Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	believe_v	faith_n	lord_n	1,391	5	3.9699	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10024	Sins overthrow: or, A godly and learned treatise of mortification Wherein is excellently handled; first, the generall doctrine of mortification: and then particularly, how to mortifie fornication. Vncleannes. Evill concupiscence. Inordinate affection. and, covetousnes. All being the substance of severall sermons upon Colos. III. V. Mortifie therefore your members, &c. Delivered by that late faithfull preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes-Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Preston, John, 1587-1628. Three godly and learned treatises. Selections. aut	1633 (1633)	STC 20275; ESTC S115103	166,961	286

world nor their affections to be drawne away and therefore the Apostle saith that he chastiseth every sonne whom he doth receive that is if a man or a woman doe belong unto God they shall be sure of sorrow and affliction and these are sent unto them to weane them from the things of this world to purge out of their hearts that sweetnesse that they are ready to conceive in these outward things by reason of that corruption that is in them Secondly if they be wicked men and doe not belong unto God yet there shall be no sweetnesse in them for if he be not regenerate outward things are not sanctified where theyare not sanctified unto a man or a woman no sweetnes can be expected from them And the reason is because they have not peace of conscience which proceeds from grace Now howsoever worldly men may seeme to the world to have true content and to be filled with joy yet the truth is it is a sick joy for their consciences are ever accusing of them and they are in a continual feare that they shall lose one another therefore the Lord will be sure to afflict them Psa. 55. 19. the Lord will heare and afflict these because they have no changes therfore they feare not God therfore dost thou see a wicked man prosper in the world and is not subject to such crosses losses as other men are it is a foule signe that that man doth not belong unto God but is one whom God hath appointed unto damnation For this is the nature of earthly mindednes it casts out of the heart the feare of God in an unregenerate man now where Gods feare is not Gods grace wil not help that man But this is not usual for the Lord most commonly meets with them here either by afflicting of judgements upon them or else with sudden death but if hee doe not meet with them here it is because their judgements may be the greater that when they have heapt up the measure of their sinne then God wil heap up the measure of their punishment and the measure of his wrath to presse them downe unto hell Now what if God deferre the execution of Judgement it is not because there is any slacknesse in God as if he did not regard them but the Apostle saith that t is his Patience 1 Pet. 3. 20. hee takes notice of it hee puts it upon record hee remembers it well enough but he is a patient God that is he waits for their conversion Now patience is an attribute of God and every attribute of God is God himselfe for there is nothing that is in God but it is God Patience I say is one of the Attributes by which God hath made himselfe knowne unto us now when men abuse this Attribute of God hardning themselves from his feare hee will certainly meet with them what and if God doe deferre long it is not because hee shall escape unpunished for saith God When I begin I will make an end that is I will strike but once they shall have no more time for repentance they shall not abuse my patience any more This is a fearefull Judgement of God when God doth proceed by prosperitie to destroy them and it was the judgement the Lord threatned against the two sonnes of Ely Hophni and Phineas 1 Sam. 3. 22. Thus you see there is no sweetnesse in outward things for a man to set his heart upon them The third Motive to move all men to leave their earthly mindednesse is because if a man or woman be earthly minded they cannot be saved and who is there amongst us that would not willingly be saved All men doe desire salvation and yet there are but few that in truth doe desire it because their practice of life is not answerable to such a desire for the Apostle saith He that hath this hope purgeth himselfe that is hee will take spirituall Physicke the grace of the Spirit which will throughly purge out this earthly mindednesse or at leastwise keepe it under that it shall not bee able to beare dominion in his heart Now I say there is a necessitie laid upon every man to be heavenly minded for so our Saviour saith Mat. 6. 