Nazianzene Teares the onely medicine against his mischeefe teares were their Speares Orizons their weapons They knew that they that resisted power resisted the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receiue to themselues damnation These had not beene catechized in the Popes Schoole teaching Subiects that the Pope hath power to depriue Kings if they be defectiue in their regiment or not pliable to his commandement but were obedient as the Apostle exhorts Propter conscientiam for conscience sake Oh but will Master Parsons reply We hold this point that a Prince is to be obeyed Propter conscientiam for conscience sake but not Contrae conscientiam Against his conscience And he is so stiffe in this assertion that he saith If one authority example or testimony out of Scripture Fathers or Councels contradict it we then speake to purpose VVe answer Against Conscience rightly instructed and warranted by the word It is true but there is Asinina lupina or leprosa conscientia A foolish woluish or leprous conscience which vicious or erroneous conscience is not rightly called conscience but error and peruersenesse and therein it failes If a King command things expressely contrary to Gods word the Apostles rule then is plaine VVe must obey God rather then men yet not fall to violence or outward resistance in body but in spirit submitting our bodies to suffer with patience what shall bee inflicted like the three Children to Nabuchadnezar but in our soules to shew our selues more then Conquerors for our Conscience sake Thus doe we see that the foure forenamed crimes Tyranny Infidelity Heresie Apostacy yet great and greeuous sinnes are not sufficient to depriue a King of his regall Inheritance or to free his Subiects from their obedience CHAP. XI I VVil in the next place briefly consider the goodly Harmony of the holy Doctors of Rome in the managing and maintaining of this new Doctrine of deposition of Kings by making their Pope an absolute Lord of all Temporalties and of the Spiritualties by vertue of which vaste omnipotency of power as being the Supreme spirituall and temporall Prince of all and ouer all they ascribe vnto his Holinesse this plenitude of power to haue the iurisdiction of both swords and so may passe against Kings if they bee faulty by tyranny infidelity heresie or apostacy or not Roman Catholickes Sentences of Excommunication Breues of Interdiction Depriuation Buls of Absolution of Subiects from Alleagiance yea giue Licence and Indulgences of pardon to misereants to murder them and yet this is not to be counted King-killing for a King excommunicated or deposed is no King in Popery Let vs see the consent of these Doctors or rather heare the confusion of their tongues in building of this Babell Some of the cheefe pillars of Popery defend the direct ordinary and inherent authority of the Pope whereby as Lord of the whole VVorld in all temporall matters hee may at his pleasure depose Emperors and Princes The cheefe of these is Cardinall Baronius and to alleadge his reasons I omit his Bookes are common and extant in the world And this opinion that the Pope is Lord of all the Temporalties and that the supreame Iurisdiction both in temporall and spirituall matters belong to Peters Successors which was the brainelesse assertion of old blockish Canonists and exploded of all sober Papists is now renewed and passeth for Catholick Doctrine Your Francis Bozius defends it that the Pope is directly Lord of things temporall and is the Ruler and Monarke of the whole world So Rodericus Sancius a Bishop of theirs goes further It is to be holden according to the naturall morall and diuine Law wth the right Faith that the Lordship of the Roman Bishop is the true and onely immediate Lordship of all the world not as concerning spirituall things onely but also as concerning temporall things and that the imperiall Lordship of Kings dependeth vpon it and oweth seruice and attendance thereunto as a meanes minister and instrument and that by him it receiueth institution and ordination and at the commandement of the papall Lordship it may be remoued reuoked corrected and punished In the gouernement of the world the secular Lordship is not necessary either of pure or meere or expedient necessity but when the Church cannot Resoluing this Article therefore we say That in all the world there is but one Lordship and therefore there must be but one Vniuersall and Supreame Prince and Monarke who is Christs Vicar according to that of Daniel He gaue him dominion and honour and kingdome and all people and languages shall serue him In him therefore is the Fountaine and originall of all Lordship and from him the other Powers flow so farre goes this Popish Bishop And diuers others agree with