Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	absolute_a	covenant_n	promise_n	3,351	5	8.1043	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56123	Truth unvail'd by scripture-light In three parts. Written for the sake of those that desire to behold it in its native beauty. To which is added, an appendix, which the author desires to leave as a legacy to his children. By a despised follower of the blessed Jesus, Robert Prudom.	Prudom, Robert.	1699 (1699)	Wing P3883; ESTC R218355	94,157	208

TRUTH UNVAILD BY Scripture-Light In Three Parts Written for the sake of those that desire to behold it in its native Beauty To which is added An APPENDIX which the Author desires to leave as a Legacy to his Children By a despised Follower of the blessed Jesus ROBERT PRVDOM And that from a Child thou hast known the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus 2 Tim. 3.15 LONDON Printed and sold by John Marshal at the Bible in Grace-Church-street 1699. In Commendation OF THE Ensuing Treatise THE worthy Author of the ensuing Treatise I bless God that ever I became acquainted with being fully satisfied of the inward Uprightness and Sincerity of his Soul besides his undaunted Resolution and Courage according to his Light in following the Lord Jesus in his despised way and cleaving to his Truth and People who are exposed to the Scorn and Reproach of the World and to many Professors also add to his high Commendation Moreover all that shall vouchsafe to read this Treatise shall find that the blessed God hath graciously bestowed no small Light Gifts and Knowledg upon him in the great Fundamentals of true Christianity the Lord certainly hath raised him up to defend his Truth and Interest in those Northern Parts of this Kingdom where he dwells in a more clear Light than many have attained Besides he is not only furnished with Knowledg but with a sutable Zeal he being willing to work and labour in Christ's Vineyard The Subject he hath wrote upon is such as calls it is true for the Pen of the most discerning Eye many have wrote upon the two Covenants but how cloudily and darkly is palpable to many tho others have most excellently opened them amongst which the Reverend Mr. Nehemiah Cox in my Judgment hath exceeded yet his Stile seems a little too high for ordinary Capacities Our pious Friend tho very concise yet is very clear As far as I can discern 't is evident that God made a twofold Covenant with Abraham and set him up as a twofold Covenant-Head First The one with his natural Seed as such in which Covenant he promised to be his God and the God of all his natural Offspring that sprang from Isaac upon the Condition of their answering the Terms thereof which shews it was a meer Legal Covenant or of the same nature with the Sinai Covenant and in this Covenant he separated all his fleshly Seed from all other People in the World to be his People and visible Church under that Dispensation which consisted partly of the true spiritual Seed or Believers and partly of Unbelievers and in this Covenant he promised them the Land of Canaan and as a Sign or Token of all those Legal Covenant-Blessings he gave them the Rite of Circumcision Now this Church-state was figurative or typical and the Precepts and Ordinances were therefore typical and so continued till Christ came and the Gospel-Church the Antitype of it was established Many not seeing this run into a great Error thinking the Covenant made with Abraham was but one entire Covenant i. e. the Covenant of Grace whereas nothing is more clear than that Circumcision belonged to all the Male Children that sprang from Isaac tho their Parents were ungodly or Unbelievers as well as the Male Children of Believers that were of the same Seed Besides if all the Children of Abraham according to the Flesh were in the Covenant of Grace then one of these two things would follow that they must all be saved or else the Covenant of Grace is not a sure an everlasting or an unchangeable Covenant nor of meer Grace but a conditional Covenant and so Men may fall from Grace and perish eternally Therefore in the Second place The Covenant of Grace which was made with Abraham 't is evident was a distinct Covenant from the Covenant made with his fleshly Seed as such and consisted only in an absolute Promise of God's free Grace through Christ which took in none but God's elect ones and extended not only to the Elect amongst Abraham's Seed but those of the Gentiles also see Rom. 9.4 5 6. Gal. 3.16 29. Moreover it may seem strange that some Pedo-baptists should affirm that every believing Parent is a like common Covenant-Head to all their Seed as Abraham was for that was a Prerogative and Privilege only given to him and if it is as they dream then every believing Parent is the Father of all Nations or of all Believers whether Jews or Gentiles for so was Abraham made by the holy God See my late Replies to Mr. Burket Rector at Mildon and to Mr. James Owen I shall add no more only let you know our Author seems directly to agree with us herein As to our Author's Appendix in which you have an account of his Experiences and most pious Counsels to his Children I am greatly affected therewith the good Lord help not only his but all the Children of Godly Persons to whose hands it shall come to lay those things to Heart I wish from my Soul that every Godly Family throughout this Nation had one of these Books and that a Blessing may attend it shall be the Prayer of him who is yet by Grace preserved through many Trials to serve the Lord Jesus in his Generation according to his small Ability Benjamin Keach Horsly-down this 5th of the 4th Month called June 1699. The EPISTLE to the Christian READER REader in the perusing of the Truths contained in this Book I desire thou mayst with the noble Bereans have recourse to the holy Scriptures which contain in them the Path that the Flock have walk'd in who are gone before to the Mansions of eternal Rest The things laid down call for a more clear Discovery by some of God's Children who are better fitted for so great a Work and I do hope this may be as a Provocation to one of greater Ability to undertake it All that I can say for my self is that what I have done was from an inward Constraint of Soul through Grace I have been conscious to my self of my personal Weakness and therefore I have endeavoured to have my Heart laid at the Feet of the blessed ascended Jesus to whom I have devoted Soul and Body and all that is dear unto me My Soul hath endeavoured to keep sight of my Lord by Faith held before me in the Gospel-Glass and to follow that borrowed Light which shines in the Saints from Christ the Son of Righteousness Having in my youthful Years drunk in the Principles of Free-will General Redemption and falling away from Grace which do fall in naturally with the Judgment of Man while he stands under the first Covenant I was so settled in those Opinions that nothing less than an Almighty Power was able to draw my Mind to call the truth of them into question I was at times check'd by those absolute Promises laid down in the holy Scripture which seem'd to

