Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	adam_n	nature_n	sin_n	2,126	5	5.5892	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09981	A liveles life: or, Mans spirituall death in sinne Wherein is both learnedly and profitably handled these foure doctrines the spirituall death in sinne. The doctrine of humiliation. Mercy to be found in Christ. Continuance in sinne, dangerous. Being the substance of severall sermons upon Ephes. 2. 1,2,3. And you hath he quickned, who were dead in trespasses and sins, &c. Whereunto is annexed a profitable sermon at Lincolnes Inne, on Gen. XXII. XIV. Delivered by that late faithful preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes-Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1633 (1633)	STC 20235; ESTC S122552	73,904	134

giving them leaves instead of silver and gold so doth hee deale with thee here for except there be a supernaturall frame of thy hear● there is not cause of comfort notwithstanding all thy civility and therefore thou must bee sure to have something in thee more than nature for civility will not bring to heaven 2 Formall performance of holy duties as praying reading c. that puffes men up and keeps them from humiliation If you either omitted them altogether then your conscience would checke you or performed them well then your heart would be bettered and you would be humbled but this formall doing of them keepes the heart dead and senslesse Remember therefore that no sacrifice is acceptable to God but that that comes from a Broken heart Psal. 51. 3 The badnesse of your nature you would doe better but your nature is so bad that you cannot But remember first That that aggravates your sinne and God likes you the worse for that and will the hardlier pardon you even as wee our selves are readiest to pardon an offence in a good nature Secondly your selfe is the cause of the badnesse of your nature God gave you in Adam a good nature but you have lost it and since by many sinnes have made it worse by farre 4 Gods mercy he is mercifull therefore you will not feare but what if hee be mercifull hee calls not thee thou art not burdened with thy sinnes he cals onely such Come unto mee all ye that are heavy laden and I will ease you What hast thou to doe with mercy which seest not thy misery thou hast no part in it as Iehu said to Iezabell 5 The making conscience of many things so Herod did many things after Iohns preaching so the Gentiles did by nature the things contained in the Law yet were without God Rom 2. but there is no example like unto that of Amazia 2 Chron. 25. 2. he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord for a long time but not with a perfect heart One may make conscience of praying in private and of doing many good duties and yet have no true grace but doe all out of a naturall conscience for feare of punishment 6. Because Judgements come not swiftly and are not speedily executed Ministers threaten but they feele nothing But wee must know that the lesse afflictions we have had the more are behind and I know not a more miserable condition than this is it is a most dangerous signe thou art ordained to death when thou art thus let alone vnpunisht As we use to say when men are frequently sicke there is no danger of death but when they never have beene sicke and at length fall into it it is very dangerous so it is to be feared that when once God beginnes with thee hee will make an end as hee threatned to Hophnie and Phincas hee will so strike that he will not strike twice so that nothing can be worse than for a sinner to goe on without trouble 7. Men judge their estates and sinnes in a false ballance of opinion none say they thinke ill of them but a few that are more precise than wise But consider 1 That Ministers are onely the men by whom ye beleeve not whom ye should beleeve take our words but so farre forth as they are proved unto you by Scripture and if they be true then although few be of that minde yet you ought to beleeve them 2 Consider whether that latitude of Religion which thou stickest unto and hopest to bee saved by will serve thee on thy death-bed and at the day of Judgement 3. Consider that it is the part of holy men and of none else to discerne which are the wayes of God every one is to be beleeved in his owne art therefore beleeve them Men thinke that it concernes onely some to bee holy as Ministers c. and not all I will answer such with the saying of Wisedome The way of godlinesse is too high for a foole If thou wert wise thou wouldest thinke it concerned thee also Now I beseech you brethren humble your selves and so much the rather because now the time and necessity of the Church requires it now while shee is thus in her mourning gowne seeke not after your profits and pleasures drinke not Wine in bowles use not now the liberties that otherwise lawfully you might Remember that saying of Vriah 2 Sam. 11. 