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book_n	holy_a	read_v	scripture_n	8,342	5	5.9261	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65552	Pastoral admonitions directed by the Bishop of Cork to all under his charge ; whereunto is added A sermon reflecting on the late sufferings and deliverance of the Protestants in the said county and city, preached at White-Hall on the fourth Sunday in Lent, March 22, 1690.	Church of Ireland. Diocese of Cork and Ross. Bishop (1679-1699 : Wettenhall); Wettenhall, Edward, 1636-1713.	1691 (1691)	Wing W1508; ESTC R38579	20,756	56

the remainder of whose story let us consider in a word He lost an army of one hundred fourscore and five thousand in one night and that by the stroke of an Angel by a dreadful pestilence perhaps as some like expressions in scripture seem to explain it and he was preserved no doubt to the same end to which such another was recovered from the like stroke namely that God might shew in him his power and that Exod. IX 16. his name might be d●clared throughout all the Earth His wrath should together otherwise praise God and in the end be restrain'd Immediately upon the loss of his army he fled out of Judea to his own Countrey and dwelt at Nineveh viz. the Metropolis of Assyria where he fell again to his old practice and in his wrath slew many of the Jewish Captives and as the manner of such Tyrants is would have exercised further rage upon the dead bodies of the Hereticks for no better undoubtedly he accounted them had not Tobit buried them privily so that they Tobit I. 18. could not be found when sought for by the King This his furious carier God stops but how And it came to pass as he was Isai XXXVII 38. worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword and they escaped into the land of Armenia and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead So may all thine Enemies perish O Lord and the wrath of Devils and incorrigible men be restrain'd I have thus as briefly as I could dispatched both parts of my Text. I crave leave to conclude by urging in a few words some such practice as this discourse is apt to perswade And First Inasmuch as the wrath of man does even here praise God namely by his providential over-ruling it and its Events Let us study and observe this his no less wondrous than gracious management of the world Let not so many instances of God's most Holy and Wise providence pass us without regard as daily do It is certainly one main part of pure Religion to attend and much meditate on the providence of God which is not less fruitful of wonders than his Creation And it is as much our interest as our duty to do so Whosoever is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving Ps evil ult kindness of the Lord. Providence is a book legible to all even the illiterate if they will but think and in some sense too super-adding to scripture it self In the book of holy scripture indeed we read the goodness and grace of God to mankind in general In the book of providence his mercies to us in particular It deserves therefore to be read that is observed And in our observation of God's loving kindness to us and to his Church let us not forget particularly to note wherein as to our selves God makes the wrath of man to praise him wherein for us he has brought Good out of Evll. A sword that by the same stroke can wound and heal is wonderful indeed But such is the wrath of man when God takes it in hand and such perhaps most of us have found it if we would but duly reflect on what has befaln us I may fay were we careful to observe all we should certainly admire love and adore our God in the severest dealings we can meet with or have met with from men Secondly Inasmuch as the wrath of man shall praise God or be restrain'd let us constantly maintain a comfortable Affiance and Dependance on God in all conditions whatsoever and that whether as to the course of publick affairs or of our own private concerns Let us still trust God bear up in the worst junctures with courage and cheerfulness with faith and patience In well-doing committing all to him as to a wise Creator and no less wise and vigilant a Governour 1st As to publick affairs Let it content us that God governs the world It may perhaps seem unto us that he at least oftentimes uses but strange instruments to govern it withal such I may say as none can govern with but himself Stultitiâ hominum Deus regit mundum has been said by a wise man and the consideration thereof should humble haughty wisdom If that be doubtful 't is sure The wrath of man shall praise thee This is as proper to bring down proud wrath Folly and Fury are indeed strange expedients to govern by But when an all wise and almighty hand takes the folly and fury of man to task we need not fear the general management or issue Many clouds arise in the heavens and are dispell'd either by winds bred in their own bowels or we know not how or at another time peradventure descend in clam and gentle showers upon the parched earth a welcome refreshment to man and beast Many storms fall one while upon the vast Ocean another while on Forrests and howling Deserts still only where God directs them So is it in publick Dangers The same almighty hand has a thousand ways to dissipate them or divert them from his Church