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	work_n	4,394	5	6.6946	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00765	A treatise of prayer, and of the fruits and manner of prayer. By the most Reuerend Father in God Iohn Fisher Bishop of Rochestre, Preist and most eminent Cardinall of the most holy Catholike Church, of the title of S. Vitalis. Translated into English by R.A.B.; Tractatus de orando Deum. English	Fisher, John, Saint, 1469-1535.; Roe, Alban, 1583-1642, attributed name.; Anderton, Robert, attributed name.; Batt, Antonie.; R. A.	1640 (1640)	STC 10890; ESTC S115046	39,954	190

neuerthelesse is so loving soe sweeet and so mercifull that he doth not disdeigne to incline his most sacred eares vnto our prayers so that we haue a purpose heereafter to resist sinne For almightie God is soe willing and propense to forgiue our sinnes and loueth our soules so dearely that though he be the supreme Lord Paramount and gouernour of the world and wee nothing but vncleane durt and ashes yet doth he not contemne our miserie nor keepe in memorie our old sinnes be they neuer so great but presently being attentine vnto our grifes and moued with our teares grants our desires and pardons our offences and which is more preuents vs so with his grace that wee are by him stirred vp to pray before we beginne to pray O inestimable loue of God! O incomparable clemencie So deepely is God almightie in loue with our soules that he doth as it were studie sweetly t' intice and allure vs and endeavoureth by all meanes to draw vs to meditate and contemplate the splendor of his glory to imbrace the largepesse of his bounty to tast of his pleasing sweetnesse and lastly to kisse the vnspeakeable delights of his mouth O miserable and vnhappie men who doe not striue with all theire forcesto be drawne with this silken cord But more miserable they who doe not follow so sweet a draught but of all most miserable and vnhappie are those who being so drawne doe wittingly refuse and spurne against this ineffable clemency of almightie God And this may suffice for the first reason or motiue to prayer The second reason why God is to be prayed vnto CHAP. III. BVt now let vs come to the second reason which may edge vs to this exercise of prayer It is most certaine that mans cheifest good is beatitude which is constituted and ordeined by God as the last end of man To this end no man can attaine but by fitt meanes conducing thereunto And these among many others be two which whosoeuer hath shall neuer want any thing necessarie for the obteining of this happinesse These two are prayer and good workes In these two as we reade in the Acts of the Apostles Cornelius the Centurion was very well exercised and by them did so please God that though he were yet a heathen or Ethnicke it was sayd vnto him by the mouth of an Angell Thy prayers and thy almesdeeds haue ascended into remembrance in sight of God whosoeuer then shal exercise himselfe wel in these two that is prayer and good workes shall not be destitute of any thing that may helpe him to obteine this end of his saluation But God will also further haue vs to hūble our selues in the sight of his diuine Majestie acknowledging our selues not to be able of our owne forces to doe any thing worthy of his acceptance but that a good life that is the life of good workes is to be obteined from him by prayer and by this meanes to come to our last end which is aeternall happinese By cause therefore no man can come vnto this end without the grace of good workes and man obteines not this grace but by prayer It followeth that if we will escape aeternall miserie and possesse aeternal ioy in heaven we must dayly exercise our selues in prayer Let no man here obiect vnto me that absurd and ridiculous reason of the fore kmowledge of God which cannot be frustrated or deceiued God say they in his know ledge seeth all things shall be before they come to passe For exāple without all question he knoweth whether I shal be saved or adiudged to perpetuall torments and if he knweth me to be saved I haue no need to pray by cause without any prayer of mine I shall be saved to wit by vertue of his foreknowledge which cannot be deceiued But if he knowes me to be dāned no prayers of myne can helpe or avayle me seing Gods foreknowledge cannot be frustrated This very dilemma hath indeed seduced many But how deceipt full it is we shal presently perceiue if we make a litle try all how small force it hath in other things For example sake Conuenient exempes he that is sicke of any dissease by this reason shal