Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	grace_n	work_n	7,426	5	6.4759	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07287	The practice of repentance. Or A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse, the fifteenth of September last passed, by Radford Mavericke, preacher of Gods word in Devon	Mavericke, Radford, b. 1560 or 61.	1617 (1617)	STC 17682; ESTC S105958	30,434	48

them long sithence Therefore if there be any sparke of grace left within vs if there be any feare of Gods iudgements if any dread of hell torments let vs now turne vnto the Lord by true vnfayned repentance for the quieting of our consciences in this life and for the sauing of our poore soules in the life to come And so much for the first point I obserued That it is of Gods infinite patience and mercy towards vs that he hath so long expected our Repentance that we might be saued The second point The second point I obserued was The care that all good Prophets and Pastors haue to exhort vs to Repentance for the saluation of our soules But vpon this point there is no need to stand long Noah and all the Patriarks Samuel and all the Prophets CHRIST IESVS and all his Apostles all their whole care and trauaile was to call people to Repentance Iohn Baptist began with this doctrine Repent and beleeue the Gospell CHRIST IESVS the Sonne of God did the same Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand And after Christ his resurrection he cōmanded his Apostles and all good Preachers to publish the vertue of his Death and Resurrection to this end as Luke reporteth it That Repentance and remission of sinnes Luke 24. should be preached in his name among all Nations beginning at Ierusalem euen the same Ierusalem though not the same people which our Prophet Ieremie exhorteth here to wash their hearts from wickednesse that they may be saued And elsewhere he saith Be instructed O Ierusalem c. Ier. 6.8 Vse 1 The vse of this point may be first to teach all Pastors and Preachers not to thinke it any disgrace vnto them though they do not alwaies soare on high vpon the wings of speculatiue Diuinitie garnished with plumes of Rethoricke and Philosophie though either of them may well attend on Theologie but sometimes if not oftentimes to touch vpon the point of Repentance for the preaching of that doctrine did neuer that I reade of breede any Schisme in the Church of Christ Mens hearts rather then Christ his coate will be rent in pieces by the preaching of Repentance Vse 2 And a second vse may be here to warne all people to expect and desire no doctrine rather from the mouth of the Preacher then the preaching of Repentance though I grant such Preachers are called the playne Preachers now-adayes and indeede they that preach the doctrine of Repentance well had neede be playne that is haue no need to spare any Persons or Professors nor to colour or couer any vices whatsoeuer But it is not to heare such playne preaching that all people flocke so much to Sermons in this Age but it is either to heare newes or nouelties or invectiues that makes many people to presse so neere this place But beloued Christian one thing is necessary namely the saluation of thy soule and no doctrine more necessary for the sauing of soules then the preaching of Repentance The third point And so come we now to the third point lately proposed that is Though there be neuer so much preaching of Repentance except we repent with it and by it we cannot be saued The saying of our Sauiour is right well knowne Except yee repent yee shall all likewise perish Luke 13. Noah preached a long time to the old World and no doubt earnestly perswaded people to Repentance but it was not Noahs preaching that could saue the world from drowning because they repented not The like may be said of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot doubtlesse gaue many good lessons of Repentance but that did not preuaile with them therefore were they fearefully destroyed with fire from heauen Now as it was in the dayes of Noah so is it come to passe in this last Age of the world as Christ foretold there is now much preaching and calling of people to Repentance but the not practising thereof is still the cause that so few are saued for except we repent we cannot be saued It was the preaching of Saint Peter that pricked the peoples hearts in the second of the Acts and made them to crie out What shall we doe Acts 2. meaning what shall we doe to be saued Then Peter said vnto them Repent and be baptized euery one of you in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of your sinnes for without repentance there is no remission of sinnes and without remission of sinnes there is no saluation Further this must be noted by the way that when we vrge Repentance as chiefly necessary to saluation we exclude not faith and good workes for true Repentance is the Child of Faith and good Workes are both the fruits of Faith and the true tokens of Repentance Therefore Iohn Baptist preaching Repentance to the people did bid them to bring forth the fruits of Repentance because each tree is knowne by his fruit And when the Iaylor demanded of Paul and Sylas What he should doe to be saued They said vnto him Beleeue in the Lord Iesus and thou shalt be saued and thy houshold Acts 16.31 Now that faith of his brought forth Repentance with the fruits thereof otherwise he could not haue beene saued For albeit it be true as our Church rightly teacheth that we are freely iustified before God by faith yet our Repentance and good Workes must testifie our faith to the world that it is no dead faith as S. Iames speaketh but such a faith as worketh by loue as S. Paul exhorteth Gal. 5.6 whereby it is manifest that the doctrine of S. Paul and S. Iames doe not differ touching our free Iustification by faith as many Papists pretend for that which S. Iames calleth a dead faith Iam. 2.20 is the same faith which S. Paul meaneth that worketh not by loue And howsoeuer our Aduersaries the Papists slander vs Heauen and Earth Men and Angels can witnesse with vs that we vrge good workes in our Sermons as much as they and to better purpose then they by good workes we meane bona opera benè operata such workes as are true tokens of our conuersion and fruits of our faith in Christ by whom only we are saued And we affirme with Saint Austen that bona opera non praecedunt iustificandos sed sequuntur iustificatos Good workes goe not before them that are to be iustified but follow them being iustified for first the person must be accepted with God before any thing that proceedeth from man be pleasing to his Maiestie And whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne We say also with S. Bernard Bernard that bona opera sunt viae ad regnum non causae regnandi Good workes accompany vs towards heauen but are not the causes of our comming thither And to conclude this point which by way of digression I haue pursued thus farre we all say with Saint Paul By grace we are saued through faith not of our selues it is the gift of God not of workes lest

