Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	great_a	time_n	way_n	2,213	5	4.0899	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67481	Some remarks upon a speech made to the grand jury for the county of Middlesex concerning the execution of penalties upon the churches of Christ, which worship God in meeting-houses, for their so doing : and may serve for an answer to part of the order of the justices, Jan. 13 to the same purpose : in a letter to Sir W.S. their speaker.	J. W.; Smith, William, Sir, 1616 or 17-1696.	1682 (1682)	Wing W69; ESTC R3500	12,116	16

under our present Protestant Prince to whom God grant a long and happy R●ign we can scarce keep our selves from being over-run and destroyed by Assassinations Sham-Plots and Suborned witnesses with other Engines of mischiefs to which the parish Church men as well as others are equally Subject we see that even in the Church it self they have raised a strong enmity one against another according as they are either more fierce against Protestants and more moderate against Papists or on the contrary more moderate to Protestants and more zealous against Papists what then would be done under a Popish Successor should all Dissenters be reconciled to the Church would that extinguish the animosities among the Bishops and other Clergy and Laity as they call 'um of the Church it self I pray consider it Our Divisions you say give boldness to the common enemy to make attempts upon us you say very true for whilst he sees a party that pretends to the Church so desperately mad against those whether in the Church or out of it that being deeply concerned for their Religion King and Government are zealous against the Papists and their Fautors it cannot but incourage the Papists to go on in their Devilish Plots and machinations against us Is 't not wonderful that since the discovery of a most horrid Popish plot against all Protestants some of that name that were gentle before should now be violent in the prosecution of their Brethren as if the Dissenting Protestants were to be punished for the Popish plot O unhappy Titus hadst thou suffered the popish Plot to proceed to effect thou mightest have reap't a great share in the profits of their success But now thou hast discovered their Treachery and saved thy King and Country thou art scorned and reproached thou art in jeopardy of thy life every hour either by assassination or false accusation And thy wretched Country is in worse circumstances to withstand the Popish and Malicious enemies of its Religion and Government than before The Luxury and Security of Asia gave Alexander the Great hopes of Conquest Ergo Our worshipping of God some in Churches some in Meetings encourages the French King A natural consequence Did the French carry on their War the worse because they permitted Protestants though at the same time they made War against Protestants but he 's afraid of it for the future and must we needs tread in his steps and act by his Policies surely he that prosecutes Protestants with Penalties for being so does the Pope and French King's Work for what can they desire more at present And I heartily wish That the ill consequences which may easily be foreseen to arise therefrom to use your words may prevail with men that pretend to love their King and Country and Religion not to be guilty of any thing that will bring ruin upon them For when they have ruined the Dissenters they will next fall upon those of the Church that favour them and when they are ruin'd it will be easie for a Popish Successor either to turn them to Popery or ruine the remainder As for the Diberty you say they have according to Law of exercising Religion in their own Houses First That is denied where Protestants are prosecuted to Confiscation of their Estates as Popish Recusants for not going to Church And Secondly The same Passions and Councils that now endeavour to suppress their Meetings would then prosecute them as Rioters for meeting above Three besides the Family to do an unlawful action as I have known it done by some of your Bench. It is easily said by you rather Humor than Conscience when they will yet offend against the Law by these Publick Conventicles but they would be very glad to find it such an humor as they could correct with satisfaction to Conscience it would be a great ease to their minds besides the advantage to their outward concerns which are so destructive to the Peace and Safety of the Kingdom There was a time when His Majesty was pleas'd to declare That it was evident by the sad experience of Twelve Years that there is very little fruit of all those forceable courses many and frequent ways of coertion And therefore saith he We do now issue this Our Declaration as well for the quieting of the minds of Our good Subjects in th●se points for inviting Strangers in this conjuncture to come and live under us and for the better encouragement of all to a chearful following of their Trades and Callings from whence we hope by the blessing of God to have many good and happy advantages to our Government As also for preventing for the future the danger that might otherwise arise from private Meetings and Seditious Conventicles His Majesty you see Sir W. was not then of your mind after Twelve Years Experience and Observation that Publick Conventicles were so destructive to the Peace and Safety of the Kingdom but the very contrary What tho His Majesty was graciously pleased to Cancel that Declaration at the Humble Request of His Loyal Long Parliament because it did not ground it self upon a Legal Authority yet I hope His Majesties Reason and Judgment exprest in it may be of weight to the Justices of Middlesex and London too especially when the Opinion of the Commons of England in Parliament concurs with it besides who knows that if there be any Favourite at Court who designes against the people as there seldom wants such as cannot endure the breath of a Parliament he or she has the recommendation of Justices which therefore being their creatures must serve their ill purposes and how easie it is for one or two such Justices to get the approbation of the Bench to their nomination of Jury-Men and then wo be to the People for they declare in their Vote of Luna 10. Januar 1680. That it is the Opinion of this House that the presecution of Protestant Dissenters upon the Penal Laws is at this time grievous to the Subject a weakning of the Protestant Interest an encouragement to Popery and DANGEROVS to the Peace of the Kingdom Now I am clearly of Opinion that the King and Commons of England together their Judgment is rather to be taken in this matter than Sir W. S's and all the Bench of Justices assenting You will say perhaps that the Popish Plot since the time of His Majesties Declaration discover'd has render'd them unworthy of that Toleration I grant it but what have the Dissenters done to confute the King's Judgment in this point I hope that Toleration was not given for the sake of the Papists alone so that because They cannot have benefit by His Majesties Reasoning No body else shall that were a hard thing to impute to our Sovereign However it was I presume Sir W. and his Fellow Justices did not Then put in execution the penal Statutes against Dissenters neither for some years afterward such Deference did they give to His Majesties reason tho his Authority was with-drawn

