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A87257 Infants baptizing proved lawfull by the Scriptures: objections against it resolved and removed. Aug. 24. 1644. Imprimatur, John White. 1644 (1644) Wing I162; Thomason E8_31; ESTC R15802 13,658 16

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of Abraham while they continued members of the visible Church and were not excommunicate had Covenant-right to Church-priviledges for them and their children and though some of them had not true faith and so attained not an interest in the invisible grace of the Covenant yet that unbeliefe made not the Covenant and faith of God without effect Rom. 3.1 2 3. So it is under the Gospell Vbi eadem ratio idem ju● de similibus idem est judicium And lastly This is further evinced by the whole tenour of the Scriptures in the a Contr●●iorum eadem est ratio contrary which is the portion of the wicked and of their children that are not in the Covenant of grace or being once within the outward and visible grace thereof deprive themselves thereof by becomming degenerate and prophane and are justly therefore excommunicate The curse is alwayes extended to their seede as well as to them Deut. 28. 18. Exod. 20.5 and though this be not executed upon all their seed but that free election manifested by their regeneration restores them to be vessels of mercy yet that makes not the curse of God of no effect neither doth the generall revealed will hinder the operation of the secret free grace of Gods election or of reprobation Abrahams seed Rom. 4.16 is distinguished into the seed which is of the Law and the seed which is of faith and neither excluded but both included within the Promise And Rom. 9.6 the distinction is betweene the naturall and the spirituall seed among the naturall as well as others and none of them are excluded from interest in the Covenant but first all are included in the outward grace of the Covenant vers 4. all Israelites to whom pertained the adoption and the glory and the Covenant and the Promises Secondly Some are excluded the invisible grace of the Covenant by the secret counsell of divine preterition as others were included by election vers 6 11. all which further confirmes and cleeres what I have said and both parts of the Covenant are free grace even the outward Psal 147.19 20. God shews his word statutes and judgements to Israel he hath not dealt so with others Ob. It is objected by one That this Promise is made to Abraham not as any believer but as a person chosen by God freely Sol. To which I answer That which is spoken to Abraham as a believer is common to all believers because they all are subjects capable of it they all are persons chosen by God freely and have the same hand of faith to receive it and there is no colour to assert that God is not the God of every believer as well as of Abraham or that the children of every believer are not beloved for their fathers sake as well as Abraham And it is a Promise made not to believers as a species but to individuals beleevers as acted with faith The Promises of God are not notions nor predicable of universals but actuall but whatsoever generall Promise is made to any man as a believer is made intended and applicable to all to every to any believer That they are beloved for the fathers sake is true of every believers children as well as of Abrahams for if the roote be holy so are the branches Rom. 11.16 28. though some of them be broken off by personall unbeliefe as it was with Abrahams seed vers 17. And that God doth sometimes make particular promises of particular grace which is not applicable to all believers to some persons that believe is nothing materiall or pertinent to this question as the Promise to Phineas concerning the Priesthood Num. 25.13 and the Promise of the Keyes to Peter Mat. 16.17 18 19. For first the Promise to Phineas was not made to him as a zealous man for then it would have been common to all zelots though God tooke occasion from his zeale and in reward thereof to make that Promise unto him but God made it unto him as a Priest in which respect only he was capable of it and by the matter it selfe appeares it was peculiar and not common but to be the God of his people is common and communicable to all believers as our Promise now in question so far are these cases from similitude as they have no resemblance And so the Promise to Peter is not of a thing common to all believers as the Promise in question but of a matter intrusted unto the Ministers of the Gospell and made to Peter as such not as a believer and though made to Peter is applicable to all Ministers of the Gospell and common to the rest of the Apostles And whether the inferring of such instances to prove the promise in question to be a peculiar of Abrahams be not cavilling rather then candid arguing or seeking the truth let the Reader judge And it is apparantly a like meere cavill to say that Isa 59. 20 21. is not applicable to all believers and all times because the Apostle Rom. 11. 26. applies it to the Jewes for by the context of the originall place it is a generall promise made expressy and extended to all to whom the Redeemer shall come and the applying thereof to the Jewes a branch only of them to whom he came is so far from limiting it as applying animal rationale to John to prove him a man limits it to him alone excluding all other men when that instance confirmes it to all of like case and condition and declares it appliable to them also and upon the same reason And Exod. 20 6. That God will shew mercy to thousands of them that love him is cleerely a Promise to the believer and his children who though not expresly yet by the antithesis of the context comparing it with the former verse upon which it depends and is inferred are necessarily included and it is a Promise to every believer as generall as the curse in the former verse which extends to all that hate God extending to all that love him and not matter contingent but certaine to them And so Psal 112.2 The Promise that the seed and generation of them that feare the Lord and delight in his Commandements shall be blessed is not made to John or Thomas only but in common to all that feare and delight in God and both these Promises are as large as blessednesse including Heaven as well as earth Ob. But it is further said That the childrens obedience is alwayes expressed or implied Psal 103.17 18. Sol. To which I answer That God promising blessednesse to my children a Isa 54. 13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord. undertakes their faith and obedience b Isa 49.25 I will save thy children without which they cannot be spiritually blessed These two are some of the good things included in the Promise and Covenant and performances thereof and are implied as effects not as motives or causes of the promise which is most freely made by the Lord.