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	time_n	5,928	5	3.4202	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57837	The speech of that worthy Knight, Sir Beniamin Rudierd, spoken in Parliament concerning the placing of good and able divines in parishes miserably destitute of instruction, through want of maintenance, and confirmed by the testimonies of three judicious, and learned men.	Rudyerd, Benjamin, Sir, 1572-1658.	1641 (1641)	Wing R2198; ESTC R12030	9,029	9

of thine house hath eaten me up saith thus In England since the Gospell hath been received the maintenance of learning hath been decayed and the lack of learning will be the decay of the Gospell Loth I am to speak yet the cause so requireth that it is needfull to be spoken I trust I shall speake in the hearing of them that will consider it Maintenance of learning whereby an able and sufficient Ministry may grow and be established in all the Churches of this Realme is to be wished for The good estate of this noble Kingdome the comfort of posteritie the stay of Religion the continuing of the Gospell the removing of darkenesse hangeth upon it One asked sometimes how it was that in Athens so good and great a Citie there were no Physitians to whom this answe● was made because there are no rewards appointed for them that practise Physick The same answer may be made for our times the cause why the Church of God is so forsaken is the want of zeale in them that should either for their courtesie or for their ability be fosterers of learning and encrease the Livings where occasion is and give hope and comfort to learned men Which said I encrease nay the Livings and provisions which heretofore were given or taken away Have patience if any such be here as I well know there are whom these things touch Suffer me to speake the truth it is Gods cause the Livings of such as are in the Ministery are not in their hands to whom they are due All other labourers and arti●icers have their hire encreased double as much as it was wont to be onely the poore man that laboureth and sweateth in the vineyard of the Lord of hostes hath his hire abridged and abated I spake not of the Curates but of the Personag●● Vicarages that is of the places which are the Castles and Towers of fence for the Lords Temple They seldome passe now adayes from the Patron if he be no better than a gentleman but either for the lease or for present money Such Merchants are broken into the Church of God a great deale more intollerable then were they whom Christ whipped and chased out of the Temple Thus they that should be carefull for Gods Church that should be Patrons to provide for the consciences of the people and to place among them a learned Minister who might be able to preach the Word unto them out of season and in season and to fulfill his ministery seeke their owne and not which is Jesus Christs They serve not Jesus Christ but their belly And this is done not in one place or in one countrey but throughout England A Gentleman cannot keepe his house unlesse he have a Personage or two in farme for his provision O mercifull God! whereto will this grow at last● if the misery which this plague worketh would reach but to one age it were the more tolerable but it will be a plag●e to the posterity it will be the decay and desolation of Gods Church young men which are toward and learned see this they see that he which feedeth the flock hath least part of the milke he which goeth a warfare hath not halfe his wages therefore they are weary and discouraged they change their studies some become prentises some turne to physick some to law all shun and fly the Ministery And besides the hinderance that thus groweth by the wicked dealing of patrons by reason of the Impropriations the vicarages in many places and in the properest market towns are so simple that no man can live upon them and therefore no man will take them ●they were went to say Ben●ficia sine cura benefices without charge but now may be said Cura●ine benefici● charge or care without ben●fit But there be many which can say such as ●e Ministers in the Church should teach freely without hope of recompence or hire for their labour our Preachers are no better then Peter and Paul and the other Apostles They are no better than the ●●ly Prophets who li●ed po●●ely poverty is a commendable state So say some 〈◊〉 like devotion as did Iudas What needeth this waste this might have beene sold 〈◊〉 much and given to the poore not that he cared for the poore but because he was a ●●eefe and had the bagge and bare that which was given I dobut not there are many ●hich teach Christ for Christs sake which say in their soule the Lord is my por●●on vvho seeke you and not yours I doubt not there are such But for the hope of posteritie I report me to all you which are Fathers and ●●ve children for whom you are carefull although your selves have a zeale ●●d care for the house of God yet will you breed them up keepe them at ●choole and at the Universitie untill 30. or 40. yeares old to your great char●●s to the end they may live in glorious povertie that they may live poorely ●nd naked like the Prophets and Apostles Our posterities shall 〈◊〉 that ever ●●ch Fathers went before them and Chronicles shall report this contempt of lear●ing among the punishments and murraines and other plagues of God they hal● leave it written in what time and under whose raigne this was done In the meane time what may be guessed of their meaning who thus ruine and ●olle the house of God which decay the provision thereof and so basely esteeme the Ministers of his Gospell they cannot say to God the zeale of thine house ●ath eaten me up however in other things they doe well however they seeme to ●ejoyce at the prosperity of Sion and to seeke the safety and preservation of the ●ords anointed yet needs must it be that by these meanes forrain power of wch●his Realme by the mercy of God is happily delivered shall againe be brought ●n upon us Such things shall be done unto us as we before suffered in the times of Popery the truth of God shall be taken away the holy Scriptures burnt and consumed in fire a marveilous darkenesse and calamity must needs ensue c. The oxe that treadeth out the corn is musled he that goeth to warfare receiveth not his wages the cry hereof goeth up into the eares of the Lord of hostes hee will not abide so great contempt of his Word and Preachers his owne name is thereby dishonoured our Saviour saith Luk. 10. He that despiseth you despiseth me and Saint Paul 1 Thess. 4. he that despiseth these things despiseth not man but God and thinke we that he will suffer his holy name to be despised nay his wrath is already kindled he hath already begun his judgements and therefore many places are left desolate there is none that can warne them of their sinne none that can move them to repentance none that can preach unto them forgivenesse through Christ none that can instruct them in the comfort of everlasting life For this cause you will live still in your sinnes in adultery in covetousnesse and in

