**OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.**
But here a difficult, and, as it seems, a perplexing question arises. If all Christians are forbidden to kill, and the prophet predicts concerning the holy mountain of the Lord, that is, the Church, Exod. 20:13 ; Deut. 5:17 ; Mt. 5:21 ; Isa. 11:9 ; 65:25. The French adds, “Pourtant il est facile de conclure, qu’en cette partie il ne sont sujets a la loy commune; par laquelle combien que le Seigneur lie les mains de tous les hommes, toutes fois il ne lie pas sa justice laquelle il exerce par les mains des magistrats. Tout ainsi que quand un prince defend à tou sses sujets de porter baston ou blesser aucun, il n’empeehe pas neantmoins ses officiers d’executer la justice, laquelie il leur a specialement commise.”—Therefore, it is easy to conclude, that in this respect they are not subject to the common law, by which, although the Lord ties the hands of all men, still he ties not his justice which he exercises by the hands of magistrates. Just as when a prince forbids all his subjects to beat or hurt any one, he nevertheless prohibits not his officers from executing the justice which he has specially committed to them. Exod 2:12 ; Acts 7:21 ; Exod. 32:26 ; 1 Kings 2:5 ; Ps 101:8 ; 45:8. Prov 16:12 ; 20:26; 25:4, 5; 17:15; 17:14; 24:24.
Source
source-manifest/institutes— Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, tr. Beveridge 1845 (PD)- evidence_grade: D_doctrinal_textbook