Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n
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A67572
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A sermon preached before the peers, in the abby-church at Westminster October 10, MDCLXVI / by Seth Lord Bishop of Exon.
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Ward, Seth, 1617-1689.
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1666
(1666)
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Wing W828; ESTC R10647
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21,004
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34
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A SERMON Preached before the PEERS IN THE Abby-Church at Weslminster October 10th M. DC LXVI BY SETH Lord Bishop of EXON LONDON Printed by E. C. for James Collins and are to be sold at the Kings-head in Westminster-Hall 1666. A SERMON Preached before the House of Peers AT WEST MINSTER ECCLRS xi 9. But know that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment Rejoyce O young man c. THE great and general design of the Ministry and preaching of the Gospel is to bring men to Christianity not in the outward profession but in the true spirit and power thereof to the end they may be justified and sanctified and finally saved through Christ for ever The particular design of this Days Observation is to humble our selves under the mighty hand of God in Consideration of his Judgments especially that late one in consuming with Fire the Ancient and noble Metropolis of this Nation and to endeavour to appease the wrath of God gone out against us To compass both these designs whereof the later is subordinate to the former I know no better expedient than to reason a while upon that important argument suggested in the Text. Who can think upon the Conflagration of our late Glorious City and not call to mind the great and terrible day of Judgment Who can think seriously of Judgment and not be compelled to come in driven to Christianity that he may be saved from the wrath to come The great Instructor and Example of Christian Preachers he who saith of himself that Christ sent him to preach and not to baptize found no means so powerful to perswade men to Christianity as to reason upon this argument as first to lay before them the terror of Judgment and then whilst that was warm upon their hearts to make them a tender of the Gospel This is the great Advantage and use the Apostle makes of the Doctrine of the Text. We must all appear saith he before the Judgment-seat of Christ Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men Upon these Considerations I shall hope for the pardon of this Noble Auditory if without affectation of Science I shall in a practical and familiar way of reasoning endeavour to imitate our Apostle in this particular If in the mean time it will be irksome and unpleasant to hear of the Judgment to come we shall do well to consider what it will be to undergo it we shall do well to reflect upon our Souls and search out the ground of this averseness Is it because we do not believe a Judgment to come or that we our selves shall be brought to Judgment Is it because we never consider Who it is before whom we must appear or what things will be charged on our own account Is it because we are so far gone in our arrears that it is to no purpose to call these things into our remembrance What ever it be we may perhaps hear of that which may meet with and remove the prejudice and Imposture that is upon us It is neither our Negligence nor Infidelity that will make void the Truth of God Whether we will hear or Whether we will forbear the Words which I have read remain firm and unalterable and they clearly contain these Propositions 1. There is a Judgment to come 2. Thou shalt be brought to Judgment 3. God will bring thee to Judgment 4. God will bring thee to Judgment for these things the ways of thy heart c. 5. God will bring thee to Judgment for All these things 6. All this is certain and evident for it is not think or believe But Know that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment I. First then There is a Judgement to come This is no Politick invention found out to fright thee from thy pleasures this is no Engine of State devised to keep you in a subordination to your Brethren this is no vain Thunder or foolish fire to affright you into a blind obedience but it is the Tenor of the Scripture of the voyce of God King Agrippa believest thou the Prophets I know that thou believest saith St. Paul Brethren do we believe the Scriptures I hope we do believe them this we do all profess to believe so often as we repeat our Creed and I hope the dissolution of our times has not yet shatter'd that foundation of our faith the ground work of our hopes even the Salvation of our souls Surely there are rewards for men doubtless there is a God which judgeth the Earth What though the foundations of the world be out of course the pillar of Faith remains unshaken the Rod of the ungodly shall not for ever rest upon the back of the righteous I desire to make a little use of your faith for that which anon will be obtained from your reason There is a Judgment to come it 's as sure as death nay farr surer they shall be judged which shall not dye they have been judged which could not dye the one at the end the other at the beginning of the world There is a Particular and a General Judgment the one at the dissolution of the lesser the other of the greater world the one at the hour of death the other at the day of Judgment A Judgment I say a strict examination an exact account a severe sentence words which make no thundering noise or tragical sound and so they may pass our hardned hearts without any motion wherefore let us judge of the tenor and moment of them by their antecedent signs Before one of them the evil days come The other is called the evil day Before one Solomon tells us that the Sun and the Moon and the Light and the Starrs shall be darkned Before the other a greater than Solomon tells us that the Sun shall be turned into Darkness and the Moon into Bloud and the Starrs shall fall from Heaven Before one the Keepers of the House shall tremble and the Strong men bow themselves Before the other the Mountains shall quake and the Powers of Heaven shall be shaken Before one we shall rise at the voyce of the Bird Before the other at the sound of the Trumpet Before one the silver Cord shall be loosed and the golden Bowl broken and the Pitcher broken at the Fountain and the wheel broken at the Cistern Before the other the silver Zone of the ecliptick and the golden Globe of the Sun the Orbs and the Vortices shall be confounded the wheel within a wheel the Heavens shall be rivel'd as a scrowl of Parchment and the Earth and the Elements shall melt away with fervent heat In the one the dust shall return to the earth as it was and the spirit to God that gave it at the other the dust shall return from the earth to be as it was and the spirit from God that gave it Come now and let us reason together Are all these the fore-runners and symptomes of approaching Judgment then