Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	burn_v	bush_n	consume_v	2,552	5	9.4812	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77007	Salvation in a mystery: or A prospective glasse for Englands case. As it was laid forth in a sermon preached at Margarets in Westminster, before the Honourable House of Commons, at their monthly fast, March 27. 1644. / By John Bond, B.LL. late lecturer in the city of Exceter, now preacher at the Savoy in London. A member of the Assembly of Divines. Published by order of the Commons House.	Bond, John, 1612-1676.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1644 (1644)	Wing B3574; Thomason E43_2; ESTC R1754	41,396	73

Die Mercurii 27 Martii 1644. IT is this day ordered by the Commons Assembled in Parliament That Master BOND and Master NICOLLS do from this Howse give Thanks unto Master BOND for his great pains he tooke in the Sermon he preached this day at MARGRET WESTMINSTER at the intreaty of this House it being the day of Publike Humiliation And they are to desire him to print his Sermon And it is Ordered that none presume to print or reprent his Sermon without being authorised vnder the hand wrighting of the said Master BOND H. Elsynge Cler. Parl. D. Com. I do appoint Francis Eglesfeild to Print my Sermon John Bond. SALVATION IN A MYSTERY Or A PROSPECTIVE GLASSE for ENGLANDS Case As it was laid forth in a Sermon preached at MARGARETS in Westminster before the Honourable House of Commons at their monthly Fast March 27. 1644. BY JOHN BOND B. LL. late Lecturer in the City of Exceter now Preacher at the Savoy in London A Member of the Assembly of Divines Published by Order of the Commons House EXOD. 3. v. 2. The Bush burned with fire and the Bush was not consumed JUDG 14. v. 14. Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetnesse LONDON Printed by L. N. for Francis Eglesfeild and are to be sold at the figne of the Marygold in Pauls Church-yard 1644. TO THE HONOVRABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS NOW ASSEMBLED IN PARLIAMENT HONOURABLE WORTHIES THAT which by your first command was in part presented to your eares from the Pulpit is here at your second command fully represented to your eyes from the Presse It is a piece I dare say as rare and usefull for the Plot and Subject which are immediatly the Lords as it is plaine and homely in my stile and method In the dresse thereof I thought it a duty to put off Ornaments for although it was Preached upon the yeerly day of the Kings Inauguration March 27. yet that season was also the Monthly day of the Kingdoms Humiliation when you did endeavour to Weepe Pray and Fast for the Royall Familie whilst others perhaps at Oxford did Drinke Blaspheme and Debauch themselves to shew their Loyaltie to His Majesty The subject of this sermon is like the two Pillars which guided our type Israel through the Wildernesse to Canaan by day and night The one was a Cloude which might well signifie the Lord hiding himselfe The other of Fire importing him to be the Saviour of Israel even whilst he was in that Cloude There is much talke now a dayes of now light and that new light as it is held forth by some is nothing lesse then old darknesse I may safely promise you in this Treatise at least the dawning of a light that is new Orthodoxe and certaine By which I have endavoured to begin the discovery of a hidden Mine of precious Providence though all my labours have scarcely opened the uppermost surface of the ground I shall leave the accurate searching of the veynes to more able observers I confesse that I did make an Essay upon his very Text in my native climate before my banishment but being plundered of those speculative thoughts and having since that time in some measure experimented this text I conceive my selfe bound in conscience to give you some meate out of my Eater Surely there is a vast difference betweene hearing of the Lord by the hearing of the eare and when our eyes have seene him Job 42.5 May it please you therefore to travell over this unusuall discourse once againe because Mysteries commonly are not understood at the first perusall Sure I am that never any Parliament in England had greater need of Viatica than your selves You are made a Spectacle to Angels and Men And beleeve it you are set up for the fall and rising againe of many in England The Lord hath cut off all bridges behind you and blessed be his name that they are cut off And now together with you all the Treasures of great Britaine and Ireland are imbarqued And according to your standing or falling in this great Cause must the present Generation and their Posterities in the three Kingdoms begin the dates of their perpetuall weal or woe for pure Reformation or open Popery ingenious Liberty or Norman Slavery must now be made the settled Master Nay to allude to Caesars speech you do now carry the whole Protestant Cause withall its Fortunes For mine owne part there is nothing upon earth that doth more amaze mine intellectualls then the prodigious Lethargie that doth still rest upon the heads and hearts of cursed Neuters and Protestant Malignants in the Land even now when both parties do abhor indifferency and that the excreable Rebels of Ireland are brought over But I might silence my selfe in this Quos perdece vult Jupiter cos dementat Surely the Lord hath smitten the generallity of the Land with madnesse and blindnesse and astonishment of heart as he threatned the Iews Deut. 28.28 Otherwise they could never dreame of defending Parliaments by Malefactors Property by Desperado's and Protestanisme by Irish Rebels May we not fear lest the Spanish or Irish or other Forreigners may beg the whole Land of the King and obtaine it alleadging that the Nation is not Compos mentis But my hope shall be that after the Lord hath deeply humbled us for our old and new abominations Dan. 4.14 and broken us as he did Nebuchadnezzer when he hath hewen us downe cut off our branches shaken off our leaves and scattered our fruits Vers 25. when he hath driven us from men and suffered our haires to grow like Eagles feathers and our nayles like Birds clawes Vers 33. then at the end of the dayes mens reason and understanding shall returne to them againe and perhaps our glory also At least I am confident Zeph. 3.12 that God will leave in the middest of us an afflicted and poore people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. Meane while it is my Petition to you and for you worthy Patriots that you may hold-out through all those seas of difficulties which are before you Heb. 6.10 And that you may remember that God is not unrighteous to forget your worke and labour of love which you have shewed toward his name Yea 2. Thes 3.3 you may take it for a positive promise The Lord is faithfull who shall stablish you and keepe you from evill Vers 4. and we have confidence in the Lord touching you that you both do and will do the things which he commands you Vers 5. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patient wayting for Christ This is the fixed hope and shall ever be the fervent prayer of From my Study at the Savoy April 20. 1644. Your Humble and willing Servant JOHN BOND A SERMON PREACHED at a late Fast before the Honourable House of COMMONS ISAIAH 45.15 Verily Thou art a God that hidest

