Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	eternal_a	good_a	life_n	4,162	5	5.3241	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B04886	No power but of God, and yet a power in every creature, or, A word in season, to all men not void of grace, or deprived of reason wherein is held forth that the Almighty God is not wanting to us in impowering of us, but we are wanting to him, in not improving our talent for him ... / by Robert Purnel.	Purnell, Robert, d. 1666.	1651 (1651)	Wing P4238A; ESTC R187132	119,586	280

any measure 〈◊〉 I have said before that all our springs a●● in him and all our supplies are from hi●… and that all power centers in him as t●● Fountain from whence all small streams 〈◊〉 power do flow I have affirmed furthe●… that as this power was given freely to 〈◊〉 from him so it is limited in us by him a●● when the creature hath improved his po●…er to the highest he hath done but his dut●… Luk. 17. 10. Our salvation is of Free-grace notwit●…standing I have not said that our impr●…ving or not improving our power c●● save us or damn us But this I have affir●…ed and do affirm that by our non-improv●…ment it will exceedingly harm us for 〈◊〉 shall lose much of our outward and pe●…haps inward joy and comfort both in 〈◊〉 and death I do not say our eternal we●● being doth depend upon it All our sal 〈…〉 ion is of Free-grace from God through 〈◊〉 redemption of the Son and evidence of Spirit 1. So that our obedience is not the cause 〈◊〉 our salvation for Gods love was the 〈…〉 fe Joh. 3. For God so loved the world c. 2. Our obedience and good works is 〈…〉 t the way for Christ is the way the truth 〈◊〉 the life 3. Our improvement of our power in 〈…〉 y of good works is not the evidence as 〈…〉 our selves for that is the work of the 〈…〉 irit of God in us 4. But our good works do glorifie God 〈…〉 d inform and edifie our neighbours First they glorifie God Mat. 5. 16. Secondly it doth inform our neighbour 〈◊〉 he cannot judge of us but by our fruits 〈◊〉 shall know a tree by its fruits saith Christ Thirdly it doth edifie our neighbour ●●en every step of our conversation is an ●●●truction to him and the Apostle saith ●●t some are won to God by the good ●…nversation of others 2. And as for Free-will in man I know ●…ne unlesse it be such a Free-will as was 〈◊〉 Paul Rom. 7. 18. For to will is present with 〈◊〉 and ver 13. When I would do good evil is present with me I know no Free-will th●● unlesse it be a free-will to sin A man na●●rally cannot act in things supernatur●… as to instance a man cannot believe unl●● the Spirit of God work faith in the sou●… and yet a man according to common p●●vidence may bring his body to the O●●nance of Hearing which is the means or●●narily by which the Lord doth work fai●… Rom. 10. 17. But he the Lord God 〈◊〉 mighty is the Author and finisher of Heb. 12. 2. And he makes us willing a●… desirous to have it wrought in us so t●● he doth not work it whether we will no. So the Holy Ghost that works fai●● is not said to believe Man is said to ●●lieve Now though man cannot believe of hi●… self without the power of the Lord 〈◊〉 man is to attend upon all means as heari●● reading meditation conference for th●… be his appointments and he hath promi●● his presence in and blessing upon the us●● these means to make them effectual H●●● it is that the Lord commands us to wait him in the use of means Prov. 20. 22. 〈◊〉 wait on the Lord and he shall save thee Isa 〈◊〉 Blessed be all they that wait for him Isa 〈◊〉 31. 〈…〉 y that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 〈…〉 gth Isa 49. 23. For they shall not be asha 〈…〉 that wait for me Lam. 3 25. The Lord is 〈◊〉 unto them that wait for him to the soule 〈◊〉 seeks him Isa 64. 4. Eye hath not seen 〈◊〉 hath not heard what the Lord hath prepared ●…hose that wait for him Now a man cannot be said to wait upon ●●d unlesse he wait upon him in the use of ●●ans to which he hath promised his pre●●ce which are his appointments and ●●lks wherein he hath been now is and 〈…〉 eafter will be found Next I shall come unto the Reasons why ●…ave written of the Natural and Spiritual ●●wer viz. First I have heard many say They ought 〈…〉 to pray read meditate conferre or assemble ●●●mselves together to the practice of any known 〈…〉 y untill the Spirit by its fresh gales and move●…s put them upon it And I am mightily mi●●●ken if some have not staid so long for 〈…〉 se