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	israel_n	people_n	11,566	5	4.5954	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86708	Gods appearing for the tribe of Levi: improved in a sermon preached at St. Paul's, Nov. 8. to the sons of ministers, then solemnly assembled. / By Geo: Hall, minster at St. Botolph Aldersgate.	Hall, George, 1612?-1668.	1655 (1655)	Wing H336; Thomason E859_1; ESTC R202510	19,055	39

GODS APPEARING For the TRIBE of LEVI IMPROVED In a Sermon Preached at St. Pauls Nov. 8. To the Sons of Ministers then solemnly ASSEMBLED By GEO HALL Minister at St. Botolph Aldersgate Rom. 8.31 {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} LONDON Printed by Tho Roycroft for Philemon Stephens at the gilded Lyon in Pauls Church Yard 1655. TO THE READER Reader I Can hardly satisfie my selfe and thee much lesse who dost wonder to finde me in Print My comming forth into this open light who have rejoyced in my close retyrednesse is as if the Batt should stare the Sun in the face at noon day I desire thee to know that as the service fell unexpectedly upon me by Lot so the performance no lesse unexpectedly ingageth me to be thus publicke I was not a little tempted to decline the employment and even ready to say in some discouraging Considerations O my Lord send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send And see how my Experience justifieth my Fears the Report is come to me of one an unknowne Hearer who hardly refrained himselfe in the Congregation from clamouring against me as a Preacher of false Doctrine Serpents will bite the heels I am in this somewhat concerned to submit to common censure what was delivered let the false Doctrine be pointed at I desire no mercy and shall justifie every syllable The adventure was in my owne apprehension great while as St. Paul in that time of his greatest perill when the Ship was falne into a place where two Seas met so was I ingaged betweene opposite Parties which I was to speake unto the rigid Punctilio-men both of the right hand and of the left unto whom to speake of any thing tending to Moderation is the same thing as to bring severall swelling mountaines together to grow into one even ground But as they do not finde me so for Communion with dissenting Brethren as to buy it upon the unfit termes of yeelding up my owne sure Principles so I wish them to sit downe and calmely consider whether as Christians we are not bound to make all faire offers for it we may and to lay downe all our Animosities of which the Mischeif is so sadly visible Now that I may be sure not to disappoint thee I promise little i● this Sermon but the Subject the extraordinary occasion the Orthodoxy the plaine open Honesty and Zeale without intemperate heat If thou finde something which may be of good use and for the temper proper and seasonable as some would perswade me I repent not my well meant few dayes labour most gladly would I bestow and bee bestowed If in the least I may be profitable I never cared as all who have known me can witnesse to wrap up and hood my self as shy of discovering what I am and now it will appear I am no Changeling though one who would sacrifice himselfe for the Unity or Gods Church I would give thee a little further advertisement For that Generation of men who are haters of Ministers Toto genere who are for a {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} nothing lesse then utter extirpation of us and who if they were Basilisks as they are Serpents would look us dead These I do either roughly treat or slightingly passe by Disingenuity is th● 〈◊〉 Vis plastica And what can Ingenuity or reasoning prevail upon such As for the other sort who face us and with the mustered Forces of their pretended Gifts do invade our Pulpits and pull away the Cushion from us We stand and admire not them but the infinite patience of God who plucketh not his right hand out of his bosome to consume such uncommissioned undertakers He judge between them and us whom he hath been pleased to seperate and call neer unto himself Whether their taking our Censers and holding forth be upon any warrant or no I am sure it will be hard for them to plead what We can I am vvilling to suppose thee a sober Well-wisher to a fixed Ministry and I hope one who dost solicite God in thy Prayers for us who are beset with so many and those unreasonable Adversaries In lieu of those Prayers take our blessing with thee that God would give thee such Wisdome as is most needfull to guide and direct thee in the worst and most perilous times that thou mayest steer an even safe course without danger of making Ship-wrack of thy Faith and good Conscience till thou arrive in thy wished Haven In sinu Abrahae out of all the still new threatning Stormes of this tempestuous evill World Gods appearing for the Tribe of LEVI NUMB. 17.8 And it came to passe that on the Morrow Moses went into the Tabernacle of witnesse And behold the Rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded and brought forth Budds and bloomed Blossoms and yeelded Almonds A Good day and happy design of our solemn Meeting a Meeting not of Vanity but Piety not {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to make a shew of our selves to number our Tribe that it may be spoken how many of the Lords people are Sons of the Prophets but in singlenesse of heart to present and dedicate our selves unto the God of our Fathers We are come up hither as the Tribes to the Temple at Jerusalem Even the tribes of the Lord unto the Testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord And blessed be his Name who taketh pleasure in the prosperity of his Servants and hath given us this occasion of a free and solemne Convention People in this Age love to talke of Gods appearings for them Fondly leaning upon him and saying Is not the Lord amongst us But let the House of Levi now say The Lord hath appeared for us of a truth and It is well seen O God how thou goest how thou our God and King goest in the Sanctuary He hath appeared I say both for his Priesthood under the Law and for his Ministers under the Gospel and this have I prepared to entertaine you with which the Lord hath brought suddenly to me and I hope it will prove savoury meat that a blessing may follow it How God did manifest his especiall favour to the House of Levi in the Signall Election of Aaron the Head and Prince of the Tribe The Text points us to look back to what had passed before and there we find that as Sin took occasion by the Law to work evill in the Apostle so here Mercy took occasion by wickednesse and rebellion to work good to magnifie and exalt it self A Mutiny was kindled by some hot headed men levelling Spirits and Pretenders to Giftednesse against their Governours Moses and Aaron they put themselves forward in a pretended zeal to give a check to the incroachment of the Priest upon them in an assumed peculiarity of Office in setting up a Pale where all as they thought should be Common Corah the Ring-leader gets many Complices to

