Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	kingdom_n	law_n	parliament_n	3,975	5	6.2994	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93346	Englands pressures: or, The peoples complaint, humbly related, for information and for satisfaction of the grounds and causes thereof, and communicated to the inhabitants of England, in the severall cities and counties of the kingdome. Also, a short reprehension to factious, seditious sinners, with a Christian exhortation to reformation, to brotherly unitie and concord, and conscionable performance of covenant, by assurance of Gods blessing, a glorious deliverance, with establishment of truth and peace to the three kingdomes. / By George Smith, Gent. Imprimatur John Downame.	Smith, George, 1602 or 3-1658.	1645 (1645)	Wing S4035; Thomason E295_9; ESTC R200196	33,562	43

of suspected fidelitie and of meane condition and broken fortunes are authorised to be Solicitors and agents in matter of Sequestration and hence it commeth that either by their inabilitie to act or through their corruption in taking bribes a great matter is lost out of Sequestrations which might come into the Kingdoms treasurie and so ease the Taxes of the well-affected Seventhly That persons ill-affected to the Parliament and in their practise Malignant are connived at and by friends or private gratuities find much more favour in some Committees then the wel-affected and reall-acting men for the Parliaments service Some knowne Malignants not Sequestred at all some have compounded at verie easie rates for their whole Estates and keepe their grounds stockt live securely are free from Plunder by the Kings partie as friends and servants and from the Parliament by protection at easie purchase and yet pay lesse to the weekely Assessements then the Parliaments best friends who are subject to Plunder by the Kings side and to free quarter by the Parliaments Souldiers besides severall other inconveniencies which manie of the ill-affected are freed from to the great discouragement and discontent of the better partie Eighthly That too manie pettie Garrisons in some Counties are kept to the great damage of the Countie they serving for no other use but to maintaine themselves which eates up the riches of the Countie and are no defence at all The Souldiers exact their full pay notwithstanding the Enemie receive weekely Contribution round about even to the walls of the Garrisons whereas the charge of keeping those Garrisons would maintaine the grand Garrisons much stronger then they are and also a partie in them to be spared to goe out upon all occasions of the Enemies incursions to secure the Countrie and if all those small Garrisons were demolished the Counties say they might build them againe at much easier charge then keep them Ninthly That the Supernumerarie Officers in the Counties and thin companies devour much pay and doe little service the common Souldiers being too much neglected and dis-heartned Tenthly That the Souldiers of Garrisons in some Counties who receive constant pay from the County wherein they Garrison doe usually take free quarter of the Inhabitants within the same Counties when they goe out upon any service and no allowance is given to the oppressed for injuries done though complaint be made to the Committees which is a great burthen and causeth distractions to the prejudice of the publique Eleventhly Divers Souldiers being of the Committees in severall Counties are both parties and Judges by which justice is obstructed to the oppression of the people and their much disheartning and discontent as a thing against the Vote of the house of Commons Twelfthly That by the want of Sheriffs in some Counties and Justices of the peace to execute their offices according to the law debts cannot be recovered out of those hands that injuriously with-hold the right from the true owners estates cannot be setled childrens portions are hazarded vice is not punished wicked men goe free and the godly are injured to their great prejudice Thirteenthl y That the want of Knights and Burgesses for severall Counties there being none in the House to make true report to the house of the state and condition of those Counties they are over-taxed and severall wayes oppressed and have no meanes to seeke for redresse under which burthens they much complaine Fourteenthly That Counties oppressed complaining by the mis-information of some are delayed in judgement and by long attendance are put to great expences and are not relieved which causeth some men to grow inexorable Fifteenthly That bad causes by great friends succeed well and good causes without friends often miscarrie This is a grievance under which the Kingdnme hath groaned manie yeares and is still a sad and generall complaint Sixteenthly That notwithstanding God hath put into the Parliaments heart to Ordaine and to that end have by Ordinance appoynted that all such through whose hands the Kingdomes monyes have past shall give a just and true accompt thereof what they have received and to whom and how they have payd it and have with great wisedome established a grand Committee of able and just men and other Sub-Committees For severall Counties for the faithfull discharge of the said service yet by the power and authoritie of men in place Committees for Sequestrations and other Officers the worke is obstructed and the Sub-Committees opposed hindred and dis-heartened notwithstanding it is knowne that great summes of Moneys are concealed to the prejudice of the publique which by due accompt might be brought out to the great benefit of the Kingdome and would adde much to the satisfaction of all the well affected That just act and example of the Parliament in the impartiall accompt given to the Kingdome formerly of all the Moneys received of the Kingdome and expended for the publique before this Warre actually began was so acceptable to the people that they were encouraged with willing chearefulnesse to put all their substance into the Parliaments trust for the maintenance of Lawes Religion and Priviledges but now with griefe complaine that much of the publique Treasure is concealed by private men and that inferiour men guiltie of the same crime shall obstruct such an accompt as the Ordinance of Parliament requires to be made and justice should exact those that are the refusers to give such accompt speake guiltie though they say nothing Seventeenthly That the large summes allowed for salaries to particular men for easie labours in the service of the publique doe exhaust much of the Kingdomes Treasure and conduce onely to private advantage Eighteenthly That there is not a perfect purging of Committees as by Gods mercie and the wisdome of Parliament there hath beene a new moulding of the Armies which is no lesse needfull and as much desired by all except those that are parties and doe oppose it for selfe-ends Nineteenthly That men seek honours and greatnesse by great and honourable places they use their places to serve themselves but give not themselves to serve their places and the Kingdome onely so farre as serveth selfe-ends which is dis-honour to places of honour and ingratitude for favours and benefits received so that indulgencie is tyrannized over Mercie and Judgement is neglected and the people grow desperate c. Twentiethly That many Souldiers Commanders and Officers discarded both of Gentlemen and men of fortune who are clouded as they say by the aspersions of envie and are gallant fighting men cordiall to the Parliaments service and faithfull in their trust are not lookt upon according as they conceive to their deserts these complaine in discontent and speake passionate words to the prejudice of Parliament and to the rejoycing of the malignant partie it is my griefe but their complaint Divers other complaints are made by the people The Authors Impartia●●ie in dutie but these may comprehend all all which I leave to the consideration

