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	know_v	nature_n	1,522	5	5.1798	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52343	Of adoration in spirit and truth written in IV. bookes by Iohn Eusebius Nieremberg native of Madrid. S.I. And translated into English by R. S S.I. In which is disclosed the pith & marrow of a spiritual life, of Christs imitation & mystical theology; extracted out of the HH. FF. & greatest masters of spirit Diadochus, Dorotheus, Clymachus, Rusbrochius Suso, Thaulerus, a Kempis, Gerson: & not a little both pious & effectual is superadded.; De adoratione in spiritu et veritate. English.	Nieremberg, Juan Eusebio, 1595-1658.; Strange, Richard, 1611-1682.	1673 (1673)	Wing N1150A; ESTC R224195	255,001	517

which is perfect as also of Gods simplicity wherfore the Trinity of Persons is an authentical testimony of the divine Vnity What complacence doth a soul take in knowing this not as I have rudely explicated it or as it can be explicated for this is only felt by an inexplicable manner for as there are no natural species which can bring us to this knowledg so neyther are there words significantly expressive of what is manifested to some pious soules concerning the word eternal Therfore the soul of a creature is so over joyd when the mutual proportion and harmony of the increated Trinity and Vnity and the necessity of both to the accomplishment of the divine perfection is communicated to it that it is all in jubily and exultation transported besides it self and quite spent through amorous desires and the languishments of true charity thirsting earnestly to discover in the other life this stupendious goodnes of the Trinity Why longst thou o my soul to see any thing else besides this great spectacle of the world for whose sight alone the Seraphins and all the Hierarchies of Angels and Saints were created and introduced into heaven as so many spectatours Where is thy curiosity where thy desire of knowledg if thou covet not to be dissolved and contemplate that mystery and to dive into this hidden secret but thy longing must remit thee to the other life and not put thee upon inquiry in this how he is three and one Thou must not search the cause why he is so since thou art not able to give the cause of what he is Thou seekst in vain a cause in him who hath no cause God were not to be stiled great if he were not greater then our capacity Thou must not ●nquire after what manner he can be so who never could be before he was so Philosophers could never sufficiently penetrate into the nature of divers wormes and no body knowes himself throughly how then canst thou hope to make a ful discovery of the divine nature thy Author wherfore thou must captivate thy reason to the simplicity of faith in this supernatural mystery for that perspicuity which the divine indulgence daignes sometimes to insinuate belongs not to all but only to whom God calls out of the number of those who dwel with his Son in the mount Calvary and in a totall ejurement of themselves who denying self wil have taken up their cross followed IESVS to that mount and wil have them follow him thence to the mount Olivet glory those he priviled geth somtimes in such sort as to make them partakers of his majesty Where I am saith IESVS there also shal my servant be He that shal partake with Christ in suffering shal also partake of this extraordinary light and joy So when our Holy Patriarch Saint Ignatius had wasted exhausted himself with corporal pennances and austerities it was more copiously and clearly imparted to him then one is able to express So that mirrour of fervour F. Didacus Martinus did almost allwayes behold himself environed with a glorious light of the Trinity or some one of the three Persons Nevertheles it appertains to all to covet with most ardent desires the sight of this ancient and eternal novelty in the life to come It was reveald to that holy servant of God F. Iohn Fernandius that a certain religious man of our society was long detaind in purgatory because he had omitted to wish with ardency the sight of the most B. Trinity O my soul why art not thou more enamoured upon the sight of this theatre of the blessed to whose spectacle all minds are summond allrational creatures are invited What a joy wil it be to behold that which now by reason of the narrownes of our thoughts or ignorance through an excess of jubily and love we are not able to comprize how exultingly shall we rejoice while we contemplate these first fruits of the divine perfection that fore-tast and new expression of the divine goodnes where it communicates it self to the Son and that primitive bounty of God what a pledg and assurance wil a soul receive of the divine benignity towards it self when it beholds this profusenes of benevolence if God without deliberation gave all that he is wil he not by the advise and vote of his goodnes grant that we may at least see what he is if he permit us not to be what he is he wil permit us to admire what he is if not to possess him at least to enjoy him if not to live by the same life at least by such