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	lord_n	see_v	3,711	5	3.5921	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85329	Londons gate to the Lords Table. Where the eldership doth sit doing their office aright, in discovering and shutting out the ignorant, prophane, and meere civill honest man : in suspending the suspected formall, legall, and antinomisticall professor, and in drawing in the weakest humble beleeving soule. In a dialogue betweene a minister of the Gospell. Alexander an ignorant prophane man. Simon a proud professor. And Matthias an humble penitent. Imprimatur Edmund Calamy.	Fisher, Edward, fl. 1627-1655.	1646 (1646)	Wing F995; Thomason E1213_1; ESTC R210120	58,722	302

we might busie our mindes and spend lesse time about such matters and bend our mindes and studies more about matters of substance viz. about the Doctrine of Faith and Repentance and matters that concerne Christian practice and godly conversation and meekenesse and love amongst our selves truly neighbour Simon I am perswaded that all both godly Ministers and godly Christians that doe now live in this Kingdome have great cause to rejoyce and be thankfull to the Lord that hath let them live to see those things which we see to wit that there is now power given to godly Ministers and Elders to keep back unfit and unworthy Communicants from the Lords Table the which it is well knowne hath not beene heretofore though much desired and O that the Lord would be pleased to move the hearts of all our godly discenting Brethren to come in and joyne themselves with us that so we might rejoyce and praise the name of the Lord together but no more of this Sim. Truly Sir these your words have moved my heart to your way and I wish I were worthy to come in amongst you but I will take my leave of you and goe home and consider of what you have this day said unto me concerning the state and condition of my soule for I still feare I am not right and I see that the chiefe thing to be looked after and regarded is the true Knowledge of Christ Min I surely that is the thing indeed and O that we could all of us seeke more after that then we doe and as one in a In Bacon hi● Catachis Epistle dedicatory certaine place saith very sweetly Oh that every one in this Kingdome that truly desires to feare the name of God were so wise as to forbeare this clashing dashing themselves in pieces one against another for matters externall triviall and circumstantiall in Religion and would at length content themselves with that which is alone saving and everlasting and account it honour and happinesse enough in matters appertaining to God to be a Christian I remember I was lately told by a Christian friend of mine that one comming to old Master Dod not long before his death to desire him to resolve him about the point of Re-baptizing or some such like point he answered Friend have you made your Calling and Election sure or rather give diligence to make that sure which in my judgement was a very gracious answer Sim. Well Sir I will now take my leave of you for this time and I beseech you pray for me Min. Truly neighbour Simon I would here breake off and take my leave of you were it not that I see our neighbour Mathias looke very heavily and therefore I pray you tarry a while till I have spoken a few words unto him and then I will take leave of you both together How doe you neighbor Mathias what aileth you to be so sad what is the matter with you Mat. O Sir if you did but know how it is with me you would say I had cause to be heavie and sad Min. Weepe not man weepe not I pray you but tell me what is the matter with you Mat. O Sir I am troubled to thinke what will become of my soule when I dye Min. And what causeth this trouble Mat. Why truly Sir the hearing of your discourse with my neighbour Simon hath caused it for I thinke with my selfe that if he that is a man of such great knowledge and holy life and conversation be questioned by you and doe question himselfe whether he be in a good condition or no alas then what may I thinke of my selfe that am such a poore ignorant and sinfull man as I am Min. But I hope you are neither so ignorant nor so sinfull as you thinke you are Mat. O yes Sir it is too true the Lord he knoweth it Min. Why have you no knowledge in the fundamentall points of religion did you never learne your Catechisme Mat. Yea when I was young I learned a little but alas I have forgotten it long since Min. No I hope you doe remember some of it and therefore I pray you tell me what is God Mat. I beseech you Sir beare with my ignorance and I will answer you as well as I can I thinke God is the Maker and Governour of all things Min. Well said and how many Gods be there Mat. Surely Sir I think there is but one true God Min. Well said and how many Persons is there in the Trinity Mat. I thinke Sir there are three Min. And how are the three Persons distinguished Mat. Alas Sir I cannot tell how to answer that Min. And how did God