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	joy_n	sorrow_n	2,802	5	8.8668	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46702	The vvorks of heaven upon earth, or, The eccellencie of praise and thanksgiving in part displayed in a sermon, inlarged into a treatise, preached at Taunton in the county of Somerset May 11. 1648, being the day set apart for the annuall commemoration of the deliverance of that town, by the reliefe which they received on May 11. anno 1645 / by Henry Jeanes ...	Jeanes, Henry, 1611-1662.	1649 (1649)	Wing J513; ESTC R20545	60,248	86

of our own voluntary covenant and engagement and therfore accompanied with falshood and a kind of perjury unto heaven And this of the formall obliquity of unthankfulnesse which receives much aggravation from the persons in whom it is their quality the causes which they have for and the meanes which they have of thankfulnes The unthankfulnes of men is of a deeper guilt then that of Devils because men are unthankfull for the patience and long-suffering of God for the blood of Jesus Christ mercies never vouchsafed to Devil● The * Dico ego vobis quoniam pro meo sapere nihil ita displicet Deo praesertim in filiis gratiae in hominibus conversionis quemadmodum ingratitudo Bern. de misericordiis Serm. 2. unthankfulnes of Gods people is of a greater demerit then that of aliens In that charge of ingratitude upon Israel Hos 2.8 Shee did not know that I gave her corne and wine and oyle and multiplied her gold and silver c. Interpreters observe that the word She is emphaticall and serveth much to aggravate the sinne that She unto whom God had committed his Oracles given his love sent his Prophets should bereave him of the honour of his benefites was an offence by farre more heynous then if it had been done by the Heathen who had only the light of Nature and the Book of the Creatures for their instruction A word next of the causall obliquity of unthankfulnesse that which it causeth in other sinnes and that both as a physicall or working and as a morall or meritorious cause First it hath a Physicall influence in the increase of sin for it disposeth and prepareth the minde of man for even the most unnaturall sinnes a soule prophaned and polluted therewith will not scruple at the height of mischiefe The despising of the riches of Gods goodnesse Rom. 2.4 and forbearance and long-suffering is in the fifth verse followed * Erunt homicidae tyranni fures adulteri raptores sacrilegi proditores infra ista omnia ingratus est nisi quod omnia ista ab i●grato animo sunt fine quo vix ullum magnum facinus accrevit Sen. de Benef. lib. 1. c. 10. with hardnes and an impenitent heart In all times saith Seneca there will bee Murderers Tyrants Theeves Adulterers Robbers Sacrilegious persons and Traytors and the least of all these is the ungratefull man Hee speakes of ingratitude towards man but then he puts in an exception Nisi quod omnia ista ab ingrato animo sunt sine quo vix ullum magnum facinus accrevit except it be that all these come from ingratitude without which scarce any evill enterprise hath been plotted or performed Though he thought ingratitude to be absolutely inferiour unto those horrible vices yet he thought again that in this respect so farre forth as it was their cause and seminary it was superior unto them all The ground of this influence of unthankfulnes upon other sinnes is its nature For a main part of it is an undervaluation of mercies which are of all others the most kindly and powerfull both motives unto duty and disswasives from sin Is it any wonder that they should run into all excess of sinne who trample under their feet the most pretious mercies of God who despise the riches of his goodnes forbearance and longsuffering not knowing that the goodnes of God leadeth them to repentance as for past sins so to caution and resolution against future sins Secondly unthankfulnes hath a morall and meritorious influence upon the increase of sinne by aggravating and ripening other sinnes First it aggravates other sins and makes them more sinfull then otherwise they would be What more frequent with the holy Ghost in the aggravation of any sinne then to insist upon this consideration that it is accompanied with unthankfulnes Deut. 32.5 6 7 c. 2 Sam. 12.8 9. Mich. 6.3 4 5. A greater measure of unthankfulnes makes the estate of an Apostate more dangerous and desperate then of a simple alien or unbeleever And what but it Matth. 