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	king_n	people_n	5,231	5	4.6713	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47322	The charge of Richard, Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells, to the clergy of his diocese at his primary visitation begun at Axebridge, June 2, 1692	Kidder, Richard, 1633-1703.	1693 (1693)	Wing K396; ESTC R6408	18,007	42

peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth 2 Tim. 2.24 25. II. Another way of teaching is by way of Catechising this I fear is too much neglected And yet nothing can be more necessary or of greater moment Can. LIX Our Church does by a Canon strictly oblige you to spend half an hour every Sunday and Holyday in this exercise and upon any neglect thereof directs that the Minister be reproved sharply and after this upon neglect to be suspended and then if he do it not to be excommunicated You are also obliged by a law as you may see in the Rubrick at the end of the Catechism in the Common Prayer But you are obliged to it as it is a main part of your ministerial duty And I must put you upon the diligent discharge of it and do require you to do it by vertue of your canonical obedience This is the way to build wisely and without it you build without a foundation Your Sermons will be of little fruit if you take not this course and if you do they are like to be of great Do this as you ought and you will soon find it I can say I thank God I have found if so very advantageous But then you must explain the Catechism to them and take such pains in it that they who are thus taught may not onely be able to say it without Book but understand what they say and express themselves in other words by which you may be assured that they do understand it aright III. There is another way of teaching which I may call occasional that is not to be neglected When you visit your people or they visit you take all occasions you can to instill into them principles of Religion and Vertue Our Saviour taught frequently this way and 't will well become you to follow his example And you will do well not onely to take but seek all occasions of doing your people good Fourthly You must also be much in Prayer that God would prosper the good Seed which you sow Paul may plant and Apollos water but it is God which gives the increase And here I commend to you all prayer private in your Closets and prayer in your Families and the publick prayers in your Churches And for the last of these I would have you very carefull to omit no occasions of reading them fully as they are appointed and with great devotion and reverence Do all you can to bring your people to them and to keep up the credit and reputation of this publick service of the Church Labour much with your people to take off their prejudices and to bring them to a better sense of things And have a care to read those occasional prayers on the Fasting days and other times appointed in behalf of the King and Queen and these Kingdoms We have great cause to keep these Fasts religiously and to solicit the protection of Heaven Our all lies at stake and our help is onely in the name of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth Fifthly You are also to administer the Sacraments as is appointed by the Church Baptism is the Sacrament of Initiation By this we are entred into the Church You are to take care as directed in the Rubrick that this be not delayed and that it be done in the Church in the face of the Congregation You are also to explain in your Sermons the nature of this Sacrament and the grounds of Infant Baptism and often to explain the Baptismal Vow and call on your People to reflect upon it and to consider the obligation that ariseth thence to a life of Vertue and Religion For the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper it is notoriously neglected by the People to the great decay of Christian Piety You are to take great pains in this matter Let you people know that they are not at Liberty to receive it or omit it That it is not onely commanded but commanded by our dying Master and dying for us and as a standing memorial of his death and unparallelled love to us If they plead the danger of receiving amiss lay before them the danger also of not receiving at all If they say they are not fit ask them when they will and whether or not they be fit to die and die they must whether they be fit or not Take off all their pretences Shew them how much frequent communion would advance Piety and good Will Make them sensible of the great danger of neglecting this duty and the great ingratitude to their dying Lord. But mistake me not I am not after all for admitting promiscuously all that may offer themselves The young must first be well instructed the scandalous must be warned and kept back as the Rubrick directs and those that have lived in variance and enmity must be reconciled Frequent communion and due care and discipline would greatly amend this lower World Sixthly You are diligently to visit the sick The people indeed are obliged to send for you but if they do not 't will well become you to go to them This visitation of the sick must by no meanes be neglected tho' as the case may be we have sometimes but a faint prospect of doing any good There are many cases that will exercise the greatest prudence and patience also Perhaps you go to a man that hath lived a careless and profane life You must have a care you do not send him to another world with false hopes have a care you do not speak peace where God speaks none awaken him to a sence of his Sin as well as Danger Shew him the evil of irreligion and profaneness shew him the great ingratitude of it with respect to the great God the authour of our breath and being Inquire strictly of him as to his past life Whether he have injured any or be in enmity Put him upon restitution and reconciliation forthwith Put him upon owning his wickedness to his shame let him send for the companions of his folly and warn them to amend their lives and to break off the evil Course they are in Let him be put upon all acts of charity and mercy according to his ability upon patience under his sickness as that which is but a just punishment of his Sins Let him be made sensible of the danger of a late repentance as we call that sorrow which in our sickness we express on account of our Sins Whether it be after a Godly sort and unto life God knows we cannot tell We have cause to fear that such mens sorrow is like that of a malefactors not for his fault but for his being apprehended The sinner is perhaps sorry not that he hath been wicked but that God is just Let us not neglect such a sinner if he die we must leave him to God If he recover we had need follow him and put him upon paying his vows We have seen many return to their vomit and have proved their former sorrow

