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	see_v	3,024	5	2.9158	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44854	Hē apostasīa, ho antichristos, or, A scriptural discourse of the apostasie and the Antichrist, by way of comment, upon the twelve first verses of 2 Thess. 2 under which are opened many of the dark prophecies of the Old Testament, which relate to the calling of the Jews, and the glorious things to be affected at the seventh trumpet through the world : together with a discourse of slaying the witnesses, and the immediate effects thereof : written for the consolation of the Catholike Church, especially the churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland / by E.H.	Hall, Edmund, 1619 or 20-1687.	1653 (1653)	Wing H325; ESTC R11943	203,833	222

the sad Ship-wrack of a good cause which went ●…ut and returned like Solomons Ships for gold The King and the Parliament at their first s●…ting out promised fair and good grounds of great hopes ●…f m●…ch good both to Church and State appeared but soon was the King whether drawn or driven or both d●…parted from the right way He took the sword and sadly per●…shed by the sword the Lords and Commons made vowes and protestations to God and man and in the breach of them were broken Each of these with the Emperour Mauritius might justly say Jusius es Domine justa sunt tua judicia in all that hath befal●…en them Yet in these dreadfull frowns of his upon the Reformers we may see Gods gracious smiles upon their intended reformation whiles the clouds of Gods just displeasure overs●…adowed the Reformers a bright beam of his Providence shined on that cause they all professed for the King Lords and Commons that began in a good cause but afterwards were divided upon different self-interests at the very last of all met again consulted agreed and finished all three together their testimony concerning this cause and then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Revel 11. 7. God snatched both that from them and th●…m from us unworthy of both who contemning the golden yoke of Christs government are justly liable to the iron ●…oke of Antichrists tyranny However let the Parliaments cause in the eyes of the wise be magnified though the underta●…ers of it be for ends best known to God debased let God and his cause be true though every man be found a liar before him Let not therefore the professed friends of Zion in this day of Gods dark and dreadfull providences amongst us stumble and fall as the most of professours do from their first principles let not the reproaches of ●…apists and open prophane persons on one hand nor of Sectarian●… on the other hand make us lose our stedfastnesse let our ●…ffections and prayers be the same for our Reformation and our Reformers as formerly let not their failings in the cause cause us to fall from the cause Angels not men are able to carry on a Reform●…tion without faults where shall we finde a Reformaion ●…arried on without great miscarriages At the first Nationall Reformation in the world we finde Moses the Churches Monarch in the Mount with God and Aaron the Seventie and the people his ●…riest his 〈◊〉 and his subjects in the valley that while with the Devil y●…t their ●…ellish sm●…ke below did not eclipse Gods light above that day was a glorious day of Reformation notwithstanding in the eyes of all the people the two Tables wer●… br●…ke by Moses their 〈◊〉 the Lords anointed in Nehemiahs time how many 〈◊〉 were g●…t into that box purposely so pollute the ointment of a Reformation oppressours and supplanters and Schismaticks had shrewdly 〈◊〉 blown that Reformation yet 't was carried on at last God can carry on a cause by mens miscarriages David a man after Gods one heart began●…s Reformation he stumbled in limine for he should have brought home the Arke Deut. 10. 8. according to Moses prescription upon the Priests shoulders but he followes the Philistines fashion and fetcheth it home upon a Cart. Here the King and his Parliament I mean his Nobles and the Priests all stumbled and by this stumble the 〈◊〉 was shaken and Uzzah smitten yet the Ark was the same and so 〈◊〉 the n●…erer its appointed place We mention this to the shame of those 〈◊〉 th●…se dayes who pretend to follow the 〈◊〉 but startle and start aside 〈◊〉 because th●…se beasts that were employed to draw it have stum●… and 〈◊〉 it Oh Christians take heed of apostatizing from Gods ca●…se when persecuted God takes that from Christians most grievously If God smote to the grave Uzzah for touching the Ark when it shock will he not smi●…e to hell those Apostates that kick their heel at the Ark now 't is shaken There were never such a number of brazen-faced Apostates seen in the World together as in these dayes England and Scotland have produced These wormes which bred in the belly of the Church made it sick and miscarry of a Reformation since they are voided the Church though for the present weak I hope ●…s neer to her recovery Let those then that long and lo●…k for her recovery take off their hearts from murmuring at the cause and turn all their complaints against themselves ô that the spirit of supplication might passe through the Protestant Churches this day ô that all the families that fear the Lord might 