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	speak_v	word_n	3,147	5	4.0147	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12187	A miracle of miracles or Christ in our nature Wherein is contained the vvonderfull conception, birth, and life of Christ, who in the fulnesse of time became man to satisfie divine iustice, and to make reconciliation betweene God and man. Preached to the honourable society of Grayes Inne, by that godly and faithfull minister of Iesus Christ, Richard Sibbes. D.D.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1638 (1638)	STC 22499; ESTC S117264	26,445	58

the malice of Antichrist and his supporters He is the true Michael that stands for his Church And then in the tenth verse Take counsell together and it shall come to nought speake the word and it shall not stand for God is with us And as the Church before Christ came in the flesh much more may we now hee is come in the flesh insult over all Let all the enemies consult together this king and that power there is a counsell in heaven will disturbe and dash all their counsells Emanuel in heaven laugheth them to scorne And as Luther sayd shall wee weepe and cry when God laugheth He seeth a company of idolatrous wretches that conspire together to root out all Protestants from the earth if it lay in their power They that are inspired with Jesuiticall spirits the incendiaries of the world have devoured all Israel and Christendome in their hopes but the Church which is Emanuels land and freehold sees it and laughs them to scorne God can dash all their treacherous counsels And so in all personal trouble whatsoever Emanuel God with us is fitted to be a mercifull Saviour he was poore that he might be with the poor he took not on him an impassable nature but he tooke our poverty our miserable nature Hee is poore with the poore afflicted with the afflicted persecuted with the persecuted he is deserted with them that be deserted My God My God why hast thou forsaken me He suffers with them that suffer he hath gone throgh al the passages of our lives In the beginning of it he was conceived and borne and he hath gone along with us and is able to pitty and succour us in our poverty in prison in bonds in disgrace in our conflict with God in our terrour of conscience in all our temptations and assaults by Sathan he was tempted himselfe by Sathan for this purpose that Emanuel might in all these be mercifull Let us not lose the comforts of this sweet Name in which you have couched so many comforts In the houre of death when wee are to dye thinke of Emanuel When Iacob was to goe into Egypt sayth God Feare not Iacob goe I will goe with thee and bring thee back againe and he did bring him back to be buried in Canaan So feare not to dye feare not to goe to the grave Emanuel hath been there he will goe into the grave hee will bring us out of the dust againe for Emanuel is God with us who is God over death over sinne over the wrath of God God over all blest for evermore and hath triumphed over all so that what shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Iesus He is not onely God with us in our nature but he is God for us in heaven at this time he is God in us by his spirit hee is God amongst us in our meetings Where two or three be gathered together in my name I will be in the midst of them He is God for us to defend us he is for us in earth for us in heaven and wheresoever we be specially in good causes And therefore enlarge our comforts as much as we can And shall not wee then labour to bee with him as much as we can All spirits that have any comfort by this Emanuel they are touched on by his Spirit to have desires to bee nearer and nearer to him How shall I know hee is my Emanuel not onely God with us but God with me If by the same Spirit of his that sanctified his humane nature I have desires to bee nearer and nearer to him to be liker and liker him If I am on his side if I be neare him in my affections desires and understanding if I side not against the Church nor joyne in opposition against the Gospell If I finde inwardly a desire to bee more and more with him and like to him if outwardly in the place where I live I side with him and take part with his cause it is a signe I have interest in him And therefore let us labour to bee more and more with Christ and with God in love and affections in faith in our whole inward man because he is with us Wee must know this Emanuel doth trust us with his cause to speak a good word for him now and then to speak a word for his Church he takes it ill if we neglect him Curse ye Meroz because hee came not out to helpe the Lord. God trusteth us to see if wee will bee on his side and calles to us as Iehu did Who is on my side who Now if wee have not a word for the Church not so much as a prayer for the Church how can wee say God with us when we are not used to speake to God by way of prayer nor to man but by way of opposition and contestation By this therefore examine the truth of our interest in Christ. Those that intend to receive the communion must thinke Now I am to be neare unto Christ and to feast with him Christ is with us in his Word in the Sacrament there is a neare relation betweene the bread and the wine and body and bloud of Christ. Now the true childe of God is glad of this most speciall presence of Christ. All true receivers come with joy to the Sacrament Oh I shall have communion with Emanuel who left heaven tooke my nature into a most neare hypostaticall union the nearest union of all and shal not I desire the nearest union with him againe that can be possible Oh I am