Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	lord_n	person_n	2,832	5	4.9191	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71284	A defence of the true sence and meaning of the words of the Holy Apostle, Rom. chap. 4, ver. 3, 5, 9 in an answer to sundry arguments gathered from the forenamed Scriptures by Mr. Iohn Goodwin, which answer was first dispersed without the authors name, but since acknowledged by Mr George Walker : together with a reply to the former answer, or, animadversions upon some of the looser and fouler passages thereof / by Iohn Goodwin.	Walker, George, 1581?-1651.; Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.	1641 (1641)	Wing W356; ESTC R20590	41,397	65

his servant that is Let him not thinke or judge his servant guilty nor deale with him or use him as a Conspiratour Sometimes it signifies by a Metonymie of the cause for the effect condemning and punishing an offence in a guilty person as he hath deserved and to deale with him and use him as hee is justly thought and judged to have deserved as 2 Sam. 19. 19. Shimei said Let not my Lord impute iniquity unto me he doth not desire that David would not thinke nor judge nor count his iniquitie to be no iniquitie that had beene against all reason but that for the satisfaction which he had made in coming first of all to the house of Joseph to meet David and to bring him againe to his Kingdome David would graciously pardon his offence and not proceed against him and punish him as justly and worthy of punishment Sometimes it signifies by a Metaphor to count one thing as it were another or no better then another or of the same value as Prov. 27. 14. where a flattering salutation or blessing given with a loud voyce is said to be counted a Curse that is esteemed no better then if it were a Curse Somtimes to use one as if he counted him of another Condition as Gen. 31. 15. where it is said of Laban that he counted his Daughters strangers that is used them as if he had counted them strangers and Iob. 31. 10. where Iob saith that God counteth him for his enemy that is afflicteth and plagueth him as if he counted him an enemy Somtimes the word signifies to skore up or to put upon a mans account or reckoning either the offence or debt which he himselfe runs into as Rom. 5. 13. where it is said that sinne is not imputed when there is no Law that is it is not ●o skored up that men are punished for it and it is not judged and punished in them or the debt which he takes upon him for another as Philemon verse 18. If he hath wronged thee or is indebted to thee put that on mine account that is impute and count it to me and set it on my skore Now the severall significations of the severall wordes being thus laid open I proceed more particularly to the true sense and meaning of every word in these speeches and to shew how far the speeches may be extended And first by Faith and beleeving which is counted to every true beleever and was counted to Abraham for righteousnesse I understand here according to the judgment of the most Orthodox Divines the true holy spirituall faith and beleefe which is before shewed to have bin in Abraham and which is proper to the elect regenerate and is said to be imputed to them for righteousnesse B●righteousnesse is here meant Evangelical righteousnesse which is opposed to the legal righteousnesse of workes which is inherent in every man and is every mans fulfilling of the Law in his owne person even the perfect satisfaction and righteousnesse of Christ God and man ●u●mediator and surety which he the Son of God in mans Nature performed to the Law and which is apprehended by every true beleever and applied to himselfe by a lively saith and whereof he hath communion and is truely made partaker by his Spirituall union with Christ of whose mysticall body he is a member being B●ptized and engraf●ed thereinto by one Spirit By the imputing and counting of that faith for righteousnesse to Abraham and to every one of his faithfull seed is here ment Gods setting of Christs righteousnesse on the skore and puting it on the account of every tru●beleever and and his j●dging esteeming and counting them no more guilty of sinne but perfectly righteous by that Evangelical righteousnesse which is called the righteousnesse of God 2 Cor. 5. last ver. because it is the righteousnesse of God performed in our Nature and the righteousnesse of faith and not of workes because the faithfull obtaine and enjoy and apply it by beleeving and not by working the workes of the Law Rom. 4. 11. 13. For the confirmation of this exposition and justifying of this truth we need seek no further Arguments but such as may be gathered from the Apostles owne words as in other of his Epistles so especially in this to the Romans The first argument is drawne from the wordes of the Apostle in the second chap of this Epistle verse 26. where this word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as it signifies to be imputed or counted is first used If saith hee the uncircumcision keep the righteousnes of the Law shall not his uncircumcision bee counted for Circumcision by uncircumcision in the first clause we cannot understand the fore-skinne of the flesh not cut off it is most absurd and against common sense and reason to thinke or to suppose that it can or could performe and keepe the righteousnes of the Law but by vncircumcision is ment a Gentile not circumcised as Beza the most learned judicious and accurate Critik and searcher out of the sense of everyword and sentence in the new Testament doth expound the word and so we have in this word a Metonymie of the a●janct for the Subject The same word in the second clause as B●za also well observes doth not here signify the foreskin or uncircumcision in a proper sense for that cannot but most falsely be reputed and counted for circumcision because they are contradictories one to another but the state and condition of him who is uncircumcised even the outward state of Gentilisme and here is another Metonymie of the same kind even the signe put for the thing signified yea it signifies not the state of a Gentile or uncircumcised man barely considered in it selfe but as comprehending in it the righteousnesse of the Law which the man uncircumcised hath kept and performed in that state as the words necessarily imply for the Apostle doth not here suppose onely uncircumcision but the observation of the righteousnesse of the Law in the state of uncircumcision and so here is a Metalepsis or double trope even a metonymie also of the thing conteyning for the thing contained that is of the Subject for the adjunct and also of the cause for the effect that is the man in the state of uncircumcision keeping the righteousnes of the law for the righteousnes of the law by him performed By circumcision we cannot understand the outward cuting away of the foreskin of the flesh neither ●aken literaly and carnally as the corrupt Jewes did take it for a worke of righteousnes and obedience to the Law for justification so it was an obligation by which the circumcised was bound under pain of cutting off for ever to performe the whole Law as appeares Gal. 5. 3. And for a righteous Gentile to be brought under this bondage was no benefit but a miserable condition neither can circumcision be here taken sacramentally as it was an outward signe and seale of the righteousnes of faith and of Mortification and

