Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	just_a	law_n	2,761	5	4.7834	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92209	Little Benjamin or truth discovering error: being a clear and full answer unto the letter, subscribed by 47 ministers of the province of London, and presented to his Excellency, January 18. 1648. To inform the ignorant satisfie the desirous of the concurrent proceedings the Parliament and Army. In taking away the life of Charles Stuart, late King of England, together with, &c. / By a reall lover of all those, who love peace and truth. February 17. 1648. Imprimatur Gil. Mabbot.	Reading, John, 1588-1667.	1649 (1649)	Wing R449; Thomason E544_4; ESTC R205982	14,178	22

sowing sedition in their hearts beget in them an evill opinion of Authority and make them ready to rise up in rebellion against the Parliament and Army upon any opportunity from the Enemies at home or from abroad Are not these your owne New * modelized dividing destructive Principles contrived against the safety of the People and tending to the dissolution of the Parliament and Army making way to all kinde of ignorance errour superstition and licentiousnesse By wedding the People to your own dreams instead of Gods lively Oracles and the plain free and powerfull dispensation of the Scriptures which is the way of Gods Spirit to guide his People into all truth be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reape God will render to every man according to his works for there is no respect of persons with him Eighthly whereas you say to the Generall and his Councell We desire you would not be too confident in your former successes if God have made you prosper while you were in his way this can be no warrant for you to walk in wayes of your own c. I answer This is one of your former pretences multiplied by supposition and cannot be proved by truth of Scripture and reason well grounded thereon and therefore to this with the rest of your generall charge in the last part of this your Letter I shall by Scripture and reason prove that the Generall and his Councell are now in Gods way as much as ever and may expect successe and a blessing from God therein First because the Generall and his Councell do and have performed their duty in al their proceedings concurring with the Parliament to execute justice upon the grand Delinquent and also upon some of the chiefe of his * wicked Counsellors and adherents Secondly for that the King their conquered and captivated Prisoner by the rule Lex talionis ought to be done unto as he did unto others and this Adoni-bezek a Heathen King acknowledged saying As I have done so God hath done unto me and they brought him to Jerusalem the place of publike Justice and there he died and although Agag said Surely the bitternesse of death is past yet Samuel in this very case said As thy sword hath made women childlesse so shall thy mother be childlesse among women and Samuel hewed Agag in peeces before the Lord in Gilgall Thirdly in that the King with al his Heathen Adherents took counsel together against the Lord and against his annoynted saying Let us breake their bonds in sunder and cast their cords from us and making war upon them they compassed the camp of the Saints about even the beloved City Mount Si●● where the Saints receive their Commission from the great King King of Kings to have a two edged Sword in the●● hands to execute judgement upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to bind their Kings with chains and their Nobles with fetters of Iron to execute upon them the Judgement written this honour have al the Saints Is there not then a strong tye of holy writ upon our Parliament and Army to prosecute and execute Judgement not only upon the head Malignant the King but also upon others the heads of his wicked adherents although none others have been so exemplary before them Fourthly for that the King did use false dealing in pretending the Kingdomes welfare and safety sealed with most solemne abjurations and execrations * against himselfe his Throne and Posterity thereby to hide his iniquity from the eyes of the people that he might the more easily seduce them to beleife and to joyn with him and was not this the highest cruelty and means that could be to bring Gods heavy wrath upon his * owne head and to dethrone his posterity for the Lord will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine * As a roaring Lyon and a ranging Beare so is a wicked Ruler over his people And are not such destructive beasts to be taken and destroyed Also it is written a man that doth violence to the blood of any person shal fly to the pit let no man stay him God makes no destinction of King or Begger he is no respecter of persons but the soule that furneth it shall die no man ought to stay him from it King * Ahab and Queen Jezabell must dye because Nabeth is unjustly cut off and his Vineyard taken from him Moreover the dogges must eate her flesh and lick up his blood and also his Son King Joram being slaine must bee cast into the very same plat of ground And was not the King the occasion and contriver of the first blood-shed And did he not persist to destroy multitudes of his most faithfull peoples lives and estates many yeares together and can wee thinke God hath forgot to be just Ahab and Jezabels sin was covered over with as much piety as might be but God will not he mocked for whatsoever a mansoweth that shall he also reap God will 〈◊〉 through Kings in the day of his wrath Fifthly for that it was the Parliament and Armies duty when God had delivered the King into their hands and left him at their dispose * to execute judgement upon him and to secure themselves and the People who have alwaies stuck close unto them in their greatest distresses hath not the King been a corrupt fountaine poysoning every streame and rivolet he had accesse unto and would he not have done so still if he had not been cut off and is not justice executed a good meanes to establish the faithfull of the Land in rest and peace with their lives Estates Lawes Liberties and Priviledges antiently and inherently in themselves and have they not with much expence of blood losse of friends and hardship now through Gods singular goodnesse regained all upon a * good just cause and title by right of conquest is it not then their duty to keep their own which God hath possest them of did not Jephthah and Israel do so with that which was the Amorites by originall right they onely won it by the sword and did weare it Sixthly did not the eminency of the Kings person agravate his sinne and judgement and make him successelesse and was it not Coniah King of Judahs case As I live saith the Lord though Coniah the Son of Je●●●akim King of Judah were the Signet upon my right hand yet will I pluck him thence And againe Write ye this man childlesse * a man that shall not prosper in his daies for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Iudah Wisdome is better than weapons of War but one sinner destroyeth much good And is it not great wisdome that they have executed speedy judgement upon the King and his adherents and thereby endeavoured as much as may be to preserve the

