Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	day_n	lord_n	people_n	3,016	5	4.8463	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60920	A brief discovery of the cause for which this land mourns, and is afflicted with several remedies to be applyed in order to the removal of the present visitation, given forth the 2d of the 6th month called August, 1665, being the last general fast day, appointed to pray for preventing the spreading, and increase of the infection of the plague / by a servant of the Lord, Thomas Salthouse.	Salthouse, Thomas, 1630-1691.	1665 (1665)	Wing S470; ESTC R2351	5,551	10

A Brief DISCOVERY OF THE Cause for which this LAND Mourns and is AFFLICTED With Several REMEDIES TO BE Applyed in ORDER to the Removal Of the Present VISITATION Given forth the 2d of the 6th Month called August 1665. being the last General FAST Day appointed to PRAY for Preventing the Spreading and Increase of the INFECTION of the PLAGUE By a Servant of the Lord Thomas Salthouse Printed in the Year 1665. A brief discovery of the cause for which this Land mourns and is afflicted With several Remedies to be applyed in order to the removal of the present Visitation OH ENGLAND renouned among the Records of antient daies beautiful for Situation and famous among the Nations a Land flowing with Milk and Honey an Island in which the Light of the Glorious Gospel hath shined and upon which the Lord hath lifted up the light of his Countenance in these latter dayes The day of thy Visitation is come according to Gods determination declared by his faithful servants the Prophets who hath been esteemed in thee as earthen Pitchers and persecuted from City to City and who have been set as signes and wonders in the Land of their Nativity for giving thee good counsel and shewing thee the path of Life and the way of Holiness in which thou hast refused to walk and now is the hand of the Lord lifted up to correct and chastise thy Inhabitants for their envy against the innocent and their oppressing of the poor and needy and the Lord is turning a fruitful Land into barrenness and your mirth into mourning for your iniquities and transgressions which hath provoked him dayes without number Oh! therefore lift up your eyes and look unto him whom you have pierced and let every Family mourn apart and let every particular person be humbled for his own transgression Let the wicked forsake his evil wayes and the unrighteous man his vain thoughts and turn to the Lord for he is gracious and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Wash you and make you clean put away the evil of your doings cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless and plead for the Widow let all the oppressors and persecutors of Gods people be ashamed because of their envy against the innocent now when the hand of the Lord is lifted up and when he hath undertaken to plead with equity for the meek of the Earth that have long mourned in desolation For this I am moved of the Lord to give forth in the day of your fast that it may be read in the fear of the Lord with the Spirit and understanding and I declare unto you that Persecution is the crying sin for which the Land mourns and in the great City where Persecution and Banishment for worshipping God did begin and where judgment was first turned backward and equity perverted hath the Lord begun to execute his Righteous Judgment and the cry of the Lords Prisoners together with the supplication of the righteous Souls that lieth under the Altar hath entred into the eares of the Almighty who hath taken cognisence of their cause and will with equity plead it on their behalf and every tongue that riseth up in judgment against them shall be condemned and all that gather together against the Lord and his chosen people shall be broken to pieces like a Potters vessel for this is the portion and heritage of the Lords servants who are established in Righteousness no weapon formed can prosper nor no inchantment can prevail against Gods peculiar treasure Wherefore now in the day of your fasting and praying unto which you are injoyned by authority be not like unto the Pharisees and Hypocrites of old who fasted often and did all their works to be seen of men you that profess Christianity should not fast as they did by afflicting your bodies and bowing down your heads in outward appearance for a day by drawing near to the Lord with your mouths and lifting up your voyces on high for verily except your Righteousness exceed the righteousness of the strictest sect of the Scribes and Pharisees you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven neither will the Lord accept an offering at your hands whilst you are building up Sion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity and whilst you are exercised in oppressing the poor and needy For this is the fast that the Lord hath chosen and which he now requires of you who have injoyned others to abstain from their ordinary food that you fast from sin envy oppression and persecution that you lose the bands of wickedness undo the heavy burthens and set the oppressed free that you deal your bread to the hungry that you visit the fatherless and widows and bring forth the Lords Prisoners out of the Prison houses from among transgressors and malefactors where they lye languishing in nasty