11. The Arke and Israel and Iudah abide in tents and my Lord Ioab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields shall I then goe into my house to eat and to drinke and to lye with my wife c. And doe as Daniel did chap. 9. Now practise all the parts of Humiliation now Gods Church needeth it although you your selves were free yet humble your selves for the sinnes of others continually pray to God for them Remember what God threatneth to those Esa. 22. 12. that when he called to mourning they followed their pleasure hee saith He will not forget it to the death so Esa. 66. 4. God is angry with all that neglect this duty and will not bee stirred up to performe it but those that doe call on him he will heare The unrighteous Iudge Luk. 18. was overcome by importunity and then much more will God if we humble our selves as Mordecay Ester 4. 14. concluded excellently Their deliverance shall arise from another place so may we then certainly the Church shall stand and Antichrist shal fall as a mill-stone into the sea never to rise up againe I grant hee may rage very farre he hath raged farre already and how farre more he shall rage God onely knowes yet in the end certaine it is he shall fall the Church shall stand Let us all therefore be humbled you which have not yet begunne this humiliation now beginne and yee which have begunne bee stedfast therein knowing that your labour shall not bee in vaine in the Lord. Mercy to be found in Christ. The next thing to be shewed after this doctrine that wee are dead in sinne is the meanes of recovering our life and that is by Christ as it is in the Text you hath hee quickened that were dead c. Hee that is Chist hath done it Hence learne this doctrine of comfort as a refreshing cordiall next after the bitter potion of humiliation That Whosoever will come to Christ may come and finde mercy Rev. 22. 17. Whosever will let him taste of the waters of life freely Here I will shew 1 What is meant by will whosoever will that is he that will receive Christ with all his conditions to be his Lord and his Ruler c. Whosoever will thus take Christ hee may if wee would take Christ before wee were humbled we might but till we be humbled we will not take him It is Christ that gives life but till we be hungry we wil

yet commonly the father loves all alike so God although they had better gifts than we will grant our prayers as soone as he did theirs But some man will here bee ready to make a question and askeme what I would have him doe for the Church now he is but a singleman and therefore is unable to doe much himselfe alone I answer Though thou canst not doe much yet these things thou mayest doe and therefore 1. Pray for it God delights to bee called upon for else his hand is not taken notice of but then we see his hand and acknowledge it when wee see him granting our desires So that the strength of a land lyes in Christians and their strength lyes in their prayers as Sampsons strength did in his haire Oftentimes prayer is more available than fighting Moses prayer in the mountaine did more than Ioshuahs fighting in the vallies If Noah Daniel and Iob stood before me saith God Ezek. 14. 20. they should not prevaile which sheweth that if any thing could have prevailed their prayer would So also Luther attributes all to prayer as may be seene in divers of his Treatises Now this prayer which I urge unto you must 1. Not onely be small expressions of the mind but now God lookes for strong cryes and long continuance in prayer Moses prayed all day Christ which had lesse need than we have prayed all night Daniel three weekes therefore wee that have more wants and needs ought to bee the more fervent 2. Our prayers must be Spirituall not out of selfe-love as to desire the safety of the Church that so under it we may lead a safe and quiet life but out of meere respect to God and love to his Church 3. It must be a prayer of faith so the Apostle saith Iam. 5. 15 16. The prayer of faith shall save the sicke c. And a little after The effectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much Now there is no man righteous without faith so according to their faith Christ still yeelded to them 4. Pray with constancy and fervency it is not for a snatch and away that is pleasing to God but a constant performance of duty which hee accepteth 5. It must bee the prayer of a righteous man Therefore Micah 2. the Prophets sought unto God in the time of trouble but prevailed not because they were not righteous for it is said there vers 7. Doe not my words doe good to him that walketh uprightly 6. It must be with humilitie and that consists First in confessing how unworthy we are to obtaine any thing at the hands of God Secondly how unable to helpe our selves and therefore to have our eyes onely towards God Another way to doe good to Gods Church is to be more zealous seeke unto God extraordinarily The cause of the destruction of a Land is chiefly the sinnes of the godly When they grow cold and dead and lose their first love then God as Rev. 