Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	efficient_a	end_n	final_a	2,172	5	9.9792	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09971	Grace to the humble· As preparations to receive the Sacrament. Preached by the late famous preacher Iohn Preston, Doctor of Divinity, and chaplen in ordinary to his Mtie. Master of Immanuel Colledge, and sometimes preacher in Lincolnes-Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1639 (1639)	STC 20228; ESTC S106423	39,427	175

GRACE TO THE HVMBLE AS Preparations to Receive the SACRAMENT Preached by the Late famous Preacher IOHN PRESTON Doctor of Divinity and Chaplen in Ordinary to his M tie Master of Immanuel Colledge and sometimes Preacher in Lincolnes-Inne LONDON Printed by Tho. Cotes for Michael Sparke Iunior and are to be sold at the signe of the Blue Bible in Greene Arbour 1639. GRACE TO THE HVMBLE The fourth SERMON LVKE 9.23 And he said to them all if any will come after me let him deny himselfe and take up his Crosse daily and follow me IN the receiving of the Sacrament our choise businesse is to remember the Covenant betweene God and us and that hath two Parts First The Promise on Godspart Secondly the Condition on our part The Promise on Gods part and that is the gift of Christ whom hee gives as freely as a man gives his Lands to his heire now Christ he comes not naked but he comes accompanied with these three blessings First Iustification and all that followes upon that Secondly Sanctification to whom hee gives Christ them he sanctifies with his Spirit Thirdly all outward things Now there is a Condition required at our hands and it is exprest by divers words in the Scriptures sometimes by the name of repentance Repent for the kingdome of heaven is at hand Sometimes by the name of Beleeving Beleeve me and you shall be saved And here it is set downe by following of Christ. All these are joyned together for if you Repent you Beleeve and follow Christ and none can follow Christ without Faith and Repentance Now the occasion of these words is this Our Saviour had told them a little before That hee must suffer many things he must die rise againe and then tells them the consequent of this that they must not looke for a temporall kingdome my Disciples follow me and I goe rough wayes So that the maine duty that hee gives them here is to follow him to this hee addes two Conditions or two causes without the which wee cannot by any meanes follow him First Hee must deny himselfe that is If a man will come to follow me the flesh will propound to him many things that are pleasing and profitable it will be as a rough byas to turne him aside and therefore he must deny himselfe and his owne flesh And againe he will meete with many afflictions and for those hee must not looke out of the way but hee must goe through these crosses hee must take up his crosse dayly The Doctrine is this That no man can have interest in Christ without selfe-deniall If any man will will be my disciple let him deny himselfe Although before you come to Christ there is nothing required but a simple and bare desire It is no matter for Sanctification yet when we do come he must then be our Lord and Master and wee must follow him denying our owne lusts and this cannot be without selfe-deniall and therefore it is that that those that have failed in this point have not followed him Demas followed him a great way but when he came to this selfe deniall then hee left him and embraced this present world and this was the reason why Paul followed him because hee was willing to deny himselfe What was the reason that Caleb followed God so constantly because hee denied himselfe and resolved whatsoever he saw to sticke close to God and his Commandements and so Abraham hee left his country and friends cleaving to God Indeede if our will and Christs Will were coincident then this might be without selfe-deniall but being at oddes we cannot goe together for wee cannot walke together not being agreed and therefore wee must conforme our selves unto Christ his Will must not be brought downe to ours but our will is out often and therefore it must be wound up to his Now the Question will be what selfe-deniall is To deny a mans selfe is not to make himselfe his end but God onely and to renounce himselfe as sorry hee is opposite to God and his wayes So that to deny himselfe ' is to deny the aversement the corruption illnesse of nature w ch is called the flesh the body of death and the old man and the old leaven which are a mans selfe and this the Apostle meaneth Wee preach not our selves but Iesus Christ that is I preach not for applause and vaine-glory to please my selfe by my selfe here he meanes his flesh which hee will not satisfie for when the Apostle had told them of his Vision and Revelation of such a man said he I would rejoyce of my selfe I would not rejoyce Why should hee not rejoyce of himselfe Because himselfe was nothing but a bundle of corruption in himselfe was no good but of such a man so renewed hee would rejoyce But why is flesh called a mans selfe Because it is so spread over all the faculties and powers of a man and is predominant as the forme over the matter for a man loves it as himselfe and fights against all things that oppose it and nourisheth all that nourisheth it But how is it possible that a man can deny himselfe for in denyall there must be one to aske and another to deny there must be one denying and one denyed himselfe must be denyed how can himselfe deny himselfe To this I answer that there is in every man that is in Christ a double selfe and the regenerate man hath three natures First a common nature neither good nor bad in it selfe Secondly a spirituall and renewed condition Thirdly the flesh and corruption The meaning then is this common nature guided by the spirit and renewed nature is to deny the flesh that is the corrupt natures petition when both stand in competition the flesh is to be denyed if the flesh desires honours riches and preferments beside the rule then the flesh is to be denyed but the Spirit is to be heard in all his requests and this is that that every man must doe if he will be saved and there is not onely necessity but much reason why wee should deny our selves as in every command of God there is much reason if wee could see it so here is great reason for this First in regard of God God hath no causes therefore hee may thinke himselfe the end but every creature hath an efficient and finall cause therefore it must not make it selfe its order it is against the order of nature and rule of things that the creature which is not of it selfe should make it selfe its end being mans efficient cause is out of himselfe therefore his end must needes be out of himselfe hee should make himselfe God and God an Idoll For if a man will set up himselfe that is will not deny himselfe he sets himselfe above God and makes a God of himselfe We doe not worship God as wee as wee ought without wee deny our selves In regard of our selves

