Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
honour_n	custom_n	due_n	tribute_n	2,633	5	11.2181	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B08803	Several discourses concerning the actual Providence of God. Divided into three parts. The first, treating concerning the notion of it, establshing the doctrine of it, opening the principal acts of it, preservation and government of created beings. With the particular acts, by which it so preserveth and governeth them. The second, concerning the specialities of it, the unseachable things of it, and several observable things in its motions. The third, concerning the dysnoēta, or hard chapters of it, in which an attempt is made to solve several appearances of difficulty in the motions of Providence, and to vindicate the justice, wisdom, and holiness of God, with the reasonableness of his dealing in such motions. / By John Collinges ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1678 (1678)	Wing C5335; ESTC R233164	689,844	860

Countrey and had it not been for the King of Egypt's oppressing them would never have been willing to have left the flesh-pots and onions and garlick of Egypt but for this dealing of Pharaoh with them making them to serve with rigour slaying their male-children c. This quite tyred them and made them willing to go out of Egypt towards Canaan But let me a little shew you what a variety of lusts in wicked mens hearts God hath from time to time made use of to accomplish the great designs of his Providence with reference to his people and indeed it is hard to say what lust in sinners hearts God hath not made use of at one time or other and made it to serve the holy and wise designs of his Providence 1. The lusts of the eye and flesh are of all other the most unmanlike brutish passions yet the Providence of God hath sometimes taken advantage of these for the glory of God You all know what a strange influence Esther's being advanced to be Queen of Persia had upon Gods design for the building of the second Temple in Ezra's time she was the great instrument to save the whole Church of the Jews the only Church God had upon the Earth at that time from utter ruin God made use of the lust of Ahasuerus to bring this about he takes a Teach to Vasthi for refusing to come to him to be shown to his Princes and turns her away and then must look for the greatest beauty could be found Esther proveth to be she What a strange instance of this had we of this in King Henry the Eighth of that name in this Nation Those who know any thing of the story of those times know that it was no abhorrence of the Idolatry and Superstition of the Popish-Religion that set him upon the work of Reformation After some beginnings of it the six Articles came out Papists were burnt on one side of Smithfield Protestants on the other but the King was weary of his Wife and had a mind to another His wife indeed was one whom Protestant-Divines judged he could not keep having been his brothers wife without a continual living in incest the Pope who thinks he can dispense with any thing he thinks or decrees she was his wife and would give no dispensation for a divorce the Popish-Universities and Divines who never fail to be on their holy Fathers side all oppose the King in his desire of change This angers the King and was the first motive to his business of Reformation and casting off the Pope's Supremacy Nor is this any reproach at all to the Lords work of Reformation amongst us there 's nothing more ordinary than for God to make the wrath of man to praise him and make use of the lusts of men to bring about his own designs 2. Ambition is another lust which fireth the heart of wicked men especially great men It is an excessive desire of Honour and Dominion Poor wretches born to and brought up in little circumstances and low stations in the world are ordinarily not so much infected with this it is the great mans lust God makes an eminent use of this See it in the case of Jehu a proud ambitious man that had in him a great lust and desire of rule and honour God had a quarrel against the house of Ahab by his Providence he ordereth Jehu to the Kingdom makes use of him to destroy Joram the Son of Ahab and Ahaziah the King of Judah the Son-in law of Ahab and Jezebel Ahab's wife whom God had threatned for the blood of Naboth and his whole Family until none remained 2 Kings 8. vers 23 24 25. chap. 9. vers 9 10 24 27 35 chap. 10. vers 7 11 17. And thus he delivered his seven thousand in Israel that had not bowed knee to Baal from the idolatry cruelty and oppression of a vile and wicked Prince Jehu indeed in all this pretended a great zeal for God and did destroy Baal from Israel 2 King 10.28 but yet ver 9. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin Jehu departed not from after them to wit the golden calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan. Vers 31. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the way of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin Hence it was that though the Lord tells him 2 King 10.30 That he had done well in executing that which was right in the eyes of God and had done according to all that was in Gods heart as to the house of Ahab and therefore promised him a reward for it viz. that for it his children of the fourth generation should sit on the throne of Israel yet God by the Prophet Hosea told them Hos 1.4 Yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu The business was no more than this Jehu was an ambitious Prince that loved honour and dominion the Providence of God maketh use of this lust of his to bring about his holy and righteous designs upon that wicked family of Ahab and for the delivery of his people from their oppressions This was the case of Haman a proud ambitious Courtier in the Court of Persia he had a mind to be great this made him malice Mordecay he would not bow his knee to him this made him propose such great things to be done to the man whom the King should please to shew favour and honour to the Text tells you he said To whom will the King delight to do honour more than to my self Est 6.6 God maketh use of his ambition to bring Mordecay into honour and to save the whole people of the Jews and thus it ordinarily falls out in lesser spheres the humble disposition of Gods People inclining them to give honour to whom honour belongeth and not to deny civil respects to the worst of men doth often commend them to those that are ambitious of honour and respect and maketh them their friends God making use of his Enemies ambition for their sake which by the way commendeth to all that fear God that Precept of the Apostle Rom. 13.7 Render therefore to every one their dues tribute to whom tribute custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom honour 3. Another lust of men which you shall find Gods Providence hath made great use of is curiosity A curiosity to know secrets What shall come to pass in after-times or a curiosity to delight in rare workmanship of any sort c This is a great vanity of the heart of man but the Providence of God hath made great use of it Of the first sort there are in holy Writ the instances of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar both of them dreamed dreams wherein God revealed to them things that were to come to pass in the world Then God inspireth

