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	love_n	love_v	4,903	5	6.7044	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96467	A wonderful pleasant and profitable letter written by Mris Sarah Wight, to a friend, expressing the joy is to be had in God in great, deep, long, and sore afflictions. Occasioned by the death of her brother, the troubles of her mother; but especially the workings of God in her own heart. Published for the use of the afflicted.	Wight, Sarah.	1656 (1656)	Wing W2106; Thomason E1681_1; ESTC R209156	28,056	89

his way to doe as he hath done to suffer patiently and willingly without the least gainsaying or resistance such grievous things Christ was as a sheep before the slaughter David under afflictions was dumbe also because he saw the Lord did it and not man so Aaron when he lost his sons suddenly held his peace And good old Eli said It 's the Lord let him do as he pleaseth In this sweet spiritual frame was Job when he said it was the Lord that took from him in the flesh who could give him much more in the Spirit All that they suffered was not so much from an enemy as a Father for their good who seeing how apt the current of their affections was to run more to them then to him their heart being not so fixed upon him as he would have them but very apt to be divided and to wander from him like ours as we are creatures therefore he sends afflictions as messengers to fetch them home to his Sheepfold Once this word came in Power to me when I was very sad O soul grieve not grieve not for thy Brother precious in my sight is thy Brothers death though grievous to thee and others was not Christs sufferings much more terrible and think not strange your firy tryalls for what is befallen you is common to all in this life and the same afflictions are accompanied to your fellow-members in the world Think of Samsons death a good man who died among the Philistins and seemingly in anger to be revenged on them for his two eys Consider these things and lay them to heart and sorrow no more as one without hope but know all things shall worke togeather for good even this unto ye therefore be still and know I am God doing whatever I please in heaven and earth and all places his time was not in thy hands or friends or his own but in my hands A sparrow cannot fall to the ground nor a hair off the head without my knowledge When these things was spoken to me I was very restless in my spirit even resolving to spend my few days in silent sorrow not expecting any more Sun-shine days of joy and suddenly the glory of the Lord broke forth thorow some thick darkness bidding me lift up my head and the Lord was pleased to speak to me as sweet as ever telling me he would wipe all teares from my eyes and the rebuke or reproach of his people he would take from off all the earth he had spoken it who would do it Jehovah a fulfiller of Promises therefore let not thy troubled fearfull heart be disquieted or afraid Peace Peace be unto thee I found Christ reasoned with me as once he did with his disciples when they were sad Why are ye troubled and why do such fears and doubts arise in thy heart am not I and my favour more to thee then enjoyments or Relations or any thing thou canst desire though I chasten thee sharply to draw thee neer me yet my favour will I not take from you nor alter my love is not this O soul more then all to give thee my self Who am the Desire of Desires the Beauty of all Blessedness the top of all Royalties even the fulness that silleth all in all who hath made thee beautifull thorow my comlyness though black in thy self under the bondage of coruption yet Lovely as Redeemed Justified and Sanctified my soul was even melted with in me at this sweet and powerful manifestation of love that I cryed out None but a naked Christ and who would not sell all for this Precious Pearl and willingly resigne up all even life it self to Christ who became poor and despised in the worlds eye that we though his poverty might be dignified in the Spirit and made rich in Faith in grace in humility and goodness this is to be heavenly rich in God in love O who would not leave all to follow Chrst for his treasures of wisdom and knowledg and all good things which he gives to his close followers This was one word which was spoken to me also Lovest thou me more then these more then Gold Silver Lands Livings any relations Golden gifts and Graces men or meanes and love not the world nor the things of it love nothing I say equall or above me for he or she that loves any thing more then me is not worthy of me set not thy affections on things below on earthly sensitive things but on Heavenly things above invisible glories If riches encrease set not thy heart upon them My Deare brother was such riches to me that if I could have but enjoyed his life and him spiritually restored to a comfortable state in this life according to my earnest and constant souls desire and the desire of many precious Saints