Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	effect_n	evil_a	good_a	4,841	5	4.5571	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45206	The dreadfulness of the plague. Or A sermon preached in the parish-church of St. John the Evangelist, December 6th. being a day of public fasting. By Jos. Hunter M.A. and minister in York	Hunter, Josiah, minister in York.	1666 (1666)	Wing H3766; ESTC R219103	15,661	32

and their sins admit of those aggravations which the sins of other men do not and therefore why should we think that they should be priviledged from those temporal punishments which God is went to inflict for such sins 2. Consider that good men even by their sins do help to draw down a judgment and common calamity upon a Nation indeed God takes most notice of their sins concerning the common sort of prophans persons he saith These are foolish they have not known the way of the Lord nor the judgment of their God but when his own People in Covenant with him when these shall break the bands then he bursts out How shall I pardon thee for this now if good men by their sins be instrumental in drawing down a Pest upon a Nation why should they expect any other but to be involved in it 3. Consider this as you cannot tell me any sin be it never so gross into which a Believer may not fall except it be the sin against the Holy-Ghost so you cannot assigne any judgment be it never so great whereunto a Believer is not obnoxious unless it be Everlasting damnation There is no condemnation indeed to those that are in Christ Jesus but for temporal calamities they are so incident to good men that the Scripture seems to make them their Portion and it may be truly said of Gods Servants as Augustus said once when he sat between Virgil and Horace whereof the one was bleer-eyed and the other much given to sighing they sit inter suspiria lachrymas between sighing and weeping I am plagued all the day long and chastened every morning saith David Psal 73. 14. That is a pretty saying of Clemens Alexandrinus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that is neer to God is always under the ●●sb It is a Pestilent Doctrine therefore to a●●irm that none who believe in God and love him sincerely can dye of the Plague it is very t●u● the dying of the pl gu● shall be no more prejudicial to them in respect of their salvation than the dying of any other d●●th All things and therefore the Plague work together for good to them that love God but the sentence of j●s●ification Gods acceptation of them into favour gives not Believers an immunity from any disease but their persons are still subj●ct unto those diseases which the nature is and it is very soundly observed by one Mr. ●●mford who writ a little T●e●●ise the la●● great Plague but this at London that God by suffering good men to dye of the Plague glorifies both his justice and his wisd●me his justice among the wicked in giving them cause to say If God spare not the green tree what shall be done to the dry his wisdome among the godly lest they should say for our own Righteousness ●e are delivered Thus I have answered the three Questions Why the Plague is so dreadful a judgment what it is that provokes God to send it Whether it be incident to good me● I have now only a Cau●ion to subjoyn and then I shall come to Application The Cauti●● is this though the plague be a dreadful judgment yet the Scripture speaks of another plague which is far wor●e and yet whilest we do what we can to ●lie the le●●er plague we do what we can to pursue the greater but what Plague i that Solomon will tell you 1 King 8. 38. The plague of the heart sin in general is the pl●gue of the heart every mans own iniquity his peccatum in delici●● his darling lust that is the particular plague of h●● own heart now this plague of the heart is worse than the other plague in several respects I will name them t●ough I cannot insist on them 1. As in good things the cause is be●t●r so in evil things the cause is worse than the effect bu the plague of the heart is the cause of the other plague sin brought in misery at first and m●sery hath ever since pursued sin 2. We are more sensible of the pl●gue of the body than that of the heart and therefore the plague of the heart is more d●ngerou● the first st●p to ●ealth is to have a feeling of our disease therefore there is less hope of c●re where there is less feeling of the Distemper 3. Nature doth not only feel the Plague of the body but is may by Gods blessing upon means be of force to work out the malignity of it that it shall not prove mortal for else none that have the plague should escape death b●● by a miracle but corrupt nature as it is not sensible of the Plague of the heart so neither hath it power to work it cut if the great Physitian of Souls cure i● not it is not all t●e strength of Nature the art of man the power of Medicines that can avail any thing but the soul is inf●cted and will be destroyed 4. Though the plague of the body be infectious yet the plague of the heart add● ven●●e and malignity to it The spirit of a man will hear his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can hear sin em●itters and poysons any affliction the sting of every p●nal evil is sin this is the plague of the plague an affliction consists not in the bulk of it but the burthen what is a Serpent without a sting or a great bulk if it hath no weight where the plague of the heart is cured the other plague is more easily born● though the cross continue yet the curs● is taken away 5. The plague of the heart is worse than the other plague because it sei●eth upon and infects the better part of man his Soul that which is more worth than a world and could be Redeemed by no less than the precious blood of Christ look how much better the Soul is than the Body by so much worse is the plague of the heart than that of the body Lastly as Christ said concerning men so may I say concerning the plague the utmos● it can do is but to kill the body and that for a time but the Plague of the hears will destroy both body and Soul everlastingly that death which consists only in a separation of the Soul from the Body is nothing so terrible as that which consists in an everlasting separation of the Soul from God But some men will never be convinced what a plague the Plague of the heart is till they come to feel the plagues of the damned then they shall wish for death but it shall flee from them I come now to Application 1. If the plague be such a token of Gods wrath what cause have we of this Nation to think that God i● wroth and displeased with us since he hath visited us with such a Plague as cannot be parallelled since the Sweating sickness and that in such a juncture of time when it could not have been more prejudicial to the affairs of the Nation it is

