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
A38021	The plague of the heart its [brace] nature and quality, original and causes, signs and symptoms, prevention and cure : with directions for our behaviour under the present judgement and plague of the Almighty / by John Edwards ...	Edwards, John, 1637-1716.	1665 (1665)	Wing E209; ESTC R41111	40,611	53

iniquity to his heart and feels a thorow remorse upon his minde for his rebellion against God for his bidding defiance to Heaven and for his abuse of Gods mercies Where is the man that beginning to be sensible of the hardness of his heart strikes upon it as if he would break it and drops down penitentiall tears that he might soften it Such a man is not easily found such severity on our selves is not usuall But know this that nothing is worth a tear a sigh a groan but Sin Turn therefore your grief this way and your sorrow for affliction will not be so loud and clamorous As Physitians stop the blood by revulsion stenching i●'s bleeding in one place by opening vein in another so do you change and divert your sorrow turn it quite into another channel Humble your selves in the sight of God lye low before him being cast down by the burden of sin Be sensible of the Hand of God which is heavy upon you but chiefly eye the finger that points at thy Sin God is just in all that is brought upon you for he hath done right but you have done wickedly Gods wrath is but a due punishment for your abuse of his mercy the overflowing of his anger is but a just recompence for your repeated provocations Justifie God but judg and condemn your selves Your destruction is of your selves your Plagues are the fruit of your own ways Had you not been stubborn and obstinate and sinned against mercy you had not felt such heavy strokes but because you would not be drawn with cords of love it was but just the cords should be twisted into a whip to lash you into your duty Common sicknesses would not amend you you went on and minded not the ordinary summons of Mortality those it seems were not terrible enough No wonder then that God takes another course changeth the rod into a Scorpion and instead of the usuall diseases sends a more fatall and astonishing distemper which carrys poyson along with it You may thank your selves for all this for sin was the procuring cause of it Hast thou not procured this unto thy self in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God thy own wickedness shall correct thee and thy backslidings shall reprove thee And again Our iniquities have separated betwixt us and our God and our sins have hid his face from us that he will not hear Ierusalem hath grievously sinned therefore she is removed To which let me add that of the Apostle For this cause namely for your sins especially your unchristian divisions and your prophanation of the Lords Supper many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep Sin is the root of suffering strike therefore at the root first evidence that you are more sensible of sin then sickness or any other affliction by your asking the pardon of sin chiefly It may be somewhat remarkable that the Psalmist calls up his soul to praise God after this manner Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thy iniquities who healeth all thy diseases God first forgives and then heals and the Holy man is well pleased with this sacred order and method nay he would have been contented with the pardon of sin though the infirmities of his body had still remained The light of Gods countenance is far better then the removall of our sicknesses his favour to our souls transcends all worldly ease and refreshment to our outward man Affliction will never hurt us so long as we can pray and believe so long as God speaks peace unto our consciences And therefore in all our distresses this should be our most ardent request that God would pardon our sins subdue our wicked natures and sanctifie us with his Spirit and then though the Cross lies heavy on our bodies and makes our outward man decay yet our inward man shall feel joy and comfort and our light afflictions which are but for a moment shall work for us a far more exceeding and eternall weight of Glory And let me commend unto you these three ways whereby you are further to discover that you are truely sensible of your Sins The first is a humble confession hearty bewailing and mourning for your manifold provocations That Good King used this remedy when the Plague was broken out and the destroying Angel gone forth to smite Loe I have sinned and done wickedly You are all to mourn for the crying and raigning sins of this Land you are to mourn for the sins and enormities of those men who have not hearts to mourn for themselves Thus Mos●s was grieved sadly for the peoples ●dolatry and most passionately did he interpose in their behalf Ezra and Nehemiah most deeply resented the sins of their Nation You know what Lamentations the Weeping Prophet made you read how righteous Lot was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked And Rivers of water saith the Psalmist run down mine eyes because