John Knox - On The Lesser Magistrates

[Book of Jeremiah]

John Knox was above all a man of God who sought God's favor and not mans. He feared no man or woman, not even the Queen of Scotland. John Knox was a praying man. His prayers were so powerful that the Mary Queen of Scotland said once, I fear the prayers of John Knox more than an army of thousands.

Why Did Queen Mary of Scotland fear the prayers of John Knox more than an army of thousands? Because Gods authority trumps mans authority and when God comes onto the scene, things change. On this matter of the Lesser Magistrates John Knox finds himself in good company. When I listen to their words I am reminded of history such as the matter of the good kings and bad kings of Israel. There were some such as Ahab that made the nation tremble because his wife Jezebel was hunting down the prophets of God to murder them! Ahab was a weak man and could not stand against his wife, who was a Baal worshiper.

While Elijah had a tremendous anointing on his life we see him flee from Jezebel We see Jezebel stealing the vineyard of Naboth by having him murdered - a vineyard that had been in Naboths family for a very long time - yet because Ahab desired to own that vineyard she used whatever means necessary to get it for him.

So Jezebel did not mind breaking the laws of the land of Israel in order to achieve her goals. I believe Jezebel was a beautiful woman. She thought her beauty would carry the day but in the end - even though she painted her eyes at being notified that Jehu was coming for her- it didn't work.

Because when Jehu was sent on assignment from God she came down off that wall in a moment and perished.... only the soles of her hands and feet were left.

There is a spiritual significance in this judgment but for now let's stay with the subject of lesser magistrates within the teachings of John Knox and others - yet this is just the beginning in a series so that we can see precisely what John Knox was and was not saying.

To bring balance in referencing Elijah's anointing yet his obvious despair at the wickedness of Jezebel - leading to his desiring to even leave the earth - we can compare his response with that of Elisha - who received a double anointing from God through watching Elijah's sudden departure - and we can also look at how the King of Syria in II Kings 6:13 send a whole army out for one solitary man.

Who was that man? Elisha. Why did the King of Syria need to send an entire army for one man? Because Elisha was a servant of the LORD. This Syrian army surrounded the prophets house and when they closed in on him to take him God blinded the entire Syrian Army.

You'll find that story in II Kings 6: 8 - 23 and see that when the king of Israel asked the prophet whether or not he should kill the entire Syrian army which was now in their captivity he no, do not do it. Do not smite them. Give them bread and water that they may eat and drink and then send them back to their master ( The King of Syria ) So that is what the King of Israel ordered and then we see in verse 23 that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

This is the true nature of a Prophet of God we find in Elisha. He shows mercy and has the Syrians sent away never to return but he spares their lives by telling the King - don't kill them. Be kind to them instead and then send them out of here. Elisha knew his own authority and when one knows their authority they demonstrate it by showing compassion. Not vengeance.

Here is the history on John Knox beginning with this video:

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

In the end, Mary Queen of Scotland, fell from her throne. To examine both sides fairly - let's look at this point of view on those in favor of her thought perhaps she should have done to keep her throne. This one points out what they perceive to be the things she did that led to her downfall. It is interesting but I completely disagree with them on why she lost her throne.

How Mary Queen of Scots Could Have Kept Her Throne

After a brief and tumultuous reign on seven years (1561-1567), Mary Queen of Scots was defeated by a rebel army led by her half-brother James, Earl of Moray, at the Battle of Langside in 1568 and fled to England for protection from Queen Elizabeth. In response to her cousin's distress, Elizabeth had Mary locked up for the rest of her life, only to have her beheaded in 1587.

To us, Mary's story reads like a sad tale of unfortunate inevitabilities, like a modern Oedipus, in which we lament that fate seemed set against Mary, poised to drag such a beautiful and promising young queen down to destruction. And yet, we who have the gift of four and half centuries of retrospection, can tend to forget that Mary's fate was the result of many free-will choices, decisions that could have led one way or another. Mary, though a pious Catholic and renowned for her beauty, was notoriously impetuous, impulsive, and generally lacked the ability to foresee the consequences of her actions.

