Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	lord_n	people_n	sin_n	3,287	5	4.6566	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A23655	A word to the army, touching their sin and dutie if it may bee, to convince them of the greatness of the one, and their defectiveness in the other : with a word of advice in the conclusion, humbly tendred to them, in order to their recovery to that path of unfeigned repentance / by William Allen, late Adjutant-general to the Army in Ireland ...	Allen, William, Adjutant-general of the army in Ireland.	1660 (1660)	Wing A1053; ESTC R20056	16,036	22

That no man go beyond or defraud his Brother in any matter To all which add the cryes calls tears and beseechings of some from all parts to you to ponder your paths warning you in the Name of the Lord of the danger of your way that it was displeasing to the Lord gratifying to enemies and grievous to the hearts of his most sincere ones in the three Nations and yet you would not hear no though the Lord also every morning brought his judgement to light yet you were as the unjust that knew no shame but you sleight those that bore witness for the Lord against you and contemned the witness they bore saying of and to some of them they would have been quiet had they been uppermost and the cause of their dissatisfaction was onely because they were not so which your own consciences could tell you was notoriously false but at last you proceed to imprison some banish others into remote Islands snatching and keeping others from their precious Relations to what prejudice to some of them is not desired to bee further remembred and with all art and industry by frowns favours profits airy honours indeavour to debauch others from their former profest principles and practices of more integrity to God and their Country and what woful work you have helped to make of this kind in City Country Churches by your King-craft and worse than Bishop-like trapannings there is sad cause to remember and I should speak more had not the Lord spoke so much but surely you did not onely sin but made Israel to sin fulfilling that sad word Isa 9.16 For the leaders of the people cause them to erre and they that are lead of them are destroyed and hereby you pave a way as it were to the Lords anger which discovered it self at home and abroad at Sea and at Land amongst your Councils and Forces insomuch as hee who you had set up as your Protector in name was never less truly so to you these Nations nor himself than hee was after you had so unduly exalted him and cloathed him with those vain empty names and titles you had given him But you go on as persons engaged and indeavour to engage others as fast as you can in the same snares with your selves which the places you were in gave you great advantage to do being chiefest Officers Councillors yea of the closest Caball some of you and others of you more subordinate were ready to receive impressions from the rest and communicate accordingly to those under their charge by means of which many if not most of those filthy flattering hypocritical Addresses were framed and little less than imposed on Regiments under their commands and made as traps and snares frequently to catch and weed out such as could not run to the same excess with you without asking a question for conscience sake whereby many poor souls for fear of losing their places profits favours c. contrary to their consciences bowed down to these abominations and engaged with you though falsly to live and dye with that poor person that was then up against all opposers forgetting the Lord whom you in those paths were opposing and provoking him to his face thereby to oppose you by taking away your Protector from amongst you as hee saw good which stroke with the manner of it in several respects not thought fit to mention taking him away on that remarkable day the third of September made famous formerly by the Lords eminent owning him and the Army under his command in two signal Victories obtained against the enemies of the Lord when hee fought his battels on his name and peoples behalf and hee is now like Aaron of old uncloathed and stript of that honour formerly put upon him not wisely improved by him to the service of the Lord that gave it Ah this stroake spake much to wise observers yea very much to you that survived to look well to your next steps but alass God speaks once yea twice but man regards not you still hold fast deceit and refuse to return and wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived who could have thought that you who were used to say Gods work grew more refined and so must Instruments that should bee used and prosper in it that you should bee the Instruments to advance another poor man to his your own these Nations hurt Gods dishonour and the dis-service of that blessed cause of God by this and such like means now become a by-word and a reproach amongst the Heathen that you knew was sufficiently destitute of the Character aforesaid but this you do and the better to cover your evil herein you cloathe him with those Epithites you did giving occasion thereby to the poor fawning Sycophant-like spirited people in the Nation to strive in sin to out-strip you giving those very Epithites some of them to him that were due to God onely viz. the man of Gods right hand whom hee had made strong for himself with others too much like it and this person not to mention his merit or right is advanced by you to a place of the chiefest rule and dignity in the head of three Nations without the fair or free consent of them the Armies or Navies how right this was in the sight of God or men judge yee But you proceed in your fraudulent practices as formerly to gain consent where it is not given and are helpt herein by some of the poor Prophets of the Land who now as of old lead the Van in this day of Degeneracy strengthening the hands of the wicked as well as saddening the hearts of the righteous according to Ezek. 13. so that none returns from his wickedness and that they may strengthen themselves and you in this carnal confederacy present you with the names of an hundred Churches in the lump that so you may not at all suspect your way having such a number of those who have profest to have given up their names to Christ to approve of you therein and as it were bless you in the name of the Lord and thus you wrap it up fulfilling that word Jer. 5.30 31. A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the Land the Prophets prophese falsly and the Priests bear rule by their means and my people love to have it so and what will yee do in the end thereof And hereby you bring your selves by such actions within the verge of that judgement written in Prov. 24.24 Hee that saith to the WICKED thou art RIGHTEOUS him shall the people CURSE NATIONS SHALL ABHOR HIM I should speak much more here but that I desire rather to bee silent the person concerned being gone off the stage and I wish may keep off lest a worse thing befall him and many learn by such sudden castings down as well as liftings up to know that the Lord rules in the Kingdomes of this world giving them to whom hee pleases and whoeser walks in pride hee is able to