unto them that dwell on the earth vers 7. saying with a loud voice Feare God and give glory to him for the houre of his judgement is come c. Hereupon in the eighth verse there followed another Angell saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great City c. Fallen why what ayled her What was it that threw her downe Surely it was nothing but the Angell that did fly in the midst of heaven having an everlasting Gospell to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth It was meerly the preaching of the Gospell if you will know it So that it seemes the Lord will throw downe Babylon the mysticall just as he threw downe the walls of Jericho with an holy blast by the breath of the Gospell it shall be preached flat to the ground No marvell that our Prelates were so angry with Lecturers Another expression of her overthrow might be gathered out of Revel 17.13 14 15 16. I will but name it because my reverend Brother in the morning hath prevented me And Chap. 18. vers 2. where you shall find that Babylon shall be thrown down meerly by Gods immediate supernaturall working upon the spirits of those men that were formerly friends and factors for the Whore For first 't is said verse 13. that these that is the ten hornes which are tea Kings have one mind and shal give their power and strength unto the Beast Verse 14. These shall make war with the Lambe Here they doe unite and agree well enough to persecute the Saints but reade on to verse 16. there they fall upon the Whore their late mother and mistresse The ten hornes which thou sawest these shall hate the Whore and make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burne her with fire A strange alteration indeed But how could such neare friends fallin-to such bitter enmity so suddenly No cause at all but this vers 17. for God hath put into their hearts both to unite and fall off againe Thus you see not onely Gods great salvations of his people in generall but especially those from Babylon are to be carried-on in a mystery But is it not strange that the Lord doth delight thus Quest to obscure and hide himselfe in the carriage of his great works Would it not do better according to our judgements and apprehensions if they were carried-on in the common rode of ordinary providence so that every man might see them before him whilest they are a doing as well as behind him when they are done I answer the nature of man is apt thus to reason Answ as Job chap. 13. vers 3. and Jeremiah chap. 12. vers 1. did And I could answer such questions with Saint Paul's O homo tu qui c. Rom. 9.20 Nay but oh man who art thou that replyest against God But that I may satisfie as well as confute I shal adde that there are reasons to shew that it is not only fit but necessary yea triply necessary that such great salvations especially from Babylon should be mysteriously carried-on 'T is necessary 1. For the Lords greater glory The grounds 2. For his Peoples greater good 3. For his Enemies greater confusion First the Lord doth thus hide himself whilst he is saving 1 For Gods greater glory for his owne greater glory There is a cleare and full place to this particular Prov. 25.2 It is the glory of God to conceale a thing but the honour of Kings is to search out a matter REM ABSCONDERE that is so to hide both himselfe and his worke that men may not be able before-hand to guesse at him whither he will go next nor yet to trace after him when he is gone before The latter expression namely That no man might go after him is to be found in Eccl. 7.13 14. Consider the work of God for who can make that streight which he hath made crooked And vers 14. In the day of prosperity be ●oyfull but in the day of adversity consider God also hath set the one over against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him Marke this God hath set the one over against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him that is the Lord doth incurvate his workes he doth intricately and to our apprehension promiscuously mingle the a●●s and effects of his common providence he doth traverse his ground he doth go on as it were by jumps that so the wit of man may not be able to trace and follow him but may sit downe admiring the depths of his wisedome and the strength of his power He doth leave so much print of his foot-steps as to convince the Atheist that he went that way and yet so little as to puzzle the Naturalist to find out the manner of his going And 't is abundantly for the Lords glory in all his Attributes thus to conceale a matter Every common Painter is able to paint a plaine piece of worke Erasm Adag Simulare cupressum as the proverbe is to paint a tree or a bough but hee is an Artist indeed that is able to draw forth a shadowed piece Every indifferent good souldier is able to fight pell-mell or upon a party hand to hand but he is the skilful man that is able to order an ambushment that can manage a stratagem Beleeve it brethren therefore doth the Lord draw his salvations in shadowed works that you may see the depth of his wisdome therefore doth the Lord use to overcome by ambushments that so the glory of his grace unto his people and the glory of his wisdome even amongst his enemies may be the greater That is the first ground for his owne greater glory The second ground why he carries his worke in a mysterie is for the greater good of his people 2 For the godly's greater good You have so choyce a place to this purpose in the booke of Deuteronomy that it alone may suffice Deut. 8. beginning at ver 2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty yeers in the wildernesse to humble thee and to prove thee to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldest keepe his Comandements or no And he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with Manna which thou knewest not neither did thy fathers know that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live Thy rayment waxed not old upon thee neither did thy feete swell these forty yeers God could have carried on Israel in a shorter time and in a direct way not in such a maze and labyrinth through the wildernesse forty yeers together he could have carried them through within forty moneths Hee could have fed them from the earth if it had pleased him and could have preserved them so as they should never have bin straitned for