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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	according_a	good_a	work_n	2,753	5	6.1002	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30857	A sermon preach'd at St. Trinity's in Kingston, upon Hull To a society there for the reformation of manners, September 20. 1699. By Robert Banks, A.M. Vicar of St. Trinity's in Hull, and prebendary of York.	Banks, R. R. (Richard R.)	1700 (1700)	Wing B672A; ESTC R217213	16,591	54

publishing to the World that our teaching the Truths of the Gospel is but Priest-craft and our Pressing a Good Life but a Trade that by these base and sinister Methods they may through our sides more effectually wound and undermine the Religion we Profess and Defend and make Men dissolute and regardless of God and their Duty But thus much may suffice to evince the incontestable Truth of the first Proposition that Impiety and Irreligion are at this Time very prevalent amongst us I now proceed to Prove 2. That this ought to be matter of the deepest Humiliation and Sorrow to all good Men and especially to those that are in Stations of Eminence and Authority such was David a Great and Pious Prince in Israel and therefore Rivers of Waters ran down his Eyes because Men kept not Gods Law For the greater and better Men are the more hearty and affectionate concern they must needs have for the Glory of God the Honour of Religion the Welfare of the World and the Prosperity of that particular Kingdom or Civil Society of which themselves are Members and upon all these Accounts they have just cause to be afflicted and humbled for the Confederate Insolent attempts of Wicked Men to disturb or destroy the Tranquility and Happiness both of Church and State 1. Such Persons may consider that the Infidelity and Luxury of a Nation is the ready way to provoke God to Unchurch us and to remove our Candlestick out of its Place the Scripture tells us that when God is most angry and resolves to punish a People most severely he threatens them not so much with Temporal Losses as with Spiritual Judgments as to deprive them of their Pastours and Teachers to remove their Candlestick to send a Famine of the Word among them and to leave them to themselves and to their own Way A Famine of Bread and want of Water are great and heavy Punishments upon any People but there is something worse than all this and that is a Famine of the Word This God-himself sets down as the heavier Judgment of the two Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will send a Famine in the Land not a famine of Bread nor a thirst for Waters but of hearing the Word of the Lord And they shall wander from Sea to Sea and run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it Amos 8. 11. This is a Calamity indeed greater than all others When God to punish a People for their wickedness takes away the very Means of their becoming better and because they spurn'd at the Light condemns them to spiritual Blindness and Darkness And what is this but to begin Hell upon Earth and to take an Antepast of Outer Darkness and Misery to come It is one of the most dreadful and awakening threatnings that God cou'd use to Excite the * The Church of Ephesus Asiatick Churches to repent that if they did not he would come unto 'em quickly and remove their Candlestick out of its place And surely if the loud Oaths an● daring Blasphemies of not a few If th● hypocritical Pretences of many to Pie●● and Devotion If the Cheats and P●● juries and Oppressions under whic● the Nation groans If the filthy Speeches and lewd Actions If the Drunke●nesses Adulteries Whoredoms and i●moralities of all sorts which some a● so far from being afraid to commit i● secret that for want of other Witnesses they will Evidence against themselves by declaring their Sin as Sodom Isa 3. ● In short If all the Profane Raillery an● Abuse which is daily put upon the Scriptures and every thing that is Sacred particularly the Ridiculing and Exposing the Mysteries of our most Hol● Faith can provoke God to abandon ● People to lay them waste to remov● his Church and Gospel from amongs● them and to make them the Scorn an● Derision of those who are round about then have we just cause to fear an● tremble lest God shou'd pronounce th● same Sentence upon us as he did upon the wi●ked and ungrateful Jews Jer. ● 12. Go ye now saith he unto my plac● which was in Shiloh where I set my Name at the first and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my People Israel Now because ye have done all these works saith the Lord and I spake unto you but ye heard not therefore will I do unto this House which is called by my Name as I have done to Shiloh and I will cast you out of my sight as I have cast out all your Brethren Paralel to which is that Commination of our Saviour to the same stiff-necked and rebellious People therefore I say unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof Matth. 21. 43. This is what we have great reason to fear because we so justly deserve it and indeed what Counterpoize can there be to such bold such daring impieties but the Prayers and Tears and Endeavours of those good Souls who betake themselves to the Throne of Grace to that Infinite Mercy of God which hath so long spared us when we deserved Punishment for if God had been extream to mark what we have done amiss we could never have been able to abide it but we find by experience that there is yet Mercy with him that he might be feared And Oh! that our deep Humiliation our hearty Repentance and Reformation may still engage God to be propitious to his Church and to pity his Heritage that so iniquity may not be our ruine But 2. As our prevailing wickedness threatens the Removal of our Candlestick the Misery and Desolation of God's Church amongst us so the abounding Impiety and Profaneness of any People does constantly provoke God to inflict severe Temporal Evils and Punishments upon them according to the Measure of their Demerits and Provocations and for this all of us and especially those that are good have just cause to be humbled under the mighty hand of God and to tremble at the apprehensions of his Judgments because Men keep not Gods Law God's dealings with particular Persons in this Life ar● so chequer'd and intermixt with variety of good and bad Events that tho they point out a Judgment to come becaus● they give no clear indication of an impartial Justice distributed here whi●● the Judge of all the Earth who cannot but do right will at one time or other execute yet no Man knoweth Love or Hatred by all that is before him Here God frequently afflicts particular Persons for the Probation and Exercise of their Vertues and the Example of others and Notorious Sinners oft escape their deserved Recompence in this Life being reserved to the Day of Judgment to be punished But 't is otherwise as to Nations and Publick Societies of Men who as such cannot be accounted with in the World to come where every man shall receive according to his own Works and are therefore rewarded

