Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	abraham_n	isaac_n	promise_n	1,783	5	6.8949	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53957	A practical discourse concerning God's love to mankind written for the satisfaction of some scrupulous persons / by Edward Pelling ...	Pelling, Edward, d. 1718.	1694 (1694)	Wing P1083; ESTC R21771	58,579	154

Life Thirdly AS we must not judge of God's Love by accidental Events so neither must we measure his Purpose as to things Eternal by his present Acts of Providence in dispensing some special outward Favours in this Life By special Favours I understand certain singular Advantages in respect of this World and such too as have some respect to the World to come in both respects very valuable Privileges and Blessings which some enjoy in a greater and better measure than others And from those which I may call Temporal Privileges though Spiritual Advantages go along with them many times to conclude that the rest who enjoy them not in the like degree are under God's absolute Hatred Or in a State of Damnation is very Unreasonable and Injurious to God's Honour As for instance whereas the Lord Promised Abraham upon his Obediential and Exemplary Faith that he would be a God unto him and to his Seed after him and that he would give them the Land of Canaan for their Possession God intended this Promise should be made good not to Ishmael and his Posterity though Ishmael was Abraham's First Born but to Isaac and his Off spring In Isaac shall thy Seed be called said God to him Gen. 21. 12. Meaning that Isaac and his Descendants should Inherit the Promise Now this was a special Favour and Privilege to him and his Issue especially considering the Spiritual Blessings which went along with this Earthly one that to them pertained with the this Adoption the Glory or the Ark of God and his Glorious Presence in it and the Covenants and the giving of the Law and the Service of God and the Promises of Christ's coming among them and from them Rom. 9. 4 But though Isaac and his Seed had these singular Advantages we must not by any means conclude hence that Ishmael had no share at all of God's Love much less may we inferr that he was absolutely Rejected of God as a Rebrobate to Eternity For as touching a future State the Scripture is wholly Silent and therefore so must we And though God did not Bless him in this World so greatly and abundantly as he Blest his Brother Isaac yet I cannot find any reason to think but that God Loved him too For we are told Gen. 17. That God Commanded him to be Circumcised which was the outward Mark of the Divine Favour the Token of God's Covenant and therefore we cannot suppose him to have been quite shut out of it Nay God told Abraham there expresly v. 20. That as for Ishmael he had heard him and had Blessed him and would make him Fruitful and would Multiply him exceedingly so that twelve Princes and a great Nation should come out of his Loins though God intended to Establish his more particular Covenant and special Favour with Isaac And as for Ishmael's Posterity though they were not Blest with all those outward peculiar Privileges which Isaac's Children enjoyed yet we find nothing to perswade us but that they were allow'd to Live in the Land of Canaan with their Kindred if they would Profess the Religion that was Established there Nay they were in a Capacity of having their share though not so great a share of the Divine Favour and Goodness provided they did not turn Idolaters nor forsake the God of their Father Abraham but did Worship him still as Abraham was wont to do and as he Commanded his Children and his Houshold after him Gen. 18. 19. I instance next in Jacob and Esau whose Case is constantly urged in defence of those rigid Doctrines which are so inconsistent with the Notion of God's Love to the World The Children being not as yet Born saith St. Paul nor having done Good or Evil it was said unto Rebecca The Elder shall Serve the Younger as is it Written Jacob have I Loved but Esau have I Hated Rom. 9. 11 12 13. These Words some Interpret as if God hated Esau if not his Posterity too with a perfect hatred and by an absolute Decree Eternally deprived them of all Hopes of enjoying his Favour in this World and in the other too And hence they go on to lay down this Principle that God hateth some People meerly because he will and shuts them out of the Kingdom of Heaven without any foresight or consideration of their Evil Works But whosoever shall with Attention and Impartiality of Mind consider the Apostles meaning in that place will not find the least ground for that Principle by what he saith of Esau and that for these two Reasons 1. FIRST Because St. Paul doth not mean that God hated Esau in a Proper Positive and Strict Sence but only that he did not Love him so much as he did his Brother Jacob. For the Word Hatred is often taken Comparatively for a lower and lesser degree of affection As the Wise Man saith He that Spareth his Rod Hateth his Son Prov. 13. 24. That is he doth not Love him so well as he who Chasteneth his Son betimes So when our Saviour saith Luk. 14. 26. If any Man come to me and Hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple This saying would be strangely hard were it to be understood in a strict Sence for Christianity doth not cancel the Bonds of Nature To Hate such near Relations is an Unnatural and Wicked thing which we may be sure is utterly Forbidden by his Religion who Commands us to Love even our Enemies But our Lord meant that we must Love Father and Mother and Life it Self less than we love Christ that our Affections to these must not compare with those we are to have for him who Loved us so as to Dye for us And therefore St. Matthew renders it thus He that Loveth Father or Mother more than Me is not Worthy of Me and he that Loveth Son or Daughter more than Me is not Worthy of me St. Mat. 10. 37. In this Sence God is said to have hated Esau meaning in comparison of the particular kindness he shew'd unto Jacob He Loved Jacob more he expressed his Goodness to him in a greater Measure and in an higher Degree than he exprest it to Esau though he was the Elder of the two 2. SECONDLY This lower Degree of Love to Esau was not in reference to a Future State but only as to some outward Blessings and Advantages in this World And hereof there are two plain Arguments the one is drawn from St Paul's own Construction of the matter viz. that the Elder should serve the Younger which can be meant of nothing but Temporal Servitude according to the Will and Appointment of their Father Isaac saying to Jacob Be Lord over thy Brethren and let thy Mother's Sons bow down to thee Gen. 27. 29. The other Argument is taken from St. Paul's Design and Drift there which was to shew that the Jew 's had no reason to be Scandalized because God had now given the