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	speak_v	word_n	3,147	5	4.0147	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90672	A firebrand pluckt out of the burning. A sermon preached at Margarets Westminster, before the Honourable House of Commons, at their late solemn fast, Novemb. 27. 1644. By Benjamin Pickering, Minister of Gods Word at Buckstead in Sussex: and a member of the Assembly of Divines. Published by order of the said house.	Pickering, Benjamin.	1644 (1644)	Wing P2150; Thomason E23_4; ESTC R18962	22,587	38

in Babylon and the Samaritancs about Iudea to hinder their counsels and endeavours you have given good proofe that you exalt God and preferre his glory with the hazard of the depressing of your selves and yours The Lord is faithfull who will not forget your unparallel'd zeale and labour of love Continue in your integritie and the Lord will continue a Sunne and shield to you Psal 105.14 he will for your sakes rebuke Princes he will rebuke Satan and all his malignant Instruments that they shall be as still as a stone Although Satan be at your right hand feare not so long as our Mediatour sits at the right hand of God feare not if you with Ioshua stand before the Angel of the Covenant continue to stand before him as your Master whose worke you are about expecting what he will prescribe or enioyne Continue in his worke that you may be found so doing so acquit your selves that he may say Well done good and faithfull servants you have beene faithfull in all my house enter into your Masters ioy Stand before this Angels as your Iudge to whom in all your iust proceedings you may appeale and have reliefe Stand before him as your Advocate who hath undertaken the Patronage of your righteous cause and the promoting of your pious undertakings in heaven with his Father there he speakes good there he pleads for you and the Lord will answer him with good words and comfortable words concerning you and concerning his Ierusalem To his powerfull Patronage constant care and gracious guidance you and all your weightie Affaires are commended in the daily prayers of Your most unworthy but faithfull and humble servant BEN. PIKERING A SERMON PREACHED AT Margarets Westminster before the Honourable House of COMMONS at their late Solemn Fast Novemb. 27. 1644. Zach. 3. latter part vers 2. Is not this a brand pluckt out of the fire IT is the Lords pleasure that the condition of his Church many times should be such as the Prophet expresseth I beheld the earth and lo it was without forme and void Jer. 4.23 and the heavens had no light Thus it was with Gods people in the Babylonish captivitie Heaven and Earth Church and Common-wealth were in a confusion It is the Lords goodnesse to have respect to his people in such extreamities and when all is in a Chaos to stirre up helps and wayes to a new Creation of this heaven and earth The God of the spirits of all flesh for this end stirs up the spirit of Cyrus to give way and of Zerubbabel Ioshua Ezra and Nehemiah to revive the stones out of the rubbish to build the Citie and Temple and to set up the true worship and pure ordinances of God It is observable that the best undertakings meet with greatest discouragements As these Builders and Reformers did both from the Kings Courtiers and Malignant neighbours stirred up by the Devill Therefore lest they should faint and be weary lest their spirits should faile the Lord sends encouragements by his Prophets Haggai and Zachary Ezra 5.1 The like oppositions much Honoured you have had and such encouragements the Lord hath not been wanting in to you This Prophet Zachary First to fit and dispose the people for mercy exhorteth to repentance Thus is a people prepared for the Lord. Secondly by sevetall visions the Lord first sheweth how he had dealt with them that is with moderation not according to their deserts but in measure and much mercy Chap. 1. 2. Secondly for their comfort he declareth how he would deale with them Chap. 3. 7. that is he would deale graciously with them if they would turne to him and build his Temple and set up his worship and ordinances in their puritie In this third Chapter is set down the fourth vision which the Lord manifested to this Prophet that is Ioshua the high Priest and Satan standing at his right hand In Ioshua the high Priest a type of Christ is set out the restauration of the Church and Priesthood and true worship He stood before the Angel of the Lord that is the second person of the Trinitie called the Angel of the Covenant and vers 2. of this Chapter Iehovah attending his commands expecting his ayde he was in vile raiment not as the high Priest of old though the Priesthood and Church be in a vile despicable condition you see it is in Christs eye he hath care of it Satan an adversary stands at his right hand to resist The devill will still be hindering the acting hand in the things of God Our Saviour found it so when first he entred upon the worke of a Mediatour and Saint Paul in his pious intentions Matth. 