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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
A85436	The great interest of states & kingdomes. A sermon preached before the Honorable House of Commons, at their late solemne fast, Feb. 25. 1645. / By Tho: Goodwin, B.D. one of the Assembly of Divines.	Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1646 (1646)	Wing G1246A; Thomason E325_4; ESTC R200620	40,978	64

doctrine it selfe they are dearer to God then Nations simply considered the reason is strong That therefore the Interest of all Nations must needs lye in these Saints Esay 43. 3 4. I gave Egypt for thy ransome Ethiopia and Seba for thee since thou wast precious in my sight thou hast been honourable and I have loved thee therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life Thus he valued them under the Old Testament But did he give Nations for them then They have cost him more since they have cost him the blood of his Sonne He that spared not his owne Sonne but delivered him up for us how shall he not with him freely give us ALL THINGS Rom. 8. 32. All things are theirs the world c. because they are Christs Look what reasons the Old Testament gives of this point in hand from their neerenesse to God the New Testament useth the same They are my first borne said God to the Kingdome of Egypt and therefore I will take away thy first-borne The New Testament speaks the same they are the Church of the first-borne written in heaven Heb. 12. 23. Was it the vengeance of the Temple was Babels overthrow the New Testament utters the same and to the same purpose If any man destroyes the Temple of God him shall God destroy FOR THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY which Temple are YE 1 Cor. 3. 17. Againe Israel is Holinesse to the Lord the first fruits of his encrease and therefore all that devoure him shall offend offend greatly and evill shall come upon them saith the Lord Jer. 2. 3. Thus speaks the Old Testament The same reason and expressions are given you see in the New The Temple of God IS HOLY and they are the FIRST FRUITS of all his creatures Jam. 1. 18. These are the redeemed from among men and the FIRST FRUITS to God and the Lambe and therefore prevaile Revel 14. 4. And as because they are thus deare to God therefore if they be dealt ill withall it is the cause of the ruine of a Nation so on the contrary likewise if a Nation deale well with them it is a cause of his blessing upon them Yea he doth give Nations and States their being for their sakes They are a blessing in the midst of the land Esay 19. 24. In so much as God spareth the tree for a small bunch of grapes so he compareth his people in respect of the rest of a Nation Destroy it not for there is a blessing in it Esay 65. 8. or rather as the same Esay they are to the whole tree the Nation they live in what the pith the heart the substance is As an oke whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves so the HOLY SEED the Saints shall be the SUBSTANCE OF IT Esay 6. ult That preserves life in a Nation when the branches of it are hewne or it cast its leaves These things are spoken in relation to their being the cause of the preservation of a nation in both these places Saints that are as strangers to a Nation and onely make it their refuge yet their presence is in such a case a preservation to them Moab sayes God Let mine out-casts dwell with thee and be thou a covert to them Esay 16. 4. And ver 5. And in mercy shall the throne be established But much more NATIVE Saints procure this blessing their relation being nearer and dearer Of Sion it shall be said This and that man was BORN in her And what followes The highest himselfe shall establish her Psal 87. 3. Secondly 2. Reason another reason is taken from the great interest the Saints have in God the Governour and the priviledge which themselves have vouchsafed them by God in ruling and governing this world and the providences of God therein They are Privy Counsellors to the great King of Kings who governs all the States and Kingdomes in the world and God doth give these his Saints a Commission to set up and pull down by their prayers and intercessions The Old Testament speakes in a high language in Esay 45. 11. I might have quoted it before for it comes in as the reason of Gods setting up Cyrus for his peoples sake Aske me of things to come concerning my sonnes and concerning the WORK OF MY HANDS COMMAND YE ME. Who speaks this The words afore are Thus SAITH the Lord the holy One of Israel and his Maker It would have been blasphemie for us to have said it but that the Lord himselfe first hath said it and given them this priviledge Concerning the work of my hands command ye me And which makes it the more observable before he doth in this place mentioned confer this honour and priviledge upon them he first as on purpose minds them of that infinite distance and disproportion betwixt himself and them so to put the more wonder upon it he tells them ver 9 10. that they were but the clay he the Potter that could not therefore of right say so much unto him about his matters as Why madest thou me thus Yet behold I that am thus your Maker give you leave to dispose by your prayers the great works of my hands which concerne my children my sonnes the affaires of Kingdoms even so far as they relate to their good And he speaks it upon this occasion that for their sakes he had raised up Cyrus and pulled downe the Babylonian Monarchy because they by their prayers had sought this They are said elsewhere to decree a thing Job 22. 