24. No man can serve two masters he cannot serve God and Mammon that is hee cannot serve God with one part of his soule and the world with another you cannot be earthly minded and heavenly minded God will have all the soule or none God will admit of no Co-partnership hee will not be a sharer with the world of that which is his right Againe two contraries in nature cannot stand together now there is nothing so contrary as God and the world and therefore the Apostle saith If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him that is if he set the world in the first place he cannot keepe the love of God God and his grace will depart from that man It is a thing contrary to nature to serve two masters men cannot beare it for there can be but part serving and surely it is not so contrary to a man as it is contrary unto God therefore it is the folly of men that thinke they may retaine their earthly mindednesse and yet serve God too but it is unpossible to joyne these two in any action and yet be acceptable to God Faith is that which is the ornament of every action Whatsoever is not of Faith is sinne now every earthly minded man is a faithlesse man it keepes Faith out of the soule whether it bee love of riches or honour or pleasure though it bee but a depending on the approbation of such or such a man it will keepe Faith out of the soule so saith our Saviour Ioh. 5. 44. How can ye beleeve seeing ye seeke honour one of another and not the honour that commeth of God The cause that they wanted Faith was because they preferred the approbation of m●n and sought that before the gifts and graces of God for it is unpossible you should beleeve so long as you retaine any affection of vaine-glory Luk. 9. 23. our Saviour gives two markes of a true Christian the one is to deny himselfe and the other is to take up the Crosse therefore it is not onely required that a man deny himselfe the pleasures and profits of the world and all inordinate affections but he must also take up the crosse he must be willing to suffer for Christ reproach disdaine and shame for there is as great a necessity laid upon him to suffer as to deny himselfe and thinke thinke not your selves heavenly mind●d except you finde in you a heart willing to suffer for Christ. The fourth motive to move all men to forsake earthly mindednesse is because it is the better part and every man would have the best part but it is a hard matter to perswade men that that is the best part for

death of his friend or the like accident for a while he grieves exceedingly but within a moneth or short time after his grief is past and then he sees that the death of his friend is no such thing as he took it for and thought it to be had he then seene that which now he doth he would not have grieved so much The second way to rectifie misapprehension is by faith for by faith we are to beleeve the vanity of these earthly things we are to beleeve the power of God who is able to blow upon them and to cause them to wither so that faith is a great cause to rectifie the apprehension as well as reason Paul counted the best things of the world but drosse and dung and Moses cared not for the pleasures of Egypt it was their faith that caused them to doe so they did beleeve the true priviledge they had in Christ this doth raise up the heart and cause us more and more to see the things that are earthly how slippery and flitting they are The third way to rectifie mis-apprehension is experience wee are not so much as to touch us of that thing we have found to be true by experience let a souldier be told of dangerous effects in the warres perswade him what you will and tell him how terrible it is he will not beleeve till by experience he hath felt the smart of it so when a man is entred upon the doing of any difficult thing which he hath beene accustomed to doe the experience hee hath of often being in such dangers and having felt no harme that doth rectifie his affections Experience is a speciall meanes to tame them let a beast be brought to a mans hand that is fearefull at the first but by experience and daily using of it so you tame the beast so our affections are unruly things like untamed beasts but when experience hath discovered them it is a good meanes to rectifie them therefore it is profitable for us to call to minde things that are past If we would but call to minde how such a thing wee joyed in and yet it staid not with us our joy would not be so inordinate in other things If wee would remember how such a crosse we survived our griefe would not be so inordinate in future events The fourth way to rectifie mis apprehension is by the example of others that is to see how others have beene affected with the inordinate affections that we have beene in our selves and examples do r●nne more into the senses than rules doe therefore thinke of examples to stirre up affections eyther to crosse them or subdue them Wee see by the reading of histories as of the valiant acts of some of the worthies as of Iulius Caesar and others some by reading of the great exployts that they themselves had done have beene stirred up as much as in them lyed to doe the like so that examples of others are very effectuall in this kinde If a man would consider Paul how hee carried himselfe in the things of this life and how David Abraham and Moses were affected to these outward things what they had and what they might have had their examples and such as we have heard of to be holy and righteous men or such as we now know to be such is a great helpe to rectifie the affections and to set the Judgement straight The second cause of inordinate affection is weaknesse and impotency which doth sticke in a man ever since the fall of Adam makes him subject to passion and therefore yee see the weaker sexe as they are weaker in