Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	church_n	good_a	great_a	3,182	5	2.6384	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46966	A sermon preach'd before the Lord Mayor and aldermen at Guildhall-Chappel, on Palm-Sunday, 1679 and now published as it was then delivered / by Samuel Johnson ...	Johnson, Samuel, 1649-1703.; Johnson, Samuel, 1649-1703. Second five year's struggle against popery and tyranny.	1684 (1684)	Wing J845; ESTC R2429	11,190	34

A SERMON Preach'd before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen At GUILDHALL-Chappel on Palm-Sunday 1679. And now published as it was then delivered By SAMUEL JOHNSON a Minister of the Church of England as it is now by Law established LONDON Printed for the Author and are to be sold by Richard Baldwin in the Old-Baily 1684. THE Epistle Dedicatory TO THE Clergy Men Brethren and Fathers I Presume with all Humility to offer this small Discourse rather to You than to any other Patrons because being levell'd against the Church of Rome the implacable and mortal Enemy of the Protestant Religion it is a Service to You in the first place and therefore has an immediate right to Your Acceptance and Encouragement The Protestant Cause against Popery is a very Good One in it self but besides You have so many and so strong Engagements to it that whenever a Defence of it is recommended to Your Patronage it comes to its Own and therefore I hope will be received by You. It is a great part of the Doctrine of the Church of England to say that we are not Papists and very many of the thirty nine Articles are wholly spent in condemning and renouncing the Arrogant and Impious Doctrines The fond and vain and unwarrantable Inventions The blasphemous Fables and dangerous Deceits of that False Religion I have endeavoured to justify that Doctrine of our Church by giving some further Reasons why we are not Papists and by shewing that we can never be made Papists but by putting out the Eyes of the Nation My Design both in the preaching this Sermon heretofore and in publishing it now was partly to prevent as far as in me lay the Ruine and Destruction of those many millions of Souls which are now your Charge and will certainly perish if ever they come under the Conduct of the blind Romish Guides And partly to free my self from the Blood of our miserable Posterity which will undoubtedly be required of this Generation if Popery return again in our Days after it has been so long cast out Popery is the worst Religion or pretended Religion in the whole World for she puts out the Understandings of those of her own Communion and tears out the Hearts of all others whom she cannot deceive she will destroy Upon which account she is the Common Enemy of Mankind and of us in particular whom she has threatned with utter Extirpation and has given it us under the Hand of her Secretary Coleman Now I can as soon believe Transubstantiation to be true as believe that we are bound to encourage and assist her intended Cruelty against us by meeting it half-way and by vowing our selves Sacrifices to it On the other hand Unless we use our best Endeavours both against Popery and all those treacherous Inlets which make a way for it we do but mock God when we pray against it and particularly when we say that excellent Prayer against the Popes of Rome which our own Church has put into our Mouths The Lord of heaven and Earth defend us from their Tyranny and pride that they never enter into his Wineyard again to the disturbance of his silly poor Flock but that they may be utterly confounded and put to flight in all Parts of the World and he of his great Mercy so work in all Mens hearts by the mighty Power of the holy Ghost that the comfortable Gospel of his Son CHRIST may be truly preached truly receibed and truly followed in all places to the beating down of Sin Death the Pope the Devil and all the Kingdom of Antichrist that like scattered and dispersed Sheep being at length gathered into one fold we may in the end rest altogether in the Bosom of Abraham Isaac and Jacob there to be partakers of Eternal and Eherlasting Life through the Derits and Death of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen S. Mat. 15. latter part of the 14th Verse And if the Blind lead the Blind they shall both of them fall into the Ditch THese words are spoken of the Scribes and Pharisees as appears plainly by the Context who though they were perversly and stupidly ignorant yet undertook to be the only Guides and Instructors of the People And they again were so simple and besotted as to put themselves under their Conduct and Direction And now what good can come of such sensless Doings Our Saviour here tells us what the Effect of it will be They shall both of them fall into the Ditch and ingulf themselves together in Perdition And this is so certain that in another place the 6th of St. Luke vers 39. He appeals to the common sense of Mankind whether this be not likely to prove the last issue of such a course He would fain know how it can be otherwise Can the Blind lead the Blind shall they not both fall into the Ditch In handling these words I shall consider I. Why our Saviour calls these Scribes and Pharisees blind Guides II. Why he calls the People their Followers blind III. The Danger of both Parties engaged in this sensless Course 1. Why our Saviour calls the Scribes and Pharisees blind Guides And the Reasons of it may be referr'd to these two Heads 1. Because their Doctrines were contrary to Reason and common Sense And therefore he often calls them Fools and Blind 2. Because they were contrary to the Holy Scriptures They made void the Commandments of God through their Traditions 1. Because their Doctrines were contrary to Reason and common Sense What wise Heathen would not have scorn'd that idle Conceit that washen Hands could contribute to a Man's inward Sanctity And yet this was the standing Tradition of the Elders that none must eat with unwashen Hands that so the Hands might not defile the Meat nor the Meat the Man And they were so careful to have this Practice duly observ'd that they came on purpose to our Saviour to complain of his Disciples for their scandalous neglect in this Point and to challenge him for suffering them in it As you have a full account of it in the beginning of this Chapter together with our Saviour's sense of this out-side and superficial Religion which is so far from the Heart And upon this occasion it is he here calls them blind Another Instance of this was their sensless distinctions about the Obligation of Oaths St. Matth. 23. 16 17. Wo unto you ye blind Guides which say Whosoever shall swear by the Temple it is nothing but whosoever shall swear by the Gold of the Temple he is a Debtor i. e. bound to take care of his Oath and make it good Ye Fools and blind for whether is greater the Gold or the Temple which sanctifies the Gold These were profound Casuists indeed to determine so awkardly and absurdly and quite the wrong way in Subtilties of their own making 2. Because their Doctrines were contrary to the Holy Scriptures they made void the Commandments of God through their Traditions Our Saviour shews