Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	justify_v	righteousness_n	ungodly_a	4,797	5	11.0468	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81131	The arraignment of unbelief, as the grand cause of our nationall non-establishment: cleared in a sermon to the Honourable House of Commons in Parliament, at Margarets Westminster, upon the 28th. of May, 1645. being the day of their publike fast. / By Joseph Caryl, late preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincolnes-Inne, now pastor at Magnus neer the bridge, London.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1645 (1645)	Wing C749; Thomason E286_5; ESTC R200075	31,767	54

God An unbeleeving heart is an heart departing from the living God The antithesis in the Prophet ver 7. confirmes that exposition Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is Hope and trust are the contraries to unbelief But what is the portion of this unbeleeving heart No good I warrant you The sixth verse assures us so He shall be like the heath in the desert and shall not see when good commeth As unbelief locks sinne upon our souls sorrows and judgements upon our bodies so it locks our souls out of eternall and our bodies out of temporall salvation An unbeleever shall not see when good cometh that is he shall not taste or enjoy good when it commeth So Elisha told that unbeleeving Lord when in the name of the Lord he had promised plenty in Samaria Behold thou shalt see it with thine eies but shalt not eat thereof 2 King 7. 2. That text of the Apostle carries a shew of opposition against this truth Rom. 11. 32. God saith he hath concluded them all sc Jews and Gentiles in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all It seems then that mercy rather comes in then is shut out by unbelief God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all as if God intended to make his advantage and opportunity of shewing mercy to that people by finding them in an unbeleeving condition I answer There is a two-fold mercy First the mercy of vocation Secondly the mercy of salvation when the Apostle saith that God concluded or shut them all up in unbelief that he might have mercy upon them all he means it of the mercy of vocation The Gentiles in their time were all unbeleevers then God called them and the Jews at this time are unbeleevers they deny obedience to the Gospell yet God will call them again the calling of the Jews hereafter as heretofore the calling of the Gentiles shall be of free grace there was no preparation in the one there shall be none in the other to move God to call them to the knowledge of Jesus Christ God calls us to faith when we have no faith He calls to beleeve while we are in unbelief The mercy of vocation prevents faith God doth not call men because they are beleevers or because they have faith but he calleth them to beleeve he calleth them unto faith So the Apostle arguing about that great mercy of justification Rom. 3. 19. shewes how the Lord stops every mouth and makes all the world become guilty before him God doth not justifie any person because he is guiltlesse or holy but that he may be guiltlesse and holy He doth not justifie any man because he is free from sinne but that he may be free from sinne Thus the mercy of vocation prevents our faith and the mercy of justification prevents our righteousnesse and obedience God justifies the ungodly But in giving the mercy of salvation whether it be temporall or eternall salvation God looks upon a people or a person beleeving and therefore makes promises for faith to act upon that we may be saved that we may be established A second objection rises against this point from that speech of Christ in the close of the Parable of the unjust Judge and the importunate Widow where assuring his elect who cry unto him night and day that he will avenge them speedily he adds Neverthelesse when the Sonne of man commeth shall he finde faith on the earth that is he shall not finde faith on the earth and yet then he comes upon a gracious design the deliverance of his elect It seems then that unbelief or want of faith doth not hinder mercy for this great mercy shall be given in when faith shall not be found to beleeve it See here a plentifull harvest of comfort and yet at the same time a dearth of faith none to be found upon the earth I answer first The words import only a great declining of faith in those times not a totall decay of it Secondly The intent of those words is not to bring unbelief into any credit but only to support and cherish the faith of some few in the appearing of much unbelief and despondencie in others For in hard times we hear frequently such complaints as these Do ye not see how the hearts of men fail how their spirits are down how they give up all for lost Faith was never so low as now and therefore surely we must shortly be lower then we are this prevailing raign of unbelief among us is a sad argument that evils shall raign over us too thus the heart misgives To releeve such our Lord Christ saith Neverthelesse when the Sonne of man comes shall he finde faith on the earth As if he had said though all ought to encrease and strengthen faith in darkest times both in themselves and others yet let no man despair because some or many do not beleeve for as their unbelief shall not make the faith that is the faithfullnesse or faith-word of God without effect Rom. 3. 3. so neither shall it make the faith of other men without effect Yea in this sense the lesse faith the more hope When you see the spirits of most drooping their flesh trembling and their hands hanging down This looks most like the time wherein Christ will come to avenge his elect and do great things And those Saints in whom faith bears up its head in such times may use the generall unbelief of their brethren as a strong advantage for their own faith and representing it to God in prayer may plead thus Lord faith failes exceedingly very few of thy oppressed people do or can be perswaded to beleeve that thou wilt help them why therefore Lord hasten in help now come to our succour Is not this the day of thy comming for thou shalt scarce finde faith on the earth to beleeve thou wilt come Thirdly Though Christ will come at last to releeve his people when little faith is to be found among them yet it shall be best with those in whom he findes most faith and wo to those who neglect the raising of their faith because they hear Christ will come when faith is down The freenesse of his grace in helping an unbeleeving generation will be no excuse but a reproof of their unbelief Our duty to beleeve is not the lesse because his goodnesse to those who beleeve not is so great yea they who to put themselves into a posture for deliverance cast away their faith are cloathed with presumption And though Christ may establish those who through weaknesse or want of faith cannot beleeve yet surely they shall never be established who through boldnesse with or wantonnesse upon his grace strive not to give him glory in beleeving To cleer which I shall now proceed to give you some demonstrations of this point why unbelief is the barre and stop of blessings This appears First From the greatnesse of the sinne of

