Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	call_v	good_a	great_a	3,277	5	2.6620	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29207	A sermon preached in Yorke Minster, before his Excellence the Marques of Newcastle, being then ready to meet the Scotch Army, January, 28. 1643. By the Bishop of Derry. Published by speciall command	Bramhall, John, 1594-1663.; Newcastle, William Cavendish, Duke of, 1592-1676.	1644 (1644)	Wing B4234; ESTC R214129	15,024	25

the cities of God For two reasons First because the Lord had a peculiar interest in this land above all other lands Levit. 25.23 The land shall not be sold for ever for the land is mine ye are strangers and sojourners with me So the Lord was the true owner the Israelites were but the usufructuaries Secondly because they were the Church of God Juda was his Sanctuary Israel his Dominion in them he had put his name Solomon knew the true mother from the feigned by her love to the childe So a genuine sonne of the Church may be distinguished from a counterfeit by his affection to the Church By the rivers of Babylon we sate downe and wept when we remembred thee O Sion And Arise O Lord and have mercy upon Sion for why thy servants thinke upon her stones and it pittieth them to see her in the dust But the Church requires not onely our affections and supplications but our best endeavours It is recorded of Theodosius that good Emperour to his eternall honour that upon his death bed he was more solicitous for the cities of God that is the Churches then for himselfe or his posterity And when ordinary endeavours will not serve the sword is never more justly drawne then to defend Religion As we reade of those builders of Jerusalem who laboured with their trowells in the one hand and their swords in the other hand Neh. 4.17 But these were builders up not pullers downe whatsoever they did was by the license and upon the speciall warrant of the great King Artax●rxe● not rebelliously upon their owne heads What a pittifull complaint did Laban make for his Images tulerunt deas they have taken away my gods and Mary for the dead body our Saviour tulerunt Dominum they have taken away my Lord Much more have we cause to be moved when men goe about by force to robbe us of our Religion A private man may lawfully keep the possession of his house or land against all acts of violence much more may a whole Church hold the possession of their Religion Three sorts of losses principally concerne a man First in his estate that is but chaffe next in his body that is but branne lastly in his soule that 's the flower and there is the greatest losse What shall it profit a man to winne the whole world and lose his soul We do not reade of any Wars among the Heathen for Religion except to punish Sacriledge The reason was partly in their Gods which were sociable to admit fellowes When Tiberius made a motion in the Senate to have Christ admitted into the number of their Gods it was answered that he was impatiens consortis not like their Gods he would admit no companions And partly in themselves many of them were of opinion that as variety of instruments makes the sweetest consort so variety of Religions makes the best harmony in the eares of God But now see how the world is turned Sacriledge is grown a principall part of Gods service or else some have but a little share of Religion who yet despise all others as profane Now uva vel faba a Grape or a Beane is too too much for Gods service though David was of a more generous disposition 2 Sam. 24.24 Nay but I will surely buy it of thee at a price neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing Now the duties which many men pay to the Deity are nothing but opinions and crotchers and for these they thinke it lawfull for private men to mingle Heaven and Earth together for Subjects to invade their Soveraignes Dominions They who lately cryed for nothing but liberty of conscience now will obtrude their owne conceits upon strangers by the sword In this case he is no good Christian no good Common-wealths man no true English man that will not say cheerfully with Joab in my Text Be of good courage and let us play the men for our People and for the Cities of our God Deo duce ferr● comitante with a good sword to attend them and God Almighty to lead them That brings me to my last part And let the Lord doe that which seemeth him good This shewes Joabs dependance upon God and his submission to the will of the Lord If he see it be good for us to be Conquerers we shall be Conquerers If not we shall die gloriously however Blessed be the name of the Lord Men never prosper who deale too magistrally and will needs be their owne carvers with God When the husband man hath tilled and sowne his ground he may not challenge a good crop at the hands of God but expect it of his bounty Paul may Plant and Apollo Water but still it is God that gives the encrease We are blind and know not what is truly good for ourselves