4. 1 Thess 1. Satan hindered us The Devill hateth all Divine Order and pure Ordinances therefore he resists Ioshua in whom the Priesthood and Divine worship were restored Hence vers 3. the Lord is pleased to grant a threefold encouragement to Ioshua and the rest which is also a threefold discouragement to the adversary First The Lord hath chosen Ierusalem and the Ministery appointed to gather and build up his people and the Lord by deliverance of his people hath manifested his election therefore he will not forsake those whom hee hath chosen Gods choosing is loving Iacob have I loved Whom God loves he loves to the end therefore feare not Secondly The Sonne of God undertakes the Patronage of his Church he prayeth for them he makes intercession to Iehovah God the Father Iehovah said Iehovah rebuke thee and observing the reduplication the Lord rebuke thee even the Lord that hath chosen Ierusalem rebuke thee we may see vehemency of affection in our Mediatour toward his Church and chosen he was heard alway whilest he was upon earth Joh. 11. Father I know thou hearest me alwayes Therefore now he is at the right hand of God he is heard The Lord will rebuke the adversary and answer this angel with good and comfortable words concerning Ierusalem This was to Ioshua and the rest and is to you another singular encouragement The third is in the words of the Text read unto you that is present rescue This manifests what Gods purpose is toward his people he hath delivered them out of a wofull captivitie likely to consume them as a brand out of the fire therefore the Lord will save them to the uttermost hath he begun and shall he not finish what worke he begins he will perfect it the Lord will perfect that which concerneth his chosen Psal 138.8 Thus may the Lords chosen instruments and servants be encouraged and thus the malignant enemy tooke off Vpon this third let us stay our soules I shall not trouble you with varietie of interpretations nor with multitude of observations which might very aptly be drawn out but shall labour to present the summe in this generall instruction Gods people may be in the burning but they shall certainly be rescued and perfectly delivered Doctrine This I shall

divisions of Gods people there should be great thoughts of heart as for the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts and great seachings of heart It is to be lamented with the teares of us all to see brethren agreeing in all substantials serving one God having one Father and Hope c. yet for some circumstances in matters of Discipline their contentions are as the barres of a Castle and the heat is increased as betweene Guelphs and Gibellines Honourable Senators here your Wisdome yea a Divine Wisdome from above must be obtained for you would shine if you could repaire all these breaches and compose things so that brethren might with peace of conscience dwell together in unitie then we should see that the Lord would delight over us to goe on to doe great things for us and the graces of God would then shine in his servants when they would in the spirit of meeknesse yeeld one to another so that the unitie of the spirit might be kept in the bond of peace This onely I adde If ye bite and devoure one another Gal. 5. take heed that ye be not consumed one of another Fourthly when we have had mercies showring down from heaven we have slackt our hands in prayer when Moses hands fell downe Amalek prevailed and so through our slacknes coldnesse in this dutie and others more then through the slacknesse of our Armies the enemies who were not long since even prayed downe have strengthened themselves to our reproach and danger Fifthly Selfe-love which sets us upon selfe-seeking and selfe-ends is so predominant that the publique concernments are not so promoted If we had publique concernments are not so promoted If we had publique spirits our endevours would have had a further influence into the publique good then yet they have had And many provocations there are amongst us to bewaile many Achans amongst us many cursed things not onely hid in the tents but brought forth in the sight of the Sunne they declare their sinne as Sodome and hide it not much cause of humiliation these are unto us all this day and we must not looke to see Gods work-perfected till we All mourne and repent for the many evils in the midst of us How long shall I see the Standard and heare the sound of the Trumpet Jer. 4.21 It is answered in the next words by the Prophet My people is foolish c. Junius reads it So long as my people is foolish and sottish and wise to doe evill And Honoured Worthies I beseech you to admit of me that I may use boldnesse This burden concerns all and cals upon all it is for admonition to all but especially You When Israel had