THE Wisdom of Solomon though it was much in­gaged in the contempla­tion of natural things, yet since it was obtained of God for the better government of that People that was committed to his charge, can [Page 2] never be supposed to have been more signall in any point than in Politicall Observations. He as a King well understood the Duty of his Place, the Power that was reposed in him, and the Obedience that was required of them whom God had placed under his Com­mand: He knew the things that contributed to the happiness of a Kingdom, and what were the most likely means either to establish, or shake his Throne, and therefore in the Words before us forewarns his Subjects against Popular Tumults and Insurrections, shews them the danger that there was, though they were many, and He but One, of entring into Leagues and Associati­ons against their King. But if the Jews gave ear to this as the instru­ction of a wise and prudent Gover­nour, [Page 3] it recommends it self to us with a more pressing obligation of being registred among those Truths which we acknowledge to proceed from God; and from that stamp of the Divine Authority impres­sed upon it, we may reap this ad­vantage, That though the World presents us only with a prospect of our danger from the Heat and Fury of an Audacious People, the Church (that always was the re­fuge of the Godly) suggests unto us more comfortable meditations of Safety and Deliverance. Here we have ancient and undoubted Mo­numents of Gods protection of his People, and out of them this Ma­xim drawn by the observation of the Wisest Man, That Insurrections of wicked doers cannot be prospe­rous, that neither Strength nor Mul­titudes [Page 4] can render their Attempts successfull, or secure them from Defeat, but though hand joyn in hand, though there be Numbers combi­ned together, yet shall they not e­scape Gods righteous judgment, or go away unpunished.

The joyning of hands hath always been the symbol and token of friend­ship, and an engagement of mu­tual Help and Assistance; but what is friendship amongst good and ho­nest Men, is amongst wicked Peo­ple conspiracie in iniquity, always designed to the mischief of more Righteous persons than themselves, and therefore bad in whatsoever sort of men are engaged in it; but if it be against their Prince, against their Laws and Government, then it amounts to Treason and Rebelli­on, the worst of Crimes. So that [Page 5] in Treating of these Words I shall shew you

First, The Heinousness of this Sin, when wicked Men joyn hand in hand and combine together, and

Secondly, Present you with some Reasons whence you may con­clude, they shall not be unpunished.

First, Of the Heinousness of this Sin, which is so hatefull both to God and Man, as it hath been ad­judged in both the Courts of Hea­ven and Earth, to be capitall above all other. How highly God de­tests it, we may hear him speaking by the mouth of one of his Pro­phets. 1 Sam. 15. 23. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and Stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry. Witchcraft is nothing less then a renouncing [Page 6] God, and entring into a Solemn League and Covenant with his grea­test enemy the devil: Idolatry is the forsaking Him to whom we owe the highest Worship and Allegi­ance, and paying a Devotion to them that are not Gods; whom we unjustly set up over us, attributing an Imaginary power to them, who are not able either to secure them­selves, or give any succour or pro­tection: and then how nearly is Rebellion joyned, how fitly to be compared with either of these, is easie to be observed in all its Pro­ceedings. For Rebels either re­nounce their Allegiance to their natural Prince, who is and should be in Gods stead over them; and joyn themselves to some that is his Enemy, as in the case of Witch­craft, or else they set up Heads of [Page 7] their own, and pay their worship to the Works of their own hands, making them Rulers whom they know to be no Such, and stand in fear, and reverence of a power of their own Creating; which is but too conformable to the notion of I­dolatry: then like the foolish Isra­elites, though they knew it was their Priest that made the Molten Calf, at their own Charges, and the expence of their own Gold, and that but Yesterday, yet to such I­dols must be ascribed the glory of the noblest Actions; These must become the Workers of a blessed Reformation; 'Tis by their gui­dance People must be brought from ignorance and Superstition, to the Light and Truth of the Gospel; even according to the letter of the old Song,Exod. 32. 4. These are thy Gods O Is­rael [Page 8] that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

'Tis by this Name the Idolatry of the Israelites is often branded, of which God thus complains, E­zek. 20. 8. They rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me; and wherein this Rebellion did consist he proceeds to illustrate, in that they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the Idols of Egypt. And in the 1^st of Isai. v. 2. he is introduced proclaiming of it to all the World, Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth: for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up Children, and they have Rebelled against me. So great a Crime as this not deserving to be put up in silence, or whispered in the ear, [Page 9] nay the house-tops were not high enough to proclaim it from, but the whole Creation is made to ring with the loud Infamy of so great a Wickedness. And how detestable it is amongst Men, the concurrent practice of all Nations will attest, so tender do their Laws declare them of the Person of their Prince, that 'tis esteemed Sacred; and they have Scripture too to warrant that Respect, which hath said of Prince that they are Gods. Psal. 82. 6.

And our own Laws have so provided for Them and their Se­curity from any Actual Violence, that they have made it Capitall only to Meditate, and Design it; that according to the counsel of the Preacher, Eccl. 10. 20. we [Page 10] should not curse the King, no not in our thought, nor the Rich in our bedchamber, for fear of some ex­traordinary providence that should discover our Malice; lest a bird of the air should carry the voice, or that which hath wings should tell the matter.