And he surely will if we prove capable of such mercy The wrath of man shall praise him and praise him it cannot except all things succeed to his glory and the good of the faithful either in this world or a better Wherefore be of good cheer as to the publick And 2. as to Our p●rvate concerns If in the course of Divine Providence there were anything perfectly accidental give me leave to say the Faithful have more chances for their private security than the circumstances of publick bodies admit The Church still as Israel in the wilderness has a large mixt multitude in it and though the present Jews impute to those numerous wicked In-mates more of their forefathers transgressions in that age than justly they may yet in our Israel we may reasonably hope the most provoking share of publick guilt does not arise from the sincere part of the Church that is from persons who serve their God in spirit and truth and who tremble at his word of whom only at present we speak These therefore may justly hope if the storm should fall here it may blow over them or they may find shelter They may apply to themselves such comforts as these Ps XXVII 5. In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me he shall set me upon a rook Again Ps XCI 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust his truth shall be thy shield and buckler And perhaps many of us have found these things made good to us Isai XLIX 2. In the shadow of his hand hath he hid us However whether we have found it or no. 2 Chron. VI. 9. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro thorowout the whole Earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him And those eyes purify as well as preserve cherish and provide succour for the frailties of the mind as well as of the outward man Let the consideration hereof therefore cheer us as to our own both Temporal and Spiritual concerns The wrath of man shall praise God either by our preservation or betterment or both Lastly inasmuch as all the praise which God gets by the wrath of men is generally Against their will and meerly forc'd by his almighty wisdom and power let not us who avow our selves servants and have the honour to be called the sons of the most high put our gracious Lord and Father to this force It is enough for Rebels to praise him by their wrath and against their will Sons should praise him out of choice with cheerful willing minds in a spirit of Divine Love Gratitude and Meekness Of Peace Sweetness and Charity Of Holiness Duty and study of all well-doing In a word God has been universally beneficent to us of these Nations beyond what we could possibly hope for Let not us repay him in ingratitude looseness and negligence Let our praises be to our power as Universal as his Beneficence beginning first In our hearts by an universal devotedness to our Duty and by all Diligence therein and particularly by what is most contrary to wrath universal Charity No man is thankful to God or praises him at all any otherwise than forcibly who indulges a wrathful bitter or uncharitable spirit towards any man living From our hearts let our praises proceed into Actions by grateful returns Doing good unto others and as far as we are able unto all Even as God has both been and done good unto us And if the praises of God be thus in our Hearts Actions they will be ever and anon in our Mouths too we shall even with our voices in some sort exalt the God of our mercies And may the Causes of God's praises ever continue to us all and particularly to Your Sacred Majesty for whom we poor Protestants of Ireland above all men must both pray and praise May the praises of God I say be ever in your Majesty's mouth and a two-edged sword in your hand Not so much to execute Vengeance as to Conquer And by Conquering to give Peace and together Laws for an happy Settlement and for reforming what is amiss in these distracted Churches and Kingdoms May all late and present wrath of men amongst us thus praise God and such remainders as will not may he restrain Amen Amen FINIS

our guilt Let us then each particularly as our sufferings have been put the question to our consciences has it not been for such and such our sins that we have suffer'd thus and thus that God of late shook us out of the land which we accounted he had given us for an inheritance that our goods were spoiled or torn away before our faces our houses burnt our goodly plantations destroyed that our Wives have been desolate and our Children seeking their bread amongst strangers that many of our brethren have died for want of food that our very own servants have born rule over us and to use Holy Job's words we have been a derision to those whose fathers we would have disdained Job XXX 1. to have set with the dogs of our flock Has it not been for our manifold transgressions and mighty sins that all these Amos V. 22. evils have fallen upon us I in the name of God require all persons to examine their own consciences and in the fear of God as they find things to repent and reform I will only further add a few Earnest but plain and necessary requests unto you which if I can but prevail for I shall not doubt but a true and general amendment in us will follow and God's mercies attend us The First is that you would each one of you use daily to pray in secret though