Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	good_a	king_n	power_n	4,538	5	4.8909	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93347	Gods unchangeableness: or Gods continued providence, in preserving, governing, ordering and disposing of all creatures, men, actions, counsels and things, as at the beginning of the world, so to the end of the world, for ever, according to the counsel of his own will. From whence is gatherd six necessary inferences very applicable to the changes, alterations and vicissitude of these our present times. Wherein is clearly demonstrated and proved, that Oliver Cromwell is by the providence of God, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, &c. to whom the people owe obedience, as to him whom God hath set over them. Unto which is added, the causes of discontent, repining and murmurings of men: also, some serious advertisements, and seasonable admonitions to the discontented, and reprehensions to all impetuous, arrogant murmurers. Together with answers to some cheif objections made against the Lord Protector and his present government, endeavouring (if possible) satisfaction to all men. / Therefore written and published for publicke good, by George Smith, Gent.	Smith, George, 1602 or 3-1658.	1655 (1655)	Wing S4036; Thomason E824_4; ESTC R207687	84,417	65

men if all might elect whom they would to serve in Parliament or all that would by designs get to be elected should be Members it is more then probable the Enemy might in short time be Masters of the Militia and by it not only give away our Freedoms so much talked of and the liberty of the people but take away our lives also and which is more then all take from us the priviledge of the Gospel and what else hath been purchased with so much bloud and treasure and turn our pleasant Eden into an Acheldama The good people of this Nation with his Highness may say at this time as David once said The Sons of Zervia he too hard for me which caused David to omit the doing that justice he willed to be done And truly my judgement tels me if his Highness should for his time whatever he may for publike good grant for future part wholly with the Militia from his hand he should provoke providence and betray his trust to the Commonwealth which consists not of a few men that appropriate singularity to themselves for private interests but all the people and give his life as a prey to his enemies and with himself the three Nations which till some settlement be established depend upon his welfare As also the interest that all true Christian people in the world have in the welfare of this Nation There must be a trust somewhere but every man may not be trusted though every free born subject have right in it Nor can it be trusted in the hands of the multitude for they rule by voice not by Law nor to some of them because others have equal right Nor can it be safe under the hand of a government Democratical the thing mightily aimed at by the opposites to his Highness under specious shews to please and to deceive the people which is as experience tels us next cosen to the highest Tyranny why then not rather in him of whose trust and fidelity the people of this Nation have good experience and great deliverance from a first and second thraldom till he by Gods blessing with his Parliaments advice can settle it in safety for the future And whereas it is objected That he seeks a negative voice to the Parliaments resolves is a scandal He asks it not but only in those things that fundamentally concern the government and that is if men could see for publike benefit that neither Oligarchy nor Domocracy may start up to enthrall and enslave the people by governing them according to will and fancy by promises without known Laws where then would be the freedom and liberty of the people now so much talked of by the Objectors These things he only excepts against in all other things whatsoever of Parliament Resolves being drawn into Bils and offered unto his Highness if he consent not unto them within twenty daies they are to passe into and to become Laws although he shall not give his consent as is exprest in Art 24. And for his seeking to have power to make Laws and to raise money it is meer calumniation he seeks it not nor claims it not but leaves it to the wisedom of Parliament as appears in Art 6. except as is there excepted for and in cases of safety and of necessity till the time that this presant Parliament were assembled and that to be done by him with the advice of his counsel as in Art 30. so then he seeks not the strength nor treasure of the Nation to himself nor to have it in his own power as is objected And for Religion he seeks nor to have it in his power but leaves it also to the Parliament to debate consult and resolve that he by them and they by him might receive all light possible in so great a business for In the multitude of counsel there is safety It is indeed a great work beyond the wisedom of man to appoint without divine assistance and spiritual wisedom His Highness well knows the evil of the rigid prelatical Persecution in Tyrannizing over the consciences of men in that rigid st●ictness And he as well knows the evil of unbridled liberty that it is abused and made a Cloak of maliciousness