Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	evil_a	evil_n	sin_n	4,011	5	5.5536	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16543	The importunate begger for things necessary, or necessity, without deniall Or a treatise, wherein is shewed the lawfullnesse of praying absolutely for necessary temporall things, without doubting or wavering, and that the saints of God may and ought, as absolutely depend upon God, for their dayly bread, as they may for the pardon of their sinnes, and that the cause is in themselves, who doe not obtaine them. Whereunto is annexed an answer to Mr. Norrice his 5 arguments, which were framed against it, together with an answer to his Prosopopeia, wherein, as well the insufficiency of those arguments, as the deceitfullnesse of his collections, is plainely manifested by R.B.	Boye, Rice.	1635 (1635)	STC 3450; ESTC S106818	69,334	88

wherefore lyest thou upon thy face Israel have sinned Oh then doe not so much as once imagine with thy self that ever God doth deprive thee of any promised favour or bring upon thee any threatned punishment which thy sinne doth not cause The Prophet Amos saith chap. 3.6 that there is no evill in the citty .i. no evill of punishment but the Lord hath done it and Ieremy sayth that every such evill is an infliction for sinne Man suffereth for his sinne Lament 3.39 Which two places as it is collected to my hand doe evince thus much that whatsoever punishments doe or have befallen us whether plague pestilence famine or the sword they all come from the Lord and that for sinne Manie times saith the Psalmist did he deliver them but they provoked him with their counsell and were brought low for their iniquitie Psal 106.43 And againe Fooles because of their transgression and because of their iniquities are afflicted Psal 106.17 And may wee not well say when God doth punish us with any plague as Moses sayd to Aaron Numb 16.46 There is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun Surely God never punisheth his servants but to humble them and if they will not be humbled with one punishment he will either continue the same as he did to Israel Iudg. 6. or els bring some new one upon them as he did Amos the fourth He will punish them first in their goods deprive them of outward comforts and if that will not serve to bring them to repentance he will lay it upon their bodyes and send the pestilence among them after the manner of Egypt and if they will not be reformed for these things he will as he saith Levit. 26. punish them seven times more for their sinnes as it is often repeated in that chapter Hence it is that the Prophet doth complaine of the forlorne Iewes for that they would not be humbled by punishments Thou hast smitten them but they have not sorrowed Thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction Ierem. 5.3 Yea many blowes are given but the people turne not to him that smiteth Isay 9.13 This made the Lord himself to cry out Isay 1.5 Why should ye be striken anie more Ye will revolt more and more What doe all these point out unto us but that those punishments which God layeth upon his people are to humble them for their sinnes and that their great impenitency doth even stand as a cloud betweene God and them to keepe their prayers from him What now must be done in this case must we continue in sinne and lye as it were sencelesse under Gods punishing hand For answer hearke what God himself sayth Isay 1.16 Wash ye make ye cleane put away the evill of your doings from before mine eyes cease to doe evill learne to doe well c. Come now let us reason together and by repentance Amos 4.12 prepare to meete thy God Oh Israel This is the way walke in it Thou seest impenitence and hardnesse of heart is one thing which doth hinder both the course of Gods blessing from thee as also bring all punishments unto thee which are inflicted upon thee Heare thou the summe of this whole matter thou must know the plague in thy owne heart or els Gods plague cannot be remooved from thee all thy cryes will not moove him unlesse in the first place thy hands be holy Thus much of the first thing required in prayer It is a lifting up of holy hands The second followeth It must be without wrath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 .i. It must be done without wrath unto which charity is opposed In these words when he sayth pray without wrath it is all one as if he had sayd Pray in charity That charity is required when wee pray for temporall or eternall favours the words of the Apostle in this place is sufficient to proove But it is seconded againe 1. Cor. 16.14 Let all your things be done in charitie If all things then must be done in charity then prayer ought not to be done without it And the Apostle doth give the reason 1. Cor. 13.1.2 without this our prayers are nothing it is but as a sounding brasse and as a tinkling cymball He that loveth not sayth Iohn 1. Epist 4.8 knoweth not God for God is love And how then can it be that any one can pray to him a right of whose knowledge he is ignorant Charitie sayth the Apostle Coll. 3.14 is the bond of perfectnesse If the bond be broken by which the Saints are all linked together