Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	hear_v	lord_n	see_v	2,877	5	3.4356	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56674	The hypocritical nation described in a sermon preached at St. Maries in Cambridge, upon a day of publick fasting : with an epistle prefixed by Mr. Samuel Jacombe.	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.; Jacombe, Samuel, d. 1659.	1657 (1657)	Wing P815; ESTC R2023	38,656	56

just and spare to do nothing whereby thou mayest bee a gainer But then what may not what will not he do that hath secured not only other mens opinion but his own also of his honesty and piety This is a farre worse cousenage than the other for a man to deceive himself as well as other folks and will most inevitably bring him to ruine If it bee a great peece of that policy whereby the Devil rules the world for a man so notably to counterfeit piety that even when hee doth most destroy it hee shall bee counted pious as it was said of Tereus Ipso sceleris molimine Tereus Creditur esse pius Hee was cryed up for a Saint even when hee was committing the greatest villany What a notable peece of the Devils craft then is it so to perswade a zealous man in religious duties and so to inflame him that he shall passe in his own judgement for a Saint How certainly will he ruine both himself and others in what a ready way is hee to commit all injustice when hee is out of all danger of having his own conscience secretly reprove him of Hypocrisy and simulation which the other had not so secured When a man makes a conscience of some things and is very forward in them they make such a noise that they quite drown the voice of it in other matters and with the greater safety hee commits all other kinde of wickednesse which are no lesse dangerous than that which hee avoids But I shall not trespasse upon you much further Whether this bee assented unto which I have now discoursed or not this notwithstanding will remain good that such sins are a cause sufficient of a peoples ruine though there bee no other and therefore for the Lords our own and the Lands sake let us not look upon these things as lesser and inconsiderable which need not bee so much pressed upon mens practise nor the Pulpits so much sound of lest by this means the Priest and the people should both perish together Let the Prophet Isaiah bee once more allowed to speak and I will presently conclude chap. 30.8 9 10 c. Note it in a book that it may bee for the time to come for ever and ever that this is a rebellious people lying children children that will not hear the Law of the Lord which say to the seers see not and to the Prophets prophecie not unto us right things speak unto us smooth things prophecie deceits get yee out of the way turn aside out of the path cause the holy one of Israel to cease from before us c. They would not have the Prophets speak to them of things that were right and honest but desired some soft sleek flattering and deceitful doctrins i. e. such as would certainly abuse them that they should cry Peace peace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Kimchi there notes do according to your hearts desire and it shall bee well with you they would not have them run in the old beaten way and preach so much strictnesse of righteousnesse unto them no finde some new smooth path wherin wee may go without any rub to our own lusts cause the holy one of Israel to cease from before us i. e. let us hear nothing of the holy one any more presse not holinesse so earnestly and frequently upon us But what saith God to such a people The 12 13 14. verse will tell us Thus saith the holy one because you despise this word because you like not to hear of the holy one and trust in oppression and perversenesse and stay thereon hoping that you shall fare well enough Therefore mark what the holy one the righteous God that hates iniquity saith This iniquity shall bee to you as a breach ready to fall swelling out in a high wall c. just as a wall that swells and often bursts on a sudden falling down upon those who are under it that dream of no such thing and crumbles all into dust or little bits that can bee put to no use at all such shall your ruine bee i. e. totall and inevitable because unexpected and not beleeved through the deceit of your hearts and your false confidences in other things while you remained guilty of those iniquities The Lord open every mans eyes that he may see how farre he is concerned in any of these truths that hee may passe sentence upon himself and prevent the condemnation of the Lord who hath set his throne for judgement who will judge the world in Righteousnesse and minister judgement to the people in uprightnesse His eyes behold his eye-lids try the children of men The Lord tryeth the Righteous but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1.

