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	soul_n	spirit_n	3,520	5	5.4686	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45310	The remedy of discontentment, or, A treatise of contentation in whatsoever condition fitted for sad and troubled times / by Jos. Hall ...	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1684 (1684)	Wing H405; ESTC R42064	37,772	178

a sure apprehension of both the unavoidable necessity and certain benefit of death A necessity grounded upon the just and eternal Decree of Heaven It is appointed to all men once to die and what a madness were it for a Man to think of an exemption from the common condition of mankind Mortality is as it were essential to our Nature neither could we have had our Souls but upon the terms of a re-delivery when they shall be called for If the Holiest Saints or the greatest Monarchs sped otherwise we might have some colour of repining Now grieve if thou wilt that thou art a Man grieve not that being Man thou must die Neither is the benefit inferiour to the necessity Lo here the remedy of all our cares the Physick for all our maladies the rescue from all our fears and dangers earnestly sued for by the painful dearly welcome to the distressed Yea lo here the Cherub that keeps the Gate of Paradise there is no entrance but under his hand In vain do we hope to pass to the Glory of Heaven any other way then through the Gates of Death The second is the Conscience of a well-led Life Guiltinefs will make any Man cowardly unable to look danger in the face much more Death whereas the innocent is bold as a Lion What a difference therefore there is betwixt a Martyr and a Malefactor this latter knows he hath done ill and therefore if he can take his Death but patiently it is well the former knows he hath done well and therfore takes his Death not patiently onely but chearfully But because no mortal Man can have so innocently led his Life but that he shall have passed many offences against his most Holy and Righteous God here must be Thirdly a final Peace firmly made betwixt God and the Soul Two Powerful Agents must mediate in it a Lively Faith and a serious Repentance for those Sins can never appear against us that are washed off with our tears and being justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Now if we have made the Judge our Friend what can the Sergeant do The fourth is the Power and efficacy of Christs Death applyed to the Soul Wherefore dyed he but that we might Live Wherefore would he who is the Lord of Life die but to sanctifie season and sweeten death to us Who would go any other way then his Saviour went before him Who can fear that enemy whom his Redeemer hath Conquered for him Who can run away from that Serpent whose sting is pulled out Oh Death my Saviour hath been thy Death and therefore thou canst not be mine The fifth is the comfortable expectation and assurance of a certain resurrection and an immediate Glory I do but lay me down to my rest I shall sleep quietly and rise gloriously My Soul in the mean time no sooner leaves my body then it enjoys God It did lately through my bodily Eyes see my sad Friends that bad me farewel with their Tears now it hath the blisse-making Vision of God I am no sooner lanched forth then I am at the Haven where I would be Here is that which were able to make amends for a thousand Deaths a Glory Infinite Eternal Incomprehensible This Spiritual Ammunition shall sufficiently furnish the Soul for her encounter with her last Enemy so as she shall not only endure but long for this Combat and say with the chosen Vessel I desire to depart to be with Christ SECT XVIII The miseries and inconveniences of the continued conjunction of the Soul Body NOw for that long conversation causeth entireness and the parting of Old Friends and Partners such the Soul and Body are cannot but be grievous although there were no actual pain in the dissolution It will be requisite for us seriously to consider the state of this conjunction to enquire what good offices the one of them doth to the other in their continued union for which they should be so loth to part And here we shall find that those two however united to make up one Person yet as it fals out in Cross matches they are in continual domestique jars one with the other and entertain a secret familiar kind of Hostility betwixt themselves For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other One says well that if the Body should implead the Soul it might bring many foul impeachments against it and sue it for many great injuries done to that Earthly part And the Soul again hath no fewer quarrels against the Body Betwixt them both there are many brawles no Agreement Our Schools have reckoned up therefore eight main incommodities which the Soul hath cause to complain of in her conjunction with the Body whereof the first is the defilement of Original Sin wherewith the Soul is not tainted as it proceeds alone from the pure hands of its Creator but as it makes up a part of a Son of Adam who brought this guilt upon Humane nature so as now this composition which we call Man is corrupt Who can bring a clean thing out of that which is unclean Saith Job The second is a proneness to Sin which but by the meeting of these partners had never been the Soul if single would have been innocent thus matched what Evil is it not apt to entertain An ill consort is enough to poyson the best disposition The difficulty of doing well is the third for how averse are we by this conjunction from any thing that is good This clog hinders us from walking roundly in the ways of God The good that I would do I do not saith the chosen Vessel The fourth is the dulness of our understanding and the dimness of our mental Eyes especially in the things pertaining unto God which now we are forced to behold through the vail of Flesh If therefore we mis-know the fault is in the mean through which we do imperfectly discover them The fifth is a perpetual impugnation and self-conflict either part labouring to oppose and vanquish the other This field is fought in every mans bosom without any possibility of peace or truce till the last moment of dissolution The sixth is the racking solicitude of cares which continually distract the Soul not Suffering it to rest at ease whiles it carries this Flesh about it The seventh is the multiplicity of passions which daily bluster within us and raise up continual Tempests in our Lives disquieting our Peace and threatning our Ruine The eight is the retardation of our Glory for Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God we must lay down our load if we would enter into Heaven The seed cannot fructifie unless it Die. I cannot blame Nature if it could wish not to be unclothed but to be clothed upon But so hath the Eternal Wisdom Ordered that we should first lay down ere we can take up

