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	people_n	sin_n	3,287	5	4.6566	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77851	A treatise of self-judging, in order to the worthy receiving of the Lords Supper. Together with a sermon of the generall day of judgement. / By Anthony Burgesse pastor of Sutton-Coldfield in Warwickshire.	Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.; Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664. Demonstration of the day of judgement against atheists & hereticks.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1658 (1658)	Wing B5661; Thomason E1904_1; ESTC R209997	46,977	246

for sin as they express it but from sin that is the afflictions which come upon the godly do not arise from Gods anger for sin past only they are afflicted to prevent future But the instance in my Text doth confute this for these Corinthians being guilty of sinfull approaches to the Lords Table it was because of this sin that God brought such a general mortality amongst them for this cause saith the Apostle ver 30. Many are sick and weak not some but many and it was for this cause It is true indeed the afflictions Gods people have are for the preventing of future corruptions and to teach them not to sin any more yet withal they are sharp stings for sins past Let not then the gracious heart delude himself that because he is in a state of grace he may therefore sin and do what he list let him remember what the Apostle saith even in the person of the godly Heb. 12.29 For our God is a consuming fire David complaineth of his broken bones and wi●h many tears and agonies of soul prayeth that God would restore his loving kindness to him for he had lost the sence and feeling of it It is true the people of God are to grow up into the Spirit of Adoption and to cast out all tormenting fears but they must distinguish between Liberty and Licentiousness they must not under that pretence cast out an holy trembling and a reverential fear lest they offend God at any time In the second place the Devil promoteth his Kingdom of darkness on the left hand if he cannot on the right therefore in Popery their is also corrupt Doctrine about this point and instead of milk they wring till blood cometh for they say God doth not only judge his people for their sins though he hath pardoned the fault but that he doth afterwards in a proper way punish them and avenge himself in a way of Justice which they are to satifie in respect of temporal punishments by some voluntary penalties either inflicted upon them or voluntarily assumed Thus when David hath his sin pardoned yet they say the death of his childe was inflicted as a proper punishment to satisfie the justice of God Christs blood takes away the guilt of sin but mans poenal exercises must take away the temporal punishment Thus by their distinctions they do greatly obscure the Doctrine of Justification which doth take off all the guilt of sin so that there remaineth properly no more punishment for sin thus pardoned I would not contend about the word punishment I s●e Divines do use the word concerning those afflictions which God layeth upon his people only we cannot say they are ultiones they are not acts of vengeance to the godly as they are to the wicked being of the same nature though different in degree with the torments of hell to the damned Calvin therefore doth distinguish between Judicium ultionis and Judicium castigationis a judgement of revenge and a judgement of Chastisement the latter onely befall the godly and if you say why then doth the Scripture require humiliation and repentance Yea Bellarmine urgeth my Text to judge our selves which he would have to imply such voluntary punishing of our selves through Fasting and other duties that thereby we may satisfie Gods justice so as to remove the temporal punishment I answer the Apostle doth not use the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when he speaks of our duty but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to examine and search our selves to separate the evil from the good upon discussion of our selves to be greatly humbled and loathing of our selves for our sins N●t that these duties are to satisfie Gods Justice but onely they are the way wherein God alone will communicate mercy Thus you see how the truth is stated between two extreams and it is good for Christians to be throughly informed herein that in the afflictions which befall them they may know how to judge of God and also to deport themselves accordingly To judge of God as one indeed angry and displeased and whose anger is terrible so that to a godly man it is more dreadfull then all troubles to apprehend Gods displeasure to him It is not saith David the loss of my childe the troubles in my Kingdom that affects me so much as because God doth hide his face from me Psal 51. and it must needs be so because the heart of a believer awakened for sin is made very tender and so the frowns of God do more pierce his heart then almost Hell flames do terrifie the wicked as a little offence to the eye because a tender part is more grievous then great blows to other parts of the body The