Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bear_v	end_n	truth_n	1,796	5	6.9490	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95897	The schismatick sifted. Or, The picture of Independents, freshly and fairly washt-over again. Wherein, the sectaries of these times (I mean, the principall seducers to that dangerous and subtile schisme of Independency) are with their own proper pensils, and self-mixed colours, most lively set forth to be a generation of notorious dissemblers and sly deceivers. Collected (for the most part) from undeniable testimonies under their own hands, in print; for the more fair and full satisfaction, and undeceiving of moderate and much misled Christians; especially by the outward appearance of their piety of life, and a pretence of their preaching sound-doctrine. / By John Vicars.	Vicars, John, 1579 or 80-1652.	1646 (1646)	Wing V326; Thomason E341_8; ESTC R200902	40,154	51

I born and for this cause came I into the world that I should bear witnesse with the rest of Gods faithfull ones to the truth and fully and faithfully to speake and declare the Truth with all holinesse godly zeal courage and impartiality against whomsoever in this case neither regarding the favours or frowns of any but onely ayming at the glory of my God which I say was the main end of my creation But to conclude and shut up all I have now to say it is most probable that our Independents and the rest of their Schismaticall fraternity for as I have formerly toucht I make account all the rest of the Sectaries are for certain Independents Object 3 will again now at last Object and say unto me That all this while I have but pleased my selfe in beating the ayre and shooting at rovers being wide of the marke and much mistaken in all that I have taxed and accused them with all for none of them are at all perswaded or convinced in their consciences that any of those which Master Edwards or I call Errours or Schismes are Schismes or sins but as Answer 3 was touched before New-Lights and New-revealed Truths Whereunto I Answer with sorrow of soule for their sakes I easily indeed believe they will say so and I cannot much marvell at it Since as those Demetrians said By this craft they have got much gain And since I see this is their obstinate and inflexible resolution thus still to say and hold and that they are before hand resolved for private interests and self-aymes sake that no clearest demonstrative reasons or argumentations no though from apparent Scripture or Scripture-consequences shall beat them off or disswade them from these Satans strong stratagems of New-Light New-Revelations Keeping Reserves and Liberty of Conscience I therefore will say no more unto them but with the Spirit of the Lord said to obstinate and incorrigible Ones Hee that is unjust let him be unjust still and he that is filthy let him bee filthy still and he that is righteous ô let him be righteous still and hee that is holy let him be holy still Onely I herein may comfortably say to mine own heart Liberavi animam meam Yet as the Religious bonds of piety and charity binde me from my soule I shall unfainedly pray as the Lord knows I daily doe that God would in the riches of his grace in Christ Jesus open their eyes and speake to their hearts shew them the evill of their ways and the great danger of their destructive errours to the ruine of the whole Kingdom yea of the three whole Kingdoms if they doe not timely retract and repent of those great and gangrene evils and blasphemous errours which have enflamed almost the whole Kingdom by their New-lights as so many firebrands to set on fire three whole Kingdoms I say if the Lord in mercie by the wisdome piety and impartiallity of our Parliament quench not the flame in time and graciously reconcile us not together by godly peace unity and unanimity of spirit which the Lord in much mercie grant unto us for his sake who is the Prince of Peace Truth and Love and of all godly order even the Lord Christ the Righteous to whom be all honour praise dominion with holy and hearty universall obedience for ever AMEN The opinion and advice as it is deemed of Monsieur de MOULIN Professor of Divinity in the Vniversity of SEDAN in FRANCE Concerning the opinion of those who are named Independents in ENGLAND Wherein the Inconcinnity and unreasonablenesse if not apparent impiety of Independents in the mayn point of Classicall-Discipline is most evidently discovered by this eminently Reverend and Learned Divine to the shame and silence of our obstinate Independents SIR A Certain friend of mine an honest religious man hath given me notice that certain persons doe finde fault with the Order and Discipline established in our Church In which the Consistory are subject to the Colloquies and the Colloquies to the Provinciall Synod and the Provinciall to the Nationall Synod And their desire is to have every particular Consistory or Congregation of one and the same absolute authority independent from any Superiour authority or Assembly whatsoever Upon which my said friend earnestly desired to have my opinion or judgement on the matter which being of such a nature and importance I could not any way decline or deny his request which I have here set down and is as followeth I say that those which propound this opinion ought in no manner or wise to be hearkened unto For if