Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	chief_a	king_n	lord_n	1,707	5	3.7111	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15704	Of the conscience A discourse wherein is playnely declared, the vnspeakeable ioye, and comfort of a good conscience, and the intollerable griefe and discomfort of an euill conscience. Made by Iohn Woolton, minister of the Gospell. Anno. 1576.	Woolton, John, 1535?-1594.	1576 (1576)	STC 25978; ESTC S106318	42,432	110

in the night time hée spoyled the fieldes and when the league was aleaged he aunswered that he had not broken the same which extended only to the day and not to the night The like we may reade in Plutarch of Cleomenes in Strabo of y Such practises are red euen of Popish Prelates who with fraudulent interpretations of their othes haue sucked the bloud of those that reposed all fayth in their promises and cōmitted their liues vnto their protection At what time Lewis king of Fraunce beséegēd Adelbartus an Exle in the Castle of Bamberge which by meanes of the commodius cituacion and good furniture of Artillery could by no meanes be gotten wh● he saw the lions skinne would not auayle he put vppon a Woulues skinne leauing manhoode practising subtilty The king then sent a Bishop vnto the Earle to moue him to come to some Parle with the King giuing him his faith that he would reduce him safe and sound into his Castle againe The Earle was soone perswaded and aduentured to goe with the bishop And whē they had not passed many paces out of the Castle gate Were it not good said the Prelate for vs to eate a morsel of meate before we go vnto the king with a good will quod the Earle and so retourned vnto the Castle to duiner agayn After meate they arose and came to the King who immediately caused the Earle to be apprehēded and executed Now when the Earle saw he must néedes dye he complayned of breach of fayth and trothe vnto whom the Bishop made this aunswere That he performed his promise in that hée brought him safe and sound into his Casile to eate meat and for that hee renewed not his promise afterward he could not hée charged with violating of his oth The recorder of this matter putteth down his own iudgement of the deede in this wise Let other men iudge of this Prelate what they list as though it were done for the peace and quietnesse of the whole Lande But for my own part I thus thinck that no Christian ought once to conceaue any suche thought especially in so great a matter of life and death The ende of this Prelate was fearefull straunge afterward when the Elements most terribly seemed with fyre to burne and with noyse to be confounded together the mighty God strack him with his Thunderbolt and so hée miserably dyed who soeuer examineth his own Conscience and secret iudgement shall soone sée that such fleightes procéede of an vnhonest and malicious pollicy méere contrary to nature beeing most shamefull and vile for any liberall man but once to thincke vpon much lesse to put the same in any execution For Nature her selfe desireth thinges that bée right and iust and despiseth the contrary neyther will she hermit commodity without honesty to haue any place with her So Iosua kept the league and truce taken with the Sabonites notwithstanding their fraud and circumuention neither would hée by any meanes breake his fayth and trouth giuen vnto them Albeit there is some diuersity of iudgement among the learned whether Iosua did wel or not in sparing those people both whome God commannded him to destroy and also of whome hée was circumuented and deceiued in making of the league For hée séemed not to hée bounde by anye Religion to kéepe that fayth which he gaue deceyued with their Guile that vnto Gods enemies These things séeme somedeale hard to be discussed First of all Iosua could not be ignoraunt that all those people that dwelled in the Land of Promise ought by Gods commaundement vtterly to be routed out But that the Gabaonites did inhabit any part of that land he wist not Therfore albeit in some respect for ignoraunce Iosua might séeme to pretend excuse for that the Gabaonites comming with their olde shoes and torne Garments abused him feyning them selues to be people that came from far yet he cannot auoyd blame both for his ouermuch security and credulity and also for his negligence in that according to the manner he inquired not at Gods mouth what was conueniēt for him to doe There be some that goe about to lose this knot after this maner That Iosua did both execute Gods commaundement and also that he well performed his promise For whiles he suffereth them to liue he offereth the better and in that he maketh them seruill men he executeth the first for Vlpian in the Digests compareth perpetuall seruitude with death S. Ambrose sayth Iosua asked not the Lords will by meane of to moch credulty which commonly al playn and good natures haue in them hée addeth this fine and golden sentence So holy and reuerend was fayth in those dayes that collusion and fraude was rarely sounde amongste men This is then the cause why Iosua tooke peace and truce with the Cabaonites Now that he killed them not deprehending their Euile but brought them in seruitude was because he woulde not breake his worde bound with an oth lesse in blaming other mens vnfaythfulnesse hée should séeme to incurre the same fault himselfe Hée saued their liues therefore but ●ee made them slaues his sentence conteyned mercy but she long punishment had in it seuerity and thus far S. Ambrose Others write hereof in this wise Wée gather that god accepted and ratified Iosua his oth giuen to the Gabaonites not in y he liked fraud and Guile but that their study desire and submission pleased him For first God promised Iosua to be with him in reskewing and defending of the Citie Gabaon Secondly when Saule had caused certaine of these Gabaonyttes to be murdered contrarie to this promise of Iosua made vnto their auncestors God was angrle and sent a famine among the Israelites which continued by the space of three yeres neyther coulde his wrath be mitigated vntyll such tyme as seauen of Saules sonnes or neerest kinsmen were hanged It is credible that Gods speciall pleasure was to haue the Gabaonyttes preserued And it is lykely that Iosua being a Prophete vnderstoode so much Mine owne iudgement is this That whereas the chiefe cause whye the Lord God would haue the inhabitants of that country destroyed was leste they might afterward draw the Israelites from the true worshipping of the lyuing God as Moses declareth in Deutero Num. 22. These Gabaonyttes whom the second booke of kings accounteth among the Amdrits were both humble and lowly and also willing to imbrace the Religion of the Hebrewes moued there vnto with the fame of Gods great miracles and wunders which he shewed in defending and preseruing the Israelites in Egipt in the wildernes and about Iordayn for so them selues confessed Iosua therefore spared their liues but tooke from them their liberty whereby he supposed all occasions of auerting the Israelites from the liuing God to be remooued away and so hée imbasing them and weakning them with seruitude kept him selfe pure frō the spot of infamous periury and wicked Atheisme wherewithall the Godlesse