Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	father_n	ghost_n	holy_a	5,369	5	5.6194	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47309	The practical believer, or, The articles of the Apostles Creed drawn out to form a true Christian's heart and practice in two parts.	Kettlewell, John, 1653-1695.	1688 (1688)	Wing K380_VARIANT; ESTC R36226	263,804	566

to send them from the Father Joh. 15. 26. the Holy Ghost was to act the Part of an Advocate as the word Paraclete signifies and is accordingly render'd 1 Joh. 2. 1. which was to plead his Cause to the unbelieving World. For when this Comforter or Advocate is come saith our Lord he will reprove or convince the world of these three Things Of Sin because they believe not on me i. e. of the sinfulness of infidelity Of Righteousness because I go to the Father i. e. of my being a Righteous Person and of Gods owning me for such though the Jews condemned me as a Malefactor And of Judgment because the Prince of this World is judged i. e. of the downfall of Idolatry and Demon-worship because the Devil is to be cast out of the Heathen Temples by this Almighty Advocate and all his Oracles silenced Joh. 16. 8 9 10 11. Quest. The first of these Gifts bestowed upon the Apostles you say was the Gift of Inspiration which revealed Christ's Religion fully to themselves Did the Apostles receive their Religion from God and were they inspired by the Holy Ghost in what they Taught Answ. Yes all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God 2 Tim. 3. 16. Thus God inspired Moses and the Holy Prophets of old for no Prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation nor came by the will of man i. e. therein the Prophets did not speak their own sense and reason but Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1. 20 21. And after the same manner Christ promises the Apostles that the Holy Ghost should teach them The Holy Ghost when he shall come shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you Joh. 14. 26. And when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth Joh. 16. 13. Quest. But had not Christ been their Teacher for several years together and then what need was there for the Holy Ghost to come after him for a further Instructer Answ. Christ taught them by outward and humane means as one man doth another And in this way though he took care abundantly to propose Things to them yet after all they being Persons of slow and rustick understandings were very liable to forget or misconceive them as 't is plain they did the Nature of his Kingdom the Reasons of his Death and his Resurrection But when the Holy Ghost came upon them he inwardly enlightned their minds and fill'd them with all variety of Heavenly Truth bringing to their remembrance whatsoever Christ had said and supplying whatsoever he designedly omitted till they were better able to bear it And though he did not teach them all things at once they being ignorant for some time after his descent of the calling of the Gentiles yet in a moment he made a strange progress with them and so far illuminated their minds that immediately upon his coming down they understand and apply Scriptures and expound Prophecies and set up for Teachers of other men Act. 2. Quest. And what knowledge they had of their Religion you say was of his inspiring Answ. Yes after once he took the conduct of them Their way of knowing all things as St. John told the Church in their Age was by an unction from the Holy one 1 Joh. 2. 20 27. And the Gospel which was preached by me saith St. Paul is not after Men i. e. of Mans devising For I neither received it of Man neither was I taught it but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ Gal. 1. 11 12. And of all Holy Scripture it is declared that it is given by inspiration of God 2 Tim. 3. 16. Quest. 'T is plain indeed they say they are inspired and taught of God. But have we any more than these Testimonies of Scripture that is their own word and saying for it Answ. Yes the Miracles they wrought in confirmation of it They preached every where the Lord working with them and confirming the word with Signs following Mar. 16. 20. Quest. I perceive the Holy Ghost did reveal God's will to them and in the Holy Scriptures they have revealed it unto us But in those Scriptures have they done it fully Answ. Yes for in that Epistle which St. Paul sent last to Timothy before which the greatest Part of his other Epistles and of the Gospel-Canon was writ he Declares of all the Scriptures then extant that they are able to make us wise unto Salvation being Profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for instruction in Righteousness That the Man of God may be Perfect throughly furnished out of them unto all Good works 2 Tim. 3. 15 16 17. Nay some single Books of Scripture as the Particular Gospels are full enough to this end And accordingly St. Luke testifies of his Gospel that it contains those Things which all Christians most surely believed and wherein Theophilus an Excellent Person and no way Defective in saving Knowledge had been Principled and instructed Luk 1. 1 3 4. and all that Jesus began to do and teach till he was taken up Act. 1. 1 2. All necessary Christianity was Faithfully preached by Jesus Christ and they Faithfully set out his Life and Preaching And what St. Luke added afterwards in the Acts of the Holy Apostles was only an Historical Account of the Method they took what they suffered and how they succeeded in Preaching this Doctrine And as for the Epistles of the several Apostles which were accidentally and occasionally writ for the Emergent Benefit of the Churches they either repeat and press the same Things or Comment upon them in fuller Explications or Determine some Controversies started in the Church about them or confute some unchristian Opinions and Heretical corruptions of Gospel-Truths as is obvious to any careful and intelligent comparer of them Quest. Having therefore these Scriptures Faithfully conveyed to us by God's Blessing we must not look for or listen to any New Revelation Answ. No not of the Way to please God and go to Heaven Christ our Great Prophet who was to Seal up Vision and Prophesie having inspired his Apostles and fully Revealed all these things to us once already by them it is a vain thing to fancy he should do it over again Quest. The Gift of Inspiration then or of having Religion immediately Revealed to them was necessary only to Apostles and Evangelists who were the first Publishers of it from God Answ. 'T is very true And accordingly in Suiting the Gifts and Ministries reckned up 1 Cor. 12. to the word of Wisdom or Gospel Revelation which is the First and Chiefest in the List of Gifts v. 8. St. Paul adapts the Order of Apostles as its Correspondent and the first and chiefest in the Number of Ministries ver 28. Inspiration of Religion was only to fit and Qualifie them for that Office. Hence it is probably that it is by St. John called

