of all men were most free from Courtship and Flattery they especially the Prophet Daniel did Honour and Worship even Heathen-Kings and frequently saluted them with this Pathetical Option VIV AT REX O King Live for ever Which is all one with God save the King In like manner St. Paul did Honour Noble Festus the Roman Governour and King Agrippa who were no Christians And the same Apostle exhorts Titus Bishop of Crete Tit. 3.1 to put All Men in mind of being subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates whether Christians or Heathens good or bad and to be ready to every good work And in Hebr. 13.17 the Jews are Commanded to obey all that had Rule over them Which Rulers over them in the State were the Roman Emperours and Deputies who were at that time inveterate Enemies to Christianity Our Blessed Saviour himself Commands all Men Christians especially to give unto Caesar what is Caesar's as well as to God what is God's And the Law of God and of Man tells us that Honour and Obedience is Caesar's due therefore it must be paid And St. Paul writing to the New-converted Romans at Rome charges them to be subject to Caesar and the Higher Powers And he gives this Reason for the necessity of their Obedience to wit Because there is no power but of God and that Rom. 13.1 2. Whosoever resisteth the Powers resisteth the Ordinance of God and he that risisteth shall receive to himself Damnation And the very same pious Doctrine of Loyalty does St. Peter teach 1 Pet. 2.13 Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as Supreme or to Governours as unto them which are sent by him And v. 18. St. Peter adds as the Whole Duty of Man this Injunction Fear God Honour the King Thereby according to Beaufrons plainly intimating unto us this excellent Truth scil That if we will not peaceably submit to every Ordinance of the King * Beaufrons c. 8. p. 89. as to things Lawfull but become Mutinous and Rebellious then notwithstanding our high profession of Religion and of fearing God we neither Fear God nor Honour the King for as God is ever to be Feared so the King is ever to be Honoured Unto these Instances of Holy Writ pleading for Obedience to Kings and to the Supreme Magistrates we may add that Loyal Decree which the Reubenites and Gadites and the half Tribe of Manasseh made For they all were so zealous for Obedience unto Joshua their Supreme Magistrate as that they Decreed Josh 1.18 That whosoever Disobeyed Joshuah's Commands and would not hearken unto his words in all that he commanded he should be put to Death The Prophet Samuel terms Rebellion no better than Witchcraft 1 Sam. 15.23 So that according to him Whosoever Rebells has forsaken God and is gone over Volunteer to the Devil and is carrying on his works of Darkness Nor may we pass over in silence that smart check which the Heathen Sanballat gave though most undeservedly unto Loyal Nehemiah saying What is this thing that ye doe Nehem. 2.19 Will ye Rebell against the King Will ye Rebell that is to say in the Negative No surely ye will not offer to Rebell against the King For your Jewish Religion which ye say is the onely true Religion in the World teaches you otherwise and instructs you better to wit That although the King be in your opinion no other than an uncircumcised Heathen and as you believe an Idolater Yet for all this ye ought according to your own Religion not to Rebell against him From these Proofs in Canonical Scriptures we may rationally argue and conclude with the truly Loyal Archbishop Laud and others of the Church of England scil That all the Commands of a King Heyl. in Vit. Archb. Laud. p. 310. which are not upon the first Inference and Illation contrary to some clear passage of the Word of God or to some evident Sun-beam of the Law of Nature are precisely to be obeyed SECT III. The Proposition That All Lawfull Kings whether Morally good or bad ought to be obeyed proved by the Authority and Practice of honest Heathens HItherto we have heard the Divine Oracles amply declaring the Subjects Duty peaceably to Obey their Lawfull Kings and their Successours whether Papists or Protestants Heathens or Christians Good or Bad. The very same Truth and Duty we find urged and confirmed by the Authority and Practice of mere Heathens who were guided onely by the glimmering Light of their Natural Reason even such as they did not onely teach but also practise Loyalty and Obedience to their Lawfull Princes Hesiod discoursing on the Benefits of Kingly Government tells his Reader that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod Theog c. unto the King the People do all most dutifully look waiting for his Word of Command They being fully assured that seeing their prosperity is his happiness He therefore will order all things right according to the Rules of Justice And when King Jupiter was Dethroned by the Rebellious Titanes then the Loyal Party mustered up their Forces and humbly tendering their Services to him their King They all unanimously entred into a solemn Vow that they would fight his Cause and never sheath their Swords untill 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. they had vanquished all his Enemies and had restored him to his Imperial Crown and Dignity Theocritus enlarging himself on the Praise and high Commendations of King Ptolemaeus says He was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the most happy of all men not onely in that He being King 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theocr. c. was the care and charge of the Supreme God But also he was happy in that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All his Subjects were Obedient and Conformable to his Government and were not factious and tumultuous nor given to Seditious Talk nor to Idleness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But every man kept his own Station and peaceably followed his own business And at last he religiously concludes his Panegyrick on the said King with this pathetical Epiphonema 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theocr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 17. God save King Ptolemy Phocylides in his Admonitory Poem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cautions all men especially Subjects that are under an Oath of Obedience punctually to keep their Faith and Allegiance And that Because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. God hates a perjured person It is Remarkable That Fabius Maximus after he had been Consul five times became Obedient to his Son Suessa who was promoted to that high Office And when some jealousie arose that He had contemned the Authority of his said Son for that upon his first approach into his Son's Presence He did not bow the Knee nor did him that Honour and lowly Reverence which was due to his Consulary Dignity Fabius presently corrected the mistake assuring his Son the Consul that He did not forbear to give
