Absalom's Obedience David was King of all Israel and therefore all the People were bound to give unto him the things which belong unto Caesar Custom Tribute Reverence Loyalty and Dutiful Allegiance Had he been as bad as Zedekiah yet was he the Breath of their Nostrils and ought to have been Treated as the Anointed of the Lord Lam. IV. 20. Had he been as Wicked as Nero yet he was God's Vicegerent and his Subjects were oblig'd to Obey not only him as Supream but also his Ministers as sent by him and this under no less a Penalty than Damnation Had he been the Greatest Oppressour and most Cruel Tyrant yet who had any Right to say unto him what doest thou Eccles VIII 4. For against a King there is no Riseing And who can Stretch out his hand against the Lord 's Anointed and be guiltless Prov. XXX 31. 1 Sam. XXXVI 9. Is it fit saith Elihu to say to a King thou art wicked and to Princes ye are ungodly Is it comely nay is it not highly Impious to Reproach the Footsteps of God's Anointed Job XXXIV 16. Psal LXXXIX 51. And as we must not Blaspheme the Sacred Persons of Kings with our Words or Assault them with our Actions So neither must we Murmur against them or Curse them no not in our Thoughts Those who do so Rebel not only against them but against the King of Kings who hath reserv'd unto himself the Prerogative of Judging Rebuking and Punishing his Representatives Thus had David been one of the wicked Kings of Israel yet every Soul was bound to Reverence his Royal Person and instead of Opposing him by Force of Arms was oblig'd to make it part of his Daily Prayer unto God that he wou'd grant the King a long Life even for ever and ever Neh. II. 3. But if we Consider him as a most Gracious and Merciful Wise and Prudent Just and Righteous King this does hugely aggravate the Guilt of those Rebellious Israelites He resembled God not only in Power but also in Mercy Wisdom and Justice with which his Government was so admirably Temper'd that his Subjects had no cause to complain of those Mischiefs which usually accompany that Princes Reign which is manag'd with Barbarous Cruelty unworthy Cunning and Licentious Toleration What therefore should move them to Rebel against him who in Virtue as well as Dignity of Place was the Light of Israel and Worth ten Thousand of them O Foolish People and Unwise do you thus Requite your great Deliverer and Benefactor Shall David who hath destroyed the Mighty Man and preserved you from the hand of the Philistins shall he who hath saved you as well as himself from the Jaws of the Lion and the Paw of the Bear shall he whom God hath miraculously protected for your Good shall he be deposed by you who Live Thrive and Prosper under the kind Influence of his Benigne Favour Do you first judge him unfit to Govern and then Resolve to rend his Kingdom from him But where hath God made you Judges f your Princes Abilities and by what Prophet hath he Pulickly denounc'd that his Kingdom shall not Continue To what Man of God hath he given Commission to appoint another During his Reign as he did to Samuel to anoint David whilst Saul possest the Kingdom of Israel If the House of Saul by God's Express Order be rejected for his Rebellion against God shall therefore Good King David without positive command from Heaven be dethron'd by the People God does not now Transfer Kingdoms from one to another by Immediate Revelation and when he did so he never gave any Power to the People either to Create or Depose Kings When he had Chosen Moses to be King in Jesharun he abhors and is highly offended at those Factious Levites and famous Members of Parliament men of Renown who shall murmur and Remonstrate against his proceedings But notwithstanding the severe Judgment which God Inflicted upon Corah and his Rebellious Associates Absalom and Ahitophel with their Rebellious Associates are Confederates together with one Consent against their Lawful and most Gracious Soveraign III. And that they may put a Good Face upon their Rebellious Practices they declar'd that they very Unwillingly enter'd upon these Violent Courses could they any other way have redress'd these Grievances under which the whole Nation lay most sadly Opprest Alas they could easily bear the Affronts and Indignities which David by the Advice of his Evil Counsellours had put upon them But when they consider'd the Oppressions with which the Poor People were harrassed When their Ancient Liberties and Just Rights and that which ought to be most dear unto every true Israelite their Holy Religion as Reform'd by Absalom and Ahitophel at Hebron lay at Stake and were in danger to be utterly lost When Israel's Condition was thus Miserable they could not but endeavour to relieve their Beloved Countrymen and doubted not but that all who had any love to their Country or their Religion would joyn with them in this Righteous and Holy Cause They were very sensible that the Followers of David would reproach them as Rebels and Traytors and appropriate unto themselves the Title of the Loyal Party But this did not move them who for the good of their Brethren were ready not only