Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	city_n	great_a	lord_n	2,295	5	3.5103	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86450	The valley of vision, or A clear sight of sundry sacred truths. Delivered in twenty-one sermons; by that learned and reverend divine, Richard Holsvvorth, Dr. in Divinity, sometimes Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, Master of Emanuel Colledge, and late preacher at Peters Poore in London. The particular titles and texts are set downe in the next leafe.	Holdsworth, Richard, 1590-1649.; Holdsworth, Richard, 1590-1649. Peoples happinesse.	1651 (1651)	Wing H2404; Thomason E631_1; ESTC R202438	355,440	597

fruit of the bodie That the children may be as young plants The blessings of the field That the sheep may bring forth thousands and the oxen be strong to labour The blessings of going out and coming in That they may be delivered from the hand of strange children and saved out of great waters Here is briefly the compound of the many simples which make up this case or condition of a peoples happinesse And surely if by these particulars it be defined we may boldly say The condition is our own and men may pronounce of us as truly as of any Nation that we have been for a long time a happy people Our deliverances from strange children have been great and miraculous and our land it hath been a Goshen a lightsome land whereas the darknesse of discomfort hath rested upon other Nations The blessings of the citie and field of the basket and of the store have grown upon us in such abundance that many men have surfetted of plentie Our land hath been as an Eden and garden of the Lord for fruitfulnesse as a Salem for peace whereas other kingdomes do yet grone under the pressures of sword and famine Besides these if there be any blessing which the Scripture mentions in other places Peace in the walls Plentie in the palaces Traffick in the ports or Salvation in the gates if any part of happinesse which it speaks of in this Psalme for plantings or buildings or reapings or storings or peoplings we have had them all in as much fulnesse as any part of the world and in more then most onely there is one particular may be questioned or rather cannot be denied That amidst the very throng of all these blessings there are some murmurings and complainings in our streets But it need not seem strange to us because it is not new in the world In the stories of all ages we meet with it That men used to complain of their times to be evil when indeed themselves made them so I may be bold to say There was cause in respect of sinne then as well as now especially with godly men who are so good themselves that it is no marvell if they thought times a little evil to be extremely bad as alwayes sinne swells to the eye of grace But if we speak of outward pressures and calamities I am certain there is not cause now as then for the riches of the Kingdome were never so great the peace of the Kingdome never so constant the state of it for all things never so prosperous Onely we must give leave to the world to be like it self As long as ambition or covetousnesse are in the world men of such spirits will cry out The times are bad even when they are best because they in their own bad sense still desire to be better As nothing is enough so nothing is pleasing to a restlesse mind An insatiable appetite is alwayes impatient and because impatient querulous Yet this is not the sole reason for besides this humour of appetite the very corruption of our nature leads us hereunto To be weary of the present It is the joynt observation both of Divines and Moralists as of Salvian Quintilian Tacitus and others who agree as near almost in words as in opinion Quòd usitatum est mentis humanae vitium illa magìs semper velle qua desunt vetera quidem in laude praesentiain fastidio ponere Our own experience will tell us as much if we will take pains to observe it How through the pravity of our own dispositions whatsoever is present proves burdensome whether it be good or bad Salvian in his third De Gubernatione sets forth this humour to the life That men of all times were displeased with all times Si aestus est saith he de ariditate causamur si fluvia de inundatione conquerimur si infoecundior annus est accusamus sterilitatem si foecundior vilitatem So winter and summer are both alike distastfull to impatient men In scarcity things are too dear in plentie too cheap povertie pincheth and abundance nauseates If there be a little too much drought they cry out of a famine if a showre or two extraordinary they are affraid of a deluge You shall heare in good times Quid nobis cum Davide and in bad Antigonum effodio as we reade of the Israelites That even when God himself was pleased to order their civill affairs they were not contented but still repined as well when they had manna as when they wanted it The reason is as the Greek Historian notes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But I hope we Christians are of a better temper It beseems not us of all others to be so injurious to God who hath singled us out to be a happy people It beseems us not to be so unthankfull to our Sovereigne under whom we enjoy these blessings Howsoever it ought to be in the first place acknowledged that the originall of all our happinesse