Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	according_a	good_a	will_n	1,978	5	6.3082	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17866	A treatise upon death first publickly delivered in a funerall sermon, anno Dom. 1630. And since enlarged By N.C. Preacher of Gods word in Scotland at Kilmacolme in the baronie of Renfrew.	Campbell, Ninian, 1599-1657.	1635 (1635)	STC 4533; ESTC S118869	47,144	129

the dust to the balance or a sparke to the bucket or a bucket to the boundlesse bottomelesse Ocean or a candle can adde to the matchles sun in his pride at the mid-day And thus far of the exposition of the third word Man The assertion It is appointed c. NOw I come to the doctrines The first is generall and it is the pillar whereupon I prop the rest viz. The demonstration of the invincible truth of this assertion It is appointed for men c. by these strong and forcible reasons The first reason is taken from the mother of all things and especiall hand-maid of God Nature for it hath appointed that all flowers from the stinking weed to the fair lilie that all trees from the Hyssope upon the wall to the Cedar in the forrest that all herbs from the green grasse to semperviva that all minerals from the iron to the gold from the rough stone to the precious pearle that all the fishes from the greatest Leviathan to the least minime that all fowles from the Eagle to the midge that all the creeping creatures from the Elephant or Crocodile to the basest wormes have their owne beginnings progresses ends Because the very foure elements whereof they are made are naturallie subject to their combined transmutations the earth being subtilized to the water the water unto the aire the aire unto the fire and these unto their prima materia their chaos and it unto nothing And this nature is so pregnant sedulous and wise that it keepeth its own appointed time as the wise man saith Ecles 3. There is an appointed time for every thing under heaven If time then there must bee a prius and a posterius a last as well as a first As for example the crane the swallow the stork the woodcock the cuckow with her titling know the seasons of the year according to the course of sun and moone from which proceedeth the beautie of the spring the heat of summer the fruitfulnesse of the harvest and the cold of winter one following after another and as one cometh so the other goeth by an alternative vicissitude of time which at the last seeing now it consumeth all things must be consumed by it self when it shall finde nothing to feed upon For now wee may say Where are those ancient works made of brick and stone yea of flint brasse adamant by the most cunning artificers are they not redacted unto their originall informe disforme dust Where is the tower of proud Babel the church of Ephesian Diana and that glorious one of Solomon Where is the Capitoll of Rome and the invincible Byrsa of Carthage where Thebes with her hundred ports spacious Nineve and beautifull Jerusalem Hath not time devoured all and much more with their builders indwellers upholders And shall not London Paris Rome Constantinople Cairo Quinsay go that same way Yes assuredly for things artificiall as well as naturall have their owne periods which they cannot outreach otherwise they were infinite a propertie which cannot be attributed to any thing created properly The second reason is taken from experience the schoolemistresse of fools for it is the surest that ever man got and it appointeth and teacheth that our life is a dying life and that the first step to it is the first step to our death and that the longer we live the nearer we are to death and our being here is equally divided between life and death Na scentes morimur finisque ab origine pendet Quidquid habens ortum finem timet ibimus omnes So that the continuall worke of our life is a building of death in us for we die daily and if we live but one day we see all so all dayes are alike it is that same day and night that same sun and moone these same elements and heaven which our forebears have seen before us and there is no new thing under heaven But to repeat things from the beginning doth not experience teach us that where there is one come to fiftie years there are ten not come but to see a man passe his climacterick and then 80. years it is rara avis in terris Never man yet lived a 1000 years which are but one day in the sight of God for one age is the death of another childhood the death of infancy youthhood the death of both manhood the death of these three old age the death of these foure death the death of all even so one generation is the death of another To the Hebrews succeeded Babylonians Chaldeans Assyrians Medes Persians Egyptians Sycionians Greeks Romanes and to them wee who live in this deficient and vicious age and as they have transferred the lamps of their lives to us so we by continuall succession of time must lay down the same without any contradiction to our posteritie That sun which ye see setting over your heads the ebbing and flowing of the sea which environeth us that earth whereupon we walk lately renewed now growing old and to come nearer these graves whereupon yee trode in your entrie this Church-yard these through stones that dead bell that beir that dolefull convoy these two corps and that wide opened sepulchre telleth us that we must die And as Catullus saith Ostentant omnia lethum Death is painted with the net of a fowler and with this ditto Devoro omnes I devoure all All things above us beneath us about us within us and without us tell us that we must die Doe not all the creatures summon one another to it the least is swallowed up by the most the weakest by the strongest And such is the gluttonie and insatiable appetite of man that he hath not spared one of them but from the tame to the wilde beasts from the fowle of the aire to the fish of the sea his wombe is become the tombe or rather filthie retract of them So that seeing he is nourished with perishingthings he cannot according to the maximes of Philosophy but perish himself too being corruptible in his conception of frothing sperme corruptible in his mothers belly of excrementitious bloud corruptible on her breast of vaporous milk corruptible in his whole life of earthly food but most of all corruptible in his death from the which he is called in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in latine mortalis that is subject to death and this is so experimented by man that one premonisheth another our forebears our fathers and they us and we our posteritie to our journeys pilgrimages warfares end Death The third reason is taken from GOD whom the Egyptians call Theut the Persians Syro the Arabians Alla the Magicians Orsi the Latines Deus the greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Hebrews Jehovah Elohim Adonai all in foure letters to let you see that he is the God of all nations the God of gods who appointed all things to come to passe according to his good wil pleasure whose appointment is the Cardinal supreme

