Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	abel_n	cain_n	unrighteous_a	72	3	16.3143	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35535	An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and the thirty fourth chapters of the booke of Job being the substance of forty-nine lectures / delivered at Magnus neare the Bridge, London, by Joseph Caryl ...	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1661 (1661)	Wing C774; ESTC R36275	783,217	917

cited They shall be as the wings of a Dove covered with silver and her feathers with yellow gold God will be favourable to them that is he will give them favours to wear for him he will put markee of honour upon them they shall not only be benifited but beautified and crowned with salvation God expressed that highest favour and most indeared affection which he bare to his own Son as serving him by no better nor more emphaticall word then this Isa 42.1 Behold my ser●ant whom I uphold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth What is or can be more delightfull to God then his Son and what can be more comfortable to man then to hear and know that God delighteth in him and bears favour to him through his Son with the same affection as he doth to his only begotten Son He will be favourable unto him Whence note First God is well pleased with he is favourable to and delighted in an humble sinner When a sinner is brought upon his knees and becomes a suppliant when as he is laid low by affliction so he lyeth low in prayer and supplication then the Lord will be savourable to him and shew his delight in him The Lord delighteth not in the strength of the horse he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man Ps 147.10 11. No man is favoured by God because of his outward favour because he hath a beautifull face or strong cleane limbs yea not only hath the Lord no pleasure in any mans legs but not in any mans braines how reaching soever nor in any mans wit how quick soever nor in any mans judgment how deep soever nor in any mans tongue how eloquent or well spoken soever but the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy in those that walk humbly with him and call upon him Let me saith Christ to his Spouse Cant. 2.14 hear thy voyce for it is sweet he meanes it not of an artificiall singing voyce but of a spirituall praying voyce That 's the musick which the Church makes for Christ Nothing is so tunable nor takes the eare and heart of Christ like the voyce of prayer and praise from a gracious heart All the beauties and rarities both of persons and things are dull and flat yea wearisome and loathsome to God in comparison of a gracious honest humble soul Princes have their favourites they are according to the language of this Text favourable to some above many either because they are beautifull and goodly persons or because they are men of excellent speech prudence and comportment All godly men are Gods Favourites he is favourable to them not only above many men in the world but above all the men of this world who have their portion in this life And he therefore favours them because they are the purchase of his Son and the workmanship of his Spirit convincing them of and humbling them for their sins as also creating them after God in righteousness and true holiness Such shall be his favourites Secondly Consider the coherence or dependance of these words He shall call unto God and he will be favourable unto him Whereas before all his complainings and outcryes stood him in no stead now being humbled effectually and taking hold of the righteousness shewed and offered him by the Messenger of God he no sooner makes suit to God but is heard Hence Note God first shewes regard to the person then to the offering to prayers and services This truth may be understood two wayes First in reference to the state of grace When Abel and Cain brought their sacrifices or offerings God had respect to Abel and his offering but to Cain and his offering had no respect Gen. 4.4 5. Abel was in a state of grace Cain was not so the Apostle states their case Heb. 11.4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice then Cain by which he obtained witnesse that he his person was righteous God testifying of his gifts and what did he testifie surely that his gifts were brought in faith and were presented from a principle of grace which Cain had not and therefore God did not approvingly testifie of his gifts Till we close with God by faith God doth not close with our services by acceptance Secondly as this is true in reference to the state of grace so in reference to somewhat in the present actings or dispositions of those who are gracious 'T is possible for a godly man to act so sinfully and to be so ill disposed to the frame of his heart that God may seem to deny acceptation to his prayers and services David said Psal 66.18 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not heare me And God told the Jewes his Covenant people Isa 1.15 When ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Thus while they who have a state interest in Christ walke unworthy of it they are under the frownes of God and his dis-acceptation of all their duties till they renew their repentance and humble themselves And I conceive this was the case of the sick man in the Text in whom doubtlesse he aimed at Job whom Elihu granted to be a godly man yet under great distempers of spirit which must be healed removed before he could so call upon or pray unto God as he would be favourable to him or give him testimonie of his favour Thus we see in both these references how the person of a man must be respected and in favour before his prayers can For as we can have no benefit by the intercession of Christ till we accept his person so God will not give us any benefit by our supplications till himself accepteth our persons which he doth only in Christ Many would be saved by Christ they would be pardoned and get to heaven they would enjoy the benefits and priviledges which he hath purchased for his people but they neglect Christ himself nor doe they think of closing with his person Now I say as unlesse we have respect to the person of Christ and desire union with him we have nothing to doe with his benefits so unless God hath respect to our persons we get no benefit no answer of our prayers Thirdly Note To have the favour of God or to be accepted with him is the top and summe of all desireable favours 'T is the Alpha and Omega the first and last of all other favours to find God favourable to us if God be favourable to us it matters not much who frowns upon us or what foul weather we meet with in this world And as to be in his favour should be the chief of all our desires so to be assured of his favour should be the chief of all our studies and cares 2 Cor. 5.7 Herein saith the Apostle we labour that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him The word notes to labour ambitiously as if he had said

lusts may be in the stocks too Thus he told the Church Hos 2.6 Behold I will hedge up thy way with thornes and make a wall that she shall not find her paths The thorne-hedge was as a stocks to stop them that they should not walk disorderly nor act inordinately as they had done This course God takes with many he puts them in the stocks that he may keepe them from the wayes of sin or give check to some unruly affection When we need this discipline we may looke for it and 't is a mercy to be under it Will you not keep order saith God then you shall to the stocks Secondly afflictions are a restraint to our comforts as well as to our corruptions As this expression notes the taking of lusts short so the taking of us short as to lawfull liberties and enjoyments Sickness upon the body sowres all that this world hath to us and will not suffer us to use much of it how much soever of it we possesse Many have enough to eate who never eate in pleasure as Job sayd Chap 21.25 And when in our prosperity we run out and take unlawfull liberty God sends an affliction as his stocks to hold us from our lawfull liberties When we have had vaine out-goings and excesses of spirit all going well with us and comfortably in the world we may expect the stocks next or that things should goe ill with us yet for our good Thirdly To be in the stocks is a disgracefull thing it is not only a paine and a restraint but it is a reproach He that is in the stocks or in the pillory is exposed to shame every one poynts at him and many revile him Affliction as to the eye of the world carrieth a disgrace with it or at least subjects the person afflicted to disgrace And it hath been shewed from severall passages of this booke how Job's afflictions were interpreted to his disgrace and he lookt upon as I may say like a vagabond in the stocks that God had brought him thither and clapt him by the heeles for his misdemeanours Though afflictions diminish no mans honour or esteeme with God or with his people an afflicted Saint is as precious and honorable in their eyes as when in the greatest prosperity The clouds of trouble cannot ecclipse the glory of Grace nor render the gracious contemptible to those who know them such yet as to the eye and opinion of worldly men they doe Job sayd his afflictions were a witness against him as if all were not right with him yea as if he had been very unrighteous The stocks are a witness against a man that surely he hath done some ill thing Thus you see there is paine in affliction restraint in affliction disgrace in affliction especially in the opinion of the world and therefore to be in affliction is to be as in the stocks He putteth my feet in the stocks He marketh all my paths Which some expound as if when the Lord had let him out of the stocks yet he was but like a prisoner with his keeper at his heels He marketh all my paths I have spoken to this also before I shall now only Note There is no stepping out of the eye or sight of God He markes all our paths not only our