Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	begin_v	great_a	time_n	1,599	5	3.2122	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29649	The way to the Sabbath of rest, or, The souls progress in the work of regeneration being a brief experimental discourse of the new-birth in which many of the serpents wiles are detected, the mysteries of the Cross unvailed, the death of the old man, the life of the new man, the angelical dispensation, with the entrance to the divine / clearly laid open and discovered by Mr. Thomas Bromley.	Bromley, Thomas, 1629-1691.	1692 (1692)	Wing B4888B; ESTC R35790	39,085	70

in the Image of his Law It sees 't is impossible in this State ever to enjoy God or come near him for without Holiness no Man can see the Lord. Here it sees 't is eternally undone without the great Mercy and Compassion of God not being able to Answer the strict Requirings of the Law obliging to that which the Soul is not capable to perform through the presence and strength of Corruption Here the Soul is driven to Christ the only Mediator betwixt God and Man who long waited for this time that so he might discover himself having long stood in the midst of it unknown and unregarded who upon the melting of the Soul into Tears of Repentance upon the renouncing Flesh and Blood with all corrupt Objects and upon the opening of the Will in the Thirst and desire of Faith enters into the Heart or rather shews himself to be There by opposing Hell by shedding abroad his holy Blood to quench the fire of Gods Wrath and wash the Soul from those sad Defilements it then lyes under Here he quiets the Soul gives the wings of Faith to it by which it flies above the reach of despairing Fears and by little and little enters into Peace and Stilness and shrouds it's self in some measure from the awakened Storms of wrathful Terror Now so far as the Soul can get by Faith into Christ so far it finds Ease Refreshment and Peace and a cessation from the sense of Guilt with cherishing Belief of the present Pardon of Sin as finding at such a time no stirring of the Will to that which had so endanger'd it before by it's poysonous Insinuations Now therefore beginning to hate Evil as a Monster and to love Christ as a Saviour it feels the Effects of Christs Meditation by satisfying Gods Justice taking away the Enmity in the Soul by the Blood of his Cróss by the meltings of Love which it feels towards God and sweet Refreshments it receives from him Now it comes to be sensible how it hath resisted Gods Love Christs Mercy the Spirits motions how it hath given the Devil interest in Christs Tabernacle and shut Him out from his own Possession Hence flow Tears of Love and Soul-melting Groans with the Mournings of the Turtle Now it imbraces Jesus weeps over Him whom it hath pierced and is wounded the more the kinder He seems in Returns of Love in regard he was before so much disobliged by the Souls Unkindness now the Soul wants ways of expressing Love overwhelmed with the sense of Goodness In this State it could die Ten thousand Deaths undergo any thing in requital to it's Saviour all it's Motions and Expressions tend to advance Christ to extol Him and predicate His unutterable Love thinking nothing enough for Him who thought not his own Life too much for it O that the Soul would faithfully remain In this sweet Frame until He comes again To waft her in his Chariot to that Throne Where God and Man are in full Vnion For Love doth pitch its true Pavilion there In other Places Love is mixt with Fear CHAP. III. WHen the Soul after its shakings attains this Settlement in Christs Love freely streaming towards it usually 't is much carried out in the sight and opening of Free-Grade which for a time strongly work upon it and induce it to yield suitable Returns in constant Obedience And this is commonly a Season of much Joy and Refreshment the Soul feeling that sensible Consolation and Divine Sweetness that causes it to break forth into continual Praises and Halelujah's to God Now as this flows from the lively apprehension of Gods Love in Christ so likewise from the clear sight of Christ in us and of that mystical transcendent Union betwixt him and the inward Man the Soul now beholding him in the ground and centre of her own pure humanity there thence darting forth the Rays of Love upon her whom before she look'd upon as at a distance without her as only sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven Now whilst this Dispensation lasts the Soul is in a perpetual Spring and a kind of delightful Paradise bathing and delighting its self in the sweet Fruition of Christs Love who in this time expresseth much kindness to it and gives frequent Testimonies of his Divine Presence But this day seldom continues very long and this Summer by little and little usually inclines toward an Autumn in which the Flowers of sensible Comfort and love-Raptures begin a little to wither and benumming flesh again shews its power in secret almost insensible dullings of the Souls Affection till by little and little it comes to a sensible Deadness which is the more tedious and burdensom the more the former dispensation was pleasant and Joyous Now what may be the reason of this declining in the Souls Enjoyments I shall not positively determine for it may proceed from different causes in different persons In some it may flow from the want of Watchfulness over their Hearts thorough the great Elevations of Free Grace in which time the flesh by little and little may collect Strength Gifts then being more eyed then Graces It may also flow from the decay of the Souls lively apprehensions of Gods Love which it felt in freeing it from the poyson and Guilt of Sin when it groaned sadly under them for so long as the strong impressions of that state remained Gods mercy eminently discovered forced the Soul into suitable meltings at the sight of it but these somewhat vanishing in time the effects likewise might cease by litle and little It may also come from want of practising the way of the Cross through our misapprehensions of being Dead when we are not or accidentally through the sensible overflowings of new Comforts which may carry the Soul out of that watchful Exercise of the Cross which at such a time is most needful But whatever is the Cause of it the Soul ought to enter into a strict Examination of it's self to sift every corner of it's inward Chambers and to pray for a clearer Light to view all subtil Corruptions that may gull it and hinder its Progress and make it set up a Standard as though all were done Oh! 't is dangerous sticking here and resting upon former Changes for this tends to the indulging of spiritual Drowsiness and Stupidity and may bring the Soul in danger of losing it's former Works by present Idleness and Relapses For God looks not at what we were but what we are our present State making us either capable of Gods out-flowing Love or obnoxious to his chastising Justice If so awake dull Soul think not to be Excused from thy present Lethargy By former Kindness when the force of Love Did pierce thy Heart and made it upward move Awake and pray that Christ in thee may give New quickning to thy Dead that it may live CHAP. IV. MAny Souls stick long in this

