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	king_n	see_v	1,770	5	3.2429	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66711	Say on, or, A seasonable plea for a full hearing betwixt man and man and a serious plea for the like hearing betwixt God and man : delivered in a sermon at Chelmsford in Essex, at the general assize holden for the said county, before the Honourable Sir Timothy Littleton, one of His Majesty's Barons of the Exchecquer, July 8, 1678 / by Anthony Walker ...	Walker, Anthony, d. 1692.	1679 (1679)	Wing W308; ESTC R5261	13,981	60

God's Deputy what that speaks he speaks that accuses or excuses according to the Law his own Finger hath written on thy heart Therefore stop not its mouth stifle not its checks put it not to silence but hear it out and say unto it Say on 2. He speaks to thee by his Word This is beyond controversie with all but downright Atheists that what the Scriptures speak God speaketh This teacheth thee to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live righteously soberly godly in this present world There 's not a sin against the Law of Nature or Grace which this forbids not under pain of eternal death nor a duty of either to which it encourages not with the promise of eternal life This shews the equity the reasonableness the excellency the necessity of every Duty Virtue Grace and the iniquity unreasonableness baseness danger of every Corruption Vice and Sin Hear consider weigh well what it saith And dare not to go on where God's Word bids thee stop nor dare to stand still where God's Word bids thee go forward Time will not give me leave nor will the Text well bear it to plead God's Cause I may only admonish you to hearken how he pleads it in his Word himself where you shall meet with all the cogent Arguments Right Reason can be moved by in the behalf of Virtue Temperance Justice Charity and universal Holiness and against Vice Prophaneness Debauchery Dishonesty and Irreligion drawn from his authority over thee and Benefits to thee from all the Attributes of his Nature from all the Methods and Instruments of his governing the Rational World His Promises and Threatnings his Rewards and Punishments c. So from Christ the example of his Holy Life the love and design of his Bloody Death c. Now when thou art moved to any Duty or tempted to any Sin before thou refuse the one or yield to the other hear fully what God in his Word saith for it or against it Let God make his full Plea before thou yieldest and givest sentence for the World the Flesh the Devil do not precipitate and because one reason prevails not resolve to hear no more but hear him out Master Say on If his bare authority prevail not try what the obliging sense of his Benefits may do If Thus saith the Lord be not enough hear him saying O foolish people will ye thus requite the Lord If his love constrain thee not try whether his fear and the terrors of the Lord may not restrain thee if the promises and hopes of going to Heaven be too light put in the wrath revealed from Heaven and the consideration of eternal Burnings If Gods Glory move thee not hear what he saith of thine own interest if the declaration of the promises and threatenings suffice not hear what he saith of the fullfilling and exemplifying of them upon others to give thee warning I suggest these few Instances transiently which may teach you to make many more and I beseech you do it hear all God saith for Duty and against Sin before you reject the one or yield to the other and remember that the sinfulness of the world and their final condemnation is chiefly ascribed to their not hearing what God saith to them in the Word Peruse with greatest seriousness that awakening place Prov. 1.24 to the end which if you mind as you should do I hope you 'll give God a Fuller Hearing for the future and when he speaks to you in his Word will let him plead his Cause at large and Say on 3. He speaks to you by his Spirit whispering secretly and silently to your Hearts There is an intimate converse betwixt God's Spirit and Man's of which the standers by can take no notice Thou shalt hear a voice behind thee saying this is the way walk in it Isa 30.21 Hear him therefore as a spirit of conviction pleading with thee to convince thee of and bring thee to repentance for thy past Sins As a spirit of excitation stirring and quickening thee to present Duty as a spirit of restraint to withdraw thee from thy sinful practices or purposes Oh do not this abominable thing which I hate As a spirit of Application setting home general truths to a man's particular case this concerns thee Thou art the Man Generalia non pungunt therefore the spirit in the reading or hearing the Word uses to infer from Generals and apply in this or the like manner If the wrath of God be revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness then against mine If every one be accursed that continues not in all things that are written in the Law then so am I. If every one that repents not must perish then must I if I repent not the spirit and the bride say come and whoever will let him take of the water of life freely then I may take it 't is as free to me as to any other God hath not excluded me if I exclude not my self sic in caeteris in the general threats promises precepts Oh therefore when the spirit stands at the door and knocks open to him when he calls answer him Resist him not provoke him not quench him not grieve him not put him not to silence treat him not rudely turn not a deaf ear but say unto him What wilt thou have me do Speak Lord thy servant heareth Blessed Lord Say on The last improvement I shall make of the words is to mind you to get ready a good Plea against the time God shall call for it and give you the liberty to use t. There is a day approaching nay in some degree now is in which we must appear at God's Tribunal and though we must expect a strict yet we may assure our selves of a Fair Trial. God will hear us out he will give us leave to Say on all that we can say with reason for our just defence Isay 41.21 Produce your cause will the Lord say bring forth your strong reasons saith the king of Jacob. Resolve therefore with the Prophet Habbak 2.1 To watch to see what he will say to you and what you shall answer when you are reproved or argued with Now God hath two Tribunals one in this world the other in the world to come The first erected in every man's Breast his Conscience enlightened by the word which is magni judicii prae judicium as a private Sessions preparatory to the general and grand Assise which is the second the judgment seat of Christ at which we must all appear to give an account of all we have done in the flesh whether good or evil I beseech you therefore bethink your selves before hand provide your Plea for God will certainly call for it First What hast thou to say when God shall summon thee to appear before his Deputy thy own Conscience and shall demand a reason of thy ways O man why dost thou do so or so I am ready to hear thee Say on A wise man should do nothing

