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
B00422	The golden chaine of mans saluation, and the fearefull point of hardening, opened and set downe in two seuerall sermons preached before the king. / By Anthony Maxey Batchelar in Diuinitie, and chaplaine to his Majesty in ordinary ...	Maxey, Anthony, d. 1618.	1606 (1606)	STC 17685.5; ESTC S94149	45,259	102

other reason to be giuen no other answer to be made but that it is his good pleasure it is his will Misericordia eius causa Misericordiae God sheweth mercy to whom he wil shew mercy Rom● and he hath compassion vpon whom it pleaseth him to haue compassion There is power and free liberty in Exo. ● GOD to giue and bestowe his grace both to whom when and how much-soeuer it pleaseth him Huic fit misericordia tibi non fit iuiuria saith S. Augustine God chooseth one he refuseth another to him he sheweth mercy to thee hee doth no iniury Here then wee must rest here we must make Fat 〈…〉 nece 〈…〉 em 〈…〉 uide 〈…〉 ad sa 〈…〉 am sc 〈…〉 a full point It is Gods good pleasure it is his will And this one answer it is a barre for all deepe questions either of of Predestination Election Destinie or any such like Iris Gods good pleasure it is his will His will is the cause of all causes and 〈…〉 ad 〈…〉 fer 〈…〉 further we cannot go Whom this answer doth not content S. Gregory doth answer directly Qui in factis Dei rationem non videt infirmitatem suam considerans cur non videat rationem videt In Mag. ● the hidden works of God hee that seeth not a reason if he see his owne infirmity hee seeth a sufficient reason why he should not see Wee conclude then with good Saint Augustine in his 59. Epistle ad Paulinum occulta esse causa potest iniusta 〈…〉 m. esse non potest Why God hath made choise of some and not of others howsoeuer vnto vs the cause be hidden yet vndoubtedly it cannot bee vniust This Doctrine briefely set downe and thus plainely appearing that Predestination is the immutable purpose of God whereby hee hath made choyse of some and reiected others according to the pleasure of his owne will It seemeth at the first when men do commit sinne they cannot auoide it as if GOD had so ordained it Hee hath made choyse of some to life and others hee hath reiected therefore when they sinne and follow the course that leadeth vnto death they doe it of necessity 〈…〉 15. O God forbid there should bee vnrighteousnesse in God or iniquity in the Almighty For GOD hath commannded no man to doe vngodly nether hath he giuen any man licence to sinne Before wee resolue this doubt there ariseth a very notable and necessary question which in times past hath troubled many wits If God bee not the author of sinne if he bee not the cause of mans offending how came sinne first to be how came it in where was the first beginning of it The heathen Philosophers they roued at the matter a farre off The Epicures they said it came by chance Aristotle and his sect they said it was the error of nature Plato came a little nearer and he said it arose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of the nature of man Manicheus the hereticke to auoide the former opinions hee fained two Gods Duos affirmanit esse Deos alterum quidem Cle● lib. 3● cog● bonum alterum verò malum One he auerred to be the author and first beginner of all good the other the first cause and author of all euill This opinion went currant a long time almost three hundred yeares as Nicephorus writeth and Nic● eccl● 6. ●● the reason was because men neuer looking into the word of trueth by the light of nature they could neuer finde from whence sinne came That we may fully vnderstand this point very briefely we will set downe the lineall discent of sinne Sinne first ariseth from concupiscence Euery Iam. ● man is tempted when he is drawne away by his owne concupiscence and is i●ticed All sin all wickednes of this life whatsoeuer first ariseth from concupiscence from our owne wicked inclination From whence then comes concupiscence That Dauid Psal ● shewes ex immundo semine We are borne in iniquiti● and we are conceiued in sinne as the originall doth 〈…〉 ● signifie we are all warmed in vncleane bloud If we be all borne in sin and by nature corrupt wee must ascend higher to our first parents and know how they came first to sinne Adam and E●e as appeareth in the 2. of Genes they first sinned by yeelding consent vnto the Deuill they tooke it from Sathan Heere then comes in the maine question