Of the Civil Magistrate
I. God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, has
ordained civil magistrates, to be, under Him, over the people, for His own glory, and the
public good: and, to this end, has armed them with the power of the sword, for the
defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil doers.a
a. Rom. 13:1-4; I Pet. 2:13-14.
II. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute
the office of a magistrate, when called thereunto:a in the managing whereof, as
they ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the wholesome
laws of each commonwealth;b so, for that end, they may lawfully, now under the
new testament, wage war, upon just and necessary occasion.c
a. Prov. 8:15-16; Rom. 13:1-4.
b. Ps. 2:10-12; I Tim. 2:2; Ps. 82:3-4; II Sam. 23:3; I Pet. 2:13.
c. Luke 3:14; Rom. 13:4; Matt. 8:9-10; Acts 10:1-2; Rev.
17:14, 16.
III. The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the
administration of the Word and sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of
heaven:a yet he has authority, and it is his duty, to take order that unity and
peace be preserved in the Church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all
blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and
discipline prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled,
administered, and observed.b For the better effecting whereof, he has power to
call synods, to be present at them and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be
according to the mind of God.c
a. II Chron. 26:18; Matt. 18:17; 16:19; I Cor. 12:28-29; Eph. 4:11-12; I
Cor. 4:1-2; Rom. 10:15; Heb. 5:4.
b. Is. 49:23; Ps. 122:9; Ezra 7:23, 25-28; Lev. 24:16; Deut. 13:5-6, 12;
II Ki. 18:4; I Chron. 13:1-9; II Ki. 24:1-26; II Chron. 34:33; 15:12-13.
c. II Chron. 19:8-11; II Chron. 29; 30; Matt. 2:4-5.
IV. It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates,a
to honor their persons,b to pay them tribute or other dues,c to
obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience' sake.d
Infidelity, or difference in religion, does not make void the magistrates' just and legal
authority, nor free the people from their due obedience to them:e from which
ecclesiastical persons are not exempted,f much less has the Pope any power and
jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their people; and, least of all,
to deprive them of their dominions, or lives, if he shall judge them to be heretics, or
upon any other pretence whatsoever.g
a. I Tim. 2:1-2.
b. I Pet. 2:17.
c. Rom. 13:6-7.
d. Rom. 13:5; Tit. 3:1.
e. I Pet. 2:13-14, 16.
f. Rom. 13:1; I Ki. 2:35; Acts 25:9-11; II Pet. 2:1,
10-11; Jude 8-11
g. II Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:15-17.
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