Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	accident_n	according_a	act_v	31	3	7.2277	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41483	The banner of justification displayed: or; a discourse, concerning the deep, and important mystery of the justification of a sinner wherein the severall causes thereof, being both numerous and various, are from the first to the last diligently enquired after, and their severall contributions towards so great and happy a work, clearly distinguished, and assigned to their proper causes (respectively.) and more particularly is shewed, how God, how the grace of God, how the decree of God, how the soveraign authority of God; how Christ, how the active obedience [of] Christ, how the passive obedience of Christ, how the resurrection of Christ, how the knowledge of Christ; how the spirit of God, how faith, how repentance, how works, how remission of s[in,] how the word, how the minister of the word, how the P[ope?] himself which is justified, may all truly, though upon severall accounts, and after different manners, be sayed to justifie.	Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.	1659 (1659)	Wing G1150A; ESTC R221574	62,441	91

himself or make himself rich yea somewhat more properly then when it is said that the hand of the diligent maketh rich Prov. 10. 4. In like manner when a man doth that upon which or by means wherof he shall certainly be justified this fruit or reward of his Action his justification may without the violation of any Rule either of Grammar or of Rhetorick be ascribed unto him Hence it follows God having by a perpetuall and inviolable Decree setled the great benefit and priviledge of justification upon believing that when soever any person man or woman shall life up his heart hereunto I mean to believe by this Action he may be said to justifie himself not indeed after any such manner or upon any such terms as God is said to justifie men upon their believing as viz. Authoritatively or as having a soveraign right to justifie whom or upon what terms he pleaseth or the like but in such a way or sense only wherein a person may be said to do that which upon his Action is done unto him by another Of this Construction or Dialect there are instances more then a few in the Scriptures It may be here demanded but is it meet or tolerable to say that a man when he believeth imputeth righteousness unto himself or forgiveth himself his sins and yet both these are done unto him by another viz. God upon his believing yea these are as hath in effect been formerly sayd but interpretative expressions of justification it self And therefore it seems that whosoever may in any sense be said to justifie may in the same sense be said to do both the one and the other of these and this in reference to any or all of these persons whom they are sayd to justifie To this I answer 1. That the Expressions put to the Question in this Demand are indeed uncouth and harsh grating upon eares that have any competent tast of Words Nor do I judge them fitting to be applied to or spoken of him that believeth But 2. When a man is said by believing to justifie himself the meaning is not that he absolveth himself from his sins or pronounceth a Sentence of absolution over himself or that he imputeth righteousness unto himself or the like but only that he levieth puts forth or performs such an Act whereby he prevaileth with God according to his gracious Covenant and promise to justifie him and therein to do all these things to him or for him As when a man is said to save himself which as we heard is the Apostles own expression the meaning is not either that by a strong hand or by any physicall power he over-matcheth the Devill and keeps himself out of his Clutches and from being carried or thrust by him into Hell or that he invests himself with the state of blessedness and glory which is signified and meant by Salvation but that he takes such a course as viz. By believing and persevering in it unto the end whereby he shall find favour in the sight of God to do these things for him Now to say a man by believing takes an effectuall and direct course to prevail with God to forgive him his sins to impute righteousness unto him c. are as proper and convenient expressions as to say that he prevails with him to justifie him yet 3. and lasty It may be considered that one and the same thing may admit of severall considerations and different respects and in and under some one of these considerations and respects may admit of some attributions of which it is not so regularly or smoothly capable under another As for instance Salvation or the saving of the Soul is one and the same act yet it may be considered either as it is procurable at the hand of God by men as viz. by Faith and continuance in well-doing or as it is a rescuing or vindication of men by strength of Arm from the power of the Devill or as it is an actuall instating in or putting men into a reall possession of that blessedness and glory which God hath assigned by promise unto his Saints and those that shall be saved Now in either of these two latter considerations it is not ascribable unto men but in the first of the three as we have heard it is In like manner the act of justifying is one and the same act yet it admits of sundry considerations 1. It may be considered either as an act of God imputing righteousness unto men or as an act of his forgiving men all their sins or as an act of Grace and high favour purchased at his hand by Christ for men or lastly As an act attainable from God by men for themselves by performing of such conditions or terms upon and according unto which he hath covenanted and promised the vouchsafement of it The former considerations of the act we speak of are of that nature and import that in respect of none of them it is attributable unto men they all importing such things which are above the Line of men But in the consideration last mentioned it may in very passable and convenient Language be attributed unto men who believe in reference to themselves Nor need it be offensive unto any man to hear it said that men who believe in that sense justifie themselves There are two other Causes of Justification yet remaining not mentioned in the Title Page amongst those that have been insisted on Viz. The Materiall and the Finall of these in few words Concerning the materiall Cause of Justification Sect. 18 they who make it to be either Christ himself or the Righteousness of Christ either active or passive or both express themselves very unproperly and confound two Causes alwaies distinct and contradistinguished Viz. The efficient and the materiall the former being alwaies extrinsecall the latter intrinsecall to the effect or thing caused by them in conjunction with the other two Causes And besides in so notioning the matter or material Cause of Justification they decline the ordinary Rule by which men who love exactness and propriety as well in conceiving as in speaking are wont to walk in both in Cases of like nature and import For whereas no Action as no Accident besides hath any matter or materiall Cause properly so called yet being an effect or somewhat that is caused there must be some Vice-matter or somewhat answering the nature or consideration of such a materiall Cause found in it or relating to it Now that which relateth unto an Action with greatest Affinity unto matter or to a materiall Cause properly so called is Subjectum recipiens or Circa quod as Logicians speak that is the Subject receiving the Action or the Object upon which the Action is acted According to this notion the believing or repentant sinner or which is the same the person justified or to be justified is the materiall Cause of Justification Such a person exhibits or presents as it were unto God matter duly fitted and

