Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	hear_v	speak_v	word_n	2,671	5	4.1800	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70206	A sermon on Acts xxviii, 22 shewing, that the Christian religion is not a sect, and yet that it is every where spoken against / by Matthew Henry ...	Henry, Matthew, 1662-1714.	1699 (1699)	Wing H1476; ESTC R19814	33,478	57

that they keep up some secret Haunts of Sin under the cloke and covert of a specious Profession when they that profess the Christian Faith lick up the vomit of Heathen and allow themselves in those things that are contrary to the Light and Law even of Natural Religion This is that which opens the mouths of the Adversaries to speak reproachfully of that Religion the Profession of which is made to consist with such vile Practises which cannot possibly consist with the Power of it This makes People ready to say as that Mahometan Prince did when the Christians had broke their League with him O Jesus are these thy Christians Or as the complaint was upon another occasion Aut hoc non Evangelium aut hi non Evangelici Either this is not Gospel or these are not to be call'd Professors of the Gospel If Ministers give offence in any thing not they only but their Ministry will be blamed Nay if Servants Christians of the lowest rank and figure if they be unfaithful and disobedient to the Government they are under the Name of God and his Doctrine is likely to be blasphemed Let us therefore who profess Relation to the Eternal God and Dependance upon the Blessed Jesus and a Regard to the Holy Scriptures as we tender the Reputation of our Religion walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing Let us Order our Conversation so in every thing as that we may adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour While we are call'd by so good a Name let us not dare to do an ill thing The Disciples of Christ are as a City upon a Hill and have many eyes upon them and therefore have need to behave themselves with a great deal of Caution and to abstain from all appearance of evil Let us not do any thing that is unjust or unbecoming us nor allow our selves in that which we know the Gospel we profess doth by no means allow of lest we be to answer another day for all the Reproach of Religion which we have occasion'd How light soever we may make of this now we shall find that it will greatly enflame the Reckoning shortly when God will affect the Honour of his own Name and will be glorified upon those by whom he was not glorified In consideration of this let us see to it that we have our Conversation honest among the Adversaries of our Religion that they who speak against us as Evil doers may by our Good Works which they shall behold be brought to glorify God and to entertain good thoughts of Religion or at least that we may with well-doing put to silence the ignorance of foolish Men. Our Religion I am sure is an Honour to us let not us then be a Dishonour to it Sixthly If there be those every where that speak against Religion and Godliness let us then as we have opportunity be ready to speak for it Every Christian should be both a Witness and an Advocate for his Religion and the rather because it is so much oppos'd and contradicted Next to our Care not to be a Shame to the Gospel should be our Resolution not to be asham'd of the Gospel You are Subpaena'd by the King of Kings to appear for him in the World Ye are my Witnesses saith the Lord Isa 43.10 Do not betray this Cause then by declining your Testimony how much soever you may be brow-beaten and confronted Say with a holy boldness as Elihu Job 36.2 Suffer me a little and I will shew you that I have yet to speak on God's behalf You hear what is daringly said against God how his holy Name is trampled upon and abus'd his Truths contradicted his Word and Ordinances vilified and have you never a word to say for him Is our Lord Jesus appearing for us in Heaven pleading our Cause there pleading it with his own blood and shall not we be ready to appear for him on Earth and plead his Cause though it were with the hazzard of our blood As it is then a time to keep silence when we our selves are spoken against I as a Deaf Man heard not so it is then a time to speak when God is spoken against and the Honour of our Religion lies at stake and at such a time we must take heed Jest by a cowardly silence we wrong so J st a Cause as if we were either asham'd or afraid to own it Wisdom's Children should take all occasions to justify Wisdom and vindicate it from the aspersions that are cast upon it Read the doom of him that is asham'd of Christ and of his Words in this adulterous generation Mark 8.38 Of him shall the Son of Man be asham'd when he comes in the Glory of his Father Not confessing Christ when we are call'd to it is in effect denying him and disowning Relation to him and they who do so except they repent as Peter did will shortly be denied and disowned by him If we should with an angry countenance at least drive away a backbiting Tongue that reproacheth our Brother much more a Blasphemous Tongue that reproacheth our Maker Should we hear a near Relation or a dear Friend in whose Reputation it is natural to us to reckon our selves sharers spoken against and slander'd we would readily appear in his Vindication and have we no resentments of the Contempt and Contumely cast upon Religion Can we sit by contentedly to hear God and Christ and the Scripture and serious Godliness reflected upon and have we nothing to say in their behalf Common equity obligeth us to be the Patrons of a just but wronged Cause And that we may not think our selves discharged from this Duty by our inability to defend the Truths and Ways of God and so make our Ignorance and unskilfulness in the word of Righteousness an excuse for our Cowardise and want of Zeal we ought to take pains to furnish our selves with a clear and distinct knowledge of the certainty of those things wherein we have heen instructed We must labour to understand not only the Truths and Principles but the Grounds and Evidences of our Religion that we may be able to give an Answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Apology to every Man that asks us a Reason of the Hope that is in us How industrious are the prophane Wits of the Age to find out something to say against Religion and should not that quicken us to provide our selves with the Armor of Righteousness both on the right hand and on the left aiming at the Riches of the full assurance of Vnderstanding And if we do as there is occasion with Humility and Sincerity and from a principle of Zeal for God and his Honour appear in Defence of Religion and its injur'd Cause we may doubtless take encouragement from that promise Mat. 10.19 It shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak God will own those that own him and will

