Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A69449
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The doctrine & directions but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the nevv birth A treatise by way of appendix to the former. By Isaac Ambrose, minister of Christ at Preston in Amounderness in Lancashire.
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Ambrose, Isaac, 1604-1664.
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1650
(1650)
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Wing A2955; ESTC R37037
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61,894
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74
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in some measure To be truly humbled is the next way to be truly comforted The Lord will look to him that hath an humble contrite heart and trembles at his word The Lord will not onely know him he knows the wicked too in a general maner but he will give him such a gracious look as shall make his heart dance in his breast Thou poor humbled Soul the Lord will give thee a glimpse of his favor when thou art tired in thy trouble when thou lookest up to heaven the Lord will look down upon thee and will refresh thee with Mercy God hath prepared a sweet morfel for his childe he will revive the humble O be humbled then every one of you and the Lord Jesus who comes with healing under his wings will comfort you and you shall see the Salvation of our God Thirdly Humiliation ushers glory Whosoever humbles himself as a little childe shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven He shall be in the highest degree of grace here and of glory hereafter for as thy Humiliation so shall be thy Faith and Sanctification and Obedience and Glory And now me-thinks your hearts begin to stir and say Hath the Lord engaged himself to this O then Lord make me humble Now the Lord make me and thee and all of us humble that we may have this mercy See how Everlasting happiness and blessedness looks and waits for every humbled Soul Come saith Happiness thou that hast been vile and base and mean in thy own eyes Come and be greatest in the Kingdom of heaven Brethren though I cannot prevail with your hearts yet let Happiness that kneels down and prays you to take mercy let that I say prevail with you If any man be so regardless of his own good I have something to say to him that may make his heart shake within him But Oh! Who would not have the Lord Jesus to dwell with him who would not have the Lord Christ by the glory of his Grace to honor and refresh him Me thinks your hearts should yearn for it and say O Lord break my heart and humble me that Mercy may be my portion for ever nay me thinks every man should say as St. Paul did I would to God that not onely I but all my children and servants were not onely thus as I am but also if it were Gods will much more humbled that they might be much more comforted and refreshed Then might you say with comfort on your deaths-bed Though I go away and leave wife and children behinde me poor and mean in the world yet I leave Christ with them when you are gone this will be better for them then all the beaten gold or honors in the world What can I say but since the Lord offers so kindely now Kiss the Son be humble yield to all Gods Commands take home all Truths and be at Gods disposing Let all the evil that is threatned and all the good that is offered prevail with your hearts or if means cannot yet the Lord prevail with you the Lord empty you that Christ may fill you the Lord humble you that you may enjoy happiness and peace and be lifted up to the highest pinacle of Glory there to raign for ever and ever CHAP. V. The Call on Gods part for the Soul to close with and to relye on Christ HItherto of our first general to wit The Preparation of the Soul for Christ The next is The Implantation of the Soul into Christ and that hath two parts 1. The putting of the Soul into Christ 2. The growing of the Soul with Christ As a graft is first put into the stock and then it grows together with the stock These two things are answerable in the Soul and when it is brought into this then a sinner comes to be partaker of all spiritual benefits The first part is The putting in of the Soul when the Soul is brought out of the world of sin to lie upon and to close with the Lord Jesus Christ and this hath two particular passages The Call on Gods part The Answer on mans part The Call on Gods part is this When the Lord by the Call of his Gospel and work of his Spirit doth so clearly reveal the fulness of Mercy that the Soul humbled returns Answer In which observe the Means Cause whereby God doth Call 1. The Means is onely the Ministery of the Gospel the sum whereof is this That There is fulness of Mercy and Grace and Salvation brought unto us through the Lord Jesus Christ Hence the phrase of Scripture calls this Gospel or this mercy A treasury All the treasures of wisdom and holiness are in Christ not One treasure but All treasures not Some treasures but All treasures where the Gospel comes there is joy for the sorrowful peace for the troubled strength for the weak relief seasonable and suitable to all wants miseries and necessities both present and future If then sorrow assail thee when thou art come thus far look not on thy sins to pore upon them neither look into thy own sufficiency to procure any good there It is true thou must see thy sins and sorrow for them but this is for the lower Form and thou must get this lesson before-hand and when thou hast gotten this lesson of Contrition and Humiliation look then onely to Gods Mercy and the riches of his Grace in Christ 2. For the Cause The Lord doth not onely appoint the Means but by the work of the Spirit he doth bring all the riches of his grace into the soul truly humbled if you ask How First with strength of evidence the Spirit presents to the broken-hearted sinner the right of the freeness of Gods grace to the soul And secondly the Spirit doth forcibly soak in the rellish of that grace and by an over-piercing work doth leave some dint of supernatural and spiritual vertue on the heart Now the word of the Gospel and the work of the Spirit always go together not that God is tyed to any means but that he tyeth himself to the means Hence the Gospel is called The power of God to Salvation because the power of God ordinarily and in common course appears therein The waters of life and salvation run onely in the channel of the Gospel there are golden mines of grace but they are onely to be found in the Climates of the Gospel nay observe this when all arguments prevail not with corruption to perswade the heart to go to God one Text of Scripture will stand a man in stead above all humane learning and inventions because the Spirit goes forth in this and none else This may teach us the worth of the Gospel above all other things in the world for it is accompanied with the Spirit and brings salvation with it What if a man had all the wealth and policy in the world and wanted this he were a fool What if one were able to dive deep into
