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	law_n	parliament_n	7,328	5	6.6868	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32781	An epistle to Charles the Second, King of England and to every individual member of his council / presented to them in pure love and good will, that they might consider of the things therein contained before the King was crowned or had taken his oath, forasmuch as a necessity from the Lord was laid upon the pen-man ... who is known ... by the name of Christopher Cheesman ; from the town of Reading in Berkshire the 15 of the 2d. month, 1661.	Cheesman, Christopher.	1661 (1661)	Wing C3773; ESTC R35568	6,683	8

or hypocrisie of his wicked heart whereby he may become more juster by swearing Therefore O King if thou canst not do Justice and Right for the People over whom God hath made thee chief Ruler and Magistrate without swearing thou wilt never be able to do it by Swearing Nay O King but on the contrary for thee to swear that thou wilt maintain such Religion or do such and such Justice for the people puts thee into an absolute incapability to do Justice forasmuch as that thou refuseth that wisdom by which Kings decree Justice as aforesaid that is Christ Jesus the Wisdom of God who said Swear not at all and so said his Apostle James And under the Old Covenant An Oath was an end to all strife but Christ the Oath of God and New-Covenant said Swear not at all and Christ the New-Covenant is the Prophet that Moses prophesied of and said whosoever would not hear him should be cut off from among the people Therefore O King and Council swear not at all neither establish Religion by a Law to force an Vniformity thereunto nor maintain a Hireling Ministry for such a thing was the overthrow not only of thy Father but of all that have followed after till thy self by the mighty hand of God wert set in the place where now thou art The Parliaments Protectors and Armies were all Swearers and high pretenders to Religion in the form but nothing in the power but persecuted all the upright in heart who were in the power but out of their Form So I say those Governours who have miscarried in Government did busie themselves very much in matters of God touching the Consciences of other men whereof they had nothing to do but in the mean time neglected the witnesse of God in their own particulars and so were mindlesse and careless of their duties as civil Magistrates professing themselves wise and exalting themselves into the Temple of God wherein they had not to do save in their own particulars They became fools even in the management of their Civil affairs and so laid a sandy foundation and like foolish builders continued building their own till such time their building did fall and great was the fall thereof And all this did proceed from the Hireling Ministry which hath in all ages brought forth the same fruits being still fawning upon and tampering with the great men of the Earth and Kings and Councils and Parliaments and all men in Authority to establish Religion and to settle their maintenance and then as the Prophet saith of them He that will not put into their mouths they presently make war against him and this hath been the state and condition of this Nation and others And therefore O King and Council be wise and learn by other mens harms who not contenting themselves in their places to do the work God set them about but leaving their own work undone did intermeddle and busie themselves about Gods work and the Consciences of men of which Christ alone is Lord and for this hath the Lord dashed them to pieces one after another since Thy Fathers dayes First the Parliament then Protector so called and Protector again then Parliament then Army and Committee of Safety so called then Parliament again against all which the Lord hath appeared in much severity and hath removed all out of his way and hath brought Thee and Thy party into their place and Authority to try you Take heed I say therefore O King and Councel of running against this rock for if you do you will assuredly be dash'd to pieces as they already are for false worship and false Ministers must down and all that take part with them and till that time there will never be peace on Earth for t is the false Ministry that divides the people and causes them to run into factions and divisions and that sets people at variance one with another The false Ministry O King that 's the evil tree which brings forth bad fruit And indeed they can do no otherwayes for they are not of God but of the evil one It s clearly so O King for the tree was to be known by his fruit and he is now grown so big and his fruit so numerous that one may run and read of what sort the tree is and they that see it not to be the evil tree are very near the pit of everlasting destruction Thou wast a child O King in thy Fathers dayes and knew not to what perfection this evil tree was then grown but withdraw thy self a little into thy private chamber there inquire of the Ancient of dayes and ask counsel at the Oracle of God the Light in thine own conscience and therewith compare the Doctrine of Christ who is the Word of God and is very near thee even in thy heart in thy mouth and thou wilt then see hear and understand what Christ his Apostles saith and the Prophets before them concerning the false Prophets and the false Ministers C. C. THE END

