Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bring_v	good_a	great_a	3,132	5	2.4770	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15576	The best merchandise or, A cleare discovery of the evident difference, and admirable advantage, betweene our traffike with God, for the true treasure; and with men, for temporall commodity VVherein is shevved that our spirituall trading is both free from all the evill, & full of all the good, which is incident to civill commerce; yea, that it overfloweth with divers excellent prerogatives, which the affayres of the earth cannot yeelde. Preached at Middleburgh in Zeelandt, immediately before the remoovall, of the famous fellowship of Merchant Adventurers of England, from thence, vnto Delft, in Hollandt. And now published, and dedicated, to the honour and vse, of that whole society, there, or other where, residing. By Iohn VVing, a true harted wellwiller, to their temporall, and eternall good, with God and men.	Wing, John, of Flushing, Zealand.	1622 (1622)	STC 25843; ESTC S120117	86,198	146

litle kil'd experienced in the same seing that by this admirable vnity it becomes soe exceeding easy What hath the Lord made it but one in all respects and reduced all those infinite and innumerable dutyes into so narrow a roome and compasse and made it soe compleat in excellency and advantage and shall we be ignorant and vnseene in it and noe-body at it Is this one thing our only good by which we are blessed for ever and ever and shall we be such sotts and jdiots as not to vnderstand our owne good therin Shall either Satan foe sednee vs or the world soe be witch vs as that we should neglect this one God from whome we have all good and soe give him cause at his great and dreadfull day to vpbrayd vs before his owne face to our confusion that in a world of variety and multiplicity of base earthy corruptible and temporary trash whole worldes whereof could never bring vs any true good we were soe wel instructed and experienced that we could both say and doe much and that to this our best and most blessed busines wherein the Lord gayne's infinite glory by vs we gayne infinite comfort by him we should be such strangers as to have no skill in it or accquaintaince with it which might either enable our selves or by vs encourage others to bend their best endeavours toward the same What flesh can stand vnder this accusation in the fearfull presence of the living God who can answer it vnto him surely none and if we let it alone till that day there is but one way for vs and that is this that those who are then convinced of it must be sure to be eternally condemned for it Let vs then deare Christians confider seasonably and seriously of it even while it is day and we may worke before that blacknes of darknes come wherin none can worke that we may while we have time honour him who el's if we overpasse our opportunity will honour himself in our woe beyond all time Let vs not thinke it a small kindnes that all our comforts are soe closely folded together in this one particuler What may we jmagine thinke yee was David reason to chuse the last of the three miserable and heavy punishments that were propounded vnto him It was indeede a wonderfull and a wofull straight he was put vnto the choyse was hard betweene famine sword and pestilence the three lashes of Gods whip with one of those he must smart and seing all three cannot be avoyded but one must be endured he resolves vpon the pestilence to vndergoe that that one of the three he chuses why soe note his reason because in this he should fall into the hands of God not of men this was it in either of the other two he was to have to doe with to wit with God and men too we may jmagine in case of famine how the people of the land would have flowed about him for bread in the sword the enemy would have swarmed about him the people for blood he should have had his hands full had he had to doe with either of these but now in the Pestilence which he did chose doe with none but the Lord alone all his busines lay in one place with one party and in one particuler he had nothing to doe with any man but with the Lord of heaven and none but he in this point and was not this good husbandry to cast and contrive his busines soe neere together Is not this written for our instruction and practise that we should goe and learne to doe likewise and if he did it as the best in case of such calamity and bitternes how much better would it become vs in this particuler of our comfort and advantage to endeavour the same Set we our selves then towards this employment seing it is soe couched to our hands let vs shame and blame ourselves that we are soe weakely seene into it It would be most grosse in our eye and that which we would not put vp or endure at our inferiours hāds that if we should tendering their weaknes and inability vse all our vnderstanding to contract their busines as neerely and narrowly as were possible for their better and easier dispatch of the same and soe summe it vp and abridge it that all they had doe were to goe but to one place to speake