him due Honour and Worship out of contempt (a) Non ego inquit Fili summum imperium tuum Contempsi sed experiri volui an scires Consulem agere necignoro quid Patriae venerationi debeatur verùm publica instituta privatâ pietate potiora judico Valer. Max. l. 2. c. 2. §. 4. but onely to try whether He so young knew how to maintain the Magnificency and Grandeur of a Consul or did rightly understand how to treat Him not as his Natural Father but as his most dutifull Subject for he did openly declare That the Publick Honour and Veneration due to the Supreme Magistrate ought ever to precede all private Duty to Parents The Senate of Rome to shew their Abhorrency of the treacherous Assassination committed on the Person of their Emperour Julius Caesar in publico luctu did most solemnly bewail that horrid and execrable Fact in a publick Lamentation And Damnati Omnes Condemned to Death all the Plotters and Actors thereof And although the said Regicides fled from Justice yet the vengeance of God pursued them all So that not any one of them died a Natural Death But (a) Alius alio casu periit pars naufragio pars praelio nonnulli semet eodem illo pugione quo Caesarem violaverant interemerunt c. Sueton. Vit. Jul. Caes §. 84. some of them perished at Sea others were slain in Battel Some casually knocked on the head and others killed themselves with the very same Dagger with which they had wounded Coesar And Aemilius Probus gives us another Remarkable Instance of the Divine Hand punishing Treachery and Disloyalty in the Person and Complices of Mithrobarzanes who persidiously revolting from Datames his Lawfull Prince unto the Pisidians who were at that time Datames his open Enemies was at last upon a right understanding of his perfidiousness furiously assaulted by both (b) Proditores perculit hostes profligavit quod ad suam perniciem fuerat cogitatum id ad suam salutem convertit quo neque acutius ullius Imperatoris cogitatum ne que celerius factum usquam legimus Cornel. Nep. Datam p. 132. Parties and miserably destroyed by whose Death Datames was freed from the Traytor and from his Enemies the Pisidians It is recorded by Quintus Curtius for the everlasting praise of the Grecians that it was their natural wont to Honour and Obey their Kings (a) Nam haud facilè dictu est praeter ingenitam illi genti erga Reges suos venerationem quantum hujus utique Regis vel admirationi dediti fuerint vel charitate flagraverint c. Quint. Curt. l. 3. And when Alexander their King was beyond expectation recovered from a desperate sickness occasioned by a fall into the River Cydnus All his Loyal Subjects especially his Souldiers were so over-joyed at the good news thereof as that they presently made their humble Addresses to His Majesty heartily Congratulating His happy Recovery And as a farther expression of their Loyalty and of their great joy for their King's safety they did also multiply their Thanks and their Bounty to Philip the King's Physician for his Faithfulness to the King and for his great Care and Cure of Him Nor may we forget Isocrates his high Eulogium's of the said Grecians How that they always preferred the Publick Good of the Kingdom before their private Interest and that they did not desire so much to be Rich and Great as to be Honest and Usefull to the Common-wealth And that they did not covet to leave any better Patrimony to their Children than that of Honour Loyalty and Renown Nay they never contended (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Dionys Halicar in Vit. Isocr one with another but when they strove who should be most serviceable to his King and Countrey And so faithfull were they to their Prince and to all men as that their bare word was of more value than other mens Oaths in after-ages And Nicocles pressing the Subjects Duty to Obey their Prince draws his Argument à Commodo from the great Benefits they all would most certainly reap thereby for then they would abound in Wealth and Riches and would enjoy peace and quietness at home and would become a Terrour to their Enemies and be the Envy and Emulation of their Neighbours abroad And as (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Isocr Ni. the Kingdom of the Persians so that of Nicocles's would flourish and prosper more by the Subjects Love and Obedience towards their Prince than by any prowess of Arms or by any other politick Contrivances whatever For as Diogenes Synopeus a man generally morose and averse from Monarchy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diog. Laert. Vit. Diog. c. said that the Life and Essence of Civil Polity consisted in Honour and Good Order for so does 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie in Diogenes his sense And Tacitus to the same purpose urges the Necessity of the Subjects Obedience to their (a) Pereunte obsequio imperium etiam intercidit si ubi imperatur queri singulis liceat Tacit. Hist l. 1. Prince because otherwise there would soon be a Dissolution of all Good Order and of the whole Frame of Government Now one way to preserve the Government established and to continue the present peace and welfare of the Kingdom as Nicocles adviseth is not onely to obey the King but also to obey and to honour All that are in Authority under him for whoever (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 envies and maligns the King's Friends and Prime Ministers of State do malign the King Himself and do really strike at him thorough their sides Whereas were they truly Loyal they would Love and Honour those whom their King Loved and Honoured And whereas many drank the King's Health and talked big of their Loyalty and highly applauded their King But yet says Nicocles true Loyalty (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Isocr Nicocl consists more in Works than in Words more in Obedience than in Talk SECT IV. The Proposition That all Subjects ought actively to Obey their Natural and Lawfull King in all things which be not positively against some known Law of God although their said Prince be an Heathen an Idolater and Apostate or never so Morally vitious proved by the Authority and Practice of the Primitive Christians THE Doctrine and Duty of Obeying All Lawfull Kings whether Heathens or Christians Good or Bad in all things that are not positively Evil was constantly taught and conscientiously practised by the Primitive Christians both Clergy and Layity Ignatius the second Writer after the Apostles declares that All Kings are to be honoured because they represent God the King of Kings And as in Heaven none is Greater than God so on Earth none (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Ign. Epist Smyrn is Greater than the King So says also Tertullian Colimus Imperatorem ut hominem à Deo secundum solo Deo Minorem
