Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	free_a	grace_n	love_n	2,934	5	6.6495	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78903	The godly mans ark or, City of refuge, in the day of his distresse. Discovered in divers sermons, the first of which was preached at the funerall of Mistresse Elizabeth Moore. The other four were afterwards preached, and are all of them now made publick, for the supportation and consolation of the saints of God in the hour of tribulation. Hereunto are annexed Mris. Moores evidences for Heaven, composed and collected by her in the time of her health, for her comfort in the time of sickness. / By Ed. Calamy, B.D. and pastor of the church at Aldermanbury.	Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.; Moore, Elizabeth, d. 1656?	1657 (1657)	Wing C247; Thomason E1616_1; ESTC R209627	96,958	299

to himself and rule over mee as to bee my High-Priest to make atonement by offering up of himself for mee and washing mee in his blood by which I must bee justified 6 The Lord brought mee to see a soul-satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ alone and I think I should bee as fully satisfied with Christ alone as my heart can desire If I know my heart it panteth after Christ and Christ alone None but Christ none but Christ The whole world in comparison or competition with Christ is nothing to mee But in him I see full contentment To see and know my interest in him and to injoy communion with him is that which if the Lord would bestow upon mee I should with Jacob say it is enough and with old Simeon Now let thy servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation Now I desire to set down some other Scripture Evidences that I finde upon search and examination of my heart by laying it to the Rule The Word of God My Second Scripture Evidence is Evidence Second taken from Mark 2. 17. Where Christ saith They that are whole have no need of the Physitian but they that are sick and hee came not to call the Righteous but sinners to repentance Now through Gods mercy I can say that I am a sin-sick-sinner the Lord make me more sick I am not righteous in mine own eyes but a Sinner and see my self undone for ever without the righteousness of Christ bee imputed to mee and therefore I hope I am amongst the number of those whom Christ was commissionated by his Father to come to save From Matth. 11. 28 29. I am weary Evidence Third and heavy laden now Christ hath promised to give ease to such And I am willing to take his yoak upon mee and would fain learn of him the lesson of meeknesse and lowlinesse and therefore am invited to come unto him I can say with David that my sins Evidence Fourth are a heavy burden to mee they are too heavy for mee Psal 38. 4. and I can say that I mourn because I cannot mourn no more for my sins now Christ saith Blessed are they that mourn for they shall bee comforted Matth. 5.4 From Matth. 5. 3. I think if my Evidence Fifth heart do not deceive mee I am poor in spirit now theirs is the Kingdome of Heaven saith Christ From Matth. 12 20. I am a bruised reed and smoaking flax and therefore Evidence Sixth Christ hath promised hee will not break such a reed nor quench the smoak of grace if it bee true grace but hee will increase it more and more as hee saith until judgement break forth into victory And hee came to set at liberty them that are bruised Luk. 4. 18. Therefore I hope I am such a one as hee came to binde up and set at liberty yea and that hee was anointed and sent by his Father to mee and such as I am Isa 61. 1. From 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a faithful Evidence Seventh saying and worthy of all acceptation saith Paul That Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners And so say I too it 's worthy all acceptation that Christ should come from the bosome of his Father who was infinitely glorious and happy that hee should come into the world to save mee mee a sinner mee the chief of sinners mee that if saved I do verily beleeve there is none in Heaven nor any that ever shall come thither that hath or will have the cause to magnifie and adore free grace as I shall have And herein doth God commend his love towards mee For if when wee were enemies wee were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled wee shall bee saved by his life Rom. 5. 10. I can say with Paul that I delight in Evidence Eighth the Law of God after the inward man and I am grieved that I cannot keep it I finde that spiritual war in mee between flesh and spirit which Paul complaineth of and I can say that Paul doth confess over my heart in his confessions Rom. 7. And I can go along with him there from vers 9. to the end of the chapter and from hence I gather that there is some spiritual life in my soul and an indeavour to walk after the spirit and therefore I hope and desire to conclude with him that there shall bee no condemnation to mee but that the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus shall make mee free from the law of sin and death I finde Rom. 8. 