Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	evil_a	evil_n	sin_n	4,011	5	5.5536	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43819	The season for Englands selfe-reflection and advancing temple-vvork discovered in a sermon preached to the two Houses of Parliament at Margarets Westminster, Aug. 13, 1644, being an extraordinary day of humiliation / by Thomas Hill ...	Hill, Thomas, d. 1653.	1644 (1644)	Wing H2027; ESTC R2603	33,390	45

people it is then a proper season for them to set their hearts upon their wayes and seriously to consider them Consider your wayes It is in the Hebrew set your hearts upon your wayes doe not onely by direct acts in a brutish manner follow on what is before you and without your selves but retire in words seriously six your hearts upon your owne waies that you may know and consider them Considering imports a bending of the mind to thinke upon and observe any thing The hearts reflecting upon its owne courses by comparing them with the rule of Gods word and withall here undoubtedly it implies a weighing the events and successes of their affaires how God blesses and prospers them The holy Ghost commends unto us the considering of our wayes as a singular meanes to steere our courses aright It may possibly prevent the commission of sin Psal. 4. 4. Stand in owe and sinne not commune with your owne hearts Prov. 4. 26 27. Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy wayes bee established turne not to the right hand nor to the left remove thy foot from evil It may reduce the straying soule when it hath sinned Lament 3. 40. Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe unto the Lord The Devill well knows the spirituall advantage that may be gained by this practice and therefore doth still with all his might upon every occasion oppose it You shall ordinarily find that people are more easily drawne to read then to pray and will sooner be perswaded to move in a track of customary praying then seriously to consider themselves The more necessary any duty is the more opposite Satan and our wretched hearts are there unto Amongst all others whether Merchants Travellers c. Consideration hath great influence and without exception is as usefull in Christianity And especially is most seasonable for Christians in evill times This is one of Wise Solomons Oracles E●cles. 7. 14. In the day of prosperity bee joyfull but in the day of adversity consider Every one can in the day of adversity complaine of their wants and troubles can quarrell with the faults and impotency of Instruments yea and will very frequently repine at the dispensations of Gods providence whereas the proper worke were to apply themselves to a serious consideration of their owne wayes When you feele the smart of an evill of punishment then you should bee searching for the evill of sinne consider then both the inflicting and the procuring cause who it is that smiles and why he smites Why is the consideration of our waies so seasonable when Gods hand is stretched out against us Because such inside worke as it is a good fruit of Heavenly wisedome so it may bee an evidence of our sincerity which will prove an excellent cordiall to cheare us in evil dayes Hypocrisie may teach us to multiply out-side performances sincerity draws the heart inwards to selfe-reflection and to employ it selfe upon its owne wayes by self-considering and self-judging The bodily eye sees other things but not it selfe so the eye of the carnall mind hence the Lord complaines of their wickednesse appearing herein No man saith What have I done Jer 8. 6. But the more seriously any lay out their thoughts how to discover the evill of their owne wayes the greater matter of rejoycing they have at home what ever evils they meet withall abroad The testimony of such a conscience in the worst times would bee a continuall feast when to him that wants it All the dayes of the afflicted are evill Prov. 15. 15. Secondly considering of our wayes is the most proper eccho of Gods correcting hand and that spirituall emprovement hee expects wee should make of his chastising us Mic. 6. 9. The Lords voice cryeth unto the City and the man of wisdome shall see thy Name Heare yee the Rod and who hath appointed it God speakes not onely by his Word but also by his workes and that with a louder voice hee calls by his word but hee cries by his Rods even to this very end that wee may consider what he saith by it Our present Rod which hath whipped so many thousands to death since this unnaturall Warre began preacheth this doctrine of self-consideration unto ENGLAND In 1 King 8. Solomon makes divers Prayers at the dedication of the Temple answerable to the severall exigents of Gods people one is that God would heare their prayers and maintaine their cause when they goe out to battell against their enemies vers. 44 45. And suppose they then sinne against God and provoke him to deliver them into the hand of the enemy yet their case is not desperate verse 47. If they shall bethinke themselves and repent then heare 〈◊〉 prayer and maintaine their cause ver. 49. Where you see that retiring into their own hearts and bringing their hearts upon their wayes is that which the Lord lookes for in the evill day before they shall find deliverance When this is wanting hee complaines by his Prophets as of Israel in Amos 4. yet have yee not returned unto me this expression is found foure severall times in the same Chapter ver. 6 8 10 11. They did not return unto the Lord because by his judgments they did not first learn to return into themselves Thirdly because consideration of our wayes is the most compendious method to our self-humbling and self-reforming and the Scripture way to obtaine reconci●●ation with God David first considered his wayes before hee turned his feet unto Gods testimonies Psal. 119. 59. The Prodigall Sonne came first home to himselfe Luke 15. 17. by the consideration of his former evill wayes before hee came home to his Fathers house to find gracious entertainment there And then when once a sinner by his self-reflection hath learned to renounce his evils the Lord is most ready to embrace him as a reconciled Father with the sweetest evidences of his love and favour Esa. 1. 16 17 18. When you have learned by considering your wayes to put away the evill of your doings from before Gods eyes come now and let us reason together saith the Lord The holy God would not entertaine such a familiarity with them before they were cleansed By all which it clearly appeares that as we desire a comfortable argument of our owne sincerity to make a wise emprovement of the correcting hand of our God to bee loosened more from sinne and to enjoy more sweet evidences of the favour of our God in evill times especially when his hand is stretched out wee should set our hearts upon our wayes and seriously consider them Here then two sorts of people their Errours in the gl●sse of this Truth First of such as set their hearts upon their worldly comforts upon their carnall ends and interests in evill times when Gods hand is stretched out against England but not upon their wayes to consider and reforme them This was Baruchs distemper Jer. 45. 5. for

