Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	heaven_n	kingdom_n	power_n	10,223	5	5.2592	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36453	A sermon preached before the Right Honorable the Lord Mayor of the city of London and the court of Aldermen at Bow-Church, on the feast of S. Michael, 1682 : the day for election of a Lord Mayor / by Henry Dove ...	Dove, Henry, 1640-1695.	1682 (1682)	Wing D2049; ESTC R31365	14,854	36

honestly told of it But my Brethren I am persuaded better things of you though I thus speak and things that accompany salvation For certainly Obedience to Magistrates is one of those things and if they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation then surely we may safely affirm and that without any breach of Charity or stretching beyond our line That they who oppose 'em in lawful things or refuse to obey 'em in the same without a timely Repentance and Reformation are in great danger of it Suffer me therefore as the Apostles lead the way both by Precept and Example to put you in remembrance of these things though you know 'em as well as I and to inculcate a little further this Duty of Obedience you cannot forget that you are Subjects and you cannot but know that Subjects are bound in conscience to obey their lawful Governors Now that you may perform this Duty not grudgingly or barely of necessity but with chearful and loyal hearts let me commend these following motives to your serious consideration and conscientious practice 1. Let us consider That Obedience to Magistrates is a prime Duty of Piety and Religion wherein the Honor and Authority of God are particularly concerned not only because he requires it by manifold Precepts but because magistrates are his Officers and Ministers by whom he governs the world and administers his Providence towards men and to whom he has given part of his own Power for that purpose He removeth Kings and setteth up Kings says Daniel 2. 21. by him they reign and by him they decree Justice Prov. 8. 15. They are the Ministers of God to us for good says S. Paul Rom. 13. 4. In his name and behalf they act and him they represent being God's visible Deputies upon Earth by his own Commission and instruments of his Power and Providence for our benefit Hence he joyns 'em with himself and sometimes stiles 'em by his own name I have said ye are Gods Psal 82. 6. Jo. 10. 34. and frequently also by his Sons title Mine Anointed I have found David my Servant with my Holy Oyl have I Anointed him Psal 89. 20. An Emblem of their Sovereignty and a Security also of their Persons And again Touch not mine Anointed Psal 105. 15. Which was a Prohibition given in Charge before that Oyl was used to render both sacred and inviolable So that by obeying their Laws and honouring their Persons we own the Authority of God and submit to it but in the violation of either God himself is slighted and affronted and his Dominion in effect disown'd This was that which influenc'd David's heart and tyed up his hands from offering Violence towards Saul and tho' he was next Heir to the Crown and already anointed to it tho' Saul thirsted for his blood and persecuted him by force and fraud tho' he had the hearts of the people and Saul was given up into his hands so that he could as easily have slain him as he cut his skirt I say tho' he had all these plausible incitements and a whole combination of pretences yet this was that which kept him from so great Iniquity 1 Sam. 24. 6. The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my Master the Lords Anointed to stretch forth my hand against him seeing he is the Lords Anointed But here you 'l say Had Saul his Power from God does God trust his Authority in the hands of Evil Kings So the Scripture tells us For the Authority is still from God tho' it be placed in the hands of a sinfull man and it looseth not its essence by the accession of personal miscarriages For these he must stand or fall only to his own Master and there is no Tribunal upon Earth can judge him Hence Daniel acknowledges the Power of Nebuchadnezzar to be given him of God Dan. 2. 37. The God of Heaven hath given thee a Kingdom Power and Strength and Glory Our Saviour own'd the Authority of Pilate even when he Condemned him to be from above Joh. 19. 11. Thou couldst have no Authority at all against me except it were given thee from above And Nero was Emperor when Saint Paul wrote to the Romans and yet observe in that Chapter of Loyalty and Allegiance Rom. 13. 1. The Powers says he that be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that are now in being are Ordained of God ver 4. and to him he Exhorts 'em to pay Tribute and Custome Fear and Honour ver 7. So that you see the sins of the person doe not destroy the Power but that it hath still the same Original For he that ordained David did also set up Saul Solomon and Jeroboam Ezekias and Ahab Manasses and Josias Nero and Constantine Julian and Theodosius alternately good and bad and he that hath said in one place By me Kings Reign Prov. 8. 15. hath said also in another I gave 'em a King in mine Anger Hosea 13. 11. And from Elihu in Job we gather That he maketh an Hypocrite to Reign when he is minded to scourge a sinful People Job 34. 30. The Authority therefore of both is immediately from God To him alone they are subject and to him they must give an account how they use or abuse his Authority But all the rest are subject next under God to them and must give an Account to both how they discharge this Duty of Obedience 2. The exigence of our Civil Affairs and the Preservation of the Publick does exact this Duty from us For the Execution of Justice between man and man the safe and quiet Enjoyment of Gods Blessings and the Welfare and Peace of the whole Community are extreamly concern'd and advanced by it Now as Peace which is an inestimable good in it self and sweetens all other Blessings can never be preserved without Government so neither can Government subsist without Obedience to it If every man should have his will and do that which is right in his own Eyes as they did when there was no King in Israel Jud. 17. 6. there would be as many Wills and Affections as there are men infinite competitions and endless quarrels would arise for every man would strive to draw all to his own Net and Peace would be quite banish'd from the face of the Earth No man could enjoy any thing quietly or safely but must deliver it up to a stronger than himself he that can kill his Neighbor will take his Possessions too and the World would soon become a Den of Thieves The only Remedy against this intolerable inconvenience is being determined by Laws under a common Judge and Arbitrator of differences who is equally concern'd and indifferently affected towards all endued with Authority to decide emergent Cases and arm'd with force to suppress Violence and Rapine To which therefore all men should not only in duty and reason but also in point of interest refer and submit their pretences and he that endeavours to enervate or defeat this excellent Provision for Publick