Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	great_a	place_n	see_v	2,240	5	3.1639	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78979	An indictment against England because of her selfe-murdering divisions: together vvith an exhortation to an England-preserving vnity and concord. Presented in a sermon preached before the Right Honourable House of Lords in the Abby church at Westminster; at the late solemne fast, December 25. 1644. By Edmund Calamy, B.D. and pastour of Aldermanbury in London.	Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.	1645 (1645)	Wing C256; Thomason E23_5; ESTC R21745	38,703	51

from their very childhoods they did differ one from the other and never could agree But when a common enemy came against them then Aristides comes by night to Themistocles and saith unto him Si sapimus omissâ tandem iuvenili et inani concertatione contentionem de servanda Graecia salubrem honestamque suscipiamus c. Let us leave all youthly contentions and tend unanimously to the publique good Oh that this counsell might take impression in the hearts of us Christians at this time Eightly Consider further how that the very Devils in hell agree to promote their owne kingdome If Satan be divided against Satan saith Christ how can his Kngdome stand And my Text is brought as I have said as an argument to prove that Christ did not cast out Devils by the power of Belzebub because then Satan should be divided against himselfe and seeke his own ruine which he will never doe There is peace amongst the Devils in hell And certainly there cannot be better Musicke to the Divels in hell then to see the Parliament divided against it selfe and the City divided against it selfe and the Godly Ministers divided against themselves at such a time as this is Ninthly and especially 〈◊〉 Lord Iesus Christ who is the Great Peacemaker who came into the world when all the world was at peace at whose birth the Angels sang Glory to God on high and in earth peace who when he was dying left a Legasie of peace to his people and gave his Disciples a New Commandement to love one another which was therefore called a New Commandement because it was inforced with a new example even the example of Christs love to us Who when he made that admirable Prayer Iohn 17. the chiefe part of it was that God would make his children one as he and the Father were one And he gives the reason of it vers. 21. That the world may beleeve that then hast sent me The world will not beleeve in Christ when they see Christians disagree Nothing hinders men from beleeving in Christ more then the differences and divisions of those that doe beleeve in Christ It is an excellent observation of Athanasius That the very manner of Christs death doth preach the Doctrine of Vnitie and love to Christians For Christ was not sawen asunder as the Prophet Isaiah was He was not beheaded as Iohn Baptist was There was not a bone of his broken nor any whit of his garment rent or torne And all this to teach Christians saith he to be at unitie within themselves Was not a bone of Christ broken upon the Crosse and shall all his members breake in pieces now he is in heaven Was his garment kept whole and shall his body be rent and torne in pieces This is Pauls Argument to perswade the divided Corinthians to Peace and Vnitie 1 Cor. 1. 13. Is Christ divided And why are Christians divided if Christ were not divided Why doth one say I am of Paul another I am of Apollo another I am of Cephas c. And therefore if you be Christians live in love and unitie as the Disciples of Iesus Christ that so the world may beleeve in Christ Oh that these Motives might take deepe rooting in your affections And that every one in his place would labour after Peace and Vnitie That you that are Magistrates and Iustices would bind your selves to the peace It is no discredit in this sense to be bound to the peace You are called Iustices of the Peace not because you should hold your peace when God would have you to speake but because it is your dutie to make peace and to keep peace Let all godly Ministers preach up the duty of brotherly love which is quite forgotten amongst most Christians It is a dutie quite dead and buried let us labour that it may have a speedy resurrection The Apostle saith 1 Thes. 4. 9. As touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you c. But we Ministers now a dayes need to write and preach of no duty more then this And then let all Ministers and people Pray for the peace of Ierusalem and give the Lord no rest untill he make England and Ireland a praise in the earth Let us pray for peace and fight for peace and contribute our money willingly for a peace For indeed all our fighting and all our vast expences are but as wayes and meanes to a safe and well grounded peace Let us fight for peace with peace one towards another And let us not complaine and murmur at the greatnesse of our contributions but remember the story of the old covetous Miser that hung himselfe to save charges and his man comming in unawares and seeing his Master a hanging cut the rope in pieces and thereby saved his Masters life The Master being recovered instead of thanking his man fell a chiding of him because he cut the rope in pieces and so did put him to the charges of a new rope whereas he should rather have untied it then cut it This man you will say did little deserve to have his life saved Iust such is our condition Our cruell enemies are ready to devoure and destroy us All that the Parliament doth is to cut the rope in pieces with which they would hang us And if we be put to more then ordinary charge let us not grumble at those expences which are the preservation of our lives That man is unworthy to live that murmurs to lay out a little money to save his life But here I must put in three Caveats beseech you in the first place to remember that when I speake so much for unity I would also have you to remember that Vnum verum convertuntur That unity without veriy is not a true peace but a conspiracy Omnis concordia in veritate Vnity ioyned with falshood is execrable adulterie saith Cyprian When unitie and falshood are married together it is no lawfull marriage but execrable adultery If I cannot have peace with men but I must lose my peace with God farewell peace with men that I may keep my peace with God One great reason why we have so little peace upon earth is because we seek after it more then after the glory of God in heaven You will must remember in the second place that this Vnity that we must labour after must be in a Scripture way The Primitive Church for Vnity sake and to prevent Schismes set up one Presbyter as a Bishop to rule over the rest with Maiority of power in Iurisdiction and Ordination But this at best was but a humane invention and it proved an increaser of Schisme and Division The Papists set up the Pope to preserve unitie But he is the greatest Apple of strife the Christian world hath It will be our care to studie to promote a unitie in such a way which the Scriptures hold forth and this will prosper You must also remember in the third place that our unitie

