Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A81372
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Vindiciæ magistratuum. or, a sober plea for subjection to present government. According to the command and special direction of God himself, in his holy scriptures. / By the meanest of the Lord's tenderers of his great honour, and weal of his saints.
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C. D.
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1658
(1658)
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Wing D12; Thomason E2120_1; ESTC R210149
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85,481
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128
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rather bear their burthens according to the Apostles Exhortation Gal. 6.2 and practise 2 Cor. 11.29 and therefore shall pray for them that God would mercifully give them more meek and humble spirits prudent hearts a sober and impartial understanding of their duty and of things which they now concern themselves in and release them when they may come forth most to the honour of his Name and their own thus laudable improvement To the rest of the Obiection see further in the next Argument Object 10 But it will be further objected You are much for obedience why did you not use the same Arguments to your self when you did fight against the late King I am indeed for obedience to all the Lords commands that he hath made known to me in his blessed Word And I would fain bring a little honour to God through his assistance in my due obedience to the Civil Authority he hath placed over me and perswade others also so to do if it be the Lords will to make me his happy instrument that the mouthes of wicked men might be stopped as I have said that are too much opened against Religion by our disorderly practise which was the main incitement to this publick undertaking But to the Objection Answ I answer That the case is exceeding different for was not the late King an apparent Enemy to many of the Faithfull of the Land Is it not notoriously known that he took part with Papists and Atheists and did what he could by open force and secret practises Witness their banishment into far Countries and imprisonment and silencing of such as staid it out to ruine and destroy Profession and Professours out of the Land and to introduce Ceremonies and encourage a looser sort of Ministry in the room 2. Was it not apparent that he intended to take away the Liberty of the People of the Nation Note the common Birth-right of every English man by imposing what he pleased See Mayer Comment on Rom. 13. Text 34. f. 128 129. not onely upon their Consciences but Estates and Persons also and all this by his own Arbitrary Will without any consent of * Therefore the Apostle saith Be subject to the Higher Powers not Power Rom. 13.1 Parliament or necessary constraint by War c. And that he might Tyrannize without control and make us absolute Bondslaves I shall confirm by this passage When the Earl of Essex marched into Cornwal in the year 1644. to subdue those parts to the obedience of the Parliament some Officers of his Army ventring too near the Kings quarters to visit the Lady Moon were surprized by a party of the Kings Forces and among the rest that thus went to visit D' Albere an ancient Low Countrey Souldier Quarter-master General to Essex was one and the onely one of those Officers that escaped taking which he did by counterfeiting himself the Ladies Butler having had some little time before to fit himself in such a disguise Whereupon I well remember it was exprest by eminent persons of the Army and after became the talk of all That it was well D' Albier had so escaped the Kings fingers for he would have been surely hanged notwithstanding the Law of Arms for that he had received a great sum of money privately of the King and had not onely run away therewith but betrayed the Kings Counsels Which was explained thus That something before the breaking forth of these troubles the King that he might levy money and do his pleasure on his Subjects had resolved to raise a flying Army of Horse and Dragoons to remain in this Nation to execute his Commands and compel the refractory and had chosen this experienced Souldier D' Albier to command them and had already in order thereto delivered him a competent sum to effect it But the Wars coming on before it could be done D' Albere to keep the Money he had received takes Command in the Parliaments Army But after while the King was in restraint that he might as he thought the better gain a pardon revolts with the Earl of Holland in the last insurrection and lost his life in the same 3. Did not not onely some few but the generality of Gods people engage against this exorbitant Crew and go forth as one man to the help of the Lord against the Mighty 4. But Fourthly and chiefly 'T is eminently known and hath been often asserted upon undeniable grounds Note That we had the Authority of Parliament for what we did which was the Grand Authority of the Nation not onely by a free and legal Choice of all the Nation as the true Representatives thereof but also by a special Act of Establishment by the King himself to sit at their own pleasure without other dependance whereby the whole Power that could be in any wise pretended to by the King was devolved upon them Which Supreme Authority sufficiently cleared and warranted our undertakings that in so assisting the Legislative Power of the Nation we did not fight against but for the Chief Authority But this being sufficient to remove the stumbling block out of the way of our present business I shall rather refer the further inquiring Reader to those passages in Mr. Burroughs to this purpose in his Christian Contentment fol. 304. and 308. to the Parliaments Declarations and Remonstrances Anno 1643. and so forward as also to those Books extant in Defence hereof and particularly that since come forth intituled A true state of the Case c. then swell my Book with a large Digression 5. Lastly The righteous Lord did accordingly decide the Controversie appearing very gloriously in behalf of his servants and did by many signal Providences and gracious Deliverances assert and maintain our righteous cause crowning the Faith and Prayers of his imploring ones with eminent success and victory which we have great cause to remember with all humble thankfulness shewing it forth in a pious and peaceable conversation under him whom God hath so eminently used as his principal Instrument for the accomplishment thereof Which is my third Argument for Submission to present Authority viz. Argument 3 That I shall otherwise render my self exceeding unthankfull to and very unmindfull of the Lords wonderfull actings and workings for us and our Nation And to our present Governour whom he hath made so eminently instrumental therein What great and wonderfull things the Lord hath wrought for these fourteen or fifteen years among us who is such a stranger in our Israel as not to know the sound whereof hath reached all the adjacent parts of the world how God hath put down the Mighty from their Seat and exalted the Humble and Low how he hath stained the pride of all flesh and brought into contempt the Honourable of the Earth to binde Kings in Chains and Nobles in Fetters of Iron hath been the honour of his English Saints one Success as so many billows of mercies following in the heels of another until
