Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	babylon_n	view_n	zion_n	23	3	11.6346	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79477	Sions memento, and Gods alarum. In a sermon at VVestminster, before the Honorable House of Commons, on the 31. of May 1643. the solemne day of their monethly fast. By Francis Cheynell late Fellow of Merton College in Oxford. Printed and published by order of the House of Commons.	Cheynell, Francis, 1608-1665.; England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons. aut	1643 (1643)	Wing C3816; Thomason E55_13; ESTC R16225	52,682	55

had of old set up his Ordinances there and made them a gracious promise That they should return thither again and enjoy him once more in the Beauty the Glory of Holinesse There were two Mounts which did belong to Hierusalem Mount Moriah and Mount Zion the Temple was built upon Mount Zion and therefore Zion was the Mount of Holinesse and as it were the Throne of God here below thither did the people flock Micah 4. 2. Come let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord for the Law shall go forth of Zion behold Zion is the Mountain of the Lord But we must consider further that besides the Iewish Sion there is a Christian Sion spoken of in the Prophets and this very place of Micah which I have cited points at the Christian Sion a Church consisting of all Nations Gentiles as well as Jews be pleased to peruse the words But in the last dayes it shall come to passe that the Mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the Mountains and it shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow unto it and many Nations shall come and say Let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord verse 1. 2. That this is clearly meant of the Christian Sion besides the evidence of the words themselves the last verse of the former Chapter the third Chapter of Micah doth sufficiently declare for the Iewish Sion Sion in the letter was to be plowed as a field and the Mountain of that House was to be left as desolate as the high-places of the Forest Moreover this Prophesie was to be fulfilled in the last dayes Micah 4. 1. Finally the Law shall go forth of Zion saith the Prophet Micah to the Jews the Law came forth of Sinai but to the Christian Church consisting of Jews and Gentiles the Law came forth of Sion when the Spirit was plentifully powred down upon some of all Nations at Ierusalem Acts 2. and therefore not * Rome but the Church which was gathered at Ierusalem if any Church was the a Metropolitane or mother Church and younger Churches were the daughters of that Evangelicall Sion For we are not come to the Mount that burnt with fire Heb. 12. 18. but unto Mount Sion Verse 22. The Apostle doth expound this Allegory more fully Galat. 4. 24. Which things saith he are an Allegory for these are two covenants or testaments the one from Mount Sinai which gendreth to bondage the other then is from Mount Sion which tendeth to freedom a covenant of Grace the spirit of grace and holinesse which is more plentifully poured out upon the Christian Sion makes us precious sonnes of Sion free-men indeed You see the Bounds of Sion Let us now take a view of Babylon I need not say any thing of Babylon in Egypt my Text points me to Babylon in Assyria the Scriptures mention a third b Babylon and in my Application the times will call upon me by Analogy and proportion to speake much of this third Babylon which is a Mysticall Babylon the Romish Babylon and yet I think wee need not travaile so farre as Rome to finde out Babylon did you never heare of an English Babylon in Ireland and an Irish Babylon in England and a Romish Babylon even in Scotland Is there not a Babylon in the North and another in the West a Babylon almost in every City towne and parish nay if we are impartiall in the search we shall certainely finde some Malignant lusts some brats of Babylon in our owne bosome you see the bounds of Babylon I shall begin with the Jewish Sion and shew you what reason this Sion had to deliver her self from the Assyrian Babylon 1. The first Reason is because God had so often called upon Sion to separate from Babylon the people were First awakened by Jeremiahs prophecy Secondly they were encouraged by Cyrus his Proclamation you may finde both put together Ezra 1. 1. Now in the first yeare of Cyrus King of Persia that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might bee fulfilled the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia that he made Proclamation c. There was a threefold Call a call from God a call from the Prophet and a call from the King and the Lord who stirred up the spirit of Jeremy and the spirit of Cyrus did stirre up the spirit of his people to answer this call and depart from Babylon for upon this Proclamation divers of the children of the Captivity went up to Ierusalem under the conduct of their Generall Z●rubbabel as you may read Ezra 2. 1 2. Now these are the Children of the Province that went up out of the Captivity of those which had beene carried away unto Babylon and came againe unto Ierusalem and Iudah every one unto his City which came with Zerubbabel c. Thirdly the Governors people were quickned to this great duty of forsaking Babylon and building Sion by the ministry of the Prophet Haggai and about two moneths after by the Prophet Zechariah Ezra 5. 1. Hag. 1. 1. Zech. 1. 1. They both prophecied in the second yeer of Darius Haggai in the sixth moneth Zechary in the eight moneth But it seemes too many of the people upon some Carnall discouragements were unwilling to goe to Ierusalem which was now but an heap of old rubbish and dead ashes nay some were as willing to stay in Babylon as Lots sons-in-law to ●tay in Sodom God therefore gave them another Call yet in the seventh yeere of the raigne of Artaxerxes and then many went up from Babylon upon the motion of Ezra the scribe Ezra 7. 6 7 8. ver. But there were many lingerers behind yet and our long-suffering God who is rich in patience did vouchsafe another Call yet about thirteene yeeres after in the twentieth yeere of Artaxerxes ●or about that time Nehemiah began to stirre as you may read Nehem. 2. 1. You see here is Call upon Call this may suffice for the first Reason * because nothing but obedience to the Call of God can declare us to be the true Church of God My second reason is taken from the Terminus à Quo the place from whence they were called Babylon or the daughters of Babylon the City of Babylon was the Metropolis or mother Citty the adjoyning townes and villages are called the daughters of Babylon because they followed the ill example of the City they were nursed up in all manner of Babylonish Idolatry and Impiety Some of the people that belonged to Sion did certainely loyter too long in these townes and villages and therefore the Prophet calls upon them in my Text Deliver thy selfe O Zion that dwellest with Babylon with the daughters of Babylon that are as bad as their mother Babylon is in the language of Augustine The City of the Devill and was it fit that the people of God should lye loytering in the City of

