Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	great_a	king_n	lord_n	8,214	5	3.8032	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57393	A sermon preached at St. Thomas Church in Bristol, September 3, 1685 before the Right Honorable the Lord Arthur Somerset, and the Society of the Loyal Young Men and Apprentices of Bristol, at the time of their anniversary feast / by Richard Roberts ...	Roberts, Richard, fl. 1685.	1685 (1685)	Wing R1604; ESTC R36790	12,524	33

Traytor and he abominateth the offered reward of unrighteousness with the same kind of Holy Indignation as St. Peter did when in the zeal of his soul he said unto Simon Magus * Acts viii 20. Thy mony perish with thee Which generous disposition is indeed implanted in the very Habit of his mind for he is Loyal upon Principles and for Conscience sake not for the hopes of preferment not by chance or good fortune not because it is Fashionable to be so but because God hath positively required it of him and hath made it one special part of his Unchangeable Law Whereas now if on the other side we review the persons of whom we were speaking it is strange to observe into how many Shapes mony is able to change them Sometimes there are no men so high for Conformity and Subjection as they and if you will believe them they would not by their good wills leave a Wealthy Fanatick and much less a Rebel in England Othertimes they Advocate for pity to be shewn to such a man whom they name for that tho he hath justly incurred the penalties of Recusancy or it may be forfeited his life yet by favor and fair means he may perhaps be made a Proselyte And so in many other particulars very easie to be reckoned up were it necessary they clash and interfere with themselves the true reason of which is because their pretended Loyalty is not bottomed upon the firm Foundation of Religion but upon things variable and uncertain I mean their own advantages And what praise then is really unto such persons Upon what account can the King be really said to be beholden to them For though they be supposed sometime to perform Services if considered in themselves signal and Eminent yet when they perform them for their own sakes and not for the sake of the King as our Saviour * Matth. vi 2. saith in another case Verily they have their reward But then moreover when they themselves demonstrate by their actions that the very same principle which leads them sometimes to be Serviceable to the Crown can othertimes lead them to be Disserviceable to the same they have no reason to boast that they deserve to receive Honor from it when they really shew none at all to it But 3. And lastly Those men in like manner unreasonably pretend to Honor the King in the full sense and meaning of the Text who lead debauched and irregular lives For tho such persons indeed may chearfully embark themselves in the Kings Business and heartily wish well to his Cause and sometimes in their several Spheres do brave and acceptable things yet by their gross and scandalous Immoralities they certainly countermine themselves and mightily increase the number and strength of the Party which they say they hate For although it be in it self highly absurd and unreasonable for any men to encourage themselves in Disloyalty against their Prince because there are some on their Princes side who are Disloyal to their Maker especially considering how obnoxious the Opposite Party is to much more severe Recriminations yet de facto we find that the open impieties of some who call themselves Loyallists are frequently made an argument against Loyalty it self and that that Argument is usually adjudged very cogent and demonstrative by the common and injudicious sort of people and so it comes to pass that the King loses the hearts of many of his Subjects who are by these means decoyed out of their Duty and Allegiance even to the Associating themselves with his professed Adversaries But this is not the only mischief which the vicious and Immoral behaviour of such persons doth for it is moreover sadly observable that thereby they do what in them lieth tho inconsiderately perhaps and besides their intentions for the bringing down the heavy wrath of God not only on themselves but on their Sovereign too To which purpose it is remarkable when Samuel exhorteth the Children of Israel to fear the Lord and to serve him in Truth with all their heart 1 Sam. xii 24. that one great Motive which he useth with them is this that if they still did wickedly they should be consumed both they and their King The Justice of which threatning if it be called in question may be cleared from hence that the proper way of taking vengeance upon Kingdoms for a General and National wickedness is by inflicting a General and National punishment which can never be done but that the King who is the Head of the Body Politick must needs bear a large share in it in proportion to the nature and quality of that which the Body beareth So that from hence it follows that every wicked man as he is a wicked man is a real Enemy to his Prince because as such he for one contributes to the provoking and incensing God unto the exercise of his fury in the destroying both Prince and People by a common fate And therefore they who would in good earnest promote and perpetuate the Honor of their Prince are strictly bound if they will not live religiously for Gods sake or their own yet at least to live so for the sake of their Prince whose safety and happiness so much depend upon the piety and vertue of his People And thus I have done with the three General Heads of discourse proposed to be spoken to From all which it cannot but appear that in order to the Constituting and Making a truly Loyal man a great many things are absolutely required and that not every one who Honoreth the King in some few Cases but he alone who Honoreth him in all hath a just claim to that Appellation And if so then let me persuade and prevail upon all here present but especially upon you who are the Great and Flourishing Hopes of this City not to content your selves with a formal and superficial appearance of Loyalty but constantly to endeavour in your respective Stations the manifestation of the inward power and virtue thereof You have lately given to your selves a Gallant and Excellent President of so doing for no more is required of you but only to continue Acting consistently and agreeably to what you did the other day when you so eagerly courted the opportunity of being in Arms against the Rebels Do but still persevere in disvaluing all your other private Interests when the King 's are at stake as you then seemed to disvalue your very lives and you cannot fail of performing the Whole of this Duty For your farther encouragement whereunto you would do well to consider that you have now the Honor of being Headed by * The Right Honorablethe Lord Arthur Somerset a Truly Noble and Right Honorable Leader a Leader whose example if you attend to it may be a Living Sermon of Loyalty and therefore seeing you have voluntarily listed yourselves under so Great a Command it will be the basest thing in the world if hereafter you should disgrace both his Lordship and your selves by turning Renegadoes or Apostates But this is not the only bond wherewith you are obliged for you may likewise reflect on the Solemnity of those several Addresses which together with your selves you have been admitted to prostrate at the King's feet and consequently you cannot without a monstrous vileness and disingenuity violate those Promises which you have so sacredly and frequently made But above all it will be proper for you to remember that your Eternal Salvation very much depends upon the discharge of this Duty of Obedience the right way and therefore if you have any regard to your own well-being hereafter let this consideration like wise be instrumental in nourishing and increasing your Fervent Zeal that so at the last day when the Great King of Heaven comes to make a Scrutiny into your Actions and inquireth especially ●●w you have behaved your selves towards his Vice-Gerents on Earth you may be found in the number of those who shall be counted worthy to Rule because they have not thought it any ways unworthy of them to Obey and may be exalted to those everlasting Thrones of Glory and Happiness where all the most transporting satisfactions of infinite Splendor and Triumph are to be enjoyed Which God grant even for the merits of his Blessed Son Amen FINIS