be so faint-hearted as Iether Gideons yongest sonne was who feared to slay Zebah and Zalmunnah the Lords enemies Iudg. 8.20 though his father commanded him so to doe Vse 2 A second vse must be to teach vs that if Preachers must be bold to reproue sinne yea to lance the heart of sinners with the knife of Gods Law and to teare them in pieces with the culter of Gods Word then people must be contented to suffer themselues to be reproued and to haue their impostumes of sinne taken out for it is for the health of their bodies and for the saluation of their soules The wounds of a friend are better then the kisses of a foe And who more foe to man then they that soothe vs in our sinnes and sow pillowes vnder our elbowes that sinners may sleepe the more soundly in their sinnes as the false prophets in old time were wont to doe Vse 3 Hereunto we might adde a third vse for Magistrates if it would please them to be intreated to draw out the sword of Iustice to meete and ioyne with the sword of Gods Word for the cutting off of those Hidra's heads I meane Swearing Drunkennesse and Prophanation of the Sabbath that euery day take life againe say and doe the Preachers herein what they can It is the sword of the Magistrate that can doe more good in one dayes punishment for these sinnes then the Preachers can doe with all their paynes And albeit we are to blesse God that we liue in such a Land where these sinnes are both spoken against by the Preachers and also punished by the Magistrates when they come to light yet surely many times too much remisnesse in this dutie may doe much hurt both in Citie and Countrie where all these sinnes abound like a Sea breaking ouer her bankes which must be looked vnto betimes for feare of drowning the whole Continent And thus much now for the manner of Reproofe being done with a vehement interrogation How long shall your wicked thoughts remayne within you Matter Now come we to the matter of reproofe which consisteth of two parts Two things First it is for conceiuing and receiuing euill and wicked thoughts into our hearts for did we not receiue or conceiue them we could not harbour them Secondly for harbouring and retayning them there toolong How long shall your wicked thoughts remayne within you For the first it seemeth our Prophet Ieremie playeth too much the Cinicke and dealeth somewhat too austerely in his reprehensions What Had it not beene enough if he had only reproued actuall sinnes whether in word or worke though I know wicked thoughts consented vnto be actuall sins of the minde such sins as might haply haue come within the compasse of his owne knowledge or such sinnes whereof the World might take notice of but must he come to such secret sinnes as neuer came within the compasse of mens knowledge except they that commit them for no man knoweth the heart of man but the spirit of man that is within him no not the Deuills themselues The Deuills know not our thoughts but by signes except it be such thoughts as the Deuills themselues suggest I answere for the Prophet that he doth herein performe the part of a good Teacher and like a skilfull Surgeon or Physician doth not content himselfe to take away only outward Vlcers or coole the heate of a Feuer with outward coolings but looketh vnto the inward causes of all these mischiefes and so doth labour to take away the cause that the effect may follow Now who knoweth not that the seede of all sinnes and the Well-spring of all wickednesse riseth from the heart of man as our Sauiour right well teacheth Out of the heart proceede euill thoughts Adulteries Thefts Murthers Matth. 15.19 and the like Therefore as the heart must be washed from all wickednesse so from all wicked thoughts which are the originalls of all vnrighteousnesse for the imaginations of mens hearts are euill continually and no man can say his heart is cleane nay I thinke euery one will confesse that the wicked thoughts of his heart are worse then his workes because either feare or shame want of occasion or one thing or other doth hinder the wicked worke when the heart doth burne or boyle in wickednes as in lust furie malice enuic or the like which are the maladies of the minde And little doth man know how much he is bound to the goodnesse of God that the Deuill doth not know our wicked thoughts farther then we bewray our selues vnto him or by gessing at our complexions wherein he is not vnskilled I shall not neede to relate the opinion of the Schoolemen concerning the thoughts of men euen in wicked things Aquinas saith Cogitatio de opere illicito non est semper peccatum The thought of an vnlawfull thing is not alwayes sinne his reason because saith he Tales cogitationes dupliciter considerandae Such thoughts are to be considered in a double sense Aliquando sunt cum aliqua affectione concupiscentiae aliquando horroris Sometimes they are accompanyed with affection of Concupiscence and then they are sinne sometimes with a thought of horror and detestation and then it is no sinne Also some wicked thoughts are cast into our mindes by Satan whereunto we neuer yeeld any consent these are not our wicked thoughts But it is not against these latter thoughts that our Prophet speaketh for such thoughts to thinke vpon the ouglinesse and foulenesse of sinne come too little into our mindes but it is against wicked thoughts which either proceede of our owne corrupted nature or suggested into our mindes by the malice of Satan whereunto we giue consent and liking or the allurements of the World which we cherish and delight in that our Prophet doth here reproue withthis vehemencie of an interrogation when he saith How long shall your wicked thoughts remayne within you Such wicked thoughts whereof Saint Iames speaketh When lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death Iam. 1.15 These wicked thoughts of ours are the Cockatrice egs which in short time breake forth into sinnefull Serpents and must be killed in cold Winter when they seeme to be dead otherwise if we heate them long in our brests and bosomes they will bite and sting vs as bad as Scorpions Which is one good vse that we must make of this doctrine Vse 1 Therefore take we heede how we either conceiue or receiue wicked thoughts into our hearts for euill thoughts separate from God and such a heart as is taken vp with such foule and filthy ghests the Spirit of grace and of glorie will neuer rest in Vse 2 A second vse we must make hereof namely To keepe watch and ward as well ouer our thoughts as ouer our wordes or workes and not thinke we are in a good case if we commit not actuall Adulterie Theft Murther and the like for our Sauiour saith