December 4, 2014

Nathaniel Vincent (c.1639–1697) on Pardon and Glory Begging in the Gospel

There are these Five things that will exceedingly aggravate the loss of life to the ungodly.

1. This life was proffered often to the ungodly in the Gospel. The Fountain of living waters was not a Fountain sealed, but 'twas set open; and yet this Fountain was forsaken for the sake of broken Cisterns. The Spirit and the Bride say come, the Ministers of the Gospel say come, and the sinners pressing necessity and want says Go, and drink of the waters of life, since thou mayest do it freely, Rev. 22:17. and yet he refuseth to accept the invitation. Pardon goes as it were a begging, and Glory a begging in the Gospel, and yet neither are accepted, though offered upon terms most just and reasonable. Oh how will it torture the damned to reflect upon this, that they would not come to Christ, though life was assured upon their coming, John 5:40.
Nathaniel Vincent, A Covert from the Storm (London: Printed in the Year 1671), 134.

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Other men within the Augustinian tradition who use the metaphor of God begging are the following:

Augustine, Hugh Latimer (Early English Reformer), Samuel Rutherford (Westminster divine), Thomas Manton (Puritan), Jeremiah Burroughs (Westminster divine), John Trapp (Puritan), Sydrach Simpson (Westminster divine), Joseph Caryl (Westminster divine), Robert Harris (Westminster divine), Theophilus Gale (Puritan), William Gearing (Puritan), Richard Baxter (Puritan), Isaac Ambrose (Puritan), Stephen Charnock (Puritan), John Richardson (Puritan), John Flavel (Puritan), Thomas Watson (Puritan), Thomas Case (Puritan), Richard Sibbes (Puritan), Anthony Palmer (Puritan), John Shower (Puritan), John Collinges (Puritan), William Gurnall (Puritan), Andrew Gray (Puritan), George Swinnock (Puritan), Ralph Venning (Puritan), Daniel Burgess (Puritan), Samuel Willard, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Solomon Stoddard, Samuel Davies, Ralph Erskine, Charles Spurgeon, Thomas Chalmers, Walter Chantry, Erroll Hulse, John MacArthur and Fred Zaspel.

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