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	justification_n	justify_v	3,020	5	8.4033	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59651	Divine providence, the support of good men under all events a sermon preached before the Lord Mayor, &c. at Guild-Hall Chappel, June 20th, 1680 / by William Shelton, rector of St. James, Colchester.	Shelton, William, d. 1699.	1680 (1680)	Wing S3098; ESTC R37383	13,523	41

Clayton Mayor CVria special tent die Dominico quarto Die Julij 1680. Regni Annoque Regis Caroli Secundi Angliae c. XXXII THis Court doth desire Mr. Shelton to Print his Sermon lately Preached at the Guild-Hall Chappel before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City Wagstaffe Divine Providence THE SUPPORT OF GOOD MEN Under all EVENTS A SERMON Preached before the Lord Mayor c. At Guild-Hall Chappel June 20th 1680. By William Shelton Rector of St. James Colchester LONDON Printed for Nathaniel Ranew at the King's Arms and Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lyon in St. Paul's Church-yard 1680. TO THE Right Honourable Sr. ROBERT CLAYTON Lord Mayor And to the Right Worshipful the ALDERMEN and SHERIFFS OF THE CITY of LONDON Right Honourable and Right Worshipful THe Doctrine of Providence has divers Adversaries Not only such as Atheistically disbelieve it but such also as perversly infer from it so do they who from present Success argue to the Merits of their Cause and justifie their Villanies in the Name of God If to grate upon former times were a pleasing Argument or such as might serve any good End I could have made this a part of my Discourse But having contented my self to give an hint that the Providence of God is no Justification of wicked Enterprizes I chose these Words for another purpose Instead of disputing a Controversie of which these Times are full I thought it as seasonable to put men in mind of a Truth which we all acknowledg but it has not a sufficient Influence upon our Lives If it be too hard to call them Adversaries to this Doctrine yet it must be owned that they disparage Providence that they have low and dishonourable thoughts of God's governing the World who cannot infer from his Wisdom and Goodness and Power that it is safe and happy to trust in him That which is said to this End in the following Sermon was by your Lordship and the Aldermen then present received with such candor and good acceptance that you have thought fit to command it to be made Publick To which I consent more as a Testimony of my Obedience than an Instance of my Choice I have not so great an Opinion of it as to think it deserves better than many others which are not Printed Yet I know it was preach'd with an honest Design And I know there is need that men should be awaken'd to a sense of their dependence on God And if any honest man finds himself brought to a better temper of mind by reading this Sermon If it give occasion to any man to resolve by the Grace of God to live better that he may not make God his Enemy and if it shall then encourage him to trust in God whatever befals him I will thank God who put these thoughts into my mind and I will thank your Lordship and your Brethren for being Instruments thus to reform any wan's life or to satisfie his mind I am Right Honourable and Right Worshipful Your most Humble and Faithful Servant W. SHELTON Colchester July 8th 1680. DIVINE PROVIDENCE THE SUPPORT OF GOOD MEN UNDER ALL EVENTS A Sermon preached before the right Honourable the Lord Major c. on June 20th 1680. PSALM 97. 1. The Lord Reigneth let the Earth Rejoyce THey who deny that the Providence of God is concerned in humane Affaires as they may well be thought to deny the being of God because the very notion of a Deity infinite in knowledge and Almighty in Power supposes it no difficult task for him to govern the World who first made it so do they undermine and destroy the principal support of a good mans Confidence For where shall the weary mind of man repose it self amidst the surprising Accidents and afflicting disappointments of this life Is the World a Lottery and do things come to pass by chance What a poor content then do our present Enjoyments administer to us and where is our security for the time to come To what purpose Antonynus do I live in a world void of God and void of Providence But there is a God and he doth take care of human Affairs This was the satisfaction of the Heathen Emperour The Lord Reigns let the Earth rejoyce So here the Divine Psalmist An Inference which a Religious man may at all times make but he never more needs it than in an unquiet and unsetled state of things The Doctrine is great and the Inference is good The Lord Reigns the most high rules over all the Kingdoms of me Nothing escapes his Knowledge Nothing controles his Power All things are managed by incomprehensible Wisdom and infinite Goodness And here we sit down and rest our selves When we have prayed as we do in the Collect of this day that God would keep us under the protection of his good Providence with a Peace that passes Uall nderstanding with an inward satisfaction of mind and a deep joy among the manifold changes and hazards of this mortal life we commit our selves and all our concerns to the governance of God and give him thanks that he will please to undertake the care of us A Consideration of so great Importance that I willingly wave all farther preface and take no notice of the rest of the Psalm nor enquire whether these words may bear another sence in reference to Christs Kingdom but apply my self to discourse on this Argument It is a great satisfaction to a good man that the Providence of God governs the World In which I distinctly consider 1. The Lord Reigns The Providence of God governs the World 2. This is a great satisfaction to the mind of man 3. But He must be a good and religious man that may with reason actually rejoyce in this Assurance of Gods Providence In all which I have not the Vanity to pretend that I can crowd into an hours discourse all that might pertinently be said in this matter But though out of respect to the time and your patience I must of necessity omit many things that might here have a proper place yet according to my poor ability I will endeavour to say nothing that may be Impertinent 1. The Lord Reigns God guides and governs the World all the Creatures in it all the Affairs of it especially those of mankind By the right of Creation he has Authority over us and he exercises that Authority in making Laws for us To us Christians he has given his Holy Word which is the Law of our Creation and of our Redemption too But to all men he has given a Law written in their Hearts Rom. 2. a Conscience of good and evil But because Authority seperate from Power is insignificant therefore that is also visible in rewarding those Hebr. 11. that diligently seek him and punishing the Refractory and disobedient which Rewards and Punishments if to humane sense they sometimes seem unequally distributed yet is this no sufficient exception against the Doctrine of Providence as will

