far from prohibiting them in the discharge of their duty to oppose the violence or cruelty of kings, that I affirm, that if they connive at kings in their oppression of their people, such forbearance involves the most nefarious perfidy, because they fraudulently betray the liberty of the people, of which they know that they have been appointed protectors by the ordination of God.

XXXII. But in the obedience which we have shewn to be due to the authority of governors, it is always necessary to make one exception, and that is entitled to our first attention, that it do not seduce us from obedience to him, to whose will the desires of all kings ought to be subject, to whose decrees all their commands ought to yield, to whose majesty all their sceptres ought to submit. And, indeed, how preposterous itwould be for us, with a view to satisfy men, to incur the displeasure of him on whose account we yield obedience to men! The Lord, therefore, is the King of kings; who, when he hath opened his sacred mouth, is to be heard alone, above all, for all, and before all: in the next place, we are subject to those men who preside over us; but no otherwise than in him. If they command any thing against him, it ought not to have the least attention; nor, in this case, ought we to pay any regard to all that dignity attached to magistrates; to which no injury is done when it is subjected to the unrivalled and supreme power of God. On this principle Daniel denied that he had committed any crime against the king in disobeying his impious decree; (i) because the king had exceeded the limits of his office, and had not only done an injury to men, but, by raising his arm against God, had degraded his own authority. On the other hand, the Israelites are condemned for having been too submissive to the impious edict of their king. For when Jeroboam had made his golden calves, in compliance with his will, they deserted the temple of God and revolted to new superstitions. Their posterity conformed to the decrees of their idolatrous kings with the same facility. The prophet severely condemns them for having "willingly walked after the commandment:" (k) so far is any praise from being due to the

pretext of humility, with which courtly flatterers excuse themselves and deceive the unwary, when they deny that it is lawful for them to refuse compliance with any command of their kings: as if God had resigned his right to mortal men when he made them rulers of mankind; or as if earthly power were diminished by being subordinated to its author, before whom even the principalities of heaven tremble with awe. I know what great and present danger awaits this constancy, for kings cannot bear to be disregarded without the greatest indignation; and "the wrath of a king," says Solomon, "is as messengers of death." () But since this edict has been proclaimed by that celestial herald, Peter, "We ought to obey God rather than men:" (m) let us console ourselves with this thought, that we truly perform the obedience which God requires of us, when we suffer any thing rather than deviate from piety. And that our hearts may not fail us, Paul stimulates us with another consideration; that Christ has redeemed us at the immense price which our redemption cost him, that we may not be submissive to the corrupt desires of men, much less be slaves to their impiety. (n)

(1) Prov. xvi. 14.

(m) Acts v. 29.

(*) 1 Cor. vii. 23.

END OF THE INSTITUTES.

The first number indicates the Book; the second the Chapter.

A.

ADAM'S fall, the cause of the curse inflicted on all mankind, and
of their degeneracy from their primitive condition, ii. 1.

Angels, their creation, nature, names, and offices, i. 14.
Articles of faith, power of the Church relating to them, iv. 8, 9.
Ascension of Christ, i. 15.

B.

Baptism, a sacrament; its institution, nature, administration, and
uses, iv. 15.

of infants perfectly consistent with the institution of Christ
and the nature of the sign, iv. 16.

Celibacy of priests, iv. 12.

C.

-- of monks and nuns, iv. 13.

Christ proved to be God, i. 13.

necessity of his becoming man in order to fulfil the office of a
Mediator, ii. 12.

his assumption of real humanity, ii. 13.

the union of the two natures constituting his one person, ii. 14.
the only Redeemer of lost man, ii. 6.

the consideration of his three offices, prophetical, regal, and
sacerdotal, necessary to our knowing the end of his mission from
the Father, and the benefits he confers on us, ii. 15.

his death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven to accom-
plish our salvation, ii. 16.

truly and properly said to have merited the grace of God and
salvation for us, ii. 17.

Christ imperfectly revealed to the Jews under the law, ii. 7, 9.
clearly revealed only in the gospel, ii. 9.

Christian liberty, its nature and advantages, iii. 19.

Christian life, scriptural arguments and exhortations to it, iii. 6.
summary of it, iii. 7.

Church, the necessity of our union with the true Church, iv. 1.
true and false compared and distinguished, iv. 2.

teachers and ministers of the Church, their election and
office, iv. 3.

iv. 12.

power of the Church, relating to articles of faith, iv. 8, 9.
in making laws, iv. 10.
in jurisdiction, iv. 11.

discipline of the church; censures and excommunication,

state of the ancient Church, and the mode of government
practised before the papacy, iv. 4.

ancient form of its government entirely subverted by the

papal tyranny, iv. 5.

Confession, auricular, iii. 4.

true, iii. 4.

Confirmation, papal, iv. 19.

Conscience, its nature and obligations, iii. 19.

Councils, their authority, iv. 9.

Creation of the world-of angels-this clearly distinguishes the

true God from all fictitious deities, i. 14.
Cross, bearing of, a branch of self-denial, iii. 8.

Death of Christ, ii. 15.

Depravity, human, total, ii. 3.

D.

Descent of Christ into hell, ii. 16.

Devils, their existence, power, subtlety, malignity, i. 14.

Discipline of the Church, iv. 12.

E.

Election, eternal, or God's predestination of some to salvation and of
others to destruction, iii. 21. V

trine, iii. 22.

testimonies of Scripture in confirmation of this doc-

a refutation of the calumnies generally, but un-

justly, urged against this doctrine, iii. 23.

confirmed by the divine call, iii. 24.

Excommunication, iv. 12.

Extreme unction, iv. 19.

F.

Faith defined, and its properties described, iii. 2.
justification by faith, iii. 11.

prayer its principal exercise, iii. 20.

Fanaticism of discarding the Scripture, under the pretence of resort-
ing to immediate revelations, subversive of every principle of
piety, i. 9.

Fasting, its use and abuse, iv. 12.

Free will lost by the fall; man in his present state miserably en-
slaved, ii. 2.

— a refutation of the objections commonly urged in support
of free-will, ii. 5.

G.

God truly known only from the Scriptures, i. 6.

what kind of a being God is; exclusively opposed in the Scrip-
ture to all the heathen deities, i. 10.

contradistinguished from idols as the supreme and sole object
of worship, i. 12.

ascription of a visible form to God unlawful, and all idolatry a
defection from the true God, i. 11.

the creator of the universe, i. 14.

his preservation and support of the world by his power, and his
government of every part of it by his providence, i. 16.

the proper use and advantages of this doctrine, i. 17.

O God's operation in the hearts of men, ii. 4.

his use of the agency of the wicked, without the least stain of
his perfect purity, i. 18.

one divine essence containing three persons, i. 13.
Gospel and law compared and distinguished, ii. 9, 10, 11.
Government of the Church, iv. 3, 4, 5.

civil; its nature, dignity, and advantages, iv. 20.

H.

Holy Spirit proved to be God, i. 13.

his testimony requisite to the confirmation of the Scrip-

ture and the establishment of its authority, i. 7.

his secret and special operation necessary to our enjoy-
ment of Christ and all his benefits; this operation the foundation
of faith, newness of life, and all holy exercises, iii. 1.