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	part_n	soul_n	2,761	5	5.3627	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53112	The complaint of English subjects delivered in two parts. First part, is the complaint, of the poor, middle, and meanest sorts of subjects, concerning their bodily assistance. Second part, is the true Christians complaint, against vice, and wickedness, for the good of their soul's health. Also, werein is set forth, the late prodigious growth, of atheism, errors, and vice: with a call to repentance. As also, how needful it is, in these times, for every one of us, first of all, to look into our own hearts, and endeavour to amend what is their amiss. And lastly, a brief discourse, concerning our late unfruitful, and cold summers: as also, what is thought to be the real causes of it, by way of opposition, to the opinion of astrologers. By Richard Newnam of Tiverton in Devonshire.	Newnam, Richard.	1700 (1700)	Wing N935; ESTC R218651	71,890	130

which God in process of time granted unto her and not only a meer Man-child did the Lord give unto Hannah but such a Man-child as afterwards became an excellent Prophet of the Lord whose Name was Samuel And after that I find besides Samuel Hannah had by her Husband Elkanah several Sons and Daughters as you may read it in the 2d Chapter of the 1st Book of Samuel vers 21. And thus we may see by those Presidents offered and mentioned in these several Scriptures herein quoted and also by several other places of Scripture the like Presidents may be found and by all of them it may be plainly seen how much Prayers and Tears have always from time to time prevailed with God when they have been offered up unto him with true devout and sincere Hearts and therefore I think it would not be amiss but rather think it very necessary and needful for us all with true devotion now to offer up our Prayers with Tears and desire God to give every one of us a Heart fit for true Repentance and Amendment of Life which if we would all of us so pray and endeavour so to do then no question might be made of it but that God would yet shew us mercy and then we should have the Blessings of the Lord return upon us which now seems to be departing from us Read the second Chapter of the Prophet Joel vers 12 13 14. Therefore also now saith the Lord Turn ye even unto me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning And rent your heart and not your garments and turn unto the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repenteth him of the evil Who knoweth if he will return and repent and leave a Blessing behind him even a Meat-offering and a Drink-offering unto the Lord your God But again I say that God doth sometimes by the disorder of the Elementary Parts of this World bring upon the Earth Dearths and Famine it self is plain by what God himself made known to Pharaoh in his Dream for God did not only make known unto him that he would bring a Famine upon the Land of Egypt but by what means the Famine should come was also made known unto Pharaoh in his Dream and that to be by means of unseasonable Weather as violent East-Winds which should blast and wither the Corn-Fields so as that they should come to no perfection to bear Corn for the Egyptians to have Bread out of them as you may read it in the 41 Chapter of Genesis the 6th the 23d and 27th verses Again I say that God hath and yet can by his immediate Power that he hath over all the Elementary Bodies alter and change the Weather as he seeth most fit either by way of Mercy or Judgment is plain And also that it is mens Iniquities that doth oftentimes provoke God to bring upon the Earth Dearths and Wants and Famine it self is plainly to be seen and understood if men would but consult seriously within themselves these following Scriptures which I shall here quote unto you which you may read at your leisure Jeremiah 5th Chap. vers 24 25. Ezekiel 4th Chap. vers 16 17. Hosea 2d Chap. vers 8 9. Read Joel the 1st Chapter all over from the beginning to the end thereof Amos 4th Chapter vers 6 7. And lastly look in the 14th Chapter of the Prophet Ezekiel vers 12 13 14. It is there thus written The Word of the Lord came again to me saying Son of Man when the Land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously then will I stretch out mine hand upon it and will break the Staff of the Bread thereof and will send Famine upon it and will cut off Man and Beast from it Though these three Men Noah Daniel and Job were in it they should deliver but their own Souls by their Righteousness saith the Lord God And thus we may see that when Men by their Iniquities do provoke God to anger then in his Wrath he immediately changeth and disordereth the Heavenly Bodies or other Elementary Parts of the World as he pleaseth And thus working by his own secondary Causes as he thinks most fit he can when he pleaseth with hold these good things of the World from us and also from this last Text of Scripture just now here quoted we may observe that when the black Deeds of the Wicked are many and that they are so much over-grown that they do superabound then the Prayers of the Righteous can prevail with God no longer to prevent the pouring down of his Judgments upon the Heads of Wicked Men For then the Prayers of the Righteous only for the deliverance of their own Souls shall