Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	find_v	godly_a	great_a	183	4	2.0703	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93680	Gods ordinance, the saints priviledge. Discovered and proved in two treatises. The first, the saints interest by Christ in all the priviledges of grace: wherein their right to the use of baptisme, and the Lords supper, even now during the reign of Antichrist, is cleared; and the objections of those that oppose the same, are answered. The second, the peculiar interest of the elect in Christ, and his saving grace: wherein it is proved that Christ hath not presented to his fathers justice a satisfaction for the sinnes of all men; but onely for the sinnes of those that doe, or shall believe in him; which are his elect onely: and the objections of those that maintaine the contrary, are also answered. / Both written by John Spilsberie. And the last transcribed, and somewhat enlarged, by Benjamin Coxe. Licensed, entred, and printed according to order.	J. S. (John Spilsbery); Cox, Benjamin, fl. 1646.	1646 (1646)	Wing S4975; Thomason E335_17; ESTC R200803	75,307	89

Gods Ordinance THE SAINTS PRIVILEDGE Discovered and proved in two Treatises The first The Saints Interest by Christ in all the Priviledges of Grace Wherein their right to the use of Baptisme and the Lords supper even now during the reigne of Antichrist is cleared and the objections of those that oppose the same are answered The second The peculiar Interest of the Elect in Christ and his saving Grace Wherein it is proved that Christ hath not presented to his Fathers justice a satisfaction for the sinnes of all men but onely for the sinnes of those that doe or shall believe in him which are his Elect onely And the objections of those that maintaine the contrary are also answered Both written by JOHN SPILSBERIE And the last transcribed and somewhat enlarged by Benjamin Coxe Mark 13.34 35.37 The Sonne of man is as a man taking a farre journey who left his house and gave authoritie to his servants and to every man his worke and commanded the porter to watch Watch yee therefore c. And what I say unto you I say unto all Watch. Ephes 1.3 4. Blessed be God who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Licensed entred and printed according to Order LONDON Printed by M. Simmons for Benjamin Allen and are to be sold at his Shop at the Crowne in Popes-head-Alley 1646. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER Wise and Christian READER IT is not to be expected in this inquiring age wherein through the good providence of God truth hath some libertie to shew her face and many also are travailing in paine to bring forth that man-childe but there will be likewise a spirit of errour as forward and ready to put off his ware in this open market as the spirit of truth and especially in this Kingdome where the people generally have been so long trained up in the strength of rationall notion made out by the arts and parts of nature who will be easily drawne to trade with such as have best skill to set out their ware upon the strongest termes of the creatures reason For he that can present the richest jewel in reasons treasure is like to carrie away * That is naturall affection swayed by reason in spirituall things the fairest daughter that nature hath Which causeth so much division and contention among men professing Religion as that many of the godly can hardly tell where to set a foot upon found ground to the great sadding of their spirits and turning of many away from the truth The consideration of which caused me to hold forth that light I have from the Lord in these two subjects First That as God hath a people whom he calls and owns out of the world even so hath he among all errours and by-paths a truth and a true way for such to observe and to walk with him in a part from the world and the rudiments thereof as witnesses to the truth in the profession of the same according to the rule of truth left to all his in his last Testament wherein all that professe him shall be confessed of him Secondly Unto these Christ hath preached and God hath assigned such priviledges as are not common to the world out of which he cals them to injoy the same As Christ himself even so all things by him are for such to injoy as believe in him and no more For as the end was first minded in Gods ordering of the means even so in all the causes concurring to effect the same the end must ever be minded as the life and strength of the cause so that as God chose persons in Christ and gave them to him to be saved by him so their sinnes were laid upon him for them he died rose againe ascended and appeares in Gods holy presence presenting them perfect in himselfe Unto him all such shall come as were given to him and had their sinnes laid upon him for him to give satisfaction for them All such shall be saved from all their sinnes by him that being the end for which they were laid upon him This I believe to be a truth that deserves no aspersion to be cast upon it nor tends to cause any division or contention among such as walke by faith in the light of truth though the rationall strength of nature in her owne wisdome cannot rest here satisfied And thus in summe Christian Reader I present to thy view the subject I deale upon endeavouring to maintaine the right priviledges purchased by Christ and freely given