in case this their opinion were followed there could nothing else ensue but the certain ruine of the Church and an extreme confusion for the severall reasons heer following First It happeneth often times that two Ministers of one Parish or Congregation fall our and are at variance and thereupon they separate and divide the Congregation into two factions in such an occasion of necessity there must needs be the helpe of a Superiour Authority Secondly The Church or Congregation hath but one Minister and he leads an ungodly life to the scandall of the Church and the Consistory of that Congregation censureth him all being of one accord or if it happen that the said Consistory be divided and of two opinions there can be surely in such a case no remedy but by a superiour Power and Authority of Colloquies or Synods who have power to depose and appoint such Ministers or such a Minister if there be but one as they shall think fit and they or he desiring to be deposeth Who shall depose him the Elders onely of the Consistory or the whole Congregation or Assembly Shall they give sentence against them or him Thirdly If any one of the Congregation bee unjustly suspended from the holy Communion or absolutely excommunicated unto whom shall he direct himselfe to be re-admitted to the Congregation or to whom shall be direct his complaint if so be the Consistory who have unjustly suspended or excommunicated him have an absolute authority to themselves without dependencie upon any other If any new Heresies happen to be raised in any Church and that some Ministers and Congregations become infected therewith what remedy is there to avoid this great evill but by a Synod who may examine and depose the obstinate Minister or partie who infecteth the Church Had not the Synod of Dort remedied this evill the Arminianisme was spreading it selfe over that whole Countrey and had unavoidably prevailed For in case that every Consistory or Parish had been absolute of themselves and Independent they might have refused the resolution of the said Synod alleadging that they were not subject to Synods but had an absolute authority within themselves It is the chiefe and peculiar work of Synods which they always first take in hand to heare the complaint of particular Churches and to judge of appeals If these be taken away from the Synods they need no more to meet

THE SCHISMATICK SIFTED OR The Picture of INDEPENDENTS Freshly and Fairly Washt-over again Wherein the Sectaries of these Times I mean the principall Seducers to that dangerous and subtile Schisme of Independency are with their own proper Pensils and Self-mixed Colours most lively set forth to be a Generation of notorious Dissemblers and fly Deceivers Collected for the most part from undeniable Testimonies under their own Hands in Print for the more fair and full satisfaction and undeceiving of moderate and much misled Christians especially by the outward appearance of their Piety of Life and a pretence of their Preaching sound-Doctrine By JOHN VICARS For Sions sake I cannot hold my peace ISAIAH 62. 1. Now I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them For These that are Such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly And by good words and fair speeches Deceive the Simple ROM. 16. 17 18. London Printed for Nathanael Webb and William Grantham at the Grey-hound in Pauls Church-yard 1646. To the Right Honourable and most worthily to be highly honoured THOMAS ADAMS Esquire Lord Major of the most famous and renowned City of LONDON I. V. prayeth all encrease of Gracious Honour here and of Glorious Happinesse hereafter Right Honourable IT was the sad and unhappy complaint of the Prophet Jeremy in his dayes and in that ungracious and ungratefull City Jerusalem That no man among them was valiant for the Truth Jer. 9. 3. Nay the Lord himselfe by the same Prophet seeming to be as it were transported with holy indignation and just jealousie of neglect of his honour and worship bids them Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem to see and seek if they could find any one man that loved the Truth Jer. 5. 1. Yea this penury of pious men was not only among the poor and mean men Ver. 4. But even among the Great Men and Rulers of Jerusalem ver. 5 But ô the honour and happinesse of this most famous faithfull and ever renowned City of London This City of our God of which most justly so many glorious Things are and may and must be spoken to the Glory of God and honour thereof Over which such a renowned and religious such a valiant and vertuous Governour is set verifying that of the Prophet Nah. 2. 