Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	earth_n	lord_n	work_n	9,272	5	5.2666	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52601	Two speeches delivered before the subscribing of the Covenant, the 25. of September, at St. Margarets in Westminster the one by Mr. Philip Nye, the other by Mr. Alexander Henderson.	Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672.; Henderson, Alexander, 1583?-1646.	1643 (1643)	Wing N1501; ESTC R4609	13,718	26

〈◊〉 SPEECHES delivered before the Subscribing of the Covenant the 25. of September at St. MARGARETS in WESTMINSTER THE ONE By Mr. PHILIP NYE THE OTHER By Mr. ALEXANDER HENDERSON Published by speciall order of the House of Commons Edinburgh Printed by Robert Bryson Anno Dom. 1643. An exhortation made to the Honourable House of Commons and Reverend Divines of the Assembly By Mr. NYE before hee read the COVENANT A Great and solemn work honourable and Reverend this day is put into our hands let us stir up and awaken our hearts unto it Wee deal with God as well as with men and with God in his greatnesse and excellency for by him wee swear and at the same time we have to do with God and his goodnesse who now reacheth out unto us a strong and seasonable arme of assistance The goodnesse of God procuring succour and help to a sinfull and afflicted people such are we ought to bee matter of fear and trembling even to all that hear of it Ier. 33. 9. We are to exalt and acknowledge him this day who is fearfull in praises sweare by that Name which is Holy and Reverent enter into a Covenant and League that is never to be forgotten by us nor our posterity and the fruit I hope of it shall be so great as both we and they shall have cause to remember it with joy and such in Oath as for matter persons and other circumstances the like hath not been in any age or Oath we read of in sacred or humane Stories yet sufficiently warranted in both The parties ingaging in this league are three Kingdomes famous for the knowledge acknowledgment of Christ above all the kingdomes in the world to swear before such a presence should mould the spirit of man into a great deal of reverence what then to be engaged to be incorporated and that by sacred Oath with such an high and honourable Fraternity An Oath is to be esteemed so much the more solemne by how much greater the persons are that sweare each to other as in heaven when God sweares to his Son on earth when Kings swear each to other so in this businesse where Kingdomes sweare mutually And as the solemnity of an Oath is to bee measured by the persons swearing so by the matter also that is to be sworn to God would not swear to the Covenant of works hee intended not to honour it so much it was not to continue it was not worthy of an Oath of his but to the Covenant of grace which is the Gospell he swears and repents not of it God swears for the salvation of men and of Kingdomes And if Kingdomes swear what Subject of an Oath becommeth them better then the preservation and salvation of Kingdomes by establishing the kingdome of a Saviour amongst them even our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who is a Mediator and Saviour for Nations as well as particular persons The end also is great and honourable as either of the former two is better then one saith he who best knoweth what is best and from whom alone every thing hath the goodnesse it hath Association is of divine Off-spring not only the beginning of Creatures but the putting of them together the cluster as well as the grape is the work of God consort and harmony amongst men especially amongst saints is very pleasing unto the Lord If when but two or three agree assent upon any thing on earth It shall be confirmed in heaven and for this because they gather together in his name much more when two or three Kingdomes shall meet and consent together in his name and for his name that God may bee one and his name one amongst them and his presence amidst them That prayer of Christ seemeth to proceed from a feeling sense of his own blessednesse Father that they may be one as thou in me c. Unity amongst his Churches and children must needs therefore be very acceptable unto him For out of the more deep sense desires are fetcht from within us the more pleasing will be the answer of them unto us Churches and Kingdomes are dear to God his patience towards them his compassion over them more then particular persons sheweth it plainly But Kingdomes willingly engaging themselves for his Kingdome his Christ his Saints the purity of religion his worship and Government in all particulars and in all humility sitting down at his feet to receive the law and the rule from his mouth what a price doth hee set upon such Especially when as we this day sensible of our infirmity of an unfaithfull heart not steddy with our God but apt to start from the cause if we feel the knife or the fire who binde our selves with cords as a sacrifice to the hornes of the Altar We invocate the name of the great God that his vowes yea his curse may bee upon us if we do not this yea though we suffer for so doing that is if we endeavour not so farre as the Lord shall assist us by his grace to advance the Kingdome of the Lord Jesus Christ here upon earth and make Jerusalem once more the praise of the whole world not withstanding all the contradictions of men What is this but the contents and matter of our Oath What doe we covenant What do we vow Is it not the preservation of Religion where it is reformed and the Reformation of Religion where it needs Is it not the Reformation of three Kingdomes and a Reformation universall Doctrine Discipline and Worship in whatsoever the Word shall discover unto us To practise is a fruit of love to reforme a fruit of zeale but so to reforme will bee a taken of great prudence and circumspection in each of these Churches And all this to be done according to Gods Word the best rule and according to the best reformed Churches the best interpreters of this Rule If England hath obtained to any greater perfection in so handling the word of righteousnesse and truths that are according to godlinesse as to make men more godly more righteous And if in the Churches of Scotland any more light and beauty in matters of Order and Discipline by which their Assemblies are more orderly or if to any other Church or person it hath been given better to have learned Christ in any of his wayes then any of us wee shall humbly bow and kisse their lips that can speak right words unto us in this matter and help us into the nearest uniformity with the word and minde of Christ in this great work of Reformation Honourable and Reverend Brethren there cannot be a more direct effectuall way to exhort and perswade the wise and men of sad and serious spirits and such are you to whom I am commanded to speak this day then to let into their understandings the weight and worth and great importance of the work they are perswaded unto This oath is such and in the matter and consequence of it of such

