Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	place_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	20	3	8.4067	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56660	A friendly debate betwixt two neighbours, the one a conformist, the other a non-conformist about several weighty matters / published for the benefit of this city, by a lover of it, and of pure religion.; Friendly debate between a conformist and a non-conformist	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.; Wild, Robert, 1609-1679.	1668 (1668)	Wing P798; ESTC R41393	117,976	250

same time that this was only commanded concerning that Countrey and that there is no proof can be made that there were any innocent Books there imploy'd in their Idol-worship No we conclude rather all were Superstitious and Idolatrous in themselves and such as could never be imployed in Divine Service It is true at last he comes to remember us that in the New Testament we read the Christian Converts burnt their Curious Books Act. 19.19 But what is this to the Precepts he promised to shew us given to the Israelites And what is this to the business of Prayer-Books Nay why did he not shew us the Innocence of these Books and prove that Conjuring was a very harmless Art N. C. I wish you would have done with this Book of his which I think in one sense is innocent enough and will do no harm among considering people C. I am content to make an end for I fear I have been too tedious But it was out of a desire to examine seriously whether there were such force as he conceives in this Engine to batter down all the Fortifications that they who preside in the Church or their Assistants can erect in defence of the abused Scandalous things as he calls them which with so much zeal we contend for viz. the Liturgy and Ceremonies They are his words in his Epistle N. C. He tells you a little after that he will not offer to impose his belief on others Let every body read and then do as he finds cause C. I commend his Ingenuity and Modesty only I wish his Zeal was a little less in this matter and that he would not think himself and others ingag'd to endeavour to the utmost of their power the Extirpation and abolishing of the Liturgy For what is this but to impose his belief upon us as much as he is able in his place Doth he only offer his Reasons who solicites and perswades and intreats men to promote his Design Doth he leave others to judge who ingages their Affections and stirs up their Passions as if the Cause were already decided according to his mind This it is to be zealous to advance a private Opinion He meant it 's like as he spoke when he told us in his Epistle that he expected and desired 〈◊〉 more but that we would candidly weigh th● case but his zeal made him forget himself and earnestly beseech us to be up and doing as if judgment were already given on his side This I make no doubt was the thing that put him so much beside the Cushion as to make him magnifie the Purity of those Doctrines which in sober thoughts he saw were of pernicious consequence And I would willingly think it was nothing else that made him only pass his word that the Liturgy is one of the things that God would have laid aside without any Proof of it For whatsoever he or the Assembly have been pleased to say no body ever made an Idol of it or were guilty of adoring it These are but a kind of Conjuring Phrases and Magical words which make a great Sound and astonish the silly people but signifie nothing save only this that men care not what they say to serve their cause And therefore I hope you will not be afrighted by such Bug-bears but come and do your Duty to God and man both together in joyning with us in Common-Prayer N. C. I will consider it as I have told you more than once But I have had the less mind to come to it because after it is done your Minister prays so coldly himself C. That is he doth not put himself into a Sweat But are not his words lively and apt to warm the Hearts of those who attend to them N. C. Methinks not And beside his Sermons that follow are very dull and nothing comparable to ours C. Now you are got again to the Hole from whence I did drive you a good while agoe you run in a Circle of discourse and are returned thither where we first began But since I have followed your motions thus far I will ask you this question Why do you not rather think your self dull than him N. C. Because I am not dull in other places and yet was so at your Church C. You may be in the fault for all that For perhaps you was disaffected to his Person or to his method of handling things or you had a greater Kindness for some other and then though S. Paul himself should preach you would be apt to prefer that man before him N. C. No methinks his matter is dull and flat C. Why what did you hear him treat of N. C. I heard him preach about the necessity of Obedience to the Laws of Christ And there he told us how we must do as we would be done unto and love our Neighbours as our selves and forgive Injuries and make Restitution of ill-gotten Goods with a great many other such like things which every body knows already And yet he spent I know not well how many Sermons about these common matters C. Does every body know these things say you The greater shame then that they live not according to them I am afraid they are not sensible of the necessity of these things about which a man of any understanding and seriousness cannot well speak and be flat and dull I much suspect that you even set your self to sleep or suffered your thoughts to run to other matter or fell a reading in your Bible as I have seen some do when he begun to treat of such Arguments as these thinking that you was little concern'd in them N. C. I must confess part of what you say For when I come to Church I look not for Moral but Christian Doctrines C. How now Do you oppose Morality and Christianity Is not the former a part of the latter I mean doth not the Christian Religion teach us the highest Morality N. C. No I think it doth not meddle with it C. Then you talk of this as you do of many other things without understanding Pray what is Moral Doctrine N. C. Do you tell me if you please C. I always took it to be that Doctrine which teaches us how to regulate our manners that is to order and govern our actions or our whole Behaviour in this World Now I appeal to any man that reads the Gospel whether this be not the very design of it to teach us to live soberly righteously and godlily N. C. Is this morality C. Yes that it is And therefore I said that Christian Religion advances Morality to the greatest height because it gives us the best and most excellent Motives to live soberly righteously charitably and piously in this World N. C. For all this I think it were better if Jesus Christ were more preached C. Still I see you deceive your self and trouble the world with Phrases Doth not he preach Jesus Christ that preaches his Doctrine If you doubt of it you shall

