Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	david_n	king_n	saul_n	12,106	5	9.9774	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25538	An Account of the new sheriffs, holding their office made publick, upon reason of conscience, respecting themselves and others, in regard to the act for corporations.		1680 (1680)	Wing A333; ESTC R1609	7,738	4

An ACCOUNT of the NEW SHERIFFS HOLDING THEIR OFFICE Made Publick upon Reason of CONSCIENCE Respecting Themselves and Others in regard to the ACT for CORPORATIONS Magnam rem puta unum hominem agere Sen. WHereas it hath pleased God to call forth two worthy Citizens by an uncommon Election to be Sheriffs of London for the Year ensuing of which Honour they could have little reason unless for the serving their Generation onely to be desirous There are some Friends of Theirs and of their Countrey do think fit upon consultation to make this Resolution publick concerning the Corporation Oath and the Renunciation of the Covenant which to morrow the 28th of September are to be administred that no man may be offended by them at present or offended in them for the time to come Provided onely their own Consciences both be first clear according to this Paper following in what they do The Oath we suppose must be taken in the sense or meaning of the major part of both Houses that passed the * To this Rule there is a double Extreme The one is of those who think a man must take every Imposition in the strict literal construction and can submit to it no otherwise The other is of such who suppose that if a man can frame any interpretation of his own that is but reasonable he may take the words in that sense and be satisfied The one of these is so rigid that there is nothing can be imposed but we shall strain at it and the other so loose that nothing can be imposed but we shall swallow it The true Medium is this we must sit down and consider what we believe to be the meaning of the Lawgiver and if we can submit to an Imposition in that sense or meaning which we believe theirs we must do it but if we believe their sense to be such as we cannot take it in that sense we must forbear it and suffer Act. The Law is the Will of the Lawgiver and the Lawgiver's Meaning is his Will The Majority of Parliament was the Lawgiver and we conceive these Sheriffs believe their meaning to be as followeth Only we must premise thus much That we take not upon us as no man may to put a meaning upon the Oath of our own which we know must be taken only in theirs that passed it or to determine and say This is the Meaning but to sar We believe this to be their Meaning which is necessary to every one that takes it to determine for himself that he may act in Faith in what he does We must add That when we say the Parliament is the Law-giver we understand by the Parliament the King Lords and Commons and consequently that the sense of the Law and so of this Oath must be always that sense wherein the House of Lords did concur with the House of Commons and the King with both If there be any sense therefore of an Imposition which may be supposed to be the meaning of the King and not of the Houses or of one of the Houses and not the other or of a lesser part of either House and not the majority of both that sense must be still lookt on as too narrow and ought not to scruple the Conscience the true sense obliging the Subject being the concurrent sense of the King Lords and Commons who as assembled jointly to this end of Legislation not one without the other but all three together as One Corporation and no otherwise are the Lawgiver Neither is this sense to be collected from the first floating apprehensions of any one that moves a matter in the House but from the digested thoughts of both Houses after a mature debate and the thinghath thrice passed in them both so that no sense of any Imposition but that which is agreeable to Reason and more especially to the fundamental Laws of the Constitution must be received as the Meaning of a Parliament the Reason being because the nature of the Constitution is such as it cannot be infringed by an Act or Law for the Administration which is a Note to be laid in here that by-and-by will be needful Thus much therefore farther and no less being premised we proceed By taking Arms Let us then suppose the Sheriffs believe the Parliament meant the raising an Army or War and by the King the King 's own Sacred Person And we can see no * The only objections here which are of weight may be reduced to two Cases One is the Case of Private violence as suppose a Prince should go to ravish a Virgin and she catches up the next Weapon or Instrument to defend herself In this Case or the like we answer this Defence is not to be accounted taking Arms in the sense of this Act. The other is a Case of Publick violence as suppose a Prince should go about to alienate his Kingdom or ruine his Countrey or the like We answer we are not for all that to return violence upon his Person and as for his Officers Followers or Armies the solution must be attended in the next Clause of the Oath Objection which may not be answered from this Little in the first Clause of the Oath I A. B. do swear That I hold it unlawful to take Arms against the King or His Rightful Government upon any Pretence whatsoever If David's heart smote him for cutting off but Saul's Skirt when he was actually in Arms to defend himself against Saul's Forces onely because he was the Lord's Anointed It is not in this first Clause any one may conjecture but in the ensuing where the chief Scruples against the Oath are to be removed In the second Clause By those Commissionated by Him these Gentlemen believe the Parliament meant and could mean no other than such as have a due Authority from Him and exercise it onely according to Law And so long as the King's Authority and such Commissions are one or the same we can see no more difficulty remaining in the second Clause than in the former And I do abhor that is disown or disclaim that Trayterous Position of taking Arms by His Authority against His Person or against any Commissionated by Him in the pursuit of such Commissions That is Legally Commissionated by Him in the Legal pursuit of such Commissions It is not to be imagined that the Parliament when they passed this Act that is the major part of them should design the setting up an Arbitrary Government in the Nation But if the meaning of those Commissionated by Him be otherwise than thus they must design it An Arbitrary Power as soon as they passed this Clause in any Act must be accounted to Commence A thing most absurd to be believed and in the contrary belief whereof we thank God that both these Sheriffs can take the Oath In the third Clause we distinguish an Endeavor to change or reform any thing in Church or State which we think conducive to the good of