Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	act_n	lord_n	parliament_n	4,338	5	6.4183	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34165	A Compleat collection of farewel sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl ... [et al.] ; together with Mr. Ash his funeral sermon, Mr. Nalton's funeral sermon, Mr. Lye's rehearsal ... with their several prayers.	Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.; Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677.; Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; Nalton, James, 1600-1662.; Lye, Thomas, 1621-1684.; Ashe, Simeon, d. 1662.	1663 (1663)	Wing C5638; ESTC R8646	623,694	660

others may call it let them call it what they will Then hearken to my words as the words of a dying man yet not dead but alive and perhaps shall not die but live and declare the Word of the Lord and hold forth the Word of the Lord to you many a time in this place when-ever it pleaseth God to set open a door for me If it be so That the Ministers foundness in Doctrine and holiness of life and conversation do lay great obligation on a people duly and conscienciously to practice every commanded duty Then from this Doctrine I would suggest and leave with you several words and hints of counsel And on that the Lord God of Heaven would effectually engage and set them home on every one of our hearts My first Counsel is this That when the Lord taketh away such Ministers whose Doctrine is sound and their lives exemplary holy you would then be duly apprehensive and deeply sensible both of the inflicting cause and also of the meritorious deserving cause thereof 1. For the inflicting cause and that is the Lord himself Isa 3.1 2 Who is it that taketh away from the people the natural staff and the civil staff the spiritual staff saith the Prophet The Lord the Lord of Hosts Whoever it be that is the Instrument it is certain it is the Lord himself that is the principal efficient cause of this judgment on a people and this will appear if we consider 1. The Lord hath threatned this judgment on a rebellious people Amos 8.11 12. I saith the Lord will bring this judgment on them A most dreadful spiritual judgment Gods Word is the spiritual food of our spiritual lives and therefore as the granting of it is a blessing indeed so the with-holding of it is a judgment This ireful dreadful judgment of the Lord we see threatens yea that is not all the Lord hath not oly threatned it but 2. Inflicted it as the Lord takes away his faithful Messengers and Embassadors 1. Sometimes by death out of the world out of the Land of the living And thus the Lord took away the Prophet Enoch Gen. 5.24 And 2. Sometimes by removal Thus the Lord took away the Prophet Jonas from Israel and sent him to Niniveb as Jona 1.2 And thus Paul and Barnabas went away from the Jews and turned to the Gentiles as Acts 13.4 3. Sometimes by deprivation A time there was when the good Priests and Levites were forced to flee their own places and possessions 2 Chron. 11.13 14. 4. Sometimes by suspension Thus a time there was when it was said to the Seors see not and to the Prophets prophesie not Isa 30.9 10. Thus a time there was when people would have Pastors but would not endure faithful Jeremiah and a time there was that there was a Law made Look ye speak no more in the name of Jesus Act 4.11 And a time there was when Paul and Timotheus and Silvanus were forbid to preach to the Gentiles 1 Thess 2.15.16 Thus we see the Lord himself hath inflicted this dreadful Judgment on a people and the Lord hath divers wayes and methods and means to inflict it 3. Consider The Church and people of the Lord hath been very sensible of the Lords hand in this judgment as we may see in Psal 74.1 and 9. verses compared Why what is the matter as if they have said God was wont heretofore to give us signs and tokens he would even work miracles for us the Lord would send us some Prophets to converse with and instruct us we had those that could tell us how long our troubles should last but now we see no sign the Lord leaveth us as it were to the wide world and how sensible was the Lords Church in this judgment as ver 1. of that Psalm This is the first endeavour We are to be duely sensible and deeply apprehensive of the afflicting cause of such a judgment and that is the Lord himself 2. Of the meritorious Cause and that is sin Say not we it is long of such and such but it is long of our selves we may thank our selves for this and we appeal to your selves whether this judgment may not be charged 1. From the general inflexibleness and untractableness of people under the Ministry of the Word For this very cause the Lord plagued and poured his vengeance upon the ten Tribes as in 2 Kings 17. from v. 13. to 19. The Lord testified against Isreal by all the Prophets and by all the Sters saying Turn you from your evil wayes notwithstanding they will not hear And for this very cause did the Lord afterwards plague all Judah as Jer. 20.17 18 19. And for this very reason did the Lord Jesus Christ remove Paul from Jerusalem because the people were a stiff-necked people and they would not receive Pauls testimony concerning Jesus as Acts 22 18. Paul had a great desire to stay at Jerusalem as appeared by his reasoning with the Lord as ver 9 20. But what saith the Lord Christ ver 21. Now can England can London plead not guilty of this hainous provocation a general inflexibleness untractableness under a Conscience-ransacking a Conscience-searching Ministry What shall the Lord do with such a people under such a Minister Is it not just with God to let them alone that are prophane and superstitious Let there be like People like Priests Let the blind lead the blind and let the wicked rebellious Minister lead a wicked loose people that both may perish together everlastingly 2. The unfruitfulness formality l●ke-warmness declining of Gods own people and for this the Lord threatens the Church of Ephesus Rev. 2.4 5. I have saith Christ somewhat against thee thou hast left thy first love though not absolutely for nature yet eminent for measure And can England can London plead not guilty of this sad provocation Now indeed we cannot but observe and approve of your flocking to the Lords Ordinances as Doves to the holes of a Window but did you do so some Months agone Oh your voluntary and fearful distractions avocations diversions from the Worship and Service of God! And is it not just with the Lord to take away that abundance and choice of Spiritual helps a people had when they approved not of them yea when they undervalued and despised and abused them Oh the Lord God help us all to affect our souls and lay our selves low before his All-seeing Majesty for our provoking him to do this and endeavour to be duly apprehensive and deeply sensible of the inflicting cause and meritorious cause thereof 2. Take heed of a prophane delight in loose lewd wicked dissolute Ministers And here we will premise two or three things 1. Too many people are too ready to cavil at many Ministers without a cause The life of our blessed Lord and Saviour was it not traduced Did not some say he was a friend to Publicans and Sinners We see Christ was cavilled at and quarrelled with by some And thus

