Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	call_v	lord_n	time_n	2,016	5	3.3947	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68954	A three-fold treatise containing the saints sure and perpetuall guide. Selfe-enriching examination. Soule-fatting fasting. Or, meditations, concerning the word, the sacrament of the Lords Supper, and fasting. By the labours of that late Reverend, and learned divine, Master Robert Bolton ...	Bolton, Robert, 1572-1631.	1634 (1634)	STC 3255; ESTC S106789	149,468	268

selfe-conceitedly to gaze upon that little sparke of holinesse hee findes in himselfe let him presently turne backe the edge and eye of this dangerous speculation upon the infinite puritie and endlesse perfection of God Almightie before whom the Cherubins and Seraphins the Crowne of Gods workemanship and the glory of creatures doe hide and cover their faces as not able to behold and endure the perfect brightnesse of his most pure and undefiled Majestie In whose sight the unstained splendour of the Heavens and the glorious beautie of the Starres are uncleane and foule darkenesse and deformitie The Sunne the fairest Body in the World made all of beautie and brightnesse if it were put neere unto that unaccessible and incomprehensible Light which encompasseth the Lord of Heaven it would vanish away as a darkesome Moat and Lumpe of Vanitie Nay in respect of God those divine and heavenly creatures the blessed Angels pure and immateriall spirits are chargeable with folly and vanitie Behold he found no stedfastnesse in his Saints yea the Heavens are not cleare in his sight How much more is man abominable and filthie which drinketh iniquitie like water Iob 15. 15 16. What art thou then wretched man that carriest about thee a Body of death Shall not his excellencie make thee afraid and his feare fall upon thee Behold saith Iob he will give no light unto the Moone and the Starres are uncleane in his sight How much more man a Worme even the sonne of a man which is but a Worme Behold he found no stedfastnesse in his servants and laid folly upon his Angels How much more in them that dwell in Houses of Clay whose foundation is in the Dust which shall be destroyed before the Moth These considerations are able to confound and cast downe below the Earth and Dust the greatest admirer and applauder of himselfe for his graces good actions and spirituall perfections When the Christian is tempted to a proud conceit of his spirituall sufficiencies let him compare himselfe with other Saints of God which perhaps having beene lesse sinners than himselfe in the time of their unregeneration and having lesse meanes parts occasions and encouragements to glorifie God yet excell him in zeale sanctification and the service of God Paul that great Doctor of the Gentiles and glorious Angell upon Earth for all his spirituall blessings and incomparable graces cryes out Rom. 7. 24. Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death David a man after Gods owne heart and a speciall royall Mirror for varietie of spirituall excellencies is so farre from being proud of his graces that hee is every where complaining of the burthen of his sinnes spirituall povertie and want and the miseries of his soule There is no health in my flesh saith he because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sinne for my wickednesses are gone over my head and are like a sore burthen too heavie for me to beare For his reputation in the World he tells us that he was a Worme and no man a very scorne of men and out-cast of the people In all times the best Christians have ever beene most sensible of the weight of their sinnes and corruption of their nature and from thence entertained a lowly conceit of themselves Where there is the greatest measure of sanctification there is ever the greatest humilitie If those then that be indeed in the highest favour with God lesser sinners than our selves and most sanctified be of an humble and lowly minde of a meeke and quiet spirit which is before God a thing much set by 1 Pet. 3. 4. let us take heed how we be proud of those graces which if we looke for Gods blessing upon them and comfort from them must bring forth in us humilitie and thankefulnesse Let him compare and examine and measure himselfe his wayes and workes by the Law of God and hee shall there finde much matter of humiliation repentance feare and trembling with continuall supply in abundance ministred unto him so that there shall be no roome left for any proud and over-weening conceit of any good thing in him That elect Vessell and great Apostle after he was regenerate for the unregenerate feele no such strife found such a vast and wide distance betweene the Law and his owne affections and best workes that for horror thereof he cryed out Oh miserable man that I am What spirituall good then is there in any of us miserable wretches wherein we should glory Let our best workes be as glorious as we can imagine let them be performed with never so great integritie and resolution cover them with grace derive them from the Holy-Ghost dippe and dye them deepe in the bloud of Christ put upon them all the rich attire and Papall magnificence with which the Church of Rome hath invested them yet to the purest eyes of God and in the cleare Crystall of his undefiled Law they appeare to be foule and spotted impure and like a menstruous clout The measuring then of our selves by the Law and Word of God is a notable meanes to keepe us in humilitie and to make us worke out our salvation with feare and trembling Let him consider what a foule and wretched what a damned and an accursed creature hee had beene had not his gracious God out of the unsearchable depth of his infinite goodnesse and mercie singled him out to be his servant upon Earth and a Saint in Heaven It was onely Gods free mercie that before all eternitie by the great Decree of his eternall election marked him out for Heaven and endlesse joyes from amidst the huge masse of all mankind It was the same that after caused him to send his owne and onely Sonne out of his owne Bosome and height of Majesty that with his dearest and precious bloud hee might redeeme his Soule from the snares of Hell into which hee was fallen by Adams fall which in due time by the inward speciall and effectuall power of his unspotted Spirit called him into his Kingdome of Grace washed him justified and sanctified him in the Name of the Lord Iesus Else otherwise had not these everlasting and unconceivable Blessings beene cast upon him by Gods free meere mercie without all cause or motive from man or any other created thing out of his infinite Selfe his case had beene unspeakably wofull For he should have lived in this Vale of Teares without God without Grace without Comfort without Conscience in Sinne in Darkenesse in Prophanenesse in all Spirituall Miseries And after the closure and period of these few and evill dayes he should have beene endlessely divided and abandoned from the joyes and comforts of Gods presence inchained without all redemption to despaire and horror and the hatefull fellowship of the Devill and his Angels and that which is the extremitie and upshot of all hellish miserie hee

