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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

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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