Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	lord_n	people_n	4,953	5	4.9858	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34713	England's restoration parallel'd in Judah's, or, The primitive judge and counsellor in a sermon before the honourable judge at Abington assizes, for the county of Berks, Aug. 6. 1689 / by Francis Carswell ...	Carswell, Francis, d. 1709.	1689 (1689)	Wing C649; ESTC R222147	22,865	40

neither fear God nor regard Man. Who live on Orphans Tears sacrifice and sell the Blood of some the Estates of others their Country their Laws their Religion and their own Consciences to purchase their Places and their Maker's Favour whom that you may know I shall name one John 19. 12. If thou let this Man go thou art not Caesar's Friend When Pilate the Judge heard that he sate down in the Judgment seat and condemned the most innocent holy and just i. e. when he heard he was like to lose Caesar's Favour and Friendship farewel to Justice to purchase its continuance In the whole Creation there is not one Creature more like a God than a Primitive Judge Nor a Monster more like a Devil than a corrupt degenerate one from his Original Pattern But to let pass this Pilattick Sect of Judges and leave them to repent or their Names to rot and Memorials to perish being the Antithesis and Reverse of those my Text speaks of I proceed 2. To consider and determine what Primitive Judges and Counsellors are And here 1 st what are Primitive Judges Homines in naturali statu liberi nascuntur pares in quâ parietate semper remansciscent nisi necessitas quaedam politica illos in ordinem co●gisset ut alii praesint alii subsint in totius salutem primô idem fuit Imperator Judex Liberty and Freedom being the Universal and Natural Birthright of all and their Security and primary end of all Government need no more proof than to prove the Tooth in a Man's Head his Eye or his Senses are his own But whosoever pretends to exercise any power over others must prove every Tittle and shew his Commission how and which way he came by it and take care to answer the End and true Reasons which first gave Birth to Empire and Dominion Which were not to invade or destroy but to protect and defend their Subjects And therefore if at any time they act contrary in it they renounce the ends of their being and overthrow the Foundation on which they stand Exposing their Authority to be stripped Naked subverted and trampled on For tho some self-designing men to flatter and abuse Princes and promote themselves may have tortured Scripture and screwed up Conscience and Religion to such heighths as to infer thence Obligations to an extravagant unreasonable sort of Obedience Yet 't is as impossible for men in general to act contradictory to their true Interest their Natural Principles of Freedom and Self-preservation or to stand by and assist any Power in abusing themselves As it is to be mad with Reason And 't is as foolish if not impious and contradictory to pretend to fetch Arguments from a Religion that comes from God to cheat men of those Natural Rights which himself and Nature has given them Whereby they represent God as tho repenting or recalling his Gifts and so acting contradictory to his goodness which is himself and dividing his Kingdom against it self like that which cannot stand Let then their mistaken sense of Government be what it will it was no doubt instituted for the defence and preservation of the whole and at first the Emperor and the Judge was the same with his Sword in one hand to defend against their Enemies and his Scepter in the other to determine Controversies But the weight of Government and number of Subjects increasing the Emperour withdrew from the Tribunal and substituted Judges And this was the course that Moses took by the advise of Jethro whose Books and Writings being the most ancient and authentick that we can rely on I shall from them collect what those Original Judges were according to whose pattern a Restoration is here promis'd By Judges 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Septuagint ut antea as the Syrriack Version ut erant antiquitùs ut olim as the Arrabick and Caldee Paraphrase as at first as before as anciently as in times past I understand either 1. Such as God himself was or such as he at first extraordinarily qualified and sent 2. Or such as Moses was or such as he commissioned 3. Or such as the best of the Kings of Israel and Judah were or such as they commission'd in their respective Reigns 1. Such as God himself was For tho by his Universal Power and Providence he at first planted and still governs all the Kingdoms of the World and has given them to the Children of Men yet Israel was his peculiar Care and Government and therefore when they clamoured for a King like other Nations God in anger replied by Samuel They have not rejected thee but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them because that himself as Isa 9. 7. was their King their Judge and their Lawgiver And it was common for them to bring such Causes as they could not determine and spread them before the Lord. 2. Or such as God extraordinarily qualified and sent to judge his People Israel such were Othniel Shamgar Deborah and Samuel and thus he gave them Judges for the space of 450 years and God was with the Judge Acts 13. 20. 2. Or such as Moses himself was or as he commissioned Moses was the first we ever read of that sate upon the Bench in a judicial way of Over and Terminer and he is the first too that issued out Commissions to other Deputy-Judges to bear part of the burthen with him and to judge the people at all seasons 3. Or such Judges as the best wisest most renown'd and religious of the Kings of Israel and Judan were As Jehosaphat Solomon and David whose Throne for Righteousness and Judgment was a Type of the Throne of the Messiah who is to judge the World in Righteousness and the Nations in Equity so famed for Justice that it revived the hearts of his Subjects but to talk of appearing before his Tribunal Our feet shall stand within thy gates O Jerusalem for there are set thrones of judgment even the throne of the house of David Or such as Solomon his Son so famed for Wisdom and Judgment in that righteous and critical decision of the Controversie between the Two Women about the dead and the living Child Or such as Jehosaphat sent into all the Cities of Judah in Circuit City by City 2. We may learn what these Judges at first were 1. From the Rules laid down for their Choice 2. From the Charge given them upon Admission for the Execution of their Office. I shall only instance in Two Moses and Jehosaphat's Rules and Charge 1. Moses's Rules for Choice or Qualifications he requires in a Judge are reduceable to these Four recorded Exod. 18. 2. 1. Chuse able men i. e. Men of Parts and Understanding 2. Such as fear God Not the Face of Man in the Judgment 3. Men of Truth Men of Integrity hating False Judgment 4. Such as hate Covetousness If not they 'l take Bribes and sell Justice 2. Moses

