Selected quad for the lemma: country_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
country_n	great_a	king_n	persia_n	1,582	5	10.5277	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28186	A cordiall for a heart-qualme, or, Severall heavenly comforts for all those who suffer any worldly crosse or calamity by Simon Birckbek ...	Birckbek, Simon, 1584-1656.	1647 (1647)	Wing B2944; ESTC R22613	48,952	202

long I looke for an habeas corpus to remoove me out of this place to the Grave the Land of darkenesse as Job q calleth it But God who hath all times in his hand will in his good time send me my writ of ease and give me my liberate and thereby free both this body of mine from these outward prison-walls my soule from the prison of this body and both body and soule from the r bondage of corruption and restore me to the glorious liberty of the Sons of God There is yet a terrible and fearfull prison whence there is no redemption no goaledelivery without baile or mainprise but this is our●… comfort the Lord hath the keyes of H●…ll s so as he hath an absolute power over it to deliver and discharge the penitent from the feare and danger thereof He hath the keyes of death to unlock the graves and the keyes of Hell t to locke up the old Dragon and his crew into the bottomlesse pit When I was an Embryo in the da●…ke Cell of the wombe I was pen't up there as a close Reserve and yet there I had a kinde and loving keeper my mother my midwife and afterwards my nurse But in that other p●…ison the keeper there is our u Adversary the Devill who walkes about as a roaring Lyon seeking whom he●… may devoure In other prisons men have fou●…d some favour and mitigation Joseph was put in fetters w but the Lord was with him and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison but never any in that prison Jeremie was in the dungeon x yet he had Ebedmelech a Courtier to interceede for him to the King But ther 's none to solicit for the prisoners there as being extrà statum merendi without all capacity of favours and acts of grace y Peter was put into a darke prison but the light shoone round about him his fetters fell off from him and the Angel led him foorth and set him free But in that other●… prison ther 's nothing but utter d●…knes no Angels there but such as kept not their first estates z reserved in everlasting chaines under darkenesse unto the Judgoment of the great day Now then as Jeremie prayed unto the King Z-dechias a that he would not canse him to retu●…ne to the house of Jonathan the Scribe which was the prison lest he dyed there So let us put up our supplications to the Lord that he would not send us into that eternall prison to die for ever SECT. IIII. Comforts against Banishment THou complainest that thou art banish'c out of thy Country why who is not Wee are all of us Pilgrims and Strangers b our conversation is in Heaven c Zanchius translates it our Burges-ship our societie is in Heaven we looke higher then the earth wee set our affections upon the things that are above wee carry our selves like fe●…low-Citizens of Saints there wee live according to the●… Lawes of Heaven and heere on earth in part enjoyes the priviledges of that heavenly Corporation the new Hierusalem that is above It was a gracious speech of a worthy Divine d upon his Death-bed that he should change his place not his company His conversation was now before-hand with his God and his holy Angels and now he was going to a more free and full fruition of the Lord of life in that Region of glory above Whil'st wee are at home in the body wee are absent from the Lord as St. Paul saith e This is not our true home wee seeke for a better countrey f that is an Heavenly There is our true●… home and were wee as it is thought S●… John was banish'c into the Isle Patmos g or the Archipelago for the word of God and the Test●…mony of Jesus Christ even there wee should find as ready a passage to Heaven in our addresses to God as in our native soile This Center of earth is equidistant alike distant from the glorious circumference of Heaven as Hierom said of old to his Paulinus De Hierosolymis de Britanniâ aequaliter patet aul a caelestis Heaven is as open in Britaine as in Hierusalem It is Cyril's observation that Abraham whil'st he was in his owne Countrey had never God appearing to●… him save only to bid him go forth of his Countrey h his Kindred and his Fathers house but afterwards when he was gone forth he had frequent visions of his Maker Had Joseph beene ever so great or had such trust in Potiphar's House or Pharaoh's Kingdome if he had not beene sold into Aegypt Had Daniel and his three companions of the captivity ever attained to that honour in their native Land Themistocles i being banished from Athens grew into great favour with the King of Persia so as he was wont to say my sonnes we should have been undone if we had not beene undone Art thou banish'c out of thy Countrey Why what other thing hath befallen thee then it pleased God to enjoyne Abraham the father of the faithfull Saying to him k get thee out of thy Countrey and from thy kindred and from thy fathers house to a Land that I will shew thee He must goe from the place of his birth and wonted abode but he knoweth not whether l to a place he knew not and to men that knew not him He must sojourne m in a strange Countrey where he is constrained either to buy or hire or borrow both a place for his dwelling as also a plot of ground for the bi●…iall of his dead n What though wee be strangers at home The Lord can provide us an home amongst strangers Aegypt the slaughter-house of Gods people the furnace of Israel's affliction hath neverthelesse three severall times beene the Sanctuary and Harbour to preserve Gods Church as namely in Abraham in Joseph and in Christ God oftentimes makes use of the world for the behoofe of his owne The earth is the Lords and all places are alike to the wise and ●…hfull God that is every where the same makes all places alike to his In a word am I banish't from home I meet with many of whom the world●… was not worthy o wand●…ing about in sheeps-skins in goats-skins in Dasarts and in mountaios and in Dens and in Caves of the earth Why am I then discouraged or disheartned There hath no temptation taken mee p but such as is common to man Ther 's nothing hath befallen mee heerein but what is incident to other men holier then my selfe such as usually hath been incident to Gods dearest children such as may be borne by man in this life specially assisted by Gods grace which is alwaies suffici●…nt for his children B●…sides if I be east upon a forrein Coast I shall have good company For he●… hath said q who cannot faile I will never leave thee nor forsake

