Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	find_v	great_a	know_v	2,951	5	3.3432	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44637	The true interest of a nation, or, The duty of magistrates, ministers, and people, in order to the further settlement and prosperity of these kingdoms a sermon preached at the assizes held at Bvckingham, Jvly the 5th, 1692 / by John Howard ...	Howard, John, 1647-1729?	1693 (1693)	Wing H2984; ESTC R8164	20,700	33

Hosea How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I deliver thee Israel how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Zeboim Mine heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together Hos 11.8 And blessed be his Name we soon found the gracious Effects of such a Compassion and by those many Wonders of Providence which made our late happy Revolution and the great Successes God has since given us we find ourselves a free People in the Enjoyment of our Properties and Religion under the best temper'd Government in the World And tho' the neighbouring Nations engaged in the same Cause with us have endur'd all the dreadful Miseries of War yet we have felt nothing of it in the general but the Payment of Taxes towards it which no good Man will grudge at that knows they are the Price of our Estates our Liberties our Lives and which is more than all our Religion Now after all that is come upon us for our evil Deeds as Ezra speaks seeing that our God hath punished us less then our Iniquities deserve and has given us such a Deliverance as this should we again break his Commandments would he not be angry with us till he had consum'd us so that there should be no Remnant nor Escaping You see therefore what Motives we have to depart from Sin and embrace Righteousness God has continually enrich'd us with his Mercies he has exercis'd great Patience towards us and wrought many wonderful Deliverances for us notwithstanding our heinous Sins and Rebellions against him he has also executed some Judgments upon us and threatned us with more amt greater yet if we do not return to him Yea we have Motives from our very Sins for is it not yet enough that we have transgress'd the Laws of our God and rebell'd against him Hath the Lord often repented of the Evil be threatned us with And shall not we yet repent of our evil Temper and Practices against him Certainly it is high time after so long a Defection to return to ourselves and to our God And does trot the present State of our Affairs too loudly call for it God still gives usVictories but yet the finishing part of our Happiness is kept in suspence which upon a sincere Reformation of our Lives we may hope for but if we come short of this we shall not onely in all likelihood prevent such a Blessing but lose the Advantages he has already given us and become a Prey to the Malice and Fury of the worst Men in the World And would not this be an indelible Reproach to such a People as we are that of all Nations in the World should best understand our Duty to God and have more Obligations to do it than any others 2. From both the parts of my Text we see how much it lies upon us to depart from Sin and to do Righteousness And that I may use the fittest way to perswade you to it I shall 1. Apply myself particularly to several Ranks and Orders of Men in the Nation of which some are here present 2. Speak to all in general 3. Conclude with what concerns the Business of this time and the present Occasion of our meeting together 1. I shall apply myself particularly to several Ranks and Orders of Men in the Nation namely Magistrates Ministers and Gentlemen 1. I shall with all that Humility and Respect that becomes me address myself to Magistrates whether in an higher or a lower Station and desire you would be pleas'd to consider how much the Honour of your Places the Trust reposed in you by Almighty God and the Princes he has set over us and the just Expectations of all good Men do require that ye should be Righteous both in your Persons and in your Office When Jethro advis'd Moses to chuse Magistrates under him to assist him in Judging the People he mentions the necessary Qualifications of such Men Exod. 18.21 Able men such as fear God men of truth hating covetousness And when Moses speaks to the People about this Matter a little before his Death Deut. 1.13 he gives another part of the Character of these Persons namely Wise men and understanding and known among the tribes Magistrates therefore ought to be wise Men whose Capacity and Knowledge is above the common Rate who having furnished their Minds with the best Rules and Nations are able to penetrate doubtful and difficult Causes and discover Wickedness under all those Disguises by which it is shelter'd from common Observation And to this Wisdom must be added Understanding too that is Prudence in the fence of the Original not such as would direct them to consult their own Safety rather then execute Justice when their persons or Estates may be in danger by it for this is a base Craft that undermines and betrays a Nation and therefore deserves not the name of Prudence but that which enables Magistrates to judge of particular Cases with relation to Times Persons c. and to do every part of their Duty with such necessary Precautions as may best serve the ends of it Then they must be able Men that is vertuous in the Original or more particularly Men of Valour and Courage which is always necessary to a Magistrate That he may break the jaws of the Wicked as Job speaks Chap. 29.17 and pluck the spoil out of his teeth That is deliver them that fusser under the cruel Oppressor how powerful soever and execute Judgment on the proudest and most prosperous Offender To this must be added the Fear of God which is to direct and govern them in all their Actions wherein they are to have respect rather to God then Man and to his Will and Honour then to any Temporal Considerations And then they will be Men of Truth too that is of Justice as in the Septuagint Version for Truth is a branch of Justice and this in every part has so near a Resemblance to Truth that it may well enough be call'd by that name To this is added hating Covetousness which indeed the former parts of the Character do necessarily infer and without this it is hard to imagine how they should have either Justice or Courage enough to do their Duty in any tolerable measure and to be sure the Fear of God would be far from them the very name of covetousness is so provoking to one that has any sparks of Generosity that it is hard for him to mention it without the sharpest Invectives He that can stoop to such a Lust as this is not sit to be trusted with any Business of moment for his Soul is not capable of those noble Thoughts and Resolutions that make Men honest and faithful to their Trust and that greater Affection he bears to his little Deities will easily bring him off from the weaker Ties of Friendship or Loyalty so that whenever there shall arise a Competition between them his nearest Friends his Prince and his Country must become a

