THE DIVINE RIGHTS OF KINGS.
By H. A. St. John
Have kings any divine rights? — To be sure they have. Let us enumerate some of them: — 1. They have a divine right to the divine nature, the same as every other man, and no class of human beings have greater need to become partakers of the divine nature than kings. 2. If they have come to the throne legitimately and honorably, they have a divine right to rule after the divine plan and the divine order. For this purpose they are set up and ordained of God. 3. They have a divine right to command and to enforce obedience to their commands, provided always that their commands are within the bounds of their divine authority to rule. 4. They have a divine right to be honored. “Honor the king.” It is not honoring a king to disobey God, or do a wrong thing, even though it be in obedience to the command of that king. God commands children to honor their parents, but it is a great dishonor to any parent for a child to sin, even though the parent commands it. Even so sin is a reproach and dishonor to any nation, and likewise to the king or ruler of that nation. 5. If a king will do the commandments of God, he may have the divine right to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, and hence the divine right to an abundant entrance through the gate into the immortal, undefiled, and unfading city of God. Truly, kings have a respectable array of divine rights, which, if rightly respected by them, will entitle them at last to the divine respect of the King of kings.