Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	begin_v	great_a	time_n	1,599	5	3.2122	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78515	A sermon preached at the publique fast the tenth day of May 1644. at St Maries Oxford, before the Members of the Honourable House of Commons there assembled. / By R. Chalfont B.D. and Fellow of Lincolne Coll. Printed by their order.	Chalfont, R. (Richard), 1607 or 8-1648.	1644 (1644)	Wing C1793; Thomason E9_10; ESTC R15424	32,814	44

Gods they had chosen and let them deliver them in the time of their trouble In this case what ground had faith upon which to stirre up importunity to aske or hope to expect salvation and deliverance when as God had flatly answered them that he would deliver the mno more Why yet this hope they have still The Lord is mercifull he hath beene intreated to forgive when he hath purposed to punish and to save when he had resolved to destroy It may be their sighes and teares and prayers may overcome Gods resolution and move him to deliver them though he hath said he will deliver them no more How e're they are resolved to throw themselves at his feete if they must die they 'le die there if he will not helpe them in their distresse they cannot finde any fault with him they have deserved no favour at his hands if he will see them destroyed he may but their hope is that notwithstanding they have been a disobedient people yet the Lord will looke upon them now as an humbled people and have compassion upon them And they said unto the Lord we have sinned doe thou unto us as seemeth good unto thee deliver us onely we pray thee this day And to their humiliation they adde reformation for it followes They put away their strange Gods from them and now marke the successe with God why his heart is as it were melted into pity towards them for saith the Text His soule was greived for the misery of Israel and against his former declaration crownes their submission with a glorious victory In the last place it will appeare evidently as a truth written by a beame of the sunne that there is great cause why a people when Gods hand is stretch't out in wrath against them should humble themselves if we doe but consider how glorious and dreadfull that God is whose hand is exalted in Judgment and how vile creatures we are and what a terrible thing his wrath is and how impotent we are to stand against it His Majesty is so excellent that the most glorious Seraphinis dare not behold it but thorow the vayle of their wings and then too dazelled with admiration cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory Isa 6.3 Never yet had mortall man even the most innocent any glympse of that glory but did presently humble and abhorre himselfe Woe is me saith the Prophet Isaiah at the 5. vers of the Chap. for I am undone because I am a man of uncleane lipps and I dwell in the midst of a People of uncleane lipps for mine eyes have seene the King the Lord of Hosts Much more cause then have a sinfull people to be abased to be astonish't and to tremble to meet him in the way of his judgements the infinite depth of whose wrath no created understanding is able to fathom The wrath of a King saith Solomon is as the roareing of a Lion when the Lion roares who will not tremble Prov. 19.12 Yea but this is the wrath of a God this speakes an immensity an infinitenesse we cannot conceive Judg. 8.21 As the mans is so is his strength as God is so is his wrath it is a wrath that doth virtually and eminently containe all the terrors of the Creature We read of strange exquisite torments the Cruelty of Tyrants have invented these all are but shadowes to the effects of his wrath The scripture gives us some adumbrations of it by such resemblances as speake it to be a most terrible wrath It is compared to fire the most active and terrible creature the Philosopher tells us that nothing can live in that Element and our fire in respect of that is but like the fire that is painted upon the wall and yet the poore creature must live for ever in it God upholding it that it may feele the power of his wrath Isay 30.33 to a River of fire and brimstone that carries something more with it The deluge of water was very dreadfull it drowned a whole world but such a flood of fire and brimstone how horrible would that be and what are the proudest sinners to stand before it who are but as stubble why it carries away gates and walls and Castles and Kingdomes and Heaven and Earth and all with it The earth shooke and trembled the foundations of heaven moved because he was wroth 2 Sam. 22.8 and shall poore man that is crushed before the moth be able to oppose himselfe against it Can thine heart endure or thine hands he strong in the day that I shall deale with thee EZek. 22.14 Hast thou a hand to resist it or an heart to beare it one drop of that wrath falling upon them will turne the sunne into darkenesse and the moone into blood and make the starres drop downe from heaven one sparkle thereof shall set on fire the Heavens and the earth Matt. 24.29 the whole frame of nature and burne downe to the bottom of Hell Lord who knowes the power of thy wrath For according to thy feare Deut. 32 22. so is thy wrath saith Moses Psal 90.11 Melancholy apprehensions will fancy strange feares but imagination it selfe falls infinitely short of the power of Gods wrath shold God take and set a man upon hells brinke that he might se the torments and heare the cries of the damned there his understanding certainely would be much inlarged to conceive but yet never able to know what is the power of Gods wrath O consider this and tremble ye that do not onely sinne downe but pray downe this wrath upon your selves by those fearefull imprecations God damne me and The Divell take me Little do these poore soules thinke what it is to be damned Isay 33.14 Who can dwell with devoureing fire who can dwell with everlasting burnings And yet this they must upon whom God shewes forth the power of his wrath in their damnation What ever vaine people now conceite of it the time shall come when Kings and great men and rich men cheife Captaines and mighty men Rev. 6 1●.16 shall petition the mountaines and the rocks to hide them from this wrath Thou O Lord even thou art to be feared Psal 7● 7 and who may stand in thy sight when thou art angry Now since Gods wrath is so terrible when it beginnes to grow hot against a people there is more then cause it 's high time for them to humble themselves I have done with the 2 first Queres I descend now to the last which brings the point nearer home to shew what cause we of this Kingdome and particularly wee of this place have to humble our selves I cannot point at all particulars I shall onely touch these three The first is the great distresse that is this day upon the whole kingdome this is a Lamentation and should be for a Lamentation we read in the 21. of Iudges that when by the sword of Civill warre the

