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	grace_n	work_n	1,789	5	5.8920	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68954	A three-fold treatise containing the saints sure and perpetuall guide. Selfe-enriching examination. Soule-fatting fasting. Or, meditations, concerning the word, the sacrament of the Lords Supper, and fasting. By the labours of that late Reverend, and learned divine, Master Robert Bolton ...	Bolton, Robert, 1572-1631.	1634 (1634)	STC 3255; ESTC S106789	149,468	268

selfe-conceitedly to gaze upon that little sparke of holinesse hee findes in himselfe let him presently turne backe the edge and eye of this dangerous speculation upon the infinite puritie and endlesse perfection of God Almightie before whom the Cherubins and Seraphins the Crowne of Gods workemanship and the glory of creatures doe hide and cover their faces as not able to behold and endure the perfect brightnesse of his most pure and undefiled Majestie In whose sight the unstained splendour of the Heavens and the glorious beautie of the Starres are uncleane and foule darkenesse and deformitie The Sunne the fairest Body in the World made all of beautie and brightnesse if it were put neere unto that unaccessible and incomprehensible Light which encompasseth the Lord of Heaven it would vanish away as a darkesome Moat and Lumpe of Vanitie Nay in respect of God those divine and heavenly creatures the blessed Angels pure and immateriall spirits are chargeable with folly and vanitie Behold he found no stedfastnesse in his Saints yea the Heavens are not cleare in his sight How much more is man abominable and filthie which drinketh iniquitie like water Iob 15. 15 16. What art thou then wretched man that carriest about thee a Body of death Shall not his excellencie make thee afraid and his feare fall upon thee Behold saith Iob he will give no light unto the Moone and the Starres are uncleane in his sight How much more man a Worme even the sonne of a man which is but a Worme Behold he found no stedfastnesse in his servants and laid folly upon his Angels How much more in them that dwell in Houses of Clay whose foundation is in the Dust which shall be destroyed before the Moth These considerations are able to confound and cast downe below the Earth and Dust the greatest admirer and applauder of himselfe for his graces good actions and spirituall perfections When the Christian is tempted to a proud conceit of his spirituall sufficiencies let him compare himselfe with other Saints of God which perhaps having beene lesse sinners than himselfe in the time of their unregeneration and having lesse meanes parts occasions and encouragements to glorifie God yet excell him in zeale sanctification and the service of God Paul that great Doctor of the Gentiles and glorious Angell upon Earth for all his spirituall blessings and incomparable graces cryes out Rom. 7. 24. Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death David a man after Gods owne heart and a speciall royall Mirror for varietie of spirituall excellencies is so farre from being proud of his graces that hee is every where complaining of the burthen of his sinnes spirituall povertie and want and the miseries of his soule There is no health in my flesh saith he because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sinne for my wickednesses are gone over my head and are like a sore burthen too heavie for me to beare For his reputation in the World he tells us that he was a Worme and no man a very scorne of men and out-cast of the people In all times the best Christians have ever beene most sensible of the weight of their sinnes and corruption of their nature and from thence entertained a lowly conceit of themselves Where there is the greatest measure of sanctification there is ever the greatest humilitie If those then that be indeed in the highest favour with God lesser sinners than our selves and most sanctified be of an humble and lowly minde of a meeke and quiet spirit which is before God a thing much set by 1 Pet. 3. 4. let us take heed how we be proud of those graces which if we looke for Gods blessing upon them and comfort from them must bring forth in us humilitie and thankefulnesse Let him compare and examine and measure himselfe his wayes and workes by the Law of God and hee shall there finde much matter of humiliation repentance feare and trembling with continuall supply in abundance ministred unto him so that there shall be no roome left for any proud and over-weening conceit of any good thing in him That elect Vessell and great Apostle after he was regenerate for the unregenerate feele no such strife found such a vast and wide distance betweene the Law and his owne affections and best workes that for horror thereof he cryed out Oh miserable man that I am What spirituall good then is there in any of us miserable wretches wherein we should glory Let our best workes be as glorious as we can imagine let them be performed with never so great integritie and resolution cover them with grace derive them from the Holy-Ghost dippe and dye them deepe in the bloud of Christ put upon them all the rich attire and Papall magnificence with which the Church of Rome hath invested them yet to the purest eyes of God and in the cleare Crystall of his undefiled Law they appeare to be foule and spotted impure and like a menstruous clout The measuring then of our selves by the Law and Word of God is a notable meanes to keepe us in humilitie and to make us worke out our salvation with feare and trembling Let him consider what a foule and wretched what a damned and an accursed creature hee had beene had not his gracious God out of the unsearchable depth of his infinite goodnesse and mercie singled him out to be his servant upon Earth and a Saint in Heaven It was onely Gods free mercie that before all eternitie by the great Decree of his eternall election marked him out for Heaven and endlesse joyes from amidst the huge masse of all mankind It was the same that after caused him to send his owne and onely Sonne out of his owne Bosome and height of Majesty that with his dearest and precious bloud hee might redeeme his Soule from the snares of Hell into which hee was fallen by Adams fall which in due time by the inward speciall and effectuall power of his unspotted Spirit called him into his Kingdome of Grace washed him justified and sanctified him in the Name of the Lord Iesus Else otherwise had not these everlasting and unconceivable Blessings beene cast upon him by Gods free meere mercie without all cause or motive from man or any other created thing out of his infinite Selfe his case had beene unspeakably wofull For he should have lived in this Vale of Teares without God without Grace without Comfort without Conscience in Sinne in Darkenesse in Prophanenesse in all Spirituall Miseries And after the closure and period of these few and evill dayes he should have beene endlessely divided and abandoned from the joyes and comforts of Gods presence inchained without all redemption to despaire and horror and the hatefull fellowship of the Devill and his Angels and that which is the extremitie and upshot of all hellish miserie hee

