Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	faith_n	follow_v	justification_n	2,555	5	9.6247	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09981	A liveles life: or, Mans spirituall death in sinne Wherein is both learnedly and profitably handled these foure doctrines the spirituall death in sinne. The doctrine of humiliation. Mercy to be found in Christ. Continuance in sinne, dangerous. Being the substance of severall sermons upon Ephes. 2. 1,2,3. And you hath he quickned, who were dead in trespasses and sins, &c. Whereunto is annexed a profitable sermon at Lincolnes Inne, on Gen. XXII. XIV. Delivered by that late faithful preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, master of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes-Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.	1633 (1633)	STC 20235; ESTC S122552	73,904	134

not take him and eat him the Sunne enlighteneth but the window lets it in Christ gives life but our hungring after him makes us eat him which we will not doe untill wee be humbled 2 May come to Christ that is receive him and beleeve in him it is but laying hold of him when hee sees he must perish as a man that is falling into the sea casts himselfe on a rocke and there will lie and rest so wee seeing wee must perish without him wee clap hold on him and will not leave him for any persecution or pleasure 3 Whosoever will It is generally propounded for Christ is a common fountaine he that will may come As Iohn 7. 3 7. If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke hee that beleeveth in mee as saith the Scripture out of his belly shall flow living waters and againe Iob. 3. 16. God gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeved in him should not perish but have everlasting life As the old Adam was a common root of sinne and damnation so is Christ the second Adam of grace and salvation as at the yeere of Iubilee when the trumpet sounded whosoever would might goe free but if any would be sollavish as to serve they might so now to Christ now he calleth whosoever will may goe free and be delivered but if there be any so flavish minded as to stay they may The grounds of this Doctrine why I thus generally deliver it are these 1 Because else there were no ground of our faith faith must have a ground of Scripture and the Scripture makes no particular promise to any man it saith not thou Thomas or thou Iohn shalt be saved but it faith Whosoever will let him come and drinke freely of the water of life Then we say but I will therefore on this ground is the strength of faith that whosoever will may come 2 Because faith is about things that are faith presupposeth his object God gives the generall promise Whosoever will beleeve shall be saved This is the object of faith this premised the faith followeth and is the the cause of all the consequences as that Christ is mine I am sanctified justified c. these follow faith but the object is before viz. that whosoever wil come to Christ may as if I beleeve the world is created then it must first be created so if I beleeve I shall be saved if I goe to Christ then I must first have this for to beleeve that whosoever will come to Christ may come To exhort so many as are humbled for sinne and see what need they have of Christ to come to him to be quickened the fountaine is opened so that be thy sinnes never so many or great however committed of knowledge after many vowes or covenants yet if thou art so touched and humbled for thy sinnes that thou truely thirstest after Christ if thou wilt take him thou maist To those onely that are humbled is this wide doore of comfort opened art thou but humbled let thy sinne be never so great suppose it be of murther uncleannesse c. let them be aggravated with all the circumstances yet if thou canst be but humbled and then lay hold on Christ thou maiest Read 1 Cor. 6. 9. See what great sinnes those were how can you name greater Neither fornicator nor idolater nor adulter nor effeminate now abusers of themselves with mankind nor theeves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers not extortioners shall inherit the Kingdome of God And such were some of you But yee are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are iustified c. Nay suppose you have not one jot of holinesse nor of godly sorrow yet doe but take Christ and hee is thine To looke for sorrow and holinesse before thou takest Christ is to looke for life before the soule Therefore doe but take him and hee is thine for 1 The promise is free without any condition If godly sorrow and grace were required it were not free godly sorrow and grace followes faith but are not required before it 2 The promise is generall Mark 16. 