Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	king_n	lord_n	rebellion_n	3,403	5	9.7205	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67559	Against resistance of lawful powers a sermon preached at White-Hall, Novemb. Vth, 1661 / by Seth Ward ...	Ward, Seth, 1617-1689.	1661 (1661)	Wing W812; ESTC R10700	22,608	47

let us have recourse to the main Foundations the Body and Substance of Christianity the MISHPAT HAMELEK the Ius Regium the Fundamental Law of the Kings of Israel 1. Christianity obligeth us to believe not onely that Christ is God and that the Gospel is from God but that all the Circumstances of the Ministery of Christ and his Apostles were ordered by his Providence Why then were the Times of Tiberius and Caligula and Claudius and Nero out of the Series of the Time spun out from the Creation chosen and selected for the promulgation of the Doctrine of Obedience If harsh Administration of Power will exempt men from Obedience at that Time when Claudius or Nero was Romane Emperour why should the Holy Ghost move Saint Paul to write to the Romans They that resist shall receive to themselves Damnation So much briefly for the Gospel 2 As for the Ius Regium in the eighth of the the first Book of Samuel we finde the Israelites desiring a King and God though rejected by this motion commands Samuel to hearken to their voice Yet that they might know what they did and not be surprised believing they might cast off again their King at pleasure he charges him to protest solemnly and shew them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Our Translation renders it The manner of the King The Septuagint and all antient Eastern and Western Translations render it by words signifying the Law or the Right of the King JUS REGIUM This saith Samuel shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall take your Sons and Daughters your Vine-yards your Fields and your Flocks c. He tells them of harsh Administrations Was it the meaning of the Holy Ghost that de Iure Princes ought to do or that it was lawfull for them to do after the manner there described In the seventeenth Chapter of Deuteronomy we finde the Duty of the Kings of Israel described in a way directly contrary to this they were to fear the Lord and not to turn aside to the right hand or to the left from his Commandments Be wise now therefore O ye Kings be instructed ye Iudges of the Earth serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling Was it a Prediction of what would be their condition what would be the manner of their Kings Not that neither We do not read of any of the Kings of Iudah or Israel that proceeded to the height there expressed Even Ahab who sold himself to work wickedness did not take Naboth's Vine-yard by force he would not seise on it till Iezebel had brought about the pretense of a Legal Forfeiture What then is the meaning of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Surely it imports thus much that if all this hard usage should come upon them they might cry unto the Lord Verse 18 but that it would not dissolve Ius Regium the right of Sovereignty or enable them to resist their Kings or rebel against them II. There remains yet one Pretense to speak to it concerns Competition of Power either on 1. Pretenses of Succession into the Magistrate's place in case of failour of Duty or upon supposals of forfeiture of Power 2. Pretenses of the last resolution of Power into the people the diffused multitude or the people's Representative and the like Concerning which kinde of Pretenses I must repeat what hath been said of the other If they be admitted they are destructive to Magistracie If they be encouraged by Religion there will be reason that Magistrates be jealous over it But now is the Spirit of the Scriptures and the tendency of it entirely bent another way The New Testament affords no Instance in this kinde As to the Old I shall desire that two Instances may be considered 1. The Case of David and Saul 2. The Case of Corah and Moses which two Instances if the time would bear it would take in the Substance of all that may be alledged in this kinde 1. It is I conceive impossible to carry the first sort of Pretenses higher then they were stated in the Case of David and Saul Saul was at first declared and constituted King by Samuel acting in the Name of the Lord and when he had reigned two years the same Samuel in the Name of the same God before the same people denounces publickly that his Kingdom should not continue and that God had sought a man after his own heart because he invaded the Priest's Office After this he limits a certain day he tells him This day the Lord hath rent the Kingdom of Israel from thee and given it to thy neighbour because of his rebellion against God in the Case of Amalek The pretense of Failour and Forfeiture can go no higher Now for the pretenses of David to step into his Government and wrest it from him He was anointed by Samuel for ought appears without reservation for the life of Saul He was qualified for Government a valiant man a man of War prudent in matters a comely Person and the Lord was with him He had received Testimony from God of his Election the Spirit of God departed from Saul and rested upon him He had power in his hand he was set over the men of War accepted by all the people all Israel and Iudab loved him After all this you know his Provocations his Advantages and his Behaviour he durst not touch the Lord 's anointed and when another pretended to have done it at Saul's entreaty in extremis he revenged his death and lamented over him Ye mountains of Gilboa c. But that other Pretense that after a lawfull Sovereign is established according to the Supposition of my Text and my Discourse the power still remains in the people in the diffused 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 Pretense will appear in the Case of Corah and his company When God sent Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt he sanctified him and put his Name upon him Thou shalt be to him instead of God and when he had brought them forth he made him a Prince and a Law-giver over them The supreme Power was in Moses who called to his assistance a Senate or Parliament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 consisting of the Heads of the Tribes of Israel In this Council Nature soon began to work some envied Moses whom God bad chosen and Aaron the Saint of the Lord. Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Eliab Heads of Families in the Tribe of Reuben thought both the Civil Power and if that must be transferred from the first-born to one Tribe the Priesthood also was due to them being Eldest Brethren of the Eldest

