KING DAVID's Danger and Deliverance OR THE CONSPIRACY OF Absolon and Achitophel defeated IN A SERMON Preached in the Cathedral Church of EXON On the Ninth of September 1683. Being the day of Thanksgiving Appointed for the Discovery of the Late Fanatical Plot. By Thomas Long B. D. one of the Prebendaries Psal 129.1,2 Many a time have they fought against me from my youth up yea many a time have they vexed me from my youth up but they have not prevailed against me Qui haec non videt Caecus Qui videt nec laudat Ingratus Qui Laudanti reluctatur Insanus est August de Civit. Dei l. 1. c. 7. LONDON Printed by J. C. and Freeman Collins for Fincham Gardiner at the White-horse in Ludgate-street To be sold by Walter Davies in Amen-corner 1683. To his Grace CHRISTOPHER Lord Duke of Albemarl c. Lord Lieutenant of the County of DEVON and the City of EXON Chancellor of the University of Cambridge Gentleman of his Majesties Bed-Chamber One of his Majesties most Honourable Privy-Council And Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter c. The AUTHOR Humbly devoteth Himself And this Thanksgiving-SERMON BOOKS lately published by the same AUTHOR THe Unreasonableness of Separation the Second Part. Or a further Impartial Account of the History Nature and Pleas of the present Separation from the Communion of the Church of England Begun by Edw. Stillingfleet D. D. Dean of St. Pauls Continued from 1640. to 1681. With special Remarks on the Life and Actions of Mr. Richard Baxter No Protestant but the Dissenters Plot Discovered and Defeated Being an Answer to the late Writings of several Eminent Dissenters Wherein their Designes against the Established Church of England and the unreasonableness of Separation are more fully manifested Both printed by J. C. and Freeman Collins for Dan. Brown at the Black Swan and Bible without Temple bar A Vindication of the Primitive Christians in point of Obedience to their Prince against the Calumnies of a Book intituled The Life of Julian written by Ecebolius the Sophist As also the Doctrine of Passive Obedience cleared in defence of Dr. Hicks Together with an Appendix being a more full and distinct Answer to Mr. Tho. Hunt's Preface and Postscript Unto all which is added the Life of Julian enlarg'd Printed by J. C. and Freeman Collins and sold by Robert Kettlewell at the Hand and Scepter over against St. Dunstan's Church PSAL. 64. v. 9. And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God for they shall wisely consider of his doing In the Bishops Translation it is thus All men that see it shall say This hath God done for they shall perceive that it is his doing ST Athanasius says that the Psalms are so composed as to represent the case and condition of every man And though I thought it impossible to find in sacred or prophane History a fit Parallel for this horrid Conspiracy yet by a few meditations on this Psalm our present Case appeared to be so fully described as if the Royal Prophet had penned a Prophecie of our times rather than a History of his own there being scarce a considerable circumstance in the rise growth discovery or defeating of the one which hath not a parallel line in the other whether we consider Gods many miraculous deliverances of the King the Kings excessive Clemency to an unworthy People or that Peoples deplorable ingratitude both to God and the King Nor was there more of the Malice of the Devil and unreasonable men in contriving nor of the Mercy of God in defeating the Conspiracy against King David than in this against King Charles which by that time the Parallel is drawn will so appear that all that see it shall say This hath God done c. The Title doth not declare the occasion of the Psalm which consists of Prayer and Praise and is directed to the chief Musician to be set as a holy Anthem to perpetuate the memory of a gracious deliverance from a formidable Enemy that sought after his life It is not agreed who this Enemy was Dr. Hammond with some others think it to be Saul but the whole contexture of the Psalm expresseth the Rebellion of Absolon and Achitophel so fully that there is not a thread wanting or misplaced It is a Rule with Expositors that where the Title of the Psalm is defective it ought to be referred to the preceding Psalm wherein v. 11. the Prophet gives himself the Title of King which he never did while Saul was alive and therefore some very learned Expositors conclude that it was written contra Achitophelem Collegas ejus against Achitophel and his Confederates Instead of a Comment on the Text I shall onely joyn the two authentick Translations together and there will need no other Exposition for thus it runs All men shall see it i. e. the Iniquity of the Conspiracy and the righteous Judgments of God on the Conspirators and fear and shall declare the work of God saying This hath God done for they shall perceive that it is his work and shall wisely consider of his doing The Parallel runs in five or six lines The first shews the Person against whom the Conspiracy was aimed The second a Character of the persons joyned in the Conspiracy The third the Matters of Fact or overt Actions The fourth the Methods and Arts used to bring it to effect The fifth Gods Goodness and Wisdom in the discovery and defeating of it And sixthly if our Gratitude may run parallel with that of David God may have the Glory and we may enjoy the Comfort and Continuance of this signal Mercy First of the Person against whom the Conspiracy was intended King David a King who was the greatest Favourite of Heaven who had been exercised with as many Troubles delivered and established on his Throne by as many Miracles as ever the People of Israel were till they were setled in Canaan And 't is no less a wonder that after so good a King had been so long in the Throne which was well-nigh forty years and God had done so great things for him and he for God his Church and the true Religion against all Opposition when for Plenty and Peace Laws and Liberties Religion and all necessary helps to Devotion and true Piety when for so long a time there had been no decay no leading into captivity but their Sons did grow up as young Plants and their Daughters were as the polished corners of the Temple that there should be any complaining in their streets Much more that the People should grow weary of such a King as was the Fountain of such Blessings and like Lucifer not content with the beatifick Vision and the pleasures at Gods right hand confederating with evil Angels to divide the Glory and Power of that Kingdom among themselves be deservedly condemned to chains of darkness and reserved to the judgment of the great day King David v. 4. is called a perfect man