stands unto him to wit That He is his Natural and Lawfull Prince And therefore must of Necessity be Obeyed And we may argue farther That the Law of Nature and of sound Reason Dictates 1. That all good Order ought to be kept 2. That Order cannot be preserved if Inferiours shall Rebell and Resist the Commands of their Superiours 3. That all Disorder and Rebellion threatens ruine to the Whole Which Mischief to prevent The Law of Nature obliges every Being within its own proper Sphear to contribute its utmost endeavours towards the preservation of the whole These things being granted to be according to the Laws of Nature and Natural Reason It cannot now but wound the Heart of any understanding Man whether Christian or Heathen to see the Heel rise up and kick against the Head to see Subjects Plot and Rebell against their Natural and Lawfull King especially seeing all Rebellion is as has been proved no other than waging open War against Nature her self Nature having Constituted all things in a most harmonious Order placing one Being before another and strictly Commanding every Being to keep its own Station and to act onely within its own Circuit and not to move excentrically And in truth wonderfull is the excellent Governance of Nature For where there are Millions of Individuals of the same Species there Nature ever makes One to move First and all the rest to move orderly and successively And this Natural Law of Regularity and of Priority and Posteriority is duly observed by all Moveables whether Animate or Inanimate 1. All Things Inanimate such as the Elementary Particles when they move Ascendent or Descendent they All observe the Natural Laws of Motion particularly of Priority and Posteriority and do All move Regularly one after the other to prevent Confusion Natural Philosophy assures us That whenever there does happen the least Disorder and Irregularity among the Inferiour parts of Nature that then to prevent a general Revolt and Fraction The Supreme Nature is Necessitated to act severely and by force to reduce the Rebellious Particles into their Right Order And thus sometimes the Supreme Nature causes things to act and move quite contrary to their particular Natural Inclinations Thus Water sometimes is forced to ascend contrary to its Natural Tendency And Air to descend contrary to its Natural Propensity And all this is done to prevent as was hinted before a greater Rebellion and Rupture and to preserve the safety of the Vniverse 2. The Laws of Nature and Good Order are also duely observed by things Animate although they be Irrational For they have their Superiours and Inferiours Yea Gerson the very Beasts of the field are said to Observe the Natural Law of Primogeniture And in their Motions to put the Eldest foremost And when this Order is broke by some Rebellious and Disorderly Juniours then commonly there happens among them a fierce Combate Thus as the Poet notes there is Rex Gregis a King among the Herds of Cattel and the Flocks of Sheep And it is well known that the Lion is commonly called the King of Beasts Nay not onely Beasts but also Insects such as Bees have their King And Bees have not onely a King but Virgil in the praise of them says Regem non sic Aegyptus Virg. Georg. 4. ingens Lydia nec populi Parthorum aut Medus Hydaspes Observant c. That the Bees are more Observant and Obedient to their King than ever were the Egyptians Parthians or Medes to their King And therefore a Bee in the Gothick Language is * Minsheu Bi-eju quasi penes unum which signifies a Company incorporated under one Head The Bees have their Laws of Government which they punctually observe And one of their chiefest Laws is That all the Subjects of their Common-wealth should carefully and dutifully in their fixed courses wait upon and guard their King at home and abroad And therefore they will never move without a word of Command nor fly in swarms without their King but most Loyally wait his Royal Pleasure and whilst His Majesty is solacing himself in his Palace they like so many Life-Guard Men most dutifully hover about and attend the Door And it has been observed That if through too long Attendance they have grown faint and weary in their Service Yet they will rather humbly fall down Dead at the foot of their King than desert their Station and hazard His Majesty's safety And if any Enemies such as Wasps and Hornets shall at any time assault their King's Dominions They all unanimously take up Arms in defence of their King and will fight on his behalf to the last Breath And which is most remarkable Rege incolumi mens omnibus una est Whilst their King is safe nothing can afflict them but they are all cheerfull and unanimous the most critical eye cannot discern the least Discord among them But on the other hand Rege Amisso rupêre fidem Virg. ibid. c. Their King once unhappily lost they are all in a tumult their Government is dissolved and every one does what he pleases for their Laws expire with their King So that they all by stealth and plunder get what they can And like so many unruly Banditi they seldom give over pillaging untill they have either lost their lives or luckily listed themselves in the Service of some other Neighbouring Prince For such is the Nature of a Bee as that he can never live quietly without a King By these instances it is sufficiently demonstrated That all Beings whatever are Obedient to their Superiours and do keep good Order And that Most if not All Living Creatures which are guided onely by the Light of Nature do not onely prefer Monarchy above all Governments but also injoin strict Obedience thereunto according to the Laws of Nature And what Shall onely Man of all the Creation except Devils walk disorderly and be found Rebellious and disobedient unto God and unto his Natural Prince contrary to the Law of Nature and sound Reason For shame Let it never be said That Man the Glory of the Creation is in a Conspiracy with the Fallen Angels against God and the King SECT II. The Duty of Obedience to Superiours whether Morally good or bad Christians or Heathens proved by Authority of Divine Reason and Scripture NOT onely the Law of Nature but also the Law of God and Divine Authority Command Loyalty and Obedience to be shewn unto all Kings whether Heathens or Christians Good or Bad And declare also That it is the Subjects Duty not onely to Obey them but also heartily to pray for their prosperity Thus the Patriarch Jacob did not onely doe humble Reverence and Honour unto King Pharaoh an Heathen but also gave him his BENEDICTION for Jacob Blessed Pharaoh Gen. 47.7 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Munster Drus Ains in Loc. Jacob saluted him with Prayer for his Welfare and with Thanks for his Bounty And the Holy Prophets who