to be evil Spoken of but to Sacrifice their very Lives and all their dearest Concerns in this World And now what honest plain and simple Israelite hearing these fair Pretences wou'd not become a Proselyte weep over the Miseries of his Nation look upon these Persons as his only Patriots and intirely give up himself unto their Conduct These sweet Words and glosing Harangues especially coming from Men famous in the Assembly were enough to Charm the Common and Vulgar tho' Innocent and Well-meaning People An Upright Man in whom was no Guile would not have suspected any in this Declaration When in Truth it was nothing but an Artificial Perswasive to draw all Sorts of men into a most Horrid and Unnatural Rebellion A Cabal of Republicans Atheists and Fanaticks met together at Hebron and agreed under the specious Pretences of Property and Publick Good Liberties and the Laws Religion and Reformation to invite into the Faction the Honest and Industrions the Ingenuous and Free-born the Pious and Devout They were already Assured of those who were like unto themselves in Temper and Principles and that they might catch others who in a Lawful Sense were Friends to Property Liberty and Religion they Baited the Hook with these Glittering Pretences See says Absalom after he had Examin'd each Man's Case thy Matters are good and right But there is no man deputed of the King to hear thee Or as it is in the Margine none will hear thee from the King downward 2 Sam. XV. 3. David now began to grow in Age and therefore Absalom took this Occasion to render him Odious and Despicable unto the People When the King Grows Old the Giddy Multitude are easily
Children of Israel he was reputed the Fairest and therefore by the Vulgar who judge more by Sense than Reason would be accounted the most Deserving And indeed a Beautiful and Graceful Visage is apt to beget a secret love and esteem in Wiser men Virtuous Habits shine more Illustriously through a Beautiful Countenance and receive some Additional Grace from a well-proportion'd Body And on the other side nothing is more dangerous than Painted sin For the deformities of Vice cover'd over with a lovely Meen will pass for the fair Embellishments of Virtue so that the unwary Admirer of the one is soon tainted with the other whilst his Fancy is pleas'd his Judgment is defil'd and he swallows the most poysonous Drugs under the Name and Colour of Golden Pills He therefore who abuses these Gifts of Nature and uses them not as Recommendations of Virtue but Enticements unto Sin does waste his Talent and has reason to fear that hereafter he shall find the Reward of a wicked and faithless Servant These graceless Servants who instead of improving do misemploy their Endowments are highly Injurious unto the Lord of Heaven and Earth and at the last day will be miserably confounded when he shall require his own with usury If none be to be so much prais'd as Absalom for his Beauty and none so much to be condemned for his uncomely Qualities If from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there be no blemish in him and yet all the Actions of his life be very ugly and fouly mishapen the Symmetry of his body will serve only to aggravate the Irregularities of his mind If the Pharisee's Hands be wash'd when his Heart is full of all manner of Corruption he 's still a Pharisee and shall receive the Woe denounc'd against such hypocritical Sinners for tho' he may deceive short-sighted Men he cannot impose upon the All-seeing God He may Cheat his Neighbour who looks only on the out-side but not him who discerns all the secrets of our hearts 3. Another advantage in Absalom's person was his Plausible Carriage and Popular Behaviour When any man came nigh him to do him obeisance he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him Ch. XV. v. 5. A courteous and friendly Deportment towards Inferiours if it proceed from a natural temper is a sign of an ingenuous disposition But if it be an Habit fix'd upon the Principles of Morality and true Religion is an admirable Vertue and most attractive of common approbation He who is sensible that Humanity and Gentleness is a common Debt will not confine his Civility to them who are above but will suffer it to descend on those below him He will treat all Persons with temperate and calm Language neither flattering his Betters nor despising those who move in a lesser Sphere He knows how to put a Just Value upon himself without the Unjust Contempt of others and does not think a Disdainful and Proud Behaviour to be a necessary Qualification of an Accomplish'd Gentleman He as much avoids the Moroseness of the sullen Stoick as the Vanity of the light Epicurean Having first sought himself in his own Conscience and endeavour'd to approve himself unto God as he does not seek so he doth altogether disdain other men's esteem if he can Please them for their good to edification or which by the way is the true meaning of Edification can thereby build them up in their Christian Faith in the Communion of the one Holy Catholick-Church Had Absalom's obligeing Carriage been founded