Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bishop_n	council_n	great_a	1,784	5	3.7492	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71196	Utrum horum, or, God's ways of disposing of kingdoms and some clergy-men's ways of disposing of them.	Lloyd, William, 1627-1717.; William III, King of England, 1650-1702.	1691 (1691)	Wing U231; ESTC R1713	63,859	133

them As it was just and necessary on those former Accounts so this makes it a pious Cause and therefore the more worthy of a true Christian Prince It has been judg'd so by them whose Names we have in great Veneration We have the Examples of our own Princes here in England in the best of Times since the Reformation These the Reader may sind collected to his hand in an excellent Book that hath been lately published But this may as well be shewn in the Example of them whom our Princes chose to follow as their Paterns namely of the Christians in Primitive Times and especially at the time of the first Nicene Council In these times we find that Constantine and Licinius having shar'd the Roman Empire between them had passed a Decree together at Milan for Christianity to be the Established Religion And when afterward Licinius in his part of the Empire would have oppress'd it contrary to Law for that cause Constantine the Great made War upon him and in prosecution of that War thrust him out of his Empire For which he was so far from being blamed by any Christian in those times even by those that had been Licinius's Subjects as most of those Bishops were that sate in the Nicene Council that they all gave him the highest Praises and Encomiums and blessed God that had sent them that happy Deliverance by his means Eusebius was Licinius's Subject and he afterwards writ the Life of Constantine the Great in which they that please may read whole Chapters to this purpose As that is a just War which is made upon just and sufficient Cause so the Effect of such a War being a Conquest is Just Conquest being the way by which a Kingdom or Dominion is taken from a Sovereign Prince against his Will and by which another Prince gets it into his Possession as often as this happens there arises a Question between the two Princes whether of them hath a Right to that Kingdom or Dominion For the deciding of this Question it must be by such a Law as is common to both the Parties whose Rights are to be judg'd by it That cannot be the Law of the Kingdom for tho the Prince that is disseiz'd was obliged by that Law while he was in possession yet now it seems he is not and it never was a Law to the Prince that is now in his place It must therefore be a Superior Law such as is common to all Sovereign Princes in their Affairs with one another and that as hath been already shewn is ordinarily the Law of Nations I say ordinarily because there is yet a Superior Law namely the Law of God whether written in our Hearts which we commonly call the Law of Nature or whether an express Revelation from God such as was sometimes given to Men in Ancient Times either of these may derogate from the Law of Nations For this being made up of Customs observ'd by Princes and States among themselves is always subject to the will of him that is Lord of lords and King of kings But whether or how far this may alter the case will be considered afterwards at present we are only to consider what Judgment can be made of it according to the Law of Nations By this it seems to be plain That the Right should go along with the compleat possession So as that wheresoever this is once settled whether by length of time or even sooner by a general Consent of the people there it ought to be presumed there is a Right at least there ought to be no farther Dispute of it There seems to be the same reason for this that there is for the Law of Nations it self for if that Law was ordained for the peace of mankind this quitting of possession must be a part of it for there can be no end of Wars otherwise p. 45 46 47 to 51. This appears by Jephtha's Speech to the King of Ammon that had Chemosh for his God Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy God giveth thee to possess So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before as them will we possess p. 51. It is by way of Conquest that God puts down one and sets up another For so the Babylonian Empire was put down by Cyrus who set up the Persian in its stead The Persian Empire was put down in their last King Darius and Alexander set up the Macedon in its stead The Macedon Kingdom was put down in their last King Perseus and the Roman was fet up in its stead All these Kingdoms were changed by Conquests that they made one upon another And so it was by those Conquests that God removed Kings and set up Kings p. 53. I do not say but they would have opposed the making of one of those Conquests namely that of Alexander the Great because King Darius was then living But when they saw they could not Oppose the Conquest being already made then Just or Unjust they submitted to it and having submitted they were subject without any more Controversie Therefore also Just and Religious Kings have reckoned their Conquests among the great things that God wrought by their means and accounted them as much their Subjects whom they had gain'd by the Sword as them that were born in their Dominions Therefore also God hath commanded his people to give Obedience to the Kings that came in by Conquest without any other Title Nay to such as were capable of no other for they were forbidden to set a stranger over them which was not their brother And yet they were Subjects to strangers such as Cushan Eglon and Jabin c. And in Zedekiah's time God commanded them upon pain of death to become the Subjects of Nebuchadnezzar who had made a full Conquest over them and held their lawful King Jeconiab then in Captivity This is plainly the Doctrine of that Convocation which sate in the beginning of King James I. his time and therefore it cannot but be very unjust to charge any Man with Singularity or Novelty that goes in the steps of so many and so great Authors p. 53 54 55. But some Learned and Judicious Men think That whereas an unjust Conquest happens through the Judgment of God for the punishing of a sinful Prince or Nation it doth not appear that he that is the Instrument of this acquires any Right by it more than those Pirates or Robbers who are instrumental likewise in the punishing of inferior Transgressors And if God gives no Right to him whom he sets up then it remains still in him whom he has put down So that he is rightful King still tho he is out of possession and the other is but an Usurper that is in possession In this case if the Usurper has no pretence of Right no prescription of Time no Consent of the people but only an unjust possession how a Subject ought to behave himself towards him even this is a Difficult Question in a most

