A Holy Commonwealth, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV. Of the Administration of the Universal Kingdom.
HAving spoken of the CONSTITUTION of the Kingdom of God, I shall proceed to speak of the ADMINISTRATION thereof.
Thes. 35. God as the Soveraign Ruler of manking hath given him the Law of nature, commonly called the Morall Law, to be the Rule of his obedience.
1. The Law of nature in the primary most proper sence, is to be found in natura rerum, in the whole Creation that is objected to our Knowledg, as it is a Glass in which we may see the Lord, and much of his Will; and as it is a Signifier of that Will of God concerning our duty. 2. The Law of nature is sometime taken for that Disposition or Aptitude that there is in mans nature to the actuall knowledg of these naturally revealed things, especially some clear and greatest Principles, which almost all the world discern. 3. And it is sometime taken for the Actual knowledge of those plain and common Principles. 4. And sometime for the Actual knowledge of all that meer Nature doth reveal. When I say God hath given man this law of nature, I mean, both that he hath made an Impress of his minde upon the Creation, and set us this Glass to see himself, and much of our Duty in, & also that he hath given to the very nature of man a Capacity of perceiving what is thus revealed, and a disposition especially to the Reception of the more obvious Principles; so that by ordinary helps, they will be quickly known; and the rest may be known if we be not wanting to our selves.
Thes. 36. This Law of Nature commandeth us much duty, to God directly, to our selves, to our Neighbours in their private and publike capacities.
Thes. 37. The sum of the dutie commanded towards God, is to love him with all our hearts: more particularly it is, that we most highly esteem, honour, reverence, believe and trust him, and adhere to him in love, and seek him, depend upon and serve him with all our powers and faculties: worshipping him according to his nature and revealed will, and using honourably his Name, and devoting to his special worship a fit proportion of our time.
Thes. 38. Our duty towards our selves, is an ordinate Love of our selves, and care of our bodies, but especially of our souls, for the great ends of our Creation and Redemption.
There was the less said of this in Scripture, and the Decalogue, because it is written so deep in nature, and hath so great advantage in our natural desire to be happy.
Thes. 39. Our duty towards our Neighbour as such, is to love him as our selves, that is, to love him with an Impartiall Love, not drawing from him to our selves, by an inordinate selfishness: which must be expressed about his Life, Chastity, Estate, Honour, and any thing that is his: Godliness, Soberness, and Righteousness, are the general Titles of all these three.
Thes. 40. Besides these Natural Laws which are promulgate to all, God hath a Law of Grace, and hath many Positive Laws; and both sorts are contained in the holy Scriptures.
Thes. 41. God hath appointed an orderly course by the mission of fit persons as his Messengers to promulgate, preach, and explain these Laws, both of Naturall and supernatural Revelation to the World; and to command their obedience, and exhort them thereunto: and it is the duty of the hearers to learn, and obey, yea, and the duty of those that have not the Gospel, to enquire after it, and seek it, according to the measure of that light they have, which giveth them intimation of its being.
Thes. 42. God hath appointed both in Nature and Scripture, that the world be divided into Rulers and Ruled, Officers and meere Subjects; and that the Officers Govern under him, by Authority derived from him, and the people obey them as his Officers. And he hath not left it to the choice of the Nations whether they will have Government or not
Those Politicians therefore that say a Commonwealth in its own nature doth not participate of moral good or evil, but is a thing neither commanded nor forbidden, doe fundamentally erre in their Politicks. It is possible for one or few persons in extraordinary cases to be disobliged from living under any Government. (But the Cases are so rare, that it is not one of many millions of persons that is ordinarily in that case.) But to man-kind in common, it is made a duty to live in this order of Government, where it may be had. He therefore that should think he is born a Freeman, and therefore will maintain his liberty, and be Governed by none, (being not a Governour himself) doth sin against God, in violating his Order, as Souldiers should do in an Army that would have no Officers, nor be commanded by any but the General. This is easily proved, for,
1. Nature immediately makes an inequality in our procreation and birth, and subjecteth children to their Parents as their undoubtedly rightful …overnours.
2. Nature doth make such inequality of persons in point of sufficiency and endowments, as necessitateth Government, while some are unable or un-apt to subsist comfortably without the Government of others: And therefore even in state of marriage Nature subjecteth the weaker sexe to the Government of the stronger. And its natural for persons of weak understandings, and other endowments to have some that are wise and able to Govern them, lest they be destitute of help and left to ruine.
3. Nature hath made man a sociable creature, both by Necessity, and Inclination; and therefore must be in ordered societies.
4. Nature hath made man a lover of man, and so far as he is good, so far to be Communicative: and theresore the wisdom and strength that any doe excell in, is for the good of others; and all things must be so ordered that the whole may be the better for the gifts of the several parts, and the weak for the strong; and therefore there must be Governed societies.
4. Providence keepeth some in such necessitie of others, as requireth their relief and protection, and Government. Some by paucity are insufficient for their own defence: some by the proximity of potent Enemies and Thieves: some by the scituation of their Countries, and some by want.
