A29368:175
The freeness of the grace and love of God to believers discovered in reference…
The freeness of the grace and love of God to believers discovered in reference to 1. their services and suffering, 2. their consolations, and 3. their salvation and eternal glory : together with the excellency of the fear of God, the goodness and pleasantness of brotherly love, the wisdom of hearing the voice of the rod, repentance the only way to prevent judgements / delivered in several sermons by the late reverend and faithful minister of Christ, Mr. William Bridge ...The freeness of the grace and love of God to believers discovered in reference to 1. their services and suffering, 2. their consolations, and 3. their salvation and eternal glory : together with the excellency of the fear of God, the goodness and pleasantness of brotherly love, the wisdom of hearing the voice of the rod, repentance the only way to prevent judgements / delivered in several sermons by the late reverend and faithful minister of Christ, Mr. William Bridg ...
London: printed for Nath. Crouch, 1671
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
But it may be this blessed Estate is bestowed only upon those that are worthy? No not so, this is most commonly bestowed upon those that are most unworthy: what is more unworthy than a Dog? why, was not Stephen looked upon as a Dog? yea were not the Gentiles looked upon as Dogs? saith Christ; Why cast ye the Children's bread to Dogs? Now though Salvation was of the Jews, for Christ came of the Jews, yet Salvation is now for the Gentiles; and among the Gentiles; who was more unworthy than a blasphemer, and a persecutor of the Saints and Servants of God, and such a one was Paul, and yet he was saved, though he was not only undeserving of it, but deserving the quite contrary; now who more undeserving than those that deserve the contrary? ⟨p. 68⟩yet by grace even they are saved, therefore saith the Psalmist, Psal. 8.3. When I consider thy Heavens, the work of thy singers, the Moon and the Stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of Man that thou visitest him, &c. So I say, that the more glorious any mercy is, and the more unworthy the receiver is, and the greater he is that gives, the more free is the thing given, and thus it is with our Salvation. Salvation is a great, and glorious mercy, and this Salvation is given, and that is great and glorious too, and it is given unto man who is most unworthy, and 'tis given by God who is most infinite and excellent above us. But again
But it may be this blessed Estate is bestowed only upon those that are worthy? No not so, this is most commonly bestowed upon those that are most unworthy: what is more unworthy than a Dog? why, was not Stephen looked upon as a Dog? yea were not the Gentiles looked upon as Dogs? saith Christ; Why cast ye the Childrens bread to Dogs? Now though Salvation was of the Jews, for Christ came of the Jews, yet Salvation is now for the Gentiles; and among the Gentiles; who was more unworthy than a blasphemer, and a persecutor of the Saints and Servants of God, and such a one was Paul, and yet he was saved, though he was not only undeserving of it, but deserving the quite contrary; now who more undeserving than those that deserve the contrary? ⟨p. 68⟩yet by grace even they are saved, therefore saith the Psalmist,