Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	word_n	world_n	year_n	1,253	4	4.5959	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46651	A sermon preached before the honourable House of Commons, at St. Margaret Westminster, on Thursday, the 26th of November, 1691, being a day of publick thanks-giving by William Jane ...	Jane, William, 1645-1707.	1691 (1691)	Wing J457; ESTC R19797	16,580	36

A SERMON PREACHED Before the HONOURABLE House of Commons AT St. MARGARET WESTMINSTER on Thursday the 26th of November 1691. Being a day of Publick Thanks-giving By WILLIAM JANE D.D. Dean of Gloucester and Chaplain in Ordinary to Their Majesties OXFORD Printed at the THEATER for Thomas Bennet at the Half-Moom in St. Paul's Church-Yard London 1691. Veneris 27. die Nov. 1691. Ordered THat the Thanks of this House be given to Dr. Jane Dean of Gloucester for his Sermon Preached Yesterday before this House at St. Margarets Westminster and that he be desired to Print the same And that Sir Joseph Tredenham and Mr. Travers do acquaint him therewith Paul Jodrell Cler. Dom. Com PSAL. XCVI 10. Say among the Heathen that the Lord reigneth the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved and that he shall Judge the people righteously IT will not be very material in this place to enquire into the title of the Psalm or whether this which with some little variation makes a part of that triumphant song composed by David 1 Chr. 16. at the bringing up of the ark from the house of Obed Edom to Jerusalem Ferandus in loc were afterwards consecrated by the Jews to another use to be sung at the rebuilding of the Temple after their return from the Babylonish Captivity or whether it might not be accommodated as also the following Psalm which seems to be much to the same purpose to celebrate those conquests which David won over the heathen nations 1 Chr. 18. not long after the setling of the ark the symbol of Gods presence in the midst of them This is certain and confest on all hands Theod. Dr. Ham. that in the literal and most obvious sense it is a general form of thanksgiving and praising God for all his works of grace and goodness as the maker and governour of the world and in the prophetick or mystical it contains a description of the Kingdom of the Messiah and the blessed effects of it in the bringing salvation to all people and the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith I shall treat of it at present only in the former notion and in the words that I have read shall briefly consider with respect to the design of our present meeting I. A general assertion of Gods government of the world say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth The government of God is not restrained to the Jewish nation but all the people and nations of the earth are the objects of his providence and his sovereignty reaches over all the world II. The stability of Gods government the world also shall be establish't that it shall not be moved III. The Justice and equity of the administration of it he shall Judge the people righteously And first of the general assertion of Gods government of the world That God has an absolute dominion over all things a sovereign and uncontestable right to be the sole Lord and Emperour of the universe both reason and scripture have abundantly evinced not only from the consideration of the supereminent excellency of the divine nature but also of his mighty works in the creation and continuance of the world Thus the Elders in the Revelations Ch. 4.11 Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Thus Hezekiah Esai 37.16 O Lord of hosts thou art the God even thou alone of all the Kingdoms of the earth For thou hast made heaven and earth Thus the Levites in Nehemiah Ch. 9.6 Thou even thou art Lord alone thou hast made heaven the heaven of heavens with all their host the earth and all things that are therein the seas and all that is therein and thou preservest them all and the whole host of heaven worshipeth thee If seems to be a lessening and limiting of the Divine Dominion what God says by the Prophet Jer. 18.6 Cannot I doe with you as the potter says the Lord behold as the clay is in the potters hand so are ye in my land O house of Israel For the potter neither makes the clay nor gives activity to the fire when he applyes the one to the other 't is the Divine influence that enables him and after this when he has done all he can he at last produces nothing but the Shape and Figure of the Vessel But now with respect to God there is nothing in the whole world but has an absolute dependence upon him for its whole being and every particle thereof Whatever we are whatever we possess whatever we can do all the parts and members of the body all the powers and faculties of the Soul the heads that contrive and the hands that execute the whole use and exercise of them all the times and opportunities of acting together with the several objects about which they may or ought to be employed are solely and entirely derived from him by a supreme arbitrary independent and uncommunicated power He is the absolute and perfect proprietour of them all For as they are all the works of his hands they must needs be subject to his disposal He may consequently appoint them their several ends according to their several capacities prescribe Laws and Rules for the attainment of those ends and oblige them to observe his orders upon such terms as his infinite wisdom shall think good And this power belongs to God purely for his own sake without any regard had to any right or interest of his Creatures which as they were all made for him Pro. 16.4 Rom. 11.36 so are to be disposed by him This is a most certain and undoubted ground of propriety and consequently of power For surely if the world were made that it might be governed there is none so fit to govern it as he that made it But besides this despotical right of absolute Dominion there is a Rectoral right in God if I may so call it which results from his actual taking upon himself the administration and government of the world And this is exprest in several places of Scripture Thus Ps 103.19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven and his kingdom ruleth over all God is the King of all the earth God reigneth over the nations Ps 47.7 8. and Ps 22.28 The Kingdom is the Lords and he is the Governour among the people Thine saith King David 1 Chr. 29.11 12. Thine O Lord is the Kingdom and thou art exalted as head above all both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all All men of what condition and quality soever are under his power and jurisdiction The most glorious and renowned of all the Sons of men the potentates kings and princes of the earth however they may resist his commands are still accountable for doing so He will rule in the midst of his enemies and if they will not bow to the gentle Scepter of his word Ps 2.9 he

