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	great_a	speak_v	2,685	5	4.1963	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84291	An exhortation to catechizing: the long neglect whereof is sadly lamented. And the speedy reviving as earnestly desired. / By the provincial assembly at London. August 30. 1655.	London (England). Provincial Assembly.	1655 (1655)	Wing E3867; Thomason E853_32; ESTC R207472	12,493	23

embracing of them They who have the happinesse to be rightly informed in these sacred Principles readily acknowledge that the choicest treasures of wisdom are curiously wrapt up under the mysterious covert of a seeming foolishnesse and that what appeared but a worthlesse shell secretly incloseth the invaluable Pearle The shell being skilfully opened the Pearle forthwith displaies it self with an orient lustre To open the shell is the Catechists task The more do we wonder and the lesse can we beleeve what hath been somtimes suggested that any of our Brethren of the Ministery should superciliously overlook this Exercise of Catechizing as below the dignity of their station and accordingly put it off as a meaner chare to the parents and governours of private families We heartily rejoyce to hear of any good hands that are pleased to employ themselves in so profitable a service and could earnestly wish that all those to whom the providence of God hath committed the care of young ones would reckon it a chief part of that honourable duty which they owe to their children and servants But withall we professe that those privater preparations should rather be encouragements to the brethren of the Ministery the more chearfully to pursue then dispensations in any wise to omit the necessary exercise of publike Catechizing They who have been taught at home will the better learne in the Church and having first gotten somewhat of their lesson by rote be the more qualified to receive the reason of it They are mistaken who think the Ministers Catechizing is but an examining of the memory it is an informing of the understanding and of all others the most Doctor-like part of his work If there have beene any heretofore who have gravely required the Catechists to aske certaine questions and as solemnely forbidden them to expound the answers we do suppose such injunctions were laid only on some of their Curates of whom their wisdome saw good cause to be jealous how it adventured to allow them to speak without book But certainly Catechizing is a familiar kinde of preaching extempore not to be performed without a clear insight into the greatest depths of Religion and a proportionable gift of ready expression What is there that requires more Theological abilities then a perspicuous explication of those dark mysteries of the righteousnesse of God in charging the sinne of Adam on the whole world and laying the sinne of the whole world on Jesus Christ of the Hypostatical union of two natures in one person of Christ of the communication of all the properties of each nature to the person the limitation of all the attributes of the person to the several natures of the offices which Christ exerciseth in his Church the relations which all the members of the Church have to Christ and one to another of the subserviency of the law to the Gospel of Christs abrogating some parts of the law so as to establish all It had need be a very skilful hand that shall lead lambs both with safety and not without an holy delight through those profound depths wherein so many Elephants have most miserably miscarried The consideration hereof doth little lesse then amaze us when we observe how some of our people in whom be it spoken without offence we never discerned any extraordinary measure of spiritual knowledge beyond the common size of their neighbours attainments do overly reject this exercise of Catechizing and hold it unworthy of such wise ones as themselves to vouchsafe their presence at it We had thought the strongest men among us needed not have disdained to taste some few spoonfuls of milk We are sure that that which they please to slight as but milk costs us more the dressing then any other provisions wherewith they can expect to be entertained The lowest principles of Christianity are the highest mysteries Those are the greatest stones which are laid in the foundation These are they which support all the rest of the building These are they which bear the greatest brunt of opposition What controversies ever troubled the Church of God like those about the corner stone The conclusions of our Religion are for the more part beyond contradiction all the greatest quarrels have been against our principles Witnesse in elder times the heresie of Arius which struck so audaciously at the Deity of Christ that of Macedonius which dealt as full a blow at the Deity of the holy Ghost and in our dayes that of the Socinians who have assayed to knock down at once all the received Articles of the Catholick faith and to set up most of the stigmatized heresies in their room Hereof we have too full evidence in the Racovian Catechisme not long since Englished and more lately enlarged by Master Biddle Such mens publishing their Catechismes for the propagation of their Blasphemies minds us of the true use of Orthodox Catechizing for the suppressing and preventing of them And we seeme to have just cause to conceive the higher thoughts of its usefulnesse to this purpose when we sadly reflect on the many difficulties whereof we have had heretofore too frequent experience and have now as jealous expectations We have all along observed that the better any practise is the worse reception it doth usually finde The general aversnesse of young ones from this exercise of Catechizing is not the least argument of its singular usefulnesse The more unwilling they are to present themselves to be catechised the more reason have we to presse them to it by the greatest violence of perswasion We would not seeme to feare that any of them will have the face to tell us of a tedious longsomenesse whereunto the addition of catechizing will draw out the exercises in the Church For besides that the pleasing variety will sweetly detract from the sense of prolixity we hope they are not to learne that the Lords day would be wholly spent in the Lords service and that every moment of it is more precious then to be idly squandered away in such vaine triflings as wherein too many are wont to mispend it And as for some necessary employments which may chance to be alleaged as exceptions against this exercise it may suffice to say that coming to the Church a litle sooner in the morning will so sufficiently lengthen out the afternoon as that it will conveniently enough afford a competent time for it in the shortest dayes Nor will any of the other services complaine of being wronged in being now and then drawn somewhat closer together for the opening a place to Catechizing considering how exceeding much it is like to deserve of them all For other things we shall all readily give them whatever assurance they can reasonably desire that we will have a tender eye to the slownesse of apprehension in some of them to the slipperinesse of memory in others to the bashfulnesse of most to the reputation of all of them that we shall opportunely prevent their grosser mistakes and candidly palliate their lesser ones That