be heard and not for the Souls of the Wicked And now I say again these before-mentioned Scriptures do make it out plain That all Disorders both in Heaven and Earth from time to time are always performed by the immediate Hand of God and not as Astrologers say only from the Courses of the Stars as they were ordained to be in their first Creation And therefore I must now say again that no Astrologers or any other Men of any other vain Sciences whatsoever can foretell by the Courses of the Stars or by any other way whatsoever what shall fall out or come to pass either of Plague or Famine or what shall be the event of Wars or who shall have the Victory or foreknow by the Calculating of Nativities what shall befall any Man or Men or what Years will be fruitful or unfruitful for all these things are Secrets and only belong to God himself and not unto Men except out of his own goodness and meer pleasure in Mercy to some of his own chosen Ones he is pleased to reveal these his Secrets to such Men as he thinks most fit to pour out his Spirit upon them to that purpose and for that end to preserve his own People as may be seen in that of Pharoah for God did not forewarn Pharoah King of Egypt of what he was about to do wholly for the sake of Pharoah himself or for the Egyptians sake but mostly for the Advancement of Joseph and then consequently for the Preservation of all the Children of Israel And therefore it was that none of the Magicians or any of the Wise Men of Egypt could interpret Pharoah's Dream for it was only God's chosen One that could do it who was Joseph and that not of himself but by the Inspiration of the Lord as Joseph himself acknowledgeth in this same 41 Chapter of Genesis and the 16 verse It is there said And Joseph answered Pharoah saying It is not in me God shall give Pharoah an answer of Peace Again I say that the Revelation of Secrets doth only belong unto God and not unto such Men as are called Astrologers But when God thinks fit he revealeth them to his own chosen Ones as you may read in the

Leaves thereof do now begin to overshadow the Glory and Brightness of the true Protestant Religion Gospel of our most Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which is yet by some good men's endeavours devoutly upholden within this our Land which God of his great Mercy always grant unto us and amongst us to send many more such faithful Labourers to prevent the farther growth of this now mighty Tree of Atheism that so at last for want of future nourishment it may at last perish by the root and so at last dye evelastingly away is my Prayer But 2dly I say from this pernitious Root of Atheism springs forth Errors For no sooner can a Traveller be out of his right way but he must inevitably be in a wrong Path that will lead him aside or backwards so that by means thereof it may be a long time before he will be able to reach to his Journeys-end Again I say Natural Philosophers do hold this for a Maxim tha● there is no Vacuum in the Globe of the whol● World which if so then comparatively I may say that in the whole Body of Divinity ther● can be no Vacuum but it must be full of Truth or Truth mixt with Error Again I say a● likely a thing it is that if Truth in any Cause Matter or Things whatsoever fly from or give ground to Error then consequently Errors wil● step into Truth 's Ground and so possess Truth● place which things of late Years by sad experience hath been found to true For through th● Erroneous Lives of some Men that do profess themselves to be true Church of England Men Truth by means thereof hath of late Years been a great Sufferer whilst Errors in the mean time hath gained great Applauses amongst sim●le and weak Ones And no wonder is 〈…〉 made of it if we do but consider how man● 〈◊〉 there be that do profess themselves to be of and for and belonging to the Church of England that can say no more in the defence of their Faith than to say Here is a Health to the Church of England with confusion to all them that are of any other Opinion But such Expressions and Sayings are not only foolish and bruitish but they are very uncharitable also and the Doctrine of the Church of England teacheth such Men as so say better Principles for it teacheth all Men to have Charity for all Persons and all sorts of People as well for such as are not of that Faith as for those that are within the Pale of that Church And therefore I say great pity it is and much to be lamented and I my self cannot otherwise but be much troubled for it to see and hear such a most worthy honourable excellent and authentick Religion so much slighted undervalued and despised as now our most honourable Church of England is by many poor simple and weak Creatures who through want of Right Understanding stumble at Truth in the very plain Ways and Paths of Righteousness it self and that only because some of the Pastors of our Church are now become foolish bruitish and very loose Livers throughout their whole Lives and Conversations But the greater is the shame to all such of them as so do and so live and a great Account one Day for it they must all give And now with all my Heart I could wish that all such Evil Members were cast out of our Church for they do meerly thereby Eclipse the very Glory of our Religion and such Men cannot be otherwise but like great Stumbling-blocks which