and as servants to corruption occasions to the flesh and to licentiousness blasphemies heresies and doctrines of devils the original of all discord dissenti●ns quarrels seditions and confusion which seldom ends if tolerated but with destruction to the best and most flourishing Commonwealths These are Rocks that will split the Ship of the best fortified Commonwealth therefore carefully to be avoided by the best advice and skill of the most experienced Pilot in which his Highness doth not refuse the counsel of this Parliament nor doth he refuse to pass the Bill they shall agree on except in his wisedom he see as our chief Pilot something in it be dangerous to the well-being of the Nation and give them satisfaction therein for he is more in this case then any one man in Parliament possibly a vote may be carried by one man which in such a case he may justly deny because the utility peace and happiness of a Commonwealth depends upon the right Discipline in Religion and the justice of Execution of just Laws for regulating between two extreams Religion in the power of it in all godlinesse is a Law in it self and needs no Law to command it for Religion is truly the very nursing Mother to all vertues graces peace and unity among men And I must tell the Objector that the late Kings have not really endeavoured this but he or they had power to have done it the neglect was his ruine and a chief cause of Englands misery Nor did we engage against this power or authority of the late King but against his misusing of that power casting off those just Laws which by his authority he should have observed and commanded to be executed for the good of his people He seeking to rule by his own will by absolute power in himself to cast off all just Laws and adulterate Religion at his pleasure this was the Original of our war and this is that which the Ancients in all times have called Tyranny But his Highness assumes not to himself so much Authority as the late and former Kings claimed and exercised That which he claims is such a power as may enable him to establish Religion in its purity and that he with his Parliament might enact and give life to all just Laws under which the people may live in all peaceableness and be governed in all sobriety and godlinesse with tranquillity and utility for present and future that the people may dwell safely every man sitting under his own Vine and under his Figree as in the daies of Solomon 1 King 4. 15. Besides we ought to consider that for severall years past we have travelled in a wilderness in untroden and uneven waies and are digressed much from the right way of good discipline almost

u there is a time of warre and there is a time of peace w We had our time of war and tasted of the bitternesse of it God now in great mercy offereth us our time of peace if we will not accept of it but provoke God by our murmuting we may fear the event Christians and Englishmen I pray consider that saying of Ahner to Joab Shall the sword devour for ever will it not be bitternesse in the latter end x You know how it proved bitter both to Abuer and to Joab Discontents Ambiand false Interest procured the sword to eat the flesh of them by the just hand of God As Abuer had shed the bloud of many in Israel in an evil cause his bloud was shed by Joab wickedly y And Joab because beshed the bloud of war in the time of peace z he was slain by the sword at the horns of th● 〈◊〉 a God hath manifested his will to us by clear providences Let us as men tha● fea● God and own his providence submit unto it and not murmure nor repine but with patience wait to see what God will yet do for us He hath multitudes of blessings to the obedient and as many curses and scourges to the murmurers If it he as the Psalmist saith a good and pleasant thing for brethren to dwell together in unity b Then it must needs be an evil and unpleasant thing for Brethren to dwell together in discord dissention strife and variance all disunited and disjointed in affections Consider what I have said and the Lord give every one a good and right understanding in all things If that I have said being well weighed be not found to be truth beleeve it not But if it be the truth follow it practise it or this that I say shall one day be a witnesse against him that readeth and slieghteth it and give me leave to adde this to the rest and tell you that those that are contemners and murmurers against the government of a Common-wealth in the Infancy of it they are he greatest enemies to that Common-wealth not hurtful only to themselves but to the whole Nation the evil example of one murmurer draws more to the imitation of that sin then the perswasion and good counsell of many can divert and so all or multitudes oft perish together As we see in the men that were sent to spy out the Land of Canaan they murmured and brought an evil report of that good Land which caused all the people to weep and murmure and cry out against Moses and Aaron c for which their murmuring they were excluded from that good Land and promise And not only so but they even those men that brought up the evil report were destroied before the Lord by a plague d Consider what God hath done he will do still For God is unchangeable It is one of his Attributes which he