Selected quad for the lemma: king_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
king_n	bishop_n	house_n	queen_n	489,945	5	12.5858	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61809	Of the reverence due to God in his publick worship a sermon preach'd before the King & Queen, at White-Hall, March 25, 1694, being the 5th Sunday in Lent / by the Right Reverend Father in God, Nicholas Lord Bishop of Chester.	Stratford, Nicholas, 1633-1707.	1694 (1694)	Wing S5937; ESTC R687	12,865	32

Of the Reverence due to GOD in his Publick Worship A SERMON Preach'd before the King Queen AT WHITE-HALL March 25 1694. being the 5th Sunday in LENT By the Right Reverend Father in God NICHOLAS Lord Bishop of Chester Publish'd by Their Majesties Special Command LONDON Printed by Tho. Warren for Thomas Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard M DC XCIV A SERMON Preach'd before the King and Queen ECCLES V. j. former part Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of GOD. IN the beginning of this Chapter Solomon prescribes several Rules to be observed by us in the Worship of God as ever we expect to recommend our selves thereby to his Favour and Acceptance The first of which is general and extends to the whole publick Worship the other are particular relating to some special parts of it The general Rule is that which I have chosen to insist upon Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God In treating of which I shall by God's Assistance do these Three things I. I shall briefly shew the Meaning of the Words and what is the Duty therein prescribed II. I shall enforce the Duty by proper Arguments III. I shall suggest some further Helps by way of Direction in order to the better Performance of it I. I shall briefly explain the Words and shew what is the Duty therein prescribed Keep or take heed to thy feet so I read them the Hebrew Letters being plural though the Pointing which I take to be but a late Invention of the Masorites is singular Take heed to thy Feet when thou goest or rather when thou comest for so the Original Word signifies and is so translated in several other Numb 10. 29. Genes 19. 32. places and that it ought to be so render'd here appears because all the Duties afterward mentioned to which this word in common belongs are such as are to be perform'd not when we are going but when we are come to the House of God So that I read the Words thus Take heed to thy feet when thou comest to the house of God The Jews were wont to express their Reverence toward God when they came to his House to worship him by putting off their Shooes at their Entrance into it Whether this Custom was derived from the Patriarchs before Exod. 3. 5. Moses or from that Command God gave to Moses and Joshua To loose their Josh 5. 15. shooes from off their feet because the place whereon they stood was holy ground need not now be disputed It is sufficient that this Rite of Veneration was used by them when they approach'd to God in his Publick Worship Now that Solomon here alludes to this Practice no Man I think will question who considers That all other Accounts given of this Expression seem very foreign and impertinent to the Matter he here treats of The Duty therefore here injoin'd is That we behave our selves decently and reverently when we come to worship God in his House So that when Solomon says Take heed to thy feet he does in effect say Do not come rudely into the House of God nor behave thy self carelesly when thou art there but address thy self to God with that Reverence and godly Fear which becomes so glorious and dreadful a Majesty Before I proceed that my Design may be clearly understood I shall premise Two things 1. That which I intend to speak to at present is not that Reverence which is due to the House by which it ought to be distinguished from all other Houses upon the account of its peculiar Relation to God but that which we are to give to God when we present our selves there to worship him in like manner as all those particular Duties afterward mentioned relating to the several Parts of Worship there to be performed are such as immediately respect God himself 2. Though bodily Reverence is the only thing expressed in the Text yet the Reverence of the Soul of which that of the Body is but a Sign is suppos'd and impli'd since all outward Expressions of Devotion how solemn and pompous soever which do not arise from within are no better than Hypocrisie and by consequence are abhorr'd by God who sees in secret So that the Reverence here requir'd is both that of the inward and that of the outward Man That of the inward Man consists in such Thoughts and Affections as are in some sort becoming the God we worship in awful Apprehensions of his glorious Majesty of his unspotted Purity of his unsearchable Wisdom of his Almighty Power of his Presence with us and observant Eye over us and in such an humble sense of our own Unworthiness to be admitted into his Presence as becomes us not only as we are his Creatures but much more as we are Sinners That of the outward Man consists in such a Deportment of the Body as is a fit Expression of the inward Reverence of the Soul As in standing bowing kneeling lifting up the Eyes and Hands toward Heaven in diligent Attendance to his Word read and preach'd and in other such visible signs as openly declare That we esteem him worthy to receive all Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power Both these are our bounden Duty especially the former though the latter is that which my Text hath more immediate respect to The Decency says St. Chrysostome required of us in publick Chrys de verb. Esaiae vid. Dom. Hom. 1. Worship is first to approach unto God with a broken and contrite Heart then to shew the inward Disposition of the Heart by the outward Deportment of the Body as by standing by the decent composure of the Hands by a meek and contracted Voice Now that in our Approaches to God we may thus reverence him both in Body and in Spirit I proceed II. To enforce the Duty by such Arguments as will make it plainly appear That all the Reverence we can possibly give to him is no more than what upon all accounts we stand indispensably obliged to To which purpose let us consider 1. The transcendent Excellencies of his Nature That all Perfections of Being not only meet in him but are all in him without measure That he is immensely great in Wisdom Power Goodness Justice Truth and that in proportion to the Excellencies of his Nature is the Glory he inhabits He dwelling in that Light to which no Man can approach Such is the God we worship in Glory inaccessable in Wisdom unsearchable in Power uncontrollable in Truth immovable in all other Perfections infinitely exalted above all Blessing and Praise And what are we What but Earth and Ashes Smoak and Vapour as St. Chrysostome expresses Chrys in Act. c. 14. Hom. 30. it What is our Strength What is our Wisdom What is our Power How weak How silly How scanty So near to nothing are we that we seem to be rather than are Psal 39. 5 6. for Man walketh in a vain shew as the Psalmist