him It is iudged that no Christian Monarke hath his Crowne wholly giuen him from Heauen vnlesse it receiue firmenesse and strength also from Christs Vicar the Pope so Possevine Christ committed to Peter the Key-keeper of eternall life the right of earthly and heauenly gouernement and that in his place the Pope is the vniuersall Iudge the King of Kings the Lord of Lords saith another yea the holy Writer in the old law made the Priesthood an adiectiue to the Kingdome but Saint Peter made the Kingdome an adiectiue to the Priesthood faith the same writer Carerius a Doctor of Padua in his Booke De potestate Romani Pontificis which he made specially to confute Bellarmine who denied the ordinary and direct power of the Pope in the Temporalties doth in many places and pages maintaine that all dominion as well in spirituall things as in temporall is fetcht by Christ and the same is committed to Saint Peter and his Successors that Christ was Lord of all these inferior things not onely as he was God but also as he was Man hauing at that time dominion in the Earth and therefore as the dominion of the world both diuine and humane was then in Christ as man so now it is in the Pope the vicar of Christ That Christ is directly the Lord of the world in temporall things and therefore the Pope Christs vicar is the like and this power giuen to Peter is set out by the sole comming of Peter to Christ vpon the water for vniuersall gouernement is signified by the Sea As God is the Supreme Monarke of the world productiuely and gubernatiuely although of himselfe he be neither of the world nor temporall so the Pope although originally and from himselfe he haue dominion ouer all things temporall yet he hath it not by any immediate execution and committeth that to the Emperor by an vniuersall iurisdiction It would weary a man to reade ouer this worke of Carerius wherein he sweates and toyles himselfe striuing with arguments and laying a curse vpon his aduersaries that shal gainsay him or denie the ordinary direct power of the Pope in the
non vult cogitur sed cum intrauerit iam volons pascitur He that is compelled is compelled against his will to enter but when he is entred he is fed willingly The Lord for his mercy sake by the power of his word draw all Christs flocke to vnity in Religion and giue to all Kings faithfull hearts to fauour and follow the same and specially O Lord blesse from Heauen thy deare seruant our dread Soueraigne giue him all graces and gifts sutable for his Princely calling knit his heart vnto thee that he may euer feare thy name and let all them that loue the Gospell of Iesus Christ night and day pray God saue the King Spiritually CHAP. XI Thirdly God saue the King Politically AND to induce all loyall subiects to this acceptable and dutifull seruice many causes concurre both diuine and ciuill whersoeuer we turne our thoughts which may englad our hearts and moue them to burne in affectionate flames in the oblation of this deuotion For vnder him we leade a peaceable and a quiet life free from forraine feares or domesticall troubles that we may say by his gracious gouernement in our Lard Mercy and Truth haue met together Righteousnesse and Peace haue kissed each other And againe with the Psalmist The Scepter of thy Kingdome is a Scepter of righteousnesse thou louest righteousnesse and hatest iniquitie wherefore God euen thy God hath annointed thee with the oyle of gladnesse aboue thy fellowes We haue and heare peaceably and plentifully the welcome tidings of the Gospell the voyce of the Turtle is heard in our Land enioying a setled peace among our selues and with other Nations hauing trafficke and commerce with them a soueraigne benefit to inrich these Realms The admirable peace plenty and prosperity by a Christian and politicall gouernement his Highnesse People doe enioy hath made other Nations enuie our felicity The French haue sworn that this Land in respect of peace and plenty long continued was the Land of Promise and their Kings hitherto haue had Moses punishment to stand vpon their Towers as he vpon Mount Nebo to see the clifts of this Canaan but not permitted to enter that we see that verified which Salomon long agoe deliuered A King by iudgement maintaines the Country or with wisdome her selfe A wise King is the stay of the People or to speake of our Soueraigne in the words of the Princely Prophet The Lord chose Dauid his seruant c to feed his People in Iacob and his inheritance in Israel so hee fed them according to the simplicity of his heart and guided them by the discretion of his hands So that wee find the saying of Cominaeus true Foelix resp in qua qui imperat timet Deum That is an happy Common-wealth in the which the King feares God or with Salomon Blessed