Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	blood_n	body_n	cup_n	12,251	5	9.5859	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28151	A faithful testimony for God & my country, or, A retro-spective glass for the legislators and the rest of the sons of the Church of England (so called), who are found persecuting the innocent	Billing, Edward, 1623-1686.	1664 (1664)	Wing B2900; ESTC R6254	8,731	11

Witness contrary to their Conscience finde the Innocent Guilty Are not the Jury Judges of matter of Fact at least and to give their Verdict according to their Conscience and Judgment and is not the Judge obliged to receive the Juries Verdict and acquit the Prisoner or give Judgment accordingly * See one of your own Presidents in that case the substance whereof is this so far as I remember viz. An Innocent man was indicted for Felony the Witnesses swearing against him the Jury brought him in Guilty and notwithstanding the Judge himself knew the man indicted was innocent and likewise knew the person that did the Felony yet he was forced to pass Sentence upon the Innocent because the Jury had brought him in guilty and all the Judge could do was to reprieve him until he had got his Pardon from the King But these Innocents were remanded to Prison though cleared by the Jury and there to remain This is not all although so abominable that I do believe the like hath not been done in England in any Judicatory this many hundred years but two dayes after twenty Friends or there-abouts Men and Women were at the place aforesaid upon the authority of sic volo sic jubeo sentensed to Banishment without any Jury at all or being legally heard notwithstanding they never refused according to their understandings and a good conscience to plead the general Issue the which with one voice they then affirmed to the Iudge in the face of the Court so called though it be most evident by the London Juries usage that pleading or not pleading Iury or no Iury is much at one As was also somewhat manifested at Hicks's Hall the same week where the Grand Iury at their first and second going forth could not find the Bill but being check'd and threatned to be fined at their third going forth the Clerk of the Peace going up to help them it was said the Bill was found I say it was alledged it was found but it was not clear to many if any of the by-standers How ever with such Witness and Petty-Jury as they were there were likewise sentenced to Banishment Twelve Innocents to any of the Kings Plantations Virginia and Barbados excepted but one of the Justices so called informed the Judge that Virginia was one of the places excepted in the Act then he mentioned Hispaniola a place that never yet belonged to England and one that stood by and heard him said Oliver did not get that for you so that at that time he did not condescend upon any particular place Indeed the man was greatly confounded insomuch that his lips trembled exceedingly when he pronounced his confused Sentence which to me was an infalible sign that God's hand was against him As for the illegal absurd and cruel proceedings last Assizes and Quarter-Session holden at Hertford where by Banishing twenty nine innocent true Men from their dear Wives and tender innocent Children sixteen of them being married and several of them already shipt hath on your part and by vertue of the Authority derived from you in effect made sixteen Widows and at least fourty or fifty Fatherless Children the which being already malafama through and through the Nation I shall but only mention it and as dung amongst the rest of the precited inhumane Violences spread it before you that so you may plainly see if prejudice utterly blind not how we are really enslaved and contrary to Magna Charta and the most wholsome Laws of the Land destroyed in our Lives Liberties and Estates even by the power that is derived from your late Act. Since the unnatural birth whereof where the Magistrates through God's Mercy to them and us have not been restrain'd have not our Persons been imprison'd and our innocent Blood drank as freely as other cups of Vice and Pleasure Not less than the bodies of twenty seven precious Souls destroyed in and through Cruel Imprisonment in Newgate since your Act became in force being taken and Imprisoned to death only for worshipping the Lord their Maker in the Spirit and in the Truth Is not this turning of Justice backward and Equity into Cruelty makes not such doings your Thrones of Justice so called to become Stages of Infamy and your most legal Theaters most artificial Aceldama's and think ye that the Living God of Heaven and of Earth will not visit for these things and make a dreadful inquisition for the Blood and Sufferings of his Innocent Seed YEA YEA YEA as sure as he is God and its more requisite for you to expect the revelation of his Indignation than daily Bread What can I say You will as surely feel his Justice as ever you saw his Mercy and your whole Arm of Flesh