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	life_n	soul_n	5,160	5	5.5664	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12788	A learned and gracious sermon preached at Paules Crosse by that famous and iudicious diuine, Iohn Spenser ... ; published for the benefite of Christs vineyard, by H.M.	Spenser, John, 1559-1614.; Marshall, Hamlett.	1615 (1615)	STC 23096; ESTC S521	35,428	60

and the beame out of the timber answereth and denounceth Woe to him that buildeth a Towne by bloud and getteth a City by iniquity Hab. 2.11 Who would haue thought that when Abels mouth was stopped by death and his bloud swallowed vp by the earth that there had bin none to complain but his bloud saith God Gen. 4. which the earth had swallowed crieth to mee out of the bowels thereof What a complayning noyse then must the bloud of so many men as is dayly shed in this land make in the eares of the Lord of hoasts crying now for vengeance against them that will not reuenge it against them that helpe to smother it and do not remoue euill from Israel But I will not dwel vpon these sores of our land we see the fruits which the chosen Church of Israel and Iudah his pleasant plant brought forth wee see the fruits which our vnthankefull land so blessed of the Lord so instructed in the precepts of piety and righteousnesse doth affoorde to him for all his mercies and louing kindnesses I looked for grapes and behold wilde grapes Here iust occasion is ministred to inquire out some reason why all these blessings of God in planting watering and pruning his Church should not be of force to make it fruitful but that notwithstāding al his husbandry it shuld so degenerate bring forth the fruits not of the new but of the old stocke I wil not vndertake to set down al the particular reasōs therof but amōgst many no doubt one not the least is that first blessing of planting his Vineyard in a fruitfull soyle his temporall blessings his peace his plenty his furnishing of it with all outward necessaries that it might bee in heart and strong to bring forth goodly fruit It may seeme strange that these helpes of piety should proue the bane therof for whē straw is not ministred to Israel but that they are forced to wander ouer the land to seek stubble what maruell if they yeeld not their ful tale of bricks or if the necessities of this life doc distract Martha vnto many things how can shee with her sister intend to fitte at the foot of Christ and by the waters of the Word which should increase her fruitefulnesse But though Abraham Iob Dauid all faithfull men truly rooted and grounded in Christ the more they are increased with those outward blessings of wealth of honour of authority the more abundance of the outward fruits of righteousnesse and mercy they doe yeeld yet in men not truly regenerated and altered into the nature of the roote Christ of which sort the greater parte of outward professors alwayes are lamentable experience sheweth how that fatnes of the soyle which in the fanctified branches of the Vine Christ doth increase good fruit contrariwise in these vnreceiued Christians doth feed the corruption of their olde nature and doe helpe to the fruites thereof This corrupted the purity of the Church of Israel Deut. 32.5 Hee that should haue beene vpright when hee waxed fat spurned with his heele And Ier. 5. Though I fedde them full yet they committed adultery they assembled themselues by companies in harlots houses This corrupted the Church of Christians Religio peperit diuitias filia deuorauit matrem Piety brought forth wealth and this daughter destroyed her mother that brought her forth This corrupted the Church of Rome As soone as the Church was indued with riches saith Platina the worshippers of God were turned from seuerity to wantonnes and by the generall impunity no Prince repressing the lewdnesse of men monsters vsurped Peters seat Lastly this hath been the bane of our church our peace our plenty our rest euen the Lords blessings like plenty of showers hath brought forth this haruest of weedes and brambles which haue choaked true deuotion abundance hath increased luxuric and ministred food to the pride of life fulnesse of bread hath brought forth wantonnes of the flesh and lust of vncleannesse which in want and hunger do ordinarily wither peace hath bread security and called euery man to the building of his own house Here beganne our gathering when wee conceiued hope of inioying and the increase of our goods increaseth our loue to wards thē and by stealing our affection separateth our hearts from the