content to toyle day after day fare hard breake their sleepe eate the Bread of carefulnesse and all to heape up a little wealth perhaps with the losse of their owne soules and sometimes they scarce know for whom and shall not wee with joy and chearefulnesse passe through holy Exercises for the enriching of our soules wherein true and lasting comfort is onely to be found and whereby we may lay up for our selves Treasures in Heaven durable Riches a Bag that cannot wax old a Treasure that can never faile Prov. 8. 18. Luk. 12. 33. unmixed joyes endlesse peace and blessed immortalitie presently to be entred upon after death and then to be enjoyed for ever and ever Shall rebellious Superstition and the Doctrine of Devils and killing Kings harden the Papists against any crosses and tortures and shall we be tyred with the peaceable Exercises of sound saving Religion God forbid In whom soever the true love of God and Christ hath taken up the heart there their Gospel and Word and services are sweeter and more tastfull than all outward delights Little touch of Religion or sense of Salvation hath hee that comes unto with unchearefulnesse and stayes with wearinesse at the Ministerie of the Word I but will some say it was never good World since so much preaching came amongst us when there was lesse preaching there was more plentie and therefore it seemes there is little good in it Since this new Religion was on foot for so some ignorantly and maliciously call it though it be as old as God himselfe whose eternall Truth it is as old as the Patriarks and Prophets as Christ and his Apostles there hath beene say they more scarcitie of all things more Plagues Famines strange apparitions extremitie of seasons and other Iudgements than ever our fore-fathers saw or heard of Hospitalitie Charitie Pastimes and Plentie were banished with the old Religion for so they call the bloudie and idolatrous Heresie of Poperie This hath ever beene the complaint of Idolaters and the wicked against the Truth of God as it is now of the Papists prophane men amongst us against the glorious Light of the Gospel that shines round about us When Ieremy chap. 44. had reproved the Iewes and denounced Gods Iudgements against them for their Idolatry they answer him thus in vers 16. The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord we will not heare it of thee but we will doe whatsoever thing goeth out of our mouth as to burne incense to the Queene of Heaven and to poure out drink-offerings unto her as we have done both we and our fathers our Kings and our Princes in the Cities of Iudah and in the streetes of Ierusalem for then had we plenty of victuals and were well and felt no evill But since we left off to burne incense to the Queene of Heaven and to poure out drink-offerings unto her we have had scarcenesse of all things and have bin consumed by the sword and by the famine The very same complaint was made of the wicked Heathens and Infidels at the first plantation of Christian Religion among the Gentiles Tertullian an ancient Father tells us in his time If there were any inundation and overflowing of Tibris a great River in Rome if there were any extraordinarie and uncouth Hayle or Frost or any other miserie or calamitie all the fault was presently laid on Christ and the Christian Religion It appeares also by Austin another ancient Father in his 122. Epistle that there were wicked complaints and murmurings against the Christian Faith in his time the Infidels were still crying that before the Doctrine of Christ was published to the World mankind was not vexed and distressed with so many troubles and garboyles To which the good Father doth there excellently answer Out of Luke 12. 47 48. easily saith he may they thence take their answer The servant that knew not his Masters will and yet did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes but he that knew his Masters will and prepared not himselfe neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes Hence then may wee clearely see the reason why our Times in all reason should be more visited with Iudgements than former dayes of ignorance 1 Because that the Light of the Gospel is come amongst us and many love Darknesse rather than that Light because their deeds are evill for every man that doth evill hateth the Light neither commeth to the Light lest his deeds should be reproved 2 Because the Gospel is not so thankefully received and entertained as so excellent a Blessing and precious a Treasure ought to be 3 Many that heare it live not after it Perhaps onely make a shew of godlinesse but deny the power thereof in their lives and conversations So that negligence and disobedience to the Word of God is the true cause of those Iudgements and miseries which are wickedly wrongfully pretended to bee a cause why they have so little care to attend and obey it As for Hospitality in the time of Popery it did not so much spring from the truth of Religion as 1. From a superstitious opinion of redeeming their sinnes and purchasing Heaven by almes-deeds 2. From an excessive cheapnesse of all things by reason of the scarcity of money 3. From the superfluitie of the wealth riches lands and impropriations the price of the bloud of soules which Monasteries and other religious or rather superstitious houses had immeasurably and unconscionably ingrossed and got into their hands And when they had ingrossed the world to themselves as one sayes they seemed liberall in giving something like unto some vaine-glorious theeves which having robbed wealthy Merchants bestow some pence upon beggers As for works of Charity Certaine it is and a reverend and learned man of our Church hath proved it and it will more clearly appeare hereafter That the charitable benevolence bountifull liberalitie large expences in building and enlarging Colledges and erecting Hospitals Libraries Free-schooles and many other works of charity and fruits of faith since the light of the Gospell began to shine amongst us may compare with if not farre excell any time of the like or longer continuance in any age As for greater dearth higher price of all things now than in former times it is a cleare and plaine case that the reason is that the great store and plentie of treasure which is walking in these parts of the world farre more in these our dayes than ever our forefathers have seene in times past Who doth not understand of the infinite summes of Gold and Silver which are gathered from the Indies and other Countries and so yearly transported into these coasts And this is confest to be the true cause of the same unancient dearnesse of all things even in other Kingdomes also where Popery is professed One Bodin a great