that our God might have been more glorifyed in his life on earth O what riches what a portion of great joy would this have been to my soul none knows but now seeing by this uncertainty and emptyness in all things below the Lord I am forced to say What is riches or the encrease or sweet enjoyment of any creature-comforts to the lifting up of Gods lovely countenance upon us I can say now more feelingly Whom have I in Heaven or in Earth to glory in or stay my self upon but God alone from whom flows all our fresh springs of comfort joy life love and sweetness The Lord I hope by our late chastisements will make us more holy humble thankfull and fruitfull in every good work of God and cause the sword not onely to pierce into our souls but even to divide and sever more between soul and body flesh and spirit Christ and the Creature That nothing may remaine in us but what loves admires and blesses our God alone above all Sir this is all my desire to know more and do and patiently submit to the holy will of our Dear God in all things and to have more single affections to him and his naked glory Christian friend I have written in these papers some poor stamerings or what the Lord hath communicated to me with comfort in weakness through which I have written this to you that you with me may bless the Lord for his precious loving kindness to his unworthy hand-maid I cannot tell whether I may be troublesom to you because so tedious at one time When I begin to write to a Christian friend in this kind I am always much enlarged the more because but slow of speech In these few lines you may perceive a little that many are the troubles of the Righteous and also that the Righteous Lord supports sweetly under them all and in his own best time graciously delivering them out of all These troubles of ours may well be compared to waters even a flood of waters as David said that hath wave upon wave which though it be our Fathers pleasure and our portion to wade thorow yet this is our comfort VVe shall not sink in them

owning him in giving mercies to us and not friends and owning him to take them from us and not enemies the Lord gives takes also Truly the Lords tryall in these things is a firy strict tryall God tries our Faith and love as he did Abrahams by causing him to offer up his onely son Isaac the son of promise Now I know said God to him in doing this that thou lovest me and thou shalt know it for in Blessing I will multiply Blessings upon thee and thy seed This ascending spark of love in Abraham from God to God did as I may say engage the Lord to descend showers of blessings upon him and his seed Our God in wisdom doth all things he tries and proves us to do us unexpected good in the latter end he tries whether we can live in the practicall part of Christianity what we can do and suffer in truth for Christ whether we can be content to leave all for him be content with Christ alone without freinds or the world gifts graces qualities and conditions and such-like in one hand and Christ in the other whether we can be content to resign up all to God all outward and inward things all Relations Ordinances Gifts Graces Desires Hopes all that can be named or desired of Heaven and Earth that nothing of self may Remain none of our wills desires ends hopes but all crossed and destroyed in us which is contrary to the Lords will the Creatures will being so contrary to Gods will in all things it 's well to have it crossed though it be in that which may be most for its seeming comfort Surely they who are acquainted with the excellency of Gods hidden Divine will would not have it crossed but rather its own will in any thing though it may seem hurtful to it sure it 's thus Sir I shall acquaint you a little what a hard thing it was for me to submit to this will of God though easie to him to make me quietly submit and resign up all to him in the departure of my dear Brother Though the dispensation was dark and dismall yet I dare say from a full perswasion after many doubts that though it might seem in Judgment yet God hath received him to everlasting mercy for being weak I finde he was suddenly overcome by the strong man not willingly but by constraint meeting with many unnamed inward and outward fears and troubles Certainly what is not done in despite willingly against God but the violent hurrying of Temptation through weakness not willingly shall never be layed to any poor tempted souls charge The Lord doth not look so much to the weakness of his creature and temptation as to his own rich mercy and free love Surely thus the God of love hath looked upon my dear departed Brother for I had experience of him in his life-time that when he was himself he served the Lord with many Tears and Temptations oftentimes and did endeavour to walk as exact as a Christian to that light of knowledg God was pleased to measure out to him Much I might say of this nature had I oportunity and thought it convenient which causeth me to Believe