Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	great_a	heart_n	see_v	2,704	5	3.2736	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07450	The Christian mans assuring house. And a sinners conuersion Two sermons; the former, preached, before the Prince his Highnesse at St. Iames: the other to his Maiesties houshold at White-hall, on Sunday the 6. of February by George Meriton Doctor of Diuinitie, and Deane of Peterborough.	Meriton, George, d. 1624.	1614 (1614)	STC 17837; ESTC S112663	30,464	58

confounded in herselfe Non legimus quae dixit sed legimus quae fecit vt intelligamus apud Deum plus valere opera quam verba We reade what shee did not what shee said to let vs know that works are auailable with God more then words And vnto whom shall I haue a regard saith God but to one that is contrite broken hearted and who trembleth at my sayings Moses spake not a word Exod. 14. And yet sayeth God vnto Moses Why doest thou cry vnto me Such was the griefe of Mary her teares her sighes her sobs did stop her mouth onely in her heart shee cried and spake as Moses did Wee may not neglect this holy example hauing a cloude of Motiues calling vpon vs to follow her steppes motive One taken from our vocation wher unto God hath called vs. In the 22. of Esay the 12. verse The Lord of hostes is said to call vs vnto weeping and mourning In the 2. of Ioel the 17. verse Let the Priests saith God and the Ministers of the Lord weepe between the Porch and the Altar And it is Saint Paules iniunction 1. Corinth 7.17 that as God hath called euery man so he should walke motive Another Motiue is from the prediction of Christ who in the 16. of Iohn the 20. verse foretold that his Church should weepe Verily verily I say vnto you yee shall lament and weepe and the world shall reioyce Weeping is the badge of the Church Laughing of worldly men All the Saints of God haue beene deep sighers great weepers King Dauid thought it no disparagement for him to say that hee caused his bed to swimme and watered his couch with teares Psalm 6. 6. verse Hezekias a noble King wept very sore 2. Kings 20. 3. verse Iob in his 30. chap. 25. verse appealeth vnto God in this case Did not I weepe with him that was in trouble and was not my soule in heauinesse for the poore Esay the Prophet in his 22. chapter 4. verse wept and would not be comforted Ieremy in his 9. chapter 1. verse Wisheth that his head were full of water and his eyes a fountaine of teares that he might weepe day and night Daniel was in heauinesse for three weekes of daies together Dan. 10.2 The Apostle S. Peter wept bitterly Matth. 26. Of all the holy Kings Prophets Apostles Martyrs Confessours Children of God it may beesayd as it is in the 126. Psalme verse Quod ibant flentes that they all went by weeping crosse motive A third motiue may bee taken from the names in the Scriptures which are giuen vnto the faithfull in the ninth of Exechiel the fourth they are call Mourners and Cryers In the sixteenth of Marc. the tenth This our Mary Magdalen who went to tell the Brethren that Christ was risen is sayd to goe vnto them who mourned and wept And if names bee giuen as the Philosopher tels vs to expresse the nature of things It is then very naturall for faythfull ones to be Mourners and weepers motive 4 A fourth motiue may be taken from promises made vnto vs that if wee mourne we shall be comforted In the 61. Chap. of Esay the 12. verse Christ is sayd to be sent to preach good tidings vnto the poore to binde vp the broken hearted to comfort those that mourne To giue vnto them Beauty for Ashes the garment of gladnesse for the Spirit of heauinesse Who would not bee a Mourner when as Christ onely commeth to cheere vp such a one will not promises perswade motive 5 Let then in the fift place Iudgements preuaile to wring teares from our eyes For woe sayth our Sauiour Christ Luke 6. 28. verse vnto you which laugh that is vnto you which liue at ease merily after the pleasures of the flesh for you shall waile shew outward signes of heauinesse and weepe and be inwardly tormented After a great feast followeth a great paiment and much laughter is recompenced with much woe If we did but consider well what howling and gnashing of teeth is prepared in hell for lowde laughers in this world it would make vs to mourne like Pellicans in the wildernesse like owles in the Desert to weepe till our bones were vexed till our eyes did sincke till our hearts were smitten within vs and withered vp like grasse as the Prophet speaketh motive 6 A sixt Motiue may we take from the causes of weeping Within vs without vs round about vs. Quocung oculot conuertis causa est lachrimarum Looke vpon our selues and in our selues vpon our ignorance our little desire to learns our reiecting of knowledge our crookednesse in our willes our corruptions in affections our Rebellion against God our want of Loue to our Neighbours our manifold sinnes which hang vpon all our members we shall finde in our selues great cause of weeping There are more sinnes committed with the little eye of a man then the teares of all eyes without the merits of Christ can euer wash away Look vpon others and in others vpon those horrible wickednesses that are committed by them vppon the prophaning of the Sabaoth vpon the common vse of swearing the beastly sinne of whoring the swinish sinne of drinking the default of