Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	appear_v	attempt_n	great_a	49	3	2.1077	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A55028	The necessity and encouragement, of utmost venturing for the churches help together with the sin, folly, and mischief of self-idolizing applyed by a representation of 1. some of the most notorious nationall sins endangering us, 2. the heavy weight of wrath manifested in our present calamities, yet withall, grounds of 3. confidence, that our church shall obtain deliverance in the issue, 4. hopes that the present Parliament shall be still imployed in the working of it : all set forth in a sermon, preached to the honorable House of Commons, on the day of the monethly solemn fast, 28. June, 1643 / by Herbert Palmer ...	Palmer, Herbert, 1601-1647.	1643 (1643)	Wing P243; ESTC R21704	67,757	76

virtuall promise to England 3 3. But I take it for a much stronger ground and more undoubted That the word of God in the Story and in the threatnings together hath an epitome of all that God will do to his Church planted in my Nation And that God will never deal more severely with any Nationall Church then his Word which is every way most perfect relates or threatens Therefore if it cannot be found in the Scripture that God did ever bring destruction upon his Church planted in a Nation or transplant his Church wholly out of such a Land while they were in such a condition as ours is then will he not do it now But contrarily if he hath alwayes in such a case as ours is now afforded his Church deliverance this I beleeve to be a very strong promise that he will afford us the like now Logicians say that even one example of a thing and no instance to the contrary is a sufficient argument And if it hold not in Scripture examples when none of a divers kinde can be produced I know not what use can be made of the greatest examples of mercy as meer examples which yet were all written for our learning as all Scriptures are that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Rom. 15. 4. 4 4. In speciall If God did never destroy a Reforming Nation never wholly transplant a Reforming Church then will he not do so to us because we are such And for this there is speciall Reason whether we consider the Reformation to be the speciall work of God and little of the Nation in it as in Josiahs time God wrought it by a speciall work upon the King who saw all done himself and the people shewed little concurrence in it yet God would and did carry it through Because he that loved the people so wel being yet corrupted as to begin to reform them in a manner himself when he had begun it once would make somewhat of it and not let it altogether come to nothing OF whether God though he ever be the Author and finisher of all good yet act the reformation much by the peoples hands as it was in Hezekiahs Reformation 2 Chron. 30. 1. Here again the same reason holds He who loved the Nation so well as to put such a beginning of grace into them would not let that fail suddenly But he made the work prosper in their hands and no enemie hindred them And now to apply this to our selves 1 If ever a Nation or Church in affliction and danger were a reforming Church and Nation we are such and that in all the parts of Reformation 1. For purity and clearnesse of truth of Doctrine 2. Purity of Worship freed from all superstitions and mans devices and compleat in all the Ordinances of God 3. Purity of Church government and discipline according to the word and rule of Christ 4. Purity of life and conversation 5. Particularly the Sabbaths sanctification the greatest pledge of mercy to a Nation and to ours experimentally in speciall according to Esay 58. 13 14. All this Reformation we apparently labour for in our Church and so are doubtlesse a reforming Church and Nation and shall not be destroyed at this time 2 2. All this is striven for not simply for the liberty of private persons that they may be free from persecution but for the glory of God and the saving of others souls throughout the Nation Which disposition of his servants being much above all self-respects God doth highly esteem and so will blesse it with prosperous successe in the issue 3 3. This Reformation Gods servants have striven for and panted after Ministers and people eighty years together more or lesse and have appeared for it in a considerable party though not joyned and associated as now by the happy advantage of this Parliament and have been much persecuted even for it And therefore now when God hath given them to attempt further and with more hopes and greater beginnings then ever before He will not now at this time give them wholly over to enemies to ruin all utterly 4 4. The rather because the enmity of the enemies is specially provoked even by the desire and attempt of Reformation some in one point some in another They pretend as was noted before to fight for the true reformed Protestant Religion But except some ease about Ceremonies and the like to tender consciences they evidently oppose any further reformation then was in Queen Elizabeths time and reproach the Parliament as intending to alter Religion because they professe to purpose an endeavour of a through reformation Therefore God will not take his enemies part against his people but his peoples against his enemies in the issue at least in giving them the Reformation contended for 5 5. He hath shewed a greater spirtuall love to this Nation for eighty years and more together thou to any in the Christian world in raising up so many excellant Lights for powerfull preaching and for holinesse of life above all other Churches and given us above all others also the Doctrine and practise of his holy Sabbath And all this notwithstanding our Nationall grievous provocations fore-mentioned Therefore when now the Nation is working into the best way of being generally better he will not suffer them to become now irrecoverably for continuance worse But at least this time try the whole Nation with a generall Reformation 6 6. Himself hath mainly and manifestly given the first hopes of this and raised up not the desires onely but the expectation of his servants by wayes farre beyond their contrivances and wonderfully beyond their very thoughts ordered by himself And namely marvellous much by his very enemies plots and counsels turned upon themselves As 1. Their attempt against Religion and Liberties both together whereas if they had undertaken either alone they never in likelihood had had any considerable party appearing against them as now is by uniting the patriots and zealots both in one and shewing to either the necessity of such union 2. In their attempt against the two Nations at once England and Scotland so grasping at both they could hold neither 3. Yet beginning first with Scotland to impose Popish practises upon them the more manifestly who were more impatient of Popery then our Nation was and so provoking them to stand upon their guard link themselves suddenly in a Nationall Covenant against them which also much weakned their attempts upon us 4. Breaking the first Pacification with Scotland which forced them to prevent their being invaded with comming with a powerfull Army into this Kingdom and to refuse to be satisfied without an English Parliament our onely remedy too under God did ratifie the peace with them 5. Their frequence breakings of Parliaments rendring them justly suspected that they meant so by this as soon as the Peace was made counselled to

