1531 SAQ Divine Right of Kings

“Among all the powers that are given by God the kingly power is most high, strong, and large….No power in the world or in the hierarchy of the church can lay restraint upon that supreme [power]….Now to this high, large, and most retraining power of kings, not only nature, but even God himself gives from heaven most full and ample testimony and that this power is not merely human but superhuman and indeed no less than a power divine….That supreme power, therefore, which resides in earthly [rulers] is not a….collection of human power scattered among many and gathered into one head, but a participation of God’s own unlimited power, which he never did [confer on the] multitudes of men in the world, but only and immediately on his own vice-regents [kings].

All [royal wishes] are, and ought to be, to all loyal subjects, in the nature and force of a command.”

Reverend Roger Mainwaring, sermon, England, 1627

Describe one argument made in the passage.

Describe one relevant context in which the sermon was delivered.

Explain one way in which views such as those expressed in the passage were challenged later in the 1600s.