Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	believe_v	faith_n	promise_n	1,407	5	7.2554	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16543	The importunate begger for things necessary, or necessity, without deniall Or a treatise, wherein is shewed the lawfullnesse of praying absolutely for necessary temporall things, without doubting or wavering, and that the saints of God may and ought, as absolutely depend upon God, for their dayly bread, as they may for the pardon of their sinnes, and that the cause is in themselves, who doe not obtaine them. Whereunto is annexed an answer to Mr. Norrice his 5 arguments, which were framed against it, together with an answer to his Prosopopeia, wherein, as well the insufficiency of those arguments, as the deceitfullnesse of his collections, is plainely manifested by R.B.	Boye, Rice.	1635 (1635)	STC 3450; ESTC S106818	69,334	88

daughters for want of other meat Now Israel rebelling against the Lord in breaking his commaundements for she plucketh away the shoulder saith Zachary chap. 7.11 and forgetting the Lords former kindnesses that as Hosea saith chap. 2.8 he had given unto them corne and wine and wool flaxe he brought upon them this grievous plague as it is vers 10. the pittyfull women according as he had threatned did eat their owne children for want of other meats Neither doth the church goe about to excuse her self or lay the least aspersion upon God for this for she doth ingeniously confesse that it was justly come upon her as appeareth vers 12.13 for saith she the Kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world would not have beleeved that the enimy should have entred into the gates of Ierusalem Ah saith she but our sinnes contrary to all the worlds judgement the sinnes of our Preists and Prophets have caused it Which words she repeatingly useth from the Prophet Ieremy chap. 5.31 as if she had sayd Our Prophets prophesie falsely and our Preists beare rule by their meanes and we love to have it so Wherefore saith she againe Lament 1.18 The Lord is righteous for I have rebelled against his commandements What now was the cause of this plague your owne words shall be the answer The Lord did visite them thus for their sinnes What then would the Lord have layd upon them that plague had they not rebelled Surely no. For had they not broken Gods covenant and rebelled they had remayned in their owne borders and had plenty And therefore from the promises and from your owne words wee conclude that the cause why the Iewes were punished with famine was because they wanted both humiliation for their sinnes Zach. 7.7 they hearkened not to the words which the Lord cryed by the former Prophets The plague was still in their owne hearts as also because they wanted faith they could not beleeve that promise 1. Kings 9. which God made with them contrary to your words yet they are not charged to want faith They wanted humiliation for their sinnes * See Deut. 32.20 which was the cause of their punishment and then how is it possible to have faith to apprehend that particular deliverance For had they had faith in that particular they must needs have had repentance too they both goe together And whereas you say Who will beare any correction if by his faith he may presently remoove it from him Surely for my part I know not any but would be glad so to walke with God in uprightnesse as that they might not procure his displeasure so farre as to cause him to punish them And I know not any but are grieved in heart so farre to displease him as that he must needs punish them And lastly whereas you say how can that be a signe of unbeleefe that is a speciall testimony of Gods love I answer it is true when a Saint of God doth revolte and runne backward and it may be ly sleeping in some sinne a pretty while the Lord and that out of his love doth stretch forth his hand by laying some judgement upon him which is as a warning-peale to stay him and to bring back his soule from the pit To which purpose is that place Revel 3.19 As many as I love I rebuke and chasten What follows be Zealous therefore and repent So then if God and that out of his love doe afflict his servants going astray for their profit that they might pertake of his holynesse what doth this hinder but that they repenting and beleeving may have that judgement or punishment remooved from them seeing God upon their humiliation and faith doth promise it and is grieved for their misery Iudg. 10.16 Concerning your second case of probation and tryall wherein you endeavour to shut absolute prayer from the view of men it is nothing at all against it for those in Heb. 11.37 suffered those things for the truth sake neither did they accept deliverance And Paul also 2. Cor. 11.37 suffered those things for the Gospels sake in time of persecution as he testifieth 2. Tim. 1.12 which kind of sufferings both of Paul and those in the Hebrew are blessings and the portions of Gods servants not to be prayed against but rather rejoyced in unto the partaking of which afflictions Paul exhorteth Timothy in the chapter before quoted Vers 8 Now that neither of these cases doe proove the temporall promises to be conditionall or contradict absolute prayer for temporall necessaries it is plaine and you may see it further prooved in that which we have sayd in defence of that Tenent unto which I referre you SUch things as are ordinarily denyed to the best and most faithfull servants of God and accompany not their condition here cannot be absolutely prayed for or exspected neither will that procure them for that were to crosse his providence But these outward matters are so as is rehearsed Therefore c. This appeares by 2. testimonies 1. Of St. Iames chap. 2.5 God hath chosen the poore in this world to be rich in faith and heires of his Kingdome rich in faith and yet outwardly poore the abundance of faith therefore helps not their poverty 2. Of our Saviour Math. 25.35 I was hungry and ye fed me not thirsty and ye gave me no drinke naked and ye cloathed me not c. wherein it appeares that some of the members of Christ shall be poore and distressed wanting necessaries in all times to the end of the world neither are these taxed for wāt of faith at all nor yet doth the Lord faile of any of his promises to his servants much lesse by a continuall course therefore are they denyed Answer to the second Argument TO this I answer that the Minor proposition is also false for whereas you say outward necessary things are ordinaryly denyed to the best of Gods servants and that they accompany not their condition it is no such matter First outward necessaries unlesse in case of their fayling and disobedience or when they are deprived of them for the Gospels sake in case of persecution which is a blessed thing and their portion against which they have no warrant to pray as wee have elsewhere declared are not ordinaryly denyed the Saints for David in all his observations never found it so as his owne words doe witnesse I have bene young and now am old Psal 37.35 yet have I not seene the righteous forsaken nor their seed begging bread and the Psalmist doth give the reason Vers 9 Those that waite upon the Lord shall inherit the earth Secondly that these outward necessaries doe accompany the condition of the Saints here contrary to your assertion its plainely prooved All was lost in Adam but restored againe to those and to those onely who are renewed in Christ Iesus and to them of right it doth belong by vertue of the promise all the rest are but usurpers Wherefore saith the

