A29368:385
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 you will say, is there no difference between these two?
I answer yes, for 1. There is a whipping rod, a rod of correction, and there is also a breaking rod; a whipping rod for the Saints, and a breaking rod for the wicked. In the 2. Psalm it is said, Thou will rule them with a rod of Iron, and ⟨p. 136⟩break them in pieces like a potters vessel.
Secondly, Though God doth Afflict his own people with the rod, the wicked being the rod in Gods hand, yet he will cast that rod into the sire, when he hath done with it, but though he doth also punish the transgressions of the wicked by the righteous, they being the rod in Gods hand, yet will he not cast that rod also into the fire upon that Account: the Saints may rejoice when they see the wicked punished, because they know that themselves shall not be thrown into the fire, but the wicked have no cause to rejoice when they see the Godly afflicted, because they may be sure, they themselves shall be thrown into the fire, when they have done their work; The Child may laugh when he sees the rod thrown into the fire, because he knows he shall not be thrown in himself.
Secondly, Though God doth Afflict his own people with the rod, the wicked being the rod in Gods hand, yet he will cast that rod into the sire, when he hath done with it, but though he doth also punish the transgressions of the wicked by the righteous, they being the rod in Gods hand, yet will he not cast that rod also into the fire upon that Account: the Saints may rejoyce when they see the wicked punshed, because they know that themselves shall not be thrown into the fire, but the wicked have no cause to rejoyce when they see the Godly afflicted, because they may be sure, they themselves shall be thrown into the fire, when they have done their work; The Child may laugh when he sees the rod thrown into the fire, because he knows he shall not be thrown in himself.