1 Peter 2:13-16 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;… You will say the doctrine is unreasonable, and of tyranny there can be no end if it be unlawful to resist it. Perhaps, if we only lay aside for a moment our passions and prejudices, we shall see how much better God has provided for our happiness than we ourselves should do. 1. For, if you allow to subjects a power of taking arms and deposing their princes, who is to be judge when there is a sufficient reason for exerting such power? Men will never judge fairly and impartially in their own cause. 2. It should be considered that, although government may sometimes be bad, rebellion will generally be worse. "The wrath of a king," says the Scripture, "is as the roaring of a lion," he may destroy some; but "the madness of the people" is as the raging of a tempestuous sea when it has burst its bounds; it overwhelms all. Compare the mischief said to be done, or designed, by our unfortunate Charles I with the bloodshed, the devastations of the great rebellion, from the horrors of which the nation was at length obliged to seek protection by reestablishing the government that had been east off. 3. But respecting the principle of obedience, and the inconveniences to which it may sometimes subject us, we do not sufficiently rely upon the providence or the promises of God. The Scriptures teach us that as He setteth a righteous prince over a people that fear and serve Him, so He often sendeth an unrighteous one to punish a wicked nation. (Bp. Horne.) Parallel Verses KJV: Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; |
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