William Gurnall on when magistrates shut the church doors.

[Regi Addictissimus]

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Lavenham. The church where William Gurnall was appointed as the rector in 1644.​

1 Timothy 2:2​

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for fall that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [/CENTER]

The Holy Bible: King James Version. Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009. Print.

Exposition​

By godliness, he means in an especial manner the free profession of the truth, and the public exercise of God’s pure worship. No magistrate can hinder the saints’ living godly, as to the embracing of the truth in their hearts, and secret performance of prayer. Daniel would and could pray, though Nebuchadnezzar should do his worst. But princes carry the keys of the church doors at their girdles, and can shut or open them. When faithful magistrates sway the sceptre, then the ways to Zion are easy and open; when enemies to the ways and worship of God bear rule, then the saints mourn, church doors are shut, and prison doors opened to the servants of Christ: then the woman flies into the wilderness, and the church into private chambers, as we find in the apostles’ days, when the church was met with the doors shut to pray for Peter. O, pray for kings and princes! for as they carry the keys of the church doors, so God carries the key that opens the doors of their hearts.


Gurnall, William, and John Campbell. The Christian in Complete Armour. London: Thomas Tegg, 1845. Print.

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

Very good, but William Gurnall is referring to the closing of church doors owing to persecution; he is not referring to proscribing public gatherings for sixth commandment reasons.

 

[Regi Addictissimus]

Very good, but William Gurnall is referring to the closing of church doors owing to persecution; he is not referring to proscribing public gatherings for sixth commandment reasons.

I understand that and agree, but I think one of the takeaways is still applicable. We should be praying often for the Lord to open the hearts of magistrates. The context is undoubtedly different from what we are currently experiencing, but the Church should nonetheless pray for the conversion of those in authority, especially in times of crisis. At least, that was the application that I took away from the excerpt

 

[Hamalas]

Pray for conversion? Yes. Pray for the magistrate to encourage congregations to gather physically in the midst of a pandemic? No.

 

[jwithnell]

Our church regularly prays for civil magistrates at all levels and writes to let them know we have done so. We get many letters back surprised, I think, that we take this role so seriously.

To the matter at hand, our pastor made this post:

From our Puritan forebears:
May we omit church assemblies on the Lord's Day, if the magistrate forbid them?
"If the magistrate for a greater good, (as the common safety,) forbid church-assemblies in a time of pestilence, assault of enemies, or fire, or the like necessity, it is a duty to obey him. 1. Because positive duties give place to those great natural duties which are their end: so Christ justified himself and his disciples’ violation of the external rest of the sabbath. “For the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” 2. Because affirmatives bind not ‘ad semper,’ and out-of-season duties become sins.3. Because one Lord’s day or assembly is not to be preferred before many, which by the omission of that one are like to be obtained."
- Richard Baxter, Westminster Divine, and non-conformist and non-separatist minister of All Saints Church, Kidderminster.

[Though I was a bit confused by the WCF reference. I thought he was at Savoy Conference?]

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Correct; Baxter was not a Westminster assemblymen. He did play a role at the fruitless Savoy conference when Charles II was restored in 1661 (this is not the meeting where we got the Savoy Declaration a few years earlier).