But not to trouble you any far­ther with the Heinousness of this Sin, which all good Christians do acknowledge and heartily detest, I shall only desire you to consider whence they that practise it took their first pattern; 'Twas Satan was the ringleader of the Rebels, who ventured to level his Ambi­tious thoughts at the Majesty of Almighty God, and taught his Followers by imitating his Wick­edness, to exercise the patience, [Page 11] and disturb the Happiness of Gods Vicegerents upon earth: so that we may say of them in our Savi­ours words, Joh. 8. 44. They are of their father the Devil, and the lust of their father they will do. He was a Rebel from the beginning, and is still such, while he promotes his Kingdom by these his Instru­ments and Assistants; who of all Men are most likely to be rewar­ded with a considerable portion in it; beside some other punishment which you may be assured will overtake them, as I propounded for the Second part of my Dis­course, if you will consider

First, Who it is that Wicked men engage against in their Re­bellion, and that is not only Man but God: for as St. Paul saith, [Page 12] Rom. 13. 1, 2. There is no Power but of God, the Powers that be are or­dained of God. Whosoever there­fore resisteth the Power, resisteth the Ordinance of God; and what will be the Effect thereof he further declareth, they that resist shall re­ceive to themselves damnation; which as without repentance they are a­scertained of;Heb. 10. 31. so fearfull a thing it is to fall into the hands of the li­ving God: yet that they may not wholly seem to be put off to a Future punishment, which Men of their principles may possibly give no belief to,

We may conceive in the second place the Wrath of a King (which without Solomons telling them they well enough know to be Dread­full as the Messengers of Death) [Page 13] may torment them with the fear of approaching Justice;Prov. 16. 14. which by certain though perhaps slow degrees will go on to overtake them.

For can we think that God who hath made so good provision for the Lives of heathen Princes, that com­manded all men to pay Obedience, even to the Enemies and Persecu­tors of the Church of his Son (for such the Powers were, the Emperours that then ruled when St. Paul wrote his Epistles) and will he leave the Nursing Fa­thers of his people, those that re­semble Himself in the similitude of their Love and Tenderness to his Flock, as well as in the Power they have received from him? Can we, I say, imagine that such [Page 14] should be left destitute of his Immediate protection? who be­ing as they ought to be, not a Terrour to Good Works must needs be such to the Evil;Rom. 13. 4 and as they are ordained Gods Ministers for good to us, —5. so are they in like man­ner by him appointed Revengrs to execute wrath upon him that doth e­vil: who having the Justice of the Cause on their side, fight to maintain Gods right as well as their own, have a good Conscience a­nimating them within, have the Hearts and Hands of all that are Loyall, the Prayers of all that are Devout to assist them. Such For­ces are not easily overthrown, by Men whose consciences fly in their faces; whose guilt conveys more fear into their Hearts, than their Despair of pardon (whence [Page 15] commonly their Rage proceeds) can supply them with of valour and resolution.

But it is true that Temporal pu­nishment hath not always been allotted to Rebels and Traytors; sometimes their Arms have pro­spered in despite of Justice, and their Impiety hath been reward­ed with Victory and Success; yet we have known such Men before this time who have found a Turn of their good Fortune, and by their Infamous and Deserved Deaths have left a Testimony to the World, that Rebellion though it may be successfull, is not al­ways long-liv'd; and if such wic­ked Courses may at some time raise a man High, yet they never put him out of danger or fear [Page 16] of Falling: and such a Mans pu­nishment cannot always be defer­red which Justice longs to inflict on him, either by the open force and power of his Prince; or the Secret Treachery of his own Par­ty. For who can repose suffici­ent Confidence in them whom their Allegiance could not contain within the bounds of Loyalty? And there are Examples to be found, of Men that have bought their peace with the Lives of their Confederates, and by giving up their Fellows Heads, made com­position for their Own. Which we may be the rather induced to beleeve, if

Thirdly, We consider what bad entertainment Rebellious practices have hitherto found in the world; [Page 17] in that he that has once dared to violate the Majesty of Kings, hath seldome found all the Hands that he could joyn together sufficient to uphold an Usurped Throne; and hath taught others to bear no more respect to himself than he hath shewed, and given them be­sides, a pretence to dispossess him for Unjustly Invading anothers Right: which being once taken away, and Power become the Rule of Justice; there have often risen up a Sort of Men preten­ding to it, who never failed to give one another their Deserved punishment.

I shall not mention any thing in Humane Writers to illustrate this, but confine my self wholly to Divine Authority; especially [Page 18] because the Spirit of Rebellion that any time within these late Years hath been Disturbing the peace and happiness of these King­doms, hath always made pretences to Religion, wherewith it sought to colour and maintain its Wick­edness.

Abimelech the son of Gideon was an early Usurper of the Liberties of his people,Judg. 9. and strengthened him­self by the Confederacy of the Shechemites, and the murder of Se­venty of his Brethren; yet after three years time, himself became a means to punish those his Instru­ments in wickedness, with the de­struction of all their City, for their Rebellion against him; and He re­ceived his punishment by the hand of a Woman, God making use of [Page 19] the weakness of that Sex to de­stroy him that had many Hands and a great Army joyned with him.

