Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	allegiance_n	king_n	oath_n	1,772	5	8.0172	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82032	A declaration against a crosse petition: wherein some secret lets of the intended reformation are discovered. The danger of division prevented. And the unity of this iland in religion urged. By the Commissioners of the Generall Assembly.	Church of Scotland. General Assembly. Commission.	1643 (1643)	Wing D518; Thomason E89_15; ESTC R21173	10,126	16

approbation of the contents thereof and so acknowledge their willingnesse to take Arms against the Parliament of England upon the grounds contained in that Letter when His Majesty shall require them so to do And for their own part they declare that they think themselves obliged in every cause which may concern His Majesties honour to concurre with their friends and followers in quiet manner or in Arms as they shall be required of His Majestie his Councell or any having his authoritie Which if understood and applyed aright no loyall Subject can denie but it is meant and expressed in their Petition as in opposition to our Petition So in contemplation of the Differences betwixt His Majestie and the Parliament of England unto which their words relate For they professe to represent such particulars as they are confident will much conduce to the removing of all the mistakes betwixt His Majestie and the Parliament of which particulars that is the first That according to His Majesties trust expressed in His Letter December 5. the Subjects of this Kingdom declare themselves willing and ready to take Arms in every cause which may concerne His Majesties honour being required by His Majestie or any having His Authoritie And is not this to make void the Treaty ratified by the publick Faith of this Kingdom and Act of Parliament discharging all taking up of Arms against the Kingdom or Subjects of England upon any pretence whatsoever without consent of Parliament declaring the breach of Peace and that after three moneths warning Which treaty the Estates of Parliament did sweare to observe inviolably in the same very oath in which they did swear allegeance to the Kings Majestie thereby declaring that the observation of the conclusions of the treaty may well consist with our duty and allegeance to our Soveraigne whereas the Petition doth indirectly put some aspersion of Laesmajestie upon the Parliament for confirming and swearing to observe the Articles of the Treatie which in the opinion of the Petitioners are consistent with our oath of allegeance If they say that their Petition did onely insinuate that we may not take Arms to assist the Parliament against the King they put upon it a sense which it cannot be ar both because they knew that the supplication of the Noblemen Barons others assisted by us did not directly nor indirectly contain any such thing And because His Majesties trust expressed in that Letter which they desire His Majestie may not have occasion from us to repent is not onely a negative trust that we will not take arms against him but a positive trust and confidence that we will be readie to assist him And finally because the clause of the Supplication of the Generall Assembly which they mention as containing our obligation to our Soveraigne and that in reference to the present distractions in England is positive and not negative Lastly the Petitioners for their own private ends doe very much wrest and mis-apply our Nationall Covenant about which the whole Nation and all the Members of the Kirk of Scotland have as great ieason as by the mind of man can be conceived to be most tender and cautelous and which every one amongst us according to his place and calling is obliged to vindicate from every violation and namely from sinister glosses and false interpretations which may be the fountaine and cause the Covenant being one principall rule of our actions and undertakings of many scruples transgressions and disturbances Wee acknowledge before God and professe before the World that by our Covenant we are bound to the utmost of our power with our meanes and lives to stand to the defence of our dread Soveraigne the Kings Majestie his Person and Authoritie in the defence and preservation of the true Religion Lawes and Liberties of this Kirk and Kingdome likewise in every cause which may concerne his Majesties honour according to the Lawes of this Kingdome and the duty of good Subjects to concurre with our friends and followers in quiet manner and in arms as we shall be required of His Majestie his Councell or any having his authoritie We know that he who wilfully transgresseth one Article of the Covenant it being copulative is by interpretation guiltie of all And therefore under the greatest paines expressed in the Covenant we resolve for our selves all the dayes of our lives and doe exhort all others to that duty which they have sworne and subscribed to performe to the Kings Majestie But we desire to know of the Petitioners who are so ready at this time to make their own conclusions out of the Covenant which was never intended by it nor thought upon at the first or last time at the swearing and subscribing thereof how it commeth to passe that they never took the Covenant in their mouth but in this one Article Are they not bound by their Covenant and the same clause of the supplication cited by them to their mutuall concurrence and assistance for the cause of Religion and to stand with their means and lives to the defence thereof in the doctrine and discipline of the Kirk of Scotland and to live godly soberly and righteously in this present world True Conscience of duty and sincerity in keeping the Covenant will make the obedience universall Secondly seeing the Petitioners would onely have unitie in Religion and uniformitie in Kirk-Government advanced by Christian wishes and faire meanes and yet insinuateth their offer by armes to decide the municipall debates of England anent Civill matters while the Civill and Ecclesiastick Judicatories and the rest of this Kirk and Kingdome are desiring an Assembly and a Parliament to consider their interest and duty and to contribute their best endeavours in what is above the power of their Commissioners to further this unitie of Religion and remove these distractions in England we aske whether they presume that they alone keepe the Covenant and would render unto Christ which is Christs and unto Caesar which is Caesars and that all others are Covenant-breakers Thirdly doe they not know that the Covenant was subscribed in the years 1581. and 1591. before King James was King of England and that in the particular Heads and Articles it is qualified by expresse limitations and restrictions to this Kirk and Kingdome to the Religion Lawes and Liberties of Scotland therefore can no more be extended to municipall debates and to the Lawes and Liberties of England unto which we are strangers then the Kingdome of England can judge of our Lawes and determine our differences the two Kingdomes being still independent and not subordinate one to another but parallell which is more at large expressed in the beginning of the treaty of Peace Nor is the sending of our Forces into Ireland a necessary duty of our Covenant but a voluntary testimony of our high respects to our King and of our brotherly kindnesse to the Kingdome of England as was expressed by the Estates in the last Parliament Fourthly doe not the

