A Question About the Purpose and Authority of the Civil Magistrate

E

E Kenyon

Puritan Board Freshman
Hello everyone, I've been studying the purpose of God's institution of the civil magistrate.
Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 both state that God has given the civil government the sword for the punishing of the evil and the praise of the good. Do you believe that this bearing of the sword against the evildoers to the praise of the good is itself the purpose of civil government--i.e., justice and civil righteousness/piety--or do you believe that this bearing of the sword against the evildoers to the praise of the good is the means by which civil government achieves a broader purpose?

Both the WCF (23:1) and the LBCF (24:1) state that God institutes the civil magistracy for the glory of God and the public good and has given them the sword to this end.

Just as a practical consideration, if justice and civil righteousness are the primary task of the civil magistrate, their authority seems to be more easily demarcated according to Scripture. However, precisely defining everything that the categories of the glory of God and the public good include seems more difficult. Could the civil magistrate create legislation limiting our daily sugar intake or heavily regulating caffeine imports for the purpose of the public good, for example? I would want to call that tyranny, but I'm not sure how I could objectively do that given the broadness of "the public good". Without a doubt, the civil magistrate is "a minister of God to you for good" (Rom 13:4), but is that good defined in terms of its sword bearing for justice and righteousness, or is its bearing of the sword the means by which it pursues the public good? And if it is, how do we define the public good, and appropriately identify the limits of the authority of the civil magistrate?
 
A civil government is an ordinance of men as much as it is of God. It comes from men. If a civil government exists its because a political body of people thought it necessary for a their own defence, safety and well being, hence Paul's exhortation to submit to civil governments as natural institutions. They exist as institutions along side the kingdom of Christ, which in particular, is not of this world.
 
Here are some Puritan works regarding this topic:

Civil Magistrates Power in Matters of Religion - Thomas Cobbet
Good Work for a Good Magistrate - Hugh Peters
Magistrates Commission from Heaven - Anthony Burgess
Men are gods, the Dignity of the Magistrate - George Swinnock
Obedience to Magistrates - Jonathan Clapham
Of Resisting the Lawful Magistrate Under Color of Religion - Henry Hammond
Peitharchia: Obedience to Magistrates - Richard Vines
The Authority of Magistrate about Religion - John Humfrey
The Beauty of Magistracy - George Swinnock
The Best and Worst Magistrate - Obadiah Sedgwick
The Divine Right and Original of the Civil Magistrate from God - Edward Gee
The Magistrates Charge - William Hussey
The Magistrates Dignity and Duty - William Spurstowe
The Magistrates Poutraiture Drawn from the Word - William Gurnall
The Scriptures Plea for Magistrates - Henry Hammond
The Sword of Christian Magistracy Supported - William Prynne
The Tenure of Kings - John Milton
Two Points of Great Moment, the Obligation of Human Laws - John Humfrey
Tyrants & Protectors Set Forth in their Colors - John Price
Demophilos, or, the Assertor of the Peoples Liberty - William Prynne
Discourses about Civil Government in a New Plantation - John Davenport
The Bounds & Bonds or Public Obedience - Francis Rous
The Lawfulness of Obeying the Present Government - Francis Rous
A Combat Between Two Seconds - Antony Ascham
A Way to Sion Sought Out - Daniel King
The Arraignment of Licentious Liberty and Oppressing Tyranny - Nathanael Hardy
How Superior Powers Ought to be Obeyed, & Wherin they may be Lawfully by Gods Word Disobeyed & Resisted - Christopher Goodman
The Vindication of the Law - John Cook



all of these books can be downloaded in PDF or EPUB at the link below. Not trying to advertise, but many if not most of these books are not in print, and the only place you will get them is with an institutional subscription to EEBO, EEBO-TCP, or the copies we cleaned and converted from TCP. The titles may be slightly different, but you should have no problem locating them. https://sites.google.com/view/project-puritas/home
 
