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
A73518	The recoverie of paradise. A sermon, on the incarnation and birth of our Sauior Christ. By Michael Birkhed	Birkenhead, Michael.	1602 (1602)	STC 3088.5; ESTC S125282	28,795	68

him Or how can he not do this which can do all things In a word if I can pardon that which is committed against me if I will shal not God our Christ be able to forgiue that which is committed against him if he wil If therefore hee can forgiue and pardon our sinnes both because hee is omnipotent and onely can because they are onely done against him Surely blessed is the man to whom this Lord Christ will not impute sinne Therefore we know that Christ by the power of his diuinity is able to forgiue sins now of his will who need to doubt For hee that debased him selfe so much as to take our flesh vpon him and to suffer death for vs shall we thinke that he will not imparte vnto vs his righteousnes surely yes so that as it is euident by the consideration of his deitie that he is able to forgiue our sinnes so it is manifest by the consideration of his Humanity that he is willing so to do But what other argument haue we that he hath vanquished death marry this because hee suffered it which did not deserue it And therefore with what reason can that bee required of vs which an other hath already paid for vs hee that tooke away the merrit of sinne by giuing his righteousnes vnto vs hee hath paid the debt of death and restored life vnto vs for so death being vanquished life is restored as sinne being taken away righteousnes is returned But how could he die which was God Euen in this respect that hee was man But how could the death of one man satisfie for an other because he was Iust and Innocent that died As he was a man he might die but being guiltlesse it was not necessary Indeed a sinner is not able to satisfie the debt of death for an other sinner for euery one dieth for his owne sinne but he that hath no cause to die for his owne shall we not thinke his death may be a ransome for an other Surely by how much the more vniustly hee dieth which hath not deserued death by so much the more iustly he liueth for whom he so dieth But what equity is it saist thou that an innocent person should die for the guilty I tell thee it is not Iustice but mercy if it should haue bin Iustice then he had not died voluntarily but of duty if of duty then he himselfe should die indeed yet he for whom he so died should not liue But neuerthelesse if it be not Iustice yet it is not against iustice otherwise God could not haue bin iust and mercifull at once But although one iust man may satisfie for one sinner yet howe is it that one may satisfie for many for it might seeme inough if one dying for one do restore Life vnto one To this the Apostle shall answere As by the offence of one the fault came on all men to the Condemnation of death So by the Righteousnes of one the benefit abounded towards all men to the iustification of Life For as by one mans disobedience many were made Sinners So by the Obedience of one many are become Righteous But perhaps one man might restore Righteousnes vnto many but Life not so By one man saith he death entered into the world and so by one is Life regayned For as by Adam all die so by Christ shall all be made aliue For what shal one man sinne and all become guilty and shall the Righteousnes of one redownd but to one only was gods Iustice such as to condemne al for one and cannot his mercy be as great as to saue all by one Or could Adam do more in euill then Christ in good Shall Adams Sin be imputed vnto me and shall not Christes righteousnes belong vnto me Shall his disobedience be the cause of my Death and shal not Christs obedience restore me to life but thou wilt say we are worthely guilty of Adams Sinne because we were contained in him when he sinned and were begotten of his flesh in the sinfull Lust of the Flesh But I say more truly are we begotten of god according to the spirit then of Adam according to the flesh I meane if we are of the number of those whom God hath predestinated before the creation of the world vnto Life And that we are begotten of god S. Iohn witnesseth where he saith Which were not begotten of blood nor after the will of the Flesh nor of Man but of God And in one of his Epistles he likewise maketh mention of this holy generation saying He that is borne of God sinneth not But thou wilt say our carnall concupiscence and sinne testifieth that we haue descended of sinners according to the flesh and not of God I answere this generation or birth is not seene in the flesh but in the spirit and minde and that of those onely that can say with the Apostle we haue the minde of the Lord and who haue the spirit bearing witnesse to their spirits that they are the sonnes of God for by the spirit of God chastitie is infused into our mindes as by the flesh which is of Adam concupiscence is diffused about in our members and as that which is descended vnto vs from the parents of our bodies doth neuer depart in this life from the flesh so the other proceeding from the father of our spirits is neuer excident from the intention of the mindes of his children that are perfected in him If then we are borne of God and elected in Christ what equity is it that our earthly and humane generation should hurt vs more then our spirituall and heauenly is able to helpe vs Can our carnall succession hinder the election of God and a momentary sinne be a let vnto his eternall and euerlasting purpose Nay if by one man death entered vpon all shall not life by one man especially such a man as Christ be giuen vnto all And if in Adam wee all died shall we not much more in Christ be made aliue for the fault was nothing so much as the gift for iudgement came for one sinne vnto condemnation but grace was of many sinnes vnto iustification Christ therefore both could remit our sinnes in that he was God die in that he was man and by dying deliuer vs from death in that he was iust and though but one yet be sufficient vnto iustification and life for all because both sinne and also death did enter into vs all by one Thus all of Christ was powerfull to helpe vs in euery thing he was profitable for vs neither was his infirmity lesse auaileable then his maiestie for although by the power of his deitie hee remoued the yoke of sinne from our neckes yet in the infirmity of his flesh he destroyed the power of death by his death And therefore true is that of the Apostle the weakenesse of God is strongest vnto men for his death hath freed vs from death as his life did from errour and his grace from sinne

