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59 John Buckeridge A sermon preached at Hampton Court before the King’s Majesty 1606 Quapropter necesse est subijci, non solùm propter iram, sed etiam propter conscientiam. Wherefore you must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience. Rom. 13:5 These words are a conclusion of this discourse of the Apostle concerning the obedience of Christians towards their superiors, the process {argument} of which Scripture is grounded upon many reasons: 1. ab authore, from the first founder and author of all power. Omnis potestas est à Deo; all power is of God, to whom, in himself and in his ordinance, all creatures must be subject, wherein—although it sometime happen that Potens, the ruler, is not of God (as the Prophet saith, They have reigned and not by me [Hosea 8:4]); and likewise modus assumendi, the manner of getting kingdoms, is not of God always, because it is sometimes by sinful means—yet potestas, the power itself, is ever from God. The 2. à bono ordinis, from the good of order; and the Lord calls himself the God of order, not of confusion. And ordo est uniuscuiusque bonum, order is the good of every creature, with whom it is better not to be than to be out of order. And potestates quae sunt à Deo, ordinatae sunt, the powers that are of God, are ordained or ordered. The 3. is à malo culpae, to disobey God in his ordinance is a sin; he that resisteth, resisteth the ordinance of God. The 4. is à malo poenae, they that disobey . . . willingly pull upon themselves damnation {condemnation}: temporal, in which God is more quick to revenge the wrong and treasons committed against his lieutenants and viceroys than the greatest sins against himself; and also eternal, as is manifest in Korah, Dathan, and the rest, that went down quick {alive} to hell; and, non est damnatio sine peccato, there’s no damnation but for sin. The 5. is à bono societatis, from the good of peace, protection, justice, religion and the like, which man receives by government. He is God’s minister for their good. If he be a good prince, causa est, he is the cause of thy good, temporal and eternal; if an evil prince, occasio est, he is an occasion of thy eternal good, by thy temporal evil. . . . If he be a good king, he is thy nurse; receive thy nourishment with obedience. If he be an evil prince, he is thy tempter; Religion in Early Stuart England, 1603–1638 60 receive thy trial with patience. So there’s no resistance: either thou must obey good princes willingly or endure evil tyrants patiently. The 6. is à signo, from a sign . . . you pay tribute & custom and subsidies of duty and justice; you give them not of courtesy; and they are . . . the king’s stipend or pay, not his reward. . . . They are God’s ministers, serving for that purpose: not to take their own ease and pleasure, but to govern others, waking when others sleep, and taking care that all men else may live without care. All these arguments the Apostle, in the words of this text, concludes with an ideo, wherefore: Because all powers are of God, because all powers bring with them the good of order, because it is a sin to disobey, because judgment and damnation temporal and eternal is the punishment of this sin, because government is the means to enjoy all the benefits of life, because kings are hired by tribute and custom by governing to serve their servants and subjects: ideo necessitate subditi estote, therefore you must be obedient of necessity, not only for wrath but also for conscience sake. Wrath is forum externum, that external court that contains all outward arguments à praemio & poena, from reward and punishment of God and man. Non sine causa gladium portat, he carries not the sword in vain; he is to reward or punish. And this is the servants’ and hirelings’ argument, which keeps base affections within compass and prepares the way to charity itself, ut seta filum introducit, as the needle or bristle brings in the thread;1 wherein although he that obeys for wrath hath not the virtue of obedience, and so bene non agit, quia ex voluntate non agit, he doeth not well because he doeth not with his will or from the heart; yet quia bonum agit, timor servilis bonus est, because the act of obedience is good and a political virtue, this servile fear for wrath...

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