Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	act_n	faith_n	grace_n	4,482	5	5.9933	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25451	Animadversions upon Mijn Heer Fagels letter concerning our penal laws and tests with remarks upon that subject, occasioned by the publishing of that letter.		1688 (1688)	Wing A3204; ESTC R37289	44,038	32

executing offices and places of trust declare the Reasons thereof to be in that of the Twenty Fifth of the Late King For preventing dangers which may happen from Popish Recusants and quieting the minds of his Majesty's good Subjects And in that of the Thirtyeth year of his Reign For that divers good Laws had been made for preventing the increase and danger of Popery in this Kingdom had not had the desired effects by reason of the free access which Popish Recusants had to his Majesty's Court and by reason of the liberty which of late some of the Recusants had and took to sit and vote in Parliament and for the safety of his Majesty's Royal Person and Government I do not remember any Law passed in the five years interval between the first and last Test which from the Subject matter of it can be supposed to be influenced much less carried by any Roman-Catholicks taking a liberty to sit and vote in Parliament nor that any Roman-Catholicks were in that time or for five years after the last Law prosecuted to effect so as to suffer the penalties incurred by either of those Acts. If a due observance and execution be the life of any Law and if upon enquiry it should be found that this was wanting it may thence be infer'd if any Roman-Catholicks did within this time reside in this Majesty's Court that a Law of this nature where the King will not incourage and much more where he will stay the prosecution is but as a dead letter and never like to attain its end in that respect And when all is done that can reasonably be thought of in this kind it still remains to be farther considered whether the King in being be not the sole and proper judge of his own safety and which of his Subjects shall have liberty to reside in his Courts and come and abide in his Royal presence And if after the passing these Acts the Late King had as his present Majesty has required many of his dissenting Subjects Roman-Catholicks or Protestants who could not in conscience take the Sacrament Oaths and Tests in the form prescribed to attend his Person and execute his Lawful commands with a Non obstante to these Poenal Laws I see not how they could have been justified in refusing to obey such commands nor if they therein do no more than what they are obliged to by their true duty and service of Allegiance how it can consist with reason and good conscience that they should be prosecuted upon these or any such like Poenal Laws for refusing to qualify themselves for such duty and service in the sorms thereby prescribed which are contrary to their conscience when the King is pleased to dissence with such Laws and is otherwise satisfied of their Fidelity There is one thing more which the Subject matter of the Oaths and Tests enjoyned by these Laws lead me to consider I take the main drist of them to tend to a discrimination between the understanding and conscience of some men from others concerning the Religious Opinions and Practice therein to be attested in reference to their being admitted into or excluded from the Royal presence Publick Trusts and Imployments and that the weight of these Laws lies principally in securing the Natural and Civil Rights of the Supream Governor and his Subjects from being invaded by Recusants and though the security of the Protestant Religion might also be in the eye of our Legislators yet the keeping out false Doctrines Superstition and Idolatry from corrupting our Religion was not that which was especially considered in framing these Laws and Tests For if it should be supposed that these Laws because they require Tests of a Spiritual Nature in order to admission into a Civil Imploy are capable of any such Interpretation as may lay the weight of any Persons being excluded from such Places upon this That they are Persons guilty of False Doctrines Idolatrous and Superstitious Practices and therefore not fit for any Trust in the Government because the admission of such Persons into those Places has a tendency to corrupt the Reformed Religion Then it would also follow That whoever is guilty of any other such-like False Doctrine Idolatrous or Superstitious Practice or of any open irreligious Crimes rank'd with and of as hainous a nature and as destructive to all True Religion as These are equally unfit for such Places Which Opinion if followed would require Tests of another kind besides these now prescribed For the same revealed Doctrines and Rules which instruct us in the Nature and Use of the Sacrament and other Holy Mysteries of the Christian Religion do also instruct us and give warning That none be deceived neither Fornicators nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners no more than Idolaters shall inherit the Kingdom of GOD. The Spirit and Soul of the Christian Religion which is pure and undefiled before God consists in the Exercise of Faith Love Hope and such-like Graces which do all tend to an internal Sanctity and to a Manifestation of it self in suitable acts of Piety Charity and Mercy And unless such Tests be added as have a tendency to discriminate such as are Religious from others who are openly Prophane the testifying against one sort of False Doctrine or Idolatry only will no more Secure our Religion against the growth of Irreligion or Prophaneness which is as bad as the worst Religious part of Popery than if he that served Malcham should be excluded when he that served Belial might be admitted But since this cannot be neither is it required to be in reference to Mens enjoying their Natural and Civil Rights it remains only to be considered Why any one sort of Idolatry or Superstition should exclude any Person from Publick Imployments rather than another And this may be not from the nature of the Worship but from the combination of the Worshippers against all others And if this can be separated or other sufficient Caution provided we may be as Secure both in our Civil and Religious Liberties when these Tests are no more as we were before they were made And for the accomplishment of this nothing can have a more direct and natural tendency than such a Repeal or Qualifying of Poenal Laws and Tests as may set such of the R. Catholicks as shall oblige themselves to be true to the Government and Interest of the Nation upon the same terms of Security for enjoyment of all their Civil Rights with the rest of their fellow-Subjects notwithstanding their Dissent in Religion It was the great Wisdom and Care of King James the First as he declares in his Apology to distinguish such of his Subjects as were Papists and the Rule will hold to every other sort of Christians who retaining to themselves their religious Opinions would acknowledge their Fidelity and Civil Obedience to their Soveraign from such others as would not so