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
A65294	The duty of self-denial briefly opened and urged. By Thomas Watson, minister of the Gospel	Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.	1675 (1675)	Wing W1122A; ESTC R7336	20,236	63

Hercules The Persian Kings would have their Images worshipped of all that came into Babilon Such as view themselves in the flattering glass of self-love appear bigger in their own eyes than they are They think their spark a Sun their drop a Sea They are highly conceited of their acumen their wit and parts and are ready to despise others The Chineses say that Europe hath one eye and they have two and all the World else is blind De meliore luto Titan praecordia finxit Deny self-conceit Rom. 12.3 I say to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think Prov. 23.4 Cease from thy own wisdom Not cease from being wise but from conceiting thy self wise That you may deny all high supercilious thoughts of your selves consider 1. Self-conceit is no small sin Chrysostom calls it the mother of Hell It is a kind of Idolatry 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a self-worshipping 2. Whatever noble endowment you have it is borrowed As he said of that Axe which fell in the water 2 Kings 6.5 Alas master for it was borrowed All a Mans Gifts his pregnancy of Parts ripeness of Wit are borrowed from Heaven and what wise Man would be proud of a Jewel that is lent 1 Cor. 4.7 What hast thou that thou didst not receive The Moon hath no cause to be conceited of her light which she is beholden to the Sun for 3. Whatever acuteness of Wit or sageness of Judgment you have think how far short you come 1. How far short do you come of that knowledg which Adam had in innocency He was the Oracle of Wisdom he could unlock Natures dark cabinet and find out those secrets which do amuse us Adam had a full inspection into the causes of things He was a kind of earthly Angel But how far short do you come of him Your knowledg is checker'd with ignorance There are many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hard knots in Nature which cannot easily be untied Why the Loadstone leaving Gold and Pearl should draw Iron Why Nilus should overflow in Summer when waters are usually lowest What way the light is parted Job 38.24 Why the Sea should be higher than the Earth yet not drown it How the bones grow in the womb Eccles. 11.5 What is the reason of all occult qualities He who sees clearest hath a mist before his eyes By eating the tree of knowledg we lost the key of knowledg 2. How far short do you come of that knowledg which Satan hath He is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from his knowledg We read of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the depths of Satan Rev. 2.24 And his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his stratagems 2 Cor. 2.11 Satan is an intelligent spirit Though he hath lost his sanctity yet not his knowledg Though he hath lost his brest-plate yet not his headpiece He hath wit enough to deceive the Nations Rev. 20.3 His understanding is nimble and being compared with ours is like the swift flight of an Eagle compared with the slow motion of a Snail Why then should any be puffed up with a conceit of their knowledg wherein the Devil far out-strips them 3 How far short do you come of the knowledg they have who are perfected in glory He who is higher than a Dwarf may be lower than a Gyant Such as excel others in natural abilities are of a lower stature than the glorified Saints 1 Cor. 13. 12 We see in aenigmate through a glass darkly But the Saints in bliss have a full-eyed Vision of God Their light which did burn here like fire when it is smothered is now blown up into a pure flame An Infant glorified knows more than the most profound Rabbies on earth In Heaven all shadows fly away the Sun of Righteousness having risen there with his illustrious beams This may pull down the plumes of pride and self-conceit 4. Your dark-side is broader than your light-side Your ignorance is more than your knowledg Your knowledg is but as the light of a Torch your ignorance as the Cimmerian darkness Job 26.14 How little a portion is known of God The septuagint renders it How little a drop To think to comprehend the Deity is as if we should go to span the Ocean Christians the greatest part of your knowledg is not so much as the least part of your ignorance This may demolish all high imaginations You have no cause to be conceited of the knowledg you have but rather to be humbled for what you want 5. Think what an Hell of sin you carry about you Sin is the accursed thing Josh. 5.13 It is the quintessence of evil It is like a stain to beauty It was Typified by the menstruous cloth which was the most unclean thing under the Law What though you have knowledg sin doth eclipse it As if a Woman should have a fair Face but a Cancer in her Brest Your knowledg doth not so much adorn you as sin doth debase you 6. Grace can never thríve where self-conceit grows As a Body cannot thrive in a Dropsie so neither can the Soul thrive which is swell'd with this Dropsie of Pride and Self-conceit A proud head makes a barren heart 7. A Supercilious conceitedness is odious and doth much lessen any worth in a person 'T is like a cloud in a Diamond The more one values himself the less God and Angels value him Let a Person be eminent yet if he be self-conceited he is loved of none he is like a Physician that hath the Plague though he may be admired for his skill yet none care to come near him 8. Such as are well opinionated of their own excellencies are in the ready way to ruine Either God infatuates them or denies a blessing to their labours or suffers them to fall into some great sin Peter who was so well conceited of himself as if he had had more grace than all the Apostles besides the Lord let him fall very far He denied Christ with an Oath nay an imprecation Mat. 26.74 Peter wished a curse on himself if he knew Christ nay some think he cursed Christ. The Lord sometimes lets vain conceited persons fall not only foully but finally The Doves saith Pliny take a pride in their Feathers and in their flying high at last they soar so high that they are a prey to the Hawk So when men fly high in self-conceitedness they become a prey to the Prince of the Air. Let all this make us deny our selves let it kill the Worm of self-conceit If we are proud of our knowledg the Devil cares not how much we know Let St. Paul be our pattern though he were the chief of the Apostles he calls himself the least of Saints Ephes. 3.8 and 2 Cor. 12.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Though I be nothing This illustrious Apostle a Star of the first magnitude did shrink into nothing in his own eyes 'T is excellent