they be evil not onely for Fear but also for Conscience-sake c. Our Saviour Christ himself and his Apostles received many and divers injuries of the unfaithfull and wicked men in Authority yet we never reade that they or any of them caused any Sedition or Rebellion against Authority we reade oft that they patiently suffered all troubles vexations slanders pangs and pains and Death it self obediently without Tumult or Resistence They knew that the Authority of the Powers was God's Ordinance and therefore both in their Words and Deeds they taught ever Obedience to it and never taught nor did the contrary c. We may not obey King Magistrates or any other though they be our own Fathers if they would Command us to doe any thing contrary to God's Commandments Ibid. p. 74. In such a case we ought to say with the Apostle We must rather obey God than Man But nevertheless in that case we may not in any-wise withstand violently or Rebell against Rulers or make any Insurrection Sedition or Tumults either by force of Arms or otherwise against the Anointed of the Lord or any of his Officers But we must in such cases patiently suffer all wrongs and injuries p. 75. referring the judgment of our Cause onely to God And elsewhere our Church says What shall Subjects doe then Serm. against Rebellion 1 Part. shall they obey valiant stout wise and good Princes and condemn disobey and rebell against Children being their Princes or against undiscreet and evil Governours God forbid For what a Perillous thing were it to commit unto the Subjects the judgment which Prince is Wise and Godly and his Government good and which is otherwise as though the Foot must judge of the Head And enterprize very heinous and must needs breed Rebellion Serm. against Wilfull Rebellion 1st Part. p. 279. This is you see the Pious and Loyal Doctrine of the Protestant Church of England which she received from Christ and his Apostles and from the Primitive Christians concerning the Subjects absolute Obedience to Kings and All in Authority whether Good or Evil. And the said Loyal Doctrine was ever preached and practised by the Protestants in England we mean those who owned the King's Supremacy in opposition unto Popery and Fanaticism for there never was nor are any other * Beausrons c. 1. Protestants in the World but such who protest for and defend the King's Supremacy This Doctrine of absolute Obedience was practised as well as preached by the Bishops Martyred in Queen Mary's days and by the most Reverend Jo. Whitgift Archbishop of Canterbury and by the most Reverend William Laud late Archbishop of Canterbury who suffered Death by the late Rebels for nothing more than for maintaining this Primitive Doctrine of absolute Obedience to the King And since it has been urged upon the Peoples practice by several Learned Men of this our Church particularly by Dr. Faulkner in his Christian Loyalty And by the Right Reverend Seth Lord Bishop of Sarum in his most Learned Sermon before the King on Nov. 5.1661 against Resistence of Lawfull Powers Some of his Lordships words are these If harsh Administration of Power will exempt Men from Obedience p. 60. at that time when Claudius or Nero was Roman Emperour why should the Holy Ghost move St. Paul to write to the Romans scil Rom. 13.2 They that resist shall receive to themselves Damnation And p. 67. that other pretence scil That after a Lawfull Sovereign is established Ibid. p. 67 68. the Power still remains in the People in the dissused Body of them or their Representatives to alter the Government as they please it is in respect of Policy and Government what the sin against the Holy Ghost is to Religion it destroys the foundations of the peace and safety of men and makes that to be the Artifice of Man which is the Ordinance of God How much God abhorred this pretence will appear in the case of Corah and his Company The Reverend Dr. Tillotson Dean of Canterbury in his Letter to the late Lord Russel has these expressions to wit That the Christian Religion doth plainly forbid the Resistence of Authority That though our Religion be established by Law yet in the same Law which establishes our Religion it is declared That it is not Lawfull upon any pretence whatsoever to take up Arms c. Besides that there is a particular Law declaring the Power of the Militia to be solely in the King and that ties the hands of Subjects though the Law of Nature and the General Rules of Scripture had left us at liberty which I believe they do not because the Government and Peace of Humane Society could not well subsist upon those Terms As thus these abovementioned Persons so indeed all the learned Men of the Church of England who have wrote any thing largely of the Subjects Duty towards their Prince have unanimously declared contrary to the Factious Authour of Julian the Apostate scil That all Lawfull Kings and their Lawfull Heirs by Primogeniture of what Religion or Manners soever Good or Bad they be ought successively to Reign and Govern and to be honoured and obeyed by all their Subjects either Actively by chearfully doing whatever they shall Command or Passively by humbly and peaceably submitting to whatever punishment their said Princes shall think fit to inflict upon them for not obeying their Royal Commands Actively And if any Prince should after he is seated in the Throne prove Tyrannical we may not Rebell nor plot his Deposition But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazian Orat 1. c. Our onely Remedy is what was Nazianzen's and the Christians in the Reign of Julian the Apostate to wit Prayers Fastings and Tears This was the practice of the Primitive Christians and ever has been the Profession and Practice of the Protestant Church of England And therefore whoever lives in Rebellion against his Lawfull Prince and dies in and for the same without publick and hearty Repentance Acknowledgment and Confession to God and to Man of that his Rebellion or secret plotting of Rebellion Neither does such a man live nor any true way can he be said to dye in Communion with the Protestant Church of England But as he lived So he dies either a Popish or a Fanatick Recusant And No Protestant And thus died most of the late Fanatical Associatours and Rebels inasmuch as most of them died without the least expression of their sorrow and penitence for and without humble and publick Confession of their Horrible Plot and Treason for which they were Condemned As appears by their own Papers given to the Sheriffs and Published by Authority And here it will be requisite that we as far as we are able undeceive the people and tell the Naked Truth to wit That the abovementioned Persons abused the World and imposed upon the ignorant people a notorious falsity when at their Executions they declared they died Protestants and in