〈◊〉 before the Lord this day that each might see how they have in their places fallen short of the glory of God Oh that the families of the house of David of Nathan of Levi and Shimei i. e. of the Royall blood and Priestly function might mourn this day before the Lord for their own si●…s and the sins of their fore-fathers ô that we might all know in th●…s our day of visitation the things that concern our peace The sacred prophicies tell us if we mistake them not that the Churches deliverance is nigh at hand that time when the Witnesses shall rise the everlasting Gospel shall be preached to all people and the twelve Tribes converted and also the time when the Devil the beast and the false Prophet shall be cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone now as Daniel Chap 9 finding out the expi●…ation of the 70 years captivity did thereupon betake himself to fast and pray and confesse the sins of Judah Jerusalem and all Israel with the sins of their Kings Princes and fore-fathers so ought we that look after the publick weale of the Church finding by the prophecies that the Apostasie is well nigh finished and the Antichrist appears which is the immediate fore-runner of Christs glorious comming as we shew in the ensuing Tract to raise the Witnesses and restore the Iews to bet●…ke ourselves to solemn humiliation fasting and prayer making confession of the sins of our Kings of our Nobles of our Ministers and of our people taking to ourselves Daniels words Chap 9. 16. For our sins and the iniquity of our forefathers Ierusalem is become a reproach ô Lord to all that dwell about it now therefore cause thy face to shine upon thy Sanctuary that is desolate for the Lords sake ô Lord incline thine ear to hear open thine eyes and behold our desolations Oh that we would all turn Priests and come quickly bringing this holy ●…incense with us into the Congregation that so atonement might be made for the Churches of God against which great wrath from the Lord is gone out this day and sore plagues are upon them Gods eares are not heavy nor is his hand shortened that he cannot save us but our pride security hardnesse unbelief impenitencie and murmuring have kept back good things from us Why are we in bondage to a generation that curse their father and

great devastation that by the Gentile Apostates shall be made upon the true Church and until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled signi●…ies the set time of the Apostate Gentiles raign and tyranny which Revel 11. 2. tells us is forty and two months never were Texts fitter matched for expression matter and method in the whole Bible then these To these let us add but one or two parallel Texts more and so we have done with the grand Apostasie in Rom. 11. 25. this Text directly with the rest 1. Points us out the Jewes misery by the expression of blindness or hardness which is the blackest side of misery 2. It points out the Gentile Apostasie and some thing more for●…it seems to lay the greatest part of it upon the Church of Rome And 3. It gives us to know the length of the Affliction both to the Jewes and Gentiles for this I observe that the Jewes destruction and the Gentiles Churches persecution by the Apostasie were not many yeers distant in the Histories and therefore it is that we find them joyned together in the Prophesies now as their afflictions began neare one time so they shall terminate neer about one time ●…s the Temple the Altar and those that worship thereat i. e. the Jewes were unchurched neer about that time when the Court without and the holy City that is the Gospel Church of the Gentiles began to be trodden under foot by the four Angels Apostasie which were Gentiles so the rechurching of the Jewes and the returning of the Gentile Church out of its Apostasie by the raising of the slaine Witnesses and slaying of Antichrist shall be neer about one time and this Text doth make it cleer This Text in my opinion is the comfortablest Text to the Jewes in all the Bible it prophesies plainly that the Jewes shall be converted and restored when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in that is saith Luke until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled which time saith Iohn Revel 11. 2. is to be fulfilled in forty and two months which forty and two months makes One thousand two hundred and sixty dayes the time of the Witnesses prophesying in sack-cloth which being expired the Witnesses about the end of this time being slaine shall rise again and put off their dirty sack-cloth and be cloathed in white and then the Sealed Jewes and the innumerable number of the Gentiles shall be joined in one faith to worship the Lamb Rev. 7. This Text of Pauls gives us light to the discovery of the time when this Gentile Apostasie shall have an end Paul in this Rom. 11. dehorts the Roman Church from insulting over the rejected Jewes foreseeing doubtless the pride that that Church would grow unto Now to curb this pride of that Gentile-Church 1. He shewes the Church of Rome how that all of them are not gone into that Spiritual Captivity no he himself being a Jew could testifie the contrary and the twelve Apostles who were Jewes could testifie as much and the seventie Disciples could testifie as much