Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	punishment_n	sin_n	sin_v	1,923	5	9.5821	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86450	The valley of vision, or A clear sight of sundry sacred truths. Delivered in twenty-one sermons; by that learned and reverend divine, Richard Holsvvorth, Dr. in Divinity, sometimes Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, Master of Emanuel Colledge, and late preacher at Peters Poore in London. The particular titles and texts are set downe in the next leafe.	Holdsworth, Richard, 1590-1649.; Holdsworth, Richard, 1590-1649. Peoples happinesse.	1651 (1651)	Wing H2404; Thomason E631_1; ESTC R202438	355,440	597

the truth of his grace if it beget indignation against sin that he prayes against that first that he find sin more burthen then punishment and grace more sweet then all temporalls in the World For even wicked men will goe so far as to cry out of judgement then Ahab will humble himselfe O but a godly man a beleiving soule cries out of sin My punishment is greater then I can beare that was the voyce of Caine. My sin is greater then I can beare Mine iniquities are gone over my head and are as a heavy burthen that was the voice of holy David It is true it is lawfull and God allowes us to pray against temporall punishments and judgements but we must keepe the due order It is a preposterous course to pray against that first before we pray for the pardon and removing of sin because sin is the cause of punishment He that would have judgement removed must strike at the Roote the roote is sin from that bitter roote it is that punishment springs cut up the roote and the Tree will not stand long If the wound be once healed the Plaister of punishment will fall off of it selfe If sin be taken away by repentance and turning to the Lord then there is no such Antidote against the plague as the pardon of sin then whatsoever the punishment is it will drop off of it selfe It is not onely preposterous but sacrilegious to observe that method when we pray more for the removall of temporall judgements then for pardon of sin it is a signe that we love our selves and feare for our selves and not God because we hate the punishment that is displeasing to us more then sinne that is displeasing to God If we rest on God for the pardon of sin our affections will be suitable to hate that most that God hates that is sin and if we hate it we need not be intreated in the first place to pray for the removall of it Yet many of us are so sensible of these outward things that we continue in a preposterous course we more feare the shaddow of judgement then the body of sin the name of punishment is more terrible a great deale to us then the commission of sin We tremble if we doe but heare the report of one judgement yet we are not afraid to goe on in a multitude of sins Like distempered Patients that hate their Physick and love their Disease we love the Disease of sin yet we hate that Physick that God sends to cure us Beloved we have not so learned Christ if the stamp of Christ be set on our hearts here a Christian bends his forces Piety keeps due order devotion will in all the Prayers it makes There is no affection no word no ejaculation that a godly man would willingly have out of order he looks to all within him he will not have his joy out of order to bestow his joy first upon the World and then upon God nor his sorrow out of order to bestow it first upon temporall callamities and then upon sin nor his feare out of order first on judgements and then on God No but he sets all his affections right First he feares God and the first fruits of his sorrow he bestowes on sin It is true now indeed we begin to be sencible of the hand of judgement that presseth us O let us remember that there is a greater burthen lies upon us that must be removed The Arrows of sin are more sharp then the Arrow of the Pestilence and if we pull off the head of the Arrow of sin the other shall be put up in the Quiver It is true now the Arrow is pointed neare us God hath his marke and as those that are skillfull in that kind they shoot sometimes nearer sometimes further as Jonathan shot when he gave warning to David so God shoots to give us warning he comes nearer in the Mark he propounds he moves neere by Parishes and by Streets and then nearer by Houses Punishment is neare but sin is nearer we carry it about us we must make sin far off before punishment that is the order the Prophet teacheth them to keepe First to Pray for the removall of sin and then of punishment So I have done with the Petition Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously The parts and the Order of the parts I now come to the last part that is the promissory part of the Text. So will we give thee the Calves of our Lips In the former part the Prophet excites them to get Lips and here to give lips there it is Take to you words here powre out your words So we will give the Calves of our Lips There are 3. things I will observe in it First the duty the Prophet excites them to here that they make this vow and promise of to God it is the duty of praise and thankfullnesse So will we give thee the Calves of our lips That is so will we blesse thee and magnifie thy name and sing to thy glory we will speake of thy praise all the day long Secondly the metaphor under which this duty is conveyed We will give thee the Calves of our lips why he useth that phrase Thirdly the connexion and coherence with the former So will we give thee A man would thinke it were an ill condition and a duty that were misplaced would they not give the Calves of their Lips to God except he would take away their iniquity and remove his judgements The first thing which I will onely speake of now is this to find out what is the duty that is plaine of it selfe to which he excites them in these words So I will read it thus in the litterall sence Take away iniquity so we will blesse and prayse thee So there are six things the Prophet would put them in mind of by adding this clause Two things in generall And foure in perticular all concerning thankfullnesse The two things in generall he puts them in mind of are these De vovendo of making a vow and promise to God We will give thee And De solvendo of paying that vow he labours to bring them not onely to an acknowledgement of thankfullnesse as due but to a holy engagement that they will certainly render praise for this mercy Resolution it is one worke that advanceth every duty every civill duty much more duties that are spirituall There is no work that a man goes on chearfully in except he prepare and fit himselfe by resolution Therefore it is that many Saints of God in Scripture took this course to bind themselves by vowes to obedience though there be bonds already lie at our doore the bond of obedience yet when we vow as David did to walk holily before God this adds another vow He that without vows transgresseth the Commandements of God breaks Gods word but he that transgresseth in a vow breaks Gods word and his owne too The word that God hath given and the