Some REMARKS UPON A SPEECH MADE TO THE GRAND JURY For the County of MIDDLESEX CONCERNING THE Execution of PENALTIES UPON THE Churches of Christ Which worship God in MEETING-HOUSES For their so doing And may serve for an Answer to part of the Order of the JUSTICES Jan. 13. to the same purpose In a Letter to Sir W. S. their Speaker For all the Law is fulfilled in one word in this Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self But if ye bite and devour one another Take heed that you be not consumed one of another Gal. 5.14 15. But it is evident by the sad experience of Twelve Years that there is very little fruit of all those forceable courses many and frequent ways of coertion Kings Declaration March 15. 1672. LONDON Printed for Elea. Harris 1682. SIR SINCE Your Speech made at the Session of the Peace to the Grand Jury there is by your and the rest of the Justices Order Printed and Published I hope you will not take it ill that a private person gives his Opinion concerning it especially considering that your modesty has premised you should discover that weakness which by your silence might have been concealed Sir As for that worthy Character you give of your self your Generosity and Publick Spirit abstracted from all private considerations whatsoever Your proof and protestation of it I have this to say that you are to me much a stranger I am unwilling to make enquiry into your life and actions and therefore shall give as much credit to what you say as one can reasonably give to him that praiseth himself but could not vindicate himself in the Eyes of the Commons of England in Parliament Otherwise I should have wondred that a Gentleman who had approv'd himself to his Country by the experience of so great a number of years and in two Parliaments of such different qualifications wherein every Member was tryed oftner and more severely than the purest Gold of such excellent Integrity Parts and Vertues should be neglected in the Three late Parliaments The Country is not wont in these cases to cast of those that have done them eminent Services sure I am there was a very great number of the same persons in all these Parliaments and in the greatest honour and esteem by those that elected them and by others also In the next Paragraph you tell us This Kingdom is at present under very sad circumstances and upon enquiry into the cause you say and I think boldly enough we have lost the Jewel of Government I perceive Sir W.S. may say what he pleases but I doubt it would have been dangerous for a Grand Inquest to have writ Billa vera upon such a presentment What! His Majesty upon the Throne in Peace and yet the Government lost It is dreadful like Belshazzar's Hand writing upon the Wall Mene Mene God hath numbred thy Kingdom and finished it I hope Sir you are no skilful State Physician God forbid you should in this Diagnostick You may if you please see more to this matter in the Courant of Dec. 23. I expected next the proof of your Assertion but you defer that and tell us of our Princes mercy in the Act of Oblivion I suppose there 's no man in England that understands things to any purpose that is not sensible of His Majesties Grace in the Act of Oblivion wherein he had the councel of his Parliament but there are a sort of Men that labour much to turn the Act of Oblivion into an Act of Remembrance there 's no Act that ever the King Pass'd more grievous to them than that and the reason is not because the King has Pardoned His Enemies but because they cannot by his power wreck their malice upon their hated Neighbours I am perswaded Sir when you consider the sad state of the Kingdom better you will find that Mens envy at their Neighbours Liberty and Enjoyments and a strange ill will they foster against them is the great cause of our sad Divisions It is not because the Government is lost but because it is not lost that men rage as they do There are not a few who long for nothing more than the confusion of the Government for they reckon that the only way to effect their Revenge than which nothing would more rejoice their hearts Nay they could well be content to undergo the hazards of a Combustion in prospect of the Satisfaction they hope for in conclusion by the Ruine of their Maligned Neighbours and Countrymen And the true reason why they believe so little of the Popish Plot is because the Discovery of it justifies the fears of those they have so long scorn'd upon that account I must acknowledge the Papists and their dissembling Agents have wrought strongly upon these passions and have at length rais'd them to such a height that in my Opinion they cannot be allayed without a Parliament which I take to be a part of the Government But if a Popish Successor come first which God of his great mercy prevent I cannot think that those enraged People who have already made use of Subornations and Perjuries to shed bloud by will stick at a Parisian Bartholomew Feast if they can find no readier way of destroying those they hate You go on in setting forth the Goodness of His Majesties Government which is an odd way of shewing the Government to be lost He takes nothing from any man doth not oppress the meanest of His Subjects nor interposeth His Authority to obstruct Justice We joyfully grant all this and more concerning the King but we cannot excuse his Ministers your last long Parliament found cause to complain of divers Publick Grievances to provide Laws against some and to charge one Great Man with High Treason in many particulars Next you tell us the mischief of the loss of the Government but all your instances instead of proving we have no Government prove the quite contrary that we have a good Government For no man can take a pair of Shoes or any thing else out of a Shop without payment but he is punisht for it if he can be found out and no Government can punish those that are conceal'd Bene vixit qui bene latuit Nor can any man pass through Lombard Street and supply his Pockets without good consideration Indeed we have heard of some that took a great many Hundred Thousand Pounds out of Lombard Street upon good consideration which was afterwards made invalid but His Majesty was graciously pleased to grant an Equivalent but I read in some Publick Prints of obstructions in the issuing of that Equivalent which yet I am far from imputing to the King but know not how to defend all his Ministers In the beginning of your next Period you tell us that God Almighty knew this the calamities of being without Government when he created man and therefore gave him a Law by which he should live and govern himself and printed it in his heart called the Law