2. will remove the Candlesticke from among them and take away his Gospell Indeed the carnalnesse of dead men their prophanenesse in contemning of Gods Saints and his Gospel c. hasten Gods Judgements on a Land but chiefly the Luke-warmnesse of Professors doe it when Israel as Hosea saith is as a cake halfe baked Let us therefore rectifie our lives renew our repentance quicken our zeale else shall wee be guiltie of the destruction of Gods Church by our sinnes 3 A third meanes to doe good to Gods Church is to stirre up others to take to heart the miseries of the Church to pray to renew their repentance It would be good if Ministers would bee as Beacons to give warning to others and to set them on fire Thus the old Christians did as it were make an armie manu facta against God by joyning together in prayer This is a blessed action to stirre up others thus they did in the Prophet Malachies time Mal. 3.16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one unto another see the issue of all and the Lord harkened and heard it and a booke of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his Name So Zach. 8. 21. there they did so And the Inhabitants of the Citie shall goe one to another saying Let us goe speedily to pray before the Lord and to seeke the Lord of hoasts I will goe also Let us therefore as the Apostle exhorts Heb. 10. 24. consider one another to provoke our selves to this good worke of fasting and prayer for the Church let us marke who is a likely man to joyne with us and not let him passe 4 A fourth meanes to doe good to the Church is to doe it in due time Jerusalem had a time to seeke God if then shee would have sought shee might have beene saved And Christ complaines Luk. 19. 41 42. saying If thou hadst knowne even thou in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes And so before Christ the Prophets of old complained of the people as Ier. 8. 7. Yea the Storke in the heaven knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their comming but my people know not the judgement of the Lord. The time to seeke unto the Lord is now Some Judgements are sudden and have no fore-runners as the Gunpowder-treason in such God lookes not that wee should meet him by repentance because we know them not Others use lingring such as send feare and rumours before them as are those mentioned by the Prophet Ezek. 22. 30 31. there God expects we should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before him and so meet him with repentance to stop the judgement 5 The fifth meanes to doe good to the Church is this Let us doe it with continuance It may be while the newes is fresh wee will bee fervent in prayer but often the newes altereth and sometimes it happens to be good and then wee leave off But this must not be wee must bee constant in this dutie to the very uttermost end of all there may be ebbs and flowings but it is the last issue which brings all therefore let us continue in this dutie of fasting and praying that wee may trie that last issue of al. It is the common fashion to make the afflictions of the Church onely a wonder of nine dayes This was the Jewes fault Ier. 34. 10 11. When they heard of their enemies for a while they would pray But although the newes bee good yet still continue as the importunate widow did to the Judge and your importunitie will move God Set therefore to it and continue in it Pray for Ierusalem let those prosper that love her peace Psalm 122. 6. Mourne apart every familie apart It is not enough to heare this and to let the Ministers voyce be to

the soule and bring the thing to passe that they labour to effect A good man will use all the meanes he can to absteine from sin he will shun all the occasions but the wicked man he will not absteine from the occasions hee knowes his nature will be ready to take hold of sinne and yet he will not avoid the occasions and allurements thereto surely therefore this man hath no purpose to leave sin for if his purpose be not put in practice he had as good never purpose for it hath no effect The godly man hee will use all good meanes to further his intent by fasting and praier and all other good duties Againe a godly man if he hath a lust in sinne hee will resist it with all his might and never give over though hee doth slip yet hee presently riseth againe and never ceaseth and therefore it shall not be imputed to him but if a man hath flitting purposes in his braine that is nothing though he falleth no into the same sinne so often Thus much for the first use of triall The second use serveth for comfort For if this be a signe of deadnesse to walke in sinne Then is it a matter of comfort to all those who although they often times slip into sinne yet are sincere hearted and doe not continue in knowne sinnes You had therefore no neede to cry out against us that our words are cruell words for this is a doctrine full sweete you must at the first give us leave to open the wound though it be painefull