but we may have as many Images and Idols as we please and so take the Name of our God in vain we must keep all the Saints dayes and then we shall not be at leisure to keep the Lords-day you know the Popes Agents here in England about four years ago did not onely dispense with the people for observing the Lords-day but enjoyn them to prophane it you know their Doctrine about Aequivocation and Fornication they do too often count Murther meritorious a Doctrine which doth well become the mouth of that purple whore who is drunk with the blood of Saints St. John hath drawn this Monster to the life you may guesse how the Pope will tyrannize by the very picture of the Beast Revel. 13. 2. No one beast hath ill qualities enough to furnish the Pope and therefore he borrows something from the Leopard and something from the Bear and something from the Lyon besides what he hath from the Dragon this Antichristian Monarch hath all the tyrannizing qualities of three of those Monarchies which the Prophet Daniel hath described the Leopard was the type of the Graecian the Bear of the Persian the Lyon of the Babylonian Monarchy it is observable that he hath the Mouth of a Lyon a Babylonian mouth he will plead for Babylon he will send forth such Edicts as Nebuchadnezzar did they shall be burnt alive who will not worship the Image which he hath set up You see he hath the mouth of a Lyon nay the mouth of a Dragon for though he pretends that he is the servant of servants and the curse of Cham indeed is a fit title for him nay though he say he is Christs Vicar and hath two horns like a Lambe yet he speaks like a Dragon Revel. 13. 11. What say you then brethren shall we run into the paw of this Bear into the mouth of this Lyon this Dragon who is as great a tyrant as the Graecians Persians Babylonians put them all together nay he comes in the power of the Dragon of the Devill himself and therefore he will not onely tyrann●ze as an Emperour but as a Devill Deliver thy self O Sion from the Babylonian Army that thou mayest never groan under the iron yoak of Babylonian tyranny 4. Consider that the men of Europe are most given to admire the Babylonian Beast and to submit unto him All the world saith St. Iohn wondred after the Beast Revel. 13. 3. this was the Europaean world take heed ye men of Europe do not wonder after the Beast for fear you worship him for so it follows in the very next verse first they wondred and then they worshipped be not terrified with the strength and provisions of the Babylonian Army if any man be stricken with fear and admiration both at once and cry out with those admirers and worshippers of the Beast Revel. 13. 4. Who is like unto the Beast who is able to make warre with him let him take these following Encouragements and then he shall see that there is one that is able to make war with the Beast 1. My first way of Encouragement is to remove your discouragements and to affright you out of all your fears you are afraid of the threats and rage of the Babylonian Party I will fright you more Christ doth out-threaten Antichrist therefore if you will be affrighted feare Christ most the wrath of God and the effects of his wrath his punishments are far more terrible then any that can be inflicted by the Babylonian Army read the fourteenth Chapter of the Revelation the ninth and following verses If any man worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand observe that though by his forehead he may seem a Neuter yet if he have the Mark in his hand and work closely under-board for Antichrist that man shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation and ●e shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels and in the presence of the Lamb And the smoak of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever and they have no rest day nor night who worship the Beaest and his image and whosoever receives the mark of his name What think you now have not they who comply with Antichrist greater discouragements then they that oppose him had not a man better adventure up to the very mouth of a Cannon then be tormented with the fire of He●● or the wrath of God Let the fear of God preserve thee from all false fears Timor Dei efficit ut caetera non timeantur Fear not them that kill the body but fear him who can cast thy soule and body into Hell yea feare him Dost thou not beleeve a Resurrection why then dost thou fear them that kill the body shew me an army that can keep my body from rising or my soul from ascending I will be afraid of them My second Encouragement is taken from Gods dealing with Babylon of old I shall not tell you any long stories out of Xenophon Herodotus or the rest about the taking of Babylon but content my self with what I finde in Scripture 1. God did dry up Euphrates a river so deep and swift that the Babylonians laughed at all the attempts of any enemy that should go about to take their City and yet Babylon was soon taken when God did but say to the deep Be dry Isai. 44. 27. God did plead the cause of Sion and dry up the sea of Babylon and all the springs Ierem. 51. 36. And will not God plead the cause of his Evangelicall Sion will he not dry up the Euphrates the Sea of Rome and all her springs Yes surely God doth intend to dry up the Romish Euphrates Revel. 16. 12. The River is not now so deep it doth not overflow the banks so far as it hath done of late dayes we have gained much ground from the Romish-sea Let us look to our Banks and keep what we have gained 2. God did give up the Babylonians to luxury drunkennesse security I will make them drunken that they may rejoyce and sleep a perpetuall sleep and not awake saith the Lord Jerem. 〈◊〉 39. The people of Babylon were drunk and asleep and left the gates open Isai. 45. 1. 3. God did break thorow all their Fortifications and make all those gates and bars which were fast flie open to make way for Cyrus Isai. 45. 2. 4. God did discover all the hid treasure and secret wealth of Babylon Isai. 45. 3. Finally God did speake terrour to the hearts of the Babylonians their hands did faint their hearts did melt their faces were like a pale trembling flame which rises now and anon it falls and at last goes away in a smoak so I understand that place Isai. 13. 8. Their faces shall be as the faces of the flames It is certain that God loves his Evangelicall