understanding so they are stronger in passion let a man be weake he is so much the more strong in passions and as his strēgth is more so hath he more strength to resist them The way to remedy this is to gather strength the more strength we have the more able we are to resist temptations and as a man is weake so hee is the more subject unto them as when hee is young but strength over-masters them Affections are in a man as humors are in a body when the body is in health it keepes in these humors that it doth not feele them but when a man is sicke then these humours stirre up and trouble a man So when the soule is in health these ill humors of the soule inordinate affections are kept in by maine strength but let the soule grow weake and the passions get strength Now the meanes to get strength against passions is to get a greater measure of the Spirit the more spirit the more strength Ephes. 3. 16. Pray that you may be strengthened by the Spirit of the inward man the more flesh we have in us the more weaknesse wee have the spirit that is in us doth lust after envy pride and the world Now how shall wee helpe it but by the Spirit that is without us that is by the Spirit of God let a man be in such a temper that the Spirit of God may rule and possesse his heart while he is in this temper his ordinate affections will not stirre but when the Spirit is away then there is a hundred waies to cause them to be unruly that which seasons a man is prudence wisedome and grace the more a man hath of these the more able he is to subdue them The third cause of inordinate affections is the lightnesse of the minde when it hath not a right object to pitch it selfe upon which when that wants the affection being left to uncertainties they must needs fall upon wrong objects when a man in his course wanteth an object for his aime the waies of his error are a thousad so when a man doth misse the right object in affection they have a thousand waies to draw to inordinatenesse men run up and downe with their affections upon uncertainty and they never cast how to shun them afterward till the end of their daies be runne out Now to remedy this our way is to finde out the right obiect whereon the affections should be pitched and this object is God that is the affections must all looke towards God and have them fixt upon him you are never able to subdue your affections and to keepe them under till you pitch them upon God whilest our affections are loose they are unsteddy and unconstant every man till his heart be set upon God his affections are wandring up and downe but when a man hath God to set his affections on and they are once setled in him then he seekes another kind of excellency and frames his life after another fashion he sets his affections upon other excellencies As when a man hath a palace for to build if his minde be to have it done with excellent worke-manship then he will take none but principall stones hewne and squared fit for his purpose to build withall but if a man be to

thinke they doe nothing in the getting of them but what they deserve and that they are worthy their labour and paynes To this I answer Let men looke unto this that they be not deceived in them and compare them with the Scriptures for if you judge of things as the Scripture doth it will appeare that the reason is false but if you doe not although they bee vanity yet they will deceive you whatsoever you esteeme of them for the truth is that there is nothing in them but vexation of spirit you shall finde great inticements and much evill in them besides they will fill your hands full of much evill and bloud that is they will give thee no true Joy for what joy hath the murtherer of his murther Now the reason wherefore they cannot give true Joy is because they are under the faculty of joy As the eye is weary quickly with looking on a small print but let the print bee sutable unto it then it will delight in it so it is with the facultie of joy if there were no wearinesse brought to it by them then men would not be weary in the acquiring of them but wee see there is such an awkwardnesse in the mindes of men for the getting of them that it weares the minde but satisfies it not Ier. 9. 23. saith the Prophet Let not the wise man glorie in his wisdome nor the strong man in his strength nor the rich man in his riches that is hee hath no cause to glory in any outward thing because it is the Lord that sheweth judgement and can dissolve any creature to nothing but if he will glory let him glory that hee knowes God for the true knowledge of God bringeth true Comfort and Joy But it is not so with the creatures for there is no creature can bring good or doe good or evill without God I say no creature can bring comfort unto a creature without God for God if hee is the sustainer of all creatures so likewise he is the Author of all But if wee come to spirituall comfort God doth not communicate it unto any creature no creature hath part of it The creature nourisheth us not simply as it is a creature but it becomes nourishable by reason of that which is put unto it as the fire brings light and heat heat is the matter of the fire light is but a thing or quality that depends upon it so the matter of every comfort is