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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	word_n	work_n	young_a	26	3	6.2483	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01753	A briefe treatice of election and reprobation with certen ansvvers to the obiections of the aduersaries of thys doctrine: vvritten by Anthonie Gylbie.	Gilby, Anthony, ca. 1510-1585.	1575 (1575)	STC 11885; ESTC S103156	25,258	74

Peter sayth To the Elect by the foreknowledge of God the father 1. Pet. 1. Then to know what this Election of God is and what in the Scriptures it dothe signifye Wée describe and defyne Election to bée the frée choyce of the good wyll of the Almyghtie GOD appoynting and prescrybyng in the Booke of lyfe before the beginning of the world whom he will haue to be saued and compted amongest the iust Whom he will haue holy and without faulte before hym to bée his children by adoption to set foorth his glory This choyse this choosing this aforeappoynted purpose and ordinaunce of God is aboundauntlye set foorthe in the firste chapter to the Ephesians That this commeth of the frée wyll of God and hys onely grace freely without our deseruing contrary to the vayne opinion of the Papists and Anabaptists the same chapter and the nexte chapter folowing dothe plainely testifie Epe 1. 2. And most euidently the Lord in his maiestie speaking to his seruant Moyses Exod. 33. declared all this to stande of his mercy saying I will haue mercie vpon whom it liketh me and I will shew mercie where it shall be my pleasure for so is the meaning of those wordes I will haue mercy vpon whom I will haue mercy Paul also declaring in this place the woorke of God béetwixte these two children Iacob and Esau Romaynes 9. saythe thus of this frée Election whē Rebecca was with child with one and the same father Isaac before the children were borne when they had neyther done good nor bad that the purpose of God whiche is by Election mighte stande it was sayde to her not for the cause of workes but by the grace of the caller the elder shall serue the younger As it is written saythe hée Iacob I loued but Esau I hated Of the booke of life Moyses speaketh Exod. 32. And Christ himselfe Luk. 10. Saying to his Apostles Ioy you and be glad for your names are written in the boke of life in the heauens And in the 69. Psalme it is spoken against the wicked Let them not be written amongst the Iust and put them foorth of the booke of life And agaynst the false Prophet Ezechiel 13. He shall not be in the counsaile of my people nor written in the booke of the house of Israell There be two finall causes also of this eternal purpose of the election the which Paule rehearseth in the first chapter to the Ephesians the one toucheth God the other perteineth to man He hath Elected vs béefore the foundations of the worlde sayth the Apostle that wée mighte be holy and without blame And thys answereth the wicked which would abuse the mercies of God to their lust Againe it followeth He hath Predestinate vs that he might choose vs to be hys chyldren that hys name may bée praysed And this stoppeth the mouthes of al our Aduersaries that say that thys doctrine is not to the prayse of God so that they must cease to slaunder this doctrine vnlesse they wil hinder the glory of God and denie the open Scriptures Nowe it is to be noted and marked dyligently that thys woorde Election is taken after two sortes in the Scripture some tymes as it signifieth absolutely the frée choyse will and appointment of God without the respecte of the reuelation of the woorde and message of saluatyon And thus speaketh the holy Apostle Saincte Paule of Election saying of the carnal Iacob They were enimies concernyng the Gospel for your cause but concernyng the Election they are beloued for their parents For the gyftes of God and hys callyng are suche that hée can not repente Euen as you once were mysbeléeuers from God but nowe haue attayned mercie by theyr mysbeléefe that they should attayne mercie also Thys Election expresseth absolutely the secret purpose of God without the respect o●●●uelation of the woorde or any of our workes followyng Vnder thys first kynde of Election were those hundreth and twenty thousande whiche God dyd choose and kéepe vnto hymselfe in Niniue amongst the Idolaters and the seuen thousande which God dyd leaue for hymselfe in Israel in the thirde booke of kings the. 19. chap. Yea those that yet are not are thus elect chosen and amongst al nations both Iewes in thys long blindnes banishment from their countrey amongst the Turkes in theyr Idolatrous wickednesse yea amongst the Edomites the Sabees the