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	suffer_v	suffering_n	2,047	5	9.4271	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78140	A sermon preached at the funerall of the Right Honourable and most excellent lady, the Lady Elizabeth Capell dowager. Together with some brief memorialls of her most holy life and death. By Edm. Barker, late chaplain to her Honour, and now rector of Buriton in Hampshire.	Barker, Edmund, b. 1620 or 21.	1660 (1660)	Wing B766; Thomason E1046_14; ESTC R38546	36,267	67

That whil'st in Millain Ambrose tarried there The Fiend durst not so much as once appear His very Absence plainly did confess And publish to the world his guiltiness He was afraid of that good man and why Not for his pow'rs sake but his piety Thus these Infernal workers of the Night Shun a Saint's presence as do Owls the Light Mirrour of Christians In whom equally Both Grace and Nature joyned Heads whereby To make one piece most Rare and Eminent Which should surmount what e're was excellent And that was Thee Ev'ry Celestial Grace Cent'ring in Thee as in it's proper place So that who e're would fain come near the best Must strive to equal Thee and that done rest How did thy well digested Family Resemble to the Life th' Oeconomy Of those Celestial spirits so that here A man might see how Angels govern'd were Avant Propanness Lewdness stand aloof Such Vermine must not think under this Roof To find a nesting place here 's Sanctuary For none but Saints and Heavenly Company Her Mornings work was first her Soul to dress Then next her Body with such comeliness As best beseems a Saint no Painting here No Crisping-pins no Curling of the Hair But all that sober dressing which S. Paul Enjoyns his Matrons and commends to all Pictures do shadows need and art but nature Shines most resplendent in her proper feature Next to her Mornings work her Family Took up the following Time 'till by and by Hark the Clock strikes then to Pray'rs we go Business must yield to Duty 'T is not so In all great Families but her blest mind Could else no Joy no Satisfaction find Nor could she think there would a Blessing be Where God hath not his Times as well as we Religion which some make a sport and play And others worse a Preface to make way To base designs a Silken Mask to hide VVhat otherwise dares not the Light abide Was her Delight her Joy her Recreation Her work her business her negotiation An early Saint she was she did not stay Or put off Duty 'till another day But fell to work with th' first knowing how vain It is to wish what can't be lent again And who would spend one minute carelesly Did he but understand that possibly The next may not be his or seriously Think what on each depends Eternity Eternity which grows still as it spends Like th' oil i th' vessel has nor bounds nor ends Blest Soul Heroick Saint who hadst within Besides thy Sex nothing was Feminine Crosses were no new things with thee th' had been Thy constant Lot for years thou hadst doth seen And felt what 't is to suffer Suffer sore Such suff'rings as had scarce been heretofore Thy Dearest Lord untimely hurry'd hence Not for his Crimes but his Allegiance He was too good to live had rather dye Then act ought which look't like Disloyalty Rebellion Rampant could not terrifie His High-born Soul Alas what 's Victory The cause being bad but thriving Villany Base-Coward Souls who know not to rise high But by inglorious acts a Capell-spirit Will learn you better arts true fame to merit Heroick suff'rings will entail a Name 'T is not the Death but Cause which brings the shame Scaffolds are Theaters the cause being good 'T is no disgrace to wade to Heav'n in bloud He might for 's Death-bed chose a Bed of Down 'T would have been softer true but less renown Heav'n was his aim which rather then to miss He chose the Axe to hugge the Block to kiss His shortest cut to Heav'n as things now stood Lay strait along through th'red sea of his bloud See how his Family thrives upon 't how all Do court Relation to that Name which shall Survive in honour when others memory Shall rot i' th' grave of lasting Infamy Could Tears retrive his precious Life we wou'd Threaten another Deluge and weep bloud But they 'r not Tears will weep him out of 's Bliss Spare then your sighs He 's better as he is With Charles the great stout Strafford Canterbury Bold Lucas daring Montross Company Which would an Angel from his seat of Bliss Invite though but t' enjoy such Happiness Rest then Blest Soul be Happy still and still Go on t' enjoy of them and Heaven thy fill And since we can't with teares re-call thy Fate We 'l strive by Acts thy Life to imitate Our Almanacks rather then want a Tombe Shall tell it forth Great Capell 's Martyrdome And was not that a Loss without compare Which with one fatal stroke did such a pair Part from each other Yet hold not parted quite They 'r met togeth'r again Death to requite That spightfull loss dispatch't her to her Bliss And marry'd them both again in Happiness And now great GOD whose Ruling Providence Doth reach to hairs and all thing here dispense Whose are our lives in whose hand are our deaths Who lengthen'st out stop'st at will our breaths Make the great Samplar of her Virtuous Life Of all our cares and thoughts the onely strife Let 's not for she did not our selves content Barely in being good but Excellent That of her Life a pious Imitation May bring us also to her habitation And sharing with her in like Graces here We may with her shine in her Glories There FINIS