the Lord hath not looked upon him to take advantage of his weakness to destroy but to save him according to the multitude of his tender mercies and being a God of love patience and long Suffering hath I am now perswaded though one while I was much troubled with doubts and feares hath taken him from sin and sorrow to bliss and blessedness He was of a very weak Constitution of body Truly dear friend the great loss of such a comfortable staff such a hopefull son and brother the maner and unexpectedness of his going from us hath been a sword in our bones first pierced thorow our soul which hath cut us to the heart First from a serious consideration of Gods dishonour by opening the mouths of the ungodly to cause them to stumble at the way of God saying What profit is it to serve God and are these they that made the Lord their trust and such-like things And secondly the Saints discouragement besides our own great discomfort in the middle of our supposed comfort I hope the effect of the sword I mention will prove the Lords severing sword to separate more between flesh and Spirit Christ and the creature I find all that God doth is to try us whether we can love God as well in the way of his Judgments as in the way of his mercies love him in casting us down as raising us up in smiting as healing in Winter as Summer for all in all changes and conditions above all many are the troubles of the holy seed of God and truly did we not suffer something the remaining part of Christs sufferings would be unfulfilled which tryal and proof he endures in us as he suffered in the patterne so we in truth O there is a necessity of our suffering something if we would be feelingly sensible of what Christ hath suffered in the flesh for us to crown us with glory in the Spirit and be sympathizing with others in affliction and really magnifying that free grace of God which ends in full glory causing us always to extol the Lord blessing him with a triumphant song of praise I am sure the Saints have cause to bless the Lord at all times even in the wilderness because this is the place where God usually speaks comfortably to his people Though he lead them this solitary way yet it 's the right way the way of the Lord is an unknown strange way even in the whirlwind O what a happyness is it to finde afflictions come not out of the dust but as we may say they are the finger the providence of God for our good he makes them antidotes to us to expell poyson the more we have of them Sanctified to us the more pure like Christ we have no cause to say when we are under the rod therefore not beloved of our Father because so and so afflicted but the rather loved of our Father because chastned hereby we are made more conformable to Christ by being buried with him in the Baptisme of his sufferings The Cup of affliction which the sanctified ones drink of is a Fathers Cup which they cannot but drink handed to them for their good from himself whose ways are all mercy and truth whose paths drop fatness whose out-goings and in-comings are all sweet and precious to us The poor creature in trouble is very apt to cry out and say Is this and this a pleasant way is this a comfortable condition and can God indeed bring good out of such great evills O it 's impossible Thus I have thought often Can any good come out of sinfull Nazareth out of my confusion and darkness O it 's impossible with us it is but not with God who at first commanded light to shine out of darkness O what cause have we to exalt Gods power and love

a fellow-member of that mysticall body whereof Christ is the Head O what a mercy is it to be heartily affected with the afflicted to have the same mind which was in Christ in us to have the same love one to another as Christ hath to us in quality though not in quantity The love of the Lord in his people is many times made out to them in an unexpected way to wonderment when they think least of it as Hagar said the Lord looked after her when she looked not after him so doth he to many of his people oftentimes provide and protect them in a way and manner which they cannot but wonder and bless his Name It 's a wonder to mee sometimes to see how sensible one Christian is of anothers sufferings because it 's so rare but when I consider that all the Saints have but one God one Father one Faith one Baptisme one Love one Spirit who dwells in them all and runs thorow them all and conveys it self to all as it pleaseth whether absent or present afar off or neer at hand known or unknown by face Although the Saints are scattered abroad in this wide wilde world and distinct in the flesh from one another yet are they one in the Lord and so love sympathize sorrow and rejoyce together as members in truth of Christs body Christ was of a sympathizing suffering Spirit and such hearts qualities and dispositions he would that we should have therefore he puts his Law of love and kindness into us he takes our humane nature and infuses his divine