Wilson on Article XXXVII: Of the Civil Magistrates

• Let us learn of St. Paul, the chosen vessel of God, that all persons having souls, (he excepteth none, nor exempteth none, neither priest, apostle, nor prophet, saith St. Chrysostom,) do owe of bounden duty, and even in conscience, submission and subjection to the ” higher powers which be set in authority by God :” forasmuch as they be God’s lieutenants, God’s presidents, God’s officers, God’s commissioners, God’s judges, ordained of God himself ; of whom only they have all their power, and all their authority. And the same St. Paul threateneth no less pain than “everlasting damnation to all disobedient persons,” to all resisters against this general and common authority, forasmuch as they resist not man, but God ; not man’s device and invention, but God’s wisdom, God’s order, power, and authority. Horn.

” Submit yourselves, and be subject,” saith St. Peter, ” unto kings, as unto the chief heads, and unto rulers, as unto them that are sent of him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well ; for so is the will of God.” 1 Pet. ii. 13 — 15. I need not to expound these words, they be so plain of themselves. St. Peter doth not say, Submit your- selves unto me as supreme head of the Church : neither saith he, Submit yourselves from time to time to my successors in Rome : but he saith, Submit yourselves unto your king, your supreme head, and unto those that he appointeth in authority under him ; for that you shall so shew your obedience, it is the will of God ; God will that you be in subjection to your head and king. This is God’s ordinance, God’s commandment, and God’s holy will, that the whole body of every realm, and all the members and parts of the same, shall be subject to their head, their king ; and that, as St. Peter writeth, ” for the Lord’s sake ;” and, as St. Paul writeth, ” for conscience sake, and not for fear only.” 1 Pet. ii. 13. Rom. xiii. 5. Horn. x. 3.

From thence (the holy decree of the laws of God) they all, whether they be parents, princes, magistrates, or other superiors,

» Submitting yourselves to xv. 17. They departed not from the

the king as supreme. 1 Pet. ii. 13. commandment of the king unto the

Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, priests and Levites concerning any

and their queens thy nursing mo- matter, or concerning the treasures

thers. Is. xlix. 23. Saul was made 2 Chron. viii. 15. head of the tribes of Israel. 1 Sam.

in this realm, whether they be b ecclesiastical or civil, in all causes doth appertain ; and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign juris- diction.

whatsoever they be, have all their power and authority ; because by these it has pleased God to rule and govern the world. Nowell, p. 20.

b Verily we grant no further liberty to our magistrates than that we know hath both been given them by the word of God, and also been confirmed by the examples of the very best governed commonwealths. For besides that a Christian prince hath the charge of both tables committed to him by God, to the end he may understand, that not temporal matters only, but also religious

and ecclesiastical causes, pertain to his office. Besides all these

things, we see by histories and by examples of the best times that good princes ever took the administration of ecclesiastical matters to pertain to their duty. Exod. xii. 2 Chron. xiii. 1 Kings viii. 2 Chron. xxix. xvii. 2 Kings x. Jewell.

We see them have authority over bishops, receive from God commandments concerning religion, bring home again the ark of God, make holy hymns, oversee the priests, build the temple, make orations touching divine service, cleanse the temples, de- stroy the hill-altars, burn the idol-groves, teach the priests their duties, write them out precepts how they should live, kill the wicked prophets, displace the high-priests, summon together holy councils, sit together with the bishops instructing them what they ought to do; examine, condemn, and punish heretics, be made acquainted with matters of religion, subscribe and give

b They withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It appertain- ed not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense : go out of the sanctuary ; for thou hast trespassed ; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy rose up in his forehead ; and they thrust him out from thence, yea himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him. 2 Chron. xxvi. 18 — 20. David’s care of the ark of God. 2 Sam. vi. 2. He divides the priests into courses. 1 Chron. xxiii. 6. Solomon built the house

of God. 1 Kings vi. 14. He ap- points the courses of the priests. 2 Chron. viii. 14. Asa reforms abuses in religion. 2 Chron. xiv. 2, 4. He farther reforms the nation, and takes an oath of the people to reform, and seek the Lord. 2 Chron. xv. 8 — 14. Jehosaphat enjoins the princes and the Levites to teach the law of the Lord. 2 Chron. xvii. 7 — 9. He reforms abuses, and gives a religious charge to the judges, xix. 4 — 11. He appoints a fast. xx. 6. Hezekiah took counsel with the princes, to celebrate the passover, which had been long neglected. 2 Chron. xxx. 2. Writes letters aud makes proclamation to assemble the people. 5—7. Ezra and Nehemiah reform abuses in religion. Ezra ix. 6. Neh. v. 6—9.

