Exposition of the Dominical Epistles and Gospels, Section 16
The Epistle. ROM. 13.1.
Let eueryevery soule submit himselfe, &c.
THis Epistle consists of three parts; a
Proposition: Let eueryevery soule submit himselfe to the authority of the higher powers.
Reason: for there is no power but of God, &c.
Conclusion: wherefore yee must needes obey, giuing to eueryevery man his duty; tribute to whom tribute, &c.
The proposition is peremptory, deliuered not narratiuely, reporting what other hold meete; but positiuely, importing what God would hauehave done, not aduised only by Paul, but deuised euen by Christ, as a command, in imperatiue termes expresly; Let eueryevery soule bee subiect. In which,
obserue the quality of this duty, To submit our selues.
obserue the equality of this duty, Belonging indifferētly to all; Let eueryevery soule, &c.
First of the last, according to the words order in the text.
Let eueryevery soule] yAquin. & Gorran in loc.That is, eueryevery man: putting the principall part for the whole. So Gen. 46.27. All the soules of the house of Iacob, which came into Egypt, are seuenty: that is, as Moses expounds himselfe, Deut. 10.22. seuenty persons. If any demand, why Paul said not; Let eueryevery body, but eueryevery soule; zGualter in loc.Diuines answere fitly, to signifie, that we must obey, not in outward shewes onelyonly, but in truth and in deed: Omnis anima, quoniam ex animo: aColos. 3.22.Not with eye seruice, but in singlenesse of heart.
This vniuersall note confutes as well the seditious Papist, as the tumultuous Anabaptist: The Papist exempting Clergy men from this obedience to secular powers: a doctrine not heard in the Church a bB. Bilson against the Iesuites, pag. 128.thousand yeeres after Christ.
cEpist. 42. ad archiepisc. Senon.Bernard out of this place reasoneth thus with an Archbishop of France: Let eueryevery soule be subiect: if eueryevery, then yours: I pray, who doth except you Bishops? Si quis tentat excipere, conatur decipere. So Chrysostome, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Theophylact, vponupon this text expresly: Clergy men a…e not excepted; Ergo, not exempted.
dEpist. lib. 2. epist. 100.Gregory the Great, one of the most learned Popes, alleageth this glosse; Power (saith he) ouer all men is giuen to my Lord Mauritius the Emperour, from heauen: and lest any should imagine Priests exempted, he saith in the same place, to the same Prince; Sacerdotes meos tuae m…nui commisi: and epist. lib. 2. epist. 103. Christ hath appointed Mauritius to be ruler, not ouer souldiers onelyonly, but ouer Priests also.
eCod. lib. 1. tit. 3. § Nullus. & in authent. de sanct. …pisc. § Sed neque pro qualibet.Iustinian, who fauoured the Church, and of all other Emperors inlarged most the priuiledges of Church men, inacted this law; Let no Bishop be brought or presented against his will, before the Captaine or ciuill Iudge, vnlesse the Prince shall so command.
Our Sauiour Christ, the best Interpreter of Gods law, doth shew both by precept and practise, that Clergy men owe subiection and loialty to the ciuill Magistrate: so fVbi suprà,Bernard writes; Howsoeuer you Bishops hold your selues free, yet Christ, alitèr iussit, aliter gessit. He taught otherwise, Luke 20.25. speaking vntounto Priests; GiueGive to Caesar the things which are Caesars. He wrought otherwise; for being a Priest and a Prophet, he submitted himselfe to the Roman Magistrate, gIohn 19 11.confessing the Presidents power to be from heauen.
His Apostles did tread in their Masters steps: Acts 25. Paul appealed vntounto Caesar, and appeared before Caesar, as his lawfull gouernour. Saint Iude detested them for false Prophets, who despised gouernment, and spake ill of those that are in authority. h1. Epist. 2.13.Saint Peter exhorted all men to submit themselues vntounto Gods ordinance, whether it be to the King, as to the superior, or vntounto gouernours, as vntounto them that are sent of him for the punishment of euill doers, and for the praise of them that doe well.
I will not write Iliads after Homer, nor dispute this point after those reuerend fathers of incomparable iudgement and industry, Iewel, Bilson, Andrewes; in dispari genere par laus. Each of thē hath fought the battell of the Lord valiantly: the first with a sword; the two latter hauehave stabbed the Popes supremacie with a dagger, euen to death.
Secondly, Libertines & Anabaptists are confounded by this vniuersalitie, iBullinger aduersu… Anabaptist. fol. 95.who thinke themselues free from all lawes. In Germany they would hauehave framed a politike body, like the body of Polyphemus, without his eye; or like the confused Chaos in old time, when height and depth, light and darknes were mingled together. Our Apostle teacheth here, that some must be subiect, other soueraigne; some low, some high; some rule, some obey. Popular equality is the greatest inequalitie, void of all name, nurture, and nature of a common weale.
