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	son_n	2,904	5	5.0346	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49262	The zealovs Christian taking heaven by holy violence in severall sermons, tending to direct men how to hear with zeal, [how] to pray with importunity / preached by ... Mr. Christopher Love ...	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.	1653 (1653)	Wing L3185; ESTC R31563	89,088	190

he would accomplish seventy years in the desolation of Jerusalem Then he set his face to seek the Lord by prayer and supplication Daniel prayed at other times but then he was most importunate when the promise was neer the accomplishment then he was most fervent To the same purpose is that Jer. 29. 13. Then shall you call upon me and ye shall seek for me and finde me when ye shall search for me with all your hearts During the seventy years the Jews did not expresse any holy importunity towards God which is the reason of that expression you read Dan. 9. 13. Though all this evil is come upon us yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God c. But when the seventy years were come neer to an end the Jews prayed more the last year then they did all the seventy years before Therefore said God I know my thoughts that I have towards you thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end Then shall ye call upon me and shall go and pray unto me and I will harken unto you Therefore when you see mercies for a Family or a Nation wanting if thine heart be indifferent that thou dost not care whether thou prayest or not then you may conclude that mercy will be long before it comes But if you finde that God drawes out thine heart for mercy if God stirre up thy desires and work this holy importunity in thine heart it is an argument that mercy is neer for when prayer is in thine heart mercy is at the door 4. Another time when the people of God are most importunate in prayer is when they are most drawn off from the world when they are most free from worldly distractions The same word in the Hebrew signifies both meditation and prayer to shew that when the heart hath been drawn off from the world by meditation then it is in a fit posture for prayer 5. Another time is when they walk most closely with God He that lives carelesly will not pray importunately Therefore Job saith If iniquity be in thine hands put it away so shalt thou lift up thine heart c. to note that iniquity entertained and countenanced in the soul is the great hinderer of the lifting up of the heart the great cooler of importunity 6. Another time is in deep and bitter afflictions then the people of God are most importunate in their prayers Psal 130. 1 2. Out of the deeps have I cryed unto thee Lord hear the voice of my supplication So Psal 142. 1 2. I cryed unto the Lord with my voice I poured out my complaint before him I shewed before him my trouble So it is said of the Jews Psal 107. 6. They cryed unto the Lord in their trouble And the same words are repeated vers 13 19 28. When trouble and great distress was upon the Jews by Sennacherib it is said For this cause Hezekiah the King and the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amos prayed and cryed to heaven So it is said of Manasseh When he was in affliction he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly and prayed unto him c. So said that good woman 1 Sam. 1. 15. I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit and have poured out my soul before the Lord. Thus it was with the whole Church Isai 26. 9. With my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early for when thy judgements are abroad the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousnesse And that is the last season wherein the people of God use to be importunate with God in prayer And so much for the third thing LUKE 11. 8. Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend yet because of his importunity he will c. THE fourth particular is this wherein lyes the difference betwixt that holy importunity in the hearts of Gods people and the seeming importunity which flowes from the gifts of nature Answ It lyes in these seven things 1. An holy importunity makes a man restlesse till his prayers be heard Psal 143. 6 7. I stretch forth m●ne hands unto thee My soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land hear me speedily my spirit failes hide not thy face from me lest I be like them that go down into the pit As a thirsty land A thirsty land is never satisfied till it gets rain So Psal 119. 20. My soul breaks for the longing it hath Psal 42. 1. As the Hart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God The Hart never ests never gives over running till it come to the water Such is the importunity of a godly man he is never quiet never satisfied till his prayers be returned into his bosom But it is otherwise with an hypocrite he prayes for mercy for pardon of sinne but he can rest contented though God doth not hear him he can beg grace but he can be very well satisfied without grace Prov. 13. 4. The soul of the sluggard desires and hath nothing but the soul of the diligent maketh fat 2. An holy importunity is known by this That it makes a man more earnest for spiritual then temporal mercies This hath been the temper of Gods people Psal 4. 6. There be many that say Who will shew us any good but Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us Observe the difference between Davids and wicked mens tempers Their great question and desire was Who would shew them any good any temporal good Who would give them the increase of corne and wine But Davids heart breathed after other things after Gods favour and the light of his countenance So Psal 143. 6 7 8. I stretch forth mine hands unto thee my soul thirsteth after thee Psal 63. 1. O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is David was in a wildernesse he wanted water One would have thought he should have sought God for water But you see Davids desires runne in another channel he thirsted more for God then for water he more desired spiritual advantages then temporal enjoyments This importunity makes a man more to endeavour against sin then affliction more to desire saving grace then common mercies But now the heart of an hypocrite is more desirous of temporal then spiritual mercies You read in Hosea 7. 14. They have not eryed unto me with their heart when they howled upon their beds they assemble themselves for corn and wine and they rebel against me They howled for what Was it for grace and spiritual blessings No it was for corn and wine and oyl not for grace not for acquaintance with God Another instance you have Acts 8. Simon Magus offered money to purchase