is from heaven yet it must be confest withall that the chrystall pipe through which blessings are conveyed unto us is his government Our peace is from his wisdome our plentie from our peace our prosperitie from our plenty our safetie our very life our whatsoever good of this nature it is by Gods providence wrapt up in his welfare whose precious life as the Oratour speaks is Vita quaedam publica the very breath of our nostrils perfumed with multitude of comforts ●ma 4.20 What then remains but that our thankfulnesse should result from all to make our happinesse complete that so both receiving what we desire and retributing what we ow we may give cause unto all Kingdomes to lengthen this acclamation and to say Happy both Prince and people which are in such a case So I have done with the first generall part of the text the path of Prosperitie answerable to the civill respect of the day I now proceed to the second the path of Pietie answerable to the Religious respect Yea happy It 's the best wine to the last though all men be not of this opinion You shall hardly bring a worldly man to think so The world is willing enough to misconster the order of the words and to give the prioritie to Civill happinesse as if it were first in dignitie because 't is first named they like it better to hear of the Cui sic then the Cui Dominus To prevent this follie the Psalmist interposeth a caution in this corrective particle Yea Happy It hath the force of a revocation whereby he seems to retract what went before not simply and absolutely but in a certain degree lest worldly men should wrest it to a misinterpretation It is not an absolute revocation but a comparative it doth not simply deny that there is some part of popular happinesse in these outward things but it preferres the spiritualls before them Yea that is Yea more or Yea rather like that of Christ in the Gospel When one in the

religion is the Vinculum unionis which makes these mutuall interests intercurrent and couples them together it follows as the upshot of all That the chief and choicest part of Nationall happinesse consists in the puritie of God's worship in the enjoying of God's ordinances in the free passage of the Gospel that is in the truth and integritie of religion In this alone there are all sweets all beauties all blisses all glories It is as the ark of God to Israel and as the golden candlestick to the Churches the elevating principle which advanceth a Christian Nation above the heathen and the reformed Churches above other Christian Nations and this Iland in which we live I may say without arrogancie above all There is no Nation in the world which hath had the condition of religion so pure and prosperous as we for almost these hundred yeares It 's true if God calls us to account we cannot say that we have answered our opportunities we find not wherein to boast of our righteousnesse for vve are a sinfull people vvhose lives for the most part of us are as much vvorse as our means and professions better then in other places It is true also that of later yeares the love of religion in most hath grovvn cold and the puritie by some hath been stained and corrupted and I vvill not novv discusse vvhere the fault hath been the rather because it is every mans endeavour to remove it from himself Onely I will adde thus much That wheresoever the fault is there is no man hath shewed himself more forward to reform it then the King himself But Princes cannot alwayes attain their ends according to their liking because they see with other eyes and execute with other hands then their own And if we should cast the faults of men upon authoritie we should do wrong I fear to those who do not deserve it for even this very yeare notwithstanding the reformation of corruptions hath been with so much zeal and diligence endeavoured yet the end is not attained Nay in some respects it is so farre set back that to my understanding the state of religion hath never been worse since the first reformation then this present yeare in respect first of the greatnesse of our distractions which have divided us all one from another then of the multitude of sects and sectaries which cry indeed as the Jews before them Templum Domini but with a worse addition ut Templum Domini diruatur Lastly in respect of the many dishonours done to the service of God with so much scorn and scandall to religion that in forein parts they question whether all this time we had any No doubt all this is come upon us for our sinnes let us remove them and then God will blesse our studie of reformation But yet in the mean time let us remember that message which the good Bishop sent to Epiphanius Domine sol ad occasum descendit Our sun-shine is but yet declining it may come to set if we now begin to disgust this greatest blessing of religion which God hath bestowed upon us Let us learn to regard it more to love it better to blesse God for it and for his government who upholds it a Prince so devout and religious in his own person that if all were like him we should have a Kingdome of Saints In this respect we may use Velleius his words of his Majestie Cùm sit imperio Maximus exemplo Major est The lustre of his pietie surpasseth the lustre of his empire If therefore that of Synesius be true That men generally affect to write after the copies