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	work_n	2,986	5	5.9689	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26694	Remaines of that excellent minister of Jesus Christ, Mr. Joseph Alleine being a collection of sundry directions, sermons, sacrament-speeches, and letters, not heretofore published ...; Selections. 1674	Alleine, Joseph, 1634-1668.; R. A. (Richard Alleine), 1611-1681.	1674 (1674)	Wing A976; ESTC R22421	168,509	338

whether they be going forward or going backward all this is from want of care to examine and enquire into their duties For want of this men do not know whether they be sound or unsound for how doth a man know the tree but by the fruit When all is done 't is mens actual obedience that is the great evidence that their estates must be tryed by Whatsoever seeming principles of grace and life and love may seem to be within and good resolutions yet if all this be not strong enough to bring forth the fruits of obedience in a holy self-denying and flesh displeasing godliness all is unsound But then we m●… not look onely to the outside of our obedience we must not take the Carkass without the soul. Now when persons do not look into their duties but rest in the work done how can they make any judgment into their estate by them So many that are sound Christians do not know whether they are decaying or increasing for want of this because they do not look into their duties how they perform them Christians how do you perform your duties Do you more look into them how sweet they are to you whether it is better than it was Christians you must look to this are you more extensive and intensive in your duties Are you more extensive Heretofore you looked onely at home to do your selves good do you do good now to others Heretofore Religion was consined to your knees but now do you bring it forth into your Shops and Callings Here●…osore you were for personal godliness but are you now for Relative godliness Heretofore you were for duties of the first Table onely but now do you put both Tables together this would be a good sign but for want of mens searching into this they are at a loss they do not know whether they are better or worse declining or increasing Fifthly This is the cause of so much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in duty When a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 know that there will be a strict 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into him his preparation will be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but when he fears not that he 〈◊〉 the more remisse So 't is here If we 〈◊〉 a strict examination into our hearts then they will be the more careful to ply the work the more when they know they shall be looked after But when they know they shall not be looked into they will do the work thereafter Beloved if we would do the work of Religion to purpose we must deal by our hearts as we would by trewantly servants if you would have any thing done you must keep your eye upon them If you keep your selves to this course constantly to enquire into your duties how they were done then your hearts will be careful to make thorough work of it And indeed this enquiring into your duties is not onely a means to make your hearts sincere in duty but it is a great part of sincerity That man that makes no enquiry into his heart that man is an hypoerite there is no soundness in that man And the lesse care thou hast in looking into thy heart the less there is of Christianity in thee Sixthly This is that that puts Christ so much out of use O Brethren would you know the Reason why Christ is so little set by Why it is because we are not thorowly acquainted with our defects Were we much searching into our duties then we should fly to our Advocate and make use of him And after the performing of our duties fly to him for a covering of our nakedness and shame Second Use of exhortation Let us do likewise if Christ take such notice of our duties O be much in observing your own duties How your hearts carry it in your duties If I could but perswade my self and my hearers to the observing of these two Directions we should make another manner of progress in Religion O That you would be but perswaded First In the entrance of your duties set before you your rule fo●…●…hat duty as the Schollar doth his coppy and do your work by rule You know the Mason will lay the line before he will lay the stone in the foundation or else he may commit many errors and the building may come to nothing So when you come to perform your duties set your rule before you Suppose you come to pray have some thoughts of it what be the rules you are to pray by Consider you are not to come in your own names but in Christs Take heed that you come not in your own Rignteousness but Christs And go out to Christ for strength Remember that God calls for faith and life induty And so when you come to hear consider what rules have I to hear by And so in giving your Alms. And then your work is like to be done to purpose Secondly Reflect upon your rule in the close of your duty and examine whether your work hath been done by rule or no. Observe what graces have been acting in your duty and thankfully take notice of the influences of your graces Take notice what corruptions have been working in your duty and take the shame of it before God that you should thus miscar●…y If these two rules were but observed by us we should come to another manner of proficiency in Religion than we do But more particularly let me give you three directions for your duties First Take special notice of the ends of your duties O How many do miscarry for want of a Right understanding in this Come see my zeal for the Lord of hosts said John And all this while he was ●…t Acting for himself And because he did Gods work for such carnal ends God accounts the blood that he had shed to be so much murder and requires it afterwards at his hands Hos. 1. 4. The Pharisees were a very strict generation in the performance of their duties Much in Alms and much and long in prayer and yet all rejected because they did it for carnal ends Math. 23. 5. Therefore I beseech you as you Love your souls look to your ends in praying When you come to prayer Consider what end do I propound in this duty Is not this done out of custome because 't is the custome of my family to pray morning and evening When you go to visit the sick is it onely a civil custom that I am going about or am I going to visit Jesus Christ in a sick servant of his And so of our Alms. If a man set out with never so much diligence in the morning and it be to a wrong point he is all the while out of his way Although a man cannot in every motion of the day mind his end yet in every solemn action as I have shewed you formerly with care and pains taking with your hearts you may come to mind your end and the rule for that particular action As for example When you go to your callings or to pray or to eat and the like in these solemn

