Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A73099
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[Jerusalems fall, Englands warning ... of Gods word.]
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F. S.
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1617
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STC 21491.7; ESTC S125332
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22,355
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present all other thing necessary for man doe accompany it and follow Our Lord and God therefore who is the onely giuer of wise and perfect counsell doth briefely and shortly knit all these things together in the Gospell and his holy word First Seeke the kingdome of God and the righteousnesse thereof and all other things shall be administred vnto you Mat. 6. Therefore our Lord Iesus said thus to his Disciples Luk. 10. Blessed are your eyes which see the things that you see for I say vnto you that many Kings and Prophets haue desired to see the things which you see and haue not seene them and to heare the things which you heare and haue not heard them Againe Luk. 11. Blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it And this one thing aboue all other things is most necessary Mary hath chosen the better part which shall not be taken from her I dare therefore confidently affirme out of the word of God that those Kings shall flourish and inioy a happy estate which doe wholy giue and submit themselues and their kingdomes vnto Iesus Christ the onely begotten Sonne of God who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords acknowledging him to be the most mighty Prince and greatest Monarch of all and themselues to be his seruants and subiects in all their affaires and businesses not following their owne minde and iudgements nor the traditions and lawes of men contrary to the statutes of God nor good intentions hauing no good warrant out of the word of God but in all things submitting themselues vnto Christ the king of the Church and endeuouring to subdue all their people to the lawes of this king and so doing they their people and their kingdomes shall flourish For so the Lord himselfe hath spoken Deut. 17.18 When the King shall sit in the throne of his kingdome and shall set before him the example of this Law in this booke let it be with him and let him reade in it all the dayes of his life Vers 20. And let him not depart from this commandement either to the right hand or to the left that he may prolong his dayes in his kingdome he and his sonnes in the middest of Israel So likewise Deut. 28. from vers 1. vnto the sixt Againe Let not this booke of the Law depart out of thy mouth but meditate in it day and night that thou mayst carefully doe as it is written therein then shalt thou prosper in thy waies and all shall goe well with thee Iosu 1.8 Whereby it appeareth that the felicitie and prosperitie of Kings Princes People and kingdomes doe depend vpon the word of God and haue promises of blessings both in this life and in the life to come And now we will proue it by examples Saul the first King of Israel was so long happy and a conquerour of his enemies as he obeyed the word of God but when he yeelded to his good intentions contrary to Gods word and commandement Samuel said vnto him Thou hast plaid the foole thou hast forsaken the word of the Lord and the Lord hath forsaken thee that thou shouldest not be King of Israel 1 Sam. 15.26 Now how great the misery of Saul was afterward the storie doth euidently declare Dauid succeeded him next in the Kingdome who was most happy in his kingdome But how greatly he esteemed the word of God it may appeare in the booke of the Psalmes especially in the 119. Psalme for from his priuate euils from his euill actions committed against the word of God and from the vnnaturall insurrection of his Son Absolon against him he had learned how great a sinne and how pernicious an euill it was to decline from the word of God Salomon the Sonne of Dauid the most wise and most excellent King of all the world did so long inioy prosperitie and was commended of the Lord as he did reuerently obey the word of God but when he once began to reiect the word of God the Lord by and by said vnto him Because this was in thy heart that thou hast not kept my couenant and my statutes which I haue commanded thee I will rent thy Kingdome from thee and giue it to thy Seruant 1 King 11.11 And this presently came to passe after the death of Salomon The kingdome was rent into two parts ten Tribes followed Ieroboam the Seruant of Salomon and two Tribes onely cleaued to Roboam the Sonne of Salomon who for the contempt of Gods word and following strangers was ouerwhelmed with many euils 2 Chron. 12.5 Therefore Shemaiaeh the Prophet said vnto Roboam and to the Princes of Iudah Thus saith the Lord You haue forsaken me therefore I doe also forsake you leauing you to the hands of Shishacke Likewise Abia the Sonne of Roboam ouercame the armie of Israel though more in number and greater in strength because he trusted in the word of the Lord. 2 Chro. 13.15 So Asa prospered in peace and tranquility forty yeares because he suppressed Idolatry and superstition and restored the sincere religion of God 2 Chro. 14. So Iehosaphat 2 Chron. 17. This is also diligently noted in the liues of the rest of the Kings as in Ioram in Ochosia 4 King 9. In Ioas 2 Chro. 23.24 In Amasia 2 Chro. 25. In Osia 2 Chro. 26. In Iothan 2 Chro. 27. In Achaz ibidem In Ezechiah In Manasses and the rest vntill the carying away into captiuitie both of the house of Israel and of Iuda for so long did they flourish and prosper as they did cleaue to the word of the Lord but when they contemned and forsooke the word of the Lord they fell into great misery and ruine Therefore hence we may collect that the ground foundation and continuance of all happinesse peace and prosperitie of Kings and Kingdomes doth consist in the word of God and the obedience thereunto and on the other side the ruine and confusion of Kings and Kingdomes is in the contempt and forsaking of the word of God And why so because the Lord saith They that honour me I will honour but they that despise me I will despise 1 Sam. 2.30 But leauing these examples which doe abundantly confirme this truth Let vs consider of some moderne and late examples whereof we haue beene eye-witnesses How did God blesse our late noble Queene Elizabeth that againe he might seale the truth of this doctrine to all the world Blessed is that Prince whose God is the Lord. Psal 144.15 How plentifully did God blesse her and her people aboue all Kings and Nations with peace and plenty according to the Prayer in the Psalme for Ierusalem Psal 122. For she and we her people did inioy such peace and such plenty as our forefathers neuer knew nor Chronicles doe record to haue beene in the time of our auncestours in times past Our Land did yeelde abundance of all things which grew at home and forraigne Nations did minister plenty of other commodities growing abroad So that
