Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	david_n	great_a	saul_n	1,241	5	9.2078	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70812	The glasse of Gods providence towards his faithfvll ones held forth in a sermon preached to the two Houses of Parliament at Margarets Westminster, Aug. 13, 1644, being an extraordinary day of humiliation : wherein is discovered the great failings that the best are liable unto, upon which God is provoked sometimes to take vengeance : the whole is applyed specially to a more carefull observation of our late covenant, and particularly against the ungodly toleration pleaded for under pretence of liberty of conscience / by Herbert Palmer ...	Palmer, Herbert, 1601-1647.	1644 (1644)	Wing P235; ESTC R5391	64,078	71

and bold-faced opposition against it must needs aggravare the Transgression and increase the mischiefe But the Prophet meaning is that GOD would have an Observation made 1. That all the Misery of the Land though there were very few so wise as to consider it is for sin for the transgression of GODS Law and every one doing too much what they list And then that in the second place Enquiry should be made for what Speciall Provocations it is that there are such heavy Judgements on the Land They have walked saith GOD after Baalim which their fathers taught them Whether any old superstitions or any Prophane Customes and Practises received by Tradition from our Fathers Or any other new invented Idoll or Fancy any Imagination of our own hearts be the Grand Evill that provokes GOD so against us as that after all our seekings of Him and suings to Him His anger is not turned away but His hand is stretched out still To find out this or these for they may be many were certainly the greatest piece of Wisdome one of them in the World and to be taught it one of the Greatest Honours from GOD that could be and then to Declare it one of the Greatest Pieces of Faithfulnesse to GOD and His People Oh that you who are Our Wise Men the Great Councell of the Kingdome would specially set your Wits a work and bend your Thoughts most serious to search and find this out And you may call whom you will to your Assistance herein You have called an Assembly of Divines to Consult with in matters of Religion and they attend daily upon the worke you have entrusted them with If now you should think fit to send to them expressely to make this their worke for the present to give you the Vttermost of Advice with all Faithfulnesse What might be the Cause or Causes Why Judgements and Feares and dangers still continue and multiply rather then decrease Certainly they could not be better imployed for the time And if GOD should vouchsafe to shew them the right Nothing could prove more Advantagious for the publike good If they be not Wise or Faithfull enough Or you should not be satisfied with their Advice You may aske of whom you will besides And you may if you please give every one Liberty in an humble manner for once to tell you what their Apprehension is But certainly it is a thousand pitties that among so many Wise men and Pious men as GOD hath yet reserved in our Land none should be set a worke expressely about this most important and every day more and more most necessary Work And after all it belongs to You whom GOD hath Entrusted with the Power to Reforme whatever shall be found to be a Cause of our Perpetuated mischiefe to judge impartially of all and then sentence and execute according to the Will of GOD a righteous Judgement upon all whether things or Persons without Feare or Favour And this is the Way and the only Way to partake of that Blessing forenoted to be all Our Desires according to Psal. 106. 3 4 5. Which I again beseech every one to reade over most seriously and apply to their hearts most faithfully And to this tends the third and last Use of Consolation which you will give me leave to adde a word of and then I shall commit you and all that hath been spoken to GODS Blessing Our Text in the frame and scope of it tends as much and as fully to Comfort and Encourage all GODS faithfull Ones as I hope I speake to many such even notwithstanding their own failings and His Severity upon it as it doth to Warn and Exhort them to take heed of such failings and of provoking Him to shew Severity For it tels us absolutely that being His though we doe amisse against Him and He deales severely with us yet still He is a GOD that Answeres and a GOD that Forgives Our failings not allowed nor persisted in when we know them disparage not Our faithfulnesse in GODS Account and His Judgements His Vengeance on our Inventions how severe soever disprove not His Favour argue not Rejection nor Purpose of destruction Though He kill yet He may pardon and save And the Experience of His Providence may assure us that He will not be henceforth rigorously severe if we this Day renew our Faithfulnesse He is very rarely so even to a Single Person If their Visible Repentance prevent the Exeution of any Sentence of His against them Much lesse to a Nation to the Body of a people that returne to Him The Case of such is never can never be desperate when ever they have a Heart to look unto Him againe after a Revolt Let me give you two famous Instances in two Words David after many great Experiments of GODS marvellous Deliverances and proofes of His owne Faith and Trust in GOD fals at last into a Pang of Feare 1 Sam. 27. and saith in his heart I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul ver. 1. And thereupon doth little better then runne away from GOD for he runnes out of the Land of Israel from among the people of GOD whither GOD once sent him when he was abroad 1 Sam. 12. 