Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	king_n	people_n	subject_n	12,053	5	6.8171	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31498	Certain observations, vpon the new league or covenant as it was explained by a divine of the new assembly, in a congregation at London / written and sent unto him in a letter by some of his auditors, with copy of the said covenant.	Divine of the New Assembly.	1643 (1643)	Wing C1714; ESTC R7542	25,539	83

be In the next place is Superstition That is as you say whatsoever it used in Gods worship without expresse warrant from the word This description is so large that a Gown or Surplice a Rayle about a Table a gesture of kneeling or standing up c. will come within the circumference of it and indeed most of you in your popular Sermons use to bring each of these under the lash of Superstion It had been right if you had said That whatforever is brought into the Church of God and held as a necessary part of his Worship without warrant from the Word that is Superstition So that 's a superstitious opinion which is hold by many of your partie when they make one gesture effentiall and necessary to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper namely Sitting and condemn the other of Kneeling to be Idolatrous Next to Supersitition is Haeresie Schisme c Here you instance in Socinianisme Arminianisme Antinoinianisme Anabaptisme There be some too as we hear in the holy Assembly that deny the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son What call ye them must they passe for Orthodox But you gave no instance for Schisme yet never more plenty never was the bond of Communion of Saints broken into so many pieces because of a Rite or Ceremony when as yet we all agree in one Faith have received one Baptisme acknowledge and worship one God and Saviour Oh Sir Schisine was too near you to discern it well If you know what Schisme is namely the breach of Christian Unity and had but looked wishly upon your self you would have condemned your self Who can be more guilty of Schisme then your self and your Partie is You make and take a Covenant here which tends to make a new Schisme in the Church and State at least to make the old one wider and yet colour it over with a pretence of swearing against Schisme It is therefore worth the noting how well this Covenant is kept by those that have power to extirpate these evils that grow upon us To instance but in the Antinomians It is well known there be many that Preach that Doctrine and their Auditories frequented with multitudes of followers yet where is the endeavour of extirpation or any restraint at all where is any stopping of the mouthes of such as speak things they ought not No when we urge this we are told The time is not yet they serve for the present to advantage the Cause and promote the great designe in hand therefore must be born with But what a wicked policy is it in the mean time for any end whatsover to suffer so many souls to be poysoned with erroneous Doctrine when there is power to hinder it Thus where there is little Conscience made of taking Oathes there will be as little of keeping them Or it may be those who have learned to dispense with Oathes have also got that other Jesuiticall trick of equivocating and so they reserve when they take this Covenant that it shall not binde them ad semper to endevour the extirpation of Heresie and Schisme but onely prostaturerum when it shall be no longer advantagious and serviceable for their ends Now we come to the third Article that containes three things First To endevour to preserve the Rights and Priviledges of Parliaments They are like to be preserved and defended well enough by those that know them better then we do when they make it their priviledge daily to command our Estates and Lives Next The liberties of the Ringdoms And that will be an hard matter for us to do viz. to preserve our liberties when we shall have sworn to enslave our Estates and Lives to the arbitrary disposall of our fellow-Subjects Then because he is Minor universis in the last place comes in the Kings person and Authority which must be preserved and defended in the preservation and defence of the true Religion and Liberties of the Kingdoms and no further we suppose you mean it though you are loath to speak it out For if so be he stands not in defence of Religion and Liberties or if you conceive he doth not then your generall tenent is That he may be resisted and you confirm it by your practice God blesse His Majesty and send him a safer Guard then you have been or are like to be you have endevoured all you can to bring his Person and Authority too into a dangerous Estate And surely if he by whom Kings Reign and who will undoubtedly maintain those whom he hath made his Deputies had not been his speciall Guardian he had been long before this destroyed It follows That the world may bear witnesse of our Loyalty The world sees and good mens hearts lament the little Conscience that is left of Loyalty when they hear His Sacred Majesty reviled daily and made contemptible to the people both in jest and earnest by Pamphlets and Preachers Certainly they that know but in grosse what belongs to Royall Majesty cannot but see the Kings just Power and Greatnesse by this time much diminished Is not the power of Arms with which the Law hath entrusted him taken from him and so he is disabled of doing that which his Office doth chiefly call him to that is to protect and defend his Subjects so that in this one particular you will scarcely be able to justifie your Loyalty unlesse holpen out with some of those or such like distinctions which necessity hath taught this age to make use of to defend Rebellion So you can defend his Authority and yet destroy his Person resist him as a man not as a King ye can do that and more too you can defend Religion by courses utterly condemned in that Religion The fourth Article To endeavour the discovery of Incendiaries Malignants and evill Instruments c. And who are they such as divide the King from his people And such too as divide the People from their King Such as Sheba and Absalon were in Israel Now who are in more esteem with the City and Parliament then those who have been the chiefest Incendiaries of this War Strange it is that those who sound Alarms as far as Scotland and seek to engage this Kingdom more desperately in this unnaturall War should be judged good Instruments and Well affected and those that Pray and Preach and endeavour by all good means for Peace at home should be counted Incendiaries and Malignants It is our chief comfort that there is a time to come when the secrets of all hearts shall be manifest when every one shall receive according to his works Before that time the Peace-makers must not look for their promised blessing The fifth Article concerns The endeavouring that the Kingdoms may remain conjoyned in a firm Peace and Vnion to all Posterity God grant they may but yet the Scots invading this Land with an Army is thought by the wisest to be contrary to the Articles of Pacification and so no likely