which thou complainest and cast it from thee then Humbly Importune the Parliament to redresse the evils and put things right Judges know not who is wronged till the complaint come before them nor can they redresse the evill till proved by two or three witnesses If we thus doe we shall have no cause of any murmuring complaints for the Parliament will surely do justice x Rom. 13. 4. They are the Ministers of God to us for our good c. And know God is now about to set up Jesus Christ on his throns and to establish the puritie of Religion that God is now about a greater worke for this Kingdome and for the world of elect at this time then only the setling of our temporall freedomes for assuredly he will make Jesus Christ much more glorious to the world then ever before and his ordinances shall be set up in their puritie the truth of Religion shall be established not changed as some simple Ignoramuses report The Parliament is not about to change any thing in Religion onely to purge out the dregs of Antichristian doctrine that Christ may be worshipped in puritie according to the will of God revealed in holy Scripture and practised in the best reformed Churches Gre●t wo●●es mett with great oppositions The worke is great and difficult and we know great workes have ever met with great oppositions and much difficulty these are trying times y Heb. 11. 36 God proves us now whether we will follow Christ or Antichrist these are fyrie tryals such as the Apostle Peter speaks of which he saith z 1 Pet. 4. 12 is to try you When he hath tryed me a Job 23. 10. saith Job I shall come forth as gold b Jam. 1. 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tryed he shall receive the crowne of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him If we will be blessed live must endure it and endure it to the end else there is no promise of blessednesse he onely c Math. 10. 22. that endureth to the end shall be saved Now give me leave to advise A Caveat to take heed lest we mistake Christ and beseech all men of all ranks and degrees to consider well and to take heed that none of us doe now reject Christ as the Iewes did They looked for the performance of the promise that the Messiah should come but because they were stupid and fancied that he should come onely to restore their d Joh. 6. 15. temporall Kingdome they fayling of their expectation in that rejected him when he came to establish the Gospel for that sin were rejected by Christ as we know they yet are to this day It will be worth your consideration to consider that because they so much sought their owne safetie and doted upon a temporall deliverance e Joh. 11. 50. Joh. 18. 14. God turned that verie meanes which they used to secure themselves to be their utter ruine God forbid it should be so with England yet surely our case is dangerous for f Math. 12. 25. a kingdome divided against it selfe is brought to desolation That the Kingdome is divided The dangerous Divisions that are in England I need not tell you all men see and feele it the bloudy divisions between the King and his Parliament have already almost brought it to desolation but there are yet more dangerous divisions then that If we that are Protestants were but against the Papists as the Papists are against us such a division would make happie Union in the end But we that are Protestants are divided among our selves in our judgements or rather fancies we run after shadowes and leave the substance we use our liberty to a liberty to sin to invent broach new errors and spend our time to make Proselytes to our selves to compasse our own ends some are Proud some are Ignorant some are Ambitious some are Covetous some are Prophane some Treacherous some Tyrannicall oppressors c. all seeke their owne ends but few seek Jesus Christ nor the good of others we seek the Goods of others and our owne good by others ruine Surely this is cause of complaint and I conceive is some ground of those generall complaints that have from everie Countrie come to mine eares Now I being bound in conscience to the uttermost of my endeavours to seek the reformation of Religion the peace safetie of the Kingdom I shall with sorow of heart in all humble submission present these 20 complaints of the people to the view and consideration of the Inhabitants of the Cities and Counties of England c. they are the peoples not mine First Twentie severall Complaints common among all sorts of the people related That the Government and Discipline of the Church is not setled according to the rule of Gods word in uniformitie of worship nor is there a restriction to Sectaries and Schismaticks but they increase dayly and grow numerous in all places of the Kingdome to the griefe of the godly and wel-affected Minister preaching against Minister and one Congregation separating from another as if Christ the head of the Church were divided or as if there were more Christs then one hereby the illiterate and unstable people are either seduced or discouraged not onely to the disquiet of the Church of God but to the disturbance of the peace of the Kingdome insomuch that men rashly say they know not what Religion shall be set up c. Secondly That the secret evill councells that have or have had influence upon the Parliament the Committee of both Kingdomes and the Councells of Warre which have retarded and crossed severall good designes are not discovered nor questioned this I doe but name it is a generall complaint Thirdly That the Nationall Covenant by the providence of God Ordered to be taken in all the parts of the Kingdom within the Parliaments power hath beene much neglected by the Committees of Counties and in the Universitie which besides Gods anger is some Impediment to the peace of the Church and Kingdome it being war●antable by example in Scripture to urge it see 2 Chron. 15. 13. Ezra 10. 5. 8. Fourthly That the Committees of severall Counties doe tyrannize over the people and contrarie to the Ordinances of Parliament and intention of the Houses exact Taxations with much rigor and partialitie to the great discouragement of the people both Gentlemen and Yeomen c. even as in the dayes of Rehoboam which put the people upon resolutions of setting up a third partie Fifthly That manie men of meane qualitie indigent unfit and unexperienced men have crept into places of greatest command and trust in severall Counties and Committees and severall Gentlemen of qualitie education knowne abilities and of undoubted fidelitie are neglected and contemned by c. it is a cause of division and contention in Committees Cities and Counties Sixthly That men