Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	author_n	sin_n	will_n	1,685	5	6.8791	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10926	A strange vineyard in Palæstina in an exposition of Isaiahs parabolical song of the beloued, discouered: to which Gods vineyard in this our land is paralleld. By Nehemiah Rogers, Master in Arts, and pastor of the congregation at Messing in Essex.	Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.	1623 (1623)	STC 21199; ESTC S122274	258,015	353

signifying will and therefore gaue them the outward meanes sending vnto them Prophets Wisemen and Scribes messengers endued with all varietie of gifts administrations and operations and that not once but often How often would I haue gathered Often by the mouth of his seruants often by his owne selfe as the louing Hen is alwaies caring for her chickens alwaies clucking and calling them if they wander out of her sight neuer so little that shee may gather them and guard them from the mischiefe of all vermine But they would not they themselues gainesaid Where then lay the fault And so S. Stephen complaineth of the Iewes yea telleth them to their faces that they were stiffe-necked and of vncircumcised hearts and eares and did alwaies resist the Holy Ghost that is the worke of the Holy Ghost in the ministerie of the word and would not be wrought vpon But the Scripture speaketh of Gods hardning Pharaohs heart so that the meanes should not be profitable vnto him And God himself commandeth Isaiah to preach vnto the people that they may be hardned and so not conuerted True and yet in all this God cannot be charged with any fault or blame For it is a iust and righteous thing with God to punish sinne with sinne My people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me so I gaue them vp vnto their owne hearts lusts and they walked in their owne counsels Thus then God doth this for a punishment of such as withstand and contemne those gratious meanes hee offers them for their good If Pharaoh harden his heart against the meanes God will harden his heart that he shall not profit by the meanes So then though Sathan hardneth as a malitious Author and man hardneth himselfe as a voluntarie instrument yet God hardneth no otherwise than as he is a iust Iudge and righteous auenger of sinne And secondly God doth not harden by infusing euill but by with-holding of his grace and forsaking of his creature which Diuines call spirituall desertion As the Sunne freezeth the water not by adding coldnesse to it but by keeping backe his heat so is God a deficient cause of hardnesse but no efficient thereof And this must be marked that we erre not in this point Now let vs make the Vse And first this frees vs from a slander that the Papists haue laid vpon vs in giuing out that we teach directly or by consequence that God is the author of sinne and only cause thereof Now whether this be true or no iudge you You now heare it taught that he is out of fault and may no way be charged with the least spot of sinne he is most holy iust and pure in all his waies and workes Now therefore the Lord be Iudge betweene them and vs. And secondly see how damnable and excuselesse shall the carelesnesse of the most be in the matter of their saluation to excuse and lessen their owne sinne they will not sticke to lay the fault on God himselfe and charge their Maker with their damnation They sweare swagger drinke to drunkennesse defile forbidden beds shoot at heauen with their blasphemous oathes and then fetch from Gods decree and purpose excuses for these their outragious wickednesses And why should fault be found with them If God would it should be otherwise Who hath euer resisted his will and why doth he yet finde fault He hath decreed it and his decree must stand If the Deuils in hell should speake what could they say more We haue fallen and God caused it Wicked and fearefull thoughts When Adam sinned he blamed his wife and shee God himselfe and we haue sucked the same milke but as it would not serue Adams turne no more will it serue ours Cease then thou foolish one from charging God or drawing him in as an accessarie to thy prophanenesse God would haue thee saued but thou wilt not He labours to make thee good and darest thou lay to his charge thy owne voluntarie badnesse Behold God is so farre from being guilty of thy miserie as that he giueth thee his Word his Sacraments and affordeth thee all good helps to mollifie thy heart iustifying himselfe by these proferd meanes of thy saluation that he hath no desire nor delight in thy destruction and darest thou charge him with thy damnation Thou saist If God would it should be otherwise if he please he could saue without these meanes True if we speake of his absolute power as was before shewed but it is his actuall power that thou must looke vnto and so he hauing tied the end and the meanes together cannot because he will not bring thee to the end without thy vsing of those meanes which tend vnto the end for that is the ordinarie course which he hath decreed to vse and which he will not alter but vpon speciall occasion as our Sauiour noteth in the cure of Naaman and in the feeding of the widow of Sarepta God hath ordained that a mans bodie should liue by the meanes of meat drinke sleep c. shouldst thou now neglect these meanes for the preseruation thereof and yet accuse God if thou growest sicke and weake c. because if he would he could continue health and strength vnto thee without these helps I am sure that all men would condemne thee nay that thou wouldst condemne thy selfe of solly and presumption Thou pleadest further Gods decree for albeit thou vse the meanes yet the end is already decreed and who can alter it But secret things belong vnto the Lord leaue them to him It is not for thee to pry into that Arke which is couered with a curtaine of holy secrecie not to be drawne aside vntill that day comes wherein we shall know as we are knowne That signed and reuealed will written in Tables published with trumpets is it to which thou standest bound Neither doth the necessitie of this Decree excuse for God doth not by his Decree force thee vnto euill but he findes thee euill and prone only vnto it of thy selfe He decrees that thou shalt be so or so and knoweth that thou wouldst be so had he neuer decreed it but seeing thou knowest not what this his decree is vse the meanes and condemne not God Thus learne to chamber thy tongue vaine man for God cannot be charged nor any way blamed with thy sinfulnesse and barrennesse Lay thy hand vpon thy mouth and condemne thy selfe for Thy destruction is of thy selfe oh Israel Say not what can I remedie it if God will not saue me for what can God doe more than he hath done for thee God raines vpon thee his holy deawes and is not wanting in his purging and pruning thee with his corrections He hath giuen thee strange and excellent meanes so that it is only thou that art wanting to thy selfe Heauen is good but thy ground is naught A cunning Caruer can cut the similitude of