another and that eternal of which a soul hath a pawn when it beholds a generation excluding death How can we chuse but love God with all our mind and strength consid●ring that purple morning of ardent charity which he displaid where the first and Virgin dew of his guifts is the furnace it self of charity love it self in the same substance so that the love is as great as God in the same guift of love he gives his own infinite essence for love it self is the first guift and all that infinite being which is in God What assurances of benevolence wil a soul take hence beholding such a happy and ominous essay of Gods future bounty and such a promising beginning of his goodnes insomuch that it takes huge complacence in being loved by that unparalleld love and doth what it can to love him reciprocally by imitating so great goodnes by giving it self to God by leaving it self nothing since the Father leaves himself no parcel of his substance which he communicates not to the Son and both of them to the H. Ghost In the excess ●● this consideration and the consideration of this excess by means of a mysterious darknes there passeth an ineffable communication and intimate union betwixt God and a soul The soul passeth into God by grace love which though she remain in herself by nature yet not by affection and God passeth into the soul by indulgence and charity though he still remain in his majesty O immense goodnes of the Father immense wisdome of the Son immense sweetnes of the H. Ghost grant that I may reverence thee in thy Vnity adore thee in thy Trinity admire thee in thy goodnes imitate thee in thy love grant that I may humble my self to thy ●uperexcellency that I may enjoy thy Vision ●dhering to thee through all eternity becoming one spirit with thee and in this interstice ●n adorer of thy majesty In spirit and truth ●et me desire truth spirit to contemplate face to face the more then most true the more then most spiritual and superessential excellency of thy Trinity and Vnity To the honour of the ever B. Trinity the word Incarnate and his V. Mother S. Ioseph and all Saints FINIS A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS Contained in the I. Book 1. THe deceitfullnes of a secular life fol. 1. 2. Of the Truth of the Spirit fol. 8. 3. Of Purity

integrity of his nature Man was created in a degree much superiour to other creatures Mary was exalted above the Cherubins glorifid more then all these glorious intelligences surmounting them as far as Adam did the common creatures She alone seems to be twice as great with God and much deeper in his favour then the whole world besides towards which though the Son of God shewd a wonderful dignation in descending from heaven for its redemption yet it could not receive the H. Ghost unles heaven first receivd him again but the Virgin Mother at the self same time entertaind both him and the H. Ghost in his superventions Therfore the prayers of Mary are effectual with Christ for two respects both for observance due to a Mother and for the consummatenes of her merits and sanctity for she is heard both for respect and reverence oweing to him and worth and dignity due to her self for the reverence of her maternity for the worth of her vertue and sanctity and we also are heard for her sake whose intercession is not only proficuous but also necessary Therfore let us fly to Mary in all our distresses as the child doth to his Mother who is beaten by a stranger she knowes how to support and uphold the tottering world with her prayers nor think that thou laiest a heavy burden upon her The fourth cause may be an assinity and kind of alliance contracted with the most B. Virgin not only spiritualy and after a mystical manner but even real and according to the body and nature For no body is nigher in kindred to another then the sacred Virgin is to thee He that receives Christs body in the Eucharist becomes by a real kind of union one flesh with him insomuch that there is no other union among men straiter then this not even betwixt man and wife wherfore thou must also esteem thy self akin to the Mother of Christ and perswade thy self that thou sharest in the same flesh with her There interceeds also a greater physical and real conjunction betwixt God and thee then there is betwixt thee and thy father how great then will that be which thou contractest with the Mother of God what created and real union can be imagind greater then that which passeth betwixt the divine word and his most sacred Humanity derived from the very bowels of the most H. Virgin and what link of consanguinity can be straiter then that betwixt Christ and his B. Mother Therfore the affinity and tie which we have even according to nature with her exceeds all affinity among men And if men upon this score of alliance by blood and kindred do mutually help one another and have recourse to them for reliefe in distress why shall not we have recourse to her with whome we are linkt in the straitest bonds What shall I say of the neernes and as it were spiritual kindred which we have contracted with her he by whom thou