Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	great_a	king_n	year_n	10,409	5	4.7494	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81131	The arraignment of unbelief, as the grand cause of our nationall non-establishment: cleared in a sermon to the Honourable House of Commons in Parliament, at Margarets Westminster, upon the 28th. of May, 1645. being the day of their publike fast. / By Joseph Caryl, late preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincolnes-Inne, now pastor at Magnus neer the bridge, London.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1645 (1645)	Wing C749; Thomason E286_5; ESTC R200075	31,767	54

so he shewes them reason why they should not First from the persons who appeared so dreadfull ver 4. They are but two tails of smoaking firebrands As if he had said You look upon these men as a devouring fire or unquenchable flames but I assure you they do but smoak and they are but brands and they are but tayls of brands they have almost consumed themselves they are but brands ends and they are smoaking rather then burning As that phrase in the Gospel smoaking flax notes the lowest degree of grace which Jesus Christ will not quench or put out so here smoaking firebrands note the least degree of remaining power or malice almost spent and going out not in regard of desires but abilities to do mischief Again As the Lord shewes their power so neer extinct that they could do no great hurt so he declares his own will that they should not vers 7. For thus saith the Lord It shall not stand neither shall it come to passe Ther 's no reason we should run for fear when we are assured the counsels of our enemies shall not stand They are confederate but they shall be broken they have taken counsel but it shall not stand neither shall it come to passe The counsels of men stand or fall at the pleasure of God The opposition of all creatures cannot hinder one of his counsels and all their endeavours cannot produce one of their own Though a conclave of Achitophels every one an Oracle should lay a design yet it is at the will of God whether it shall succeed The policie of man is no match for God thus saith the Lord it shall not stand Not stand why who is able to throw it down by whose hand shall it fall Syria and Ephraim are mighty in power as well as deep in policie shall their counsels be made voide The Prophet Amos knowing the weaknesse of Iacob questions chap. 7. 2. By whom shall Jacob arise for he is small And the Prophet Isaiah knowing the strength of Syria and Ephraim might question By whom shall these fall for they are great Yes saith God I assure you how great so ever they are they shall not stand I can reckon up the greatest of their strength and the top of their confederacies The head of Syria that is the chief power and strength of Syria is Damascus the mother City and the head of Damascus is Rezin the King of Syria and in threescore and five yeers shall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people And the head of Ephraim is Samaria I can tell you likewise what strength Ephraim hath and who is the strongest person there The head of Samaria is Remaliahs sonne I can soon cast up all the power of your enemies I can go to the very head of it it is but Damascus and Rezin and Samaria and Remaliahs sonne this is the outside of their strength We may quickly see an end of all worldly perfections both in power and policie Now that which is secretly implied and couched in this contemptuous account of Ephraims and Syrias strength is that Iudah had such a head as they were not able to reach such forces as they were not able to tell over much lesse to triumph over It is as if he had said You see the head of Syria and the head of Ephraim but the head of Iudah is Ierusalem and the head of Ierusalem is Jesus Christ Who is able to reach the head of Iudah which is Jerusalem while that hath Jesus Christ for the head of it who is Rezin or Remaliahs son put into the balance with Jesus Christ The Prophet having brought them this message not to fear and strengthened it with these reasons concludes all with an Epiphonema in the words of the text If ye will not beleeve surely ye shall not be established As if he had said I have brought you as good newes as you can desire should the Lord have sent you down a blank from Heaven and bid you write the wishes of your own hearts in this condition and engag'd his own faithfullnesse and all-sufficiency to performe them what could you have requested that I have not offered could you frame any more sutable mercies as your case stands then these that your enemies shall fall that their counsels shall not stand that their projects shall not come to passe yet let me tell you ye may obstruct these blessings and deprive your selves of this promised deliverance your unbelief may weaken the arm of your salvation and re-inkindle these smoaking brands into a consuming flame your unbelief may shake your kingdome more then your feares have hitherto shakt your hearts If ye beleeve not surely ye shall not be established The words are diversly read The margin of our Bibles gives them thus out of the Hebrew Do ye not beleeve it is because ye are not stable As if he should say What! after the report of these gracious promises do ye persist in your fear still are you yet in your trembling fit ye are unbeleeving sure and therefore ye are unstable An unbeleeving heart must needs be when put to it a trembling heart The Septuagint give us another sense If ye beleeve not ye shall not understand according to which translation the text is often cited by the Ancients to prove that the Iewes did not therefore understand the Scripture because they did not beleeve faith is the light as well as the strength of the soul and they who are shut up in unblief are usually shut up in ignorance Our reading sutes the Prophets message and bears fair with the Grammaticall construction of the text If ye will not beleeve surely ye shall not be established though ye have heard of much good you shall not taste a drop of it though God hath infinite strength for you yet he will not put forth the least of it except ye beleeve There is an elegant Paronomasia ●●●phil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cr●d●d●● fi●it in n●phal tabile statum esse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Originall That word which in the active Conjugation signifies to beleeve signifies to be established in the passive If ye beleeve not Unbelief is of two sorts either first an impotencie or inability to beleeve or secondly a crookednesse or perversenesse of disposition against the means of beleeving understand this text of the latter Again unbelief may be taken either in generall in reference to the whole revealed will of God or secondly in particular in reference to some speciall manifestation of it The Jewes to whom the Prophet here speaks were all beleevers in the former notion but many of them proved unbeleevers in the latter even as on the other hand the Ninevites who were unbeleevers in respect of the generall word proved beleevers in regard of that speciall revelation by the Prophet Ionah Surely ye shall not be established That is ye in your politike capacity as a Kingdome and Commonwealth shall not be established Two points arise