Suetonius c. And yet this power was ordained of God as Augustine saith Aug. de Civit. Dei l. 5. c. 21. He that gave Soveraignty to Augustus gave it also to Nero he that gave it to the Vespasians Father and Son sweetest Emperours gave it also to Domitian that bloudy Monster So Ordained of God that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 distributae Beza as the word properly signifies an ordering and disposing things in their place and that by institution or command Then be the Powers good or bad he that knows how to manage ill things to good ends in wisdome orders them and commands obedience to them And therefore he that Resists the Powers resists the Ordinance of God Briefly the Powers may be resisted three ways By subtilty and craft which is an under-ground Rebellion an under-board plotting a secret whispered opposition in cabinet councels By contumacy and disobedience this may be in more open dealings as by opprobrious words c. which is a stubborn and more sturdy resistance 3ly By publick opposition and defiance either as Korah Dathan and Abiram upon a conceit of co-priviledge and equal worth or more hostilely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Absalom and so the word is military as it is observed and signifies to resist or by open force to oppose Authority which who so do saith our Apostle shall receive to themselves damnation or Judgement This is the third Reason of the Apostles assertion and a sad one to the disobedient Poenam sibi auferunt saith Piscator They shall receive punishment viz. from the Magistrate But I rather think the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Learned Willet which in most of our late Translations is rendred in English damnation intimates a more severe meaning of the Apostles Dr. Willet on Rom. 13.2 Beza Geneva and our New Translat Numb 16.35 comp Jude 11. 2 Sam. 18.9 14. viz. either such a Judgement as may occasion loss of life as Korah by fire Absalom by hanging by the head and after thrust through with a dart or else eternal death as Jude to me seems to hint Jude v. 8. compared with v. 13. Now as to Judgement or as Mr. Beza renders it condemnation to our selves viz. extremest punishment in this life be it with loss of life it self Gods own people by this disobedience may occur from which God will in no wise exempt the best if they are found guilty but if they will needs sin with Babylon When a house falls all that are under the Roof must of necessity perish saith Paraeus in Revel 18.4 As those Protestants did with the Papists curiously desiring to hear their Mass at the fall of Blackfriers anno 1622. The sword of fire cannot distinguish between friends and enemies Eng. An. therefore stand further off Numb 16.26 1 Tim. 1.9 Rom. 13.3 4. they shall surely partake likewise of her plagues Rev. 18.14 as in that case of unworthy receiving the Lords Supper 1 Cor. 11.30 many were sickly and weak among them therefore and many died The best of Saints if they offend humane Laws will be taken hold on thereby and are no more priviledged from the stroke of Justice then the converted Thief that suffered the Cross though he was afterwards to be with Christ in Paradise The Apostle proceeds to give you the Reason of this a duplice fine v 3 4. For Princes are not to be feared for good works but for evil so saith the Apostle in another place The law is not made for a righteous man that is as a man acts righteously but for the lawless and disobedient Peter Martyr in Rom. 13. 1 Thes 5.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of rank c. 1 Tim. 1.9 The Magistrates of Rome had not their bundle of Rods Sword and Axe carried before them to deterre the orderly Citizen but to warn the unruly such as would keep no station in the Common-weal See 2 Thes 3.10 11. Such as would leave their own business to do anothers to which they have no call viz. be handling the Scepter instead of the Last or Shuttle Wilt thou then be without fear of the Power Do well so shalt thou have praise of the same for he is the Minister of God for thy good Obj. How doth that appear you will say in evil Governours Answ In that there never yet was nor ever can be so bad a Governour but did some good thing and may do some way or other that good that a good man will reap some benefit by Either natural good for the preservation of life or moral good keeping others orderly and civil towards them or civil good preserving to them their Estates and Liberties if not spiritual good Tiberius threatned death to such as should molest the Christians saith Eusebius l. 2. c. 2. Pet. Mart. to make wholsom Laws for our freedome of conscience As to instance in Nero himself as bad a Governour as any after his first quinquennium or five years Reign when he in his Government oppressed the whole World yet were matters in controversie decided neither was the strength of Laws utterly taken away from men for under him Paul was by the Centurion delivered from the danger to be torn in pieces of the confused people and malicious Jews another time escaped stripes by pleading his Roman freedome at another time to escape the liers in wait for his life was by night led away of the Roman Souldiers to Antioch where oftentimes he had liberty to defend himself and lastly he pleaded his own cause before a Roman Judicature and escaped the devilish plots of his own Countrey-men by appealing to Nero Caesar Wherefore ye must needs be subject v. 5. In this the Apostle doth briefly conclude the chief Reasons which he had before alledged and referreth them either to Vengeance or to Conscience both being exceeding dangerous ye must needs be subject therefore there is no shuffling your duty off you cannot by any just means evade it you may not shift your neck out of this yoke it must needs be it must of necessity be that you must be subject Obj. 2 But it may be by some objected God was angry with the Israelites for asking a King and therefore it seems it was not his Ordinance that there should be Kings Answ He was not angry with them for desiring Governours for they had Governours before sent of God and the very King they had afterward God gave them him Hos 13.8 But he was angry with the cause of their request their faith and hope was in a manner spent and they conceived more hope in a King then in God that had been such a King to them so many years Byfield in Pet. Secondly Men must needs be subject because God hath here bound mens consciences to subjection of which more by and by Thirdly Because Governours are heads of the people and therefore as members it is agreeable they should submit and be ruled and guided Fourthly