Selected quad for the lemma: nation_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nation_n	king_n	people_n	samuel_n	1,198	5	10.5950	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42546	The eye and wheel of providence, or, A treatise proving that there is a divine providence ... by W. Gearing ...	Gearing, William.	1662 (1662)	Wing G435; ESTC R7567	152,154	376

done by their Ministers they scarce at all know or understand 2. The second head of Providence is disposition which ordaineth the connexion of parts and maketh one correspondent with the other Saul in seeking his Fathers Asses had no expectation of a Kingdome 1 Sam. 9.3 he by the advice of his servant goes to Samuel to enquire about the Asses but it is said the Lord sent him thither God so disposing of it by his Providence The Lord had told Samuel a day before in his ear saying To morrow I will send thee a man out of the Land of Benjamin and thou shalt annoint him to be Captain over my people Israel Ver. 16. So the Lord saith of the King of Assyria I will send him against an hypocriticall Nation and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil and to take the prey and to tread them down as the mire of the streets howbeit he meaneth not so neither doth his heart think so Isa 6.7 But most remarkeable is that Providence of God in disposing of all things according to the prayer of Abrahams servant Gen. 24. bringing forth and shewing him the Damsell that was to be a Wife to his Masters Son by the same token which he had expresly desired which was this that if the Damsell that he desired to draw a pitcher of water for him should answer saying I will and I will give thy Camels drink also then that should be she whom God had appointed for Isaacs Wife and so it came to pass Gods wise disposition is such saith Causin Causin de Provident that all the whole Universe in all its parts is ruled like a paper with Musick lines Synesius Hymn 4. which made Synesins say The world was the Harp of God and the divers orders of nature were the strings of it All things are overruled and swayed by the great arm of Providence he ordereth directeth and disposeth of all things to the ends that he hath appointed them viz. his own glory and the good of his Elect. 3. The third head of Providence is Government he governeth all things according to the counsell of his own will God is not confined by any externall Law nor straitned by the course of nature he acteth with great freedome and soveraignty Now I argue thus if the world and all things therein be not governed by God either it is not governed at all or it is governed by some other or else it governeth it self 1. It cannot be that there can be no government of the world because the constant order and vicissitude in nature and naturall things the mutuall intercourse and interchangeable succession of day and night winter and summer heat and cold and a thousand such like proveth the contrary of all which and their like Clem. Alex. Stromat Clemens of Alexandria saith It were a most wicked thing not to think them effects of Gods Providence When all things are created of nothing and many things are compounded of contraries and by a naturall enmity seek the ruine of one another none but God can preserve them for who else is able to govern so great a Mass but an infinite power Stock on Mal. 3. 2. It cannot be governed by any other but by God himself for if there were another to govern the world he must be either superiour or inferiour to God if superiour then God were not God but he is called a great God and a great King above all Gods Psal 95.3 In his hand are all the deep places of the earth the strength of the hils is his also the sea is his and he made it and his hands formed the dry land Ver. 4. He is called the most high God and said to be higher than the highest therefore there is none above him none equall unto him and if he were inferiour to God then could he not be sufficient to govern the world because no less than an Almighty power is required to the government thereof 3. If the world be not governed by God either he doth not know how to govern it or is not able to bear the weight thereof and to go through with the management of that work or is not willing to undertake so great an imployment upon him Deus liberrimum agens qui à nemine cogitur ad hanc rerum omnium administrationem Polan Syntag. de Provid but God is omniscient and therefore he well understandeth rationem administrandi how to govern the world and that in the best manner he is likewise omnipotent and therefore able to bear the government thereof upon his shoulders and to manage it exactly and powerfully because he is at no labour in the execution of his will and pleasure but whatsoever he willeth that also he effecteth with ease he is likewise summum bonum the chiefest good and therefore he willingly undertaketh this work he is a most free Agent and is compelled by none to the government of the world the manner of his governing is very good because he alwayes doth well yea even when instruments do evil as Joseph tells his Brethren As for you ye meant evil against me but God meant it unto good Gen. 50.20 If God made the world then was he without the world and hath wisdome and ability enough to govern it the knowledge of all objects in the world causeth no weariness in God because all therein is finite Sic mundum regi à Deo dicimus ut à rectore provinciam cujus apparitores nemo socios esse in regenda provincia dixerit quamvìs illorum ministeriores geratur hi tamen possunt aliquid praeter jussa rectoris per ipsius ignorantiam quae est conditionis humanae Ille aurèm praeses mundi rector universi qui scit omnia cujus divinis oculis nihil septum est solus habet rerum omnium cum filio suo potestatem nec est Angelis quicquam nisi parendi necessitas Lactant. l. 2. c. 17. Si Deus fecit mundum fuit ergo fine mundo si regit nòn utique sicut mens corpus regit sed tanquam dominus domum navimque gubernator auriga currum nec tamèn misti sunt iis rebus quas regunt Lactant. l. 7. de divino praemio c. 3. but his knowledge is as his essence is infinite he governeth the world not as the mind the body but as a Master governeth his house as the Stern-man governeth his Ship a Charret-man his Chariot who are not mixt with the things governed by them And as God governeth all things so he doth nothing obitèr rashly or inconsiderately he is well advised in every thing that he doth else it might be thought that all things came to pass by chance and fortune and so the Providence of God should no way differ from them We are rash and heady and many times carried on with more passion than reason and no corruption transporteth us so far as violent

