Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	world_n	write_v	year_n	249	4	4.2508	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A83948	Englands apology, for its late change: or, A sober persvvasive, of all disaffected or dissenting persons, to a seasonable engagement, for the settlement of this common-vvealth. Drawne from the workings of providence. The state of affaires. The danger of division.		1651 (1651)	Wing E2943; Thomason E623_12; ESTC R201917	29,152	43

both the bad and the good cause thus God suffers it for a long time for the hardening some and destroying others and to draw off the hearts of his front depending on these injoyments or advantages in this world yet at the same time he would not have his people put the right of their sufferings or his enemies prosperity on ●o large and indifferent a supposition but to look into the Will of God in thus disposing of their states and to find-out the particular end of God to them in it But as there is a general and special providence of God in the World so there are events sutable these special Providences of God call on all men for serious observation for in them God goes out of his ordinary course and they do show either his special owning or dis-respect whether to a person or party and are ofte● distinctions of the truth of Principles and Actings and if there were nothing to be seen of God more by these then other manifestations the World might grow careless and secure from expecting any evil from the hand of God or any punishment for iniquity more then what a godly man himself may have by the same strokes And if this principle should be true what reason have the Malignants or Papists to look any more into Gods hand on them or tò think their cause the worse because Providence overthrows their Armies why should any cry out on them for hardned and obstinate persons saving they have no more but events to convince them being still confident of the justness of their cause And to what end have we kept so many days of Thanks-giving for Victories if there be nothing in the issues of affairs restifying to the Truth of things it can be nothing else but a mocking of God to give him solemn praises for that which can neither shew us the goodness of our cause or Gods peculiar respect to us more then our enemies for we have no more witness to the Truth of our Principles then they have save our confidence which is as firm and stablished in them as us Let our Brethren look and remember what expressions they used formerly in their thanks-giving sermons both before the Parliament in the City and up and down all the Kingdom for any show of a Victory when the Army was commanded by the Lord of Essex when any party was routed under Sir William W●ller or any of the first Commanders though we lost it as soon as we gained it and they were far from the Victories are now despicably called Events of War with what affection and zeal did they prove the equity of our fighting against the King by these mediums it became a common expression at such days That our God was not as their God our enemies themselves being Judges and by what should our enemies be judges against themselves for us but by Gods appearing against them and ordering the issue of things beyond all their height of confidence and expectation Many other such like expressions have been with much heartiness exprest in such days blessing God for owning his people in a day of need and making a difference between them and their enemies the testimony of all which they gathered from particular succes●es But why trifle we in a matter of such consequence are all these actings in England Scotland and Ireland for these many yeers so neg●igently to be taken notice of only as Events of ordinary actings What can then be called Glorious Appearances of God in this World or what Victories can we have so much c●nscience as to write Gods Name as on these How can a model of the workings of God for his people be drawn in fairer and clear●r colours Had God acted with these that dissent and by these instruments which they had sanctified for the work though far lower than he hath dore wi●h these whom they despise the world should have another account and these providences should have been proclaimed in other names then accidents and events if not the persons canoniz'd long ere this in every Church and Chappel and if God had permitted such an overture that the Scots had beaten and overcome our Army at D●nbar which would have been the saddest day that ever Englishmen saw we need not question but the name of all these former eminent and con●icued Victories both in England and Ireland would be blotted out from the earth except these hear●● in whom the glory and mercy of them were engraven with the same finger that wrought them and nothing else but the just judgements of God declared to be executed against the Sectarian Parliament and Army by Gods faithful and Covenant-keeping people who can imagine that tryumphant conclusion that would then be made of the wickedness of our Cause Principles and Persons of the truth of mens railings and the reason of their discontents how would all men be exhorted from henceforth to beware upon penalty of the like judgements of God to withdraw from any complyance or conjunction with these who were the declared enemies of God against whom he had bent his Bow utterly to destroy telling all men to consider ●ow God had at last found his secret enemies and vindicated the cause of his Covenant especially in Scotland where it was made and preserved we may easily without uncharity guess that a thousand such inferences would soon be drawn from such an event But seeing God hath given us the use of such an argument and added that mercy to all the rest with a cleerer representation of his face towards us than ever before why shall we think them common or unclean are our Victories less precious to us than thei●s would be to them are we more glad to see another Nation conquer us than we to defeat them in their Designs against us or can we rejoyce that God useth forraign Instrume●ts in his work rather than these of our own Nation How are we degenerated how surpris'd in our affections that we should desire more for the Scots to conquer us than for the English to preserve us from them If we have lost our consciences yet let us retain our natural affections and if this Government be evil in our eyes yet let us have so much wisdom and self-love left as to prefer it before a Scottish Tyrannie if our mercies be not in every point and circumstance fashioned according to our model let us not throw away the substantialls of our Liberties by maligning and opposing those which are the visible preservers of them Let us once again look back upon Gods providences for us and mind the series of them with the variety and manner of bringing them forth and study more the nature of them for they deserve the most refinedness of our thoughts to be set on them and the purest place in our hearts to have them registred if every fly and gnat every piece of dung and filth shews forth somthing of God to be observed by us what do these

