A30345:549
A treatise of the covenant of grace wherein the gradual breakings out of Gospel…A treatise of the covenant of grace wherein the graduall breakings out of Gospel…
A treatise of the covenant of grace wherein the gradual breakings out of Gospel grace from Adam to Christ are clearly discovered, the differences betwixt the Old and New Testament are laid open, divers errors of Arminians and others are confuted, the nature of uprightness, and the way of Christ in bringing the soul into communion with himself ... are solidly handled / by that faithful servant of Jesus Christ, and minister of the Gospel, John Ball ; published by Simeon Ash.A treatise of the covenant of grace wherein the graduall breakings out of Gospel grace from Adam to Christ are clearly discovered, the differences betwixt the Old and New Testament are laid open, divers errours of Arminians and others are confuted, the nature of uprightnesse, and the way of Christ in bringing the soul into communion with himself ... are solidly handled / by that faithfull servant of Jesus Christ, and minister of the Gospel, John Ball ; published by Simeon Ash.
London: printed by G. Miller for Edward Brewster, 1645
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.
Again, the Scripture speaks of the sheep of Christ, two ways, according to vocation or according to election. According to vocation they are sheep, who externally pertain to the number of Gods people and the Church: according to election,1 many sheep are without, many wolves within, and many sheep within, many wolves without. Although there be a distinction betwixt the merit of Christ by his obedience even to death, and his intercession, yet one of them cannot be separated from the other: for he maketh intercession for them to his Father for whom he hath merited reconciliation by his death, and we cannot think he should lay down his life for them, for whom he would not pray. If we look unto the signification of the words, Mediator and Intercessor note the same thing: and if Christ have put himself betwixt the wrath of God and man to obtain reconciliation by making satisfaction to offended justice, can it be thought, he will not request, that for the virtue of his sacrifice they for whom he hath satisfied, might be accepted of the Father. If we look to these two functions of Mediation, suffering death and making intercession, they are conjoined in Scripture. It is Christ that 2died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. If any man sin we have 3an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our our sins. Christ is our Advocate, if he be our propitiation, if we will receive the testimony of the Apostle and not separate things that God hath conjoined. Incredible it is, that Christ out of his incredible love should vouchsafe to lay down his life for them as well as others, for whom, the time of his passion being at hand, he would not power out a prayer. How ⟨p. 258⟩these two be conjoined in the intention of our Saviour, sc. to pray4 for men and to offer himself a Sacrifice for them, may appear by the words of our Saviour himself, for these I sanctify my self, that is, for these am I prepared to offer my self, that they might be sanctified by the truth; for these, that is, them for whom he prayed. And if Christ had intended to offer up himself an holy and propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of all and every man, he would rather have prayed his Father to accept his sacrifice for all men, then profess that he prayed not for all men.