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
A57140	Gods fidelity, the churches safety opened in a sermon preached before the lord major, aldermen, and common-councel, at Lawrence-Jury Church, on Wednesday Septem. 15, 1658 : being a day of humiliation by them appointed / by Edward Reynolds.	Reynolds, Edward, 1599-1676.	1659 (1659)	Wing R1252; ESTC R32285	22,488	88

27. and therefore must needs be exceeding acceptable because Gods own heart is towards them and his love upon them as the woman of Tek●a her petition for Absolom was easily granted by David because his heart was towards him before 2 Sam. 13.39 and 14.1 2. Lastly the Lord hath promised his holy Spirit of Fear Love Grace Adoption unto his people by the help of which they are preserved from the dangers whereunto of themselves they are exposed Ezek. 36.27 Isai. 59.21 upon these and such like grounds it appeareth That because God is righteous and faithfull in his Covenant therefore we remain escaped And if it be here objected that the Promises are usually set forth as conditionall The Lord is with you while ye be with him and if ye seek him he will be found of you but if ye forsake him he will forsake you 2 Chron. 15.2 If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the Land Isai. 1.19 He that believeth shall be saved Mark 16.16 Ioh. 3.16 except ye repent ye shall perish Luke 13.3 We answer 1. Promises are in some places made absolutely which in others are conditionally expressed as Heb. 13. I will not leave thee nor forsake thee Ier. 32.39 I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for ever I will give them an heart to know me they shall be my people I will be their God they shall return unto me with their whole heart Ier. 24.7 If ye will obey my voice and keep my Covenant is a Condition in one place Exod. 19.5 a free promise in another ye shall keep my judgements and doe them Ezek. 36.27 The mercy of the Lord is towards them that fear him Psal. 103.11 There the fear of God is a condition I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me Ier. 32.39 there it is a free promise 2. The Lord doth not only give us good things under a condition but doth give the condition it self to his people compare Isai. 1.19 with Phil. 2.12 Acts 10.43 with Phil. 1.29 Ephes. 2.8 3. Precepts and Conditions are used as the vehicula of the grace promised Of our selves we can do nothing of those duties unto which Promises are annexed for all our sufficiency is of God who worketh all our works for us 2 Cor. 3.5 But the Precepts of the Word are the usual Instruments by which he worketh those things in us which he requireth of us Rom. 10.17 4 Conditionall Propositions do not imply that our performances work upon God to do what he had said as if the performance of duty were only ours and then the performance of promise alone his But they intimate the order and connexion which the Lord hath set amongst his own gifts some whereof he hath appointed to be antecedent dispositions and preparations towards others consequent upon them He that believeth shall be saved this is a conditional promise Faith the condition Salvation the Promise But we may not so understand it as if Faith were only ours and Salvation alone his But Faith is one Gift of God Antecedent to Salvation which is another Gift of God Now then since the Lord is righteous in all the wayes of his Judgements and secret providences we must for ever lay our Hand on our Mouth and put our Mouthes in the Dust and beware of Murmuring and Repining against him as if his wayes were not equall towards us Behold he taketh away who can hinder him who will say unto him what dost thou Iob 9.12 we may in our Prayers plead with God about his Judgements as Holy men have Jer. 12.1 Habak 1 2-4-13 But we may not quarrell at them nor murmure against them 2. When the Lord doth strangely vary his Providences towards a people and worketh unusuall changes and alterations among them stirreth up some helpes and then layeth them by calleth forth others and quickly revokerh them fitteth men for great actions and in the midst of those actions cutteth them off Our work here is not to censure either the Agent or the Instruments to charge the dealings of God either as unrighteous or as unreasonable but to reflect upon our selves and learn our unstedfastnesse in Gods Covenant by his diversifying of Providences towards us 1. Sometimes we over dote upon Instruments and deifie them as if God had no way to help us but one And then God breaks that Staffe when we lean too hard upon it to force us to leane upon his Name again 2. Sometimes we undervalue them and will not understand that God is doing us good by them as it is said of Moses Acts 7.25 and then God suspendeth his work which he was about to doe 3. Sometimes the hearts of the people are unprepared for mercies and then God doth not honour his Instruments with setling them Iehoshapbat was a good King yet he did not work a perfect Reformation the high places were not taken away and this the reason the people had not as yet prepared their hearts unto the God of their Fathers 2 Chron. 20 32 33. 4. Sometimes the guilt of old sinnes do remain uncleansed away as it is said of the iniquity of Baal-Peor Iosh 22.17 and in this case Instruments are too weak to divert wrath 2 Reg. 23.25 26. Never such a Reformation as Iosiah made about the eighteenth year of his reign and yet because the people returned but fainedly Ier. 3.10 within a few years after they were carried into Captivity Our Saviour was very near his Sufferings when they cryed Hosanna before him The Sun often shews biggest and shines brightest when it is ready to set The Candle blazeth most when it is in the Socket Many times dying men and it may be so with dying Churches have a lightning before death I speak not this to bode ill unto the Land of my nativity If any say it shal not be so but we shall still have Peace and Truth and Holiness flourish I will chearfully say as the Prophet did Ier. 28.6 Amen the Lord do so for this Land But withall happy is the man that feareth always Prov. 28.14 The sins of the people may weaken the hands of the best Instruments and make them unable to help us It is noted as a cause of wickedness that men have no changes Psal. 55.19 Ier. 48.11 But to be tossed and emptied and exercised with frequent alterations and our sent to abide in us still wanton under Mercies sullen under Judgements after all our Phisick to relapse after all that is come upon us again to break the Commandements this is a sad Symptome a great aggravation of our sin and justification of Gods Righteousness in all his dealings with us Again since the Lord is the God of his people and righteous to them in a way of mercy and fidelity We learn to acknowledge it a great Mercy and to glorifie God for it that we Remaine yet escaped that we may set up an Eben-Ezer and say thus far