Indians and Ethiopians And in the late blyndnesse of the Popishe church wherein we togither wyth our fathers were altogether Idolatrous all Hypocrites and counterfaite Christians thys absolute Election whereby the mercyfull Lorde God did reserue and kéepe hys chosen vnto him in all places all ages all countreys without respect of persons dyd most euidently appeare Howbeit this secresie of election muste onely bée lefte to the Maiestie of God where when how and whom he thereby saueth and sheweth his mercy For to the blynde iudgemente of man all these people rehearsed and suche like séemeth reiect reprobate and caste away as appeareth by Ionas condemning the Niniuites by Elias cōdemning the Israelites and a long while vntil God had by miracle from Heauen deliuered hym from that errour vnto the chiefe Apostle Peter iudgeing all the Gentiles to bée a polluted people farre from the fauour of God. The seconde kynde of Election is set forth and knowen euident and open by the spirit of God working in the harts of the elect and chosen by fayth and trust in God his promises through Christ teaching vs that we are the children of God chosen to him selfe by Iesus Christe from the beginning and therfore preparing vs to an holy and blamelesse lyfe to the laude prayse of the grace of god The which Election besides the dayly experience of our consciences may bée approued by the testimonies of these Scriptures compared togither Esay 59. Rom. 8. Ephe. 1. Coloss 3. and a very briefe and perfecte description of thys Election 2. thess. 2. in these wordes We ought to thanke God that he hath chosen you from the beginning by the sanctifying of the spirite and the beléefe of the truth to the which he hath called you by our Gospell to attayne the glory of our Lorde Iesus Christe By this gratious election was Iacob dearely beloued in his mothers wombe and Ieremy knowne vnto God before he was fashioned in his mothers wombe Ieremie 1. And to be short all other the eleect of God are thus chosen sanctified and beloued from the beginning from before the foundations of the world frō euerlasting to euerlasting For there is no change of tyme with God séeyng that all thinges are present in his sighte For vnto him a thousande yeares are but one day but the course change of times are in vs our déedes our knowledge in mans chaungeable wisedome This Election must of necesitie driue downe the pryde we haue of our owne strength our owne power our owne nature our owne frée wil our owne merits our owne iustification of our owne workes and bryng vs

repente and liue And vnto wycked Ierusalem sayth our sauiour Christ O Ierusalem Ierusalem which slayest the Phrophets and stonest them that are sente vnto thée Howe oft would I haue gathered togither thy children as the Hen gathereth hir chickens vnder hir winges and thou wouldest not Lo thy house therefore is left desolate Math. 23. Lo héere appeareth the goodnesse of the liuing Lord so diligently calling the wicked to hym by his woord by his Prophets by his messengers and at the length by his owne sonne that hée cannot in any case be accompted the aucthor of their euill nor cause of their fall But contrariwise their owne wilfull and wicked stobbernesse is the cause of their euill and the onely occasion of theire fall as it is written Thy perdicion and destruction is of thine owne selfe but onely of me is thy saluation And infinite scriptures to the same purpose appertayning That wée may say wyth Daniel vnto thée O Lorde belongeth ryghteousnesse and to vs the shame and coueryng of our faces Daniel 9. Secondly The testimony of the consciences of the wycked whiche shall accuse or excuse them at the greate day which is alwayes of the force and valure of a thousande witnesses which is the worme that shal neuer dye but gnawe the wycked for euer Esa. 46. This conscience I say of theyrs shall condemne the wicked and what shall God then doo Or wherin is his dreadfull maiestie to bée charged Cayne by hys owne conscience is compelled to confesse greater is my wickednes then can be remitted Thou castsest me from the face of the earth sayth he and I must hyde me from thy face Loo the iuste iudgmente of God and his worthy condemnation openly confessed Who dare then blame God Cayn dare in no wise do it Neither yet proud Pharao who condemned in hys owne harte and conscience accuseth him self and his people and iustifieth God deliuering all men from this wicked blasphemy saying openly I haue synned nowe the Lord is iuste and I and my people are wycked Exodus 9. What doth Iudas Dothe he not cry likewise I haue synned betraying thys innocent bloude Mathew 27. And