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	nature_n	power_n	1,617	5	4.8157	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47746	The history of sin and heresie attempted, from the first war that they rais'd in heaven through their various successes and progress upon earth to the final victory over them, and their eternal condemnation in hell : in some meditations upon the feast of St. Michael and all angels.	Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.	1698 (1698)	Wing L1135; ESTC R11401	44,933	69

be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the Breadth and Length and Depth and Height And to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge that thus ye may be filled with all the fulness of God Observe how the Inspir'd Apostle Rejoyces even to Extasie upon this Subject The fulness of God that is all we or any Creature can hold of Him consist's in what we Understand of the Nature of Love And then to our Eternal Comfort the Love of Christ passes all Knowledge that is no Knowledge can comprehend it all and therefore it can afford still new Matter of Joy and Rapture to all Created Understandings for Ever and Ever And may not this Contemplation raise us to the Courage of an Apostle it will certainly if we let this Good Seed stay in our hearts till it take Root if we do not choke it with the foolish Principles of Pride or make it give place to Cares and Riches and Pleasures of this Life it will bring our hearts to the firmness of an Angel and make Us see nothing that can Terrifie Us We will be ready to joyn with St. Paul in his holy Exultation and say Who shall seperate Vs from the Love of Christ shall Tribulation or Distress or Persecution or Famine or Nakedness or Peril or Sword as it is Written for thy sake are we kill'd all the day Long we are counted as Sheep for the Slaughter nevertheless in all these things we are more then Conquerors through Him who Loved us for I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor Height nor Depth Rom. viii 35. nor any other Creature shall be able to Seperate Vs from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And now as a Conclusion to all that has been said we may learn this that the best Guard we can have against falling into Heresie is to Watch carefully against all the Inroads and Temptations of Pride which I have shewn to lie at the bottom of all Heresies as the Source from whence they Spring It Corrupts the Will and by that Viciates the Vnderstanding and Inclines them by a strong Byass to the side of Error and in Prejudice of the Truth which is always Founded upon and Accompany'd with the opposit of Pride that is Love and Goodness which is Naturally Productive of a Sweetness and Humility of Temper that Renders us Docible and Vn-prejudic'd without which Truth cannot be Duly Discern'd but is Clouded from Perverse and Obstinate Minds And as the Humility of Love is the best Preservative against Error and Heresie so is it the surest Defence against most sort of Sins in our Private Conversation especially it Enables us most Effectually to Perseverance in the Faith against that Fiery Tryal of Persecution which in one sort or other 2 Tim. 3.12 comes to most Mens share that will live Godly in Christ Jesus But there is an higher Pitch of Perfection even than this And that which I wou'd raise Men to and desire to Imitate my self is that whereof the Dayly Exercise and Improvement is by Gods great Mercy and Goodness afforded to every one of us which is not only to bear the Persecution or the Pride of others which some may do even out of Pride Obstinacy or other Vicious Principle But chiefly to banish Pride out of your selves to look upon the meanest Man in the World as a Member of Christ and so equal to your self And therefore to Condescend to the Lowest Offices that may do him Good to bear his Infirmities and Injuries with Patience which is the true Magnanimity as Christ also did bear ours And that you think this so far from being Dishonorable as that you may esteem it the Greatest Glory and Praise of Love wherein the Happiness of Heaven does consist And if Angels were thrown out of Heaven for Despising Man and Christ Died to Redeem Man and is Himself a Man and Loves and Values the meanest Man what is that Man that Despises another And if even in Heaven there was War and Folly and Blasphemy among the Angels there and misunderstanding the Nature of God how shou'd this make us Patient to one anothers Infirmities How Solicitous and careful to Secure our selves How Reasonable will it hence appear to keep a watchful Eye upon the least progress of Pride or Self-conceit which was Potent to Disturb the Seat of the Blessed and overthrow Spirits which were Heavenly-Born That therefore you shou'd justly abhor the Pride of this World to see a Man Despise not only his Inferiors which was the Sin of Angels but his Equals and Superiors To think himself beyond every Man he meets and that it is below his Greatness Forsooth to receive an