Tribe of Benjamin was cut off and destroyed that the other Tribes came to the House of God and abode there untill even before the Lord and lift up their voices and wept sore saying O Lord God of Israel why is this come to passe in Israel that there should be this day one Tribe lacking in Israel and the children of Israel saith the Text repented them for Benjamin their brother and said There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day We are met Beloved at this time in Gods house to humble ourselves and what cause of mourning have we for this Nation wherein I will not say one Tribe is cut off already but many of the heades and chosen men of every Tribe and the whole remnant of this once populous flourishing Kingdome is ready to be destroyed by the bloody sword of an intestine dissention 2 Ch●on 20.23 while we like those earth-borne Thebans or cursed Cananites help to kill and destroy each other When Ziglag was burnt with fire at the very sight of it David and his men wept so much that they could weepe no more 1 Sam. 30.3 what greater reason have we to weepe at the sight of the generall conflagration of our owne Country Were there nothing to be lamented by us in this day of our Fast but the publique miseries of this poore Kingdome with how loud and fearefull a cry doe they call every one of us to mourning Ye daughters of England weepe over me who cloathed you with scarlet 2 Sam. 1.24 and sed you with the flower of wheate How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the Battaile how are not only the weapons of warre but all the abundance and delightes and glory of your peace perished What cause have we I say not only with good Nehemiah to have our countenances sad Nehem. 1.4 and to sit downe and weepe and mourne and fast and pray before the God of heaven but to wish with Jeremie O that our heads were waters Jer. 9.4 and our eyes a fountaine of teares that we might weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of our people A second cause we have to humble our selves at this time is the consideration of every one of our owne sinnes and the sinne of the Nation the guilt and provocation whereof have drawne downe upon our heads the great wrath and indignation of our God Teares were made only for sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. God saith Saint Chrysostome hath implanted in us the passion sorrow for no other thing in the world but sinne Hon. 7. ad pop Antiochenu●● in our Calamities we should looke with the eye of contrition more upon our sinnes then our sufferings and be more afflicted that we should deserve afflictions then that we should endure them A Pharaoh will cry out of the Plague and pray for the taking away of the death repenting Israel prayes for the removall of their sinne Take away all our iniquity Hos 14.2 and indeed all other Calamities to this are in the same Fathers words but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bare names of Calamity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. sin is only truly so Ibid. Whatsoever bitternesse is in any affliction is put into it by the malignity of sin and therefore the Godly who are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men of teares in their weeping have alwayes most lamented their sinnes When Gods wrath was incensed against Israel to have destroyed them for the golden Calfe Oh saith Moses this people have sinned a great sinne and yet now if thou wilt forgive their sinne c. Exod 32 31. O my God saith Ezra in the great distresse of his people I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee O my God for our iniquities are increased over our heads and our trespasse is growne up unto the heavens Ezra 9.6 the same course is held by Nehemiah and Daniel in their supplication King David when the destroying Angel is sheathing his sword into Jerusalem cries out I have sinned and I have done wickedly 2 Sam. 24.17 Mine heart saith Ieremy within me is broken because of the Prophets my bones shake I am like a drunken man like a man whom wine hath overcome because of the Lord and because of the wordes of his holinesse for the Land is full of Adulterers for because of swearing the Land mournes the pleasant places of the wildernesse are dryed up and their course is evill and their force is not right Ier. 23.9.10 O for some Jeremies to lament this over againe for this nation Teares that are shed for sinne are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 commendable teares Orat. 21. as Nazianzen tearmes them The Philosopher tells us that the dew of heaven and the raine from above is farre more fertile then the waters from the fountaines and rivers below and so are those teares for sinne then those that are for affliction And if ever people had cause to be humbled to have their hearts broken and their eyes run downe with rivers of waters for their owne sinnes and the sinnes of their Nation then have we certainly this day That we should sin away our peace and those blessings which made us glorious in the sight of the Nations that we should sin our selves into all these miseries that are now upon us The greatnesse of our present distresse testifies to our faces the greatnesse of our sinnes God that never afflicts willingly Lam. 3.33 and when he doth punishes citra condignum lesse then the desert of our sinnes Job 11.6 hath declared unto us the enormity of our sinne by the extremity of our punishment Ierusalem hath greivously sinned Lam. 1.8 saith the Prophet And therefore is she removed We may say too this day England hath greivously sinned therefore is she greivously afflicted her glory is removed and departed from her But yet this is not all the sinnes whereby we first drew downe this great wrath upon our selves are not all the cause we have to be humbled at this time no there is something more for which were it but throughly resented all our hearts should melt all our bowells tremble and all our Livers be poured out on the earth like water before the Lord this day and that is that we still sinne under Judgements that we have not humbled our selves as yet under Gods mighty hand that we have contracted the guilt of many new greivous sinnes even since the time that Gods hand hath beene upon us in so terrible a Judgement Great cause hath every one of us to sit downe and take up a Lamentation over his owne hard heart Alas What stone is my heart made of The hardest marble will weepe when the heaven is blacke with tempests above though great clouds of Gods anger have hung a long time over our heads and many stormes of wrath fallen upon us yet my heart mournes not The Adamant that they say will onely expell vaine feares no