make man at the first Mat. In his owne Image and likenesse Min. And wherein did that Image or likenesse consist Mat. Truly Sir I cannot tell you Min. Well but you say you are a sinfull man how doe you know that you are so Mat. Because I was conceived and borne in sinne and have sinned all my life time Min. And what is sin Mat. Why surely Sir sinne is to doe contrary to the minde and will of God Min. Neighbour Simon you know him better then I therefore I pray you tell me what you thinke of him Sim. Yes Sir I have known him a great while and have alwaies taken him to be a simple honest man according to his knowledge onely I must tell you I have heretofore seene him now and then a little distempered with drinke but of late he hath seemed to minde matters of Religion for I have seene him sometimes at a Lecture on the weeke day and therefore I hope he is better now then he hath been formerly Min. Well neighbour Mathias I am glad to heare that you begin to minde the best things and to frequent the hearing of Gods Word more now then formerly I pray you tell me what hath moved you so to doe Mat. Why truly Sir a friend of mine a godly religious man whom neither of you know was the first occasion of it for he telling me in an humble loving manner that he feared I was yet in my naturall estate and condition and thererefore lyable to Gods everlasting wrath and damnation in Hell his words did so worke upon me that I asked him what he would advise me to doe and he bad me be diligent in hearing and reading the Word of God and get good Divinity Bookes and one Booke he commended to me above the rest called The plaine mans path way to Heaven and truly Sir I hope the reading of that Booke hath done me much good but alas Sir my sins my sins are they that trouble me Min. But whether are they your sinnes which you have formerly committed or your present corruptions that doe trouble you Mat. Truly Sir they are both for I am troubled at my former sinnes for feare they are not pardoned and I am troubled at my present corruptions because I cannot overcome them Min. I pray you tell me one thing

indeed growth in grace is a maine end and fruit of that Ordinance God thereby giving to every faithfull Receiver the Body and Blood of his Sonne Christ that by the Bread of his Flesh and the Wine of his Blood he may cause them to grow Mat. Well Sir this day hath beene a day of good tidings to me and surely Sir if the LORD have beene so mercifull unto me as you have declared then have I cause to magnifie and praise the name of the Lord as long as I live for bringing me hither this day to you surely if the Lord doe count me worthy to come to his Table and to receive Jesus Christ with all his rich endowments then may I truly say as I remember Hannah Samuels mother 1 Sam. 2. 8 said in her song He raiseth up the poore out of the dust and lifteth up the begger from the dunghill to set him among Princes and to make him inherit the throne of glory I little thought when I came hither with my neighbour Simon that I should bee found to be more fit and more worthy to be admitted to the Lords Table then he surely Sir if you had not proved it so plainly I should not have beleeved it Min. Assure your selfe neighbour Mathias that this day the words of the Apostle James are fulfilled concerning you two where he saith that God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble and so are the words of the Virgin Mary where she saith that God filleth the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away Mat. Sir I will now take my leave of you and truly I cannot tell how to expresse my thankfulnesse to you for the great paines you have taken with me this day the Lord in mercy make it profitable to me and recompence your paines to you an hundred fold and I beseech you Sir pray for me Min. Now the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God that your whole spirit and soule and 1 Thes 5. 23 24. body be preserved blamelesse unto the comming of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfull is he he that calleth you who also will doe it Mat. The Lord be with you Sir Come neighbour Simon will not you goe along with me Sim. No I pray you be going before and I will come after you Mat. Well then I will also take my leave of you and I thanke you for suffering me to come along with you to this place where I have through the mercy of God received so much good Sim. Well but do not you now goe home and boast among our neighbours that Master M. hath found you fit to be admitted to the sacrament and me unfit Mat. No neighbour Simon I shall not do so for I know that if it be so it is the free mercy of the Lord towards mee and therefore I desire rather to speake to my owne soule and say unto it in the words of the Apostle 1 Cor. 4. 