sweet and comfortable death so on the contrary it is very rare and seldome that a wicked life makes a good and happy end And therefore Tully an heathen Oratour could call this the highest pitch and emprovement of the best wisdome To do those things living which we would desire to have done when we are to die holy Bernard seconds it with advice much to the same purpose In every action and enterprise of thy life sayes he be still saying over to thy self Si modo moriturus esses istud faceres if thou wert to die out of hand wouldst thou doe so and so And who of us all can tell that he is not modo moriturus to die soon for life we know is uncertain and death very ordinarily comes suddenly upon people and not alwayes in the preface and solemnity either af a lingring Consumption or a swelling Dropsie or a tedious Ague or a growing Fever or the like but many times in the sudden surprisalls of some secret and unexpected accident which we could not possibly foresee untill it came to light fatally and mortally upon us And does it not concern us then to be continually numbring our dayes and putting our selves in as great a readinesse and preparednesse for death as may be that so we may rather our selves be said to meet it then That to come suddenly and unexpectedly upon us And to this purpose was this Psalm here penned which contains in it if you mark it well a relation and narrative both of the necessity of our mortality and also the brevity and uncertainty of our lives To the end that having these things alwayes in our thoughts before our eyes both the necessity of our mortality that it is necessary for us at some time to die and also the brevity and uncertainty of our lives that it is possible for us to die every hour we might the sooner be awakened out of our present course of sin and incogitancy into studious endeavours and practises of piety and devotion of abstinence and mortification of heavenly mindednesse and spirituall affections in a word of a wise and timely provision of such gracious habits and dispositions which may in some good measure dresse our souls for a fit salute and entertainment of death These words which I have now read unto you do contain in them the form and substance of a devout and pious prayer and whether David was the Authour of it or Moses that should not need to trouble us for to be sure the prayer it self is most Divine and heavenly and the very piety of the prayer does sufficiently declare the Authour whoever he was to be highly pious and religious In it we have particularly considerable these four things First Quis petit who it is that prayes or the party praying and that indeed is not expressed in terms but conceived by some to be holy David whose are most of the other Psalms but presumed by others to be Moses grounding their opinion and that not without good cause upon the Title and Inscription of the Psalm Psalmus Moses viri Dei a Psalm of Moses the man of God Secondly Proquibus petit who they are whom he prayes for not if you mark it for himself alone but for others as well or for himself conjunctly and together with others Doce nos Teach us Thirdly Quid petit what it is which he prayes for and that is negatively no worldly advantage at all no temporal concerment but positively to be taught and instructed in the mysterious art of spiritual Arirhmetick to be put into a right way and method of numbring and counting up our dayes Doce nos numerare dies nostros Teach us to number our dayes Fourthly Propter quid petit the design and end of his prayer or the particular reason principally moving him to make this request and that is adductio cordis ad sapientiam the application of our hearts unto wisdome or our spiritual instruction and edification Sic doce ut adducamus So teach us that we may apply our hearts unto wisdome I shall begin with the first of these The party making the request and he as is generally concluded was holy Moses A man of God So the inscription of the Psalm styles him One that was faithful in all his house so the Authour to the Hebrews reports him chap. 3. 5. See what what an high character what a large commendation here is some are faithfull in this or that in one or two particular instances of piety Thus one man is very temperate another very humble another very patient another very mortified another very charitable but Moses you see he was a through proficient an universal Saint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faithfull in all Whence be pleased to take away with you this observation that the best and most excellent Saints of all have great need and reason to pray to be better taught and instructed in duty And why in many things we do all fall short and offend the brightest Moon hath its spots the richest wine hath its lees and there are dreggs and much corrupt matter lodging in the best and most improved Saint of us all Well but mark what it is which Moses here prayes for onely to be taught to number his dayes But did he not do this already was it not his dayly work this his constant and continual employment Yes doubtlesse it was yea and he did it carefully and conscientiously too But yet he thought he did it not well enough and therefore prayes here in the Text to be taught to do better See a good man how little he pleaseth himself in any action of his life in any performance of duty that he does He can never think that he does well enough whatever he does but still desires to do otherwise and would fain do better There is an affection of modesty and humility which still accompanies real piety and every pious man is an humble modest man never reckons himself a perfect proficient or to be advanced above a teaching but is content and covetous to be a continual learner to know more then he knows and to do better then he does yea and thinks it no disparagement to his graces at all to take advice and to seek instruction where it is to be had A proud man is evermore high lofty in his own conceit and none is so wise as he none fit and worthy enough to teach him What doest thou teach us said the Pharisees you know to the blind man in the Gospel Iohn 9. 35. oh but an humble man is ever meek and lowly in his own eyes and takes it well yea and is glad and desirous to be taught Accordingly O teach me sayes holy David to do the thing that pleaseth thee Psal 143. 10 and here in the Text So teach us to number our dayes S. Paul 2 Tim. 4. 3. reports it of some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who will not endure sound doctrine But such