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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	great_a	see_v	think_v	3,978	5	3.8757	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77374	The vvounded conscience cured, the weak one strengthned, [sic] and the doubting satisfied By way of answer to Doctor Fearne. Where the main point is rightly stated, and objections throughly answered for the good of those who are willing not to be deceived. By William Bridge, preacher of Gods Word. It is ordered this 30. day of January, 1642. by the committee of the House of Commons in Parliament, concerning printing, that this answer to Dr. Fearnes book be printed. John White. The second edition, correced and amended. Whereunto are added three sermons of the same author; 1. Of courage, preached to the voluntiers. 2. Of stoppage in Gods mercies to England, with their [sic] remedies. 3. A preparation for suffering in these plundering times.	Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.	1643 (1643)	Wing B4476A; ESTC R223954	47,440	52

The VVounded CONSCIENCE cured the weak one strengthned and the doubting satisfied By way of Answer to Doctor Fearne Where the main point is rightly stated and Objections throughly answered for the good of those who are willing not to be deceived By WILLIAM BRIDGE Preacher of Gods Word 1 TIM 1. 19. Holding faith and a good conscience which some having put away and concerning faith have made shipwrack Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods IT is Ordered this 30 day of January 1642. by the Committee of the House of Commons in Parliament concerning Printing that this Answer to Dr. Fearnes Book be printed John White The second Edition corrected and amended Whereunto are added three Sermons of the same Author 1. Of Courage preached to the Voluntiers 2. Of stoppage in Gods mercies to England with their remedies 3. A preparation for suffering in these plundering times London Printed for BENJAMIN ALLEN and are to be sold at his shop in Popes-head Alley 1642. THis Treatise was once before travelling abroad into the world till it came unto the Author who could not look upon it without much indignation to see how that and in it himself also was so much wronged and abused being so perverted and misplaced besides other Errata in the printing that it was nothing like the Book that was intended so falsly and so contrary to his meaning that the Author may truly say as Martial to one Quem recitas meus est O Fidentine libellus Sed male dum recitas incipit esse tuus O Fidentine a Book of mine Thou printed'st with my will And yet not mine but it is thine Because it s printed ill Much wrong and damage accrued to many by it but such be the times that all suffer in one thing or other and so this may be the more easily born It s now corrected and much amended by the care and industry of a friend who desires to commend the Book unto thy view and serious thoughts upon it To the Reader IT is Gods wont to warn before he smite a people thereby walking himself after his own rule Deut. 20. 10 13. who would have no City to be destroyed till peace hath first been offered to it the sword of the Lord is ever drawn his bow bent his arows prepared his instruments of death made ready his cup mingled yet he doth not use to powre down his plagues untill he have rained a showre of mercie before them he doth not surprise men at unawares God never discharges his murthering peeces till he have first discharged his warning ones pax domini Luke 10. peace to this house was sounded at every doore where the Apostles came All Ages and Nations will bear witnesse to this truth the old world Sodom Pharaoh c. but no Nation or Age can better subscribe to Gods goodnesse and fair dealing in this then we who have been warned sometimes by prodigious signes as by the appearance of that wonderfull Comet An. 1618. as importing some strange changes which we have seen and heard since and as if its last influence might seem to end in this Island vvhen it blazed over England it was seen no more And Herlicius Stargardensis a noted Astrologer held that its influence was like to continue between twenty and thirty years sometimes by his Ministers by his administration of Justice and dealing with other Nations how long hath the sword walked circuit in Cermany and in Ireland sometimes by lesser and lighter judgements how long hath the plague continued in this Citie without intermission sometime by taking many godly out of the world and the removing many others out of the Kingdom who were wont to stand in the gap sometime by a generall withdrawing himself pulling down his hangings not assisting his ordinances c. And unlesse we will wilfully shut our eyes how hath the goodnesse patience bounty mercifull and powerfull dealings of God towards us and for us of late been as an hand put forth to leade us home unto him to cause us to meet him and take warning that we might prevent these wasting calamities that are gathered together in a black cloud as though they meant to empty themselves in a showre of blood upon our heads But we are so far from taking warning that we study to hasten our own ruine almost every one instead of bringing his bucket of water to quench the fire that is already flaming about our ears bring their bellowes in their hands to blow up these coals of dissention in all places so that now not onely is there a Kingdome divided but the head and the members divided and the members among themselves Cities and Townes divided yea families divided