Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	air_n	element_n	water_n	13,099	5	6.7742	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04657	Vox belli, or, An alarum to vvarre; Vox belli.	Barnes, Thomas, Minister of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London.	1626 (1626)	STC 1478; ESTC S118246	34,522	50

to bee wished that none might goe forth but under good Governours and religious Commanders Warre in it selfe is a punishment for sinne c Levit. 26.24.25 As it comes from our lusts d Iam. 4.1 so it comes for our lusts Culpam sanguineo sequitur Bellona flagello It is well observed by one commenting upon the two first verses of the third chapter of Iudges that e Fer. in Iud. p. 391. so long as the Israelites kept covenant with God they had no neede of armes but after they had once broken covenant with him and sinned against him they are faine to learne the art and try the fortune of warre And some have supposed that Mars was feigned by the Poets to be the God of warre because he did first invent weapons set men in battell aray and execute other warre-like exploites just at such times as hee was intended to punish the wicked Now if warre bee a punishment for sinne who fitter to taste it than the lewdest men that most deserve it Againe warre may prove a meanes to make men better I confesse we ordinarily see the con●rary true that followers of the field are no followers of the faith and amongst common souldiers you shall easily finde the corruptest men to f Lud. viv in Epist ad Henr. 8. Angl. Reg. whom it is a sport to destroy houses to rob Churches to ravish virgins to ruinate cities yea whose principall glory is to doe good to no man to hurt all men without all regard of God the Iudge of the whole world who carry such blinde soules in filthy bodies as that they can neither feare the indignation of God nor heare with patience the admonitions of men bidding the Almighty to depart from them saying Wee desire not the knowledge of thy Wayes as though they were to be ordered by no rule to bee conformable to no right but had license to carry all lawes with their swords in their sheaths and to doe what ever their wicked hearts led them to I confesse I say all this to be true yet notwithstanding through Gods blessing g Providentia divina solet corruptos hominum mores bellis emendare Aug. de civ Dei l. 1. c. 1. tom 5. warre may be and indeed is a meanes to amend some h Arist de Rep. l. 8. c. 15. to make them just sober chast good whereas peace makes them wanton wicked intemperate growne over with the rust of idlenesse and so slaves to all kinde of naughtinesse And is it not pity that one soule should bee lost for lacke of any meanes which may doe it good If the daily feare and danger of death which is stirred up in a wicked man if he be not desperately secure when hee is amongst the Pikes may stir him up to lay about him for a better life and so availe to save his soule it were a thousand pities he should not see the Pikes nor bee sent to field I speake this the rather that I may incite such as have the office of pressing in these needfull times committed unto them to be carefull to cleanse the City and rid the Country as much as may bee of those stragling vagrants loytering fellowes and lewd livers so they be fit for service which doe so swarme amongst us It is a great deale fitter for themselves and better for our Kingdome that they be watching in garrison exercising armes and fighting in field for our friends against our enemies than ranging our streetes haunting our tavernes tipling in our tap-houses fidling in faires jetting on stages and lying like burthens upon the shoulders of our State yea which is worse daring the Almighty to his very face and pulling downe with both hands as fast as they can his heavie judgements upon the whole Nation If it be demanded how can a blessing bee expected upon the service of such souldiers how can wee looke that the worke of the Lord should prosper in such sinnefull hands You have an answer in the point we are upon The Lord smiteth one wicked man by the hand of another It cannot bee denyed that wee have cause to bee grieved that some of them who are gone already have carried along with them the guilt of such outrages as they committed in some countries of our owne which they passed through and I know wee have just reason to feare that some of them at least shall soundly pay for that their wickednesse yet wee have as good ground to hope that their violence at home shall bee no hinderance to Gods cause abroad from prospering from prevailing especially considering that we have Ioshuah's and Gideons in our Armies and a legion of prayers like an armed band daily striving with the Lord of Hosts that hee would bee pleased not to remember their sinnes to our judgement but rather to be mindefull of his owne covenant and mercifull to his owne inheritance Let this serve for the first use Vse 2. Terror to the wicked Secondly let terror to the wicked bee another use Had passionate Ieremy uttered this Text in Moabs hearing I doe imagine it would have made her eares tingle and her heart tremble to consider that the Chaldaeans are summoned by so terrible so forcible an argument to take sword against her Why should not our present doctrine worke the like effect of horror and trembling in all those amongst us who are like to Moab godlesse gracelesse and malicious men when it doth so plainely tell them that God can plague them by wicked men as bad as yea perhaps many degrees worse than themselves Should the Lord arme the Elements against them which are so needfull so usefull to man Should hee bid the aire infect them with a noisome pestilence the water drowne them by overflowing her bankes the fire burne them by transgressing its bounds the heavens to deny them their influence the earth her foyzen it were a terrible thing To command wilde beasts to devoure them the Bear to teare them the Lyon to rent them the Loapard to prey upon them were more terrible Should he command his Angells Basil Seleuc. orat 5. p. 42. who hating sinne with an intenstine hatred are ready to smite the hairy scalpe of any one Cae sarii dial 1 inter opera Naz. p. 1104. that goes on with an impenitent heart in impious courses Should the Lord I say command them to be as a * Ibid. Surgeons knife or an Husbandmans tooles to cut them off to root them out like infectious members from the body of mankinde like superfluous branches from his Vine like noysome weedes from the Garden of his Church were more terrible more unendurable But to make wicked men the instruments of executing his wrath upon the children of wrath I am not able to expresse how exceedingly more fearefull this is When the Prophet David did pray against his slanderous enemies under the person of Iudas he begins his imprecations thus Psal 109.6 Set thou a WICKED man over

