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	think_v	3,328	5	3.8263	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49476	A sermon preached before the King at White-Hall being the last sermon preached at court / by the right reverend father in God Benjamin Laney ...	Laney, Benjamin, 1591-1675.	1675 (1675)	Wing L350; ESTC R7415	13,539	35

any thing that is sown in his Field And that it may not seem strange that Carnal things should be thus advanced to spirituals for by a like conversion Spiritual things degenerate into Carnal This likewise will be worth our observation Religion is out of doubt a Spiritual thing yet if that spread and run into Schisms it grows Carnal For while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollos are ye not carnal 1 Cor. 3.4 So Rom. 16.17 They who cause divisions among you serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own Bellies if any thing be flesh sure the Belly is If there be so much malignance and sowreness in Schisms and Divisions to turn Religion into Flesh what shall we think of a Religion in Design that is made up all of Sects and Divisions that must be all Flesh I say no more it is in private Design onely as when St. Paul charged the Corinths with strife and schism it was but upon report onely It is reported saith he by them of the house of Cloe that there are contentions among you So I say onely it is reported from a house of Cloe how these Schisms shall be disposed of A Church shall be contrived that will give room and Liberty to them all But if the Church must be new modelled for their sakes they must new model the Rules of Wisdom and Government too For by that it was ever thought necessary that the People should conform to the Laws of the Church never that a Church should conform to the humours of the People This is so irregular a thing that it will not be labour lost to take a little farther notice of it And first that you may know it by name it is to be called a Comprehensive Church a name I must confess not unfit for the purpose though I think it might have been better called a Drag-net that will fetch in all kind of Fish good or bad great or small there will be room enough for Leviathan to take his pastime therein But how shall the Church be drawn out to such a bredth and latitude That will be no hard matter to do It is but pulling down the Old Walls the Confession of Doctrine and Canons of Discipline Lay all common and then no doubt there will be room enough for all But will these prove so good company when they are in for whose sake this should be done Will they not rather give us cause to fear what the poor Trojans found when they broke down the old Walls of their City to let in a Horse with a Comprehensive Belly that carried armed enemies enough to ruine them and their City And least we should think this done for love of their company they let us know they have no meaner inducement to it then that which governs all the World Gain and Profit advancement of Trade and increase of Money This is plain dealing they profess to sowe the Spirit to the Flesh They will make a Church that shall make us rich But can there be any blame or harm in this Can we not be Religious and rich too I will not dispute that if we bring riches up to Religion But I will dispute it and deny it too if we bring Religion down to Riches Godliness may be Gain but Gain will never be Godliness Riches may be a good Nurse to cherish it but an ill Mother to bring it forth for whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh It is the greatest dishonour that can be to the Spirit to make it serve for Compost onely to lay in the Field of the Flesh But these you say though carnal things may be secondary ends which do not make void the spiritual Peace and Charity are the two Pillars whereon this Church is to be built and they will serve to keep up the Spirit in it We cannot deny but that they are true spiritual things but if both these Pillars should fail there would nothing be left in the Church but Flesh For Peace and Union that which feeds the hope of that is taking down the Walls that divide them that is removing the Confessions and Canons and all will naturally fall in together For answer to this we must distinguish the quality of the persons for whom this room is to be made And they are either such as will be content to leave their faults and errours behind them and to those we shall do well to set our gates wide open and need not pull down our Walls Or they are such as bring their errours animosities and divided judgments along with them And to pacifie these the taking away the Walls will do no good for they bring their Divisions with them into the Bowels of the Church where the flame will be more fierce and dangerous then when it burnt onely without All the benefit