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
A11074	Meditations of instruction, of exhortation, of reprofe indeauouring the edification and reparation of the house of God.	Rous, Francis, 1579-1659.	1616 (1616)	STC 21342; ESTC S100007	103,738	488

vnion with him haue a perfect wisedome and are in him perfectly wise Let vs therefore esteeme our selues others more or lesse wise as we are more or lesse partakers of that high and infinite wisedome and therein especially let vs striue for Supereminence If in this litle and narrow knowledge of man wee only excell others it may bee a iust ground of cōtempt against our selues rather then a reason of that pride which is commonly assumed and imployed in despising others For those whom this humane wisedome despiseth may haue an assured Right in the Diuine wisedome which in the foolishnesse thereof is wiser then the wisest of men and which being wise approoues her children for the most wise for iustifying of her and which finally shall raise vp her meanest children in so true an image of God that in regard of their new vnderstanding the Schoole-taught knowledge euen of old Doctors shall bee ashamed of the name of knowledge and shall appeare to bee but as the rudiments of children Let Christ therefore be the wisedome by which mankinde should be especially measured and valued so shall the iudging of them be according to truth not outward appearance we shall iudge the iudgement of God and not of man 13 If any man haue done some excellent worke by wit learning or valour we ascend presently from the excellencie of the worke to the excellencie of the worker imagining him to be a fountaine wherof his work is but a streame and wee earnestly desire to see the more excellent cause of so excellent an effect This is the ordinary course of naturall Men yet is there a most notable and incomprehensible worke the worke that containeth all humane workes yea man himselfe and this worke is daily seene but few ascend from the worke to consider the worker and much fewer desire to see him and fewest of all wonder that they doe not desire Surely to a rectified soule it is a great wonder that for Atchieuements small in comparison of this great one wee should looke vp with loue admiration to their cause but for this huge worke we should not lift vp our eyes and desires to the cause thereof which indeed comprehendeth causeth all other causes But againe the same soule ceaseth to wonder when it lookes on the fall of man for therin it sees mans chiefest corruption was in that fleshly wisedome which hath blinded vs to the Creator makes vs broad-sighted to the creature which hath put the head of a beast into the heart of a man and makes him looke downward with the beasts from the maker to things made But it is our part to vnhood our selues as much as we may from this vizard of wisedome and to iudge of things according to cleare truth not blinde opinion Let vs pursue truth as long as it lasteth not so long only as our muffled vnderstanding doth naturally and easily follow and apprehend it In this course of outgoing nature yet let vs set our first foote in her owne pathe So on her ground we fasten this that the Author is more excellent then the worke the cause then the effect and therefore if it be pleasant or glorious to see and know the worke and effect it is farre more pleasant glorious to see the cause and author himselfe But whereas grouelling nature applies this rule only to these lower things we knowing that the truth thereof proceeds further yea reacheth especially to the cause of causes let vs out-strip nature and follow this truth vntill it leade vs into an amazing wonder a feruent loue a longing desire to see that great producer of all excellent workes that infinite being from whom all this masse of Creation hath his Being and who as farre exceedeth in wisedome power and glory the created wisedome power and glory as an infinite and indeterminable cause may effects finite and determined 14 If God haue reuealed a truth to vs which hath bin long concealed let vs not seeke to haue our selues proclaimed as the fountaines of that truth nor draw followers to our selues but to it and by it to God For God is the Author and fountaine of all truth and of the reuelation of truth and so the truth found is Gods and the finding of the truth appertaines to the grace of God Therefore let vs desire to get glory to him to whom the glory indeede belongs And humbly thanking God that among many of his excellent seruants hee hath vouchsafed to vse vs in the reuealing of it let vs steale away our own names if we may from the honour thereof leauing the whole glory to the name of God whose worke it is If thus we draw men to the truth by the truth vnto God not to Paul or Cephas but vnto Christ this seeking of gods glory with the losse of our owne will God reward with infinite glorie whereas the setting vp of our selues in Gods stead the iealous God will punish with extreame torments as most odious idolatry Yet euen in this life to such humble seers doth honour belong though not the honour of fountaines yet the honour of cesternes euen the honour due to such as God honours by committing to them his oracles and secrets And euen to their humility belongeth honour for humility is Gods way to preferment which though it takes away the value of our selues to our selues yet as an excellent grace it ought to increase the same value in the sight of others as it doth in the sight of God 15 When there comes any pleasure to be lost or paine to bee suffered for Gods sake let vs set vp a balance in our hearts in one scale let vs set the temporal pleasure we lose and in the other the eternall pleasure we gaine by this losse and wee shall see the weight of this latter to bee infinitely exceeding So likewise for paine let vs set the temporall paine in one balance and the eternal in the other and wee shall see there also the weight of eternal paine farre to exceed that of the temporall Now if we vse but our ordinarie iudgement of good things to chuse the greatest and of euils to chuse the least we shal presently consent with the losse of temporall pleasure to procure eternal ioy and with the enduring of temporall paine to auoide paine eternall especially since with the auoiding of that eternall torment the exceeding weight of ioy is ioyntly procured 16 There is a great craft of Satan which passeth too much vnmarked or vnresisted and this it is That he seekes by all meanes to keepe his owne kingdome whole and vndeuided and to diuide by schismes and contentions the kingdome and body of Christ that by the malice of such contentions the flocke of Christ may bite one another and consequently deuoure one another and so doe Satans busines for him But it behoueth Christians to note this his cunning and with detestation to beware that they be not Satans in struments nor become those mad members

