CHAP. CXIV.
Peace.It seems, dear Truth, a mighty gulf between that people and nation, and the nations of the world then extant and ever since.
Truth.As sure as the blessed substance to all those shadows, Christ Jesus, is come, so unmatchable and never to be parallelled by any national state was that Israel in the figure, or shadow.
And yet the Israel of God now, the regenerate or new born, the circumcised in heart by repentance and mortification, who willingly submit unto the Lord Jesus as their only King and Head, may fitly parallel and answer that Israel in the type, without such danger of hypocrisy, of such horrible profanations, and of firing the civil state in such bloody combustions, as all ages have brought forth upon this compelling a whole nation or kingdom to be the antitype of Israel.
The difference of the kings and governors of Israel from all kings and governors of the world. First, they were all members of the church.
Peace.Were this light entertained, some hopes would shine forth for my return and restoration.
Truth.I have yet to add a third consideration, concerning the kings and governors of that land and people.
They were to be, unless in their captivities, of their brethren, members of the true church of God: as appears in the history of Moses, the elders of Israel, and the judges and kings of Israel afterward.
But first, who can deny but that there may be now many lawful governors, magistrates, and kings, in the nations of the world, where is no true church of Jesus Christ?
Excellent talents vouchsafed by God to unregenerate persons.
Secondly, we know the many excellent gifts wherewith it hath pleased God to furnish many, enabling them for public service to their countries both in peace and war, as all ages and experience testify, on whose souls he hath not yet pleased to shine in the face of Jesus Christ: which gifts and talents must all lie buried in the earth, unless such persons may lawfully be called and chosen to, and improved in public service, notwithstanding their different or contrary conscience or worship.
A doctrine contrary to all true piety and humanity itself.
Thirdly, if none but true Christians, members of Christ Jesus, might be civil magistrates, and publicly entrusted with civil affairs, then none but members of churches, Christians, should be husbands of wives, fathers of children, masters of servants. But against this doctrine the whole creation, the whole world, may justly rise up in arms, as not only contrary to true piety, but common humanity itself. For if a commonweal be lawful amongst men that have not heard of God nor Christ, certainly their officers, ministers, and governors must be lawful also.
The papists’ doctrine of deposing magistrates, confessed in effect to be true by the protestants.
Fourthly, it is notoriously known to be the dangerous doctrine professed by some papists, that princes degenerating from their religion, and turning heretics, are to be deposed, and their subjects actually discharged from their obedience. Which doctrine all such must necessarily hold, however most loath to own it, that hold the magistrate guardian of both tables; and consequently such a one as is enabled to judge, yea, and to demonstrate to all men the worship of God: yea, and being thus governor and head of the church, he must necessarily be a part of it himself; which when by heresy he falls from—though itmay be by truth, miscalled heresy—he falls from his calling of magistracy, and is utterly disabled from his (pretended) guardianship and government of the church.
No civil magistrate Christian in Christ’s time.
Lastly, we may remember the practice of the Lord Jesus and his followers, commanding and practising obedience to the higher powers, though we find not one civil magistrate a Christian in all the first churches. But contrarily, the civil magistrate at that time was the bloody beast, made up (as Daniel seems to imply concerning the Roman state, Dan. vii. 7) of the lion, the bear, and the leopard, Rev. xiii. 2.