glad of the occasion that I can heare his word pray to him receive the Sacrament Thus let us come with joy that we may have communion with this Emanuel who hath such sweet communion with our nature That our hearts may bee as the virgins wombe was to conceive Christ I beseech you inlarge these things in your meditations And because wee know not how long wee may live here some of us be sicke and weake and all of us may fall into danger wee know not how soone let it be our comfort that God is Emanuell hee left heaven and tooke our nature to bring us thither where himselfe is When times of dissolution come consider I am now going to him to heaven that came downe from thence to bring me to that eternall mansion of rest and glory And shall not I desire an everlasting communion with him God became man that hee might make man like God pertaking of his divine nature in grace here and glory hereafter Shall not I goe to him that suffered so much for me Therefore saith Saint Paul I desire to be dissolved and to bee with Christ which is the effect of Christs prayer Father saith he my will is that where I am they may be also And in this God heareth Christ that all that beleive in him shall bee where Christ is as he came from heaven to be where wee are Lay

maine thing I desire you to observe is matter of comfort from this Emanuell That now hee having taken our nature upon him that he might take our persons into unity of his mysticall body wee might have comfort in all conditions For hee tooke our nature upon him beside his other ends that hee might take our persons to make up mysticall Christ hee married our nature to marry our persons And therefore if hee did it for this end that wee might bee neere him as our nature is neere him shall not wee make it a ground of comfort that our persons shall bee neere Christ as well as our natures As CHRIST hath two natures in one person so many persons make up one mysticall CHRIST so that our persons are wonderfully neere to Christ. The wife is not neerer the husband the members are not neerer the head the building is not neerer the foundation then Christ and his Church are And therefore comfort our selues in this Christ is Emanuell God with us in our nature And will hee suffer his Church to want that hee hath taken so neere to himselfe can the members want influence when the head hath it can the wife be poore when the husband is rich whatsoever Christ did to his owne body to his humane nature taken into the unity of his person that hee will doe in some proportion to his mysticall body I will shew you some particulars Hee sanctified his naturall body by the Holy Ghost and hee will sanctifie us by the same spirit For there is the same spirit in head and members He loveth his naturall body and so as never to lay it aside to eternity And loveth his mysticall body now in some sort more for hee gave his naturall body to death for his mysticall body And therefore as hee will never lay aside his naturall body hee will never lay aside his Church nor any member of his Church for with the same love that hee loved his naturall body hee loveth now his mysticall members As hee rose to glory in his naturall body and ascended to Heaven so hee will raise his mysticall body that it shall ascend as hee ascended I beseech you therefore consider what a ground of comfort this is God tooke our nature on him besides the grand end of satisfaction that hee might make us like himselfe in glory that hee might draw us neere to himselfe And therefore now Christ being in Heaven having commission and authority over all things put into his hand hee having a Name above all names in Heaven and earth that at the Name of Iesus every knee should bow that is every subjection should bee given will he suffer any member of his body to suffer more then hee thinkes fit No seeing hee is in Heaven and glory for his Churches good For all that he hath done and suffered is for the Church and the Churches use To conclude all Let us consider what wee are let not a Christian bee base minded let him not bee dastardly in any cause that is good or Gods Let him be on Gods side Who is on his side a Christian is an impregnable person hee is a person that can never bee conquered Emanuell became man to make the Church and every Christian to be one with him Christs nature is out of danger of all that is hurtfull The Sun shall not shine the wind shall not blow to the Churches hurt For the Churches head ruleth over all things and hath all things in subjection Angells in heaven men on earth Devills in hell all bow to Christ and shall any thing befall them that he loveth unlesse for their greater good Therefore though they may kill a Christian and imprison him yet hurt him they can not If God bee on our side who can bee against us but God is on our side and on what grounds God-man hath procured him to be our friend hee hath satisfied God and therfore if we beleeve we be one with Christ and so one with God Wee have many against us the Devils are against us the world is against us to take away the favour of God to hinder accesse to him in prayer to stoppe the Churches communion with God and hinder the sweet issue of all things that befall us as farre as they can but their malice is greater then their power If God should let them loose and give the chaine into their owne hand though they seeme to hurt yet hurt they cannot in the issue And shall not we make use of these things in times of distresse wherefore serve they but to comfort us in all conflicts with Satan and in all doubtings that arise from our sinfull hearts Answer all with this If