hundred years ago to chuse a King for me A. I am afraid the Dr. next time will say That the Laws of former Parliaments made some years ago do not bind us tho' not repealed And none but present Parliaments can make Laws for us We have nothing to do with our Forefathers we must personally consent to all Laws Phy for shame Dr. let us hear no more of this For I am confident you do not believe that our Ancestors had no Right to make Laws for us or to chuse a King for us A King is a King to Children Born of Parents who have chosen him or his Family and such Children are his Subjects without a personal and verbal Ingagement And former Laws bind us without a new Act of Parliament to confirm them 2. The Dr. asserts p. 36. If they that is Sovereign Princes receive their Authority from Men which they do as well as from God say we and Humane Laws which the Dr. confessed before I cannot imagine that their Power is any more than a Trust of which they must give an account to those who have intrusted them with it according to those Laws by which they were intrusted to exercise that Power For whether there be any express Provision made in the Law to call them to an Account or no the Nature of the thing proves that if they receive their Power from Men they are accountable to them For those who give Power may take an Account of the use and abuse of it This with the Drs. Concessions hereafter mentioned proves the Lawfulness Reasonableness and Conscience of this present Revolution And p. 25. he saith A Legal Intail is nothing more than the Authority of the People So that the Authority of the People I mean either the Convention of Estates which is an extraordinary Assembly or the Parliament which is the ordinary Assembly gives Humane and Legal Right And such a Prince is set upon the Throne by God and is by the Disposal of Providence and is Gods Minister for the good of the People So that what the Dr. saith in the beginning of p. 25. is very weak To say that God sets up no Prince who ascends the Throne without Humane Right and Legal is to say that some Kings are removed and others set up but not by God which is directly contradictory to Scripture It is to say That the Four Monarchies were not set up by God because they all began by Violence and Usurpation It is say That God as well as Men is confined by Humane Laws in making Kings It is to say That the Right of Government is not derived from God without the Consent of the People For if God cannot make Kings without the People or against their Consent declared by their Laws the Authority must be derived from the People not from God or at least if it be Gods Authority yet God cannot give it himself without the People nor otherwise than as they have directed him by their Laws A. If we speak of Gods Absolute Power he can send a Legion of Angels and set the Crown upon a Kings Head or by any like extraordinary Nomination and Means But we say and I hope the Dr. upon consideration will not deny it that Right Reason Natural Conscience Law and Scripture are the Rule of our Duty and by these means God cooperates and his Divine Providence concurs with men And when the Dr. is in his senses and argues like himself that is a Divine of his Reputation and Station in the Church he will tell you p. 65. That the King hath no Right but by Law and then the Law may determine how far his Right shall extend c. But this Revolution hath confounded the wisdom of the wise and brought to nothing the understanding of the prudent insomuch that a man may propound St. Pauls Question to these great Doctors of our Church Where is the Wise Where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this World Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this World It is much easier to justifie the whole Revolution I will here add the Judgment of Tol. collected by the Author of the Synopsis on Rom. 13. Power that is Principality or Magistracy yea even of Infidels and Idolaters is not but of God that is from the Divine Ordination and Disposition that the wicked may be restrained the just honoured c. from God as the first Beginning and Cause and Author not indeed by himself but mediately by men in whom God hath put this instinct to set over them those that should Rule them And whoever reads the Lord Chan. Fortescue will find this true in England Animadversions on Sect. 3. In this Section I shall animadvert on some of his Propositions and then propose his Concessions scattered all over his Book As for the two first Propositions I admit them But I think that I may justly find fault with the third which is There are but three ways whereby God gives this Power and Authority to any person Either by Nature or by express Nomination or by the Disposals of Providence Here I say that this Division is Illogical and naughty Logicians say that the parts of a Division must be opposite but these are not For the Power and Authority that is given by Nature is the disposal of Providence and the Power and Authority that is given by express Nomination is the disposal of Providence also And I must confess that in my small Reading I never met with any that made such a sort of division I should have added 3. By Covenant or by the Election of the People I fear that the Dr's Enthusiastical notion of Providence here imposed upon his Learning Let no man say that I do not speak of Divine Providence with that awful regard and reverence that I ought for surely I justifie Gods Providence much more clearly than this abstruse and unaccountable notion The Dr. goes on By Nature Parents have a Natural Superiority over their Children and are their Lords and Governours too This was the first Government in the World and is the only Natural Authority For in propriety of speaking there is no Natural Prince but a Father c. Here observe that this destroys the Principles of Sir R. F's Book with which so many young Divines in the University of late have been possessed and about which they have been so very passionate that they would endure no modest opposition but invidiously declaimed against any man who did but call in question this Principle as if he could not be a Lover of Monarchy If there is no Natural Prince but a Father thens in propriety of speaking there can be no Natural Prince now in the World but every Prince must be by Institution or Agreement or the like For the Relation of King and Subject are not Natural as the Relation of Father and Child are But yet I say Monarchy approacheth nearest to the Government of Gods Throne And I approve of the
Government under which he lives unless in urgent necessity But what if the King be given to Change Then meddle not with Him Keep the Fundamental Laws and Customs of your Countrey and the true Religion by Law Established We say saith a Learned Author that if Power be given to the King by Law yea or to other Magistrates tho' it be against Religion we have no help but suffering or flying till we can be helped by Legal ways But if when we have Laws for our Religion and Liberties the King out of his own will or seduced by others shall in an Illegal way seek to deprive us of them now we may defend our selves and in this we resist no Kingly Authority but the Will of such a Man Obj. Exod. 22.28 Thou shalt not revile the Gods nor curse the Ruler of thy People A. This Text commands Obedience to the King with all reverence in Heart Tongue and Action But what is this to innocent and lawful Defence Which St. Thomas and other Schoolmen call cum moderamine inculpatae tutela Obj. Psal 51.4 Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight A. The Confession of David saith a great Divine is to be taken comparatively He sinned against God alone by way of Excellence because he could be punished condemned and absolved by God alone But David sinned also against those who were meer Subjects as Bathsheba Vriah Joab and Nathan but not as a Tyrant violating the whole State of the Common-wealth but as a Sinner left to his Lust Furthermore no Man could judge of the Personal Fact of David except God alone which pertained not to the Subversion of the Common-wealth I say the sin of David was particular which was not destructive to the whole Common-wealth Besides David speedily recanted and repented of the evil The sense is saith Calvin cited by the Author of the Synopsis as if he should say I do not regard what Men think or speak if either they spare me or extenuate the wickedness by flattery or mitigate my grief with gentle Speeches yet it is more than enough to me that I perceive thee my Judge that Conscience draws me to thy Tribunal c. Other Expositors say I have sinned against thee only as a Judge and Avenger because I can fear punishment from thee only For Kings are free from the bonds of their offences saith St. Ambrose R. R. saith No Creature judgeth the King but the blessed God otherwise he would be King in Name not in Deed. G The Kings sin is not punishable Which is all true of the Personal Crimes of Princes or of such Oppressions as are speedily repented of Obj. Psal 82.6 I have said ye are Gods A. This is true saith one of Inferiour Magistrates as well as Superiors and yet none will