to vtter in déede that thing he felts within hys breste hée is compelled to take aduengance and execute a iudgement moste terrible agaynst hym selfe vttering to all the world hym selfe moste wicked and that the iustice of God punishyng such wycked traytours and murtherers oughte moste worthily to be feared magnified and reuerenced throughout the whole world Lyke as all the other wycked and desparate persons whiche for anguishe of heart and terrour of conscience do murther them selues doth euidently and continually wytnesse vnto the worldes ende that there is a iust Lord the God of iudgemente whom they doe feare and before whose face they dare not appeare to accuse hym of any synne but rather takyng the crime blame shame and punishmente vnto them selues who worthyly by their owne conscience haue deserued it dothe thus tormente them selues and with violente handes aduenge the synne they haue ●…ommytted in theyr owne synnefull soules and bodyes Thus muste God alwayes be found iust and ouercome when he is iudged by the testimonie of our own conscience whiche shall accuse or excuse vs at the great day Roma 2. Wherefore let no man be so foolyshe to say that God is the author of euill vnlesse he will be accompted worse than Cayn more proude than Pharao more wicked than Iudas or any other the Reprobate from the beginning Thirdly the nature of sinne being defyned by the authoritie of scriptures to be a thought worde or déed contrary to the wil of god For such things onely defyle the man as Christ our master sayth Mathew 15. and therfore are onely to be accompted sinne No such thought can be attrybuted or ascrybed vnto God as can be against his will therfore no sinne can be hys woorke Neyther canne he bée the aucthor of euill whiche therefore is called God bycause hée is the aucthor and gyuer of al good and so farre from euill that hée turneth all oure euill too some good oure synne to the vttering of his grace our lyes to the declaration of his truthe No this is the perfect worke master whiche worketh all things without faulte or trespasse all other doo fayle faulte and trespasse and sinne in all their works that he may be iustified in al his dooings and al creatures fall downe before his face and presence Who though he do worke al in al things yet doth he worke the same to suche godly ende and purpose knowen onely to hys maiestie that though we be compelled to say God is the author of the fact yet must we answere but not of the crime Bicause he is the master of the house and Lorde ouer the familie and therefore may do any thing without the blame of his seruants And like as that whiche is no fault in the master of the house is a great faulte many times in any of his seruantes bicause it is the breaking of their masters commaundement Euen so doubtlesse the selfe same worke is sinne in God his seruants and creatures which to God is no sinne but an ordinary worke appoynted for some speciall purpose eyther for the manifestation of his power as was the hardening of Pharao or for the declaration of his mercy as was the fall of Dauid of Peter of Marie Magdalen and all other repētant sinners And wherfore I pray you may not this Lord thus vse his owne seruauntes without any blame of sinne séeing that he hath created and made them all onely to serue hys glorie hys iustice and hys mercie Or howe can he be vniuste or the author of anye synne by whome all the worlde muste be iudged and broughte to the balance of iustice and equitie When the first worlde shall be condemned for their sinne and iniquitie and we nowe liuing shall be iudged for oure sinnes specially all those whiche not onely doe euyll themselues but are authors and faultors to wycked doers Romanes 1. Fourthly The maiestie of God can be subiect to no sinne bicause it can be vnder no lawe And that onely is worthely called sinne which is done agaynst a Lawe therefore no worke that God dothe oughte to be accompted euill eyther that he is the occasion of any euyll whiche onely is the minde sence spirite and power of the Lawe wythout whom no lawe of it selfe is good For euerie good lawe is the minde will and commaundement of God and what so euer lawe is not the mynde wyll and commaundement of God as was the lawes of the Scribes and Phariseys and of the cursed Papists the same be wicked who of necessitie were set vp the body of Antichrist to vtter their vnrighteousnesse that Christe the sonne of righteousnesse the head of his body in his manyfolde mercies more playnely might appeare and shine with more glory Agayne to define sinne to be the affection motion or operation of any reasonable creature agaynst the law of