Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	great_a	people_n	3,792	5	4.4298	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60141	Of long life and old age a funeral sermon, occasion'd by the death of the much honour'd Mrs. Jane Papillon, who departed this life, July 12th, 1698. AEtat. 72 / by John Shower.	Shower, John, 1657-1715.	1698 (1698)	Wing S3677; ESTC R33839	29,289	117

enough now O Lord take away my Life Or with old Simeon Now Lord lettest thou thy servant depart in Peace Not only I am content to go if thou call me but with the Apostle I desire to be dissolved for while I am present in the Body I am absent from the Lord. Come Lord Jesus come quickly Thirdly In a full Age when they have liv'd to see their Children brought up and disposed of in the World And it may be have seen their Childrens Children This is a further Mercy that God hath made their House to grow and they can leave the World with hope that their Children shall follow them to Heaven and that they also will command their Children after them to serve the Lord Not to be called out of the World till they have a fair and hopeful prospect that the Covenant Promise shall be made good to their Seed that they that descend from them shall bear up the Name of God own his Truth and live to be Blessings in the World and not to reproach and shame the Stock from whence they come Fourthly To dye in a full Age a good Old Age with a competent vigour of Health of Body and Mind in their Elder Years I mean without the extraordinary Infirmities of Old Age. Moses being an Hundred and Twenty Years old yet his Eye was not dim nor his Natural Strength abated Deut. 34.7 With what Thankfulness doth good old Joshua speak this Josh 4.10 11. I am this Day Fourscore and Five Years old and yet I am as strong this Day as in the Day that Moses sent me as my Strength was then so it is now What Vigour of Health both of Body and Mind God blest the Honourable Person Deceas'd withal for the greatest Part of her Life all Things considered as to Her particular Case ought to be acknowledged with great Thankfulness For though Old Age be a Blessing yet a very infirm one is not desirable Which * Arch-Bishop Tillotson's Funeral Sermon of Dr. Witchcot a Great Man takes notice of upon such an Occasion Who saith he would desire to live very long Uneasie to himself and Troublesome to others who would not think it time to dye when by reason of Old Age we can hardly live with the Good Will of our Friends when those who ought to love us best begin to think much that we live so long and can hardly forbear to give us broad signs that they are weary of our Company In such a Case one would almost be contented to dye out of Civility and not choose to make a long stay where a Man sees his Company is no longer acceptable if we can hope we shall be welcome to a better Place and more delightful Society Why should we desire to thrust our selves upon those who have much ado to refrain from telling us that our Room is better than our Company The Extremities of Old Age are generally peevish and quarrelsome falling back to the weak and helpless Condition of Infancy and Childhood And yet less Care is commonly taken to please Aged Persons and less Kindness shewn them unless in Expectation of receiving greater than unto Children because these are cherished in Hope the others in Despair of proving better So that if God see good it is not desirable to try Nature and the Kindness and Good Will of our Relations to the uttermost I mention this because 't is one of the Blessings of Old Age to have the Taper of Life burn clear to the last For any to have their Understanding good their Memories and Senses tolerable their Conversation acceptable their Relations kind and respectful to them as long as they live This is a rare Case and happens seldom to Old People And when it doth it is commonly to those who by a Regular and Religious Course of Life have reserved some of their best Spirits till last and have not by Vice and Intemperance drawn off Life to the Dregs and left nothing to be injoy'd but Infirmities and Ill Humours Guilt and Repentance 'T is the Blessing of such who have laid in a good Provision for such an Evil Day by Peace with God and the Comforts of a good Conscience the Hopes of Heaven and the Sence of God's Favour and loving Kindness which is better than Life This is a special Priviledge and a singular Favour of God that might easily be apply'd to the present Example Which brings me to the Fourth Thing IV. That Old Age with the Grace of God and serious Religion to ripen and fit the Soul for Heaven like a shock of Corn fit to be gathered is a most desirable Blessing But before I speak to that I must Answer an Objection that you will be ready to make from Observation and Experience viz. That this Promise is not very often fulfilled even to Good Men That there is little distinction between the Righteous and the Wicked in this Respect Many Excellent Persons are taken off in their Youth and many Wicked People live to a considerable old Age. Answer Many Things may be said in Answer to this As that the Providences of God are of a great depth And that if a Good Man be call'd out of the World in the midst of his Days he will have no cause to repent that he did not live to be old If God promise Long Life and give Eternal Life there is no more Damage done to the Person than if you should promise another Twenty Shillings and give him a Thousand Guinea's And by giving long Life to some Good Men God shews that it is his Gift as by bringing others to Heaven sooner he tells us he has something better to bestow We are hereby instructed in the nature and value of present Things and assisted to expect Eternal Rewards and Punishments We cannot reckon any such Temporal Blessing a peculiar Mark of God's Favour because 't is not the Portion of all Good Men and others sometimes partake of it Without this Variety in the Dispensations of Providence we should want one of the best Moral Arguments for another Life after this We must likewise consider the difference between the Dispensation of God's Providence to Good Men under the Old Testament and now under the New Eternal Rewards were couched and shadowed very much under the Promise of Temporal Blessings on the Jewish Nation Their Land of Canaan was a Type of Heaven and long Life promised to them was the Figure of an Eternal one And though now under the Gospel we have the Promise of the Life that now is as well as of that which is to come yet the fulfilling of any such Promises must be left to the Wisdom of God who knows what is best for our Spiritual Advantage and when in all the Circumstances of it it will tend to our truest Interest and promote our Eternal Welfare God who knows our Strength and Weakness what Temptations we are able to resist and what not knows when and to whom to fulfil