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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	authority_n	church_n	great_a	2,167	5	3.1621	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12983	A sermon preached at Paules Crosse, the second of Nouember. 1606. By Richard Stocke, preacher of Al-hallowes, Bread-streete, London	Stock, Richard, 1569?-1626.	1609 (1609)	STC 23276; ESTC S117808	42,660	92

A SERMON PREACHED AT Paules Crosse the second of Nouember 1606. By Richard Stocke Preacher of Al-hallowes Bread-streete London LONDON Printed by T. C. for Edmond Weauer and William Welby 1609. TO THE RIGHT REVErend Father in God Iames by Gods prouidence Lord Bishop of Bathe and Welles R. S. wisheth all Grace true Honor and Comforts in this life and the Crowne of glory in the life to come RIghte Reuerende in CHRIST Saluia Massil de gubernat Dei the anger of God his fearefull punishments for Iradiuinitatis est poena peccantis hath bene heauie vpon vs for the space of these almost sixe yeares The cause doubtlesse is the sinnes of the time which haue defiled the Land and prouoked God to send such plagues as may purge the land of vs when we will not purge it and our selues from our sinnes Which sinnes what they are as I haue touched diuers in the Sermon following so none seemeth to mee to be more offensiue to the eyes of God then that popish Idolatrie which is committed in the land wherewith euerie place countrie and Citie is horriblie defiled though as the prophet speaketh Ezek. 8.12 it is but in the darke and in the chamber of their imagery Which was an occasion to me beeing called to the stage of the land to act this part I haue done in this Sermon namely to perswade euerie man to iudge himselfe and them to whom the sword of iustice is committed to iudge other malefactors specially Romish Idolaters and to execute the iust lawes vpon them because God will not iudge when man doth iudge before as the Iudges of assile will not censure againe those malefactors whom the Iustices of the sessions haue formerly punished But when this is neglected God will and can not for his iustice but he must bring this the like fearefull iudgementes vpon the land Which as they were the occasion of my preaching of this doctrine so they are some causes of my publishing of it in writing to trie if I might by any meanes prouoke euery man in his seuerall place and condition to this preuenting course of Gods iudgementes At the least I shall haue my owne discharge by it Now I haue presumed to bring it forth into publike vnder your name and countenaunce for diuerse both publike and priuate reasons and respectes Publike first you are now aduanced to a speciall place of gouernment in the Church and haue that authoritie in your hands that you may cause effect great reformation of manners and redresse of many things which are highly displeasing to God To which if I might be any occasion to excite your Lordship I should thinke I had effected some great good because your example as it might prouoke others in authoritie both in Church and common wealth to do the like so it might animate them to goe forward with hope it would be well accepted of his highnes when they shall see you who haue beene so continually in his presence and so daily conuersant with him and can not but knowe his heart affection take some round and constant courses in reforming of abuses both in manners and doctrine Secondly your place you yet enioy so nigh vnto his Maiesties person whereby you haue done hitherto good offices to the Church The English desence of the Popes Breeues Bellar. Letter her enemies being witnes in iustly and wisely exasperating his Maiesties heart against these foxes who would destroy her vines Now if I might bee anie meanes to further your willing minde to be constāt in this dutie I should iudge it in me a good seruice to the Church as in your selfe it will be a glorious seruice to the King of Kings honourable to his highnes profitable to the Church comfortable to all her friendes and bring you great honour from God and good men Which pointe I will not here much presse in the particular seeing I haue in the treatise following don it in the generall though to vse Bernards words in another case De diligēdo Deo Non prout dignum rei sed prout datum mihi Yet let me intreat your Lordship or rather adiure you by that honour and sauour which God hath giuen you with your Soueraigne and by that account you must giue for the imployment of it before the great King in that great day that you would goe on in this so religious and profitable a worke namely to excite his Maiestie to wakē his sleeping lawes that as he hath long sung mercie he would at length tune iustice and command indeed that his lawes may haue their course Psal 101.8 that betimes he would destroy the wicked of the lād that such workers of iniquitie may be cut off from the citie of the Lord. It is not vnfitting your Lo. beeīng called to be a reuerēd Bishop a gouernor of the Church to incite him to this since it was the consecrating of the Leuites hands to the Lord for euery man to slay his brother Exod. 32.29.27 his companion and his neighbour who had defiled the land with Idolatrie And it is no lesse then necessitie requireth of his Maiestie both for the good of himselfe Thomas Worthingtonus presbyter his posteritie those hopefull plants his whole people and the church of God Sith they boast not at home onely but a broad of the great increase of this Idolatrous broode amongst vs. There is one who hath lately published two Tomes of Bristowes the Iesuite written in Latine called Motiua Anti-haretica who in his Epistle Dedicatorie speaks thus Post diuturnas in Anglia ingrauescentes pro fide Catholica persecutiones ita plus solito crescat Catholicorum ibi mumerus ac zelus vt spes effulgeat Diuina praestante misericordia totum illud amplissimū Regnū ad sanctaematris Ecclesiae gremiū breuirediturum Is it not then more then need high time that his Maiesties former lenitie shuld be turned into iust seueritie lest he may seeme to succeeding ages to forget both his God himselfe his posteritie people Which may easily be preuented if his lawes may be at length with some roūdnes executed specially against the seedes men of treason idolatrie by whom this popish superstitiō is nourished increased in this land For so saith the former authour in the same place commending the founders and vpholders of their Seminaries as the fountains of those waters which haue watered these weeds till they be fit for the fire adding that His enim in collegijs Sacerdotes initiati inde in Angliā missi tū paruas ibi religionis reliquias cōseruerunt tum easdē vt nūc videamus in immensum propagarunt These then by confession beeing the preseruers and the increasers of this Idolatrie among vs there is no way to preuent the cōtinuance and increase of this ●●●●…by ●●●…ing off such at least who husband this Idolatrous worke least 〈◊〉 should growe to that they would haue it the ●ar●s to