upon this Principle and directed onely to this End no wise Man would have blam'd his Conduct But when his Popularity sprang from a rotten and corrupt heart and was design'd to inveigle men into a treacherous Conspiracy When he complemented the People only in order to his own Greatness and his Father's Ruine All his fair Words and taking Gestures were but so many Artificial Tricks of Leger-de-main whereby he stole away the Hearts of the People from his Father and of Loyal Subjects transform'd them into Revolting Rebels As the Lion is most Couchant when his Aims are most bloody so he put on the Guise of the greatest Meekness and Humility that with greater advantage he might seise upon his prey He fell down and humbled himself that the Congregation of the poor might fall into the hands of his Captains Psal X. 11. 4. In the next place we may observe That Absalom's stout Courage and manly Resolutions prompted him to Engage and promise unto himself Success in such a dangerous Undertaking His High Spirit could not well brook any Equal much less a Superiour tho' it was his own Father who by a triple Right Natural Civil and Religious might have commanded his Obedience This threefold Cord one would think might have bound his extravagant Passions to their good behaviour But alas what Obligations are strong enough to restrain the unruly Efforts of an hard-mouth'd Courage What signifies Reason Law and Duty on the one side or the prospect of Danger on the other to a Valiant Heart enflamed with the Fire of Ambition Such an one sees no Obstacles either of Conscience or Difficulty in the way therefore he presses on without either wit or fear and doubts not but that he shall either find or make an easie passage unto his desir'd Kingdom Had Absalom sat down and calmly consider'd with himself what an horrid Crime it was to Depose his Lawful Soveraign and dearest Parent how hard a matter the Subversion of a well settl'd Kingdom was likely to prove how strongly Princes are guarded by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and how frequently the Divine Providence doth detect and confound the Designs of Disobedient Sons and Rebellious Subjects Had he seriously weigh'd these things he would have found that his fancy'd Dominion and Greatness in one Scale was not able to counter-ballance the Sin and Danger of this Conspiracy in the other But what Reason and Consideration can be expected from Brutal Courage and Armed Madness From Natural Strength heated with the Feaverish Imaginations of Crowns and Scepters This High and Daring Disposition Absalom's Politick-Drivers saw and abused His heady Resolution and inconsiderate Boldness made him they knew very well the fitter Instrument to actuate their Malice They give Advice and he is to undertake the Combats They Contrive and he is to Act within those Lines which they have Chalked-out As his Blood serv'd to Countenance so his Great Spirit to Animate their Wicked Intentions Out of his Discontented Passion his Counsellors wrought their own Ends and as it often happens unto Young and Noble Dispositions entangled him in their Old and most Dishonourable Designs But such men shall surely answer not only for themselves but also those whom they have Seduced If Absalom by the Management of a Faithful Counsellour might in his Station have become an Ornament of his Country and by Ahitophel's wicked Insinuations is made the worst of Subjects such
fall upon some part of the Army and defeating them put the other to flight Then he suits his language to the proud humour of the Vain-glorious Prince He counsels that all Israel be gathered together even from Dan unto Beersheba as the sand that is by the Sea for Multitude That he himself like a couragious General should Command them in Person Thus he tells him that he might promise himself Success Such a numerous Army would fall upon him as the dew upon the ground And if he was fled to any City wou'd be able to draw him and the City it self and all his Company into the River Absalom's youthful Fancy was hugely struck with these big Words and hyperbolical Expressions so Ahitophel's Advice not taking Effect David gains time to strengthen and prepare himself with necessary Provisions against the danger with which he was encompassed Hushai presently acquaints Zadok and Abiathar with what had passed and lest Absalom being fickle should alter his Resolution he advises them to send word unto David saying Lodge not this night in the plains of the Wilderness but speedily pass over Jordan In this management of Hushai we may observe a rare mixture of Obedience Faithfulness and Discretion Treason is usually jealous of unexpected Friendship and Absalom taking his newly reconciled Enemy for a Spy might probably have deliver'd him over unto present Execution But his clear spirit was not moved with this Consideration He fears not Absalom's Displeasure when he acts in obedience unto David's Commands Besides had he been an Ahitophel and not an Hushai had he been a Wicked and not an Honest Politician Absalom's greatness might have tempted him to have quitted