Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	apostle_n	faith_n	grace_n	1,407	5	5.8253	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04199	The celestiall husbandrie: or, The tillage of the soule First, handled in a sermon at Pauls Crosse the 25. of February, 1616. By William Iackson, terme-lecturer at Whittington Colledge in London: and since then much inlarged by the authour, for the profit of the reader: with two tables to the same.	Jackson, William, lecturer at Whittington College.	1616 (1616)	STC 14321; ESTC S107500	126,595	177

Christi aduentu By consummation and glorification of the Church in the second comming of Christ and vntill then we must seeke the Lord. The last pare the ende VVE are come now by your patience to the last branch of our text And teach you righteousnesse where in obserue 1. the propertie of it Teach 2. the forme of it Rightcousnesse 3. the persons You. The propertie of the worke comes first to be handled Raine This part would bee better vnsoulded by some Phylosopher then by me Raine is impression that commeth of much cold vapour and moist gathered into a body of a cloude drawne out of the earth or waters by the heate of the Sunne into the middle region of the ayre whereby cold it is so knit together that it hangeth vntill either the waight or heate cause it to breake Some thinke the raine and cloudes are not aboue nine miles in height Albertus Magnus saith they are but three miles in height and some thinke that they be but halfe a mile and some againe by Geometricall demonstrations make it aboue fiftie miles to the place where the cloudes and raine are gathered but not to be too curious to seeke for that whereof we haue no neede To conclude sometime they are higher sometime they are lower according to the waight thereof where they breake to the great feare and no lesse danger of man and beast but to come to the true raine here intended Raine the word iorch doth signifie to raine yet a supernaturall showre which makes glad the city of God Gods word is compared to raine and is this raine fo saith the Lord my word shall droppe as the raine Likewise his spirit is compared to raine I will power water on the dry ground And fitly is his word and grace comcompared to raine 1 Raine is called Imber and hath that name of Imbuendo for it springeth and tempereth the earth and maketh it beare fruite Man is compared to earth and the word and grace to raine If this raine be not showred downe vpon this earth it is vnfruitfull therefore to make this earth fruitfull God sends downe the showers of this raine vpon it as the operatiue meanes and working cause to make the hearts of men fruitfull in faith loue and the like and their liues full of good workes And to this belongs the saying of the wise man Arise O North and come O South because in these two places are the signes which concerne the water and the earth as Taurus Virgo and Capricornus which are in the South and be earthly signes The other are Cancer Pisces and Scorpio in the North and bee watery signes Now when the earth of mans heart and the raine of Gods grace doe meete there followes a fruitfull haruest 2 Raine is called Pluuia and hath that name of pluralitate pluralitie of drops and that drop after drop that the earth might receiue it the better A droppe is part of a cloude being broken which destilleth downe droppe after droppe A fit embleme of this supernaturall raine which from one cloude the spirit destilleth into the hearts of men grace after grace and gift after gift Man hath not all the graces of God at the first but by degrees as the Apostle saith We must first haue milke and then strong meate first a lesse grace then a greater and after that full perfection Regeneration is compared to a birth where first the braine is made then the heart after that the liuer then the sinewes arreryes and pipes and lastly the handes and feete And thus is it in the spirituall birth first knowledge and vnderstanding then faith and repentance after peace of conscience and ioy in the holy Ghost and lastly full assurance of all Gods mercies 3 Raine is a maker of peace for often wee see the windes and other elements in an vproare where by the stout Cedars are bowed to the ground Towres and Castles trembling and the waters roaring But now comes a showre of raine from the cloudes and mittigates all this fury Euen so when since the conscience Gods wrath and the terrors of hell accuse vs within and Gog Magog Moab and Ammon I meane wicked men persecute vs without then are wee in great feare and trembling But now comes a showre of grace and mittigates all feares and secures vs from all terrours 4. Raine is Medicus a good Phisition hauing a powerfull efficacie to cleanse the ayre when by infectious fogges and contagious vapours it is corrupted washing away with the showres thereof all the noysome putrifaction euen so when the iudgement and vnderstanding are infected with the filthy fumes of errours and heresies and the trueth almost