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CovenantPatriot87 said:
A civil government is an ordinance of men as much as it is of God. It comes from men. If a civil government exists its because a political body of people thought it necessary for a their own defence, safety and well being, hence Paul's exhortation to submit to civil governments as natural institutions. They exist as institutions along side the kingdom of Christ, which in particular, is not of this world.
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Thanks for the response. Could you elaborate on what you mean by "Paul's exhortation to submit to civil governments as natural institutions"? And would you be suggesting that the purpose of civil government depends on what the body politic institutes it for?
 
davejonescue said:
Here are some Puritan works regarding this topic:

Civil Magistrates Power in Matters of Religion - Thomas Cobbet
Good Work for a Good Magistrate - Hugh Peters
Magistrates Commission from Heaven - Anthony Burgess
Men are gods, the Dignity of the Magistrate - George Swinnock
Obedience to Magistrates - Jonathan Clapham
Of Resisting the Lawful Magistrate Under Color of Religion - Henry Hammond
Peitharchia: Obedience to Magistrates - Richard Vines
The Authority of Magistrate about Religion - John Humfrey
The Beauty of Magistracy - George Swinnock
The Best and Worst Magistrate - Obadiah Sedgwick
The Divine Right and Original of the Civil Magistrate from God - Edward Gee
The Magistrates Charge - William Hussey
The Magistrates Dignity and Duty - William Spurstowe
The Magistrates Poutraiture Drawn from the Word - William Gurnall
The Scriptures Plea for Magistrates - Henry Hammond
The Sword of Christian Magistracy Supported - William Prynne
The Tenure of Kings - John Milton
Two Points of Great Moment, the Obligation of Human Laws - John Humfrey
Tyrants & Protectors Set Forth in their Colors - John Price

all of these books can be downloaded in PDF or EPUB at the link below. Not trying to advertise, but many if not most of these books are not in print, and the only place you will get them is with an institutional subscription to EEBO, EEBO-TCP, or the copies we cleaned and converted from TCP. The titles may be slightly different, but you should have no problem locating them. https://sites.google.com/view/project-puritas/home
Click to expand...
Thanks--that's a lot of resources I would never have otherwise stumbled upon. Much appreciated.
 
The civil magistrate is an embodiment (if you will) of derivative, human authority that is a function of man as the created image-bearer. This exhibition of authority is found at the level of parents, which is where the Decalogue ordains recognition of its existence and due respect. The civil magistrate in a non-trivial sense is parental authority writ large. By this, I do not mean that higher societal governments do well always to act paternalistically after the manner of fathers, in regard to their citizens, to treat them generally like foolish children. Government is not a pure abstraction of ideals, but is people: men and women, some service minded, many others knavish and aggrandizing. Most government of the biblical period had kings, heads of nations and empires, who were reckoned as father-figures for the population.

On the other hand, some paternalism is fitting; and some societies generally need more of it than others, even if their system of government is ill-equipped or organized to provide it. As far as the kingdoms of this world go, they are such institutions as naturally attract a strong percentage of people who are drawn to power like bees to nectar. Without safeguards, or when those break down, people tend to take power who aim to make it work for them, to enjoy the position for how it benefits the user, rather than the ones used. Yet even the most selfish prince ordinarily finds he must make some kind of balancing act, and restrain not only his own baser instincts, but offer some semblance of order and justice, at least to put off the inevitable rise of anger among subordinates at being used with insufficient thanks. This reality points back to a natural purpose for government, that it should serve a broader interest (than one ego's) and the common good.

What the civil magistrate should be, and what it often (and inevitably in a fallen world) is, are two divergent purposes. God ordained parental authority from the beginning in nature, and we can observe in any successful society throughout history and geography degrees by which this authority has been managed to foster order and justice (however imperfect). But nothing gold can stay, so we see ideals abandoned, and the sword (an instrument of ultimate enforcement) turned to despotic or expansionist goals, sometimes both; which ends are typically advertised as, in fact "the public good." There's probably never been a tyranny that did not deny it sought anything but the best for some percentage, even as all were subjected to the coercion of a single vision.