and Primogeniture was the Lawfull Heir of the Crown after Queen Elizabeth's Decease in case she should dye without Issue of her own Body And therefore an Act passed Declaring two things scil 1. That Queen Elizabeth was by Birth and Primogeniture the Lawfull Heir of the Crown 2. That whomsoever the said Queen and the Laws of the Realm should declare to be by Descent and Primogeniture her Lawfull Heir and Successour That then He or She so declared should be acknowledged and owned for the Right Heir of the Crown it being declared as was said before that He or She was the Right and proper Heir by virtue of Birth Descent and Primogeniture So that the aforementioned Act of Queen Elizabeth does confirm the Right of Succession to the Imperial Crown of Great Britain to be onely by Lawfull Descent and Primogeniture Secondly But farther If the meaning of that Act of Queen Eliz. 13. c. 1. were otherwise than we apprehend it to be Yet it is well known that That Act of Queen Eliz. 13. c. 1. is Obsoleted and out of Date and was made onely for Queen Elizabeth's Reign and therefore is of no force or validity in these our days And that because in this our day the Right Heir to the Crown by Descent and Primogeniture is well known For if he were not well known then pray what need is there of a Bill of Exclusion to barr and preclude the Right Heir from succeeding in the Throne and that onely as is pretended for fear the supposed Right Heir when once got into the Throne should not Govern well From these Arguings it is evident That the above-mentioned Act of Queen Elizabeth is out of Date and does no ways affect these our times in which there is at least there need be no dispute who at present is the Right Heir by Primogeniture And therefore it cannot be ignorance but as we fear right down Prejudice not to call it Malice in them who are knowing in the Law to urge from that Act of Queen Elizabeth's a Lawfulness to hinder by a Bill of Exclusion the Right Heir from Inheriting the Imperial Crown of England which is his undoubted Right by virtue of his lineal Descent and Primogeniture It will not be impertinent here to add the Observation of some judicious Men How that God never blessed either that Family or that People which have unnaturally dis-inherited the Right Heir And it has been observed by many That although the Law of this Our Kingdom does permit Parents to cut off the Entails of their Estates from their Eldest Sons when prodigal and vitious or otherwise Yet it has been observed That those Families which have taken that Liberty which the Law of the Land has given them and therefore have dis-inherited the Right Heir That they never prospered or continued long but by some evil Accident or other they have been blasted in their Estates or Reputations and in few years have dwindled away into nothing And as thus the Curse and Wrath of God has pursued private Families which have dis-inherited the Right Heirs to their Estates So much more exemplarily has the Wrath of Almighty God visited in a direfull manner those Nations and People which have Rebelliously Deposed their Lawfull Kings and have Dis-inherited the Right Heirs to the Crown And We the Inhabitants of Great Britain have had wofull experience of this Truth For who does not Remember those sad Judgments which afflicted this Our Nation upon the Deposition and Murther of the late Pious Martyr King Charles the First and upon the Exclusion of the Right Heir to the Crown even our present Dread Sovereign King Charles the Second And what Shall we ever yield again to them who Plot to bring down the same or worse Judgments upon us by Excluding the next Right Heir to the Crown God forbid But rather seeing We of this Nation are made whole and do enjoy Our privileges and immunities our peace and quietness Let us therefore Sin no more by our Rebellion and Sedition Lest a worse thing come unto us For that wholesome Advice which Christ gave to the Impotent Man in the Gospel is very applicable unto England Behold thou art made whole Sin no more by Deposing or Precluding the Right Heir lest a worse thing come unto thee CHAP. IV. That all Subjects ought actively to Obey their Natural and Lawfull Prince in all things which be not positively against some known Law of God although their said Prince be an Heathen an Idolater and Apostate or never so Morally vitious THE Proposition we shall endeavour to prove 1. By the Law of Nature and of Natural Reason which enacts That the Inferiour shall ever be Obsequious and Obedient to his Superiour 2. By the Authority of Sacred Scripture and Divine Reason which Anathematizes all Rebellion and the Authours of it 3. By the Authority and Practice 1. Of honest Loyal Heathens 2. Of Christians Both Primitive and Modern SECT I. The Duty of Obedience to Superiours whether Morally Good or Bad proved by the Law of Nature and of Natural Reason NAtural Reason dictates this Truth to wit That if a King has a Right to Command and Govern then the Subjects have an indispensable Obligation upon them to Obey for Precept and Obedience are naturally concomitant And as Father and Son so Prince and People are Relatu secundum esse not onely Relatives but also Essential Relatives Aristot Polit. l. 1. c. 8. whose very Essence as such consists in a mutual Relation of the one unto the other So that as no man can be said to be a Father who has no Son so no man can be said to be a King who has no Subjects And as all Sons are either Dutifull or Undutifull So all Subjects are either Obedient or Disobedient And as it is a Breach of the Law of Nature for a Son to be undutifull So it is a Breach of the same Law for a Subject to be disobedient For as the non-performance of the Father's Lawfull Commands renders the Son undutifull So the non-performance of the King 's Lawfull Injunctions speaks the Subject Rebellious And whoever denies Obedience to his King does in effect deny him to be King And this is to be noted That by the Law of Nature All Children are strictly obliged to Obey their Parents whether they be Christians or Infidels Good or Bad For in the point of Filial Obedience no Child ought to Dispute the Faith and Religion the Morality or Immorality of his Parents All that he is to consider is that near that essential Relation in which they stand unto him to wit that they are his Natural Parents And therefore without farther dispute They are to be obeyed And as thus the Son So also the Subject in point of Obedience to his Prince is not to dispute nor question the Virtues or the Vices the Religion or Principles of his Prince But solely to consider that essential and indissoluble Relation in which his Prince
