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	see_v	1,466	5	3.4614	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41582	A sermon preached at the publique fast the ninth day of Aug. 1644 at St. Maries, Oxford, before the honorable members of the two Houses of Parliament there assembled by Paul Gosnold ... ; and published by authority.	Gosnold, Paul.	1644 (1644)	Wing G1312; ESTC R956	13,369	33

by breaking out into rebellion but by constancie in suffering And yet these men with stupendious boldnesse have pretended religion for all their barbarous and bloudy actions and made the doating multitude believe That all this killing and staying is for the glory of God For the glory of the Devill is it not I am sure the Devils glory in it and make merry in hell that we are so mad upon earth they sit clapping of their blacke hands to see us together by the eares there there so we would have it It is no new art to dissemble and to set a good face upon a bad cause but if there were the least affecting sense of religion in the hearts of men if they had any tast of Heaven or Hell it would not it could not be thus 'T is impossible mindes seasoned with the sweet doctrine of the Gospell which commands us to love our very enemies should entertaine thoughts of deadly hostility against their friends and brethren Certainly the Devill hath distill'd the quintessence of his serpentine policie into this stratagem to convert religion which God intended for the firmest bond of amity and which naturally conserves the peace and incolumity of States and Kingdomes into the maine cause of warre and bloud-shed The Christian religion that that should draw men to disobedience that that should make them Theeves Murtherers Rebels Traytors O blasphemy Why our religion is all for peace the Author of it is stiled The Prince of Peace the Lambe of God who came into the world on purpose to guide our feet into the wayes of peace therefore the Angels at his comming proclaimed peace and when he was come the religion that he taught us is called the Gospell of peace and it consists of many admirable precepts of meeknesse patience humilitie innocence subjection charitie c. all the mothers and nurses of peace nay it denounceth damnation to all that break the peace Let not then turbulent spirits and the troublers of Israel once offer to speake of religion for if our religion that is if the Gospell be true as who dare say the contrary there is no religion in them Rebellion is as the sinne of Witchcraft 1 Sam. 15. 23. Witches they say when they first covenant with the Devill renounce their Baptisme renege their Christianity So they that follow or favour rebellious courses had as good renounce Christ abjure his Gospell for howsoever they may continue formall Professors they are reall Apostates When I steadfastly view the palpable hypocrisie of these times my minde leades me to thinke our greatest Zealots that personate Saints upon earth to be no better affected then Machiavill who esteem'd it wisedome to professe but weaknesse to believe any religion And indeed nothing doth more strongly possesse me with a feare of the large reigne of Atheisme in these wretched dayes than the generall abusing and profaning of religion by making it the grand engine of practises a vizour to cover the face of all knavery and impiety a meere legerdemaine to mock vulgar eyes For marke it if the designe be to make a fortune or to mend a broken one to satisfie some revengefull or ambitious humour the onely sure way to effect it is to proclaime a Fast to overlay it with the faire colours of religion Men now a dayes would seeme out of meere devotion and conscience to breake all Gods Commandements in the highest degree O times what can be added to the impudence of this age wherein such foule and horrible villanies all manner of tyrannicall outrages are perswaded acted and applauded as singular testimonies of our good affection to Christ and his religion But to give over this Scrutinie whatsoever the cause was listen to a prodigie by which without the helpe of a prophetick spirit you may easily prognosticate what the effect will be Pliny writes of a Serpent called Amphisbaena a Serpent with two heads one where it should be the other where the tayle should be at each end a head which two heads striving to goe contrary wayes doe miserably straine and wring the body and at last with continuall biting and fighting woory and teare it all to pieces To apply it were to reproach ye with dulnesse onely what can come of our unnaturall and virulent distractions but such hopes to our enemies such feare to our selves joy to our enemies sorrow to our selves encouragement to our enemies disheartning to our selves and finally triumph to our enemies unprofitable repentance to our selves These things considered it concerneth us to cry mightily unto the Lord and with ardencie more then ordinary to pray for the peace of Ierusalem Pray that Ierusalem may be as a City at unity in it selfe pray also that she may have peace in her borders peace with her neighbours The word in the text is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Ierusalem in the duall number that is pray for the peace of the two Ierusalems pray for the peace of England and Scotland That as we have one land one language one religion one King one God so we may be of one mind I speake not this out of pusillanimity or any base feare of that most insolent and most unexcusable enemie for he carrieth the heart of a leveret in the bosome of a man that being superiour to his adversary in cause should be inferiour in courage but I speake it out of compassion to my bleeding Country and out of horrour and detestation of the infinite mischiefes of civill warre rapes ravages proscriptions depopulations sacking burning killing and a world of miseries O cast your sorrowfull eyes upon the present lamentable condition of England lately one of the most happy potent rich resplendent renowned regions in the world now nothing but a great slaughter-house the true representation of all the cruell and cursed effects of discord the lively picture of all deadly calamities behold in all places what harmes and havocke warre hath made and then joine your acclamations with mine O blessed thrice blessed be the Peace-makers I will conclude with a briefe admonition that Ierusalem would not put a barre betweene Prayer and Peace If prayer and religious duties for prayer {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} containes them all be the most sure preservatives of peace while we have it and the most soveraigne restoratives when we have lost it then by the Law of contraries sinne and impiety is most destructive and obstructive of it Therefore let us not as our manner is shift off and transferre the fault for unlesse we had no sinne our selves why should we throw stones at others but let every one call himselfe to a strict account descend into his owne breast and there like Jonas asleepe in the sides of the ship he shall finde the cause of all these stormy commotions his owne sinne and transgression upon this discovery let him sadly weigh and deeply consider what it is to be guilty of the deaths of so many thousands guilty of the desolation