Selected quad for the lemma: peace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
peace_n	england_n	king_n	scot_n	3,692	5	9.7269	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77431	A brief discourse of the present miseries of the kingdome: declaring by what practises the people of England have been deluded, and seduced into slavery, and how they have been continued therein, and by what meanes they may shake off that bondage, they are now enthraled under. / Written by a lover of his country, for the good of all such who are not contented to be slaves, but desire to live free-men.	Lover of his country.	1648 (1648)	Wing B4583; Thomason E467_24; ESTC R205268	21,615	31

A BRIEF DISCOVRSE OF THE PRESENT MISERIES OF THE KINGDOME Declaring by what practises the people of England have been deluded and seduced into Slavery and how they have been continued therein and by what meanes they may shake off that bondage they are now enthraled under Written by a lover of his Country for the good of all such who are not contented to be slaves but desire to live Free-men Printed in the Yeare 1648. A briefe discourse of the present Miseries of the Kingdome c. THe sad and deplorable condition of this unhappy Kingdome is remarkeably evident to all intelligent persons of all degrees who have any share or interest in the Common-wealth and by all those who are honest as much lamented Yet every man is not sensible by what practices and endeavours our Lawes have been subverted or who have been the Authors and contrivers of the Kingdomes miserie or at least all men will not seeme to understand who have blowne the bellowes to kindle this unnaturall War which hath almost wasted and consumed although not in their persons yet in their Estates all the chief Nobility and Gentry of the Land I have therefore out of my zeale to rectifie those understandings who are not wilfully blinded by their owne ignorance and folly written this ensuing narrative wherein is discovered how and by what practises the Subjects of England have been seduced and made the unhappy instruments to contribute to their owne undoing by which they may easily discerne who have been the Authors and contrivers of their miserie and may hereby if they become sensible of their past errours finde a meanes to recover their lost Liberty and redeeme themselves from the Slavery and Thraldome they have so long endured No man is ignorant in how happy a condition this Kingdome was before it was destroyed by this unhappy Parliament neither am I so partiall to the foregoing times but that I could discerne that there were faults then for there was pride sloath and covetousnesse in some of the Clergie Bribery and corruption in some of the Judges partiality and selfe-interests in many Magistrates an aiming at an exorbitant power in the Court managed to His Majesties disadvantage by those He imployed and trusted who studied their owne ends and profits without regard to His Majesties Honour These were the personall crimes of men which could not justly occasion complaint against the whole frame and order of our setled constitution of Government yet the offences of these evill Ministers were accounted great grievances and multiplied in their number and aggravated in their nature by those Schismaticks who could not make a rent and division in the Church Government to which they were enemies because they were curb'd and restrained by the Ecclesiasticall power hindred from introducing innovation into the Church which they could not effect unlesse they first beget a distraction in the Civill Government And therefore there was no pressure put upon the people and they counted all such whether legall or illegall if it concerned them in their purposes but these Schismaticall people presently put themselves in opposition against it and by that gain'd an opinion amongst the common sort who are still of least understanding that those men were the chief Patriots beleeving according to their hypocriticall demenors that they had no indirect ends but aimed only at the good of the Common-wealth and to maintaine the Laws and Liberties of the Subjects These men having by these subtile insinuations crept into the good opinion of the vulgar people the Clergie and Laity of the same Sect magnifying each the others integrity and both deluding the ignorant people the one by an humble and feined piety the other by pretending to a strict observation of the Laws in so much that the common people imagined that there was no way left to recover the golden age but by bringing these men into power and Authority and to make them the directors and Governours both in Church and State Then was raised a generall complaint that all things were out of order by reason we had no Parliaments called but how to reduce His Majesty to a necessity to call a Parliament and to make that necessity such as that He might not be able to dissolve that Parliament this was the study and practice of these underminers of our happy and peaceable Government The people of England had been so long inur'd to Peace and with it were growne so rich that it was difficult to stir them up to any commotion or Rebellion And therefore there must be some way found out by His Majesties owne Instruments and Ministers of State to disturbe the Kingdome and no man was found so fit for this as the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury whose zeale to advance the dignity of the Protestant Church within His Majesties Dominions by reducing it to an uniformity and decency in Gods worship and by endeavouring to increase the Wealth of it that so the Clergie might not become contemptible was cherist in these pious endeavours and became so passionate in the pursuance thereof being I am afraid a little transported with the vanity of being stiled the author of so glorious a worke that without mature consideration he swallowed all proposals that he imagined might conduce to so good an end And so became unfortunately engaged in the reforming of the Scottish Kirke by endeavouring to conforme it to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England In this undertaking I am confident his Lordship had no end that aimed at any thing but Gods worship but I have been on very good grounds ascertain'd that those who put his Lordship on this work had an intention thereby to destroy the Bishops in that Kingdome that so they might be disposers of the Churches patrimony This gave the first rise to our miseries for the Scots imediately oppose our Lyturgie branding it as Popish and Superstitious that Lyturgie which in the time of Queene Elizabeth when She protected them against the Invasions of the French they embraced with all reverence and thankefulnesse and made use thereof in their Churches as long as they had need of the English Protection and then it was neither Popish nor Superstitious but a most holy worship divinely composed for the decent and true honour of God but they had not then been instructed in Mr. Calvins Doctrine or at least knew not how to wrest it and make use of it to throw off obedience to Kings as the true Protestant Religion had taught them to throw off the usurpt Authority of the Pope Cardinall Richlieu who was undoubtedly the most vigilant and wisest Councellour of this latter age who industriously studied his Princes advancement and enlargements of his Dominions and had been long studying and contriving to disturbe the Peace of England and watching every opportunity to doe it for he well knew as long as the King of England enjoyed Peace he held the ballance of this part of Christendome and by joyning with any

