Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	law_n	people_n	4,588	5	5.1230	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84012	The English banner of truth displayed: or, The state of this present engagement against Scotland. Wherein is soberly discuss'd the lawfulness and necessity of the engagement. The high aggravations of it, as to the Scots. The groundlesness of those of the Presbyteries coniunction with the Scots and malignants, either from religion, their former state-principles, or the demeanour of those those [sic] in authority towards them. Also, a brief series of transactions, whereby it appears that those of the Presbytery have continually endeavoured the disturbing of the peace of the nation, ... and are the ground of this third war now with the Scots and malignants. Together with some occasional assertions; that the laying aside of some members of Parliament, the proceedings against the late King, the changings of the government, is sutable unto the end of all our engagements ... / By a friend to the Commonwealth of England.	Friend to the Commonwealth of England.	1650 (1650)	Wing E3081; Thomason E608_12; ESTC R201940	14,208	16

Apostles that they ever took the Authorities of the world to enforce Religion nor called for fire from Heaven upon such as refused except those to whom Christ said You known not of what Spirit you are nor that they intermeddled in setting Nations on fire if they were not received Luk. 9.54.55 or that mixt themselves in these hum●ne affaires Therefore for the Presbyter in England to Design and Leavy war to plot and conspire to betray and give up their own Nation into the hands of strangers and men of desperate Spirits whose mercies are cruelties and which may end in the des●owring and ra●shment of Matrons and Virgins the ripping up of women with child the dashing of little ones against the Wals the blood and ruine of a Nation their own Nation and all that is dear in it because every thing is not enforced as Doctrine which they lay down because what they propose as the external part of a Kirk is not coercively enjoyned upon all men themselves not being Apostles or able to demonstrate the truth of their assertions from the Scriptures or Apostolical infall●bility hath no ground at all from Christ o● his Apostles but the very contrary is judged by the Scriptures It is evident that such minde their own L●sts and not the Lord Jesus to whom they pretend and therefore when they suffer it will be as evil doers not for the Gospel 2. Then for their State-principle I mean the cause of their first Engagement against the King Was it not because it was contrary to the Law of Nature the safety of the People that one man should be above the Law and dispose of the lives and estates of the Nation as he pleased and when the Parliament desired redress in many grievances to raise Arms against them and tear the very bowels of the Nations and put all upon the hazard rather then to be limited in his unsatiable Will And were not those Gentlemen some of the first the most zealous in Parliament Pulpits and Armies against him and his party and rejoyced that they had a life or estate to lose or engage against him Or could any thing be imagined to express their detestation of him and his party more then came from their Pulpits P●ns and Swords or are any to this day so severe against his party in Sequestrations c. And is not the Cause still the same the same cruel bloody tyrannical principles and parties to be opposed whom if God should permit to have the day would execute such horrid villanies murthers massacres that the Sun never saw and would not rest whilst the face of honesty were remaining in the Nation or indeed this any longer a People Are they converted nay are they not rather heightned in all malicious bloodiness imaginable and will let these men taste of the Cup as deep as others and herein be more miserable to see their friends destroyed before them Why then or upon what ground do the Presbyters after that God hath delivered that King and his party into our hands a first a second a third time in England Scotland and Ireland hath brandished his sword and given it a charge against them to their overthrow and made th●m the destruction of those that joyned to them as well as witnessed from heaven against them in the most signal manner that ever was in the world Why then do they now strike in with that Interest and joyn with those and forraign people to put their Country their Religion their Wives and Children their Lives and Liberties and all that is dear in the world after all our preservations into utter destructions Oh consider this and lay it to heart lest you become ●uilty of the blood of your friends your selves and that which hath been committed by this party lest you fall with transgressors and God tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you Hath any thing been done that is not according to our first Principle and that unavoidable Necessity enforced us Could it be safe after all to leave such a dangerous President on Record as a King unpunished that had endeavoured to bring his Will thorow the Blood of a Nation and the Liberties thereof and had appealed to God to determine the Quarrel by the sword Or were it just to do so to destroy the Servant and excuse the Master that gave the ●mmand and to leave the honest party unsecured after all their sufferings Did not you fight against him in the Feild and was not this as much as cutting off his head at White-Hall onely you mist your Execution but that tooke And when some of us being unsatisfied whether we should kill the King if we met him in a Charge and went to many of you to be resolved Viz. Mr. Calamy Mr Case Mr. Love Mr. Ash c. did not you tell us that we might lawfully kill him How comes now your Judgment to be altered Can the power of Godlinesse be safe amongst these men Can you love their company and joyn with their actions If you say 't was but a party of men did this and that it was not according to the Covenant Did not those that you looke upon betray their trusts and fall into compliance with him contrary to their duty and to the hazard of the Nation Must all be lost because some are unfaithfull And should not they doe justice whose hearts God hath kept upright and called to performe it because others neglected it and would not doe it Was there not a necessity in these things And for the Covenant were you to protect