ght of divine revelation, in their
setting up of civil rulers, pointing forth on whom they may, and on whom
they may not confer this honorable office. The same truth is confirmed
by 2 _Sam._ xxiii, 2, 3, 4: "The spirit of the Lord spake by me--the God
of _Israel_ said,--he that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the
fear of God."--So _Job_ xxxiv, 17, 18: "Shall even he that hateth right
govern?--Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye
are ungodly?" In which words, while _Elihu_ is charging _Job_ with
blasphemy, in accusing God of injustice, declaring that if he made God a
hater of right and impeached him of injustice, he did, in effect,
blasphemously deny his government, universal dominion and sovereignty in
the world. It is not only supposed, but strongly asserted and affirmed,
that he that hateth right should not govern. Again, 1 _Cor._ vi, 1, 4,
5: "If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set
them to judge--Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not
one that is able to judge between his brethren?" All these texts, which
are plain, positive, moral precepts, whereby God hath set boundaries
about his own ordinance; that it be not corrupted by men, as they
demonstrate what magistrates ought to be, and prove that they cannot be
of God's ordaining who have not these qualifications: so they evince,
that scriptural qualifications are nothing less necessary and essential
to the being of a lawful scriptural magistrate, than the consent of the
people; and consequently, do sufficiently overturn this anti-scriptural
scheme. _Seceders_ indeed grant, that God hath declared his will,
concerning the choice of magistrates in the above, and such like
precepts; but, from their granting these scriptural qualifications to be
only advantageous to those that have them, and necessary to the
well-being and usefulness of lawful magistrates, and at the same time
denying them to be necessary to the being thereof; it necessarily
follows, as the consequence of their sentiments, that they allow civil
society a negative over the supreme Lawgiver in this matter; and in so
doing, exalt the will and inclination of the creature above the will of
the Creator, which is the very definition of sin. Say they in the
fore-quoted pamphlet, page 80th, "It is manifest, that the due measure
and performance of scriptural qualifications and duties, belong not to
the being and validity of the magistrate's