Parents against children brother against brether and familiar friends become bitter enemies one to another the most sure symptome and presage of a fearfull desolation to fall upon all unlesse some speedie remedy be applyed to this desperate disease and the great God himselfe become our Phisitian and heale our distempers I shall desire to commend these two Sermons to thy serious consideration in the one thou shalt see there is a stoppage made of Gods mercies who was coming to heal us but we would not be healed the causes are discovered and the remedies prescribed that could we so go to work to open these stoppings and bring God again into the way of his mercies could we see our sins removed and God returned I might then truly say that there would be yet hope for England The other Sermon is a preparative to bear that crosse that so many have already on their backs viz. of being turned out of all our earthly comforts a sad calamity indeed but now too usuall and when so many of our neighbours houses are on fire why should we think to escape scot-free that are as deep in sin as they being therefore forewarn'd let us be for●arm'd and get into God and his favor as that one necessary thing for us all to look after as the onely means to keepe us from sinking unedr the waves that flow in upon all especially on Gods people experience shewing that if we vvill live in the power of godlinesse and not walk in the same excesse of riot with the world we shall make our selves a prey and had need to have our helmets on to latch the blowes that fall upon us and resolve to sit loose from the world that we may suffer the spoyling of our goods with joy and bo able to say with that noble Spartan who being told of the death of his children Answered I know well they were all begot mortall 2. That his goods were confiscate I knew what was but for mine use was not mine 3. That his honor was gone I knew no glory could be everlasting on this miserable earth 4. That his sentence was to dye that is nothing Nature hath given the like sentence both of my condemners and of me Now should we get a stocke

their power How can the people thinke that the Parliament doth any thing contrary to the law of the land when the Parliament are the Judges thereof and the people confesse so and therefore the Doctor may be out of feare for this matter Lastly the Doctor saith That seeing some must be trusted in every Estate it is reason that the highest and finall trust should be in the higher and supreme power and that he should have the best security which is worth ten thousand of his subjects Ans I answer therefore the people do trust the King and his Parliament who are the highest power and Court in the Kingdome and if the greatest and best security should be about the King because he is worth 10000. subjects then surely the Kingdome it selfe should have the best security because the King is ordained for his Kingdom In Fine the Doctor presses the oath of Supremacie Allegeance and the last Protestation upon the conscience and wishes men here to consider their power of resistance and taking up of armes is contrary thereto in which he saith We sweare and protest to defend the Kings person Ans And thus we do by taking up of Arms for what man is there that considers things rightly may not easily perceive that if the Popish party should prevaile which are either about the King or of his Armies I say who may not easily thinke if they should prevail that either our King must be a ranke Papist of a dead man Who knows not that if the Papists get the upper hand though now they cry out for Supremacy Supremacy that either they wil force the King to another Supremacie or else quickly make a hand of him Is it not their opinion What better service therefore can a true subject performe to his Majesties person then by force of Armes to deliver him out of the hands of those spoylers that lye in waite for his pretious soule In the oath of Supremacie we sweare him our Soveraigne to be Supreme in opposition to the Pope or any other particular person How does our doctrine or practise infringe this In the oath of Allegeance we swear to be his liege Subjects according to Law and that which we doe is so And in our Protestation we protest to maintaine the Kings Person the Parliaments priviledges the Subjects rights and our Religion if we doe not take up arms in this time of Popish insurrection how can we with good conscience say that either we defend the Kings Person from the violence of Papists which according to their owne Doctrine we know shall be made upon our King or the priviledges of Parliament whose power is to send for delinquents and those that are accused before them even by force to bring them into their triall or the liberty of subjects who have this given by nature to defend themselves or the truth of our religion which notwithstanding all flourishes we have seen such invasions made upon and now in our conscience under more hazard because those that are opposite unto it doe professe to defend it whereupon I presume that every good man that maketh conscience of his waies considering these things will not be backward to advance this publicke designe And though the Doctor be frequent with his damnation both in this Section and in others charging men from this resistance upon paine or damnation yet a setled conscience will be no more scared with the Doctors damnation then with the Cavalliers God damne us Sect. VI. NOw the Doctor comes to the application of all in these two fast Sections in