Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	bulwark_n	tell_v	zion_n	72	3	9.3760	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B08803	Several discourses concerning the actual Providence of God. Divided into three parts. The first, treating concerning the notion of it, establshing the doctrine of it, opening the principal acts of it, preservation and government of created beings. With the particular acts, by which it so preserveth and governeth them. The second, concerning the specialities of it, the unseachable things of it, and several observable things in its motions. The third, concerning the dysnoēta, or hard chapters of it, in which an attempt is made to solve several appearances of difficulty in the motions of Providence, and to vindicate the justice, wisdom, and holiness of God, with the reasonableness of his dealing in such motions. / By John Collinges ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1678 (1678)	Wing C5335; ESTC R233164	689,844	860

Reason That God hath this day a Church in the world and also confirm them that notwithstanding all the appearances of hostility against it yet God will have a Church to the end of the world Whoso considereth the Church of God this day especially the Reformed Church and looks back upon it even from the commencement of its Reformation cannot but fancy it as Noahs Ark in the midst of raging waters every moment threatning to swallow it up like Moses his ark of Bulrushes ready to be washed away at the return of every tide like the Burning bush which Moses saw all on fire yet not consumed You shall find the Reason why it is not so in the 46 Psalm a Psalm which Luther was wont often to call for in his troublesom time God is our refuge and strength a present help in trouble Ver. 5 God is in the midst of her The Lord of Hosts is with her the God of Jacob is our refuge he breaketh the bow he cutteth the spear in sunder he burneth the chariots in the fire Papists call for Miracles as a Note of the true Church see here a Miracle Was it not a Miracle that Luther a poor Friar renouncing his former Superstition and bidding an open defiance to the Pope and the whole power of Rome in such a time when all the World was admiring or fearing the Beast and so boldly and freely opposing himself to them as he did and falling upon them in a point of profit should not only go through all his bold attempts and die in peace but also draw unto him so many learned men and prevail so far amongst the people as that in very many if not in most parts of Germany the Doctrine of the Gospel should prevail the Mass and Popish worship should be abolished and the Truth contrary to the Doctrine of Rome should be received Was there not a special Providence think you watched over them Next to the preservation of the Apostles and the succeeding of them to the first plantation of the Gospel in the World there hath not been a more eminent and conspicuous work of special and miraculous Providence than in Gods preserving and succeeding the works of Reformation by which the Doctrine of Christ and Worship instituted by him was restored in a great measure to that Primitive integrity and purity which the great Lord of the Gospel first instituted And a due meditation of this Doctrine of special Providence may also secure the hearts of the people of God against their fears for the prevailing of the Churches enemies against it Their fears can arise but from the prospect of the multitude and rage of the Churches enemies and their judgment is but a judgment of probability made from the more common and ordinary workings of Providence but this judgment proceeds upon a false Hypothesis viz. That Gods way of Providence as to his Church is but an ordinary road and such as he keepeth towards other men Now this is false God in his workings for his Church keepeth not the beaten road of his Providence Zion hath a special Providence watching over it The eyes of the Lord are upon it from one end of the year to the other Canaan is the Land that God careth for God is known in the places of his Church for a refuge For lo the Kings were assembled they passed by together they saw it and so they marvelled they were troubled and hasted away Fear took hold upon them there and pain as on a woman in travel Psalm 48.3 4 5 6 God will establish it for ever Ver. 8 Watch about Sion saith the Psalmist and go round about her tell the towers thereof mark you well her bulwarks consider her palaces that you may tell it to the generations following for this God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide until death We have lived to see as bold and impudent attaques made upon the Church as to that part of it that hath been studious of the stricter and severer practice of Holiness as possibly later ages have known If Christians could have been swagger'd and hector'd out of the practice of Holiness or jeer'd and drolled out of it or threatned and frighted or cudgel'd out of it there have been arguments enough of this nature used but how little have they done how few are less in love with the good and holy ways of God than before Having therefore so many great and precious Promises for the preservation of the Church and God exercising a special care for it and keeping it under a special tutelage Let us not fear but believe that God as the Psalmist saith will establish it for ever Let us therefore look off creature-appearances and humane-probabilities The Church is a burning-bush and hath been so from the very first plantation of it but we see it is not consumed because God is in the midst of it Remember this That the Church liveth not upon an ordinary common general Providence but upon a special peculiar Providence watching over it and caring for it In the next place this may serve to shew you your duty Vse 2 every one to observe the special Providences that attend your lives There is an observation of the more general Providence of God in upholding and governing the World which is our duty and a very sweet and advantageous piece of duty but this I shall hereafter further press upon you That which I would speak a few words to here is the observation of the special Providence of God relating to you What the Psalmist saith of the observations of Providence more generally Psalm 107 the last verse Whoso observeth these things is wise and he shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord is eminently true Here it speaks 1. A Spiritual wisdom 2. It will be of great use to make us understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Observe the special Providences of God towards his Church his Church in former ages his Church in our present age you will by those observations be able to make up a judgment what man is like to do against it and what God is like yet to do for that body of people that come under that Notion nay you will be able to go a great way in making up a Judgment who they are that make up the true Church of God even those upon whom the Eye of God is most and for whom his Arm is most stretched out not in this or that particular act but in a continued series and course of strange preservations There is and indeed always hath been a great dispute in the World which is the true Church of God The Jews arrogated the honour to themselves and indeed there was a time when none could claim with them but the Apostle amply declareth their rejection and the Gentiles ingraffing But though it be certain now that the Church of God is made up of those that were Gentiles yet as several Sects and parties have risen