Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A46764
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The title of an usurper after a thorough settlement examined in answer to Dr. Sherlock's Case of the allegiance due to sovereign powers, &c.
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Jenkin, Robert, 1656-1727.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing J573; ESTC R4043
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113,718
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92
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and that if this distinction between Usurpers and Rightful Kings be unknown to Scripture yet if it be not unknown to Reason that is sufficient to interpret this Text of St. Paul to be meant only of lawful Powers for the Scriptures always suppose and require that Men should bring their Reason along with them when they read and explain them or else they will make no more difference between Kings authorised by God and those not authorised by him than between Legal Kings and Illegal 4. But I cannot think that the distinction between Rightful Kings and Kings by Usurpation is unknown to Scripture but rather that St. Peter has expresly declared that it is to Rightful Kings obedience is due when he says submit your selves to every ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as supreme 1 Pet. 2.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He commands them to submit themselves to every humane Ordinance or Constitution of Government under which they lived Or as the Convocation quote this Text according to the old Translation to submit themselves unto all manner of ordinance of Man Pag. 144. I know there are different Interpretations of this Text but this seems the most probable for the King is here called the Ordinance of Man not because he is made King by Men but because the Constitution according to which he becomes King is an humane Constitution or Ordinance and not Divine as was that of the Jews St. Peter admonishes the Christians that they ought not to overvalue themselves upon the account of their Christian Liberty so as to imagine themselves exempted from those Duties which are incumbent upon the rest of mankind as Subjects to their Sovereigns or as Servants to their Masters but to behave themselves as free and not using their Liberty for a cloak of maliciousness verse 16. He had told them verse 9. that they were a chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood a holy Nation a peculiar People which was the Character given of the Jews Exod. 19.5 6. and now applied by the Apostle to the Jewish converts and lest they should have too high a conceit of themselves and vainly think as the Jews did that because they were Gods peculiar People they were bound to submit to no Government but what was of God's own immediate appointment and this was the Opinion the Gentiles had of them they spoke against them as evil-doers v. 12. and accused them of disobedience to Caesar and of Preaching another King one Jesus Act. 17.7 St. Peter therefore acquaints the Christians that so was the will of God that by subjection to all in Authority they should with well-doing put to silence the ignorance of foolish men verse 15. in as much as tho' the Frame of all Governments is not of God's appointment yet the Anthority in every Government is from him and therefore whoever is King according to the Legal Constitution of each Government Obedience becomes due to him for the Lora's sake because God makes him King and concurs with the Humane Act in ratifying what is done according to the Ordinance or Constitution of Man So that St. Peter calls particular Governments Man's Ordinance because they are of Humane Contrivance and Institution and he says they are to be submitted to for the Lord's sake because whoever is impowered to administer the Government according to the Constitution of it has God's Authority and in St. Paul's words is God's Ordinance St. Peter therefore speaking of Legal Powers and St. Paul only mentioning the higher Powers in general terms and both saying Obedience is due to them for the Lord's sake both must be understood of Legal Powers and St. Paul writing his Epistle to the Romans after this of St. Peter his words could need no distinction to be understood with that limitation which St. Peter here uses of every Ordinance of Man or of those Powers which are Just and Right by the Laws of Men. For as Bishop Sanderson has accurately expressed it Ad Magistratum Serm. 1. p. 94. Edit ult the truth is the Substance of the Power of every Magistrate is the Ordinance of God and that is St. Paul 's Meaning but the Specification of the Circumstances thereto belonging as in regard of Places Persons Titles Continuance Jurisdiction Sub-ordination and the rest is as St. Peter termeth it an Humane Ordinance introduced by Custom or Positive Law 5. But further we find this Distinction in express words in the Old Testament for according to the Doctor 's Interpretation it is impossible there should be any King who is not Ordained of God for he explains it of all the Powers that at any time be of all that are possessed of Supreme Power however they came by it Whereas besides what has been said of Abimilech and Ishbasheth and Athaliah God says expresly of the People of Israel They have set up Kings but not by me they have made Princes and I knew it not that is did not approve of it Hos 8.4 To this the Doctor answers Three things which I shall consider 1. This is not true P. 35. as to all the Kings of Israel after their Separation from the Tribe of Judah for some of the Kings were set up by God's own appointment as Jeroboam and Jehu and their Posterity So that this can be true only of those Kings who reigned over Israel between the Posterity of Jeroboam and Jehu and after the Kingdom was taken from the Line of Jehu 2. One of these Kings was Baasha 1 King 15.27.16.2 who slew Nadab the Son of Jeroboam and made himself King without God's express Nomination and Appointment and yet God tells him I exalted thee out of the dust and made thee Prince over my People Israel and all the other Kings who were not nominated by God nor anointed by any Prophet no more than Baasha was were yet set up by God as he was 3. The true Answer then is this Israel was originally a Theocracy as well as Judah and though God allowed them at their request to have Kings yet he reserved the appointment of them to himself and therefore as in the Kingdom of Judah he entailed the Crown on David 's Posterity so he appointed Jeroboam to be the first King in Israel and they ought when that Line was cut off to have consulted God and received his Nomination by his Prophets of a New King but instead of that they submitted to any who could set themselves over them which was a great Fault in a People who were under the immediate Government of God For hereby they fell out of the State of Theocracy into the common condition of the rest of the World where Kings are set up by the Providence of God c. 1. To this I reply 1. It is not pretended that the words of the Prophet can be meant of all the Kings of Israel nor of all neither who reigned either from Nadab the Son of Jeroboam to Jehu or after
