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	people_n	power_n	4,914	5	5.4287	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56705	A sermon preached before the Queen, at White-Hall, April VIII, MDCXCII being the fast-day appointed by Her Majesty, to implore God's blessing on Their Majesties persons, and the prosperity of their arms both at land and sea / by ... Symon, Lord Bishop of Ely.	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.	1692 (1692)	Wing P853; ESTC R22928	20,377	38

not death it self The righteous says Solomon are as bold as a Lyon XXVIII Prov. 1. they can look dangers undauntedly in the Face Whereas all the natural courage and boldness which abundance of natural spirits in a vigorous constitution of Body and Health may indue some men withall will grow faint and languish whensoever the terrors of an evil Conscience seize upon them and their guilt starts up and stares them in the face If a wicked man chance to reflect upon this one thing alone that he is issued forth into the field of danger without God more confident in his own strength than in the Power of the Almighty whom he doth not seriously acknowledge nor study to ingage it will amaze his spirit and quench his courage This will daunt him more than all the Enemies in the World and strike a greater terror into him than the noise of Cannon and the shrieks and groans of dying men And what man on Earth is there so resolute and confident so high spirited and a despiser of danger as to be able to secure himself from these invisible strokes of Heaven which will trouble and confound him and baffle him in all his enterprizes It is necessary then to make a man a throughly good Souldier that he have first conquer'd himself He that would fear nothing must in the first place fear God Unto which if we would all apply our selves with due seriousness we should have reason to expect that God would remember us as my Text speaks that is own us for his Friends and save us from our enemies Which he can do either by overcoming them or by overcoming their Enmity and making them Friends which is the best way of all For When a mans ways please the LORD he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him XVI Prov. 7. III. This is the last part of my Text of which let me beg your patience while I give a short account It is possible indeed that success may wait upon the wicked but as they cannot reasonably hope for it so they will be in fear and dread whensoever they reflect upon their wickedness that at last they shall miscarry Whereas truly good men can never fail to have a good hope in God that whatsoever success they meet withal at present he will not abandon them utterly but turn even Crosses to their future advantage And who so happy as he that lives not in suspence and doubt about the final issue of things but can commit himself to God and to his wise Providence with an assured confidence that it shall go well with him at the last though his Faith and Patience be exercised a while with dubious or with adverse events It is the Observation of Isocrates * In A●chida●● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in several places of his Orations and he lived almost to an hundred years of age and so could the better take notice of the carriage of things in his own Country that the conclusion of all the Wars in Greece were not according to the strength of their Forces but also according to the justice of their Cause For though there were different successes in the intermediate Acts which made some men doubt which side was in the right yet the Catastrophe as they speak the Conclusion of those tragical Commotions declared the righteous Cause Victorious and they who were unjustly oppressed were vindicated into their ancient liberties But however that be there is no greater truth than what was said by Cassius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nothing gives a man such Apud A●ppian hope in War as to have right on his side God and my right is the best inscription that ever was in any Escutcheon and the greatest support of a Christian Prince But of all the stories you ever read or heard of there is none like that which reports the confidence and assured hope of Jehoshaphat King of Judah in the first Lesson this day which I have often mentioned Where after he had proclaimed a Fast and made a most admirable Prayer to God in which he briefly sets forth these two things his trust in God and the justice of his cause he was so mightily incouraged that he ordained the people to go singing when they went to fight with their numerous enemies A marvellous confidence in God's Power and Goodness which inspired them with such hope of success that they sung their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or song of triumph beforehand as you read 2 Chron. XX. 21. When he had consulted the people he appointed singers unto the LORD that should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army saying Praise the LORD for his mercy endureth for ever They had a Prophet indeed who came and assured them of Victory but they who had none have done the same and it 's probable from this example For Cedrenus tells us that the ancient Christians used to sing in their Battles as if they would praise God for assured success before the Victory was obtained This was the issue of a pious Fast in those old times and we might see the same again did we not merely forsake our food on this day but likewise our sins If we would not only humble our selves before God to day but alway walk humbly with him I might with some confidence use the words of the Prophet in that place v. 17. and say Stand ye still and see the salvation of the LORD fear not nor be dismayed for the LORD will be with you He will certainly remember us and we shall be saved from the hands of all that hate us Not so speedily perhaps as we may desire but as soon as we are fit for the mercies he intends to bestow upon us and with such speed as is consistent with the wonted methods of his most wise proceedings We expected I remember to have seen Ireland reduced that year his Majesty went over thither and thought it very hard that after so much expence we did not see our enemies elsewhere humbled the last year But were we a much better people than I can suppose we are God might justly deferr the accomplishment of such hopes and yet be as good as his word here in my Text and in other places First That he may keep us in a continued dependance upon him and quicken us to pray with all prayer watching thereunto with perseverance and patiently waiting till he have mercy upon us Secondly That he may work in us a through Repentance Which alas is very imperfect and therefore so is our Deliverance Let us compleat the one and God will finish the other But while our Repentance remains so defective it is rather a wonder that God hath done so much than that he he hath done no more for us Particularly Thirdly God may justly defer to do all that I hope he intends till we become more sensible of what he hath done already He wrought a mighty deliverance for us not long