The ground on kRhemists annot. in Iam. 2.1.which Anabaptists hauehave framed their anarchie, is Iames 2.1. My brethren, hauehave not the faith of our Lord Iesus in respect of persons. If no respect of persons, no distinction; if no distinction, why should there be difference betweene bond and free, Prince and people? Answere is made, that Saint Iames saith not; HaueHave no respect of persons; but, HaueHave not the faith of Christ in respect of persons; as he doth interpret himselfe in the verse following; he speakes of grace, not of place. All men are fellowes in regard of the common faith, and spirituall grace: but all men are not fellowes in respect of authority and place; for some be parents, other children; some masters, other seruants; some commoners, other commanders.
Beasts and Diuels obserue order. l…yprian. de vanitat. Idol.Rex vnus est apibus, & dux vnus in gregibus. Among Bees there is one master; among flockes of sheep, one belwether. The Cranes hauehave their Captaine; mHieron. epist. ad Rusticum.Quem ordine literato sequuntur. Albeit the Grashopper hath no king, nProu. 30.27.yet goe they forth all by bands. In hell, which is the kingdome of confusion, there is distinction of persons and order; otherwise oLuke 11.15.Belzebub could not be chiefe of diuels.
The Libertines hauehave wrested also that text of Paul, 1. Tim. 1.9. The law is not giuen vntounto the iust or righteous man: Ergo, good men are exempted from obedience to lawes. pTheophylact. in 1. Tim. 1.It is answered aptly, that the iust man doth well, not for feare of punishment, as compelled by law, but of grace and meere louelove toward God and goodnesse: Virtutis amore. Iusto lex non est posita, qMelanct. in 1. Tim. 1.ne que ad condemnationem, ne que ad coactionem: Albeit there were no king, nor law to command him, he would be a king and a law to himselfe, obeying higher powers of his owne accord, with all his heart and soule. Thus eueryevery person, as well Christian as heathen, ecclesiasticall as laick, must submit himselfe to superior powers.
Submit himselfe] To be subiect, is to suffer the Princes will to be done, aut à nobis, aut de nobis, either of vsus, or on vsus: of vsus, when he commands for truth; on vsus, when he commands against the truth: either we must be patients, or agents: agents, when he is good and godly; patients, when he is tyrannous and wicked. Wee must vse not a sword, but a buckler against a bad Prince. Saint Paul heere doth not say; let eueryevery soule be subiect to Christian and vertuous gouernours, but rAquin. in loc.indefinitly to Potentates, in that they bee Potentates; as Saint s1. Epist. 2.18.Peter expresly; not onelyonly to the good and courteous, but also to the froward.
If Peter and Paul inioined all men in their time, to submit thēselues vntounto gouernours, albeit they were worshippers of diuels, and cruell persecuters of Christians; how much more should we now respect and honour religious kings, which are defenders of the faith, and nursing fathers vntounto the Church? as tPraesat. tom. 11. annal.Caesar Baronius hath well obserued against the bloody practises of turbulent statizing Iesuites.
I hauehave read and heard, that the Iesuites are desirous to purge Saint Pauls Epistles, especially this to the Romans, as being herein more Lutheran then Catholicke. This text of all oth…r, Omnis anima potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit, is so much against their humor and honour, that it is neither read in their Missale, nor expounded in their Postils. How Pope uIn extrauagant. vnam sanctam.Boniface 8. and xSee Peter Martyr in loc.other Papists hauehave wronged this Scripture, both in their precepts and practices, is seene of all Christian people, felt of all Protestant Princes.
Higher powers] yMarlorat. ex Hyperio in loc.Not highest onelyonly, for we must obey the z1. Pet. 2.14.subordinate magistrate so well as the supreame. So that this proposition hath three large extensions; eueryevery soule, in eueryevery thing, must submit himselfe to eueryevery superiour. Bee wise now therefore, O yee Kings: vnderstand yee that are Iu…ges of the earth, how the Church of Rome doth lessen all this extent.
Clergy men are exempted; Ergo, not eueryevery soule. Causes ecclesiasticall are excepted; Ergo, not in eueryevery thing. The Pope may depose what higher powers he list; Ergo, not to eueryevery superiour, but only to those whom his Holinesse doth not curse. Thus some Princes only may command some men onelyonly, in some matters onelyonly: whereas Paul here; Let eueryevery soule submit himselfe to the authority of the higher powers, &c.
For there is no power] The reason is threefold, drawne from the threefold good.
