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	true_a	word_n	2,531	5	4.4807	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33367	Look about you, for the devil that you fear is in you, or, The right devil unfolded in his descent, form, education, qualification, place and nature of torment : with many other divine secrets, never from the beginning yet extant till this last witness, so beneficial both for the seed of gain, and the seed of faith / written by Laur. Claxton.	Claxton, Laurence, 1615-1667.	1659 (1659)	Wing C4579; ESTC R32621	55,901	151

declaration of dreadful things concerning thee reminding thee of all thy proud thoughts and lofty looks as also how thou hast spent thy time in pleasure on this earth and been wanton in the day of judgement yea cruel in the day of mercy in condemning yea killing the Just that blessed seed of Faith now if these men shall be saved and if those works shall be justified that is recorded in Mic 3. 11. viz. abhorring judgement perverting all equity judging for reward teaching for hire divining for mony grinding the faces of the poor enriching themselves in the ruine of others I say if such great men as these that have here enjoyed all the pleasure and glory of this perishing world shall enjoy that immortal ravishing glory in the world to come then minde what will follow then in vain were the Scriptures written and to no purpose was those great sufferings of our Lord Jesus who saith Mat. 19. 29. And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my names sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life and then in the same Chapter Christ shews from the young mans going away sorrowful How hard a thing it is for a rich man to enter yea saith Christ A rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of glory and in vers 27. when Peter said Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee what shall we have therefore now you may read his answer was this That ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones c. Now in all these words expound or interpret which way ye can to stile your fears of death and your dreadful portion at the great day I say from the Lord of glory you cannot find any colour or title in the least that doth encourage or give any admittance to a worldly minded rich man for if you minde what you read you shall find all the promises here or in Scripture elsewhere doth onely appertain to such that hath forsaken all false worships and false Christs and hath renounced all unjust ways or means whereby he hath enriched himself yea he that hath slighted a good name with the credit of this world and is not onely ready to persecute but be persecuted for that glorious yet despised man Jesus I say from the spirit of Faith all the promises of the Lord in Scripture doth onely belong to these poor despised scum of the earth as in these words Thou Peter or ye my disciples or any other of my precious ones that hath lost all for me you are those that shall have all gain by me you shall have everlasting life and be with me in my Kingdom yea in glory like my self as mind that saying of James the second chapter and fifth verse Hearken my beloved brethren hath not Cod chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Now what can be said more or what more wouldest thou have God do for thee wouldst thou have him unjust or contradict his own word then be content with thy rich glory here and let us have our glory with our God we grudge not at thy greatness in this world no nor thou shalt not hinder us or detain us from our portion of glory to come thine is almost at an end ours is yet to come and shall never end therefore be not deceived thou canst not live the life of the devil here and live eternally with the Lord hereafter then as I said before so against men and angels I should say again that such as I had better never been born to deprive my self of such a livelihood as I might not have been inferior to many and all to live upright and justly in this my strange country which now I am deprived of all Surely if it were so as some of Cains cursed brood doth say and binde it with an oath That all shall be saved then poor Paul and the poor Prophets and we in these days have made a sad exchange but as sure as God is God whosoever thou art be thou Ranter or Quaker King or Beggar thou shalt finde at the day of our Saviours appearance that thou so dying shall never be saved and then if it were possible thou wouldst say what I here write is truth and such as thou art found lyers Now one word more to this last plea of the seed of Cain and so as touching this point I have done which is this If there be no other devil but what is in man or woman then thou sayest Kings may rise devils Magistrates devils Lawyers devils Soldiers devils Merchants divels Doctors devils yea and Preachers Devils these being for the most part the richest men of this world and the Scripture in many places extends it language onely against such men may cause not onely a supposition in the seed of faith to judge according to the tenor of the inspired Writ but also a terror upon the souls of rich men in that Christ compareth riches to bryers and thorns as in that parable of the sower Mat. 13. 22. where he saith And the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choak the word and he becometh unfruitful riches being such a snare and deceiver of the soul may justly and that not without suspition cause a serious examination whether riches be not the onely instrument why or wherefore the true God nor his word doth not take root within thee where there is so much fulness of the treasure of this world there can be no admittance for the treasure of God ye cannot serve two masters and that because the riches of this world is in antipathy to the riches of heaven in that one is perishing the other everlasting the one clouds or draws the soul from God the other expells mists and draws the soul to God so that Christ knowing it was the greatest tryal and snare to the soul doth declare it a hard thing to enter yea so difficult that since he took upon him the form of flesh there hath not nor now is not one of ten thousand knowing the true God that shall be much troubled with the riches of this world for where riches is there must be a mighty power of faith keeping the soul in obedience to its God and that because where there is riches it requires the creatures whole attendance to give all care and diligence that possible may be to augment it or at least to uphold the stock or principle in so much that it makes him uncapable to cast his whole care upon the God of endless riches Now to conclude there is one thing more of great concernment to be seriously laid to heart by these rich men which is this First How thou camest to this thy greatness whether it was

