Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	good_a	great_a	lord_n	2,953	5	3.2823	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B09419	A despised virgin beautified, or, Virginia benefited. setting forth, though concisely, yet perspicuously, the state of that and the neighbouring plantations, both as they have their blemishes, with the causes thereof, and as they may be cured, with the consequences thereof / by O.Ll. Gent. Sometimes an inhabitant of Virginia.	O.LI., Gent. Sometimes and Inhabitant of Virginia.	1653 (1653)	Wing L2618A; ESTC R180038	13,011	20

Spirit I bemoan her and wish all that know her with me to bewail her and to set to their helping hands and hearts and to implore some means from the great and good God of heaven who is both able and willing to help for her recovery and establishment in her perfections which is I conceive first to set up the kingdom of God there and then all other things shall be ministred First therefore I humbly conceive that if the Lord would put it upon the hearts of his people here in old England and in new England also to intercede and plead with the Lord for her that he would be pleased to set up his name there and be glorified in his appearances for his people there for I verily believe that the Lord hath a precious people there that have not nor will bow the knee to Baal though now they be under the clouds and in the clefts of the rocks as I shall shew you by and by Secondly I would humbly desire that the people of God here conferring with their friends of new England would join together and make it their joynt desire to the Supreme Authority that they would unite the English Plantations which are on the continent from Cape Florida in the South to Cape Saint George in the North viz. Carolina Virginia Mary-Land Albion New England New Plimouth and the Plantations to the eastward of Merimack river and Nova Scotia into one Pattent with New England it would be of great consequence conducing to the common good of all those Plantations and a great profit to this Common wealth of England But which is most of all it would much inlarge the kingdom of Christ and propagate the Gospel to the Natves all along the Continent as immediately I shall through grace and your patience shew But before I hold forth the benefit that may come by this union give me leave to answer the coverous Patentee or Planter of each Pattent I say Corolina Virginia Mary Land and Nova Sootia are planted for the major part with such kind of Planters as formerly I spoke of who onely especially in the Southern-Plantations eat the bread of idlenesse viz. by following such commodities as come with the easiest labour and not improving all advantages that might be taken for the advancing of their own interest in gaining what fruits the ground with a little more pains would abundantly afford them Now if New England men were among them the example of their industry with the sight of the advantages gotten thereby would excite al ingenious men as there is abundance to indeavor to attain the gaining of the like accommodations for themselves which would in the end much inrich the Common-wealth Object Sir saith the covetous Patentee or Planter of Carolina or Mary-Land and Albion we are peculiar Patents belonging to Noblemen in England who have purchased their Patents at a dear rate and expended much money by themselves and friends to plant these Plantations and shall we admit of Strangers especially of such as are of so different a judgement from us there is neither Piety nor equity in this Answ Truth it is their Patents were granted from the grand Governours of this Common wealth for the time then being whose grant I conceive was good as to the enjoyment of their tenures to the end pretended which appeareth by their grants to be to the glory of God and the good of this Common-wealth But now being the Common-wealth is under the power of an other administration who I hope truly fear God which power finding the pretended ends to be falsified and instead of setting up the Kingdom of Christ in their Plantations the dominion of Antichrist is exalted under the protection of those Noblemen and their grants therefore I conceive it to be both just and pious and for the profit of this Common wealth to call in those patents make them nul as to the dominion and legislative power given to those Lords yet in equity for the reward of the Adventurers service in gaining such Countreys I conceive it is as just they should enjoy the chief rents for what they let out to Tenants and what they keep in their own hands and improve to have it free reserving the Common-wealth's interest of profits as at first agreed upon And as for inconvenience of their being of other judgements as I conceive the Laws of Christ inforce none to conform to one anothers judgement by any coercive power in mans hand but as it pleaseth the Lord by his own Spirit to act in such as belong unto him or permit the spirit of Errour to perswade others to that which is evill and therefore I conceive their cohabitation not to be any wayes disadvantagious to the Common-wealth for so I hold the Plantations to be now in the hands of the Common-wealth and if the Liberty of the Law be equally alike to all and the benefit of the Gospell offered to all to me it appeareth in my slender judgement equitable and just that freedom be given to all that are members of this Common-wealth equally to cohabite in any of the Plantations they conforming to the power of the civill Magistrate Now as for new Albion Sir Edmund Ployden the pretended Earl of Albion took his Patent from the Lord Strafford in Ireland who made it an Irish Province which he should have planted within three years and yet for some 14 or 15. years he hath done nothing as to purpose of Planting the Countrey and therefore I conceive his Patent void and liberty might well be given to any either of old or new England to come into that part of the Continent and plant it Object But Sir saith the Virginian we and our predecessors have born the heat of the day and have planted much of the Colony and cleared much land and now would you have the New England men to enjoy the fruits of our labours surely this were a piece of injustice and uncharitablenesse Answ Gentlemen and Countrey-men If I prove it both justice and charity yea and a benefit to Virginia which is a subject I chiefly aim at in this discourse next to the salvation yee shall I say in order to the salvation of your souls and the glory of our Saviour to admit the people of New England to dwell with you I hope it will be offensive to never a godly or rational man in Virginia that loveth God the Countrey or his own and relations souls Therefore now give me leave to speak freely yea and through grace I will speak freely for I speak for God for the Common-wealth and for your good I hope Is it not justice for this Common-wealth to call in your Patent who have no wayes performed the trust reposed in you for the advancing of the glory of God in your Countrey but on the contrary have by power and authority acted against the Lord and his interest You 'l say this is a heavy charge I must prove it and that I

