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A09320
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The seaven golden candlestickes Englands honour. The great mysterie of Gods mercie yet to come. With peace to the pure in heart aduising to vnitie among our selues. By Richard Bernard, minister at Batcombe in Somersetshire.
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Bernard, Richard, 1568-1641.
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1621
(1621)
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STC 1963; ESTC S113795
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38,453
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126
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tryalls shall be and whether this present distraction of all the face of Christendome be the houre of temptation to try them that dwell vpon the Earth it is to me vncertayne but certaine it is that the Church God will preserue and make her renowned and this will he doe shortly for the Enemie is vnder the Vials of Gods wrath as it is apparant in Chap. 16. and what did this Messenger from Heauen the mighty Comet foreshew but these Warres and good successe thereby to the Church For the Comets now for the yeares since Luthers time haue euer with troubles yet foretold good prosperity to the Gospell The date of the increase of Romes glory was out long since and now is the time of the Churches increase daily till the ruine of Rome which as it is fore-told in this Prophesie of Saint Iohn so shall it come to passe in all probable coniectures is very neere at hand This may we vndoubtedly look for The deuises of that man of sin the Machauilian policy of the Viperous generatiō of Iesuits nor all the power of Papists shall preuent it for the Word of the LORD hath spoken it and Heauen and Earth shall perish before one Iota of the Truth shall fayle Herein let vs incourage our selues against the crowing of our Aduersaries who see not destruction before them as in this Prophesie of S. Iohn is plainly foreshewed THE HONOVR OF ENGLAND OF this Church Spouse of Christ thus set out in the seuen-fold estate thereof the Lord of his mercie hath made vs of this Nation a most liuely member and aboue other Countries hath maruellously ennobled this Iland and famous Kingdome of great Brittaine First though wee liue farre off in these Northerne parts from Iudea yet very shortly after our Sauiours Ascension the Gospell of God was brought vnto vs and by whom was it not by Ioseph of Aramathea the onely rich and noble Counsellor that did the first honour to our Lord Iesus after his death in begging of his body and burying it in his own Sepulchre where before neuer any was laid This man was the Ambassadour as Stories witnesse from Christ to vs here hee also vouchsafed to liue and here among vs peaceably to end his dayes Greatly did the Lord honour vs in giuing to vs the first King that euer was Christian named Lucius who submitted his Crowne and Scepter vnto Christ Was not Constantine called the Great the first Christian Emperour and did not he arise from hence was he not here borne and here proclaymed Emperour who slew the Heathen Tyrants and destroyed the greatest Enemies of the Gospell The first famous Scholler publick Professour of Diuinity opposing Antichrist was it not our learned and famous Iohn Wickliffe By whose Writings spred into Bohemia by occasion of a Marriage betweene one of our Kings here and that Kings Daughter sprung vp the renowned Martyrs Iohn Husse and Ierome of Prage The first King like valiant Iehu marching as it were against the Iesabel of Rome that absolutely shooke off the Popes Supremacie that vsurped Power and Luciferian Pride of that man of sin and trod it vtterly vnder his feete was Henry the Eighth and yet for all that dyed he in peace The first King that was but a child and yet set vp the true Worship of God and banished Popery out of his Kingdome was our King Edward the Sixt that noble Prince a very Iosiah full of the loue and zeale of his God The first Princesse at whose rising the power of the Popedome began to abate which suffered Persecution for the Gospell which so constantly defended it as being to death semper eadem at home and abroad was it not the euerlastingly renowned the late Queene our Dread Souereigne Elizabeth Was not She a Succour to the Saints and a Terror to all her Enemies round about The first King and so Learned as hath not the like beene in the Christian World publishing by his learned Pen vnto all the Princes in Christendome that the Pope is Antichrist is now our Dread Souereigne LORD and King who hath helped to poure out the fourth Viall of Gods