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	world_n	3,255	5	4.3685	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15576	The best merchandise or, A cleare discovery of the evident difference, and admirable advantage, betweene our traffike with God, for the true treasure; and with men, for temporall commodity VVherein is shevved that our spirituall trading is both free from all the evill, & full of all the good, which is incident to civill commerce; yea, that it overfloweth with divers excellent prerogatives, which the affayres of the earth cannot yeelde. Preached at Middleburgh in Zeelandt, immediately before the remoovall, of the famous fellowship of Merchant Adventurers of England, from thence, vnto Delft, in Hollandt. And now published, and dedicated, to the honour and vse, of that whole society, there, or other where, residing. By Iohn VVing, a true harted wellwiller, to their temporall, and eternall good, with God and men.	Wing, John, of Flushing, Zealand.	1622 (1622)	STC 25843; ESTC S120117	86,198	146

litle kil'd experienced in the same seing that by this admirable vnity it becomes soe exceeding easy What hath the Lord made it but one in all respects and reduced all those infinite and innumerable dutyes into so narrow a roome and compasse and made it soe compleat in excellency and advantage and shall we be ignorant and vnseene in it and noe-body at it Is this one thing our only good by which we are blessed for ever and ever and shall we be such sotts and jdiots as not to vnderstand our owne good therin Shall either Satan foe sednee vs or the world soe be witch vs as that we should neglect this one God from whome we have all good and soe give him cause at his great and dreadfull day to vpbrayd vs before his owne face to our confusion that in a world of variety and multiplicity of base earthy corruptible and temporary trash whole worldes whereof could never bring vs any true good we were soe wel instructed and experienced that we could both say and doe much and that to this our best and most blessed busines wherein the Lord gayne's infinite glory by vs we gayne infinite comfort by him we should be such strangers as to have no skill in it or accquaintaince with it which might either enable our selves or by vs encourage others to bend their best endeavours toward the same What flesh can stand vnder this accusation in the fearfull presence of the living God who can answer it vnto him surely none and if we let it alone till that day there is but one way for vs and that is this that those who are then convinced of it must be sure to be eternally condemned for it Let vs then deare Christians confider seasonably and seriously of it even while it is day and we may worke before that blacknes of darknes come wherin none can worke that we may while we have time honour him who el's if we overpasse our opportunity will honour himself in our woe beyond all time Let vs not thinke it a small kindnes that all our comforts are soe closely folded together in this one particuler What may we jmagine thinke yee was David reason to chuse the last of the three miserable and heavy punishments that were propounded vnto him It was indeede a wonderfull and a wofull straight he was put vnto the choyse was hard betweene famine sword and pestilence the three lashes of Gods whip with one of those he must smart and seing all three cannot be avoyded but one must be endured he resolves vpon the pestilence to vndergoe that that one of the three he chuses why soe note his reason because in this he should fall into the hands of God not of men this was it in either of the other two he was to have to doe with to wit with God and men too we may jmagine in case of famine how the people of the land would have flowed about him for bread in the sword the enemy would have swarmed about him the people for blood he should have had his hands full had he had to doe with either of these but now in the Pestilence which he did chose doe with none but the Lord alone all his busines lay in one place with one party and in one particuler he had nothing to doe with any man but with the Lord of heaven and none but he in this point and was not this good husbandry to cast and contrive his busines soe neere together Is not this written for our instruction and practise that we should goe and learne to doe likewise and if he did it as the best in case of such calamity and bitternes how much better would it become vs in this particuler of our comfort and advantage to endeavour the same Set we our selves then towards this employment seing it is soe couched to our hands let vs shame and blame ourselves that we are soe weakely seene into it It would be most grosse in our eye and that which we would not put vp or endure at our inferiours hāds that if we should tendering their weaknes and inability vse all our vnderstanding to contract their busines as neerely and narrowly as were possible for their better and easier dispatch of the same and soe summe it vp and abridge it that all they had doe were to goe but to one place to speake with one man and about one thing and if herein they should be soe exceeding carelesse as that we should vpon our enquiry finde this our one and only busines so neglected that it is either ill done or not done how righteously might we repreove yea and punish such