Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	know_v	let_v	lord_n	3,357	5	3.9065	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29185	The ministers of England which are called, the ministers of the gospel vveighed in the ballance of equity: by way of consideration, whereby it plainly appears, whether they be the ministers of Christ, or of antichrist. And also, whether to bear a testimony against a setled maintenance, either by tyths or any other way which may be invented to uphold that ministry, be any way dangerous to destroy the gospel of Christ; resolved. With a serious meditation upon the dealings of God with England, and the state thereof in general. Published for the satisfactiou [sic] of such as desire to prove all things, and are willing to hold that fast which is good; by a friend unto the faithful ministers of the gospel of Christ, John Braithwait.	Braithwaite, John, fl. 1660.	1660 (1660)	Wing B4206; ESTC R221651	16,773	40

Apostles Christ said Cor. 2.6 be ye perfect as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect and the Apostle said Rom 8.2 we preach wisdome among them that are perfect mark that are perfect was not that in this life but do not these learned men say that none can be perfect in this life the Apostle said the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death Hath made me free mark that was not that in this life or while the Apostle was in the body John 1.9 8 12 but do not they say none can be made free from sin in this life John said that was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the World was not Christ that true light who said I am come a light into the World that whosoever followeth me should not abide in darkness but should have the light of life but do not they say that every man is not lighted Tit 2 11 except it be with a natural a created light the Apostle said the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men but is not their Doctrine that it hath appeared but to some men And when I began to weigh these Doctrines of theirs in the equal ballance I found them very unsound and contrary to the Scriptures Matt 7 16 and then came into my mind that saying of Christ By their fruits ye shall know them or every tree is known by its fruits men do not gather grapes of thornes nor figgs of thistles and when I had thus considered the state of the tollerated Ministers or pretended Ministers of the Gospel in England and found them clear contrary to Christ his Apostles in these and many more things which I might mention then I saw it was the Lords righteous judgments upon them to strip them naked and bare and stain their glory for as much as they have sought honour to themselves and have dishonoured the Lord God of Heaven and Earth who is now risen in his power which they have denyed and in effect they have said his arme is shortned that it cannot save as in former ages and revelations is ceased and is to be expected no more and so the day hath been dark over them Prov. 29 18. and there hath been no vision and where there is no vision the people perish and for this cause will the Lord God let them know the revelation of his righteous judgments which shall shortly come upon them though they would put it far away and though they cry peace peace yet shall sudden destruction come both upon them all that willingly doe uphold them And then I began to consider upon the setled or rather forced maintenance which as it appears doth uphold them whether to bear a testimony against it be any way dangerous to destroy the Gospel of Christ yea or nay and when I had considered well upon this matter I could not see nor find that Christ had laid a settled or forced maintenance for the foundation of the Gospel but did send forth his Ministers freely Freely they had received Mat. 10.8 freely they were to give and he that preacheth the Gospel may live of the Gospel here the Gospel was to maintain them and not a forced maintainance to maintain it 1 Cor. 9.14.18 for the Gospel is the power of God to Salvation saith the Apostle whose care was not to make the Gospel chargeable but as it doth appear those men which are called Ministers of the Gospel now in England strive to make that which they call Gospel chargeable and that not only to them who receive their doctrine but also to them who deny it which is a most unrighteous thing what can be more unrighteous than that one Congregation or Assembly of people should be forced by a law to maintain the Minister and meeting place of another Church or Assembly which are clean contrary the one to the other in their Judgement in things appertaining to the worship of God and if it may be unrighteousness in the one is it not so in the other Seeing they both beleive or at least they say the way which they walk in is the way of God Object But if it could be certainly judged which of them is in the right way might not they that are in the right way compel and force them that are not to maintain them Answ Nay he that is in the right way must do as he would be done unto and that is just and right and that is the royall law Jam. 2.8 the Law of Christ now if thou wouldest not willingly maintain the Minister of an assembly that differeth from theein judgment then thou must not desire much less force a mantenance from them but if thou keep a flock eat the milk of the flock Cor. 9.7 if thou plant a Vinyard eat the fruit thereof mark he that plants a vinyard may eat of the fruit thereof he doth not say thou may eat of that thou hast not planted for how could that convince men or convert them unto God To eat them and to devour them would rather set mens hearts against thee and that way which thou dost professe and therefore as in this respect to bear a Testimony against Tythes or any other forced maintenance to maintain Ministers is no way dangerous to destroy the Gospel of Christ Object But if there be not a law to compel men to pay to the Ministers People are so hard hearted and Covetous they will not pay toward their maintenance and then preaching will go down and people will become heathens Answ It seems then that for all the Preaching that hath been in England people are yet hard hearted and Covetous what reason is there then that those that are yet hard hearted covetous should pay or maintain those men that they have not profited by when I consider this thing it appeareth to me to be greater covetousness in those men called Ministers to desire to have a maintenance from those people that have not profited by them than it is for the other to detain it And as for Preaching going down and people becoming Heathens this I say that Preaching which is grounded upon covetousness let it go down let their Preaching go down for they rather keep people in heathenisme then bring any to the true knowledge of God who themselves dare not trust God for their maintenance after which things the Gentiles seek Object But though those learned men have been Covetous and proud and made an evil use of their maintenance nevertheless is it not convenient that the law remain which compelleth men to pay to the Ministers for peradventure God may raise better men in their places as gifted men and such like Answ Let the Law of Christ remain let him that preacheth the Gospel live of it but let not any law remain which compelleth men Was not the first

