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
A93404	Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme. In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.	Smith, Samuel, 1588-1665.	1656 (1656)	Wing S4189A; Thomason E1624_1; ESTC R208959	212,879	567

but only see it and die in the Land of Moah surely Moses his sin shut him out And of all that great number that came out of the Land of Aegypt even six hundred thousand that all above twenty years should perish in the Wildernesse was an undoubted argument they were guilty of some great sin that caused the Lord to be thus angry with them Object If this be so that extraordinary judgments are arguments of Gods anger how was it said of the blind man that lay under such an extraordinary judgment as to be born blind that neither this man sinned nor his Parents The meaning is not Answ that neither He nor his Parents were without sin no not such sins as might have justly brought that punishment upon them But neither the Mans sins nor his Parents were the cause why the Lord smote him with blindnesse John 9. but that the work of God might be made manifest in him Job though he were a a godly man indeed yet Job's sins might justly deserve all his miseries but God did not so much look upon his sins but that he might be a pattern and example of Faith Patience and of other Graces to his Church for ever Besides there be many grounds and causes wherefore the Lord is pleased many times to lay his hand and that heavy too upon his own Children and such as are both neer and dear unto him 1. As the exercise of their graces of Faith Patience Hope c. 2. To wean them them from the world whereunto our hearts are too much addicted 3. To quicken Prayer 4. To chasten us for our sins past and to make us more watchfull for the time to come c. But since the Lord in his Word hath denounced these judgments against us for our sins and doth not reveal unto us when he is pleased thus to try us his secret will and pleasure therein We are not to pry into his hidden counsells but into his will revealed which is that Man suffereth for his sin And howsoever we may erre in respect of Gods secret purpose in sending afflictions yet we shall profit thereby to humble our selves to justifie God as righteous to renew our repentance and hereby become fit for mercy and deliverance Whereas in times of affliction and distresse to look upon any other cause then sin may hinder our repentance and cause us to continue in our wickednesse Now that great and extraordinary ludgments and afflictions do argue Gods high displeasure these Reasons shew Reas 1 Because he is most just and righteous in his judgments as Abraham said to God Gen. 18.25 It is far from the Judge of all the World to deal unrighteously The Lord is ever most clear in himselfe from the least stain or mixture of iniustice in any of his judgments inflicted upon men Ps 119.137 Righteous art thou O Lord and true are thy judgments Reas 2 The second may be taken from that neer union and inseparable affinity that is betwixt Gods anger and sin Man suffereth for his sin Lam. 3.39 Miseries and afflictions yea all kind of iudgments spirituall and temporall are but the sinners harvest that he must look to reap by sowing the seeds of sin Pro 22.8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap affliction and the rod of his anger shall fail Let us apply this to our selves Use 1 Did Moses well to gather and conclude the exceeding anger displeasure of God against them by the greatnesse and grievousnesse of their punishment that they were thus hastily and fearfully wasted and consumed Alas then what may we think of our selves how hath the hand of God laine heavie upon us in this Nation In these later daies the sword hath been in the Bowels of the land and hath drunk much blood in every corner of it we have had the pestilence amongst us what Country hath been free we have had cleannesse of teeth when many have perished in the open fields and by the way side for want of bread The Lord hath made the Heavens as Brasse and the Earth as Iron that the like yeares have not been known Besides this strange sicknesse that hath been amongst us whereof fewe Families have escaped but some have been either sick or weake or suddainly taken away by Death that fewe that are living have knowne the like time of sicknesse and mortalitie Now what can we think by all these messengers of his Anger and wrath but that God is exceedingly angry and displeasedwith us Certainely the sins of this Nation the innocent blood that hath been shed the high contempt of the Gospel and Mi●listers therof the great securitie unfruitfullnesse and unthankfullnesse of all sorts may mind us of some farther judgments yet at hand And yet alas who laies the Lords dealings to heart to take notice of Gods Anger and make but light account of judgments None consider in heart that the greatnesse of Gods judgments is an argument of the greatnesse of our sins It shall be our wisdom to lay Gods judgments to heart and to meet the Lord by unfained Repentance lest worser judgments overtake us at last Use 2 Secondly this serves to admonish us that according to the greatnesse of Gods judgments to increase our sorrow and Repentance for great anger argues great sins and great sins must have great Sorrow and great Repentance Quest 1 But is it an Argument that God is Angry when he takes men away by Death No it is not alwayes so Ans that the Lord is Angry when he takes men away by Death But when he takes them away by such a manner of Death as this people here with some strange kinde of Death horrible and fearefull for some sin as these people for their infidelitie murmuring Rebellion and despising of his mercy this is a token of Gods Anger 1 Cor. 10.10 Neither murmur ye as some of them murmured and were destroyed with the Destroyer Quest 2 But is it a token of Gods Anger for men to dy suddainly or by some strange kind of Death of the plague pestilence c No. Ans It is not alwaies a token of Gods Anger for men to dy suddainly or by some strange kinde of Death Pilate to make the Jewes odious and their religion hatefull mingled the blood of certaine Galileans with their Sacrifices here was an unwonted kind of Death And so those eighteene upon whom the tower of Silo fell these dyed not an ordinary kind of Death And yet Christ saith that they were not greater sinners then other men And many of Gods dear children and faithfull servants have dyed strange kinds of death and none more then the Son of God himselfe And therefore we may not judge a man out of Gods favour by the suddennesse or strangenesse of his death if his life hath been good his death cannot be bad Eccles 9.11 for as Solomon saith All things happen alike to all But now when we shall see a Man or Woman whose