contingents and beholds at one view what will be the Event and Issue of all the actions of the world if he saw distinctly from all Eternity every occurrence that could prevent further stop or hinder his designs we may then rest assured that God will maintain his authority over the world against all the devices and combinations of men Es 31.2 For he also is wise and there is no wisdom Prov. 21.30 nor understanding nor Counsel against the Lord. The second perfection in God effectually conducing to the stability of his government is an Almighty Irresistible and Uncontrolable power Which tho' the Scripture did not ascribe to God and that in an infinite degree yet the many mighty works which he has from time to time done in the world will amount to an undeniable demonstration of it 'T was he that created the heaven and the earth and then we may well make the Prophet Jeremies conclusion from it Jer. 32.17 that nothing is too hard for him He that with a word made this great fabrick of the world may surely with the turn of his hand manage every thing in it so as to be subservient to his will And this is the argument which God himself in the Prophets often makes use of to silence the doubts that might arise concerning the execution of his purpose Thus Esay 40.22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers that stretcheth out the heaven as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in and c. 14.26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations for the Lord of hosts hath purposed and who shall disannul it his hand is stretched out and who shall turn it back For what opposition can we be supposed to make who have no strength to arme our selves against him but what we have derived from him Or what cannot he do with us who cannot only destroy us by letting loose the influence of one contrary against another but even turn us into nothing meerly by the with-holding of his own And here first the exercise of his Almighty power for the establishing of his government is singularly observable in his restraints and influences upon the hearts and spirits of men When Balaam the Sorcerer who loved the ways of unrighteousness came ready prepared to Curse the children of Israel it was not in his power to utter one word but what the Lord had spoke unto him Num. 22.35 Nay says he v. 18. If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold I cannot goe beyond the word of the Lord to say less or more We read Ex. 34.23 There times in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God the God of Israel Now the Jews lived in the midst of their enemies who in all probability would not let slip such an inviting opportunity when all the men were gone up to Jerusalem to invade their country and destroy all that they had left behind them Notwithstanding God Almighty is very peremptory in his injunction 't is again repeated Deut. 16.16 and to take off the objection that might arise from their leaving their Country naked and defenceless he assures them that when they thus went to appear before the Lord no man should desire their land This is a certain proof that God effectually orders and governs the hearts and spirits and the voluntary actions of men Or else how could he infallibly assure them when men had all those temptations advantages and encouragements not only that no man should invade or conquer but that no man should desire their land I shall give but one instance more and that is the successes of Cyrus in which are contained so many special instances of a remarkable and overruling power Isai 48.20 Zenophon Dr. Jackson What was it else but the finger of God who commands all the hearts of the Sons of men that brought in so many Confederate Forces to his assistance and some of them natural subjects to the Babylonian without whose concurrence the whole enterprize had miscarried This is not to be imputed either to Cyrus his management or their own Isai 40.15.45.5 But he to whom all nations are as the drop of a bucket who said of Cyrus I have girded thee though thou hast not known me had long before ordered all things to his hand and in the language of the Prophet Jeremy on this occasion set up a standard Jer. 51.27 29. blew the trumpet and prepared the nations that every purpose of the Lord might be performed against Babylon to leave the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant But secondly this power of God is further visible in curbing and keeping under the passions and unruly appetites of men Ps 65.7 He that stilleth the raging of the sea and the noise of its waves is alone able to quiet and subdue the rage and madness of the people Whence are wars and fightings among you saith St. James Come they not hence even from lusts so violent are the desires of pride avarice ambition and revenge so various are the designs at the same time a driving on directly cross to one another such is the eagerness of men in the pursuit of their interests and so great the animosities upon a defeat that we have no Cause to be surprized at the frequent alterations we meet with in the world the only wonder is that they happen no oftner than they doe For such are the disorders which mens extravagances would Cause amongst us that if there were not an invisible hand to bridle and overrule them there would be no longer any living in the world but unconceiveable confusions would cover the face of the whole earth But now Ps 93.3.4 tho' the waves of the sea are mighty and rage horribly yet he that sitteth on high is mightier The Lord is King 99.1 be the people never so impatient he sitteth upon the Cherubims be the earth never so unquiet He that set bounds to the sea saying Hitherto shalt thou goe but no further can also restrain and hold in the most boysterous passions and disorderly affections of men He can reduce and temper them to serve the ends of his own government He can let them loose when he pleases to Cause disturbances and revolutions in the world and when they have finisht the work which was given them to doe he can call them back again into their old channel compose and quiet them as our Saviour rebuked the winds and the seas and there was a great calm Mat. 8.26 We have thus far considered the stability of Gods government and what those perfections of his nature are which render his Kingdom fix't immovable Dan. 4.35 He can doe whatsoever he pleases in the armyes of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth so that

