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	prince_n	subject_n	3,995	5	6.4954	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26928	Faithful souls shall be with Christ the certainty proved and their Christianity described, and exemplified in the truely Christian life and death of that excellent saint, Henry Ashhurst, Esq ... : briefly and truly published for the conviction of hypocrites and the malignant, the strengthning of believers, and the imitation of all, especially the masters of families in London / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1681 (1681)	Wing B1265; ESTC R4853	35,484	74

1663 he endeavoured hard to have got the pious Citizens of London to contribute yearly to the relief of the poor ejected Ministers of the several Counties where they were born and I was employed to the Lord Chancellor Hide to acquaint him with it and get his consent that it might not be taken for a fomenting of faction But though he said God forbid that he should be against Mens charity yet most durst not trust him and so it fell Since then he and others set up a Conventicle which methinks might be tolerated by Bishops themselves They met often to consult and contribute for the relief of poor House-keepers and they chose an ancient active godly Man fit for that work to be as a Deacon I mean to go about the City and find out such House-keepers as were very poor sick or impotent or any way in want and to bring in a Catalogue of their names places and degrees of need always preferring the pious honest poor And they made Mr. Tho. Gouge their Treasurer one of the same Trade whose Hands could not be tyed from doing good when his Tongue was tyed by the silencers And the foresaid messenger brought them their contributions with good instructions and prayer when there was need for which use sometime they procured a Minister for the ignorant Indeed he was the common comforter and reliever of distressed Ministers and others I know of none in London that they so commonly resorted to as him VII And so large was his desire of doing good that not only England Scotland and Ireland knew it but it specially extended to the Natives in America of whose conversion to Christianity he had a fervent desire In Oliver Cromwells time a publick Collection was made all over England for the educating of Schollars and defraying other charges in New England for that Work of which good old Mr. Fliots the Indians Evangelist was the chief operator with that money Lands were purchased to the value of about 800l a year and setled on a Corporation of Citizens in Trust and Mr. Ashhurst must be the Treasurer on whom lay the main care and work When the King was restored the Corporation was dead in Law and one that sold most of the Lands which were setled for that use Colonel Bedingfield a Papist seized on his sold Land and yet refused to repay the money The care of the recovery and of restoring the Corporation and all the work was the business of Mr. Ashhurst for which he desired my solicitation of the Lord Chancellor Hide who did readily own the justness of the cause and goodness of the Work and first gave us leave to nominate the new Corporation and Mr. Boyle for President and Mr. Ashhurst for Treasurer and afterwards when it came to Suite before him did justly determine it for the Corporation And so these nineteen years last past it was he by the help of Mr. Boile and the rest who hath had the main care of the New England assistance by which a Printing press hath been there set up and the Bible translated into the Indians Tongue and other Books also for their instruction and the Agents encouraged to help them till the late unhappy War there interrupted much of their endeavours And of their Victory in that War the converted Indians were not the least cause O how sad will the news of his death be to old Mr. Eliots if he live to hear it and to his American Converts And he hath left by his Will an hundred pound to the Colledge there and fifty pound to their Corporation IX Some may think that he wanted a publick Spirit because he avoided being a Magistrate and payed his Fine rather than take an Aldermans place But it was only to keep the peace of his Conscience which could not digest 1. The Corporation Declaration and Oath Nor 2. The execution of the Laws against Nonconforming Ministers and People I never heard him plead that the solemn Oath called the National Covenant was not unlawfully imposed or taken His thoughts of that I know not But he was not ignorant that the words shewed that it was a Promise or Vow to God and that a Vow made sinfully bindeth notwithstanding to the Lawful and necessary part of the Matter And he thought that to oppose in our places Prophaneness Popery and Schism and to Repent of Sin and amend were lawful and necessary things And therefore to say that there is no obligation by that Oath on me or any other person without excepting any of these aforesaid was a thing that he would rather I believe have suffered death than do He would not do that which he thought Perjury himself much less justifie it in thousands whom he never knew And he feared lest he should become guilty of constituting all the Cities and Corporations of England by Perjury and stigmatizing the front of the Nation with such a fearful brand Some men think that the Mark of the beast in Rev. without which none might buy or sell was PERIURY and PERSECUTION finding that the Laterane Council sub Innoc. 3. and others which are of their Religion do absolve Subjects of their Temporal Lords whom the Pope Excommunicateth from their Oaths of Allegiance which was ordinarily practised against Emperors and Kings and finding that these Lords or Princes themselves were to swear to exterminate all called Hereticks on pain of Excommunication Deposition and Damnation and that every such Ruler that professeth himself a Papist knowingly bindeth himself to destroy all Protestants or exterminate them if he can do it without danger to the Papal Church and also finding that all their Clergy must swear the Trent Oath by which they cannot but be Perjured And they say that they never heard or read that ever such a thing was done by Heathens Infidels or Mahometans And Mr. Ashhurst was afraid of any thing that seemed to him such a brand Yet I never heard him speak uncharitably of those worthy Men who do what he refused supposing that they in words or writing declared as openly as they sware and took the Declaration that they took it but in such or such a lawful sence Though he could not do so himself IX He had an earnest desire of the welfair of the City that it might flourish in Piety Sobriety Justice and Charity and that good men might be in power believing that the welfair of the World lieth not so much in the forms of Government as in the goodness of the Men and that that is the best form which best secureth us from bad Men And all such service as he could do no Man was readier to do As when he was Master of the Merchant Taylors company and on many other occasions he shewed His Relations tell me that he then gave them about 300 l. of his own monies and greatly promoted the improvement of their Stock to the rebuilding of their Hall and abatement of their debts X. He never was a Souldier even when