Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bad_a	good_a	reason_n	1,431	5	5.5448	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28624	A tossed ship making to safe harbor, or, A word in season to a sinking kingdome wherein Englands case and cure, her burthens and comforts, her pressures and duties are opened and applyed : in diverse sermons preached upon the publick dayes of humiliation, out of that propheticall history, Matth. 14, 22 to 28 / by Samuel Bolton ...	Bolton, Samuel, 1606-1654.	1644 (1644)	Wing B3527; ESTC R4171	146,323	320

troubles where the contrary indangers tēpests c. But why should this cause stormes me thinks if wicked men will not goe to heaven themselves yet they should let them alone that would go Indeed they say they would goe to heaven too but they would not goe your pace they will not overgoe the world their pleasures profits this is too fast what needs such haste and therefore rather than mend their owne pace they would take them away that goe before them When they see others to walk in a more spirituall and holy way than themselves they are cast and condemned in their own thoughts that their way is not good and having no desire to come up to them and to the rule thereupon they hate and persecute those that goe before them And if I mistake not this was the cause of the first Murther that ever was 1 Iohn 3.12 Caine was of that wicked one who slew his Brother 1. John 3. and wherefore slew hee him Why saith the Apostle Because his owne Workes were evill and his Brothers good It was not because God respected one and not the other for God tells him 4. Genesis 7. That if hee would doe well he should be accepted too but it was because his owne workes were bad and his Brothers good But could this be a good reason were his Workes bad Why did hee not mend them was this any cause to kill his Brother This was the cause His Workes were bad and hee was convinced of that both by Abels proctise and Gods different acceptation And because hee had no mind to mend them therefore he would kill Abel hee would murther him that vvent before him that his Conscience might not bee continually condemning and tormenting of him for that vvhich he had no mind to mend And you have the like in the Scribes and Pharasees set out in the Parable of the Vineyard and Husbandman they had Gods Vineyard were the husbandmen in the Church but they would yield no fruit Luke 10.16 11 12. God sends to them over and over they beat and mis-used the Messengers At last God sends his Son with this sweet expectation Sure they will reverence my Sonne though they have persecuted and killed the Prophets 13. verse yet my sonne shall find other acceptation of them sure they will receive my Sonne 14 verse But marke now their Spirits This is the Sonne say they come let us kill him that the Inheritance may be ours You know it is a Parable the Vineyard is the Church the ordinances and the fruit which God expected was holinesse and sutable obedient walking The messengers that God sent to call to them for it were the Prophets who called them to obedience and holinesse But because they desturbed them in their way and would not suffer them to live as they list therefore they misused them persecuted killed them Last of all God sends his sonne and then they say This is the heire let us kill him and the Inheritance is ours Then the day was theirs they might sinne without check controule they should bee disturbed no more they should doe their will and none should check them here was the reasoning of their heart To these heights in sinning doth a sinfull heart carry men at last Sinne will never rest till it hath turned a man all into sin devilished men you see how many there are that sin away not onely a forme of godlinesse but their moralities nay even their naturall Consciences sinne will spend at last upon the main stocke and eate out the very naturall principles of men There is yet another thing which offers it selfe to us from this The end of the second Sermon The winde was contrary HAd h Si maturius ventus contrarius exortus fuisset mox se ad portum recipere pomissent c. Chem. the winde been contrary before either they would not have set out to sea or if they had yet they might have returned back but it is not contrary till they come into the midst of the Sea And indeed there seemes to be a mercy in it i Hic lacus juxta Plin. l. 5. latitude 6. mil. longitud 16. mill juxta Joseph l. 3. 