Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	witness_n	witness_v	woman_n	27	3	7.3791	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41331	The real Christian, or, A treatise of effectual calling wherein the work of God is drawing the soul to Christ ... : to which is added, in the epistle to the reader, a few words concerning Socinianisme ... / by Giles Firmin ...	Firmin, Giles, 1614-1697.	1670 (1670)	Wing F963; ESTC R34439	271,866	392

strange but clear manner to that Soul doth so perswade the heart of Gods love and that it doth exceedingly ravish it for that time I doubt not of it But first They are but rare Christians who meet with these dainties Secondly This voice of Mr. Bolton's and so this way of assurance is without any Syllogismes The question is not which part the conclusion must follow Thirdly Satan sometimes is transformed into an Angel of light and as he can play his game in filling precious Souls with fears and darkness so he can no doubt help an unsound heart to ravishing comforts perswading them they are the Children of God One I knew who was under terrible lashes of Conscience upon a sin of theft Ministers and Christians came to visit him the Soar being opened by Confession the man was filled with such divine comforts expressed himself at that rate that they were amazed the Minister an able man and holy not being acquainted with such dainties though it were the last day of the week when he saw the man under these ravishments altered his course chose another Text to shew how the Spirit of God was able to raise a Soul as low as Hell even as high as Heaven in a short time they had there the Instance of it Yet the good Christians who lived in the family it was a Gentlemans family told me they could discern no work of Grace in this man afterwards So that here we have cause to look how to clear our selves from Enthusiasme And if the question be seriously put How shall I know this voice to be the voice of the Spirit of Christ If you say the Spirit cleared that when he spake it Will not the other say so of his Spirit Must we not come to examining of the work of Grace Faith Conversion for be sure the Spirit of God speaks only to such our Spirits must bear witness also and that Mr. Bolton addeth as a note to distinguish this voice of the Spirit from a delusion Ibid. p. 328. that this witness of the Spirit ever goeth along with the testimony of a renewed Conscience Rom. 8.16 and so followeth this under several heads to help resolve the Christian who is truly troubled about it and would not be mistaken about that testimony of the Spirit though he answered before with Ambrose The Holy Ghost doth never speak unto us but doth make us know that it is be which speaketh I doubt not of it but as the Sun clears it self so doth the Spirit when he speaks But yet a few words Our Spirits bear witness that our spirits may do so there must be a concourse of the Spirit of God with our spirits to help them do so 〈…〉 course of God as the first cause in all Acts qua Act 〈◊〉 a special gracious concourse in this Act for what 〈◊〉 the darkness corruption deceit confusion jealousie fears arising from hence our spirits though renewed will never be able to bear witness that we are the children of God as experience sufficiently declares but when the Spirit doth by his concourse help our spirits to bear witness this witness is formally the act of our spirits and so far we cannot call it special faith But the question is Whether besides this first witness which I believe is the highest that most Christians attain to is there another testimony of the Spirit distinct from this concourse of his with our spirits by which he enabled our spirits to witness which is the testimony of him purely as the first cause not making up the effect with the second cause as he did in the witnessing of our spirits This I perceive Mr. Bolton affirms for he calls that secret voice the testimony of the Spirit And faith he when our renewed Consciences have upon such and such grounds born witness c. then the Spirit of God as another witness secondeth and confirmeth this assurance by Divine Inspiration Though these dainties I could never taste yet I have met with some but very rarely that have Some have told more stories what comforts and assurances they have had by absolute promises brought to them and set home by the Spirit of God whom I regard not But one I have met with whom I much honoured one of the lower rank in the world no great head-piece though of good competent knowledge in practical things he lived up to his knowledge you might see Mr. Rogers seven Treatises practised to the life in him which as it made me much to value him so I did the more attend to this story he told me As to the testimony of his own spirit he had several times examining himself by the Word preached and read found that witness but one time being under affliction and could not sleep in the night he fell to examining of himself what should provoke the Lord to follow him with affliction as it seems he had done being but low in the world at best after examination he lights his candle goes to reading in his Bible having done puts out his Candle layed by his Bible and composed himself to rest if God would give him any sleep but faid he while I was thus trying to sleep there came from God a Text which he had not thought of Mal. 4.2 Vnto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings which was set home with that life and power with such expressions as these all is healed thy sins all pardoned God and thou reconciled no enmity now between God and thee c. that he was filled with such joy and comfort that he was not able to have born it if God had not drawn back He did not tell me of any voice he heard nor doth God need our ear but these expressions were as real and clear to him as if any man had spoken to him This was that which all his life after he lived chiefly upon though every morning at his first awakening this was his work to look to his evidence examine himself and so kept the testimony of his own spirit Thus lived and died a precious Saint Two things were observable in this man one was as to the witness that in it there was no attendance to the condition expressed in that Text for it is there To you who fear my Name That he did fear his Name that was certain but I asked him Did not the Spirit clear the Condition He told me there was no attendance to the Condition at that time but only here was assurance of healing by the Sun of Righteousness pardon love c. had not this man both before and after this proved the Condition and been a close walker with God to his last I should not so much have regarded his comforts from this Text. But a second thing I wonder at more and there he and I differed That which made him to regard this so much was that it was a Scripture he had not in his thoughts or