say but the Inferior may be resisted Kings should imitate God in Wisdom in Justice in Mercy c and defend not oppress the Innocent To tell a King thus becomes a Priest much better than to delude him with an unaccountable and irresistible Power Obj. Prov. 8.15 16. By me Kings Reign and Princes Decree Justice By me Princes Rule and Nobles even all the Judges of the Earth A. By here denotes the Principal cause it doth not exclude the less Principal or Instrumental the Election of the People As Psal 18.29 By thee that is God I have run thro' a Troop or by thy help saith Synop. out of G. By me as King of Kings Kingdoms are constituted and Persons set over Kingdoms either are given or are deposed according to Dan. 2.21 4.25 31 32. and by me they are preserved c. Neither doth this forbid the People to defend themselves against a Tyrant or to Depose a Tyrant but rather acknowledgeth them Instruments This hinders not what St. Thomas saith 2.2 q. 10 art 10. Dominion and Prelacy were introduced by Humane Right Because God and Man both concur to Government God is the first Cause Man the second Whatsoever the second Cause doth saith Fortescue out of an ancient Author c. 3. the same doth the first Cause by an higher and more excellent way or mean Obj. Prov. 30.31 A King against whom there is no rising up And Eccles 8.4 Where the word of a King is there is Power and who may say unto him What dost thou A. These Texts speak of a King Ruling according to the Customs and Laws of his Countrey or not of Tyrants and Oppressors Or at least they forbid not self-defence in case of Extremity I may honour the King and yet not suffer him to kill me when I am innocent and have served Him faithfully and when he ought by the Laws of God and Man to protect me Solomon Prov. 30.31 speaks of the glory and happiness of a potent and invincible Prince not of any Moral evil or unlawfulness in defending our selves against Illegal Courses Oppression and Tyranny of wicked Princes Again these Texts give a General Rule being wholly silent in casual exceptions as in case of extream Male-Administration The sacred Writers exclude not certain Pacts saith a grave Divine or Laws of Humane Creation or Constitution by which the King is put into that Super-eminency And the saying of Optatus Milevitanus is either to be taken of Emperors or Absolute Monarchs or verily of Him who restrains his Super-eminence within the Laws of Divine as well as Humane Constitution for then in truth There is none above the Emperor but God alone who made the Emperor Solomon saith what may be done not what may always be rightly done by a Prince For afterwards v. 9. he teacheth us that many abuse their Power to Tyranny There is a time wherein one Man ruleth over another to his own hurt Therefore he doth not give the Magistrate leave to do what he will For the Power of Man is limited by the Word of God and honest Laws Because it is written We must obey God rather than Man and give to Caesar the things that are Caesar 's and to God the things that are Gods The second verse is not to be understood otherwise I counsel thee to keep the Kings commandment and that in regard of the Oath of God As if he should say So obey the King as rather to obey God to whom we are all bound with greater Religion Obj. Eccl. 10.20 Curse not the King no not in thy thought and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber for a Bird of the Air shall carry the voice and that which hath wings shall tell the matter A. Solomon prohibits reviling or slighting the Kings person or speaking evil of the King either for natural or moral personal defects and vices And he cautions us against wrath for a little Oppression because a King may easily be revenged on us and ruine us But he forbids not self-defence in case of Universal Oppression If thou art wise and skilful despise not a young or a foolish King by mocking his Majesty by proud
it is of Logick Astronomy or any part of Philosophy which are Arts and Sciences of themselves And so Policy hath Rules and Methods of its own and depends upon the Sense and Reason of all Mankind being not proper to Christians but common to Jews Turks or Heathens And besides the English Policy is not the same with other Christian Nations Now as to our present Government and Revolution English-men may be divided into these three Ranks First Such as joyned with the Prince of Orange before or at his Landing according to his Declaration Expectation Desire and Invitation of them Secondly Such as did not joyn with the Prince of Orange but did oppose him either with their Prayers or with their Strength or with both but since have taken the Oaths of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary Thirdly Such as did neither joyn with the Prince of Orange nor since have taken the Oaths The Reverend Dr. is among the Moderate men of the second Rank And est quiddam prodire tenus It is something to come thus far we have the shorter way to our Journeys end as one saith For he writes thus Many things are said for the justifying the Legality of the late Revolution which may make men much more moderate in the point than some are § 1. p. 2. And his endeavour is to perswade those of the third Rank to take the Oaths a very honest charitable and pious endeavour for he saith well in his Preface There are others who are still dissatisfied about the Oaths and are desirous to try whether they can find that satisfaction which he hath done This I confess is a good Reason which may in charity oblige me To proceed All Learned men know what it is to suppose or put a Case and I will not be a quarrelsom Antagonist but will be as civil to the Dr. as he can be to me and therefore for his supposition I will not charge him with reflecting upon this present Government which he saith and I believe he speaks his conscience and heart he is very sure he is far from intending to do in the latter end of his Preface The Dr. seems to make a contradistinction between Right and Government in these words § 1. p. 1. Allegiance is due only to Right not to Government tho' it can be paid only to Government Now I think there can be no Government where there is no Right For who should command and who should obey where there is no Right to command Otherwise how could there be such a thing as Anarchy or Confusion when every man doth what is good in his own Eyes as when there was no King or Governour in Israel Judg. 19.1 And again p. 2. If then Allegiance be due not for the sake of Legal Right but Government But I say there is no Allegiance due where there is no Legal Right either Natural or Positive for I suppose all Obligatory Laws founded upon Natural Principles Again the Dr. asserts That God placeth and setteth some Princes on the Throne tho' they have no Legal or Humane Right p. 3. Now this seems to me a Riddle I am of Opinion that every Prince who hath Gods Authority hath a Legal and Humane Right unless God immediately from Heaven by an Angel or the like extraordinary way gives him Authority But no Prince ordinarily hath Gods Authority but by Legal and Humane Right as will appear hereafter As for what the Dr. saith about the Disposal of Providence it seems to me pure Enthusiasm and the very Dregs of Quakerism which I shall consider in due place Animadversions on § 2. As for what the Dr. saith in this Section and quotes out of Bishop Overals Convocation-Book I admit and approve sano sensu and I reverence their Authority And I suppose that at that time there were some Divines perhaps Bishops in that Convocation who did think Defensive Arms lawful in some cases and founded Government in Agreement as the ever-renowned Mr. Hooker and Dr. Bilson certainly did And when the Dr. proves the contrary I will believe him and before I suppose he doth not desire that I should But let us see the Dr's Inferences from the Doctrine of the Convocation Men may dispute any thing but I know not how it was possible for the Convocation to express their sense plainer That all Vsurped Powers when throughly setled have Gods Authority and must be obeyed So that here are two great Points determined whereupon this whole Controversie turns 1. That those Princes who have no Legal Right to their Thrones may yet have Gods Authority But surely the Convocation meant that they had a Legal Right and were no longer Usurpers when they had Gods Authority as the King of Egypt and Babylon and King Alexander and the Emperors of Rome Let him prove the contrary if he can And I am fully of this Opinion which I think is the Dr's That there is Momentum quod sic as the Schools call it a Time when all Usurpers or Invading Powers have Gods Authority and must be obeyed and that is when they are throughly setled But the Question is When they are throughly setled A. It is hard to determine and fix a time but there is a time when Invaders and Conquerors have a Right and Title to the Crown And I am of Opinion this is When such a Prince and People have made a Covenant Compact or Agreement explicite or implicite When having with a good Conscience defended their King Laws and Countrey as long as they could they yield being taken Prisoners or subdued And let this consent be supposed to be over-awed yet consent it is especially when they have made a Solemn Promise or Oath to such a Prince And he that breaks such a Promise or Oath is wicked David describes a Citizen of Zion thus He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not Psal 15.4 This is grounded upon this Natural Principle That what Promise I make if lawful however inconvenient to me I must perform By the way I call an Explicite Covenant when there is the Publick Consent and Profession of such an Ingagement made by a National Assembly I call an Implicite Covenant when the Members of a Society in their Practice do all such Acts as are required by the Rules agreed among them and submit themselves thereunto Tho' they make no verbal Promise or Profession thereof I need not illustrate this in our Case for all Men have seen with their Eyes and heard with their Ears what hath been done among us Or in the Drs words § 2. p. 9. The Government is throughly settled when the whole Administration of the Government and the whole Power of the Nation is in the Hands of the Prince when every thing is done in his Name and by his Authority when the Estates of the Realm and the great Body of the Nation have submitted to him and those who will not submit can be crushed by him whenever he pleaseth If this
