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 good_a know_v 2,974 5 4.2147 3 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A48315 A monitor of mortality, the second sermon Occasioned by the death of Mrs. Harpur, a grave and godly matron (wife to Mr. Henry Harpur of the city of Chester) and of the death of their religious daughter Phœbe Harpur, a child of about 12. yeares of age. By Iohn Ley minister of Great Budworth in Cheshiere.; Monitor of mortalitie. Ley, John, 1583-1662. 1643 (1643) Wing L1884A; ESTC R216672 26,028 38

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

the creator alone and if so we are spirituall adulterers and adulteresses James 4.4 and God is a jealous God Exo. 20.5 who discovering a decay of our love that we might love him better will take away the impediment betwixt him and us which was as a curtain or screene to intercept our sight and the heate of our hearts towards him As a discreet Lady if she should perceive that her Waiting-woman stole any part of the Nuptiall affection of her Husband from her would find some meanes to put her away And God very well knoweth that our hearts are narrow our love but little and faint a great deale too little for himselfe if it went all one way and therefore if he love us he will take away that which steales away our affections from him that our love being set upon him more intentively he may returne more kindnesse to us againe and so his end may be to crosse us in our way that he may blesse us in the end that he may doe us the more good at our latter end as is promised Deut. 8. v. 16. Thirdly Gods intent in taking away may be in favour to the deceased parties to set them safe out of perill the Righteous is taken away from the evill to come Isa 57.1 and of this the cause is so evident in reason that he that never saw the Bible nor read that sentence of the Prophet could say who knoweth that God hath not taken away in favour to man-kind from the evill to come So * Plutarch consolat ad Apo●on pag. 528. Plutarch in his Consolations to Apolonius And this cause is especially considerable in these times wherein many good people have of late been taken away and we may have cause to conceive from the evill to come there may come much evill without any preface or premonition at all but we see nothing but dismall clouds gathering in our horizon and as it were preparations for terrible stormes Our sinnes doubtlesse are come to a very great height and who knoweth whether their guilt be not more clamerous for vengeance then our prayers are importunate for pardon We see things grow worse and worse with us a few grow better and better to pacifie Gods displeasure by due reformation And therefore for such of the better sort as are taken away in those times as this vertuous Matron after the course of an holy life on earth wee may conceive it is done that they may live in rest and peace and joy and glory with God for ever There is cause then to give thankes to God for their happy change since they are set up so safe that they shall never feele nor feare the evill to come and to mourne not for them but for our selves that we are left below in a state of subjection to all sorts of sorrowes which may the sooner overwhelme us because they are taken away as Lot out of Sodome for whose sakes haply hath the judgement been suspended hitherto And hitherto having had your presence and I hope your attentions also to what I have delivered I shall now commend you to the gratious favour of the Lord of life and death Deut. 32.29 beseeching him to teach you to number your dayes that you may apply your hearts unto wisedome Psal 90.12 and to give you wisedome to consider your latter end Deut. 32.29 and all the while that you are in the way unto it that you may by an holy life get sound assurance to your soules that when your mortall bodies are laid asleepe in the dust of the earth they may be received to a most happy conabitation with God in Heaven in his presence to be possessed of the fulnesse of joy and of the pleasures at his right hand for evermore Ps 16.11 Amen FINIS