enemies while they thought not of turning unto him and putting all his enemies out of their souls and therefore hee tells them that which I assert as the second branch of this particular that this is not the Fast which hee hath chosen to cause their voice to bee heard on high viz. either in mournful howlings or in clamorous petitions Isa 58.4 and that when they fast hee will not hear their cry c. Jer. 14.12 For hee that turns away his ear from hearing of the Law even his prayer shall bee an abomination Prov. 28.9 If men will not hear God hee will not hear them I had almost said hee cannot give ear to them there being some things that either in themselves or in the method of Gods proceedings in the government of the world are altogether inconsistent with the blessings which wee desire or are the causes of those evils which wee groan under and therefore unlesse wee heartily renounce to all those things and throughly discharge them our prayers for mercies and for removal of miseries are a peece of non-sense incoherent ignorant stuffe which will bee thrown as dung in our faces When men bear a love to those sins which they pray may not ruine them and the evil consequents of which they desire may bee prevented or remedied they are as ridiculous and unsuccesseful as if a man should begge health while hee continues in his riotous and intemperate course of living Let a man raise his confidence by what arts hee please and speak with a boldnesse in his prayers as though hee could command heaven and have what hee would of God yet hee cannot have any true faith that hee shall bee heard unlesse hee utterly abandon in heart and resolution whatsoever is incompatible and cannot stand with the things that hee desires Wee may call our Fasts by the name of daies of prayer as wee commonly do but though wee should pray from morning until night though the whole Nation should cry to God that hee would bow the heavens and come to save us and that with a voice that would rend the clouds and seem to make way for him to come down to us yet if wee bee in love with the causes of our trouble wee have put in such a strong caveat such a barre to our suits and petitions in the Court of Heaven that wee can have no audience Yea further though wee should bee distasted against our sins though wee should resolve amendment and therefore begge divine grace to destroy our iniquities yet this will not compleat Gods Fast neither if wee resolve to bee at no trouble nor pains about this businesse but leave all to the care of God whom wee would have so farre to concern himself in our businesse as not to expect that wee should bee such creatures as hee made us Such prayers will have a perfect likenesse to the requests of the man in the fable to Hercules when his Cart stuck in the mire who would neither prick forward the Oxen nor lay his own shoulders to the wheels but cast all upon the strength of his God expecting that hee should come and draw them out and such an answer will bee most fitly returned to such petitions as was to him O bone disce pigris non flecti numina votis Prasentesque adhibi quam facis ipse Deos. Learn good Sir that God is not moved by lazy desires and sluggish wishes and that thou shalt then finde God present when thou thy self art busy about thy work I may adde further that the case may so bee that though there bee some good men in a Nation that do most seriously and heartily pray for it they may not bee able to help them and that not bee the Fast of God unto which truth I might call in the Testimony of the Prophet Jeremiah in cap. 11.14 and 14.11 where God bids him not pray for that people c. and Lam. 3. v. 8.44 where hee saith that when hee did cry and shout God shut out his prayers and covered himself with a cloud that their prayer could not passe through The like testimony Ezekiel would afford us who tells us more than once Chap. 14. that in some cases three such prevalent persons as Noah Job and Daniel shall obtain no more than their own security And I might have all their suffrages to this that sometimes nothing lesse than an universal reformation in the great Officers Magistrates and Governours especially will procure Gods favour but I have already staid so long upon this head that the time calls mee to hasten to a conclusion of it Then therefore Prayers are to good purpose for our selves or the Nation when wee or the Nation come to God with a holy disposition of heart to forsake our sins and with a readinesse of heart to make use of that divine grace which wee beg at his hands with a resolution to do that our selves which wee desire God should do for us When they are instruments to Piety and Godlinesse and put our hearts into such a holy frame that even by our actions wee may pray and pull down the blessings of heaven upon us For as Clemens Alex. speaks of a spiritual heavenly person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his whole life is a Prayer to God and a familiar converse with him Hee prays all day long in some sort viz. as to the effect and issue of Prayer the holynesse of his life speaking powerfully and effectually in his behalf to God if not more prevalently because it is the use and the improvement of that grace which we have received and so directly intitles us to the blessings that are in that promise To him that hath shall be given But yet wee must take notice of this that when wee pray thus to the reforming and amending of our hearts and lives the blessings wee are most confidently to expect are those of a spiritual and eternal nature such as are forgiveness of sin acceptance with God to life and that we cannot bee certain sometimes that by all our Reformation wee shall avert temporal judgements upon our own persons or our Nation And so I am ascended one step higher than I was before Perhaps the Decree may bee irrevocably gone forth the ruine of a people or person may bee absolutely determined or at least some very sharp punishment without any possibility of reversing the sentence may bee resolved upon and though the sin may bee forgiven to some and those the chiefest purposes yet not unto all Who can tell whether God will return and repent was all that could bee said in the Ninivites case and in the case of Jerusalem it was at last decreeed that their City and Temple should bee destroyed without any hopes of prevention of such a calamity though they had space given them to repent in that their souls might find mercy with God And this is our satisfaction that when wee fast and pray aright wee shall partake of the principal benefits that