Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A41476
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A sermon preached before the Honble Society of Lincolns-Inne, upon the 26th of July, 1685 being the thanksgiving-day for His Majesty's victory over the rebels / by John Goodrick ...
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Goodrick, John.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing G1144; ESTC R7981
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11,287
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39
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Zeal were so far to be despised as to think that we were able in a moment to blast and overthrow them for the Case in appearance was quite otherwise and to God only must we ascribe the Honour of the Day and give him the just tribute of it If the Lord himself had not been on our side may Israel now say if the Lord himself had not been on our side when Men rose up against us they had swallowed us up quick when they were so wrathfully displeased at us But Salvation belongeth unto thee O Lord the Help that is done upon Earth he doth it himself God hath shewed us his Goodness plenteously God hath let ussee our desire upon our Enemies Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name be the Praise for thy Mercy and for thy Truth 's sake 2. Which is the second Inference and the Duty peculiar to the Day Let us return our just tribute of Praise and Thanksgiving to our great Sovereign the King of Heaven and Earth for this so signal a Mercy well knowing that such publick Blessings as his Majesty most devoutly words it in his Proclamation are Invitations from Heaven to us to render chearful Expressions of Thankfulness to the Divine Goodness It hath pleased God in his Mercy and Justice too to use various Methods to save us from our Sins and the hands of our Enemies He hath tried us by a series of Mercies and a train of Judgments and this on purpose to make us such a People as he may delight in us to do us good and to save us even against our wills and obstinacy But this last Deliverance is of such a nature as could we see to the bottom of this Rebellious Design as I doubt not but those who sit at the Helm are sufficiently acquainted with it it would at one and the same time strike us with horrour and amazement for the danger we were in and fill our hearts and mouths with joy and gladness for the strangeness of the Deliverance The truth is God hath wonderfully appeared in the Preservation of this King and Nation He hath delivered Him out of six Troubles and out of seven So that those words of the Apostle in his own case may without a tort be in some measure applied unto Him That tho he was in Perils of Waters in Perils by his own Countrymen in Perils in the Sea and in Perils by false Brethren yet the Almighty God still was his God and Refuge And notwithstanding the Counsels of some to debar him of his Right the Consequence of which the greatest part then assembled I charitably suppose did not think of yet God frustrated them and setled him peaceably in his Throne This I mention God knows my heart not to exasperate or satyrically to grate upon any but to excite our Praise and Thankfulness to the God of Peace who out of that Evil hath wrought so great a Good Let us with all Sobriety and Reverence render unto God the Author of our Deliverance and Peace all Praise and Thanksgiving saying in the words of the Psalmist with which I will conclude The Lord liveth and blessed be my Rock and let the God of my Salvation be exalted It is God that avengeth me and subdueth the People under me He delivereth me from mine Enemies yea thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me Thou hast delivered me from the violent Man Therefore will I give Thanks unto thee O Lord among the Heathen and sing Praises unto thy Name for great Deliverance giveth He unto his King and sheweth Mercy to his Anointed to David and to his Seed for evermore Now to God the Father the Son and Holy Ghost be ascribed all Honour Glory and Praise now and for evermore Amen FINIS * Vid. Earl of Clarendon's survey of Hobbs's Leviathan p. 8. where he tells my Lord that the reason of his writing that Book was to express it in his own words the truth is I have a mind to return into England
is that David upon all occasions speaks confidently of his Salvation from all his Enemies because of God's Promises The Lord is my Light and Salvation whom shall I fear the Lord is the Strength of my Life of whom shall I be afraid Though an Host should encamp against me mine heart shall not fear though War should rise against me in this will I be confident Psal 27. 1 3. So that it is very reasonable to trust God in these cases because he has promised to save those that do place their confidence in him It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in Man for the Lord is my Strength and Song and is become my Salvation So the Psalmist Psal 118. 