as it is a judgement of God, that Israel's without a King for many days, Hos. 3. 4. and that there is no Ju•ge, no King, to put evil doers to shame, Judg. 19. 1. but if a King be given of God, as a King by the acts of a bloody Conquest to be avenged on the sinful land over which he is made a King, he cannot be given, actu primo, as a special gift and blessing of God to feed, but to murder and to destroy; for the genuine end of a Conqueror, as a Conqueror, is not peace, but fire and sword. If God change his heart to be of a bloody Vastator, a father, Prince, and feeder of the people, ex officio, now he is not a violent Conqueror and he came to that meekness by contraries, which is the proper work of the omnipotent God, and not proper to man, who as he cannot work miracles, so neither can he lawfully work by contraries: and so if Conquest be a lawful title to a Crown, and an ordinary calling, as the opponents presume; every bloody Conqueror ⟨p. 86⟩must be changed into a loving father, Prince and feeder; and if God call him, none should oppose him, but the whole Land should dethrone their own native Sovereign (whom they are obliged before the Lord to defend) and submit to the bloody invasion of a strange Lord, presumed to be a just Conqueror, as if he were lawfully called to the Throne both by birth and the voices of the people. And truly they deserve no wages, who thus defend the Kings Prerogative royal: for if the sword be a lawful title to the crown, suppose the two Generals of both Kingdoms should conquer the most and the chiefest of the Kingdom now when they have so many forces in the field, by this wicked reason the one should have a lawful call of God to be King of England, and the other to be King of Scotland; which is absurd. 6. Either conquest, as conquest, is a just title to1 the crown, or as a just conquest. If as Conquest, then all conquests are just titles to a Crown; then the Ammonites, Zidonians, Canaanites, Edomites, &c. subduing Gods people for a time, have just title2 to reign over them; and if Absalom had been stronger then David, he had then had the just title to be the Lords Anointed and King of Israel, not David; and so strength actually prevailing, should be Gods lawful call to a Crown. But strength, as strength victorious, is not law, nor reason:
as it is a judgement of God, that Israel's without a King for many dayes, Hos. 3. 4. and that there is no Iu•ge, no King, to put evill doers to shame, Iudg. 19. 1. but if a King be given of God, as a King by the acts of a bloody Conquest to be avenged on the sinfull land over which he is made a King, he cannot be given, actu primo, as a speciall gift and blessing of God to feed, but to murther and to destroy; for the genuine end of a Conqueror, as a Conqueror, is not peace, but fire and sword. If God chang• his heart to be of a bloody Vastator, a father, Prince, and feeder of the people, ex officio, now he is not a violent Conquerour and he came to that meeknes by contraries, which is the proper worke of the omnipotent God, and not proper to man, who as he cannot worke miracles, so neither can he lawfully worke by contraries: and so if Conquest be a lawfull title to a Crown, and an ordinary calling, as the opponents presume; every bloody Conquerour ⟨p. 86⟩must be changed into a loving father, Prince and feeder; and if God call him, none should oppose him, but the whole Land should dethrone their own native Soveraigne (whom they are obliged before the Lord to defend) and submit to the bloody invasion of a strange Lord, presumed to be a just Conqueror, as if he were lawfully called to the Throne both by birth and the voyces of the people. And truly they deserve no wages, who thus defend the Kings Prerogative royall: for if the sword be a lawfull title to the crown, suppose the two Generals of both Kingdomes should conquer the most and the chiefest of the Kingdome now when they have so many forces in the field, by this wicked reason the one should have a lawfull call of God to be King of England, and the other to be King of Scotland; which is absurd. 6. Either conquest, as conquest, is a just title to1 the crown, or as a just conquest. If as Conquest, then all conquests are just titles to a Crown; then the Ammonites, Zidonians, Canaanites, Edomites, &c. subduing Gods people for a time, have just title2 to reigne over them; and if Absolom had been stronger then David, he had then had the just title to be the Lords Anointed and King of Israel, not David; and so strength actually prevailing, should be Gods lawfull call to a Crown. But strength, as strength victoriou•, is not law, nor reason:
- 16 Arg.
- 2Strength, as prevailing strength, is not law or reason.
