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
A93346	Englands pressures: or, The peoples complaint, humbly related, for information and for satisfaction of the grounds and causes thereof, and communicated to the inhabitants of England, in the severall cities and counties of the kingdome. Also, a short reprehension to factious, seditious sinners, with a Christian exhortation to reformation, to brotherly unitie and concord, and conscionable performance of covenant, by assurance of Gods blessing, a glorious deliverance, with establishment of truth and peace to the three kingdomes. / By George Smith, Gent. Imprimatur John Downame.	Smith, George, 1602 or 3-1658.	1645 (1645)	Wing S4035; Thomason E295_9; ESTC R200196	33,562	43

of Zion the City that God loved l Lam. 5. 1● 12. Women were ravished in Zion Maids in the Cities of Juda Princes were hanged by the head the faces of the Elders were not honoured c. Infinite are the miseries calamities of Warre beyond my expression they are dayly written in Characters of blood and to whom shall we goe for helpe of whom shall we complain or where can we have redresse in all these things If we complain we must complain either against God or against something else but to complain against God we cannot for m Psal 145. 17. God is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his workes wicked Phara●h acknowledgeth n Exod. 9. 27. to Moses the Lord is righteous o Lam. 3. 33 God doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men p Ezra 9. 13. and he punisheth lesse then our iniquities deserve And to complaine against men is but like the Dog to be angrie at the stone that is throwne at him For we know or should know that men are but Gods instruments whether they doe us good or hurt Shimei curst David but David knew it was because q 2 Sam. ● 〈◊〉 God had bid Shimei curse Israel was afflicted by Jabin by Midian by the Philistims c. but it was because r Judg. 3. 8. Judg. 3. 3. Judg. 6. 1. All affliction is from God and for sinne the Lord had sold them into their hands they were never afflicted by any people but God delivered them up to the enemie nor were they ever afflicted by any men or meanes in their owne Land but by the hand of God and God afflicts no man nor suffers any man to be afflicted but for sinne sinne onely is our destroying enemie And surely We have nothing to complaine against ●●t our sinnes we have nothing to complaine against but sinne if we complaine of wickednesse in men it is but to complaine of other mens sinnes if we complaine of their wicked actions as they are hurtfull to us they are but Gods ins●ruments to punish us for our sinnes against God G●d useth very wicked men as his instruments to punish the sinnes of his people for God useth and that u●ually very wicked men to be his instruments to afflict his people he punisheth sinne by sinfull men that is when God will punish or afflict a people or a man he letteth wicked men loose to act their owne w●ll in wickednesse to imprison to oppresse to plunder to burne Houses Townes and to kill and destroy c. That men erre in counsell grow at variance are robbed wounded killed or are betrayed by those they trusted or spoyled by those they should be preserved it is all of God and from God It is true Divisions among m●n are just punishments of sinne that divisions among men in matters of judgement or practise are occasions of Commotions and Warres c. yet the efficient cause is from God for when by sinne men are divided from God God puts divisions among men so long as Adam stood reconciled to God all the creatures were at peace with him but when Adam had sinned the creatures were at variance with him and among themselves while Solomon walked with God God gave him peace with all men but when ſ Kin. 11. 9 Solomo●s heart was turned from God then God was angry with him t vers 14. 23 and the Lord stirred up Hadad and Rezen to be adversaries to Solomon you know that Ashur and Assyrian are called u Esa 10. 5. the Rod of Gods anger their malice and their weapons were but Gods indignation they held the staffe but God guided the hand w Esa 45. 7. I the Lord doe all things God stirred up the spirit of x 1 Chro. 5. 26 Pull and of Tilgath-Pilnesar c. But for your fuller satisfaction Whence the ground and cause of all division is give me leave to expatiate my self a little in this thing that I may fully informe your judgments whence all divisions crosses afflictions come and how they may be reconciled and in this I shall impart nothing but truth to you for I meane not nor is it my Genius to use disguise like the woman of * 2 Sam. 14. ● Tek●ah nor to speake by Tropes Figures better set forth numbers then men or truths nor can I tell you any thing by way of Prophesie what shall be or when your miserie shall end as Elisha did of the Famine in a 2 King 9. 1. Samaria nor as the Prophet that told the people that to morrow the Lord would deliver their enemies into their b 1 Chron. 20. 15. hands for God Almightie doth what he will and when he will Times and Seasons are in his owne c Acts 1. 7. hands and not for mortalls to know but I will truly shew you what God hath done and what he doth by his all-guiding providence every day by which you may see and know who and what it is that hurteth you and against that you have cause onely to complaine Affliction saith holy d Job 5. 6 Job doth not spring from the dust it is not from below but from above Let mens malice be never so great their ends never so mischievous and their contrivance never so secret God rules guides and disposeth all that they doe l●● men purpose what they will e Pro. 16. 33. God disposeth of their purposes to his owne end who alwayes useth wicked men as instruments to worke his owne designe and usually disappointeth them of their owne ayme which chiefely they intended for their end is quite contrarie to Gods end That God useth all the counsailes and actions of men to his owne purpose All counsailes are ordered by God you shall see God complaineth that the f Ezek 11. 2 Examples Princes of Israel devised mischiefe and gave wicked counsaile God complaineth of the wickednesse of their hearts but you may see God makes his owne use of it and makes that to be a meanes to g Verse ● bring the sword upon them which was the thing they feared againe you shall see that Israel is threatned with the sword That it shall abide on their Cities and devoure them because of their owne counsailes yet God saith of himselfe h Ier. 19. 7. I will make void the counsailes of Iudah and Ierusalem and will cause them to fall by the sword God complaineth that the Princes of Zoan are become fooles and the Princes of Noph are deceived and they seduced others but the Text saith the i Esay 19. 13 14. Lord mingled a perverse spirit in the midst of them That Rehoboam forsooke the good counsaile of the grave ancient Counsellor of his father and followed k 1 King 12. 13. the counsaile of young men to oppresse and tyrannize over his people it was not by chance the young men shewed the wickednesse

