Selected quad for the lemma: parliament_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
parliament_n	king_n	lord_n	say_a	16,658	5	7.1993	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47289	Christianity, a doctrine of the cross, or, Passive obedience, under any pretended invasion of legal rights and liberties	Kettlewell, John, 1653-1695.	1691 (1691)	Wing K358; ESTC R10389	73,706	109

Troubles were the Preservation of Liberty and Property of Religion and Laws of the Privileges of Parliament who are the Conservators of all our Rights and for keeping out of Foreign Forces which the King was said to be endeavouring to bring in to inslave this Kingdom Which Pretences are the best that can be invented for Forcible Defence and so as oft as they are bent on change will probably be made use of by Men of like Minds in latter Ages Indeed so far as Words and plain Declarations can do it our Law seems to have taken all the Care the Wit of Man can take before hand to prevent all Recourse to this way of Defence against our Lawful Sovereigns by leaving none in this way to be our Defenders or capable to pretend a Power of making use thereof If any could list Armies against the King not only in Defence of private Rights but of the Laws or the very Constitution it self when the Kings chance to break in upon them It would certainly be the two Houses of Parliament But the Act about the Militia 13. Car. 2. c. 6. and 14. Car. 2. c. 3. declares the Power of the Militia so much contested by the Parliament in King Charles the First 's time yea and that on this very Pretence that they might therewith Defend the Laws and Liberties against him to be solely in the King And that neither one nor both the Houes of Parliament can or lawfully may Levy any War either Offensive or Defensive against him So that take even the most Defensible Rights which seem best to deserve a War and put them into their Hands who have the best Claim to be their Defenders and yet t is plain by this Act that they are not to defend them against the King by Levying War or Listing Soldiers T is true our Parliaments are taken into the Government and have a share in the Highest Acts as making Laws Whence some have argued that upon the Princes Breaking in upon the Legislative Power the Parliament may take Arms against such an Invader as one Sovereign may against another This Inference is directly against the Act last mentioned which declares they have no Power against him either for any Offensive or Defensive War But to clear this Point this Share of theirs in the Legislation as I conceive is not a Sovereign's but a Subject's Part. They are called in to consult and with Authority of Negative upon all Laws to be imposed on them which is a great Security indeed of their being well-governed and bound to nothing but what is for their Benefit no Law being to be made or repealed without their own Consent But this Liberty of consulting and Authority of Negative is still under the King the only Sovereign nor on equal Terms with him as two Independant Sovereigns Agreeably we find the Stile in the Acts so often is Be it enacted by the King our Sovereign Lord with the Assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and of the Commons in this present Parliament Assembled and by Authority of the same As 37. H. 8. c. 4. 25. H. 8. c. 11. 19. H. 7. c. 18. 23. 3. Edw. 4. c. 4. 7. Edw. 4 c. 3. passim Or our Lord the King by the Advice and Assent of the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and at the Request of the Commons in this Parliament Assembled and by Authority of the same hath Ordain'd and Establish'd c. 12. Edw. 4. c. 8. Tho the King is not Absolute without Rules in Governing nor alone without Partners in Legislation yet is theirs only a Subjects Part not a Coordinate Sovereigns and he alone is Supreme both in Legislation and Execution For our Law and Church too fixes all the Sovereignty of the Realm solely in the King The Kings Majesty hath the Chief Power in this Realm of England c. unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of this Realm whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil in all Causes doth appertain Say the 39. Articles of Religion He is the only Supreme Governor of this and all other his Realms in all Temporal things as well as Spiritual says the Oath of Supremacy His Realm recognizes no Superior under God but only his Grace says Stat. 25. H. 8. c. 21. His Parliaments when they meet both sit and Act only as his Subjects not as his Compere Sovereigns he not having Parem in Regno suo as Bracton says For by order of Law they were to take the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance professing by those Solemnities of Religion that he is the sole Sovereign and that they whilst acting there are only his Subjects When during their Session they make to him any Addresses they Stile themselves his Majesties most Loyal and Dutiful Subjects Yea in Acts and Statutes themselves they have often used the same Stile calling as him their Gracious Leige Lord and Sovereign so themselves his Humble Loving and Dutiful Subjects in those Acts of Legislation In all Humble manner shew unto your most excellent Majesty your Majesties most Dutiful and Loyal Subjects the Lords and Commons c. says Stat. 12. Car. 2. c. 30. We your Majesties most Faithful and Loyal Subjects the Lords and Commons c. says Stat. 1. Jac. c. 1. We your Majesties most Loving Faithful and Obedient Subjects the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons c. representing the three Estates of this Realm so bearing only the Part and Place of Subjects in that Representation says Stat. 1. Eliz. c. 1. and the like may be seen in the Acts under Q. Mary as in Stat. 1. Mar. Sess. 2. c. 1. under King Edward 6. as Stat. 1. Edw. 6. c. 14. and K. Henry 8. as Stat. 37. H. 8. c. 4. c. 17. By all which I conceive it plainly appears that the two Houses sit with the King in Parliament and concur in making Laws not as Coordinate Powers that are equal to him but as Subordinate under him not in Place of Sovereigns but of Subjects under him their sole Sovereign So that if any Parliaments head Insurrections against our Kings they are Wars of Subjects still against their Sovereigns and such as they neither can nor Lawfully may make no not in their own Defence as the Statute says But some Appeal from the Letter of these Laws and Legal Declarations to the Equity of them and think tho the Letter of the Law condemns resisting Subjects that the Equity thereof will acquit and justifie them This Plea of Equity against the Letter of these Laws and Legal Declarations is for excepting some particular Cases from being meant and comprehended in the general Terms used therein and that is by way of Presumption that the Makers of those Laws and Declarations would have excepted them had the Cases been foreseen or particularly put to them But there is no Place for presumptions of a thing against express Declarations to the contrary or for supposing such exceptions

