a,3'6 Chap :46 The Duties of Sitÿertours. Com.5 to conceive of evil Judges, Governours, Rulers and Princes, that they wear but Gods robes and Gds crown, for which only we are to give Honour to the Per- fon. the heathen emblerne was 4os ,yar µurñpu s, Au Afre leaden with the Lnage rf the GoddefsIfs, to which thePeople fell down and did Reverence, but the Infcription was, non tibi fed religion, not to the Affe but to the Goddefs. To this we may add in the laft place,that be aGovernment never fobad,yet it is far better thanto have none at all : as Tyranny is better than Anarchy,where there is noRuler at all. And better it is to live under one Tyrant, than under many, under an Oligarchy than in Anar- HoL13.1r. chy ; for though as the Prophet faith, Godgave his people a King in his anger.yet he tookbim away, and left them ma head or Ruler, how ? in his wraih cr fury, which is the extremity of anger. The punifhment is treater to that Land, where there is no King at all, than where there is abadone. The fecond queftion goes"a degree further, and that is, utrum malo, in male, ant' Quæft.a.a. ad malum fit obediendum ? whether a manis to obey an evil man in an evil thing, or whether a manbweth abfolute Obedience { as they call it ) to an evil Superiour ? The Anfwer to this is negative ; for that which they call abfclute Cbdice is due to God only. For the clearing of this point, it is fìrll to be confidered, whether he thatcommands be nobis Rex : for every one is not a Ruler, the robes qualify him not fo far, but as he is our King, and no farther than, quatenusnabis imperas as be rules over us, or hath right to command us. r. For the fishentrance into this queftion,we aie to embrace the rule oftheFa thers. They fay, that lexcharitatis the law of Cbrift did not abrogate l gemnatur the law ofnature, and therefore irisgood reafon, that the law of nature, upon which the Authority ofFathers and,Mothers is grounded, Should not weaken, but tirengthen the LawofGod. We cannot fay when wedo evil, that the Law ek nature is the caufe or that the Lawof nature which requires Obedienceto Parents, can warrant our Difobedience to the Lawof God. a. The fecond thing is this; That becaufe, as we {hewed before, Princes are calledGods, becaufe the Word of God came to them, 7obn ro. 35. Therefore their Authority is not abfolute, but by commi(fìon, as delegated from God; and there prov.8.tj. fore in the Proverbs, the Wifdom of God, which is theWord of God ( the fecond Perfon in the Trinity) faith, perquod,per me Reges regnant, by me Kings reign: now id per quadres eft, that is the efface of it ; fo every Superiour hath fomewhat that giveth the offence to him, as he is a Superiour, and that is the Word which gives him commifflon. Now as in the cafe of Saul, Samuel tells him, becaufe thou bait reje&ed aSam[1326 the word of the Lord, the Lord bath replied thee. When a Magiftrate wholly cattail ande the Word of God, if it be deer and evident, that his Command is contrary to his Commiffim, he ceafeth in that particular Command to be our Superioser, becaufe his Commilfit.n extends not to command againli God : And therefore though in o- ther things hemull be obeyed Rill, and his Commillon continues in force for o- ther matters, yet in that wherein he adswithout or againfi his Commillon, he mutt not be obeyed. Now for the better and more perfpicuous handling of this, we (hal! dowell to take notice ofrhe word in theoriginal,p' 72 Sbelabimwhich fignities degrees,and in Greek ,wvndaota9at andToss order. 3. In Order there are two things : there is fummum or principium, the top, in refped ofwhich all the yell are but as fceps or flair:. So that flop is better which. is neerer to the top:and then there is aferies, a line coming down from the top,where- in every one is placed in their diftinEd orderor rank, according to their Calling, as on Several flops or Hairs, one under another, God being the higheft, and on the next ftep under himKings and Princes, and fo others in their order ; and in this feries there are bounds to limit all perfons, beyond which if they exceed, they tranf- grefs. (For God only is without bounds being infiniteand Superiour to al!) Now thefe may be referred to two : . z. When amangoeth afide from that fummumprincipium, the top, and that is, when he doth accedere or recedere, go up neerer to it, or down further from it, than his rank, then he breaks the fries or order, and exceeds his limits, in which refpeá we are (till to keep our flatten, and reft in our places, and fo we Shall ba
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