with one man and about one thing and if herein they should be soe exceeding carelesse as that we should vpon our enquiry finde this our one and only busines so neglected that it is either ill done or not done how righteously might we repreove yea and punish such insufferable negligence By themselves in this ease may all mē measure the Lord in the other how he will deale with those whose delinquence were so egregious that his wisdome and love should be soe monstrously abused that he entrusting vs but in this one matter we should be found guilty of soe foule neglect before him Either this will breede more diligence in vs Note or bring more damnation to vs. And this is the first peculiar and singuler benefit of this last ranke which this our heavenly merchandise hath and yours hath not that whereas yours requires many things to be done with many persons in many places and cannot be brought into closer bounds this is thus happily abstracted into one place with one party and all that is to be done is to gayne one commodity Now we are to set forward toward a second favour of the same kinde and it is nothing inferiour but much about the former and that is this That he with whome we trade doth GIVE vs ALL we TRADE FOR yea and ALL wee TRADE WITH The Stock we trade with the Merchandise we trade for yea and the Knowledg and vnderstanding that any man hath to vse this stock to attaine that merchandise is all freely given vs of the Lord. He findes vs as it were money to trade with and commodity to trade for and give 's vs vnderstanding to compasse the one with the other that we may prosper in both It is most true yea it is too true that of our selves we have nothing the more shame is it for vs to say it considering how we were once enriched with all fullnes and fittnes vnto this busines and are now miserable naked having no wit to order our trade no stock to drive it no advantage to live by it none of all this growe's in our nature now we are bereft and become barren of every of these and cannot furnish ourselves with one myte of money or one farthings worth of commodity to begin with-all And as true is it also that the Lord who is Lord over all and rich vnto all that he hath endowed vs once againe with all these necessaryes whereby we may recover our selves in Iesus Christ to be once more enriched and evermore more and more encreased in our best estate ooke what is any way

that which he cannot employ he tell 's him well this you shall give me for this house and lande it shal be yours one day But to passe this let vs labour to be wise and wary beware that in any wise we binde not the Lord to any words he is free to chuse and vse what he pleaseth is it not great reason that he should have liberty of speaking who is infinitely wese in every word he speake's and therefore when soever the Lord takes any word of ours wherin we cannot discerne a cleare cōcurrence of his minde let vs sift the more narrowly for his intendement therein and blame our blindenes that we cannot see it as we should It is not for nothing at all though it may be but for some one or very few things that he makes choyse of these civill tearmes to teach vs the knowledge and skill of celestiall truth thereby Let vs not therefore slight off these words or looke with a shallow or superficiall eye vpon them but take them into our most serious consideration to search out the meaning of God in them Thirdly Reason 3 it is possible the Lord aludes to this word both here and elsewhere to illustrate our best being in the best things and call's his greatest mercyes and our cheifest graces Merchandise because he would magnify and commend the course of a merchants life to be lawfull honest and good and a calling of his owne institution and allowance in as much as he makes this imployment the honourable embleme of these admirable excellencyes in whose enjoyment we are truly blessed before him If every christian that would be blessed must merchandise can any christian conceit basely of merchandiseing the scriptures attestations of the honour and excellency of this practise trade and state of life are many I thought good to mention this among the rest the better to muzzle and bung vp the malignant tongve of any foule mouth that shall ever barke against it soe currishly and vnchristianly as divers have done And thus we see how and wherefore these things are called merchandise The next word followeth Thereof that is of the wisdome and vnderstanding spokē of in the 13 verse whereby all graces are meant It is a common thing through out the scripture to notify all good or evill vnder some one grace or vice of either sort but it is more proper to this booke then any other to propound all graces vnder the name of wisdome all vices vnder the name of Folly Throughout the Proverbs Solom●n wise man is a compleat christian furnisht with all saving grace and he that is called a foole here is the man that is full of all impiety and prophants But let vs come a litle neerer to this word therof and we shall finde it to be added out of inspeakeable wisdome in God and that