roote Christ in whom wee should grow And thus when men should haue said in their hearts Let vs feare the Lord our God that giueth raine both earely and late and reserueth to vs the appointed time of haruest or when they should say with Dauid Psal 116. Enter into God thy rest O my soule for he hath beene beneficiall to thee wee say with the glutton Take thy rest O my soule for thou hast goods laid vp for many yeares eate drinke and be merry Whereby as our Sauiour obiecteth to the Iewes Math. 13.15 This peoples heart is waxen fatte and their eares are dull of hearing with their eyes haue they winked lest they should see with their eyes and heare with their eares and vnderstand with their hearts and be conuerted and I should heale them So necessary is the prayer of Salomon for the Church of God also Giue mee not abundance lest I be full and deny God and say Who is the Lord But to conclude this point howsoeuer the corruption of mē doth turn this plenty of earthly blessings to the nourishing of their earthly affections seeing as Vines cannot bring forth fair goodly fruit in a barren soile so the fruits of the Church of righteous men cannot be abundant fair without this food seeing God in his mercy also often taketh away this abundance when his Church groweth wanton by breaking the staffe of bread tryeth them with scarsity somtimes with afflictions the Lords challenge doth notwithstanding still continue firm What could I haue done to my Vineyard which I haue not done In this abundant allowance vnto our bodies if any man thinke that the abundant prouision made for the foode of our soules also this plenty of preaching and of instructions should haue kept downe the pride of the body and held vp the spirit aboue the flesh reformed the abuses of wealth peace I may adde euen this abundance of spiritual food as one of the causes of cōfirming hardning corrupt minds in their corruptions for in those fat hearts which are either wanton or sleepy the continuall plenty of the word causeth a fulnesse a lusting after Quailes and nouelties and a wearie loathing of that plaine bread of life which came from heauen Our soules said the Iewes are dried vp with this Manna Euen as water and bread and fire because they are things without which we cannot liue God made them more cōmon then things of pleasure and yet because they are so common they are of lesse price so that word without which there is no spirituall life God in his mercy maketh it cōmon in his church that according to the prophesie it may runne like waters in the

vnto God but what is in the eye if man may iudge whose tongue wil not confesse but that as God spake of Iudah Ezec. 16. that shee had iustified her elder sister Samaria by her sinnes so wee haue iustified our eldest sister Iudah by these our sinnes and in steade of grapes haue brought forth oppression vniustice couetousnesse wild grapes full of poyson and the gall of Aspes our peace our plenty the richnes of our soyle in which we liue our want of seuere pruning hath brought forth a luxurious haruest of pestilent weedes in the Vineyard which haue in a manner ouergrowne and choaked piety righteousnesse and all hearty deuotion I know the Lord hath reserued vnto vs a seede a small remnant also but look on the general face of our land how hath this hatefull sinne of vniustice ouergrowne all for the roote thereof couetousnesse and selfe-loue hath got deepe rooting and all men now in a manner doe turne the sappe and the blessings of God their wealth their labors not into clusters of fruits according to their vocation but into their own armes and branches euery one striueth not to bee a good but to be a great tree the bramble wold grow to be of the bignes of the maple and the maple would be strong and tall like vnto the oake ouerdropping and by getting ground starueth another some by an vnsensible soaking from them some by violent and open wrong some vnder colour of right pretence of loue so that in euery quarter and ranke of the Lords Vineyard there is oppression and from oppression there ascendeth a cry to the Lord of the Vineyard But what doe I speake of priuate vniustice betweene men and men when there is found in our Vineyard a kinde of oppression not heard of amongst the heathen Christians in their greedinesse to lay hands vpon their God and father and vnnaturally to seeke to rob him of that which the bounty of his better children had bestowed on him for the maintenance of his worship amongst men Doth any man rob his gods sayth the Lord Malachy 3.8 yet this people robbeth their God and