to all that believe in him for salvation against such as oppose the same who under pretence of seeking the truth doe by cunning and crastie enquiries undermine the same and as they of old did overthrow the faith of some who deny unto such as do believe in Jesus Christ for eternall life Church fellowship and communion with Christ in his Ordinances of the new Testament for want as they say of a Ministery with power from God to call and fit a people for Ordinances and to administer the same This opinion much oppresseth and disturbs the godly for whose sakes I have endeavoured to hold forth my portion of light for such as belive to consider well the freedome priviledge of faith in all the free purchase of Christ and gifts of grace and to hold fast the libertie wherewith Christ hath made them free not to be brought into bondage by men And as none are to lose any priviledge they have by Christ no more are any so to be satisfied with a right to all things in Christ as to neglect their dutie to him in their confession of him in holding out an holy fellowship and communion with him in all those relative properties of a wife to a husband and a body to a head in such order by himselfe appointed as may serve to the honour of his crowne and dignitie declaring him to be the first borne among them and to have the pre eminence over them This being the end for which God sanctified him for him to call and sanctifie a people to keep him a name and praise in the earth that glory might be given to God in the Church y Christ through all ages and not for such as believe in him to give away as far as in them lies his glory name and praise by forsaking of their priviledges and therein denying themselves to be vessels of mercy called to hold forth the same according to the Word to the glory of his Grace This caused me to lay all so close to the try all of Scripture which disclaims such faith as brings not man to the obedience of truth that God may have his glory from man as well as man his salvation of God who hath not tied his childrens benefits by Christs purchase to this or that condition and qualification

not knowing how to avoyd them and defend the truth from them Truth alwayes lyes within the bounds of order whither true faith brings in a man and there truth makes him free Joh. 8.32 Truth and order are never apart much lesse oppose each other how ever men conceive for God who is one is the God both of truth and of order 1 Cor. 14. So that wheresoever faith findes truth there order also dwells For as God is the God of order so his Word which is truth is the rule of order and this Word is faiths foundation whereon shee builds which Word is so farre from being any exceptive condition of truth as that it is truth it selfe God calls no man to dispense his truth whom he doth not fit and enable for the same and whom God doth call and send he so sends them that they goe in faith And faith ever attends at wisdomes gate and bids not goe otherwayes then Christ directs So farre is faith from leading any to any absurdity and disorder that it keepes them in the hand of truth which guides them according to order and reproves the contrary And for womens administring of Ordinances Gods free love and true faith never admits or gives way unto any unlawfull or disorderly libertie And I have endeavoured to prove that the free use of ordinances is only to faith not to the flesh and so not in any unseemly way God who is the God of order hath in his Word of truth taught women what their dutie is and namely in 1 Cor. 14.34 35. 1 Tim. 2.11 12. This rule forbids unto them the administring of ordinances And they which have faith will believe the Lord and obey his Word Againe I have not said that the administrations of the new Testament are free for any that believe to administer them But I have proved that they are free for all that believe to submit unto them or rather to Christ in them without any condition or exception against the same Therefore it is still the duty of all that believe in Jesus Christs as aforesaid to hold forth a confession of this their believing in him by their professed subjection to him in the order and rules of his Testament without which he doth not expresly owne any faith in men according to the tenour of the said Testament It is said Object 19. Rev. 6.14 That heaven departed c. Which must be understood of the Church and Ordinances and wee doe not finde when shee appeared in the like manner againe That this must necessarily be understood of a departing of the Church and ordinances Answ is not so certaine as is imagined See the like prophecy in Isaiah 34.4 and note well what went before in ver 2,3 and what followes in vers 5 6. 