Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	high_a	power_n	resist_v	1,057	5	9.4839	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85381	Anti-Cavalierisme, or, Truth pleading as well the necessity, as the lawfulness of this present vvar, for the suppressing of that butcherly brood of cavaliering incendiaries, who are now hammering England, to make an Ireland of it: wherein all the materiall objections against the lawfulness of this undertaking, are fully cleered and answered, and all men that either love God, themselves, or good men, exhorted to contribute all manner of assistance hereunto. By Jo: Goodwin.	Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.	1642 (1642)	Wing G1146; Thomason E123_25; ESTC R3123	51,456	53

other ground or motive should have induced this people to runne the hazard of the Kings displeasure in Jonathans protection then conscience onely though its true there is no intimation given of my complaint made nor of any offence conceived by Saul against the people for this fact of theirs which is another argument of the lawfulnesse thereof yea and of the unprejudicialnesse or in-offensivenesse of it to Sauls kingly Throane and dignitie considering how tender and jealous Saul was of these and how impatient of the least touch yea though but imaginary onely in them as appeares in the sequell of his history especially by his violent persecution of David upon very light and loose grounds of suspition this way Lastly concerning Davids gathering a strength of men and armes to him whereby to make resistance against Saul or rather against that bloody association which conspired with him in a most unjust way to take away his life evident it is 1. That David all the time of this his unjust persecution by Saul and his complices being still in eminent danger of his life was more soft and tender conscienced then ordinary and more afraid of sinning against God yea and prayed both more frequently and more fervently unto God to bee preserved from sinne then at other times as appeares by many Psalmes composed by him during this his triall Now it is a thing altogether incredible that a man otherwise according to Gods owne heart under the best and softest frame of spirit and conscience that ever he liv'd in and whilst hee made it his earnest prayer unto God daily to be kept from sinne should so fouly miscarry as to live in the sinne of Rebellion against his lawfull King without repentance 2. That he respected and honoured Saul very highly and was very tender of doing him the least harme It is said that his heart smote him because he had cut off but the lap or skirt of his garment 1 Sam. 24. 5. using moreover these words to his servents whose fingers itch'd to have made sure worke with Saul The Lord forbid that I should doe this thing to my master the Lords annointed to stretch forth mine hand against him seeing he is the anoynted of the Lord vers 6. Therefore certainly David in defending himselfe against Sauls Cavaliers with armes and men neither offended God nor wronged Saul himselfe in the least measure Yea 3. Saul himselfe overcome with this expression of Davids love and faithfulnesse unto him acknowleded his innocencie and the uprightnesse of his heart towards him vers. 16. Is this thy voyce my sonne David saith Saul and lift up his voyce and wept And said to David thou art more righteous then I for thou hast rendred me good and I have rendered thee evill And thou hast shewed this day that thou hast dealt well with me c. Saul did not onely acquit him from those high crimes of treason rebellion sedition c. but from all manner of injury or iniustice at all done to him And if Saul against whom the offence if any had beene committed iustifieth him who shall with any colour of or equitie condemne him Lastly for this particular the holy Ghost himselfe gives this expresse testimony concerning David That he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord and turned from nothing that he commanded him all the dayes of his life save onely in the matter of Vriah the Hittite 1 King 15. 5. whereas if that fact of his defending himselfe by force of armes against Saul and his confederates in blood against him had beene of any such interpretation as some would make it by making other cases like unto it as either treason rebellion or the like doubtlesse this had beene an higher and greater matter of exception against him then the matter of Vriah it selfe But yet further that their practise in the particular mentioned respectively and so yours being onely conformable thereunto was and is every wayes iustifiable and of perfect consistence with the rules of reason equity and all good conscience and no wayes derogatory to Kingly power and authority I remonstrate and prove by this one consideration Men that have no lawfull authority or power to take away the lives or goods of men may very lawfully be resisted in any attempt they shall make to doe either and if their lives miscarry in such attempts they have their meanes in their owne hands as we say their blood is upon their owne heads This I suppose is a pregnant and knowne principle both in reason and religion If a man assaults another upon the high way and seekes to take away his mony or life from him if the person assaulted slayes the other se defendendo as the Law speakes there is neither Law nor conscience will take hold on or reprove him for it This proposition is manifest I go on therefore and adde But men can have no lawfull authority or power by any warrant or commission from a King to take away the lives or goods of those that are innocent and have not transgressed the Law no not of those that are not in a lawfull way convicted for transgressors of the Law Therefore such men as these may lawfully be resisted in any attempts they shall make either upon our lives or our goods notwithstanding any Warrant Commission or command they have or pretend to have from a King to doe it And take that along with you which apparently followes from hence If such persons so assaulted may lawfully resist such assailants then may they every whit as lawfully provide themselves before hand of such meanes where with they may be able to make the resistance when time comes As if it be lawfull for a Traveller to kill a Thiefe upon the way in the defence of his life or money certainly it is lawfull for him to ride with a Sword Pistoll or the like wherewith he may be able to doe it It is ridiculous to grant the lawfulnesse of an end and to deny a lawfulnesse of meanes necessary and sufficient to attaine that end But some it may be will deny that proposition which affirmeth that those men have no lawfull power or Authority to seize upon mens lives or goods who are innocent and as yet so reputed by the Law having the authority and command of the King to doe it That therefore no unjust or unrighteous command of a King can enable any man with any lawfull power to put in execution any such command I thus demonstrate though indeed it be a thing evident enough in it self without any demonstration no King can derive any power or authority to another to any minister officer or the like but only that wherewith himselfe is invested and possessed of either formally or by way of eminencie and surplussage But no King is himself invested with any authority or power to doe any thing which is uniust or unrighteous therefore hee can not impart or give any such power to another and