the Anabaptists in Germany shall finde that they scarce were exceeded by any living in that abundant humility strictnesse sanctity zeal devotion which appeared in them These were taken in the world as pledges of their harmlesse meaning and did rather procure them pity then provoice harsh usage The worst that understanding men conceived of them at first was onely this Oh quàm honestâ voluntate miseri errant with how good a meaning do these poor souls do evill yet afterwards what Vipers proved they both to Church and State This may suffice to shew that it is a false rule of judging a Cause by those that stand for it when as they may either deceive by hypocrisie or else be deceived by weaknesse But secondly you seem to be too unjust and Pharisaicall whilst you arrogate all Godlinesse unto your Partie What think you of those good men that are some of them at this present with the King some in prison some deprived of their goods and livelihood for making conscience of sedition and disloyalty yet have alwayes been reputed spotlesse and unblameable and are the same men still that ever they were and some of them are renowned in forraign countries for their learning and their piety And thirdly you look upon your selves with an over-partiall eye when you can see nothing but godlinesse and godly men on your side what think you Sir of Prince Griffith and Col. M. two godly Members indeed not to mention more these two are known well enough by their brave exploits otherwise we should be tender of their credits And for your Souldiers that fight for this holy Cause those who have had experience of their carriage in places where they have been Quartered do think they can scarce be exceeded by the most profane rabble in the Kingdom for drinking and swearing c. And for those that Preach for the Cause they most of them make a gain of godlinesse and so can easily put on a form of godlinesse In a word is there any man that will comply so far as to preach or fight or speak for the promoting of your designes any way discountenanced or discouraged let his impiety profanesse and deserts of severity be what they will It follows in this sixth Article I shall zealously constantly all the dayes of my life continue in this Covenant and seek to promote it against all opposition It were to be wished that this Zeal were not so much talked of unlesse it were better understood It is but a passion of the minde and so of it self as all passions are neither good nor evill And therefore it is used in a bad sense Zelos pikros bitter envying Iam 3.14 Zeloi Envyings Gal. 5.20 as often as in a good If it be without Charity it is but that which the Apostle calls bitter envying If without knowledge but blinde zeal and so apt to do much mischief howsoever able to do little good If without discretion it is but rashnesse and headinesse It were much safer therefore to teach the people how to moderate their Passions then to take care to stir them up To perswade them to be zealous and not together to instruct them how to regulate their zeal that it may be charitable just and orderly is but to teach them to be violent seditions tumultuous c. And when they are such do not many think themselves to be most zealous Did not Paul in the time of his ignorance think he breathed of the spirit when he breathed out threatnings against the Church Art 9. Did not Iehu bragge of zeal when his ambition led him forth to such attempts which God reckoned but as cruelty and injustice Hos 1.4 And is not most of the zeal of these times set on edge with desire of revenge pride or covetousnesse witnesse that greedinesse in the men of this generation and that unjust possessing themselves of the Estates the Lands and Livings of those whom they Maligne yet call them Malignants So when they stuffe their Prayers with Cursings and Bitternesse are they not thought to breath Zeal pure Zeal when they slander the footsteps of Gods anoynted load those that consent not in opinion with them with those hatefull names of Malignants Popishly affected expose them hereby to violence spoylings plundring when they profane the places of Gods publike worship tear in pieces the Service-books do such things as a Turke or Pagan would make conscience of are not these things accounted the blessed fruits of Zeal There is so much of this Zeal already as makes the jealousie of God to burn against us This Zeal may we justly rank in the number of those sins for which we are to acknowledge our selves to be truly humbled in the latter part of this Covenant But it may be feared the most are so far from being humbled that they account that which indeed is their shame to be their glory And therefore God may justly lash us into better mindes untill we see our selves there to be most guilty where we think we are most justified So to draw to a Conclusion The lastis the best part of all this Covenant and the most needfull namely To acknowledge our unfeigned desire to be humbled for our own sins and the sins of this Nation and to endeavour a reall Reformation of our selves others under our power and charge Here be certain Nationall sins reckoned up against the first table of the Law as that we have not as we ought valued the inestimable benefit of the Gospell nor laboured for the Power and Purity of it c. But if we look over again we shall finde other Nationall sinnes also amongst us against the second Table if we take Nationall in Doctor Taytoms sense In his Book against Prelacy for sinnes established by a Law So Disobedience of Subjects to that Ordinance God hath set over them of Children to their Parents Servants to their Masters are not these by new unheard of Votes and Ordinances made lawfull Is not Sacriledge Rapine Plundring Blood-shed speaking and receiving slanders established by a Law These are Nationall sinns therefore and such too as have a loud cry in the eares of the Almighty and lay such a guilt upon this Land that we cannot expect he should settle these Churches in Peace untill they be some way or other explated either by our repenting or his revenging And as for the Prayer in the close of all wherein you beseech God to blesse your endeavours with such successe as may be safety to his people and encouragements to other Churches to do the like He that shall duly observe the passages of Divine Providence on both sides since these broyles began how it hath fared with the King beyond all expectation to what strength he grew upon the suddain notwithstanding all the endevours to alienate the hearts of his Subjects from him what Victories he hath gotten what Towns he hath gained reducing the Northern and Western parts of this Kingdom