to be obeyed as Gods Ministers although they be evil although they abuse their Power although they be wicked and wrong doers and it is not lawful for Inferiors and Subjects in any Case to resist and withstand them Whatever the rightful Sovereign be then that bears hard upon any Man let me ask him who is most uneasie if for all his Personal unworthiness and oppressive Administration he be not still the Lords anointed and the Ordinance of God And so long if he will be a Follower of the Holy Scriptures the Primitive Fathers or our own Church whose Testimonies have been alledged how can he lift up his hand against him 2. A second Ground of their Non-Resistance was in Patience and Submission to Gods Providence In such hard Cases they were like to ease their Suffering by Patience and make it worse by Resistance In your Patience says our Saviour possess ye your Souls Luke xxi 19 When the Cross was brought upon them they were called to take it up not to drive it away to follow Christ in bearing it themselves not to follow the World in endeavouring to Force it upon others according to those Precepts of our Lord for taking up and bearing his Cross. These Persecutions they looked on as sent by God for tryal of their Patience not of their fighting Valor in making Resistance and were careful under them to shew invincible Stoutness in Sufferings not refuse to Suffer and rather fight in their own Defence The Cup which my Father hath given me shall I not Drink it Therefore put up thy Sword said Christ. Joh. xviii 11 Lo here is the Patience of the Saints says S. John noting what in their Persecutions they sought to Signalize Rev. xiv 12 And Absit ut Divina Secta dol●at pati in quo probatur God forbid this Divine Sect should be against Suffering which is only Gods way of Tryal and Probation says Tertullian of their patient and unresisting Sufferings when they had strength enough to defend themselves 3. In faith in God and trust that he as Rightful Judge would sooner or later as he saw best Right their Cause Vengeance is mine I will repay saith God and they were content to leave it to him We confide in him who is able to take Vengeance both for his own and his Servants injuries When we suffer such unspeakable things we leave it to God to Right us says Lactantius Against all your injuries the Judgment and Vengeance of God is our Defence And upon that account it is that none of us makes any Resistance though we have Numbers more than enough says S Cyprian And loe here is the Faith and Patience of the Saints said S. John Rev. xiii 10 They committed their Rights to him when despoiled of them by unjust Force and never went about to make Parties and Tumults by Force to Right themselves to shew the Faith they had in his Justice his Providence and Promises and how far and freely even in these dearest and most concerning Interests they durst trust him Now both these also are Reasons equally not to Resist under any rightful Sovereigns The Cross is the same under one as under others The same Tryal of Patience and of Faith when they fall under the same distresses whether by Christian or Heathen Sober or Dissolute by Princes that Invade or that observe Civil Laws and Legal Properties Now to all this that has been said on this Subject it would be a very weak and unjust exception to say this forbidding of Resistance on violation of Laws is setting up for illegal and arbitrary Government For to Govern Arbitrarily is to Rule by Discretion or to have no written Laws to Govern by And where there are Stated Laws to regulate and direct Administrations there is all the Human care that can be to prevent Arbitrariness in Sovereigns There are but two ways to limit and lay Restraints or keep any Governor within compass One is Laws which restrain him as a Rule by fixing and prescribing for him his just Bounds The other is a Superior Power that can call him to account when he Deviates and forceably compel him to return into a Right Course and these restrain him as his Rulers Now as for this later way of appointing Higher Powers for their Supervisors and Correctors it is visible this can be no way of restraining Sovereigns who can be no longer Sovereigns but Subjects if they have any Superiors He that is by Law declared the Supreme especiall the only Supreme in any Realm must needs be above all and no Man can be above him Though the Laws of his Realm are to be his Rule yet no Man in his Realm can be his Ruler nor they who all profess themselves made subject to pretend to set upon him Besides if such Correctors were appointed to secure the Laws yet would that be only a Dream of Security which would vanish as Experience made us awake and come to our selves and not secure them really more than they are secured already For these Correctors being subject to like Over-sights Passions and Misgovernments are as liable to Prevaricate and Violate the Laws as those whom they are set to Supervise The Laws are safe enough in the Hands of good Kings and as unsafe in the Hands of ill Correctors as of ill Kings and such Correctors are every whit as liable and like as oft to be ill and abuse the Laws as Kings themselves And what redress for the Invasions and breach of Laws when they do amiss So that this doth not Cure but only shift the Disease which is uncureable under any Sovereign or last Judge be it King or Parliament Army or Mobile through the Nature of this World and the inseparable uncertainties of Human Affairs As in the ●●ne of Human Subordinations then some must be Sovereigns and these must be Men subject to be drawn aside like our selves so can these have no Restraint but Laws nor any Judge but God and so be unaccountable here on Earth The only possible restraint of Arbitrariness in them is Laws And the best restraint these can lay is if Acts of State and Justice are to be sped not only by the Sovereign himself in Person but by his Ministers And if though the Sovereign himself is not yet his Ministers are accountable and tryable for Breach of Laws as well as others Which I think is as much security under a Sovereign as Sovereignty allows And this Human Security we have in this Realm to Guard our Laws although we may not resist our Sovereign and fight for those Laws against him by force of Arms which is a throwing off his Sovereignty over us and setting up for our Selves But though this Doctrine of Non-Resistance yea even in Defence of Laws doth not make Arbitrary Power yet on the other Hand I would have it considered whether the Liberty of Resistance is not like to bring in Arbitrary Subjection They may cast off Obedience say some