how came the Deuill first to sinne The Deuill at first was created in porestate standi eadendi he had in his first creation a possibility to stand or fall power of continuance that hee had from God possibility of falling that he had from himselfe For it is a ground in diuinity Immutabiliter bonum esse Dei propriumest To bee immutablie good without any change or alteration it is onely proper vnto God therefore had hee possibility to stand or to fall S. Augustine also he rendreth another reason why the Deuill created an Angell of light had possibility of falling Because saith he at the first hee was created of nothing therefore he had in him possibility to retutne to nothing if so be he did not rely in the goodnesse of his creator if he did not subiect himselfe vnder the power of God To resolue then Sathan at the first was created an angell of light and had possibilitie to stand or fall but in the 14. of Isaiah and the 14. ver Whereas he saith there I wil a scend aboue the height of the cloudes I will be like the most high Then did Sathan choose rather to be an absolute nature in himselfe to shake of his alleageance and to abandon the goodnesse of God then relying still in God to be established by his power Our Sauiour Christ saith I saw Sathan fall as lightning from heauen And L 〈…〉 the lightning we know is not cast downe by any other but it falleth and breaketh out of it selfe alone The Diuell saith S. Peter was cast downe to 2. P 〈…〉 hell and deliuered vnto chaines of darkenes The reason is rendred in the 6. of Iude because when hee had possibilitie to stand or fall hee kept not his first estate Non perstitit in veritate Iohn the 8. 44. He ●boad not in the trueth So then to descend againe The Diuell he is Primitiuus pe●cator hee was the first offender For he sinneth from the beginning 1. Io 〈…〉 From the deuill sinne was deriued vnto Adam from Adam to all his posterity borne of vncleane seede frō the corruption of vncleane birth it is secretly cōueighed to our inclination to concupissence Thus from the Diuell sinne first boyleth vp as out of a maine Sea from him when it comes to Adam it ariseth as out off a spring from this spring it is reserued in nature as in a Conduit from nature conua●ed to concupiscence as hy a pipe from thence doth issue a streame of wickednesse to the Sea againe Now although it be thus

watering for the Liuer is the spring of bloud that runneth into euery veine and therefore Salomon 〈…〉 12. 7 calleth the Liuer the golden well In the body there is a withering for Dauid complaineth in the Psalme 22. 15. verse My moysture is like the drought in Summer and my boanes are dryed vp like a pot-shard As in the earth and bodie of man so like wise in the soule there is a watering and a withering In the 4. of Saint Iohn and 14. verse there is mention of a well of liuing waters for the Soule The preaching of 〈…〉 3. 6. grace in Christ is called the watering of Apollo The Prophet Esay saith with ioy yee shall drawe 〈…〉 12. 3 waters out of the welles of Saluation Contrariwise where this grace doth not water there is withering Si spiritus irrigatio defuerit omnis 〈…〉 g. mag plantatio exarescit Euery planting that hath not the watering of Gods spirit it withereth and dries away therefore saith the Psalmist the 〈…〉 1. 3. godly they are like the tree planted by the riuers side there is watering but the vngodly are as a Garden that hath no water and as the Oaken leafe that Esay 〈…〉 fadeth there is withering The other Greeke verbe is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to harden There bee Phisieae and aethicae vicissitudines there is a naturall and a spirituall Philosophie In the naturall course of things there is a congealing and an hardening as of the yce and frost which Iob very fitly calleth the bands of Orion because by the cold Eastern Iob. 3● 31 and Northern windes the water becomes as a stoane and the clods are bound together Contrary to this Hardening there is a melting Hee Psal ● 18 sendeth out his word and melteth them As when the Frost doth giue and the showers fall which Iob calles in the same place The sweete influence of Pleiades Both in nature and in the soule also there is a Resoluing and a Hardening Deut. 32. verse 2. The word is called Dewe and there is a thaw or spirituall melting when the heauenly dewe doth cause the soule to giue and to resolue into teares of Repentance so in the 2. of Kings 22. 