the Lord Jesus Christ now the Church leans her self all upon her Husband she walked along with him but he bare all the burthen Cast all your care upon him saith Peter for he careth for you 1 Pet. 5. 7. the Original is Hurl your care upon the Lord The Lord will not thank you for carrying your cares and troubles about you he requires that you Hurl them upon him for he careth for you Fourthly it draws vertue and derives power from the Lord Jesus Christ for succor and supplies and here is the especial life of Faith it goes for mercy and grace and comfort in Christ he knows 't is to be had from him and therefore he fetcheth all from him With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation Isa. 12. 3. The fountain of Salvation is Christ and all the waters of life of grace and mercy are in Christ Jesus Now it is not enough to let down the bucket into the well but it must be drawn out also it is not enough to come to Christ but we must draw the water of grace from Christ to our selves They shall suck and be satisfied saith Isaiah with the breasts of her consolations that they may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory The Church is compared to a childe and the breasts are the Promises of the Gospel now the Elect must suck out and be satisfied with it the word in the Original is Exact upon the Promise and oppress the Promise as the Oppressor grindes the face of a poor man so with an holy kinde of oppression you should exact from the Promise and get what good you may from it Fifthly Faith leaves the soul with the Promise yea notwithstanding all delays denyals discouragements from God faith brings on the heart still it will be sure to lie at the gate and keep the soul with the promise whatever befalls it Excellent is that passage Gen. 32. 26. when the Lord and Jacob were wrestling Let me go saith the Lord I will leave thee to thy self I care not what becomes of thee No I will not let thee go until thou hast blessed me saith Jacob So the faithful soul lays hold upon the Lord for Mercy Pardon Power and Grace and though the Lord seem to give him up to the torment of Sin and Corruption yet the soul saith Though my soul go down to hell I will hold here for Mercy till the Lord comfort and pardon and subdue graciously these cursed corruptions which I am not able to master my self As it is with a Sun-dyal the needle is ever moving and a man may jog it this way and that way yet it will never stand still till it come to the North-point So when the Lord leaves off a believing heart with frowns and with the expression of displeasure and the soul turns to the Lord Christ and will never leave till it go God-ward and Christ-ward and Graceward and saith Let the Lord do what he please I will go no further till he be pleased to shew Mercy Thus the soul once come to Christ it will never away but ever cleaves to the Promise and is towards God and Christ whatsoever befalls it But poor soul art thou yet shut up in Unbelief do then as the Prisoners in New-gate what lamentable cryes do they utter to every Passenger by So do thou look out from the gates of Hell and from under the bars of Infidelity and cry that God would look on thee in mercy and say Spare Lord a poor unbelieving wretch lockt up under the bars of Vnbelief good Lord succor and deliver in thy due time David could say Let the sighing of prisoners come up before thee that indeed was meant of bodily imprisonment yet the argument prevails much in regard of the Spiritual Good Lord let the sighing of prisoners come up before thee let the sighing of poor distrustful souls come up before thy Majesty O send help from heaven and deliver the soul of thy servant from these wretched distempers of heart Is there no cause thus to pray He that believeth not saith our Savior is condemned already He is cast in heaven and earth by the Law and Gospel there is no relief for him abiding in this condition lay this under thy pillow and say How can I sleep and be a condemned man What if God should take away my life this night Alas I never knew what it was to be illightned or wounded for sin I can commit sin and play with sin but I never knew what it was to be wounded for sin I never knew what it was to be zealous in a good cause O I confess I have no faith at all Beloved would you yield this then were there some hopes that you might get out of this condition and state to have a sense of its want to go to the Lord by prayer and to ask hearty counsel of some faithful Minister are the first steps to obtain it And to help a poor wretch in this case O you that are gracious go your ways home and pray for him Brethren let us leave preaching and hearing and all of us fall to praying and mourning In truth I condemn my own soul because I have not an heart to mourn for him we reprove his sin and condemn him of his sin and we must do so but where are the heart-blood petitions that we put up for such a one Where are the tears that we make for the slain of our people You tender-hearted Mothers and you tender-hearted Wives if your children or husbands be in this woful case O mourn for them let your hearts break over them and say O wo is me for my children O wo is me for that poor husband of mine Or secondly hast thou gotten faith then labor to husband this grace well and to improve it for thy best good It is a marvellous shame to see those that are born to fair means I mean the poor Saints of God that have a Right and Title to Grace and Christ and yet to live at such an under-rate I would have you to live above the world for the Lord doth not grudge his people of comfort but would have them live chearfully and have strong consolations and mighty assurance of Gods love Is there not cause why faith if it be right will make the life of a Christian most easie most comfortable Unfaithful souls sink in their sorrows upon every occasion but faith gives ease to a man in all his conversation 1. Because faith hath a skill and a kinde of flight to put over all cares to another We take up the Cross but faith hurls all the care on Christ an easie matter it is to lie under the burthen when another bears all the weight of it Look how it is with two Ferry-men the one hales his Boat about the shore and cannot get off but tugs and pulls and never puts her forth to