insufferable negligence By themselves in this ease may all mē measure the Lord in the other how he will deale with those whose delinquence were so egregious that his wisdome and love should be soe monstrously abused that he entrusting vs but in this one matter we should be found guilty of soe foule neglect before him Either this will breede more diligence in vs Note or bring more damnation to vs. And this is the first peculiar and singuler benefit of this last ranke which this our heavenly merchandise hath and yours hath not that whereas yours requires many things to be done with many persons in many places and cannot be brought into closer bounds this is thus happily abstracted into one place with one party and all that is to be done is to gayne one commodity Now we are to set forward toward a second favour of the same kinde and it is nothing inferiour but much about the former and that is this That he with whome we trade doth GIVE vs ALL we TRADE FOR yea and ALL wee TRADE WITH The Stock we trade with the Merchandise we trade for yea and the Knowledg and vnderstanding that any man hath to vse this stock to attaine that merchandise is all freely given vs of the Lord. He findes vs as it were money to trade with and commodity to trade for and give 's vs vnderstanding to compasse the one with the other that we may prosper in both It is most true yea it is too true that of our selves we have nothing the more shame is it for vs to say it considering how we were once enriched with all fullnes and fittnes vnto this busines and are now miserable naked having no wit to order our trade no stock to drive it no advantage to live by it none of all this growe's in our nature now we are bereft and become barren of every of these and cannot furnish ourselves with one myte of money or one farthings worth of commodity to begin with-all And as true is it also that the Lord who is Lord over all and rich vnto all that he hath endowed vs once againe with all these necessaryes whereby we may recover our selves in Iesus Christ to be once more enriched and evermore more and more encreased in our best estate ooke what is any way

shamed of our affiance in the Lord who neuer fayleth Heb. 13.5 nor forsaketh any one that truly reposeth his trust in him Heb. 10. and therefore would not have vs cast away our confidence which hath great recompence of reward And none could speake this better then they that have tryed it as both David and Paul other of Gods saints have done in like manner shall all saints doe if they can finde occasion to doe soe they shal be sure to have occasion to say soe With men it is good yea be the men never soe good and sufficient to get in debts because their state is mutable their wealth or their will mooveable and it may quickly come to passe that they cannot or will not pay but with the Lord it is good to get him into our debt for the longer it run's the larger shall our reward be if not before yet at the resurrection of the just we shal be sure to have it to the full yea as was noted before infinitely farre beyond all fullnes Againe which is yet more Note and therefore to be more marked of vs his payment shall not rest only in our selues the whole benefit of it shall not be ours alone but it shall extende it self and reach to our posterity also and this is much more then any man will doe at any time but noe more then God will doe at all times having protested his favour respect to a thousād generations of them that loue him tolde vs many a time how well many have fared for their fathers sakes The righteous is mercifull c saith David his seede enjoyeth the blessig and againe Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord c his seede shall be mighty vpon earth the generation of the just shal be blessed It is enough with men and as much as either law or conscience doth require and commaund that a man pay to one if the debt be due to the father and duely discharged the credditor neede not conferre any thing vpon the childe being no way bound to pay one debt to more then one party but God wil be superabondāt in what he doth no mā shal be such a paymaestr as he is for beside the full yea infinite comfort contentment that the father shall receive or hath received the child shall also reape some good thing from God because he was debtor to his father The Lord was never in debted to any one but he payd more then one as the scriptures doe most abundantly testify Againe wheras among men there can be noe possibility of a bad debt to be made but the same must arise either out of the ability or honesty of the debtor that decayeth in either or both we may be the more ceartainly assured that as in this merchandise there is none soe neither can there be any because this God whome we only and wholy trust who is to be blessed for ever cannot fayle in either of these God is the only debtor here he make's himself soe what hart of any man vnlesse of an jufidell 〈◊〉 or pagan can conceit in the Lord a possibility 〈…〉 in power or truth or that he should be any way incident to faile in favour or in faithfullnes Can it enter into the soule of any man or may a thought herof have any place and entertayment with a Christian that he that is abone should bankerupt either by necessity or any other meanes It were a most jmpious prodigious apprehension How should he want ability