Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	death_n	king_n	treason_n	2,352	5	9.2422	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93745	The mystery of iniquity somewhat laid open: in a letter to the present Governour wherein is also contained an history and recital and proposal of sundry things to be made known and remembred, and to be done accordingly. In that letter which I carried to thing house at Kensington on November 3. 1691. which was there burnt (as near as I can remember) the words contained therein was to this following effect, viz.	Stafford, Richard, 1663-1703.	1692 (1692)	Wing S5124; ESTC R232302	23,922	25

that Kingdom which contains Riches Honor and Power unto him whose Right it is which he unduly took away by Force Subtlety Wrong and Falshood But here again the Pride of Heart doth struggle That it would not be for his Honour and Credit to be so easily perswaded out of Three Kingdoms one whereof he got by the Sword by a Cripple Beggar Mad Person a strange look'd Fellow whose Visage is marred more than other Men and in a word by him who hath undergone almost all the Indecencies and Shame that are incidental to Humane Nature Whereas it is not I but the Grace and Truth of God which appear forth through me which is able and also will if trial be but once had do all this here spoken of And how know we but in very deed for this cause hath God raised him up for to shew in him the Power of his Word and Truth which can and also will bring this Stranger down Isa 25. 5. 26. 5. from that State into which he is as yet exalted into that Station he was in before and that the Name of God may be declared throughout all Europe and that his Truth may be manifested and cleared throughout all the Reformed Churches thereof as it hath been delivered and all along asserted by me his unworthy Instrument The Devil did at first tempt him to this Sin and Transgression by promising him more Happiness Good and Pleasure but now having had experience of it He is wearied in the greatness of his way and he knows and is sensible that he did before live as Happily as now and that all his Devices which he hath brought to pass are not worth the exposing himself to so much Sin and Danger as he hath done and he would as easily give it all up for the real Contentment he doth find it to yield ● But then the same Tempter doth continue him still in the same Sin and Transgression by such and such Thoughts or Devices Pleasure and Pain are the Hinge upon which all our Actions turn and as with Desire of the first he was led into this Transgression so he being now filled surfeited and wearied with that his Soul is now become Restless Yet he is afraid to cease turn from and to put away the Evil of his doings for fear of Pain and Inconvenience as of Temporal Death or Disgrace Which last seems to be somewhat the more because of the Prosperity of his Arms and he hath such a vast Multitude of People of all Ranks and Degrees of his side Which again is the more increased by reason of such an one his Opposite whom if the People have not altogether hated without a cause yet sure I am They have cast Iniquity upon him and in Wrath they have hated him more than there is Truth and real cause for There are many li●e Thoughts in the Heart of the Present Governour whereunto I or the Reader may give a satisfactory Answer as they do arise But as for his being afraid least his Father-in-Law should put him to Death for Rebellion and Treason I my self have proposed that way in Page 12. of my Reprinted Book Entituled Things Plain and Weighty c. That our Rightful King be Restored and admitted upon these Terms That the most General Act of Oblivion and Indemnity might pass without any Exception to any manner of Person whatsoever and not so much as One Man be put to Death and I my self by reason of whose publishing of Truth he doth the more fear will therefore stand Hostage or Guarranty for him or his Friends to answer Body for Body Life for Life Member for Member so to procure and effect it that there shall not be the least harm done to his outward Person But only he shall be in Stata Quo with all the Advantages he was in before his Debts and the Charge of his Expedition paid either to return into Holland or to live at Kensington and none shall molest or hurt him Indeed this thing of Temporal Death is very Terrible unto a Man that hath led a sinful Life to fall by a violent and shameful way and then to appear before God unto whom he must give account for all the Actions of his past Life and then to have a final irreversible Sentence pass upon him of eternal Blessing or Condemnation So that Men had rather though it is with the Addition of more Sin and Guilt go on towards the day until they come to die or descend into Battel and Perish not considering that then also there must be the same yea and worse account to be given by reason of more Sin committed and longer Impenitency which is Treasuring up Wrath against the day of Wrath and involving themselves into more Stripes and greater Misery For if it should be so as here surmised it is better to truly and un●eignedly Repent of Sin and venture the Temporal Danger here supposed than to live longer only to disobey and provoke God the more But thou who art as yet called King William shalt be as much assured and ascertained as that thou now Livest and Breathest that thy most ●ull Pardon shall be had And if thou dost further doubt thereof to make things as sure as possible thou mayest with the Forces under thy Command remove into Holland or into some distant Parts of this Island until thou hast his Word ratified into a Law that all things shall be done according to thy reasonable Desire and agreeable to this Great Time which is now drawing on Of the Reconciliation of all Things for Like Prince like People this is what hinders them also from returning to their Due Allegiance unto their Rightful King They have acted so many things against him that they are afraid if he should be again instated and put into the Actual Administration of the Regal Power Office and Authority that he would be Revenged on them and pr●ce●d to Punishment which may extend to Life Member or Estate but none of them shall suffer in the lea●● and they are Adversaries to the King Who Dicta●e otherwise which thing must be included as a great necessary and essential Term of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and this must be made as sure firm an● rati●●●● unto them as any thing in the World can be N●● it shall be made much more sure than now it is that they shall not lose their Lives and Estates in opposing a Powerful Forreign Enemy whom they have made to be their Enemy and they have provoked and drawn him in upon themselves It they will now before the more severe Decree come forth yield unto and accept of these Terms of Mercy and Reconciliation it shall be made more certain unto them that they shall be every one forgiven for whatever they have done in this Matter then now they have false reason to think that they shall escape by Iniquity that is by making the Government as they call it as secure and strong as ever they can by Imprisoning

