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	see_v	5,118	5	3.3465	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19288	The cry and reuenge of blood Expressing the nature and haynousnesse of wilfull murther. Exemplified in a most lamentable history thereof, committed at Halsworth in High Suffolk, and lately conuicted at Bury assize, 1620.	Cooper, Thomas, fl. 1626.	1620 (1620)	STC 5698; ESTC S108664	44,194	71

of Popery thus to traduce the light and let it be the glory of the Gospell thus to discouer their shame for if it were not powerfull why doe they spurne against it if they being galled thereby doe spurne against the same let them thanke their owne rottennesse and iustifie the powerfull Word But if being couered thus with shame they will not seeke the face of God in Iesus Christ the Lord will further glorifie his Word in hastening their confusion and gathering in the first borne to his glorious appearance And shall the blasphemous Atheist escape any better Surely as it is extreme folly in him to barke against the Moone because it giues him light to his desperate wickednesse for what wisedome is there to condemne that which is so fauourable vnto vs so doth this folly threaten his confusion as both discouering his accursed spirit imputing that obstinacy in sinne to the Word which ariseth from his ignorance of the power thereof and Rebellion against the same and thereby hardening his neck against all hope of reclaiming as reiecting the Word which is onely auayleable hereunto For what though as the heate of the Sunne doth harden the clay so the power of the word indirectly occasions the encrease of sinne in the froward heart Is the word in vaine while it doeth that vnto which it is appoynted Is not the wisedome of God herein more glorious who as he would neuer haue permitted euill but that he can bring good out of it so he turneth the rage of man to his glorious praise Not onely making way hereby to the iust confusion of the wicked for the aduancement of the glory of his righteous iustice but also discouering herein the riches of his Free Grace in softning the hearts of his Elect by the same meanes whereby the wicked are hardened and so by these contrary effects aduancing the Power of his mighty Word which with the same breath is thus able to kill and to quicken And therefore as the Atheist hath no iust cause to stumble at the power of the Word because Iniquity is discouered and enraged thereby so much lesse may hee iustly challeng the prouidence of God in accompanying his word with such great patience and common fauours seeing as the Lord hereby giues him his desire to inioy the pleasures of sinne that so he may haue nothing iustly to except against his goodnesse so by this his long suffering hee doth also inuite him to repentance and so makes him more inexcusable if he abuse the same But howsoeuer the filthy will be filthy still yet let the seruants of God magnifie his wonderfull mercy and free kindnesse towards them in softning them by the same meanes whereby hee hardens the wicked yea turning about the hardening of the reprobate to bee the meanes of their more close walking with their God and dependance on his free grace in the sense of their fayling when they doe their best yea let them euermore blesse the name of the Lord that seeing the righteous shall hardly be saued they may yet haue some hope of Life in so great conscience of their corruptions that they can yet follow after righteousnesse notwithstanding the streame runnes contrary and their labour is so thanklesse and dangerous in regard of present successe seeing iniquity doth so swarme and preuaile yea let this bee their euidence that Christ raignes ouer them euen in the midst of their enemies that euen where Satan hath his throne there God shall haue his glory Antipas his faithfull seruant shall seale it vp with his bloud or if this bee not yet the triall yet Ieremie shall be smitten with the tongue and holy Iob shall esteeme the booke that his Aduersaries writ against him to bee the most glorious Crowne that may adorne his head Yea the more that the word of God is blasphemed by the wicked the more watchfull shall his children be that they giue no iust offence that so either they which speake of them as euill doers shall glorifie God on their behalfe and so by their holy conuersation be won to the obedience of the Gospell or bee made more inexcusable when their mouthes shall bee iustly stopped if yet they shall not cease to speake euill of the righteous wayes of God And this may also stop the prophane mouth of the filthy Libertine that though hee turne the grace of God into wantonnesse imagining his security and senselesnesse in sinne to bee the assurance of his happinesse yet the Word is holy yeelding no apperance much lesse allowance hereunto yea righteous herein is the mighty Word in giuing him vp to such a reprobate sense through his peruerting of the chiefe errand thereof the mercy of God in Christ Jesus to repentant sinners which if he could rightly apply might make him capable thereof yea meruailous is the wisedome of God herein that by the contrary apprehension of the promise and preparation thereunto by his seruants hee confounds the peruersenesse and prophanenesse of the Libertine If yet the filthy will be filthy still let him know this for his further confusion that as the Lord will not faile eft-soones to awaken his senselesse conscience with some inward quawmes or outward crosses to confound him in his security that so hee may bee forced to acknowledge and seeke to the power of the Word which hee hath so abased so if for all this he will not be reclaimed but by mistaking and mis-applying the mercy of God shall thereby bee cast into a deeper sleepe the Lord shall glorifie his Word in giuing him vp to a spirit of giddinesse euen to heape vp teachers vnto himselfe according vnto his lusts that may answer him according to the stumbling blocke of iniquity which he hath set vp in his heart that so he which could not commit sinne so securely but that his heart did sometimes smite him for the same might new continue in it more freely and desperately as being warranted hereunto by such accursed deceiuers Behold here the wisedome of the wicked in sin and obserue withall the wisedome of God in taking them in their craftines that they may securely reuell in wickednes their first policy is to make their conscience senselesse and that they may bring it to this passe their desperate wisedome is to multiply sin with greedines that so by this custome and outrage they may grow to an habite and so by often putting the iron in the fire may in the end harden and stupifie their harts that as it falls out with those which often drinke strong payson that in the end they can digest the same without any sense or danger so the wicked by often drinking in of iniquitie with gréedines become senselesse at length both of the euill and of the danger thereof wherby as they take occasion to commit any notorious outrage whatsoeuer so they become hereby obuious to the scandall and danger of the world which cannot but take notice of what themselues are senselesse of by it clamorus