have seen a great number of all nations kindred and people stonding before the Lamb and cloathed with white robes and with Palms in their hands and these were such as come out of great tribu●●tion and had washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and were in triumph serving God day and night Vse 2. What you have heard upon this argument looketh very wistly upon every prosperous sinner which this day heareth me and boasteth in his large possessions of the good things of this life The sum of what you have heard is that the things which you glory in are not truly good that they are but temporary rewards or gifts of God that they are means to bring you to the acknowledgement of God that oft-times through mens corruptions they prove the means of their greater ruine 1. In the first place How should this take down a sinners plumes Let not the great man glory in his greatness nor the rich man in his riches Let not any say in his heart if God had not a favour to me he would never give me such an estate such a success in my trade such an healthy body c. The method of Providence is quite contrary I have somewhere met with a story that anciently according to the laws of Persia a malefactor had liberty for an hour before he died to ask what he would and it was not denied to him One they say condemned to dye and being according to their custom askt what he would desire answers Neither this nor that but only That I may see the Kings face which being granted he so plied the King in that hour as that he obtained his pardon whereupon they say that the Persians altered their custom and covered the Malefactors face as soon as he was condemned that he might see the King no more God to thousands of sinners gives what their hearts could wish riches honours pleasures they are poor condemned wretches by the law of God for all this vessels of wrath fitted for destruction when the hour-glass of their life in this world is run out they are to be turned into Hell to depart from God as accursed creatures into those everlasting burnings that are prepared for the Devil and his Angels Only God that all his creatures might tast something of his bounty for that hour giveth them all good things of this life had it not now been a silly and unreasonable thing suppose the Malefactor had asked for and had a House full of Gold or Silver or all the great titles the world could have dignified him with to have gloried and boasted of them as tokens of the Kings love when in the mean time he knew he was a poor condemned wretch and by and by to be cut off from the enjoyment of them all Is not this the very case thou knowest thy self to be a drunkard a swearer a liar an unclean person thou knowest that for these courses the righteous law of a righteous God hath condemned thee it saith such persons shall never see God shall never enter into the Kingdom of God but be thrown into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone God out of his bounty gives thee for the few hours thou hast to live out of Hell health riches honours pleasures all thy heart can wish in the world hast thou any reason to boast thy self in these things or to be proud of them thy condition is infinitely worse than the Philosopher's that could eat no dainties at the Kings Table because he saw a naked sword hang over his head by a twine-thread Certainly poor wretch it were thy wisdom for this little time of thy life to do as it is said that Malefactor in Persia did despise all things and only desire thou mightest apply thy self for the little time of thy life with tears fasting and prayer to God that thou mightest see his face and obtain the pardon of thy sins through the blood of Christ Poor wretches what in the mean time have you to glory in what have you to be proud of What should make you walk with a stretched-out neck or a lofty eye thou art not master of one good thing thou callest them good because they are grateful to thy sense and please thy sensitive appetite and they are so far good as they serve thy outward necessities but of no significancy at all either to thy spiritual or eternal happiness Yet these are the things which make the wicked man proud swelling in an high opinion of himself despising others Oh! that God would make you understand that you have not only perishing fleshly bodies to be covered with soft and gay cloathing but immortal souls that you are creatures under an ordination to an eternal existence and that nothing can be worth naming as good but what will profit you as to your immortal capacity What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul Or what can a man give in exchange or ransome for it You have heard of a Prince that in his extremity of thirst cried out a Kingdom for a draught of water The time will come when every impenitent sinner shall wish that he had not had a foot of land in the world nor a rag to cover his nakedness so be it that he had had the pardon of his sins and the robes of Christs righteousness to cover the nakedness of his soul Let him therefore that glorieth glory in this that God is his Lord and Jesus Christ is his Saviour 2. This speaketh to the prosperous sinner as not to be high-minded because he hath nothing to be proud of so to fear and to keep and enjoy what he hath with fear and trembling James would have the Rich man rejoice when he is brought low Jam. 1.10 Because as the flower of the grass he passeth away and when he hath lost his riches his honour his outward felicity he hath lost all but here are greater reasons yet because by a prosperous condition oftentimes poenalis nutritur impunitas a penal impunity is nourished Prosperity slayeth the fools and sinners are ordinarily by it fatted and prepared for the day of slaughter David saw that God set the prosperous sinner in slippery places upon Pinacles and Towers but slippery places you observe that the bloughtiness as you call it of the body is but an ill sign of unhealthiness the sinners growing fat in outward enjoyments I am sure is no good sign Psal 73.17 18 19. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places thou castest them down to destruction how are they brought to destruction in a moment they are utterly consumed If a child of God hath reason to rejoice when he is brought low surely a sinner hath reason to tremble when he is up on high Godly men have used to be afraid of prosperity it is an hard thing for the most watchful Christian to keep his feet when he is set upon the slippery mountain of riches