beleeving which the Apostle speakes of in the 3. verse and also in the 9. and 22. verses is the faith and beleeving of Abraham who divers yeares before this beleeving which is said to be counted to him for righteousnes was called out of his owne Country and by faith obeyed Gods calling and went and so●ourned in the Land promised to him and his seed as appeares Heb. 11. 8. 9. he had overcome and slaughtered foure mighty Kings and their victorious arm●es by faith and confidence in Gods promises an●Melchizedeck King of Salem the Priest of the most High God had blessed him as we read Gen. 14. and after th●se things the Lord appeared and spake to Abraham and said feare not I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward and withall hee renewed his promise of the blessed seed by meanes of which seed all the families of the Earth should be blessed in Abraham and should become his faithfull children besides his naturall seed and posterity which should come of the Sonne and Heire of his owne bowells as appeares Gen. 15. 1. 4. These were the promises which God made to Abraham and which Abraham beleeved to be true and resting upon the Lord by firme faith and beliefe for the performance of them the Lord counted it to him for righteousnes Gen. 15. 6. or as the Apostle expresseth the same sentence in the same sence though in wordes somewhat different it was counted to him verse 5. even faith was reckoned to him for righteousnes verse 9. Now this faith and beleeving was first an holy spirituall beleefe and the faith of a man long before called of God and sa●ctified by his Spirit and made obedient to God and his word Secondly It was a beleefe not only of the promise of Christ the blessed seed in generall but more specially that Christ according to the flesh should come out of his owne bowels and that by Christ the Sonne of God made man of his seed the redemption both of him and of all his faithfull seed that is all true beleevers should be wrought and performed Gods wrath appeased the Law fulfilled Justice satisfied perfect righteousnes brought in for their justification and by his and their union with Christ by one spirit and Communion of all his benefits they should have God for their portion and reward for their sheild and defence and should not need to seeke the blessing and reward of eternall life from their owne workes or their owne righteousnes and fulfilling of the Law in their owne persons but meerely from the free grace of God and of his free gui●t in Christ as a reward of Christs righteousnesse freely given to them and of them apprehended by faith and beleeving Thirdly this faith of Abraham was not a weake but a strong faith and beliefe without staggering even a full perswasion that God who quickneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as if they were and was able to make good and to performe what hee had promised yea it was a beleeving in hope against hope that God could out of a dead body and womb raise up a lively seed and make them spiritually righteous who are by nature and according to the Law wicked sinners All these things are manifest by the places before cited Gen 15. and by the expresse wordes of the Apostle in this chap from the tenth verse to the end of the Chapter And thus you see what is meant by faith which is here said to be counted for righteous Secondly the righteousnes here meant is not the righteousnes which is according to the strictnesse and tenour of the Law that is righteousnes of a mans own works performed by every man in his owne person to the Law of God for the Apostle doth dispute altogether against that righteousnes and proves that neither Abraham was justified or counted of God righteous for it as appeares in the 2. 5. 6. 13. verses nor any other at any time as appeares in the Chapter before And Chap. 8. 3. and 9. 32. 10. 3. But here is meant an Euangelicall righteousnes which doth not consist in any worke or workes performed by a man himselfe in his owne person nor in any grace or vertue inherent in himselfe but is a righteousnesse which God of his owne free grace doth impute to the true Beleever who by one Spirit is united to Christ and hath communion with him and is called the righteousnes of Faith and doth exclude legal justification by righteousnesse of a mans owne workes as appeares in the whole discourse of the Apostle in this and the former Chapter and in diverse other places of this Epistle especially ver. 13. of this 4 Chap. and in Chap. 3. 27. 28. Thirdly the phrase of imputing or counting a thing to one signifies both in the Old and New Testament an Act of judgement and estimation by which a thing is judged esteemed reckoned and accounted to be as it is indeed and then it is just and according to truth but when a thing is counted or judged thought and esteemed to be as it is not then it is unjust and not according to truth Now Gods thoughts are alwaies just and his judgement is according to truth Rom. 2. 2. And therefore a lust imputing and counting is here ment for God doth account and Iudge of all persons and things so as they are Of uniust counting and imputing fal●ely we have some examples in Scripture as 1 Kings 1 21. where Bathsheba saith to David I and my Sonne Solomon shallbe counted offenders that is vsurping Adonijah and his wicked Company will so esteeme and judge us of reputing and coun●ing truely as the thing is we have examples also as Nehemiah 13. 13. where it is said of the chosen Levites that they were counted faithfull viz upon former experience of their faithfulnes and therefore the Office of distributing to the●Brethren was counted to them And Levit 17. 4. ●here it is said Blood shall be imputed to that man he hath shed blood and shall be cut off from among his people And Psal 22. 30. a s●ed shall serve him it shallbe counted to the Lord for a generation Moreover this word impute or count signifies sometimes in the most proper sense a bare Act of the Iudgment and thought as Pro. 17. 28. where a ●oole is said to be counted wise when he holdeth his peace that is men for the present judge or thinke him wise at least in that point of silence Sometimes it signifies in a more full sense not onely thinking Iudging and counting persons to be good or bad just or unjust innocent or guilty but also dealing with them and using them accordingly as in the places before named 1 Kings 1. 21. Nehem. 13. 13. and Levit. 17. 4. and Psal 22. 30. also 1 Sam. 2● 15. where Abimelech purging himselfe before Saul from the offence of conspiracy with David against him as Doeg had falsely accused him saith Let not the King impute any thing unto