Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	wonderful_a	world_n	year_n	101	3	4.6386	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30242	The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole third chapter of the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians to which is annexed The godly and the natural mans choice, upon Psal. 4, vers. 6, 7, 8 / by Anthony Burgesse ...	Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.	1659 (1659)	Wing B5656; Wing B5648_CANCELLED; ESTC R3908	509,568	411

their ministerial actions to plant and to water To begin the foundation of Christianity and afterwards to build a superstruction So that Pauls planting supposeth the Corinthians to be a barren untilled and confused people like the world at first a Tohu and a Bohu a meer horrid wildernesse till the Gospel being planted among them they become a pleasant Garden and a fruitfull Field From whence we may observe That it's Gods unspeakable goodnesse sometimes to send his Word and plant his Gospel among a people that never heard or knew any thing before If you consider all the Countreys and Kingdomes wheresoever the Gospel hath taken effect since Christs time you shall find that they were thrones of Satan places where Idolatry reigned They were like those desolate places the Prophet speaks of where the Satyr and screech-Owl even all black and Heathenish confusion did exalt it self So that where God doth out of stones raise up children to Abraham turn a Paganish Heathenish people into a Church there is wisdome power and goodnesse no lesse yea more wonderfull than when he did out of that deformed confusion and chaos make a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a beautifull adorned world Even this England this ancient Britain was once a place of horrible Idolatry Paganism no knowledge of Christ nor his Gospel But served dumb Idols and walked according to the course of this world having the Prince of darknesse ruling over us as in other places So that the Gospel that is like the glorious Sunne and every Kingdome or Nation is like a do●esome black dungeon yea like an hell where Legion of Devils are till the beams of this light do enlighten them To amplifie this Doctrine many things are observable First That when the Apostle saith That he planted the Gospel it doth suppose all people to be a wilde barbarous people till the Gospel both civilizeth and sanctisieth them To plant is properly of Orchards and Gardens and Vineyards and supposeth the great care and skill of him that plants Thus God is said to plant Eden Gen 2.8 And so a people are made the Church and people of God by plantation by Gods goodnesse and power of themselves they are like wilde beasts not knowing the way of happinesse It was the custome of the Grecians and Romans because they had the culture of Arts and good Civil Government to call other people Barbari Barbarians And thus the Apostle opposeth the Grecians and Barbarians together Col. 3.11 Barbarous comes from the Hebrew Bar g●minated that signifieth a field untilled a desart so they looked upon all other men in the world But indeed even the Grecians and Romans were barbarous wild people comparatively till the Gospel came among them They had no true knowledge or understanding till the Word the Rule of all wisdome was discovered to them Oh how should this make us of England magnifie the goodnesse of God to this Land who once had no Ministry of Christ who were like so many lumps of earth that worshipped the Devil and the Idols of the world They had their Dryades wh●ch Julius Caesar speaks of that were like Witches serving for their Priests that lived up and down in woody places Why might not we have been born in those days while Britany was Paganish and Heathenish Antiquity in Religion is no good plea for here was Idolatry and the worship of the Devil before any knowledge of Christ It 's a great mercy to be born in such times in such an age and in such places where the name of Christ is published for this is wholly in Gods disposal he hath determined to all men the times of their life and habitations Secondly Consider That in the Old Testament God did limit his gracious presence to the Jews only In Judea only was salvation and the knowledg of God John 4 That was the Goshen where light was all the world else was darknesse Indeed some few particular persons that were forrainers and strangers became proselytes and gave up their names to God but there were no Countreys or Nations received the Word of God but Judea onely But when Christ came then that partition wall was broken down and after his death he gave a Commission to preach the Gospel to all the world And thus the Word like the Sunne in the Heavens went from one end of the world to another and none could hinder the course thereof Yea where Roman Emperours power and sword could not get dominion there the Apostles and their Successours conquered and prevailed And this and no other is the Universal Grace the Scripture speaketh of whereas formerly it was particular Then Christ the strong man came and bound the Devil who had possessed the earth and kept it in quiet slavery to him so that under the times of the Gospel Christ hath been made known where God hath sent his Word though it were into the utmost parts of the earth Thirdly Therefore that there might be spiritual plantations and holy Colonies the Lord Christ appointed extraordinary Officers furnished with extraordinary abilities to propagate the Gospel These were called Apostles It was for the Apostles and not ordinary Officers to plant Churches so that they had a Commission to go and preach to any people in the world They were not bound to keep residence at any one place but to go from Nation to Nation to disseminate the spiritual seed of the Gospel and that like mustard seed at first small and little presently grew up to a tall tree and spreaded its branches through the whole world And as the Apostles had this universal commission so they were endued with power to work wonderfull miracles for miracles were because of the Heathens and unbelievers By these they confirmed their Doctrine and calling to be of God immediately yet this was not so tied to the Apostolical Office but that in af●er ages many Countreys have received the Gospel by other means especially persecution and the patient sufferings of Christians did much help thereunto That as a captive Maid was a means to bring Naaman to the knowledge of God and his Worship so captive persons have been instrumental to make whole K●ngdoms acquainted with the Gospel of Christ Thus God hath alwayes disappointed the hopes of wicked men and that very way whereby they have thought to destroy the Gospel it hath flourished more It 's the Vine that by pruning hath increased As the grain of corn except it die cannot bring forth any fruit so is it with the Gospel These precious herbs the more they are pressed and pounced the sweeter smell they make Fourthly Gods severity and mercy hath been observable about the first planting of the Gospel For when a people have lived rebelliously and sinfully under it a long time then he takes it away and gives it to another Nation Thus God began with the Jews told them That to them the Word must be fi●st preached but seeing they had rejected the counsel of God they were to go