any creature yet not on a rotten sticke where lies the fault Surely in the rottennesse of the wood and not in the Caruers cunning that thou art not wrought vpon the fault is thy owne and not the Lords Thy case is that of Ierusalem How often would I haue gathered thee and thou wouldst not If then thou smartest for thy sinfull and barren life thanke thy selfe for thou art the cause God only the auenger thy bloud then be vpon thy owne head that which will die let it die And thus much for the first point A second followes and I propound it thus The wicked will still continue wicked although God vse all good meanes that can be vsed to bring them vnto good and make them better God had done what might be done and yet his Vineyard is as bad nay worse than euer A pregnant proofe this our Prophet giues vs when he saith Let fauour be shewed to the wicked yet will he not learne righteousnesse in the land of vprightnesse will he deale vniustly and will not behold the Maiestie of the Lord. Such is the vile and cursed nature of them as that no mercy nor fauour can worke with them to doe well nay in the land of vprightnesse amongst many occasions and meanes of good they will doe wickedly And thus Ieremiah to the same purpose In vain I haue smitten your children they receiued no correction c. O Generation see ye the word of the Lord haue I been a wildernesse vnto Israel a land of darknesse wherefore say my people We are Lords we will come no more vnto thee And againe O Lord are not thine eies vpon the truth thou hast stricken them but they haue not grieued thou hast consumed them but they haue refused to receiue correction they haue made their faces harder than a rocke they haue refused to returne And so Amos sheweth how incorrigible the wicked of his time were no correction that the Lord could vse would better them Many are the examples likewise that might be brought for the further strengthening of this truth as of Pharaoh Ahaz and others but I purposely forbeare inasmuch as something hath formerly beene spoken to this purpose Now briefly for the vse which is For Admonition that we beware of this sinne which hath an aggrauating circumstance with it for then is sinne most vile and filthie when it breakes out against those meanes that should haue kept it in Amongst many of which meanes these are some which let vs all take especiall notice of First our Vowes and promises which we haue often made vnto the Lord both in health and sicknesse that we would doe such or such a holy dutie and refraine from such or such an euill action let vs beware of sinning against these our vowes are Gods debts and they must be paid and therefore saith Solomon When thou vowest a vow to God deferre not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in fooles pay that which thou hast vowed Better is it that thou shouldest not vow than that thou shouldest vow and not pay And indeed he is iustly required to pay that was not compelled to vow And amongst all other vowes be mindfull of that solemne vow which thou madest to God in thy Baptisme and hast often since renued in thy comming to the Supper of the Lord. Oh! what a fearefull thing is it if we wittingly and wilfully breake couenant with God when ciuill honesty maketh some conscience of keeping promise made with man Secondly checke of Conscience God hath set conscience within vs as a Monitor to giue vs an Item when we doe amisse and to forewarne vs of euill this oftentimes tels vs we may not doe such or such an action or when we haue done it that it is not well now beware we of sinning against conscience neglect not the checkes thereof reprouing vs of our waies but heedfully minde it watch-word for else know assuredly that the conscience which now checkes thee shall hereafter iudge thee and that which now reproueth thee will hereafter vexe thee and torment thee for thy neglect Beware also how thou suppressest any good motion suggested by conscience for in so doing thou wilt in the end cleane silence conscience and quite kill it so that the grossest sinnes shall be practised without any checke or remorse Fearefull is this sinne and such as is the forerunner of a reprobate minde Thirdly Corrections and Afflictions These are the thornes wherewith God doth hedge vs in and serue to keepe vs from leaping out of Gods pastures into the pasture of wickednesse and sinne Beware we then of leaping ouer this hedge take we heede of sinning against these meanes let it not be said of vs as it was of Ahaz This is that King Ahaz who in the time of his distresse did trespasse yet more and more against the Lord. To be afflicted and not to be purged by affliction to be stricken with the rods of God and to haue no correction nor reformation follow is a signe of a fearefull induration The bellowes are burnt the lead is consumed with the fire the founder melteth in vaine for the wicked are not plucked away Reprobate siluer shall men call them because the Lord hath reiected them Fourthly Gods many and great mercies especially the Word and the light of the Gospell take we heed how we withhold the Truth of God in vnrighteousnesse hating to be reformed casting it behinde our backes Such a sinne is this as brings condemnation with a witnesse with a vengeance sore and heauie condemnation This is that condemnation that light is come into the world and men loue darknesse rather than light because their deeds are euill The cleare light of the truth shining hath discouered to vs that Swearing is a sinne Drunkennesse is a sinne Sabbath breaking is a sinne c. what now will such plead for themselues that liue therein Surely they haue now no cloake for their sins S. Paul would haue the word of God to dwell plentifully in our hearts to haue full scope and the whole sway in the heart of a Christian And so be it These and the like meanes which God affordeth vs for our good let vs profit by and by no meanes sinne against them for if we doe assuredly God will require it of vs for good turnes aggrauate vnkindnesses and our offences are increased with out obligations Of all the gracious meanes he affords vs he keepes a reckoning The sundry afflictions wherewith his people were afflicted are by him remembred and so the Sermons and Prophesies of his seruants with the circumstances of time and place and vnder what Kings reigne are likewise by him recorded Since therefore God keepes such a precise account of the meanes he vouchsafeth to vs let it stir vp all to make better account vse of those meanes for otherwise they will be