their simplicity and knew not any thing but when he had them there he soon turned them into conspirators and rebells like himself and then to prevail so far to endanger the most faithfull of the Land 3. Contrarily if both sides can be thought to mean faithfully and onely disagree through mistakes and misunderstandings Is not this a prodigie of Gods displeasure against us Is not this most emphatically a filling us with drunkennesse as before that we kill our friends as foes and they us in like sort Like the terrible vengeance on the enemies of God and his Church 2 Chron. 20. 23. till they had utterly destroyed one the other But God never did thus to his faithfull people since the world was Therefore sure this cannot be the case with us Yet still as before take it which way you will it is a most horrible and dreadfull wrath against our Kingdom and Nation even in this respect 7 7. The time when this evill befell us is greatly observable as proclaiming still more wrath 1. In civill respects In how fair hopes of setling were we Specially this Parliament being continued by an Act and so many good Acts made besides And now for God to deal so as to undo all threaten this Parliament with the worst kinde of dissolution by the sword which may kill all Parliaments for ever What is it but the heavy wrath threatned Jer. 18. 9 10. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it If it do evill in my sight that it obey not my voyce then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them 8 8. The time 2ly in spirituall respects pronounces the indignation more hot and heavy against us For God to do this not onely to a Nation but a Church not onely to a people but His people To blast and offer so to dash in pieces all the hopes he had given them of a Reformation by them laboured for at least with great seeming earnestnesse and in stead hereof to threaten the totall ruine of the Church and true Religion among us by the hands of her most cruell Popish enemies How enraged is God when he so refuses to reform us who pretended such desire of Reformation Like that most terrible threat of vengeance Ezek. 24. 13 14. I have purged thee and thou wast not purged thou shalt not be purged from thy filthinesse any more till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee I the Lord have spoken it it shall come to passe and I will do it I will not go back neither will I spare neither will I repent according to thy wayes and according to thy doings shall they judge thee saith the Lord 9 9. The obedience we would yeeld to him in yeelding help to our brethren of Ireland according to the duty of this Text and many other places adds to the manifestation of his wrath against us and Ireland both He here threatens destruction for not helping and gives hopes to those that will How angry is he then that will not afford us leisure or means nor them any help by us But as this shewed his heavy wrath against Israel when he would not regard them seeming willing to trust and obey him after their rebellious distrust Numb. 14. And as Esay 31. threatens both the helpers and the helped together ver. 3. So God seems to deal with us and Ireland as if he also meant to fulfill the very word of the Irish rebells many Moneths ago That they hoped to finde us so much work at home as we should have no leisure to send much help thither And as though God meant to destroy his Church in England and Ireland both together Thus all things proclaim his exceeding fierce wrath against us 10 10. One thing yet further adds exceedingly to the notification of Gods fierce wrath against us The means we have had and used to make our peace with God Never so much fasting and prayer in England eighteen Moneths solemn fasts by Authority besides all voluntary ones by the liberty that there is now of so doing with so many millions of prayers daily and continually and all these as it were rejected or at least in a great degree according to the sad complaint Psal. 80. 4. How long wilt thou he angry against the prayer of thy people and the more sad threatning Jer. 14. 12. When they fast I will not hear their cry when they offer burnt offering and an oblation I will not accept them but I will corsume them by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence What will God regard if he turn away his eye from such solemn services from such out-cries of prayers How greatly must we needs say he is provoked against us Specially also when we have had also some beginnings of Reformation restoring liberty to many faithfull Ministers and encouraging Preaching repressing the prophanation of the the Lords Sabbath and pulling down Images and Crosses and yet our miseries still continue and work higher rather then otherwise For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still as the Prophet And now Honourable and Beloved when you have heard all these tokens of Gods displeasure against us and our Nation can you chuse but tremble and humble your souls greatly before your God this day Certainly we cannot beleeve Him to be just but we must needs acknowledge our sinnes to be very grievous and hainous that have provoked such a wrath as these things discover to be kindled against us So that if we could spend all the remaining part of this day in bewayling and bemoaning the vilenesse of our transgressions If we could wear out all our strength and spirits in dolefull lamentation If we could weep out our eyes and distill all the moisture of our bodies into tears of blood we yet should not sufficiently mourn for our iniquities nor make an acknowledgment answerable to our demerits or to the just indignation manifested against us God Almighty grant for Jesus Christs sake that we may all think of these things more then ever yet we have done and be more affected and grieved and humbled for our own and our Nations sins and shares in wrath then formerly we have been that so we may be disposed the better to embrace the exhortation to amendment of our selves and reformation of others to the uttermost of our power ever hereafter Meanwhile in a day of solemn humiliation and time of such danger and being specially called to deliver Gods Message at this time in this place and all Ministers being charged by the religious Ordinance set forth divers Moneths ago in their severall Auditories specially on the fast dayes most earnestly to perswade and inculcate the constant practise of this publike acknowledgement and deep humiliation Let me take leave to discharge