Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	covenant_n	sacrament_n	seal_v	3,518	5	10.1195	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68107	Of domesticall duties eight treatises. I. An exposition of that part of Scripture out of which domesticall duties are raised. ... VIII. Duties of masters. By William Gouge.	Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1622 (1622)	STC 12119; ESTC S103290	610,068	716

doing in the time present Baptisme saueth §. 43. What kinde of meanes of grace Baptisme is II. Baptisme is no physicall or naturall meanes of working grace as if the grace which is sealed vp thereby were inherent in the water or in the Ministers act of sprinkling it as in medicines salues hearbs meats and the like there is inherent that vertue which proceedeth from the vse of them and being applied they haue their operation whether a man beleeue it or no but it is only a voluntarie instrument which Christ vseth as it pleaseth him to worke what grace or measure of grace seemeth best to him so as grace is only assistant to it not included in it yet in the right vse thereof Christ by his Spirit worketh that grace which is receiued by it in which respect the Minister is said to baptize with water but Christ with the Holy Ghost and with fire Matth. 3. 11. §. 44. Of the necessitie of Baptisme III. A meanes of working a thing may be said to be necessarie two wayes 1. Absolutely so as the thing cannot possibly be without it Thus are the proper causes of a thing absolutely necessarie as in this case Gods couenant Christs bloud and the operation of the Spirit are absolutely necessarie for attaining any grace 2. By consequence so as according to that course and order which God hath set downe things cannot be without them Baptisme is not absolutely necessarie as a cause for then should it be equall to Gods couenant Christs bloud and the worke of the Spirit Yea then should all that are baptized without any exception be cleansed But it is by consequence necessarie and that in a double respect 1. In regard of Gods ordinance 2. In regard of our need thereof 1. God hauing ordained this a Sacrament to be vsed it is necessarie it should be vsed if for no other end yet for manifestation of our obedience He that carelesly neglecteth or wilfully contemneth any Sacrament which God shall enioyne him to vse his soule shall be cut off 2. Great is the need that we haue thereof in regard of our dulnesse in conceiuing things spirituall and of our weaknesse in beleeuing things inuisible We are carnall and earthly and by things sensible and earthly doe the better conceiue things spirituall and heauenly therefore hath God ordained visible elements to be Sacraments of inuisible graces Againe we are slow to beleeue such things as are promised in the word therefore the more to helpe and strengthen our faith God hath added to his couenant in the word his seale in and by the Sacrament that by two immutable things Gods couenant and Gods seale in which it is impossible for God to lie we might haue strong consolation Besides though in generall we doe beleeue the truth of Gods word yet we are doubtfull to apply it to our selues wherefore for better applying Gods couenant to our owne soule God hath added his Sacrament to his word §. 45. Of the contrarie extremes of Papists and Anabaptists about the necessitie and efficacie of Baptisme There are two extremes contrarie to the forenamed points about baptisme One in the excesse which is of Papists that attribute too much thereunto and make it a plaine Idoll Another in the defect of Anabaptists and Libertines which derogate too much from it and make it an idle ceremonie In two things doe Papists exceed 1. In the necessitie Of Baptisme 2. In the efficacie     They make it so absolutely necessary as if any die vnbaptized he cannot be saued which doome they passe against infants though they be depriued thereof without any fault of their owne yea or of their parents being still borne A mercilesse sentence without any warrant of Gods word yea against his word against the order which he hath prescribed He hath established his couenant promised to be the God of the faithfull of their seed on which ground S. Peter saith The promise is vnto you vnto your children S. Paul saith your children are holy Shall all these priuiledges be made void by an ineuitable want of baptisme if so would God haue enioyned circumcision which to the Iewes was as baptisme is to Christians to be put off to the eighth day before which day many infants died or would Moses haue suffered it to be forborne all the time that the Israelites were in the wildernesse If it be said that baptisme is more necessarie then circumcision I answer the Scripture layeth no more necessitie vpon it If it were so necessarie as they make it then the vertue of Christs death were lesse effectuall since he was actually exhibited then before For before it was effectuall for infants without a Sacrament but belike not now Had the ancient Churches conceiued so of the absolute necessitie of baptisme they would not haue had set times for the administring thereof nor suffered it to be put off so long as they did Some Churches appointed it to be administred only at Easter Some at Easter and Whitsuntide And though many who gaue euidence of their true faith died before they were baptized yet they did not thereupon iudge them to be damned This practise and iudgement of the ancients hath made many Papists somewhat to mitigate that absolute necessitie and to say that In this case God which hath not bound his grace in respect of his owne freedome to any Sacrament may and doth accept them as baptized which either are martyred before they could be baptized on else depart this life with vow and desire to haue that Sacrament but by some remedilesse necessitie could not obtaine it If remedilesse necessitie can helpe the matter what necessitie so remedilesse as for a childe to be still borne Againe they adde such efficacie to baptisme as it giueth grace of the worke it selfe wherein they equall it to the verie bloud of Christ and take away the peculiar worke of the Spirit and the vse of faith repentance and such like graces What can there be more in the water of baptisme then was in the bloud of such beasts as were offered vp for sacrifices But it is not possible that the bloud of Buls and Goats should take away sin They themselues attribute no such efficacie to the word preached and yet they cannot shew where the holy Ghost hath giuen more vertue to baptisme then to the word This text ioyneth them both together that he might cleanse it with the washing of water through the word What can be more said of a meanes then that which is said of the word It pleased God by preaching to saue them that beleeue The Gospell is the power of God to saluation c. On the other side Anabaptists and such like Libertines too lightly esteeme this holy and necessary ordinance of God in that they make it only a badge of our profession a note of difference betwixt the

