Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	judgement_n	lord_n	sin_n	3,017	5	4.8345	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77480	Satan the leader in chief to all who resist the reparation of Sion. As it was cleared in a sermon to the Honourable House of Commons at their late solemn fast, Febr. 28. 1643. By Robert Baylie, minister at Glasgow. Published by order of the House of Commons.	Baillie, Robert, 1599-1662.	1643 (1643)	Wing B468; Thomason E35_17; ESTC R209954	47,169	63

when the darknesse of affliction over-shadowes Ierusalem the godly cannot rest they cannot keep silence but importune their God for the light of a glorious deliverance A second reason The second reason this Practise of the Saints is according to the will of God Ezek. 22.30 I sought for a man that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it Isa 62.6 I have set watchmen on thy wals O Ierusalem who shall never hold their peace day nor night ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence and give him no rest till he establish and make Ierusalem a praise on the eath A third reason The third reason this duty hath the promise of a blessing both publick and private Unto the Elders and Priests while they are assembled Ioel 2. For fasting and prayer is laid out not onely the goodnesse of God in generall that he is gracious and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindnesse repenting him of the evill but particularly in the 18 they are assured he will heare their prayer and answer it he will have pity upon the afflictions of his people and be zealous for their deliverance Besides the publick benefit the carefull practise of this duty procures much private good When the salvation of Ierusalem breaketh forth as a Lamp every Inhabitant shall not be partaker of her joy Sundry shall see it and not taste of it as that Prince of Samaria 2 Kings 7.2 when it shall be well with the Church it may be ill with them As ravenous beasts and theeves after their roving up and downe in the darknesse of the night at their pleasure when the morning light doth arise they take them to their dens and caves wherein oft they are hunted to their death However these who now stand mourning for Sion shall rejoyce in her joyes when they come they shall eat the fruit of their present labours the teares they now sow in sorrow shall then be reaped in joy See an excellent promise of this Isa 66.10 Rejoyce for joy with Ierusalem all ye that mourn for her that ye may sucke and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations that ye may milke out and be delighted with the aboundance of her glory Ye shall be comforted in Ierusalem and when ye see this your heart shall rejoyce and your bones shall flourish like an herbe Sometimes it pleaseth not God to relent his anger towards the publicke yet it goes well in private with the practisers of this duty the mourners for Ierusalem Ezek. 9. are marked by the Angel and saved in the day of destruction 2 Pet. 2.7 8. Noah and Lot who vexed their righteous souls for what they heard and saw among their wicked neighbours get themselves and their families preserved in the day of vengeance Lamenting Ieremiah Ezek. 14.14 and for his cause his servant Baruch and friend Ebedmelech are well intreated by the hand of the most cruell Enemy yea when the wrath of God is greatest when Noah Iob and Daniel are not able to save either son or daughter yet they shall deliver themselves have their own soul for a prey Another Reason The fourth Ezek. 10.18 the neglect of this duty is a dangerous provocation When the glory of God goes from the Cherub to the threshold of the Temple and from thence to the midst of the City Hos 5.15 and from thence to the mountaine when the Lord goes to his place that he may be sought after early and in his going makes frequent stands looking back if any will sollow and lay hold upon him that he may returne if so be that none take notice or care of his removall it much encreaseth his anger This is one of the complaints of Isaiah Isa 64.7 There is none that calleth on thy name that stirreth up himselfe to lay hold on thee This is made a great cause of the publike calamity Ezek. 42. I sought for a man to stand in the gap for the land but I found none therefore have I powred out my indignation upon them I have consumed them with the sire of my wrath and however God should be good to the publike yet it shall not goe well with the private contemners of this duty be they more or fewer be they high or low Publike men whose peculiar duty is to meet the Lord and stand in the gap when they see the floods of his wrath comming downe to overwhelme the people of their charge if they run away like foxes to their holes being careful for nothing but to provide for their own heads woe and vengeance from God is denounced against them Ezek. 13.4 O Israel thy Prophets are like the foxes in the desert who have not gone up to the hedge neither made up the gaps for the house of Israel to stand in the battell in the day of the Lord Therefore in the third verse Woe unto them and in the ninth they shall not be in the assembly of my people neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel What extreme woe is it to be blotted out of the book of life to be deleted out of the Catalogue of the people of God Neither onely publike men but the meanest of the people are plagued for the neglect of this duty Isa 22.12 In that day the Lord did call to weeping and mourning but behold joy and gladnesse the slaying of oxen the killing of sheep and drinking of wine this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you dye saith the Lord. The Use of this Doctrine is for your encouragement The Vse For encouragement to go on in the present exercise with diligence Ier. 48.10 Ier. 14 17. Isa 5.25 to go on with all diligence in the present work of humble supplication You see God is well pleased with this labour it hath been the exercise of all the Saints on the like occasion it is the Lords speciall command he hath annexed to it most comfortable promises and to the neglect of it very fearfull threats onely let the work be done with diligence and constancie to doe the work of the Lord negligently procures a curse wherfore this day when thou standest before the Angel in all the bent saile of thy spirit offer to God the sacrifice of thy contrite and broken heart Let thine eyes run downe with teares night and day for the great breach and grievous blow wherewith the virgin daughter of thy people is already broken that notwithstanding the rivers of blood already shed the anger of the Lord is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still that as yet there is no appearance of any cancelling of that Commission which the Lord hath given to the sword to bathe it self in the blood of men without number of all ranks and estates These judgments outward and visible are the causes of great mourning but the sinnes of the land

