Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
heart_n adam_n law_n write_v 3,792 5 7.0943 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A52591 A Declaration of the faith and order owned and practiced in the Congregational churches in England agreed upon and consented unto by their elders and messengers in their meeting at the Savoy, October 12, 1658. Owen, John, 1616-1683.; Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672. 1659 (1659) Wing N1487; ESTC R16855 44,499 94

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

the prevalency of corruption remaining in them and the neglect of the means of their preservation fall into grievous sins and for a time continue therein whereby they incur Gods displeasure and grieve his holy Spirit come to have their graces and comforts impaired have their hearts hardned and their consciences wounded hurt and scandalize others and bring temporal judgements upon themselves yet they are and shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation CHAP. XVIII Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation ALthough temporary believers and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God and state of salvation which hope of theirs shall perish yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him in sincerity endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of Grace and may rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God which hope shall never make them ashamed II. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable perswasion grounded upon a fallible hope but and infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel and also upon the inward evidence of those graces unto which promises are made and on the immediate witness of the Spirit testifying our Adoption and as a fruit thereof leaving the heart more humbl● and holy III. This infallible Assurance doth not so belong to the essence of Faith but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it yet being inabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God he may without extraordinary revelation in the right use of ordinary means attain thereunto And therefore it is the duty of every one to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure that thereby his heart may be inlarged in peace and joy in the holy Ghost in love and thankfulness to God and in strength and chearfulness in the duties of obedience the proper fruits of this assurance so far is it from inclining men to loosness IV. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken diminished and intermitted as by negligence in preserving of it by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the Spirit by some sudden or vehement temptation by Gods withdrawing the light of his countenance suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light yet are they neither utterly destitute of that seed of God and life of Faith that love of Christ and the Brethren that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which by the operation of the Spirit this assurance may in due time be revived and by the which in the mean time they are supported from utter despair CHAP. XIX Of the Law of God GOd gave to Adam a Law of universal obedience written in his heart and a particular precept of not eating the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil as a Covenant of Works by which he bound him and all his posterity to personal entire exact and perpetual obedience promised life upon the fulfilling and threatned death upon the breach of it and indued him with power and ability to keep it II. This Law so written in the heart continued to be a perfect Rule of righteousness after the fall of man and was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in ten Commandments and written in two Tables the four first Commandments containing our duty towards God and the other six our duty to man III. Beside this Law commonly called Moral God was pleased to give to the people of Israel Ceremonial Laws containing several Typical Ordinances partly of Worship prefiguring Christ his Graces Actions Sufferings and Benefits and partly holding forth divers Instructions of Moral Duties All which Ceremonial Laws being appointed onely to the time of Reformation are by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and onely Law-giver who was furnished with power from the Father for that end abrogated and taken away IV. To them also he gave sundry Judicial Laws which expired together with the State of that people not obliging any now by vertue of that Institution their general equity onely being still of moral use V. The Moral Law doth for ever binde all as well justified persons as others to the obedience thereof and that not onely in regard of the matter contained in it but also in respect of the Authority of God the Creator who gave it neither doth Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve but much strengthen this obligation VI Although true believers be not under the Law as a Covenant of Works to be thereby justified or condemned yet it is of great use to them as well as to others in that as a rule of life informing them of the Will of God and their duty it directs and bindes them to walk accordingly discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature hearts and lives so as examining themselves thereby they may come to further conviction of humiliation for and hatred against sin together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and the perfection of his obedience It is likewise of use to the regenerate to restrain their corruptions in that it forbids sin and the threatnings of it serve to shew what even their sins deserve and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them although freed from the curse thereof threatned in the Law The promises of it in like maner shew them Gods approbation of obedience and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof although not as due to them by the Law as a Covenant of Works so as a mans doing good and refraining from evil because the Law incourageth to the one and deterreth from the other is no evidence of his being under the Law and not under Grace VII Neither are the forementioned uses of the Law contrary to the grace of the Gospel but do sweetly comply with it the Spirit of Christ subduing and inabling the will of man to do that freely and chearfully which the will of God revealed in the Law required to be done CHAP. XX Of the Gospel and of the extent of the Grace thereof THe Covenant of Works being broken by sin and made unprofitable unto life God was pleased to give unto the Elect the promise of Christ the seed of the Woman as the means of calling them and begetting in them Faith and Repentance In this promise the Gospel as to the substance of it was revealed and was therein effectual for the conversion and salvation of sinners II. This promise of Christ and salvation by him is revealed onely in and by the Word of God neither do the works of Creation or Providence with the Light of Nature make discovery of Christ or of Grace by him
