Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bring_v	evil_a	sin_n	1,775	5	5.0455	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58032	The hue and cry of conscience after secure sinners; or The alarm of conscience in order to the discovery of hidden guilt by John Ryther minister of the gospel	Ryther, John, 1634?-1681.	1680 (1680)	Wing R2439; ESTC R218576	38,947	164

THE HUE and CRY OF CONSCIENCE AFTER Secure Sinners OR THE ALARM of CONSCIENCE In order to the Discovery of HIDDEN GUILT The Heaven shall reveal his Iniquity and the Earth shall rise up against him Job 20.27 Thou hast set our Iniquities before thee our secret Sins in the light of thy Countenance Psal 90.8 By JOHN RYTHER Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed by J. D. for Iohn White at the Three Bibles in the Minories 1680. TO THE Serious and Impartial READER THe present Day cannot but be looked upon to be an evil Day even by those who have but their Eyes half opened That which makes a Day evil is the Sin of the Day which brings on the dangers of the Day and God's threatnings to cause our Sun to go down at Noon and to darken the earth in the clear Day And I will turn your Feasts into Mourning and all your Songs into Lamentations and I will bring up Sackcloth upon all Loins and Baldness upon every Head and I will make it as the mourning of an only Son and the end thereof as a bitter Day Now when the evils of our Sins abound among us and the evils of God's Threatnings impend over us it is a seasonable time to contribute to a check of the one and to a preventing of the other which must be by some awakening or searching Calls and Crys to sleepy and drowzy Consciences which is the sole Design of this small Treatise Three sorts of Readers it is like to fall into the Hands of 1. Of awakened or it may be startled Consciences but half awakened Or 2. Into the hands of such who are sprinkled from an evil Conscience Or 3. Into the hands of such whose Consciences are seared Now for the first of these I would offer some things to serious Consideration 1. Whatever thou find'st here to concern thee do not put it off Know is a renewed Call of God to thee and say as in that case Lo this we have fearched Job 5.27 so it is hear it and know it for thy good Or as it is in the Hebrew for thy self Know it to a practical and profitable improvement of it Dost thou know what thou mayst find in following the Search Hadst not thou better search Truth to set thee upon a diligent search for Guilt that hath laid long hid than let God find it out to thy shame sorrow and confusion of Face O be not thou troubled that thy Conscience is startled and begins to fly in thy Face Know now it is a Call of Christ Ephes 5.14 saying Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light Little do Sinners know the danger of putting off Christ's renewed Calls 2. Carry what concerns thee in this Treatise to God in Prayer Conviction looks well when it puts upon Supplication O this is the great Reason why so many awakenings by the Ministry of the Word or by Providential Dispensations die and come to nothing because they are not prayed over O how hard is it to bring guilty obstinate Sinners upon their Knees We find when Ephraim bemoaned himself and lay under Conviction he then presently fell on praying Jer. 31.18 Turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God O Sinners know that such Convictions as are not attended with Prayer will but prove aggravations of your Sin and Guilt another day As soon as ever God had wrought throughly upon Paul it was said Behold he prayeth Prayer is the first breath of the new Creature 3. What concerns thee here consider it well weigh it in the ballance of the Sanctuary prove whether it be according to the standard of the Sanctuary Poor Souls hear much and it may be reade much but this marrs all they consider little Now it is the considerate Reader that is the profitable Reader Consider what thou readest 2 Tim. 2.7 and the Lord give thee understanding 1. Consider the Word thou hearest and thou readest shall judge thee at the last Day All thou hast heard all thou hast read shall come in as witness against thee And canst thou stand before such a Testimony 2. Consider thy own Conscience in that Day will be a thousand witnesses And canst thou then lift up thy Head when the Books shall be opened Rev. 20.12 and amongst the rest this sealed Book of thy own guilty Conscience where thy Iniquity that hath been sewed up shall be brought to light Job 14.1 and thy Transgression that hath been sealed up in a Bag shall be openly detected and discovered 3. Consider the Day is bastening upon thee that the iniquities of thy heels shall compass thee about Psal 19.5 O how wilt thou poor Sinner be entangled and perplexed with thy Sin and Guilt Some understand by Heel the last part of a Mans life towards his Death And doth not such a day hasten upon you O what work will Guilt make in the Conscience in a day of Distress consider by Joseph's Brethren 4. Consider how thy Conscience consents as thou readest Is not this true says Conscience Hast not thou found and felt it so says Conscience Is not thy Conscience put to silence as thou readest Consider that the Truths are commended to thy Conscience 5. Consider how sad it would be for all thy awakenings all thy touches all thy impressions all thy Convictions to be lost at last O Sinners how will such be condemned out of their own Mouths Can these be lost and your Souls saved of all your losses you may reckon these among your grea est losses 4. What concerns thee here remark and remember you may read much and remark little and this marrs all you read this remarking is Conscience taking Notes and making Animadversions upon Truths You do not bring your Consciences to reade Books say as you reade O my Conscience mark this this nearly concerns thee You know Men mark and observe what concerns them The second sort of Readers this little Tract may fall into their Hands are such who are sprinkled from an evil Conscience upon whose Door-posts the Blood of the Paschal Lamb is sprinkled who with Paul daily exercise themselves in all good Conscience both towards God and Man 1. O do you reade and bless God that you have to all Chalenges and Questions the answer of a good Conscience that you can silence all your Objections and Accusations by Faith in the Blood of Christ and can sing that triumphant Song even in your Militant State Rom. 8.33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect c. Can every one say so can every Professon say so can every Child of God say so Are there not many that have been a long time learning to sing this Song and have not learnt it to this day 2. Let this be your care to preserve the tenderness of your Consciences You may by guilt Sirs benum your Consciences as you find by what

