Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	aaron_n	business_n	sin_n	23	3	5.2810	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47400	A discovery of some troublesome thoughts Wherewith many godly precious souls are burthened, and extreamly pressed: that like a canker eats out all their comforts, and keeps their souls under continuall fears and distractions. Together with a compound of some Scripture and experimentall cordials, for the refreshing of those who are sick of such a disease; and through the blessing of God, may prove medicinall, to the cure of some, and the comforting of others. By Daniel King, preacher of the Word.	King, Daniel, preacher near Coventry.	1651 (1651)	Wing K489; ESTC R216092	52,316	69

grieved the Spirit and neglected Christ for trifles small matters of the world c. And did net Jonah do so For a little credit to run away from God and for a little ease to be so angry as he was were not these trifles And this was Martha's fault to neglect hearing Christ for these outward things being cumbred about businesses And this was Aarons and Miriams sin in murmuring against Moses because of their estimation a poor busines And Aarons sin in making the golden Calf a trifling Idol to grieve the Spirit of God both in himself and others Causes of this And let me tell you there may be other causes of this distemper and not because thou art not truly converted 1. Because security may seiz upon the spirit sometimes desire to be at rest and ease Cant. 5. I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them Now she neglects Christ and yet his Spouse 2. Because the things of the world are such bewitching alluring things and the Divel is ready to present them to thee in the gloriousest shew as may be as he did to Christ Therefore Christ for the present is neglected 3. For want of a clear and more full manifestation of the Excellency of Jesus Christ As Paul before he had a clear manifestation of Christ he trifled about legall priviledges and duties but afterwards he counts them loss for Christ Phil. 3.7.8 The last ground of fear 12. Thou complainest Thou hast found thy heart apt to take Liberty and to be loose when occasion and opportunity hath suited to thee when thou mightst be secret from the eye of man close in private Therefore thou concludest thy state is not right and thou art troubled This some of the servants of God have found As David when he saw Bathsheba washing her self how loose was his heart on a sudden in inordinate lust after her And saith he Ps 19. Cleanse me from my secret Sins such as never come into the sight of men And because of this I conceive there are such Caveats to shun the very baits and occasions to sin As a man inclined to whoredom and lust see the advertisment Prov. 5.7 c. Hear me now O ye children And depart not from the words of my mouth Remove thy way far from her that is the whorish woman and come not nigh the door of her house Lest thou give thine honour unto others c. and so he goes on to vers 14. To shew the danger of occasions to that sin So Prov. 23. Concerning Drunkenness vers 31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red when it giveth his colour in the Cup when it moveth it self aright Why Why thou mayst be catcht with it thy heart being loose And saith he At the last it bites like a Serpent and stings like an Adder Our Saviour knew how apt the hearts of his Disciples were to be loose Therefore saith he Take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfetting and drunkenness and the cares of this life And take heed and beware of covetousness And take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisie And saith Solomon keep thy heart with all diligence Now what need all these Caveats if the hearts of Christians were not apt to run aside and be loose And this comes to passe oftentimes 1. Not for want of Grace because the man hath no grace but for want of watchfulness and diligent observance to give the heart to God and to walk in his wayes Prov. 23.26 33. My Son saith he give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my wayes And then he shewes if it be otherwise the Danger of whoredom and drunkenness And saith vers 33. Thine eyes shall behold strange women and thine heart shall utter perverse things 2. Because the Devil is a cunning diligent Adversary to lay his baits to deceive at every turn 1 Pet. 5.8 Be sober be vigilant for your Adversary the Devil as a roaring Lyon goes about continually seeking whom he may devour So that now I would have you to remember that Gods thoughts are not your thoughts nor Gods wayes your wayes If God had as low thoughts of poor Christians as they have of themselves many times there were good Reason they should be troubled But saith he As high as the Heavens are above the earth so high are my thoughts above your thoughts and my wayes above your wayes Isa 55. and howsoever you may cry out as Zion Isa 49.14 The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me yet consider what the Lord saith I know the thoughts I have towards you thoughts of peace and not of evil The Lord make his poor troubled people know them and then their hearts will settle FINIS In regard I was absent When my former Book was Printed there are many faults escaped in Printing and no notes of correction Printed And for some weighty reasons moving me thereto I desire here to note the chief of them that alter my sence of things which in the Sense they go in I shall not own The Title of the Book is A Way to Sion sought out and found for beleevers to walk in c. PAg. 62. lin 22. for resolved r. relieved p. 97. l. 16. f. all r. of p. 115. l. 34 f. all Christ r. after this p. 120. l. 32. f. glorified r. gloried p. 125. l. 1. after only add Then this ministring must be meant of Deacons only p. 128. l. 17. f. Original r. Organic p. ib. l 35. blot out but only and instead thereof r. And. p. 176. l. 28. f. dead r. weak There are many other faults but being more easily espied by the ingenuous Reader I here let them pass without giving notice of them