none dare Traffick with him and this helps to add yet more to his discomfort for the Merchant will tell you that upon the ceasing of Trade there is not only l●●rum cesfans gain ceasing but there is likewise damn●● emergens loss arising because now a man is forced to take from his stock for necessary uses so that grant a man do escape with his life that is visited with the Plague I say suppose he hath his life for a prey what can he do without a livelihood and towards the procuring of this he is much disabled by the Plague So much in answer to the first Question Why the Plague 〈◊〉 so dreadful a judgment 1. Because it is so destructive 2. Because the destruction which it make● is so quick and sudden 3. Because it is so spreading And lastly because it is so uncomfortable for hereby a man i● deprived of the liberty of Gods house the liberty of Friends the liberty of Commerce The second question is what is it that provokes God to inflict this dreadful judgment of the Plague upon a people This is somewhat harder to determine what I purpose to say concerning it take in these three Conclusions 1. For certain God hath just cause given him before he do thus manifest his displeasure many of his wayes are unsearchable but none are unrighteous he can as soon cease to be as to be just if therefore at any time we cannot discerne what should be the cause let us charge our selves with ignorance but take heed of charging God with injustice after God had threatned the Jews with the Sword the Famine the noisomebeast and the Pestilence in Ezek. 14. he adds ver 23. Ye shal know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it saith the Lord and he expresseth himself yet more offended with them for standing upon their justification Jer. 2. 35. Thou sayest because I am innocent surely his anger shall turne from me behold I will plead with thee because thou sayest I have not sinned 2. This we may likewise safely affirm in the general that sin is the meritorious cause as of all other judgments so likewise this of the Plague The wrath of God i● revealed from Heaven saith the Apostle against what all ●nrighteousness and ungodliness of man Rom 1. 18. and it is the observation of a good man that as vapours ascend invisibly but come down again in storms and showers which we both see and feel so sometimes secret sins are the procuring cause of open and notorio●● punishments this of the Plague is threatned unto Disobedience Deut. 18. 3. What sins in particular may be the provoking cause of the Plague now or any other time is not so easy to conclude I think the safest way is one of these three 1. Either to attribute judgments that are general unto sins that are most general and what sin hath been of late years and is still most reigning in this Nation would require one better acquainted with the manners of it than I am whether Atheisme or Dissention or a mutinous inclination against all Authority or violation of Oaths or what else I will not say but whether these or others are the National sins at present they are hugely aggravated because God hath not honoured any Nation with more mercy and means of Grace than ours and therefore we could expect no other than that he should deal with us as he threatned he would do with his peculiar People Amos 2. 2. You only have I known of all the Families of the earth therefore I will punish you for your iniquities Or 2. If we know of any notorious National sin though committed several years since not yet so universally acknowledged and repented of we may think that is a great provocation ●nto God to scourge us with the Plagu● for this we have that famous instance of Saul's breaking Covenant with and s●aying the Gibeonites for which God punished the Land in the time of King David with three years Fami●e and would not be appeased till several of Saul's Sons were pu● to death 2. Sam. 23. 3. This is likewise a safe course to observe out of the Records of Sacred Writ for what sins God hath heretofore sent the Plague and look how far we are guilty of them so far may we attribute our visitati●n to them now in searching the Scripture I find that for six yea for seven transgressions God hath either threatned or sent the Plague I will but name them and leave them to your consideration 1. Despising of plenty and immoderate lusting after dainties so we read how the Israelites despised Manna whereof they had abundance and called it light bread but they lusted exceedingly after Quails for which God smote them with a very great Plague Numb 11. 33 34. 2. We read how they that brought up an evil report upon the Land of promise to the discouragement of the people and the dishono●r of God dyed of the Plague Numb 14. 37. 3. Seditious insurrections against Authority have drawn down the Plague this was the cause of that Plague in the Text. 4. Creature confidence boasting of or trusting in an Arm of flesh this is generally thought to be the cause of that Plague in the 2 Sam. 24. 5. Idolatry for this God wa● so incensed that he ●lew of the people at once 24000. with the Plague Numb 25. 6. Detaining and withholding from God his due unto this he threatens the Plague Exod. 30. 12. When thou takest the summ of the Children of Israel they shall give every man a Ransome for his Soul unto the Lord that there be no plague among them Lastly to all these I may add the contempt and abuse of the Lords Supper for when Saint Paul faith that many of the Corinthians were ●●ck and weak and many dy●d 1 Cor. 11. 30. it is not improbable that God sent amongst them some pestilential and contagious disease I have done with the second question What it is that provokes God to inflict this dreadful punishment of the Plague upon a people I hasten to the third The plague being such a token of Gods wrath whether doth it befall good men believers such as are in the state of justification for our satisfaction in this we may have recourse to that of Solomon Eccles 9. 1. 2. No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that 〈◊〉 before them all things come alike to all there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and be that sweareth as he that feareth an Oath Ahab and Josiah's death concurred in the very circumstances and Saul and Jonathan though different in their deportments yet in their deaths they were not divided Here we shall do well to consider three things 1. That good men are subject to and guilty of many sins and enormities