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honour_n due_a fear_v tribute_n 3,178 5 10.8957 5 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A29108 A sermon preached before the King, in St. James's chappel, January 30th, 1698/9 by Samuel Bradford ... Bradford, Samuel, 1652-1731. 1699 (1699) Wing B4121; ESTC R19689 11,787 26

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God namely That He will certainly call us to an Account and distribute Rewards or Punishments to us according to our Demeanour Solomon hath taken in all that can be said upon this Subject in the close of his Ecclesiastes Eccles 12.13 14. Let us hear says he the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole of man his whole Business and his Felicity For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil 2. Having thus consider'd the First Direction of the Text I proceed to the next viz. To shew what Solomon intends by fearing the King and what Obligations we are under to comply with it The fear of God is our first great Duty that which obligeth us as Men and will dispose us to a compliance with whatever Duties can be incumbent on us under any Relations or Circumstances whatsoever Now next to that of our being Reasonable Creatures we are to be considered as Members of Society Societies are either Natural or Political By Natural I mean those of particular Families and he that truly fears God will best discharge the Duties of each of the Relations proper to that kind of Society But besides these there are larger Societies of Men those I mean which are Civil or Political to which my Text hath a particular reference When Families increas'd Men found it necessary to form themselves into these larger Bodies wherein some were to govern and others to obey according to such Laws as were agreed upon in the forming of these Societies And according to the Advice of Solomon the Civil Government under which we are plac'd is to be regarded next to Almighty God the Supreme Lord and Governor of all Fear thou the Lord and the King He names the King both because that implies the Form of Government under which the Jews at that time and most of the Eastern Nations liv'd as also because Monarchy has been ever by the wifest of Men justly esteem'd the most natural and perfect Form of Government especially where regulated by wise and wholsome Laws However this Rule must be acknowledg'd to be of general Use under every Form of Government the reason being the same in all places as will appear when we come to consider it So that to fear the King is to have a great regard to the Government we live under to yield a ready Obedience to all its wholsome Laws and Customs never willingly to deviate from either unless the Commandments of God and the Laws or Customs of Men should interfere and if at any time we should fall into such unhappy circumstances in that case either peaceably to withdraw from the Society and remove to some other where we may enjoy both a good Conscience and our Liberty together or if that may not be then quietly and patiently to submit to such Penalties as by the Laws of our Country may be inflicted upon us For it can never be reasonable that a particular Man or any small and inconsiderable part of a Society of Men should disturb the Peace of the whole Body upon account of their own private Sentiments Moreover the fear of the King implies in it a great Respect and Reverence to the Persons of our Governors on account of the Character they bear and the Authority they exercise that we never entertain any unreasonable Jealousies concerning them much less propagate our own Surmises that we never in the least detract from our Superiors by open Defamation Eccl. 10.20 or sly Suggestion Curse not the King says Solomon no not in thy thought much less may we revile the Gods Exod. 22.28 or speak evil of the Ruler of our people and least of all may we offer any Indignity to our Governors or do them any Injury by an Overt Act. On the contrary we are strictly oblig'd to demean our selves towards them with all humble and dutiful Respect as much as in us lies to keep up their Reputation and Honour with others as far as ever 't is possible to entertain and cherish good Thoughts of them always to put the fairest and most candid Interpretation upon their Actions and to believe that they may very often have good reasons for doing what we cannot give an account of I might add That we are likewise oblig'd without grudging to contribute our share towards maintaining the Charges of the Government Rom. 13.7 rendring as the Apostle expresseth it to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom honour All these Duties to our Governors are in themselves very plain and easie to be understood and the Reason of them also is as evident For 1. Government is the Ordinance of God He is the Supreme Lord of all Psal 95. ● a great King above all Gods and the Rulers of the Earth are his Deputies and Vicegerents appointed by him to keep the World in good Order Of this we are admonish'd throughout the Inspired Writings St. Peter exhorts to this purpose 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 unto Governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of them that do well For so is the will of God And St. Paul in like manner and upon the same Reasons Rom. 13.1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher Powers For there is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resists the Power resists the Ordinance of God And a little after Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake For they are God's Ministers Neither is this the Voice of Scripture only but also of Reason 'T is plain from the frame and constitution of Mankind that they are made sit for Society and that there can be no Society amongst Men without Government and no Government without some to rule and others to obey So that God by the frame in which he hath made us and the circumstances he hath placed us in hath directed us to enter into Society and in order thereunto to set up and maintain Government And for God to have made it reasonable and fit for us thus to do is in other words for him to have given us a Law that we should do it for the Law of Nature and Reason which is the Law of God is nothing else but that which is fit for us with respect to our Nature and our Circumstances And in this sence without all question Government is the Ordinance of God and Governors are Ordained by him 2. Our Duty in this case will farther appear from considering that Government and consequently Obedience to it is evidently for the good of Mankind in general And in truth this is the Foundation of Government