Selected quad for the lemma: world_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	day_n	holy_a	sabbath_n	3,263	5	9.5375	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30417	A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city of London, at Bow-Church, September 2, 1680 being the anniversary fast for the burning of London / by Gilbert Burnet.	Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.	1680 (1680)	Wing B5872; ESTC R21523	22,080	40

these If we believe that the World is governed by a Supreme Providence we must conclude that more astonishing and extraordinary Events not only fall not out by chance but are directed for some great ends proportioned to such means If either an Accident or a Combination of cursed Men first kindled this Fire yet the Wind that waited on it and drive it forward with such violence that neither the many Hands that were employed to quench it the Neighbourhood of so much Water the Engines used and all the other Means that could be thought on were effectual to stop its Rage till it had done its Work was a manifest Indication of the Hand of God it And how much soever Mens thoughts may be now blunted on this Subject yet then as I have understood from those that saw it there were few that look'd on that seemed not touched with the apprehensions of God's displeasure Many that were not immediatly concerned in it yet smote on their Breasts and said This is of God let us return to Him I shall not enlarge on the Description of it or of the unexpected stopping of it in many places even in the midst of very combustible Matter so that the quenching of it had almost as manifest Characters of a Divine Appointment on it as the Conflagration it self It would very ill become one that saw it not to spend much Discourse about it to those that saw it and as it is to be presumed will never forget it but will tell it to the succeeding Age as God commanded the Israelites to convey down to Posterity the remembrance of the Captivity they had groaned under in Egypt with the signal Deliverance out of it for things of so extraordinary a nature ought never to be forgotten I know it is not sit upon every Calamity to enter into the Secrets of God's Providence nor to determine what were and were not the procuring Causes or what were the more principal ones In these Cases men of several Parties have always found out somewhat in which they thought themselves least concerned and have been willing to load that with the whole burthen of God's Indignation and so upon this occasion Men have not been wanting to assign such Causes as might make those from whom they differed more hateful But who has said What have I done And indeed tho we may err in saying one thing more than another drew down this Judgment on us and in the enumeration of the Causes of it may fail in the Account yet it is certain that when we lay them all together and more particularly reflect on such of them wherein we find our selves most concerned we are in the readiest way to prevent the like or heavier Judgments from coming on us for the future It were also a vain and bold Presumption in any to enquire into this Secret Why this City more than others or these parts of it more than others were burnt down Our Saviour by his Answer upon the like occasion concerning those whose Blood Pilate mixed with their Sacrifices or those on whom the Tower of Siloah fell takes all Men off from such Curiosities suggesting to them a more profitable Meditation I tell you Nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish In general we are certain that God afflicts us not willingly and so without a more particular enquiry we may conclude that there were great reasons for this awakening Dispensation And therefore instead of looking backward any longer I now proceed to the Second Point to examine What effects this or the like Providences have produced upon us And whether we have returned to the Lord or not I shall confine my Discourse to those three Heads on which the Prophet founds his Charge Irreligion Luxury and Vnrighteousness and shall desire you to bear with the Plainness which becomes such a subject and sombere Occasion I cannot say upon the first Head of Religion that the chief part of the Prophet's Accusation 〈◊〉 us for the Sins of Dan and Bethel do not belong unto us we have not set up a new Way of Religion different from that appointed by God we have not bin guilty of any open Idolatry in worshipping the Works of Mens hands or of making any resemblance of that invisible Being whom we adore But in the Head of Religion I shall name other things wherein we have bin as far from returning to God as the Ten Tribes were First They minded nothing but the external Pageantry the Musick and other outward Performances and were weary often of these so that their solemn Days were Abominations to God And now if we look among our selves tho there may be perhaps more Care in this great City than in any of the World about the decent Observation of the Sabbath this is the Magistrates Glory who do so carefully restrain the Violation of that holy Time yet many of those who in compliance with Custom go to Church do it meerly for Form But if we examine what these Assemblies amount to for the greatest part we cannot think but God abhorrs and despises them Many go to them only for Custom others to shew their vain Apparel and dress themselves with such gawdy Pomp as if it were a Play rather than the Worship of God they went to bear a share in I speak not against modest Decency and Cleanness but the vanity of many Peoples Dress is no small Scandal to our Churches who not only gratify their own Pride but do all they can to distract and tempt others In the Worship of God how little serious are we in all the parts of it We confess our Sins without Contrition we pray without Devotion we praise God without Affection we hear the Scriptures without Faith So in a word all is but Form and even of that we grow soon weary Any Excuse serves us either to be absent or to come late The too visible coldness of most People behaviour shew their Hearts join not with their Bodies or their Lips in the Worship of God For Sermons they are hearkened to as other Discourses are which we either censure or commend as we see cause or perhaps sleep all the while But if we do mind them it is for most part rather to furnish our selves with some Notion to maintain Discourse and to gratify our Vanity than to be truly edified by them And what we hear that more immediatly concerns our selves we put off perhaps with a slight Groan and may be say within our selves God be merciful to us we are all Sinners Do we think God is pleased or can be delighted with such Assemblies For the two Sacraments the Devotion of the one is almost quite gone it becomes a matter of Entertainment and is used as a Ceremony that brings much Cost with it the Sponsors considering more the Fees they are to give than the Vows they make and these being so slightly made no wonder they are slightly performed It is true the other Sacrament