yet after you shall finde the ease and sweetnesse The bone-setter that because hee would not deale roughly setteth not the bone aright but puts in the sore joynt only a little and doth not set it throughly it may be at first thou shalt be called a good bone setter because the person ill affected for the present feeles no paine yet afterwards when the joint is not seated will be railed against or the Surgeon that will not search the wound to the bottome for paining the patient at the first may be pleasing but afterwards in the end hee shall have little thanke for his labour in like manner should the doctrine be harsh at first because it fearcheth the sore to the quicke yet the end of it is comfort The end of Christs speaking to the people in Saint Iohns Gospell was at the last comfort and joy Labour therefore all of you to make this use of this doctrine you that have sincere hearts take it home to your selves if you doe walke in no knowne sinnes but if yee have walked formerly in any knowne sinnes now beginne to rectifie your lives that so you may have cause to take this Doctrine unto your owne soules Breake the bands of Satan and forget all his faire allurements you must part with all your sweetest sinnes for it and give all you have to purchase this Jewell Comfort you may have and all our desire is to make your hearts perfect that so you may finde comfort If your hearts be perfect you shall finde these foure comforts 1 You shall finde more comfort in easinesse and contentednesse to forbeare that lust wee most delighted in than ever wee did in yeelding to it 2 You shall finde your selves able to rest to pray to heare and to sanctifie the Sabbath make your hearts good and you shall doe these things with delight for as when a mans hand is out of joint he cannot worke so if the soule be out of frame it cannot pray c. 3 You shall find your selves able to beare afflictions before you can beare nothing but every thing is as a burthen unto you A man having a shoulder that is out of joynt cannot beare any thing so if sinne be mingled with affliction it makes that bitter but after you have purged your selves from sinne you shall be able to beare them but when there is no strength within how shall wee beare them 4 When you hearts are perfect the wound will presently be healed and grow well The peace of the wicked is but like a wound that is skinned over at the last it will breake out againe hee may make a shew for a while but there is a secret disease in him and the later end of that man will be worse than the beginning their paine will be worse hereafter the paine that hee shall indure when death comes when Gods insupportable wrath begins to charge his sin upon his conscience that will be worse than all hee indured before And thus you see this Doctrine is most sweet to all those that have perfect hearts but to the other that remaine still in their sins most dangerous A PROFITABLE SERMON PREACHED AT LINCOLNES-INNE ON GEN. XXII XIV As it is said to this day In the mount of the LORD it shall be seene THe occasion of these words was that famous hystorie of Abrahams offering his Sonne Isaack now that so great a passage of Gods providence and so great a tryall of Abrahams faith might not passe away but be remembred the Lord delivereth it in a proverbe As it is said unto this day because wee are apt to forget and proverbs are short and pithy and so the better remembred and therefore the Lord setteth this marke upon it whence by the way we observe That speciall passages of Gods providence should not be forgotten And therefore it is the manner of the Lord in such passages of his providence to make songs of them and so hath it beene likewise the practice of the Lords people to turne such things into songs which they would not forget as we see at the Red Sea and in the time of Dehora and so did Moses when he would have some things to bee remembred of the children of Israel he left them a song so did David likewise who for the remembrance of the Lords goodnesse made many Psalmes of thanksgiving Now a proverbe is much of the same nature but it is short and makes a greater impression and therefore this great matter here set forth by it is the dispensation of the Lords providence Wherein note wee in the first place That the Lord will be seene why what strange thing is that the Lord is seene every where of us and makes himselfe continually visible unto us I but this is another kinde of sight which is not in a generall manner to bee beheld but in his speciall providence to his servants in their afflictions The second thing is The time when he will be seene that is In the mount that is when things are brought to an extremity when we thinke there is no more helpe nor hope that is the time when the Lord will be seene Now the scope of this place is to helpe us against discouragements when wee see it goe hard with the Church that there is no hope for them for then we are not to distrust Because in the mount