TITUS III. 1.*

Put them in mind to be fubject to principalities and powers, to obey magiftrates, and to be ready to every good work.

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O understand the reason of this, and fuch-like admonitions, which frequently occur in the apoftle's writings, two things may be premifed:

I. That about the time of our Saviour Chrift, there arofe one Judas of Galilee (who is mentioned Acts v. 37.) preaching feditious doctrines to the people, and teaching, (as St. ferom in his comment on my text observes,) That they ought to own no Sovereign Prince, but God alone: and if they paid their tythes to the priest, they were discharged from paying tribute to the emperor. And upon this account it was (as St. Jerom believed) that the Pharifees asked our Saviour that captious queftion, Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæfar, or no? Matth. xxii. 17. Now to this account Anaftafius Nicenus adds, that the followers of this Judas were very numerous, and called by the

*In the first edition of this volume, I had the misfortune of printing the following discourse from a very incorrect copy; but this is printed from the true and genuine copy of the author.

name

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name of Galileans, and commonly looked upon as men ill affected to the Roman government: particularly, because, when they offered facrifice, they refused to make fupplication for the emperor and people of Rome; upon which account it is thought that Pilate, the Roman deputy of Judea, came upon them whilst they were facrificing, and putting them to the fword, mingled their blood with the blood of the facrifices; as you may read, Luke xiii. 1.

And from hence it was, that our Saviour Chrift and his disciples were suspected of favouring feditious doctrines, because they came out of Galilee, as is obferved by St. Chryfoftom, in his twenty-third homily on the Romans, wherein he faith, that great reports were spread abroad, as if the difciples were a factious, feditious people, and defigning against the government. It muft alfo be confeffed, that many of the Jews,, who were converted to the chriftian faith, were not fufficiently refpectfulto the higher powers which God's providence had fet over them: for which Mr. Calvin gives this reafon, Since the powers that were then in being oppofed themfelves to our Saviour Chrift, they thought them unworthy of respect and honour.

Now what hath been faid concerning the Galilean perfuafion, fhews the reason why the apostles

apolles do fo frequently in their letters direct the christian churches to loyalty, or a due fubmiffion to magiftrates.

1. To clear themfelves from the falfe and fcandalous imputation of having imbibed the doctrine of Judas the Galilean. And,

2. To undeceive all thofe that had been perverted by that feditious doctrine.

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II. The fecond thing I would premife, is, That about the time when St. Paul wrote this epiftle, the people of Crete (which was Titus his dioccís) were unruly and mutinous. tius fays, that they were always a factious people; and for that reafon St. Paul wrote to Titus, their bishop, to put them in mind to be fubject to principalities and powers, to obey magi ftrates, and to be ready to every good work.

I. I fhall take occafion from hence, First, To make a juft comment upon the text.

II. To fet forth the reafons and grounds upon which the apoftles founded their doctrine of obedience to civil magiftrates. And,

III. To apply thefe reafons in conjunction with the occafion of this day's humiliation. And,

I. First,

1. First, It may be obferved, that St. Paul does not direct Titus to teach the doctrine of civil obedience as a new thing, but only to refresh their memories therewith, to put them in mind, &c. For men cannot be supposed ignorant of the abfolute neceffity of government, to the defence and support of society; which were, in effect, to suppose, that 'twere better to lead the lives of beafts than men, and that the world were willing to lie under the continual calamity of war and oppreffion, filled only with a rout of fools and madmen. 'Twere to suppose every single person willing to expofe himself to the uncontrolled world, and bid defiance to the unbounded power, rage, and malice of mankind. We cannot but fee ourselves linked together by common wants into public focieties, and that these focieties. cannot fubfift, unless they are upheld by the power of government, whofe wisdom and justice must appear by a due administration of good laws: and from hence we cannot but fee a neceffity of principalities and powers, of fuperior and inferior magiftrates, without whom laws can be neither made nor executed. From whence 'tis very visible, that fubjection to a good government is as much our intereft as it is our duty. This was evident to the Pythagorean fect of old, who would not fuffer the blood of any creature to be fhed for their use,

but

but yet allowed the fword of the magistrate to cut off malefactors.

The following words in my text, are, Principalities and Powers. Now the word in the original fignifying fomething which is prime and principal, muft denote the fupreme eftablished power, from whence inferior authorities are derived, and is the fame with the higher powers mentioned Rom. xiii. 1. But because St. Panl speaks of principalities and powers in the plural number, 'tis likely that he alludes to the diftinction (which was fo common among the Romans) of the greater and leffer powers, the former of which, during the commonwealth, were the confuls, pretors, and cenfors; all which powers, in St. Paul's time, were vested in the emperor, and made up the imperial dignity. The leffer powers were all thofe derived from hence, and were fubordinate hereunto. And this diftin&tion was fo nicely observed among the Romans, that Julius Cæfar punished a tribune, because he fuffered himself to be ftiled one of the higher powers. Sueton.

But in the text it must be observed, that our obedience becomes due, not only to the fupreme, but inferior authorities; for the Cretans, to whom Titus preached the gospel, were part of a Roman province, governed by inferior officers, deputed from Rome, who were the magistrates

they