Selected quad for the lemma: prince_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prince_n	ordinance_n	power_n	resist_v	2,543	5	10.0817	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46964	Remarks upon Dr. Sherlock's book, intituled, The case of the allegiance due to soveraign princes, stated and resolved, &c.	Johnson, Samuel, 1649-1703.	1690 (1690)	Wing J842; ESTC R220008	13,889	15

Authority as if a man could act by God's Authority in opposition to the Laws of the Realm and his own Oath to observe them and cause them to be duly executed as if Princes had any other Authority from God then to govern according to Law as if resisting a Lawless Authority which is no Authority were resisting the Authority of God as a sort of men to whom the Laws and Religion of the Nation upon which all that can be dean to us depends must never owe any thing for their preservation tho' in the greatest extremities so long as they are guided by the spirit of their Church● tho' thanks be to Heavens a late Divine has furnished us with a distinction betwixt that and the spirit of God No they must be quiet and suffer all to be trampled undersoot by God's Authority unless wicked-men form designs against God's Dr. Hickman Authority to preserve the Authority of the Laws and the Profession of God's true Religion So that the best things that can be done in the World must be done by wicked men and in opposition to God's Authority or not be done at all And all this while that the Church mast sit still the Providence of God is at work by means of the Devil and his Agents wicked men against his own Authority which a King that has a legal title but exercises an illegal power is invested with and herein consists the unsearchable Wisdom of Providence that God serves his own Ends by their Wickedness It seems he can never serve his Ends by the Godliness of the Church but must carry on Ends for their good by the free Ministeries of wicked men All you Patriots that with the hazard of your Lives and Estates stept into the gap to prevent Popery and Slavery coming in like a torrent upon Church and State and who in so doing thought you did God good Service because your End was the preservation of your own and your Countries Liberties Properties and Religion under a legal administration of the ancient English Government were all that while sighting against God you were resisting the power ordain'd by God and so doing you receiv'd to your selves damnation and tho' God has wrought a deliverance through your wickedness no thanks to you tho' the Nation has consented to what you have done by as universal a consent as perhaps was ever heard of this National consent is but an indication that God has given the King and Queen his Authority but does not invest them with any legal Right that remains in the dispossessed King yet So that you and the Nation have but been endeavouring to transfer what it is not in your power to transfer viz. a legal Right And you have transferred what you never intended to transfer nor ever acknowledged viz. an irresistible Authority from God Dr. Sherlock has found out now what you were then doing and sees the consequence of your Actions to your selves and all men else unknown You aided the Prince and promoted the Ends of his Declaration which were to deliver the Nation from Popery and Slavery so as it might never be in the power of any Prince hereafter to introduce either but Dr. Sherlock tells ye that can never be done for it never will be Lawful nor indeed possible to exclude Slavery Because every Prince has God's authority which is irresistible and I 'm sure he that is your Prince and is by the Law of God irresistible to him you are slaves by the Law of God So that you have but changed Masters according to his principle one of a rough temper for a more mild one And all your security depends upon the good nature of your Prince for the time being I neither have leasure nor if I had that can I have patience nor if I had both can I think it worth my while to run through the Book and animadvert upon it Paragraph by Paragraph For if it were much better written then it is yet the writing of him who slights and despises to that degree that he does upon all occasions every man's reason but his own and in this Discourse sets up an Hypothesis of his own for a Rule to men's Consciences in matters of Government without any regard to the Laws of the Nation can hardly deserve so much regard as a serious answer would require He tells us that an Oath to a dispossessed Prince ceases Gessante materiâ for though the man be still in being the King is gone So that the Kingly authority p. 16. may be transferr'd from one person to another But then they that assist and defend the new Prince in opposition to the title of him that is dispossessed must I hope not for the future abhor that treasonable Doctrine and Position of levying War by the King's authority against his person c. He tells us the Scripture makes no distinction between Rightful Kings and pag. 17. Usurpers The Rule is general Let every Soul be Subject to the higher powers c. Nor does the Scripture define to us who these higher Powers are And I 'm sure they are not the same every where In what person or persons the Powers lodge which here are said to be ordain'd of God and with what degree of Power they are invested depends upon the several Constitutions of Governments for if it be equally resisting God's Ordinance to Resist all Princes without distinction then I know no difference betwixt an absolute and a limited Monarchy then Princes have some dormant Authority or other which the Laws does not give 'em Which are Principles of slavery peculiar to this last Age and to some of the English Clergy He will not have St. Paul to be understood of lawful powers only for then it would be necessary for Subjects to examine the titles of Princes which would involve the Consciences of men in perplexitie for these are disputes amongst learned men and he cannot think that the resolution of Conscience in matters that all mankind are concerned in should depend upon such niceiies as learned men themselves cannot agree in He will hardly allow this Position with reference to matters of Religion which yet I think all mankind are or should be concerned in Nor ought a rule to be rejected upon a supposition that it is not clear because learned Men differ about it unless at the same time a New One be set up which all learned Men doe agree in But the disputes about Government are various and that amongst very learned men and yet to the best of my Observation all Men hitherto learned and unlearned have agreed that the Laws of a Nation and the Constitution of it's Government are at least a safe a true rule for Conscience which if we shall leave and follow some Ignis fatuus of a Schollar's Invention I know not whether it may lead us at last The Laws of a Nation may be trampled under foot and it's Constitution broken by an inundation of Foreigners this