can be hoped for by taking away the Confessions and Canons is but to secure them from punishment but leaves them free to all other causes of dissention or rather fortifies and animates them to pursue their differences with more violence Impunity and Authority will not cool their zeal of advancing the Interest of their Sect for it is not Toleration but Mastery they aim at In the mean time our Sowing will be turned into Fighting our Plough-shares into Swords the field of the Spirit into a field of War and thus we shall live in a perpetual storm This is all the hope we have of Peace by it And for Charity we shall find it hath as little to do here It will be neither want of Charity to leave them out nor a work of Charity to take them in 1. It will be no want of Charity to leave them out if by that we condemn them not And condemn them we do not if we keep St. Pauls rule Schismaticks are without the Church we judge not them Those that are without the Church God judgeth 1 Cor. 5.13 They must stand or fall to God And when we do refuse them we do not condemn them to Hell All we say is if they will not go to Heaven our way they shall not go in our company and in truth they cannot 2. It is no work of Charity to take them in with all their faults For though Charity be a good natured Vertue and covers a multitude of sins but when they are not known abroad but cherisheth none that are I could never think it a breach of Charity to condemn Heresie or Schism which are known sins though it be against Charity to condemn any person of either of whose guilt there may be doubt Charity may sometimes absolve the Offender but never the Offence When the Offence is known to us and the Fact avowed by them they cannot be taken in for Charity sake if we love our own quiet and Charity begins at home Now if neither Peace nor Charity have any share in framing this New Church I may for a Conclusion ask the question our Saviour did the Jews concerning John's Baptism Is it from Heaven or of men or which is all one is it from the Flesh or from the Spirit If they shall say from the Flesh all men will adjudge it to Corruption If they shall say from Heaven or from the Spirit I will ask them another question Whether a Church without out Walls can be of Gods making His Church is a garden enclosed Cant. 4.12 And when he planted a Vineyard Esay 5.2 and that was his Church he fenced it in But when he saw it brought forth wild Grapes then he threatens them with this Judgment I will take away the hedge thereof and it shall be eaten up and break down the Wall thereof and it shall be trodden down Can it be wisdom to draw that upon our selves which God would not inflict but in vengeance To make the Field of the Spirit no better then the Field of the Sluggard Prov. 24.31 I went by it and lo it was all grown over with thorns and nettles had covered the face thereof and the stone wall thereof was broken down Nothing can be liker then Schisms to Thorns and Liberty from Laws to a broken Wall If I had kept my self to the proper work of the Preacher this day which is Palm Sunday I should have carried a Palm to the triumph of our Saviour entring into Jerusalem But finding some so busie in strewing our way with THORNS in stead of PALMS I thought it fitter first to clear the way of them to prepare it this day for a greater Triumph at Easter over Sin Death and Hell I have no more to say but to end as I began Be not deceived God is not mocked That which is dearest to us our own Credit that we be not men deceived and that which ought to be Gods honour that he be not mocked are both engaged in the Truth of this Doctrine that we do not rashly adventure to sowe what we would be loath to reap and unwisely prefer that which will certainly and suddenly fade away before that which will last for ever He that soweth to the flesh c. FINIS A Catalogue of some Books printed for and sold by H. Brome since the dreadful Fire of London to 1675. A Guide to Eternity by John Bona octavo 2 s. Dean W. Lloyd's Sermon before the King about Miracles 6 d. His Sermon at the Funeral of John Lord Bishop of Chester 6 d. His Sermon before the King in Lent 1673. 6 d. The Seasonable Discourse against Popery in quarto 6 d. The Defence of it quarto 6 d. The Difference betwixt the Church and Court of Rome in quarto 6 d. The Papists Apology to the Parliament answered 6 d. Mr. Naylor's Commemoration Sermon for Col. Cavendish 6 d. Mr. Sayers Sermon at the Assizes at Reading 6 d. Mr. Tho. Tannet's Sermon to the scattered Members of the Church 6 d. Mr. Stanhopp's four Sermons on several occasions octavo bound 1 s. 6 d. Papal Tyranny as it was exercised over England for some Ages with two Sermons on the fifth of Nov. by Dr. Du Moulin in quarto 1 s. 6 d. His Sermon at the Funeral of Dr. Turner Dean of Canterbury 6 d.