Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	day_n	great_a	people_n	16,100	5	4.4671	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90512	Gospell courage, or Christian resolution for God, and his truth. In a sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons, at Margarets in Westminster, at a publique fast, the 31. of May, 1643. / By Andrew Perne Master of Arts, sometimes fellow of Katherine Hall in Cambridge: now minister of Wilby in Northampton-Shire.	Perne, Andrew, 1594-1654.	1643 (1643)	Wing P1577; Thomason E55_12; ESTC R16176	18,919	39

Die Mercurij ultimo Maii 1643. IT is this day Ordered by the Commons assembled in Parliament That Sir Christopher Yelverton doe from this House give thanks unto Mr. Andrew Perne for the great paines hee tooke in the Sermon he this day preached at the intreaty of the House of Commons at St. Margarets in the Citie of VVestminster being a day of publique Humiliation and that he desire him to Print his Sermon And it is Ordered that no man presume to Print his Sermon but whom the said Mr. Perne shall authorize under his hand writing H. Elsyng Cler. Parl. D. Com. I authorise Stephen Powtell to Print my Sermon above named and no man else ANDREW PERNE GOSPELL COURAGE Or Christian Resolution for GOD and his Truth In a SERMON Preached before the Honourable House of COMMONS at Margarets in Westminster at a Publique FAST the 31. of May 1643. By ANDREW PERNE Master of Arts sometimes fellow of Katherine Hall in CAMBRIDGE Now Minister of Wilby in Northampton-Shire JER 6.16 Thus saith the Lord stand yee in the wayes and see and aske for the old pathes where is the good way and walke therein and yee shall find rest for your soules Josh 24.15 As for me and my House we will serve the Lord. Dan. 3.18 Be it knowne unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship thy Golden Image which thou hast set up LONDON Printed by G. Dexter for Stephen Bowtell at the Signe of the Bible in Popes-head-Alley 1643. TO THE HONOURABLE THE KNIGHTS CITIZENS and Burgesses of the COMMONS House of PARLIAMENT Noble Gentlemen THis Sermon lately preached before your Honourable Assembly I now present to your review if in the midst of so many important businesses of State which lie upon you and in such variety of farre more learned Discourses which daily offer themselves you can find any leasure to look on this You are my witnesses and the world may see here is nothing but the words of truth and sobernesse though many charge us unheard with Schisme Heresie Faction Sedition and what not I must seriously confesse I am conscious to my selfe of many wants and infirmities and have alwayes avoyded to be publike as judging them things too high for me contenting my selfe to approve my doctrine to God and the consciences of my deare people committed to me and if I might have pleased my selfe I should rather have bin found still in mine own private Cure and have devolved this taske to any other But I durst not refuse an Authority so high and sacred to which all honest and Religious hearts cannot but stoop in regard of that stamp which the great God hath actually set upon it even for the generations of after ages your command will be a sufficient Apollogie for me though not for the worke yet if the great God may have any glory or the poorest in the Church for for them only I conceive it fit any edification by my weake endeavours I shall never repent either the preaching or Printing of this Sermon however unwillingly I undertook both being over ruled therto by your request which is to me instead of a command Gentlemen I have but one suit to you and t is the summe of the ensuing Sermon be Resolute still for God and for his true Religion and you know who said it God is with you while you are with him Your Servant for Christ ANDREW PERNE A SERMON Preached before the Honourable House of COMMONS at their publike Fast May 31. 1643. MICHAH 4.5 For all people will walke every one in the name of his God and we will walke in the name of our God for ever and ever THE Prophet having shut up the former Chapter with the great Judgement that all the Prophets did threaten Jerusalem with to wit the Babylonish Captivity begins this Chapter with a prophesie of that great Mercy that all of them comforts her with to wit the coming and Kingdome of Christ But in the last dayes it shall come to passe sayes he ver 1. that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the toppe of the mountaines c. As if he should have said Though God will plough Zion rend and teare his people with affections make this famous Citie heapes of rui●● and this Mount which is so daintily kept shall b● overgrown with nettles dirt and dust like the w●●● hills of the desert yet the time will come when Christ is exhibited and the Gospell is preached that the Church of God shall not be obscurely confin'd and shut up in a darke corner of the world but shall be so eminently conspicuous and famously known that the Gentiles shall flow unto