Christopher Goodman of Obedience.

When Kings or Rulers become blafphemers of God, oppreffors and murderers of thir Subjects, they ought no more to be accounted Kings or lawfull Magiftrates, but as privat men to be examind, accus'd, condemn'd and punisht by the Law of God, and being convicted and punisht by that law, it is not mans but Gods doing, C. 10. p. 139.

By the civil laws a foole or Idiot born, and fo prov'd fhall loose the lands and inheritance wherto he is born, because he is not able to use them aright. And especially ought in no cafe be fufferd to have the government of a whole Nation; But there is no fuch evil can come to the Common-wealth by fooles and idiots as doth by the rage and fury of ungodly Rulers; Such therfore being without God ought to have no autority over Gods people, who by his Word requireth the contrary. C. 11. p. 143, 144.

No perfon is exempt by any Law of God from this punishment, be he King, Queene, or Emperor, he muft dy the death, for God hath not plac'd them above others, to tranfgrefs his laws as they lift, but to be subject to them as well as others, and if they be fubject to his laws, then to the punishment also, so much the more as thir example is more dangerous. C. 13. p. 184.

When Magistrates cease to doe thir Duty, the people are as it were without Magiftrates, yea worse, and then God giveth the fword into the peoples hand, and he himself is become immediatly thir head. p. 185.

If Princes doe right and keep promise with you, then doe you owe to them all humble obedience: if not, yee are discharg'd, and your study ought to be in this cafe how ye may depofe and punish accord

ing to the Law fuch Rebels against God and oppreffors of thir Country. p. 190.

This Goodman was a Minister of the English Church at Geneva, as Dudley Fenner was at Middle-burrough, or fome other place in that Country. These were the Paftors of those Saints and Confeffors who flying from the bloudy perfecution of Queen Mary, gather'd up at length thir scatterd members into many Congregations; wherof fom in upper, fome in lower Germany, part of them fettl'd at Geneva; where this Author having preach'd on this subject to the great liking of certain lerned and godly men who heard him, was by them fundry times and with much instance requir'd to write more fully on that point. Who therupon took it in hand, and conferring with the best lerned in those parts (among whom Calvin was then living in the fame City) with their special approbation he publisht this treatise, aiming principally, as is teftify'd by Whittingham in the Preface, that his Brethren of England, the Proteftants, might be perfwaded in the truth of that Doctrine concerning obedience to Magiftrates. Whittingham in Prefat.

These were the true Proteftant Divines of England, our fathers in the faith we hold; this was their sense, who for so many yeares labouring under Prelacy, through all stormes and perfecutions kept Religion from extinguishing; and deliverd it pure to us, till there arofe a covetous and ambitious generation of Divines (for Divines they call themselves) who feining on a fudden to be new converts and felytes from Epifcopacy, under which they had long temporiz'd, op'nd thir mouthes at length, in fhew against Pluralities and Prelacy, but with intent to swallow them down both; gorging themselves like Harpy's on thofe fimonious places and preferments of thir outed predeceffors, as the quarry for which

pro

they hunted, not to pluralitie onely but to multiplicitie: for poffeffing which they had accufd them thir Brethren, and aspiring under another title to the fame authoritie and ufurpation over the consciences of all men.

