Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	law_n	lord_n	4,135	5	3.8427	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50478	An appendix to Solomon's prescription for the removal of the pestilence enforcing the same from a consideration of the late dreadful judgement by fire : together with some perswasions to all, especially suffering Christians, to exercise and maintain faith and patience, courage and comfort, in this dark and cloudy day / by M.M.	Mead, Matthew, 1630?-1699.	1667 (1667)	Wing M1544; ESTC R19176	113,221	168

is by another from whom in some small things hee may dissent For if such censures may bee on all hands admitted as current proofs I fear wee shall finde few i● nocent through the whole Land Of contrary opinion its impossible to hold both and in matters of practice which are under debate wee must either do them 〈◊〉 leave them undone And thus we cannot avoid the appearance of being on one side which be it what it will the contrary part the most rigid of them at least will be apt to stile it a Sect and those Sectaries which adhere to it because not thorowly siding with them And how the most Catholick-spirited Christian can well please both is not easie to conceive displease them hee may far easier It is not my business now to enquire into the nature of those things wherein we differ so to attempt a dicision who is in the right and who is in the wrong and thence to infer the equitableness of Liberty to any sort of men upon supposition of their being in the right But it is enough for my design to suppose what methinks should not by any that are sober and charitable be denied me to wit 1 That at present the conditions of access to the Ministry are of that nature that it 's possible for good Men Conscientiously to dissent from them And 2 That there may lawfully bee such abatements made as these Dissenters will comply with 3 That notwithstanding the differences that may after this remain in opinion wee may live together in love and joyntly promote the Great ends of the Gospel From which premises I presume it is a very fair and natural inference That such who will sincerely apply themselves to the advancing of these Ends and will engage not to break the Peace about any inferiour points wherein they differ ought not to bee look't upon as Factious and Schismatical nor as such to bee hindred from imploying themselves to the best advantage for the honour of their Lord and the benefit of his People Let him then onely bee accounted Schismatically inclin'd who for the propagating of his own by-opinions and the advancement of his Party will neglect and contradict the weightier duties of Religion not looking so much to the saving of souls as getting himself Proselites undervaluing censuring and abusing all that are not 〈◊〉 his own way for such as these be they who they will and let them pretend what they will I open not 〈◊〉 mouth in their vindication but will rather heartily joyn with our Letany in praying that from all such Schisme in Opinion affection or practise the Lord would deliver 〈◊〉 and from those who are incurably tainted therewith the Good Lord deliver both this and all other Churches through the Christian World If it should be demanded by what farther note we shall know the Factious from those that are not so since fine words and fair pretences are a very fallible and insufficient Criterion To such I answer That Justice and Common Reason will tell us that the professions promises and oaths of men must be taken for the 〈◊〉 discovery of their hearts and intentions till they shall have utterly forfeited their credit and when it shall be evident not by general charges of whole parties 〈◊〉 by particuler proof that any have done so let them never more be trusted till their Penitence and Reformation may have redeem'd that forfeiture yet let not the Innocent suffer for their sakes nor let them be thought to agree with them in all their miscarriages who may agree with them in a particular Opinion which is the 〈◊〉 uncharitable censure that can be except it may be prov'd that those miscarriages are inseparable from th●● Opinion If any man should attempt to murder 〈◊〉 Pope upon pretence that he is not Head of the Church the Guilt of his Fact is not chargeable upon all that 〈◊〉 of the same Opinion since this attempt was not the necessary consequence of that Opinion but of the weakness of his discourse or some carnal Motive Why the● should the peaceable bear the blame of other mens disorders which they could not help nor did contribute 〈◊〉 But if there should be any who whilst they zealous ●●veigh against all parties shall yet be found so sollici●us for their own that they will admit of nothing as a ●est of peaceableness and Piety but the profession of compliance with them even in those things which are ●he grounds of difference I fear this their course will ●●e so far from being serviceable to the recovery of the Churches Peace that it will prove one of the greatest ●●structions of it that could be thought of And if such shall be jealous of all that refuse the conditions they offer them as if they went about to set up for themselves and will accept of no protestations to the contrary but ●ill endeavour as far as they well can to keep them out ●f a capacity of doing God service least they should undermine some interest of theirs they do too plainly ●●ll the world that they have got something which they ●alue at an higher rate than the propagating of the Gospel and saving mens souls since by their good will nothing shall be done in this work but by those who will ●arry on those other ends of theirs This is such a Demonstration as meer pretences to the contrary are too weak to confute But happy will it prove for us all if ●nce we become so wise as to believe that there is no greater nor truer self-interest than to be faithful to the Cause of our Common Lord and diligent in his service according to our several capacities So that all ●hey who own themselves in Commission under him may desire and imploy their power to no other end than 〈◊〉 procure obedience to his Laws for which purpose alone his Servants are Authorized as the King Deputes Officers to see his Laws executed This is their Office and their Honor to be the happy Instruments of bringing many souls to know and accept of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour as it is the business and the honor of 〈◊〉 Embassador to accomplish those designs of his Prince for which he received his Commission and instructions whereas to neglect these for some private ends of 〈◊〉 own would speak him rather a Factor for himself 〈◊〉 a Minister of his Prince And when Christs Ministers do heartily believe this they will never have a jealous of knowledge and godliness by whomsoever they 〈◊〉 furthered and spread as if they could receive prejudice thereby since then it will be their only desire 〈◊〉 greatest delight that these may thrive and they 〈◊〉 will joyn their industry with them in this blessed wor●● cannot but be dear to them notwithstanding any lesser differences betwixt them Holy Paul rejoyc'd in that Christ was preacht even when it was done by some 〈◊〉 of no good principle and why was this but because 〈◊〉 that he propos'd to

