Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A65949
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Safety in war, or, The infallible artillery of a kingdom, fleet or army in sermons unto Their Majesties forces by sea and land / by John Whittel ...
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Whittel, John.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing W2042; ESTC R38612
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29,317
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34
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loosed and thy Knees to smite one against another to consider How many thousands of Souls are now crying under the Altar against thee saying How long O Lord Holy and True dost thou not judg and avenge our Blood on that cruel Tyrant that dwells on the Earth who hath spilt it like Water on every side Oh will it not once be Rev. 6. 10. Secondly from the Testimony of his Holy Spirit which declares plainly That in vain is Salvation hoped for from the Multitude of Men or Ships from the Hills or from the Mountains or from any human Force or Power for truly in the Lord our God is the Salvation of his People And says the Prophet David The Lord is my Light and my Salvation whom then shall I fear The Lord is the Strength of my Life of whom shall I be affraid When the Wicked even my Foes came upon me to eat up my Flesh they stumbled and fell Psal 26. 1 2. c. Now to shew this great Truth That when once the Lord is departed from any Nation or People Fleet or Army it cannot prosper or stand We may take notice of God's own People themselves the Children of Israel who when they tempted and provoked the most-high God to Anger and so caused him to depart from them and forsake his Dwelling place how unsuccessful they were then in all their Wars being commonly discomfited of their Enemies As by Chushan-rishathaim King of Mesopotamia whom they served eight Years And by Eglon King of Moab whom they were subject to eighteen Years and the cause you read was by reason the Lord was departed from them Judg. 3. 8 12. Moreover we find such another Passage between Israel and Amalek as long as Moses that familiar Friend of God held up his Hand and thereby caused the Lord to be with his People Then they prevailed over their Enemies But as soon as Moses's Hands were let down and the Lord was departed from the People of Israel then Amalek prevailed over them Oh where the infinite Majesty of the living and true God is present there it cannot go any otherwise but well whether it be Fleet or Army for every thing that 's done there shall prosper But where the most-high is not present or among them there be sure it cannot be well or prosper be their Power outwardly never so great and their Forces never so strong An Example of this we may see in Zerah the King of Ethiopia who came against Asa with the greatest Army that ever we read of in sacred or prophane History Even an Host of a thousand thousand and three hundred Chariots And Asa cryed unto the Lord his God and said Lord it is nothing with thee to help whether with many or with them that have no Power Help us O Lord our God for we rest on thee and in thy Name we go against this Multitude O Lord thou art our God let not Man prevail against thee So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judas and the Ethiopians fled 2 Chron. 14. 11 12. Alas It is not a vast and well disciplin'd Army altho' God knows most Men now have an Eye to that chiefly nor the Strength of Ships nor the Skill of Seamen nor the Courage and Conduct of Officers no nor yet the greatness and goodness of Artillery that gains the Victory but it s the Lord of Hosts himself that fights the Battel and gives the Victory to whom he will altho' it cannot be denied but that all these fore-mentioned Things are absolutely needful and as the secondary Causes of Victory David tells Goliath thus saying Thou comest to me depending altogether on thy own Strength and well furnish'd and prepared for Battel as with a Sword with a Spear and with a Shield But now I come to thee otherwise not so much confiding in my own Strength as on Gods And indeed I am sure my Strength will not fail me and therefore I will smite thee and give thy Carcass unto the Fowls of the Air That all the World may see and know that thou O Lord whose Name is Jehovah art the strongest and highest over all the Earth And where God taketh the part and is present among an Army then there all the Enchantments Plots diabolical Arts or Conspiracies are altogether invalid and ineffectual And he who is the Eye of his own People will soon discover them and bring the Plotters to shame and confusion as Balak told Balaam concerning Israel saying Surely there is no Enchantment against Jacob neither is there any Divination against Israel for the Lord his God is with him And it shall be said in the Lord 's due time of our Fleet and Army What hath God wrought Oh what a Victory was this When the strong holds are surpriz'd and the mighty Mens Hearts in Moab who have magnified themselves against the Lord and his Truth and have worship'd other Gods Wood and Stone shall tremble and be as the Heart of a Woman in Pangs Be still then ye Adversaries of God and Traytors to the best of Princes speak no more so proudly against the Heritage of the Almighty For know you assuredly that God even our own God will find an occasion to bring down the Arrogancy of the Proud and will lay low the Haughtiness of the Terrible So much then for Confirmation of our first Lesson Let us in the next place sincerely endeavour to improve this to our selves that so the Lord our God may be glorified in our Body and Spirits which are his that we being deliver'd out of the Hands of her Enemies may serve him without fear Here is then first an Inference of no small Comfort unto the Church of God militant here on Earth in this crooked and perverse Generation wherein all manner of Vice and Wickedness abounds daily and Piety and Righteousness are such Strangers To consider That altho' War be risen against the People of God yet he is in the midst of his Church to defend and keep her that she shall not be moved by all the Storms of Trouble and fierce Darts of the Devil which are bent wholly against her Nor by all the Plots and Conspiracies of the Children of Darkness because the eternal God will keep her safe from the Snare of the Fowler and Malice of evil Spirits Oh what a Comfort is this unto every true Believer and Child of the most-high to ponder with it self That tho' the Adversaries of the Lord and his Church may be far more in number and much stronger in outward appearance yet when the Captain of the Host of the Lord stands ready with his Sword drawn in his Hand to fight for his People then they signifie nothing at all and he can smite 'em down even at one Blow as he did unto the great and mighty Armies of the King of Canaan And the People of the ever-blessed Jehovah have with them always whole Hosts of glorious Angels and invisible Spirits for to take their
