Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	witness_v	work_n	wrought_v	18	3	7.5583	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89843	Love to the lost: and a hand held forth to the helpless, to lead out of the dark. Wherein is plainly held out divers perticular things, as they are learned of Christ; and are most needfull to be known of all who profess godliness. Set forth chiefly for the directing the simple into the living way of truth, as it is in Christ Jesus, the Righteous, that therein they may come to the life and power of that which the world hath in words; which being received, satisfies the weary soul, and makes the creature wel-pleasing to his maker. Wherein also there is some reproofs to the dark world. / By one that seeks the redemption of Sions seed, and a lover of the creation of God, who is called James Naylor.	Naylor, James, 1617?-1660.	1656 (1656)	Wing N294; Thomason E866_2; ESTC R207630	74,213	79

Perfection GOd is perfect and so is all his works and all his gifts and who ever receives his gifts receives that which is perfect And by receiving and joyning to that which is perfect is the creature made perfect And no farther then the creature is in this perfection can any be united to God nor appeare in his sight nor be blessed but is gone out into the curse from what was in the beginning and so is in the fall unredeemed and hath no more of Christ then what he hath of perfection for perfection is of Christ and imperfection is of the Devill and these are two contraryes and comes from contrary grounds and brings forth contrary fruits for he that is of God is of perfection and believes perfection but who is of the Serpent cannot own it nor beleive it being blinded by the God of this world So God sent his son into the world to preach perfection even the perfection of the Father that all who will believe may inherit it and all that believed him believed perfection And when he had left a perfect example in all things he ascended and gave gifts to men several sorts of gifts all for the perfecting the Saints that all might come up to one faith to a perfect man to the measure and stature and fulness of Christ that so he may be an everlasting redeemer perfecting the work of God in every generation of them that believe in his work and follow him And this all his ministers improved to the same end and preached and prayed that they might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus from whom they had received the gift and all that believed them believed perfection and pressed after it as the end of their faith knowing nothing lese then perfection could give them rest and redemption Now since the mistery of iniquity entred there is another ministry gone out into the world who hath taken up an imitation instead of gift have begotten an other kind of faith in the world wholly reprobate as to perfection preaching against it with all the power that may be holding it for blasphemy and calling it a doctrine of Devills and the like And these would be called the ministers of Christ that so they may not misse of their end for did they come in his name whose work they uphold he knows they might run in vain Thus they deceive all who receive them by their words but who mindes the end of their work may easily see as much difference as is betwixt Christ and Belial the work of Christ is and ever was to renew man again to his perfect estate but the work of Antichrist is to withstand it and each hath his ministers sutable to their ends intended Christs end is to perfect the devils is to keep unperfect And each ministers have their faith hope and other gifts sutable one pure the other polluted and according to each faith so it is to all that believe them follow them for the faith of Christ is a shield gives victory over uncleanness sin and evill but the devills faith lets in and believes it must be so for had not the devil first brought man to beleive him rather then God he could not have polluted what God had perfected And the same way he takes to keep up his work by which at first he wrought it So none can come to know a new creature but who can believe perfection nor can any come to God nor Christ nor Gods righteousness but who comes to perfection For all who are in the unperfect righteousness are in your own righteousness for the lest measure of Gods righteousness is perfect and all are in perfection who become servants to it and thereby become free from sin So by your unbeliefe you destroy your souls who are in your own works which makes nothing perfect so measureing your selves with your selves cuts you off from Christ as measureing your faith by your own ability so standing in that covenant which makes nothing perfect but the coming in of a better hope doth and this all know whose faith stands in what God is and not what we can do in everlasting righteousness not in what we have to work the one being righteousness by faith revealed a gift put into the believer the other an Imitation of the same in works but not the power and such are you who read a verse and see therein what the Saints did and then set your selves to do the like but know not that righteousnes revealed in you in the faith which they had which was wrought in them by the Lord before they brought it to light and so did not work but beleived on him who worketh the will and the deed of his own good pleasure who alone is well pleased with his own work and with all who are servants to his work to bring it to light to his praise whose work-manship such are And they who are found herein have his witness in the light to prove their workes that they are wrought in God and not of self self-will nor for self-ends nor in self-time nor in self-power and all that know this perfect will and acceptable worke of God knows it begotten and brought forth in self deniall in all things and not of us but of him that is perfect and so makes our way perfect And this is the covenant that makes perfect all that comes thereto and self being denied in the work boasting is excluded by the law of faith which receives the free and perfect gift And for this cause the first covenant was found faulty and disanulled because it made not the commers thereto perfect as pertaining to the conscience nor did exclude boasting no more doth your imitations from the letter for the light in your consciences witness your imperfection therein and your works is condemned before they be wrought and your ministers tells you your righteousness is not perfect yet they call for righteousness and yet say your best is but as filthy raggs and they call for prayer and yet tell you that you must be wicked while you live and that the prayers of the wicked are abomination to the Lord. So the abominable sacrifice is preached and performed and perfection denied by all those priests and people who have not received the gift for perfecting And of this sort are they who have their preaching to study and to seek at other mens mouthes or from the Letter but have it not from the mouth of the Lord freely given the perfect gift for perfecting the Saints so what they get that they sell for none can give freely but who so receives nor can any perfect others who have not the perfect gift themselves So you that talk of perfection you must first know a free gift from above Perfection is not from below where you have your carnal imaginations and reason and wisdom and prudence gotten by your learning and studies whereof you boast and wherein you exalt