has been before observed and as for the Promise made to David they imagined that it might have been as punctually fulfilled to his seed tho himself had been set aside as if he had been actually dead and probably they supposed that this was the Evil that God had threatned viz. to dethrone him and set up his Son in his room when he told him by his Prophet Behold I will raise up Evil against thee out of thine own House 2. Sam. 12.11 Manasses and Nebuchadnezzar were as great Tyrants to their Subjects as great Enemies to the true Religion and as great Offenders in all respects against God as any Christian King can be supposed to be Yet when God caused Manasses to be carried away captive to Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar to be driven from amongst men to eat Grass with the Beasts of the Field he brought these Afflictions upon them not to deprive either of them of their Kingdoms but only to humble them and then to restore them to their Thrones And his dealing with Nebuchadnezzar is most of all considerable in this matter because the Judgment upon him was purposely designed to the intent that the living may know that the most high ruleth in the Kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will and setteth up over it the basest of men Dan. 4.17 and yet v. 26. it is told him Thy Kingdom shall be sure unto thee after that thou shalt have known that the Heavens do rule and in the 31. verse There fell a Voice from Heaven saying O King Nebuchadnezzar to thee it is spoken the Kingdom is departed from thee which was taken from him for the space of seven years until he should know that the most highest ruleth in the Kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will v. 32. This then being an Example purposely set for the Admonition of Kings and to acquaint the World that God raises them up and deposes them as he pleases we may from hence conclude that tho they be dispossessed by his Appointment whether secret or express yet we can have no certainty that he has utterly rejected them but rather that upon their Repentance he will again restore them to the Enjoyment of their Dominions which they have still a Right to against any Usurper or Possessour of them Thirdly What Danger soever Religion may seem to be in yet it is manifest that throughout all Ages of the Church Religion never flourished more than in times of Persecution and Religion itself forbidding us to defend it by any Disloyalty if by any such unseasonable and unwarrantable means Subjects undertake the Preservation of Religion they may expect for their Reward no better than uzzah's Fate who put forth his hand to support the Ark of God when he saw it shaking and like to fall God can preserve it without our help against all the Power and Stratagems of the greatest Kings or he can turn the hearts of Kings and of Enemies make them become its Defenders So he turned the hearts of Nebuchadnezzar and Manasses and there is no Reason to suspect that God will not grant Princes space for Repentance now he rules the World by his Providence as he did in those Ages of Prophecy and Revelation It may be alledged that where there is an express Revelation men must follow the directions God is pleased to give and proceed no further than he appoints But when we have only his Providence to guide us we must not neglect to make use of the present occasion but must take all the opportunities which Providence puts into our hands as so many indications of what God expects and requires of us I answer this is a plain Argument that we ought not to make God's Providence the Rule of our Actions but his Law Because this principle would have misled those of ancient times contrary to Gods design and purpose in an immediate Revelation as well as it may now make us transgress his revealed Will recorded in Scripture and his Laws ingraved in our Nature I mean the Laws of Justice and of Obedience to Governors For from hence it appears that his Providence is not a sufficient Interpreter of his Will in what he requires of us if it were they might have rely'd upon it then and since it is not we must not depend upon it now Because the Scripture is our Guide as much as an immediate Revelation was theirs and we have as little warrant to follow Providence without a Revelation in Scripture for it as they could have to follow it without an immediate Revelation For as Prophecys and Revelations are long since ceased so we are no where told that God's Providence shall be instead of them to us but the Scriptures are to us instead of all other Revelations and we are to interpret God's Will by his Providence no further than they direct us to do And from the Scriptures we may be assured that God by his Providence often offers men opportunities of doing things only for their Tryal and when he gives them no license to do them If ever any circumstances of Providence could justifie an Action otherwise sinful they must have been those which David was in when Saul was twice at his mercy He was before by Gods appointment anointed to succeed in the Throne and Saul the first time came unexpectedly into his Power the second time a deep sleep from the Lord was fain upon Saul and his whole Army God had promised David to deliver his Enemy into his Hand and David's Followers both times did not fail to put him in mind of it So that if Providence could be at any time a sufficient warrant David must have had as full a Commission to have slain Saul as Ahud had to kill Eglon or John to kill Joram and David must have concluded that God who had before rejected Saul from being King had now actually devested him of all his Authority and according to his Promise had delivered Saul to him to execute the divine Vengeance upon him But because this would have been to act against a known Duty he still owns Saul for his Master and the Lords anointed and repented of the cutting off but the Skirt of his Garment All this probably was designed as a Tryal to David as well as to propose him for an example of Fidelity to all Ages and perhaps nothing can be more reasonably concluded from our late Revolution than that we are now cal'd to the practice of that Loyalty which we have made such high professions of I shall add no more but only transcribe some Passages out of Dr Sherlock's Case of Resistance to shew that the Authority of that very great Man can signifie little in this Controversie whatever his Arguments may do We know what use some men have made of this Argument of Providence to justifie all the Villanies they had a mind to act p. 29. But David it seems did not think that an Opportunity of doing evil