stifled then commeth a shoure of grace and cleanseth the soule from all these infectious fogges 5. Raine mollifieth the hard earth and makes it more apt for tillage whereby the bowels of the earth are cut with coulters and shares Euen so the hard and obdurate heart of man is made soft and apt to euery good worke by the showres of Gods grace Happie earth whereon this raine falles that is so operatiue and donum omnium donorum maximum A gift farre aboue all other gifts Ioreh of iarah and signifies to teach as well as to raine For while we liue in this world we are in the schoole of Christ and haue need of teaching and the chiefe teacher is the Spirit of God as Christ The comforter whom the Father will send in my Name shall teach you all things outward meanes without this will doe no good For Paulmay plant Apollo may water yet it is God which teacheth by the Spirit or otherwise all is in vaine For Non verbis hominis sit vt intelligatur verbum Dei facit Deus vt intelligatis The wordes of man cannot make man to vnderstand the word of God but it is God that maketh them to vnderstand The outward ministery worketh no grace in the hearts of men It is but a subordinate meanes and causa instrumentalis The instrumentall cause and not causa efficiens The efficient cause Therefore sayth the Apostle Haue you receiued the holy Ghost Intimating thereby that if they wanted the Spirit they could haue no faith for Hoc est opus Dei This is the worke of God Gods assisting grace and the ministery of man must go together else thereis no power in our perishable voyces to effect your consciences Breake away this Analogie and vertuall association of the spirit from the word and you shall bee like those women euer learning but neuer able to come to the knowledge of the trueth Learne then First to follow the counsell of Christ to giue God the things that belong to God and to Cesar that which belongeth to Cesar. If by the ministerie of man you haue gotten some good measure of knowledge faith loue repentance and the like forget not your duetie to the messengers of God Haue them in singular respect for their workes

the things of God Yea so farre off that they are foolishnesse vnto him Si in ratione habitaret malum c. as Tollet obserues If euill should dwell in the reason then could it not will that which is good I remember Virgils verse Igneus est ollis vigor caelestis origo Scminibus quantum non noxia corpora tardant Terrenique hebetent artus moribundaque membra Those seedes haue fiery vigor and heauenly spring So farre as bodies Lnder not with fulnesse Or earthly dying members clogge with dulnesse Wee neede not to borrow proofes from the heathen Poets wee find them in our selues and the infallible trueth of God hath spoken it that in vs there dwells no goodnesse Rom. 7. And further the same Apostle saith Wee are all sold vnder sinne And There is none that doth good no not one If our nature be thus corrupt how can it produce any thing but that which is euill The barren heart is the ground of my discourse And according to the common distinction of euill here is a double euill in this barren and bad soile Vnum quodmalus facit One euill which the wicked man doth and then alterum quod malum patitur another euill which hee suffers The euill that hee doth is here the meditation to sinne or as my text saith a heart prepared to sinne The euill that he suffers is the corruption of nature which sauours nothing but vice The Philosopher said that the earth was a naturall mother vnto weedes but a stepmother vnto herbs It is true in this earth man by a procliuity of his owne naturall inclination is apt to produce all manner of euill but can bring foorth no good God must first play the husbandman with him There is no Farmer that so labours his ground as God must our hearts Wicked men are bad earth and base minded and naturally sinke downewards yea with a dull and ponderous declination All his actions haue a low obiect not out of humilitie but of base deiection Apollonius reporteth one strange thing among the rest of his reports That there was a people which could not see in the light but in the darke A strange report yet it is here true by experience The wicked cannot see any thing in the light of grace they haue their light onely in the darkenesse of nature for they here see and vnderstand through the darke cloudes of nature No maruell then if their heartes bee set vpon sinne when they can see nothing but euill Neither is God in this any way causa Peccati eitheir because his whole nature is corrupted or in with holding grace from him For the first the wise man cleareth God saying This haue I learned that God made man righteous but he hath found out many inuentions For how could a good cause produce an euill effect A Deo perfecto nihil malum nihil turpe est saith the Heathen From God that is perfect commeth neither euill nor foule thing Deus malorum causa non est cum bonus sit God is not the authour of euill when he himselfe is most good