furiously driven off it than fairly quitting it so that upon the whole this looks very unlike a peece of repentance in you the chief Officers but if any have a share more than others in this service it is the inferiour ranks of men in the Army who sinned not after the similitude of the chief Officers transgression in setting him up though some were drawn and others driven by them to sacrifice to him in those wretched addresses when up but were much more willingly helpful and truly joyful in throwing him down But fifthly You say you acknowledged your evils to the late Parliament when you brought them to sit again Answer You did very generally and cursorily mention some of your wandrings but how few of these many particulars aforementioned with many more of like kinde chargeable upon you is observable and the more so because when any comes to speak with you particularly they usually meet with that common question much in use amongst that poor people in Malachies time saying Wherein have wee done so evil And though demonstrations are clear now as they were then yet it is as hard to convince you as it was them and therefore that I might if the will of the Lord were a little help you in this main point of Repentance upon the truth of which and your being renewed depends so much in this case I therefore would a little treat you on this subject Repentance when in truth I take doth consist in these following particulars viz. 1 Conviction 2 Humiliation 3 Confession And 4 Forsaking sin confessed and would intreat you seriously to consider this first part to wit Conviction and ask your souls this single question which the Lord will one day ask you viz. Have you indeed been convinced that you have wandred out of the way with the causes effects and degrees thereof and sinfulness of your so wandring with respect to some Rule or Rules of the Law by you transgressed herein and what those Rules are as also what is the nature of your sin towards God towards Men towards those without those within those under your charge as also those that have been imprisoned opprest afflicted derided and scorned by you or some of you for their indeavouring to bee faithful to the Lord and his interest in this back-sliding day if you are rightly convinced you will see your sin in these its several aspects for as the Spirit of the Lord convinceth clearly so as no light doth like it so it convinceth very particularly and fully and usually laies the soul convinced under the weight of its sin in its several aggravations as it respects some Rule or Rules transgressed by it and so renders sin exceeding sinful Rom. 7.13 Now have you been so convinced hath that deluge of dishonour brought upon the Name of the Lord those stains blemishes and blasphemies brought upon that blessed cause of God together with that ignominy contempt and cruelty cast upon and exercised towards many of those poor unworthy witnesses to the Lord and his work in this day of declining been with weight upon your hearts yea or no if not sure you are yet very far from thorow convictions 2 As to your Humiliation that alwaies attends true conviction and includes contrition as Zach. 12.10 11 12. Ezek. 7.16 Have you been at this work families apart your wives apart and each soul apart mourning bitterly over your transgressions as an Army if so what means those sleighty extenuating expressions concerning your sin when spoken of as also the silence of you Leaders who have lead in transgression in your daies of seeming solemn mourning before the Lord you either contenting your selves that some amongst you speak largely in your names leaving you to your liberty of assent or dissent which you may possibly think you have in such eases or else otherwise discovering heart-risings against others using plainness amongst you which you brook not so well bee pleased to read Davids practice in such a case a King and Commander not inferiour to any of you 1 Chron. 2.8 And David said unto God I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing And vers 17. Is it not I that commanded this people to bee numbred Even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed but as for these sheep what have they done let thine hand I pray thee O Lord my God bee on mee and on my Fathers house but not on thy people that they should bee plagued 3 To that of confession which ought to bee particular and publick where evils have been so Lev. 5.5 And it shall bee when bee shall bee guilty in one of these things that hee shall confess that hee hath sinned in that THING Ezra 10.11 Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your Fathers and do his pleasure and separate your selves from the people of the Land and from the strange wives then all the Congregation answered and said with a loud voice As thou hast said so must wee do but the people are many and it is a time of much rain and wee are not able to stand without neither is this a work of one day or two for wee are many that have transgressed in this thing Act. 26.10 11. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem and many of the Saints did I shut up in prison having received authority from the chief Priests and when they were put to death I gave my voice against them and I punished them oft in every Synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly mad against them I persecuted them even to strange Cities Where is now this free full publick particular confession of yours James 5.16 Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may bee healed This is the way that God will bee glorified by persons that have so publickly dishonoured him as you have done in your publick actions Ezek. 44.10 And the Levites that went astray When Israel went astray which went astray away from mee after their Idols they shall even bear their iniquities v. 13. They shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed Take heed therefore of consulting with flesh and blood in this case it is a hard lesson for persons in that port and degree in the world that you are in but this is a part of that great lesson of self-denial wherein every cross that lies in the way of duty must bee taken up by you for if you have sinned you must rise out of it in the way of God or bee ruined by it for hee will assuredly distrain for his glory that you will not give him 4 As to your forsaking of sin that must not onely bee forsaking such particular acts of sin which its possible have forsaken you and you are not capable of committing those individual acts again but a departing from all of that kinde yea of every kinde and in this give mee leave once more to ask you what are you