and in all his Commands To him is due from Angels and Men and every other Creature whatsoever Worship Service or Obedience as Creatures they owe unto the Creator and whatever he is further pleased to require of them III. In the Unity of the God-head there be three Persons of one Substance Power and Eternity God the Father God the Son and God the holy Ghost The Father is of none neither begotten nor proceeding The Son is eternally begotten of the Father The holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son Which Doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our Communion with God and comfortable Dependence upon him CHAP. III. Of Gods Eternal Decree GOd from all eternity did by the most wise and holy Counsel of his own Will freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass Yet so as thereby neither is God the Author of sin nor is violence offered to the will of the Creatures nor is the liberty or contingency of second Causes taken away but rather established II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed Conditions yet hath he not decreed any thing because he foresaw it as future or as that which would come to pass upon such Conditions III. By the Decree of God for the manifestation of his Glory some Men and Angels are predestinated unto everlasting Life and others fore-ordained to everlasting Death IV. These Angels and Men thus predestinated and fore-ordained are particularly and unchangeably designed and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished V. Those of mankinde that are predestinated unto Life God before the foundation of the world was laid according to his eternal and immutable purpose and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his Will hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting Glory out of his meer free Grace and Love without any fore-sight of Faith or good Works or perseverance in either of them or any other thing in the Creature as Conditions or Causes moving him thereunto and all to the praise of his glorious Grace VI As God hath appointed the Elect unto Glory so hath he by the eternal and most free purpose of his Will fore-ordained all the means thereunto Wherefore they who are elected being faln in Adam are redeemed by Christ are effectually called unto Faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due season are justified adopted sanctified and kept by his power through Faith unto salvation Neither are any other redeemed by Christ or effectually called justified adopted sanctified and saved but the Elect onely VII The rest of mankinde God was pleased according to the unsearchable Counsel of his own Will whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy as he pleaseth for the glory of his soveraign power over his Creatures to pass by and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin to the praise of his glorious Justice VIII The Doctrine of this high mystery of Predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care that men attending the will of God revealed in his Word and yielding obedience thereunto may from the certainty of their effectual Vocation be assured of their eternal Election So shall this Doctrine afford matter of praise reverence and admiration of God and of humility diligence and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel CHAP. IV. Of Creation IT pleased God the Father Son and holy Ghost for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal Power Wisdom and Goodness in the beginning to create or make of nothing the world and all things therein whether visible or invisible in the space of six days and all very good II. After God had made all other creatures he created Man male and female with reasonable and immortal Souls endued with knowledge righteousness and true holiness after his own Image having the Law of God written in their heart and power to fulfil it and yet under a possibility of transgressing being left to the liberty of their own Will which was subject unto change Besides this Law written in their hearts they received a command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil which whiles they kept they were happy in their communion with God and had dominion over the Creatures CHAP. V. Of Providence GOd the great Creator of all things doth uphold direct dispose and govern all creatures actions and things from the greatest even to the least by his most wise and holy Providence according unto his infallible fore-knowledge and the free and immutable counsel of his own Will to the praise of the glory of his Wisdom Power Justice Goodness and Mercy II. Although in relation to the fore-knowledge and decree of God the first Caufe all things come to pass immutably and infallibly yet by the same Providence he ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second Causes either necessarily freely or contingently III. God in his ordinary Providence maketh use of means yet is free to work without above and against them at his pleasure IV. The almighty Power unsearchable Wisdom and infinite Goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his Providence in that his determinate Counsel extendeth it self even to the first Fall and all other sins of Angels and Men and that not by a bare permission which also he most wisely and powerfully boundeth and otherwise ordereth and governeth in a manifold Dispensation to his own most holy ends yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth onely from the Creature and not from God who being most holy and righteous neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin V. The most wise righteous and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations and the corruption of their own hearts to chastise them for their former sins or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts that they may be humbled and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin and for sundry other just and holy ends VI As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God as a righteous Judge for former sins doth blinde and harden from them he not onely withholdeth his grace whereby they might have been inlightned in their understandings and wrought upon in their hearts but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes occasions of sin and withal gives them over to their own lusts the temptations of the world and the power of Satan whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves even under those means which God useth for the softning of others VII As the providence of God doth in general reach to all Creatures so after a most special maner it taketh care of his Church and disposeth all things to the good thereof