enough in their Descants upon as plain words as those And therefore why they should forbear to say any thing there I cannot imagine unless it were a fear of displeasing the Parliament and many of their partakers For as for themselves I believe many of them would not have had the Lands sold but imployed to their use and benefit N. C. Well is this all C. No there is another remarkable place in the Book of Joshua Chap. 6.19 where God commands all the Gold and Silver c. which should be taken in Jericho to be consecrated to him and put into the Treasury Notwithstanding which we read that Achan purloined 200 shekels of Silver and a wedge of Gold to his own private use and was therefore severely punished nay all the Congregation troubled for his offence till he suffered for it Josh 7.21 And yet these men say not a syllable of this Sin in their Notes on either of those verses though all other Divines are wont from thence to shew how dangerous it was then to rob God and take a way what was separated to his uses In other places I am sure they oft make large Declamations against some Sins and in a manner preach against them and therfore why they should not have a syllable to say here about this matter is a great Mystery unless I have discovered the cause of it As for that place Gen. 47.22 I know you will say they were Idolatrous Priests whose Land Joseph sold not But methinks they needed not have made an excuse as they there do for Joseph's not selling them as if it had been an act of greater Virtue if he had And methinks they should have told the world pretty smartly that if Pharaoh had such a respect to the Aegyptian Priesthood as not to sell their Land Christian Princes Governours should not be more unkind if not unjust in these days nor expose to sale those Lands which have been sertled upon the Priests of the most High God But above all I wonder at their profound silence in their Notes upon Ezek. 48.14 where one would think at last they would have broken it especially since they might have done it pretty securely in such an obscure place which few read There the Lands of the Levites are again forbidden to be sold And by Levites according to their own Principles we are to understand the Ministers of the Gospel whose Lands therefore ought not to be sold I prove it clearly thus In the beginning of their Explication of this Vision they lay down this for a Foundation of their Exposition Chap. 40.2 that herein was represented the ample and flourishing estate of Christ's Church under the Types of the Re-building of the Temple Restauration of the Levitical Worship and Service nad the Repossession and Inhabitation of the whole Land Which they repeat again Chap. 43.1 and in sundry other places If this be true as they believed it to be then according to their own Rules the assigning of Land for the Levites must signifie the care that ought to be taken to settle a Maintenance for the support of the Gospel-Ministery and Service and the prohibition against selling the Levites Lands must denote the pleasure of God that the portion of Land or other things settled upon the Evangelical Priesthood or Ministery should never be alienated from them Now I pray you tell me why would they not open their mouths at last in so plain a case as this What should be the cause that they do not so much as name this Sin much less bid the World beware of it and still much less pass any sentence upon it Do you think they did not know what is wont to be said on these places Did they not understand well enough that if they would write consequently to their own principles before laid down they must either tax that Sin in this place of Ezekiel or else say just nothing Why did they chuse the later and pass it over with a word but only referring us to two or three places of Scripture nothing to the purpose N. C. Truly I know not what to say C. I 'll tell you then The most probable conjecture is that which I have made already That they were afraid in the least to displease their masters who set them on work The Parliament would have taken it very ill and all the good people too who to save their own purses were content the Churches Lands should be sold to carry on the War which they had illegally begun N. C. I hope better and that you will not now take occasion from the mention you make of the War to fall into a Declamation against the other Sin of Rebellion C. Since you love not to hear any thing of it I am content to be as silent as your Minsters were wont to be only let me tell you I have observed several other things which they forbear not because they think it is their Duty but for fear of displeasing a party N. C. What do you mean C. I mean it was for this reason that they seldom or never some of them used the Lora's Prayer because the people had been taught on a sudden to abhorr Forms without remembring them that the Lord's prayer was a Form It was not fit to tell them that for fear they should have continued to like other Forms of prayer for its sake I observe also that still they will by no means give the title of Saint to one of the Apostles or Evangelists of our Lord though I think they will call them Holy which is the same no not when they reade a Text out of their Writings For which I can conceive no other reason but their good Dames and Masters do not like it They are afraid that it is Popish And rather than these Men-servers will be at the pains of convincing them of their errour or to speak more properly rather than venture the danger of losing them for many might in a passion fly off if they heard the name of Saint given to any but themselves they will not offend their tender ears by naming that abominable word And were it not that I am loath to try you I could instance in a great many other things wherein they are meer Slaves to the humours of the people and serve the time not daring to say those things or to use those words which they know are fit to be said and to be used meerly because many people will run away from them N. C. There is no danger of that Whither should they run C. To our Ministers whom perhaps they forsook upon such little accounts and so may return to them when they see others do like them N. C. Hold you content Neighbour They will never return to one that is an Apostate and hath forsaken his Principles And that I am sure you will grant your Minister hath done though you will not have him call'd a Time-server C. You have a company of the