hath given him a Spirit of Prayer In hearing of the word thankfullnesse must goe up as a Sacrifice that God hath given us his Ordinance if we look upon the Sun upon our Friends upon our lives looke any way before us behind us still there is occasion of thankfullnesse because Gods mercies are continued Thankfullnesse must not onely daily but howrely nay every minute it must be offered it hath that advantage of other Sacrifices We must offer praise when God preserves us and delivers us and feeds us and keeps us and cloaths us nay when he corrects us when we rise when we lie downe when we eat when we fast when we goe forth when we returne in every passage of our lives there is occasion of the Sacrifice of thankfullnesse that as they took in the oblation of Calves to all kind of Sacrifices so he would have them take thankfullnesse in every duty when they professed to turne to God in repentance when they prayed to God Take away iniquity and we will give thee the Calves of our lips that he might stir them up to offer the daily Sacrifice of praise So David makes it a daily and hourely Sacrifice Seaven times a day I will praise thee That is often on every occasion he would excite them to the practise of this duty This is the third reason So much of the phrase both the ground of it and the reason why the Prophet chose it But one word more briefly and that is of the connexion and then I have done with this Text and shall pick out some other suitable to the times and there lies a great deale of weight in the connexion Weake understandings will be too prone to wrest it So will we give thee Mark it Take away iniquity and receive us graciously so will we give the Calves of our lips That is forgive our sins remove thy judgements and then we will prayse thee Shall we think the Prophet taught them to condition with God if thou wilt take away our punishment then we will praise thee or else not I could recite some such Stories out of the blindnesse of Popery but because they are out of the Legend I think them not worthy the rehearsing of those that have cast their Images into the Water because they did not keep them from stormes shall we think that they doe condition with God No the pious heart brings his Sacrifice in his hand if thou wilt save me I will blesse thee if thou wilt not I will blesse thee though thou pardon not our sins we will blesse thee for the continuance of our lives what ever thou doest we will blesse thee That cannot be the meaning of it St. Austin presseth it well God forbid sayth he that a Christian should reason thus None of you would take it well at your Childrens or at your Wives hands to adhere to you in prosperity and leave you in adversity to say I will live with you in plenty but when plenty ceaseth then Farewell Sayth Austin well look thou wouldest be loved of thy Wife though there be no desert in thee though there be nothing to perswade her because of the conjugall bond and wouldest thou love God for any thing out of himselfe For by-respects Thou wouldest think much if thy Wife should love thee for by-respects and not for thy selfe and wilt not thou doe it for God It is like that phrase where Jacob seems to stipulate with God in the same nature If God will be with me and blesse me in my journey and give me bread to eat and cloaths to put on that I returne to my Fathers house in peace then God shall be my God Shall we thinke that Jacob so humble a man would contract with God to bring him home in safety and then he would serve him or else not No oft times the Hebrew Particle is onely a consequent not a condition and it is thus much after or when God hath brought me home I will serve him more conscionably and devoutly I will declare it to all the World and set up Altars to his praise then God shall be my God So here Take away iniquity and receive us graciously when thou hast done that then we will enlarge our hearts to powre out the Sacrifice of praise we will multiply thanksgivings we will doe it now yet though there be cause now then there will be more to doe it So three wayes it may be justified it hath respect to three things First as it hath respect to that that the People did so it justifies the connexion of the phrase They had sinned it hath respect to that phrase Take away iniquity and then we shall have cause that is not all but we shall have boldnesse and encouragement to praise thee As if they had said as long as sin presseth us and our iniquities stand in thy presence so long we cannot blesse thee thou wilt not accept the praise of sinfull lips therefore first remove our iniquities that we may give thee a pure Sacrifice of praise We dare not look up to Heaven now our sins are on us but receive us graciously and pardon our iniquities that we may bring thee a holy Sacrifice then it will be acceptable So it is justifiable that way as it hath respect to the work of sin So the Point is this He that will give a true Sacrifice to God must first lay aside his sins There is no oblation of thankfullnesse if sin be in the way Praise is not seemly out of the mouth of a sinner that is it is not acceptable it is a reproofe to him that offers it and a dishonour to him that should accept it It is not honour to God to take a Sacrifice from polluted lips those lips that he hath made for himselfe Therefore he hath made mans tongue his glory when we with one breath blasphemes that sacred name and then perfunctorily blesse him If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not heare my Prayers nor accept my praise In Psal 50. he expresseth himselfe so he brings in God reproving a Sinner that calls upon his name and doth not forsake his sins What hast thou to doe to take my name or my word into thy mouth since thou hatest to be reformed It is well observed of Origen when he was to make an Extempore Sermon to the people at Jerusalem that because he was an Eloquent man he would speake so he let his Book fall open to choose his Text and it opened upon this place What hast thou to doe to take my words into thy mouth his heart struck him because he had put incense to an Idoll and he sat downe and wept His heart struck him because he knew he was conscious of the sin O that our hearts would doe so we come to heare the word and to Preach and to sing to his praise and we bring our sins with us we make obstacles to the ascent of our Prayers by bringing our sins