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	know_v	lord_n	3,918	5	3.5901	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93436	The conspiracie of the wicked against the just. Laid open in a sermon preached at Eyke in Suffolk, Jan. 23. anno Dom. 1647. / By Zeph. Smyth. Preached and published, to set forth the grounds why the wicked lay such crimes to the charge of Gods people, as they are cleare of.	Smyth, Zeph. (Zephaniah), fl. 1646-1648.	1648 (1648)	Wing S4361; Thomason E467_8	33,776	32

THE Conspiracie of the Wicked against the Just. LAID OPEN IN A SERMON PREACHED At Eyke in Suffolk Jan. 23. Anno Dom. 1647. BY ZEPH. SMYTH Preached and published to set forth the grounds why the wicked lay such Crimes to the charge of Gods people as they are cleare of And they said Come let us imagine some device against Jeremiah for Law shall not perish from the Priest nor Counsell from the wise nor the word from the Prophet Come Let us smite him with the tongue Jer. 18.12 And also they being idle they learne to goe about from house to house yea they are not onely idle but pratlers and busie bodies speaking things which are not comely 1. Tim. 5.13 For they incourage themselves in a wicked purpose they commune of laying snares privily and say who shall see them they search out Iniquities they accomplish a diligent search the inward thought of every one of them and the heart is deep but God will shoot an arrow at them suddainly their stroke shall be at once they shall cause their owne tongues to fall upon them Psal 64.5 6 7 8. London Printed by THO FORCET for Iohn Rothwell living in Pauls-Church-yard and are to be sold at his shop at the signe of the Sun and Fountaine in the yeare 1648. To all the Orthodox Christians that are followers of the Lord Iesus Christ in sinceririty of the Towne of Wickam-Market in Suffolk ZEPH SMYTH wishes the increase of grace here and the fruition of glory hereafter FRiends the most wise God who knowes what is best for his people hath so ordered that his people shall undergoe bad report as well as good for the Disciple is not above his Master nor the Members above the Head It was the Portion of Iesus Christ and therefore well may befall his followers I he wicked will watch for occasions against the godly to make them odious hoping to justifie themselves by charging others with such crimes as they are guilty of themselves If they have any just occasion given them through the failings of any of Gods people or the discovery of any false hearted Hypocrite How do they joy at it If they have not just occasion they will charge them with things that they are cleare of The grounds why they doe it you may please to reade in the ensuing Sermon which though I have passed the bounds of modestie to make thus publike in these Times in which the stomacks of men are so full that they loath the honey-combe and the word of the Lord as a reproach and derision daily yet I have divers Reasons for it which I crave leave to conceale Sure I am it is a Doctrine sutable to the times to be both Preached and printed It concernes that sinne which cries to Heaven for vengeance and is a great cause of our Lands trouble It is true I have put it forth unpolished as it was delivered unto a plaine Auditorie and though not so large as it was delivered publiquely yet here is the summe of it in briefe if any in the perusing of it expect high straines and strong lines and the words which man's wisedome teaches for such I have laboured in vaine If it find hard entertainment amongst them which have curious Pallets If I should please men I were not the servant of Christ if it bee hated amongst lyars and slanderours it is no wonder For he that doth evill hateth the light Ioh. 3.20 If any mislike Iesus Christ or his followers the worse because they are reproached in the world Such as refuse Christ Iesus because of a face buffetted and spit upon may want of a Saviour and perish miserable For all that will live godly in Christ Iesus must suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 And through many tribulations enter into the Kingdome of God But if this plaine Sermon may but learne any poore soule a piece of Heaven even any thing of the good old way I am satisfied I commit the successe to God and present these lines to you with my earnest desire and prayer to God for you that you may be saved though the weakest and most unworthy of all the servants of Iesus Christ ZEPH. SMYTH The Malignants Plot. OR The Conspiracy of the Wicked against the Just PSAL. 35. part 11.th verse They layd to my Charge things that I knew not THis Psalme was a Psalme of David whom though hee were a man according to Gods owne heart and walked close with God yet hee was a man of much troubles in this life and oft in great dangers and as Gods providence doth not free his People from trouble but preserves them in all their troubles so did God preserve this servant of his in the midst of all his troubles and as God will be sought for that which he promiseth unto his people so the Prophet David doth not in his trouble sit still and neglect the use of the meanes saying GOD hath promised deliverance and hee will deliver whether I use the meanes or no but the Prophet uses the meanes hee seekes unto God in his troubles the Prophet was in great straites at this time when he put up this Prayer unto God exprest in this Psalme by reason of Saul and all that tooke part with him did furiously persecute David digging Pits and laying snares for him without a cause and the Prophet in this Psalme makes his cause knowne to God intreating the Lord to plead his Cause and let his enemies fall into the Pit they digged for him And the Prophet in making his mone to God complaines to God of their Cruelty in seeking his woe by bearing false witnesse against him as doth appeare in the Text False witnesses did rise up against mee they layd to my charge thinge that J knew not Whether we read the words They asked of mee things I knew not or according to the translation They layd to my charge it beares all one sence and therefore I intend not to spend time about that but hasten to the matter The words beare this sence Davids enemies did out of cruelty and malice against him intending him mischiefe charge him with such things as hee never did things that he was cleare of the words then holding forth a Crime charged upon the Prophet they afford these Considerations First the person charged with the Crime David Secondly the persons charging him Cruell witnesses false witnesses Thirdly the Crime though it is not specified what things in particular but in generall things which imply severall though such things as they thought to have prevailed with against David Fourthly Davids innocency things that I knew not My Doctrine I intend to insist upon from the words for the present is this Doct. That it is many times the portion of the godly in this life to have such Crimes layd to their charge by their Enemies as they are cleere of My method in handling of the Doctrine God assisting shall be this First to prove the truth of the Doctrine by Scripture