meant so and much treasure was advanced by the Adventurers and by publick authority which businesse being then managed as it is to be feared because now heavily felt by self-ended men was carried on as disorderly so unsuccessefully Disorderly in that they began not to send over men sound in the faith pious in their lives and sincere in their ends But the major part of them poor spirited self-ended and broken fortuned men to manage the work and with them as subservient to their self-ends they sent the greatest part of such as were sent under their command to do the work by their derection why they were such in general as were dissolute wild debauched idle and nonfortuned men and women and many of these being raked out of the sinks of the Commonwealth which being drawn out of several prisons were immediatly married to such as they never saw before and so sent to plant the Countrey Year after year this practice continued and multitudes through disorder and want of accommodations died till at last the company was dissolved and the Countrey infranchised and then the reigns being laid on the necks of these new libertines they became more licentious Here by the way I crave all sober minded gentlemen and Planters of Virginia to clear me in this that I tax not all for I know and did know many more and have heard of more than I knew of gallant gentlemen of quality and others in that Countrey who have been almost from the beginning there that I have observed and heard of to be good members of that Common-wealth and to have lived soberly and honestly free from all open vice And such as were the people such were the Priests for the lowest of the people here that would consecrate himself might be made a Priest and then over there will they go when England spueth them out for their incivilities and truely I fear it is too true that I hear thence that the most of them are so still Now such Priests and such people as before mentioned so principled and so ended surely could lay but a sorry foundation for the Gospels Propagation in those Plantations the major part being such as those few that were good could do no good with either for Church or State And truely I find that there is too much of that stock remaining there still for now my own experiences of sixteen or seventeen years standing conferred with the present times holds poor Viginia forth in my apprehension as a disconsolate Virgin subject to the rape of the strongest ravisher of her beauty and bravery For since the late Court-faction came in and poor Pensioners came over to be Governours and other chief Officers to make up their broken fortunes she hath been much macerated her beauty marred and the antient Common-wealths men who had begun to set forth the beauty and vertue of that Virgin were not only disheartned but many of them destroyed in their estates for their fidelity to the grand interest of the well-being of the Plantation Witnesse the difference begun by those of the Court-Faction as Sir John Harvy and Secretary Kemp both creatures of the Lord Finch and Sir Francis Windebank between them and the honest Gentlemen and antient Planters of the Countrey who had saved the Countrey with the hazard of their lives and fortunes this division descended to the next Governor Sir Francis Wiat who removing Sir John Harvy was himself afterwards dislocated by the endeavours of an Anti-party who brought in Sir William Berkley who what he was and is is too manifest by wofull experience of his twice revolting from this Common-wealth and in them injuring the best affected to this Common-weolth Yea and the hand of the Priests is in this also But now it will be supposed that this disease is cured by the conquering of the Anti-party I conceive it not cured neither will it be while there is either root or branch in power in or near that Colony as it is too near for I conceive whilst that Mary-Land in the North and Carolina in the South remain in the possession of them it doth though the Court-Faction be now in the embers thence will be brought upon any convenient opportunity bellows of sedition sufficient to set all our Plantations on fire they being both of the same Stock Simeon and Levi like brethren in iniquity There is yet another inconvenience which concurring with the former make up another malady to make our Virgin the more miserable and that is the propinquity of the Dutch and Swedish Plantations who much blemish the beauties of both the elder and younger daughters of Englands Common-wealth and prejudice their estate by receiving and detaining our fugitives both debtors and servants and fiding with Indians Now as without she is damnified and indangered so within she suffers too much detriment by the adherents of the former faction in the Common-wealth and so likewise by the iguorance and pride of the Priests the Countrey suffereth much more in the losse of their spiritual advantages as shall appear by and by But which is more the main pretended end of planting the Countrey is altogether omitted if not prejudiced as I shall shew anon But I love not to rake in the dung nor to cast dirt about but would willingly be if possible and that the Lord were so pleased instrumental to do all the good I could to the Colony for next the place of my native soyl I love it above any Countrey wheresoever I have travelled and therefore though I be the worst of sinners yet I blesse God I abound in love to that Countrey and do wish from my very heart if I can discern it to indeavour by all means and to improve all interests to advantage the place and therefore let me crave pardon if I mentioned any thing that is offensive to any I cannot hold love constraineth me I must discover what I know amisse it is the work of the Lord and I would not be found negligent in it The successelesnesse of the Plantation is to my sorrow seen by comparing her deformity and barrennesse as to spirituals with her younger Sisters beauty and fruitfulnesse who though placed in a far more barren soyl in relation to terrestialls is by ingenuity and industry made far more fruitful and profitable to her inhabitants but which is better she abounds in the work of the Lord and in the injoyment of the manifestation of the abundant love of God not onely to the English themselves but the glory of his grace is much seen in demolishing much of the Kingdom of Satan and exalting the Scepter of Christ among the Natives A thing which the primary Planters pretended but by them of new England intended and with good successe blessed be God happily effected in part which will more and more increase to the perfect day I believe and hope This being the root of her disease which makes poor Virginia deformed and so consequently despicable with mourning of