Here we will look at nine decisions Mary could have made differently in order to keep her throne; nine choices Mary made which either should have been made differently, or perhaps not made at all. It is a game of historical speculation, I know - but it is an interesting one, and I think it contains valuable lessons for all those who would learn about the pitfalls of leadership. A warning before we go ahead, though - to make sense of these nine decisions, this article presupposes basic knowledge of the events of Mary's life and the major characters that she was involved with (Rizzio, Darnley, Bothwell, etc).

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Before addressing what John Knox said on the Dotrine of the lesser magistrates, let me say this about our own government. I have stated this many times before and feel led to say it again. I do not believe that the American people should rebel against the Barack Obama administration. I believe that God is in complete control in this matter and that it is the will of God that he remain in the position he is in. The reason is obvious. America is under the judgment of God and God has permitted this to happen. Our right response is to pray for our nation, for our people and to believe for a great revival to come upon the land of America. That is the right response. In the matter of Adolph Hitler the right response would have been to rebel against him. Why the difference? Because the only way to know how to pray over a matter is to first discern what is the will of God? There cannot be two wills! One will must die for the other will to be clearly discerned! The only will that matters is the Will of God!

Can a person have two heads? One deciding one way and the other deciding another? No. We have to get the mind of God on a matter and then pray it through. John Knox had discerned the will of God in the matter of Scotland and a Queen that was a modern day Jezebel! He prayed and Jezebel was destroyed. So why did John Knox's prayers prevail for the matter of an evil Queen while the matter of Christians praying for Obama to be impeached have not prevailed? The answer is simple. Those praying such prayers have yet to discern the will of God in the matter. Why? Because they have not yet died to their own will. Jesus struggled in the garden of Gethsamene with the same thing. What did Jesus say? Thy will be done, Father, not mine own. You see, in a great battle, we must discern the will of the Father and surrender ourselves to His will completely. It is the will of God that we must be be after - in every matter. Not mans will. Not your wifes will. Not your best friends will. The will of God is all that matters. Then? Then God will move heaven and earth. We have to get into alignment with the will of God.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

More history on the Jezebel spirit and how it operates through Queens of the past. This is quite an astonishing bit of history. The most horrific thing about this is that Bloody Mary thought that she was doing the will of God by putting Protestant Christians to death. Anyone who did not believe as she did had to be put to death in order to be silenced. This is the ultimate example of the Jezebel spirit which is a spirit of murder operating under the disguise of a religion.

[ame=http://youtu.be/9v8UPwAaNGA]Queen Bloody Mary - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

While listening to the last dvd, you'll find the answer of how the Christian is to respond. We are to speak out against evil, we are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, should the federal government say, no Christian is permitted to read from the bible, to preach openly what is in the bible, of course we will never obey them because God's law is higher than man's law. I am not speaking of anything such as that - but rather the idea of raising up an army to fight against this government - I do not believe it is the will of God for any American to involve themselves in such a response. It will only lead to a great tumult in America - which will give our enemies - Russia and China the opportunity they are waiting for. To blindside us at our weakest moment. The right response for the Christians of America is to pray for the nation and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ boldly wherever they go - knowing that it is the will of God for them to do so.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

I fear the greatest challenge we face are the same challenges we have failed to meet in the past. History has a way of repeating itself. I believe the greatest persecution of Christians - protestant Christians is yet to come. Call it a tribulation, call it a return of the hunting of those accused of being heretics - the true Christians who hold fast to Jesus Christ as the Only way to Heaven - of those who refuse to submit themselves to teachings, religions, which are contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ as stated in the bible- call it a refusal to join the growing new age movement of interfaithism, call it whatever you will. I believe in the future those who refuse to bow down to it - are going to be the targets of a bloodshed far greater in scope and more horrific than the reign of Bloody Mary. To this I say John Knox is right in that no matter what any government, any United Nations, any ruler, may rule in the matter, no matter what any King or Queen or any other would try to force upon the people - we must obey God and not man. We must.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

What is as the root of the evil that drove religious people such as Bloody Mary? The anti-christ spirit. The anti-christ spirit rejects the authority of Christ and the Doctrine of Christ. It denies Jesus Christ is God. It elevates and glorifies a man or a woman in its religion as one above Jesus Christ. It attempts by its doctrines to deny the authority of Jesus Christ as God.

