Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	call_v	great_a	world_n	1,652	5	4.2491	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62604	A sermon preach'd before the Honourable House of Commons, on Wednesday the 16th of April, a day appointed by Their Majesties, for a solemn monthly fast by John Tillotson ...	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1690 (1690)	Wing T1241; ESTC R16574	15,352	41

with three hundred men Jonathan and his Armour-bearer by climbing up a Rock and coming suddenly on the back of the Philistines Camp struck them with such a terror as put their whole Army to flight King Asa with a much smaller number defeated that huge Ethiopian Army which consisted of a Million And how was Xerxes his mighty Army overthrown almost by a handful of Grecians And to come nearer our selves how was that formidable Fleet of the Spaniards which they presumptuously called invincible shatter'd and broken in pieces chiefly by the Winds and the Sea So many accidents are there especially in War whereby the Divine Providence doth sometimes interpose and give Victory to the weaker side And this hath been so apparent in all Ages that even the Heathen did always acknowledge in the affairs of War a special interposition of Fortune by which the wiser among them did understand the Divine Providence Plutarch speaking of the Romans says that Time and Fortune the very same with Solomon's Time and Chance here in the Text did lay the foundation of their Greatness by which he ascribes their success to a remarkable Providence of God concurring with several happy Opportunities And Livy their great Historian hath this remarkable Observation That in all human affairs especially in matters of War Fortune hath a mighty stroke And again No where says he is the event less answerable to expectation than in War and therefore nothing is so slight and inconsiderable which may not turn the Scales in a great matter And Caesar himself who was perhaps the most skilful and prosperous Warriour that ever was makes the same acknowledgment As in all other things says he so particularly in War Fortune hath a huge sway And Plutarch observes That there was no Temple at Rome dedicated to Wisdom or Valour but a most magnificent and stately one to Fortune signifying hereby that they did ascribe their success infinitely more to the Providence of God than to their own Courage and Conduct I proceed now in the Second place to give some reason and account of this Why the Providence of God doth sometimes thus interpose to hinder and defeat the most probable designs of men To bring men to an acknowledgment of his Providence and of their dependence upon Him and subordination to Him and that He is the great Governour of the World and rules in the Kingdoms of men and that all the inhabitants of the Earth are as nothing to Him and the power of Second Causes inconsiderable That He doth according to his will in the Armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none may stay his hand or say unto him what dost thou God hath so order'd things in the administration of the affairs of the World as to encourage the use of means and yet so as to keep men in a continual dependence upon him for the efficacy and success of them To encourage Industry and Prudence God generally permits things to their natural course and to fall out according to the power and probability of second Causes But then lest men should cast off Religion and deny the God that is above lest they should trust in their sword and their bowe and say the Lord hath not done this lest men should look upon themselves as the Creators and framers of their own fortune and when they do but a little outstrip others in wisdom or power in the skill and conduct of humane affairs they should grow proud and presumptuous God is pleased sometimes more remarkably to interpose to hide pride from man as the expression is in Job to check the haughtiness and insolence of mens spirits and to keep them within the bounds of modesty and humility to make us to know that we are but men and that the reins of the World are not in our hands but that there is One above who sways and governs all things here below And indeed if we should suppose in the first frame of things which we call Nature an immutable Order to be fix'd and all things to go on in a constant course according to the power and force of second Causes without any interposition of Providence to stop or alter that course upon any occasion In this case the foundation of a great part of Religion but especially of Prayer to God would be quite taken away Upon this Supposition it would be the vainest thing in the World to pray to God for the good success of our undertakings or to acknowledge Him as the Author of it For if God do only look on and permit all things to proceed in a settled and establish'd course then instead of praying to God we ought to ply the means and to make the best provision and preparation we can for the effecting of what we desire and to rely upon that without taking God at all into our counsel and consideration For all application to God by Prayer doth evidently suppose that the Providence of God does frequently interpose to over-rule events besides and beyond the natural and ordinary course of things and to steer them to a quite different Point from that to which in human probability they seem'd to tend So that it is every whit as necessary to Religion to believe the Providence of God and that He governs the World and does when He pleases interpose in the affairs of it as that He made it at first I come now in the Third and last place to make some Inferences suitable to the Occasion of this Day from what hath been said upon this Argument And they shall be these First From hence we may learn not to account Religion and time spent in the Service of God and in Prayer to Him for his blessing upon our endeavours to be any hindrance to our affairs For after we have done all we can the event is still in Gods hand and rests upon the disposal of his Providence And did men firmly believe this they would not neglect the duty of Prayer and behave themselves so carelesly and unconcernedly and irreverently in it as we see too many do they would not look upon every hour that is spent in Devotion as lost from their business If men would but take a view of what happen'd to them in the course of a long Life I believe most of us would see reason to acknowledge that our prosperity and success in any kind hath depended more upon happy opportunities upon undesign'd and unexpected occurrences than upon our own prudent forecast and conduct And if this were well consider'd by us we should not methinks be so apt to leave God out of our counsels and undertakings as if he were a meer Name and Cypher in the World It is I am sure the advice of one that was much wiser and more experienc'd than any of us will pretend to be I mean Solomon Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and leane not to thine own understanding In all thy ways acknowledge