Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	lord_n	love_n	love_v	2,989	5	6.7075	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10391	The description of fleshly lusts. Or a profitable and fruitfull sermon vpon the first Epistle of Saint Peter, Chap. 2. vers. 11. 12. Preached and penned by that famous, learned, iudicious, orthodoxall, holy, wise, and skilfull preacher and servant of God, now deceased, and with his God triumphing in Heaven, Iohn Randall, Batchelour of Divinitie, pastour of St. Andrewes Hubbart in little East cheape London, sometimes fellow of Lincolne Coledge in Oxford. And now published, to the glory of God, the edification of his church, and the honourable memoriall of the author, by William Holbrooke, preacher of the word of God in the church aforesaid	Randall, John, 1570-1622.; Holbrooke, William.	1622 (1622)	STC 20669; ESTC S102397	17,941	33

effect with him in his heart to the reformation of his life and sauing of his soule Againe in that he calls them here his Dearely beloued here is another observation offered vnto vs. He had shewed in the former Verses that they were the dearely beloued of God and therefore here in this Verse he is bolde to call them his Dearely beloued for seeing that Christ did loue them dearely his Apostle must needs loue them dearly too For the Lord neuer bestowes his loue vpon any but withall he bestowes many amiable Graces vpon them such as may procure them loue and fauour amongst men I say not amongst carnall men that cannot looke any farther then vpon flesh and bloud nor yet amongst worldly men that onely loue those that are like themselues but amongst spirituall men such as can discerne the louely gifts and graces of God shining in a mans soule Wee reade Genesis 39.3 4. of Ioseph that the Lord was with him Putiphar seeing the loue of God vpon him did set his loue vpon him too and in the 21. verse of that Chapter the Master of the Prison saw that the Lord loued Ioseph and then he loued Ioseph too and in the 41. Chapter the 39. Verse euen Pharaoh himselfe saw that the spirit of God was in Ioseph and therefore he fauoured him and preferred him exceedingly Thus was it also with Christ himselfe of whom we reade Luk. 2.52 that he grew in loue and fauour with God and with men first in fauour with God and then with men for men loued him because God loued him first Here is then a perfect Rule whereby to frame our loue towards men if first we behold and descry in them certaine testimonies of the loue of God then may we be bold also to set our dearest loue and affection vpon them Wee must take heed that we be not too light of our loue in bestowing it vpon euery one for our Christian loue is and ought to be a well setled affection proceeding from a good ground and therefore we must bestow it especially vpon those whom we see the Lord hath peculiarly endued with his sanctifying and sauing grace neither yet on the other side must we be too sparing of our loue in bestowing it onely vpon some few that fit our owne humor best but as many as the Lord hath vouchsafed to admit into the bosome of his Church and to call to the profession of our Christian Faith except we see in them some euident cause to the contrary as that they are hypocrites or yeeld any other manifest signes of impietie those we must loue as presuming and well hoping that God doth loue them But howsoeuer the Apostle had many respects to draw his dearest loue to these faithfull ones partly because they were his brethren in the flesh but much rather because they were his brethren in the Lord embracing the same faith worshipping the same God regenerate by the same spirit and liuing in the communion of one and the same mysticall bodie yet there was one reason further then all these that inflamed his heart with most feruent loue towardes them aboue all other and this was the charge which was giuen to him ouer them that he should be their Instructor to Preach the Doctrine of saluation vnto them For the Ministeriall charge which was assigned vnto Peter ouer the Circumcision Gal. 2.7 did knit his heart vnto them faster then euer the heart of Ionathan was knit vnto the heart of Dauid so that in this respect he might well call them his dearely beloued Wherein he giues an example to the Ministers of God teaching them how they ought to esteeme the flocke of Christ whereof the holy Ghost hath made them ouer-seers that they must carry a loue and affection towards them and that not any common loue but such as proceeds from the dearest and the deepest seate of their hearts Deare is that loue which must preuaile with vs so farre as to make vs to lay downe our liues for those whom we doe loue It is so deare and such a great loue as that our