is to be noted that whilst Julian was living and was the undoubted Right Heir to the Throne no body opposed his Succession notwithstanding many Enormities committed by him before he was Crowned Emperour And all the time that Julian Reigned the aforesaid Gregory Nazianzen lived quietly and peaceably under his Government and never wrote one syllable as we know of against him But on the contrary Gregory did upon all occasions shew the said Julian when living due Honour and Reverence Greg. Naz. Orat. 9. And when Gregory Nazianzen had occasion to reflect upon Julian's miscarriages He did modestly Vail all over with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us Bury them in silence Though it is too true and must be acknowledged in our opinion as a great fault in so good a Man as was Gregory Nazianzen That after Julian the Apostate was dead he did too undutifully not to say too inhumanely expose His Dread Sovereign's Nakedness to the whole World Orat. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. in worse Language than ever Michael the Arch-Angel brought against the Devil when he disputed about the Body of Moses Jud. Ep. v. 9. But yet this is to be said for Gregory as was hinted before that he wrote his Invective against Julian not as an Orator whilst Julian was Living but rather as a Passionate Historian after he was Dead St. Augustine pleading for Obedience to Kings and Emperours Answers the Grand Question scil Quest Whether a Christian may Lawfully obey an Heathen Emperour and may harmlesly Fight under his Banner Ans He determines the Controversie in the Affirmative contrary to Origen and declares That it is the Christian Souldiers bounden Duty to Obey his Lawfull Prince although he be an Heathen and to fight faithfully and couragiously under his Command yea this the Christian ought to doe although the Grounds and Occasion of the said War be probably unjust on (a) Câ—m ergò Vir justus si fortè sub Rege homine etiam sacrilego militet rectè possit illo jubente bellare civicae pacis ordinem servans Cui quod jubetur vel non esse contra Dei praeceptum certum est vel utrum sit certum non est it a ut reum Regem faciat iniquit as imperandi innocentem autem Militem ostendat ordo imperandi Aug. contr Faust Manich. l. 21. c. 75. the King's side And his Reason for it is this scil Because God will punish the King or Emperour for Commencing an unjust War but He will amply reward the innocent and dutifull Souldier for his hearty and sincere Obedience unto his Lord the King And elsewhere St. Augustine adds Rex semper Honorandus si non propter se attamen propter Ordinem c. St. Aug. quaest 35. Vet. Nor. Test That a King is always to be Honoured if not for his own personal Excellencies yet for his Kingly Order and Dignity And in his most Incomparable Book de Civ Dei He informs the People That although Nero was a Tyrant and the worst of men as to his Personal Immoralities Cujus fuit tanta Luxuries ut nihil ab eo putaretur virile metuendum c. Yet because Divine Providence * Talibus tamen dominandi potestas non datur nisi summi Dei Providentiâ c. Civ Dei l. 5. c. 19. had raised up the said Nero and made him to be Caesar their King and Governour therefore the People ought to Obey Him And St. Augustine glancing on the Question scil Whether Dominion be founded onely in Grace He says that in Heaven it is so for no man can inherit a Throne of Glory but onely He that is truly Gratious and Holy But on Earth it is not so for Regnum Terrenum Ibid. c. 21. piis impiis sicut ei placet cui nihil injustè placet God disposes of these Earthly Kingdoms to Good and Bad according to his own pleasure for Reasons best known to himself And therefore the Subjects are obliged in Duty to obey Nero as well as (a) Qui Regnum dedit Augusto ipse Neroni qui Vespasianis vel Patri vel Filio suavissimis Imperatoribus ipse Dimitiano crudelissimo qui Constantino Christiano ipse Apostatae Juliano Aug. Civ Dei l. 5. c. 21. Augustus Cruel Domitian as well as Kind and Mercifull Vespasian the Apostate and Idolatrous Julian as well as the Pious and Orthodox Constantine for the one as well as the other is God's Vicegerent and the Subjects Lawfull Prince and Sovereign Optatus the Famous Bishop of Milevis taught the same Doctrine of Loyalty and Obedience declaring that all Kings are to be obeyed And although Kings should sometimes Command things which are in themselves unlawfull to be Commanded yet it may be Lawfull for the Subjects in many cases actively to perform the said unlawfull Commands of their said Kings For thus The pious Jews when peremptorily Commanded by Antiochus to surrender up their Bibles to be burnt by the Officers They though with great grief of heart readily obeyed And the aforesaid Optatus blames very much the Emperour for imposing so ungodly a Command but he highly (a) Feccatum imperantis minantis non populi cum dolore tremore secundantis c. Optat. l. 7. applauds the Obedience of the said dutifull and Loyal Jews It is most certain that the Popes of Rome before they became Rebellious to the Secular Powers humbly and peaceably obeyed their Emperours and that not onely in things Lawfull or Indifferent nor onely in things Secular and Civil but also in things that have seemed in the Popes own judgment to be in their own Nature unlawfull and which is more the Pope of Rome has obeyed the Emperour in things Spiritual and Ecclesiastical as well as Temporal As for Instance When Mauritius the Emperour had made a Decree that no Souldiers should be admitted into any Monastery and sent the said Edict unto Pope Gregory surnamed the Great to be forthwith published by Him and his Clergy The said Pope obeyed the Emperour's Commands and immediately caused the same to be dispersed throughout all his Diâ—cese and Ecclesiastick Dominions And the said Pope Gregory gave this Reason for his so doing to wit * Gregor Magn. l. 2. Epist 61. Quia erat Subjectus ejus Jussionibus c. Because He though Pope ought to be subject and obedient unto the Emperour's Commands though in his own judgment He conceived the said Edict to be in it self unlawfull and prejudicial unto many persons Heyl. in Vit. Laud. p. 311. as well in reference to their Spiritual as their Temporal Benefit SECT V. Modern Authours for Obedience to Princes Of two sorts 1. Some Conditionally as All Recusants 2. Some Absolutely as All Protestants I. Modern Authours who are for Conditional Obedience AMong our Modern Writers we find none who deny the King's Supremacy and by so doing Declare themselves to be Recusants and No Protestants Among
