Selected quad for the lemma: country_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
country_n	king_n	prince_n	wales_n	1,695	5	10.2473	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03639	A sermon preached before the Kinges Maiestie, by I. Hopkins, one of his highnesse chaplaines	Hopkins, John, fl. 1604-1609.	1604 (1604)	STC 13767; ESTC S116562	17,384	47

all which I only thus conclude Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers who hath so put in the Kinges hart to publish and hold a constant resolution against them One poynt in this worke of beautifying the Church is further to be obserued namely that it be according to the commaundement of God which may be gathered out of these words which is at Ierusalem For had the King bin so liberall in beautifying an other Temple or in building any other then that which God had appoynted as afterward Sanballat did vpon mount Gerizim it had bin abhomination before the Lord Deut. 12. because the Lord had commanded Not in euery place c. We must therefore in this worke keepe close to that which is before expressed in the edict Whatsoeuer is by the commaundement of the God of heauen For whatsoeuer in Gods worshippe is not from that foundation seeme it neuer so glorious with man is abhomination before the Lord. There are many wayes seeme right in the eyes of man which the Lord neuer approueth of Gidion meant well to make an Ephod the matter a memoriall of his victorie being the Eareringes of the Ismaelites and spoyles of the Midianites for the forme an Ephod to shew that his victorie came of God and therfore consecrated to him but this was so farre off from being accepted of God that it turned to the destruction of his house Micha thought God would surely blesse him when he had gotten a Leuite to be his Priest Saul thought he had done well when he offered sacrifice Vzza had a care to saue the Arke when he put foorth his hand to stay it but none of these were approued of God because they were not commaunded of God To beautifie the Church therefore with good intentes is like the Altar of Ahaz which was so farre off from beautifying the Temple that it polluted it like the paynting of the face which is so farre from procuring the loue of the wise beholder that it rather breedeth a suspition of those that vse it that they haue pudicitiam venalem In this worke therefore of beautifying the Church we must looke to two thinges the action and the end the action that it be commaunded of God for in his seruice he hateth all mens inuentions The ende that it be done to Gods glory least we be like those that holpe to make the Arke of Noah and were drowned them selues in the flood This poynt of beautifying the Church maketh me call to minde the miserable state of that poore Kingdome of Ireland of whom we may say as it is in Salomons song Cant. 8. Wee haue a little Sister and shee hath no breastes what shall we doe for our Sister when shall she be spaken for Ezek 23.3 Nay we may say as the Prophet Ezec. speaketh compressa sunt vbera eius ab Aegiptijs the Aegiptians brused the breastes of her virginitie For not onely is their wealth wasted with the sinne of their owne rebellion but which is more greeuous their soules poysoned with Idolatrie and errour The seducing Iesuites and Seminaries haue in a manner wholly preuayled and haue made so large a haruest as the open profession and publique setting vp of Idolatrie excepted it is not more in the middest of Spaine This hath come to passe for the most part through the negligence and vnfaythfulnesse of the Watchmen who as it is in the parable of the sower when they should haue kept the Fielde slept and the enuious mans seruants haue been more diligent to sow Tares then they were to preserue the Corne. These watchmen haue neither bin faythfull nor paineful but as a snare on Mispa and as a net spread vpon Tabor not the net of Peter to catch soules but the net of profit to get gaine the net whereof Habacuck speaketh They catch it into their net and gather it into their barne Diuers hold reuerend places in that Church that are vnworthy of the meanest roomes blynde guides that were neuer acquainted with the thinges of God others like Isachar a strong Asse cowching downe betweene two burthens finding rest good and the land pleasant So that the fountaines of liuing water that should haue run continually being dried vp the poore wretches haue digged to themselues broken pittes that can hold no water How many Churches in that kingdome without either praier or reading the Scripture How many heapes of rubbish where Churches stood So that those places which deuout Auncestors built for the seruice of God a prophane posterity hath turned into ruines And this Church scituate in a fertile country consisting of a wittie and valiant people descended many of them out of the loines of our owne progenitors that might for beautie haue bin like Salomons tapistry is blacke as the tentes of Kedar and filthy as those that haue lyen among the pots Now if vnto this happy peace to which at last that Kingdome is so well reduced and setled there could be ioyned a recouering of their soules to the true knowledge and worship of God O how acceptable it would be to the Lord and memorable to all posterities And shall it be thought impossible no surely Doe the Iesuittes boast of the conuerting of Indians Americans and shall we neglect the conuerting of our brethren Was it possible to conuert their progenitors from Paganisme and shall it be holden impossible to reduce these to the embracing of the trueth Could seducers peruert them cannot we conuert them Negligence lost them why should not diligence recouer them Were carefull Bishoppes and faythfull teachers planted seducers remooued and compulsion to heare established no doubt in short time a happy effect would follow Sed hoc opus hic labor est and yet what is so hard but diligent labor may ouercome And what in this kind is impossible for a mighty Prince to bring to passe If the two first were put in practise the thirde would not be difficult It is recorded of Edgar one of the Kings of England before the Conquest that fynding the Country much annoyed with Woolues he caused Ludwallus Prince of Wales to pay him a yeerely trybute of 300. Woolues which was so long performed till not a Woolfe was left in England Would to God our Soueraigne of the Iesuiticall Woolues that spoyle Christes sheepe in any of his highnesse Kingdomes had such a trybute till they were left so few that a child might tell them These are those Foxes of which the Spouse complayneth in the 2. Chapter of Salomons song Take for vs the Foxes the little Foxes that destroy the Vines These are those Locustes that haue haire like women but teeth like Lyons faces like men but tayles like Scorpions and we must take heed least by much tollerating of these and their like our whole state become like the feete of Nabuchadnezars image part yron part clay which ill agreeing compounde will neuer holde any long time And till these and their complices be banished or otherwise remooued we must neuer looke for good passage to the Gospell or freedome from complotments of treason And the taking away of such spots and blemishes will be a great furtheraunce to the beautifying of the Church To the perfyting of which worke the Lord God of heauen and earth so direct blesse our Soueraigne that the glory of the seconde Temple vnder his gouernment may be greater then the glory of the former and that this poore Church of Ireland that his Maiestie findes of Bricke may be built of Marble and this of England that our late Soueraige left of Marble may be beautifyed with Gold to the glory of God the comforting of his children disappoynting of Iesuiticall hopes and that his Maiestie after fulnesse of dayes heere on earth may for euer enioy the glorious beautie of the heauenly Ierusalem with the presence of Christ to whom with the Father and the Holy-ghost be all honour prayse and glory for euer Amen FINIS