Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	day_n	good_a	great_a	2,831	5	2.5730	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16325	Helpes to humiliation	Bolton, Robert, 1572-1631.	1630 (1630)	STC 3234.5; ESTC S210	18,834	160

them for which purpose take these three helps First keepe the eye of thy naturall conscience cleare Secondly bee acquainted with all the wayes thou canst possible to anatomize thy sinne Thirdly take notice of the guilt of originall sinne because a Christian may haue his heart locked vp more at one time then at an other For the first of which viz the keeping of the eye of the naturall conscience cleare obserue First the Rules of the heathen that neuer did know Christ. Secondly the indowments of the Heathen Thirdly the common notions of nature which were in the Heathen For the first viz The rules of the Heathen that neuer did knowe Christ as instance in Lying besides the word of God which banisheth it from Heauen by the light of naturall reason Aristotle saith A lye is euill in it selfe and cannot bee dispensed withall and the reason of it is this we haue a tongue giuen vs to expresse the truth now if our tongue tell more or lesse then our mind conceiues it is against nature Ribald talking of which many make a sport and rather then they will lose a Iest they will venter to damne their soules Epictetus saith It s dangerous to digresse into obscenity of speech Cowardize in good causes thinking it good sleeping in a whole skin Aristotle Ethic. 3. cap 1. that in some cases a man had better lose his life then bee cowardly Drunkennesse the daies bee so drowned in impiety that if a man bee drunk euery day yet he will take it in a great disgrace if he be not counted an honest man whereas Seneca saith it is but a raging madnesse and if hee should behaue himselfe so but two or three dayes as hee doth then men would count him mad Mourning immoderatly for losse of wife or children Passions of anger morall Philosophers haue many excellent rules the which if a naturall man would take notice of hee would neuer bee so passionate for they say it ariseth first From a great weaknesse of spirit For were he manly hee would passe by those thinges with scorne whereas hee shews himselfe to bee of an effeminate spirit and impotent affections From selfeloue From an ouer delicacy and too much nicenesse in suffering wrong From a passing proud nature being affraid to bee contemned From too much credulity so that if one or two do whisper hee thinkes they speake somthing hurtfull of him and is ready to breake out into rage for which passions they giue these rules That thou containe thy body and tongue in quiet That thou say ouer the greeke Alphabet before thou say any thing in rage That thou looke thy selfe in a glasse and thou shalt see what an vgly creature thou art in that rage for saith Homer his eyes sparcle like fire his hart swels his pulse beates c. so that if in this moode he should see himselfe in a glasse he would neuer againe be angry Secondly obseruing the endowments of the Heathen For instance Regulus the Romane being taken prisoner of his enemies the Carthaginians vpon promise of returne if he sped not obtaining to go home to Rome to treate with the Senate for a commutation of Captiues Carthaginians for Romanes of whom himselfe was one Comming to the Senate he gaue weighty reasons to dissawde them from commucation so as chusing rather to abide the certaine cruelty of his Enemies then to breake his faith and promise he returned where he was most cruelly vsed of them by whose example Christians might bee ashamed that make no matter of breaking their promises Fabricius attained to that height of excellency that it was said A man may as soone pull the Sunne from its Spheare as that man from his honest and iust dealing Cato was so excellent that it is said hee did not good for feare shame profit c. but because goodnes was so incorporated into him that hee would not do otherwise Cambyses stood so stricktly against bribery that a Iudge being taken in that crime he flayed him and set his skinne in the seat of Iustice and let his son leane thereon that hee might hate that vice Zaleucus King of the Locrians made a law for adultry that whosoeuer was taken in that fact should haue his eyes pulled out now his owne sonne being taken in that fault first because hee would not violate his owne decree pulled out one of his sonnes eyes and one of his owne Thirdly obseruing the common notions of nature which were in the Heathen All good is to bee done All evill is to be avoyded Kinde is to be propagated Doe as wee would be done by God is to be honored from whence ariseth this obiection namely Is not this notion extinguished in them that deny God Not vtterly but it generally dwels in them so farre onely they haue vse of it as to leaue them without excuse Rom. 1. 19. 20. A mans life is to bee preserued Now selfe preseruation is so ingrafted into the blood and veines that therefore the selfe-murderer sinnes Against God the Father Against God the Son Against God the holy Ghost Against the light of nature For the first viz. thou sinnest against God the Father who commandeth Thou shalt not kill and so thou sinnest Against the image of God in that thou destroyest it Against his Soueraignty for Hee hath appointed thee to worke in his vineyard and thou wilt rather dye c. as if he were a hard Master that thou darest stay no longer in his seruice Thou dishonourest him and gratifiest his enemy Hee hath planted thee as a tenant at will in this earthly tabernacle and thou beatest it about thy eares Thou sinnest against God the Sonne for Thou art none of thine owne thou art bought with a price this will helpe thee against the diuels temptations for when hee comes to tempt thee to that sinne say thou art an others and not thine owne Thou maymest Christs body in taking away a member of it Thou sinnest against God the holy Ghost for Thou pollutest thy soule with blood and It is the office of the Spirit to dwel with us and It is the office of the Spirit to inuite vs to taste of the good blessings of God as Esay 51. Oh! but my soule is blacke with sinne c. This is the action of the Spirit to reueale this vnto thee Thou sinnest against the light of nature most cowardly and against fortitude thou sinnest against the Kingdome against thy neighbour thy family and thy selfe and puttest thy selfe among the sorrowes of the diuels which is a Bedlam madnesse Be acquainted with all the wayes thou canst possibly how to anatomize thy sinnes for which purpose take these methods and helps Bee perfect in the Law of God looke thy selfe in the pure Christall glasse thereof Be throughly catechised in the Commandements as in the fourth Commandement wherein consider Preparation Celebration Preparation which consists In praying Publiquely with thy Familly Priuately with thy selfe In examination In