Law and conscience assault us the superiour that which is contrary to both viz. to sit still whilest our Lawes Liberties Estates Lives friends godly Magistrates and Religion it selfe are indangered and ready to be taken from us the question in this case whether we are to obey the inferiour or superiour Authority the command of God indifferently extending it for obedience unto either in things that are lawfull is easily resolved except men will complaine and say it is darke at noone day When it shall be substantially proved unto us that an unlawfull command from a superiour Magistrate dissolves and makes void that commandement of God whereby we stand bound to obey the inferiour in that which is lawfull We may then have cause to make a demurre touching the goodnesse of the cause but till then we may be bold to say it is day when the Sun shineth This then is a difference very considerable between the case of primitive Christians and ours in the point in hand supposing they had power to defend themselves against the persecuting agents and instruments of the Emperour yet had they not any countenance or command from any Authority in that State to doe it which we have in ours 4. Still supposing that which yet is never to be granted till it be better proved that the Primitive Christians we spake of had a sufficiency of power to have defended themselves against the persecuting Emperours and did it not yet there may be this reason given why they should rather patiently suffer than make resistance because whilest they were yet heathen and unconverted to the Christian Faith they consented to that power or authority in the Emperour whereby he made those bloody Edicts for the persecuting and murthering of poore Christians Now it had been a very unreasonable thing and justly offensive both in the eyes of God and men if the same persons who had established a power or authority in the hand of a Ruler should have resisted or opposed him or his Agents and Ministers in the execution of it A servant of God though he sweares or bargaines to his owne hurt yet must he not change as you have it Psal. 15. 4. But wee are under no such ingagements or bands and therefore have a liberty which they had not For though a mans consent to an unlawfull power be in absolute and simple consideration a meere nullity and such a power never the more lawfullized thereby yet by all rules of reason and equity such a consent ought to be a bar against him that hath given it that he shall not for any carnall benefit or advantage breake out against him that exerciseth this power by vertue of such consent meerly for such exercise sake 5. Be it granted that the Christian party in the Romane Empire was very great as is pretended yet could it in no sence be called or looked upon as the whole State or body of the Empire as the Paril mentary Assembly is amongst us This in a representative and legall consideration is the whole body of the Nation and of all the persons in it having the same power and authority by Law and in conscience too to do every whit as much in every respect as the whole Nation and all the particular persons therein could have if they were met together Now that may be lawfull for an entire body or society of persons to doe which may not be lawfull for a part or some few of the society save only in conjunction with the whole The Parliament we know being interpretatively and in consideration of Law the whole body of the Kingdome hath a lawfull power both to doe and command many things which a far greater part or number of men in the Kingdome have not no all the Kingdome besides hath no such power as they and many things may be done very lawfully and with a good conscience by vertue of their appointment and command which could not be done upon any such termes without it though a thousand times more men or persons then they are should command them 6. Supposing they had such a power as we have oft supposed but never granted positively and that it was lawfull for them to have made resistance accordingly yet may God by way of speciall dispensation and for very great and considerable ends of his hide this liberty we speake of from their eyes that they should not see it to make use of Wee know there were many in the Apostles time who eat hearbs when as yet it was as lawfull for them in respect of any command of God to the contrary to have eaten flesh but yet they did better to content themselves with hearbs when God had not revealed and cleared up this liberty unto them And yet they did as well as they too who seeing their liberty in this kinde by the cleare light of the Gospell did take it and eate flesh Consider that passage of the Apostle Rom. 14. 6. He that observeth a day observeth it unto the Lord and he that observeth not a day observeth it not unto the Lord He that eateth eateth unto the Lord for he giveth God thanks and he that eateth not eateth not unto the Lord and giveth God thankes Whereby it is evident that the forbearance of some actions by some men wherein they approve themselves unto God doth not at all prejudice or gainesay the like acceptation of others in their doing them yea that some men may be bound in conscience to forbeare that which another with a good conscience may doe And this doubtlesse is if the testimony of Tertullian mentioned be true the case betweene those Primitive Christians and Christians in these dayes They might out of tendernesse of conscience and out of an apprehension of some unlawfulnesse in it forbeare to vindicate themselves against those bloody bucthers that were set on worke by the Emperours to destroy them and yet Christians in these dayes seeing their liberty in this kinde may as lawfully resist those that shall come against them in the like manner as the other forbare it If it be here objected and said that it is no wayes like that the Church of God should generally be ignorant of such a libertie as wee speake of and challenge if there were any such liberty indeed is it credible that God should hide such a point of truth as this from them all I answer first It is not necessary to suppose that it should bee hid from them all without exception it is sufficient for our purpose if it were hid from their teachers and those that were leaders to the rest upon whose judgement in things of this nature the generality of people then much depended But secondly if there were many ministers of the Gospell and teachers even in the Apostles times themselves that were ignorant of that liberty which the Gospell brought with it to the world for the eating of flesh the non-observation of dayes and of circumcision c. or at least were so