Selected quad for the lemma: country_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
country_n	horse_n	red_a	white_a	1,820	5	11.1643	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19503	Pathmos: or, A commentary on the Reuelation of Saint Iohn diuided into three seuerall prophecies. The first prophecie contained in the fourth, fift, sixt and seuenth chapters. By Mr. William Cowper, Bishop of Galloway.	Cowper, William, 1568-1619.	1619 (1619)	STC 5931; ESTC S108985	231,291	374

Tertullian and by the fourth Cyprian Martyr and Bishop of Carthage But we haue shewed before that as these foure liuing creatures cannot be the foure Euangelists because Saint Iohn himselfe was one of the foure Euangelists so no more can they be Preachers for Saint Iohn is here sent to waken vp both Preachers and Professors to the patient suffering of troubles which here are foretold vnto them We adhere therefore to our former exposition that these liuing creatures are Angels adding this vnto it that this first Prophecy beeing generall should neither be bound to particular times nor persons for euen in our owne dayes the rider on the white horse rideth still and the redde horse followes the vvhite to persecute him as the bloudy murthers and treasonable plots in France Germanie England and other parts of Christendome may witnes VERSE 4. And there vvent out another horse that was red and power was giuen to him that sate thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was giuen vnto him a great sword AT the opening of the second seale Saint Iohn sees a sight farre different from the first the first sight was comfortable but dolefull are these which follow Our cōforts on earth are not without crosses nor yet our crosses thanks be to God without comforts Alway we are forewarned here that persecution will follow preaching we must not alway promise to our selues prosperous and pleasant things When Dauid was anointed King all the Philistims came out in battell to seeke him hee was a type of our Lord. When Iesus was borne in Bethleem Herod and all Ierusalem were agast and so soone as he was baptized Satan tempted him It warnes vs saith S. Chrysostome that wee also will giue our names vnto Christ we must prepare our selues both to be persecuted of men and tempted of Satan Ab ipsis vitae initiis ad tentationes praeparamur cùm cernimus ab ipsis Christs incunabilis istud effectum c. Long and maruelous peace haue we had great hath been the Lords mercie tovvards vs vvhere shall wee find that the White Horse hath ridden so long and the red horse not following him as here in this Countrey vvhere hath there been so long preaching without heresie or persecution as among vs Satan a farre off hath shaken his bloudy sword at vs but the Lord hath restrained him and bridled his bloudy beasts that they could not come neere vs. The Spanish Army threatned to execute vpon vs the bloudy decree of the Councell of Trent but the Lord drowned them before our eyes as he drowned the Egyptians in the sight of Israel The remanent of them hee humbled also before vs and brought them into our streets that they who purposed to make vs prooue their mercilesse crueltie might prooue our Christian pitie and compassion as the Syrians vvho came to destroy Samaria by the maruelous working of God were brought within the Ports therof they were refreshed with meat and drinke and sent home againe so moued the Lord our hearts to doe vnto them God make vs thankfull for it and giue vs grace to prepare our selues the more carefully for the day of affliction because the Lord hitherto hath so long and louingly spared vs. As the vvhite horse signifies Preachers by whose ministrie Iesus is carried through the world so the red horse signifies bloudy Persecuters and he who rides vpon them is Satan a lyer and murtherer euer from the beginning The type tells vs that bastard religion is alway cruell examples of all ages proue it Cain a bastard and false vvorshipper he slew Abel a true sacrificer Ismael mocked Isaac and Esau persecuted Iacob Verberari Christianorum proprium est slag●…llare autem Pilati Caiaphae sunt officia To suffer is the property of Christians To you it is giuen not onely to belieue but to suffer also but to persecute and scourge are the practices of Pilate and Caiaphas The Iesuit Coster in the Preface of his Encheridion testifies that albeit the Christians of the Primitiue Church were of a sufficient number to giue battel to the persecuting Emperors yet they chose rather to propagate the Gospell by patient suffering the shedding of their own bloud thēby shedding the bloud of their Persecuters Ita Catholicos pia quaedam tenuit misericordia Such was then the tender mercy of Catholiques But I pray him tell mee where was this tender mercy in pretended Catholiques Romane at the murther of Paris Is it not cleare by his own confession that the Church of Rome present is farre degenerate from Rome primitiue If there were not any other argument against them their bloudy teeth may testifie that they are not the Sheepe of Iesus but rauening Wolues But of this we haue spoken elswhere Satan thirsts for bloud and when hee hath gotten it bloud is his destruction Hee thought all should goe well and his kingdome should be in peace if once he had Iesus Christ crucified but Christ by death destroyed him who had the power of death and hee thinks by shedding the bloud of Saints to raze the Christian name out of the earth but he is farre deceiued for it hath proued true in all times which Tertullian by experience marked in his time Sanguis Martyrum semen est Ecclesiae the bloud of Martyrs is the seed of the Church This is the bush that burnes but cannot be consumed by fire it is the Arke tossed by water but still preuailes against the water Continuall were the persecutions of the Church Primitiue yet Christians increased daily deeply rooted in the doctrine of the Apostles and watred plentiously with the bloud of Saints And againe The more cruelty said Iustine is vsed against vs the more the number of Belieuers is increased No otherwise then if a man cut the Vine tree the better the branches thereof growe for the Vine tree planted by God and Christ is his people And power was giuen him This is for the comfort of the Church that howsoeuer her enemies be many and most malicious yet they can do no more then according to the power GOD giues them Yea and all the haires of your head are numbred not one of them can fall to the ground but by the will of your heauenly Father Times ne pereas cuius capillus non peribit Art thou afraid lest thou perish sith a haire of thine head cannot perish When Pilat had bragged of his power to Iesus our Lord gaue him this answere Thou couldest haue no power ouer me at all if it were not giuen thee from aboue Yea Satan himselfe confessed that albeit many times he assaied to haue harmed Iob yet hee could not because the Lord was an hedge vnto him He is indeed a roring Lyon going about seeking whom hee may deuoure but he cannot so much as enter

