Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	call_v	great_a	place_n	10,107	5	4.1120	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29118	Elijah's nunc dimittis, or, The authors own funerall sermons in his meditations upon I Kings 19:4 ... / by Thomas Bradley ...	Bradley, Thomas, 1597-1670.	1669 (1669)	Wing B4132; ESTC R7187	60,180	133

all that infinite space which is above the Starry Firmament and the Sydereall Heavens be it never so great or the Heavens in it never so many and so in this three-fold division of the Heavens into Aëriall Sydereall and Etheriall we shall easily reconcile Astronomy and Divinity together the Mathematicall Account with the Theologicall In it St. Paul may finde his third Heaven Bishop Bilson his fourth Aristotle may finde his eight Ptolomy his nines Purbacchius his tenn and Maginus his eleven and neither of them wrong other in the reckoning so they seek them while they are there in being but that must be before the Conflagration here in this Text Prophesied of by St. Peter For in the great burning here spoken of the two former the Aëriall and the Sydereall Heavens with the whole compages of them will be destroyed burnt up dissolved they all fall under the fury of the Conflagration St. Peter hath exprest the manner of it in tragicall expressions filling the heart with terror and astonishment to think on The burning of a House a Towne a City is a lamentable sight At the burning of Jerusalem and the Temple Titus himself which was the executioner of it lamented greatly and was sore grieved and troubled at so lamentable a spectacle● But what was that in comparison to this not so much as the burning of a Cottage in comparison of it selfe The burning of Sodom and Gomorrah Admah and Zeboim foure Cities in the Plaine with fire and brimstone from Heaven was a Type of this burning but slenderly representing it as so many bonfires to a mighty burning The Prophet Isaiah fore-telling the horrible destruction of the King of Assyria shadows it forth under the type and title of Tophet or Hell Isay 30.33 in terrible termes as before remembred For Tophet 〈◊〉 prepared of old yea even for the King it is prepared meaning the King of Assyria which in his close siege against Jerusalem lay there with his Army and went off with the loss of one hundred fourescore and five thousand men he hath made it deep and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord as a streame of brunstone doth kindle it This Tophet was a Valley on the South side of Jerusalem Josh 18.16 in which the Idolatrous Jews did burn their Children in the fire to offer them up in sacrifice unto Moloch contrary to the express command of God Levit. 20.1 It was called Tophet from Toph which in the Hebrew signifieth a Drumme from whence Tophet the diminutive of it signifying a little Drumme or Tabret because while these Children were burning the Idolatrous Priests beate upon these Drumms and playd on these Tabrets partly for the solemnity of the service and partly to drowne the crying and shreeking of the poor Innocents in the flames It was the Land of one Hinnom therefore called The Valley of Hinnom and in the New Testament Gehenna and taken for Hell Matth. 5.21 Matth. 8.9 Josiah had such indignation against this Idolatrous place that in his great Reformation 2 Kings 23.10 He defiled it he made it the very sinke and dunghill of the City a place for the execution of Malefactors and where those which were denyed buriall were cast out and lay unburied a place where to carry and cast all the noysom Carrion of the City where the Foules of the Ayre and the beasts might Prey upon them yet for feare they should corrupt the Ayre and cause infectious diseases there were continuall fires kept all-wayes burning to consume the bones and putrified Carkasses whether of men or beasts which were cast out there And for the loathsomness of the place and the continuall burnings in it it was called Gehenna Hell and Hell fire Unto which it is probable our Saviour alludes when describing Hell he saith The Worme never dyes nor the Fire never goeth out The Worme that is bred out of those putrefactions which farther gnawing causeth farther putrefaction never ceaseth to administer matter of burning to the fire nor the fire ever goeth out or ceaseth to feed it selfe upon it Yet as there are divers degrees of heate in the fire and the fiery furnace into which the three Children were cast was heat seven times hotter then at other times So it is cleere by the Scriptures That the torments of the damned are not all equall We reade of the Servant That knew his Masters wilt and did it not And of another That knew it not and did it not The former was to be beaten with many stripes The latter was to be beaten too but with fewer stripes The Stoicks were ●●rr out in their Moralls when they taught Peccata esse aequalia That all sinns were equall Our Saviour his exposition of the sixth Commandement hath taught us otherwise Matth. 