Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bring_v	king_n	see_v	1,770	5	3.2429	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60636	Innocency and conscientiousness of the Quakers asserted and cleared from the evil surmises, false aspersions, and unrighteous suggestions of Judge Keeling expressed in his speech made the seventh of the seventh month at the sessions-house in the Old-Baily ... : wherein also is shewed that this law doth not concern them, they being no seditious sectaries, nor contrivers of insurrections, nor evil-doers, therefore no just law is against them.	Smith, William, d. 1673.	1664 (1664)	Wing S4308; ESTC R16062	11,414	18

truly follow him out of the strife which is among men into Love Peace and Unity which was before Oaths and where there is no need of any And the Swearing Strife and Confusion Rebellion and Blood-thirstiness is among the false Christians who have the Name of Christ in their Mouths but want his Spirit and Nature being inwardly ravening Wolves and by their fruits are they known And it is true which a Bishop of Englands Church once said that Among false Christians Oathes are not to be regarded and amongst true Christians there was no need of them Our Leader is Christ whose Voice we hear and follow and whose Riches and Wisdom we partake of And the poor and ignorant souls are such as creep into houses ignorantly called Churches and lead silly women captive who are laden with sins and led aside with divers lusts ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth While we were in Englands Church we our selves were such as knew not the Physician of our souls and so were full of putrified sores and unsoundness and no health was in us and we did those things we should not do and left undone those things we should do c. which is the states of Englands Church still as the Members thereof confess in their common Service so doth not divers lusts lead them and are they not ever learning and ever ignorant And do not many thousands of them go down to the Pit without the knowledge of that precious Truth which makes free from Sin Let God's Witness in the Consciences of its Members answer Our Interest which we desire to cary on is Truth Righteousness and we shall rejoyce to see it established though we are counted as the filth of the earth and the off-scouring of all things and not sit to live in this the Land of our Nativity yet we have and do approve our selves friends to our Nation and since the Lord hath made us a People we have sought and endeavoured its temporal and Eternal Good and have not been found contriving nor acting evil against Persons or Governments since we were brought to the knowledge of that Truth we profess Therefore what ground of suspicion have we given to our cruel Persecutors that they should suggest and surmise so much evil of us that our Design is Rebellion and Blood But what cause or occasion did harmless Abel give bloody Cain to kill him Consider and see the same is now Judg. Now you shall see how this Principle of not Swearing tends to the Subversion of the Government First It denies the King the Security he ought to have of his Subjects for their Allegiance which Oath they deny and security by bond is not so good for thereby they are not engaged in Conscience and they will only wait for a convenient season to forfeit their Bonds without hazard and make sure work in overthrowing the present Government and secure their own securities but an Oath binds the Conscience at all times and that they cannot abide Again this Principle tends to subvert the Government because without Swearing we can have no Justice done no Law executed you may be robbed your houses broke open your goods taken away and be injured in your persons and no Justice or recompence can be had because the fact cannot be proved the truth is no Government can stand without Swearing and were these People to have a Governmet among themselves they cold not live without an Oath Answ. If this Judge had the Mind of Christ he would not speak after this manner for Government was before Swearing and may be without it and Oaths of Alleagiance are but a novel thing to Government hatched and imposed in the Apostacy and was not among the true Christians whose Yea was Yea and their Nay Nay in all things and the word and promise of a true Christian is security sufficient and their Consciences are bound to perform what they say and promise as firm as they that Swear There hath been no want of Swearing in these and other Nations called Christian yet what subversions turnings and overturnings and treacherous dealing hath there been among the Princes and People thereof and many have sworn to one Governour and Government and then to another and so to a third and may be ready to swear to any that get to the helm of Government and these Swearers and Conformers to any thing that is uppermost make little conscience of Oaths so they may save themselves from suffering and if we were or had been of this spirit we need not have suffered so exceeding deeply in our persons and estates in the time of Oliver and the other Powers And it is envy which blindes the understanding of this Judge that makes him charge us with not believing what we say when we say It is not lawful for us to take an Oath and that we have a Design to carry on and therefore will not Swear Allegiance to the King Now if he did believe what he saith of us that we should assert what we do not believe or were so void of Conscienciousness then how can he in reason expect that an Imposed Oath should be so much binding to us if we could be forced to take it especially since it is a maxime of their own that forced Oaths are not binding And this Judge and all such would do well to consider what weight their Oath hath upon their Consciences whereby they are enjoyned to do equal Law and Execution arightly to all but how this is performed set the wise in heart judge when they go about with groundless Suggestions and Suspitions against an Innocent People to instigate both Juries and Country against them We are such as desire the good of all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty under them and have never yet been found Designers or Contrivers of their Destruction Therefore the greater is this Judges evil to endeavour to make us odious among the People and the unfiter he appears to be our Judge being full fraighted with enmity against us without cause and a Judge ought to be impartial a man fearing God and judging for him and not for men such Judges Judgement will answer the righteous Principle of God in all Men and such are a terror to the evil doers and a praise to those that do well and the Lord is with such in Judgement That which subverts undermines and destroys Governours Governments and People is Cruelty Oppression Tyranny Sin and Rebellion against the God of Heaven who hath power to give the Kingdoms of this World to whom he pleaseth and who so rules in Righteousness and answers the just and righteous Principle of God in all men needs not fear subversion or undermining 't is the evil doer that is filled with fear and terrour round about We are not the Obstructers of Justice nor the Cause of it our witness against any evil