art thou O Land when thy King is the sonne of Nobles and much more of noble vertues How happy was the Throne of Gouernement how successefully Religion propagated when vertue honouring Constantine was inthroned The like in other Christian Emperours then Iustice was exalted vertue rewarded piety inlarged vice punished superstition discouraged Of all temporall blessings none more incomparable then to be blest with a good and godly King Woe to thee O Land when thy King is a Child saith Salomon vnable and vnapt for that high function the Art of Arts and Office of God farre more intricate and difficult then any other kind of ministration on Earth But thankes be giuen vnto God who hath giuen vnto vs a pious prudent and peaceable King experienced in the regall Art yea learned in all good Arts indowed with iudgement prowesse wisdome bounty iustice temperance clemency and compassion who may truly say with the Orator Natura me clementem fecit resp seuerum postulat sed nec natura nec resp crudelem efficiet Nature frames him merciful the Common-wealth requires seuere yet neither nature or Common-wealth can make him cruell that I may apply that to his praise which the Poet appropriated to Caesar Ouid de pont Eleg. 3. Est piger ad poenas Princeps ad praemia velox Quique dolet quoties cogitur esse ferox A Prince to punish slow yet swift to giue And when he must be cruell much doth grieue Yet he keepes a golden meane in the mixture of Mercy and Iustice that his Tribunall is not like to Cassius Tribunall Reorum Scopulus Neither a Rocke or refuge to the guilty Malefactors but spares some in mercy and for example cuts off others in Iustice Truncatur artus vt liceat reliquis securé viuere membris And which is great praise in a Prince and powerfull to doe much good in the politicke body is the edification of his Maiesties examplar life acknowledged by his owne enemies the Papists and forcible to moue his subiects to imitation for the people like Labans sheepe conceiue by the eye and are obseruant of Princes vertues or vices and as Claudian to the Emperour Honorius Vt te totius medio telluris in orbe Viuere cognoscas cunctis tua gentibus esse fact a palam They act their Princely part vpon the open Theater of the world and oftentimes taxed by the secret censures of malapert and malignant spirits when they are free from any faulty reprehension as Cymon at Athens taxed that he dranke wine Romans find fault with Scipio for his sleepe with Pompey for scratching of his head And indeed deminitiue faults in Princes are counted superlatiue because of the publike example for sinne is made worse three wayes 1. Ratione loci 2. Ratione Temporis 3. Ratione personae In respect of place time and person which commits it In sayling saith Agapetus the error of an old ordinary shipman causeth little detriment but the error of the Steers-man or Pylot hazards the whole voyage So the euill examples of great persons draw multitudes and their errours cause terrours and troubles to the Common-wealth Quic quid delirant reges plectuntur Achiui Yet euer was there such a flattery of the Regall Scepter that sometimes vices passed for vertues and few there be that dare with that bold Pirate tell Alexander because I doe it in a Fly-boate I am called a Pirate thou doest the like in a great Nauy and called an Emperour But herein let our enemies be iudges that our Soueraigne may truly say with Leonidas Nisi te fuissem melior non essem Rex As farre aboue all in vertue as he is aboue them in place for though Popes vsually are praised for their goodnes when they surpasse not the wickednesse of other men as the Historian tels vs yet our gracious King may in the integrity of his vpright life boldly and truly say with good and iust Samuel Behold here I am beare record of me before the Lord and before his Annointed whose Oxe haue I taken or whose Asse haue I taken or whom haue I
Confirmation granted by Pope Leo the tenth Anno 1513. sept id Martij pontificis anno primo the which Bull was granted Hospitali sancti spiritus in Saxia almae vrbis in which is an approbation of all former pardons obtained to the saide Hospitall and the members thereof as Innocent the third grants to all that visit the saide Hospitall two thousand and eight hundred yeares of pardon Pope Alexander the fourth grants foure thousand yeares eight hundred Lents of pardon Pope Celestine the fifth grants also to the saide Hospitall and the members an hundred thousand yeares of pardon Pope Clement the fift grants also two thousand and eight hundred yeares of pardon Pope Boniface the eight 2500. yeares of pardons Pope Clement the sixt 8000 yeares and 8000 Lents full remission of al their sins Pope Innocent the sixt 2000 years and 2000 Lents of pardons Pope Benedict