Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A62602
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A sermon preach'd at the Cathedral Church of Worcester upon the thanksgiving-day, April 16, 1696 by W. Talbot ...
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Talbot, William, 1658 or 9-1730.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing T124; ESTC R9963
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17,703
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30
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and shall we not through him offer to God the Sacrifice of praise continually May we still partake of the Wine as well as Bread in the Eucharist and shall we not receive the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord Is Jerusalem safe notwithstanding her Enemies cry'd down with her down with her even to the ground and may our Feet stand in her Gates may we yet frequent her solemn Assembly and praise the Lord of Heaven with Musick Vocal and Instrumental and shall we be silent If any thing strikes us dumb but wonder and astonishment at the greatness and strangeness of our Salvation we shall deserve to continue so and that our tongues should cleave to the roof of our mouths 't is fit the neglected Harps should be hang'd for ever upon the Willows and the skilful hand that toucht them forget its cunning if they make not a chearful noise to the God of Jacob upon so Joyful an occasion and if we prefer not Jerusalem above our chief Joy and join not in one of the Songs of Zion for her deliverance in the Temple of God how deservedly may God give her up to the will of our Enemies suffer them to carry us away Captive and tauntingly require of us in a strange Land a Song and Melody in our heaviness My Brethren this is the business for which Authority has this Day call'd us together and who ever can willfully disobey that call and without very just reason refuse to come up with the multitude to the House of God with the Voice of Joy and Praise with the Multitude that keep Holy-day they give but just cause of suspicion that they were Well-wishers to the Villainous Design and are sorry 't is defeated I am very glad to see such a numerous appearance in this place and hope that better Principles than Formality or Curiosity or fear of Censure that a true sence of the never to be forgotten Mercy and hearty desire to express your thankfulness to the gracious Author of it has brought you together And oh that I could say any thing to increase that sence in you and to enlarge your Hearts and raise up your Souls to the highest pitch of Gratitude and Devotion Assure your selves if the greatness of the destruction which threatned and was within few days of over taking us if the wonderfulness of our deliverance who are escaped as a Bird that was taken in the Snare if the visible appearance of the hand of God in our rescue who saw the Snares and Designs our Enemies were privily laying while we were secure and unapprehensive of them and discover'd and broke them before they could take effect if these are any motives of thankfulness they have their full strength and force upon us in the present case All that is valuable to us as appertaining either to this Life or Godliness our Lives with all the Comforts of them our Liberties our Estates our Friends and which I hope we esteem above all our Reformed Religion were all upon the very brink of ruine The Blow was near being given and we knew nothing of it so far were we from being able to have warded it of which must either have Murdered us presently or if any had survived it for some time they must have lived Slaves and then died with the miserable prospect of leaving their wretched Posterity such fetter'd both in Body and Mind under Temporal and Spiritual Chains and nothing has prevented this Blow or saved us from this ruine but a merciful and watchful Providence Let us then say in the words of our Royal Prophet Blessed be the Lord God the God of Israel who only doth wondrous things and blessed be his glorious name for ever and let the whole Earth be filled with his glory Amen Amen 3. But lastly to conclude let us repose our Trust and Confidence in this God for the future and say with Israel our help standeth in the name of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth 'T is certain this Church and Nation have been for some time preserved in that peaceable and happy state we enjoy by little less than Miracle God has as plainly appeared for us as he did of old for his People whom he brought out of Aegypt with a mighty hand but yet as they were questioning his power even in the midst of Miracles and distrusting his goodness at the same time that they had present Experience of it He smote the stony Rock indeed but can he give bread c. Those mouths which should have been opened only in his praise were filled with nothing but murmurings and diffidence so has it been with too many among us complainings and repineings doubts and despair almost have been heard in our streets and how justly might God have verifyed our unreasonable and unthankful fears When St. Peter at his own request was commanded by Christ to come unto him upon the Water he walked safely upon the surface of it while his Faith boy'd him up but when at the raging of the Winds his Faith began to shake and he was afraid as if Christ who he saw at that time Commanded the Seas and they obey'd could not govern the Winds too and secure him against both how reasonably did Christ chastise his despondency and want of Faith by letting him begin to sink And so might God have dealt with us withdrawn his Protection from us and suffered the Waters to have over-whelmed us when we had so unworthily distrusted his Power and Readiness to Rule the raging of them after he had so often forced them within their Banks and for our sakes said to them hitherto shall you come and no further But he has rather chose to upbraid than correct us for our repining and doubting and to bring us to our duty of an humble affiance and trust in him by giving fresh instances of his Power and Goodness than punish our neglect of it by withdrawing them from us How should this even shame us out of our insidelty I can call it no better and give us a holy Confidence in him and Dependance upon him that he who has so often and strangely appeared for us will be our God and Guide for ever that he who has deliver'd us from so great a death and doth deliver will yet deliver us and perfect in his time that good work which he has begun and carried on so far for us But then in order to this trust and relyance that they may be reasonable and well grounded we cann't but think there is something to be done by us and what is that but to endeavour to walk worthy of that goodness which God has shew'd to us by improving the mercy he continues to us to his Glory and by making him the returns of a filial fear unfeigned Love and an universal Obedience without this our Faith will be but a vain Considence and meer Presumption We have the best Government and Laws in the World but if