5. and flyes into the Philistines Countrey the professed and greatest Enemies of GODS Church and so he goes as our Proverbe is as it were Out of GODS Blessing into the warme Sun And while he is among them he does not very well for he is faine to keep up his Credit with Achish with much Dissimulation and many fained Expressions Hereupon at last GOD meets with him with no small Severity You may well call it as the Language of the Text is a Taking Vengeance on his Inventions He is hunted by the envy and jealousie of the Philistine-Lords from the Court and Camp of Achish and when he returnes to his home in that strange land he finds his City burnt to ashes his Wives carried away captive and all his Followers likewise undone and robbed of all and none knew by whom and unto all this is added the Mutiny of all his Souldiers the people spake of stoning him 1 Sam. 30. 6. But then he recovers himselfe and in that most extreme danger shewes a greater Faith then ever before But David say the next words encouraged himselfe in the LORD his GOD And then immediately you find upon his enquiring of GOD about pursuing those unknowne Enemies he receives a most full and gracious answere and Assurance of Favour exemplified by most Complete Speedy and Rich Victory nothing lost of their substance not any one of all their Wives or Children missing and great spoiles and within a few dayes he is certified of Sauls death and is made King of Judah So abundant are GODS Mercies to His faithfull Ones even after their failings and His Displeasure upon them 2. And so it was with Israel Judg. 10. They Revolting after sundry Deliverances GOD gives them into the

take notice of Jer. 2. 19. Thine owne wickednesse shall correct thee and thy backslidings shall reproove thee Know therefore and see that it is an evill thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy GOD and that my feare is not in thee saith the LORD GOD of Hosts GOD will make all his Servants find and feele and acknowledge this in their Degree And to this speakes the Apostle Heb. 12. both for GODS Intention in corrections and for the successe of them Having compared GODS fatherly corrections with our Naturall Parents dealing with us in our Minority He saith expressely He doth it for our profit that we may be partakers of His holinesse v. 10. For our profit I say and not to satisfy his owne mind or wreake his owne displeasure upon us as earthly parents not seldome doe as he had intimated in the beginning of that Verse And as GOD meanes no otherwise but thus So his Intentions doe not faile of a sutable Successe in the Issue as is assured us v. 11. Now no chastisement for the present seemes to be joyous but Greevous neverthelesse afterward it yeelds the Peaceable fruit of righteousnesse to them that are exercised thereby Finally GOD deales thus with His owne Faithfull Servants very much in reference to standers by strangers and even enemyes and that in a double respect 1. to Let all the World know that He hath Iudgements in store for the Wicked which shall not faile to fall upon their heads with violence according to those cleare Sentences Prov. 11. 31. Behold the Righteous shall be recompensed in the earth how much more the wicked and the sinner and 1 Pet. 4. 17 18. The time is come that Judgement must beginne at the House of GOD and if it first beginne at us what shall be the end of those that Obey not the Gospell of GOD And if the Righteous shall scarcely be saved where shall the Vngodly and the Sinner appeare And as our Saviour urges from His owne Sufferings Luk. 23. 31. If these things be done in the greene Tree what shall be done in the Dry So may we well argue in our proportion If GOD will not endure alwayes provocations from His owne though He love them so well as to forgive them ever then doubtlesse He will never Suffer the Obstinate Impenitents to goe allwayes unpunisht If He lay stripes on the back of His Children for their Follies He will infallibly as the Threatning is in expresse Termes Psal. 68. 