Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	church_n	good_a	great_a	3,182	5	2.6384	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19581	Londons lamentation for her sinnes and complaint to the Lord her God. Out of which may bee pickt a prayer for priuate families, for the time of this fearefull infection. And may serue for a helpe to holinesse and humiliation for such as keepe the fast in priuate: together with a souereigne receipt against the plague. By W.C. pastor at White chappell.	Crashaw, William, 1572-1626.	1625 (1625)	STC 6017.5; ESTC S118685	24,200	62

ioy in thy strength O Lord and exceedingly reioyce in thy saluation Then all our friends shall reioyce with vs and all our enemies be couered with confusion and the World shall say Blessed are the people that bee in such a case yea a thousand times blessed the people that haue such a Lord for their God who hath purged them from their old pollution and purified them for himselfe that now he may dwell among them for euermore Heare vs G God of Mercie for thy Name sake But Lord wée beséech thée begin with the better part first euen the spirituall sores of our Soules and of our Land remoue those Plagues first which hath pulled downe this Plague therefore begin wée beséech thée at the right end and make vs not healthfull and found in body and leaue vs sicke in soule and miserable in our spirituall state Turue vs therefore O God of our saluation cause thy louing countenance to shine vpon vs and wée shall bée safe Bring vs againe into thy Temples with ioy and into thy Courts with praifs satisfie vs early with thy Mercies and comfort vs according to the dayes wherein thou hast afflicted vs Now let thy worke appeare vnto thy Seruants and thy gloeie vnto their Children Then we will gee into thy house with true Burnt offrings and with théerefulnesse of heart wil pay thee our vowes which our lips haue vttered and our mouthes haue spoken in the dayes of our affliction And wée that bée thy People and shéepe of thy Pasture will giue thée thankes for euer and shews forth thy Prayses vnto the Generations that shall follow after vs vnto the Worlds end And this our poore Prayer which here wée haue presented and this our weake thanks-giuing which wée haue here rendred to thy holy Maiestie we humbly beg may bée accepted not for our selues alone but for thy whole Church euen the blessed body of thy deare Sonne Nor for our friends alone but euen our enemies for whom we implore rather thy Mercie to couuert them then thy Iustice to corfound them yet if they will not be reclaymed restraine their rage good Lord and frustrate all their furie make the malice of Man turne to thy praise and if our Prayers can doe them no good at least let their causelesse Curses and cursed Plots doe vs no hurt Stand by all the Armies and Forces of thy Church both by Sea and Land and by all them that stand vp for thy holy Cause especially that chiefe Champion of thy Church thy deuoted Seruant our Souereigne Lord rouse vp his Royal heart inflame him more and more with zeale and loue to thée that thy Church may finde him and thy foes may féele him to be the Great Defender of thy Christian Faith and the Man of Men whom thou hast marked for thy selfe euen a second Cyrus raised vp anoynted and sanctified by thy selfe to performe all thy pleasure and to execute thy great and glorious Designes not only for the building vp of our Ierusalem in the Reformation and Restoration of our Church but to subdue the Nations before thee and to weaken and loose the Loynes of such Kings as will not open their hearts to thée The promise thou didst please to make to Cyrus who knew thée not make good wée beséech thée much more to Him who knowes thée and feares thée and submits his soule vnto thée and casts his Crowne downe at thy féete That is Make him thy great Shepheard hold vp his Right hand subdue thine enemies before him open to him all dores of difficulties breake in pieces the gates of Brasse and cut in sunder the barres of Iron and goe before him when hée goes to make the crooked places of the World streight To which end giue him good Lord beside all thy other blessings the Treasures of darknesse and hidden riches of secret places that euen therby also he may know that thou the Lord who hast called him and set him on work art able to payhis Armies prouide for him do this O Lord for Iacob thy Seruants sake and Israel thine Elect. Blesse the Quéene Thou that hast made her His make her also Thine that so she may be a helpe to him a blessing to vs a cōfort to the