Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	hand_n	lord_n	stretch_v	1,025	5	9.8952	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20529	Foure godlie and fruitful sermons two preached at Draiton in Oxford-shire, at a fast, enioyned by authoritie, by occasion of the pestilence then dangerously dispearsed. Likewise two other sermons on the twelfth Psalme. VVhereunto is annexed a briefe tract of zeale. / By I. Dod. R. Cleauer.	Dod, John, 1549?-1645.; Cleaver, Robert, 1561 or 2-ca. 1625.; Winston, John, fl. 1614-1634.; Greenham, Richard.	1611 (1611)	STC 6938; ESTC S114261	70,793	120

not to be discouraged at crafty aduersaries that haue winding wits plotting heads and flattering tongues and acceptance with great ones euen as they would wish let vs not bee dismayed heereat but let this be our comfort when they fawne and flatter and lie and traduce vs most shamefully that the Lord will cut off the lying lips Grant that we haue not libertie or skill to encounter them yet the Lord hath There is no wisedome nor vnderstanding nor counsell against him that is none of these shall take any effect against him and therefore the Psalmist saith The Lord breaketh the counsell of the Heathen and bringeth to nought the deuices of the people Though all the wisedome of all the nations in the earth were laide together yet God would bring all their consultations to nothing if they made against him When Achitophel fell from Dauid to take part with Absolon it much troubled Dauid for his words were as Oracles and none could speake more in matters of policie then he and he knew all Dauids heart and the state of the whole kingdome and therefore he turneth himselfe vnto God O Lord saith he I pray thee turne the counsell of Achitophel into foolishnesse and God heard his request and did so insomuch that no creature could deale more foolishly for the procuring of his owne euerlasting woe and shame then he did in hanging himselfe The diuell is still labouring to worke mischiefe and he wants not craft nor subtiltie besides the experience that he hath had from the beginning of the world hitherunto yet for all this he hath neuer beene nor shall be able to procure the ouerthrow of one of Gods elect The Church hath beene nothing the worse though he haue beene still warring against it And why is this but because Gods wisedome is infinitly beyond all the subtilty of the diuell And what cause haue we then to feare crafty men seeing their Captaine hath had no better successe and seeing that the Lord hath a quarrell against them as well as against their head And the tongue that speaketh proud things In that the Prophet denounceth iudgement against such kinde of persons the doctrine is that The more wicked men boast of their mischieuous intents the neerer mischiefe is vnto them When they bragge most how well the world goes with them and what hope they haue of effecting their badde purposes some great euill is euen at their doores When men boast in their talke and swords are in their lips as Dauid speaketh then the Lord will haue them in derision and laugh at their destruction When they fall to bragging God fals to laughing and when their swords are drawne out against others the Lords hand is stretched out against them Whē Pharaoh in the pride of his heart said Who is the Lord God made him know who he was And when the enemie said I will pursue I will ouertake them meaning the Israelites I will diuide the spoile c then the Lord set in against them and made the Sea to couer them so that they sanke as lead in the mighty waters So when Saneherib insulted against God and against his people and bragged what his forefathers and himselfe had done and what now he would doe if they would not yeeld vp the Citie and themselues into his hands then did the Lord put a hooke into his nostrils and a bridle into his lips brought him backe againe the same way he came and caused him to fall by the hands of his owne sonnes And the reasons why it must needs be so are these First when vngodly men do most vaunt of their malicious intents against Gods people then is the Lords compassion most stirred towards them euen as it is with earthly parents when any one threatens their children that if hee take them hee will knocke out their braines this will cause them to prouide for the safetie of their children and that such leaud persons bee punished and restrained This was Dauids comfort against Doeg Why boastest thou thy selfe in thy wickednes ô man of power saith hee The louing kindnesse of God endureth daily If the stocke of Gods goodnes were all spent then his children had reason to hang downe their heads but seeing that is and will be as much still as euer it was they neede not feare the insultations of their wicked aduersaries Secondly at such times Gods seruants begin to looke about them when their enemies speake of wonders that they will worke against them then they are wakened and stirred vp to crie vnto the Lord as in the 94. Psalme O Lord God the auenger O Lord God the auenger shew thy selfe cleerly And why are they so instant and earnest with God The reason is yeelded verse 4. The wicked prate and speake