Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Exegesis 8 · Chapter 1
CHAPTER I. That Kingly Government is the beſt Government.
IVDG. 17.6. In thoſe dayes there was no King in Iſrael, but every man did that which was good in his owne eyes.
IN government there are fiue things to be conſidered; firſt, poteſtas; ſecondly, ordo; thirdly, modus; fourthly, titulus; and fiftly, vſus.
Fiue things in Government.Firſt, there muſt be a power to exerciſe government; ſecondly, order, that ſome command and ſome obey, ſome to be ſuperiors and ſome to be inferiors; thirdly, the manner, whether the governement be Monarchicall by one, or Ariſtocraticall by moe; fourthly, the title whether it be by Succeſſion, or Election; and laſt the vſe, how they exerciſe this Authoritie.
What things eſſentiall and what accidentall in Government.That there ſhould be a power and order in Government, theſe two are eſſentiall in all Governments, no Government can ſtand without theſe two; but the manner, whether it be by one or by moe; and the title, whether it be by Succeſſion or Election; and the vſe, whether they governe well or not; theſe three are but accidentall in Government.
Monarchicall the beſt Government.Of theſe two ſorts of Government Monarchicall is the beſt.
Their reaſons who hold Ariſtocraticall Government to be the beſt.Levi ben Gerſon vponupon the 1 Sam. 8. holdeth that Ariſtocraticall Government is beſt, and to be preferred to Kingly Government; learne, ſaith he, what hath befallen us under the hand of Kings; David cauſed the plague to come upon the people. 2 Sam. 24.15. Ahab reſtrained the raine for three yeeres. 1 King. 17. and Zedekiah cauſed the Sanctuary to be burnt, 2 Chro. 36.14. and the Iewes apply that ſaying of Hoſea, I gaue them a King in mine anger, and tooke him away in my wrath. Hoſ. 13.11. That is, I gaue them their firſt King Saul in mine anger, and I tooke away their laſt King Zedekiah in my indignation.Wee muſt diſtinguiſh betwixt the parts of a Kings perſon, and the faults of the Office. But the Iewes diſtinguiſh not well here betwixt the faults of a Kings perſon, & the calling it ſelfe; good Kings did many excellent things amongſt them; for David a man according to Gods owne heart, fought the battels of the Lord, 1 Sam. 25.28.Kings hauehave beene the Inſtruments of much good. appointed the order of the Prieſts, and Levites, and Singers, 1 Chro. 24. and 25. He made many Pſalmes to the prayſe of God. And Salomon who ſucceeded him, built the Temple, wrote many excellent Proverbs and Parables, 1 King. 4.32. And kept peace in Iſrael, that every man might dwell ſafely vnderunder his owne Vine-tree, and vnderunder his Figge-tree, 1 King. 4.25.
Now that Monarchicall Government is the beſt government, it is proved thus.Reaſons prooving Monarchicall government to be the beſt.
Reaſon 1 Kingly or Monarchicall Government reſembleth Gods government moſt, which is Monarchicall; ſo it reſembleth Chriſts government moſt in the Church.
Reaſon 2 Kingly government is the fitteſt government to repreſſe ſinne; for when there was no King in Iſrael, every man did that which he pleaſed; Micah ſet up an Idol.Kingly government fitteſt to repreſſe ſinne. Iudg. 18. and they defiled the Levites Concubine, becauſe there was no King in Iſrael. By King, here is not meant any other ſort of government, but Kingly government, as is evident, Iudg. 18.17.foreign haeres interdicti a foreign hereditare, vel poſsidens regnum, foreign poſsidere foreign regnum. There was no Magiſtrate then, but in the originall it is, there was no heire of reſtraint then to put them to ſhame, Ioreſh gnetzer, which may be interpreted either haeres interdicti, or poſsidens regnum, there was none to poſſeſſe the Kingdome, or there was not an heire of reſtraint. Here two things are to be obſerved; firſt, that that is the beſt governement which reſtraineth ſinne moſt; ſecondly, that that government which is by an heire of reſtraint, is fitteſt to repreſſe ſinne; but the governement Monarchicall is ſuch, and not Ariſtocraticall, for it commeth not per haeredem, but onelyonly by Election. Obſerue what GOD himſelfe ſaith to his people, Deut. 17.20. that he may prolong his dayes in his Kingdome, he and his children in the midſt of Iſrael. Here the Kingdome goeth by ſucceſſion, and not by election; here was an heire of reſtraint to repreſſe ſinne.
Object. It is objected, if Government be hereditary, then wicked Cambyſes will ſucceed to good Cyrus.
Anſw. So in Kingly government, good Hezekiah ſucceeded to Idolatrous Ahaz, and if we receiue good at the hands of God, why ſhould we not receiue evill alſo, Iob 2.10?
Object. Thirdly, they alledge Ioſephus teſtimony, of the Iewes dealing with Pompey to change their Government,Lib. 4. Antiq. 5. and that they would be no longer under Kings; and ſo they bring Lactantius citing Seneca, Lactantius lib. 17. c. 15.ſpeaking of the Common-wealth of Rome; Pueritiam ſub caeteris regibus egiſſe, ait, a quibus auctam & diſciplinis plurimis inſtitutiſ que formatam; at verò Tarquinio regnante, cum jam quaſi adulta eſſe caepiſſet, ſervitium non tuliſſe; & ſuperbo jugo dominationis rejecto, maluiſſe legibus obtemperare quàm regibus.
Anſw. When the Iewes wiſhed that Pompey might change the government,The Romanes finde fault with the perſon of their King, and not with his Office. they wiſhed onelyonly, that they might be more gently vſed; they blamed the perſons, and not the government ſimply; and ſo the Romanes were weary of Tarquinius government, but they were not weary of Kingly government, as long as their Kings ruled them well.
Their Deduction then ſeemeth not to hauehave a good ground, who ſimply doe preferre Ariſtocracie to Monarchie; firſt, they ſay Moſes was extraordinarily called, and Ioſhua ſucceeded him; and after that, the government of the Synedrion or Seventie was ſetled amongſt them, whoſe government was Ariſtocraticall, Nomb. 11. The Iudges were ſet up but for a time over them, and they were rayſed up extraordinarily; and then the government was ſtill the Lords, as wee ſee in the example of Gideon, Iudg. 8. and of Iephthe, Iudg. 9. And after, that the Iudges had ruled & governed them, then came Saul, whoſe government aroſe from the diſcontentment of the people, but they ſay it continued in the houſe of David eſpecially, becauſe he was a type of Chriſt; but ſimply they ſay, that God liked Ariſtocracie beſt.
But ſeeing the Lord was minded to giuegive the people of the Iewes a King,God was minded to giuegive the Iewes a King. and telleth them what King he would chooſe, Deut. 17. How liked he Ariſtocracie beſt? and he liketh that government here. Iudg. 18.17. which is by the heire of reſtraint or the heire of the Kingdome.
The Concluſion of this is, Concluſion. let us be thankfull to God for our gracious Kings Government, and that there is now an heire of reſtraint, to put wicked men to ſhame, and to curbe the ſonnes of Belial.