in his Patriarcha and that it will serve the turn of every Usurper is evident nor does the Doctor deny it But that the Possession of the Throne and the actual Administration of a Government creates a Right the Doctor is positive in not such a Right as shall Entitle a King to be what we poor Lay-men call a King de Jure but to be a Rightful King with respect to God And why so Why because the Most High Ruleth in the Kingdom of Men and giveth it to whomsoever he will and setteth over it the basest of Men. It is he that removeth Kings and setteth up Kings Shall there be evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it They are the Ministers of God All Power is of God the Powers that be are ordained of God I exalted thee out of the dust and made thee Prince over my people Israel Now I cannot understand the Doctor 's Inference from such Expressions as these That God governs the World and that all things come to pass by his Providence I hope is past dispute And that such expressions as these are to be understood only of God's Ordinary Providence in the guidance of Humane Affairs will perhaps appear by the common style of Scripture in ascribing all things of what kind or nature soever natural or moral good bad immediately in words to the first Cause God is said to instruct the Plowman in discretion and to teach him And that his skill cometh from Isa 28. 26 29. Exod. 35. 31. the Lord of Hosts which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working So God filled Bezaleel with the Spirit of God in wisdom in understanding and in knowledge and in all manner of workmanship Thunder is said to be the Voice of God God hardned Pharaoh 's heart Is there evil in the City and Job 40. 9. the Lord hath not done it So God sets up Princes and removes them by the Events of Providence But that their Authority is derived immediatly from God or that they have when setled in the Throne any other Authority than what the Constitution of the Government allows much less that they can have an Authority from God in opposition to a Legal Right I shall believe when I see a Prince work greater Miracles than Curing the King 's Evil to Justify the delegation of such Authority The Doctor throughout this Discourse runs upon a notion of Mens Duty to Princes only as if the Persons of Princes were the sole Objects of our Duty and Obedience That is his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and proceeds from his Ignorance of the Nature of Humane Laws in Political Governments It is a notion that suits only with a Despotical Government which is down-right Tyranny nor has the Doctor an Idea of any other And if he had not been invincibly prejudiced against the Truth by the ignorance of his Education in things of this nature that excellent Discourse of Mr Johnson's in answer to his Book of Non-Resistance would have had another effect upon him than a scornful Reprinting of his own Book in answer to it His second Section is taken up with proving from Bishop Overal's Book That though the Church of England has been very careful to instruct her Children in their Duty to Princes to obey their Laws and submit to their Power and not to resist though very injuriously oppressed and that those who renounce these Principles renounce the Doctrine of the Church of England that she takes care to condemn all those wicked means whereby changes of Government are made yet she teaches that when such changes are made the Authority is God's and must be obeyed Here we learn that if this be the Doctrine of the Church of England then by the Laws of God as the Church of England understands them and teaches them to her Children all the People of England are Slaves For to be injuriously oppressed is to be oppressed contrary to Law Executio Juris non habet injuriam No Man can pretend that he or any body else is injured when the Laws have their Course But from very injurious oppressions the true Sons of the Church of England have no redress because they must not resist the Authority of God which the Prince Regnant is invested with Whatever the Constitution of the Government be whatever Laws your Forefathers have provided for the continuance and preservation of it whatever Legal Right you may fancy you have to your Lives Liberties Religion Properties if you assert and defend this Legal Right in opposition to the very injurious oppressions of your Princes who in a Limited Government as yours is acknowledged to be have but a limited Power by Law yet in so doing you oppose the Authority of God And so your Laws are but Cobwebs your Legal Right an Imaginary Notion Your Princes have an Authority from God to cancel your Laws and dispose of you and your Rights as they see Cause Thus by the Doctrine of your Church as this Gentleman Represents it you are in no better a condition than if you were Subjects to the Grand Seignior Your Forefathers who fought for your Liberties in opposition to the Tyranny of K John K Henry the 3d K. Edw. the 2d c. and who if they had acknowledged such an irresistible Authority of their Princes as the Doctor contends for and had not vindicated the Government by force of Arms you their Posterity had long before now been in the same or a worse condition than the Peasants of France were all Traytors and Rebels tho warranted by the Laws of the Land to make opposition nay and sworn so to do by the King 's own Commission as particularly in the Reign of King John and King Henry the third This Notion of an Irresistible Authority in your Princes because they have Gods Authority was not then hatch'd nor did it appear in the World till the degeneracy of the Reformation brought it forth For Queen Elizabeth's Parliaments and Convocations were of another Opinion as has been proved by many Instances of their giving her Subsidies to relieve distressed Subjects against their own Princes and when Sibthorp and Manwaring broached those Traiterous Positions in King Charles the first his time they were impeached in Parliament and severely censured for it Yet notwithstanding all this Clergy-man will have it to be the Doctrine of the Church which if it were pursued does unavoidably destroy the State and therefore by his own Argument pag. 44 can be no good Doctrine because if pursued it would subject all Human Societies to be destroyed whereas he acknowledges the End of Government to be the preservation of Human Societies And he has the assurance to publish his Conceits of this kind under a Government that has been happily setled amongst us in opposition to and in spight of these slavish Conceits of some of our Clergy A Government which those who contributed to erect this Doctor brands with the loudest Calumnies and yet under