Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	punishment_n	sin_n	sin_v	1,923	5	9.5821	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32179	A glimpse of eternity very useful to awaken sinners and to comfort saints : profitable to be read in families / by A.C.	A. C. (Abraham Caley)	1679 (1679)	Wing C290A; ESTC R31283	161,448	236

eternal (e) Mat. 25. last The truth of this I shall demonstrate from these following Arguments 1. From God it is true God enjoys all happiness in himself and can receive no addition thereunto from the creature all his happiness is in himself in the injoyment of himself in the contemplation of his own perfection he was as happy before Heaven or Earth Angels or Men were made as he is now and would be so were all creatures reduced to their first nothing as Seneca divinely (f) Mundo resoluto Diis omnibus confusis cessante natura acquiescit sibi suis cogitationibus traditas if the world were consumed all the Angels annihilated and nature cease to be yet being left to himself he enjoyeth all in himself but though he be in himself God over all blessed for ever yet it pleased God for the manifesting the glory of his Attributes to make a world of Creatures and among others Angels and men upon whom he imprinted some more conspicuous characters and draughts of his own perfections and among others made them partakers of his own immortality that upon them he might manifest the glory either of his Mercy or his Wrath. What if God willing to shew his Wrath and make his Power known indured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction and that he might make known the glory of his Mercy on the Vessels of mercy which he had before prepared unto Glory (g) Rom. 9. 22 23. To this purpose though he made both righteous yet he left both to the freedom of their own will that if they did well they might do it out of choice and good will not of necessity if they did ill it should be by their own default and though God was no ways the cause of either's sin nor ordained either to punishment without reference to their sin yet he foresaw they would abuse their free will by sinning against him and by sin make themselves obnoxious to his wrath and accordingly ordained that those Angels that stood and those of Mankind that after their fall would accept of a Mediator should live eternally with himself in Glory and happiness On the other side that those of the Angels who left their first habitation and those of the Sons of men who rejected the help of a Mediator should for ever feel the weight of his displeasure So that to deny the eternal condition of man after this life is quite repugnant to that great design of God whereby he appointed both Angels and men to be for ever either the perpetual objects of his free-grace or the everlasting monuments of his justly deserved wrath But to improve this meditation a little further we read of worlds in Scripture by which he made the worlds (h) Heb. 1. 2. By Faith we understand that the Worlds were made by the word of God Though some think it is spoken in the plural number after the Jewish mode who used to mention a three-fold an inferior a middle and a superior world as Camero observeth and others conceive that by Worlds may be meant the age or world of the Jewish Church under the Law and the Christian Church in the times of the Gospel called the World to come * Heb. 1. 1. 3. yet I see no cause why by Worlds we may not understand the present * Heb. 2. 5. world (i) Tit. 2. 12. and the future world or as they are distinguished (k) Mat. 12. 31. This world and the world to come this world is but of short continuance The fashion of this world passeth away (l) Cor. 7. 31. the world to come is a world without end this world is like a Comet that blazeth for a time and then disappeareth the world to come is as a fixed star or rather as the Sun that faithful witness in Heaven that rangeth about the firmament with a glittering perpetuity this World is but a Tent or Tabernacle set up for a time but e're long to be taken down the stakes thereof to be removed and the cords broken the world to come is a Mansion or place of abode In my Fathers house are many Mansions (m) John 14. 2. This world was set up as a stage for men to act their parts on for some few thousands of years and then must become fuel to the fire the World to come is that great lasting Theatre on which God will eternally display the glory of his several Attributes Concerning the duration of this world there is a great dispute whether there shall be only a renovation or a total annihilation at the day of Judgement But concerning the world to come and the Inhabitants of it Angels and men there was never any question made by any sober Orthodox Divine howsoever the Scripture is most clear for it (n) Luke 20. 34 36. The children of this world marry and are given in marriage but they that shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world and the Resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage Neither can they dye any more for they are equal to the Angels and are the children of God being the Children of the Resurrection Both these worlds God made to shew the Glory of his Attributes God hath much glory from this world The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work (o) Psal 19. 1. he hath shown much of his power in making of his Providence in sustaining of his wisdom in governing this world but the magnifying of those two great Attributes his Mercy and his Justice is chiefly reserved for the world to come all those temporal mercies in this life conferred upon men are but (p) bona scabelli the blessings of the foot-stool no way comparable with the blessings of the Throne Riches and Honour the two great things that are so ambitiously pursued by the men of the world they are but Wisdomes left-handed blessings (q) Prov. 3. 16. not to be compared with that length of daies that eternity that is in Wisdomes right-hand and which all the Children of Wisdom partake of in the life to come Some report that Joseph in that great Famine caused a great deal of Chaffe to be cast into the River Nilus to let the Neighbouring Nations know what plenty of Corn they had in Aegypt all the good things of this life are but as Chaffe which God scattereth abroad in the World to let men know what a better and more induring substance he hath provided for his own People and what is the Chaffe to the Wheat saith the Lord (r) Jer. 23. 28. Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and th●se things shall be added unto you (t) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Metaphor taken from bargainers those that buy cloth have usually some over-measure given in those that buy fruit pay nothing for paper and pack-thread such are these temporal things in Gods esteem Luther