doer shall be as true as any that take Oaths and if false our penalty the sawe with false Swearers And further Witnesses under Moses's Law had no Oath administred to them though the crime bore witness of reached life but if any bore false witness the same punishment which should have been inflicted upon the person witnessed against should be insticted upon the false witness and witnesses which thing we desire may be done unto us So then the fault is in the Law and the Judges of it which denies true and faithful Evidence which in conscience they can believe except it be under the Ceremony of an Oath It is a shame for Christians to have a jealousie of each others testimony except they Swear it was enough in the first age of Christianity to confirm any testimony without an Oath to say Christianus sum or I am a Christian. And if no Government could have been without taking of Oaths the Author of all true Government and Rule would not have said Swear not at all but swearing Oaths and Strife is among men in the fall and degeneration and not among true Christians where it will remain till they know the Restorer of all things take away the cause of it which is sin Judge Whereas they pretend in their scibbles that this Act against Conventicles doth not concern them but such as under pretence of worshipping God do at their Meetings conspire against the Government This is a mistake for if they should conspire they should then be guilty of Treason and we should try them by other Laws but this Act is against Meetings to prevent them of such Conspiracy for they meet to consult to know their numbers and to hold correspondency that they may in a short time be up in Arms. Answ. Our Writings which he calls Scribbles are words of Truth and pretend no more than is true for we are not the persons committing those Crimes the Act expresly provides against except we under pretence of Tender Consciences do at our Meetings contrive Insurrection as late experience hath shewed and meet also under coulour and pretence of Religious exercise and so make this Pretence of Religion a Cloak to carry on and cover so me other Design which we never did for we meet indeed and in truth to wait upon God and to worship him Therefore this Law concerns us not if it be not strained beyond the expressed Reason of it in the preamble by our cruel Judges who may be compared to evening Wolves which are greedy to devour and it is time enough to try us by this Act or any other Law when we do and commit the fact the Law hath expresly provided against We meet not to consult and to know our numbers and to hold correspondencies nor to be up in arms in a short time for so to do is Conspiracy which he as good as confesseth and acknowledgeth that we are not guilty of for he saith if we were he would try us by some other Law But these are evil suggestions and wickedly imagined against us in order to destroy us this is unrighteous Judgement and God will plead our Cause in the consciences of our Adversaries Judg. I had the honour to serve the King at York upon the Tryal of those wicked Plotters and we found that those Plots was hatched and carried on in these meetings and we hanged up four or five of the Speakers or Praters whom we found to be chief Leaders in that Rebellion Answ. It is and hath been our portion and lot to be numbred among Transgressors by that envious spirit which seeks our ruine though we have been found no hatchers or carriers on of trecherous Designs against any at our Meetings and he might as well have compared us to those Members of Englands Church hanged monthly at Tyburn Judg. I warrant you their Leaders will keep themselves from the Third Offence we shall not take them if we could catch their Leaders we should try them by some other Law which if executed will take away their lives Answ. We have no Leader but Christ Jesus who is the Captain of our Salvation and he is our Shepherd and we hear his Voice and learn of him and are the Sheep of his Pasture and in our Consciences we are bound and ingaged because we love Him and his Paths of Purity to follow Him who leads our Souls to rest But for such which the Judge means by Leaders who have been made instruments to turn our minds from Darkness to Light and from the power of Satan to God they together with us are resolved to keep to the Grace of God the true Teacher which teacheth to deny Ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present world and by this Grace which appears to all men are we taught and preserved from offending against any Just Laws once and so he may well warrant himself and others that they will not offend three times And his blemishing those he calls Leaders as if they put on others to suffer and slee themselves is altogether false for it is well-known in the Nation that many of them are in prison where some of them have long remained for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance upon which account divers of them are permunired and many suffer for meeting howbeit if you should be suffered to take away some of their lives which they can freely give up if called to it yet know that the God whom we serve is unlimitted and will open the mouths of thousands to bear witness against Unrighteousness So when you do take and catch more of them you will have no evil to lay to their charge nor nothing to accuse them for but about matters appertaining to God's Kingdom as Conscience Faith Worship and Religion which the Civil Magistrate ought not to intermeddle withall it belonging to God alone to whom all must give an account for such things and people ought not to be imprisoned and persecuted and their lives taken away about Matters of Religion for if a People have a false faith and a misguided conscience and are by reason of this faith and misguided conscience exercised in a false worship and Religion these People deserve the more to be pittied informed and dealt lovingly and tenderly with than to be persecuted imprisoned and destroyed and so sent quick to Hell this is no Christian Love nor the way to Restore Judge This is a Merciful Law it takes not away their Estates it leaves them intire only banisheth them for seven years if they will not pay an hundred pounds and this is not for worshipping of God according to their Consciences for that they may do in their own Families but forsooth they cannot do that but they must have thirty forty or an hundred others to contrive their designs withal Answer As he began his Speech in falshood and enmity so it ends in the same for if this be a Merciful Law as those that