Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	aaron_n	apostle_n	moses_n	43	3	6.6612	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B08803	Several discourses concerning the actual Providence of God. Divided into three parts. The first, treating concerning the notion of it, establshing the doctrine of it, opening the principal acts of it, preservation and government of created beings. With the particular acts, by which it so preserveth and governeth them. The second, concerning the specialities of it, the unseachable things of it, and several observable things in its motions. The third, concerning the dysnoēta, or hard chapters of it, in which an attempt is made to solve several appearances of difficulty in the motions of Providence, and to vindicate the justice, wisdom, and holiness of God, with the reasonableness of his dealing in such motions. / By John Collinges ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1678 (1678)	Wing C5335; ESTC R233164	689,844	860

to Pharaoh and to demand the dismission of the Israelites God suffereth not Pharaoh nor any of his Courtiers notwithstanding their threats to do them any hurt Caleb and Joshuah adventure to bring up a good report of the land of Canaan God protecteth them from the mutiny of the people and they are the only two are suffered to go over into the promised land Numb 14.6 7 10 24. Elijah the three children and Daniel were great adventurers in the case of God so was Esther in her going in to the King to speak for the Jews so were the Apostles in the first Plantation of the Gospel The Providence of God strangely watched over them and delivered them as you read in the story of their Acts. A man cannot be too bold if he keeps within the latitude of his duty Indeed we read of some whom God strangely watched over in the doing of some actions that we cannot evince to have been their duty as that of Phinehas Numb 25.7 8. in killing the Moabitish-woman and the Israelite in the act of adultery That of Elijah's killing Baals Priests 1 King 18 yet God protected them and rewarded them there are many things said in the defence of Phinehas and Elijah to reduce their actions to the ordinary rule of Justice It is certain that by the Laws of God the adulterers ought to have dyed so also the false Prophets but for the persons that executed the vengeance of God upon them all that we can say is this Their call was doubtless clear to themselves their actions were most certainly approved by God he protects them upon the doing of them he rewards them for doing of them but non fue●unt ordinaria sed facta quaedam extra usum ordinem communem they were not ordinary actions but depended upon a special call of God By vertue of such a call too it doubtless was that Moses slew the Egyptian for which St. Stephen justifieth him Acts 7. But a man cannot be too bold for God if he keeps within the latitude of his certain duty 2. Provided secondly He keepeth to reasonable rules of prudence our rule obligeth us to be wise as serpents But I will not enlarge upon this Theme for the truth is the Providence of God strangely watcheth over bold adventurers in his cause and service who have acted under such circumstances as are hardly reconcileable to what our reason calls Prudence yet certainly that will not warrant a rash and imprudent managery of a good cause I need not give you more instances than I have done to justifie this Observation in sacred History Moses and Aaron Caleb and Joshuah Elijah and Elisha Esther Daniel the three Children all the Apostles afford a plentiful proof of this Observation and in other stories the instances are without number Luthers whole life was an instance of this the Archers shot sorely at him he ventured as high as any in opposition to them yet his bow abode in his strength Luther dyed in his bed in peace Nor doth this seem an unreasonable motion of Divine Providence if we either consider how far the honour of God is concerned in the upholding and maintaining his Embassadors and rewarding his servants or the faithfulness of God in justifying his promises or the further use that God will make of men in the accomplishment of his designs in the world 1. Let us but consider the relation wherein the Ministers of Christ stand to him they are his Missionaries be hath sent them as the father hath sent him so he hath sent them nay they are no ordinary servants they are the Lords Embassadors they come in Christs name and as in Christs stead they intreat men to be reconciled unto God It is beneath the honour of a Prince to suffer an Embassador to starve or any way to perish for want of that protection which he is able to afford him indeed if any run before they are sent or instead of Gods work to their own Gods honour is not concerned in them unless to chastise their presumption and to take vengeance upon them as in such a case no Prince would think himself further concerned but supposing Ministers of the Gospel to be sent by him and to be ready faithfully to deliver their masters messages and this we must suppose and believe or disown the Scriptures which expresly assert this God is highly concerned in point of honour having power in his hand and the command of all the hearts of men to provide for his faithful Ministers and they shall not want 2. God secondly is not only concerned in honour as a great King and God above all but as a God of truth and faithfulness that can sooner suffer Heaven and Earth to pass away then a word to fail of what he hath spoken he hath made many promises to his faithful servants in the Ministry and to those that he hath employed in hazardous employments for him he of old promised to satiate the souls of his priests with fatness Jer. 31.14 He of old appointed no inheritance to the sons of Levi amongst their brethren because he was their inheritance as he had promised them Deut. 10.9 he hath told them he will cloath them with salvation Psal 132.16 he told Jeremiah and Ezekiel he would be with them to deliver them Jer. 1.7 8 18 19. Ezek. 2.6 He hath told Gospel Ministers he will be with them to the end of the world Matth. 28. he hath bidden them take no thought what they should eat drink or put on when he sent out the twelve Matth. 10.9 10. he bid them to provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in their purses nor scrip for their journey nor two coats nor shooes for the workman is worthy of his meat Now after all this if God should suffer his Ministers to want bread to sustain their lives or their families what would men say of the faithfulness of God 3. Lastly Let us but consider God as having many designs yet to accomplish a great deal of work yet to be done in the world to be done by the hands of men who can imagine God should not eminently protect and provide for those that are and have been faithful who would work for that Master that will not find them bread What subject would be free to go as an Embassadour for that Prince that would never protect him in the faithful discharge of his trust or reward him proportionably to his affronts or losses Now God knows that we are flesh and much led by our sense and reason and must not be encouraged to our duty only by rewards which are the objects of our faith but by sensible rewards at least to such a proportion as is necessary to uphold us to our work It is therefore not to be wondred at that God should in a way of special Providence eminently take care of the Ministers of his Gospel he hath call'd them and sent them to his work he hath by that call

