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	grace_n	work_n	1,598	5	6.0605	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44245	Motives to a good life in ten sermons / by Barten Holyday ...	Holyday, Barten, 1593-1661.	1657 (1657)	Wing H2531; ESTC R36003	137,260	326

disconsolate yet are they secretly guided by the true Spirit of comfort Sorrow does sometimes also keepe-in teares when the heart is excessively contracted when it so cals in the vitall heat that the moisture of the brain is meerly congeal'd such winter also does the righteous sometimes feel and only would shed teares because he can not and thus his will does weep though his eies doe not It is indeed only Man's Intentive will that is the cause why only Man does weep and good reason it is since it was only his will that was the cause of his sinne and consequently an occasion of his teares The soft heart is naturally most ready to weep and it is the soft heart that is spiritually most ready to weep Yet if you would know the true cause of teares you may observe nay for feare of errour you must observe that as teares flow from the moisture of nourishment receiv'd into the body so spirituall sorrow flows from grace receiv'd into the Soule Unto which grace of sorrow in our Conversion in the first point of conversion the will is meerly passive meerly passive in respect of an inward change though it has still naturall liberty by which it is always active active in generall to concurre to an Act of faith as to an Act not in speciall as to such an act an act of Faith The Naturall will can concurre to the work of God in respect of outward means as it can freely heare or not heare the word preach'd but the inward efficient cause of conversion is the Holy Ghost In which expression we may understand all subordinate causes inservient in that worke though not working by their owne power but by the power of God And thus we may say that conversion is the worke of Man as he is the subject of it but the worke of God in respect of the first motion The will in this is like Elisha's eie which had a naturall power to see but it needed a supernaturall power to discerne a supernaturall aide of angels An active Liberty then unto grace the will by meer nature can not claim nor may wee though some doe attribute an active power to the water in baptisme though Sacramentall much lesse to the teares in repentance as if the water did concurre actively and physically to the production of grace God does indeed sometimes exalt a naturall agent to an ability above his degree in his kind but never above his kind The first is to helpe things in their Order but the last is to destroy order The God then of Nature and of order does not make a Naturall agent the proper cause of a supernaturall Effect which truth may save us from the magisteriall impositions of mistaking Reason Our Prophet here does wish for this sorrow it was not then according to the measure he desir'd either in his own possession or at all in his power The cause then of Spirituall sorrow can not be naturall and as holy teares have thus their Cause from grace so also have they their Abundance And here we may farther observe the apt wisdome of the Prophet who expresses his sorrow a work of Grace by similitude and parallel to the work of Nature Now in Nature there is not only a fountain that sends forth streams but there are also waters in the Cavernes of the earth to nourish the fountain so must there be not only a fountain in the penitent eie but there must also be inwardly store of waters He wishes therfore not only that his eies were a fountain but also nay first of all that his Head were waters And if we consider the collection of waters which are in the earth we shall find some affirme it to be caus'd by Protrusion as we may call it by a violent blast forcing those waters into the Pores of the earth so S Basil Some also we shall find that attribute it to the attractive influence of the Heavens so Aquinas Both which waies we shall find proportionall to God's manner of working in the Soule whiles some he Thrusts into tears by Affliction as some he Drawes into teares by Love And as the waters in the earth as some think doe serve to temper the veines of metall so does the secret sorrow of the heart serve to temper the hardnesse of the heart that at last it confesses it is waters and the eies as a fountain send forth streams of tears Now streams as they passe doe commonly cleanse such places as they passe-through so surely the tears of the truly penitent do not only wash away his finnes but they indeavour also to wash away other-mens and consequently the calamity due unto them Which Object of sorrow we should next behold if through the darknesse of sorrow we could behold it But alas what pleasure is in Destruction which being contrary to nature is also contrary to pleasure What pleasure in garments rolled in blood which doe afford more Horrour than warmth what pleasure in the tumult of the Battell where not to be furious is to be Cowardly where Mercy is held an Absurdity and to be barbarous a glory This is the prerogative and the supererogation of the Sword This claimes alone the triumph over the conquer'd this usually alone over-acts the triumph Yet thus did the sword sleight Iudah to a slaughter and wound the Prophet also with Compassion But is Judah so destroy'd that it has left none like unto her Yet then her vices also were gone with her but surely there will alwaies be a People and but too like her whiles as much in sinne as in an undeserv'd love and whiles in sinne too probably a Judah in Calamity God will not want a People nor will they want faults nay by turning his Blessings into sinnes they make him turne them into Curses the Punishment of sinnes The deformity of which if in the wisdome of your fear you would behold but in the extreamity of your fear can not insteed of the eie understand by the eare and the Prophet will tell you that this his People the people of Judah were liers slanderers slanderers of their brethren deceivers that their tongue was a bow a bended bow v. 3. nay and an arrow too yea an arrow shot-out v. 8. that when their tongue spake peaceably their heart lay'd wait v. 8. that their habitation was in the midst of deceite v. 6. Take yee heed every one of his neighbour sayes the Prophet and trust ye not in any brother for every brother will utterly supplant Heare him accuse them farther They proceed from evill to evill v. 3. you see their degrees They weary themselves to commit iniquity v. 5. you see their unhappy diligence They bee all adulterers an assembly of treacherous men v. 2. O what a Judah is this and shall such a Judah be found in our Judah O Let every Conscience be its owne Confessor and whisper it self an answer to amendment And can we desist then from bewailing our owne sinnes and

