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
A89588	A thanksgiving sermon: preached to the Right Honorable the Lord Maior, aldermen, and Common Councell of the Citie of London, upon occasion of the many late and signall victories, and deliverances vouchsafed to the Parliaments forces, in Pauls Church London, July 28. 1648. By Stephen Marshall, B.D. Minister of Gods Word at Finchingfield in Essex.	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1648 (1648)	Wing M791; Thomason E455_2; ESTC R205009	23,539	38

but the fifth of Lamentations it will make you weep to consider the sad complaint that the Church makes there Our inheritance is turned to strangers our houses to aliants wee have drunke our water for money our wood is sold unto us our necks are under persecution we labour and have no rest servants rule over us wee eate our bread with the perill of our lives Princes are hanged up by the hand young men are taken to grinde and the children fell under the wood c. such abundance of examples there are that I shall not need to prove it onely let me a little discover to you out of the Word for what causes the Lord uses to leave his owne people to this terrible judgement I finde three cleer causes why God oftentimes hath left his own people to be given up to oppressors to Tyrants to put such heavy yokes upon their necks their states their consciences their liberties and the first greatest most frequent is when God himself offer'd to be the King and ruler of his people to put the yoke of his government upon their necks a yoke that should be sweet and easie honorable profitable and his people cast off Gods yoke would not be under that then hath the Lord frequently let them fall under the yoke of some others that they might know the difference betwixt being Gods servants and the servants of other men take but two instances of this one in the 2 Chronicles 12. it was in Rehoboams time when Shishak the King of Egypt came against them though Egypt and Iudah had been in a league articles of peace betwixt them Shishak comes against them and brings a mighty Army and Rehoboams subjects knew not what to doe they cryed to God they prayed the Lord to deliver them no saith God I will not give you wholly up to a spoile but you shall bee the servants of the Kings of Egypt why because they shall know the difference of my service and the service of the other Nations they shall see whether they had not been better to have let mee bee their King then to bring those to rule over them who I am now resolved shall bee over them for a while There is another terrible instance in the 11. of Zachariah you shall see the purpose of that Chapter is to signifie these two things First that Jesus Christ would come to bee a Prince and a Ruler over his people as a faithfull and good shepheard they would none of him they sold him for 30. peeces of Silver which as it is noted was but the price that a slave used to bee sold at Christ the Lord himselfe came from heaven offer'd himselfe to them to bee their shepheard and they sold him for 30. peeces of Silver A gooly price that I was sold at saith the Lord Well but what becomes of this the rest of that chapter tells you that hee will give them other shepheards that shall teare them to purpose in the 6. verse I will give them up every man into the hand of his neighbour I will give them up into the hand of their King who was that it is plaine that the Roman was their King at that time because Christ came at that time when the Roman was over them now when Jesus Christ would have been their King and they say nay we have no King but Caesar God therefore gives them up into the Romans hands and then they shall have Shepheards that shall teare them to purpose because they would have none of the Lord Christ the Lord would give them up into such hands as should discipline them after another manner that is one cause when God offers himselfe to bee their ruler and they will not have him to bee their ruler then God puts other yokes upon them Againe secondly another cause I finde is this When the Lord hath raised up to a people good Rulers and Magistrates that under them though possibly with many humane frailties they might bee ruled in godlinesse and honesty according to Gods wayes and the people have been ungratefull for them the Lord then gives them up to the hands of others that they shall not bee able to shake off when they will so you find it in the example of Gideon when Gideon had delivered the Israelites they came to him and say be our King not I saith hee God must bee your King which by the way let me interpret it to you he meant he would not change that forme of government that God had set up in that Commonwealth which was this that every Tribe had their owne Aristocraticall government that is the chief men of their Tribe did rule all as it might be the Maior Aldermen Common-Councell men in every Tribe and when a time of speciall danger came that an enemy invaded them God from heaven used extraordinarily to raise up some Judge that danger being over the government of the Commonwealth went in the old channell they would have had Gideon to be their King No saith hee not I nor my sonnes but you shall have God to bee over you well but when Gideon died they forgot Gideon and they would have a King and tooke Abimelech who proved a cruell tyrant to them whereupon Iotham in the 9. of Iudges when all the people were together tells them a tale The trees saith he would have a King and they went to the Olive and the Vine and the fruitful trees to rule over them No say they we must keep every one our own ranke I cannot leave my fatnesse nor my sweetnesse c. But a King the trees will have and their King proves a Bramble so as his speech intimates will it prove unto you for your ingratitude to God for Gideon and unto Gideons family it will come to passe that this bramble your King shall first rend and teare you and afterwards you and your King consume one another and this curse or prophesie came upon them and for that very cause Another like instance wee have 1 Sam. 8. God had raised up Samuel in a time of much trouble to be a Judge and Saviour to the Jewes they took occasion upon some miscariages of Samuels sonnes to cast him off and they would have a King after the manner of the Nations round about them and therefore God in his wrath gave them Saul who proved a Tyrant Ingratitude for good governours is one cause why God gives people up to such oppressors And then thirdly I finde When people use to teare and devoure one another in their petty precincts when as any one gets a little power in his hand hee loves to put a yoke upon the neck of his brother for this doth the Lord send them those that shall put yokes upon them all so you find it in this very chapter in the latter end of it Manasses bites Ephraim and Ephraim Manasses and these two confederate