This Kingdom shall be holden up for God is able to make it stand How so God hath received it Do yee perceive no breakings forth of the love of God to his people in this Kingdom Hath he done nothing which intimates he hath received this people Surely he hath therefore we may argue God is able to make us stand therefore we shall be holden up for God hath received us A third objection is thus raised You will have us beleeve that we shall be established but I pray shew us a word for our faith Can you give us any promise Isaiah here brought a promise immediatly from Heaven he told the people from the mouth of God that they should be established can you do so too Faith is a wise grace Faith loves not to build upon the sand much lesse to build castles in the ayr Faith must have a sure foundation and nothing will serve faiths turne but the word of God It will not build upon the bare word of all the Preachers in the world As the great Mathematician said Shew me a place where I shall set mine engine and I will shake all the earth so saith faith Give me but a sure word whereupon I may fix my foot I will carry any thing but where is that word to be found what 's the text chapter and verse that England shall be established or have you any extraordinary revelation that it shall 'T is granted We have no such revelations as Isaiah brought to Ahaz and his people but we have that which serves faiths turn sufficiently and so much as amounts to a particular promise I may say There is as much ground in Scripture for faith to build on for the present temporall salvation of this distressed Kingdom as any man at first hath or had in Scripture to beleeve his eternall salvation I clear it thus Suppose we comming to a man lying in the state of nature and under trouble of conscience for his sinne should offer him Christ and pardon and he should say Shew a promise which belongs to me What promise could we tender him could we bring one with his name literally in it doth any promise speak explicitely Thomas or John do thou beleeve and thou shalt be saved There is no such word for the salvation of any man There are promises of three sorts in Scripture First Promises of free grace that God will justifie the ungodly and pardon sinne for his own Names sake Secondly Promises of grace that God will give faith repentance love and a new heart c. Thirdly Promises unto grace that if we beleeve and repent we shall be saved Promises of these three sorts are all we have to build our faith upon for eternall salvation and these we or any other Nation that is under the same condition hath to build assurance upon for temporall salvation There are promises of free grace to Nations that God will deliver and save them for his own Names sake such a promise we have though the Name of England be not expressed in it Again there are promises of grace to Nations that God will poure out a spirit of repentance and humiliation upon them and cause them to return Lastly we have promises unto grace that if a people call upon God repent and turn from their evil waies they shall be delivered If my people which are called by my Name do humble themselves and seek my face and pray and turn unto me I will hear in Heaven and deliver c. 2 Chro. 7. 14. These promises were made not only to the people of Israel but to all people who are the Israel of God Say not then this stops your faith ye cannot beleeve establishment because ye want a promise of establishment these promises are ours as well as this was Jerusalems These objections and stumbling-blocks being thus I hope answered and removed out of the way of faith let your faith gird up her loynes and rejoyce like a giant to run her race Act faith for the Kingdom as you would for your own souls Is it not a duty to beleeve when you pray and seek God about temporals in their degree and kinde as well as when about spirituals and eternals in theirs Hath not God given his people sometimes as clear evidences as strong assurances that their prayers have been heard about temporals as about eternals What if we should not be under the influences of those promises which are made unto grace to a repenting reforming people yet faith hath footing enough in those which are made of grace to give give repentance and reformation to a people and in those of free-grace that God will save for his Name sake though a people are generally impenitent and unreformed A probability of prevailing is a sufficient ground both for praying and beleeving The Prophet Joel chap. 2. 14 perswades that afflicted people to fast and pray in that he perswaded them to beleeve upon this offer only Who knoweth if he will return and repent Nineve is carried up to beleeve by the same argument Jon. 3. 9. Who can tell if God will return A peradventure from God is better then an absolute promise from any creature So long as God hath not said hee will not though hee hath not said hee will let us venture God hath not yet forbidden prayer but rather bespoken it in the hearts of his people God hath not yet declared by any work of providence against England as he did against Judah by his word Jer. 15. 1 2. Though Moses and Samuel stood before me yet my minde could not be towards this people cast them out of my sight and let them go forth such as for death to death c. No he hath rather declared his willingnesse if not his resolvednesse to deliver to save to settle to establish us His heart seems to work toward us let our faith work toward him yea let our faith have a perfect work and then I doubt not but God will perfect all our works If we beleeve surely we shall be established Lastly If a shaking Kingdom be established by beleeving then how precious are beleevers Are they not the bases and pillars of a state Job puts the question concerning wisedom chap. 28. 12. Where shall wisedom be found and where is the place of understanding The depth saith It is not in me and the sea saith It is not with me ver 14. Should I put such a quaerie about the point in hand Where shall the stability of the Nation be found and what is the place of its strength Your sea would say It is not in me and your ships would say It is not in us your Garisons in fortified Cities and your Armies in the open field your correspondencies abroad and your counsels at home would or must all bring in their disclaimers and say Strength is not in us in us establishment is not to be found Where is it then the text answers Faith is our strength establishing is