distressed Churches of France and a Ioy to the Christian World Blesse therefore good Lord and make powerfull all meanes of her Conuersion publike and priuate and for the settling of her soule in thy holy Truth and in the waies of righteousnesse And besides the Prayers of vs and thy whole Church ouer the World daily made for Her wee beséech thée gratiously to regard the serious supplications which wée are sure his Maiestie daily powres out before thee for her happie and spéedie Connersion that so shée may bée a Pursing Mother as he is a nursing Father to thy Church Shine from Heauen with the beames of Loue and Mercy vpon those glorious Seruants of thine the King and Queene of Bohemia and their Royall Branches and as thou haft honoured them not only to beléeue in thée but to suffer for thée so giue them in thy good time a blessed Issue of all their vniust sufferings and in the meane time arme them with Faith and Patience to waite on thée Looke downe in Mercie and blesse with thy speciall blessing the High Court of Parliament be with them at their Méetings Consultations and Conclusions set thy fear before their eyes and let thy glorie bee their greatest Ayme knit the hearts of Prince and People one to onother and all to thée Confound all priuate Plots any way tending to the hinderance of the comfortable continuance of that blessed Méeting till they haue first discouered and then found meanes to cure the Corruptions Plagues and great diseases of this Church and State Blesse this whole Land make his Maiesties Councell faithfull to thée least otherwise they proue false to him Purge the Tribe of Leui that their lips may preserue pure knowledge and their liues may expresse the Life of true Religion Refine our Nobilitie from the fil thie dregs of Poperie and all ignoble bafenesse Cleanse the hearts and hands of our Iudges and Magistrates and purifie our People in this furnace of Affliction and humble vs all from the King vnto the Captiue that so we may bée a People prepared for the Lord. And looke downe in Mercy as thou art a God of Mercy vpon those many hundreds nay yet alas alas thousands of our deare brethren in this Land and especially in this Citie who still lye groaning vnder the burthen of thy Wrath the Sword of thy destroying Angell Alas O Lord these Sheepe what haue they done Or are wee better then our Brethren Or are these thousands that fall before our faces any greater sinners then the rest Or rather haue not wee sinned more then they and yet they are smitten rather then wée O how wonderfull are thy workes how vnsearchable are thy Iudgements and thy wayes past

vs if we doe not and will follow them whoeuer they bee that double and dissemble with their God in this case And if any that be abroad and yet vnvisited thinke I deale too farre and too freely in this Confession I aske no more but to forbeare his judgment til they be vnder the hand of God as we haue bin now three moneths and more and then they will iudge I am too short The while God in mercy pardon that and wherin I may be thought to go too far I shall easily answere it to God or Gods Anointed shal sigh sob in secret to consider the wrath woes that wait for those wicked ones who as they deeply haue had their hand in pulling downe this Plague so carelessely seeke to passe it ouer and looke not after the God that hath smitten them and the whole Land for their sakes and will if they turne not betimes smite them downe to Hell What stony hearted Stoicke can he be who sees more then forty thousand Christians many as good and some better then Himselfe laid in the dust in little more then twice forty dayes and is not humbled vnder the Hand that did it and sensible of the Sin that did procure it Can hee bee a good Seruant of God or Subiect to his Souereigne that besides ten thousand aged weake and poore shall see an Army of ten thousand more braue lustie and seruiceable young men and tenne thousand more comely and mariageble young women and ten thousand more young Infants whose proofe and hope had beene still before them already taken out of one Corner of this Kingdome and sits not downe in dust and ashes mourning to that God that tooke them for that King that lost them with that Land that wants them For that Sinne that pluckt them from vs I dare pronounce vpon him from God whoeuer hee bee that can or dare thus sleightly and sliely passe by the workes of God and laughes in his sleeue at such a judgement as this is markt vp by God for some greater vengeance as sure as the fourteenth of Ezekiel is Gods true Word For if hee