such Modern Authours we find none that are for Absolute Obedience to Princes whether Good or Bad Papists or Protestants For All the Recusant and Anti-Protestant Writers such as the Papists and the Classical and the Congregational Authours according to their several Principles are onely for Obedience to Princes and the Civil Magistracy with a Condition and Limitation Thus the Papists * Tho. Aquinas Sum. 22 a. quaest 10. a. 1. R. Bellarm Praefat. in Barcl strongly urge Obedience to Kings But it is onely in Temporals and that too with Submission to the Pope's Supremacy But if a King shall meddle with matters Spiritual and Ecclesiastick without the Pope's Laws the said King shall be Excommunicated and all his Subjects discharged from their Allegiance and from paying Homage and Obedience to him their King In like manner Calvin and all the Classical Divines commonly called Presbyterians write much for Obedience to Kings and to All in Authority But it is with a Jesuitical Proviso to wit That their Kings and Governours be Godly And it is also with submission to their Presbyterian Classis and Consistorian Power which they set above the King especially in matters Spiritual and Ecclesiastick And not unlike do the Congregational Divines commonly called Independents talk much for and preach up Obedience to the Civil Magistrates But it is with the same forementioned Proviso scil That their Magistrates be endued with Grace and do Govern the People according to God's Word and with a submission to their Independent Cougregational-Churche's Power and Censures As is plainly and sufficiently proved in a late Book intituled BEAVFRONS Chap. 2. Presbyterians No Protestants Chap. 3. Independents No Protestants Chap. 6. p. 56 57. Impossible for Papists and Dissenters whilst they are true to their own Principles to be Obedient and Good Subjects to the King Unto which Book and Chapters above mentioned we refer the Reader And by the way we cannot but Advise all young Men especially the young Divine whether in the Vniversity or elsewhere to be very cautious how he reades and understands and follows the Modern Authours especially Calvin Beza Peter Martyr Rolloc Polanus Frederick Baldwin Cursellaeus c. Hugo Grotius de jure Belli Pa. For they and others of their Party together with the Papists and Jesuists plead and argue stiffly for Obedience unto the King and the Secular Powers but yet they All have their several Mental Reservations and cunningly distinguish * Rolloc and Fred. Baldw. n Rom. 13.1 between the King's Person and his Power and in the close of their arguings they All declare it to be Lawfull for the Subjects to Resist the King and the Civil Magistrates even with force of Arms in Defence of the true Religion and in the Suppression of Tyranny and Oppression Thus Grotius himself (a) Si Rex reipsa etiam tradere regnum aut subjieere moliatur quin ei Resisti in hoc possit non dubito aliud est enim imperium aliud habendi modus qui ne mutetur obstare potest populus Grot. de jur Bel. Pa. l. 1. c. 4. § 10. asserts This they all affirm to be Lawfull contrary to Primitive Christianity and directly contrary to the sound and Loyal Doctrine and Pratice of the Protestant Church of England And therefore it will be of little sorce and validity to bring the Testimony of Modern Writers to confirm the Doctrine of Obedience to Princes both Good and Bad Papists and Protestants unless it be that of the Episcopal Protestants who own and plead for the King's Supremacy And therefore are the Onely Protestants in the World However to gratifie the Reader we will present him with a few Sayings of some of the Anti-Protestant Modern Writers as to the point of Obedience to all in Authority Jo. Calvin in his French Comment and Sermons on Job Jo. Calvin Serm. 131. on Job 34. c. 34. v. 17 18. has these words as they are Translated by Arthur Godling out of French into English to wit We must Obey and Honour all in Authority because they are not set up by chance or hap-hazard but by God and his Providence And if God sets over us a Tyrant it is for the punishment of sin and it is the Duty of all men meekly to bear their punishment and to take it as a Scourge of God and if we Resist we strive not against Mortal Men but against the Heavenly Judge p. 675. To the same purpose writes Peter (a) Dua sunt subjectiones una Politic◠Civilis cui subjiciuntur omnes homines qui si quid offenderint in Leges expectant à justis Magistratibus carcerem mulctam pecuniariam exilia mortes externas poenas c. Pet. Mart. loc Com. de Magistrat p. 1018. § 10. Martyr how that all men ought to be Obedient to the Civil Powers and if any offend then it is the Magistrate's Duty to punish the Offenders according to the Merit of their Delinquency And speaking against the Pope's Supremacy he adds That a King (b) Quamvis Rex possit removere inutilem ac noxium Episcopum non tamen Episcopus potest vicissim Regem si peccaverit dejicere ibid. § 12. has power to Depose a wicked Bishop But no Bishop whatever has power to Depose a King although wicked And Polanus is of opinion That all Hereditary Monarchs ought to Reign and (a) Si absolutam Monarchiam habet est in fide ejus perstandum etiamsi Tyrannus evasit etiamsi nihil minus praestet quà m quod ex officio erat Regum Principum Polan Syntag. l. 10. c. 62. Govern although they should be Tyrants and that the People ought to persevere on in their Allegiance and Obedience to them II. Modern Authours who are for Absolute Obedience to Princes whether Morally Good or Bad Orthodox or Erroneous Papists or Protestants Gerhard treating on the Question Q Whether He ought to Reign and Govern who has Apostatized from the true Religion A. Answers in the Affirmative And positively asserts That (b) Si jure Successionis juxta Leges sundamentales pacta conventa ad eum pertinent Imperii Fasces qui à verâ Religione alienus est tum propter Religionis diversitatem non est privandus suo jure quia Religio Ecclesia non abolet Politias ac jura Politica c. Gerhard de Magistratu Pol. Sect. 106. He to whom the Crown belongs by Right of Succession ought to Reign and Govern notwithstanding his Apostacy and Alenation from the true Religion And that because Diversity of Religion deprives no man of his Right To this Foreign Authour we will add the Judgment of the Church of England as now Established and as it is delivered to us in Her Homily of Obedience Second Part. The words of the Homily are these Scil. Hom of Obedience 2d Part. p. 72. All Subjects are bound to obey them that is Kings and Magistrates as God's Ministers yea although
true and lawfull Prince and so run themselves into a Praemunire 6. This Doctrine of preventing Kings from Reigning and Governing for their want of Grace can be invented by Christians for no other end than to prevent all Passive Obedience unto Kings that shall prove Tyrannical and to avoid going to Heaven in the fiery Chariot of Martyrdom For as * Cum Reges pro falsitate contra veritatem constituunt malas leges probantur coronantur benè credentes Aug. Epist 50. St. Augustine writes there will be no need of dying for Religion if so be wicked and ungodly Kings who want Grace may not be suffered to Reign and by their evil Laws to try Believers faith whether sound or no and in such cases to experiment their fear of God rather than of Man for according to the Apostles there is a time when God is to be obeyed rather than Man and when we are to dye for Christ and for the Faith And that can be Lawfully done onely then when by the Supreme Authority we are commanded either to dye the Death or to deny Christ and his Religion In this case we are to obey the Supreme Magistrate Passively by dying the Death and not Actively by doing what he Commands Because what he Commands is expresly against the known Law and Word of God From which premisses we thus argue scil That if it be as in truth it is a bounden Duty and a noble