Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	government_n	kingdom_n	3,695	5	5.8013	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86324	The advantage of afflictions: a sermon preached before the Right Honourable House of Peers, Ianuary 28. 1645. being the day of publike humiliation, in the Abbey Church, Westminster. / By Gaspar Hicks, a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Hickes, Gaspar, 1605-1677.	1646 (1646)	Wing H1837; Thomason E319_9; ESTC R200555	25,203	34

out the precious liquour of his favour but where it is taken in to the greatest benefit of the Christian and when he hath made thee an apt vessell for it thou shalt have as much of it as thy heart can hold 4. Adde hereunto that it is very hope full that God doth intend and will use thy dejections of preparatives to dispose thee to largest exhibitions of himself to thee Parisiensis doth fitly terme a broken depressed heart a spirituall vacuity Vacuum spirituale Isa 57.15 a subject emptied hollowed made capable of all the good that flows down from heaven Certain it is that when the lofty God chooses a mansion Wherein he will place his dearest delights t is a spirit shivered to peeces by hamiliation and made up again by his own tender and strong hand When he will susten his open and fair looks upon a most lovely object 't is upon a poor trembling soul lying at his feet Isa 66. ● Pames omnia reddit suavia prater seipsam Hunger makes every thing sweet but it self saith the wise Heathen Thy distempers though they are not joy ous in themselves but above all other afflictions grievous yet how do they set thee on to desire to prize to welcome God when he comes Thou that hast sate in most horrid darknesse how sweet will that light to be thee that shall shine from Gods reconeded face How sweet will the Ordinances be to thee when thou shalt feel their impression How sweet will promises be to thee when thou shalt experience their strength How sweet will the Lord be to thee when thou hast found him after so much sad and sollicitous seeking Ob. 3. It may be farther objected that the subject which I now handle is unsutable to our present time and state It might have bin seasonable for us a while since in our deep afflictions our losses and overthrows now the worst is past we are even escaped prosperity flows in upon us You may say to me Surely your doctrine is misdated miscalculated for our Meridian Sol. 1. I shall answer this as Jeremiah did the prophecie of Hanaiah Who told the Jews that their yoke was broken that the vessule of the Lords house should he speedtly restored Ier 28.6 15. AMEN the Lord dose as you say the Lord put a period to our miseries restore and establish our peace But yet this conceit of yours may be like that deluding vision you may trust malia 2. For the world at best is an Ocean deep When cum but the storm is yet upon us and we know nor how high the windes and waters may again arise We know the nature and have had the experience of our troubles our war is like fire one blast from God may make the sparks of it if there were no more left flee abroad and re-inflame all 3. Our treasure is not yet safe on shore Oh what fluctuations and perils is our Religion yet obnoxious to What is it to save our lumber while our jewels our coyn our evidenced are in danger Grapt our externals in as good a case as we can wish them I am sure our spirituals are in a perplexed state I need not minde you how it is with us in church-Church-government And surely me thinks there should be some such thing as Church government and that estentiall to Church-constitution even the hedge about the vineyard the polity of Christs Kingdom the order in his houshold For doctrine 't is out-braved baffled with blasphemies heresies and strange opinions Nay the very life of Religion the power and practice of godlinesse how is it even evaporated into vain janglings crude disputes 4. If we are so early evaded our afflictions we should therefore put forth the more earnestnes and activity to come clearly off 'T is miserably shamefull to miscarry in the last act The Israe lites were within view of Canaan upon the very borders yet even then were they wheeled about by their own provocations put back fourty years in the date of their entrance and the carcases of that whole generation fell in the wildernes Perditur in puncto quod non speratur in anno We may lose that in a day which we have been many years seeking and hoping for I knew a ship worth thousands returned richly laden from the East Indies which was cast away in an harbour in the west parts of this Kingdom Surely our very shoar our landing place is full or rocks And because they are now under the smooth water of our success and therefore not discirned or nor so well heeded as they should be when apparent I shall point out some few of them to you 1. Our incorrigiblenes under judgements How fitly doth that grave passage of Salvian sutems We that are corrupted by prosperity saith he should be corrected by misery and if long peace swell us with intemperance troubles should purge out those redundant humours But see the contrary Italy is wasted with ruine but abounding as much in vices and villanies as ever Romo is befieged and taken yet as full of blasphemies and abominations as ever Barbarous Nations have over-run France yet the French have not exterminated their home-bred evils The Vandals possesse Spain Mùtate quidem sore est sed non mutate vitlosites Salv. l. ● de Gubern Dei Spainyards hold on their wickednes as before Here 's a change from happinesss but no change from sinfulnesse As face answers face in the water so doth this resemble and docipher our times Is it not strange that the terrours and strokes of the Almighty should not fire men out of the excesse and impudence of sin They are prodigies monsters of men Novum mousirl genus esse aliquot etiam in morte vitieses Idem l. 7. de Gub Dei who for all the dangers and distresses that are upon us will not above an hair of their pride a drop of their drunkenvesse a look of their uncleannes any thing of their extremity in evil but so far only as they are enforcedly cut off from fewell for their lust And is it not so with us for the generall 2. Our unsutablenesse to mercies Our mercies sit about us like Sauls armour on David we know not how to manage them When that which we desire pray fow fight for is put into our hands we know not what to do with it or how to improve it Too like we are to him who had valour enough to win but not wisdom enough to use what he had gotten We are apt to be discontented at and afraid of out mercies Some amongst us look sowr and pale on our victories because they are archieved by them whom they disaffect or envy Others are troubled at peace lest it should take down their rule or cut short their gain Others abhor Reformation because it would curb their vices or crosse their opinions Our very mercies do not please nor sute us 3. The pretended professed impossibility of a thorow reformation 'T is a taking