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	lord_n	people_n	4,953	5	4.9858	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61853	The worm that dyeth not, or Hell torments in the certainty and eternity of them plainly discovered in several sermons preached on Mark, chap. the 9th and the 48. v. / by that painful and laborious minister of the gospel, William Strong ; and now published by his own notes, as a means to deter from sin and to stir up to mortification.	Strong, William, d. 1654.	1672 (1672)	Wing S6014; ESTC R32735	120,570	318

doth purchase the persons of the elect Acts 20.28 therefore they are called a purchased people 1 Pet. 2.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ephes 1.14 they are the seed that do arise from the travel of his soul for he dyed as a grain that he might not abide alone John 12.32 when the Son of man is lifted up he will draw all men unto him and the selecting of the Saints out of this world is a fruit of his death and a part of the purchase thereof Gal. 1.4 Secondly All the graces and all the gifts of the Holy Ghost are part of his purchase though in him they were free he did not merit his unction no more then his union the humane nature could not merit it yet as they are bestowed upon us so they are the fruit of his merit for they could never have conveyed this unto us if he had not satisfied God and laid down a price answerable unto all and therefore Ephes 4.9 10. he that ascended is the same that descended into the lower parts of the Earth and he ascended that he might fill all things all the fruit of his ascention comes from his humiliation had he never descended he had never ascended therefore all the fulness of the graces and the gifts that the elect have it is grounded upon this the fruit of all his offices is grounded upon his Priest-hood he does as a Prophet teach but that he had never done if he had not satisfied he doth as a King dispence gifts but these gifts he gives to his people by his priesthood as an honour that the Lord has given him because of his abasement and his humiliation and thus our sanctification and the purging of the Conscience flows from the death of Christ which is the meritorious cause thereof Thirdly The active obedience of Christ is the pattern and the causa exemplaris of all that holiness and purification that is required of us our holiness consisting in a conformity into Christ he having received the Image of God in himself and by beholding of his Image we are changed into the same 2 Cor 7. last verse Christs life is a living Scripture a visible commentary upon the Law of God whose actions we must follow be you followers of me as I am of Christ looking to Jesus and seting him before us 1 Pet. 2.21 as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Copy for us to write after and whose virtues we must shew forth our happiness being to be like him in glory 1 John 3.3 we must resemble him here as a child doth his father for as we have born the Image of the earthly so we must bear the Image of the heavenly as we have born the one here in sin and guilt so we must bear the other here in grace and hereafter in glory Fourthly Christs blood doth cleanse us by the precepts and the promises of the Gospel he doth sanctifie us by his truth John 17. First by the precepts of it for he saith be you holy as I am holy and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart as obedient children fashion not your selves according to the lusts of your former ignorance put off the old man and put ye on the new man be not conformable to the World but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and all these precepts have a purging vertue because through the blood of Christ all the commands of the Gospel carry grace with them and a spirit that inables men to fullfil the command jubet juvat Indeed you may well question can a thing that is intrinsically unclean purge it self can a Black-moor change his skin c. It is true he cannot but there is a creating word verbum factivum such as Christ said unto the Leper I will be thou clean and by his commanding it the soul is cleansed as when God by a way of command did cause the creatures to to stand up act of nothing for the commands of the Gospel they are as seed by which a man is begotten and they are as a mold into which a man is transformed Rom. 6.17 A man is cast into it as into a frame that doth change him and fides impetrat qu od lex * Aust imperat Secondly In the promises of the Gospel and they are all grounded in the blood of Christ for all the promises are in him yea and in him Amen he is the center and they are all as so many lines drawn from him he is the great promise that gives being unto all the rest of the promises and efficacy it 's the death of the Testatour that doth confirme the Testament it were else a blank and therefore the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is called the New Testament in his blood Matth. 26.28 That is the whole New Testament and the promises thereof are offered and sealed unto you in his blood and if it were not a Testament in his blood it were invalid and of none effect and the promises of the Gospel do purge the Conscience First As they are objects of Faith Christ having promised in them a purification Isa 4.4 Zac. 13.1 There is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness Isa 52.15 it is aspersi● doctrinae justitiae Mal. 3.1 He shall sit as a refiner and shall sanctify the sons of Levi with refiners fire c. Exek 36.25.37 I will sprinkle clean water upon them c. They shall not defile themselves any more with their Idols and with their detestable things Now the soul looking upon the faithfullness of God and his goodness ingaged in these sayeth having these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit and these promises Faith turns into prayer and obtains the mercy promised because all these promises are confirmed by the bloud of Christ Secondly The promises do purge the Conscience as they are grounds of hope for they are onely promises that are the grounds of hope to the saints Psal 119.49 establish thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope and a hope that is grounded upon a promise is a hope that will never make a man ashamed and hope is a great ground of purging Tit. 2.12.13 Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ c. who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify to himself a peculiar people c. The grace of God bringing salvation teacheth us that denying ungodliness and worldly Lusts c. Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of God as many as have this hope do purify themselves even as he is pure c. Truly in all things the more lively a mans hopes are the more springing his endeavours are And he doth take care to cast away that which will cloud his hope or defer it Ph●l 3.12 I have a hope of the

