Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	peace_n	province_n	unite_a	1,120	5	10.2827	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79540	A Christian and brotherly exhortation to peace: directed unto the soverain states of England, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. And to the people of both nations. Translated out of the French copie, sent by a lover of peace from beyond sea.	Lover of peace from beyond sea.	1653 (1653)	Wing C3938; Thomason E725_14; ESTC R206769	13,829	21

A Christian and Brotherly EXHORTATION TO PEACE Directed unto the Soverain States of ENGLAND and the United Provinces of the NETHERLANDS And to the People of both NATIONS Translated out of the French Copie sent by a Lover of Peace from beyond Sea LONDON Printed for Richard Wodenothe in Leaden-hall-street To The Illustrious Sovereign States of ENGLAND and the United Provinces of the NETHERLANDS And to the People of both the said NATIONS I Could wish my Lords and beloved Brethren that my tongue might be untied and loosed to as good a purpose for your Peace and Reconciliation as that in time past was of a dumb man for the saving of his Father Though I am not affected with the same naturall fright and amazement as that was which did untie his tongue in an instant Yet I dare assure you that the affection which I bear for your Peace and Reconciliation is no lesse then that of a childe for the life of his Father And this is that which doth obliege me to conjure you to consider whether those differences of yours can be pleasing unto him that hath freed you from the captivity and Kingdome of death and darknesse into which you were plunged and hath gathered you unto his holy Jerusalem received you into his Covenant united you unto himself and his with an everlasting and indissoluble bond or whether it be not contrary unto his will Do you believe that he hath gathered you together and united you with those whom he hath enlightened and to whom he caused the light of the Gospel to shine that you should unite your selves afterward with them that follow after the Beast that have given up their Kingdome unto it and are yet under the power of death and darknesse If you be alive what communion can you have with the dead and with those that make war with the Spouse and with the truth of him that hath raised you by his Spirit of life Can you believe that he hath delivered you from the hand of the Babylonians that you should re-unite your selves again with them Or that he made you go out of Babylon that you should make peace with those that maintain the Crimes and uphold the Dominion thereof Are you not of those to whom the Lord hath said Apoc. 12. Go out from Babylon my people Are you not of those that have received the Testimony of the Witnesses which their King hath slain and whom the Lord hath raised to shew unto you his will How can you then unite your selves and make peace with those that accuse them and make war against them Remember you not the violence and cruelties they have exercised against you and yours in the preceding age to bring you into subjection and bondage Have you forgotten the Army which they called the Invincible which they had designed for your destruction Are they not the very same who seeing that they could not prevail against you by open force and remembring that a short truce of twelve years failed but a very little of having undone you conceived that a deceitful peace would make an end of you and that according to the advice which sometimes Balaam gave unto Balaak of uniting himself with the children of Israel to divide them from God and to provoke his anger and jealousie against them it would be a means to bring their design to passe Do you believe that it is for your good and not much rather for their own Interest that they have sued for a peace with you which is so deceitfull Are you still so blinde as not to see that they minde nothing else but how they may divide you from your Brethren and ancient Allies Have they not been your enemies by hindering you to entertain more advantagious confederacies And you may sufficiently understand by the good offices which they perform unto you at this present what their thoughts have been towards you when they have sought peace at your hands Oh if you could but have hearkened unto the advice which was given you concerning it a little before you came to a conclusion you would now be at peace with your Brethren and would be perhaps far from those troublesome Neighbours which do so often disturbe you How much blood and treasure would you have spared Your people which have been but languishing all this while in regard of the flourishing condition they were in heretofore would as yet possesse a glorious prosperity And you also Sirs who do lend them your hands do you not consider the good offices which they do unto those who peradventure have most contributed to maintain them in a good part of their Estates which have been shaken Do you not know that they are of those who do not think themselves obliegd to keep faith unto you and that they cannot suffer any of their subjects to make profession of your Religion without putting them to cruell deaths Can you hope that when they shall see their advantages and the occasion of advancing their affairs they will deal with you otherwise then they have dealt with your fathers and at this present do deal with your brethren notwithstanding all the benefit and advantages they have received from them By what Policy can you be united unto those which do think you to be Gods enemies and are perswaded that he doth command them to make war against you and would be content with the losse of Kingdomes and millions of men to have you all utterly rooted out with all those of your Religion How can you give assistance for the taking of Places even the strongest upon your Borders and thus insensibly to weaken and to block up your selves Do you not think that they may turn about and make peace with your Neighbours Do you not know that thousands of Babylonians do most pas●ionately desire it and that already many do endeavour on all sides to bring them to a Re-union to the end that they may fall upon you promising to themselves nothing else then to divide the spoil which they will get of you and of your brethren Do you not perceive that there be many discontented and interes●ed amongst you which do yet pant and long after Monarchie Can you be ignorant that the Interest of Kings doth obliege them to give them all possible assistance and do you not call to minde the hatred which you have brought upon you and the jealousies which you give to all and which have drawn upon you mighty enemies You know but too well that there be many of yours which do not yield unto your Government but by power and constraint that your Ecclesiastical Politick and Military States do consist of ill-affected persons that are full of discontents and emulation which do wait only but for an opportunity that they may safely discover themselves Do you not remember both of you that there be still some Princes that had the Supream Power over you which will never be forgotten by them Remember therefore that upon the

