Page:Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission.djvu/44

 in the ervice of the public; it becomes you to pay them tribute and cutom; and to reverence, honor, and ubmit to, them in the execution of their repective offices.” This is apparently good reaoning. But does this argument conclude for the duty of paying tribute, cutom, reverence, honor and obedience, to uch perons as (although they bear the title of ruler) ue all their power to hurt and injure the public? uch as are not God's miniters, but atan'? uch as do not take care of, and attend upon, the public interet, but their own, to the ruin of the public? that is, in hort, to uch as have no natural and jut claim at all to tribute, cutom, reverence, honor and obedience? It is to be hoped that thoe who have any regard to the apotle's character as an inpired writer, or even as a man of common undertanding, will not repreent him as reaoning in uch a looe incoherent manner; and drawing concluions which have not the leat relation to his premies. For what can be more aburd than an argument thus framed? “Rulers are, by their office, bound to conult the public welfare and the good of ociety: therefore you are bound to pay them tribute, to honor, and to ubmit to them, even when they detroy the public welfare, and are a common pet to ociety, by acting in direct contradiction to the nature and end of their office.”

, upon a careful review of the apotle's reaoning in this paage, it appears that his arguments to enforce ubmiion, are of uch a nature, as to conclude only in favor of ubmiion to uch rulers as he himelf decribes;