it with such tenderness to them as may make this bitter pill to go down How do many souls miscarry to all eternity for want of professors faithful dealing with them Oh is it not enough that we have the guilt of our own sins upon us but must we needs have the guilt of our Neighbours sin upon us too Ah Brethren this is enough to convince us that we have little Love to our Brethrens souls in that we have so little care to reprove their sins Fifthly By your convincing conversations Live before all thou dost converse with in the convincing power of a holy Life This is the way to convince them 1 Pet. 3. 1 2. Likewise you wives be in subjection to your own husband that if any obey not the word they also may without the word be won by the conversations of the wives while thy behold your chast conversation coupled with fear Observe here First That even those that be weakest and seemingly out of a capacity to win souls may by their Godly conversations win souls Women who more weak than they Do not you think that this belongs onely to Ministers to win souls this belongs to all Secondly Observe that a careful and tender walking in the duties of our Relations towards men with a conjunction with the duties of piety towards God is a most powerful means to convert souls When wives shall be strict in their profession and yet not be in subjection to their husbands this will offend the men and not work upon them Your profession and practice must one answer the other and then you are like to gain others I beseech you take this course to gain souls to Christ let there be a suteableness in all the parts of your conversation be the same at home that you are abroad and bring forth your Religion into your Shops and Trades and Fields That whosoever converse with you may see the power of Godliness in you Sixthly By your frequent exhortations Hebrews 3. 13. But exhort one another dayly while 't is called to day lest any be hardned through the deceitfulness of sin Observe it 't is not the duty of Ministers onely to abound in exhortations but 't is the work of you all Every one must look to his Neighbours Soul and that daily There must be instancy and frequency in this work and the reason is lest he be hardned Dost thou see such a Neighbour fall into sin go to him It may be thou wilt do it hereafter why it may be the man may be hardned It may be the man may dye or thou mayest not have the opportunity or you may be removed from one another and the work may be for ever cut off if thou Neglect it Seventhly By your careful observation of all those advantages that God hath put into your hands for the dealing with your Brothers Soul Consider and study with thy self what advantages thou hast upon him First Take the advantage of affliction It may be he is taken down by affliction Now go and warn him of his sin It may be now he will hearken to thee Job 36. 8. 9. 10. Secondly Make use of thy Relation It may be thou art some near Relation in the flesh to him take that advantage to be dealing with him for his eternal good Thirdly Make use of his dependance upon thee It may be he is such a one as is concerned in thy good-will to him it may be he works for thee or depends upon thy Charity for his livelyhood take this advantage upon him it may be he will hearken to thee Fourthly Make use of thy interest in him It may be he hath some affection for thee make use of it for God And this may be a means to win him to Christ. Rev. 3. 1. I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead THese words are part of Christs Epistle from heaven to the Church of Sardis wherein he shrewdly checks her hypocrisie and formality and throughout gives counsels and directions for her recovery out of that sad estate from the words we have given you this observation Doct. That the Lord Jesus Christ doth take special notice of and makes strict observation upon the works and ways of his professed people He takes notice of their works for the matter of them for the quantity for the quality of them as hath been shewed We gave you the Reasons for confirmation and made entrance into the Application and have applyed it as to the two first branches to wit the matter and the quantity of our works To come now to the Application of the third thing namely the quality of them Use. Is it so that the Lord Jesus Christ doth take such notice of our works for the quality of them then this may be usefull by way of Reprehension and Exhortation First For Reprehension this reproves us that we rest so much in the work done and do so little enquire into the quality of our works as to the sincerity and soundness of them O my Brethren how often do we pray and never examine how we have prayed and hear and never enquire how we have carried it while we have been hearing O how many a mans bosome am I now in Brethren this is a great evil among men Yea I fear among Gods own people that there is not that care to look into their duties how they are performed Brethren if the Lord Jesus Christ did as you look no farther than the outside of your duties and the work done then you may rest in that O but Jesus Christ he looks into the inside of them and he labours to see what there is of soundness and sincerity in them And seeing the Lord Jesus Christ looks so narrowly into them should not you This is the cause of many sins and mischiefs among Prosessors First This is the cause of much undoing Self-deceit when persons rest in the work done and do not carefully examine what principles they did act by and ends they did act for this doth cause many souls to be undone to their destruction This was the reason why Sardis was so miserably out and Laodicea that she was so much mistaken they kept on the trade of Religious duties and because the thing was done and the duty performed with con●…tancy they thought they were in a good state You know the speech of that Church I am rich c. you are to understand it of spiritual Riches she thought her self upon the growing hand O but when Jesus Christ comes and sees how little sincerity there was in them he disrellisheth them and shews them that their works were not perfect before him And thus it is with many Professors in these days that because they keep on in Family-prayer and good duties they think all is well and for want of looking into the Spring of their duties and their ends in them they are undone by them O what a miserable deceit is this when a poor creature