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
A65296	The godly mans picture drawn with a scripture-pensil, or, Some characteristical notes of a man that shall go to heaven by Thomas Watson ...	Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.	1666 (1666)	Wing W1124; ESTC R38514	176,068	382

bury our Talents but trade them this is to put out our mercies to Use a gracious heart is like a peece of good ground that having received the seed of mercy thrusts forth a crop of obedience 6 Then wee are rightly thankful when we can have our hearts more enlarged for spiritual mercies than for temporal Eph. 1. 3. Blessed be God who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings A godly man blesseth God more for a fruitful heart than a full crop hee is more thankful for Christ than for a Kingdome Socrates was wont to say hee loved the Kings smile more than his gold a pious heart is more thankful for a smile of Gods face than hee would bee for the gold of the Indies 7 Then wee are rightly thankful when mercy is a whe● to duty it causeth a spirit of activity for God Mercy is not as the Sun to the fire to dull it but as oyl to the wheele to make it run faster David wisely argues from mercy to duty Psal. 116. 8 9. Thou hast delivered my Soul from death I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living It was a saying of Bernard Lord I have two Mites a soul and a body and I give them both to thee 8 Then wee are rightly thankful when we excite others to this Angelical work of praise David would not only bless God himself but calls upon others to do so Praise ye the Lord Psalm 111. 1. That is the sweetest musick which is in consort when many Saints joyn together in consort then they make heaven ring of their praises as one drunkard will bee calling upon another so in an holy sense one Christian must bee stirring up another to the work of thankfulness 9 Then we are rightly thankful when we do not only speak Gods praise but live his praise It is called gratiarum actio then wee give thanks when wee live thanks such as are mirrours of mercy should be patterns of piety Obad. 17. Upon Mount Sion shall be deliverance and there shall be holiness To give God orall praise and dishonour him in our lives is to commit a barbarism in religion and is to be like those Iews who bowed the knee to Christ and then did spit upon him Mark 15. 19. 10 Then wee are rightly thankful when wee do propagate Gods praises to posterity we tell our children what God hath done for us in such a want hee supplyed us in such a sickness he raised us in such a temptation he succoured us Psa. 44. 1. O God our Fathers have told us what work thou didst in their daies in the time of old By transmitting our experiences to our Children Gods name is eternized and his mercies will bring forth a plentiful crop of praise when wee are gone He man puts the question Psal. 88. 10. Shall the dead praise thee Yes in this sense when we are dead we praise God because having left the Chronicle of Gods mercies with our Children we put them upon thankfulness and so make Gods praises live when we are dead dumque aurea voluet astra polus Memori semper celebrabunt cantu Use 3 Let us evidence our godliness by gratefulness Psa. 29. 2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name 1 It is a good thing to be thankful Psal 147. 1. It is good to sing praises to our God 'T is ill when the tongue that Organ of praise is out of tune and doth jar by murmuring and discontent but it is a good thing to be thankful it is good because this is all the creature can do to lift up Gods name and it is good because it tends to the making us good the more thankful we are the more holy while wee pay this tribute of praise our stock of grace increseth in other debts the more we pay the less wee have but the more wee pay this debt of thankfulness the more grace wee have 2 Thankfulness is the quit-rent wee owe to God Psa. 148. 11 13. King of the earth and all people let them praise the name of the Lord Praise is the tribute or custome to bee paid into the King of heavens Exchequor Surely while God renews our Lease we must renew our rent 3 The great cause we have to be thankful 't is a principle grafted in nature to be thankful for benefits The Heathens praised Iupiter for their victories What full clusters of mercies hang upon us when we go to enumerate Gods mercies we must with David confess our selves to bee nonplussed Psal. 40. 5. Many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works which thou hast done they cannot be reckoned up in Order And as Gods mercies are past numbring so they are past measuring David takes the longest measuring line hee could get hee measures from earth to the clouds nay above the clouds yet this measure would not reach the heighth of Gods mercies Psal. 108. 4. Thy mercy is great above the heavens O how hath God enriched us with his silver showers a whole constellation of mercies hath shined in our Hemisphere 1 What Temporal favours have wee received every day wee see a new tide of mercy coming in the wings of mercy have covered us the breast of mercy hath fed us Gen. 48. 15. The God which hath fed mee all my life long to this day What snares laid for us have been broken what fears blown over the Lord hath made our bed when he hath made others grave he hath taken such care of us as if he had none else to take care for never was the cloud of providence so black but we might see a Rainbow of Love in the cloud we have been made to swim in a sea of mercy and doth not all this call for thankfulness 2 That which may put a string more into the instrument of our praise and make it sound louder is to consider what spiritual blessings God hath conferred upon us he hath given us of the upper-springs he hath opened the Wardrobe of Heaven and fetched us out a better garment than any of the Angels wear he hath given us the best robe and put upon us the Ring of faith whereby wee are married to him These are mercies of the first magnitude which deserve to have an Asterist put upon them and God keeps the best Wine till last here hee gives us mercies but by retail the greatest things are laid up here are some Hony drops and fore-tastes of Gods love the Rivers of pleasure are reserved for Paradise well may we take the harp and viol and triumph in Gods praise who can tread upon these hot coals of Gods love and his heart not burn in thankfulness 4 Thankfulness is the best policy there is nothing lost by it to bee thankful for one mercy is the way to have more 't is like powring water into a Pump which fetcheth out more Musicians love to sound their trumpets where there is the best Eccho and