such abūdance as he caused his bed to swim Psal 6.6 and watered his couch with his teares In both which places though there be an Hyperbolicall excesse of speech for it is not possible for men to fill buckets with teares Cura dolorque animi lacrymaeque alimenta fuere Ouid meta li. 10. nor to cause themselues to swimme in their beds yet it signifieth that there was an exceeding great measure of griefe Againe he saith that his teares were his meate Psal 42.3 Luk. 7.38 Ioel. 2.12 day and night And Mary as before was noted shed such plenty of teares as shee washed our Sauiours feete with them Let vs then I beseech you Weepe for your selues and for your children Luk. 23.28 A good saying of a prophane mouth Ille dolet verè qui sine teste dolet Martialis lib 1. Epigra 34. turne vnto the Lord with fasting and with weeping and with mourning both for the sinnes of others and for our owne sinnes O that I could obtaine thus much of you or rather of God for you that you would weepe for your sinnes though not at this time and in this place yet when you are at home and by your selues when ye consider of this ye haue heard this day that so God may regard your teares put them into his bottle and auert the iudgements which our sinnes haue iustly deserued We haue heard how our Lord Iesus wept ouer Ierusalem now let vs consider what Ierusalem did Ierusalem was secure she reioyced she was merry she feared no danger therefore her destruction came suddenly vpon her and she could not auoide it This was the state of the first age they ate they dranke they bought they sould they married and were giuen in marriage and sodainely the floud came and swept them all away This was the state of Pharaoh and his Hoast This was the state of the Sodomites they feared no danger and suddenly were consumed with fire and brimstone from heauen This was the state of Babilon Isa 47.7 who said I shall be a Lady for euer therefore she gaue her selfe to pleasure and dwelt carelesse she said I am and none else I shall not sit as a widow neither shall know the losse of children 8. But what said the Lord now heare 9. these two things shall come to thee suddenly in one day the losse of children and widowhood they shall come vpon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy diuinations and for the great abundance of thy Inchanters Saint Iohn likewise Reuel 18.7.8 Luk. 12.19.20 in the Reuelation prophesied in like manner of her This was the state of the rich man in the Gospell who promised to himselfe many dayes Of the rich Glutton Luk. 18. and yet the same night his soule was fetcht away This was the errour of Dauid who said in his prosperity he should neuer be remoued but he retracted it finding the contrary Now here we haue a true discription of the world and of the times wherein we liue we haue inioyed such a long peace as neither our Fathers nor our forefathers euer knew we haue had so long prosperitie we haue had so great plenty of all things but aboue all these we haue had the Gospell and word of God so plentifully and so sincerely preached among vs as scarce hath beene seene in any age heretofore Now these Halcion daies this long peace this great prosperitie makes men secure they thinke this will euer hold they feare no alteration they thinke they stand immoueable this was the state of former times and they smarted for their securitie and vaine confidence let vs then take heede and be wise Omnium rerum est vicissitudo let vs remember the change of all things is sudden if God enter into iudgement with vs if he hide his face from vs we shall be changed and our prosperitie may be turned into aduersity our ioy into mourning Mat. 24.37.38 Our Lord Iesus foretould the securitie of the world before his comming that it should be as it was in the time of Noah And Saint Paul saith When they shall say peace Thes 5.13 and safetie then shall suddow destruction come vpon them as the trauaile vpon a woman and they shall not escape Let vs not then flatter our selues with these goodly daies but let vs feare an alteration let vs like good Seruants be alwaies ready with our accompt in our hands and like wise Virgins with oyle in our Lampes that no sudden change may ouertake vs nor any aduersitie dismay vs but that we may say in any aduerse hap that may befall vs as Iob said that is come vpon me that I was affraid of Amen Saying O if thou hadst knowne at the least in this thy day those things which belong vnto thy peace IN these words our Sauiour Christ doth complaine and vpbraide the blindenesse of Ierusalem His words are passionate therefore abrupt for we know in whom earnest affections meete being surprised with griefe they cannot vtter their whole minde but breake off abruptly Christ then doth not onely complaine and pitty the destruction of Ierusalem but doth also vpbraide this ingratefull people their great wickednesse in reiecting saluation offered and drawing wittingly the heauie iudgement of God vpon them For it is very like that this thought did disquiet the minde of our Lord Iesus Behold O daughter Sion and Ierusalem I come vnto thee thy King and thy Sauiour as the Prophet promised thee but poore and humble therefore thou despisest me from whose hand thou mightest receiue righteousnesse euerlasting life I would thou hadst knowne those things which belong vnto thy peace and wert not blinde in thine owne euill and in this thy day wherein so many and such admirable things doe call thee to the knowledge of these things For now thou hast mee preaching vnto thee the kingdome of heauen the day of saluation and visitation is risen vpon thee which thou oughtest to know by my doctrine and miracles wrought before thy eyes in the middest of thee But O thrise and foure times vnhappy these things are hid from thee thou doest maliciously blinde thy selfe that thou mightest not see them therefore thou doest rage and art mad against me and seekest my bloud whom with an earnest affection thou shouldest receiue and embrace as thy Sauiour By this then it appeareth that our Lord Iesus complaineth against the blindnesse stubbornenesse and ingratitude of Ierusalem that by no admonitions no benefits nay not with teares she would not be mollified nor warned to auoide her future calamities Simile For euen as a good Father labouring to draw a stubborne and disobedient Sonne to grace and goodnesse by all good meanes but doth not preuaile hath the greater cause to complaine euen so our Lord Iesus had great cause to complaine against Ierusalem not considering the grace that was offered vnto her And this affection of so great mercy which we see was in