Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
cause_n effect_n faith_n justification_n 4,667 5 9.6727 5 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A19857 A suruey of certaine dialogical discourses: vvritten by Iohn Deacon, and Iohn Walker, concerning the doctrine of the possession and dispossession of diuels VVherein is manifested the palpable ignorance and dangerous errors of the discoursers, and what according to proportion of God his truth, every christian is to hold in these poyntes. Published by Iohn Darrell minister of the gospell. Darrel, John, b. ca. 1562. 1602 (1602) STC 6285; ESTC S109295 85,966 179

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

to the parties faith vpon whome they were done Be of good cheere daughter saith he thy faith hath saued thee Math. 9.22 And that we may know this faith receauing his great workes was in some a iustifying faith to some he saide before he did the worke Thy sinns are forgiuen thee Now what doe you obiect against this doctrine Math. 9 2● Whereas the words of our Sauiour All things are possible to him that beleeueth make for confirmation thereof you reply Marke 9.23 pag 294. This faith was not the Exorcist faith but of the parties possess●d I answer we know no such difference as it some one or two were Exorcists amongst vs all the rest of the people of other condicion but the whole congregation is of one office and one faith in this businesse we be all ioint Exorcists as I may so say and by way of obteyning throwers out of Sathan Againe you obiect That if iustifyi●g faith hath this power pag. 295 then it b●longeth indifferently to all the elect of God which I yealde you But then say you They which cannot effect this worke may doubt of their iustification I answer this obiection sauors of very gross ignorance You should be able to teach others that the Lord hath not tyed himselfe to one vniforme order in bestowing of corporall blessings as if all his children should obteine all at all times He hath not definitiuely set downe in his worde what and when he wil giue vs in this kinde but hath onely promised them vpon this condicion So far as the good of his children and his owne glorye shall require Therefore though he graunt these outward things to some and deny them being requested to other some this difference is no cause we should stagger in our iustification Beesides say you If Iustifying faith were of this force it would haue bene mentiōed in such places where the effects of saith are purposely registred Proue that al the effects of iustifying faith are there mentioned particulerly by name else you trifle Albeit S. Iames saith If we resist the diuell ●e shall fly noting generally our victory against him Iames 4 7 pag. 296 c. Ma● 16 17 18 not onely in his assaults but also in his possessions Expelling of diuels mentioned in S. Marke belonged to a miraculous faith which was peculiarly giuen to some of the Christians of that age Doctrine pag. ●3 Detection in the epistle such as were hearers of the Apostles and beleeuers by their preachinge as heeretofore I haue shewed more then once And therefore you might haue saued that labour in vsing so many wordes citing so many testimonies to proue the Sunne shines in a cleare heauen at mid-day A Suruey of the Tenth Dialogue The tenth Dialogue treateth of Miracles and laboreth to ouerthrow dispossession of diuels in these times because such dispossession is a miracle miracles be expired long since In prosecuting of which argument it is strange to see how the Discoursers beate themselues with their owne rod. They would prooue vnto vs that miracles are ceased yet afford vs no small miracle in their owne persons For is it not wonderfull that men thinking themselues to haue some sharpnesse of wit to be furnished with sufficient copy of wordes to haue perused many bookes and to haue gathered great variety of learning after some long time spent in deliberation and conferēce and then aduisedly committing to writing what they had cōceaued Should notwithstanding all this like men skarred out of their wits and vtterly bereft of all power of discerning take shadowes for bodies bushes for men chalke for cheese and grope in the sun light as in the darknesse They haue shewed incredible blindenes in their former discourses but in this booke of Miracles it is Miraculous to behould the palpable errours they runne into It may be they did of purpose herein obserue a decorum that the strange handling of the matter might be sutable to the title But that I doe not seeme to charge them wrongfully I will betake my selfe to the Suruey first for more plainesse setting downe the truth in this poynt and after rifle vp their pedlers pack of deuices A true miracle therefore breifly may be defined thus That it is an hard and vn-vsuall worke surpassing all faculty of created nature done by the devine power to that ende it may moue the behoulders with admiration and confirme their faith in the word of God These true Miracles be of two sortes for eyther they be wrought by the Lorde himselfe without any apparant meanes to vs or else are effected by the ministery of man Of the former kinde was the bush that burned Exod 3.2 Exod 13 21. 2 Kings 19.35 and consumed not in the sight of Moses the pyllar of a cloude by day and the pyllar of fire by night conducting the children of Israel out of Aegipt the slaughter in Senacheribs host of an hundred fourscore and fiue thousand in one night the star that directed the wise men out of the East Math. 2 2 to the place of our Sauiours birth such like Concerning miracles of this nature if one shall demaund whether they be ceased or no it is to be answered they are not For the Lorde hath reserued this liberty to himselfe by extraordinary power to reueale his iudgments to the world when and where it shall seeme best vnto him And therefore our Sauiour speakinge of his comming saith There shall be signes in the sunne in the Moone Luke 21 25 26. and in the stars the power of heauen shall be shaken Shall we think these are no miracles or that they be past and not to come Experience also confirmes the same It were infi●nite to gather what hath hapned in all ages since the publishing of the Gospell I wil remember onely one or two for example in our owne times Was it not the admiration of all Christendome to behould that bright and cleare new star which appeared in the yeare 1572 continuing almost six monethes But to come to our owne home was it not a greate miracle that at a place called Kynnastone neere Marcleech hil in the county of Heref rd certaine rookes with a peece of ground of twenty sixe acres remoued and went forward the space of foure daies remouing forty paces in twelue houres carrying great trees sheep coates some with threescore sheepe in them ouerthrowing Kennastone chappel altering two high waies nigh an hundred yardes and where tillage ground was leauing pasture and where pasture there tillage yet all this was seene amongst vs the 17. of Feb. in the yere 1571. Therefore to speake in confused tearmes that miracles are ceased without distinction of their nature is the parte of ignorante men and of such as neither would finde out the truth nor teach it but only deceaue thēselues other with general words That second sort of miracles which is done by the ministery of men are all