concernment as I can truly say it is worthy of us yea of all these Kingdomes yea of all the Kingdomes of the world for it is swearing fealty and allegeance unto Christ the King of Kings and a giving up of all these Kingdomes which are his inheritance to be subdued more to his thron and ruled more by his Scepter upon whose shoulders the government is laid and in the increase of whose Government and peace there shall be no end Esay 9. Yea we finde this very thing in the utmost accomplishment of it to have been the Oath of the greatest Angel that ever was who setting his feet upon two of Gods Kingdomes the one upon the Sea the other upon the Earth lifting up his hand to heaven as you are to doe this day and so swearing Rev. 10 The effect of that oath you shall finde to be this that the Kingdomes of the world become the Kingdomes of the Lord and his Christ and hee shall reigne for ever Rev. 11 His Oath was for the full and finall accomplishment this of yours for a graduall yet a great performance towards it That which the apostles and primitive times did so much and so long pray for though never long with much quietnesse enjoyed that which our Fathers in these latter times have fasted prayed and mourned after yet attained not even the cause which many dear Saints now with God have furthered by extreamest sufferings poverty imprisonment banishment death ever since the first dawning of Reformation That and the very same is the very cause and work that wee are come now through the mercy of Jesus Christ not only to pray for but swear to And surely it can be no other but the result and answer of such prayers and teares of such sincerity sufferings that three Kingdomes should be thus born or rather new born in a day that these Kingdomes should be wrought about to so great an engagement then which nothing is higher for to this end Kings raigne Kingdomes stand and States are upheld It is a speciall grace and favour of God unto you Brethren Reverend and Honourable to vouchsafe you the opportunity and to put into your hearts as this day to engage your lives and estates in matters so much concerning him and his glory And if thou should doe no more but lay a foundation stone in this great work and by so doing engage posterity after you to finish it it were honour enough But there may yet further use be made of you who now are to take this oath you are designed as chief master Builders and choice instruments for the effecting of this setled Peace and Reformation which if the Lord shall please to finish in your hands a greater happinesse on earth nor a greater means to augment your glory and crown in heaven you are not capable of And this let me further adde for your encouragement of what extensive good and fruit in the successe of it this very oath may prove to be we know not God hath set his Covenant like the Heavens not onely for duration but like also for extension The Heavens move and roule about and so communicate their light and heat and vertue to all places and parts of the earth so doth the Covenant of God so may this gift bee given to other Covenants that are framed to that pattern How much this solemne League and oath may provoke other reformed Churches to a further Reformation of themselves what light and heat it may communicate abroad to other parts of the world it is only in Him to define to whom is given the utmost ends of the earth for his inheritance and worketh by his exceeding great power great things out of as small beginnings But howsoever this I am sure of it is a way in all probability most likely to enable us to preserve defend our religion against our common enemies and possible a more sure fundation this day will be laid for ruining Popery and Prelacy the chief of them then as yet we have been led unto in any age For Popery it hath been a Religion ever dexterous in fencing and muniting it self by association and joynt strength all sorts of Professors amongst them are cast into Fraternities and Brother hoods and these Orders carefully united by Vow one with another and under some more generall notion of common dependancie Such States also Kingdomes as they have thus made theirs they endeavour to improve and secure by strict combinations and leagues each to other witnesse of late yeares that La Sainte ligue the holy league It will not bee unworthy your consideration whether seeing the preservation of Popery hath been by Leagues and Covenants God may not make a League or Covenant to be the destruction of it Nay the very rise of Popery seemeth to bee after such a manner by Kings that is Kingdomes assenting and agreeing perhaps by some joynt Covenant the text saith with one minde why not then with one mouth to give their power and strength unto the Beast and make war against the Lamb Rev. 17. where you read the Lamb shall overcome the Beast and possibly with the same weapons hee is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings hee can unite Kings and Kingdoms and give them one minde also to destroy the Whore and bee her utter ruine And may not this dayes work be a happy beginning of such a blessed expedition Prelacie another common enemy that we Covenant and swear against what hath it been or what hath the strength of it been but a subtile combination of Clergy men formed into a policy or body of their own invention framing themselves into Subordination and Dependencie one upon another so that the interest of each is improved by all a great power by this means acquired to themselves as by sad experience we have lately found The joynts and members of this body you know were knit together by the sacred engagement of an Oath the Oath of Canonicall obedience as they called it You remember also with what cunning and industrie they endeavoured lately to make this Oath and Covenant more sure for themselves and their posterity And intended a more publike solemn and universal engagement then since Popery this cause of theirs was ever maintained or supported by And questionlesse Ireland and Scotland also must at last have been brought into this holy league with England But blessed be the Lord and blessed be his good hand the Parliament that from the indignation of their spirits against so horrid a yoke have dashed out the very brains of this project and are now this day present before the Lord to take and give possession of this blessed Ordinance even an Oath and Covenant as solemne and of as large extent as they intended theirs uniting these three Kingdoms into such a League and happy combination as will doubtlesse preserve us and our Reformation against them though their iniquity in the misteries of it should still be working