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	frog_n	pharaoh_n	22	3	10.6131	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12478	An exposition of the Creed: or, An explanation of the articles of our Christian faith. Delivered in many afternoone sermons, by that reverend and worthy divine, Master Iohn Smith, late preacher of the Word at Clavering in Essex, and sometime fellow of Saint Iohns Colledge in Oxford. Now published for the benefit and behoofe of all good Christians, together with an exact table of all the chiefest doctrines and vses throughout the whole booke	Smith, John, 1563-1616.; Palmer, Anthony, fl. 1632.	1632 (1632)	STC 22801; ESTC S117414	837,448	694

of our sinnes to get faith in Christ to walke before God in newnesse and holinesse of life and then after this life we shall live in all blessednesse in the kingdome of Heaven for ever SERMON LXXI LVKE 1. 77. To give knowledge of salvation unto his People by the remission of their sinnes AT length wee are come to the second maine blessing and benefit that God giveth unto us in this life the forgivenesse of sinnes wherein two things are to be considered First That the forgivenesse of sinnes is one of the greatest blessings that God giveth to his People here in this World Secondly That this blessing appertaineth to this life onely if we have it not here let us not looke for it in the life to come For the first That the forgivenesse of sinnes is one of the greatest blessing that God giveth to his People in this world We see Esay 33. 24. it is said The People that dwell therein shall have their iniquitie pardoned So Esay 40. 1. Comfort ye comfort ye my People saith God speake yee comfort unto Ierusalem and crie unto her that her warfare is accomplished that her iniquitie is pardoned for she hath received of the Lords hand double for all her sinnes and Psal 32. David pronounceth the man blessed that hath his sinnes pardoned therefore Matth. 1. the Angell said to Mary and thou shalt call his Name Iesus for he shall save his People from their sinnes so then it is cleare by the Scripture that the pardon of sinnes is one of the greatest blessings that God giveth in this life It is a great blessing indeed to have food and rayment with things fit and needfull for this life but the pardon of our sinnes is a greater blessing than that for take any man abounding in all these things riches goods honours and credit yet if he want the pardon of his sinnes he is a miserable man and stands in a wofull condition for he stands not on cleare grounds The prisoners in the Tower are in a worse estate and condition than the poorest waterbearer is for though he have all good diet attendance fine roomes and a soft bed to lie on yet in his owne sense he is miserable because he lookes every day for his arraignment when sentence shall be given against him so if a man flow in all the wealth and deliciousnesse the world can afford and yet be unreconciled to God and hath not repented his sinnes he is in a worse condition and estate than the poorest of Gods Saints though they have but bread and water because that every day hee may looke when hee shall have the finall sentence pronounced against him to the wofull confusion of him for evermore When every thing goes well with us it is an hard matter for us to see the pardon of our sinnes to bee one of the greatest blessings but if the Lord should open our eyes to see our sinnes and to feele the burthen of them a little being touched in conscience for them then if the world were set on the one hand and the pardon of our sinnes on the other we would choose the pardon of our sinnes before all this world The use hereof shall be seeing the pardon of sinnes is one of the greatest blessings that God giveth in this world therfore though God give us food and raiment things needfull and necessarie for this life yet we should not be at rest till we finde the pardon and forgivenesse of our sinnes most men now a-dayes labour for these outward things never seeke for the pardon of sinnes but every one should checke himselfe and say I have laboured a long time for these outward things for a little bread and cloath yet the time is to come that ever I sought for the pardon of my sinnes the greatest blessing of all Exod. 8. 8. wee read how Pharoah came to Moses and Aaron saying Pray yee unto the Lord that hee may take away the frogges from mee Hee desired not him to pray to take away his sinnes which was the cause of them Iust the same is the case of the men of this world they cry out take away this judgement this sicknesse this lamenesse take away this povertie but never pray to God to take away their sinnes which are the cause thereof Gen. 15. God made to Abraham great and large promises who replies to God Lord what is all this seeing I goe childlesse so when God hath given a man Riches and goods and what the heart of a man can wish for yet he should say unto God Lord what is all this seeing I want the pardon of my sinnes therefore above all things Lord forgive mee my sinnes and pardon them The second thing is that pardon of sinnes appertaineth to this life onely for there are two sorts of blessings some that appertaine to this life some to the world to come those that appertaine to this life are First The Communion of Saints Secondly The forgivenesse of sinnes Here a man must seek it for so Christ shewes Matth. 5. agree with thine adversarie whilest thou art in the way Now Augustine saith that the time of life is the way to the judgement barre and therefore while wee are in the way wee must labour to seeke peace with God and the pardon of our sinnes lest our adversarie accuse us to the Iudge and the Iudge deliver us to the jaylour and the jaylour cast us into prison whence wee shall not come out untill wee have payed the uttermost farthing And Salomon saith Eccl. 9. 10. All that thy hand findeth to doe doe it with all thy power for there is neither worke invention nor knowledge in the grave whither thou goest So S. Cyprian saith when a man is once out of this world all opportunitie of doing good is gone So Chrysostome here in this world one must finde the pardon of his sinnes in the world to come it will bee too late to finde it And so Augustine there is a twofold Repentance a fruitfull Repentance which is in this life and penall or unfruitfull Repentance in the life to come so the wicked in Hell may repent them of their sinnes the whoremonger of his whroedome swearers of their swearing and the drunkard of his drunkennesse but this kind of Repentance is unfruitfull because they have no good by it but it serveth to increase their further torment But the fruitfull Repentance is in this life onely therefore we are taught hereby to make it our wisedome to lay hold on the good time that God giveth us to repent us of our si●nes to bee reconciled unto him and seeke favour at his hands for if we bee once dead and layd in the grave all opportimitie of doing good is taken away If a man sends his servant to the market to buy such things as they stand in need of when the market bell rings hee must apply himselfe to buy the things that