takes only to himself I am the Lord I change not e In him is no variablenesse neither shadow of change f Therefore it must of necessity follow from Gods unchangeablenesse that whatsoever he hath done in former times he will do the same for he is the same what judgements he hath inflicted for any sin or that he hath threatned to inflict he will still do the same therefore the Apostle tels even us Christians that whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our Learning g c. I confesse my Brerhren when I took my pen in hand to write upon this subject Discourse I intended not above three sheets of paper but the matter is encreased before me and I could not expresse my self with more brevity I would yet for further satisfaction modestly give Answers to some Objections made by some sorts of men against his Highnesse the Lord Protector which I will do in as few lines as I can possibly Object It is Objected That the cause of our war which hath cost so much bloud and treasure was To defend our Rights and Freedoms against the Tyranny of Kings to be governed under a Parliament as free People by just Laws c. But the Lord Protector assumes to himself the Authority of a King by exercising a greater Tyranny over the people then the King did to give Laws c. Answ I answer the cause of our warre as instrumental was To defend the Rights and Priviledges of Parliament the Freedom and liberty of the People and the defence of the true Religion against incroaching Tyranny and innovations subtlely insinuated by the late King and his evil Counsel But that our Warre intentionally was against the lawful Authority of Kings or against the Person of the Late King as he was King or against his just prerogative I deny Only against his evil Councel the War was raised that the Priviledges of Parliament the Liberty of the People and the truth of Religion might be defended and established This will appear by severall Parliament Declarations Protestations and solemn Covenant wherein the Parliament do declare protest and covenant as their own priviledge freedom and liberty c. to defend and preserve the Kings person his just Rights and Prerogatives so far as it might stand with the preservation of Religion and the peoples Rights But the late King standing in strong opposition to the Parliament and Liberty of the people and his Rights and Prerogatives coming in competition with or against the preservation of Religion and Priviledges of Parliament and the peoples Right He defending and taking upon himself all the evil Actions and wicked devices of his evil Councell miscarried for so providence had ordered it should be And the people as providence led them submitted to a Parliament to govern them as a free People they expected much ease and great Reformation but enjoyed Now I would ask the Objectors these two short Questions 1. If a Parliament should become more tyrannicall then a King and lay heavy burthens upon them reaching to their persons lives and estates by an unknown Law or arbitrary power and suffer Innovations to come in on every side to the contempt of Religion and adulterating every truth turning Religion into every shape to metamorphise truth whether in this case if such should be the people might not as justly cry out and take up Arms against such a Parliament as against a King 2. If all these evils could be found and sensibly felt by the people whether it were justice to themselves acceptable to God or benefit to their posterity to cast off and to abandon for ever the authority and use of Parliaments I think they would give their negative except such as would live without all order or command which is to be worse then devils Nor is the office nor just power of a King to be for ever rejected because there have been Tyrannical oppressing superstitious or idolatrous Kings for the office of a King is the Ordinance of Jehovah and cannot be made null by man To this

set up himself for God set him up who puls down and sets up whom he pleaseth providence leading him to that he is nor doth he seek to rule and govern according to his own will but according to the fundamentall Laws of the Nation and agreeable to the will of God else he would have asked much more for himself and his posterity then he hath done nor intending to rule by any arbitrary power for then he would nor have bounded himself by Laws and Articles as you see he hath in the Government published by himself c. And taking care for the future by tri●nnial Parliaments and calling this present Parliament freely elected by the people as a means to restore lost Priviledges In all which is no injustice but faithfulnesse in the discharge of his trust as a Servant to the Commonwealth for publike good Object 4 Fourthly The great Objection framed against his Highnesse is 1. That he called this Parliament upon design as he did other former things for his own ends not for publike benefit 2. That it is not a free Parliament not free in the Elction nor free wh●n assembled to proceed as a free Parliament restraint was put upon them many members sent away because they would not engage to his design to confirm on him the supream power of the Nation give him the Militia negative to all Parliament Resolves power to make Laws and to raise money so that