to give To those imbodied Souls that purely live CHAP. VII THe Soul having now attained to the Death of that which so long hindered its growth in the Pure Life and to the Enjoyment of those Spiritual Objects which exceedingly refresh and quicken the Heart in the midst of all discouragements proceeds chearfully in the strait way of Resignation offering up its Sin-Offering daily as a Sacrifice to the Fathers Justice For now the Daily Oblation is restored in the Holy Place which must continue till the death of sin and the rending away the Vail of flesh from before the most Holy Now therefore the Circumcising Knife of Gods Power constantly cutts off the Fleshly part which is offered up in the Fire of Justice and consumed before the Lord Now the Soul sees it must resist to blood that is to the Death of the Body of sin which is wholly to be separated from the Spirit with all its Members For this is that false Covering it hath wrapped it self in through the Fall instead of that naked Innocency in which there was no uncomliness and therefore no shame Except therefore this Fore-skin of the Flesh be cut off the Angelical Robe cannot be put on and as that falls off this is assumed increasing as that decays for they cannot both rise and fall together for while the outward Man decays the inward Man is renewed day by day Here it clearly appears we must forsake all we have otherwise we cannot be Christs Disciples All Objects of our Carnal Affections all complacency in Fleshly things all Propriety of Will which assuredly came through the Fall and the Souls Departing from the Universal Love the true ground of heavenly Community into the particular Objects of self-affections which as it hath been awakened by the Souls going out of Gods Will into its own so it must be Crucified by returning from its self into the pure eternal Will of God which we can never attain till we are dead to the affections of the sensitive part For carnal Love Joy Hope Fear Desire Displeasure are all the selfish Motions of the Natural Man the corrupt Members of the Body of Sin together with earthly Pride Covetousness Envy Jealousy Emulation Wrath Strife all which are the Leggs of the earthly Adam and therefore to be cast away and destroyed and in their Fall the Will comes to be crucified to all their Objects and so to all selfish Propriety Here we come to lose our own Lives to hate our selfish Motions to be slain to all fleshly Things the Will hath espoused instead of God in Christ Here we begin to be truly Poor renouncing all for Christ owning no Propriety in earthly Estates We see here that the Earth is the Lords and the Fulness thereof and that Covetousness hath been the cause of Propriety and of all those engrossings of Land and Money which most are involved in and that Christ came to destroy this Work of the Devil by his Doctrine and Pattern who had all things in common with his Disciples even as the Primitive Christians one with another which was a renewing of the Law of Love by which we were and still are obliged to love our Neighbours as our selves and to do Gods Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven where the holy Angels and glorified Saints inherit their eternal Substance in common For he that overcomes shall inherit all things Here likewise we die to and forsake earthly Relations as part of that we call Ours And though we are not to destroy natural Affection nor to neglect the performing1 forming of any due Obligation laid upon us by the Law of Nature as it accords with the Will and Justice of God yet we are to die to all such Propriety of Affection as flows from corrupt Nature and hinders the impartial Communication of our Love to every one according to the perfect Example of our Heavenly Father who takes in no fleshly Respects in the giving forth of his Love to his Creatures which is our Pattern to imitate for we are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect Here those that have Wives are as though they had none returning from Idolizing and desiring the Woman of the World to the Virgin Sophia who is the unspotted Mirrour of the eternal World the first and chief Spouse of Christ Rev. 21.2 And they that are unmarried follow the Example of Christ who lived and died in Virginity as he was born of a Virgin and this they do for the Kingdom of Heavens sake according to that precept Mat. 19.12 He that is able to receive it let him receive it where Christ speaks concerning the abstaining from Marriage and of those that have made themeselves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven Whence it is clear that the dying to and crucifying of that Root whence the enjoyment of that State comes is to such a real mean to the growth and encrease of Gods Kingdom in the Soul which is to be presented as a Chaste Virgin to Christ 2 Cor. 11.2 And Paul 1 Cor. 7.31 32 33 34 25. prefers the Virgins State far before the Married and therefore Verse 7. saith I would that all Men were as I am Which certainly he spake according to true Light found Judgment and great Experience in the Work and Progress of Regeneration But in a word in this State before described we come to see that we our selves are not our Own but the Lords and that we are to consecrate our Bodies Souls and Spirits to him and to resign up all we call ours to him whose is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever And truly our gradual incorporation into the Body of Christ with the Enjoyment of new Relations and Treasures which are Spiritual and Eternal make it the more easie to die to and forsake all earthly Things which being of a lower Nature shew their Rise by their Fall for being of the Earth they are earthly and return to Earth as utterly incapable t● enter with us into the Kingdom of Love As we then leave the Spirit of the World they leave us and so we arrive to a good degree of Conquest and Victory over that Beast which rules the whole World which gives the Soul occasion thus to express its self in praise Blest be that Power by which the Beast Is made to serve and we releast From that base servile Drudgery Which some mistake for Liberty Sad Liberty that chains poor Souls to Dust And soils immortal Things with mortal Rust CHAP. VIII THe Soul having arrived so far in the Circumcision of the Heart from the Body of Flesh and in the Renovation of the Spiritual Image cannot but have attained a good step in the Command over Imagination especially in the death of it to Complacency in any corrupt fleshly Object which now becomes too gross for the renewed mind to regard But yet we shall find the Tempter working