In act 3, scene 3, of Shakespeare's Richard II, the king's attitude has changed since the previous scene, as his confidence has been shaken. He asks if Northumberland has forgotten that Richard is his "lawful king" and goes on to demand:

If we be not, show us the hand of God
That hath dismissed us from our stewardship;
For well we know, no hand of blood and bone
Can gripe the sacred handle of our sceptre,
Unless he do profane, steal, or usurp.

Richard still asserts his divine right to rule and believes that, as a king, he is profoundly different in the eyes of God from those who are mere subjects. However, he now admits the possibility that usurpers and traitors may succeed in their designs, at least temporarily. The terms in which he threatens Northumberland betray his uncertainty on this point:

God omnipotent,
Is mustering in his clouds on our behalf
Armies of pestilence; and they shall strike
Your children yet unborn and unbegot,
That lift your vassal hands against my head. . . .

The threat here is not immediate. God will avenge any outrage against the king, but he may not do so immediately or even quickly. It may take a generation for God's will to be done. The change, therefore, is from a certainty that his person is inviolate and he cannot fail to a belief that though his cause will prevail in the long term, he may be dethroned and even killed before this occurs.