100 stadia in longitud 40. stad in latitud stadium est ●ctava pars miliarii c. These seas were narrow and strait being but a few miles over and the night was darke and had they had a wind for them it might have hazarded them and dashed them against the rocks and therefore it was lesse for their danger that the windes were contrary though it was more for their exercise It is better to be in a tempest upon the midst of the sea then to have too strong a gale for us to drive us on the shoare A mans harbour may sometimes be more dangerous then the sea A man may as well come too soone into his harbour as be kept too long upon the sea many have been lost at harbour who have been safe at sea A tempestuous sea is not so dangerous as an unsafe harbour It speaks thus much Doct. God may be working our preservation when we think he is working our destruction or that which we sometimes think to be in judgement may yet be in greatest mercy It was so here The Whale that swallowed up Jonah was a meanes to bring him to shore and that trouble which we think oftentimes will swallow us up may be a meanes to bring us to our harbour There is no judging of Gods heart and purposes by his outward proceeding of providences in the world By thus judging wicked men undoe themselves and Gods people afflict themselves Gods outward proceedings may be good when the purposes of his heart are evill to a man againe they may be sad when his purpose is good * Jer. 29.11 Ier. 29.11 I know the thoughts I think to thee they are thoughts of peace and not of trouble to give thee at the last an expected end but yet at this time they were in captivity his present proceedings were sad to them It is our wisdome to shut our eyes to works and look to the word to look upon promises and not upon providences this is to live by faith and not by sense But of this more afterwards We are now come to the fourth particular wherein their danger is expressed and their trouble heightned Christ was absent We reade in Matth. 8.24 Mat. 8.24 25. that the Disciples were on the sea a tempest arose and they were in great danger but then Christ was in the ship who presently rebuked the storme but here Christ was absent well might they think had Christ been here he would not have suffered this storme to have risen if he had suffered it yet he would quickly have laid it But what shall we do now Christ is absent Give me leave to commend two or three instructions from this One is Zuinglius Doct. There is nothing but stormes to be expected where

act our faith There is yet something more from this second effect of their feare They cryed out for feare Passion you see will have a vent Terror argumentum diffidentiae clamor despera●ionis Aret. They cryed out It had been well if they had cryed up but they cryed out Feare doth the one but it must be faith which must doe the other But what a shame was this It was a sin they should be afraid but what a shame they should cry out for feare They who were the Disciples of Christ were in Gods way went out upon Christs warrant doe they feare nay doe they cry out for feare what may the Mariners say Shall such a man as I fly Mchem 6.11 saith Nehemiah what one under such protections one under so many promises one who had such a cause such incouragements from above shall I flye This he thought both Gods dishonour his shame religions scandall So shall such men as these fear nay cry out too Such as were the friends and Disciples of Christ such as were sent on Christs Errand such who were under such protections doe they feare What I say might the poore Mariners say y Ecce quales sunt qui Christum coluut Sibona discerent boni essent Salv. What a dishonour was this to Christ what a scandall to Religion what a shame to themselves You have an excellent expression in the 8. Ezra 22. Read it See how tender Gods people are of Gods honour they will rather venture themselves then hazzard Gods glory he would rather goe in danger than give occasion to wicked men to think dishonourably of God Doct. Certainly Christians should be careful they should take heed of bringing an ill report upon the wayes of God they should take heed of bringing a scandall upon religion It is a great sinne with the bad spyes to bring an ill report on the good land to cause the wayes of God to bee evill spoken of Beware of fearing Wherefore should I feare in the dayes of evill saith David the righteous should be as bold as a Lion A good cause and a good courage should goe together But though you should fe●re yet fight against your fears pray against thē Beware of crying out He that crys up wil never cry out he whose heart hath found a vent to God hee will never complaine to man hee who is once open to God is shut up to man the more God hears of thee lesse man shall hear men cry downwards so much because they cry no more upwards if your hearts could once find a passage to God in your troubles you would finde so much comfort in it as you would never complaine to man Christians you are all publike persons there is an universality in every one of you one of you stands for many a few for all and that not onely for all Professors but profession too You had need therefore to be wary to walk exactly suffer not the Crosse of Christ the ways of God to be ill spoken of for your sake 3. Phil. 18. z Christum legunt impii sunt Christum audiunt inebriantur Christum sequuntur rapiunt Salv. de Gub. i. 4 5. 1 Sam. 12.24 Matth. 