God be with us who can bee against us If any bee against us name them if not be satisfied And therefore come life come death Christ is our surety he layeth up our dust keepeth our ashes in the grave and will Christ loose any member Feare not Iacob to goe into Egypt For I will bring thee backe againe So feare not to goe into the grave The spirit of God will watch over our dust and bring us to heaven Therefore feare nothing God will be with us in life and death yea for ever and we shall be for ever with the Lord as the Apostle saith in the Thessalonians And that issue of all that Emanuell hath done Christ was one in our nature that hee might bring God and us into favour that wee may be for ever with him in heaven that we may be for ever with the Lord which is the accomplishment of all the promises FINIS Imprimatur Tho. Wykes Octob. 26. 1638. The scope of the Text. Wicked men admire their owne devices Those that brag out of danger are most cowardly in danger Infinite mercy in God and stubbornnesse in man conflicting Meaning of the Text. Reason He that will doe the greater he will doe the lesser Object How this can confirme their faith for present Answ. Make use of the Grand promises to comfort us in petty crosses Divers Articles of faith Nothing more strange then a virgin to be a mother and God a man Christ conceived not by ordinary Propagation The Masse wherof Christ was made was sanctified by the holy Ghost Christ conceived upon Maries assent to the message by the holy Ghost Observ. Quest. Answ. Christ is conceived in our hearts when we rest upon him onely 1 Tim. 3. Christs conception birth and life like ours In every thing in Christ something extraordinary Christ conceived borne lived and dyed eswe To shew sorth Christ in all our actions Vnion with Christ the cause of all grace Ier. 2.3 Emanuel a name of nature and office Christ Emanuell in regard of our nature Without the blood of Christ noe remission Meaner workes acted by the manhood greater by the Godhead Ephes 5. God our father Christ Emanuell to make God and us friends By satisfaction By the Spirit fitting us for communion with God Gods love and mercy to man to be wondred at Man above Angels by Christs incarnation What we cannot believe by vnderstanding let us labour to understand by believing Our nature in heaven * Church No counsell against God shall stand Christ with us in poverty and bond Christ God in us and for us How to know Emanuel to bee ours Christs cause to be maintained Christ with us in his Word and Sacraments Communion with Christ is sweet Doctrine Grace refused is turned into wrath What God saith man cannot disanull Men of God of ould had recourse to the promises of the Messiah How to reason with our selves in a sanctified manner All promises founded in Christ. Is. 9 6. Christs conception and incarnation marvellous and rare Christ is with us here by faith Man out of weaknes wonders at poore things Isaacks birth a type of Christs Why Christ must be without sin No blemish or defect of purity in the conception of Christ. Faith to be grounded on Christ God man Christ our surety Christ without sinne His humane nature had alwaies subsistence in the divine In manner of propagation Christ became man for our sakes Christ by divers signes shewed himselfe before exhibited in the flesh First things considerable 2 Consideration 3 Considerations to defile our natures that God hath dignified 4 Consideration 5 Consideration Obiection answered Question Answer What is done to by Christ is done by God Reason Quest. 1. Reason 2. Reason 3. Reason Job 9 3.2 Use. Use. Improved Vse of improving our priviledges by Emanuell Use. In the behalfe of the Church Isa. 8.8 Gods Church shal 〈◊〉 the end of the world At Christ comeing the Iews Church wasted 1 Evidence of comfort in Christ. Question Answer Revel 22.20 2 Evidence of comfort 〈◊〉 of comfort As the humane 〈…〉 Psal. 2 9 10 Conclus to consider what w●e are The Devill and the world our enemies

many moneths borne as we are borne brought into the light as we are Away therefore with idle monkish devices and fond conceipts that affirme the contrary He was like to us in all things sinne excepted conceived brought forth hung upon the brest as we an infant as we hungry and thirsty and suffered as we And as he was in all things like to us so in every thing that was in him there was something extraordinary as hee was a man like to us so hee was an extraordinary man Hee was conceived but of a virgin which is extraordinary hee was borne as we are but there his starre appeared and the wise men came to adore and worship him He was poore as wee are but there were beames of his Godhead appeared when hee was poore he could command a fish to furnish him hee dyed as we dye but he made the earth to quake the vaile of the temple to rend when hee tryumphed on the crosse All which declared hee was more then an ordinary person And so wee must all conceive Christ and beare Christ in our words and actions it must appeare that Christ liveth in us It must appeare outwardly to man what we are inwardly to God Our whole outward life must bee nothing but a discovery of Christ living in us I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me saith Saint Paul which should appeare by word conversation and action Our lives should bee nothing but an acting of Christ living in our soules This is not a meere analogicall truth but it floweth naturally whosoever are to have the benefit of his birth and conception Christ sendeth into their heart the same spirit that sanctified the masse whereof hee was made and so frameth a disposition