I don't think the Bible was given to us in order that we might always or theoretically derive an objective measure for judging the proper limit or bound of authority. We have individual instincts (probably partly innate, and partly culturally determined) that tell us "I am, and by extension we are being persecuted; this level of authoritarian control is too much." The standard response is to look to an ally above us in leadership, a mother if the pressure is coming from a father, or vice versa; and another cop if this one is waving his billy club a bit too close to my nose. We act within the laws of the land we live under, perhaps to vote out a bad leader or a batch of them, to replace them with more virtuous ones. We hope for the protection of "the lesser magistrate," a form of appeal not unlike a child looking to one parent for a bit of fairness in justice. And sometimes, the one seeking "fairness" is just wrong.

At some point, every man lacks an avenue of successful appeal in the world. In some extremity, sooner or later, he may cry out to God. My instinct may be right or wrong, as I assess the "tyrant" over me; but I am free and I ought to make my appeal to the highest authority. God sets up kings, and deposes them. Who better to pray to for relief? If I ought to have a better, more just, more respectful government, God will see to it that I have such, or he will free me in some other way. There's a saying that men have the government they deserve, and there's a kernel of truth in that statement. Without going too far, and with taking a longer view of history, we might observe that as Israel once pleaded (often) with God in the days of Judges to grant them relief, God relenting of his discipline, and answering his people's repentant prayers; so too he does respond it seems to the miserable cries of those who desire some kind of state reform. But people have to be thoroughly sick and tired of their corrupt leaders before they'll even ask for anything but more of the same.

The real lesson for Christians from Israel's days under Judges is that they need to aim at church reformation. The church is their essential society, and they have generally the government they deserve in it. The society around the church is fundamentally analogous to the nations that surrounded Israel. There wasn't much hope of reforming them, although Israel was instructed by God (Dt.4:6) to set a stellar example to them, that they might learn some divine wisdom for their own setting. I can't imagine the world looking to much (not all) the church today, and thinking "Look how well they handle justice and mercy there." The Lord is busy delivering his truculent tribes into the power of modern Eglons and Siseras. Yet, in many parts of the church today, we hear a tumult of voices loudly braying to the world that they should listen to the wisdom that is among us, in order to reform their states. Our own walls and roofs are caving in!

The king's heart is in the Lord's hand, still. It might be nice to dwell under a relatively honest magistrate, or even better under the rule of a truly Christian shepherd of the secular commonwealth (assuming he had any gift for the task). Certainly, in case of the latter we'd expect such a man to operate by a moral principle at all times, doing the right thing even if it hurt, making every effort to uphold the law and abide by it himself, refusing or resigning rather than sinning in his office. I hope he would always pray for wisdom, and seek out good counselors, and keep his place in the assembly of the heavenly kingdom, where he is a subject "and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, but a member" (Andrew Melville, address to James VI). But it is not necessary for the being of the church, and possibly not even for its well-being, that the worldly power bend the knee now to Christ, before it is universally compelled at the end of the age.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
The civil magistrate is an embodiment (if you will) of derivative, human authority that is a function of man as the created image-bearer. This exhibition of authority is found at the level of parents, which is where the Decalogue ordains recognition of its existence and due respect. The civil magistrate in a non-trivial sense is parental authority writ large. By this, I do not mean that higher societal governments do well always to act paternalistically after the manner of fathers, in regard to their citizens, to treat them generally like foolish children. Government is not a pure abstraction of ideals, but is people: men and women, some service minded, many others knavish and aggrandizing. Most government of the biblical period had kings, heads of nations and empires, who were reckoned as father-figures for the population.

On the other hand, some paternalism is fitting; and some societies generally need more of it than others, even if their system of government is ill-equipped or organized to provide it. As far as the kingdoms of this world go, they are such institutions as naturally attract a strong percentage of people who are drawn to power like bees to nectar. Without safeguards, or when those break down, people tend to take power who aim to make it work for them, to enjoy the position for how it benefits the user, rather than the ones used. Yet even the most selfish prince ordinarily finds he must make some kind of balancing act, and restrain not only his own baser instincts, but offer some semblance of order and justice, at least to put off the inevitable rise of anger among subordinates at being used with insufficient thanks. This reality points back to a natural purpose for government, that it should serve a broader interest (than one ego's) and the common good.

