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	sin_n	sin_v	3,111	5	9.7434	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27044	A sermon preached at the funeral of that faithful minister of Christ, Mr. John Corbet with his true and exemplary character / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1680 (1680)	Wing B1416; ESTC R17576	26,901	40

nearness of Body and Soul is such that God can use the Body to keep the Soul in a humble and a safe Condition Vse Mistake not the Nature and meaning of the Flesh's sufferings Grudge not at God if he exercise thus his greatest Saints VVonder not if the best men have sharp persecutions pinching wants and painful sickness a long and sharp tormenting stone or other such like Thorn in the Flesh 1. It is but the Flesh in our British part common to Beasts If Flesh must die and rot why may it not first feel the Thorn 2. VVe grudged not at that health and youth and ease and pleasure of it which was the danger and temptation to the Soul why then should we grudge at the pain which tendeth to our Cure 3. If you feel not the need of suffering you know not your selves Did you know your Pride and overmuch Love of Flesh and Ease you would say that Pain is a Physick which you need were it but to help on your willingness to die 4. Pain here depriveth us of none of our true Felicity it hindereth not Gods love to us it keeps us not from Heaven Lazarus was in a fairer way than Dives It takes nothing from us but what we Covenanted to forsake for Christ 5. Do we not find that we are better when we suffer than when we are high Were Religious People better when Victories and Successes did lift them up than they have been in their sufferings Did they live then more humbly peaceably and heavenly 6. The Thorn will soon be taken out Flesh will not endure long and therefore this pain will not be long a few more painful Nights and Days and the Porter which we fear will break open our Prison Doors and end these weary grievous sufferings Vse 2. And think not the Thorn is a mark that such are worse than others Paul was not worse and shall we Censure such as he Vse 3 But let us all know the use of suffering what cure hath this Medicine wrought Blessed be our wise and gracious Physician we find it a powerful though unpleasant Remedy It keepeth Lazarus from the sins of Dives from living a worldly sensual Life and loving the prosperity of the flesh instead of heavenly true felicity It keepeth us from a beastly living to our appetites and lust which would divert and deprave the spiritual appetite It keepeth us from being deluded by worldly flatteries and looking for a portion in this Life and laying up a Treasure on Earth and from growing sensless and impenitent in Sin It awakeneth the Soul to serious expectations of Eternity and keepeth us as within the sight or hearing of another World and tells us to the quick that we must make ready to Die and to be judged and that we have much more to do with God than with man and for Heaven than Earth It taketh down Pride and all excessive respects to humane approbation and keeping us still in the sight of the Grave doth tell us what mans body is Mors solae fatetur Quantula sunt hominum Corpuscula Juv. What faithful Soul that hath been bred up in the School of afflictions doth not by experience say that it was good for him How Dull how Proud how worldly might we else have been and trifled away our lives in sloth and vanity And it is not for nothing that our Thorns or Nailes in the Flesh are kin to the Nailes that pierced our Saviour on the Cross and that we tread in his steps and as Cross-bearers are thus far conformable to his sufferings Be patient than under the Pain and careful to improve it and thankful for the Profit And let not the Soul too much condole the flesh as if it had not at hand a better Habitation and Interest It is but this Vile body Phil. 3. 19. lent us for a little time as our Clothes till Night or as our Horse in a Journey when we have done with them be content of Gods separation and till then let us not take our Corrector for our Enemy I groan too much Lord I complain too much I fear too much but my Soul doth acknowledge the Justice and Love and Wisdom of thy dealings and looketh that this Thorn should bring forth sweet and happy fruit and that all the Nailes of my Cross being sanctified by the blood of my Crucified Redeemer should tend to make me partaker of thy Holiness But who put this Thorn into Pauls Flesh It was one of Satans Messengers Observ 11. The sufferings of the holiest persons in the flesh may be the buffettings of a Messenger of Satan No wonder He that hath got somewhat of his own in us all defiling us with sin if he also may answerably be permitted to afflict us He possessed many in Christs time and it was Devils that made them dumb and deaf and mad whom Christ at once delivered from Devils and Diseases He is called the Accuser and destroyer and he that had the power of Death Heb. 2. 14. whom Christ by Death and Resurrection Conquered Christ calleth his healing the Palsie man the forgiving of his sin and James saith upon Prayer and Anointing the sick should be healed and his sins forgiven And for the Cause of sin many Christians were sick and weak and many fallen asleep I cannot say that Good Angels may not hurt men and execute Gods Judgments but Scripture maketh evil ones his ordinary Executioners Vse Therefore it is no proof that a man is not a Child of God though the Devil have permission to Torment his Flesh Rev. 2. 10. The Devil shall cast some of you into Prison Please God and Satan hath no Power and Christ will take take out the Thorn ere long which Satan is permitted to put in But how doth Paul endure the Thorn He prayeth that is might depart from him Observ 12. The best men are sensible of the suffering of the Flesh and may pray God to take it from them Grace doth not make the Flesh insensible Nor separate the Soul from it though it set us above it nor make us despise it though it shew us a higher Interest and better Habitation and teach us to bear the Cross and resign the Body to the Will of God A Godly man may groan under his Pain and take it as a fruit of sin and an act of the Chastizing Justice of an offended Father and pray against it as hurtful though not as a Remedy They that ignorantly dispute that because Christ hath suffered all our Punishment therefore there is no Penal hurt in Pain or Death confute themselves if they complain under it or pray against it or desire such Prayers from the Church or any Yea one use of the Thorn is to awaken and quicken us to Prayer Like Jonas's Storm Vse Go then to God in all affliction but not with carnal discouraged hearts He maketh you thus feel the need of his Mercy that you may with the Prodigal think of home and