something lurking that I do not yet see some secret hppocrisie lyeth yet undiscovered he that is known to be a lyar who will trust him or believe him though at this time he doth speak truth My heart is known to be a lyar God hath said so Jer. 17.9 and I have found his Word true how then can I chuse but fear there may be something at bottom that as yet I know not Thus you shall have Christians stand when you have so pent them up that they cannot but yield to you yet say they I fear I fear and that is all you shall get from them but to draw up the Conclusion no by no means they cannot do that Thirdly Though the Soul doth assent to the minor Proposition yet his assent unto it is not so strong and firm to force the Conclusion that Christ is his or that he is a believer as his Assent to the minor Proposition in the state of unregeneracy was to force this Conclusion that he was miserable and in that state must perish or that Christ was none of his Frame the Argument thus He that is an enemy to God and God to him under sin under unbelief a child of wrath he is in a miserable perishing state But I am an enemy to God and God to me I am under sin under unbelief a child of wrath Therefore I am in a miserable and perishing condition Here the Premises and the Assent to these Premises is so strong that the Conclusion is forced so as no resisting The Major is so plain that there is no opposing it The Minor where the pinch lies in concluding our good estate here in our proving our miserable state is as strong as the Major for the same word of God tells us it is the condition of us all by nature Col. 1.21 Ephes 2.16 2 Cor. 5.19 20. Rom. 8.7 and 11.32 Gal. 3.22 Ephes 2.3 Rom. 3.23 Whence the Assent I give to the Minor is not only from the sense of sin and enmity which I feel in my self which Assent is yet stronger for I am sure here cannot subesse falsum but besides this I Assent to it by a Divine faith because by necessary consequence from these Scriptures it follows That if all men are so by nature then though my name be not in the text yet I am sure I am included in the text But in drawing up my Conclusion for my saved state the Minor Proposition upon which the stress lies I cannot assent to it by a Divine faith as I did to the other because it is not contained in any Text that I do believe and may be forced out of the Text by necessary consequence Again to say I am as sensible of sincerity of saving grace as I am sensible of sin therefore I can as truly assent to the Minor from what I feel that I have sound faith as I did assent from my feeling that I had and have sin this the heart will shrink at and is afraid to speak so boldly though it may be truth that he is sensible of Grace Thirdly When a Christian by close examination is pent up to give answer yea or nay whether he have not so received Christ or such a work of faith is wrought in him as you by opening it and questioning of him would perswade him Arguments pro and con being weighed the Arguments for the Affirmative that such a work is wrought prove the heavier and cast the scale in the judgment of his own Reason and Conscience which he must not bely which doth witness and his own feeling testifies this in him But then here are two things 1. Though the Soul doth assent to the Affirmative yet he seeth much lye in the other Scale for the Negative which makes his assent that it is not so strong 2. He doth answer to what is in him according to his feeling or spiritual sense what work is actually there and if he denies his own feeling then Conscience will tell him he lyes and it is a vile thing to deny the work of God which he feels But this Proposition Christ is mine pardon is mine is not a work in him it is not felt by spiritual sense and experience as the other is and therefore he less minds that as being in no such great danger of denying a work of God in him or having Conscience tell him he lyes in denying what he feels and cannot but experience is wrought in him Fourthly The Christian upon tryal and examination answers to the question as he considers the work of faith in its causes or essence a priori and so commonly when you examine is it not thus you open the nature and essence of faith to him and he viewing of his own heart tells you if I know any thing of my own heart I have thus received I do thus cleave to Christ rest and roul my Soul upon him for all benefits of communion and execution of all his Offices but for the experiencing of these in my heart I cannot I have looked and longed to find Christ ruling like a King in me and acting like a Prophet in me and so as a Priest for me Now the want of these experiences shake his assent which he gave before while he considers faith in the causes Certainly saith the Soul if I had rightly received him did I truly cleave and trust to him I should experience the vertues of his Offices as well as the woman found vertue flowing from him when she touched the hem of his garment Matth. 9.20 Now if the want of these make him almost to eat his words the assent he gave before though still the Soul would hold that for saith the man were I to begin the work now again that a new I were to believe in Christ I could not tell how I should receive him adhere to him roul upon him otherwise than I do and have done already note this Christian and hold it so that it will not wholly let it go but hold it yet if the want can so shatter his assent to the minor Proposition to be sure the want of these experiences will trouble him so that he dare not assent to the Conclusion A man must have experience of Christ before he can say Christ is mine Fifthly Suppose saith the poor Christian I should draw up the Conclusion and say Christ is mine my sins are pardoned and if this should not be true where am I then hath not this been the case of many a hypocrite and unsound believer have not they thus said and thus believed and after all prove rotten and may it not be my case as well as theirs for they appeared to have more than I have these examples make the real Christian to tremble he dare not speak or think such high things for fear his fall should be more dreadful How Satan can work in all these I do not mention I will not multiply Heads Sixthly To draw up this Conclusion Christ is mine forgiveness