Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	holy_a	scripture_n	word_n	2,805	5	4.1192	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29734	The support of the faithful in times of persecution, or, A sermon preach'd in the wilderness to the poor Protestants in France by M. Brousson ... ; faithfully translated from the French.; Confiance du fidèle persécuté. English	Brousson, Claude, 1647-1697.; Rogers, Timothy, 1658-1728.	1699 (1699)	Wing B5003; ESTC R3102	18,703	32

in human appearance whereas their Enemies are powerful and formidable in the esteem of the World Besides God calls his People Men of Israel or Israel that are but Men. Israel you know my Brethren is the name God himself gave Jacob when he contended with him This holy Man hearing his Brother Esau was coming out against him with four Hundred Men was put into a great consternation therefore he passed the whole Night in Supplications and Tears As he was alone the Son of God in the shape of Man strove with him till break of Day and when this Divine Person saw that he could not prevail against him he touched the hollow of his Thigh so that the hollow of Jacobs Thigh was out of joynt as he wrestled with him and he said Let me go for the Day breaketh But Jacob answered him I will not let thee go except thou bless me And he said unto him what is thy Name And he said Jacob And he said thy Name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel For as a Prince hast thou power with God and Men and hast prevailed As we read in the 32d of Genesis So again in Hosea chap. 12. We read that By his power he prevailed with the Angel he wept and made Supplication unto him he found him in Bethel and there he spake with us That is to say he contended all the Night with his God by his Prayers and Tears and by that means he as it were conquered the Almighty and obtained his Favour Blessing and Succour so as that he was delivered out of the astonishing danger he was in But God thought fit his Lameness should remain to put him in mind that he ought to humble himself continually before God in order to obtain mercy and relief in all his necessities So God in my Text when he calls his Afflicted People Israel 't is that he might make us understand that when we are benighted in Affliction as we are at this time and when we fear the rage and fury of our Enemies that then it is our Duty to humble our selves before God in an extraordinary manner to repent of all our Sins and entirely renounce them and to have recourse to his Mercy and Grace alone for pardon and that we ought to strive with him continually by our Prayers and Supplications till we have disarmed as it were his Almighty Arm and obtained his Blessing and Assistance and that for the time to come we ought always to set his fear before our Eyes and to walk humbly with our God all the days of our Life 'T is for this end likewise he calls us Men ye Men of Israel For thereby he designs to put us in mind of the frailty of our Nature and to make us consider that since our life is in continual danger either by the fury of our Enemies or by Sickness or by a thousand other Accidents to which we are liable we have reason to Pray without ceasing and to throw our selves into the Arms of our God who alone is able to conduct and preserve us in the midst of all the dangers our life is continually expos'd to II. Now we are to consider the Consolation he gives his People under their Sufferings Fear not says he thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel Believers my Friends have several Reasons to be afraid but 't is the Will of God that they have recourse to him alone upon all occasions 1. The Devil uses all his Efforts to tempt us with the Pleasures Riches and Vanities of the World But then we are to beg of God without ceasing that he lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from the evil One. And at the same time we must take care our selves to avoid the Occasions of Sin and separate our selves from the Places and Persons that might induce us to offend God We must also renounce the World and mortifie our Bodies by moderation and Sobriety according to the Words of St. Peter 1 Pet. 5.8 Be sober be vigilant for your Adversary the Devil as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour whom resist stedfast in the Faith Moreover we must read and meditate on the Word of God with continual Application of Mind and constantly pray to God for the assistance of his Holy Spirit for 't is by his Word and Spirit he fortifies our Faith and 't is by Faith we are enabled to repel all the fiery Darts of the Devil 2. If our Sins terrifie us God commands us to have recourse to his Mercy and Grace As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the Wicked but that the Wicked turn from his way and live Ezek. 33.11 In case we are sincerely converted so as to conceive a sacred Horrour for sin and heartily renounce all our evil Habits and cease to do evil and learn to do good then the promises in Isa 1.18 That though our sins be as Scarlet they shall be white as Snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool To this end we must heartily embrace Jesus Christ as our Saviour by a firm and lively Faith for 't is he that suffered death for us upon Earth and now intercedes in our behalf in Heaven 't is he that is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the World John 1.29 3. If Believers are at any time afflicted with bodily Diseases 't is the pleasure of God that we apply our selves to him as the Sovereign