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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	work_n	world_n	worldly_a	50	3	7.6495	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48584	A treatise of election and reprobation in vindication of the universal grace and love of God to mankind by B.L.	Lindley, Benjamin, d. 1723.	1700 (1700)	Wing L2312; ESTC R28788	51,533	66

Meat and Drink to do the Will of God it is holy pure and loved of God it lives in Obedience keeps the Commandments Sinneth not Whosoever is born of God 1 John 3.9 doth not commit sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God This is the Description of the Elect. Thus is opened in some measure the Mystery of Election and Reprobation the Loved and Hated Birth spoken of under the Types of Jacob and Esau And Christ is declared to be that Promised Seed not in a divided but in the most comprehensive Sense But to proceed in these Mysteries leads from the Matter before me to which I must now return Object 6 There are certain Men crept in unawares Jude 4. who were of old Ordained unto this Condemnation c. From whence they conclude some positively Ordain'd to Condemnation c. Answ The stress of this Argument lyeth upon the word Ordained and there is no such word in this Text the Greek word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ante 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scribo in Latin Prescripti in English fore-written and so it should be translated and not Ordained which alters the point mainly for right read it amounts to no more than that such were before of old prophesied of and those Prophecies committed to Writing or that there were written Prophecies of them for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Prophecy comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 predico compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ante 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dico that is to foretell or fore-speak of a thing so the one is a Written Prophecy the other Verbal that 's all the difference And what weakness is it from hence to conclude some under a necessity of Sinning This makes the Visions and Prophecies the cause of the things so happening then the fault would be upon the Prophets and Seers and upon their Prophecies and Visions and the Scriptures the cause of the Sins they foretell and reprehend But if the Prediction of things so to happen be not the cause of of their so happening then neither is the Prescription or putting what 's fore-told in Writing or Print any cause thereof and that 's as far as this Scripture mentions which though our Opponents put great Stress upon it yet being right read it supports no part of their Argument For 1st Here is their great word Ordain'd set aside which the Greek hath nothing of tho' it be put in the English Bibles 2dly The words Before of old are not old enough to serve this turn having reference unto the Writings of Enoch Paul Peter Jude 14. 1 Tim. 4.1 2 Tim. 3.1 2 Pet. 3.3 c. but these have their Date in time and are Prophetical not Decretal so are no proof of an Eternal Decree or any Decree of Personal Reprobation 3dly The stile of these Prophecies is not particular of such and such Men that they should do so and be so wicked and fall under such Condemnation c. but it is in general as in the words of Enoch the Seventh from Adam Behold the Lord cometh with Ten Thousands of his Saints to execute Judgment upon all and to reprove all that are Vngodly among them of all their ungodly Deeds which they have ungodly committed c. And so the words of the rest which shews that such wicked Men there should be but not that they were under a fatal necessity of being so or had never been in a capacity of Salvation or were condemn'd without any respect to their good or evil Deeds c. For the Apostle Jude admits these Men to have been sometime in a capacity of Salvation as appears by his comparing them 1. To the People whom God had saved out of Egypt and afterwards destroyed them that believed not 2. To the Angels which kept not their Principality but left their own Habitation c. The first were at least in a capacity of Salvation and Glory and the latter in the blessed Fruition on 't Then neither were these Men condemn'd without any respect to their good or Evil Deeds as appears from their being compared 1. To the Israelites that believed not 2. To the Angels that kept not their Principality 3. To Sodom and Gomorah 4. To Cain 5. to Balaam 6. to Core Now the first are charg'd with Unbelief The second with Apostacy The third with grievous Sin The fourth with the Murder of his own Brother The fifth with Covetousness and Iniquity The sixth with Gainsaying and Rebellion So allow but the Apostle Jude to explain the Apostle Jude and 't is plain these Men's Evil subjectd them to Condemnation to the which they were not Fore-ordain'd nor was it inflicted on them without any respect to their good or evil Deeds Object 7. They distinguish the Grace of God into Common and Special and allow that every one hath Common Grace but hold that only the Elect have Special Grace and that none are saved by Common Grace or can be but whosoever have Special Grace can in no wise miss of Salvation c. Answ There is no where mention in the Scripture that I can find of Special Grace which is my first Exception to the distinction as Unscriptural Next comes to my thought that saying A great Lyar ought to have a good Memory and indeed so ought any one that deals in false Doctrines and Errors For generally Ignorance and Error is incongruous it 's of the nature of a Lye there 's no Line of Coherence in 't to lead one along as we have Instance here One while they say God hated the greater part of Mankind and decreed their Reprobation c. Another while All Men have Common Grace and that implies the Favour and Love of God in some measure for Grace is Favour c. But how God should love and hate the same Persons and at the same time is a difficulty they have to Unridle Then the word Common is either to be understood according to them as vile importing a thing of mean or no value in which Sense to apply it to God's Grace is Blasphemy Or it must be understood to signifie General or Universal a Sense in which 't is commonly taken And according to this most common understanding of the word Common it appears the Apostles themselves were saved by Common Grace From their own Testimony That the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all Men Tit. 2.11 12. teaching us say they that denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World c. So they ascribe the inward Work of their Salvation to God's Universal Grace that is to common Grace in such Sense in which the Grace of God can be said to be Common But these Ingrossers or Impropriators of Salvation are a very particular sort of Men and will not go to Heaven the common Way nor prize

