Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	answer_v	lord_n	zion_n	61	3	9.2890	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39999	Rectius instruendum, or, A review and examination of the doctrine presented by one assuming the name of ane [sic] informer in three dialogues with a certain doubter, upon the controverted points of episcopacy, the convenants against episcopacy and separation : wherein the unsoundnes, and (in manythinges) the inconsistency of the informers principles, arguments, and answers upon these points, the violence which he hath offred unto the Holy Scripture and to diverse authors ancient and modern, is demonstrat and made appear, and that truth which is after godlines owned by the true Protestant Presbyterian Church of Scotland asserted and vindicated.	Forrester, Thomas, 1635?-1706.	1684 (1684)	Wing F1597; ESTC R36468	441,276	728

all the weapons wounds of such as have impugned those principles And upon the debate about the Covenants and Separation the only presents us with soomwhat of their old musty store who have appeared in this cause of late whose notions are more crude after all this mans re-cocting a convincing proof that there was in the first con●…oction ane indigestible error Next I find some what more of a seren temper lesse of the sarcastick scolding strain then what hath tinctured his fellew-actors upon this sceen who have bravely scolded it out against the Presbyterians even to a non ultra of that Thersites artifice although now and then he puts out his litle sting too this way In soom things also his Ingenuity deservs its praise in advancing Prelacy so neer the popes miter both in his pleadings from the Iewish Priesthood from antiquity wherein he hath purtrayed the beast in exacter lineaments then soom moresmooth pleaders His Character of the term Curat viz on that serves the cure though not the Minister of the place and of their preaching upon shorter texts that it is a racking of the Text and of their brains to find out matter is honest and apposit for which the Presbyterians do owe him thanks but thereby their doubts in the point of Prelacy the present Separation are so strengthned and like to grow and especially by his feeble resolutions that they verily judge he shall never prove the Aedipus but is in extreme hasart to be devouted in this encounter Actaeon-like to be torn in pieces by the kennell of his own pretended resolutions and Arguings retorted and hunted back upon him They do also look upon the Dialogizing Method so much pleasing him some of his fellowes as a cover but now very dilucid and transparent to hide the childish sophistry of disguising the true state of questions and the strength of Presbyterian Arguments while they must fight with no weapons but of their adversaries choice and measuring When the Knight enters the lists with a huge invincible gyant the encounter looks very unequall and fatall like to the sprightly litle Combatant but the Romance maker can so order the seene that he shall be sure to lay his adversary all a long and come off victorious Our Adversaries have too long ridicul'd our serious Theologicall debates with their play-bookes wherein they do but render themselves ridiculous what hath the chaff to do with the wheat When will they offer a fair and formall enucleation of this controversy and discusse our Arguments long since offered unto them which do stand to this day unanswered How long will they beg Principles beg concessions and rear up soaring like Arguments upon a Chimaericall fundation and then Accost their credulous hearers or readers with Thrasonik boasts and Rhetoricall Rhodomontadoes which are as insipid and tastlesse to the discerning as the Artificiall fruit to the hungry pallat Reader for the design of this undertaking I have this to say that although I have as litle as many men coveted such appearances yet have been perswaded to be thus publick upon this occasion that having casually met with this Pamphlet after it had for a considerable time travelled up and down I judged it expedient to employ upon it some solitary houres wherein I was taken offfrom other employments both to prevent languishing and to satisfy the desire of a friend whom I highly esteem as likewayes to undeceive some simpler and lesse discerning readers who seem'd to be taken with this piece which essay after a considerable times lurking coming into the hands of some welwishers to our Zion I did at last yield to their importunity in reference to the publication Whatever entertainment this may meet with and how keen soever the darts of malicious reproach may prove which are levelled at me Hic murus Aheneus esto I have this shield that I can say it before the heart searcher without heart condemning that as I intended herein a vindication of Truth and duty and according to my measure and capacity to give this testimony for it to the strengthning of a poor afflicted remnant contending for the same so in writing these sheets I had an eye upon the father of lights for his help and presence and dare not deny but that this was found in some good measure accordingly And in the perusal of what is here offered unto publick view which was not at first directly my intention I would have thee looking after these with other emprovements First thou may discover what a honourable cause wee now contend for even the Crown dignity and Royal prerogative of Jesus Christ his glorious supremacy over his own house in appointing its officers lawes ordinantes for the true frame of his tabernacle according to the pattern shewed upon the mount for that Government of his house delivered in his perfect and glorious testament sealed with his blood for fealty loyalty to this King of Kings in keeping his Covenant into which this nation and Church so solemnly entered for the walls and bulwarks of this City of God in opposition to antichristian underminers and invaders thereof for these solemn Assemblies of his saints upon the ancient grounds and principles of our Reformation so much now aspersed by devouring tongues the ceasing wherof in our Zion ought to engage to sorrow and a lamenting after our provoked Lord now hiding himself from us Enemies have often invaded him upon his his throne of grace and professed friends have not sincerely aproach'd unto it Next As to our adversaries pleading against us in this quarrel thou mayest discover first that they are snar'd as by the works of their hands so by the Words of their lips and fall before the rebound of their our Arguments this mans pleadings against us especially upon the point of separation levelling so clearly against himself that such who impartially read him upon his point may straight entertain this reflection It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks and that its easy to pull this Egyptians spear out of his hand and kill him with his own spear Secondly thou may see what monstrous issues they are driven unto in the defence of their cause what a chain of contradictions absurdities they have twisted to wind themselves out of their inextricable Labirinth that they hatch cockatric eggs obstinat maintaining of one absurdity begets a hundred so true is that saying prophecy evil men shall waxe worse worse deceiving being deceived How palpably have they wrested the holy Scriptures to shift the convictions thereof and make some shift of answer How laxe and absurd are their new principles in point of Oaths resolving their strength into the Magistrates arbitriment and Lawes besides other odd posterns which they have opened to escape allobligations thereby if their matter be not indispensably necessary which with them is in a great measure determined by the Law What a monstrous Chaos of more then Infidel-barbarity and confusion