5.22 when he saith That whosoever is angry with his brother unadvisedly shall be in danger of the judgement and whosoever saith unto his brother Racha shall be worthy to be punished by the Councell but whosoever shall say unto his brother Thou foole shall be in danger of Hell fire Where under the forme of these three Courts among the Jews First The Court of three or the Triumviri here called The Judgement which had the hearing and punishing of smaller matters Secondly The Court of three and twenty here called The Councell which had the hearing and punishing of crimes of a higher nature And thirdly Of the highest Court of all consisting of threescore and eleven which they called their Sane drim which Judged the highest matters and punished by death it selfe whether by hanging beheading stoning or burning in Gehenna before mentioned he cleerly sheweth that there are great differences of sin and sinners and so there shall be also of punishments proportionably under which the damned shall be held and tormented in Hell for evermore Unto which the enlargement of Tophet by the destruction of this world in the great Conflagration shall be much conducing in giving convenient roome for it And as the punishment and torment of the damned in Hell shall be of divers and different measures and degrees Potentes potentèr cruciabuntur Mighty men shall be mightily tormented so that the joy and glory of the Caelestiall Inhabitants shall be as different in measure and degree is clearly revealed in Scripture They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turne many to righteousness shall shine as the Starrs for ever and ever Daniel 12.3 Which Saint Paul in 1 Cor. 15. further confirmes and more cleerly explicates this There is one glory of the Sunne another of the Moone and another glory of the Starrs for one Starr differeth from another Starr in glory ver 41. And then to prevent all mistakes and disputes about it he applyes it to this very purpose verse 42. Even so is the Resurrection from the dead And to this doth this Text of Saint Peter well agree where it sayes We look for new Heavens in the Plurall Number who knows how many Ethereall Heavens but he that made them but Heavens they are therefore more then one and this necessary for two Reasons First for the vast spaces that are required to dispose of the Caelestiall Inhabitants in spaces which no man can measure for multitudes which no man can number Secondly For the orderly disposing of them in those Heavens according to the dignity and glory the purity and holiness of those that shall be placed in them For as one Starr so one Heaven differeth from another in glory In my Fathers House are many Mansions those Mansions not of equall beauty and magnificence variety of Mansions for variety of Inhabitants to some are reserved Crowns to other Laurells some are clothed in White the immediate pedissequae of the Lambe which follows him whethersoever he goeth others attend at a farther distance In the second and third Chapters of the Revelation there are seven severall rewards assigned to them that overcome In the nineteenth of Saint Luke we see upon the Account given by the servants of the improvement of the Talents committed to their trust One is made Ruler over ten Cities another over five every one hath his reward according to his care and faithfulness proportioned unto him But what need we multiply words in a case so cleer consider but the present state of the Caelestiall Inhabitants the holy Angels now in glory and from thence you will easily collect what the state of the Saints shall be after the Resurrection you will finde them distributed into severall Classes or Orders of Angels in dignity and glory one above another For we reade of Angells and Arch-Angells of Cherubims and Seraphims of Thrones Dominions Principalities Powers c. all which are so many Orders and severall Degrees of Angells excelling one another in dignity and glory And if there be such graduall distinctions now of the Angells divided and distributed into so many Orders one above another in the Caelestiall Hierarchy certainly much more must it needs be so after the Resurrection when the number of the Caelestiall Inhabitants shall be so infinitely augmented by the access of all the Saints and elect people of God which have been from the beginning of the world and shall be to the last man that shall stand upon the Earth at that day And it were strange That all these should be limited to one Heaven to be disposed in which is all that some of you seem to allow but that Saint Peter hath better inform'd us in the Text when he sayes We look for new Heavens Heavens in the Plurall Heavens enough for the Creator to dispose of all his people in and to sort them so as that they shall all be in those Heavens which are most convenient for them and suitable to them and for them to be Inhabitants in and all these new too not because then newly Created but because we shall then newly take Possession of them and so they shall be new to us not in themselves For they were Created of old from the beginning from the foundation of the World Let our Saviours own words giving possession of them satisfie and silence all further dispute or questionings in this matter Mat. 25.34 with which I shut up this Discourse Come ye blessed Children of my Father enter into the Inheritance of the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the World FINIS

places where iniquity doth abound is to pious Souls and to such as fear God matter of great griefe and sorrow of heart even enough to make them weary not onely of those times and places but even of their Lives too St. Peter tells us of Lot dwelling in Sodom That his righteous Soule was vext from day to day with their unlawfull doings 2 Pet. 2.7.8 The holy Prophet David complains in this case and bewails his hard condition in this respect even in passionate expressions Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesech and to have my habitation among the Tents of Kedar And the Prophet Habakkuk as passionately as he in the same case Hab. 1.2 3 4. O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not heare yea even cry out of violence and thou wilt not help Why dost thou shew me iniquity and cause me to behold sorrow for the Law is dissolved and judgment doth not goe forth the wicked doth compass about the righteous