Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A77009
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The states stability a sermon / preached in Exon before the deputy-lieutenants, captaines, and other militarie officers and souldiers of the county of Devon. By John Bond ...
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Bond, John, 1612-1676.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing B3575A; ESTC R172820
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17,545
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37
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house to die there The King bids him pop them off with another answer and durst not be known that he had talked with the man of God he was over-mastered by his Courtiers that hedged him round they over-mastered him by their power Is there not need then and is it not just to take away the wicked from before the King that his Throne may be established in Righteousnesse If there be danger of mischiefe all these wayes of seduction by flattery though a King intend never so sincerely and of evill counsell in over-bearing him and circumventing him that he shall not be able to sound into the depth of their designes and of violence when they have gotten swords enow into their owne hands to make a prisoner of the King and yet to doe all in his name as if he were the chiefe Commander there is good reason that the wicked should be taken away from before the King and that the taking them away is the stablishing his Throne in Righteousnesse But here an objection must be cleared before I touch the application The objection is this you will say it is true wee all agree that the taking away of the wicked from before the King is the stablishing of his Throne in Righteousnesse and that the wicked should be taken away from before the King But stay Who must be the takers away And how must they be taken away For this seemes to be the nick of the point and the whole question is tripartite Who must be removed By whom And how must they be removed and so shall my answer be Briefly First who must be taken away I touched before but now shall more fully and clearly answer First generally the wicked originally it is the evill and ungodly thing but so it includes all wicked persons things and acts that are before the throne Prov. 23. Righteousnesse exalteth a Nation but sinne is a reproach to any people That is the generall all provoking evill things persons acts But secondly and more particularly all evill things acts and persons First in point of Religion so Maacah and her Idoll must goe downe 2 Chron. 15.16 So trecherous Abiather the Priest must be banished 1 King 1.26 So Joashes Princes must be casheered 2 Chro. 24. Secondly as in Religion so in the Camp bloody Joab though he be neer the King must have justice and Adonijah if need be because he is a Subject must be cut off 1 King 2.25 Thirdly in the Court Doeg and Ziba and Haman with Zedechiah's Counsellers and Princes that were too hard for him and Darius Princes that were too hard for him they all must be removed and taken away All in short that David names in Psal 101. I will early destroy the wicked of the Land that I may cut off evill doers from the City of my God That is as farre as they are knowne and convicted they may not be protected but yeelded up to justice Secondly who must remove which is the man that must doe this There is the question who must be the removers and takers away I goe still with a clew of Scripture in my hand I answer the Kings authority must doe it I have Scripture for it Pro. 20.8 The King that sitteth in the Throne of judgement scattereth away the evill with his eyes Let me explaine this Text and the great knot is untied The King that sitteth c. By the King in the Throne of Judgement we are to understand not the pleasure and will of a King no nor the very strict person of a King but we are to understand the Royall authority as it is exercised according to Law therefore he saith the King sitting upon the Throne that is the King in the Court of judicature he scattereth away the evill with his eyes he affrighteth and judgeth and removeth wicked persons and things by looking narrowly after them So that in two words if you would know who must be the removers it is Royall authority The King upon the Throne of judgement that is the King in all his Courts of Justice for concerning the will of a Prince none can be so unreasonable as to imagine that the will of the Prince must tell who shall be taken away and who shall be saved for then it is not Monarchy but Tyranny Then for the person of the Prince he sits not in the Courts he is the Center and therefore is unmooveable and all the lines are drawne from him the judicature of Parliament as the highest Court the greatest line drawne from the Center of Royall authority and all other petty lines under it But you will say if the King were in the Parliament then there were the Royall authority that should take away the wicked from before the Throne I answer can the tything man doe his office and the Constable and petty Courts and the presence of the King not be required for the execution of them and shall the Supreame Court of the Kingdome have leffe power then Court-leet or Court-Baron Let reason and sense judge So when it is asked who shall remove them I say Royall authority This is that that Peter meanes 2 Pet. 2.13 14. Submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as Supreame or unto Governours as them that are sent of him for the punishment of evill doers and for the praise of them that doe well This Text is commonly perverted by our rotten Divines Submit to every Ordinance of man for the Lords sake the Ordinance is of man the stamp of it is of God There be diverse Ordinances of man of Monarchy of Aristocracy suppose of Democracy Whatsoever the Ordinance of man be in the land thou livest in if it be in the Low-Countries submit to the Ordinance of Aristocracy for the Lords sake if it be in England submit to the Ordinance of Monarchy for the Lords sake if in another place submit to that Ordinance for the Lords sake still the Ordinance is of man theirs is the mettle and the stamp is of God For the Lords sake whether it be to the King as the Supream or to Officers sent of him why for what For the punishment of evill doers and the praise of them that doe well so the Ordinance is to the praise of them that doe well and the punishment of them that doe evill Now the Ordinance in out Kingdome you know what it is it is upon a pact or compact and the greatest priviledge of the Subject in that pact is the great assembly of Parliament But how must this be done If Royall authority must doe it the King in his judicature from the Parliament to the Constable must take away the wicked from before the King that is as far as they are convicted and as farre as his Office extends But how must they be taken away I answer by divers swords First by the sword of the mouth if it be possible by gentle admonitions and sharp reprehensions
