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	king_n	law_n	3,944	5	4.8021	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30660	The bow, or, The lamentation of David over Saul and Jonathan, applyed to the royal and blessed martyr, K. Charles the I in a sermon preached the 30th of January, at the Cathedral Church of S. Peter in Exon / by Arth. Bury ...	Bury, Arthur, 1624-1713.	1662 (1662)	Wing B6189; ESTC R14782	26,212	54

shall we convince these men We will cite them to a new Topick whose authority and evidence they shall never be able to dispute Their own principles Their own protestations Their own first pretences If they have renounced their own principles If they have broken their own protestations If they have confuted their own pretences how can it be but men of such tender consciences finding themselves self condemned should think it necessary to repent of those actions which they cannot justifie and seeing they must needs take shame to themselves blush rather at their exorbitances then their Sobriety I shall not further rake up those actions which the Kings mercy and our charity have buried then is necessary to discover the several changes of that Insect cause whose generation we are thence to conclude equivocall that we may observe the truth of that saying of Cicero clearly verified Qui semel modestiae fines transilierit opportet ut sit gnaviter impudens The confluence of so great a number of Godly men in the great Councel of the Kingdome promised us a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness But behold the sons of Zerviah are too hard for the King and hinder his concurrence with his great Councel Who is he now that hath any Zeal for God and will not do his best for removing such obstructions by taking away the wicked from before the King though against his will That the lawfulness of the means may answer the goodnesse of the end We must make a distinction yea a separation yea an opposition between the power and the person of the King that so the godly party may disobey him in duty and fight against him in his defence under an Engagement for King and Parliament And because this distinction might perhaps appear too nice for grosser understandings the law of God and the Land must for once to promote so good a cause give way to the law of Nature which alloweth self defence in case of imminent danger and that again must allow a little straining our fears and jealousies may justifie that for a defensive war which is made to prevent a foreseen danger which that it may appear real a protestation is injoyned to defend the much endangered take heed King Parliament Laws and protestant Religion established By this chain of fair pretences are a multitude of well meaning men perswaded to Hebron Gods cause inviting them but not to the least disobedience against the King whose power and person they protest to defend But how quickly is the Scene changed they who just now protested to defend the Religion established now fight for the Subversion of a great part of it under the specious name of Reformation They who took up arms only in their necessary defence will not grant the King peace unless he purchase it with delivering up his Sword the power of the Militia acknowledged by themselves to be his undoubted right And is not this now a most manifest rebellion not only against the Laws of God and the Land but against their own protestation and their publick remonstrances But the godly party being once ingaged must needs go on and are unawares grown to be Fresbyterians They go on and after forty messages from the King importuning them for peace partly slighted partly denyed partly yielded too but upon unreasonable terms at last they gain a complete victory and make the Kings most secret papers their Prisoners It might be expected from such faithful Subjects as they profess themselves that they shew him as much civility as Pompey did to his enemy Sertorius whose Letters he hurnt or as the Emp. shewed his enemy the Queen of Bohemia whose intercepted Letters he conveyed according to direction No these Letters discover so many horrid plots against our Kingdome and Religion that they should be very unfaithful to the cause if they should conceal them They are published and what do they discover but this that the Kings intentions were most righteous his desires of peace most ardent his wisdome most eminent his affections to his people most tender and all their own pretences most false What invention could have devised a way more convincingly to justifie the King and to condemn themselves They had declared the King a good but an easie Prince led away by evil councellors and needing the guardianship of the Parliament this they confute by publishing those letters which demonstrate his excellent wisdome and care They had declared the war on their own parts to be meerly defensive and now they publish those letters which make it apparent that the King is most desirous of peace They had declared that the King intended to bring in Popery and now they publish those letters wherein his firmness to the Protestant Religion is most apparent They had declared his intentions to be foul and confute themselves by publishing the secretest intentions of his very heart to be fair and innocent Was not this to give their cause a greater rout then they had given the Kings forces Yet the Presbyterians are Godly men but being so far ingaged they must go on though Absalon be never so impudent The cause is grown so strong as to defend it self not only against the Laws of God and man but against all its own pretences and all appearance of modesty For now all fairer pretences are laid aside and Providence shall bear them out even against their own principles They will do whatever shall seem most advantagious and no law nor religion shall withold them for Providence leads them That is they have gotten power and as long as they prosper their sword shall justifie what the ballance condemns The distressed King no longer able to defend himself applieth himself to the natives of his person and his troubles upon their engagement to assist him and his party with their Armies and Forces and accordingly at first they publish a glorious manifesto declaring it an odious basenesse if they should deliver him up to those Commissioners who were sent for him But having thus inhanced the price they plainly make sale of him for a sum of money with a proviso notwithstanding for his honour and safety in pursuance doubtlesse of their National covenant sir reverence which taught them to suborder the Kings defence to the defence of Religion which they the Gospels life guard could no longer serve without pay What proviso for the safety and honour of the King is no other way made good but by a fair imprisonment and a perpetual refusall of his repeated importunities for a Personal treaty And is not this a plain giving themselves the Lye who pretended to fight only to bring the King to his Parliament and now will not suffer him to come Yet the Presbyterians are godly men but being ingaged are now carried on by Providence to higher actions then at first appeared lawfull and they must be excused if they change their principles with their condition Providence thus calling them to it At last