18.7 Give not you occasion to wicked men to blaspheme Religion to cast dirt in the pure face of Profession It was Davids sinne let it not be yours It lyes upon us to justifie the wayes of God by our unblameable walking Woe bee to them by whom offences come woe be to them who give just occasion of Scandall to wicked men that put a stumbling block in the wayes of others to hinder them from entring the way of life But yet you that are without suffer not the infirmities and sins of those that walke in the way of profession to bee a rock of offence a stone of stumbling to you to keep you from entring the way of life The wayes are good though all that walk in the wayes should be nought you are to walke by precepts not by the practises of others by rule not example their failings are not to be stars to sayle by but rocks to shun That which they should doe is thy Law that which they doe if they faile is not thy patterne It grieves me to see the unanswerable walking of professiors to profession and it is an addition to our sorrow to see how Satan makes use of our failings and sins to be as stumbling blocks to hinder others from entring the way of life But men whose hearts are set against the ways of God shall bee furnished with matter enough to bring them into further dislike If you be willing to be offended you shal have offences enough to your further blinding and hardning if the Word do not teach you works shall blind you if the word doe not soften you works will harden you if you stumble at the Word and at profession you are sure to fall at workes Men first take offence at the duties the Word commands and then they strengthen that offence by the failings of those who walke in those wayes This the Apostle shewes in the 1 Pet. 2.8 Christ was a stone of stumbling but you see to whom even to those who stumbled at the Word first first the stumble at the word then at Christ Beware lest this be your condition if it be all the faylings of Professors shall serve for no other end to you then for your further hardning and strengthenning your dislike against Profession it self to your utter undoing But we shall shut up this And will now come to the next Verse The end of the fifth Sermon Matth. 14.27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them saying be of good cheere It is I be not afraid HItherto you have had a black a stormy and tempestuous night and now the morning begins to appeare Hitherto you have had nothing but troubles fears outcries but now comfort begins to dawne The beginnings of Gods people may be very sad and troublesome but the end is ever comfortable and joyfull Hence David Mark the upright man observe the just for the end of that man is peace Psal 37. The end he saith not the beginnings The beginnings may be stormy but the end is calmy Noahs Ark was a long time tossed with waves but at last it came to Mount Ararat a place of rest So the Church of God may be Tost upon the stormy sea of this world for a time but at last God wil allay all stormes quiet all troubles and bring his poore tossed ship of the Church unto safe harbour There is a rest for the people of God Heb. 4.9 2 Thess 1.7 You have an Embleme of all this in this story of the ship on the sea which Augustine makes to resemble the state of the Church from Christs Ascension till his comming againe As I have shewed you before You have seen their Commission and setting forth to sea you have seene their danger and the feares they were in You

domini tune sumus sub conditione divinae protectionis Rei and will be our security in our undertaking Where our obedience lyes there our safety lyes He runs into the greatest danger that runs out of Gods way of obedience No safety but in Gods way Art thou in Gods way and do stormes arise doe tempests threaten Yet assure thy selfe God will never be wanting to thee while thou art in a way of obedience to him The Disciples met with stormes but Christ leaves them not in the storm their obedience to Christ brought the presence of Christ to them Never man wanted comfort long that went in a way of obedience The Martyr went far upon meer obedience but before he came to the journies end before he came to the stake God gave him * Coelum extra Caelum in a piece of his reward before his work was done But should thou dye without comfort thou dyest in the ship and not in the sea thou dyest in Gods way and there is safety though thou never reach the apprehension of it Jesus constrained his Disciples to go into the Ship Christ had a journey for them to go and here he provides them a ship Doct. If God have a work for us to do he will provide us with necessaries to the doing of it Necessary counsell necessary strength necessary comfort and assistance and all this proportionable to the worke Moses was troubled at first for want of elocution and Jeremy for want of courage but he that set them on work provided them necessaries Exod. 3.11 12 Exod. 4.10 12 Jer. 1.6 7 8. Moses did not want a tongue nor Jeremy courage We are sometimes troubled at the want of means for the bringing of a work about how shall this thing be but if the work be Cods he will want no instruments for the effecting of it Nay in the want of all he can work alone Infinite wisdome and infinite power was never at a stand But further To get into a ship When we are to do Gods work we are not to have our tooles to seeke the ship was ready when they had a command to go to sea All creatures stand like them in the market place ready to be hired into Gods Vineyard All creatures they are ready to execute Gods wil. Let not man alone rebel And to goe before him unto the other side Here is a plaine proofe against the Vbiquitarians who hold Christs body his humane nature to be in all places And here is