and be devested of Earth ere we can partake of Heaven Now then sith so many great discommodities do so unavoidably accompany this match of Soul Body and all of them cease instantly in the act of their dissolution what reason have we to be too deeply affected with their parting Yea how should we rather rejoyce that the Hour is come wherein we shall be quit both of the Guilt and Temptations of Sin wherein the clogg shall be taken away from our heels and the vail from our Eyes wherein no intestine Wars shall threaten us no cares shall disquiet us no passions shall torment us and lastly wherein we may take the free possession of that Glory which we have hitherto lookt at only a far off from the top of our Pisgah SECT XIX Holy dispositions for Contentment And first Humility HItherto we have dwelt in those Powerful considerations which may work us to a quiet Contentment with whatsoever adverse estate whether of Life or Death after which we address our selves to those meet dispositions which shall render us fully capable of this blessed Contentation and shall make all these considerations effectual to that happy purpose Whereof the first is true Humility under-valuing our selves and setting an high rate upon every Mercy that we receive For if a Man have attained unto this that he thinks every thing too good for him and himself less then the least Blessing and worthy of the heaviest judgment he can not but sit down thankful for small Favours meekly content with mean afflictions As contrarily the proud Man stands upon points with his Maker makes God his debter looks disdainfully at small Blessings as if he said What no more and looks angerly at the least crosses as if he said Why thus much The Father of the Faithful hath practically taught us this Lesson of humility who comes to God with dust and ashes in his mouth And the Jewish Doctors tell us truly that in every Disciple of Abraham there must be three things a good eye a meek spirit and an humble soule His Grandchild Jacob the Father of every true Israelite had well taken it out whiles he can say to his God I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant And indeed in whomsoeever it be the best measure of Grace is Humility for the more Grace still the greater Humility and no Humility no Grace Solomon observed of old and Saint James took it from him That God resisteth the proud and giveth Grace to the Humble so as he that is not humble is not so much as capable of Grace and he that is truly Humble is a fit subject for all Graces and amongst the rest for the Grace of Contentation Give me a man therefore that is vile in his own Eyes that is sensible of his own wretchedness that knows what it is to Sin and what belongs to that Sin whereof he is guilty this Man shall think it a Mercy that he is any where out of Hell shall account all the evils that he is free from so many new Favours shall reckon easie corrections amongst his blessings shall esteem any blessing infinitely obliging Whereas contrarily the proud beggar is ready to throw Gods almes at his Head and swels at every lash that he receives from the Divine Hand Not without great cause therefore doth the Royal Preacher oppose the patient in Spirit to the proud in Spirit for the proud Man can no more be patient then the patient can be discontent with whatsoever hand of his God Every toy puts the proud Man beside his Patience If but a flie be found in Pharaohs cup he is straight in rage as the Jewish tradition lays the quarrel and sends his Butler into durance And if the Emperour do but mistake the Stirrup of our Countrey-Man Pope Adrian he shall dance attendance for his Crown If a Mardochee do but fail of a courtesie to Haman all Jews must bleed to Death And how unquiet are our vain Dames if this curle be not set right or that Pin be mis-placed But the meek Spirit is incurious and so throughly subacted that he takes his load from God as the Camel from his Master upon his knees And for Men if they compell him to goe one mile he goes twain if they smite him on the right cheek he turns the other if they sue away his Coat he parts with his Cloake also Heraclius the Emperour when he was about to passe through the golden gate to ride in Royal State through the streets of Jerusalem being put in mind by Zacharias the Bishop there of the humble and dejected fashion wherein his Saviour walked through those streets towards his passion strips off his rich robes lays aside his Crown and with bare head and bare feet submissly paces the same way that his Redeemer had carried his Cross towards his Golgotha Every true Christian is ready to tread in the deep steps of his Saviour as well knowing that if he should descend to the Gates of Death of the Grave of Hell he cannot be so humbled as the Son of God was for him And indeed this and this alone is the true way to Glory He that is Truth it self hath told us that he who humbles himself shall be exalted And wise Solomon Before Honour is Humility The Fuller treads upon that cloth which he means to whiten And he that would see the Stars by day must not climbe up into some high Mountain but must descend to the lower Cells of the earth Shortly whosoever would raise up a firm building of Contentation must be sure to lay the foundation in Humility SECT XX. Of a Faithful Self-resignation SEcondly to make up a true Contentment with the most adverse estate there is required a Faithfull Self-resignation into the hands of that God whose we are who as he hath more right in us then our selves so he best knows what to do with us How graciously hath his mercy invited us to our own ease Be careful saith he for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God we are naturally apt in our necessities to have recourse to greater powers then our own even where we have no engagement of their help how much more should we cast our selves upon the Almighty when he not only allows but solicits our reliance upon him It was a question that might have befitted the mouth of the best Christian which fell from Socrates Since God himself is careful for thee why art thou solicitous for thy self If evils were let loose upon us so as it were possible for us to suffer any thing that God were not aware of we might have just cause to sink under adversities but now that we know every dram of our affliction is weighed out to us by that all-wise and all-merciful Providence