Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	lord_n	speak_v	word_n	5,998	5	4.2483	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08768	A sermon preached at Gouldsbrough in Yorke-shire, before the right worshipfull Sir Richard Hutton knight, one of His Maiesties iustices of the Court of Common Pleas	Oxley, Robert.	1622 (1622)	STC 19052.8; ESTC S2836	13,684	28

fruitfull land into barrennesse for the wickednesse of vs that dwell therein Thus much shall serue for the iudgement A fruitfull land maketh he barren II. Now we come to speake of the cause of the iudgement in these words for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein Although it be true that Almightie God doth visit some of his elect people for no cause or crime by them committed as appeares by the man that was blinde from his birth concerning whom Iohn 9. vers 1 2 3. when the question was made to Christ whether that iudgement was befallen him for his owne sinne or for the sinnes of his parents he answered that it was for neither but that the workes of God might be manifested in him yet notwithstanding this I no where finde it that God euer bent his ire against a whole kingdome and made a fruitfull land to become barren till he was thereunto vrged by the sinnes of the people but when men persist in sinning he then proceeds to punishing There haue beene foure flourishing Monarchies in the world and sinne hath let downe the sinewes of them all and made them barren Lust dissolued the first Monarchie amongst the Assirians Prodigalitie supplanted the second of the Persians Ambition dismembred the third of the Grecians hidden hatred and priuate malice wracked the fourth of the Romans Sinne caused the floud that drowned the old world brought the fire from heauen that burnt Sodome and Gomorrah opened the earth to swallow Corah Dathan and Abiram and how often did it prouoke the Lord to punish his owne people euen his people Israel which was deare vnto him as the apple of his eie Signet on his finger So that this euill is the cause of all euils it causeth all afflictions and calamities all paine and penurie it depriueth vs of all Gods spirituall blessings and temporall benefits and still to put you in minde of this present occasion doubtlesse it is our sinnes that haue caused these immoderate showers and vnseasonable weather whereby the Lord makes our fruitfull land barren This being thus it should teach vs 1. To bewaile our sinnes past 2. To beware of sinnes to come 1. To bewaile sinnes past Shall the young Swallowes our vnbridled youngsters sing in the warme chimneyes shall the lustfull Sparrowes noctiuagant adulterers sit chirping about our houses shall the filching Iayes secret theeues rob our Orchards shall the Kite and Cormorant deuoure and hoord our fruits And shall not the Doues mourne and the voice of the Turtle be heard in our land for these enormities Let not our hearts be so hid in the Maze of vanities that repentance cannot finde them out shall the heauens shed teares and the earth mourne for our sinnes and shall not we be moued Rather let vs haue our eies like the fish-ponds of Hesbon standing full of water that so we may appeare beautifull in the sight of our beloued Spouse let vs with Dauid put on sackcloth and mourne with sorrow that God may put it off and gird vs with gladnesse And as we should bewaile sinnes past so 2. We should beware of sinne to come and specially we must for this purpose beware of these particular sinnes scil 1. Improuidence 2. Impertinent curiositie 3. Vnconscionablenesse in the vse of Gods creatures 4. Vnthankfulnesse for these are speciall meanes and motiues to cause the Lord to turne a fruitfull land into barrennesse First we must not be improuident but if we would haue God to care for vs we must care for our selues and euery one seeke to liue either by the sweat of his braine or of his brow painfully performing the duties of his calling And that done for the euent and successe of our labours we must not be impertinently curious which is the second vice to be eschewed for when men sacrifice to their nets Haba 1.16 attributing their thriuing to their owne industrie and for that cause slander the frost and the haile and murmur at whatsoeuer seemes to crosse their hope then they prouoke God to take away the staffe of their labours I meane his blessing from their labours without which they are but vaine and fruitlesse Therefore when we haue prouidently done our best we must patiently wait vpon the Lords pleasure for a blessing and for the successe not be impertinently curious but freely refer that to Gods wise disposure When God hath blessed our labours with increase and we haue the fruits thereof in our possession then we must not be vnconscionable in the vsing or rather abusing of his creatures which is the third vice to be eschewed for if we roist and riot and abuse Gods blessings he hath an action of Waste against vs whereby he may amerce vs to such dammages as should quickly cause vs see how wilfully we haue forfeited the title we had vnto them Herodotus in Clio. Gindes is called Gihon Gen. 2. When the riuer Gindes had drowned one of Cyrus his white horses the angrie King cut so many channels into which the riuer was diuided that from thenceforth it lost both depth name glorie If those flouds of abundance which through Gods blessing our land bringeth forth drowne not our white horses but our soules that should be white and spotlesse then know that God can diuide those streames of plenty into many channels he can draine and drie them vp conuay them into other mens hands and dispossesse vs both of the name and glorie we had by them When God gaue his people corne Ezech. 16. and wine and oile to vse and they abused them he expostulated with them why they bestowed his gifts vpon their Idols When God bestowes his blessings vpon vs he must needs be angrie with vs if we spend them vpon our vanitie you are but stewards of that you haue dispose of it wisely so as may be to your comfort and your masters glorie that hee seeing your faithfull vsage may increase your store and augment your talent And when you haue had the full and free vse of Gods benefits to your comforts and refreshing then beware of vnthankfulnesse which is the fourth vice to be eschued be not like the swine vnder the tree that looke downe to the fruits but neuer looke vp to the tree from whence they came Let not Gods blessings fall vpon vs like sweet water vpon a filthy sinke which returnes nothing in lue thereof but a noisome smell for then shall our ingratitude like a parching winde drie vp the fountaine from whence Gods blessings should spring forth vnto vs and depriue our land of fruitfulnesse It is obserued by Anatomists that there is giuen vnto man one muscle more in the eie then in the eie of any other creature whereby he hath a facilitie to roule and turne it vp to heauen-wards this doubtlesse doth teach that man aboue all other creatures after benefits receiued should lift vp his eies hands and heart to God in thankfulnesse When the parched earth receiueth raine from the clouds