16. Goe yee unto all the world and preach the Gospell to every creature If therefore there be any poore soule touched with his sinnes so as hee will doe or suffer any thing for Christ to him I speake comfort to him Christ doth belong thou maiest have CHRIST if thou wilt But some man will here be ready to object and say Then every one will take him To this I answer Every one would take him for a Saviour but there be conditions following after though not going before faith if you beleeve hee is your Saviour you must beleeve hee is your Lord you must serve him in all his commands and leave all your sinnes which none will doe untill they see that without him they cannot but perish and none but they will take him whom when they have taken him he descendeth into them and quickeneth them and animates them and makes them like himselfe As fire doth yron to have the same qualities which fire hath although not the same degrees Thus when a man humbled for sinne longeth after Christ and receives him Christ enters into him and gives him a threefold life 1 The life of guiltlesnesse by which wee are free from the guilt of sinne 2 The life of grace 3 The life of joy Thus hee quickeneth those which are dead in trespasses and sinnes Hitherto of the first verse we come now to the second Continuance in SINNE DANGEROVS EPHES. 2. VERS 2. Wherin in times past ye walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the aire the spirit that now ruleth in the children of disobedience c. AFter the Apostle had proved these Ephesians to whom hee writes to be dead in trespasses and sinnes here in the next verse hee proceeds to confirme his Dorctrine by proving them to be dead men from the signes of death which are three That they walked 1 According to the course of the world 2 According to the Prince of the aire 3 In the lusts of the flesh These are the guides by whom they were led the world the flesh and the divell where such guides lead a man hee is like to runne a good course Now the point of Doctrine that ariseth from the first of these is That whosoever walketh in any course of sinne is a dead man and the child of wrath that is if there be any ruling lust in a man so that hee followes it and it commandeth him that man is in the estate of condemnation This is plaine Rom. 8. 1. There is no condemnation to those which are in Christ Iesus who walke not after the flesh but after the spirit If there be no condemnation to those which walke after the spirit then certainely there is condemnation to those which walke after the flesh So likewise

proving of this the Apostles did spend most time because then it was hard to beleeve Secondly Not caring for Christ as those that came not to the Kings feast they beleeved that there was a King and a feast but cared not for it they regarded more their Oxen c. Thirdly Not willingnesse to part with all for Christ they will not take him upon all conditions they see some need they have of Christ but not much and so they will forsake some things for him but not all they are loath to part with their master sinne like the young man in the Gospell he had done a great deale yet he would not part with his possessions But to these three things must be opposed three other things to bring us to Christ 1. Faith to beleeve he is God 2. A sleight humiliation to bring vs in love with Christ. 3. Sound humiliation to be willing to part with all for his sake The first is received amongst all Christians although it is to be feared that many doe beleeve it but confusedly The second is a sleighter manner of apprehending of Christ and that a little sorrow will doe a little humiliation But the third which we must have before we can be saved to be willing to forsake all to leave every sinne for Christ his sake and that we will not doe vntill we be thorowly humbled are fully broken harted therefore first a deepe humiliation is necessary for salvation Secondly If we have not such an humiliation then either 1. We will not come to Christ. 2. Or we will not stay with him 3. Or else we will not doe or suffer any thing for him And if wee want any of these wee cannot be saved First If we be not truly humbled we can never come to Christ nor regard him we may preach Christ long enough and no body will regard him except they be soundly humbled for their sinnes as in the Law no body did care for the Citie of refuge but he that had slaine a man to him onely whom the revenger of blood pursueth is the Citie of refuge sweet when the fiery Serpent had stung a man then he looked to the Brazen-serpent and nevertill then so when we see our sinnes and miserie thereby then J say and never till then is Christ welcome The prodigall Sonne never thought of returning home to his Father vntill he saw that he must else starve when he saw he could no longer subsist then he returned So when wee are so humbled for our sinnes that we see we shall indeed be damned without Christ then and never untill then we care for him Secondly Although we doe come to Christ yet without we be truly humbled wee will never stay with him althougst wee may rejoyce in his light for a season And for the better understanding of this consider the foure sorts of grounds which represented foure