be not a settled Government I despair of ever knowing what it is Now I say in plain English This is a mutual Covenant between Governours and Governed and gives the Formality of Relation between King and Subject But then in this Case the King hath an Humane and Legal Right as well as Gods Authority which the Dr. seems every where to deny For he infers pag 5. Therefore those Princes who have no Legal Right may have Gods Authority But I say That tho' such Princes as the Convocation speaks of had no Legal Right before yet when they are throughly settled they have Legal Right And this is the difference between the Dr. and me And pag. 9. The Submission of a Prince indeed may be thought necessary to transfer a Legal Right but the Submission of the People it self is sufficient to settle the Government and when it is settled then it is the Authority of God whatever the Humane Right be See pag. 25 c. He seems to assert That no Right can be Legal and Humane but Successive or Hereditary Right § 4. p. 26. I know Great Learned and Pious Authors who are of this Opinion as I have proposed it and the Dr. cannot appear singular in it and to advance Paradoxes as he speaks § 1. p. 3. to any Man who hath throughly studied these Controversies But then all or most of those Divines and Politicians assert Defensive Arms in some Case And that the several Forms of Regiment are according to Agreement or an Ordinance of Man And they usually say that the Call of the People is Essential to Magistracy in such extraordinary Case And so the Powers that are are ordained of God and must not be resisted Again if the Dr. means first By Actual Possession of the Throne the Power of the Sword or Strength or the Princes being in Whitehall and having the Royal Forts c. at his Command then this alone cannot give Right tho' it is the Disposal of Providence And this I take to be Hobbism Scepticism or Atheism And such things I have read in some Oliverian Pamphlets to justifie that Damnable Rebellion as the Disposal of Providence And thus to say that Conquest Election and Usurpation were all one to the Primitive Christians as some of late have said is most abominable and to be exploded And the Reverend Dr. verges so near this that I wish he would explain himself better if it be not his meaning See § 4. p. 18. The Scripture hath given us no Direction in this Case but to Submit and pay all Obedience of Subjects to the present Powers It makes no Distinction that ever I could find between a Rightful King and an Usurper c. A. The Scriptures not being an absolute Rule of Policy as I said before suppose that we know who is our King or Governour or who are the Higher Powers by Reason and the several Laws and Constitutions or Immemorial Usages of several Countries And then instruct Subjects in their Duty But of this Section I shall speak in its Order 2. If the Dr. means by Actual Possession of the Throne such a Covenant or Settlement as is before mentioned then I say whoever hath such a Settlement hath not only Gods Authority but Humane and Legal Right tho' he is not the next Heir or immediate Lineal Successor And of such a Prince I grant the Subjects need not inquire Quo jure quâve injuriâ as the Schools speak he came to the Throne or whether he had Reason to Invade or Conquer or not He is King and hath Gods Authority and must be obeyed And in this case the old Maxim proves true Vox Populi est Vox Dei The voice of the People is the voice of God God chuseth whom the People in this manner chuse But I do not think that any rational Politician or judicious Divine grounds this Position upon the Disposal of Providence firstly I am sure most do not But upon such Principles as these 1. No one Form of Government is Natural or Moral but purely of Positive Agreement And tho' it is good Manners in the Subjects of a Monarch especially of an English Monarch to believe Regal Government best and to believe that Hereditary Government or Monarchy is most prudential and excellent And that Lineal Succession is not to be altered but upon very sufficient grounds And tho' no Man ought to meddle with them that are given to change which may possibly befall a King as well as his Subjects yet no Man can with a good Conscience condemn any other lawful Form of Government As the Government of the Consuls and Senate of Rome of old Or the Government of the Duke of Venice or Senate at present Or the States General of the United Provinces All whose Subjects are to obey and not resist their several Sovereigns by St. Paul's command Rom. 13. For they have their Power of God and Gods Authority 2. The Publick Good is the Sovereign Law of all And so tho' Subjects have Sworn to maintain their Sovereign yet if he and they are Conquered and the Conqueror gives them their Lives Liberties or Estates whereupon they Promise or Swear Allegiance to him they must for the future own him as their Soveraign Lord. Or if they are grievously oppressed so that the Publick Good of their Countrey or the Preservation of their Laws Liberties and Religion requires them to forsake their King who as I suppose would have brought them into Slavery or Non-assistance as the Dr. confesseth when a loving valiant and good Friend comes to save their Religion Laws and Properties In this case the Subjects ought to obey him that hath Actual Possession of the Throne For he is their Elected King and hath Humane Legal and Divine Right And this secures Princes from Factious Seditious and Rebellious Subjects And secures Subjects from Wicked Cruel and Ill-designing or Ill-advised Princes who follow evil Counsellors to the Subversion of the Laws and Ruine of the Kingdom And this I think may be proved from the Drs. own Assertions scattered in this Book 1. He asserts p. 14. Sometimes God not only places a single Person in the Throne but intails it on his Family by Humane Laws and makes the Throne a Legal Inheritance And p. 24. Hereditary Right is either a continued Vsurpation which can give no Right or a Right by Law that is by the Consent of the People to intail the Crown on such a Family Now all Laws are made by the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons From whence it follows that the Dr. must own that Hereditary Monarchy is so made by the People and that such a Monarch receives all his Power for he hath no Power but Legal from them as well as from God And as for what follows which saith the Dr. I observed before If Right be resolved into the Choice and Consent of the People cannot be done for what Right had my Ancestors three or four