is in maintaining the Scriptures authority oblidged unto as well as we 3ly that which he calls a wilde and gross opinion is the Judgement of Learnd Divines particularly of Jackson who upon the twenty vers of that 9 of Joshua having moved this objection that what the Princes sware was against the express command of God who had often enjoind to destroy all these Canaanites Returns this answer That though one Oath or vow doth not bind men for doing of any thing that is absolutely unlawfull yet in this case it was not so because the charge which God gave for slaying the inhabitants of the Land was a particular command and so far only to bind their consciences as it might be obeyed without any breach of the morall Law as in Rahabs case it is also evident But here they could not obey that command of God concerning their destroying all the Inhabitants of Canaan without perjurie which is against the Law and light of nature he adds that their perjurie would have given great occasion to the enemies of Gods people to blaspheme So that saith he there lay a strong bond upon the consciences of the Israelites though they were deluded by the Gibeonites Now I think the account of this difficulty exhibit unto us here by this learnd divine may make him ashamed of his assertion in this point we may retort his objected absurditie thus if the morall Laws obligation in opposition to perjurie stood against and counter-ballanced a particular command of God in this matter much more will the force and obligation of ane Oath in a matter of far greater importance stand good against any positive Laws and statutes of men And if even Gods positive Particular command could in this case gound no dispensation with their Oath but God would rather dispense with the particular command than with it how much more absurd must he be who pretends a dispensation with and a nulling of such selemn Sacred Oaths and vows to God as we are under and in such weighty matters upon the arbitrary commands of men especially men under the same Oaths themselves In the premised distinction of Mr Jackson the Informer might have discovered the folly of his bold unrestricted assertion no Oath can bind against a comand no not a particular command For Jackson distinguishes which this man admits yea and positively asserts betwixt that which is simply and absolutely unlawfull and that which is unlawful only upon the ground of a particular positive precept which in some circumstantiat cases may-come to justle with the absolutly binding moral Law as in the instances adduced by the Informer himself is evident 4Ly His own rule anent the lesser obligation over-ruled by the greater or Prior will plead for this and his instances of Mercie and not Sacrifice of Paul and those with him their casting the goods into the sea Davids eating the shew-bread to keep from starving do confirme the answers above set down For here particular positive precepts are overruled by the greater and Prior morall obligations of the 6th Command anent self Preservation What absurditie then is there in this assertion that the great morall precept of Not taking Gods name in vain did over-rule a particular positive precept Doth he not here see Gods great morall Commands in the premised instances binding against lesser positive precepts And when he saith that whither the command be morall or particular which the Oath binds against all is one as to his fancied absurditie he discovers ignorance and inconsistency with himself for in all his formentioned instances moral precepts do overrule positive particular and lesser precepts And why shall not also the great morall command anent not taking Gods name in vain over-rule that positive and particular precept anent the staying of these Gibeonites and far more our solemn vows the present statutes of men Sure he will never be reconciled with himself here or assigne a disparity Hence Iackson having said that the bond of this Oath lay strongly upon the consciences of the Israelites to observe it though they were deluded by these Gibeonites addeth that in this the Rule holds good I will have mercie and not Sacrifice and from his own argument concludes that which he here denyes So that this case of the Gibeonites according to Jacksons solution of this difficulty and that sense of this scripture followed by him and Other learned divines strongly repells his rule from the hindrance of a greater good to loose the Covenant especially since this greater good doth with him still resolve into obedience of mens Laws Had not the Israelites this ground more strongly to plead against the keeping of their Oath to these Gibeonits since not only they were cheated into it and dolus aufert consensnm say Casuists but it seemd to hinder a farr greater good viz the obeying of Gods express command to root them out yet Joshua the Princes knew not this new knack for loosing Oaths But the interposing the sacred name of God in ane Oath was with them so weighty a matter that it overruled all these pretences Thus we have seen how he acquits himself as to his first charge of a mistake of this place and that what he calls a gross and wilde opinion is the sense of the scripture embraced by learnd divines and consonant to his own pleading so that in this charge he discovers too bold ignorance What more hath he to say he tells us 2ly that we are mistaken if we thank that Ioshua had no warrand to make peace with any of the Canaanites but was commanded without once treating with them to root them all out because in Deut. 20. 10. he is commanded to proclaim peace indefinitly to any citie he came to fight with the Canaanites not excepted Ans. How can this man say that the Canaanites are not excepted from that offer of peace there injoyned when as he doth not so much as offer to answer to these pregnant circumstances of the text pleaded by Iackson and Others to prove the contrary For after the Lord hath commanded them to proclaim peace to a city before they assauted it there is verse 15. a limitation Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee which are not of the cities of these nations viz who were devoted to destruction therfor in the 16. vers after the Lord hath thus ridd marches as to the Canaanites they get this precept But of the cities of these people which the Lord thy God doth give thee for ane inheritance thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth Can any restriction and exception be more peremptory and that we may know who these are who are thus excepted from mercy and from these offers of peace mentioned the 17. ver clears it But thou shalt utterly destroy them namely the Hittites and the Amorites the Canaanites and the Perizites the Hivites and the Iebusites as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee This additional