Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	let_v	lord_n	see_v	4,698	5	3.6890	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10740	A vvorkeman, that needeth not to be ashamed: or The faithfull steward of Gods house A sermon describing the duety of a godly minister, both in his doctrine and in his life. By Charles Richardson, preacher at S. Katharines, neere the Tower of London.	Richardson, Charles, fl. 1612-1617.	1616 (1616)	STC 21019; ESTC S115966	57,940	78

wrought by vs. We are but instruments in the Lords hand and therefore we cannot arrogate any thing to our selues without preiudice to him Jsa 10.15 Shall the axe saith the Prophet boast it selfe against him that heweth therewith or shall the Saw exalt it selfe against him that moueth it If therfore wee see any good effect wrought by our ministerie let vs say with Dauid Not vnto vs O Lord not vnto vs Psal 115.1 but vnto thy Name giue the glory And for the saluation of the people the Apostle vseth it as an argument to perswade Timotheus to be diligent and constant in the discharge of his duety 1. Tim. 4.16 Take heede vnto thy selfe saith he and vnto learning continue therein for in doing this thou shalt saue both thy selfe and them that heare thee As if hee should haue said Calu. in locum Let them that are desirous of vaine-glorie please themselues with their owne ambition let them applaude themselues in the subtilties of their wit let it be sufficient for thee to bend thy study to the furtherance of thine owne and the peoples saluation Thus if we set our selues to bee approued vnto God the Lord that knoweth our sinceritie will not be wanting to reward vs liberally and that euen in this life 1. Pet. 4.14 making the Spirit of glorie to rest vponvs as the Apostle Peter calleth it To which purpose Luther hath a good saying If a mans worke bee right let him be sure that hee shall neuer want glory neither with God nor with men As wee see by experience that they that set themselues conscionably to performe the dueties of their calling the Lord doth sooner or later cause them to bee esteemed and had in reuerence of men yea many times of such as are enemies to the Gospell Sen. Epist 80. The Heathen man could say that glory is the shadow of vertue which will accompany men whether they will or no. But as the shaddow sometimes goeth before the bodie and sometimes followeth after so glory is sometimes before vs and presenteth it selfe to our view sometimes it commeth behinde vs and is the greater by how much it is the later when enuie is ceased namely after our death But without all question howsoeuer it pleaseth the Lord to deale with vs in this life yet at the great day of Iudgement When the chiefe Shepheard shall appeare 1. Pet. 5.4 we shall receiue an incorruptible Crowne of glory Then our Master Christ Iesus when hee shall come to call vs to account for the talents and gifts which he hath giuen vs and shall finde that wee haue imployed them to the glory of his Name and the good of his Church Math. 5.21 shall say vnto vs It is well done thou good and faithfull seruant enter into thy Masters ioy Last of all here is also an admonition for all the hearers of the Word that they suffer their Ministers to performe this duetie There is a secret corruption in most men they would haue a Minister to speake to their humours and to sooth them vp in whatsoeuer they do If they say the Crow is white Isay 30 10. they would haue the Minister to say so too They cannot indure that hee should prophesie right things vnto them but would haue him to speake flattering things as the Prophet saith of the people in his time But as hath beene said alreadie The Minister is the seruant of Christ to whom onely he ought to approoue himselfe and of whom onely hee ought to labour to draw men to bee followers and therefore he must administer and dispense the Word indifferently vnto all not caring whom he pleaseth or displeaseth so he may please God What message soeuer the Lord putteth into his mouth how harsh soeuer it be hee must deliuer it faithfully though all the world be offended at it Ky 1.17 As the Lord charged the Prophet Ieremy Speake vnto them all that I command thee be not afraid of their faces lest I destroy thee before them The Minister you see must deale faithfully in the Lords busmesse euen vpon paine of his high displeasure Num. 23.12 Balaam that false prophet could say Must I not take heede to speake that which the Lord bath put into my mouth Much more ought a godly minister to be carefull that way that though hee might gaine neuer so much by flattering Numb 22.18 yet hee must not goe beyond the Word of the Lord to doe lesse or more hee must not giue titles to men nor causelessely commend them without desert lest his Maker reproue him as Iob saith Iob 32.22 Yea the Apostle Paul saith Gal. 1.10 If he should goe about to please men hee were not the seruant of Christ If he should apply his doctrine to mens humours mours and affections the Lord would neuer approue him And therefore all this being so you must giue your ministers leaue to discharge their duties in all sinceritie and not bee offended though at Gods Commandement they doe somewhat sharpely reprooue your sinnes For as the Apostles said of obedience so may wee say in this case Acts 4.19 Whether it bee right in the sight of God to please you rather then God iudge ye A Workeman The same word is vsed in the parable of the Vineyard Math. 20.1 and there is translated labourers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so it is vsed 2. Thes 3.10 where the Apostle commandeth that if there were any that would not worke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee should not eate From whence ariseth this next instruction Doct. 2 That the Calling of a Minister is a painefull and laborious calling and he that would approue himselfe and his Ministerie vnto God hee must be a workeman This the Apostle confirmeth in many other places Exhorting the Thessalonians to a reuerent and due estimation of their Ministers he saith Know them that labour among you c. 1. Thes 5 12. And in an other place The Elders saith he that rule well 1. Tim. 5.17 are worthy of double honour especially they which labour in the Word and Doctrine In both which places the word there vsed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie to labour vnto wearinesse In like manner exhorting Timotheus to the performance of his duety hee bids him Watch in all things doe the worke of an Euangelist 2. Tim. 4.5 c. And describing the office of a faithfull Minister he saith If any man desire the office of a Bishop 1. Tim. 3.1 he desireth a worthy worke Wherevpon S. Augustine saith (a) Episcopatus nomenest operis non honoris The office of a Bishop is a name of labour not of honor that a man may know that he is no Bishop that would bear rule but would doe no good According to that speech of our Sauiour Math. 9.37 Surely the haruest is great but the labourers are few wherefore pray the Lord of the haruest that he would send