the 12 3000 years as many Lents of pardons All which grants of pardons by the Popes confirmed to the said Hospitall and the members if this were as good ware as they make some beleiue who would not goe visit this Hospitall yea be a member of it Can any Papist goe to the Deuill who may haue a pardon for a little money and saying ouer a prayer or two which prayers haue such power that when S. Bernard said one before a Rood it so pleased the said Rood that it bowed it selfe and embraced him in the armes Like the Rood of Naples which spake so kindely to Thomas Aquinas Or like the Crucifixe which nodded the head to the Monke Gualbertus Indeed if Popes prayers be like Amphions harpe to mooue stones Saxa moueresono testudinis prece bland◠Ducerè quò vellet The famous Amphion with his harpe could play To moue the stones so popish harpers pray If Popes can giue so large pardons for sinnes and haue so good prayers I muse they cannot cure the Papists of bodily sicknesse for sicknesse is the punishment of sinne rather Popes doe encrease their sicknesse by procuring Gods plagues and punishments to be inflicted vpon them for affecting such practises to haue their sinnes pardoned of Popes when as it appertaineth onely to God They who are Gods dearest Ministers I feare the Pope is none haue no other power heerein then to declare in Gods name forgiuenesse of sinne not to make them a pardon for money if they truely beleeue in Christ and repent and so release the band of discipline in open offenders where the fruites of repentance appeare and so the meanest minister of Christ by vertue of his spirituall office may declare absolution of sinnes to the truely penitent but to forgiue sinnes none can or may doe it but God alone I euen I am hee that putteth away thy iniquities for mine owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes Come vnto me all ye that are weary and laden and I will ease you with a thousand places of Scripture exhorting all to come vnto Christ and apply his bloud vnto their soules for the remission of their sinnes There is no other way by which wee can be saued or our sinnes pardoned ad impetrandam nostris sceleribus veniam non pecunias impendere sed hoc facere c. saith Chrysostome To get a pardon for sinne money will not doe it but to beleeue in Christ And indeed the Pardon-Procters are so dazeled in the defence of them like the sodomites smitten with blindenesse at Lots doore that they cannot tell how to finde any ground for them but are compelled abruptly to say with Bellarmine Sufficit ad Indulgentias Bullas defendendas Ecelesia authorit as The authority of the Church alleadged not proued is sufficient to defend Bulles and Indulgences a weake argument to defend wicked pardons But their Glosse vpon that great Bull of Boniface the 8 saith Foure things concurre as principall to make a pardon effectuall 1 Authority in the granter 2 Capacity in the receiuer 3 Piety in the end 4 vtility in the worke But authority heerein the Pope hath none idoneity or capacity in the receiuer namely that he be a true member of Christ and purged from his fault the Pope cannot tell Piety in the end is none for it opens a wide way to all impiety vtility to the party none for hee is robbed of his money and deluded in his soule the onely vtility comes to the Pope to enrich his coffers for by this deuice a world of wealth is raised for men who doe beleeue these pardon-mongers to be released out of the paines of Purgatory telling them what a grieuous punishment it is to lye in Purgatory fire which is indeed ignis fatuus or the fire of the Popes kitchin to warme his backe and belly they will willingly giue their money to goe to Heauen by a pardon Thus it is written of Boniface the ninth who sent into diuers kingdomes his Treasurers with pardons who extorted great summes of money from simple people that in some one Prouince they would get together aboue an hundred thousand florens omnia peccata relaxantes releasing all offences whatsoeuer Christ said to his Apostles freely you haue receiued freely giue But heere no penny no pardon no pater noster so that wee may say of these Popes as one doth of Gregory the ninth O auarum cor vbi Petri paupert as quamiactatis O couetous hart where is Peters pouerty whom yee boast of that to play impostors to the world will sell such ware as you fetch from the Deuils shop to cozen the simple of their money bring them into a fooles Paradise to hope of pardon of their sinne by buying your mercenary indulgences and Buls the basest trash that can be inuented to sell for siluer remission of sinnes and euen saluation of soules as Iudas did for thirty peeces his Sauiour But heerein let Gods children say to the Pope as Daniel did to Balshazzer keepe thy