Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	king_n	time_n	year_n	19,963	5	5.0438	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85485	The progresse of divine providence, set out in a sermon preached in the Abbey Church of Westminster before the house of Peers, on the 24th of September, 1645. being the day of their monethly fast. / By William Gouge, one of the members of the Assembly.	Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1645 (1645)	Wing G1393; Thomason E302_25; ESTC R200284	30,328	48

be accounted a good beginning wherein many rejoyced but no publike reformation was wrought thereupon About an hundred and fifty years after the Lord did better then at that beginning For he stirred up both King and Parliament to goe further in suppressing Popery and advancing the Gospel Witnesse that Act of Parliament in Henry the eight his dayes whereby the Popes usurped authority in England was taken away and liberty given to the King to reform abuses crept into the Church The King by vertue thereof sent out injunctions for removing images reading the holy Scriptures and performing all divine Service in English preaching Gods Word Catechising children and observing other duties of piety so as the Gospel began to shine forth somewhat brightly in England Only it was much obscured by an other Act of Parliament even in that Kings time which established Transubstantiation communion in one kinde private Masses Auricular confession Vowes of chastity and prohibiting Priests marriages 3. About seven yeares after that King being dead and his Sonne King Edward the sixth a childe of nine yeares old yet another Iosiah set on the throne God did better for England then before For the foresaid Act commonly called the scourge with six strings was repealed and a more thorow reformation established But even then many of the peoples hearts so lingred after Romish superstition as the Israelites did after the high places in the raigne of Asa Iehoshaphat and other good Kings so as this goodly reformation continued but six yeares For God tooke away that good young King After whose death a popish bloody Queen utterly defaced the foresaid Reformation and brought in that darke cloud of Popery which overshadowed this whole Land 4. God being mindefull of his goodnes to his Church within five yeares after raised up blessed Queen Elizabeth in whose raigne that darke cloud of Popery was more thorowly dispelled then ever before and Religion in regard of the truth and soundnesse of doctrine was restored to as full an integrity as ever it was in the Christian Church since the Apostles time A grave learned and judicious out-landish Divine giveth this testimony of Queen Elizabeth that under her that was granted to her Kingdome which he knew not whether it were given to any other Kingdome or no namely an intire profession of the pure and sincere doctrine of the Gospel More learned and stout Champions were in her raigne raised up to maintaine the same faith then ever before in this Kingdome 5. There is yet another reformation now begun in this Land which being added to the former evidently demonstrates that God doth intend better things then at our beginnings This is the Reformation of the Discipline and Government of the Church concerning which the foresaid judicious Divine thus saith If to the profession of true Doctrine a full reformation of Ecclesiasticall Discipline be also added surely I see not what England can more desire If any shall object that in many respects the state of our Church hath growne worse and worse I answer that by reason of our sluggishnesse want of zeal and unworthy walking of that light which God graciously afforded clouds of errour and superstition gathered together as by the negligence and wickednesse of the Israelites the Canaanites were not utterly destroyed but proved to be snares and traps unto them and scourges in their sides and thornes in their eyes Yet God did time after time remove those impediments and cause the light of his Gospel more and more brightly to shine forth Why then may not we yet looke for better things then at the beginning of our Reformation and hope that as then the Doctrine of the Gospel was restored to the purity of it so the Government also of the Church be restored to its purity Comfort your selves in these sad times with this hope 6. Gods reserving his better things to the later times ministreth unto us who have been reserved unto these later times much matter of gratulation The least of us which live in this Kingdome of God stiled for the celestiall excellency thereof the Kingdome of Heaven The least of us I say is greater then he of whom it is said Among them that are borne of women there hath not risen a greater Had we lived in the ancient former times and believed the promises of things exhibited in these times how should we have enquired and searched after them The Prophets so did How should we have desired to see them Many Prophets and Kings so did How should we have rejoyced to see this day Abraham so did Now that we are reserved to live in this time to hear see and enjoy these better things should not our hearts be filled with praises and our mouths opened to utter the same God hath made an abundant recompence unto us who live in these later dayes for putting off our time of living in this world so long It is to our unspeakable advantage and benefit and shall not God have the praise thereof True believers now have greater cause then old Zachary had to sing and say Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people Yea then old Simeon had to say Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation These old men saw but the Sunne-rising of the Gospel We see it shining forth in the full brightnesse thereof Should not we then be thankfull even for the times wherein we live Well may I from the fore-mentioned Doctrine raise an Exhortation of worthy walking that is of carrying our selves answerably to this good Providence of God in reserving us to the enjoying of better things This worthy walking in generall is much pressed in Scripture We charge you that you would walke worthy of God who hath called you to his Kingdome and Glory We cease not to desire that you might walke worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing I beseech ye that ye walke worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called This word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} worthy doth not intend any merit but a meer meetnesse no condignity but a congruity and correspondency to that whereunto it is referred This is evident by that phrase which the Baptist useth where he exhorteth to bring forth fruits worthy repentance which our last and best Translators thus turne Fruits meet for repentance And in the margin thus Fruits answerable to amendment of life If in that place {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} worthy should be taken for any matter of desert it might be thus translated Fruits which deserve repentance that is such as are to be repented of And what are those fruits thinke ye surely evil such as those whereof the Apostle thus saith What fruit had you then of those things whereof you are now ashamed For the end of those things is death A catalogue of

