Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	good_a	people_n	time_n	1,769	5	3.1061	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A55819	A letter to a friend relating to the present convocation at Westminster	Prideaux, Humphrey, 1648-1724.; Kidder, Richard, 1633-1703.; Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1690 (1690)	Wing P3413; ESTC R23295	18,264	30

conform to them But it doth not follow therefore that when nothing else will remove the divisions now raised among us on the account of these things or again reduce Dissenters to the Unity of the Church but some alterations in them which without the least prejudice to our Church or the Worship of God therein we may lawfully make it may not be a great fault in us now to be over obstinate in these matters and that we ought not rather when there is before us so great a good as the Peace of the Church and the Salvation of so many therein which it 's to be fear'd may be too much obstructed by these divisions be ready to comply with them as far as lawfully we may for the sake hereof For they being the 〈…〉 k and the infirm whom we are sent to heal our part to them must be that of a Physician who when he finds his Patient through that peevishness which is commonly incident to the sick obstinately refuse an wholsom medicine which he prescribes him doth not for this reason immediately cast off all care of him but thinks of something else more agreeable to his palate and humour that may doe as well 7. The seventh Objection is If we make those alterations and so often change how shall we answer the Papists who will upbraid us with it To this I answer As well as we did in the first of Queen Elizabeth and in 1662. or if this be an Objection as well as they can us for their alterations by the Council of Trent the late reformation of their Mass-books at Paris and the last Pope's abolishing several Offices concerning the Virgin Mary 8. The eighth Objection is We shall by these alterations dissatisfie our own People To which I answer Why more now than in 1662. when all readily complyed with and approved the like alterations but I believe more noise is made of this Objection than there is truth or reason in it perchance there may be some few ignorant and weak People that may be over zealously affected to these matters among us but they being our own I hope are capable of being better instructed by us than to think any of those things in which the alterations are desired so sacred as not to be meddled with For this is to attribute that to the appointments of men which is due onely to the Divine institutions and is a sinfull superstition in which they ought by no means to be indulged but are as to this to be corrected and better informed by us under whose care they are And thu● far having shewn you what necessity is upon us to c 〈…〉 ent to the alterations that will be proposed in this present Convocation from the great obligation we have to remove the Scisms and heal the Divisions that are among us I shall in the second place shew you another reason of this necssity from the promise whereby we have obliged our selves so to doe For the Bishops in their Petition to King James promised that they would come to a temper with the Dissenters whenever put in a legal way and this promise all the Clergy in the Land have seemed to approve of by owning that Petition in which it was contained as they all plainly did who refused to read that King's Declaration in compliance therewith and therefore now we are put in a legal way by being called together in Convocation we are bound to make this Promise good For hereby we have not only raised the expectations of the Dissenters but also of the whole Nation too who are earnest for the sake of the publick good and peace of the Kingdom that the differences between us should be composed and if we doe nothing in complyance herewith what can we expect but that the general clamour of the People will be raised against us hereon as a base and false sort of men who can promise fair in times of adversity and forget all performances when they are over and we become the reproach of every man hereon I know the answer hereto is that the Dissenters will do nothing on their part towards this temper and that after all that we can doe on ours we cannot have assurance that any one of them will come over to us thereon and therefore it will be in vain for us to proceed any further on this Project To which I reply First That it is by no means true that all Dissenters are so averse to a reconciliation with us as this answer suggests for I know multitudes that on granting the alterations proposed would most gladly come in and unite themselves to us That their Ministers are not so forward as to this I believe to be true because they having many of them very beneficial Conventicles where they have a more plentifull Income greater respects and a larger power than they can hope for in a Church Benefice would rather for the sake of self interest continue as they are and have no Comprehension at all than to be brought into the Church thereby to their loss But with the People I know it will be otherwise who will in large numbers come in to us as soon as those alterations shall be in our Churches and when they are once come off it will not be long ere their Ministers also will be forced to follow But Secondly suppose it true That no Dissenter at all would be brought over to us by the Concessions proposed yet I say that we are still bound as well by interest as duty to perform what we have promised For by doing our part herein first we shall leave them without excuse if they be not satisfied thereon and deliver our selves from abundance of their clamour which we are now continually vexed with by them on this account Secondly we shall thereby give satisfaction to the Nation who expect this from us and fix them thereby the more firmly to us For say we what we will of the strength and number of those that are for us let us not deceive our selves As they that are zealous for the Dissenters are no great number neither are they that are zealous for us The main body of the Nation I look on to stand indifferently affected both to them and us and although they now come to our Churches yet are they as ready to joyn also with them were they in the publick Ministry as in the times of Cromwell hath been sufficiently made appear For they think not the Controversie between us of that moment and therefore cry loudly to us to agree and take it very ill that such discords and divisions should be still maintained in the Nation so much to the prejudice of the publick peace and safety about such trifling matters as they think them to be which we contend with each other about And at present I must tell you they are readier to cast the blame of all this rather on us than them because they are now the suffering party But if we