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	speak_v	word_n	1,857	5	3.8643	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09999	The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in fiue sermons vpon I Thess. 5.17. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670.	1629 (1629)	STC 20251; ESTC S105990	87,396	182

holy man but an hypocrite goes betweene both hee would doe something at it but hee will not doe it throughlie And therefore if thou finde thou hast●…●…ubbered over this dutie from day to day that thou performest it in a negligent manner and perfunctorilie know that it is an hypocriticall performance and therefore when wee spend so much time in exhorting you to a constant course in this dutie still remember that you must performe it in such a manner that it may haue heate and life in it that it may be acceptable to God and do good to your own hearts to bring them to a more holie frame of grace and to a better temper then it may bee you found them in when you went about the dutie And if you obiect now I but it will cost vs much time to doe this Indeed one common cause amongst the rest that keeps vs off from the through performance of this dutie is this but to speake to that in a word remember this that the time that is spent in calling vpon God hinders you not in your businesse though it seem to hinder you and though it takes so much from the heape yet indeed it increaseth the heape as it is said of tithes and offerings bring them in and thinke not that because you ●…en the heape that you are poorer men no saith the Lord it will increase your store I will open the windowes of heauen and you shall haue so much the more for it so it is true in this case In other things you see it well enough You know the ba●…ting of the horse hinders not the iourney and the oyling of the wheele and the whetting of the sithe though there bee a stop in the work for a time yet as our 〈◊〉 saying is a whet is no let and the doing of this is no impediment Secondly put the case it were yet is it not the greater businesse what is it that you g●… by all your labours and trauailes if it bee riches it comes not into any comparison with grace and holinesse with that riches wherewith prayer makes you rich But say it bee some●… 〈◊〉 noble then that as learning and knowledge yet what is that to the renewing of Gods image in vs were it not better to spend time to get grace to make vs rich to God to make vs to get strength in the inward man to passe through all varieties of afflictions in getting that which is the chiefest excellencie of all others for is not that the best excellencie When Adam was in Paradise the having of Gods Image you know it excelled all other excellencies in the world and so it doth still and the more you pray the more you get of this image for a man of much praier is alwaies a man of much grace it much increaseth those spirituall gifts which are better then al the outward things you can get by your imploiment and diligence in them therefore I say though it doe spend you much time yet know as Christ said to Mary he that praies much though he be a great looser in other things yet he chooseth the better part Last of all consider this when thou commest to offer sacrifice to God wouldest thou offer that which cost thee nothing if thy continuing in prayer and spending much time in it should cost thee some disadvantage in thy affairs and should loose thee that which another gaines that thou gettest not so much knowledge as another man doth thou doest not so much in thy trade in thy businesse thou doest not set things in order as thou mightest haue done yet know this that it is great wisedome to make our service to God costlie to vs you know Dauids choise Shall I offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing and therfore he would needes giue the worth to 〈◊〉 the lebusue for that which he bought and therefore since it is to a good master that sees what you doe that knowes what it costeth and what losse you are at and withall that is willing and able to recompence it why should you shorten this businesse and post it over because of other occasions and other businesse that you haue to doe Oh but a man will say further I am willing to doe it but I am vnfit for it and it may be the longer I striue the more vnfit I grow To this I answer first in generall if thou doe it as well as thou canst though thou do it not so well as thou wouldest in this case God accepts the will for the deed when a man puts his strength to it when there is no indiligence in him when there is no lazinesse for in that case he will not accept the will for the deed but when a man doth his vtmost as those that would haue giuen more and could not their will was accepted for the deed in 2. Cor. 8. 12. I say when thou doest what thou canst when thou sparest no labour to get thy heart vpon the wing to raise and quicken it and to inlarge it in this dutie there God accepts it But againe I adde further there is an vnskilfulnesse in going about this dutie many times when we are not fit we thinke to make our selues fitter by spending time in thoughts and meditations before which I denie not but they may be profitable but yet this I will propound to you that the best way to fit our selues to this duty when we finde an indisposition vnto it is not to stay till we haue prepared our selues by meditation but to fall presently vpon the dutie I will giue you the reason of it because though a preparation is required for the performance of eues rie spirituall dutie yet the remote preparation is that which is intended and meant when we say we must prepare for if we speake of that which is immediate the very doing of the dutie is the first preparation to it For example if a man were to runne a race if he were to doe any bodily exercise there must be strength of bodie hee must be fed well that he may haue abilitie but the vse of the very exercise it selfe the very particular act that is of the same kind with the exercise is the best to fit him for it so in this duty of prayer it is true to be strong in the inward man to haue much knowledge to haue much grace makes a man able and fit for the dutie but if you speake of the immediate preparation for it I say the best way to prepare vs is the very dutie it selfe as all actions of the same kinde increase the habits so prayer makes vs fit for prayer and that is a rule the way to godlinesse is in the compasse of godlinesse it selfe that is the way to grow in any grace is the exercise of that grace It is a point that Luther pressed and hee pressed it out of his owne experience