as one man all things must needs be out of order Evacuanda ergo est mens the soule must be emptied of this humor when we pray Lift up holy hands sine ira without wrath Now that the want or fayling in this duety of charity when we pray unto God is another cause why God doth stop his eares at the cry of his servants either when they pray for a promised favour or for the avoyding of any punishment we need not stand long in prooving Take onely that saying of the Prophet Zach. 7.10 and compare it with that of the Apostle 1. Cor. 13.5 and the point is clearely justified The Apostle doth shew us what charity is a part of whose nature in that verse is contained It thinketh not evill To thinke evill then is against the lawes of charity Now the Prophet affirmeth that the thinking or imagining evill one against another in their hearts was one speciall thing why God did not hearken to their prayers notwithstanding they containued crying 70 Yeares No marvail then if in our times many prayers be made to God invaine which never receive an answer seeing they imagine so much evill in their hearts of their brethren Nay it breaks out now beyond imagination their imaginations break out into practise Strange it is to consider that Christians of all others should be so unnaturall Yet not so strange as true for as one sayth the hand searcheth the eye the mouth biteth the hand Thornes and briers imbrace one another while contrary to all nature figtrees devoure one another Now if men shall suck even suck the blood one of another concoct their moysture into malice imagine evill in their hearts one of another and thus violate the lawes of charity How can they exspect to receive any blessing or remoove any punishing hand of God from them when they pray unto him was the imagining of evill one against another the least breach as some judge of the lawes of charity one speciall thing which as a cloud did stand betweene God and Israels prayers and shall not imaginations and practises and all joyned together stand betweene him and men now Surely God is the same God and there is still the same effect of sinne It will still not being repented of stoppe the current of Gods blessings from us and pull downe upon us tokens of his displeasure Which tokens of his anger untill it doth bring

daughters for want of other meat Now Israel rebelling against the Lord in breaking his commaundements for she plucketh away the shoulder saith Zachary chap. 7.11 and forgetting the Lords former kindnesses that as Hosea saith chap. 2.8 he had given unto them corne and wine and wool flaxe he brought upon them this grievous plague as it is vers 10. the pittyfull women according as he had threatned did eat their owne children for want of other meats Neither doth the church goe about to excuse her self or lay the least aspersion upon God for this for she doth ingeniously confesse that it was justly come upon her as appeareth vers 12.13 for saith she the Kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world would not have beleeved that the enimy should have entred into the gates of Ierusalem Ah saith she but our sinnes contrary to all the worlds judgement the sinnes of our Preists and Prophets have caused it Which words she repeatingly useth from the Prophet Ieremy chap. 5.31 as if she had sayd Our Prophets prophesie falsely and our Preists beare rule by their meanes and we love to have it so Wherefore saith she againe Lament 1.18 The Lord is righteous for I have rebelled against his commandements What now was the cause of this plague your owne words shall be the answer The Lord did visite them thus for their sinnes What then would the Lord have layd upon them that plague had they not rebelled Surely no. For had they not broken Gods covenant and rebelled they had remayned in their owne borders and had plenty And therefore from the promises and from your owne words wee conclude that the cause why the Iewes were punished with famine was because they wanted both humiliation for their sinnes Zach. 7.7 they hearkened not to the words which the Lord cryed by the former Prophets The plague was still in their owne hearts as also because they wanted faith they could not beleeve that promise 1. Kings 9. which God made with them contrary to your words yet they are not charged to want faith They wanted humiliation for their sinnes * See Deut. 32.20 which was the cause of their punishment and then how is it possible to have faith to apprehend that particular deliverance For had they had faith in that particular they must needs have had repentance too they both goe together And whereas you say Who will beare any correction if by his faith he may presently remoove it from him Surely for my part I know not any but would be glad so to walke with God in uprightnesse as that they might not procure his displeasure so farre as to cause him to punish them And I know not any but are grieved in heart so farre to displease him as that he must needs punish them And lastly whereas you say how can that be a signe of unbeleefe that is a speciall testimony of Gods love I answer it is true when a Saint of God doth revolte and runne backward and it may be ly sleeping in some