Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	divine_a	faith_n	infallible_a	2,243	5	9.9055	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47193	The universall free grace of the Gospell asserted, or, The light of the glorious Gospell of Jesus Christ, shining forth universally, and enlightning every man that coms [sic] into the world, and therby giving unto every man, a day of visitation wherin it is possible for him to be saved, which is glad tydings unto all people, being witnessed and testifyed unto, by us the people called in derision Quakers : and in opposition to all denyers of it, of one sort and another proved by many infallible arguments, in the evidence and demonstration of the spirit of truth, according to Scripture testimonies and sound reason : with the objections of any seeming weight against it, answered it, answered / by George Keith.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.; Furly, Benjamin, 1636-1714.	1671 (1671)	Wing K228; ESTC R13258	128,214	140

doth comes to be cured thereby By the preaching of which universall principle we can reach unto the most Barbarous Nations unto their convincement and conversion this principle which is in them answering to the same in us as face unto face in a glass and so servs for a ground and foundation unto us wherby we may be and are incouraged to declare unto them the things pertaining to the faith of the Gospell even as the principle of Reason in men becomes a ground and foundation for a Master to instruct his Schollars in humane arts and sciences the proper object of Reason without which there would be no incouragement for Masters to take upon them to teach any body any thing For if there were no principle of humane Reason in the hearers to answer to and apprehend the things taught they might as well go teach the beasts of the field Just thus it is in this matter if there were no divine principle of faith in the unconverted and unbelieving to no purpose would it be to declare unto them the things of divine faith there being nothing in them that could answer to or were susceptible of them But this being opened above I shall proceed no further in it Yet though I say there is such a ground or foundation in all I must not be understood as if I said that this foundation were laid in all for the foundation cannot properly be said to be layd in any till it hath obtained its proper place in them Now this divine principle which indeed is the onely ground and foundation of divine faith and of all religion that is truly so though it be in all yet it hath not got its due and proper place in all But as I may say is in many or most displaced out of its place and order where it ought to be through the hearts being joined unto the contrary seed and principle which usurps the place and roome of this divine seed principle The work now of the true ministers of Christ is as his instruments through the influence of life and vertue from this divine principle in themselvs raised to reach unto the same in others that it may in them find and attain its due and proper place And this is as it were the laying of the foundation according to which Paul as a wise master builder said he had laid the foundation in the Corinthians which foundation to wit this universal principle was in them before but not layd in that proper due place that it ought to have had in them which he was in his ministry instrumentall to bring it to And indeed this is the great cause why this Noble seed remaineth as it were barren in so many people to wit because it is not permitted to have its due place in their hearts which is as requisit to its fructifying as it is necessary to every other Seed to be cast into its proper place as into its matrix out of which it cannot grow and come forth to the birth This divine Seed therefore requires the most inwards of the heart to cleave unto it in true love and that the contrary seed be expelled and then the seed of God will spring up and prosper bearing the most pretious fruits of vertue and knowledge by and through which the hearts of people will come in due time to receive every thing one after another that is of God according to the growth of this principle in them so that the hearers will as readily close joine with and assent unto the things declared as the speakers can utter or express them life answering unto life and light unto light in an excellent and wonderfull harmony And indeed this is the true and only method which should be used by Preachers for the bringing people in to the faith and acknowledgment of the Christian Religion First to inform them of this universall principle what it is and turne them towards it that they may observe its operation in them as it appeareth against the lusts of this world and for righteousness and temperance And so as wise builders to lay this true foundation in its proper place and as wise husbandmen and planters to place this divine Seed where it ought to be in order to its growth that it may spring up in them and the life power and vertue of God in it may be felt And this will naturally bring people to owne the Scriptures and things therin declared to owne Moses and the Prophets to own the dispensation of God to the Jews in that day and to own Christ in the flesh his miraculous birth his Doctrine miracles sufferings death resurrection and ascension together with the wonderfull end and designe of God therin to own the Evangelists and Apostles and the dispensation of life and glory through the spirituall and inward appearance of Christ among them in their day which was very powerfull and excellent and finally to own the same as it is now again revealed in this day after the Apostacy For this inward and universall principle beareth a most excellent concord and unity with all these and doth witness and answer unto them in most near and dear respects with kissings and embracings as it riseth or springeth up in any Vessell in the manifestation of its own life And thus men should be first turned towards this inward principle light word and seed of the Kingdom which being in them and they coming to feel it there they may the more readily be perswaded to own and believe it And as they come so to joine to it that it springs up in them in the light and glory thereof they will see and feel the Scriptures and the things therein declared to be of God and will tast relish and savour them in the life of this divine seed And this is good method and order in the preaching of the Gospell So that evident it is though it be ordinarily objected that the Quakers so called have no method that we have the best and only tru method in our words and writings as hath been declared first to turn people to the light that they may beleeve it which finding in them they can the more easily doe then to direct them to and inform them of the Scriptures and things therein declared which they cannot receive beleev or understand but in the divine light But to come to the Nations that have not nor do own the Scriptures and but few of the things therein declared and press them to beleev the Scriptures and own them as the words and oracles of God in the first place without first directing them to the great word and oracle of God in their own hearts in that to beleev and receiv them in which alone they can be truly and duly received is most contrary unto the tru method and order of the Gospell and against all tru method and order held in the knowledg of things naturall which always proceeds from the more known to

