Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	king_n	lord_n	prince_n	9,482	5	6.1097	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43730	A sermon preached July 26, 1682, in the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in York at the assizes for that county / by James Hickson ...	Hickson, James, b. 1650.	1682 (1682)	Wing H1930; ESTC R34939	12,130	28

Iniquity and the punishing of it the one whereby he beholds what Iniquities are predominant which indanger and threaten his Throne and the other whereby he looks that Punishments be inflicted upon Malefactors that they be inflicted not only by the Sentence but by the execution of the Sentence 'T is the execution of the Penal Laws which destroyes Evil for a bare beholding of Iniquity without punishing of it is but to mock Justice One of the Fathers upon the Devils expostulating with our Saviour St. Mark Chap. 1. Ver. 24. What have we to do with thee thou Jesus of Nazareth art thou come to destroy us saith upon our Saviours reply Hold thy peace That our Saviour would not be praised by the Devils voice but by his Torments and one applying it to our Subject saith That their is no greater praise of a King than his sitting upon the Throne of Judgment and destroying Wickedness by punishing the Authors of it for their Ruin is his Glory In most Expositors which I have met with upon our Subject I find 'em quoting this Proverb Oculus Heri saginat Equum and thus they apply it as the Masters Eye fats the Horse so the Kings Eye disperseth Evil blasts the increase of it and by his Eye Justice flourisheth Cyrus the first Persian Monarch signifies the Sun in their Dialect and thus I find the King compared to the Sun upon several Accounts For First As the Sun arising and being gloriously seated as it were in his Charitor upon his Throne disperseth Mists and Darkness and likewise causeth Thieves Traytors Murtherers Adulterers and whose works hate the light to conceal themselves least their Works of Darkness should be discover'd and made manifest so a Wise and Just King by his Sun-like inspection scattereth by his Justice the Ungodly and Workers of Iniquity Secondly As the Sun in his course not only views successively the parts of the Earth but also makes them fruitful by his auspicious influence so the King by his Delegates and Representatives suppresseth Iniquity by his presence composeth the Differences of Litigious men helps those to right who suffer wrong and are oppress'd and puts a Curb into the mouth 's of such unreasonable men who would if let alone turn Religion into Rebellion and Faith into Faction Thirdly As the Sun is pleasant and delightful to sound Eyes but to the unsound very troublesom and vexatious so the King's Eye towards the good is pleasant but to Malefactors 't is terrible though he only looks upon 'em through his Delegates and inferior Magistrates The words of our Subject may be likewise mystically understood as well as literally for as generally it belongs to all Kings so peculiarly it is appropriate to the King of Kings our Lord and Saviour to whom God has given all Power all Judgment for when he shall come to Judge all the Earth at the great Day of Account he shall have no need of Prisons or Chains he shall not stand in need of Military Forces to compel them but by his very look he shall scatter and confound the Wicked in their own Devices The Proverbial sence of our Subject is this That Authority being ready and constant in doing Justice upon Malefactors doth drive away all Evil with the very look of it Or in a Phrase equally intelligible the puting of the Penal Laws in Execution is the most proper if not only method to restrain and curb the growing Vices of the Age. From the Words themselves we shall deduce Three Observables First As the word King denotes Power so we shall remind you that Magistracy and especially Monarchy is Gods Ordinance Secondly We shall shew you that as the Kings Throne is Gods so God hath constituted him over his People for the punishment of Wickedness and Vice to execute Vengeance upon Malefactors as well as for the praise of them that do Well Thirdly That none may flatter themselves who make no Conscience to disoby the Lawful Commands of a Lawful Authority because of their present impunity we shall remind such that although they may for the present escape the Temporal Sword by their Politick Contrivances yet the Judg of all the Earth shall meet with 'em for as there is a Reward for the Righteous so doubtless there is a God that Judgeth the Earth First then as the word King denotes Power we shall remind you that Majesty and especially