Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	circumcision_n	covenant_n	seal_n	6,166	5	10.0625	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32768	Ecclesiasticum, or, A plain and familiar Christian conference concerning gospel churches, and order for the information and benefit of those who shall seek the Lord their God and ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward ...	Chauncy, Isaac, 1632-1712.	1690 (1690)	Wing C3751; ESTC R23991	70,072	162

the New Testament and why called so Christ They are Baptism and the Lords Supper And they are called Sacraments because sacred and solemn ratifications of Gods Promise to us and ours to him they are signs being significant of Invisible Grace and Blessing They are called Seals as Circumcision and the Passover were being for confirmation of the Covenant relation between God and Us. Phil. I pray speak of Baptism it hath been much controverted upon many accounts Christ I shall not detain you upon the most controverted points of it but tell you now briefly what we believe and practise about it 1. That it is an instituted ordinance by the Lord Jesus Christ to remain in the Gospel Churches to the end of the world as appears by Mat. 28.19 2. That the Element or significant sign is Water 3. That it being blessed by Prayer is to be applyed in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost 4. That the thing signified is the washing in regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost wherein the Lord Jesus Christ his precious Blood is applied for Justification and Sanctification and the person Baptized dedicated unto the Lord remission of Sin is eminently signified thereby Act. 2.38 chap. 10.43 Phil. Then you think a person to be regenerated in Baptism Christ It is but a sign of that which is or should be in adult persons it 's requisite there be credible signs or grounds to think they are regenerated but many such who are Baptized are not and therefore it is evident none are regenerated meerly by partaking of that Ordinance unless we allow falling away from effectual grace and when it is administred to the Infant Seed of a Believer it is a sign of what is or may be and is both desired and prayed for Phil. I see you are for the Baptism of Infants Christ. We are for it and do practise it We doubt not of it and upon good grounds for we look upon Baptism to be the right of every Child of a Church Member 1. As the Infant is a Church Member in the Parents right the Parent having given himself and Children to be the Lords in Church Relation 2. That it is a Priviledge the Parents challenge by vertue of the Promise which the Spirit of God saith Act. 2. belongs to them and to their Children the Promise made to Abraham is transferred to all the Faithful who are said Gal. 4.28 chap. 3.29 to be the Children of the Promise as Isaac was and therefore have the Covenant and Seal of the Covenant belonging to them for themselves and Children as Isaac had And in the administration it is of use to the Parents 1. For confirmation of their Faith in that extensive Promise 2. For a Solemn dedication of the Child unto the Lord. 3. For an obligation to bring it up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Phil. May not a professed Believers Child be Baptized that is not actually a Member of any Church Christ. He that is a Believer ought to claim his right to all Church Priviledges and therefore to joyn himself to some particular Congregation where he may enjoy all Ordinances according to the rule of the Gospel And whilst he doth not he evidently lives in a Sin of great Omission if Providence hath given him opportunity so to do And I know not but a credible Believer may as well desire the Lords Supper without adding himself to a particular Congregation as to desire the Baptism of his Child without it and therefore it renders his profession very hardly credible whilst he lives in this great Sin of Omission Phil. Is there any just ground to believe that an Infant Baptized and Dying in his Infancy is certainly Saved Christ. By no means if you understand all Infants of good and bad as they are usually now promiscuously Baptized for the Salvation of Infants is a Divine Secret Phil. But what comfort hath a Believing Parent in this case any more than a professed Unbeliever or Infidel Is there no promise that he can take comfort from upon this account If not then it 's possible such an affliction may befall a Child of God for which he hath no promise from the Word of God to support him in for without a promise Faith can take no hold of God for Comfort Christ. In case a Believers Child dieth in Infancy and his trouble be about the Eternal state of his Child I know no Promise in the Word of God will reach forth Comfort to him but this I will be thy God and the God of thy Seed Seeing his Child lived not to make a personal and professed Rejection of his Covenant Relation in adult years as Ishmael and Esau did And thus a Believer by Faith in that Promise can take such Comfort to himself in that Condition which no Unbeliever can For there 's not one Word in Scripture that speaks of the Salvation of an Unbelievers Child dying in Non-age What God hath reserved in his secret Counsel is not for us to determine Phil. Is not Baptism a converting Ordinance Christ If it be true as your Church saith that he that is Baptized is certainly saved it must needs be so most times But although it 's a sign that referrs to Regeneration and Initiation thereby in the Covenant yet it is a confirming Sacrament as the other is it is always for Confirmation of Faith in the Promise both in Parents and Children neither is it improved by the baptized till he believe Phil. Now I pray speak something of that other great Seal the Lords Supper Christ It is called breaking of bread by a Synech Act. 2.42 ch 20.7 11. It is the Supper John 13.2 ch 21.20 The Lords Supper 1 Cor. 11.20 Because of peculiar Relation to the Remembrance of our Lords death as the observation of the first day of the Week hath to his Resurrection therefore called the Lords day Christ instituted this Ordinance for a solemn remembrance of his Death in the Churches till he come the second time And he did it the Night he was betrayed after he had eat the Passover with his Disciples Mat. 26.26 The Elements Bread and Wine the Sacramental Actions are Blessing the Elements distinctly 2. Breaking the Bread and pouring out the Wine 3. The delivery of each to the people with the words of Command appropriated by the appointment of Christ 4. The Order 1. The Bread blessed then broken then distributed 2. The Wine poured out blessed delivered forth after this a Psalm or Hymn is Sung as our Lord Jesus Christ did and that Ordinance is ended Tho' most Churches conclude with a short Prayer wherein Gods name is further blessed particular Cases of the Assembly spread before the Lord before which Prayer is usual a liberal Collection for the Poor and support of Ordinances Phil. What is the great Use and Improvement a Communicant may and should make of his participation of this Ordinance Christ 1. That as the Bread broken and