10. Iosias heart did melt when he heard the Lawe read When King Dauid had committed murther and adulterie very grieuous sinnes hee neuer be-thought himselfe of the matter but he began to congeale and to bee Hardened in his sinne But assoone as the Prophet Nathan had awaked him and his heart like Gedeons fleece had druncke vp the heauenly dewe then presently Dauid began to relent his soule melted with sorrow and as appeareth in the 51. Psalme hee resolued into teares of Repentance Hezechias when God had giuen vnto him a sodaine and triumphant victorie ouer the host of Zenacherib presently after in the pride of his heart hee forgat God and began to congeale in sinne but as soone as the word of the Lord came vnto him by the Prophet Esay then presently his heart melted the bloud of his soule flowed forth in his repentant teares as appeareth in the 38. of Esay hee turned his face vnto the wall and wept bitterly 〈…〉 38. 3. Nowe as there is a Meiting so also there is an Hardening in the soule and that is when the custome of sinne hath beaten such an hard tracke and so trampled the soule that the word of God the seede of life cannot enter This is expressed in the 13. of Saint Matthew by the parable of the seede which fell by the high way side where there was such an hard way such a beaten path made by the common entrance of sinne that the seede could take no roote but the diuell comes like an Harpie and deuoureth it before it can enter For example hereof we wil take Cain and King Pharao whom my Text concerneth Cain hauing slaine his brother Abell and committed horrible murther the word of the Lord came vnto him saying Where is thy brother Abell Did Cains heart relent did hee confesse and say I haue sinned or did hee resolue into teares with Dauid No such matter but first he answered with a foule word I cannot tell where hee is then hee despised the Lord to his face as if hee should say you may go looke him am I my brothers keeper marke but this answere of Caine and his cariage therein and you neede no other example of an heart that is Hardened neither affection in kinred could touch him nor shame of the world check him nor the bloud of his slaine brother mooue him nor the glorious presence of the Lord astonish him nor the guilt of his owne thoughts raise him nor at last the quickening word of God which is powerfull to raise the very dead Hara Iob. 15. none of these could any whit reuiue him Triplex circa praecordia ferrum as Iob saith of Leuiathan his heart was harder then the nether milstone Pharaoh when the word of God came vnto Pha 〈…〉 him by Moses and Aaron hee was so farre from yeelding that hee seemed presently as though hee would haue fought with God Who is the Lord I know no Lord neither will I let Israel go And whereas the word and miracles ioyned with that word were sufficient to conuince any liuing Pharaohs heart was so stonie that though by a strange Miracle all the water in the land were become bloud and did sauour most vnholsomely yet it is sayd Pharao went home 〈…〉 23 and all this could not enter into his heart it could not pierce him When the Prophet cryed to the Altar of Ieroboam O Altar Altar heare the word of the Lord the Altar heard and claue asunder But the word of God which in Ieremie 〈…〉 13. 23. 29. is called an Hammer because it bruseth the stonie hearts of men this Hammer with ten miracles gaue ten mighty stroakes at Pharaohs heart and yet it could neuer bruse it Thus wee may plainely see there is a watering by Grace and a melting by Gods word as appeareth by Dauid and Hezechiah who resolued into teares againe through want of Grace there is a withering and by custome of sinne there is an Hardening as in Caine and Pharaoh whose hearts the word of God could not pierce but the more they were beaten on the more hard and flintie they became God hardeneth not IT Remayneth on the second poynt to discusse whether this Hardening bee of GOD In opening whereof it is very strange to heare how vntruely how vncharitablie we are charged by our aduersaries not onely Campion and Bellarmine but especially in certaine Articles or Foreible reasons lately published wherein it is directly set downe that the protestants doe make God the author and onely cause of sinne that they deride Gods permission and plainely affirme God is worse Article ● then the Denill and so are bound in conscience neuer to aske God forgiuenesse for their sinnes Oh fearefull blasphemie and wordes vnseemely