But be sure you do it whoever forbid it or be against it as long as God or your selves have not rendered you uncapable Whatever silencers say against it Necessity is upon you God calls for it Souls call for it The charge is dreadful 2 Tim. 4. 1 2. your Vows call for it Satans malice and the number of Soul-betrayers and murderers must provoke you our time is short Souls are precious Christ the chief shepherd dearly purchased them and will judge you according to your works It will not justifie your neglect to say Men forbad me Sufferings were prepared for me Bishops and famous Divines wrote learned Books to prove that preaching was to me a sin and that I was bound to forbear it when forbidden 2. And it telleth us that we as well as others must prepare for the sharpest tryals from God No thorn in the flesh so sharp and painful which we may not feel No death so violent or sudden but we may undergo Love and hatred are not known by outward events prosperity or adversity A great difference Solomon acknowledgeth between the good and the bad the righteous and wicked him that sacrificeth or worshippeth God and him that doth not him that sweareth perjuriously or prophanely and him that seareth such an Oath some are loved of God and some are hated And this difference is manifest in such disposals even of prosperity and adversity as tend to their greater holiness and happiness which shall manifest the difference fully and for ever But outward events manifest it not in themselves All such things come alike to all yea the Cross is more laid on the godly than the wicked O therefore away with the two Disciples desires of Church-preferment and worldly dignity and prepare to drink of Christs Cup and be baptized with his baptism Eccles 9. 1 2 3. Matth. 20. 22 23. Learn daily how to bear slanders and persecutions from men even from Christian Teachers and how to lie in fleshly pains night and day and how to die and all this in faith and peace and joy at least in the quiet hope of everlasting joy III. And without any disgracing or provoking design but meerly in conscience and compassion to the Souls of the people and of our Reverend Brethren themselves I do humbly intreat the Right Reverend and Reverend Imposing Clergy to lay by a while if possible all unrighteous prejudice and partiality and worldly interests and respects and consider that they also must die and as they will stand to it at last to resolve these Questions I. Whether those Terms of Church-Concord and Peace be wisely and justly made which are too narrow to receive such men as this for faith knowledge peaceableness blamelesness holines c. into the Ministry Communion of their Church or to endure themout of a Jayl Whether wise and good men could find no better And whether Christ ever directed the Church to exclude such or did not plainly require the contrary And whether the Apostles ever excluded such or made such Rules II. Whether they think in their hearts that it were better all the good were undone which hath been done by Nonconformists these 18 years to the Ministerial furthering of knowledge repentance holiness and salvation than that such should have preached the Gospel when forbidden III. Whether it will be peace to your consciences at the Judgment of Christ that any of you have furthered the silencing of such and their other sufferings IV. Whether they that have written and preached against their Preaching or for their silencing and the execution of the Laws against them or perswaded them to give over their work themselves and reproached and accused them for doing it be not engaged in this frightful Cause V. Is it not gross partiality if you will cherish men of ignorance vitiousness or far less worth while such as these are thought intollerable meerly because the former are more obedient to you than fear of sinning will suffer these to be VI. Was that Church therein guided by the Spirit of Christ which made the Canon which ipso facto excommunicateth such VII If you had known as many of the about 2000 silenced and as well as I have done how much of the grace of God shined in them Is it possible that any man that hath the true fear and love of God and sense of everlasting things could ever by any pretences of Church Government or Order or upon any byas of interest have consented to their silencing and sufferings Some will think that in partiality I over-magnifie men because they were of my own mind and party I have besides some pious Women written the Characters and published the praises of divers of Mr. Rich. Vines Mr. John Janeway Mr. Joseph Allen Mr. Henry Stubbs Mr. Wadsworth and now Mr. John Corbet and lately one Layman Alderman Ashurst and he that hath now received them whom such as you cast out or villified knoweth that I have in knowledge of them and love to Christ whose grace shined in them spoken simply the truth from my heart and it is in a time and place where it is fully known and feareth no confutation And the History shall live to the shame of Church-dividing tearing principles and all thorny hurtful dispositions and to the encouragement of the faithful and the imitation of those that in time to come shall by saith patience and well-doing seek for immortality and eternal life by serving our Redeemer and pleasing God FINIS ERRATA PAg. 3. Line 26. for great read gentle Pag. 4. l. 1. for our r. one l. 34. for grown r. groan p. 5. l. 11. for are sure r. measure l. 37. after that r. the. HIS Writings published are 1. His History of Col. Massy's Military-Actions at and near Glocester 2. The Interest of England 1st and 2d Part. 3. A Discourse of the Religion of England asserting That Reformed Christianity setled in its due Latitude is the Stability and Advancement of this Kingdom In two Parts 4. The Kingdom of God among Men With a Discourse of Schism and an Account of himself about Conformity 5. His secret Self-employment is now to be Printed Containing 1. Memorials for his own Practice 2. His Evidences upon Self-examination 3. His Thoughts in his last painful Afflictions What else may hereafter see the light we yet know not Besides his Labour in Compiling Mr. Rushworth's first Volume of Historical Collections