Selected quad for the lemma: land_n
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A11077
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The onely remedy that can cure a people, when all other remedies faile. By F. Rous.
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Rous, Francis, 1579-1659.
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1627
(1627)
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STC 21346; ESTC S106124
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62,668
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256
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the glory in the destruction of their enemies So as God was glorified in raising vp their Lownesse so is hee also glorified while by their Lownesse hee takes downe the Height and Pride of the enemie For the weakness of those who ouercome giues away the glory of ouercomming from themselues vnto God who by weaknesse ouercometh power This God plainely sheweth to bee a way by which hee workes out his glory in that storie of Gideon For as long as Gideons armie had in it the strength of a multitude the multitude was a hinderance to this glorie For so the victorie might haue been taken from God and giuen to men because they were many Therfore he findes fault with his armie as being vnfit for his glorie while there was any such number in it as might possibly take away the glorie of the victorie from God to it selfe Therfore he saith The people that are with thee are too many for me to giue the Midianites into their hands Iudg. 7. lest Israel vaunt themselues against me saying Mine own hand hath saued me Wherefore God pares his armie and makes it fit for his glory by many diminutions neuer leauing vntill hee brought it to so few hundreds that there was left no ground of glorying in it self but that hee who glorieth must needes glorie in the Lord. The Israelites were kept downe by the Egyptians in most cruell slauery and bondage for they made the Israelites to serue with rigour Exod. 7. 13. 2. 23. so that they sighed and cried by reason of their bondage And when they did but speake for libertie their burdens were encreased and that so heauily that they were in meere despaire and deadnesse of heart so that when Moses told them of freedome they hearkned not vnto Moses for Exod. 6. 9. anguish of Spirit and for cruell bondage But for this hopelesse and distressed Nation which had no helpe nor hope in it selfe did God glorifie his power vpon the pride of Pharaoh and the strength of Egypt So that for the victorie which God alone gaineth vpon the Egyptians for Israel but without out Israel Iethro duely glorifies him Exod. 18. 11. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods for in the thing wherein they delt proudly he was aboue them God that taketh down the proude when there is no helpe in man to bring them downe getteth to himselfe the glorie of their abasing It were infinite and endlesse to produce the patternes and presidents of this kinde of working by which God workes out his glory When Kingdomes and Empires are at the greatest then GOD takes them downe commonly by low and contemptible meanes And so euen at the height of the Romane Empire that Empire was taken down by the Northren people whom they in contempt did account and call Barbarians And if it please him so can he take down the present pride of the Romane Empire which I especially place in that man of sinne who is the veriest Emperour of Rome surmounting the other in his owne opinion and in the opinion of his Disciples as much as the Sun excelleth the Moone in glorie And therefore most blasphemously this title is ascribed to him The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords But let vs remember that God himselfe saith All the Tyees of the Forrest shal know Ezek. 17. 24. that I the Lord haue brought downe the high Tree haue exalted the low Tree haue dryed vp the greene Tree and haue made the dry Tree to flourish I the Lord haue spoken and haue done it Wherfore let Israel trust and hope in the Lord euen hope against hope that though they bee humbled euen to the earth and Pharaoh mount vp with his pride to heauen and against heauen saying who is the Lord yet the Lord will bring Israel out of Egypt and will triumph ouer Egypt and Pharaoh with a mightie power and out-stretched arme So shall Israel say Thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power thy right hand O Lord Exod. 15. 6. â— hath dashed in pieces the Enemy And in the greatnesse of thine excellency thou hast ouerthrowne them that rose vp against thee Yea much people in Heauen shall say Alleluia Saluation and Glory and Honour and Power Reu. 19. 1. 2. vnto the Lord our God for true and righteous are his iudgements for he hath iudged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath auenged the blood of his seruants at her hand And surely great glory must needs arise vnto God both from heauen earth when God by his Church being low and little iudgeth the great Whore Little and weake things when they produce great effects it plainely appeares that they haue borrowed power from elsewhere and from whom can the creature borrow power but of the Creator the fountain of power whose weakness that is whose least power being added to the creature 1. Cor. 1. 25 is stronger than men euen than all the strength of men God and three hundred are able to ouercome an Host Iudg. 6. 7. that are like Grashoppers for multitude yea God and Israel onely by walking about a towne and fighting with no other weapons but Trumpets of Rams hornes can make the strength of Iericho to fall before them God and a woman euen Deborah can iudge Israel and deliuer them from a King that hath nine hundred chariots of Iron But when by weakenesse God ouercommeth strength it cannot bee the strength of weakenesse that ouercommeth but the strength of God Therefore all glorying here also is excluded from man and referred vnto God And accordingly Deborah rightly giues God the glory saying Iudg. 5. 13. The Lord made mee haue dominion ouer the Mighty Secondly God suffers his Church to bee low and weake before hee exalt it in regard of Man And first we may take notice that in the lownesse of the Church God hath an eye and leuells as it were at the very enemies of the Church which are indeed his owne enemies For by the lownesse weaknesse of the Church Iudg. 4. 7. hee drawes out these enemies vnto a full and finall ouerthrow Hee encourageth and hardneth them to a full aduenture in a warre against God that God may fully bee auenged of them and fully triumph ouer them The Lord knoweth that the distressed estate of the Church doth engage their enemies in great and full prosecutions of them that so comming forth with their whole forces to ouerthrow the Church their whole forces may bee ouerthrowne The Lord himselfe sheweth vs this his dispensation For hee professeth that therefore hee brought Israel into straites betweene the Mountaines and the Red Sea because Pharaoh will say Exod. 14. they are intangled in the Land the wildernesse hath shut them in And I will harden Pharaohs heart saith the Lord that hee shall follow after them and I will bee honoured vpon Pharaoh and vpon all his host When the
