Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	punish_v	punishment_n	sin_n	4,188	5	5.7311	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44880	A sermon preached at Stanton-Harcourt Church in the county of Oxford, at the funerall of the Honourable the Lady Ann Harcourt, who deceased Aug. 23, 1664 together with her funerall speech.	Hall, Edmund, 1619 or 20-1687.	1664 (1664)	Wing H329; ESTC R20425	31,607	72

secure lazie and sensual This made Chrysostome say that affliction is the mother of Christian virtues because it exerts the habit into act Christians that have grace in the habit are like an Organ that is well in tune but for want of bellows to blow and an hand to play they make no musick Therefore God raiseth his east wind of affliction to blow and layes his hand upon them and then they are melodious As Birds sing sweetest in wet weather so doe the Saints sing most melodiously amidst the storms and showres of afflictions Sharp sauces doe best quicken the appetite Heb. 12.11 noe chastisements seem for the present to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterwards it yeildeth the peaceable fruits of righteousnesse unto them that are exercised therewith like soile that 's unpleasant in the carrying forth yet returnes a fruitful crop By affliction a Saint gets this farther advantage of increase that not only the habit of grace is excited into act but by those frequent acts the habit also is inlarged What St. Hierom sayes of the Cedar may be said of the Saint that for every branch it sutes out above it sends forth a root beneath and this advantage it hath from the strong winds which by shaking the body loosens the earth and makes way for the root to spread So that by one storme it gathers strength to stand against the next Thus t is with the Saint in the valley of Bacor he grows from strength to strength afflictions make him increase both in the habit and acts of grace he grows downward in the habit as well as upward in the acts of grace by affliction Thus God sees afflictions good for his Saints both privatively and possitively give me leave briefly to add this one more 3. God sees afflictions necessary for his Saints in order to their eternal good and that upon a twofold account 1. By afflictions he fits and prepares them for glory and that by drawing up their hearts and affections where their treasure is should not God imbitter Egypt to us by heavy burdens we should never long for nor prepare to goe into the promis'd land God makes our good things here mutable and fading that we may set our affections on things above which are permanent and unchangable 2. Afflictions sweeten and the more indear glory to come the sharper our sorrows here the sweeter our glory hereafter 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light afflictions work for us a farr more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Since we find this doctrine to be an evident truth and this vast congregation are sealing it with their teares God hath taken away an eminent Servant of his by a stroak a stroak to the rich and a stroak to the poore a stroak and a heavy one to Stanton Harcourt but especially to the family of the Harcourts what should this teach us let not me but the Apostles exhort you Heb. 12.5 My Son despise not thou the chastning of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him This exhortation branche it selfe into two heads 1 despise not 2 faint not the first you may think needlesse and at this time I may think so to but such is the deceitfulnesse of our hearts and the hardnesse of them that though they now drop tears like rocks in a sudden storm yet when the storm is over they are soon dry again and as hard as ever therefore the first branch is not unseasonable despise not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ne parvi facito 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as if you should say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 parvam curam habere to slight and never mind a thing to make light of it as Servants doe of their Masters chiding they stand demurely and look sadly for the present but when the Masters back is turn'd they laugh and make light of it Of all things beware of this God hath a farther end in such dreadful stroakes as these than to make us hang down our heads for a week or two and then forget all this is indeed to make light of God's correcting hand upon us There are a sort of Epicureans in this age that professedly against all sense and reason indeavour to deface what of man they have in them natural affection like the brutish Stoick that made no more of the death of his Son than of the breaking of a Jugg heri vidi fragilem frangi hodie vidi mortalem mori they contemne God and his providence they say all things come alike to all and sooner or later we must all dye and what should we sorrow for that we cannot remedy Upon such mens foreheads you may write fool if the rule hold true without injuring them for consideration and fooles are alwaies contraries Well let us in the fear of God learne this wisdome not to despise or disregard God's judgements and chastisements upon us Then a Christian may be said not to despise God's Corrections when he learnes those lessons God points him to by the chastisement as 1 seriously to search after the cause why God afflicts us 3 Lam. 39.40 this the Holy Ghost points us to why doth living man complain i. e. repiningly man for the punishment of his sinne while 't is for his sinne that he is punish'd 't is but just that he should be punished le ts therefore search our ways and turne unto the Lord our God that 's the lesson punishment should teach us so in the 7th Iosh. 6. Up says God to Ioshua search for the sinne that hath caused me to smite you thus a Christian should search when God's hand is on him what personal sins what relation what family sins as a husband master or father he is guilty of and stone those Achans that so God may graciously return in his favours again to us 2. In a humble submission to vindicate God's justice in all that befals us and with the Church to say thou hast smitten us lesse than our deservings and o Lord thou art righteous in all that is come upon us Isay 9.13 3. Patiently to submit to the hand of God upon us I was dumbe says David and opened not my mouth because it was thy doing 10 Levit. 3. When God took away two of Aron's near relations his Sons with a dreadful stroak the text saith Aron held his peace proprobably Aron was faulty in not restraining his Sons presumption and therefore think it but meet just that he that had been sinfully silent under Gods dishonour should now be submissively silent under his displeasure 4. To buckle on our Armour and to stand always prepared to incounter afflictions Through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdome of Heaven not through two or three but many God knows what our next tryal will be le ts therefore by this affliction be so Armed with faith and love and patience and selfe-denyal that we may be able with more facility to stand against the next Iob now finding the world to ring none but