Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	israel_n	lord_n	people_n	2,601	5	4.8657	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89716	Gods great care of his good people in bad times discovered in several sermons / preached by Mr. James Nalton (late minister of St. Leonards Foster-Lane) immediately upon his return from Holland, about twelve years since ; published by J.F., teacher of short- writing, who took them in characters from the said Mr. J. Nalton.	Nalton, James, 1600-1662.	1655 (1655)	Wing N122A; ESTC R42508	60,551	169

point of Doctrine and I shall by Gods assistance give you them in this and another Sermon in the afternoon We will begin with the Application of this Message in the first way of comfort saies God So will I acknowledge them that are carryed away Captive of Judah So will I acknowledge them that is I will own them I will take speciall notice of them Mine eyes and my heart shall be toward them although I have sent them away Captive into Bahylon yet notwithstanding they shall know that I am their freind and I am their father still and that I have not cast them off The point of Doctrine then that I would commend to you from hence is this That God doth graciously acknowledge Doct. and own his servants in the day of their dangers and distresses Psal 31.7 Thou hast considered my trouble thou hast known my soul in adversity And that is a comfortable Scripture Ps 22.24 he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted neither hath he hid his face from him but when he cryed unto him he heard him God doth not abhor nor despise the affliction of his poor afflicted servants he doth not hide away his face from them he doth no look aside as if he regarded them not in the day of their distresses God owned his people Israel in Egypt when they were among the Brickilns when they were making their Pots when they were poor Bondslaves Exod. 4.22 saies God there to Moses Go to Pharaoh and say Thus saith the Lord Israel is my son even my first born and therefore let him go As if the Lord should say although Israel be amongst the Pots yet he is my son still and although he be under Bondage yet he is my first born still How passionately and affectionately doth God speak Act. 7.34 I have seen I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt the ingemination of the word shewes the earstness of Gods affections as I may call them not that God hath affections but it is spoken after the manner of men because he doth that which men doe when their affections and bowels yearn toward those that are in misery and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel But for the explication of the Point It may be demanded First How doth God own and acknowledge his people in the day of their dangers and distresses And then secondly why doth he own them First How doth God own them I answer God owns them three waies First By being present with them Secondly By supporting of them And thirdly By delivering them First God owns his people in the day of their distresses by being present with them Psal 91.15 He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble And Isa 43.2 When thou passests through the waters I will be with thee and through the Rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon thee So in Isa 63.9 In all their affliction he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them If Joseph be in Prison God will be with him there If Job be on the dunghil God will be with him there If Jeremiah be in the dungeon God will be with him there If Daniel be in the Lions-den God will be with him there Nay when his Children pass through the valley of the shadow of death when they pass as it were by the gates of hell yet notwithstanding his rod and his staff do then comfort them as he once said thy presence O Lord it can sweeten Lawrence his Gridiron the presence of God it can turn a Prison into a Pallace it can turn a very hell into a heaven what makes heaven to be heaven but Gods presence and what makes hell to be hell but Gods absence Now for God to be present thus with his people in their trouble this is one way of his owning them Secondly God doth own his people in their distresses by supporting them by upholding them with the right hand of his righteousness that their burthens shall not be too heavy for them but either he will proportion their burthens to their shoulders or their shoulders to their burthens that they shall stand under them Isa 41.10 Fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness And this is that which David found in his own experience Psal 94.17 18 19. Vnless the Lord had been my help my soul had almost dwel● in silence when I said my foot slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts refresh my soul It is storied of one Theodorus whom Julian the Apostate caused to be rackt ànd tortureed and put to extream torments that in the midst of his torments there was an Angel as Theodoret tels the story in the likeness of a young man that stood by him and with a linnen cloath did wipe the sweat from off him and powred cool water upon his vexed and tortured limbs and by that means did refresh and comfort him and our blessed Saviour you know in that agony when he sweat drops of blood had an Angel with him to comfort him God knows how to comfort and support his Children and to stand by them in the greatest of their distresses and so he owns them And then thirdly God owns his Children by delivering them out of all their distresses Psal 34.19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all And that is a very remarkeable Scripture Jeremiah 50.33.34 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the Children of Israel and the Children of Judah were oppressed together and all that took them Captives held them jast they refused to let them go but their redemer is strong the Lord of hosts is his Name he shall thorowly plead their cause that he may give rest unto the Land and disquiet the in habitants of Babylon God will not alwaies let the rod of the wicked rest upon the lot of the righteous And thus you see that God owns his people in their distresses But then why doth he own them The reason is this briefly because his children are very dear unto him he looks upon them as his jewelt Mal. 3.17 a text you know I have heretofore opened unto you he looks upon them as his precious ones as the dearly beloved of his soul he looks upon them as the apple of his own eye and therefore no change of condition in his children can make God change his love and affections towards them and though God may sometimes cast them into the furnace of affliction it is onely to purge away their dross and he loves them when in the fire as well as when they are out of it and he is