very terrible overthrow and utter ruin and destruction as he hath done to those that hath gone before thee who would not hearken to Gods servants nor Return at his reproofs For known be it to thee O King God did not remove those men from the throne of Government in these Nations for their well doing but for their evil for their unrighteous and unjust actions because they Governed not for God and therefore as the Kingdoms of the Earth are the Lords so he disposeth of them as he pleaseth He plucks down the Governours therein whose actions proclaims them Traytors to their Lord and Master who intrusted them and set up others to try them also whether they will obey and do his commands and the things that he delights in To wit Mercy and Justice true Judgement and Righteousnesse and the contrary he denys with the workers thereof from the highest to the lowest And so when that wicked and perfideous Generation of men would by no means be reformed then the wrath of the Lord was kindled and his decree went forth against them And so they were dashed in pieces even like a Potters Vessel 't was their wickedness caused them to fall nothing else for they still obstructed the Lords work and yet he bore with them a long time and would not that any should break them to pieces but disappointed all plottings and combinations against them from time to time and also councelled them by his Ministers Servants which he sent unto them and did warn them of the evil that fell upon them long before it came and Reproved them of their evil deeds and divers times suffered their own servants to take their power from them and then they lay under shame and Contempt for some time and then Restored to Government again but still they went on in their evil Practices being Coveteous self-seeking men having a form of Godlinesse but denied the power thereof they were Great Oppressors and Hard Hearted men And Imprisoned the Ministers and Servants of the Lord And maintained an Idle Dronish Idolatrous Hireling Tyth-taking Ministry in the Nations And suffered them to persecute Oppresse and Afflict the most pretious Ministers and Servants of God whose Estates they took away and whose bodies they Imprisoned and some of them most cruelly abused in prison even unto death Mark therefore O King had the Lord been pleased with such things then doubtlesse thou and thy party had never returned to Govern in these Nations any more if the Lord had seen good that Oppression and Grinding the faces of the poor and maintaining a Hireling Ministry and forcing the people of God to pay Tithes and persecuting and Imprisoning of Gods Ministers and Servants should have continued in these Nations then those men which he removed to bring thee in might have been fit Instruments for such a work and no need for Thee to have been brought in in so eminent a manner to do the work with which the Spirit of the Lord was burdened and grieved from day to day and for which his wrath brake forth against those men whose names now rot in perpetual infamy Theresore doth it not concern Thee O King and thy Councel to consider what you are doing For the Lord is the same now as ever he was and regards not Kings Councels Parliaments Armies Protectors so called or any one more than another otherwaies then they are found in the path of Righteousnesse Mercy and true Judgement Therefore Awake Awake O KING with Thy COVNCEL stand up and see whereon the Basis of Thy Kingdom stands least Thy Crown and Dignity fall in the dust in these great Overturnings for verily verily there is yet a greater Oturning then has been that will suddenly come upon these Nations In which Overturning O King Thou and Thy party if you proceed as you have begun must be the very subject matter of the day and must drink the very bottom and dregs of that Cup which all persons that have miscarried in Government for divers years past have tasted of for the Lord has tryed you many years by sore and grievous affliction and now hath restored you that all People and Nations may see what you will do And Thou O King and thy party hath begun to set up and maintain that false Ministry and worship and Idolatrous practice and vain sports for which the wrath of God brake forth about twenty years since against thy family that is to say EPISCOPACY with all the Abominations both in Worship and Practice which it brings along with it notwithstanding the light that shines in this day of the Lords mighty power and this glorious day of visitation wherein the Lord hath admitted you to stand for tryal And know this O King Thy Father and his party deceased never saw such a day nor received so much mercy as Thee and thy party that now survives have done but were in the dark and cloudy day folded up under the Hireling Ministers and had not the Ministers of Christ the light of the world sent unto them with message after message as to Thee and Thy party hath been done counselling Thee O King and thy Councel to fear God and to work righteousnesse and the Ministers and servants of the Lord have been faithful unto Thee O King in every thing and in this thing in particular that is Thou limit not the Spirit of God in forcing all to worship God after the manner of the Nations and Heathen nor to maintain a hireling Ministry for where there is such a thing done by authority there must of necessity follow great ignorance and grosse darknesse wil soon cover the face of such a Nation for a forced Uniformity in matters of Gods worship and the hireling Ministrie are not of God but of the devil not of Christ but Antichrist and such a Ministry I do affirm and shall maintain was the cause of Thy Fathers fall for the hireling Ministry at that time had their hearts full of war and were divided and so ministred death unto the people on both sides And if thou O King shall suffer Religion to be established by a Law and shall force people thereunto it will be Thy utter ruin and thou wilt assuredly miscarry in Government as any that hath gone before thee And this I declare to thee in tender love and pity towards thee and likewise exhort thee in the fear dread of the Lord God that thou swear not at all for if thou dost thou breakest the Command of Christ Jesus the Light of the World who is the wisdom of God By whom Princes rule and the Kings of the earth decree Justice who said Swear not all Consider O King what advantage is swearing to the Just man Will he be the more just for swearing Or is the command of Christ of none effect Nay O King the Just man need not swear thereby to add to his integrity nor doth the Unjust man any waies abate or destroy the deceit