not only to evidence the excellency of wisdome aboue wealth hut alse todifference and distinguish this merchandise from another which is obtruded vpon millions of men and pretended yea pressed to be true spirituall when as vpon due tryall it will prove to be no better then carnall and diabolicall to cozen to gull and to delude all such as deale in it or meddle with it who not knowing a Pedler from a merchant doe take these trifeling vanit yes for rich commodityes I meane the merchandise of the Great wheere of whome and of her merchants and the things the buy'es sell's Saint Peter sayes some thing and Saint Iohn sayes more in his Revelation In which booke and in divers places therof the Lord Iesus doth at large lay her and her doings open that all men may see how with whome and wherein she tradeth How she tradeth let Peter tell vs even that Peter whome they brag to be their Patrone he hath evidētly decyphered her vile dealing 2. pet 1. ver 1. ver 3. to be privy and close covetous and catching counter feit and fawning soe saith ye text who shall privily bring in damnable heresies and through covetousnes make merchandise of you all whoores qualityes as right as ean be VVith whome Re. 1● 3.9.22 she tradeth Saint Iohn tell 's vs who are her merchants no meane men no base fellowes but kings and great ones and that of all nations too VVherin she tradeth to wit in any thing that may bring her in silver and golde pompe and pelf to gaine which she sells merits indulgences masses dispensations trent all 's dirges the fardle of all her fopperies is opened set to sale yea to enrich her self she cares not to make prize of the soules of men too causing them to sell their soules to her for such toyes as she tell 's them are good for them both living and dead that she may sell them to the divell for such things as she knowe's are good for her self to purchase more honor wealth and pewer to her king dome These are her wares and none but she may sell them noe monepoly is like this the Divill is sole owner he will trust none but her to be his factor she none but her owne bratts to be her breakers soe this trade of hellish trash is driven betweene them and with it they couny-catch mens consciences and catch money out of mens purses and for this double damage give them some jdle puppet or foolish vanity that shall trebble it all they sell hath this seale of a hellish and infernall in vention that all the proffit come's to the seller he will be sure of money the buyer hath nothing but fruitles vanity And soe they silly soules are gull'd to lay out their siluer and golde and not for bread or rather but for bread even then when they hope and beleeue they have bought A GOD. Now the merchandise therof is as much worse then the merchandise of golde and siluer as this in our text is better then both and no man endued of God with any vnderstanding will once intermeddle here the only traders are these infatuated fooles whome God hath given over to strong delusion the Devill hath gotten into his dominion And these mysticall sotts doe suffer nay joy to see them selves miserably abused by these Catholike Inglers of whome they thinke they doe receive the ernaments of Christ whenas they have nothing but Antichristian excrements and soe in steed of adorneing and bewtifying their soules they doe defile abase them out of measure For this cause even because hereof doth the holy Ghost insert most wisely this word thereof that wise men might be able to discerne betweene the merchandise of God which evermore brings great advantage and that of the man of sin which is never more then meere cousenage Now put we forward to the next is better that is to say every way beyond it in all kinde of benefits and advantages I cannot conceive the word better to beare any worse sence here then the best it hath any where because as we shall shew when we come

away take thy whole loade with thee and cast all thy burden vpon him he hath promised to ease and lighten thee thou shalt neither be rejected nor vpbrayded for bringing soe much No man is truly miserable but he only hath soe much as he cannot bring it he who hath a hart so sinfull that it will not suffer him to goe to the Lord Jesus to be vnladen of his transgressions his case is heavy his state is hellish and lamentable If once a mans sin be growne to that desperate power and measure that it will overule his foule that it shall not goe to seeke meanes of freedome and release from the bondage thereof he is in wofull taking for why the Divell who is soe predominant in him as to keepe him from comming to Christ doth keepe such a sinner whome he can soe witholde for himself and by making him incapable of the purchase of Christ it is apparant he purposeth to make prey of him for himself But he that can come let him come he shall returne vnladen of all his evills and carry sheanes for his weedes even all good for all his evill with him And is not this a singuler benefit of this trade aboue yours that wheras you must bring commodityes to fell we may sell our jmpietyes and whereas you often receive bad