harmony among Ministers now that was formerly John preached what the Prophets taught and Christ trod in Johns steps and the Apostles exactly agreed with and continued in the doctrine of their predecessours But now in our time Ministers are divided one preacheth one thing another preacheth another thing and this doth very much trouble the mindes of people and makes many stumble at the word and so the Gospel proves unsuccessefull 2 This comes to passe from the people and that for four reasons 1 People do more question the office and calling of the Ministery now then they did question Johns Matth. 21. 26. All men hold John as a Prophet The reason why Pauls Ministery was ineffectuall to many Corinihians was this because they questioned his calling and therefore he labours to vindicate his Apostolicall authority all along the Epistle This doth take off that awe and majesty that should be in men to the Word As on the contrary the reason why the Ministery of Paul was so effectuall to the Thessalonians was this Because when they received the Word of God they received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth as the Word of God which effectually worketh in them that believe 1 Thess 2. 13. I know that some question the lawfulnesse of our Ministery upon this ground because miracles do not attend our preaching as they did at the first promulgation of the Gospel But this is no just reason and that I may remove this obstacle of the successe of the Gospel I shall by the way briefly disprove it 1 John had his calling from heaven Mat. 21. 25 26. and yet John did no miracle John 10. 41. 2 Miracles are not necessary now as they were at the first planting of the Gospel There was more need of miracles then that the people might give attendance to the Ministery in those days The Jews require a signe 1 Cor. 1. 22. 1 Cor. 14. 22. Tongues are for a signe not to them that believe but to them that believe not but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not but for them which believe 3 Miracles were signes of the Apostleship but not of the Ministery 2 or 12. 12. The signes of an Apostle were wrought among you in signes and wonders and mighty deeds Timothy and Titus could work no miracles yet no man doubts of their authority So that want of miracles doth not at all invalidate the authority of the Ministery So I have removed the first impediment of the successe of the Gospel in our dayes That is the first reason Reson 2 The long continuance of the Word makes it unsuccessefull such is the corruption of mens hearts The nature of man is for new things and in tract of time the love of men to the Word is eaten out whereas at the first people flocked to the Gospel as Doves to the windowes yet afterward they grew carelesse and negligent in Gods Ordinances Manna at first was loved but afterwards it cloyed the Israelites and they loathed it Many men are Christ and Gospel glutted Reson 3 Another reason is because Discipline is not joyned with Doctrine The Church is the garden of God the Doctrine is the flowers of this garden Discipline is the hedge Neither Christ nor John the Baptist by their comming would destroy the government of the Church among the Jews and when that was taken down Christ set up another in its stead Now look as it is in a State the intervals of government breed many State-heresies if I may so call them mutinies factions and parties among the people interrupting the peace of the land So it is in the Church when the reines of government are let loose in-come errours and disorders and the good seed is choaked by that meanes Reson 4 4 This comes to passe from the dis-use of family-duties The reason why the reformation succeeded so well in Germany was because the peoples catechizing went along with Luthers preaching It was laid as a charge upon masters of families that they should catechize their children Deut. 6. 6 7. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house c. People do not back the Ministers preaching of the Word with this duty of prayer that God would sanctifie the word preached to their souls and make it successefull It is an observable passage which you finde Mark 4. 24. Take heed what you hear for with what measure you were it shall be measured to you and unto you that hear shall more be given Sometimes this expression is referred to rash judgement as Matth. 7. 2. sometimes to works of mercy but here it is used as an argument to stir up people to prepare their hearts for the hearing of the Word with care and conscience For if it be your care to fit your selves for the Word and to settle it in your hearts and practise it in your lives God will then measure the same back unto you by his blessing of the Word to the salvation and edification of your souls whereas the neglect of this duty is a great cause why the word is not so successfull now as it was formerly MATTHEW 11. 12. And from the dayes of John the Baptist untill now the Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force THe doctrinall part being finished I now come to application And this doctrine may be usefull in five respects 1 For reproof 2 For comfort 3 For instruction 4 For caution 5 To stirre up our lamentation Use 1 1 This will reprove severall sorts of persons Out of this Quiver I may draw ten arrowes of reproof that may pierce into the hearts of ten severall sorts of men Reproof 1 1 It reproves those who are violent in the wayes of sin that put forth themselves to the utmost and draw out their strength in wayes of wickednesse that like those in Jerem. 8. 6. that turn to their course as the herse rusheth into the battel as an horse that is so fierce in the war that he rusheth into it without fear of danger So the Spirit of God setteth forth the wickednesse of mens hearts by nature they rush into sin not considering what they do as the horse See what Job saith concerning the horse Job 39. 19. Hast thou given the horse strength hast thou cloathed his neck with thunder 20. Caust thou make him afraid as a grasse-hopper the glory of his nostrils is terrible 21. He paweth in the valley and rojoyceth in his strength he goeth on to meet the armed men 22. He mocketh at fear and is not affrighted neither turneth he back from the sword Verse 25. He saith among the trumpets Aha Aha and he smelleth the battel afar off the thunder of the captains and shooting Even in this manner do wicked men rush into wickednesse no