Injury from any this is the Character of a Hero so much courted in Romances and Plays the Gospel of this Worlds Honor a Fool swell'd with Pride even to Blasphemy Is it not Nauseous to see Him brave Thunder whose Scull is not proof against the sliding of a Tyle from a House top a weak piece of Flesh whose Foundation is in the Dust the food of Worms that is crushed before the Moth A man that is not able to Encounter a Disease to hear him Railly against God! and to think this either Wit or Courage that Men of Spirit as they call themselves shou'd be fond of a Vice which proceeds Meerly from want of Sense And not rather to follow the Advice and Example of a God which is that you wou'd think it your Greatest Honour to become Innocent and Harmless Loving and free from Pride as little Children are which is taught in the Gospel for this Day and that with such Courage that you wou'd rather Choose to Pluck out your Eyes and Cut off your Hands than to Offend the Least the most Inconsiderable of Mankind who are Created by God after His own Image and are the Price of the Blood of Christ That you wou'd believe the Argument of Honour to be Decided which has been Bandy'd by the Angels of Heaven and Determin'd there by God Himself that it Consist's in Love and not in Pride but more sensibly by the Incarnation and Sufferings of Christ which makes it as it were Visible to our Eyes That you wou'd therefore suffer your selves to be perswaded by your own Reason which will shew you the restless Miseries which attend upon Pride and the Beauties and Great Glory of Love in the which if ●●u can 〈…〉 selves you have already tasted of He●●●● and are Heirs of Immortal Honour Amen And let this Comfort us in our Faint Longings Languid Attempts and many Failings in our Spiritual Warfare And let this silence all our weak Murmurings at the Providence of God which has for Infinitly wise Ends not Fathomable by us Permitted the Fall of Man and Wars and Divisions upon Earth since for this End no Doubt among many others He has made known to us that There was war in Heaven And that as the Conquest can be only by His Strength and Grace in us so it will End in Infinit and Eternal Victory and Triumph to those who Trust wholly in Him by Faith in Christ Humbled and Crucifi'd for us and who follow him Manfully to the end of that Race which He our Great Prophet and Guide has not only Pointed out to us but as our Captain has Led us and Run before us and Fought the same Fight which He wou'd have us to Fight and wherein he will Assist us and Protect us that the Gates of Hell shall never Prevail against us And has already in Our Cause and in in our Name and Nature Triumphed over every Power of the Enemy and taken Possession of Heaven for us as our Head the Soul and Life of that Body whereof we are Members And as the Soul do's Actuate all the Members of the Body consequently it must Raise all the Members with the Body So that all who Partake of the Spirit of Christ are sure that that Spirit must Raise up their Bodies as Certainly as it did Raise up the Body of Christ Rom. viii 9.11 Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His But if the Spirit of Him who Raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you He that Raised up Christ from the Dead shall also Quicken your Mortal Bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you Amen FINIS

will two such Combatants enter the Lists Here is a Creature so Mighty that he dares contend with God and here is God humbl'd into a Man to subdue that Spirit which had overthrown all Mankind And Christ grapples with him as a Man without interposing his Godhead for that had been no contest and to shew what Man might have done and may still do I need not here again tell you of the Quarrel upon which these two Fought it is the same we have been speaking off the same that St. Michael Fought before that is Pride and Love which of these is the most Noble and most Mighty Michael defended his Cause well and was Victorious but Christ Acted what Michael cou'd not Since the Devil wou'd not be peswaded by Arguments Christ here brings him to the Test to Experiment the Powers of Love and of Pride And that with all the Disadvantages Imaginable Love in its Lowest Condescention expos'd to Pride Inrag'd in its Altitude Christ came of Poor Parents Born in a Stable not room for him in a common Inn he liv'd Destitute and Forlorn without a place to lay his head in worse provided for than Foxes or Birds he choose poor Men and unlearned for his followers He was Despis'd Persecuted Slandar'd called a Glutton and a Drunkard a Madman a very Devil Isa 53.2 3. He had neither Forme nor Beauty a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Greifs we hid as it were our Faces from Him He was Despis'd and Rejected of Men and they esteemed Him not His Vertue was Omnibus ornamentis Spoliata void of all outward Ornaments to Recommend it according to Plato's Qualification and may be call'd a Prophesy of the Just one and of His Passion