read but 1 Cor. 2. 4 5 and 6 verses and there you shall hear Paul shew the vast difference of the wisdom of Faith from the wisdom of flesh for the wisdom of Cain is a meer cheat yea leads him forth to nothing but pride oppression and cruelty for by that wisdom they put the Lord of Life to death as in the eighth verse therefore you that have eyes may see what this learning and knowledge is the seed of Cain are tutored in that it is no other but the wisdom of this world which is foolishness with God and that is the cause they come to tempt or dispute with the Seed of Faith whose wisdom is given him by inspiration or revelation in the demonstration of the Spirit I say because the wisdom of Cain cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God given this precious soul O how they rayl with tearms of a fool an ass a dunce a coxcomb a heretical blasphemer an ignoramus one that hath no sense these and such like tearms this cursed Brood will brand the Seed of Faith with the onely wise men in Christ for which cause the Lord in 1 Cor. 1. 19. saith I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Where is the Wise Where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this world hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world and all because the foolishness of God in the Seed of Faith is wiser then that great knowledge in the seed of Cain for take this infallible truth along with you which is this that the Scriptures in the life and power of them were never given to the wise learned men in those days For saith Christ to you it is given to know the mystery to you my Disciples or elected Seed of Faith to you and for your sakes did I speak this and therefore it was the wise learned Priests and Rulers did imprison and put to death not onely the Disciples but Christ also as Blasphemers for publishing this Scripture which now their wise children do make a Trade of and will not onely imprison but if possible put to death the onely Witnesses and true Interpreters of this Holy Writ which was given by inspiration for the proper use of his blessed Seed of Faith Again the seed of Cain are educated in the fulness and plenty of this world insomuch that there is no novelty delicate or dainty that by the spirit of reason can be invented but for their belly it is prepared as also no new antick fashion can be imagined either of silk gold or silver but their backs are adorned with it nay there is no attendance of men and maid-servants that this their kingdom can afford but the seed of Cain enjoys it yea they are so tenderly and princely brought up at home and abroad and so hurried in their Coaches and Sedans that if possible the cold wind should not blow on them nor the glorious Sun with his beams should scorch them so careful are they of their beauty and comely streight proper persons that if possible there shall not be a wrinckle on their hands nor a spot on their faces unless it be of their own making for the more grace of their comely persons thus what by art in their wisdom can be invented shall not in the least be wanting if it can be had for gold or silver and whatever Science Pastime or Pleasure their soul can desire as Hawking Hunting Bowling Shooting Gaming at Dice Cards or Tables or any other delight of Musick Dancing Courting of Ladies with the satisfaction of their greatest lust and that with the greatest pomp and state this their heaven can afford and then in the last place for carriage and behavior none in this world like unto them as observe how proud and Lucifer-like their father they carry their heads insomuch that they know not what fashion or coloured Perriwig to hang upon it and when they meet any of their brethren O what congeying and bowing with Cap in hand to the ground saluting each other with these and such like complementary tearms as Your servant Sir or Your servants servant Sir or Madam and fair Lady I am yours to command by night or by day and that with so much stateliness and comely behavior that I wonder thou shouldest be affrighted at the name or person of the devil considering what a glorious proud majestical creature the devil is as aforesaid But now if you ask me Are all the seed of Cain thus educated Answ No for you may understand some are brought up to one Calling or another that some of them do undergo hard labor and great pains to maintain themselves with their families in this their perishing kingdom so that they have neither gold nor silver the dust of this earth to mannage such a fleshly glorious education as aforesaid And others there are that are educated yea brought up servants yea slaves to the great Rabbies of their seed which none of them have that attendance fulness delights pleasures as aforesaid but on the contrary are deprived of all that their happiness the other enjoy insomuch that in stead of giving relief they beg relief in stead of a Bed of Doun they lye on a bed of straw in stead of being clothed with silk they are clad with rags yea many times ready to starve for want of food so that you may behold there is not onely rich but poor miserable ragged devils that shall rise at the day of our eternal Gods appearance so that I say these of all the tribe or generation are to be pitied if pity did belong to them to consider what affliction they undergo in this their heaven and yet be eternally damned hereafter Question But now you may say unto me and that seemingly affirm both from my writing and the Scripture in that I have before treated much of the rich men of this world how hard a thing it is for them to walk in the ways of God they being so educated in the pomp and glory of this world which I say and your experience findes it is the greatest thief that steals away the heart of man and so makes that soul as difficult as a woman in travail to enter into the life and power of the Gospel therefore we being poor and the Scripture saith the poor receives the Gospel we much marvel how your writing will be found truth in Scripture that any poor should rise devils when the Scripture saith it is onely the poor that receives the Gospel Answer From this thy curious Query I shall answer thee in those words of James 2. 5. where it is thus written Hearken my beloved brethren hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in Faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Now if you intend these poor I affirm what you say yea from my Seed-spring I declare not one of these