Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	faith_n	grace_n	work_n	6,088	5	6.2038	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96300	Mercurius Americanus, Mr. Welds his antitype, or, Massachusetts great apologie examined, being observations upon a paper styled, A short story of the rise, reign, and ruine of the Familists, libertines, &c. which infected the churches of New-England, &c. Wherein some parties therein concerned are vindicated, and the truth generally cleared. By John Wheelvvright junior. Philalethes.	Wheelwright, John, 1594-1679.	1645 (1645)	Wing W1605; Thomason E309_37; ESTC R200432	25,051	29

attingendo Christum ut Ideam he who acts immediately from the objective acts legally Non attingendo Christum ut efficientem And thus its true to act by virtue of a command is legall but if it be meant immediatione suppositi not that I think a command hath properly suppositalitie but onely aliquid Analog●yn which reaches my notion and intent it is not true that to act by virtue of a command is legall The next considerable is the 41. which is this There be distinct seasons of the workings of the persons in the sacred Trinity so that a man may be said to be thus long under the work of the Father and thus long under the work of the Son and thus long under the work of the holy Ghost If by this we are so long under the Father he intended onely an exclusion of the Son in some eminence and degree of attribution It is not against that received maxime Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa and the generall opinion of Divines excuses it from a paradox For what more common then to attribute redemption to the Son consolation to the holy Ghost What more usuall then to say the Father humbles the Son raises up the holy Ghost comforts Touching which I thus conceive that the very same individed essence as it doth put on divers reasons or notions as the Schoolmen speak is said to perform divers actions not by a simple exclusion of the Attributes of any of them in this or that Act but onely secundum quid Notionally as we may conceive according to the common quidditie The Father is in himself and so produces a Son of comfort by reflection he loves that issue and so educeth illumination in this sense Opera ad extra sunt divisa for from the division ad intra why may there not follow a proportionall division ad extra too seeing the relations of those divided acts are reall and extra intellectum which would otherwise plead Reason for their limitation I say why may they not have some effect upon the acts ad extra too and make them in some sense divisa And if it be improper to say Deus est trium personarum but onely essentia est trium c. why may there not be some impropriety to say I mean in opposition to the above-named Doctrine that Deus est trium Actuam respectively when as these acts do in the common opinion attend those relations But if an absolute and simple division be intended Mr. Wh. cannot hold it when as it is very absurd in it self so his doctrine of evidence by sanctification where there must be Christs attractive and the Spirits illuminative power and of signes which require a concurrence proclaims The next is this Conditionall promises are legall If it be meant that they are in a legall form its true whether causaliter or consequative But if it be meant that they are legall virtually and so not to be made use of in the time of the Gospel how can Mr. Wh hold it when as he grants evidence from graces conditionall promises being the current wherein such evidences passe The next considerable is this to lay the Brethren under a covenant of works hurts not at all but tends to much good What did I say considerable a position strangely produced as it were in an indifference twixt truth and errour if it be presented as an errour we must needs by reason of the indefinitenes of the phrase suppose all Brethren to be under a covenane of grace If it be a truth what doth it among errours to make even number What shall we say its neither true nor false but stands in a pure precision he imagined though perhaps that the confinity of errours wherein observe how his malice multiplies heresies upon them would determine its neutrality and hereupon ingages at once all his Metaphysicks to effect an abstraction which he might have reserved till an exigence and in the mean while have referred this Janus to the unsavoury speeches with which it most symbolizes But he was afraid lest it so easily seasonable either way should have seasoned them which he prefers to disrelish the appetite of the Reader to the parties concerned in his Narration But he saith if it be good to lay the Brethren under a Covenant of works then it is good to bite one another which argument is much like one of his brats he hangs up against the Sun The next is this Faith justifies an unbeleever If the sense be that the faith subjected in Christ justifies me in whom there is not any its false if you take it in sensu composito it is so if in diviso its true I wonder such grave discursists as my Author by his style seems should with these poore subtilties put us upon such elementary distinctions in resolving which Simths Logick will claim a principall share But perhaps he did it to evade a more solid reply thinking no Eagle would catch such flyes Which way of his is in the mean time my advantage whilest by medling only in my sphere I cannot be said to presume which incourages me yet to tell him that this opinion is a consectarie of theirs who deny graces in the Saints not of Mr. Wh doctrine who grants them The rest of the Assertions are either coincident or such as concern Church Discipline wherein disagreement is not pretended Thus we have done with his pretended errours Now we come to his pretended Crimes viz. contempt and sedition which the Court pickt out of a Sermon of his he preached upon a Fast-day designed for peace the substance whereof was this Christs absence is a main cause of fasting therfore labour for him revealed in the Covenant of grace peace is to be sought in such a drawing neer the God of peace and oppose those by contending for the faith but spiritually who go the way of the Covenant of works as in that thing wherein indeed they are opposite to the end of the day as enemies to grace and in that respect persecuters of Christ as which word I suppose is sieut qualitatis onely Herod Pilus and the Jews This is the doctrine wherein the spirit of sedition and contempt breathes according to their opinion I will therefore briefly leaving the fuller discussion to Statists by some of which Mr. Wh hath been already cleared examine Contemptus est ex hoc quod aliquis rennit subjici legi bonae conferre the Magistrates publish a Fast in order to peace whether this publication have the compleat Nature of a Law let others determine But admit Mr. Wh whilest he tels them peace is the most easily attainable in Christ to whom they must apply themselves in a Covenant of grace twharts not their Law unlesse it had expressed the method which the Minister must use or unlesse Mr. Wh had done that the contrary of which it did necessarily imply But there is no such matter for in his generall terme a Covenant of