Locum my utmost Diligence to reform the whole Nation especially Jerusalem the Place of Gods Peculiar Residence which ought to be an Example to the rest of the Kingdom taking Care that all Offenders be severely punished in the Courts of Judicature and if there be no other remedy cutting off those Putrid Members that will otherwise endanger the Infection of the whole Body having got incurable Habits of committing Wickedness And this Effect the Sarrow and Humiliation of all good Magistrates for the overflowing Impiety of the Nation will have upon them viz. To quicken them in their several Places to punish Wickedness and Vice to defend the Truth and execute Justice They consider that 't is from our loud Sins and crying Provocations that our Publick Calamities do proceed and that for these the heavy displeasure of God is kindled against us and will we know not how speedily be executed upon us And this will plainly suggest to them that they ought not to permit the Sword of Justice to Rust and Canker in the Scabbard but by prudently drawing it to protect the Innocent and punish the Guilty To do which by the Direction of our excellent Laws without Fear or Favour Interest or Partiality is the wisest Course an honest Magistrate can take to secure either a good Conscience towards God or a good Reputation among Men for he that Acts thus can scarce possibly procure any Enemies but the Lawless and Disobedient whose Favour is as insignificant as their Anger for as his Sword which in the Execution of Justice is guided by the Hand of Heaven the Judgment being Gods usually secures him from the latter so his Integrity Seals up his Ears and fortifies his Heart against the flatteries and sordid Insinuations of the other 'T is an Observation confirm'd by Experience that no Nation in the World is so Jealous of those Laws which relate to the Liberty and Property of the Subject as the English and most Men think with good Reason since Beggary and Slavery are things very unagreeable to humane Nature But then why shou'd we not be equally Jealous for the Honour of those Laws in the strict Observation whereof the Glory of God the Interest of Religion the Prosperity of the Nation and the Felicity of so many thousand Souls are concerned For shame let us never more tamely suffer Wickedness to gain not only Strength but Impudence and I had almost said Reputation too by our cowardliness and pusilinimity But let us all joyn our Heads our Hearts and Hands to disgrace and dash out of Countenance the daring Efforts the outragious Sallies of Prophaneness and Immorality that Drunkenness may no longer dare to stagger in our Streets nor loud Oaths be belch'd in our Faces as we go along that Men may no longer be permitted to Boast much less act their bestial Sins like Sodom nor such leud Places of Entertainment any more be suffer'd in the Land That Violence be no more heard in our Streets that our Officers may be Peace and our Exacters Righteousness that the Fury of the Oppressour which is ever ready to destroy may be broken and that we may no longer hear the Cry of the Widdow the Fatherless or others oppressed amongst us This is what all good Men Pray and Wish and Hope for at this favourable Juncture and which we all ought vigorously to endeavour in our several Stations and Capacities And the rather because to do this we have the fairest Incouragement the greatest Obligations imaginable Which is the last Part of my present Undertaking I say to engage our most vigorous Endeavours to promote and carry on a Happy Reformation of Manners we have the fairest Incouragement the most indispensible Obligations imaginable 1. And first for our Incouragement Let us consider that God is on our side this is his own Cause for which he has often and signally appear'd by the remarkable Judgments which in all Ages he has Executed upon desperately wicked Sinners especially when Hand joyns in Hand and the Multitude o● Offenders seems to plead for the Impunity of their Offences then he will no● suffer the Wicked to go unpunished I am sensible we want not Instance of those who have given the Nam● of a good Cause to very vile Actions and who the better to cheat People in to a Concurrence with them in the●● riotous and disorderly Attempts fo● the Reformation of Religion as the● pretended have cloath'd their gro●● Immoralities Treasons and Rebellions in the sanctified Livery of the Cause o● God and Religion But though from the very bottom of our Hearts we detest and abhor such impious Pretences and Practises yet surely no Man can doubt Whether a Work so just in its Design and so honourable and advantageous in its End as to endeavour according to the Laws of God and Man to put a stop to the overflowing Wickedness of a Nation to give a check to those Hellish Principles and Practises by which God is daily dishonour'd Truth and Justice perverted Religion and Piety exposed the Prosperity of the Nation obstructed and Multitudes of Souls endanger'd be his Cause and Work or no I am sure the Psalmist calls it Gods Cause Psalm 74. 23. Arise O God! maintain thine own Cause remember how the foolish Man blasphemeth thee daily And if we will still hear his glorious Name blasphem'd and all things sacred honest or of good Report trampled on and we stand by as unconcern'd Spectators we may expect that God will not like us Desert but maintain his own Cause take the Matter into his own Hand and because we would not help to reclaim the Wicked from their Way thereby to hinder their Misery and Destruction involve us likewise in the same inevitable Ruine with them To prevent which and if possible to engage us further to carry on the necessary Work of reforming the prophaneness and debauchery of the Age in our Stations and according to our Capacities Let us consider 2. That the Laws both of God and Man as well as the Countenance and Encouragement of our Legislators are on our side to strengthen our Hearts and Hands in this worthy and generous Undertaking We usually say that ill Manners procure good Laws which has been as fully verified in this Nation I believe as in any Country under the Canopy of Heaven But then 't is very odd though obvious to Remark that the prophane and dissolute of this Age and Climate have strongly attempted to invert the Maxime by being guilty of the most profligate Manners in defiance of the most excellent Laws both of God and Man This is a Reproach upon us which we ought to endeavour by all possible lawful Means to wipe off for the future that the boldness of offenders may no longer offer such avowed affronts to the Laws of Heaven and Earth that our prudently-contriv'd English Laws may no farther be scandalized for Cobwebs which catch the little Flies the diminitive Sinners only but suffer the great and bold