sorts of hearers Mat. 13. The first were not humbled at all It fell by the wayes side and presently the Fowles of the aire devoured it vers 4 The second was humbled a little but not so much as to suffer for him The Sunne parched them for lacke of rooting vers 6. The third sort were so farre humbled for sinne that they suffered some persecutions but would not part with all for Christ the world they esteemed more The thornes choaked them vers 7. But the fourth ground was fully humbled that is they were so humbled in a sight of their sinne that they saw that they had more need of Christ than of any thing in the world and so would part with all for him and suffer any thing and therefore they are said to bring forth fruit with patience Others may stay a while with Christ but when that comes that they preferre before Christ then they leave Christ for untill a man can bring his heart to that passe that he can prize Christ above all things undergoe all persecutions for his sake he is not soundly humbled but is like the second and third ground 3. If wee stay thus with Christ yet except wee be thus humbled we shall neither suffer nor doe any thing for Christ. If Christ had bidden Paul before he was humbled to have done so much for him as he did he would never have done it but when he was humbled then Lord what wouldst thou have me doe And the reason of this is apparent if we consider these things First There are many lusts that doe encumber us whilest our hearts are unbroken so that there is such a basenesse on the outside of Religion that except we be humbled wee will never like it but shall be offended at it and like proud servants say our wages are too little our fellow-servants too base but on the contrary hee that hath once beene soundly humbled thinkes all too good for him Secondly There be such strong lusts to be mortified which cannot be done without humiliation that we care not for Christ our lusts indeed may for a while sleepe but when once they are awaked like Sampson they cracke a two all the bonds of good purposes and vowes they are never slaine untill we be soundly humbled Thirdly there are such contrary lawes to bee delighted in that wee can never frame our nature unto untill we hunger and thirst after Christ and ●●en his lawes will bee meat and drinke unto us for before we delighted in the Law of the flesh but now if we be truly humbled we must delight in the law of the Spirit Fourthly There are so many strong lusts to be parted from so many Isaacks which every man at some time or other will be called upon to offer up the which if hee doth not doe hee will damne his owne soule yet untill he is humbled and shewne what damnation is he will not buy salvation so deare For these causes is Humiliation necessary in the first place Therefore in the Scripture this method is alwayes used by the Prophets Apostles and Christ himselfe they preached ever repentance and humiliation before sanctification and justification This was Christ order as you may see Luke 4. Thus did Nathan with David he laboured to humble him before he told him God had forgiven him Thus did Ionas Yet forty dayes and Nineveh shall be destroyed Ion. 3. Thus also God dealt with Adam in Paradise he intended to reveale unto him the promises of the Gospell and yet at the first he strikes him downe with terror that made him hide himselfe then he told him of his sinnes and after all reveales the Gospell unto him The seed of the woman shall breake the Serpents head Gen. 3. Thus dealt Peter with his auditors Acts 2. 38 39. Repent and be baptized every one of you c. Thus you see that Humiliation is so necessary that without it there is no salvation Let us come in the next place to make some Use of it Therefore my brethren seeing

gave her time to repent but she repented not Thirdly the Lord doth not deliver till the time of extremity that we may know the vanity of the creature And see that they are but as reeds that are empty as for example when a man is brought to some great straight and sees that men will forsake him in it as the Lord will cause them to doe when he will bring a man to a streight indeed for then he will shew him that there is no helpe in man as when a man that is sicke and so farre gone that no physicke will doe him good but all Physicians have left him or when a man hath some great businesse in hand and nothing that he hath will effect it and so likewise a man at Sea when hee is in such a tempest that neither rowing nor any thing else will doe him good then when men are in such cases they come to see the vanity of the creature and that all outward meanes will start aside like a broken bow for a broken bow being drawne but a little will hold but if it bee drawne up to the head then it breakes in the hand of him that handles it Even so when the creature is put to it then the vanity of them is seene and that they are but as hollow reeds that are empty and so not bee trusted to Now we must adde to this that