But as the Lord speaketh by the Prophet Perditio tua ex te Distruction is of thy selfe O Israel As God is not the cause of this corrupted nature and so not the cause of sinne so God is not vniust in withholding his grace from the wicked as some heretickes haue reasoned in this manner Priuatio est a Deo to be depriued is from God Priuatio est Peccatum To be depriued is sinne ergo peccatum est a Deo sinne is from God But this is easily answered for it doth not followe because we can doe nothing without grace that therefore God is bound to giue it Indeed we are bound to serue him but he is not bound to bestow his grace vpon vs it may be illustrated thus The King can raise a begger to great honour is hee therefore bound to doe it no man will conclude it So it is with God if he bestowe his grace vpon this man it is his mercy towards him if he doe it not to another it is none iniustice to him For his grace is free I will haue mercy on him to whom I will shewe mercy and will haue compassion on him on whom I will haue compassion So though man be corrupted God in no wise is the cause of his corruption Then this nature being so corrupt seeth and tasteth nothing but that which is euill A second cause or reason proceedeth from Sathan for hee sitteth in the heart of the wicked as a Prince vpon his throne commanding the same how and when he will This way and that way as the winds doe the Sedars in Libanus As the Apostle Paul saith They are taken prisoners by him to doe his will He is a workeman that is neuer without employment for them The diuell by the testimony of our Lord is the Prince of this world Note then his Monarchy is great and his kingdome bigger then the kingdome of Christ. For broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many runne that way But narrow is the way that leadeth vnto life and fewe walke that way If his kingdome bee so great no maruell if his employments be so many euery subiect therein is a great States-man for he is of the priuy counsell and there is neuer a day but there is a consultation between the Deuill and the heart of a wicked man The Deuill cannot be without the least of these but with great danger to his kingdome There is a two-fold cable-roape where by the Deuill drawes their hearts vnto sinne The first is the profit of sinning Come cast in thy Lot with vs we will finde riches and also fill our houses with spoyles Sinne neuer comes emptie handed for if it dyed we would reiect it We haue all earned Iudas his lesson which is Quid dabis And thus much doth the Apostle intimate in the Romanes where he saieth What profit had yee then in those things Hereby shewing that the end of sinning was the game of profit The second is pleasure and delight of this speaketh the Apostie in his second Epistle to the Thessalonianst They tooke pleasure in vnrighteousnesse And this is that that aggrauates a mans sinne to sinne and then to take pleasure in it Thus hee bindes two sinnes together 1. 2 finne to doe it 2. a sinne to loue it So the Diuell began with Adam and Euah to tempt them to sinne by the pleasure of sinne saying Yee shall bee as Gods knowing good and euill In many arts the more-skilfull the more ill-full Armis polentior astus Fraude goes beyond force Thus Sathan hath stollen trueths garment and put it on errors backe And so because the wayes to hell are full of greene pathes and tempting pleasures many runne apace till they come to their owne place with Iudas Sinne is a coach the Diuell is the carter then needes must they goe

that is heauen they are all vnworthy For Quid Junt merita omnia ad tantam gloriam What are all our merits to so great glory To conclude neither our works before or after iustification are any cause that is efficient of this haruest but the mercy of God which as it had the initiating in grace so it hath the consummating in glory Non in nostris recte factis sed in tua bonitate situm est It lieth not in our well done deedes but in thy goodnesse O God Returne we home to our selues where wee shall finde great cause of thankefulnesse while the worke is so small and the reward so great Do we deserue nothing and yet inioy so much Then learne with Dauid to say Non nobis Domine sed nomini tuo da gloriam Not vnto vs Lord but vnto thy Name giue the glory And this is one principall end why saluation is not of workes but of mercy that God might haue all the praise for Hee hath chosen vs in Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace We may all vse the saying of Bernard When I was ignorant he instructed mee when I erred hee reclaimed me when I stood he held me vp when I fell he raised me when I came to him he receiued me O quid retribuam c O what shall I giue vnto the Lord for all his fauours What Euen with Dauid take the cup of thankesgiuing and drinke hearty draughts to the Lord. This thankesgiuing consisteth in three things First In cordibus nostris in our hearts for to loue him as saith Moses And now what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to