the hidden man of the heart must you look to find it which is not Corruptible Concerning Light and Life GOd is the life of every Creature though few there be that know it for the darknesse sees him not nor his life though the Children of Darknesse have got words in the Scripture which were given forth from the light to talk of yet God such know not present for the first beginning of God in the world is lighr God said let there he light and it was so And this light God saw that it was good This is that which was in the beginning with God the Word by which all things were made and seen and without this was nothing made that was made nor any thing seen to be good and darknesse was over the face of all the waters till the light which from the Word came who is the Life which life is the light of men So none can see the life but with the light which from the life comes which to the life leads all that follow it So this that was in the beginning is given to keep in order all the Creation That is good but the darknesse comprehends it not though it shine in it so all that abide in the darknesse are destroyed not discerning the life to order and govern the Creation in the light So all that go out of the light go into the darknesse and there the life and Image of God is lost and there is the Fall and all who there abide are reserved in Chaines of darknesse not knowing the life which breaks the Bonds and Chains of Iniquity and opens the Grave and Prison door And here the Soul being in death breathing after the Life but Darknesse got above In the darknesse is the Creature led into Sects Opinions and Errours after the Imaginations to seek life but further it runs here to the sensuall Wisdome further into Death and Darknesse till the Creature be so blinded in the understanding that he thinks and imagins he doth God service when he is acting against the life of God both in himself and others so comes the Creature of God and his Life wherewith God did furnish him to do his Will wholly to be lost and the Gospel hid that should recover him again the God of this World having so blinded the mind and thereby so farre alienated him from the life of God that he neither hath power and life to do the will of God nor light to know where to have it yet in this condition of death and darknesse and without the life of God shall the Creature never be without profession or some conceit or other to keep in a vain hope of salvation And here is the sole ground and cause why we have so many sorts of formes and opinions and wayes of worship but none that doth good nor lives in what they say because all have lost the life of God which onely is able to bri●g forth the righteousnesse of God And selfe having got the form into the Imagination above the life cannot receive the light that l●es under that condemns it So all the world lies in darkensse yea thick darknesse is upon all the seas and great depths is covered with grosse darknesse and from thence is the Imagination spread over all so that none can witnesse the work of God neither knows the beginning nor end thereof And this is the cause of condemnation and it rests upon all who are out of the life of God And no other way there is appointed of the Father to come out of this condition but Christ Jesus the light and life of men who is the light that is in the world though the world know him not which light shines in darknesse but cannot therewith be comprehended which light is the revealer of darknesse and manifests the deeds thereof and the first appearance of this in the Creature shews the darknesse and captivity that is in the darknesse till which the Creature never comes to see the wretched condition that man is in who is without God the life nor till then will the Creature be willing to stand still to see Gods salvation but is full with vain hopes conceits and Imaginations and the vaile is over the heart and what God hath there written is not seen and so being whole needs not the physitian And with this blind heart the creature reads the Scriptures and steals the promises that the Children of light spoke of who had the life whereby the seed was raised out of the grave to which the promise is but neither knowes law nor Gospel neither came so far as Moses yet boasting of Christ But when the light is minded the Creature comes to see death raigning and self alive without the law with that light which was given to keep out of the pollution and defilements and so to keep the life clear and unspotted With that light that is seen and judged which hath passed over the life and defiled it and that which hath gendered to bondage is seen and the hardnesse of heart comes to be felt and the cause seen even the great transgression of the pure law so comes the fear of the God to take hold of the man that hath lived out of the life of God and taketh pleasure in unrighteousnesse and the Creature then finds trouble within even where the strong man did keep the house in peace and abiding in the light the cause and end of it is seen and d welling in the fear Wisdom is received from above to depart from the iniquity and in departing from the iniquity there is a coming nearer to God so the light growes and springs as there is a comming nearer of the just paths of life And as the light ariseth the Creation is seene and how the enmity hath spread over and how the lust hath defiled it and how that which was planted as a vineyard is become as a wildernesse for barrenness growne over with thornes and bryars sturdy Oaks and tall Cedars for want of the Vinedresser and where the Lilly should grow it s growne over with Weeds Thistles and Nettles so that God walks not there because of the great abomination and that is the cause of all your woe even his absence And when you see this the lamentation begins in the house of laughter even after him from whom you have fallen and as you follow the light and come nearer to the Lord from whence it comes you will see that it is onely your own wills and wayes that hath separated you from the holy one And with the light you will come to see how often you have beene moved by the spirit of light from your evill wayes and that the cause why you have beene thus long in the Fall hath beene in selfe-will and worldly pleasures whereby the life hath suffered never till then comes any to see him whom you have peirced nor to lament over him nor to see what it is that oppresseth the just