that mournes for sinne be the man that is Markt by God for blessing and deliuerance what 's hee that makes a sport of sinne and layes from his heart the Iudgements thereby procured but one that 's sealed vp for confusion and destruction O therefore that my heart were a Fountaine and my eyes Riuers of teares that I might worthily bewaile the sinnes of our Nation together with mine owne and weepe for the slaine of the Daughter of my people So cried the holy Prophet of the abundance of his holy Zeale and so I am sure in their seuerall measures doe all the Ministers and men of God amongst vs that haue but tasted of the same spirit mourning for the desolations of this Citie and more for the Contagion that causeth it and most of all for the sinnes that procured them both And who would not care to sacrifice themselues what way the Lord should please so the wrath of God might bee pacified towardes this Church and Nation and those plagues remooued which are the cause of this Plague And till these be remooued we shall find the Prophets tell vs true that eyther this Plague shall stil stay creep like a Canker ouer our whole body or else only make make way to some more fearefull that shall follow after it That this may be preuented he cannot be a Christian that will not both cry to God and confesse to him the publike and priuate and personall sinnes that be the cause thereof And as all that are enabled and taught by the holy Spirit of God to poure out their soules in humble Prayer and hearty Confession will in holy obedience to the holy Prophets counsell Take vnto themselues words and returne vnto the Lord So for those that cannot open their mouthes as they desire and yet haue hearts that groane after God and soules that seeke the Lord. For their assistance only haue I beene perswaded to publish this which now I leaue to them and them and it together with our selues to the mercifull acceptation and gracious blessing of our Good God who grant vs all in these dayes of danger when somtimes almost a thousand a day are pickt vp and pluckt away before our faces So to liue and so to dye as when we dye we may be sure to liue for euer And so to part with one another here as we may be sure to meet in Heauen And here so to confesse our sinnes as at the last Day Christ may confesse vs to be his owne And so to pray here as we may prayse God eternally in Heauen LONDONS LAMENTABLE COMPLAINT to her GOD. Containing A Prayer for the time of Infection afore confession of SINNE A Meditation vpon the causes and remedie of this Plague A Thankesgiuing for Gods mercie euen in this Crosse Most high and holy Iehouah thou being of beings who giues life and being to euery Creature giue leaue vnto us the most unworthy oues of all thy Children to come before thee and present our petitions at the Throne of Grace Wee durst not rush so rudely into thy holy presence mightie Lord God nor beg so boldly so great a sauour were it not that thou hast gratiously vouthsafed not onely to call and inuite vs but euen command vs to come vnto thee and call vpon thee in the day of our affliction and hast moreouer mercifullypromised that thou wilt heare vs and deliuer vs that we may glorifie thy great Name In this confidence we take comfort to come to thee O Lord in this day of our trouble and common calamitie of our Church and Kingdome And first we doe all in the name one of another and wée for our parts euery one of vs for himselfe humbly and freely cousesse wee haue all had our hands in this blood and each one borne apart in pulling down these heauie plagues vpon this City and our Nation O Lord wée doe none of vs excuse our selues but wee doe euery one of vs accuse and arraigue our selues at the barre of thy Iustice and we doe all pronounce our selues guiltie in thy sight Nor are we onely tainted with Originall sin in our natures but Lord our liues are stayned with all actuall pollutions in our thoughts words and déeds by sins of Comission and Omission by sins not onely of Ignorance but euen of negligence carelesnesse and presumption Miserable sinners that wée are wée haue not only committed soule and fearefull things abhominable to thy pure and holy Maiestie dishonorable to thy holy Religion offensiue to thy holy Law and therefore iust prouocations of thy Wrath but alas we haue sometime totally omitted and at the best alwaies failed in all the good and holy duties required at our hands Wée haue not béene humbled for thy iudgements nor thankfull for thy mercies as wee ought to haue beene therefore thy mercies being abused haue