Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	king_n	prince_n	subject_n	3,995	5	6.4954	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12260	A sacred septenarie, or, A godly and fruitful exposition on the seven Psalmes of repentance viz. the VI. XXV. XXXII. XXXVIII. LI. CXXX. CXLIII. the 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. of the penitentials. Seruing especially for the direction and comfort of all such, who are either troubled in minde, diseased in body, or persecuted by the wicked. The second impression. By Mr. A. Symson, pastor of the church at Dalkeeth in Scotland.	Simson, Archibald, 1564-1628.	1623 (1623)	STC 22568; ESTC S107775	256,267	548

the rockes of a stonie heart and maketh an heart of flesh And as out of rags being brused is brought forth fine paper so is a troubled heart brused with sorrow for sin turned into a gratious subiect whereinto God may worke and write his law And as the poole of Bethsaida being troubled Ioh. 5.4 brought health to mens bodies so doth the conscience afflicted by God bring certaine health and saluation to soule and body Saint Ambrose sayeth that repentance is so difficult and hard a matter that he hath oftner found mo who liued innocently then who did truely repent It is written of Augustine that he caused the psalmes of repentance to be put on the wall ouer against him before he died and reaped aboundantly reading them ten daies at which time none came to him but either the phisitians or his refreshment Seeing therefore God liketh this sacrifice of a contrite heart without which none other thing will please him let vs take the bests of our affections seperate them from their olde pleasures to God bind them by the coards of the word lay them downe at his feete and slay them and that sacrifice shall please him offer thy selfe a liuing sacrifice and be assured God will accept of thee and neuer reiect thee not thine offering other sacrifices die being offered Nota. but we by offering our selues to God yet liue Verse 18. Be fauourable vnto Zion for thy good pleasure build the walles of Ierusalem HE hath prayed for mercie to himselfe now he praieth for the Church which he hath offended by his sinne and vpon which he had brought such euills that it would please God to be mercifull to her build vp her walles and repaire her ruines No man can truely pray for himselfe vnles he pray for the church No man can truely pray for himselfe vnlesse he pray for the Church also as Dauid doth in many Psalmes If a man be a sensible member of the body it is not possible but the euills which befall to any one member let be all touch not him to the heart as it were done to himselfe In this verse are three things contained first for whom he prayeth for Sion and Ierusalem secondly what he suiteth Gods fauour thirdly out of what ground for thy good pleasure But before we enter to any of these particulars we haue some generalls necessarely to be marked The chiefe care of princes should be for the Church First that the chiefe care of Princes should be the weale of the Church The Church is as the heart in the body which being troubled of necessitie the body must be in danger if ye loue your head keepe your hear The Church is as the heart The Church nurisheth the heart bloud of Christ in her bosome the res● of the members haue also their owne of fices but she hath the chiefest office being the most noble part and who should maintaine her more then the head wh● hath all the sences infixed therein an● from which all the members sinewes an● veines take their life And what greater honour can they haue then to be nursin● fathers of the Church If a king concredi●● his child and his first borne to be nourishe● by any of his subiects may not that subie●● thinke he hath gotten great honour Simil. an● may expect for his trauell great commod●tie and when a king hath receiued Gods first borne for Israel is his first borne in his custodie may he not thinke he hath gotten great glorie and if he neglect his first borne shall he not receiue great infamie Those who are greatest officers in a kingdome as Chancelour Chamberlane President Secretarie and men of estate are in greatest estimation and credite and shall not great men thinke they are greatlie obliged to God who hath made them administrators of his kingdome whose standing is the weale of the Church the principall estate of their Common-weale if it stand then they stand if it fall they fall for their subiects obey them more for conscience then for any terrour or feare of their lawes Then it is best for them to be religious and to propagate holie religion