righteousnesse c. So the Horse whereupon this Conquerour is carryed through the world is the Ministerie of the Word Primasius by the Horse vnderstands Apostles and Preachers Ministers without the Word are not to be receiued and the Word without a Minister able to preach it is not profitable These two the Lord in his most wise dispensation hath ioyned together For it hath pleased God by the foolishnesse of Preaching to saue them who beleeue The Horse then is the Ministerie of the Word The Gospell preached is the Chariot and Horses whereby this King is carried through the world As in the gouernement of the world hee vseth the Ministerie of Angels so in the gathering and gouerning of his Church hee vseth the Ministery of Preachers Who can heare but by Preaching and who can preach except they be sent These are figured by Horses first for the courage wherewith they are endued This is obserued by the Lord himselfe as a speciall property of the Horse He mocketh at feare and is not afraid hee turneth not back from the sword And doubtlesse Preachers in whom Christ is and vpon whom hee rides are valiant and couragious men Their fore-head is like the Adamant and harder then the Flint They feare no death they faint for no trouble that can follow them in the seruice of Christ. Notable was that answer of Andrew the Apostle when Egeas Gouernour of Patris vpbraided him with the death of the Crosse hee answered that he would neuer haue preached the honour and glory of the Crosse if he had feared it And as the seruants of God are farre from that timiditie which makes men vnfaithfull in the cause of God so are they as farre from temerity whereby men ignorantly zealous are precipitate and carried head-long to accelerate for euery light conceite of their braine trouble on themselues Their zeale is like a fire kindled of stubble or straw which makes a faire blaze for the time but because it hath no matter to maintaine it vanisheth incontinent and endeth in vngracious smoaking I wish we had no example of any such among vs it is a shame to the Gospell to speake the one day and retreate the other A wrong cause will neuer furnish strength in trouble wisedom requires that men before-hand should ponder and consider well the cause for which they will resolue to suffer affliction Againe Preachers are figured by Horses and Christ going forth to conquer appeares riding on a Horse to note the speed and celerity which hee was to vse in propagation of the Gospell And indeed it is wonderfull to see how in a short time the Lord Iesus ranne through the world by the Ministerie of his Word ouercomming and subduing to his obedience most mighty Kingdomes by most weake Instruments This is well obserued by Cyprian Bishop of Carthage and Martyr Ecce à Domini Redempt●…ris temporibus anni effluxerunt plus minùs 240. iamque huius vitis palmites latiùs se sparserunt quàm Romanum Imperium It is little more or lesse saith he of two hundred and forty yeares since the daies of Christ the Redeemer and yet in this time the Church hath spred out her Branches larger then the Romane Empire Et qu●…s nulla ferri vis domare potuit emollit sanguis Agni candidi and they whom no power of the sword was able to daunt are made peaceable and tame by the bloud of the vnspotted Lambe Among many of that sort how the Lord hath beene mercifull to Scotland in that about sixteene hundred yeares this Conquerour with his white Horse entred in among vs and subiected vs to himselfe whom the Romanes could neuer subiect to their Empire I haue at large declared in that Treatise Intituled Six daies conference betweene a Catholike Christian and a Catholike Romane And againe as the Horse is bridled and ruled and turned here or there by him that rides vpon it and is not left to himselfe to wander where-away he will so is it with Preachers of the Gospell they are directed to Countries Kingdomes and Cities at the good pleasure of Christ they neither come nor go by accident but by the prouidence of God A notable example hereof we haue in S. Paul hee was of purpose to go to Bithinia but the Spirit suffered him not yea commanded him to go to Macedonia And albeit now the Lord doth not informe his seruants by such extraordinary reuelations yet doth he still worke with them in the same manner appointing them to such places and people as in his Wisedome hee thinkes most expedient Take heed to the flocke ouer which the Holy Ghost hath made you Ouerseers and they are as starres in the right hand of Iesus they shine not but where hee holds out his hand and sends them This is a warning to Preachers if they looke to haue their Ministry blessed of the Lord let them not goe where the calling of God leades them not Other riders are helped by their horses but heer the horse is helped by the rider for what is a Preacher if Christ bee not with him and worke in him he is like a Pen without a hand it can write nothing a tongue without a heart it can speake nothing a musicall instrument without one to touch it can make no sound at all We are not able of our selues sufficiently to thinke a good thought all our sufficiency is of God Sith it is so our care should be to carry our Lord alway in our Conscience how should we wait vpon him how should wee most carefully keepe him sith without him wee are able to doe nothing It is written of Bucephalus the horse of Alexander that hee would suffer none to ride vpon him but his owne master whether that be true or not sure it is this is most true Preachers should not be Asses like Issachar couching downe to receiue euery burden that any man will lay vpon them but they are horses for Christ onely to ride vpon Yea all other Christians in their callings are also to looke vnto this that the commandement and direction of their waies bee reserued onely to Iesus Christ Beatae animae quae dorsum suum cur●…arunt vt suscipiant Sessorē verbum Dei fraenacius patiuntur vt quocunque ipse voluerit flectat eas quia non iam propria voluntate incedunt sed ad omnia ducuntur reducuntur voluntate Sessoris Blessed are the soules which bow their backes to receiue The Word of God to ride vpon them who are content to be bridled by him and turned where-away hee will these walke not after their owne will but are turned hither and thither at the good pleasure of him who rides vpon them But to returne and conclude this second point As there is no horse which needeth not the spurre and the bridle the one to stirre him forward the other to gouerne him in