Perieramus nisi perrissemus said Themistocles to his children We had perished if we had not perished that is in our owne opinions Rachell longs and cries for children and she dies in child-bed Therefore the Heathen prayed O Jupiter If I begge of thee those things which will prove hurtfull to me with-hold them from me But that which seemeth good to God is alwayes truely good who disposeth all things sweetly and out of poyson can extract a good cordiall Then let us doe our duties and submit the successe to God Carking and macerating cares dry up the bones plow up deep furrowes in the forehead make the white Almond-tree to flourish before the time shorten the life Our Saviour bids take no thought yet Saint Paul tells us That he that taketh no care is worse then an Infidell How are these reconciled Take care for the means that is good Take no care for the event that is bad Tolle quod tuum est Take up thy part and leave Gods part to himself Play thou the man and let God doe that which seemeth him good But besides the dependence it shewes also Joabs confidence let not us be wanting to our selves and God will not be wanting to his owne Cause The knowne justice of the Cause is a great incouragement to a Souldier in the day of Battell This was the reason of that Roman pollicy before they began any Wars the Herald or Feciall went to the confines of the enemies Country and made a solemne prayer Audi Jupiter c. Heare O Jupiter and thou Juno Quirinus thou and all ye Gods Caelestiall Terrestriall and Infernall I call you to witnesse that this people is unjust c. And having so said he threw his javeline into the enemies Countrey But leaving them to their superstitions It is an happy conflict which is undertaken for a good cause where they neither fear sinne from the slaughter of their enemies nor danger from their own deaths where they kill securely and are killed more securely being defended with armour without and with a good conscience within Now I have done with my Text The Application is

Councellors But yes perhaps they are enemies to Religion It may be so to that Religion which innovations would introduce by force of Armes but not to that Religion which is established by the Lawes of this Kingdome and which God hath so long blessed to us and our fathers with peace and happinesse In the next place they goe about with the same successe to justifie the lawfulnesse of their calling An hard taske seeing England is quite without the Spheere of their activity Here I expected that they should have cited some fundamentall league of both Nations to this purpose or something that might have satisfied conscience But all they say in defence of their calling except the iterated Pleas of their own necessity and mischievous Counsells which they insert here againe may be reduced to this briefe summe That this Expedition is desired by our Parliament and concluded by the consent of their Committee We will for the present suppose that which we know to be otherwise and they once never able to prove that the two Houses were full and free both from force and feare Yet there are three maine imperfections in their calling First nothing can give what it hath not but it is cleare by our Lawes that the two Houses never had nor have any power of Armes but his Majesty alone Secondly if the Parliament had power to call yet they being Subjects have no power to entertaine such a motion without the consent of their Soveraigne notwithstanding all their vowes and Covenants which never bind a Subject contrary to his Allegiance nor a child contrary to his filiall duty Thirdly it is as cleare that the Parliament can give no such conclusive power to a Committee They themselves are but Proctors for our Shires Cities and Burroughs and by the Law a Deputy cannot make a Deputy Then let all men judge what a calling this is like to be where the Cause is without all efficacy the Object without capacity and the Meanes without idoneity Their last labour is to cleare the faithfulnesse of their carriages herein And that is by their promises A weake tenure any man may be rich in promises The Pipe playes sweetly whilest the Fowler is about his prey But they goe farther to give the Publicke Faith of the Kingdome of Scotland It seemes they thinke that English men are to be catched with chaffe What is the Publicke Faith of a Kingdome worth without the concurrence of the King especially being given by a Committee There was a time when such a thing called the Publicke Faith would have passed currently though not with a Scrivener yet with some credulous Citizens but now they will as soone trust a Knight of the post They know not how to implead the Publicke Faith or to arrest the Publicke Faith or to imprison the Publicke Faith The Declarers appeale to their former voyage How little dammage was occasioned by their meanes how little disorder was committed by them But to passe by many things that might be justly alledged in respect