Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	faith_n	heaven_n	lord_n	2,482	5	3.6862	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19485	The brazen serpent: or, the copie of a sermon preached at Pauls Crosse, Decemb. 31. 1620. By Iohn Andrevves, priest and preacher of the VVord of God at Saint Iames Clerkenwell in Middlesex	Andrewes, John, fl. 1615.	1621 (1621)	STC 591; ESTC S122344	23,076	64

perswaded that what hee commands he doth will and what he promiseth he will most assuredly performe The Causes why all promises of men are not alwaies kept I haue obserued to be commonly two viz either want of power and ability to performe or want of will to bee as good as their word neither of which can be said of Christ For he is God omnipotent potent and able to doe whatsoeuer hee promiseth And he is Optimus of a good and gracious disposition willing to performe whatsoeuer hee promiseth So that as I told you though the Brazen Serpent considered in it selfe be but a very weake and vnlikely meanes to heale such as were stung to death by fiery Serpents yet because God did ordaine it to that end and purpose as a Morall Instrument to conuay health to all such as did looke towards it Hee being able to doe what he will by what meanes how weake soeuer it pleaseth him to make choice of therefore whosoeuer looked towards it was actually healed Consider the like to this in the Cursed water drunke by the suspected Wife Num. 5. 27 28. If shee were guilty of breach of wedlock the water being drunk caused her thigh to rot and her belly to swell if not guilty she vpon the drinking thereof conceiued with child I demand then Whence had the water power to distinguish betwixt a chast and an vnchast Wife how chance it did not rot the thigh of the woman that was not guilty as well as of the other The simplest may perceiue it did not these things by any vertue or power it had in it selfe but because God had ordained and appointed it so that it being thus vsed should produce such effects And this will giue some light vnto vs in the matter of the Sacrament so much controuerted betwixt vs and the Church of Rome from whom as in diuers other points of Religion so also in this wee suffer slander They would faine beare the World in hand that we make the Sacraments of Christ but bare emptie signes of certaine graces and no more But heerein they doe vs great wrong For howbeit we say truely that they are Signes yet not bare signes but f Confessio Anglicana articulo de Baptismo morall instruments and meanes by which God doth confer those graces really and truly on vs which those signes doe represent So saith the Catechisme of our Church What doest thou meane by this word Sacrament Ans I meane an outward and visible signe of an inward and Spirituall grace giuen vnto vs ordained by Christ himselfe as a meanes or Instrument whereby wee receiue the same Grace and a pledge to assure vs thereof Indeed a man would thinke that a little Bread and Wine consecrated with solemne benediction were but poore and feeble meanes to conuay vnto vs the Body and Blood and Godhead of Gods eternall Sonne together with all his benefits purchased for vs as namely to free vs from the wrath of God from the endlesse torments of Hell from the curse of the Law to cloath vs with the righteousnesse of Christ and to conuay vnto vs a sure firme title to the Kingdome of Heauen and euerlasting life one would thinke this were impossible to be performed by a morsell of Consecrated Bread and a sup of hallowed Wine And so it is if wee consider the things as they are in their owne nature But if we weigh with our selues that Christ himselfe being God omnipotent hath ordained and appointed them to this end that we by them shall receiue such Benefits and hath faithfully promised that He by them as by a morall instrument will bestow such vnconceiueable graces vpon vs though those Graces be not Naturally contained in the Symboles and outward Elements of Bread and Wine themselues It remaineth that we doe but fit and prepare our selues to receiue them and so to beleeue vndoubtedly that he is and will be as good as his word in bestowing all them vpon vs at the very instant that we receiue the Bread and Wine into our bodies As whosoeuer was fitted for it and as God had commanded did but looke vp to the Serpent did immediatly recouer his bodily health Not because a piece of molten Brasse had that power in it selfe to giue life hauing none in it selfe but because God had ordained it to that end and did really performe what he did promise Let me torment your