in whome is all infinit fullnes yea and all full infinitenes also How should he want truth or faithfullnes to keepe touch with vs whose honour it is and ever hath beene to holde with all who ever dealt with him whose testimonyes are very sure yea most sure and never fayling noe not in any one to whome in the least thing he was ever pleased to engage himself Is he not God all sufficient as he tolde Abraham yea he who hath all Gen. 17. alsufficientnesses in him the whole world can witnes this most truly as they are treatures and millions of men more comfortably as they are Christians He never did as many men doe run more in debt then they are worth or have where with to pay his debts are not of any necessity as most mens are but he wil be a debter only to whome he pleaseth and none els and those to whome he is soe shall well see he doth not nor cannot disapoint them For why comsider I pray you most men haue power to make bebts and to get in with many but what man can make money to get out give satisfaction withall if that were also in every mans power who would be arrested jmprisoned discreddited and troubled for non-payment he were a man worthy of noe pitty but of all extreamity that having a myne a mynt woulde yet lye by it for debt why the Lord our God he hath all this he hath as much power to get out of debt as pleasure to get in rather then any shall faile he can create new comforts and mynt new mercyes if the fullnes of those already being should faile it is easy with him to make as many worlds as there are creatures in the world that is made no no the Lord hath tyed himself by such an jndissoluble band that there can be no cause nay no colour of suspicion of any feare hereof saying Once haue I sworwe that I will not fayle The heavens must want their fullnes Psa 89.35 the earth the ayre the sea their abundance all worlds must be emptyed e're the least of those that rely vpon him shall goe away disappointed He hath speken Ps 132.11 will not depart from it saith David he never went from his word yet all his words are faithfull and true for he is amen the true faithfull witnes he is God who cannot lye as we have heard enough before his word being most true himself more even truth it self what place is left for any probability of doubtfullnecistrust or feare in our harts Now then seing all ill debts come some of these wayes and none of these are any way incident to the Lord they that trade here may well and truly say even out of happy experience that this merchandise is in this respect farre better then the merchādise of Golde or siluer because here is no occasion of discomfort to any credditor in any debt be hath made but t●●● same is good and currant he is sure to have it with wonderfull advantage benefit God is capable of no necessity nor culpable of any fraudulency he cannot over-trade himself or be overseene in any thing he dealeth with vs for how then should any thing be vnsure Who here among men that mourneth not to see the is tlamentable catalogues that come dayly both of bad debts and debtors I say of both for every bad debt doth not argue a bad debtor the Lord

away take thy whole loade with thee and cast all thy burden vpon him he hath promised to ease and lighten thee thou shalt neither be rejected nor vpbrayded for bringing soe much No man is truly miserable but he only hath soe much as he cannot bring it he who hath a hart so sinfull that it will not suffer him to goe to the Lord Jesus to be vnladen of his transgressions his case is heavy his state is hellish and lamentable If once a mans sin be growne to that desperate power and measure that it will overule his foule that it shall not goe to seeke meanes of freedome and release from the bondage thereof he is in wofull taking for why the Divell who is soe predominant in him as to keepe him from comming to Christ doth keepe such a sinner whome he can soe witholde for himself and by making him incapable of the purchase of Christ it is apparant he purposeth to make prey of him for himself But he that can come let him come he shall returne vnladen of all his evills and carry sheanes for his weedes even all good for all his evill with him And is not this a singuler benefit of this trade aboue yours that wheras you must bring commodityes to fell we may sell our jmpietyes and whereas you often receive bad for good we are sure to ever receive good yea the best for our bad 3. As you can neither sell when you will Advantage 3 nor what you will soe neither is it in your power to sell to whome you will You must take and sometimes trust too such as come it is noe way possible for the merchant-seller to please himself and make choyse of every merchantbuyer to have only such as he would have noe sometimes good men come not to buy sometimes they are taken vp by others e're they come to vs and you trade with such now and then as you take no such content in but you could even as willingly they should leave as take your commodity But in the sales of this merchandise we have one who is in constant and perpetuall custome with vs who deale's most currantly in taking of all we bring vpon tearmes of admirable advantage we cannot cloy him with often comming or with too much as oft as we come to fell there is no neede we should feare or care to finde sale for he will have all that we have at all times And