our time hath cut down so many some with one disease some with another confus'dly quickly and hastily this sin hath not been the least provoking sin of this land this day Our distrusting of Gods power and providence and murmuring against the Lord as though we should never see peaceable daies again or Religion established and the Gospell to flourish and that we shall never see those golden daies we have so long defired Even this sin of murmuring and distrusting of Gods power and providence is no small let and hindrance to our desired peace This this was the sin of this Church and people though they had had much experience of Gods power and goodnesse towards them in delivering them from their cruell bondage in Aegypt and that the Lord had now brought them to the sight of Canaan yet for their sin of unbeliefe and murmuring against Moses and Aanon the Lord would not suffer them to possesse that good Land but cut them off and swept them away by hundreds and thousands that they dyed in the Wildernesse And how severely God hath punished this sin in his own servants Numb 20 8.12 Luke 1.20 For the Reasons and Uses see the first Doctrine And we fly away MOSES speaks not here of the people alone that they were wasted and consumed But joynes himself with them The Lord hath cut us off and we fly away He joynes himselfe in the sin and also in the punishment They all had sinned even Moses himself and for his sin the Lord would not suffer him to come into the land of Canaan Num. 20.8.12 His sin he here confesseth with the sins of the people and Gods righteous Judgement upon them for the same Hence wee may observe Doct. 5 That the usuall manner of the servants of God Gods servants confesse their own sins as the sins of others in their prayers hath been to confesse themselves sinners And by their sins to have drawn down Gods Judgements as well as the sinns of others This doth Moses here links himselfe with the rest of the people of Israel in the case of Gods Anger Thus Daniel in that solemn prayer of his for the Church Dan. 9.5 that the Lord would make good his promise to deliver them from their Captivity and Bondage confesseth his own sins and the sins of the people We have sinned saith he and committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy Judgements And again Ver. 7. O Lord righteousnesse belongs to th●e but unto us confusion of face as at this day Thus godly Nehemiah when hee makes his prayer in the behalf of the Church Neh. 1.6 We have sinned against thee both I and my Fathers house have sinned If any man sin saith Saint John we have an Advocate c. He joynes himself with others that stood in need of Jesus Christ for their Advocate And who could have said more against Paul then he against himselfe when he confesseth that he was the Chiefest of sinners Luk. 16.13 Luk. 15.18 And thus doth the poor Publican the Prodigall c. And it must be so For First Reas 1 the godly have learned to give glory to God when his Judgements are gone out into the World which they do when they acknowledge God to be just and themselves to have sinned This Reason doth Joshua presse upon Achan Jos 7.19 My Son I pray thee give ●lory to God and confesse thy fault Hereby we clear his Justice when wee take shame to our selves And this was Davids Reason Ps 51.4 why he was so long and ample in the Confession of his sins That thou mightest be justified c. Secondly Reas 2 a child of God and true believer cannot but know that hee lies under the guilt of many sins which must be taken off by true Repentance and godly sorrow And hence it is that in hearty prayer when they confesse the sins of the Church they cannot they dare not exclude themselves Thirdly in a true and hearty Confession of our sins Reas 3 is grounded our hope and confidence that God will hear and answer our prayers And hence it is that we shall find Gods people when in the most solemn manner they have sought the pardon of their fins they have grounded their hopes of Mercy from their hearty confession of their sins Thus David Ps 51.3 Wash me throughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin for saith he I acknowledge mine iniquity Ps 32.5 And again David presseth the Lord with this I acknowledged my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid And in times of publick Humiliation much of the work hath been spent in Confession of sins This serves for the just reproof of those Use 1 who seeing others plagued and afflicted condemn them as justly punished and yet they themselves as great sinners no whit affected As we see it common in the World O say some no marvel though the Lord plague them they are such and such a people Did Moses say thus of this people did he so unmercifully single out himselfe and say that it is but just that these Rebells be plagued they murmured against me and would not belive me No no Moses joynes himself with them and saith We are Cut off and we fly away What Spirit then are those led by that condemn others without pitty and compassion and justifie themselves as if they were Righteous This may serve also for our instruction Use 2 That we learn by Moses his Example who though he was an excellent man of God highly in Gods favour yet he humbly joynes himselfe with the Church in the Confession of his sins as well as theirs Acknowledging that his sins were the cause of Gods Judgements as the sins of the people though hee escaped and they were punished Thus should we do now that so many places and Families and persons are visited with sicknesse whilst we escape let us not think onr condition better then theirs or that they were greater sinners then our selves But let us know that our sins have been the cause to pull down Gods Judgements upon others as well as their own As Moses here acknowledgeth himself in the number of them that had sinned and had compassion on them and prayed for them Even so though others die and thou escape others are in misery when thou art free O know that thou maist have a hand in their plagues Thy sins may be deep in the cause of Gods Judgements on the Land And therefore to have compassion on others miseries to pitty them and to pray for them and to acknowledge that it is not thy goodnesse above others but the Lords goodnesse towards thee that thou escapest and art not wrapt up in the same misery Ver. 11. Who knoweth the power of thy Anger even according to thy fear So is thy wrath IN this verse Moses seems to apply and to make use of the