1 2. an earnest desire wrought in my soul to bee made like unto Jesus Christ and that it may bee my meat and drink to do and suffer his will as hee would have mee I can say that the Lord hath in Evidence Ninth some measure put his fear into my heart that I fear to offend him out of love to him and I love to fear him I can say with the Church to Christ Evidence Tenth Cant. 1. 7. O thou whom my soul loveth and if I know any thing at all of mine own heart Christ is altogether lovely and most desirable to my soul I think I can truly say with David that I have none in Heaven but thee and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides thee in comparison of thee in competition with thee Though all that is dearest to mee in the world should forsake mee yet if God whom I have chosen for my portion will not forsake mee I have enough 'T is my desire and indeavour more and more to account all things but loss and dung that I may win Christ I can with Peter make my appeal to him and say Lord thou who knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee and that it is the desire of my soul to love thee more and to love thee for thy self because thou art holy and good and gracious and the chiefest amongst ten thousand Yea God in Christ alone is worthy to be beloved and it is my highest priviledge that hee will give mee leave to love him who only can satisfie my soul and redeem it from death eternal who hath justified mee by his blood and sanctified mee by his spirit whom therefore I love with all my heart and all my soul and all my might and all my strength Finding therefore that God hath drawn out my heart to love him and make choice of him alone I from hence gather and ground my hope that God loveth mee according to that Scripture 1 Joh. 4. 19. Wee love him because hee first loved us I finde my heart much inflamed Evidence Eleventh with love to all the children of God because they are Gods children and the more I see or finde or hear of God in them the more I finde my heart cleaving to them and I think I can truly say with David that my delight is in the Saints and those that excel in grace not because they are friends to

from it 1 To keep them from sin This made him send an Angel of Satan to buffet Paul lest hee should bee lifted up in pride and exalted above measure 2 Cor. 12. 7. 2 When they have sinned to bring them to repentance for it and from it God brings his children low not to trample upon them but to make them low in their own eyes and to humble them for sin Deut. 8. 2. God brings them into the deep waters not to drown them but to wash and cleanse them Isa 27. 9. By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit to take away sin c. Afflictions when sanctified are divine hammers to break and as Moses his rod to cleave our rocky hearts in peeces 1 They open the eyes to see sin Oculos quos culpa claudit paena aperit When the Brethren of Joseph were in adversity then they saw and not before the greatnesse of their sin in felling their Brother Gen. 42. 21. 2 They open the eare to discipline In prosperity wee turn a deaf ear to the voice of the charmer though he charm never so wisely But adversity openeth the ear and causeth us to attend When God spake upon Mount Sinah in a terrible manner then the people said unto Moses Speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee and wee will hear it and do it Deut. 5. 27. Memorable is that Text Jer. 2. 24. A wild Ass used to the Wilderness that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away all they that seek her will not weary themselves in her month they shall finde her in her month that is when she is great with young and near her time A wicked man in the day of his prosperity is like a wilde Ass used to the wilderness hee snuffeth at any that shall reprove him hee is of an uncircumcised ear and a rebellious heart but in his month that is when hee is bigge with afflictions then hee will be easily found this will open his ear to discipline 3 They will open the mouth to confess sin Judg. 10. 15. 4 They will command us to depart from iniquity Job 36. 8 9 10. Afflictions are Gods furnaces to purge out the dross of our sins Gods files to pare off our spiritual rust Gods fannes to winnow out our chaffe In prosperity wee gather much soil but adversity purgeth and purifieth us This is its proper work to work out unrighteousnesse Dan. 11. 35. Dan. 12. 10. 3 Gods end is not only to keep us The third design from sin but to make us holy and righteous therefore it is said Isa 26. 9. When thy judgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness And Heb. 12. 