sinne a pretty while the Lord and that out of his love doth stretch forth his hand by laying some judgement upon him which is as a warning-peale to stay him and to bring back his soule from the pit To which purpose is that place Revel 3.19 As many as I love I rebuke and chasten What follows be Zealous therefore and repent So then if God and that out of his love doe afflict his servants going astray for their profit that they might pertake of his holynesse what doth this hinder but that they repenting and beleeving may have that judgement or punishment remooved from them seeing God upon their humiliation and faith doth promise it and is grieved for their misery Iudg. 10.16 Concerning your second case of probation and tryall wherein you endeavour to shut absolute prayer from the view of men it is nothing at all against it for those in Heb. 11.37 suffered those things for the truth sake neither did they accept deliverance And Paul also 2. Cor. 11.37 suffered those things for the Gospels sake in time of persecution as he testifieth 2. Tim. 1.12 which kind of sufferings both of Paul and those in the Hebrew are blessings and the portions of Gods servants not to be prayed against but rather rejoyced in unto the partaking of which afflictions Paul exhorteth Timothy in the chapter before quoted Vers 8 Now that neither of these cases doe proove the temporall promises to be conditionall or contradict absolute prayer for temporall necessaries it is plaine and you may see it further prooved in that which we have sayd in defence of that Tenent unto which I referre you SUch things as are ordinarily denyed to the best and most faithfull servants of God and accompany not their condition here cannot be absolutely prayed for or exspected neither will that procure them for that were to crosse his providence But these outward matters are so as is rehearsed Therefore c. This appeares by 2. testimonies 1. Of St. Iames chap. 2.5 God hath chosen the poore in this world to be rich in faith and heires of his Kingdome rich in faith and yet outwardly poore the abundance of faith therefore helps not their poverty 2. Of our Saviour Math. 25.35 I was hungry and ye fed me not thirsty and ye gave me no drinke naked and ye cloathed me not c. wherein it appeares that some of the members of Christ shall be poore and distressed wanting necessaries in all times to the end of the world neither are these taxed for wāt of faith at all nor yet doth the Lord faile of any of his promises to his servants much lesse by a continuall course therefore are they denyed Answer to the second Argument TO this I answer that the Minor proposition is also false for whereas you say outward necessary things are ordinaryly denyed to the best of Gods servants and that they accompany not their condition it is no such matter First outward necessaries unlesse in case of their fayling and disobedience or when they are deprived of them for the Gospels sake in case of persecution which is a blessed thing and their portion against which they have no warrant to pray as wee have elsewhere declared are not ordinaryly denyed the Saints for David in all his observations never found it so as his owne words doe witnesse I have bene young and now am old Psal 37.35 yet have I not seene the righteous forsaken nor their seed begging bread and the Psalmist doth give the reason Vers 9 Those that waite upon the Lord shall inherit the earth Secondly that these outward necessaries doe accompany the condition of the Saints here contrary to your assertion its plainely prooved All was lost in Adam but restored againe to those and to those onely who are renewed in Christ Iesus and to them of right it doth belong by vertue of the promise all the rest are but usurpers Wherefore saith the

I made plainely appeare in that as is there specified the will of God so much of his will as is necessary for man to knowe is revealed in the Scriptures which Scriptures Gods written verities are absolutely sufficient to instruct us in all saving knowledge which I prooved by that of the Apostle 2. Tim. 3.15 Now sayd I whereas you affirme that the promises for temporals are conditionall notwithstanding in the whole Scriptures there is no condition expressed what is it els but to affirme that God hath not revealed so much of his will in the Scriptures as is needfull for us to knowe And to make this appeare I brought your owne words to be your judge as it doth there thus follow You say that this position of yours namely that the promises for temporall things are conditionall is one of Gods truthes for you presse it upon men to beleeve as a truth from God and yet you say that God hath not expressed this truth in his word for you say it is implyed c. From which premises I drew this conclusion So then to affirme the promises of God for temporall things are conditionall is a doctrine of mans invention and not of God and certainly to make the best of it it is but as one of the Popes unwritten verities And thus much is made plaine by your owne words as they immediatly follow Unwritten you confesse it is for if any man should but aske you where in the Scriptures doth God say the promises are conditionall you have nothing to answer for ought I know but this the condition is implyed c. Now whether or not I have in this speech affirmed any more but what the Scriptures as also your owne words doe cleare let the unpartiall and honest hearted judge 9. The ninth place runneth thus in my writing For you know and must needs confesse that the Lord Levit. 