still lie in the very middle way of our Church-Paths which leads towards our several Sanctuaries and thereby keep back many Simple Ones from going to hear God's Word truly preach'd by other worthy Members of the Church of England whose Lives and Conversations have always adorned their Preaching But yet nevertheless notwithstanding all this yet such are the weak Capacities of many People that when they see such stumbling-Blocks lie in the way before them and just in the very Church-Path it self then rather than they will step over them or endeavour to avoid them by their going onward by either of the sides of them they will rather go back again or turn in to some other unknown ways wherein it may be at last they many of them do stumble indeed and many times thereby fall in Head-long into that most dangerous Gulf of Atheism it self And such things as these I my self do much lament them as I my self am one of that Faith which is of and belonging to that Church known by the Name of the Church of England from which Faith I hope I shall never waver But again it may be said What are there none that do live in Lewdness and lead wicked prophane Lives but such Men as are called by the Name of Church of England Men To this I Answer There be some of all Opinions and Professions that are altogether so vile and as filthy in their Lives and Conversations as any Church-men whatsoever only they have a way of carrying it off more privately to the World for what they do is more secretly and more Hypocritically so that I cannot decide the matter so as to say which is the worst of them both of them and all of them are all to bad and I heartily wish that they may all and every one of them amend and turn from their evil ways as I my self shall endeavour to amend my own evil ways for I acknowledge my self to be a great Sinner And now I say to you my Native Country-men of our Town of Tiverton in Devonshire spare me not but either exclaim against me or reprove me in or for any thing that is Evil that you either know in me or of me or against me and if it be true that you lay to my Charge I will patiently bare your Reproof and endeavour to amend what is in me amiss to the best of my power and for what is wanting in my self to be enabled so to do I shall desire God to assist me so as that I may be the better able to eschew all manner of Evil and follow nothing but what is Good And the same Resolution in every thing I advise all and every of you and all other Persons whatsoever that hope to be saved in and through the Love of God and the Merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ you all of you and every of you ought to take which Resolution so taken and so put in Practice then we shall all of us at last reap the benefit of it and not otherwise But again something more I must say concerning Errors and Erroneous Livers and that is this I say take this for certain that amongst all our Opinions Sects and Religions their are some Errors For their is but One true God but One true Religion but One true Faith and but One true Way to serve this true God Then how can so many Ways as we profess in and

our power evermore shun all manner of Evils and then we may yet hope for Mercy at God's Hands but otherwise no less can be expected from him but his most severe Judgments to be poured down upon us And now Seventhly I say from the Holy Bible which I believe to be the written Word of God and from the Experience of my own Actions as also from the observation and experience of many other Men's actions that I have known or have heard of from the Mouths of credible Persons I have grounded all these my former Discourses from which Fountain has flown all that I have said wherein I have endeavoured to set forth the several wicked Actions of almost all People here within this out Land or Nation And with these our Actions God is not well pleased as doth appear by the several Signs and Tokens of his Displeasure which may be seen plainly if we look no farther than this how every Year Year after Year now of late one part or other of our Land hath failed of having plentiful Crops of Corn much more than usually it hath heretofore in some Years past before these now late scanty Years for formerly I have known for many Years together we have had plentiful Crops Year after Year But it is much to be doubted that that time of fulness of Bread made us fat as that we thereby only grew Wanton and Lascivious and so consequently have run into all manner of Evils But now it seems to appear to me that God hath of late been pleased to try us with a Scanty thereby to see how every one of us would behave our selves under it and it may be also to see whether the Poor would thereby become truly Penitent as also to see whether the Rich would be Charitable For indeed it appears so to me both by the Eyes of Reason and Faith as if God of late Years had so ordered things to be only to try us in and by these Ways and Manners of dealing with us For by observation of late Years it hath been found through the most part of our Land that if in one part of our Land their hath been an indifferent plenty then for that other places have so much failed And then again these Places of our Land that have failed that one Year have had indifferent Plenty the next Year following that Year of scanty Or thus again I say they that have