find the Lord He lookt behind him before him on both hands but to no purpose And so the Church Cant. 3.1 2. By night on my bed I sought him whom my sould loveth I sought him but I found him not c. She 's industrious but finds him alone Causes why God keeps off What should be the reason may some say that the Lord should keep aloof off when a man sets himself so seriously about it I mean to find him 1. Because God would have the creature know that he is free in working He is not tied to come to preparations or qualifications of the creature but to his own preparations The preparations of the heart and the answer of the tougue is from the Lord saith Salomon Prov. 16.1 2. He would let his people know that he will be waited on to come in when he pleases yet the creature must do his duty Seek the Lord and his strength seek his face evermore Psal 105.5 Paul prayed thrice before he had an Answer of grace 2 Cor. 12. 3. Many times the people of God have too much self-ends in their duties and the Lord would have them to see it Zach. 7.5 Did you fast unto me even unto me saith the Lord. And did you not eat for your selves and drink for your selves It may be self-love may drive a man to it to obtain some blessing that he wants rather then to enjoy God himself And God would shew him this errour and take him off from it 4. That they may see their former Slothfulness and Negligence Cant. 5. When Christ had waited and called for admittance and could not have it he withdraws to let his Spouse see how he did distaste her Sloth and Neglect and Excuses 5. That he might be the sweeter to thee when he comes in again and that thou mightest stick the closer to him when thou hast found him again 6. To try thy Faith and Patience and Constancy whether thou wilt persevere in following him and wait upon him as the woman of Canaan did though thou have repulse after repulse and little hopes in reason yet to try if thy faith can conquer reason And that thy faith may be seen with the greater lustre when it is tried For God by delaying and putting off discovers to you the temper of your Spirits whether you will willingly wait the Lords leasure or whether you will fret and fume and wait no longer As we do sometimes by beggers put them off or give them no answer and if they be indeed in great wants and of meek spirits they will lament and weep and be thankful for a little when it comes But your stout sturdy beggers when they are not answered they will fall a reviling and cursing and give high words so that by delaying you may see their spirits So doth the Lord by this means shew you your spirits and temper of heart The ninth ground of fear 9. He complaines he hath hurt the cause of God when God hath brought him upon the stage to have done something for God perhaps to have suffered And so his Soul is wounded and he fears his condition And did not Peter do so Did not he fly off when all had forsaken Christ and break his word and resolution and shamefully deny his Master contrary to his former profession So Moses and Aaron Num. 20.12 Because ye believed me not to sanctify me in the eies of the children of Israel saith God Therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the Land c. These men hurt the cause of God and failed when they should have stuck to it and yet all real converts The 10. ground of fear 10. You cry out you have oftentimes relaps't into the same sins which formerly you have pursued with particular sorrow and grief and prayed and resolved against them and that makes you question the truth of your state This is indeed a sad condition But this doth not prove thy state naught for it hath been the case of the servants of God sometimes Therefore ye have this confession Our backslidings are many so that you see it was oftentimes again and again The Prophet Jonah relapsed into passion and discontent with God He was discontent with the work God set him about therefore he flieth to Tarshish Jonah 1.2.3 And sorrowes for it and confesseth Chap. 2.8 They that trust upon lying vanities forsake their own mercies yet see Chap. 3.1 When God had shewed mercy to Niniveh how discontent he was with the Lord again It displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry And when the Lord that might have confounded him reasons sweetly and mildly with him to take him off from his passion as appears Chap. 3.3.4 and provides for him what he wants yet upon a small occasion again the taking away of a gourd or shrub and the Lord had a gracious end in it too the convincing of him of his folly in being so waspish he breaks out again into the same passion or worse as if he had never seen the evill of i● or been humbled for it Chap. 4.8.9 I am greatly angry Or I do well to be angry even unto death saith he See how often he relapsed into this sin and Peter denieth Christ not only once but again and again † And perhaps the prodigal sets out unto us a Christian relapst for he was a son before and with his Father and then went away from him and spent all And yet he was not quite undone but returned again And this comes to pass sometimes 1. To let you see your own weaknes that you can do nothing of your selves cannot withstand nor resist nor overcome that ye may be taken off of all false confidences and rest upon God and God alone for help That ye may resist stedfast in the faith 2. For the advancement of the praise and honour of the wisdome skill and goodness of God the Physitian of our souls that can and doth cure when the disease is more dangerous when thou art relaps't and it grows worse and worse as in curing the woman that had the bloody Issue that was worse and worse notwithstanding all the means she used till she came to Christ 3. This advanceth his Mercy the more that he doth not quite forsake thee when thou hast done what thou canst to drive him away as Micha 7.18.19 Who is a God like unto thee that pardons Iniquity that passeth by the trangression of the remnant of his heritage He retains not his anger for ever because he delights in mercy Oh but I have relaps't and driven him away saith the poor soul But mark now ver 19. He will turn again he will have compassion on us he will subdue our Iniquities and thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the Sea And the prodigal saw the compassion of his Father the greater in receiving him again after he had run away from him The eleventh ground of fear 11. He hath