apparent by this threefold consideration 1. For remedy of the divisions and distractions in England the Petition desireth onely the suppression of insolent Papists malignant schismatickes and disloyall Brownists and Separatists the speciall if not sole promovers and fomenters of these unhappy mis-understandings and thus doth passe by the Prelates and balketh the Bishops who have bin the most restlesse sticklers in this businesse and the prime authors of all these tragedies since the beginning and thereby would take us off our right and straight course of pressing uniformitie in Kirk-government in the Treatie in our Declarations and in the Generall Assembly The Apologists for the petition would have reduced the Prelates either to Papists or to Sectaries but the Authors of the Petition intended better service by sending the Petition to England without trenching upon the Lordly Prelacy or touching the Prelates at all which from strangers is an high provocation against the Kingdome and Parliament of England and no small prejudice against the proceedings of this Kirk and Kingdome for Reformation 2 This Petition doth indirectly cast foule aspertions upon those who are most zealous for the reformation in England and doth very much symbolize with the language of the Popish and Prelaticall party in England calling the Parliament and all that seek after Reformation Brownists Separatists Authors of tumultuary conventions c. 3 It hinteth at our zeal and forwardnesse in the matter of the Reformation of the Kirk of England which may appeare thus The Petitioners declare That since the duty of charity doth oblige all Christians to pray and professe their desires that all others were of the same Religion with themselves etc. Therefore they represent their wishes for unity of Religion and Kirk-government as an expression and testimonie of their affection to the good of their brethren in England Declaring further That they desire this work to be prosecuted without presuming or usurping to prescribe ●●wes and rules of Reformation to their Neighbours And again they repeat that by their wishes and desires they intend ●o wayes to passe their bounds in prescribing or setting downe rules and limits to his Majestie and Houses of Parliament their wisdome and authoritie in the way of prosecution hereof And why do they so plentifull purge and carefully cleare themselves concerning this particular if their intention were not to leave some aspersion upon this Kirk and State as if we were passing our bounds by presuming to prescribe rules and limits to His Majesty and Houses of Parliament For further evidence whereof it is to be remembred that in the first part of their Petition they plainly professe that they are clearing themselves and their intentions lest they should be thought to be involved with us in the same desires judgements and opinions So that all which they say by way of clearing of themselves and their intentions ariseth from this ground that they will not be thought involved with us in our desires Judgements and opinions and so condemne us in these particulars in which chiefly they justifie themselves neither can wee knit together their words or interpret their apologie to another meaning Now what is this else but to overturne the very foundation of all our endeavours for this work of Reformation which was the Article of the Treatie for union in Religion and uniformity in Kirk government Not as a matter nakedly desired and wished for but as a principall demand and necessary mean without which neither truth nor peace could be secured unto us The importance and necessitie whereof hath bin since that time so deeply laid to heart by this Kirk and Kingdome that as the Generall Assembly and we for our part representing the same so the Lords of Counsell and the Commissioners of Parliament for conservation of the peace concurring with us have been and are most serious and solicitous in the importunate and earnest pressing of this union in Religion and Kirk government resolving to use our uttermost endeavours in the prosecuting and effectuating of such a blessed and necessary work as being dearer to us then all our lives and Fortunes neither did the Generall Assembly spare to represent their humble advice concerning the way of prosecuting that work to the Houses of Parliament and to others seeking after Reformation in England Their Petition doth tend to a dangerous division in this Kirk and Kingdom for as it doth reflect upon us for our joyning in the Petition concerning His Majesties printed Letter presented to the Com. of Parliament for conservation of the Peace upon a pretext as it saith of the not sitting of the Privy Councell at that time so it insinuateth that we did presume to question or seek of the Lords of Councell an account of their Actions both which are foule and groundlesse aspersions yea it declareth that the Petitioners do so far dislike our Petition that they conceive they were wanting in their dutie and allegeance to the Kings Majestie if by their silence they should suffer themselves to be involved with us in the like desires judgements and opinions thus plainly professing a division and separation aswell from us as from other Noblemen Gentlemen Burgesses and Ministers here occasionally met with whom we joyned in the foresaid Petition And not content to withdraw themselves from being involved with us the Petition doth also insinuate that in their opinion we are involved in the breach of dutie and allegeance to the Kings Majestie and not we onely but the Commissioners for conserving the Peace who did hearken and assent to our Petition and did seriously recommend to the Lords of His Majesties Privie Councell that part of the Petition which did concerne their Lordships clearing of their meaning in the publication of His Majesties Letter by their causing print the Declaration of the Parliament of England The Lords of Councell are likewise involved in the same breach of allegeance by reason of their grant of our desire in causing print the Declaration of both Houses of Parliament upon the warrant of another Letter from His Majestie and therewith declaring that their Lordships publication of any Paper doth not import their approbation of the contents thereof The Petition above-mentioned doth import no small prejudice to the happie Union and late Treaty of Peace betwixt the Kingdoms insinuating to the Lords of His Majesties Privie Councell that their Lordships in answering our Petition concerning the clearing of their meaning in the publication of His Majesties Letter might do no act which might give His Majestie occasion to repent him of that trust for aid and assistance which He was pleased to declare in his Letter December 5. that he reposeth in us His Subjects of this His ancient and native Kingdom whereby the Petitioners do in●●mate their desires that the Lords of Councell might not declare that for which we did supplicate but to declare by their not printing the Declaration of the Parliament that their Lordships publication of His Majesties Letter did import their