certainly never was there such need of the Serpents wisdome and the Doves Innocency to keep Integrity and Indemnity together To resolve {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} I will be honest and righteous and discharge a good conscience and yet not righteous over-much neither so hotly and indiscreetly and peevishly as to be doing mischief to tempt trouble Why should I destroy my self {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} live close and retired so as to keep neerest Communion with God and to have least to do with the World This I do magnifie and account the Apex the top of wisdome 4. Be stedfast not Giddy and Virtiginous This Age hath beene taken with an unhappy Vertigo which hath made men not keep the ground they first stood upon shall I add inoffensively while I speak inter nos and onely of our selves There hath been a wanton delight to be meddling trying experiments and ringing of Changes Quieta movere merces magna videbat yea so distemperd have some been that like the intoxicated man who the liquor being busie in his braine fancyed himselfe at Sea in a great Storme in present danger of Shipwrack and thought there was a necessity of lightning the Ship and throwing some of the lading over board and so threw the Goods of the House out at the Windows So I say have some fancyed a present necessity of abolishing and throwing away what they would have done better to have kept But the worst ficklenesse and novelty hath been Growing weary of old Truths as well as old Establishments and espousing new fond opinions Forsaking the ancient paths wherein the Prophet adviseth us to walk and choosing to go in paths not cast up yea good God! how many wayes have many been lost Some proving Apostates to God and Religion rellishing the Cup of Romes inchantment and making themselves drunk with it so that that Scarlet Whore can openly brag of the numerous Lyst of her new Proselites and Servants though they are such indeed for the most part that we could well spare them and care not to Lure them back againe Others crumbling away into Conventicles ready to joyne with every frantick Sect and so making Gods Israel to become a speckled Bird of severall Colours of all varieties of Religions O what Rivers can wash off that deep scandall which sticks upon this late glorious and most Uniform but now miserably deformed and even Antick Church for which we may thank the Giddinesse of men well but while others have gone away after strange delusions Believe you J beseech you that you heare Christ calling to us especially vvho are the Sons of his Teachers in Israel Will yee also go away Of all it will be most to our shame and to the shame of our Fathers house if while they were strong Pillars in the house of God vve prove our selves Weather-cocks turned about vvith every wind If vve vvho are Branches of the firm Cedars shall shew our selves as the soft bending Willowes of no strength or Consistency O let us remember the best Inheritance our Fathers could leave us were their Principles and let us not upon any termes part with our Inheritance The Apostle well insinuates with his young Timothy telling him he was perswaded that the same Faith which dwelt in his Grandmother Lois and his Mother Eunice was in him also I do not press this that we should all be of the same Religion that our Grandmothers were of because it was their Religion but our inheritance of sound Faith from our Fathers is the same that his was from his Mother and Grandmother whosoever then be fickle and warping let us hold our own and let our word be {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} rooted and grounded in Faith 5. Be Moderate and Peaceable after those unhappy divisions for which there hath been and yet is such thought such bleeding of heart so many prayers and teares poured out by good men and wch have cost so much precious blood what can be more seasonable and needfull then cementing Counsell That all Gods Building O when wee shall see it may be raised up as of one stone By having Cor unum viam unam one heart and one way It is true Christs Coat hath been miserably rent in the whole cloath as well as in the fringe Do not so much as ask who made the Rent let the world judge of that Do not suppose it hard to be drawne up and made entire again Down with whatsoever Animosities and study of parties and pertinacy to keep up what hath been set up which have already given to growing Sectaries such advantage and to the Devill such occasion to laugh and triumph Let those ill invented differential Termes whereby we have been distinguished from each other be buried and swallowed up in that name vvhich vvill lead us all hand in hand to Heaven the name of Christians J know here are many of different perswasion from me But is there any here vvhom J vvould not gladly accompany and zealously further towards Heaven Why then should we not be friends in the way If my stomack or any of yours do rise against the name of Brotherly Communion which may consist with our severall principles retained not differing in Substantials God take down that Stomack and make us to see how much we are concerned to keep the unity of the Spirit in bond of Peace to make our moderation known unto all men because the Lord is at hand Moderation in what we may And let me ask in one particular Why should some in the height of their zeal for Liturgy supposeth there can be no Service of God but where that is entirely used Why should others againe think their piety concerned and trespassed if I do prefer and in some considerations think sit to use a set form There must be Abatements and allowances of each other a coming down from our Punctilio's or we shall never give up a good account unto God My last word is Be Charitable And a good close shall I make if I maybe heard effectually in this which is indeed the grand motive and inducement of our summoning one another this day Not to feast our selves who are full but to feed others who are hungry and empty We would this day pay our Vowes of thanksgiving in the great Congregation for Gods visible blessing upon us for his goodnesse in letting our Lot fall in so faire ground and so encreasing our Store But if we would appear thankful where is our thank-offering No man should appear before the Lord empty What Present do we bring to shew our readinesse of honouring the Lord with our Substance How can we but be damped in our enjoyment of the good things we have To see before our eyes so many sad and only too fit Objects of our Commiseration Venerable Wanderers who ill become their condition And the Relicts of worthy Servants of God