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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
order_n	brethren_n	priest_n	zion_n	30	3	9.6845	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60477	Christian religion's appeal from the groundless prejudices of the sceptick to the bar of common reason by John Smith.	Smith, John, fl. 1675-1711.	1675 (1675)	Wing S4109; ESTC R26922	707,151	538

Jerusalem who in their Letter to their Brethren in Aegypt 2 Mac. 1. 18. give them an account at large how by the appointment of Jeremy the sacred Fire was hid by some Religious Priests in a Pit and by Nehemiah's Order search being made for it by the posterity of those Priests they found thick Water or Naphthar therein which being laid upon the Sacrifices kindled as soon as the Sun-beams beat thereon and consumed the sacrifices the Memorial whereof they pray the Jews of Aegypt that they would as they of Iudaea had done celebrate Contrary to the plain inference of Nehemiah's Nehem. 10 34. putting it among the Articles of that Covenant he made all the Jews seal to That they would make provision for the perpetual keeping of the Fire upon the Altar according to the appointment of the Law Levit. 9. 24. 10. 1. 3. Which pious act of his he concludes his Book with and presents it to God as a Sacrifice of a sweet odour Nehem. 13. ult And for the Wood-offering at times appointed and for the first-fruits remember me O my God for good All which from the beginning to the end would have been no better than the taking of Gods Name in vain had that Fire which consumed the first acceptable Sacrifice which they offered after their Return been no more then ordinary Fire for then they might without any offence to God have kindled it anew every time they sacrificed Contrary to what follows from Gods accepting those Sacrifices which by Nehemiah's order were offered which upon that consideration God discriminates from those were offered before the Temple was built professing they were unclean because they touched the unclean that is had strange Fire put to them Hag. 2. 12. That no burnt Sacrifice was acceptable to God but what was consumed by holy Fire was a Maxim so universally receiv'd in the Church as Moses expresseth Gods fire coming down upon Abels and not upon Cain's Sacrifice by God 's having respect to Abels and not Cain's and therefore Theodosion Translates that Text Gen. 4. 4 Inflammavit Deus in Abel ejus sacrificium at in Cain ejus sacrificium non inflammavit Deus God sent Fire down upon Abels Sacrifice c. For no other way can be conceiv'd how Cain could know Gods acceptance of his Brother's and rejection of his own but this visible Sign as St. Jerom observes in locum Hence our English Translators parallel Gen. 4. 4. with Lev. 9. 24. 1 Reg. 18. 38. 2 Chron. 7. 1. where 't is said the fire came down from the Lord upon the Sacrifice at the Dedication of the Altar at Elijah's Prayer and at the Dedication of the Temple So that the Sons of Aarons offering with strange fire Lev. 10. 1. seems to be imputed to their being at that time stark Drunk vers 9. 10. which occasion'd that prohibition to the Priests from drinking Wine when they went into the Sanctuary If therefore they had not holy Fire to Sanctifie the Altar the Altar could not Sanctifie the Sacrifice but both remain'd prophane as they had been before the affirming of which is manifestly contrary to those many and plain Promises that in the Second Temple Their Sacrifices should come up with acceptance upon Gods Altar And lastly contrary to as good Authority as Secular Records afford that the Memorial of that holy Fire was Celebrated as long as the Temple stood in the yearly Festival called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on the 22d day of Abib say Johasin and the Modern Jewish Calendar but in truth on the 14. of Lous as Josephus calculates So well seen are the modern Jews in their own Antiquities and yet their blind conjectures are by some short-reason'd Theologues embrac'd as Oracles de Bel Jud. 2. 17 When that Festival came which they call Xulophoria on which day the custome was for every one to bring in Wood for the Temple that the Fire on the Altar might never want fuel for they never let it go out but kept it perpetually burning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rebels would not permit the adverse party to celebrate that Religious Service and on the day following to wit the 15. of Lous they assaulted the Castle of Antonia This was in the latter end of Nero's 11 year as Scaliger observes to whom for further satisfaction I refer the Reader de emend temp l. 7. an in Comp. Jud. p. c. 49. § 3. No less vain will the Caballistical Assertion touching the absence of Urim and Thummim under the Second Temple appear to him that has but dipp'd his lips fonte Caballino in the Pegasean Spring of mere Humane Learning and by gargling his Palate with that Water has so far rectified it as 't is able to discern of Tastes and to distinguish betwixt the insipid Flegme of frothie and the savoury juice of substantial Authors among which last the often-quoted and never sufficiently praised Josephus gives as full an evidence against the Caballists as can be desired in his Jud. ant 3. 