fresh gales and movings of the Spirit ●…till they have quite forgotten to pray or ●…ar or conferr of any spiritual thing un●●●se it be in a carnal way Now it is true ●●at is the principal time in which a Soule ●●ght to act but not the onely time I say ●●ain It is the principal time but not the onely time First that it is the princ 〈…〉 time I have no need to prove for all 〈…〉 tional men will and doe grant that 〈◊〉 then secondly It is not the onely ti 〈…〉 for we finde that the command lies up 〈…〉 us as well at one time as another ne 〈…〉 there is no time in which we are not 〈◊〉 want and therefore need still to seek ●…gain we finde in Scripture written for 〈◊〉 learning that the Saints acted sometimes 〈◊〉 their greatest deadnesse and coldnesse as D●…vid and others When they found the●…selves dead and dull cold and slothfull 〈◊〉 we finde they stir up them selves as men s●●sible of their state to instance in one 〈◊〉 all Psal 119. 25. Quicken thou me after 〈◊〉 loving kindenesse so shall I keep the testimony thy mouth c. Again Psal 119. 170. I 〈◊〉 afflicted very much quicken me O Lord accordi●● to thy word So vers 159 c. so in Psal●… 153. verse 11. Quicken me O Lord for t●● name sake so in another place he praye●● Renew a right Spirit within me and agai●… Restore again to me the joy of thy salvation In word let me ask thee O man who is it tha●… doth let us see our unfitnesse luke warmne●… and coldnesse Doth not God discover thi●… by his Spirit and doth not the same Sp●…rit that doth enable us to see our want●… move us to seek for supplies from the foun●●in as it is said in Job The Lord speaketh ●●ce yea twice and man perceives it not So I ●●ow by experience in my self and others ●●at we have many movings and stirrings 〈◊〉 the Spirit of God within us and either ●●e take no notice of it or if we do we que●●ion in our selves whether it be the stir●●ngs of the good Spirit or proceeds not ●…om the evil Spirit And so we cease to ●●t because we be unsatisfied But in some ●●ses the Spirit that doth move us to it ●…ill undoubtedly carry us forth to the do●●g of what it moves us to What are we ●●ith the Scriptures that we could withstand ●●e Spirit But in other cases we are said as in the ●…cts to resist the Holy Ghost and in another ●…cripture Quench not the Spirit and be not un●●itfull to the Spirit of God and grieve not the ●…pirit of God whereby you are sealed to

designes have you not ●●de use of the power and strength of Em●●ours and Kings to war one with ano●●●r and by this means have not you been 〈◊〉 cause of the losse of thousands of Chri●●ns lives their blood spilt and all this ●●th been under the pious pretences of Reformation Church-order punishing 〈◊〉 Hereticks and Schismaticks and so p●●tending to reform the Church of its Here●● and Schisme on the contrary you ha●● deformed it into Formality Superstitio●● and Idolatry I say when I did a little co●…sider this then I did not wonder that 〈◊〉 same generation of men in our dayes ha●●trod in their predecessours steps The●●fore now O all ye Ministers of Engla●… that have sought your selves more then 〈◊〉 glory of God! for to you I do speak 〈◊〉 eare a little unto me and I will speake 〈◊〉 you the words of truth and sobernesse for 〈◊〉 that I have written already is but the co●● text or coherence Now next will follo●… in order the division and the doctrine wi●● some reasons to prove the truth there●● and so I shall have done with the expli●●tion and I will leave you to make the a●●plication for you are wise c. Let me th●● begin at the beginning As soon as ever 〈◊〉 Church of God came to be a corporat●● people and had a Temple with Ordinan●● and Offices then immediately it was peste●● with false Prophets wicked and Idolatro●● Priests so all the Prophets all along gi●● large testimony to this I should want bo●● time and strength to lay downe the clo●● ●…f witnesses to this truth and I have gotten ●…our patience but for a little time where●●ore I will be briefe and in as few words 〈◊〉 I can I shall trace this Tribe from the ●…rophet Isaiahs dayes untill this day Isa 〈◊〉 8. 7. The Priests and the Prophets have erred Hos 6. 9. As troops of robbers wait for a man so ●…he company of Priests murther in the way Ezek. 22. 26. The Priests have violated the Law ●…o in Hos 6. 9. Jer. 26. 7. And thus we ●…inde the foure hundred false Prophets a●…ainst one poore Micaiah Thus also was the condition of the Church of God in Eliahs time 1 King 18. 