Magistrates in punishing and there will appeare vnto a religious heart infinite cause of weeping If there were wanting weeping worke at home there were enough abroad motive 7 Seuenthly the place wherein wee liue should mooue vs heereunto Wisdome doth teach vs to square and apply our selues vnto that place wherein we are conuersant A Courtier must not behaue himselfe like a Country man nor a Country man like a Courtier If beeing at a funerall or in the house of mourning we should doe nothing else but laugh all would wonder at vs for so strange a behauiour The place wherein wee are it is the world resembled vnto the sea full of dangers of rockes or rempests Our bodies which are the vessels to carry vs in this sea are weake crazy so many sences so many leakes to let dangers in Rimarum pleni sumus we are full of Rifts In a word 〈…〉 in a vale of miseries in a vally of teares and sighes and teares doe best becomme vs in such a place motive 8 A last motiue may bee draw●… from the nature of Conuersion Thou art a continuall sinner yet desirous to bee saued thou must then continually renew thy repentance He that repenteth must turne vnto his God and Ioel telles vs in his second chapter 12. verse that it must be done with all the heart with fasting with weeping and with mourning Thus did Dauid turne vnto his God Lord sayth hee Psalme 38. I poure out my whole desire before thee and my sighing is not hid from thee my heart panteth my strength fasleth I am bowed and crooked very sore I goe mourning all the day long will wee then turne vnto our God Repent vs of our sinnes and be saued wee must roare with Dauid for very griefe of heart mourne with Magdalen Christ wept for the sinnes of others It were a shame then for vs not to weepe for our owne transgressions Haue we liued in sinne which caused Christ not onely to shed teares but to spend his bloud for vs and did there neuer yet falle a teare from our owne eyes Haue we liued 20. 40. 80. yeeres and can we not remember that wee euer wept for our sinnes A shrewd signe that we neuer yet repented Teares for sin sayth S. Bernard are like the water which Christ turned into wine they are like Noahs floud which doe wash and clense as they goe Oratio Deum lenit sed lachryma cogit illa vngit haec pungit saith Saint Hierome It is a dry sacrifice sayth Gregory that is not watered with teares Is it childishnesse to weepe if it were so we must be like children before wee enter into the Kingdome of Heauen Wherefore seeing we are called vnto mourning seeing Christ foretold that we should be weepers seeing wee are so called in the Scriptures seeing there are great rewards for weepers great punishment for laughers seeing there are many causes to mourne within vs without vs round about vs seeing the world is a place of teares and that our Conuersion must be ioyned with a sadnesse of heart hauing so many Motiues to perswade Let not Maries example be slightly regarded whose heart eyes were relatiues in sorrow A stagge if he be compassed with dogges will weepe and mourne Hath an vnreasonable creature such an impression of griefe because of his enemies much more then ought men and women shed teares being compassed about with so many Diuels so many euils set vpon with fiends burthened with sinnes pestred with a thousand infirmities wherefore let vs drowne our sinnes with the teares of our eyes as the Aegyptians were drowned with the waters of the sea Let vs say with Dauid my teares haue beene my meat day and night let vs say with Christ my Soule is heauie let vs open the fountaines of our eyes with Marie and strangle our sinnes with the streames of our teares for she stood at Christs feet behinde him weeping and beganne to wash his feete with her teares you may finde further in the Text that shee did wipe them with the haires of her head that she kissed his feete and annoynted them with her oyntment Quot habuit in se oblectamenta tot fecit de se holocausta her eyes her haires her lips her oyntment all the instruments of her death were turned at her Conuersion into the means of life God giue vs grace to embrace her example Amen FINIS

her a further search First who this woman was Secondly why her name is concealed Thirdly what was her Sinne Fourthly where was this City question For the first Origen with Theophilact tels vs that there were three Mary Magdalens wherof as they say this was one Chrisostome with whom agreeth Saint Barnard is of opinion that there were but two whereof one was the sister of Lazarns and the other this woman S. Augustine S. Gregory and Beda say plainely there was but one Mary Magdalen making this and the sister of Lazarus and of Martha to be the same vnto whom there were many sinnes remitted and out of whom there were many diuels remooued And albeit some thing might be obiected to the contrary yet for that I finde it to be the common opinion of ancient times I am willing to embrace it the rather for that she was one of them which followed Christ out of Galile where this accident fell out As we finde in the beginning of the next chapter which makes it more probable This woman then was Mary Magdalen question 2 Secondly why would not the Euangelist call her by her name was it because shee was so knowen a sinner in all the city as that shee had thereby as it were lost her proper name Indeed as by good actions names of honour are many times