patience a while longer vpon this point I haue often compared those Holy mysteries to a Lease which is a morall Instrument A Gentleman makes seales deliuers a Lease to a Tenant of a Farme containing two or three hundred Acres of Land lying butting and bordering thus and thus vpon condition that the Tenant shall pay him so much Rent The Tenant receiues the Lease and hauing it in his hand shews it to his Friend and tels him that he hath there two hundred pounds a yeere three hundred Acres of Land The Parchment and Inke and Waxe of the Lease haue not the very Acres of Ground nor Trees nor Houses growing in them and yet by that Parchment or Lease the Tenant will possesse so much I demand then how commeth it to passe that this piece of Parchment and these drops of Inke This Lease hath power to conuay so much ground Really and actually to mee to a Tenant It hath no ground growing within it whence then hath it power to giue it to me The answer is that the Power it hath to performe this commeth not from the Waxe Inke and Parchment but from the legall Power and Authoritie of the Law-maker who did decree and ordaine that a Deed conceiued in such and such forme of words should be effectuall and powerfull to giue to a Tenant reall possession of such Lands and Houses So it is in the Sacrament euen as in an Indenture By it Christ doth giue vs his very Body and Blood his Merits his righteousnesse By it he passeth ouer to vs a Deed of all the Ioyes of Heauen he seales vnto vs a pardon of all our sinnes and of all the punishments belonging vnto them Mary on this Condition that we doe truly pay to him his Rent viz. True Repentance of all our sinnes True Charitie with our Neighbours True Faith in his Blood and a New sincere Obedience to Gods Commandements When we receiue this wee say This is the Body and Blood of Christ heere haue I Remission of all my sinnes and the Kingdome of Heauen passed ouer vnto me Yet that bit of bread hath not the Kingdom of Heauen contained in it nor the Body of Christ growing in it or conuerted into it neither hath the Wine the Blood of Christ within it and yet by That Bread and Wine the worthy Receiuer doth really and truly receiue whole Christ with all his Graces and benefits mentioned Whence haue they this Power In their own Nature they haue it not Whence then can they conuay All this to me I Answer The power which they haue comes

THE BRAZEN SERPENT OR the Copie of a SERMON Preached at PAVLS Crosse Decemb. 31. 1620. BY IOHN ANDREVVES Priest and Preacher of the VVORD of GOD at Saint Iames Clerkenwell in MIDDLESEX Martial lib. 13. Ep. 2. Ne perdas operam Qui se mirantur in illos Virus habe Nos Haec nouimus esse Nihil NOLI ALTUM SAPERE LONDON Printed by G. P. for Thomas Thorp and are to bee sold neere Christ-Church Gate by Ed. Wright 1621. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE IOHN EARLE OF Houldernesse Viscount Haddington and Baron of Kingstone vpon Thames c. My singular good LORD and PATRONE Right Hon and my very good LORD SInce I first vnderstood that it pleased GOD of his gracious mercy to make choice of your right hand to be the happy Instrument by which Hee thought it meete to make this Kingdome of Great BRITAINE happy in rescuing the life of His Anointed Our Gracious and dread Soueraigne from the Malignant Sword of bloud-thirsty conspirators I did euer magnifie the name of the Lord for you For not I only But all the Inhabitants of this Kingdome at least So many as loue the peace of Hierusalem and pray for the prosperitie of Sion are bound to honour you and to praise God for you Seeing that by your meanes in preseruing our Soueraigne from the Sword of the Treacherous he preserued for vs the matchlesse perfections of many Princes in one For in him we enioy an Augustus a Commodus a Probus a Pius a Constantinus and a Salomon a King of Peace without which neither Religion nor Piety nor Probity nor Commoditie nor Maiesty can haue their perfect lustre For his Maiesty is not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 peaceable in himselfe but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Peace-bringer to vs in this Land and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Peace-maker among Forraine Nations round about and for this cause highly honoured and deuoutly prayed for by all sorts of People euen beyond the Seas as being One whom they hope God hath ordained to be a principall meanes to heale the fresh-bleeding wounds and to staunch the Bloudy-issue of Christendome So that all Christendome for his Maiesties preseruation next vnder God