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
A16525	The holy exercise of fasting Described largely and plainly out of the word of God: with all the parts and causes, and seuerall kinds of the same: together with the most fit times, and conuenient seasons, when and how long it should be held: with the manifold fruite and commoditie that redoundeth to vs thereby: and the whole nature and order thereof. In certaine homilies or sermons, for the benefit of all those, that with care and conscience intend at any time publikely or priuately to put in practise the same. By Nicolas Bownde Doctor of diuinitie. Perused and allowed by publike authoritie.	Bownd, Nicholas, d. 1613.	1604 (1604)	STC 3438; ESTC S114771	132,330	360

to fast and that by vertue of that cōmandement giuen to them as well as they were For if we consider the end and see the equitie and reason of it we shall finde that it bindes vs as much as them and so we hauing the same cause among vs which mooued the Lord to inioine them this practise must thinke that we haue the same commandement also of fasting thogh not at that time and yeerely yet at some time in a yeere at the least in many yeeres For it being ordained to this end that they being humbled for their sinnes priuate and publike and there testifying their humiliation the wrath of God against them either threatned iustly in the lawe or vpon them alreadie or appearing imminent might be turned away and so they reconciled vnto God and spared we haue the same cause to bee humbled manie waies especially at this present and so now God commandeth vs to vse it And first of all in respect of our great vnwoorthinesse of Gods manifold benefits for looke to rhem that be publike past and present as the long and happie and peaceable raigne of our late soueraigne Queene Elizabeth of famous memorie To be humbled both i● respect of th● death of ou● late Queen Elizabeth with the Gospell and freedome from our enemies and other plagues and then consider on the other side the little fruit of them the great vnthankfulnesse for them nay abuse for them and of Gods patience in them and we shall see great cause of humilitie and of earnest seeking to God for the continuance of them by fasting and praier especially if we well way the late great losse of ours in the death of her Maiestie For if Dauid bad the people of his time mourne for the death of Saul their King because they enioyed manie great benefits vnder his gouernment saying ● Sam. 1.4 Ye daughters of Israel weepe for Saul which clothed you in scarlet and with pleasures and hanged ornaments of golde vpon your apparell then we much more haue cause to lament for her death by whose life we enioyed and that so long so many inestimable benefits both for soule and bodie for profit and for pleasure and truely it is to be feared that her death is too lightly passed away of the most The Lord indeed in much mercy hath most happily supplied it beyond all our expectation but yet that must not be forgotten and the more gratiously and speedily he hath supplied it and yet we vnwoorthy of the former the more cause haue wee to be humbled For when many great benefits come heaped vp one after another and no measure of true thankfulnesse and obedience answerable vnto it there must needs come some great punishment afterwards if it be not preuented And so the sight and consideration of these great benefits thus continued with the little or no fruit at all of them should humble vs and so driue vs to shew it in fasting and prayer that God might forgiue vs and so still continue his benefts Besides this if they vpon this day had cause to bee humbled for their sinnes And in respect of our sinnes and for the punishment of them either present or imminent then if our sinnes be as great and many or more than theirs because we haue more and greater benefits for his Word in the ministery of the Gospel is more cleerely come to vs and this time hath many things which the time of the Law had not then seeing to whom much is giuen ●uke 12.48 of them much is required we hauing receiued so much in comparison of them and done so little for it haue more cause to be humbled than they and so are bound by vertue of this law to holde some dayes of humiliation as well as they though not that yeerely day especially if we consider the punishment not onely to be feared but alreadie vpon vs. For though God hath giuen vs a most gratious and worthy Prince yet see how there hath beene feare of losing him by the desperate attempts of his traiterous enemies whom thogh in their plot it hath pleased God to disapoint and we hope and pray that he alwayes so will yet he hath suffered them somwhat to breake out that all might take knowledge of them to be humbled for their sinnes the cause of them For he is not King for himselfe but for vs in his preseruation consisteth all our good in his death the losse of vs all especially when they seeke also to put out his whole race and to bring in some Popish Spanish pretended heire then consider the losse of Religion and the more than hazzard yea vtter ouerthrow of our peace and all that we haue we should come vnder the popish and Spanish yoke either of which were intolerable as our forefathers haue learned by too lamentable experience therefore in respect of this also we haue cause to be humbled and so to fast both to bring vs to it and outwardly to declare it Moreouer if we consider the great sicknes and mortality that raigneth hath done a long time in most of the chiefe places in the land And this present pestilence that is in many parts of this land as in London where haue died 2000. this last weeke and more and truly this is much considering how many haue remooued out of this citie and how many haue died before so that it is reported that there are certaine hundred houses standing emptie besides in most of the villages about London and in other cities and great townes as in Norwich and in manie coast townes and other in Norfolke and Suffolke as Yarmouth Laystaffe Ipswich c. that I speake not of those which are in other shires as Colchester Cambridge Newmarket and many more that we know not If there were nothing but this there were great cause to be humbled for so manifest a token of Gods wrath so apparently and so vniuersally and so long shewed And this mooued the Kings Maiestie of his Princely care that he hath of all his subiects to set downe this godly order of weekely fasting For concerning our selues though by the free mercy of God it be not vpon vs yet ●om 12.5.16 yet these are our brethren and therefore as the Apostle saith we should be of like affectiō one towards another Luk. 13 and so ready to weepe with them that weepe Besides as our Sauiour Christ saith of them vpon whom the tower of Siloam fell slew them that they were not the greatest sinners aboue all that dwelt in Ierusalem so must wee say of these men and women that haue died of the plague and of those places where it hath beene and is so heauie but except we amend we shall all likewise perish therefore wee in them as in a glasse are to see what we haue deserued and so for our owne selues to be humbled also considering that this punishment of God vpon them for their sinnes deserued also by