What the civil magistrate should be, and what it often (and inevitably in a fallen world) is, are two divergent purposes. God ordained parental authority from the beginning in nature, and we can observe in any successful society throughout history and geography degrees by which this authority has been managed to foster order and justice (however imperfect). But nothing gold can stay, so we see ideals abandoned, and the sword (an instrument of ultimate enforcement) turned to despotic or expansionist goals, sometimes both; which ends are typically advertised as, in fact "the public good." There's probably never been a tyranny that did not deny it sought anything but the best for some percentage, even as all were subjected to the coercion of a single vision.

I don't think the Bible was given to us in order that we might always or theoretically derive an objective measure for judging the proper limit or bound of authority. We have individual instincts (probably partly innate, and partly culturally determined) that tell us "I am, and by extension we are being persecuted; this level of authoritarian control is too much." The standard response is to look to an ally above us in leadership, a mother if the pressure is coming from a father, or vice versa; and another cop if this one is waving his billy club a bit too close to my nose. We act within the laws of the land we live under, perhaps to vote out a bad leader or a batch of them, to replace them with more virtuous ones. We hope for the protection of "the lesser magistrate," a form of appeal not unlike a child looking to one parent for a bit of fairness in justice. And sometimes, the one seeking "fairness" is just wrong.

At some point, every man lacks an avenue of successful appeal in the world. In some extremity, sooner or later, he may cry out to God. My instinct may be right or wrong, as I assess the "tyrant" over me; but I am free and I ought to make my appeal to the highest authority. God sets up kings, and deposes them. Who better to pray to for relief? If I ought to have a better, more just, more respectful government, God will see to it that I have such, or he will free me in some other way. There's a saying that men have the government they deserve, and there's a kernel of truth in that statement. Without going too far, and with taking a longer view of history, we might observe that as Israel once pleaded (often) with God in the days of Judges to grant them relief, God relenting of his discipline, and answering his people's repentant prayers; so too he does respond it seems to the miserable cries of those who desire some kind of state reform. But people have to be thoroughly sick and tired of their corrupt leaders before they'll even ask for anything but more of the same.

The real lesson for Christians from Israel's days under Judges is that they need to aim at church reformation. The church is their essential society, and they have generally the government they deserve in it. The society around the church is fundamentally analogous to the nations that surrounded Israel. There wasn't much hope of reforming them, although Israel was instructed by God (Dt.4:6) to set a stellar example to them, that they might learn some divine wisdom for their own setting. I can't imagine the world looking to much (not all) the church today, and thinking "Look how well they handle justice and mercy there." The Lord is busy delivering his truculent tribes into the power of modern Eglons and Siseras. Yet, in many parts of the church today, we hear a tumult of voices loudly braying to the world that they should listen to the wisdom that is among us, in order to reform their states. Our own walls and roofs are caving in!

The king's heart is in the Lord's hand, still. It might be nice to dwell under a relatively honest magistrate, or even better under the rule of a truly Christian shepherd of the secular commonwealth (assuming he had any gift for the task). Certainly, in case of the latter we'd expect such a man to operate by a moral principle at all times, doing the right thing even if it hurt, making every effort to uphold the law and abide by it himself, refusing or resigning rather than sinning in his office. I hope he would always pray for wisdom, and seek out good counselors, and keep his place in the assembly of the heavenly kingdom, where he is a subject "and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, but a member" (Andrew Melville, address to James VI). But it is not necessary for the being of the church, and possibly not even for its well-being, that the worldly power bend the knee now to Christ, before it is universally compelled at the end of the age.
Click to expand...
Thank you--this is very valuable information. I'll have to read through it a couple times to digest it properly.
 
Rutherford also addresses the role of the Christian (and non Christian) magistrate in Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience, which I've just finished the main editing (but not all the proofing) for RHB's Works of Samuel Rutherford. It and Lex Rex and much of Rutherford are terribly difficult reads (and so also very difficult edits).
 
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