9. where speaking of the two Sardonichs upon the High Priests Shoulders how that that upon the right shoulder as often as the Priest was to Sacrifice sent forth such a sparkling light beyond his own Nature as they that were at a great distance might see it certainly saith he deserves admiration with all men except those that seek by their contempt of Religion to gain a repute of being wise but that is much more admirable which I am now about to say to wit that God was wont to pronounce victory by twelve precious stones which the High Priest wore upon his Breast-plate For before the Army march'd such a Brightness shone from them as gave light to all the people that God was present and would be an aid to them that invocated him Wherefore the Greeks so many of them as do not abhorr our Religion having had such certain experiments of this Miracle as could not be gainsaid call'd the Breast-plate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the Oracle But both the Sardonix on the high Priest shoulder and the Gemms on his Breast-plate have ceased to send forth their brightness two hundred years ago God being displeased with our Nation for their contempt and violation of his Law of which I shall speak elsewhere Thus far Josephus whom I make conscience of following rather than the whole College of conjecturing Caballists while he plays the part of an Historian and therefore collect from this Text that the Urim and Thummim continued under the Second Temple almost 300 years and to within little more than one hundred of our Saviours Birth for Josephus wrote his Jewish Antiquities in the latter end of the Reign of Domitian Though I may without impeachment to his credit suspend my assent to his Conclusions when he acts the Divine as he doth in assigning the reason of the Dimness of these precious Stones to be that Nations contempt of Gods Law which I think may better be ascribed to what he did

that sweet morsel of Judeas Crown under his Tongue which he had in his hope swallowed and must regorge if St. Paul carry the day would set his wits on work to seek evasions and starting-holes in every corner of his Apology in the whole Web of whose Discourse upon that subject how glad would his own dear interest have made him could he have found one Wemb through which he might have seen the least glimmering of a possibility that those emergencies in Judaea then under contest before him were not such as St. Paul reported them to be Can we think that Christian Apologist could satisfie Nero in that point as St. Jerome in the place forecited insinuates by his in prima satisfactione which he so much desired to disbelieve till he had throughly weighed and canvas'd all St. Paul's and his Adversaries Pleas and found the Apostle to be irrefragable Briefly To sum up the whole of this Argument A man may without any violent elevation of his mind fancy Judea that Navel of the Earth to have been a Stage erected for the Actors in the midst of the Theatre of the World and the Inhabitants of the Empire sitting in a round as spectators and observing what was there acted with the greatest silence imaginable We are made saith St. Paul a theatre to men and Angels What hinders but we may interpret that Text by Daniel 10. 13. the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia and Vers. 14. Michael one of the chief Princes and Chap. 12. 