take noe phisicke for God knowes whether he shall liue or die of this infirmitie But if he foreknowes him to liue then he hath no neede of medicine at all for without all question he shall recouer without it for the diuine foreknow lege cānot be deceiued But if God foresees that he shall die of this disease no phisike can helpe him for that he foreseeth shall be and can by no meanes be avoyded So by this reason you see the Commodious art of phisike is quite taken away But let vs trye in another The husband man may say I will not plough my land for God fore seeth whether it will bring forth fruit or no this next yeare if he foreseeth that it wil bring forth fruit it will doe it without any labour If he know also it will not my labour will be in vaine And thus you see all husbandrie is to delayd aside And soe will it fall out in other things if we examine them Thus is the weakenesse and the wicked nesse of this former discourse made euident by cause by it neyther the sicke man shall take any phisicke nor the ploughman tille his land Wherefore as the husband man can expect no fruit from the earth vn lesse he shall plough and sowe the same nor the sicke man expect health vn lesse he shall vse the art of phisicke anh obey the preceps of the phisitian So no Christian can euer come vnto aeternall happinesse but by leading a godly life which he cannot atteine vnto but by prayer And we see by experience that sicke people would die if they did not vse the art and follow the councell of their Doctor and fe ilds without plowing And good seede vould bring forth no fruit Soe can we neyther euer thinke or expect without prayer and good pious workesto obtaine eternall ioy and happinesse For although God almightie hath ordeined this eternall beatitude for mans last end yet he will not that we attaine vnto it without the proportionable meanes which he hath appointed for it For vnlesse a man heere beginneth a good life lett him neuer expect the glory which is inthe other and good life let no man looke for vnlesse he beggeth it att the hands of God by dayly prayer We must therefore beginne with prayer from whence proceedes good life by which at last we are brought vnto the heavenly glory which is the most cleere vision of almihtie God of which whilst we are deprived we must needes thinke our selues most miserable and vnhappie men And this most manifestly appeares by the vnsatiable desire of ovr soules which never are quiet but still labouring and endeavouring to find out some thing that might satiate and fill vs. And this we thinke to find eyther in having riches or pleasures or honours or in

he was in his sight keeping him that he should not be moved that is not fall in to sinne Humilitie most grare full to God By this thou seest most deare brother how highly allmighty God loveth humilitie who is alwayse neere at hand to him that is indued with it and all wayse looketh vpon him For it is written Psal 112. Psalm 10. He who dwelleth on high respecteth the humble and againe his eyes lookes vpon the poore But my deare brother when thou hearest this word poore doe not apprehend one that wants worldly fortune For many Kings haue highly pleased God Vvhois truly poore Mat. 5. and many beggars have perished But poore here is poore in spirit according to theise words Blessed are the poore in spirit because theirs is the Kingdome of heaven 1. Pet. 2. Soe dearely beloued humble thy selfe vnder the mightie hand of God Matt. 18. that he may exalt thee in the Kingdome of heaven which our Saviour hath promisedvnto the humble For thy Targett or Buckler arme thy selfe with the signe of the Crosse The Crosse che buckier signing therewith all thy body and thy heart and not onely with thy hand but euen with thy very mind all thy studies and end eauours thy entrance into any place and thy going forth thy sitting downe also and thy rising vp thy bed and whatsoever thou doest signe it first in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holy Ghost for this is a most strong armour or defence and none can ever hurt thee if thou beest signed with it For if one that carieth the protection of an earthly King noe man dareth affront him how much more ought we not to feare bearing the protection of our heavenly Emperour Vse therefore deare brother theise armes in all thy actions they are preualent against the enimie yea against the sword which is bitter and malevolent anger For this two edged sword killeh in a moment it striketh Anger the svv ord of the enimie as it is written a moment of wrath is his ruine Eccl. 1. Therefore my