who are to the Gentiles under the bondage of sin as the twelve heads of the Tribes and the seventy Elders to Israel in the wilderness their Rulers and Instructors 2. The Gentiles had no cause to insult because the casting of them off was the receiving of the Gentiles into favour Had the Jewes the invited Guests come into the supper for ought I know the Gentiles had remained by the hedges and high-wayes still or else had only licked up the crumbs that had fallen from Christs Spiritual table as dogs at a Feast and therefore the Romish Church hath no cause to insult over the Jewes but rather with a holy fear to adore the infinite freeness of Gods grace that should reject the Tents of Sem to dwel in the Tents of Iapheth that the first fruits should be thrown away and the Tares and cockle received into Gods garner ver 8 16. 3. The Romish Gentiles have no cause to insult for they were by nature but the wild Olive till upon free grace they were transplanted into the Jewes stock the Church and through pride infidelity and disobedience they may as soon be cut off and the Jewes again grafted in as the Jewes for the self-same sins were cut off when they were taken in this Paul seems to tell the Romish Churches from the Spirit of Prophecie within him ver 22. He tels the Church of Rome that she shall be cut off if she walk not answerable to such rich grace received O what may the Church of Rome from this Text expect for her shameful Apostasie And Paul in the next verse by the same spirit v. 23. tels the Jews that they shall be grafted in again that is gathered to be a glorious Church again if they will believe the Gospel 4. The Romish Gentile Church hath no cause to insult over the unbelieving Jewes because they for their Pride Tyranny and disobedience shall be rejected and fall into the same condemnation when at that time the Jewes shall be restored and this is implyed and expressed in ver 25. For I would not brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mystery lest ye should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part is hapned to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in This verse is the concluding Argument against the insulting pride of the Gentile Church over the poor rejected Jewes and every word in it is of great importance from the causal Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the last word in it For I would not brethren that is you of the Church of Rome That ye should be ignorant of this mystery that is he would by all means have them acquainted with it of all Churches he would have the Church of Rome to understand this mystery and why that Church acquainted with it more then any other The Apostle gives the reason Lest they should be wise in their own conceits Lest they should be proud in their own conceits saith a Learned Jesuit supposing that Paul useth a Metalepsis here putting one word for another Great priviledges puffe not only persons but Churches up above what is meet Paul then by the eye of prophecie saw what we and all the world see in the Church of Rome now viz. excessive pride apostasie and insultation Now to pull down this pride he would have them acquainted with this Mysterie Now the question is Where lies the mysterie Some learned and holy men affirm that the mysterie lies in the rejection of the Jews and the taking in of the Gentiles to the Gospel But this cannot be it for though the coming of Christ had been to the world a mysterie yet this mysterie was revealed to the world especially to the Roman Church by Pauls preaching This therefore though it be in it self a mysterie and the deepest of mysteries yet it is not the mysterie that Paul here would not have them ignorant of for they were

choose him and stability in that will to continue with him And this is the Magna Charta of a Christian that God will give him a will that he shall never depart from him But these followers of Antichrist they are unwilling to receive truth unto sanctification onely to outward washing for some carnall end they will receive truth but no further and therefore as Nazianzen well observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 't is not their cannots but their will nots that will damn them they would not receive the truth to be saved by it 2 It imports thus much that a formall hypocriticall professour will easily become an heretick and an apostate in time of temptation he will fall away For this cause God shall send them strong delusions For this cause Ierusalems house is left unto this day unto her desolate for this cause they had eyes to see and saw not and ears to hear and heard not and hearts to understand and understood not For this cause we have this day so many apostates and hereticks and fearfull and unbelieving persons even at the mouth of hell They were formerly eminent professours but their eminencie was onely in externals in formalities there was no inward heart-imbracing of the truth with an inward purpose and resolution to be saved by it and hence it is they are so soon departed to another Gospel or rather bewitched to imbrace the doctrines of Devils strong delusions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the efficacie of delusion so reads the Syriack 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies errour and such grosse errour say the learned as leads a man from the way of nature even to sin against the light of nature against convictions of naturall conscience But as if this were not high enough the Apostle underlayes it with this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to raise it above superlative to note that Antichrists followers who are described to be eminent professours shall be given up to the excesse of errours even against the light of nature Covenant-breaking Treachery Apostasie lying with a purpose to deceive adultery and murther are all sins against the light of nature and these grosse sins shall professours be grosly guilty of in that time when Antichrist shall be revealed There is yet something more in the phrase for the efficacie of delusion lies chiefly in this that all these prodigious sins should be committed by Christians and Christians bearing the name and title of Saints and they so far from shame and reluctancie in the committing of them that they vaunt insult rejoyce boast and triumph openly in the committing of them as if they had done God and the Church some speciall service here lies the efficacie of delusion that ever professours should be thus given up to a reprobate minde to commit such abominable sins against the light of nature with delight and greediness This is the grand Character of Antichrists followers But it is said that God sends these strong delusions if so then is not God the Author of their sin and damnation To this the generall answer is that God sends not this delusion effective but permissivè he is not the efficient of it but the permitter of it He permits it by letting loose the rains to Satan and to Antichrist and his Instruments God doth not positively send them delusions There cannot greater blasphemy be thought of then to affirm God to be the Author of evill God sends not any thing for that end to make men believe a lie neither doth he permit it for any such end though in the consequents by accident it effects the same The Judge fore-warnes his servant of theft and then tries him by laying money in his way he steals it the Judge in punishing him is not the cause of his sin but the Author of his punishment God permits nothing unwillingly permission stands not in opposition to the will for permitting a thing is in some sort willing a thing and besides it cannot be supposed that God is an idle Spectator of events for he is the Governour of all things and directs all things according to the counsell of his will and therefore by permitting of th●…se delusions to beguile souls to their damnation he wills them To this we answer that God doth will these things but neither as a means nor as an end tending to evill he wills them as actions simply considered which are not evil but are made so by accident through the defects of evill men Or thus God wills them as punishments to the wicked and so they are good as being destinated to a good end He sends seducers amongst hypocriticall professors as a King sends fire-ships which he takes from his enemies and guiding their sterns sends them into the midst of his enemies Navie whereby he fires and destroyes his enemies God may be justly said to will these things as punishments but not as sins One and the same thing may be both a sin and a punishment of sin as Augustine instanceth in many particulars a sin both in the seducer and the seduced and a punishment as by the wise providence of God ordered to both their destructions As a Judge makes one thief to intrap and destroy another so God destroyes one sin by another Peccata praecedentia punit peccatis sequentibus God here makes their after-sins to punish their former since they would not imbrace truth to their salvation they shall imbrace errours and lies to their damnation God as the supream Author of his own righteous vengeance can take up what weapons he will against his enemies Now what fitter Instrument can you finde to punish Apostates in heart with then to fill them with their own wayes a false tongue is most fit for an itching ear These blinde hypocrites God lets them take hands and lead each other in their new-found paths of delight untill they both irrecoverably fall into the ditch These followers of Antichrist despise truth tendered by Gods messengers and God thereupon justly with-drawes his grace tendered to them and so they are as wandering sheep in a wildernesse a prey to those beasts of prey to that roaring lion who daily goeth about seeking for such souls to devour them God infuseth no evill qualities either into seducers or the seduced but onely leaves them who first left him to the evill of their own hearts They heap to themselves Teachers after their own hearts a false heart will choose a false Teacher and God lets them both alone Ephraim is joyned to Idols let him alone this is all the sending which God is said to send Seducers shall one day know that God never sent them They ran and I have not sent them God will one day say to both the seducers and seduced Who required these things at your hands when men make gods with their hands God leaves them to worship those gods They would not receive the truth well saith God they shall not receive the truth but shall be hardened