Whereas we attribute to the King’s Majesty the chief government, by which titles we under- stand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended ; we give not our princes the ministering either of God’s word, or of the sacraments; the which thing the c Injunctions also lately set forth by Elizabeth our Queen do most plainly testify : but that only prerogative, which we see to have been given always to all godly princes in holy Scriptures by God himself ; that is, that they should rule all states and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be ecclesias- tical or temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil-doers.

d The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm of England.

sentence to determinations of councils ; and do all these things, not by any other man’s commission, but in their own name, and that both uprightly and godly : shall we say, it pertaineth not to such men to have to do with religion? Jewell. See Article XXI.

c For certainly her Majesty neither hath nor ever will chal- lenge any authority, than that was challenged and lately used by the said noble kings of famous memory, K. Henry the VIII. and K. Edward the VI. which is and was of ancient time due to the imperial crown of this realm, that is, under God, to have the sovereignty, and over all manner of persons born within these her realms, dominions, and countries, of what estate, either ecclesiastical or temporal, soever they be, so as no other foreign power shall or ought to have any superiority over them. Injunc- tions by Queen Elizabeth, 1559. Sparrow’s Coll.

d And here let us take heed, that we understand not these or such other like places, which so straitly command obedience to

The king of Nineveh appoints a d Ye know that the princes of the

fast, which God approves. Jon. iii. Gentiles exercise dominion over

7 — 10. Josiah’s care of the house them, and they that are great ex-

of God. 2 Kings xxii. 3. He reads ercise authority upon them. But

the law to the people, and takes an it shall not be so among you. Mall

oath of the people to keep it, and xx. 25, 26. Neither as being lord*

reforms abuses in religion, xxiii. over God’s heritage. 1 Pet. v. 3. 2,3.

• The Laws of the realm may punish Christian men with death, for heinous and grievous of- fences.

superiors, and so straitly punished rebellion and disobedience to the same, to be meant in any condition of the pretenced or coloured power of the Bishop of Rome. For truly the Scripture of God alloweth no such usurped power, full of enormities, abusions, and blasphemies : but the true meaning of these and such places be to extol and set forth God’s true ordinance, and the authority of God’s anointed kings, and of their officers ap- pointed under them. And concerning the usurped power of the bishop of Rome, which he most wrongfully challengeth as the successor of Christ and Peter, we may easily perceive how false, feigned, and forged it is : not only in that it hath no sufficient ground in holy Scripture, but also by the fruits and doctrine thereof. For our Saviour Christ and St. Peter teach most ear- nestly and agreeably obedience to kings, as to the chief and su- preme rulers in this world, next under God : but the bishop of Rome teacheth, that they that are under him are free from all burdens and charges of the commonwealth, and obedience to their princes, most clearly against Christ’s doctrine and St. Peter’s. Horn. x. 2.

We say that there neither is nor can be any one man which may have the whole superiority in this universal state (of the Church) : for that Christ is ever present to assist his Church, and needeth not any man to supply his room, as his only heir to all his substance : and that there can be no one mortal creature which is able to comprehend or conceive in his mind the uni- versal Church, that is, to wit, all the parts of the world, much less able rightly and duly to put them in order, and to govern them. Jewell.

e And such evil persons that be so great offenders to God and the commonweal, charity requireth to be cut from the body of the commonweal, lest they corrupt other good and honest per- sons ; like as a good surgeon cutteth away a rotten and festered member, for love he hath to the whole body, lest it infect other members adjoining unto it. Horn. vi. 2.

e He beareth not the sword in of goods, or to imprisonment. Ezra

vain; for he is the minister of God, vii. 26. A wise king- scattereth

a revenger to execute wrath upon the wicked, and bringeth the wheel

him that doeth evil. Rom. xiii. 4. over them. Prov. xx. 26. Whoso

Whosoever will not do the law of sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall

thy God, and the law of the king, his blood be shed. Gen. ix. 6. They

let judgment be executed speedily that take the sword shall perish

upon hiru, whether it be unto death, with the sword. Matt. xxvi. 52. «r to banishment, or to confiscation

f It is lawful for Christian men, at the com- mandment of the magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars.

f And the places of Scripture which seem to remove from among all Christian men judgment, punishment, or killing, ought to be understood, that no man of his own private authority may be judge over others, may punish, or may kill. But we must refer all judgment to God, to kings and rulers, and judges under them, which be God’s officers to execute justice ; and by plain words of Scripture have their authority and use of the sword granted from God ; as we are taught by St. Paul, that dear and chosen apostle of our Saviour Christ, whom we ought diligently to obey, even as we would obey our Saviour Christ, if he were present. Thus St. Paul writeth to the Romans ; ” Let every soul submit himself unto the authority of the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be, be or- dained of God. Whosoever therefore withstandeth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God : but they that resist, or are against it, shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not fearful to them that do good, but to them that do evil. Wilt thou be without fear of the power ? Do well then, and so shalt thou be praised of the same ; for he is the minister of God for thy wealth. But and if thou do that which is evil, then fear; for he beareth not the sword for nought, for he is the minister of God, to take vengeance on him that doth evil. Wherefore ye must needs obey, not only for fear of vengeance, but also because of conscience ; and even for this cause pay ye tribute, for they are God’s ministers, serving for the same pur- pose.” Rom. xiii. 1 — 6. Horn. x. 1.

f There was a certain man in likewise demanded of him, saying”,

Cesarea, called Cornelius, a cen- And what shall we do? and he

turionof the band called the Italian said unto them, Do violence to no

band, a devout man, and one that man, neither accuse any falsely;

feared God with all his house, and be content with your wage9.

Acts x. 1, 2. And the soldiers Luke iii. 14.