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	lord_n	sin_n	1,503	5	4.9511	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19490	A conduit of comfort Preached at Sainct Iames before the Commissioners of the Vnion of the Realmes. By W. Couper, Minister of Gods word.	Cowper, William, 1568-1619.	1606 (1606)	STC 5916; ESTC S114683	33,427	48

are not meete for Pallace worke except they be pollished and squared by hamering no more is it possible that we can be vessels of Honour in the houres of our God except first we be fined melted in the fire of affliction neither can we be as liuing Stones to be placed in the Wall of the heauenly Ierusalem except so long as we are heere the h●nd of God beat from vs our prou● lumpes by the hammer of Affliction As standing Waters pu●●●sies and rottes so the wicked feares not God sayth the Psa●nist because they haue no changes And Moa● keyes is sent sayth the Prophet because he was not powred from vessell to vessell but hath been at rest euer since ●is youth And therefore O Lord rather then we should keepe the old sent of our naturall corruption and liue in a carelesse securitie without the ●ea●e of thy holy name and so become sitfasts in our sinnes no rather O Lord change thou vs from estate to estate waken vs wid● the presence of thy hand purge vi O Lord with thy fire and chastice vs with thy roddes alway Lord with a protestation that thou stand to thy promise made to the Sonnes of Dauid I will visit them with my roddes if they sinne against mee but my mercie wili I neuer take from them So be it Lord euen So be it The same comfort haue we also against Death that now in Christ Iesus it is not a punishment of our sinnes but a full accomplishment of the mortification of sinne both in soule and body for by it all the conduites of sinne are stopped the weapons of vnrighteousnesse broken and though our bodyes seeme to be consumed yet are they but sowen like graines of Wheate into the ●ielde and husband●●e of the Lord which must die before they be quickness but in the day of haruest shall spring vp againe most glorious and shal be restored by the same holy Spi●●●e who now dwel●s in them and as to our soules they are relieued out of this house of seruitude and that they may depart and returne to 〈◊〉 from whom they came therfore haue I compared Death to the Redde Sea wherein Phara●h and his Aegyptians were drowned and sanke like a Stone to the bottome but the Israelites of God went through to their promised Canaan So shall Death be vnto you O miserable Infidels whose eyes the God of this world hath blinded that no more then the blind Aegiptians can you see the light of God that shineth in G●shan that is his Church although yee be in it to you I say your Death shal be a Sea of Gods vengeuce wherein yee shal be drowned and shall sinke with your sinnes heauier then a Milstone about the necke of your soule to presse you downe to the lowest Helle● But as to you that are the Israelites of God yee shall walke through the valley of Death and not need to be a●rayde because the Lord is with you His Staffe and his Rodde shall comfort you Albert the terrours of Hell the horrour of the Graue the guiltinesse of Sinne stand about thee like Mountaines threatning to ouerwhelme thee yet shalt thou go safe through to the land of thine inheritance where with Moses and Mertam and all the children of God euen the congregation of the first borne Thou shalt sing prayses ioyfully to the God of thy saluation And thus wee see how that not onely our present Afflictions but Satan Sinne and Death are made to worke for the best to them that loue the Lord. Now in the last roome concerning the imaginations of men against vs we shall haue cause to say of them in the end as Ioseph sayd to his brethren You did it vnto mee for euill but the Lord turned it vnto good The whole Historie of Gods Booke is as a cloude of mani●old witnesses concurring altogether to confime this trueth I content my selle therefore for all to bring one When Dauid was going forward in the Batta●le against Israel with Achish King of Gath vnder whom he soiourned for a while in the time of his bani●hment the remanent Princes of the Philistines comm●unded him to goe backe and this they did for the worse to disgrace him because they distrusted him but the Lord turned it to him for the best Consider Dauids estate now and yee shall see him set betwixt two great extremities If he had gone backe of his owne accord the Phil●stines might haue blamed him and han●led him as an enemie if hee had come forwarde hee should haue been guiltie of the blood of Israel and especially of S●ul the Lordes annoyted who was slaine in that Battaile In this straite the wit of man can finde him no outgate but the prouident mercie of God deliuers him in such sort that no occasion of o●fence is giuen to S●ul his people because Dauid came not against them neither yet could the Philistines condemne him because he went backe by their commaunde So notable a benefite did Dauid receiue euen by that same deed wherein his enemies thought they had done him notable a shame and it should learne vs in our straightest extremities whereunto men can driue vs to depende on the Lord and euer then to hope for an outgate when we see none For such is thy prouidence O Lord whereby in mercy thou watchest ouer those that loue thee that these euilles that are intended against them by thee are turned into good to them And heere we haue further to consider that seeing this is the priuiledge of euery one that loues the Lord much more must it appertaine to the whole Church of God It is the portion of Abraham alber● the Father of the Faythfull yet one of Gods Children I will blesse them that blesse thee end cursse them that c●rsie thee And shall it not belong thinke wee to all the congregation of the first borne Will not the Lord be a Wall of fire rounde about Ierusalem and the glory in the middest of her Will bee not keepe her as the apple of his eye Shall not Ierusalem be as a Cuppe of Poyson vnto all her enemies and a heauie Stone Yea surely all that lift it vp shall be torne though all the people of the earth be gathered togeather against it the weapons made against her shall not prosper and euery tongne that shall rise against her in iudgement shall be condemned This is the heritage of the Lordes seruantes and the portion of them who loue him For the Church is that Arke of God which may mount vp higher as the Waters increaseth but can not be ouerwhelmed the Bush which may burne but can not be consumed the House built on a Rocke which may be beaten with wind and raine but can not be ouerthrowen The Lord who changeth times and seasons who takes away Kinges and settes vp Kinges hath reprooued Kinges for his Churches sake and hee gouerneth all the

