Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A66416
|
A sermon preached upon the fifth of November, 1678. By a Protestant divine
|
Williams, John, 1636?-1709.
|
1678
(1678)
|
Wing W2723; ESTC R214125
|
17,281
|
35
|
dethrone them It 's that which hath disposed of their Kingdoms and given Subjects authority to rebel against them It 's that which hath raised Armies and animated Princes to head them against the Laws of Nations It 's to that we are beholding for 88 when with the Popes blessing no less than a Fleet of 130 Ships with 19290 Souldiers on board besides Seamen was sent to invade England and despoil Queen Elizabeth of her Crown and Kingdom But what is all this to their bloody Conspiracies An Army cannot move without giving an Alarm it awakens others and puts them upon their guard but when the malice walks like the pestilence in darkness and is disguised either with the shews of friendship and peace or else lies out of all discovery it 's far more dangerous This makes the Church or people against whom it is designed more secure and the Enemy more confident of success Which brings to the fourth general 4. Here is the confidence that they have of success and that may proceed from the review which they take of their own policy and strength and from the observation which they make of the weakness of their adversaries weak perhaps of themselves weaker perhaps with their divisions weak because they are secure and not aware of an assault and weak because they have made no provision against it Confident again they may be of success because the design lies out of sight and what 's not easily discovered though they are never so inquisitive when it lies under ground in Vaults or Cellars as it was in the Gunpowder-Treason or what is so well banded together that it cannot be well prevented though never so watchful as that in 88. Confident again they may be of success because it is masked and disguised that it 's carried on whilst they pretend peace friendship and alliance So was the Parisian Massacre Anno 1572 when under the pretence of great friendship upon the marriage betwixt the King of Navar and Margaret sister to the King of France the Protestants in great numbers were drawn into the City and then above 30000 of them barbarously murdered So it was in 88 when a peace was propounded and Commissioners on both sides sent to treat about it with great and solemn protestations on the Prince of Parma's side that no invasion was intended and yet within a few days after this the Invincible as it was called Armado set forth from Spain So again in 1605 there were sent from the Pope orders to forbid Conspiracies against the Government whilst at the same time the Gunpowder-Treason was not without his privity in agitation Whilst these and the like arts are used it is no wonder that they promise themselves good assurance of carrying the day and that in good time they shall prevail over them that they have thus far blinded and infatuated But let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off nor talk too confidently of success till he is sure of it For in this case there is a promise of God that is surer than all the counsels and power of men which is That the gates of Hell shall never prevail against the Church and as God will always have a Church in the world do men or Devils what they can so also a particular Church shall reap the benefit of that promise if they take the course pointed to in this Psalm which brings to the fourth General 4. The course by which the Church and People of God may and shall be secured intimated here vers 1 Keep not thou silence O God hold not thy peace and be not still O God Which is fervent prayer to God and intire dependence upon him in sum the behaving themselves as those that are his servants for then God will be their Friend and their Patron and they will be as secure notwithstanding the power of the enemy as if they had no enemy to encounter or that enemy had no power to assault them Then they shall find that verefied which is said Isa 8. 9 10 Associate your selves O ye people and ye shall be broken in pieces and give ear all ye of far countreys Gird your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces Gird your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces Take counsel together and it shall come to naught speak the word and it shall not stand for God is with us Let us then betake our selves to this course and engage the Divine Protection by our importunate prayers to God and a due conformity to his commands that we make good our profession by a suitable practice and as much exceed our adversaries in the life and spirit of our Religion as we do in the Purity and Principles of it and then we shall find that though they may dig deep their counsel shall be brought to light though they combine together they shall be broken though they summon up all their force they shall be defeated and we shall then be able to say with the Psalmist Psal 118. 6 The Lord is on my side I will not fear what man can do unto me Thus our Ancestors were delivered Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them They cryed unto thee and were delivered they trusted in thee and were not confounded And to encourage you hereunto I shall give you a brief account of Gods great mercy to them and this Church in the deliverance which we are this day met to commemorate and that I shall do in the order of the Text. Their design was to root out the Protestant Religion A Religion that hath the Scriptures and the practice of the Primitive Church to defend it a Religion planted amongst us with peace and by Authority that made not its way by blood and slaughter by rebellion and disobedience that was setled without any injury to the Prince or prejudice to the people and what did hugely tend to the security of both A Religion that dealt candidly and fairly with those that were against it and was never an enemy to them till they became an enemy to it First by receiving and owning the Bull of Pope Pius Quintus that meant no less than to depose the Queen and turn her out of her Throne and then practising accordingly A Religion that when in its own defence it had Laws against such yet rarely put them into execution and that notwithstanding which many of them held Offices and all their Estates unless forfeired by some particular Treason This Religion which hath so much to say for it self and God hath so much honour and we our comfort and salvation by nay this Religion which they lived so safely under did they seek to subvert And that in a way so barbarous that it wants both parallel and defence and which the boldest of that Way cannot hear of without blushing and howsoever they would have been in the success of it cannot find any thing to excuse To Murder a King in