but be it so or not there is a great Misunderstanding of them amongst many People who from hence 1. Distinguish all Mankind into Elect and Reprobate 2. The first they make but a very small Number 3. The latter an huge Number and abundance of Infants and young Children among them 4. They conclude all the first under Salvation 5. And all the last under Damnation 6. And that the first can in no wise miss of Salvation nor the latter escape Damnation by any endeavours whatsoever they are both so fixed and unavoidable upon them 7. And they also hold That the Salvation of the one and Damnation of the other are by an absolute Decree without any respect to their Good or Evil Deeds All which resolves into this 1st That God loved but a few and hated the far greater part of Mankind from all Eternity or from the Fall or at least from before they were Born 2dly That those few whom he loved he ordain'd to Salvation so positively and absolutely as that they could never in any wise or by any means miss it 3dly That that great Number whom God hated he ordain'd to Damnation after the same positive and arbitrary manner and so absolutely as they can never in any wise by what means so ever avoid it 4thly That as God of his own free-will and choice loved those few without respect to any thing in them either Good or Evil when as yet they had done nothing to deserve or procure it so after the same manner he hated the other great Multitude without any cause or respect but to his own Will having yet done nothing to procure or deserve it Now it is hereby intended to detect and remedy and to expose the Evil Tendency and Consequence of such Abuse and Misunderstanding of these and several other Scriptures of like import The First Part. Treating Principally of Reprobation CHAP. I. Wherein is laid down Two Positions opposing the Doctrine of Reprobation and the same demonstrated by sundry Arguments 1. From God's Work of the Creation in the beginning and from his Divine Nature and Attributes 2. From Solomon's Observation of that great Work 3. From the Rejoycing of the Heavenly Host over that Blessed Work 4. From the Creature made the Vniversality of Christ's Death and of the Gospel and God's Grace and Love to Mankind 5. From sundry Destructive and Pernicious Consequences naturally and clearly resulting from this Doctrine 6. From sundry clear Texts and Authorities of Scripture AND for the better ordering the Argument to treat of Election and Reprobation severally to avoid the inconvenience of keeping no Method by handling them Promiscuously I shall begin with Reprobation and shew 1. That God did not Hate and Reprobate the greatest or any part of Mankind from all Eternity or from the Fall or from before they were Born 2. But that we came forth into this World free and clear from any such fix'd Decree accompanied with the Grace and Love of God being God's Delight and so far from the wretched Condition this false Doctrine represents us in crawling under the Burden of a Decree of Destruction which let us struggle under its weight never so long and do our utmost endeavours we must at length be overcome of it and fall inevitably under Ruine thereby Both which are demonstrative § 1. From the Work of Creation that great and first of the Works of God in time that began with the beginning of Time and is the Date of Mankind in which we come to our Spring Head and are Streams from thence If this was a Work of Blessedness Goodness Grace and Love in a most comprehensive and intire Sense then no part of Mankind was Predestinated to Damnation or Hated of God from all Eternity for that would be an exception to its being a Work of Grace and Love Destruction and Misery are not from thence that sweet Fountain sends forth no such bitter Streams But that this Work of Creation was a Work of Blessedness Goodness Grace and Love is shewn From the Divine Nature and Attributes of God the great and blessed Author of it by whom we are taught That as is the Workman so is his Work A good Tree bringeth not forth corrupt Fruit neither doth a corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit c. Luke 6.43 45. A good Man out of the good Treasure of his Heart bringeth forth that which is good and an evil Man out of the evil Treasure of his Heart bringeth forth that which is evil As is the Man so is his Work and as is God so is his Work But God is good in the greatest Eminency the Treasury of Blessing is with him he is abundant in Goodness Grace and Love which the Beloved Disciple makes his Definition 1 Iohn 4.8 in so many express words saying God is Love Then his chief Motive in the Creation of Man must be his own Benignity Goodness Grace and Love and his End that Man might partake of his Glory and enjoy Him for ever Which shews God did not Hate Man nor put him under any such unavoidable Decree of Destruction from all Eternity § 2. From the Observations of Solomon upon this great Work of Creation which are first Negative That God made not Death neither hath he pleasure in the Destruction of the Living Wisd 1.13 14. Then Affirmative That he created all things that they might have their Being and the Generations of this World was healthful and there was no Poison of Destruction in them or Kingdom of Death upon the Earth But we were made in Righteousness and true Holiness Ephes 4.24 or Holiness of Truth And to have our Being as such is to have or injoy God the Divine Life for a Man cannot properly be said to have what he doth not in some measure possess or injoy so this End to which we were made is an high State of Glory above Death Destruction or Misery all which made their Entrance through the Fall Neither hath he pleasure in the Destruction of the Living Then he hath not from all Eternity had pleasure in Decreeing their Destruction for otherwise he was not a free Agent in so Decreeing but under some necessity of working against himself of acting and doing contrary to his pleasure which subjects him to Misery shewing as if He who is the most Soveraign and free Agent of all received Controul from some other which is absurd and blasphemous as are all the Consequences of this false Principle There was no Poison of Destruction in them or Kingdom of Death upon the Earth Then there was no Curse but all was in the Blessing then God had not Hated or Decreed the Destruction of any number of Men for if so there had been some Poison of Destruction and there had been some Kingdom of Death upon the Earth And if God had not then done it in the beginning of the World which was in Time being computed about Five Thousand Seven Hundred Years since much