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
A85791	The heads of some sermons preached at Finnick, the 17 of August. 1662 By Mr William Guthry upon Matth. 14: 24, 25, 26.	Guthrie, William, 1620-1665.	1680 (1680)	Wing G2275B; ESTC R228467	46,400	69

his authority rebuking their slavish fear although they themselves have ground to be quieted yet they can not untill he say be not afraid it is I I command your Devil to sit within your self will that do it No there are some of them that are peremptor they will have a special confirmation and Peter steps out before the rest if it be thou bid mo come to thee on the water otherwise I will never believe Wel Peter must ye have a confirmation Ye shall have it but ye shall not crack much of it ere all be don it may be ye be at a greater doubt before the end of the day Then that which compleatly allayeth all their fear is Christ's in-coming to them and nothing else doth it For Use then Let all the People of the Lord know there is such an infirmity attending them when difficultys are renewed upon you and slavish fear labours to take possession of you who are fled to Christ guard against it and know the evils thereof encourage your selves against it When your fear grows in a cloud and dark day to prevent it Consider 1. what interest God hath in his People they are set as a seal upon his heart and written upon the palms of his hands he hath said he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye Would we be afraid if we believed that any that troubleth the People of God do as ill as if they took God on the looking face Indeed and in truth if we believed that we would think them won gear 2. Believe this also that whatever the Lord doth or suffers men to do shall work together for the good of his People it is a common truth in every bodys mouth yea but I may say the least believed truth in all the Bible Ye will not question the truth of the promise but yet ye stand at the application I offer you that instance and put your selves to it if ye can solidly acquiesce with it in your heart that all the distresses and afflictions his People are under in Brittain and Ireland shall work together for their good then if it be so as I do not doubt of it why then do ye not believe it and are quiet 3. Believe this also that there is nothing that befalls his People but what is by his Providence ye say it 's true but there are many things that we meet with that God doth not allow I say there is nothing ye meet with but that which is either by his active or permissive Providence There is no evil don in the city but what the Lord knoweth That the Ministers in Brittain and Ireland are put from their houses Kirks and Lands and banished out of the countrey is all his Providence and shall work together for their good and if it be then ye are to be silent 4. Know this and believe that there is nothing to be feared but God and an evil conscience As a man in Ireland said to a Bishop when he threatned to imprison him he answered I know no such prison as an evil conscience and so if ye resolve to fear nothing but the God of Heaven and an evil conscience ye need not fear men for the fear of these will quiet all your other fears A SERMON PREACHED at FINNICK The _… of August 1662. BY M R WILLIAM GUTHRY upon Matth. 16 25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it I Have told you that the natural life of man may come in competition with the Cause and interests of Christ and that some men will get a free choice in this case to save or lose their life though every one will not get it to their option I have likewise told you that the natural life of Man when put to a mans option to save or to lose as he pleaseth with denials or not denial of the Cause was a mighty temptation All that a man hath will he give for his life But however it might be a mighty tentation and however many things may occurr in the way to obstruct the man's right choice in the case yet be it known unto you all that whosoever seeketh to save his life with prejudice to the cause of Christ and a good Conscience thereby loseth his life I was beginning to tell you what wayes a man would study to save his life with prejudice to Christ and his cause and he doth so either by omitting that which is his duty before God for fear of his life or for fear of inconveniences that might follow upon his doing of his duty or he doth it by committing that which is positively sinfull before God for fear of his life First of all the man prefers his natural life to Christ and his cause and a good Conscience by omitting his duty and that is 1. when he forbears to testifie for God in his place and station I mean by witnessing with the mouth for him this reaches both minister and People when they will not speak for Christ's cause when it 's reproach'd for fear of hazard this is to seek to save their life by omitting of duty 2. Folk may be said to seek to save their life with prejudice to the cause of Christ by omission of duty in this case when God layes an opportunity of his service and work before them for the good of his Church but by reason of their faint-heartedness they fear and will not set about it and so will not rescue Christ and his cause by opposing what God calls them to oppose 3. By omitting other duties competent for them in their place and station or by reason of the wicked Laws made against such duties by the Supream Magistrat with certification of such and such hazards to occurr upon them by doing of those duties as ye ever already heard Having spoken to these things we come now to speak of the next great Head of cases and wayes with prejudice to Christ and his cause and interests and our own Conscience positively by doing that which is sinfull against God and this is don several and many wayes There are several and many cases in which Folk may be said to prefer their natural life to Christ's cause and their own Conscience by commmitting positively that which is sinfull against GOD. And First Folk prefers their natural life to Christ his interests and Cause when men do disclaim the interests and cause of Christ and all that party side and faction because of Christ Jesus and the Truth I hope it 's clear and without controversy to you all if Folk do this for fear of their life or any peril or hazard that they may come under with prejudice to his interest and cause that they are seeking to save their lives with prejudice to his interests and cause and so fall-in under the hazard of the Text of losing their life This was Peter's fault for as holy a man as he was

