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	work_n	6,191	5	6.9192	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66601	A seasonable question, in a sermon on Joshua 5.13 preacht on the 18th of June at Kingsnoth ... and on the 27th of July at St. Peters Cornhill, London, by Timothy Wilson ...	Wilson, Timothy, 1642-1705.	1690 (1690)	Wing W2951; ESTC R38145	11,705	37

oppressed them and Exod. 3.8 He came down and delivered them out of the Hand of the Egyptians and resolved to bring them up out of that Land unto a good Land and a large unto a Land flowing with Milk and Honey unto the place of the Canaanites c. That is the third Character 4. They defended themselves against their Oppressors The Israelites War was plainly defensive against Pharaoh King of Egypt though he pleaded that they had been his Subjects with the prescription of above four hundred years As soon as Gods time for Deliverance came Moses and the Elders of Israel went to the King of Egypt Exod. 3.18 and demanded leave to sacrifice to the God of Israel They would have Freedom of Religion and Liberty to serve God and live no longer under the oppression of Pharaoh This provoked Pharaoh to wrath and made him Blaspheme the God of Israel Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel go Exod. 5.2 And instead of easing their Grievances he imposed more heavy Burthens requiring Brick and not allowing Straw and punished them for not performing what was impossible to be done They make their complaint as of a thing unreasonable and against the Law of Nature but they could have no redress for Pharaoh was resolved to oppress and suppress them if he could He calls all their pretences but idleness and to Sacrifice to the Lord was but the effect of their laziness Thus are wicked Oppressors whom God hath determined to destroy deaf to all complaints though never so just and reasonable That is the fourth Character 5. They had Gods promise for deliverance and believed in him Gods Promise they had Exod. 6.3 c. where you may see a full and plain Promise of God to deliver Israel to bless them and to settle them in Canaan the Promised Land It is true many of the Children of Israel had not Faith to believe this they hearkened not to Moses for anguish of Spirit and for cruel Bondage v. 9. But no doubt most of the Israelites adhered to Moses in this cause and had Faith to believe that God would perform his Promise and the most unbelieving when they saw Gods mighty Works were forced to confess that the God of Israel was most powerful That is the fifth and last Character 2. I shall consider who our Adversaries are The Adversaries of Joshua and the Israelites were divers people of Canann all Heathens and Idolaters a corrupt Generation whose iniquities were full wicked and prophane and God had decreed to destroy them 1. They were Idolaters 2. They were guilty of heinous Sins 3. They were appointed by God to utter Ruin and Destruction for their Sins 1. The Adversaries were Idolaters they forsook the true God Creator and Possessor of Heaven and Earth and Worshipped Idols the Work of their own Hands They changed the Glory of the uncorruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible Man and changed the Truth of God into a Lie and Worshipped and Served the Creature more than the Creator who is blessed for ever Amen as St. Paul speaks Rom 1.23 25. Hence God forbids his people Israel making Images Levit. 26.1 and nothing provoked the Lord to anger more than when his people Israel revolted to Idolatry either that of the Egyptians or that of the Moabites As for that of the Egyptians we read Exod. 32. that God was incensed by the Worshippers of the Golden Calf the Egyptian Idol and threatned to consume them had not Moses interceeded and prayed earnestly As for that of the Moabites we read Numb 25. that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel because they Sacrificed and Bowed down to their Gods God sent a Plague among them in which died four and twenty thousand because they joined themselves to Baal Peor which some say was the Beastly Heathenish God Priapus a most lewd and abominable Idol abhorred by the very Heathens who had any sense of Goodness or sparks of Vertue and Morality left 2. They were guilty of heinous Sins Besides their Idolatry Prophaneness Superstition false Worship blasphemy and the like Sins directly against God and the Duties of the first Table of the Decalogue they abounded with notorious Vices forbidden in the second Table and directly against their Neighbour They stand accused of all Unrighteousness Malice Drunkenness Murder and especially of Whoredom and all manner of Uncleanness even Sodomy it self not excepted They were sinful yea a people laden with iniquity and a Seed of evil doers who sinned against Natural Light and Knowledge But I shall not descant on particulars at this time 3. The Adversaries were appointed by God to utter Ruin and Destruction for their sins Their iniquities were full and God had fully resolved to root them out Thus we read Levit. 18.25 The Land is defiled i.e. by lewdness and wickedness therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it and the Land it self vomits out her Inhabitants Heinous sins defile a Land and as it is at the 28 th verse make a Land spew out the Inhabitants so Levit. 20.22 the same phrase is used and ver 23. God says that he abhors them for their most grievous wickedness Great Sins bring great Plagues and Temporal as well as Eternal Judgments on a Nation It is true God promised Abraham to make a Nation of him that Kings should come out of him Gen. 17.6 and to establish his Covenant with him and his Seed after him in their Generations and to give them all the Land of Canaan for an Everlasting Possession but they were to be Pilgrims and go down into Egypt for four hundred and thirty years till the iniquities of the Amorites were full For Gods Promises and his Judgments are all conditional God destroys not innocent Creatures If the Canaanites had not done evil in his sight and lived in all manner of prophaneness and wickedness they should not have been destroyed If England reforms their evil ways they shall be saved For God decrees misery only to the Impenitent I shall give you the Reasons why all good Men should be for us which is the third particular in the Method propounded The Reasons may be taken 1. From our selves 2. From the Cause it self 3. From God himself 4. From the Examples of the most wise and devout Protestants whom we follow 1. From our selves We desire to live in all good Conscience towards God and Men We desire nothing but what Laws and Liberties our Forefathers left us We invaded no Mans right but studied to live quietly and do our own business Our Actions were good and lawful but our Enemies triumphed and without Law or Reason sought our ruin Our present Sufferings were great and we were threatened with greater and all this without our desert or offence We were enslaved by Jesuits evil councellors and Unreasonable Men. Our Liberties or Religion our Estates were almost gone we scarce