them Isaiab represents the Men of Messiab's Age as an Infidel and hard-hearted Generation that would not believe his report but hide their faces from him in the extremity of his affliction Jeremy as having made void God's former covenant and therefore needing a second to be introduced by him Mal●●hi as having lost even natural affection between Parents and Children which Elias must go before to restore among them Daniel as persevering under his appearance to sin on and provoke God to that height as would cause him shortly after to cut them off and destroy both the City and the Sanctuary by a most just and terrible judgment Nay so far were the sins of the People from being an hindrance to his coming in the sight of God that as the Prophets plainly declare they were to be the cause and reason of it The coming or anointing of the most holy says Daniel is to make an end of sins or sin-offerings and make reconciliation for iniquity Dan. 9. 24. to offer up his soul an offering for sin to bear the iniquity of us all to be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities that through his stripes we may be healed says Isaiah 53. 5 6 8 10. His coming was to be for the expiation of sin to open a fountain to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness Zech. 13. 1. And coming thus to expiate and cure sin there is no more reason to stay him beyond the time because sin grows strong than in the increase of a Disease to delay the use of Remedies or stop the coming of the Physician Quest. But doth not God say when he speaks of building up or exalting any ●ation if they do evil in his sight he will repent of the good wherewith he said he would benefit them Jer. 18. 9 10. Ans. Yes and so he doth in all those Promises which he makes upon Mens supposed virtues and on condition of their good carriage But the Promise of Messiah was absolute and intended as appears on no such prospect For God declared he should come among a People full of sin and instead of being de●erred by their wickedness should be sent because of it to atone and heal it Besides if only the Fathers sins had stopped his coming their Posterities Repentance would have removed that impediment and have brought him down which they see for above this 1600 Years it has not done Quest. I see the ancient Prophecies declare Jesus to be the Christ by prefixing the exact time of his coming wherein they are so particular and punctual as might suffice in a History of things already passed But I pray before you leave this point of the exactness of time how can the Jews who believe all these Prophecies shut their Eyes against them Ans. The elder Jews who lived before Christ did see them as appears from their general expectation of him about that time and from what the learned Grotius relates of Rabbi Nehumias who living fifty Years before Jesus Christ came declared that within fifty Years Messiah must come because in that time Daniel's Weeks prefixt for him were to determine But as for the later Jews who lived since our Saviour they turn by all of them by one rule whereby at their pleasure they may turn by any thing that is by not medling at all with them nor suffering any to interpret or collect the time of his coming from them This is the meaning of that severe Anathema which some have noted from the Thalmud Let his puft up Bones burst that shall meddle in computing the periods of times And accordingly the rule of the great Maimonides their second Moses concerning the days of Messiah is to believe surely that he will come and if he prove slow still to expect him and never to fix him any time or so to explain any Texts of Scripture as to infer the time of his appearance from them Quest. That indeed is a clear reason for the plainest words can never convince those that will not read or understand them But besides that the ancient Prophecies prove Jesus to be Christ by prescribing the exact time of his coming you said also that they demonstrate it further by assigning many peculiar and most visible notes whereby he may be demonstratively pointed out from all other Men. What are those peculiar and notable marks whereby they so effectually describe him Ans. They are certain eminent and most observable things belonging to him or to be performed by him which as they were most visible in him so were peculiarly his and never found in any other Man. Quest. What things are those which were so notable in him and peculiarly belonging to him Ans. Not only that he should be born of the lineage of David Isaiah 11. 1 10. and in the city Bethlehem Mic. 5. 2. which especially in conjunction with the exact time before-described are very discovering circumstances to the time when adding the very Family and Place where he should be born that all might know the very Town and Kindred amongst whom in that Year they were to seek for him But more particularly that he should be set off by these signs following Quest. What are they Ans. First That he should be born of a Virgin which was a thing never known before or since and so was sure to point him out demonstratively from all other Men. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son saith God by the Prophet Isaiah and shall call his name Immanuel Isaiah 7. 14. Quest. But the word which is there rendred Virgin say the Jews may signifie only a young Woman denoting her Age not Condition and then this having in it nothing peculiar can be no proof to him Ans. It doth not appear that it signifies any thing else in Scripture but a Virgin the place alledg'd for a laxer sense well admitting that interpretation But if it did it must needs signifie a Virgin that is one that has not known man in this place For not only the Septuagint that were all Jews and lived long before our Saviour translate it Virgin but this conception is here given for a sign or a miraculous thing which would be none at all were it spoken only of a young Woman especially among the Jews whose custom it was most early to contract their Daughters and Marry them as soon as their Age would suffer them When Achaz refused to tempt the Lord in asking a sign the Lord himself says Isaiah shall give you a sign Behold a virgin shall conceive c. verse 12 14. Quest. This shews it was spoken of some Virgin. But yet may it not be understood as the Jews say of some one that only was a Virgin at the time of the Prophet's speaking who before she could lose her Virginity conceive a Son and the Child come to any understanding God would work the deliverance which they desired of him