God is righteous Timuerunt ergo timore magno They feared therefore saith Luke with a great feare their sinnes were the cause of their feare and ours deseruing no lesse then theirs we haue no cause but to feare with them but what comfort hath the Angell brought with him marry this Feare not As though he should haue said yee sorrowfull and sinfull shepheards who by reason of your manifold sins and iniquities are ashamed like the pensiue Publican to cast vp your polluted eyes vnto the vnspotted throne of the righteous God but go mourning like reiected Cains and cursing with Iob the dayes of your Natiuitie because yee lie subiect vnto the horrible curse of Lucifer and his Angells by reason of your originall and actuall sinnes and therefore feare lest God should cause the earth to swallow you vp as it did Corah and his confederates or else to be consumed with fire by reason of this fiery Light that shineth about you as the Sodomites were in the dayes of Lot If ye knew for what cause I am come downe vnto you ye would be so farre from feare or sorrow that you would rather with that Democrites passe ouer your dayes in perpetuall Laughter For behold I bring you Tidings and Tidings of so great Ioy that the very mountaines if they could heare it would skip like Rams and the little hills like young sheepe so that henceforward you may sing Salomons song as heretofore ye haue sighed out leremies Lamentations wherfore looke vp and behold behold the Angell of God who am sent from the Throne of his Almighty Maiesty with all the rest of these heauenly Souldiers to declare tidings of ioy vnto you wherefore seeing that you are in such fauor with the King of Kings the Almighty Iehouah the Lord of hostes in that he hath regarded you more then all the nations of the earth in that you shall see the Redeemer of mankinde euen Iesus Christ the Son of God before any else Seeing I say you are in such fauor and so regarded of him who is onely to be feared there is no cause that ye ought to feare But here by the way wee must note what Feare is meant in this place for a Diuision must needs be granted els there wil be found an Opposition in Religion which Religion denieth and a concordance of repugnant contrarieties in one subiect which Reason in no sort admitteth For Feare is called Principium sapientiae the beginning of wisedome and Salomon saith it is the root of Life the fulnes of knowledge the glory and renowne of a Christian and the most happy gift And Dauid saith that the Lord hath prouided an euerlasting heritage for them that feare him and yet it is said here Feare not S. Paul in the eight to the Romanes setteth downe two kindes of feare the one a Seruill feare proper vnto the diuells and his damnable adherents the other a filiall feare or the feare of children towards their parents which is peculiar vnto the Seruants of God A seruil feare may be seene in Pharao who feared the Lord when he let the people of Israell depart but it was onely for feare lest hee should be destroied by those plags punishmēts which were denounced against him which he had begun already to haue tasted of So Cain feared when he had slaine his brother so Iudas feared when hee had betrayed his maister Thus the Gentiles feared their Idols for it was not for any Loue that they could beare thē being so wicked vngodly as they were but only lest they shold be hurt by them if they did not serue them Of this feare Saint Peter speaking saith Timorem eorum ne timueritis Feare not their feare or feare not after their maner of fearing meaning the seruil feare of wicked men But of the other kinde of feare he saith presently after Dominum autem Christum sanctificate in Cordibus vestris cum modestia et timore But sanctifie the Lord Iesus in your harts with modesty and feare And S. Paul writing of this feare saith Cum timore tremore vestrum c. worke out your saluation with modesty and feare And this feare is called the feare of children which feare their Parents more for displeasing them or prouoking their anger then for the punishment which by the offence might redownd vnto themselues This feare was neither forbidden the shepheards nor vs nor any else but onely that seruil feare which the Law did bring with it whē nothing but plagues punishmēt was denounced against them that did not whatsoeuer by the Lawe was commaunded vnto them Therefore many of the Iewes did seruilely feare God but they loued him not as may appeare in that they had rather haue worshipped any stock or stone if thei might haue had their choise without feare of punishment But now seeing Christ is come to fulfill the Law for vs and that God doth require nothing but our endeuoure if with firme faith we cleaue vnto the merrits and suffrings of his sonne therfore in this respect it is said vnto the Shepheards in them vnto vs Feare not And thus much of the comfort now of the reason therof why we need not feare For beholde I bring you Tidings of Great Ioy which shall be vnto all people Non oportet esse tristitiae locum vbi est natalis gaudiorum There ought not to be any place for feare or care saith Augustine when the Birthday of Ioy blisse is come in presence for can the childrē of the Bridechamber moorne when the bridegroome is with them haue the thunderclaps of Sinai bin able to deiect vs shall not the songs of Sion be as forcible to erect vs shall the Law terrifie vs when the Gospel is sent to cheere vs But what is this that he saieth that this Ioy shall be vnto all people shall all be saued shall there be no lost sheep in the house of Israel no goats to stand on the left hand in the day of iudgement shall all be carried into Abrahams bosome shall all be voide of feare by his comming I answer the Lord knoweth who are his And hath tould vs that as the way of Life is narrowe and the gate straight so there shal be but few that shall find it For many saith he shal cry Lord Lord open to vs and shal be sent away with Nescio vos I know you not And in his prayers Christ saith of himselfe that he prayed not for all the world but onely for those that his father had giuen him out of the world Therfore it is manifest that although the Angel saith that this Ioie of his Birth should be vnto all yet that all shall not be made Pertakers of the fruits therof But as touching the merrits of Christ we must speake after two sorts either according to Sufficiencie or as touching Efficiencie Christ his Death was sufficient to haue saued all but it was not efficient vnto any but onely vnto those