that is our good God he and he alone it is who is our buyer we fell to him and to none but him who is God to be blessed for ever who will carry away all that come's and buy all that is brought to him And he that would wish any other to deale with it were pitty but he should keepe to himself that which he might fell to the Lord and by retayning that the sale wherof would soe enrich him sell himself vnder the eternall curse of this God which is denounced as most due to seize vpon all such as will not depart from their jniquityes But most vayne it were to wish for any other customer for our corruption for none but he will take it from vs if he ease vs not of it we must be for ever burdened with it and abide the misery and mischeife of it For why who doe we thinke we can deale with all or who can we thinke will deale with vs in this case for our corruption The Divell will not buy any sin of vs he fell's it to vs and is soe farre from diminishing any we have that he endeavoureth to adde more vnto it and to encrease that we have if we have any good he is ready to rob vs of that or to truck with vs by some satanicall sleight or other that we may be deprived therof but for sin he is the sole founder and Authour thereof all we have come's from him haveing once fastened it vpon vs he will none of it againe vpon any tearmes The world cannot take any evill from vs vnlesse by pollution and that make's it more ours though it become in some sort theirs if we deale with men it is easy to get more but in no wise to lessen that we have already It is the almighty only who is our merchant to him we may goe and be sure of sale for all we can bring no other but he none better then he to deale withall in this merchandise he that knowe's not this is miserably blindefolded of the divell and he that knowing it doth it not is wofully bewitched by him to keepe that within him which will for ever destroy him before that God who would had he vnfaynedly sought it have eased him of all his evill and enriched him with all good in steed thereof 4. You cannot sell for what you will Advantage 4 no man can force a market and make it as his list but must be content to take as the time will affoord Sometimes good proffit sometimes litle it may be none now and then but some losse such is the vnceartainty of your trading All times doe not yeelde advantage But beholde the trade we now treate and talke of is more then a litle better for all the bargaines we make therin are exceeding beneficiall vnto vs and that will be easy to conceive and beleeve if we take notice of two or three things 1. It is impossible we should be absolute loosers and have nothing at all for that we fell And that because we have to doe with him who is the fullnes and infinitnes of all things from whome he being soe it is simply impossible that nothing should come 2. If we had nothing for what we put off and part withall yet could we loose nothing And that because our sin and corruption is lesse and worse then nothing it is a happines to be rid of that which is evill though nothing should come in place therof 3. That which we have for it be it much or litle it cannot but be good And that because it come's from God from whome as nothing cannot come soe nothing but good can come from him he being Goodnes it self And soe all we have is cleare gaine no man that ever dealt with the Lord ever made either a loosing bargaine or but a saving neither of these can be for the causes and considerations aforesayd the least that ever was was great advantage who can thinke it to be otherwise that see 's what he doe's or vnderstand's that he sell's his sin and saue 's his soule And what gayne yea what vnspeakable gayne this is he only can manifest that feeles the happines of it in his owne hart In this particuler then of Sales this trade is evermore a gaynfull trade and it cannot but be soe for if you marke it our text make's merchandising and gayning all one thing and take's it for graunted that if a man trade he gaines without question doe not the words jmply it when they run thus For the merchandise

are vsually beneficiall to you but at some times and those not the most neither inasmuch as you often meete with with many miscarriages the exchang here is all-wayes such as cannot be capable of any danger of damage It lyeth not in the hands of merchants or power of any man to rayse it or pull it downe it is only in the Lord the most able and liberall paymaster that can be to dispose and order it according to the good pleasure and wisdome of his owne will All tymes are proffitable all seasons are gainfull to them that have to doe with him it matters not for the time of the yeare one part is not more quick then another for there is no dead time at all no not a moment in dealing with the living God Neither can one time yeeld too much or another too litle to vary it but it abideth evermore most beneficiall to every one that doth conscienablely wisely bestirre himself in it So that now we see these exchanges doe in all respects excelle yours And thus in all the three particulers of this second ranke this trade is in better case then yours and soe we have made good two parts of the three wherof we spake in our first division soe that it is now without all controversy that both we are free from all the evills yours hath and also doe more