the Lord Therefore is wrath vpon thee from before the Lord. Or as Psal. 50. 18. When thou sawest a theese thou consentedst with him and hast beene partakers with adulteres Therefore as Moyses said to the people Separate your selues from the Tents of Corah least ye perish with them And Come out of Babylon my people haue no communion with that Whore least yee perish in her sinnes and be destroyed with her plagues Reu. 18. Dauid saith I haue not dwelt with vaine persons nor will I haue fellowship with the vngodly Odi Ecclesiam malignantiū And who would vouchsafe to let their loue runne on such in this life that must bee separated in the world to come But for workes of thy particular calling as buying selling salutations c. wee must haue these or we must out of this world as 1 Cor. 5. 10. 11. By participation Thy Princes are rebellious and companions of theeues so Magistrates which execute not their office are guilty of all the sins which the people commit within the compasse of the time of their gouernment and they are all set on their score without repentance By silence when thou hearest a good man traduced and sayest nothing especially dumbe dogges euery Sabbath is a bloody day to them for their silence is cause of all the iniquity done that day all these things which they do amisse whether by swearing Ale-house haunting c. all are set on his score so all those that are faint and cowardly for Gods glory and truth By defending Woe to them that call darknesse light and light darknesse Therefore if any by quicknesse of wit will labour to maintaine vsury bribery c. they are guilty of those sins By counselling as Iesabell counselled her husband to kill Naboth Or as those say Come let vs crowne our selues with rose buds before they be withered let vs all bee partakers of our wantonnesse c. By commanding as Dauid commanded Vriah to be set in the fore front of the battell and therefore guilty of his death By commending as those that commended Herod for his oration saying It is the voyce of a God they were guilty of his sinne in taking honour from God By conniuency as Ely winked at his sons for which you may see what a fearefull iudgement fell vpon that house for forbearing them If we had no other sins in a day of humiliation it were able to breake the hardest heart but especially for maisters of Families who winke at their parents and seruants swearing sabbath breaking c. If these bee not guilty of the former sinnes yet they are guilty in not praying with them and bringing them to extraordinary exercises By consenting as Paul bewayled that he carried the cloathes of them that slew Stephen when he was stoned By not sorrowing for them Dauid shewes what Christians ought to doe By not praying against them for the suppressing of them Consider the sinnes of the times Dauids eyes gusht out with teares to see men transgresse the Law So Lots heart was vexed daily with the sinnes of the people amongst whom hee liued 2. Pet. 2 8. And blessed are they that mourne so Math. 5. 4. obserue these seuerall branches wel and thou shalt finde sinnes enow to mourne for Now for the 2. Act. viz. A right apprehension of Gods wrath and fiery indignation and the pure eye of God against sin Now the Christian oftentimes complaines that hee cannot apprehend Gods wrath sufficiently Let him take these helps The seuerity of Gods Iudgement against sin for which He threw downe the Angels from Heauen to be Diuels for euer which might haue done him abundance of glory and that as some thinke but for a thought For but eating an apple which some count a small fault hee cast Adam out of Paradice and sent a world of misery vpon him his posterity Hee drown'd the world which shewes the infinite purity in God not to abide sinne Hee burnt Sodom for those very sinnes now reigning amongst vs. Hee reiected the Iewes which were his most deare people for they so prouoked God that they are now no nation and his wrath hath so fiercely seized on them that they are most cursed vagabōds and so haue beene a thousand sixe hundred yeares Consider hee hath created horror of conscience which is a hell vpon earth for the punishment of sinne but aboue all the torments of hell that woefull place and state prepared for the wicked where the greater part of the world shall bee howling for euer Consider how hard a thing it is to get pardon for sinne in that the Iustice of God was hard to bee satisfied Imagine all the world were turned into a masse or lump of gold the stones of the streets into precious pearles and the Sea and Riuers all flowed with liquid streames of most pure gold they would not satisfie the wrath of God for the least sinne if all the Angels and creatures in heauen and earth had ioyney together made one feruent prayer for mans sinne nay if that they had offered them selues to bee annihilated it could neuer haue beene effected nay if the Sonne of God himselfe should haue supplicated his Father with most earnest intreaties could he haue beene heard vnlesse he had taken our flesh vpon him and suffered what diuels and men could imagine to inflict vpon him Which well considered there is infinite cause to bring vs to a sense of Gods wrath that hee should lay and suffer such infinite torments to bee on him that hee cryes out vnto God My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee Though he loued him infinitely as himselfe yet he would haue his Iustice satisfied The vnresistable comming of God against sinners though he is wonderfull ready and easie to be intreated whilst hee vouchsafeth a day of visitation But if men will withstand the day then hee comes in deuouring rage and his wrath being once kindled shall burne to the bottome of hell then his Arrowes shall drinke blood and eate flesh Hosea 13. 8. then will he meete them as a Beare robbed of her whelpes and teare in pieces when there is none to helpe Psal. 7. 2. And Esay 66. 15. is set downe the manner of his comming with fire and Chariots like a whirlewinde Gods holinesse which opposeth sinne and is contrary to it that hee lookes not on the least sinne with the least allowance Get a sense of the vnspeakable misery thou art liable vnto by reason of sinne for which purpose consider all thy sinnes with their circumstances as of times past present and to come Looke backe vpon all thy sinnes past that euer thou committedst all thou hast beene guilty of euer since thou wast borne originall or actuall known or vnknown of thought word and deede They are written with a penne of iron and with the point of a diamond not to bee raced out they are all vpon