as the Lord will not deliver till then yet then he will doe it and of that you must make no doubt because the Lord will make good his promises and bee just for he is abundant in truth he will make good all that he hath said and that in abundance Now if the Lord will helpe and yet not till a man come to extremity why then hee must helpe or not at all and so he should faile them that trust unto him when as one man will not faile another that trusteth him for that were treachery so to doe why then much lesse will the Lord faile thee if thou rely upon him if thy heart can tell thee thou dost intirely rest upon him it is impossible hee should faile thee And therefore hee must helpe thee at the last cast or else not at all and untill thou art so farre gone thou art not come unto the Mount for Abraham was three dayes in going the journey and the Lord might have revealed it before if hee would but hee did not till he came to the mount And therefore doe not say now is the extremity and yet the Lord doth not helpe mee when thou art but in the way for thou art not yet come to the brow of the hill thou art not at the utmost part of the Mount The Use of it is to teach us not to make too much haste for deliverance in the time of distresse but to wait upon the Lord yea depend upon his providence when we seeme to be without helpe If we looke upon the Creature yet then are wee to depend upon the Lord so as never to say there is no helpe but on the contrary to say I will trust in him though he kill me for so did Abraham here he was to kill his Sonne and yet he had hope So let us though there were a thing that would bee our utter undoing if it should come on us yet if it doe come thou oughtest to hope because it is the Lords manner to bring his people to extremities as here to Abraham and the like hee did to Peter when he came to him on the waters for he might have holpen him before he beganne to sinke if he would but hee did first let him sinke a little and then he holpe him So when the people were at the Red Sea and had no gap to goe out at then the Lord holpe them by making a way thorow the Sea In like manner he did to Iacob when hee was returning home from his father in law Laban hee suffered Esau to come out against him with foure hundred men before hee holpe him and who would have thought that Esau's mind should have beene so suddenly turned But when Iacob was brought to a streight then the Lord turned all another way And the like he did with David in the time of his distresse he let him alone till the waters were like to goe over him but when his feet had almost slipt in regard of his outward and inward troubles for he was at the very going downe to the grave then the Lord brought his feet out of the Net and set him at liberty and tooke him out of the waters that he was not drowned and therefore still trust in the Lord and labour that thy faith faile thee not whatsoever thy straights be for that was Peters fault when hee was on the water for if he had sunke being hee had the Lords word hee should have beene safe enough and therefore had no cause to doubt and so wee should learne to doe in all our streights still to beleeve which if we doe wee shall finde the Lord very exceeding ready to helpe beyond all that we can be able to aske or thinke See this in an example or two how the Lord comes betwixt the cup and the lip as it were betwixt the very lifting up of the hand to the stroke and as in the Text so also when the Shunamite had by the command of the Prophet left her land because of the Famine that was to come when the seven yeeres were done for shee trusted the Prophet and therefore did not say Alas what shall I doe for my lands againe but did goe and when shee returned and was gone to the King for her lands againe at that very instant was the King talking with Elishaes servant about the great workes of the Prophet who then told the King of this woman and her sonne confirming that which Gehezi had said and Gehezi being present to helpe to speake for the woman and then shee had not onely her lands restored her but the fruits of it also for the whole time of her absence So likewise when Mordecayes destruction was plotted by Haman and so neare brought to passe that there could be no hope of helpe on any side yet then when Mordecay was asleepe in the night and had made no plots at all for his safety then the Lord brought it to passe for that night the King could not sleepe then hee must needs call for a booke and then that above all other bookes that should bee brought and in that booke that very place to bee turned to of the treason against the King and Mordecayes truth and faithfulnesse in discovering the same and that this should be done at the very extremity when a day or two after would have done him no good it is worth the considering therefore never doubt feare not but trust to the Lord in any streight for though hee doth not worke miracles now yet he workes wonders and is able to doe