standeth bound vnto you My Lord I am a plaine-brested man Hee that knoweth me knowes I cannot flatter This with many other expressions of goodnesse was that which did first not inuite but enforce me to loue and honour you I may bow to your Greatnesse but it is your Goodnesse that claimes from me all loue and vnfained honour towards you And heerein I doe but imitate your Lordship who had rather weare the style of a Good man and an Honest Lord then of a Rich man and a Great Lord. And you heerein do imitate the Lord of all Lords who albeit he be Deus Optimus Maximus of All that 's good the best and of all that 's great the greatest yet notwithstanding as Pliny saith Plinius in Panegyric● Traian dict He is prius optimus quam maximus Hee prefers his goodnesse before his greatnesse Wherefore howbeit Tantò sim pessimus omnium propheta Quantò Tu optimus omnium Patronus I presumed to present these worthlesse Papers to your Lordship trusting only vpon your Goodnesse for a liberall Acceptance For vnlesse the wiser Sages haue deceiued me Bounty and Liberalitie consist not only in Giuing but also in a cheerfull and gracious Accepting and receiuing of a Present The slenderer the Present the meaner the Giuer is the more doth it commend and increase the Liberalitie of the Noble Receiuer For to Princes and great Potentates we doe not so much giue the Thing it selfe which we doe present vnto them as in It wee doe make tender of our very Hearts our Loue Dutie Honour and dearest Regards All these I heere present to your Goodnesse and not doubting of your Noble acceptance commend you to the goodnesse of Him that hath honoured you on Earth and will glorifie you in Heauen Your Honours poore Beades-man and vnworthy Chaplaine IOHN ANDREVVES To the Reader REader whether courteous or vncourteous I know not I am sure I care not For in this matter I am Iohn indifferent As I came of late to the Crosse as a Beare to the Stake so now I come to the Presse as a Theefe to the Gallowes sore against my mind Which I write to premonish thee lest thou shouldest mistake one for another For another there is who writes both his Names as I doe and hath published diuers Bookes as Petitions Subpoena's Christ Crosses c. Now because I would be loth to defraud him of any Right or Honour which may duly belong vnto him or that He should share with me in my shame I doe heereby certifie thee that I am not the Man For I neuer saw the Kingdome of Ireland in all my life but in Bookes nor the County of Wilts but in the worthy Worke of the learned iudicious and famous Antiquary M r. Clarencieux And for my part howsoeuer I be the meanest among the many thousands that are called to the Sacred Priesthood yet I may truly protest that I neuer played the Circumforanean Theologaster Istos enim Circulatores qui Sacram Philosophiam honestiùs neglexissent quàm vendunt semper exosos habui And for mine Owne part I was neuer in Print before Neither was it either in my purpose or in my desire to come abroad to the World in Print at this time The importunate request of my friends could neuer haue pressed me to the Presse if I had knowne which way to suppresse certaine bastard and illegitimate Copies of this silly Sermon which wandred vp down the Town like vagrants and were taken Begging here for a Crown and there for an Angel c. It was my desire that they should haue been had to the House of Correction and after due punishment sent back to the place where they were born or rather misbegotten But the multitude of them was so numerous that Iustice without inconuenience could not be done vpon them Therefore to vindicate my selfe from the imputation of glorious Barbarisme and most lame and vnioynted Nonsence I knew no better course then by making the Genüine Copy of that which I then deliuered publique to the World Such as it is thou hast it accept it euen as thou canst finde in thine Heart I grant I haue not interlarded it with any exotique Elegancies nor conclouted the Margent with many Quotations because I found it somewhat cumbersome to the Compositors For the Style I confesse it is plain and incurious euen like my Speach Garments For it was my study euer to be rather inter Zenonis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quàm 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And to say the Truth as I neuer had any facilitie in teaching Periods to daunce Friskin and such-like curiosities So did I neuer take any felicitie in it For I was perswaded that such laboriosae nugae were better neglected then ambitiously affected If for no other regard