loue him 2. In operibus nostris in our works to honour and glorifie him by obedience 3. In verbis nostris in our words to giue praise and thankes vnto him There is another vse to bee made of this seeing our workes are not perfect not to sit downe in the chaire of content but to adde somewhat to the building as Peter saith To increase in grace and knowledge The Apostles case must be ours We are not yet perfect and therfore must endeuour our selues vnto that which is before And as the man said to Christ Increase my faith So Lord increase our faith Lastly this vndeserued loue of God to man should be a copy to our hands and a sputre to our feete to teach vs to shew the like loue to our brethren though they deserue not the same at our hands Which duety was taught by that parable of the seruaunt which had so much forgiuen him ought from the consideration thereof to forgiue his fellow seruant God is gone before vs Happy are we if we follow after and yet cursed if we stay behind And thus at the last I haue passed from the precept to the consequent The second part of the Text is the Consequent FOr it is time to seeke the Lord till he come and teach you righteousnesse God neuer giues an exhortation but addes a reason to moue vs to imbrace the same as sometime of iudgement Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vaine for the Lord will not hold him guiltlesse c. Sometime of mercie as Honour thy father and thy mother that thy dayes may bee long c. And here you see this precept not to want his reason Which part I haue formerly viewed vnder two generall heads First by an argument drawen from their negligence for it is time to seeke the Lord. Secondly by an argument drawen from the benefit thereof till he come and raine righteousnesse to you Obserue in the first branch first the action Seeke there is the property of the worke Secondly whom the Lord there is the obiect of our labour Thirdly why For it time there is the compelling cause The Action SEeke this comes first to our hands according to our former diuision The perambulation of a Christian is from East to West from North to South to seeke the Lord in the streetes of contemplation and meditation Not with Diogenes with a candle and a lanterne searching the streetes of Athens but with our whole hearts with Dauid to seeke the Lord. We must not thinke that God will follow vs with his blessings if wee flee from him as Ionas did For as God seekes vs so he puts into our hearts a preuenting grace to seeke him The rich man goes not with his almes to the poore mans house rather the poore man comes to the rich mans gate The Lord is rich enough and needes none of our labour yet we cannot haue his blessings without paines for if we will finde we must seeke Heauen is not gotten with ease neither is saluation brought and laid at our doores No the kingdome of heauen comes not by obseruation and a contemplatiue speculation Diligence that industrious workemaster must make our calling and election sure For Nemo volens malus nec inuitus foelix No man is euill with his will neither is any happy against his will Let not this obseruation slippe without your vse we cannot haue the parts of saluation performed for vs by an Atturney God requireth euery man to performe these things in and by himselfe other mens faith will doe vs no good neither is there any thing that doth more hurt then doing these things Non perse sed per alium Not by himselfe but by another as many great men thinke to go to heauen by their Chapleins by whom they are religious in this life by them also they thinke to be glorious in the life to come And often wee see when the Chaplein is out of doores grace is not to bee seene in the Parler and godlinesse may not stay within doores Surely a man may as well see to walke by another mans eyes as to goe to heauen by another mans workes The question shall not bee What haue they done but What hast thou done Therefore you that intend to seeke the Lord and weare the liuery of Christ must lay aside all your nicenesse and bid idlenesse the mother of mischiefe adue and put on the armour of God and fight the Lords battels in your owne persons Seeke This duetie is set out in Scripture by many epithets Paul calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a race to shew what speede is to be made in the way of saluation Againe he telles the Philippians that it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a worke to shew what paines we are to take in the meanes of saluation And Christ calles it a seeking and sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seeke which agreeth with the word in my Text Lidrosh to seeke and is the same in the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to shew the difficulty in finding Obserue that heauen is not gotten but with great labour and paines taking Qui cupit optatam cursu contingere metam multa tulit fecitque miser sudauit alsit Hee that desireth first to touch the marke taketh much