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from any honeft Defire of Satisfaction, or of doing their Duty in it, but only from a crafty Defign of intrapping him; hoping for fuch an Anfwer, as might expofe him either to the Rage of the Jews, or the Fury of the Romans : for the Perfons that came to him with this enfnaring Queftion, were the Pharifees on the one hand, who were the chief Rulers among the Jews, and were against paying of Tribute, as thinking it a Token of Slavery to an ufurp'd Power; and the Herodions on the other, who favour'd the Domination of the Romans to the Oppreffion of the People. So that the Snare they had laid for him was this, If he had faid, that 'twas lawful to pay Tribute, he had dif gufted the Jews, and enrag'd the People against him, as one that approv'd the Yoke of the Roman Tyranny; if he had faid, 'twas not lawful to pay Tribute, they would have ac cus'd him as a Raifer of Sedition, and deliver'd him into the hands of the Roman Governor, to be us'd accordingly by which they fet upon him, as it were, with a two-edg'd Sword, that cut both ways, and wounded on every side.

But what Answer did our Saviour give them? and how did he evade the Danger of their intended Treachery? Why, he gave them not prefently any direct Answer, but firft upbraided their Malice and Hypocrify; fo the next words tell us, But Jefus perceiv'd their Wickedness, and faid, why tempt ye me, ye Hypocrites? Why harbour ye fuch evil Thoughts in your Breafts, and hide your Malice under. a Mask of Flattery and Friendship? However, he that knew their Hearts, was able to difcover and defeat their Defigns. To which end,

He call'd for a Piece of the Coin, in which they were wont to pay the Tax, faying, Shew me the Tribute-Mony. Upon which, they brought unto him a Penny, which was the fourth part of the Shekel of the Sanctuary, and half of an ordinary Shekel, the Tribute which God himfelf requir'd to be paid of every few yearly, for the use of the Temple, as we read Exod. 30. 13. which Tribute the Romans after facrilegioufly transfer'd to the Capitol. However that be, Chrift looking upon the Penny, and obferving the Image ftamp'd upon it, ask'd them, Whofe is this Image and Superfcription? they fay unto him, Cæfar's; then faith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæfar the things that are Cæfar's, and unto God the things that are Gods: intimating to them, that their Coin would anfwer their Queftion; for if Cafar's Image be upon your current Coin,

'tis an Acknowledgment of his Supremacy; and your pay ing and receiving of it in Commerce, is a Token of Subjection to him as your Prince.

And fince Tribute is ever due to the Supreme Power, you ought to own it to be his : Render therefore unto Cæfar the things that are Cæfar's. When they heard thefe Words, 'tis faid that they marvelled at the Wisdom of his Answer, and left him, and went their way, admiring of him, and def pairing of gaining any Advantage against him. This is the Sum of the Gospel for this Day, in which we learn,

First, The Treachery of the Pharifees and others in thus laying Designs of entrapping and intangling our Saviour, together with his great Prudence in confounding their Devices, and eluding all their Snares: of these enough hath been fpoken already in the Gospel for the 17th Sunday after Trinity.

But the principal Leffon intended and taught us in this Gofpel, is from our Saviour's Anfwer to thofe infidious Enquirers; which requires us to render unto Cæfar the things that are Cæfar's, and unto God the things that are God's: which being Matters of daily Ufe and Importance to us, must be a little infifted on, and inculcated upon us, as containing in them our Duty both to God and the King. For the better knowing and doing whereof, the words teach us,

First, That there are fome particular Rights and Privileges belonging to Cafar, or Sovereign Princes, which are call'd here, The things that are Cæfar's.

Secondly, That there are fome peculiar Rights and Prerogatives that belong to God only, ftil'd here, The things that are God's.

Thirdly, The Duty of all Chriftians with reference to both, and that is, to render the respective Rights and Dues to each.

First, As for the Rights and Privileges that belong to Cafar, or Sovereign Princes, they are chiefly these three; Honour to their Perfons, Obedience to their Laws, and Tribute for their neceffary Occafions.

ift, Honour to their Perfons is a plain Right belonging to Sovereign Princes, and is due to them by the Laws of God and Man. St. Peter hath coupled together the fearing of God, and honouring of the King, the one as the Caufe and Motive of the other, and therefore both must go to

gether:

gether: He that fears God will honour the King, and he that honours not the King hath caft off the Fear of God, whofe Minifter and Vicegerent he is; for God hath ftamp'd his own Image and Superfcription upon them, that all People may know to whom they belong: yea, God hath given them his own Name, I have faid ye are Gods, to procure them the Reverence and Veneration of Mankind. He hath ftil'd them his own Anointed, that Men may honour and demean themselves towards them accordingly, forbidding any to touch his Anointed with the Hand of Violence; for none can stretch out their Hand against the Lord's Anointed, and be guiltless. But befide this,

2dly, Obedience to their Laws is a plain Right of Sovereign Princes; for God hath ftamp'd them too with his own Authority, to make them current, and to oblige all their Subjects. Hence St. Paul makes it neceffary to be fubject not only for Wrath, or Fear of Punishment, but for Confcience fake: And St. Peter wills us to fubmit to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's fake, whether it be to the King as Supreme, or to Governours that are fent by him.

