Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A42550
|
Londons remembrancer, or, A sermon preached at the Church of St. Mary Le Bow on September the 3d, 1688 (the second day being the Lord's Day) which was appointed by act of Parliament for the citizens of London and their successors to retain the memorial of the sad desolation of the city by fire in the year of our Lord 1666 / by William Gearing ...
|
Gearing, William.
|
1688
(1688)
|
Wing G435E; ESTC R40472
|
20,624
|
36
|
8. The Mirth of Tabrets ceaseth the noise of them that rejoyce endeth the joy of the Harp ceaseth They shall not drink Wine with a Song strong Drink shall be bitter to them that drink it That is all their Joy and Mirth shall come to an end But these shall lift up their Voice and sing for the Majesty of the Lord they shall cry aloud from the Sea. Now upon this difference of God's Dispensation the Prophet groundeth an exhortation in the words of my Text Wherefore glorifie ye the Lord in the Fires even the Name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles of the Sea. Here was the Description of the Judgment which like Fire had consumed all Here were some that were spared and they lifted up their Voice and cryed unto others Wherefore glorifie ye God in the Fires c. So that the Words are an Exhortation to an Holy and Gracious improvement of the Judgment of God that was upon them Wherefore glorifie ye God c. Here it will be needful to open two things 1. What is meant by glorifying of God. 2. What is here meant by these Fires in my Text. To glorifie God understand it first Negatively What it is not It is not to be understood as if it were to make God glorious for God was glorious from Everlasting When we glorifie Him we do not begin to make Him glorious They that were obscure among Men by Honour and Glory put upon them may begin to be glorified but God's Glory was with Him from Everlasting He is Infinitely Glorious in Himself and so no Addition can be made to Him that is Infinite in Glory Our glorifying of Him is not the adding any thing to the Glory which God had it is not the heaping up any farther Glory upon Him than what He had before for His Glory is Infinite and that is Infinite to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken The greatest Glory on Earth is that of a Mighty Monarch when he appeareth in State his Robes Glorious his Attendants Glorious when every thing about him is ordered to be as glorious as may be the Scripture speaks of Solomon in all his Glory Matth. 6. I grant there is no proportion here for what proportion is there between that which is Finite and that which is Infinite But because we know no higher it is the best resemblance we have whereby we take some scantling of the Infinite Glory of our Heavenly King. Therefore the Scriptures speak of it to us according to our Capacity Psalm 93.1 The Lord is King and hath put on glorious Apparel the Lord reigneth he is clothed with Majesty O Lord my God Thou art become exceeding glorious Thou art clothed with Majesty and Honour Psal 104. But as I said before it holdeth no proportion So that we may not unfitly take up our Apostles Words elsewhere though spoken to another purpose 2 Cor. 3.10 Even that which is most glorious here hath no Glory in this respect by reason of the Glory that excelleth And the force of the Argument he useth at the next Verse there holdeth full out as strongly here For saith he If that which is done away be glorious much more that which remaineth is glorious The Glory of the Mightiest Prince in the World when it is at the fullest is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a matter rather of shew and Opinion than of Substance and hath in it more of Fancy than Reality 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is St. Luke's Expression Acts 25.23 yet as empty a thing as it is if it were of any permanency it were more worthy to be regarded but that which makes it the more vain is that it is a thing so transitory it shall and must be done away But the Glory of the Great King of Heaven abideth and shall not cannot be done away for ever Psalm 104.31 The glorious Majesty of the Lord endureth for ever If then that be glorious then this much more And as no other thing belongeth so properly to God as Glory so neither doth Glory belong so properly to any other Person as to God. The Holy Martyr St. Stephen therefore calleth him Acts 7.2 The God of Glory And the Holy Apostles when they speak of giving him Glory do it sometimes with the Exclusive Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the onely Wise God or as the Words will equally bear it saith Bishop Sanderson Onely to the Wise God be Glory to Him and onely to Him yea and the Holy Angels In that Anthem they sang upon our Saviour's Birth when they shared Heaven and Earth their several Portions alotted us our Part in peace and the good Will of God but with Reservation of the whole Glory to Him Luk. 2.14 Glory be to God on high and in Earth Peace and towards Men good Will. Tibi Domine tibi maneat Gloria illibata mecum bene agitur si pacem habuero Bern. in Cantic Serm. 13. It is well for