Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bear_v	truth_n	witness_n	3,073	5	8.6773	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43469	Some plain letters in the defence of infant baptism and of the mode of baptizing (now generally used in the Church of England), which may serve, for a confutation of a small treatise entituled The reason why not infant-sprinkling, but believers-baptism ought to be approved, &c.	Hewerdine, Thomas, 1659 or 60-1738?	1699 (1699)	Wing H1630; ESTC R5896	62,852	138

SOME PLAIN LETTERS In the DEFENCE of Infant Baptism And of the Mode of Baptizing Now generally used in the Church of England By Sprinkling or Pouring on Water Which may serve For ●●●TUTATION of a small Treatise INTITULED The Reason why not Infant-Sprinkling but Believers-Baptism ought to be Approved c. When you bring your Children to be Baptized see that you do most sincerely give them up to God and devote them to his Service with firm Resolutions to bring them up in his Fear if God spare your Lives and theirs and earnestly pray for his Grace to be given into their Souls Christian Monitor Pag. 37. LONDON Printed for R. Wilkin at the King's Head in St. Paul's Church-yard 1699. TO THE JOINT-PARISHIONERS OF March Doddington Wimblington and Benwick IT will not my Brethren it will not concern you to know the particular occasion of these Letters nor am I Licens'd to Publish his Name who gave the occasion but this I will say That he did very Fairly and very Ingenuously and as it became a wise Man and a good Christian to do For he did not as some have indiscreetly and loosely done listen with both his Ears to the Objections against Infant-Baptism and so rashly condemn it without any more a-do No but he was very Concernedly desirous and forward to hear what could be said in the Defence of it too As I remember I have read of that fam'd Conqueror Alexander the Great that when a Friend of his was Complain'd of to him he stopt one of his Ears he lent but one Ear to the Complaint that was made against his Friend and kept the other to hear what his Friend cou'd Reply in Answer to it And thus should we constantly do in the Case of Religion when ever any Point or Doctrine of our Religion is call'd in Question we should always reserve one Ear to hear what may be said in its Vindication and Defence And indeed the greatest and plainest Truths are liable to be spoken against and even Jesuits Socinians Antinomians and the other Adversaries of our Faith will raise such Objections against the clearest Articles of it as are not to be Answer'd by every one amongst us at the first hearing It was a Witty Fiction of Old that once upon a time Truth came down to this Earth from Heaven but here among the Sons of Men being but coldly received and finding no very welcome entertainment she e'en took wing and was flying to Heaven again but in her flight she chanc'd to drop down her Mantle which Error immediately finding took up and put on and has worn it ever since This is the Fable and the Moral of it is That no Error does ever appear in the World but 't is clad in Truth 's Mantle and the disguise is not always so thin or so easily and readily to be seen through as never to escape a discovery No But indeed my Brethren you ought to think more Modestly than to think every Objection unanswerable which you cannot Answer it is not expected from you that you should be able to Defend every point of your Religion against all Gain-sayers But then Will you presently Condemn what you cannot Defend Or immediately let go a Truth because of an Objection which you cannot Answer Will any one among you part with an Acre of Land upon the same account Namely because he is not himself able to Defend his Title to it And shall we not hold the profession of our Faith as fast as we do a clod of Earth shall we not take advice and counsel before we be perswaded to quit any part of our Religion as well as we shall be sure to do before we be perswaded to quit our Interest in the least parcel of an Estate But how then will they answer it to God and to their Consciences who in the great and weighty Cause of Religion have taken the Advice only of her Adversaries And without any further Examination or Tryal have forthwith condemn'd whatsoever it has pleased these Adversaries to pass their Sentence upon Was this fair Dealing Was it to judge righteous Judgment Or does it look like Sincerity or any real concern for Religion when the bare accusation of an Enemy has been taken for good proof against her My Brethren I doubt not but our Adversaries have told you that the Baptism which you receiv'd in your Infancy was no Baptism because Baby-Sprinkling as they vainly term it is no Baptism but pray be so just to your selves as to enquire of them whether any Person who has been twice Baptiz'd be not a perfect Anabaptist Nay be plain be plain and ask them if you have not Sinn'd by your second Baptism if it be prov'd that your Infant-Baptism was a right Baptism if they dare to confess the Truth they must tell you that you have and that you ought to Repent of that Sin of that second Baptism if your first Baptism was rightly administer'd Well but then certainly you ought to have been very sure that your Infant-Baptism was no Baptism before you had run the hazard of Sinning by Anabaptism or by your being Baptized a second time I have some hopes and earnest desires that if you will give these following Letters a fair reading you may Consider what you have done and what you ought to have done and what you ought now to do But I forbear because I would not here be thought to reflect too much upon any Person or Persons among us no more than I have done in the following Letters God is my Witness that I bear ill-will to none of their Persons whose opinions I have here oppos'd to confess the Truth I have no cause Nay but I will take this opportunity publickly to acknowledge that I have found very great respect and civilities from the most and the best of them that I know Besides I always endeavour to bear in mind the Apologue of the Sun and the Wind contending for the Travellers Cloak The Wind made a great bluster and would have forc'd it from him But this mad way of contending was so notoriously in vain that the stronger the Wind blew it made the Man but hold his Garment the faster But then the Sun shone forth and Saluted him with a chearful Ray and warm'd him with a gentle Gleam and so indeed was the Man prevail'd upon to suffer his Garment to fall from him And thus the Sun did by fair means what the Wind with all it's Bustle and Rage could not The meaning is That Men will sooner be perswaded out of their Mistakes and Errors by Candidness and fair Respects than hector'd out of them with Noise and Roughness I have not I hope been Guilty of any such Roughness or Clamour or Bitterness or Evil-speaking in these Papers I have been careful not to give any such offence And let me add that I have studi'd to speak plain too Yea I will not be ashamed to confess that it is for their plainness