shall be no more able to deliver you from his Vengeance than one single Reed wherefore in vain do you fight against God in his Seed or go about to limit his Holy Ones in the exercise of their holy Consciences to your way or number Had not Christ twelve Apostles and did the ignoble Jews go about to restrict him to the number of five and were not oft-times several hundreds and sometimes thousands conveen'd to hear him and them preach though indeed they were as we now are by the same Antichristian and Hierarchical-spirit cast out as Evil-Doers thought not worthy to live commanded to speak no more in that Name called Sowers of Sedition Pestilent Fellows Ring-Leaders of Sects Perverters of the Laws Turners of the World upside down c. However these our Primitive Predecessors fearing and obeying God rather than man met often together sometimes in the Field sometimes by the Sea-side sometimes at one Friends house and sometimes at another or the like And did not the Apostle incite the True Christians to meet often together and rebuke such who forsook the Assemblies of the Saints wherefore some grew weak and others fell asleep And whether do you think its juster before God for us to obey the Spirit of Christ in Us and follow the blessed Example of him and his holy Apostles or your Edict And was Daniel a Rebel when he brake the Decree of Darius King of the Medes and Persians whose Statutes are said to be unalterable Yet holy Daniel valued not the anti-conscience Law of the King his Master whose immediate Servant he was but boldly opened his windows and prayed to his God as at other times And for my part I tell you plainly I purpose in my heart all the dayes of my life to wait upon and pray to my God as at other times as holy Daniel did notwithstanding your Decree to the contrary infallibly knowing my God can deliver me if he please but as to mine own part whether my dayes shall be many or few my death publick or private O Lord thou knowest I am not at all anxious or careful in that matter And as I would not be profuse of my Blood even so I abhor the very thought of being nigardly of my life for the further Testimony of the Gospel and immortal Truth as it is holden forth and dispens'd by those depicable yet precious Ones who tremble at his Word in scorn called Quakers Wherefore thy Will not mine be done O God most Wise Christ's Cross I love the Pain the Shame I utterly despise Your Banishment your Goal and Gibbet I defie When you are ready so am I for God and 's Truth to die However it had been but reasonable among men before you had passed a Decree to Imprison Fine Banish sell for Slaves and upon their Return to put to Death so considerable a part of the Nation as we and others concerned in your late Act are to have conveen'd a sufficient number of your Priests for whom you thus drudg and Us together and your selves have heard if they could have convinced us that we held or declared any thing for Doctrine or Religion derogatory to God or Christ Jesus the Light of the World or that we had preached for Hire or divined for Money handfuls of Corn or pieces of Bread as the false Prophets did and do or if they could have plainly evinced to you we had like Belly-gods idle Drones greedy Dumb-dogs who can never have enough robb'd the Nation of the Tenth or seventh part of their Estates and yearly industry then it had been time to have cryed Away with them for such men as such are indeed pernitious to the Publick-weal a burden and a plague to our Nation Or rather in the first place immediatly after God had permitted you into outward Power and Government It had been fitter for you to have put on sackcloth and ashes and in humility of soul have turned inward and waited there in brokenness of heart at Wisdoms gate that so ye might have come to have felt and known what the Lord had meant considering what bad men you had been to devoul such undeserved Trust and Power upon you But alas alas instead of doing thus have ye not turned the Grace of God into Wantonness Pride Oaths Persecution and many other unutterable Abominations * Him that 's free I neither interrogate nor accuse although I expect he that 's most guilty should be ready to throw the first stone at me And can you expect ought but a sutable reward and that God should make a dreadful decision betwixt the Just and the Unjust betwixt them who serve him and them who will not serve him themselves nor suffer others Indeed were I so vicious as very very many of the sons of your Church are I should rather expect the eternal Vengeance of the dreadful God forthwith to sweep me from the face of the Earth than his intolerably provoked Mercy should permit me to live one day longer to blaspheam And truly friends the Whoremonger Swearer Lyar Drunkard Adulterer and Idolatrous Persecutor be you assured God will severely judge and the Thirsters after the Blood of the Innocent shall not live out half their dayes and the Memorial of the Wicked shall Rot. E. B. THE END