10. hee for our profit that wee may bee partakers of his holinesse As the waters that drowned the old world did not hurt the Ark of Noah but bare it up above the earth and as they increased so the Ark was lifted up nearer and nearer to Heaven So afflictions when sanctified do not prejudice the Saints of God but lift them up nearer unto God in Holiness and heavenly-mindednesse 4 Gods design in afflicting his children is to make the world bitter unto The fourth design them and Christ sweet 1 To imbitter the world There are two lame leggs upon which all worldly things stand uncertainty and insufficiency All earthly things are like the earth founded upon nothing They are like houses made of wax that quickly melt away Riches and honours wife and children have wings and flye away they are like unto Absoloms Mule they will fail us when wee have most need of them They may puffe up the soul but they cannot satisfie it inflare possunt satiare animam non possunt They are all vanity and vexation of spirit so saith the Preacher but most people in time of health will not beleeve these things but when some great sicknesse betides them this is as a real Sermon to make out the truth of them then they see that a Velvet slipper cannot cure the Gout nor a golden cap the head ach Prov. 10. 4. That riches avail not in the day of wrath and this imbitters the world 2 To make Christ sweet and precious When Christ and his Disciples were in a ship together Mat. 8. 25. it is said that Christ was asleep and as long as the Sea was calm his Disciples suffered him to sleep but when they were ready to bee drowned then they awoke Christ and said Master save us wee perish Even the best of Saints when fatted with outward plenty and abundance are prone to suffer Christ to lye asleep within them and so neglect the lively actings of Faith upon Christ But when the storms of affliction and outward calamity begin to arise and they are ready to bee overwhelmed with distresses then none but Christ none but Christ 5 Gods design in afflicting his children is to prove and improve their graces 1 To prove their graces Rev. 2. 10. Deut. 8. 2. to prove the truth and the strength of them 1 The truth and sincerity of their graces For this cause hee loaded Job with afflictions to try whether hee served God for his Cammels and Oxen or for love to God As Solomons sword tried the true Mother from the false So the sword of affliction discovers the sincere Christian from the Hypocrite Distresses are divine touchstones to try whether wee bee true or counterfeit Saints That grace is true which upon tryal is found true 2 To try the strength of our graces For it requires a strong faith to indure great afflictions That Faith which will suffice for a little affliction will not suffice for a great one Peter had faith enough to come to Christ upon the Sea but assoon as the storm began to arise his Faith began to fail and Christ said Why art thou afratd O thou of little Faith Matth. 14. 30 31. It must bee a strong Faith that must keep us from sinking in the day of great distress 2 To improve our graces It is reported of the Lionesse that shee leaves her young ones till they have almost killed themselves with roaring and howling and then at last gaspe shee relieves them and by this means they become more couragious So God brings his children into the deeps and suffers Jonah to bee three daies and three nights in the belly of the Whale and David to cry till his throat was dry Psa 69. 3. and suffers his Apostles to bee all the night in a great storm till the fourth watch and then hee comes and rebukes the winds and by this means hee mightily increaseth their patience and dependence upon God and their Faith in Christ As the Palm-tree the more it is depressed the higher stronger and fruitfuller it growes So doth the graces of Gods people Lastly Gods aim in afflicting his people is to put an edge upon their prayers

not I am not worthy that Christ should own mee Christ will own thee not because thou art-worthy but because hee delights in mercy Micah 7. 18. Say not I am not humbled enough and therefore I dare not lay hold upon Christ For humiliation is not required to make us precious to Christ but to make Christ precious to us and if thou beest so far humbled as to bee willing to take Christ upon Christs termes thou art humbled enough unto divine acceptation though not unto divine satisfaction Every stung Israelite who was inabled to look up to the brazen Serpent was healed though hee was not stung to that proportion that another Israelite was 3 You must study the condition upon which Christ is promised It is Study the condition upon which Christ is promised certain Christ is not tendred absolutely without any condition Christ is not offered to a proud sinner resolving so to continue or to a drunkard resolving to persevere in his drunkennesse Those Texts which declare the Freeness of the offer of Christ do also mention a condition to bee performed by those that will have him Isa 55. 1. Rev. 22. 15. In both places the condition of thirsting is expressed Let him that is a thirst come Ho every one that thirsteth Quest Doth not the mentioning of a condition take away the freenesse of the tender of Christ Ans By no means The reason is Because this very condition is the free gift of God The Apostle saith Rom. 4. 