Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	king_n	kingdom_n	majesty_n	5,039	5	6.1083	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84058	The equity of the Solemne League and Covenant iustified, against an infectious and libellous pamphlet: intituled, The iniquity of the late Solemne League and Covenant discovered. As it was lately sent from Oxford: and intercepted by the way to London. Written by way of caution to all those who either have or shall reade the said dangerous paper.		1644 (1644)	Wing E3186; Thomason E39_20; ESTC R17157	7,410	13

Reformation 3. Thirdly they have set three Kingdomes together by the eares which now lie weltring in their own blood 4. Fourthly experience now shewes there is no inconvenience in their want either in Scotland or England Object 3. The third Objection is that here is sacriledge in spoyling them or a Church rather of those possessions and interests which beside the right of dedication do by as good Law and Title belong to them as any Liberty and possession doth to other Subjects Answ Be it granted that the right of their possessions hold good by Law yet when their Order and Function shall be disannulled by Law there must be a necessity of disposing their Revenues otherwise to the benefit of the Church and so the end of the dedication being kept by disposing them to that use whereto they were at first intended it were vain and foolish to call this sacriledge and spoiling of the Church Object 4. The fourth and last objection against the first and second Articles of the Covenant is that here is rebellion with the greatest impiety Subjects endeavouring this by force of Armes as it will appeare by the sixt Article they that Covenant bind themselves to do that is to compell your Soveraigne to such an extirpation and spoiling against which he is bound by the Law of God and by expresse oath and cannot be released of that oath without their consent to whom he makes it viz. those that must here be extirpated and spoiled Answ 1. First I answer that here is neither Rebellion nor impiety in the least kind to endeavour the extirpation of those by Armes which have been the maine cause of this present warre against the Parliament and enemies to Reformation with whom because the King is now there in person being seduced by evill Councellors and such as have a designe to alter our Religion invade our Liberties and bring in Popery therefore we shall not defend our selves our Religion and Liberties nor labour to deliver the King from them but you will say we Covenant to compell His Majestie to that which in conscience he cannot do that is to extirpate prelacie which brings me to my second answer Answ 2. Secondly I answer that no oath is to be observed but in licitis honestis so farre forth as the matter sworn to is approved and found lawfull and it holds good in Divinity that such oathes as are not lawfull are rather to be repented of then persisted in But upon politicke considerations there needs not any repentance where the same power which ordained the things sworn to doth after the manifest inconvenience of it with the present constitution of publike affaires ordaine also the abolishment thereof for then the obligation becomes altogether invalid and in no wise binding to the swearer And therefore it is frivolous to say that the King cannot be released of such an oath as he hath taken to maintain Prelacie unlesse the Prelates give consent when at the best to use the Language of the learned Exhortation to the taking of the Covenant their whole government is but a humane constitution and such as is found and adjudged by both Houses of Parliament in which the judgement of the whole Kingdom is involved and declared not only very prejudiciall to the civill State but also a great hindrance to the perfect Reformation of Religion His second exception is against the fourth Article whereby he sayes he which enters this Covenant doth professe that he allow all those which adhere to His Majestie in this cause should be esteemed and proceeded against as Malignants Incendiaries and as in the first Article they are set out common enemies Also by the same fourth Article he binds himself to discover all such that they may be brought to punishment Object Now he tels him that the iniquity of this appears by what was said upon the former Articles but more especially by the duties unto which the Oathes of Supremacy and allegiance bind all Subiects viz. the assisting of His Majestie against all attempts and the discovering unto Him all conspiracies duties contrary to what is undertaken here Answ I answer that it is great equity and reason that those now about his Majesty which have involved him in this war and are declared and known to be Incendiaries and Malignants and the common Enemies of the Kingdome should be discovered and proceeded against thereafter and that the equity of that Article may further appeare the intent of it is the very same with those in the Oathes of Supremacie and Allegiance viz. The assisting of his Majestie against attempts and the discovering of conspiracies which doth not only evidence the equity but also the seasonablnesse of this Covenant being taken in such a time when there are so many attempts practices and conspiracies in hand by a desperate partee of Cavaliers against Religion and the Kingdome the greatest of which attempts is absolutely against his Majestie though it seem otherwise by engageing his Person in a bloody and strange war Object The third exception taken is concerning a clause in the third Article for preserving and defending the Kings Majesties Person and Authority without any thought or intention of diminishing his just power and greatnesse And all which he hath to say against it is this That though hee which enters this Covenant may thinke this clause to be just and faire yet is it indeed a fearfull collusion and mocking of God there being nothing more against his Majesties authoritie and power then the intent and pursuit of this Covenant Answ All the answer which I shall give to this is that it is but his say so and I shall referre the impertiall Reader to my former answers Object His fourth exception is against the fifth Article and hee objects that hee which enters this Covenant doth binde himself by that Article to indeavour the continuance of peace between the two Kingdomes which according to the intent of this Covenant hee must do by joyning with those who have actually broken the Pacification and in pursuit of this Covenant invaded this Kingdome which is also a fearfull collusion and macking of God Answ I answer that it is absurd to say that the Pacification between the two Kingdomes of England and Scotland is broken by this Covenant when both the Kingdomes by an unanimous consent are joyned in this holy League for the mutuall defence and preservation of each others peace and with as little reason may it be called an Invasion or a collusion and mocking of God For it is monstrous to conceive that any men should affirm that ratification to be broken when the persons ratifying do joyntly prosecute the preservation of it by vertue of this Covenant with all earnestnesse and alacrity which is manifested at this day by an ample testimony of the full and free concurrence of the Bodies of both Nations The fifth exception taken is against the sixt Article because he that enters this Covenant doth professe by the sixt