such secret Prayers should be the shorter and Remember always to put your hearts into your prayers Secret prayers you may truly account your own As to prayers with the Family or the Church the Authority of the chief of the Family or the custom of the Countrey puts you upon them and brings you to them but secret prayers come only from within your selves from conscience that is from a sense of duty and from the fear or love of God in you and so as said are purely your own and will most surely speed if sincere Wherefore omit not any day the practice of this kind of prayer Secondly I beseech further That all such who have Families would set up the daily worsh●p of God in their Families Those of the poorer and meaner sort who cannot use longer prayers might easily learn the Confession Almighty and most merciful Father we have Erred c. one of the Collects for morning O Lord our heavenly Father almighty and everlasting God who hast c. one for the Evening Lighten our darkness and then use the Lord's Prayer and The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ making all their Family to kneel and with Reverence join Even this would be of a wholsome effect Others of greater leisure and ability both may and ought to use more and I presume want not help at hand Besides this seeing there are daily publick prayers in two Churches of the Town at least what would it be for every sufficient Housekeeper if not to come often themselves yet to send daily at least one or two of the Family to pray there for all the rest The sense of Religion would hereby grow amongst us and the face of it daily look brighter Thirdly On what ever daies or times you are forgetful remiss or negligent suffer not the Lord's-day evening to pass without some solemn prayers in the Family And then call to account the younger sort and servants how they have spent the Lord's-day Where they have been at Church or what they remember and make some of them that are are able to read in the Holy Bible or any other good Books in the hearing of the rest All professions of Christians condemn and will rise up in judgment against the generality of those who call themselves Church of England men for neglect of prayers in the Family and calling their Family to account Fourthly Both your selves in person observe and see that your Families in some tolerable manner of strictness observe the Lord's-Day Nothing more promotes the power of Godliness and keeps up the face of Religion amongst us than such observation Fiftly as one branch hereof send your servants and younger people to Church and Catechism in the afternoon on the Lord's days Business is pretended for many servants in the morning Afternoon there can be little And Catechising is the proper preaching for such people I wish it could be truly said the Elder sort of the Commonalty did not want it Lastly Of all sins both your selve beware of and upon all occasions as you hear it manifest your abhorrence of that common but odious useless and unreasonable sin of Common Swearing Warn your children and servants first and then if after guilty chastise them for it and if servants will not reform it turn them away Keep up the Reverence of God's name and this will be a means to promote in your own and others hearts his fear Now the good God make you perfect in every good work deliver you from evil one and preserve you to his Heavenly Kingdom This I daily on my knees more than once or twice commonly pray for you And do you sometimes at the least when you read this pray the same for Your unworthy but affection at and Faithful Pastour E. Corke Rosse Bishop's-Court Corke Novemb. 27. 1691. For the better minding some of us of particular Vows here follows the Form of Prayer which was made and used when the City being taken our Churches were restored to us O God of all Wisdom Power who alone reignest over all that is or is called Great in Heaven or in Earth Mighty in Counsel Wonderful in Working Terrible in Praises We vile sinners less than the least of thy Mercies humbly adore and bless thee for all that Grace Truth and Faithfulness which Thou hast shewn to us thy Unworthy servants and to the Rest of our Numbers who cannot here now present themselves Thou art Righteous in all thy Waies Holy and Gracious in all thy Works Thou executest Righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed and Thou hast magnified thy Mercy above all thy Name We have cried unto thee O Lord in our Distress and Thou hast heard us Thou hast delivered us from under the power of our Cruel Enemies Thou hast redeemed our Life from Destruction and crowned us with loving kindness and tender mercies Thou hast again set our feet in a large room and restored us to our Liberty to worship thee according to thy Word and Ordinance in publick Assemblies Note The Protestants were often imprisoned in the Churches For our sins O Lord thou madest thine House our Prison and in thy tender mercy thou hast now made our Prison the Place of our Praises We will therefore bless thee as long as we live We will lift up our hands in thy name and Our Hearts in thy Love We will daily pay our vows to thee the God of our salvation and by thy Grace with Life and conversation with Heart and soul and all that is within us strive to make thy praise glorious Blessing and Glory