Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	earthquake_n	lord_n	wind_n	4,960	5	10.8107	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75811	The Christian moderator: the second part; or, Persecution for religion condemned by the light of nature. Law of God. Evidence of our own principles. With an explanation of the Roman Catholick belief, concerning these four points: their church, worship, justification and civill government. Whereunto there are new additions since the octavo was printed.; Christian moderator. Part 2	Birchley, William, 1613-1669.	1652 (1652)	Wing A4246; ESTC R225799	36,103	34

estate to swear against his Conscience or to accuse and condemn himself especially in matters that concern his inward belief 4. Since in all Religions there are still found some scandalous livers and that our Saviour pronounces the Woe against him onely by whom the scandal comes Mat. 18. 7. Luke 17. 1. It is humbly proposed That who ever shall offend against the Orders of so milde and Christian a settlement may be severely censured but that others though of the same judgment in Religion be no farther made subject to the punishment then proved guilty of the crime In stead of my opinion concerning these four proposals of the Papists because to my sense they carry in themselves both their own evidence and justification I shall beg the Readers permission to set down a particular conceit which I have often observed to be very well relisht by all that have examined it That doubtles there is no way more suitable to the first Principles of all Reformed Churches no way so probable to satisfie all Consciences as not to impose any other obligation for proof of conformity than this profession to believe the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the Word of God and to live according to the precepts plainly contained therein this acknowledgement to be exprest in generall termes without descending minutely to particular questions which hath certainly been the chief cause of so many Controversies and Divisions in the World And now I humbly appeal to the honourable and religious Committee for Propagation of the Gospel Whether the sweet Spirit of the Lord Christ who gave his Apostles no further power than to relinquish such as refused to hear them be reconcileable to the former practices of the high Commissioners or the present practices of our Sequestrators Whether when the great Apostle Paul prescribes the servants of the Lord to forbear and in meeknesse instruct those that are contrary minded he should be thus cros-interpreted that the Estates of those who are contrary minded be first secured or forborn and then after a time quite taken away to instruct them in meeknesse or how to bear patiently the losse of the vain and transitory riches of this world And now I humbly appeal to the honorable and learned Committee for Regulation of the Law whether since all those penalties which the rigorous humours of former ages have under pretence of zeal imposed upon the Conscience are either by disuse forgotten or by expresse Act of Parliament revoked the Papists alone should still be continued under the same severities nay their burthens encreased by the strange method of the new proceedings towards them their Consciences being not only punishable to the Common way of indictment but compellable even to accuse themselves by the new Presbyterian Oath of Abjuration against the known Principles of the ancient and reverend Lawes of this Land And now with an humble confidence I appeal to the renowned Parliament of the Common-wealth of England whether in this generall Goal-delivery of the Conscience from the tyranny and oppression of the Prelates the consciences of Papists alone ought still to be kept in prison Whether when all the fetters which the Rigid Kirkesmen had bought up in Scotland are broken in pieces just as they were locking them fast about our Consciences in England the Consciences of Papists alone ought still to be continued in chains Whether when all the Societies professing Christ Jesus and living obediently to the Magistrate and peaceably one with another are protected in the quiet and unoffensive exercise of their Consciences the Papists alone should be forced under the penalty of so great a ruine not only to professe but swear against their Consciences A course that in a short time will unavoidably bring them either to absolute beggery or which is worse to hypocrisie or which is worst of all to perjury All the people of this Nation look upon you as their common father all promise themselves liberty and protection under your government though some may justly be excluded from sharing in the Government Were there in my family one child that profest to find satisfaction in the way of the Papists and lived dutifully to me and lovingly with with his brethren I should account it a great unnaturalnesse to deprive him altogether of his portion much more of that which he has received from the bounty of any collateral kinsman or acquired by his own particular diligence and improvement And though some Papists