Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	king_n	parliament_n	repeal_v	4,000	5	12.1621	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50840	Mysteries in religion vindicated, or, The filiation, deity and satisfaction of our Saviour asserted against Socinians and others with occasional reflections on several late pamphlets / by Luke Milbourne ...	Milbourne, Luke, 1649-1720.	1692 (1692)	Wing M2034; ESTC R34533	413,573	836

under inward and more mortal Distempers shew'd no forwardness to be cured by an Almighty hand When the Wise-man describes the Sluggard's Vineyard and shows us the Fences thereof broken down the Surface of it covered with Thorns and nettles and the Sluggard himself so far from regarding it that he stretches himself upon his Bed and crys Yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep he characterizes the general disposition of Men under the Influences of Hell over-grown with all manner of Impieties unguarded against all manner of Temptations and yet dull and stupified under all their Miseries When we reflect upon this general Captivity of rational Creatures to Vice and Folly when we reflect upon that spiritless Weakness they groan'd under when we see them lazy in their own nearest concerns prejudiced against all the ways of their own Deliverance pursuing Bubbles with a ridiculous Earnestness and imagining it their greatest Interest to undo themselves we cannot well persuade our selves that any ordinary means could help the miserable or relieve the oppressed or let the Prisoners go free The chains and violences of Hell are not easily broken and the attempts of Weaklings in the Case would but encrease the sorrow of the Sufferers but when the blessed Jesus reveal'd himself in the fulness of time when he began by mighty works to exert his power when he commissioned his Disciples to go through the Cities of Israel and to preach Repentance and to work Miracles of all sorts when those Disciples returning again to give an account of their Ministry told their Master that even Evil Spirits themselves were subject unto them through his name our Saviour observes Luke 10.18 that he saw Satan like lightning fall from Heaven he had put an end to that height of power the Devil had pleas'd himself in before He had seem'd to himself to be like the most High invested in an absolute Dominion o'er the World but he was now fallen from his Height and should no more be able to deceive the Nations with that success he had formerly had for the Gospel then preach'd set before Men in plain terms the true and only good they were to aim at it laid out the means tending directly to that good it shew'd Men their frequent Failures indeed but an infallible Atonement for them in the Death of their Saviour and shew'd the Holy Spirit ready to assist all their pious Endeavours after Happiness by which the Works of the Devil were effectually destroyed Another Reason of our Saviour's coming into the World was That the World might be convinced that the Law given by Moses to the Jewish Nation was really the Law of God and that it could not therefore be repeal'd by any Power or Authority whatsoever but his who was God The last part of this Reason is a necessary consequence upon the first for in all Countries the sanction and repealing of Laws require one and the same Authority at least nay where it 's possible the annulling of a Law requires much the greater Power thus among the Romans the Edictum Praetoris or the Praetor's Edict had the force of a Law and Obedience was absolutely required to it only it might be rescinded by a Rescript of the Emperour whose Power was indisputable both over the Praetor and his Law but the Praetor could not repeal an Imperial Rescript nor his own Edict after an Imperial Confirmation thus God can vacate all Humane Laws when and where he pleases because he 's superiour to all Laws but those flowing from his own Nature but it 's a damning Sin for Man to go about to vacate God's Laws because Man in his highest state has no other Authority but what he derives from God who cannot be supposed to give any Man an Authority contradictory to his own or that should interfere with it but among Men as in the Roman Empire it required an Imperial Power to repeal an Imperial Sanction so among our selves an Act of Parliament can be repealed only by an Act of Parliament the King in Parliament being in all respects whatsoever the supreme Power of the Nation Thus we see the Parallelism between both the making and disannulling both Divine and Humane Laws so that it appears altogether rational that the Mosaic Law if originated from God should be repealed by God As for the Law of Moses that it was given by God and only by him he that reads the Scripture and owns that to be the Word of God must of necessity believe and the Jews to this day are so strongly possess'd with that Assurance that all the World knows the vacating that by One who appear'd but a mean Man is one great prejudice the Jews make use of at this day against Christianity they are certain God gave their Law and every part of it they are as certain that the same God only could change or take it away they conclude as our Socinians do That Jesus was a meer Man and no God therefore they look upon him as very wicked for pretending to put an end to that Law Now if we wanted the Scripture to confirm us in that Knowledge a bare Reflection upon the behaviour of the Jewish Nation at all times is enough to satisfie us that God was the Author of their Law For if we look upon them as esteem'd by their Neighbours they were never lookt upon as the veriest Fools and Ignorants in the Universe that Ptolomey who procur'd the Translation of the Old Testament into Greek thought the Books of their Law worth procuring at a vast expence so he and several adjacent Nations at all times were ready to enter into terms of Confederacy with them c. But were they never so wise or knowing in any thing they never found any reason to shake off the Yoke of the Law of Moses they own'd it upon all occasions and as at first when they fell under any extream Affliction they had immediately recourse to the Law and to the Testimony from whence they re-confirm'd their Apprehensions of the true God the God of their fathers and apply'd themselves to Him so afterwards they employ'd themselves earnestly in vindicating that Law from any Aspersions which their Enemies might lay upon it and in endeavouring to procure Proselytes to that Law from among the neighbouring Nations But now we must have a very mean opinion of the Jews if we can imagine a whole Nation should submit themselves to a body of Laws for a course of several ages that they should believe it their indispensible duty to obey all the particular Injunctions of a Law that was extreamly nice and difficult to be observ'd such a Law as in its Ceremonial part was very troublesome and heavy yet necessary enough considering the Temper of the People it was given to and the great end and aim of it that they should own the obliging force of this Law notwithstanding those many Rebellions against it which they were