Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	child_n	covenant_n	seal_n	2,756	5	9.5397	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78965	The great danger of covenant-refusing, and covenant-breaking. Presented in a sermon preached before the Right Honourable Thomas Adams Lord Mayor, and the Right Worshipfull the sheriffes, and the aldermen his brethren, and the rest of the Common-councell of the famous City of London, Jan. 14. 1645. Upon which day the solemne League and Covenant was renued by them and their officers with prayer and fasting at Michael Basinshaw, London. / By Edmund Calamy, B.D. and pastor of Aldermanbury London.; Great danger of covenant-breaking, &c.	Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.	1646 (1646)	Wing C254; Thomason E327_6; ESTC R200648	37,036	51

covenant First for the Lords Supper How often have we spilt the bloud of Christ by our unworthy approaches to his Table and hence it is that he is now spilling our blood How hard a matter is it to obtain power to keep the blood of Christ from being profaned by ignorant and scandalous Communicants and can we think that God will be easily intreated to sheath up his bloody sword and to cease shedding our blood Secondly for the Sacrament of Baptisme How cruell are men grown to their little infants by keeping of them from the seale of entrance into the Kingdome of heaven and making their children their own children to be just in the same condition with the children of Turks and Infidels I remember at the beginning of these warres there was a great fear fell upon godly people about their little children and all their care was for their preservation and their safety and for the continuance of the Gospell to them c. But now our little children are likely to be in a worser condition then ever The Oxford Army labour to steale away the Gospell from them and the Anabaptist labours to steale away the seale of the covenant of Grace from them and that which is worser then all there are some godly people love to have it so And all this is come upon us as a just punishment of our Baptismall covenant-breaking And as for Jesus Christ who is the Angell of the covenant are there not some amongst us that un-god Jesus Christ and is it not fit and equall that God should un-church us and un-people us Are there not thousands that have sworne to be Christs servants and yet are in their lives the Vassals of sin and Satan And shall not God be avenged of such a nation as this These things considered it is no wonder our miseries are so great but the wonder is that they are no greater The second use is an use of examination Dayes of humiliation ought to be dayes of selfe-examination Let us therefore upon such a day as this is examine whether we be not amongst the number of those that make the times perilous whether we be not covenant-breakers Here I will speak of three covenants First of the covenant we made with God in our Baptisme Secondly of the covenants which we have made with God in our distresses Thirdly and especially of this covenant which you are to renue this day First of the covenant which we made in Baptisme and renue every time we come to the Lords Supper and upon our solemn dayes of fasting There are none here but I may say of them The vowes of God are upon you You are servi nati empti jurati you are the born bought and sworn servants of God you have made a surrender of your selves unto God and Christ The question I put to you is this How often have you broke covenant with God It is said Isaiah 33. 14. The sinners of Sion are afraid who shall dwell with everlasting burnings who shall dwell with devouring sire c. When God comes to a Church-sinner to a sinner under the Old Testament much more to a Christian sinner a sinner under the New Testament and layeth to his charge his often covenant-breaking fearfulnesse shall possesse him and he will cry out Oh! woe is me who can dwell with everlasting burnings our God is a consuming fire and we are as stubble before him Who can stand before his indignation Nahum 1. 6. Who can abide in the fiercenesse of his anger when his fury is poured forth like fire and the rockes are throwne down before him Who can stand Of all sorts of creatures a sinfull Christian shall never be able to stand before the Lord when he comes to visit the world for their sins For when a christian sinnes against God he sins not only against the Commandement but against the covenant And in every sin he is a commandement-breaker and a covenant-breaker And therefore whereas the Apostle saith Tribulation and anguish upon every soule that sinneth but first upon the Jew c. I may adde First upon the christian then upon the Jew and then upon the Grecian because the covenant made with the Christian is called a better covenant and therefore his sins have a higher aggravation in them There is a notable passage in Austin in which he brings the Devill thus pleading with God against a wicked christian at the day of judgement Aequissime judex judica quod aequum est judica meum esse qui tuus esse noluit