anothers fame Is it no sin think you to murder a Man in his name Thou who art such a critick it is to be feared thou canst spy all faults but thy own Like the Lamiae who could see well abroad but were blind at home O Christian look inward didst thou view thy own spots more in the looking-glass of the Word thou wouldst not be so ready to throw the stone of censure at others Deny this sin of rash censuring or smiting with the tongue Jer. 18.18 Thou who speakest reproachfully of thy Brother without a cause the time may come that he may be accepted and thou rejected he may be found gold and thou reprobate silver 2. A Christian must deny his peccatum in delitiis his complexion-complexion-sin Psal. 18.23 I have kept my self from mine iniquity As there is one master-bee in the hive so there is naturally one master-sin in the heart this must be denied The Devil can hold a Man fast by one sin A Jaylor can hold the Prisoner fast by one Fetter One sin is enough to stop the current of mercy one sin may damn aswell as more As one Milstone is enough to sink a Man into the Sea If there be any lust which we cannot deny it will be a bitter root either of scandal or apostacy 13. A Christian must deny his Relations Luke 14.26 If any man come to me and hate not father and mother and wife and children he cannot be my Disciple The meaning is when carnal Relations come in competition with or stand in opposition to Christ we must hate them When our friends would prove snares and hinder us from doing our duty we must either leap over them or tread upon them Here odium in suos is pietas in Deum If my Wife saith Hierom should hang about my neck if my Mother should show me her Brests that gave me suck and perswade me to deny Christ I would break from them and fly to the Cross. When Peter would be a tempter Christ said Apage Get the behind me Satan 14. A Christian must deny his Estate for Christ. A Carnal heart will commend Christ and profess him but will part with nothing for him The young Man in the Gospel was Christs hearer but not his follower He did superna probare but terrena appetere as one saith When Christ said to him Sell all and give to the poor abiit tristis he went away sorrowful Mat. 19.22 When Mercury is in conjunction with a bad Planet it hath a bad influence So when Riches are joined with a bad heart they do much hurt The World lay nearer the young Mans heart than Christ. Have some of the Heathens denied the World Epaminondas a Graecian Captain who obtained many gloririous Victories yet he was a great contemner of the World he refused vast sums of Money sent him from the King of Persia insomuch that when he died he left scarce enough to defray the charges of his funeral Did an Heathen go thus far in denying the World and shall not Christians much more Let the wedg of gold be denied for the Pearl of price Mat. 19.27 We have forsaken all and followed thee A true Saint esteems the gleanings of Christ better than the worlds Vintage Phil. 3.8 For whom I have suffered the loss of all things Galeacius Marquess of Vico parted with a fair estate to enjoy the pure ordinances of Christ at Geneva When a Jesuite perswaded him to return to his Popish Religion in Italy promising him an huge sum of Money he said Let their money perish with them who esteem all the gold in the world worth one hours communion with Iesus Christ and his holy spirit 15. A Christian must deny his life for Christ. This is in the Text attollat crucem Let him take up his Cross Suffering for Christ must be free and spontaneous He who suffers against his will bears the Cross he who suffers willingly takes up the Cross. A fair Virgin falling in love with Crates for his learning he shewed her his staff and his scrip this saith he is your dowry Christ shows us his Cross if we will not have him upon these terms the match is not like to go on Sufferings will abide us 2 Tim. 3.12 The Devil is not grown kinder now than he was Some think of reigning with Christ but not of suffering Ioseph dreamed of his advancement but not of his imprisonment The flesh cries out the Cross is uneasie there are Nails in the Yoke which tear but life must be denied yea hated for Christ. Luke 14.26 If any man come to me and hate not father and mother and his own life he cannot be my disciple Love to Christ must out-weigh life Rev. 12.11 They loved not their lives to the death Paul carried the image of Christ in his heart as a Saint the message of Christ in his mouth as a Minister and the marks of Christ in his body as a Martyr Gal. 6.17 The primitive worthies snatched up torments as so many Crowns and were content to shed their blood for Christ knowing they should exchange their sanguine for white Robes The Prophet Isaiah was killed with a Saw Ieremiah with Stones Amos with an Iron-Bar Luke was hanged on an Olive-tree I read of Irenaeus that he was carried to a place where was set a Cross on one side and an Idol on the other where he was put to his choice either to bow to the Idol or suffer on the Cross he chose the latter Basil speaks of a Virgin condemned to the fire who having her life and estate offered her if she would bow down to an Image answered Let life and money go welcom Christ. Though every Christian is not actually a Martyr yet he hath a preparation of mind and is ready to suffer if God call Luther said he had rather be a Martyr than a Monarch Let us then take up the Cross. Can wicked men be content to suffer for their lusts and shall not we suffer for Christ We are to look upon our sufferings as a badg of honour If when we are reproached for Christ much more when we dye for him A Spirit of God and of glory resteth upon us 1 Pet. 4.14 Our sufferings for Christ propagate Religion Pauls being bound made the Gospel to be more enlarged Phil. 1.12 Iustin Martyr was converted to the Faith by beholding the heroick patience and courage of the Christians in their sufferings Patiamur ut potiamur The Cross leads to the Crown 2 Tim. 2.12 If we suffer we shall also reign with him Who would not be willing to venture on the Seas though rough and tempestuous if he were sure to be Crowned as soon as he came a Shore Persecutors may take away from us our goods not our God our liberty not our freedom of Conscience our head not our Crown Rev. 2.10 He who cannot deny his life for Christ will deny Christ. And he