things as they could carry about them they resolved neglecting all other riches or Jewels to carry their husbands children and the Duke●… himselfe on their backs The Emperor perceiving the queintnesse of their device tooke so great pleasure at it that he wept for joy and after entreated the Duke and his with all favour Is not the life more excellent than meat and the Body more than raiment n It will not bee amisse sometimes to step aside into the homely cottages of our poore neighbours and there take an Inventory 't is soone done of their meane utensils course fare and hard lodgings thereby to make us relish our owne condition the better Wee are apt to complaine of our courser di●…t and thinner meales and yet the Prophet Elijah was●… fed by o Ravens and one bit from their mouth more pleasing to him than a whole table-full of Ahab's delicate dishes Obadiah hid the Prophets of the Lord by fifty in a Cave p and fed them with bread and water this was but poore feeding yet in such a famin and drought as that was bread and water was good fare brown-bread and the Gospell are good cheere When the Prophet Elijah was boorded with the widow of Sar●…pta q shee had not so much as a little Cake baked on the hearth no bread at all baked in the Oven nothing but a little meale in a barrell and a little oyle in a cruse to entertayne him withall Daniel r and●… the captive children were fed with pulse and water and yet were fatter and fayrer than those that were di●…ted at the Court We finde John Baptist feeding on Locusts wild hony s such as Bees made ordinarily in woods and clefts of the Rocks he fed on such home ly and voluntary diet as that wilde place of his abode would affoord a few barly loaves t and some little fishes was all the provision was ready for our Saviours traine Do we complaine that our Lodgings are homely and unfurnish't When the good Shunamite prepared a chamber for the Prophet Elisha u what other furniture●… had it save a Bed a Table a Stoole and a Candlestick these were such things as were fit for Study and Rest the Prophet is not curious so things be convenient When the Sons of the Prophets were straitned for roome they went to the banks of Jordan w and tooke thence every man a beame to build withall now one of them lets fall the head of his axe into the River and makes his mone to Elisha Alas Master for it was borrowed Elisha causeth the Iron to swim like Corke and move towards the hand that lost it Here was a building towards none of the curiousest here is no hyring of any curious●… A●…tificers no procuring of some costly marble or cedal every man is to hew and square and frame his owne b●…ame they are their owne Carpenters and their tooles are borrowed x The Foxes have holes the Birds have nests but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head Hee doth not say Kings have Palaces but I have none or rich men have house and land but I have none He layes downe his Condition to be belowe the very 〈◊〉 of the ayre and the meanest beasts upon earth In this humbled condition of his hee did not so much as provide a set house-roome for himselfe and his family the stable was his●… Inne the crach was his bed The Disciple is not above his Master St. Paul saith y to this present houre wee both hunger and thirst and are naked and have no certaine dwelling place Doe wee complaine that our attire is meane our clothing home-spun Elijah z was clad with a rough hairy coat such as the Prophets used to weare and girt about with a plaine girdle John Baptist as he came in the spirit of Elias so he resembled him in his Habit He wore a rough garment of Camels haire and a leathern girdle a not as was usuall with those of the better sort in those parts of finer stuffe If some say his garment was●… Chamblet they speaken to of fine Chamblet but of a rough and course cloth made of the great and hard haires of Camels not of the fine and soft haires called Camels wooll whereof our Chamblet and Grograines are made But what ever Johns garments were made off or how course soever ours be Freese or Russet or as it comes off the sheepes back without further ●…ncture or dye wee finde that others perhaps better deserving then our selves have wandred in sheeps-skins goat-skins being destitute afflicted and tormented b In a word If I lie in a poore Cabbin Those ancient Worthies wee read of ●… in the Church-story they wandred in Desarts and in Mountaines and in Dens and Caves c of the earth If I live in a low-thatcht Cottage the Prophet d Jonah had but a Lodge or a Booth made of boughes that he sate in If I have a hard lodging Jacobs was harder when the earth was his bed and a stone e his pillow If I want money so did Peter silver and gold saith he f to him that asked him an A●…me have I none If I be but a day-labourer and put to earne my living with my hands so was that great Doctor of the Gentiles Paul he was a Tent-maker g and stitcht up skins for his Tentworke a Trade which then●… was much in use in those hot Countries and by this meanes he maintained himselfe And to speake of later times so did that learned writer Musculus h who after his worthy service in the Ministry was faine to get into a Weavers house and learne to weave to get bread for himselfe and his Family and after thrust out of the house by his Master the Weaver was forced to the common dich of the Towne and worke with his spade to get his living Why should I looke for Joseph's party-coloured coat or Benjamin's five Messes When as others of my brethren deeper happily in Gods bookes then my selfe have●… beene so homely entertained What am I that I should speed better then the meanest of these Patients What had they done that they should fare worse then I If I have little others have lesse Consider the benefit that accreweth by accident at least out of a mean state and condition of life and it will helpe to worke out our present discontentment It is true we want some former conveniences accommodation for our dier lodging attendance and entertainement But if our allowance be shortned our retinue must be reduced Wee shall have courser fare thinner meales meaner utensils homelier attire ●… fewer attendants but withall we shall have as quiet rest as found Sleeps as safe security a better appetite freer merriment fewer cares and feares lesse danger of distemper by surfeits wee shall not be so deepe charged in the Excise Office but quietly enjoy such provision as nature and honest