they aske wherein euen in tythes and offerings This is one maine roote of vnnaturall impiety a principall cause of all our corruption when the branches of the Vine doe not onely sucke and draw one from another but doe intercept that also which should maintaine the principall roote on which wee all grow euen Christ his seruice in his Church When God sent his sonne vnto the Iewes Come said they let vs cast him out of the Vineyard kill him and the inheritance shall be ours The Lord our life hath yet some inheritance and patrimony in his owne Vineyard amongst vs for the maintenance of his labourers which should plant Christ amongst vs and in graft vs in him vnto his inheritance how many couetous men doe cast their greedy eyes and put to their hands also that first the Labourers might bee cast out and the inheritance may be theirs What is this but by consequence to cast out Christ himselfe out of his owne Vineyard and as much as in vs lieth to kill Religion and Piety to kill Christ himselfe within our hearts For it is not the losse onely of earthly liuing and the dayly diminishing of the maintenance of his Labourers which is to bee lamented though when you mussell the mouth of the Oxe that treadeth out your corne and detract from the ordinary allowance of your labouring beast you shall find the want therof in their hartles trauell and in your own empty haruest but the greatest cause of lamentation complaint herein is the corruption of the Ministery of Christ whilst Patrones and such as deale in the disposing of Church liuings doe shut vp all the ordinary wayes for the Labourers to enter into the Lords Vineyard but onely by the dore of Simonie by which men of good conscience will not enter Thus is the Lords worke and tillage of his vineyard vnfruitfully followed whilest men of corruptest minds and the basest of the people take vp the places of should bee plentifull among vs crying I haue looked for righteous dealing as amongst brethren who should rather suffer then offer wrong and behold a crying I haue heard a voyce saith Moses Exod. 32. when hee descended from the Mount the noise neither of them that haue the victory nor of them that haue the worse for the people had sate downe to eate and were risen vp to play But where there is oppression and wrong there is a kind of warre some haue the better and some haue the worse and therefore amongst them there is alwayes heard the noise of them that haue the worse the noise of Oppression the noise of complayning and of crying A dangerous thing to haue any crying heard in the family of God amongst brethren a fearefull thing that the complaint of the oppressed should come to his eare Omne sub Regno grauiore regnum est Euery Court is subiect to a higher Court. That there should be no wrongs it cannot bee prouided but for redresse there is refuge to Gods officers and ministers of Iustice vpon earth and if they by righteous iudgement do take away the cause of crying God is satisfied but if the wronged party can find no ease in those inferiour Courts but that in griefe of soule hee appealeth to the supreme Court when hee cryeth after the Iudge of the world as Dauid Psalme 10. Arise O Lord lift vp thy arme forget not the poore wherefore doe the wicked contemne and say thou wilt not regard thē the righteous God the refuge of the fatherles prouoked with those often appeales taketh iudgement into his owne hands and as Psalme 12. Now for the oppressing of the needy and sighes of the poore I will rise vp sayth the Lord for seeing Deut. 15.9 hee chargeth vs not to harden our hearts from giuing to our wanting brother lest he cry vnto the Lord and it bee sinne vnto vs How much more certainely will hee performe that which he protesteth Exod. 22. If thou trouble or vex the widdow or fatherles so they call cry vnto me I will surely heare their cry and my wrath shal be kindled and I will kill thee with the sword thy wife shall bee a widdow and thy children fatherlesse Oh my beloued as there is much vniustice in euery estate cōtrary to Pharaohs dream the fat doe feed vpon the leane the stronger vpon the weaker as the fishes doe in the sea so let no man presume vpon the weakenes of the Plainetiffe or vpon his own means to beare out his cause in the world for though men should be silent in their owne wrongs the stones shall cry and the dumbe creatures shall make complaint the detained hire of the labourer though it lie in our chest yet it sendeth vp a crie into the eares of the Lord of hostes Iacob 5. The stone that lyeth in the wall of our owne buildings crieth