by the Prophets Many apply sundry prophecies that tend that way to the delivery of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity and others to the spirituall Israel consisting of Gentiles But assuredly such prophecies as fore-tell the re-uniting of Judah and Ephraim together have especiall reference to the fore-said recalling of the Jews as that Parable whereof this our Prophet maketh mention about joyning two sticks on the one whereof was written For Judah and for the children of Israel his companions and on the other For Joseph the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions That Parable the Prophet thus applieth I will make them one Nation and one King shall be King to them all c. But if any shall question this and other prophecies of the ancient Prophets The Apostle Paul hath so expresly fore-told a recalling of the Jews and thereupon a bringing in a fullness of the Gentiles as no question can be made thereof and he doth after such a manner expresse these as apparently declareth a future glory of the Christian Church Some particular expressions of his in the 11. to the Romans are these 1. Vers 11. Having propounded this Question concerning the Jews Have they stumbled that they should fall namely totally and finally never to be raised again He gives this answer God forbid Whereby he implieth that assuredly they shall be raised again that is they shall be made a visible Church of Christ and submit themselves to his ordinances 2. Vers 12. This supposition If the fall of them be riches of the world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles how much more their fullnesse By their fullnesse he meaneth their bringing them in to the Church of Christ consisting of Gentiles and thereby making that Church full when both Gentiles and Jews shall be joyned together 3. Vers 15. This Question What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead doth take it for grant that they shall be received and taken into the Church of Christ and that this restauration of theirs will be as a new glorious resurrection 4. Vers 23. It is said They also shall be graffed in namely into the body of the Christian Church and a proof thereof is taken from Gods omnipotency For God is able to graff them in again 5. Vers 24. This emphaticall Interrogation How much more shall these which be the naturall branches he graffed into their own Olive-tree doth put it out of all question that the Jews shall again be brought to be of the true Church which is the Olive-tree here intended 6. Vers 25. This restrictive particle In part blindenesse in part is happened unto Israel doth import that they shall not be finally blinded but that at length they shall come to have their eyes so opened as they shall know and believe in Jesus Christ This is further manifested by expressing the period of this limitation thus Vntill the fulnesse of the Gentiles be come in 7. Verse 26. This generall phrase All Israel shall be saved sheweth that there is a time to come when not only two or three or a few Jews here and there thorowout the Christian Church as have been in all ages thereof but the whole Nation shall be called 8. Vers 31. This phrase Through your mercy they also may obtain mercy sheweth that God purposely suffered them sometime to abide in unbelief that when they should be brought to believe this grace and honour might appear to arise from Gods meer mercy and free grace The words following in the next verse doe shew as much They are these For God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all Thus we see that there is a calling of the Jews to come and that their calling shall be as a resurrection from the dead as an incision of many more branches into a glorious tree that it shall be an universall conspicuous calling of a whole Nation wherein the freenesse and largenesse of Gods grace and mercy shall be evidently manifested At which time there shall be also such a number of Gentiles brought in as may well be called the fulnesse of the Gentiles vers. 25. This certainly shall be a most glorious condition of the Christian Church and this is yet to come therefore God will yet doe better things for us In expectation whereof we may comfort our selves though for a while thick clouds of troubles doe over-spread the face of the Church and somewhat eclipse the glorious brightnesse thereof Yea further we may expect better things then yet we doe enjoy upon the fore-mentioned progresse of Gods good providence before that glorious calling of the Jews be accomplished For the Jews after this promise made before the first comming of the Messiah and calling of the Gentiles had conferred upon them many better things then before They were brought out of Captivity to their own Land A second Temple was built The Law was restored unto them by Ezra and many other blessings So after Christs first comming the Gospel was preached in many Nations multitudes of Churches were erected and established the Gospel confirmed by many undaunted Martyrs Yea after much persecution the Church had great rest and liberty in Constantines and other Christian Emperours times And though that rest and liberty were in time exceedingly abused by the ambition of Prelates which at length brought it to the height of Papacy yet God by a Reformation in these later times shewed that he was mindefull of this his promise and did better things for her then before This may further be exemplified by Gods doing better for us here in England then at our beginnings For as the thick dark cloud of Antichristianisme over-spread the skie of the whole Christian Church for many years together so did it clean keep away the bright shining of the Gospel from England But it pleased God almost three hundred years agoe in the raign of Edward the third to raise up John Wickliff a Professour at Oxford to hold out the light of the Gospel so as many in those daies were much enlightned thereby Among other principles wherein he instructed the people these were some 1. The Eucharist after consecration is not the very body of Christ but figuratively 2. The Church of Rome is not the head of all Churches more then any Church is Nor hath Peter any more power given of Christ then any other Apostle hath 3. The Pope of rome hath no more in the keyes of the Church then any other within the order of Priesthood 4. The Gospel is a rule sufficient of it self to rule the life of every Christian man here without any other rule 5. All other rules under whose observances divers religious persons be governed doe adde no more perfection to the Gospel then doth the white colour to the wall These and other like positions wrought so effectually upon the hearts of noble and mean persons as this may