19. ●…o the 23. when there were foure hundred ●…nd fifty Prophets in Israel and yet saith Elijah to the people v. 22. I even I onely remain a Prophet to the Lord. So in the Prophet Jeremiahs dayes Jer. 50. that whole Chapter speaks of their sinnes and punishment So in Ezekiel his dayes what unheard of wickednesse did the Lord complaine of to be in them as in Ezek. 34. from the first verse to the end of the tenth verse as you may read at large And then the Prophet Daniel and Hosea do not they hint at the wickednesse of these men c. And then after all this see what the Prophet Micah saith of them Mic. 3. from th 〈…〉 5. verse to the end of that Chapter and 〈◊〉 from the time that the Church of Go 〈…〉 had a Temple with Ordinances and officer●● untill the very time that Christ came in th 〈…〉 flesh You shall finde that there was har●…ly ever any wicked plot discovered again●● Church or State but these men have had hand in it if not the chiefe contriver 〈…〉 of it And so if you please to observe the Ol 〈…〉 Testament when ever you finde the Church before Christ came in the flesh in Apostasie or declining from the true worship of God to Idolatry and Superstition the origina●● or instrumental cause of it arose from th●… lying spirits in the mouths of the Prophets But to say no more of that and to come 〈◊〉 little nearer home and search the New Testament and we shall finde that when the Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh who were then the greatest opposers of him were they not the learned Clergy-men yea surely if the Scriptures be true these were the people that were the most cruel pesecuters that Christ met with in the flesh it is needlesse to give you a relation of their carriage towards Christ the foure Evangelists being but a briefe history of it there you may 〈…〉 ad of their mockings and scourgings 〈…〉 aling him before Magistrates as an evill 〈…〉 oer as a sower of sedition as a destroyer 〈…〉 f their Temple and Law and as a blasphe 〈…〉 er and who were the chiefest instruments 〈◊〉 this but the Priests yea the high Priests 〈…〉 he most knowing men in the Law these 〈…〉 en called the word of Reconciliation ●●dition and the pure doctrine of Christ 〈…〉 eresie and Blaspemy these leaders of the ●●ople followed Christ from place to place 〈◊〉 their owne persons or in their Spies to 〈…〉 snare him in his words and to stirre up 〈…〉 e people against him Luk. 5. 21. 6. 7. ●●atth 26. 3. 15. 1. 16. 21. Mar. 8. 11. 31. 〈◊〉 14. 1. And as they dealt with Christ so after they 〈…〉 d put him to death they mete the same ●●easure to his Apostles almost if not alto●●ther And it hath been since them the 〈…〉 d condition of the Church of Christ for most sixteen hundred years last past espe●●ally since the falling away spoken of Thess 2. 3. to suffer by her enemies as an 〈…〉 il doer Truth hath been persecuted for 〈…〉 ror light for darknesse Christ for Belial 〈…〉 d that by these men who pretended most 〈◊〉 God They will be wolves still but ●●ey will be in sheeps cloathing Mat. 7. 15. They will still kill you but they will pr●●tend they do God service by it Joh. 16. 〈◊〉 Obj. But me thinks I heare the Learn●● Clergie of our times saying Why 〈…〉 grant all this and more we do not no●● cannot deny but the Priests yea the Hig●● Priests and the great learned men in tho●● dayes were enemies nay the greatest en●…mies that ever Christ and his Apostles 〈◊〉 upon the earth But what is that to 〈◊〉 we have had a learned pious zealous Cleg●● in England for many years A. But let me under correction in th 〈…〉 you to consider what pious men they ha 〈…〉 been And if you grant me liberty 〈◊〉 hope you will where shall I begin in He 〈…〉 the eighths time or in Queen Maries daye●… for all those dayes they were most as R 〈…〉 mish as some are now We will begin th●● in Henry the eighth's dayes when th●● Kingdom was under the height of Poper the Clergy and Laity were all cruel Papist And when the King denied the Popes S 〈…〉 premacie and went about to demolish t●● Abbies which they knew was not out 〈◊〉 any pious zeale he had for Reformation but out of wrath pride and covetousnes●● yet how did all the Clergy side with hi●… except a few poor Friars and Monks th●● were all undone by it Then againe in the dayes of Edward the ●●xt by reason of the Kings pious disposi●●on though but young the Clergy feared ●●urne and presently a great