here in the Text the God of Israel be sure you are Gods Israel and then this Doctrine will afford you abundance of comfort But you will say to me How shall we know and be assured that we are Gods people and that God is our God and will be our God where-ever we are and in what condition soever we are To this I answer Content not your selves with generals that you are professors of Religion that you have the stile of Christians and the bare naked name of Christianity for you know what is said of the Church of Sardis Rev. 3.1 Thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead As now first do not content your selves that you are professors of the Gospel when others are opposers of the Gospel for believe it professors of the Gospel may perish everlastingly Matth. 7.22.23 Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out Devils and in thy name done many wonderfull works have we not fat at thy Table been admitted to the Sacrament c yet our blessed Saviour will say Depart from me I know you not though you have been professors And secondly Content not your selves with this that you frequent Ordinances when others it may be despise them and so from Scepticisme turn to Atheisme as many do at this day for you shall read of some Ezek. 33.31 32. that did sit before God like his people and delighted in hearing the Prophet Ezekiel and his Doctrine was to them as sweet as musick they heard thee with delight saith God to his Prophet and with their mouth they shew much love but though they hear my words yet they will not do them for their heart goeth after their covetousness It is not enough to frequent Ordinances content not your selves therefore with that Thirly Content not your selves with this that you are free from gross and scandalous sins the Pharisee Luk. 18.11 could say God I thank thee that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this Publican Fourthly Content not your selves with this that you have better parts than other men it may be thou hast excellent gifts in prayer thou hast a voluble tongue a fluent expression of thy self and art enriched with knowledge and canst dispute for the truth O do not rest fatisfied with this for Christianity is a matter of grace rather than of gifts gifts are but the common work of Gods Spirit and are many times nay for the most part bestowed upon castawayes gifts are for others good more than for our own good whereas grace proceeds from Gods peculiar love and grace is bestowed for our own good more than for the good of others remember this therefore a man may go to hell notwithstanding all his gifts And fifthly Do not content your selves that you are joyned with Gods people and have the approbation of them that are godly alas godly men may be deceived they may think a great deal better of you than there is cause consider what the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 10.18 Not he that commendeth himself is approved but he whom the Lord commendeth so may I say not he that man commendeth is approved of God but he whom God commendeth there are not any of all these outward priviledges of Gods people but an hypocrite may have them and may go as farre in them as the most sincere professour in the world But you may say What shall I do that I may be assured that God is my God and that I am one of his people whom he will not cast off Brethren you must know that the enquiry must be made from within from your own bosoms Gal. 6.4 Let every man prove his own work and then shall he have rejoycing in himself alone and not in another That is as One comments well upon the Text that a mans rejoycing may be in the testimony of his own conscience and not in the applause of another mans tongue you must look I say from within that this your rejoycing be the testimony of a good conscience that you may have as St John saith 1 Joh. 5.10 the witness in your selves Consider therefore what are the actings of your souls towards God and then you may know what Gods actings are towards you Now the actings of your souls towards God may be discerned and discovered by these six or seaven evidences I beseech you mark them First Tell me can you choose God for your God for your Lord and Master can you choose to serve him as well as to be justified and saved by him Christs generation are call'd a seed that will serve him Psa 22.30 a seed shall serve him it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation a seed shall serve him it is a good observation of St Austin Vtuntur Deo ut stuantur mundo The carnal man saith he doth but make use of God that he may enjoy the world I but on the contrary a godly sincere Christian doth but make use of the world that he may enjoy God Again secondly Ask your own souls this question who is your Counsellor or who do you consult withall in the times of your doubts and fears and streights and dangers do you consult with God or do you consult with flesh and blood This is the Churches argument Psal 48.14 For this God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guid even unto death Now do you do thus do you consult with God are you guided by his Spirit or are you guided by the spirit of the world Gal. 1.16 St Paul would not consul with flesh and blood do you consult altogether with the world thus and thus saith the world thus and thus do I esteem the world why let the world and all the world be liars and God onely true he is to be consulted with and not the world Thirdly Ask your souls this question What is your refuge what is your support in the day of your dangers and distresses what do you most of all trust to in the day of your calamity Some trust in chareots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God Psal 20.7 Some trust in their wits that is in their carnal policies and in the shifts and fetches of their own brains and some again trust in their wealth The rich mans wealth is his strong City Prov. 18.11 and some trust in the favour of great men whom Jeremiah saies Jer. 17.5 Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme and some trust in one thing and some in another I but canst thou say with David Psal 71.3 Be thou my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort let others trust in this and trust in that I but I will not trust in my sword nor in my bow neither in my wealth nor wit nor friends nor in my carnal refuges I regard none of these