a greater discovery of truth in the latter days the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun Isa 26.30 c. And the Temple of God shall be opened in Heaven and they shall see into the ark of the Testament Rev. 11. and the Sea of glass that was first clear afterwards became as the blood of a dead man and afterwards a Sea mixed with fire will be at last a clear River of the waters of Life clear as Christal again and that the Lord will never leave refining and purging Religion Rev. 22. till he has taken of all that filthiness and defilement of Antichrist that he hath east upon it Heb. 12.28 This shall be the gain that we shall have by all the shaking of the things that are made a removing of all things in Religion that have onely the stamp and authority of man upon them which we are to wait and pray for Secondly So much in Religion as will stand with a mans credit profit and honour in the World that they can admit of but it is not good to be singular and too precise therein this was the principle that was in Jehues heart so much reformation as would establish the kingdome unto himself and his posterity he was zealous for but no more but if any thing do cross that then men rise up against it with Demetrius they will not hear of it for by this craft we get our wealth c. As the King of Navar answered Beza when he exhorted him to own the Protestant Cause and to appear for them seeing he professed to favour them his answer was se istoc pelago commisurum c. He would so far go and shew himself and Lanch into this Sea that he would make sure of a safe harbour so men will go no further in Religion then may stand with worldly interest and mens policies do set bounds unto their piety as we see by woful experience this day c. Whereas the Gospel rule is that a man must in the things of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let him utterly deny himself and he that loves Father and Mother more then me is not worthy of me God hates that Religion that shall cost men nothing the Lord calls for singularity in Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what singular thing do you and what do you more then others you talk more but do you do more and hazard more c. As singularity in a way of sin and pride is abominable to God so singularity in a way of holiness is well pleasing to him and for such is the Kingdom of Heaven prepared it 's a straight gate and a narrow way and there be few that find it the Lords flock is a little flock they are a singular Company they do not walk in the drove with the rest of the world but they follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes through thick and through thin as we use to say Thirdly They say there is no necessity of a work of conversion and regeneration as men do talk of for they that are born in the Church as we all are we are born in true Religion also it is the Heathens and Papists that are to be converted so did the Pharisees think that they needed no repentance though they could not deny but that they did sin and in many things offend therefore they must grant a repentance for particular acts of sin but as for that repentence which we call initial the change of a mans state that they did conceive the Heathen had need of but they had not for they were the seed of Abraham born in the Church to whom the Covenants did belong c. and men say there is no such inward power of godliness upon the heart as men speak of contrary to what Christ sayes to Nicodemus unless a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God and that to Timothy 2 Tim. 1.5 and 1 John 3.5 Acts 20.18 and yet they dare to say that all that profess it do but dissemble and they are hypocrites and it is ridiculous for the Church to require such an account of the workings of God upon their hearts before they are admited into the Church fellowship and Ministers now adays teach their people a canting language which all are to speak or else they are no Church Members whereas they say Religion consists in a fair outward just and unblamable carriage before men they have a form of godliness as sayes the Apostle Tim. 2.3.5 but deny the power of it and so the pharisees they did justifie themselves before men they were such as Sepulchres are that were outwardly fair made clean the outside only So these are civil men which are the worlds Saints whereas also there is an inward work wanting upon the heart there is a being changed in the spirit of their mind which they never experienced a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees and with out this converting grace all their works are lost not tantum peccata sed bona opera mortalia Fourthly They say it is an easie thing to repent it is but to cry Lord have mercy upon us and I am sorry for my sin when I am laid upon my death bed and I can no longer commit it then I hope I shall repent but Christ sayes its not so easie to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven it 's easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter there and therefore he bids them strive to enter Judas did repent here and yet he is gone to Hell that is his place and truly there is and will be repentance enough in Hell to eternity if any repentance would serve the turne men may easily repent Acts 5.31 I but God accepts no repentance but true repentance and its God only that gives repentance unto life and being it is in his power Oh that the day of his power may be upon all that hear me this day that you may not think it so easie a matter to do this great work take heed least thy heart be hardened with the deceitfulness of sin Rom. 2.5 Fifthly They think God is mercifull and count it no hard matter to get the pardon of sin and think it not so great an evil as it is made out to be but a godly man that has been convinced of sin and converted from it he looks upon sin as the greatest evil and sees all kind of evil in it and every sin to abound in sinfulness and that there is more evil in it then in Hell it self for that is but against a created good and this against an uncreated good and the glory of God is dearer then Heaven and Earth to them Secondly The price that was paid to purchase our pardon from sin and defilement was the blood of Christ we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of