With the religion of Bloody Mary its belief is rooted in the false idea that Jesus was born onto the earth as a baby but had no existence prior to that and in that is a lesser authority than His mother - which was the chosen vessel of God by which He sent His Son - not in any way "his wife" or "his equal".

Mary was blessed among women to be chosen - that her womb did deliver the Messiah which was prophesied to come by Isaiah in Chapter 53 but she was as all mankind in need of a Savior herself. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The only man to walk the face of the earth sinless is Jesus Christ. Which is why Jesus Christ is referred to both as the Son of man and as the Second Adam. He is the Word of God who became flesh in the book of John. He is the Word of God. This IS the Word of God. In speaking of the anti - christ spirit which we were warned in Scripture would come against the Body of Christ - we see John identify the spirit of anti-christ in this way:

1 John 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Context

Beware of Antichrists
…22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.…

Cross References

John 5:23
that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

John 8:19
Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

John 16:3
They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.

John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

1 John 4:2
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

1 John 4:15
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

1 John 5:1
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Whom be glory forever. Amen.

- Romans 11:32-36

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So here we have the answer to who Jesus Christ is. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Whom be glory forever. He is the Lord God Almighty. When John said, test the spirits - he reminded us to test them in saying Jesus Christ is Lord. What he meant was ask them if if Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty. Ask them, do you believe Jesus is God? If they don't? You are dealing with the spirit of anti-christ. If they say yes, Jesus Christ is God - then they know who Christ is and do not deny Christ. They are not "anti -Christ". So testing the spirits is important which is why John told us to do that.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.Context

Testing the Spirits
1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;…

Cross References

1 Kings 13:18
The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (But he was lying to him.)

Jeremiah 14:14
Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.

Jeremiah 23:16
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

Jeremiah 29:8
Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.

Matthew 7:15
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

1 Corinthians 12:10
to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

1 Thessalonians 5:20
Do not treat prophecies with contempt

1 Thessalonians 5:21
but test them all; hold on to what is good,

2 Thessalonians 2:2
not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us--whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter--asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.

2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.

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Did the Word of God become Flesh and dwell among men? Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Did the Word of God come in the flesh? To earth? Yes? That is the Written Word of God. The Word of God became Flesh and dwelt among men. Who is the Word of God? GOD ALMIGHTY. If a man or woman says to me, Jesus Christ is God, Jesus Christ is the Word, he was in the beginning with God and he is God and nothing was created without Him. I know that one is speaking of Jesus Christ the Word of God. Who is the Word? Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made, In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. - John 1: 1 - 5

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Here is yet another ministry writing on the subject of the Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates. I will post a clip of it and you can read the rest as it is quite long. As to what was left unsaid, my response: The current state of America in which we find ourselves is directly related to the spiritual condition of the church. There should be a doctine of Lesser Magistrates applied to the leadership of the churches today and the people should vote with their feet by abandoning said churches. Again, my own understanding of what has happened to America - happened because those who were in authority in the leadership in the land compromised not realizing that with each bad decision, each independent decision not made by the will of God but rather by the will of men has led us to where we are today. As a sidenote I should mention that at no other time in the history of America has their been more in office that do not follow the teachings of the Bible then there are in office today.

Another evidence of how far removed the people of America are in obeying God. What happens to a nation that does not obey God? They come under the judgment of God. Here is the link to how one ministry perceives the Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates:

The Lesser Magistrate Doctrine


Many Americans seem to know that America's founders gave us three boxes through which we can resist tyranny, namely - the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box. But a lesser-known tool which the founders themselves employed is the lesser-magistrate doctrine.
Simply put, the lesser-magistrate doctrine declares that - when a magistrate, who is lower in authority than another higher authority, opposes and/or resists the unjust orders or laws of the higher authority, he is justified in doing so and his actions are morally right, proper, and legitimate.

