Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A54122
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A commentary upon the present condition of the kingdom and its melioration
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Penn, William, 1644-1718.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing P1268; ESTC R32305
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33,126
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47
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the means of advancing Trade is so to influence every particular person in the Kingdom that he may have Mony according to the degree of his Calling and to carry on the designs be they smaller or greater which he has undertaken and by the rule of contraries the way to destroy Trade is to draw the Mony from the Body of all the People and gather it from all the particulars of the Commonwealth and the more this is done the more the materials of Trade are taken away and consequently it must weaken and consume so that we do plainly see the Cause of the evils at this time The Parliament having granted the King such Immense sums of Mony and that collected upon the whole Body of the Subject which alone were capable to manage a great Trade and besides these Excise and Hearth-mony collected also as the other but never known till of late to this may be added the new Building of LONDON especially in the concerns thereof so that putting these things together we may wonder we are not much lower and weaker than we seem to be at this time Well may Landlords complain of the fall of Rents and have their Lands thrown into their own hands when by their own Acts they have taken away the means of Traffick and those materials that Men must work upon for their support For as in a natural Body there is required nourishment to keep it in life and consistency and also this nourishment must have a Vehicle which is the Blood whereby it may be conveyed to all parts of the Body Now if you take away this too often and in too great quantities no wonder if at last the Body grow weak and unable to perform what otherwise might be required of it When the Blood is perfectly distributed through all the parts and permitted to take its free and natural Circulation So it is in a Body Politick Trade is its nourishment maintains its life and keeps it in heart gives it a healthful Constitution and preserves it from sinking by any weakness within and enables it also to repel external violence The Vehicle to convey this nourishment to all the parts for their relief is Mony the very Blood of the Body Politick of which the more we take from this Body the nearer we do bring it to a Consumption and inability to sustain it self Farther we must not imagine that the burden is made lighter when divided amongst so many Interests which as to privat concerns perhaps is not so much perceived at present but as to the concerns of Trade the whole Nation is but as one Man and so much as you take there from so much you take from Trade and the livelihood of the Nation which in time will return with more weight upon particulars as we find by experience in Rents Wool c. This being the condition of the Nation dreyned to this faintness and weakness as at this day and still there is occasions for more Mony and those no light ones neither such as to put us in a posture of Defence in case of any attempt from a Forreign Enemy which our present circumstances leave us not without cause to apprehend also to take off the burden that lies upon the Kings Revenue and further if we can to recover those eruptions and devastations made upon our Trade and Livelihood to set us upon our legs that we may shew somthing of antient valour in times of such action and enterprizes as are now on foot But how shall this be done to take more blood from the Publick is to bring us down beyond hopes of Becovery after so many plentiful evacuations But some course must be taken and which way shall we turn shall we exenterate our own bowels and sacrifice our Lives and Livelihoods for our Liberties shall we destroy our selves that we may save our selves and give away the support of our lives for the defence of them or to what purpose is it to defend them from outward violence when they must thus sink from within though they should be secured from without Is it not better we cast about and see if there be not some other means of Relief Can we not find an Ulcerated part in this Body which being lopt off that nourishment which it too potently draws to it self may by its separation be distributed through the whole Mass for the support of its weakness and indisposition To be short there cannot be any better means or other method to compleat our hapiness and to make amends for all our evils than to take away the Lands of laizy and deceitful Clergy-men there seems to be a fatal necessity upon us to do it they being not only uselesâ— but a bitter Fountain that sends forth streams to the annoyance of the greatest and meanest of the people and when it shall appear that this may be done with honesty and Honour with â—ight of Justice with safety to the Government and advancement of Religion as I shall shew The design will be more worthy to be put in execution Supposing then that the Tithes throughout England be allotted to be the Portion of the Clergy as in the old Law by Divine Constitution which being equally divided amongst them throughout England will amount to 100 l. a year or better an ample Revenue for a Clergy-man that will answer the ends of his Calling as we shall shew hereafter And in case any Controverse arise it may be determined by the general Assembly of the County or by the gravet and wiser amongst them but by all means that their hands be kept off from Secular business which belongs not to their Function upon any account Having so well provided for them Let their Lands and Manors c. be given to the Publick Benefit and that the Parliament have the power over it to appoint Officers about the Concerns of that Revenue and to take an account of them and that it be by their prudence and Care so disbursed to the several Affairs that may require its assistance to Dâ—mise throughout the Nation those Lands for the raising Mony upon a sudden exigency That part of these rents be imply'd in Maritine affairs the building of Busses Galleys and other Vessels for the Fishing likewise for greater Ships as shall be necessary and for mantaining and repairing Forts and Walled Towns Another part for the Improvement of Trade by Land there may small Stocks be derived into all parts of the Kingdom to set the poor on work Likewise in divers parts that Work houses may be built for the Improvement of our Manufactures in the manner of Hospitals wherein the lame and blind and all sorts may have some imployment whereby to get their own livelihood and also others may make some advantages by their labours Likewise other Houses may be built for the Benefit and Improvement of the Mineral Trade whither may be sent to works of Industry such whom we now too severely deliver to death upon small offences
