Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	sin_n	suffer_v	suffering_n	2,120	5	9.4937	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44026	Innocency, though under a cloud, cleared By P.H. a poor prisoner, when almost sunk under pretended friends censures in the day of his sufferings. And also, a discovery of the comforts that attends innocency in a prison. As also, twenty four usefull particulars left by him for his children and friends, and being left in a friends hand for his relations, I could not but make them publick; judging it will be no loss to the author, and great gain to the reader, and justly give offence to none.	Hobson, Paul.	1664 (1664)	Wing H2274A; ESTC R222586	80,187	179

whatsoever is lost or laid down for Christ cannot be a loss because it 's only lent and God and Christ have given sufficient ingagement to repay with an hundred fold improvement See Mat. 19.29 But this Text assures us of not only freedom from loss but a finding or gain If any should say Wherein is a Saints gain in thus suffering Answer First mind this no sooner is the soul upon the wheel of suffering for Christ but God and Christ is upon their motion to rise and serve them And that First By inquiring into their state and condition as he did in the old time Secondly By giving forth a suitable proportion of Grace to carry them through it Thirdly By debating with the tryal and waiting it out that it may be in measure Isa 27.8 Jer. 30.11 Fourthly When it s gone forth and seized upon a Saint God stands by it and if it appears too heavy he makes it lighter by giving the heart a lift into the higher Life and strength or by taking some of that away See Psal 138.3 7. Fifthly While that is on that he in his Wisdom seeth best to be on Christ stands in so great a sympathy with them that he is afflicted in their affliction Isa 63.9 and it is such a sympathy that causes Christ not to stand silent but to sympathize with the soul so as to send it and carry it answerable comforts Sixthly The Grace that God gives souls in such a suffering day is not only so much as may and doth answer their troubles but it doth over-ballance and transcend all their sorrows See 2 Cor. 1.4 5. Seventhly God doth not only keep Saints in suffering and bring them out without loss but he makes even their affliction to increase profit and gain to the Soul Rom. 5.2 3 4. Eighthly God is so indulgently tender of Saints and their good and gain in a suffering day that rather than they shall want what is in his hand or heart he will with his own Presence be with them and abide with them Isa 43.1 2. if they go he goes if they be put into the water and fire so will he too See the three Children Dan. 3.24 25. and if shut up in prison where they are kept dark there God will shew them more than before Jer. 33.3 8. whatsoever they want or are in point of comfort deprived of God presently makes it up Micah 7.7 8. Ninthly And to make up all after his often coming down to them and inriching them by his giving forth Light Love Life and all that they may be fully gainers he will take them up to himself and so to live in eternal Glory with them for ever where sin and sinners suffering and sickness shall trouble them no more but all sorrow and sighing shall pass away and all tears shall be wiped from their eyes Isa 25.8 Rev. 7.17 chap. 21.4 O come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen Amen O now my Soul what loss is there by loseing for Christ his Cause and Interest Ah happy is the soul that is imployed in this work O who would not leave it self and its all to Him and his disposal and never chose or refuse its own Cup that the Father mixes and gives to us O my soul trust God he is Faithful and will make good every tittle of his Promises See 1 Kings 8.56 Isa 34.16 Now the next Scripture God brought comfort to my Soul by was Rev. 2.10 Fear none of these things which you shall suffer behold the Devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tryed and ye shall have tribulation ten dayes but be faithful c. These ten dayes is an uncertain time and that the word Ten is taken for an uncertain time is clear if you mind Gen. 31.7 41. Numb 14.22 Job 19.2 Object The Ten Horns in Dan. 7.7 sure is a certain number Answ Yes 't is so but mind the word Ten is not barely expressed and so left but it is expounded verse 24. These Ten Horns are ten Kings so that it is not there left as in the other places but when 't is expressed and not fixed to a certain number it is to be minded as an uncertain time so that by ten dayes must be meant an uncertain time Some say ' its to be meant a day for a year and the longest time of persecution that ever was since Christ's time was but Ten years but I judge it best to mind this as in other places many dayes But from it I am made to see that to persecute Saints is the Devils work God makes use of the Devil to do his drudgery Sufferings is God's way to scoure and rub the rust off from his Servants it 's work fit for Satan but the profit of it is fit for none but Saints O I have cause herein to bless God for I have cause to say there was much rust got in my lazie time upon my heart and over my Experiences and Graces and acquaintance with God and his wayes O if this be God's rubbing and clearing day I must say as Peter Not only my hands but all over O my God did my Estate gather or cause rust thou tooks away that and thou didst see my Name dead Didst thou see my Name being too large for my Nature caused rust thou hast suffered that to be blasted and thou seest that both my Liberty and Life gather rust wilt thou also take that Do Lord do Lord what thou wilt so thou wilt bring me out as Gold like Job Job 23.10 and that is the next words in the Text and see what follows in this Rev. 2.10 Be faithful to the death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Saints faithfulness is to be such as not only to hold out in some dangers but to death O there is a sufficient reward a Crown and that a Crown of Life all earthly Crowns are dead or dying Crowns this a living Crown or a Crown of Life O who would but strive wait and work for such a Crown well might Christ exhort Saints not to fear any thing that shall befal them of this nature Now the chiefest word that God made of weight to my Soul from these words was these first words Fear none of these things O there is not only one sort of Sufferings but all sorts must attend Saints but none is to be feared Now upon my minding this these considerations did follow me First There is no cause of fear where the object of fear is removed Now the matter of Fear or Fearfulness is Evil. The Evil of all afflictions on Saints is removed by God through Christ Isa 27.8 That made David say Psal 23.4 Though in the valley of the shadow of death not to fear Evil. Secondly There is no cause of Fear of that or them which come either to serve us or save us Now al Suffering on Saints as Saints comes to serve them and so to save them sometimes from sin Isa 27.9

