Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	covenant_n	faith_n	seal_n	4,746	5	9.5373	5	true

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

living out of a word of promise but unbelief will let us die and starve in the midst and throng of all the promises yea unbelief as to us destroyeth the promises and cuts the sinews of them so that they cannot stirre hand or foot to help us Yet further unbelief as much as in it lies turnes all the promises into fallacies and the truth of God into a lie Faith feeds upon the goodnesse of the promises and unbelief devours the truth of them Surely they shall never receive the good of a promise who deny and destroy the truth of a promise A fourth reason is this Unbelief destroys all former mercies therefore certainly unbelief will hinder future mercies by unbelief God loses all the favours he hath bestowed upon us when we beleeve not what is to be done we unbeleeve all that God hath done He that having been pardoned his sinne doth not beleeve that God will pardon him still unbeleeves that he was ever pardoned It is so in the case of temporals And can we think he will bestow new favours where he hath lost those he hath bestowed God will never trust that which distrusts him The seven lean kine of Pharaoh eat up the fat kine though we have had seven fat kine and full ears of corn though God hath given us seven full mercies seven great deliverances yet unbelief will swallow them all at a bit as it were and yet be as lean and empty as before We see it clearly in that passage of the people of Israel Exod. 14. 11. God had wrought a great deliverance for them he had brought them out of Egypt with a strong hand and they had seen the wonders of God ten times there but as soon as ever they came to the red sea unbelief seized upon them Oh they should never overcome that difficulty never get past that danger What doth this their unbelief even what I have said it devoured all former mercies Nay it not only took away former mercies but turned them into afflictions and crosses so we may enterpret their complaint Because there were no graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the wildernesse wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians then that we should die in the wildernesse See how angry they were at former mercies how they preferre bondage before deliverance Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us to carry us out of Egypt Can we judge a people who are angry with former mercies fit to receive new mercies Such is the language of unbelief at this day How many in their distresses when they are brought as it were unto the red sea wish that this Reformation had never been begunne it had been better for them to have served their old task-masters both in spirituals and in temporals then to endure such hardship then to run such hazzards and be at such cost to free themselves they look upon all the wonders which God hath wrought as matters of their sorrow We see what we have brought our selves to O that we had suffered any thing rather then what we suffer Fiftly Unbelief robs God of his honour and that which takes glory from God must needs hinder mercy from man we can never enrich our selves by robbing God unbelief is a God-robbing sinne and it robbes God of that which is most precious to him unbelief is a bold sinne it goes into Gods Cabinet and takes away his chiefest jewell it takes away that which he saith he will not give away his glory The glory of God is nothing else but Isa 42. 8. that reputation which he hath in the world I speak not of his essentiall glory which he hath from all eternity and shall have whether men beleeve or no but I speak of his extrinsecall manifestative and declarative glory this unbelief obscureth and casteth a vail upon yea steals quite away You know a mans glory is gone when his credit is gone if a man be in such a condition that no man will beleeve him or take his word or give him credit that man hath lost all his honour and reputation in the world Now unbelief makes God of no credit in the world let him speak what he will let him give his word his hand his covenant his seal his oath he hath no credit among unbeleevers It is said of the old Saints Heb. 11. 2. that by faith they obtained a good report There is no grace brings so much honour to man as faith doth and I do assure you there is no grace brings God so much honour as faith doth by faith God himself obtains a good report among the Saints His Name is great among those who are of great faith Gods Name is up when our hearts are up in beleeving and his Name is down when our hearts are down in unbelief He that receiveth the testimony of God sets to his Joh. 3. 33. seal that God is true but he that will not receive the testimony of God he as much as he can hath set to his seal that God is false The Apostle quaeries Rom. 3. 3. What if some did not beleeve shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect His denying question implies that this was the attempt of unbelief even to make the faith of God that is the faithfullnesse of God of none effect It is as if he should say This is it which these by their unbelief would do or to do which there is a tendencie in unbelief God doth and will right himself in honour shew himself faithfull though all the world should prove liars and unbeleevers But no thanks to unbelief that would put the highest dishonour upon God even that of falsehood to his own word and unfaithfullnesse to his people Consider this can we thrive by endamaging God or is it probable God will encrease our comforts while we are decocting and wasting his honour From all these considerations the point is clearly demonstrated that unbelief is the stop of publike blessings and therefore I conclude for the truth of it That Without beleeving there can be no establishing Hence learn first how excellent and usefull a grace faith is Some think little of employing faith in any businesse beyond the line of the justification of a sinner But as the Saints of old so we may make other improvements of it For as by faith the walls of Jericho were shaken and fell down Heb. 11. 30. so by faith the walls of Jerusalem may be setled and raised up As by faith those ancient Worthies subdued Kingdoms so by faith at this day we may establish Kingdoms We must not only go to prayer by faith but to counsell by faith and to warre by faith by this grace we may wax valiant in fight and turn to flight the Armies of the aliens ver 34. When Jehoshaphats Armies went forth to battell his military Oration had but this flower