Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A30816
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The necessity of subjection asserted in an assise-sermon preached in the Cathedral Church at Sarum, July 17, 1681 / by John Byrom ...
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Byrom, John.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing B6408; ESTC R2657
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11,598
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34
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be thought as averse in their Principles as the never-to-be-united Poles of Heaven shall we therefore Exalt moving dirt for man is no better to the Soveraignty of God and vest it with a power which is the sole prerogative of Omnipotence God as he is the Creator and Preserver of men hath a just and unquestionable Dominion over them and this his Dominion he in part transfers to Soveraign Princes that order might be preserved in the world and that the Inhabitants thereof might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2.2 The Crowns which encompass their royal heads are the entire gift and donative of Him who is encircled for ever with an eternal Crown of glory and this is most plain from our Apostles words which alone confound these Babel-builders and break in pieces all their Arguments There is no power says he at ver 2. of this Chapter but of God the powers that be are ordained of God whoever therefore resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and again v. 4. He beareth not the Sword in vain for he is the Minister of God And inasmuch as Corah and his Seditious followers rebel'd against their lawful Governour it is said by the Holy Ghost that they were gathered together against the Lord Numb 16.11 which plainly intimates that Dominion is founded and established by God he accounting this Faction against Moses his Representative as form'd against Himself and it is further confirm'd by that Heavenly wisdom which cannot err Prov. 8.15 16. By me Kings Reign and Princes decree Justice by me Princes rule and Nobles even all the Judges of the earth Seeing then the Authority of the lawful Magistrate descends from the Soveraign Lord of all things how can the Violators and Opposers thereof be excused from the monstrous crime of lifting up the head against him that gave it and making an assault upon the very Godhead do they not in effect rebel against Heaven it self who rebel against Him whom Heaven has set up the anointed of the Lord is not Magistracy according to our Apostle's express words an Ordinance of God and therefore sacred and inviolable not to be blasted by venemous breath or to be touch'd by the unhallowed arms of Sedition If the sons of Faction and Disloyalty would weigh and ponder this if they would consider as they ought the Divine original of Government they would soon discern the necessity of Subjection Opposition against the lawful Powers upon earth for from Him their Authority proceeds being level'd at a distance against the greater one in Heaven II. The necessity of Subjection will further appear from the Doctrine and Practice of Christ and his Apostles although the Holy Jesus is the great and everlasting God God blessed for ever yet like the meanest of humane Race he subjected Himself to the Dominion of men although he had the immortal Scepter of Heaven and an immarcessible Crown of endless Glory yet he yielded submission to the frail Scepters and the fading Crowns of the earth witness the whole course of his life which he led with so much Meekness and Obedience that his implacable enemies the Jews could not find whereof to accuse him The Pharisees in particular endeavoured to ensnare Him in this matter and therefore as flatteringly as insidiously say Master we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in Truth neither carest thou for any man for thou regardest not the person of men St. Matt. 22.16 Thus by giving him the specious Title of Master and such soft and pleasing words which in their opinion might be grateful unto him they thought to induce him to speak as they would have him i. e. Factiously for under this fair Covert disguising a black and villanous Design they demanded of him whether it was lawful to pay tribute to the Roman Emperour unto which having seen a peny which by their confession was stamp'd with Caesars Image he gave this unexpected but loyal reply Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods St. Matt. 22.21 But to make the matter unquestionable when himself was demanded Tribute the imposition whereof is an evident token of Soveraign Authority and the payment as evident a token of Subjection he refused it not but wrought even a miracle to do it at last drawing nigh to his mournful death the Sun of Righteousness being to set in blood he gave a never-dying instance of his peaceable Submission the occasion was this he being apprehended by a multitude of People which Judas brought a multitude armed with Swords and sharper Revenge St. Peter in the heat of his Passion drew and with an unhappy success cut off the High Priests servant's ear the Holy Jesus resented this unlawful action so much that he sharply and severely rebuked him for it and plainly told him that they who without deriving any Authority from him that bears the Sword will yet presume to use it shall find it fatal to their own ease and quiet they shall fall themselves by it and further continues he Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father and he will presently give me more than ten Legions of Angels St. Matt. 26.53 Cherubim and Seraphim and all the mighty host of Heaven were entirely at his Devotion and Command and yet that He might give no colour or umbrage of opposition he called them not to his Assistance and so being brought before Pontius Pilate he neither disclaim'd nor opposed his Authority but was obedient in the highest degree obedient to the painful and infamous death of the Cross. Now our Saviour that was thus submissive hath left these commands upon Record Learn of me St. Matt. 11.29 and very often follow me St. Matt. 4.19 St. Luke 5.27 from whence there is an indispensable necessity to follow his example and he being obedient to the supream Magistrate the same indispensable necessity lies upon us to be obedient also In his steps did his Primitive followers afterwards tread as is evident from what is Recorded of them by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles and by Ecclesiastical Writers I shall instance at present but in one namely St. Paul both because he was the Penman of my Text and likewise brought up in a Religion that discountenanced 't is true all manner of Rebellion but it was of a warm Spirit He as it is recorded in Acts 9. was Converted to Christianity by the miraculous appearance of the Blessed Jesus his journey to Damascus becoming to him the way to Heaven after which his happy Conversion he gained many Proselytes to the Christian Faith confounding the obstinacy of the stubborn Jew the Philosophy of the learned Greek and the strength of the powerful Roman but amongst all that he acted or spoke in order to bring them to the obedience of God he never utter'd a syllable that countenanced their disobedience to man For an orderly subjection to the Powers on earth