peace and love as it must be in the truth so it must be in truth It must be cordiall and reall Oh that I could once see all Gods people of one lip as it was before the confusion of Tongues Gen. 11. 1. That this might be the Motto of Gods people in England Cor unum via una One heart and one way That they that shall sing one and the same Song in heaven may agree in the same way of worship here upon earth Excellent was that speech of Grynaeus when he was dying I am now going said he to a place meaning heaven ubi Lutherus Calvino bene convenit where Luther and Calvin agree well together Shall we agree well in heaven and shall we not agree together upon earth God forbid Let us alwaies remember that speech of Ioseph his brethren when they were going home to their Father Gen 45. 29. See that you fall not out by the way We are all pilgrims travelling towards our heavenly Canaan to one and the same God and Father Oh let us not fall out by the way And let the two Arguments that Abraham used to Lot Gen. 13. 7 8. mightily prevaile with us to make us more ambitious of unitie peace and concord then ever yet we have beene Let there be no strife betweene me and thee c. for we are brethren and the Canaanite is in the Land These are two golden allurements the Lord make them effectuall I had almost forgotten Davids Arguments in the 133. Psalme Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to live together in unitie The word Behold is prefixt that so the commendation might take the deeper impression Many things are good which are not pleasant and many things pleasant which are not good but it is both good and pleasant for brethren to dwell together in unitie It is like Aarons precious oyntment that went downe to the skirts of his garments c. It is a communicative mercy that perfumeth whole Kingdomes with blessings It is like the dew of Hermon c. It makes barren Lands fruitfull It is like the dew upon the mountaines of Sion where the Lord commanded the blessing even life for evermore But you will say Here are Motives and Arguments sufficient to perswade any man to the practise of this blessed grace Let us heare some helps and meanes to procure this great mercy that so our Divisions may be healed and peace unitie and concord may dwell in our Land This is a worke worthy of a God and none but a God can doe it It is with us in England as it was with the women that went early in the morning to the Sepulchre and there they found a great stone and they said Who shall roll away this stone for it is very great Mar. 16. 3 4. And behold there was a great earthquake for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled backe the stone from the doore and sate upon it This is our condition There is a great Mountaine of Division that obstructs the happinesse of England and that hinders the Lord Christ and his Kingdome from rising out of the grave of superstition But who now shall roll away this great stone from the doore of the Sepulchre I feare it will cost an earth-quake before it be removed Oh that we had faith to remove Mountaines Oh that God would send his Angel to roll away this stone That God would make the Assembly of Ministers his Angels to take away this great Mountaine that so there may be a Resurrection of Jesus Christ and his pure worship in all its glory and beautie even in our dayes The story of Iehosaphat 2 Chron. 10. 12. will very well suit with our times We are in a very great straight as he was and what he did and said will very well be fit us Let us goe to God by prayer and say Oh our God we have no might against this great company that cometh against us We have no strength to heale our Divisions in the Church and in the State they are so great and so many We know not what to doe but our eyes are upon thee Thou that didst find out a way hid from ages and generations Col. 1. 26. A way hid from Angels and Archangels hid within thy selfe Ephes. 3. 9. To save poore undone fallen lost man even by Iesus Christ Oh find out a way to reconcile King and Parliament to unite thy divided people in the truth Oh blessed Iesu that camest into the world to breake downe the middle wall of partition betweene Iew and Gentile that art the great Peace-maker make up our wide and great breaches and take away the many wals of partition that divide us one from another After this manner we must wrastle with God in prayer and watch thereunto with all perseverance But besides this generall helpe by Prayer give me leave to name a few other which are more particular First Let us labour to make our peace with God and God will make us at peace one with another Tranquillus Deus tranquillut omnia If God be at peace with thee he will make the very stones in the street to be at peace with thee he will make peace flow downe like a river and like a mighty streame When a mans wayes please God he will even make his enemies to be at peace with him Prov. 16. 7. You shall finde in Scripture that when a Church State or person divided it selfe from God by sinne God suffered it as a punishment to be divided from it selfe by faction Assoone as ever Solomon had forsaken God by Idolatry God presently divided his Kingdome from him And God threateneth Ierem. 13. 13. That because his people had forsaken him that therefore he would fill the Inhabitants of Ierusalem with drunkennesse and he would dash them one against another even the fathers and the sonnes together he would not pity c. You shall find also that when a King and Kingdome returned to God then they had peace and flourished in all outward happinesse 2 Chron 15 3 4 5 6 8 12 13 19. 2 Chron. 17. 3 5 6. 10 And therefore if ever you would cure Englands distractions to purpose strike at the root and cause of our divisions Let us labour to find out all those sinnes that separate between us and God And when you have found them out you must not deale with them as the Parliament doth with their prisoners which they take using them more kindly and courteously then they were used before they were prisoners nor as David would have his sonne Absolom concerning whom he gave a strict charge that they should use him kindly for his sake but you must doe as the Oxford men doe with our prisoners use them cruelly Doe as Ioshua did with the five Kings whom first he kept up close prisoners in a Cave and afterwards sent for them and trod upon their necks and hung them up before the