therefore unjust judgement doth proceed Thus we see how righteous souls are affected in these cases and afflicted with grief and sorrow under the sence of the wickednesses abominations that are committed under the Sunne in the times and places where they live Reasons 1. Because hereby God is dishonoured whose glory is dear unto them 2. The Church is scandalized holy Religion reproached the Gospel of Jesus Christ aspersed and the way of God evill spoken of especially if these things be done and suffered in a Christian Church or Common-wealth 3. It gives so great offence to many weak ones that it causes them to with-draw themselves from the society of the faithfull to abhorre the Sacrificer of the Lord to despise the standing Ordinances of the Church and for those evills which we see to forsake that which is good to throw up all and to make separation 4. Hereby they destroy their own souls of which others fearing God are more sensible then they themselves Christ beholding Jerusalem and fore-seeing the calamity that hung over it Wept for it they did not so for themselves 5. They provoke wrath and draw down judgements upon the place where they live both upon themselves and others for their sakes For these things sakes comes the wrath of God upon the Children of disobedience Ephes 5.6 Upon these Considerations pious souls men fearing God are sensible of the sins of others as well as of their own and of the iniquity of the times and places where they live and they are unto to them matter of great sorrow and greif of heart I beheld the transgressors and was greived Psal 119.158 1. It should teach men wisedom where they can and as farr as they can to use prudence in the choyce of the places of their habitation and when to make this one of their respects among all other that they may seat themselves in such a place where the fear of God is amongst them Lot made but an ill choyce though he lighted on the 〈◊〉 the Land when he chose the plain of Sodom to pitch his Tent in Abraham might well be afraid to sojourne in Gerar when he perceived the feare of God was not in that place Gen. 20.11 When we match our Sons or Daughters we enquire diligently what Portion what Parentage we enquire after the fatness of the Land fruitfulness of the Soyle convenience of situation and the like and all this with good discretion too but among all the rest we should not leave out this as a maine consideration whether we dispose of them to such a place where the fear of God is among the people the Inhabitants there whether they live under a good Ministery a good Majestracy a good Government where wickedness and vice is punished were Religion and godliness is set up countenanc't and encouraged whether the feare of God be in the place a very considerable blessing and a great part of their happiness 2. Try your zeale and love to God and his truth to holy Religion and the Gospel by this Touchstone by your hatred of sin as well in others as in your selves and by your grief and sorrow of heart when you see it reign and abound in the Land and in the times and places where you live Beloved we live in evill times and in places bad enough where you have occasion enough given you to exercise your zeale and to shew your love and grief and anger if you have any in this case you may see as our Prophet did the Law forsaken the Covenant broken the Worship of God neglected the Ordinances despised the Sabbath prophan'd the Sacraments slighted c. if we can see these things and not be sensible of them and sorry for them at least where we cannot help them surely our zeale is cold and our love but small Set a Marke saith the Lord upon the Foreheads of all those that Mourne for the aboninations that are done in the City Ezek. 9.4 'T is an Argument of a gracious heart to take to heart the iniquities of the times to sigh and mourn for them to be displeased with them and troubled at them 3. Here 's an object and opportunity for such as are in place and power to exercise their authority in suppressing sin in punishing the wickedness of the times and places where they live in stopping the course and current of iniquity prevailing If Magistrates they must be cloathed with zeale as with a cloak they must put on Justice as a Robe and Judgement as a Crown or Diadem they must be girt about with the Sword of vengeance and let proud and insolent offenders know they doe not beare that Sword in vain If Ministers they must cry aloud and not spare and never leave crying out against the prevailing and reigning sins of the times and places where they live till they have cryed them down and take heed they doe not by their silence and connivence make themselves partakers of other mens sins Parents of Children Masters of samilies they are in those lesser societies which they are set to Govern both Kings Priests and Prophets all which Offices they must execute in the Government of their little Common-wealth every one in the severall Sphere wherein he moves and Calling wherein he is set according to his place and power is to endeavour the suppressing of sin the punishment of wickedness and the maintenance and encouragement of true Relion and vertue 4. Here 's occasion and opportunity in such evill times as here we speak of for the Saints and servants of the most high the favourites of Heaven to stand up and to shew themselves to make intercession for the People and Places where they are for the diverting of those Judgements which these sins call for to use the Interest which they have in God to intreat for the rest that God would spare them to stand in the Gap as Moses did to make Atonement for the People and Places where they are as Aaron did to