3. though there Iconfess spoken in another sense That our valiant men are in Scarlet even your good Lordship who have bin as it were purposely placed and appointed by God himselfe for these times and who are so valiant and couragious for the Truth of your God and the glorious work of Gospell Reformation as cannot be dampt or daunted with any vaporous and seeming Eclipsing Clouds of unworthy Disgusts raised by the selfish and elfish Envy of Schismaticall spirits which of late have only passed over the faire face and cleer Sun-shine of your Honours Piety and Integrity For with unvanquishable Valour and Vigour of Zeal for God and his Truth like a pious Patriot indeed your Honour hath most gravely and graciously dispell'd them all standing still like an immoveable invincible and impregnable Rock or rather running on like the active Sun in the Firmament with so much the more resplendent Beauty and radiant Lustre in a sweet and swift course of Constant Piety and Magnanimity for the advancement of the immaculate Cause of your God and the Common-wealth to the high honour of God and singular joy and comfort of all the true Presbyterian Saints and Sons of our English Sion both in City and Country Ride on prosperously then my most honourable good Lord in the Cause of Truth and Righteousnesse backt with the sacred Suffrages and faithfull Affections of very many thousands of most peaceable honest-hearted and God-honouring Covenanters both in City and Country yea even of a whole Nation of loyall and loving Scottish-Brethren who with us most justly look for and long for the happy and holy consummating of a glorious Reformation of the Kingdoms Grievances and establishment of a blessed Church-Discipline according to the Minde of our great Master Christ Jesus and the plain literal meaning of our sacred solemne Covenant And hence my honourable good Lord I have bin humbly bold emboldened by your Honours much experienced candor and courtesie toward me the meanest and most unworthy of all your Lordships Votaries to dedicate this little but I hope very necessary and usefull Treatise considering these seducing staggering and unstable-times as a small Symbol and though poore and plain yet true Tessera of my bounden Gratitude to your Honours pious Patronage Thus I say both to take fit occasion to manifest my obliged hearts Thankfulnesse for your Lordships many most free and friendly favours As also by this though succinct yet sincere discovery of the sly and subtile Dissemblers and Deceivers of our dayes and consequently the mayn molesters and disturbers of the happy settlement of a godly Church-Government among us As also thus to adde at least one small stick to encrease the flame though I am confident I need not of your good Lordships godly zeale in this glorious work so much and so maliciously opposed by the impious and impudent Sectaries of these most sadly distracted Times Which humbly hoping your Honour will with accustomed Christian candor and exuberant friendly favour candidly accept The continued yea perpetuated Encrease of all Honour and Happinesse to your good Lordship in this your renowned Majoralty and to the period of your pious Pilgrimage shall be the daily devoted prayers of Your Honours most humble and eve● to be commanded observant Servant in the Lord John Vicars To the godly and impartiall READER THe great dishonour good Reader which I have frequently observed to be done to my God in the abuse of his Truth and the strange cockering of Errours and Schismes by Truths too violent and virulent Adversaries and Antagonists Together with the familiar vilifying and extream undervaluing of Truths loyall Presbyterian Propugnators and the most unreasonable high esteeme and loud and lofty Elogies which the foolish World falsly and fondly blatters forth in prayse of Schismaticall Independents and the rest of these Times most seditious and dangerous Sectaries whose great and yet most just unhappinesse it is that they cannot mayntain any thing for the most part of what they schismatically professe but by grosse untruths brainsick Enthusiasmes fictitious New-Lights aliàs old-blasphemous Errours and too often by down-right-lyes All these respects I say have made mee the meanest and most unworthy of ten thousand of my godly Presbyterian-Brethren in fervent Zeal to God and his Truth and in pure love and loyalty to her faithfull Presbyterian Friends thus according to my Talent to set Pen to paper and with as much faithfulnesse as resolved freedome with their own hands to stop the mouths and with their own Pens to give a check to the untrue Tongues of these so high Pretenders to such soundnesse in

Scripture Revelation of some rare Truth of God not formerly known but a meere conceit yea a plain deceit ô then presently I say our Independents call and count us as my selfe heard Master Burroughs deliver such an expression in one of his Lectures at Michaels in Corn-hill Carnall and prophane Presbyterians Grievers and despisers of the Saints and Godly party forsooth and contemners of the gifts of the Spirit whereas indeed there is no such thing in them but they most palpable and impudent impostors And thus the Lord knows they goe about deceiving and being deceived and truly Hinc illae lachrima Heer 's the source the rice and originall of all these unhappie and unholy jars and divisions between us They are so nimble and quick-sighted in apprehension of New-Lights and we are so dull and obtuse if they will have it so and hard of belief to be led or rather misled by them as not being able to discerne so much out of Gods Word Till when we shall ever question and quarrell at this novell and vain device of theirs But again our Independents have one trick more at least to put us Object 2 finely off from our just objurgations with them and accusations of them concerning their most dangerous and damnable errours now adayes broacht by them and brag'd of among them viz. That wee are too uncharitable in thus upbraiding the Saints with their infirmities forsooth yea and as I touch'd before in laying the failings and slips of onely