Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	body_n	call_v	great_a	1,387	5	2.5032	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64966	Odos gath operbochēns the more excellent way to edifie the Church of Christ, or, A discourse concerning love : the design of which is to revive that grace (now under such decays) among Protestants of all perswasions / by Nathanael Vincent ...	Vincent, Nathanael, 1639?-1697.	1684 (1684)	Wing V415; ESTC R1364	76,586	160

there no remedy Though the case be deplorable 't is not desperate Were my Text but minded in it might be found a sure Recipe Christ is the Churches Head and Healer and were but Love revived it would quickly bring his Body to a better and more healthy temper Light may do much but Love will do more Love covers a multitude of sins Love cures a multitude of Maladies The Church encreases and edifies it self in Love Though the Apostle was a Prisoner yet we find his Heart enlarged towards the Ephesians Having before discoursed concerning the Mysteries of Faith in this Chapter he presses Vnity and Love with the greatest vehemency and in order hereunto he exhorts to all lowliness and meekness He knew that pride is the cause of contention and that humility and love are the way both to the Souls and to the Churches Rest He uses great strength and cogency of Argument that he may prevail The Saints are Members of one Body They have been regenerated and are acted by one Spirit who hath effectually called them to a lively hope of one and the same incorruptible Inheritance And in that Inheritance there is not there cannot be the least discord They serve one Lord who is best served when his Servants best agree together They are instructed in one Gospel justified by one Faith baptized in one Name Finally that God is one who is a most compassionate and indulgent Father to them all And from so many Premises how strongly and undeniably may we conclude that all Saints should be of one Heart and of one Soul The Apostle in thus preaching Love and Peace shewed he had a very great regard to the glory of Christ the Head who is ascended far above all Heavens that he might fill all things and that he had a great concernedness for his Body the Churches edification For according to my Text it increases and edifies it self in Love In the Words there are four Propositions worthy of our observation First The Church of Christ is compared to a Body Secondly This Body of Christ is imperfect in this world and therefore continually should be increasing Thirdly The Body of Christ should diligently endeavour the edifying of it self Fourthly The more Love abounds among the Members of the Church the more the whole Body will be edified Proposit 1. I begin with the first Proposition The Church of Christ is compared to a Body The Scripture often uses this Metaphor of a Body now a Metaphor is a similitude in a word and indeed there is a great resemblance between an Humane Body and the Church of Christ as by and by will be made evident Believers are sometimes called the Brethren of Christ Joh. 20. 17. which intimates a very near relation Sometimes they are called his Spouse whom he has betrothed to himself for ever Hos 2. 19 20. and that 's a relation much nearer and signifies a more intimate and dear affection and familiarity Sometimes they are called Branches Joh. 15. 1 2 3 4. and this expresses a nearer Union still and that both the life and fruitfulness of Christians depends upon their being and abiding in Christ the true Vine But because Branches though they grow are without sense and feeling so that neither themselves nor the Vine feel any pain when they are cut or broken therefore Believers are stiled Members the Church a Body and Christ is the Head who is very much concerned both in it and for it Eph. 5. 2 3. Christ is the Head of the Church and he is the Saviour of the Body So Eph. 3. 6. That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel Again Col. 1. 18. And he is the head of the body the Church who is the beginning and first-born from the dead that in all things he might have the preeminence Zanchius upon this Text takes notice of two things 1. That by the Body we are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phorius in scholiis to understand Verum Christi Corpus Mysticum the true Church the true mystical body of Christ This Church is made up of them that are really sanctified of this Hypocrites are not members for tho' such are visibly Saints yet in truth they are under the dominion of sin and shall receive for their hypocrisie greater damnation Tho' hypocrites profess themselves Christs members yet really they are not united to him Christ lives not rules not acts not in them as he does in sincere Christians Let them seem to be his followers let them pretend never so highly to be his friends yet really they are strangers whom Christ will profess at the great day he never knew Luk. 13. 26 27. Then shall ye begin to say We have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets But he shall say I tell you I know you not ●hence you are depart from me all ye workers of iniquity 2. By the Church we are to understand the Church Militant that part of the body of Christ which is militant on earth not which is triumphant in Heaven The Church above needs not exhortations to grow and increase in Knowledge and Grace it needs not the means of edification Sermons of love are not to be preached there Glorified Saints have not the least sinful defect they see God face to face and Christ as he is and their love to their Father and Redeemer is answerable to the sight they have and as much as they are capable of And being refined from all remainders of sin they are become such lovely Creatures that they cannot but love one another with a most pure and perfect love 'T is the Church of Christ on earth the Apostle speaks of this is the Body that is to be edified and alas in how many respects how certainly in all respects does it stand in need of edification In the handling of this Proposition I shall first of all shew the great resemblance that i● between the Church of Christ and a Body Secondly What kind of body the Church of Christ is Lastly Make Application In the first place I am to shew the great resemblance between the Church of Christ and a Body 1. The life of the Body depends upon its conjunction with the Head Christ is the Churches life and the Nos Christo adglutinamur non sicut populus Principi sed sicut membra bumani corporis suo Capiti Church could no more live without Christ than a body could remain alive after the head were severed from it Our Lord calls himself the Way the Truth and the Life also Joh. 14. 6. By his blood he frees his Church from the sentence of death and condemnation which sin had brought her under and makes her spiritually alive by his quickning Spirit So that the Church breaths after God walks with him labours in his work and service all which are evidences of life spiritual We read 1 Joh. 5.