1. Michael the great Prince that standeth for the children of thy people and by Angels understand the Angel-presidents over Nations those Eyes of the Lord according to Mr. Mede that run through the Earth To be sure they might at that time have seen all the World sitting still and at rest yea themselves then resting from impeding withstanding opposing deteining one another in behalf of their several Jurisdictions and had leisure to sit down for company with their Pupils and fix their running Eyes upon that strange sight was a showing in Judaea upon that one Stone cut out of the Mountain without hands However this Text can imply no less than Action upon the Stage Tumultuations in Judea with silence among the Spectators Peace in all the World about and that Peace allowed the Empire without the least distraction to trie to the bottom the grounds of those Commotions and those grounds being of highest concern to the Spectators res tua tunc agitur It must needs be morally impossible that the Christian Church could by any the handsomest Legerdemain delude that Eagles Eye so fixedly pitch'd on these Occurrences and so steadily pearch'd upon that Olive-plant of an Universal Peace an attempt to cheat the Spectators in such a Juncture would have been such an Act quòd ipse Non sani esse hominis non sanus juret Orestes as he that had but half an Eye would swear to be the undertaking of scarce half-witted men I am now come to a Period of this tedious and toilsom Pilgrimage through the holy Age if I may call the Time so as well as the Place which Christ separated from all other Ages wherein to manifest himself in the flesh and divulge his Royal Law undertaken not out of curiosity to see Fashions but upon the same account which I have observed many of the Ancients to have travelled to the holy Land to inform themselves more explicitly in the Evangelical History to confirm themselves more feelingly by ocular Demonstration in the truth of that History or to delight their inamour'd Souls with the Contemplation of the places where the Blessed Jesus convers'd here he wept here he pray'd here he fasted this was the place of his Birth this of his Baptism this of his Transfiguration on this Hill he gave his Royal Law on this he foil'd the Tempter on this his sacred Feet printed their farewel-kiss to the Earth such Meditations could not but deeply affect confirm the Religious Pilgrim This put me upon enquiring whether the same Religious Use might not be made of travelling through the holy Age and this Enquiry upon making trial aiming at the informing my self as it were by ocular Inspection whether it was an Age likely to be imposed upon as our Modern Scepticks insinuate In which travel I have been forc'd to take Secular Writers for my Guides that I might frame my Journals in a Language which they whose couviction I endeavour profess themselves to understand and to take pleasure in the sound of entertaining my self with those hopes that Secular History as well as A Verse may take him whom a Sermon flies And turn delight into a sacrifice And that our great Criticks in Humanity may deign to peruse a Discourse that hath cost the Author so many weary steps and not think him immodest in this request that they would in order to their own satisfaction with him who for their sake hath travell'd over the Mountains of the Leopards that he might take and give them a prospect of that Age vouchsafe to take one view of it from Mount Sion and mark one Bulwark more it had against treacherous surprizals grounded upon the Candour and Integrity of its Assailants enough to have secur'd it had it not been intrench'd and without which all the Fortifications we have seen the remains of would be but so many Monuments of the Subtilty and Stratagems of the Conquerours It will therefore be necessary in order to a full sail Assurance of the truth of our general Proposition to turn our sail to this Wind our thoughts to this Observation CHAP. XII As no Age was less like to be Cheated than that wherein the Apostles flourish'd so no Generation of Men was less like to put a Cheat upon the World than the Apostolick and Primitive Church § 1. The Apostles and Primitive Churches Veracity evinc'd by their chusing Death rather than an Officious Lye to save their lives Pliny's testimony of them § 2 3. They hide not their imperfections nor the Truth to please Parties or to avoid the Worlds taking offence The offence which Heathens took at some Gospel-passages § 4. All false Religions make lyes their Refuge Pagan Forgeries § 5. Papal Innovation founded on lying Legends Sr. Thomas Moor upon St. Austin Gregory Turonensis and Simeon Metaphrastes devout Lyars The Story of the Baptist ' s Heod § 1. 1. THeir avowed Principles touching making a Lye though with an intention to serve God by it were That the Devil is the Father of it Joh. 8. 44. That whoso love or make a Lye shall be excluded Heaven and detruded into the society and torments of Devils Apocal. 22. 15. Now had Men of this Profession abused the World with false Stories in a matter of so high a concern as Religion it would have render'd them in the opinion of all men the veriest miscreants that ever liv'd would certainly have allayd that confidence they used in justifying the truth of their Reports to the faces of men