to the Gentiles And Rom 11. shews at large how that the breaking off of the Jews was the ingraffing of the Gentiles And thus if we consider those famous places where the Word was at first planted we shall see them for their barrennesse and unfruitfulnesse turned into a dung hill The seven Churches of Asia Where are they This Corinth What is become of it Those that would not obey Christ whose yoke was easie are forced to endure the iron chains and bonds of Mahom●t Rome in this Apostles time had her faith published over the whole world but is so apostatized that her Idolatry and Heresie is as much proclaimed Insomuch that the Epistle ad Romanos is now in or contra Romanos The Epistle to the Romans is an Epistle against them because of the grosse corruption of those main points of Predestination and Justification and other material points Thus you see how Gods administration is very various and dreadfull he gives it to one Nation and takes it from another It 's the judgement of some men That the Gospel will be taken from all these western parts of the world and given to the East Indies and other parts but how certain this is none can tell In these later dayes we hear not of any Heathenish Nation converted some glimmering light the Natives in New-England have received that is the most that hath been done lately For as for the Jesuites boasting of their conversion of the Indians the bloudy cruelty and horrible violence they have used deplored even by some of their own parties makes that but a fable It 's the opinion of all That Heathens and Pagans are not to be compelled to the true Faith because they are without the Church and she hath nothing to do with those that are without the Church Though Hereticks and such as are within may be compelled to the means of truth and salvation Why then in these later dayes Heathenish Nations do not receive the faith as in former times who can divine Only the fervour and zeal of propagating the Gospel is far lesse than formerly Insomuch that it is bewailed by a learned man Hornbeck that that injunction and command to go and preach the Gospel to all Nations is not enough laid to heart Fifthly In planting of Churches commonly their infancy and beginning hath been more pure and godly than the successive ages Take Rome in her nascent condition and their faith was eminent but in her crescent or growing estate she presently degenerated All Churches have been at first planted either by the Apostles themselves or Apostolical persons and they had purity of Doctrine and godlinesse of order and life onely then they were but few and obnoxious to persecution all which made them heavenly and holy but when they began to be numerous and prosperous and the meaning of the first planters was worne out then the Church grew not like her self One of the ancientest Ecclesiastical Historians Egesippus saith of a pure Virgin she presently became a Strumpet because of all that false and superstitious worship that crept into her Lastly Because of that pronenesse to degenerate and from gold to become drosse Hence God hath in mercy raised up Reformers and stirred up men with invincible zeal being full of the holy Ghost who have laboured to bring Churches to their first plantations and institution Thus the Jews a people planted by God yet many times so grosly corrupted through Idolatry and prophanenesse that the Governours thereof are called Princes of Sodom and Gomorrah Isa 1. Now to purge this fountain How many zealous Prophets did God raise up in his time And thus after Christs time when the wine of Gods Word began to be mingled with the water of mens inventions and all Religion was turned into a meer Pageantry as in Popery God then raised up Luther Melancthon Calvin and others by whose means Christ became known again Now there is a great difference between a plantation and a Reformation A Reformation doth not pretend to make new Churches to bring a new faith in the world as a plantation doth but only to file off all the rust that hath been by long custome upon the Church of God Plantation is to make Heathens and Pagans Christians but Reformation is to make degenerate Christians who have degenerated in their knowledge worship and life to make such remember their first in●titution such ignorance and prophanenesse was not at the first Vse of Instruction How much God may justly expect of us in England who have not only had a plantation of the Gospel many hundred years ago but after a deep apostasie a gracious Reformation also What manner of persons should we be Angli quasi Angeli it was said of old Certainly we should be so in respect of knowledge worship and godlinesse The Christian Faith was by some received long before we were called English for in the eight hundredth year after Christ Egbertus King of the West-Saxons having got all the dominion into his own hands almost made an universal sanction that the whole Nation should be called the English Nation being named Brittans before It is not my intent to enter into that Dispute of the learned who planted the Gospel in England As for the Papists who would make one Augustine to be our Apostle is so ridiculous that it cannot be believed for there were godly Christians already in the Island that refused him because he was a superstitious proud person saying The Spirit of God was not in him because there was not humility in him The Gospel was brought in here long before those dayes Some say Joseph of Arimathea Some say that Pudeus and Linus whom the Apostle salutes were Britains For Martial in his Epigrams mentioneth them as Britains This is clear that in Tertullians time the Gospel was spread in this Island and though unknown to the whole world yet the word of God found it out but to see our degeneration it may make us astonished especially in ignorance superstitious worship and prophanenesse Oh were we thus planted at first or were we reformed to be thus Do not many among us live like bruit beasts rather than Christians Setting aside the name what is there either for knowledg or life more than is in a meer Pagan or Heathen Oh the patience of God that should continue the Gospel thus long amongst us Was there more unworthinesse in Jerusalem in Ephesus in other Churches which yet God hath made desolate places Certainly we might well conclude That God would remove our Candlestick were there not a remnant that love the Gospel delight in it and labour to walk worthy of it How can prophanenesse and beastly courses be found amongst us when the light of God hath shined round about us Bring therefore forth fruit meet and worthy of such an heavenly plantation lest the same God that planted us do at last pluck us up For God he sometimes speaks to a Land to build it up and plant