and oppression vsurie iniustice adulterie theft and such like and giue themselues to practise sobrietie to refraine their tongues to honour the Sabbothes and holy things to followe chastitie to be iust and faithfull to seek iudgement relieue the oppressed iudge the fatherlesse and defend the widow then as Esay saith of sinnes Isay 1.18 though your sinne were as crimsin they shal be made white as snow c. So for the punishments of them if they were neuer so great he wil remoue them and the euill that is feared shall not come as Chrisost vrged the people of Antioch with the example of the barbarous Niniuitos Hom. 5. Quomodo non admirabile What an admirable thing is it saith he That when the Iudge had pronounced sentence the guiltie persons should by repentance dissolue it they did not flee out of the Citie as we now doe but abiding at home did disannull the sentence they heard their houses should fall vpon their heads but they did flee from their sinnes none of them did forsake his owne house as wee doe now but euery one departed from his wicked way They said not the walles haue brought and begotten this anger wee who are authors of this wound let vs prepare the medicine therefore they trusted not for safetie to the change of place but to the change and mutation of their maners These things the Barbarians did and are not wee ashamed to doe the contrary If any of vs were angry with his seruant and he should not seeke to appease our anger but get him into his chamber and begin to gather his clothes and stuffe together and make a packe of them and prepare to flee away would wee easily beare this contempt And shall wee thinke God will take it at our hands Let vs then imitate the Niniuites Ionah 3.9 who vpon vneertainties repented for all they had was but this Who can tell whether God will turne and repent and turne away from his sierce wrath that wee perish not For they knew not the law and the Prophets but wee haue a certaintie namely a most sure word euen the certaine promises of God Let vs as we haue more incouragements then they turne to God But to conclude this poynt I would say as the Prophet Gad said to Dauid when hee had deliuered Gods fearefull message vnto him touching the choyee of his plague Wilt thou that seuen yeares famine come vpon thee in thy land Or wilt thou flee three monethes before thine enemies 2. Sam. 24.13 they following thee Or that there bee three daies pestilence in thy land Now aduise thee and see what answere I shall giue to him that sent me So say I aduise your selues and see what aunswere I shall giue to him that sent mee Let mee not say that you will not returne for that is not profitable for you nor ioyfull newes for me to carie But if I shall say to God you will returne then as Moses said Ezod 8.29 Let not Pharaoh deceiue any more So let not Englād deceiue any more For Be not deceiued God is not mocked Gal. 6.7 for whatsoeuer a man sowes that shall he reape He that sowes repentance shall reape mercie and he that sowes obstinacie and hardnes of heart shall reape confusion for God shall multiply his plagues still vpon him and his wrath shall not be turned away but his hand shall bee stretched out still So much may suffice for the generall cause of this threatened iudgement In the next place as they are here placed by the Prophet followeth the iudgement it selfe Whereof I haue many things to speake but the time passing so fast and being much spent alreadie I shall bee forced to imitate cunning painters who hauing in a great story many pictures to expresse in a little table onely draw the chiefest and most principall at large and in their full proportions the rest they expresse by the heads and the halues onely So I shall bee constrained to touch many things briefly that I may handle the chiefest more fully then by the halues that I may follow these somewhat at the full The next thing then which is to bee handled is the generalitie of the iudgemēt in these words The Lord will cut off head and taile braunch and rush Whence for our instruction I obserue this point This is the dealing of God when he commeth to visite Doct. 2 Where he findeth sinne generally spreade ouer all then will he bring a generall iudgement vpon all this is manifest through the scriptures when sinne grewe generall in the world Gen. 6.5.7 and the Imaginations of mans hart was only euill continually then the Lord brought a general deluge of water and destroyed all saue Noe his family Gen. 1 8. when sinne couered Sodome Gomorrah and the fiue Citties about it so that not ten good men could be found in all those Cities there came a common fire from heauen and destroyed all when sinne in the daies of Dauid couered the people and Dauid left to his owne corruption numbered the people 2. King 21.12.13 and prouoked the Lord there came a common plague vpon them from Dan to Bersheba Also when Manasses and the people corrupted themselues with Idolatrie the Lord threatēs he would bring a cōmō plague vpon them that he would stretch ouer them the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab and would wipe Ierusalem as a man would wipe a dish and turneth it vpside downe by al these it is manifest that where sinne is general there Gods iudgements shall be generall The reason of this is Reason 1 First because Iustice requireth alwaies a proportion betwixt the sin and the punishment that both in the weight and greatnes of it and in the length and extent of it when the sinnes are great and crying sinnes the punishments must be great and heauie plagues so when they are generally spread ouer all proportiō requireth the iudgments also should be generall Secondly because by this Reason 2 God may manifest and magnifie his power for as it shewes his power to saue with fewe as well as with many 1. Sam. 14.6 so to destroy many as well as fewe though Dauid spared Ioab because he was weake and but newly anoynted King and the sonnes of Seruia were too strong for him 2. Sam. 3.39 yet God is King from euerlasting yea none is too strong for him but as well when hand ioyneth in hand the wicked shall not be vnpunished as when they are single Now vpon this ground and from hence may I teach our earthly gods that seeing the heauenly God will deale thus Vse 1 So ought our earthly gods to imitate not to suffer vnpunished nor to tollerate any iniquitie or any workers of iniquity because of the multitude or that many are wrapped in the same sinne especially when they are not so many but their power is able to deale with them without preiudice to the