David's broken Fortunes and have courted the Affections of his Rising son But he like a Faithful Subject hates to be Treacherous to his Master and chuses rather to mourn with David in his Afflictions than triumph with his Rebelious Subjects And as his Obedience and Fidelity were remarkable in this critical juncture so his Conduct was exactly discreet in this great and dangerous Concern He did not like an officious Politico intrude himself into Absalom's Presence but waited a convenient Opportunity and stay'd 'till he was ask'd And when he offer'd his Counsel 't was with all due submission unto Ahitophel's greater Wisdom onely at this time he beg'd leave to dissent from him The Counsel which Ahitophel hath given at this time is not good And after he perceiv'd that Absalom was of this Opinion how careful is he to lose no time with what haste doth he fly to the Priests that they might immediately dispatch a Messenger unto the King 2. They extremely glad to hear so good News forthwith observe his Instructions which were no doubt that they should acquaint the King with the whole state of Absalom's Affairs as well as to desire him to provide for his own present Safety This they did by a silly Maid whose tender Age and Sex made her unfit for such a piece of Service had she not been an Instrument in the hands of God who by the most Contemptible Means doth often confound the Wisdom of the Wise By strength alone no man can prevail The Race is not always to the swift nor the Battel to the strong King David at this time was not saved by the multitude of an Hoast but by the despicable and unarmed weakness of a single Woman Abiathar was at this time the High-priest and Zadok next in order to him but both of them David's faithful Servants they had not learnt the New Doctrine of Resistance nor did they act by the Politick Rule of our Modern Laodiceans who really neither espouse the King's Cause nor the Faction of his Enemies but stand aloof off till they may with discretion join themselves to the stronger side Zadok and Abiathar were as wise as they but more honest and tho' they were God's Priests yet continued the Kings Loyal Subjects in his greatest Distress and utmost Extremities They were obedient unto David's Command and continued in the City tho' with no small hazard of their lives tho' it was known that they were no Friends unto Absalom's Designs I wish that some who term themselves the Ministers of the Gospel would acquit themselves in this respect as well as these howsoever despised Priests of the Law And it 's well if the immoveable Loyalty of our Clergy to the Crown be not the Chief Reason why they are treated by her Enemies on both sides with such contempt and scorn But if this be our only Crime we own and glory in it and are no more asham'd to imitate the Jewish Priests in their Christian Vertues than we are to be called by their Name We are ready to attend our Lord the King whithersoever he goes but if he shall please to order us to waite upon the Ark of God in Jerusalem we obey and shall there With Zadok and Abiathar serve him to the utmost of our power as well with our Daily Actions as Constant Prayers But it may be thought that I do too much divert from my Subject I shall therefore return And having observ'd Hushai's prudent Address Zadok and Abiathar's watchful Care for their Prince's Safety in the next place this Great Deliverance must chiefly be ascrib'd unto the good Providence of God in whose hands are the hearts of Kings Without the Divine Protection all Humane Means are weak and insufficient It was God alone who turned the counsel of Ahitophel into foolishness He brought Hushai to David in this exigence mov'd him to send him back into the City and enclin'd Absalom to follow his counsel tho' much worse for his purpose than Ahitophel's It was he who caus'd Zadok and Abiathar to remain in Jerusalem and made them the happy Instruments of the King's Deliverance Without his Providential Care these Watchmen had waked but in vain These things did not happen by Fate or Chance but by his Appointment who giveth Salvation unto Kings and sheweth Mercy unto his Anointed Whatever men may propose unto themselves it is only in the Power of the Almighty to dispose The Politicians may Consult and the Souldiers fit their Arms but without God's permission neither the Counsels of the one nor the Weapons of the other can prevail against King David The Pharisees consulted how to put Jesus to death And some profligate Villains had sworn to take away S. Paul's life but neither can execute their malicious Purposes when God shall please to interpose in the behalf of injur'd innocence Absalom with his Great Men may Rebel and take Counsel against the Lord and against his Anointed but he who dwelleth in Heaven shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision He shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Psal II. 2 4 5. He hearkens unto Davi'd's Prayer And by Hushai's honest Policy Zadok and Abiathar's Loyal Piety together with the diligent industry of a silly Maid turns Absalom's Strength into Weakness and