deare brother never neglect to signe thy selfe and thou shalt breake the netts the devill layeth to ensnare thee as it is written in the way that I walked in they haue layed a net for me Psal 139. Be therefore dayly signed with the Crosse and noe evill will come neere thee For thy bowe lift vp thy hands in prayer as it is written Prayer the bovve And thou hast made my armes as a bowe of steele For verily the hands of him who prayeth in Knowledge are as a bowe of steele against his enemies or as an arrow directly and forciblie shott by the bowbender For if in prayer you suffer your mind to wander you wil be iust as he that holdeth à bow in his hand but cannot direct his arrow against his adversarie shooting it att Randome and without ad vice Yet sometimes it striketh some feare in thy enimie when he seeth thee bend thy bow though the arrowe come not so neere him but a distance of Soe I say my bretheren when one prayeth with devotion and suffers not his thoughts to be wandring abroad but vnderstands to whome he prayeth that this such prayer tendeth to God himselfe then is the enimie most vehemently contristated as being peirced through the heart with a sharpe dart For how much more the soule profiteth in grace so much further of doth he flie Psal 34. as the dust before the face of the wind for the Angell of God doth persecute him fee in what thing he wounds him thus 1. Cor. 14. because he prayeth in devotion and know ledge and he is more strengthened because he restrayneth his thoughts and suffers them not to wander abroade And thou O my brother powre forth thy prayers in knowledge But if whilst thou prayest thy mind be distracted eyther by the wandering of thy eye or the catching of thy eare or evagation of thy thoughts or by any other cause know this to be his working yet make not to much hast to end thy prayer but rebuke thy selfe and recollect thy spiritts and then againe pray in know ledge that thou mayest know for whome thou prayest vnto God and for what thou prayest and vse not many and superfluous words For it is the worke of the devill to scatter our thoughts vpon many impertinent things and he doth not willingly suffer vs to persist in the intention we first made For he knoweth full well that if a man perseuereth he that made him will heare him not with standing he hath committed innumerable sinnes wherefore he suggesteth many idle and superfluous words and thoughts that the mind being repulsed from her first intention may wander through various distractions and our first intention of prayer be diuerted to some other thing wherefore my brother Vve mustaske of God vvhat is most necessarie for vs. demand of god what vrgeth thee most and for those things thou hast most neede of Remember those two blind men crying after him Haue mercy vpon vs sonne of David what sayd our lord vnto them Mat. 9.20 Marc 10. Lu. 18. but what will you that I doe vnto you And they according to the greife and affection of their heart requested that their eyes might be opened Did they aske any other thing of which they stoode in very great neede Did they say giue vs a garment to couer vs for we are very poore Noe certes but they asked God that of which they stood most in need Mat. 15 Mar. 7. Behold the woman of Canaan crying and saying vnto him lord haue mercy vpon me for my daughter is sore vexed with a deuill and sayd nothing els but vttered the greife and affection of her heart in fine all that euer came to our Lord and Saviour what did they but lay open before him the afflictiōs and greife of their hearts Did not alsoe that woman which was troubled with the bloodie flux come vnto him and desired him to stopp it who I pray you goeing to the phisitian or chirurgian Mat. 9. Mar. 5. Luc. 8. Esa 6. doth not forth with open the very bottome of his disease or wound Doe thou also my deare brother offer vnto him the greife of thy soule behold him with thy spiritual and intellectuall eyes of fayth sitting vpon a most high and eleuated throne and troopes of Angells and Archāgells assisting roūd about him and casting thy selfe before the sight of his goodnesse powre forth thy prayers before him first confessing thy sinns then in humilitie and deuotion vrging thy necessities vnto him and the sorrowes of thy heart vntill he shall in his goodnesse and clemencie haue mercy vpon the saying ô faithfull soule be it vnto thee as thou desirest But withalle take this councell my brother if he shall delay and not forthwith grant thy petition yet desist not to crye vnto him Remember the Cananaean and imitate her perseuerance for