Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	scripture_n	see_v	1,987	5	3.4803	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43456	A sermon preached before the Right Honorable Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city of London at Guild-Hall Chappel, on January 30th, 1677/78 by Henry Hesketh.	Hesketh, Henry, 1637?-1710.	1678 (1678)	Wing H1615; ESTC R10690	24,525	53

of God by whom Kings Reign and who confers such blessings on men by their Ministry yet it shews clearly what a great sense they had of these benefits And this hath been done not only amongst the rude and barbarous Nations but the most polished and refined even by the wise and grave Romans themselves Now these benefits of enjoying Kings will be of use to give us the just measures of our danger when we loose them I have seldom seen a tall Cedar fall but the subjacent Plants have been bruised by it and the whole Vicinage hath been shaken and smarted under the effects of it And if the welfare of the people do not always suffer yet it is always greatly endangered when these changes come Besides God hath told us in his holy Word that he often takes away Kings in his wrath and that their death as it is the Index of a great displeasure so it is often the Prologue to many tragical miseries And we shall find the like intimations commonly in his providence for he seldom calls Kings to these Chambers of darkness but himself hangs up Tapers to light them thither Shaggy Comets usually preceed the Funerals of Kings and as they are always startling and amasing Monitors so they are almost always portentous unless it be when the prayers and tears and repentance of men interpose and obstruct their malevolent influence From all which things I suppose it sufficiently intimated what great reason there is that the people should lament the fall of their Kings and the children of Judah be taught the use of the bow But that 's not all it is not enough that the present Generation do thus but that succeeding ones also entertain the same sense of these things for so David here doth not only cause the present Generation to be taught the use of the bow but he causeth it to be recorded also for the notice and imitation of posterity behold it is written in the book of Jasher which 3. Is the third and last general Observable in the understanding of which there can be no other difficulty but only what we are to conceive this Book of Jasher to be That it is not the Bereshith the Book of Genesis which the Jews call the Book of the just men because it relates the lives of Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob those real just men is so ridiculously plain that it is confutation enough to repeat it The Learned Masius I remember in his Notes upon Joshua the 10. v. 13. where there is also mention of this Book only mentions this exposition of some Rabbies on purpose to expose it and let the World see what pitiful interpreters of Scripture they sometimes are And if we consider how they make out this sense we shall see their trifling plainer For this they say is written in that Book of the Just Ones because in the Blessing of Jacob to Judah it is said his hand should be or his Bow say they upon the neck of his enemies but besides the force of explaining Hand by the Bow the impertinency of it if it were so is very evident for what relation is there between that Blessing and this Curse or Misery because the bow of Judah should prevail at last over his enemies therefore Saul shall fall by the bow of the Philistins But I stay too long upon such triflings Josephus gives Learned Men a good ground to interpret otherwise i. e. of a Record that was deposited and kept in the Temple wherein several things of extraordinary moment were recorded for the notice of Posterity But that which will yet bring the matter nearer is the observation of Learned Men that nothing but metrical Composures or Songs upon these extraordinary occasions were recorded herein Some of the Ancient Jews have reckon'd up ten of these Songs which it is probable were recorded in this Book before the time of Samuel Such was that of Moses and the Children of Israel at the Red Sea and of Moses before his death that of Joshua when the Sun stood still to give perfection to the overthrow of the Five Kings which is expresly said herein to be recorded and such was that of Deborah and Baruch at the discomfiture of Sisera c. it is not material whether we know them all or not And to these doubtless in process of time were added others and particularly this Epicedium at the death of Saul And then I had just reason to say that this was not recorded only for the Notice but the Imitation and use also of Posterity for these Songs being thus recorded in a book kept only in the Temple with directions how they were to be sung for that all learned men add too is clear evidence that they were ordered at some stated times to be sung and taken into the Common Service That this book is now lost is no great wonder so is the Temple it self and so is the book of Nathan the Seer and so is the book of the large Chronicles of the Kings of Judah all which we know assuredly were written and extant a considerable time among the Jews So that I am now clear of this obstruction and the sense is plain this book of Jasher was a book in which David recorded this Lamentation with directions how it was to be sung by Posterity And indeed this is not done without good reason for there are some great ends both of Prudence and Religion served by it 1. Of Prudence for there will be few methods by which a deeper sense of this great Judgment will be impressed upon men then by thus appointing the memory of it to be attended with tears and a Solemn Mourning for as all men believe that men are not apt to mourn for nothing so when they shall see wise and good men commending things to be lamented not only by the present Generation that feels them but transmit the same sad Memory of them to Posterity they must needs apprehend them not to be any common or trivial evils but very great and mightily concerning And what excellent ends of Prudence and Government may be served by this only thing i. e. begetting a through sense in mens minds of the great misery of loosing Kings is easie for any presently to observe For this will most effectually endear the blessing of having Kings and teach men highly to esteem and value it and he that doth thus cannot possibly be either disobedient to their Government or trayterous against their Power and Person 2. But then the ends of Religion in this are greater and more worthy of consideration For if we suppose this loss of a King barely as a great evil without any respect to the peoples sins that might have occasioned it Why then by commending it thus to the Lamentation of Posterity men may learn both to be more fearful of such an evil and more awful of that divine wrath that doth inflict it and more earnest in their prayers that