which I intend not to trace him into all that he saies The application of all being left unto what men see and know experimentally yet something I must say unto these Sections In this sixth he tells us that we doe not walke up unto our own● principles which are as he saith that our resistance must be omnibus ordin but regni consentientibus that is as he translates it agreed upon and undertaken by the generall and unanimous consent of the whole States Ans But is this a good and true translation of the words The Doctor may know that when the matter comes to a scrutiny in the Regent house the matter is to passe with the consent of the Regents non-Regents and heads of the University and though all doe not manimously as one Man consent yet it may be omnibus ordinibus consentientibus But he saith How shall conscience be perswaded that this resistance was agreed upon by an unanimous and free consent of the States for saith he he that knowes how the Militia in which this resistance chiefly began was brought in with what opposition especially in the Lords House and by what number that at length was voted also how the like proceedings was voted since how that a vote passed by a few upon the place though it have the power and condition of a vote for the formality of law was not passed in full assemblies cannot be perswaded in conscience that this is such an unanimous free generall consent as makes the judgement of the whole Kingdom Ans To the which I answer that by the like reasoning there is no act of Parliament or Law shall be of any force and he may as well question any law that is made for when was there ever any law made which all did unanimously as one man consent to By the constant law of the Kingdome though there be not so many in either House which have been present at these late affairs of the Kingdome it is to be acknowledged for an act of Parliament and so the judgement of the whole Kingdom Then secondly he tells us That we doe not walk up to our second principle viz. that our resistance must be meerly defensive for saith he those that are first in armes cannot be upon the defensive part page 22. and then page 21. saith he who were first in armes He that can number the succession of months and weeks in his Almanacke may decide this he shal find that armed men were thrust into Hull the Militia set up c. Ans To which I answer If those that are first in armes cannot be on the defensive part then surely Davids act was not meere defence as the Doctor saith before for we finde in Scripture that David and his men were gotten into armes before that Saul followed him surely the Doctors Almanack hath not all the months in it for he begins his account only at the businesse at Hull wheras before that the King came in hostile manner unto the Parliament gathered forces about Windsor but this must be left unto mens eies and experienced knowledge it being matter of fact Then the Dr. I know not how comes to enquire into the cause of these armes wherein after some flourishes he saith Would an● man have defended the revolt of the ten Tribes if Rehoboam had promised to conserve their liberties Saying further what shall we then generally thinke of this

who may not see how tender the Parliament hath been of the Kings honour Therefore they have not beene willing to beleeve that those Declarations that came out in his name are his owne Therefore they charge all that is done on his counsellors not on himselfe herein being fully like unto David who though Saul came out against him yet did he not impute that unnaturall warre unto Saul himselfe so much as unto those that were about him saying unto Saul If the Lord hath stirred thee up against me let him accept an offering but if they be the children of men cursed be they before the Lord for they have driven mee out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord 1 Sam. 26. 19. Therefore also when the Parliament hath written any thing that might in the least measure reflect upon his Majesty I have observed that they never did write so but to vindicate and to cleare themselves from some aspersions first cast upon them and when they did write so like Shem and Japhet they took a garment and went backward desiring rather to cover then to behold any nakednesse in our dread Soveraigne And woe be unto them from the Lord but I will not curse them with the curse of Cham who put his Majesty upon such actions whereby any nakednesse should bee discovered Then the Doctor comes to the examination of those fears and jealousies which have possessed the people which hee saith are raised on these grounds report of forraine powers to be brought in the Queens religion the resort of Papists to his Majesty his intercepting of meanes sent for the reliefe of Ireland To which he answers first That the report of forraine invasions given out to keepe the people in a muse the easier to draw them into a posture of defence are discovered in time to have been vain But saith he If there be now any foraigne aid comming towards the King as all Christian Kings cannot but thinke themselves concerned in this cause it will be just for him to use them against subjects now in armes Answ To which I answer That it doth not appeare that our fears were vaine because forraigne invasion hath been prevented for we may rather thinke that therefore we have not been invaded by forraigners because the Parliament hath beene vigilant both by sea and land to prevent them But who doth not see that so far as lies in the Doctor he doth invite forraigne forces