holes dismal dens and contagious cottages unto which they are confined for good conscience sake and for worshipping God in the Spirit whilst the proud are accompted happy and they that do wickedly are at liberty living in pleasures upon the earth Oh! therefore you that now bear rule amongst men take councel at the antient of daies and remember what the Rock of Israel hath said do justly love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord rule in love and in the fear of God that your light may shine as a morning without Clouds and that you may be as the tender grass springing up out of the earth by clear shining after the rain then will your health spring up speedily and the Lord will make you as a water'd Garden and as a spring of waters whose waters doth not faile for upon them that fears the Lord and thinks on his name and tremble at the words of his holiness will the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his Wings Cease smiting with the fist of wickedness and if you expect an answer of your Prayers and fasting which you pretend is for removing this dreadful Visitation and to prevent the spreading and increase of the infection now begun in your Metropolitant City where you first began to persecute imprison and transport the people of God out of the Land of their Nativity for their Religion and Righteousness sake Oh then remove those grievous yoaks of bondage which is unjustly laid upon that innocent people who are persecuted and imprisoned under the reproachful denomination of Quakers and let a general Goal delivery be proclaim'd as well as a publique fast and let the Prison doors be set open to all who are in bonds for worshipping God in the spirit and for their obedience to the commands of Christ Jesus and for their Non-conformity to the customs and traditions of men which doth not make the comers thereunto perfect as pertaining to the conscience and do not sell the Saints and servants of the most high as bondmen and bondwomen for their obedience to the Lord and keeping their consciences void of

offence both towards God and man Is this a time to banish the Husband from his Wife and Children from their affectionate Fathers and Mothers to make Women as Widdows Children Fatherless and tender hearted Fathers and Mothers Childless for meeting together in the name of the Lord to the number of five or more to pray to God for all Men for Kings and all that are in Authority That under them the Saints may live a godly and peaceable life and to pray for the removing of this dreadful Visitation Is this a time to transport them for this Cause out of your Coasts when you know not how soon the Lord in his justice may make your Wifes Widdows you Childless or your Children Fatherless and reduce you to the number of five or under in your high places appointed for publick worship do you not pretend to use meanes and give forth Directions to prevent the spreading of this great Contagion and is not this the way to spread and increase Sickness and Infectious Distempers and incurable Diseases when People are thrust together in great numbers in Goals and in stinking Prison-houses in the cold of Winter and heat of Summer where they are deprived of the benefit of open aire and other competent accommodation for their refreshment and the preservation of their health in such a season as this Is this doing unto others as you would they should do unto you do you not desire the Lord to forgive your trespasses as you forgive them that trespass against you what transgression hath the innocent People of God called Quakers committed that you punish them so severely or what is their trespass against you would you have the Lord do unto you as you have dealt with them that never did you hurt in thought word nor action nor never designed evil against the present Government How long shall the Spirit of the Lord strive with you the patience and long-suffering of the Almighty hath been exercised as in the Dayes of Noah when all Flesh had corrupted his way upon the Earth when the thoughts and imaginations of Mens hearts was evil onely evil and that continually and he hath been provoked with this Generation as in the dayes of Lot for pride fulness of bread wantonness and abundance of idleness hath been acted and practised of late dayes in this Nation and because of swearing this Land mourneth And the People of God that trembles at his word and cannot swear at all are trampled upon persecuted fined and imprisoned and accounted as Men not fit to live upon the Earth nor to have a habitation in the Land of their Nativity Oh! that the Heads and Rulers of this antient Nation would consider the Cause of this common Calamity which is come upon the Inhabitants of the chief City and other places of the Land and that instead of persecuting and imprisoning People of tender Consciences they would punish Prophaness lay the Law upon the unrighteous and that all People who are now called to Fasting and Praying did know the things that belongs to their peace before their houses be left desolate for the Lord who delights in mercy and in the exercise of loving kindeness doth yet waite to be Gracious and is willing to gather you as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings and to heale your backslidings if you will return unto him and this Generation hath