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
A10928	The vvild vine: or, An exposition on Isaiah's parabolicall song of the beloued: Isa. 5. 1,2,3, &c. By Nehemiah Rogers, pastor of Messing in Essex; Strange vineyard in Palæstina	Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.	1632 (1632)	STC 21200; ESTC S116115	254,274	348

here speaketh of the sufficiencie of the outward meanes and not of inward grace That was done to this wicked Vineyard which if it had beene good would haue brought forth the fruit of repentance and new obedience The Raine fals the Sunne shines vpon the earth the garden hereupon brings forth herbes the desart thornes whence is this but from the nature of the ground there is as much done to make one fruitfull as the other Thus God had done enough the meanes he vsed were sufficient had not this people been of such a peeuish and froward disposition Resp 2 And secondly God speaketh not here of his absolute power whereby he can doe whatsoeuer pleaseth him he could make iron swim and cause stonie rocks to yeeld forth streames of water he could raise vp of stones children vnto Abraham and giue Christ more than twelue Legions of Angels to deliuer him but he denies that he was bound to doe any more for them than he did And therefore that cauill would haue beene but friuolous saith Caluin for their consciences pricked them in such wise as that they could not escape by laying the fault vpon another For albeit God doe not pierce with efficacie into the hearts of men by his holy Spirit to make them teachable yet it will be in vaine for any notwithstanding to mutter that this was wanting to them seeing that their externall vocation doth sufficiently cut off all pretext and shew of ignorance whatsoeuer And now let vs come to some such Instructions as the text will naturally afford And first we see how Doctr. God cannot any way be charged with mans barrennesse God is altogether out of fault and can no way be charged with the sinfulnesse and barrennesse of mens hearts and liues In another place of this prophesie we finde the Lord complaining Å¿ Isai 65.2 that he had held out his hands all the day long to a gainsaying and rebellious people His armes were stretched out he ready to receiue but they did gainesay and rebell and refused to come into his armes And by the Prophet Ieremiah he telleth the people how t Ier. 44.4 5. he sent all his seruants the Prophets vnto them rising early and sending them saying Oh doe not such abominable things which I hate But they harkned not nor enclined their eares to turne from their wickednesse And by the Prophet Hosea he thus speaketh u Hos 12.10 I haue spoken vnto them by the Prophets and I haue multiplied visions and vsed similitudes by the ministerie of the Prophets The meaning is that he had declared his will and made knowne his minde vnto them so plainly as that they could not plead ignorance or any way charge him with fault And our Sauiour Iesus Christ complaines thus * Matth. 23.37 O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent vnto thee how often would I haue gathered thy children together euen as a Hen gathereth her chickens and yee would not Where we see clearely how God would their conuersion vnderstand it of his x Voluntas signi not voluntas beneplaciti signifying will and therefore gaue them the outward meanes sending vnto them y Vers 34. 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 z Acts 7.51 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 a Exod. 7.3 10.27 Pharaohs heart Obiect so that the meanes should not be profitable vnto him And God himselfe commandeth Isaiah to preach vnto the people that they may be hardned b Isai 6.10 63.17 and so not conuerted True and yet in all this God cannot be charged Resp. 1 with any fault or blame For it is a iust and righteous thing with God to punish sinne with sinne c Psal 81.12 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 Pharaoh seipsum indurauit libero arbitrio Deus indicrauit Pharaonem iusto iudicio Aug. 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 nor harden d Non inducendo malitiam sed subtrahendo gratiam Aquin. 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 Vse 1 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. Vse 2 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 e Rom. 9.19 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 speakes what could they

say more We haue fallen and God caused it Wicked and fearefull thoughts When Adam sinned f Gen. 3.12 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 Obiect 1 please he could saue without these meanes True Resp 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 g Luke 4.26 27. 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 folly and presumption Obiect 2 Thou pleadest further Gods decree for albeit thou vse the meanes yet the end is already decreed and who can alter it Resp. 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 h Hos 13. 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 Doct. The wicked will still continue wicked notwithstanding all means to the contrarie 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 i Isay 26.10 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 k Ier. 2.30 31. 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 l Cap. 5.3 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 m Amos 4.6 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 Vse 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 Meanes that should keepe vs from sinne Amongst many of which meanes these are some which let vs all take especiall notice of 1. Vowes 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 n Eccles 5.4 5. 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 o Iuste exigitur ad soluendum qui non cogitur ad vouendum Bern. he is iustly required to pay