importunely urging it to stave off the ●h●e●●nings of the Prophets of God against them 〈…〉 ●s God himself by his Prophet Jeremy expresseth thei d●votion in this kind Jer 7. 4. The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are th●se So is the cove●t of Orthodoxisme in sacred request with the men we speak of when they have invested themselves with it they are as in a Castle of War there is no coming ●t them no touching them with any Charge or Imputation of Error Heresie Blasphemy or the like ever and anon in their Writings in their Preachings in their Discoursings they are in effect saying The Orthodox the Orthodox the Orthodox are these pointing at or meaning themselves those that are of their Judgment When they have once given such an account of their Faith as to be admitted to commence orthodox they are as secure from infection in their Judgments with any of those noysome and poysonous Creatures Errors Mistakes Heresies as a Room built or seiled with Irish Oake is from the danger of any Spiders Webb But doubtless there can no sufficient reason or ground in equity be given why Pendente lite the matter being under so sober and serious a dispute between them and their Brethren of opposite Judgment as it is which of them are the Oxthodox they should antedate the Issue and success of the Contest run away with the Crown upon their own heads before they have won it yea if standers by and unpartial men may have leave to judge before they are like to win it So then let the word Orthodox in Mr. Hickmans Passage lately mentioned be taken Orthodoxly and signifie those who are as I verily believe Orthodox indeed in the Controversie he speaks of and then without controversie what he saith is most true That a spirit of most Childish insultation seems to have possessed as many as have lift up an English Pen against the Orthodox in the Quinquarticular Controversie Of the truth of the words in his sense of Orthodox he gave but one instance only and this strained and stretch'd beyond its Staple as hath been proved But of the truth of them in my sense of the said word Orthodox I have prevented him somewhile since with two instances pregnant and uncontrolable of two men both of them great Doctors and men of Renown famous in the Congregation of the Contra-remonstrants Doctor Kendall and Doctor John Owen whom in my Preface to my Triumviri and in the Discourse it self I have produced as Witnesses beyond exception against themselves as to the Point of the Delinquency whereof Mr. Hickman speaks I mean most Childish insultation and in this Preface have given him measure heaped up with a third instance in the same kind of a person highly I question not esteemed by him though not so well known unto him I mean himself As for his Spartan Valour if his Breast be enobled with it 〈◊〉 if so much as a spark of it warms his blood I doubt not but he will have an Opportunity to shew it by that time Mr. Pierce hath done with him Good Reader I have detained thee over-long with an Apologeticall story of no great consequence in respect of my self nor haply unto thee Only my hope is that the person concerned in it with my self may through the blessing of God upon his perusall and second thoughts of it advance somewhat towards the better understanding of himself I call God for a Record upon my Soule that I beare him not the least Graine of any Grudge or ill-will I love my self better then not to love him And that I do not neglect or despise him I think the pains I have now bestowed to set my self streight in his thoughts will sufficiently witness for me Nay upon the account of what I have heard concerning the Genius and St●ein of his Book I judge him a man commendably pregnant and that if he shall take heed of wronging his strength by over-pragmatickness and confidence in undertakings or his Conscience by unadvised clashing with the Truth he may make happy Earnings of serving his Generation Thus far Mr. Hickman Concerning the sequell of the Papers now in thy hand the Argument or subject Matter of it is an Essay or Endeavour to make 1. A discovery of all the Causes from the first to the last as far as they are either held forth or insinuated in the Scriptures of that mysterious and weighty Business Justification 2. To assign unto every of these Causes respectively their appropriate Interests Interposures and Contributions in and about and towards this great and happy state of a Sinner As there is no ground in Christian Religion that hath I conceive more Springs in it of Questions and sublime Contemplations then this of Justification so neither is there any about which the Holy Ghost to my observation hath employed so many Pens especially in that variety of Discourse and enquiry Intending only an Epitome or Summary Comprisall of the more materiall Points or Difficulties relating unto the Subject we speak of we had no opportunity to insist upon any particular at large That which was chiefly projected and desired by this little Piece was to make diligent and narrow search after the different co-operations of those numerous Causes which God hath judgded meet to imploy ordinarily according to their respective Natures and Capacities of acting in and about the investing of a Sinner with that great Blessedness of Justification which he hath contrived and provided for him That knowledge in Matters of Religion which is so commonly presum'd to be in Professors of this Age above the former is rather a Bulk then a Body of Knowledge and though it commonly passeth under the name of Knowledge yet in propriety of speaking it is not so but rather a confident perswasion or belief that things are so or so as they apprehend them to be Which belief though it answers the reality and being of that which is believed so as it were by accident be true yet it is not knowledge nor doth it argue Knowledge unless the Believer understands the Reason of what he thus believeth or at least a substantiall Ground why he thus believeth it Yea in all matters of doubtfull Disputation from the Scriptures for men to pretend or alledge the Scriptures as a Reason or Ground of what they believe signifieth little unless they should give a good and substantiall Reason to prove that to be the true Sense and meaning of the Scriptures which must Countenance and confirm their Opinion for truth against their Adversary Yea when two shall contend for their respective Opinions being opposite the one unto the other from o● by the Authority of the Scriptures if neither of them be able to give any competent account why they interpret or understand the Scriptures so or so in comportance with their Opinion was sometimes it happeneth they do but beat the Aire with contesting and both their