11. and then consider whether Isaiab did there prophecy of such a departure of the Church and Ordinances as is now spoken of That departing of heaven as a scroll spoken of in Revel 6.14 shall then be when the Sunne becomes blacke as sackcloth and the Moone as bloud when the starres of heaven fall unto the earth as figs from a fig-tree shaken with a mighty wind when every mountaine and isleland are moved out of their places when the Kings of the earth and the great men and the rich and the chiefe Captains and the mighty and every bondman and every free-man hide themselves in he dens and in the rockes of the mountaines c. see the place viz. Revel 6.12 13 14 15 16. And then judge whether it be certain that this prophecy is fulfilled and the heavens departing as a scroll is a departing of the Church and Ordinances But let this seeme as granted for the present because heaven in this Booke of the Revelation doth sometimes signifie the Church But then also minde that the Churches departing is here set forth by the similitude of a booke or scroll folded together which before lay open So then the Church sometimes lay open in her glory and her light did shine abroad among the Nations but now when that great opposition and persecution did rise against her shee retired her selfe in a more private way A booke or scroll is not defaced nor destroyed when it is rolled up together but is as perfect in it selfe as before onely it lies not so open for every one to looke into and so it is with the Church her departing is not from being a Church but in respect of her obscuring and hiding of her selfe from her enemies as Isai 26.20 Rev. 12.6.14 For shee onely departed as a scroll when it is rolled together and so continued in her selfe a Church enjoying as her right here ordinances and her communion still For in the next Chapter there is the Lord upon his throne with his Church Ministery about him worshipping The Church then here departed as is aforesaid from her enemies together with her Ordinances to a more retired and obscure condition then before but never departed from her selfe It is said Object 20. Rev. 15.8 That the Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god and from his power and no man was able to enter into the Temple till the seven plagues of the seven Angels were fulfilled Whence it is gathered that in the time of Antichrist and the Beasts reigne there is no entring into any Church-order c. 1. Consider whether it be not a manifest property of an erring spirit Answ to wave cleare places of the Scripture calling for the perpetuall use of the Ordinances of Baptisme and the Lords Supper as Mat. 28.19 1 Cor. 11.26 and other like places and to chuse to walke in the darke retiring to obscure places not yet understood for a seeming refuge 2. Consider whether this place do not manifestly allude to that in 1 King 8.10 11. and whether that place doe import that there was any cessation of Ordinances in Solomons time 3. Take notice that this place in Revel 15. doth hold forth unto us a Church and a glorious one too For here is a Temple out of which the seven Angels goe with their seven golden vials full of the wrath of God against Antichrist or the Beast For this see Revel 15.1.5 6. Revel 16.1 c. Are not these the Ministers of Christ which goe forth of the Temple which is the Church of Christ into which men must first come or else they cannot goe out thence for no man can be said to goe out of a place that he never came in Thus this Scripture well considered shews the weaknesse of those that take up the same to oppose the Saints fellowship now and their confession of Christ in their professed subjection to his order of the new Testament This text is so farre from keeping any backe that it rather calls all that have faith to come seeing Christ will have at this time even under the reigne of Antichrist such a Church out of which God will raise such notable instruments to

holy Spirit giving such a light of the knowledge of the Gospel and calling upon the sinner to obey the Gospel so revealed 〈◊〉 is sin a man falls into when he is onely enlightened by the worke of the holy Spirit with the knowledge of the Gospel and called upon by the same Spirit to yeeld obedience thereunto and God doth not adde a further powerfull worke giving unto him a new heart and putting a new spirit within him And thus is discovered the desperate wickednesse of mans heart and his hatred of the Gospel which would in like manner appeare in all if all were dealt with in like fort By this it may be discerned how grosse the errour of our adversaries is who account this sin and blasphemie against the Spirit to be nothing else but finall unbeliefe 5. The scope of our Saviour here was to shew that this sinne against the holy Spirit shall never be forgiven to any person that once falles into it and that herein this sinne differs from all other sinnes that men commit For there is no sin but it may be forgiven and is or shall be forgiven to some that have committed it this sin onely excepted there being no sin save onely this which may not be repented of and is not repented of through Gods mightie grace by some that have committed it Our adversaries doe notwithstanding straitly presse us with these words Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him Whereto I answer That this clause It shall be forgiven him doth here signifie no more then it may be forgiven him As in 1 Cor. 3.15 this clause He himselfe shall be saved doth signifie no more then he himselfe may be saved For it is not of necessitie that every one must be saved that builds hay and stubble on Christ the foundation that is brings false professors of faith into an outward union in Church-fellowship with others that are built on Christ the Rocke Thus it still remaines firme that no sin is indeed remitted to unbelievers And thus this place makes not against us Some of our adversaries doe also object against us 17. Object From Jer. 31.33 34. answered Jere. 31.33 34. affirming that God hath now made the Covenant there spoken of