Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	answer_v	good_a	think_v	778	5	3.6818	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A74924	A Faithfull searching home vvord, intended for the view of the remaining members of the former old Parliament in the time of their late second sitting at Westminster. Shewing the reasonableness and justness of their first dissolution, as also the dangerous rock they formerly split upon, that so they might learn to beware for the future: But being a second time dissolved upon the like account, as so many fruitless trees twic dead plucked up by the roots. It is now presented to the officers of the army as another looking-glass wherein they may plainly see, how woefully they also have dissembled, dealt treacherously, deceitfully and wickedly both with God and man, in having so greatly apostatized from, rejected, trodden under foot, persecuted, Judas-like betrayed, and as it were crucified and kept down in the grave (as the soldiers formerly did Christ) that blessed cause and those good principles, they once so highly pretended to own ... Together with an other seasonable word by way of counsel and proposal to the aforesaid officers of the armies of England, Scotland, and Ireland. All which, is also to be seen, and read of all men loving righteousness, that thereby they may (with the army) better know how to chuse the good, refute the evil, and rightly steer their course, and bend their spirits in the future, for the exaltation of Christ, his cause, and interest, and against all the apostacy and treachery, though never so refined, that may further appear in this gloomy, dark, overturning day.		1659 (1659)	Wing F285; Thomason E774_1; ESTC R207286	59,601	45

they desired to take shame to themselves and that they were now as ever equally endeared to the good Old Cause and utter enemies to all Tyranny and Oppression c. but that they would have gone on to endeavour with all their might to have brought things to that perfection and state they were in when the forementioned presence and glory of the Lord was with and upon us to wit either to the choyce of the same or other persons of that honest spirit and principle who were formerly turned out of the Little Parliament who have not since defiled their Garments with the late Apostacy or if they have have repented publickly for the same the departing from and rejecting of which spirit and principle by the then and now builders was the onely chief Cause of the Lords so withdrawing his presence from their Councels and Forces since that time In order to which several faithful friends to the Cause in discharge of their consciences and duty as they then apprehended to serve the Lord in that present juncture of affairs did draw up and by the hands of Major Mallery Lieutenant Collonel Pinchin Captain Cust and others present to Lieutenant General Fleetwood and the General Council of Officers a paper called the Good Old Cause Stated which holds forth that the Army themselves did formerly declare for and approve of that very spirit and principle and such persons to be in Power as is before mentioned and therein was desired Now whether it was that the spirit of the Army which was so deeply drenched and as it were over head and ears in the late Apostacy like old Bottles could not bear the new wine to wit the self-denying spirit in the forementioned persons turned out of the Little Parliament and in others like them that was the reason they were not called again or what the matter was but to be sure if they and the people who called you had been right and clear in their understandings or had had a true hint or taste upon their spirits of that Blessed Excellent Lively Spirit that shall execute the Justice and Righteousness that shall be when the Law shall go forth of Zion and our Lord Jesus Christ and his Saints shall reign in Righteousness Isa 32.1 They would have walked in that matter less by sence and more by faith have trusted God and never called you But so it came to pass that through the darkness and short-sightedness of some of the Friends of the Cause and according to their desires you were called together again to take your former Power as being in the outward appearance the onely visible Legall Authority in the Nation The best expedient to root out the Monarchicall Protectorall Government To raise * Indeed you were very good at raising money and Soldiers to secure your selves and at going to Feasts prepared out of the Orphans money by the carnal vain Magistrates of the City to bribe and blinde you that you might not search into and purge out the foolish apish corrupt practices and oppressive Customs that are amongst them and from framing the Government of the City in the way of a Commonwealth as you had declared the Government of the Nation to be And at voting the continuance of Tythes and therewith your wicked Ordinance for trebble dammages at raising Enemies to the Cause under Collonel Thomson to ballance and put a check upon the faithfull Friends thereof at perpetuating your selves as before by filling up your House with new Members at owning corrupt Interests and preferring corrupt persons into places of Trust contrary to your own Votes and Declarations at discountenancing the business of the friends of the Cause to the countenance of the enemies thereof at dealing deceitfully with the Army and Friends of the Cause as backward to reform the Law as also to divolve the Trust lately in