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	soul_n	2,937	5	5.5712	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10650	An explication of the hundreth and tenth Psalme wherein the severall heads of Christian religion therein contained; touching the exaltation of Christ, the scepter of his kingdome, the character of his subjects, his priesthood, victories, sufferings, and resurrection, are largely explained and applied. Being the substance of severall sermons preached at Lincolns Inne; by Edward Reynoldes sometimes fellow of Merton Colledge in Oxford, late preacher to the foresaid honorable society, and rector of the church of Braunston in Northhampton-shire.	Reynolds, Edward, 1599-1676.	1632 (1632)	STC 20927; ESTC S115794	405,543	546

spirits senses which are in the head are there placed as in a Watch-tower or Councell-chamber to consult and provide for the good of the whole the eye seeth the eare heareth the tongue speaketh the fancie worketh the memory retaineth for the welfare of the other members and they have all the same care one for another Fourthly He is our Advocate and Mediatour he is the onely practicer in the court of heaven and therefore he must needs be full of the businesses of his Church It is his office to dispatch the affaires of those that come unto him and crave his favour and intercession to debate their causes and he is both faithfull and mercifull in his place and besides furnished with such an unmeasurable unction of Spirit and vast abilities to transact all the businesses of his Church that whosoever commeth unto him for his counsell and intercession hee will in no wise cast them out or refuse their cause And this is one great assurance we may take comfort in that be our matters never so foule and unexcusable in themselves yet the very entertaining him of our counsell and the leaning upon his wisdome power fidelity and mercy to expedite our businesses to compassionate our estate and to rescue us from our owne demerits doth as it were alter the propertie of the cause and produce a cleane contrary issue to that which the evidence of the thing in triall would of it selfe have created And as we may observe that men of extraordinary abilities in the Law delight to wrestle with some difficult businesse and to shew their learning in clearing matters of greatest intricacie and perplexitie before so doth Christ esteeme himselfe most honoured and the vertue and wisedome of his Crosse magnified when in cases of sorest extremitie of most hideous guilt of most blacke and uncomfortable darknesse of soule which pose not onely the presumptions but the hope faith conjectures thoughts contrivances which the hearts of men can even in wishes make to themselves for mercy they doe yet trust him whose thoughts are infinitely above their thoughts and whose wayes above their wayes who is there among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darknesse and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God When the soule can goe unto Christ with such complaints and acknowledgements as these Lord when I examine my cause by mine owne conscience and judgement of it I cannot but give it over as utterly desperate and beyond cure my bones are dried my hope is cut off I am utterly lost my sins and my sorrowes are so heavie that they have broken my spirit all to peeces and there is no sound part in me But Lord I beleeve that thou knowest a way to make dead bones live that thy thoughts and waies are above mine that thou knowest thine owne thoughts of peace and mercy though I cannot comprehend them that thy riches are unsearchable that thy love is above humane knowledge that thy peace passeth all created understandings that though I am the greatest of all sinners and feele enough in my selfe to sinke me as low as Iudas into hell yet thou hast not left me without patternes of all long-suffering of thy royall power in enduring and in forgiving sinnes And now Lord though thou afford me no light though thou beset me with terrours though thou make me to possesse the sinnes of my youth yet I still desire to feare thy name to walke in thy way to wait upon thy counsell I know there is not in men or Angels so much wisdome compassion or fidelity as in thee and therefore if I must perish I will perish at thy feet I will starve under thy table I will be turned away and rejected by thee who hast promised to cast away none that come unto thee I have tried all wayes and I here resolve to rest and to looke no further thou that hast kept such a sinner as I am out of hell thus long canst by the same power keep me out for ever upon thy wisdome and compassion who canst make dried bones to flourish like an herbe and broken bones to rejoyce and sing I cast the whole weight of my guilty spirit into thy bosome I emptie all the feares cares and requests of my distracted and sinking soule I say when a man can thus powre out himselfe u●to Christ he esteemeth the price and power of his bloud most highly honoured when men beleeve in him against reason and above hope and beyond the experience or apprehensions they have of mercy for Christ loveth to shew the greatnesse of his skill in the salvation of a Manasse a Mary Magdalen a crucified Theefe a persecutour and injurious blasphemer in giving life unto them that nailed him to his Crosse the more desperate the disease the more honourable the cure Fifthly He is our Purchaser our Proprietary wee belong unto him by grant from the Father Thine they were and thou gavest them unto me and by payment from him unto the Father yee are bought with a price There is no good that concernes the Church that he hath not fully paid for with his owne pretious bloud And Christ will not die in vaine he will take order for the accomplishing of that redemption which himselfe hath merited And this is the greatest argument of his care and fidelitie that he is not as a servant but as a Lord and his care is over His owne house An ordinary advocate is faithfull onely ratione officii because the dutie of his office requireth it but the businesses which he manageth come not close unto his heart because he hath no personall interest in them but Christ is faithfull not as Moses or a servant onely but ratione Dominii as Lord in his owne house so that the affaires of the Church concerne him in as neere a right as they concerne the Church her selfe so that in his office of intercession hee pleadeth his owne causes with his Father and in the miscarriages of them himselfe should lose that which was infinitely more pretious than any thing in the world besides even the price and merit of his owne bloud These are the grounds of the great care of Christ towards his people And from hence we should learne faith and dependence on Christ in all our necessities because we are under the protection and provision of him who careth for us and is able to helpe us A right judgement of God in Christ and in his Gospell of salvation will wonderfully strengthen the faith of men Paul was not ashamed of persecutions because he knew whom he had beleeved hee doubted neither of his care or power and therefore hee committed the keeping of his soule unto him against the last day and therefore when all forsooke him he stood to the truth because the Lord forsooke him not The reason why men

which a created nature joyned to an infinitie and bottomlesse fountaine could receive From hence therefore wee should learne to let the same minde bee in us which was in Christ to humble our selves first that wee may bee exalted in due time to finish our workes of selfe-deniall and service which wee owe to God that so wee may enter into our Masters glory For he himselfe entred not but by a way of bloud Wee learne likewise to have recourse and dependance on him for all supplies of the Spirit for all strength of grace for all influences of life for the measure of every joynt and member He is our treasure our fountaine our head it is his free grace his voluntarie influence which habituateth and fitteth all our faculties which animateth us unto a heavenly being which giveth us both the strength and first act wherby we are qualified to worke and which concurreth with us in actu secund● to all those workes which wee set our selves about As an instrument even when it hath an edge cutteth nothing till it be assisted and moved by the hand of the artificer so a Christian when hee hath a will and an habituall fitnesse to worke yet is able to doe nothing without the constant supply assistance and concomitancie of the grace of Christ exciting moving and applying that habituall power unto particular actions He it is that giveth us not onely to will but to doe that goeth through with us and worketh all our works for us by his grace Without him wee can doe nothing all our sufficiencie is from him But it may bee objected if wee can doe nothing without a second grace to what end is a former grace given or what use is there of our exciting that grace and gift of God in us which can doe nothing without a further concourse of Christs Spirit To this I answer first that as light is necessarie and requisite unto seeing and yet there is no seeing without an eye so without the assisting grace of Christs Spirit concurring with us unto every holy Dutie wee can doe nothing and yet that grace doth ever presuppose an implanted seminall and habituall grace fore-disposing the soule unto the said Duties Secondly as in the Course of naturall Effects though God bee a most voluntary Agent yet in the ordinary Concurrence of a first Cause hee worketh ad modum naturae measuring forth his assistance proportionably to the Condition and Preparation of the second Causes so in supernaturall and holy operations albeit not with a like certaine and unaltered constancy though Christ bee a most voluntary head of his Church yet usually he proportioneth his assisting and second grace unto the growth progresse and radication of those Spirituall habits which are in the soule before From whence commeth the difference of holinesse and profitablenesse amongst the Saints that some are more active and unwearied in all holy conversation than others as in the naturall bodie some members are larger and more full of life and motion than others according