with all men and consequently that all mens sins are forgiven This therefore shall next be inquired into The words of that Scripture are these This shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel Aster those dayes saith the Lord I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquitie and I will remember their sin no more Touching which Scripture I affirme and undertake to prove that God hath not made the Covenant here spoken of with all men but with his Elect onely 1. The Scripture doth not teach us by the house of Israel to understand all men 2. This Covenant God keepes and performes with all those and unto all those that he hath made it with otherwise God were not faithfull but rather false and deceiving which to imagine were odious blasphemy But God performes this Covenant onely to his Elect. 3. It is manifest from the latter part of vers 34. that God performes this Covenant both to all those and onely to those whose iniquitie he will forgive and whose sin he will remember no more This place therefore is so farre from speaking for our adversaries as that it overthrows them altogether But they object that all of the house of Israel are not Gods Elect. I answer that Israel notwithstanding did typifie the whole companie of Gods Elect as also is intimated in Psal 135.4 and accordingly they who are declared to be Gods Elect are called Israel and Israelites indeed Rom. 9.6 Psal 73.1 Joh. 1.47 Gal. 6.16 They further object that God puts his Law in the inward parts and writes it in the hearts of some at the least that are not his Elect. I answer that the Law here spoken of is the very doctrine of the Gospel and that Gods putting this Law into mens inward parts writing it in their hearts is his making them to understand and to love to believe and to obey this Gospel And this God workes onely in his Elect whom he makes his own people and he is found to be their God For this see Jere. 24.7 Jere. 32.38 39 40. Ezek. 11.19 20. Ezek. 36.26 27 28. It being a cleare and most manifest truth though some of our adversaries are so blind that they cannot see it that that precious promise in Isai 54.13 is made onely to the Elect. Some endeavour to frame an objection against us from Dan. 9.24 18. Object From Dan. 9. 24. answered where we thus read Seaventie weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy Citie to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquitie and to bring in everlasting righteousnesse c. But all this is spoken with a manifest reference and restriction to Gods Elect. Thy people that is The people of Israel who are thy people after the flesh thou being one of that separated Nation viz. as they are a type of the Israel of God and no otherwayes Or rather Thy people that is The Israel of God to which thou appertainest So also Thy holy Citie that is The Citie Jerusalem as it typifies the heavenly Jerusalem Or rather Thy holy Citie that is Jerusalem which is above which is thy mother Here also observe that everlasting righteousnesse is the portion of all those whose transgression is finished to whose sinnes an end is put and for whose iniquity reconciliatiō is made This then is peculiar to Gods Elect who onely are heires of everlasting righteousnesse who onely are that remnant of Gods heritage whose iniquitie he pardoneth and whose transgression he passeth by whose iniquities he will subdue and all whose sinnes he will cast into the depths of the Sea Micah 7.18 19. These onely are that Jacob the Lords servant and that Israel whom he hath chosen Isai 44.1 whose transgressions he blotteth out for his own sake and will not remember their sinnes Isai 43.25 These onely are that Jacob which the Lord bath redeemed and that Israel in which he hath glorified himselfe whose transgressions he hath blotted out as a thicke cloud and as a cloud their sinnes Isai 44.22 23. These are they to whom the Lord proclaimed himselfe not onely mercifull and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodnesse and truth but also keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquitie and transgression and sin Exod. 34.6 7. See also Psal 103.10 11 12 13. As touching the rest he proclaimes himselfe

contradicted our doctrine The saying of the Apostle there is this And having made peace through the bloud of his crosse by him to reconcile all things unto himselfe by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven Our answer hereto shall consist of these branches 1. Whereas some of our opposers take all things here in the largest sense comprehending all creatures and so Angells as well as men this is a manifest errour The holy Angels needed no reconciler The Angels that fell are not reconciled neither did Christ take on him the nature of Angels Heb. 2.16 And I believe our opposers will not say that Christ presented to his Fathers justice a satisfaction for the sinnes of Angels 2. It hath been already proved * In Pag. 43. that the word All must sometimes be understood with limitation to the present subject spoken of See another example of it in 1 Cor. 6.12 All things are lawfull c. Where under all things you may not comprehend theft adultery lying c. but onely all meates which had been forbidden to the Jewes in the Law given by Moses as there appeares in the verse following 3. Though the Apostle here seeme to speak of things yet he meanes men and no other things So