Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	earth_n	new_a	see_v	19,937	5	5.4459	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88635	A vindication of free-grace: in opposition to this Arminian position, (Naturall men may do such things as whereunto God hath by way of promise annexed grace and acceptation.) / First preached, after asserted at Stephens Coleman-steete [sic] London, by Mr. John Goodvvin. Also an appendix proving the souls enjoying Christ after death, afore the Resurrection, against some errours hereafter specified. Published for the justification of truth by S.L.	Lane, Samuel.	1645 (1645)	Wing L341; Thomason E275_3; ESTC R209881	66,752	86

notwithstanding their most rationall improvements Except the Father draw him not except he draws or surely ingages the Father by improvements but there will be necessity of further inlargements on this from what follows we see here that insteed of being ingaged by promise by naturall improvements we have the contrary he saith not because you have imployed Naturalls therefore according to my promise I will s●cond it with grace but contrarily notwithstanding your utmost improvements Yet No man be he ever so accurate in naturall improvements can come except the Father draw him which to do no improvements can draw God You next alleadged another Scripture Luke 13.24 Strive to enter in but as touching this I finde no absolute promise of Grace annexed from Gods being ingaged by naturall improvements therefore not as yet seeing any thing considerable therein whereof to take notice shall step over to what appeares to be of greater moment Wherein though I conceive it sufficient to have deposed what I conceive against the proofs whereon you ground your fifth assertion yet I shall with great presumption on your patience and candid construction give my grounds for the contrary namely to prove that Naturall men dead c. have not such a power of Reason Judgement c. as whereby if they will accordingly put it forth they may do such things as whereunto God hath by promise annexed Grace which I conceive might be clearly made out from sundry Scriptures whereof to Name 2. or 3. One is Iohn 5. verse 39. Search the Scriptures concerning which though the first word be usually rendered as the Imperative Mood Search ye as a Command given to search yet for my part as yet with Submission to the judicious I finde not how it may be read with good sence any other way then as the Indicative Mood ye do search which I ground not onely on my own Judgement though I finde this that the Originall Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scrutamini may as properly be so rendered for as I remember 't is the Judgement of Doctor Homes as in his book Of new Heavens and new Earth I have seen though not since divers moneths by-gone and that it may most properly be thus rendred may as I conceive be most cleerly proved from the context the occasion of all Christs discourse from the 19. verse of that 5. chap. seemes chiefely to arise from what 's expressed in verse 18. where this is given as one reason why they sought to kill Christ because he had said God was his Father making himself equall with God c. Whereupon Christ all along forward in a most convincing manner proves the truth of that for which the Jews would needs have slain him to which purpose telling them God sent not Christ onely to bear witnesse of himselfe but sent his fore-runner John to bear witnesse which John ye sent to your selves verse 33. who accordingly bave witnesse of me and he was once a man in great credit with you therefore why might not his Testimony carry it Yea after he had named other grounds of testimony from his Works done and the Fathers own Testimony that sent him he adds yet a further ground of confirmation in this 39. verse even from their own practise as before in sending to know Johns judgement so here from their own diligent inquiry into the Scriptures ye do search even your selves do the scriptures namely the writings of the Prophets which alone were then written as of Moses particularly insisted on Again that they did search them is clear from what follows Moses shall accuse you verse 45. whose Accusation shall be a sufficient witnesse against them without Christs Why Because th●y perused his writings and so were rendred inexcuseable yea further cleer from the concluding clause of that 45. verse In whom viz. Moses ye trust or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in whom ye hope now had they not searched diligently and conformed to his writings they would not have built such hope thereon knowledge must precede confidence Which acception supposed to be most warrantable seemes considerable towards the proof of what 's affirmed Ye search which word imports exact and accurate scrutiny and no marvail for therefore ye search 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because in them ye think to have eternall life upon this very ground they searched and therefore with all their utmost care and diligence as conceiving to finde life in them which Paul himself that strict Pharisee searched so into as that he thought he had found life in them but yet was dead whiles so alive Rom. 7 8 9. and they are they that testifie of me those Scriptures which ye think to have life by from the letter of them testifie of me what it must have reference as I conceive to what they sought for namely eternall life they testifie then that what life ye think to have in them must be had in me they send you from themselves to the Messia pointed at by them as John sent such as he baptized with water to Christ to be baptized with the Holy Ghost Notwithstanding your searching ye will not come to me that ye might have life which proves that mens naturall improvements do not ingage God to give them saving faith without which through utmost improvements they could only look on the Scripture while pointing to a Messia but as a covenant of works and learned by all but to be selfe Justiciaries which sanctuary of justification by works we most obviously finde was the strongest one which the profoundest wisdome of the Jewes could erect Rom. 10.8 Object But it may be objected Christ in Verse 40. charges them with this Ye will not come to have life or in faith doth it not hence seem that they might have power to believe or to ingage God to to give faith which power they did not put forth as they might and that 's the reason why ye believe not Answ Whereto for answer for the former supposition that they might have power to believe that you absolutely conclude against For the latter which you avouch that they might so ingage themselves in improvements as to ingage God to give faith this must as yet be denied because here they did improve to their utmost their naturals in searching even as for life and yet God added not faith which is most undeniably proved in Chap. 6. from Verse 28 to 45. Wherein the whole discourse most inevitably demonstrates that they did as it were put all their naturall powers of reason judgement c. on the wrack as is before shewed by propounding questions rationall discussing them praying for c. But all this did not make Christ confesse I see you have done your utmost therefore I le perform mine engagements to give saving faith no he tearms their strongest reasonings but murmurings adding no promise thereunto and therefore not ingaged thereby so to do and consequently their not improving naturals is not the reason of Gods not giving faith which

