Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
city_n john_n lord_n sir_n 16,484 5 6.9561 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A61461 A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen of the City of London at St. Mary-Le-Bow, Jan. 30th, 1693/4 by William Stephens ... Stephens, William, d. 1718. 1694 (1694) Wing S5462; ESTC R14148 15,463 35

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

ASHVRST MAYOR Jovis primo die Februarii 1693. Annoque Regni Regis Reginae Gulielmi Mariae Angl. c. Quinto THIS Court doth Desire Mr. Stephens to Print his Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of this City at the Parish Church of St. Mary-Le-Bow on Tuesday the 30 th of January last GOODFELLOW A SERMON Preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor AND ALDERMEN OF THE City of London AT St. Mary-Le-Bow Jan 30 th 1693 4 By WILLIAM STEPHENS B. D. Rector of Sutton in Surrey LONDON Printed for John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultrey And Brab Aylmer at the Three Pidgeons in Cornhill 1694 Mr. STEPHEN's SERMON Preached before the Lord Mayor AT St. Mary-Le-Bow Jan. 30. 1693 4. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir WILLIAM ASHVRST Lord Mayor OF THE City of London AND THE Worshipful the Court of ALDERMEN My LORD ALthough the Sins of this Nation which call for frequent Fasting and sincere Humiliation might give us but a very Melancholy Prospect of Affairs yet when we call to mind the many Deliverances which God hath heretofore and of late wrought for us it will point out a Door of Hope to us and may serve for a promising presage that he will go on to do us good will perfect our Deliverance and secure our Righteous Establishment But St. Austin teaches us That he who made us without any help of ours will not save us without our own Concurrence and this is true as well in respect to our Happiness in this Life as in another Men who are well-affected to the common Interest of their Countrey must be Zealously Active to promote it watch the seasonable Appearances of God in their behalf and cheerfully co-operate with those Means which his Providence has recommended to 'em for their common Preservation Your Lordship is one of those who cannot satisfie your self with an Vnactive Vertue You sludy the Welfare of your Countrey Diligently and pursue it Affectionately And it ought to be no little matter of Joy to us all to see the Chief City of the Kingdom acting by so Noble a Principle in the Choice of Magistrates to Rule over them as to pitch upon one who could never stoop so low as to serve a narrow Interest or a base or private End who prays for the Peace of Jerusalem and without regard to any Party wishes all may Prosper that love it may this good Example of the Metropolis have a happy Influence upon all other Corporations and engage them to an Imitation of such a Choice If the Soveraign Prince be taught from all the Characters by which his Super-eminent Office is describ'd in God's Word that he can Espouse no Interest separate from that of his People as is shewn in the ensuing Sermon which was at first Preach'd and is now Publish'd by Your Lordship's Order surely no Man is qualify'd for any Inferior Magistracy who can be so far misguided as to act the Business of a Party or will suffer any private Interest to mislead his Affection from the common Good Plato had once a Project to preserve the Community by destroying Property he suppos'd that a common Fund set up for the whole Body Politick would necessarily engage a publick Spirit in every Individual but a greater Law-giver than he has taught us that Property and publick Weal are to be preserv'd by loving our Neighbour as our self And when this Spirit prevails among the Rulers of a people what may not be hoped for in Favour of such a Nation That Almighty God may still continue a Succession of such Magistrates in the Chair which Your Lordship so Honourably fills is the Hearty Prayer of My LORD Your Lordships most Obliged and Humble Servant WILLIAM STEPHENS LAM V. 16. The Crown is fallen from our Head wo unto us that we have sinned HOW the Death of good King Josiah was lamented is thus Recorded in the Chronicles And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah 2 Chron. 35.25 and all the Singing Men and the Singing Women spake of Josiah in their Lamentations to this day and made them an Ordinance in Israel and behold they are written in the Lamentations It was no small loss to Judah that such a Prince fell by the Sword whose Heart was so tenderly affected towards his Country Who remov'd all the Abominations out of the Land making a Covenant before the Lord 2 Chron. 34.27 and causing all Jerusalem and Benjamen to stand to it He had a right Sense of that true Politick Maxim which Solomon his Predecessor lest behind him viz. Prov. 14.34 Righteousness exalteth a Nation but Sin is a reproach to any People This good Disposition towards his Subjects was rewarded with that gracious Answer God sent him from the Mouth of Huldah the Prophetess when he enquir'd of her what should become of his Kingdom The Effect of which was That he should honourably end his days and not see the Captivity of his People And as for the King of Judah 2 Chron. 34.26 who sent you to enquire of the Lord so shall ye say unto him Because thy Heart was tender and thou didst humble thy self before God when thou heardst his Words against this place and against the Inhabitants thereof I have even heard thee also saith the Lord Behold I will gather thee to thy Grave in peace neither shall thy Eyes see all the evil I will bring upon this place and upon the Inhabitants thereof If it be ask'd How was this Prophecy fulfill'd when Josiah died of a Wound received in Battle against Necho King of Egypt Let the Enquirer put on those Bowels of Compassion to his Country which Josiah took with him then to the Battle of Megiddo 2 Chron. 25.22 that he might stop the Passage of Pharo Necho and prevent the swarming of the Egyptian Locusts over Judah and he will think his honourable Death in Defence of his People to be the last and greatest distinguishing Mark which God could in this World bestow upon so good a Prince St. Paul has indeed told us 1 Cor. 13.3 that a Man may give his Body to be burnt and not deserve the Name of a Martyr because he may yet want Charity And we see 't is possible for a Sovereign Prince to hazard his Crown not out of Charity to relieve his Country but from a Desire to oppress it and so may die the Martyr or live the Confessor of his own Folly When good Josiah put his Life into his hand to keep out that Egyptian Slavery which an ill Prince would willingly introduce And thus I have set forth the occasion of Judah's Tears and Jeremy's Lamentation viz. The Loss of a good King and what not long after followed the Captivity of the People To this the Prophet relates in these Words of the Text The Crown is fallen from our Head But whilst the Reflection upon his Countrey 's Ruine fills him with a just Grief the Consideration of the Cause of it