do nothing at all to take no paines but to bury themselues in idlenesse is not to be faithfull and therefore such Ministers can haue no comfortable assurance that they are Gods Stewards Secondly this serueth to exhort vs all that are entred into this high calling with care and conscience to set our selues to preach the Word vnto the people committed to our charge Tacit. Annal. lib. 4. And that not now and then onely but with the greatest diligence we can vse For as the Apostle saith of almes that God loueth a cheerefull giuer 2. Cor. 9.7 so we should addresse our selues to the performance of this dutie with all alacritie and chearefulnesse counting the businesses of our calling our recreations Devita solitar as was said of Tiberius the Emperour and with good B. Iewell thinking it our greatest honour to die in the Pulpit And howsoeuer it may seeme hard and difficult at the first yet diligence and frequent vse will make it easie The Husbandman we see hath hard sinewes and strong armes Exercise saith Bernard hath made it so as by slouthfulnesse he becomes effeminate The will causeth vse vse causeth exercise and exercise ministreth strength in all labour And it was a good saying of Boetius Discipl-Schola that as in euery worke constancie and diligence is found to be a mother so on the contrary side of all learning and discipline negligence is the stepmother And as the Heathen Orator said Cic. pro. C. Rabir. vse and practice is the best master Neither must we be discouraged though as many times it falleth out we see little fruit follow our labours Plin. secund lib. 6. ep 29. He that taketh in hand to fell and cut downe a great Oke though after many strokes with his axe it seeme to stand as strong as euer it did yet hee giueth not ouer but redoubleth his stroke with greater force til at the last it fall and then hee seeth that his former strokes were not in vaine A louing Mother though the froward child do often refuse the meat and spit it out yet leaueth not for that but still feedeth it and putteth the meate into the mouth againe and at the last it eateth So though our people bee hard to worke vpon and froward to receiue any thing that is good yet wee must not leaue them to themselues but apply and follow them with instruction and in time they may become more pliable Neuer any of the Prophets saith Luther could conuert all that they taught In a Sermon vpon 1. Pe. 4.11 and B. Iewel God himselfe saith hee husbanded the Vine and yet it brought forth wilde grapes Isaiah 5.2.4 God himselfe stretched out his hands all the day to a rebellious people Isa 65.2 And Christ himselfe would often haue gathered Ierusalems children together as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings and they would not Mat. 23.37 Let vs saith he doe our endeuour and leaue the successe to the Lord. For this cause we are called Fishers Mat. 4.19 Ouid. dearte Now we know that Fishermen whether they fish with net or with angle doe make many a draught and cast many a baite into the water and catch but a little fish Simon Peter and his fellowes had trauelled a whole night and caught nothing Luke 5.5 yet they were not discouraged but at Christs commandement let downe the net againe and then they inclosed a great multitude of fishes So in like manner though wee lose our labour many times yet we must not giue ouer Christ may bring fishes into our nets when we looke not for it We are compared to seeds-men Luk. 8.11 Now all the seed which the Sower casteth into the ground doth not fructifie Nay as our Sauiour doth teach vs in that parable that of foure kinds of grounds there is but one good ground which receiueth the seede with profit To which purpose De Doctr. Christ S. Augustine hath a good saying They that heare and learne not what is it to the seedes-man Nether the high-way nor the stones nor the thornes doe terrifie the hands of the Seeds-man he casteth that which is his he that shall be afraid lest his seede fal vpon bad ground doth not come vnto good ground We are called Phisicians of mens soules But there is no Phisician that cureth all his patients De Consid lib. 4. As Bernard saith wittily Be not discouraged there is care and diligence required of thee not curing and healing Thou hast heard it said in the Gospell Take care of him not cure or heale him One said ture It is not in the Phisicion alwaies to relieue the sick partie Paul saith I laboured more then they all he doth not say I profited more then they all Yea it may bee that the labours may doe good though thou seest it not A vessell that often receiueth water into it though it be presently powred out againe yet it is cleansed at the last though not at the first nor the second time In like manner doe not thou cease to powre water vpon the the vncleane though they be not cleansed at the first powring yet with often powring they may As Luther saith well to the same purpose It is impossible that the Word of God should be preached without fruite But though all bee not conuerted yet there are some that of sinners will become beleeuers and be saued For the successe of the Ministerie is not in the will of men but of God As Salomon saith Prou. 20.12 The Lord hath made both these euen the eare to heare and the eye to see that is to say It is both of the gift of God that there should be some to teach sound doctrine and some to obey the sound Teachers And a little further hee addeth The good ground will bring foorth fruite let the other three parts goe to the deuill But though it should fall out that no fruite at all should bee seene in respect of the people De Consid lib. 4. yet wee shall bee sure not to lose our labour For as Bernard saith Euery man shall receiue according to his labour not according to his successe So doe thou that that belongs to thee For God will sufficiently looke to that that appertaineth to him without thy care and thought-taking Plant water take paines and thou hast done thy part doubtlesse God will giue the increase when hee thinkes good and not thou But if he will not thou losest nothing as the Scripture saith God will render a reward to the labour of his Saints It is secure labour which no defect can make frustrate And this was the Apostle Pauls comfort that hauing been diligent in the discharge of his dutie and hauing omitted no paines neither publike nor priuate whatsoeuer fruite followed of his Ministery hee was pure from the bloud of all men Acts 20.26 And the Lord telleth the Prophet EZECHIEL that if hee faile not to warne the wicked of the danger of his sinne