Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	conscience_n	open_v	write_v	2,760	5	5.9989	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47280	The sober conformists answer to a rigid conformists reasons why in this juncture no alteration should be made in the government of the Church of Scotland.	Ker, William.	1689 (1689)	Wing K346; ESTC R8036	26,163	32

unanswerable challenge of monor polizing the specious name of the Church of Scotland to us excluding them because we have receded from old standing Ecclesiastick Laws without any other warrand then new Civil Laws contrary to them and upon that account charge us with Schism unwarrantable separation from them having no Evasion left us but that we are the more numerous part of the Clergy which scarce makes our Separation tolerable far less justifiable But that which is as unbecoming us as unacceptable to them is your pleading no Alteration which will stumble your Readers with prejudice in the very entry For how ever difficult it be to prove the necessity of such an intire Alteration as Presbyterians desire yet they can easily pitch upon many things which we cannot ingenuously deny should be altered And the book entituled the Reformed Bishop writen by one of our Clergy opens a wide door to them Yea we are all of us too sensible that our interest has been scrued up to so dangerous heights by the Laws that there is no stable Basis left to establish it in the Consciences of those who own it And we have Reason to fear lest those odious superstructures of the Magistrates unbounded Supremacy over the Church such rigorous impositions on the Consciences of Subjects and so cruel persecution of all Dissenters which by an excess of Zeal we have erected to be the securities of our cause may so much discommend the whole Fabrick of our Government as to endanger the total ruine thereof And I have alwayes thought it a great flaw in the Episcopal Government in Scotland that as it hath been built upon no other Foundation and advanced by no other Methods then Civil Laws rigorously executed so these are framed in such an Arbitrary and persecuting stile that the least turn of Affairs will render them as odious as before they were grievous to all moderate and judicious Men of both parties And finally it surpasseth my imagination what hath incouraged you to add in this Juncture It s evident that the whole present Juncture of Affairs hath a bad Aspect on us and we can expect little Favour from such as duely consider the same What hath infatuated you to such an unaccountable confidence Alace your Reasons can never cancel these unhappy Addresses to the King so fresh in the remembrance of all Men That of the Primat sent to King in name of the Clergy to thank him for the Liberty granted to the Papists so full of base sycophantry and abject flattery that even the Popish King was ashamed of it which I fear be printed at Fdinburgh before the Convention though ye tempt them not to the remembrance of it and that other most unseasonable Testimony of our Loyalty expressing our Detestation of the P. of Orange his coming to England as an unjus t and unnatural Invasion signed by the Bps to their eternal s hame Neither will ever this Paper of yours counterpoise the P. of Orange His Declaration in reference to Scotland wherein we are represented as the grievance of the Nation and the necessity of an Alteration insinuated as clearly as could be done without directly reflecting on our Laws which though he doth not approve yet he Judgeth unseasonable as yet to condemn Nor Finally can all ye say for our vindication outcry the loud voice of the Rigorous Persecution and violent Oppression and innumerable Grievances which may be too justly charged on our party and the Presbyterians are too apt to represent and aggredge so as to extort pity and compassion even from the hardest hearted of our Grandies without such an irritating remembrance as you are But to come to your Reasons Presbyterians will think them weak enough though ye had not wronged them by such a vain Title I wish ye had forborn the first which is too Theologick and so not only discovers the Author to be of the Clergy who are little regarded when pleading for their own Interest but doth also give our Adversaries too large a Field wherein they are best acquainted and most expert Ye might have satisfied your self only with Politick Arguments which are the most proper and suitable to our cause and would seem to be the Sentiments of some Judicious Pers on of another Quality agenting it and so be a great deal more acceptable and considered with the less prejudice But I see no kind of reason in your Paper which Presbyterians cannot answer without any difficulty and with great advantage Your first Reason hath three things in it which though it be sufficient simply to deny because meerly asserted yet our Adversaries will not pass them so bluntly they give too fair an occasion to them of giving the sharpest and sorest wounds to our cause that it can meet with and of prepossessing mens Cons ciences with such evident Convictions in their favour as will render all your other Reasons ineffectual for perswading them to favour us The I. thing in it is That Episcopacy hath the advantage of Apostolick Constitution a very fair Plea and plausible Pretence which ye would exceedingly oblige the greater and better part of your Beethren by making good But how can we expect this of you when the Learned Hamond who excells all that ever took that Plea in hand for him notwithstanding all his wrested Criticisms of Scripture and stretched Allegations from Antiquity hath not fully satisfied us in this point so that all the Sober and Learned among us except a very few Judge Church Government a point of Indifferency not peremptorly determined by Christ or His Apostles and that Episcopacy is preferable only for its Conveniency And whether the Report be true that Dr. Burnet hath acknowledged its Inconveniency for Scotland I know not But I have heard some of the most Judicious of our Clergy ingenuously confess that though to a People unbiassed with prejudices as in England that were to chose their Church Government Episcopacy is preferable to Presbytery yet to the People of Scotland who are possessed with such invincible prejudices in favours of Presbytry as the Church Government which commenced with their Reformation from Popery and has been establi shed by so many full and free Church Judicatories and Ratified by the Civil Sanction of three Successive Parliaments wherein three Kings Successively were Personally present and with no less In s uperable prejudices against Episcopacy as a Relict of Popery which amongst other corruptions they were Reformed from and as an Innovation Introduced Advanced and. Established by Arbitrary and Violent Methods not only without but against the Consent of the Ministry and finally as an incouragement of Ignorance Profanity and Error to the paving the way for Popery to such a prejudiced and byassed People Episcopacy is both inconvenient and intolerable And Presbyterians do so well know that the sentiments of many of your Brethren differ from yours in this point that they will not only redicule you as Ignorant of the Scriptures wherein the Names