Monarchy is God's Ordinance A King that sits in the Throne of Judgment In the eighth Chapter of Ecclesiastes at the fourth Verse the Wise man tells us that where the Word of a King is there is Power Another Translation reads it There is in the word of a King a kind of Power 'T is most true of God that his Will effects his Work and his Word gives Power and God having made Kings his Vicegerents hear on Earth has in some sort communicated his Power to them Magistracy is an Office of Gods own institution and there is Divinity impress'd and Stamp'd upon the very Face of it As Moses so every Princes Face shines with the Glorious Beams of Divine Power communicated to them He is the Fountain of all Lawful Authority for all Power belongs unto God and he gives it to whom he pleaseth Such Promotion says the Psalmist comes neither from the East nor from the West nor from any point in the Compass but 't is God that sets up and appoints Magistracy Therefore did S. Paul plainly tell the Romans in the Thirteenth Chapter what Majesty was viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ordinance of God And God himself declares in the Eighth Chapter of the Proverbs Verse 15. That by him Kings Reign and Princes decree Justice For me Kings Reign saith another Vertion It is the Tenure but of some men to hold their Lands in chief immediately from the King but it is the Tenure of all Kings to hold their Crowns in chief of the Lord of Heaven and Earth 'T is the Royal Charter which God himself hath granted to Kings that they wear their Crowns not by his Permission only but by his Commission they Reign not only by his Sufferance but by his Ordinance And though St. Peter in his first Epistle Chapter the second Verse the thirteenth calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Ordinance of man yet it is not so to be understood as if it were of mans invention But because man is the Subject man is the Object man is the End of it because 't is executed by them exercis'd concerning them and intended for their good so upon these accounts 't is call'd an Ordinance of man The forms of Adminstrations indeed may be of man but the Original institution is of God For says the Prophet Daniel it is the most High that Ruleth in the Kingdom of men and he giveth it to whomsoever he will Daniel the fourth Nay even wicked Rulers derive their Power from God And thus our Saviour himself told Pilate St. John the Ninetenth Thou could'st have no

greatest men for Temporal Honour and Advancement our Saviour in taking down their Ambitious Heats and Strivings about Superiority convinceth them of their Folly by an Argument drawn from the different Offices of Worldly Kings and those of the Apostles by an Antithesis of their distinct Constitutions in these Words The Kings of the Gentiles exercise LordShip over them and they that exercise Authority upon them are called Benefactors By Kings of the Gentiles our Saviour not only expresseth Heathenish Monarchs but all Political Magistracy and they are express'd here Synecdochicè by Kings of the Gentiles either because Gentile Monarchs did then especially Govern the Kingdoms of the Earth or else because the Word Gentiles denotes all People collectively whether Heathens or Christians And he there expresseth the Office of the Publick Magistrate in these two Words Dominari and Benefici For the punishment of evil Doers and for the Praise of them that do Well That the Authority of the Supreme Magistrate is necessary for the punishment of evil Doers nothing is more clear for without the Magistrates Sword every private Man's would be set against his Neighbours and the excellent Seneca could tell us that the not punishing of Malefactors is to Scourge and Torment good men And upon this account was it that St. Paul says of the Supreme Magistrate that he bears not the Sword in vain by the Sword is understood the Power of exercising and putting the Penal Laws in execution against Malefactors to give them suitable Punishments to their demerits and by bearing the Sword he alludes to the custom of Princes and Majestrates who have the Sword and other Ensigns of Authority carry'd before them We need not urge quotations from Holy Writ to shew how much the impartial execution of Justice exalts a Nation nor need we enumerate those Positive Commands from the Almighty to those who are in Authority That Judgment run down as Waters and Righteousness as a mighty Stream Nor need we so much as remind you what Comminations are denounc'd what Woes are threatn'd to those who turn Judgment backward who make Justice stand a far of c. For 't is enough that we