had as sufficient warning as Jerusalem had before her destruction and desolation and more messengers hath the Lord sent forth amongst them then was sent unto Sodom or Ninevy to call them to repentance Therefore shall the Men of Ninevy rise up in judgement with this Generation and shall be a witness against it because they repented at the Preaching of Jonas and behold a greater then Jonas is here and if the mighty works and sound Declarations had been done and declared in Sodom and Gomorah that hath been declared in England they would have repented in Sac●cloth and Ashes for the Lord hath sent forth his faithfull Servants and Hand-maids to Preach repentance in the dominion and demonstration of the Spirit of Life in the Streets and Publike Places of the Chiefe Citties Towns and Villages of this Nation So that the Inhabitants thereof cannot plead ignorance nor say they are surprised at unawars or that the day of their visitation is come as a thiefe in the night for the Lord hath made known his Power and Coming and it hath been declared by Divine Authority and confirmed by verbal Testimony out of the mouths of many faithfull witnesses and there hath been Precept upon Precept and Line upon Line Here a Little and there a little in word wrighting and in Print published in plaineness of speech in your own Language in the ears and unto the view of the whole Nation that you might make preparation to meet the Lord by speedy repentance before he speak unto you in his wrath and vex you in his sore displeasure but you have mocked Gods messengers and persecuted his Servants and handmaids and seized upon their Papers and Printed Books put forth and published in love to your Souls to inform you of this Visitation which is come and of the desolation which is coming and you must confess and acknowledge that the Lord is just in giving warning before he gives correction And that Prophets and wise men have been sent unto you though otherwise esteemed by you and shamefully intreated among you yet their testimony liveth and remains upon record in the role of a Book where he that runs may read it and it shall stand as a witness for God against all persecutors and their cruel practises and unchristian like actions when some of those whom you banish for their Religion and Righteousness are Preaching the everlasting Gospel in the Power and Demonstration of the Spirit unto the Indians and Infidels in the Isles a far off unto which you banish them out of their owne Land for worshipping God in the Spirit and in the truth and for the Testimony of Jesus and the word of God Mine eye affects my heart to see the distress desolation and calamity that commeth like a thunder out of heaven upon the inhabitants of the Land of my Nativity how hast thou provoked a patient and long suffering God who hath watched over thee for good and hath given thee the raine in it's season the former and the latter and hath blessed thee with many spiritual blessings in heavenly things and hath so loved thee that he saith How shall I give thee up Oh England How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zeboim How shall I punish thee as Sodom and afflict thee like the inhabitants of Gomorrah who under pretence of Authority derived from the higher Power and holy Church so called and by the Laws Ecclesiastical and Civil hast persecuted imprisoned and imposed penalties and corporall punishment upon my people the sheep of my Pasture the Lot of mine inheritance whose righteous Soules have been vexed with the Sins and Transgressions and evil Conversations of this Generation The precious Sons and Daughters of Sion comparable to fine Gould how have they been esteemed in England as Earthen pitchers The inhabitants of the dark places of the earth are become cruel like the Oystridges in the Wilderness My Servants and Hand-maides saith the Lord have you given as a sacrifice to fooles and as a pray to the rude multitude to be reproached for the Name of Christ in their own Land and to be sold as Slaves Vassels and Captives among the Heathen in the Isles a far off Oh! England thy leaders have caused thee to err and those that undertakes to instruct thee hath a high hand in this trespass of transporting an innocent people into a strange Land whom they cannot convince of evil nor legally convict as transgressors of any Law either Spiritual or Temporall Be awakned therefore unto Righteousness and meet the Lord by speedy Repentance Kiss the Son least he be angry if once his wrath be kindled but a little blessed are all they that puts their trust in him and let the people of all perswasions have liberty in a peaceable way at all times and in all places to meet together in the name of the Lord to lift up holy hands unto Him and to pray without ceasing it may be the Lord will yet be intreated to command the destroying Angel to stay his hand and to remove this dreadful Visitation which as a just punishment is inflicted upon the Nation for the lond crying sin of cruel and inhumane Persecution Barking in Essex the 2d of the 6th Mon. 1665. T. S. This was given forth on the publique Fast day appointed for preventing the spreading of the Plague by a mourner in Sion under restraint for worshiping God in the Spirit who is a friend wisheth health both to the Soules and bodies of all people upon the earth THE END