Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	great_a	see_v	2,797	5	3.4756	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77366	A sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons, at their publique fast, Novemb. 29. 1643. By VVilliam Bridge, sometimes fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, now preacher of Gods Word at Yarmouth.	Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.	1643 (1643)	Wing B4465; Thomason E79_11; ESTC R13662	28,626	38

build in both his house and walls of the City The Ecclesia tunc semper fu●t optima quando agebat inte pessi●os Luth. Churches have alwayes lost most in times of peace and gained most in times of trouble Whilest the 10. Persecutions conti●ued the integrity of the Church●s was best preserved The Psalmist saith Send out thy light and thy truth O Lord Psal 43. 4. and let them leade me unto thine Altar There is no going unto Gods Altar with worship without the leading hand of truth and there is no building Gods house for an Altar without light When God made the world he first made light on the first day as an example unto us in all our workes to work by light Now light and truth do break forth much in troublous times 1. Troublous times are praying times and praying times Reas 1 are knowing times Prov. 2. 3 4 5. If thou cryest after knowledge and liftest up thy voyce for understanding if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures then shalt thou understand the feare of the Lord and finde the knowledge of God 2. In troublous times mens hearts are most low and Reas 2 h●mbled and so more apt and ready to receive and to be led into any truth You read in Esa 11. that God promiseth that in the latter times the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord and in the verses a little before it is said of the Lion and the young Lion that a child shall lead them these two go well together but the stout Lion-like spirit will never be led by the hand of a sucking child till it be brought down and low by troublous time 3. In troublous times God is pleased to communicate Reas 3 himself more freely to his people God is not unto his in affliction as at other times he is most sweet when the world is most bitter It is with a Nation Church● people in their reformation as with a person in his first conversion because of those many temptations that a converting person is to conflict withall God doth more abundantly reveal and communicate himself unto him at his first conversion so with a reforming people because of those many oppositions that they shall meet withall in that work God doth then more then ordinarily communicate himself unto them Thus troublous times do bring forth light and truth God loveth to have a sacrifice from the hands of the children of Abraham out of the thickets and bryars Opposition commendeth reformation in troublous times there is much opposition and therefore in those times reformation is very beautifull The Doctrine is clear then the application easie Thus. Hence we may all see and know what is the work of the App 〈…〉 times even to measure the Temple Now for a long while we have had experience of the first Vision and we have felt the hornes the rising of the carpenters we have seen also And who may not say I have lift up mine eyes and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand Blessed be God that we have lived to see this day to see a man stand with a measuring line in his hand in England And who ever you are that heare me this day you are either such as have this measuring line in your hands or else such as are to be measured If you have the measuring line in your hands then remember this Doctrine the first Proposition Stones of Reformation are to be laid with most exactnesse Herein if you be exact you shall be like unto Jesus Christ who as Salmeron observeth when he came to purge the Temple did not onely admonish chide reprove the money-changers or whip them away but did overthrow their very Tables Ne impium opus facile repeterent Lest they should recover their trade Sac●●dot●● in Templ● 〈…〉 dentes su●●●●gellorum d●g 〈…〉 S●l●ner in Joan. 3. againe In other things you are very exact men are exact in their trades exact in their accounts exact in their reckonings exact in their diet exact in their sleep exact in their haire both of head and face In small things you are exact and will you not be exact in this greatest You know what other Reformed Churches have done the Reformation of all other Churches are round about you you have their writings before you their books their practices their examples and this for many yeeres can you think that God hath set us now for an hundred yeeres upon their shoulders to see no farther into Reformation then they have done If two men be to do the same work the one first and the other after he that doth it first though he doth it never so well yet will excuse himself and say I never saw he work done before me I was faine to invent my very tooles and instruments and you will excuse him though there be some fayling in him But when the second man commeth to the same work that hath a former example and all his tooles to help him you expect more exactnes from him You know my meaning I need not apply this Oh that our God would make England the praise of the whole earth Nothing will do it but our exactnes in reformation Certainly this reformation that is now on foot hath as I may speake with reverence cost our God very dear the liberties the estates the lives and bloods of many of his deare children of whom the world was not worthy Do you think God will lay out all this for an imperfect unexact poor and low reformation Let me present you with the prophesy of Bishop Hooper who when he was in prison called his Printer to him and said You shal out-live these Marian times and see the alteration of the present religion when the Gospel shall be freely preached wherefore remember me to my brethren as well in exile as others and bid them be circumspect in displacing of Popish Priests and put good Ministers in Churches or else their end will be worse then ours He said be circumspect I say be exact And though I do not wish that every morning there might be a boy crying at your doors as once at Philips Mortalises thou art mortall thou art mortall for that the Drum doth sufficiently every morning yet I could wish that this sentence might be sounding in your hearts every morning and night that it might lie down with you and rise with you stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactnes But how shall that be Quest Thus. 1. Be sure of this that you take the right line into Answ your hands Gods word it is our line able to reach unto all particular affaires of the Churches Mistake me not I pray A Church is considered two wayes As a meeting of people men and women O● as a Church meeting a meeting of Saints apparent Beleevers coe●us sidelium I doe not say that the Word is to be the onely line and