Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	spirit_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	110	3	9.2469	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92173	A most grave, and modest confutation of the errors of the sect, commonly called Brownists, or: Seperatists. Agreed upon long since by the joynt consent of sundry, godly, and learned ministers of this kingdome, then standing out and suffering in the cause of inconformity; and now published in a time of need, for the good of Gods Church, and the better setling of mens unstable mindes in the truth against, the subtile insinuations, and plausible pretences of that pernicious evill. Published by W. Rathband, minister of the Gospell.	Rathband, William, d. 1695.	1644 (1644)	Wing R299; Wing M2893; Thomason E31_11; ESTC R209828	84,262	92

borne but stedfastly opposed to their great reproach dammage and danger many wayes the corruptions in our Church-government worship and Leiturgie and have beene lights and leaders to these latter times therein yet alwayes in a peaceable and regular way as not on the one side to subject themselves to suspitious inventions so on the other not sinfully to separate from the Communion and true worship of Churches accounting it more agreeable to all rules of pietie charitie and Christian prudence to tolerate for the time what they could not mend rather than to rent and teare all in peeces to an utter ruine To conclude though perhaps some few particulars in this treatise may seeme more questionable yet for the maine I doubt not but the Authors have held close to the truth both in their owne positions and in opposing their adversaries By which therefore good Reader thou maiest reape much benefit for thy better settling in these unsettled times if thou be capable thereof and if the Lord shall please to adde his blessing thereunto Which hee shall never cease to pray for who is all that he is truly thine in Him W R. THE PREFACE of the AUTHORS of the Treatise ensuing to the READER THE holy Apostle Saint Paul writing unto the Galathians these words Brethren If any man be fallen by occasion into any fault you which are spirituall restore such a one with the spirit of meeknesse considering thy selfe lest thou also be tempted both sheweth the danger of falling whereunto they are subject who stand in the Church of God and prescribeth the dutie of recovering those that are fallen unto such as are spirituall That is to say as are furnished with gifts thereunto with the manner how all that ought to be performed two necessary points in our judgements to be considered and much tending to the preservation of the good and happy estate of the Church of God for how cometh it to passe that Sathan so farre prevaileth against it but for that weake men consider not the danger of falling untill they be downe and almost past recovering those that are fallen either not at all or not untill they be well neere without remedy It is therefore one especiall part of holy wisedome for men who think they stand to take heed lest they fall and therefore to seeke to kneow the depth of Sathans pollicies and subtilties and then the effectuall means for the preventing of them Into which if they carefully enquire they shall finde that though hee seeke to draw even those that have shined as starres in the Church from heaven unto the earth yet that he much more earnestly laboureth to make them wandring starres forsaking the place wherein they seemed to be fixed to give shine and direction to others that is though hee laboureth and endeavoureth to bring men from their first love and zeale unto a lukewarmnesse or key coldnesse in the Church yet he rather desireth to lead them into a fierie spirit and indiscreet zeale from the Church and societie of Saints which no doubt he doth as for many other causes so for these two 1. That he might by their departure who have seemed zealous and godly professors shake the faith of others and cause them to doubt that they are not in the true Church where they may finde directions toward the kingdome of heaven and at last to flie from it as from Babylon And 2. that he might deprive those men themselves of the happy meanes of the recovery which they might have had easily applyed had they beene in the Church and remained in the fellowship thereof Hence it is that in the Church of God those who breaking the holy bands of love and faith have like unkinde children forsaken her their naturall mother and oft pleaded with her as a strumpet which never was done in more convenient manner then of late by certain of our brethren who having been brought forth of the wombe and brought up in the bosome of the Church of England have not onely renounced as a stepmother but condemned her as one of the daughters yea the eldest daughter of the very whore of Babylon railing on her as if she living in continuall spirituall fornications brought forth sonnes and daughters not unto Christ but unto Antichrist his adversary By which their faults and fallings as they have deprived themselves of those gracious blessings which they did long and might have still enjoyed amongst us to their soules health and made the meanes of their recovery more hard and difficult so have they troubled and disquieted many remaining in the body of our Church and of strong men in the truth brought them to be children again in understanding easie to bee carried about with every blast of diverse and strange doctrines how contrary soever to the truth according unto godlinesse either taught or received by them The case thus standing we take it to be our duties being members and Ministers of this Church having by Gods grace received some though a small measure of gifts fit thereunto as to maintaine the credit of the Church wherein we live And to justifie the practise of our ministerie therein so farre forth as truth will permit so chiefely to seeke and endeavour both the recoverie of those that are strayed from the sheepfold of Christ amongst us and also the stay of those that are ready to runne after them together with the better grounding and confirming of them who remaine in the flocke with comfort under their shepheards which duty we have endeavoured to performe heretofore by publike preaching and private conferences as occasions hath beene offered and now have bestowed our labours in writing this treatise following to the same end wherein after wee have proved by certaine reasons that our Assemblies are the true Church of God we take upon us to shew First The foure chiefest exceptions they take against our Church for warranting Schisme and separation from us are vaine and frivelous Secondly That the maine grounds they stand upon for the erecting their new Church are weake and slender Thirdly that the best arguments that they use for condemning us and justifying themselves are loose and unsufficient which points as we have gathered out of their printed books and written papers where they were before scattered and brought into one forme and body so have we more plainely and nakedly both proposed and dealt in passing by all impertinent and offensive matters And their flouting declamations petitions exclamations and bitter reviling speeches against our Churches Ministers and people all their reprochfull slanderous profane scornings fearefull blasphemies against the Word preached and Sacraments administred prayers and holy exercises of Religion used in our Assemblies wherewith their writings and printings swell to some bignes as Bladders puffed up with winde All these though wee have given the Reader some taste of their spirit in them yet have wee not in our Treatise stood upon them for that wee judge them not worthy the answer This worke