might be persuaded that God requireth fasting of vs as well as of our forefathers ●ing is ●anded ell in ●ime of Gospell 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 of the Gentiles as well as of the Iewes vnder the Gospell as well as in the time of the Law we shall see that it hath warrant in such cases as these as well from the New Testament as from the Olde As when Christ was challenged for this ●5 33 That his Disciples did not fast though Iohn and his Disciples did often hee doth so defend them that he doth not wholly put it away from them as though they were not bound to it in the time of the Gospell but sheweth that as yet they were dispensed with because Christ Iesus the bridegroome was with them and so it was a time of ioy but the time should come when he should be taken from them great affliction should befall them then hee requireth fasting of them saying The dayes wil come Luk. 5.35 when the bridegrome shal be taken from them then shal they fast in those daies commanding them and all other euen vnder the Gospell in the time of great affliction to fast This time of the Pestilence is a time of great sorrow of great affliction therefore now by the Olde and New Testament wee are bound to it And so this may be sufficient to certifie the consciences of all that are not euill disposed That to serue God in fasting and prayer is a thing that he requireth of vs and so if there were no commandement from men to inioyne vs yet the authoritie of his Word in the Olde and New Testament and the practises of his seruants vpon the same ground should compell vs vnto it HOMIL II. The second Homilie sheweth what are the parts whereof this fasting consisteth and first which be outward belonging to the body and to what end they serue as to abstaine wholly for a time from all kinde of meat and drinke and sleepe and costly apparell and such like comfortes of the bodie and yet what libertie we haue then in all these in times of necessitie BEing thus persuaded of the necessitie of this holie exercise of fasting by good and sound reasons from the Olde and New Testament and that it is our duetie to obserue it and that the Lord requireth it at our hands it remaineth that I should further declare wherein this blessed ordinance of fasting consisteth and what are the parts and nature of it that we being willing to obey God in this dutie might not erre of ignorance 1. Cor. ● 30 and so not only obtaine nothing at his hand thereby but pul his heauy iudgement vpon vs for abusing it For as the Apostle sayeth of the abuse of the Sacrament of the Lords supper among the Corinthians For this cause many are weake and sicke among you and many sleepe and so that which in it selfe rightly vsed was a means of health for soule and bodie was by their ignorance and abuse the cause of manie grieuous diseases mortalitie among them so it might come to passe that whereas by this meanes wee seeke to pacifie the wrath of God alreadie broken out against vs which also we shall do in time if it be rightly vsed for the neglect or abuse of it or both the Plague should not onely not stay but we should further prouoke the Lord to strike vs. ●sting con●teth of two ●rts This exercise therefore of fasting consisteth of two parts the one is outward the other inward the outward appertaineth to the body and is called a Bodily exercise as to abstaine from meat drinke sleepe and such like which of it selfe without the other is nothing worth though commanded of God the other is belonging to the soule and consisteth in the inward vertues and graces of the minde holpen forward by this bodily exercise and this simply and in it owne nature is profitable as hauing the promises of this life and of the life to come And of both these the Apostle writeth vnto Timothie Tim. 4.8 saying Exercise thy selfe vnto godlinesse for bodilie exercise profiteth little but godlinesse is profitable vnto all things which hath the promise of the life present and of that that is to come Where he saith that godlinesse and the pure worship of God consisting in the inward graces of the minde as in humility faith repentance c. is profitable in it owne nature but fasting and all such exercises of the bodie and austeritie of life is so farre foorth profitable as they farther vs in these Therefore as the whole man consisteth of soule and bodie but the soule is most principall so doth this exercise of fasting consist of these two parts whereof this later appertaining to the soule is the cheefe And as in the sanctification of the Sabbath there are two things the one to rest from all bodily labour appertaining to the bodie the other to sanctifie that time of rest belonging chiefely to the soule which is the principall end of the other So in fasting there are these two things to be considered the one to absteine from all food which directly concerneth the body the other is the end why we vse that abstinence which is to further our soules in godlinesse which is the chiefest of all and giueth life to the other euen as the soule doth to the body Therefore though abstinence be necessarily required yet that is not all nay it is the least part of this holy exercise though the whole action haue the name of that as being most subiect to the outward sense so best knowen for it is called fasting as in keeping holy the Sabbath day to rest is the least part of our dutie therein yet the whole daie hath the name of that for it is called the Sabbath this is the daie of rest The first ●art belon●eth to the ●ody and ●onsisteth in ●he absti●ence from ●ll comfort ●f the same First then we are to consider what is the outward ceremonie in fasting and the bodily exercise and then what be the inward vertues to be adioined vnto it and to which end the other is vndertaken The former is an abstinence for a time wholly from all the commodities and pleasures of this life thereby to make vs fitter for the inward graces of the minde as to absteine from meat and drinke sleepe and such like that the bodie being thereby humbled and pulled downe the mind thereby might be humbled and cast downe also in it selfe before God So that this outward abstinence is therfore cōmanded that we might feele in our soules and in feeling outwardly might professe that we are vnwoorthie for our sinnes either of life or of any thing that belongeth to the vpholding of it and therefore we doe willingly for a time bereaue our selues of the vse of them So that vpon this and such like daies we ought to abstaine from al comforts of the body to these ends both that we might thereby the