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
A01703	A fruitful sermon preached at Occham in the county of Rutland, the second of Nouember, 1583 by Thomas Gybson.	Gybson, Thomas, fl. 1583.	1584 (1584)	STC 11840.5; ESTC S2130	26,976	78

❧ A FRVITful Sermon preached at Occham in the County of Rutland the Second of Nouember 1583. By Thomas Gybson PROVERB 29.8 ¶ VVhere there is no Vision the people decay GOD IS MY DEFENDER GOD IS MY DEFENDER 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 Counsell Knight of the Noble order of the Garter VVith the Right Honourarable Syr VVALTER MILDEMAY Knight Chancelour of the Queenes Maiesties Court of Exchequer and one of her Highnes most honourable priuy Counsell Grace Mercy and peace be multiplied from God our Heauenly Father from our Lord Sauiour Iesus Christe THE blessed holy 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 many erroures began to be spreade and allowed and therefore in great Wisdom it pleased the holy Ghost not onely to write a faithfull sure and perfect story but also to offer and present the custodie and defence of the same to one of Religion and Povver The verye same cause partly hath mooued me at this time to bee so bolde as to offer and Dedicate this poore and simple testimony of my trauaile to your Honoures For although I doe confesse vvee liue vnder a Gracious Prince whome the Lorde long continue to his glory 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 gracious a time vnder the flowrishing state of the Gospell yet truely the dearest Children of God and the sincerity of Religion is subiect to bitter Persecution These wordes at the first may seeme verye greeuous hard and haynous and yet they are most certaine and true The holy Apostle S. Paul writing to the Galatians 4.29 speaketh on this maner As he that was borne after the Flesh persecuted him that was borne after the Spirite euen so is it nowe hee speaketh of Ismael and Isaac and yet we do not reade in the scripture of any persecution betweene them neither did Ismael persecute his Brother Isaac with hande or sworde but that which is worse proudly arrogantly he raised him selfe against him mocking him and as it were treading vnder feete the promise of God And this dealing by the apostle is cálled a persecution in deede there is not any persecution more greeuous to the Children of God then this Nowe who doth not dayly see that the best Christians and the purenes of Religion are greatly persecuted by Papists Atheists and Hipocrites as Isaac was by his Brother Ismael And of all matters of religion I thinke there is scarse any 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 with a common ordinarye profession to heare Mattins and Euensong and sometimes a Sermon by such men as they like of but that there should be any continuall course of the pure preaching of the worde of God they can in no case allowe or like of This I say is hated reiected and persecuted so farre as may be 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 tried Friends and Fauorers of God his trueth But yet this attempt may seem very raish and needles For who am I that I should take vppon mee to set foorth and to publish any thing The vnworthiest I confesse of many hundreths and the vnablest of manye 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 any mā iust cause to accuse mee in this my simple enterprise I know these be daies of knowledge learning there bee greate store 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 pore widow cast into the treasury amongest the great giftes of the wealthy are not to be refused I know your Honours be daily 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 self sufficient trial experience of your honors most curteous humble fauorable dealing towards me and also of some liking of my simple my 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 necessity 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 abroad Let not therefore hypocrites bee too rash 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 acquayntance of your honourable courtesies and friendlye 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 moste bound and indebted to your Honours And here I offer this poore fruite of my trauaile as some Testimony of good will and thankfulnes And whereas wee are wont commonly to offer and present to our dearest Friendes some giftes as tokens of good will or else of special duety Amongst many great and precious presentes vvhich 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 and the word of God then to heare of the necessity profite and excellency of preaching which things are set foorth plainly largely in this little Sermon For howsoeuer many mē hate and abhorre this matter and can in no case disgest it yet your honours zeale courage liking goodwill and countenaunce to this and other good causes is cōmonly known and spreade 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