nature into us Christ bears all our griefs and carries our sorrows and in all our afflictions is afflicted with us and for us O how good is it in our wilderness of trouble to lean upon this our Beloved who can bring us out of them all we are very apt to stumble at the way and maner of Gods dispensations when we have little cause for it if we did but consider that he hath glorious ends in all he doth and suffers for the exaltation of his Name and our sole comfort Though the Lord may cross his people in the way of his providence so that all things may fall alike to all in this World before men yet not in his account hereafter for he may give us to look unto him in his word of Promise and there behold him by an enlightned eye doing all things after the counsel of his own good will and pleasure for his glory and our everlasting comfort beyond and above all outward sense and external hopes as he did to Abraham calling things that are not as though they were I am not so much a worder as an admirer and a little writer of the wonders of God in the deep of affliction to some of my fellow-sufferers who have been bewildered in their spirits as I have been though now through rich mercy in som measure refreshed with the crums of Canaans comfort drops of honey and milk grace and love that flows from our good spiritual land Much of Gods fatherly Dealings and Refreshings I might relate unto you which my hungry thirsty weary Restlesse soul hath known seen and felt in the day of trouble the hour of sad temptations if I had freedom Sir the sharp exercise which hath been upon my spirit since that little unknown book was made of Gods glorious Displayings of light and love upon a poor dark forlorn nothing-creature in an unexpected time I was not then capable of the publishing of it if I had I could not be free fearing how it might be with me afterwards Truly since then I have had a sharp Winter-season mourning for the loss of all that comfort I have been stripp'd so bare of seeming comfort since that I cannot boast of that nor of any comforts but of the God of comforts not of enjoyments or experiences not of any gifts or graces but of the giver alone and of my infirmities and in that Power of Christ which hereby is made more manifest in us the Lord alone is the boast and glory of his people in his Name we set up our Banners and upon him alone shall our mind be fixed and our soul-affections set and not on things below this is to have our hearts above on things remaining not shadowy but substance and our conversation in heaven though we tabernacle in houses of clay in the world When Christ is our only object then but not till then will all below be our abject in comparison of a full God a naked Christ a free Spirit O that it might be all our aimes and ambitions to take up our crosses and follow Christ fully even thorow fire and water for here our God hath promised to be with his people and when we are purged and purified enough he will lead us out into a wealthy place of peace and Joy O that we could walk in our Masters steps without stumbling and do as he did run our race with joy knowing if we run we shall obtaine the Crown which is not to be had on this side the end of it Surely this prize is worth the running waiting for and longing after till we enjoy it Our suffering and Cross is but a little while for a small moment but our glory is for everlasting our reigning for ever Thrice-happy is that soul whom God chuseth for his own in his furnace and chastens in his school happy entering happy in it and for ever happy afterward Blessedness and Happyness is annexed to Gods chastning Blessed and happy is the man God correcteth and teacheth new lessons thereby therefore not to be despised Our loving Father even smiles when we think he frowns upon us when he seems to strike us he stroaks us He doth to us sometimes as he did to Adam convey a precious promise with a sad threatning saying The seed of the woman c. Mercies oftentimes come veiled to us and a sentence of death may pass upon our choicest mercies as did upon Abraham for the tryall of our graces which would not shine so bright if not fire-tryed with Abrahams whose faith love and holy obedience to God after thus tryed shined more eminent and glorious I find our sad visitation known to you Sir was not so much a Punishment as some may call it but rather a strict tryal to try our faith love patience and pure good-will to God whether it be simply and entirely to him without by-ends as Satan would have accused Job to God saying Doth Job love or serve God for nothing also to try our strength what we can do or suffer for God and also to try our wisdom how prudent patient we could behave our selves like true Christians in the loss of all outward enjoyments though deare and precious to us not onely in flesh but in Spirit O what an unspeakable mercy is it to finde and feel God enabling of us to hold out in these firy tryals speaking well of the Name of our dear God