Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	bill_n	house_n	pass_v	12,480	5	7.4741	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48851	A sermon preached before the House of Lords, on November 5, 1680 by ... William Lord Bishop of St. Asaph.	Lloyd, William, 1627-1717.	1680 (1680)	Wing L2712; ESTC R20309	18,469	46

hopes of that Royal Family to murder a whole Nation together in their Representative then met in Parliament All was struck at together as if they had been but one person as if according to Caligula's wish they had but one neck They were for blowing them up for swallowing them up at once for overwhelming all that was Venerable and Sacred in this Nation for burying both our State and our Religion in one heap of destruction and ruine Good God! If thou hadst not been on our side what had become of us when men rose up against us to swallow us up quick Men Who would ever suspect men of such a wickedness We ought not to think that men were capable of it we ought not to entertain so hard an opinion of Humane Nature It was something else that put them upon it It was something which they mis-call Religion that made them put off their Humanity It was this which transformed men into such monsters that brought them not only to think of this but to design it For their part it was actually done I do not charge all of that Religion with this Action Religion do I call it I unwillingly use so good a word on so ill an occasion But since they call it so let it pass I say then that all the Authors were only of that Religion and they acted according to their own Principles those Principles which they received from their Spiritual Governors Their Counsellors were of the Governing Party They were Jesuites who had their Superior in the Plot. I need not tell you of the malice the closeness the subtilty the rage and cruelty of that Faction that hath sufficently appeared in a hundred other things in other Exploits they have out-done all other men but they out-did themselves in this unhumane this Devilish Conspiracy It was contrived with such foresight it was managed with such policy it was carried on with that closeness and secresie as not once to gather wind in some years till they had brought all their business to perfection There was but a short time but one night but half a night between the Plot and the Execution if God had not miraculously interposed The Vault was dug the Magazine was laid in the Iron-bars were laid over the Engineer was at hand the Match was laid it was sized for an hour a fatal hour of this morning of the Fifth of November In a minute of which in a moment all the governing part of this Nation and God knows who more all that came within reach were to have been swallowed up quick Lord What a thunderclap had it been to this Nation to this Church to this Kingdom What an Earthquake it would have been What a Chaos it would have made What a Tragical day to every thing but Popery Nay to Papists themselves I doubt not many would have abhorr'd it I am persuaded they would many would have abhorr'd their very Popery But they could not have remedied what was past nor have prevented the following miseries Then this day had stood in red Letters in their Almanacks though some are pleased to leave it out of ours Then they must have kept this a Holy-day that cannot now afford it a Thanksgiving Then they must have gone to Mass for it that will not joyn with us now in our Prayers and some that will not now give a Faggot must then have lighted one 'T is not in my power nor words nor in the wit of man to enumerate all the evils and miseries that would have come upon this Nation It could not have been otherwise if the Lord had not been on our side If the Lord had not been on our side we had been gone we had never been born or had cause to have wished we had never been Oh! how are we bound to thank God that he was on our side on this day How are we bound to praise his name for preserving us so many times since I need not reckon up to you the particulars I know of no great danger we have been in but hath more or less been occasion'd by the same sort of men or if they did not begin it they have struck in with it and contributed to carry it on all they could And shall we tempt God by doing nothing to secure our selves against them It is plain that this were contrary to Gratitude But what shall we do towards our safety there is nothing more worth our consideration But do I ask that when I know what this August Assembly hath judged And if your judgment be seconded as I hope it will be there is no doubt his Majesty will assent to it Then we shall have no occasion for any more such Miracle there will be an ordinary way to keep us out of this danger First they will be obliged all the Papists that stay in England at least for their own ease if not for the common security to consider whether they are bound in Conscience to be still of that Faction That is more than we have been able to bring them to for many years They would rarely endure any of our Clergy to speak to them They had their ears stopt against us for fear of better information If you can but bring them to hear Truth I am persuaded they cannot continue Papists I know they cannot if they have so much sense in them as to consider how little reason they have for it And for them that will not hear nor consider neither of themselves nor when Authority requires it what can be more reasonable than what you have judged I think none will judge otherwise that will consider the present case This I take it is the present case between them and us our main difference is in a plain point of practice whose Subjects they and we must be They will needs be subject to one that lives in Italy If they will be so who can help it Nay that will not content them but we must be his Subjects too That is hard when we can see no reason for it Nay we must or we shall never be quiet otherwise No Cannot we intreat them Cannot be oblige them to be quiet We have endeavoured to do it with all possible Civility and yet we cannot be quiet without being what we will never be Then it is time to part if we cannot live together that 's plain But now the question is Who shall go that would I with all my soul if Popery were the Religion of England I protest I would not stay in it And yet I have done nothing to make my Country afraid of me and I have nothing but my Religion to provoke any of them I hate the person of no Papist or man in the world I would have no man punished for his Religion no not them that destroy men for Religion I would not punish them but I would not live with them if I could help it I know no Sect among Christians that I would not live under rather than Popery But what matter is it for such a one as me I expect from them no regard to what I say But methinks they should have some regard for their Country I would tell them if they were present your Country is afraid of you She does as it were beg you to be gone For a hundred years she hath been in danger of you She hath not suffered but some way or other on your account The Spanish Invasion was for Popery The Gunpowder-Treason was for Popery One Civil War was in a great measure occasioned by Popery She is in danger of another Civil War by Popery I will not say what she hath suffered abroad for your sakes She hath suffered more than she can well bear and must she suffer still must she still be in fear for your sakes Why should you not be gone and free her from her fears If they are true that she may not be destroyed and if false that she may not be always in fear of you But perhaps we cannot expect so much favour at their hands and therefore we should be the more careful for our selves Let us do what we can do if we will without them We need not fear them so much if it were not for our Divisions That is the thing which makes us most in danger of them We divide and subdivide We take the way to make our selves weak and little and indefensible We promote their design by it to swallow us up We should not go down so easily whole as we may do in small pieces We cannot but see this Oh! that we had hearts to consider it that we would do what we can to unite our selves Surely we can if we will we could if we had but a real mind to it We will and must very speedily do it or else if we do not unite do what we will otherwise we shall let in Popery even by the ways that we take to keep out Popery Well! nothing can be too bad for us to suffer upon the account of our sins yet nothing can be too good to expect from that God who hath preserved us and will preserve us if we are not wanting to our selves If we Reform our lives according to our Religion if we eschew evil and do good if we seek peace and ensue it then we shall see good days then God will delight to dwell among us he will build us like Ierusalem a City at unity within it self that shall stand fast for ever The Lord grant it for his Mercy sake Amen FINIS * That is in the Booksellers style 1677. * Aug. 30. 1675. † p. 17. o● the Collection of Letter● set out by order of the House of Commons * March 1676. Ibid p. 82. * Bernard super Cant. Serm. 67. † Caesar. ab Heist dist 3. c. 16 17. * Dr. Burnet's Hist. of Reform Part. 2. The Bill against Popery that has pass'd in the House of Lords