Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	grace_n	life_n	sin_n	2,939	5	4.9686	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03351	The penitent sinners entertainement. Set foorth by Mr. Iohn Hill, Student in Diuinitie, and now Preacher of Gods Word at Dublin in Ireland	Hill, John, preacher of Gods word at Dublin.	1614 (1614)	STC 13471; ESTC S114518	31,323	88

THE PENITENT SINNERS ENTERTAINEMENT Set foorth by Mr. IOHN HILL Student in Diuinitie and now Preacher of Gods Word at Dublin in IRELAND AT LONDON Printed by IOHN BEALE for IONAS MAN 1614. TO THE VVORshipfull and vertuous Gentlewomen M is TEMPERANCE CREW wife to Mr. Thomas Crew and M is Mary Blinco wife to Mr. Iohn Blinco I. H. desireth all grace and peace vnfainedly to bee multiplied c. GOdly and christian gentlewomen whom I loue in the truth 2. Ioh. 1. I hope I may speake of you as did that worthy Apostle of the elect lady who by the fruits of her piety and godlines manifested her election so you by the loue you beare towards God his ordinances and seruants doe declare euidently 1. Ioh. 3.14 your translation from death to life and by your vertuous and holie liues you demonstrate freedome from sin which are of euerlasting life I haue made bolde Christian Gentlewomen to patronize this small worke vnder your fauours in token of thankefulnes for your many fauours I haue receiued from you not doubting but small things of this nature will bee much respected and willingly receiued both in respect of your owne priuate gaine as also the profit benefit which the whole Church of God may reap gather frō it Now if you or the rest of the body of Christ shall receiue any benefit by it for the furthering of that worke of repentanee and sanctification of life giue God the glory and praise And so J humbly take my leaue commending you to the prouidence of God and the word of his grace Act. 20.32 which is able to build further and to giue you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified Steane this 20. of Aprill 1612. Yours in all christian duties to commaund IOHN HILL THE PENITENT SINNERS ENTERTAINEMENT LVKE 15.20 21 22 c. So he arose and came to his Father and when he was yet a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his necke c. IN all this parable of a godly and religious father and a stubborne and impious sonne is prefigured and set downe the vnspeakeable loue and compassion of God our heauenly father to all his children in Iesus Christ which haue beene rebellious and disobedient before their calling In these words are set down two things viz. First the duties of a penitent sinner Secondly the promotion that the penitent person comes vnto In the dueties of the penitent person there are two things to be considered First a perswasion of mercy sure confidence of obteining compassion if he did returne implied in the word Father as if he should haue said truth it is O Father as my life works haue beene toward thee I doe not deserue to be thy son as in the words following may appeare but yet neuer the lesse I am perswaded that though I haue failed of my duty towards thee yet thou wilt not faile of thy loue to me although there be no desert of mercy in me yet I know there is cōpassion for seeking for with thee and this is the first ground the penitent person laies to obtaine mercie Secondly the penitent person confesseth his sinne whereby he had offended his father for there must be a confession that as the childe is to be well perswaded of the loue of his father so hee must be ill perswaded of himselfe in respect of his sinne and therefore he saith I haue sinned against heauen and before thee that is against the God of heauen and against thee my naturall father and so I haue broken both the tables of the commandements And he confesseth also he was not worthie to be called a sonne to so godly a father or to receiue mercie that was so full of impietie making himselfe vile and base in his owne eyes that he might be highly esteemed in his Fathers eies which is the first part Now for the second part of this text which is the promotion the penitent sinner shall be exalted vnto set downe in the 22. 23. verses rendering a reason wherfore the father did thus promote him The promotion set downe is this the father seeing his riotous and vnthriftie sonne returne home with a broken and humble heart and with a resolution to become a new man and rather desiring his fathers loue then his goods he presently offers himselfe to his childe before he could aske for his needs he commaunds his seruants to bring forth such things as his penitent sonne wanted and to giue it before he did craue it for the father seeing his sonne so well clothed with humilitie and with godly remorse for his former life within he wil not reiect him though he came poore and ragged outward but cals for the best robe to couer him The comparison is taken from a King and a princelike childe whose manner was to weare robes and before the sonne could aske for apparrell which he stoode in neede of the father giues him a robe to put on for seeing he had made himselfe base in his owne eyes he would cloath him royally that hee might seeme precious in his fathers eyes And put a ring on his hand that is hee would not only giue him things for necessity but also to adorne beautifie him as the Apostle saith vpon our vncomely parts he will put more comelinesse on And shooes on his feete And whereas he came barefooted to his father he commaunds shooes to be put on his feete to keepe and preserue them from thornes and stones that might annoy hurt thē And bring the fatte calfe c And whereas he came with a languishing stomacke for want of meate for before he had beene feeding amongst swine now he will refresh him with a tender calfe with pleasant and comfortable meate And let vs eat be merie Here is cause of mirth reioycing on both sides First on the fathers side that had lost an vntowardly sonne and now had found an obedient sonne that went from him dead in his sinnes and returned quickned vnto the life of grace that departed impenitent and returned humbled in all which there was cause of mirth and this cause the father renders himselfe to his eldest sonne for my sonne was dead and is now aliue he was lost but is now found c. Secondly there was cause of reioycing in the sonne because he went from his father a dead man and now he comes to his father a liuing man he went from him stubborne proude disobedient he returnes meeke penitent and obedient in truth he departed from him a childe of Belia● and returnes to him the childe of God in all which there was great cause of ioy on both sides And so much for the somme and order of these words The drift of the parable is that if a godly father had a stubborne and vngodly sonne that had departed from him and spent his portion amongst ryotous and lewd companions yet if