Light within him that tells him it is so as he saith So these Men will tell you that it is Gods Providence which is very true of all Acts Means and Events good or evil But we desire that Mens Consciences should be satisfied whether the Instruments have done well or ill But the Dr. will not meddle with this Let us go on Propos 4. All Kings saith the Dr. are equally rightful with respect to God for those are all rightful Kings who are placed in the Throne by God and it is impossible there should be a wrong King unless a Man could make himself King whether God will or no c. A. I take this to be obscure and Enthusiastical Those are all rightful Kings who are placed in the Throne by God saith the Dr. True but how shall I know that they are placed in the Throne by God I suppose the Dr. will answer When they are throughly Settled in the Throne as § 2. p. 9. But then say I This is the Election of the People and supposes a Covenant Explicite or Implicite as before And this gives Humane and Legal Right If the Dr. thinks otherwise I desire to know of him for he is so cautious that I cannot positively say Sometimes he hath words to this sense sometimes not And I think it is an odd sentence to say It is impossible there should be a wrong King unless a Man could make himself King whether God will or no c. For God may permit a Man to call himself King who is not King and his deluded Followers may flatter themselves and him also As the late D. of M. was called King at Lyme But God never approved of him as King which I suppose the Dr. will acknowledge and yet this was the Disposal of Providence Let the Dr. distinguish here and then he will have an answer And I am of Opinion that if the P. of O. had called Himself King when he entered Exeter or when he marched on without much if any opposition towards London or when he had Possession of St. James's or Whitehall all Englishmen had been bound in Conscience to oppose Him as an Invader of the Liberty of their Countrey But when by their Representatives they Elected Him King then all the Duties of Subjects were to be paid to Him And if I had ten Thousand Millions of Lives to lose I would venture them for this Proposition That Law is or ought to be a Rule to all Men And that if the King himself will go about to destroy all Laws that the Subjects may defend themselves And when the Dr. answers the Arguments that I have brought in this and some other Discourses by me published I shall think my self bound to recant But of this when I come to Rom. 13. in the next Sect. At present I will propose a few short Questions and Answers Q. How doth it appear that a Prince hath Gods Authority or that he is set upon the Throne by the Disposal of Providence A. When he hath Actual Possession of the Throne Q. When hath a Prince Actual Possession of the Throne A. When he is throughly Settled in his Throne p. 9. Q. When is his Government throughly Setled A. When the whole Administration of the Government and the whole Power of the Nation is in the Hands of the Prince c. ibid. Now this last Answer is intelligible and plain And thus whosoever hath Gods Authority or Power hath it mediately by the Election of the People or by Covenant Compact and Consent or Submission which is an Implicite Covenant and this is the Disposal of Providence But to begin at the Disposal of Providence is to speak in the Clouds and never to give a Rational account either of the Original Changes or Revolutions of Government In all my Discourse I suppose not only that God is but that he hath made us with true Faculties and so we are Reasonable Creatures and can give a Rational Account I proceed to Propos 5. The Distinction then between a King de jure and a King de facto relates only to Humane Laws which bind the Subject but are not necessary Rules and Measures of Divine Providence In an Hereditary Kingdom he is a rightful King who hath by Succession a Legal Right to the Crown And he who hath Possession of the Crown without a Legal Right is a King de facto that is is King but not by Law c. A. I imagine that this Distinction of a King de jure and a King de facto was invented for another purpose and hath nothing to do in our Controversie When the Houses of York and Lancaster laid Claim to the Crown both by Inheritance and Lineal Succession the Subjects being in great Perplexity and many in very great Doubts Scruples and Uncertainties who was the Lineal Successor it was thought fit to make this Law He that pretended to Lineal Succession and had it not was called a King de facto He that had Lineal Succession was called a King de jure tho' out of Possession But if I were to distinguish in Reason and Conscience as to our Case I would distinguish thus A King de jure is Twofold either First A King by Inheritance Or Secondly A King by Election tho' he is not the next immediate Heir nor pretends to be But in this I humbly submit to the Learned and Judicious Lawyers As for the rest of this Proposition it is of the same piece with other Prejudices of the Dr's and must have its Answer accordingly See my other Discourses And most of this Section is of the same Nature The Dr. talks many times of a King having Gods Authority without Legal Authority Let him explain and prove what he saith For I know no Prince that hath Gods Authority who hath not Legal Authority When he would clear himself of Hobbism of which I believe he is not guilty he saith well Power and nothing else doth not give Right to Dominion p. 15. But presently after he seems to write Enthusiastically and not like a Man guided by Reason and Principles of Nature I come now to his Concessions First It is evident saith the Dr. § 4. p. 23. there is no Natural Authority but Paternal and Patriarchal Authority This destroys Sir R. F's Principle and it concerns his hot-headed Followers to consider it as I observed before But what the Dr. saith immediately after is more than I can approve of That Monarchies were erected upon the Ruins or great Diminution of it c. For I do not think Monarchy the Ruin or Diminution of Fatherly Authority but rather the way to preserve it and add Perfection to it in the Increase of the World The Dr. might have expressed himself more warily For this seems to reflect more upon Monarchy than the Subjects of a King ought 2. Hear what he grants § 4. p. 25. speaking of those who refuse the Oaths If they would examine themselves for what Reason
they believe that a King who hath no Right to the Throne is not set up by God and invested with his Authority they will find That it must ultimately resolve it self into the Authority of the People to make Kings which it is unjust for God himself to over-rule and alter pace tanti viri by the Dr's leave I should say it is not Gods usual Method and ordinary Providence to over-rule and alter for a Legal Entail is nothing more than the Authority of the People And if the People have such an uncontroulable Authority in making Kings hold a little the People cannot do this when they have Covenanted ordinarily but in extream necessity I doubt they will challenge as much Authority to unmake them to But perhaps the Dr. will say This is Argumentum ad homines and I would not willingly misrepresent him As for his Answer to the Objection which I find p. 26. I know not what to make of it it is pure Enthusiasm I think I cannot measure it by any Rules of Reason 3. He grants very honestly p. 27. That when ever a People have a good King as surely say I King William and Queen Mary are a good King and Queen it is both their Duty and Interest to defend Him And if they be not misled by the Cunning and Artifice of ill Men they will certainly do so But if they have a very bad one that notoriously violates their Rights and breaks the Constitution upon which Himself stands and strikes at the dearest things they have their Religion Established by Law and their Properties I doubt the Case may be altered And tho' every Body will not speak it out yet most may say in their Hearts Let him go if he cannot defend Himself It is enough in Conscience patiently to bear so bad a Prince but a little too much to venture their Lives and Fortunes to keep him in the Throne to oppress them This is against Reason and Nature and I know no Law of God which requires it c. I wish with all my heart that this Consideration and other Arguments of the Dr's may prevail with the most Reverend Father in God the late Arch-Bishop and the Right Reverend the Bishops who have not taken the Oaths to their present Majesties I believe out of pure Conscience tho' erroneous and full of prejudice And I have often wondered that so many of the Clergy who but a little before did so violently oppose the Prince of Orange's proceedings out of the like conscientious prejudice as I believe did on a sudden take the Oaths This seems to me to shew that our Case wanted but a little consideration and men might easily lay aside their prejudices in so blessed and desirable a Change 4. The Dr. grants p. 28. That the Laws of God and Nature must take place of all Humane Positive Laws and Oaths Hence I infer that the Dr. cannot deny Self-preservation 5. He grants p. 29. That it is unreasonable to expound the Oath to such a sense as no man would have taken it in had it been expressed No no man in his wits would take it for the best Prince that ever swayed the Scepter Then such an Oath or Promise or Declaration could not intend to dedestroy Self-preservation Liberty and Property 6. The Dr. grants p. 30. We are not bound to defend the King against Law or when he subverts the Laws und Liberties and the Legal Established Religion of the Kingdom by Illegal Methods Or as he saith presently after by the exercise of an Illegal and Arbitrary Power 7. He saith p. 32. Certainly this was not the Intention of the Oath to fight for their King against their Countrey For an Oath to fight for the King doth not oblige us to fight against our Countrey which is as unnatural as to fight against our King 8. He owns the preservation of the whole Kingdom is before the Prince p. 33. in these words Tho' I have as great a Reverence for Princes as any man I do not think the Right and Interest of any Prince so considerable as the Safety and Preservation of the Nation and the Lives and Fortunes of all his Subjects I am sure we who are for Defensive Arms cannot say more than this 9. I leave the Teachers of Passive Obedience and Non-Resistance to answer his Arguments