Selected quad for the lemma: world_n
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A41782
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The loyal Baptist, or, An apology for the baptized believers ... occasioned by the great and long continued sufferings of the baptized believers in this nation / by Thomas Grantham ...
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Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing G1540; ESTC R26748
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84,492
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109
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this Example 2. Our Saviour hath led us the right way Give unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's But what things are they Why the Things which bear his Image and Superscription Whose Image and Superscription is this says Christ They say Caesar's Therefore saith Christ Give unto Caesar c. We may hence fairly infer that whatsoever bears the King's Authority or is required in his name must be obeyed Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as Supream or unto Governours as unto those that are sent by him Mark if they be sent by him they bear his Image or Superscription they represent the King submit submit either Actively or Passively here 's no resisting for here comes Caesar Only here it must be minded Caesar's Superscription is only to be put to the Ordinances of Man None can put a Divine Character upon a Law but God and we must give to God the things which are God's Divine Obedience or Obedience in all divine things to God Civil Obedience or Obedience in all civil things to Caesar Thus has our Saviour divided the matter of Christians and all Mens Obedience to God and to Caesar Let us hold to this most just Settlement a better cannot possibly be given 3. St. Paul will have Christians Subjection to Caesar to proceed from them of pure Conscience or for Conscience sake Rom. 13. not only Wrath. And of this Reason wills that we give all the Assurance that we can to Princes that we are heartily their Subjects And willingly obedient in all things which concerns their Government over us This Principle of Obedience in the Heart will make our Obedience to Princes delightful and durable they that have this good Principle in them will never be weary of any reasonable Labour Service or Hazard for their King where it is wanting the King can put no confidence in them This is so reasonable so necessary that he that hath not such an Heart for his Sovereign is unworthy the name of a Subject He is no Subject From this Principle we are to pay tribute also Rom. 13. 6 7. and not grudgingly And when Princes see Men ready in conscience of their Duty to serve them as God's Vicegerents how naturally will this draw back again the influence of all Princely Favours That Prince who is thus happy in the Obedience of his Subjects will doubtless as a Loving Father contrive the best to make his Subjects happy under his Government 4. How clearly is our Duty to our Superiors delivered by St. Paul Tit. 3. 1 c. Put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates to be ready to every good work Let the Power be in this or the other Form for all Nations have not the same Form of Government you must not dispute that you must chearfully obey as becomes Men of a ready Mind to do the good commanded by Magistrates you must not ask whether they be Heathen Kings or Christian Kings You must obey all Kings or Magistrates For they are God's Ministers attending on this very thing i. e. the Government of the World a very necessary thing without which human Society cannot subsist Here is no Limitation of time for your Subjection to Princes Powers and Magistrates you are under this Obligation so long as St. Paul's Epistle to Titus is Canonical Let not then any idle Dream of the change of Dispensations subvert you from the simplicity of the Gospel-Rules delivered in this great Case in which the Happiness of Christian Men as such is much concerned For who shall harm them if they be careful Followers of that which is good 1 Pet. 3. 13. But if it so fall out that notwithstanding your care in this matter ye must suffer for righteousness sake then happy are ye c. for still religious Obedience is due to God and must be paid to him 5. This place Tit. 3. 1. commands Christians to be ready to every good work Obj. What if the Powers command otherwise what then For answer to this we know we have an Obligation to obey God antecedent to that of our Obedience to Kings as has been shewed He commands us to abstain from every appearance of Evil 1 Thess 5. 22. Wherefore if the Power shall be so unhappy to command otherwise as it fell out in the case of Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 5. there the Penalty must be patiently endured And then the Powers are still obeyed And tho some vainly upbraid us that there either is no such thing as Passive Obedience or that our Obedience in this is like the Obedience of a Felon when he goes to the Gallows c. Such blind Byards may be pleased to know the Felon hath ordinarily nothing to chuse but must necessarily dye whereas the suffering Christian has Life and Liberty offered if he will but worship so or so Now here he chuses rather to suffer than to do that which he conceives at least to be sin in the sight of God that so he may be a faithful Witness for God and therein a Blessing to his Prince and to his Nation which is his only way to silence the Ignorance of foolish Men whose unwary Objections reflect not only upon all true Martyrs since the World began but upon Christ himself who for this cause was hated and persecuted because He bore witness to the Truth Joh. 18. 37. and that the Works of the World were Evil John 7. 7. 6. But if it should happen that Princes should some way intrench upon the Civil Rights of their Subjects What then must we do What then Why it is dangerous to contend with them in such cases we are taught otherwise by the Example of our Saviour in his direction to St. Peter in the case of paying Tribute to the Roman Magistrates Mat. 17. 25 26 27. For it is evident from this place that our Saviour was not obliged by Law to pay Custom or Tribute but was free in that case yet it being demanded he advises Peter to pay it both for himself and his Master So careful was he to avoid Offences that he will pay Tribute and advises his Followers to do it too tho it be in their own wrong A good precedent to all Christians to be humble and not to contend with Authority in or about indifferent things Would God they would consider it 7. But it may here be demanded Whether Princes may not warrantably punish such as submit not to the Religion by them established from the Example of King Artaxerxes Ezra 7. 26. Whosoever will not do the Law of thy God and the Law of the King let Judgment be executed speedily upon him whether it be unto Death or to Banishment or to Confiscation of Goods or to Imprisonment I confess this Objection requires a serious Answer And with submission to better Judgments I shall say a few Things in Answer to it And it seems by the Scope and Contexture
