Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	affliction_n	great_a	sin_n	1,620	5	5.2580	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42394	The history of Christ's sufferings composed out of the prophets, evangelists, apostles, fathers, and other holy writers. With aspirations, or prayers, suitable to each section. In order to an entire resignation of the soul to the will of God, according to the example of Christ by Dudley Garenciers, rector of Waverton, near Chester.	Garencieres, Dudley, d. 1702.	1697 (1697)	Wing G252A; ESTC R215811	117,779	315

combine to destroy the Heir of the m Isal 5.7 Vineyard of God and of whom the Prophets said n Psal 140.3 They had placed the Poyson of Serpents upon their Lips o Isai 5.7 I expected Justice and behold a cry p Jer. 12.8 My Heritage is unto me as a Lion in the forest it crieth out against me and therefore have I hated it For thus in the height of their wicked Imprecations they furiously persecute Christ to his Cross crying out the more q Mat. 27.22 23. Let him be crucified let him be crucified Why r Mat. 27.23 saith the Governour what evil hath he done and a ſ Exod. 13.21 third time declares I have found no cause of Death in him I will therefore chastise him and let him go When he saw the implacable Rage of the Jews neither to be restrained by force nor persuasion he hop'd a lesser Draught of his Blood might stop the Fury and Rapidness of their Passion and that by exposing his Body to Scourges the Roman Usage to Malefactors he might avoid the greater Evil of condemning him to Death and that when the Jews should see him so tormented they would relent in Pity and their Cruelty abate Thus he who cloaths all was despoiled of his Garments and confounded before the People who covers our Confusion and bound to a Pillar who went before them by day in a ſ Exod. 13.21 Pillar of a Cloud to lead ●em the way and by night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light to go by day and night that they might escape their Enemies and his Body which was the most sacred Temple of the Deity torn with vehement Stripes from unrelenting Hands till the Pavement was purpled with a Shower of holy Blood and his Person more beautiful than the Sons of Men wholly deform'd and hardly to be known according to what himself had t Mark 10.34 Luke 18.33 foretold of his being deliver'd to the Gentiles to be scourg'd and the u Isai 53.5 Prophesie of Isaiah long before his Incarnation He was wounded for our Transgressions he was bruised for our Iniquities the Chastisement of our Peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed For if Christ had not sustain'd for us this Denudation and Confusion we could never have been cloathed with the Garment of his Righteousness or been able to have appear'd unblameable before God's Justice Seat in Heaven Behold therefore O! my Soul with devout Meditation this Portion of the Sufferings of thy wounded Jesus which was the Wonder and Astonishment of Heaven and Earth Behold with what profound Humility and Silence the great Lord of the World condescends to undergo the Punishment of Slaves Behold with what a sweet Patience this innocent Lamb yields to have his Body plow'd and furrow'd by merciless Infidels Behold him naked helpless and unpitied whilst the furious Executioner tears his Skin and tender Flesh with forked Scourges to satisfie the Cruelty of a barbarous Multitude Prayer Grant me O my God who hast laid such Severities upon thy only and beloved Son that I may never think any Austerity Mortification or Pennance too much to be undergone for that great Guilt which I have contracted by my Sins and for which it was necessary my Redeemer should thus be punished And whatsoever shall be wanting in my Sufferings for the Iniquities I have committed heal with the Stripes of this bruised Love who came to shed his Blood a Ransom for the World That owing the Cure and Salvation of my Soul to such an inestimable Remedy as that I may for ever Praise thee for thy incomparable Mercy SECT XXIX Of the Injuries done to Christ by the Roman Soldiers AFter this the Soldiers who because of the frequent Seditions and Tumults of that Nation were quartered at Jerusalem and now especially call'd together to curb the prodigious Concourse at the Feast hoping by an extraordinary and cruel Officiousness to receive a liberal Reward from the Jews whom they saw so inveterately set against him take him and use him in that inhumane manner we should hardly believe were it not faithfully Recorded They strip him and put on him a * Mat. 27.28 Scarlet or x John 19.2 Purple Robe such as their Commanders used to wear jeering him by this as Herod had done by the white and when they had platted a y Mat. 27.29 30. Crown of Thorns in stead of a Royal Diadem they put it on his Head and a Reed in his Right Hand for a Scepter All to signifie he had made himself a King but that his Kingdom was as weak and vain as those Ridiculous Emblems of his Royalty And they bow the Knee before him with a contumelious Address and mock him with a reproachful Salutation saying