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	good_a	great_a	3,686	5	2.7944	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52043	Meroz cursed, or, A sermon preached to the honourable House of Commons, at their late solemn fast, Febr. 23, 1641 by Stephen Marshall ...	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1641 (1641)	Wing M762; ESTC R19516	35,043	59

and ye visited me not Verily I say unto you inasmuch as you did it not unto the least of of one of these ye did it not to me As if the Lord at that great day did take notice of nothing but what the carriage of all people hath been to or against his Church and children What greater evidence can there be in the world that men are blessed or cursed than this that they either do or do not help the Church of God This will yet be clearer if we consider the Church First as it stands in relation to God Secondly as we stand in relation to the Church First as the Church stands in relation to God when I speake of God in relation to the Church or the Church to God you must alwayes understand God in Christ Emanuel God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himselfe And thus the Churches relation to God gives us two excellent grounds of this doctrine First the Church and the meanest member of it is united to him made one with him they are not only his servants his friends such as he loves but he and they make but one person I meane one mysticall person Insomuch that throughout the whole Scripture he that blesseth them blesseth him he that curseth them curseth him he that relieveth them relieveth him he that fights against them fights against him he that touches them touches the Apple of his eye all the relations which argue intimacy tendernesse and dearenesse meete in this conjunction betwixt God and his Church he is their Father they are his children he is their head they are his members he is their husband they are his wife yea they are called by his name and he vouchsafes to be called by their name Take but this for granted and you will make no doubt but all men are blessed or cursed as they do or do not help the Lord The Lord Jehovah is the fountaine of all blessednesse more than the Sunne is the fountaine of light from his favour and good will necessarily flows all happinesse and consequently all are blessed or cursed according as the aspect betweene God and them is malignant or benevolent This ground is fully laid downe in that forementioned placed Matthew 25. You did it to them therefore you did it to me you refused it to them therefore you refused it to me It is clearely there taught but I believe there is no man on earth that understands it or believes it fully And that very Text gives me a hint to thinke so Because the very righteous themselves though they do all to the Saints out of the good will they beare to Christ yet when Christ shall acknowledge this and say Come ye blessed you fed me you cloathed me you visited me They shall answer Lord when saw we thee an hungred or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sicke or in prison and administred unto thee It shews that themselvs did not fully understand how neare they were to Christ for whom they did all these things I have somewhere read a story of a Sarazen Embassador who being with a Christian Prince and seeing Nobles and great men to wait upon him and the Prince himselfe to waite upon a Table full of poore ragged people desired to know what they were to whom he shewed so much respect he answered to this effect they were the servants of his Lord and that he served his Saviour in them Well said the Embassador if your Lord have no better servants than these I desire to be none of them I care not for your Religion And truly it is a hard thing to perswade not only Sarazens but even Christians themselves that whatsoever is done to poore abjects the off-scouring of the world should be done to Christ himselfe No earthly Prince would do so equally to accept and reward him that should give a nights lodging or any succour to one of his meanest and basest groomes as if it had beene done to the person of himselfe or of his son Yet this is the very case betwixt Christ and his Church Secondly another ground from the Churches relation to God is this that as their persons are neerely united to him so their cause is his cause As they account every cause of God to be their cause so God accounts every cause of theirs to be his cause 2 Chro. 20. Moab and Ammon and they of Mount Seir came with a huge army against Jehoshaphat hee and his people being suddenly surprised betake themselves to prayer and seeke helpe from God Now marke what Gods answer was Be not you afraid nor dismaied by reason of this great multitude the battell is not yours but Gods Was not the battell theirs all they were worth lay upon that battell their wives and children their lives and liberties their countrey and religion lay all at the stake and yet the battell none of theirs that is not so much theirs as Gods so in the 74. Psalm When Asaph had laid down all the Churches sufferings the pulling down of their Synagogues the wasting of their Countrey the reproach and scorn cast upon them by their enemies he interests God in all this Arise O God plead thine own cause remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee forget not the voyce of thine enemies Thus is their cause Gods cause their enemies Gods enemies and indeed if we look into it narrowly whatsoever is done to them and their cause good or evill is done for Gods sake This then is a strong argument to prove men blessed or cursed according as they joyn with or oppose the cause of God Because first if it be Gods cause it is a good cause Secondly it is a noble cause Thirdly it is a successefull cause First I say it is a good cause The just Lord that is in the midst of his Church will do no iniquity The righteous Lord loveth righteousnesse Now you know it is a blessed thing to have a good cause though it be a meane cause David often pleaded this before God that his cause was just his cause was upright Let them shout for joy that favour my righteous cause And on the other side it must needs be a cursed thing to manage a cursed cause when David's cause was good his adversaries must needs bee evill and then he could foretell that they should be ashamed and brought to confusion clothed with reproach and dishonour who opposed themselves against him Secondly being Gods cause it is a noble cause a man may possibly among men have a good cause and the thing but a trifle a thing of no great consequence but if it be Gods cause let it appeare never so contemptible it is subservient to the highest end that can possibly be thought of The salvation of soules the glory of God c. Honour uses to put men upon hard and desperate services men will runne wrestle fight for a crowne