rewards to thy selfe and giue thy gifts to another keepe your paltry pardons to your selues saying as Dauid did to the Prophet Gad Let vs fall into the hands of the Lord for his mercies are great and not into the hands of men the Pope or his Priests for the very mercies of the wicked are cruell The inuention of Popes pardons was to maintaine their pride the power vnlawfull the causes vngodly the vse abhominable and the end deceiueable neyther by the Scriptures or practise of the Primitiue Church warrantable I hasten to put this Piunace into harbour weary with being on the Sea of Rome therefore to bee briefe let all that desire to be faithfull seruants to their Lord and Sauiour who as yet halt betwixt God and Baal being as one cals them Lunae vituli Moone-Calfes once a moneth come to the Temple hoping to walke to heauen with statute-legges or others who are more setled vpon their lees whose mindes as yet the God of this
pen of our sacred Soueraigne taxing the Cardinall for robbing the Scripture of authority by making Gods precepts temporary prouisoes laies downe an infallible rule That Apostolicall instructions which informe maners are not changeable but giue a standing and perpetuall rule permanent for all people and not fashionable to the quality of Times But the Romane Church which teach disloyalty and disobedience against Kings deposing Kings from their thrones and then authorizing subiects to take Armes against them had need accommodate Text to time whose obedience to Princes is temporary that is till they haue a fit season and place as a vault vnder a Parliament house and then as Aeneas Syluius said of the Monkes Non audet stygius Pluto tentare quod audet Effraenis Monachus Then they are without humanity vnnaturall impious cruell murderers as Lucifer Calaritanus to the Arrians and I may say to Iesuited Priests beeing bloudy minded and deceitfull men and therefore many of them doe not liue out halfe their daies dying bloudy deaths for acting or affecting bloudy deeds Let vs in the next place obserue how before these latter times I meane before Popery was Heldebrandized and Iesuited whether this point of Papall power to depose Emperors or Kings was eyther broached or belieued in the Church CHAP. X. IT should seeme not to be belieued or broached by their owne writers for Otho Frisingensis saith Rego relego c. I haue read ouer and ouer the Acts of Romane Kings and Emperors and I can finde none before Henry the fourth Emperor excommunicated by the Bishop of Rome or deposed which was first assayed by Gregory the seauenth called Heldebrand Anno Dom. 1066. And Vrspergensis saith That the Bishops that had taken armes with the said Gregory against the Emperor were cast out of their Bishoprickes by the Synode of Mentz where the Popes Legates were present And Sigebert saith This nouelty that I may not say heresie did not as yet appeare in the world that Priests should teach the people that they ought to shew no obedience to wicked Kings and though they haue taken an oath of Allegiance yet owe no fâ—alty neyther are to be called periured if they haue such mindes against Kings And Vincantius Lirinensis agrees with him in the same words Yea many eminent Romane Catholickes did vtterly dislike Gregories deposition of Henry the fourth and denied the authority of the Apostolike See to depose him or to absolue his subiects from their oath of obedience yea the Bishop of Mentz Gregories friend and fauourer writ to the said Pope to furnish him with those reasons wherewith hee was moued to depose the Emperor to prouide him with answers against all gaine sayers Yea the Bishops of Rome themselues in the purer times acknowledged all obedience to Emperors and Kings challenging no such prerogatiue to meddle with their Crownes or persons and for 300. yeares vntill Siluester they performed passiue obedience to Heathen Emperors and so before and after Boniface for 500. yeares they performed actiue obedience to Christian Emperors submitting themselues vnto them in all loyall subiection and acknowledging them as their owne Bishop Meltiades did to Constantine the Great to be supreame Head not onely in Temporall but also in Spirituall things as Eusebius records it lib. 1. c. 5. But peraduenture some Papist may reply and say that I doe not reckon aright in making Gregory the seauenth the first Pope that deposed an Emperor which yet is affirmed by their owne writers for Leo the third Emperor was excommunicated by Gregory the second and depriued of all his Temporalities hee held in Italy and the Greeke Emperors were remoued from the Empire by Leo the third Bishop of Rome and so of some others Which obiection is so frequently answered by our Diuines who haue written about this point of the Popes power