for good we are sure to ever receive good yea the best for our bad 3. As you can neither sell when you will Advantage 3 nor what you will soe neither is it in your power to sell to whome you will You must take and sometimes trust too such as come it is noe way possible for the merchant-seller to please himself and make choyse of every merchantbuyer to have only such as he would have noe sometimes good men come not to buy sometimes they are taken vp by others e're they come to vs and you trade with such now and then as you take no such content in but you could even as willingly they should leave as take your commodity But in the sales of this merchandise we have one who is in constant and perpetuall custome with vs who deale's most currantly in taking of all we bring vpon tearmes of admirable advantage we cannot cloy him with often comming or with too much as oft as we come to fell there is no neede we should feare or care to finde sale for he will have all that we have at all times And that is our good God he and he alone it is who is our buyer we fell to him and to none but him who is God to be blessed for ever who will carry away all that come's and buy all that is brought to him And he that would wish any other to deale with it were pitty but he should keepe to himself that which he might fell to the Lord and by retayning that the sale wherof would soe enrich him sell himself vnder the eternall curse of this God which is denounced as most due to seize vpon all such as will not depart from their jniquityes But most vayne it were to wish for any other customer for our corruption for none but he will take it from vs if he ease vs not of it we must be for ever burdened with it and abide the misery and mischeife of it For why who doe we thinke we can deale with all or who can we thinke will deale with vs in this case for our corruption The Divell will not buy any sin of vs he fell's it to vs and is soe farre from diminishing any we have that he endeavoureth to adde more vnto it and to encrease that we have if we have any good he is ready to rob vs of that or to truck with vs by some satanicall sleight or other that we may be deprived therof but for sin he is the sole founder and Authour thereof all we have come's from him haveing once fastened it vpon vs he will none of it againe vpon any tearmes The world cannot take any evill from vs vnlesse by pollution and that make's it more ours though it become in some sort theirs if we deale with men it is easy to get more but in no wise to lessen that we have already It is the almighty only who is our merchant to him we may goe and be sure of sale for all we can bring no other but he none better then he to deale withall in this merchandise he that knowe's not this is miserably blindefolded of the divell and he that knowing it doth it not is wofully bewitched by him to keepe that within him which will for ever destroy him before that God who would had he vnfaynedly sought it have eased him of all his evill and enriched him with all good in steed thereof 4. You cannot sell for what you will Advantage 4 no man can force a market and make it as his list but must be content to take as the time will affoord Sometimes good proffit sometimes litle it may be none now and then but some losse such is the vnceartainty of your trading All times doe not yeelde advantage But beholde the trade we now treate and talke of is more then a litle better for all the bargaines we make therin are exceeding beneficiall vnto vs and that will be easy to conceive and beleeve if we take notice of two or three things 1. It is impossible we should be absolute loosers and have nothing at all for that we fell And that because we have to doe with him who is the fullnes and infinitnes of all things from whome he being soe it is simply impossible that nothing should come 2. If we had nothing for what we put off and part withall yet could we loose nothing And that because our sin and corruption is lesse and worse then nothing it is a happines to be rid of that which is evill though nothing should come in place therof 3. That which we have for it be it much or litle it cannot but be good And that because it come's from God from whome as nothing cannot come soe nothing but good can come from him he being Goodnes it self And soe all we have is cleare gaine no man that ever dealt with the Lord ever made either a loosing bargaine or but a saving neither of these can be for the causes and considerations aforesayd the least that ever was was great advantage who can thinke it to be otherwise that see 's what he doe's or vnderstand's that he sell's his sin and saue 's his soule And what gayne yea what vnspeakable gayne this is he only can manifest that feeles the happines of it in his owne hart In this particuler then of Sales this trade is evermore a gaynfull trade and it cannot but be soe for if you marke it our text make's merchandising and gayning all one thing and take's it for graunted that if a man trade he gaines without question doe not the words jmply it when they run thus For the merchandise