Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A40662
|
Good thoughts in bad times consisting of personall meditations, Scripture observations, historicall applications, mixt contemplations / by Thomas Fuller.
|
Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.
|
1645
(1645)
|
Wing F2425; ESTC R7287
|
30,660
|
262
|
are not able to satisfie VIII IN the dayes of King * Edward the sixt the L. Protector march't with a Powerfull Army into Scotland to demand their young Queen Mary in Marriage to our King according to their Promises The Scotch refusing to do it were beaten by the English in Muslâ—borough fight One demanded of a Scotch Lord taken Prisoner in the Battell Now Sir how do you like our Kings Marriage with your Queen I alwayes quoth he did like the Marriage But I do not like the wooing that you should fetch a Bride with Fire and Sword It is not enough for men to propound Pious Projâ—cts to themselves if they go about by indirect Courses to compasse them Gods own Work must be done by Gods own wayes Otherwise we can take no Comfort in obtaining the end if we cannot justifie the means used thereunto IX A Sagamore or petty King in Virginia guessing the Greatnesse of other Kings by his own sent a Native hither who understood English Commanding him to score upon a Long Cane given him of Purpose to be his Register the number of English men that thereby his Master might know the strength of this our Nation Landing at Plimouth a Populous Place and which he mistook for all England he had no leisure to eat for notching up the men he met At Exeter the difficulty of his Task was increased Coming at last to London that Forest of People he brake his Cane in Pieces perceiving the impossibility of his imployment Some may conceive that they can reckon up the Sinnes they commit in one day Perchance they may make hard Shifts to Summe up their notorious ill deeds More difficult it is to score up their wicked words But O how infinite are their idle thoughts High Time then to leave off counting and cry out with * David Who can tell how oft he offendeth Lord cleanse me from my secret sinnes X. MArtin de Golin * Master of the Teutonick Order was taken Prisoner by the Prusians and delivered bound to be beheaded But he perswaded his Executioner who had him alone first to take off his Costly Cloaths which otherwise would be spoil'd with the sprinckling of his Blood Now the Prisoner being partly unbound to be uncloath'd and finding his Arms somewhat loos'ned strake the Executioner to the Ground kil'd him afterwards with his own sword and so regained both his life and Liberty * Christ hath Overcome the World and delivered it to Us to destroy it But we are all Achans by Nature and the Babylonish Garment is a Bait for our Covetousnesse Whil'st therefore we seek to take the Plunder of this World's Wardrobe we let go the Mastery we had formerly of it And too often that which Christ's Passion made our Captive our Folly makes our Conquerour XI I Read how Pope * Pius the fourth had a great Ship richly Loaden Landded at Sandwich in Kent where it suddenly sunck and so with the Sands choaked up the Harbour that ever since that place hath been deprived of the benefit thereof I see that happinesse doth not alwayes attend the Adventures of his Holinesse Would he had carried away his Ship and left us our Harbour May his Spirituall Merchandize never come more into this Island But rather sinck in Tiber then Saile thus farre bringing so small Good and so great Annoyance Sure he is not so happy in opening the doors of Heaven as he is unhappy to obstruct Havens on Earth XII IEffery Arch-Bishop of York and base Son to King Henry the second used proudly to protest by his faith and the Royalty of the King his Father To whom one said You may sometimes Sir as well remember what was the honesty of your Mother Good men when puffed up with Pride for their heavenly Extraction and Paternall descent how they are Gods Sonnes by Adoption may seasonably call to mind the Corruption which they carry about them * I have said to the worm thou art my Mother And this Consideration will temper their Soules with humility XIII I Could both Sigh and Smile at the Simplicity of a Native American sent by a Spaniard his Master with a Basket of Figgs and a Letter wherein the Figgs were mentioned to carry them both to one of his Masters friends By the way this Messenger eat up the Figgs but delivered the Letter whereby his deed was discovered and he soundly punished Being sent a Second Time on the like Message he first took the Letter which he conceived had Eyes as well as a Tongue and hid it in the Ground sitting himself on the place where he put it and then securely fell to feed on his Figgs presuming that that Paper which saw nothing could tell nothing Then taking it again out of the ground he delivered it to his Masters Friend whereby his fault was perceiv'd and he worse beaten then before Men Conceive they can manage their sinnes with Secresie But they carry about them a Letter or Book rather written by Gods Finger their * Conscience bearing witnesse to all their Actions But sinners being often detected and accused hereby grow wary at last and to prevent this speaking Paper for telling any Tales do Smother Stifle and Suppresse it when they go about the Committing of any Wickednesse Yet Conscience though buried for a time in Silence hath afterwards a Resurrection and discovers all to their greater Shame and heavier Punishment XIV IOhn Courcy Earl of Vlster in Ireland endeavoured fifteen severall Times to saile over thither and so often was beaten back again with bad Weather At last he expostulated his Case with God in a * Vision Complaining of hard Measure That having built and repaired so many Monasteries to God and his Saints he should have so bad successe It was answered him That this was but his just Punishment because he had formerly put out the Image of the * Trinity out of the Cathedrall Church of Down and placed the picture of Saint Patrick in the room thereof Surely God will not hold them Guiltlesse who justle him out of his Temple and give to Saints that Adoration due alone to his divine Majesty XV THe Lybians kept all Woemen in Common But when a Child was born they used to send it to that Man to maintain as Father thereof whom the Infant most resembled in his Complexion Satan and my sinfull Nature enter-Common in my soul in the causing of Wicked Thoughts The Sonnes by their Faces speak their Syres Proud Wanton Covetous Envious Idle thoughts I must own to come from my self God forgive me it is vain to deny it those Children are so like to their Father But as for some hideous horrible Thoughts such as I start at the Motion of them being out of the Road of my Corruption and yet which way will not that wander So that they smell of Hells Brimstone about them These fall to Satans lot to Father them The Swarthy Blacknesse of their Complexion
