Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	wonder_n	wonder_v	work_n	29	3	4.8240	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04986	Ten sermons upon several occasions, preached at Saint Pauls Crosse, and elsewhere. By the Right Reverend Father in God Arthur Lake late Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells	Lake, Arthur, 1569-1626.	1640 (1640)	STC 15135; ESTC S108204	119,344	184

beareth up all things so can it worke his pleasure upon all things it is a commanding word and it commands effectually dixit factum est hath an eternall truth It is observed of Caesar that when he had driven Pompey out of Italy and seized upon the City of Rome when hee would have entred into the Treasury a favourite of Pompey would have hindred him at whom Caes●r shooke his sword speaking these words It is an easier matter for me to doe it then to speake it he meant to kill him he spake in the boldnesse of a Souldier forgetting the Proverb Multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque la●●a Which holds in these that are but meere men whose attempts may be frustrated when they seeme to bee consummated But it is not so with God for nothing can resist his will nor interrupt his worke his word and his work they are concurrent the one with the other not consequent the one upon the other when we speake of Christ if onely of God they differ not one from the other Dei dicere est facere and Christs word is never an emptie word which is the ground of our faith both in heating the Scripture and receaving the Sacraments That di●ere est facere in hearing the Scriptures Saint Paul maketh it plaine when he teacheth that in the Gospell beholding the glory of God wee are changed into the same Image and of the Sacraments Saint Augustines rule is true quî fit ut aqua corpus tangat animam abluat quia accedi● verbum ad elementum Therefore is Baptisme called the fountaine of Regeneration and the Eucharist doth ●ourish us unto eternall life No marvaile then if the C●●turion desire CHRIST only to speake the word and doubteth not but the third point will follow my servant shall be whole His servant as it was said before was at the point of death his case was desperate in the judgment of man Sed non est impossible apud Deum omne verbum he did not doubt but believing he should see the glory of God he doubted not but that Christ could both raise from the dead and preserve also from death and indeed had hee not so thought that he could helpe where Physicke did faile he would never have sent unto him he might otherwise have beene of Naamans minde who thought the waters of Damascus better than the water of Iordan till he found that the vertue was in Gods word and not in the water But was all this for a servant the meaner the person the greater his humility You wondred at that woman but you have much more reason to wonder at this man you have heard two speciall reasons There is nothing reported of the womans either greatnesse or goodnesse of this mans there is she confessed Christ but it was in the out parts of Sidon this man in the midst of Capernaum and whereas this woman did it presuming to come immediately to Christ her selfe this man adventureth not so farre but hee both useth the greatest and the dearest meanes hee hath But now behold whereas she did both for her daughter and her possessed with a Devill a party so neere her in a case so pittifull this man humbleth himselfe and humbleth himselfe so low having no other sute then for his servant though a deare servant yet but a servant whom the Scripture calleth in Greeke as if he observed the Sonne of Syrachs rule and a good servant was as deare unto him as his child this somewhat amplifieth his vertue and it amplifieth it the more because his servant was not possessed with a Devill but almost exanimated with the Palsey a dangerous but yet an ordinary disease that could not in probability move a double but a single compassion the Devill possesseth not but with a double mischiefe the lesse cause then there was why he should be so humble the greater is his vertue that he is so humble but he teacheth us to measure our humility not by the greatnesse of our sute but by his greatnesse to whom we make our sute who is alwaies the same though our wants may be of diverse degrees You have the Centurions confession heare now Christs testimony Christ confesseth it strange if you looke to the man therefore Christ Himselfe doth wonder at it Christs wondring doth not suppose that beforehand he was ignorant of it but implies that of this effect there appeared small outward cause In which sense he wondreth at the infidelity of the Iewes unbeliefe on whom so many outward meanes wrought so little inward effect for he could not match this faith no not in all Israel yet were there many worthy believers But Chrysostome observeth well it is lesser wonder to heare a wise man speak wisely then to heare a plow man speake but probably for the lesse is expected the more is admired if there come that from any man which his meanes seeme not to promise nor can inable him to performe Howsoever therfore there might be found a match in regard of the effect yet if you looke to the cause there was none such to bee found no not in Israel Yea and the effect too went beyond the worthies that are recorded to have beleeved in Israel Martha's faith was but this Lord if thou hadst beene here my brother had not dyed She tyed Christs power to his corporall presence Saint Peter at Christs word ventured to walk upon the waters but he thought he should sinke if he had not Christ by the hand Yea the Virgin Mary had her Quomodo hoc fiet and untill the Angell told her Non est impossible apud Deum omne verbum she made not that blessed Confession Behold the servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word This man prevents all he expects no promise he doubts no distance of place hee desireth no touch of Christs hand Trouble not thy selfe Lord saith hee with any of these things only speake the word and my servant shall be whole Doth not Christ justly wonder at it in an heathen when he could find no example for to match it in those that were his chosen A plaine prognostication that the Church of the Gentiles should bee more renowned for faith than ever was the Church of the Iewes and that the seed of Abraham according to the faith should far excell his seed according to the flesh his faith was strange if you look to the man but if you look to the matter it was very true the event did prove it Christ spake the word and his servant was made whole Saint Ambrose Christ takes no time neither desires opportunity of place vertue goes from him more than can be discerned in him Even when a cloud doth intercept the brightnesse of the Sunne a quickning influence insensibly proceeds from him which vegetateth the earth Even a beame passed from Christ which cured that servant Even Christ was not seene and might seeme not to worke Christ now sitteth at the right hand of