post renunciationem Vt quid invasit pannos meos Quid apud eum lascivia incontinentia c. quibus ipse renunciaverit Quid intemperantia quid gula quid fastus quid caetera mea Haec omnia mea post renunciationem invasit Meus esse voluit mea concupivit Judica aequissime judex quoniam quem tu non dedignatus es tanto pretio liberare ipse mihi postmodum voluit obligare That is Oh thou righteous Judge give right judgement Judge him to be mine who refused to be thine even after he had renounced me in his Baptisme What had he to doe to wear my Livery What had he to doe with gluttony drunkennesse pride wantonnesse incontinencie and the rest of my ware All these things he hath practised since he renounced the devill and all his works Mine he is judge righteous judgement For he whom thou hast not disdained to dye for hath obliged himselfe to me by his sins c. Now what can God say to this charge of the Devils but Take him Devill seeing he would be thine take him torment him with everlasting torments Cyprian brings in the Devill thus speaking to Christ at the great day of judgement Ego pro istis quos mecum vides nec alapas accepi nec flagella sustinui nec crucem pertuli nec sanguinem fudi sed nec regnum coeleste illis promitto nec ad paradisum evoco tamen se mihi suaque omnia consecrarunt I have not saith the Devill been whipt and scourged and crucified neither have I shed my blood for these whom thou seest with me I do not promise them a kingdome of heaven c. and yet these men have wholly consecrated themselves to me and my service Indeed if the Devill could make such gainfull covenants with us and bestow such glorious mercies upon us as are contained within the Covenant our serving of Satan and sinne might have some excuse But when as his covenant is a covenant of bondage death hell and damnation and Gods covenant is a covenant of liberty grace and eternall happinesse it must needs be a sin inexcusable to be willingly and wilfully such a covenant-breaker Secondly let us examine concerning the vowes which we have made to God in our distresses in our Personall distresses and our Nationall distresses Are we not like the children of Israel of whom it is said Psal. 78. 34. When he

lateritiam reliqui marmoream For the better bringing of this to passe you did lately renue your solemne League and Covenant at which time this ensuing Sermon was preached Since which time not only the Sermon but the Preacher of it hath undergone many harsh and bitter censures It is the wickednesse of these dayes to build their own designes upon the ruine of other mens good name But surely God will never prosper such bloody practises It is said of Antiochus a vilde person Dan. 11. 28. That his heart shall be against the holy Covenant We have many amongst us that in this are like unto Antiochus whose hearts tongues and hands are not only against our solemne League and Covenant but against all that preach for it or write in the defence of it There is indeed a Covenant that some do much contend for and make the very form of a particular Church without which a Church cannot be a true Church which is called a Church-covenant For my part I conceive that whosoever shall say that a Church-covenant I meane an oath expressed by formal words is an Ordinance of Christ and necessary to the very being of a visible Church doth not only un-church most of the Churches of Jesus Christ but doth also set up his own invention for an Ordinance of Christ In the New Testament we reade of no such Church-oath at the admission of Members And there is no place in the Old Testament for ought I could ever reade that speaks of a Church-oath to be taken at our admission into Church-fellowship Indeed we have mention made of a Nationall Covenant and of the Covenant of grace and of subscribing with our hands unto the Lord But what are these to a Church-oath without which no man is to be accounted a Church-member or to have right to the seales of the covenant of grace To urge this as an Ordinance of Christ is to set our posts by Gods posts and our threshold by Gods threshold Ezek. 43. 8. But if I should expatiate any further in this point I should exceed the limits of an Epistle and therefore I forbear My hearty desire is That this Covenant which you have now taken the second time may be carried about you in continuall remembrance And that it may serve in stead of a thousand Arguments to make you zealously serviceable to God to Church and State It is reported of Theseus that he was so taken with the wonderfull works of Hercules that he could not sleep for thinking of the wonders of Hercules and when he slept he dreamt of Hercules wonders and was never satisfied till he had imitated him in working wonderfull things also And it is also related of Themistocles that he had alwayes in his thoughts by night and by day the victories of Miltiades and this made him insatiable till he had imitated him Oh that you would thus deale with the Covenant That you would think of it in your bed in your closets in your walks and think of what particulars you have sworn unto and never leave thinking untill you have fully performed your Oath and Covenant And if you keep Covenant with God the great God will keep Covenant with you and all the blessings of the Covenant which are mentioned in the book of God which is the book of the Covenant shall be your portion for ever and ever Which is the prayer of Your much obliged Spirituall Servant EDM. CALAMY The great danger of Covenant-refusing and Covenant-breaking 2 TIM. 3. 