Questions his conversion 3. He hath Discovered new sins and corruptions which before he did not observe after a long time in the state of grace And finds new ones which he did not know of And he knows not but there may be more behind And so fear ariseth 4. He finds his heart many times loose in spirituall duties the thoughts thereof roaring and ranging this way and that way when his heart should be kept to God By-thoughts come thick upon him as motes in the Sun and he is as sure to be haunted with them as to find his shadow in the Sun And hence he is troubled 5. He doth not find that growth in the Inward marrow of Religion that should be in him answerable to his time and means of knowledge For though he grant he hath grown in Knowledge and some externall parts and gifts as utterance and the gifts of Prayer and Prophesie c. yet he finds not that he is grown in Spirit and inward acquaintance with Christ 6 He finds the exercise of his graces Faith Love Patience c. failing sometimes when he hath most need of them And that the Disposition of his heart in the cause of God sometimes fails comes short of that activity that should be in it And the exercises of his graces in putting forth are many-times stained 7. He cannot attain to something that he sees in other men that peradventure were after him in Christ and are inferior in gifts yet he cannot attain to that life of Grace he sees in them nor to that Humility nor Love nor desire nor resoluteness for truth nor self-deniall nor Heavenly-mindedness And hence he fears his condition 8. He finds he enjoyes God least many times when he sets himself the best about it and goes about to fit his Soul to entertain Christ as in fasting c. 9. He hath hurt the Cause of God when God hath brought him upon the stage to have done something for God perhaps to have suffered for God And upon this questions the truth of his grace 10. He hath oftentimes relapsed it into the same sin which formerly he hath pursued with particular sorrow and grief And prayed and resolved against it and this troubles him 11. He hath grieved the Spirit and neglected Christ for trifles for smal matters things of the world vain pleasures c. 12. Lastly He hath found his heart apt to take liberty and to be loose when Occasion and opportunity hath suited to him when he might be secret from the eye of man close and hath had an opportunity to enjoy his self-pleasure he hath found his heart loose And from such like grounds as these he is many-times cast into reasonings and Questioning the truth of his state whether his conversion were ever right and so he is troubled How to setle a man oppressed with this thought Now for the setling of a mans state that is thus incumbred And to cut of all Questions and disputes which the heart of man may breed What if there may be a shorter course taken for the setling of a mans heart then to stand weighing of a mans Graces and corruptions together for though the least piece of money hath some distinct stamp upon it that a man may know it from a Counter And every grace in a mans soul hath some mark of truth upon it Yet I say what if there be another course that a Christian may take when his own heart raiseth storms in this manner to take another course to clear it from such Rocks and Shelvs And that is Generall propositions tending to the peace of such a soul In these Cases And in all these Cases to go immediately to Christ by faith And to cast your selves upon him yea to cast away your selves upon him not so much as questioning what shall become of you but to go out immediately to him Yea I say though your hearts be full of deceit and Hypocrisie yet I would go out for all this and intrude upon Christ as I may say by an impudent kind of beleeving and say thus Lord If my graces give me no comfort Christ shall And say thus God hath laid in Sion for a Foundation a Stone a tryed stone a precious Corner stone a sure Foundation Isa 28.16 And he that beleeveth on him shall not be confounded 1 Pet. 2.6 Now there must be a course taken to keep the heart from wrangling For some may say what is this to beleeve in a Stone That is to be in and to be by faith built upon Christ And by faith to lie fast in the fast lieing of this Stone And in the fast levelling and laying of this stone would I lie fast Friends If your Graces yeeld you but a little comfort then presently flie to Christs person and personal offices I would have you flie from your sins to Christ and I would have you flie from your graces to Christ too For he is the Boat to receive you both from damning sins and imperfect graces for the Alsufficiency of Christ needs not thy graces to make it perfect as if he could not save thee without the perfection of thy graces Thus doing thou shalt honour Christ above and sweeten him more then thy own graces And if at any time thy heart wrangle thee out of thy graces yet let it never wrangle thee out of Christ If thy graces be a quagmire that thou shake upon them then Christ is a Stone lies firm A man may trust too much upon his graces but he cannot trust too much upon Christ A man may take too much hold upon the Mil sailes for a man may take so fast hold he may be turned about but not upon the mil-post Learn the use of Faith which is of singular use to carry thee out of thy sanctified self to live out of thy self to build out of thy self to carry thee by faith and hope out of thy self to Christ Gal. 2.20 The life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me See how Paul lives here not by any thing but faith in Christ I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live saith he yet not I Lest any should think he lived upon his graces and sanctification He addes But Christ liveth in me Now lest any should dream that there is no other Christ then the creature hath within in graces qualifications c. he explains himself And the life that I live in the flesh I live by the FAITH of the Son of God And truely If a mans heart will not be setled this way it will scarce be setled any way Four considerable things Now for the use of faith in this case there are four things considerable 1. Whensoever thou art thus puzled labour to lay Christ in the other end of the ballance against all objections that thy heart can make This is the shortest cut that a man can make to plead Christ yet