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	work_n	2,437	5	5.8344	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20820	Abjuration of poperie, by Thomas Abernethie: sometime Iesuite, but now penitent sinner, and an unworthie member of the true reformed Church of God in Scotland, at Edinburgh, in the Gray-frier church, the 24. of August, 1638	Abernethie, Thomas, fl. 1638-1641.	1638 (1638)	STC 72; ESTC S100404	27,560	50

to other cures for their wounded soules than to the meritorious blood of that immaculate Lambe who taketh away the sins of the world Away then away depart from me all yee workers of iniquitie away yee that flee for cure of your Souls to your Ladies Saints good works reiterat false sacrifices in the Masse relicts crosses holy water pilgramages processions works of supererogation indulgences and pardons working of true and false sacraments ex opere operato and to an infinite number of idolatrous rites and ceremonies forged by the ancient Pagans and Popes ancient and moderne away I say for I tell you except yee repent of these your idolatrous courses yee shall all likewise perish Away and see that with Paul yee rejoice in nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified Remember that it is momentanie which delighteth and eternall which tormenteth Take heed that when yee shall compeere at that great day with your souls ulcerat by your idolatrous superstition crying for cure that Christ the only Physitian of souls answer you not I never knew you depart from me yee that worke iniquitie Or as hee sayeth in another place Depart from me yee cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels Now God of his goodnesse open your eyes and let you understand the intolerable wrongs which yee doe to his divine Majestie his Church and your owne souls that doing unfeined repentance yee may efchew his fearfull judgements I come now to the third efficient cause calledinstrumentall or second cause whereby God wrought this wonderfull cure in me If any man expect here of me the decision of that philosophicall question of Gods concourse with the second causes for the production of their effects being necessare for the understanding of that contraversie de authore peccati of the author of sin I pray him excuse my brevitie and addresse himself to the interpreters of Aristotles treatise de causa efficiente But to our purpose No man can doubt but the Lord as he is infinitely mercifull in the conversion of sinners so is he infinitely wise and rich in the externall meanes which he imployeth for that use I speak not of the internall meane of the conversion of a sinner which according to Divines is gratia praeveniens and gratia excitans a preveening and stirring up grace quae operatur in nobis sine nobis which worketh in us without our help as Augustine affirmeth Of these externall meanes wee have many in sacred records Christ healing some with a look only the Lord turned and looked upon Peter c. and Peter went out and wept bitterly Others as the woman diseased with the issue of blood by touching his garment receaved present health both of body and soule Some by his divine conference as the Samarit an woman Others by the example of his wonderfull patience and miraculous passion as the thief upon the crosse Some by touching and feeling his pretious wounds as the Apostle Thomas Others by extraordinarie courses as the Apostle Paul Neither need we enquire for any reason of these proceedings of Christ but that that the Apostle giveth when he cryeth out O the depth of the riches both of the wisdome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out for who hath beene his counsellour As for the externall meane or instrumentall cause of my conversion to GOD and recovered health of my soul it was truely the reading of holy Scripture after this forme It fell out some three yeers ago or thereabout in Cathnes that after I had ended my ordinarie superstitions as Breviarie Masse Beeds and suchlike trash I used commonly to read a chapter of the Bible and one day reading these words of Paul Beware least any man spoile you thorow philosophie and vaine deceat after the traditions of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ and so foorth to the end of the chapter I was presentlie seazed with a doubt against Poperie that the Apostles admonition was that Gods children should beware of them and that the same time I was illuminate with an extraordinary light whereby comparing the words of the Apostle with their doctrine and actions I was convicted in my minde to define Poperie to bee a superstitious masse of policie under pretext of religion And examining more narowlie I found these foure points philosophie vaine deceat or sophistrie traditions of men and the rudiments of the world to be the foure pillers wherupon that Babylonish tower of Rome doth stand or else the foure wheeles whereupon that fyrie cart of superstitious masses and heathnish idolatrie is drawn thorow the world and will be drawn till it please God to consume that Man of Sin with the spirit of his mouth and destroy him with the brightnesse of his coming I might and minde Godwilling heereafter demonstrate that all the contraversies betweene papists and us may bee easily brought to these foure monstruous heads of poperie but for the present I will only indicat some few Their transubstantiation is grounded upon that Logicall treatise of the Quantitie where they destroy the nature of quantitie to build their breadie god their justification by works and their free will are built upon that physicall question of Gods concourse with the second causes in Aristotles treatise of the efficient cause That high question of predestination upon the foreknowledge of good works standeth upon the decision of that Logicall question de futuris contingentibus of contingent things to come their fundamentall ground of all papistrie the popes hierarchie is built upon Aristotles politicks and taught in the Jesuits morall philosophie Moreover their popes infallibilitie is but vaine deceit and sophistrie as likewise their absolute necessitie of baptisme dispensation with solemne vowes judging of Gods word and the like In a word their five bastard sacraments with all their superstitious rites and ceremonies sacrifice of the masse for the quicke and the dead canonization of saints invocation of angels and saints departed worshiping of images relicts and crosses dedication and consecration of churches altars and dayes baptizing of bels and ships blessing of holy water and sprinkling of it upon men and beasts to gaine moneyes as at Rome on S. Antonies day is done to all the horse and beasts in the countrey whereby the monks get that day to entertaine them well in their leacherous idlenesse till that time twelve month All these I say and the rest of that stinking tr●sh depend and hang upon these three pillars vained ceit or sophistrie traeditions of men and the rudiments of the world which to blinde poore soules maketh them bring in that new found distinction of Gods word written and unwritten And as for their philosophie for by that which I have above-mentioned their owne great pillar Albertin a Jesuite hath set out three volumes in folio where he showeth all their scholastick Divinitie