your hand over into the hands of faithful men as formerly you were and as ready to do the same yea worse things then in the severall foregoing Particulars is charged against you But as for the Cause of Christ according to the true intent and spirit of it the Just Civil and Religious Liberties of the good People and providing Persons of a more excellent spirit for Government to promote and bring this forth you understood it not nor laid it to heart no more then the Army and therefore very unmeet to be continued but dissolved as formerly Money And to prevent future War and Bloudshed Maintain the Good Old Cause the Liberties and Freedoms of the good people in the things of God relating to the Conscience until such time as a better Moddel of Government should be found out so that here was your then Second call and Standing by all which it is probable you might apprehend the Lord did own you notwithstanding you retained the same spirit as before and that during the time of your more then six years dismission from your former Power had onely been putting you as formerly Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon to eat grass with the Beasts of the Field Dan. 4.25 or made you as ordinary men that so you might the better understand and know that the most High ruled in the Kingdoms of men and gave them to whomsoever he would thereby to humble and make you better Now seeing you were once more brought together into the Power not called thither by Malignants Presbyterians or the late new Court Party who profess to remain in that spirit but by some of the faithfull Friends of the Cause and the Army who as they say though honest men think otherwise are returned from their Apostacy to do the forementioned good things till such time onely as a better Moddel was found out who in case you answer'd not what you were called for had also the same power to take from you again what they had so committed to you you should not have been high minded but feared and been looking about you and considering whether the same or a worse spirit had not been in you now then formerly and have taken heed of doing the same or worse things that so caused the Friends of the Cause and the Army to complain of you and so greatly desire your Dissolution and a New Representative to come in your places For if during the time of your almost seven years Dismission from your former Power you had only been like unto Nebuchadnezars stump Dan. 4.15 rooting in the earth and bound as it were about with iron and brass and had not repented and broken off your former sins and evils charged upon you by the Army and others and grown better by the shame and affliction of being so laid aside but still remained as at your first Dissolution you could not honestly expect that the Friends of the Cause who called you onely to do those good things which the Army pretendedly dissolved you for not doing of would take it well at your hands or bear you herein because the former glory and

to Settlement yet your spirits too much closed with that spirit that here they so complain'd of and could not endure to hear of such faithful persons coming into power as would indeed preserve the Cause witness your late voting Major General Harrison uncapable of future employment c. and resolved as formerly to recruit the House with men of the same spirit as your-selves And therefore no wonder the Army and the good people declare their dissatisfaction with and rejoyce in your Dissolution as before Yet in this very thing hath the Army done worse themselves as you may see afterwards New Representative before or to proceed in one line considerable in it before it had lain three years before you yet when the Army came to their close considerations instead of protracting you made as much preposterous haste on the other hand to put it on without consideration or care had in the Qualifications of the Act you were about to assert and provide for the security of the Cause but would have thrown it back into the hands of them we first fought with which had they suffered you to have done they should have been rendred the worst people in the world and have become Traytors both to God and man 4. That the Interest of the People of God was grown cheap with you and not laid to heart a also if they came to Competition of things the Cause even among your selves was even almost in every thing going to the ground and saw plainly and evidently that in some Critical things the Cause of the people of God was a despised thing and therefore not yours but the hands of other men must be trusted with it 5. That if any body were in Competition for any place of real and signal Trust it was a hard and difficult thing to get any thing to be Carried without making parties without things indeed unworthy of a Parliament and not as it ought to be 6. That you * Alderman Atkins his saying in the House in the time of your late sitting That Mr. Sympson was an Anabaptist and would not Christen Children nor give the Sacrament as he called it to the people also as ignorantly seconded by Sir Arthur Haslerig saying He believed the Sacrament was a converting Ordinance and that the Ministers of Mr. Sympsons judgement were not the Ministers you intended to own With other the like arguments to keep him out of Bishopsgate As also keeping Mr. Feak out of Christ Church so called though formerly put in by your Order and continuing Mr. Jenkins there who was formerly sequestred and imprisoned by you