28. so Job and to bring it to passe and God is said to fulfill their counsels Psal 20. And this interest they have either for good or evill to the nations they live in First for evill Thus Revel 11. 6. the two Witnesses have power to smite the earth with plagues as oft as they will And if any man WILL hurt them in THIS MANNER he shall be killed that is with the highest and sorest vengeance and God avengeth them speedily Luke 18. 8. And so for blessing The innocent delivers the Island through the purenesse of his hands Job 22. 30. Thus one righteous Lot was for the present the cause of the rescue of the Sodomites the wickedest people in the world and afterwards ordained to the greatest judgement A third reason 3. Reason is the INTEREST of Jesus Christ himselfe And to shew that he is King even King of Kings and hath a Kingdom ordained to him and his Saints supreame to all theirs in the meane while his design and practice is and hath been to break all Kingdoms that do oppose him or oppresse his Saints This reason I might enlarge out of Daniel The God of heaven shall set up a Kingdome which shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdomes but it shall stand for ever Cha. 2. 44. and Chap. 7. but I shall insist in this Head of Reasons onely upon that eminent title of Christs which holds forth this his

But you will yet say It is true they may be understood as Common persons representing indeed the Nation of the Jews but yet will what is here said be warrantably extended to the Beleevers of Jewes and Gentiles under the New Testament to the end of the world I answer Yes For the Covenant that God made with Abraham was to be heire of the world as well as heire of Canaan so Rom. 14. 13. And accordingly in other things the Analogie holds for them with these here For as these so the Saints they are called Strangers and Pilgrims scattered and dispersed in all Nations So Peter speaks of them even as here he calls these strangers ver 12. when they were but few in number and strangers in the land as the Saints in the world To give parallel places of Scripture to strengthen this In the Old Testament In the forty fift Psalme you have a Prophesie of the Church of the New Testament under the type of Solomon taking Pharoahs daughter who was a Gentile into his bed as Christ of whom he was the Type one day should doe the Gentiles which Church is made that great mother that shall have such multitudes of children Gal. 4. Now of those children of the Church of the New Testament as the Mother and of Christ as the Father the 16. verse of that Psalme thus speaks Instead of THY FATHERS shall be THY CHILDREN whom thou mayst make Princes in all the earth The meaning whereof is this that in the stead of these great Patriarchs and other the Fathers of the Jews spoken of in the Text shall succeed others the children of the New Testament even all the Saints as Successors of them and as they were as Princes in all Lands they came into here so shall thy children be sayes the Psalmist there And the 7. verse of that Psalme calls them anointed and so speaks also in the language of the Text when under that notion he commands not to touch them That verse speaking of Christ saith He is ANOINTED with the oyle of gladnesse above his FELLOWES namely these his fellowes and children spoken of ver 16. you have at once as the great anointed one Christ so all his children called anointed ones also and as they are his fellowes so anointed too Thus you have all meet Abraham and the Fathers the anointed ones of the Old Testament Christ and his Saints the anointed ones in the New in their stead and both Princes and Strangers in all Lands and so of the one as well as the other this charge is here intended Touch not mine anointed c. And to this accords the language of the New Testament the whole mysticall body is called Christ 1 Cor. 12. 12. and Beleevers his fellows are said to have received an anointing 2 Cor. 1. 21. 1 John 2. 27. yea and elsewhere the reason of this their preservation and Gods protection over them is put upon this very anointing Esay 10. 