receivedst the grace of baptisme or stood for God father to thee in that Sacrament becomes thy kinsman and thou art bound to honour him as thy parent how much stricter a propinquity and filiation contract we with the Virgin by whose meanes we have so often receivd grace who hath so frequently brought us forth to God and into the light and truth of a spiritual life I acknowledg thee o Mother of God Mother of grace and mercy for my Mother and beseech thee that thou wilt not forget that sweet name in which thou thy self takest so much complacence Thou art stild Mother of grace and mercy and what ennobled thee with this title but our misery because we stand in such need of thy grace and commise-ration wherfore since I am the most miserable of all I challenge a greater right over thy maternal bowels then all Thy dignity accrues from my indignity thy sanctity from my sinfulnes and therfore I claime the first place in thy mercy because I am the first and greatest and unworthiest of sinners The sins of men made thee the Mother of God and my sins alone were sufficient to make thee the Mother of mercy discard me not from thy protection since all the Religious of our Society are shelterd under thy mantle as thy most devoted child F. Martin Gutierez beheld once in a wonderful vision For who can lay a better claime to mercy then he that is most miserable remember that I alone by my innumerable offences can only maintain this title of honour in which next to that of a Virgin Mother thou art wonto glory above all others I that am most miserable confide o Mother in thy mercy for heaven and earth wil sooner perish then thy mercy and grace wil frustrate those that truly and seriously implore ●y assistance and bestow themselves in thy service Admit me among them that with joyfulnes and teares I may employ my self in honouring thee but because my tepidity keeps me cold and dul as one that am wholy of an earthly complexion I envy thy clients a little of their fervour and wish as did that most devout Father Iohn Trexus to sweep thy chappells with my mouth and water them with my teares And to accomplish this in deed that good zealous Father and devout child of the Virgin made on foot a pilgrimage of some miles The V. Chapter That we must imitate Christ and of the sorrow and suffering of his most B. Hart. HOw can that man relish any thing of gust who thinks upon IESVS afflicted for the gust of men One drop o● his blood was more then sufficient for our redemption how happens it then that the effusion of the whole and such a world of sorrowes afflictions and disgraces are not an effectual incentive to imitation did the Son of God suffer such and so much in vain and to no purpose since the least prayer he made was a superabundant satisfaction for a thousand worlds and able to purchase grace for all mankind And yet so great an excess of torments sufficeth not to stir up me alone to his imitation for Christ sufferd for us leaving us an example The least swarvings of our wil cost God no les then the most exorbitant of our offences O if I did but seriously ponder my works o Lord how should I be siezd with fear Thy works are wonderful I wish my soul could throughly know them prodigious wonders which thou hast placd upon the earth wonderful testimonies of thy love and my ingratitude and hard hartednes I wish my hart would become like melted wax I set thee as a signet upon it that so I may rellish no gustful thing in this life but imitate thy griefes and afflictions I will place that sad hart of my IESVS which was in a perpetual crucifixion as a signet upon mine so shall I have it alwayes in my mind and my soul will wast within me What can be imagind more effectual to extinguish in us all gust of our own will then the memory of IESVS

Of evill many become good we must not disdain them this is to love all for goodnes this is to love all in God when we love for that which cannot be loved without God as goodnes justice vertue and the like If thou didst love the goodnes of God thou wouldst love all in God and covet that all loved him and wouldst put to a helping hand and be sollicitous in this behalf Of a much different strain is the zeal of humane and divine love Humane goodnes is finite and narrow bounded not suffising for all nay not even for many but les wil fall to each ones share therfore men endeavour what they can that none els love what 's dear to them but because the goodnes of God is infinite and more then abundantly sufficient for all and our love of such a limited condition that it cannot correspond to so great goodnes therfore Gods desire is that each one love it and approve our love and cooperate towards it to the end they may discharg and satisfy for that goodnes which we are not able with any love of ours to equalize Thou lovest God imprudently unles thy desire be that all love him for thou must love him more then thy self thy desire is that all love thee though thou be so very bad why are thy wishes on Gods behalf more barren and bounded he being so extremely good O infinite goodnes of God who loved me so much the meanest