him otherwise then it consists with Religion and the safety of the People Was it not according to Religion that he that sheddeth mans bloud by man should his bloud be shed And could his comming in with a Negative voice and his opportunities thereby to obtaine in a short time all his ends be safe for the Liberties of the People especially there being no conviction upon him or any remorse for his former Actions And was it not a part of the Covenant to bring Delinquents to punishment Was not he one the Chiefe the Principall Or are Covenants of that nature any otherwise then Externall serving onely whilst the end viz. the safety and good of the People is cleare and perspicuous are they any longer binding then the Equitie of them remanies and the Powers that made them so understand it Besides are Constitutions to be perpetuall Hath not and doth not God make many changes in the world and as the good of the people is more brought to light should not Constitutions beare that in their foreheads The safety of the People ought to forme Constitutions and not old Constitutions to determine the safety of the people nor ought every defect to cause an alteration but where necessity enforceth especially where the former proves destructive are not the Laws changed upon this account To what end serves all the discoveries of good in the world if

their account being the sole encouragement of Scots and Malign●n●s The goodness of God having delivered us from these straits and made us instruments to save Scotland themselves and us when we had opportunity and were altring the Constitution of the Nation for the best advantage of Justice and Safety and the King called to account then they rail against the Alteration the Kings Execution and in stead of lying down before the presence of the Lord and blessing his Name for the good he had done in preserving them against their own wills they again encourage the Malignants and Scots vilifie and contemn the Government refuse to own or obey them every Pulpit excommunicating the State out of the Divinity of Truth the R●ght of Authority and the Hearts of the People and have proceeded to assist and joyn with that Nation of Scotland Charles Stuart son to the late King and all the Malignants and Rebels of Ireland who manage the same Cause of the King whom they pray for yet could there not be a Prayer for or Thanksgiving to God be had from them for what he hath wonderfully done by the Army in Ireland but to lay designes for an universal Rising amongst our selves and so upon their own account have laid the foundation of a third war which they call The Cause of the King and the Ki●k the First being God and the King the Second The King and Parliament The first was Bellum Episcopal● and in this the Bishops and the King fell together the second the King fell from and by the Parliament the third Bellum Presbyteriale and in this let them take heed lest the King and the Kirk fall together Thus they prefer their own unrighteous discontents before the Peace of this Nation valuing more the venting of their p●ssi●ns then the Lives Liberties and Territories of England which they had rather and therefore give life unto and assist the Scots and Malignants to the ruine of this Nation then that those whom God hath prospered and put in Authority should govern Little dost thou think ô England Few for●ain Nations are now plotting the ravishing of the wives of thy bosome and to destroy thee utterly and themselves be out of the Chair over mens Consciences and the State though their own blood may prove the second Scene of the Tragedy Before I pass this let me intreat thee O England to consider who hath put thee into Two wars already since thy First was ended and the Malignants and Scots are encouraged to this Third war likely to be more bloody then all that hath yet been through these men and that the blood that shall be shed is from them as the cause upon what grounds thou seest that thou mayst indeed perceive who makes thee miserable the interest of the Priest having all along set fire in this Nation the Bishops were first these follow to whom the Lord give repentance lest they finde it a hard thing to kick against the pricks But now what hath the carriage of the State been towards them Have they not notwithstanding all the●e high provocations contrary to the Law of God and Man Have they not I say permitted them and always will the liberty of their Conference as to Religion though they denied it to us and do still deny it Have they not the propriety of their Est●tes the security of the Laws and all other advantages onely they require them to be true and not consp●e against this Commonwealth which t●ey refuse Have they not been treated with all civilities and commended their way of Worship to the Nation And for all the despe●a●e D●visions in the Nation and three several Wars which have cost much blood and how much more wel now not Hath any man of them suffered the more I fear the State hath to answer for onely when their rage had proceeded so far as to lay the ground of this War and the closing with the Scots and Malignants and would not forbear their rebellious against the State some few of them have been suspended from their P●lp●s that they might be hindred from pouring more oil into the flame of this Nation ●he medling with State-affairs being that for which they are suspended such an implacable spirit having scized upon them that nothing but the ruine of this Power and overthrowing all that God hath done for us will satisfie them and this under the disguse of Religion when as it is their own Lusts that is the rife of these Wars and which will cost dear in the end I do even tremble to think how they will be able to appear before the Lord whose Name they put upon their unrighteous actions comm●t iniqu●ty rail and revile put Nations into blood and yet cry The Temple of the Lord. The righteous God of heaven and earth will one day make the●e things naked before the Sun and bring forth the righteousness of his People By all that hath been said will strongly appear not only this Justice and necessity of this Engagement against Scotland b●t that all those Presbyters that shall Engage against the P●rliament of England have no ground either from Religion their former Stat-Principle or the demeanour of those in Authority towards them to do so but the contrary And from all that hath been said there is g●e●t matter of encour●gement if the