have heretofore been truly chargeable with heinous crimes against their Country yet why should our justice over-reach to condemn all for the offences of a few if they have formerly abetted competitors to the Crown why should the punishments so long out-live the fault certainly the Offendours being dead their trespasses should rather be buried in their graves and not like Ghosts walk to affright and pinch their children It is time we should now mix a little mercy to allay the fumes of so much justice which otherwise will not ascend to the Almighty's Throne in the odour of sweetnesse It is time we should begin to imitate the pattern which our merciful God has set before us in his own practice when he commanded the destroying Angel to sheath his sword with this compassionate Motto It is enough It is time we should begin to answer the bounty of our God who has so freely given us the blessings of 10 thousand Talents by freely forgiving our Fellow-servants the small sum of 100 pence Let us invade or storme the Consciences of our brethren For the Lord was not in the great and strong wind that rent the Mountains and brake in pieces the Rocks Let us not shake the inward peace of any quiet and unoffensive Christian For the Lord was not in the Earth-quake Let us not kindle in our hearts a devouring flame of uncharitable zeal for the Lord was not in the fire but let us compose our affections to the soft and gentle key of love and mutuall forbearance for the Lord was in the still small voice Let us alwayes attend to this still voice of the Lord speaking with us do as you as you would be done unto let us alwayes attend to this small but sweet voice of the Lord calling upon us love your enemies blesse them that curse you doe good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your father which is in Heaven for he maketh his sun to rise on the evill and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust for if you love them which love you what reward have you do not even the Publicans the same and if you salute your brethren onely what do you more than others do not even the Publicans so be you therefore perfect as your father which is in Heaven is perfect POST-SCRIPT IT was the will and providence of the Lord to whose dispensations as well of Iustice as Mercy we must resigne our little intersts to call me suddenly into the Country upon a sad and mournful occasion which utterly defeated my purpose of reviewing these few lines And therefore after my humblest submission of them to the judgment of the Supreme Authority I am encouraged to presume the Courteous pardon of the Readers especially if since it is truly a kind of death to me to live out of London he will please to consider this as a posthumous Pamphlet containing the serious though indigested thoughts of Will Birchley I. 2 Pet. 3. 16. II. 1 Tim. 1. III. Rom. 3. 24 Luk. 6. 38. Luk. 17. 1● IV. Exod. 20. Mat. 19. Eccles. 12. 13. Ephes. 5. 5. 1. Principles of the pre●ent go●ernment 2. Scripture 1. Ancient and quiet ●ossession 2. ●nchan●eable 3. Education 4 ●atisfacti●n in their Religion 5 Tender Consciences 6 Even the most disaffected have Liberty 7 Causes of punishing ceased 8 Their Fidelity 9 Advantage● at home abroad Compounding more beneficial to the State 2 Tim. 4. 24. Mat. 18. 23. 1 Kings 19. 11 12. Mat. 5. 44.

to all conscientious men whether these Papists may not reasonably hope so much mercy as not to be by penalties debard the private exercise of their consciences with their doors shut and such other cautions and circumstances as the State shall be pleased to ordain for regulation of Soul freedome since it is evident that Christian liberty may be lawfully governed though it be also as evident that it cannot lawfully be taken away so that every peaceable spirit have liberty enough and yet the licentious Liver not have too much Such moderate orderly freedom might charitably be allowed to the quiet Papists from persons that afford far more advantages to far more dangerous enemies the Scotch or rigid kirkists who have severall times engaged against us in open field by many plots and secret contrivements endeavoured as much as in them lay to subvert the present government yet after so many victories obtained against them the reducing of the greatest part of their country to the obedience of this State The Ministers as sayes a Letter of the 21 of Febr. 1651. from an officer of our army at Edinborough are violenly bent their own way and preach damnation to all complyers with us in any thing And let any indifferent person read the strange proceedings of the Presbytery of Aberdeen against Sir Alexander Irving Lord of Drum published in the Diurnall 26 Ian. 1651. he will I am confident highly applaud that ingenious letter from an eminent Officer of our Army and dated at Edenborough the 21 of the same moneth and published in the next weeks Politicus which hath these very words You would wonder to observe the strange pride and proceedings of the kirk Clergy the ingredi●nts of whose constitution admit of many more grains of gun-powder then you shall find in