to the different distribution of Spirits from the heart and influences from the head This then affords matter enough both to humble us and to comfort us To humble us that wee can doe nothing of our selves that wee have nothing in our selves but sinne All the fulnesse of grace is in him and therefore whosoever hath any must have it from him as in the Egyptian famine whosoever had any corn had it from Ioseph to whom the granaries and treasures of Egypt were for that purpose committed And this Lowlinesse of heart and sense of our owne Emptinesse is that which makes us alwayes have recourse to our fountaine and keepe in favor with our head from whom wee must receive fresh supply of strength for doing any good for bearing any evill for resisting any temptation for overcomming any enemie For beginning for continuing and for perfecting any Dutie For though it bee mans heart that doth these things yet it is by a forraigne and impressed strength as it is iron that burnes but not by its owne nature which is cold but by the heate which it hath received from the fire It was not I saith the Apostle but that grace of God which was with mee To comfort us likewise when wee consider that all fulnesse and strength is in him as in an Officer an Adam a treasurer and dispencer of all needfull supplies to his people according to the place they beare in his bodie and to the exigence and measure of their condition in themselves or service in his Church Sure wee are that what measure soever hee gives unto any hee hath still a residue of Spirit nay hee still retaineth his owne fulnesse hath still enough to carry us through any condition and according to the difficulties of the service hee puts us upon hath still wisedome to understand compassion to pitie strength to supply all our needs And that all this hee hath as a mercifull and faithfull depositarie as a Guardian and husband and elder brother to imploy for the good of his Church that he is unto this office appointed by the will of him that sent him to lose nothing of all that which is given him but to keepe and perfect it unto the resurrection at the last day That God hath planted in him a Spirit of faithfulnesse and pittie for the cheerfull discharge of this great Office given him a propriety unto us made us as neere and deare unto him as the members of his sacred body are to one another and therfore whosoever commeth to him with emptines and hunger and faith he will in no wise cast them out it is as possible for him to hew off and to throw away the members of his naturall body to have any of his bones broken as to reject the humble and faithfull desires of those that duly waite upon him Againe from this Exaltation of Christ in his humane nature wee should learne to keepe our vessels in holinesse and in honor as those who expect to bee fashioned at the last like unto him For how can that man truly hope to bee like Christ hereafter that labors to bee as unlike him here as hee can Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot saith the Apostle So may I say shall I take the nature of Christ that nature which he in his person hath so highly glorified and make it in my person the nature of a devill If a Prince should marry a meane woman would he endure to see those of her neerest kindred her brethren and sisters live like scullians or strumpets under his owne eye Now Christ hath taken our nature into a neerer union with himselfe than marriage for man and wife are still two persons but God and man is but one Christ. Death it selfe was not able to dissolve this union for when the soule was separated from the body yet the Deitie was separated from neither it was the Lord that lay

Secondly God did purpose not to suffer sinne to passe utterly unrevenged and that for these reasons First because of his great Hatred thereunto He is of purer eyes than to behold evill he cannot looke on iniquitie Hab. 1.13 it provoketh a nauseousnesse and abhorrencie in him Psal. 5.6 Zech. 8.17 Revel 3.16 Amos 5.21 22. Esay 1.13 14. Secondly because of his Truth and the Law which he had established against sinne which he will in no wise abolish one jot or tittle shall in no wise passe from the Law till all be fulfilled Matth. 5.18 for it is altogether undecent especially to the wisdome and righteousnesse of God that that which provoketh the execution should procure the abrogation of his Law that that should supplant and undermine the Law for the alone preventing whereof the Law was before established Thirdly because of his terrour and fearefull Majestie for God will have men alwayes to tremble before him and by his terrour to bee perswaded from sinning 2 Cor. 5.10 11. God will for this cause have men alwaies to feare before him because he reserveth to himselfe entire the punishment of sinne Feare him who is able to destroy both bodie and soule in hell I say unto you feare him saith our Saviour Matth 10.28 Luke 12.4 for it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God and therefore we ought to serve him with reverence and godly feare because he is a consuming fire Hebr. 10.30.12.28 29. Thirdly adde unto all