Article that he allowes and approoves the Assisting and defending of all those that take this Covenant in the maintaining and pursuing thereof against all opposition and lets or impediments whatsoever and by the same Article binds himself really and constantly to endeavour the same to his power without giving himselfe to a detestable neutrality in this cause or making a defection to the contrary part Object Now see saies he the iniquity of this Article which so plainely speakes the language of desperate Rebellion that he which Covenants with them doth by this Article binde himselfe to endeavour by force of Armes to compell his Soveraigne to the Reformation pretended by this Covenant and doth as much as in him lies cut himselfe off from returning to his Duty and Obedience which is here called a defection to the contrary part Answ I answer that by this you may see the Iniquity of the Author and the desparate sence he makes use of to mis-informe the Gentleman he wrote unto The Equity of the Article is apparent That there should be a firme adhearing to this Covenant and continuance in his same notwithstanding all opposition contradiction or diswasion to the contrary whatsoever All the people stood to the Covenant 2 King 23.4 This was Iosiah his care not onely for himselfe but for all the people He made all that were found in Iudeth and Benjamin to stand to it so all his dayes they turned not backe from the Lord God of their Fathers 2 Chron. 34.32 33. But as for that slaunder of compelling our Soveraigne by force of Armes to a Reformation I answer that it is not properly to compell him but rather to expell those from him which are enemies to Reformation and in time would approve themselves so unto him also if not resisted by his faithfull Subjects and compell him to enact what themselves please which what it would be if considered is enough to engage all true Christian hearts against them And therefore they are bound to this Covenant by that duty obedience and loyty which they owe unto their Soveraigne his Crowne and dignity and the welfare of the Kingdomes without defection to the contrary part Object His last Exception is against a clause in the sixth Article That he which enters this Covenant doth professe that he approves and binds himselfe to all the premisses in the Articles as to that which much concernes the glory of God the good of the Kingdoms and the honour of the King and this he saies is to fill up the measure and to mocke God Almighty to his face Answ I answer Let all men judge how unreasonable and hellish a slaunder this is and observe with what wresting these black characters of a false Comment are here brought in under pretence of writing information to a Gentleman to defame the genuine and innocent sence of a glorious Covenant Thus I have done with the first particular of his discouse which pretended to proove a necessity of refusing this Covenant by a false imputation of grosse and palpable Iniquity upon the contents thereof Now I shall proceed to the second particular pretending to prove a necessity of repenting of it if once taken If he could have proved the premisses then the Conclusion would have followed more current for I grant what he saies That the matter and intent of any Covenant being unlawfull it cannot binde to performance no more then Herods oath did bind him to proceed to execution Matth. 14. or the great curse under which the forty Conspirators Act. 23. combined themselves to make an end of Paul could indeede obliege them to performanc● But the former point being not proved the sence of the Covenant being rather defamed and traduced then controverted justly This latter point grounded upon the former must of necessity fall of it selfe and therefore it needs not an answer running altogether ex falsa Hypothesi upon a false supposition of Iniquity in the Covenant which is not as yet proved nor can it be by the Iesuits and Iesuited impugners at Oxford If they can furnish us with some convincing Arguments in this way I my selfe who am a Covenanter will not speedily repent of it but also perswade others but till then you must pardon me Now in relation to the latter part of his discourse I shall onely give you notice that the frame of it is grounded upon a false insinuation Object That this Covenant doth contrary the Oathes of allegiance and supremacie and that the Iudges here tooke it with this reservation as thus I take this Covenant so far forth as it doth not contrary the Oathes of Allegiance and Supremacie But Answ 1. First I answer with the words of the learned exhortation to the taking of the Covenant that this Covenant is so far from crossing the Oathes of Supremacy and Allegiance that ●t binds all and more strongly engageth them to preserve and defend the Kings Majesties person and authority in the preservation and defence of the true Religion and Liberties of the Kingdomes Answ 2. I answer that the Iudges tooke it without any such reservation he speakes of or any other at all But this latter part need no answer in regard as I said before of the grounding it upon a false supposition of the illegality and injustnesse of this Covenant which is not as yet proved And therefore I advise all to take heed both of the former and the latter and to weigh the former objections with the answers impartially and seriously not as men fore-armed with prejudicate opinions but as those that desire sincerely to be informed of the necessity and excellency of this holy Covenant The Apostle Peter speakes of Pauls writing that in them some things are hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other scriptures to their own destruction 2. Epist chap. 3. vers 16. But here on the contrary though the text of this Covenant be easie to be understood we see that some who at lest think themselves learned and who are not only stable but stiffened as most of the Oxford partie are in their own erroneous principles and opinions will be trying their skill or rather malice to wrest or as the Greek word streblousi imparts to torture and set this Covenant upon the racke to make it speake and confesse a sence never intended by the composers or proposers of it And whereof if but common ingenuity be the judge it never will nor can be found guilty But at this time I shall say no more to the Author of this base injurious paper but that in the close of the verse quoted from the Apostle Peter Let him take heed such wresting as this be not to his own destruction Thus I hope in answering this virulent Pamphlet I have given the Readers some insite into the matter of this holy League Covenant according to the sincere aime of those that made it Take it then Reader and sweare to it Who but an Atheist can refuse the first Article Who but a Papist the second who but an oppressor or Rebell the third Who but the guilty the fourth Who but men of no fortune desperate Caviliers the fifth Who but light and empty men unstable as water the sixt In a word the duty is such that God hath ordained the matter is such as God approveth and the consequence will be such as God hath promised the accomplishment of our peace and happinesse in this life and the finall consummation of it in that which is to come This is Licenced and entred according to Order FINIS