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	part_n	people_n	5,808	4	4.2401	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41043	A sermon preached before the House of Peers on December 22 1680 being the day of solemn humiliation / by the Right Reverend Father in God John, Lord Bishop of Oxford.	Fell, John, 1625-1686.	1680 (1680)	Wing F621; ESTC R6374	13,806	33

to compass it and bring to desolation a Kingdom divided against it self And indeed if we look into the holy Scripture we shall find that when God designs a judgement upon a sinful people this is the means he uses nay this is one great part of the infliction At the 19. of Isaiah he threatens Egypt that he will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians and they shall fight every one against his brother and every one against his neighbor city against city and kingdom against kingdom and the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof that he will destroy its counsel mingle a perverse spirit in the midst of it and cause Egypt to erre in every work as a drunken man staggers in his vomit So we see in fact Jud. 7. and 1 Sam. 14. the Midianites and Philistins without any previous discontent or quarrel fatally engag'd every mans sword turnd against his brother Which state of ruin the Prophet Jeremy calls Gods taking away his peace from a people even loving kindness and mercies the giving them the wine-cup of his fury which when they have drunk they shall be moved and be mad And now it may be seasonable that we bethink our selves and soberly enquire how we stand in reference to this great concern whither we are at peace or in that state of ruin which division will certainly infer And do's not herein our iniquity answer to our face Is there almost any conversation but under the terms of Faction and Discord Do's any man escape the character of Papist Pensioner and Courtier on the one hand or Common-wealths-man Traitor and Fanatic on the other Are there not almost as many Religions Factions and Designs as there are Faces nay is there not hazard that there should be more the same persons in few moneths running thro several Sects and Parties Is not the speaking evil of Dignities and reproching Things and Persons sacred become the dialect and language of the time Is not all protection and support due from Superiors and all submission and industry paiable by inferiors quite lost among us Is there any care of the Public either Interest or Safety Nay are not all the blessings we enjoy forgot and forfeited in the thought of somewhat which we fain would have or jealousy that possibly we may lose somewhat that we now possess This is evidently our case and do we not see a writing on the wall like that described in the book of Daniel Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin that God has numbred our Kingdom and finisht it that we are weighed in the balance and found wanting and that our Kingdom is divided and given unto Strangers We need not look out for a master of Magicians to decipher or unfold the writing t is so plain that he who runs may read it This is the Comet that blazes in our Sky and threatens Ruine and Destruction to us beyond the abodings of Astrology The danger then is sufficiently confest I wish we were so well agreed upon the remedie But as it happens in our bodily distempers so it fares in this of the public every man is a Physician and has somewhat to prescribe And first t is offerd as of moment to strengthen our selves by Alliances abroad This were indeed of use in reference unto a Foreign enemy but cannot obviat the mischief which rises here at home T is to like purpose as if for an Impostume in the brain or Ulcer in the bowels the Patient should put a helmet on his head or apply a plaster to his breast Besides it is not easie to imagine that any prudent State will think it worth the while to joyn with them who disagree among themselves Secondly t is suggested that our safety should be provided for by good and wholsome Laws which might indeed avail were we in a temper to obey them As the case now stands a Physician may as well hope to cure his Patient by writing of long bills and prescribing several recipes which will be never taken or regarded as we expect advantage from the multiplying of Acts. Ill manners are commonly said to produce good laws but we do not find that the best laws without a vigorous execution can produce good manners But thirdly there is a sort of men who would commend a more forcible expedient the security of a standing Army Empirics indeed who to cure an Ague think it advisable to throw the patient into a Feavor who tell us that War is the surest way to keep the Peace I will not argue how well this method may agree with the complexions of a more Southern climate it is enough our rougher constitutions will never suit with such a medicin A fourth proposal is of those who lay all the blame of our divisions on the male administration of affairs by evil Counsellors and resolve that if these troublers of our Israel were brought to condign punishment all would be well immediatly But the worst on t is we have a demonstration that this expedient will not do our work for that we have often shifted those we have most complaind of but still retaind the same complaints Besides we see that some of those who most cried down the evil Ministers as ruinous to the public and threw the first stone at them being got into their room were liable themselves A fifth proposall is that liberal supplies be made to cleer the public debts and support the Government for its honour and defence This indeed is most necessary to be don But t is fond to think that this can make a cure The dying Miser may as well hope for life by applying a bag of mony to his heart as a sick State expect a remedy from pecuniary supplies A clock whose movements are decaied will not go well though the weights hung at it are of Gold But sixtly as a Catholicon and sure reserve it is proposed to unite the disagreeing interests in Religion A most desirable design indeed and likely to be of great effect if it can be compassed This is a work worthy the counsel and the care of the great Assembly of the Nation the legislation of Parliaments and sanction of Synods In this case most especially it may be said that God stands in the Congregation of Princes he is a judge among Gods And herein the direction of Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 19. will deservedly recur Take heed what ye do for ye judge not for man but the Lord. Religion like Truth and God himself can be but one Even the Garment of our Saviour was so far from admitting a rent that it was without seam However similar bodies are multiplied by being broken into parts in Christianitie which is the body of Christ the head what is divided is destroyed The multitude of the first Believers were not only of one heart and one soul but came together with one accord into one place and when the numbers of Disciples grew too large for such a meeting their mutual communication with each