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	life_n	sin_n	9,880	5	5.5192	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00414	A methode vnto mortification: called heretofore, the contempt of the world, and the vanitie thereof Written at the first in the Spanish, afterward translated into the Italian, English, and Latine tongues: now last of all perused at the request of some of his godly friends, and as may bee most for the benefite of this Church, reformed and published by Thomas Rogers. Allowed by authoritie.; Vanidad del mundo. English	Estella, Diego de, 1524-1578.; Rogers, Thomas, d. 1616.	1608 (1608)	STC 10543; ESTC S114515	174,792	500

thinke the other doe saile exceeding fast and that themselues doe go but fa●re and easily or rather stand still although in truth one ship saileth so fast as the other Euen in like sort many that see other men dayly to die before their face doe thinke themselues notwithstanding to be immortall and that they doe abide stocke still while others doe goe on apace towardes death If death doe come vpon a suddaine and doe carrie any man away with him neuer say that hee betrayeth any man since long afore hee hath proclaimed himselfe to be an open enemie of vs all And it is an euident argument that he meaneth not to bee at truce with men when euery day he killeth one or other It is thy part therefore to prepare thy selfe and euery moment to looke for death and to liue in the feare of God They which goe through the fields that bee ●cuered with snowe they knowe not their way and while they thinke to enter into their lodging they fall into some daungerous pit or place Euen so the men which enioy all manner of prosperity which as snowe taketh away a great part of the sight of men while they thinke howe still they shall liue they rush headlong vpon death and come vnto destruction No maruaile then that of rich they become poore and from pleasure and pron●otion they come vnto anguish and plaine For good reason is it 〈◊〉 at his death he should forget himselfe which in his life would not remember God And then can hee hardly thinke of his saluation being occupied with the deceiptful light of the worlde vnlesse hee lay aside first all hurtfull sticking about visible things So ought a man to behold death despising all the vanity glorie and worship of the world CHAP. 34. Pride is horrible in the sight of God AL that is in the worlde as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of lift is not of the Father but of the worlde sayeth S. Iohn By these three troupes of enemies doth the world oppugne thee But of these the mightiest of all is pride which is the originall of all sinne If thou purpose to approch neere vnto God flie from pride becaus● God resisteth the proude and giueth grace to the humble The waters of Gods grace they do● runneaway from the hie mountaines of the vaine and hie minded people and goeth into the vallies of them that bee humble and meeke hearted Consider who thou art and thou shalt see how little cause thou hast to bee proud Thou shalt fi●de that in thy conception there was sinne in thy birth misery in thy life troubles and in thy death anguish and vexation To bring downe thine hie stomacke withall Almighty God hath ordained that thou shouldest bee vexed here in this life with the most vile and simple creatures as gnattes frogges and such like vermine as he plagued the proude Egyptians withal● Boast not arrogantly of thine own vertues neither lay open the faultes of other men but humbly consider thine owne defects and thy neighbours vertues and confesse thy selfe to bee a sinner and thy neighbour to bee an holy man Doe not thou imitate the poude Pharisie that made mention of his owne good workes and of the Publicans wickednesse Bee not arrogant least thou fall into the rigorous iudgement of the almightie God Be not proude man for thou art worthy all shame and confusion Thy casting downe shal be in the middest of thee saith Micheas Thou art a vile worme of the earth and a de●ne full of filth and abomination Remēber that thou art but dust and shalt returne againe into ashes Moses he sprinkled ashes toward the heauen and there came a scab breaking out into blisters vpon man and vpon beast If thou being but ashes dost lift vp and exa●t thy selfe by pride thou shalt be punished as the Egyptians were and as was Nebuchadnezzar There is no sinnner that so resembleth Satan as the proud man To remoue this sinne of pride God he descended vpon the earth in great humilitie Pride is the originall of al sinne Other sinners be separated from God either by some commoditie or pleasure but the cursed proude man is so past all shame that voluntarily hee renounceth euen God himselfe Other sinnes are knowen to proceede from certaine inordinate desires but the proude man in all that hee doeth maketh showe of pride He sheweth his pride in his pompous tables in his costly bedding and in many other things It is a continuall ague that continueth still and followeth a man often yea euen to the graue and after hee is dead Whereof are witnesses the stately monuments and toumbes which they cause to bee set vp and erected for them after they bee laide full lowe in the graue For the auoiding of this pride God hee suffereth man to fall into other sinnes An argument that of all it is the greatest Euery proud man is an abhomination to the Lord For he hath stretched out his hand against God and made himselfe strong against the Almighty saith Iob Onely by pride doeth man make contention saith Salomon With other sinners man may haue some societie but the proude man will admit no peere When Saul was little in his owne fight he was made the heade of the tribes of Israel but after hee became proude he lost his kingdome Pride it is the roote of all vice and the destruction of all vertue The trees that bee planted vpon hie places doe soonest loose their leaues thorough the vehemencie of the windes Studie therefore to bee little and make account of humilitie for therein shalt thou finde most safetie CHAP. 35. God giueth grace to the humble HE that humbleth himselfe shal be exalted saith the Lord As much as pride is hatefull so much is humility acceptable in Gods sight This humilitie is so liked of Iesus Christ that therein hee would bee borne and therewith as with a most deere friend he spent the time all the the dayes of his life Enter in at the straight gate for it is the wide gate and broad way that leadeth vnto destruction and many there be which go in thereat Because the gate is straight the way narrow that leadeth vnto life saith the Lord He that wil goe in at a lowe doore had neede stou●e and bowe downe himselfe if thou doest not ●umble thy selfe thou shalt neuer enter into heauen Except ye be conuerted and become as litle children ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen Learne of me that am meeke and lowly in heart saith our ●auiour Many there be which know themselues to be weake and offenders yet will they not be taken to be such but be thou humble in will and be content to bee as slenderly accounted of by other men as thou knowest thy selfe to bee worthy of the same and this is to be humble in very deede Iesus