what our Saviour did when he stood up in the Temple to preach and having read his Text out of this very Prophet he closed his Book and sat down having said no more Then This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears So may I. I will restore thy Judges as at the first and thy Counsellours as at the beginning c. This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears in your Eyes in all your Senses in the midst of our Towns and County After all our Distractions just Fears Apprehensions and Threats of Arbitrary Power Subversion of our Religion Laws Liberties and even Justice it self Behold our Judges as at the first in our respective Counties throughout the Kingdom at a General Assize gone forth to judge the People Behold our Counsellors as at the beginning in the Court to advise our Prince In our Grand Senate both House of Parliament sitting advising and enacting according to our ancient Rights Freedoms and Priviledges Behold our Religion our Church which is our Sion redeemed from Romish Superstitions Behold her Converts Protestant Proselytes and Professors of this Pure Holy Reformed Religion redeemed from all Fears of Rome's bloody Inquisition or France's Dragooning for Conscience sake Behold our Universities and Colledges our Cities and Corporations with their Free-holds Charters and Immunities restored as at the first To Crown all behold a King reigning in Righteousness the Support of our present and Pledge of our future happiness even England's Jotham Warring with the great King of Assyria his Neighbour the grand Enemy of our Religion and Country God grant him also a Jotham's Success to overcome them in Battel and to make them Tributary and that he may ever wax mighty because he prepares his way before the Lord. What remains now but that our Cities shall in a short time become Cities of Righteousness faithful Cities And our Sion which is our Church be redeemed with Judgment and her Converts with Righteousness In Summ then this Vision discovers these four things Of a Church and Nation 's Restauration and Deliverance from the Smart of such Calamities as they felt for the present or feared for the future 1. The Author 2. The Instruments 3. The Order 4. The Nature 1. The Author and Principal Efficient Cause of the Prosperity and Restauration of a sinking Church and Nation is God alone I will restore 2. The Instruments and Essential parts of a People's Restauration are 1 Judges as at the first 2 Counsellours as at the beginning 3. The Order and Method of a People's Prosperity after that For before that Judges and Counsellours are restored a Nation cannot flourish but they first then after that the other follows 4. The Nature and Comprehensiveness of a compleat Restauration it must be in Sacred as well as Civil Rights 1 Civil and Political Prosperity Cities shall flourish and become Cities of Righteousness 2 Sacred and Religious Prosperity The Church and her Proselytes must be saved Sion shall be redeemed with Judgment and her Converts with Righteousness As the result of the whole I infer 5. That whenever a People are thus restored they are highly obliged without murmuring to rejoyce in and to bless that God who is the Author of all for it These five Generals shall bound my present Discourse 1. That God alone is the Principal Efficient Cause of all Mutations of Government whether they tend to the Destruction or Restauration of a Church or Nation He sets up and he pulls down at his pleasure He deliver'd Israel out of Egypt and destroyed the Egyptians in the Red Sea. He rooted out the Canaanites and planted his own People in their Cities He took Saul from the Herd and David from the Flock and seated them on the Throne And he pulled down the High and Mighty Nebuchadnezzar in the midst of all his Glory and turned him to graze with the Beasts of the Field Alexander's and Caesar's may build Alexandria's and Caesarea's like great Babylon for their Honour and Glory when as all the while except the Lord build and keep the City too the Builder and the Watchman take care in vain These may arrogantly think that by their Power Policy and numerous Armies they have founded Empires and Dominions when as he that sits in the Heavens derides the vanity of their thoughts and frequently brings to nought their mighty Designs and many Devices For 't is the Counsel of the Lord that at last shall stand and his Purposes shall come to pass All the Powers on Earth are but as Tools in his hand to work out his good pleasure The mighty Cyrus was but his Shepherd and shall fulfil all his good pleasure saying to Jerusalem Thou shalt be built and to Sion Thy Foundation shall be laid And when his Ends are accomplished their Dominions are determin'd as the great Belshazzar's was by his Hand-writing MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN Thy Kingdom is weighed numbred and finished and being found wanting is divided and distributed Thus he made Zerzes with his 2500000 Zenacharib and Siserah with Hosts as numerous as the Sands by the Sea to return with shame and dishonour and sent the great Bajazet about the World in a Cage for a show And again gave glorious Victories to a single Sampson with a Jaw-bone of an Ass To David with a Sling and a Stone To Gideon with the noise of Pitchers Rams-horns and but 300 Men. It is He that makes a fruitful Land to become a barren Wilderness and depopulates Cities by the Sword Famine and Pestilence And 't is the same hand that made the Wound that applies the Remedy cures all our Diseases and makes the noise of the Drum and Trumpet to cease and restores Peace in all our borders For as Clay in the hands of the Potter so are all Nations in his And 't is no more but for him to speak the word and they are made or utterly undone He can destroy or save as he pleases either by or without means but his usual methods are by Instruments and second Causes as here in my Text by restoring Judges and Counsellors who are both Instruments and Essential parts of a Nations Restoration 2. Which is the 2d thing in order to be discoursed of viz. That the Restoration of Primitive Judges and Counsellors are both the necessary and essential parts as well as instrumental Causes of a Peoples Restoration And here my first enquiry ought to be Who and what those Judges and Counsellors were at first 1. Neg. It is not Judges in general no matter who or what they are provided they are but Judges for of these we never wanted such as they were but they must be such as were at first For there are a sort who are so far from being a blessing that they are the greatest Scourge and Plague as can befall a Nation There are a sort of High Commission Judges there are Arbitrary Dispensing Judges there are Judges who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