Ab
honesto, which Paul shewes, à aGorran. in loc.bonitate
ordinantis; there is no power but of God.
ordinationis; the powers are ordained, or ordered.
vtili, for, to
resist, is euill: malum
culpae; whosoeuer resisteth power, resisteth the ordinance of God.
poenae; they that resist, shall receiue to themselues damnation.
submit our selues is good, because the Magistrate is the minister of God for our good, for the good of peace, protection, iustice, religion, & the like. For this cause we pay tribute, quia ministri Dei sunt in hoc ipsum seruientes.
iucundo, wee must obey for conscience: the which vntounto the disobedient, is a perpetuall hell; but vntounto such as obey Gods ordinance, is a continuall feast.
No power but of God] An argument from the Author of authority; all higher powers are from the highest power, vntounto whom all creatures must be subiect. It happeneth often, that potens, the ruler, is not of God: bOsea 8.4.Ipsi regnauerunt & non per me: They hauehave set vp Kings, but not by me; they hauehave made Princes, and I knew it not. cAquin. in loc.And the maner of getting kingdomes is not alwaies of God. dBalaeus in vilà Alex. 6.Alexander 6. obtained the Popedome by giuing himselfe to the diuell. eTileman. in loc.Phocas by sedition got his Empire. fPolydor. Virgil. hist. A…glic. lib. 25.Richard 3. came to the crowne of England by butchering his Nephewes, and other of the blood Royall; yet the power it selfe is euer from God: gProu. 8.15.By me Kings reigne. hIohn 19.11.Thou couldest hauehave no power (saith Christ to Pilate) except it were giuen thee from aboue.
The powers that be are ordained of God.] iMarlor. in loc.Insinuating that the Magistrate is not from God, after any common manner as all things are, but after a more speciall fashion ordained. The Lord is the God of order, and order is the good of eueryevery creature, with whom it is better not to be, then to be out of order.
Whosoeuer therfore resisteth] If there be no power but of God, and nothing done by God but in order; he that resisteth authoritie, resisteth Gods ordinance. So the Lord himselfe said to k1. Sam 8.7.Samuel: They hauehave not cast thee away, but they hau… …ast me away, that I should not reigne ouer them. And hee might hauehave said of Princes, as hee doth of Preachers, lLuke 10.16.He that despiseth you, despiseth me. For hee said of both; mPsal. 82.6.Ego dixi, dij estis. As God is a great king, so a king is as it were a little God. He therefore that resisteth the Prince, resisteth him that sent him, almightie God the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords: 1. Tim. 6.15.
There are nPerkins Treat. of conscience. cap. 2.two binders of the conscience:
1. Proper, Gods law.
2. Improper, mans law.
Gods holy word hath absolute and soueraigne power to binde the conscience, for God is Lord of conscience, creating it, and gouerning it, and only knowing it.
The lawes of men improperly binde conscience, not by their owne vertue, but by the power of Gods law, which here and elsewhere commands obedience to princes. He therefore that willingly with a disloyall minde breakes any wholesome lawes of men, is guiltie of sinne before God: oCaluin. in 1. Cor. 14. & Institut. lib. 4. cap. 10. §. 30.Non enim habendae sunt pro traditionibus humanis, quandoquidem fundatae sunt in generali mandato, & liquidam habent approbationem, quasi ex ore Christi. So S. pEpist. 166.Augustine notably: Hoc iubent imperatores, quod iubet & Christus, quia cum bonum iubent, per illos non iubet nisi Christus.
They that resist shall receiue to themselues damnation] It may be construed qAquin. & Gorr…n in loc.either of temporall punishment, or eternall iudgement. Of temporall, rProu. 20.2.for the wrath of a King is like the roring of a lion: he that prouoketh him vntounto anger, sinneth against his owne soule.
By the sStanford p…eas of the Crown…, lib. 3. cap. 19.lawes of England a traitor conuicted and attainted, hath his iudgement to be drawne from his prison to the place of execution, as being vnworthie to tread any more vponupon mother earth; and that backward with his head downward, for that hee hath been retrograde to naturall courses; after hanged vp by the necke betweene heauen and earth, as deemed vnworthie of both: his priuie parts are cut off, as being vnprofitably begotten, and vnfit to leaue any generation after him; his bowels and intrals burned, which inwardly had conceiued and concealed such horrible treason; then his head cut off, which imagined the mischiefe: last of all, his whole bodie quartred and made a prey for the birds of the ayre, as one said of a Romish treacherous Iesuite:
Sic benè pascit aues, qui male pauit oues.
How Rebels hauehave ruinated vtterly themselues, and their families, all histories are full of tConsule Tileman. & Martyr. in loc.tragicall examples: acquirunt sibi damnationem, as it is in the vulgar; they doe not only receiue, but pull vponupon themselues heauie iudgements.
Againe, this may be construed of eternall damnation, as is manifest in uNumb. 16.3….Chore, Dathan, and the rest of that conspiracie, who went downe quicke to hell. If murther be fitly termed a crying sinne, then treason may well bee called a roring sinne. For as he that robs a scholer, is said to rob many; so the traitor that murthers a Prince, kils many; sometime the whole State, the which assuredly cries aloud to the Lord in such sort, that it awaketh him, and often calles him to speedie iudgement.