men keep not thy Law This was the practice of the Man after Gods own heart and that great Apostle could not write to his Philippi●ns without weeping when he made mention of the enemies of the Cross of Christ. The ways of the wicked grieve God and his Holy Spirit and shall they not grieve every good man Mourn then in secret for that great pride and haughtiness that extortion cruelty and oppression that want of brotherly love and Christian communion that perjury couzenage and deceit that wantoness and uncleaness that disobedience and murmuring at our betters that coldness and formality in our religious addres●es that neglect of the Ordinances and Institutions of Christ that scoffing at Piety and true Devotion for these and many other abominations which this Land is highly guilty of you are to mourn and weep even desiring in a holy passion to weep your eyes out as being loath to see such wickedness committed And yet I have not named a brace of horrid vices which this Land is to answer for no less then for the former I mean those common sins of drunkeness and swearing As for the latter how prodigiously doth it increase in our days And whereas St Iames his charge is Above all things my brethren swear not and our Saviour hath given us the same in his excellent Sermon Swear not at all yet are blasphemous Oaths so common and usuall as if both those Texts had run thus do dothing but swear every sentence with too many men is set off with an oath Gods great and glorious Name is used and usurped in the most trifling and ridiculous matters nay it is brought into the obscenest nay into the most prophane and irreligious speeches Gods Name is seldom used by such wretches in prayer and supplication at the throne of Grace but in bitter curses and execrations against their brethren it is daily abused And is it not just with God to visit those mens houses with the most

your selves for this sinful land for this distressed Town 2. Disingage your affections more resolvedly from the world you see the vanity of it daily you have fresh experiences of the uncertainty of all creature comforts let your hearts be taken off from them even whilest you do possess them and be ready to part with them 3. Act Faith more strongly and trust on God when the world fails you 4. Walk more warily and strictly in your lives throw not away your time so vainly as heretofore be more sober and watchful minding the welfare of your own souls and calling upon others to serve God and credit the Christian Religion by a holy life Act to the utmost of your power in the place God hath set you be not weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap if you faint not And lastly to draw to a conclusion when it shall please God in much mercy to remove the present Plague and judgment from this Town remember that you faithfully keep those vows and promises which you made unto God in the day of your fears and distresses Call upon me saith God in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie m● See then that you glorifie God by walking answerably to the mercies and deliverances vouchsafed to you Vow and pay unto the Lord your God When you ate taken out of the Furnace of affliction do not return to your former hardness and inflexibleness If you have laid aside your sins in your affliction do not afterwards take them up again when the affliction is removed Do not as Pharaoh did who cryed out to have the Plagues taken away and withal acknowledged his sin and asked forgiveness and made large promises of amendment but when his request was granted he hardned his heart and returned to his former wickedness 'T was a bad requital Noah made for his escaping the flood to be drowned afterwards in wine 'T will be sad for thee if thy resolutions of living well end at last in forgetfulness of God and dishonouring of his Name by by a most scandalous life Think of it well then and be sincere and cordial in thy purposes and if with Hezekiah thou hast years added to thy life add likewise to thy promises and resolves a holy and blameless conversation If God shall in love to thy soul deliver it from the pit of corruption do thou shew thy self thankful unto him by walking in newness of life If God shall bring thee out into a wealthy place then pay the vows which thy lips have uttered and thy mouth hath spoken when thou wast in trouble If the Lord hath heard thy voice and supplications when the sorrows of death compassed thee and thou d●dst finde trouble and sorrow if he hath delivered thy soul from death thine eyes from tears and thy feet from falling break forth into the Psalmists professions of love and duty to God for his deliverance I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thansgiving I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people Of the ten Lepers which were healed by our Saviour there was but one of them returned to give thanks unto Him We are greedy of mercies but how backward are we to acknowledg the receipt of them and to walk worthy of them But let us now at length bethink our selves of our duty and resolve to put our resolutions into action Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee This was the advice of that great Spiritual Physitian thus runs his Bill for that man whom he had formerly healed of a bodily disease Oh! let us have a care of a Relapse for that will prove unspeakably dangerous and destructive to us 'T was a sad aggravation of the Israelites sins acknowledged by the Levites in their Solemn Confession that after they had rest they did evil again before God Sins committed after great mercies are of a Crimson dye and are beyond measure sinful these do cause the fullest vials of Gods wrath to be poured down upon us if there be any sins that escape punishment to be sure these are not they as it follows in that place before-named Therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies Those Cities Towns and Families which are or shall be delivered from the noisom Pestilence may very fitly take up the words of Ezra After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass seeing that thou our God hast punished us less then our iniquities deserve and hast given us such d●liverance as this should we again break thy Commandments and joyn in assinity with the people of these abominations wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hast consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor ●scaping Yea the Rod shall go about again the severities of Gods vengeance shall over-take us God will lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lyes and your covenant with death shall be disannulled and your agreement with hell shall not stand when the overslowing scourge shall pass thorow then ye shall be trod●●n down by it from the time that it go●th forth it shall take you for morning by morning it shall pass over by day and by night and it shall be a vexation onely to understand the report for the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon that he may do his work his strange work and bring to pass his act his strange act God will not spare neither will he have pity but he will recompence our ways upon our heads He hath variety of punishments he hath a store-house of judgments he hath a bundle of rods he hath several vials of wrath and he will pour them all out upon an ungrateful faithless and perverse people I will punish you seven times more for your sins and I will bring seven times more Plagues upon you according to your sins Nay this numerous curse is twice more repeated and denounced against those that will not hearken unto God but walk contrary to Him And to shut up all after God had smartly reproved and upbraided the Israelites for their incorrigibleness and reckoned up those several judgments which he had inflicted on them amongst the rest the Pestilence and at the end of every one of them had complained that nevertheless they had not returned unto him Therefore in the close of all says he thus will I do unto thee O Israel namely as thy sins deserve and as I have denounced against thee and because I will do this unto thee PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD O Israel Now unto the King eternal immortal invisible the only wise God be honour and glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS Chap. 9. Vers. 3. Ve●se 37. Psal. 41. 4. 2 Tim. 2. 17. Isai. 1. 5 6. Psal 140. 2 3. James 3 8. Mich 7. 3. Isa. 57. 5. I saiah 57. 20 21. Acts 26. 11. Jer. 50. 38. Prov. 1. 18. Rom. 1. 21. Jer. 4 22. 1 Tim. 4. 2. Rom. 6. 13. Levit. 14. 41. Deut. 32. 5. Jer. 17. 9. Heb. 12. 1. Rom 7. 17. Jer. 13. 23. Isa. 64. 6. Ecclesiastes 9. 18. Mat. 7. 13. Gen. 6. 12. ●os 13. 9. Gen. 39. 9. Prov. 14. 16. Isa. 8. 13. Mat. 10. 28. Ephes. 5. 11 Prov. 4 14 15. Prov. 5. 8. Prov. 6. 29. Psal. 26. 4 5 6 1 Thes 5. 22. Ep. Jud. 23. ● Psal 32. 3 4. Vers. 5. Prov. 28. 13. Isa. 53. 5. Zac. 13. 1. Mal. 4. 2. Acts. 15. 9. 2 Cor. 7. 1. Prov. 6. 21. 22 Heb 4. 12. Act. 22. 37 41. Lam 3. 15. Vers. 19 20 21. Luke 21. 34. Jer. 2. 19. Psal. 119. 120. Psal. 76. 7. Heb. 12. 28 29 Amos. 3 6. Deut. 32. 39. 1 Sam. 2. 6. 1 Chron 21. 12 13. Neh. 9. 33. Jer. 2. 17 19. Isa. 59. 2. Lam. 1. 8. ● Cor. 11. 30. Psal. 103. 3. 2 Sam. 24. 17. Exod. 32. 30 31. 2 Pet. 2. 7. Psal. 119. 136. Phil. 3. 18. James 5. 12. Mat. 5. 34. Josh. 7. 12 13 Josh. ●4 15. Esther 4. 16. 2 Chron. 7. 13 14. Jer. 18. 7 8. Isa. 1. 4 5. ●a● 3. 7. ●ev 6. 9. John 14. 1. Psal. 60. 11. Psal. 34. 15. Psal. 38. 9. Isa. 49. 15. Psal. 27. 10. Heb. 4. 15 16. Mat. 8. 17. Isa. 53. 4. 1 C●r 10. 13. Psal. 7. 24. Psal. 91. 15. ●at 6. 33. ●sal 34. 9. Psal. 84. 11. Habak 2. 4. Habak 3. 17 18 Luke 12. 15. Deut. 32. 13. Dan. 1. 12 13. Psal. 37. 37 38. Psal. 46. 1. Psal. 68. 20. Psal. 41. 3. Psal. 39. 10. James 5. 13. Psal 103. 10. Psal 9. 10. 2 Cor. 1. 10. Isa. 38. 1. Psal. 37. ● 34. Ps●l 9● 11. 1 Cor. 7. 20. B. Iewel Isa. 57. 1 2. Isa. 26. 20. Hos. 13. 14. 2 Kings 19. 37. 2 Chron. 16. 12. Isa. 26. 3 4. Jer. 9. 1. Amos 6. 1 3 4 5 6. vers 7. Ephes. 5. 16. Eccle. 9. 10. 2 Pet. 3. 11. Gal. 6. 9. Psal 50. 15. Psal. 76. 11. Psal. 66. 12 13 14. P●●● 6. 9 12 13 14 17 18. John 5. 14. Neh. 9. 28. Ezra 9. 13 14 Isa. 28. 17 18 19 21. Levit. 26. 18 21 24 28. Amos 4. 12. 1 Tim. 1. 17.