attaine some such motion of the Deity as may puffe him vp therewith yet is hereby made more inexcusable and farther off from the inward search of the Power thereof And yet the wayes of the Lord herein most equall and righteous As both tendering the meanes indifferently vnto all so that the wicked cannot say but he hath had his choyce thereof and liberty therein with the best yea the pacience of the Lord in leading him to Repentance accompanyed with such an answering to his desires concerning present ends as it must much more iustifie the Lord. What could he haue done vnto him which he hath not done so it shall also make him much more inexcusable And if so now the Lord deny vnto him his grace for the effectuating of the meanes As he not bound thereunto because he will haue mercy vpon whom he will haue mercy and whom he will he heardneth so seeing the wicked doe neither dreame of any such assistance of his grace as beeing blinded by selfe-loue they cannot see the want thereof nay being puffed vp with carnall wisedome they doe vtterly despise and reiect the same Is it any meruaile if they want the supply of that grace which they so abase and contemne Is it not iust with God that the scorner shall seeke wisedome and yet not finde it Because he despiseth the substance white hee hunts after the shaddow And if now it please the righteous Lord to giue him his desire and send leanenesse into his soule that not onely that which he seemed to haue shall be taken away from him the light hee hath shall be quenched and by degrees extinguished yea the spirit of God instead of restrayning him formerly from some outward euils and so happily affrighting his conscience with sense of inward rottennesse shall now giue him vp to his owne lusts euen to commit sinne with greedinesse Is not this the happinesse that hee specially dreames of to be past feeling of sinne that so hee may make vp his measure without controulement Are not the wayes of God most equall herein Shall not the mouth of iniquity be vtterly stopped Haue not the wicked herein more at the hands of God then they can desire Doth not he giue them herein much more then he oweth them of all outward blessings Doth he not affoord them more plenty of spirituall meanes then they doe desire Doth hee not respite them in his great patience many a time beyond their owne fond and counterfeit vowes in the day of their distresse sparing them further then themselues doe wish and repealing that sentence which in their suddaine flashes they haue pronounced against themselues if they should hereafter turne to their vomit againe yea still drawing them to him with the cords of Loue when they haue cast off his cords and fall desperately from him Is not the Iustice of God most righteous euen his enemies being Iudges And surely as is the Lord so is his Word heerein most holy and righteous If it crosse the wicked in their desires to discouer that inward corruption whereof they are ignorant and wherein they fauour themselues Is it any lesse then stands with the Power of the Word euen as fire to search the hidden parts yea as the light to lay open the darkest corners And if now the wicked vpon their first entertainement of the word desirous happily to gaine credit and applause thereby be iustly confounded by the power thereof enraging their consciences by it inward search is not the wisedome of God admirable thus taking them in their craftinesse Is not his goodnesse iustifiable thus preparing them hereby to repentance If now the loue of sinne will giue no way to sound repentance Is not yet the wisedome of God herein more admirable that whereas the wicked desire some sleight euidence to conceit a false conception their slauish humiliation shall further hereunto and hereby flatter them in a new birth And if thus conceiting a false conuersion for a true because they cannot endure the trauell of a true birth they shall now encroach vpon the priueledges of the new man mis-applying and challenging those ioyes and comforts vnto their festered and ranckling soares which belong onely to those that are healed and so instéed of being further searched and launched by the law of God shall vnseasonably apply vnto themselues the sweete promises of the Gospell and will endure nothing but leuitures and cordials Is the word of God vnequall because they vnfitly apply it nay is it not most equall in offering that indifferently vnto them which if they could wisely apply would proue soueraigne vnto them Yea though they apply it amisse yet herein is iustifiable in that themselues are their owne caruers in the misapplying thereof If now vpon the misapplying of the Plaister before the soare be soundly healed it doth hereby more fester and putrifie inwardly and so breake out to a cancerous vlcer As the word was not first to be blamed in discouering the soare that so it might bée prepared to it cure because if there had beene no pray the Lyon would not haue roared So now much lesse may it be iustly challenged to be the cause of it further ranckling seeing the misapplying thereof hath effected the same And therefore as it were extreame folly to charge the heat of the Sunne to be the cause of stench and putrifieation in these inferior bodies which being well disposed are purified thereby and are onely subiect to tainture by their owne indisposition and aptnesse thereunto so let it be the shame of Popish glory to hate the light because their vvorkes are euill Yea let this be the confusion of their carnall wisedome to challenge the glorious light of the preaching of the Word as the cause of sinnes aboundance that hereby they might colour their despising and persecuting thereof not onely in that by opposing the light they make vp the measure of their owne sinnes by denying to themselues and others the meanes of life and happinesse But hereby also prouoking the righteous Lord to auenge vpon them the contempt of his word in giuing them vp to such outrage and monstrous wickednesse of combustions and murthers which the true wisedome of flesh for it owne safety can no way indure that so her owne louers euen out of loue to themselues must néedes hate the whore and make her desolate and so the Iustice of the Lord may shine more gloriously in rewarding her as she hath done to others and sheathing her owne sword in her owne bowels And is not the Word glorious in iudging the Whore euen by her owne mouth and taking her in the snare that she hath layd for others and so ouertaking her in hee moneth and ripenesse of iniquity Who so is wise he shall vnderstand these things and to whom the arme of the Lord shall reueale them for the wayes of the Lord are right and the iust shall walke therein but the transgressor shall fall in them Let it therefore be the shame