a milstone as in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 milstones This though admitted would not prevaile for the admission of their exposition of this doubt This was indeed one of the Israelites taskes among the Aegyptians as of the slaves among the Romans to grind in their mills According to which sense some would have it import the upbrading of slavery one to another as if they should say To the Mill you slave Yet this conceite seemes more Accute than True for though this might have been a Reproach to a Iew yet most unseemely it had been from a Iew. We may then with S. Ierome more happily make it in value the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which with the Greeks signifies vaine or empty which may be warranted by the Hebrew in which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to attenuate or make thinne as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also signifies the thinnesse of the Temples of the Head as spittle also for the thinnesse is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But more nearely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Hebrew is vaine or empty whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is judg'd to come and such are they call'd Judg. 11.3 which were gathered to Iephthah when he fled out of his Country the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vaine men For with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is written not with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as appeares in the word Racha which in the Hebrew translation of S. Mathew's Gospell published by Munster is likewise written with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which serves to weaken the witty phansie of those that would have it signifie Milstones 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being written not with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Emptinesse then or Vanity implyed in this word is the reproach of a defect in Nature as a weakenesse in Judgement or in ones Estate as in a slender Condition either of which being at the divine disposall may not without a comparative degree of Anger be objected and therefore may justly feare God's Anger for the Objecting For shall we call him Emptie that is fill'd with the spirit of Love as Chromatius speakes Or shall we not honour the Judgement of our Saviour the Wisedome of the Father who thus judges of such rash judgement such unadvised Anger 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without a cause such anger to which the angry man too inconsiderately yields for from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cedo it comes implying the angry man's Iudulgence unto his Passion Much lesse then must we dare to say Thou foole And seems not this offence included in the former To object the weaknesse of Judgement is it not to say Racha The weaknesse of some judgement judges thus of this most wise judgement which yet when rightly understood will teach us to judge rightly of this judgement To understand then Folly here requires Wisedome even the wisedome of God's Word which teaches us to know that the Foole in God's account is not one that is defective in his Wit but in his Will he that orders not his Life according to the Rule of Life God's Law whose offence is not Sillinesse but Sinfullnesse And shall we without cause thus censure another man If some seem contemptible shall their Christianity also seem contemptible Let us remember S. Chrysostom's remembrance was not Belshazzar sayes he deprived of his Crown and Life for prophaning the vessells of God's Temple And shall not we then feare by such rash judgement the losse of the beetter Crown and Life if we prophane the better Vessels of the Holy Ghost the persons of Christians shall we then with some so view these degrees of sinne as also to Compare them with some that make the first only an anger in the mind the second an Anger expressed in words the last an Anger in words and more especially disgracefull words An anger only in the minde though it deserves the Judgement does not yet feare an Outward Judgement whiles it is yet not an outward guilt A Guilt were there an accuser besides Conscience there were not Judge then we may more strictly the first to be anger in the mind in some degree according to the nature of Anger expressing it selfe in some parts of the Body also as by the frown of the brow the cast of the Eie the threatning of the Hand or the spurn of the Foot as if the Body were the Picture of the Mind or rather as if the Body were the Passion The second we may judge to be such an Anger as upbraides another with a Slendernesse of Wit or Wealth as when we call one shallow pate or Beggar The third is to call one Foole not in the mistake of the people but in a severer acception according to which it signisies a Wicked Person which Accusasion if without cause is the suparlative Anger here intended Thus does the wisedome and Mercy of our Saviour present unto us the degrees of Anger next he sets forth the degrees of punishment the Iudgement the Councell and Hell fire which terrours let us see so see by contemplation that we may but see them by Contemplation Some here by the Judgement understand the Judgement of Conscience but this judgement is common to all degrees of anger but what is here intended belongs only to the First Besides our Saviour speakes of Outward danger such as was subject to the sense and so more easily subject to the people's understanding Some Court of Judicature is here intended of which there were diverse sorts In one of which were three Judges to whom belong'd the lesser causes as private wronges pecuniary matters and the like but the judgement of this Court is below the Judgement here due to the lowest unjust anger and so here rather supposed than intended In a second Court were Twenty and Three Judges this was the Lesse Synedrium wherein Causes of Life and Death were tryed and this was answerable to our Assises and one of these Courts was in every City as appeares Det. 16.18 according to the number of the Inhabitants the Lesse Court in the least City the greater in the rest and so in lerusalem The last was the Great Synedrium wherein were seventy Judges besides the President in imitation of Moses Num. 11.24 and here were heard the most weighty and difficult Causes of all it being the highest and Nationall Court which was held only at Ierusalem But the last punishment due to the last degree of anger that is here expressed is Hell fire or according to the Originall the fire of Gehenna which once was a pleasant Vally adorn'd with a Grove on the East side of Mount Moria neare Ierusalem and watred with the brook Cedron It was called Gehinnam or the vally of Hinnom who was a Iebusite whose sonne as some think was the owner of the place as seems to be implyed Ioshua 15.8 For with some to derive it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vallis and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