should be stopt no sooner and both are so strange arguing a more than ord●● providence that we may reasonably infer that he who said to the proud flame You shall come no farther did also say to them Hither to shall you come So that we may fuly allude to that of the Prophet Isa 66.15 The Lord is come with Fire and with his Chariots like a whirlewind to render his anger with fary and his rebukes with st●mes of Fire And if be granted that it was the Lord who brought this evil upon the City it will not then I hope be questioned but he hath justly done it with none I am sure but with Atheists will it be questioned For he who denies Gods Justice doth in effect deny him to be God that is a Being infinitely perfect Moreover such is Gods gracious and merciful nature that we may be assured he is not delighted in his Creatures sufferings which he never inflicts but for some just and weighty cause yea I may say which they scarce ever undergo but when they foolishly and wilfully pluck them upon their own heads Strange it is that Man to whom Self-love is a natural and inseparable property should contrive his own ruine or if you say it is not ruine that he purposely contrives yet as strange it seems that hee who is endowed with Reason whereby he is capable of knowing the nature and attending to the consequences of things should so greedily embrace the cause and will not be driven from it whil'st he hates the effect and would fain avoid it But as strange as this seems and as great a blemish as it laies upon humane nature yet most true it is and too strongly confirmed by daily sad experience Fain would men separate what the unalterable Law of the Creator hath joyned together Sin and Misery and though they know or may know that they cannot have one without 〈◊〉 other yet will they venture upon what they love the 〈◊〉 certainly attended with that which they cannot end 〈◊〉 and so most justly They eat the fruit of their own 〈◊〉 are fil'd with their own devices Thus it is in the present case with eagerness and delight have we procur'd 〈◊〉 our selves those evils which wee bitterly lament We● that ran so earnestly to quench our burning houses with our own hands set them on fire We that are now in so perplext and destitute a condition have even wilfully plung'd our selves into these difficulties for in the settled course of Gods government of the world there is as great a connexion betwixt sin unrepented of and sore judgements either in this life or the next as betwixt throwing Granado's into an house and its being thereby burn't to the ground Yet mistake me not as if I thought that they who suffer most are the greatest sinners and that the City was so much more wicked than the Country as its sufferings are greater But only this I dare safely say that Sin is the great Incendiary of our Land the Traytor and Destroyer that hath done us so much mischief even the sins of all and therefore hath a Judgement besaln us wherein there are few but are concern'd either for themselves or relations or at leastwise as members of that Commonalty which suffers so greatly and those particular persons upon whom it hath faln heaviest though there may be many that have deserved as ill who perhaps fare better than they yet have they no reason to think that they have far'd worse than they deserv'd God himself directs us in our enquiries after the cause of such calamities Deut. 39.21 23 24 25. When any should ask why the Land was made like Sc●●me and Gomorrah Brimstone Salt and Burning the answer was to be returned because they had forsook the Covenant of the Lord God of their Fathers This Apostacy from God is the usual cause of the destruction of Kingdomes So Isa 42.24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil and Israel to the robbers Did not the Lord he against whom we have sinned for they would 〈◊〉 walk in his waies neither were they obedient unto his Law wherefore we may well say This evil is of our selves our own drings have procured all these things to us If now you ask mee What doings what sins those are which have provokt God thus speedily to repeat his ●ashes I answer They are even such as I have before made a rehearsal of and which I shall not now particularly enlarge upon but especially our continuance in and revolting to these sins as it were in despite of those remarkable Judgements which have been employ'd to turn us from them The Pride and Covetousness the Whoredomes and Drunkenness which have abounded amongst us our cruel Animosities and Divisions Uncharitableness and Oppression Contempt of God and Godliness prophanation of Lords-daies and neglect of his Ordinances and Worship such as these are the doings which have brought our miseries upon us But which is the grand aggravation of all After we had been ●●ricken for these sins were we grieved and reformed Nay rather have we not revolted more and more Did we in our affliction acknowledge our offence and seek the face of God Did we return to him that had torn that he might real us to him that had smitten that he might binde us up Dr rather were we not like Jerusalem of whom God complains Zeph. 3. That being filthy polluted and an oppressing City she obeyed not the voice nor received correction being ●njust they knew no shame and therefore hee made their Streets waste that none post by their Cities were destroyed there was no Inhabitant Were not the fears we before mentioned of a return of all kinde of impiety too prophetical Where alas ●ould there be any thing seen amongst us after the heavy stroak of the Plague was somewhat lightned that deserved to be call'd a Reformation How few were put to a stand thereby and brought to consider and 〈◊〉 their waies Though they saw their neighbour 〈◊〉 friends cut off before them yet did they not still 〈◊〉 on in their former careless and prophane course W●●● considerable notice was there taken of the hand of God Did not the most who out-liv'd the Plague shew 〈◊〉 their sins out-liv'd it too did they not fall in ag●●● with the very same violence and unconscionable eag●●ness they were wont to the pursuing of their world●● designs As if their greatest trouble was that they 〈◊〉 been so long interrupted in their gainful trading and well if the trade of sinning was even that while intem●●ted Or if there were some who by the apprehension approaching death were frighted out of some gros● sins and into good purposes yet did they not soon turn to their old bent like streams whose course 〈◊〉 been for a while damm'd up Many it is to be fear'd who in their trouble sought God presently forgate 〈◊〉 when that was removed and forgot the promises the made to him of newness of life and better obedience in