Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A37536
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The present interest of England in matters of religion, stated wherein is clearly demonstrated that the Protestant religion may be fully secured from popery, though the penal laws be taken away / by W.D., alover of liberty for conscience sake.
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W. D., lover of liberty for conscience sake.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing D99; ESTC R21223
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21,170
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32
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his Power and Authority over us nor diminish our Duty and Obedience to him God hath put this into the Heart of the King that all the Yokes and Bonds and Burthens that have been laid upon Conscience or on men for their Conscience sake towards God in the former Reigns to be broken and for ever removed Is not this a wonderful work of God to have all this done at once which could never be done before and we have reason to think that it would never have been done by any Prince but this O let no man say that there is a new King risen up that knew not Joseph or that there is a Joseph in the Land that will not know Pharaoh O let this Liberty be thankfully received and wisely improv'd that Gods glory may be advanced that the Justice wisdom kindness and goodness of the King may be acknowledged as the great instrument in the hand of God in a work so great and good as this is towards his People 3. Of the effects no man can say now in this our Israel that the Gates of Liberty are shut up against him The Righteous Nation that keeps the truth may now enter in Isa 26.2 No man can say now in these Kingdoms That the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence Mat. 23.13 Every Man may now enter into it that will. No Man can say now in City or Countrey that the evil Angels hold the Winds that they cannot blow that is Persecutors Every Man may now sit under the breathings of Gods Spirit in the Ministry of the Word Rev. 7.1 and serve him without fear Many hundreds have been let out of Prison that were before shut up many thousands that were before troubled and prosecuted are now quiet and in peace many hundreds are now Labouring in the Lords Vineyard preaching the Word of God up and down every where and there be many thousands of Souls that do attend and hear the Word of God preached to them Have not many thousands of the People in these Nations own'd and acknowledged this to be the Work of God in their Addresses to the King Now by all this you may see that it is the work of God then it is in love and kindness to the Dissenters let this then serve for an Answer to this Objection The second Objection is If these Penal Laws should be taken away then Popery will come in upon us By this Objection then I perceive the thing that you fear is the coming in of Popery and the way that you will take to keep it out is to continue the Penal Laws Now this being an evil way may bring that evil upon you which you fear Numb 13.28 to 33. This evil way the Israelites of old did take when they were afraid of the Canaanites And they said one to another Let us make a Captain and let us return into Egypt Num. 14 4. Verse 29. 1 Cor. 10. Now this being an evil way brought that evil upon them which they feared Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness This evil way did King Saul take when he was afraid of the Philistines Then said Saul unto his servants 1 Sam. 28.5 8 9. Verse 7. Seek me a woman that hath a familiar Spirit that I may go to her and enquire of her and his servants said unto him Behold there is a woman that hath a familiar Spirit at Endor Now this being an evil way brought that evil upon him and his Sons which he feared So Saul died and his three Sons and his Armour-bearer and all his Men that same day together 1 Sam. 31.4 5 6. This was the evil way that King Zedekiah did take when he was afraid of the Chaldaeans Jer. 38.19.20 he would not hearken to the word of the Lord by Jeremiah the Prophet But he fled and went forth out of the City by night by the way of the King's Gardens by the Gate betwixt two walls and he went out the way of the Plain Jer. 39.4 This being an evil way did bring upon him and his house all that evil which he feared Then the King of Babylon slew the Sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah and he slew all the Nobles of Judah and he put out Zedekiahs eyes and bound him in Chains to carry him to Babylon Jer. 39.6.7 This evil way did the Jews take in the days of our Saviour and in the days of the Apostles when they were afaid of the Romans John 11.48 The Romans shall come and take away both our Place and Nation To save themselves from the Romans they kept up Persecution and did slay Gods faithful Witnesses Mat. 23 35. Acts 7.32 and were betrayers and murderers and did endeavour to overthrow the work of God and the faith of the Gospel Luke 21 6 26. Now this being an evil way also brought all that evil upon them which they feared And are you still for the keeping up of compelling and persecuting Laws because you are afraid of Popery Is this the way to keep it out Never yet did any people take an evil way to save themselves from the evil they feared but it brought it upon them I have here shewed you this at large and I have also shewed you the evil of these Penal Laws Take heed therefore lest you bring upon your selves that evil which hath befaln others you must not keep up that which is bad for fear of worse you must not do evil that good may come of it you must not commit sin to keep out Popery you must not keep mens Consciences in Chains for ever that is the work of the next World and not this the Gospel will not allow that any man should suffer in his Body or in his Estate by persecuting Laws for the errors of his mind nor that any man should forfeit his Free-hold for being of a wrong perswasion He that spake as never man spake said Let the Wheat and the Tares grow both together until the Harvest Mat. 13.30 Mat. 15 13. John 16.8 2 Cor. 5.11 It is Gods work to pull up the Spirits work to convince it is mans work to perswade by sound arguments and to allure by a good Conversation men from a bad Religion to a better and from a wrong Religion to the right A man does not believe as others believe and cannot believe as others would have him believe but he believes as he sees cause to believe The question then is not so much what hath been done nor what some men would have to be done but what is best to be done to keep out Popery for that is your fear If I should give you counsel will you hearken to it and if I give you advice will you take it First then if you will keep out Popery do you amend your ways and your doings Jer. 7.3 and turn unto the Lord by a true and sincere repentance You have heard of the Judgments of God which have been