to determine this Question we need onely to view the Titles of the sixteenth Book of the Code of Theodosius the thirteen first Titles in the Code of Iustinian Photius's Nomo-Canon and the like The Pretense of exemption of Ecclesiastical Causes so as hath been intimated as it is inconsistent with Government so it is also with the Principles of Christianity 2. Thus much having been spoken concerning the regulation of Matters of Religion it will be needless to enlarge concerning the second Pretense of the exemption of Ecclesiastical Persons This Tenet is equally dangerous with the former and equally contrary to the Principles of Christianity It were to be wished that all men professing themselves Ministers were thorowly convinced of the Doctrine of Obedience otherwise as they grow popular they become dangerous Sacerdotum quidam eo sunt ingenio ut ni pareant territent And Saint Chrysostom commenting upon Every Soul c. saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Both the Apostle the Evangelist and the Prophet Our Saviour was both Priest and Prophet and the Apostles were Ecclesiastical persons yet did not think themselves exempted Such persons were not exempted either before or after the Times of our Saviour neither in 1. a Single or 2. Ioynt capacity From the beginning it was not so 1. As to Single persons under the Law we finde and Instance of the Exercise of the Sovereign power over an High-Priest offending in Abiathar whom Solomon thrust out and placed Zados in his room 2. As to the calling of Assemblies before the Gospel-times it did belong to the Supreme Magistrate We finde Moses not Aaron Ioshua not Eleazar David not Abiathar Solomon not Zadoc summoning the Priests and Levites to meet together And In the Primitive Times of the Christian Emperours we do not meet with Councils or Synods called by the Bishop of Rome nor with Ministers casting themselves into Classical and Synodical Meetings nor with Assemblies of Divines called against or without the Prince's consent The indiction of Times and Places the convocation of Persons the Presidency the order of Debates the dismission of the Assemblies the roboration of Canons as to making them Laws of the Empire in the General and Provincial Councils were all the work of the Supreme Magistrate And As for matters of Appeal we finde Paul appealing to Caesar Athanasius from the Synod at Tyre to Constantine to whom three Appeals were likewise made in the Cause of Caecilianus and Donatus and many more instances of this and the like nature 3. I should now dismiss this Head concerning Religion did there not remain one Pretense more and that so wilde and monstrous that it looks as if it were the last effort of the enemy of man-kinde ultimus Diaboli conatus for it strikes at the Heart both of Government and of Religion It is this that Saints and gifted Persons as they call themselves are exempt from humane Laws and in effect resolves into this that to reprobate others and assume to themselves the Title of the Godly Party to talk of Reformation and the power of Godliness of advancing the Kingdom of Iesus Christ c. is to justifie Sacrilege and Treason and horrid Rebellion and to qualify them for the Kings and Priests and Prophets of the world How far this Satanical madness hath prevailed to the confusion of all things Civil and Sacred to the scandal of Religion the planting and watering of Atheism and Infidelity I tremble to call to our remembrance If my present business were to refute the men that have given this offence how easie were it to examine their Gifts and their Saintship and how hard to finde them But as the Woman of Samaria said to our Saviour Art thou greater then our Father Jacob are they greater Saints or better gifted then Peter and Paul and the rest of the Apostles He that said Let every Soul be subject to the higher Powers had been rap'd up whether in the body or out he could not tell to the third heavens hath any of them been carried higher Christ the natural Son of God the Brightness of his Glory the Express Image of his Person said Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's are they greater then Christ also But my present purpose being chiefly to remove these scandals from Religion come and let us reason together What could Christ and his Apostles have done more to prevent this scandal then they have done Their Doctrine and practise hath been already shewn and the Danger and Heinousness of the Sin of Resistance in all the kindes and degrees of it discovered neither can any thing more be imagined which might be desired to anticipate and obviate this pretense unless it be that these things should have been particularly foretold and the Persons at least their Party and Sect described that the world might be forewarned of them Will it then satisfy the enemies of our Religion concerning the Truth and Infallibility of the Scriptures and the abhorrency of the Christian Principle from this damnable Tenet if it shall briefly appear that these things have been punctually foretold by Christ and his Apostles Christ hath given warning of grievous Wolves in Sheep's cloathing More particularly Saint Paul hath told us that in the last days perilous times should come that there should be heady high-minded Traytours having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof Saint Peter that there should be false Teachers which should privily bring in damnable heresies presumptuous self-willed not afraid to speak evil of Dignities Now if all this be not sufficient Saint Iude hath taken up this Prophesie of Saint Peter and given us two clear Characters of these Persons whereby they might be known He tells us 1. That they shall be Separatists from the Church and 2. false-pretenders to the Spirit These are they which separate themselves being sensual having not the spirit I shall say no more to the Pretenses relating to that Head which concerns the matter of Religion 2 ly Neither shall I enlarge upon that other Head referring to matters Civil where I instanced in two Pretenses taken from I. Harsh Administration in the Magistrate II. Competition as to power in Subjects I. Neither the Time nor the Design which I have propounded nor indeed my Profession nor Abilities do allow me to enter into the depths of the Politicks or to discourse of the limitations of Sovereign Powers Thus much is obvious to every man That there is no Cruelty so great as laxness of Government nor any Tyrany in the World like the rage of Subjects let loose and that the little Finger of Licentiousness is harder then the Loyns of the severest Laws and strictest Government I shall briefly shew that the Scripture foreseeing the easiness by reason of the Self-love and partiality of men of this Pretense and the danger of it hath directly opposed it self against it I shall not mention particular Commands