3. Truce-breakers or Covenant-breakers YOu are here met this day to humble your soules before the Lord and to renue your solemne League and Covenant I say to renue it and take it the second time It is no unusuall thing for the people of God to repeat and reiterate their Vows and Covenants The great and solemne vow which we made to God in Baptisme is renued every time we come to the Lords Supper And upon every Fast day wee binde our selves anew to God by Covenant The people of Israel entred into covenant Ezra 10. 3. And the same people as Chronologers observe did re-engage themselves in the same Covenant Neh. 10. The Scripture tels us that Almighty God did * six times make one and the same covenant with Abraham and sware the same covenant twice to Isaac Gen. 26. 4. 34. And therefore blessed be the great God who hath put it into your hearts to engage your selves a second time into a Nationall Covenant There are six reasons to justifie this dayes solemnity before God and all that require satisfaction about it 1. Because this Nationall Covenant hath been a long time as it were dead and buried and quite forgotten amongst most people And therefore it is high time to raise it out of the grave of forgetfulnesse and I hope this day will be to the Covenant as a Resurrection from the dead 2. Because of the great scorn and contempt that is cast upon it by divers sorts of people The Malignants call it a conspiracy others though not Malignants yet maligne the Covenant and call it a snare a trap a temptation and account it a signe of a tender conscience to boggle at it and of a loose conscience to swallow it without scruple And therefore to vindicate the honour and reputation of the Covenant and to wipe off the aspersions that are cast upon it you doe well to take it the second time 3. Because there are some that do openly professe their sorrow that ever they took it and would fain recant and retract what they have done And therefore to manifest that you are still of the same judgement and that you doe not repent of what you have done you doe well to take it the second time 4. Because of the pronenesse that is in all men even the best of men to break covenant with God A Covenant indeed is a golden Girdle to tye us fast to God it is a joyning and glewing our selves to the Lord The word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which signifieth an Oath comes from {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which signifieth a Hedge An Oath and Covenant is a strong hedge to keep us from breaking out into disobedience It is an entring into bond to become the Lords it is a binding our selves apprentice to God Voluntas saith Aquinas per votum immobiliter firmatur in bonum But yet notwithstanding the nature of the best man is very apt to break these bonds and to run away from his great Lord and Master to suffer this Hedge to decay and this golden girdle to loosen and untye and to disjoyne and unglew himself from God And therefore it is not only commendable but very necessary and for this cause you are met this day to enter into bond the second time to binde and inroll your selves again unto the Lord to make up this hedge to tye this golden girdle yet faster and to joyn and glew your selves once more

grievous sin Covenant-breaking is But after man was fallen God was pleased to strike a new covenant which is usually called a covenant of grace or of reconciliation a copy of which you shall read Ezek. 16. 7 8 9. This was first propounded to Adam by way of promise Gen. 3. The Seed of the woman shall bruise the Serpents head And then to Abram by way of Covenant Gen. 17. In thy Seed shall all the nations of the world be blessed And then to Moses by way of Testament Exod. 33. It is nothing else but the free and gracious tender of Jesus Christ and all his rich purchases to all the lost and undone sons of Adam that shall beleeve in him or as the phrase is Isai. 56. 4. that shall take hold of the covenant Now you must know that Baptisme is a seal of this covenant and that all that are baptized doe sacramentally at least engage themselves to walk before God and to be upright and God likewise engageth himself to be their God This covenant is likewise renued when we come to the Lords Supper wherein we bind our selves by a sacramentall oath unto thankfulnesse to God for Christ Adde further that besides this generall covenant of grace whereof the Sacraments are seales there are particular and personall and family and nationall covenants Thus Job had his covenant Job 20. and David Psal. 119. 