Wine poured out signifie the Body and Soul sufferings of the Lord Christ they are exhibited in this Ordinance in a lively manner to our thankful remembrance of Gods and Christs love to us therefore by the ancients called the Eucharist 2. Hereby our acts of Faith are renewed and our Faith greatly strengthned in the love of God to us in the Redemption wrought by Jesus Christ for us in his Death and Suffering for our present Justification and Sanctification and Future Glory 3. It is a sign and Seal of our Union to and Communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and to one another our Communion together by a common participation of Christ our Head in his personal Excellencies and mystical Communications as also our Communion in him one with another as a mystical and visible Politick Body 4. It is a visible Testimony and Profession of our mutual love and Obligations therein as members one of another 5. There is a sweet Communion in each others Gifts and Graces in order to edification and growth in Grace Phil. To what Church Officer doth the administration of this Ordinance appertain Christ It appertains to the Pastoral teaching Office for the Seals are teaching Ceremonies by way of Instruction unto us for increase in Faith and Love and by way of Consolation and Confirmation in our right to Covenant Benefits and Priviledges And hence it belongs primarily to the Pastor that is principally called to the whole Office of feeding the flock for Christ the great Pastor first administred it And secondarily to the Teacher who is called to bear a share with him in his Teaching work which is feeding the flock with wholesome Doctrine and administring such instituted signs and seals as tends to the Confirmation thereof unto their Souls and Consciences and therefore where there is actually Pastor and Teacher it may for the ease of the Pastor that part of this Labour may be born by the Teacher as well as that of teaching And in case of the Death of the Pastor the whole pastoral charge as to Teaching and Administring falls upon the Teacher unless the Church think meet to choose another Pastor Phil. But I pray what do you think of the practice of our Minister and if I mistake not some Non-conformists use it still viz. for the Administrator or Administrators for I have known several at the same time in one Congregation to go about from Person to Person and deliver the Bread and Wine into the hand of each repeating as oft the Words of institution Take eat c. Take drink c. Christ I take it to be an unscriptural usage for Luke 22.17 Christ said Take this and divide it among your selves And if it be said that is spoken of the Passover Cup it makes not against us for in the same manner as that Cup went about did also the Bread and Wine that followed And we have no ground to suppose that he delivered the Bread with the Words This is my Body take eat nor the Wine c. any more than once Again it 's plain that this practice came from Rome from that blasphemous Heresie of theirs that the Bread is the very Body of Christ after Consecration of the Priest and therefore not to be touched by the Communicant but put into his Mouth by the supposed sacred Hands of the Priest Therefore it hath the same Idolatrous Original as Kneeling in receiving hath nourisheth much vain Superstition in the people makes the Ordinance most tedious and troublesome if not too Comical Phil. You mention Kneeling methinks that seems to be a comely gesture enough in so solemn and sacred an Ordinance though I confess I am not for imposing of it Christ I need not tell you the reason and ground of that Innovation viz. From the Idolatrous worshiping the Bread And I need not tell you that the posture in receiving was not so from the beginning but after the eastern manner of sitting at a Feast It is not proper or comely to kneel at a Feast which is for a sociable rejoycing Kneeling is a posture of prostration in Prayer but this is a distinct Ordinance from Prayer though it be blessed by Prayer The Prayer is over when the Element is distributed and then our business is not to pray but to feed in a Feasting Sacramental and Spiritual manner Neither is the practice of some Communicants to be commended who after the Element is blessed by the Prayers of the Congregation betake themselves to their particular private prayers before they eat or drink it 's a new Consecration as if the Element were not sufficiently consecrated Or as if they were to receive in an act of Prayer Whereas now they are to receive their spiritual food to the satisfaction of their hungring and thirsting Souls with rejoycing and gladness of Heart making it the Bread of Consolation and cup of Salvation praising the Name of the Lord. The Nature of receiving clearly appears from this that it is a Feast of Remembrance and therein for spiritual Repast Nourishment and Consolation and it appears in that the distribution of the last Element ends with a Psalm or Hymn of praise before we arise from the Table and therefore to be performed in the same posture we were in when we received the Cup and we use not a kneeling posture in singing Phil. I have read many considerable Arguments indeed against this posture in receiving which gives ground to suspect there is too much of Superstition in it and that it was derived from Rome but I have not before considered what you say of its great disagreement to the very Nature of the Ordinance the Act of receiving being a distinct duty from praying and therefore I believe many that profess to more Knowledge in these things than I do do they know not what in betaking themselves to private Prayers when they should be exercised after another manner and so do unduly mix one Ordinance with another or thrust out one spiritual duty by another I am glad you mention it to me I hope it will be matter of good instruction to me in my practice for the future Christ I am glad to find your Heart so moulded by the Grace of God that you are ready to receive the impression of Truth It was otherwise not long ago Phil. I think the next Head of Church Ordinances which you mentioned were the Keys I pray speak to them Christ. By Keys I mean Church power of opening and shutting It is a Scripture Word but Metaphorical A Key is used in respect of spiritual Knowledge or in respect of Power In respect of Knowledge Luke 11.52 In this respect Peter had the Key of the Kingdom of Heaven committed to him as an Apostle as is spoken by our Saviour Mat. 16.19 Being the first Apostle instructed by God to open the door for preaching the Gospel unto the Gentiles Act. 10. But this Key tho' first turned in exercise by Peter was given to the rest of the