p. 36. or else I hope they will take the Oaths I have spoken my thoughts of this matter As for Bishop Overals Convocation-Book I do not love many words I have spoken my mind 10. This seems very hard that when God hath actually delivered us we must refuse our deliverance p. 38. And I add it seems very hard that the Clergy who receive most benefit by this deliverance if in heart they love the Protestant Religion should not honour the Deliverers 11. The Dr. agrees to what Bishop Sanderson tells us That the End of Civil Government and of that Obedience which is due to it is the Safety and Tranquillity of Humane Societies and therefore whatever is necessary and useful to this End becomes our Duty for the End prescribes the Means Hence I infer the lawfulness of Defensive Arms in some case because Humane Societies under a Tyrannical Prince who Rules Arbitrarily cannot be safe I beseech the Dr. seriously to consider this and examine throughly whether it doth not necessarily follow And before I end this Section I must desire the Dr. to reconcile some of his Assertions He saith p. 4. The Church of England hath 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 tho' very injuriously oppressed and those who renounce these Principles renounce the Doctrine of the Church of England But she hath withal taught That all Sovereign Princes receive their Power and Authority from God and therefore every Prince who is setled in the Throne is to be obeyed and reverenced as Gods Minister and not to be resisted c. And here I observe that the Dr. chargeth the Non-swearing Bishops as well as those who joyned with the Prince of Orange as rejecting the Doctrine of the Church of England Well let the Dr. and his Party be the only true Church of England-men if he can disprove what I have now and elsewhere said He grants That whosoever is setled in the Throne hath Gods Authority and must not be resisted But p. 25 26. in answering an Objection That this makes the Prince lose his Right by being notoriously injured c. he tells us The Providence of God removes Kings and sets up Kings but alters no Legal Rights nor forbids those who are dispossessed of them to recover their Right when they can c. and doth not divest the dispossessed Prince of his Legal Right and Claim nor forbid him to endeavour to recover his Throne nor forbid those who are under no Obligation to the Prince in Possession to assist the dispossessed Prince to recover his
slandering his Government by contemning and reproaching his Statutes and Deeds but as much as the matter and truth will bear speak thou honourably of him and think the best and interpret well actions that are doubtful saith some Author For it is wisdom as well as duty to reverence the Kings Person and Office and conceal small miscarriages Obj. St. Matth. 22.21 Read the Context v. 15. Then went the Pharisees and took counsel how they might intangle him in his talk And they sent out unto him their Disciples with the Herodians saying Master we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth neither carest thou for any man for thou regardest not the person of men Tell us therefore what thinkest thou Is it lawful to give Tribute unto Caesar or not But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said Why tempt ye me ye Hypocrites Shew me the Tribute money and they brought unto him a penny And he said unto them Whose is this Image and Superscription They say unto him Caesars Then saith he unto them Bender therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods When they had heard these words they marvelled and left him and went their way A. It is most certain that Tribute is to be paid to our Governours The Herodians were sent to intangle him in his talk And they propounded this Question concerning Caesar the Roman Emperor's Tribute To which our Saviour answers that they ought to render to Caesar the things that are Caesars So that by Christs command all Subjects must willingly and chearfully and for Conscience sake render honour tribute custom subjection and obedience to the Higher Powers which are ordained of God But what is this to the Desensive Arms against Tyranny and Oppression The Jews had promised Obedience to the Romans and to Caesar Now what we promise Synop. out of G. tho' forced by necessity of War binds us fast for unless it were so the whole sanction of a Covenant would perish Besides Possession of a long time which to endeavour to move or change is always unjust in publick Affairs Christ and his Apostles and the Primitive Christians hearkened to no Innovations under what specious pretences soever but performed Faith Allegiance and Obedience to the Emperor But let any man prove that these Emperors did not rule the Jews according to their Promise and Covenant and known Laws and Customs or that our Saviour forbids defending our Lives Liberties or Properties if invaded contrary to Law Custom or Covenant Again it follows not that if Christ doth not here dispute Caesars Title that he never did nor that his Disciples never satisfied themselves I am sure the Scribes and Pharisees and the multitude cryed out when our Saviour was accused We have no King but Caesar a plain acknowledgment of Caesars Title Power and Authority Obj. 1 Tim. 2.1 2 3. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men for Kings and for all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour A. This is also spoken of Governours indefinitely and of such who would rule according to the Customs and Laws of their Countries Not of Tyrants who would Subvert National Laws and Customs without cause And tho' there was great Confusions in the Roman Empire about the Throne sometimes yet still the Emperor promised to Rule according to Laws and Customs received And surely no Man can prove that Passive Obedience was owned in those days if the Emperor commanded Illegally Nor was their Hereditary Succession in the Empire The wickedness of Man cannot destroy the Institution of God But Magistrates Kings Emperors are constituted of God And Christian Religion doth not overthrow the Political Government of Infidels and Heathens Therefore we must pray for all Persecutors and Idolaters Obj. Tit. 3.1 Put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Poweers to obey Magistrates A. All these Texts command what no rational Man much less Christian denieth ought to be given to our Governors But they prohibit not Defensive Arms in case of Universal Oppression Obj. 1 St. Pet. 13 14 17. Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as Supream or unto Governours as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well Fear God Honour the King A. The Apostle speaks indefinitely of Governors and of Obedience to them but he states no particular Case When this Epistle was written Synop out of G. I think that Claudius or Nero was Emperor Therefore we must obey Infidels and evil Princes But this prohibits not Self-defence when Laws are violated Tho' the Ordinance or Government in the manner of its Constitution be from Man saith a Learned Author yet because of the necessity of its Institution it is from God Submit to it tho' of Man for the Lords sake For God is the primary Author Observe Kings and Presidents are an Humane Constitution or Ordinance made by Men with common Consent by certain Laws yet by the Command and Authority of God So that I conclude with a great Statesman As it was the Oppression and Slavery under which we had been brought that rendered His Majestys undertaking in coming into these Kingdoms with armed Force in order to redeem them both Honourable and Just So it was the Hope of being delivered by Him from Misery and Bondage that incouraged us first to invite and then to cooperate with Him in the Prosecution and Accomplishment of His Glorious Design It was the Invasion upon our Laws that we complained of and from which we desired and indeavoured to be relieved c. Thus I have omitted no appearance of an Objection and have given satisfaction to all that will examine things impartially and conscienciously in order to their ready and hearty Obedience to Their Majesties and the Preservation of the Religion Laws and Liberties of this Kingdom I shall conclude all with a plain Exhortation both in respect of the King and Subjects First For the King Seeing His Majesty hath received Power and Authority from God it concerns him to Administer Justice and Judgment For Gods Eye is All-seeing and he is Omnipresent God standeth in the Congregation of the Mighty he judgeth among the Gods Psal 82.1 It is a poor weak inferior thing beneath the Spirit and Dignity of a Prince to wrong the Innocent But it is indeed Great and Godlike to seek Judgment and relieve the Oppressed God hath Honoured Kings with his own Name and Titles and they should imitate Him in Wisdom Goodness Justice and Mercy And as this tends to the Honour of God and Happiness of his Church and the Prosperity of the Kingdom so it gains the Love and Affection of Subjects which is the only Ambition of Valiant Wise and Just Monarchs Secondly For the Subject Seeing Kings are by Gods Designation Ordination or Constitution let every Subject humbly submit They derive their Right from the Highest Majesty of Heaven and Earth They are set over us by Gods approbation And the God of Israel who led his People by the hands of Moses and Aaron in all Ages hath subjected Mankind to some of his Viceroys on Earth And they who are Enemies to them are Enemies to God and cast off that sweet and easie Yoke of Obedience to which God would have all his submit This condemns all wilful Offenders who disobey Governours They are in Gods stead and to despise them is to despise God himself And as Subjects ought to yield Obedience to their Soveraigns which I have Illustrated elsewhere so they ought to be grateful for their Favour Mercy Clemency and good Government And in particular they ought to be thankful to God and the King for the Mercies of this present time even the Reviving of our Religion Laws and Liberties FINIS