106. And when he came to be King he joyned in a covenant with his people to serve the Lord Thus Asa Jehoiada and Josiah c. Thus the people of Israel had not onely a covenant in circumcision but renued a covenant in Horeb in Moab and did often again and again bind themselvs to God by vow and covenant And thus the Churches of the Christians besides the vow in Baptisme have many personall and nationall engagements unto God by covenant which are nothing else but the renovations and particular applications of that first vow in Baptisme Of this nature is the covenant you are to renue this day c. Now give me leave to shew you what a sword-procuring and soul-undoing sinne this sin of Covenant-breaking is and ethen th reason of it Famous is that text Levit. 26. 25. And I will send my sword which shall avenge the quarrell of my covenant The words in the Hebrew run thus I will avenge the avengement In Greek {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} The Latin ulciscar ultionem which importeth thus much That God is at open war and at publique defiance with those that break his covenant he is not onely angry with them but he will be revenged of them The Lord hath a controversie with all covenant-breakers Hos. 4. 1. or as it is Lev. 26. 23. The Lord will walk contrary to them In the 29. of Deuter. first God takes his people into covenant and then he tels them of the happy condition they should bee in if they did keep covenant But if they did breake couenant he tels them verse 20 21 22 23 24 25. That the Lord will not spare him but the anger of the Lord and his jealousies shall smoak against that man and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven And the Lord shall separate him c. And when the nations shall say Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land What meaneth the heat of this great anger Then shall men say Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their Fathers c. This was the sin that caused God to send his people of Israel into captivity and to remove the candlestick from the Asian Churches It is for this sin that the sword is now devouring Germany Ireland and England c. God hath sent his sword to avenge the quarrell of his covenant The reasons why this sin is a God-provoking sin are Because that to sinne against the covenant is a greater sinne then to sin against a Commandement of God or to sin against a promise or to sin against an Ordinance of God First it is a greater sin then to break a Commandement of God For the more mercy there is in the thing we sin against the greater is the sin Now there is more mercy in a Covenant then in a bare Commandement The Commandement tels us our duty but gives no power to doe it But the covenant of grace gives power to doe what it requires to be done And therefore if it be a hell-procuring sin to break the least of Gods Commandements much more to be a Covenant-breaker Heb. 10. 28 29. Secondly it is a greater sin then to sin against a promise of God because a Covenant is a promise joyn'd with an oath it is a mutuall stipulation between God and us And therefore if it be a great sin to break promise much more to break covenant Thirdly it is a greater sin then to sin against an Ordinance because the Covenant is the root and ground of all the Ordinances It is by virtue of the Covenant that we are made partakers of the Ordinances The Word is the book of the Covenant and the Sacraments are the Scales of the Covenant And if it be a sin of an high nature to sin against the book of the Covenant and the seales of the Covenant much more against the Covenant it selfe To break covenant is a fundamentall sinne it raseth the very foundation of Christianity because the Covenant is the foundation of all the priviledges and prerogatives and hopes of the Saints of God And therefore we reade Ephes. 2. 12. that a stranger from the Covenant is one without hope All hope of Heaven is cut off where the Covenant is willingly broken To break covenant is an universall sin it includes all other sins By virtue of the Covenant we tye our selves to the obedience of Gods Commandements we give up our selves to the guidance of Jesus Christ we take him for our Lord and King All the promises of this life and that that is to come are contained within the Covenant The Ordinances are fruits of the Covenant And therefore they that forsake the Covenant commit many sins in one and bring not only many but all curses upon their heads The summe of the first Argument is If the Lord will avenge the quarrell of his Commandement if God was avenged upon the stick-gatherer for breaking the Sabbath much more will he be avenged upon a Covenant-breaker If God will avenge the quarrell of a promise if the quarrell of an Ordinance if they that reject the Ordinances shall be punished Of how much severer punishment shall they be thought worthy that trample under their feet the blood of the Covenant If God was avenged of those that abused the Ark of the Covenant much more will he punish those that abuse the Angell of the Covenant The second reason why covenant-breaking is such a Land-destroying sin is because it is a most