fruit of the womb as a blessing and blesseth him that hath his quiver full of these shafts but now the poor man knoweth not how to understand this and it is hard for him not to repine at the multiplying of it a great error doubtless but such as for ought I know good people may fall into we cannot trust God to provide for those which he giveth us if this hath been thy error God but pays thee in thy own kind by shortning thy number and maketh thy own secret sinful wish now to be thy Plague and Torment but this ordinarily is the sin of the poorer and meaner sort of Christians 2. Didst thou not let thy heart run out too much upon thy Children God is jealous and it is the nature of jealousy not to suffer a rival in the object beloved be it a person or a thing God is the object and he will be the prime object of his peoples love desire and delight It is his Law Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy strength it may be thy Child had more of thy heart more of thy love and and delight than God had no wonder if he hath taken it from thee this is now usually the sin of those whose circumstances in the world are better they have a fair estate in the world and Children few enough to leave it to and in such cases it is a very hard thing to keep our hearts within due bounds but our affections are ready to overflow especially if there be nothing in the temper or behaviour of the Child that takes off the edge of our affections to it 3. Doth not thy heart smite thee for the neglect of thy duty to thy Child especially if it were of any years Thy duty in instructing it or thy duty in reproving and admonishing it Elie's Sons were indeed men grown but God cut off his Children though their personal guilt justified God in his severity against them yet Eli smarted in their punishments for honouring his Sons more than God for dealing too gently with them for their most enormous wickednesses Thou mayest also neglect thy duty towards them in instructing them in making them acquainted with the holy Scriptures in admonishing them to keep the Lords Sabbaths and seeing to their external Sanctification of them This is undoubtedly a second piece of thy duty upon such a dispensation and to be humbled before God for those sins which thy conscience smiteth thee for and suggesteth to thee as probable causes of this rod of God upon thee 3. It is doubtless thy duty whatsoever thou findest to be satisfied with Gods good pleasure Rachel mourned sinfully while she so mourned as that she refused to be comforted If thou findest that probably God hath punished thy sin in the sickness pain and death of thy Child it is indeed matter of humiliation to thee it offers thee a just opportunity to resolve for the time to come to amend thy errors as to any survivors which God shall lend thee but yesterday cannot be called back again God hath done what pleased him It may be in mercy to thy Child though it be in judgment unto thee thou hast no reason to quarrel or murmure at God for any of his dispensations If it be for thy Child 's Original sin still thou hast no reason to blame God he is just and righteous in what he hath done But if God hath done it to give thy Child a quicker passage to Heaven to bring it sooner to a state of perfection to deliver it from an evil to come here thou hast reason to admire and adore the Divine goodness rather than to quarrel at Divine Justice There are a great many things that may conduce to the relief of a godly man or woman disturbed at this dispensation of Divine Providence It is a very ordinary dispensation of God though therefore it may look like a digression from the principal argument of my discourse yet it may possibly be not so judged by some of you whose case it either at present is or may be to instance in some heads of arguments which occasionally you may make use of for the quieting of your Spirits 1. Consider what-ever was the moving cause on Gods part yet the will of God is revealed The will of God is such a thing to satisfy a Christian with as nothing can be more nothing greater We have our Heaven by the will of God fear not little flock it is your Fathers will to give you a Kingdom We have all our grace all our glory from the will of God and shall we not thankfully accept a cross when it is the will of our Father to lay it upon our necks We pray thy will be done and shall we murmure against it when we see it done This silenced Aaron David Heli Hezekiah it leaves no room for a good Christians reply to it it is our Fathers will that is enough It is our Fathers will revealed by an Act of his Providence The Lord hath given saith Job and the Lord hath taken blessed be the name of the Lord. 2. Consider how many sadder cases than thine there have been Thou hast lost a Child an infant Job lost all his Children when they were grown up feasting at their elder Brothers house Aarons was a sad cause he lost his two Sons grown up in an act of sinning yet he held his peace Helies case was sad to lose two such wicked Sons in a Battel Davids case was sad God had expresly told him the Child should dye because of his sin and that by it he had made the enemies of God to blaspheme What doth David do He fasteth he prayeth he humbleth himself before God so long as the Child lived and while he had any hope but when the will of God was revealed when the Child was dead he ariseth and eateth bread as he was wont to do he saith that he should go to it it should not return to him 3. Consider Let the case be as sad as it will yet if thou lookest round about it there is mercy in it either mercy to thy Child or mercy to thee or mercy to both if thy Child be gone to Heaven there is mercy in that if it be delivered from evil to come upon the World or that part of the world where it should have had its portion there is mercy in that David's case was as sad as one can well think of any of this nature yet there was this mercy in it the living monument and remembrance of David's sin and shame was taken away 4. Suppose that God hath for thy sin taken it away and thou canst not satisfie thy self but it is so yet consider God eternally punisheth none for the sins of their correlates God may punish persons with bodily and temporal punishments for the sins of their Parents but not eternally as to those punishments every soul shall bear no