least disgrace that may befall you all those enemies will stir up themselves and joyn together against you and then indeed if you are not united with those which have followed the Lamb and have not Christ on your side you can expect nothing else but an utter desolation And there is no great need of any great Prophet or Politician to foretell you that within a very little time you will be embroiled with those with whom you now have made peace and to whom you are united unlesse they will shortly feel the smart of the Thunderbolt of the Popish Excommunication since they do absolutely depend from the pleasure of this pretended Holy Father Do you not well know that he hath no greater desire in his heart then to undoe and destroy you at what cost soever because he doth not see any greater hinderance to the universall re-establishing of his Hierarchicall Empire then your faithfulnesse to the Lamb Remember Sirs and welbeloved Brethren that this false and mercenary Shepheard will promise all things unto those that are perswaded that God doth command them to destroy you to dispose them to assault you thinking that he hath right to dispose of your dominions he will give it unto them to obliege them thereunto and offer unto them as from God all the absolution they can wish for having surprized you He will promise to place them in the highest degree of heaven to move them to conquer and to destroy you Have you not Chronicles of the mischiefs which these Hierarchists have done unto you in former times Verily I cannot believe if you should but read them that you would thus easily be resolved to put your trust in those that depend upon him and believe that God hath given them an Omnipotency both in Heaven and Earth and hold their decrees to be divine and worship him Neverthelesse examine a little whether you can do any thing that may delight and content this Priest and his Adherents more then to raise a cruel war amongst your selves and to unite your selves to and to put your trust in his mightiest and most confiding Son and do you doubt but that all those that do homage unto him are not filled with joy to see your strength which they were afraid of employed to cut the throats of one another Oh if ye could but look into their hearts you would easily discern their joy Consider the advice which the Lord doth give unto you Esa 57. If you had taken notice of the great and marvellous things which he hath done for you whilest you were united and which have filled the earth with astonishment and admiration even to remove the Scepter and Government from your enemies to put it into your hands you would not have been so ready and prompt to make peace with those which have not desired it from you for any other end then to do you more hurt and who do onely conspire to bring you into subjection and to oppresse you And you might also expect the same blessing upon your Armes if they were united as they have been formerly for the advancement of his Kingdome But can you believe that he who hath exalted you and followed you with his mercies and blessings whilest you fought for his Interest and glory against the enemies of his Spouse seeing that now you have changed and turned his Armes against his own people and against his holy Jerusalem for those vain things here below and that you do not fight but for your own Interest honour glory and the Treasures of the vvorld vvhich he hath given in portion to his enemies will still go forth vvith you Do you believe that the great Judge of the vvhole Earth vvill render himself partiall and change his Covenants and Relations for your sakes Do you pretend either on one side or the other to subdue your brethren at least I vvould not entertain these thoughts that you are possessed with a desire to extirpate them If the glory of the world and the desire to give law to other Nations should cause you to refuse peace vvith your brethren the example of some Kingdomes vvhich you have seen flourishing not long ago extending their conquests to all sides and looking upon other Nations with contempt The condition and the divisions vvherein you see them at this present because they refused an honourable and most advantageous peace should lead you thereunto But one mans death or the change of one Minister of State is sufficient to alter the face of a whole Empire The God of peace loveth the peace-makers and the righteous King of Kings stirreth up his jealousie as well against those who will be too absolute and Lording over their Brethren and to give them the Law as against those who arrogate unto themselves his rights titles and qualities He delighteth to lift up the humble and to cast down oftentimes those that are lifted up on high And can you believe that he hath put all those great forces into your hands to bring his people into subjection Remember Christians that they are none of yours and that they belong as well unto him as to your selves You must not think that it is his spirit which makes you thus to degenerate from the nature of his children Is it by the sacrifice of his people whereby you would pretend to appease his wrath and to establish your Governments by making war against him I make no question but many amongst you will reflect upon those things and condemn the heat and animosity which hath p●ecipitated you into these wars which have already cost you so much blood on both sides But perhaps you will say that it is too late to think now upon these things that this fire is too much inflamed to quench it Christians It is true that it is too late but seeing we cannot call back again what is past we must think upon the future There is but too much mischief done already but you ought to consider that it is but the beginning of lamentations and sorrows Let us think upon the evils and miseries which may yet ensue and wherewith we are threatened and which we may prevent by our own humiliation before God and by asking of him a spirit of peace with our Brethren and not a spirit of Victory except it be to overcome our own humours and passions We must lay aside our own Interests for the love of Christ and put our selves into his hands And you shall see my dear Brethren that you will receive so large a satisfaction therein that it will ravish your hearts with Joy and Consolation Perhaps you will ask me the question Who I am From whence I come and who hath sent me and tell me That you do not know me and that I have nothing to meddle with your businesse That you are wise and cleer-sighted enough to know what you have to do Brethren I tell you that by the grace of God I am a Christian as you are and