Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	heart_n	lord_n	see_v	3,172	5	3.4596	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71233	Publick sorrovv A remedy for Englands malady. Being an explanation of the fourteenth verse of the first chapter of the prophet Joel. By Ellis Weycoe, M.A.	Weycoe, Ellis.	1657 (1657)	Wing W1524; ESTC R221984	81,520	112

God for mercy may not yet enter into his Eates For this reason Let us cry unto the Lord. And as we must thus imitate their behaviour in misery so the next is their Remedy which likewise mu●● be ours They cast their burthen upon the Lord knowing full well that he was able to help them being the Lord and as willing as able because their God In treating of which the utmost of my intent shall be to divide such shares of sorrow among you as that your very soules may be even cut asunder w●thin you being indeed your onely remedy in trouble and the onely way to appease your angry God for the broken and contrite heart he will not dispise And therefore let us sigh and weep and cry unto the Lord. As the cause of this Peoples misery was Famine so their case in regard of any Earthly succour that could be expected was helplesse and remedilesse For the Heavens were become as Brasse and the Earth as Iron unto them the Lord their God who comprehends all in his Fist had withheld from them the bottles of Heaven and stopped the spouts of Raine now being ready to dye with hunger they mingle their Bread with weeping seeking to relieve themselves by tears and groans And cry unto the Lord. Hence the Point is this Obs That godly sorrow and holy affliction is the best remedy in any sorrow and affliction whether it be from Men from Sathan or from God himselfe whether it be in Body Estate Name Mind or soule of a Man whether it be on particular Persons or on our Selves or on our Friends or those that are about us or on the whole Land as on Church or Common wealth This is the most soveraigne Remedy in all distresse and extremity whatsoever this inward godly griefe is a salve for every sore and a playster for every wound To Weep and Cry and poure out our Hearts before God is the course that this people here took and that which we must take in the like or any other ealamity and according to the measure of the affliction and as it is more publick or private so must be the measure of our lamentation To this there is a promise made in Isaiah Isa 61.1.2.3 That when our Hands cannot help our selves nor our Tongues prevaile with others yet then we may relieve our selves by our Prayers unto God for in that place the Lord undertaketh that Mourners shall be comforted And there is great cause why God should so deale with such kind of Persons For first He is full of pitty and compassion and therefore the Prophet Joel bids us Joel 2.13 Rent our Hearts and not our Garments that is bring inward sorrow that may crush and breake the Heart and then turne unto the Lord which if we doe we shall be sure of reliefe because the Lord is mercifull saith he and our God is ready to forgive When we see our Children weeping mourning and consessing their faults we cannot but have our bowels of compassion carning towards them what shall we then thinke of God He is our Father we are his Children and be is farre more mercifull then we can be for he hath no other bowels then the bowels of compassion and therefore when we Mourne in an holy manner certainly he will arise and have mercy upon us he cannot slay when he sees our Eyes full of Teares and our Hearts full of sorrow for the sighs and groanes of his people will not let him have rest in Heaven Secondly This godly mourning must needs be a speciall remedy in all manner of afflictions because it makes our Prayers very forcible it sets an edge upon our Petitions and makes us pray heartily servently and strongly When Jacob wept in his Prayer Hos 12 4. it was so effectuall that he prevayled When Gods people joyned together to poure forth buckets full of Teares drawne from the bottome of their Hearts before the Lord 1 Sam 7.6 they were marvellously helped for the great measure of their Teares made their supplication more servent And therefore when our Saviour was about the principall point of his Mediatorship then did he gather strength unto himselfe by this means He did offer up Prayers with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death Heb. 5.7 Thirdly This godly sorrow must needs be very effectuall because it is exceeding forcible against sin for when sorrow comes into the Heart sin goes out it will not lodge there unlesse it be cockered and much made of When every one laments his iniquity and mourns over Christ Jesus whom by his sinnes he hath pierced then there is a Fountaine opened to wash us all from our sins that have made a wicked separation betwixt us and our God And seeing then that this godly sorrow is a means to make God pitty us and to make us call earnestly upon him and to expell sin which might hinder us from prevayling with him it must needs follow That of all remedies in time of distresse this is the best and surest Since sorrow is our onely safery and the best and surest remedy in distresse Let us a little reflect upon our selves and miseries and apply this soveraigne Balme to all our wounds There are many afflictions abroad at Sea Ships taken Merchants spoyled goods seized Marriners imprisoned many at home in our Townes nay in our owne Families as losses erosses sicknesses diseases parting with friends discontents nay there are many things amisse in our owne Hearts and here is medicine for every one of our maladies Let us then get it and use it and all arguments and helps that may continue and increase it Thus the Ninevites when Jonah threatned distruction against their City within forty dayes they humbled and abased themselves and fell to mourning and used Fasting to help it forward and to further them to this remorse and griefe for their great and hainous transgressions they had grieved the Lord by their iniquities and therefore now they would grieve themselves with contrition for them and neglect no means to further them in the worke of humiliation Jonah 3.5 6 7 8. They Proclaime a Fast they put on Sackcloth from the greatest to the least they neither eat nor drinke they cry mightily unto God and every man turnes from his evill way and from the wickednesse that is in their hands And when God saw that they turned from their evill wayes than God repented of the evill that he said he would doe unto them and he did it not And since we of this Nation have seen and felt affliction and justly may feare danger to be neer us still let us betake our selves to this mourning if we refuse to doe it and shall continue to be hard-hearted suppose the devouring bloud-letting Sword should come againe into our Land suppose the Plague like a loaden spunge should come flying through our Townes and Countries sprinkling poyson wheresoever she comes suppose pale meager