suitable to himselfe he sets his owne stampe upon the heart as the vnion of his humane nature to the divine was the cause of all other graces of his humane nature so the spirit of God uniting us to Christ is the cause of all grace in us If we have not the spirit of Christ wee are none of his And shalt call his name Emanuel Many things might bee observed concerning the ordinary reading of the words Some read shee shall call his name Emanuel because hee had no father Others his name shall be called Emanuel but they be doubtfull therefore I leave them But Iesus was his name Therefore how is it said he shall be called Emanuel The meaning is he shall be Emanuel and shall bee accounted and believed to bee so he shall be God with us indeed and shall shew himselfe to be so For in the Hebrew phrase the meaning of a thing imports the being of the thing The like phrase is in Isaiah 9.6 To us a childe is borne to us a sonne is given and his name shall be called wonderfull Counsellour the Everlasting father the Prince of peace That is hee shall bee believed to bee so and shall shew himselfe to bee so and shall bee so indeed The like you have because it is an answer to the cavill of the Iewes which object he was not called Emanuell Iudah shall bee saved Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called The Lord our Righteousnesse For indeed he is Iehovah our righteousnesse and we have no righteousnesse to stand before God with but his divers other places of Scripture there be of the same nature but these two are pregnant and therefore I name them for all the rest Besides the conception and birth of Christ you have here likewise the divine nature of Christ and the offices of Christ for Emanuell is a name both of nature and office It is a name of his nature God and man and of his office which is to reconcile God and man we could not be with God but God must first be Man with us We were once with God in Adam before hee fell but there being a breach made we cannot be recovered againe till God be with us he must take our natures that he may reconcile our persons Now Christ is Emanuell first in regard of nature God with us or God in our nature The pure nature of God and the base nature of man that were strangers ever since the fall are knit together in Christ. What can be in a greater degree of strangenesse except the devils then mens unholinesse and Gods pure nature Yet the nature of man and of God being so severed before are met together in one Christ. So that in this one word Emanuell there is heaven and earth God and man infinite and finite therefore we may well prefix Behold A true Saviour of the world must bee God with man Whether wee consider the greatnesse of the good we are to have by a Saviour or the greatnesse of the evil we are to be freed from by a Saviour both which doe inforce that he must be Emanuell God with us First the greatnesse of the good which we are to have for he is to bee God and man together to satisfie the wrath of God to undergoe a punishment due to sinne as our surety hee must give us title to heaven and bring us thither and who can doe this but God Besides Secondly hee must know our hearts our wants our griefes our infirmities hee must bee every where to relieve us And who can doe this but God So Thirdly in regard of evil which we are to be freed from He is to defend us in the middest of the enemies and who is above the devill and sinne and the wrath of God and all the oppositions that stand betweene us and heaven but God So in regard of the good in regard of the evill and in regard of the preservation to an Eternall good estate and freedome from eternall evill he must be Emanuell God with us These grand principles are enough to satisfie in this point And Secondly as he must be God so there was a necessity of his being Man Man had sinned and man must suffer for sin and without bloud there was no remission and then that he might be a mercifull and pittifull Saviour he must take that nature on him that he meaneth to save there must be a sutablenesse and sympathy Sutablenesse that the head and the members The sanctified and the Sanctifier may bee both of one nature And a Sumpathy that he might be touched with humane infirmities Thirdly this God and man must bee one person For if there were two persons God one distinct person and man another then there were two Christs and so the actions of the one could not bee attributed to the other As man dyed and shed his bloud it could not have beene said that God dyed But because there was but one person God is truely said to dye though hee dyed in mans nature for hee tooke mans nature into unity with his person and whatsoever either nature did the whole person is said to doe and therefore Christ is

raised above Angells Let swearers beastly persons and profane hypocrites either alter their courses or else say they beleeve not these truths Shall a man beleeve God hath taken his nature into unity of his person and hath raised it above all Angells and can he turne beast yea devill incarnate in opposition of CHRIST and his cause What a shame is this can this bee where these things are beleeved A Christian should have high thoughts of himselfe what shall I defile the nature that God hath taken into unity of his person And as hee hath dignified and raised and advanced our nature so highly so likewise hee hath infused and put all the riches of grace into our nature For all grace is in CHRIST that a finite nature can bee capable of For CHRIST is neerest the fountaine Now the humane nature being so neere the fountaine of all good that is God it must needs