the new life we ascribe glory to him for our Election for our Iustification for our Regeneration which are the maine works of our saluation and are the ioynt-workes of the vndiuided Trinitie But yet we can follow this truth no farder then it goes before vs. Therfore when we come to regeneration there must we stop and looke no further for saluation for therein is our saluation accomplished and all the parts thereof perfected If after we will goe on to workes as to further causes of our saluation we goe beyond the truth being past the God-head and come vnto man For though it may be said that God worketh these workes in man yet man ioyneth therein with God Now the saluation of man is deriued into man from God alone and is then absolute and full in parts whē Election Iustification and Regeneration the absolute and only workes of the Trinity haue wrought vpon him For regeneration hauing put into man the seede of God which is the seede of life Man is then translated from death to life and hauing begotten him the Sonne of God hee is then the heire of promised glory and eternitie Indeed works comming after the state and right of life and glorie their goodnesse as it comes from God so it shall be rewarded by God increasing the degrees of that glory wherein before we had an vndeniable property and title Therefore works adde not a new part of saluation but only increase the issues and fruit of a part formerly possessed Accordingly doth the Diuine song of that rauished soule orderly declare Gods sauing of vs from our enemies to goe before our seruing of God in holinesse all the daies of our life So workes themselues are placed as fruits of our saluation and therefore the glory giuen to workes is but as the fruite of the fruite of saluation But why then shall it be said Come yee blessed for ye fed mee and blessed are they that keepe the commandements that their right may bee in the tree of Life So that good works seeme to iustifie and saue in the day of iudgement Herein comparisons may inlighten though not prooue If a man haue a wife of a suspected life whose many children when the dying husband calleth before him hee saith to those that liuely represent him Come to mee the true sonnes of Mee your Father you truely resemble mee therefore to you shall bee giuen the inheritance of your Father Here for their countenance and proportion is the inheritance adiudged to them yet is it not for that indeed giuen them but because thereby they are iudged to be sonnes for which Son-ship the inheritance is verily giuen them So doth God in his great iudgement he will iudge men to bee his sonnes by their good workes it being impossible that good works can come from any cause but Regeneration and for the regenerate sonnes was the kingdome of glorie long agone prepared euen by that election which was before the world So the word For doth not still imply the cause it selfe but sometimes an inseparable signe annexed to the cause as if it should be said My sonnes are heires of my kingdome those which are my sonnes and they only bring forth the works of loue these workes haue I seene in you therefore do I acknowledge you to bee my sonnes enter into your Fathers ioy 28 There are two things without in the word which witnesse it to bee excellent aboue nature A supernaturall truth and a supernaturall holinesse There are also two supernaturall things within a Christian which ioyne their inward witnessing to the outward A supernaturall inlightning to acknowledge and beleeue this truth and a supernaturall vertue changing the will into a conformity with this holinesse So in the mouth of many witnesses standeth firme the truth of diuine truth 29 Man and the earth are growne wilde by the fall of Adam both bring foorth weedes of their owne nature But as the earth is cured by husbandrie good seed so by the regeneration of Christ the chiefe husbandman and the seede of the word man is brought into a fruitfull nature and hath a remedy for the first Adam by the last Blessed be the word which is God and reuerenced and desired be the word of that Word which is of God for of them is our life and health 30 As a man in his first conuersion yeelded himselfe into a generall submission vnto the spirit so must hee doe in euery particular action and then most resolutely when sin tempteth most strongly our selues Wee made our couenant at first for the whole and continually we must performe the parts of the promised whole When we gaue our selues to the spirit of dead branches to be made liuely branches withall inclusiuely we gaue our selues to bring forth the continuall fruite of liuing branches which is done by a continuall sucking of life from the spirit which quickneth vs. Now if we rest contented onely with our first ingrafting though the Almightinesse of him whose seed is immortall and who wil not faile of his end may preserue vs aliue yet do we what wee may to kill our selues and to falsifie our couenant with him who therefore beeing offended will chastise vs with temporall iudgements and desertions and will shew that when hee is angry he is a consuming fire But let the true sonnes keepe neere to their father let them keepe close to his spirit moouing at euery motion of it and filling the wants in their Lampes with the continuall oyle thereof for this spirit is our very life and the witnesse thereof By our generall resignation this life entred and by particular resignation this life increaseth so the more we sow to this spirit the more we shal reape of life eternal Again as a mā in his great main conuersion from a sinner guilty to a sanctified and iustified man goeth ouer himself in general with y t iudgement of the Law whereby finding himselfe a man of death he flieth vnto Christ who baptizeth him from his guilt and sinfulnesse by his Bloud and Spirit giuing both his actuall righteousnes and the spirits habitual righteousnesse so after the committing of euery particular sin we shold go ouer it with a particular iudgment of y e Law wherby acknowledging it to be a worke of death wee should flie to a particular applicatiō of the great Baptisme that so putting away the particular guilt of that sinne by the washing of Christs blood and the particular vncleannesse of that sinne by the washing of Christs Spirit we which before were generally clensed and iustified may also haue a particular and continual clensing and iustification For our inward and outward Baptisme though at once performed is of continual vse and daily wee must haue a recourse thereto to wit by the outward remembring and passing to the inward that the stocke of iustification and sanctification at first imparted may be daily applied and distributed to our particular necessities And thogh being in Christ we