not in us by nature but a grace from above really of divine original 6. Love is not easily provoked Before it was said it suffers long but here something further is intimated charitatem etiam in gravissimis causis non facile iram effundere that though the cause and occasion be very great yet love is not ready to be incensed I grant that notwithstanding love a Christian may be angry at Sin but love makes him flye from causeless sinful anger The Scripture prohibitions are very strict and severe Eccles 7. 9. Be not hasty in thy Spirit to be angry for anger resteth in the bosom of fools Psal 37. 8. Cease from anger and forsake wrath fret not thy self in any wise to do evil Anger and wrath what harm has it done in the Christian World what rents what divisions has it made bitter fruit has grown from this root of bitterness The wrath of man worketh not the Righteousness of God nor his Churches good and therefore Love which moderates anger and mortifies what is sinful and hurtful in it must needs do the Church a kindness Alas poor England and compassionable Church in it how many parties are there and how high their exasperations but their fury one against another is a perfect frenzy which has a certain and speedy tendency unto an universal destruction Want of love is one of the clearest demonstrations that there is want of Wisdom 7. Love thinketh no evil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 't is not apt to impute evil to another but to aconstrue the words and actions of others in the best sence which they can bear 'T is very far from imagining and contriving evil and mischief against another To ruine men in their Estates to blast their Names to wound their Consciences to rid the World of them these are none of Loves contrivances And as Love carries on no evil designs so it is not suspicious that others do These suspicions are very bad for if the mind be full of them it will be apt to meditate revenge upon barely fancyed and supposed injuries though the Christian Religion forbids revenging reel ones Want of love makes us imagine that others have contrivances against us to undermine our interest and repute and to do us some great harm when indeed the just contrary may be true and when we think so ill of them our carriage towards them may be as ill as our thoughts But love is too full of candour to give way to groundless jealousies And if this candour did but more prevail how would Edification be promoted Suspicions keep the several parties that are among us at a greater distance Difference in opinions makes the distance suspicions widen it Several Dissenters are apt to suspect Episcop●● Men inclined to Popery Divers Episcopal Men are apt to think that if ever Popery come in 't wil be brought in upon the back of the Puritans Different parties are all full of jealousies as if they were all false unto and designed to ruine utterly one another and only to set up every one themselves Now these suspicions unless there be most apparent ground for them should be abandon'd and Love will not cherish them for they weaken the Protestant Religion and divide the Church against it self 8. Love rejoyceth not in Iniquity but rejoyceth in the Truth Though our Neighbour is to be loved yet we are not to love his iniquity but endeavour by Prayer to God by Reproofs and Intreaties and other wayes to reclaim him from his evil and destructive way Lev. 19. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart but shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer sin to ●ye upon him And though our Neighbour has shewed himself an Enemy to us and after fall into some scandalous iniquity whereby he is endammaged and disgraced love will hinder us from being secretly glad of it nay 't will make us really to pity him and to mourn for him What Solomon sayes is much to our present purpose Prov. 24. 17. Rejoice not when thine Enemy falleth neither let thy heart be glad when he stumbleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to rejoice in the sins of others how hellish is it this is so far from edifying that it makes a man exactly to resemble the evil one who is the Churches great Destroyer This very bad temper how does it prevail at this day among many persons of different perswasions When they hear of the scandalous falls of others who are not of their Way they are pufft up as the Corinthians were and but too much pleased 1 Cor. 5. 2. They hope that the repute of their party will be advanced by the exclamation that is made against those of another Party And hereby they shew that they value their own Reputation above the Salvation of a Soul the Honour of God himself and the general Credit of Christianity But where Persons are thus glad at the scandalous sins of others there is certainly a most scandalous want of Charity which shews it self in proclaiming on the house-tops what love should make them to cover Love rejoiceth not in iniquity but it rejoyceth in the truth and theref●●e is truly for Edification Truth may be put by an Hebraism for true goodness for sincere Righteousness as the Antithesis in the words manifests or truth may respect the reality of love it self Love rejoiceth in the truth because 't is an enemy to shews and dissimulation I might also adde another gloss We must not love any man or any party so as to reject Truth but that must be own'd with gladness on which side or where soever found The Philosopher did say Amicus Socrates amicus Plato sed magis amica Veritas Socrates is my Friend and so is Plato but Truth is more my Friend than either 9. Love is for the Churches Edification for it hopes and believes all things It believes the best of others untill that which is bad is so visible and apparent that if it does not believe it must be blind Though one that is truly charitable is unwilling to be imposed upon yet of the two he rather chuses to be deceived through his candour and facility than to wrong his Brother by a sinister suspicion And where love for the present cannot believe yet t will hope If it sees others to be never so bad yet it hopes they may come to a better mind and how earnestly does it pray for their amendment The Greek Tragedian Euripides tells us He is the best man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who hopes alwaies The Roman Dictator Fabius Maximus did a great kindness to the Commonwealth almost ruin'd by Hannibal quia nihil desperavit he did not quite despair in Romes extremity Love to the Church will hinder us from giving over all as lost and hope being kept alive that the Church in time may become more pure and more united will put vigour into our endeavours to promote the Churches Union and Holiness 10. Love Edifies for it