For example, if Congress or the President makes an unjust or immoral edict, a state legislature or the governor could stand in defiance of their unjust edict and refuse to obey or implement it. They could in fact actively oppose it. Or for that matter, a city council or mayor could act in defiance or opposition of an unjust edict by a higher authority.

The lesser-magistrate doctrine became important to Christian men during the Reformation, though it had been spoken of and practiced prior to that by Christians. For example, the Magna Carta was written by a group of barons (lesser-magistrates) who had the tyrant King John of England sign it in the year 1215 at Runneymede, which is located southwest of London.This great document which stands in defiance of tyranny and oppression by making clear that the State has limitations and that all are subject to the law – people and state officials alike - was penned by Christian men.

Calvin spoke of the lesser-magistrate doctrine in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Amazingly, he did not appeal to Scripture in his support of it, rather he appealed to pagan historical examples. But other Reformers did give a Scriptural foundation to the doctrine.

John Knox for example, in his Appellation written to the nobles of Scotland in 1558, cites many passages to support the doctrine. Knox wrote his appellation (appeal) to the nobles because the Roman church had condemned him and burned him in effigy. He wrote to declare to the nobles, as lesser-magistrates, their responsibility in protecting the innocent and opposing those who had made unjust decrees.

Knox makes it clear that it is the duty of lesser-magistrates to resist the tyranny of chief magistrates when the chief magistrate exceeds his God-given authority or actually makes declarations which are in rebellion to the law of God.

He exhorts the nobles (lesser-magistrates) in his Appellation, "You are bound to correct and repress whatsoever you know him (the higher magistrate) to attempt expressly repugning to God's word, honor, glory, or what you shall espy him to do against his subjects great or small."

Some of the Scripture texts Knox cites to expound on the lesser-magistrate doctrine are Daniel 3; I Kings 12; II Kings 11; and Jeremiah 26:10-16; 36:9-31; 37:11- 21 & 39:7-10.

read more on link above.....

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Now with considering the state of America, the state of the church and such matters... one would wrongly believe that God has no authority left. Nothing could be further from the truth, beloved. God is in full control. God loves a stacked deck! When it is stacked high enough? Down it comes! From the top to the bottom!

It would appear to some that America will be run one day by Communists or one day be united with North America and South America and we will become one giant land mass transformed by the ideas of men but that is not what the bible depicts for the future of America.

The LORD founded America as a Judeo - Christian Nation! The LORD is not going to transform America into something he designed it not to be anymore than the LORD would permit Israel to be transformed into a two state nation when His Word expressly forbids any such divisions of His own land! No, the LORD is going to bring judgment upon America so that He can cleanse the land of what was not supposed to be happening in the first place.

Granted it is a most devastating judgment but even as Jeremiah pronounced the truth to his own people, his own generation, those of us who stand on the written Word of God must speak the truth and warn the people that judgment is coming! The judgment of God is coming!

The false prophets that stood against Jeremiah as he tried to warn the people ended up falling under a more severe judgment then if they had stood out of the way! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. We can see clearly that God is revealing signs - even in the heavens - the four blood moons - of a terrible and great judgment coming upon the earth because of the sin He sees upon the earth. God always dealt with Israel along the lines of punishment and then restoration. The only other nation the LORD has clearly dealt with in such a way is America. Why? Because America was a land that was dedicated to Him - even by our first president - George Washington! Just as Israel is in God's hand, so is America. Never doubt it. God is watching over us still, beloved. God is watching over His people here. God still has people in America. When Elijah was despairing over Jezebel who was pulling out all the stops in order to get rid of him, God reminded him - I still have 7,000 men who have not bowed their knee to Baal. God still has people in America who have not bowed their knee to Baal. God is on the throne today. Amen? Amen!

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Great quotes by John Knox -

John Knox Quotes

Let a thing here be noted, that the prophet of God sometimes may teach treason against kings, and yet neither he nor such as obey the word, spoken in the Lord's name by him, offend God.
-John Knox


The testimony of scripture is so plain that to add anything were superfluous, were it not that the world is almost now come to that blindness, that whatsoever pleases not the princes and the multitude, the same is rejected as doctrine newly forged, and is condemned for heresy.
- John Knox



No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved.
-John Knox

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

One thing I learned from that link today about John Knox quotes? He said something that the LORD spoke to me some years ago. While I was writing poetry in my car and pouring out my heart to God about a matter - he spoke to my heart and said, You and I make a majority.

