A treatise of civil policy

but if birth be the just and lawful title, in foro Dei, in Gods Court, and the only thing that evidenceth Gods Will without any election of the people, that the first borne of such a King is their lawful King, then conquests cannot now speak a contradictory Will of God; for the question is not whether or not, God giveth power to Tyrants to conquer Kingdoms from the just Heirs of Kings, which did reign lawfully before their sword made an empty Throne; But whether conquest now, when Jeremiahs are not sent immediately from God to command? for example; Britain to submit to a violent intruder, who hath expelled the lawful Heirs of the royal Line of the King of Britain, whether I say doth conquest in such a violent way, speak that it is Gods revealed Will, called Voluntas signi, the will that is to rule us, in all our Moral duties to cast off the just Heirs of the blood Royal, and to swear homage ⟨p. 71⟩to a conqueror, and so as that conqueror now hath as just right, as the King of Britain had by birth▪ This cannot be taken off by the wit of any, who 1. maintain that conquest is a lawful title to a Crown, and 2. that royal birth without the people election speaketh Gods regulating Will in his Word, that the first borne of a King is a lawful King by birth; for God now a days doth not say the contrary of what he revealed in his Word. If birth be Gods regulating Will, that the Heir of the King is in Gods Court a King, no act of the conqueror can annul that Word of God to us, and the people may not lawfully, though they were ten times subdued, swear homage and allegiance to a conqueror, against the due right of birth, which by Royalists Doctrine revealeth to us the plain contradictory Will of God. It is, I grant, often Gods Decree revealed by the event, that a conqueror be on the Throne, but this Will is not our rule, and the people are to swear no Oath of Allegiance contrary to Gods Voluntas signi, which is his revealed Will in his Word regulating us.

but if birth be the just and lawfull title, in foro Dei, in Gods Court, and the only thing that evidenceth Gods Will without any election of the people, that the first borne of such a King is their lawfull King, then conquests cannot now speake a contrardictory Will of God; for the question is not whether or not, God giveth power to Tyrants to conquer Kingdomes from the just Heires of Kings, which did raigne lawfully before their sword made an empty Throne; But whether conquest now, when Jeremiahs are not sent immediatly from God to command? for example; Britaine to submit to a violent intruder, who hath expelled the lawfull Heires of the royall Line of the King of Britaine, whether I say doth conquest in such a violent way, speake that it is Gods revealed Will, called Voluntas signi, the will that is to rule us, in all our Morall duties to cast off the just Heires of the blood Royall, and to sweare homage