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A83999
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Englands satisfaction in eight queries; concerning the true place, office, and power of a king, according to Gods word.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing E3046; Thomason E105_14; ESTC R17568
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12,050
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15
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deteine the thing to be graunted if the Oath be refused by him to whom the Graunt is intended and every Grauntee is subject to the Grauntor according to the Covenant of the Graunt there can be no fee-simple estate in the Grauntee of the thing graunted but the fee-simple estate of the thing graunted is in the grauntor The Kingdome or Common-wealth of England is the grauntor the King of England is the grauntee the Crowne of England is the thing graunted so that the fee-simple estate of the Crowne of England is the Common-wealths of England to dispose of according to the Custome and Lawes of the Land which is by Covenant and Graunt to the Prince in being and after whose decease by custome but not by right of inheritance to the next in or of bloud and so from one generation to another in like manner So that this regall power in the 1 Sam. 8. doth not at all belong to a King of England therefore if the Lord was wrath and did exceedingly punish the Kings of Israel for exercising this regall power before the light of the Gospel wherein is revealed a greater light of libertie unto the members of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2. 7. 9. 10. Vnto you therefore which beleeve in Christ Jesus he is precious for by him yee are a chosen generation a royall Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar people that yee should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkenesse into his marveilous light Revel 5 9 10. And they sung a new song saying Thou art worthy to take the Booke and to open the Seales thereof for thou wast slaine and hast redeemed us to God by thy bloud and hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests How much more then shall Kings under the knowledge and light of the Gospel incurre the wrath of God if they be found guiltie of oppression and tyranny against the beleeving members of the Lord Christ themselves professing the same faith and acknowledging the same knowledge the Lord is no respecter of persons but the soule that sinneth shall dye A King of England may not by this regall power demand and command of and from the people as the Kings of Israel neither by the Lawes of God nor by the Lawes of the Land neither are the people of England bound to that slavish obedience as the people of Israel were but the people of England both by the Lawes of God and by the Lawes of the Land are freed from such a slavish obedience and therefore both according to the Lawes of God and the Land may lawfully deny and refuse to submit because it is an unlawfull imposition and where the demand and command is unlawfull the deniall or refusall is lawfull 6. Quest How shall we know when a King doth transgresse against his Oath and breake his Covenant and what is the remedy Ans A King doth trangresse his Oath and breake his Covenant when that his demands are beyond the Nationall Law which by vertue of his Oath as it is a breach thereof is oppression and when a King doth command of and from the people such things as are opposite unto and against the fundamentall Lawes of the Land which by vertue of his Oath as it is a breach thereof is tyranny which lawfully begets in the Common-wealth an absolute deniall and refusall to such demands and commands and so the peace of the Land is endangered the onely remedy to preserve the same is for the King to call a Parliament that is to send out his Writs to the Commons to choose their Knights and Burgesses who by vertue of the Kings Writs and the Commons voyces for them are Parliament-men and as Arbitrators are to decide all differences in Church State and Common-wealth whose conclusions and determinations together with the Kings assent consent and signing are binding Lawes both to King and people 7. Quest How farre may or ought a King lawfully to deny to assent consent and signe their determinations and conclusions Answ A King as he sits in the Lords throne may and as he is intrusted by God over the people ought to deny to assent consent and signe their determinations if the same shall either be dishonourable to the glory worship and service of the Lord or injurious to the good of the Common-wealth and no further for it is his office to be as or more forward and carefull for both as any other man both by the Lawes of God and the Land as he is the great Minister of the greatest trust for both by taking the same charge upon him 8. Quest But if a King shall deny to consent assent and signe the Parliaments determinations although honourable to the Lord and good and beneficiall to the Common-wealth then what is the Kings offence benefit or danger and their power as they are Parliament-men and so the body representative of the Land Answ If a King shall deny to assent unto that which is lawfull before God and man and contend against it and in stead of consenting unto them to dissent from them and in stead of signing their determinations to seperate himselfe from them and make warre against and upon them he doth thereby breake the peace which as he sits in the Lords throne of Majestie he ought to keepe maintaine and preserve and also thereby he breakes and wilfully violates his Oath and Nationall Covenant by which he enjoyes the Crowne and so is an offender both against God and man by both for both he is entrusted betwixt both Adam did not transgresse untill he was advised by Eve Gen 3. 6. And the woman said ver 13. The Serpent beguiled me because a King doth nothing without advise therefore he cannot transgresse but by the evill advice of evill Counsellors who with Eve are beguiled by that old Serpent the Devill and such Counsellors was 1 King 12. 13 14. Rehoboams young Cavaliers and such evill Counsellors was Chap. 22. 6. Ahabs foure hundred Balls Prophets who were beguiled by the Devill who said ver 22. I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets and also such advisers had Pharoah Gen. 7. 11 12. Jannes and Jambres who had the Devils helpe and by him did that they did in their withstanding of Moses and so such are all they that doe advise the King against the good advice of his grave and wise Elders the Parliament Long agoe these Counsellors were branded out and foretold by the Apostle Paul 2 Tim. 3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. In the last dayes perillous times shall come men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers unholy without naturall affection truce breakers false accusers fierce despisers of those that are good traytors headdy high-minded lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God having a forme of godlinesse in their mouths but denying the power thereof in their hearts ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth
ENGLANDS SATISFACTION IN EIGHT QVERIES Concerning the true place Office and power of a KING according to GODS Word A KING as he is the Lords Anoynted over his GODS Judgemēts upon his people for asking of a King people Israel 1 Sam. 8.11 12 13 14 15 16 17. will take your sonnes and your daughters to serve him He will take your fields vineyards and your olive-yards even the best of them from you and give them to his servants He will take the tenth of your seed and of your vine-yards from you and give them to his Officers and to his servants and he will take your men-servants and your maid-servants and your goodliest young men and your Asses and put them to his worke He will take the tenth of your sheepe and yee shall be his servants 1. Quest Is it lawfull for Kings to doe as Samuel from the Lord told the people Saul would doe Answ No for Samuel at the establishing of Saul 1 Sam. 10. 25. told Saul and all the people the dutie of a King as it is written Deut. 17.16 17 18 19 20. and wrote it in a Booke and laid it up before the Lord as a witnesse betwixt King and people so that all that the Lord doth command is lawfull to be done and it is a sinne not to doe it and all that the Lord doth forbid is unlawfull to be done and it is a sinne to doe it The Lord in the 8th of the 1 Sam. doth not command Kings to take from one and to give to another and to doe their own wills therefore it is not lawfull for Kings to exercise this regall power but the Lord saith that they will doe so and so which is not a sufficient warrant for Kings to doe so and so because the Lord in his Law of the dutie of a King hath expresly forbidden the same Deut. 17 18 19 20. And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his Kingdome that he write him The dutie of a King a copie of this Law in a Booke and it shall be with him and he shall reade therein all the dayes of his life that he may learne to feare the Lord his God that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren to the right hand or to the left Therefore it is unlawfull for Kings to exercise this regall power King David though a man after Gods owne heart because he by vertue of this regall power would have Barshebah the wise of Vriah to be his wife and caused Ioab to put Vriah in the forefront that he might fall by the sword for which Nathan the Prophet told David 2 Sam. 12. 9. Thou hast killed Uriah with the sword and hast taken his wife to be thy wife and hast slaine him with the sword of the Children of Ammon Vers 10. Therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house It made good David by the experience of evill the sight and knowledge of evill and repentance for evill say at his latter end 2 Sam. 23. 3. He that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the feare of the Lord. Rehoboam thinking by this regall power he might doe what he would over and with his Subjects refused the good and milde Counsell of his grave and wise Elders and tooke the rough and evill Counsell of his young Counsell 1 King 12. 3. which lost him ten of his twelve Tribes Ahab by this regall power thought he might take away Naboths Vineyard and so followed the wicked Counsell of Idolatrous Iezabel his wife and put Naboth to death for which the Lord saith by Eliah the Prophet 1 Kings 21 19. 21 22. In the place where the dogs licked the bloud of Naboth shall dogs lick thy bloud even thine And I will take away thy posteritie and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the sonne of Nebat therefore it is utterly unlawfull to use this regall power 2. Quest If it be unlawfull for Kings to take from and to give unto and to doe what they please why did or doth the Lord in the 1 Sam. 8. 17. command the people to yeeld obedience and serve their Kings according to such demands commands will and pleasure Answ For two reasons first in respect of the Lord himselfe because he was King of Israel and had that regall power and prerogative Royall to doe his owne will with man as the Potter with the clay who being able and did with a mightie hand and stretched-out-arme bring Israel out of Aegypt from the crueltie of Pharoah through the red Sea and in the Wildernesse caused the stony Rocks to yeeld them water to drinke giving them Manna Angels food and sent them Quailes to eate and gave them the Land of Canaan houses they builded not Vineyards Orchards and gardens they planted not and cast out seven Nations greater then they before them even a Land flowing with milke and honey Notwithstanding all which Israel would have a Man King as had the Nations 1 Sam. 8. 5. At which Samuel was displeased but the Lord said unto Samuel ver 7. heare the voyce of the people for they have not rejected thee but they have rejected mee that I should not reigne over them therefore testifie vers 9 unto them and shew them the manner of the King being but a man what evill inclinations he will be of that shall reigne over you to take from one unjustly and give it to another that hath no right to the same unequally to demand of and command over and from you according to his own corrupt lusts as it is vers 11 12 13 14 15 16. And when these things shall come upon you vers 18. yee shall cry because of your man King whom you have chosen you but the Lord will not heare you at that day therefore bethinke your selves O Israel because you will forsake the Lord to reigne over you as formerly and will have a man to be your King to sit in the Lords throne of Majestie for in all these things ver 17. yee shall be his servants in obeying of him without redresse whose answer is ver 19. Nay but there shall be a King over us Chap. 10. 18 19. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel I brought Israel out of Aegypt and delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians and out of the hands of all Kings that troubled you but you have this day cast away your God who onely delivered you out of all your adversities and tribulations And out of Chap. 12.12 the hands of Nahash King of the Children of Ammon when the Lord your God was your King yet yee said A King shall reigne over us Know O Israel vers 3 4 5. you and your King beare record Whose Oxe have I taken or whose Asse have I taken or whom have I done wrong to or whom have I hurt or of whose hands have I received any bribe and I will