it for out of Zion indeed shall the word of the Gospell proceed but it shall spread it selfe over all Nations and it shall so calme and quiet their spirits that they shall lay down all hostile dispositions and as if they were composed of peace they shall turne their warlike infiruments into tooles of husbandry their Swords 〈◊〉 plough shares and their speares into pruning books every one shall be contented with and safely sit under his own vine and fig●r●e And then comes in these words which are either as an exhortation to the people of God that then were as ●●lvin hath it to stirre them up Ad invictam animi mag●nudinem ●●●sultent cunctis gentibus to an inconquerable mag●●●mity and to an holy insultation over all Nations in regard of their God or as a prophecie of the Gospel courage and Christian valour and resolution which shall be in those that live in the Gospel times and so of this And why not of you for the words are a solemne and serious protestation like whereunto you have lately taken and commanded all the Kingdome that with their li●es power and estares they should maintain the true Protestant Religion which is to walke in the name of our God against all Popery and Popish Innovations In the words you may observe first a generall consent of all Nations that there is and to have A God this is insinuated in the Text. 2. The diversity of judgement among the Nations concerning this God for though they all agree that there is A God and every one will have One but herein they differ who this true God is 3. The peremptorinesse of every Nation for Their God and for Their Religion All people will walke every one in the name of their God and we will walke c. 4. A blessed use which the Church maketh of this for her selfe and her God others will be stiffe and peremptory for their Gods and so will she for hers 5. The Eminencie transcendency and Excellencie of her God above theirs Theirs are Gods but hers is the Lord our God Ichovah a God that hath a Being of himselfe Theirs have none 6. Observe the time how long Not for a fit or a good mood while that lasts will the Church be thus peremptory for her God

is Faith helping of it to believe what it cannot apprehend He that commeth unto God must believe hee 'll never reach him else The understanding and knowledge cannot be stretched out to conceive high enough of God and therfore the spirit creates an addition which is Faith helping of the soule to believe what it cannot conceive As when the Virgin Mary was told that she should conceive and be are a Sonne how can this be saith she seeing I know nor a man her reason could not reach it and therfore she laid her Faith to it Be it unto me according to thy word 2. As the Spirit doth inlarge and adde to the soule so it doth in a manner lessen God God humbling of himselfe in being willing to be described after the manner that man can take him and reach him And oh what a condescention and stoope is this in the Almighty that he should be willing to be set out as having hands and feet and eyes that so men may sippe a little of him Man cannot goe up to God and therfore God will meet him halfe way and come down to him And before the Spirit doth thus worke in the soule none know the true God few Nations or people yea few persons have this worke in them and therfore few doe know the true God and from hence so many false gods in the world 3. The heart of man is inrag'd and vext that God doth hide himselfe from his senses God keeps himselfe in secret and will not be seene and therefore man will have other gods who shall Make us gods that may goe before us say the Israelites to Aaron such as we may see Hence are your Idols among the Heathen Pictures and Crucifixes among your Papists and with men of carnall and corrupt mindes amongst our selves Men will have something before their eyes to direct their worship and service unto Men are vext that God should keepe himselfe or any thing else secret from them How faine would men be fingring of Election and Reprobation How angry were our desperate Divines of late because they could not finde out the bottome of them See the reason There 's none unlesse they can see the depth and Cause We are very prone to be too sawcy with divine things which dwel in darknes and God wil not bear it Bounds and limits were set the people when God gave the Law they must not gaze lest they die And as men are angry with this retirednesse of God that he will not make himselfe familiar to their senses So are they vext and fretted with his monopolizing and reserving all the wayes and manner of his worship to himselfe men are mad upon Will-worship Something they will have of their owne invention to be mingled with the worship of God he shall not have altogether his owne way and will They will out of their wisdome which is their folly adde some Ceremonies at the least to beautifie the slovenly worship of God as some of them have more then prophanely spoken And from hence were your golden Copes gorgious Altars