not only all the strength and treasure of the Nation should be in his power but Religion too which is more then ever the King had and the things for which we engaged in a war against him as a Tyrant c. Answ To this I answer as we say in our Proverb and that truly Ill will never speaks well The men of the world designing men have ever envied vertue and honour which I verily beleeve are compactible in his Highness● and therefore envyed not by the righteous but by the men of the world whose designs and interests are crossed 1. That he called this Parliament for any other end then for publike benefit circumstances do demonstrate If things be compared with things which I willingly forbear to particularize And for all preceding things which the Objectors call designs Providence hath clearly led him to as is proved in our foregoing discourse 2. That this is a free Parliament both in the Election and in the proceedings is evident to them that are not blinded by some prejudication For the restrictions made in respect of qualification in persons to be Elected and Electors was so far from infringing the peoples liberty or being any barre to their freedom that it was indeed their greatest freedom and security of their safety and was at this time considering out present condition of absolute necessity Many designs being on foot to corrupt and ensnare counsels the judgements of men being much unsetled by subtle insinuations of seducers Nor was there any restraint upon Parliament proceedings when assembled as is objected but what tended to publike good and the end why this Parliament was summoned viz. to put things that are out of order into order by the Legal way of Parliament proceedings not to encrease factions nor to maintain parties and private Interests but to establish Religion peace and just Laws the main basis and foundation to the well-being of a Commonwealth wherein the Parliament is free And I hope by their wisedom through the assistance and direction of Jehovah this Parliament will be instrumentall in the laying of such a foundation that God may own us for his people dwell in our Land remove his afflicting hand from us and leave a blessing to posterity I say further that this present Parliament was summoned by the Authority of the Lord Protector which authority is from God to which providence hath led him all along And we are commanded to be subject to the higher powers not some but all Let every soul be subject why for there is no power but of God The Apostle tels you that the powers that be are ordained of God Rom. 13. 1. By this power he summoned this Parliament And before the summons he by the advice of his counsell declared to all the people the condition that the Commonwealth was in and what was now necessary to be done for a happy settlement I need not repeat any particular thing declared nor verbally spoken by his Highnesse at the Parliaments first assembling because it is publike to all The people in all obedience to his Highnesse authority according to his summons made their respective Elections The Knights and Burgesses elected or the most of them accepted of their Elections and appeared at the day and place Why any one should after all this oppose that authority which called them and the end why they came together I will not judge That his Highnesse sent any away as is objected I deny They were at their own liberty to sit in the house or to depart it was at their free choice That which they were to subscribe was no other then was plainly held forth to all men in the government as to one man This was no barre to the free debates in Parliament for their debates to establish justice and righteousnesse or offering any thing that might conduce to the benefit of the Common-wealth It is only a bar against Oligarchy the worst of governments ready to break in upon us It is true it doth confirm his Highnesse Lord Protector for his life and no more which if he did not for publike benefit he might have asked it for his posterity and carried it by his power if he had made himself his design as is objected To that part of the Objection concerning the Militia he was trusted with it by the Parliament and it was at his dispose for the good of the publike and so he ever used it with all faithfulnesse and God by it made him instrnmental to bring us out of Egypt I may say by great wonders We are still in the Wildernesse scarce come so far as to Mount Nebo And we have many thousands among us that still look back unto Egypt and we have the Children of Anak Giants and Cananites that stand in the way and hinder out entrance into the possession of our Evangelicall happinesse promised These must be subdued and kept under therefore the Militia is still as useful in his hand as before to secure the people from those lusting murmurers and to subdue the Cananites He claims not the Militia to himself but desires it may be in Parliaments and himself Providence hath put it into his hand and he knows his own heart that he intends to use it no way but for the benefit of the Common-wealth by advice of Parliament But he cannot know any others heart nor can he say of any other that they would so use it No not for the people if it were in their hands at this time for the people are of as many mindes as