upon the Scotch Engagement and lately refused to read your Declaration against Sir George Booth yet gave thanks when he was overcome together with your hasty Vote for the continuance of Tythes with other things of this nature that might be mentioned plainly declares you to be acted by the same spirit in owning carnall Interests in opposition to the Friends of the Cause as you were before discountenanced the business of the poor People of God in Wales who had watching over them men like so many Wolves ready to catch the Lamb as soon as it was brought out into the world that you signally threw that business under foot to the discountenancing of the honest people there and to the countenancing of the Malignant Party of this Commonwealth which they say was as perfect a trial of your spirits as any thing which many had felt by sad experience 7. That they found you never intended good to the people of God to wit that comprehension of them under the several forms of godliness and that your tenderness was forgotten to them all though that by their hands and means it was through the blessing of God you then sat where you did and Affairs had been instrumentally brought to that issue they then were brought to which was but an ill requital Page 34. 8. That though many words had been spoken to you for the Regulation of the Law so much groaned under in that posture it then was in yet many months together was not time enough to pass over one word call'd incumberances and this they say they found was your then spirit and complexion 9. That they saw your intendment was to perpetuate your selves and men of that spirit which some understood from your-own mouths from your own designs who could not endure to hear of being dissolved the which had you been a Parliament never violated sitting as free and as clear as any ever sat in Englaud yet to go about to perpetuate your selves they thought was so great a breach of Trust as greater could not be Page 35. That you did not proceed in wayes that were honest and safe to the Nation in providing Qualifications of the Act of a New Representative so as to keep out Presbyters or Neuters to put the power into whose hands they having deserted the Cause and Interest upon the Kings account and upon that closure between them and the Neighbour Nation was to have delivered up the Cause into the hands of Interessed and Byast men who had little affection to the Cause and when the General and Officers made such objections as to the danger of this proceeding that you could not but assent unto yet answer was made as before that nothing would save the Nation but the continuance of your selves in Power Page 36. That you would not though the Government was in that unsettled condition and things being under so much ill sense abroad and so likely to come to confusion in every respect if it went on so answer the General and Officers desire to divolve the Trust then in your hands over to persons of honour and integrity that were well known men well affected to Religion and the Interest of the Nation which they told you and had been confest by you was no new thing when these Nations had been under the like burly burlies and distractions which they offered to you out of the deep sense they had of the good of these Nations and the Cause of Christ which in all likelihood had been lost had the Power been longer continued in your hands But the answer still was that nothing would save the Nation but the Continuance of that Parliament Page 36 37. 12. That you dealt * You dealt as cunningly and deceitfully with the Friends of the Cause in your second Sitting as formerly with the Army for upon the Quakers Petition among others against Tythes you took the advantage one Morning when several whom you thought would oppose you were absent and voted the continuance of them though as it is reported that business of Tythes was not to have been debated till about four dayes after and thus did you carry it in putting Mr. Canne by from writing the Intelligence and placing Nedham in his room and how you likewise dealt treacherously with the Army a second time is very well known which juggling trapanning practises of yours among

Protectoral Beast-like foundation in himself and family were frustrated and came to nothing the Lords faithful people rejoyce the old Protector so called is greatly troubled grows faint his heart as it were falls flat and he dyes I do the rather mention these things that you may the better remember the several steps of providence preceding your second coming into power The light the delight of their eyes the breath of their Nostrils their Moses David great Mordecay and Elijah or rather the most Famous Renowned Prince of their Apostate Congregation who was gotten so far on of his journey towards Zion yet by himself and them through unbelief and a self-seeking self-exalting spirit made their great Captain to return back again into Babylon being thus taken away and therein their head as it were struck from of their shoulders the remaining body of the Apostates to wit the late Council Army Independent Cleargy Tryers and Vniversity men c. either not seeing or rather being ashamed it should be known they saw this their sin of Apostacy from the Cause of Christ and how the presence of the Lord was departed from them upon that account instead of acknowledging the same and returning into the way from whence they had so treacherously and wickedly departed and was the cause of