a great signe of grace to heare the Word gladly Psal 119. 162. I rejoyce at thy Word as one that findeth great spoyles David had beene a souldier and ye know that they that have lyen at the siege of a Citie a long time and at the last take it will rejoyce exceedingly in the spoyle of it therefore he rejoyces in the Word as they that doe divide the spoyles And truly whereas common people complaine of the badnesse of their memories this would be a marvellous helpe to their memories if they would heare with delight therefore David sayth Psal 119. 16. I will delight my selfe in thy Statutes I will not forget thy Word This delight he meanes will strengthen our memories Now contrarie to this are a great number that heare without all delight and account it a great wearinesse Mal. 1. 13. and those the dullest houres that they spend in hearing Well the Lord hath threatned that the Word shall never doe us good unlesse that wee attend to it with love and delight 2 Thess 2. 10 11. Because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be saved therefore God shall send them strong delusions to beleeve Lyes A fearefull threatning much to be considered in these dayes For this is the reason that Popish trumperies and hellish delusions have such entertainment because God in his just judgement gives up those to such strong delusions that love not the strict Truth of the Word of God 5 You must heare the Word with application of it to your owne hearts and lives apply every truth to your selves for your owne use and comfort and terror and instruction as it is Iob 5. last Heare this and know it for thy selfe carry this truth home to thine owne heart And First there is no truth of God taught out of his Word but it concernes every one of Gods people and was intended for our use Rom. 15. 4. Whatsoever is written is written for our learning Secondly there is no truth can be taught to doe us good unlesse that wee apply it as no Plaister can doe the Patient good unlesse it be applyed no meat is able to doe us any good be it dressed never so curiously unlesse it be eaten and digested This comparison is applyed by the Prophet to this purpose Isa 55. 2. Hearken diligently unto me and eate ye that which is good unlesse we eate it it will doe us no good Thirdly the faithfull have been wont to apply all to themselves as every member of the body drawes nourishment from the stomacke to make it his owne to which the Apostle alludes Eph. 4. 16. So the Disciples of our Saviour did Math. 26. 21 22. When our Saviour had said that one of them should betray him they were exceeding sorrowfull and began every one of them to say unto him Lord is it I And surely the want of this application is one great cause that the Word profits not because they beleeve it not nor apply the Word unto themselves Heb. 4. 2. The Word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it Now one principall worke of faith is to apply those things that are delivered in the Word But this the most hearers doe exceedingly faile in either not applying or mis-applying of the truth shifting off all upon others and taking little or nothing to themselves As wee have a notable example of this Rom. 1. ult compared with Rom. 2. 1. In the former place the Apostle speakes of some that knowing the judgement of God That those that doe such things are worthy of death yet not onely doe such things but take pleasure in those that doe them yet in the beginning of the next Chapter you find the same men judging and condemning of others yet thinking and perswading themselves that they being guiltie of the same sinnes shall escape the judgement of God Why but because they apply not to themselves but mis-apply to others the things they heare Many such hearers there are in these dayes which are very cunning in shifting off the threatnings of God against their owne Drunkennesse and Whoredome and Swearing c. yet very apt to pinne the same Word upon others Well these are not wise for themselves and all their hearing shall doe them no good Thus much of the duties required in hearing Now follow those duties that are required after hearing And these are chiefely thus 1 Wee must be very carefull to remember and keepe that which wee have heard Prov. 4. 4. My sonne let thine heart retaine my words and Vers 21. Keepe them in the midst of thine heart As a man that hath a Iewell will be carefull to locke it up in the safest Chest hee hath lest it should be stolne away Which is the very comparison of the Wise-man Prov. 6. 20 21. So Mary Luke 2. 51. kept all the sayings in her heart and David Psal 119. 11. hid the Commandements in his heart and hee gives the reason That hee might not sinne against the Lord. And the truth is that as meat that is eaten if it remaines not in the stomacke it will never doe us good so the best spirituall food that can be except it be retained by us will not profit us Luke 8. 15. The good Ground are they which with an honest and good heart having heard the Word keepe it c. Many there are that are very carelesse of this dutie They thinke they have discharged themselves abundantly if they heare the whole Sermon attentively as though there were nothing more required at their hands Like our Saviours hearers Math. 22. 22. When they heard him they marvelled and left him and went their way but wee never heare more of them So many heare desirously and with open and greedie eares but as wee say it goes in at one eare and out at another it stayes not for any after-use but a little present admiration Others heare and the Word smites them a little on their Consciences and wounds and one would thinke some good thing would be wrought upon them but they goe away and the motion dyes They are as men that are Sea-sicke whilest the Word humbles them and makes their Consciences to wamble within them but they are as whole as a Fish when as they are once landed at the Church doore Or like unto Mettals which are soft and plyable whilest they are in the fire so these are in the hearing but shortly they loose all the efficacie of the Word and become harder than before Well let us in the feare of God hearken diligently to the words of the Holy-Ghost Heb. 2. 1. That wee ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that wee have heard lest at any time wee should let them slip or runne out like riven Vessels Why what is the danger How shall wee escape if wee neglect so great Salvation 2 Wee must meditate and seriously thinke of that that wee have