that have drawne them from the hand of God are more lamentable yet the greatest cause both of lamentation and seare is that great impenitency and contempt of repentance which appeares in the most of men Though the Idolatries the Adulteries the Bloodshed the Rapines the Ignorance of God the profane contempt of the Gospel and many other crying crimes of this Land be evident to the eye of all though the great wrath of God be revealed from heaven in his most heavie judgments upon the midst and all the corners of this poore countrey yet too few doe strike upon their thigh Ier. 31.19 to be grieved for what they have done not to speak of the madnesse of our enemies whose heart is plagued with induration their Court their Clergy their mis-led people running on in their wonted wayes as the horse to the battell If we will look upon our selves we shall find that hardnesse of heart that carnall and stupid security doth lye upon the spirits of too many It were very good for the people of God to set before their minds the causes of that heavie wrath which long has lyen upon these Dominions especially to search out the grounds of provocation which most neerly concerne themselves to make a diligent enquiry of those sinnes which have bin committed within their doors with the Lamp of the Word and the greater light of the Spirit to goe through all the corners of thy owne conscience and what ever causes of wrath thou findest there to lay them all out in an humble Confession earnestly supplicating for mercy in Christs blood for amendment by the power of the sanctifying Spirit deprecating wrath and these fearfull effects of it which this day are visible upon the estates upon the bodies upon the soules of many thousands of people This duty also would be performed with constancy and perseverance And with constancy thou must stand in this posture of Prayer till that cloud be pierced and dissolved wherein God long has wrapped himself Lam. 3.44 Lam. 3.49 Nebem 7.3 5. Psal 14.7 Lam. 2.18 19. that our Prayers should not passe through it thine eye must trickle downe and not cease without intermission untill the Lord look down and behold from heaven The mourning and separation of the fifth and seventh moneth must continue all the yeares of Sions captivity when the Lord brings it back then and not before can Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad when the Lord shall be good to Sion and build up the walls of Ierusalem then may we sit down under our Vine and Figge-tree to eat of the fat and drink of the sweet But till then teares should run down like a river day and night we should give our selves no rest the apple of our eye should not cease we should arise and cry out in the night in the beginning of the Watches our hearts should be powred out like water before the face of the Lord and our hands lifted up to him for the life of our children our Husbands our Fathers our Brethren our most beloved Friends who all very quickly may be in hazard if the hand of the Lord be stretched out still Every one would be carefull conscientiously to use this means for hereby the meanest may be profitable to the distressed and languishing publike The reason hereof When Monies are wanting none are able to supply but the Rich when Errors and Schisms are to be beaten in pieces by the hammer of the truth of God none can be serviceable but the Learned when State divisions are to be cured none can help but the Wise when Battels are to be fought none can appeare to purpose but the couragious and strong But for the duty in hand which makes more for the curing of our present evills then all that either Wealth or Wit or Learning or Strength is able by it I say these may do notable service who have a very small or no portion in any visible gift even poor simple unlearned weake women if they have the spirit of prayer and will set themselves to wrestle with God they may help to remove the obstructions and further the cure of the publike miseries when all the wealth wit learning force of the kingdom cannot promove the breadth of an inch our wished ends every one must try and examine his own practise of this most needfull duty to be grieved or comforted according to their performance and care herein A Second doctrine from the former ground in all our approaches to God we must stand before the Angel A second doctrine In all our prayers we would imploy Christ Isai 22.22 Christ the Angel of the covenant must be interposed betwixt God and the soul for he is the onely way none can come to the Father but by him the keyes of the house of David are laid on his shoulder he is the only door by a wrong door or a right door if fast locked there is no entrance through him we have both an accesse to the Father Ephes 2.18 We have boldnes to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way Heb. 10.20 The reason of this is first the wisdom and goodnes of our God The first reason who when man by the fall was banished from his presence and could have no more immediate fellowship with him hath appointed a mid-man for reconciliation to stand betwixt him man that the friendship which could not immediatly be kept might be renewed continued by such a mediation 1 Tim. 2.4 I here is one God and one mediator betwixt God and man the man Christ Iesus Heb. 8.6 He is the mediator of a better Covenant which was established upon better promises However we have promises that God wil be our God and will receive us as his people that he will remember our sins no more that he will give us an eternall inheritance yet in him only it is that we have any right to any of these promises for he only is the mediator of that Covenant Heb. 9.15 A second reason The second when we come alone to our God we cannot be welcome we are so defiled with the guilt of by-gone sinnes while we live sinne lives in us and betwixt the holy pure eyes of God and our sinfulnesse there is so great a contrarietie that if these two should meet without some interposition the justice of God would be a consuming fire to us When ever therfore we are bold to draw neer to him it is necessary to have this Angel standing betwixt us to cover our sinnes to divert wrath by the sacrifice of his soul for sinne to purchase friendship by the sprinkling of his blood to extinguish the flames of wrath A third reason The third who ever will stand before God who is to speak to that Majesty who is to walk or have any fellowship with him must in some measure be like him Heb. 12.14 holy as he is holy for without