take it up They look upon their Lord to be at present absent from them and therefore they are greatly concerned for his Truths white he is absent from the World they are willing to sacrifice their Interests in the World to the Interest of Christianity That Person hath great cause to question his Interest in Christ whose Will is not so far brought over to the Lord Jesus Christ as to become a Martyr for him upon the account of his Truths The Power to enable to go through so great a Work must come from God when call'd to it but they do not find a drawing back of the Will from it if he shall see it good to call them to it Being united to him what Privileges have they in present Possession and what Privileges have they in Reversion At present they are brought into the state of Children John 1.12 But as many at received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name Through him they witness what it is to have recourse to God as a Father and to be owned by him as his Children In Reversion they behold by Faith an eternal Inheritance and a redeemed Body 1 Joh. 3.2 Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Compared with Rom. 8.16 17. The Spirit it self heareth witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God And if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and Joint-Heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together The third thing is to shew how the Lord Christ is brought into Relation with God the Father and what those Privileges are that he enjoys by virtue of this Relation If I should speak of the Relation of the eternal Word with the Father which was from everlasting it cannot be declared by the Creature therefore to meddle with this were high Presumption I shall only speak of his Relation with the Father as the second Person in the Godhead join'd to our Nature and as so united he is stiled in Scripture the only begotten Son of God the Relation of his Divine Nature with the Father being not thereby dissolved but remaining firm and his human Nature taken in to share with the Divine Nature in this Relation And as so related he enjoys very great Privileges from the Father As first To share with him in Divine Honour Joh. 5.22 23. For the Father judgeth no Man but hath committed all Judgment unto the Son That all Men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father As we honour the Father as the giver of every good thing to us we honour the Son as the way through which it is given ver 27. And hath given him authority to execute Judgment because he is the Son of Man That is he shall externally sit on the Tribunal or Judgment-seat at the last day and shall sentence all Persons to their eternal state I come now to treat of that Work which the holy Spirit carries on in the Souls of the Saints The Children of God being brought by the Light of the first Covenant to see themselves under the Penalty of the Law do come to witness by inward Experience the truth of the Apostle's words Rom. 7.10 And the Commandment which was ordained to Life to the first Adam while in Innocency is to them the Messenger of Death Actual Sins which they have committed against God with the Penalty annex'd to them are in the Glass of the Law presented before them they are so far delivered from the Rock of Presumption that they are in danger of splitting upon the Rock of Desperation but that an everlasting Arm is put under to support them To these heavy-laden Sinners are the Tenders of Grace through a dear Redeemer presented outwardly and these doth the Spirit draw inwardly The Sins that they have committed outwardly and the Corruptions that they groan under inwardly are brought with them to the Lord Jesus Christ they have nothing to recommend themselves by to the Redeemer but an inward fight and feeling of the Misery that they groan under they see a real need of a Saviour and to these when laid hold of by Faith he is precious The Evidence of a real Closure with the Lord Jesus Christ and the acceptance of pardoning Grace through him doth manifest it self in a differrent manner All the Children of God have not alike Evidence of a Closure some come only to witness a Faith of dependance on him and upon Grace through him while others are taken into his Arms and imbraced by him and drink deep of the Enjoyment of God through him To each of these Conditions as having received through rich Grace some inward Experience of them upon my own Soul I shall treat And first Of the Faith of dependance which doth discover it self to the Souls of God's Children in this manner The Soul hath strongly born in by the holy Spirit some such absolute Promise as this John 6.37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out They have the Evidences of the Father's giving them to him and of his driving them out of self-dependance to this Saviour they have the assurance in the Promise of his acceptance in these words him that cometh extended to every comer and they have the certainty of their Salvation that he will in no wise cast them out This or such like absolute Promises being not only born in but ingraven upon the Heart by the holy Spirit the Soul is inabled by Faith to feed upon and to rest upon for Comfort being throughly perswaded of the faithfulness of the Promiser and of his Ability to perform what he hath promised and from this doth the Soul draw inward Peace going a begging through the World for a more full discovery of their Souls Beloved to them and of the Fathers Love through him but are denied and many times do breath out their Souls unto God in words not much unlike their Lord's My God my God Why dost thou for sake me A Faith of dependance which knits the Soul to him is present but the Evidence of God's Presence with them is wanting It is upon an absolute Promise that I desire to close with Christ saith Mr. Cotton for if the Promise upon which thou closest be conditional there being a Failure through Frailty of the Condition the Comforts flowing from the Promise will thereby cease therefore saith he it is upon an absolute Promise that I desire to trust for Salvation 2ly I come in the next place to treat of that more full and clear Discovery of a closure with the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Father's Acceptance through him which the Holy Spirit doth bring some of the Children of God to