he will bee sure to keepe sinne off for that is it which destroyes him hee will be sure to maintaine a good conscience But now take another man a common man that hath nothing given him but the bulke of the body that is satisfied with meate drinke and cloathing and house and friends and the flesh and sinne hee will let all goe that destroyes himselfe God Christ faith and a good conscience and all and therefore wee are to judge aright of ourselves as the Apostle It is no more I that doe it but sinne that dwels in mee The Apostle counts the flesh a troubleblesome guest hee would gladly be rid of him and so we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle bee destroyed we have a building given us of God that is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heavens That is the regenerate part so long as that is going up it makes no matter though the outward man suffer much So long as this new building is goeing up it makes no matter though the old one be pulled downe but when a man hath no such new building going up he hath reason to keepe up the old let a mans judgement bee right let him conceive that to bee himselfe which is in himselfe and then it is easy to deny himselfe You never deny your selves but you are great gayners by it and let a man yeeld to the flesh and hee looses by it and that is the reason that is given verse the 24. and in other Gospels who soever shall lose his life for my sake shal save it but when a man shall save his life his libertie his credit when God calls for it shall be but as a flower God wil blow upon it he shall quickly loose it hee that will save any of those he shal quickly loose them God will so bring it to passe in the end if you would consider that promise whosoever shall forsake houses or brethren or sisters or fathers or mothers or wives or lands for my sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit life everlasting there would bee no difficultie in this thing But you will say wee see such as wal●e most perfectly most deny themselves a●e most despised most trampled on but this is no good argument For as in the midst of all contents God can fill our hearts with bittern●sse so in the midst of all wants God can fill our hearts with all comforts as tribulations abound so comfort abounds the Apostle Paul found this so he had his consolations abounding when his afflictions increased Consider with your selves whether any man lost any thing by denying himselfe to honour God Did Abraham loose by it by denying himselfe in his sonne Isaack no his sonne was given him was Salomon a looser by denying himselfe in riches and honour when he asked wisedome to governe the commonwealth No he gained all did Ioseph loose by denying himselfe in his lust Though for the present to lose by it being cast into the prison yet that was but a step to his honours None ever gained by yeelding to the flesh As Ruben by yeelding to his lust his father tells him Rueben thou art my might and the beginning of my strength Thou shalt not be excellent because thou wentest up to thy fathers bed thy excellency is gone Hee should have had a Priesthood because hee was the first borne but hee lost it for Levi had it he should have had the kingdome but lost it for Iudah had it Hee being the first borne should have had a double portion but he lost it for Ioseph had it thus he was a loser in it though at first he seemed to gaine Now if these things be setled in us we shal come easily to deny our selves now that you may be perswaded to this cōsider two things Consider all these creatures wherein you see comfort can neyther doe you good nor hurt without God there is nothing that doth good but the blessing of God or the cursing of of God that is no creature can comfort unlesse God bids it comfort us for that is the blessing of it when God must say refresh him comfort him strengthen him or else it cannot doe no good I am the Lord who shew mercy judgement and righteousnesse he shewes mercy not the creatures Therefore wee had neede to deny our selves in any thing that is contrary to him The creatures are but instruments and you know all instruments worke by some efficacy which they receive from their efficient cause they comfort with borrowed comfort as the ayre inlightens with borrowed light and the water heats with borrowed heate If you get your requests riches and honours and pleasures to you eyther they will be snares to you or crosses to you we cannot promise our selves good from them as they come from Gods promise but onely from his mercy So on the other side when we deny our selves we can have no hurt by them unlesse God bids them hurt us let the Axe be never so keene yet it will never doe any thing except the carpenter takes it in his hand and sets to the work so the tongues of men though they bee as sharpe as a sword yet Shimei cannot curse David till God bids him curse him Put case that they will hurt you or doe you good yet all things wherein God bids you deny your selves you must God hee keepes all things commit therefore what thou hast to him put them into his hand It was the speech of a great and wise man when he fell from the favour of the King if I had served God as I have served the King I had not come to this that is had I committed the Kings favour to Gods keeping I should not have lost it There is no change here upon earth but there is first a change in heaven except there bee an eclipse first there you shall finde none here to helpe you to deny your selves labour to act these three graces First the knowledge of God Secondly Faith Thirdly love Labour to act them stirre up in you first the knowledge of God consider that you shall finde him worthy that you should deny any thing for him consider that hee is the fairest often thousand As a man faith of a friend that hath done much for him that hath ventured his life for him if that friend should come to him and aske him any thing if he have any ingenuity in him he will say let him have it for hee is worthy of it so must wee doe with Christ. Thus Paul argues this I saith that every one of you saith I am Paul I am Apollo I am Cephas I am Christ is Christ divided was Paul circumcised for you that is those men are not to bee named with Christ hath not hee beene crucified for you is not worthy to be looked after before other men So David when hee