Lord so please to every faithful soul to proceed in this cause of God and his people without fearing any d●fficulties and qu●etly to expect his blessing on their endeavors and because ●our enemies may seem many let me reckon up a few which may be as a Mo●ntain full of Chariots of fire for your assistance let your enem●es have all the blood and mischief shedd in the late wars upon their shoulders their cause and gui●t cannot be separated 2. They are joyned to Idolaters and that accursed thing which God hath so much declared ag●inst and which hitherto hath ruin'd all that have joyned to it having snatcht away a King an● Monarchy in his displeasure in a s●gnall manner to which workings of Heaven they dare bid defiance and g●ve the lye to all that hath been said of God concerning it 3. We have given no just occasion to the Scots or P●esbyters but have protected them in the Enjoyment of their Consciences Est●tes and in other advantages so far as the Publique safety would adm●t whom if a Spirit of delusion did not possess they would see how imposs●ble it is that the spiri● of prophaneness should set up the power of godliness the Principles of Tyranny the freedom of the People the Interest of Scotland the English D●m●nion or themselves safe in the hands of such men as will m●ke no diff●rence So was Christ ●e counted a Blasph●me● and upon that crucified 4. That the Interest of J●sus Christ in the Spirit and Power of Religion is on this side and is indeed that which they maligne and therefore brand with the name of Sect●ris●e 5. That the time is now

drawing nigh wherein God will cut short his work in Righteousness Mountains must m●l● down before him he draws things into a more high and narrow dispute not so much between Prophaneness and Religion which prophaneness and Idolatry they take in to their ass●stance but we the form and power of Godliness and now the powers of that Nation in the form are drawing into Armageddon against the power of Religion and have encompassed the beloved City but fire will come down from Heaven to destroy them 6. A great spirit of Prayer and Confidence is risen up in the Saints for his presence in this work wherein not the arm of flesh but his Glory shall be seen and acknowledged and they are drawn forth in their expectation to behold some eminent appearance 7. To adde no more the Scipture tells us that the neerer Babylon is to her destruction the more she is in her confidence And let us not be discouraged that many that pretend to godliness are with them Many Jews staid and perished in old Babylon if they joyn to Babylon they shall fall with her Come out of her my people lest ye be partakers of her sins and of her plagues If they will uphold what God will destroy we must do our work and leave it to God who knows how to deliver the Righteous to save their persons and open their eyes which is our prayer to God for them though they prepare war in their hearts against us Thus have I according to what I have received and my little time endeavoured to unvail the mystery of Iniquity which is now working in Scotland and England and what indeed lies at the bottome of all Parties in these transactions more might be said but this is not intended for a Volume I bless the Lord I have no other end in it then to discharge my duty in this hour of Temptation to my poor Country which seems to be betrayed and beset on all hands whose welfare I value above my life and out of my tender affections to many of the Presbyterie whom I love and respect and desire that they may be delivered out of the snare of the Devil in which they are taken Captive indeed it s no bad Couns●l to them to weigh these things seriously least they be farther found fighters against God betrayers and rippers up of the bowels of their Country destroyers of the Saints in their just proceedings under the pretence of the Honor of God Christ and the Gospel and that other honest people who I believe truely fear God may not be deluded by the guiles of men who lie in wait to deceive I have no personal prejudice against any one nor write I any thing out of prejudiced spirit but have dealt plainly according to the truth of things and necessity that lies upon me to pluck some if it may be out of the fire for 't is now no jesting the Scots and Malignants have through discontent cheated those men in their assistance which is likely to prove either their destruction or our ruin and all the truely faithful people in the world Many of these things have been longer observed by me but was loath to put them on the Stage hoping that God would have let these men see the Error of their waies but when they proceed so high as that they occasion this war that is now on foot which is likely to have more black attendance then any yet and their passions must fall or we with the faithful in the Land and the Nation must be ruined I could not but thus discharge my conscience to let this Nation know that these men have been and are now the ground of the miseries that have been since the first Conquest of this Enemy and shall proceed on this Engagement I have faithfully done it as in his presence and let the effect be as it pleaseth him onely let every faithful soul whom God hath preserved from being led away with the errour of the wicked lift up his heart and in all humility and considence proceed in this work against all these generations that lift up their hand against Heaven and their Country as that wherein the preservation of Religion Civility and Liberty the Being of England the support of other people who lie under tyrannical Governours the honour of God and Christ is concerned and let them believe that the Lord who hath hitherto to the amazement of the world brought along this Cause and blessed his people in it will not after all this give us up as a proy to our blood-thirsty enemies and for his great Names sake and the praise of his Workings he will not let the Enemy say that Profaness is better then Religion Tyranny then Justice Hypocrisie then Vprightness the Form of godliness then the Power No surely his work shall go on and he will cut it short in righteousness In confidence of which assistance of God and the endearments of this Engagement let us rather leave our bodies in the ground as a testimony to the truth of these things then by any base despondence of spirit neglect and betray this Cause wherein his glory is so much concerned and the welfare of these Nations FINIS