some other things seems to give just Apprehensions that we may live yet to see such days I confess on the other hand the Appearances seem more probable and threatning that we shall be brought under the Tyranny of that Church that can never hope to advance her Interests but by suppressing this Light by prohibiting the Scriptures and persuading the World to deliver up their Faith and Conscience to the keeping and governing of their Priests for who can go over to them till his Mind is so loaded with Prejudices that he dares not use his Understanding and Reason Can any man believe that a Bishop chosen with all the craft and intrigue that can be used among the cunningest Statesmen in the World should be presently the Head of the Church the Universal Pastor St. Peter's Successor and the Supreme Judge of all Controversies who though he understand no Divinity and practises as little Morality yet must decide all Controversies of Religion and that in his Sentence all must acquiesce He that can believe this is well enough prepared to go over to them and to believe the onely thing I know which is more incredible that a Priest by vertue of a Character given him which is every whit as unintelligible as this great Effect of it can by pronouncing of five words make a piece of Bread and a little Wine become the whole and entire Substance of the Body and Blood of Christ so that it is all in every crumb and drop of it These are things to which men must be long and well prepared before they can think they believe them for it may be justly made a Question whether they do or indeed can believe them This Religion must of necessity for its own support extinguish the Light of the Scriptures in which the part that came more immediately than any other from God himself has not escaped their Expurgation I mean the ten Commandments of which the Second one of the fullest and most copious of them is left out of their Catechismes because it must have cleansed the Churches of Images and the many other Monuments of Idolatry with which they had defiled it And in the New Testament that part of it on which they have built most is yet so contrary to one of their Devices that it was fit for them not to let the People understand it I mean the Institution of the Eucharist in which Christ said Drink ye all of this when he gave his Disciple the Cup. They had also made their Worship so ridiculous by the many strange Legends read on the Saints dayes to which both the Collects and Anthems for these Offices do relate that it had been hard to have brought the Pople to hear these things gravely Therefore it was very fit for these ends to have their Worship in an unknown Tongue though St. Paul has written so copiously on that Subject that it is not easie to imagine how their minds are composed who believe that he was inspir'd and yet approve of a Worship in a Language not understood by the People But after all these Corruptions of theirs why should we not think it reasonable to believe that since we have given our selves up to some of the worst Effects of Popery God should abandon us so far as to suffer us to come again under that yoke from which by a mighty hand he delivered our Fathers While we worship him merely out of Form what difference is there between that and the telling of Beads If we think a loose Life may by a few touches of Sorrow be so expiated that these shall carry us to Heaven is not this almost as bad as to believe Attrition is sufficient to Salvation If we think our coming to Church or Sacrament will save us is it not as bad as their Opus operatum If we blindly deliver our selves up to a Party and follow all its Interests what better is this than their Implicit Obedience and if we allow our selves in that rage and violence by which many carry on their Opinions seeking the Ruin of all who differ from them and spare no Methods how false or cruel soever they be This is not far from their Extirpating of Hereticks and saying there is no Faith to be kept to them If by these and many more particulars we examine how much the Spirit of Popery doth still leaven us many of these who seem most heartily opposite to it will be found deeply tinctured with it And if we are secretly corrupted with some of the worst Principles of that Religion before we are aware of it the other parts will more easily follow Our Doctrine and Worship are Reformed That we owe to the last Age and to our Educations But if our Hearts and Lives are vitiated by the same ill Principles under another disguise it will not be so great a Leap as some men imagine to get over that Gulf. Here is one danger before us it is a great one indeed and perhaps the very Methods some may use to secure us from it may precipitate us headlong unto it Caiaphas advised the Iews to kill our Saviour fearing that upon his pretending to be a King the Romans might come and take that place But this did so provoke God that what they feared came upon them so whether some by overbending their Zeal and Fervour may not overthrow a Church which has been ever since the Reformation began the greatest Bulwark against Popery and drive things much farther than at present they intend or imagine I leave it to the thoughts of wiser men The other thing threatned by the Prophet is their being led unto Captivity and given up to the Sword Our present Wealth and Plenty the Situation of our Countrey the strength of our Fleets and the natural Bravery of the Nation may seem perhaps to raise us beyond the fear of it England never having been higher in Trade our Plantations never stronger and better Peopled our Dominions never more extended and our Shipping going from under one end of Heaven to another But alas if God blast our publick Counsels and strike us at home with such a Division of Heart that we cannot agree in things that are necessary for common Safety all our Wealth makes us but a more inviting Prey either for a Tyre or Sidon that may be near us who would gladly carry our Trade from us or for a great Conquerour that hovers over any of his Neighbours to spye from whence he can receive an Addition to his Empire and Glory And if God intends to give us up to Captivity he will take away the Heart from our Councellors and Spirit and Courage from our Armies and Fleets as the Prophets threatned the Israelites often that those to whom God was to deliver them up should come upon them with so unresistable a Force and meet with so faint an Opposition that they should easily fall into their hands There is nothing in which the overruling Force of divine