27. The burthen shall be taken off thy shoulder speaking of the oppression of Gods people and the yoke shall be destroyed BECAUSE OF THE ANOINTING Having thus explained the words I come to those Observations which I shall make out of them and insist on at this time I resolve the words into these three parts 1. Here is the neerenesse and the dearnesse of the Saints unto God They are dearer to him then Kings and States simply considered that is otherwise then as they in their persons are also Saints for you see that for their sakes he reproved Kings and so sheweth that he preferreth them to Kings 2. Here is the great danger to Kings and States to deale with his Saints otherwise then well Which appeareth many wayes For he doth not onely in words give a charge not to touch them but he carryes it in a high way for so God may doe when he pleads their cause Touch them not as if he had said Let me see if you dare so much as touch them and it is with an intimation of the highest threatning if they should upon your perill if you doe for that is the scope of such a speech and accordingly in deeds he made this good for the Text saith He suffered no man to doe them wrong Not that he did altogether prevent all wrong and injuries for they received many as they went through those lands but at no time did he put it up at their hands or let it goe unpunisht in that sense he suffered them not You know how he plagued Pharaoh King of Egypt with great plagues and all his houshold for Abrahams wives sake Gen. 12. And so Abimelech King of Gerar the Lord commeth upon him with a greatnes and his first word is in Gen. 20. 3. Behold than art but a dead man afore he had first told him why or wherefore though then he addes the reason he brings him upon his knees ver 4. bids him look to it that he give satisfaction to Abraham and restore his wife to him againe ver 7. and well he scap'd so and tels him also that he must be beholden to Abrahams prayers for his life He is a Prophet saith he and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live The third is the care and protection which God had over them set out and amplified 1. by the number and condition of the persons whom he defended though few men of number that is soone reckoned for their power and strength a few or very small 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the Septuagint in the parallel place 2 Chro. 16. 19. As also 2. by what he did for them He suffered no man how great soever to doe them any wrong how small soever not without recompence and satisfaction not to doe it though they had a mind to it though the people had an ill eye at them Gen. 26. 11. God causeth Abimelech to make a Law on purpose Abimelech charged all his people in Isaacs behalf and of his family which I mention because it gives light to the Text and speaks in the very words of the Text He that TOUCHETH this man or his wife shall be put to death although they envied him ver 14. strived with him ver 20. hated him ver 27. I shal passe over the sett handling the first of these namely The neernesse and dearnesse of the Saints to God it will after come in well enough under the second as the reason thereof That maine thing which I have singled forth to insist upon is the danger that is unto States to deale otherwise then well with the Saints Gods anointed And the Observation is plainly this That the dealing well or ill with the Saints of God Obser it is the greatest and highest INTEREST of Kings and Kingdomes on which their welfare or their ruine depends I have the story of the whole world afore me to gleane Demonstrations and instances out of to make good this truth But I shall endeavour to present it to you under

Then Cyrus was Anointed because as Sanctius well saith Non minus studiose res curabat Iudaicas quam si Iudaeorum esset non Persarū Imperator He took as much care for the people of God and the building of the Temple as if he had been King of Iury himselfe And God calleth him likewise his SHEPHERD even as he had done David that was to look to his sheep In the place I quoted before concerning the Assyrian and Babylonian Kings Ier. 50. you heard how he called them LIONS because they scattered his sheep so the expression is there but here he calls Cyrus HIS SHEPHERD that shall performe all his pleasure and for that end raised him to all this greatnesse for for whose sake was it he had the Nations given him Reade the fourth verse For JACOB my SERVANTS SAKE and Israel mine elect I have even called thee by thy name I have surnamed thee though thou hast not knowne me not for thy sake but for my peoples only And although for a while some of them Kings made Edicts to interrupt the building of the Temple yet the generality of those Kings went on in that course of favour which Cyrus had begun and were more favourable to the Jewes then all of the other Monarchies Darius Histaspis mentioned Ezra 4. ver 24. permitted the Jewes to goe on in building it as their poverty would suffer them and after another interruption Darius Nothus * Thus Calvisius and Master Mede in his account of Daniels Weeks pag. 5 6 7. which doth fall in the best to accord all the yeares of Daniels Weeks But if as most other Chronologers it had beene Darius Histaspis that made that Decree in Ezra 6. for the finishing the Temple then it affords a greater Observation to my purpose in hand namely That God did take away Cambyses Cyrus his sonne whom they would have to be that Artaxerxes Ezra 4. that hindred by force of Arms the building the Temple both in his Fathers dayes whilst he was Prince of Persia as Dan. 10. 