7. For who maketh thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou hast not received Now if thou hast received it why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it And so the Lord be with you both Sim. Fare you well good neighbour Mathias Min. The Lord be with you good neighbour Sim. Well Sir I wish that I were fit to be admitted to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper for I see there is much good to be gotten by the right receiving of it Min. Surely neighbour Simon if men did but know what good is to be obtained at the hands of the Lord by the right partaking thereof and what hurt doth come to a man by not receiving it aright they would not onely desire to come thereunto as indeed many doe though it is to be feared hand over head as we use to say not knowing what they doe but they would also endeavour to fit and prepare themselves thereunto and therefore no marvell though you do desire that you were fit to receive it aright Sim. Sir I doe perceive that he who is not fit to partake thereof is a miserable man whether he do receive it or not Min. He is so indeed for if he doe receive it being not fit he doth thereby commit the greatest sinne that is unpardonable and doth expose himselfe to the greatest misery that can befall a man either here or hereafter as you know I told my neighbour Alexander and if he receive it not then hee misseth and comes short of all that good which you know I told our neighbour Mathias comes to a man by means of the right receiving thereof O then what great care and paines ought men to take to fit and prepare themselves to partake of that Ordinance and how often should they frequent it being duly fitted and prepared And yet alas for want of so doing how many men and women by their absence doe deprive themselves of these great benefits Some there are that are neither fit nor willing to come others there are that are willing to come and yet not fit to come and others there are that are fit to come and yet not willing as for instance How many are there who because they cannot receive the Sacrament kneeling as they have formerly done are not willing to come What said an old simple ignorant man in my hearing not long since Rather then I will receive it so unreverently as they doe now a dayes by sitting at Table as if they were equall with Jesus Christ I will never receive it while I live And are there not some others who meerly out of a superstitious conceit doe desire to come and yet by reason of their unfitnesse are justly upon examination kept backe by the Eldership And are there not some who it may be are fit to come and yet doe not come either because they are ashamed to come before so many men to bee examined as they are informed doe sit upon that occasion or else are fearfull least they should not be able to answer them to their content and so be turned backe to their disgrace And are there not also some others who it may be are fit to come and yet either because they scorne to be examined at these yeares or by such and such a man whom they doe conceive is inferiour to themselves they will not come And are there not others also who are fit to come and yet doe not come because such are admitted to the Sacrament whom they conceive are not fit to partake thereof Thus I say either thorow superstitious ignorance prophannesse or through foolish shame or feare or else through the sinne of pride many are kept from that great benefit which otherwise they might receive by the right partaking of that Ordinance Sim. It is true indeed Sir I see it clearly and therefore I beseech you tell me what course you would advise me to take to fit and prepare my selfe thereunto that so I may come before you

Well Sir I doe perceive by that which you said to me the other day and by your words to me now that you are somewhat jealous of me though I hope there is no cause but Sir may not both you and the Elders be deceived in a man though you doe examine him either in thinking a man hath faith in Christ when he hath not or in thinking he hath no faith when he hath Min. Yea indeed I thinke it is possible that we may be deceived both wayes for we have none of us the spirit of infalibility Sim. Why then Sir me thinkes it should be in vaine for a man to come before you to be examined Min. No not so neither for though it be possible that we may be deceived yet considering the course that we take in our way of examining I hope we are seldome deceived if at all Sim. Why Sir I pray tell me what course you take Min. Why when any one commeth before us to be examined we first of all desire him either to make some briefe Confession of his faith or else to answer us some Questions which we shall propound unto him and if a man give us satisfaction concerning his knowledge of Christ of himselfe and of the Sacrament then we aske him what evidences he can shew of his Conversion or New Birth and so consequently of his true faith in Christ and if he also give us satisfaction therein then if we know not his life and conversation we make inquiry of it and when we have satisfaction touching that also we doe admit him to the Sacrament Sim. Surely Sir I doe like