fiercely all the workers of iniquitie vaunt themselues As if they should say Lorde if euer thou wilt awake and stand vp for our defense now doe it when vngodlie men doe so insult and triumph ouer vs. Thirdly such proud persons doe bid defiance to the Lord himselfe and therefore hee hath a quarrell against them All the proud in heart are an abomination vnto him But if their pride appeare in a more notorious manner in their tongues and in their behauiour they are much more hatefull vnto him for in making boast of their owne hearts desire they doe contemne the Lord and in speaking against the Church they set their tongues against heauen it selfe as the Prophet speaketh Which point thus prooued ministreth vnto vs First an vse of instruction that seeing the Lord is so incensed against proud boasters therefore wee should containe our selues within the compasse of modestie and neuer boast at all but let others mouthes and our owne workes and Gods voice at the last day praise vs and not our owne lips but especially let vs take heede of vaunting our selues against the people of God and against the Maiestie of God himselfe for that will least of all be endured Secondy here is an vse of consolation against all the insultations of malicious enemies if wee can with patience and modestie endure and stand it out for a while not returning like for like nor vsing any sharpnes and bitternesse against them we shall see that the Lord will cut them off If a man had knowne the day before what should haue befallen Haman notwithstanding all his boasting of his greatnes and of his honour and of that fauour which hee had with the King and of all the euill that hee intended against the Iewes and against Mordecai especially if I say a man had knowen before hand what should haue befallen him would it not haue made him laugh at his pride and follie Yes certainely and yet the case of all boasters against Gods Church is little or better then his And if we could with the eye of faith behold Gods purpose concerning their ruine and ouerthrow all their bragging would seeme

haue the choise of his owne rodde the sentence was alreadie past and some one of the three iudgements mentioned Verse 13. must needs light vpon the land yet would God vse as much mildnes as might bee and therefore hee referres the matter vnto him and biddeth him consider and determine which of them hee would most willingly vndergoe Now followe the euents that ensued both vpon the sinne that Dauid committed and the message that God for the same directed vnto him The first whereof was the great distresse wherewith hee was perplexed which he bemoned to the Prophet telling him that he was in a wonderfull strait The second was the choyse that he made absolutely passing ouer the famine without so much as speaking of it as knowing it to bee incomparablie the sharpest scourge of the three for the Scripture saith that they that are slaine by the sword are better then they which are killed with hunger and rather also submitting himselfe to the Pestilence which was more immediately the sword of God from whom he expected mercie and sauour then to the violence and sword of man in whome what else in such a case is to be found but crueltie and fiercenesse The third was the execution of that plague of the pestilence which he had yeelded himselfe vnto which is declared as well by the manner as the minister of it it being in so short a time as in three dayes space dispersed thorough the whole Land from North to South and though not affirmed yet implied from East to West Ierusalem onely excepted as may appeare by the circumstance of the Text and in this time seuenty thousand being destroyed which stroke was inflicted by the hand of an Angell whome God had therevnto appointed as minister and executioner of the same The last was the ceasing and stay of this plague euen then when the stroke was lighting vpon Ierusalem to haue destroyed it And hereof are assigned two causes the one and that the principall was the Commandement of God to whom for our better apprehension of his prouidence is ascribed an humane passion of repentance which properly befalleth not him because hee cannot but doe euery thing absolutely well nor possiblie at any time bee wearie of well-doing neither is hee subiect to perturbations because he is free from all manner of corruptions But hee is said to repent when hee withholdeth that which he condicionallie promiseth or threatneth or desisteth from that which he had begun to doe sithence men many times breake off their proceedings with dislike of the beginnings thereof and their not doing of that which they saide argueth commonly that they are sorrie for saying that which nowe they minde not to doe The other cause yet of an inferiour nature and mouent as wee call it was the prayer of Dauid whereby hee obtained the preseruation of Ierusalem and the rest of the people and herein hee offereth himselfe to be smitten that they might be spared with acknowledgement that hee was the offender and they in this matter altogether innocent Verse 14. And Dauid said I am in a wonderfull strait The Doctrine that hence ariseth is plaine