Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
england_n john_n lord_n thomas_n 8,453 5 8.1675 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A92132 A sermon preached at the assizes in Thetford in the county of Norfolk the 15th day of March 1692/3 by J.R. ... ; published at the special instance and command of the judges. J. R. 1693 (1693) Wing R2343A; ESTC R42572 16,504 33

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

A SERMON Preached at the ASSIZES at THETFORD IN THE County of NORFOLK the 15th Day of March 1692 3. By J. R. M. A. Rector of Brundal in Norfolk Published at the Special Instance and Command of the JUDGES CAMBRIDGE Printed by John Hayes Printer to the University for Samuel Oliver Bookseller in Norwich 1693. Aprilis 6. 1693. Imprimatur Geor. Oxenden Procan Joh. Spencer Nath. Coga Ja. Johnson TO The Right Honourable Sr. JOHN HOLT Kt. Lord Chief Justice of ENGLAND AND One of Their Majesties Most Honourable Privy Council And to the Honourable Sr. THOMAS ROKEBY Kt. One of Their Majesties Justices of Their Majesties Court of Common Pleas. My Lords I Thought it so very incongruous for one in my humble Station to offer any thing to the World that indeed nothing but the Command of your Lordships could have obliged me to publish the mean Discourse I presumed to preach before You. But since You were pleased to give me leave to prefix your Great Names to it I humbly Present it to You again assuring my self that by that Means it will be the more likely to promote the Design I had in Preaching it and which I believe You had in Commanding it to be Printed Which if it may in any measure obtain I presume to say I shall so far be a Benefactor to my Country and to the Church of God and be always Thankfull to Your Lordships for giving me the Advantage of being so ever remaining My Lords Your most Obedient Servant John Russell I Corinth X. 10. Neither Murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the Destroyer WE have a great deal of reason to believe that Wisdom and Goodness is the constant rule of Providence in ordering the Affairs of the World But yet it often happens that we do not perceive that Wisdom nor resent that Goodness well for the Truth is we are too short-sighted to see the bottom of the Counsels of God and there is so great a variety and contrariety of Humours and Interests in the World that the most benign Dispensations are necessarily cross to some But yet it is very reasonable that God should rule the World and unless Men will learn to submit to his Will a great many are like to be very uneasie and troublesome in it But to prevent this that Great Lover of Mankind who left no way unattempted to do us good hath by his own Example recommended to us the Duty of Resignation and the prudence of a Patient conduct in all things And his Holy Religion hath something peculiar in it to promote such Temper in Men as may create no Disturbance in the World but yield glory to God and ease to themselves under all the Vicissitudes of that which we call Fortune And herein we have very little reason to suspect him of so unkind a Design as to dispirit Men and make them content to be Miserable for he propounds the most rational means for Redress under real Afflictions and that is to apply themselves to him who hath the management of all things in his own hand Phil. 4.6 and by prayer and supplication to make known their Requests unto God But then on the other side he hath too great a sense of his own and his Fathers Honour to countenance quarrelling at the order of Heaven and especially in evident designs of Mercy and Goodness although they do not just sute their Interests or Wishes And as in such cases there is something in men that will not suffer them to make their complaints unto God so there is also something that will be exciting discontent and if not supprest will ferment and soure their Minds till it break out into open Disgusts and dishonourable and unworthy Reflections But then as Almighty God is not so much concern'd in such cases to grant redress as he is to observe and resent the affront to his Wisdom and Goodness so when such unreasonable Discontents do break out into expressions of Contempt it seems both necessary and just that he should shew his Displeasure upon such great Provocations And some very remarkable Instances we have of these things in the Children of Israel which our Apostle refers to in the Text Exod. 2.23 24 25. when they sighed by reason of their Bondage and cried their cry came up unto God and God heard their groaning and God looked upon the Children of Israel and had respect unto them But when Heaven by miracles had rescued them out of it a little unavoidable trouble set them a murmuring it was taken as a great Affront When they weary and glutted with Manna and Quails were so distasted at the bounty of God that they could not but sit down and sigh for their Garlick and Onions again When they grew weary of their Deliverance Exod. 11.5 and out of a peevish and unreasonable distaste at the Instruments of it and because of some tolerable difficulties they groaned to be in Egypt again it was esteemed too great an Offence to be passed by without some extraordinary Judgments These things our Apostle observes to the Corinthians were written for the admonition of others Ver. 11. And therefore among other things well knowing the most likely consequences of such practices he gives them that friendly Caution in the Text Neither murmur ye c. In Discoursing whereof I shall I. First enquire what the Apostle cautioneth against II. Secondly shew how little reason any have to admit such things into Practice III. Thirdly shew how likely they are if admitted to produce such Effect as is here pointed at and IV. Lastly make some improvement of All. Now that which the Apostle cautioneth against is Murmuring the Murmuring he intends is such as the Children of Israel were guilty of in the Wilderness And the effect it had was Destruction which I hope will give me the Advantage of making a good Improvement of the matter I. First That which the Apostle gives caution against in the Text is Murmuring which seems to be in general a Discontent at the Dispensations of Providence and a Quarrelling at what happens to come to pass in the World This I say is in general but the Apostle in this place seems to referr particularly to those Murmurings of the Children of Israel which brought such grievous destruction upon them in the Wilderness And therefore in order to a just Information we must a little look into the History of that People during their continuance therein And that we may the more plainly see the ill nature of the Offence we will briefly take notice by the way of the state of that People because indeed it was the Circumstances that did so highly aggravate their Sin Now you must know the Children of Israel even the whole Stock of them were Strangers and Bondslaves in Egypt where they continued Four hundred and thirty Years and for a great part of that time but especially toward the last they were very grievously oppressed