Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	faith_n	word_n	6,678	5	5.1905	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41125	The sacrifice of the faithfull, or, A treatise shewing the nature, property, and efficacy of zealous prayer together with some motives to prayer, and helps against discouragements in prayer : to which is added seven profitable sermons / by William Fenner ...	Fenner, William, 1600-1640.	1648 (1648)	Wing F698; ESTC R478	35,874	88

not condemn them so that that man whom any condemnation either from God or from his owne conscience condemnes that man is not in Christ being not in Christ he can never be heard Indeede a mans conscience may be misinformed by Satan under a temptation as you may see in the verse before my text Thou hast heard my voyce stop not thine eare from my cry Here the Church being examined their consciences told them they were heard in their praiers but being under a temptation their consciences were afraide that God heard not So many a poore soule examine it and it cannot deny but that these and these tokens of grace and fruites of Gods Spirit are in it yet their consciences are afraide that the Lord will not give them these and these other graces that they want that the Lord will not heare them for such and such blessings I meane not neither a truce of conscience for there may be a truce of conscience in wicked men A truce may be betweene mortall enemies but no peace but amongst freinds Wicked mans consciences are like the Lion 1. Kings 13. who when he had killed the Prophet stood by the Corps and by the Asse and did not eate the body nor teare the Asse so a wicked mans conscience it is as the divells band-dogge or roaring Lion till it hath slaine the sinner it stands stone-still and seemes neither to meddle or make with him but lies as seared or dead in him I meane not this conscience But when God hath sprinkled the conscience with the bloud of Christ and made the conscience pure this is a signe that God heares his praier I meane not the stammering of conscience when it is dazelled or overwhelmed but when it speaks down right as it meanes A godly mans conscience sometimes may judge otherwise then the thing is But examine what thy conscience tells thee in sober sadnesse deliberatey convincingly and then know that the Lord tels thee If thy conscience saies peremptorily that thy heart and waies are rotten and unsound then know that the Lord tells thee so and that the Lord sayeth so to thy soule Fifthly the getting of that grace that a man prayes for is a signe that God heares his praiers But this is not a true signe alwaies but with distinction When the grace given and the good will of God the giver cannot be severed then it is a true signe But when the gift and the good will of the giver may be severed then it is not a true signe Thou maiest pray unto God and God may give thee many temporall blessings and many common graces of his Spirit God may give thee good parts a good memory he may give thee a good measure of knowledge and understanding even in divers things he may give thee some kinde of humility chastity civility thou maiest be of a loving and flexible disposition so he may give thee a good estate in the world houses lands wife and children c. God may give thee all these and yet hate thee and never heare one praier thou makest thou maist pray for a thousand blessings and have them and yet never be heard so long as the good will of the giver is severed from them all outward blessings and common graces may be severed from Gods good pleasure to a man Therefore in temporall blessings or in common graces if thou wouldst know whether God heare thee or no know whether God hath given thee a sanctified use of them or no If God hath given thee many common graces or temporall blessings and a heart to use them to his Glory then every blessing thou hast there is not a droppe of drinke nor a bit of bread that thou hast but it is a signe of Gods everlasting love to thee Why because this and the good will of the giver can never be severed But on the contrary if a man have not a sanctified use of that he hath then it is the greatest severity of God and the most eminent plague and curse of God upon the soule to give it for a mans parts may be his bane his civility may be his curse and meanes of the finall hardnesse and impenitencie of his heart Sixthly faith if a man have faith given him to beleive it is a signe that God heares him be it to thee saith Christ to the man in the Gospell according to thy faith so goe thou to God and be it to thee as thou beleevest Dost thou pray for grace according as thou beleevest so shalt thou receive I have no signe that God will heare me I have so many corruptions of my heart against me and so many threatnings of Gods frownes against me I have no signe that God will heare me Wouldst thou have a signe An evill and an adulterous generation seeketh a signe this is a tempting faith to seeke for signes to believe Thomas said Christ Joh. 20. 29. because thou hast seen me thou hast belived blessed are they that have not seene and yet believe That man that believes because he feels griefe in his heart teares in his eyes groans in his spirit because he prayes long and earnestly and sweats in his praier or mourns in his humiliation I suspect his humiliation his teares his griefe his praiers and all that he hath Why these are good signes of faith but rotten grounds of faith the Word and promise of God must be thy ground But against this the soul may object That every Promise runnes with a Condition and therefore if I have not the condition how can I beleeve the promise God hath promised Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall be satisfied There is a Promise of filling but it is with a condition of hungering Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God c. if I have not the Condition annexed to the Promise how dare or how can I believe the Promise The Condition is not the way to get the Promise the Promise is the ground of faith and the way to get the condition because the promise is the Motive cause that moves the soule to get the condition Now the Mover must be before the Moved then if beliefe of the Promise move thy soule to get the condition of the promise then beliefe of the promise must be before that the soule can keepe the condition of the promise Saul made a promise to David 1 Sam. 18. that he should be his sonne in law in one of his two daughters upon condition that he should give him an hundred fore-skins of the Philistims Now David did first believe the promise and thereby he was allured to fight valiantly to keepe the condition to get a hundred fore-skins of the Philistims So Psal. 116. I believed and therefore did I speake He beleeved Gods promise and then he spake with condition So we believe saith the Apostle and therefore doe we