which are set by their Princes it behoves us all both to take out the lesson and to blesse God for the copie And moreover as this day puts us in mind let us all send up our most affectionate prayers that his Throne may be established by Righteousnesse his Crown exalted with Honour his Scepter be for power like Moses rod for flourishing like Aaron's that his happy reigne may in himself outlive us all and in his posteritie be perpetuated to all generations that succeeding ages may confesse Surely God hath been favourable unto this land and hath not dealt so with any Nation O how happy are the people that are in such a case Yea how happy are the people which have the Lord for their God! FINIS SERMON I. Hosea 14.2 Take with you words and turne to the Lord say unto him take away all iniquitie and receive us gratiously so will we render the calues of our lips THis Text is able to make a dumb man eloquent to set open the doore of utterance to the most illiterate tongue If there be any one among us that labours of Moses imperfection who confessed of himselfe that he was slow of Tongue and impotent for eloquence let him read this Text and it will teach him to speake If there be any among us that have put on Davids resolution to keepe silence even from good words let him read againe this Scripture only and he shall finde a way to the passage of Speech The Prophet here in this place takes on him the Office and function of a Schoole-Master having learned the Art of speaking the heavenly art of speech himselfe he labours to train up others to the knowledge of the same Art and I shal not think much to be his scholler at this time and to presse these words a little further then the Prophet intended them He gives them only as a rule of direction to the people how to pray to God but they may serve as a rule of direction to Ministers how to speak to the people and indeed if this go before the other will the better a great deale follow That you may with speed turne to God it becomes us to turne to you we must call upon you that you would please to call upon him wee must first open our mouthes to you that you would open yours before the Throne of grace And indeed I must needs confesse that I have been too long silent from this Theame of repentance considering what the times are Our dangers are great our carelesnes is as great no man goes about to labour to meet God I can hold no longer and when I look upon this Scripture methinkes I may take Elihu's speech into my mouth Behold I am full of matter and the Spirit within me constraineth me My belly is as new wine which hath no vent it is ready to burst like new bottles I will now speake and keepe silence no longer Me thinkes I heare the Prophet behind me calling upon me as Moses to Aaron Vp hast thee get thee to the congregation the plague is begun and they are all asleepe and there is no man that spreads his Armes and no man that lifts up his voyce to God Speake to them and speake to the purpose I speake home call upon them to Take to themselves words and to returne to the Lord and

how shall I now defile them I have found the smart of sin I have put off the garment of the old man the Serpents skin is now gone I am made partaker of the fleece of the Lamb there is another garment of the robe of Christs righteousnesse is drawne over me shall I take my old raggs againe shall I take that which I have put off I have bathed my feet my affections I have washed my hands in innocencie I have washed my heart in the laver of epentance with that laver that begot repentance the blood of shall I defile my selfe any more in the wayes and workes of sinne this is the language of repentance it leaves sinne to turne no more to it Here in a true convert differs from a formall Christian he will turne for a time when Gods hand presseth him when he is driven to an exigent and etremitie he will leave his sinne but as a man puts off his garments at night when he goes to bed to take them when he awakes He leaves sinne in the night of affliction and tribulation but when the storm 's over he takes it againe to himselfe Such Christ speakes of in the Gospell they are compared to dogs and to swine to dogs that returne to their vomit and to swine that returne to wallow in the myre scuh as the Apostle saith that having escaped the intanglements of the world are defiled again the second time Such a one was Lots Wife that turned from Sodome but looked back againe such a one was Demas that left the fellowship of the world and imbraced the fellowship of the Apostle but his resolution held not out after he left the fellowship of the Apostle and betooke himselfe to communion with the World But on the other side a true penitent doth not so after he hath tasted once of the sweetnes of grace after he hath gotten assurance of the pardon of sinne it begets in him such a detestation and hatred that though he fall into any of those sinnes that cost him the plowing up of his fallow ground and the breaking of his heart he would not change the comfort of his estate for the pleasures of all sinnes though they were not for a season but for eternitie repentance is a finall change so we see the phrase cleared repentance and prayer is a turning The Prophet saith Turne to the Lord that is turne your lips to him offer the sacrifice of praise