from day to day that thou keepest not thy heart right and strait and perfect before him thou doest not call vpon him in a holie and spirituall manner certainely it is for one of those causes thou hast it without a blessing and with a curse thou hast it for other ends and not for good to thy selfe and therfore thou hast it very vncertainelie it may bee tooke from thee thou knowest not how soone yea and this thou shalt be sure of that it shall bee taken from thee then when of all other times it will be vnfittest for thee as a theefe comes at a time when men least looke for him so destruction comes suddenly vpon these men God cuts them as a man when he would haue trees to die hee lops them in that season that of all others is the vnfittest when the sappt is in the tree when the lopping will cause them to vvither so the Lord vvill strike them in such a season It is quite contrary with the Saints hee cuts them in due season he lopps them in due time that they may grow the better for it it is good for them But now for the other part of the obiection it may be many among you now are ready to say I haue prayed for such and such things and I haue beene earnest and yet the Lord hath denied me my Beloved if we can satisfie this obiection we shall then take this impediment away that we propound in this obiection that hath these two parts Therefore to this I answere First if thou hast not beene heard in thy prayer consider if thou hast not prayed amisse it is a common fault among vs when wee haue spent much time in prayer it may be we haue spent time in fasting praying the thing is not granted we presently lay it vpon the Lord that hee hath not heard when many times the cause is our not praying as we ought it may be thou hast been very earnest and therfore thou hopest thou hast done very well I tell thee thou maist be very earnest and importunate with the Lord when it may be no more but a naturall desire when a man hath neede ●…o bee directed in a difficult case that much concernes him when hee hath neede to bee extricated and taken out of such a difficultie and strait wherein he is involved when hee hath neede of successe in such an enterprise or any thing of that nature I say a man may bee earnest with the Lord in such a case and yet his prayer may bee amisse it may not be a spirituall prayer it may not bee an expression of holie desires to the Lord for they onely prevaile with him not that the naturall are excluded that is not my meaning for they may adde vvindes to the sayles though holinesse may guide the rudder and keepe the course and make the sterage yet naturall desires may make vs more importunate and may adde much to it therefore I say consider thy prayer Consider againe when thou hast sought so earnestly to God whether it be not to bestow it vpō thy lusts as the Apostle speakes Iam. 4. 3. when thou hast a businesse to be performed it may be thou art earnest vvith God but hast thou not an eye to thy owne glorie to thine own praise and credit in it when thou wast earnest for health was it not that thou mightest liue more deliciously when thou desirest vvealth and successe in thine enterprizes that tend to mend thy state is it not out of some ambition you know that desire is condemned if any man will be rich is it not a desire of greatnesse would you not bee somebodie in your place and set vp your house and family such things indeed God bestowes vpon men but to haue our desires pitched vpon them and to pray in that sense for them is amisse and my rule for it is in the first to Timothy the sixt chapter the ninth verse If any man will bee rich c. that is when a man desireth excessiuely when he desireth more then food and rayment convenient for him now the naturall affection is degenerate into a lust for when anie affection exceedes it ceaseth to bee an affection and begins to be a lust and therfore where it is said If any man will be rich c. it is said after it is a lust But you will say how shall a man know when he prayeth to bestow that which he prayeth for vpon his lusts I answer if a man consult with his owne heart deale impartially with himselfe he may know vvhat his ends are but if you cannot find it out that way you may know it by the effect you may know it by the bills you bring in What is the expenc●… of the things God hath bestowed on you when hee hath put a price into your hands consider how you bestow it If a steward haue a great summe of mony that his master hath trusted him vvith and his bills be that he hath bestowed so much in riot so much in fine apparrell c but there hath beene but so much bestowed for his masters advantage it is an argument hee hath spent it ill so when we see there hath been so much health spent so much time and so much strength in following our owne plots and our owne worldlie businesse without respect to God not serving God and men in our calling as vvee should doe and that there hath beene little time bestowed in praier in reading in making our hearts perfect with God in taking paines vvith them from day to day I say if wee looke vpon this bill of expenc●… and consider how vvee haue bestowed our time our health our strength our wits from day to day and our speech for that is one price that we haue in our hands by vvhich we may doe good it is as a bucket by which wee may draw from others and likewise it is a spring and fountaine wherewith we may feede others with the waters of life consider how wee haue laied out all these things and by that wee may know how we are disposed to vse the blessings we seek for at Gods hands whether we seek them to bestow them vpon our lusts or to spend those gifts to our masters advantage and if we find we doe it for our owne lusts in this case I say to you go and amend your praiers and God will amend your speeding Wee must doe in this case as an angler doth when he hath throwne the bait into the river if it stay long and catch nothing hee takes vp the baite and amends it and when hee sees it is well he then continues and waites so we must doe in this case if thou praie and praie long and haue not obtained the thing thou praiest for looke diligentlie to thy praiers see whether they be right or no if they bee not amend thy praiers and God will amend his