Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A27986
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The book of the Song of Solomon in meeter with some brief observations from the text, something pleasant, but more profitable to the unprejudiced reader, who loves the knowledge of God, and hath his heart inflam'd with the love of the Lord Jesus / by T.S. ...
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T. S.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing B2632; ESTC R36655
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56,274
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78
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ere to morrow They oft take wing and leave poor men to sorrow They neither last nor cannot satisfy As Ionah by his gourd in part did try The Sun arose and with it rose the wind From th' eastern quarter vehement unkind God had prepard it to rise wondrous high That he might Ionah's patience further try The sun and wind they both conspire together To make it hot and very soultry weather They beat on Ionah Ionah he doth faint And breaks into this passionate complaint My life 's a burden to me let me dy For I have liv'd to see thee falsify Thy word and mine which is my dayly trouble And yet O Lord thou dost my sorrows double My body is afflicted as my minde Then life 't is better for me death to finde O let me be shut up within the grave And clos'd in silent darknesse then I have That thing I wish and in my self desire And cannot have it till my life expire Mans days on earth most variously are spent Sometimes he 's pleas'd sometimes he 's discontent Observ from Jonah's passionate complaint upon his suddain change Sometimes his joys do mightily abound Eâ—e while again they cast him to the ground For joy he laughs sometimes for sorrow weeps Nor reason nor religions bounds he keeps When man 's transported with his lawless passion Not to Gods will but his own he will fashion Himself in all things be it good or bad Anger joy sorrow oft makes wise men mad Then God repli'd to him a second time Mine anger might arise as well as thine Then thou a greater cause I have besure And yet my patience still it doth endure So manifold affronts I have had fro' thee Where judgment might yet mercy is shewd to thee Is this a thing worthy thy commendation Angry to be after this dispensation Didst thou regard my acts of providence Sham'd thou wouldst be to take so great offence At so small matter is this well in thee To be displeas'd at what is done by me How darst thou let thy anger rise so high As in it wish so desperately to dy Thus God with Ionah argueth the case To bring his soul again into its place When we run from him he still seeketh us Observ from Gods reasoning so lovingly with Jonah to bring his soul into its place and set him straight again And sayth return again why is it thus When man is minding naught but self concerns The wise and gracious God full soon discerns His swift destruction usherd in a pace If not prevented by his special grace Now Jonah answ'ring said to God again My angry passion I will still maintain My cause is good I can it justify And if I angry be untill I dye Untill my soul is from my body going 'T is well and weldone by me for so doing Gods dealings whether they are rough or mild Doth little good when passion groweth wilde Observ from Jonah's ill use of Gods gentle dealing with him answering foolishly again Nor sharp reproof nor exhortation kind Will any kindly entertainment find Where lust uncurbed goes and gets the reynes It bootless proveth for to use the means Of betterment men thereby rather turn Away from God and at his counsell spurn Once more the Lord repli'd and to him said With thy own practise I will thee upbraid What hast thou not for thy own self much cared And glad hadst been if I the gourd had spared Had'st not thou pitty on that fading thing Which I out of the earths-large-womb did bring Up in one night without the help of day And in one night it perisht quite away Thy labour on it thou didst not bestow No art nor skill of thine did make it grow This plant this gourd fain thou wodst have preservd It pleasant was to thee and so deserv'd Thy care and diligence to nourish it Sith in its shade thou didst delighted sit Which was a thing of very small renown Compared with that great Assirian town What reason then that I should not take pitty Upon that famous great populous City Wherein the little ones besides the old Were more then sixscore thousand fully told All persons for their age unapt to learn 'Twixt right and left hand they cannot discern The cattels much that doth about it feed To be prefer'd before a stinking weed I made them for my service and my use Yet me they did provoke by their abuse To threaten judgment therefore thou wast sent And when they heatd they fear'd and did repent How could I chuse but on them pitty take And shew them favour for my mercy sake For why in mercy thou knowst I abound And not them only but thy self hast found As great forbearance at my gentle hand When thou rebeld against my just command And now like to a frantick furious fool Art discontent because I do not rule According to thy pleasure not thy will But mine be done thou oughtst it to fulfill Then up be gone and get thee home with shame And study more to know my glorious name Regard my voice and answer when I call thee And sin no more lest a worse thing befall thee FINIS