us if we may enjoy our own Peace and His good Will for it is but little that we have deserved either of both but let us beware how we meddle with His Glory for He is most jealous of that Divine Infinite Incomprehensible Glory that belongeth to Him as Supream King of Kings as His peculiar Prerogative and the choicest Flower in His Crown in that He will bear no sharer for He hath expresly told us My Glory will I not give to another Isa 42.8 One would think that by the form of the Verb in the Exhortation that God looketh for some Glory from us for what else is it to glorifie but to make one glorious by conferring some Glory upon him which he had not or not in that degree before And how can that be done to God whose Glory is Perfect Essential and Infinite And unto what is Perfect much less to what is Infinite nothing can be added What one that had Virgil in great Veneration said of him Tanta Maronis Gloria ut nullius laudibus creseat nullius vituperatione minuatur was but a flaunting Hyperbole far beyond the Merit of the Party he meant it to But the like Speech would be most exquisitely true of God a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rather than an Hyperbole as a Learned Man noteth for God's Glory is truly such as all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth should they joyn their whole Forces to do it could not make it either more or less than it is We must therefore be constrained to forsake the proper signification of the Word Glorifie which is to add some Glory to another either in kind or in degree which before he had not and understand it in such a Sence as that the thing meant thereby may be feisible So then when we are exhorted to glorifie God affirmatively it is to manifest the Glory that God hath or to declare and shew how glorious God is Now when we glorifie God we do but shew forth his Glory The
answerableness as these Rules call for Mark what the Prophet saith in a like case Psalm 66. O God saith the Prophet Thou hast proved us and tryed us as Silver is tryed verse 10 and verse 12. We went through Fire and Water that is Thou hast brought us through all manner of Evils For all kinds of Afflictions in Scripture are understood by Fire and Water And we presently find upon this a glorifying of God. I will go into thine House with Burnt-Offerings I will pay thee my Vows which my Lips have uttered and my Mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble And verse 16. Come and hear all ye that fear God and I will declare what he hath done for my Soul. Now to press you to this Duty let me lay some Considerations before you 1. Unless ye glorifie God in the Fires ye do not answer God's end in kindling these Fires among you Do you think that God kindled these Fires among you for nothing If a Sparrow falls not to the ground without God's Providence do ye think that God would kindle so many Fires in this City and throw down so many Thousand Houses as He did in the great Conflagration for nothing Mark what God saith Mal. 1.10 Who is there even among you that would shut the Doors for nought Neither do ye kindle Fire upon mine Altar for nought The Words may be understood two ways in reference to their Ceremonial Worship Ye do not kindle a Fire upon mine Altar for nought That is every Man had some end that did it which he propounded to himself in the doing of it He brought a Sacrifice to offer Secondly He did it not for nought that is without any profit He should have that which should answer his Charge answer the kindling of that Fire Now as Men shall not kindle a Fire for nought so God will not kindle a Fire in your Houses for nought Ye defeat God of His End when ye glorifie not God in the Fires 2. If ye glorifie God in the Fires these very Fires shall be your Glory Then these Fires are Blessings when we can bless and glorifie God for them It changeth the Nature of these Fires it turneth Evil into Good when we can glorifie God in these Fires When the Cross sits heavy upon our backs and the Fire of Affliction is ready to consume us yet if we can glorifie God and bless Him from the Heart for them it will be as a Crown of Glory upon our Heads 3. To glorifie God in the Fire of Affliction is in some degree a higher Dignity than God puts upon the Angels in Heaven The Angels only glorifie God in a way of Service it is only the Saints on Earth that glorifie Him in a way of suffering 4. If ye do not glorifie God in the Fires that He hath kindled among you you do but put God upon kindling new Fires among you If one be not big enough He can make more and bigger and if one will not do it another shall He will fetch up His Glory one way or other and ye do but make more combustible matter for the Judgment of God if ye do not yield Him His ends in kindling so many Fires among you Josephus tells us That Titus the Son of Vespasian the Roman Emperour was very unwilling to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem that he laboured to quench the Flame after it was set on fire Joseph de bello Judaico and suffered some prejudice in his Wars about it it was done divino quodam impetu by a certain Divine Stroke as