well at first and have the successe we desire yet we must not give over but to it againe and againe It is the sinne of the world that if things doe not succeed well at the first they give over a good cause and are discouraged as Hag. 1. when the Iewes were hindered from building the Temple straight-way they left off so men be quickly discouraged in good courses but it must be the wisdome of a Christian though things doe not succeed presently yet to goe on againe and againe This was the wisdome of Pilate and must be our wisdome also as it is observed of the Spider that although she be hindered in her labour and one come with a broome and sweepe downe her web she will up againe the next day so this must be the wisdome of a Christian though he doe not succeed well in a good course and in his labours at first yet he must not give over but to it againe and againe as long as there is life in him The third time when he laboured to free Christ was when hee joyned Christ and Barabbas together thinking by this meanes they would have rather freed Christ than Barabbas neverthelesse when he saw this would not prevaile he asked But what evill hath he done I finde no fault in him it is against my conscience to put him to death therefore he takes water and washes his hands but yet he could not cleare himselfe from the bloud of Christ all the water in the sea was not able to wash him cleane Now there be some that have their hands as deepe as Pilate in the bloud of Christ I doe not say it of my selfe but the Apostle Paul tels us as much Hebr. 6. 5 6. That they which have tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the world to come If they fall away it is impossible that they should be renewed againe by repentance seeing they crucifie afrosh to themselves the Sonne of God and put him to an open shame And Hebr. 10. 26. If we sinne wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth there remaines no more sacrifice for sinne c. Therefore if thou hast beene inlightned and hast tasted of the good Word of God and of the powers of the world to come take heed how thou commit sin wittingly and willingly against thy knowledge judgement against the light of Grace shining in thy heart and lye in it without repentance thou dost no better than crucifie the Sonne of God and so hast thy hands as deepe in the bloud of Christ as Pilate had so when thou livest in thy sins in the light of the Gospell art a drunkard a whoremaster a prophane person a bad liver take heed thou hast thy hands in the bloud of Christ The fourth time was when they cried Crucifie him crucifie him I but Pilate would not doe it and yet he was the Magistrate who had power in his hands to doe it which must teach us that although there bee a power in our hands to doe hurt unto our neighbours yet wee must not doe it as it is Proverb 3. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to doe it Although thou be mighty yet God is mightier than thou and thou canst not deliver thy selfe from him Now these foure times did Pilate labour to cleare Christ which shewes his innocencie that he died an innocent man and that not for himselfe but for us therefore never doubt but that he hath made expiation and satisfaction for thee by his death Now there were foure particular Meanes that Pilate used to deliver Christ but before we come to speake of them we will answer a doubt or two that may arise First Whether Pilate did well to seeke to deliver Christ seeing that Peter was reproved and reprehended for the same thing Secondly Whether Pilate did well to labour to free Christ seeing it did crosse the will of God for it was the will of God that he should die To the first I answer That Pilate did well to seeke to deliver Christ but Peter did not well because hee did not seeke to deliver Christ by good meanes and in due order but hee would have delivered him by resisting and fighting for him therefore it was a sinne to him but Pilate sought to deliver him by good meanes and in due order threfore it was no sinne in him Againe Peter he knew the mystery of mans redemption therefore it was a sinne in him but Pilate was ignorant of it who tooke him to be but an innocent man therefore Pilate did well do deliver Christ To the scond I answer the will of God is two-fold 1. The will of his Decree 2. The will of his Commandement The will of his Decree is the disposing of every particular man and of the whole world to his best pleasure and can by no meanes be resisted The will of his Commandement is what he would have us to doe Now it was the will of God indeed that Christ should die but it was the will of his Decree for the will of his Commandement was that when he brought Christ into the world all men should kisse him seeke to him for his favour and doe him all the honour that might bee therefore Pilate did well in endevouring to deliver Christ Now to draw this downe lower to our selves it may be it is the will of God we should be poore or that we should be rich therefore must we not be idle and doe nothing for this is the will of Gods Decree which is secret to himselfe but the revealed will of God the will of his Command is that every man should eat his bread in the sweat of his face and apply himselfe to the means notwithstanding that God hath appointed But to returne to the meanes that Pilate used for Christs deliverance The first meanes that Pilate used to deliver Christ was Loquendo by speaking for him And when did hee speake for him marry when all the world was silent which is a worthy example for us to follow to speake for Christ and in his cause for the Gospell though all the world should be silent or else Pilate shall rise up in the day of Iudgement and condemne us for if we be silent in the cause of Christ and holy religion before men he will also be silent at the day of Iudgement for us before his heavenly Father and if we speak in the cause of Christ before men and in the cause of religion he will also speake for us at the day of Iudgement before his heavenly Father Gen. 41. wee see that Pharaohs Butler did dreame a dreame which Ioseph did interpret for which all that Ioseph did request in recompence of him was that he would make mention of him to Pharaoh so our good Ioseph hath done much for us and shewed us great kindnesse for