wrath vpon the Sunne that is vpon the Supremacie of that Antichristian state The Throne of that Beast shaketh and Romes ruine is not farre too maugre the rage and furie of all her Supporters Shall I heere speake of our wonderfull preseruations Strangely did God saue his poore flocke heere from the bloudy Wolues in the time of the ten Persecutions vnto the dayes of Dioclesian But then lest it should want this honour also this Nation was renowned with Martyrs What shall I speake of our late Deliuerances so admirable and vnheard off The Attempts were many and sundry against our late Queene and Souereigne How did Pope and Papal power seeke to inuade her Kingdome How did Rebels arise to molest her How did Traytors seeke her bloud and many wayes sought her death yet behold the protecting hand of God Shee dyed in peace neither did the Enemies hand preuayle against her And can the Gunpowder Treason that matchlesse villanie and more then Hellish intended cruelty be euer of vs forgotten At one blast they mercilesly intended to destroy and that suddenly King Prince and State Church and Common-wealth yet see the mercie of our God wee are preserued and in the snare which they made for others was their owne feet taken Let vs looke about see whether other Princes and States haue obtayned the like protection or rather haue they not suffered violence at the hands of these Miscreants and beene murthered of them It was an honour to our Nation that wee stood out so long at first against the Iurisdiction of the See of Rome for it was no small time ere shee could obtrude her vaine Ceremonies vpon vs when other Countries were infected and had begun to drinke of her cup. And it is to vs no lesse honour that wee haue so shaken off her yoke as we are become an Assaile and place of safegard to such as daily forsake her so opposite vnto her and so vexing her as she through the paine thereof sticks not to blaspheme the holy Doctrine and Worship of our God euen God and his Tabernacle as Iohn speaketh which also maketh her to striue by all meanes possible aboue all the Nations to regaine vs to her which neuer shall be or by more then Machiauilian policies to vndermine vs and to bring vs to destruction Because God hath made vs in powring out the Vials of his wrath vpon the Earth Sea Riuers and Sunne of that State not the least Instruments and it may bee will also giue vs or those that belong vnto vs that high honour to bring her to confusion and to burne that Whorish Citie with fire great likelihoods there is of this but the certaintie I leaue to God who knoweth all things And may we not hold it an honour to our Nation that wee should bring forth men so Renowned as among our
Aduersaries are had in high esteeme Haue not wee our venerable Beda And shall we boast of Alexander de Hales the Father of the Summists called Fons vitae or of Iohannes Scotus termed Doctor Subtilis or of Iohn Bachon or Bachonthorpe named Doctor resolutus or of Thomas Bradwardine Archbishop of Canterbury honoured also with this Title of Doctor profundus What shall I tell of our fortunate Drake circling the whole Earth and returning home in safetie I let passe many things in this kind one instance may serue for all What an honour was this that once the Emperour in person should take wages and serue our King in his Warres An honour neuer afforded to any other Nation in Christendome Thus euen thus hath God vouchsafed vs glory and riches and honour and strength Wee can liue of our selues succour others wee may and of their aide wee stand in little need If valorousnesse of spirit be not abated our Enemies may be made to feare I hope as God hath thus aduanced vs the glory of his Name is this day before vs and the good of our Countrey in euery action for aduancement of Religion the peace of the people Hee that receiueth much oweth much and is bound to loue the more Let mee say as once Moses did the name Israel being changed into England And now O England what Deut. 10. 12. doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to feare the Lord thy God to walke in all his wayes and to loue him and to serue the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soule to keepe his Commandements and his Statutes this day for thy good That so as God himselfe wished to Israel it might go well with vs and with our Children for euer Let not O Nation thus beloued hautinesse and pride impouerish thee let not oppressions bring thee vnderoot and presse thee downe Let not vanities put contempt vpon thee nor ryot and luxurie consume thee Let not prodigalitie and the idle race of a disordered route waste thee Let not bribery eat vp thy Iustice nor wātonnesse defile thy chastitie nor worldlinesse destroy thy charitie nor this cursed selfe-loue breake the bond of vnity nor thy too gentle conniuencie increase Popery nor the too great security in these dayes of peace eate vp thy deuotion and make the grow into contempt with thy God Be this oh be this farre from thee thou the Lords Vine-yard of whom the Lord expecteth better fruits for his so great goodnesse towards thee I hope the honourable Ioseph of Aramethea will make thy Nobles to contemne the World and to giue their honour vnto Christ Thy Wickliffe awake vp thy Cleargie to watch the Wolues which seeke to deuoure thine and their flockes Thy subtill Scotus thy resolute Bachon thy profound Bradwardine thy Hales the Summist and thy venerable Beda will cause thy Schooles of Learning to flourish and prick men forward to an emulation and to striue to excell euen them in excellencies Thy former Kings and Princes banishing Popery make the zealous against it that it neuer heere any more get footing againe within thee Thy now Dread Souereigne so learnedly discouering that Antichristian State cause thy Apostating Children to bee ashamed of the Whorish inuentions of that man of sinne and so at length distaste the smell of the Romish or rather Rammish Renegadoes and leaue of their folly and madnesse Lastly thy wonderfull preseruations thy plenty thy peace thy beautie thy outward glory mooue vs all from the highest to the lowest to render all prayse and thankes possible to the high God Creatour of Heauen and Earth for such mercies towards thee and to endeuour our selues by the lawfull right and religious vse of all the blessings in thee still to preserue yea and to make more renowned thy name and fame among all the Nations and before the face of all thine enemies Thus wee ought to doe let vs pray that we all may so do Amen THE GREAT MYSTERY OF GODS MERCIE WHereas I made mention in the beginning of the Iewes Conuersion I thought it not amisse here to insert the verity thereof By Iewes I vnderstand the naturall of-spring of Abraham Isaac Iacob and the twelue Patriarchs called Israel the twelue Tribes dispersed to whome the Apostle Iames wrote in his time who now are Iames 1. 1. 2. all knowne onely by the name of Iewes these are now the Israel of Rom. 11. 26. whom the Apostle speaketh and these shall bee conuerted to Christ and become a Nationall people receiue the Doctrine of the Gospell and make profession of the Lord Iesus as of their true Messiah and Sauiour with vs. This is the Mystery of Gods Mercie There is a double Mysterie Ephes 6. 36. of which Saint Paul speaketh to the Romanes It was a mystery that we Gentiles should bee fellow-heires with the Iewes which they knew not off and it is a Mystery that the obstinate Iewes shall returne to Christ and bee visible members of CHRISTS Church with vs Gentiles which Mystery Saint Paul would not haue vs Rom. 11. 25. ignorant of The first Mystery blessed bee God is made knowne in our saluation this other Mystery shall also bee made manifest in time in their saluation It was not a Mystery to the Iewes that some Gentiles should be conuerted for they had many Proselytes but the Mystery was that God would take to him Kingdomes and Nations of the Gentiles which thing they could not endure to heare off So it was no mysterie to the Gentiles in Act. 22. 22. Saint Pauls time that some of the Luk. 20. 16. Iewes then and afterwards should beleeue in Christ for they had examples of thousands of Iewes conuerted but the mysterie was and yet is this which the Apostle would haue the Gentiles know that the obstinate Iewes euen the Nation of them should in time turne againe to Christ and professe his Name publikly with vs. This is a truth beleeued long since Very many learned hold it professed and by learned men of late maintayned as may bee seene in the Commentaries of very many which haue written vpon the 11. chapter to the Romanes and on the 7. chapter of the Reuelation of St. Iohn whose names I here omit to recite because I stay not vpon mens assertion though the voyce of so many learned is a very great inducement but vpon such reasons and proofes of Scripture as may perswade to the faith of this Truth And first who can consider of the wonderfull hand of God in their so Their miraculous preseruation may moue to beleeue it miraculous preseruation to this very day now for the space of almost 1600. yeares in the great confusion of States but the same may lead him to an expectation of their future good They bee here and there dispersed they dwell but by permission wheresoeuer yet haue they not been swallowed vp of Nations nor so mingled but that they be a knowne distinct people