viz. that Sinne brings men into great distresses and into maruellous straits It is the proper nature of wickednesse to encomber and cast men into perplexities neither will God spare his owne people when they take libertie in prouoking his maiestie but either they shall be straited in their owne hearts or else in regard of outward calamities or both and though the Lord will not condemne them yet will he afflict them Iehoshaphat was so foolish that he would make affinitie with Ahab and lest he should breake off that league of friendship that was betweene them he would aduenture contrary to the expresse word of the Lord to goe against Ramoth Gilead to battle with him now was not he in an exceeding great straight when the maine force of the battle was bent against him being supposed to be the King of Israel concerning whom a command was giuen to the Captaines by the King of Aram that they should fight against none neither small nor great but onely against the King of Israel Yet would not Iehoshaphat take warning by this but after that he had beene rebuked by Iehu the Prophet for helping the wicked and louing them that hated the Lord he yet ioyned with Iehoram the King of Israel against the King of Moab but was his successe any better then before No surely for howsoeuer they had the victorie ouer the Moabites with much difficultie yet before that was effected he was in a greater straight then when he went against Ramoth Gilead for there his owne person onely was endangerd but heere both he and his people together with two Kings and their armies besides were like to perish for want of water A further proofe of this point we haue in Ionah who discoursing with his owne reason thought it would be to no purpose but very dangerous for him to goe to preach at Niniue and therefore refused to yeeld to the Commandement of the Lord. But what wofull distresse did this disobedience bring him into when being in that sore tempest the sea did roare his conscience accuse him men were against him God was against him and there was no way for him but to be throwne into the sea and there to remaine three daies and three nights in the belly of a whale The like may be seene in Sampson who being carried with boisterous lusts and immoderately and sinfully affecting that vile strumpet Dalilah could hide nothing from her but discouered vnto her very foolishly wherein his great strength lay namely in his haire and so that being cut off as a recompence of his folly and sinfull dealing he was betraied into the hands of his most deadly enemies the Philistims who puld out both his eyes bound him in fetters made him grinde in the prison house and besides made him a laughing stocke vnto those into whom he had formerly stricken a great terrour and amazement by his admirable valour and the strange enterprises atchieued by him Thus we may in part perceiue into what narrow straits sinne doth bring Gods owne children but this is especially verified in wicked men of whom it is said that thornes and snares are in the way of the froward they are hedged in with thornes and all their walke is vpon brakes they run to hell with great vexation they are intangled in snares continually and are neuer out of them they are caught in Sathans net and held fast by hardnesse of heart which neuer leaues them till either conuersion or vtter confusion doe befall them But this will more fully appeare in particular sinnes as first to giue instance in drunkards whose appetite doth prouoke them vnto that beastly abuse of Gods good creatures the wine delights their eye and pleaseth their taste and goeth downe merily but in the end it will bite like a Serpent

they set vpon correction with best staiednesse doe want knowledge and discretion and therefore giue their children too little or too much but the Lord is of such infinite wisedome that hee euer proportioneth his chastisements to the neede of the partie and the nature of the fault Againe earthly parents when they haue layde on stripes cannot take them off againe when they see their children weeping and grieuing and humbling themselues in good earnest for their offences they wish but all in vaine that their paine were ouer the smart remooued but as the Lord woundeth so can he heale as hee cast Iob downe so could he raise him vpagaine and whatsoeuer our distresses be if wee can humble our selues and crie vnto the Lord hee is able and readie to relieue and to deliuervs In which regard wee should be most willing if we must needs he corrected to yeeld vp our selues into his hands For there is no comparison betwixt the compassions of men which are finite and of Gods who is infinite Which may serue to discouer vnto vs their folly that are so farre from submitting themselues to Gods chastisements that they cannot endure his rebukes Let any man of God admonish them and they are readie to flie in his face What hath he to doe with me say they let him meddle with his owne matters I will not take it at his hands with many bitter speeches of that kinde which argue in them great distemper and vexation of minde And let a man tell them in neuer so great loue that if they doe not