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
A26153	The power of charity to cover sin a sermon preach'd before the President and Governors of Bridewell and Bethlehem, in Bridewell-Chapel, August xvi, 1694, being the election-day / by Francis Atterbvry ...	Atterbury, Francis, 1662-1732.	1694 (1694)	Wing A4150; ESTC R22865	16,602	27

of it that this mighty and extraordinary Blessing belongs Secondly Even of Charity thus Qualify'd it is not said That it shall cover a multitude of Sins how Gross and Hainous soever The Words of the Text do by no means carry us to assert thus much concerning it but only as You have heard 'em Explain'd to You seem to say that it shall be our Excuse for many Lesser Neglects and Failings in our Duty many Sins of Infirmity Surprize and Daily Incursion In a word for such Offences onely as are consistent with a state of True Charity and sure Those cannot be very Gross and Presumptuous Ones For He who lives in the Perfect Exercise of that Fervent Charity which the Text speaks of abounding Inwardly and Outwardly in all the various Instances and Expressions of it and in those several Vertues and Graces which do naturally and necessarily attend it I say who ever he is that is throughly possest and acted by this Divine Principle of Love he cannot be suppos'd capable of the Grossest Commissions while he is under the Guidance of it And as for Those he had fallen into before the attainment of this Gift They were certainly remitted also and cover'd before the attainment of it else doubtless he had never attained it So that no Great Guilt of any kind can well be thought to harbour in that Breast where true Charity dwells Indeed it is not universally certain that when-ever God remits the Guilt of Sin he remits the Punishment too The Temporal Punishment I mean For Wicked Men upon their Return to Vertue do not seldom find to their Cost that a Sin may be pardon'd and yet all the Ill Consequences of it not prevented and can therefore often trace the Steps of their Former Misdoings in the several Evils of Life that afterward befall ' em And in This Sense therefore it may be and is probably true that Charity shall cover many Sins even of the first Magnitude i.e. it shall prevent the Temporal Inflictions due to 'em and often even after Pardon obtain'd following upon 'em But it properly removes the Guilt onely of those Frailties and Infirmities of a lesser size which can be thought consistent with a state of Charity And therefore to except against the Doctrine laid down as encouraging the Charitable Man to expect Remission of all manner of Sins how great and how numerous soever is to load it with a Difficulty which does not and cannot belong to it But Thirdly Even as to These slighter Omissions and Failings it is not pretended that They are done away by Acts of Mercy and Charity in any sense but what includes the Application of the Merits of our Saviour's Blood the onely Fountain of Satisfaction for all Kind of Sins for the Least as well as the Greatest It is True indeed that the Blood of Christ is that alone which expiates Sin But This hinders not but that God may make such and such Acts of Ours the Conditions and Grounds as it were of applying the Virtue of that Blood to us And Thus Our Good Works tho' they are not the Meritorious yet may they become if I may so speak the Occasional Cause of Pardon and Grace to us And if This be establishing the R. C. Doctrine of Salvation by Works then has our Saviour Himself I fear establisht it in that Divine Form of Prayer in which he has taught us to say Forgive Vs Our Trespasses as We forgive Those that Trespass against Vs. As We forgive Those i.e. Inasmuch as on That very account among Others because we forgive Those that trespass against Us. Where we see the Exercise of One Great Instance of Charity Forgiveness of Enemies is made the Ground of our asking and expecting Forgiveness from God Fourthly and Lastly It follows not that because so Vast a Recompence is promis'd to a Fervent Charity that therefore the Exercise of it is in the way of Supererogation so that we might have let it alone without Fault or Blame We may be strictly and by the very Letter of the Law oblig'd to it and yet it may include so high a pitch and perfection of Vertue and one so seldom attain'd that God may think fit where-ever it is attain'd mightily to reward it and to encourage us in doing our Duty in some One Great Point by an assurance that in many smaller Ones he will not be Extream to mark what is done amiss by us Our Gracious Master deals with Us in This Case as a Man oftentimes does with his Servant If he be Trusty and Faithful to him in a Business of Great Concern and Moment tho' it be but his Duty to be so yet shall That piece of Eminent Service excuse a Thousand Neglects and Failings upon Other Occasions There is yet a Second Objection tho' indeed so slight an One as after the Former has been remov'd is scarce worth mentioning It is taken from that Saying of our Saviour's That They will Love much to whom much has been forgiven Just contrary to which the Text as expounded by Us seems to say That They who do love much shall have much Forgiven ' em But These Two Truths are easily reconcil'd For it is not hard to understand How That which is the Cause of a Thing in One Respect may be the Effect of it in another And accordingly it may be very true that He who is Forgiven much will for that very reason Love much And it may be as True that He who thus Loveth much because much hath been Forgiven him shall on that very account have much more Forgiven him 'T is just the same Case as between Me and My Friend I may passionately love him because he has pardon'd me the Great and Many Injuries I formerly did him while we were at Enmity And again the Knowledge he has of my Love may incline him to pass over any Future Injuries I may happen to do him III. The Doctrine being thus fix'd at Large and freed from Exception I go on as I propos'd in the Third place to enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of this Wondrous Efficacy so particularly attributed to the Exercise of Charity For we read not that God has annexed this Promise to any Other Grace or Vertue of the Christian Life whatsoever but to This onely That it shall cover Sin Of which These several Accounts may with some Probability be given First That This was really a Fitter and Properer Return to be made to Charity than to any Other Vertue because it adjusts and proportions the Reward of Acting to the Act it self and makes the Duty of Man towards God and the Blessing of God upon the Performance of That Duty to have a near Relation and Resemblance to One another I explain my self Thus The Chief Employment the highest Point and Perfection of Charity is to pass by the Offences and Injuries of Men to pardon the Malice of our Enemies and the Ingratitude of our Friends To Him therefore that attains to