take away from him by far more then we give and then we give only in conceit and take away from him in reality for the like order here is to be observed by us in making distribution between Nature Gods Handmaid and creature and God himself We must give to Nature the things that are Natures as to God the things that are Gods and as in the other case so here 't is most true That when men think to be most bountifull to God and take away all from Nature and cast all on God men may here dash their foot and and take away from God while thinking to give him A man may so farre oppresse Nature for Gods cause till he leave not so much to Nature as to bear the charge of its own condemnation and then if men leave not to Nature sufficient to bring the guilt on it of its owne condemnation then it must necessarily reflect upon God But if we will consider two Arguments in generall we shall see that the assertion mentioned that if men do what is in their power c. they shall finde acceptation with God must be maintained Consider this reason if men must labour for the bread which endures to everlasting life which Christ is said to give them and he not give it then God of necessity must destroy men for not doing that which is altogether out of their power to do for as for actuall believing 't is a work so farre out of the power of the creature as that it requires Gods power Omnipotent to effect Now to say God should destroy his creature for want of such an action as cannot be done by any power inferiour to Gods own which is infinite this is so hard a saying and so contrary and rises up with that fiery contestation against what the Scripture delivers concerning the gratiousnesse of the covenant of God and mercy by Jesus Christ yea it so rises up against all reason all principles of common sense that there is no Oyle that will mollifie it no reason nor argument nor consideration that is able to make attonement for it or to reconcile it with any of these either with any expression in Scripture concerning the tenour of the grace of God towards the world nor otherwise with the principles of reason and common sense 't were as good reason to say that God destroyes the creature for not being God or for not making another Heaven and Earth like to these he hath made as to say he destroyeth them for not doing that which they have no more power to doe then they have to make themselves God or an Heaven and Earth Neither will it at all here availe to say that men had power in Adam while as yet in the state of Innocency then to believe in Jesus Christ this will not all ease the businesse as if God might in a way of justice equity and righteousnesse condemne men for not doing that which sometimes they had power to do namely in their first Parents though now they have not I answer 't will not at all ease the businesse First because 't is not a truth Secondly though it were yet it would not salve the sore First that men never had power in Adam to believe in Jesus Christ especially to justification may evidently appear by these reasons that which Adam and himself never had in the state of Innocency that certainly his posterity could never have but certaine 't is that Adam himselfe had never such power of believing in Christ in innocency neither therefore can his posterity be supposed to have such a power Now that he had no such power is evident hence because there was no necessity use or occasion of such a power as this to have been given to Adam in that state we all know and look on God as the most wise Agent that ever acted now 't is inconsistent with his wisdome and dispensation that he should create such an excellent power as this of believing is when there was no necessity nor use thereof That there was no occasion thereof is evident because during the time of innocency he was in a state of righteousnesse and justification on other tearms and in another way so that he had no necessity of a power to believe to justification because as Paul saith Gal. 2. If righteousnesse be by the law than Christ dyed in vaine so it had been in vain Adam being under a righteousnesse by the Law then for him to believe that Jesus Christ was dead or alive for his justification What 's the reason man had no wings put upon him in the time of innocency but only that he was well enough in that state for this is reason enough to prove that Adam had no such power of believing because well enough without even in a state of righteousnesse Secondly if Adam during his innocency had a power to believe either for his own or for any of his posterity their justification and salvation then he had a power also to foresee his fall because justification presupposes sinne because 't is from sinne and consequently a power to believe presupposeth a sight and a sense of sin but that he had no such principle in him vvhereby to foresee his fall in time of innocency is evident hence because had he had a power for to foresee his fall before he fell then he had a power or principle out of which he might have been made miserable before he sinned because it cannot be imagined but that the foresight of his sin and fall and posterity with him and the whole world that should come out of his loynes would have been a very tormenting consideration to him and therefore it being altogether against the righteousnesse of God that man should be miserable before he sinned hence 't is clear he had no power then to believe in Christ because not able to foresee his fall Thirdly if Adam in innocency had power to believe in Christ then had he a power to foresee the incarnation death and resurrection of Christ because none can have a power to believe in Christ savingly but on knowledge of these now if Adam had a power to belive c. It must be supposed he had such a knowledge of Christs Incarnation c. but that he had nor the least whispering of this great Mysterie concerning Christ during his innocency is evident as from other Scriptures so especially from that 2 Cor. 2.8 9. Now certainly if there were any of the deep things of God that were of the deepest mystery that of Christs Incarnation was the most deep of all things deep out of the sphear of the minds of Men and Angels therefore 't is certain Adam had no knowledge of this mysterie till after his fall But another Objection Object He had a power to believe in Christ had this mystery been revealed to him in his innocency though he had not such a power actually to put it forth yet had not he such