which the Prophet reproves him roundly What when God is breaking downe what hee hath built when God is plucking up what hee hath planted what now art thou a seeking great things for thy selfe Seeke them not It is most unworthy of a Baruch or any of Gods Servants to be minding themselves onely and their owne secular advantages in troublesome times when they should bee concurring with their God in his dispensations The Lord expects that his Judgements should drive you off from Creature comforts into your selves and to thinke upon your owne wayes that so thereby you might be drawne to neerer communion with himselfe This were proper language for these blacke and bloody times to bee able to over-looke your selfe-respects and advantages and in good earnest to breath out those holy expressions Esa. 26. 8. In the way of thy judgements O Lord have we waited for thee the desire of our soule is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee Secondly another Error is of such who set their hearts and thoughts much to consider when 〈◊〉 wayes that they overlooke and neglect their own Too too many there are who can write characters upon divers others yet are great strangers to themselves They are indeed {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} busie-bodies in other mens matters Bishops in other mens Diocesses but in the meane time their own gardens overgrowne with noisome weeds and this not considered Alassel it is very easie to spy out the haltings of others to complaine of the stumblings of some in the way or of their swerving from the wayes of God and to arraigne many as Ineendiaries and Malignants and yet never consider how many sticks wee our selves have gathered to enflame this desolating Warre This error is so much the more dangerous because it is so common and withall so unbeseeming the children of God who ought presently to reflect by self-consideration when they see their Fathers displeasure once begin to appeare would these two sorts looke upon themselves in this glasse they might goe away blushing with shame for such unseasonable errors If when the hand of God is stretched out against us it bee a proper season to consider our wayes then Behold here Caveat against carnall security especially in evill dayes as most unsuitable for such a time when Gods awakening judgements are abroad It argues a most wretched frame of spirit to fall on sleepe even under the Rod for any to grow secure in some when God is whipping for sinne is a signe of desperate wickednesse Solomon gives us a double character Prov. 22. 3. A prudent man foreseeth the evill and hides himself Hee discovers a judgement in the causes presages symptomes aswell as in the beginnings of it and accordingly hides himselfe in his God But the simple passe on and are punished goe plodding on in a sinfull course by an heedlesse secure non-consideration of their wayes and so at the last are broken all to pieces God expects and takes it for granted that as in Esa. 26. 9. when his judgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learne righteousnesse And is highly provoked by the contrary carriage which you shall have expressed ver. 11. Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and bee ashamed for their envy at the people yea the fire of thine enemies shall devoure them They who will not see the judgments of God to their humiliation shall feele them to their confusion This doth no question multiply our Rods and draw our the Warre from Summer to Winter from Winter to Summer and who knows how long it shall continue if we still continue secure in that wee have not learned by so many reall Sermons from Heaven to set our hearts upon our wayes You may observe a terrifying hint in Ezek. 9. 8 9. when God was slaying them as now hee is in England they were very secure in sinfull wyes vers. 9. the Land was full of blood and the City full of wresting of judgment Is not this our unhappy case the root of these cursed weeds was their Atheisme they say The Lord hath forsaken the earth and hee seeth not God would not beare this security in sin and therfore thunders in vers 10. Mine eye shal not spart neither will I have pity but I will recompence their way upon their hea●● Our wisest men have been much puzled and brought to a losse againe and againe since these troubles began Both sides at first were ready to thinke that one battaile would decide this great controversie But alas standers by may see the hand of God contriving the protraction of these Warres even when we have begun to please our selves with some hopes of Peace 1. Sometimes there have been overtures of a pacification but then not a concurrent willingnesse on both sides at that time 2. Sometimes when the Parliament Forces have had good successes they have not been so happy in managing and pursuing as in obtaining their victories 3. Again too often in the very ●ick of time for great action there have been some passionate selvish clashings among counsellors amongst Commanders or both But what lyes at the bottome of all this Is there not a Jonah asleepe in the Ship which occasions the storme Are not wee still secure in our wonted sins Doubtlesse Gods wise hind so orders the great affaires of England that we may feed longer upon the bitter fruits of our own wicked wayes which wee have not yet seriously considered we tread in Ephrains sinfull steps and therefore no wonder if wee tast of Ephraims judgments Hosea 7. 1 2. When I would have hesled Israel then the iniqutiy of Ephraim was discovered and the wickednesse of Sanaria for they commit falshood the these commeth in and the troope of Robbers spoileth without This is too true of England And they consider not in their hearts that I remembers all their wickednes now their owne doings have beset then about they are before may face It was Ephraims fault they did not set their hearts upon their wayes they did not say to their hearts God remembers all our wickednesse hereby they plunged themselves into heavy evils It concernes us all to watch and pray that such security betray not England into more devouring calamities Be perswaded I beseech you as you desire to approve your selves good Christians good Patriots emprove the hand of God that now lyes upon England to a more full consideration of your owne wayes It is good logick and as seasonable divinity which the Prophet useth in ver. 5. Now therefore consider your waies because God is angry with you therefore set your hearts upon your wayes Religion should teach Christians not onely to meet God in the way of his ordinances but also in the paths of his providences It was their sinne Jer. 8. 6. when God observed their carriage and language in evill dayes They spake not aright they made perverse interpretations