take notice how much the very Esence and Constitution of Government it self is indanger'd whilst the execution of the Penal Laws is Baulk'd and Publick Offenders in the very Face of Authority unpunish'd For First if Malefactors be not Punish'd by Malefactors I mean not only Murtherers Fellons c. but all others who live in an open and wilful breach of the known Laws if these be not punish'd and suppress'd by Authority the Natural good of men is endanger'd i. e. the Lives and Bodies of the Kings good Subjects are continually hazarded Secondly If Malefactors be not Punish'd our Moral good is indanger'd Virtue will be discourag'd run down and suppress'd and Vice will become no less spreading than Fatal and Destructive Thirdly If Malefactors are unpunish'd our Civil good is indanger'd our Goods and Possessions cannot be call'd our own Fourthly If the Penal Laws are unexecuted our Spiritual good is most of all indanger'd our Religion as now by Law establish'd will be made a prey to our Enemies who already laugh us to Scorn and who would gladly be crying once more with those Impious men the Psalmist mentions Down with it down with it even to the Ground But God we trust will defend this part of his Catholick Church which he himself hath planted in these Kingdoms And though She be Militant against Principalities and Powers against Spiritual Wickednesses and though She hath so many incarnate Agents who causelesly conspire Her fall yet as the Psalmist zealously Let God arise and all her Enemies be scatter'd and the joynt contrivances of Devils and Men against Her shall be brought to nought And to this end Let us beseech God with the Church that he would strengthen the hands of our Gracious King Charles and all that are put in Authority under him with Judgment and Justice to cut of all such Workers of Iniquity who would unhinge the present Government in Church and State that so they may never prevail against us or Triumph in the ruine of God's Church amongst us We come now in a word or two to the Third Inference from our Subject which is That none may ●…atter themselves who make no Conscience to disobey the Lawful Commands of a Lawful Authority we shall only remind such and leave it to their serious Consideration Although they may for the present escape the Temporal Sword by their Politick Contrivances yet the Judge of all the Earth shall meet with 'em for as there is a reward for the Righteous so doubtless there is a God that Judgeth the Earth At the entrance of Abraham's Expostulation with God in the behalf of Sodom and the other Cities Gen. 18.25 he useth these Words Shall not the Judge of all the world do right And Job tells us Far be Wickedness from God and Iniquity from the Almighty surely God will not do Wickedly neither will the Almighty pervert Judgment Now though some men may hug themselves with that Heathenish Divinity Prosper●m Faelix scaelus virtus vocatur though they may Blasphemously Father the success of their unjust Proceedings upon the Providence of God though they may for the present so manage their Extortions Oppressions Libels Mutinies Factions Treasons c. as that no humane Laws can hinder their Endeavours Contrivances and Caballs in order to their Rending the beautiful Frame and Constitution of Church and State and all this to gratify their Pride ill Nature and Intrest yet shall not God meet with such and pay them what they deserve Though men may so Tamper with the Country as that they shall be brought off and clear'd in this World whilst yet they live in the open breach and defiance of the known Laws yet God will not be mock'd the Judge of all the Earth shall do right upon ' em And though for a moment men may impose upon and flatter their Consciences having got the weather gage of the Penal Laws and have provided how to put by the Stroke of the Magistrates Sword and then say the Law is open if any be griev'd let them remedy themselves we must indure it and there 's an End yet assuredly God will enter into Judgment with such and there will be no error assign'd in his Judgment For says one there is no appeal from God not throughly inform'd to God better inform'd because he always knows all Evidence before it be given therefore however we may Juggle here upon Earth yet when he comes to Judge all the Workers of Iniquity s●… confess his Judgment to be right though the re●…t be their own Eternal Condemnation Now that all of us in our several Places and Callings may so respectively discharge our Duties to God and our Neighbours that this Life ended we may be receiv'd into Everlasting Habitations God grant for Christs sake Amen FINIS