4 for it is God's minister to thee for good. But if thou practisest evil, fear; for it bears not the sword in vain; for it is God's minister, an avenger for wrath to him that does evil.
not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance [belongs] to me, *I* will recompense, saith the Lord.
And he said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah, who will be with you in the matter of judgment.
These things also come from the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him;
learn to do well: seek judgment, gladden the oppressed, do justice to the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity,
And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment? Ye who hate the good, and love evil; who pluck off their skin from them, and their flesh from off their bones; and who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron. Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; and he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge.
I [say], Keep the king's commandment, and [that] on account of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatever pleaseth him, because the word of a king is power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart knoweth time and manner.
Open thy mouth for the dumb, for the cause of all those that are left desolate. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and minister justice to the afflicted and needy.
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion: he that provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
The fury of a king is [as] messengers of death; but a wise man will pacify it.
Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel! Because Jehovah loves Israel for ever, therefore did he make thee king, to do judgment and justice.
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever smiteth any one mortally without intent might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the assembly.
the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. And if he thrust at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die, or from enmity smite him with his hand, so that he die, he that smote him shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him. -- But if he have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally, or [have smitten him] with any stone wherewith one may die, without seeing him, and have cast it upon him so that he die, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these judgments; and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; and he shall abide in it until the death of the high-priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. But if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled, and the avenger of blood find him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer, there shall be no blood-guiltiness upon him;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 13
Commentary on Romans 13 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 13
There are three good lessons taught us in this chapter, where the apostle enlarges more upon his precepts than he had done in the foregoing chapter, finding them more needful to be fully pressed.
Rom 13:1-6
We are here taught how to conduct ourselves towards magistrates, and those that are in authority over us, called here the higher powers, intimating their authority (they are powers), and their dignity (they are higher powers), including not only the king as supreme, but all inferior magistrates under him: and yet it is expressed, not by the persons that are in that power, but the place of power itself, in which they are. However the persons themselves may be wicked, and of those vile persons whom the citizen of Zion contemneth (Ps. 15:4), yet the just power which they have must be submitted to and obeyed. The apostle had taught us, in the foregoing chapter, not to avenge ourselves, nor to recompense evil for evil; but, lest it should seem as if this did cancel the ordinance of a civil magistracy among Christians, he takes occasion to assert the necessity of it, and of the due infliction of punishment upon evil doers, however it may look like recompensing evil for evil. Observe,
Rom 13:7-10
We are here taught a lesson of justice and charity.
Rom 13:11-14
We are here taught a lesson of sobriety and godliness in ourselves. Our main care must be to look to ourselves. Four things we are here taught, as a Christian's directory for his day's work: when to awake, how to dress ourselves, how to walk, and what provision to make.