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	lord_n	mercy_n	2,560	5	6.2833	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20226	A sermon of Gods prouidence Very godly and profitable: preached at South-shoobery in Essex, by Arthur Dent, Minister of Gods word.; Platforme, made for the proofe of Gods providence	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1609 (1609)	STC 6647; ESTC S116580	16,828	48

〈…〉 dly written of them Ancient lear 〈…〉 d Chrisostome in his tenth Homily 〈…〉 pon Genesis vsed this similitude saith hee in earthly matters when 〈…〉 e see these things that bee done ap 〈…〉 oued by graue and mighty men 〈…〉 e mislike not their censure not 〈…〉 in-say it but preferre their iudgement before our owne how much more 〈…〉 uld we carry the same minde of all 〈…〉 ble creatures which we know that 〈…〉 d the Creator of all things made 〈…〉 at since wee haue receiued his censure of them all that all that h 〈…〉 made was very good let vs suspe 〈…〉 our iudgments bury them in silenc 〈…〉 and let vs not dare to prefer the iudgments of al men before the Lords a 〈…〉 we may perswade our selues wi 〈…〉 strong and sufficient arguments th 〈…〉 the Lord made all things in great w 〈…〉 dome and mercy and in a worde th 〈…〉 the Lord made nothing vnaduised or without cause but though we kno 〈…〉 not the causes of his workes beca 〈…〉 of the weakenesse of our vnderstan●ings yet hath he made all things 〈…〉 cording to his wisdom and most mi 〈…〉 ty mercy Thus farre Chrisostome If the 〈…〉 fore by the testimonie of Aristotle 〈…〉 ture made nothing in vaine As y ● m 〈…〉 who was vtterly ignorant of true r●gion affirmed of nature which he 〈…〉 iudged to be both blind brutish ho 〈…〉 much more are we bound to attrib 〈…〉 vnto the most wise creator of all thin 〈…〉 this ●erfection in his creation that made nothing in vaine but all thi 〈…〉 in great wisdome since all his wor 〈…〉 redounded to his glory which is 〈…〉 st and the chiefest end of all things 〈…〉 d by the common consent of all men ●●ery thing is iudged either perfect or ●●perfect by the attaining of his end ●here is a fourth argumēt thus made ●●ainst the prouidence of God If God 〈…〉 ho is most wise and righteous in his ●●dgements do gouerne all things ●●ery particular thing there should not 〈◊〉 so great troubles in cōmon wealths ●●d specially in the Church whereof ●●e Lord hath a speciall care for that it 〈◊〉 his Sanctuary but both in Church ●●d common-wealth there is great vn●●ietnesse so that all laws both diuine ●●d humane are openly violated good ●en most cruelly are dealt withall e●ill men doe reioyce and triumph in ●●eir wickednesse without controle●●ent God therfore gouerneth not all ●●ings that are in common-wealths ●●d in the Churches This argument thus drawne from ●●e nature of Gods iustice which sée●eth to be contrary to his gouernmēt 〈◊〉 his prouidence if he should sée mo●●rate and suffer all these out-rages 〈…〉 orders is one of the chiefest props of Epicurus his opinion and this arg●ment troubled many that now liue 〈…〉 dayly labor to bring Epicurus name 〈…〉 obloquy with al men and yet are co●tent to liue-like Epicures this arg●ment also the Lurkes and our cap●tall enemies the papists obiect m 〈…〉 against vs and sure it carrieth s 〈…〉 waight with it that Dauid confesse 〈…〉 y ● he was so astonied that his féet we 〈…〉 almost gone and his steppes had w 〈…〉 neare slipt when he saw the prospe 〈…〉 ty of the wicked and punishments a 〈…〉 hard entertainement of the godly v●till he went into the sanctuary of G 〈…〉 then vnderstood he their end ●hat vntill Dauid entred into Gods school learned by his word holy spirit he ordered al things most wisely a 〈…〉 iustly After Pompey had bin put t 〈…〉 worst in the battaile fought betw 〈…〉 Caesar him in the consines of Ph 〈…〉 salos escaped by flight to Mytele 〈…〉 he went to Cratippus and disput 〈…〉 with the Philosopher in his Gard 〈…〉 whither he thought there was a 〈…〉 God which by his prouidence ruled earth and for that before in very 〈…〉 〈…〉 uarels hee had had most prosperous 〈…〉 ccesse as when he had subdued in 〈…〉 aitaile vanquished the inhabitants ●f the East part of the world was 〈…〉 ow in a most good cause ouercome 〈…〉 ripped off his army forc●d to fly a●ay himself alone most shamfully he ●ere of gathred that God regarded not ●hat was done amongst men but y ● al ●hings were done by chāce thus doth 〈…〉 wise men of y ● world iudge speak of ●uch euēts But y e holy Ghost teacheth ●s to