A Conduit of Comfort Preached at Sainct Iames before the Commissioners of the Vnion of the Realmes By W. Couper Minister of Gods word The Lord is my Comforter Imprinted at London for W. Ferbrand and are to be sold at his Shoppe in Pops-head Allie neare the Exchange 1606. A CONDVIT OF COMFORT Rom. 8. 28. Also we know that all thinges worke together for the best to them that loue God euen to them who are called according to his purpose My helpe is in the name of the Lord. THis Chapter may be conueniently ●earmed A C●●p●nde ●f Chr●stian consolation for whereas many kindes of comfortes are dispersed throughout the holy Scriptures for the strengthening of the man of God some of euery kin● are heere gathered together in one and like chosen Flowers picked out of the Garden of God are knitt together in one bunch and presented to thee who art a Christian. There are two thinges onely which trouble vs in this life The first is the remanents of sinne in our corrupt nature this was such a matter of griese to the holy Apostle that it made him to cry out O miserable man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body of 〈◊〉 So despleasant was it to him to liue in that body wherein he found the motions of sinne rebelling against the law of his God And if the Apostle accounted this bu●then so waightie to him Alas how should we complaine and what cause haue we with Ezcchi● to walke weakely in the bitternes●e of our ●ou●es all our dayes in whom the life and power of that sinning sinne is ●arre lesse restrained Yet least wee should be so cast downe with the sense of sinne that we despeare perish being swallowed vp with griefe the Lord furnisheth vs with many comforts against it frō the beginning of this Chap. to the middest of the 17. verse The other thing which may discourage vs is the manifold troubles which follow vs in the following of Christ. For our Lord is like a Lillie among Thornes and at an Apple tree among the trees of the Forrest If wee delight to sit vnder his shadow and if his Fruite be sweete in our mouth wee must be content to walke toward him through many sharpe afflictions therefore are we commaunded not only to suffer afflictions as the good Souldiers of Iesus Christ but also to reioyce in tribulations and if we cannot attaine to that perfection at the least to count it exceeding ioy when we fall into diuerse temptations Yet because no chastisement is sweete for the present it hath pleased the Lord of his fatherly indulgence and pitty toward our weakenesse to seyson the cupp of our bitter griefes with his sweete comforts which as he doth in many other par●es of holy Scripture so specially from the 17. verse of this Chapter to the 30. wherein the Apostle aboundes with consolation shewing himsel●e a fayth●ull Steward in the house of God most carefull to lead as it were by the hand the weary Son●es and Daughters of the liuing God into the Lords Wine-seller there to refresh and stay vs with the Flagons of his wine and to comfort vs with his Apples to ●●rengthen vs with his hid Manna and to make vs merry with that Milke and Honny which out immortall Husband Iesus Christ hath proulded for vs to sustaine vs if wee faint not through these manifold tribulations wherewith we are compassed in this barren Wildernesse That this is the Apos●les purpose and order of proceeding in this Chapter I thinke his conclusion makes it manifest which you haue from the 31. verse to the end wherein he drawes all that he had sayd into a short summe conteyning the glorious triumph of a Christian ouer all his enemies the triumph is first set downe generally in the vers 31. What shall we say then to these things If God be with vs who can be against vs thereafter hee partes this generall in two there is would he say but one of two that are against vs either sinne or affliction as to sinne he triumphes against it verse 33. and 34. Who will lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen It is God that iustifieth Who shall condemne It is Christ who is dead or rather who is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God and makes request for vs. As to Affliction hee begins his triumph against it verse 35. Who shall separate vs from the ●oue of Christ his answere mountes vp by a gradation Will tribulation or anguish do it yea will death it selfe do it or that which is much more Will Principalities and Powers doe it no in all these thinges we are more then conquerours through him that loued vs Tha●kes therefore be vnto our God who alwayes makes vs to triumph in our Lord Iesus Christ. Now in this verse as Iacob gaue his sonnes his greatest blessing in the last roome so the Apostle giueth to Christians his greatest comfort in the last roome wherof this is the Summe Our af●●ictions are so far from being preiudicial to our saluation that by the contrary through the Lords marueilous working they tend to the aduancment thereof he enlarges the comfort Not only afflictions but all other things workes for the best together to them that loue the Lord. The partes of the Verse are two the first conteynes the comfort the second a description of the persons to whom the comfort appertaineth Now I come to the wordes Also that is besides all the comfortes which I haue giuen to you before I giue you yet this further learning vs that albe●t our troubles be many yet our comforts are more Many sayth Dauid are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliureth him out of them all As if he would say for euery trouble the Lord hath a seuerall deliuerance Euery temptation sayth the Apostle hath the owne issue Euery horne that riseth against vs to push vs hath attending vpon it an hammer to repres●e it saith the Prophet Esau mourned vpon his father Isaac although he was prophane yet he cried pittifully Hast 〈◊〉 but one Blessing my Father But wee with the holy Apostle may blesse our heauenly Father who comforteth vs so in all our tribulations that as the suffe●ings of Christ abound in vs so our consolations abound through Christ not one but manifold are his blessings and the storehouse of his con●olations can neuer be emptied The Lord our God hath not dealt 〈◊〉 nor spa●ingly with vs but a good measure of co●●olatio●s pr●ssed downe and running ouer hath he giuen to vs in our bosome his name be praysed therefore and yet how little is all this that we now receiue in compa●●son of these 〈◊〉 ioyes of God that he hath prepared for v● the like whereof the eye neuer saw the eare neuer heard of and the heart can not vnderstand Surely the greate●● measure of comfort that we