Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	find_v	great_a	time_n	2,975	5	3.1999	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94481	To the Honourable the House of Commons assembled in high court of Parliament: the humble petition of the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and commons of the City of London, in Common Councell assembled. Together with an humble representation of the pressing grievances and important desires of the well-affected freemen, and Covenant-engaged citizens of the City of London.	City of London (England). Court of Common Council.	1646 (1646)	Wing T1445; Thomason E366_15; Thomason E355_16; ESTC R201264	7,491	14

inviolable from neglect infringement scorne and defamation and by your Civill sanction effectually impose it to bee sworne by all without exception under some certaine penalty as best shall seeme unto your Honours to bee duly inflicted by your Religious Justice upon the wilfull contemners of the same And here give us leave in all humility to offer what seems to us both just and necessary That such persons as have not taken and shall not take the Solemne League and Covenant or having taken it are manifestly disaffected to the ends therein expressed especially in point of Religion may not bee countenanced imployed in or advanced to places of publike Trust as being a discredit to your Government dangerous to the Kingdomes and a hindrance to the Reformation of Religion By so doing you shall preserve this great Oath of our God from contempt violation a sin which we humbly conceive is the chiefest cause of most of those miseries and calamities that Gods just hand hath brought upon us II. When you did at first conclude upon that Sacred Covenant wherein now you have solemnly engaged both your selves and us how glad were the hearts of all the faithfull in the Land and what rejoycing was there at the Oath as in the dayes of Asa Wee hoped then that our Religion more precious then our lives which was that the truly godly had chiefly in their eye had beene so secured that all the malice power and policy both of men and divells should never have beene able to overturne the same But with bleeding hearts we speake it how is it that for all this such an inundation of errors Schisms Heresies is broken in upon us which if not speedily prevented by your Wisdomes and opposed by your impartiall Justice wee feare will have its dreadfull effect to the totall subversion of the power of godlinesse Wee are even strucke with astonishment that after such a Covenant there should such blasphemies bee uttered to Gods highest dishonour that such Hereticall opinions should bee broached to the never so much vilifying of the truth that such Schismes should bee acted and fomented to the renting and dividing of the Church that the Government established should bee so much defamed and opposed to the contempt of the Parliament in words in bookes in practise by the Sectaries of these times who yet seeme as men under Sanctuary finding nothing done unto them for the hindring of these mischiefes or the punishment of these enormities God hath done great things for us and hath shewed us great Salvation as at this day then woe be unto us if these be our returnes for so great blessings Trusty and Right Worthy Patriots wee know not whither to goe in these our sad distempers but unto you whom God and this Kingdome hath betrusted with what is most precious unto him and dearest unto us the protection of Religion the preserving of it in Doctrine pure and in Discipline from contempt and scorn is that for which above all things else wee beseech your Honours againe and againe Here wee would lay the stresse of our desires and expresse the urgency of our affections Wee thinke wee can never say enough for our God and for his Truth What are our estates our liberties our lives unto us if the Arke of God be taken if that bee gone the glory yea the life of our lives is departed from England Wee tremble to thinke if a remedy bee not suddenly applyed what will be the issue of these things Wherefore our humble desires are renewed to your Honours That you would be pleased to give Authority to suppresse all such from publike Preaching as have not duely beene Ordained whereby their gifts for the Ministery and their soundnesse in the Faith might be evinced As also separate Congregations the very nurseries of all damnable Heresies That an Ordinance be made for some exemplary punishment to be inflicted upon Heretiques and Schismaticks that your utter dislike of them and their proceedings may be manifest to all the world which had beene made long since to appeare by a well-setled Reformation had not his Majesty denyed his consent to the Bill for the Assembly so often presented to him by both Houses according to your owne Declaration in answer to his Majesties of the 23 of October 1642. And that all Godly and Orthodox Ministers who labour in Gods husbandry may have encouragement some course being thought upon in your Wisedomes for their competent maintenance the Lord having so ordained That they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel so shall Religion flourish the wrath of God be averted the lips of the just shall blesse you and a gracious recompence of reward from Gods most bounteous hand shall surely wait upon you And forasmuch as the welfare and safety of this Kingdome doth next under God in the preservation of true Religion depend upon the fundamentall Constitutions of the same and the maintenance thereof which fundamentall Constitutions doe most eminently appeare in the calling of that Great Councell the Parliament and in electing of Members for the same wherein most conspicuously doth shine the Liberty and Property of the Subject here wee can doe no lesse then make it our hearty prayer unto your Honours that you would be pleased to give strict order that Writs for a free election without delay may be issued to all places where Knights and Burgesses for Parliament are yet to be chosen and to provide that the people bee not prejudiced in their free choice either by force feare letters promises or sollicitations of any That the Subjects liberties being defended and preserved they may be encouraged and better enabled to serve your Honours and the Publike IV. And here wee not omit to hint unto your Honours the exorbitant practices of many Committees and Committee men who have such an influence by meanes of their Authority upon the people they being at their wills and in their power to doe them a displeasure that they dare not doe otherwise then obey their unlawfull Commands without the inevitable hazard of their peace and safety through which meanes tyranny is exercised by one fellow subject upon another and justice and equity cannot enter The cries of all sorts of people throughout the Land are growne so loud against the people of this vocation and profession by reason of those grievous oppressions that are continually acted by them that in tendernesse of affection towards our brethren not being ignorant or insensible of our owne sufferings in this kinde and the great dishonour accruing to the Parliament therby that we cannot but be earnest suitors to your mercy and justice that they may be dissolved V. The God of your salvation through the timous helpe of his willing people hath now expelled your adversaries and brought us safe through the Red sea of our feares and troubles to the borders of that sweet Canaan of our desired peace and what now remaines most worthy Patriots but that in thankfullnes to God for