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	receive_v	truth_n	1,611	5	5.9464	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00954	The revvard of the faithfull. The labour of the faithfull. The grounds of our faith	Fletcher, Giles, 1588?-1623.	1623 (1623)	STC 11062; ESTC S117621	79,563	446

all were beholding to him for restoring him the tenth part of his owne To conclude long prayers and building the sepulchres of the prophets which of all other were their most colourable virtues were they not indeed crying sinnes in the sight of God when they were I say not onely vtterd arrogantly in euery corner of the street that they might bee seene of men and not closeted vp for GOD alone to see them but when vnder pretence of long prayers they deuour'd widowes houses and vnder colour of building the tombes of the Prophets which were dead they had no other intent but with the more safety and lesse suspition to slay the sonne of God who was then aliue among them the Prince of the Prophets Looke then as beautifull and fayre fruit to see too yet if it be rotten at the core when the outside is par'd off hath no such goodlynesse within as outwardly appear'd but very rottennesse at the heart or to vse a more proper similitude As a piece of smooth and rotten wood if it bee set in the darke and seene onely in the night makes a great blaze and showes to bee a very lightsome body but assoone as the day rises it forfeits the flame and the rottennes of it is plainely discouered so was it with these appearing truths which the Pharisees obtruded and thrust vpon the darke vnderstandings of the common people for most heauenly lights lamps full of glory they were all but vizards of truth rotten opinions lies with painted faces And as these were the false-lights that dazeled the eyes of the wiser sort of people so there were beside these certaine cōmon errors which went abroad as most receiued and graunted positions verities which all men beleeu'd as That they had good cause to reioyce who had euery mans good word for them and many friends in the world whom they might trust to That rich men were happy For they liued at hearts ease That they liued the most comfortable liues in the world that were alwayes merry hearted and were euer laughing To name no more That it was a most wretched estate not to haue sufficient meate and drinke but to liue alwayes as in a famine in hunger and thirst But our Sauiour as before hee extinguisht their false and pharisaical lights so in these hee opposed himselfe against their popular and common errors And therefore he sayes not as they Reioyce because ye haue many and great friends in the world and because you haue euery mans good word for you but the playne contrary Reioyce and bee exceeding glad what when you haue many friends that speake well of you and do you good no but when you haue many enemies that shall reuile you and persecute you and say all manner of euill against you falsely for my names sake verses the 10. 11. And blessed are who the rich in estate no but the poore in spirit ver the 3. And not they who were merry hearted alwaies laughing had the most comfortable liues but blessed are they that mourne verse the 4. For they shal be comforted In a word to land my self at home vpon the present words That not they which abounded with all things and could say to their soule as Diues did Luke the 12. Soule eate drinke aud bee merry for thou hast much goods layed vp for many yeares were blessed but blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnes For they shall bee satisfied For the truth is It was a most absurd improper soloecisme of speech when the riche foole so our Sauiour cals him and therefore I doe him no wrong bid his soule eate and drinke those goods that hee had layed vp for his body to eat drinke For the soule with such food could neuer haue beene satisfied but those soules onely shal be replenished and filled that hunger after the kingdome of Heauen and the righteousnesse thereof For as righteousnes here so the Kingdome of God hereafter as grace here so glory hereafter are the onely repaste to banquet a Soule with First therfore let vs see II. How Righteousnesse and Grace are the food of our Soules THat is properly called the food of any thing whereby it is inwardly preserued from consumption corruption and death And therfore as the Body hath something to preserue it for a time which is bodily food so must the Soule haue some spirituall repast to perpetuat and preserue it for euer For nothing beside a diuine nature can bee of it selfe aye during Let vs therfore because this paradox to a naturall man will seeme strange goe with him to his owne arte the arte of nature There we shall find these two Sanctions publisht as receiued trueths of all first ●isdem alimur ex quibus constamus Euery nature is nourished by that whereof it is first made and the second is Simile nutritur a simile Like is nourisht of like Now it is a speech of our Sauiour which it may bee euery man remembers but few men marke when after fourty dayes fast in the wildernesse he was tempted to satisfie his hunger by making bread of stones he answered That Man liu'd not by bread onely but by euery word that proceeded out of the mouth of God Which speech though a prophane Ignorant will perhaps derisonly scoffe at as thinking it impossible to liue by words yet such words as proceed out of the mouth of God haue more vitall sweetenesse and nourishable sap in them than all his corne and oyle and wine haue Was not the whole world made by the word of God Was not the soule of euery reasonable creature made by the same word and so imbreathed into the body of the first father of our humane nature and is now still infused into euery one of our bodies when they are perfectly instrumented and made fit for the soule to dwell ● This a naturall man cannot deny in reason because they of his owne ●ribe Socrates Plato Aristo●le and all wise men euer confest it not only to vse ●heir owne words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and as some of ●hem speakes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a foris ingredi ●aelitus aduenire But proue it by necessary demonstration I will vse ●ut one argument be●ore I proceed to euidence it because religion shall not be beholding to a naturall man for her ground worke which Iustin Martyr one of the first penmen of God after the time of the blessed Apostles who was called by all men for his depth of Learning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vses to eui●ce the opposers of this truth in his time All things sayes he arose first eyther out of the power of nature or fortune of God Out of a power of nature they could not For tell mee sayes the father whom could nature by her power first bring forth Could the fruits of the earth or the foules of heauen or the trees of the forrest or the beasts of the field or the Cittizen of the world man issue