GOD THE KING AND THE COUNTREY United in the Justification of this Present Revolution Containing also Animadversions on Dr. William Sherlock's Book Intituled The Case of Allegiance Due to Soveraign Powers stated and resolved according to Scripture and Reason and the Principles of the Church of England By TIM WILSON M. A. and Rector of Great Mongeham in Kent Licensed Jan. 29. 1691. LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers Chapel 1691. To the Sacred Majesties of King William and Queen Mary by the Grace of God King and Queen of England Scotland France and Ireland Defenders of the Faith c. May it please Your Majesties THE Divine Providence that disposeth all things to the emolument and advantage of those that love God hath sent Your Majesties to be our Saviours and Deliverers from Popery and Slavery to the Joy of all sound Protestants not wholly sunk and buried in prejudice And we see the Prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled Kings shall be your Nursing Fathers and Queens your Nursing Mothers But the Government of Moses whom God sent into Egypt to deliver his people was not without some Murmurers and men of a revolting spirit who looked back towards Egypt Victorious David had that crafty Politician Achitophel his Adversary and Absolom who stole away the hearts of this people and Sheba a Mover of Sedition The Reign of Solomon had some who complained of Grievances and Oppressions tho' he honoured God by building a Magnificent Temple The most excellent Deborah tho' she had some that jeoparded their lives unto death with her yet she had others who for their Divisions caused great thoughts of heart It is my affection to the Protestant Cause and Your Majesties Government that moves me thus resolutely to rush into your Sacred Presence I am very sensible that false Principles will create Practices correspondent to them And therefore I have examined some new and strange Notions of Gods Providence and Humane Governments of late asserted by some Doctors To say That a Prince hath Gods Authority tho' he hath no Humane and Legal Right and that there is another Person who hath Legal Right is dismal to consider in the consequences thereof If this Poison creeps into the Church I tremble to reflect upon the Effects of it It is good for nothing but to produce Insincerity and to make men swear to live peaceably when they have War in their hearts I am confident of Your Majesties Protection for I have acted in this Affair with a full satisfaction of Conscience and the greatest Evidence of Reason And no History can exceed if parallel so great valour and courage mixed with so much grace and clemency as hath shined in King William This is to be like God who is Almighty and yet slow to wrath whose Power is irresistible and yet he delights in Mercy Go on and prosper most victorious Prince and may the God of Heaven bless you with success by Sea and Land against that proud and persecuting Monarch who hath been the Ruine of so many Innocent Protestants in his own Dominions May God give Your Majesties the Necks of your Enemies and may they all tast of Your Forgiveness and Bounty but never forsake Your first Friends who ran all hazards with Your Majesty I pray with Tertullian who saith We Christians pray for our Emperors 1. That they may have a long Life which contains Health Joy and Prosperity 2. A constant safe and secure Government 3. Faithful and Trusty Domestick Servants free from Treachery and secret Conspiracy 4. A strong and valiant Army 5. A faithful Senate Council or Parliament 6. Obedient Submissive and Loyal People 7. A quiet and peaceable Reign In a word whatsoever can be the desire of Caesar God inspire Your Majesties with heavenly Grace and Wisdom and sound Knowledge and good Vnderstanding to go in and out before this great People and moreover give you Victory and Peace and Length of Days and at last may Angels convey Your Souls into Abraham's bosom This is the constant prayer of Your Maiesties Most Humble most Loyal and most Devoted Subject and Servant Tim. Wilson The Apostle asserts in the 13th Chap. of the Epistle to the Romans That all Emperors Kings Princes and Governors receive their Power from God And that the Right of the Sword is delivered to the Magistrate by God And therefore all are obliged to be subject to the Higher Powers and not to resist And whosoever resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and shall receive damnation FOR the right understanding whereof I shall premise these Principles 1. All Dominion is Gods 2. God gives Dominion and Power to some persons over others 3. The Law of Nature which is the Divine Law unwritten is a Rule by which all Nations should walk 4. This Law of Nature teacheth all Inferiours to honour their Superiours and Subjects to pay Tribute honorary Gifts c. to their Kings 5. The same Law of Nature secures every mans Propriety so that there can be no Alienation without consent explicite or implicite There is saith Aristotle Rhet. b. 1. c. 13. as all divine by Nature a common just and unjust though there be no mutual communication nor compact 6. The holy Scriptures do not contradict the Law of Nature but inform mankind more plainly what is duty Lastly The sacred Historian Moses and other holy Writers leave Positive and Political Laws to be practised according to the Usage of several Countries I suppose as the known truth is that God Created Adam and Eve And Adam begat Cain and Abel Now what Land or what substance and goods Adam gave Abel he had Right to by the Law of Nature as well as what he got by his own industry and labour Neither could Adam or Cain take any of Abels Flock without sinning against God tho' there had been no Agreement between them For this Law was written in Adams heart Thou shalt not covet any thing that is thy Neighbours There is a Natural Right and there is a Civil Right Natural Right is by the Law of Nature Meum and Tuum were before there was any written Law Civil Right is that which the Municipal Laws of every Countrey gives And if good and consonant to Reason they are but confirmations or explications of the Law of Nature or conclusions drawn from it or securities of mens Lives Goods and Possessions from wicked men who would use no conscience We know saith St. Paul 1 Tim. 1.8 9 10. that the Law is good if a man use it lawfully knowing this that the Law is not made for a righteous man but for the lawless and disobedient c. Government as Government agreeth to Heathens Jews Turks and Christians all alike It is man as man who is the object thereof The Nature and Definition and Properties are the same The holy Scriptures intend not to teach us to be Politicians no more than to be Philosophers but to be Christians and
which concern the Duty of Subjects and the Publick Good And as for the Instances in Scripture out of the Books of the Kings and Chronicles it is plain that there was a Covenant between the King and People And after the Deposing of Athaliah all the Congregation made a Covenant with the King in the House of God 2 Chron 23.3 And what doth a Covenant signifie if it may not be defended and justified If such a dead Dog as I am were worthy to admonish an English Monarch I would advise him to make Law the Rule of his Reign and shew his Prerogative in Acts of Bounty Mercy and Mitigation of the Rigour of some severe Laws And I would not tell him that it is Rebellion for an Innocent Subject to defend himself And yet I imagine that I am as great a Friend to Monarchy and to the Church of England as the greatest Passive-Obedience-Doctor is 4. We have the End of Government For the good of the whole Sodiety Power and Authority is ordained of God for the Happiness of Mankind By this we are legally secured against wicked Men in our Houses Possessions Lands and Estates in our Liberties and Properties and in whatsoever belongs to us as Members of a Civil Society Political Order is a just Disposition between King and Subject as well as between Subject and Subject God is the Author and Lover of Order and an Enemy of Disorder and Confusion And Government was constituted by the singular Wisdom and Providence of God for the good of his Creatures From hence I may deduce these Inferences 1. Hence the Power and Authority of Kings and Governours