THE Necessity of Subjection Asserted in an ASSISE-SERMON Preached in the Cathedral Church AT SARUM July 17. 1681. BY JOHN BYROM M. A. Rector of Stanton-Quintin LONDON Printed for Benj. Took at the Ship in S. 〈◊〉 Church-yard 1687. To the Right Worshipful Thomas Gore OF ALDRINGTON Esq High Sheriff of the County of WILTS Right Worshipful SInce it was by the Influence and Power you have over me for my own Inclination would have led me to neither that I lately Preached and now Publish this ensuing Discourse I cannot but call it in some measure yours pardon my boldness herein and prefix your Name to give it shelter and protection I know too well that Censure abounds in this licentious Age and what less can I expect than the overflowings thereof from restless men whose spirits being always in a tumult do boldly reflect even upon that Authority it self whose Rights I assert and vindicate But I hope Sir when Reason and Truth cannot allay this intemperate heat a heat which more becomes the Alcoran than the Gospel that your Name alone may be able in some measure to do it I shall forbear Sir all endeavours to blazon your Worth since your own Learned Writings have done it already for me they speaking much more to your advantage than any thing that can be said by him who is Honoured Sir Your most humbly devoted and obliged Servant JOHN BYROM Stanton-Quintin Sept. 24. A SERMON On Rom. xiii 1 Let every soul be subject unto the Higher Powers THERE is nothing more conducible to the publick good than Civil Society it being the uniting cement of the World and at once the strength and glory of it If the Mass of Man-kind lay loose and confused like so many divided grains of Sand and acted at their pleasure without controul and government they would soon degenerate and grow into Wolves they would soon become a mutual vexation and fall a prey to one another To prevent which Nature it self hath made a very large and ample provision as having implanted in humane race an inclination to Society as also an understanding to know and a will to pursue those numerous conveniencies that flow from it No Nation was ever so irrational and savage as to live in a continual state of War the Thracians whose roughness hath given birth to a Proverb the Goths and Vandals that roul'd from the North with an Inundation of Cruelty and Barbarism the Americans that Worshiped Hell and adored their very Tormentor were notwithstanding tolerably sociable among themselves and had some kind of Government but where Civility obtain'd as it did in Greece and Ancient Rome there Government was preserved in due esteem and reverence and such excellent Laws were made in order thereunto that it is even now accounted a piece of Wisdom to be well acquainted with them In general the Principles of Nature teach and advise the usefulness and necessity of Civil Government and that it is both advantagious and just that one should be advanced to the highest degree and be honoured and obey'd for the good of all Neither is the Eternal Author of Nature less careful in declaring himself in this matter he having Enacted and Decreed in his revealed Will and all his Decrees like those of the Medes are unchangeable that Men should be United together as if they were all but one body and in order to this so desirable an Union be submissively obedient to the Lawful Magistrate Particularly when he was pleased to promulgate his Gospel to the World he discover'd and enjoyn'd anew not only the Duty we owe to Himself but that which we are obliged to pay unto them who are honoured with his Signature and Name Kings and Princes To omit other places at present that alone of my Text is an unquestionable evidence the Apostle in his name commanding Subjection so plainly and universally that nothing but Sophistry and Hell can evade it Let every soul be subject unto the Higher Powers The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translated here Soul if we respect its first and original intendment signifies Breath but according to the more common and general use it imports the rational Soul of Man which therefore is called in Gen. 2.7 the breath of life Now because the Soul animates and enlivens the body otherwise a dull unactive mass it is somtimes taken for life which it gives Thus the lxxii Gen. 17.14 the Uncircumcised Man-child whose flesh of his fore-skin is not Circumcised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. The life of that person shall perish or be taken away Now inasmuch as the Soul distinguishes us from other Creatures inasmuch as thereby we are endowed with reason by which we are essentially men it is sometimes inclusive of the body also and signifies the whole Man Thus it is to be understood in various places of Sacred Writ and cannot be otherwise interpreted here As to the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it properly denotes power in the abstract but it cannot be so understood here because it is impossible that that should receive the Subjection that is here required to be given it must therefore be taken for the Person impower'd for him in whom power and dominion are lawfully seated by virtue whereof he is superior to others in which sense it is likewise to be understood in Ephes. 1. and in other places The meaning then of the words Let every soul be subject to the Higher Powers is this Every person of what quality or condition soever he be must yield Subjection to the Supream Lawful Magistrate and to them who are put in Authority under him Pursuant to which I shall make it the subject of my following Discourse to evince by plain Arguments the Necessity of our submission and obedience to the Civil Magistrate The first Argument shall be taken from the Origine of Civil Power it being derived only from God The second from the Doctrine and Practice of Christ and his Apostles The third from the Nature of Rebellion which is in it self Damnable and Destructive of Salvation The fourth and last from the Universal consent of the Reformed Christian Churches who unanimously agree in it I. The Necessity of Subjection is evident from the Origine of Civil Power it being derived only from God Although the Divine Image is stamp'd upon man in general and indulg'd indiscriminately to all yet it is peculiarly imprinted upon Princes and therefore in Scripture they are called Gods the Authority which they Exercise is not owing to the People as some venemous Pens have drop'd to blast the Cedars of the Forest and to Poyson the Shrubs that are under them but to God alone who Reigns in Heaven and overrules the madness of the People What though Bellarmine De Concil l. 2. c. 19. and Buchanan De jure Regni apud Scotos p. 50. the one a Pillar of the Synagogue of Rome and the other an Advocate of popular confusion have met in the point Men who would willingly