in this kinde that for breuity I will passe it ouer in a worde That Gregory the second did not depriue Leo the third Emperor of his temporalities but onely was an agent or as the head of rebellion in the reuolt of the Italians from the Emperor not by his vniuersall authority now claimed but by a popular sedition then raised And to the second That the Greeke Empire was translated by Leo the third to the Germanes is much doubted for some historians write it was translated by a Decree of the people of Rome not by the Popes keyes yet probably he might haue his head hand and heart in it for as Pope Adrian the sixt said All mischiefe came from the chiefe Bishop of Rome into the whole Church and by his Legate Cleregatus promised reformation to the Germanes The Popes of Rome haue a long time laboured to rise to this primacy of pride by degrees first aboue Bishops as in Boniface the third after aboue Kings and Emperors specially in Gregory the seauenth and his successors yet those aspiring wings clipt by Councels Wormes Papia Brixis Mentz till at last two of the worst Councels the Laterane and Tridentine did lift vp the Pope to the top of the pinnacle not onely aboue Kings and Councels but aboue Gods counsels the sacred Scriptures Tantae molis erat Romanum surgere papam But let vs a little look vpon this question which yet is like a Spirit sooner raised then put downe of the papall power of Kings deposition A spiritual power in the Pope of primacy I know none temporall much lesse but this same pretended priuatiue power least of al for it is not in any place to be found that God hath giuen to the Pope yea to any man power to make or vnmake temporall King 〈◊〉 for hee that can depose a King must bee aboue a King but regall power is the highest power on earth post Deum secundus est solo Deo minor as Tertullian of Kings next after God and inferiour to none but God Super quem non est nisi solus Deus as Optatus Mileuitanus aboue whom there is none but God alone So King Dauid Tibi soli peccaui against thee onely haue I finned So that I may say with Iohn of Paris In the Emperour is inuested a power to depose the Pope as formerly many haue beene if he abuse his power because he is his superiour but not in the Pope for he is and ought to be his inferiour and with this Iohn Maior agree many other Almaine and Occam as Almaine alleadges Occams opinion and makes it his owne conclusion That the Pope hath no power eyther by excommunication or by any other meanes to depose a Prince ftom his royall dignity and further affirmes with Occam saying The Emperour is not bound to sweare allegiance to the Pope but the Pope if he hold any temporal possessions is bound to sweare allegiance to the Emperor and to pay him tribute But the Champions of the Popes power in this kinde alleadge some presidents of the Priests in
the olde law who as they say by vertue of their Priesthood haue deposed and depriued Kings from their seates which power they labour to deriue and appropriate to the Popes office I will name but two of them in two examples 1 Cardinall Allen alleadgeth Azarias the high Priest who with â—o other Priests put downe Ozias smitten with leprosie by force out of the Temple and depriued him of his regall authority Ergo say they it is lawfull for the high Priest that is the Pope to driue hereticall Kings that is spirituall Leapers out of the Temple of Gods Church and Territories of their kingdome by excommunication which is a separation and then by deposition which is a finall depriuation of them and deputation of some other Regent as Azarias committed the kingdome to be then gouerned by Iotham his sonne Wee answere as some of our Church haue answered That Azarias did not depriue Ozias of his regall power for he held it to his dying day onely his sonne Iotham as a kinde of Viceroye was surrogated because the immediate hand of God had smitten him with leprosie for his leprosie he was punished to liue apart a priuate life not to be depriued of his inheritance Ambition couetousnesse yea all sinne is a leprosie hath not the Pope such a contagion why then he may as well be depriued of his Miter being a grand sinner and so a great leaper as any other Indeed Ozias or Vzziah greatly sinned in presuming to vsurpe the Priests office transgressing against the Lord in going into the Temple to burne incense vpon the Altar of incense and Azariah with the other Priests withstood Vzziah the King telling him it pertained not to him to burne incense but to the Priests the sonnes of Aaron consecrated to offer it and was smitten of the Lord for it with leprosie and so liued apart according to the Law yet still was King in esse though not in execution 2 Cardinall Bellarmine alleadgeth Iehoiada the High Priest who