sorts of meanes to compa● his end where●n all thinges serve him and who ha● resisted his will From without then there can been cause much lesse from within for his word before 〈◊〉 was spoken was tryed to the utttermost as the Psimist speaketh as silver tryed seven times in the fire the● is no error to bee corrected in it seeing as in wisedom God made all his workes so hath hee spoken all h● wordes and what hee hath wisely resolved hee wi● not unconstantly alter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Na● anzene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O●at 53. It is the foole that chan●eth like the Moone but Gods word is as the dir●● beames of the Sunne which passe through the aire 〈◊〉 moved of the windes and though reflected of the eart● yet grow they more bright more hot even so God tu●neth the rage of man to his praise Psal 76.10 hee restraineth his ●riousnes for with him there is no variablenes nor sha●● of change True it is that God is said to repent but 〈◊〉 Fathers joyntly agree that his repentance is mutati●● not affectus but effectus hee changeth his creatures 〈◊〉 changeable in himselfe even as a chirurgeon who 〈◊〉 gins with one kind of plaister when that hath wrou● his force layeth another kind doth not alter but p●●sue his former resolution which was by those dive plaisters to cure the sore even so whatsoever alterati●● befalls us God did eternally decree it an decree it as it befalls So then wee must acknowledge that his word much more his Oath is a standing word Psa 33.4 9 Zach. 1.6 Psa 119.89 1. Pet. 1.25 as the Scripture calleth it a prevayling Word an enduring word All flesh is grasse and the glory thereof but as the flower of the field the grasse withereth the flower fadeth but the word of the Lord abideth for ever saith Saint Peter Christ goeth further heaven and earth shall perish Mat. 5.18 one jote or one title of the Law shall not escape till all thinges bee fulfilled Particularly in one case thus saith the Lord If you can breake my Covenant of the day and my Covenant of the night that there should not bee day and night in their season then may my Covenant bee broken with David my servant Ier. 33.20 that hee should not have a sonne to raigne vpon his throne And what is our lesson Truely first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Nazianzene adviseth as neere as wee can though wee cannot as constantly as God not to have a heart and a heart Ps 119.106 but to say with King David I havesworne and am stedfastly purposed It were to bee wished there were such constancy in our Oaths so many would not retract the Oath of that Allegeance which they owe without an Oath The more is the envious man to bee looked unto that workes into simple consciences such erroneous conceipts Psa 58 9. Priusquam sentiantur spinae tam redivivam quàm adustam procellat quamque Deus Good husbands suffer tares to grow till harvest but they weed thistles before the corne bee ripe I leave the cutting of these thistles and thornes for they are to us as the Canaanites were to Israel I leave them I say to the temporall sword whom it concernes neerely that their field bee not overgrowen with them even asmuch as the losse of their harvest in stead whereof they may else one day scarce find a gleaning But because their field is also Gods it were to be wished that whatsoever is done to the seducers the seduced might be better and oftner informed There is no doubt but if a wise and constant course were taken Gods blessing would be as great in preserving truth and bringing to the truth as the Devils malice in corrupting so many silly unstable soules This care sleepes in the Letters of Lawes and Canons it would be awakened to doe as much as Church and Common-weale have thought meet But to leave them and conclude with our selves Of the Patriarchs Wisd c. 18. v 6. the Wiseman saith that knowing to what Oaths they had given credit they were of good cheere In imitation of whom Saint Paul said J know whom I have trusted and that hee is able to keepe that which I have committed to him untill that day Wherefore let us listen to Saint Peter and commit our selves unto God as unto a faithfull Creator for as King David saith No man ever trusted in him and was confounded and David was the person to whom God sware in that truth from which he would not shrinke Let us come then from the warrant to the promise and therein consider the persons of whom it stands First to whom the promise was made This person was David God sware to David Though no mans worth is such as to deserve ought at Gods hands for every mans worth is Gods gift Quid habes quod non accepisti and no man must boast as if he had not received it yet God never entred into Covenant with any that was not of extraordinary worth You may perceive it in the story of Noah Abraham Phinees But we have now to doe with David of him God himselfe doth witnesse that he was a man after his own heart Hom. de David Saul that is as St. Chrys expounds it there was between God and that King Individuus amor conjuncta Charitas idem velle idem nolle Which agreeth with that addition St. Paul puts to Gods Word he will doe omnes voluntates meas all my wils for he was eminent in more than one vertue Eccl. 47.3 ut supra Looke on him as a private man how valiant hee played with Lions as with Kids and with Beares as with Lambes And yet how patient millies meruit martyrij coronam saith Chrysostome he was a thousand fold Martyr Looke on him as a King caring for the Church hee spake truly of himselfe the zeale of thine house hath consumed me Which the Sonne of Syrach excellently resembles As the fat separated from the peace offering so was David chosen on t of the Children of Israel Now the fat was only Gods part the rest of the sacrifice was divided betweene the Priests and the offerer so David dedicated it wholly unto God as if none else had any interest in him and yet behold when he commeth to deale with the common-wealth what saith he the earth and all the Inhabitants thereof are out of joynt I beare up the pillars thereof Saint Chrysostome did not lavish when he said In natura humana vitam praestitit angelicam for doe not the Angels also behold the face of God and yet are they ministring spirits for their sakes that shall be heires of salvation So David was indeed the annointed Cherub that covereth and God set him in honour upon the holy mountaine You have not heard all he committed sundry enormous sins yet such was his Repentance the Psalmes are monuments of it that Theodoret