A THANKS GIVING SERMON PREACHED To the Right Honorable the Lord Maior Aldermen and Common Councell of the Citie of London Upon occasion of the many late and signall Victories and Deliverances vouchsafed to the Parliaments Forces In Pauls Church London July 27. 1648. By STEPHEN MARSHALL B. D. Minister of Gods Word at Finchingfield in Essex Psalme 66. 11 12 13. Thou broughtest us into the net thou laydest affliction upon our loynes Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads we went through fire and water but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place I will goe into thy house with burnt offerings I will pay thee my vowes LONDON Printed by R. Cotes for Stephen Bowtell at the Signe of the Bible in Popes-head Alley 1648. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE John Warner Lord Major of the Citie of LONDON My Lord THis plaine Sermon was preached in obedience to the call I received from you it is published according to your request and that it may be though in never so weak a measure a strengthning of your hands in your great work it is humbly presented unto you as a pledge of the unfeigned respect and service of Your Lordships much obliged STEPHEN MARSHALL A THANKSGIVING SERMON PREACHED To the Right Honorable the Lord Maior Aldermen and Common-Councell of the Citie of London ISAIAH 9. 4 5. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden and the staffe of his shoulder the rod of his oppressour as in the day of Midian For every battell of the Warriour is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood but this shall bee with burning and fuell of fire THE first word of my Text For For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden doth tell us this hath dependence upon what is laid down before If you please to looke into it you 'l find it to be thus The Lord in the former Chapter had threatned the terriblest calamitie that ever came upon the Jewish nation a wofull darke night of affliction of severall hundreds of yeers was now beginning and such calamities were threatned as the Lord professed that many men amongst them when they look'd up to heaven and saw nothing but darknesse there nothing but confusion upon earth they should rave and be mad they should curse their God that would not helpe them curse their King that could not helpe them should bee driven into utter darknesse but yet notwithstanding in the beginning of this Chapter the Lord saith that unto those that feared him to his own people the darknesse and uncomfortablenesse of it should not bee so great as they had formerly met with in some lesser afflictions for God did as i● were create a new Star that should shine unto his people all that long and darke night that is a most glorious promise of Jesus Christ and salvation by him which is laid downe in the seven first verses of this Chapter and there are severall degrees or breakings out of the light of this comfort I 'le but name them so farre as may leade me to the Text First The Lord tells them whence this comfort should come there should a glorious light shine to them in the second verse the people that walked in darknesse should see a great light they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shined which is the promise of Jesus Christ setting up his Gospel amongst them as it is expresly interpreted in the fourth of Matthem This Text seemes to bee a propheticall description of Capernaum where Christ first set up his Ministery some hundreds of yeers before it was built which stood in the land of Galile by the Sea side in the way leading to the Gentiles Secondly The next degree is what the comfort is that they should have from this light in the third verse they should have great joy by it the Lord had formerly more multiplied their nation but never gave them more joy then now they should have though they should bee in a very afflicted condition yet they should have as much joy in the Gospel of Christ as ever that nation injoyed in the dayes of David or Solomon though now they should live after a precarious manner and should be tributaries to all the foure great Monarchies of the world in their succession first to the Assyrian then to the Persian then to the Grecian and then to the Roman and all this time a space of some 700. yeers they should bee a despised contemned people yet from the Lord Christ and the promise of the Gospel should they have as much joy as ever they had when their Nation was most enlarged yea such joy that it should bee like the joy of harvest or the joy that Souldiers have when they divide the spoile that is the second degree now my text is the third degree or breaking out of this glorious comfort and that tels you What the mercy shall bee that shall bee the cause of so much joy what it is that should fill them with so much joy why hee would breake every yoke of their burden every staffe that lay upon their shoulders every rod of their oppressors that whipped them hee would break all as hee did once doe it in the day of Midian he will burn up their enemies with fewell of fire hee would free them from them all and tread them under their feet then the last branch of all and the height of their comfort is That Christ will not only break other yokes but would put the yoke of his own sweet and easie government upon them himselfe will bee their King To us a Son is given to us a child is borne upon whose shoulder the government shall bee his name is Wonderfull Counsellor the mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of peace and in these things should the hearts of Gods people rejoyce in their most afflicted times Thus stands the dependence of my Text so that these two verses that I have read containe the cause of all the joy that the people of God should finde in Christ in their afflicted times and there are two branches of the Text to bee handled First Here is the blessing that should bee conferred upon them in these words thou hast broken the yoke of his burden the staffe of his shoulder the rod of his oppressors that is the mercy they should receive Secondly Here is the manner how this should bee done and that is laid downe First It should bee as in the day of Midian that is as in the day when in Gideons time with 300. men with lamps and pitchers the Lord destroyed an innumerable multitude of Midianites so would the Lord Christ now worke this great deliverance that he promises to his people Then Secondly The manner of it is yet more clearely and fully laid downe in the 5. verse by shewing that the way of Gods working of this shall bee diverse from the manner