when he saith in 1 Cor. 1.27 28. God hath chosen the foolish things of the world c. he meaneth onely persons 4. Neither can All things here signifie all men universally and every particular person whatsoever For if every person were reconciled to God by the bloud of Christ then every person must be saved eternally as appeares in Rom. 5.8 9 10. By All things therefore we are here to understand All the members of that body of which Christ is the head vers 18. All those that either already were or afterwards should be such as these Colossians now were to whom this is applyed in the ensuing verses 5. By things in heaven are here meant the spirits of just men made perfect Heb. 12.23 who being absent from the body are present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5.8 There remaines yet an objection from Christs words in Joh. 15.2 which seemes to some to raze a great part of the foundation on which we have built 26. Object From Joh. 15.2 answered It is therefore expedient that the same should be clearely and fully answered The inference that is made is this Unfruitfull persons that perish eternally are or sometime were in Christ Therefore they were in Christ when he suffered Therefore Christ when he suffered made satisfaction to his Fathers justice for their sinnes But let us first consider the words of Christ from which some endevour thus to reason Joh. 15.1 2. I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman every branch in me that beareth not fruit be taketh away c. And that our opposers may not be too confident let them in the meane time mind the cleare saying of Paul in Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus and remember that that which there followes in the latter part of that verse viz. who walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit is not an exception from any thing that went before or a restraining of a generall terme to one particular comprehended under it but an explication of that which immediately went before and so a description of those that are manifested to be in Christ Jesus see 2 Cor. 5.17 Here then is held forth the full justification and consequently the eternall salvation of all those whom the Apostle speakes of as persons truly in Christ Jesus As touching that saying of Christ in Joh. 15. let it be considered whether it be not a figurative speech an allegoricall or metaphoricall speech If we speake without any metaphore and understand our words according to their proper and literall sense or signification without any figure then we cannot truly say that Christ is a vine that the Father is an husbandman that disciples are branches The meaning then is onely this That Christ is like a vine or as it were a vine yea the true vine The Father is like an husbandman or as it were an husbandman the disciples are like branches or as it were branches They therefore which utterly reject the use of this word as it were in the opening of this and such like Scriptures doe not rightly divide the Word Disciples are as it were branches of the true vine in a twofold respect 1. In respect of communion with the Church of Christ in the outward worship of God and the use of Christs Ordinances Thus though not all men yet all Church-members are as it were branches of the true vine and so to be looked upon by us till they are or at least ought to be cast out of the Church for their manifest unfruitfulnesse 2. In respect of true communion and union with Christ Thus onely true believers are as it were branches of the true vine and so looked upon by God As touching that in vers 2. If I be not mis-informed it is word for word Every branch in me not bearing fruit Then the meaning may be this Every branch that beareth not fruit in me This implyes onely thus much That there are Church-members who though they be as it were branches of the true vine in that respect that I first mentioned and so to us in Christ in respect of outward profession and communion yet doe not beare fruit in Christ and so doe not shew themselves to be really in Christ but the contrary These the Father taketh away viz casting them out of his Church and punishing them with eternall destruction That they which abide not in Christ were never in him really appeares not onely by that in Rom. 8.1 already alledged but also by these Scriptures among many others Matth. 7.23 Heb. 3.14 1 Joh. 2.27 Ephes 1.3 4. c. Now as touching this conceit that all men either are or were in Christ I would demand of those that so conceive whether all men doe for ever continue in Christ I am confident they will not answer affirmatively as seeing clearly that no such thing can be maintained and that they cannot make such an opinion to agree with this Scripture no not by their owne interpretation of the same I would therefore demand of them in the second place when they which perish doe cease to be in Christ whether in this life or after this life If they will say Not in this life but after this life then must they relinquish this Scripture which speakes of mens abiding or not abiding in Christ in this life see vers 4 5 6 7. Yea they will be found to hold most manifestly contrary to all truth that men may be in Christ all the time of their life here and yet perish eternally If they will say that in this life they cease to be in Christ I would then know when and how If they say that they cease to be