of them wrought by a miraculous faith apprehending the extraordinary reuealed will of God concerning some strāge worke what when how it is to be performed All which Peter Martyr distinguisheth by their natures by their effects loc com clas 1 cap 8 sect 4 and by the speciall manner how they are done By their natures for that some of them are admirable for the very thing done being so strange and great as the like is not to be found in all nature Such was the staying of the Sunne in the time of Iosua and the turning back of the shaddow to confirme Ezekiah and such others Some are not maruelous for the greatnesse of the thing done but for the manner vsed in doing as was the cloud and rayne of Elyas the thundering of Samuell and of the like sort For such things are done naturally but at that time were miracles in regard of the manner by which they were effected that is not by naturall causes but at the commaund and wil of the Saints In respect of the effects some onely cause admiration and feare as the burning lampes and thunders in mount Sinai c. some haue a deeper impression partly for benefit as the sick that were healed by Christ and his Apostles partly in punishment as whē Annanias and Saphyra were strooke dead at the wordes of Peter In regarde of speciall manner of workinge some were done by praier as the dead childe restored to life by Elisha Some by commaund as Peter bid the lame man in the name of Ie●us Christ arise and walk Some neither by prayer nor commaund but of their owne accorde the Saints themselues occupied in som other matter as when the shadow of Peter as he walked by did heale the sick and the kerche●s handkercheifs carried from S. Paul his body All these done by the ministery of men are now ceased for that the miraculous faith by which they were done neither is at this present nor hath bene these many ages imparted to any Thus then we see what a true miracle is what be the diuers kindes and which be remayning in the Church and shall continew to the ende of the world which at this time are cealed Now to come to the other poynt whether casting forth of diuels in these times by fasting prayer be a miracl● or no To this I answer Chrysost in epist 1. ad cor cap 2 hom 6 Aug. de ver relig cap. 25 it is not Chris●stome ●aith That Miracles were not done in his time And Augustine affirmeth That Miracles were not permitted to continew to his daies least the minde should alwayes l oke after vi●●ble things and mankinde should gr●w cold through the custome 〈◊〉 these matters by the nouelty wh reof informes time t●ey d●d bur●e But what neede I cite authors for this when as your selues mainte●ne strong lie that Miracles ceased togither with the Apostles Wel then ●e● vs ●oyne heerevnto That ca●ting forth of diuels by fasti●g praier we●e vsed in the times of Chris●stom August●ne as we haue shewed before by thei● owne wordes which haue taught vs that their p●ss●ss●d were brought to the publique assemblies deliuered by the prayers of the congregation Wherevpon it must needes follow that this manner of deliuerance in Chrisostomes and Augustines iudgments so of the Church in their time was no miracle And the reas●n of this may be apparant by that description of miracles already set down First because dispossession of diuels was very frequent common in their daies But things common are no miracles For a Miracle saith Augustine August de vtilitate cred ●d Honorat cap 16 is an vnwonted thing And therefore ●aith he they are not done in these daies Because they w●lde not moue except they were maruelous neither would they be maruelous if they were vsuall Secondly for that the worke it selfe doth not make a miracle in respect of mans ministery but the manner of doing as hath bene shewed in the second distinction of Miracles As for example The cloud and the rayne sent at Elyas prayer was a miracle because the Lord had reuealed it vnto him and he had embraced the same by faith knowing when and how it should be sent Yet when the Church of God in the time of drought and famyne shall by publique praier obtaine cloudes rayne this is no miracle As when Salomon saith 1 Kings 8 35 when heauen shall be shut vp and there shall be no rayne because they haue sinned against thee and shall pray in this place and confesse thy name turn from their sinne when thou doest afflict them Then heare thou in heauen and giue raine vpon the earth c. Doth he here pray they might be releeued by miracle Nay but sheweth what the ordinary course of the Church is in this case So when the Disciples cast forth diuels by their myraculous faith and the Church now a daies by fasting prayer the same worke in substance is done by both but the manner of doing is much differing S. Doctrine pag. 35 which makes a difference also in the Action and causeth that theire worke was miraculous the same done by the Church in these times not to be miraculous This little may suffice for distinct vnderstanding of this doctrine which diligently obserued will preserue vs from those horrible down-fals into which these blinde Discoursers tvmble themselues Now then to examine theirs First we haue a definition of a Miracle in generall to be an extraordinary worke of God pag. 306. c. highly surmounting the whole faculty of euery created nature to worke admiration in the beholders and to confirme their faith in the truth of Gods word Next we haue it deuided into the seuerall kindes whereof the one is a True miracle the other a false From whence it must needs follow that the generall definitiō must also agree to a false miracle And that therefore a false miracle is an extraordinary worke of God highly surmounting the whole faculty of euery created nature to confirme the saith of the beholders in the truth of the worde But this is a thing most absurd once to dreame of Seing then to make a Generall whose definition can not agree to the Specialls is a worke aboue nature and that M. Deacon M. Walker haue created such a Generall pag. 309. etc. I doe demonstratiuely therevpon cōclude That miracles are not yet ceased Againe whereas I affirme That casting forth of diuels in these times by fasting prayer is no miracle because it is done by ordinary meanes without the miraculous faith in which sence onely I vnderstand meanes the vse whereof maketh a worke to be no miracle you keepe a foolish iangling about this in three pages togither without either head or foote page 311 Onely when in one place you began to conclude according to your absurd manner you oppose the supernatural power of God to his appointed meanes as