21. Wound the head of His enemies and the Hairy scalpe of such an one as goeth on still in his Trespasses Whether evill men will learne this from GODS correcting His owne or no yet by all this it is manifest that it is done partly for that end to teach and warne them 2. But withall there is another maine end why GOD doth this oft times within the sight and hearing of evill men namely that He may let them see That they have no Reason to Blaspheame or Reproach the Name or Religion of GOD or speake evill of His wayes because of any scandals that any of His servants runne into For if they can truly and really blame them for any such misbehaviour they may also within a while be able to discerne if they will mind it and not wilfully shut their eyes against the light of GODS Providence that GOD is no favourer of sinne in the best of His owne and that as they that offend doe not therein walke according to the Principles of their own Profession So no blame can be charged upon GOD for it Who takes vengeance upon such misbehaviours and makes them ashamed of their misdoings and afraid of doing the like againe And this is expressely signified to David after his great scandall That though GOD had pardoned him and put away his sinne that he should not die Yet the threatned corrections should come upon him and that particularly the mis-begotten child should be taken away Howbeit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blashpheme the child also that is borne to thee shall surely di● 2 Sam. 12. 14. This being GODS manner in all such cases is ground enough though mens wickednesses will not regard it for ever to stop the mouthes of all those that would blaspheme when any of GODS people are guilty of any scandalous offence And so we see on all hands Reasons for GODS severity as well as for His pardoning Mercy And all the three Points are dispatcht for the Doctrinall part of them I now come to the Application of them all three together but in a threefold distinct Use 1. Of Humiliation 2. Of Exhortation 3. Of Consolation 1. For Humiliation As the day specially and extraordinarily calls for it and we make speciall profession of it in this present continued meeting So doe all the three Points that have been handled meete to recommend and reinforce it For 1. if we have learned and are sensible how corrupted we all are notwithstanding any Grace we have recived from GOD and how prone to offend and provoke Him notwithstanding any faithfulnesse we have shewed toward GOD And secondly If we be apprehensive of GODS answering and pardoning Mercy and that we are not yet destroyed though we have provoked GOD with many of our inventions and doe still expect Mercy from Him though we know we shall still offend Him in many things And thirdly If we feele withall for the present somewhat more and feare for the future GODS taking vengeance on our inventions and misbehaviours Then surely we have all cause to be humbled in each one of these respects severally and much more of all of them together and this will be a necessary and profitable foundation for the other two Uses which are to follow We call this day a day of Humiliation GOD grant it may prove so in His eye and esteeme But the truth is I feare our dayes of Humiliation are not reckoned by GOD to be such and that He may put that question to many of us and pose us with it with which He checkes the Jewes Zach. 7. 5. When you fasted and mourned so long and so often as you have done did you at all fast unto me even unto me We come indeed and give attendance upon GOD outwardly and we sit and stand and kneele before Him as His people as the Prophets phrase is Ezek. 33. But GOD that searches the hearts and will be worshipped in spirst and in truth can tell how untowardly men come and sees much untowardnesse I am afraid in very many of us even in our solemnest Humiliations and saddest expressions of it And if we our selves may judge by the consideration how men carry themselves immediately before and immediately after we have little ground to beleeve there is any great Humiliation in mens hearts when they seeme to be most abased before GOD The day before or even the morning before who makes

businesse to draw the servants of GOD to sinne to sinnes of scandall thereby to promote their own lust by their assistance or to encourage and beare out themselves in their own evils by such practices of better men and sometimes even in very malice to the servants of GOD that they may have advantage to reproach them and the very profession of Religion which they make And to this purpose they lay snares in their way continually sometimes offering worldly advantage otherwhiles threatning worldly inconveniences and alwayes straining their witts to pursue them with importunities and subtilties to seduce them All these laid together their own corruption Satans suggestions and Mens instigation doe so unhappily verifie our first point and afford such continuall experiments of it that I shall need to say no more of it at the present in a Doctrinall way I come to the second Though GODS servants doe provoke Him and He doe thereupon take vengeance Yet is He ever a GOD of Grace to them answering their prayers and affording them pardon I shall not illustrate this by examples at this time further then I have done already every one of the fore-named Instances making it plaine But I shall give you some Reasons of it First GOD uses to answer His servants because it is one of His Titles which He takes to Himselfe and His servants give Him the Name of That He is a GOD hearing prayers Which is therefore exprest because He would encourage all men much more those that are already His servants to come unto Him Psal. 65. 