3dly, Tribute is another Right belonging to Sovereign Princes; and this is the main thing refer'd to here in our Text, of which our Saviour here convinc'd the Pharifees and Herodians by the Image and Superfcription upon their Mony, where they faw Cafar's Face, and after that had not the Face to deny his Right, but own'd it to be his. The coining of Mony is the Prerogative of Sovereignty, and that requires both Homage and Tribute: the Image upon the Coin fhews who is our Prince, and to whom these things are due; 'tis his Stamp that makes it current, and fo to become the Regulation of our Contracts, and the Standard of our Civil Commerce; which cannot continue without Laws and Arms, to which Taxes and Tribute are fometimes neceffary: for both the Dignity of the Prince, and the Safety of the People require Tribute, neither of which are to be upheld or preferv'd without it.

And

therefore our Saviour here and elsewhere makes it a Debt to Cafar, which may and ought to be discharg'd: and to this his Precept he added alfo his own Example; for he wrought a Miracle to pay Tribute for himself and Peter, when it was demanded of them, left peradventure (faith he) we should offend; as we read, Mat. 17.27,28. So tender was he in this point of Tribute, though fome unjustly accus'd him for forbidding to pay it, Luke 23. 2. St. Paul

likewife

likewife urges the fame, faying, Render to all their Dues, Tribute to whom Tribute is due, Cuftom to whom Cuftom, Fear to whom Fear, Honour to whom Honour; Rom. 13.7. These are the Rights of Sovereign Princes, or the things of Cafar, which Chrift and his Apoftles require to be render'd to them, being abfolutely neceffary to the Support of Government, and the Defence of their Country. But as there are fome Rights of Princes, call'd The things that are Cæfar's, which are to be render'd to them, of which kind, we fee, are Honour, Obedience, and Tribute; fo there are,

Secondly, Some peculiar incommunicable Rights and Prerogatives, that belong to God only, call'd therefore The things that are God's. Of this kind are all Religious Worfhip or Divine Honour, together with a due Reverence and Regard to all facred things, that relate or belong to God; as his Minifters, his Houfe, his Day, his Revenues, and the like all which are properly his, and must be regarded as fuch.

If, I fay, All Religious Worship belongs to God, and must be render'd to him and no other: fo our Saviour hath given us an exprefs Charge, faying, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only halt thou ferve; Matth. 4. 10. Divine and Sovereign Honours are due to him by the Right of Creation: for he that made and upholds all things by the Word of his Power, may juftly claim a peculiar Honour and Homage to be paid to him upon that account; the great Landlord and Proprietor of the World well may and ought to have a particular Service and Acknowledgment due to him, as a high Rent for all his Bleffings: and this confifts in adoring his infinite Power, Wisdom and Goodness to all his Creatures, in praying to him for all that we want, and in praifing of him for all that we receive. This is a Tribute we all owe to the Supreme Being, 'tis peculiar to him, and to be paid to none elfe; in a word, 'tis one of the things of God that must be render'd to him.

2dly, Another is a due Reverence and Regard to all facred things, that relate and appertain unto God; which is likewife to be carefully render'd to him. There are fome Perfons and Things that are fet apart from all common and ordinary Ufes, and confecrated to Holy and Divine Purpofes; all which are faid to be Holy unto the Lord, for the Relation they bear to him as his, and muft be refpected ac. cordingly of this kind are God's Minifters, God's Houfe,

the

the Lord's Day, the Lord's Portion of our Subftance, or Sacred Revenue appointed for the Maintenance of the Altar, and those that attend his Service; all which being the Things of God, are to be render'd to him, and to be refpected for his fake. As,

(1.) The Minifters of the Gospel are faid to be God's Minifters, fet apart by his Order, and devoted to his Service, and therefore are to be look'd upon and treated as fuch: fo St. Paul orders, Let a Man Jo account of us as of the Minifters of Chrift, and Stewards of the Mysteries of God; I Cor. 3. I. To thefe God himself hath aflign'd double Honour, faying, Count them that labour among you in Word and Doctrine worthy of double Honour, and efteem them highly in Love for their Works, 1 Tim. 5. 17. 1 Theff. 5. 13. though our licentious and degenerate Age fcarce allow them fingle Honour, and inftead of efteeming then highly, feek to bring them as low, and pour as much Contempt upon them as they can. But there will be repaid in due time; for God reckons himself honour'd in honouring his Minifters, as a Prince does in refpecting his Ambaffadors, and counts himfelf defpifed in defpifing his Minifters, as the Prince does in the like cafe: for he that heareth you, heareth me (faith Chrift) and he that defpifeth you, defpifeth me; and he that defpifeth me, defpifeth him that fent me. Luke 10. 16. And God himself hath declar'd, They that honour me I will honour, but they that defpife me shall be lightly esteemed 1 Sam. 2. 30.

(2.) The Church or Temple is the House of God, and therefore to be reverenc'd and us'd accordingly Christ calls the Temple his House, faying, My Houfe is a House of Prayer; meaning, that it was fet apart and confecrated for Holy Ufes, and not to be defecrated or profan'd, by putting them to any other. Our Saviour never fhew'd grea ter Indignation, than in whipping the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, faying, My Houfe is the House of Prayer, but ye have made it a Den of Thieves. And elsewhere, make not my Houfe a Houfe of Merchandize; John 2. 16. 'Tis God's own Command, Te hall reverence my Sanctuary: by fo doing we honour God, whofe House it is, fhewing a Regard to the Place where his Honour dwells; which being call'd by his Name, and devoted to his Service, we are to feparate it from all common, and ufe it only for Divine Offices. So fhall we render unto God the things that Vol. IV. Part 2. `

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