provoked the Lord by their spell and bodily uncleanesse the people were plagued in a fearefull manner there fell in one day foure and twenty thousand Moses was not blamed Num. 25. but the Heads of the people Hang up the heads of the people that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel Why the Heads of the people They should have lookt better to the people in governing so to prevent sin or they should have beene more swift to execute judgement when they fell into sinne It is not enough that you are not grosse sinners that you are reformed so long as there are in the midst of Citie and Kingdome even where your Power also reacheth many abominations there are as Ezekiel speakes Ezek. 22. in thee in thee much excess many profanations horrible uncleannesse I speake what I know even abominable incest not onely acted once or twice but continued in to the just provocation of Gods anger against you and all of us and there is no course for redresse none to punish or put them to shame there is in the midst of us oppression and crueltie there are in the midst of us many Innocents whose faces are ground and their bones crusht and broken most injuriously they cry for reliefe they stretch out their hands to you for helpe O releeve the oppressed and judge the cause of the helplesse lest the Lord heare their cry and it be sinne unto you Delay not make speed to seeke judgement to bring the wheele upon the wicked put not off such things the delaying of which delayes all your hopefull proceedings delay not one day to trouble those that trouble Israel but as Ioshua said so doe ye God shall trouble thee this day These and many such things lye upon you therefore provoke your spirits to zeale and courage feare not faint not if Christ had fainted in the worke of our Redemption what had become of us he fainted not not was discouraged till he set judgement in the Earth do ye likewise Observe how the Lord describeth the Horse Iob 39. His neck is cloathed with thunder he paweth in the valley and rejoyceth in his strength he goeth out to meet the armed man the quiver rattleth at him the glittering speare and the shield he saith among the Trumpets aha and doth God care for horses glorifie God in the creature and learne courage from him break through all like lightning as in naturall motion so the neerer you come to your haven where you would be let your motion be swifter The Lords beginnings engage him to finish ye are Gods as Psalme 82. Follow God the Lord hath beene very zealous for you and us take heed of coldnesse in this heat labour to hasten Reformation in the Church that it may be the gladnesse of Gods people to goe to the beautie of holinesse that the Tribes may goe up to the Testimony of Israel and for the better governing the Common-wealth let there be set thrones of judgement in all places as Psal 122. And to conclude Let us all put to our helping hands armes purses counsell encouragement for the helpe of the Lord against the mightie let the Ministers of Christ be carefull to maintaine unitie to provoke Christians to peace to unite against the common Enemie on some have compassion making a difference and others save with terrour pulling them out of the fire O let all be humbled before our God this day and put our mouthes in the dust and then our prayers will be very prevalent with God our legions would be thundering legions as Christian armies of old dreadfull to the enemie let us all helpe with our constant prayers be the Lords remembrancers give him no rest till he refine his Church and pull it out of the fire he that hath neither purse nor weapon nor hands nor counsell to helpe hath a heart O poure it out in prayer give not over till the Lord hath made Ierusalem a praise in the earth It is usuall to put words into a Delinquents mouth whereby he is delivered from death The Lord deales thus with us he bids us take words and he also suggests words whereby we may be delivered from iniquity received graciously Hos 14.2 So Ier. 3.19 He deviseth a way for us how we should obtaine the lengthening of our tranquillitie It is the Lord that asketh the question How shall I put thee among the children and give thee a pleasant land even a goodly heritage of the hostes of nations And I said thou shalt call me My Father and shalt not turne away from me This then is the Lords way that he would have us take to cry Father Abba Father to pray to devote our selves to God and never to turne from him No people ever had more encouragements and more needs then we have to wrastle with God O wrastle with God leave him not till he blesse us give him not over till we prevaile when we are Princes and prevailers with God then shall we see Mercy and Truth meeting Righteousnesse and Peace kissing then would the Lord be with us in these fires or pull us as brands out of the fire and then and not till then we shall be prevailers over men FINIS