had a plentiful Crop of Corn when others have had the same Year but a scanty Crop then the next Year following they that have had the Year before a scanty crop have had then their plentiful Crop And then they that had the Year before their plentiful Crop have had their scanty Crop for it But to explain it more short take it thus I say generally of late Years by experience it hath been found he that had a plentiful Crop of Corn the one year had a scanty Crop for it the next Year following So that upon the whole of the matter it doth appear to me by Reason as well as by Faith to believe that the Almighty hath of late so measured out all his Blessings only to try the Hearts of Men that it might be seen by their Actions what their Behaviour towards God and Men would be and how far their Charity would extend to one another But again I have observed also that notwithstanding the Almighty's displeasure with us yet in the general we have had enough every Year throughout our Land one where with the other of all sorts of Grain and of all others sorts of Provisions but Men have not distributed it abroad in our Nation as God would have had it done for instead of Charity to their Neighbours they have made a meer Prey of them and have also sought out wicked Inventions meerly to grind the Poor even as it were to dust And therefore it is that I doubt that for those things God hath yet a Controversie to be disputed with such men as have by several ways and means before mentioned thus oppressed the Poor and Needy and that do put their trust more in their god Mammon than they do in the Great God of Heaven But let such Men know that that God that made them to that end and purpose to do good in their Generation can destroy them for their Wickedness in a moment read the whole Chapter of the Prophet Obadiah but more particularly observe these following Verses of that Chapter which I have quoted at large in the 3d and 4th Verses thereof 't is said The pride of thine Heart hath deceived thee thou that dwellest in the clifts of the rock whose habitation is high that saith in his heart Who shall bring me down to the ground Though thou exalt thy self as the Eagle and though thou set thy Nest among the Stars thence will I bring thee down saith the Lord. And in the 6th 7th and 8th Verses 't is said How are the things of Esau searched out How are his hid things sought up All the Men of thy Confederacy have brought thee even to the Border the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee and prevailed against thee they that eat thy Bread have laid a Wound under thee there is none understanding in them Shall I not in that Day saith the L●rd even destroy the Wise Men out of Edom and Vnderstanding out of the Mount of Esau And in 〈◊〉 10th V rss 't is said For thy violence against 〈…〉 ther Jacob shame shall cover thee and thou sh●● be cut off forever And also in the 15th Verse 't is said For the ●ay of the L●rd is near upon all the Heathen as thou h●st done it shall be done unto thee thy Reward shall return upon thine own Head And now again I say if any of our Star-gazers who are called by the Name of Astrologers shall read these my Discourses they will say of me He hath written like a Fool for we know that all such disorderly seasons as have been of late Years comes from no other Causes than from the natural Influences of the Heavenly Bodies according to their own due Courses as they were by God himself first ordained for them to continue in without any alteration only as to Time and Motion they vary in their several Revolutions and so then consequently it must follow that from time to time the Seven wandring Planets must be every Year Year after Year always variously placed in their several Positions and as variable in their Conjunctions or Oppositions or Squares And then as they have relation more or less in these their several Positions to all those other innumerable company of Fixed Stars so accordingly they do always bestow their several Influences upon the Earth or to express my self more plain I say that accordingly as all the Heavenly Bodies are in their several Positions and Courses either Benignally or Malignally inclined towards us even so the Seasons of the Year must always

be and otherwise they cannot be And this I take to be the Opinion of our Astrologers in this cause now stated Again the like also they say of any man's Nativity That from the Influences of the Stars all things are ordained and appointed out for them and what shall betide them here in this World and therefore whether it be good or evil they say Men must be contented with their Fate And so it appears by their Opinion that every one by the Influences of the Stars must be either Good or Evil more or less in their several Degrees and Qualifications of their Minds as well as Rich or Poor in Fortunes for I do not understand that they do any of them make any exception in these things and if so then those Astrologers make room for Atheism also And indeed great pity it is that so many Wise Men in Worldly Affairs should be so ignorant in that point as to put any Confidence in such Lying Fops as many of them are whose very Predictions give themselves Contradictions by which any Man may see that they all of them err in their Art or Judgment in such high degrees as that the best of their Predictions deserve