doors otherwise threatning to break in But if those in the house knew their own Strength it were easie to keep them out Seeing the doors are Threatning Proof it is not the breath of their Oathes can blow the â—ocks open Yet silly Souls being affrighted they obey and betray themselves to their Violence Thus Satan serves me or rather thus I serve my self When I cannot be forced I am fool'd out of my Integrity He cannot Constrain if I do not Consent If I do but keep Possession all the Posse of Hell cannot violently eject me But I cowardly surrender to his Summons Thus there needs no more to my undoing but my self XVI Lord WHen I am to Travell I never use to provide my self till the very Tyme Partly out of Lazinesse loath to be troubled till needs I must partly out of Pride as presuming all necessaries for my Journey will wait upon me at the instant Some say this is Schollers fashion and it seemes by following it I hope to approve my self to be one However it often comes to passe that my Journey is finally stopt through the Narrownesse of the Time to provide for it Grant Lord that my confess'd Improvidence in Temporall may make me suspect my Providence in Spituall Matters * Salomon saith Man goeth to his long Home Short Preparation will not fit so long a Journey O! let me not put it off to the last to have my * Oile to buy when I am to burn it But let me so dispose of my self that when I am to dye I may have nothing to do but to dye XVII Lord WHen in any writing I have occasion to insert these passages God willing God lending me life c. I observe Lord that I can scarce hold my hand from incircling these words in a Parenthesis as if they were not Essentiall to the Sentence but may as well be left out as put in Whereas indeed they are not onely of the Commission at large but so of the Quorum that without them all the rest is nothing wherefore hereafter I will write those words fully and fairely without any Inclosure about them Let Criticks censure it for bad Grammer I am sure it is good Divinity XVIII Lord MAny temporall Matters which I have desired thou hast denyed me It vext me for the present that I wanted my will Since considering in cold blood I plainly perceive had that which I desired been done I had been undone Yea what thou gavest me instead of those things which I wished though lesse toothsome to me were more wholsome for me Forgive I pray my former Anger and now accept my humble thanks Lord grant me one suite which is this Deny me all suits which are bad for me when I Petition for what is unfitting O let the King of Heaven make use of his Negative Voice Rather let me fast then have * Quailes given with intent that I should be choaken in eating them XIX Lord THis day I disputed with my self whether or no I had said my Prayers this Morning And I could not call to mind any remarkable Passage whence I could certainly conclude that I had offered my Prayers unto thee Frozen Affections which left no Spark of Remembrance behind them Yet at last I hardly recovered one Token whence I was assured that I had said my Prayers It seems I had said them and onely said them rather by heart then with my heart Can I hope that thou wouldest Remember my Prayers when I had almost forgotten that I had prayed Or rather have I not Cause to fear that thou remembrest my Prayers too well to punish the Coldnesse and Badnesse of them Alas are not Devotions thus done in effect left undone Well * Iacob advised his Sonnes at their second going into Egypt Take double Money in your hand peradventure it was an Oversight So Lord I come with my second Morning Sacrifice Be pleased to accept it which I desire and endeavour to present with a little better Devotion then I did the former XX Lord THe motions of thy Holy Spirit were formerly frequent in my heart But alas of late they have been great Strangers It seems they did not like their last entertainment they are so loath to come again I fear they were * grieved that either I heard them not attentively or beleeved them not faithfully or practised them not Conscionably If they be pleased to come again this is all I dare promise that they do deserve and I do desire they should be well used Let thy holy Spirit be pleased not onely to stand before the door and * knock but also to come in If I do not open the door it were too unreasonable to request such a Miracle to come in when the doors were shut as thou did'st to the * Apostles Yet let me humbly beg of thee that thou wouldest make the Iron Gate of my heart open of it's own * accord Then let thy Spirit be pleased to sup in my heart I have given it an Invitation and I hope I shall give it room But O thou that sendest the Guest send the Meat also and if I be so unmannerly as not to make the holy Spirit Welcome O! let thy effectuall Grace make me to make it welcome XXI Lord I Confesse this Morning I remembred my Breakfast but forgot my Prayers And as I have returned no praise so thou mightest justly have afforded me no Protection Yet thou hast carefully kept me to the middle of this day and intrusted me with a new debt before I have paid the Old Score It is now Noon too late for a Morning too soon for an Evening Sacrifice My Corrupt Heart prompts me to put off my Prayers till night But I know it too well or rather too ill to trust it I fear if till night I deferre them at night I shall forget them Be pleased therefore now to accept them Lord let not a few hours the later make a breach Especially seeing be it spoken not to excuse my Negligence but to implore thy Pardon a thousand yeers in thy sight are but as yesterday I promise hereafter by thy Assistance to bring forth fruit in due Season See how I am ashamed the Sun should shine on me who now newly start in the Race of my Devotions when he like a Gyant hath run more then half his Course in the Heavens XXII Lord THis day casually I am fallen into a bad company know not how I came hither or how to get hence Sure I am not my Improvidence hath run me but thy Providence hath led me into this Danger I was not wandring in any base by-path but walking in the high way of my Vocation wherefore Lord thou that calledst me hither keep me here Stop their mouths that they speak no Blasphemy or stop my ears that I hear none or open my mouth soberly to reprove what I hear Give me to Guard my self but Lord Guard my Guarding