he brings them in from Foreign Countries Whistling for the Fly out of Egypt or the Bee out of the land of Assyria In plain words stirring up a Pharaoh or a Nebuchadnezzar against them God may employ such if he will tho none is too good for this work to execute his righteous Judgments And when God doth his work by their hands whatsoever the Instruments may be the Cause being so just and so evident as we have supposed All men that see it will say Doubtless there is a God that judges on the earth In the way of Justice But the Pr. of Orange was not a Sovereign Power being dispossest of his Principality God acts as a judge between Two Sovereign Powers when they bring their Causes before him that is when they make War upon one another And when he seeth his time that is when he finds the Cause ripe for Judgment if it proceeds so far then he gives Sentence for him that is injur'd against him that hath done the Injury The effect of this Sentence is a just Conquest and that is the other way in which God proceeding judicially pats down one and sets up another That this may be the better understood there are four things to be consider'd particularly First That War is an Appeal to the Justice of God Secondly That none can be Parties to this but they that are in Sovereign Power Thirdly That to make it a just War there must be a just and sufficient Cause Fourthly That Conquest in such a War is a decisive Judgment of God and gives one a Right to the Dominions that he has conquered from the others That War is an Appeal to God this appears in the nature of the thing p. 25 26 27 28. The Parties to this Appeal are properly such as have no Superior but God For them that have an earthly Superior their Appeal lies to him as God's Minister attending continually on this very thing p. 29. Subjects have no Right to make War without the leave of their Princes For as God has given Princes the power of the Sword so he forbids it to Subjects under a great Penalty They that take the Sword shall perish with the Sword And if he has not admitted them to be Parties in his Court then it is certain that they cannot sue there or if they do they can acquire no Flight by it There is an Original Nullity in all their Proceedings As none have right of making War but they that are in Sovereign Power so neither is it given to them that they may make what use of it they please Particularly they must not make War for the satisfying of their Lusts Ambition Covetousness Vain-glory or the like Nay the righteous God will not hold him guiltless that hath Justice in his Cause and yet in his Heart hath no such thing Lawful things must be done lawfully This Princes must look to as they will answer it to God But as far as man can judge it is a Lawful War that is made for a just and sufficient Cause p. 32. 33. One Prince may make War in defence of another King's Subjects if they see themselves in extreme danger of suffering an intolerable Injury by his Oppression of his own people And in these cases if one Lawfully may then it is certain he ought to do it p. 36. They are so much the more obliged to this when it is evident that the threatning mischief is like to fall upon others as well as themselves and them such as they are bound in Honour and Conscience to protect and support When by fitting still they should certainly expose not only themselves to be ruined but also their Friends and Allies to perish with them in that case Saevitia est voluisse mori it is a sort of bloody Peaceableness it is cruelty to Mankind to go to that degree of suffering Injuries But especially when the Cause of God is concern'd to whom we owe all things and ought to venture all for his sake Surely 't is his Cause when it touches Religion which is all that is dear to him in this world And tho Religion it self teaches us if it be possible as much as in us lies to live peaceably with all man yet as 't is there supposed there may be Cause to break the Peace so it adds infinitely to that Cause when it comes to concern our Religion p. 36 37. There is yet a greater Cause for this when the Suffering-Religion is that which is establish'd by the Laws of that Kingdom and yet the King that is sworn to those Laws and therefore bound to support that Religion is manifestly practising against it and endeavours to supplant and oppress and extinguish it What should other Princes or States that profess the same Religion do in this case They see that such a King is set upon the destroying of their Religion He hath declar'd a hostile mind towards the professors of it in judging them not capable of enjoying their Temporal Rights If he deals thus with his own People what are Foreigners to expect at his hands Can they think themselves secure because they are at peace with him They cannot unless Treaties are more Sacred than Laws Or can they rely upon his Oath But they see he hath broken it And therefore they have reason to judge That either he makes no Conscience of an Oath or he thinks Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks or he hath a Superior that can dispense with him or that will absolve him from the guilt of Perjury in such cases where Religion is concerned In short they are sure of his Will to destroy them and cannot be sure of his Oath to the contrary Wherein them can they be safe But in his want of power to do them hurt But he will not want power if they let him go on for he is getting it as fast as he can He is now strengthning himself by those ways that he takes to be absolute Lord of his own people And he is now weakning Them by oppressing all those among his people whom he knows to be their Friends and Well-wishers He doth both these things together He daily lessens their party and makes them as many more Enemies as he gains Men over to his Religion And if that be such a Religion as pretends to a Right of destroying Men of other Religions knowing this they know what they are to expect When this pretended Right is armed with power it will certainly fall upon them So that they must begin before he is ready for them or else it will be too late to do any thing for their own preservation But as it is necessary for them to do this for themselves so they ought to do it much the rather for the sakes of their oppressed Brethren That by a timely asserting of their own Right they may also deliver them from the Evils they suffer at present and save them from that Destruction which is coming upon