and very outcast of sinners that being not content to love me thou wouldst moreover that all should love me and commanded it too why shal not I covet that all love thee and procure it to the utmost of my power yea thou hast obliged all by thy precept blood that they should love me no less then thou lovedst me and every one loves himself Give me grace that I also may observe these examples of love that I may love all Thou saidst this is my precept that you love one another as I loved you And again thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self Thou o Lord lovedst me eer I loved thee thou o Lord lovedst me not for any commodity redounding to thee but to me thou lovedst me with an immense love for none hath greater charity then this that one give his soul for his friends thou didst love me with a perseverant love thou art he who when he loved his who were in the world he loved them to the end These are the conditions with which thou lovedst me and must be the rule conformably to which I must love others O my soul learn love from the love of Christ love them as thy own life whom Christ loved more then his and wil in then be loved and worshipd If Christ lay sick in bed thou wilt not deem it indecency that he be supposed languishing for our good who for our salvation took really upon him our languours or pinchd with hunger and some other poor body lay also sick in another bed and were pressed with the same want and thou shouldst demand of Christ whether of the two he would have thee to relieve first himself or that other party I believe he would piously answere that other for Christ himself would defraud his own mouth of meat to asswage a poor mans hunger Serve then and reverence Christ in such a one if thou canst not do it in fact do it at least by prayer and compassion not only in corporal necessities but much more in spiritual God prizeth so highly an almes bestowd on the body that he promiseth heaven for its reward nor assignes any other cause of acquitting them in the dreadful day of doom how much more wil he esteem an almes bestowd on the soul for which he daignd to dye o the infinit charity of God o most loving Saviour who gavest thy soul for sinners grant that I may love their soules as thou lovedst them I wil take a pattern from thy love to know how I am to love those whom thou lovedst and not from my own neyther wil I love my neighbour as I loved my self for then I shal love him but untowardly I knew not how to love my self how can I love others How could I love my self who loved my own wil who loved iniquity but I wil love my neighbour as I ought to love my self desiring thy wil may be accomplishd in him and he more plentifully enrichd with thy grace that all may serve thee most fervently and adore thee in spirit and truth THE IV. BOOK The I. Chapter How ungratefull we are to God HOW unhappy is our hart in thy benefits o happines of Saints since a slender courtesy afforded us by some poor miscreant yea even by a savage creature stirs us up to an act of benevolence and yet we are not struck through love into an amazement of the immense beneficence of thy benefical nature how comes this to pass that if a man had done it we should deem it a huge favour and for this very reason that God does it though he do incomparably more we sleight the benefit and seek not to shew our selves grateful doth water loose its nature because it is in its center the sea and not in some sorry vessel shal it forfeit the nature of a benefit because God is the authour of it whose nature is to be beneficial we should rather argue thus it is water because it is drawn out of the sea Can heat because it is in the fire be thought not to becalefactive and that only to be so which is in a forraign and violent subject the ardour of fire is more effectual and warmes more intensely then heat in wood so the blessings from God are more benefical then those from men because God sourceth them It is the nature of g●●●nes to be benefical as it is of fire to heat ●●neficence in men is nothing so vigorous or taking because it is not so proper to their nature indigence only being connatural to them Water is purer in the fountain then in the stream and benefits derived from God are more refined then those from men who for the most part mar the nature of a benefit Why then shal blessings loose their prerogative and respect because they are imparted by God which though much meaner if they proceeded from any contemptible man unles we expressed our gratitude for them we could not have the face to appear before men but should blush with confusion so far as to be ashamed of ourselves and become infamous in our own conceit and yet because they are from God we hold our selves priviledgd to be ungrateful and dare without blushing appear before him and his Angels Why are guifts les valuable and of an inferiour rank because they come from God since in them alone are verified all the conditions of being truly beneficial and giving us relief in our greatest distress is a benefit more unhappy for flowing from the fountain of all happines Why do we