Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	tell_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	35	3	9.2271	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25829	A tryall of faith, or, The woman of Canaan on Math. 15, 21, 22, 23, 24 : together with the souls sure anchor-hold, on Heb. 6, 19 : with the wisdome of timely remembring our creator, on Eccles. 12, 1 : in severall sermons / by Timothy Armitage.	Armitage, Timothy, d. 1655.	1661 (1661)	Wing A3704; ESTC R26657	267,236	470

how they set up their own rules above Gods Rules which is a provocation to Christ and he will not bear with such you may read the second and third verses and so to the end of the seventh verse In vain sayes Christ do you worship me teaching for doctrine the commandements of men So that the occasion of Christs removing from these parts of Judea which were near to Jerusalem was the exalting their own traditions and making them equall with Gods Commandements It affords something to us for our instruction which is this That when a people or any soul shall exalt their own traditions their own inventions and make them equal or set them above the Commandements and Rules that Christ hath given his people to walk by Christ will not afford his presence to such a people Christ will certainly depart from such a soul or people For the truth is there is little hope that there should be any good done by such a people when they decline the Rule and set up something of their own there is little hope that the word of Christ should do good among such a people Therefore Christ will withdraw from them as he did from these Scribes and Pharisees and so will Christ withdraw his special presence from a people that shall set up their own inventions For it is a mighty provocation to Christ First of all when a people shall exalt their own inventions above the Rule that Christ hath given his people to walk by the minds of such a people are blinded and darkened and their hearts are hardened against the Truths of God therefore there is little hope of such a people I say mens own inventions thus exalted and lift up above Gods Rule it blinds the mind and hardens the heart against Christ and the things of Christ it is a making to a mans self a graven Image Whatsoever a man shall bring in of his own as a rule to walk by and to worship by he makes that an image to himself now they that make graven Images are like to them sayes the Psalmist They have eyes and see not God gives them up to blindness declining Gods Rule and Christs Institution it will blind them and harden them against the Truths of Christ Secondly When as men shall exalt their own inventions the heart is so filled with them that there is no room for Christ and for the most part there is in such a soul a kind of loathing the Truths of Christ Whereever you find mens inventions exalted there you shall find a kind of loathing in such a soul of the pure and sincere truths of the Gospel the bread of life is no longer sweet with them and the water of life hath no rellish with them and when it comes to this Christ will not stay but withdraws his spiritual presence from them as he did his bodily presence from the Scribes and Pharisees Thirdly Christ will withdraw from such a people because for the most part they are desperate enemies and persecutors of Christ and of his People and of his Truths So it was with the Scribes and Pharisees Christ had not such enemies in all the world as they were because they were most zealous for their own inventioons they declined the Rule and set up their own rule and therefore they prove desperate enemies to Christ Paul makes an acknowledgement of it when Christ came to open his eyes and doth tell you that that was the cause of his driving on that trade of persecuting the Saints with so much earnestness because he was so zealous for the traditions of men in Phil. 3. 6. You may see there what he sayes was the cause of his persecuting the Saints Concerning zeal persecuting the Church touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless And so in Gal. 1. 13 14. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews Religion how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it Ver. 14. And profited in the Jews religion above many my equals in mine own nation being more zealous of the traditions of my fathers The zeal which he had for the traditions of men was that which carried him on to persecute the Christians with so much violence and many times it is so that they which do most exalt their own traditions they become very zealous in persecuting the Saints and Truths of Christ for it is natural for a man to become zealous for that which is his own that which is of the flesh that which is a kin to the flesh the flesh will be zealous for Now all traditions they are born of the flesh they are the off-spring of mans own brain and therefore upon that account men are many times very zealous for them to the persecuting of the Saints of God Now upon this account the Lord Christ will not afford his presence with such as lay aside his Rule for they many times prove the greatest persecuters of Christ and his people Fourthly Christ will not continue and afford his presence with such a people as set up their own inventions and traditions in the place of God's Rule because they do arrogate that to themselves which is Christs due he is the great Prophet and given to instruct his people to make known the way of life and salvation and it belongs to Christ to give a rule for his people to walk by And therefore when men shall set up their rule in the place of Christs Rule what do they but take the place of Christ the office of Christ and turn Christ out of his office and set themselves in Christs chair Now this is a great provocation to Christ and that which Christ will not endure but depart from such a people Fifthly They that do exalt their own inventions and traditions in the place of Christs Rule for the most part they place their righteousness in those very traditions of their own which is a great provocation unto Christ for you may observe this in the Pharisees they that were so zealous for their own inventions and would not submit to the Rule of Christ they would not submit to the Righteousness of Christ but they placed their righteousness in their traditions in their inventions a kind of volluntary humility they had and willingly submitted to their traditions and by so doing did overturn the righteousness of Christ placing their righteousness in their own observations it was that which made them not to submit to the righteousness of God Let a man do never so much let him walk never so strictly let him set up the straitest rule to himself to walk by though a man do never so much though he afflict his body never so much if this tend to draw off the soul from the righteousness of Christ that a man should look upon this as his commendation before God and place this in the room of Christs righteousness as all do that set up their own traditions they

