Part of my personal study lately has been of those documents
and sermons that played a significant role in developing the mind and tenor of
the men who led us in our separation from Great Britain. Although the primary focus of my blog is the
18th century, one must look further back into history if one wants
to understand the worldviews and motivations of our founders. Most recently I have been reading the great
French Huguenot work “Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos” which was of great influence
to the generation of the American patriots.
In this work the author, “Brutus,” poses questions about the nature and
extent of a subject’s obedience to his sovereign in light of that subject’s required
greater obedience to God. Here’s just an
excerpt from that work:
VINDICIAE CONTRA
TYRANNOS - A DEFENCE OF LIBERTY AGAINST TYRANTS
QUESTION 1: Whether subjects are obligated to obey rulers
who issue commands contrary to the law of God.
“The question is, whether subjects are bound to obey kings,
in case they command that which is against the law of God: that is to say, to
which of the two (God or king) must we rather obey? When the question is
resolved concerning the king, to whom is attributed the fullest power, the
question concerning other magistrates will be also determined. First, the Holy
Scripture teach that God reigns by His own proper authority, and kings rule by
derivation, God from Himself, kings from God. God has a jurisdiction proper and
kings are his delegates. It follows then that the jurisdiction of God has no
limits, but that of kings is finite, that the power of God is infinite, but
that of kings is confined, that the kingdom of God extends itself to all
places, but that of kings is restrained within the confines of certain
countries. In like manner God has created out of nothing both heaven and earth,
therefore, by good right He is lord and master of both. All the inhabitants of
the earth have received from Him everything they have, and are, essentially,
His tenants and lease-holders. All the rulers and governors of the world are
but His hirelings and vassals, and are obligated to take and acknowledge their
investitures from Him. God alone is the owner and lord, and all men, whatever
their station in life, are His tenants, agents, officers and vassals. All
without exception owe fealty to Him, according to that which He has committed
to their dispensation. The higher their place is, the greater their
responsibility to God must be, and according to the rank where God has raised
them, must they make their reckoning before His divine majesty. This is what
the Holy Scriptures teach in innumerable places, and all the faithful (and even
the wisest heathens) have ever acknowledged: that "the earth is the
Lord's, and all it contains" (Psalm 24:1).” “Therefore all kings are the vassals of the
King of Kings, invested into their office by the sword, which is the
recognition of their royal authority, to the end that with the sword they maintain
the law of God, defend good, and punish evil.”
“Now if we consider what is the duty of vassals, we shall
find that what may be said of them applies also to kings. The vassal receives
land from his lord with right of justice, and obligation to serve him in his
wars. The king is established by the Lord God, the King of Kings, to the end he
should administer justice to his people and defend them against all their
enemies. The vassal receives laws and conditions from his sovereign. God
commands the king to observe His laws and to have them always before his eyes,
promising that he and his successors shall long possess the kingdom, if they be
obedient, and that their reign will be short if they prove rebellious to their
sovereign king. The vassal obliges himself by oath onto his lord, and swears
that he will be faithful and obedient. In like manner the king promises
solemnly to command, according to the explicit law of God. Briefly, the vassal
loses his estate if he rebels, and by law forfeits all his privileges. Likewise
the king loses his right, and many times his realm also, if he despise God, if
he plots with his enemies, and if he rebels against that Royal Majesty. This
will seem more obvious by the consideration of the covenant which is contracted
between God and the king, for God does that honor to His servants to call them
His confederates. Now we read of two sorts of covenants at the inaugurating of
kings, the first between God, the king, and the people, that the people might
be the people of God. The second, between the king and the people, that the
people shall obey faithfully, and the king command justly.”*
Christ, not man, is King!
Dale
*The PDF of
this work is available at www.arts.yorku.ca/politics/comninel/courses/3020pdf/vindiciae.pdf. All quoted content was excerpted from this
work.
HUZZAH!!
ReplyDeleteThere are some who think that because God raises up kings and sets down kings (Daniel 2:21), therefore kings rule by divine right and are unaccountable to men.
But this is based from a simplistic, truncated, and convoluted understanding of the Providence of God, and the logic is Scripturally indefensible.
As God does sovereignly appoint and depose of kings, He is entitled to determine the means by which this occurs, whether lawful or unlawful by men. Those who would affirm that a king is unaccountable to men because he is placed in the throne of men by God must contradict themselves when confronted with the story of Ehud (Judges 3), whom God "raised up" (v. 15) as a deliverer of Israel from the tyrannies of Eglon of Moab. The actions of all kings and deliverers must be judged by the Law, not by Providence.
All this to say that God has the right to do as He pleases (Daniel 4:35) and His providences do not of themselves determine what is lawful and unlawful; this is the place of His law. Providences only dictate how the law is to be applied.
Let Christ Reign,
Daniel