieve your selves under your misery by pleading the necessity of your ruine that it was Adam the first Parent of Mankind that brought it upon you You are discharged from the guilt you were under as in his loyns you are actuall received into the Covenant of Grace The Law cannot condemn you 't is only your rejection of the new Covenant and that when actually entred with you that can be your condemnation And if you say we cannot change our own natures remember you are of that House or Family to which the Promises of saving Grace do appertain yea you are in a peculiar and especial manner in some respects above the rest of that House or Family the Object of these Promises and therefore know your own Mercies and Priviledges and do not wilfully cast your selves out of so glorious an estate nor deprive your selves of such a glorious Inheritance or Inheritance in glory you were born Heirs unto POSTSCRIPT SO great and glorious are those priviledges benefits and advantages that have been assigned to the seed of Believers as received into the Covenant of Grace and having the Covenant with the promises appertaining to them ratified sealed and confirmed to them by the application of the token thereof that it cannot be rationally expected that what hath been said should meet with a ready imbracement by consciencious Christians while either the grounds of that their Covenant Interest and right to the token or the necessary redundancy of these peiviledges benefits and advantages therefrom remain obscure and inevident to them As for the necessary redundancy of these priviledges benefits and advantages from their Covenant-state taken in conjunction with the promises appertaining to them as the one and the other are ratified sealed and confirmed by the application of the token I conceive that is sufficiently evident from the foregoing discourse I shall add no more to that But it seems somewhat necessary that I should a little reflect upon both the grounds laid to their Covenant-Interest and the dueness of the application of the token to them on the account thereof for the establishment of which I have amongst others cast in my mite in a Treatise sometime since published which in the general are these two First the tenour of the Covenant it self both in respect of the promissory and preceptive part of it Secondly the practice of the Church and People of God throughout all ages in appropriating the Covenant with the promises of it and applying the token to their Insant-seed notified to us partly by Scripture and partly by Ecclesiastical History because two late Authots have endeavoured to raise some dust for the obscruing both of them and hiding their evidence from persons of less peircing understandings and weaker Judgment As for the one of them viz. Mr. Danvers his main design being only to hide the latter of these grounds and that as the knowledg of it is conveyed to us by Ecclesiastical History which we stand not much upon it being enough if so be it evidently appear from Scripture that the tenour of the Covenant be such as necessarily infers the Infant-seed of Believers interest in it and right to the token of it and that answerably the practice of the Church and People of God during the times Scripture-records extend unto was to appropriate the Covenant and apply the token of it to their infant Seed Hence I shall add little beyond what I have elsewhere said for the scattering of that dust raised by him partly because the main design he hath seen meet to lay out himself in pursuance of is but of an inferiour importance and more especially because of the little ground there is to fear that what he has done in pursuance of his design should be