shining Candlestickes decent Ceremonies the more to decorate and adorn the service of God Thus man will be corrupting the spirituall service of God with his base carnall beggerly inventions And for this cause God gives men over to extreame folly even to worship the things that they have made so beautifull to bow downe to their Altars that they have deckt and all their wisdome Scholership learning and distinctions are not able to deliver them from it The 1. Rom. 21. Because when they knew God they worshipped him not as God therefore God gave them over laid them fast in their owne dung and filth And who were these Such as profest themselves to be wise the great Scholars of the world In the 1 Cor. 1.20 Where is the wise where is the disputer not in Christ as Paul was he was foolishnesse So with us Where were our great learned Rabbins their distinctions had carried them downe to Rome they could break the Sabbath with distinctions and bow downe to Name and Altar with distinctions and therefore God befooles them and gives them over to worship the workes of their own hands their owne babies And therefore wonder not my Brethren that you have lately seene great Scholars to be sortish in their bowing downe to name and places for God committed them to superstition and Idolatry and who could baile them These Reasons may suffice though many more may bee given Vse 1 Consider this and learne to pitty pray for and help the nations and people who are without the knowledge of the true God Survey the world in your thoughts and consider how great a part of it sits in the dark groping after a God and taking hold of the Creatures some of Stocks and Stones yea some of them if we may beleeve Historians of the very Devill himselfe and worshipping of him in stead of God and God as yet withholding of himselfe from them and that so farre as we know for Adams sin Rom. 11.33 Oh! the depth of the riches both of the wisdome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his Judgements and his wayes past finding out Private men may pray for them but it must be the power of some such Soveraigne Assembly as this is of yours to send unto them the knowledge of the true God and who knows but for this also you are met together at this time that when you have repaired our breaches and done the will of God for us you may be a blessing and a healing to other nations Vse 2 If many false Gods in the world then let us bee thankfull for the knowledge of the true God Rejoyce in Gods name lift up your banners Let England rejoyce in him that made it Esa 33.12 for blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his owne this makes them Gods owne This is the greatest kindnesse the most distinguishing speciall favour of God this mercy of knowing God comes out of the very heart of Jesus Christ for in him and none else God reveales himself unto men God lookes to be praised and thankt for this The knowledge of God lifts a nation up to heaven Capernaum was lifted up to heaven by preaching of the Gospel Matth. 11.23 and when God thus exalts a nation he looks to be exalted by it Ioh. 14 22. Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy selfe unto us and not unto the world So who is England Lord that thou shouldst reveale thy selfe to it and not to other nations Man is a bragging creature and God takes notice of it If his face be fairer his backe or armes stronger or his head wiser his purse fuller then others he will bee ready to boast of it and glory in it but God would have all this laid out upon himselfe Ier. 9.23 Let not the wise man glory in his wisedome neither let the mighty

and Religion but for ever and ever One phrase only I conceive needs opening which is this What it is to walke in the name of a God and it stands under divers senses First to bee called by his name as Wives Children Disciples are called by the Names of their Husbands Parents Masters So here all Nations will tryumph and will be willing to owne and not be ashamed of the Name of their God and wee will not be ashamed of our glory Deut. 28.10 and all the People of the Earth shall see that thou art called by the Name of the Lord the 2 Chron. 7.14 If my People that are called by my Name c. Secondly to goe furnished with the divine Authority of God Mar. 11. Blessed is he that commeth to us in the Name of the Lord and so the 1 Cor. 5.4 In the Name of our Lord Iesus Christ when ye are gathered together and my Spirit c. 3. To walke in the Power and strength of God the 1 Sam. 17.45 Thou comest to me with a sword and a speare and with a shield but I come to thee in the Name of the Lord of Hosts saies David to Goliah which is in the strength of God Fourthly to walke in the scare Lawes Ordinances and whole worship of God And this I conceive to be the proper meaning of this place The Doctrines are many We shall therefore play the Travaller passe by some Townes though good call in at others and make our stay in that that is most convenient Doct. 1 There is a GOD. This truth