amend their sinnes will abroad to their disgrace their friends will grieue at them their aduersaries will reproach them and all cry shame vpon them yet they will be no whit pacified but rather enraged against the admonisher not caring what be thought or spoken against them so Christians may not reprooue them Hence is it that men are so loath to be vnder any Christian gouernment where they must be instructed how to doe well and rebuked if they doe not well they will none of it to liue in such a family or congregation where they shall be catechized and restrained from the breach of the Sabbath and other leaud courses they will neuer endure it but will chuse rather to be vnder the gouernement of Antichrist and of Sathan himselfe then of Christ Iesus Let their maisters be Papists cruell oppressors as sauage tyrants as Pharaoh was they will rather dwell with them then with godly and religious gouernours that would vse them most kindly and reward them most liberally for their seruice Such were the Israelites Moses as the Lord testifieth of him was the meekest man vpon the earth and withall a most wise and couragious Ruler yet would they rather haue beene euery day vnder the whip in Egypt then vnder Gods gracious gouernment which was executed by Moses And as these are heere to be condemned of great want of wisedome that will not submit themselues to be admonished and ordered by the Lord so are they also which are vnwilling to come vnder Gods correcting hand which is indeed of al other most desireable And because the present occasion requireth it it will not be amisse to shew that the pestilence wherewith the Lord hath now visired this Nation is a fauourable and gentle correction and that this sword of the Lord is nothing so terrible as the sword of man would be if he should cause that to be drawne out against vs and that for these reasons First because heerein we may more immediately and cleerely behold Gods hand which is a meanes to draw vs to more speedy and earnest humiliation whereas if we were pursued by the sword of men we should be more distracted sometimes with feares of and greese for the enemies violence sometimes with hopes either of mercy from them or of aid from others all which do either vtterly withdraw vs from or much hinder vs in the worke of humiliation Secondly in the time of the pestilence the aduersaries of Religion haue not such matter of insultation as when warres are hote in the Land for then they would triumph in this or the like manner Now these forward men shall pay for it downe they shall all the sorte of them they were wont to brag that God would be their buckler and their shield their refuge and their strong tower of defence but what will become of them now thus would they insult ouer Gods chosen in the time of warre but in the time of this sicknes they themselues are exceedingly afraid euen at their wits ende knowing that hell and destruction gape for them whensoeuer death taketh hold of them whereas Christians are quiet and full of peace ioy in the holy Ghost knowing that if they die they shall go from earth to heauen from a place of miserie to a palace of glorie Thirdly this is a maruellous great mercie that there doth still remaine the face of a Church that the Gospell is preached the Sacraments administred the profession of the truth openly maintained whereas if there were a forraine inuasion or a ciuill mutinie insurrection the vsuall course of the minsterie and of the exercises of religion would be stopped which now is not onely tollerated but commanded Besides now there is a continuance of the state of the common-wealth whereas when the sword rageth in a land the face of the honourable is not respected the Magistrates authoritie is reckoned a matter of nothing and all lawes must giue place to the wills of violent men Againe in the times of warre there is an vtter subuersion of all meanes of maintenance and comfort we cannot enioy our possessions nor dwell in our houses nor reape the fruits of our labours which now through Gods mercie is farre otherwise And as for our estate so euen for our liues and for our soules the case is better with vs in the time of pestilence then in the time of warres for then all our families wiues children seruants and all may bee barbarously slaine or worse vsed before our eyes or we before theirs and if not so yet they must be left to Idolaters and in danger to be vassalls of sinne and Sathan but now if death come it is nothing so lamentable if life bee graunted it is nothing so dangerous for though we be taken away yet our friends shall remaine with the Saints seruants of God and they that haue bene our Christian friēds will be theirs at least there is very great hope of their happinesse both here and hereafter in regard of that liberty of the Gospell which through Gods goodnes is still maintained And therefore great cause haue wee to magnifie the name of God that when our late gracious Queene was taken away the Land must needs bee exercised with some heauie stroke or other that hee then miraculouslie deliuered vs from the violence of the sword of man and smote our Nation with his owne sword Now