Sauiour Ioh. 15.13 telles vs there can be no greater Greater loue can no man shew then this when a man bestowes his life for his friends and yet such must be the loue of a Pastor toward his flocke euen to lay downe his life for them as Ioh. 10.11 A good Shepheard c. Thus it was with Moses that would rather be blotted out of the Booke of life himselfe then that the wrath of the Lord should be powred out vpon the Children of Israel Exod. 32.32 And thus it was with Paul that would wish himselfe to be seperated from Christ for his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh Rom. 9.3 And thus it was with the great Shepherd of our soules Christ himselfe who did lay downe his life for his Sheepe and expose himselfe to all those dangers which by our sinnes we had incurred and thus it ought to be with all the Ministers of God they must loue their seuerall Charges euen vnto death embracing them with their dearest affection The second Insinuation is in these words I beseech you For although by that Apostolike authoritie which he had receiued he might command them yet he had rather to deale with them by entreatie to beseech them For this was a course fitter for him and fitter for them also Fitter for him as being a Minister of the Word it is for a Magistrate to command it is for a Minister to beseech and fitter for them the young tenderlings of a Vine are to be handled gently and charily and so these being but young Christians as hath beene alreadie shewed out of the second Verse were to be mildly dealt withall In matters of Religion though sometimes men may be compelled by strong hand and by force to obedience yet the readiest way either to winne those that are without or to conteine those that are alreadie wonne in the bond of obedience is for the most part by fayre meanes and by kind perswasions Suadenda potius est pietas quàm cogenda sayth a learned Father Sooner is godlinesse fastened vpon vs by perswasion then by compulsion And the very Heathen man Seneca could tell vs that in good causes Faciliùs ducimur quam trahimur It is easier to lead vs on by kind entreatie then to draw vs on by constraining meanes Here then is controuled that imperious Spirit which raignes in the Chayre of the Romish Sea that takes vpon him to commaund all the world He challengeth himselfe to be Christs Vicar and Peters successor but whither he be either of them let his commaunding courses testifie Christ sayd Learne of me for I am meeke and lowly What meeknesse is there in him that sends forth his Mandamus nothing but commands and threatnings to the people of God And Peter as you see here beseeches these Christians to be advised by him but he that challenges himselfe to be Peters successor lookes for it as

successe that God gaue thereunto was I say soone after supplied and her breaches repaired and filled vp againe by the conversion and calling of the Gentiles And because the Gentiles should not fall away as the Iewes had done before for it is the Apostles reason Rom. 11.21 If God spared not the naturall branches much lesse will he spare the wilde therefore the Apostles vsed all diligence to confirme them in that faith which they had subscribed vnto For so it behooved the Lords husbandmen not onely to plant and so giue over but also to water that which they had planted not onely to sow the seede of the Word in the hearts of men and so leaue off but also to carry a watchfull eye over it still cherishing it vp and preserving it from being over-runne with weedes or pestered with other annoyances Hence it was that Paul having taken paines in preaching to many particular Churches did not so leaue them but in a godly iealousie over them writes Epistle after Epistle sometimes to the Romanes sometimes to the Corinthians sometimes to the Thessalonians c. earnestly solliciting them to stand fast in that faith which they had received Hence it was that Iames having instructed the remnant of the twelue Tribes in the faith of Christ did not so leaue them but seconds his preaching with an Epistle written to them for their confirmation in the faith And hence it was that our Apostle Peter being the minister of the Circumcision as we reade Galathians 2.7 having preached Christ to those Gentiles that first had beene converted to the profession of the Iewes and afterward from the Iewes profession to the faith of Christ did not so leaue them but writes this and his other Epistle generall to them all as they were dispersed in divers places of the world exhorting them hereby to walke worthy of that vocation and holy profession which they had taken vpon them and having first shewed Chapter 1 verse 2. the great mercy of God towards them in electing them to salvation through