Rom. 13.2 in the books of some who term themselves true Protestants than in all those which are written by such as they justly condemn for Idolatrous and Traiterous Papists Let any of them read over all Coleman's Letters as printed by Authority and extract the most dangerous Positions for Rebellion in them and I dare parallel all of them in one Book of a Leading Dissenter which he yet stiles his Holy Commonwealth With what face can these men pretend any longer that they cannot through Scruples of Conscience come up to the Church of England in the practice of an innocent Ceremony who have outgone the Church of Rome as well in the practices as in the principles of Rebellion and Bloudshed The second Conspirator was Sheba the Son of Bichri of whom David was the more afraid because he came Sobrius ad evertendam Rempub. 2 Sam. 20.6 Now shall Sheba do us more harm than did Absolon But notwithstanding his professed Sobriety the Text calls him a man of Belial and as it is said when one mad Dog bites another and that a third they all run mad so the Venom of Achitophel's tongue infected all that conversed with him with perfect madness for who but a mad man would kick at the Crown of David and think to make a Foot-ball of it to be tossed by every Clown Yet this the vertuous and noble Sheba attempted He blew the trumpet against the Succession 2 Sam. 20.1 We have no part in David neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse every man to his tents O Israel And mighty numbers of the men of Israel withdrew from David to follow Sheba except the men of Judah who clave unto their King So great a Party had he formed in the City Abel that it was like to have perished with him but by good advice his head was cut off and so that Mischief prevented 2 Sum. 20.22 Yet this great man thought to do as Sampson to pull down the Pillars of the State and to slay more at his death than he had done in his life-time and as if it had not been enough to draw others into the same Perdition with himself in his life-time heacted so as to make Israel to sin after his death For what man that pretends to be a true Protestant would think it more eligible and thank God that he died by the Ax being condemn'd as a Traytor than to go to Heaven in flames of fire for the true Religion if it had pleased God to call him to a fiery trial The next person among David's Enemies was that Churl Nabal who was of the house of Caleb that Caleb I suppose of whom it is written Numb 14.24 that he was a man of another spirit who obeyed God and served his servant Moses fully And by the blessing of God and the Kings bounty he became a very great man and had large possessions all which were preserved to him by David 1 Sam. 25.21 I have kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness so that nothing was missing of all that pertained to him Now David being in distress he sent ten young men to greet him in his name Peace be to thee and peace be to thy house and peace be to all that thou hast we come in a good day a day when Nabal kept a feast like the feast of a king and his request is very mean Give I pray thee to David and his servants whatever cometh to thy hand This was extremely modest where all was owing to intreat so small a pittance and there was extreme folly as well as ingratitude in denying a little portion to him that could have commanded all Yet hear the Answer of this Churl 1 Sam. 25.10 Who is David and who is the son of Jesse shall I take my bread and my water and my flesh and give it to men that I know not whence they be At which Answer David was greatly provoked being thus rewarded evil for good v. 21. and railed on v. 14. by him who had been a will unto him both by night and day that none did hurt him v. 16. for which he was sentenced to death But probably he might have obtained pardon from David if he could have pardoned himself but at the very hearing of the Sentence his heart died within him v. 37. and he became as a stone and within ten days after he was found dead The next Character of the Conspirators is that of Ziba who was a servant of the house of Saul as his Father had been in the first War against David a wealthy man he was too but a great part of his wealth was raked together by false Informations subtile Insinuations and Sequestrations As he never loved the King himself so he hated all those that did love him Mephiboseth the Son of Jonathan David's old and faithful friend gave order to Ziba to prepare his Asses that he might wait on the King in his distress but as he complains 2 Sam. 19.26 Ziba deceived him and yet he had the confidence to accuse his Master in a high degree ch 16.3 as if he tarried at Hierusalem with a purpose to make a Party for himself against David and had said To day shall the house of Israel restore me the Kingdom of my Father By such slanderous suggestions many of David's most loyal Subjects were rendred suspected of the People as Pensioners to a forraign power Promoters of an Arbitrary Government and evil Counsellors And so subtile and importune were the Informers in their Accusations that David was inclined to believe them rather than Mephiboseth who had been a great sufferer and hearty sorrower for him ch 19.24 He had neither dressed his feet being lame in them both nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace and ready he was to part with all that he had though to Ziba himself for the preservation of the publick peace yea let him take all for as much as my Lord the King is come to his house in peace This Ziba was a fellow-servant in the house of Saul with Doeg the Edomite that Doeg who at the command of Saul fell on Abimelech and the rest of the Priests of the Lord and slew in one day fourscore and five persons that wore the linen Ephod and their wives and their children and sucklings and all their cattle he slew with the edge of the sword 1 Sam. 22.18 And wherefore slew he them but onely for their fidelity to David because they gave him victuals and assisted him with a sword and prayed to God for him v. 10. when he was persecuted by Saul A cruelty which none of Saul's Footmen would execute v 17. but these children of Edom in the day of the distress of Hierusalem and Sion cryed out Raze it raze it even to the foundations thereof Psal 137.7 Ziba was a principal Persecutor of the Church of God next to Doeg he countenanced