commanded Athalia the Queene to bee slaine and Ioash to succeed implying an inference that so it is lawfull for Popes to doe the like We answer that Athalia an vsurper and murderer killing all the royall seed excepting only the secretly preserued Ioash the vndoubted heyre of the Crowne beeing proclaimed and annointed King with a generall consent of all Iehoiada by the authority of the King and not as High Priest but rather tanquam regis patruus Protector as his Kinsman and Protector the King being in his minority seauen yeares olde and Iehoiada being his Allye hauing married the Kings Anâ— and so bound by the Law of Nature and Nations to defend the Kings right and to reuenge the tyranny of a bloudy Queen against the Kings killed progeny and Iehoiadaes commandement was confirmed by the Kings authority and with the common consent and Counsell of the land not as being High Priest but as chiefe of his Tribe to reuenge the crying bloud of the royall offspring murthered by vsurping Athalia to depriue her of her vsurped regiment and life what is this to depose a lawfull King by the authority of the Pope Kings shall anguste sedere as Tully said to Caesar haue quaking Scepters vnquiet seates and narrow limits if the Pope haue power to depriue them of their power state But to passe ouer other the like examples alleadged by Romanists in this kinde I will touch those foure things which they obiect and say doe dissolue regall right and make Kings who are culpable of such faults to forfeit their Crownes 1. Tyranny 2. Infidelity 3. Heresie 4. Apostacy The Popish assertions heerein runne in the affirmatiue that all or any one is sufficient to depriue a King of his Crown The opinions of Protestants run in the negatiue that none of these are sufficient to make a King forfeit his dignity and Diademe To begin with the first Tyranny doth not cut off a King from his soueraignty Who a greater Tyrant then King Saul who hunted after Dauids soule to take it yet who was so faithfull among all his seruants as Dauid confessed by Sauls owne mouth To be more righteous then he for thou hast rendred mee good and I haue rendred thee euill yea this Saul such a tyrant that he commanded Doeg to fall vpon the Lords Priests and Doeg at his commandement flew sounescore and fiue persons that did weare a linnen Ephod and did smite Nob the Priests City with the edge of the sword both man and woman childe and suckling oxe and asse and sheepe with the sword Yet Dauid no priuate or plebeâ—an subiect but a man by Gods commandement designed for the Kingdome cheefe Captaine and Coronel of Sauls Army and heire apparent to the Crowne and hauing opportunity to depriue Saul of his life and importunity of his followers to doe the deed yet heare his voice The Lord keepe me from doing that thing vnto my Master the Lords Annointed to lay my hand vpon him for he is the Lords Annointed and the same Dauid to Abishai Destroy him not for who can lay his hand vpon the Lords Annointed and be guiltlesse O heauenly voice of holy Dauid how different are Popelings from Dauids resolution Occasionem victoria Dauid habebat in manibus incantum securum aduersarium sine labore poterat iugulare advictoriam opportunitas hortabatur sed obstabat Diuinorum memoria mandatorum non mittam manum in vnctum Domini repressit cum gladio manum dum timuit oleum seruauit inimicum As most elegantly and excellently writes Optatus Dauid had a present occasion of security of victory and might without any difficulty or danger haue killed his vnkind and vnconsiderate enemy opportunity might haue pressed him to it but the remembrance of Gods commandements stay his hand Touch not my Annointed This keepes backe the hand and sword and fearing the regall oyle fauours a dismall enemy Now Tyranny may be of two kinds either of vsurped regiment and dominion without any ciuill title and interest hauing no titular foundation but violent vsurpation and herein subiection is not necessary Quoad obedientiam if Quoad Sustâ—…ntiam Herein patience more requisite then obedience 2 Kind is when ordinary and lawfull power degenerates into tyranny and cruelty by abuse and herein Papists giue liberty Tyrannum occidere licet It is lawfull to kill a Tyrant contrary to Dauid God forbid that I should lay mine hand vpon the Lords Annointed 1 Sam. 26. 11. Meaning Saul a Tyrant by abuse but not by vsurpation but we haue handled this before and therefore leaue it 2. Infidelity doth not depriue a King of his regiment Oh but replies the Papist All title to Dominion hath foundation in the grace of Iustice Charity and Piety so that by impiety or infldelity they make forfeiture of their authority Answer It is prouidence not grace that disposeth ciuill titles grace not prouidence that makes them