we read in the Booke of nature that lies continually open before us written in so great and Capitall Letters that one though stone blind if he have other senses may read it And Conscience within teaches this All Nations agree in it There is a peradventure indeed in every mans heart that there is no God and according to the strength of this in the soule so is the life God lesse But there is a semi-certainty in every soule that there is a God and when this prevailes then a Man will be devoute in his way And therefore saith the Heathen Menciuntur qui dicunt se non sentire esse Deum they lie in their throats that say they thinke there is no God But we leave this Severall Nations have severall Gods Or there are many false Gods in the World In the 1 Cor. 8.5 There be Gods many and Lords many No truth so generally and universally granted as this That there is a God but none so much controverted as who the true God is Man brings into the World with him notions and sure apprehensions of a deity Education and Custome do specificate and shape these generall notions of a GOD and a Religion to that God and into that Religion that the Countrey accounts the true From hence he that is borne in Turkey is a Mahumetan In Italie a Papist in England a Protestant So soone as Men are borne they fall a groaping for a God and for a Religion One there is but who and which wee know not and that that is first put into our hands by our Parents and Governours that we close withall And this is the State and condition of all Men living the best and dearest Saints of God are thus by nature and would have beene Turkes and Papists had they bin borne there till God seized upon them by his grace regenerated them and reveal'd himselfe unto them Yee were without God in the World as well as others A God then there is but who and what 〈◊〉 one the People and Nations of the World cannot agree and therefore how many have the Nations who are left unto the light of nature set up for Gods that had Country Gods and Citie Gods and houshold Gods and particular personall Gods Gods for all places for Heaven and Hell and Sea and Land for all occasions for war and peace and plenty and health and sicknes the number of their Gods as some of their own Authors have summed them up was above thirty thousand The Papists in our dayes have more If yee say what 's the cause of this that the World should be thus out in so great a point Reas 1 All have lost the knowledge of God in Adam that was our great losse for his sin God hath withdrawne himself hid himself in secret will not fully sufficiently or savingly reveale himself by the Creatures to the sons of men but hath chosen a new way to vent himself which is by Iesus Christ Mat. 11.27 No Man cometh to the father but by mee saith Christ and so Ioh. 11.6 No man knoweth the Father but the son and he to whom the Sonne shall reveale him There is not in all the Booke of Nature one Iota or one hint of Jesus Christ Many nations are without the Gospell few persons know Jesus Christ I pray God you may looke to your selves and therefore are wilde and vaine and various in their Imaginations of God It comes from the infinite disproportion that is between God and Man Reas 2 What House will yee build mee saith God I fill Heaven and Earth the Heaven of Heavens are not able to containe mee So what thoughts will yee reare up to entertaine the great God in How will yee doe to stretch those narrow Soules of yours that the King of glory may come in It is impossible for a Camel to goe through the eye of a needle but how impossible for God to come into his Creature The sences which are the Lanes or Gates which lead to the soule neither is there any thing in the understanding but it is first in the sences these are all too narrow God is invisible and cannot be seene Thou canst not see my Face sayes God to Moses and yet he had and could see great and dreadfull things but had hee seene this his soule would have ran away He is ineffable bigger then all definitions and descriptions greater then words can tell It s peculiar to God to exceed knowledge And therefore the Logicians have wisely excluded him out of their Predicaments ubique prosens sed latens nothing more present then God and nothing more unseene Obj. If you say but this Reason shuts out all Men yet there are that doe know him Answ It doth indeed shut out all from any naturall knowledge of him by naturall meanes the knowledge of God is a supernaturall grace bred onely by the spirit of God in the hearts of the Men of his good will This Spirit doth supernaturally stretch out the narrow soule of Man doth in large and widen it and raises it up about its own nature to conceive aright of God This Spirit lifteth up the doores and sets open the Gates that the King of glory may come in And because the faculties cannot bee wound up to infinitenesse that they may hold proportion to the immensity of God therefore the spirit does two things First it creates an eekening in the soule which