Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	creature_n	lord_n	praise_v	2,323	5	9.4645	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65073	The saints nearness to God being a discourse upon part of the CXLVIII Psalm / written at the request of a friend by Richard Vines ...	Vines, Richard, 1600?-1656.; Drury, William.	1662 (1662)	Wing V567; ESTC R3254	27,474	152

PErlegi hunc Tractatum in quo nihil reperio aut sanae Doctrinae aut bonis moribus contrarium quo minus Imprimatur Ex Aedibus Lambethanis Octob. 13. 1662. Dan. Nicols R. P. D. Arch. Cant. Capel Domesticus THE SAINTS Nearness to GOD BEING A Discourse upon part of the CXL VIII Psalm Written at the request of a Friend By Richard Vines Late Minister at St Laurence Jury in London Now published for the publick good of the Church London Printed by A. M. for Francis Tyron at the three Daggers in Fleet street 1662. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND Vertuous Patroness of Piety THE Lady ELIZABETH Countess Dowager of Exeter encrease of all divine graces and temporall blessings in this life and eternall glory in the life to come Right Honourable AS the Queen of Sheba was by the fame of Solomon's wisdome encouraged to take a long journey to have the personall sight and real experience of those excellencies in him whereof she was before upon credit only so great an admirer so I being a stranger to your Person but invited by the report of your Honours Religious conversation and good affection towards pious and devout persons and all labours effectually endeavouring to bring Christians unto an exact rule of holy living do now presume to offer this Mite into the publick Treasury under your Noble Patronage hoping the stamp of your acceptance and countenance will make it currant in the world to whose censure it is exposed and for whose sake it now comes forth a Posthumus after the decease of the Reverend Author whose abilities and exemplary life were well known And I was the rather moved hereunto upon consideration of my own unworthiness and unprofitableness in the age I live in and that I am never likely to advantage it so much as this small Treatise may although there be more want of the practice of Piety than of the works of those that earnestly perswade to it And be sides I thought it incumbent upon me as a debt due to the memory of the Author and satisfaction of importunate friends not to let this Tract written upon a solemn invitation and request of an Acquaintance to be buried in oblivion and that thereby God may be glorified his Church and servants furthered in their passage through the desart of this mortall life towards the celestiall Canaan and your Honour whose affection and choice is with Mary in the Gospel set upon the better part and spirituall things may reap some content and refreshment therein is the earnest prayer and desire of Your Honours most humble Servant and affectionate Orator William Drury Octob. 6. 1662. THE SAINTS Nearness to GOD. Psal 148. 14. A people near unto him THe Book of Psalmes in the general is a description of the estate and condition of a godly man In the beginning we have him call'd a blessed man in the blessednesse of holinesse and so going on in the wayes of righteousnesse his estate in the end is shut up in the happinesse of blessing and praise For so the Book ends as his life ends in nothing but praise Wherein David as it were begins to tune his heart to that Song of praise which he now sings for ever in Heaven In many parts of the Book walking in holiness and so carrying happinesse with him we see him notwithstanding meet with many storms and tempests of evil But as it were escaped from all in the end he bursts forth in thanks To put into every like godly mans mouth his Lesson to conne before the day of consort in Heaven when nothing else shall be sung but praise and honour and thanks The first part of this holy song begins in the 145. Psal 1. where first stirring up his own heart to sing and so giving the pattern as Gideon said to his Souldiers Look on me and do likewise so in the end saith he My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever And from thence every Psalm begins and ends with praise Yea the last is praise throughout nothing but praise praise Among these hortatory Psalms to praise is this our 148. And it is a general exhortation to all sorts of creatures in their kinds to praise the Lord whether they be things above as Angels the Vers 2. inhabitants of the first Heavens or Stars and Vers 3. Lights of the next Heaven or Clouds and Vapours and Meteors Vers 7 8. which are in the lowest Heaven or else lower Vers 9. things as Mountains and Hills living things as Trees and Beasts and Foul Together lastly Vers 11 12. with Men of every condition and estate for whom all the former were made And this exhortation is backt with a trebble Reason 1. Taken from the relation between God and the several sorts of creatures And 2. That special excellency that is in God himself And 3. From his goodnesse to his people The first Reason is laid down in the 5. and 6. Vers 5. Verses and it stands upon these two parts First The creatures must praise God because he is their Maker He commanded and they were created Secondly Because he Vers 6. upholds them all being made which is from his decree that they shall not pass v. 6. But in speciall men must give him praise First For his own excellency and glory in the 13. verse which glory Vers 13. and excellency is most transcendent even above all the excellency of the creature above the earth and Heaven Secondly For his goodnesse to his people which is in the 14. verse which is in exalting his people He exalts the horn of his people the praise of all his Saints And this people is set out by their name who they were The children of Israel and by their interest in him They are a people near him He also exalts the horn of his people the praise of all his Saints even of the children of Israel a people near him And so we are come to the words The point of Observation we intend to handle out of these words is only this That Gods Saints are a Doct. people very near him In the handling of this point we will shew First What nearnesse is or wherein it consists And Secondly In what respects Gods Saints are said to be near unto him Nearnesse first is Geometrical and it is that little space or distance between thing and thing from thence by a trope or turning of the word it is used for any special relation between one thing and another 1. There is a Political nearnesse as first the nearnesse of League or Confederacy between Nation and Nation So Solomon was near to Pharaoh by Confederacy 2. There is the nearnesse of Government when Prince and People consent to govern and be governed together which is a farther nearnesse Secondly There is an Oeconomical nearnesse the nearnesse of a Servant and a Master which is still a further nearnesse