ABJURATION OF POPERIE BY THOMAS ABERNETHIE Sometime Jesuite but now penitent Sinner and an unworthie Member of the true reformed Church of God in Scotland at Edinburgh in the Grayfrier Church the 24. of August 1638. EXOD. 23. 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evill Matth. 7. 13 14. Enter yee in at the strait gate for wide is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which goe in thereat Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there bee that finde it VERITAS JINCET TANDEM Printed at Edinburgh in King James his College by George Anderson 1638. To the courteous Reader COurteous Reader in these subsequent pages excuse I pray thee the shortnesse of the matter and the rudenesse of the style and attribute that to my calling being long a Souldiour and this to my education which hath beene more out of my native Countrie than in it and make thy use of the matter which I have set downe for thy well rather than to censure the defect of my language Farewell LORD bee mercifull unto me heale my soul for I have sinned against thee PSAL. xli THis day right Honourable Reverend and Welbeloved in our common Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus is keeped very solemne and holy by these who equalize yea prefer some of their fabulous saincts dayes to the Lords owne day in respect of the relation they say it hath to the Apostle Bartholomew who being excoriat should have suffered martyrdome on such a day but of You is solemnized to the end Yee may behold a poore wretched sinner pull off and throw away his old skin of Popish Idolatrie and superstition that he may compeare in the sight of God and men with a new garment of righteousnesse dyeed in the blood of that immaculat Lambe who taketh away the sins of the world I know that my presence for this action will be no small subject of admiration to you all that heare and see me this day for truelie I finde it to my self so that I may justly say with the Apostle I am made a spectacle unto the world and to Angels and to men To the wicked world a spectacle of indignation and hatred for quiting it and taking me to the precious blood of my Saviour Christ To the good Angels at the conversion of a sinner To men of compassion and admriation In you I perceave this admiration to be joined with joy and gladnesse considering the diligent care of your sweet LORD and loving Master in bringing home your lost brother upon the shoulders of His mercie to His owne sheepfold in me poore Publican with shame and confusion of face beholding my long suffering God and you from whom I have gone alace too long astray In you with pitie and compassion to view me thus cruelly tormented with so many ravening wolfes in me with indignation for suffering my self to be deceaved so long with these infernall theeves In you with praise and thanksgiving to see me brought home againe alive in me with feare and trembling of my Saviours wrath for going and straying so long astray Now to give satisfaction in some measure to your admiration I will let you understand the cause thereof that is my cursed life in Poperie and how it hath pleased my gratious God to convert me from it exponing these few words of the royall Prophet Lord be mercifull unto me heale my soul for I have sinned against thee In which words yee may perceave that the Prophet having gone astray touched with remorse of conscience first he returneth to his God with unfeined repentance and beggeth pardon for his sins Lord be mercifull unto me Next because his soul was deadlie wounded he prayeth earnestlie for the health of it heal my soul And thirdlie he gives the reason of his petition for I have sinned against thee In imitation of this mightie King now turned a humble supplicant I minde Godwilling to show you these things following 1. How I have wounded my soule and sinned by following of Poperie I have sinned against thee 2. How it hath pleased God of his only mercie to heale my soul in his own time Heale my soul 3. I shall crave pardon first of God then of my deare Countrey-men in Scotland of you that bee heere present and of all these who professe with sinceritie the reformed Religion according to Gods written word saying LORD be mercifull unto me 4. And lastlie I shall answere to some idle objections against this my sincere confession and heartie resolution Concerning the first point the words containe foure things worthie of consideration 1. The person that hath sinned in the word I 2. The person against whom the sin is committed in the word thee 3. The sin it self in the word sinned and 4. the madnesse of a sinner to oppose himselfe agoinst so strong a partie as GOD in the word against Neither will I insist upon the word have supponing this confession of the Prophets and mine to be of bygone sins whereof remorse of conscience draweth us to a confession nor minde I to be curious exponing the literall anagogicall tropologicall or other senses of the words because I intend only to make a relation of my life in Poperie with an abjuration of the same and not a preaching knowing that no man should take that calling upon him but he who was called of God as was Aaron But to come to the words this particle I first showeth the qualitie of the person that sins I that am a King quoth the Prophet have sinned against thee which consideration doeth likewise aggravate my sin for I may say I who was brought up of honourable parents with a most religious Minister of Gods word for the space of six years have sinned renouncing that Heavenly doctrine which I learned of them I who had exponed my life in the wars to all hazards whereto that calling is subject sundrie years in Germanie for the overthrow of Poperie was not a year out of the wars till in my travels passing through Italie I was made a prey in Florence by an English Jesuite called Thomson or Gerard both to his religion and profession This word may likewise serve for reproof to those who delight more in descriving their neighbours sins than confessing their owne forgetfull of our Saviours words Judge not that yee be not judged for with what judgement yee judge yee shall be judged And thereafter Thou hypocrite first cast out the beame out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clear lie to east out the moat out of thy brothers eye The second thing considerable heere is the person offended against whom I have sinned and this is God Almightie for against GOD are all sinnes which are committed either mediatly or immediatly against thee only have I sinned and done thïs evill in thy fight The words may serve for confutation and admonition confutation of