Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	glory_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	62	3	8.9816	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87086	The difficvlty of sions deliverance and reformation: together with the activitie which her friends should manifest during the time that her cause is in agitation. Delivered in a sermon at Margarets Westminster, before the honourable House of Commons on Wednesday morning, the twenty-sixt day of Iune. 1644. / By Humphrey Hardwick, Minister of the Word at Hadam Magna in the County of Hertfard, and one of the Assembly of Divines.	Hardwick, Humphrey, b. 1601 or 2.	1644 (1644)	Wing H704; Thomason E2_9; ESTC R2445	22,618	46

it first justifie all those good Zerubbabels of our time who have put themselves forth in our cause beene much and active in faithfull endeavours for the preservation and reformation of this Church and Kingdome It likewise also justifieth all our humiliations publike and private all our dayes of thankfull memoriall Laws Ordinances and Injunctions truly intended to procure the full deliverance and establishment of our religion and just liberties If all the friends of Sion ought in such cases to do as you have heard then our Worthies have done no more then did become them no more then was their dutie to doe Search through the holy Book and tell me whether any men are so precious in the eyes of heaven and the account of God himself as those that have beene zealous for the reformation of his Church the carrying on of his Cause the helpe of his people against the wicked and profane opposers of them How highly were Caleb and Ioshua esteemed of God for being couragious when others flagg'd in the businesse and shrunk at evill tydings Had not Phinih●m the sonne of Eleazar a Covenant of peace made to him and his posteritie for being zealous in Gods Cause among the people Why should I tell you of Gideon and Barak and Samson and the rest In a word men of this spirit are the onely men in Gods Books But one thing which is recorded of a zealous woman I cannot omit Blessed above women shall Jael the wise of Heber the Kenitebe blessed shall she be above women in her tent she put her hand to the nail and her right hand to the work mans hammer she smote Si●era she smote off his head Judg. 5.24 26. Lo my brethren what an high transcendent applause is given to this woman by the mouth of the Spirit of God The like phrase is but in one place more ro be found in Holy Writ and there it 's given to the blessed Virgine here it is iterated of this woman by which with the former instances we may clearly see how much true zeale in such kinde of actions doth please the God of glory And all this I mention not to flatter or proud up any heart but by way of just vindication and approbation of all that have beene forward for God in our just cause for their future encouragement and have not I good reason so to do in these times when men of zeal meet with so many disheartenings and discouragements Truly it 's some unhappinesse to be good amongst us especially to be zealous in it for besides the trouble and many inconveniences which accompanie such undertakings the persons of men truly zealous for Gods Cause among the people are obvious to soule censure oft doe they gaine reproach and finde unthankfull dealing from many of our owne side How apt are we to bedew our best friends and to requite ill to those who strive most for the publike good Did not consciousnesse of dutie to God and the true worth and excellency of the imployment bear up Christian hearts and publike spirits many good instruments in this Cause had long ago been sutors to God and man to have quit them of their imployments I have cause therefore lighting on this subject to speak thus much in season for their justification and incouragement Hereby also our pious actions fore mentioned are to be approved for why there are a generation who mussicate against them whisper and say By what authoritie doe wee these things some are ready to say as Indas of the Alabaster Box of Oyntment Whereto is this waste Now I could quickly say enough to these men but blessed be God experience hath sufficiently taught us that these pious endeavours have not been in wast for in no age I think were fastings prayers and the duties of this kinde so often so visibly answered And this will or may stop such mouthes with shame Moreover the doctrin which I have proved sheweth divine authoritie the Lord requiring expecting and in effect calling for the frequent exercise of these duties in such times being a chiefe part of the precious seed which should be sown Yea more by this we may conclude that it were much sinne and wickednesse to refuse or neglect see how irreconcileably angry the Lord is with his people for neglecting such duties in such times Esa. 22. consult that place and I shall need say no more to justifie our sowing in teares A second Vse of this point doth minister matter of just and sharp reprofe First to neuters a sort of men wise in their own conceit secretly condemning all others and justly to be condemned of all I may truly say that neither God nor man loves them it is onely the devill and themselves that they please And were not these a kinde of unteachable creatures I should speak much to their reproof but I referre them to two places of Scripture one in the old Testament Indg. 5.23 the other Rev. 3.15 16. This truth may discover to us how little those men deserve of the Church and kingdome who stand in their places like ciphers to supply a room and multiply the number but neither act nor in good earnest desire to act any thing to purpose I confesse if men were to make themselves their own end they took a course seemingly wise For publique grievances though easily seen and complained on yet are very hard to be dealt with To search into the true causes of them to finde out the right method of euring them is a work so full of toyle and so beset with difficulties as that selfish and wary men may well judge it better to sit quiet and enjoy their own case then to entangle and trouble themselves to seek the common good Now of this temper I fear me there are many too many who do blesse and applaud themselves in not acting and judging others for their forwardnes But I beseech you to consider earnestly that our Parliament our Kingdome our Cause hath no need of men of Gallio's temper which care for none of these things and what anignoble propertie it is for men called of God and entrusted with so weightie imployment to spend their time in doing nothing or nothing to the purpose and leave Gods Businesse to God himself and others to care for I am not ignorant that men of this make have many excuses to plead but alas they are fig-leaves which will not cover their nakednesse and though the World and themselves were so deluded as not to see their guiltines yet such men will dearely answer it before God for doing nothing or as good as nothing in the Cause of God and the kingdome It remains now onely that I call upon every one that would not be counted an enemy but a friend of Sion to be up and doing to be much and active in pious and precious endeavour for the perfecting our Sions deliverance and the establishing of our Jerusalem in peace and truth Now is time for Nobles and Senatours and