'Twas the consideration of some such Divine vengeance to ensue, that restrained Davids hand from slaying Saul, 1 Sam. 24. whom though his bitter Enemy, and at that very time seeking his Life, in that he was the Lords Anointed he would not kill, though he had a notable op­portunity, though he was instiga­ted by his Servants with the re­membrance of the promise of the Lord,1 Sam. 26. to deliver his Enemy into his hand, that he might do to him as it should seem good unto him. Where­as could Opportunity have tempt­ed him to a Rebellious thought, or his Confidence in the Strength and Valour of his Assistants have [Page 20] wrought him to an Action which he acknowledged no man could do and be Guiltless, he might as easily have cut off his Head, as the Skirt of his Robe, and taken away his Life, as the Spear which was set to defend it. But 'tis no won­der if a righteous Man would not venture on such a piece of Wick­edness (though with some reason he might have promised himself Freedom from being punished for it by any Humane means, being so well accompanied with such Valiant Men so ready to defend the Fact) when even a Woman (and she too one of the wickedest upon record) had so much Na­turall Religion in her, as to think no Condition, how great soever, safe and exempt from Vengeance if it were purchased by Rebellion: [Page 21] 'twas Jezebel I mean, who seeing Johu entring the Palace after he had slain her Son,2 Kings 9. 31. his King, Jehoram, chargeth him with Rebellion, and by a late example denounceth the like Vengeance to him, that Zimri had who slew his master. So much a Woman that slighted justice in other matters, thought it not possi­ble to be avoided when such a hor­rid Crime called out to Heaven for it.

And thus indeed it usually has fared with them that think to force their passage to a Crown, most commonly they have perished in the Attempt; or if they have pos­sessed themselves of their Desires, yet then, not all the Strength that they could make, and Guards they set upon their Persons, could ren­der [Page 22] them Secure from punishment, but usually God hath raised up some to pay them what they have deserved, and render them the fruit of their own Inventions.

And if after so fair warning any that take Rebellious Courses should think to succeed better at last, it appears to me a sign not only of wicked and depraved Manners, but of stupid and sottish Minds; Can they imagine their Hands were stronger than theirs that went be­fore them? yet surely they cannot think to escape Gods justice, or de­liver themselves out of his hand.

What shall we think, but that as such Men do approve themselves to be very Evil persons, so have they in a special manner appropri­ated [Page 23] to themselves one Character of the Wicked used in Scripture, being Men that forget God, or have not known him? and that they have as little reason to pretend to Religion as to Loyalty, and that their Absurdity is as great when they declare they stand up for Re­ligion, in opposition to the Ordi­nance of God, and the Directions of the Apostles, as theirs that for­merly pretended to maintain the Authority of the King, to the Ru­ine of his Kingdoms, and the De­struction of his Person.

I hope it will be needless at this time of day to persuade men not to cheat themselves with such nice Di­stinctions, which one word of sound and reall Wisdom will pre­sently solve, and this the Wise man [Page 24] teacheth, that you should fear the Lord, and the King for his sake, that you should make your Reli­gion the foundation of your Loy­alty, Prov. 24. 21, 22. and not meddle with them that are given to change, For their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruine of them both?

Now God be praised we do; and by his mercy are able to retort upon our Republican Party their own Argument drawn from Suc­cess, which when it goes along with the Right Side, is then indeed only proper to be urged as a To­ken of Gods Favour and Appro­bation. For we have seen the Counsels of Crafty men defeated, and the continued Designs that have been hatching several Years, brought to naught in a short while, [Page 25] the Numbers that were joyned o­verthrown and broken, and those that were Expected, rendred In­capable to do Themselves or the Kingdom more Mischief: and though their Strength was formida­ble, and their Confederates many, yet when we think how they are brought to punishment, we must needs acknowledge the Truth of the Text, that Wicked Men can­not escape without it.

For to say nothing of the pri­vate Lives of those that were the Leaders in the late Rebellion, which were sufficient to discounte­nance their pretences to any kind of Religion; their open Violation of all Honesty and Godliness, Plundering and Killing Men, Ra­vishing Wives and Virgins, De­facing [Page 26] Churches, and prophaning Altars, are sufficient to shew their Character, and to cry up to Hea­ven for Vengeance, and make Gods Justice glorious now it is fal­len upon them.

And now let us lay hold of the Occasion, by reflecting on Gods judgments upon others, to implore the continuance of his Mercy to our selves in this General Blessing; that God would grant the King a Long and Happy Reign, and save Him from the hands of all His enemies, whom whether it shall please Al­mighty God to clothe with shame of their Proceedings for their Con­version and Repentance; or by permitting them to go on in their own Obstinate and Destructive Ways, to bring to their Deser­ved [Page 27] Punishment; yet may his Throne be Established in Righ­teousness, and on His Head may His Crown flourish. Amen.