Sacrifice to his private Interest He therefore that loves himself at that rate as to be an Enemy to Mankind is very unfit to be a Magistrate for every little prospect of Gain will pervert his Judgment and make him overthrow the Cause he should maintain To conclude the Character Magistrates should be known among the People Not such ordinarily as have liv'd in Obscurity tho' some of them may be excellent Persons too but Men that have more appear'd in the World because such as they have liv'd in the Observation of publick Business and are therefore fitter for it This is requisite also for the greater Assurance of their Vertues and the fuller Satisfaction of those that come to them for Justice who will the more readily acquiesce in their Determinations Every Magistrate therefore is to be a Person of Wisdom and Prudence of Vertue and Courage one that fears God a Man of Truth hating Covetousness and that is known among the People Hoping therefore that I speak to Men of these Qualifications with such other particular Vertues as are consequent to the Fear of God I do with the greater Encouragement beseech you to execute Righteousness with all that Wisdom Courage and Zeal which is necessary especially at such a time as this according to the Will of God and the wholsom a Laws of the Nation You are both the Eyes and Hands of our dread Sovereigns to find out and punish Transgressors and which is more ye are the Deputies of God himself and therefore call'd Gods in the Holy Scriptures Psal 82.1 6. and in his place and stead are to execute Judgement upon Earth Which is necessary not only for the Discharge of a good Conscience in yourselves and the suppressing of such Sins as are naturally injurious to the Nation but also to prevent God's Judgments upon it for he is not wont to punish a People himself till Sins that are committed by some are conniv'd at by others and the hand of the Magistrate is slack in doing Justice upon the Guilty For what is said of Murder Numb 35.33 The land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him that shed it is a Rule to us also in respect of other Sins according to their several Aggravations and the Punishments due to them The Land contracts Guilt and Defilement from all heinous and open Sins of particular Persons if they are not duly punish'd by those that are authorized to do it And because a Nation as such cannot receive Punishment in another World God will sooner or later visit them with his Judgments in this and nothing can prevent him but a seasonable Distribution of Justice by his Vice-gerents and a Reformation among the People When Judah were guilty of many Sins that were too generally allow'd amongst them such as Idolatry Fornication Adultery Deceit c. with a Remission of Justice also as might well be suppos'd in so general a Corruption among the People and God threatned them no less then three times by the Prophet Jeremiah in these emphatical words Shall not I visit for these things saith the Lord And shall not my soul be aveng'd on such a nation as this As if he challeng'd the whole World to object against the necessity of it Yet he promises at the same time it there could be found a Man in Jerusalem that executed Judgment he would pardon it Jer. 5.1 Yea when the Wrath of God has already exerted itself upon a People this will put a stop to the Effects of it Thus when Israel for their Idolatry and Whoredom● with the Daughters of Moab had a Plague sent among them which together with some that were slain with the Sword destroyed twenty four thousands of the People and the brays and heroick Phineas seeing a great Man of the Israelites bring the Daughter of a Midianitish Prince to his Tear in the face of the Congregation that were now weeping for their Sins and the Anger of God that was broken out upon them took a Javelin in his hand and slew them both together in the Act of Sin Immediately upon this Execution the Plague was staid and God so pleas'd with Phineas for it that he gave unto him the Covenant of an Everlasting Priesthood and caused this to be register'd to his Honour in all after Ages Num. 25. He was indeed possess'd of a great Zeal for God that made him despise the Dangers he incur'd by this worthy Act which would certainly procure him very powerful Enemies But God does usually protect his Servants in doing his own Work and preserve them afterwards notwithstanding all the efforts of Malice and Revenge against them Now tho' Phineas was no Magistrate yet at this time he did the part of one and by an extraordinary Commission he is therefore a great Example to such so far as they can imitate him in a regular way But when they forbear to do it God will take the matter into his own hand and vindicate his Justice by some terrible Effects of it upon a Nation Therefore when the Psalmist complains that the Gods upon Earth would not do Justice he calls upon the God of Heaven to judge the Earth Psal 82.2 8. But that the Prophets and righteous Men in this Nation may not have cause to do so too by your Default I do again renew my humble Request to you that you would endeavour to exalt the Nation by such an Execution of Righteousness as is requir'd of you And for your farther Encouragement in this matter be pleased to consider that God has done his part for us in a most gracious manner in delivering us from the hand of our Enemies when we saw ourselves very near Destruction and ever since has gone on to perfect our Deliverance The Princes whom God in much Mercy has set over us have done their parts too not only in setting us such Examples of Righteousness as are very rare in the World especially in so eminent a Station but in publishing strict Proclamations for the Punishment of Vice in requiring Ministers to preach earnestly against it and read those Statutes to their People that were made for the suppressing of it and in giving a particular Charge to Magistrates under them to execute the Laws upon Offenders The faithful Servants of God in the Nation of all Ranks have in a great measure done their parts also in sincere Humiliations for the Sins of the Nation and praying to Almighty God to reform us and avert his Judgments from us and in order to it to inspire Magistrates with those generous and holy Resolutions which are necessary to accomplish so great a Work And I cannot but say you have such an Opportunity before you of carrying on a great Reformation in the Kingdom as both the present and future Ages will for ever praise God for so long as there shall be any Piety in the World and will raise to yourselves a lasting Monument of Honour if you