pocured as Aristotle for his knowledge is called the Philosopher Tullie for his eloquence the Oratour so for euill deedes are there oftentimes fastened vpon vs Nicke-names of disgrace As a contentious fellow may in time be called a towne-wrangler a couetous man a citie miser a flattering Preacher a court clawbacke Such perhaps was Maries cafe Shee was so wretched and shamelesse a sinner as in stead of Marie she was called the city-sinner Or was her name suppressed to teach others a lesson that when wee are about to publish the defects of men we should conceale their names so doth Saint Luke in his 16. chapter where describing a rich Glutton he tels of his cruelty he spareth not his particular sinnes yet doth he not publish or proclaime his name Our hatred must be against the sinnes of men and not the men themselues Or is she namelesse to teach all sinners that howsoeuer they heere striue to make their names great to call their lands after their names Psal 49. yet that God will not acknowledge them that before him they shall be namelesse not once remembring them to giue his allowance of them These are likely to be the causes why Mary is heere vnnamed and in place of Marie called a sinner question But what fowle sinne had she committed Some are of opinion that she was vnchaste yet not in body but only in minde and affection and that therfore being vsed to decke her selfe wantonly in light attire she gat the name of a sinner It is commonly found true that outward attire is the token of inward disposition yet for that publike censure passeth vpon none where sinne is secret and that the Euangelist nameth her a sinner in a city a knowen offendour it cannot choose but that her offences were publike in her outward actions Others suppose shee was a common whore prostituting her body to euery commer but this mee thinketh is too sharpe a censure For such for the most part are poore and miserable and know not readily otherwise to relieue themselues but Mary Magdalen was well descended of good wealth she ministred vnto Christ and his disciples out of her owne abundance And therefore it is not likely that she would betake herselfe to so base a trade Most probable it is that amongst other of her sinnes whoredome was one that she had giuen herselfe to idlenesse and so fallen into filthy lust which is a sinne subiect to great reproach especially in a woman of eminent rancke none more for which cause she was publiquely noted and termed a sinner in all the city question 4 This city out of Question was the city Naim in Galile of which wee reade in the eleuenth verse of this chapter which our Euangelist in this place nameth not being needlesse without cause to repeat one thing twice Heere did Christ raise to life the widowes dead son Heere did he raise to grace this sinfull woman In this prouince of Galile was Mary borne in a towne called Magdaleel of which we read in the nineteenth of Iosua and of which towne shee tooke her name Magdalen Now in this city of Galile she hearing of the fame of Christ and being moued in her minde with the strangenesse of the Miracle wrought vpon the widowes sonne being also touched with the spirit of God and resoluing with her selfe that this was the Messias that was to come we may well conceiue by reason of the Sequel her speedy Conuersion which followed that she thus reasoned within her soule Surely he that hath restored to life a dead young man can likewise giue life vnto mee who am deade in my sinnes Hee that onely by a Touch caused the men that bare the corps to stay can compell these to cease which are carrying me to Hell My beauty my riches my liberty my youthfull yeeres they are now transporting mee into the hands of death I will goe vnto this Christ it may bee hee will vouchsafe to touch me with his hand of mercy and can se these porters to stay When a widdow cryed for the death of her sonne hee was mooued with compassion towards her If I then who am motherlesse goe and bewaile mine owne estate if I water his feet with mine owne teares there is hope of mercy for me He that calleth all sinners to repentance will not despise mee though I bee a sinner Surely this is that Prophet which is sent to visit vs I will runne vnto this fountaine I will returne vnto my God from whom I haue gone astray And forthwith sayth the Text when she knew that Iesus sat at the Table in the Pharisies house shee went vnto him Conuersion And heere doth our Euangelist begin to describe her Conuersion Wherein hee imitateth a skilfull painter who first draweth out the lineaments of his picture with a coale or blacke lead and then layeth on liuely colours So doth S. Luke first he noteth out Marie with a black coale and now hee setteth her out with beautifull and perfect colours This first thing obseruable in her Conuersion is her knowledge with all her speed when she knew then she went Knowledge is the first step to amendment of life knowledge of Christ knowledge of our selues both in this woman For vnto a sound Conuersion these three things must concurre 1. A heauenly light in our vnderstanding 2. A holy heat in our will and affections 3. The strength of Gods arme in our works and actions Now a heauenly light in the vnderstanding must go before The first thing which God made in the framing of the world was light and the first thing also which he worketh in our conuersion is light