appear'd afterwards by Haman's Plot Esther 3.8 9. And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus there is a certain people scattered abroad and dispers'd among the people in all the Provinces of thy Kingdom and their Laws are diverse from all people neither keep they the Kings Laws therefore it is not for the Kings profit to suffer them If it please the King let it be written that they may be destroy'd and I will pay ten Thousand Talents of Silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business How sad is it then not to follow the call of God These Jews lookt upon the Way up to Jerusalem to be long the Journey dangerous the Success doubtful the King a Heathen the Enemy there before and therefore they despised the work of God and prefer'd their ease before glory and bondage before freedom and their little concerns before the great and glorious work of God. They chose rather to dwell amongst the Heathens and to see their abominable Idolatry than to go up with their Brethren to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. When men take their measures from their fears and jealousies and not from the word of God and his providences When men consult with Flesh and Blood and not the duty of their places and the work of God that lyes before them When men lean to their own understandings and reject the counsel of God When men rely upon an Arm of Flesh and not upon the mighty God of Jacob then they do despise the work of God in their day and cry it down and endeavour to bring an evil report upon it saying Ah this is not the time this is not the way these are not fit instruments to be imploy'd O vain man know and consider that Gods power is irresistible his wisdom unsearchable and his ways past finding out Sin at the first was the cause of all ignorance but now ignorance is the cause of all sin Our work below is then the best done when our work above is the first done Sometimes men resist the work of God and oppose it in their day and seek to overthrow it This the persecuting Jews did in the days of our Saviour and in the days of the Apostles For this man doth many Miracles Acts 5.39 if we let this man alone all men will believe on him and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation John 11.47 48. These words were spoken in Counsel and the design of them was to overthrow the work of God to persecute Christ Jesus to death and his faithful Witnesses Then from that day forth they took Counsel together for to put him to death verse 53. he came and preached peace to them but they proclaimed War against him He came to his own but they received him not He came to heal them but they wounded him He came to save them but they killed him He was full of love grace and truth but they were filled with rage malice prejudice and unbelief They clipped the wings of his mercy and clogged the wheels of his love and kindness They shut up the treasures of his grace against themselves and held the hand of his power by their unbelief And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief Matth. 13.58 That which the unbelieving Jews said then the unbelieving Gentiles say now We will not have this man to reign over us Sin and Satan shall reign the Law and the Letter shall reign But he that is Lord of life and gives life shall not reign over us The ways and methods that the Jews took to keep the Romans out brought the Romans in upon them For they persecuted Gods Faithful Servants and commanded them not to preach the Gospel not to speak in his name and that brought the wrath of God upon them Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sins alway For the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost 1 Thess 2.16 When men take evil ways to save themselves from the evil they fear that may come and may not come it is the ready way to bring that evil upon them they fear Take therefore no thought for the morrow for the morrow shall take thought for the things of it self sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof Matth. 6.34 When we make God our refuge and strength then he makes Heaven our inheritance and the Earth our passage to that glorious inheritance I have in the first place shew'd you what was done heretofore by the Jews and what that work of God was in their days For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Romans 15.4 And now in the second place I shall shew you what that work of God is in our day that you that know may know more and do the things that are Just and best for your selves and others This then is a twofold work 1. A Salvation Work. 2. A Generation Work. 1. First a Salvation Work. Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2.12 I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day the night cometh wherein no man can work John 9.4 Death is a work but wants to be done the doing of it well then will require now our utmost endeavours our greatest diligence our always abounding in the work of the Lord a considering of our ways a right ordering of our conversations a running the race that is set before us a striving to enter in at the strait gate a giving all diligence to make our calling and election sure a growing in grace and a laying up a good foundation against the time to come and a labouring for that bread that perisheth not O consider this that Heaven and Hell will divide between them all the people that are now living upon the earth in a little time every man must shoot the Gulf of Eternity at Death and then another Gulf will be fixed And besides all this between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence Luke 16.26 They that dye in their sins God will never return to them to shew mercy and they shall never return to him to receive mercy O work therefore while it is called to day the day of mercy is yet continued and the day of grace is not yet ended he that will dye but once must dye daily he that will be delivered from the second Death must have a part in the first Resurrection He that will be equal with Saints in Glory must be eminent with Saints in Grace No Souls can live with God in Heaven but such in whom the Spirit of God lived whiles they were on Earth They that neglect the work of their Salvation cannot escape the punishment of their Damnation How shall