It is, therefore, violence done to the text (as
also opposite to the sentiments of some eminent divines on the place),
to say that it contains a command to pay tribute to _Caesar_; and it
would appear from Luke xxiii, 2, that the _Jews_ themselves did not
understand it so. It may be further observed, that this is not the only
instance where our Lord, in infinite wisdom, declined to give direct
answers to the ensnaring questions of his malicious enemies. See John
viii, 3-12; Matth. xxi, 23-28; John xviii, 19-21, where are questions of
a similar nature, proposed with the same hellish intention, and all
answered by him in like manner. In each of which, _Seceders_ might, on
as good ground as in the answer to the question anent tribute, say that
Christ did shift and dissemble the truth. But the least insinuation of
such a charge cannot be made from any of these answers, without the
greatest blasphemy.
A _fourth_ text used by them for maintaining their erroneous scheme, is
Rom. xiii, 1-8. Without animadverting upon every part of their
explication of this place of holy writ, it is sufficient to observe: 1.
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