Hail King of the Jews And then they spit upon him and strike him with z Mat. 27.30 Reeds and their a Joh. 19.3 Hands upon his Head pressing his Temples with a thousand Punctures and forcing the Blood under the Crown of Thorns to descend upon his Cheeks and mix with his Tears and the loathsome Spittle of the People till he became truly what the Prophet had describ'd him b Isai 53.2 Without form or comeliness and to those that saw him there was no Beauty that they should desire him Prayer Whither O whither Thou great Martyr of Love shall thy Humility descend thy Piety proceed thy Compassion extend I have been proud and thou art humbled I have been wicked and thou art punished I that am a lost Man have been the Cause of all thy Weaknesses and Afflictions It is thy Love and my Iniquity which has brought thee thus low Teach me I beseech-thee to apprehend the Baseness of my Sin in proportion to the Calamities thou hast suffered for me that I may hate the Cause of thy Sufferings adore thy Mercy and imitate thy Graces For Lord what is thy Servant that thou should'st suffer one Stripe or the least Irrision for so poor a Creature And how great a Misery must it be to provoke by Sin so great a Mercy as thou hast reveal'd But thy Love is infinite and I am Dust and Ashes Let thy Holy Spirit support and sanctifie me and suffer thy self to become the Object of my present Dolours that thou mayst hereafter be the Fountain of my everlasting Joy SECT XXX Of Pilate's fourth Declaration of Christ's Innocence OUR Saviour thus c Isal 53.3 despised and rejected of Men bearing our Griefs and carrying our Sorrows Pilate thought it impossible to behold him without Pity and once more brings him forth to shew him to the People hoping so sad and miserable a Spectacle would not only draw Tears from the Eyes of the Beholders but even Showers of Blood from their Hearts and a fourth time publickly declares him innocent and that he ought no further to proceed against him d Joh. 19.4 5. saying Behold I bring him forth unto you that ye

to give a sure Testimony to both as well as learn the Subject of their Imitation and Hope Ye blessed Spectators how different was this Sight from that which so lately fill'd your Eyes when you f Matt. 17.2.3 saw his face shine as the Sun and his Raiment white as the Light and Moses and Elias talking with him He receives no Honour now from the Father and that excellent Voice is silent which proclaim'd him the g Matt. 17.5 beloved Son of God and that his Name was h Joh. 12.28 Glorified in him Nor from his Face do there dart any chearful Rays nor do his Garments appear Glorious nor the Heavenly Courtiers wait upon him but as a Man dastitute of all Help he begins to be i Mark 14.33 afraid to be sorrowful and afflicted shewing in himself what usually happens to those who are no more than Men at the approach of so great a Tempest The Evangelists have in such Language declar'd his Agony as cannot but raise in us the highest Admiration of the Bitterness of his Passion He began to be k Matt. 26.37 sorrowful saith St. Matthew to be sore l Mark 14.33 amazed saith St. Mark to be very m Ibid. heavy say both and yet these Words in our Translation come far short of the n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Original Expressions which render him suddenly upon a present and immediate Apprehension possest with Fear Horrour and Amazement encompass'd with Grief overwhelm'd with Sorrow prest down with Consternation and Dejection of Mind tormented with Anxiety and Disquietude of Spirit This he first exprest when he said to his Disciples My Soul is o Matt. 26.38 exceeding sorrowful and lest they should not fully apprehend the Excess added even unto Death as if the Pangs of Death had already encompast him and the Pains of Hell had got hold upon him He we●● but a little farther before he said the same to his Father p Matt. 26 39. falling upon his face and praying with q Heb. 5.7 strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from Death Nor were his Cries and Tears sufficient Evidences of his inward Sufferings nor could the Sorrows of his Breast be poured forth either at his Lips or Eyes but the innumerable Pores of all his Body must give a Passage to more lively Representations of the bitter Anguish of his Soul and his r Luke 22.44 Sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground according to that of the Psalmist ſ Psalm 22.14 I am poured out like Water all my bones are out of joynt My Heart also in the midst of my Body is even like melting Wax His Heart melting as it were with Fear and Astonishment and all the Parts of his Body at the same time inflam'd with Anguish well might that Melting produce a Flowing and the inflam'd and rarefi'd Blood force it self a Passage through the numerous Pores But neither will these Expressions give us a true Sense of the height and bitterness of his Grief unless we also consider the Occasions of it for God laid on him the t Isai 53.6 Iniquities of us all and as we were oblig'd to be sorry for our particular Sins so was he to be grieved for the