Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	according_a	act_n	act_v	270	4	7.5641	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30608	The saints inheritance and the worldlings portion representing the glorious condition of a child of God and the misery of having ones portion in this world, unfolding the state of true happiness with the marks, means, and members thereof / by Ier. Burroughs.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.	1657 (1657)	Wing B6113; ESTC R23884	109,655	304

melted by the beams of the Sunne then by the scorching of the fire You will say humbled for what There are three things that we have cause to be humbled for upon the consideration of the mercy of God towards us First the sinne of unbelief consider when we were straitned at any time when we heard ill news that our armies fled and came to danger how our spirits were down as if all were gone Let us check our hearts God rebuked us in a kindly manner we might have had a furious rebuke Secondly be humbled for all our murmuring and repining and discontent O we did not think that the wars would have held so long and O what taxations are upon us and all our estates rent away And how manie are there that had rather that all the good that God hath done for his people since these times should never have been done then that they should suffer in their outward estates Be rebuked for all your murmuring and repyning at such difficulties as you have met with in the great cause of God The third thing that this mercy should make us humbled for look back to is that if ever there have risen this thought in any of our hearts that it had been better for me if I had never appeared so much I see how things are like to be the enemie prevails and is like to overrun all had it not been better that I had not ingaged my self so much that I had not appeared so much are they not wiser men that have kept themselves quiet and silent and done as little as they could nothing but what they have been forced to And when the Kings party come if they tax us they can do no more then force us If thou have such a thought pray to God to forgive that thought Let this that God hath done rebuke thee Art thou sorry for what thou hast done thou seest God will do it without thee If thou have been a publick instrument and hast done good and yet if in fear of successe thou hast repented God rebukes thee this day Then labour to love prayer as long as you live as David saith I will call upon God as long as ever live Prayer casts the scals and hath the advantage First the other side they feared not to suffer much if they were overcome they think they have a head and they would be where he was and he would countenance them make good their condition for them but this side if they had been overcome they had been men utterly undone what a mighty advantage was there one way more then another Then the Kings side if he had prevailed he had places of dignitie to bestow if the Parliaments side prevail we are but where we were we do but maintain our own we cannot expect to raise our condition But how many broken Gentry expected to raise their condition on the other side As it is said concerning the Pope and the generall Counsell the Pope prevailed notwithstanding the generall Councell though that were above him why the Pope had Cardinall ships and Deaneries to bestow but the Councell had none they had the advantage that way Again those that appeared on the one side how were they discouraged extraordinarily on the other side they were incouraged to the utmost On the one side how unfaithfull have they been on the other side they have kept to their principles because their principles are suitable to the flesh but there are many on this side that have not gracious principles and had a publick cause therefore they have been unfaithfull We have use of men that have not principles to act by but all the other go according to their own principles The one part acts that they may gratifie mens lusts now the generality of the world love it they know if the one partie prevail they shall have liberty and licensciousness but if the other prevail they shall live under laws Now men would have their lusts therefore when they see on the one side they shall have their lusts and on the other side they shall be more curbed they strive hard for their lusts At the first I wondred that men should be so vile to fight to make themselves slaves but when I considered they shall have slaves under them and have their lusts and the other side be more curbed then I was satisfied and wondered that God should cast the scale the other way they having all the advantages in a carnall way more then the other Only here it is we have people that have prayed and this hath cast the scale Love prayer and praying people and joyn with them be on their side for God is with them and will not suffer them to pray in vain a praying Christian is a usefull Christian in the world Again make this use of all that hath been done Look how far thou thinkest the adversaries would have been hardned if they had prevailed against the cause of God be thou so much the more resolute in the cause of God If they had prevailed how would they have blasphemed and manie thousands of Atheist would have been made more then there was before what a mightie offence and stumbling block would this have been Now since God hath turned it the other way justifie God and his cause settle your hearts in the love of God and his cause and settle your selves more strongly in the reformation in hand Further let us give him reall praise that we may not receive the grace of God in vain By this grace we hope that he hath given us our estates that we were afraid would have been rent from us we have the continuance of our liberties and of the Gospell Let our hearts be ingaged to God to give up our estates this day let us renew our ingagements to God in secret between God and our souls Lord thou mightest have taken away my estate by the spoylers it was near it and thou hast done it to other of my brethren and is mine continued That estate that should have been spent for their lusts I am resolved to spend it in thy service that hast preserved it and I account it a great mercie that I have an estate to honour thy name I feared I should not God expects that ever henceforward you make a more holy use of your estates then before And call your hearts to question what do I do with my estate for God what honour hath God from my estate more then before God expects more or else God may justly say in vain have I preserved this wretched estate there are manie of my servants if I had preserved their estates they would have improved them in the towns and places they lived in and here is a wretch I have preserved his estate and he is more greedy and scrapes up for himself and all his thought is how to repair what he hath lost by taxations c. The Lord may repent of what he hath done