and sometimes from the evil to come Isa 57.1 Thirdly There is no cause of fear of that which accomplisheth no Evil but alwayes Good if all doth Rom. 8.28 then Sufferings ●o being part Fourthly There is ground of fear of them or that which is conquered before we encounter with it as all sufferings and censures ●●e Rom. 8.33 35 39. Fifthly There is no fear to walk in that way which Christ our Captain hath gone before us in and tryed it and not only so but he holds us by the hand nay heart all the way Sixthly There is no fear of that though never so great a cross if it be the eminent way to the Crown as Sufferings are See Acts 14.22 2 Tim. 3.12 Seventhly There is no fear to meet with God in the way and day of his favours for Saints suffering season is God's observing season to give forth his Loves 't is his very high market dayes See Psal 43.2 3 4. Jer. 33.3 Eighthly What cause of fear is there of that which doth not nor can destroy the Foundation of Faith O it is so far from that that it is rather an opportunity for the Foundation to give forth it self like a Fountain ful of all fresh Springs See I pray see David see the three Children see Daniel what streams of Light Love nay Life was given forth at such suffering seasons Psal 23.4 and 27.1 2 3. and 138.3 7. Ninthly What cause is there of fear of that which is appointed to testifie and seal to our Faith and our Interest in God's Love and eternal Life Tenthly What cause is there to fear that which is but the opening the door to let us into converse with God as all Sufferings of Saints is no more but God's turning the key to unlock the door and let Souls into a living converse with God for where the world shuts Saints out God takes them in Psal 25. The worlds frowning time is God's smi●ling time when the comforts of the world seem to be silent then God opens the e●● for instruction Job 36.15 Hab. 3.17 1.19 Micah 7.8 Eleventhly What cause is there to fear be imployed in that or of that which is the way not only to follow Christ but it 's that by which the soul is made conformable to Christ and to his Death and the Power of his Resurrection 't is what Paul groaned for Phil. 3.10 Twelfthly What cause is there to fear to meet with that which is to accomplish the end of our Faith to wit the Salvation of our souls and eternal Glory with God Christ and all the Assembly of Saints the First-born and Angels for evermore See Heb. 12.22 23 24. O these considerations did follow me many dayes and nights till my Soul cryed out Lord where am I Lord what am I that I should be thus honoured O blessed be God for ever After this or upon this consent from these considerations there was a question did arise in me which was to this purpose Why men may suffer much and long and yet be nothing Paul saith 1 Cor. 13.3 of a man give his body to be burnt it will not do without Charity So then the question was who are true Sufferers or when doth a soul suffer rightly and when not Answer A man may suffer that is a Professor of Christ and yet not for Christ but is an evil doer or busie body and his profes●ession will not make his sufferings good Secondly A man may suffer for the Profession of Christ and yet not for Christ as ●●us First When men will suffer because they will suffer and not because God wills it Secondly When men suffer because others suffer and suffering is cryed up as honourable so in the crowd of this cry with the rest in this crowd some men crowd in Thirdly When men are by providence brought into a state or strait that if they go back they shall un-man themselves so more out of the resolution of an heroick nature than from the exercises of Grace they suffer this is not to suffer as a Saint but as a man Fourthly When mens interest is so interwoven with the Interest of Christ that if they do not stand by Christ they will lose their own so to gain their own they stand by him this is not right A soul is said to suffer as a Saint and 〈◊〉 becomes a Christian so as God and Christ will own it and crown it First When they singly suffer for being Saints and rather than they will deny it 〈◊〉 forsake it they will forsake all As in H●●● 11.35 They accepted not deliverance Secondly When they suffer for their owning or standing by God's and Christ's Ca●●● or Interest and rather than they will forsake either they will forsake their lives or 〈◊〉 that 's dear to them in the world So David suffered so did Daniel suffer and the thre● Children and the Apostles Acts 4. and Acts 5. and so Paul Thirdly When souls are brought to such state that unless they willingly suffer some other of God's People must suffer now rather than they should suffer the soul is willing to suffer this is that which God will own and it is what Christ did for us and ●erefore we ought saith the Apostle to lay own our lives for the Brethren 1 John 3.16 and this it is that Christ intends in that John 13.14 chap. 15.12 It was Pauls joy 〈◊〉 suffer for the Colossians Col. 1.24 These Scriptures are a sufficient ground to suffer rather than to free our selves from it the manner of some is by accusing others ●●d bringing others to suffer to free themselves and say Charity begins at home these ●●uls have little acquaintance with Christ's ●●w Command and they will one day see 〈◊〉 the way to lose and not to save as Christ ●●th Mat. 16.25 And now if any will demand by what rule ●●ey should rather suffer than save themselvs 〈◊〉 putting others upon suffering let them ●●●k well upon those blessed Scriptures afore●entioned and they will see it a duty and ●●●nt-like to suffer for the Brethren and it not the action of a Saint but of Satan to 〈◊〉 themselves by accusing others 〈◊〉 blessed be my dear Father that of all the Evils that attend me thou didst never suffer that to come into my heart Fourthly To suffer as a Saint is when the World out of their envy against Saints Holiness and Piety as being contrary to them they are carried out in envy to hate them and to do all the hurt they can against them though they cannot in particular charge them with any thing justly not so much as against their own Law yet cannot love them Now thus to suffer willingly not for any thing we have done to the World only because we are called out of the world thus to suffer is to suffer as a Saint therefore Christ makes provision for this when he tells his Disciples that the World hated him and so would hate them in that they were not of