Sins of us all If then we consider the Perfection of his Knowledge he understood all the Sins for which he suffered all the Evil and the Guilt all the Offence against the Majesty and Ingratitude against the Goodness of God which was contain'd in the Sins of all Men past present and to come If we look upon his absolute Conformity to the determined Will of God he was inflam'd with most ardent Love he was most zealous of his Glory and most studious to preserve that Right which was so highly violated by those Sins If we look upon his Relation to the Sons of Men he lov'd 'em all far more than they did themselves he knew their Sins were of themselves sufficient to bring Destruction upon their Bodies and Souls and at the same time consider'd them he so dearly loved as lying under God's Wrath whom he so truly worshipped and all was heightned with the great habitual Detestation wherewith his Innocent Nature abhorred Sin If we consider all these Circumstances we cannot wonder at his excessive Sorrow For if the true Contrition of one single Sinner bleeding under the Sting of the Law only for his own Iniquities all which notwithstanding he knoweth not cannot be performed without great bitterness of Remorse what Bounds can we set to that Grief what Measures to that Anguish which proceeds from a full Apprehension of all the Transgressions of so many Millions of Sinners Add unto all these Apprehensions the immediate hand of God pressing upon him all this Load laying on his Shoulders at once a heap of all the Sorrows which can happen to any of the Saints that he being touch'd with the u Heb. 2.17 18.4.15 Feeling of our Infirmities might become a merciful High-Priest able and willing to succour them that are tempted And from hence we must conclude That the Saviour of Man as he took upon him the whole Nature of Man so he suffer'd in whatsoever he took in his Body by Infirmities and external Injuries in his Soul by Fear Astonishment and Sorrows in both by unknown and inexpressible Anguishes Behold O ye Faithful the Baptism of your Redeemer and think not any longer the Way strait through which you are to enter into Life Behold how he is * Luke 12.50 straiten'd till it be accomplisht and never do you sink under any Discouragement from working out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling What matter is it how much or what we suffer in this Life so at length we may arrive at a Blessed Eternity Prayer And while we behold our Sins which are the Cause of all thy Sufferings O thou afflicted Jesu Grant that our imperfect Sorrow and Contrition may be heightned by thy Example and accepted in Union and Confederacy with it It was because the temporal Misery of a finite Creature could never satisfie for the Infinite Guilt of Sin contracted by offending an Infinite Majesty that thou vouchsafedst to make an Equivalent Ransom by the Dignity of thy Person suffering In this thy Love is all our Confidence in full Assurance of it we approach the Throne of Grace and we bessech thee That we may find Help in the Time of Need. SECT IX Of Christ's Prayer in his Agony and his admirable Resignation of himself to God WHen the Holy Jesus had tasted this bitter Cup being himself the great Physician of Souls he betook himself to that Universal Antidore which he had prescrib'd to all the World For having commanded his Disciples to x Luk. 22.40 watch with him and to pray lest they fell into Temptation forasmuch as vain is the Prudence of Flesh and unprofitable all carnal Help unless God be present

Waters Now are our Pains profitable our Tears acceptable our Groans audible our Grief pacifieth God and purgeth the Heart hereafter there shall be weeping without Comfort and gnashing of Teeth and irremediable Vexation Prayer Gracious Redeemer the Fountain of Pardon I have sinned against thee in denying thee by my works and estranging my heart from thee who art desirable above all things And where shall I find punishment enough to avenge me of my self and tears sufficient to wash away my guilt Every slight Worldly sorrow is apt to draw plenty of Waters in mine Eyes but when I would weep for my Sins which are the greatest Calamities either my Eyes are dry or my Tears too few to bewail so many provocations O merciful Saviour break this heart for thou only canst do it with thy compassionate Look and melt it into Tears of true Contrition That since I cannot be Innocent yet I may be Penitent and what is wanting in my Repentance may be supplyed by thy Mercy and I may owe my Salvation to thy boundless Liberality SECT XIX Of the Barbarity of the Multitude towards Christ. JEsus had pity upon his offending Servant but his own Innocence found none among his Enemies who begin now to treat him with all the Circumstances of Scorn Cruelty and Diabolical Malice O God! What Frenzies and what Furies are there in a Brutish Multitude when it is once let loose The Lamb of God himself is not secure from their Insults What barbarous Passions what blind Will what enchanted Desires after inhumane Cruelty towards their own Image They b Mat. 26.67 spit in