Vertue in us Christians Passively to obey our Lawfull Princes by humbly and meekly submitting our Necks without all Resistence unto the stroke of that Death which they shall be pleased to lay upon us And if it be as most certainly it is a Sin in this case to Resist Our Princes Then from hence we may rationally conclude That Our Princes though supposed to be never so Wicked and Tyrannical Yet They have a Right to Command us and to Rule and Reign over us and to doe with our Bodies if we offend them what they please Otherwise there can be no such thing as Martyrdom And therefore Temporal Dominion is not founded in Grace SECT II. The Evil Effects and Consequences of this Position That Temporal Dominion is founded in Grace are such as these 1. COnventicles 2. Rebellion 3. A Confirmation of Heathen Kings and Princes in their Infidelity I. Conventicles For from a Belief that the King has not Grace And therefore ought not to Reign From hence is it That the People do not look upon any Laws which the King shall make to be valid or any ways Binding their Consciences especially in matters of Religion and of Church-Government And therefore it is that they declining the established and publick Ordinances of the Realm do run into private and unlawfull Conventicles which they the ignorant deluded people deem to be more Holy than the other Nor do they believe they do in the least sin by Conventicling contrary to the King's Laws The Reason is Because they are of full persuasion That it is no sin to violate and break the Laws and Orders of a King who in their opinion wants Grace And from hence also it is That the People who are not better Catechised and instructed do so frequently leave their own Parish-Churches and run abroad to the great Profanation of the Lord 's holy day either unto Conventicles or unto other Churches And all is Because they fansie that their own Parish Minister wants Grace at least that he is not so Powerfull in his Preaching nor so Holy though he walks by the Rubrick as is their Neighbour Minister Which is a very great errour destructive of all good Order and Conformity in the Church For the Minister's Sacred Office and not his Person obliges the People to a constant Attendance on his Ministery especially as long as he their Minister is Conformable unto the Orders and Canons of the Church both for Doctrine and Manners And if any Parish-Minister be vitious in his Life which is a great Scandal to the Gospel and is a crying sin in a Man that is in Holy Orders yet if any be so then his Ordinary upon complaint and proof ought to punish him And not the People as too oft they do by departing from his Ministery Contrary to Christ's Rule Which Commanded Attendance on the Ministery of the Scribes and Pharisees although they were vitious and wicked And Christ gave this Reason for it scil Because They the Scribes and Pharisees sate in Moses his Chair Mat. 23.3 All therefore says Christ whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and doe But do not ye after their works for they say and doe not II. REBELLION For from a strong Belief of this Position scil That Temporal Dominion is founded in Grace Have sprung most if not all the Seditions and Rebellions made against Christian Princes by either Papists or Fanaticks It is evident by History That the Popes of Rome never sent out their Bulls nor ever stirred up Subjects unto Rebellion against any Secular Princes whatever but onely against such as were by them judged to be Hereticks and void of Grace And therefore not fit to Govern Nor ever was there either King Emperour or any Supreme Magistrate Deposed or Murthered by the Papists But it was upon the account of the said Prince his want of Grace Hence arose the Spanish Invasion against Queen Elizabeth The Gun-powder Plot against King James And the Irish Rebellion against King Charles the First And Oates his Popish Plot against King Charles the Second All arose from a Belief That the aforesaid Princes were Hereticks and void of Grace and therefore had no just Right unto any Temporal Dominion In like manner All the above-mentioned Plots of the Fanaticks took their Rise from this One false Notion scil That Temporal Dominion is founded in Grace And because they were of opinion that the King and Governours were Wicked Tyrannical and void of Grace That therefore they had no Right to Govern But it was Lawfull for the Subjects to depose and destroy them by force of Arms. The Belief of this false Notion made the Fanaticks as was said before to wage War against King Charles the First and at last to Murther him To Banish King Charles the Second and afterward Rebelliously to Fight against him at Worcester This made Venner and his Confederates to draw the Sword against our present most Gratious King under the Notion that he wanted Grace and was an Enemy to King Jesus This made Stephen Colledge at Oxford with his Protestant Flail William Hone and his Conspiratours at Rye-House with their Blunderbusses to Plot the Murther both of our Dread Sovereign the King and of the Illustrious Prince James Duke of York Though one of them to wit Hone thought his Royal Highness to have had some nay more Grace than His Majesty And therefore Hone confessed that at last he was for sparing the Duke but for killing the King Though for ever blessed and praised be Almighty God who wonderfully spared and delivered them both King and Duke from the hands of their bloudy Enemies And we hope and pray that He will ever deliver them And we farther pray that the People may be undeceived and thoroughly convinced of their aforesaid great errour for untill they be convinced the King has no Security from them whether Papists or Fanaticks of either his Crown or his Life For although the King be truly never so Orthodox Vertuous and Pious Yet upon the least failing they will clamour and give out that he is fallen from Grace and therefore ought to be Deposed and no longer to have Dominion over them for according to their Belief Temporal Dominion is founded in Grace III. A Confirmation of Heathen Kings and Princes in their Infidelity For this pernicious Doctrine That Temporal Dominion is founded in Grace Discourages Heathen and Unbelieving Princes from believing in Christ and from embracing Christianity Because if they should become Christians Then they are not sure to hold their Crowns long on their Heads no nor their Heads long on their Shoulders For although they should not renounce Christianity nor turn Heathens again Yet if through natural infirmity or prevalency of temptation or excess of Passion they should become vitious in their lives Or if through contrary persuasion they should not Believe as the Papists and Fanaticks Believe Then they must be adjudged to have no Grace And therefore to have no Right of Dominion over their Subjects But must be Deposed and Dethroned For Temporal Dominion is say they founded onely in Grace FINIS