Transgression so that this Objection overthrows it self The very being of Sin in the world supposes Providence but I add to that answer God has done so much to prevent Sin and to over-rule it and will do so much in the punishing of it that this can be no reasonable Objection against Providence 1. In order to the prevention of Sin God has declared his pleasure in Commanding the contrary he has offered the assistance of his Holy Spirit that Sin may not have Dominion over us He withholds no help or aid that he is bound to give but if in the offering or bestowing this Assistance he think not fit to do violence to the nature of a reasonable Creature it ought not to be wondred at He forbids sin and makes known the danger of it and earnestly sollicits men to turn from their evil ways Why will ye die O House of Israel But if men will abuse their own liberty this is enough to vindicate the Providence of God toward those that remain wicked he deals with them as with reasonable Creatures Men are wanting to themselves God is not wanting to them 2. As God has done much to prevent Sin so does he likewise over-rule it He restrains it and makes it serve his own Glory so succeeded the Envy of Joseph's Brethren and the malice of the Jews to our blessed Saviour And in many other cases God has brought good out of evil and thereby declared that his Providence governs the world Especially when 3. It is considered that God will punish the sin he so much hates But this is of it self another Objection 2. If God govern the world why does Providence seem so lame and unconcern'd when men dare the Justice of God and defie Heaven and grow enormously wicked Yet The wicked live become old and are mighty in power Their Houses are safe from fear neither is the Rod Job 21. of God upon them I answer as followeth 1. Who can tell that the Vengeance of God does not often overtake wicked men when to outward appearance they brave hector and live as if nothing disturbed them There are secret throbings of Conscience which men strive to preserve from outward notice and so long as those inward Horrors do not approach very near dispair they may be undiscerned But the Heart knows its own bitterness the mind of man doth severely lash itself And from hence may it rationally be argued to the conviction of those that quarrel at Providence Juven Satyr 13. Cur tamen hos tu Evasisse putes quos diri conscia facti Mens habet attonitos surdo verbere caedit Occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum Do you think wicked men escape the vengeance of God No the Viper gnaws and torments within Dreadful are the Agonies Bitter is the distress and anguish that men feel in their own minds Or if this do not always happen yet for ought a by-stander knows it may happen and even then when men outwardly ruffle and seem to sin without fear But 2. is our Eye evil because God is good What if the long-suffering of God wait upon men that his goodness may lead them to Repentance this must not be accounted an Imputation upon Providence 3. God has it in his power to animadvert when he pleases And therefore no wonder if he delay that execution which he can hasten at his own pleasure For 4. Punishment shall come and the longer it is deferred the more dreadful it shall at last be Sometimes Providence justifies it self and meets with men in this world by many strange discoveries of Treasons and Murders and Robberies and other licentious practices God has honoured the Justice of his Administrations or if he sometimes delay Yet 5. The revelation of the Righteous Judgment of Rom. 2. God at the last and great day will give all men satisfaction that the righteous God is not now an Idle and unconcern'd spectator of the wickedness of men for then he will reward every man according to his deeds 3 There remains but one thing more to be argued in this matter Why does a gracious and good God so little regard holy men in the midst of those tribulations they suffer in this World A common objection and some have boldly expressed it When Lucan finds Pompey whom he thought the better man and to have the juster cause ruin'd by Caesar how does he exclaime and blaspheme Lucan Lib 7. Sunt nobis nulla profectò Numina cum caeco rapiantur saecula cursu Mentimur regnare Jovem So Atheistical men may talk but holy men notwithstanding all they suffer in this world are not dissatisfied in their Religion Though God slay them yet they will trust in him And by Job 13. their casting all their care upon him it appears they 1 S. Pet. 5. believe he takes care of them If we consider farther that no man suffers more than he deserves that it is good for men to be afflicted If Psal 119. we can believe that the promises which suppose that holy men may be afflicted shall be fulfilled to them God will never leave them nor Hebr. 13. Psal 46. Rom. 5. forsake them He will be a present help in trouble and will work all things for good And if we can rise up to St. Pauls confidence about the happy issue of our present sorrows That our light Affliction which is but for a moment shall work 2. Cor. 4. for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory I say if we can believe these things then neither is this any sufficient prejudice against Providence I may conclude then the first part of my undertaking The Lord Reigns the Providence of God governs the World 2 This is a great satisfaction to the mind of man The Lord Reigns let the Earth rejoyce We meet with enough in this world to make it a vale of Tears Sometimes we foresee a storm sometimes we sail in the midst of Rocks and are just ready to strike upon the Sands Few are so over-happy as not to be often ingaged in considerable difficulties but we may always Hebr. 6. ride at Anchor such is our hope in God an Anchor sure and stedfast Yea we may weather out the Storm for if we can trust our Pilot he will never fail us Under all our sorrows and fears it is an unspeakable satisfaction to commit our selves to the never failing guidance of the good Providence of God And of this I say three things 1 Those things of which we are ignorant are known to a wise God 2 Those things which are against our wills which we apprehend evil for us are guided and ordered by the will of a good God 3 Those things which are out of our power are within the Power of Almighty God 1 Our Ignorance is one great cause of our sollicitude and dissatisfaction What would some men give certainly to foreknow their own fortune Alas In many cases