He is the minister of God for thy wealth] xD. Buckeridge ser. vponupon the fist verse of this chapter.If hee be a good Prince, causa est, he is the cause of thy good, temporall and eternall; if an euill Prince, he is an o…casion of thine eternall good, by thy temporall euill. yAugustin. ser. 6 de verbis Dom. secundùm Mat.Si bonus, nutritor est tuus; si malus, tentator tuus est: If a good king, he is thy nurse, receiue thy nourishment with obedience; if euill, he is thy tempter, receiue thy triall with patience. So there is no resistance, either thou must obey good gouernours willingly, or endure bad tyrants patiently.
Magistrates are Gods ministers: ergo, subordinate to God. If then higher Powers enioyne things against him, zEcclesiast. 5.7.who is higher then the highest, It is better aAct. 4.19.to obey God then men. Hic (saith bVbi suprà.Augustine) contemne potestatem, timendo potestatem: In that thou fearest Gods power, feare not mans power: as Iulians souldiers would not worship Idols at his command, yet when he led them against an enemie, they obeyed most readily: *Augustin. in Psalm. 124.Distinguebant dominū temporalē à domino aeterno, & tamē subditi erant propter dominum aeternum. As al power is from God, so for God: and therefore when the Prince commands against truth, it is our dutie to be patient, and not agent.
For this cause pay ye tribute] Subsidies are the Kings stipend or pay: for he is the minister of God, and great seruant of the State. So S. Paul expressely, Seruing for the same purpose; not to take his owne ease, cPlutarch. com. ad Principem indoctum.but to wake when other sleepe; taking such care, that al men else may liue without care. Magnaseruitus est magna fortuna: dSeneca consolat. ad Polybiū.nam ipsi Caesaricui omnia licent, propter hoc ipsum multa non licent. eManlius in loc. com.Erasmus wittily: Miserosesse principes, si intelligant sua mala, miseriores si non intelligant. A Prince must be like Iob, fIob 29.15.eyes to the blinde, and feete to the lame. gPsal. 2.10.Be ye wise therefore, ye Kings, Intellig…te Reges. Intelligere est intus legere; they must not altogether hang vponupon the almes basket of their Counsell, but vnderstand of themselues in some measure those things which concerne their places: Erudimini qui, quia indicatis.
Wherefore yee must needs obey] Because all powers are of God; because they bring with them the good of order; because it is a sinne to disobey; because iudgement temporall and eternall accompanie this sinne; because gouernment is the meane of our weale; because Kings are hired by tribute to serue their seruants, and care for their subiects. It is necessarie wee should obey, both ex necessitate finis & praecepti: for hereby wee shall doe that which is acceptable to God, and profitable to our selues: acceptable to God, enioining obedience; profitable to our selues, enioying the good of gouernment, h1. Tim. 2.2.that we may le…de a quiet and peaceable life in all godlinesse and honestie.
Not onelyonly for feàre of vengeance, but also because of conscience.] Thus all must obey, bad men for feare, good men for louelove. The Kings Bench compels the one, for he beareth not the sword in vaine; but the Chancerie moues the other: and therefore the Papists and Schismatikes are not good men, in pretending conscience for their disobedience to the Ciuill Magistrate. For as a learned iTorturâ Torti. pag. 70.father of our Church obserues excellently: Tutâ conscientiâ praestari possunt, quae propter conscientiam praestanda sunt: A man may doe that with a safe conscience, which he must doe for conscience.
Tribute to whom tribute.] Soueraigne Sublimities on earth are Gods among men in respect of their attributes and tributes. kCustomers Alphabet by Mr. Thomas Milles.Almightie God himselfe expects and receiues at our hands his immediate rents, as prayer and thanksgiuing; the rest as tithes and tributes hee doth accept, being faithfullie paied vntounto his Stewards and Vicegerents. It is very remarkable that our Sauiour neuer did any miracle about honour or money, lMatth. 17.27.except that one for giuing tribute to Caesar. mMatth. 22.21.For …e must giuegive to Caesar, the things which appertaine to Caesar, honour to whom honour, tribute to whom tribute: but how much, is not defined by Christ or Paul. They leaue that (as nSerm. at Stanford.Bishop Latymer obserues) to Caesars Counsell for to determine. Wherefore let all such as are in Commission for the subsidie, remember that excellent speech of oLib. 5. de gubernat. Dei.Saluianus: Ill…d indignius & poenalius, quòd omnium onus non omnes sustinent, imò quòd pauperculos homines tributa diuitum premunt, & infirmiores ferunt sarcinas fortiorum, res di…ersissimas dissimilimas que patiuntur inuidiam & egestatem; inuidia est enim in solutione, egestas in facultate.