somewhat cut off A man is still as near the Sun in a cloudy day as a clear day so a man is as near God that once is truly near him even when he hides himself under a cloud of trial as before The relation for the substance holds as firm as a son is as much a son when he is a thousand miles off from his father as when he is in the same room in his fathers presence so a son of God is as much a son for the essence and truth of the relation and as much a spouse when God is hidden from him under the distance of affliction as when he was joyous and at peace The covenant is the same the kindred the same the nearnesse the same Even as the branches are as near the tree at one time as another though they perceive it not The members are as near the head in a Palsey or Apoplexy as at other times though they feel it not so fully or plainly as at other times they may And 't is to be observed that in such cases as this of David God is not quite departed for sayes he Why standest thou a farre off which argues God then was not out of sight or out of call though not so near as before Now we come to Application First then If Gods Use 1 people are so exceeding near him the Use shall be that in the Text the words foregoing That God greatly exalts the horn of his people Is not this an exultation when others are left out of all these forenamed relations that they should be taken in to be in Covenant with him yea servants yea friends yea sonnes yea his spouse Come and see if there be any honour like unto this honour wherewith he cloathes his people and which strangers meddle not with If it be so Then Use 2 touch not Gods anointed and doe his people no harme wrong them not as Ecclesiastes saies of the King so much as in thy thought much lesse proceed to open wrong or persecution against them For first consider he to whom they are so Mot. 1 near shall be sure to hear of it Did any man but think the wrong he doth to his fellow subject the King should be sure to hear it would not he hold his hands and consider There is not the least wrong thou canst doe to any of these near ones but God shall be sure to hear of it They have friends enough in the Court of Heaven to tell him yea those of his Presence-Chamber the Angels such as stand continually before him such as are sent Embassadours on purpose to see what wrong is done to them Such as lie Lieger to hear and carry the least word spoken against his people and they will tell tales of you Besides they themselves are at the Kings eare and in prayer will go and tell him of you That if Angels and Saints which are all the Court of Heaven if they or any of them know of it God shall be sure to hear it But secondly You Mot. 2 shall be sure to hear of it again for if they be the near ones then whatsoever this nearnesse can do shall come to their aid and their confusion It is the only way to pull the world about a mans ears to provoke the Lord-General of the world to Muster up his Batallions and Hoasts of creatures against thee to cause Heaven and Earth and the Commander of both to turn enemies to thee and in their courses to fight against thee as the Stars in their courses did against Sisera If then any man dare bid God and his Armies of creatures battail let him give but the defiance to his people and the word is no sooner spoken but they are all up in Armes and come marching like Jehu furiously against thee Ten several Armies of creatures we see leavied and sent against the Aegyptians and Pharaoh for the wrong done to the Israelites And Army being sent after Army in the end fully to revenge the wrong God Mustred up the Waters causing them to lye in ambush against him and when they were once come into the Exod. 14. 26. ambush the Watch-word was but given and the lyers in waite set upon them and overthrew them So the Sun and Jos 10. the Moon by standing still were made as spies to betray and a showre of stones like a Volley of shot to destroy the Canaanites Wild-fire out of 2 King 1. the Camp of Heaven destroyed the Captains and their fifties that came to take Elijah The Numb 16. 31 32. earth undermin'd Korah and his company for their words against Moses Besides these God hath an Army of diseases which sometimes is sent to revenge his people When God shall muster up the humours of a mans own body against him making his enemies to be those of his own household such enemies as will not turn back against whom all the munition of Physick cannot defend such enemies as will not raise their seige nor make any composition but assault and in their assault beat down the Ramparts and Fortifications of nature taking the strong Castle of the heart and lay the Fort of the whole man in the dust even with the ground so that if you can abide the brunt against Heaven and Earth and the several ranks of Souldiers of creatures of the Lord of Hoasts If you have provision enough against a seige of judgements if Armour of Proof to bear off the Bullet of Destruction shot from the Engine of Vengeance If you dare stand against Gods great Ordance his sore judgements of Plague Famine or the like which mowes whole Cities and Nations down as the Sithe doth Corn Then speak and wrong and spare not But alas you know all the Armour wherein ye can trust is but Paper-Armour to defend you that all the things you can flye to are but the creacures which are Souldiers of the Lords of Hosts which therefore will not prove disloyal to their Lord to flye from their Colours for your service and Pay but be the very first even in the Fore-front of the Battel against you But thirdly Do them Use 3 all the good you can For First You hold all you Mot. 1 have upon them Heaven and Earth would be dissolved did not the Church uphold them and were that once finisht all things would fall again to their first confusion As 't is in the erecting of a building stones and timber and other materials are prepar'd Workmen are hir'd and the tooles are moving till the Edifice is reard and when once the building is finisht the stones and rubbish are cast aside the tooles laid down the Workmen paid and sent away but they had their hire from the building So in the building of the Church workmen are hir'd tooles used and the building being up creatures and wicked men used for the Church are paid with peace and wealth and so cashired but they had their pay the good things of this life from