Selected quad for the lemma: word_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	church_n	faith_n	tradition_n	5,437	5	9.2161	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61098	The case of our affaires in law, religion, and other circumstances examined and presented to the conscience	Spelman, John, Sir, 1594-1643.	1643 (1643)	Wing S4935; ESTC R26250	27,975	42

example is that of David Saul was a wicked apostate King from whom The Spirit of God the inward anointing was departed Saul reiected from raigning over Israel So by God himselfe declared David in his stead by God provided to be King and to that end by Gods command anointed by all which David's priviledge then was more above the priviledge of all Subjects now than Saul's priviledge of that time was above the priviledge of Kings at this day and yet David for all those circumstances so much authorising him and dis-authorising Saul did not know Who could lay his hands upon the Lords Anointed and be guiltlesse Nay he did but lay his hand upon Saul's garment to cut off the lap for a testimonie of his loyaltie and innocent intention toward Saul and yet even for that saith the Text his heart smote him that he cried out The Lord forbid I should do that thing to my Master to lay mine hand upon the Lords Anointed his reason we may know in the other words of his The Lord shall smite him or his day shall come to die or he shall descend into battaile and perish the Lord keep me from laying mine hand upon him plainly inferring that to call Princes to account belongs onely to God that God hath time and wayes of his own to do it in and will do it and that therefore man must not meddle with the doing of it for if anointed David might not intermeddle with rejected Saul much lesse may common Subjects meddle with their unrejected Soveraignes Sufficiently therefore do these examples shew the heinousnesse of Subiects lifting up themselves and resisting the person of their Soveraigne upon what pretence soever Now while the severitie of these examples and other passages of Scripture iustly striking terrour into every soule does make us wonder what great straight of humane affaires could be so violent an impulsive with us as to make Christian Subiects contrary to sworne Faith to Law and to Religion not onely disobey their Soveraigne but resist invade the soveraigne rights and imploy their Soveraignes Militia Shippes Forts Armes Treasure yea and his own sworne Subiects too against Him truly all that the most searching thought can finde to secure his conscience with against the horrour of so foule a guilt is that otherwise we feare or pretend to feare that His Maiestie seduced by evill Counsellours by popishly affected Prelates Courtiers and Cavaliers should destroy our Law our Parliaments our established Forme of Government and change them into tyrannnie and the true Protestant Religion into Poperie This this Feare or pretence of Fear alone is all the warrant we can finde for our unparallelled proceedings against our Soveraigne And if this before the Tribunall of God and of our own Lawes be not sufficient for our excuse then have we nothing to discharge us of the guilt of publique violence robberie murder periurie treason resistance of the Ordinance of God and of forcing others against their consciences by act or aid to resist with us Now all these evils are universally committed all over the Kingdome and all these evils upon no other warrant done than that the good of Reformation as is pretended may come thereon So make we the Word of God of none effect while we entertain and preferre the Jesuitique tradition before it and maintain that what is for the good of the Church must be done notwithstanding any bonds of dutie of Faith or Oath whatsoever to the contrary And if we examine the grounds of this Feare and what iust suspition and probabilitie of such an innovation as is pretended to be feared is given We see for our assurance to the contrary that His Maiestie after once He was truly informed of our grievances condescended not onely to give us ease of them but to make His Acts of Grace in them at once exceed the Acts of all His Predecessours since the granting of our Magna Charta and did not onely in present relieve our sufferings but often invoking the Sacred Maiestie of God as a severe Witnesse of His purpose for the time to come tie Himselfe for ever to settle matters of Religion according to the purest times of the Protestant Church of England with such ease for tender Consciences as by a lawfull iudgement of the Clergie should be iudged fit and to governe according to the known Lawes of the Land Here is little signe of one led by evill counsaile or of a minde that would subdue Law Religion to the satisfaction of His private will This shewes our Fear to be both groundles and wicked and indeed after this if iealousie it selfe could yet make scruple of any thing how easie were it for the wisdome of the Bodie Representative by preparing a Law of severitie against the instruments of innovation exposing their persons and fortunes to certain ruine nullifying the innovations themselves and discharging the Subiect from all obedience and conformitie unto them to have secured the Kingdom against all manner of fear in that kinde when as His Majestie freely offers His Gracious assent to any Act that should in that behalfe be necessary But if what cause what ground what reason of dutie soever we finde though constantly and universally received for true both by the judgement of our Law and by the authoritie of our Religion we must notwithstanding reject all to believe the all concluding judgement of the Bodie Representative whom we never knew to have such Supremacie of iudgement till it selfe bearing witnesse of it selfe did tell us so it cannot yet but make much to the satisfaction of the conscience to examine how well the two Houses now sitting do attain the condition of a full and free Assemblie of the two Houses of Parliament that pretend to have such iudgement And first it is known that the House of Commons now sitting however elected was never yet perfected by a right determination of Elections but that some set as Members there that ought not to have been returned and some are not received that yet were rightly chosen some are excluded for having hands in Monopolies and proiects and others as much interessed in them for their assured affection reteined the greatest part of both Houses by meanes of popular menacings tumults poasting up of names branding men with the name of Malignants things never known before in Parliaments and again undeserved expellings from the House or imprisonings have been so over-awed that they have been forced to suppresse their Votes to give them contrary to their iudgements to hide themselves or to flie from the Houses the residue of both Houses and among them the Knights and Burgesses which the Countries sent to reside in Parliament that there the whole Representative advising together might with the more safetie Vote and consent for us they make over their Countries trust to a few Committees of their own and wholly betake themselves to martiall Offices and imployments exercising in them a new found arbitrary power over