Of this faction diverfe reverend and lerned Divines, as they are stil'd in the Phylactery of thir own Title page, pleading the lawfulnes of defenfive Armes against this King, in a Treatife call'd Scripture and Reafon, feem in words to difclaime utterly the depofing of a King; but both the Scripture and the reafons which they use, draw confequences after them, which without their bidding, conclude it lawfull. For if by Scripture, and by that especially to the Romans, which they most infift upon, Kings, doing that which is contrary to Saint Pauls definition of a Magiftrat, may be resisted, they may altogether with as much force of confequence be depos'd or punishd. And if by reason the unjuft autority of Kings may be forfeted in part, and his power be reaffum'd in part, either by the Parlament or People, for the cafe in hazard and the prefent neceffitie, as they affirm p. 34, there can no Scripture be alleg'd, no imaginable reafon giv'n, that neceffity continuing, as it may alwayes, and they in all prudence and thir duty may take upon them to foresee it, why in fuch a cafe they may not finally amerce him with the loss of his Kingdom, of whofe amendment they have no hope. And if one wicked action perfifted in against Religion, Laws, and liberties may warrant us to thus much in part, why may not forty times as many tyrannies, by him committed, warrant us to proceed on reftraining him, till the restraint become total. For the ways of justice are exactest proportion; if for one trespass of a King it require so much remedie or fatisfaction, then for twenty more as hainous crimes, it requires of him twenty-fold; and fo proportionably, till it com to

what is utmost among men. If in these proceedings against thir King they may not finish by the usual cours of justice what they have begun, they could not lawfully begin at all. For this golden rule of justice and moralitie, as well as of Arithmetic, out of three termes which they admitt, will as certainly and unavoydably bring out the fourth, as any Probleme that ever Euclid, or Apollonius made good by demonstration.

And if the Parlament, being undepofable but by themselves, as is affirm'd, p. 37, 38, might for his whole life, if they faw caufe, take all power, authority, and the fword out of his hand, which in effect is to unmagiftrate him, why might they not, being then themselves the fole Magistrates in force, proceed to punish him who being lawfully depriv'd of all things that define a Magistrate, can be now no Magiftrate to be degraded lower, but an offender to be punisht. Lastly, whom they may defie, and meet in battell, why may they not as well profecute by juftice? For lawfull warr is but the execution of justice against them who refuse Law. Among whom if it be lawfull (as they deny not, p. 19, 20.) to flay the King himself comming in front at his own peril, wherfore may not justice doe that intendedly, which the chance of a defenfive warr might without blame have don cafually, nay purposely, if there it finde him among the reft. They afke p. 19. By what rule of Confcience or God, a State is bound to facrifice Religion, Laws and liberties, rather then a Prince defending fuch as fubvert them, should com in hazard of his life. And I ask by what confcience, or divinity, or Law, or reafon, a State is bound to leave all these facred concernments under a perpetual hazard and extremity of danger, rather then cutt off a wicked Prince, who fitts plotting day and night to fubvert them: They tell us that the Law of nature justifies

any man to defend himself, eev'n against the King in Perfon let them fhew us then why the fame Law, may not justifie much more a State or whole people, to doe justice upon him, against whom each privat man may lawfully defend himself; feing all kind of justice don, is a defence to good men, as well as a punishment to bad; and justice don upon a Tyrant is no more but the neceffary self-defence of a whole Common wealth. To Warr upon a King, that his inftruments may be brought to condigne punishment, and therafter to punish them the inftruments, and not to spare onely, but to defend and honour him the Author, is the strangest peece of justice to be call'd Christian, and the ftrangeft peece of reafon to be call'd human, that by men of reverence and learning, as as thir ftile imports them, ever yet was vented. They maintain in the third and fourth Section, that a Judge or inferior Magistrate, is anointed of God, is his Minifter, hath the Sword in his hand, is to be obey'd by St. Peters rule, as well as the Supreme, and without difference any where expreft: and yet will have us fight against the Supreme till he remove and punish the inferior Magiftrate (for fuch were greatest Delinquents) when as by Scripture, and by reafon, there can no more autority be shown to refift the one then the other; and altogether as much, to punish or depofe the Supreme himself, as to make Warr upon him, till he punish or deliver up his inferior Magiftrates, whom in the fame terms we are commanded to obey, and not to refist. Thus while they, in a cautious line or two here and there ftuft in, are onely verbal against the pulling down or punishing of Tyrants, all the Scripture and the reason which they bring, is in every leafe direct and rational to inferr it altogether as lawful, as to refift them. And yet in all thir Sermons, as hath by others bin well noted, they went much furder. For Divines, if ye