Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	harden_v	heart_n	pharaoh_n	2,001	5	11.6391	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05342	A sermon preached before his Maiesty at Windsore, the 19. of Iuly. 1625. By Henrie Leslie, one of his Maiesties chaplaines in ordinary	Leslie, Henry, 1580-1661.	1625 (1625)	STC 15494; ESTC S108502	20,921	41

duritiem cordis As if he should say God doth not instill hardnesse into any nor produce it immediatly nor enforce it as a necessarie effect onely God doeth such things whence the sinner through his owne fault conceiueth hardnesse 4. It must alwaies be remenbred that God hardens the heart Per judicium for a punishment of their former obstinacie 2 Thess 2.11 because men receiue not the loue of the truth God sendeth them strong delusions And so the Gentiles for their idolatrie were ginen vp by God Rom. 1. to their lusts to vile affections to a reprobate mind De Nat. Grat. c. 12. Which was a recompence of their errours at was meete To this purpose saith Austin prioribus meritis c. Hoc redditum est Pharaoni vt cor eius induraretur The last consideration I will vse to iustifie God is that all iudiciarie obduration is also voluntary So that no man is hardened against his will but they willingly draw vpon themselues the infliction of this iudgement and freely rush into this pit of hardnesse Hence it is that as God is said to harden Pharaoh his heart so Pharaoh is said to harden his owne heart and sometimes it is simply said that his heart was hardened namely by the ministry of Satan Deus indurauit per justum judicium August de liber Arb. c. 23. Pharao per liberum arbitrium The same hardnesse is ascribed to God as the judge to Satan as the hangman to man himselfe as the party guiltie So likewise where the Apostle saith that God gaue vp the Gētile to vncleannes Rom. 1.24 The same Apostle to shew that they were not giuen vp against their will saith in another place that they gaue vp themselues Eph. 4.19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And therefore since men are willingly obstinate and hard-harted and willingly yeeld themselues to their lusts as those who will not fight with their enemies render themselues willingly captiue to obey them in euery thing There is no reason why they should accuse any other then themselues as Austine sweetlie Ligatus teneor non ferro alieno sed mea ferrea voluntate Neither neede we labour so much to know how God hardeneth as how we our selues become hardened Origen well obseruerth that whereas sometimes Pharaoh is said to harden his owne heart and sometimes God is said to harden it The first kind of hardening is declared by the Apostle how it commeth euen when men by their impenitencie abuse the lenitie of God Rom. 2.5 But the same Apostle making mention of the other hardening by the Lord Rom. 9. He passeth it ouer without any declaration and it may be thought to be one of those high matters which Paul heard being taken vp into Paradise and is not to be vttered So I following the example of the Apostle and iudgement of Origen will leaue to enquire into the manner of Gods hardening and come to shew how it is that men harden their owne hearts Here the Apostle hath eased me of a labour resolving this in a word ver 13. that we are hardened through the deceitfulnes of sinne so it is said of Pharaoh Exod. 9.34 Auxit peccatum he sinned yet more and hardned his heart The former is the cause of the latter As a path is hardened by the continuall trampling of passengers so is the heart by the continuall custome of sinne By our frequent sinning the soule is made dry for euery sinne is as fewell to the fire of concupiscence whereby the soule is burnt and dried vp It is also by often sinning that the will of it selfe rebellious becommeth more inflexible for the more a tree is backe-bended the worse it is to bow the right way But euery sinne is a back-bēding of our will from God Finally by a customable sinning the mind is made so dull that the word cannot pierce it the affections so blockish that Gods judgements are not sensible vnto theur and especially the conscience by this custome of sinne groweth past all feeling Tuscul 2. For as Tully saith Labor callum quoddam obducit dolori As Mithridates accustomed his body so much to the receit of poyson that at length no poyson would worke on him So he that accustometh his soule to the poyson of sinne shall at length come to that pass e that he will feele no sin For saith Austin Serm. 4. in Adven omne peccatum vilescit consuetudine sit homini quasi nullum The custome of sinne takes away the sense of sin Rom. 2 15. At first the light of Nature stands out against sin as the Apostle saith our thoughts accuse vs. But when we are often carried to commit sinnes against the light of Nature by practise of such sinnes the light of Nature is extinguished Augus de lib. ●● L. 3. for Iustissima poena est vt qui sciens rectum non facit amittat scire quod rectum then cōmeth the reprobat mind which judgeth euill good good euill Wherevpō followeth the seared cōscience At the first a mans conscience speakes vnto him as Peter to Christ Master pittie thy selfe Her prick-arrowes as the shafts of Ionathan forewarne Dauid of the great Kings displeasure but if we neglect her call and will not lend our cares while she doth spend her tongue this good Cassandra wil cry no more so we become past feeling As the eye of al other parts of the body is most tēder impatient of the lightest touch but if it be couered with a hard fleshlie skin called Scirrhosis oculi it becommeth of all other parts most insensible So the cōscience at first is so tender that small sinnes vexe and torment it but when through custome of sinning it is ouer-spread with a Callum or thick skin it becommeth insensible nothing will wound it This is not done in an instant but piece piece by degrees first sin is importable then heavy after that light lastly past feeling At the first sinne is importable it seemes intollerable to be borne it made Dauid cry out Ps 33.4 Day night thy hand was heauy vpon me againe there is no rest in my bones because of my sin Ps 38 3. for mine iniquities are gone ouer my head as an heavy burden they are too heauy for me But it is not long so for sin being commited twice or thrise is not as before importable only it is sōewhat heauy we are sorry for it but not so cast down with it as in former times After this sin being often committed that which at first was importable afterwards heauy becommeth light easie it neuer breaks our sleepe then in the last place after that sin is made light of and that there is no remorse for sin then men grow past feeling in a reprobate sense giuen ouer to worke vncleannes euen with greedines as hauing caroused the cup of slumber vnto the very dregs Here is descensus Averni these