godly therefore are not to despise the rod of God yea none are more to lay it to heart then they But further as they are to be sensible of his anger so withal to assure themselves that he is angry because he loveth them that this bitter fruit doth come from a sweet root that all his exercises have their rise from a Fatherly care towards them and therefore they are to receive them as medicinal not as poenal and destructive But I shall not inlarge further herein let us for the more particular affecting of our selves who pretend to have an interest in the Lord more then others consider the grounds why God will not let his own people Reasons why God will punish his own people for their sins when sinning to go unpunished they must be called to a severe account yea when God letteth the wicked ones of the world live in their ease go on securely in their impieties and blessing themselvs therein at the same time the godly for lesser sins shall have the bitter cup of affliction to drink of so that by outward events you would think the godly only were hated by God the wicked loved And the first ground of Gods judging his own people if not judging and humbling themselves may be from the order and way which God hath appointed for the communicating of Christs benefits to us for this is the foundation of that Antinomian errour mentioned when they read such places as that Christs blood is made an atonement for our sins that the father laid our iniquities upon him that he is made righteousness to us and that we are accepted of in Christ They think this is all and because this is accomplished by Christ though we be wallowing in our lusts they think these great merci●s are to be applied to us but they are to remember the other places as well of believing of repentance not that they are causes or merits or to be opposed to Christ but they are the qualifications of such subjects to whom Christ will thus reveal himself and the Pool as it were in moving whereof the Angel cometh down and healeth us so that its a blessed thing to avoid extremities in this point in our afflictions not to be securely presuming nor yet slavishly

practicalls I wonder you are so soon removed from him that called you Gal. 1.6 You see a false Apostle an heretical teacher could do more on a suddain to pervert souls then the Apostle in many years to establish them That which other painfull Ministers have with much difficulty bin a building many years they can suddenly destroy We may say of many Churches since Christs time how is it that they have fallen off from that primitive purity and godly order which was observed by the Apostles 2. Observe the devil and his instruments busied in the corrupting of this ordinance of the Lords Supper above any else Peter Martyr observeth well that there was not such corruption about Baptism as about this ordinance It s true in after ages the corruptions both doctrinal and practical were very great about both the Sacraments but he began first with the Lords Supper as being that which is the highest Church-grace and favour 3. The corruption about this ordinance was occasioned by an humane institution their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Their love-feasts which Jude mentioneth saying some were spots in their feasts of charity Jude 12. whither they were at first instituted in imitation of the Jewes or as some of the Gentiles who used to have their feasts after their s●crifices is doubted The intent was to nourish and keep up love amongst one another It s judged by most and Paul seemeth to make it probable that they were before the Lords Supper though Chrysostome and others make them after Maldonate and other Jesuits will by no means understand the Eucharist by the Lords Supper but are peremptory that neither Scripture or the Fathers ever gave it such a name But Causabon doth well chastise this impudency of theirs For why should the Apostle bring in the solemn institution of the Lords Supper at first if their divisions and prophanes did not relate to that though occasioned by their love-feasts whether the Apostle doth absolutely condemne the very use of the love-feasts as being an humane institution added to the Sacrament or the abuse onely is likewise doubted It is enough for us to see how unhappy these prooved in the issue for they fell into divisions factions hereby making as it were so many parties and withall the poore were despised and the rich they grew intemperate and in these distempers they dared to proceed to this ordinance for this it is the Apostle though he had praised them in the beginning of the Chapter for keeping his order yet here he could not do it some holy order they kept but not all 4 Obs That that Sacrament which was appointed by Christ not only as a seale of communion with him but of believers amongst themselves was now abused through the many schismes and divisions that were amongst them and made an occasion of discord and strife and is not this sadly to be laid to our hearts that there are more breaches and rents about this ordinance which yet is for communion then any po nt in religion how many doctrinall controversies how many disciplinary