in the death and suffering of our Saviour And yet this with all the circumstances of it was foretold by the Prophets long before Thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer Luke 24.46 and was at last accomplisht according to the determinate Counsel Act. 4.28 and foreknowledge of God Act. 2.23 Now if the infallibility of the Divine predictions in this and so many other instances can consist well enough with the liberty of the creature how does it come to pass that by ascribing to God a determinate knowledge of future contingents the liberty of the creature is destroy'd And indeed were it impossible in any tolerable measure to reconcile them a man would rather chuse to let the liberty of the creature shift for it self as well as it can than in the least to detract from that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or suppose that God acted by chance or no further than his creature● would give him leave in that great transaction upon which depended the Salvation o● the world And this may suffice at present for a transien● view of the divine omniscience Now how greatly this conduces to the stability of his government may briefly appear in these following particulars And first by this he is privy to all the plots and consultations of men who are contriving to frustrate his counsels and disturb him in his government of the world How glibly might men carry on their plots and promise success to their devices if they could be but once assured that no body plotted but themselves But this is sometimes apt to startle them and make them less confident in their own imaginations they have a shrowd suspicion that others are at work too and such as are every way their equals in cunning conduct and contrivance But now in this particular God by his unsearchable knowledge has a vast advantage against all the policies of men As they plot so does he too he hath designs with them and designs beyond them He is always present at their cabals and consults and clandestine meetings privy not only to their open but their most covert practises He is intimately acquainted with all their designs but they in the mean time are wholly ignorant of his And we need not the help of a statesman to inform us of how great moment it is to be privy to the Counsels of an Enemy For by this he can trace and observe their motions in the thing wherein they deal proudly he will be above them Ex. 18.11 And surely it can be no hard matter for an infinite power to defeat those Counsels which an infinite wisdom has discovered Secondly by this he is enabled to make all the Counsels of men subservient to the establishment of his own government He can make use of them for the promoting of his interests when they think of nothing but driving on their own Whatever were the designs of Cyrus in raising forces against Babylon God had a nobler end than all and which Cyrus was utterly unacquainted with For thus saith the Lord by his prophet two hundred years before Cyrus was born Esai 44.26 that says of Cyrus he is my shepheard and shall perform all my pleasure even saying to Jerusalem thou shalt be built and to the Temple thy foundation shall be laid And so wonderful was that providence which conducted him through the whole course of his affairs as signally proclaims him to be an instrument in the hand of God acted to higher purposes than he was able to understand even the accomplishing his good pleasure towards the captive Jews and the manifestation of the glory of his great name in the redemtion and deliverance of his people For so says the text expresly Es 45.4 For my servant Jacobs sake and Israel mine elect I have even called thee by thy name I have surnamed thee though thou hast not known me Thirdly God by his infinite knowledg is infallibly secured against all change and alteration in the administration of his government in as much as no accident can ever happen but what was from all eternity foreseen by him To him who always beholds all things in one view there can be no after Counsels to rectify the oversights of the former The reason why men are often forced to change their methods is the imperfection of their knowledg they know several things by degrees and succession and every thing but in part and every new event or occurrence that arises adds a new improvement and perfection to their knowledg And this makes men so often to shift their Counsels to multiply expedients what they cannot do one way to try another to have several strings to their bow because they know not how many of them may break And yet after all this ado they may be forced to begin again For there are 〈◊〉 thousand accidents which never entred into ●●eir thoughts any one whereof can in an in●●ant unexpectedly put an end to the fairest pro●●cts and contrivances But now the government of God is in this respect above the danger 〈◊〉 any miscarriage or disappointment He who ●●es all things in all the differences of time with one glance of his eye can never find any cause to recede from what he has once determin'd Nothing can fall out besides his expectation For known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world Act. 15 8. God indeed is said in scripture to repent Gen. 6.6 1 Sam. 15.11 which is not so to be understood as if God acted like men who fall upon new methods when they are defeated and baffled in their old ones But as when men repent of their former errors they usually take another course and act in a different way from what they did before so when God change● the external manner and method of his operations the scripture condescending to our apprehensions calls it repentance which yet doe● not denote any alteration at all in the counse● of his will but only in the works of his hand● All the great vicissitudes and revolutions of th● world are the products of one steddy constant uniform and unchangeable Counsel He h●● different ends in the same action and can ma●● contrary actions conspire to the same end 〈◊〉 wonder therefore if we at any time beho●● a signal mutation in his works without a●● revocation of his decree And as Aquinas ●●termines when he willeth a change he ●●ver changes his will He remains unshak●● and immoveable amidst all the agitati●● and disturbances of the world He changeth times and seasons without any variation in himself And all the alterations that happen successively in the outward appearances of things flow from the eternal and immutable purpose of him Eph. 1.11 who worketh all things according to the Counsel of his own will If therefore God be of that infinite knowledge as to be always present to our most retired thoughts and closest purposes if he has an exact prescience of all future