for their owne standing The Romans wrought more by religion then the sword The auncient Romans Lacedemonians Athenians were most carefull of religion because they affirmed that they wrought more by deuotion then they were able to doe by the sword This was their good po●icie as Plutarch amplie reciteth in his Historie Then when Princes innade religion and draw the people to atheisme see if they be not gratest enemies to themselues to their estate and posteritie The Turke and other polititions may giue Christian princes sufficient proofes of this my assertion as also if examples of Dauid Solomon Iosias Ezechia Constantine Let princes follow Dauids example Theodosius may moue them whose posteritie hath brought eternall renowne vnto them and if not let Iulian affray them and wicked princes like vnto him The care of religion a princes chiefest safeguard The care of religion and to be a religious prince is the greatest safeguard to a prince For religion hath Gods maintainnance and God hath shewen his mightie hand for Ezechia against Senacherib and for Dauid against all his enemies for Queen Elizabeth who died in peace notwithstanding all the maginations of her enemies and for our dread Soueraigne Lord King Iames against all the horrible and monstrous designes of his enemies Princes religious bring wealth to their subiects 1. King 10.21 Princes maintaining religion bring great wealth to themselues and to their subiects as Solomon did when gold was as dust and siluer as the stones Next the Church being vnder continual danger should be helped by princes The Church being troubled should be helped by princes Since the Church is the princes depositum which God gaue to their custodie they ought to haue a chiefe regard of her The fatherlesse widow and orphans are concredited to them much more they should defend the Church because the deuill and his instruments and her fight against her and who should maintaine her but princes who are set in authoritie onely for her cause to debate and take her part against all the world Her enemies are more then notorious she was neuer at rest her enemies are assaulting her continually hell hath broken loose against her in these latter daies princes haue put their diadems on the hornes of the beast people are rageing And seeing that eternall spouse of God is so hated of the world should not princes with Dauid procure her welfare euen to their vttermost Princes must by prayer and power support the Church Princes who would fight well must pray well Exo. 17.11 Gen. 31.28 Prayer hath more power then armour Therefore princes who would fight well must pray well Moses did more with his hands lifted vp to God then Iosua did with his sword Israel wrestled with God gat his name by prayer for otherwaies he could not

9.27 that in this verse he particularly applyeth vnto himselfe shewing vs hereby how necessary the application of mercy is to a Preacher lest preaching to others hee become a Reprobate himselfe He runnes euer to mercy pretending no merits and craues pardon to his iniquity which before hee called sinne for hee sinned against God and did iniquity to Vrias Doct. Who sinneth against God hurteth his neighbour 1 Ioh. 4.20 where obserue that sinne and the forgetfulnesse of God causes vs to doe iniquity and wrong to our neighbours how can wee loue God whom wee see not and hate man made to his I mage whom wee see For it is great Doct. To aggrauate sin a true marke of a penitent Gen. 3.12.13 A true marke of a petitent sinner to aggrauate his sinne Some vse to extenuate their sinnes by comparing them to others whom they thinke sinne more then they doe others excuse them as Adam did when hee said The woman which thou gauest to bee with me shee gaue me of the Tree and I did eate shee againe excused herselfe The Serpent beguiled me and I did eate Doctr. Whē man remembreth sinne God forgetteth it But let the children of God search and finde out the greatnesse of their sinnes and aggrauare them that God may extenuate them and so forget them Are yee loadned with sinne remember it and God will forget it and ease you if yee haue it before your eyes hee shall cast it behind his backe but if you thinke nothing of sinne God will binde it on your backe so that it shall presse you downe as a milstone But he craueth this for Gods names sake his name is his honor Doctr. Gods chiefest honor is his mercie Pro. 25.2 shewing vs that God purchaseth his chiefe honour by his mercy It is the honour of the King to try sinnes but the honour of God to couer them VERSE 12. What man is hee that feareth the Lord him will hee teach the way that he shall