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	think_v	4,338	5	3.9369	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01701	A fruitful sermon preached at Occham, in the countie of Rutland, the second of Nouember. 1583. By Thomas Gybson.	Gibson, Thomas, M.A.	1584 (1584)	STC 11839; ESTC S112170	27,150	83

❧ A FRVITful sermon preached at Occham in the Countie of Rutland the second of Nouember 1583. By Thomas Gybson PROVERB 29. 8. ¶ VVhere there is no Vision the people decay GOD IS MY HELPER AT LONDON Printed by Robert Walde-graue dwelling without Temple-Barre 1584. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE Lorde FRAVNCES Earle of BEDFORD and one of her Maiesties most honourable priuy Councell Knight of the Noble order of the Garter VVith the right honorable Sir VVALTER MILDMAY knight Chancellour of the Queenes Maiesties Court of Exchequer and one of her highnesse most honourable priuy Counsell Grace Mercy and peace be multiplied from God our heauenly father and from our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christe THE blessed holye Euangelist Saint Luke Right Honorable penning and publishing the Heauenlye story and blessed Gospell of Iesus Christ doth also dedicate the same to one Theophilus a Noble and famous man of singular credit and authority The reason and cause that mooued him thereto is because in those times the purenesse of the Gospell was hindred and persecuted whereby manye erroures began to be spreade and allowed and therefore in great Wisdom it pleased the holy Ghost not onely to wryte a faithfull sure and perfect storye but also to offer and present the custodye and defence of the same to one of Religion and povver The verye same cause partly hath mooued mee at this time to be so bolde as to offer and Dedicate this poore and simple testimonie of my trauaile to your Honours For although I doe confesse vve lyue vnder a Gracious Prince whome the Lorde long continue to his glorye to the shame and confusion of his enemies and to the dayly profit of his Church although I say we liue in so peaceable happy and gratious a time vnder the florishing state of the Gospell yet truely the dearest Children of God and the sinceritie of religion is subiect to bitter persecution These wordes at the first maye seeme very greeuous hard and haynous and yet they are most certaine true The holy Apostle S. Paule writing to the Galatians 4 29. speaketh on this maner As he that was borne after the fleshe persecuted him that was borne after the spirite euen so is it now he speaketh of Ismaell and Isaac and yet we doe not reade in the scripture of any persecution betweene them neither did Ismael persecute his brother Isaac with hande or swoorde but that which is worse proudly arrogantly he raised himselfe againste him mocking him and as it were treading vnder feete the promise of God And this dealing by the Apostle is called a persecution in deede there is not any persecution more greeuous to the Children of God then this Now who doth not dayly see that the best Christians and the purenesse of religion are greatly persecuted by Papistes Atheistes and Hipocrites as Isaac was by his Brother Ismaell And of all matters of religion I thinke there is scarce anye in these dayes more generally hated of such kind of men then that which is most altogether almost only hand led in this simple Sermō For these such like men many of them can bee content vvith a common ordinarye profession to heare Mattins and Euensong and sometimes a Sermon by such men as they like off but that there should be any continuall course of the pure preaching of the worde of God they can in no wise allowe or like of This I say is hated reiected and persecuted so farre as may bee of the greater sorte and therefore not without cause haue I attēpted to dedicate this my labor to your honors as special patrons defendors of the Lords cause and tried Friends and fauorers of God and his truth But yet this attempt may seeme very rash and needles For who am I that I shoulde take vppon mee to set foorth and to publish any thing The vnworthiest I confesse of many hundreths and the vnablest of many thousands and yet seeing many things more simple lesse needefull and profitable are not only suffered but alowed to come abroad I am not altogether discouraged neither hath anye man iuste cause to accuse me in this my simple enterprise I know these be dayes of knowledge learning there be greate stoore of famous and learned diuines in our land whom I beseech the Lorde to blesse that they may assist their weake brethren in the defence of this and such good causes and yet the two mites of the poore widow cast into the tresury amongest the great giftes of the wealthy are not to be refused I know your Honours be dayly hearers of famous and learned men both in your houses and abroad you are acquainted with the sermons of profound deepe diuines and such as are mighty in the scriptures notwithstanding hauing in my selfe sufficient trial experience of your honors most curteous humble fauorable dealing towards me and also of some liking of my simple and poore trauelles in preaching heretofore I am not ashamed or afrayd after such triall and proofe to offer this so small and simple a thing vnto your honours The great necessitye of the matter I deale withall the care of Gods glory the zeal of his house the benefit that his church may haue by it hath especially mooued me that it should be published come abroade Let not therefore hypocrites bee too rashe in iudging the Lorde the searcher of the hearts and reynes knoweth my purpose and affection in preaching and publishing this matter The cause that hath moued me to present it to your Honors rather then to other is the lōg proof and acquaintance of your honourable courtesies and friendly good-will towards me which for my part I am neuer able to requite for the which I thinke my selfe as long as breath is in me most bounde and indebted to your Honours And here I offer this poore fruite of my trauaile as some testimony of goodwill and thankfulnesse And whereas we are wont commonly to offer and present to our dearest friendes some gyftes as tokens of good will or else of speciall duety Amongst many great and prescious presentes which are no doubt giuen and presented to your honours I also offer this simple mite and yet I hope more pleasant and acceptable to the receiuers then thousands of gold or siluer or any earthly thing whatsoeuer And in deede can there be any matter more sweete and pleasaunt to the cheefe Patrons and defenders of the Godly preachers the worde of God then to heare of the necessitie profite and excellencye of preaching which things are set foorth plainely largely in this little sermon For howsoeuer manye men hate abhorre this matter and can in no case disgest it yet your honors zeale c●●rage liking good will and countenance to this and other good causes is comonly known and spread abroad A further reason why I publishe this Sermon is because there is some matter in it for the which I haue beene in the country where I dwel openly