amongst Familists c. Though he will not say he was such a Sectary yet whilst he talks of his preferment above the following Governor as an Issue of Mr. Wh Sermon upon his own premisses he necessarily inferrs it And wheras he saith That before Mr. Wh. came over all things were peaceable after his arrivall nothing but division I answer First he contradicts himself for he tels us Mrs. Hutchinson vented her Opinions in the ship as she came over pa. 31. he tels us she drew many to her pa. 32. he tels us she procured countenance from eminent persons pa. 33. hence saith he was the trouble to the Pastor of Boston c. hence saith he Mr. Wh took courage to inveigh in his Sermon c. It seems then there was Divisions before Mr. Wh Sermon and that it was an effect of them rather then a cause Secondly there was a company in the Bay before he came who upon supposition of 2 parties one under the Covenant of works the other themselves under the Covenant of grace had resolved upon schisme expecting onely a beck from the Pulpit which when by reason of Mr. Wh naming a Covenant of works and of grace though not with any such pertinence their prepared phansies thought they had they took this Idoll of their own brains for a providence of heaven and hereupon sacrificed their premeditated endeavours to it as it had been the Image which fell down from Jupiter which doing of theirs Mr. Wh was not accessary to their pretended Covenant of grace being composed of errours his covenant of grace which to decline legalisme he preferred being free from them carrying along with it the grace of the covenant He tels us pa. 26. of a writing which much concerned Mr. Wh to read that might be it may be it was our Authors for all his as he saith of his book are necessary for States much more for private persons but it seems Mr. Wh was so dull as not to conceive the necessity for he did not read it as we are told what then perhaps he was otherwise imployed But what saies the man Which did argue saith he the height and pride of his spirit what need these synonyma were not pride enough this argues my Authors malice and virulencie but is he not ashamed to talk still of arguing when his Independent brain hath bewrayed such inconsequence Let him never think hereafter with any judicious Reader to be reputed for a syllogist but if he think he shall hide his talent unlesse he imploy the Presse let him rather as one said write meer history and such too where in partiall respects may not byasse him to errour Which way as though he presaged dislike of his controversall discourses he hath already taken in his book now at the Presse called A Narration of the proctise of N. E. wherein he may do as in things that fall under his sense much better then in polemicall Essayes where he doth but lose himself and over-ballace his muddy intellectuals Nay so vast is my Author in his apprehension of pernicious effects from Mr. Wh Sermon that he would make people beleeve it not onely moved all Societies on the Land but that it had its influence upon vessels at Sea that 's his phrase How saith he did it hinder all affairs in Courts in Towns in Families in vessels at Sea pa. 58. As though it had been like that commotion of the earth lately there which Ships at a great distance felt as though Mr. Wh had made an Earthquake amongst them Whereas which I hope the Reader will conceive it was nothing but a Trepidation of the spheres in that New Heaven c. Another pretended crime of his is sedition which is thus defined Seditio est praeparatio ad impugnationem corporalem A preparation to a bodily fight now how did Mr. Wh Sermon prepare for such a fight He bids them indeed in the Apostles expression contend for the faith c. but he designes as before we shewed no parties Or if he had it was to a spirituall conflict as he explain'd himself which respects not civill unity or unitatem-Juris as sedition doth but Ecclesiastique and so at the most it could be but schisme and not that neither unlesse his doctrine be proved contra utilitatem and so be errour Nay that is not enough neither unlesse it were in fundamentals and so might be called heresie for schisma alwayes sibi aliquam confingat haeresin schisme is ever attended with heresie in the opinion of the learned nor is all this sufficient to bring it under the censure of the Church it self unlesse it be per se intentum for that which is per aceidens no more in morals then in Naturals can constitute a species such as sacred Authority must proceed upon as I said before of contempt so of this if it had been any thing it had rather been faction then sedition and rather schisme then faction Before my Author propound his reasons wherby he would fasten these crimes upon Mr. Wh he wisely premises thus saith he p. 52. Such as would receive satisfaction may if they will read that which follows c. carrying this along with them that the acts c. He saith true in this such as come prejudicate and presuming necessity of justice from N. E. may satisfie themselves in his Apology but as for others let them attend his descriptions and it will appear they do as little fit Mr. Wh practice as his examples Seditiosus saith he est qui facit dissensionem animorum good in it self but applyed rudiori Minerva if it be taken rightly viz. Dissention in ordine ad civilem unitatem lest sedition and schisme be confounded and the word facit be so qualified as to exclude accidentall occasionall and perisiaticall action upon mens minds it concerns not Mr. Wh case it being necessary too which I may adde that it be not onely motu praevio but concomitativo which is most intrinsick and of the formal reason of velleitie which must be supposed at the least in such a crime his other descriptions cum saevit populus c. and cum eunt alii in aliud call for the same restrictions and refer to the first He exemplifies to as little purpose as in Demetrius his sedition and Corah with his complices this is much like his sub una sub utraque as little paralell where he intends Demetrius named the man This Paul c. And so did Korah particularize Mr. Wh nothing so he onely spake in thesi the Hypothesis was their own the application was theirs My Author cannot make it appear their cases are alike unlesse he resume his sublime Notion of Designiation to common intendments c. by which he might salve the Phaenomena but we have tried that before That which he saith viz. my Author of Mr. Wh vehemencie of spirit and voyce in proclaiming them persecuters and Antichristian who walk the way of a covenant of works