pride without any feeling of conscience without any feare of God thus we provoke God to anger many walke of whom wee cannot thinke but with weeping they are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ the name of God is blasphemed among them c. These words happily seeme sharpe over vehement but the darkenes of our hearts against God and the lacke of zeale for his house inforce me to them we are almost fallen into the lowest pit we are left without zeale as sencelesse men and as if we had cleane forgotten our selves as the Heathens which know not God therefore unlesse we repent the kingdome of God shall be taken away from us he will send upon this land a famine of the Word ●●erusalem shall be overthrown and made an heape of stones the man of sinne and they which have not the love of the truth shall prevaile with many and w●●●draw them from obedience to the Prince this noble Realme shall be subject 〈◊〉 forraine nations all this will the zeale of the Lord of hostes bring to passe I could have spent this time in opening of some other matter but nothing 〈◊〉 my judgement is more worthy your good consideration speedy redresse ●● Wherefore he concludes with a grave exhortation to her Majestie as followe●●● O that Your Grace did behold the miserable disorder of Gods Church or th●● you might foresee the calamities that will follow It is a part of your kingdom● and such a part as is the principall prop and stay of the rest I will say to yo●● Majestie as Cyrillus sometimes said to the godly Emperours Theodosius and V●●lentinian ab ea quae erga Deum est pietate Reipub vestrae status pendet The good stat● welfare of your common-weale hangeth upon true godlinesse you are our governour you are the nurse of Gods Church We may open this griefe befor● you God knoweth if it may be redressed it is runne so farre But if it may be redressed there is no other besides your highnesse that can redresse it I hope 〈◊〉 speake truely that which I spake without flattery that God hath indued you● Grace with such measure of learning and knowledge as no other Christia● Prince He hath given you peace happinesse the love and the hearts of you● Subjects Oh turne and employ these to the glory of God that God may confirme in your Grace the thing vvhich he hath begun To this end hath God placed Kings and Princes in their State as David saith that they serve the Lord● that they may see cause others to see to the furniture of the Church The good Emperour Iustinian cared for this as much as for his life Constantine Theodosius● and Valentinian and other godly Princes called themselves vassales the subject● and bond-servants of God They remembred that God furnished them in th●● houses and were not unmindfull to furnish his house When Augustus had beautified Rome with setting up many faire buildings● he said inveni lateritiam manmoream reliqui I found it made of brick but I leav● it made of marble Your Grace when God sent you to your inheritance and the right of this Realme found the Church in horrible confusion and in respect of the true worship of God a Church of bricke or rathe● as Ezekiel saith dawbed● up with untempered morter Your Grace hath already redressed the doctrine now cast your eyes towards the Ministery give courage and countenance unto learning that Gods house may be served So shall you leave a Church of God and a testimony that the zeale of the Lords house hath eaten you up Let us have care for the house of God whosoever is not after this sort zealous is a man of a double heart we may not halt betweene two opinions If the Lord bee God follow him but if Baal bee hee then goe after him Hee that is not with Christ is against him Many talke of the Gospell and glory in their knowledge but it is neither talke nor knowledge which shall save them in that day he that feareth the Lord and serveth him with a pure heart and may truely say the zeale of thine house hath consumed me he shall be saved if they shall no escape which have zeale without knowledge what shall become of us which have knowledge without zeale And you whosoever you are that have decayed the Lords house and abridged the provision and maintenance thereof and see the miserable wracke of God● 〈…〉 any zeale of God in you if you have any fellowship of the ●pirit if any compassion and mercy if you love God if you desire the conti●uance of the Gospell Oh remember you have the patrimony due to them that ●●ould attend in the Lords house you take unto your selves wrongfully that ●hich was not lotted for you Give unto Caesar those things that belong unto Caesar ●●d unto God the things which appertaine unto him and make for the beautie and ●rniture of his house Enrich your selves by lawfull meanes and without the ●oile and wast of Gods Church Let not the Ministery by your meanes be de●ised You enriched them heretofore in the dayes of Popery which mocked ●●d blinded and devoured you spoyle not them now that feed and instruct and ●●omfort you That reverend man of God Mr. Perkins in his Sermon of the duties and dig●●ies of the Ministery giveth three reasons of the rarenesse and scarcenesse of ●ood Ministers The first is the contempt and disgrace of their calling by wick●d and worldly men 2. The difficultie of discharging the duties of their cal●●ng The 3. reason is more pecul●ar to this age of the now Testament namely ●ant of maintenance and preferment for men that labour in this calling Men are flesh ●●d blood and in that respect must be allured and wonne to embrace this voca●●on by some arguments which may perswade flesh and blood the world hath 〈◊〉 all ages beene negligent herein and therefore God in his Law tooke such ●●ict order for the maintenance of the Levites but especially now under the Gospell this calling is unprovided for when it deserves best of all to be rewar●ed certainly it were a worthy Christian policy to propound good preferments 〈◊〉 this calling that thereby men of the worthyest gifts might be wonne with it ●nd the want thereof is the cause why so many young men of speciall parts and ●reatest hope turne to other vocations and especially to the Law wherein at this ●ay the greatest part of the finest wits of our Kingdome are imployed and why but ●ecause they have all the meanes of rise whereas the Ministery for the the most ●art yeeldeth nothing but a plaine way to beggery this is a great blemish in ●ur Church and surely I wish the Papists those children of this world were not wi●er in their kinde in this point then the Church of God the reformation hereof is a worke worth the labour of a Prince and people and speciall care is to be had in