11. will make it at the day of judgement more tollerable for Tyre and Sydon for the land of Sodom then for Corazin Bethsaida Capernaum Cities honoured with the presence preaching and miracles of Christ Their lives were in all probability as bad if not worse then these and therefore why should their account and punishment bee lighter but because the mercies they enjoyed were much lesse and so answerably their unthankfulnesse Secondly because it aggravates other sinnes hightens their guilt and demerit therefore it ripens them and makes them arive more speedily unto a fulnesse then otherwise they would It makes them like Summer fruits which are the first ripe fruits Amos 8.1 2. The sinnes of Israel and Judah were sooner ripe then those of the Amorites and the reason was because the blessings of Israel were more pretious Psalm 147.19 20. and therefore their unthankfulnes more heinous Why doth judgement begin first at the House the Church of God 1 Pet. 4 17. but because their sins are more aggravated from and ripened by unthankfulnes then the sinnes of others as being under and against greater mercies then are granted unto the rest of mankinde Secondly unthankfulnes carrieth opposition unto the second sort or kind of goodnes Pleasure or delight Spirituall joy you have heard is a cause of thankesgiving and by the same reason the sorrow or sadnesse of the world 2. Cor. 7.10 is a cause of unthankfulnes nay joy is an ingredient or part of thankesgiving Psalm 33.1 and therefore want of joy belongs formally unto unthankfulnes Ignorant persons are alwayes unthankfull for ignorance as I have shewed at large is a cause of unthankfulnes Now ignorance is in Scripture compared unto darknes which usually figureth a sad and uncomfortable state or condition The unthankfull person walkes in darknesse and hath no light that is no solid joy peace or comfort Isai 50.10 Well he may have a sensuall or carnall joy begotten by the naturall effects of outward blessings but that alas is but a false and deceitfull joy full of vanity and emptinesse and because joyned with a guilty and trembling conscience full also of vexation of spirit * Gataker well it may like a little counterfeit complexion alter the look and smooth the face outwardly but it can never throughly fill or truly cheere up the soule inwardly Finally unthankfulnesse beares opposition unto a profitable good as being a very dangerous evill and the danger of it wil appeare from the terrible threatnings against and dreadfull punishments of unthankfulnesse which are recorded in Scripture Jer. 13.16 Give glory to the Lord your God before he cause darknes and before your feet stumble upon the mountains and while ye look for light he turn it into the shadow of death Capernaum by mercies exalted unto heaven was by unthankfulnes brought down to hell Mat. 11.23 Because the Gentiles glorified not God neither were thankfull God gave them up to

why you are but as dull and livelesse images which cannot move naturally of themselves all your motion herein is but compulsary from outward respects not flowing from any true inward inclination Secondly the reigne and unmortification of sinne is an estate of slavery and bondage unto sinne Rom 6.16 and therefore inconsistent with thankfulnesse which is of so excellent a nature as that it never lodged in any but free brave and ingenuous bosomes As for base low and servile spirits they are unacquainted with and uncapable of it No man can serve two Masters Matth. 6.24 Now thankesgiving is an immediate and speciall service of God and therefore unperformable by the servants of sinne and Satan Consider the excellency and difficulty of the duty and then tell me whether or no we can possibly performe it without enlarged hearts hearts freed from the commands of sinne and Satan What can a prisoner doe that is laden with Irons and fetters Alas then what can an imprisoned and fettered soule doe in this most great and difficult work of a Christian And thus have you seen how the reigne and unmortification of sinne causeth unthankfulnesse Now there cannot be a baser and viler estate or condition then that of the reigne of sin for it is a deprivation of the best of blessings spirituall and a subjection unto the worst of tyrants a slavery and bondage unto the worst of masters sin and Satan Unthankfulnesse then proceeding therefrom cannot but be most vile base and unworthy In the next place let us specifie those particular sinnes which cause unthankfulnes The first I shall mention shall be hardnes of heart An hard and stony heart whilst such cannot possiby be softned or melted into a gratefull disposition by the greatest sun-shine of Gods most tender mercies Rain you know will seldome stay upon a stone at least it will not sink into a stone even so Gods mercies cannot fasten on the observation settle in the memory of an hard and stony soule they slide away from it as water from a stone