Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	common_a	justice_n	law_n	1,561	5	4.6325	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77374	The vvounded conscience cured, the weak one strengthned, [sic] and the doubting satisfied By way of answer to Doctor Fearne. Where the main point is rightly stated, and objections throughly answered for the good of those who are willing not to be deceived. By William Bridge, preacher of Gods Word. It is ordered this 30. day of January, 1642. by the committee of the House of Commons in Parliament, concerning printing, that this answer to Dr. Fearnes book be printed. John White. The second edition, correced and amended. Whereunto are added three sermons of the same author; 1. Of courage, preached to the voluntiers. 2. Of stoppage in Gods mercies to England, with their [sic] remedies. 3. A preparation for suffering in these plundering times.	Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.	1643 (1643)	Wing B4476A; ESTC R223954	47,440	52

their ancient and acoustomed liberties regiments and lawes they may not well be accounted rebells And the title of that page is the Law sometimes permits resistance and the margent is in some cases the Nobles and Commons may stand for their publicke regiment and laws of their Kingdome All which judgements of severall Divines I doe not bring forth as if I were of their mindes for deposing or punishing of Princes by the people which we plead not for in Hereditary Princes but to shew how the Doctors Dr. Willet Co. on Ro. 13. Q. 17. judgement is different from the judgement of the Divines of all Protestant Countries notwithstanding he would insinuate that our Divines of England are of his judgement and that our judgement is no Bilsons true difference between Christ●an subjection and unchristian rebellion p. 5. 251. new upstart opinion you see what was the judgement of the Divines in the Counsell of Basil where one of them saith thus That in every well ordered Kingdome it ought specially to be desired that the whole Realme ought to be of more authority then the King which if it happened contrary it is not to be called a Kingdome but tyranny so likewise doth he thinke of the Church c. And presently another of the Divines of the s●me Co●●●●ll saith thus For the Pope is in the Church as the King is in his Kingdome and for a King to be of more authority then his Kingdome this were too absurd ergo neither ought the Pope to be above the Church for like as oftentimes Kings which doe wickedly rule the Common-weale and exercise cruelty are deprived of their Kingdomes even so it is not to he doubted but that the Bishops of Rome may be dep●sed by the Church that is to say by the generall Councell neither doe I herein allow them which attribute so large and ample authority unto Kings that they will not have them bound under any Lawes for such as doe so say are but flatterers who do talke otherwise then they think For albeit that they doe say that the moderation of the law is alwaies in the Princes power● that do I thus understand that when as reason shall perswade hee ought to digresse from the rigour of the law for he is called a King who careth and provideth for the Common-weale taketh pleasure in the profit and commodity of the subjects and in all his doings hath respect to the commodity of those over whom he ruleth which if he doe not he is not to be accounted a King● but a Tyrant whose property it is only to suck his owne profit For in this point a King differeth from a Tyrant that the one seeketh the cōmodity profit of them whom he ruleth the other only his owne The which to make more manifest the cause is also to be alledged wherefore Kings were ordained At the beginning as Cicero in his Offices saith It is certaine that there was a certaine time when the people lived without Kings but afterward when ●and and possessions began to be divided according to the custome of every Nation then were Kings ordained for no other cause but only to execute Justice For when as at the beginning the common people were oppressed by rich and mighty men they ran by and by to some good and vertuous man who should defend the poore from injury and ordaine Lawes whereby the rich and poore should dwell together But when as yet under the rule of Kings the poore were oft oppressed lawes were ordained and instituted the which should judge neither for hatred nor favour and give like care unto the poore as unto the rich whereby we doe understand not only the people but the King to be subject unto the Lawes Then the Doctor tells us that he is against the Arbitrary way of government For saith he we may and ought to deny obedience to such commands of the Prince as are unlawfull by the Law of God yea by the established Lawes of the Kingdome Ans This reason doth no way destroy Arbitrary government but rather erect it For government is not said to be Arbitrary because the subjects may deny in word and so left to suffer For then the Tur●ish government is not arbitrary For when the great Turke commands his subjects to doe any thing if they will deny and suffer for their deniall they may and doe sometimes deny their obedience If there be lawes whereby a King is to rule which he shall command his subjects to breake and his subjects are neither bound to obey him nor suffer by him then his government is not arbitrary but if there be lawes made and he may inforce his subjects either to keepe them or breake them and punish them at his pleasure that shall refuse and the whole kingdome bound in conscience to suffer whatsoever he shall inflict for not breaking those Lawes then is his government arbitrary for arbitrary government is that whereby a Prince doth rule ex arbitrio which he doth when either there is no law to rule by but his owne will or when hee hath a power to breake those lawes at his will and to punish the subject at his pleasure for not breaking them and in truth this latter is rather an arbitrary government then the former as it shewes more liberty in the will that it hath a power to act when reason perswades to the contrary then if there were no reason disswading and else there should be no arbitrary government in the world For no State but hath some lawes whereby they rule and are ruled even the very Indians onely here lyes the arbitrarinesse of a government that notwithstanding the law the Ruler may pro arbitrio force his subjects according to his owne pleasure Then the Doctor saith We must consider that they which plead for resistance in such a case as is supposed doe grant that it must be concluded upon Omnibus ordinibus regni consentientibus that is with the generall and unanimous consent of the two houses Ans 1. First these words are ill translated for omnes ordines regni may consentire and yet there may not be an unanimous and generall consent of the Members of the two houses as of one man 2. If so that the Doctor grant this to be our Sentence why then doth he object against us that the Christians in the primitive times did not take up armes for the defence of themselves against the Emperors seeing they had not the consent of all the orders of the Empire and therefore their case is nothing to ours as hee pretends afterward But if they had the whole Senate of Rome with them the representative body of the Empire then their case had beene more like unto ours and then no question but they would have taken up armes for the defence of themselves Then the Doctor saith We suppose that the Prince must be so and so disposed bent to overthrow Religion Liberties Lawes c. Ans Here he takes that