bee as rich as nature can possibly be capable of And is not this for our good are not all his Riches for our use And therefore seeing our nature is dignified by Emanuell and inriched exceedingly by his graces next to infinite For our humane nature is not turned to God as some are conceited It is not deified and so made infinite yet as much as the creature can bee capable of there is in Christ-man and so shall wee defile that nature And from hence that our nature is ingrafted into the God-head it followeth that what was done in our nature was of wonderfull extention force and dignity because it was done when our nature was knit to the God head and therefore it maketh up all objections As. How could the death of one man satisfie for the deaths of many millions Secondly it was the death of Christ whose humane nature was ingrafted into the second person of the Trinity For because they were but one person whatsoever the humane nature did or suffered God did it If they had beene 2. Persons God had not dyed God had not suffered God had not redeemed his Church And therefore the Scripture runneth comfortably on this God hath redeemed the Church with his owne bloud hath GOD blood No but the nature that GOD tooke into unity of persons hath blood and so being one person with God God shed his blood It is God that purchased a Church with his blood it is God that dyed The Virgin Mary was Mother of GOD because shee is the Mother of that nature which was taken into unity with God Hereupon comes the dignity of whatsoever Christ did and suffered Though hee did it in our nature yet the God-head gave it its worth and not onely worth but God put some activity some vigour and force into all that Christ did It doth advance Christ Mediatour according to both natures And from hence ariseth Communication of properties as Divines call it which I will not now speake of It is sufficient to see that whatsoever was done by Christ was done by God hee being Emanuell and therefore had its worth and dignity to prevaile with God Hence commeth a forcible reason That God must satisfie Divine Justice because it was the action of a God-man His great sufferings were the sufferings of the second person in our nature And hereupon from satisfaction and merit comes reconciliation betweene Ged and us God being satisfied by Christ God and we are at tearmes of peace our peace is well founded if it bee founded in God the Father by God the Sonne taking our nature into unity of his person These things must have influence into our comforts and into our lives and conversations being the grand Articles of Faith And therefore wee ought to thinke often of them Wee must fetch principles of comfort and holines from hence as from the greatest arguments that can be therefore I desire to bee so punctuall in them God is Emanuell especially to make God and us one Christ is our Friend in taking our nature to make God and us friends againe But how doth friendshippe betweene God and us arise from hence that Christ is God in our nature I will give 2. or 3. Reasons of it First it is good reason that God should bee at peace with us because sinne the cause of division is taken away It is sinne the cause of division is taken away It is sinne that separateth betweene God and us and if sinne bee taken away God is mercy it selfe and mercy will have a current What stoppeth mercy but sinne Secondly take away sinne it runneth amaine Christ therefore became Emanuell God with us Because hee is the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the World Before Adam had sinned there was sweet agreement and communion betweene Adam and God but sinne that devided betweene God and the creature now Christ haveing made satisfaction for all our sins there can be nothing but mercy Againe Christ is a fit person to knit God and us together because our nature is pure in Christ and therefore in Christ God loveth us After satisfaction God lookes on our nature in Christ and seeth it pure in him Christ is the glory of our nature Now if our nature bee pure in our head which is the glory of our nature God is reconciled to us and loveth us in him that is pure out of whom GOD can not love us As Christ is pure and our nature in him so he will make us pure at length Thirdly Christ being our head of influence conveyeth the same spirit that is in him to all his members and by little and little by that spirit purgeth his Church and maketh her fit for Communion with himselfe for he maketh us partakers of the Divine nature he tooke our fraile humane nature that wee might partake of his Divine nature this is of his Divine qualities to be holy pure humble and obedient as hee was And thus Christ being a head not onely of eminence to rule and governe but of influence to flow by his spirit into all his members is fit to bee a reconciler to bring God and us together partly because our nature is in him and partly because hee doth communicate the same spirit to us that is in himselfe and by little and little maketh us holy like himselfe I hasten to the maine use of all Then God the father and wee are in good tearmes for the second person is God in our nature for this end to make God and us friends There is a notable place of Scripture which I note for the expressions sake hee speaking there of a Days man There is no Dayes-man betweene us that might lay his hand on us both that is a middle person to lay his hand on the one and the other Now CHRIST is the middle person as the second person in Trinity And then hee is God and man and therefore hee is fit to bee Mediatour to lay his hand on both sides on man as