“He who gives men their lives has most right to give them their laws” by Thomas Watson

‘And God spake all these words…‘ (Exodus 20:1)

“In the text, 1. The lawgiver, God, ‘God spake.‘ 2. The law itself, ‘all these words.’ The lawgiver, ‘God spake.’ There are two things requisite in a lawgiver.

The first is wisdom. Laws are founded upon reason, and he who makes laws must be wise. God, in this respect, is most fit to be a lawgiver: He is “wise in heart” (Job 9:4). He has a monopoly on wisdom: He is “the only wise God” (1 Tim. 1:17). Therefore, He is the fittest to enact and constitute laws.

The second thing requisite in a lawgiver is authority. If a subject makes laws, though ever so wise, yet he wants the stamp of authority. God has the supreme power in His hand. He derives a being to all, and He who gives men their lives, has most right to give them their laws.”

–Thomas Watson, The Ten Commandments, in The Works of Thomas Watson, Volume 3, Ed. J. Stephen Yuille and Matthew Elliot (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2026), 3: 4.