of their hearts and Rehoboams corruption was discovered by it but God turned it to his owne purpose as he had before threatned for the sinne of Solomon l ● King 11. 31. to rend the Kingdome out of his hand and give ten Tribes to Ieroboam therefore whatsoever Rehoboam or his young counsaile intended God himselfe saith m 1 King 12 24. This thing is done of me or all this is from me But to come more neere to our present businesse let us apply all this to our selves The application of things to ●hese present times and to these times of trouble and miserie and consider from whom they are and why they are come upon us First consider they are not from evill Counsailes from the Bishops from the Queene Papists nor from Rome nor the Devill but as they are ordered by God The Devill is the chiefe instrument all ●icked men are his Agents for from him they are It is true the Devill hath a chiefe hand as an instrument but not as a cause and all wicked men Papists and licentious covetous cruell oppressing men are pettie instruments under the Devill but all are ordered by God though their ayme and end is quite contrarie to Gods they ayme at destruction of Protestants and Protestant Religion God turnes their wicked ayme to the preservation of both and to the destruction of themselves their ayme is to make themselves Monarchs and the people slaves God turnes it to the rending of Kingdomes and power out of their hands and to establish the freedome of his people Examples We know that Labans end in pursuing of Iacob was for hurt to Iacob but God so ordered him that it was for n Gen. 3● Iacobs good Esau had his end in comming out against Iacob but God orders him to his owne purpose The Brethren of Ioseph had their end in selling Joseph they hated him and sought his destruction but God turned it o Gen. 37. 4. Gen. 45. 5. to the preservation of Ioseph and of all Israel Haman had his end in setting up a Gallowes but God turned it to his owne purpose quite contrarie to p Ester 7. 9. Hamans end and intent Consider the evill Counsellors of the King God disappoynteth the ends of wicked men Bishops Jesuites Papists c. they propounded their end in all which God suffered them to goe farre till they thought they could not be hindred their Plots were carryed on by degrees gradations for at least twenty yeares visible to our sense we saw it and we felt it but at the period of time when they thought to have effected all and were as confident as Haman was of his designe against Mordecai and against the Iewes then God put a turne to all Looke back but to these five yeares past and consider and you shall see Providence hath wonderfully ordered things against their designe and for our deliverance beyond the counsaile or power of men Was it lesse then a wonder that God should so order things that by their preparations into the North with an Armie we should have a Parliament It was contrarie to their end Was it not miraculous that God so infatuated their counsailes that they established that Parliament which now they cannot breake though many of them have lost their lives in attempting it When Pharoah had let the people goe out from bondage he repented and pursued with an Armie to bring them back but God turned it to his destruction We have seene what our enemies have done against us and what God hath done for us what God will doe more at the Red Sea we know not Secondly 〈◊〉 Gods end i● in afflicting his people and what is the end w●c●ed men propound to themselves Consider why these things are I have alreadie shewed you that all differences all afflictions and troubles are for sinne but God though he use wicked men to b● instruments to punish sinfull men and Nations hath these two ends why he doth it and that is to destroy wicked men in their owne wayes and to humble his people that they may be delivered by Gods mercie Wicked men hate the godly because they are not so wicked so prophane and ungodly as they would have them God afflicts the godly because they are not so good so zealous and so holy as God commandeth God chastiseth to humble men to bring them to repentance and reformation and at this day doth therefore bring all these evils of punishment upon us because we are an idolatrous superstitious luke-warme people prophane stiffe-necked and rebellious against God That by these punishments and chastisements we may be humbled turne to God forsake our evill wayes pray to him and seek his face that he may doe us good destroy our enemies establish our Religion our Lawes our Freedomes c. and make us the happiest people under Heaven to all posterities If so for this is a truth then why doe we complaine There is no cause ●hy men should complaine q Lam. 3. 3● ●0 Wherefore shall a living man complaine shall a man complaine for the punishment of his sinne no but r Deut. 10. 1● Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe to the Lord This God looketh for this is all he requireth of us for all that he hath done for us and for all that he will doe for us yet we murmur in all our afflictions s Esay 9. 3. And turne not to the Lord that smiteth us neither doe we seeke the Lord of hosts To this will be objected for I have heard this objection often we murmur not against God Objection nor for the punishment of our sinnes nor against the common Enemie against whom we are willing to hazard our lives and fortunes in this just cause nor doe we complaine against the Parliament for it is our life and safetie but we complaine of partialitie injustice and oppression in particular men from whom we lookt for justice and by whom we hoped to be relieved from oppressors hands these selfe-seeking men make a prey of us they devoure our estates which we freely give in this cause to God and for our Countrie to enrich themselves t Amos ● 6. They sell the righteous for silver and the poore for a paire of shooes this is our complaint and our discouragement For fuller satisfaction Th● deliverance out of Aegypt was but a type of the spirituall deliverance by Christ from sinne Idolatrie and information of our judgement consider as I said before God is working a great and new worke in the world greater then that of the bringing of Israel out of Aegypt whereof that was but a type or figure that was temporall this is spirituall and is farre transcendent u Ier. 23. 7 So as ye shall no more say the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of Aegypt but the Lord liveth which brought up and led the seed of