Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	lord_n	people_n	word_n	7,267	5	4.0951	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44166	A sermon preached at the assizes at Leicester, March 19, 1685, being the county-court also when the nobility and gentry met to chuse [sic] their knights for the ensuing Parliament / by Richard Holland ...	Holland, Richard, 1679-1706.	1685 (1685)	Wing H2435; ESTC R805	11,442	36

A SERMON Preached at the ASSIZES AT LEICESTER MARCH 19. 1685. Being the County-Court also when the Nobility and Gentry met to chuse their Knights for the ensuing Parliament By Richard Holland A. M. and Rector of St. George's Church in Stamford LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1685. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THEOPHILVS Earl of HVNTINGDON Lord Hastings Hungerford Botreaux Moels Newmarch and Molins Captain of the Guard of Pensioners and one of the Lords of His Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council May it please your Lordship THis Discourse preached at the Assizes at Leicester and now Printed at the Request of the High Sheriff Grand Jury and other principal Gentry of the Countrey I presume to lay at your Lordship's Feet and humbly beg for it and the Author your Lordship's Friendship and Patronage which my Relations never wanted from your noble Ancestors Nothing but its Plainness Honesty and Loyalty could recommend it to the Auditory consisting most of your Lordship's Tenants and Neighbours and those Recommendations I am sure will welcom it to your Honor which therefore I most humbly entreat your Lordship to accept as a Testimony of a grateful Mind for those manifold Favours which my Relations for many Generations have received from your honourable Ancestors and for those I have so often and so lately experienced myself from your Lordship and as an Earnest and Pledge that I shall always behave my self as becomes Your Lordship's Most obliged Faithful and obedient Servant Richard Holland EXOD. 14. Part of the 13 th Verse Fear ye not stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord. THE Words are part of a Speech made by Moses that Royal Captain of a peevish and murmuring People the Israelites to quell their Jealousies to stifle and remove their Doubts when they laboured under some dreadful Apprehensions of most dismal Ruine They were now indeed in Obedience to their God's Command and under the Conduct of their wise and great Prince upon their Journey out of Egypt but the Egyptians plot against them and pursue Pharaoh storms and resolves their Overthrow and they thought themselves in no great Likelihood of making an Escape They had just encamped near the Sea weary and dissatisfied Pharaoh and his mighty Host come thundering after them the Waves of the Sea roaring before them their Hearts fail and they look for Destruction In this desperate Case the common People begin to repine they repent now of their promis'd hopeful Freedom wish again their own slavish Condition with Garlick and Onions to be commanded by and serve the Egyptians There was nothing nearer they thought than Destruction and tho' they had oft seen the Salvation of God tho' they had been oft rescued from the Fury of their Enemies by unexpected Means tho' they had so oft gloryed in Wonders and Miracles for their Preservation yet now their Hearts sink now they almost refuse to be comforted and begin to quarrel with their Governors Moses is blamed and thought hard of as accessary to this their Misery Yet in this great Stress he encourages them to keep up their Spirits informs them of their Duty endeavors to remove their Jealousies and allay their so furious despairing Passions administers comfort to them in these words And Moses said unto the People Fear ye not stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord. This Subject then I presume as proper for our present Thoughts since there are amongst us those that will have low Hearts and jealous Minds tho' they have as little reason nay much less than these Israelites in the Text had Men that are apt and greedy to suspect that lie in wait to fear and doubt and surmise notwithstanding the late Royal Words of our most Gracious Sovereign so much of kin to these of Moses Words not only of the wise but resolute also and unalterably brave and such words tho' nothing can add encouragement to the truly loyal and obedient to be so but their Duty yet they are such words as must needs refresh all honest thoughtful Souls for the Loss of our late King a King of eternal and unvaluable Memory tho' neverhere enough honored and obeyed whilst amongst us We have indeed lately had dreadful Insinuations and Amazes Stories of insulting proud Egyptians and their Curses more dreadful than Israel ever heard of all their 400 years of Bondage Nay even amongst our selves we have had perfect and true Discoveries of whole Bands of Conspirators Gebal and Ammon Amaleck and the Philistines Herod and Pontius Pilate Turk and Jew Atheist and True Protestant all associated and threatning us with their Tyranny 'T is true Israel was oft delivered and at the Expence of Wonders too so have we been And those Old Egyptians grew but more desperate when they saw those Deliverances and received such confounding Defeats So have we had Cause enough to suspect of our Egyptians that their Hearts were hardened also when we saw them go on so proudly so impudently notwithstanding so clear Discoveries and Confessions and continue so confident in their Methods of Cruelty of Flattery of Injustice of rebellious Obstinacy and that that baulk'd at nothing that 's sacred that 's sinful that 's great rich or plausible to work out their hellish Designs And then when these Men had spread abroad their false and scandalous Rumors we were as apt to have desponding Thoughts as the old Israelites had We like them would believe idle Tales and embrace and listen to disloyal Whispers and were apt to conclude Truth in their lying