Physitian of our Bodies as well as Souls for 't is he alone that is able to deliver us out of all our Troubles and has promised that all things shall work together for our good if we do but fear him and profit by his Chastisements 4. The faithful people of God have likewise reason to be afraid of the Cheats and Disguises of False Teachers For as St. Paul says 2 Cor. 11.13 14 15. These false Apostles are deceitful Workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ And no marvel for Satan himself is transform'd into an Angel of Light therefore it is no great thing if his Ministers also be transform'd as the Ministers of Righteousness But if Believers constantly address themselves to God for the assistance of his Holy Spirit God will deliver them out of the Snares of these false Teachers My Sheep says Christ John 10.28 29. shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my Hand My Father which gave them me is greater than all and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's Hand For this end Believers must try the Spirits to know if they are of God They must like the Antient Bereans examine the Doctrines that are preach'd to them to know if they agree with the Holy Scriptures For as St. Paul says Rom. 2.20 the Word of GOD is the Rule of Knowledge and Truth 5. In fine Believers have cause to

then since he will be our Redeemer and Defender He commands us to call upon him in our Distress and promises to deliver us out of it to the end that we may glorifie him Let us then make him our Refuge let us cry to him continually and he 'll come to our relief that so we may bless him for it all the days of our Life God will do wonders for our sakes as he has always done in favour of his Children For as St. Paul says Rom. 15.4 whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our Learning that we thro' Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures might have hope that is to say that we may have this confidence in God that in case we imitate the Faith the Piety and the Fidelity of those antient Servants of God whom the Scriptures mention God will vouchsafe to us the same Deliverances and the same Comforts as he vouchsafed to them on the like occasions He 'll restore our Children to us again as he did to Abraham of old He 'll preserve our Lives as he did Isaac's He 'll be always with us as he was with Jacob and give us the same Protection that he gave him He 'll release us out of our Prisons as he did Joseph He 'll deliver us out of all our Sufferings and Misery as he did Job and like him will put us in a happier Condition than that we were in before our Tryal He 'll put an end to all our Troubles as he did formerly to those of David Now we are in the Furnace as the three believing Hebrews were of old but God will preserve us as he did them in the midst of the Flames The fire of Persecution will only serve to purifie us and to consume the Bonds of Sin within us and he 'll bring us out of the Furnace of Affliction much brighter than we were before Now we are in the midst of Lyons as Daniel was of old But God will shut the Mouth of these Savage Beasts he 'll repress the Violence of our Enemies that encompass us about on all sides and come not behind the very Tygers and Lyons in Cruelty Now we groan under hard Bondage as the People of God did heretofore in Egypt but God will deliver us out of it with a strong Hand and stretched out Arm. Now we are terrified with the Power of our Enemies But since 't is against God they wage War God tells us in his Word 2 Chr. 20.15 that the Battle is not Our's but God's and that he 'll fight for us himself while we are singing Praises to his Holy Name as he fought heretofore for his People in the time of King Jehoshaphat Now they that afflict us laugh at us for putting our confidence in God as if he was not strong enough to deliver us out of their Hands But God will send an Angel to destroy them as he did the Army of the King of the Assyrians who blasphem'd the Lord and ridicul'd them that put their confidence in him as we read Isa 36. For this end my beloved Brethren let us live in the fear of the Lord let us obey his Holy Commandments be faithful to him confess his Truth and continually implore his Mercy Favour and Relief and this God will hear our Cries will hearken to our Prayers will plead our Cause will help and deliver us will fill us with his Graces and Comforts will load us with his Benefits and will one day take us up to Heaven to ma●● us happy for ever with himself Which God of his infinite Mercy grant Now to Him Father Son and Spirit one only God belessed for ever be Honour and Glory world without end Amen Preach'd in several places in the Wilderness July 23 and 31. 1692. and Septemb. 14. 1693. FINIS