5. The vitiousness of men hath made Government now of double necessitie, to what it would be if man we…e innocent, when men are Wolves to one another, and the weaker can keep nothing that the stronger hath a minde to, and no mans life can be safe from cruelty and revenge; when there is so much backwardness to vertue and well doing, and so much vice to be restrained, it is now no more question whether Government be naturally necessary, and subjection a duty; then whether Physitians be necessary in a rageing plague, or food in a famine.
6. Experience tells us that Gods work, or our preservation cannot be well carried on without it; without it the world would be a confused crowd. It would dishonour the Soveraign Ruler, if his Kingdom were turned into a tumultuous rabble, God doth not immediately, that is without sutable means, exercise his Government by himself. He could have easily done it: but it is the beauty and perfection of his Kingdom that there be diversity of Orders. He could lighten the world without the Sun: but he hath chosen rather to communicate so much of his Splendor to a Creature: He will have men like our selves to be his Officers among men, as fittest for our familiar converse. And What would a Nation be without Government, but a company of miserable men, robbing and killing one another, what would an Army be without Commanders? and how would they defend themselves against the enemies.
7. The Law of Nature requireth Justice; that it may goe well with the good, and ill with the evill; and that vertue be encouraged, and wickedness punished: therefore it requireth that there be a course of Government in the world to this end.
8. There is Government among the very Angels and Divels: therefore it is not to be avoided or thought a thing indifferent among men. All places have some Order.
9. The Analogicall Government in the Microcosme, man, doth prove a Natural need and excellency of Government. The Intelect in man is made to guide, and the Will to Command, & all the inferiour faculties to obey: shewing us that in societies the Wise should guide, the Good should command, and the Strong and all the rest should execute and obey. An ungoverned man is a mad man, or a bad man.
10. The great disparity that is among all Creatures in the frame of Nature, intimateth the beauty of Orde…ly Political disparity. Look but to the Sun and Moon, and Stars. and see their inequality and Order. Beasts differ in strength, and the very stones of the field are not of equal bigness and shape. The silly Ants have an Order among them, and a Hive of Bees are a Natural Common-wealth.
Thes. 43. As the difference of our faculties, and our personal self Government, so also Domestical, Political, and Ecclesiastical Order of Government and subjection, are the Institutions of God, commanded in his Laws.
1. The well governing of a mans selfe (which is taught by Theological Ethicks) is both necessary to his own felicity, and a principal requisite to the safety, beauty, and felicity of the societies, that consist of individual persons.
2. Domestical Order is commanded of God, partly in nature directly, as the Rule of Parents, and obedience of Children: partly by the intervention of contracts for the application of the Law to the individual persons, as in the Relations of Husband and Wife, of Master and servant, where note, that in the first, it is one thing for Nature to give the Law, and another thing for Nature to produce the person: Nature as procreative brings forth the Childe? from whence the mutual Relations result: but it is Nature partly as Indicative of Gods will, and partly as endowing us with Principles or Dispositions of Morality (that is, as a Law) that obliged Children to obey, as Parents to Govern: so also the Law of Nature and Scripture is it that imposeth on Wives and Servants the duty of obeying, as on Husbands and Masters the care and duty of Governing; but it is Choice that determineth of the Persons that are to Rule and to obey, that this or that shall be the man or the woman that shall be a Husband or Wife is of choice: and that this or that shall be the Master or Servant, and also (these being free Relations) it is here of choice, whether they will be Married or not, and servants or not. (To the world in general, the Relations are necessary, but not to every individual person.) But whether the Husband shall govern, and the wife obey, and whether the Master shall govern, and the servant obey, this is not of choice: so that if they should by Contract agree, that the wife shall not be subject to the Husband, it were ipso facto null, as being contrary to the divine Institution or Law.
3. As many Families cohabiting without Political or Civil Government, would want that which is is necessary to their own Wel-fare and the Common good. As an Empire is divided into several Provinces, or Principalities, so God hath made it necessary that the world be distributed into many particular Common-wealths. An Universal humane Monarchy is impossible, it being beyond the Capacity of any one so to govern; (the more to blame the Pope for pretending to it) God only can govern all the world. But men as his Officers have their several Provinces, which in due subordination to him and his Laws, must be governed by them.
4. Because men have immortal souls to save, and an everlasting life of happinesse to attain, or misery to suffer, and God himself hath a final Judgment to pass on all according to his Laws, and because men are rational free Agents that must by knowledge and choice be brought into a fitness for feliciry, and be kept in acceptable obedience to their Soveraign; therefore hath he appointed Pastors to teach and guide the people in the way of life, and to acquaint them with his Laws, and his future Judgement, and in free ordered Churches to lead them in the publick Worship of God, and exercise that spirituall Government by his Word, which shall preserve the honor of his holinesse in the world, and difference between his servants and the rebellious, and lead his people towards perfection.
Thes. 44. As God is the universal King, and hath a universal Kingdom and Law, so doth he in this life exercise himself some part of his executive power; in protecting his faithfull Subjects, encouraging the good, and punishing offenders by himself, and by the Ministry of Angels: But his full Universal Judgement will be after this world, when all shall be finally sentenced by him to everlasting Joy or Misery. so much of Gods UNIVERSAL ADMINISTRATION.