Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	day_n	earth_n	work_n	7,448	5	5.6160	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56272	A sermon preached in Christ-Church before His Excellency the Lord Deputy and the Parliament, on the fifth day of November, 1695 being the anniversary thanksgiving for the happy deliverance of K. James Ist, and the three estates of the realm of England from the most trayterous intended massacre by gun-powder : and also for the happy arrival of His present Majesty K. William on that day, for the deliverance of our church and nation / by Tobias, Lord Bishop of Dromore.	Pullen, Tobias, 1648-1713.	1695 (1695)	Wing P4195; ESTC R38013	11,068	20

so that they do not barely perceive the things that are Represented to 'em by their senses but also can narrowly prey and strictly search into the Reasons of their productions and I may justly say there is as great a distinction between the natural Man and the spiritually minded Christian in reference to some signal events in humane Life and remarkable instances of Divine Providence For the most earless inconsiderate Sinner cannot but be amaz'd at some sudden unexpected changes in a Kingdom and may take such notice of 'em as to make 'em the subject of his Discourse and the entertainment of his idle hours but if he goes no further than a slight and superficial consideration of 'em if he do's not strictly enquire and diligently search into the secret springs of these extraordinary motions he not only frustrates the good and wise designs of Divine providence in those wonderful Revolutions but does also affront his own rational Faculties he debates the Dignity of his Nature and sinks himself into the low and ignoble rank of the Beasts that perish Whereas on the contrary the Faithful Servants of Almighty God do not only plainl perceive and carefully Remark but do also Religiously admire highly extol and humbly adore his infinite Wisdom Power and Goodness in these surprizing and miraculous Events A Remarkable instance of both these different Tempers we have Recorded in the 92 Psalm where the Prophet having declar'd at the 4 Verse that the Lord had made him glad through his work and that he would Triumph in the works of his Hand and in an extacy broke out at the 5 Verse in these words O Lord how great are thy Works Thy thoughts are very deep he assures us in the next Verse that a brutish Man knows not neither does a fool understand this And elsewhere the Psalmist gives it as the Character of wicked Men that they regard not in their minds the Works of God! nor the operation of his Hands tho they be never so Signal in their own Nature and never so rare and unusual in their Event and of this sort was that wonderful Deliverance which we solemnly Commemorate on this Day which brings me to the Fifth Particular That the Gracious Deliverance that God was pleas'd to Vouchsafe these Nations as on this Day has very illustrious Marks of an extraordinary Providence imprest on it Of these I might mention many but I shall insist only on Two the First of which is the critical timing and seasonableness of this Gracious Deliverance which was wrought for us in the Gate of Death and the very minute almost of our design'd Destruction And indeed 't is the usual method of Divine Providence intirely to Baffle the designs of the Wicked when they are in the heighth of all their hopes and suddenly to throw 'em down from the top and pinacle of their Towring expectations God might very easily if he pleas'd defeat the bloody purposes of ungodly Men in the First conception of 'em in their minds and stifle 'em in the First instant of their motions but he looks upon it as more agreeable to the Excellent designs of his infinite Wisdom and Goodness and to the manifestation of his Almighty Power to permit their Fancies to be impregnated with the Vain hope of a happy success in their ungodly project 〈…〉 suddenly and surprizingly makes the issue of their wicked Hearts abortive and when the Children of iniquity are just come to the Birth he does not permit 'em to have strength to bring forth and grants his People a wonderful Deliverance 〈…〉 are 〈◊〉 falling down the Precipice of utter Ruine and Destruction Thus in the Passage of the Israelites over the River Jordan we read that as soon as the Priests that bare the Ark were come to Jordan and their Feet were dipt in the brim of the Water and they might according to the measure of Humane reason have expected at the next step to be Swallowed up in the deep the Text says that the Waters fail'd and were cut off and that River which just before had overflow'd his Banks did then forsake his Channel and the People passed over on dry Ground We see in this Instance that the time which God Appointed for the Passage of his People over Jordan was at that time of the Year when his Flood was at the heighth and we also see that the Waters were not cut off till the Feet of the Priests were wet in the brim of the River and then and not tell then it was that the Text tells us that the Waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap And the Priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan as we may read in the third Chapter of Joshua at the two last Verses And of the like nature was the Deliverance wrought for us as on this Day for while our Enemies had made the Cellers under the Parliament House a Tophet according to the Description of it in the thirteenth Chapter of Isaiah at the last Verse Tho' it was prepared for the King and the three Estates of the Realm tho' the Pile thereof was Fire and much Wood yet the latter part of the Character of Tophet was wanting for the breath of the Lord was so far unlike a stream of Brimstone to enkindle it that like a stream of many Waters it prevented the breaking out of the unconquerable Flame In the 18th Chapter of the Wisdom of Solomon we have a most Excellent Idea given us of Gods surprizing Vengeance on the Enemies of his Church in the sudden and unexpected destruction of the first born among the Aegyptians in these most remarkable Words While all things were in quiet silence and that night was in the midst of her swift course thine Almighty Word lept down from Heaven out of thy Royal Throne as a fierce Man of War into the midst of a Land of Destruction and brought thy unfeign'd Commandment as a sharp sword and standing up fill'd all things with Death and touched the Heaven but it stood upon the Earth These words may with a little alteration very clearly describe to us the surprizing Wonders of this days Deliverance for while the mischievous and fatal Plots of our Enemies were in quiet silence and in full security of Success and while their mighty Works of hellish Darkness were not only in the midst of their swift Course but just brought to the point of Execution then it was that Gods Almighty Word leapt down from Heaven out of his Royal Throne to save his People as he did formerly to destroy his Enemies and brought Gods express Command as a sharp Word to cut off the implacable Foes of the publick Peace and the Protestant Religion It touched the Heaven and stood upon the Earth it had its Commission from above very clearly to discover and effectually to prevent that unparallel'd Massacre here below which