fanatical Insinuations even to the discouraging of the most mild merciful and gracious Prince the over-turning and indeed excluding of our sound Faith loyal Hope and christian Charity We were as ready as those timorous Sons of Jacob were to affront and scandalize our Profession by too low and mean Apprehensions of our Condition by fearing and despairing of God's Favor by distrusting his Protection and began to hammer out new Projects of Security and Defence which were not only unlawful and in themselves cruel but abominably ungrateful and rebellious Projects which God no where commanded good men never thought on the World was never better for and Reason blusht at For when we forsake our God the God of Mercy and leave the Covert of his Wings when we begin to distrust his Governance and way-lay his ordering of Affairs when we pretend by unwarrantable Designs of our own to lay unlawful Scenes for Peace and future Safety Thus when we despair of and fly from God's Protection we make haste to Ruin we run briskly to our own Destruction and shall hardly stop till we come in that bottomless Pit And one of the first Steps in that Journey the first Lash is generally at the Government We no sooner grow afraid of Security under God we no sooner have such low Apprehensions of him but we become uneasie at his Vicegerents Our Governors presently trouble us we make them to

his Honor his Worship and Government He is challenged to the Field I will up then says God and avenge me of my Adversaries those that will not I should reign over them shall be slain before me To Conclude While there are Arms of Mercy and Bowels of Compassion while there is a God that judgeth in the Earth he will be the Safety and Preservation of his Church and People And 't is only required of us to be godly if we would be happy to be true to our Religion if we would have that secured to us Then it would defend both it self and us Then we should be for ever blessed Then all our Enemies the Enemies of our King and of our Church as by Law establish'd the Enemies of our Peace and Order who under the specious Pretexts of Religion and tenderness of Conscience thirst after our Confusion our Ruine and our Blood would howl in envy and despair in Solitariness tho' they roar as Lyons and raven it as Wolves and rest not Day nor Night like the Devil and his Angels shall in the end prove their own Tormentors and vent their Curses on themselves And our Church that has Christ for her Head that has Reason not Money or worldly Interest for her Rule Charity and Peace not Revenge and Murder Patience and Meekness not Mischief and Cruelty Obedience and Love not Rebellion and Hatred for her Doctrines This Church shall not keep Silence but repeat her Songs of Deliverance This Church shall triumph with that true Divine Rev. 12. 10. Now is come Salvation and Strength and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ for the Accuser of our Brethren is cast down There remains now only a Recommendation of those honest just Endeavors to save our selves and discover the Ginns of our Adversaries which we have express Warrant for from Almighty God There are evil factious discontented and quarrelsom Spirits amongst us that are the Troublers of our Israel that would tear us in pieces dissolve the Government and shipwrack our Peace and Safety They would do with our whole Nation as the evil Spirit did to that poor Man's Son mentioned St. Mark 9. 9. And that our Land may be dispossest of them let us observe our Saviour's words when he was about to cast out that unclean pernicious Spirit This sort says he comes not out but by prayer and fasting Other things 't is true are required of our Governors the Prudence Courage and Vigilance of whom at this time so honourably and eminently appearing makes it impudent in any to pretend to directthem But for us of the same Level with these discontented murmuring People this is not only the most justifiable Method but for this season more especially worthy of our Thoughts Let us then continually beg of God That his Protection his Deliverance may be continued to us Let us all heartily pray That he who is the God of Peace would maintain Peace and Love and Charity amongst us now and ever That he would root up all those Seeds of Sedition of Rebellion of Schism that are sowed and grow up amongst us That he would dispossess our Land of all those evil Spirits that are enter'd into it those Legions that lurk in Dens and Holes and Corners of the Earth on purpose to amuse and affright us from our Duty and then devour us so that Men amongst us may sit cloathed and in their right Minds glorifie God and sin no more That Righteousness and Peace may kiss each other amongst us that Truth and Order Love and Loyalty Justice and Mercy might dwell with us to the last And that he would grant to our Gracious Sovereign a long glorious and peaceable Reign here with the Hearts Affections and constant Prayers of all his People and hereafter eternal Rest with a Crown of immortal Glory And then for Fasting would we be free from all Evils the Evils of Fears and Jealousies and still live in Peace and Safety would we enjoy our most excellent Religion and un-interrupted Quiet we must subdue all Lusts and Passions all inordinate Desires vain Love and silly doating upon earthly things that our Souls may not be darken'd or clouded with them but in purity declare the Honour of God that our minds may enjoy the Fulness of Pleasure the everlasting Good being kept pure and clean swept and garnished and God himself may delight to descend and enter into us Then would he for ever defend us Then should our King rule in Joy and Safety and we obey in Peace and Plenty Then should all our Enemies sneak and be ashamed but we fear not be bold as Lyons and our Prince should live to see all his enemies scatter'd the Government for ever secured and such a Peace commenc'd as shall be above the Power of Rome Geneva or Hell to quash or null it Which God of his c. FINIS