doe iniurie to the heauenly father which more than liberalie prouideth for his children those thinges which he knoweth are most necessary and meete for euery one of them The birde of the aier wil no longer staie vpon the earth than meere necessitie driues her so to doe but spendeth the greater parte of her life aboue in the aier where she is best in secutitie If thou haue a desire to escape the perill of this life shunne so much as in thee is all vnnecessarie busines of this world It is thy part either to flie with the birde or to swimme with the fish not to grouell on the grounde if thou wouldest liue in safety At such time as God created the foules and the fishes he gaue them his blessing but the beastes and other liuing creatures that crept on the ground he blessed not at al He therfore which desireth the blessing that God imparteth on the good let him flie or let him swimme that he maie escape all danger and not like the brute beastes abide and rest vpon these earthly thinges for such he will not blesse but curse saying vnto them Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the Deuil his Angels Liue therfore like the flying soule aloft in heauenly meditations and praier and cast al your care vpō God as the Apostle commaundeth saying Cast al your care vpon him for he careth for you And saie with the Psal. mist Though I bee poore and needy yet the Lord careth for me Now if the Lord haue care of thee why serueth thy carefulnesse but euen to extinguish in thine heart the word of God The desire of riches in whomsoeuer it be choaketh the good seede of the worde of God that it can take noe roote and fructifie The Gentíles and heathen inasmuch as they are of opiniō how these things are giuen vs of fortune it is no maruel though they be so careful But thou which dost admitt and beleeue the Doctrine concerning Gods prouidence thou maiest not be so careful seeing well thou knowest that doing thy dutie according to thy calling God he will prouid that which is sufficient for thee If God preserue the Birdes which he created for man will he not much more haue a care for the substance of man which hee made for him selfe Remoue from thee al vnnecessarie businesse that thine heart may bee lifted vp vnto God Our nature and sensuall part being very strong they seeke themselues in the vanities and pleasures of the world but in the meane while the vnderstanding is darkened the spirite becommeth insensible and all spirituall exercise is vnsauorie Vnnecessary busines it hindereth the inward prayer of the heart it distracteth the mind it blindeth the vnderstanding and finally driueth away from vs the true light of the spirit Therefore if thou haue any desire to serue God aband from thy mind all carefulnesse and suffer not thy selfe to be distracted with the affaires of this world CHAP. 33. The wisedome of this world is vaine and foolish THe foolishnes of God is wiser than man saith the Apostle The worlde esteemeth him for a wise man which can cloke his owne vices in the sight of men and cunningly can attaine vnto honour and preferment in the worlde on the other side it holdeth all those for fooles which despise suche vanities The wise man in the person of worldly men saith We thought his life madnes and his end without honor the cause was for that he gaue not his minde to the gathering together of riches The men of this worlde take the seruantes of God for verie fooles without all forecast but they are like burning lampes and the worlde is onely the winde which bloweth and would put them out which the godly obseruing they do hide themselues that they maie be secure neither studie they to shewe theire holinesse in the sight of men but to God onely which regardeth not the outward partes but the heart within The wisdome of God is quite contrarie to the wisdome of man Good men are of none accounte amonge worldlie men but they are greatlie esteemed of the Lorde The iudgemetes of God differ much from the iudgements of men For the worlde looking vnto those thing which appeare to the outward senses taketh him for happie which is of power and rich When Samuel went to annoint one of the sonnes of ●shai for King of Israell passing by him whome the father made great account of he annointed Dauid which no man would haue thought So whome the worlde accounteth wise men GOD numbreth among fooles He whome the world reiected as an abiect was elected afore all to be a king He which hath a matter to be pleaded before a iudge of learning and integritie taketh it not too heauily though afore hee be condemned by an vnskilfull Iudge inasmuch as hee reposeth confidence in the sentence of that Iudge which is well seene in the lawes The men of this worlde like partiall and vnskilfull Iudges they iudged the pouertie of Th'apostles and the beggerly condition of the Martyrs but very foolishnes bnt the iudgement of God touching this matter is quite contrarie When it was said to S. Paul that much learning had made him mad he answered that he was not mad but spake the wordes of truth and sobernesse Hereby we may see that it is no newe thing for the worlde blindlie to iudge that which it knoweth not neither vnderstandeth meere foolishnesse But death will one day come when the seruantes of Christ will appeale vnto God the chiefe and vpright iudge who soundely and substantially will consider the cause and then will hee condemne the iudgement of the world as altoghether vniust hy his righteous and irreuocable sentence whereby he will reproue all that which was approued in the worlde If therefore thou bee reputed for a foole in the world bee not dismaid for so was Christ esteemed of Herod neither waigh the vaine iudgementes of men which shall euery of them shortly bee repealed and then true vertue and they which be truelie veruous shall shine most gloriously in the celestiall paradise CHAP. 34. The true wisedome is the wisedome of Christ. IF any man among you seeme to bee wise in this world let him bee a foole that he may be wise saith the Apostle It is true wisdome to become and to bee counted a foole for Christ his sake The wisdome of God which consisteth in true mortifying denying of a mans selfe is takē but for foolishnes among men The wise man saith I am more foolish than any man haue not the vnderstanding of a man in me The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light therefore the wise man said that hee had not the vnderstanding of a man yet had he the wisdome of God which is reputed foolishnesse of the world forasmuch as the wit of man cannot reach vnto