Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A67669
|
The happy union of England and Holland, or, The advantageous consequences of the alliance of the Crown of Great Britain with the States General of the United Provinces
|
R. W.
|
1689
(1689)
|
Wing W94; ESTC R24583
|
52,058
|
72
|
has the least Tincture of that Sect. So that it is both Prudence and Charity not to Scandalize other People through an Affectation to imitate our Enemies in certain Words and Practices which tho indifferent in their Nature become baneful and mischievous because offensive to others 4. That the Genius of our Age which is very much improv'd in understanding and the Genius of the Christian Religion which relates all to the Soul and Conscience require few Ceremonies 5. However that some are necessary to prevent the Contempt of Divine Worship and its Ministers These are the propositions that seem to me very profitable for the Peace of the Church and which I judge to be so very clear that I need not go about to prove them The Reader also I hope will pardon my not drawing any Consequences from them in regard I write for a Re-union and for that I do not desire to give any Party an occasion to Quarrel with me Besides there is no Person of a clear judgment but can apply them himself and for others they would be wrangling with me at every Turn As to the manner how Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist there is no Controversie perhaps so vain nor more easie to be determin'd tho the Gentlemen of the Roman Communion imagin it to be the Foundation of our separation All the Protestants agree that this Sacrament is a Symbol of the Death of Jesus Christ a Commemoration of his Sacrifice and a Pledge of the remission of our Sins that the Body and Blood of our Crucify'd Saviour which are given us therein are the Nourishment of our Souls that we do not participate thereof but by Faith and that the wicked do not receive Jesus Christ but only the Consecrated Signs to their Condemnation That Jesus Christ is not present but during the use of the Sacrament that he is not to be there ador'd that the Bread and Wine continue to be Bread and Wine after the Sacrament and that we are not to pay any Religious Homage to those Material Elements So that all the difficulty is to know how Jesus Christ who as Man is in Heaven can be at the the same time upon the Earth and present with the Faithful every time that they Communicate worthily Upon which particular since the Scripture has not told us any thing we should do well to be silent When I consider and contemplate the unsearchable ways of God I cannot conceive how two understanding Persons and endu'd with true Piety can raise disputes about Predestination and Grace The same Person who knows not either how Speech is Form'd or by what Springs we our selves move will undertake to teach others now God govern's the World and what he has determin'd in reference to their equals But to confound the Pride of Human Wit it so falls out that the more we reason upon these things the more we find that our understanding fails when we strive to search beyond the bounds of Divine Revelation If they uphold Predestination to be absolute they make God the Author of sin destroy Liberty and all Religion If it be suppos'd conditionally we cannot unfold the fore-knowledge of God nor give any good reasons for the varieties of his favours Therefore let Men keep close to that which is plain and to what the Scripture informs us in express Terms That God knows all things and disposes of all things as he pleases himself That being the Master of Events he is also of the heart of Man Nevertheless that Man is free that is to say that he has Power to restrain his judgment in respect of True or False of Good or Evil. That the habit of Ignorance and sin decreases this Liberty and that it increases by the good use which a Man makes of this understanding and divine Assistance That God grants his Favour to all those that desire it and so it is our duty to pray to him to obey him and to exhort others so to do to impute all that is Evil to our selves and all that is good to the Inspirations of the Holy Spirit This is that wherein all Christians agree and the whole being duly consider'd the dispute is reduc'd to one Impenetrable question It is a greed that God shares out his benefits very variously and that he distributes to some more to some less The difficulty is to know whether God affords Grace sufficient to save all and every Particular Man in case they make a good use of it And who can affirm it Precisely at least who can pretend to know the bottom of every Mans heart and the degree of the Efficacy of that Assistance which he has receiv'd I will not undertake to describe the Qualities to be requir'd in those that shall be employ'd to accomplish this Union I make no question but a fit choice will be made of Persons of a Genius and Integrity more then ordinary I shall only say 't will be more difficult to take care of making a good choice They who have render'd themselves odious to one of the Parties by their Writings embitter'd with Gall are incapable to discharge this trust how learned soever they may be There are some soaring Wits who sway'd by I know not what Fantastical conceits many times neglect things of great Importance and apply their Studies wholly to Trifles There are some so in love with Novelty that they would overturn all things else to introduce a supposition of their own Invention Others under the Specious pretence of a Universal Union would reduce Christianity to Ideas so confus'd and general that natural Morality and Religion would with great difficulty be preserv'd entire Happy is he that can observe a just Medium If France were humbl'd Peace once settl'd England and Holland strictly United and the Protestants at rest we should soon see the DOWNFAL of POPERY But least the Roman Catholics should be offended they are to know that this is no desir'd in reference to what they look upon as the Fundamental part of their Religion Let them pray to the Saints let them adore the Sacrament Images and Relics if they think fitting let them observe all their Ceremonies let them acknowledge the Pope for Head of the Church this is nothing at all to us We will be content so that they will but solemnly renounce in express Terms and in a General Council certain Opinions which the moderate among them openly deny but yet are generally put in Practice 1. That it is in their power to Excommunicate and depose Heretic Kings stir up their Subjects to rebel against them dispose of their Kingdoms to others and rid their hands of Princes suspected by Assassination or otherwise 2. That Promises and Oaths made to Heretics are of no value that they are not oblig'd to keep faith with them and that they may be Persecuted and exterminated at all times as occasion shall offer At least that the Church of Rome in a Body shall Anathematize all those