fear the Power and Cruelty of their Enemies Jesus Christ says in the Gospel That the Devil is a Murtherer from the beginning The Ministers of Satan are also Lyers and Murtherers like himself When they cannot seduce and wheedle a Man into an Error they persecute him and use their utmost endeavour to ruin him We read in the Scripture That the Devil makes use of two great means to endeavour to shake the Faith of the Elect. To some he offers the Glory and Advantages of the World as he did to our Saviour before others he spoils of their Goods deprives of their Children and loads with a thousand Evils as he did Job And his Ministers use just the very same Methods But as God would not have us suffer our selves to be seduced by Errors and Lies nor to be led aside by the Honours and Riches of the World so on the other hand he would have us stand firm and impregnable against the Power the Injustice and Cruelty of the Enemies of the truth He requires of us to be always ready to suffer all sorts of Evils and Miseries for his Service 'T is he that has given us all the good things we enjoy in the World and therefore he expects we should be always disposed to part with them for his Glory 'T is he that has given us our Children and therefore he justly requires we should submit to his will when he permits the Enemies of his Kingdom to deprive us of them He requires us to deliver them up to the care of his wise Providence when they stand in competition with our Duty to God In fine 't is he that has given us Being Life and Motion and therefore he expects we should be always prepared to suffer Death for his Service whenever he thinks fit to call us to such a Tryal In a word 't is God that has given us all things 't is therefore very just that we should love him above all things He has created us for his own Glory 't is therefore very reasonable we should glorifie him both by our Life and Death Jesus Christ has suffered Death for us 't is very just then that we suffer something for the advancement of his Kingdom Our Sins deserved the Eternal Flames of Hell 't is then an act of singular favour that God is contented we should but suffer a little trouble in this World for his Holy Name sake In fine the Glory and Happiness that he prepares for us in Heaven is it not a sufficient recompence for all that we can lose and suffer for his Service upon Earth All things duly weighed says St. Paul I reckon the Sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us For this light Affliction which is but for a season worketh for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory But although God many times permits his People to be oppressed by reason of their Sins yet his design is not to abandon them entirely He only designs to make them better by his Chastisements and to cause them to return to their God with all their Heart and put their whole confidence in him For upon condition we turn to him and repent of having offended him he also repents of having Afflicted us and Comforts and Delivers us out of all our Distresses Fear not says he in my Text thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel for I will help you saith the Lord. thy Redeemer the Holy one of Israel The God whose assistance we implore my Beloved Brethren is not as the Idols of the Gentiles that can neither see nor hear nor stir to deliver those that invoke them No t is the Lord of Hosts the God of Heaven and Earth the Great and Almighty God He that is Infinitely Good is surely good enough to have pity on our Sufferings He that is Infinitely Wise is Wise enough to provide for all our necessities And he that is Almighty cannot want Power to deliver us out of all our troubles He is called the Holy one of Israel because he is Holiness it self and requires us to be Holy as he is Holy And certainly he that is so Holy and Just will not let go unpunished all the injuries that are done to his Glory all the Evils that his Children are made to suffer He promises to help us who is it then that can hurt us If God be for us who 'll be against us He tells us he is our Redeemer viz. our Defender and Deliverer what reason have we then to be afraid The Lord says David Psal 27.1 3. is my Light and my Salvation whom shall I fear The Lord is the Strength of my Life of whom shall I be afraid Though a Host should encamp against me my heart shall not fear Idolaters indeed put their confidence in Creatures but the faithful trust in their God he is their only Protector and Refuge And what comfort is it to the Faithful that they have him for their Redeemer whose Power knows no bounds Blessed is the Nation says David Psal 33.12 whose God is the Lord and the People whom he hath chosen for his own Inheritance Call upon me in the day of trouble says our Great God Psal 50.15 I will Deliver thee and thou shalt Glorifie me Fear not says he again Isa 43 for I have redeemed thee I have called thee by thy Name thou art mine When thou passest through the Waters I will be with thee and through the Rivers they shall not overflow thee When thou walkest through the Fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the Flame kindle upon thee For I am the Lord thy God the Holy one of Israel thy Saviour I gave Egypt for thy ransom Ethiopia and Seba for thee That is to say I have destroyed and will again destroy thy Enemies for the love of thee Then he adds Since thou wast precious in my sight thou hast been honourable and I have loved thee therefore I will give Men for the and People for thy Life Fear not for I am with thee I will bring thy Seed from the East and gather thee from the West I will say to the North Give up and to the South Keep not back Bring my Sons from far and my Daughters from the ends of the Earth That is to say I have suffered you to be oppress'd by your Enemies because of your sins and to be dispersed throughout all the Earth but when you return to me with your whole Heart I will in great Compassion return to you I will bring you back from the Places of your Exile and establish you in the Land of your Nativity In effect my Friends how many Examples have we before our Eyes in the Holy Scriptures of the care God has in all Ages taken of his Children and of the wonderful deliverances he has vouchsafed to give them to the end that we may put our Confidence in him