resurrection of eternall iudgement are able to saye nothing to any purpose but yet let it be so that some can doe this they can teach as they say in some measure they can Catechise lay the grounds of Religion yet this will not serue the turn there must be building after the foundation there must be a leading to perfection The Lorde in building the materiall Tabernacle did choose men of singuler wisedome and vnderstanding and will he be content with euery drudge and bungler in the building and erecting of his spirituall Tabernacle But herein cheefly haue some gathered offence and griefe because I haue saide in this place before and also other where that such Ministers haue no righte to administer the Sacraments This seemeth a straunge and hard doctrine yea some are not ashamed to count it erronious and hereticall If I would stand vppon the authority of men I could alleadge for the cōfirmation of the very wordes which I haue spoken the iudgment of those which by common consent of all true Christians are receiued and allowed as the best moste learned and moste pure diuines that euer were since the time of the Apostles but this I hope shall not neede For if of necessitie euerie minister ought to preache or if all the former arguments will serue to prooue this then also that other doctrine how strange and absurd soeuer some count it must I say needes necessarily and consequētly follow that none ought of right to deal with the Lords sacraments but his Ministers Christe requireth of him that baptiseth that he teach saying Goe teache and Baptise No Teacher no Baptiser that which God hath ioyned together let no man put asunder Sainte Paule speaking of the Lords Supper As often saith hee as you shall eate this bread and drinke this Cup ye shewe the Lordes death till he come If the people at the receiuing of the Sacramente ought to haue an effectual and thankfull remembraunce of the death of Christe it must needes followe that the Minister is bounde sufficiently to instruct them in the same If any wil say that this is donne by the dumbe minister in reading the words of the institution he preacheth he sheweth and publisheth Iesus Christ crucified so may I say that he or any other doth the same and that more effectually if they do but say their beliefe openly before the congregation but we speake of a singular of an effectual of an excellent and liuely shewing of his death which is by preaching The Apostle speaking to the Galatians saith I hat Iesus Christ was described in their sight and among them crucified His meaning is that Christ was so liuely preched to them as his liuely Image was set before their eyes or els had bin crucified amongst them This is the power of preching this is the duetye of the minister plainely and effectuallye to discribe and set soorth the merite of Christ his passion so that it may be seene as it were before the eyes The first Minister of Baptisme Iohn the Baptist was a preacher he ioyned Preaching and Baptisme together and in him no doubt the Lord would leaue to his Church an exāple and pattern and a forme of the right ministration of the Sacramentes Christe although there were sundry causes why he woulde not Baptise yet hee ministred the Supper to his Apostles but Christ was a preacher yea he preached then of his death before the first ministration and institution of that sacrament leauing vs an example to doe the like The Apostles ministred the Sacraments but they all preached yea the Euangelist Luke in the storye of the Acts setteth Preaching alwaies before the ministration of the Sacramentes Iohn the Baptist Christ the Apostles and Primatiue Church are the best examples that I knowe and best worthy to be followed Consider further I beseech you the great inconueniences which followe in these places where the word is not preached the people are still in ignoraunce and blindenesse and kept stil in their olde and Popish errours receiued from their forefathers they know not the vse of the sacraments or to what ende they serue they holde still their Papisticall transubstantiation some say they receiue their maker other saye they neuer hearde what a Sacrament meant some say they doe it in a good intent and yet they knowe not their owne intent other say they hope that they receiue it as others doe fewe make anye conscience with knowledge feare and reuerence to prepare them selues The greatest cause of this is lack of preaching and in deed how can their great ignoraunce be taken away how can their olde superstitious errours be effectually confuted but by the continuall and pure preaching of the word And is it not then most fit and conuenient when the sacrament is to bee ministred but we are so farre from hauing any vsuall preaching before the Sacrament that ther be many thousands which neuer heard any preaching at all of the Sacramentes in all their life they haue liued these 25. yeares in a Christian lande vnder the Gospell yet they haue profited no further and if they shoulde liue still double and triple the same yeares they shold be neuer a whitte the better except they had better ministers Woe be to me if I preach not the Gospell Learne one thing further before I goe to the next part of my Text if there depend a woe ouer the minister if he preach not the same woe is also against the people if they heare not and obey not the word preached Woe Chorazin woe Bethsaida woe Capernaum woe to these Countries Cities Townes and people which neglect and contemne the worde preached it shall be easier for the land of Sodome and Gomorrha in the day of iudgement then for such a people The same God the same worde which requyreth preaching of the minister requyreth also hearing and obedience of the people He that is of God heareth Gods worde and therefore doe yee not heare it because yee are not of God My sheepe sayth Christ heare my voyce And to the true minister it is sayd He that heareth you heareth me he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me And againe Verily verily I say vnto you if I send any he that receiueth him receiueth mee Wherefore we ought diligently to giue heed to the things which we haue heard least at any time we should let them slip For if the word spoken by Aungels was stedfast and euery transgression disobedience receiued a iust recompence of rewarde how shall we escape if we neglect so great satuation which at the first began to be preached by the Lord and afterward was confirmed vnto vs by them that heard him God bearing witnesse therto both with signes and wonders and with diuers miracles gifts of the holy ghost according to his own will Wo then vnto all Papistes Infidels Atheistes Hipocrites