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	great_a	king_n	3,018	5	3.5536	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42771	A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many usefull questions and cases of conscience are discussed and resolved ... / by Mr. George Gillespie ... ; published by Mr. Patrik Gillespie ...	Gillespie, George, 1613-1648.; Gillespie, Patrick, 1617-1675.	1649 (1649)	Wing G761; ESTC R8829	216,733	306

full and perfect discovery who are approved who not is reserved to the great and last day and there is no company Assembly nor visible Church in this world without a mixture of Hypocrites yet surely the word of the Lord hath been and shall be so far fulfilled that in a great measure and according to the knowledge which the church can have of her members in this life there is in times of Heresies and Schismes a discovery made who are the approved Ones who not 2. We must remember t is not the scope of this Text to give us a note of distinction between these who are approved and all counterfits or unapproved Christians but between these who are approved and these who are the fomenters or followers of Heresies Thus they who are indeed approved of God continue in the truth of Christ grounded and setled and stand fast in the faith and contend for it and this is one of the characters found in all such as are approved And thus far saith Augustine are Hereticks profitable to the Church for by their meanes those who are approved of God and spiritual men are stirred up to vindicat open and hold foorth the truth whereby they become more manifest then otherwise they could have been Upon the other part who ever turne away from the truth and from the Doctrine of Christ and turne aside after Heresies do thereby infalliblely declare themselves to be unapproved whatsoever profession or shew of holine ●…e they have Whatsoever become of the white mark of these who are approved which also holds true as I have explained it most certainly this black mark cannot fail upon the other side and he who supposeth any person who is of a Hereticall belief and faction to be holy spirituall mortified and approved or one that walketh in the spirit and not in the flesh doth but suppose that which is impossible And I do not doubt but God is by the Heresies and Schismes of these times making a discovery of many unapproved unmortified Professors who pretended to Piety So that I may transferre to our time what Chrysostome observed of his owne lib. 1 ad eos qui scandali●…ati sunt cap. 19. How many are there clothed with a shadow and shew of godlinesse how many who have a counterfit meeknesse how many who were thought to be some great Ones and they were not so have been in this time when so many fall off and make defection quickly manifested and their Hypocrisie detected they have appeared what they were not what they feigned themselves and most falsly pretend to be Neither is this a small matter but very much for the profite and edification of these that will observe it even to know distinguishingly these who are clothed in sheeps clothing not to reckon promiscuously those Woolves so hid among the true sheep For this time is become a fornace discovering the false Copper coyne melting the lead burning up the Chaffe making more manifest the precious Mettals This also Paul signified when he said For there must be also Heresies that they who are approved may be made manifest among you Vincentius Lirinensis doth also record to this purpose that when almost the whole world was infected with the Arrian Heresie some being compelled to it others cheated into it yet every true lover and worshipper of Christ was preserved pure from it CHAP. X. Of new Lights and how to keep off from splitting either upon the Charybdis of pertinacy and tenaciousnesse or upon the Scylla of Levity Wavering and Scepticisme T Is pleaded by some who pretend to more tendernesse of conscience then others that to establish by the Law of the Land a Confession of Faith or a Directory of the worship of God and of the Government of the Church and to appoint penalties or punishments upon such as maintaine the contrary Doctrines or practises is to hold out and shut the doore upon new Light That as the State and Church hath discovered the evill of diverse things which were sometime approved and strengthned by the Law of the Land so there may be afterwards a discovery made by the light of Experience and a further search of the Scripture to make manifest the falshood of those Doctrines which are now received as true and the evil of that Government and way which is now imbraced as good for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For satisfaction in this difficulty First of all I do not deny but most willingly yeeld yea assert as a necessary truth that as our knowledge at its best in this world is imperfect for we know but in part so it ought to be our desire and endeavour to grow in the knowledge of the minde of Christ to follow on to know the Lord to seek after more and more light for the path of the Iust is as the shyning light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day Prov. 4. 18. Secondly I acknowledge that this imperfection of our knowledge is not only in degrees but in parts that is we may know afterwards not only more of that good or evill or truth or error of which we knew somewhat before but we may happily come to know the evill of that whereof we knew no evill before or the good of that in which we knew no good before so may we come to know diverse truths which before we knew not Thirdly I acknowledge there is not only this imperfection but oft times a great mistake misunderstanding error and unsoundnesse in the judgement of Christian persons or Churches so that godly men and true Churches may come to know that to be evil which they sometime thought good and that to be false which sometime they thought true or contrariwise Which experience hath taught and may teach again Fourthly I confesse it is no shame for an Augustine to writ a Book of Retractations It is the duty not only of particular Christians but of reforming yea reformed yea the best reformed Churhes whensoever any error in their doctrine or any evill in their Government or forme of worship shall be demonstrated to them from the word of God although it were by one single person and one perhaps of no great reputation for parts or learning like Paphnu●…ius among the many learned Bishops in the counsell of Nice to take in and not to shut out further light to imbrace the will of Christ held foorth unto them and to amend what is amisse being discovered unto them Fifthly I also believe that towards the evening of the world there shall be more light and knowledge shall be increased Dan 12. 4. and many hid things in Scripture better understood when the Jewes shall be brought home and the Spirit of grace and illumination more aboundantly powred foorth We have great cause to long and pray for the conversion of the Jewes surely we shall be much the better of them But on the other hand the greatest deceits and depths of Sathan have been brought into the

