Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	faith_n	grace_n	righteousness_n	14,541	5	7.8014	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26309	Dying infants sav'd by grace proved and the blessd man with his blessedness described in a sermon preached near Namptwich in Cheshire at the burial of a deceased infant, July 25, 1695 / by S.A.	Acton, Samuel, d. 1740?	1699 (1699)	Wing A452; ESTC R28175	24,873	32

upon this Occasion Which is further evident if we consider 2. That the degree to which God has exalted his Grace and Mercy in Christ the Second Adam is not inferior but rather above the pitch and degree whereto he exalted his Justice in condemning all in the first Adam Justice makes no more than All Sinners in the first Adam upon his transgression and Grace makes no less than All righteous in Christ Jesus or through his Righteousness imputed For Rom. 5.18 as by the Offence of one Judgment came upon all Men to condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free Gift came upon all Men to justification of Life If upon all that believe who have sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression then much more upon them who have not so sinned because the preheminence is given to the free Gift of Grace by Christ as Rom. 5.14 15. intimating that if Adam's Sin was efficacious enough to make all men Sinners the Righteousness of Christ which is God's own Righteousness is much more efficacious to make them righteous And truly with reverence we may demand How can God himself express the extent of his Kindness in terms more positive and intelligible than he doth here And I am very certain we neither have nor ever had any reason to suspect him as insincere or to call in question the truth of his Allegation No his Word is an exact draught of his Mind and what he says he means As we all believe Infants were condemned in Adam there 's as good reason to believe 'em justified in Christ and such to whom the Lord will not impute Sin Which will further appear if we consider 3. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in becoming a Propitiation for the Sin of Infants not only for actual but original Sin not only for the Sins of the Adult and Believer but of the Infant also Had Christ been said to be a Propitiation for the Sins of Believers only it might have struck our hopes into a staggering posture with reference to the eternal State of our dying Babes unless Foederal Holiness so much talked or by some or the Faith of immediate Parents could have reliev'd them against the condemning Sin of our remote Parents But if that were so the greatest part of Infants are and must be unavoidably miserable as they are the Off-spring of Unbelievers which the greatest part of the World are Nay it may on good ground be conjectur'd that one half of those who profess themselves Church-Members are but little better since our blessed Saviour compares the Kingdom of Heaven to ten Virgins of whom five were wise and five were foolish Mat. 25.1 But blessed be God we have a better Bottom to build our hopes upon as to the eternal State of dying Babes than such sandy Foundations as those viz. Christ's expiating and doing away the Sins of the World by the Sacrifice of himself And this John Baptist had an eye to when he saw Christ coming and pointed at him saying Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sin of the World enough sure to resolve all Doubts and to stop every mouth for ever from contradicting what we have alledged That God imputes not Sin to the eternal condemnation of dying Infants since Christ died for them for them indefinitely and without exception May we not as warrantably question whether Christ died at all as to scruple much less to deny that he took away the condemning guilt of Original Sin by the Oblation of himself since he is said thereby to take away the Sin of the World Is there any one actual Sin in the World that so generally and universally extends it self as to deprave and corrupt all Flesh Old and Young Saint and Sinner Christian and Pagan I confess with grief and sorrow profane Swearing is very rife Lying and Dissimulation is very common Pride Covetousness Envy and Hatred Whoredom and Uncleanness Violence Murder and profaning the Sabbath of the Lord is very predominant yet none of these things are universal that which is common with one is abhor'd by another as the covetous Man cannot endure the approach of Pride Luxury and Prodigality But were any or all of these Sins of a universal Extent so as to corrupt all capable of committing them of what Sex and of what Nation soever yet our Infant Race is safe and out of all possibility of being stained by them or being brought under the power of any of them from their utter incapacity to commit any of those things by which the Wrath of God is brought upon the Children of Disobedience and them only For if no Sin can be intended by the Sin of the World but Original Corruption then the Immaculate Lamb of God hath atoned for that and taken it away so that it shall never be of efficacy and power to condemn a dying Infant any more than it shall be of force to condemn a true Believer the same reason being rendred for the one as for the other by the Apostle John who speaking of Christ saith 1 John 2.2 He is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but for the Sins of the whole World Mark not only for ours in which term he includes with himself all true Believers of what Rank soever high or low rich or poor respected or despised in the World whose Sins are done away by Christ's atoning for them But the Apostle adds for the Sins of the whole World Not of the whole World as it consists of habitual and voluntary Sinners as Swearers Drunkards Idolaters Adulterers and the like for such lie under the heavy charge and imputation of Sin until by Faith in Christ repentance from dead Works and obedience to the Gospel they shall by the Grace of God obtain Impunity Therefore the whole World consider'd in an Infant state and no other can be intended by the Apostle whereby the eternal blessedness of dying Infants is secured since God according to the Law of Grace through the Righteousness and Death of his Son hath acquitted and discharged Infant Man from the imputation of Adam's Sin so as that he shall not perish eternally for it But in case Man survives his Infant state and contracts Guilt by voluntary transgression in his own Person as you and I have done and be not renewed by Repentance from dead Works and justified by Faith in our Lord Jesus according to the Tenour of the Gospel then we must perish unavoidably and eternally not for Adam's Sin but for superadded Sins Sins of our own against the Law of Grace and the Love of a Redeemer Thus God is clear from the death of his Creatures and Sinners the alone Authors of their own destruction according to the Scriptures But for such Infants as survive not their Infant-state we conclude they are blessed because God will not impute Sin unto them as appears not only from the Law of Grace but 4. From the Law of Equity and Righteousness

