Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	great_a	king_n	kingdom_n	4,596	5	5.5955	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84686	The great interest of states & kingdomes. The second part. A sermon preached on a publike thanksgiving, on the 12th. of May, 1646. at Botolphs Alders-gate: and after (upon the desire of some friends) enlarged at Pauls Church in Covent-garden, on the Lords Day, May 17th. 1646. / By Simon Ford, minister of the Gospel at Puddle-Towne in Dorcet-shire.	Ford, Simon, 1619?-1699.	1646 (1646)	Wing F1487; Thomason E356_1; ESTC R19643	34,887	43

you have a word for this Interest 2 Chron. 20. 20. and Ier. 20. 11. compared will acquaint you therewith By positive expressions of Scripture to this effect In the former of these you shall find King Jehoshaphat encouraging and directing his people now ready to ioyne issue with a numerous Army and you will conceive that at such a time hee will minde them of that which most concernes them And what is that why you have Prophets that encourage you in Gods name to confidence of successe see how you use them beware you doe not distrust them Beleeve his Prophets and yee shall prosper In the last of these you have Ieremiah the Prophet complaining of hard usage from his persecutors They raised lyes upon him and watched advantages to defame him but what collects he from this see v. 11. my persecutors shall be ashamed therefore i. e. because they use a Prophet of God so they shall not prosper Thus then the usage of the prophets of God hath a great influence upon the prospering or not prospering of a people And sure then they have no greater Interest Will you have the Testimony of a Prophet concerning a Prophet Elijab being now to be mounted to heaven in a fiery chariot Elisha who saw how hee would be wanted sends this Testimony concerning him in a Sigh after him My father My father the Chariot of Israel and the horsmen thereof 2. Kings 2. 12. And if you will have a Kings concerning Elisha himselfe you shall see Ioash giving the same Testimony of him ch 13. 14. The Expression implies it to bee the high engagement that lyes upon States and States-men to looke to the keeping and protecting of their Prophets among them There is nothing it more concernes Princes or people to looke to then their Military provisions t is the security of a people and these are Prophets Take c. Will you have examples scriptures are thronged with them 2 2. By Examples in all the Historicall part I shal instance first in Scripture Records of heathen Princes and Kingdomes then I shall give you a briefe Epitome of the Scriptures ecclesiasticall History concerning it and so conclude the confirmation by testimonies from the word The first Prophet I finde taken notice of for his usage among Of Heathen Kings Kingdomes or both Heathens is this Abraham How God rebuked Kings for his sake the places I have already quoted wil abundantly shew And lest you should say this care was taken of him only as of a common Saint God himselfe when he declares how much Abimelech is concern'd in his usage tells him he is a prophet and shall pray for him Gen. 20. 7. As if he should have said thou dost not know whom thou now hast in thy power Didst thou know what a Prophets prayers will doe with mee thou wouldest restore this man his wife thou would'st beware how thou used'st a Prophet And truly the cause of a King yea of a Kingdom may be such sometimes that the prayers of Prophets may have a great influence on the turning of it either way Witnesse Moses his often standing in the Gap witnesse Gods stopping Ieremiahs mouth the last and saddest symptome of the peoples totall captivity Jer. 7. 16. 11. 14. And by the way I shall conclude the State of that Prince and his Kingdome desperate where I see the Spirit of prayer bound up in its Prophets and presage a growing bappinesse towards it when I find them enlarged in mediating for it unto God Sure that State is blind to its Interest that hath provoked God by abusing Prophets to strike his Prophets dumbe But to goe on The next Prophet among Heathens was Moses and hee was sent to Pharaoh to bring Israel out of Egypt Now Pharaohs and Aegypts Interest was double to use the Prophet well and set the people free Pharaoh now crosseth both these Interests detaines the people and abuseth Moses Now if we may balance these Interests it may seem his usage of the Prophet did most concern him For although after many plagues God were pleased to destroy the first borne overthrow him and his Host in the red Sea to set his people free yet he never writes his displeasure in such bloody characters till the wretched King had driven Moses from his sight and commanded him to see his face no more and threatned him death if he did Exod. 10. 28. compared with the sequell Come we a little lower Jonah is sent by God with a message of destruction to Niniveh and the utmost respite hee was to give them was but forty dayes One would have expected such an unwelcome messenger as he should have rather found his death from them then acceptance among them But the wise King knew though an Heathen what concern'd him to doe And to worke he goes He entertaines the Prophet and his message so well that he commands a solemn Humiliation and therewithall saves his City which no other way could have rescued from ruine That was the great Interest of that City and that well looked too kept out the destroyers Take one word 200 concerning the New-Testament Prophets and of how great concernment the usage of them was to those places where they came let the great Gospell Prophet himselfe testifie It concernes them saith he that was annoynted with the oyle of gladnesse above his fellows as nearly as it concerns them to well entreate God the Father and my selfe For saith he Whoever despiseth you despiseth me and whoever despiseth me despiseth him that sent me Sure then the usage of Gods Messengers is as great a point of State-Interest as any can be to all except those that think themselves then least losers when they have lost their God I shall give you only one example out of the New Testament upon this Head John Baptist sent by God to prepare the way for Christ among the Jewes begins to grow much in request with Herod an Heathen Substitute appointed by the Romans to govern them Herod carries himselfe fairely a while towards Iohn Baptist heares him gladly and doth many things And yet with those many good things he had many evill too Many filthy vices he was guilty of but the holy Ghost takes notice of this above all the rest That he put John in prison The Text further tells us how his freenesse to the King in medling with his Herodias rob'd him not only of his liberty but his life And a second reason why Herod slew him Josephus saith was for feare of the people because they were ready to entertaine any new motion from one whose word had so great a sway with them a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibidem And see how deare it cost him the same Josephus saies the Jewes lookt upon the victory that Aretas gained over him and his Army as caused thereby b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lib. Iud. Ant. 18. cap. 7. And how God met with him too in his Person with