iudgement are able to saie nothing to any purpose but yet let it bee so that some can doe this they can teach as they saie in some measure their an Catechise and ay the groundes of Religion yet this will not serue the turne there must bee building after the foundation there must be a leading forward to perfection The Lord in building the material 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 chiefly haue some gathered offence and grief because I haue said in this place before and also other where that suche Ministers haue no right to administer the Sacramentes This seemeth a straunge and hard doctrine yea some are not ashamed to count it erronious and hereticall if I would stande vpō the authoritie of men I could alledge for the confirmation of the very wordes whiche I haue spoken the iudgement of those which by common consent of all true Christians are receiued and allowed as the best most learned and most pure Diuines that euer were since the time of the Apostles but this I hope shal not neede for if of necessitie euery Minister ought to preache or if all the former argumentes wil serue to proue this then also that other doctrine how straunge and obsurde soeuer some count it I must I saie needes necessarily and consequently followe none ought of right to deale with the Lordes Sacramentes but his Ministers Christ requireth of him that Baptiseth that he teach saiing Go teach and Baptise No Teacher no Baptiser that which God hath ioyned together let no man put asunder Sainct Paule speaking of the Lordes Supper As often saieth he as ye shall eate this breade and drinke this cupp ye shew the Lordes death till he come If the people at the receiuing of the Sacrament ought to haue an effectuall and thankfull remembraunce of the death of Christ it must needes follow that the Minister is bound sufficiently to instruct them in the same If any will say that this done by the dumbe Minister in reading the wordes 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 doe but saie their beleefe openly before the Congregation but we speake of a singular of an effectuall of an excellent and liuely shewing of his death which is by preaching The Apostle speaking to the Galatians saieth That Iesus Christ was described in their sight and among them crucified His meaning is that Christe was so liuely preached to them as his liuely Image was set before their eyes or els had been crucified amongst them This is the power of preaching this is the duetie of the Minister plainly and effectually to discribe and set forth the merite of Christ his Passion so that it maie bee seen 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 no dou●t the Lorde would leaue to his Churche an example and patterne and a forme of the right ministration of the Sacramentes Christ although there were sundrie causes why he would not Baptise yet he ministred the Supper to his Apostles but Christ was a Preacher yea he preached then of his death before that first ministration and institution of that Sacrament leauing vs an example to doe the like The Apostles ministred the Sacramentes but they all preached yea the Euangelist Luke in the storie of the Actes 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 worthie to bee followed Consider further I beseeche you the greate inconueniences which followe in these places where the worde is not preached the people are still in ignorance and blindnesse and kept still in their olde and Popishe errors receiued from their forefathers they know not the vse of the Sacramentes or to what ende they serue they holde still their Papisticall transubstantiation some saie they receiue their maker other saie they neuer heard what a Sacrament meant some saie they doe it in a good intent and yet they knowe not their owne intent other say thei hope that they receiue it as others doe fewe make any conscience with knowledge feare and reuerence to prepare themselues The greatest cause of this is lack of Preaching and in deede how can their greate ignoraunce be taken awaie how can their olde supersticious errors bee effectually confuted but by the continuall and pure preaching of the worde And is it not then most fitt and conuenient when the Sacrament is to be ministred but we are so farre from hauing any vsuall preaching before the Sacrament that be many thousandes whiche neuer heard any preaching at al of the Sacramentes in al their life they haue liued these 25. yeares in a Christian land vnder the Gospel and yet they haue profited no further and if they should liue still dubble and triple the same yeares they should bee neuer a whit 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 parte of my Text if there depende a woe ouer the Minister if he preache not the same woe is also against the people if they heare not and obey not the worde preached Woe Chorazin woe Bethsaida woe Capernaum wo to these Countries Citties Townes and People which neglect and contemne the word preached it shall be easier for the lande of Sodome and Gomorrha in the daie of Iudgement then for suche a people The same God the same worde whiche requireth preaching of the Minister requireth also hearing and obedience of the people He that is of God heareth Gods word and therefore doe ye not heare it because ye are not of GOD. My Sheepe saieth Christ heare my voyce And to the true Minister it is said He that heareth you heareth me and he that dispiseth you dispiseth me and he that dispiseth me dispiseth him that sent me And againe Verely verely I saie vnto you if I send any he that receiueth him receiueth me Wherefore we ought diligently to giue heede to the things which we haue heard least at any time we should let them slippe For if the worde spoken by Angels was stedfast and euery transgression and disobedience receiued a iust recompence of rewarde how shall we escape if we neglect so greate sa●●…ation 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 thereto both with signes and wonders and with diuers miracles and giftes of the holy Ghost according to his owne will Woe then vnto all Papistes Infidells Atheistes Hypocrites ignorant and carnall men for