thus Submit your selves to every humane Creature To this I say The Words Humane Creature are better understood of the Laws made by Humane Authority than of the Magistrates themselves For as the most high God and he only can give Being and Power to a Divine Law insomuch that no Power on Earth can create such a Law so Earthly Gods and none but they can create and give Power to an humane Law and Laws thus made are rightly called Humane Creatures or Ordinances of Men as our English expresses it And when Laws are thus made tho they should happen to be ill Laws as it sometimes happens to be so yet they must be obeyed either actively or passively because the Power Magistratical must not be resisted only the Error of an ill Law must be refused by all faithful Men especially in Matters of Religion as we have shewed before 4. This great Power which God hath given to Kings and Rulers of the Earth to make Laws is as I conceive the chief cause why they are called Gods Psal 82. 6. I have said ye are Gods and all of you are Children of the most High That is because of that resemblance which they have to God himself being decked with Power and Majesty to make and execute Laws in this lower World which concern the Children of Men as such 5. And as to the Form of Kingly Government for this is all that I can find in my Text Let us hear what God himself saith By me Kings reign and Princes decree Justice by me Princes rule and Nobles even all the Judges of the Earth What can be said more in this case If any shall say 't is not God but Wisdom that speaks these Words Prov. 8. 15 16. I answer it is Folly that makes the Objection for this Wisdom is the Voice of God because it is the Wisdom of God Kings are called the Lords Anointed And not only the Kings of Israel but even Heathen Kings also Isa 45. 1. Thus saith the Lord to his Anointed even to Cirus Now Cirus was King of Persia Ezra 1. 1. 6. If yet it be said that Government but not the Form of Government is of God but of human Choice c. I answer I speak not of a Government to be formed and not yet in being but of one established and therefore I say the distinction is dangerous But how shall it be a Power or Government without its Form Does God make an Ordinance or any thing else without Form If so what can you call it It is the Form that gives every thing to be or at least to be called what it is It 's bad venturing to say that God makes an Ordinance and leaves Man to form it as to the Essentials of it And seeing no Nation can long endure without Government nor that Government subsist without Form It seems necessary that both be acknowledged to be of God and consequently where the Form of Government is Regal or Kingly it is of God and as such to be had in Honour That God does by his Providence order and permit Men to transact order and settle the Mode of Government in Nations which yet are unsetled in that respect does not prove that the Form or Settlement when made is not of God or not to be esteemed so because in such an emergency the Voice of the People together with God's Providence must herein be acknowledged the Voice of God For thus in an ordinary way is that Saying true By me Kings reign and Princes decree Justice By me Princes rule and Nobles even all the Judges of the Earth It was the most high God which gave Nebuchadnezzar a Kingdom Majesty Glory and Honour Dan. 5. 18. who then may question his Regal Power to be of God It 's ill murmuring worse disputing worst of all to fight against God Surely if Nebuchadnezzar must have this Honour given to him as King even by Daniel that Servant of God because by the Almighty he was thus exalted altho otherwise he was a sinful Man a great Idolater it must needs resolve all doubts that may arise about the warrantableness of Kingly Government and all Christians Obedience to it with respect to all Kings under whom they live whatsoever If it be objected that some may usurp Kingly Government and some that have it may abuse it I answer Tho this be true yet it is nothing to the purpose for this is incident to all other Forms of Government And when God permits such things it 's usually for the Sins of the People as it is written For the Transgressions of a Land many are the Princes thereof Prov. 28. 2. He gave them a King in his Wrath But this was because Israel had rejected God and his Prophet Samuel Otherwise God had promised to give his People a King Numb 23. 21. Yea the Government of Moses himself was after a sort a Regal or Kingly Government Deut. 33. 4 5. If then it so fall out that Kings or other Rulers do oppress their Subjects I know no remedy for the Subject but Prayers and Tears that God would turn their own Hearts more to his Fear and the Heart of their Prince towards them For the Hearts of Kings are in his Hands And with patient Suffering and humble Supplication to seek for Favour For Rebellion must by no means be admitted For it is as the Sin of Witchcraft being against God as well as against the King because it is against the Ordinance of God And hence Tertullian well said The Christian knows that the Emperor is constituted of God And saith the Prophet I have delivered all these Countries into the Hands of Nebuchadnezzar Who then may take them out of his Hand Sure none but God who sets up one and puts down another as pleases him For he that gives can only rightfully take away and he doth so when Men abuse what he gives Mene Mene Takel Vpharsin God hath numbred thy Kingdom and finished it and given it to the Medes and Persians Dan. 5. 25 26. If it be objected from that Passage They have set up Kings and not by me that Kingly Government is of Man not of God I answer This rather proves the contrary for here a disorder only is reproved in the way of doing that which they could not do rightly but by him that is God They so set up a King as they rejected God that he should not reign over them 1 Sam. 8. 7. Hence it was that Samuel gave them that Reproof and Exhortation 1 Sam. 12. 20. Ye have done all this Wickedness yet turn not aside from following the Lord but serve the Lord with all your Heart But God did not deny them a King No but he had given them direction how to chuse them a King Deut. 17. 14 15 16. And most certain it is that of all Civil Governments which God hath set up in the World Kingly Government is the most frequent and permanent so far as the Scripture gives