That Word from the LORD has been a constant encouragement to me! You know when you have the LORD on your side? You are the majority. I was thinking again of the OP here where I quoted the story of the Syrian King who had surrounded Elisha's house. His servant Gehazi was in a panic because he thought surely we're surrounded and it is only a matter of time before we are taken! Yet Elisha prayed for his servant and asked the LORD to show him! He said, there are more of us then there are of them. How did he know this? Because his eyes had been opened to the spirit realm! That is how! The outcome was the exact opposite of what Gehazi had thought it would be. Why? Because Gehazi was thinking with his natural finite mind. He did not have the mind of God on the matter. He wasn't even able to discern "the will of God" concerning the matter!
More quotes from John Knox and a short clip on who he was............

http://christian-quotes.ochristian.com/John-Knox-Quotes/John Knox was a Scottish reformer, born in Scotland and was ordained as a Catholic priest between 1530 and 1540. He was converted to Christ after he met two Bible-believing Christians, Wishart and Beacon. Wishart was burned at the stake in 1546, and shortly afterwards Knox was arrested by the authorities and made a galley slave for 19 months.

He went to England in 1549 and preached the Bible until the reign of Bloody Mary, during which time he lived in Frankfort, Germany. There he came under the influence of Calvin. He returned to Scotland after several years in Geneva, and began preaching against the Papal Church. He was arrested under Queen Mary Stuart in 1560 and tried for treason, but was acquitted.

He spent his remaining years preaching and lecturing in Edinburgh and St. Andrews. Above all others, he was the maker of Protestant Scotland. He preached hellfire and damnation to Queen Mary of Scotland, and also to Bloody Mary, queen of England. Of him it was said, "Here is one who never feared the face of man.

None have I corrupted, none have I defrauded; merchandise have I not made.
-John Knox

A man with God is always in the majority.
- John Knox

It is not birth only, nor propinquity of blood, that makes a king lawfully to reign above a people professing Christ Jesus and his eternal verity; but in his election must the ordinance, which God has established in the election of inferior judges, be observed.
- John Knox

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Thinking of the Christians who were martryed for their faith, I think of this scripture -

Revelation 12:11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Context

The War in Heaven
…10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12"For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time."
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You can recognize the workers of Satan by the wrath they show against you. John Knox had bloody Mary and Mary Queen of Scotland coming against him. Who's coming against you, Christian? The more formidable your enemy? The greater the number of your enemy? The greater compliment God pays you!!!!!!

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

At a time when others cowered in complacent acquiescence, John Knox stood boldly and fearlessly in the face of the political and religious tyranny and corruption of medieval Scotland. Although Knox is probably best know for his frequent clashes with Mary, Queen of Scots, this concise examination of his life and character explores the important roles Knox played as the father of Scotch Presbyterianism and in the reformation of that entire region.


Book Review: "For Kirk and Covenant: The Stalwart Courage of John Knox" by Douglas Wison (The Prayer Foundation)
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I believe that is a worthy assessment of John Knox. A true heroe of the faith. Now enjoying his reward in heaven!

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

The heroes of the faith - Hebrews Chapter 11 - John Knox is another Hall of Famer!

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Parallel Commentaries
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:1-3 Faith always has been the mark of God's servants, from the beginning of the world. Where the principle is planted by the regenerating Spirit of God, it will cause the truth to be received, concerning justification by the sufferings and merits of Christ. And the same things that are the object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a full approval of all God has revealed, as holy, just, and good. This view of faith is explained by many examples of persons in former times, who obtained a good report, or an honourable character in the word of God. Faith was the principle of their holy obedience, remarkable services, and patient sufferings. The Bible gives the most true and exact account of the origin of all things, and we are to believe it, and not to wrest the Scripture account of the creation, because it does not suit with the differing fancies of men. All that we see of the works of creation, were brought into being by the command of God.