part against the Enemy of God and his Truth But which is yet a farther Addition to the Churches comfort That if her Enemies be better provided for War and preparâ—d for Battel seemingly and externally yet nevertheless the most holy and terrible Majesty of Heaven and Earth who is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all in all and without whom all other helps and means are invalid and insignificant is of a certain departed and gone from them and their Idolatrous and Superstitious Camp As we may collect from the Record of the Spirit of Truth which says What Concord hath Christ with Belial And what Agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols Oh! can we imagine that the most holy One who charges the Angels with Folly and is of purer Eyes than to behold evil will abide or continue there and among such a People where the Glory which is due unto none but him alone is day by day given another and his Praise to graven Images See Isa 42. 8. It cannot be thought justly of him for he is a jealous God and when he doth visit he will do it to the purpose But on the other hand it cannot be denied but that the omnipotent Jehovah may seemingly withdraw his Presence and hide his blessed Face for a small Moment from his Church which is the only Excellency wherein he delights and as dear to him as the very Apple of his own Eye Yet be it known that he will never fail nor forsake her but rejoyce over her as a Bridegroom doth over his Bride and will give her his holy Spirit to comfort her and guide her into all Truth Nay he will be with her always even unto the end of the World And this leaving of his Church for a while is for her everlasting good for the Tryal of her Faith Patience and Constancy which is more precious than of Gold that perishes tho' it be tryed by Fire That she may be found a holy and reform'd Church without Spot and Blameless unto Praise and Honour and Glory at the appearing of her dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1. 7. And since the Lord of Hosts himself is our Portion and Inheritance our best and only Help and Strength our safest Defence and Horn of Salvation on whom alone we wholly depend in these deceitful Days wherein no trust is to be given to Man Then there is no cause for us to be cast down or any ways dismayed at the blasphemous Speeches of any wicked Rabshaketh or at the Pride and Arrogancy of an Idolatrous Sennacherib Tho' he hath laid waste some small Towns and Villages that are adjacent unto his Territories and reproached his Maker the everliving God O tarry ye the Lord's leisure with Meekness and Patience ye Children of the most-high For yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Oh the Thoughts of the most Just and Terrible God are not as ours and his ways are past finding out For there 's no doubt of it but he suffers him to fulfil the number of his Sins and fill up the measure of his Transgressions which are not perhaps full ripe for Judgment And then he will cause his own Terribleness inevitably to deceive him and the Pride of his own evil Heart to lay him low in an Hour that he is not aware of as his did sometimes to Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon while the very Word was in his Mouth And who can tell but that his Day is come and that happy time is at hand wherein the most terrible Majesty of the eternal King the mighty Lord will call him to an account for all his Wickedness and the Blood of his Saints and dear Children which he spilt like Water and will shew his Power on him by making him to know and feel That the Most-high ruleth in the Kingdom of Men and giveth it to whomsoever he will And none can stay his Hand or say unto him What dost thou Nay will compel him at last to confess with Adonibezek saying As I have done so God hath requited me Dan. 4. 25 35. Judg. 1. 7. What mean then all these causless and unjust Murmurings and Complainings in our Streets which I hear about the Times Know ye not what the Preacher speaks Say not thou What is the cause that the former Days were better than these For thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this Eccles 7. 10. What 's the Matter O foolish People and unwise that ye have not Patience to wait God's time Do not ye understand this That you cannot have an Apple or a Nut but you must tarry its proper Period and let it bud and blossom and knit and grow and ripen And does not the Apostle tell thee That the Husbandman waits with long Patience for the precious Fruits of the Earth And must you be impatient and limit God in his own Work It is a grief to think on it that there are a sort of People among us which are not unlike to those Spies apt to bring an evil Report upon their Majesties Forces by Sea and Land and extolling the French in all Company always wheresoever they go Sure such are evil-minded and unbelieving Hearts The Spies said The Land of Canaan was a Land which did eat up its Inhabitants and all the People thereof were Giants or Men of a great Stature And so persuaded the Children of Israel they were not able to go up against them they were so strong Thus they consider'd not that the most high God was with them whithersoever they went that he was their Defence and Strength and fought all their Battels Whereupon they provoked him to Wrath against 'em and he destroyed those Spies and false Reporters before his Face by the Plague for their evil Reports and sware that not one of them which had seen his Glory and Miracles which he wrought in Egypt and in the Wilderness and yet for all murmured and complained against his Deputies Moses and Aaron should enter into the Land but die in the Wilderness for their Unbelief â—ave his Servants Caleb and Joshua In like manner our false Reporters Murmurers and Complainers cry Ah we shall be all ruin'd and undone by the French And tho' they do not say they are Giants yet all their Cry is They are too strong for us not considering that the Almighty God is our Defence Depart then from among God's People ye evil and unbelieving Hearts for you weaken the Hands of the Almighty and discourage his People as much as you can But let me tell you to your Faces That the mighty God hath deliver'd our Nation sundry times out of far greater Dangers than I hope we are now in And sure I am that the Lord's Hand is not shortned that he cannot save us now as well as he hath done in our Fathers and Fore-fathers days Yea not long since in our own Remembrance if our crying National Sins our Murmurings Complainings without cause and our wicked and