Moses the God of Aaron, or the Power and Duty of Princes in Sacred Matters

ON REFORMATION

...likewise original: "itidem" or "identidem," completing the thought from the previous page removed these [idols], but on the contrary restored the worship of God and religion. Through their commands concerning the worship of the true God, their warnings, and the covenants they entered into with the people, they preserved it. See: Exodus 32:20; Deuteronomy 5:1, 32, 33; 6:12, 13, 14; 29:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Joshua 8:30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35; 22:5; 23:6, 7, 8; 24:14, 15, 23, 24, 25; 1 Samuel 7:3; 2 Samuel 6:1, 2; 1 Kings 15:12; 2 Kings 18:1, 4; 22:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13; 23; 1 Chronicles 29:8; 2 Chronicles 14:2, 3, 4, 5; 17:6; 19:3; 20:20, 32, 33; 29:2, 3, 4, 5; 30:1, 6, 12; 31:2, 20; 33:2, 7, 15, 16; 34:3, 4, 5, 31; Daniel 3:29; 6:25, 26, 27; Jonah 3:6, 7, 8, 9. These examples prove—as Scripture itself testifies—that God found this very quality good in those Kings: they did what pleased God and served Him with their whole heart. Conversely, it is recorded as a fault in those Kings who did not remove idolatrous worship referring to the "high places" often mentioned in the Books of Kings which were not removed by less pious rulers, all of which is read quite frequently in the passages I have cited.

§. XI. Finally, the power and duty of Princes Princeps: a general term for a sovereign ruler, whether a king, duke, or magistrate in sacred matters is proven by the fact that the care of the public welfare original: "salutis publicae" rests upon them. Therefore, a Prince ought not only to take care that no harm is done to the commonwealth original: "reipublicae"; refers to the state or organized political community by men who abuse religion, but he must also preserve true religion, reform it when it is corrupted, and restore it when it is lost, as a means of increasing the happiness of the state. For indeed, revealed religion can be very useful to the state, both by its own nature and by divine grace. It is indeed...