and turne your hearts to him too offer the sacrifice of a contrite spirit so much for the meaning of the phrase I come to the second that is the Propositions that arise from this dutie of action The propositions are two that arise clearely The first Proposition is this that In publique calamities that are threatned or sent upon a Land there is no hope of having the judgement or punishment removed except there be a turning to God by prayer The Prophet saw the judgement and their miserie and he chalks out the meanes to prevent it The first meanes is this the turning to the Lord that is the summe of all there is no hope of removing the punishment except wee turne te God by prayer That is the first and that is the way that the Scripture chalks out to us in diverse places after a diverse manner It shewes it us sometimes by vertue of the precept God hath commanded us Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee when trouble is nigh at hand when any affliction perplexeth thee when thou groanest under any calamitie loe God himselfe shewes thee the way and that is this Call upon me in the day of trouble that is pray to me turne to me by prayer that which he cals there Call upon me is here Turne to the Lord they are both phrases equivalent It is not only by precept but it is set out by promise the Scripture chalks out this by promise take one for all 2 Chren 7. That will suit with our occasion and this Scripture There God makes this promise If I shut heaven that there be no raine or if I command the locusts to devoure the Land or if I send the pestilence that it break forth If yet they shall turne to me and seeke my face and pray to me and forsake their evill wayes I will heare from Heaven and pardon their sins and heale their Land There could not be a more gracious promise nor a more ample promise it is not only in generall if that my judgements shall break forth on them for then it may be they would have wanted understanding to have applyed it in particular judgements therefore God instances in such and such judgements they may stand for all in time of famine and drought if there be no raine and if because there be no raine there is no plentie if they be not only in famine but pestilence he sets the meanes whereby he will be induced to withdraw these judgements If they seeke my face and turne to me and call upon my name and forsake their evill wayes There are all the particulars of dutie Then there are all the particulars of deliverance I will heare from Heaven and pardon their sinnes and heale their Land that is I will remove the judgements and not only so but take them to grace and favour so it is chalked out by promise as well as by precept Nay not only by promise but it is chalked out by Testimonie and experience take Davids experience for all for David was one that shewed more experience of the knowledge of Gods wayes then any other First there is the experience of his owne person 2 Sam. 22. When I was in distresse I called upon the Lord I cried to God and he heard me out of his holy Temple and my crie entred into his eares See David in distresse called upon the Lord and he heard him If we will not believe his experience for himselfe let us see it for others That he sets down in diverse psalines in generall words that The righteous crye and the Lord heares them and delivers them from all their troubles The order is this when the righteous are in trouble they crye to the Lord and he heares them and his hearing is his answer and his answer is deliverance out of trouble See yet if the generall will not serve if Davids experience will not serve see it in particular Saints Psal 34. This poore man cryed to the Lord. It is worth observing that David breakes out into such an abruption of phrase he named none before if he had spoken before of one of exceeding pietie and predicated this of him This pooro man wee might say as the Eunuch to Philip Doth the Prophet speake this of himselfe or of some other man but it is a phrase ordinarie in the Psalmes therefore take notice of it it is in another Psalme Her foundations are upon the holic hill a man would wonder who he speakes of but he knew wee must

their owne and their hands their owne they will doe what they list and speake what they list and goe where they list and not whither their Masters send them that they are more servile a great deale in their manners then in their condition they have evill Tongues and evill eyes and light fingers and evill nurture every way I know not how it comes to passe but it is a thing complained of by all there is no great House especially nor indeed no little House but if they have any Servants they are those that are untoward there are very few good Servants A good Servant is a great Jewell not onely because he is usefull but because he is rare and their Religion is like their state there are few of them conscionable Whether it be so that the fault be in your selves or no it should be your duty to look whether it be so or no that some of you when you were Servants were such to your Masters and God payes you in your kind Generally such Children as we are such Parents we prove he that hath beene an unfaithfull Child shall have unfaithfull Children he that hath beene an unfaithfull Servant shall have such Servants Or whether you be not carefull