Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	david_n	good_a	saul_n	976	5	9.2797	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A23663	A discourse of the nature, ends, and difference of the two covenants evincing in special, that faith as justifying, is not opposed to works of evangelical obedience : with an appendix of the nature and difference of saving and ineffectual faith, and the	Allen, William, d. 1686.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1673 (1673)	Wing A1061; ESTC R5298	108,111	235

it be a grievous torment to the corrupt nature of Men in another morld to retain their lusts and the violent cravings of them and yet to be without all hope of having wherewith to satisfie them which yet is like to be the condition of men in Hell Here mens unnatural lusts are not such a torment to them because they can make provision to satisfie them or live in hopes so to do and in the mean while drown the noise of them by diversion But in Hell it will be quite otherwise And therefore its easie to imagine that the torment which will arise from the corruption of mens natures there will be unspeakably great besides the piercing sence of the happiness they have lost and the other intollerable pains which they must indure and therefore as whoever hath not his nature renewed in this World is never like to have it renewed in another so without renewing of it it is impossible he should be happy there Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Joh. 3. 3. That is he cannot enjoy it and why It is not only from Gods Decree or established Law to the contrary that he cannot but also from the utter incapacity of his Nature as corrupt Wherefore all the Vessels of Mercy are such as God aforehand prepares unto glory Rom. 9. 23. They are such as are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Col. 1. 12. Such as God hath wrought for the self same thing 2. Cor. 5. 5. So that as I said there is a necessity in the nature of the thing that if God would design the Restoration of the Nature of Man to happiness that in order thereto he should design a Restoration of it to holiness as indeed he hath He hath chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit 2 Thes. 2. 13. And therefore the end of Christs great undertaking for the Redemption and Restauration of Man is described by his saving his people from their sins By his redeeming them from all ●niquity and purifying to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works By his washing and sanctifying of them that he might present them to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing That this was the design of Gods promise to Abraham appears in that at the very first it was propounded to him by way of Motive to quit the Idolatry of his Fathers and the evil customes of his Countrey for they served other Gods Iosh. 24. 2. Get thee out of thy Countrey and from thy Kindred and from thy Fathers house and I will make of thee a great Nation and thou shalt be a blessing and in thee shall all the Families of the Earth be blessed Gen. 12. 1 2 3. In which God had a farther design than to reform Abraham only His design in him and by him was to set on foot the Reformation of the World and the recovering the Nations thereof from the dregs of Idolatry into which they were sunk And therefore God said unto him Thou shalt be a blessing And this he designed not only in giving him a numerous Issue and making them a great Nation whose Education in the worship of the true God was founded in Abraham but also in making both him and them eminent examples of his special favour in the ●ight of the Nations by which they might see how much better it was to serve the God of Abraham than the Gods of the Nations And thereby to invite and draw them from their Idolatry Superstition and Ungodliness to worship and serve the true God And God in promising to Abraham both the Messias in his Seed and also that he would bless them that should bless him and curse them that should curse him and that his Seed should possess the gate of his enemies had it should seem this in design viz. to encourage and quicken them to a holy life Luke 1. 72 73 74 75. To perform the mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember his holy Covenant The Oath which he sware to our Father Abraham that he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life But besides all this considering that the Promise made to Abraham was the New Covenant as it was then exhibited as I have shewed before the benefits therein promised had a proper tendency in them to restore Man again to a likeness to God in the Moral perfections of his Nature For the great and precious Promises contained in the New Covenant as such are given for this very end that by them we might be partakers of a Divine Nature the glory whereof is knowledge purity and charity 2 Pet. 1. 4. And for God by such promises to make overtures unto Man of love and good-will and of desires of reconciliation is the direct way and method of recovering faln Man from a state of enmity against God to a mind reconciled to him to think well of him to love him and delight in him For we love him because he first loved us 1 Joh. 4. 19. And God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself and how by not imputing their trespasses to them but being willing upon their repentance and returning to their duty to forgive them 2 Cor. 5. 19. God useth the same way of overcoming mans enmity against him which he hath taught us to use to overcome mans enmity against us and that is by overcoming their evil with our good Rom. 12. 21. David dealing so with Saul though a bitter enemy melted him into tears and made him cry Is this thy voice my son David 1 Sam. 24. 16. And to whom much is forgiven the same person loveth much Luke 7. 42 47. And if God by these methods do once recover Mans love to him he will quickly recover him to his loyalty and duty of which Love is the proper Source and Spring If a man love me he will keep my words Joh. 14. 23. Now that God's promise to Abraham did contain expressions of wonderful grace and love and consequently what is most apt to beget in Man a love to God again and all the desirable effects of it will appear if we consider the special benefits comprehended in that Promise Which is the third thing now to be considered Sect. 3. The special benefits contained in the Promise made to Abraham were such as these 1. It contained a Promise of the Messias a promise of sending Christ into the world and that he should come of his Seed In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Gen. 12. 3. and 18. 18. and 22. 18. which Seed is Christ as is said Gal. 3. 16. And in this promise of sending Christ were implyed the things he was sent for the things by which he should bless the world as his Death and Resurrection