them the Secrets of State and furnishing them with Money and some of their Ministers were imprison'd upon that Account This was only a Malitious Invention of two or three Monks they never could produce any Proofs against the Parties accus'd unless it were some slight Expressions that dropt unwarily from their Lips and in regard it was no good Policy to discover the weakness and divisions of the Kingdom the business was husht up and the Persons let go Nevertheless as it is common for those that are troubled with a bad Conscience to fear their own shaddows these reports and murmurs made a deep impression in the Minds of the Courtiers They apprehended that there was nothing so dangerous as to ruin People by halves to provoke a Powerful Body to the highest degree and leave them the means to revenge themselves Upon which there happen'd a slight Insurrection in Sevennes and the Dauphinate Several poor People being gather'd together without any Leader without any support or defence a fancy took them to Preach upon the Ruins of their Churches The Kings Ministers took the Alarum as if the four Corners of France had been on Fire and being secure of England nor apprehending any danger from the Low-Countries nor Germany after the twenty Years Truce and the defeat of Monmouth they began the utter Extirpation of the Reformed after that manner which is known to every Body Besides the Motives to the Persecution recited in the first Part of this Treatise there is one which has not yet been mention'd which perhaps is the chiefest For that France having laid the Design of Invading the Empire was afraid that while she should be busied in the Execution of it the Reformed should betake themselves to their Arms in Defence of their Liberties and their Languishing Religion Let the Reader judge whether this were a groundless Fear or no However it appear'd that the Court was strook with it by the way which they took to extinguish the Reformation in that Kingdom There were two things Aim'd at in sending the Dragoons among those People the first was to ruin the best Families because they were able to lend Mony which is the Sinews of the War the other to destroy the most devout and zealous as being the support of the Religious Societies Constancy is a vertue very rare exalted Minds and undaunted Courages but few but they are the Soul that moves the great Body and like the Salt which preserves it from Corruption so that when the Soul expires or the Salt looses it's strength the Societies dye or fall into fainting Fits which are a certain Presage of their utter Destruction Vulgar Courage or a resolution of some few days or hours may cause a Man to Contemn Death but it requires a Constancy more then Heroic to suffer long contriv'd Torments incessantly renew'd and which one would think would never have an end This last sort of Torments it was the most unsupportable of all which the Court of France made use of to exercise their Cruelty upon the Reformed And indeed that Court has been very Successful for those People that would have despis'd a Flaming Bavin where they had been stifled in a quarter of an hour wanted resolution to dye a thousand times in one day Yet several Persons of Quality saw themselves despoil'd of their Estates depriv'd of their Employments and torn from their Families and have endur'd Imprisonment and other Ignominious Usage till the Cruelty of their Persecutors was almost tyr'd Great Numbers of the Common People have undergon all that the Insolence and Barbarism of the Dragoons could invent the most Merciless and most Outragious nor have there been wanting of the seeble Sex who have signaliz'd their Constancy And many of those whom continu'd Torments had constrain'd to sign Ambiguous Professions of Faith repenting soon after forsook all and departed the Kingdom exposing themselves to be Condemn'd to the Galleys to be banish'd into Canada and to the most exquisite of Torments which have been inflicted upon some Others have refus'd to go to Mass and have endur'd the extremity of Torment with a Constancy beyond the former A good Number have stay'd behind in hopes of a speedy Deliverance Nevertheless a Man would hardly believe how many have perish'd in the midst of these Meseries or else that still are forc'd to endure their Miseries in Exile It cannot be deny'd but that France gave it self a very great Wound Nor did the Court without doubt believe that the perswasion of the truth had so much force upon the Souls of Men because they had never put it to the Tryal So that finding that the Number of the faint and dastardly was not so great as they thought they let go those whose Constancy fortify'd the weak and set open the Gates of the Kingdom for some few days on purpose to give the more zealous an Opportunity to escape tho they would not suffer them to carry any thing along with them It is evident that those of our Brethren who escap'd are the most Couragious and the most Politic as well as Fortunate Which being suppos'd if the Confederates neglect to restore the Protestants of France one of these two things will necessarily follow the first is that the Court believing themselves engag'd in Honour and continuing their ill usage to the most Constant at length either Sorrow or Misery will bring them to their end and then the rest being destitute of this support and the hopes of Delivery will endeavour to reconcile their Consciences and their Understandings to the prevailing Religion and of Politic Catholics will become Superstitious Zelots But on the other side if the King will be pleas'd to open his Eyes and to free himself from the fear of a Civil War while his Forces are employ'd against Foreigners shall recall the Banish'd and restore to the Reformed their Estates and Ancient Franchises the greatest part will return to their Country Native Air the Ancient Constitutions and free Converse with Kindred and Friends are such powerful Attractions which will much surmount the seeble remains of Fear more especially considering that few of those who fled for Sanctuary but met with among Foreigners as great Advantages as those which they left at home Either of which two things if they fall out France will find her self in nine or ten Years as peaceable and formidable to her Enemies as she was under the Reign of Lewis the XII before the Reformation or toward the end of the Reign of Hâ—n IV. after the Edict of Nantes The French are the best People in the World if their Kings do but pâ—t confidence in them they forget all the ill Usages they have receiv'd and Sacrifice their particular Interest to the necessities of the State During the Civil War 1651. under the Minority of Charles IX the Princes sought the Alliance of Q. Elizabeth as being of their Religion She assisted them but not with all that Vigour which good Policy requir'd For the