also the errour of Transubstantiation confuted who take away the dimensions of a body making the body of Christ in so many places as bits of bread at the same time if Christs humane nature had beene in every place Christ could not have said Goe before him to the other side There is something more in it Goe before him If you read before you shall see the occasion of Christs withdrawing of himselfe with his Disciples was the newes of Johns beheading They had told him that Herod had beheaded John * Secessir Christus non praepostero metu sed prudenti consilio 10. ne manedo tentaret Deum 2. ut exemplo doceret temeritatem vitandam pericula non necessaria declinanda juxta illud Mat. 10.23 whereupon Christ withdrew himselfe and here to preserve his Disciples he sends them first away It suits well with Christs love to his Church and his end of comming into the world to take more care to preserve them then to save himselfe to looke to their safety more then his owne You know what he said John 18.8 If you seek me let these go free Hee came to interpose himselfe betweene God and us he came to beare our scourges to undergoe our stripes As Rebecca to said Iacob on thee my son be the blessing on me be the curse So Christ to us like Ionah he was content to be cast into the sea even the sea of wrath that there might be a calme a peace between God and man he came not to save himselfe but to be our Saviour and therefore was content to lose himself that he might save us to undergoe all that we might be free We are more deere to Christ then he was to himself therefore he doth here as we do whē things are in danger seek to preserve that which we esteeme most which is most precious to us to save us was more desirable to Christ then to preserve himselfe He sees himselfe in us oh that we could see our selves in God and that the preservation of the glory of Christ might be more in our eyes then the saving of our selves As Christ was more tender of us then he was of himselfe so let us be more tender of his glory then of our own safety if we can but hold up his glory though we suffer in his glory yet we shall be glorified He that seeks himselfe in opposition to God doth lose himselfe and God but he that seeks himselfe in subordination to him findes both even himselfe in God Here is that Riddle expounded Hee that will save his life shall lose his life but he that will lose his life for my sake and the Gospell shall finde it * Dignus plane enim morte qui tibi domine recusat vivere qui curat esse nisi propter te pro nihilo est nil est Bern. in Cant. Propter temet ipsum domine fecisti omnia qui esse vult sibi non tibi nihil incipit esse inter omnia Bern. 2. Ser. in Cant. It is lownesse of spirit to seek how we may preserve our selves and not how we may hold up Christ That life is forfeited and lost which is either gained or kept with the declining or losse of Christ a Vix quaeritur Iesus propter Iesum Aug. Principes viri regionem quaerunt potius quem religionem Chem. I have read it was the speech of a Henry of France who when he was perswaded to do something for the advancement of the Protestant Religion he answered He would lanch no further into the deepe then he might returne safe againe to shore Such spirits have most men They look upon the wayes of God as we do upon an Ignis Fatuus which we dare not follow for feare it lead us into bogs and pits I shall say no more to such but this that life that honour is forfeited and lost which is either gained or kept by declining or renouncing the cause of Christ We proceed While he sent the multitude away This seemes to be another reason why he sent his Disciples before him Aliquantisper detinuit donec precibus benedictione redire jussit Pareus in loc here was a multitude with him hee had newly refreshed them and would not suffer them to go till he had dismissed them blessed them c. or the like And the day was farre spent the night was comming on the ship was going for its probable it was a passengers ship

d Num salvus est clypius Is my Buckler safe esteeming all well if that were safe It was their honor and safety too to defend that which should defend them Religion is our great defence it makes the great God the defence of any people as you see Deut. 33.29 Happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee O people saved by the Lord. the Shield of thy help and who is the sword of thy Excellency That man runs into the greatest hazzard that for any hazzard shall desert the Cause of God It is a fearfull thing to procure God a just enemy by making man an unjust friend He that maintains the best Cause shall bee maintained by best God Though thou suffer with it yet thou conquerest by it e Duo in cruce affixi intelliguntur Christus visibiliter sponte sua ad tempus diabolus invilibiliter invitus in perpetuum Origen Christ conquered when he seemed to be overcome so a Christian It was that which Cyprian said unto Cornelius f Scias hoinem Christo deditum mori posse vinci non posse Cypr. thou may die but thou shalt never be overcome g Quam gloriosi revertuntur victores de praelio quam beati moriuntur martyres in praelio Ber. Serm. ad mil. temp c. 1. It is the same Christ saith to his Disciples Luk. 