God and of all things in the world though the instruments that doe convey this comfort bee a creature therefore you may have the huske when you want the kernell that is you may have these outward things and yet want the sweetnesse of them And this is when God turnes away his face from a man in the creatures then the comfort in the creature is gone and therefore David prayed Turne not thy face away from thy servant that is take not away my comfort All mens comforts stand in Gods face let a man bee never so rich let him have wife and children lands and possessions give him what outward things you will and what joy and comfort is in them if Gods face be turned away Ahab is rich enough and Haman hath a wife and children and yet what comfort and joy had they in them It is not the creature that can yeeld true comfort but it is the All-sufficiencie that is in God and from him derived unto them As for example Take a man that is in despaire tel him of the world make large promises unto him in this kinde none of all these will comfort him they are so farre from ministring comfort that they adde unto his sorrow especially if his gri●fe be for a matter of sinne but tell him of God and his sufficiencie of Christ and of Justification and Remission of sinnes then hee will beginne to have some joy in God And as the presence of God is now most comfortable so in hell the knowledge of God and his presence shall bee their greatest torments Therefore let my advice be unto you that which the Prophet DAvid gives in the like case Psalm 62. 23. Trust not in oppression and if riches increase set not your hearts upon them that is set them not so upon them as to place your happinesse in them The Use then may serve for the just reproofe of all earthly minded men and for exhortation unto all to leave their earthly mindednesse Let us all therefore labour to deprive our selves of all inordinate desire of them especially it concernes those that abound in them to keepe a strong watch about their hearts lest this viper lay hold upon them for as it is a hard thing to keepe a cup that is full without spilling so it will be a hard worke for those that have their Closets full of earthly things not to have their hearts taken up with them and therefore our Saviour saith It is a hard thing for a rich man to enter into the kingdome of God What is the reason of this because it is hard to have abundance of outward things and not to put trust in them and what is said of riches may bee said of any other outward thing whatsoever whether it be pleasure or honour for these all worke the heart of a waxie disposition to evill so as it will take any impression it will be ready to receive into the soule any sinne or imbrace any object and carry the impression of it unto action Now what should move us to morifie these earthly members The first motive is because if wee doe not moritifie them the Divell will ensnare us by these earthly members though we seeme not to be within his power As a dogge that hath broken away from his keeper yet going with his chaine he will the more easily bee taken so these earthly members are as a chaine whereby the devill layes hold on us therefore if you would not be taken by Satan then mortifie these earthly members The second Motive to move us to mortifie these earthly members is because one earthly member or the reigning of one sinne in us tyes us fast from God and bi●des us fast to the devill now what matters it whether a man bee tyed with one chaine or twenty chaines if he be tyed fast so what matters it whether he be yed with one sinne or many sinnes if one keeps him from God For as one grace truly wrought by the Spirit makes a man righteous so one raging sinne makes a man unrighteous Men thinke that they may retaine some sinne and yet be righteous but I say if thy heart be set upon any earthly thing if it be but an immoderate care for these earthly things or if it bee but feare of such or such a man which may seeme to be but a small thing that tyes thee from God I say if you looke unto such a man if a matter of

Creature or from Riches and to thinke that they can make us live more comfortablie Hence then consider the sinnefulnesse of it and put it into the Catalogue of your other Sinnes that formerly you have had such thoughts Every one is guiltie of this Sinne more or lesse and this is a Sin not small but of an high nature it is Idolatrie In the times of ignorance Sathan drew many men to grosse Idolatry to worship stocks and stones but now hee drawes them to another Idolatrie lesse perceptible and yet as dangerous in Gods sight as the other who is a Spirit and can discerne and prie into it Let us therefore examine our hearts and consider how much we haue trusted the Creatures Let us condemne our selves and rectifie our judgements to judge of things as they are Let us not think our selves happy for them Let us not thinke our selves blessed in them but onely in Christ because it is not in their power to make us happie If wee have so joyed in these or loved them so as to love God lesse it is an adulterous love and ioy Wee have no better rule to judge of adulterous love then this when as our love to the Creature doth lessen our love to God Now least wee bee deceived in our love to the Creature I will give you these Signes to know whether your love be right to it or no. First if your affection to the Creature cause you to withdraw your hearts from God Ier. 17. 