this very well and therefore because you seeme to question whether I have true faith in Christ or no I am contented now I am here to give you leave to examine me if you thinke good to take the paines Min. Yea indeed I am very willing to doe it for your good and therefore I pray you in the first place tell me Who made the world and all things therein Sim. God Min. And what is God Sim. God is a most holy Spirit infinite and eternall Min. And how many Gods be there Sim. There is but only one true God distinguished into three Persons Father Sonne and Holy Ghost Min. And in what an estate did God create man at the first Sim. He created him holy and righteous Min. And did man continue in that holy righteous estate Sim. O no he fell from it by breaking of Gods expresse Commandment in eating of the forbidden fruit Min. And was the first man onely guilty of that sinne Sim. O no all Mankinde did also become guilty in that they were all of them then in his Loynes yea they are not onely become guilty by having his sinne imputed unto them but they are also become filthy by having his corruption infused into them Min. And what punishment are all Mankind made liable and subject unto by reason of their guiltinesse and filthinesse Sim. Even to eternall death and damnation in Hell fire Min. And shall all Mankinde then partake of that punishment Sim. O no for God hath from all Eternity elected and chosen some to eternall life and glory and all those shall certainely be saved Sim. And by what meanes shall they be saved Sim. Onely by Jesus Christ Min. And what is Jesus Christ Sim. He is the eternall Son of God who in time became Man for his Elect. Min. And what hath Christ done for their Salvation Sim. He hath fulfilled the Law and suffered death for them Min. And by what meanes are the elect made partakers thereof Sim. Onely by meanes of faith Min. And what is faith Sim. It is a speciall gift and grace of God bestowed onely upon Gods elect and wrought in their hearts by the power of his Spirit whereby they doe receive and apply Christ unto themselves particularly Min. And what is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Sim. It is a signe or a seale wherein by the Ministers blessing and delivering of Bread and Wine according to the institution of Christ is signified exhibited and sealed to the faithfull Receiver the nourishment of the soule to eternall life by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ crucified and so his further confirmation in the covenant of grace Min. And doe you intend to come before me and the Elders when we are together and so to be admitted to the Sacrament the next time it shall be administred Sim. I doe desire to partake of the Sacrament but I am not yet very willing to be examined any more Min. And why doe you desire to partake of the Sacrament Sim. Because I doe conceive it is a duty which God requireth at my hands and which tends much to the comfort and benefit of my soule Min. Well neighbour Simon I like all these answers well except it be the last how ever such answers as these though 't is true they are all fundamentalls yet if as they come from you they be rather Catechisticall then experimentall if they come onely from your head and not also from your heart it matters not greatly whether they had been better or worse for in a Catechisticall manner a man may answer better and yet want faith in Christ and he may not answer so well and yet have faith in Christ and therefore for a more sure Testimony of your faith in Christ I would pray you to let me heare what heart knowledge you have let me heare what Evidences you can shew for your Regeneration or new Birth Sim. Why truly Sir whilst I was a young man and unmarried I was very wilde and given to much vanity and many sinfull courses but when I came to be a married man I left them all and betooke my selfe to a very civill course of life dealing uprightly and justly with all men not doing the least wrong to any being very diligent in my Calling endeavouring thereby to get where withall to maintaine my selfe and my Family and to bring up my children in learning and good manners and to keepe my selfe out of debt and danger and to live in credit and fashion amongst my neighbours and though I say it my selfe I did so and had the love of all that knew me especially of the poorer sort for the truth is I was good to them and I was also very carefull to goe to the Church every Sabbath day and to see that my wife children and servants did the like and when we came home I did usually read a Chapter either before or after supper commanding my children and servants to doe the like and afterwards we used to sing a Psalm together and then I commonly went to Prayer with them though I must confesse I then did it upon a Booke and this course of life I led for the space of full seven yeeres together and now Sir before I goe any further I would intreat you to tell me what state and condition you thinke I was in at this time