to Teach them better you instruct them in the mysteries of your Trades that they may serve you but never care to instruct them in the feare of the Lord that they may serve the Church and serve God and such comfort and successe you have because you would have them onely serve you and not God God orders it so that they shall not be serviceable to you he punisheth you That may be another reason you neglect them Or whether they get these ill conditions by your example as indeed it falls out generally so that Servants have a tang of the qualities and conditions of their Masters Euripides speaks well like Maid like Mistresse you may know the Mistresse by the Maid and the Master by the Servant They observe in you distempers and doe you wonder that your Servants are so They observe in their Masters dealing fraud and cozenage and doe you think that they will not cozen The Maids see pride in the behaviour of their Mistresses they are conscious to all and they learne these documents from them What the cause is I know not it is some of these causes or all but it is so every man complaines it was never such a World for Servants Give me leave Brethren to speake to you that are in that inferiour condition it becomes you to redeeme this imputation that lies on your state and condition it is a good state in it selfe but you make it ill by your carriage Remember with your selves that though you be Servants to men yet you are Free-men to God he that is mans Servant is the Lords Free-man if he give conscionable service serving God in his Master Remember God will call you to account for the service you have done to your Masters as well as of that you doe to himselfe and of the neglect to them as well as of himselfe Remember how bountifully God rewarded Joseph and Jacob when they were Servants Remember how he thought on the People of Israel when they were Servants in a strang Land Remember how Christ honoured that condition I speake that it is much for your honour Christ honoured it He tooke upon him the forme of a Servant Here is an honour done to you above your Masters though he were Lord of all yet here was the manifestation of his humiliation he tooke the forme of a Servant that if we account it an honour to our nature above Angells that Christ tooke humane nature and not angelicall as indeed it was an honour then it was an honour done to Servants that Christ would stoop so low to take upon him the forme of a Servant Whatsoever place or state Christ took he honoured it he honoured the Manger that he made it his Cradle and he honoured the Crosse by that death that he was pleased to suffer and he honoured the Grave by descending into it and he honoured our nature in assuming it and he hath honoured your condition he took on him the forme of a Servant Learne to answer that honour it is not an unworthy condition labour to bring honour to your estate to bring honour to God in your service to bring credite to your Religion and profession to be better then your Masters if they goe not along with you to Heaven to be Children of God to be rich in grace to be precious to him to give your Masters faithfull service for conscience sake Remember these things and stir up your selves to attaine to the purity of former times to have the Circum volution to answer them What was the condition of Servants in Davids time What Servants were they You may learne by this Scripture David takes it for granted he speaks of it as a thing to be presumed on that Servants were good then Unlesse he had knowne them to be good he would not have borrowed the similitude no more would I we then would say as Servants should be to their Masters and not as they are You must labour to make the times as they have been that we may fetch the similitude from you to say As the eyes of Servants are to the hands of their Masters That is the second thing the Coppie I am loath to breake off in the middest the end why I chose the Text was for the last part of the words but now it will even serve for another Sermon There will be the duty of you that are Masters and it wil be your shame more then of your Servants that you doe not serve God and there will be directions in all doubtings and expectations to waite on God till he have mercy upon us SERMON II. PSAL. 123.2 So doe our eyes waite upon the Lord our God untill he have mercy upon us IT is a Scripture you see that runs upon similitude and the strength and life of a similitude is in conformity and proportion and in things that are proportionable there are in the generall but two things to be considered there is the skene or tipe and there is the draught that answers it These are as two lines that run along one by another and are measured out by the same quallity of dimension for length and for whatsoever else may make them conformable And these two lines they are very observable now in this Text. There is the first the line from which the similitude is drawne that is the exemplary line in the first halfe of the words Behold as the eyes of Servants looke to the hands of their Masters and the eyes of a Maiden to the hands of her Mistresse that is the line exemplary whence the similitude is drawne that is the Protasis that is the line of prescription that is the line regulative the line that gives law to this other line that followes That is