injustice yet takes care to make it apparent that he proceeds justly that he may be justified when he speaketh and clear when he judgeth As we have it Psal 51.4 or as the Apostle turns the words Rom. 3.4 That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged God himself cannot escape the censure of the world and therefore for the honour of his Righteousness he will manifest his proceedings to be just that no place may be left for cavil or reproach 3. To put an end to strife and contention What is the reason of bringing the same cause so often over but pretence of not having had a fair Hearing at the first Wh●●'s well done is twice done And trying Causes well once would prevent the trying of them it may be twice or thrice 't is not only for your honour therefore but for your case to let them Say on 4. To prevent clamour We have a Proverb Losers will have leave to talk and they often talk so much when they have lost because they had not leave to talk to prevent their losing Let them therefore Say on before the Sentence and they will have nothing to say after Yea the condemned Criminals will yield their lives more silently and calmly and submisly to the Law when Condemnation was not awarded till they had liberty to make their best defence 5. To restrain the violence of proud oppressing Men. Nothing so much emboldens great Men to oppress and wrong and grind the poor as a confidence that their complaints will not be heard or regarded Now if the Magistrate will consider the cause of the needy and afflicted the Fatherless and Widow the poor and helpless when they cry to him this will be a mighty restraint that the man of the earth shall no more oppress The one would not dare to lay on so unmercifully as oft they do if they knew the other should obtain so merciful a Say on when they make complaint 6. Lastly that true sentence may pass according to the merits of the Cause and as shall appear just upon a Full Hearing This is the Life and Crown of all for of the two it were better and more tolerable to huddle up a business and precipitate a Sentence though this be a very great fault than to pass Sentence against and give Judgment contrary to the merits of a Cause and what hath been made appear upon a Full Hearing to be just and righteous Therefore that a sacred Court may not be branded with the prophane name of a fortuitous Lottery let the Pleader Say on and let his so doing be crown'd with the Reverend Judges saying in his Sentence what is Just and Right according to the apparent merits of the Cause And thus far briefly of the Words as they have an aspect on the Assize But I may well suppose you are not all concern'd in the peculiar business of the day and the special occasion of this Solemn Appearance and so my Discourse hath hitherto not reached many of you and I would be loath that any man should wholly lose his labour of Attendance here especially by my fault I shall therefore borrow a short liberty for a double improvement of these Words Say on in a more spiritual manner and so as may be of an universal influence and use First Give God a fair Hearing interrupt him not let him Say on when he pleads his own cause to provoke you to your Duty or to convince you of your neglect of it Secondly Bethink your selves what you have to say make your Plea ready against God's calling you to account When he shall say to you why do you or why did you so or so and what canst thou say for thy self why thou shouldst not be condemned Say on thou shalt have a fair Hearing say what thou canst for thy self take heed your ways be not so unaccountable that you must then stand mute and have nothing to say for your selves when God bids you Say on First As to what God hath to say to you grant him a fair Hearing cut him not short interrupt him not but say unto him Say on And that this may appear less forc'd yea proper and pertinent I may argue thus If it be incumbent on the Judge to bid the Prisoner the Pleader the Plaintiff or Defendant Say on 't is much more necessary equal and becoming that they should hear the Judge and most of all that we should hear him that is the Judge of all men the Judge of all the earth But nearer yet if the Judge must hear the Pleader Man must hear God for he vouchsafes oh astonishing condescension to make man judge and to plead his own Cause before the Tribunal of Man's Reason Isa 1.18 Come let us reason together And 5.3 O men of Judah judge ye I pray you betwixt me and my vineyard Where God's Plea is managed with such strength of Reason such convictive evidence such unanswerable clearness that Interest it self cannot bribe man to forbear giving sentence on God's side So the Prophet Samuel on God's behalf 1 Sam. 12.7 appeals to themselves while he pleads God's cause Stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord which he did to you and your Fathers So Jer. 2.9 I will yet plead with you saith the Lord and with your childrens children will I plead See also Ezek. 20.35 36. See also that full place to this purpose Mich. 6.1 2 3 4 5. Hear ye now what the Lord saith for the Lord hath a controversie with his people and he will plead with Israel O my people what have I done unto thee testifie against me That you may know the righteousness of the Lord. Now is it not all the reason in the world that when God appeals to Man and makes him Judge and pleads before him that he should allow him a fair Hearing and let him Say on But to make all sure that we proceed pertinently we have an instance in terminis S. Luke 7.40 where Simon the Pharisee useth this very word to our Lord Christ himself Master Say on Now I most earnestly exhort and adjure you to do likewise See that ye refuse not him that speaketh Turn not away from him who speaks from Heaven Heb. 12.25 To day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts Say with Samuel Speak Lord thy servant heareth Resolve with David I will hearken what God the Lord will speak Psal 85.8 and with Simon Lord Master Say on Now God speaks once yea twice Job 33.14 yea thrice 1. God speaks to thee by the voice of thy Conscience 2. God speaks to thee by the voice of his Word 3. God speaks to thee by the secret voice of his Spirit 1. He speaks to Man by the voice of his Conscience The spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord Prov. 20.27 So 't is also the Tongue and Voice of the Lord. Conscience is