a warning to mee for ever to watch against that sinne for the time to come I will pray more against that particular sinne then I have done and watch more against that sinne then I have done through Gods help they shall never have occasion to rejoyce over me in that kind truly I verily believe many a child of God can say by experience I should never have prayed and watched against such a sinne so much had not God used the tongues of the wicked as preventing Physick I know not my owne heart but that I might have fallen into such and such a finne had not God by this meanes hedged up my way with thornes and this is a third good comes of it Fourthly God doth by this meanes exercise the graces in his people by letting them undergoe bad report as well as good report hee tries whether they will cleave close to him in all conditions as Psal 44.15 16 17. Confusion is daily before mee shame hath covered my face for the voice of the slanderer and rebuker though all this is come upon us yet have wee not forgotten thee not dealt falsly concerning thy Covenants Fifthly God doth by this meanes teach them how to judge of others when they are falsly accused for the time to come they will not receive a false report against their neighbour they will know the truth of a thing before they believe it and they know how to comfort others in the like condition and thus God disposes of it for good and thus God makes the wicked the servants of his people in that very thing which the wicked thinke to wrong them most in for hee uses the wicked as the rod and wisp to scoure off the rust of their graces and to correct their securitie and when the rod hath done its office then it is throwne into the fire and thus you see how God disposes of the wickeds false accusations of his people for good 1 Vse It then informes us that it is no new thing for the people of God to be falsly accused It was the device of the Devil long agoe to accuse falsly as soone as there was a World and man was created and placed in Paradise he accuses God to man by possessing our first parents that God had not dealt well with them in denying them to cate of the tree of Knowledge of good and evill and truly the devill hath not lived five thousand and odde hundred yeares for nothing but the same devill that at first accused God to man can doe so still and if hee will accuse God falsly no marvell if hee teach his schollers to accuse Gods people falsly Wee find it was Davids portion Christs portion the Apostles portion and what doe you thinke as the devill growes old hee growes childish and forgets how to teach his schollers the same lessons now hee did a great while agoe no surely as false accusations have been the portion of Gods people formerly so it may be still and therefore if such a thing happen let not Gods people carrie themselves so as if some strange thing happened to them 2. Vse It informes us what desperate wickednesse and malice is in the hearts of wicked people against the godly which appeares by their desire to rejoyce over the godly for their infirmiries they watch for occasions and if they cannot finde occasion then they will invent something against them charging them with things which they knew not but I leave this and come to a use of instruction which concerne both the accuser and accused First if it be so that Gods people may be falsly accused this should teach the people of God these lessons first take heed that yee give not the wicked just occasion to rejoyce by not walking as children of the light for if they watch for occasion and will falsly accuse without a cause what would they doe if they had a cause seeing they waite for a opportunity how does it behoove Gods people to walke exactly as Goll 4.5 Walke wisely towards those that are without and Eph. 5.15 Take heed yee walke circumspectly what ever others doe Yee that are children of the light yee that are the Lords redeemed ones take heed that yee walke circumspectly walke so as yee may not give just occasion to the wicked to open their mouthes against religion But may some say though the people of God walke never so exactly yet the wicked will charge them with things which they know not Then first consider though they doe yet it will afford the peace of Conscience when the enemie falsly accuse thee truly it will be very comfortable for a poore soule to say in such a condition Well they lay to my charge things that I knew not of Secondly consider it will shame your enemies in time when you walke thus exactly when they are found lyers and slanderers and backbiters then they will be ashamed and againe thirdly Such exact walking will in time stop the mouthes of wicked people whether they will or no they shall in time be driven to confesse well wee made account to have triumphed over such a one but now wee see wee are mistaken as 1 Pet. 2.15 By well doing yee put to filence the foolish people so the people of God by exact walking will in time silence the wicked The second thing that this Doctrine should teach the people of God is how to carrie themselves as they ought under false reports but you will say How should a child of God carrie himselfe under false reports so as hee may not dishonour God in that condition I answer First Gods people should beare reproach patiently Iesus Christ is a very good patterne for the Saints to imitate in this particular hee did no wickednesse neither was there any guile found in his mouth and yet the text saith Matth 8. That he was called a blasphemer and a friend of Publicans and sinners and a Conjurer and one that casts out Devils by the help of the Devill and yet our Saviour Christ wee cannot find he answered one word againe the text saith When hee was reviled he reviled not againe when he suffered hee threatned not but committed it to him that judgeth righteously 1 Pet. 2.23 Herod delivered him up Iudas betrayed him Pilate condemned him they spit upon him crowned him with thornes bare false witnesse against him put him to death and yes hee prayes Father forgive them they know not what they doe So the like wee see in Stephen in Acts the sixth There rose up false witnesse against him and said they heard him speake blasphemous words against Moses and against God and yet for all this they beare false witnesse against him and in justly condemned him to death stoned him with stones He prayed Lord lay not this sin to their charge Acts 7.59 These are good patternes for the Saints to follow in all their reproaches from the wicked and there are divers motives may be to the godly as