all opposition all persecution the worst that Gods people can meet withall in the world nay their very sins and failings and infirmities shall work together for good the infinite wise God will make advantage of all that all that they meet withall shall tend to the furtherance of his work to the bringing about his purpose All shall work together for good yea for the best good though they see it not for the present but wait to the end and by that time God hath done with his people put all together and you shall see that all things shall work together for good nay we know it by experience we have found that God hath brought good out of the greatest evill and out of the greatest affliction And this is to those who are called according to his purpose Eightly There is another ground of comfort which ariseth from the Doctrine of election which is this that The Lord will shorten all the dayes of tribulation which they meet withall here in the world the dayes of affliction and dayes of tribulation shall be shortned for the Elects sake and it is a great refreshment and comfort that God will shorten all the dayes of darkness dayes of tribulation they shall be shortned for the Elects sake all their winter dayes shall be shor dayes dark dayes short dayes there is an eternity of light a coming a day that shall have no end the Sun shall never set but as for the dayes of darkness of sorrow affliction and tribulation the Lord in mercy will shorten them See what is said Matth. 24. 21 22. For then shall be great Tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time no nor ever shall be and except those dayes should be shortened there should no flesh be saved but for the Elects sake those dayes shall be shortned But for the Elects sake all the dayes of publick calamity shall be shortned dark dayes sad dayes such a sad day as the Jewes saw when Jerusalem was taken by Titus it is spoken first of that dark and sad day to the Jewes when so many millions of them perished such tribulation as never was and if the Lord should not shorten those dayes no flesh should be saved that is not one of them would have been left alive upon the earth those dayes were so dark and so sore but for the Elects sake those dayes of tribulation were shortned And so all the dayes of calamity that Gods people meet withall those dayes of distress yea dayes of publick calamity and the dayes of their particular afflictions yea every dark day the Lord will shorten the Lord in mercy will shorten the dayes of their affliction and that is a great comfort to them that though their dayes of affliction be very grievous the Lord in mercy will make their affliction dayes to be but short In the ninth place there is this comfort that doth flow from the knowledge of our election that the Lord will certainly avenge the cause of his people The Lord doth take notice and he will avenge all the wrongs that any of his elect people doth meet withall in the World See Luke 18. 6 7. And the Lord said heare what the unjust Judge saith and shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him though he beare long with them I tell you that he will avenge them speedily I tell you saith Christ that he will avenge their cause and all their wrongs and injuries that they meet withall in the World In the tenth and last place there is this ground of comfort that the Lords people those whom he loves from eternity they shall never fall away from him never be plucked out of his hand it is an impossible thing that they should perish This is a mighty ground of strong consolation which they rob poor souls of that doe plead for conditionall election the condition to be performed by the creature it is alwayes at uncertainties to the end of a mans life whether he shall continue and persevere or no. But now the Doctrine of free and absolute and immutable election doth afford this ground of comfort and the knowledge of our being in Gods election doth assure us of this that not any of Christs Sheep shall perish they shall never be drawne off from Christ never be drawn off from following Christ their Shepherd from laying him as the foundation of their life and happinesse Oh! what need have we to get such a ground of comfort in these back-sliding times when so many that make a profession doe swerve from their profession and make shipwrack of their profession of faith But notwithstanding saith the Apostle the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal the Lord knoweth those that are his Though never so many that make a profession fall away yet the foundation of the Lord stand sure and therefore in Math. 24. 24. See what Christ saith for there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signes and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect Christ speaketh of the latter dayes a prophesie of our times that there should arise some that should doe great wonders and be false Christs that shall indeavour to take men off from looking to the true Christ that was crucified at Jerusalem and is risen againe false Christs that shall put you upon it to looke to a Christ within you and they shall come in such a way if it were possible that they should deceive the very Elect but is it not possible that the people of the Lords Election should fall finally they may fall for a time we know not what sinfull practises Gods people may fall into if the Lord leaves them and what errour in judgment if the Lord leaves them but it is not possible that they should be drawne away for ever for the Lord will bring them back againe to the right Christ it is not possible that they should fall away totally and finally for the mighty power of God is ingaged for their security You are kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation If it were in our own hand it were not possible that we should be kept we meet with so much from within from an unbeleeving heart and so much from without but you are kept by the mighty power of God through faith to salvation My Father holds you saith Christ and I hold you and no man can pluck them out of my Fathers hand And so you see the third particular that this doctrine of election doth administer many grounds of strong consolation and great refreshment to the people of God I come now to the fourth particular propounded and that is this That notwithstanding this Doctrine doth administer so much ground of comfort yet The Lords people may meet with many temptations about the Doctrine of Election They may meet with many temptations both