Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	faith_n	grace_n	work_n	6,088	5	6.2038	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93404	Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme. In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.	Smith, Samuel, 1588-1665.	1656 (1656)	Wing S4189A; Thomason E1624_1; ESTC R208959	212,879	567

but only see it and die in the Land of Moah surely Moses his sin shut him out And of all that great number that came out of the Land of Aegypt even six hundred thousand that all above twenty years should perish in the Wildernesse was an undoubted argument they were guilty of some great sin that caused the Lord to be thus angry with them Object If this be so that extraordinary judgments are arguments of Gods anger how was it said of the blind man that lay under such an extraordinary judgment as to be born blind that neither this man sinned nor his Parents The meaning is not Answ that neither He nor his Parents were without sin no not such sins as might have justly brought that punishment upon them But neither the Mans sins nor his Parents were the cause why the Lord smote him with blindnesse John 9. but that the work of God might be made manifest in him Job though he were a a godly man indeed yet Job's sins might justly deserve all his miseries but God did not so much look upon his sins but that he might be a pattern and example of Faith Patience and of other Graces to his Church for ever Besides there be many grounds and causes wherefore the Lord is pleased many times to lay his hand and that heavy too upon his own Children and such as are both neer and dear unto him 1. As the exercise of their graces of Faith Patience Hope c. 2. To wean them them from the world whereunto our hearts are too much addicted 3. To quicken Prayer 4. To chasten us for our sins past and to make us more watchfull for the time to come c. But since the Lord in his Word hath denounced these judgments against us for our sins and doth not reveal unto us when he is pleased thus to try us his secret will and pleasure therein We are not to pry into his hidden counsells but into his will revealed which is that Man suffereth for his sin And howsoever we may erre in respect of Gods secret purpose in sending afflictions yet we shall profit thereby to humble our selves to justifie God as righteous to renew our repentance and hereby become fit for mercy and deliverance Whereas in times of affliction and distresse to look upon any other cause then sin may hinder our repentance and cause us to continue in our wickednesse Now that great and extraordinary ludgments and afflictions do argue Gods high displeasure these Reasons shew Reas 1 Because he is most just and righteous in his judgments as Abraham said to God Gen. 18.25 It is far from the Judge of all the World to deal unrighteously The Lord is ever most clear in himselfe from the least stain or mixture of iniustice in any of his judgments inflicted upon men Ps 119.137 Righteous art thou O Lord and true are thy judgments Reas 2 The second may be taken from that neer union and inseparable affinity that is betwixt Gods anger and sin Man suffereth for his sin Lam. 3.39 Miseries and afflictions yea all kind of iudgments spirituall and temporall are but the sinners harvest that he must look to reap by sowing the seeds of sin Pro 22.8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap affliction and the rod of his anger shall fail Let us apply this to our selves Use 1 Did Moses well to gather and conclude the exceeding anger displeasure of God against them by the greatnesse and grievousnesse of their punishment that they were thus hastily and fearfully wasted and consumed Alas then what may we think of our selves how hath the hand of God laine heavie upon us in this Nation In these later daies the sword hath been in the Bowels of the land and hath drunk much blood in every corner of it we have had the pestilence amongst us what Country hath been free we have had cleannesse of teeth when many have perished in the open fields and by the way side for want of bread The Lord hath made the Heavens as Brasse and the Earth as Iron that the like yeares have not been known Besides this strange sicknesse that hath been amongst us whereof fewe Families have escaped but some have been either sick or weake or suddainly taken away by Death that fewe that are living have knowne the like time of sicknesse and mortalitie Now what can we think by all these messengers of his Anger and wrath but that God is exceedingly angry and displeasedwith us Certainely the sins of this Nation the innocent blood that hath been shed the high contempt of the Gospel and Mi●listers therof the great securitie unfruitfullnesse and unthankfullnesse of all sorts may mind us of some farther judgments yet at hand And yet alas who laies the Lords dealings to heart to take notice of Gods