this the everlasting Impotency which is in man either to satisfie God or to repaire himselfe Gods justice is Infinit which is wronged his glory infinite of which man had attempted to spoile rob him and man is both finite in himselfe and very impotent by reason of sin for to be a sinner and without strength are termes equivalent in the Apostle Rom. 5.6.8 Now then betweene finite and infinite there can be no proportion and therefore from the one to the other there can be no satisfaction man is utterly unable to doe any of Gods will because he is altogether carnall Rom. 8.7 1 Cor. 2.14 and he is utterly unable either to suffer or to breake thorow the wrath of God because he hath not strength enough to endure it nor obedience to submit unto it Now then joyne all these things together and wee shall see the absolute necessity we had of a Priest God will not execute the severity of his Law for thereby the creature should everlastingly lose the fruition of him and he should likewise lose the service and voluntary subjection of his creature And yet he will not abolish his Law neither lest thereby his justice should be the more securely abused his hatred against sinne the lesse declared his truth in all his threatnings questioned and his dreadfull Majesty by men neglected as the woodden king by the frogs in the fable hee will not punish those persons whom he loves because he is pitifull to them he will not passe over the sinnes which he hates because he is jealous towards himselfe Man and sin are as inseparably joyned together since the fall as fire and heat yet God wil have mercy on the man he wil take vengeance of the sin Some course then or other must there be found out to translate this mans sins on anothers person who may be able to beare them and to interest this mans person in anothers righteousnesse which may bee able to cover him Some way must be found out that things may bee all one in regard of man as if the Law had beene utterly abrogated and that they may be all one in regard of God too as if the creature had beene utterly condemned And all this is done in our High Priest On him was executed the curse of the Law by him was fulfilled the righteousnesse of the Law for him was remitted the sin of man and through him were all things made new againe The world was in Christ as in its suretie making satisfaction to the justice of God and God was in Christ as in his Ambassadour reconciling the world unto himselfe againe By all which wee see the necessitie which man lapsed had of a Priest to restore him Hence then we may learne first how much we ought to hate sinne which armes the Law Justice and power of God against us As hatefull as it is unto God so hatefull it is in it selfe for hee judgeth uprightly hee seeth things just as they are without passion prejudice or partialitie and as hatefull as it is in it selfe so hatefull should it be unto us as the onely ground of our misery of the creatures vanitie and of Gods dishonour Wee see it is so hatefull unto God that he will most certainly be avenged of it If he spare me yet he will not spare my sin though his owne beloved Son must be punished for it O then why should that be light to mee which was as heavie as a milstone to the soule of Christ Why should that bee my pleasure which was his passion Why should that be in a throne with me which was upon a crosse with him Why should I allow that to be really in me which the Lord so severely punished when the guilt thereof was but imputed to his Sonne Many sinnes there are which others in their practice aswell as Papists in their doctrine and profession esteeme for light and veniall sinnes And veniall indeed they are per exoratorem Patris Christum as Tertullian states the question by Christ who is a prevailing Advocate with the Father But however let not us dare esteeme that a light thing for which Christ died And woe had it beene for men if Christ had not in his body on the tree carried as well the guilt of our idle words our vaine thoughts our loose and impertinent actions as of our oaths execrations and blasphemies If great sinnes were as the speare and nailes certainely small sinnes were the thornes which pierced his head And therefore we should learne with David to hate every evill way because God hates it and suffers it not to passe unpunished to revenge the quarrell of Christ against those lusts of ours which nailed him to his crosse and to crucifie them for him againe for for that end was Christ crucified that our old man might be crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that hence-forth we should not serve sin Rom. 6.6 Againe wee see by this necessitie of a Priest how deepely we stand engaged to our mercifull God who hath vouchsafed to helpe us in our greatest necessitie How we ought to love him who hath first of all loved us How wee ought in our bodies and in our spirits to glorifie him who hath so dearely bought us How we should like Voluntaries fight for him who overcame for us How thankfull we should be to him who was so compassionate unto us How wee should admire and adore the unsearchable riches of his wisdome and