architectonick cause of these two former subordinat appointments for it is the cause of causes and without damnable curiositie we ought not to go further it is a precipice and wee must not cast our selves headlong off it it is a great gulfe too deep for our shallow wits let us admire adore it But to leave the infinite names which Lullists Rabbines Caballists Paganes Divines give to God he is tearmed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the best deviser 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 goodnesse it self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of most free will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 him very self and so his appointment must bee holy righteous perfect irresistible whose appointment is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for whatsoever God ex voluntate beneplaciti hath first concluded within himself or acted in the parliament or secret counsell of himself before all time that ex voluntate signi must bee execute by nature and taught by experience in time seeing these two are his loyall and faithfull servants who must not nor cannot nor will not controll their masters uncontrollable will who even trystes with them for the reall and effectuall accomplishment of all actions Therefore because it is ratified from all eternitie in that supernall throne of Gods justice that for sinne all men must once die then for the execution and exhibition of the same on earth nature must play its part and experience its part for of necessitie the severe sentence of a soveraigne and inappellable judge must be reverently obeyed But so it is Job 14. 5. All the dayes of man are determined and the number of his moneths is with God and he hath set him bounds that he cannot passe And 7. 1. There is an appointed time to man upon earth The poet saith well Stat sua cuique dies Hence it is that Deut. 30. 20. God is called by Moses the length of the peoples dayes and David Ps 31. 15. saith that his time is in Gods hands who as he hath begun to spin the thredof mans life so he is onely able to spend it And this is it which the fabulous Poets forge of their three fatall sisters Clotho Lachesis Atropos the spinster twister and cutter of the small thred of mans life We acknowledge no Chaldaick fates no poetick sisters no blind fortune no coactive necessitie of destinie but the wise just good Almightie providence of God which not only extends it selfe ad vermiculos in coeno but also angelos in coelo and man who was made a little inferiour to the Angels and alas now by his default hee is lower then the wormes Indeed Naturalists may know that there is a God in nature forming reforming performing confirming perfecting all things without the which they could not stand one moment this is only a Theoretick knowledge and it may be without sanctification But we who are enlightned with the light of grace and the sunshine of the Gospel and taught and inspired by Gods Spirit have a practique and saving knowledge whereby we not only admire his power in the creation his wisedome in the administration his constancie in the conservation his beautie in the decoration his bountie in the augmentation of all things but also are particularly informed and fully perswaded Deum esse vitae necisque arbitrum Vtramque vero saith Tertullian disponendo praescivit praesciendo disposuit that God is the commander of life and death who in disposing foreknew and in foreknowing hath disposed of them both The Lord saith Deut. 32. 39. I kill and make alive God is not carelesse of us as the Epicures have dreamed but by his speciall providence he hath such an extreame fatherly regard to us that one hair cannot fall out of our head one cubit cannot be added to our stature with it without the which a little sparrow cannot fall to the ground So that ye may evidently perceive that nature experience and God himself prove the truth of this assertion It is appointed c. The uses of this generall doctrine are especially these two The first use is of instruction It is appointed c. Then let not us be so foolish as to fret against nature so stubborne as to grudge against experience so profane as to dispute against God Why hast thou made us thus for Esay 45. 9. Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it What makest thou That threefold appointment is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the bottomelesse deep of the unsearchable waies of God It is a labyrinth we may well finde the entry but never get the outgate of it it is a steep rock we may well climbe up but the downfall is great it is an Ocean and our boat is too light and shallow for it not unlike the head of that great river Nilus which could never be found out So that seeing our dayes are short let us say with Moses Psal 90. Lord teach us so to number our dayes that we may apply our hearts unto wisedome And with that notable patterne of patience that excellent doctor upon this point Job 14. 14. All the dayes of my appointed time will I wait til my change come alwayes in much humiliation and reverence prostrating our souls before the sacred and dreadfull Majestie of our God who rideth upon the heavens and dwelleth in that inaccessible light cloathed with ravishing glory armed with innumerable legions of angels crowned with unspeakable blessednesse at whose presence the Cedars of Lebanon are throwne down the forrests denuded the earth trembleth the sea roareth the mountaines melte like waxe and all the inhabitants of the earth are as stubble before the fire the sun and moone obscured the stars darkned the powers of heaven weakened the Cherubims and Seraphims cover their faces not able to behold the brightnesse of him whom the angels adore the thrones worship the devils fear So that wee must confesse whether wee lie or stand wee run or walk we sleep or awake or whatsoever we do we can neither by force subtiltie or request recall his irrevocable decree by whose unsearchable wisedome and unchangeable providence and almighty power all befalleth us that doth befall us Is it then Gods ordinance to day to deprive our king of a valiant subject the nobles of a peere the countrey of a baron the house of a head the obedient son of a dear father and our selves of a welbeloved and worthie friend Let us be taught that the rarest and highest spirits live shortest and have the swiftest course and that these whom God tendereth most are earliest taken to himself and let us not be so ignorant as to lay the blame upon second causes such as the influence of heaven the aire the dyet the complexion untimely disease the company the mediciner but let us look higher to the cause of causes GOD who is as the first wheele of the horologe which leadeth the rest as the primum mobile which draweth about with it all the inferiour sphears