Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	death_n	die_v	sin_n	7,620	5	5.8816	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81228	A discourse concerning Christ his incarnation, and exinanition. As also, concerning the principles of Christianity: by way of introduction. / By Meric Casaubon. D.D.	Casaubon, Meric, 1599-1671.	1646 (1646)	Wing C803; Thomason E354_1; ESTC R201090	58,852	100

the ten Commandements were appointed to be laid which Ark before the said Testament was compleat ever since the Babylonian Captivity had been wanting Petavius himself a learned Jesuite that hath set out Epiphanius except he may be allowed to expunge those words as spurious the last refuge of venturous Criticks when they are plunged and cannot get out doth plainly professe to suspect this to have been the opinion of Epiphanius whereas we have more occasion to suspect of him that he did not understand him or had any thought of those passages of Tertullian and Augustine which would have made Epiphanius his meaning clear enough and as we conceive unquestionable I have now done with those grounds of common notions and principles of humane reason the consideration whereof I conceived would be proper and pertinent to the subject we are to treat of a subject of it self so sublime and so farre above the reach of humane understanding that whoever takes upon him to meddle with it had need to lay wel his grounds before-hand and carefully to circumscribe himself lest he fall into extravagances before he be aware Qui scrutatur Majestatem opprimetur à gloriâ whether that were Solomons meaning Prov. 25.27 or no may be controverted but a true sentence it is however and they shall be sure to find it true that proceed not in such arguments with much warinesse This method of proceeding by certain hypotheses laid for a foundation though it be most proper to Mathematicians yet it is not unusuall to other Artists and Writers It is the very method used by Plato in his Timeus the subject whereof is the Creation of the world of man particularly our subject is the restauration or regeneration of mankinde in Christ which of the two is generally accounted the greater work OF THE INCARNATION of CHRIST ANcient Philosophers that have written concerning the nature of this Universe observe this as a great mystery of nature and a singular evidence of the power and wisdome of God the author of nature that whatsoever is commonly said to dye or to perish is by this death or corruption which they more properly call alteration the cause of the production and generation of something else whereby the course of this worlds generation in generall is continued and maintained It may be applied in some kinde to this sacred subject and mystery of Christ his Incarnation The fall and miscarrying of the first Adam was the cause or occasion at the least of the second Adam Had not the first Adam the first fruits of mankind in whom the whole lump was either to be sanctified or polluted sinned and by his sin undone all that should come from him the second Adam Christ Jesus according to the flesh as the Scripture speaketh had never been born for there had been no need of him For as for the conceits of some either ancient Hereticks or later Schoolmen who have maintained a contrary opinion as neither grounded upon Scripture nor any probability of reason and generally rejected by the more sober of all sides I willingly passe by But on the other side though the Incarnation of the Son of God of all the works of God hath eminently the preeminence yet we may not say or think that therefore the first man sinned or was ordained to sin that the Son of God might be incarnated For so wee should make God the author of sin then which nothing either in it self can be more detestable or more contrary to true piety God indeed to whom all things past present future are equally present as hee foresaw from all eternity the fall of Adam and in him of all mankinde so did he from all eternity decree the Incarnation of his Son for the restauratiō of man Whence are those phrases of Scripture that Christ as a Redeemer a 1 Pet. 1.20 was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world that we were b Ephes 1.4 chosen or c 2 Tim. 1.9 saved in Christ before the foundation of the world or before the world began and again that Christ is the d Apoc. 13.8 Lamb slain from the foundation of the world though as for this last passage I rather embrace their interpretation such hyperbaton's as they call them being very frequent in the Scriptures who referre this from the beginning of the world to the book of life as Apocal. 17.18 rather then to the Lamb slain though I must professe against the reason that is given by some as Ribera the Jesuite upon the place as though there were any absurdity or incongruity in the speech being so justifiable by other parallel places of Scripture But this foresight of God did no ways occasion much lesse necessitate the disobedience of Adam who as he was created with perfect freedome of will so he might had not he been wanting to himself have resisted the temptation of the Devill and have continued in that innocency to which his happinesse and immortality was annexed But it so fell out that Adam used his freewill to his own and all that should be after him being descended from him their ruine and eternall confusion Better it had been for him certainly and better for all that had any dependence of him never to have been for I am not of their opinion that think any beeing better then no beeing then to see himself at once stript of his happinesse and innocency of the son of God become the slave of the Devill and besides his own personall misery the occasion of so much evill unto others Seneca De Clem. l. 1. Quanto autem non nasci melius quàm numerari inter publico malo natos how much more then quàm unum omnis omnibus mali causam extitisse Here a question offers it self though we would be very cautelous of moving questions of this nature where the Scripture it self is silent too much curiosity in this kind having been the occasion of sundry blasphemies and heresies yet because there is some ground for it in the Scripture we may not altogether passe it by The question is Why God would permit Adam to sin which he might many ways have prevented if he had thought fit The first answer is because it became God well if this be not too bold a speech to make good his own order and to maintain his owne work It had pleased God to endow Adam with a perfect free-will He was furnished with sufficient grace to continue innocent and to withstand sin but that grace was conditionall as be used it as he liked it he might either improve it or lose it If therefore we must make a question of it it is more proper to ask why God created Adam with free-will then why God did not hinder the sin of Adam being so created This very question much troubled ancient Philosophers who had the bare light of reason and nature for their guide Why God being so perfectly good as they did acknowledge him would suffer sin

