Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	abolish_v	according_a	action_n	14	3	7.0417	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39932	Aytokatakritos or, the sinner condemned of himself being a plea for God, against all the ungodly, proving them alone guilty of their own destruction; and that they shall be condemned in the great day of account, not for that they lacked, but only because they neglected the means of their salvation. And also, shewing, how fallacious and frivolous a pretence it is in any, to say, they would do better, if they could; when indeed all men could, and might do better, if they would. By one, that wisheth better to all, than most do to themselves.	Ford, Thomas, 1598-1674.	1668 (1668)	Wing F1511B; ESTC R222667	153,768	273

is this difference that God decrees the good actions of men so as to allow of them yea and to effect them by his grace and power the evil only to permit them to order and overrule them for his most righteous and holy ends Alvares and others conceive it impossible for us in our understanding to reconcile these two viz. The absoluteness of Gods decree and the liberty of mans will but they say not that they are inconsistent and there is reason to shew they are not 1. Because as 't is confessed by all when the will of man determines it self to one thing it doth not loose its liberty but though it actually chuse one yet even then it hath power to chuse another 2. Gods decree doth not abolish but only order mans liberty by inclining the will one way or other according to its nature 3. The decree of God establisheth the liberty of mans will For he so determines in his will as the agency of second causes shall be according to their condition i. e. Natural causes shall work naturally voluntary causes freely Though Gods decree excludes the act o● event that 's contrary to it yet not the liberty of man to the contrary as was said before Moreover God decrees not only the things that are to be done but also the manner how they shall be done either voluntarily or necessarily Now things are done necessarily or contingently ●n respect to second causes not to the first who worketh all most freely according to the counsel of his will And so what God hath decreed to come to pass by free agents alwaies comes to pass most freely Iudas was as free and might have forborn to betray his Master as ●f there never had been any thing foreseen or foretold about it And so were the Souldiers ●ree to have broken Christs bones as well as the others I shall shut up this with what I find in one of ours whose judgement I much value as doth every one I suppose that 's any way acquainted with his Writings Our adversaries saith he belye us when they say our opinion touching Predestination maketh us deny Free-will For we think indeed our will is moved effectually by Gods will in all our actions which being the most effectual and universal Cause of all things qualifies our will and inclines it to the action yet doth it not follow hereupon that therefore we think our own will hath no freedome but only that the freedome thereof depends upon a former freedome which is the freedome of Gods will And if we hold further as some Divines do that Gods will determines ours and his decree flows into all the effects of our will so that we do nothing but as he directs our will and purpose yet this excludes not our own freedome nor makes God the Author of sin nor implyes any inevitable necessity in our doing The reason is because God moves not our will violently enforcing it but leaves an inward motive within our selves th●● stirs it up which is the act of our Vnderstanding whereby we judge the things good or evil that w● will or nill For in the proceeding of our wil● First the mind apprehends some object and o●●fers it to the will Then upon the full and perfe●● judgement of the understanding the will follow● or refuses it as the understanding judges it goo● or bad And so this act or judgement of our ●●●derstanding is the root from whence the 〈◊〉 choice of our will ariseth in such manner 〈◊〉 whatsoever it be that goes before the act of 〈◊〉 will or sets in with it to encline it as Go● will doth as long as it destroyes not nor enforc● this practical judgement of reason the liberty 〈◊〉 our will is not taken away And herein stands 〈◊〉 true concord between Gods Predestination and ma●● Will That the free and immutable counsel 〈◊〉 Gods will goeth indeed in order before the opera●●●on of our will or at least together with it 〈◊〉 determines and circumscribes it But for 〈◊〉 much as it neither enforces our will nor takes ●●way our judgement but permits it freely to lea●● and perswade the will it expels not our liberty but rather cherishes and upholds it For wheres●●ever these two concurr viz. Freedome from vi●●lence and necessity and the full consent of Reaso● there is the whole and true reason of Liberty Now I desire it may be observ'd that thi● reverend and learned man saith only Tha● some Divines not all do hold that Gods wi●● determines ours and his decree flows into all th● effects of our will c. And indeed it is yet a great question as well it may with many ●ow farr the decree and unchangeable counsel ●f God doth determine our will about any thing we do To me it is and I think ever will ●e a mystery as some profess it is to them and ●herefore from a matter so difficult and disputa●le it is dangerous and desperate in any man to ●●ferr what is directly contradictory to his du●y so plainly laid before him in the written Word of God For this is plain and there can ●e no question about it But the other I say ●gain is to us very uncertain and what some ●alk of Gods determining our wills and all our ●ctions is very much question'd and doubted of by others and that for good reason it being so mysterious and so hard if not impossible to be apprehended by us as it is But whatever our Divines hold touching Predestination the meaning is not as that learned man in the place before cited hath it That God by his Providence infuseth any constraint into the mind of man to enforce it or any errour to seduce it or imposeth any necessity to bind it but only that he enclines and orders it to work freely that which he hath determined for his own glory And besides his preserving the faculty thereof moves and applyes it to the object and work that it willeth or nilleth And all this is no more than that mans Will is subject to Gods Providence which no sober man will deny or question But to reason the case more familiarly 1. Let men ask themselves Whether they do not freely and willingly chuse their own ungodly wayes and they cannot I am sure say to the contrary For their Consciences will te●● them that in all their ungodly wayes the● only consult to satisfie their lusts and neve● have one thought of what God hath decreed I ask further 2. Whether any man can possibly act in a way of wickedness with a respect to the fulfilling of Gods decrees seeing no ma● can know what those decrees are We re●● indeed Act. 4.27 28. That Herod and Pi●late c. did what the hand and counsel of Go● had determined before-hand Yea the Devil himself in all his doings is within the compass o● Gods counsel else what sad work would h● make in the world But how can a man act so as to intend his action