open paths but our secret paths not only what paths our feet walke in but paths our hearts walke in He marketh what our thoughts are what our scope is what our aymes and ends are He marketh not only our day-paths but our night-paths He watcheth all our paths Take this Caution from it As the Lord marks all our paths so it will be our wisdome to mark our owne paths If the Lords eye be so strict over all our wayes shall we be carelesse of our wayes If he look upon our walkings shall not we look to our walkings There are many arguments from love from returns of thankfulness for received benefits which should provoke the people of God to heed and marke their own wayes but surely this ought to be a very cogent argument because God marks them He marketh all our paths Therefore as the Apostle gives counsel and admonition Eph 5.15 See that ye walke circumspectly not as fooles but as wise What our wisdome is yea whether we have any wisdome whether we are wise or fooles will be seene by our walkings Some can talke and discourse very wisely who yet walke very foolishly and whose whole course is folly So much for the opening of this charge brought by Elihu against Job his over-justifying of himselfe and his reflecting upon the goodnesse and love of God Elihu proceeds yet further to deale with and refute him as also to answer for God Behold in this thou art not just c. This I charge thee with and will prove it thou hast spoken sinfully and unbecommingly of God and of thy selfe in all this JOB Chap. 33. Vers 12 13. Behold in this thou art not just I will answer thee That God is greater then man Why dost thou strive against him for he giveth not account of any of his matters IN these two verses Elihu gives the first part of his answer wherein we may take notice of these five things First He tells Job that he had erred and was mistaken Behold in this thou art not just Secondly He sheweth him wherein he had been mistaken or what his error was In this thou art not just or Behold this thou are not just in it Thirdly Elihu lays downe the generall ground upon which he intended to convince Job of his error and mistake The greatnesse of God I will answer thee that God is greater then man Fourthly from that ground he drawes out a check or reproofe in the beginning of the 13th verse Why dost thou strive against him Fifthly and lastly He gives a reason of that reproofe which ariseth also out of the former ground the unquestionable Soveraignty of God For he giveth not account of any of his matters Vers 12. Behold in this thou art not just Behold he calls for serious attention and diligent consideration Behold This so the Hebrew rendred strictly we render Behold in this thou art not just What is this what 's the antecedent to this we may assigne the antecedent in three things or make it three-fold according to what Elihu hath layd downe before in way of charge against Job in the former Context First This that thou hast boasted thy selfe so much of thy innocency and integrity Vers 8th Thou hast spoken in my hearing and I have heard the voyce of thy words saying I am cleane without transgression c. Behold in this thou art not just Secondly In this That is in that thou hast complained so much of the severity of Gods dealings and proceedings with thee 10. 11. Behold he findeth occasion against me and accounteth me for his enemy He putteth my feet in the stocks he marketh all my paths Behold in this thou art not just

run into by any sin committed against man God only is the Creditor All that men can doe is but to forgive the trespasse against themselves so farre as man is wronged he may yea he ought to forgive as Christ teacheth us to pray Math 6.12 Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors All that we can forgive is only the trespass done to our selves and so forbeare personal and private revenge We cannot forgive the offence against God For when Christ saith John 21.20 Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted that remission is but the declaring of a pardon it is not the bestowing of a pardon or it is only a ministerial forgivenesse not an authoritative forgivenesse so to forgive is Gods Royalty He saith I forgive Secondly To God who saith I forgive c. Forgive what forgive whom Here 's neither what nor whom neither things nor persons named God barely saith I forgive Hence observe The pardoning mercy of God is boundlesse and unlimited Here 's no sin named therefore all are included no sinner specified therefore all are intended I forgive I pardon the pardoning mercy of God knows no limits it is not limitted First to any sort of sins or sinners Secondly it is not limited to any degree of sins or sinners let sins or sinners be of what sort they will let sins or sinners be of what degree they will they are within the compasse of Gods pardoning mercy And as this text intimates that the pardoning mercy of God is boundlesse because it expresseth no bounds So other Scriptures tell us expresly that it is