exceedingly for the comfort of those that are Mourners in Sion they are in favour with God and out of the reach of all danger so that nothing can befall them for hurt Blessed are they that mourne saith Christ for they shall be comforted Matth. 5.4 More happy is the poor man that weeps for his sinne then the greatest Potentate that rejoyceth in abundance And though we have cause enough of sorrow if we should flay to looke into the Calendar of these dayes and see and find the sinnes of this Land to be aspiring sinnes to see Drinking Cheating Whoring Swearing as common as Breathing which though they may be wincked at by the Eyes of Men yet are they crying in the Eares of God But to passe by these and likewise Covetousnesse Oppression whose Houses filled by cruelty and deceit Extortion of the Rich Wantonnesse of some and Prophanesse of all enough to sit every Pious soule in Mourning for the miseries of England And to look onely upon the woefull divisions amongst us touching matters of Religion not medling at all with that remnant of Baal I meane our Papists though me thinks its strange that after so long Preaching of the Gospel there should be still such as inundation of Popery nor with our hollow hearted bypoerites nor with the Atheists of our times who neither seek the Lord nor enquire after him Let us onely look upon our new Apostates and see what numberlesse numbers are carried away from true Religion to Fancies yet I reckon these Separists to be ours however they may be somewhat Sun-burnt Tand and Tackt with private Opinions though I hope the cloth is sound they yet hold fast the Foundation but runne through the Streets of every Towne and you shall scarce meet with two of one Opinion and yet all would be thought Religions and admired for Holinesse by which meanes the seamelesse Coat of Christ is miserably rent and torne and too many God grant they prove not irreparable divisions are in this poor Reuben O how should thoughts of these things open the very sluces of sorrow and cause Teares to trickle downe all cheekes that the Children should take delight in the Mothers ruine and Rayes of the glorious Gospel should suffer such dismall Eclipses by the strange and unheard of interpositions of those that would be deemed the onely Professours and lovers of it For surely there can be no greater cause of lamentation then the miseries and calamities of Gods poor distressed Church and People Hence the Point shall be this That the greatest affliction that should touch the Hearts of Gods People should be the affliction of his Church and People this of all others goes neerest the Hearts of the Saints For this see Ieremies Lamentation for the judgements of God on his Church and on Ierusalem his owne City and for the misery and calamity that lay upon the whole State see them thus bewayling their heavy ease Lament 3.48 49. c. Mine Eye casteth out Rivers of Water for the destruction of the Daughter of my People Mine Eye droppeth without stay and ceaseth not Mine Eye breaketh my Heart because of all the Daughters of my City For when Gods Inheritance was spoyled some put to the Sword others led Captive the Temple of God rized and the exercises of Religion abolished this was it that wrought upon Ieremiah and made him to grieve and breake forth into these wishes O that my Head were full of Water and mine Eyes a Fountaine of Teares that I might weep Day and Night for the Slaine of the Daughter of my People Ierem. 9.1 as if he could not have his fill nor weep enough for the desolations of Zion and the miserable overthrow thereof which he fore-saw And this was it that went neer the Heart of good Nehemiah who being in great prosperity Nehe. 1 4. Cup-hearer to the mightiest Monarch in the World and in speciall favour with him yet for the affliction and reproach wherein the Church of God was he conceived such inward sorrow Nehem. 2.1.2 That be was sad in the Kings preserce which was a thing that he must and would have forborne if possibly he could Moses goes further He doth not onely Mourne but is content to lay downe his prosperity and to expose his Estate to a manifest overthrow so that he might help forward the deliverance of the afflicted Israelites and save them from the hands of their Oppressours H●b 11.24.25 For he knew he could not be in favour with Pharaoh if he should joyne with them whom he so cruelly handled But he chose rather to suffer affliction with the People of God then to be called the Sonne of Pharaohs Daughter Esther seems to goe somewhat beyond him for she resolves with her selfe for the cause of the Jewes who were all appointed to slaughter to adventure her life in going to the King in their behalfe I will goe saith she though it be contrary to the Law and if I perish I perish Esther 4.16 and God blessed her boldnesse with an happy successe she saw the deliverance of her People and the confusion of her Enemies But our Lord Jesus Christ goes beyond them all for when he was in supreame excellency he was so affected with the woefull case of his Elect into which they had brought themselves by their owne rebellions against him that he humbled himselfe Phil. 2.6.7 and tooks on him the forme of a Servant and submitted himselfe to many sorrowes disgraces and sufferings not onely while he lived but principally at his Death that so he might deliver his People from the wrath to come and from Eternall Death which they had deserved and must have otherwise endured But for proofe enough if you will have Reasons take these three First There is great Reason why the affliction of the Church and People of God should so affect us In regard of the Communion that is betwixt God and them For they are called the Lords Flocke his chiefe Treasure under Heaven his First-borne yea the very Apple of his Eye and therefore being so deare unto the Lord they should be deare unto us and we should have a tender care over them and mourne in our hearts for any evill that befalls them as Jeremy did That the Lords Flocke should goe into Captivity Secondly There is great Reason why the affection of the Church should so affect us In regard of the Communion that is betwixt them and us for we are their members and neerer then bodily members And surely we should have greater care of the whole Church then of our selves because it more concernes Gods glory and yet in caring for them we care for our selves too and in labouring to prevent their afflictions we prevent our owne and in weeping for others miseries we get Armour of proofe that will keep off misery from our selves And that there is no danger in thus doing for the servants of God may appeare in Exodus one would have thought that