not to have been after a Godly sort You will find some others fearful beyond cause and trembling lest they should fall short of God's Kingdom Some cases you will meet with of considerable difficulty In all which you are to use the greatest simplicity and diligence and courage too that you may minister where you can to the necessities of the sick And to that purpose you are to pray for them with great fervor and for your selves also you must pray that God would give you wisdom and courage to discharge your duty as ye ought Seventhly You are with all your might to set forward quietness peace and love as ye promised before ye were ordained And this must be part of your study Prevent as much as you can misunderstaning among your people quarrels and suits of Law Make peace among those that are at variance and live at peace as much as lyeth in you Do what you can to persuade to love and to good works And tho' there be among your people men of different opinions yet let them all know that that will not excuse their love to each other This is of the life and essence of Religion it can never be without it Press this hard upon your people and let them all see you practice it Be kind to all do them good offices be so to them who do not attend your ministry as they should overcome them with kindness if it be possible and let them see you do not want compassion for them whatever their mistakes or prejudices may be Widen not differences but do what is possible to heal them and to preserve the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace Lastly I commend to you great care of the poor and afflicted among your people Let the poor find you their Patrons Relieve them as far as you can and stir up others to do it Visit them in their Sickness as readily as ye do the rich get them instructed and especially be kind to God's poor i. e. to those who are diligent in the worship of God and are willing to be instructed And be greatly carefull of the oppressed and afflicted of those that mourn for the death of friends of those who meet with great losses comfort them and let them see that you mourn with them Take this occasion to awaken them to a greater care to serve God that they may not be miserable in both worlds If you watch these seasons and lay hold of them you may do very much good In a word if you will take this course and pursue it vigourously and constanly implore the Divine aid and assistance I make no doubt at all but you may do much and that you will both save your selves and them that hear you There are besides what I put you in mind of some other things which I think my self obliged to lay before you And tho' the things I have named already do more immediately concern your office and function yet the things I have still to offer will be worthy of your regard and care I have told you what you are to do for the more succesfull discharge of your Holy Office I will now put you in mind of some things you are to be aware of And First Have a care that you give not Certificates and Testimonials to those who come for Orders or Institution unless you well know the persons whom you commend It stands me in hand not to lay hands suddenly on any man and you ought to be carefull how you give your hands also When you commend them you commend them to the service of God and the most holy function I should be very tender of commending a Servant especially in a service of trust to my friend or equall lest he should deceive him by proving unfaithfull Does it not become us then to take great care whom we commend to this service of God and to be stewards of his mysteries The Canon requires the knowledge of the person commended three years before Can. XXXIV I would have you keep to that rule And take such care that I may have no cause to suspect your testimonials Secondly Have a care of the Titles you grant to those who come for Orders We cannot ordain without a title nor is it fit we should Can. XXXIII If we do we are justly liable to maintain the Clerk and if we refuse that to be suspended This is a most wholesome Law and for the publick good But some men have granted false Titles and supplanted a most excellent Constitution The Canon requires a true and undoubted Certificate of this Title But many have given such as are undoubtedly false And by this means the Church hath been filled with supernumerary and very poor Ministers who for want of bread have been tempted to do mean and vile things to keep themselves from starving And these men must be unlearned of course being destitute of all means that tend to their obtaining it If you give them false titles you set them wrong at first When they are to be ordained they declare that they are inwardly moved to that holy Office by the Holy Ghost and truly called and that according to the order of this Church And yet he that says this brings a lye in his right hand I will tell you what I expect from you for the future I will accept no Title from any of you unless you do under your hands and seals declare that you will allow the person to be ordained such a Sum per annum for Supplying such a place and that you will not dismiss him without the consent of your Diocesan Thirdly Have a great care that you do not present those young persons to be confirmed by the Bishop who cannot render an account of their Faith as the Canon directs Canon LXI Rubr. after the Catechism The Rubrick requires that the person to be confirmed should be of a competent age that he should have a God-father or God-mother a present witness of the confirmation and that the fitness of the person to be confirmed be attested by the Minister with the said person● lives I am most ready to confirm young persons provided this preparation and provision be made Otherwise I shall appoint some time for the solemn performance of this ancient and holy Action And I shall endeavour so to do it that it may gain its end and serve to set us forward towards the Kingdom of Heaven The practice of Confirmation is both ancient and of admirable use and may be so managed if it be not huddled over that it may be an excellent instrument of Religion What the intention of Confirmation is may be learned from the office our Church hath appointed for it We then take upon our selves that vow of Baptism which when we were young we made by our sureties we own that Religion our selves which when we were young others professed on our behalf This is the reason of the institution And