can you stand under his Anger According to thy Power so is thine Anger 2. Conscience reflects upon the Soul's Pollution and Defilement another sad effect of Sin That a Soul which came out of the Hand of God so pure so spotless a Being should be so deformed and defiled O how sad is this 3. Another sad effect of Sin that the awakened Conscience reflects upon in a day of Affliction is the withdrawment of God's comfortable Presence from the Soul O! how did the Spouses Conscience Reflect when she said My Beloved hath withdrawn himself Sin makes God hide himself from his dearest Children And O what temptations are God's Children exposed unto when their Father is withdrawn O how easily then are they drawn in to think hardly of God to be jealous of God to question his Promise I might name many other sad Effects and Consequences of Sin that awakened Consciences Reflects upon But I will forbear The Third Query is this What kind of Reflections these Reflections of awakened Consciences are 1. These Reflections are home Reflections O Sinners when Conscience Reflects and charges it home this was the case of my Text it was a home charge Verily we are guilty concerning our Brother O how quick was Conscience now with them And so when David reflected upon his Sin charged upon him by Nathan Thou art the Man says Nathan I have sineed says David It may be for the present your Consciences say little to you are very silent but stay until God shall awaken them O then until your Sin be pardoned it will be a Terror to you and cause you to mediate Terror What though this Lion sleep day will come that God will rouze him up and then he will be a Roaring Lion O what an home Reflection was that of Judas I have sinned in betraying innocent Blood And surely Peter's Conscience charged him home when he went out and wept bitterly 3. These Reflections of awakened Consciences they are just and righteous Reflections O! Conscience doth not reflect without a Cause doth not accuse or sting without a Cause Was then not a Righteous Cause for this Reflection in the Consciences of Joseph's Brethren Was there not great Guilt a the bottom Did Cain's Conscience afright him without a cause had not he killed h● Brother Abel Did David Conscience smite him with out a cause when he cried out I have sinned Did Jud● his Conscience torment him without a cause when he cri'd out I have sinned in betraying Innocent Blood Oh Sinners When you look into your past Lives and turn over the Book of your Conversations Page by Page Leaf by Leaf and observe Page and Margin well you will sind both full of causes for these Reflections May not you charge your selves for this Sin and the other for this unknown Guilt to the World and the other O then you will say it is a righteous thing that Conscience should Condemn and that the Sentence thereof is a just and righteous ●entence We reade of him that had not on the Wedding Garment his Mouth was stopt he stood speechless So will it be in this Day with all poor guilty Sinners they will not have a word to say for themselves why Sentence should not be Executed upon them Rom. 2.19 Every Mouth must be stopt that all the World may become Guilty before God 3. These Reflections are full of Horrour and Dread Fear naturally results from them and you know Fear hath Torment in it These Reflections become great Torments to guilty Consciences the inward gnawings of this Worm are very terririble Alas what can arise out of Guilt Sinners but Dread and Horror Guilt we say makes a Man affraid of his own Shadow O what a torment is this when a Man ●omes to be dogg'd and haunted where-ever he goes with with his own guilty Conscience He needs no other Executioner or Tormentor The ●ase of Spira is a dreadful ●anding Instance Herod heard ●f the Fame of Jesus and ●id unto his Servants Mat. 14.2 3. This 〈◊〉 John Baptist he is risen ●●m the Dead therefore might Works do shew themselves in 〈◊〉 What was the matter ●ith Herod that he was thus ●●●tled and crys it was ●●hn He had killed John ●●d now John though dead ●●lk'd in his guilty Conscience and as a Spectrum ●eadfully affrighted him 4. These Reflections of ●●ty awakened Conscience are not easily quieted Conscience is not easily pacified Luther hath this passage It is as hard a thing t● comfort an afflicted Conscience● as it is to create a World God says he Isa 57.19 created the fruits of the Lips Peace peace viz. in his Minister's Mouths when they are Barnabasses Sons of Consolation to troubled Souls O! Who ca● speak Peace to a Wounde● Conscience but God H● only can say to poor Souls i● danger of being Shipwrack● with these Storms of Conscience's Troubles Peace and b● still The Lord Jesus can only command these Wind and Storms to obey him Thus it was with David th● the Lord had sent Natha● the Prophet to him to te● him God had put away h●● Sin yet all this would not do until the Lord told him so himself which occasioned that Prayer of his Lord make the Bones which thou hast broken to rejoyce Psal 51.8 Make thou me to hear the Voice of Joy and Gladness 5. These Reflections of awakened Consciences are such as constrain the Sinner to seek out for ease Poor Souls now dwell in little ease they are disquieted and distressed and therefore look out for a Remedy A wounded Spirit who can bear Wounded Men you know groan for ease So do these wounded Souls Hence it was that Cain under the horrour of his awakened Conscience begins to build Cities to divert the rage of his throbing Conscience Many Sinners when awakened and troubled they go to the Musick with Saul to play the evil Spirit down It is said of Charles the 9th King of France after that dreadful Massacre in Paris which was in his Reign He never durst awake out of his sleep without Musick So many go to sinful Company and sinful Recreations to make use of them as a sleepy Sop to allay the rage of an accusing tormenting Conscience as tho they had a design to Conjure down the Guilt that walks in their Consciences But now when a poor Soul is truly awakened with a clear sight of Guilt in the Glass of the Gospel O then he begins to pray to seek out after Christ to enquire what he shall do to be saved to be pardoned O! how do such poor Souls like the stung Israelites under the smart and pain of the Wound run up and down to look towards the Brazen Serpent for Healing And like those prickt in the Heart cry out Men and Brethren what shall we do First Reason Why Conscience in a day of Affliction is quick at Reflections Because days of Affliction are days of Remembrance Conscience sets Memory now at work and now