controversies all tending to break love and union by the symboles and seales of union what dispute about the order about the communicants about the benefits the Sacraments being by some made Idols as in Popery which caused a learned man to wish the word Sacrament had bin laid aside people cōceiving some hidden vertue in the bread and wine by that name and by othe●s despised as by those who s●y they are above ordinances when yet we are to doe this in remembrance of Christ till his coming if we were sure Christ were to come the next day yet we might receive this ordinance immediatly before The Socinians Remonstran●s doe debase them The latter say the whole doctrine of the reformed Church about the Sacraments is nobis valde suspecta is greatly suspect●d of falshood by us and the former say it s only a commemoration of Christs death so that there is no grace or benefit anew received ev●● say they as in the com●●●oration of the Angels Passover in the Pa●chall Lamb there was no new deliverance vouchsafed but the very institution of such Elements bread and wine argue they a●e spirituall Alimony to the true receiver onely these sad divisions hinder the blessed fruit thereof Obs 5. That the Apostle in reformation of this abuse goe h to the o●igin●ll institution he declareth what he had received of Christ viz. immediately for Paul was not a● the institution of it and indeed to reforme is properly to bring a thing to its first forme or originall we account what the Church did about the Sacraments when it came out of Popery was reformation though the Papists call it deformation That which is reformat●on to one is confusion to another Therefore the onely way to decide this is not custome multitude or as Stapleton Ecclesiasticall tradition for that is as corrupt as any thing else but divine institution as Cyprian Vide surgat altum nostrum recte unde ordo origo surrexit let our actions arise from the same fountaine that institutions themselves d d Elisha powred salt in the spring when the streames were bitter and about the Sacrament it is to be obse●ved that whereas many persons are so importunate for antiquity and old customes in other things when we can from Scripture and the Ancients for two or three hundred yeares after Christ shew plainly how carefull they were that no ignorant and prophane person should be admitted to this ordinance then they w●ll not hearken or yeild obedience bring Antiquity for any superstition or needlesse custome they are glad of it but when for purity and godly order they cannot digest it Obs 6. That God did very severely punish these Corinthians for their disorder about the Lords Supper For this cause saith Paul ver 30. many are sick weake and dye There was a common mortali ie if not the plague amongst them Paul indeed could by the guidance of Gods Spirit know that was the particular cause and although we have not such certain knowledge yet we may with Peter Martyr reckon publick calamities upon a Land as warre famine plague with other pestilential diseases to this sin as part Certainly we do not consider that this Sacrament-sin is so highly provoking of God when we doe not attribute our miseries to this at least as one cause among the rest and Gods judgments for this are the more to be observed because in the New Testament this is the onely instance we have of a publick generall judgment Indeed Ananias and Saphira were stricken dead for lying against the holy Ghost and Elymas blind but here many some whereof were godly and holy were sick and others cut off with untimely deaths ● seemeth to be an allusion concerning Gods order about the paschal Lamb which whosoever did transgresse was to be cut off 7. The Apostle therefore to prevent all such abuses for the future doth so forcibly informe about

Ordinances have a kind of perfidiousness and Covenant-breaking in them and this must needs aggravate 6. The sins of Gods people are to be heightned in this consideration that they are not only transgressions but unkindnesses and therefore they are said not only to anger God but to grieve him as Ephes 4.30 Grieve not the holy Spirit of God God complaineth of Israel who were his people in a peculiar manner though all not upright in heart that forty years long they had grieved him and truly what grieveth the spirit of God must exceedingly grieve us Hence though the sins of the godly cannot be that sin against the Holy Ghost which the Scripture makes unparpardonable yet because the Spirit of God is in the godly a Sanctifier a Sealer a Comforter and worketh choice and glorious effects in them therefore they do in a more special manner grieve the Spirit of God The Spirit of God dwels in the godly as in his Temple and not so in a wicked man now to defile this Temple to prophane this Temple by applying thy self to any evil way how distastfull must it be to the Spirit of God Oh remember wicked mens sins anger God but thine do grieve him also as a stubborn child doth not only offend his parents but make them inwardly grieve also 7 The people of God in their sins have this aggravating particular why God should judge them rather then others because they have greater power to withstand