2. O thou that hearest prayers to Thee shall all flesh come So David assures himselfe and his enemies both that he should find in his own particular The LORD will heare that is answer when I call upon Him Psal. 43. And Psal. 10. 17. a demonstration is given of it in that it is said to GOD Thou hast heard the desire of the humble Thou preparest their heart and Thou causest Thine eare to heare Which is as much as if it had been said Thou bespeakest and even inditest their Petitions GODS Spirit doth so Rom. 8. 26 27. and therefore as Thou hast ever done so unquestionably thou wilt still afford them a gracious Answer 2. This is the more certaine Because GOD hath alwayes in His hand a sufficiency of Power and Wisedome to grant their faithfull desires by Over-ruling all things for their good even notwithstanding all that they have done against Him and so against themselves or that He hath done against them This is the great difference between GOD and Men that men oft times when others sue to them find things in so ill a condition partly through the fault of those that now sue for their favour and partly through their own rashnesse or severity that they know not how to help them nor which way to make them any amends for any thing they have made them to suffer As the Israelites Judg. 21. would willingly have done more for Benjamin against whom they had been rigorously cruell But they knew not how to doe it they had no power to recompence their own excessive severity upon the Benjimites perverse obstinacy But it is never so with GOD He never powers out so much wrath upon any of His servants whatever He doe upon His enemies in conclusion But He hath still in His hand to make them amends Even though He take away their lives He hath so much good to bestow upon them as He may still be said to forgive them He hath a better life for them an Eternall life of perfect Happinesse And in the meane time witnesse Joseph and Job and many others of His Saints They are never so low nor so afflicted in this world but He hath power enough to raise them up againe to comfort and honour And therefore He doth certainly afford them answer of Grace to all their faithfull prayers 3. He doth also forgive them without faile because He hath received a Ransome for them It is Elihu's phrase Job 31. 24 Deliver his soule saith GOD from going downe into the pit for I have received a Ransome GOD Himselfe hath set forth Christ provided Him sent Him declared Him to be a Propiti●●ion through Faith in His Bloud to declare His Righteousnesse or Justice for the Remission of sinnes that are past through the forbearance of GOD Rom. 3. 25. So that GOD in His taking vengeance upon the offences of His servants doth it not for the satisfaction of His Justice For Christ hath made that satisfaction He is our Surety Heb. 7. 22 and gave His life a Ransome for us Mat. 20. 28. And so notwithstanding all the Chastisements He layes upon them which are for an other end as we shall see in the next Point by and by The Chastisement of our peace by way of satisfaction was upon Him He hath borne the burden of them all And by His stripes not our own are we healed Therefore how much soever GOD corrects any of those that are in Christ yet He pardons them The Lord hath chastened me sore saith the Psalmist Psal. 118. 18. yet hath He not given me over unto death Holy Job goes further chapt. 13. 15. Though He kill me yet will I trust in Him That must needs carry with it assurance of forgivenesse in the most deadly blowed that GOD can give His servants And indeed the Apostle makes this an argument of GODS graciousnesse and forgiving the iniquities of His servants that when otherwise they would be hardned in their sins which would turne to their destruction if not remedied that He corrects them severely even to death sometimes So he tells the Corinthians who had prophaned the Lords Supper greatly For this cause many are weake and sick among you and many sleepe that is are stricken with death 1. Cor. 11. 30. and after followes ver. 32. When we are judged even so severely we are chastened of the LORD that we should not be condemned with the world Here is undoubted forgivenesse notwithstanding deadly severity 4. GOD therefore forgives because He will glorifie himselfe in the Repentance of His servants after their provocations and His taking ve●geance And ordinarlly He doth this visibly when He layes any great correction upon His servants He makes them give publicke and open testimony of their Repentance This is remarkeably insinuated for the thing it selfe Isa. 57. Where first GOD is angry with one of His and smites him for the sinne of his covetousnesse and hides His face from him And for a while this doth him no good but he goes on frowardly in the way of his own heart Hereupon GOD in the riches of His Grace resolves to take an other course with him and to manifest such love to him as should overcome him with kindnesse I have seen his wayes and I will heale him c. Here is forgivenesse and Grace for Repentance undeniably notwithstanding all forgoing sinne and judgements 5. And indeed if GOD