then no dissenters but Malignants was to bring Delinquents to condigne punishment who had abused this State by the Royall Consent and Authoritie and to oppose the tyranny of the King and flattery of the Countiers A principle large enough to worke on and to take in by consequences of affaires the utmost improvement upon this ground all the Parliamentary party acted together not being able to see or hope for any thing more then a reformation and that of the grossenesse of actings and so firme were wee in this that wee never changed our thoughts untill the delayes in warre and the influences of the Court together with wearied and neutrall friends and the thoughts of places and preferments made men to study new wayes of compliances and to leave the first principle for the present enjoyments But God who overruleth the counsells of men and had a further designe will not suffer so good a beginning to make a fatall end And according to his usuall way from small beginnings brings forth his greatest glory acting things beyond our first thoughts or designes The King was first opposed universally in his personall capacity and reserv'd in his publique in these who fought against him this went downe currant and without any demurre among us and upon this wee waged warre but God who still meant to carry on a higher designe keepes us equall and faire for a long while together now giving the advantage to us now to him still making drawne battailes while there was a lesser piece of royalty opposing a greater owning the Cause so farre as not to discountenance that side he meant to honour at the last but no effectuall worke was done but honourable retreats and dayes of thanksgiving for non-routing and security rather then for any victory wee ever had over the Kings party except especially that of Marston-Moore wherein the chiefe instruments of the new modell were agents which was soone recruited and ballanst by our own parties negligence in the South and their diligence over their affaires God kept all this while a kinde of equalitie persons were engaged of different tempers not of different principles and it had been well for all our reports then at London that wee kept our ground into such straits wee were then brought though wee seemed to have a great and potent Army that nothing could serve in the view of the whole Parliament but a wise disbanding that Army and framing a new Modell which was a cause of strange necessitie at that time and a hopefull way of our ruine by many even in Parliament who gave their votes for it out of another end who are since discovered but it hath since proved the ordinance of God This is the poore Army that the great repinings and discontents are made from This Army which hath been preserved by Gods right hand who have done that work which is wonderfull to relate against this Army all the arrowes of malice and designe are shot to wound either their persons or names It 's sad to think that our eyes should be evill because Gods is good that wee should repine at instruments when God doth the work let us as men that would faine see into Gods wayes consider what hath been done since that change what a continued continuation of providences I might say miracles if they had not some meanes to produce them have wee had since that despised modell The thoughts of these things are only repeated for our conviction There are two things very remarkable in these affaires since our first engaging against the late King each of which shall have their due consideration First That all our affairs were hardly kept in aequilibrio in a faire and right correspondency untill this new Modell but that the King got more ground by his influence then we by our Armies the Armie under the Lord of Essex being a petty Royall Armie made up of all sorts of humours and Confederates of either side rather kept the Parliaments credite then gave them any use for the●r money and we never had a battle fought by him but we came off and that barely and with losse as well as the King 2. That never since this poore at first despised though now envied Army was modell'd we never either received a considerable losse or check in our proceedings though the action of this Army hath been in three Nations and accompanyed with miserable discouragements from all parties and difficulties that other Nations would have thought insuperable and so acted that nothing but God hath visibly appeared It cannot it must not be forgotten it will be written in marble if not in our hearts and the place it selfe will be made immortall to all posterity the first testimony of God to the first action of this Army at Naseby when all Politicians were securing of themselves and our wisest friends fearing what the issue would be and the royall power at the greatest height and going on in the fullest carrere what a glorious turne was there given to the designes of the Enemie and reviving to the hopes of this Nation God never before so peculiarly and in our low condition owning his poor people and ever since God set up his Standard there he hath made bare his arme and never suffered one eminent nay hardly any defeat to be given to this Army making that the earnest of the Conquest of Gods Enemies in these three Nations whereas in all our former Battails we could never say we had a victory except some speciall formerly named which had their recruits very soone from this time I say as if God had the idea of this Armie in his eye and had with his owne hands framed the modell of it and culling out the Army he meant to blesse hee hath ever uninterruptedly afforded his presence though the difficultyes and multitude of Enemies have been more then could be expected or then ever Armie under-went who served a State in such transactions What eye cannot see the plots and contrivances both of the common and secret Enemies how many wayes have been used to overthrow this Parliament and Army and what humours have been predominant among themselves to ruine that body yet how strangly and beyond all mens thoughts have they been carryed through if we were delighted in viewing divine actings or had a designe to make a History to astonish all the world Let us follow the Army from Naseby up and down England at home from thence after two Warres the second more dangerous then the first being upon more cunning pretences and made out of our divisions among our selves and especially levelled against the Parliament and Armie a war that divided the Armie as well as the first confiding instruments yet with what wonder of glory did God break forth their deliverance for after God had helped them to drive the K. into the Scots Armie a presage of his sons reserve new Insurrections are in the most speciall Counties round about the Parliament which first began more