Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	advantage_n	great_a	time_n	1,691	5	3.1967	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40095	A sermon preach'd at the meeting of the sons of the clergy in S. Mary-le-Bow Church, on Tuesday the sixth of December, 1692 by Edward Lord Bishop of Gloucester.	Fowler, Edward, 1632-1714.	1692 (1692)	Wing F1722; ESTC R10616	15,317	36

are reduced to such Streights especially of late years as to want a Competent Subsistence for themselves and Families And 't is very sad to Observe what Contempt is by this means brought upon their Holy their Honourable Function Necessitas cogit ad turpia And this puts me in mind to wish that the Condition of the Clergy were better Considered in the Taxes and other impositions than it lately hath been What I have now suggested I am too well Confirmed in the belief of by the sad Informations I have received and Observations I have made up and down in my own Diocese Which yet I think is not the poorest in the Nation In the next place I would mind you my Brethren not only that the Clergy as such are most concerned of all Persons to be Exemplary in the Virtue of the Text and all other but the Sons too of the Clergy are in an Especial manner obliged here to upon the account of their coming out of the Loyns of such Parents and their having generally had so Religious Educations as they are to be supposed to have Next to the Faults of the Clergy those of their Children are exceeding Scandalous Nothing being more common than for Prophane People and such as catch at all Opportunities to cast Dirt upon our Excellent Religion and Church to charge the Sins of such upon their Parents loose Education of them Nor is any thing more Ordinary than for People to Encourage themselves to do Evil by the bad Examples of the Children of their Teachers as well as of their Teachers themselves These two things it is likely the Apostle had a Special regard to in making it a necessary Qualification of an Elder to have faithful Children not accused of Riot or unruly as well as to be blameless himself and the Husband of one Wife Titus 1. 6. But in reference to this duty of Love I will repeat what I now said viz. What remains but that we Endeavour to practise it with all our might That All bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil-speaking be put away from us with all malice And that we be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us According to the earnest Advice of the Apostle Eph. 4. 31 32. That we be kindly Affectioned one to another notwithstanding any differences of Opinion with Brotherly love in Honour preferring one another As the same Apostle Exhorts Rom. 12. 10. Oh how many pressing and powerful Motives to this duty of Love Vniversal Love Catholick Charity doth the New Testament and Natural Reason too present us with But I will now onely Observe to you that what Nerves and Sinues are to our Natural Bodies that is Love in all Bodies Politick 'T is Love above all things which Cements and holds together Societies and Communities And therefore another short and sad Digression is here too Seasonable viz. 'T is a Wonderfull thing that this Church and Kingdom should not long since have been utterly Broken to pieces as they hath both been miserably shattered by means of our most Vnchristian and indeed Inhumane Breaches by means of our having so banished Love Not onely Christian but Natural Love in a very great measure Not onely Vniversal Love but Love to one another taking that Phrase in the most restrained Sense We should before now have been Wofull Examples of the Truth of that observation of our Blessed Saviour A City or Kingdom divided against it self cannot stand but is brought to Desolation had it not been prevented by a Series a long Train of such Providences as have scarcely been much short of Miracles Desolation is the Natural Consequent of great Divisions of Divisions not greater than Ours have long been If ye bite and devour each other take heed ye be not Consumed one of another said S. Paul to the divided Galatians ch 5. 15. But especially is it so as Divisions give a mighty Advantage to a Common Enemy And therefore nothing can hinder their produceing this Effect but a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signal interpositions of the Divine Providence Which I say you need not be told it we have from time to time had Oh what a History of such Interpositions have these five last years given us And never had we a more Eminent one than this last Spring But what a Dangerous Condition are those People in who have little to Encourage their hopes with but the Continuance of Extraordinary Providences And especially when they have no other Reason still to Expect them but because they have had so many of them But alass we of all People have the least cause still to depend upon them because no Visible good Effect upon us hath been produced by them We will not be Reformed in any One instance And particularly we will still Obstinately persevere in our Old Emnity to one another which daily Encreaseth too instead of abating Let God Almighty do what He will and a Formidable Enemy do what he can to make us Friends But I must not lengthen out any father so Melancholy a Digression since we are now met upon so Pleasant an Occasion And therefore I add that Love is the main thing that makes such Meetings as these and our Eating and Drinking together a true Pleasure Better saith King Solomon is a Dinner of green Herbs where love is than a Stalled Ox and Hatred therewith And as Love makes Meetings of this nature very pleasant Diversions so the professed Design of them being to Encrease Friendship and to Express Love by shewing Mercy it makes them highly Commendable and Praise-worthy And of All Works of Mercy there is no one more Acceptable to our Heavenly Father and Blessed Saviour as is Evident from what hath been said than that of Comforting distressed Widows and making their Hearts to sing for joy and Taking Care of poor Orphans and Enabling them to live Comfortably and usefully in the World And the Relief of the poor Widows of Clergy men and providing for their helpless Children being the onely Design of our being Incorporated let their Names be had in Everlasting Remembrance who first set on foot this Noble Project and next to them theirs who have chiefly Contributed to the Encouragement of it And the Latter of these Charities viz. That which relates to the poor Children of deceased Ministers being the Special Design of these Annual Assemblies may This at least Equalize each of the former ones in this Excellent Work Our Courts of Assistants and Stewards of these Feasts have ever been made too sensible of what I but now observ'd of the miserably streight Circumstances of Abundance of our Clergy by the Vast Number of their Widows and Children whose deplorable Condition is year after year laid before them And tho' the Bounty which Worthy persons have from time to time deposited in our Treasurers hands be very Considerable yet 't is grievous to see how little falls to the Share of particular Supplicants by reason of their Excessive Number Nor is the Parade which makes such a noble shew on these days in our Streets any Objection against what I have sadly observed to you since it would be very strange if so many Thousands of Ministers as our Church consists of should not always produce a very great Number whose Natural parts and Liberal Educations have Enabled them to improve the Advantages put into their hands by the Good providence of God to the Arriving at very plentifull Fortunes And upon a just Computation I doubt not but it will be found That there are Extremely Few of the Sons of the Clergy whose large Circumstances in the World are owing to their Patrimony in Comparison of those who are inriched by the Blessing of God upon their own Industry I hope I need not tell such how much they are Obliged in Gratitude to their Great Benefactor for making such a difference between them and most of their Brethren To be Liberal in their Contributions towards the Relief of the Necessitous part of them And this is the most Effectual Course you can possibly take to secure Gods Blessing to your Posterity and to prevent their Ever Coming into the Number of Petitioners for Charity And which is a far greater Consideration being Compassionate towards Widows and the Fatherless is such a sort of Charity as will make those who are in love with it the Happy Objects of Gods Special Love Be as a Father to the Fatherless saith the Son of Syrach and instead of an Husband unto their Mother so shalt thou be as the Son of the most High and He shall love thee more than thy Mother doth THE END