days And the meaning of that Title of the Prince of Persia in that Text is generally thought to be the Guardian Angel of that Countrey who it seems very diligently solicited the concerns of the Persian Empire in the Court of Heaven Secondly That Almighty God does more remarkably imploy his power and goodness in the protection of Religious States and Kingdoms professing his holy and eternal truth is evident by that very tenth Chapter of the foremention'd Prophecy for as that Tutalar Angel of the Jewish Church did acquaint Daniel that the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia had oppos'd him So he assures him that Michael one of the chief Princes came to help him By which is meant that the Persian Angel did so vigourously prosecute the publick interest and advantage of that Kingdom that were it not for the more prevalent intercession of Michael the Archangel the zealous endeavours of this inferior heavenly Guardian of the Jewish Nation would in all probability have been unsuccesful From all which we may observe that besides the general Providence of Almighty God over all the World he has delegated the more especial care and protection of Kingdoms to Angelical Governors and that he does commit the defence and preservation of his Church in a most especial manner to those of the highest order of beatified Spirits for Michael one of the chief Princes of the heavenly Host is said in the last verse of that tenth Chapter to be Prince of the Jewish Nation that is their chiefest Tutelar Angel and Guardian by which we may clearly understand with what honor God is pleas'd to dignify and with what security he immures the persons of his own Church people against the secret conspiracies and the forcible assaults of their inveterate Enemies And that we may the more fully be assur'd that there is no reason to fear the dark designs and malicious contrivances of our most subtil and potent adversaries God himself is declar'd by the Prophet David in 84th Psalm at the 11th verse to be a Sun and a Shield a Sun to discover dark plots of our implacable foes and a Shield to defend us from their open violence and since hell it self as Job says is naked before God and destruction has no covering we may certainly conclude that all those treasonable conspiracies which have their rise and original from hell and are designed for the destruction of God's people tho they be never so cunningly contriv'd or never so secretly carried on will as we have reason to hope be detected and defeated by his infinitely wise and over-ruling providence For we are told by St. Paul that the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men that is the least degree if I may so speak of Divine Power can baffle the utmost strength of the greatest Princes and the least measure of divine wisdom can infatuate the best laid designs of the most subtil Politicians Thirdly I say that there are some particular dispensations that plainly discover the special hand of God in the management of ' em For tho the works of divine providence be commonly cloudy dark yet there are some particular events that have the signatures of God's Power Wisdom and Goodness so plainly stampt upon 'em and are of such peculiar frame and make that all men that seriously consider 'em shall say This has God done for they shall perceive that it is his Work And in reference to these unusual occurrences there are several Phrases in the holy Scriptures which are very observable and particularly import the variety of God's methods in these extraordinary dispensations of his providence Thus God's arm is sometimes exprest in holy Scipture to be made bare and to be lifted up in the atchievement of some prodigious Works An example of the first of these we have in the 52 d Chapter of the Prophecy of Isaih at the 10th verse Where the Prophet reminding the Church of the great miracles which the Lord had wrought for her safety and advantage says That the Lord has had made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the Nations that is as a Souldier in the heat of battle will disengage his hands from whatever may hinder him in the use of his Sword and if he find his Gantlet heavy and cumbersom to him will quit it to enjoy the natural strength and freedom of his arm So when God sees his Church and People in imminent danger of perishing if they be left to the natural efficacy of visible causes He is frequently pleas'd in such an extraordinary exigence openly to appear in their behalf and laying aside some weak and feeble instrument wherein his hand did invisibly engage it self in their defence he makes bare his Arm in the Eyes of all the Nations He delivers them from the prevailing Force of their Enemies by some miraculous instances of this infinite power and love Secondly Another Phrase made use of in holy Scripture to express the special Providence of Almighty God in some particular emergencies is the raising and lifting up of his Arm. Thus in the 26 Chapter of the Prophecy of Isaiah at the 11 Verse the Prophet Addresses himself to God in these words Lord when thy Hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the People Now by his Hand being lifted up we must not understand Gods acting purely by his own Omnipotence without the concurrence of any visible assistant but only that he raises and exalts causes to so great a degree of power as to enable 'em to perform such actions as are vastly beyond the small proportion of their Natural strength In this sense we must understand the Israelites Conquests of the Land of Canaan for God himself do's frequently tell 'em that the Nations whose Land they should possess were stronger and mightier than they and yet he Commands 'em not to be dismay'd because the Lord himself should go before 'em and should destroy their Enemies with a great destruction until they were Consum'd By all which promises the Children of Israel did not apprehend that God would put them into the quiet Possession of the Land of Canaan without a necessity of their own Fighting but that he would bless their Arms with wonderful success and would enable 'em to the gaining of those Victories which they never would have got but by the assistance of his Almighty Power But Fourthly It is the indispensible Duty of the People of God both carefully to Remark and Religiously to celebrate the Miraculous dispensations of Divine Providence in the preservation of his Church Among the several notes of distinction betwixt rational Creatures and brute Beasts this is reckon'd as one of the most considerable that whereas brute Beasts do only Stare at some unusual objects and are startl'd at some sudden and surprising accidents God has been pleas'd to endue Mankind with the power of Reasoning