However they can make no more impression on its affections then a Seale on wax whilest hard they cannot soak or sink into its joy love and admiration Hardnes of heart begets unthankfulnes and an hard heart is of a very base temper it is an untractable unteachable unsensible unslexable heart and therefore so is an unthankfull heart too Secondly Ignorance is a cause of unthankfulnes ignorance of our selves of God of his blessings He that is ignorant of his own weaknes and unworthines that knows not how unable he is either to procure or deserve mercies he that is ignorant of Gods providence that knows not what stroak it hath in the managery of these inferiour things can reach no further then the Pharise●● thanksgiving Luke 18.11 12 14. which indeed was nothing but a boasting and cracking of mercies He that is not studied in the excellency and sweetnes of blessings will quickly undervalue them and therefore be unthankfull for them Darknes and dimnes in the eys of our mind in discerning blessings will be fellowed with a dumbnes of the tongue and a deadnes of the heart and affections in praising God for them Deutr. 32.6 Doe yee thus requite the Lord ô foolish people and unwise It is folly and unwisedome that makes a people to requite the Lord unthankfully Now ignorance wonderfully debaseth the minde of man Proverb 19. vers 2. that the soule b●e without knowledge is not good it renders a man brutish Psalm 92.6 A brutish man knoweth not neither doth a foole understand this Psalm 32.9 Be not as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding To have no understanding is to be as a horse and the mule Thirdly Unbelief is a cause of unthankfulnes for it stayes and rests upon a mans self and the creature and so stops all honour and glory from going to God and Christ Now unbelief is of all sins the most dangerous because it is the edge and sting of all other sinnes that which shackles the guilt of all sinnes upon the conscience Dr. Edward Reynolds treat pag. 496. All sinnes are damnable in their nature and desert but unbeleif makes them to condemn actually in regard of the event Joh. 3.18 36. Fourthly Want of the love of God is a cause of unthankfulnes For how can he that doth not love God above all be more desirous and studious of Gods glory then his own good and can there be a greater sin of omission then not to love the supream and infinite good Fifthly Pride is a cause of unthankfulnes Hos 13. v. 6. Their heart was exalted therefore have they forgot me and to be forgetfull is to be unthankfull 2 Chron. 36.25 But Hezekiah rendred not again according to the benefit done to him for his heart was lifted up This dependance of unthankfulnesse upon pride may be evinced from these two reasons 1 The proud man underrates Gods mercies as not answerable or but answerable unto his own deservings Hence also is it that he looks upon his afflictions as undeserved and therefore as injuries and consequently upon deliverance from them not as mercies but onely as a kinde of restitution and satisfaction so that we may apply unto him that which * Quintus Curtius Craterus informed Alexander with against Philotas Alexander had pardoned Philotas and Craterus bears him in hand that Philotas will not bee so thankfull for his pardon as angry at his accusation Quadam beneficia odimus meruisse mortem confiteri pudet superest ut mallet videri injuriam accepisse quàm vitam Secondly A proud man will rob God of his honour and arrogate it unto himself The proud scholler will ascribe his learning unto his industry the proud souldier his victory unto his sword and p●owes the proud worldling his riches unto his labour and policy he will sacrifice unto his nets burn incense unto his drags as if by them his portion were made fat and his meat plenteous Hab. 1.16 he will say in his heart my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth Deutr. 8.17 now pride is reckoned up Prov. 6.16 17. amongst the principall objects of Gods hatred and abomination Psal 101.5 Him that hath an high look and a proud heart will I not suffer or I cannot suffer as Ainsworth and others reade it the word suffer is but supplied by the translation as being to be understood in the original t is only Him that hath an high look and a proud heart I will not or I cannot * Dr. Donue Gods abrupt breaking off his speech denoteth the very hight of his indignation against an high look and a proud heart 1 Pet. 5. v. 5. God resist●th the proud Pride puts God upon a defensive war it being an invasion of and an assault upon his Throne and usurpation of his crown and the incommunicable prerogative thereof Another cause of unthankfulnesse is envy then which there can hardly be a