Anger and make but light account of judgments None consider in heart that the greatnesse of Gods judgments is an argument of the greatnesse of our sins It shall be our wisdom to lay Gods judgments to heart and to meet the Lord by unfained Repentance lest worser judgments overtake us at last Use 2 Secondly this serves to admonish us that according to the greatnesse of Gods judgments to increase our sorrow and Repentance for great anger argues great sins and great sins must have great Sorrow and great Repentance Quest 1 But is it an Argument that God is Angry when he takes men away by Death No it is not alwayes so Ans that the Lord is Angry when he takes men away by Death But when he takes them away by such a manner of Death as this people here with some strange kinde of Death horrible and fearefull for some sin as these people for their infidelitie murmuring Rebellion and despising of his mercy this is a token of Gods Anger 1 Cor. 10.10 Neither murmur ye as some of them murmured and were destroyed with the Destroyer Quest 2 But is it a token of Gods Anger for men to dy suddainly or by some strange kind of Death of the plague pestilence c No. Ans It is not alwaies a token of Gods Anger for men to dy suddainly or by some strange kinde of Death Pilate to make the Jewes odious and their religion hatefull mingled the blood of certaine Galileans with their Sacrifices here was an unwonted kind of Death And so those eighteene upon whom the tower of Silo fell these dyed not an ordinary kind of Death And yet Christ saith that they were not greater sinners then other men And many of Gods dear children and faithfull servants have dyed strange kinds of death and none more then the Son of God himselfe And therefore we may not judge a man out of Gods favour by the suddennesse or strangenesse of his death if his life hath been good his death cannot be bad Eccles 9.11 for as Solomon saith All things happen alike to all But now when we shall see a Man or Woman whose

sware in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest Yet he made good his promise to their seed and gave them that good Land to possesse it Which serves for the just reproofe of those Vse 1 who having matter of joy and rejoycing to rejoice in the Lord and to set forth the praise of his grace turn it into carnall joy and rejoycing into eating and drinking sports and pastimes As at this time we have indeed cause of joy and rejoycing for the great work of our Redemption by Iesus Christ But alas wee turn it into carnall mirth to feasting and reveling to carding and dicing and unto all prophanesse more liker Heathens then Christians But let such know that thus turn the grace of God into wantonnesse they will cause the Lord one day to turn their mirth into mourning and their carnal rejoycing into weeping and lamentation This was the case of this people though in Aegypt they were somwhat moderate yet when they came out of bondage whereas they should have rejoyced in the Lord Exod. 32.6 and set forth his mercy in their deliverance They set them down to eat and drink and rose up to play Use 2 Secondly seeing Moses and the people of God here will make this the end of Gods mercy to them in their deliverance and in being reconciled again unto them to rejoice in the Lord with joy and gladnesse Then Religion exceeds not mirth and joy neither is matter of dumpishnesse and sadnesse as many vertuous speak of it but it is matter of joy and gladnesse nay there can be no sound mirth joy or rejoycing without this when a man doth truly repent him of his fins is reconciled to God in Christ and feels his love shed into his heart this alone will yield matter of sound joy and solid comfort O say the cursed Ismaels of our times these professors are alwaies sad and heavy full of sighes and groanes and complaining there is no pleasure at all in their waies and courses c. Such are altogether ignorant of the life of a Christian as Christ said I have meat to eat that ye wot not of So hath a Christian joy that the world wots not of when a poor Prisoner that hath offended the Law shall have the King to come to his house and speak kindly and lovingly unto him How will this cheer up his heart then what greater comfort to a poor soul then when God shall put his spirit into the heart of a man and assures him of his love in Christ and where the spirit of the Lord is there must needs be comfort and joy for he is the spirit of comfort It is true in regard of our sins and corruptions we have in us matter of mourning and sorrow yet in regard of Gods love in Christ we may lift up our hearts and rejoyce O then all we desire to have matter of sound and solid joy in our souls let us labour to feel the love of God in Christ shed into our hearts this will make us joyful in sicknesse as in health in the Prison and at the stake as those blessed Martyrs were Ver. 15. Make us glad according to the