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
A87429	The iudgement of an old grand-jury-man of Oxford-shire, concerning the breaking up of the late treaty begun at Uxbridge 30. Ian. 1644. Delivered upon his perusall of the late printed full narration of the passages concerning it.	Old grand-jury-man of Oxford-shire.	1645 (1645)	Wing J1175; Thomason E285_8; Thomason E303_11; ESTC R200068	13,146	19

desired it to be granted them or it was not If it was not in his power then they are absur'd to aske that which they know was not in the Kings Power to Give If it were then they are absur'd Pag. 136. no. 178. of the Full Narration not to admit the Marquesse of Ormond for a Lievtenant whom all the World knowes the King had Nominated before ever They desired this power of Nomination as in expresse termes they say they doe not in their Paper of the 22th February Now if such a simple man as I can see these Demands of the Parliament to be unreasonable sencelesse and ridiculous Surely those men that were Commissioners for the King and had more wit and understanding then I could see further into them No doubt but they saw that the concession and granting of them must needs inferre a totall Alteration and Change both in our Spirituall and in our Civill Government both in our Church and in our State and God deliver me and every honest man from living to behold that day Wee have by wofull Experience found what the want of Episcopall Government hath wrought in the Church already for no man knowes almost of what Religion his Neighbour is today or of what he himselfe shall be to morrow by our sad sufferings we have learnt what it is to see dayes when there is no King in Israel or as good as none when His Subjects seek to divest and spoile Him of His Rights and Power Before we could complaine if we thought the King broke any Law but now we doe not know our selves what is Law till we have broke it It is not as it was once in Saint Paul I had not knowne sinne but by the Law but it is now I had not knowne Law but by the sinne for every thing that a good man does in Conscience to God or Obedience to his King is therefore made a crime because he does it though it never had any such name before I but you will say if the Cause of the Parliament be such a bad Cause that they are absolute and direct Rebels against the King how come so many men to be of that side Truely I confesse the Cause is a good Cause to live in for if a man take that side he is likely to save his owne stake and he is like enough to get a good share in many other mens But give me a Cause to live in and to dye in too A Cause which if it yeeld me no profit whilst I live shall notwithstanding yeeld me pleasure when I dye and the comfort of this Consideration that I have not stayned my Conscience for any base and beggarly respects of this World but have kept it cleane both towards the Lord and towards his Annoynted as no doubt but every man is bound to doe And certainly there is more in it then every simple Country-fellow like my selfe imagines That on the Parliament side so many men of note and quality when They have their sences about them before they dye doe familiarly renounce this wicked and ungodly course and professe they undertooke it for meere gaine or some baser end as from Colonell Sandys who dyed at Worcester in the beginning of this Warre to Major Abercromie who dyed by us but a little while agoe many poore Soules afflicted which the sence of their Rebellion have done When on the Kings side there was never yet heard one man of any condition whatsoever though reduced to the greatest exigence and want that man could be that ever repented him of taking up Armes and spending his life in His Majesties Cause and Service I know it weighes much with many of my Neighbours That the Rebels use Country people kindly where they come and use to pay for what they have when the Kings Souldiers doe not And so they are ready to Judge of the goodnesse of the Cause by the purses of their Customers and truly this wrought a pretty good opinion of them once even in me my selfe but when I had considered a little better how these men come by that Money even by robbing and plundering the King and His good Subjects for otherwise they could never have a penny I beganne to think that as they were direct Theeves so we that took their Monies were but little better then Receivers and the curse of those poor People who are despoyled of their Estates to furnish them with monies must doubtlesse light upon us Besides alas what is the poore Horse the better when he hath been ridden into a sweat from head to foot and is searce able to stand for a little stroking and clapping on the shoulder What are the poore people of the Country the better for receiving some few pence from them when they must pay it out againe by whole pounds unto Them They doe but steale a Goose and stick up a Feather as we use to say For at last between faire meanes and foule they leave us nothing But all this while what is become of the Liberty of the Subject which made such a noyse at the beginning of these Warres In all the Twenty dayes Treaty not a word of that on their Side And when the Kings Commissioners desired to have the Kings Propositions Treated on which insisted much upon this poynt They could never have an Answer All this while what is become of the Lawes of the Land which every man thought at first these men did onely fight for In all the Twenty dayes Treaty not one word of the breach of any one Law of the Land with which they taxe the King but they rather invite Him to breake many if He would be perswaded unto it For there was scarce any one thing in all the Treaty which they desired of the King which was not directly against the known Lawes of the Land which they have all this time pretended to defend Nay when the King to shew how zealous He was of the preservation of the Lawes desired in His Propositions That nothing might be avowed but that every Act might be disclaimed on both Sides which was not according to the knowne Law They would never Treat of that Proposition or give any Answer to it All this while what is become of Fetching the King up unto His Parliament which was given out as the sole reason for the raising of so many severall Armies as have been raised In all the Twenty dayes Treaty not a syllable of that on their part Nay when the Kings Commissioners had proposed it unto them and desired to Treat with them concerning His Majesties speedy Returne to Westminster whereby an End might be put to these unhappy Distractions and Divisions They utterly refus'd to Treat with them therein and chose rather to break up the Treaty when they might have prolonged it if they had pleased for so they were earnestly desired to doe by our Commissioners then to allow That for the Subject matter of it And therefore resting well assured by these proceedings of theirs in the late Treaty that they of Westminster aime at nothing but their own Greatnesse and intend to rule perpetually both over the King and Kingdome purposing to change that auncient Government of Kings in the State as they have chang'd that other of Bishops in the Church I desire all my Countrymen to lay it to their hearts whether they had not better venture their lives once then be sure to loose both their Livelyhoods and Liberties for ever Whither they had not better help to make an end of the Warre then live and linger out their lives and Fortunes in the vaine expectation of a never intended Peace Whither they had not rather their Soveraigne should raigne then that their Servants should rule over them which is one of the pittifull complaints of Zion in her prayer to God in the fift of the Lamentations For this they may trust to that by the blessing of God who never exposes the person or the Cause of Kings to danger or miscarriage but for the Peoples sinne They may recover in a very short time both their Liberties Lawes and Lively-hoods and yet save their Lives And if the Countries here abouts would but rise and take up Armes as they should doe not only for the Kings sake but for their own if they did well consider it lesse then Three Months with Gods help would put an end to the Miseries of more then Three yeares that are past and prevent the Miseries of many yeares which are yet to come if some such course as this be not timely taken for out of doubt so long as God shall send either the King or any of His Children Life there will never be wanting those true-hearted Englishmen that will spend their bloud in preserving of their just Interests and Rights Which I doe as firmely believe they will recover either first or last as I doe any one thing in this World which is not Scripture FINIS