and upon him will we wait then shall righteousness run down like a mighty stream Ier. 25.5 6 and judgment and justice be established in the Earth and Christ shall raign as King and in his dayes shall Judah be saved Isa 25 8 9 and Israel shall dwell safely and the name whereby he shall be called is the Lord our righteousness and he will destroy death for ever and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and the rebuke of his people will he take away out of all the earth and in that day shall men say loe this is our God Isa 35 7 8 9 10. we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoyce in his Salvation for evermore and then the dry ground shall be as a pooll and the thirsty as springs of water in the habitations of Dragons where each lay shall be a place for reeds and rushes and the redeemed of the Lord shall come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads and they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flie away and then shall salvation honour and wisdome be ascribed and given to the Lord our God and to the Lamb who alone is worthy both now and for ever Amen A Serious Meditation upon the dealings of God with England and the state thereof in general O England thy day of visitation from the Lord hath been exceeding large and his dealings with thee exceeding wonderful when thou wast in distress and cryed unto the Lord he heard thee and delivered thee from thy oppressors but Oh how quickly hast thou forgotten the loving kindness of the Lord and the dealings of thy God! Remember the dayes that are past when thou wast in bondage and slavery and desired freedome to worship the Lord and the Lord heard and granted unto thee thy desire and also made known the way of his worship within thy borders in thy Towns in thy streets in thy Assemblies hath the Lord proclaimed the way of life and Salvation by his Children and Servants but oh how hast thou requited the Lord for his loving kindness how hast thou intreated his Servants with prisons whipings and revilings who bare their testimony against thy wickedness against thy pride and covetousness and Idolatry but oh how hast thou rejected the counsel of the Lord and hath chosen thine own wayes and followed thy own counsel and hardned thy heart and stiffned thy neck even like a rebellious people that would none of the Law of the Lord and therefore thou must eat the fruit of thy own doings and confess that the Lord is just in all his wayes and righteous in all his judgements for thou hast sinned against the Lord in that thou hast not performed thy promises which thou made in the day of thy distress and therefore distress must come upon thee again to bring thee to remember those things and repent which if thou do the Lord will have mercy upon thee and heal thy back-slidings but if thou do not but continue in thy rebellion the Lord will continue his judgments upon thee should not the long-suffering of the Lord lead thee to repentance and his gentle dealings with thee by correction cause thee to understand that he loves thee but if thou wilt not receive instruction by all his gentle dealings but wilt go on in thy wickedness what canst thou then expect but the indignation of the Lord to fall upon thee what dost thou think if thou continue in persecuting the Servants of the Lord to wit those that tell thee of thy wickedness thy pride and covetousness dost thou think that that will turn the judgments of God from thee surely nay that will but hasten wo and misery upon thy own head Oh what a day of visitation hast thou had how many times hath the Lord delivered thee and now it may be said by thee as it was once concerning Israel of old yea they turned back and tempted God and limtted the holy one of Israel they remembred not his hand nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy Is not this thy condition oh England although indeed the Lord hath a remnant in thee that do not bow their knees to Baal nor pour out drink-offerings to the Queen of heaven and this remnant are those which thou calls troublers of thy peace which trouble thee much like as Elia troubled Israel and this remnant that woman Jessabel I mean thy false Church that paints her self would have destroyed that so her false Prophets which feeds at her Table might not be troubled but trouble must come upon them and their peace must be broken and although Jessabel cause a Fast to be proclaimed yet God will execute his judgment in thee and if thou say in thy heart wherefore come these things upon me for the greatness of thine iniquities are thy skirts discovered and thy heels made bare for the Lord hath seen thy adulteries and thy neighings the lewdness of thy Whoredoms and thine abominations on the hills in the fields Woe unto thee oh England wilt thou not be made clean when shall it once be Oh! what a large profession hath been made in thee what a talk of Godliness and Christianity but alas what is found in thee doth not pride and envy abound in thee and hath not these things greatly displeased the Lord and for this cause is the anger of the Lord kindled which will devour the bryers and thorns in one day and in that day whither will you flie and where will you leave your glory you that have gloryed in professing the Gospel and Ordinances and even made this a covering for your wickedness and abomination who under a pretence of seeking the glory of God have sought honour to your selves and to make your names great in the earth is it not even thus oh England and hath not thy Prophets that divine for money and thy Priests that preach for hire have not they flattered thee in thy iniquities have not they cryed Peace to thy Rulers even until the finger of the Lord hath broken forth against them and they have been confounded and wilt thou not for all this receive instruction nor correction but still go on in thy wickedness and rebellion against the Lord what wilt thou revolt more and more and shew more and more cruelty to the Servants of the Lord surely then more and more of the indignation of the Lord thou must feel what is it now become a trouble to thee to have sin reproved in thy gates Dost thou make him an offender that speakes the truth And do those men that testifie against thy wickedness break thy peace the peace of thy Rulers and the peace of thy Priests And do thy Prophets that devine for money Priests that preach for hire do they tell thee that it would be a happiness to thee if thou were ridd of those men that reprove thee for thy wickedness do not they even thus oh