into the land and so stir up other Princes for to send them and our King for to use them Whether this be agreeable to an English Divine or an English Subject I leave to be judged Then he saith The Queens religion is no new cause Answ To this I say nothing but leave it being matter of fact to the judgement of eyes that have seene actions whether there be no more cause of jealousie now then at her first entrance And thirdly for the resort of Papists and the Kings entertaining them the Doctor strengthens the intrust of it with that example of David we may see saith he what manner of men were gathered to David in his distresse and how Ziba was rewarded Answ To which I say this only how can the Doctor make it appeare that those that were gathered to David were men of another Religion from David and of such a Religion that by the State was counted rebellion who also by the State was to bee disarmed Which if the Doctor does not make good this instance is nothing to our case And 4 for the matter of Ireland I leave that wholy to the Parliaments Declarations who without doubt know the proceedings of those better then this Doctor and what conscience enlightened will not rather rest for satisfaction upon Parliamentary Declarations then upon this Doctors assertion in this matter The other things in this Section are mostly matter of fact and therefore I must referre them to mens sense onely I cannot but observe how in all things the Doctor cleares the King and casts dirt upon the Parliament but still with this cunning when he hath laid the greatest aspertion upon them he retracts in these words I speake not this to cast any blemish upon the wisdom of the great Councell like as before when he had said what he could or happily dar'd for the Kings ruling by conquest he comes oft with this kinde of speech This I speak not as if the Kings of the land might rule as Conquerours and this is an ordinary sleight when men have preached against purity and holinesse with as much bitternesse as they can then they thinke to come off in this or the like manner God forbid that I should speak against purity and holinesse But let him in Gods name cleare the King in what he may as wee are all bound to doe as farre as we can but can he not cleare his Majesty without such foule aspertions cast on the Parliament of whom he saith thus page 30. Men are higly concerned to consider whether they also that are the maine directors of this resistance doe discharge this trust they are called to whether to divest the King of the power of Armes and to use them be to defend his Person Right and Dignity Whether the forcing of the Subjects property to the advancing of this resistance and the imprisoning of their persons for deniall be the maintaining of the right and priviledge of the subjects Whether the suffering of so many Sects to vent their Doctrines and to commit such unsufferable outrages upon the worship of God with such licentiousnesse be a defending of Religion and the established worship of this Church Answ These are foule charges upon the Parliament How can the Doctor say I enter not this discourse to cast the least blemish upon the Parliament Well blessed is the man that condemneth not himselfe in that thing which he alloweth The Doctor confesseth That man to bee subject to higher powers and that we are to submit to them he confesseth also That the Parliament is the highest Court in the Kingdome and it ought to judge what is the Law they having therefore judged this resistance to be lawful if the Doctor shall resist this their declarative power saying it is not law and cast such dirt and reproaches upon them doth he not condemne himself in the thing which he alloweth But in this last clause of his booke he summons conscience to answer upon paine of damnation and I make no question but when men shall have seriously considered his booke the verdict that conscience will bring in will this be As in the sight of God I have perused this Treatise of his and I finde it injurious to the King to the Parliament to the Divines of this Kingdom to the other Subjects to the Treatiser himself To the King for hereby he is put on and exasperated against his Parliament and Subjects further engaged in this war and encouraged to take the assistance of Papists who if he conquer by their meanes what Protestant good subject doth not bleed to thinke what will become of him To the Parliament being charged with the blood that is spilt in these warres with the miseries of Ireland with the Schismes and Sects of this Kingdome with open hypocrisie pretending one thing and intending another To Divines all whom he makes to be of his judgement To the Subjects denying to them the liberty given them by God and Nature and the fundamentall Lawes of the Kingdome and calling in forraigners upon them To the Treatiser himselfe who hath needlessely imbarked himselfe in a bad cause And lastly to the Scripture and God and his great Officer on Earth Conscience the Scripture being wrested God dishonoured and the conscience deceived Now the Lord grant that whilst we speake of Conscience we may in all things make conscience of our waies for multi conscientiam habuit adjudicium non ad remedium As concerning the King Give the King thy judgements O God and thy righteousnesse unto the Kings Son And as concerning the two Houses of Parliament Let the mountaines bring grace unto the people and the little hills thy righteousnesse Let the King and Queen and people praise thee O God yea let all our England praise thee FINIS