daies wherein thon hast afflicted us And the years wherein we have seen evill IN this verse Moses and the people of God make their third Request and petition unto God and that is for comfort that the Lord would gladden their souls after their sorrows and afflictions Make us glad according to the daies c. And herein we have 1. What they pray for Comfort 2. That in their comfort that the Lord would keep some proportion that as he had a long time afflicted them for their sins so he would in mercy give them answerable matter of comfort and rejoycing For this is the Lords manner of dealing with his people the lower he humbleth any poor soul for their sins and the deeper sence they have of their misery the greater measure of joy and of comfort he usually bestowes upon them Observe we first of all from the coherence of this petition with the former 1. They pray for reconciliation verse 13. 2. For the feeling of his mercy verse 14. 3. Now for comfort in their misery verse 15. From which order in their requests we learn That the fountain of all true comfort to a distressed soul Doct. 1 Reconciliation the fountain of true comfort is our blessed reconciliation to God in Christ and the comfortable feeling of that love of his to our souls For till a man have truly repented of his sins and comes to be reconciled to God in Christ what dram of comfort can such a one have When the day begins to break then we know the Sun will soon arise In the dark night of affliction what comfort to a distressed soul but when the Sun of righteousnesse shall arise Mal. 1. with healing under his wings and Christ which is our life shall appear Here comes true comfort and the soul is here refreshed as the Sun-rising doth the world It fares many times with a poor soul Mat. 14.24 as it did with the Disciples in the ship they tugged all night but in vain but in the fourth watch of the night Christ came and relieved them when their hope was almost past Jacob wrestled all night with the Angell but about the break of the day he obtained the blessing When we have tugged long and striven hard with God by repentance and prayer at last he will come and in an acceptable time he will command salvation to his people Ps 9.18 The poor shall not alwaies be for gotten the hope of the afflicted shall not perish for ever Whereas wicked men that are in their sins and not reconciled to God they can have no peace they can have no comfort Es 57. There is no peace to the wicked saith my God 1 Sam. 16.23 We may see this in King Sanl what comfort had he in his Kingdome Wife Children Harp Musick or what else so long as God was angry with him and was without the feeling of his love all the world could not yield him one dram of comfort the evill spirit did still torment him A poor condemned Traytor what comfort can he have in wife children gold silver c. nothing will cheer up his spirit but the Kings pardon So a poor distressed soul feeling the anger and wrath of God pressing his soul unlesse God shew his loving countenance in the pardon of sin can have small comfort 'T is true wicked men may tast of worldly comforts and they may seem to have much peace in their consciences as any of the godly themselves for so saith Job Job 2● Their houses are peaceable and without fear And they a●● not in trouble as other men are Thus Saul when David played upon his Harp had some kinde of ease that the evill spirit for that time did not torment him and thus many wicked men can run to

have here no grace in perfection Reas 2 in regard this world is not the place of our perfect happinesse God hath appoynted Heaven for our home where all tears shall be wiped away from our eyes and sin from our soule here wee sigh desiring to be cloathed upon 2 Cor. 5.2 Rom. 8.24 we are saved now by hope our happinesse is not in present possession but in reversion This serves both discover unto us the misery of such Vse 1 and how far they are from the work of grace in their souls that are so far from discovering any such wants and imperfections in themselves and in their graces as that pharisaically they brag and boast of their strong faith and that they should be sorry to live to doubt of their Salvation when they heare of the moanes and complaints of the Godly complayning of their want of faith the hardnesse of their hearts and their backwardness indisposition to any good Duty c. they wonder at them they would not be in their case for all the world they never felt such doubts and feares in themselves Surely these are the most miserable men in the world they shew that the strong man hath taken possession of their souls that thus holds them in this damnable Security there is but a step betwixt such a one and hell thy case is fearefull it is a signe that thou ar thardned in thy sin and art far from the worke of grace in thy soule Mat. 5. wo unto such as now laugh for they shall wayle and weepe and Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted Such as have had the greatest measure of Grace have found many wants and imperfections in their graces as Moses here and not to be sensible of our wants and imperfections is an argument of the want of the truth of grace in such asoule Secondly Vse 2 this may serve for matter of comfort and consolation unto such as do unfaynedly love and feare God and are troubled much with doubtings and feares and discover more more in themselves their wants and imperfections in all their graces and in all their duties know O know that thy case is not singular neither art thou alone in these complaints many of Gods deare children are full of them My faith is weake my hope feeble my love is cold and I find so much backwardnesse and coldnesse in duties O what shall I doe I feare my estate is not good I confesse here is just cause of trouble and complaint in the Godly when they find this to be their case that grace is no more vigorous and active in them and when they want the Sensible assurance of Gods favour and love But such must stay themselves upon this that a man may be in the state of grace and yet want the assurance of it in himselfe A man may have faith in him and yet conclude against it What a case was David in when he complayneth thus Psal 13.1 2. How long-wilt thou forget me O Lord how long wilt thou hide thy face from me How long shall I take counsell in my soule and have sorrow in my heart His heart must needs be ful of sorrow when God hides his face from him But yet God turned againe and spake peace to his servant and fild him at last with the joy of his salvation and thus will the mourning and sadnesse of Gods Children bring a joyfull harvest at last when these doubts and feares shall vanish away their hearts shall be filled with comfort Vers 12. Teach us O Lord to Number our dayes that mee may apply our herts to wisdome Hitherto we have spoken of the two first generall parts of this psalme viz. The complaint of Moses and the people that they put up unto God now in the wildernesse in great affliction and distresse vers 1 2. Secondly the Narration of the frailty and misery of man from the third verse to the 11. Now in the 12. ver and so to the end of this Psalme He comes to the third and last generall of this Psalme and that is the prayer of Moses and the rest of the people of God put up to God for grace and mercy And this prayer of theirs hath in it two parts 1. They beg for reconciliation againe with God ver 13. Return O Lord how long c. 2. They pray for the happy fruits and effects of Gods favour and reconciliation from verse 17. to the end of the Psalme Teach us O Lord to number our daies c. In this v. we have their first petition wherein Moses this man of God prayeth that the Lord would make them to consider of the shortnesse and uncertainty of their time that so they might be wise to provide for their latter end God seeing our life is so short so fraile and so momentary But as yesterday that is past as a watch in the night And that death comes as a flood unresistable and suddainly that our life is but as grasse and all our excellencies but as the flower of the field and our dayes but as a tale that is told And that we are so suddainly cut downe and we flye away that we may throughly consider of this brevitie shortnesse of our life and being here to the end that laying aside the excessive cares for the things of this life we may apply your hearts to wisedome that is to repent of our sins past to cast up our accounts and to provide for a better life where we have 1. the petition it self which Moses made for himselfe and in the behalfe of the people teach us O Lord to number our dayes 2 the end of this petition on the use of this request viz that we may apply our hearts to wisdome Note we first of all How Moses prayeth to God to teach him and the rest of the people of God to Number their dayes that is to be perswaded of the shortnesse of their time in this world and what shall become of their soule in Death hence we learne that Though God in his word hath plentifully taught us and experience daly before our eyes Doct. 1 We can not number our dayes unlesse God teach us doth confirme the same that our life is short fraile and momentary yet unlesse God become our Schoolemaster we shall herdly take out this lesson our foolish hearts are so ignorant of this knowledge as Christ said to Peter when he had made that confession of Christ Mat. 16.17 flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee but my father which is in heaven So no man by nature can attaine this knowledge to judge aright of the frailty and shorinesse of his life but must have God to be his teacher from whom every good gift Iam. 1.17 and perfect gift proceedeth How earnest is David with God to teach him this lesson Lord make me know my end and the measure of my dayes what it is Psa 39.4 that