use of variety of Agents in the world led by divers principles some by the spirit and power of grace some by the flesh and by the spirit of the world and by the Prince of the power of the air some labour to build up the Church of God others like Sanballat and Tobiah do hinder the building and crosse others who seek the welfare of Sion and altogether seek for honour and preferment for themselves Now by these contrary effects of men the Lord bringeth forth contrary events and causeth his Glory to shine thorow all How justly then are they to be reproved that have lived long yet make no special observations of those events that have happened in their dayes Some are so much taken up with vain and foolish delights as pleasant Musick jovial company feasting and carousing that they regard not the work of the Lord neither consider the operation of his hand Isa 5.12 Whoredome and wine and new wine hath stollen away their hearts Hos 4.11 Others there are whose hearts are wholly taken up with worldly business only minding earthly things It is an argument of a bruitish spirit to neglect observation Wherefore is a price put into the hand of a fool seeing he hath not an heart Prov. 17.16 Gods work is about us and in us at least in a common providence and yet few there are that see it or see God in it It is the part of fools to passe by these things without observation Who so is wise will observe these things Psal 107. ult He that is endued with heavenly wisdom and taught by the Spirit of God will observe them and shall understand the loving kindnesse of God It is admirable to consider God's Providences without the Church among the Enemies thereof The Kings of Assyria had overcome divers Nations therefore Sennacherib sends messengers to Hezekiah to tell him That the gods of the Nations could not deliver them whom his fathers had destroyed as Gozar Haran c. therefore he would have Hezekiah to have believed that he could have done the like to his God also Now the use that he makes of it was not slightly to passe by these things but makes a contrary use of it acknowledging his God to be the living God and able to save him out of his hand and that the gods whom the Assyrians had cast into the fire were no gods but the work of mens hands therefore they had destroyed them Now the issue was dreadfull to the Assyrians Isa 37.11 12 18 19 36 37 38. An Angel of the Lord in one night slayeth an hundred fourscore and five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians and Sennacherib himself was afterwards slain by two of his own sons as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god So likewise it is very observable concerning the Turks the vassals of that base and grand Impostor Mahamet who are great enemies of the Church that the Lord hath so ordered it by his Providence that they have not sent such huge armies against the Christian Church for many yeares past as they did heretofore Within the Church Christ bids us discern the signes of the times Mar. 16.2 and makes it a note of hypocrisie to be able to discerne the face of the skie and of the earth and not to discern the signes of the times as he sad to the Pharisees which then were admirable the Scepter being then departed from Judah and one of Esau's race enjoying it John Baptist the promised Elijah the forerunner of Christ being now come before the face of the Messiah as a messenger to prepare his way before him Great Miracles wrought by our Saviour the blind receiving their sight the lame walking the Lepers cleansed the deaf hearing the dead raised and the poor having the Gospel preached unto them all which shewed him to be that Messiah that was to come and not another So in Luther's time there was an admirable change What warrant have the Papists for their Jubilees but the Popes knocking at Rome-Gates with his golden hammer promising pardon to whomsoever shall enter in at them that year bringeth much Gold to St Peter's chair and the Pope's coffer keeping their Kitchen smokeing Jubilees were of use before Christs coming but ever since out of date clear light shining out of thick darknesse the year of Jubilee proclaimed the acceptable year of our Lord the year of release from Babilonish thraldom and Popish superstition free justification by the blood of Christ preached An Angel cometh down from heaven having great power and the earth was lightned with his glory and he crieth out mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the great is fallen c. Rev. 18.1 2. and vers 4. Another voice from Heaven saith Come out of her my people that ye be not pertakers of her sinnes and that ye receive not of her plagues And is it not vrey needfull for us to observe the Signs of these our times how many Nations professing the truth of the Gospell with us have of late endured many hard and sore trials God hath destroyed the strength of many Kingdomes overthrowing the Charets and those that rode in them the Horses and their riders have come down Hag. 2.21 22. every one by the Sword of his Brother God hath even shaken the Heavens over us and the earth under us for the great formality and lukewarmnesse intemperance earthlymindednesse of the Nations and for the great opposition of the Kingdom of Christ the beauty of holynesse and the truth of God clearly revealed in the Gospell Furthermore It is very observable how that many men in all ages have been taken away by suddain judgements and that divers waies Herod on a suddain cometh upon the Galileans and killeth them as they were Sacrificing mingling their Blood with their Sacrifices Luk. 13.1 upon eighteen others a Tower falls suddainly and killeth them as the house upon Job's Children Thus some men have been taken away in their drunkennesse and in their riotous meetings some fall from scaffolds some be slain with timber some killed with the overthrow of earth some drowned some with falls from Horses some with Tiles or Stones falling from Houses Mayer Exposit in Jam. Paenitentia est animi medicina Lactant. Secunda Tabula post naufragium Hieron as that worthy Roman Captain riding through the streets of Rome in Triumph after a famous victory was killed by a Tile of a House falling on his head Now the use and end of God's judgments upon some is to work amendment and repentance upon all Repentance as Lactantius calls it is the Physick of the soul which all that be sin sick as all Adam's brood be must take before they can be recovered and all that will not be drowned in the Sea of Sinne must of necessity swim out upon the plank of repentance CHAP. XXXV Instruction second Instruct 2 AS we must observe So likewise we must be carefull to remember and not forget