it there is not that necessity upon them in sinning as is in unregenerate men It is true an unregenerate man cannot but sin in all that he doth yet this necessity doth not excuse but aggravate both because it is voluntarily contracted upon himself and because this necessity is voluntary and with delight Eo magis libera quo magis Ancilla as Bernard But now in a godly man there is a spiritual life and power within him to avoid sin he is not in the progresse of holinesse as in the first conversion meerly passive but now actì agimus and moti movemus the grace of God exciting we have life within us to co-operate Now then if God hath infused such a life within us it is thy greater sin if thou dost not act accordingly God hath brought thee out of thy first bondage and if thou dost yet live a slave the greater is thy condemnation It 's made a dispute whether a godly man can avoid any more sins then he doth or do any more good then he doth Some Orthodox men are reported by the Arminians to affirm they cannot but no doubt converting grace takes away that spiritual death in sin and giveth principles of life and all habits of grace infused have a sufficiency in their way to produce their acts yet so as they need actual grace to excite and apply these to operation A man that hath his eye healed hath a power to see yet if there be not light to actuate the medium he cannot see We need grace even after conversion to excite and quicken those principles But this sheweth that a godly mans sin is therefore to be aggravated because he hath a principle within to refuse it 8. Hence it is because of this supernatural life within him that all the sins of a godly man have a kinde of unnaturalnesse in them when a wicked man sinneth he sinneth of his own it is naturall as it is for a serpent to be poysonous for a wolf to be ravening but if a godly man sin it 's wholly contra-natural How cometh this figtree to bear thorns this Vine to bear thistles Hence 1 Joh 3.9 he that is born of God is said not to sinne yea he cannot sinne because the seed abideth in him for sins are against his divine principle it is as if iron should swim as if fire should descend How can I do this and sin against God said Joseph Gen. 39.9 9. Therefore God doth judge his people when offending because their sinnes do dishonour God more what disorders are in an house redound to the Masters reproach from wicked men no other thing is expected every one looketh that swine will wallow in the mire but when sheep do so this is intollerable This aggravation God putteth upon Davids sinne 2 Sam. 12.14 Because by this deed thou hast given great occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme Now remember that the honour and glory of God is worth ten thousand such as thou art 10. And lastly The sinnes of the godly are a stumbling block and incouragement to the wicked if they see thee proud earthly passionate they think they may do so likewise Besides thou dost hereby discover some wearinesse of God as if to turn from him to sinne were better as if thou didst not finde that contentment and fulnesse in the waies of God as thou didst hope for so that seeing all these things are in the sinnes of the godly no wonder if the Lord do in a special manner call them to account make them taste of the bitter cup he giveth them to drink Use of Exhortation let the People of God then speedily set upon this duty of self-judging It is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of God provoked if thy heart be dull hard sensless lay all these quickning aggravations of thy sins to thy soul and they must needs humble thee The Sacrament of the Lords Supper as from one consideration it requireth joy and gladness of heart so from another godly sorrow and brokenness of soul to see Christ crucifyed as it were for thy sins before thy eyes and thou hast been many times ready to crucifie him again and again Cry out O Lord my heart is overwhelmed what can I say This sin with these aggravations make me fear and tremble Oh it is not in my own worthinesse in my own fitnesse I presume to draw to this Ordinance for with the Centurion I am not worthy Christ should come within my roof and thus the lesse thou sparest and excusest thy self the more welcome wilt thou be to this Table CHAP. III. Of Gods punishing his people for sins against a Positive Institution such as Sacrament-sins 1 COR. 11.31 For if we would judge our selves we should not be judged of the Lord. THE last Observation is That God doth judge his people not only for moral grosse sinnes but Sacrament-sins sinnes that are against a positive institution The Corinthians were guilty of many other sins some whereof were contrary to the moral Law yea to the very light of nature but the Apostle doth not instance in them as a cause of that publick judgement which was upon them but he pitcheth on their prophane approachings to the Lords Supper which is of a positive Institution The original of all that calamity which is come upon mankinde and that sinne for which God was so provoked that all the posterity of Adam is obnoxious to eternal wrath God punishing no sin in the like manner as he did this What was