their house for the crowd of the people that are going thither For shame let not this be told in Gath nor published in Askelon What! shall we stand up for the holiness of places and yet oppose the holiness of the Lords day which God hath enjoyned and instituted Oh! that the Magistrates of London Oh! that Englands King Oh! that Englands Parliament would do something for the Reformation of this to oppose wickedness and prophaneness which will otherwise bring upon us the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah and make us guilty and worthy of a thousand punishments And labour by Prayer in your Families to overcome that flood of prophaneness which you cannot by your strength prevent And then for the Sacraments of Christ Baptism and the Lords Supper these are Ordinances of Gods appointment they are holy and therefore should not be given to those that are unholy and yet those who are so much for the holiness of places do not care who come to the Sacrament if they have but a Nose on their Face they shall come and partake of the Ordinances let them be what they will this is to prefer mans Institution before Gods Institution And then for the Lords Message and Word that is a holy thing and therefore love his Messengers the Messengers of God delivering his message with fear and reverence you are to hear them with the same fear reverence and resolution to be holy as if Christ were present And for the Word of God it is not enough for you to have a choice Sentence written upon the Walls of your Churches but let Gods Law be written in your hearts and consciences and practised in your lives that all the world may see you live as men dedicated to the true God in all the duties of his wayes and obedience Many of these things might have been enlarged What I have give you with the right hand I pray you Christians do not take with the left for if you do you will make your selves guilty of a double sin First Because you do not obey the truth you hear And secondly For putting a wrong construction upon it But I have better hopes of you my beloved hearers and hope that the Lord will be better unto your souls than his Ministers than his Word or any thing else can be God bless you and his Ordinances and discover his mind and will at this time to you Mr. Baxter's Sermon Coloss 2.6 7. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him Rooted and built in him and established in the faith as ye have been taught abunding therein with thanksgiving OMitting the division and in part the opening of the words the Observations is That those that have received Christ Jesus the Lord must accordingly bee rooted built up in him and established in the Faith and walk in him as they have been taught and abound therein with thanksgiving This receiving of Christ signifies to believe in him It is not only to receive his Doctrine or Benefits but to receive his person to receive him as related to us for the uses and end for which he came into the World and for which he offers himself to souls by the Preaching of the Gospel Sinners have lost and undone themselves Christ comes to be the Physitian of Souls hee will not save the unwilling and Despisers of his Grace while they continue in their unwillingness He will save them by the way of covenant while he consents and tenders them his Grace he will have them consent to the terms of his Covenant The consent of the heart exprest by our covenanting with him is this receiving of Jesus Christ He is willing to be our Physitian and when we take him to be so we receive him He is willing to save us from the guilt and power of sin willing to be our Lord Head Intercessor with God Justifier and all unto us and if we consent to this and take him as offered this is receiving Christ with whom his benefits are also received the remission of sins in-dwelling renewing comforting spirit title to everlasting life c. In receiving Christ all this is received Receiving of Christ contains these two things or these two things are essentially contained to make up the nature of saving Faith that is to believe the Doctrine of the Gospel concerning Jesus Christ to bee true and to consent that the goodness that is therein revealed and proposed shall be ours To believe what Christ is and what he hath done so far to believe it as here we are resolved to venture our souls though there may be some weakness through our Faiths imperfection and believing the Gospel to be the certain Word of God Then next to entertain the Christ that is offered in this Gospel to be ours with all the benefits that accompany and to all the blessed ends to which he is revealed Thus the Water of Life is freely tendered to all that are athirst and there is no more required but come and drink Then there is two things implyed that are the immediate products of saving Faith and inseparable from it that is trusting on him as the Redeemer and obeying him as a Lord. To rest upon him as a Redeemer Romans 15.12 And here as far as the soul feels entertainment and encouragement by Christ overcoming his doubts that Christ will reject him c. so far he hath quietness of soul in Christ and will trust his soul upon Christ And then the obeying of him in order to our full recovery as a Patient must obey his Physitian in using his Remedies and Means he prescribes for killing our sins restoring our souls to Gods love and being with him to eternity The nature of Faith is to receive Christ the sincerity of it lies in the suitableness of the act to the object that we receive him as he is Now in Christ there is something essential to this act that he be a Saviour and our Saviour c. and there is something makes unto the well-being and fuller attaining of the end The first are the objects of Faith it self as 't is of absolute necessity to Salvation The second sort are the objects of Faith as it is strong and makes to the well being of a Christian All that is essential to Christ as a Saviour and Redeemer is to be believed by him that will approve himself a true Believer And thus to receive Christ as the eternal Son of God made man the Redeemer of the World ruling us upon the right of Redemption justifying us before God bringing us to God and interceding for us And thus Christ must be received according to his Offices and as those uses for which he is given to the soul do import and imply For the Application of this Point First Let us begin with those that our business at present doth not mainly lye on Must men walk in Christ as they have received him What shall we say to those that have not