Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	christian_a	church_n	pastor_n	1,389	5	9.1051	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97098	The fountain of slaunder discovered. By William Walwyn, merchant. With some passages concerning his present imprisonment in the Tower of London. Published for satisfaction of friends and enemies.	Walwyn, William, 1600-1681.	1649 (1649)	Wing W682; Thomason E557_4; ESTC R204437	31,569	29

danger to be whipt and beaten in case they meddle in things without leave and licence from their Masters and since our Government now inclines to a Common-wealth 't were good all imperiousnesse were laid aside and all friendlinesse hereafter used towards the meanest of the people especially if Government make any dissention at all And truly I wish there had been no such imperious courses taken in apprehending of me nor that I had been carried before the Councell of State nor that the Declaration had been so suddenly and with such solemnity proclaimed upon our commitment there b●ing no harsh expression therein but what through the accustomed transpo●● on of me●s spirits towards thes● that suffer but is applied to us so that we are lookt upon as guilty already of no lesse then Mu●●●y Sedition and Treason of raising a new War or hindering the relief of Ireland and continuance of Free-quarter insomuch as though now we shall be allowed a legall triall in the ordinary Courts of Justice as certainly the times will afford us that or farewell all our rights and liberty so often protested and declared to be kept inviolable and within these two years so largely promised to be restored and preserved yet what Judge will not be terri●ied and preposest by such a charge ●aid upon us by so high an Authority and attached by Soldiers and sent Prisoners to the Tower nay what Judge will not be prejudiced against us If they should be persons relating to the Army we are represented as Mutineers if to the present actings in Government to such we are represented as seditious and destructive if such as are sensible of the losse of Trade who can be more distrustfull to them then those that are said to raise a new Warre if any of them should be of those who are engaged in the affairs of Ireland to these we are represented as hinderers of the relief of Ireland and what punishment shall seeme too great for us from such as have been tired and wasted with Free-quarter who are pointed out to be the continuers thereof if any Jury-men should be of that sort of men who stile themselves of the seaven Churches of God what equity are we like to finde from them who have already engaged against us by their Phar●sai●●ll Petition for though they name us not yet all their discourses point us out as the princiapall persons therein complained of an ill requitall for our saithfull adherence unto them in the worst of times and by whose endeavours under God they attained to that freedome they now enjoy and can Churches prove unthankfull nay watch a time when men are in prison to be so unthankfull as to oppose their enlargement what to wound a man halfe dead by wounds a Priest or Levite would have been ashamed of such unworthinesse what Christians that should be full of love even to their enemies to forget all humanity and to be so dispightfull to frinds alas alas for Churches that have such Pastors for their leaders nay for Churches of God to owne such kind of un-un-Christian dealing Churches of God so their Petition denominates them if the tree should be judged by his fruit I know what I could say but I am very loath to grive the spirits of any wel-meaning people and know there are whole societies of those that call themselves Churches that abhor to be thought guilty of such unworthinesse Mr Lamb a pastor at the Spittle offering upon a free debate to prove the presenters of the Petition guilty of injustice arrogance flattery and cruelty ye many members of these seven Churches that have protested against it and many more that co●d●●● them for this their doing to whom I wish so much happinesse as they will seriously consider how apt in things of this civil nature these their Pastors have been to be mistaken as they were when they misled them not very long since to Petition for a Personall Treaty which I would never thus have mentioned but that they persist for by-ends offices or the like it may be to obstruct all publick-good proceedings and to maligne those who without respect of persons or opinions endeavour a common good to all men And truly to be thus fore-laied and as it were prejudg'd by Votes and Declarations and Proclamations of Parliament under such hideous notions of sedition and Treason apprehended in so formidable a way and imprisoned in an extraordinary place no Bayle being to be allowed and after all these to be renounced and disclaimed by the open mouthes of the Pastors and some members of seven Churches assuming the title of the Churches of God are actions that may in one respect or other worke a prejudicate opinion of us in any jury that at this day may or can be found So as I cannot but exceedingly prefer the ordinary way of proceedings as of right is due to every English-man in Criminall cases by Justices of the Peace which brings a man to a Triall in an ordinary way without those affrightments and prejudgings which serve only to distract the understanding and bias Justice and to the hazarding of mens lives in an unreasonable manner which is a consideration not unworthy the laying to heart of every pa●aicul●r person in this Nation for what is done to us now may be done to every person at any time at pleasure Neverthelesse neither I nor my partners in suffering are any whit doubtfull of a full and clear Vindication upon a legall triall for in my observation of trials I have generally found Juries and Jury-men to be full of conscience care and circumspection and tendernesse in cases of life and death and I have read very remarkable passages in our Histories amongst which the Case and Triall of Thro●kmorton in Queen Maries time is most remarkeable the consciences of the Jury being proof against the opinion of the Judges the ●he●orick of the Coun●●il who were great and Learned nay against the threats of the Court which then was absolute in power and tyranny and quit the Gentleman like true-hearted wel-resolved English-men that valued their consciences above their lives and I cannot think but these times will afford as much good conscience as that time of grosse ignorance and superstition did and the liberty of exception against so many persons returned for Jury-men is so mighty a guard against partaking that I cannot doubt the issue Besides since in Col. Martin's Case a worthy Member of Parliament it is cl●ar that Parliaments have been mistaken in such censures as appears by hi●●es●auration and razing all matters concerning his Sentence out of the House Book And since the Parliament revoked their Declaration against the Souldiers P●titioning in the beginning of the year 1647. as having been mistaken therein since they have so often imprisoned Mr Lilburn my fellow Prisoner and some others and have after found themselves mistaken yea since some of these Gentlemen who now approve of the way of an Agreement of the People as the only way