all this evil that was upon them and the Nation they go on like so many blinde Bayards or as a people besotted in their former evil wayes and to mend the matter or lick themselves whole again they set up Richard Cromwel the eldest son of that family upon his deceased Fathers Throne thereby endeavouring what in them lay to confirm and establish the aforesaid Tyrannycal oppressive Power which they had exercised in the life time of his Father who to establish himself more strongly therein he calls a Parliament chosen by the whole bulk or spirit of the Nation as did his father before him without any respect had to those good qualifications which you not being so honest to provide for in the Act of a New Representative you were about in the time of your former sitting was charged upon you as one of the great crimes that it seems would have been committed by you for which they pretended you were dissolved These persons so chosen come together some of whom were friends to a Commonwealth Government in opposition to that of a Single person yet most of these as was in his Fathers Parliaments very short of that * Your unwillingness to divolve your trust over to persons of Honour and Integrity who were well affected to Religion and the Interest of the Nation for the further carrying on of the Cause of Christ was another of the pretended Reasons why the Army first dissolved you and yet afterward as here may be seen they did worse themselves excellent lively spirit for Government and bringing forth of Righteousness which the dispensation that is upon us calls for from Rulers in this our day and these three Nations so that no great good could be expected from them had they not been overvoted by the greater pary that were of a contrary spirit to them The other part of the House which were very much the greater number consisted of persons tainted with both the Old and New Court Interest who like Simeon and Levi brethren in iniquity would alwayes be sure to joyn together against the Commonwealths men and others to hinder whatever tended to advance that interest or way of Government and did strike at the dethroning of their own and of these the Old * Your not endeavouring in the time of your first sitting to keep out Presbyters Neuters and Masignants from coming into Power was another of the pretended Reasons why the Army dissolved you yet therein also as may be seen they did the same themselves I mention these things not to excuse you or in the least to make divisions but that the poor people of God and the Nation may the better see and know how likely they are to be ruined and undone between the Army and you Oh that ever men who have profest to be the Army of the Lamb and such professing men as many of you would be looked upon to be should ever deal so treacherously with the Cause of God and his people as you have done Malignant Neutral and Presbyterian spirit were predominant who endeavoured covertly all they could to bring things to run in the old Malignant Channel and to be laying bonds upon the consciences as well as upon the bodies of the Lords people called Sectaries as also if they had been suffered to go on would have disbanded if not the whole Army yet at least have purged out all therein whom they had judged to have been such factious seditious persons as Sir Arthur Haselrig who then pretended to be a more faithful friend to the honest frinds of the Cause then in this time of your second sitting he hath proved to be and others very well know Things going on in this manner and the Brass Iron and Clay of this Toe of the Image or Horne of the Beast mixing and agreeing no better together and the pretended honest part of the Army so likely to be cast out and as it were undone if things went on so they consult together and conclude that there was nothing would preserve themselves and the honest Interest but the dissolution of that Parliament in order to which they rendezvouz together in their arms the night before in several places of the City and about White-hall Richard Cromwell the then Protector Coll. Goff Com. Gen. Whaly and others of the Army who closed with this corrupt party of that Parliament at the same time endeavouring all they could to draw away a party or all engaged with the other to stand by them fearing that their Kingdom would also be struck at or diminished by this business the pretended honest part of the Army prevail and send to the aforesaid Richard Cromwell a pretended legal Authority desiring him by his power to dissolve that Parliament who sore against his will answered their desire therein whereby they apprehended they were Legally Dissolved This great overturning dispensation being thus brought about the Lords faithful people and all others that may truly be said were friends of the Cause did greatly concurr with and approve of what was done by the Army in procuring the Dissolution of that wretched Parliament and did bless the Lord for the same and likewise desired and greatly pressed after the Dissolution of the Protectoral Government also as that which they formerly in the King and now again so lately in the Protector so called had the too sad experience was Tyrannical and Oppressive and altogether inconsistent with the well being of the people of these Nations and were not without some hopes The Army having but a little before Declared to the world They could not but bewail their great failings and turnings aside and wherein soever they had back-slidden