Law is the Shadow of God's Justice
Romans 13:1-7
Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.…


Law is a great and sacred thing. It is nothing less than a shadow upon earth of the justice of God. The forms which surround it, the rules which govern it, the dignity and honour which belong to its representatives are all the outworks of a thing in itself entitled to our reverence. But when the machinery of law is tampered with, as was now the case by Jezebel, when a false witness or a biassed judge contributes to a result which, if legal, is not also moral, then law is like an engine off the rails, its remaining force is the exact measure of its capacity for mischief and for wrong. Then, indeed, if ever, summum jus is summa injuria.

(Canon Liddon.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

WEB: Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.




Human Magistracy
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