his Face in whose presence the Angels ravisht with wonder do cover their Faces with their Wings and have no sweeter Extasies than the Admiration of his Beauties They c Luk. 22.64 blindfold his Eyes the Light of whose Countenance the Fathers have so much desir'd to see They d Mat. 26.67 strike and buffet him with the Palms of their hands who descended from Glory to heal them by his Stripes They sport themselves in Railery with the Eternal Word who In the beginning e John 1.3 4. made all things and in whom was Life and that Life the Light of Men saying f Mat. 26.68 Prophesie unto us thou Christ who is he that smote thee And many g Luk. 22.65 other things which neither the Prophets did foretell nor the Evangelists have related did they blasphemously speak against him Thus did our Lord h Isai 50.6 give his Back to the Smiters and his Cheeks to them that pull'd off the hair and hid not his Face from Shame and Spitting Thus did his i Psal 118.12 Enemies come about him like Bees regardless whether they lost their Fruitfulness for ever so they might infix in him the Sting of their Malice Thus did he pass the sorrowful Night among the k Psal 57.5 Children of Men that were set on fire whose Teeth were Spears and Arrows and their Tongue a sharp Sword made the extream Scorn Contempt and Sport of the most insolent and insulting Enemy Go now ingrateful and Perfidious Sinner seek and Covet the Pleasures of this Life while Christ suffers these Indignities for thy sake Behold what miserable Comforts he has in this Passover which to his People was a Festival of the greatest Joy See here what Returns of Gratitude they make for all the inestimable Benefits they have received This night was the Blood of the Typical Lamb sprinkled upon their doors and sav'd 'em from Destruction and now they tarnish with the Filth of their Infernal Mouths the Mirrour of Angels the true Lamb and condemn him to Destruction who came to save them from Damnation And has he been less kind to thee or hast thou been more grateful to him O the unaccountable Perversness of Man O the Ineffable Long-Suffering of Christ For what wonder had it been had he again destroyed the World for so great an Affront and Wickedness as this But thus the Scriptures were to be fulfilled and thus it l Luk. 24.46 behoved Christ to suffer Prayer O my Soul what wilt thou say Thy Redeemer is mockt thy Master is spit upon thy Lord is smitten thy Christ is vilified more than ever was any Man and of all these Indignities thy Sins are the Cause For if thou hadst not sinned nor thy Forefathers the innocent Jesus had never thus suffer'd His manifold Miseries are the several Indications how wicked how Guilty how full of Sin thou art and always hast been For as abject as thy Saviour did appear before his Adversaries so vile wert thou truly before God and must for ever have appear'd before thy Tormentors in Hell if he had not transferr'd these Sufferings upon himself and his Righteousness upon thee I will prostrate my self in Dust and Ashes I will humble my Spirit with Abstinence and Sorrow My Tears shall be my Meat Day and Night and I will ever call upon God till of his Mercy he speak Peace unto me I will follow my Jesus sorrowing and embrace his Cross and confess him dying for me till he assist me with his Grace and receive me with his Mercy and turn my temporal Sorrows into everlasting Joys SECT XX. Of the Prosecution of Christ before Pilate and the miserable Despair of Judas thereupon WHile our Saviour was passing the sorrowful Night vilified spit upon buffeted and mockt as the very Scorn of Men and the Out-cast of the People Fame which is more speedy than a thousand Posts and has abundance of Voices to make it self heard had dispers'd the News through the whole City and the People m Luke 22.66 rais'd early in the Morning by various Reports and restless Expectations flockt together and the Council re-assembled so much the more incens'd by how much their Witnesses had failed and Christ had answer'd prudently and suffer'd patiently hoping by the semblance of a judicial Process they might persuade Pilate whose Authority they were to use to accept their Examination and Conviction without Enquiry And Christ is n Luke 22.66 brought again bound before 'em that at least they might satisfie their Cruelty in seeing him if they could not their Malice in falsly accusing him For as the Force of Love has this Effect that it sufficeth not to have once seen its beloved so Envy and Hatred desire more and more to reiterate their Cruelty upon what they hate And because Christ had as yet only confest himself the Son of God and Judge of the World which would bear but little stress before Pilate who was a Pagan and Idolatrous and whose Religion maintain'd the frequent Descent of the Gods they worshipt they urge him again with the former Question Whether he were the Messiah or Christ saying o Luke 22.67 Art thou the Christ tell us For the promis'd Messiah in Scripture being there also called the p John 1.49 King of Israel if he confest himself to be the Messiah they would by consequence