cast vpon him for that is a most inconsequent speech and sauours too much of the idle Prouerbe Giue a man lucke and cast him into the Sea but if thou wouldest reasō rightly say Whom God will enrich hee will make him carefull to vse the meanes whereby hee may be enriched For although sometime the means may be vsed without atchieuing the end God it may be for the punishment of the wicked or the triall of his children making the meanes in-effectuall yet the end cannot bee attained without the appointed meanes it being a certaine Rule both in Nature and Religion Deus Natura non faciunt saltum God and Nature make no Leapes they leape not from the beginning to the end but by middle and so so passe to the end We may euidepce this truth by diuers Scriptures See it first in our heauenly inheritance Rom. 8. 29. Whom he did fore-know hee also did predestinate and whom hee did predestinate them also he called and whom hee called them he also iustified and whom he iustified them he also glorified And Rom. 10. the 14. How then shall they call vpon him saies the Apostle on whom they haue not beleeued and how shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard and how shall they heare without a Preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent So then before thou canst be purpled in glory by the bloud royall of our deere Lord thou must goe through all these meanes correquisit for thy saluation Indeed Gods loue is the beginning and thy glory is the last end the loue of God will bring thee to but there be many meanes betweene the beginning and the ende his loue and thy glory First Gods loue elects thee to be iustified and to worke thy iustification he cals thee and that thou maiest be called he infuses into thy heart faith in Christ and that thou mightst beleeue he causes thee to heare the word that thou mightst heare his Prophets must preach it to thee before they can preach they must be sent So that in briefe The Minister is sent to preach he preaches that thou maist heare thou hearest that thou mightst be called thou art called to beleeue in Christ thou beleeuest that thou maiest be iustified being iustified thou art sure of thy Crowne of Glorie and this glory the loue of God by all these meanes sets as it were vppon thy head Betweene therfore our glory which is the end Gods loue which is the beginning and cause of it many interiacent meanes you see are cast betweene And shall God himselfe that he may bestow vpon vs the exceeding riches of his glory goe through so many meanes with vs and shall wee thinke to grow rich hereby doing nothing without any meanes at all Nay certainely as Christ would haue the treasures of heauen which he purchased for vs cost himselfe so much labor being excruciated with so many dolorous agonies and such a bloudy sweat as to any other Creature in Heauen or Earth had beene impossible to haue waded thorough so he would haue vs purchase our temporal riches with our personall labour No man is so simple as to thinke he shall make a good voyage and haue his vessell returne well fraughted if he neuer set out at all any ship to Sea no man lookes for a haruest that sowes no seede none that keepes not a flocke or plants not a Vine to grow rich by his vintage or to encrease by his Lambe and Wooll What is the Reason Is it not because he knows the meanes that brings about the end and if one be awanting the other cannot without folly be expected Why then shold we not be as wise in all things as we are in some or why should our folly looke for Gods benefits without the meanes vsed when Gods wisdom hath appointed vs only the vse of the meanes to obtaine his benefits by If there-therefore thou neyther aske Gods blessing by prayer nor art laborious and diligent to make way for it by thy industry nor waitest vpon his prouidence and vsest thy owne to obtaine it nor dost by Faith receiue them as the goods of God nor canst retaine by sobriety and temperance what thou hast receyued neuer look that Gods blessing as long as thou sleepest away the seed-time of thy youth in sluggish and vngodly idlenesse should bring thee forth a haruest of his benefits in thine age but expect because thou dost not know that it is Hee that giueth thee Corne and Wine and Oyle and multiplies thy Siluer and Gold but with the grosse-hearted Israelites offerest sacrifice to thy Yearne or committest adultery with thy ground and so thinkest the fruit of her Wombe the cause of thy wealth or kissest thine own hand or applaudest thine owne wisedome as the Wise Stewards or rather sole Lords of all the goods that God will return and take away thy corne in the time thereof and thy wine in the season thereof and will recouer his Wooll and his Flaxe giuen to couer thy nakednesse as hee said hee would doe and did to the vngratefull Israelites Hos 2. 8. 9. So for thy future estate which I mention onely by way of digression know assuredly VII God neuer bestowes vpon any the rest of glory that takes no paines to make it sure to himselfe by the meanes of Grace NEuer let any vse that idle sophistry against his owne soule as to say I know what God hath appointed shall be done If he will saue me he will giue mee grace to vse the meanes if not all my labour is but in vaine For all be this Reason for the substance of it in it selfe be true yet in regard of him it is both idle preposterous It is idle because the very dissolute manner of such as thus reason prooues them altogether vnholy and prophane such as wold faine put God to all the labour of sauing them whether they would or no without any consequent labor of their own And if God will not take so much paines with them as in spight of their owne idle dispositions to work out all their saluation himselfe then it secretly accuses him as a cause of their perishing when indeed it is their idlenesse which will not vndergoe the labour of liuing well that makes them vnfit in-disposed to receiue grace and their owne wicked and ill life which is the cause of their eternal punishment death It becommeth not vs therefore to looke first to Gods secret will like the ouer-curious inhabitants of Bethshemesh whose irreuerent boldnesse God punished with the slaughter of 50070. men 1 Sam. 6. 19. and so to our punishment For both these are yet hidden from our eyes and then to Gods grace which is the means of our saluation and our own vitious and impenitent courses which are the meanes of our perishing For this is preposterous by the wicked figure of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 confoūds the sight of our vnderstanding but if wee would deale