Prince in opposition to the French King would be able at any time to give a stop to his increase of Empery and restraine his enlargement of Dominion which this Cardinall aymed at And for that cause he covetously embraced this occasion offered by the Scots refusall of our Booke of Common-Prayer and presently endeavours to insinuate the Auncient League between their Nations how willing the French would be to assist them in the defence of their Religion Laws and Liberties But the Language which the Scots best understood was the French crownes for that wise States man well knew how little gold was generated in that cold climate and how affected that Nation was to that mettall for he believed they might be purchased not onely to forfeit their Allegeance but to sell their God for that coyne And therefore he subtilely dispersed his crownes amongst their poor Nobility who received them with condition of Rebellion but yet durst not enter openly into an hostile opposition of their Kings commands untill they were assured of a party in England and therefore the Puritanicall party of this Kingdome must be tamper'd withall and accordingly were and found right for their turne but these were but of the meaner sort of people and such as were not able to raise any considerable power to countenance their undertakings And therefore it was necessary that some eminent Lords should be drawne into the Plot of which there were not many that were Puritannically affected and therefore they must seeke to gaine such who were discontented because they were not countenanced and enjoyed offices and honours at Court to which their ambitions prompted them This was by the industry of these men effected and accordingly divers of the Nobillty were wrought upon to be of this party of which I beleeve divers of them who look't not into the depth of this Conspiracy have since heartily repented seeing and now knowing what instruments they were made to contribute to the ruine of this Kingdome But they understood His Majesty had money in his purse and was beforehand with the world and untill that was wasted and He become poor there was no hope of bringing Him to comply with their ends and therefore there must be a shew of War before a reall War and for this reason His Majesty must be perswaded to carry an Army to the borders of Scotland to compell the Scots to conformity and there He must have instruments to perswade Him to lye still untill His stock of money was spent Treating and making and receiving overtures of Peace which at last was concluded and the observation thereof solemnely protested to continue so long untill their Brethren in England were ready to assist them and then the Religious Scots had liberty to breake all Oathes and Protestations and Rebell againe And so shortly after they enter into England with a pretence to Petition His Majesty but not to fight but for their safety This Petition must be presented by an Army and this Army must possesse themselves of Townes in England and must have all things granted unto them which they could possibly desire within the Kingdome of Scotland and this must be confirmed unto them by Acts of Parliament wherein His Majesty must divest Himselfe of all Regall power and give up all into the hands of His Scottish Subjects to be at their disposall which could not have been an ill bargaine for His Majesty if He had had but some tye upon them to make good the compact for if an Earth-quake should swallow up those that are perfidious of that Nation it could be no losse unto the Crowne of England unto which they have ever been false and burthen-some For what was there wanting to that Nation that they could desire from their native King His bounty affection and protection they were sufficiently sensible of if they could be sensible of benefits but nothing can obliege them to hold their faith or become gratefull These Scots being in a hostile manner entred the Kingdome whom all good Subjects were bound to oppose and resist it was so far from that that those Souldiers which His Majestie raised for that purpose were disheartned and discouraged in their undertakings and their Officers branded with the names of Papists and the Souldiers encouraged to mutiny against their Commanders The Scots being Invaders were welcomed and to make it good that they were Invited into the Kingdome they were well recompensed for their paines And no doubt this money was given them that they might be ready on all occasions to enter the Kingdome againe when the Parliament should call for them to second and assist them in their attempts against His Majesty For truely now the Parliament have a very faire pretence to challenge the same grants from His Majesty that the Scots have obtained and they are sure of their Brethrens assistance for they desire that this Kingdome should be as far engaged in Rebellion as themselves for by that being become equall sharers in iniquity they are thereby mutually obliged to potect and preserve each other against the power of the King whom they are bound to oppose and suppresse lest His justice enabled by power should overtake and punish their Trayterous Rebellion The Scots being now gone out of England and His Majesty having been in Scotland and there according to His promises confirmed all by Act of Parliament as aforesaid He returned hither to assure His subjects here that He was willing to do for them whatsoever they could demand for the good of the Common-wealth and by the presidents of having already condiscended unto more then ever any of His Ancestors did for the Subjects they are not at all stirred up to a gratitude for His grace and favour already conferr'd but are thereby encouraged to make greater and higher demands and must now invest themselves with all Regall power and authority and His Majesty must be but a cipher whilst they rule governe order and dispose all things at their pleasure And that they may the better gull and abuse the people and so lead them on to beleeve in them they must in generals traduce the whole government the Church they must bespatter with Popery and therein all decency must be accounted Superstition and the Bishops who laboured for uniformity and punisht non-conformists must be branded with the names of Popish innovators and the chief crimes laid to their chare was Church Ornaments which they styled ragges of the whore of Babell Sure if God had commanded these reformers to have built the Tabernacle or the Sanctuary they would not have obeyed him but told him he was Popishly affected and would have built him a Temple after their owne fancies and imaginations The Church being now the object of their furious zeale the wisdome of this grave Senate is not bound to particularize the faults therein for so they might come to be disputed and might either in the reason and opinion of the people prove no faults or else by that