A SERMON On Acts xxviij 22. Shewing That the CHRISTIAN RELIGION Is not a SECT And yet that it is Every where Spoken against By MATTHEW HENRY Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for and Sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside MDCXCIX Christianity no Sect to be spoken against ACTS 28.22 For as concerning this Sect we know that every where it is spoken against WOULD you think that such a spiteful scornful Word as this should ever be said of the Christian Religion That pure Religion and undefiled which came into the World supported by the strongest Evidences of Truth and recommended by the most endearing Allurements of Grace and Goodness The sayings whereof are so faithful and so well worthy of all acceptation That Sacred Institution which scatters the brightest Rays of Divine Light and Love that ever were darted from Heaven to Earth That 's it which is here so invidiously call'd a Sect and is said to be every where spoken against It will be worth while to observe 1. Who they were that said this they were the chief of the Jews that were at Rome ver 17. The Jews were look'd upon at least they look'd upon themselves as a very knowing People The Jews at Rome a place of Learning and Enquiry thought themselves more knowing than the other Jews St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans chap. 17.2 20. takes notice of it Thou art called a Jew and makest thy boast of God and knowest his Will and art confident that thou thy self art a Guide of the Blind a Light of them which are in Darkness c. And we have reason to suppose that the Chief of the Jews there who had the greatest Advantages of Education and Correspondence were the most intelligent It might also be justly expected that upon the first notices of the Gospel the Jews should have been of all People most ready to acquaint themselves with a Religion which was so much the Honour and Perfection of their own And yet it seems the Jews the chief of the Jews at Rome knew no more of Christianity but this that it was a Sect every where spoken against This we know said they and it was all they knew concerning it The Jews were of all other the most bitter and inveterate Enemies to the Christians while the Roman Emperors tolerated them as they did till Nero's time the Jews with an unwearied Malice persecuted them from City to City and were the first Wheel in most of the Opposition that the Gospel met with when it was first Preached Now one would think they would not have been so vigorous and industrious to suppress Christianity if they had not very well acquainted themselves with it and known it to deserve such opposition But it seems by this they knew little or nothing of the Religion they so much maligned had never search'd into the Merits of its Cause nor weigh'd the Proofs of its Divine Authority but against all Law and Reason condemn'd it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Justin Martyr complains purely upon common Fame and follow the cry to run it down because it was every where spoken against 2. Upon what occasion they said this They were now appointing a time to discourse with St. Paul upon the grand Question in debate whether Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah or no. And they seem'd willing to hear what that great Man had to say in defence of the Religion he preach'd We desire say they to hear of thee what thou thinkest Now one would expect that so good a Cause managed by such a skilful Advocate would not but carry the day and be Victorious and that they would all have been brought over to the belief of Christianity But we find v. 24. that it prov'd otherwise after all there were those that believed not and the Text intimates the reason of their Infidelity they came to hear the word under a Prejudice They had already imbib'd an ill opinion of the way which right or wrong they resolved to hold fast And tho' some of them by the help of Divine Grace got over this stumbling Block that like the Bereans were more Noble than the rest and of freer thought yet many of them continued under the power of those Prejudices and were seal'd up under Unbelief v. 26.27 Thus is the Power of the Word in many baffled by the Power of Prejudice They do not believe because they are resolved they will not They conclude that no good thing can come out of Nazareth and will not be perswaded to come and see Thus do they prejudge the Cause answering the matter before they hear it and it will prove folly and shame to them Now in the Account they here give of their Knowledge of the Christian Religion we may observe 1. That they look'd upon it to be a Sect and we 'll prove that to be false 2. A Sect every where spoken against and we will grant that to be true that it is generally spoken against tho' 't is most unreasonable and unjust it should be so First The Christian Religion is here called but miscalled a Sect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Heresy After the way which they call Heresy saith St. Paul Acts 24.14 so worship I the God of my Fathers The Sect of the Nazarenes so Tertullus calls it in his opening of the Indictment against Paul Acts 24.5 it 's call'd this way Acts 9.2 and that way Acts 19.9 as if it were a By-path out of the common Road. The Practice of serious Godliness is still look'd upon by many as a Sect that is a Party-business and a piece of affected singularity in Opinion and Practice tending to promote some carnal Design by creating and supporting invidious Distinctions among Men. This is the proper notion of a Sect and therefore the Masters and Maintainers of Sects are justly in an ill Name as Enemies to the great Corporation of Mankind but there is not the least colour of Reason to put this invidious and scandalous Character upon the Christian Religion However it may be mistaken and misrepresented it is very far from being really a Sect. There were Sects of Religion among the Jews we read of the Sect of the Sadducees Acts 5.17 which was built upon peculiar notions such as overturn'd the foundation of Natural Religion by denying a future state of Rewards and Punishments There was also the Sect of the Pharisees Acts 15.5 the straitest Sect of their Religion Acts 26.5 which was founded in the observance and imposition of singular Rites and Customs with an affected separation from and contempt of all Mankind These were Sects But there is nothing of the Spirit and Genius of these in the Christian Religion as it was instituted by its great Author 1. True Christianity establisheth that which is of common concernment to all Mankind and therefore is not a Sect. The Truths and Precepts of the everlasting Gospel are