choose IN this and the other two verses following is contained another quality which God craueth in his penitent humble and obedient sinner to wit that he haue the feare of God who is rewarded with temporall and spirituall blessings in his soule body and posterity So godlinesse is great gaine hauing the p●om●es of this life the life to come 1 Tim 4.8 What man is he By this forme of interrogation hee would note the raritie of those that shall finde mercie and this indefinite speech answerable to an vniuersall declareth that whatsoeuer they bee of whatsoeuer estate and cond●tion who feare God shall bee sure of these after following blessings Doct. God directs them whom hee forgiues Next obserue that God hee directs all these in the course of their life whom hee hath pardoned therfore those who are not reconciled to God need not looke for Gods direction he was a Pillar of fire and Cloud to the Israelites for they were vnder the Couenant Exo. 14.19 The feare of the Lord is the chiefe vertue Pro. ●5 33. What the feare of God is euen the beginning of wisedome It is a secret reuerence bred in the heart of a Christian proceeding out of the sense and feeling of Gods loue whereby a sinner is affraid that hee neither thinke speake or doe any thing which hee supposeth may offend Gods Maiestie This secret feare if it bee once planted in the heart will direct thee in all good actions acceptable to God and correct thy euill doings Note The two properties of Gods feare Simil. The loue of God hath a constraining power whereby it compelleth and forceth vs to serue him the feare of God hath a restraining power by which it restraineth and stayeth vs and keepeth vs backe from offending him this is like a bit the other like a spur Abraham feared that the feare of God was not Gen. 20.11 in the place wherto he went Ioseph being inticed by his Mistris to commit wickednes with her answered How can I do this great wickednes and so sin against God Gen. 39.9 the Lord plant this feare in our harts This is a filial feare which he craueth comming from loue not a seruile feare which commeth from a feare of punishment The preseruer of this feare is a continual nourishment in thy minde of the presence of God How the feare of God is preserued to whō thou presentest all thy actions When thou cōmittest any thing vnworthy of his presence be ashamed of it flie frō it craue mercy for it make the quiet Cabinet of thy mind the Chamber of his presence wherin thou darest admit no lewd thought no filthy thing And because it is impossible to fray thy hart minde from the conceptions of that sinning sinne in thee Note yet haue this testimony that it is no sooner conceiued but as soon repented Will he teach the way that he shall choose He promiseth foure benefits to the man that feareth God he heapeth vpon him grace vpon grace before hee pardoned him and now he directeth the man whom he forgaue for no sooner receiueth hee any man in his fauor when he immediately takes the protection and direction of him But out of these words we see three things First there are diuers yea contrary wayes as there are contrary ends the broad and the narrow the Kings way and by-rodes the way of life and of death Many promise to themselues a Kingdom not being in the way leading thereto This is against such as dreame to themselues that whatsoeuer religion they professe or howsoeuer they liue they shall goe to heauen but they are deceiued for if thou be not in the way to the Kingdome thou shalt neuer attain to the Kingdome many yea the most part are not going but riding not running but posting to hell whom if ye demand whither they goe they will answere to heauen yea and they will bragge they shall be nearer God then the Preacher himselfe euen as if one would dreame of life at the poynt of death Next wee see that a man cannot of himselfe choose the right way to heauen Doct. Man of himselfe is igno●ant of the rig● he way 1 Cor. 2.1 4 for the naturall man cannot apprehend those things which pertaine to Gods Kingdome neither yet can he see them for they are spiritually discerned Whereupon followeth the third that is how man shall choose the good and refuse the euill way Rom. 9 1● Non est currentis nec volentis sed miserentis Dei It is not in him that runneth nor in him that willeth but in God that sheweth mercy Heb. 11.25 Moses choosed rather to suffer with the Church then to bee called the sonne of Pharohs daughter Ios 24.15 Ioshua and his house choosed to serue God though all the people should serue Baal Psal 4.6 Dauid the King choosed the light of Gods countenance to shine on him 1 Kin. 3.9 Solomon made