To the Christian Reader HAving been informed upon very good grounds that the former Sermons of Mr William Fenner have found good acceptance both in regard of the worthinesse of the Author and also in regard of the usefulnesse of the Sermons I could not but give my approbation to these ensuing Sermons of the same Authour and desire that they may find the like acceptance with all Godly wise Christians and that they may become profitable to the Church of God Imprimatur EDM CALAMY THE SACRIFICE OF THE FAITHFULL OR A TREATISE shewing the nature property and efficacy of Zealous Prayer together with some Motives to Prayer and Helps against discouragements in Prayer To which is added seven profitable Sermons 1. The misery of the Creature by the sinne of man on Rom. 8. 22. 2. The Christians imitation of Christ on 1 Ioh. 2. 6 3. The enmity of the wicked to the light of the Gospel on John 3. 20 4. Gods impartiality on Esay 42. 24. 5. The great Dignity of the Saints on Heb. 11. 28. 6. The time of Gods grace is limited on Gen. 6. 3. 7. A Sermon for spirituall Mortification on Col. 3. 5. By William Fenner Minister of the Gospel Fellow of Pembrok Hall in Cambridge and Lecturer of Rochford in Essex LONDON Printed for John Stafford and are to be sold at his House over against Brides Church in Fleet-Street 1648. The CONTENTS of the first Treatise on Lament. 3. 5. 7. THE opening of the words in which are three properties of effectuall Prayer pag. 1. 1. The unsatiablenesse of it till it be heard 2. The sensiblenesse of it whether it be heard or no 3. The supply it hath against danger and discouragement p. 2. 1. Doct An effectuall prayer is an unsatiable prayer p. 3. Quest Must a man alwayes pray Ans. A man must give over the act of prayer for other duties but he must never give over the suit of Prayer p. 5. Rules to know whether our Prayers be unsatiable or no 1. It is an earnest begging Prayer p. 6. 2. It is constant Prayer p. 8. A godly mans Prayer is not out of his heart till the grace he prayed for be in p. 9. 3. It is a Prayer that is ever a beginning ib. 4. It is a proceeding Prayer it windes up the heart higher and higher ibid. 5. It is a Prayer that purifieth the heart p. 10. It is more and more fervent p. 11. And more and more frequent p. 12. It will take time from lawfull recreations and from the lawfull duties of our calling p. 13. And it will adde humiliation and fasting to Prayer p. 14. Use To condemne those who pray for grace and yet sit downe before grace is obtained p. 15. Such Prayers are 1. Endlesse p. 16. 2. Fruitlesse p. 17. 2. Doct A godly soule is sensible of Gods hearing or not hearing his Prayer p. 19. Quest How can the soule know whether it speed in Prayer or no Answ. 1. When God gives a soule further and further ability to pray it is a signe that God heares it p. 20. But if the soule have no heart to continue its suit it is a signe that God never meanes to heare that mans Prayer p. 21. 2. The preparednesse of the heart to Prayer is a signe that God means to heare p. 21. 3. Gods gracious looke is a signe that he will heare for sometimes God answers his people by a cast of his countenance p. 22. 4. The conscience of a man will answer him whether God heares his Prayer or no p. 26. But a mans conscience may be misinformed p. 27. A wicked man may have a truce though no true peace in his conscience p. 28. 5. The getting of the grace that a man prayes for is a signe that God heares his Prayer p. 29. But God may give many temporall blessings and common graces yet not in love but in wrath ibid. 6. If a man have Faith giuen him to beleive it is a signe that God heares him p. 30. Good works are good signes of Faith but they are but rotten grounds of Faith p. 31. Object Every Promise runs with a condition ibid. Ans. 1. The Promise is the ground of Faith and the way to get the Condition p. 32. 2. Faith is the enabling cause to keep the Condition p. 33. Two things doe much hurt in Prayer 1. Groundlesse incouragement 2. Needlesse discouragement p. 36. 3. Doct. God would not have any Christian soule to be discouraged in Prayer p. 39. A definition of discouragement ibid. 4. Reasons 1. Because discouragement hinders the soule in prayer p. 42. 2. Discouragement takes away the strength of the soule in Prayer p. 43. 3. If we have fearfull apprehensions of our sins so as to thinke they will never be forgiven we can never pray aright p. 45. 4. If we have any secret despaire we can never pray to purpose p. 46. There is a double desperation 1. Of infirmity which draws the soul from God 2. Of extremity which puts life into a mans Prayers and endeavours p. 47. A man never prayes well till he feeles himselfe undone p. 49. We should take heed of discouragements for 1. Discouragements breed melancholinesse in the soule p. 53. 2. They breed hard thoughts of God p. 54. 3. They will cause a man to thinke that God hates him p. 56. 4. They will bring a man to despaire p. 57. Ministers should not preach the pure Law without the Gospel p. 58. Secret discouragements in the heart 1. They take away the Spirit in the use of the meanes p. 62. 2. They drive us from the use of means p. 63. 3 They make a man continually to pore on his sins so as he shall never be able to get out of them p. 64. 4. They breed nothing but sorrow p. 66. 5. They leave the soule in a maze that it knows not whether to turne it selfe p. 67. 6. They whisper into a man a sentence of Death and an impossibility of escaping p. 68. The conclusion of the whole p. 69. The Contents of that Sermon ROM. 8. 22. EVery creature hath a three-fold goodnesse in it 1. A goodnesse of end p. 70. 2. A goodnesse of nature p. 71. 3. A goodnesse of use ibid. There be foure evils under which every Creature groaneth p. 73. 1. The continuall labour that the creature is put unto ibid. 2. The creature sometimes partakes of the plagues of the ungodly ib. 3. The Creature hath an instinctive fellow-feeleing of mans wretchednesse p. 74. 4. Because they are rent and torne from their proper Masters ibid. Doct. Every Creature groaneth under the slavery of sinne p. 75. Not only under the slavery of sinfull men but so far as they minister to the flesh of the Saints they groane under them ibid. Object Did ever any man heare any unreasonable creature groane under sin Answ. It is spoken Hyperbolically to declare the great misery the creatures are into serve sinfull man p. 76. 2. Analogically in regard of a