themselves T is marked as a part of A●…imelechs sin Iud 9. 4. that he hired vain and light persons which followed him God would have Amaziah to dismisse an hundred thousand men of Israel being already with him in a body and told him he should fall before the enemy if these went with him because God was not with them 2 Chron. 25. 7. c. If they had not yet been gathered into a body it had been much to abstain from gathering them upon the Prophets admonition but this is much more that he sends them away after they are in a body and takes his hazard of all the hurt that so many inraged Souldiers could do to him or his people and indeed they did much hurt in going back vers 13 yet God rewarded Amaziahs obedience with a great Victory In the last age shortly after the begun Reformation in Germany this case of conscience concerning the unlawfulnesse of such confederacies was much looked at The city of Strassburg Anno 1629. made a defensive League with Zurik Berne and Basil Qui vicini erant dogmate magis conveniebant saith Sleidan they were not onely neighbours but of the same Faith and Religion therefore they made a confederacy with them About two yeares after the Elector of Saxony refused to take into confederacy those Eelvetians because although they were powerfull and might be very helpfull to him yet they differing in Religion concerning the Article of the Lords Supper he said he durst not joyne with them as confederats lest such sad things might befal him as the Scripture testifieth to have befallen those who for their help or defence took any assistance they could get The rule was good in thesi although in that particular case misapplyed The very heathens had a notion of the unlawfulnesse of confederacies with wicked men for as Victorinus Strigelius on 2 Chron 25. noteth out of Aeschylus his tragedy intituled Seven to Thebe Amphiaraus a wise vertuous man was therefore swallowed up in the earth with seven men and seven horses because he had associat himself with Tydeus Capaneus and other impious Commanders marching to the siege of Thebe Lastly take this reason for further confirmation as wee must doe all to the glory of God so wee must not make Warres to our selves but to the Lord hence the booke of the Warres of the Lord Num 21 14 and the battel is not ours but the Lords 1 Sam 25 28 2 Chron 20 15. Now how shall we imploy them that hate the Lord to help the Lord or how shall the enemies of his glory do for his glory Shall rebels traitors be taken to fight in the Kings Wars Offer it to thy Governour as it is said Mal. 1. see if he would take this wel As for the Objections from Scripture they are before answered There are many other exceptions of mens corrupt reason which yet may be easily taken off if wee will receive Scripture light That very case of Iehosophats confederacy with Ahab taketh off many of them for although 1. Iehosophat was a good man and continued so after that association not drawn away into Idolatry nor infected with Ahabs Religion but onely assisting him in a civil businesse 2. Ahab lived in the Church of Israel which was still a Church although greatly corrupted and hee was no professed hater of God only he had professed to hate Micajah the man of God yea lately besore this he appeared very penitent and some think Iehosaphat now judged charitably of Ahab because of that great humilation and repentance of his which God did accept so far as to reward it with a temporall sparing mercy 1 Kings 21. at the end then followes immediatly Chap 22. Iehosaphats association with him Although Iehosaphat was also joyned in affinity with Ahab Ahabs daughter being married to his sonne 3. The enemy was the King of Syria and Iehosaphat doth not joyne with a wicked Man against any of Gods people but against the infidell Syrians even as Amaziah was beginning to joyne with those of the ten Tribes against the Edomites 4. The cause seemes to have been good as Carthusian on 1 Kings 22. 3. and Lavater upon 2 Chron 19. 2. note For Ramoth-Gilead was a city of refuge pertaining to the Levites in the Tribe of Gad and should have been restored by the King of Syria to Ahab according to their Covenant 1 Kings 20. 34. Daneus brings that same example of Ahabs going up against Ramoth-Gilead to prove that 't is just to make warre against these who have broken Covenant with us 5 Iehosaphats manner of proceeding was pious in this respect that he said to Ahab enquire I pray thee of the word of the Lord to day and again is there not here a Prophet of the Lord besides he enquireth ultrà and seeks all the light he could there have in point of conscience from Prophets of the Lord which makes it probable that those 400. Prophets did not professe or were not known to Iehosaphat to be Prophets of Baal but were lookt upon as Prophets of the Lord as Cajetan thinketh Therefore they answer also in the name of the Lord the Lord shall deliver it 'T is not likely that Iehosaphat would desire the Prophets of Baal to be consulted or that hee would hearken to them more then to the Prophet of the Lord Micajah yet in this he failed extremly that he had too far engaged himself to Ahab before the enquiring at the word of the Lord. How ever it seemes he was by this enquiring seeking a faire way to come off againe 6. Iehosaphats end was good Martyr on 1 Kings 22. thinkes Iehosaphat entered into this confederacy with Ahab for the peace and safety of his Kingdome and to prevent a new War between Iudah and Israel such as had been between Asa his father and Baasha King of Israel for which end also Carthusian ibid. thinks that Iehosaphat took Ahabs daughter to his son Yet notwithstanding of all this the Prophet Iehu saith to him 2 Chron. 19. 2. Shouldest thou help the ungodly or love them that hate the Lord. The LXX read hated of the Lord which comes all to one thing And least it should be thought a veniall or light matter headdeth therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. So that from this example we learn That let us keep our selves unspotted of the false Religion or errors of those with whom we associate let wicked men seem never so penitent and our relations to them be never so near let the common enemy be an Infidell let the cause be never so good let the manner of proceeding be never so pious and the end also good yet all this cannot excuse nor justifie confederacies and associations with wicked and ungodly men And if God was so angry at Iehosaphat when there were so many things concurring as might seem to excuse or extenuate his fault it being also in him a sin of infirmity only and not without