8 14. But this will more fully appear if we consider 2dly the matter of fact that God hath in an extraordinary manner shewn himself for the deliverance of such as have depended upon him for Salvation There are many Examples to be brought in proof of this matter But I shall confine my self to two especially recorded in Sacred Writ The first is that of Joshua mentioned in the tenth Chapter of that Book where five Kings combine together against the Kingdom of Israel Their Strength great their Numbers far exceeding those of Joshua their Interest such as could not but animate and provoke to a bold and obstinate resistance Yet for all this Joshua encouraged by God ver 8. saying Fear them not for I have delivered them into thine hand there shall not a Man of them stand before thee This mighty Army was soon discomfited their Force broken and a total Overthrow given to the whole Army God himself appearing signally in their defence by Miracles and Signs from Heaven For as the Text tells us The Lord cast down great Stones from Heaven upon them unto Azekah and they died they were more which died with Hail-stones than they whom the Children of Israel slew with the Sword v. 11. And further that it might appear that God fought for them contrary to the course of those Celestial Beings the Sun and Moon stood still until the People had avenged themselves upon their Enemies v. 13. So true is that of the Prophet spoken of the temporal deliverance of Judah Isa 54. 17. No Weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper This is the Heritage of the Servants of the Lord. The other Instance is that of Hezekiah against whom Senacherib unjustly wageth War and sends Rabshakeh with a mighty Army against Jerusalem The King being in a great Strait applies himself to God by the Prophet Isaiah and by earnest Prayer obtains Assurance and Victory over that mighty Host for in one night the Angel of the Lord went out and smote in the Camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand and when they arose in the morning behold they were all dead Corpses 2 King 19. 35. This may be sufficient to prove the point in hand that it is highly reasonable to depend upon God as to the event of these things because he hath promised he will deliver those that trust in him and in fact has delivered his People signally out of the hands of their Enemies From whence likewise doth arise in the fourth place great Comfort and Encouragement to Good Men always to trust God in all conditions The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our Refuge If we consider Man single by himself or in conjunction with others such is the condition of humane Nature that without the intervening Providence of God it were better for him not be at all than to be so miserable as the frailties of corrupt Nature would expose him to For in such a state Men would be Wolves and Tygers to one another and instead of being fellow-creatures made for mutual help and society they would soon devour each other and the weak become a prey to the stronger party Insomuch as Hobbs his Status Naturae would justify all Wars Rebellions and unjust Invasions upon the Rights of others But for our comfort these are only the wild Fancies of one that would serve a turn and was timely calculated to support an Olivarian Usurpation The Lord of Hosts is our Refuge and happy it is for us that we are under the conduct guidance of his all-wise Providence For if he be on our side it matters not who is against us It is He that gives Peace who then can trouble us The Lord is on my side I will not fear what Man can do unto me Tho the Winds blow the Sea rages and all the Earth be moved with the Tempest thereof yet if we depend and trust in God we may rest assured and comfort our selves in this that none of these evils shall ever take hold of us that nothing shall harm us if we be followers of that which is good All which administers great Comfort under all Pressures and personal Afflictions under all Straits Commotions and Distractions when enraged Faction and rebellious Fury threaten all with Ruine and Desolation to devour This I say is our Comfort that God is on our side and has promised to deliver those who with a full Affiance trust in him That it shall be well with those that fear him and that all things shall work together for good to such as love him The Lord will be a Refuge for the Oppressed a Refuge in times of Trouble And they that know his Name will put their trust in him for thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee And not only a covering from the Storm but a Shield and Defender from the face of the Enemy O Israel trust in the Lord he is their Help and their Shield And thus I have done with what I proposed to speak to from these words I shall only in the 5th and last place draw an Inference or two pertinent to the Occasion and conclude 1. Seeing the Power and Providence of God orders all Events of Peace and War Let us acknowledg in all our Deliverances this as the Supream Cause of our Safety For whatever are the Instruments 't is God alone that gives the Success and Victory He is the Lord of Hosts this is his Name as he tells his People Israel because he peculiarly presides over the Armies of the Earth and orders the Events thereof Therefore in this and all other Deliverances let us own him as the Author and ascribe the Honour to his Power There is no King saith the Psalmist can be saved by the multitude of an Host neither is any mighty Man delivered by much Strength This was too sadly experienced in the first Rebellion where that good King and Martyr King Charles the first outweighed the Numbers Power and the then stated Policy of the head-strong Faction And on the other hand in this late accursed Design according to the best information from Prints neither their Numbers nor their Confederacy nor their Cunning nor their Courage enflamed by an Enthusiastick