Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	author_n	good_a	sin_n	1,450	5	5.1627	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91335	A publick plea, opposed to a private proposal, or, Eight necessary queries presented to the Parliament and Armies consideration, in this morning of freedom, after a short, but a sharp night of tyranny and oppression. By one who hates both treason and traitors.	One who hates both treason and traitors.	1659 (1659)	Wing P4156; Thomason E983_18; ESTC R203346	2,835	7

A Publick PLEA Opposed to A PRIVATE PROPOSAL OR Eight necessary QUERIES Presented to the Parliament and Armies consideration in this morning of Freedom after a short but a sharp night of Tyranny and oppression By one who hates both Treason and Traitors May 28. th LONDON Printed for L. Chapman at the Crown in Popes-Head-Alley 1659. May 28 A PUBLICK PLEA Opposed to A Private PROPOSAL Or Eight necessary Queries c. 1. WHether it be not a needfull Testimony of thankfulnesse to God who hath wrought so happy a change in the Common-wealth and dissolved a new syranny become hereditary so unexpectedly so speedily so easily and without bloudshed that the Parliament appointed a solemne Thanksgiving for such a signal mercy received both in behalf of the whole people delivered from so manifest a slavery against all our fundamental Laws and also in reference to themselves whom God hath so highly honoured as once more to make them his chosen instruments and to put into their hands so great an opportunity to make this Nation with the Dominions thereof a happy free and flourishing Commonwealth 2. Whether they be not obliged more then ever any other preceding Parliaments were to chuse and bring into all their Councels Committees and Offices Military and Civil men of unbiast judgements and unblameable conversations who have not acted arbitrarily under the usurped power of a single person in despire of Parliaments And whether it be not proper for this present Parliament who changed the Government from a Kingly to a Commonwealth to introduce speedily into their steads who have so shamefully forsaken the Good Old Cause onely such as would not act in the Councels of Oliver nor in the Army or were otherwayes for their fidelity outed of their Commands nay most arbitrarily casheered imprisoned banished and oppressed in their persons and estates untill such be rewarded and restored in all respects who will not suspect the present power in all their other enterprises how spacious soever 3. Whether therefore the present Representative ought not to lay aside in themselves and zealously to oppose in any of their Members all perpetuation of power ambitious self-seeking designs how cunningly soever covered or contrived and to have ever in their mindes that precept of our Saviour given expresly to such as should be Christian Magistrates in future ages whereby he plainly pleads against all Courtly pride and pomp in Christian Governments as Heathenish and unholy forbidding them to be like the Kings of the Gentiles exercising Lordship over the people to be called Benefactors Protectors or by any other such like proud vain-glorious titles ye shall not be so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve Luke 22. whereby is signified the moderation which ought to be in Christian Governors looking more at their burden and the discharging of the trust which they have undertaken then any outward Honors or Commands over others which onely puff up Aspirers transforming them into Parasites and Apostates Courtiers and Canaanites on the Good Old Cause 4. And since it hath pleased Almighty God of his mercy so highly to honour our Army at least the honest Officers and Souldiers in it as to touch them with a Remorse for their failings and backslidings from that Good Old Cause against all Monarchy Tyranny or usurpation upon spiritual or civil Liberties to which God by his continual prospering them and they by their frequent Vows Remonstrances and Declarations have so often born witnesse and now also hath given them both grace to confesse openly and power to make amends for what they have through infirmity done amiss by restoring the Parliament to their Supream Authority from whence they were most audaciously and lawlesly expelled whether it would not be yet their Christian duty and worthy of so good beginnings to examine seriously their own hearts between God and themselves how they can hope to make their confession of their backsliding appear real sincere or sufficient in the sight of God or man so long as they do not onely not confess withall and lay open the enormous faults and misdoings but also extol and magnifie the unhappy memory of their Grand backslider who either seduc'd or compelled them to those errors and sins for which they now professe to be so truely penitent 5. Whether any man who truely hates his sin can love or praise the memory of him who was not onely the Associate but the Author thereof especially considering that what ever he did worthy of praise he did before the time of his breach of faith to his Superiors and whilst he stood fast and fixt to the Good Old Cause wherein God prospered him he never since having done any thing from the time of his aspiring to Monarchy against his faith and manifest judgement but lived to his own sorrow and perpetual disquiet day and night nay which is worse to the sorrow astonishment and scandal of all good men who little expected such things from him and dying disappointed of his utmost designs left the State Bankrout of Treasure Honor or Interest by unprofitable Wars without advice of Parliament and the Commonwealth impoverished by decay of Trade and lastly the Army deprived of many faithfull Officers yet too honest for ought we finde to be taken in reduced to those Arrears which they themselves complain of in their late Representation such as they never felt nor are like to feel under the liberal pay of a free Common-wealth if God in mercy and men in Justice vouchsafe to make us such 6. Whether it were not an Act of prudence in the Parliament becoming true Statesmen to look back upon the Records and Examples of former ages what hath been done heretosore by Nations or Common-wealths delivered from Tytanny to their Tyrants living or dead to their Memory Posterity and Relations to the Tarquins to Manlius Capitolinus in Rome onely for affecting Monarchy though before he had saved the Capitol and their Gods from the Gauls What turned Collatinus further off his Consulship into banishment fell it not thus forth in the free State of Florence with Cosmus the first founder of Tuscan Tyranny As the Commonwealth of Greece highly honored such as suffered for their Countrey so did she not on the contrary not onely deprive such of all place and power but also deeply punish all Tyrants and Traitors to the Supream power of our Soveraigne Lords the people did they not thus serve Catiline and his Crew of deceitfull Senators thus Millain served the Swissers thus the Hollanders in the infancie of the Belgick freedom served their Parasites and Apostates striving to strangle their Liberties by conspiracies and complots How ●ared Themistocles Miltiades Cumillus Coriolanus c. for their over-ingrossing of power what became of others whose statues were tumbled down and whose bones and dust was tost into Tyber and marked with other ignominies 7. To do by their example in such a manner is it not a duty incumbent upon us rather then to reward their infamy with our own reproach in their remainders so as no ambitious Hireling hereafter may presume upon the like Apostacy by hoping that either himself shall escape punishment dead or living or that his posterity at last shall go away with good rewards for his Treason and Treachery which to this man and his family hath for ever blotted out the memory of his former merits 8. Lastly is it not a happy presage of a publick spirit where a people are zealous and jealous in pursuance of their publick Liberties in not permitting any such growth of power as may probably or possibly supplant it And seeing the least error or male administration of Government is or ought not to be easily forgiven how stands it us upon for the future to take Tyranny by the foretop to consider our Counsellors elected and our good old Martial Officers rejected Have not the late practises of notable and abominable memory taught us to trace Tyranny forth of one form into another in this sense ought we not to eye substances before shadows lest swerving from the Rules of a free State or through ignorance of the principles thereof we appear unarmed against the Rapes of old and up-start Aspirers or Monsters of mankinde coveting to consume their Countrey FINIS