true and false Church a signe of mutuall fellowship a bare signe of spirituall grace a resemblance of mortification regeneration inscition into Christ with the like but no more These indeed are some of the ends and vses of Baptisme But in that they restraine all the efficacy thereof hereunto they take away the greatest comfort and truest benefit which the Church reapeth thereby as may be gathered out of the points noted before §. 46. Of the inward washing by Baptisme In that with this washing of water Christ cleanseth his Church I obserue that Whosoeuer are fully baptised are cleansed from sinne Fully that is powerfully and effectually as well inwardly by the Spirit as outwardly by the Minister Cleansed both from the guilt of sinne by Christs bloud and from the power of sinne by the worke of his Spirit To this purpose tend the many emphaticall phrases attributed by the Apostles to Baptisme as that we are baptised into Iesus Christ baptised into his death buried with him by baptisme that Baptisme doth saue vs that Baptisme is the washing of regeneration with the like Vaine is the reioycing of many who boast of their baptisme and thinke themselues by vertue thereof to be as good Christians as the best and yet liue and lie in their sinne being more besmeered and defiled therewith then they were when they were first borne Iohn saith Christ baptiscth with the holy Ghost and with fire the Apostle saith Christ cleanseth with the washing of water If that fire of the holy Ghost burne not vp the drosse of sinne in thee and this water wash not away the filth of sinne thou wert neuer fully baptised It may be the hand of some Minister hath sprinkled a little water on thy face but Christs bloud hath not as yet beene sprinkled on the soule all the benefit which thou reapest by thy baptisme is that another day thou shalt dearely answer for the abuse of so honourable an ordinance §. 47. Of ioyning the word with Baptisme The other meanes of sanctifying and cleansing the Church here expressed is the word This being applied vnto Baptisme and ioyned with it must needs be meant of the promise of Grace sealed vp in Baptisme which is Gods promise of iustifying vs freely and sanctifying vs effectually plainly made knowne and truly beleeued This meanes being thus added to this Sacrament we may well inferre that It is necessary that the word and Baptisme goe together that where this Sacrament is administred the doctrine thereof be truly plainly intelligibly taught so as the nature efficacy end and vse thereof may be made knowne and the couenant of God sealed vp thereby beleeued So saith Christ Goe teach all nations baptising them So did the Baptist and the Apostles they preached the Gospell to them whom they baptised 1. A Sacrament without the word is but an idle ceremony no more then a seale without a couenant for it is the word that maketh knowne the couenant of God 2. It is the word which maketh the greatest difference betwixt the sacramentall washing of water and ordinary common washing 3. By the word the ordinary creatures which we vse are sanctified much more the holy ordinances of God whereof Baptisme is one of the principall Quest Is it not then lawfull to administer Baptisme without a Sermon Answ Though it be a very commendable and honourable manner of administring that Sacrament then to administer it when the word is preached yet I thinke not a Sermon at that time to be so necessary as it should be vnlawfull without one to administer Baptisme For the ioyning of the word and Sacrament here spoken of is that they who are baptised or who present children to be baptised and answer for them or are present at the administring of Baptisme or liue in the places where it vseth to be administred should be instructed in the Gospell and taught the couenant which Baptisme sealeth vp Besides the liturgie and publike forme prescribed for the administring of Baptisme both in our Church and other reformed Churches laieth downe the nature efficacy end vse and other like points appertaining to that Sacrament plainly declareth the couenant of God sealed vp thereby so as in our and other like Churches where such formes are prescribed to be alwaies vsed the word is neuer separated from Baptisme though at the administring of Baptisme there be no Sermon The Church of Rome doth directly transgresse against the forenamed rule of ioyning the word and Baptisme together For though they haue a publike forme prescribed yet it being in an vnknowne tongue not vnderstood of the people nor expounded to them it is all one as if there were no forme at all no word at all for that which is not vnderstood is all one as if it were not vttered Much more hainous is their transgression who liue vnder the Gospell where it is preached plainly to the vnderstanding and capacity of the meanest and yet are carelesse in comming to it or in attending vnto it and so remaine as ignorant as if they liued in places where the word is not preached at all or in an vnknowne tongue Such ignorant persons if they were not baptised are not worthy while they remaine so ignorant to be baptised nor yet to present their children to be baptised or to be present at the baptisme of others As Ministers that baptise ought to preach the word so ought they who are baptised to be instructed in the word §. 48. Of the Inference of Glorification vpon Iustification and Sanctification EPHES. 5. 27. That he might present it to himselfe a glorious Church c. THe most principall end in regard of the Churches good which Christ aimed at when he gaue himselfe for her is her glorious estate in heauen this is the end of the forenamed end For why did Christ giue himselfe for the Church That he might sanctifie it hauing cleansed it why did he cleanse and sanctifie it That he might present it to himseife a glorious Church Hence note these three points 1. Iustification and sanctification must goe before glorification 2. The end why the Saints are cleansed and sanctified in this world is that they may be presented glorious to Christ in the world to come 3. The only meanes to make vs glorious before Christ our spouse is righteousnesse 1. All those places of Scripture which set our righteousnesse in this world before our glory in the world to come as very many places doe doe proue the first point that Iustification and Sanctification must goe before Glorification Among other proofes note especially the order of the seuerall linkes of that golden chaine that reacheth from Gods eternall counsell before the world vnto our euerlasting glory after this world Whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also iustified and whom he iustified them he also glorified 1. Heauen the place of our glorification is