there ought to be Christian connivance 3 We must love the Saints though their graces out-vye and surpass ours we ought to bless God for the eminency of anothers grace because hereby religion is honoured Pride is not quite slain in a believer Saints themselves are apt to grudge and repine at each others excellencies is it not strange that the same person should hate one man for his sin and envy another for his vertue Christians had need look to their hearts then is love right and genuine when we can rejoyce in the graces of others though they seem to eclipse ours 4 Love to the Saints must be appretiating we must esteem their persons above others Psa. 15. 4. He honours them that fear the Lord we are to look upon the wicked as lumber but upon the Saints as jewels these must bee had in high veneration 5 Love to the Saints must bee Social wee should delight in their company Psal. 119. 63. I am a companion of all them that fear thee 'T is a kind of hell to be in the company of the wicked where we cannot choose but hear Gods name dishonoured It was a capital crime to have carried the Image of Tiberius engraven upon a Ring or Coyn into any fordid place They who have the Image of God engraven upon them should not go into any sinful fordid company Never but two that I read of who were living did desire to keep company with the dead and they were possessed with the Devil what comfort can a living Christian have to converse with the dead Iude 2. but the society of Saints is eligible this is not to walk among the Tombs but among beds of spices Beleevers are Christs garden their graces are the flowers their savory discourse is the fragrant smell of these flowers 6 Love to the Saints must be demonstrative we should be ready to do all offices of love to them vindicate their names contribute to their necessities and like the good Samaritan pour Oyl and Wine into their wounds Luk. 0. 34. 35. Love cannot be concealed but is active in its sphere and will lay out it self for the good of others 7 Love to the Saints must be constant 1 Iohn 4. 16. He that dwelleth in love Our love must not only lodge for a night but we must dwell in love Heb. 13. 1. Let Brotherly love continue as love must bee sincere without hypocrisie so constant without deficiency love must be like the pulse alwaies beating not like those Galathians who at one time were ready to pull out their eyes for Paul Gal. 4. 15. and afterwards were ready to pluck out his eyes love should not expire but with our life and surely if our love to the Saints be thus divinely qualified we may hopefully conclude that we are enrolled among the godly Ioh. 13. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another That which induceth a godly man to love the Saints is because he is nearly related to them there ought to be love among relations there is a spiritual consanguinity among beleevers they have all one head therefore should all have one heart they are stones of the same building 1 Pet. 2. 5. and shall not these stones bee cemented together with Love Use 1. Is this the distinguishing Mark of a godly man to be a lover of the Saints then how sad is it to see this grace of love in an eclipse this Character of godliness is almost blotted out among Christians England was once a fair garden where the flower of love did grow but sure now this flower is either plucked or withered where is that amity and unity as should be among Christians I appeal to you would there bee that censuring and despising that reproaching and undermining one another if there were love instead of bitter Tears there are bitter spirits a sign iniquity abounds because the love of many waxeth cold there is that distance among some professours as if they had not received the same spirit or as if they did not hope for the same heaven In the Primitive times there was so much love among the godly as set the heathens a wondring and now there is so little as may set Christians a blushing Use 2 As we would be written down for Saints in Gods Kalender let us love the Brotherhood they who shall one day live together should love together what is it makes a disciple but love Iohn 13. 35. The Devil hath knowledge but that which makes him a Devil is that hee wants love To perswade Christians to love consider 1 The Saints have that in them which may make us love them they are the curious embroidery and workmanship of the Holy ghost Eph. 2. 10. they have those rare lineaments of grace as none but a pensil from heaven could draw their eyes sparkle forth beauty Cant. 4 9. their breasts are like clusters of grapes Cant 7. 7. This makes Christ himself delight in his spouse The King is held in the galleries The Church is the daughter of a Prince Cant. 7. 1. she is waited on by Angels Heb 1. ult she hath a Pallace of glory reserved for her Ioh. 14. 2. and may not all this draw forth our love 2 Consider how evil it is for the Saints not to love 1 It is Unnatural the Saints are Christs Lambs Ioh. 21. 15. for a dog to worry a Lamb is usual but for one Lamb to worry another is unnatural The Saints are brethren 1 Pet. 3. 8. how barbarous is it for brethren not to love 2 Not to love is a foolish thing have not Gods people enemies enough that they should flye in the faces one of another the wicked confederate against the godly Psal. 83. 3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people though there may fall out a private grudge betwixt such as are wicked yet they will all agree and unite against the Saints if two Gray-hounds are snarling at a bone yet put up an Hare between them and they will leave the bone and follow after the Hare so if wicked men have private differences amongst themselves yet if the godly be near them they will leave snarling at one another and will pursue after the godly now when Gods people have so many enemies abroad who watch for their halting and are glad when they can do them a mischief shall the Saints fall out and divide into parties among themselves 3 Not to love is very unseasonable Gods people are in a common calamity they suffer in one cause and for them to disagree is altogether unseasonable why doth the Lord bring his people together in affliction but to bring them together in affection Mettals will unite in a furnace if ever Christians unite it should bee in the furnace of affliction Chrysostome compares affliction to a shepherds Dog which makes all the sheep run together Gods Rod hath this loud voice