t●● Judges then in the Kings Ans But how come we to this discourse to compare Monarc● and Aristocracy and to say that Monarchy is better government th● Aristocracy Doth it follow from the word True which the Dr. ha● said to that proposition many see more then one and more safety 〈◊〉 the judgement of many then of one But seeing he is pleased to say ●he government which God made choice of to set up among his people was Monarchicall still first in Moses then in the Judges then in the Kings let us now diligently observe that Monarchicall government which God made choice of If Moses the Judges and Kings were are all Monarchs and Monarchy the best government Then 1. The best government is such where the people have the free choice of their Governour for so they had in the time of the Judges Chap. 11. 5. And it was so when the children of Ammon ma●e war against Israel the Elders of Israel went to fetch Jephtha out of the Land of Tob and ●hey said unto Jephtha Come and be our Captaine that we may fight with the children of Ammon And Jephtha said unto the Elders of Gilead If ●● bring me home againe to fight with the children of Ammon and the Lord ●eliver them before me shall I be your head And the Elders of Gilead said into Jephtha The Lord be witnesse betwixt us if we doe not so according ●o thy word Then Jephtha went with the Elders of Gilead and the people ●ad● him Head and Captaine over them v. 11. Thus wee see that that government which the Doctor cals the best and set up by God is such when the people have the choice of their King and the derivation of ●is power is from them as I have proved at large in the Preface to ●ave beene in the Judges and Kings of Israel Secondly then the best government is that where the King and ●eople strike a covenant at his Coronation which covenant the King is bound to observe neither doth his covenanting with the peo●le make him no Monarch for David was a Monarch yet David ●ade a covenant with the Elders of Israel and so they anointed him King ●ver Israel 1 Chron. 11. 3. Thirdly then the best government is such also where the Prince ●oth advise with his people and Elders doing no great matter in State ●● Religion without their consent and with their consent doing So David 1 Chron. 13. 1. And David consulted with the Captaines of thou●ands and hundreds and every Leader and David said unto all the Con●●egation of Israel If it seeme good unto you let us bring againe the Arke ●● the Lord our God unto us and all the Congregation said that they would ●● so for the thing was right in the eyes of all the Congregation So that ●●e people having an agency in the great affaires of the Kingdome is ●o way repugnant but consistent with Monarchicall government or ●●e government appointed by God himselfe Fourthly then also is the best government appointed by God such ●● doth carry along with i● a lawfulnesse for the subjects to take up armes and make forcible resistance for their own security and safety of the Common weale against their Monarchs when cause requireth for did not the people sometime in Israel take up armes against some of the Judges And did not David though yet a subject to Saul take up armes and make forcible resistance It is said expresly 1 Chron. 12. 18. 19. Then David received them and made them Captaines of the Band and there fell some of Manasses to David when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battell The Doctor said before in his Treatise that David tooke up armes onely in his owne defence But doe these words note no more Only I presse them thus far as may shew a lawfulnes for the people to take up armes in a way of forcible resistance against the Kings commandement when the danger is eminent which we finde agreeable to the best government set up by God himselfe as the Doctor acknowledgeth In the fourth place the Doctor answers that such power of resistance will be no meanes of safety to a State but rather a remedy worse then the disease which he proveth from Rom. 13. which I have answered already and from some reasons as 1. This power of resistance if admitted and preserved may proceed to a change of government Ans To which I answer that if severall formes of government be of humane constitu●ion as the Doctor speaks why should we think that they are utterly unalterable as the laws of the Medes Persians But secondly this principle of ours cannot boyle up to that height for we only say that when the Prince shall neglect his trust the people are to see to it and silenc'd not for deposing 2. He saith This power of resistance is accompanied with the evils of ● civill war Ans No but therefore we are afflicted with civill warre becaus● some people are mis-led from their own natures to take up armes against their own Country Civill war is from the cause thereof now the Parliament calls for armes only to defend the Country thes● make the civill war that are against the Countries defence Thirdly he saith There is danger in this power of resistance for the if the people be discontented and have gotten power they may say the Members of the two Houses doe not discharge their trust and so by this rule tak● up the power to themselves and so all rapine and confusion brought into th● Kingdome Ans There can bee no such inference made from this principle o● ours for the people do all acknowledge that we are to bee governed by Lawes and that as the Doctor saith the Parliament is th● Judge what is Law the people doe acknowledge according to truth that the Parliament hath the declarative power or the supreme power of declaring the Law the King doth not professe this but rather the contrary that he is no Lawyer nor skilled in the Lawes The Parliament doe professe it and the people acknowledge them to be so and therefore there is not the same reason that they should take their power to themselves in case that the Parliament should neglect their trust for why should the people take that power unto themselves should it be according to Law The Parliament will then tell them that they have done that which is according to law wherein they confesse that the two Houses have the power of declaring But now if the Prince shall neglect his trust and the people take a power to looke to themselves in times of danger by way of forcible resistance the Prince cannot say when the Parliament is against him the supreme power of declaring law doth agree my course to be lawfull so that you see there is not the same reason of both And whereas the Doctor saith That upon the like reason if the Parliament shall neglect their trust the people may call in