any Iesuites in Christendome so that if they be not closely look'd unto they will set all on fire again And in another letter dated 12th of April 1652. from Dalkeith in Scotland and printed in the next weeks Diurnall is this excellent observation Believe it all our other Enemies are tame beasts to the high Presbyter and yet with the winding and turning of a religious pretence and an artificiall zeal against Heresie he will like a tame Snake if not warily avoided get into your bosom c. Continually every week come fresh and loud complaints from our friends and Officers in Scotland of the stubbornesse of a certain froward and resty party in that Nation Yet notwithstanding the pertinacy and malice of these kirkists such of them as have not appeared in actuall arms against us are so far from being sequestred that many of them enjoy great places of honour and benefit under our government And such is the States mercy towards them that the Commissioners for setling the affairs of Scotland by their Declaration of the 21 Feb 1651 grounded upon the Declaration of the Parliament of the Common-wealth of England have exprest a particular regard and indulgence to the whole Nation in these words That such Ministers whose Consciences oblige them to wait upon God in the Administration of spirituall Ordinances according to the order of the Scottish Churches with any that shall voluntarily joyn in the practice thereof shall receive protection and encouragement from all in authority in their peaceable and unoffensive exercise of the same as also others who not being satisfied in Conscience to use that form shall serve and worship God in other Gospel way and behave themselves peaceably and unoffensively therein And we do lastly declare That all Merchants tradesmen and handicrafts men not having in Lands or goods above the value of 500 l. sterling and all other persons not having in Lands and goods above the clear value of 200 l. sterling not being prisoners of war or souldiers of fortune in Commission who shall in pursuance of the said Declaration live peaceably and yield obedience to the Parliament of the Common-wealth of England exercised in Scotland shall not onely be freed and discharged from all forfeitures and confiscations of their Estates for any thing formerly done by them in reference to the wars but he received into the protection of the Parliament and enjoy such Liberties and immunities as also such Leases and grants of confiscated and forfeited Lands as upon consideration of their respective qualities and deserts shall be thought fit c. In the first Branch of this Declaration such a Conscience security is held forth as according to my soul ought not by the Lawes of Christ be denyed to any peaceable Christian and I extremely rejoyce in the Spirit of our Governors for so noble and charitable a proceeding yet I plainly see that they to whom this favour is allowed are both different from us in the Principles of their Religion and opposite to us in their Nationall affection whereas a far lesser mercy is denied to our own kindred and allies to our own conntrey men born to the sam freedome with our selves who have in a much lesse measure offended in matters of hostility nay divers of them not at all who yet would be content and thankfull for a small part of that favour which the Parliament so bountifully bestowes upon strangers By the second Branch very many of that Nation who have been in actuall arms against us and perhaps wounded or flain our friends in open battells will receive an immunity for 500 l. Sterling is a great estate in Scotland Whereas many of our own Countrey who never lifted up hand against us have two parts of their estates with rigor sequestred and that without so charitable a distinction as to free the poorer sort whose estates are of lesse value then 500 l. For our mercilesse Sequestrators have tripartited even the day labourers goods and very house-holdstuff and taken away two Cowes where the whole stock was but three Passages observed upon Cases depending at Haberdashers Hall I Must confesse I had not so much time to spare as I could have wish'd yet for some weeks I attended at Haberdashers Hall for better satisfaction but to make a full discovery of all the proceedings there is beyond the level of my discourse I will only promise in what I say not to exceed the bounds of truth and modesty The present Commissioners who are seven in number for ought I could discern are civil persons and most of them apprehensive of others sufferings but seem to say in many hard cases that either their Instructions or Commission binds them up from being able to give relief or the obligation to the Oath they take will not permit them To shew the tendernesse and compassion which otherwise I am perswaded their consciences would carry them forth to practise since most of the Suitors that come before them appear so miserably ruined that the very distressednes of their condition is motive enough to incite the mercy of their Judges especially their crime being only the refusall of an Oath which they solemnly professe is