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	know_v	reason_n	2,948	5	4.7939	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02549	An humble remonstrance to the High Court of Parliament, by a dutifull sonne of the Church	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1641 (1641)	STC 12675; ESTC R210029	12,040	46

forme of prayer and such as that part of the frame prescribed by our Saviour was composed of the formes of devotion then formerly usuall And Gods people ever since Moses his daies constantly practised it and put it over unto the times of the Gospel under which whiles it is said that Peter and John went up to the Temple at the ninth houre of prayer we know the prayer wherewith they joyned was not of an extemporary and sudden conception but of a regular prescription the formes whereof are yet extant and ready to be produced And the Euangelicall Church ever since thought it could never better improve her peace and happinesse then in composing those religious models of invocation and thanksgiving which they have traduced unto us And can ye then with patience think that any ingenuous Christian should be so farre mis-transported as to condemne a good prayer because as it is in his heart so it is in his book too Far be it from me to dishearten any good Christian from the use of conceived prayer in his private devotions and upon occasion also in the publique I would hate to be guilty of pouring so much water upon the spirit to which I shall gladly adde oyle rather No let the full soule freely poure out it self in gracious expressions of its holy thoughts into the bosome of the Almighty Let both the sudden flashes of our quick ejaculations and the constant flames of our more fixed conceptions mount up from the altar of a zealous heart unto the throne of Grace and if there be some stops or solecismes in the fervent utterance of our private wants these are so far fro being offensive that they are the most pleasing musique to the eares of that God unto whom our prayers come Let them be broken off with sobs and sighes and incongruities of our delivery our good God is no otherwise affected to this imperfect elocution then an indulgent Parent is to the clipped and broken language of his deare childe which is more delightfull to him then any others smooth Oratory This is not to be opposed in another by any man that hath found the true operation of this grace in himselfe But in the meane time let the publique formes of the sacred Church-Liturgie have its due honour Let this by the power of your Authoritie be re-inforced as that which being selected out of ancient models not Romane but Christian and contrived by the holy Martyrs and Confessors of the blessed Reformation of Religion hath received abundant supply of strength both from the zealous recommendation of foure most religious Princes and your own most firme and peremptory establishment Amongst which powerfull inducements that is worthy of no sleight consideration which I humbly tender unto you from the judgement of the learnedst King that ever sate upon this Throne or as I verily think since Solomons time upon any other King Iames of blessed memory who however mis-alledged by some as letting fall disgracefull speeches concerning this subject after a solemne hearing of those exceptions which were taken by some against this open forme of Common-prayer as it is called in Queen Elizabeths Act for uniformity shuts up in his Proclamation given at Westminster the fifth of March in the first yeare of his raigne with these words And last of all We admonish all men that hereafter they shall not expect or attempt any farther alteration into the Common and publike forme of Gods service from this which is now established For that neither will We give way to any to presume that Our own judgement having determined in a matter of this weight shall be swayed to alteration by the frivolous suggestion of any light spirit Neither are We ignorant of the inconveniences that doe arise in Government by admitting innovation in things once setled by mature deliberation And how necessary it is to use constancy in the upholding of the publique determinations of States for that such is the unquietnesse and unstedfastnesse of some dispositions affecting every yeare new formes of things as if they should be followed in their unconstancie would make all actions of State ridiculous and contemptible whereas the stedfast maintaining of things by good advise established is the weale of all Common-wealths Thus that great Oracle of Wisedome and Learning whom I beseech you suppose that you still heare directing this prudent and religious advise to your present eares and consider how requisite it is for you out of the reason both of State and pietie to rest in that his sound and exquisite judgement As for those particularities of exceptions which have been taken by some at certain passages of that Book they have more then once received full satisfaction by other pens Let me onely say thus much That were the Readers but as charitable as the Contrivers were religiously devout those quarrels had either never been raised or had soone died alone Oh suffer not then I beseech you this holy form of Gods Service to be exposed to the proud contempt of ignorant and ill-affected persons maintain and beare up the pious acts of your godly predecessors yea make good your owne And if our holy Martyrs heretofore went to heaven with a Litany in their mouth Let not an ill advised newfanglenesse be suffered to put scorn upon that wherein they thought themselves happy As for that forme of Episcopall Government which hath hitherto obtained in the Church of God I confesse I am confounded in my selfe to heare with what unjust clamours it is cried down abroad by either weak or factious persons of either or both which I may well take up that word of our Saviour Father forgive them for they know not what they doe Surely could those look with my eies they would see cause to be thoroughly ashamed of this their injurious mis-conceit and should be forced to confesse that never any good cause had more reason to complain of a wrongfull prosecution Were this Ordinance meerly humane and ecclesiasticall if there could no more be said for it but that it is exceeding ancient of more then 1500 yeares standing and that it hath continued in this Iland since the first plantation of the Gospel to this present day without contradiction A man would think this were enough plea to challenge a reverent respect and an Immunity from all thoughts of alteration For even nature if selfe teaches us to rise up before the hoare-head and hath wrought in us a secret honour even to the very outward gravity of age and just policie teaches us not easily to give way to the change of those things which long use and many Lawes have firmly established as necessary or beneficiall Yea the wisedome of the ancient Grecians went so farre as to forbid the removall of a well setled evill But if religion teach us better things and tell us that nothing morally evill can be setled well and being however setled had the more need to be after too long delay removed Yet right reason and