Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	child_n	father_n	sin_n	2,149	5	5.2651	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26939	How to do good to many, or, The publick good is the Christians life directions and motives to it, intended for an auditory of London citizens, and published for them, for want of leave to preach them / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1682 (1682)	Wing B1283; ESTC R5487	40,184	56

cast you into Melancholy and disability at last six days shalt thou labour is more than a permission It s Saint Paul's Canon he that will not work if able let him not cat And it was King Solomons Mother who taught him the description of a virtuous Woman Prov. 31. She eateth not the bread of Idleness ver 27. God will have mercy and obedience as better than Sacrifice The Sentence in Judgment is upon doing good to Christ in his members Mat. 25. When many that heard much and Prophesied shall be cast out Mat. 7. 21. Doing good is the surest way of receiving good The duties of the first and second Table must go together He that is not zealous to do good as well as to get good hath not the peculiar nature of Christs Flock Tit. 2. 14. And zeal will be diligent and not for sloth 2. The other sort of the Idle are rich ungodly worldly persons who live as if God did give them plenty for nothing but to pamper their own flesh and feed their own and others sensuality They think that persons of wealth and honour may lawfully spend their time in idleness That is in Sodoms sin Ezek. 16. 49. As if God expected least where he giveth most How little Conscience do many Lords and Ladies make of an Idle hour or life when poor mens labour is such as tendeth to the Common good the rich by Luxury Sacrifice to the flesh the fruits of other mens endeavours and instead of living in any profitable employment devour that which thousands labour for It is not the toilsome drudgery of the vulgar which we take to be all rich folks duty But Idleness and unprofitableness is a sin in the richest Any of them may find good work enough that's sit for them if they be willing Children and Servants and Friends and Neighbours and Tenants have Souls and bodies which need their help None can say God found us no work to do Or that God gave them more time or wealth than they had prosuable use for Little do they think what it will be ere long to reckon for all their Time and Estates and to be Judged according to their works And their own flesh often payeth dear for its ease and pleasure by those pains and diseases which God hath suited to their sins and which usually shortens the Lives which they no better use or snatch them away from that Time and Wealth which they spent in preparing fuel for Hell and food for the Worm that never dyeth V. But what is it that a man should do that would do good to all or many There are some Good Works which are of far greater tendency than others to the good of many some of them I will name to you I. Do as much good as you are able to mens bodies in order to the greater good of Souls If nature be not supported men are not capable of other good We pray for our daily bread before pardon and spiritual blessings not as if it were better but that nature is supposed before grace and we cannot be Christians if we be not men God hath so placed the soul in the body that good or evil shall make its entrance by the bodily senses to the Soul This way God himself conveyeth many of his blessings and this way he inflicteth his Corrections Ministers that are able and willing to be liberal find by great experience that kindness and bounty to mens bodies openeth their Ear to Counsel and maketh them willing to hear instruction Those in France that are now trying mens Religion in the Market and are at work with Money in one hand and a Sword in the other do understand this to be true All men are sensible of pain or pleasure good or evil to the flesh before they are sensible what 's necessary for their Souls You must therefore speak on that side which can hear and work upon the feeling part if you will do good Besides this your Charity may remove many great impediments and temptations It is no easie thing to keep Heavenly thoughts upon your mind and specially to delight in God and keep the relish of his Law upon your hearts while pinching wants are calling away your mind and disturbing it with troublesome passions To suffer some hunger and go in vile Apparel is not very difficult But when there is a Family to provide for a discontented Wife and Children to satisfie Rents and Debts and Demands unpaid it must be an excellent Christian that can live contentedly and cast all his useless care on God and keep up the sense of his Love and a delight in all his Service Do your best to save the poor from such Temptations as you would your selves be saved from them And when you give to the poor that are ignorant and ungodly give them after it some Counsel for their Souls or some good Book which is suited to their Cases II. If you would do good to many set your selves to promote the practical knowledge of the great truths necessary to Salvation I. Goodness will never be enjoyed or practised without knowledg Ignorance is darkness the State of his Kingdom who is the Prince of darkness who by the works of darkness leadeth the blind World to utter darkness God is the Father of Lights and giveth wisdom to them that ask and seek it He sent his Son to be the Light of the World His Word and Ministers are subordinate Light His Servants are all the Children of Light Ignorance is virtually Errour and errour the cause of sin and misery And men are not born wise but must be made wise by skilful diligent teaching Parents should begin it Ministers should second them But alas how many Millions are neglected by both And how many neglect themselves when Ministers have done their best Ignorance and errour are the common Road to wickedness misery and hell 2. But what can any others do for such Two things I will remember you of 1. Set up such Schools as shall teach Children to read the Scriptures and learn the Catechism or Principles of Religion Our departed Friend Mr. Thomas Gouge did set us an excellent Pattern for Wales I think we have Grammar Schools enough It is not the knowledg of Tongues and Arts and Curious Sciences which the common people want but the right understanding of their Baptismal Covenant with God and of the Creed Lords Prayer Decalogue and Church Communion A poor honest man or a good woman will Teach Children thus much for a small stipend better than they are taught it in most Grammar Schools And I would none went to the Universities without the sound understanding of the Catechism Yea I would none came thence or into the Pulpit without it 2. When you have got them to read give them good books especially Bibles and good Catechisms and small practical books which press the fundamentals on their Consciences Such books are good Catechisms Many learn the words of the Creed Lords