5. Cursed bee the man which maketh flesh his arme and whose heart departeth from the Lord. It is a signe wee make flesh our arme when wee withdraw our hearts from God wee make the Creatures our ayme when they withdraw us from God 1. Tim. 5. 5. She that is a widdow indeed trusteth in God and continueth in supplications night and day this is a Signe that they trust in God because they pray unto him Consider what your conversation is whether it be in heaven or no Phil. 3. 20. Our conversation is in Heaven The neglecting and not minding earthly things in the former verse sheweth him not to bee of an earthly conversation the more our hearts are drawne from God the more are they set and fixed on earthly things Secondly consider what earthly choice you make when as these things come in competition with God and Spirituall things what billes of exchange doe you make doe you make you friends of the unrighteous Mammon not caring for the things of this World when they come in competition with a good conscience or doe you forsake God and sticke to them Thirdly consider what your obedience is to God whether his feare bee alwayes before your eyes or whether Riches set you on worke or no what mans obedience is such is his trust if ye obey God then ye trust in him and if yee obey Riches then ye trust in them and not in God Fourthly consider what your affections are nothing troubles an holy man but Sin the which makes him seeke helpe at Gods hands and not in these On the contrary nothing troubles a worldlie man but losses and crosses Sinne troubles him not at all by this judge of your love to Riches whether it bee right or no. Thus much for the first generall Doctrine We come now to the second which is this That Covetousnesse is to be Mortified That Covetousnesse is unlawfull all know it the things therefore that will be usefull in the handling of this point will be to shew you what Covetousnesse is and why it is to be Mortified Now to shew you what it is Covetousnesse may bee defined to be a sinnefull desire of getting or keeping money or wealth inordinately First it is a sinnefull desire because it is a lust as lusting after pleasure is called Voluptuousnesse It is also inordinate the principle being amisse and likewise the object The principle is amisse when we over-value riches set a greater beauty on them then they have and seeing them with a wrong eye wee lust after them by reason that wee over-value them and thus to over-value them is to lust after them and to thinke that they can make us happie is Idolatry The object of it is as bad as the principle when as th' end is either to raise us to a higher condition or to fare deliciously every day or else to spend them on some Lust as well as to keepe them Secondly it is of keeping or getting mony getting it inordinately seeking it by wrong meanes or of keeping it First in not bestowing of it on our selves as wee ought there is Tenacitie of this sort amongst men Eecle 5. 15 There is a sore evill under the Sunne namely Riches kept by the owners thereof to their hurt when as it is comely for a man to eate and drinke and to enjoy the good of all his labours that hee hath taken under the Sunne all the dayes of his life which God giveth him for this is his portion and thus to rejoyce in his labour is the gift of God Eccl. 5. 18. 19. Secondly thou in not giving to others art too strait handed having goods and seeing others to want The last and chiefe thing in the definition is inordinately that is which is besides the rule A thing is sayd to bee inordinate when as it is besides the square that a man doth and in doing thus wee doe amisse Now this affection is sayd to bee inordinate in these foure respects First when wee seeke it by measure more then wee should Secondly when we seeke it by meanes that wee should not Thirdly when we seeke it for wrong ends Fourthly when we seeke it in a wrong manner For the first we offend in the measure when as we seeke for more then God gives us that which God gives everie man that is his portion here Eccle 5. 18. and he that desireth and withholdeth more then his portiō is he that offendeth in the measure Pro. 11. 24. But how shall I know Gods will and what my portion is I answere by the event See in what estate and condition God hath set you See what estate he hath giuen you that is your portion and with it you must be content God hath a Soveraigntie over us we are but his subjects and must bee contented with what he gives us you are contented with that your fathers or your Prince gives you therefore you must receive that which God bestowes on you with all humilitie and thankefulnesse If we bee soundly humbled wee will confesse our selves worthy to bee destroyed Eze. 36. 32. we will confesse with Iacob Gen. 32. 10. That we are unworthy of the least of Gods mercies that the least portion is more then we deserve The Prodigall being humbled was content with the least place in his fathers house to be as one of his household servants and so wee ought to bee content with that portion which God hath