to be despised and contemned for thereby they do pretend to know the very Secrets of God himself which is impossible for any Man to know and I question whether the Angels in Heaven do know what shall betide every Man on Earth until God himself is pleased to reveal such things to them when he sends them forth as his Messengers to execute his Will either in Mercy or Judgment to good or evil Men whilst they are here upon the Earth And therefore if such Secrets are not known to Angels how came they to be known to such Men as call themselves Astrologers who are in themselves some of them almost as bad as Devils and I had no need to have said almost as bad for the very Devils themselves believe and tremble But such Men as do pretend to this great Art in Astrology some of them have as I have been told deny'd the very Being of God himself But however I will always own and honour all such Men as have this great knowledge of the Motions of the Heavenly Bodies provided they do not go beyond their Last or Station for they are very useful to us all to know the Times and Seasons of the Year And I hope some of them do believe in the one and only true God and also do allow him to be the only whole and sole Creator of Heaven and Earth and that he can and doth many times alter and change the Courses of those Heavenly Bodies for to serve his own purpose how and when he pleaseth or otherwise it would be very sad if all of them should be Atheistically minded But I have more Charity for some of them than so to think of them but for any of their absolute Predictions I take them to be very vain and foolish and think it great Folly in any one to fear them or any way in the least to depend upon them for certainly no Man can tell what shall betide a Child by his knowing the very Minuit of the Hour that he was born into the World for such things as these are Secrets which are known to none but God himself and I do aver it that it is above and beyond the Art of any Man in the World to foretell punctually every thing that shall betide any Man here in this subluminary World And such things as these some Astrologers pretend to foretell and some Men there be now living that do put too must trust in them and seem to plead for the certainty of their knowledge for say they Some of them do ramble very right in some of their Predictions To which I answer The greatest Fool in Nature may sometimes by chance answer aptly to some Questions but 't is very rare that they do so and it is altogether so rare a thing to see or know any of their Predictions to fall out so patly to their purposes as Fools do sometimes by chance so patly answer the Questions put to them But as to the truth of any of their Predictions they are very uncertain things and much more uncertain than any Lotteries whatsoever for in them there are certainly some Prizes for the many Blanks that do belong to them But there is no certainty at all for the very truth of any of the Astrologers Predictions whatsoever that they shall really come to pass as they predicted it But however for Argument-sake I think it fit to compair their Predictions to be somewhat like unto Lotteries as to the uncertainties of them for a Man may loose much Money to a Lottery before he may get one Prize and yet notwithstanding that now and than by the turn of an accidental Die after many throws there may at last turn up a Prize And so amongst so many of their Predictions now and than accidentally some things may happen to fall out to be somewhat like what they had before predicted in such dark Problems as they usually utter them which have also in them a very large relation to many other common Accidents that usually do fall out many times But then if any of these Accidents agree with their Predictions then the whole World is not untold of it by themselves altho' at the same time those Astrologers by their foreknowing Skill knew nothing of the reality of such things that it should certainly come to pass But their Predictions are so variously exprest that they will bear several Constructions And by that way Chance-medlee may bring to pass now and than some little things something like to what they predicted which the Astrologers will be sure to catch at and will say That that was the thing they meant in their Predictions when perhaps 't was never in their thoughts bfeore only they will allow it to be so when any such thing so falls out to serve their turn But again if I mistake not the very Foundation of all their Art is grounded on no better bottom than from the observation of Antient Astrologers who did then in their days both quote and chronicle the several Positions of the heavenly Bodies and the Effects which ensued in their time and so have left it down to our Posterity That it was their Judgments that when the heavenly Bodies should be at any time after their time in the same Positions that they were then in their time that then the same like Effects would follow again that did happen to be and fall out in their time whilst they were then living which president is to me no sufficient Reason nor can it as I think be a sufficient Reason to satisfie any rational Man for li●●e Causes have not always their like Effects as may be seen in many things throughout the whole Course of Nature and in such things too as is plainly within our selves known for