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
A29108	A sermon preached before the King, in St. James's chappel, January 30th, 1698/9 by Samuel Bradford ...	Bradford, Samuel, 1652-1731.	1699 (1699)	Wing B4121; ESTC R19689	11,787	26

's being God's Ordinance that it is for the good of Men. For God hath appointed nothing as a general Law to all Mankind but what is really conducive to their good It is as I before observ'd impossible that Society should be maintain'd without Government There must be some common Wisdom to direct and give Laws and in this disorderly World in which we live some Publick Authority and Force to see those Laws executed We see how difficult it is to keep Mankind in any tolerable Order notwithstanding the many good Laws which are made and executed to that end What a State then do we imagine the World would be in if every Man were let loose to act according to his Appetites and Passions which must necessarily be unless there were Rewards and Punishments appointed by Law-makers and distributed by a standing and settled Authority So that whosoever goes about to resist or weaken the Government he lives under does what in him lies to dissolve the Society and thereby to reduce things to a state of Anarchy and Confusion 3. I might add That Obedience and Submission to Governors are also the Interest of every particular Man as well as of the Society in general and that he who weakens the Publick Authority and thereby injures the Society will sooner or later feel the mischievous consequences of it himself as he is a Part of the Whole Besides that for a Man to oppose Authority is to expose himself to the just Displeasure of those who in all probability will be too hard for him Wilt thou not be afraid of the Power Rom. 13.3 says the Apostle Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same For he is the Minister of God to thee for good But if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain for he is the Minister of God in that case also a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil Before I proceed to the last Direction in the Text I beg leave to make a short Remark or two from the manner of Solomon's expressing himself upon this Subject 1. It is observable That he hath join'd fearing the Lord and the King Religion towards God and Loyalty towards our Governors are both of them excellent things and 't is great pity they should ever be parted But there are too many that pretend to the one whilst they are very defective as to the other Some there are on the one hand that are great Pretenders to Religion or the fear of God who yet too openly betray their disregard to their Earthly Superiors by their forwardness to be always suspecting and insinuating ill things of those in Authority by their taking a great freedom to censure every thing they don't see a reason for by their readiness to be factious seditious and mutinous upon every slight and frivilous pretence There are some on the other hand that profess a very high regard for their Governors but have at the same time no manner of Reverence for Almighty God and his Precepts They seem to be of the Opinion That God will accept of their being good Subjects to the Government they live under instead of all other Duties which he hath enjoin'd them and that their steady Loyalty shall make expiation for their Impiety their Intemperance and their Lewdness But let no man deceive himself Mat. 22.21 we are to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things which are God's We are to fear the Lord and the King And what God hath thus join'd together let no man presume to put asunder I wish I could not still name a third sort who in this Age have made themselves too numerous and too conspicuous to be overlook'd I mean such as fear neither the Lord nor the King a Generation of bold Sinners these who having first cast off all regard for the God of Heaven can after that very freely and without the least scruple express their contempt of all his Vicegerents on Earth I cannot describe them better than in the words of the Apostle Men that deny the Lord who bought them 2 Pet. 2.1 10. that walk after the flesh in the lusts of uncleanness and despise Government presumptuous are they self-willed they are not afraid to speak evil of Dignities concerning whom the same Inspired Writer pronounces That their judgment lingereth not Ver. 3. and their damnation doth not slumber 2. 'T is farther observable That the fear of the Lord is by Solomon plac'd the first of the two by which is intimated That no Man can truly fear the King as he ought to do unless he fear God in the first place The fear of God or an hearty sense of Religion is after all the only Principle that can make us throughly good and faithful Subjects to Princes That Man only who acts from Principles of Conscience can be safely trusted and rely'd upon all other Principles being defective and uncertain 3. I now proceed to the last Direction in my Text Meddle not with them that are given to change By which is to be understood Men of a fickle and unconstant Temper such as have no steady Principles to act upon but are ever dissatisfy'd with what is present and fond of something new and when they once have what they seem'd eagerly to wish are yet as far from being easie as before the fault not lying as they foolishly imagine in the state of things without them but in their own variable and uncertain Minds And this may refer either to Religion or the Civil Government For the latter Clause in the Text looks back upon both the former Meddle not with them that are given to change either with respect to the fear of the Lord or the fear of the King such as lightly and without cause affect changes either in Religious or Civil Matters Lightly I say and without cause for it is not to be imagin'd that Solomon condemns changing for the better where there are solid Grounds and weighty Reasons for doing it 'T is possible for a Man to be educated in a false Religion nay for such a Religion to be establish'd by the Laws of a Country and then upon the offers of good Reason to change is so far from being a fault that not to do it must be the effect of Obstinacy or strong Prejudice A Government may be so ill managed or otherwise reduc'd to such streights that it may be impossible to secure the Society without admitting some variations from the ordinary Rules and Methods of Proceeding and then the reason of things as much warrants a variation from those ordinary Rules and Methods as at other times it obliges to a strict adherence to them But then a change is criminal when 't is without sufficient Reason and when the attempting it threatens apparent and imminent Danger to the Society and those Men act cross to the Direction of the Text who affect or