So Solomon dealt with Adonijah and with Shimei first he gave them gentle monitions and if words will doe it is a thousand pitties that blowes should be used But if monitions and reprehensions and summons and warrants will not doe it Then the sword of Justice as in those two cases so when Adonijah would not take admonition when Shimei would not take reprehension but both transgressed the Law after both suffered by the sword of Justice But what if Delinq make a party against the sword of Justice and there be a sword of rebellion against the sword of Justice that that cannot prevaile Then in the third place the sword of warre if the sword of the mouth will not doe it as you know what great trying and labouring there hath beene by the pen. Next the sword of Justice hath beene endeavoured to bring them to condigne punishment but if that will not doe the sword of warre if rebellion make head against Justice I speak not this of my selfe but from the Lord look in Judg. 20. the history of the men of Gibeah they had committed a notorious fact they had ravished a Concubine and ravished her to death Here was first the sword of the mouth used the Tribes came together and sent to the Benjamites to deliver the delinquents and then they offered the sword of Justice to end the businesse But they draw the sword of warre and resist Justice and come and make head against the assembly and determination of that Parliament Hereupon God bids them draw the sword of warre and fetch the delinquents by force they met together and wept and God bad them goe up the cause was his it was not properly a sword of warre but a martiall sword of Justice But you will say then there was no King in Israel What of that Is there lesse authority to fetch out delinquents because there is a King Is he the obstructer or the promoter of Justice not the obstructer but promoter of it Besides though there were not the name of a King there was regall authority the Scepter was then in Judah as we tead in Judg. 1.2 Judg. 20.18 Judah must still goe up first The use which I intend to be but short in is for information If the taking away of the wicked from before the King establish his Thron in righteousnes then let this my brethren convince your judgements and shew you a cleare warrant nay the necessity of the cause and service you are on and is now on foot through the Kingdome I know the rotten Clergie and all Malignants will tell you that this party fight against the King yet the Scripture tels you that such men as labour to remove the wicked in a legall way from before the King establish his Throne in Righteousnesse Now I put it to the quere Are not these wicked that are endeavoured to be removed Are they not robbers traitors ravishers rebels and delinquents And it is the removing of them in a legall way because you are called to it by authority and by every branch of your protestation These are the heads of the Protestation First Religion and that cals on you because Papists are in armes and are great Commanders and are now fighting against our Religion Secondly your Soveraigne cals upon you in his highest Court of Parliament his soule and his body both call for it for they must needs be both in danger amongst unreasonable and bloody men Thirdly the Parliament and in it all the Parliaments for time to come If this Parliament faile you may all write Lord have mercy on us as you doe upon infected houses you may write it upon the doores of the Parliament and upon all the houses of the Land You will say not so for there is a trienniall Parliament granted Is it possible to gather a trienniall Parliament hereafter if we be not able to keepe together a Parliament that is set for which we have as good an Act as for the other He that will be blinde may be by supposing that we may get a Parliament if we cannot keepe this now we have an Act for it Fourthly your Lawes call upon you they be all trampled under-foot there is no punishment for robbers killing is now no sinne rapes and ravishings are not questioned they are not to be taxed Fiftly your Priviledges call on you who can say what is mine if these things goe on But you will say his Majesty in his Declarations seemes to dislike of this course of going to warre We must distinguish of his Majesties being among his Cavaliers and his Majesty sirting in his Parliament Among his Cavaleeres as he is now he is a prisoner for ought I know by force or by fraud or under their Counsell that we all see cleare His Majesty among the Cavaleeres and the Declarations and Ordinances and Messages comming through their hands that is one thing but take His Majesty as in his Parliament and I thinke you will thinke that when he were better informed and advised he would be of another mind You will say if we were sure of that that he would be of another mind we should be satisfied What could God doe more Hath he not given you a pledge in your owne hands already Within these two yeeres His Majesty gave out all His Declarations and Protestations against Scotland we see a great deale of difference betweene His Majesty with the Malignants and with His Parliament for we see afterwards he gave the Scots thanks and gave thanks through all the Kingdome when the spectacles were taken off his nose and he saw aright then they where brethren and dismissed in peace What could the Lord doe more to prepare you for this time and against this stumbling block If His Majesty were misled so lately is it not probable he would now returne againe if he could get out of these mens hands considering especially that these were the speciall sticklers the committers and promoters of the Northern troubles But His Majesty promiseth to maintaine Religion and the Lawes Though he do graciously yet the Cavaleers promise the contrary and therefore as I said of David and Zedekiah and those that were surrounded with flatterers and evill Counsellers It was not what David promised but what Joab would give leave to be done It was not what Zedekiah promised but what his Princes would give way to Now we read His Majesties promises and we feele the Cavaleers deniall We question not but His Majesty intends the things that he speakes but when I feele on my skin the quite contrary I must conclude that how ever His Majesty promise and intend this yet they resolve the contrary Would you have instance His Majesty promiseth the defence of the true protestant Religion the Cavaleeres take in Papists and they are the chiefe Commanders in the Army I heare His Majesties promise and I beleeve His intentions but I feele the Cavaleeres practise directly contrary So I heare His Majesty say he will deliver delinquents to punishment and Cavaleeres promote them and they goe in the head of the Army I heare His Majesty protest and promise that He intends to maintaine the Lawes the priviledges of Parliament and the propriety of the Subject but the Cavaleeres rob and kill and slay against all Law so that no man can say this is his owne So that this must be the answer His Majesty protests these things and we take them as His purposes but the Cavaleeres doe the contrary wee feele it on our skins it sticks close to us Therefore abruptly for the result of all for His Majesties protestations and promises we cannot but thankfully accept them and what better way to expresse our thankfulnesse then to goe against wicked men that goe against His promises and redeeme Him from the hands of these wicked creatures that he may be able to make good His Protestations indeed from which they keepe Him by over-counselling Him and over-mastering Him I have beene abrupt But I hope that some seeds of that that hath beene spoken may take impression FINIS