Iesus Christ hee doth thence inforce an exhortation verse 13.14.15 of that Chapter that they must be holy because God who is their father and hath chosen them is holy And having shewed them secondty their Redemption verse 18.19 that it was not made with gold nor silver but with the pretious blood of that immaculate Lambe Christ Iesus hee doth thence inferre another exhortation in the beginning of this 2. chap. that seeing they are so pretiously bought therefore they must lay aside all maliciousnes and dissimulation and envie and evill speaking and as new borne babes c. And thirdly having amplified the great bountifulnes of God towards them partly by comparing them with others ver 7.8.9 that whereas Christ was made to others a stone to stumble at and a rocke of offence yet vnto these he was an elect and pretious stone whereby they were knit together in the Lords building and partly by comparing their present estate of grace with their former estate of nature verse 9.10 that whereas before they had lien in darkenesse now they were called to a marvellous light whereas in times past they were no people now they are the people of God in times past they were not vnder mercy but now they haue obtained mercy hee doth thence inferre as it were by force of consequence this third exhortation which I haue now read vnto you The Summe whereof is briefly this to perswade those Christians to holinesse of life and as holinesse of life hath two partes so this exhortation consists of two branches answerable thereunto The first part of an holy life is The Mortifying and subduing of the lusts of the flesh and to this hee exhorts vs in the first branch of this Scripture verse 11. I beseech you Brethren abstaine from c. The second part of an holy life is the honest conversation and carriage of our selues in the world and to this hee exhorts vs in the second branch of of this Scripture verse 12. Having your conversation honest c. In the first branch that is verse 11. wee may obserue first the matter it selfe Abstinence from fleshly lusts and secondly the Apostles enforcing of this matter vpon them vsing two motiues or inducements to perswade them to it The first motiue is drawne à conditione fidelium from the estate and condition of Gods Children in this life they are Strangers and Pilgrimes the second motiue is drawne à naturâ concupiscentiae from the nature of these lustes they fight against the Soule But yet to fasten the whole body of this exhortation vpon them the rather hee vseth here two covert Insinuations first hee closes with them by a terme of loue and kindnes hee cals them his dearely beloved secondly that he may the better prevayle with them hee deales by humble entreatie hee beseeches them Dearely beloved I beseech you But before I come to handle either the partes or the Insinuations I must obserue out of the coherence or agreement of this with that which went before one profitable note for our Instruction Seeing the Apostle doth here inferre this exhortation vpon the rehearsall of Gods blessings bestowed vpon his people as if because God had so loved them therfore they were bound to performe this dutie towards him hence I note vnto you that every blessing and mercy that God vouchsafeth vnto vs doth effectually call vpon vs to liue in the feare and obedience of God For as Isaac dealt with his Sonne Iacob Gen. 28.1 hee blessed him and he charged him sayth the Text hee bestowed a blessing vpon him and withall he charged him to performe a duty even so doth the Lord with his Children hee giues them blessings hee bestowes mercies vpon them but so that every blessing and favour which the Lord bestowes vpon them doth exact and call for a duty that they must performe towards him In the 5. chap. of Esay verse 1.2 the Lord had done much for his Vineyard it was planted on a very fruitfull hill hee hedged it hee gathered out the stones of it hee planted it with the best plants hee built a Towre in the midst of it and made a winepresse therein and what then did he all this for nothing No the Text sayth Then hee looked that it should bring forth grapes as if the Prophet should say because the Lord had done so much for his Vineyard therefore hee expected and great cause there was that it should bring foorth good store of good grapes And this the Lord himselfe would teach vs by the words of his owne mouth For in Exod. 20.2 The Lord being to deliver his Law to his people telles them first that he is the Lord their God which brought them out of the Land of Aegypt out of the house of bondage vsing the rehearsall of his goodnesse towards them as a most effectuall bond and perswasion to tye them to the obedience of his Law For thus it was even from the first blessing