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	reason_n	2,746	5	5.3703	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36457	A sermon preached before the Queen at White-Hall, February the fifteenth, 1690/1 by Henry Dove ....	Dove, Henry, 1640-1695.	1691 (1691)	Wing D2052; ESTC R3520	12,590	34

Superstition about smaller things eating out their Zeal and Care of the weightier Matters their Doctrines about Mortal and Venial Sins Confession and Penance Indulgences Purgatory and the like bolstering up their Proselytes in a Carnal Security and quite undermining and destroying the Necessity of an Holy Life And thus we know by a sad Experience that there are some Principles among 'em which lead Men to be seditious and turbulent perfidious and inhuman such as these I mean That Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks and every one is such with them who protests against their Erroneous or Wicked Tenets that the End legitimates the Means That a good Intention justifies an evil Action That 't is lawful to do whatever will advance or to deny any thing that may prejudice their own Cause for we should do 'em too much Honour to call it Catholick I will not indeed say that all of that Communion will professedly own at this time especially these and the like Doctrines there is sufficient reason why they should not nor yet will I say that all believe 'em though then I know not how to call 'em Members of that Church which hath asserted 'em with all the Arguments of their most Celebrated Doctors And if there be any such among 'em as neither believe nor practise 'em they seem to have gain'd one of the hardest Conquests in the World even to have kept themselves from that Iniquity which the very Principles of their Religion did prompt and perswade them to And thus having shewn how it comes to pass That every one is inclin'd to some Sin or other which he may call in a more peculiar manner His own Iniquity I leave the Particulars to the Search of every Mans private Conscience God knoweth and your own hearts know which is yours and so proceed to the 2. Prop. That 't is possible to keep our selves from such Sins as David did who professes here of himself in great sincerity That he had kept himself from that Iniquity to which he was strongly tempted and which he was prone to fall into And there is none of us all but may go and do likewise if we be willing to follow his good Example by cherishing the Grace that is freely given us of God and remembring the Vows we have so often made Him by using the Means and observing the Method prescribed in His Word by consulting the Dictates of calm Reason and sound Religion and a well informed Conscience by considering the Consequence of all such Darling Sins and asking our selves that sober Question What we shall do in the end thereof In a Word by maintaining as David did a mean Opinion of our selves an humble Dependance upon God and by keeping his Judgments and his Fear before us This will certainly secure us if not from the Temptation at least from the Compliance and Commission of the Sin it may importune us but it cannot prevail against us it may sollicite our Consent but it cannot gain in upon us so as to lead us Captive at its pleasure deliberately to commit it and habitually to practice it But of this I shall speak more particularly by and by and onely mention it here because I find it so common for Men to palliate or excuse their Sins either from the strength of the Temptation or from their own Weakness or from some fatal Impulse and what is the genuine Off-spring of their own Wills they generally lay at the door of Necessity Alas What would you have 'em to do 'T is next to impossible to do otherwise they inherit such a weak and deprav'd Temper or they are born under such a Malignant Aspect or they are cast by the Decree of Heaven into such unhappy Circumstances that they are not Masters of their own Actions And how then can ye blame 'em for what is not in their Power and Choice to avoid Or How can that be called their Sin which they are even necessitated to commit Thus rather than take to themselves the shame of their Sins Men will belye their own Natures asperse the Majesty of God the great Lover of Souls and cast a Scandal upon the Efficacy of His Grace and Gospel For how I beseech you can Man be more excellent than a Brute nay than a Stock or a Stone unless he be a Rational and a Free Agent endued with Understanding to discern and a Will to choose the Good and refuse the Evil Or How can it consist with the Justice and Goodness of God to leave him under the Power of the most uncontroulable Destiny and yet punish him severely for not obeying his Laws To what Purpose are all the Commands and Exhortations all the Invitations and Expostulations the Promises and Threatnings in the Gospel nay To what Purpose is our Preaching and your Hearing the Word the Sacraments and Prayer which are the Means of Grace if it be not possible by the Use of these Means and through the Help of this Grace to resist Temptations to restrain our inordinate Affections to weaken and subdue and at last to mortifie our Lusts and so to keep our selves from that Iniquity whatever it be to which we are most prone Whatever therefore our Corrupt Hearts may pretend as indeed we are all very favourable to our own Sins we may easily Confute our selves that there is no Impossibility or Necessity in the Case For if the very Suspition of Poison in the Cup will make the Drunkard startle and forbear it if the Unclean Person will refrain from his unlawful Embraces when he is sure to incur the Punishment of Zimri and Cosbi if Men will pass by their unjust Advantages when their Credit and Repute shall be certainly blasted by 'em if they will defer an intended Wickedness till they are favour'd with Secrecy or encourag'd by Impunity if the Presence of a Child will awe 'em into good Manners and teach 'em so much Religion at least as to pretend and counterfeit it With what Face can they say 't is impossible for 'em to cease from Evil or to change a vitious Custom and that there is a Necessity of yielding to the Temptations either of the World the Flesh or the Devil when 't is plain they may be all baffled and withstood upon lesser Motives than either the Grace of the Gospel or the Terrors of the Lord the Apprehensions of a Future Life and a Judgment to come affords ' em Which brings me to the last thing I proposed to speak to Third To subjoin such Helps and Directions as are needful for this Purpose that we may maintain our Integrity and keep our selves from those Sins to which we are most inclineable And here again the Method which Holy David made use of gives us the first and the best Direction and that is 1. By Constant and Fervent Prayer to implore the Divine Aid and the continual Assistance of his Holy Spirit that God would not only keep us from falling into 'em but even