but either not so pertinent or such as might be reduced to these Even of these that we have set down if a man be disposed to multiply questions it may be asked whether by some other cause or way such ends and such effects might not have been contrived and compassed There is no end of such curiosity but as no end so as little fruit There is nothing among men so generally received or approved in the ways and works of God but such as are bold and self-conceited may easily except against and think they might have mended it if they had had the ordering of it So that in the conclusion we must either sink our selves into Atheism then which in other respects and considerations nothing can be more contrary to sense and reason or be forced to acknowledge that it is against reason to discredit the revealed will of God because we see not sufficient reason for his will It was an excellent resolution of Socrates who when he had learned from Anaxagoras who therefore was surnamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Reason or Vnderstanding was the cause of all things Plato in Phaedone resolved he would trouble himself no longer to seek the naturall cause or reason of every thing but rest in this fully satisfied that since Reason was the supream cause all things must of necessity both in respect of the generall and of every particular thing be for the best He was in the right certainly and till we come to that our scruples will never be at an end Yet one reason or consideration more I find expressed in the Scripture which must not be omitted which is that by this mystery so contrived and brought to passe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the manifold wisdome of God might be made known both to Angels and to men Vnto me saith Saint Paul Ephes 3.8 9 10 11. his words are full of weight and holy vigor who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world had been hid in God who created all things in Jesus Christ To the intent that now unto the Principalities and Powers in heavenly places might bee known by the Church the manifold wisdome of God This manifold wisdome of God though it be observable in all the particulars of this great mystery from the first Conception to the Ascension yet it is most eminently discernible in the circumstances of his Passion as the main part of the story Should a man collect into one the severall observations of ancient Fathers and other Writers in this kind it would arise to a considerable bulk and though it cannot be denyed that in so many some may be found which may savour more of wit then weight yet those ought not to be any prejudice to the solidity of the rest of which kind there will be enough found to fill the most stupid if not extreamly dulled with prophanenesse and infidelity both with delight and with admiration I have not proposed to my self so large a scope neither am I at this time furnished for that purpose Somewhat of this kind to the Incarnation more particularly or at least to the mystery in generall relating we have here collected and set down First that as all things were at the first created 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Word called in the Greek Logos so by the fame Word the restauration of mankind also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the logicall creatures as Philosophers call them should bee Secondly that as by the transgression of one man all were made guilty so by the righteousnesse of one all might be acquitted Thirdly that as pride and infidelity were the two principall causes of Adams sin and by it of the ruine of mankind so faith and humility should bee the means of his restauration Once man in the pride of his heart attempted to be like unto God and God by a mystery of humility became like unto man that he might exalt man to a neerer degree of likenesse unto God Fourthly a woman was the Devils unhappy instrument to draw Adam to sin and of a woman came the Saviour of the world Eve beleeved a wicked Angel in the form of a Serpent and transgressed Mary that blessed Virgin beleeved a blessed Angel and conceived Fifthly that after that in the wisdome of God that is 1 Cor. 1.21 in the Book of nature the sight and contemplation of this Universe which doth so manifestly set forth the infinite power and wisdome of the Creator the world by wisdome knew not God that he is a Spirit but one and onely to be worshipped it pleased God by the foolishnesse of preaching not grounded upon humane ratiocination philosophy or eloquency of words to confound the wise ver 27. and to save them that beleeve which by the Gentiles was generally much scorned and derided who accounted beleef the character and property of an Idiot We meddle not here with his Nativity the circumstances and considerations whereof are many and distinct from those of his Incarnation and from the generall consideration of this mystery In which kind besides those we have insisted upō many more may be collected that have already by divers been made and some made perchance that have not yet been observed Maximus an ancient learned Writer Martyr in his Meditations called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith very well The great mystery of the divine Incarnation still continues a mystery not onely for that being proportionably to the strength of them that are saved by it manifested that which is not manifested of it is much more then that which is but also because even that which is manifested may be said still hidden or concealed as not in the truth of it utterable by any words or not comprehensible to the understanding of man So he and he goes on and insists in this and the next Chapter in sundry particulars which I forbear to translate Neither his language nor his conceptions are ordinary They that can read him in his own language may understand him not they I doubt that shall reade him translated It is a Plato in Phaed. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato's observation that in beleef there may be a kind of unbeleef when a man by satisfactory proofs or evidences being fully convicted in his understanding that the thing is so indeed is neverthelesse not only by the greatnesse sublimity of the things themselves that are proposed but also by the consideration of the means and vilenesse of man so confounded and amazed as that at the same time he neither knows how to beleeve nor yet can tell how to contradict In joy also if excessive there is a kind of unbeleef whereof we read Luke 24.41 And whilest they yet beleeved not for joy Ita