before it is made known upon Earth and so it remains notwithstanding they should forget or lose the knowledge thereof And it shall be done with thy ●el● and People and the Officers under thee according to the real Significations and true Meaning of those words which God hath published by me his Servant And though ye have burnt that Book yet I have by me more Copies of the same Book one whereof for thy own reading and p●●usal thou mayest have whensoever thou wilt And besides what is there printed God doth keep the same in my Memory and I am ready to write again according to the same words which I wrote down there and now ye have given occasion to add many like words As p●rti●ularly I did shew some of them the last Month in a letter to the Earl of Nottingham which I suppose either came not to his hands or he despised or concealed it So that if I would Honour thee in the sight of ●●y People and only signifie the same in a written Copy this will not answer the End for I would have it made known unto thee So that I am forced to publish even some more trivial Matters which do not deserve to be made publick But I am willing that several Copies should go out if perhaps one may come unto thee or to thy hearing thereof And also when it is printed thou canst more easily read it than my hand-writing which is bad and difficult But then further it is agreeable to the Method and Will of God that what Sin or Evil his Creature doth secretly He will both reprove and punish before all ●●r●el and before the S●● 2 Sam. 12. 12. Nothing is secret but that it should be made manifest and nothing is hidden but that it should come abroad So that even for secret private and hidden Sins open Reproof is proper that others may fear and take heed of the like things But much more for the things thou dost openly the same may in like manner be reproved from the Word of the All seeing God notwithstanding He now keeps silence and set in order before you I am certain that things of a thousand times less Moment are printed and published If I could not get Admission to deliver my Books in Person unto thy self and thy Wi●e as I was before shewed that I should not then the Lord directed me to leave them however some way or other for that would turn for a Witness against you Which also ye are sensible and apprehensible of And therefore perhaps that was one reason why ye did act this kind of Revenge and Spite against me as to send me rather unto a w●rse place than that of Dragons to be covered with the shadow of Death but this is among the Ravings of D●●racted Persons which hath some Representation of Hell and the Howlings of Damned Spirits But ye did not know o● at least not throughly consider that this will make it turn for a yet greater Witness and Testimony against your selves So that to excuse the Sin hereof ye will one day wish that the Lord would impute M●●ness to you for as the Wise Man saith The Heart of the Son● of M●n ●● 〈◊〉 of evil and Ma●ness i● in their Heart while they ●●ve and after that they go to the 〈◊〉 Eccles 9. 3. So the more W●se and discerning of them would be glad if the Lord would reckon their former Sin and Evil as Madness so that they might either esc●pe or have their Punishment mitigated after Death But the All wise and All knowing is not as Man that He should be deceived He will minister true Judgment unto the People in Uprightness And He will ●●pute this Act of yours not as Madness but as Malice Yea to be Rebellion as the Sin of Witc●craft and such Stubbornness which is as Iniquity and Idolatry because ye have rejected the Word of the Lord 2 Sam. 15 23 He will adjudge it to be an higher degree of Rebellion and a worse sort of Stubbornness than that here spoken of In that ye were not only contented to reject his Word but ye did Imprison his Servant who came in the Message and Ministration thereof But here ye may be apt to say Why then thou shouldest have carried away thy Books again when thou wert b●d so to do and then perhaps this Con●inement had not happened unto thee But I did not dare neglect what the Lord commanded me lea● I should have been Disobedient to the Voice of God within me And accordingly then I sp●ke in as silent and friendly manner as one Man talketh to another that I might deliver my Books in Person but they would not admit me nor suffer me to leave them any where in the House but they turned me out of D●●rs And as I was going out I did not cry nor lif● up nor cause my Voice to be heard in the Ho●se nor did I shew the least sign of Madness 〈◊〉 E●●r●vagancy in my Deportment but only as I was ju●t gone without the Doors I drop'd them upon the Ground in a silent and peaceable manner there to remain And this was all my troubling of the Court according to their Phrase for they call it so though I did not speak one word of what was contained in my Books But here somewhat may be observed of the Work and Moving of God for like as when the Lord looked unto the Host of the Egyptians through 〈◊〉 Pillar of Fire and of the Cloud He troubled the Host of ●he Egyptians Exod. 14. 24. And as is signified by what is written 1 Sam 16. 5. T●e Elders of the Town trembled at his coming and said Co●est thou Peaceable So at the co●ing of Christ ●●o was the Word and the Word ●as God John 1. 1 into the World 〈◊〉 Herod ●he King 〈◊〉 these things he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him M●t● ● 3 In like manner each Manifestation or Rumor or Report of the true Wo●d o● God doth cause a Motion or Trouble in 〈◊〉 Hearts of the Inhabitants of the Earth though they do only apprehend or guess somewhat but they do not know distinctly what it is So that let not People think as if any strange or new thing happened That Richard 〈◊〉 coming with the Word of God and his Righteousness the outward Testimony whereof being Written and Printed was the very same by Interpretation and his Re●l Int●●tion as if he spoke out every Sentence Word and Syllable into their Ears but he did not open his Lips as to utter any thing audibly contained in it Yet by doing so far only he did trouble whom ye call King William and Queen Ma●● and all their O●●icers and Servants with them But I do hereby tell them f●rther That this Troubling is a short and little Earnest of a worse thing that shall befall them and ●●at worse 〈…〉 Likeas the Fi●e at Kensington-House was a Sign or Warning of ●hat should come upon his or their own Hea●s for