13. he is called or Prorex in his fathers absence and in his owne and that without issue and so Cyrus issue male ended being punisht for recalling the favour granted But Darius Histaspis being chosen by the Princes God established the Kingdom in him and his seed for his reviving Cyrus his Edict And however almost all agree in this that this Darius he hindred it not but gave liberty for his time and is that Darius mentioned Ezra 4 24. See Mede Daniels Weeks pag. 7. in his marginall note whom therefore God blessed accordingly and yet regarded Cyrus also in this that by his daughter Atossa wife to this Darius his race continued Ezra 6. did put Cyrus his Decree in force againe and allowes the expence of the finishing it out of his owne revenues and inserts this in his revived Decree that the Jewes might pray for the life of the King and of his children ver 10. They also had of the seed of the Jews great men at Court with them as Daniel Mordecat Ezra and Nehemiah the two latter of whom were sent by Artaxerxes to build the City of Jerusalem yea another of their Kings admitted one of that Nation through the providence of God to the royall bed Ahasuerosh marryed Hester of the seed of the Jews under whom and under other of these Kings they had the greatest prosperity Now as this favour to the Jews was the cause of the erecting that Monarchie at first so surely of the continuance of it so long Historians wonder that it should stand so long it being so loose and dissolute a Court and State * Therefore Daniel compares him to a slow unweildy Ram as it were heavy with wool and flesh Chap. 8 7. and having so many great shocks I can attribute it to nothing but this the eminent favour they shewed to the Jewes the people of God And I shall but cast in this Observation more about it When was it that it came to be ruined and destroyed but in the time of the latter Darius then when Cyrus who had been Gods Shepherd his seed was wholly extinct * Diodo imitio lib. 7. For though his seed by the Male issue continued not to a Grandchild yet in the seed of Atossa Cyrus daughter wife to Darius Histaspis the Kingdom was continued in his race And to make the providence the more remarkable wheras Darius had sons before by another wife yet the intrest of Atossa * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sayes Herodotus of Atossa giving it as the reason of this succession for Cyrus sake carryed the succession to Xerxes her son Cyrus Grandchild But that last Darius in with whom that Empire was destroyed by Alexander was of another race * Alexander the Great in his Letters to Darius and his speech to his soldiers against Darius affirms it Arrianus Cu●tius lib. 6. us also Justin Such regard had God to Cyrus his Shepherd and his seed that favoured the Jewes But then it was and not afore that God threw down that Monarchy whether for any thing done against the people of God or no the Scripture is silent Let us come to the Grecian Monarchy VI. The Grecian Monarchy for that was the third some of the story of which you have mentioned in Zech. 9. which is an apparent Prophesie of the expedition of Alexander D. Jackson 8. Book of Commentaries on the Creed sect 3 6. 17. and as a late learned Writer rightly saith you may better know the meaning of the first part of that Chapter out of Quintus Curtius and Josephus then out of most Commentators You reade there of a Prophesie of Tyre that it must be taken againe so vers 3. Now Zechariah writ after the Babylonish Captivity therefore it is not that former taking of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar but that latter by Alexander And what he sayes in the 5. ver of Gaza and those other Cities in Philistia Askelon shall not be inhabited and the cutting off the Governour of Gaza Quintus Curtius exactly relates the performance of it and his cruelty therein and it is usually noted as the first and greatest act of Alexanders degenerating to barbarous inhumanity Now all that his rage against all those Cities that were neighbours to the Jewes was ordered by God and foretold by the Prophet but onely to set forth the wonderfull care and protection of God towards his people recorded ver 8. that although Alexander was as much incensed against the Jews for their answer sent him of their resolution to cleave to Darius to whom they had sworne yet as that 8. verse foretold I WILL ENCAMP ABOUT MY HOUSE sayes God because of THE ARMY because of him that passeth by and because of him that returneth When Alexander went by and when afterwards many other Armies went to and fro God still encamped about his house And though Alexander plundered or destroyed all the Cities round about yet