Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	body_n	effect_n	part_n	1,666	5	4.5382	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53932	Sound doctrine, or, The doctrine of the Gospel about the extent of the death of Christ being a reply to Mr. Paul Hobson's pretended answer to the author's Fourteen queries and ten absurdities : with a brief and methodicall compendium of the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures ... : also of election and reprobation ... : whereunto is added the fourteen queries and ten absurdities pretended to be answered by Mr. Paul Hobson, but are wholly omitted in his book.	W. P. (William Pedelsden); Hobson, Paul.	1657 (1657)	Wing P1046; ESTC R30088	45,061	64

his Son and his Spirit to relieve the miseries and wants of man to forgive sins to impute righteousness and to give life to such as obey his Son and his Spirit And Man to humble himself for his sins to God his Creator to believe in Christ his Redeemer and to yield himself to be led by the word of God and Spirit But here are two things affirmed which may seem to require proof First that the Covenant of Grace was made with all Mankinde Secondly that he supplieth by his Spirit whatsoever is needful to the keeping of this Covenant on the behalf of man who is confest impotent in himself through his former fall These two shall by Gods assistance be sufficiently proved afterward when I come to speak of calling and free will In the mean time let this suffice First that we finde here in the day of the first publishing of the Covenant all Mankinde in Adam and Eve receiving the promise of the Gospel at the same time that they received their penances which we see to be universal to all their seed it is therefore more then probable that promises should be taken as universal since the wise do say Ampliandi favores Secondly that we finde left after the fall remains of some part of the Image of God as life understanding of good and evil liberty of will in natural and civil things conscience accusing or excusing c. Which though they were given at first by Creation and so belong to nature yet the staying of them to remain in man after his fall was of Grace both to make him capable to contract and Covenant withal and also to be some beginnings and principles in order to his restauration but since these alone are not sufficient to make him able to rise again or recover righteousness it is decent to think of God who doth nothing imperfectly and who in Covenanting is no hard Master that he would supply by his Spirit whatsoever was needful more to the keeping of that New Covenant upon which dependeth the eternal woe or the eternal happiness of the party Covenanted with CHAP. V. Of Calling by the Word and Spirit CALLING is the Revelation and Proclamation of the riches of Gods Grace in the Gospel to all sinners commanding repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ Act. 20.21 and promising of forgivenesse of sins and life everlasting to all that obey Act. 2.38 39. Calling consisteth of two essential parts both which are requisite to make up one whole and perfect work of calling i.e. the outward preaching of the word and the inward operation of the Spirit accompanying the word There are many and too many that distinguish calling into two kindes one outward of the word onely another inward of the Spirit joyned with the word That they say is ineffectual This effectual That common to the Reprobate This special and peculiar to the Elect That never obeyed with truth of heart This never disobeyed This Doctrine is to be examined before we give it a let-passe For my part I distinguish not two callings but compound one calling of the word and Spirit as it were of a body and Soul supposing it to have in it self power to bring forth effect in all that are under it and if it do not so the cause not to arise from the Calling but from the called that obey not 1. For declaring of this point we are to consider that the Spirit doth not go with the word to make the hearer perform that which he can do already by natural strength for the Spirit is given to help where nature faileth as to keep waking and to be attentive for that which men can bring of their own strength God expecteth to finde and to meet one cause therefore why to many the Spirit is not present to the word is when they are not present to the word through their sottish carelesness Secondly it must not be thought that the concurrence of the word and spirit is as it were natural necessary and inseparable but voluntary and arbitrary in the will and good pleasure of God to such as heartily pray for it for themselves and others hence the Church of Christ prayeth before Sermons for the illuminations and power of the Spirit to come with the word Another case then where the Spirit is not co-working with the word many times is when it was not duly and diligently asked Thirdly there are men that are past grace to whom the Spirit is not present with the word such as for their former neglect and contempt of the time of their visitation when God did call them are now given up to blindness and hardness and have the light of the Spirit and the dew of grace held back from that word which is preached in their hearing by accident Fourthly it must not be thought that the Spirit goes with the word to work any grace in any person whatsoever but according to the order of divine providence who dispenseth his grace wisely which is thus to be declared we are to distinguish the word that calleth the persons that are called and the operation of the Spirit by the word the word is either the Law or the Gospel The Law hath two parts and so also hath the Gospel a Commandment and a Promise 2. The persons called by God in the Gospel are all manner of sinners but convicted terrified wounded full of compunction and self-condemnation wrought in them by the Spirit in the preaching of the Law Matth. 11.28.3 The operations of the Spirit upon these men by the ministry of the Gospel are First to open their eyes to see the marvelous light of Gods mercy to sinners of the infinite love of Christ in dying for sinners of the powerful gifts and graces and aids of the holy spirit to help and relieve the impotency and misery of sinners to the end that by this light this opinion may be begotten in them that it is possible for them to be recovered Secondly to pour into their hearts hope or to stay them from desperate sinning or sorrowing Thirdly to inspire the grace of prayer at least to wish or desire Oh that they might be so happy as to escape the wrath to come and recover the love and favour of God! Fourthly to give them repentance that is to sorrow for sin past with a godly sorrow and to purpose to break off sin and to cease from further offending God Fifthly to work in them faith that is to run to Christ and to cast themselves into the arms of his goodness and power to be saved by him These graces in this order the holy spirit is present and ready to work by the Gospel upon a sinner convicted humbled and prepared by the Law And look what portion of power the Spirit had in the Law upon an unregenerate man to humble him the same hath it in the Gospel upon the humbled to work in him hope and him hoping to win to wish and pray