have of late been put in practice against lawfull Authority especially by the late Remonstrance and Declaration published in opposition to the proceedings of Parliament as also by seazing and imprisoning the Kings Person without knowledge and consent of Parliament I answer Men who are authorized and intrusted by the Parliament to act for the Nation in generall as the Lord Generall and his Officers are may not be able at all times to stay for particular directions and yet attempt nothing against lawfull Authority so long as they act onely for the good and safety of the People as they did and therefore are now cleered by the Parliament for their so doing You might also very well re-mind how they remonstrated to the Parliament what they would do upon good grounds long enough before they proceeded to action all which time there was no Ordinance or Act of Parliament made to restraine them as there is now made to justifie them in all their proceedings Fourthly and whereas you accuse them of their late actions towards many of the Members of the Honourable House of Commons forcibly hindering above one hundred of them for sitting in Parliament and imprisoning many of their persons calling it an unparalleld violence many of them being knowne to be men of eminent worth and integrity who have given most ample 〈…〉 of their reall affections to the good of the Parliament I answer That if they did seclude so many and imprison many of their persons yet their worthines either as Members of the House or men of eminency and integrity who had given most ample testimony of their reall affection to the good of the Kingdom was not the cause therof as you say but their persisting to do an unworthy act after they were admonished pursuing their designe in behalfe of the King against the safety of the People and some other unworthy actions of some of them preceding that one act You have the like case in * Ad 〈…〉 jah Joab and Abiather men of eminent worth and two of them of great trust and integrity who had suffered with David in all his afflictions Joab exposing his life in all Davids and the Peoples warres for the safety of the Kingdome all his daies save onely in this last action consulting with and helping Adoniiah Davids eldest Sonne alive and not yet declared against as Heire apparent to the Kingdome Nor had David then declared for Solomon whom God had designed to be Ruler of his People and yet upon this occasion not onely Joab must have his other personall transgressions put into the Ballance with this Nationall one and be put to death but Abiather also although the Lords Annoynted having by this one offence forfeited his Authority and deserved to die must be thrust out of the High Priesthood and be sent to Anothoth to his owne Lands as a peculiar favour shewed to him in that his life was spared because he bare the Arke of the Lord before David and yet his father and all his family save onely * himself were destroyed by Saul for Davids sake and Abiathers Sons did also hazard their lives to give David intelligence when he fled from Absolom Fiftly whereas you say page 4. Remember the advice of Solomon Feare thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with them that are given to change c. And then say The feare of God therefore whose Ordinance is violated when Magistracy is opposed makes us afraid of medling with those who without any colour of legall Authority meerly upon presumption of strength shall attempt such changes as these are c. I answer That what you have peremptorily asserted is not proved and may be retorted for St. Paul Rom. 13. 1 2. having laid downe every Christians duty to the end that they knowing these Higher Powers when lawfull Kings Rulers c. may not resist them he sets them forth by their constitution viz. that Rulers are not a terrour to good works but to the evill Wherein he implies this Doctrine That what Rulers soever Kings or others who decline their duty and contrary to their constitution become a terrour to good works and justifie the evill viz. wilfully and publiquely perverting the Law and do ordinarily introduce an Arbitrary Tyrannicall and unjust course acting against the publique good and safety to the ruine of the People who have intrusted them such do thereby lose their power and cease to be Rulers and ought to be declared * and proceeded against for such For these Tyrants calling good evill and evill good are abomination to the Lord and do forfeit their Authority thereby by the testimony of the Gospell St. Paul Acts 22. 45. appealing unto Annanias as High Priest in the Jewish acceptation and as he had esteemed of him when he was a persecutor and received Authority from him being one of the Estates of the Elders of Jerusalem St. Pauls saying I persecuted this way to wit which he now professed unto the death binding and delivering unto Prison both men and women as also the High Priest doth beare me witnesse but within a few daies after he denieth his Authority and Rule calling him the accident whited wall a colour that makes faire shew but hath no substance for in truth Ananias had forfeited his Authority and Rule And St. Paul gives the reason saying For sittest thou to judge me after the Law and commandest me to wit arbitrarily and tyrannically to be smitten contrary to the Law And therefore he affirmed That he knew not that he was the High Priest although in the Jewish acceptation he both knew and had appealed unto him as High Priest and confirmeth it with Scripture saying It is written thou shalt not speake evill of the Ruler of the People This truth considered how then could you charge his Excellency and the Councell It have violated Gods Ordinance by opposing Magistracy without any colour of legall Authority seeing they have concurred with and are justified by the Parliament in all their proceedings against the King and for that he long since had forfeited his Power and Authority much more than Ananias detesting himselfe of all and dis-obliging this Parliament Army and People of their Allegiance to him and also subjected himselfe unto the power of the Parliament and Justice of the Lawes of this Land for the following reasons First because the Kings of the Gentiles were alwaies by humane institution intrusted for the safety of the People and are no sacred annoynted Types of Christ King of the Church as the Kings of Iudah and Israel were and received their institution to that end from God Secondly because our King hath been a terrour to good works and justified the evill and evill doers for many yeares before he raised warre upon the Parliament and People by forcing Ship-money and Loanes by his Privie Seale and Monopolies of all kindes oppressing and persecuting his Subjects in an Arbitrary way by Star-chamber and Counsell-board Censures