boundlesse extending it selfe to all sorts and degrees of sins and sinners Math 12.31 Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven That a sin is great that it is extremely aggravated is no barre at all to the pardoning mercy of God he can as easily pardon great sins as little sins even sins that are as Crimson and scarlet as well as those of the lightest tincture The die or colour of some cloaths or stuffs is so fading that as we say the next wind will blow it off or cause it to dye away but scarlet and crimson in graine never change their colour yet the pardoning grace of God causeth crimson and scarlet sin to change colour and makes them as white as the naturall wool or snow that is takes them quite and cleane away Yea the greatnesse of sin is so far from being a stop to pardon that it is used asan argument to move God to pardon David prayeth Psal 25.11 For thy names sake O Lord pardon mine iniquity why doth he say because it is little or only a small sin a sin committed rashly unadvisedly or but once no he useth none of these excusatory pleas for pardon but saith pardon my sin for it is great Moses was not afraid to speake for pardon upon this ground also Exod 32.31 Lord saith he this people have committed a great sin and have made them gods of gold yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin c. There 's a great deale of divine Rhetorique in that speech Moses was not doubtfull whether God would forgive them their sin because it was great but he urged the Lord to forgive their sin because it was great Where sin aboundeth Grace doth much more abound Rom 5.20 and therefore God is said to pardon abundantly or to multiply to pardon Isa 55.7 and whom doth he promise to pardon there even the man of iniquity so that Scripture hath it Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man or the man of iniquity his thoughts c. If you who have sinned abundantly repent I will pardon abundantly The heart of God in pardoning sin is infinitely larger then the heart of man can be in committing sin and as the least sin needs pardon so the greatest may have it nothing hinders the pardon of sin but the sinners not coming for it or his not asking it The sin against the holy Ghost cannot be forgiven but the reason is because such as commit that sin utterly reject the grace of God and tread the blood of the Covenant under their feet as an unholy thing Thirdly The text speakes in the present tense God saith not I will pardon or possibly I may pardon but sheweth what he both actually doth and what he alwayes doth To God who saith I pardon Hence note God pardoneth presently he pardoneth continually I pardon is a present it is a continued act To pardon is Gods work to day and Gods work to morrow As every soule may say of himselfe Lord I sin not only I have sinned or I shall sin hereafter but I sin so saith God I pardon as men stand alwayes in need of pardon so God stands alwayes prepared to pardon He is Psal 86.5 plenteous in mercy ready to forgive The heart of God is never out of frame for that wo●ke never indisposed to it David found him so Psal 32.5 I said I will confesse mine iniquity he did not say I have confessed mine iniquity he was not come to a formall Confession onely he had it upon his heart to humble himselfe before God and confesse his sin yet it follows and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin While there was but a holy resolve upon his heart to confesse his sin the pardon of it was given him The holy history of his sin and of Gods mercy assureth us that the word was no sooner out of his mouth 2 Sam 12.13 I have sinned but instantly Nathan said The Lord hath put away thy sin Though God doth not pardon of course yet he is in a continuall course of pardon therefore Moses prayed Numb 14.19 That God would pardon the people according to the greatness of his mercy and as he had forgiven them from Egypt untill then As if he had sayd Lord thou hast been pardoning all along from the very first step we took out of Egypt to this day thou hast exercised abundance of patience long-suffering and mercy in pardoning this people now Lord pardon us as thou hast done from Egypt to this day doe not stop thy acts of Grace The very first act of pardon stands for ever he that is once pardon'd is alwayes pardon'd yet there are dayly renewings of pardon and fresh acts of it every day Fourthly The word render'd to pardon signifies to take away as to beare a burden upon our selves according to the former translation so to beare or lift it off from another Hence Note Pardon is the taking away or the bearing of sin off from us An unpardoned soul hath a burden of sin upon him ready to break his back yea enough to break his heart were he sensible of it the Lord by pardon takes this burden off from him David speaks of his sins under this notion of a burden Psal 38.4 My sins are gone over my head they are a burden too heavie for me to bear Yea sin is a burden too heavie for the strongest Angel in