calls the whole Turkish Empire but a crust which God casts to the Dogs under his Table and miserable is that s Mat. 6. 33. man that hath no other portion but in these things the great mercies God intends for his people are reserved for the life to come that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace (u) Ephes 2. 7. On the other side the great Executions of Gods wrath upon wicked men are reserved for another World therefore it is called the wrath to come (w) Mat. 3. 7. 1. Thess 1. 10. all the punishments of this life are but as flea-bites the Father saith (x) Ludicra risus but toys and merriments to future torments Nazianzen saith the Worst temporal punishments are but (y) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the smoaking of Gods wrath and what is the smoak to the fire We read (z) Exod. 9. 8. that Moses took handfulls of Ashes out of the furnace and sprinkled them toward Heaven and they became boils upon man and beast all those plagues inflicted in this life are but as a handful of Ashes taken out of the furnace of Gods wrath The destruction of Sodom with fire and brimstone from Heaven was the saddest and strangest Judgement that ever was inflicted upon any yet our Saviour saith (a) Mat. 11. 24. It shall ●● more tolerable for Sodom at the day of Judgement (b) Sodomiti olim perditi iterum p●●dendi the Sodomites though then destroyed are reserved to a more grievous destruction those showers of brimstone that fell upon Sodom are but heat drops to those storms of wrath which shall then and thenceforth for ever beat upon them It was the invention of some of the Ancients that there are three sorts of Thunder-bolts in Heaven the first to warn not to hurt the second to hurt but not quite to destroy the third to ruine and lay all waste the two first sorts of Thunder-bolts God often in this life dischargeth upon wicked men but the third and worst is reserved for another life when all the Artilleries of Heaven are shot off when all the Fountains of Gods Wrath are broken up and all the Vials of his Displeasure poured out upon the people of his Curse By all this it appeareth that there is but little either of Gods Mercy or Justice shewed in these temporary rewards and Punishments the great manifestation of these two great Attributes is reserved for the life to come when God will shew the Riches of his mercy upon the vessels of mercy afore prepared unto glory and the greatness of his wrath upon the Vessels of wrath fitted to destruction and yet even then and there in nothing will the greatness of his mercy and wrath so much appear as in the eternity of those rewards and punishments then dispensed So that to deny the eternal state of man after this life is a brutish confining the eternal Decrees and greatest workings of God to the narrow compass of this present world and in a manner to deny there is any world to come at least such as is described in Scripture Having proved this from the great design of God in making Angels and Men I shall further evince it from the Attributes of God which are eternal like himself The mercy of God is an everlasting mercy (c) Psalm 100. 5. it indureth for ever (d) 136. 1. The wrath of God is an abiding wrath (e) John 3. last Therefore called everlasting burnings (f) Isa 33. 14. Now these Attributes must produce suitable acts as mercy is shewed in acts of mercy and wrath in acts of justice and these acts must have suitable objects for although the immanent acts of God such as abide in him of which number are his eternal Decrees do not necessarily require the praeexistence of any objects I mean in regard of a present existence (g) in esse reali but only in regard of the knowledge (h) in esse cognito and fore-sight of God yet his transientacts or those that pass from him as rewarding which is an act of mercy and punishing which is an act of juctice these necessarily suppose some object upon which they are terminated now as there are no creatures besides Angels and Men that are capable of merit or demerit which might make them capable of rewards or liable unto punishments so there is no creature else which is immortal and so capable of eternal happiness or eternal misery And therefore it will follow that these I mean Angels and men must for ever remain either the perpetual objects of Gods free grace and mercy or the everlasting monuments of his wrath and displ●asure And therefore the Scripture determines these upon their proper objects (i) Psal 103. 17 The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him And on the other side (k) John 3. last He that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the Wrath of God abideth on him CHAP. II. Of the meritorius causes and the nature of happiness and punishment and the immortality of man A Second Argument may be taken from the Meritorious causes both of the Happiness of Heaven and the Punishments of Hell 1. The meritorious cause of the Happiness in Heaven is the merit and suffering of Christ The coming of Christ into the world and suffering for us that he might thereby free us from the wrath to come and entitle us to eternal happiness is that great design which the whole Trinity have been transacting from all eternity so Wisdome tells us (l) Prov. 8. 30 31. That from everlasting he was as one brought up with the father rejoycing alwaies before him Rejoycing in the habitable part of his earth and my delights were with the Sons of men And to the like purpose the Apostle (m) 2. Cor. 5. 19. That God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself Of all those works of God ad extra such as concern the creature this is the most sublime and glorious as one saith excellently neither the Creation of all things out of nothing which was the beginning of the works of God and put an end to that long Sabbath that had no beginning nor the Resurrection from the dead and Restoration of all things the last work that shall go before that everlasting Sabbath which shall have a beginning but no end neither that first nor this last though admirable works and worthy of the Authour may be compared with this It is the master-piece of Gods works that great work in which he hath broken up all the depths of his mercy in which he hath displayed all the banners of his Love and exhibited the largest draughts of his power wisdom Love and mercy The whole Scripture saith Anhalt who was both a Prince and Preacher is nothing else but the swadling bands of the Child Jesus All the Types Ceremonies Washings Sacraments