the Retrimentitious Partie as Master Iohn Goodwin terms them as before that is in plain English the excrements or dregs of Sectaries Independents Anabaptists and such like Where first Answer 2 take notice good Reader by way of reply hereunto in generall that Master Iohn Goodwin confesses there is a Retrimentitious or Excrementall-Partie among his Saints Secondly That he calls and counts their dangerous damnable and blasphemous Errours with the rest of their foul impieties but sins of infirmity But more particularly to the first I briefly answer That as I have sufficiently made it clear all along in this Treatise they are not onely the Retrimentitious-Partie of their Independent Saints that deale thus dangerously and deceitfully with us but the very best and bravest yea seemingly gravest Grandees of them all Secondly Is not Master Iohn Goodwin or any of the rest of them ashamed to call such abusive and abominable Errours and such foul and frequent facts of impiety as they are too justly taxed with and found guilty of Sins onely of infirmity Can he or they make us beleeve that they know not how to distinguish between Sins of weaknesse or infirmity and Reigning-sins Church-disgracing and conscience-wounding abominations For my part I conceive under correction sins of infirmity are such as are committed either ignorantly or if knowingly yet fearfully and with much reluctation of spirit seldom and that with much vehement repentance and godly sorrow after conviction with purpose and bent of heart by Gods grace to be more watch full against them for the future and such like As for Reigning-sins I conceive them to be sins committed or acted knowingly affectedly promeditately resolutely constantly or frequently and familiarly against all evidences of conviction or exhortation against them yea and so far from repentance for them as to justifie them and rejoyce and boast in them together with such like other sad symptomes thereof Now whether very many of our profest Independents embrace or act their dangerous Errours lying double dealing and the like as aforesaid in the former or in the latter capacity or condition as sins of weaknesse or of wilfulnesse and affected obstinacy I leave themselves to judge and faithfully to examine their own hearts and consciences for to their own Master they stand or fall And to all others also who impartially observe and take notice of their carriage and conversation especially upon serious consideration of those Characters of a true Saint which I have faithfully fore-mentioned to them all that I will for my part say herein is to tell you my strong fears that in regard of the premises I cannot but greatly suspect and doubt in the latter capacity I say very many of them so proud so pragmaticall so insolent and obstinate are they in a most ungrounded defence of their evils and errours And on these grounds I must confesse I cannot judge more tenderly of them And again I say in yet more full answer to this Objection How dare any of them call or account any the seeming least of their Errours small-sins or no-sins being against the eternall truth of our most pure Object 3 and holy God And whereas in the last place they cry out against us and tax us not onely of want of charity but asperse us with plain impiety for urging against them and accusing them openly or inprint of their foul offences and openly taught and maintained dangerous Errours Schismes and Enormities and of their damnable Doctrines and Opinions I say and will avouch and maintain it That our work and way herein is both holy honest and warrantable from the word it self And particularly from that of the Apostle Paul Who Answ 3 himselfe tels us that When Peter who at that time seemed a Pillar of Gods house the Church did that which was worthy of blame and that openly to the prejudice and so and all of Gods people and Cause This blessed Apostle I say tels us That he withstood Peter and rebuked him even to his face for his dissimulation and for being a means thereby to ensnare Barnabas also into the same foule fault with him Even the very same whereof I now here complain in our Independents and their Schismaticall brethren namely Dissimulation or Double-dealing Yea and as the same blessed wise and holy Apostle said They are most worthy to be even most sharply rebuked and also openly in regard they have offended and dissembled so openly even in print therefore are I say to be reproved in paint whereas indeed had they offended but in private God forbid but we should tenderly have dealt in private with them And this indeed hath been a main ground of the quarrell between reverend Master Edwards and his Independent Antagonists who have most injuriously abused him with slanders onely or mainly for his zealous opposing and sharpe reproving the open Errours Schismes and scandalous miscarriages of these men who can be content to dishonour God and his Truth but cannot endure to be taxt and told of it though the Apostle tels them they are worthy to be blamed for it and therefore in this respect though according to that old Axiome Amicus Socrates amicus Plato magic tamen amica veritas though such an one is my friend and such an one is my old acquaintance and friend yet by Gods grace Truth is and shall be my best friend yea and I say as my blessed Lord and Master Christ Jesus said To this end was