and to him praying to give repentance to him repenting to instill faith and so to justifie him being justified by faith Now think not that the Spirit is present in the preaching of the Law to an unregenerate man to give him strength to new obedience presently because it is present then to convince and condemn his wickedness The spirit is not present in the preaching of the Gospel to a man yet not penitent to work in him peace joy love though it be present to work these in the believer for if it should work these in him before faith it should work contrary to the word The Summe of all is this The Spirit of God is annexed to his word for such gifts and operations as to which the hearer is a fit disposed subject there is an order in the divine working wherein there are things antecedent preparatives to things subsequent which antecedents if they found no place and were not admitted the subsequent are then suspended Hence is there so frequent and just separation of the Spirit from the word by the great Pastor of our souls who walketh in the midst of the Churches Thus much for the declaration of this point for confirmation of it I alledge all the Elogia of the word of God as Psal. 19. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul c. Heb. 4.12 The Word of God is quick and powerful Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them by thy truth thy word is the truth c. But that calling is the same to them that obey not as to them that obey I shall urge these two places more Mat. 22.14 Many are called but few are chosen here many are distributed into two sorts some that are called and not chosen some that are called and also chosen for these few chosen are a part of those many called so that the whole many are put under one and the same calling which calling is not by the outward word alone for from that calling arise none chosen therefore the calling was by the word and spirit common to both and the few chosen excelled not in calling but in something else to wit in obeying the calling to come when others refused or in coming worthily in a wedding garment according to the parable The other place is Matth. 12.41 The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgement with this Generation and shall condemn it c. from whence I reason thus if Jonas preacht to the Ninivites without the spirit how did they repent if Jesus preacht without the same spirit how is he greater then Jonas nay how is he equal in the power of preaching and if they that disobey be not equally called with them that obey how can these rise up in judgment against them when their answer is ready We had not the same calling with you ours differed tote genere you were partakers of an heavenly calling we but of an earthly you were called by the voice of God speaking to your hearts we but by the bare voyce of men speaking to the ear If God had moved and excited us as much as he did you we would have done as well as you But God will not give occasion for them thus to speak for he will so effectually provide for all them that perish that they shall have no excuse Rom. 1.20 2.1 Therefore I conclude that the distinction of outward and inward of effectual and ineffectual calling are vain for these reasons also First because it giveth unworthily the name of calling to the bare outward preaching of the word which may be a commanding but not a calling a commanding as of the Law but not a calling as of the Gospel seeing that the word of the New Covenant comes to call men to repentance and faith for their recovery after notice taken of their impotency to rise again of themselves It seems an insulting mock and not a call to say to sinners Turne repent believe and live unless there be some grace prepared for them whereby they may be able to repent and believe Secondly because it attributeth the effect of obeying the calling to the kinde of calling it self as onely to one cause to wit the operation of the Spirit as if many causes did not concur to produce one effect and as if obedience to the calling of God were not an act of the will of man under the ayd of the Spirit of God as if the aid of the Spirit were never refused nor the grace of God never received in vain For though God be Almighty and able to draw all second causes unto his part and side yet he doth not use to disturbe or cross the nature of causes nor the order of things which himself hath established Thirdly because this distinction makes Gods Covenant to differ from all Covenants in humane affaires I mean even that which is essential to a Covenant for in a Covenant each party hath something to perform but by this distinction God is supposed both to provide infallibly to have the conditions fulfilled and also to fulfil his own promises whereas all that he undertakes for us is to make the conditions possible and not to be wanting in his help so far as is needful for us CHAP. VI Concerning the question of two equally called VVHen two persons are equally called and one converteth and the other no these both being supposed possible who is it that puts the difference God or man I answer that 't is man that puts the difference and not God I ground this answer first upon the righteous judgement of God Because God judgeth not his own acts but the acts of men secondly because every righteous judge findes a difference and doth not make any between party and party Who put the difference between the Sacrifices of Cain and Abel but themselves both alike instituted in religion by their father God a true witness testified of Abels gift as better then Cains Heb. 11.4 Who put the difference between Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar as to their nature both were men as to their dignity both were Kings as to their cause both held the people of God in captivity as to their punishment both were mildly admonished by chastisements what then occasioned their different ends nothing else but that one of them sensible of Gods hand groaned under the memory of his own iniquity the other by his own free will fought against the most merciful verity of God Suppose two persons be equally tempted by the beauty of one-fair body whereof one yields to the temptation the other perseveres what he was before what else appears in these but that onely that one would and the other would not loose his chastity The difference between the Ninevites repenting at the preaching of Jonas and of the Jews not repenting at the preaching of a greater then Jonas if God put it how shall they rise up in judgement and condemn these But that which makes it so horrible to pious ears to say a man makes