of ours we commend first unto our brethren departed from us desiring them to read it without partialitie selfe love prejudice or other sinister affections and with meekenesse indifferencie and love of the Truth desire to be informed and readinesse to be reformed where they erre and goe astray It may be that God will give a blessing to it nay sure wee are that he is faithfull that hath promised to give unto those that aske to open to those that knocke and to cause them to find that seeke the truth in sincerity of their hearts especially if to the reading thereof they adjoyne First a review of the books which have beene written by the Ring-leaders of their separations Secondly a view of the persons of whom their Assemblies consist And Thirdly a consideration of the estate wherein their Church now standeth In the review of the bookes which have been written we exhort them with single hearts to examine the spirits where with the authors of them were led in their writing and they shall finde it not to be the good spirit of God which filleth mens hearts with meekenesse humilitie compassion softnesse holinesse and other sanctified affections but that evill spirit of Satan which under colour of zeale of Gods glory hatred of sinne desire of serving God in sincerity thrusteth men whom it hath deceived into pride selfe love rashnesse unnaturall affections uncharitable surmises and most unchristian judgment of their brethren Secondly to weigh wisely what end they proposed to themselves in their writings which will evidently appeare to be not so much the cleering of themselves from the crime of Schisme as the drawing of others to joyne with them and the defacing of our Church which they compare with the most Idolatrous and heathenish Nations that ever were yea with Sodom and Babylon it selfe and the disgracing the Ministers thereof especially those whom heretofore they have most reverenced whom they sort with most wretched Miscreants Iudas Cain Balaam and many other upon whom the spirit of God hath set a fearefull brand of eternall condemnation Thirdly to try carefully the allegations of Scripture wherewith they have fully painted the Margents and with the multitude whereof they have astonished the simple or credulous Readers perswading them that their cause standeth upon the same ground of Gods holy Word and they shall plainely perceive that the places by them alleadged do for the most part prove that which we denie not And if they be brought to confirme the matter in controversie they are either unconscionably or ignorantly wrested against or besides the meaning of the Holy Ghost A second thing which we intreat them to do is to view the persons of whom their Assemblies consist and let them tell us how many of them there bee whom they have brought from grosse ignorance unto true knowledge from infidelitie to holy Faith from profanesse of life to a conscionable walking with God if there bee scarce any amongst them which have not bin of some note in our Churches for holy and sincere profession and if they had no good thing in them which they have not received by the ministerie of those men and in the bosome of those Churches which now they condemne and flie from why then take they the Seale of our ministerie and Church and set it unto their blanke Thirdly we exhort all of them to a survey of their estate wherein they stand which is if that be true which by some of their own hath been reported full of disorder and confusion And indeed how can it otherwise bee whereas they teach that every member of their Church may and ought to stand up against their Ministers and Elders to gainesay them in delivering of doctrine and withstand the other in execution of discipline If he be perswaded the one erreth from the truth and the other faileth in justice is not this to make every member an eye an eare an head And must not men be of Angelicall perfection to preserve unitie where such large libertie is granted unto them A second sort to whom we commend this labour of ours be our brethren also who by the writings doings and sufferings of these deceived men are in danger likewise to bee deceived being brought to halt betweene two opinions These also we pray to read it with an holy purpose to be fully resolved and setled in the truth We hope their labour shall not be in vaine if they will accept from us these few advertisments First That they make not the example of any man seem he never so godly religious and zealous but the Word of God only the rule of their beliefe and life Paul himselfe must be followed no further when the holy precepts of the Word and the examples of the godly joyn together we have the one to teach us the other to incite us to doe our duties Secondly That they carry an humble and lowly conceit of themselves and their gifts That they remember 1 Cor. 8.2 Galath 6.3 that if any man thinke hee knoweth any thing hee knoweth nothing as he ought to know And that if any man seeme to himselfe that he is somewhat when he is nothing he deceaveth himselfe in his imaginations That to this purpose they occupie themselves in consideration of their owne wants and sinnes which cleave so fast unto them rather than in the marking the blemishes noteing the faults that are in others following the counsell of the Apostle Galath 6.4 Let every one prove his owne worke and then shall he have rejoycing in himselfe only and not in another Thirdly that they have a reverend opinion of those men by whose ministerie they have beene begotten unto God or nourished in the truth by whose labours they have beene instructed confirmed and comforted in whose mouthes the Word of God hath beene unto them as a two edged sword entring through them unto the deviding a sunder the soule and spirit the joynts and the marrow that they suffer not a sinfull thought to enter into their heads of their vnlawfull vocations who have their hearts and soules as Seales of their ministery and may say to them as Paul to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 9 1● are yee not my worke in the Lord if I be not an Apostle unto others yet doubtlesse I am unto you for you are the Seale of mine Apostleship in the Lord whereof they should therefore be the more carefull for that it hath bin an ancient and ordinary policie of Satan that hee might cause men to refuse the word brought unto them in the mouthes of the Prophets Apostles and other men of God yea of Christ Himselfe to perswade them that they had no warrant of their vocarions and calling from God Fourthly That if notwithstanding all that is said for their instruction and reformation in this behalfe they keepe a liking of that draught of a Church which our deceived Brethren have framed and commended in their writings and desire to joyne themselves unto their