abound in good things then yours can doe Whatsoever is jncommodious in yours this hath noe part at all with it whatsoever is proffitable in yours this hath more part in it then yours can have Soe that in these two ranks you are below vs and we aboue you There now remayneth only the third and last and indeede the best of all the three and therewith we are to accquaint you for your more confortable and resolved encouragement to betake your selves to this blessed busines and not to be wholy taken vp by that other which compared with this is not once worth a meing The which as it hath in some part appeared to every man of ordinary vnderstanding by those things that have beene spoken in the two former rankes soe will it most plentifully discover it self for every one's plenary satisfaction in this last and best property or prerogative rather which we have of purpose reserved till now And that is this that this our heavenly merchandise is not only fully voyd of all evills and doth overflow with all the good that yours hath at the best soe now it is in the third place to be noted that over and aboue both the things aboue mentioned it hath some things peculiar to it self and not common to your terrenall trading or communicable with it in the least And that is in some singuler yea I may well call them superlative excellencyes wherin it infinitely overgoeth all earthly employments and noe commerce among men can receive them So that this last ranke is of such good things as this hath and yours hath not but remayne and are reserved as inseparable comforts and benefits thereof as being too superlative for any inferiour occurents of the earth ever to reach vnto I may well and truly say they are superlative and every man may most worthily account them soe who shall observe and consider as he ought either that which our text sayth in generall ver 15. that all thou canst desire are not to be COMPARED to her to wit to the things we now treat off Or the particulers themselves that doe soe exceede all degrees of comparison with terrenall tradeing as that they are the sole excellencyes of this celestiall commerce And this their incomparable excellency in their most royall prerogatives aboue all terrestriall trash will abundantly appeare if we bring them both to the ballance and soe sonne as they shal be layd together it will be seene how heavy these heavenly things are how light and slight those of the world will shew themselves to be We have seene already how short they come in those good things wherin yet they have some share and carry some kinde of consimilitude but now they come to be poyzed against those supernaturall and most proper prerogatives wherof they have not only no part but in truth noe appearance we cannot but jmagine they wil be found as as nothing yea lesse then nothing as vanity yea lesse then vanity not worthy to be comparatively soe much as named with these better things the least wherof doth soe surpasse the best of these And to say as the truth is what proportion or neerenes can be reasonably conceived betweene the things of God and the world of heaven add earth of corruption and incorruption what is mortality to life finite to infinite momentany to eternall inferiour and fadeing to that which is aboue and abideth for ever Reason cannot paralell these particulers much lesse will religion permit it though our reason should against all reason be soe presumptuous as to attempt it But let vs set our selves to enquire into the things themselves what they are in particuler that we may shew that to be true which we say To enter vpon all is none of any purpose neither indeede is it possible to treat of them but some few we will intreate of soe farre as may both breede some admiration in vs. and bring some consolation to vs. that both our consciences may be convinced of them and our affestions enflamed after them and we may with more extraordinary ferver of mynde and spirit soundely follow them thē ever we have fondely persued the world 1. First then be it vniversally knowne and well considered off that the whole busines of this Merchandise lyeth all in ONE PLACE and with ONE PARTY and in ONE COMMODITY What a happines is this what a benefit what a marvelous favour and advantage may it be match't in all three respects nay in any one of the three in all the earthly merchandise vnder heaven Can any such place be found as in which a man may enclose all the hath to doe not needing to stirre a broad else-where all the dayes of his life to doe any thing If it could can any such merchandise be founde in that place as would take vp a mans whole time all his dayes and endeavours and yeeld him benefit enough without intermedling with any other Or if that could be also can yet the third thing concurre vnto both the former that any one such party should be found who were soe absolutely able to furnish all that come to trade in this place with this commodity that they should not have any cause or reason to seeke in the least to any other person or persons whatsoever for any thing we have to doe therin Nay we know the contrary in all earthly occurents that all places party climates and corners of the world which may be sayled vnto by sea or travailed vnto by land yea and that all kindes of commodityes that can be found any where whither the foure windes can carry a man