Lord doth it all wayes are alike easie to him alike easie for him to contrive alike easie for him to use his infinite wisdome and his infinite power knows no degrees of ease or strength in any way all are alike to him It is all one to him to save by many or to save by few Secondly I answer That when the Lord comes to deliver his people he seldome doth it that way that his people expect seldome walks in the paths that we have causeyed for him or by the line that we have chalked out for his direction seldome or never doth God take that way We are prone to deal with God as Naaman did when the Prophet had sent for him to cure that he and his master might know there was a God in Israel who knew how to cure him of his Leprosie Naaman believed it but he had fancied by the way how it should be done Now saith he I shall finde a Cure and he will surely come out to me and strike his hand over the place and stand and call on the name of God and so I shall see a miraculous work wrought upon me the Prophet went clean another way and because the Prophet did not come out and take that way he thought of he went away in a rage and thought there was no cure for him So verily most people deal with God we think this is the way how our deliverance must come by such a Parliament by such an Army by such a designe by such an association by such and the other way here it must come if this way fail we think all is lost and God seldome goes the way we have chalked out study you the Scriptures and you will finde it But yet if positively you 'll know what way he doth it I answer more particularly Very frequently by his own immediate hand without the help of any other he alone trode out the winepress of the wrath of God and there was none of the people with him to help him but doth all himself so my Text saith in the next verse The battail of the Warriours c. if other Nations conquer they doe it by garments rolled in blood and by confused noise but this shall be by burning and by fuell of fire by Gods own hand Or which is all one He ordinarily doth it by most unlikely and contemptible meanes he will not alwayes work Miracles that is to doe a thing without any meanes at all but in the deliverance of his Church he alwayes works miranda marvailous things by doing it by such meanes as are altogether improbable and unsuitable to the great things that are to be done by him This instance of my Text is a most notable proof He will break every yoke of the oppressor as in the day of Midian how was that you may read the Story in the 17 of Iudges the way was this there was such a numerous and mighty Army of the Midianites that the text saith they lay like grashoppers and cover'd over all the Countrey the Lord meant to destroy them and Gideon must goe with 300 men and these 300 men must every one carry a pitcher and a lamp therein in one hand and a trumpet in another hand and compass in this mighty Company every one at his post and blow with the trumpet and not strike a stroke but cry The sword of the Lord and Gideon and this routs and destroys an invincible Army As in the day of Midian saith the Lord so will Jesus Christ that is by some unlikely meanes And give me leave to say confidently That whosoever reads the book of God from one end to the other will finde that most of all the deliverances which the Lord hath given his Church have been by people that have been most unlike to doe their businesse A shepheard shall bring Israel out of Egypt Rams hornes shall blow down the Walls of Iericho A Shepheards boy with a sling and a stone in it shall overthrow Goliah the Israelites like two little flocks of Kids shall overthrow the Assyrians that fill all the Countrey thus hath the Lord used to doe it If you 'l know the reason of this manner of proceeding as well as of the time when he doth it it is Because then hee appeares like himselfe the truth is let God doe it by never such probable meanes it is God that workes all God did no more when hee destroyed the Midianites by Gideons 300. then hee did when he destroyed the Army of the Israelites with 400000. of the Tribes of Iudah and Benjamin God did no more in the one then in the other for it is God who workes all in all but God doth not so much appeare for wee that are thick sighted can see what the creature doth but wee cannot see that this creature is in Gods hand and that it is God that doth all but now when the Lord uses meanes which are altogether unlike to attaine it and are wholly unfit for the worke then to doe it all say this was digitus Dei this was the Lords doing now the Lord saith when there was none to speak then his owne arme did it that Gods name might have the praise from the rising of the Sunne to the setting of it these things I might have prosecuted further give me leave to wind it all up with an Application and I shall dismisse you and there are but two Vses which I intend of this Lesson the one is First A word or two of admonition to enemies if there should be any such here that are ill-willers to the Church and people of God that love not Christs cause in the hands of his servants who wish ill to it who are glad when power and strength comes into the hands of those that would or are likely to oppresse Gods people and as farr as they can are contributing their power towards such designes let mee tell thee who ever thou art Thou wilt wholly be frustrate of thy expectation flatter not your selves O yee malignant spirits if any such heare mee this day I say againe flatter not your selves with any thought that you shall bee able to doe any great matters against the servants of Christ your plots will all come to nothing I will tell you a story you shall finde it in 2 Chron. 28. the Church malignant I meane the Church of the ten Tribes who had made apostasie under Ieroboam had rallied a mighty Army together and went against the true Church of Christ against Iudah and they got the day and carried away 200000. of their brethren whom they made account to keepe or sell for slaves and so keep them in bondage and now they thought all was their owne there comes a Prophet and meets them who tells them from God With a rage that reacheth unto heaven you have slaine many of your brethren and now you think to keep the people of Iudah under it will not bee