much provoks the Lord To punish man and beast not man alone But for the sins of men the creatures groane The sinless beast nor need nor can repent Yet with the sinner needs they must lament May sinful man stand then all in a maze When on the sinless creature he doth gaze Groaning with grief for the just God therein Shews how he is displeas'd with men for sin And further by the foresaid thority We do decree and to all signify That every man put off his rich aray And every beast his ornaments this day This darksome day wherein none can be glad Let man and beast in sackcloath rough be clad And while that all thus sadly mourning ly Let every one to God lift up his cry With earnest powerful prayers now make your suit For weak nor feigned prayers now will not do 't By sins we have displeased God on high And if he shew not mercy we must dy We guilty are of many great offence And most of all we have us'd violence Within this city it cleaves to our hands Let 's clense our selves from it now he commands And with our prayers tears outward mourning Let every of us from our sins be turning When thus by king and Counsel 't was decreed Signed and seal'd Observ from the kings decree for repentance and hast to the execution thereof it hasts with winged speed It flys abroad and runs through every street Each tels another of it whom they meet For why it was proclaimed in his name And heralds fit to execute the same Where true repentance gods there goes confession Repentance true nere goes without contrition Self judging too repentance doth call in Whereby t' escape Gods judgments due for sin Unfained prayer doth assistance lend And reformation life for to amend For where â—mendment joyns with hearty grief Hope may be had that it will bring relief And cary'd on with strength of resolution To spend and hast the work to execution The penitent he can no longer stay But meets an angry God half on his way When God against him comes tho's pace be flack He mends his pace and runs to turn him back But now behold what mov'd this heathen king To constitute ordain appoint this thing It was not only thoughts of present fear But God in mercy also might appear For who can tell sayth he or who doth know Whether this city he will overthrow If we persist not on but do repent May be for this end Jona he was sent Perhaps returning we shall mercy finde For I have heard to mercy hee 's inclin'd We do not know therefore let us make tryal But if we turn from sin and be found loyal But God may turn away from his feirce wrath And will repent of what the prophet hath Pronounc'd against us that we may not dy Although he says that he will us destroy Gods mercys great Observ from the Ninivâ—â—s encouragement to turn of to God because he is a mercyfull God they â—ave bâ—en eveâ— found Good ancre-hold for souls hopes surest ground Poor sinner when at loss then do make bold To graspe at mercy and there take fast-hold 〈…〉 â—oul to save from horrid desperation 〈…〉 get a blessed expectation 〈…〉 means for to escape the fire 〈…〉 â—nkindled wrath and burning ire Mercy to finde yet 't is but peradventur Thy soul had wasted all thy mercy lent-her And now it 's come to this I do not know Whether I shall finde mercy yea or no What though it be to thee a doubtful thing Thy soul into the hands of mercy fling Concerning Niniveh see how 't appears Who now sit mourning all bedew'd with tears Nor mirth nor musick heard not one is glad But every one in hairy sackcloath clad Yet this is judg'd to be the smallest part Of works that manifest a trve convert With it they turn'd from all their evil ways God saw they did it and they did him please For 't is not sorrow much nor protestation Gainst sin that pleaseth God but reformation The evils all God said he would do to them Are now remov'd and turned away from them They are suspended upon this condition That they amendment joyned with contrition For the most gratious God repents of what He said that he would do and does it not Great is the force of faith and true repentance Though judgment passe Observ from Gods forbearing to punish upon their turning to him it will reverce the sentence When sin is left that sinful souls beguiles Gods frowns are turned into pleasant smiles His threatned judgments often are suspended When as the people threatned are amended CHAP. IV. The Argument How Jonah's angry cause the word He preacht had not success As he would have God by a gourd Reproves his foolishnesse BUt now when Jona saw the strange event His sermon had it made him discontent He now is angry and doth take displeasure His anger 's great and doth excel all measure He frets he pets he peevishly fume o◠〈◊〉 bluâ— Cause God does not as he will have â—nâ— do For God repents the Sirians scapt his â—and And enemies they 'l be to Judahs land May Jonah think and so his country men Abundantly had fared better then If they had been destroy'd as was the word That Jonah preached to them from the Lord. Blinde â—eal and carnal ends do oft misguide The best of men and cause them turn aside Time after time Observ frow Jonah's bâ—ing angry at the Lords sparing Niniveh their lust they will fulfil If God his actions steare not as they will Self would be serv'd whether God will or no If God say yea self never will say so Gods will and mans each other oft opose 'T is hard for mans with Gods will for to close What this is strange a prophet be displeas'd That to'ards a people God is now apeas'd And shews them mercy whom he might destroy Turning their days of mourning into joy Can any soul but Jonas be offended Instead of judgment to see grace extended But that 's not all why Jonah he is crost His fame his name and honour now is lost To be a prophet false he is afraid Lest that among them such a thing be said And now unto the Lord he doth address Himself by prayer that signifies no less In it he doth the Lord his God accuse To be in fault when as he did refuse To hear his voice at first and did rebell Pleading as if thereby he had done well Unbridled passion is a thing that will Transport the soul of men so long Observ from Jonah's casting his rebellious fault on God thinking to clear himself untill God and themselves they totally forget And go beyond the bounds that reason set And reasonless they foolishly will reason And think 't is loyalty when 't is but treason They think and speak and act against the Lord Such fruits self-love and passion do afford For this he says I pray