our heauenly Father And let vs bee so farre from reuenging wrongs offered vs that wee pray for them that hate vs and blesse them that curse vs ouercoming euill with goodnesse as wee are commaunded And so much for this first doctrine And the sonne said vnto him Father I haue sinned against Heauen Here is the confession of this prodigall childe to his worthy father as if hee should haue said truth it is I haue sinned against the God of Heauen in sinning against you my naturall parent and whereas before I thought my selfe to good to bee your childe or to remaine within your house yet now I change my opinion and thinke not my selfe worthy to bee sonne to so good a father and that the worst place in your familie is to good for mee so vntoward a sonne And so much is to bee vnderstood in the 21 verse But in that hee confessed hee sinned against God by disobeying of his father wee learne this doctrine Doct. 4 That those which wrong men doe sinne against God In iniuring men on earth wee sinne against the Lord in heauen This is proued by the wise man where hee saith Hee that mocketh the poore reprocheth him that made him Pro. 17.15 hee that derides the creature doth mocke the creatour and he that contemnes the worke doth by consequence speake against the workeman Also the Apostle proues the same when he saith Cor. 1.8.12 Now when yee sin against the bretheren wound their weeke consciences ye sinne against Christ Where the holy Apostle sheweth that those offences that are committed against the weake bretheren doe redound to bee committed against Christ when they offend the members they sinne against the head And therefore Christ saith Math. 18.6 Whosoeuer shall offend one of those littleones that beleue in mee it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his necke and that hee were drowned in the depth of the Sea Thus wee see that if any offend the least christian he doth offend Christ and shall bee seuerely punished and this Christ will doe when hee will passe sentence of condemnation against the reprobates I was a hungred and yee gaue mee no meate I was thirsty and yee gaue mee no drinke I was a stranger and yee tooke me not in to you and so forth Where for the omitting of good duties to bee performed to the members of Christ Christ takes the omission of dutie as done to himselfe and so a sin done against God The reasons to proue this doctrine are Reason 1 First because whensoeuer wee wrong men we breake the commaundement of God and so wee must needes sinne against God Now hee commaundes a law of equity that that I would that men should vnto mee doe I the same vnto them and hee bids vs doe good vnto all c. Now when wee breake any of the diuine lawes of God wee trespasse against God and this made Dauid to cry out Psal 51. I haue sinned against thee against thee onely But one might haue said Dauid you haue wronged Vriah in taking his wife away It is true but I haue broken Gods law and so sinned against God by killing Vriah Secondly in wronging men wee sinne against God because euery man and woman carries the image of God and so wronging the person of man hee wrongs the image of God And this Iob did consider well of which did terrifie him from wronging his seruants as appeares by his words what then shall I doe when God standeth vp and when hee shall visit mee what shall I answere hee that hath made mee in the wombe hath hee not made him hath not hee alone fashioned vs in the wombe Sith that God is offended when man Vse 1 is wronged it serues first for instruction that wee should take heede how wee doe wrong any man or woman and not to say I care not for him or her for hee is but a base person a man of no accompt c. Nay but take heede how you iniure and wrong him bee hee neuer so base in your eies hee may bee an heire of Heauen and a true child of God and at least hee carries the image of God in some measure vppon him and so you cannot safely wrong him but you sinne against the God of Heauen and besides you are forbidden to wrong any bee they neuer so base and vile But such persons as wrong these base ones as they terme them dare not wrong a greater person because if they should they might haue the law inflicted vppon them and so thereby bee brought into danger as to bee cast into prison c. But to hurt and trouble a poore christian that they feare not to doe but such must know there is as great danger to wrong the poorest christian as in iniuring the greatest personage in the world for the wrong done to the member redounds to the head and the hurt offered to the porest christian is a sinne against Christ him selfe and as the Prophet Zacharie saith Zach. 2.8 Hee that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye There is none would endure one to stirre or row a thorne or any such like thing in ones eie but one should feele it for there is no place so tender about one as the apple of the eye how much more sensible is God of the iniuries and wrongs offered vnto his children and cannot endure them that thus touch him in so tender a place as to wrong his beloued ones such shall bee sure to smart for it And if the Lord would not haue Balaam to wrong his Asse much lesse will hee suffer wicked men to wrong his children but many care not what iniury they doe to others so they can act it cunningly and worke it subtilely that they may not bee seene or so that the lawes of the Realme will not take hold of them As the wife many times towards the husband shee cares not what hard speeches shee giues him because there is no humane lawes against her for it but such wiues must know that seeing God is offended when their husbands are thus wronged by them they shall not goe vnpunished vnles they repent for Gods law and precept is violated that commaunds wines to bee obedient to their husbands in the Lord. So many times the husband hee wrongs his wife in word countenance and somtime in their disordered passions in blowes when in truth there is no cause offered him but this argues there is but a little feare of God in him that thus will wrong his owne flesh such men little consider when they reuile their wiues they reuile God himselfe and when they thus wrong them they sinne against him for they breake his commaundement that chargeth euery husband to loue their wiues as Christ loued his church and to to dwel with them as men of knowledge c. But vnles such husbands come to true repentance for the iniurie thus offered to their wiues God will surely plague and