There is great difference to be put betwixt actual disobeying of, rebelling against, and violently, with force of arms, resisting the lawful magistrate's doing his duty, and commanding just things, warranted by the laws of God and the land, and disobeying his unjust acts, and resisting his violent, tyrannical, oppressing, plundering, spoiling and killing armies.
The former is a resisting of the very ordinance of God, forbidden Romans 13, where the Apostle is speaking of the civil magistrate doing his duty, and, in his place, as God's deputy, exercising his office; but, in the other case, the magistrate is out of his function and calling; for God giveth no command to do evil, nor to tyrannise.
He is not God's vicegerent when he playeth the tyrant, and therefore he may be resisted and opposed without any violence done to the office or ordinance of God..
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for it is only powers that are ordained of God that must not be resisted; and tyrants, or magistrates turning tyrants, and exercising tyranny, cannot be called the ordinance of God...
and so there is no danger in resisting such acts of tyranny; for tyrants exercising tyranny are no terror to evil-doers, but, on the contrary, they are a terror to good works; and therefore that place, Romans 13, cannot be understood of tyrants.
It is a true and a worthy saying of famous Mr.
Knox, in his History of Scotland, lib.
2, p.
141, "There is a great difference betwixt the authority which is God's ordinance and the persons of those who are placed in authority.
The authority and God's ordinance can never do wrong, but the corrupt person placed in authority may offend: so that the king, as king, is one thing, and the king acting in tyranny is another thing"..
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Tyranny is one thing and the office of the king is another thing.