Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	king_n	lord_n	power_n	14,769	5	5.2297	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77800	Alderman Bunce his speech to the Lord Maior, Aldermen and Common-Council of London, touching the Kings resolution to accept of honourable conditions from a free-Parliament for his admitment.	Bunce, James, Sir, d. 1670.	1660 (1660)	Wing B5472; Thomason E1017_41; ESTC R208240	4,097	8

Alderman Bunce HIS SPEECH TO THE Lord Maior Aldermen and Common-Council of LONDON TOUCHING The Kings Resolution to accept of Honourable Conditions from a Free-Parliament for his Admitment LONDON Printed by T. S. for O. H. and are to be sold at the Royal Exchange 1660. Alderman Bunce's Speech to the Lord Maior Aldermen and Common-Council of LONDON touching the KINGS Resolution to accept of Honourable Conditions from a Free-Parliament for his Admitment My Lord Gentlemen and Fellow-Citizens THat I am after so long a time of Banishment and almost despair returned again without fear into my native Country I need not I think tell you how much I rejoyce at but I cannot indeed tell you that unexpressible joy which I feel within my bosome to find my poor distressed and distracted Country in some hopes of Settlement and Restoration to her pristine Glory even then when she seem'd to be most overwhelmed and swallowed up under the usurpation and tyranny of the most mean and Fanatick Spirits of the Nation Nor can I here forbear to burst out into Praises and Thanks to God for his so great a Mercy and Deliverance That he hath at length been pleased to withdraw his afflicting hand in some measure from us That he hath opened the eyes of the greatest part of this Nation except those who are wilfully and obstinately blinded by their own pernicious and covetous Interests That after we had wilfully run head-long into the Ditch of Ruine he is pleased to lay to his hand to help us out 'T is well my Lord that though we have bought our Knowledge and Repentance at so dear a rate at the expence of so much Blood and Treasure yet that we can repent at last That we are at las sensible of our Distractions that now we are able to bear no more we have one who will help us to throw off our Burthens That we can now see our blindness our errour our folly that whilst we endeavoured to free our selves from the pretended Tyranny of our lawfull King Soveraign and Superiour we subjected our selves under the Arbitrary will and power of our Equals if not Inferiours I must confesse my Lord though 't is well known to you all Gentlemen that I was at the beginning of the late unhappy wars blinded as well as others yet I utterly disown that I ever had any design or intention to wrong my Printe though I accounted it then the duty of every Freeborn Englishman to stand for the privilege of Parliament as for his Native Birthright so far I durst go but no farther for when I saw those who before they had got the power into their hands pretended to maintain Parliamentary privileges pretended to settle the King in Glory violently infringe the first and murder the second I could not but in reason and conscience protest against them Nor was the murdering of their King or infringing the privileges of Parliament the furthest those men went who had then got the power into their hands and ruled only by sword-Sword-law but having given the Name of a Parliament to a select number of their Creatures and some who durst do no otherwise than obey their Commands they made Laws at their pleasure disinheriting the lawfull Heir and abolishing the power of the House of Lords the chief part of a Parliamentary Grand Council they sold the Kings Queens Bishops Deans and Chapters Lands to maintain their Violencies and Villanies or to enrich themselves making a prey of these Nations and over-throwing the Fundamental laws of the Land This my Lord you very well know was the Praemunire we had run our selves into This was that we fought for this was that for which we consumed so much Blood and Treasure in short we fought for Liberty that we might be enslaved we fought for Religion that we might nourish Heresies Sects and Schisms in the Church we spent our Estates freely to maintain a War amongst our selves under specious pretences that we might have them prey'd upon by ravenous Wolves But when we had run our selves into all these miseries under a piece of a Parliament who had endeavoured all that lay in their power to establish their own Government yet were they themselves at length turned out by their Servant their General the just reward of their treachery to their Master who Establishes in himself that power which he had before avowed as tyrannical and usurps to himself though not fully the Title yet more than the power of any King of England so it fairly proved that he only defam'd Kingship as Tyrannical that he might be a Tyrant The many changes and Alterations since in the English Government are so new that they need no recital only thus much that as all they in whose hands the Government was were equally guilty of the forementioned crimes so though they did oppose one another yet they all agreed together in continuing and adding to the Nations Distractions in preferment to imployments either in Church or State such only as were either as guilty as themselves or else possest with their Fanatick Opinions in defaming the lawfull Heir and endeavouring by Calumnies to engender an odium of him in the peoples minds which might have found its desired effect had not the people for their Cheats and Delusions conceived a just odium of them so that the arrow they shot returned again upon their own heads But many of the good people of England are still possest with their Calumnies and believe many of them for truth though against such clear and certain Evidences Many understanding people of the Nation convincing themselves by Imaginary circumstances that not only his Majesty but his Brothers the thrice Noble Dukes of York and Glocester have left the Religion of their Fathers and Country and are turned to the Fopperies of Romish Superstition and Idol try which how false it is the God of Heaven knows and my self can witnesse his and his Brother constant use and practice of the English Liturgie and other Customs of the best reformed Church of England his constant encouragement of such servants of his as professe the true Protestant Religion whether in Episcopacy or Presbytery and his contrary discoragement of all such who permit themselves to be inveigled into Popish or Jesuitical opinions and tenents being sufficient evidence that he is so far from leaving of his true and mother Church that all possible encouragement is will certainly be at all times given by him to the true and sound professors of the Protestant Religion For those other Calumnies laid upon and only setled in the hearts of the common Souldiers whom their Officers here have made believe that they must expect nothing but death if he should be admitted to his Crown viz. that he is revengefull cruel never forgetting injuries but though soothing for a time yet at fit opportunities resolute in his revenge all that know him know to be false for he is Gentle Mercifull Peaceable and rather inclined to suffer injuries