him and let Satan stand at his right hand It seemes he thought he could not wish a greater judgement against his adversaries but one viz. a delivery over into the Devills hands than to have some wicked man their tormentor and when there was no remedy but that himselfe must be scourged for his sinne of numbring the people 2. Sam. 24.14 and the Lord in mercy offered him his choice of three rods he chose rather to fall into the hands of that living God who is a consuming fire than into the hands of man Heb. 12.29 Which choice he would never have made had he not known that wheras the justice of God is a mercifull justice the mercies of the wicked are cruell Prov. 12.10 Moab had better a thousand times have had the people of God come armed against her than a people so godlesse so mercilesse as the Chaldaeans were to bee called upon to take sword against her So thou hadst better have any of the rest of the creatures against thee than a wicked man and more mercy mayest thou meete with at its hands An infected aire may be corrected an unbounded fire may be quenched overswelling waters may be asswaged devouring beasts may be restrayned yea by the prayer of a Moses by the zeale of a Phineas the destroying Angell may be appeased but the rage of the wicked is unreasonable unsatiable What mercy canst thou looke for from him at whose hands Christ himselfe doth still suffer many injuries much ignominy and reproach yea who is an adversary to himselfe as every wicked man is Thou mayest be sure that hee who is led about of so many lusts will not cease to lay upon thee what pride malice envie hatred covetousnesse such mercilesse masters and commanders shall command him if thou beest but once in Gods justice to avenge thy wickednesse left unto such an executioner Tremble therefore and sinne no more with so high an hand you proud presumptuous offenders for it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of a wicked man whose justice is iniquity and whose very charity is cruelty it selfe ●se 3. Comfort Thirdly this may comfort us and strengthen our confidence in the certainty of their overthrow who are professed enemies to Gods people For rather than such shall escape ruine without repentance the Lord will arme their owne side against them and make men as wicked as themselves instruments of executing his judgements upon them It was for Israels comfort as Calvin Calv. in Ier. c. 48 v. 10. observeth upon the Text that Ieremy foretold Moabs overthrow by the Chaldaeans sword In like manner propound to your selves this point out of Ieremies words to your comfort and assure your selves that although the enemies of Sion bee many and malignant powerfull and politick yet deliverance shall come Hest 4.14 and rather than that Romish Whore shall alwaies continue to sucke the bloud of Gods Saints some Heathenish power some Pagan Idolater shall soake his blade in her bloud and her souldiers and followers shall one day finde how like a Prophet one of their side once spake when he said Oh you Romanists Lud Viv. de vit sub Turc pag. 17. who love your libertie and stand much upon your immunities thinke with your selves how base how poore how dishonourable how slavish a life you are like to lead under Paganish enemies who will use you like beasts rather than men which hard condition shall be Gods just vengeance upon you Id. Ibid. p. 21. for your cruelty against his Church of which you doe professe your selves members And so let us leave the first point of the the second part of our Text and come to the second which stands thus That the sword must not be stretched out to bloud Doct. 3. The sword must keep scabbard untill it be called forth and hath a good warrant to strike without a just cause and a good call The sword may not drink bloud without warrant The holy Ghost doth not say here Cursed be hee that putteth not out his sword to bloud before he be called but Cursed be he that holdeth backe his sword from bloud when hee is willed and warranted to dip it to dye it in the same David had neither call nor cause to besmeare his sword with Vriah's bloud and how great a sinne hee did commit who knowes not that knowes the story or hath but heard how God chastized him according as hee told him that the sword should never depart from his house how Nathan reproved him Thou art the man and himselfe cryed peccavi for it 2. Sam. 12.7.10.13 Doeg had no call from God to slay in one day fourescore and five of the Lords Priests and how hainous and unlawfull a fact that was both the refusall of Sauls servants to doe it 1. Sam. 22.17.18 Psal 52.1.2 1. King 22.37 though their master commanded them and Davids just complaint and crying out against him doe declare Had not Ahab ill successe when he went up to battell against Ramoth Gilead against Gods will Did it not cost that good king Iosiah his life 2. Chr. 35.22.23 Iohn 18.11 Matth. 26.52 Stel. in Luc. c. 22. when hee would needs draw out his sword against Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt without Gods warrant yea contrary to Gods word in Pharaohs mouth When Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the high Priests servants eare our Saviour bade him put up againe telling him plainely that he that did smite with the sword should perish by the sword By which speech he did not so much hinder Peter for the present from a good action which he might do as one thinks but he reproved him Aug. in Iohan. tract 11● and tooke him up roundly for what hee had done Now wherefore did hee reprehend him What Eu●hym in Mat. c. 56. fol. ●67 because it is never lawfull for any man to defend Gods cause with the sword as some have thought No. Why then because Peters fleshly and unregenerate part did rashly rush upon this action without any respect to his Masters will without any warrant from his Masters call which planely argues that the smiting with the sword without a call was not permitted by Christ to Peter nor any other I hope you doe not expect many arguments for this when one or two may serve for all Reason 1 1. Actions of this nature tend to the taking away of naturall life Now life is so precious to the bruit creature that it strives to preserve it how it can how much more precious is the life of man by which man himselfe enjoyes many excellent benefits and the God of heaven gets much honour Therefore we had need be sure that we have speciall cause before we venture upon a work that takes away the life of such a creature as man is lest we rashly entrench so farre upon Gods honour and so wrongfully cut off man from the possession of blessing