The Judg of the whole Earth must do right he cannot but do so he may as well cease to be as cease to be righteous in all or any of his Ministrations and Procedures Men may be rigorous and unrighteous cruel and preposterous but God cannot be so it is contrary to his Nature and repugnant to that Law by which he will act and govern himself in all his proceedings with Man Now I appeal to all Men of common sense and understanding tho but of a small measure of ingenuity and honesty whether it be consistent with the common Rules of Justice and Equity among Men to punish the Innocent with the Nocent the Faultless with the Guilty Were it your own case could you think so Nay that the Criminal's Offence should be charged upon you and the Offender himself go free The latter of these all Men would decry as high injustice and a preposterous proceeding But so it is in the case in hand reserving that only Instance of Christ's suffering for us and in our stead by the designation of his Father and as an evidence of his good Will to us We have not only God charging the Sin of Adam upon his whole Posterity wherein he is perfectly just Adam considered as our common Head and we all in his Loins standing or falling in and with him but letting Adam go free and inflicting eternal punishment on his Seed But with reverence we may demand What makes vain Man to imagine that God will discharge Adam the actual Offender giving him immediately upon his Fall the promise of a Saviour and yet bind the guilt of that Sin upon the greatest part of his innocent Posterity who could neither avoid nor prevent it to their inevitable ruin and eternal destruction A Conception most unworthy of God and his dealing with Men For whatever Grace and Favour Adam received in so early a Promise of a Saviour he received it as well for his Posterity as for himself and as we had been represented by him under the disadvantages of the Fall so he being still in the station of a publick Person matters were negotiated with him as our common Head for the intitling us to the promised Saviour as well as before he and we in him did so fall The untoward Jews entertain'd such a conceit as this of God insomuch that by the vent they gave it in their Discourses it was taken up as a Proverb in Israel That the Fathers had eaten sowr Grapes and the Childrens teeth were set on edg Ezek. 18.2 But doth God take this kindly at their hands to represent him so unequal in his proceedings as to punish the Innocent with the Guilty No he resents it with great indignation and displeasure abhorring the thoughts they had of him and the measure by which they represented him as manifestly reflecting on the Goodness of his Nature and the Justice of those Rules and Eternal Laws of Righteousness by which he proceeded Wherefore he solemnly declares and that upon Oath That thenceforth they should have no more any occasion to use it as a Proverb As I live saith the Lord God all Souls are mine as the Soul of the Father is mine so also the Soul of the Son is mine but the Soul that sinneth it shall die as you read in the 3d and 4th Verses How positive and plain is the Lord in these terms to satisfy all and to rectify Israel's mistake whose Notions and ill-form'd Apprehensions had been very unworthy of him and who had without any ground conceiv'd him rigid and cruel Therefore Israel change your Opinion of me think of me no more as inequitable in my judicial proceedings with Man I tell you again The Soul that sinneth shall die the Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father and so on in the 20th Verse And this Justice and Righteousness of God's dealings is abundantly illustrated in that Passage wherein Moses expresses great tenderness and strong affection to sinning and revolting Israel in his intercession with God for them His Love inclin'd him willingly to be made a Sacrifice for them that had sinned rather than God should cast off all regard for 'em and enter the Lists as an Enemy against them Lord says Moses if thou wilt not pardon thy People blot me I pray thee out of the Book which thou hast written Exod. 32.32 To which the Lord replies as it were No no Moses thou hast not sinned and tho thou hast sufficiently expressed thy love to an undeserving People yet should I do as thou desirest it would be to act contrary to the Rules of perfect Equity and Justice from which I will not I cannot swerve and therefore it is only they that have sinned against me that I will blot out of my Book as vers 33. My love to my People hath been very great exprest by manifold acts of kindness but in case they sin as they have now done my Justice and Faithfulness will not let them go unpunished much less punish thee an innocent Person for their sin and acquit them thereupon from the sin and punishment due to it From all which it 's evident that God will not impute Sin to dying Infants to their eternal condemnation and that in both these respects that Man is blessed Infant as well as believing Man unto whom the Lord will not impute Sin The Doctrine from the words is That he and he alone is blessed whose Sin is not imputed and that dying Infants are assuredly blessed on that account I confess there are many in the World who from the prosperity of their present state and condition think all is well with them they are not under wracking pain nor pinching poverty they have their Wants supply'd and it may be more than their hearts can desire Psal 73.4 5 7. The Language of whose Hearts is the same with that of Babylon's Rev. 18.7 I sit as a Queen and shall see no sorrow whereas their Sun may he declining and as Zephar says Job 20.5 6 7. their Prosperty is very short the remainder of their days may be fill'd with trouble perplexity and disappointment and nothing remain but a sad prospect of mourning and sorrow in utter darkness if not prevented by a timely and hearty Repentance All is not Gold that glisters 't is too common for Man to mistake his own state and to think with Laodicea Rev. 3.17 because of their full enjoyment of this World's Wealth accompanied with a profession of the Christian Religion that they are Rich and have need of nothing when as in truth they are wretched miserable poor blind and naked The rich Man in the Gospel was no less mistaken at last as to his own state and condition Most certain it is that Nature has not power to endow us with Features so amiable and Faculties so excellent as to insure us of Blessedness The greatest Beauty is oft spoiled by a fit of Sickness as the Small Pox c. and sometimes not only defaced but