salvation but that with them all wee should be as good Stewards of the manifold graces of God So that our hands if skilfull to write should be employed as Secretaries of the Church our feet as Messengers of the Church our tongues as Advocates for the Church our Wisdome and learning as Counsellors for the Church our wealth as Stewards or Almoners for the Church Whatever any man hath the Lord would have his Church to be the Common-storehouse into which all should bee brought the body to which all should be serviceable just as it was when the Tabernacle was to be built Not only Bezaleel and Aholiab men skilfull in all manner of work were to bestow their labours upon it but all with whom any thing was to be found whether silver or brasse or fine linnen or Goats haire or Badgers skins or Rams skins all with a willing heart were to bring it in yea the very women that could spinne either linnen or woollen or haire were all to be employed to further the work of the Tabernacle This needs no proofe every mans spirit carries him to do all this for whatsoever is his summum bonum his chiefest happinesse such as make Mammon their God or their belly do readily contribute all they have or can doe to the service of them I shall shut up all with a briefe application First for reproofe Secondly for duty How sadly doth this speak concerning them whose serviceablenesse to the Church consists only in empty and barren wishes the same which they can and doe afford to any creature which they see to be in distresse they love the Church they pity the miseries of the Church they are sorry for Germany when they think on it and that is but seldome They grieve for Ireland but require either their hands to underwrite their legs to walk their purses to contribute their authority to command or countenance c. they can spare none of all these They have a bottomlesse gulfe called selfe which swallowes all they are have or can doe and yet is never satisfied Aske them if they have a heart to do nothing for the Church they answer readily they pray for it with all their heart and that is all they can doe But let all such false-hearted Christians know that the Lord needs none of their help and cares as little for their dry barren prayers as the poore beggar did for the Bishops blessing who begging for a peny but denyed that and put off with the offer of a benediction told him that hee perceived his peny was better than his blessing otherwise he had denyed him that also In the meane time think how thou wilt appeare in the day of thine account when the not having much but the improving of what we had to our masters advantage will bring the Euge bone serve when others shall come in and say Lord thy pound hath gained five pounds when as Gregory sayes Peter shall come in with his gaine of Iudea Andrew of Africa Thomas of India Paul and the rest of many Nations Ministers bring in their sheaves of soules private Christians their gleanings and bundles And thou appeare empty thy talent buried or embezelled thy age spent thy candle burnt out nothing done by thee for the Church when it shall appeare that thou hast had gold and silver to feather thy own nest power and authority to terrifie thy neighbours like a great Tree crushing or overdropping all that stand neare thee and hast had this worlds goods as the Leviathan the Sea onely to take thy pleasure and satisfie thy lusts in them Woe unto thee if thy Master finde thee thus doing This gaine of thy Talents will be the losse of thy own soule Secondly for exhortation to all especially to you Right honourable and beloved What words shall I use How shall I make up a strength to prevail with you to give up your selves and all you have so wholly to the Lord and to his Church that all your other outward occasions may not so much as dare to expect any thing from you so long as the Church hath need of it that your pleasures and superf●uities nay your profits sometimes necessities may never offer to come in competition with the Church of God for any thing which you call yours O that you could hear the Lord speaking to you in the same language as once he spake to Cyrus For Jacob my servants sake and Israel mine elect I have even called thee by the name I confesse that instead of exhorting we have just cause to blesse God for you when we consider how you who heretofore have lived at ease and in pleasure enjoying the delights of the sons of men have now changed your pleasures for paines your delights for dangers your profits and gains for expences your houses for lodgings and still continue to deny your selves in all these things and goe on in your unwearied labours for the Church and cause of God This is great matter of praise to God and honour to your selves Generous plants and odoriferous spices they say grow onely in hot regions such fruits as yours are not brought forth by every plant such plants as you grow not on every ground But go ye on ye Nobles and Worthies forget what is behind God and his people will not forget it look and presse to the work which yet remains Get the resolution of Zisca that brave Bohemian Captain who not onely was willing to fight while he lived but be queathed his skin when he died to bee made a drum head for the service of the warre Hold out to the end Cloath ye with zeale as with a cloak put on righteousnesse as your ornament Bee good shepherds still to rescue and feed the flock committed to you Be so many Saviours upon mount Sion All this shall be done for the best Master all this seed will be sown in the most fruitfull ground the bosome of the Church and to quicken you the more remember how much of the golden time which is gone you have wasted with Domitian in catching of flyes how much of your estate hath bin spent needlesly in pictures feastings buildings sportings if not worse in riot and disorder how much of your strength hath been bestowed in the service of this world and the God of it and now when the gray haires are scattered upon many of you and God might justly cast you aside as broken vessels the Lord should choose you and accept you in the most honourable service that the sons of men are capable of nay that service which he employed his owne Son in How readily and cheerfully ought you to consecrate your selvs and service to this work you should come from your habitations and countries as the Levite from the place where he so journed with all the desires of your minds to serve the Lord your God And to you the rest beside your Prayers the exigence of