is clearly Divine They are constituted Rulers by God and are his Ministers And therefore Honour and Obedience is due to them for the Lords sake 1 Pet. 2.13 2. Hence it follows evidently That Princes and Governours ought to Rule in Gods fear and so perform their Office as Gods Vicegerents administring Justice impartially knowing whose Authority they have Hence Princes are called Pastors of the People and Fathers of the Countrey And should bear the Name of Gods and Children of the most High not only in Power but in Goodness 3. Hence it necessarily follows that all Subjects ought to reverence and honour their King and Governours with most humble Service Homage and Obedience in all things But of this more anon 2. I shall consider the several kinds The most common Distribution is into Monarchy Aristocracy and Democracy The first kind or Form of Government is Monarchy I approve of this as best according to the saying of the most Famous Poet The Rule of many is not good Let there be one Ruler one King to whom God gives the Scepter He is King who hath Supream Power subject to none And a Monarch is either Absolute or Conditional And again either Elective or Successive Elective when in a Kingdom a Person of a new Family or of the same Family is chosen Successive when the next Heir Male and in some Kingdoms the Female is owned and proclaimed Thus the Kingdom of England is by Inheritance and Succession And our King never dies as we say But the King of England is not Absolute but Limited And hath Lords and Commons without whom he cannot make nor repeal Laws And we have Magna Charta unviolable And the Subjects great Felicity and no less the Kings Honour who Rules not over Slaves but Freemen 3. I shall shew the Latitude of Subjection It is a Civil Filial Fear of the King And excludes all things that tend to his Dishonour and includes all things that tend to his Honour It contains all Duties and Services required of Subjects to their Prince There is an universal Obedience next under and after God in all things Legal due to the King who Reigns by the Ordinance and Appointment of God Native Religion and true Christianity is the greatest Interest of Princes A good Conscience and pious Heart abhors Obmurmurations Factions Seditions Rebellions or whatsoever can be conceived to disturb the Souls subjection to the Higher Powers It is gross Hypocrisie to pretend to follow the Holy Jesus and not render to Caesar the things which are Caesar's I am sure that Christ and his Apostles taught Subjection to the Roman Emperor as the Ornament and Honour of their Religion This Subjection first forbids light and vain thoughts of the Kings Authority and Person 2. Uttering Wicked and Trayterous words speaking evil of him Thou shalt not revile the Gods nor curse the Ruler of thy People Exod. 22.28 And curse not the King no not in thy Thought Eccles 10.20 And the Holy Ghost brands them with the odious name of filthy Dreamers who despise Dominion and speak evil of Dignities St. Jude ver 8. In brief It excludes all retaining of his Dues Tribute Custom c. all Cheating him of his Revenue all Disobedience to his wholsom Laws all Contempt or Violation offered to his Sacred Person 2. Subjection includes or comprehends all Duties of a Christian Subject to his King For that which is in one place Let every Soul be subject to the Higher Powers is in another Fear the King and Honour the King And in the Fifth Commandment Honour thy Father and Mother Here as by Father and Mother all Superiors are meant not only our Natural Parents but also our Political Father our Governours especially the Supream Magistrate the King As it is well explained in our Church-Catechism To Honour and Obey the King and all that are put in Authority under him Which also is the Interpretation of all sober Divines So by this word Honour all kinds of Duty and Services from all Inseriors to their Superiors respectively are comprised So to Honour as to Fear Love and Obey them c. This is expressed also by St. Peter Submit your selves unto every Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as Supream or unto Governours as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well This is yet more fully and largely set down by St. Paul Rom. 13. Where this Doctrine is not only declared but pressed and confirmed by many strong and solid Reasons We must needs be subject not only for Wrath but also for Conscience sake v. 5. If you make Conscience of your ways give the King his Due There is nothing more plain than this Chapter for Subjection to the King and Submission and respect to his Officers without murmuring and repining when according to Law they demand their Dues The humble Christian and obedient Subject who willingly submits to the Kings Laws may be assured that in that particular he pleaseth God and he always hath the Testimony and Satisfaction of a good Conscience But the stubborn and disobedient who will not render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's assuredly displeaseth God and can never quiet his Conscience but runs the hazard of a most ignominious esteem in
words of the Reverend Dr. Fern Monarchy however we cannot say it is Jure Divino by Divine Precept commanding all Nations to be so governed or Jure Naturae by Nature's Law inforcing it is plainly ductu Naturae by Nature leading men from Paternal to Legal Government and exemplo Divino as I may say by Divine example and insinuation We suppose as the Sacred Historian tells us that Adam and so Noah after the Flood by Gods blessing begat Sons and Daughters These spread over the face of the Earth some in Asia some in Africa some in Europe c. And these God indued with Reason and they lived or should have lived by the Light of Nature Gods own Law written in their hearts And as face answereth to face in a glass so the heart of man to man And when they encreased greatly for orders sake or because some were lawless and living without the fear of God oppressed the weak Natural Prudence which is the Light of God in Man taught them to Covenant with one Ruler and to have common society and mutual help and some Rules Laws and Customs to determine Controversies between Family and Family Man or Man for the publick good To this first Constitution all were bound both Rulers and Ruled and this could not be changed ordinarily but by the Heads of such Societies or Families If any man can disprove this by Reason or Scripture we would gladly see it As for our own Countrey it is manifest in the most antient Histories and Chronicles that ever I read that we have been governed by Kings all along But we have had an Heptarchy and not always Lineal Succession And when England was one Monarchy under Egbert in the year of Christ 818. or thereabouts we shall find the Succession altered for the publick good as the late Author of the Vnreasonableness of Separation upon the account of the Oaths hath largely shewed out of Mat. Westminster and Mat. Paris and others But still all this supposeth an Agreement between the King and People originally And no doubt Monarchy and all Government will stand best upon its own Foundation And what men agree to all conscientious men will observe according to the mutual Oath of King and People And it is so far from being an inconvenience that it is the only true and just Title of all Royal Families And it is a prejudice to the King to say otherwise For the best and wisest men submit only upon Condition and Covenant We know that Nature teacheth all men to prevent Ruine and this is the Law of God But let us come to the Dr's great Principle the disposal of Providence p. 12. God governs the rest of the World removes Kings and sets up Kings only by his Providence that is then God sets up a King when by his Providence he advanceth him to the Throne that is I think God sets up a King when he sets up a King a self-evident Principle and puts the Sovereign Authority into his hands Then he removeth a King when by his Providence he thrusts him from his Throne and takes the Government out of his hands c. I can make no other sense of this but that God doth it when he doth it But how shall it appear to us that it is Gods Providence either to remove or set up a King The Dr. answereth There are but three ways whereby God gives this Power and Authority to any person either by Nature or by express Nomination or by the Disposal of Providence p. 11. If this be not Trifling I know not what is If any man should ask the Dr. Who made him Master of the Temple and he should answer God made him so or it was the disposal of Providence would he not smile tho' this is true But the Question asked is about the Humane Principal Efficient subordinate to God and his Providence But the former never comes into question among Christians It is confessed it was Gods Providence that exalted Joseph and all Kings I can hardly forbear but I have always reverenced the Dr. and therefore will say no more but Lord have mercy upon us the sinful Sons of Adam O the power of Prejudice As for Gods Providence in this Revolution I have published my thoughts in a Discourse entituled Conscience satisfied in a Cordial and Loyal