A Christian Directory, Part 4: Christian Politics. Richard Baxter

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СКАЧАТЬ will serve the turn; and they will ordinarily say, that they hope God will not punish them in another world, because they have had their part in this: but they will easily believe, that almost all rich and great men go to hell; and when they read Luke xvi. of the rich man and Lazarus, they think they are the Lazaruses, and read it as if God would save men merely for being poor, and damn men for being great and rich; when yet they would themselves be as rich and great, if they knew how to attain it. They think that they are the maintainers of the commonwealth, and the rich are the caterpillars of it, that live upon their labours, like drones in the hive, or mice and vermin that eat the honey, which the poor labouring bees have long been gathering. For they are unacquainted with the labours and cares of their governors, and sensible only of their own. This envious spirit exceedingly disposeth the poor to discontents, and tumults, and rebellions; but it is not of God, James iii. 15-17.

      Direct. XIII. Keep not company with envious murmurers at government; for their words fret like a canker, and their sin is of an infecting kind. What a multitude were drawn into the rebellion of Korah, who, no doubt, were provoked by the leader's discontented words.59 It seemeth they were for popularity. "Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift you up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? – Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness; except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? – Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men?" Numb. xvi. 3, 13, 14. What confidence, and what fair pretences are here! so probable and plausible to the people, that it is no wonder that multitudes were carried to rebellion by it! Though God disowned them by a dreadful judgment, and showed whom he had chosen to be the governors of his people.

      Direct. XIV. Keep humble, and take heed of pride. The humble are ready to obey and yield, and not only to be subject to magistrates, but to all men, even voluntarily to be subject to them that cannot constrain them. "Be all of you subject one to another," 1 Pet. v. 5. It is no hard matter for a twig to bow, and for a humble soul to yield and obey another, in any thing that is lawful. But the proud take subjection for vassalage, and obedience for slavery, and say, Who is lord over us? our tongues are our own: what lord shall control us? Will we be made slaves to such and such?60 "Only from pride cometh contention," Prov. xiii. 10. By causing impatience, it causeth disobedience and sedition.

      Direct. XV. Meddle not uncalled with the matters of superiors, and take not upon you to censure their actions, whom you have neither ability, fitness, or authority to censure. How commonly will every tradesman and labourer at his work, be censuring the counsels and government of the king; and speaking of things, which they never had means sufficiently to understand! Unless you had been upon the place, and heard all the debates and consultations, and understood all the circumstances and reasons of the business, how can you imagine that at so great a distance you are competent judges? Fear God, and judge not that you be not judged.61 If busy-bodies and meddlers with other men's matters, among equals, are condemned, 2 Thess. iii. 11; 1 Tim. v. 13; 1 Pet. iv. 15; much more when they meddle, and that censoriously, with the matters of their governors. If you would please God, know and keep your places, as soldiers in an army, which is their comely order and their strength.

      Direct. XVI. Consider the great temptations of the rich and great; and pity them that stand in so dangerous a station, instead of murmuring at them, or envying their greatness. You little know what you should be yourselves, if you were in their places, and the world, and the flesh, had so great a stroke at you, as they have at them. He that can swim in calmer water, may be carried down a violent stream. It is harder for that bird to fly, that hath many pound weights tied to keep her down, than that which hath but a straw to carry to her nest. It is harder mounting heaven-wards with lordships and kingdoms, than with your less impediments. Why do you not pity them that stand on the top of barren mountains, in the stroke of every storm and wind, when you dwell in the quiet, fruitful vales? Do you envy them that must go to heaven, as a camel through a needle's eye, if ever they come there? And are you discontented, that you are not in their condition? Will you rebel and fight to make your salvation as difficult as theirs? Are you so unthankful to God for your safer station, that you murmur at it, and long to be in the more dangerous place?

      Direct. XVII. Pray constantly and heartily for the spiritual and corporal welfare of your governors. And you have reason to believe, that God who hath commanded you to put up such prayers, will not suffer them to be wholly lost, but will answer them some way to the benefit of them that perform the duty, 1 Tim. ii. 1-3. And the very performance of it will do us much good of itself; for it will keep the heart well disposed to our governors, and keep out all sinful desires of their hurt; or control them and cast them out, if they come in: prayer is the exercise of love and good desires; and exercise increaseth and confirmeth habits. If any ill wishes against your governors should steal into your minds, the next time you pray for them, conscience will accuse you of hypocrisy, and either the sinful desires will corrupt or end your prayers, or else your prayers will cast out those ill desires. Certainly the faithful, fervent prayers of the righteous, do prevail much with God: and things would go better than they do in the world, if we prayed for rulers as heartily as we ought.

      Object. For all the prayers of the church, five parts of six of the world are yet idolaters, heathens, infidels, and Mahometans; and for all the prayers of the reformed churches, most of the christian part of the world are drowned in popery, or gross ignorance and superstition, and the poor Greek churches have Mahometan or tyrannical governors, and carnal, proud, usurping prelates domineer over the Roman church; and there are but three protestant kings on the whole earth! And among the Israelites themselves, who have priests and prophets to pray for their princes, a good king was so rare, that when you have named five or six over Judah, (and never a one after the division over Israel,) you scarce know where to find the rest. What good then do your prayers for kings and magistrates?

      Answ. 1. As I said before, they keep the hearts of subjects in an obedient, holy frame. 2. Were it not for prayers, those few good ones would be fewer, or worse than they are; and the bad ones might be worse, or at least do more hurt to the church than they now do. 3. It is not to be expected, that all should be granted in kind that believers pray for; for then not only kings, but all the world should be converted and saved; for we should pray for every one. But God who knoweth best how to distribute his mercies, and to honour himself, and refine his church by the malice and persecution of his enemies, will make his people's prayers a means of that measure of good which he will do for rulers, and by them in the world; and that is enough to encourage us to pray. 4. And indeed, if when proud, ungodly worldlings have sold their souls by wicked means, to climb up into places of power, and command, and domineer over others, the prayers of the faithful should presently convert and save them all, because they are governors; this would seem to charge God with respect of persons, and defect of justice, and would drown the world in wickedness, treasons, bloodshed, and confusion, by encouraging men by flatteries, or treacheries, or murders, to usurp such places, in which they may both gratify their lusts, and after save their souls, while the godly are obliged to pray them into heaven. It is no such hearing of prayers for governors which God hath promised. 5. And yet, I must observe, that most christians are so cold and formal in their prayers for the rulers of the world, and of the church, that we have great reason to impute the unhappiness of governors very much to their neglect; almost all men are taken up so much with their own concernments, that they put off the public concernments of the world, and of the church and state, with a few customary, heartless words; and understand not the meaning of the three first petitions of the Lord's prayer, and the reason of their precedency, or put them not up with that feeling as they do the other three. If we could once observe, that the generality of christians were more earnest and importunate with God, for the hallowing of his name through all the world, and the coming of his kingdom, and the obeying of his will in earth, as it is in heaven, and the conversion of the kings and kingdoms of the world, than for any of their personal concernments, I should take it for a better prognostic of the happiness of kings and kingdoms, than any that hath yet appeared in our days. And СКАЧАТЬ