matter is we may well feare that it is our rebellion against God that makes this commotion of the creatures against vs hath not the Lord of late time cast forth his ice like morsels It will be remembred whilst Chronicles can speake that within these few yeeres the earth was fast bound with a prodigious frost to Englands wonderment when Thames was paued for cart and carriage on one day able to support a waight of wonder and on the next dissolued into liquid waters at that time it pierced so deepe into the bowels of the earth that the effects thereof as yet are sensible Surely this should warne vs of our zeale to God-wards more cold then isicles on a winters day hanging at our doores strange it is that so many Sun-shines as haue beene since and showers of Gods mercies still powred vpon vs should not haue thawed our frozen hearts and bred an alteration of life in vs. But not to trouble you with recounting things past obserue but with me this iudgement that euen now hangs ouer you now is your haruest come at which time as the old saying is God openeth his barne doores and inuites your labours to gather your winter prouision but doth not he himselfe vse the blustring windes as his flaile to thresh the corne out of the eare before you can get it from off the earth Now hath God spread his table for so I may terme the earth and furnished it with daintie cates and viands with a rich store of corne and grasse but doth he not vse immoderate showers and vnmercifull flouds as a voider to take all away before you haue staid your stomacks Thinke not that this comes by chance nor fix your eies vpon the arrow that wounds you but vpon the hand that drew the bow looke higher then the clouds and you shall see the finger of God in the worke for the inter-course and change of weather is ordered by his prouidence Amos. 4.7 I saith the Lord haue with-holden the raine from you when there was yet three moneths to the haruest I caused it to raine vpon one citie and caused it not to raine vpon another citie And Job 38.28 Hath the raine a Father saith Iob and who hath begotten the drops of dew Ierem. 14.22 And Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause raine saith a Prophet or can the heauens giue showers art not thou only he ô Lord our God This granted scil that the clouds are Gods bottles and that he only emptieth them when where and in what measure he will it plainly appeares that this vnseasonable season is his messenger purposely sent either 1. To trie our patience or 2. To reclaime vs from our sinnes 1. If for the former end we ought to be so far from grudging and murmuring at it that contrarily wee should welcome it with a cheerefull heart When a man would buy an earthen vessell he will knocke vpon it with his hand and iudge of the soundnesse of it by the sound when God doth knocke vpon vs by any crosse if we sound cleerely and beare our selues cheerefully it is a hopefull signe that we are meet for his acceptance but if we returne an hoarse noise of murmuring and repining it is a fearfull token that we shall be reiected 2. But if this messenger be not sent so much to trie our patience as to reclaime vs from our sinnes if these immoderate showers tell vs that our sinnes haue kept no low water the tide of them hath euer beene swelling then let vs humble our selues before God by repentance lest he humble vs with greater afflictions and seeing that the waters of sinne haue descended downe into our soules let vs draw them vp againe with buckets of sighes and pumpe them out in riuers of teares let our eies gush forth with teares in passion for our selues in compassion for others because neither we nor they haue so kept the law of God as we ought this if we performe happily it may be a meanes to preuent Gods further iudgements and to reconcile vs againe to his fauour and euery one of vs ought to performe this because that though this iudgement be not alike shewed against our whole land but some part and therein some persons doe specially feele the smart of it yet tunc tua res agitur we should be so sensible one of anothers miseries that we should take these iudgements that befall others as warnings sent to admonish vs. Those vpon whom the tower of Siloan fell were they greater sinners then all the rest in Hierusalem I tell you no saith Christ but except you repent ye shall likewise perish In that any are spared it is of his mercie the Lord hath often heretofore and euen now hath found vs securely sleeping in our sins as Dauid found Saul sleeping in a caue cutting a peece of our garment touching a corner of our land with afflictions and though we haue all deserued to feele the scourge of his iudgement yet of his mercie hee leaues peace within our Walls plentie within our Palaces making good the prouerbe concerning the rainbow scil that Gods bowe is without a bolt he threatneth much and warneth often before he will suffer his whole displeasure to arise what then Shall we continue in sinne that grace may abound God forbid nay God hath forbidden it for that will inhance his wrath and improue his anger against vs rather let vs feare that the regions are not yet white for the haruest the sinnes of the land are not yet mellow for Gods iudgements but like a bottle cast into the water which whilst it is but partly full leaneth to the one side but when it is filled to the brim it sinketh directly to the bottome so we ought to feare that though in respect of Gods iudgements our land yet leaneth but to the one side yet when those waters of Mara those bitter waters are brim full when the sinne of the land the measure of iniquitie is filled there is then nothing to be looked for but an vtter ruine and downe-fall What shall I say then 1 Reg. 18.44 Arise quoth Elias to Ahab I heare a sound of abundance of raine prepare thy Chariot except thou passe quickly thou canst not passe Here the sound of the raine preuented the danger that might haue come by it O that it would be so with vs that being fore-warned we would be fore-armed that the sound fore-telling of the iudgement would be a meanes to preuent the execution thereof doubtlesse our sinnes haue iustly prouoked Gods iustice to proceed to the chastisement of sinners yet in his mercie he first puts the axe to the root of the tree to see if reformation of manners and amendment of life will preuent the cutting downe Let vs therefore make vse of Gods admonitions and be schooled by them lest if we continue in our sinnes we force the Lord to extend his wrath against vs to turne our