proudly and profanely bid defiance to the peaceful doctrines of thy holy word, and seek to disturb the tranquillity of the realm, may be converted from their rebellious purfuits, to obey the truth as it is in Chrift Jefus, the Savior of the world; fo that we and they may jointly glorify thy holy Name, for all thy mercies to the faithful and the penitent. Lighten, we beseech thee, the darkness of their mind, to fee what is juft and pleafing in thy fight; as becoming loyal fubjects, and loving fellow chriftians. Soften the hardness of all hearts, and defend us from the cruel devices of our ene mies; that we, and all who profefs, and duly follow the holy religion of thy beloved Son, may thereby procure help and ftrength to protect us from all dangers, without the fad neceffity of fhedding chriftian blood. Hear us, O Lord, in behalf of all who are oppreffed by rebellious tyranny; for the welfare of all chriftian countries, and especially for this our native land, and those kingdoms over which our Sovereign Lord the King doth rule by thy direction. May they, through thy divine protection, and gracious favor, continue in the truth of the gospel, and enjoy the bleffings of peace, loyalty, and profperity. And, for thefe needful and great mercies, may we have grace continually to join with one accord in heart and voice; that, being united in godly concord among ourselves, we may evermore magnify thy great and glorious Name, who with the Son our Savior, Jefus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, art one eternal, almighty, and most merciful God, to whom be all praife, honor, and dominion world without end. Amen.

DISCOURSE XXVIII.

The Homily against Difobedience and wilful Rebellion.

SECOND PART.

A

Some Text.

S in treating upon the obedience and difobedience of people to their lawful fovereign, our arguments have hitherto been drawn from holy fcripture, which is the infallible rule in all things, to real chriftians. It may not be unprofitable, in further teftimony of the duty of a peaceable, and loyal conduct in mankind, to- adduce a few more proofs from God's most holy word, of the due forbearance of all fubjects, not only to good and gra- cious princes, but also to evil-disposed, and oppreffive rulers.

The first inftance that may be advanced, is to be found in 1 Sam. xxv. II. When king Saul, who himself, for difobedience to the King of kings, had justly incurred the character of a wicked prince, and was even rejected from the favour of his Maker, for preferring his own will to the pofitive command of the all-wife Director of events; yet as long as it pleafed God to permit his reign, VOL. II. Cc:

his

his fervant David continued to obey him. And though king Saul returned no kindness to his faithful, valiant, and peaceful fervant, but (on the contrary,) treated him in the most unjust, and perfecuting manner, feeking,, by every poffible means, to destroy him; yet fought not David to revenge the evil, by rebelling, but had recourse to flight, to fave his life. Nay when it pleafed God to put the king into his power, fo that he might easily have flain him, yet would he neither lift his hand against the king, nor fuffer his companion to him any harm. On another, occafion alfo, the Lord afforded the fulleft trial of David's pure allegiance to his fovereign; for having found an opportunity of entering the very tent of Saul, (together with Abishai, who was very differently difpofed from David, towards the king) and finding him afleep, he might, more easily than before, have taken away his life; yet neither this time would he take the advantage of his enemy, or suffer Abishai to do him violence. So ftrictly did he adhere to duty as a fubject: and the virtue of his words, on feveral occafions, when urged to take revenge upon his powerful enemy, confirms the value of his actions, for he faid, the Lord forbid, that I fhould do this thing unto my mafter, to stretch forth my hand against the Lord's ancinted, 1 Sam. xxiv. 6. And in reply to Abishai's advice, on the occafion above related, he faid, Destroy bim not, for who can lift his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless; David faid, moreover as theLord liveth, the Lord fhall fmite him, or his day shall come to die, or be shall defcend into the battle, and fo perish. The Lord forbid that I should flay the Lord's ancinted. And to compleat this faithfulness of David to his king, and evince the horror he conceived of fuch a crime, as compaffing his death, we read, that when the messenger, who had killed Saul, even at the king's express defire, delivered the account of what he had done, imagining that David would

rejoice

rejoice to hear the fate of fuch a mortal foe, efpecially as he brought the crown, and bracelet, the enfigns of royalty, which were pledges that the time was come, when David, by God's appointment, was to fucceed to the throne of Ifrael; yet was that trufty and tender hearted fervant, fo far from glorying in the news, that he rent his clothes, and wept, and fafted, and lamented at the melancholy fate of Saul. Nay, fo averfe was he from countenancing what the meffenger had done, or rewarding him, as he expected, for the prefents he had brought, that David, in a torre of folemn authority, afked him, whether he did not tremble to commit this act against the Lord's anointed? and on his confeffion of the deed, he ordered the meffenger tó be immediately dispatched, faying, thy blood be on thy bead, for thy mouth bath teftified against thee, Saying I have flain the Lord's anointed.

Now as all fcripture is written for our inftruction, doubtless this moft fingular example of David's loyalty, and virtue, as a fubject, is recorded to exhort all fubjects from rebellion, and to uphold them in their due allegiance. For David's conduct is evidently exalted, in that having fo often valiantly and fuccefsfully defended his king, and country, in former times, he had obtained the favour of the people, and might have been applauded and fupported in the act, had he been difpofed to take revenge, and thus ufurped the regal power. And befides all this, he could not be accounted in the rank of common fubjects, being heir apparent to the crown and kingdom, according to the pofitive ap pointment of the Lord, who had pronounced him Saul's fucceffor. And as a further pretenfion for taking such a step, he was in confiderable esteem with all the nation, in confequence of God's fo publickly preferring him, when Saul had been declared as the enemy to God, and all the people, through disobedience to the Almighty Power, that

Cc 2

had

had fet him on the throne. And as the exalted virtues of the former, did naturally increase the malicious hatred and perfecution of the latter, fo David would have been acquitted, and commended, in the eyes of a vindictive, undifcerning populace, for revenging Tuch repeated, and unjustifiable provocations. Not fo, the man who feared the Lord. He knew fuch conduct would bring a certain curfe upon his reign and family. The fame good Spirit that caused him to be styled the man after God's own beart, (fome traits of human depravity excepted) inspired this grace, and dutiful deportment, this confiderate, and uniform respect to the will of the SUPREME.

The replies we may fuppofe the faithful David would have made to the proud, and fallacious reafonings of the rebellious, are too obvious, from his fteady, and humane deportment, to need a regular detail. In general we may observe, for certain, that if he was thus obedient to the will of the Almighty, even towards a prince who had fo often forfeited his protection, and whofe death appeared to him unwarrantable in any fubject to accelerate, in any fituation; far greater we may conclude, would have been his juft difpleasure, and retaliation against any fo unnatural, and ungrateful a defire of the death of an inoffenfive and beloved prince; of one fignalized by many pofitive marks of the divine protection, and deliverance, and ftudious, upon principle, to promote the general welfare of the people committed to his charge. In fhort, this memorable deportment of the loyal, and pious David, is fufficient, on this head, to excufe any further teftimony from the records of the Old Teftament, which, though nu merous, cannot be more convincing.

In the hiftory of the gofpel, we have alfo feveral fin gular texts, recommending peaceable compliance to the authority of the reigning power, however feemingly burdenfome and oppreffive in its decrees. The

cheerful