Submission to the present Government of King William and Queen Mary and I must refer the inquisitive Reader to that Treatise p. 11 c. But here farther that we may consider what the Doctor saith we must distinguish of Gods Providence It is either 1. Immediate and extraordinary Or 2. Mediate and ordinary 1. The immediate and extraordinary Providence of God is when God works what he will besides or against the means and order appointed by himself in Nature And this is done in all Miracles which are effected to this end that we may know that the Omnipotent Creator and Governour of all things acts most freely by means or without means And this is manifest either 1. In punishing his Enemies Or 2. In preserving his Servants Thus God immediately by a Deluge from Heaven drowned the Old World confounded the Language of the Rebels at Babel rained Fire and Brimstone out of Heaven upon Sodom drowned Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea after all those former Plagues and Judgments upon him Thus God commanded the Earth to open and swallow up those proud and hypocritical Rebels Corah and his company By this the Sun stood still and the Moon stayed till the people had avenged themselves on their Enemies Josh 10.13 By this to deliver good Hezekiah and his people Israel the Angel of the Lord smote in the Camp of the Assyrians one hundred fourscore and five thousand 2 King 19.35 On the other side God by his extraordinary Providence gave Abraham a Son in his old age commanded the Ravens to feed his zealous Servant Elijah multiplied the Widdows Oil and preserved the three Children in the Fiery Furnace and the like Hence the Psalmist concludes The Lord alone doth great wonders Psal 136.4 But I suppose the Dr. doth not mean that God makes any King or Queen thus by Miracle He did not send an Angel to set the Crown on their Majesties Heads on the days of their Arrival in London or on the day of their Election by the Convention of Estates or on the day of their Coronation 2. Therefore there is a mediate and ordinary Providence of God And that is when God by Creatures or second Causes produceth those Effects to which those Creatures or Causes by the constant accustomed Order of Nature are appointed and made by God Thus by food and nourishment he sustains us by Physick and Medicines he removes diseases and heals the sick by his Word Read and Preached he declares his will to sinners and perswades them to believe and obey Thus we read Man doth not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
the Lord Deut. 8.3 And Hezekiah was recovered by applying a lump of Figs and laying it for a Plaister upon a Boyl Isa 38.21 Finally thus our Saviour saith Abraham in the Parable told the rich Glutton They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them Luk. 16.29 Thus I acknowledge it is the disposal of Providence that by the Convention of Estates as Means or Instruments the Prince and Princess of Orange should be King and Queen of England c. Now the Dr. saith well § 3. p. 12. Providence is Gods Government of the World by an Invisible Influence and Power c. But he might have told us that the Acts Manner and Effects of Providence become visible to us And the disposals of Providence are seen either 1. In Divine Judgments or Punishments Or 2. In Divine Probations and Fatherly Corrections and Chastisements Or 3. In Divine Blessings Mercies and Deliverances And all these are Personal Domestical or National Now Gods Providence is holy and just in all these But sometimes the Instruments are very wicked Thus proud and cruel men who break in pieces Gods people and afflict his Heritage as the Psalmist speaks tho' they are Gods Rod or Instruments by whom the Lord chastiseth his Servants which in God is most lawful and just I say ungodly men are guilty of the evil of sin Because they propound to themselves the satisfaction of their own malicious and spiteful affections But whoever are the Instruments of Gods Providence in Blessings Mercies Deliverances in such Acts do well and deserve praise of all that are not ungrateful Thus the late Revolution is Gods just Judgment and Punishment on the Papists and all Oppressors that joyned with them But it is an exceeding great mercy blessing and deliverance to the Protestant Church and all Gods faithful Servants But I spare the Dr's prejudice He knows the old saying Dolus latet in generalibus God permits evil Instruments but he approves good Instruments in such acts It is true also as the Dr. saith That God not only permits but he doth these things He permits men to do wickedly but God is the Author of all the Good and Evil which happens to private persons or publick Societies Surely no Christian doubts of this But then we distinguish which the Dr. doth not and say 1. Evil is from God who punisheth corrects or chastiseth his Church 2. Good is from God who defends delivers blesses or saves his Church And this is done ordinarily by the free Ministries of men And the Question between us is of these Instruments whether they be Evil or Good or whether they have done Evil or Good deserve well or ill of the Church and Common-wealth Thus to illustrate my meaning I say that O. C. and his Confederates were Usurpers Traitors and Murderers and tho' they had power or strength yet they had not Power or Authority from God But King William and his Confederates had not only Strength or Power but also had Power or Authority from God to save this Church and Kingdom when we were so near sinking under Popery and Slavery And this I think is deducible from what the Dr. sometimes grants As when he saith p. 28. The Law of God and Nature must take place of all Humane Positive Laws and Oaths And when he saith p. 33. Tho' I have as great a Reverence for Princes as any man I do not think the Right and Interest of Princes so considerable as the Safety and Preservation of a Nation and the Lives and Fortunes of all his Subjects From whence I infer that no Positive Laws Oaths or Prince in case of such Oppressions as we groaned under ought to stand in competition with the Preservation of our Countrey Liberty Property and Religion And consequently King William and his Confederates deserve Immortal Honour from all Englishmen and good Protestants And if this be not sound Divinity I desire that the Dr. would be pleased to bestow some of his Charity upon me and write another Book to convince those of my Perswasion I wish he had free leave given him to try his skill For tho' I do not pretend to his Learning and Abilities and I know that he can teach me many things nor have I the Opportunity of such Libraries and Conversation of most Judicious Men yet I have studied this Controversie and I never acted in any Affair with a more full and clear Approbation of my own Conscience than in this Revolution Or to use the Dr's words in the beginning of his Preface This I am sure of that I never acted with more sincerity in any Affair of my whole Life than I have done in this matter from the beginning to the end and whether I have sufficient Reason for what I do I refer to the Tryal of this and other my Discourses But in short All Power is of God and all Power is of the People All preservation is of God and all Preservation is of our selves All Riches and Honour are of God and all Riches and Honour are of our selves by our own Industry and good Merit For tho' we can Merit nothing at Gods Hands yet we may Merit from Man Thus the Hand of the diligent maketh rich saith Solomon and the blessing of the Lord maketh rich And seest thou a Man that is diligent in his business he shall stand before Kings he shall not stand before mean Men. This is Gods Cooperation and Concourse And God quasi ex pacto coobligat se creaturis as a Learned Protestant Schoolman and Metaphysician speaks by Covenant obligeth himself with the Creatures and as it were promiseth that he will help their Acts. And I suppose the Dr. himself doth not imbrace the previous efficacious motion mentioned by the strict Followers of St. Thomas and of Calvin Thus God removes Kings and sets up Kings And this the Dr. will acknowledge when he recovers himself For he saith p. 13. Sometimes a Prince is placed on the Throne by God and receives his Authority by the Election of the People sometimes by Conquest which hath been the visible Original of most Governments True say I but Conquest makes a Man a Prisoner not a Subject till after Consent and Agreement and when any Family is thus advanced to the Throne it is continued by Succession and Legal Entails But all these ways or any other that can be thought of are governed and determined by Divine Providence and the Prince thus advanced is as truely placed in the Throne by God as if he had been expresly nominated c. But the Secret or Reason of the Drs. obscurity and confusion I believe is this He could not condemn the Instruments of Gods Providence in this Revolution out of fear And he could not justifie them because of his Erroneous Conscience and Prejudice And so he runs on with a General and Confused Discourse of the Disposals of Providence Just as a Quaker when he knows not what to say will tell you It is the