the same Author observeth But Joseph being a Jew was ignorant of the main cause of the Destruction of the City and Templeof Jerusalem scil their Rejecting and Murthering the Son of God. 5. Suppose God kindle no more Fires and bring no more such a Judgment upon you yet be ye assured of this that they who glorifie not God in the Fires shall find God Himself to be a Fire unto them Heb. 12.29 Our God saith the Apostle is a consuming Fire Not that He will consume His People He will consume their Dross only But to His Enemies He will be a consuming Fire He will consume them for ever Ye that are Wicked and Ungodly though ye walk all your days in the warm Sun yet God will be a consuming Fire to you at last Who would set Briars and Thorns against me in Battel saith the Lord I would go thorough them I would burn them together Psalm 27.4 Mark what the Prophet saith Isa 33.14 The Sinners in Sion are afraid fearfulness hath surprized the Hypocrites Who among us shall dwell with the devouring Fire Who among us shall dwell with Everlasting Burnings God is before His own People as a Fire but they can come near to it and not be burnt But the Hypocrite trembleth at it saying Who shall dwell with devouring Fire It is a sad thing to have Burnings in your Dwellings that last but a few Hours how woful is it then to dwell with Everlasting Burnings Now God will be a Devouring Fire and Everlasting Burnings to all them that are drossy and continue in Sin. Therefore I beseech you study to put this Exhortation in my Text in Practice viz. To glorifie God in the Fires The Apostle saith In every thing give thanks Let God do what He will with His People they have cause in every thing to glorifie Him. Tho. de Kempis de imitat Christi l. 1 3. c. 5. Therefore Thomas de Kempis speaks excellently in his Book of the Imitation of Christ I give Thee hearty thanks O Lord my God that Thou hast not spared my faults but hast visited me with thy Stripes for them Thy Correction shall Instruct me and Thy Rod shall Tutor me unto Salvation Gregory speaks sweetly to this purpose Who can be unthankful even for Blows when as He went not out of the World without Stripes who came into and lived in it without Faults Therefore He is of a right Judgment who not only glorifieth God in Prosperity but also who blesseth His Name for Calamities If thou shalt by Thanksgiving in Adversity gain the Peace of God with the Things which thou hast lost shall be restored with Multiplication and moreover Eternal Joys for the short time of thy Sorrow shall be surely added Thanks must be given to a Father for his Scourges and severest Discipline for the Blows of a Father are better than the Kisses of an Enemy This is the very Will of God to give Thanks always In every thing to give Thanks argues a Soul rightly Instructed Hast thou suffered any Loss any Evil if thou wilt it is no Evil give Thanks to God and glorifie Him and then thou hast turned the Evil into Good. Say thou also as Job when he had lost all The Lord hath given the Lord hath taken blessed be the Name of the Lord. Job then did more deeply wound the Devil when being stript out of all he gave Thanks to God than if he had distributed all to the Poor and Needy For it is much more to be stript of all and to bear it patiently and thankfully than for a Rich Man to give Alms as it here hapned to Righteous Job Hath the Fire taken hold upon your Houses and turned any of you out of your Dwellings and consumed your whole Substance Remember the Sufferings and Losses of Job Give Thanks to God who could though He did not have hindred that Mischance and thou shalt be sure to receive as equal a Reward as if thou hadst put all into the Bosom of the Indigent Therefore let us not rest in this that we bear Afflictions and suffer Losses but labour to bring our Hearts to glorifie God in the Fires of Affliction FINIS Books lately Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside A Discourse of Old Age tending to the Instruction Caution and Comfort of Aged Persons By Rich. Steel Minister of the Gospel Conversion of the Soul with a warning to Sinners to prepare for Judgment By Nath. Vincent A True Touchstone which shews both Nature and Grace with sundry Meditations relating to the Lord's Supper By Nath. Vincent Minister of the Gospel A Treatise of Free Grace by David Clarkson Minister of the Gospel Baptismal Bonds Renewed some Meditations on Psalm 50.5 By Oliver Heywood Minister of the Gospel A Discourse on the Sacrament the 2 d Edition with Additions By Rich. Kidder Minister of the Gospel An Alarum to the Unconverted to which is added several Cases of Conscience judiciously answered By Joseph Allen Minister of the Gospel Grand Charter granted by Jesus Christ A Discourse upon Matth. 28.18 19 20. By George Lawson late Rector of More in Shropshire The difference between the Spots of the Godly and of the Wicked By Jer. Burroughs Illustrious Providences Recorded especially in New England By Increase Mather Minister of the Gospel in New England A serious Exhortation to Self-Examination in 5 Sermons 2 Cor. 13.5 By Tho. Wadsworth late Minister of Newington-Butts Southwark