to all But of this I have formerly said more in my Reformed Pastor III. And let all men take their common and special opportunities to do good Time will not stay your Selves your Wives your Children your Servants your Neighbours are posting to another world Speak now what you would have them hear Do them now all the good you can It must be now or never There is no returning from the dead to warn them O Live not as those Infidels who think it enough to do no harm and to serve their carnal minds with pleasure as born for nothing but a decent and delightful Life on Earth You are all in the Vineyard or Harvest of the Lord work while it is day the night is at hand when none can work Wo to the slothful treacherous Hypocrite when the Judgment cometh Stay not till you are intreated to do good Study it and seek it Give while there are men that need and while you have it especially to the Houshold of Faith Fire and Thieves may deprive you of it At the furthest death will quickly do it Happy are they that know their day and trusting in Christ do study to serve him in doing good to all And the Doctrine in hand doth further teach us some consectaries which all do not well consider I. That living chiefly to the flesh in worldly prosperity and dropping now and then some small good on the by to quiet Conscience is the property of an Hypocrite But to sound Christians fruitfulness in doing good is the very trade of their lives of which they are zealous and which they daily study II. That all Christians should be very careful to avoid the doing publick hurt It woundeth Conscience to be guilty of wronging of any one man We find it in dying men that cannot die in peace till they have confessed wrongs and made satisfaction and ask forgiveness And who knoweth but the many Apparitions that have certainly been on such occasions may be done by miserable Souls to seek some ease of the torment of their own Consciences But to hurt many even whole Parishes Cities Churches Kingdoms how much more grievous will it prove And yet alas how quickly may it be done and how ordinarily is it done What grievous mischief may even well meaning men do by one mistaken practice or rash act by the fierce promoting of one error By letting loose one passion or carnal affection By venturing once on secret sin Yea by one rash sinful word How much more if they are drawn and set in an unlawful interest and way And little know we when a spark is kindled how it will end Or how many wayes Satan hath to improve it And one hurtful action or unwarrantable way may blast abundance of excellent endowments and make such a grievous dammage to the Church who else might have been an eminent blessing And if good men may do so much hurt what have the Enemies of godliness to answer for who by wordliness and malignity are Corrupters dividers and destroyers III. The Text plainly intimateth that it is a great Crime in them that instead of doing good while they have opportunity think it enough to leave it by Will to their Executors to do it When they have lived to the flesh and cannot take it with them they think it enough to leave others to do that good which they had not a heart to do themselves But a treasure must be laid up in heaven before-hand and not be left to be sent after Matth. 6. 20 21. And he that will make friends of the Mammon of Unrighteousness must now be rich towards God Luk. 12. 21. It s no Victory over the World to leave it when you cannot keep it Nor will any Legacy purchase Heaven for an unholy worldly soul IV. Yet they that will do good neither Living nor Dying are worst of all Surely the last Acts of our Lives if possible should be the best And as we must live in health so also in sickness and to the last in doing all the good we can and therefore it must needs be a great sin to leave our Estates to those that are like to do hurt with them or to do no good so far as we are the free disposers of them The Case I confess is not without considerable difficulties how much a man is bound to leave to his Children or his neerest Kindred when some of them are disposed to live unprofitably and some to live ungodlily and hurtfully Some think men are bound to leave them nothing some think they ought to leave them almost all And some think that they should leave them only so much as may find them tolerable food and raiment I shall do my best to decide the case in several propositions 1. The Case is not with us as it was with the Israelites who might not alienate their Inheritances from the Tribes Yet even they had power to prefer a younger Son that was more deserving before an Elder that was worse 2. Where either Law or Contract have disabled a man to alienate his Estate from an ungodly Heir there is no room for a doubt what he must do 3. Nature teacheth all men to prefer a Child that is pious and hopeful in his provisions and Legacies before a stranger that is somewhat better and not to alienate his Estate for want of a higher degree of goodness 4. When there is a just cause to disinherit an elder Son a younger is to be preferred before a Stranger or a Kinsman if there be no tolerable Son 5. And a Son that ought not to be trusted with Riches or a great Estate yet ought to have Food and Raiment unless he come to that State of obstinate rebellion in sin for which Gods Law commanded the Israelites to bring forth their Sons to be put to death In such Cases the house of Correction is fittest for them Yet should he have such food as may humble him and not to gratifie his lust 6. If a man that hath the full power to dispose of his Estate real or personal have Sons and Kindred that according to the judgment of sound reason are like if they had his Estate to do mischief with it or maintain them in a wicked life or in a meer unprofitable Life of idleness living only to themselves and fleshly ease and pleasure That man ought to give his Estate from such to some that are liker to do good with it and to use it for God and the publick benefit This is much contrary to the common course of most that think no Estate too great for their Heirs nor any Portion too great for their Daughters be they what they will or what use soever they are like to make of it But these following reasons prove it to be true 1. Every man hath his Estate from God and for God and is bound as his Steward accordingly to use it This is past doubt And how doth that man use it for God who leaveth