Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	law_n	liberty_n	parliament_n	4,902	5	6.1958	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85505	Things now-a-doing: or, The chvrches travaile of the child of reformation now-a-bearing. In a sermon preached before the honourable House of Commons, at their solemne fast, Iuly 31. 1644. By Stanley Gower, sometimes Rector of Brompton-Brian in the County of Hereford, now Preacher of Gods Word at Martins Ludgate, London: and one of the Reverend Assembly of Divines. Published by order of the said House.	Gower, Stanley.	1644 (1644)	Wing G1462; Thomason E3_25; ESTC R2879	23,719	43

wombe Why am I this He saith Two ●●●i●ns are in thy ●●●be●● and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels c. God is now about to purge his ●●oore and never was there a time of Reformation which differ●●ced good and bad but it was a time of troubles when the Jewes came out of Egypt into Cannan the five Bookes of Moses tell you their troubles when out of captivity ere they got up their City and Temple 〈◊〉 and N●●●●●●h tell you what trouble and when they shall come out of Judaisme ver. 1. of this Chapt. tels you it shall be a time of trouble such as never was since it was a nation to that time When the Gentile Church came out of the Heathen persecutions Revel. 12. tels you what troubles and when they shall come out of the Antichristian persecution the same book tels you of their severall sorts of troubles whilst we made brick for Prelates and suffered the Egyptian taske-masters to lay on us all their burdens we did not resist unto bloud as now we doe since we have cast them off and whilst Satan keepes possession all things are at peace but when the stronger then he comes to bind him he rents and teares What working against Christs comming in the flesh from Abel to the birth of Christ what attempts against the Prophets Apostles and Ministers of Christ that offered and preached the Redemption wrought by Christ and what resisting of the Holy Ghost comming to apply the grace so offered therfore stand not amazed at our troubles now Christ is about a great work of Reformation and therefore there will be opposition Ierusalem is to be built both wals and streets in troublous times Thirdly it showes the reason why the Lord stands so farre off in trouble this was alwayes a great affliction to the godly in times of trouble not so much that they were troubled as that the Lord stood farre off from their cry and from the voyce of their rearing We fast and pray and yet we are not delivered why is it thus why it is because the godly need yet more purifying and the wicked must yet doe more wickedly for that they neither doe nor can understand View each of these distinctly First it is because none of the wicked will understand they might else take notice of Gods avenging hand every stroake proclaimes him a sin-revenging God and of Gods protecting hand the bush burneth and is not consumed Religion Lawes and Liberty have as Candles under water strangely been preserved Their project was by oppression to keepe them downe the oppressours now are oppressed they would keepe off Parliaments or breake them if they could not serve themselves of them there is now a standing Parliament to plague them they would bring in first Rebels to helpe them and imploy bloudy Papists now three Kingdomes are in one Covenant and their ships are broken at Ezi●●-G●ber the Lord hath every where said to them Associate your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces and give eare O ye of farre Countries gird your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces gird your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces Take counsell together and it shall come to nought speake the word and it shall not stand And he hath said to us Feare not their feare nor be afraid Sanctifie the Lord of hosts himselfe and let him be your feare and let him be your dread and he shall be for a sanctuary c. but the wicked will not understand any thing at all three wayes is this expressed here if we marke it strictly First they will doe wickedly that is to say they will goe on in ●inne securely so elsewhere Let favour be shewed to the wicked yet will he not learne righteousnesse in the land of uprightnesse will he deale unjustly c. Salomon saith The prudent man seeth the evill and hydeth himselfe but the simple passeth on and is punished so did the old world so did old and new Babylon so shall it be also in the dayes of the Son of man Wicked men are as ignorant and blind as those Philistines If he goe up the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh then he hath done u● this evill but if not then we shall know it was but some chance that happened to us They neither see the hand of God that smites them nor their owne desert that provokes the Lord thus to smite them Strangers devoure his strength but he seeth it not yea gray haires are here and there upon him but he knoweth it not as saith the Prophet Secondly they will be more wicked for the trouble this is not ordinary with all wicked men some like Ahab will be humbled for the time but with the wicked of our times we are here foretold it will be so and Saint Iohn in the Revelation speaking of Antichristian enemies all along their going downe tels us the same that they will breake forth to further wickednesse even to blasphemie against the Name of God and looke at Reformation as rebellion It was a brand upon Ahaz that when he was in distresse on every hand yet in his distresse he did trespasse yet more against the Lord And a concomitant of their destruction in Esay They shall fret themselves and curse their King and their God And it is foretold concerning these last times that Wicked men and seducers shall wa●● worse and worse deceiving and being deceived and we see all this made good upon the men of this generation the more God plagues them the more they sinne Thirdly They will not understand i. to repent and give glory to God to give him the glory of his Soveraignty in whose hands all troubles are to inflict order and remove them the glory of his truth and justice to acknowledge the justice and truth of God by reason of their doings which have procured all these plagues to themselves as the godly doe Thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right but we have done wickedly they contrarily keepe wickednesse sweet within their mouth and the glory of his mercy that they are not consumed Surely the sins before reformation in reformation since reformation and now most of all that men hate to be further reformed might make men tremble but this is one of their plagues that they cannot see they cannot repent This is now one reason why the Lord stands so far off wicked men will doe wickedly and not understand and therefore more plagues must come that they that will not see may be made to see There is another reason and that is because godly wise men are not so purified made white and tried as they shall be and indeed there is more cause to feare this than the other God can soone take order with the wicked were but his people