iudge far otherwise of thē when Moses in his song Deu. 32. was to de 〈…〉 uer to the people the threatnings of God if they were disobedient which ●fterward y e rebellions Israelits felt ●ée vseth this preface perfect is the worke of the mighty God for all his waies are iudgement God is true and without wickednes iust righteous is 〈…〉 e teaching hereby that whatsoeuer 〈…〉 e world doth prate of the causes of ●fflictions that GOD with great ●isdome doth send forth of his trea 〈…〉 res all sortes of calamities some 〈…〉 me by them to punish the wick 〈…〉 sometime to excercise the Godly with them For the sins of the peopl● the hipocrite doth raigne That is t● rants sit in the throne of Justic● which vnder pretence of executi● iustice are but hipocrites and oppre●● the people Iob. 34. verse 30. Woe be to thee saith the Proph● Isaiah which spoylest for thou sha● bee spoiled And indéed one tyra● plagueth another and though tyrant be a plague to al natiōs kingdome● yet are they themselues in due tim● in like sort punished by other tyrant● In the person of Sennache●ib y ● iudg●ments of God are very liuely set for by the Prophet Isaiah in the te● Chapter of his prophesse The Lo● stirreth vp the king of the Assirians punish the easterne people Sennach rib was a wicked man he is asco●● to wicked peopl● yea he cruelly ver● the people of God he spoileth almo● all Palestina hee bes●egeth Ierusal● the chiefe Citty of that Country A● thus saith God of him by the Proph● in that place O Ashur the rod of ● wrath and the staffe in their hands my indignation I will send him t● dissembling nation and I will giue him a charge against the people of my wrath to take the spoyle and to take the prey and to treade them vnderfoote like the mire of the streete But hee thinketh not so neither doth his heart esteeme it so and so forth And a little after thus saith God by the Prophet of him But when the Lord hath accomplished all his worke vppon Mount Sion and Ierusalem I will visit the fruite of the proude heart of the King of Ashur and his glorious and proude lookes Because he said by the power of myne owne hand haue I done it and by my wisdome because I am wise And a little after this thus saith the Prophet shal the axe boaste it selfe against him that heweth therewith If Pompey had looked on this example thus laide forth by the Prophet hée might haue b●ne better

regarded vs not The Periapatetickes and other sort of Philosophers broched another opinion teaching that those things which are aboue the Heauens are mooued guided and gouerned by God himself but those things that are vnder the circle of the Moone are gouerned partly by chance and fortune partly by the counsailes and deuises of men partly by a brutish or senceles force of nature There is a third opinion of the Stoicks which is that all things are ruled by fate or destiny that is by a secret order and linke of causes in which chaine all things are so surely tied that both God himselfe and man are straighted within those bounds This was a very dainty opinion in the iudgement of the Poets who to excuse the weakenes of their God Iupiter fained that he wept for that he was so hindered by the force of destiny that he could not set Sarpedo at liberty The fourth opinion is Platoes who graunteth that God by his prouidence ruleth all things in generall which afterward God cōmiteth to petty Gods halfe Gods and diuells who haue the charge and care of particular things From these foure opinions spring all other whatsoeuer touching Gods prouidence and there is no one opinion which may not easily be reduced to one of these But some of vs euen of vs Christians flying one danger run into another for that they dare not deny that God by his prouidēce ruleth al things yet will they not graunt that by it hée gouerneth euery particular thing least they should thereby be driuen as they think to some absurdities thus whilst they would auoide absurditie they commit impiety and fal away from the truth most dangerously But farre bee this frō your heart Right worshipful and that it may neuer possesse you auoid the cause that worketh it in them which is ignorance of the word of God and for that God in great mercy hath kindled in your heart a desire of knowledge quench not that godly desire in you but pursue hotly with hearty and feruent prayer after knowledge and you shall finde it and if you shall finde it you shal●certainely know that there will no absurdity be