16. Therefore it is of Faith that it might bee by grace The condition of Faith doth not make the offer of Christ not to bee of grace but therefore it is of Faith that it might bee of grace for as Christ so also Faith is the gift of God Wee do not Ephes 2.8 preach conditions unto justification in a Popish sense as if they merited out of congruity the pardon of sin or in an Armintan sense as if wee could do any thing by our free-will without grace to dispose our selves unto justification but in a Scripture sense we say That all those on whom God intends to bestow Christ freely he freely openeth their eyes to see their undone condition out of Christ he humbles them under the sense of their sad condition and out of his free mercy inables them by Faith to lay hold upon Christ and to accept of him upon his own termes Faith is not the cause for which but the cause without which God will not give us Christ Quest But what is the condition upon which Christ is promised Ans There is if I may so speak conditio praeparans disponens and conditio applicans the condition required to the preparing and disposing us for an interest in Christ and the condition applying Christ to us and bringing him into our possession 1 The condition required to the disposing preparing and fitting us for an interest in Christ And this is the sight of our sins the sense of them and a real willingness to part with them There is no man qualified according to the Gospel to rest upon Christ for pardon of his sins who is not really willing to part with them And no man will bee willing to part with his sins which hee naturally loves as himself unlesse hee see the sinfulnesse and cursedness of them and feels in some measure the smart of them The woman who had the bloody issue never thought of comming to Christ till all her mony was spent in vaine among other Physitians The Prodigal child would never have returned to his Father had hee not seen himself utterly undone by wandring from him 2 The condition applying Christ to us and bringing him into our possession This is Faith which therefore is the proper condition of the Gospel upon which Christ is tendred Now this Faith is not a bare receiving and taking of Christ For there are many who take him and mistake him There is no man but is willing when hee is dying to take Christ as the men of the old world were willing to go into the Ark when the flood came but this taking and receiving of Christ if it bee right hath six properties 1 It is a receiving of Christ with all his appurtenances Christ and disgrace Right receiving of Christ hath six properties and reproach and poverty Christ and his cross There are many would bee glad of Christ but they will not take up his cross They would take Christ down from the cross as Joseph of Arimathea did and leave the cross behinde them But he that takes Christ aright will bee as willing to wear a crown of thorns for his sake as a crown of gold 2 It is a receiving of Christ in all his Offices as our King Priest and Prophet A true Beleever is as willing to receive Christ into his soul as hee is that Christ should receive him into Heaven hee is as willing to have Christ raign over him as hee is to raign with Christ in Heaven Hee desires not only to bee saved but to bee healed by Christ 3 It is a receiving of Christ into every room of the soul for Christ will come into every room or into never a room A true beleever opens every door unto Christ hee gives him the lock and key of the whole man and desires that hee would come and reside in every room 4 It is a receiving of Christ and him only For Christ must rule alone or not at all An Hypocrite would compound with Christ and together with the false Mother divide the childe but a true beleever saith with the Prophet O Lord our God! other Lords besides thee have had dominion over us Isa 26.13 but now by thee only will wee make mention of thy name And with the true Mother hee will give the whole to God 5 It is a receiving of Christ in health as well as in sickness in prosperity as well as in adversity in youth as well as in old age in life as well as in death Most people make use of Christ meerly as a shelter against a storm for their own ends as the Athenians did of Themistocles and when the storm is over for sake him Most people flye to Christ in their distress as Joab did to the horns of the Altar and when they can serve the Devil no longer then they begin to think of serving of God but a true beleever will give his best daies to God as well as his worst hee desires not only to die in Christ but to live for Christ hee receives Christ in health c. 6 It is a receiving of Christ not only for an hour or a day or a year but for ever True Faith marries the soul to Christ never to part Once a member of Christ for ever a member Now there is no child of God of what size soever though hee bee but as a toe in Christs body who cannot truly say that hee is willing to receive Jesus Christ with all these