there is an Act of Oblivion Then they were well paid with a large overplus I hope it was not for a Come-againe now they can expect no paiment in mony and in such a case how is it possible that the souldiers should be kept from disorder Lastly they ingage themselves that this Expedition shall be made no use of to any other ends then are expressed in the Covenant and in the Treaty subscribed by the English Commissioners What not accidentally by particular persons What Committee can undertake that Wee have not seen any Covenant of theirs to invade England If they have made any such it binds them neither more nor lesse then Herods oath did bind him to cut off John Baptists head Mat. 14.7 Or that desperate vow Acts 23.12 did bind the Jewes to murther Paal But we have seen a Copy of the Treaty If it be true it is the highest burthen that ever was imposed upon a Kingdome The English Commissioners know how to cut large swatches of other mens Cloth But who shall tie the bell about the Cats necke It gives them all the Lands and Estates of all Popish Prelaticall persons and of all Malignants who have assisted or contributed to the King That is of all men betweene Trent and Tweede untill all the Arrerages for England and Ireland and the charge of the War be satisfied With Caution that the Army shall not depart till then out of England that is untill the Day of judgement But all the craft is in catching this is like one of the Popes Donations it wants the consent of the right owners Men will fight hard before they be stripped of their lively-hoods Who ever heard that a conquering sword was capable of any distinction betweene persons Luculenta fortuna a good estate will be found more dangerous then a different opinion either in Religion or Pollicy All the favours their English friends can expect is Poliphemus courtesie to Vlysses to be last eaten up The case being thus Give me leave for one Word to your Excellence Be of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the cities of our God Repell the Syrians and the Ammonites will soone turne their backes We may conjecture safely now where the strength of this Sampson this great Rebellion hath laid all this while If the Lord returne you againe with Victory you shall bring back both a Lawrell Garland to decke your owne Temples and an Olive-branch of Peace in your hand for our happinesse I have another Word to the Auditory Be of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the cities of our God In this case I wish to every true English-man the spirit and affection of that Souldier who having his legs cut off in fight for his Country yet desired to be cast into the breach that he might dull the edge of one sword more It is better to die then survive the honour of our Nation and to suffer these things which are worse then death Schisme Slavery Beggary and whatsoever an insulting Enemy can inflict upon a degenerous people Dulce decorum est pro patria mori It is a sweet and comely thing for a man to die for his Country and for his Religion Quam gloriosi revertuntur victores de praelio quam beati meriuntur martyres in praelio How gloriously they returne Conquerers from the battell Or how blessedly they die Martyrs in the battell If they overcome they are crowned with a Lawrell Garland If they die with a crown of Martyrdome saith Saint Bernard If wee compare our present condition though heavy through Assessements and some disorder of a necessitous unpaid Army with what it was within the circumvolution of the last Yeer or little more when we were blocked up almost on every side and this City now a patterne of loyalty to the whole Kingdome was even ready to have been made a nest of Rebellion we shall find that we have cause to blesse God and the Instruments of our safety Indeed the burthens of the Country have been great but how collected how distributed how ordered all men are not satisfied This is evident that those who have born the greatest heat and burthen of the day those that have jeoparded their lives unto death in the high places of the Field for our protection have had the least share I say no more nor would have this construed to the disrepute of any well deserving Patriot Qui monet ut facias quod jam sacis ipse monendo Laudat A noble French-man in his Description of the severall interests of these European Kingdomes saith of England that it is Magnum animal A great creature that cannot be destroyed but by it's owne strength Let us yet hold together and every one in his owne element contribute his uttermost endeavours to the advancement of the publick welfare without all sinister respects And then I doubt not but we shall both survive this storm and see Sun-shine and Halcionian dayes againe in England Therefore Be of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the Cities of our God and the Lord doe that which seemeth him good FINIS Pag. 62. Pag. 69. Verse● Verse 3. Verse● Verse 5. Verse 6. Verse 6. Verse 8.