21.18 Though they kill you you see Vers 16. yet a hair of your head shall not perish Are wicked men couragious or rather desperate in a bad Cause what a shame then is it that wee should h Quid vel vivens vel moriens metuat cui vivere Christus est mori lucrum Bern. be fearfull in a good VVhat have they to hold up their hearts and what have we not to hold up ours ah what a sin to have a low Spirit under mighty incouragements i Ego miserimas curas quibus te consumi scribis vehementer odi quod fic regnant in corde tuo non est magnitudo causae c. Luth. Luther when he saw Melanchtons Spirits to sinke under the sad aspects of the Church of God in his dayes he fals to down right chiding of him I vehemently hate saith hee those miserable cares wherewith thou writest thou art spent It is not from the greatnesse of the danger but the greatnesse of our feares and distrust if our Cause be false let us revoke it if true why doe wee make God in his rich Promises a Lyar Strive against thy self the greatest enemy why should wee fear the conquered VVorld that have the Conquerour on our side Fearfulnesse is unbefitting a Christian who is the Souldier of Christ and Religion which is the cause of Christ 3. It is unsutable to our relations we stand related to the great God of heaven and earth and a shame it is that such should feare he is our God our Father our Shepheard our Husband our Head wee his People his Children his Sheep his Spouse his members Every one of these speak incouragement to our fearful and unbeleeving hearts what may not the Childe expect from his Father the Spouse from her Husband c. 4. Nay It is unsutable to our expectations from God and to Gods ingagements to us God hath passed over himself to us in many precious and gracious Promises as I have shewed and wee doe justly expect God to be that to us that he hath Promised and what a sin and shame that we should so far betray all these succours which God hath tendred make void all these Promises he hath made by giving way to distrustfull fears To summe up all Christians you have incouragements enough if your hearts be not fallen below Men to fortifie your Spirits against any evill and to bear up your spirits under the sence and burthen of any 1. Every name of God 2. Every Attribute of God 3. Every relation of God 4. Every Word of God 5. Every dealing of God with his Church and People Speaks abundance of incouragement to You against these sinfull sinking Feares And so much for the Second these Fears are unsutable 3. It discovers Weaknesse and Lownesse of Spirit Prov. 24.10 If thou faint in the day of adversity thy strength is small It argues weaknesse of grace weaknesse of faith of hope of patience and declares much unbelief 4. It discourageth and disheartneth those that are weak Nehem. 6.11 Shall such a Man as I flie Nehemiah was One stood for Many Hee knew his Actions either of fear or courage would have an Influence upon Many And therefore would rather dy then fly such a one if he fear is like the dead Body of Amasa that makes all stand still 2 Sam. 20.12 It came to passe that as they came to the dead body they stood still and left off to pursue their enemies You know what a sinne it is to discourage the hearts of your brethren you may see it by the punishment of the bad Spies 5 Feare it betrayes the succours which God offers it is a soule-infeebling-sin a heart-disabling-sin as it is said of naturall feares Feare betrayeth the succours which reason offers so I may say of spirituall feares they betray the succours which God which the promise offers God and all God are too little to secure a fearfull unbelieving man I will but give you two eminent places for it which I had thought to have passed over Isay 30.15 You shall see there the people were in some danger and they let feare worke when indeed faith should have worked And as it is the nature of feare it turnes a man from God and from the promise so it did them and they betook themselves to their owne forecasts and provisions they would go downe to Egypt for help as you see in the first Ver. They trusted in the shadow of Egypt Egypt was a well spread tree the boughs were great and large and they promised to themselves much security under the shadow of her boughes they thought it would have kept out the storme And though God now told them that in quietnesse and confidence should be their strength and that in returning and rest they should be saved though God ingaged himselfe to be their security and set the security in himselfe against all they feared yet notwithstanding all this was no security for them their fears still worked above their faith and all that God said or was was too little to be their security Nay though he tels them in the seventh Verse your strength is to sit still and it is worthy taking notice of the word which God useth there for strength 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used in Scripture to signifie Egypt Your Egypt shall be to sit still As if God had said What ever you expect in Egypt you shall finde in me if you will quietly rest your spirits on me what ever you looked for there you shall finde me to be unto you But yet all this was too little to answer their feares