inforced vpon any doctrine grounded vpon Gods word that you néed not feare this doctrine as they do I wil first discourse breifly of the truth of it and wil proue that God gouerneth by his prouidence al things generally and euery particular thing particularly then wil I answere to al those chiefe obiections which are brought against it and by which some vaine men think to make the doctrine absurde To the first For that this argument hath béene diuersly handled and men haue béene very curious in discoursing thereof espetially since what way soeuer they winde themselues many absurdities doe séeme to follow them it wil be best I thinke for me to kéepe me in the high beaten way least séeking by-wayes I wander out of the way I meane to discourse so of this doctrine as I am taught in the word of God then diligently to remooue al those things whatsoeuer they be not beséeming the most pure nature of God which in the iudgmēt of man shal séeme hereof to follow But if my ignorance were so great that I could not remooue these inconueniences yet notwithstanding are you all Christians bound to receiue with all humilitie this true doctrine to blame me not the doctrine if I be not able to cleare it o●●●l those things which in the iudgement of man may séeme absurd And although it is not my purpose to examine all that Philosophers others say against the gouerning of euery thing by the prouidenc● of God yet in my minde all that they cā say against it may by this one argument be easily ouerthrowne If he be a God which they all confesse though they would deny it yet may it easily bée prooued against them he is a most perfect thing but y ● which is most perfect hath nothing perfecter then it selfe neither can we imagine any thing to be more perfect then that which of it selfe is truly absolutely most perfect therfore there is nothing neither can we imagine any thing to be more perfect then God herevpon I infer if God did not gouerne al things in general euerie thing in particular we might well imagine that there was some-thing more perfect then God euen such a deity which had charge and care of euery particular thing but it is shewed y ● no such deity or Godhead cā be imagined It is false therefore that they herevpon would infe 〈…〉 that God by his prouidence ruleth no● euery particuler thing the contrary is true which we teach for else surely that God which they dreame of to liue idly and at case to haue no care of any thing as they babble is not in truth a God but as Tully somtime said of their maister Epicurus so say I of them that they in words acknowledge a God but in truth deny y ● there is any But leauing Philosophers let vs sée what the Scripture teacheth vs the first place I will vse for y ● proofe of this doctrine I take out of the Epistle to the Hebrues the 1. Chapt. verse 3. where it is said of the sonne of God that Hee beareth vp that is mooueth and gouerneth all things by his mightie worde hee that graunteth that he ruleth al things excepteth no one thing from his gouernment We may then well conclude out of this place of God that God gouerneth all and euerie thing But least I should leaue any starting hole for the aduersary to winde out at let vs further sée what the Scriptur● teacheth vs of the gouerning of euery particular thing by Gods prouidence Neither will I heape vp many places but content my selfe with a fewe examples out of which the truth of this doctrine may be gathered And thus I do endeuour to prooue it briefly All the creatures of God are either indued with y ● gift of frée choise or else want this liberty of choise they that haue it are Angels both good and euill and men also both good and euill they that want this liberty of choyse are all other liuing things created by God also those his creatures which haue no life and yet of all these creatures God hath a speciall care so as he disposeth of euery one of them according to his pleasure The booke of Iob and the Psalmes do very often handle this argument so that if I should gather out of them all their proofes I should write out almost their whole bookes yet some I will bring and leaue the rest for you to gather hoping it wil be a means to bring you to the often reading of them In the 147. Psalme the Prophet saith thus of God hat he couereth the Heauen with cloudes and prepareth raine for the earth and maketh the grasse to grow vppon the Mountaines But the cloudes the raine and the grasse are things without soule