His Arms was Blessing and Praying and Instructing He never us'd His Power to Hurt any but to Heal His very Enemies He went about doing Good to all and Lov'd His Enemies more intensly then they cou'd Hate him and tho' they requited Him with Mischief for His Good-will yet He always return'd Good to them for their Evil. He came into his own and His own Receiv'd Him not The only Visible Church He had upon the Earth had taken Arms with the Enemy the Scribes and Pharisies were His sorest Prosecutors the Sanhedim Bought Him prefered a Thief and a Murderer before Him and procur'd His Death with violent out-crys one of His own Diciples Betray'd Him another Forswore Him as Forsook Him He was left to Tread the Winepress alone expos'd single to all the Malice and Scorn of Men and Devils the Agony of His Soul forceing Him into such an Astonishment and Exceeding Sorrow a was never heard of since the World began a Bloody Sweat making its passage through Skin and Cloths and falling down in Great Drops upon the Ground Lastly His Father Himself forsook Him in His Greatest Extremity Hanging upon the Cross twixt two Thieves and fill'd with the Reproaches of all about Him shaking their Heads and thrusting out their Tongues at Him His Father forsook Him That only cou'd make Him Cry out yet did not that it self overcome His Love for He Intirely and willingly submitted Himself He Bowed his Head in Obedience and Gave up the Ghost He Resign'd His Soul into the Hands of His Father who had forsaken Him trusting in Infinit Love that it can never fail and Dy'd praying for His Murderers showing the transcendence of His Love above their Malice And here behold the Wisdom as well as Goodness of Love That same Method which Pride and Malice suggested to destroy Christ that was it which most Advanced the Glory of His Love And let Us here Adore the Almighty Power of Love that out of all the Evils Pride was able to Invent cou'd bring such Infinit Good And by the Rule of Contraries here we may see the Folly as well as the Impotence of Pride When it is arived at the Full of its own Wishes that is always its Destruction For when Love has born all that Pride can do when it sees it can go no farther it Returns upon its self with Impatience and Rage and Madness When the Devil had nail'd Christ to the Cross he thought himself a Victor And had been so if that cou'd have mov'd Christ to Impatience or Distrust or if He had withdrawn Himself from His Sufferings either for the Shame or the Pain for then His Love had been Conquer'd it had fled the Field not being able to abide the Shock But Christ supported that Tryal with a Godlike Patience and Constancy and His Love Unshaken Remain'd more than Conqueror That Old Serpent left his Sting in the Cross and fled away Disarm'd Asham'd Confounded And the Grave of Christ which he thought to have kept shut for ever was made the Gate to open the Triumphs of Love into Hell where the Spirits of Pride did Gnash their Teeth with Unextinguishable Rage to find that Love was Unconquerable and that its Lowest Condescentions turn to its Greatest Glory for what can Conquer that which has the Vertue to bring Good out of Evil Thus you see how Christ has spoil'd the Principalities and Powers of Pride by the Arms of His Love and hath made a shew of them openly Tryumphing over them in His Cross Col. 2.15 that is in the Humilitation which is the Great Power of Love and having loosed the Pains of Death because it was Possible that He shou'd be holden of it Act. 2.24 He Arose Gloriously to the Astonishment of His Wretched Guards and all the Afrighted Legions of Hell Whom He Chain'd to His Triumphal Chariot and when He Ascended up on High He led Captivity Captive or a Multitude of Captives as our Margent Reads it And Gave Gifts unto Men Eph. iv 8. Bestow'd His Royal Donatives Liberally among His own Soldiers who had Fought under His Banner and now Attended on His Triumph and Shar'd in the Glory of it Now that He Ascended what is it but that He also Descended first into the Lower Parts of the Earth Eph. iv 9. He that Descended is the same also that Ascended up far above all Heavens that He might fill all things This shews that the Glory of Love Consists in its Condescentions And its Glory Rises Proportionably High to the Lowness of its Condesension Thus the Meanest Condescention Rises to the very Highest Glory and this Fills or Fulfills All things Includes All things for All things are Contain'd between the Highest and the Lowest And this is Fulfilling all Righteousness all the Dictats or Demands of Love towards our Righteousness making us like it self and this Includes in it the full Goodness and Power of God that is the utmost Condescention of Love So that now we see in Christ all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling Bodily And we are compleat in Him And from hence let me make the Apostles Inference and Prayer for you Eph. 3.17 That ye may be Rooted and Grounded in Love because so and never otherwise You will