men of Israel haue once beene smitten by the men of Ai and doe the second time flee before them Iosh. 8. 5. 6. 7. They will come out after vs saith Ioshua till wee haue drawne or pulled them from the City Then shall yee rise vp from the Ambush and seize vpon the Citie for the Lord your God hath deliuered it into your hand By this baite of infirmity doth God draw his enemies to open their mouthes to swallow the Church but then the hooke of Omnipotence that lyeth hid vnder it taketh and killeth them And euen now in the distresse of Gods Army wee see that done which Iohn saw before would bee done I saw the Beast Reu. 19. 19. 20. and the Kings of the earth and their Armies gathered together to make war against him that sate on the horse against his army And why should we not hope to see that euent which Iohn also saw following this gathering together And the Beast was taken and with him the false Prophet A second regard hath God to men in this lownesse of the Church and that is a regard to the Church it selfe For when God doth prepare a glorious victorie for his Church his Church must bee duely prepared for the receiuing of this victorie And this lownesse doth diuersly prepare her First it calls her to the life of faith to liue by faith and not by sight For when visible things faile her then is shee forced to run by faith to things inuisible when that failes her which she sees then she cleares vp the eye of faith that she may haue some euidence of things not seene Heb. 11. So S t. Paul saith of the widow 1. Tim. 5 5. that being desolate shee trusteth in God And as soon as Iehosaphat hath said Wee haue no might against this great company that commeth against vs neither know wee what to doe it presently followes 2. Chro. 20. 12. But our eyes are on thee 2. Cor. 1. And S t. Paul hauing receiued the sentence of death trusteth in God that raiseth the dead Thus when the outward eye seeth no helpe in the creature the inward eye of faith is awaked to look only on the Creator And indeed nothing but faith is fit to receiue a miraculous Mercie When God makes bare his Arme in some great and wonderfull deliuerance hee will haue his people by faith to looke vp to this arme and wholly to depend on it Therfore Christ Iesus when he is ready to bestow a miraculous healing he vsually calleth for faith to receiue it And euen now by the distresse of the Church doth God call the Church to this faith And no question if by this faith we be duly prepared for the great worke of Gods mercy in the deliuerance of the Church wee shall heare that gratious answer which the faithfull vsed to receiue Goe in peace thy Faith hath saued thee Lastly by the weakenesse of the Church God calls the Church to Repentance and so prepareth her for victorie Hee calls her by the fire of affliction from drosfe to puritie from wantonness to the grace of God from the forme of godlinesse to the power thereof There growes much drosse of Carnalitie about a Church in the time of ease and men turne the grace of God into wantonnesse There is wanton liuing wanton preaching and wanton hearing Men play with Religion and are not in earnest when they are about religious things Yea when they haue formally falsly done religious things they fall heartily to things of the world the false profession of true Religion being not much vnlike the profession of a false worship the consequence wherof is this Exod. 32. 6. The people sate downe to eate and drinke and rose vp to play But is such a Church fit for a glorious and miraculous deliuerance Can wee expect that God should make bare his arme to saue a Luxurious a Gluttonous a Drunken Congregation No it must bee purged from these and made white before God wil deliuer it and crowne it with victorie Therefore by this Esa. 27. 9. affliction shall the Iiniquitie of Iacob be purged and this is all the fruite to take away their sinne The Church is scoured and purged by affliction and being purged then may shee heare vers â— Hath hee smitten him as hee smote those that smote him or is hee slaine according to the slaughter of them that are slaine by him For the Iudgement that begins with the house of God but as a fiery triall 1. Pet. 4. 12. 17. shall end with the sinners and vnrighteous like a consuming fire When the first appeareth more pure glorious the second shall not appeare at all Wherefore if wee by our Corrections the Church of France by her late Chastisements and Germany by her present Scourgings would turn to him that smites them by turning from their sins to his righteousnesse surely Psal. 112. to the righteous light should arise in the midst of darknes Esa 32. 17 For the work of Righteousnes shall be peace and the effect of Righteousnes quietness assurance for euer Esa. 33. 1. And then withall followes a Woe to thee that spoylest and thou wast not spoyled when thou shalt cease to spoile thou shalt be spoiled Let God then haue of his Church the end of his chastisements euen true spirituall and sincere holinesse and then the chastisements of his Church will end But then will he begin with the enemies of his Church hee will awake as a Gyant refreshed with wine Psal. 2. 5. Hee shall speake to them in his wrath and vexe them in his sore displeasure Esa. 41. 12. Thou shalt seek them and thou shalt not finde them euen them that contended with thee They that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of naught And thus while the Church by her lownesse is brought to puritie puritie brings her to victorie FINIS