26. and Deuter. 28. made absolutely to his people Israel precious promises In which promises there is no condition implyed c. Now by this and that which followeth I made it plaine even to the weakest capacity that that of Lament the fowerth which you alleaged to proove the promise to be conditionall is not any thing at all to the purpose For your Minor proposition being denyed you labour to proove it by that place thus The Lord for the sinnes of his people doth strippe them of outward comforts some times in part some times wholy unto death as you prooved Lament 4.15 Ergo the promises of outward things have conditions implyed in them and are not absolutely intended This was your doctrine And how doth this proove the promises to be conditionall Especially seeing the Lord as in my answer is manifested upon condition of their obedience did absolutely promise to give them such and such blessings If saith he thou obey .i. thou obeying his commaundements all these blessings shall come upon thee But if thou disobey .i. thou disobeying my commandements all these curses shall come upon thee c. Now while Israel walked with God in sincerity they wanted nothing of that which God promised them as the current of the Scriptures doe proove But they rebelling against him for they pluckt away the shoulder Zach. 7.11 He brought upon them this plague of famine which the Prophet Ieremy doth here bewaile The pittyfull women Lament 4.10 according as hee had threatned Lev. 26. and Deuteron 28. did eat their owne children for want of other meat What now as I there demaunded the question was the cause of this plague of famine Your owne words there is the answer The Lord did visite them thus for their sinnes So then by this it doth appeare that in prooving your argument you have spoken against your self in that you affirme the sinne and rebellion of the Iewes was the cause why God did thus plague them And is not this the thing which I labour to defend yet now by you opposed namely that it is our as it was their ignorance rebellion infidelity which doth robbe us of many blessings and bring upon us many punishments So that for ought I see you are contrary to your self Let all men now judge what daunger there is in that which I have written Notwithstanding you labour to make men thinke as bad of it as possibly you can in that you here in this place leave out those Scriptures which I use to make that plaine which I have sayd as if there was no warrant for what I speake The Lord lay not this your injurious dealing to your charge 10. The tenth place in my writing is thus The Saints of God may and ought as absolutely depend upon the promises of God for their dayly bread i. for things necessary as they may for the pardon of their sinnes This point is confirmed thus It is indifferently acknowledged by our whole Church that the promises of God concerning the pardon of sinnes and life eternall ought absolutely to be depended upon without any scruple c. The ground of our depending upon God for soule or body is his promises which God in Christ made to all his servants as the Apostle prooveth 2. Corinth 11.14 all the promises as well temporaries as spiritualls are in Christ Yea and in him Amen Now that God in his word hath promised his servants things necessary for the body as well as for the soule I made it appeare in divers places As that of Peter 2. Epist 1.3 Math. 6.25 to the end Rom. 8.32 and Iohn 15.7 with divers other Scriptures and reasons which are too long here to repeat all which you have left out as if I had no ground for what I speake And here I feare your study was to entangle you have put downe this position consisting partly of your owne words and partly of mine without quoting that Scripture which I had used to proove it As also you have thrust in this parenthesis of your owne contrary to Psal 73. why could you not if you had meant plainely have quoted some or one of those Scriptures which I cited to proove this position as well as you have cited this in a parenthesis which is none of mine that so the Reader might have compared yours mine together But I perceive your meaning 11. The eleventh place runneth thus in my writing Hence it was as I conceive seeing to be persecuted for the truth is such a blessed thing that those tortured Saints Heb. 11.35 accepted not deliverance that they might obtaine a better resurrection and this made St. Paul Act. 21.13 willing and ready not to be bound onely but also to dye at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus In my answer to your first argument it is thus written Those in Heb. 11.37 suffered those things for the truthes sake neither did they accept deliverance And Paul also 2. Cor. 11.37 suffered those things for the Gospels sake in case of persecution as hee testifieth 2. Tim. 1.12 which kind of sufferings both of