Thesis 9

9. THESIS.

The holy Patriarchs, good Judges, godly Kings, and other pious Magistrates spoken of in Scripture, did de facto make use of their power and authority over others to suppress false doctrine, false worship, false Prophets, Seducers, and to bring those under them to the true fear and worship of God; they thought it their duty not only in their own persons to keep to the Word of God and to serve him, and to bring their children to it, but to command all under their government to the true worship of God, forbidding and suppressing all other. It would fill a book to relate and open all the particulars concerning religion, in commanding the true, destroying the false, and punishing false Prophets, Idolaters, Apostates, recorded in the Scriptures of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Gedeon, Jehosaphat, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, Manasseh after his conversion, Nehemiah, with many others. I shall set down some particulars of some of them.

Abraham the Patriarch was a Magistrate, a great Prince, that had three hundred and eighteen servants armed trained men born in his house, he had not only the Covenant in his own flesh, but he made all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money to be circumcised (Genesis 17). He cast also out of his family, Hagar the bond-woman, and scoffing persecuting Ismael, born after the flesh (Genesis 21), compared with (Galatians 4:29, 30) and (Genesis 18). God says of him, I know that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord; upon which place Master Cheynel a learned Divine of the Assembly writes thus: Abraham did not leave his children and servants to their own genius, their own counsels, their own lusts, though 'tis certain that divers of them would have thanked him for such a liberty; for they had been nursed up in superstition and idolatry as Abraham was, and might have pretended that they were not satisfied in point of conscience; but Abraham knew how to distinguish between liberty of conscience and liberty of lust, and therefore would not allow them such a liberty as would have enticed them into the worst kind of bondage. Pareus also, God uses the word command, that parents and superiors may understand that they are not overly and slightly, but diligently, and with authority to do their duty to bring their inferiors to the fear and obedience of God. Jacob the Patriarch (Genesis 35:2, 3, 4) said to his household, and to all that were with him (all under his power protection) put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments. And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their land, and all their ear-rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. Pareus upon the place shows that they that were with Jacob made distinct from his household, were those Shechemites that were taken captive by the sons and servants of Jacob who had brought their idols with them, and observes that as 'tis the office of a good master of a family in his house, so of a Magistrate in the commonwealth to take away idols and instruments of idolatry, and other hindrances of true conversion to God.

Jehosaphat, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, those excellent Princes made use of their power and the authority of their places in their kingdoms and territories, to put down and suppress false worships and ways, to punish false Prophets, idolatrous Priests, and the people who went after them, to establish the true faith and worship of God, and to command and cause all their people by laws and their authority to stand to their Reformations. Yes, Manasseh who had been so wicked, presently upon his conversion (2 Chronicles 33:15, 16) rested not in his own repentance that he knew that the Lord was God, but he took away the strange gods, all the altars, and cast them out of the city, and repaired the altar of the Lord, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel: as before he had made them to err by his place, and power (verse 9), so now he made them to serve the Lord God of Israel. Asa that good King (2 Chronicles 14 and 15) by his kingly power took away all idolatry and false worship, and that not only out of the land of Judah and Benjamin, but out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim, the strangers of Ephraim, Manasseh, and out of Simeon, all under his power and jurisdiction, though of the ten Tribes, and accounted strangers after the revolt; yes, he destroyed the idol of his Queen Mother. Secondly, he settled and renewed the true worship of God renewing the altar of the Lord, and entering into a covenant to seek the Lord God. Thirdly, he commanded Judah to seek the Lord God, and to do the law and the commandment, and to enter into a covenant to bind themselves more to the right seeking of God. Fourthly, he punished those under his government who went contrary, namely they should be put to death who would not enter into this covenant, or having entered into it, should fall from it, and his Queen Mother he removed from being Queen, because she had made an idol in a grove, that is, he deprived his mother of all dignity and authority which she had by custom. Jehosaphat used his authority when he came to be King to take away the high places and groves out of Judah, and from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim from south to north, from one end of his kingdom to another he brought his people to God from whom they had fallen, for the kingdom of Judah from the days of Asa was extended to Mount Ephraim. Hezekiah when he came to the kingdom removed the high places and images, cut down the groves, broke in pieces the brazen Serpent; he and his Princes gave out a commandment, and established a decree for the keeping of the Passover, and for the turning of the people to God, and he restored the true worship of God, and commanded the Priests and the people to do their duties in their several places. Josiah that godly Prince, first, he removed and destroyed the high places, groves, carved images, molten images, the altars of Baalim and all the idols out of all the land, he took away the horses given to the Sun, he defiled Topheth, broke down the houses of the Sodomites, and purged the land of all the abominations. Secondly, he put down all the idolatrous Priests, and all other Priests that had burnt incense upon the high places, and slew all the Priests of the high places upon the altars. Thirdly, he restored the true worship of God, made a covenant with God to that end, and commanded the people to keep the Passover, and to perform the covenant. Fourthly, he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to the covenant, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God (2 Chronicles 34:32, 33), that is all that were under his jurisdiction he kept them in such awe by his regal authority and penal laws, as they durst not but stand to the covenant.