God they are Spiritually discerned where we may observe that Contrariety which Logicians call Contradictoriè opposita Our Saviour also very diligently seperats them ye cannot serve God and Mammon bidding us take no care What we shall Eat or What we shall Drink or What we shall Put on But bids us in opposition to these things seek First the Kingdom of Heaven and its Righteousness and all these things shall be added I might be large in Collecting to this purpose but let it suffice to observe That we cannot imagine the Scripture to be more express then it is supposing it had been in the Mind of the Law-giver to make us fully sensible of the Contrariety and Inconsistency of outward enjoyments with the Purity of a Christian life and had he not designed to Caution us diligently in this respect it were impossible there should be found such expressions in his Will revealed But here it must be noted that the opposition is not of that nature as that he that hath the Blessings of Wealth or Honour must presently throw them away but he Must throw them out of his mind thâ—t his heart and affections be not set upon them which may be obtained by earnest Prayer and doing some good to others with the Enjoyments we possess We must note farther that if there be a Divine Command for forsaking of them as in Abraham and the Apostles or what is Equivalent thereto as suffering the Will of God in times of Persecution they must be actually forsaken and thrown away Farther we must note as to our present designe that this opposition so far prevails as that it will be hardly or not at all possible for us to partake of this Heavenly Life and be true Disciples of Christ if we make it our designe and business to seek after and fill our selves with earthly enjoyments if we use them to the oppression of others to an unjust Dominion over our Brethren if they are made the chiefe thing in our aime sought with Care Deceit Flattery Lying Freeing c. If we prostitute all our Actions and Conscience it self for an empty Tittle and transient Revenue And Generally in the words of Solomon he that maketh haste to be Rich cannot be innocent So that then this Contrariety between Flesh and Spirit between Religion and the World is such as they exclude each other The man whose mind is taken up with Religion values not the World nor any thing therein he wants them not he desires them not he seeks them not The man whose mind is taken up with the Affairs of the World values not the things of Christ they are foolishness unto him Which thing also may be evinced by natural Light or Reason For we see men that are given to Vices run on without Deliberation or regard of any other thing to that immense degree after satisfaction in their Vices as not only to consume their Patrimony though a Princely Revenue but the Health of their Bodyes and even the World it self to be satisfied in their desires thus the desires of Drunkenness and Lust being infinite and never to be satisfied but rather irritated by the fulness of Enjoyment the desires tending vehemently to the fruition the fruition giving birth to new desires That if men were permitted to act in their full carier and prosecute these Vices without restraint of Divine and Humane Laws how soon would it run the World in Confusion and Ruine and yet not a stop put to these desires for they are Infinite Thus the Covetous man desires to gain more and more from others and inclose to himself all things till at length all things else if his desires be fulfilled must perish for want of subsistance So the Ambitious man will have all things subjected to himself and if the whole world be his Vassallage yet his desires carry him still to grasp more Power and Dominion as is reported of Alexander Thus we see Vice in its true nature tends to the destruction of all things and consists in an inordinateness of the mind whereby its desires are infinite and not to be satisfied The mind having forsaken God and set up it self in its place will thus have all things subservient to it and is carried forth infinitely to obtain this end And this inordinate mind and unlimited desiring and Lusting after that which it takes to is that Corruption which was brought in by Adam's Transgression which we call Oâ—iginal Sin which is no other then this inordinate mind forsaking God and lusting infinitely after its own fancies and devices Now to help lost man and free him from this Slavery of an inordinate mind was the business of the second Adam who came down from Heaven took our Nature upon him in the form of a Servant suffering upon the Cross that he might destroy the works of the Devil and establish an ordinate regular mind in those that believe in him That is the Divine Nature whereof he was partaker by his taking our Nature is communicated to all Men that believe which rescues them from this slavery of their inordinate mind and by virtue of which they subdue all those desires which were introduced by Adams transgression where we must take notice that we said Christ in the Divine Nature was united with our Nature and that by virtue of this Union it is communicated to all Men that believe in opposition to Adam whose transgression redounded to all by not believing or disobedience in which it must be farther noted That it being a Divine Nature united to Christians by Faith 1. It is no other than the third Person in the Trinity the holy Ghost which proceedeth from the Father and the Son because he operates this work in us Observe 2dly That we cannot do any good work of our selves for our Regeneration and new Life is this Union of the Divine Nature the holy Spirit in our hearts our good actions coming from the Principle of Life must also be from him who is that life Now we may see clearly what our Saviour says they that worship the Father shal worship him in Spirit and in Truth even in the Spirit which is communicated to all Flesh by the union of the Divine and humane Nature To speak all in a word Adams transgression lusting after the forbidden Fruit opened the dore to a lusting and inordinate mind in all his Posterity tending to subvert all things This was taken away by the word becoming Flesh uniting the Divine and humane Nature and thereby communicated to all men that believe that the Sons of Adam in the power thereof might become the Sons of God In the strength of this Divine Nature to them that ask it they are able to subdue those inordinate insatiable desires of the mind which are propagated from Adam to all Posterity Now we see what Religion is even an imploring the Gracious Spirit to subdue these Corruptions we were addicted to and a living in the exercise of this strength and power