touch When the Israelites had license granted by Cyr●● to return 〈◊〉 Babylon there were many of them so 〈…〉 gone and change their station as the Church after praises for deliverance was forced to sollicite the Lord of mercy afresh to turne their captivitie Men are naturally wedded to what they have had and albeit they know things were not so well as they ought and might be yet Issachar-like they had rather stoop to the burthen then to be at pains to put it off slavishly they think it was well enough it may serve turn and what will come of change is uncertain So in Egypt at the Bricke Kilnes they had flesh pots and garden commodities they eat to the full they slept well and had straw enough till Moses came and if therefore they could make any accommodation with Pharaoh they would trouble themselves no further This unwillingnesse made them sticke so long in Egypt and most certainly this retarded their journey in the wildernesse forty yeares yea more made the Lord to sweare in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest The Lord is justly slow to help an unwilling people and hence see another reason why the work is so extremely difficult A nation or people are with much ado brought to a capacitie or rendered fit to be delivered and estabilished thorowout Reformation is like a new piece not fit to be sowed in an old garment and there needs be a new frame of spirit in the land before Gods great work can be settled and placed in it Further to illustrate this give me leave to point out foure things which by consulting the sacred Volume I find requisite to be in a people before they are capable of deliverance and reformation First they must be truly and throughoutly sensible of their bondage and misery and clearly brought off confidence in the arme of flesh When the deliverer came at first to visite his brethren they put him away saying Who made thee a Judge and why was this because they were not yet sensible of their own want found not themselves to need a deliverer by which it was evident they were not sit nor as yet capable of such a mercy but after some more years when another King arose which knew not Ioseph and began to make heavier their bondage then the Hebrews grow fully sensible and God saith The crie of the Children of Israel is come up to me come now therefore and I will send thee that thou maist bring them out Exod. 3.9 10. and we may see by this when a people is fit for deliverance The Prophet Hosea likewise acquiants us that when Ephraim first saw his wound he went to the Assyrians and sent to King Iareb Hos. 5.13 and whilest thus it was with them they were unsit uncapable of Gods cure and so continue untill they see their errour return to the Lord and take with them words saying We will not ride upon horses Ashur shall not save us Hos. 14.1 2 3 4. Another propertie is for a people to be willing to do what they can to help themselves to carry on the work to the uttermost If the Children of Israel begin to be afraid of the Giants and declare themselves unwilling and loath to fight with the supposed terrible mastie inhabitants of the land of Canaan they do thereby clearly discover themselves to be unsit or uncapable of such a mercy as seemed in probabilitie to be near unto them God hereupon continued their Pilgrimage in the wildernesse forty years untill all were dead that were thus loath to do what they could to help themselves After this the people grow to a fit temper and become capable of entring the Land of promise and see what their disposition was Iosh. 1.16 All that thou commandest us we will doe and whithersoever thou sendest us we will 〈◊〉 The people being thus ready to do what they could are now capable of mercy A third propertie requisite is a willingnesse to remove and part with all things which may hinder perfect reformation In the tenth of la●●ges we finde that the philistines and the Amorites did grievously oppresse Israel who in their misery repaire unto God for succour acknowledging their sinnes imploring his helpe but the Lord returns answer I will deliver you no more A strange repulse by a mercifull Father given And if you skan the businesse you shall finde it was for that Israel kept still amongst them the things which did and might hinder Gods helping and delivering of them to wit their strange gods But when they had considered and found out that to be the cause they put them away and presently they were holpen yea more the Text faith Gods 〈◊〉 was grieved for the miseries of Israel lo how removing the things which may hinder did alter the case vers. 13 and 16. Lastly a people are not sit for help and deliverance till they be freely content to be at the charge of in When Ephraim is an emptie vine to God sparing niggardly in his service ruine not reformation is like to succeed Hosea 10. And consult the Story of the Kings of ludah you shall finde but one thorowout Reformation and this was in the dayes of l●siah and how liberall were the hands of the people in those dayes they brought in money to the work sans weight and measure The value of the gold and silver of the molten Images was not regarded nor saved out of an husbandly thriftinesse but they stamped it and all other costly utensils which were superstitiously imployed into pieces and made dust of them And gave in of their own more then sufficient this bountie and freenesse of spirit argued them to be truly fit and capable of greater Reformation then any was wrought before them Now consider my Brethren by these notes how hard a thing how much ado it will be before a nation or people will be brought to such qualifications there must be ploughing sowing planting and supplanting in a nation or kingdome ere a worke of full Reformation will be brough about My fixt Reason of this point is from the providence of God who will have the businesse I speak of to be thus for the discovery of unfound and unsincere instruments and to take away the glory of his Churches deliverance from them It is the most noble and greatest honour that ever can come to mortall men on earth to be instruments of publique good to a nation especially to Gods Church and people mostly in the cause of restauration and Reformation Now this being so specious and desireable a thing all forts good and bad pious and profane are ambitions of the happinesse of it If therefore the businesse should go on with a faire gale and a flowing tide accompanied still with likelihood of successe and evidence of credibilitie how many Iehu-like would say Come see my zeal How many of the old Israelites which came out of Egypt approved the golden calfe and hankered after superstitions vanities had