forth the fruits of humiliation will sticke as fast as Gehasies leprosie It will not be remooved And thus of the second thing required in prayer The third followeth It must be without doubting Doubting in this place is opposed to faith for indeed they are contrary where faith is doubting is not and where doubting is codem instant● faith cannot be for faith admits not of doubting In these words when he sayth Pray without doubting it is all one as if he had sayd Pray with faith Doubt not at all when ye pray The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used by the Apostle doth properly signify sine disceptatione and so Beza doth translate it So that the Apostles meaning as it may be gathered from the nature of the word is this he would have us when wee pray to be so farre from doubting as that wee should not so much as question or dispute in any doubtfull manner or say as the Serpent did to the woman Gen. 3.1 Yea hath God said But when we urge God for his promises by prayer he would have us to doe it wee see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sine disceptatione without disputing without doubting Now further to proove that doubting ought to be excluded and that faith is required in all prayer we need not any longer to insist upon it in this place but referre you to our former grounds where it is fully manifested Now that the want of faith is another cause why God doth stop his eares at our prayers it is easily justifiable by the Scriptures And indeed the truth is wee may say of faith in prayer as our Saviour did of those great commaundements upon this hangs all the rest Where this is truely there all the other foure things required in prayer must needs be For unlesse a man come to God with humiliation and with love unlesse he aske for the true ends and according to Gods revealed will it is impossible to have faith well he may have a kinde of swimming conceit to have the thing petitioned but faith he cannot have Where faith is there are accompaning her all these attendants but where she is not there her attendants will not prevaile Faith is the key of the whole worke The want of this spoyles all Now that the lack of faith a wavering or doubting is also a speciall cause why the Saints doe often goe away empty from the throne of grace it is plainly made manifest in divers places It is sayd of our Saviour Mat. 13.58 in whom there is neither want of power or will that he did not many mightie workes there because of their unbeliefe Calvine upon the place is of this opinion for he repeatingly using these words of Augustine Faith is very aptlie compared to certaine vessels with open mouth but infidelitie is like to a cover with the which the vessells are covered that it cannot receive the liquor poured in by the Spirit of God Unto which comparison of Augustine Calvine doth assent as his owne words doe witnesse And truelie sayth hee it is so indeed For the Lord seeing that his power is not received of us doth at the length take away the same and yet notwithstanding afterwards we complaine that we want his helpe which our incredulitie and hardnesse of heart hath repelled and driven away Unto this also doth Gualter subscribe in one of his Homilies upon these words And he could doe there no mightie workes Mark 6. his words are these Admonemur igitur hoc exemplo c. we are taught by this example how it comes to passe that we are at this day deprived of many blessings Nimirum sayth he quod paucissimos invenire licet vere credentes c. And hence it is that he breaketh out into this dolefull complaint Est autem haec gravis horribilis infidelitatis poena quod Christi virtutem nobis infrugiferam c. Oh what a grievous and horrible punishment of infidelity is this It doth cause both the power and vertue of Christ to be unfruitfull unto us and make us altogether unable and unworthy to pertake of it What doe those words before recited proove but according to the judgement also of those Divines that the want of faith in apprehending the promises doth deprive us of many blessing as well concerning the body as the soule This word If in prayer is but a little word but yet it stands betweene God and us as a cloude it doth deprive us of many favours So long as this If stood betweene Christ and the Father in the 9. of Marke and the 22. it kept him from the blessing but being afterwards remooved his request was graunted his child was dispossessed of a dumbe and deafe spirit at the same instant Moses was deprived of a temporall blessing Numb 20.12 and the cause is imputed to Titubatio fidei to the halting of his faith and very justly to for the Lord himself saith in the place before quoted because ye beleeved me not to sanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them And the Psalmist saith 106.32 That it went ill with Moses notwithstanding the people provoked his spirit so that he spake unadvisedly with his lippes No marvaill then if the want of faith doth in these last times deprive the Saints of God of many blessings seeing Moses himself for lack of this came short of the promised Canaan If men feare and doubt with Peter Math. 14.30 no marvaill if they sinke with Peter And great reason there is that the same saying should be applyed to such as doubt of temporall promises as Christ applyed to Peter vers 31. Oh thou of little faith wherefore doest thou doubt Now to prevent all prejudicate opinions concerning this which hath bene spoken Note by the way that when we affirme that the lacke of necessaries is to be imputed to the lacke of faith in apprehending the promises we doe not call that saith of Gods servants into question which they have in Christ Iesus for apprehending the pardon of their sinnes and his righteousnesse whereby they are justified before God for we affirme that a man may have faith to justify himself before God and yet want faith in apprehending a temporall promise So then we are to distinguish faith into two sorts The one is called justifying or eternall faith and so called because the object it eyeth is of an eternall nature it apprehendeth eternall promises The other sort of faith is termed temporary faith and so termed because the object it eyeth is some temporall thing this apprehendeth onely temporall promises Both which sorts of faith is required in Gods servants the power of one to keepe his soule to eternall life The other to preserve and provide necessaries for the body while God shall give him life for the just shall live by faith Now these two sorts of faith being divers in respect of their severall object each of