this Heighth of Vertue God has very aptly and suitably promis'd that his Faults and Offences too shall be pardon'd As he deals with his Neighbour so will God deal with Him Mercy shall be shew'd upon Him who shews Mercy If we forgive Other Men Their Trespasses then will our Heavenly Father forgive Us Our Trespasses also There is You see here a strict Analogy betwixt the Reward annex'd and one Great Instance of the Vertue enjoyn'd which is God's Method of putting us in Mind of what we are to Doe by his Promises as well as his Commands and of exciting Us to endeavour after a Perfection not easily attain'd by assuring Us that the Exercise of it shall in the very same kind return doubly and trebly into our Own Bosome But Secondly the Good and Charitable Man is peculiarly entit'led to the Pardon of many Sins because he is in a peculiar manner liable to incurr the Guilt of many either from that Natural Frame and Make of his Mind that disposes him to this Vertue or from the very Exercise of the Vertue it self Charity is grafted always on Good-Nature and a Sweetness of Disposition which though it be a Temper of Mind very lovely and desireable yet is it such an One as in the Circumstances of our present Imperfect State has its Infirmities and is what makes Conversation dangerous to us in a World where we are surrounded with Temptations It hinders us from arming our selves with that obstinate Resolution of Mind that stubborn incomplying Vertue which is requisite to preserve a Man undefiled and blameless It makes Us easie and yielding to Common Customes and Receiv'd Opinions Ready to comply with a Thousand things of which we are not exactly well satisfied upon the pure score of good Nature and because we cannot allow our selves to be troublesome And being found and known to be of this Easie and Complying Temper This very thing will invite Ill Spirits and Ill Men to make their Attempts upon us And then the Exercise of the Vertue it self especially where the Principle of it is strong lays us open to several Failings It makes us omit oftentimes the Duties incumbent on us from our Professions and Callings and perhaps neglect to take care of Those whom it is the First Point of Charity to take care of our Children and Families It warms us with such a Zeal for doing Good as breaks out sometimes into Acts not reconcileable to the Rules of Discretion Decency and Right Reason and which do real Dis-service to the Cause of God instead of promoting the Honour of it St. Francis's Charity went a little too far when it employ'd it self upon Birds and Beasts the Vertue was not at all beholden to him for being shew'd in such a Dress as instead of rendring it desireable in the Eyes of Men made it look ridiculous Indeed Love the Spring Head of Charity as it is the sweetest of All Passions so is it One of the strongest too and if it have the Reins but once given to it will go near to run away with its Rider That is If a Due Care be not taken of it it will exalt our Fancy so high and disorder it so much as to put it out of the Reach and Rule of the Governing Powers of the Mind And then what wild Work does there follow upon it Instead of Wise and Rational Ways of Beneficence foolish Undertakings and unpracticable Designs Instead of a manly and sober Form of Devotion all the Extravagant Rants and silly Freaks of Enthusiasm Witness the Lives of many a Good Saint to whom the Church of Rome has allowed a place in her Calendar Finally the Charitable Man who Loves every thing does not fail sometimes to Love his own Vertue too I mean that he is apt to over-rate the just Price of it and too much to undervalue every thing else in comparison of it A Man may be so much struck with the Beauty and Excellence of Charity as to forget that Faith also is a Vertue as well as That and thereupon to make shipwrack of it Thus I say the Good and Merciful Man being particularly dispos'd toward some Infirmities is a particularity comforted with a Gracious Assurance of their Pardon Thirdly God seems on purpose to have plac'd this Mark of Distinction upon Charity to shew us how tender and careful He is of Our Welfare what Bowels of Love and Compassion he has for Us Since That is His Favourite Vertue the Vertue he chiefly delights in and delights to reward the Exercise of which is most sweet and comfortable most useful and advantageous to the Sons of Men. He design'd by This Convincing Instance of his Goodness to prove to us that he was not an hard and rigorous Master that enjoyn'd us Commands for his Own sake and purely for the pleasure of being Obey'd but that his great Intention was to twist our Duty and our Happiness together And therefore by how much more our Ease and Happiness was concern'd in the Practice of One Vertue than of that of another so much stronger Tyes and Engagements to it was he resolv'd to lay upon us Fourthly Charity is particularly available to procure a Remission of the Guilt of Sin and a Relaxation of the Punishment due to it because it particularly engages the Prayers of all Good Men in our Behalf and of all Those Persons to whom the Instances of our Goodness extend A Kind and Beneficent Man as He is a Common Blessing to Every Body so is He blest in Common by Every One that knows him All Men are ready to Implore the Mercies of God Spiritual and Temporal upon the Merciful-minded especially the Poor and Miserable whose Prayers God has in a particular manner promis'd to hear are constant and earnest Intercessors at the Throne of Grace for him So that whereas the Possessors of other Vertues stand chiefly upon Their Own Bottom for the obtaining Pardon and Grace Every Man almost becomes a Supplicant for the Merciful and Liberal And no wonder therefore if such United Requests prevail But Fifthly and principally God has made This Promise to Charity and to no Other Grace of the Christian Life because it is really the chief and most Excellent of Graces and the most Excellent Thing ought to have the most Excellent Reward It is the first Perfection of the Mind preferable to Faith and Hope in Dignity in Use and in the Length of its Duration as St. Paul has taught us to reason concerning it It is call'd the Great Commandment the End of the Law and the Fulfilling of the Law and it is really what it is call'd For where This Divine Grace is enjoy'd in any full and eminent measure there no Moral Attainment of any kind can be totally wanting Charity is the Queen of Vertues and the Rest are of Her Retinue and Train as it were constantly attending on Her appearing and disappearing with Her and well therefore as a Queen is the invested by God with