as a father c. then certainly he doth reveal himself in such a way in some measure For how can they beleev in him of whom they have not heard and how can they hear without a preacher and who is this Preacher that all nations must hear but the word of God seeing all never heard any outward Preacher And seing its the duty of all to call upon the Lord what should they call upon him for if not for saving-mercy healing and quickning mercy if not for salvation and for that which is sufficient to save them should the soule when it s to seek the Lord onely seek him for the things pertaining to the body and neglect to petition for its self that it may be saved from sin and wrath from death and evill Now if the soule may yea ought to pray for these things must it not pray in faith beleeving it's possible to attain them if the soule in its seeking must so beleev then are they attainable at least Elce the Lord should require men to beleev a lye and that which is false even to beleev that to be attainable which is not so if salvation be not at least possible to every soule in a day of visitation but to say that God requireth any man to beleev a lye is injurious unto the veracity and righteousness of God which his witness in every Conscience declareth Some may say Arminius argued thus for universall grace having just such an Argument To which I answer if it were so I have not received it from him but from the Spirit of truth wich hath let me see the truth of the thing in my owne heart and any that are acquainted with Arminius his writings can not but see that I prosecute it not in his way But in another more convincing and which hath a deeper reach to the inferring of grace universall Evangelicall de primo given unto all wich Arminius never pleaded for nor affirmed But it may again be objected that this seems to contradict another principle which we hold Uiz. that wicked men should not pray To which I answer No such matter for we onely say that wicked men abiding in wickedness impenitence and unbeleef ought not to pray but first to repent and beleeve and then pray Argument 4. From the very Nature and intent of the Gospell THe very Nature summe and import of the Gospell is glad tydings of salvation unto all people holding forth the Good will of God towards them pointing at and directing them to a principle by closing with which peace and reconciliation with God is obtained and the forgiveness of sin received And thus did the Angel of the Lord publish the Gospell unto the shepheards at the nativity of Christ according to the flesh Behold said he I bring you Good tydings of great Ioy which shal be unto all people Luc. 2 20 19. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace Good will towards men According to what the Lord said unto Abraham in his day in thy seed which is Christ shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed Object But our Adversaries according to their old corrupt glosse say that by all people is to be understood not all particulars but some of all sorts Answ. This is manifestly contradicted by another principle of their owne Viz. that immediate Revelation is ceased From which and their concession that the Gospell is really glad tydings and holds forth the reall love and good will of God unto some I thus argue ad hominem as they speak If the Gospell be no otherways glad tydings to any but as it is to all and every particular then it is glad tydings to all and every particular But the first is true Therefore the latter The connexion of the first proposition is so cleare that nothing needs to be said to it The second proposition Viz. that the Gospell is no otherwise glad tydings to any then to all and every one in particular is thus proved The knowledge that any particular among you can have of the Gospels being glad tydings unto them and holding forth the love and good will of God towards them is either because they know the Gospell to be so universally to all and every one or elce because of some speciall immediate Revelation from God assuring them that though the Gospell be not glad tydings unto all men but that many are yea the far greater part of mankind excepted yet it is so to them in speciall God having revealed it unto them by name that they are included in that particular small number to whom the Gospell is glad tydings But this way you wave as denying immediat Revelation Therefore must run to the former there being no third way conceivable And indeed upon that ground it is clearly deducible for if the Gospell be glad tydings to all particulars then any particular may without hesitation conclude it so to him For from the universall to the particular or particulars is a most certain and infallible consequence As for example I or any man may conclude our selvs as descended from Adam because all men universally are so And on the contrary from never so many particulars if there be any exception of but any one it doth not follow unto any particular whatsoever So no man can conclude himself descended from Abraham because 't is most certain many are so Just thus if the Gospell be onely glad tydings unto many and not unto all and every particular it follows not that it is just so to me or thee For that it is as probable that we may be among the secluded as included if the Lord hath not particularly revealed it to us Now before any man can beleeve the Gospell it must be held forth as a thing certaine and as such must be made knowne unto him For what is a mans faith but the particular application of the Gospell or thing therein held forth unto a mans self or mans laying hold on the Grace offered and beleeving that it belongs to him Which he can never doe untill it be so made knowne to him and that certainly not by faint or rash conjecture For true divine faith relys not cannot leane upon meer conjecture but onely upon certainty And herein faith differs from Opinion which always relyes upon conjecture and therefore is but faint and fluctuating weak and feeble as is the foundation upon which it relyes Wheras that certainty which is the right basis and foundation of true faith is strong and can never faile Again the Gospell can not be glad tydings to any further then it is certainly known to belong to them because uncertain tydings can never be glad tydings the uncertainty thereof so hindring the heart in closing there with that it cannot come to have joy therein but is rather kept in an anxious sadness till it knows the certainty of