that unhappy party so great a length for the overthrow of the work of God But ye understand not my drift in it it was that I might get credit from them and thereby I will have place and opportunity to speak for the People of God and for the Cause and so this is a way to be usefull for the Work of God by their puting credit upon me that way I will have a fair opportunity to get many a good turn don in the favour of honest men Gang thy way Man the vengeance of God gang with thee for we will either have good God's gate or will never have good at all for good is not good if it come not God's gate we look never that God will trist us with good through such foul fingers as yours we look that God will trist us with good through a cleanlier hand But I never knew that this was your duty to do evil that good might come of it I never knew that the Scriptur stated the matter thus that Folk should do evil than good might come of it I ween'd ay that Folk should have done good at present if they would have had good to have followed on it But I never knew that Folk was to do evil that good might follow I never read that in all the Bible and I have read it all from the one end to the other and some of it twice over but I never read that in it all Go thy way Man the vengeance of God gang with thee for we look never for good at the like of thy hand I dare say if it were not more respect to thy carnal interests that thou lookst most to than any respect that thou hast to the Cause of Christ and his People thou wouldst never have gon the length thou hast gon God reward you for that ye have don to Christ and his Cause and so he will in his own due time ye will get the Devil to your thanks yet for the good ye have don to the Cause of Christ and his People by compliance But there are many likewise who have this pretext for their compliance they profess to be keeping their life till a better time it is a sin to us to let our life and what belongs to us gang this gate we may keep our life till a better time indeed as I was telling you before I never heard tell that that man's life did ever any more good to Christ and his Cause that once did compet therewith and was preferred thereunto and so was brought-off with prejudice to the same God will never be in such a Knaves common as thine to prefer thy life with that honour as to make it usefull for the Cause of Christ again who has preferred thy life to the Cause I ween'd the Scriptur had arted thee better Man that he that is faithfull in the little will be faithfull in the greater and he that is not faithfull in little will not be faitfull in much We will never honour such as have denied his Cause to make them usefull for the Cause and Work again such as is faithfull in the little and keeps his garments clean in an evil time God will prefer that honest man with taking a good turn of his hand for his Cause and People He will take nothing of a Lown's hand that has defiled himself and has not been faithfull in the little Let still that sound in your ears that he that is faithfull in the little will be faithfull in the much he that is not faithfull in the little will not be faithfull in the much I 'l wad ye shall see these children that have gon that gate and are keeping their life till a better time goodsooth I 'l wad that ye shall see an evil time take them Goodsooth they will look with clear eyes that ever will see their life do a good turn more in this world I believe the most part of them if not all of them is kept for a black hour They will look with clear eyes that ever will see them get a good time or yet be usefull to the Church in this world again There are many likewise that have this pretext for their compliance that they do what they do that way out of no ill intention it was upon such good accounts that they did such and such things we had no ill intention in so doing we intended to wrong no man far be it from us to persecut or bid any body do any thing against their Light we had no ill intention in what we have don Ye have a bony pretext of it forsooth I shall desire any man to search through all the Scripturs and see if any such a thing be to be found in them of God's stating mens honesty upon good intentions while the good intentions brought-forth evil fruit I never read such a thing in all the Bible I thought the Scriptur had said with the heart man believes and with the tongue confession is made unto Salvation in contending for the matters of God for his Cause and interest hands tongues a●d feet are to be made use of Good deeds and actions are usefull for the Cause of Christ but for your good thoughts and intentions while they have brought forth such bad fruits as the apples of Sodom and the grapes of Gomorrah I have no skill of them The most part of those Knaves that say they had good thoughts and intentions we will see them the greatest persecuters that the People of God will have These good intentions of yours ye will get a black reward for them for they have wronged the church ●arr so ye are at the loss and the church both with those good intentions of yours But in the next place I suppose that this is as ordinary a pretext among us for compliance as any What could my bare testimony do to it it could not turn the chase all that Party Side Way that ye say is for Jesus Christ they are all dung down ere ever I sided with any Party We might wel have cast our selves into hazard by doing or speaking for that way but that could never have don the turn it would never have turned the chase What could my speaking have don for keeping in the Ministers when Acts and Laws was for their casting-out it would never have don good I might wel have cast my self into hazard What could my vote have done for such a mans life that Acts and Laws were for the execution of And when once it was so what need we hazard our selves needlesly For what would the testimony of silly poor lasses and lads have done A bony pretence ye have of it forsooth I never read it in all the Scripturs where ever God made a mans fore-sight of events the measur of his actions in duty I never heard that a man was to shift his duty upon that account because he thought his duty would not have good consequences I never understood