7. When David dwelt in the country of the Philistines, he and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites; and David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, 1 Sam. xxvii. 8, 9. This was without public authority, having none from Saul, none from Achish, in whose country he dwelt, and none of his own, being no magistrate. We deny not the divine motion, but plead, that it is imitable from its moral ground, which was that command to cut off the Amalekites, Exod. xvii. and the Amorites, whose relicts these nations were; the same ground that Saul the magistrate had to destroy them. Whence it is lawful sometimes for others than magistrates to do that which is incumbent to magistrates, when they neglect their duty. All I plead for from it is, If it be lawful for private persons, upon the call of God, to cut off their public enemies, when they are obliged by the command of God to destroy them, though they be living quietly and peaceably in the country; then may it be lawful, in cases of necessity, for private persons to cut off their public enemies, whom they are obliged, by the covenant of God, to bring to condign punishment, and to extirpate them, (as the covenant obliges in reference to malignant incendiaries) when they are ravening like lions for their prey.

8. In the days of Ahab and Jezebel's tyranny, whereby the idolatrous prophets of Baal were not punished according to the law, Elijah said unto the people, 'Take the prophets of Baal, let none of them escape; and they took them to the brook Kishon, and slew them there,' 1 Kings xviii. 40. How Mr. Knox improved this passage we heard before, in the historical representation, Per, 3. and Jus pop. vindicates it, that in some cases private persons may execute judgment on malefactors, after the example of Elias here. Which fact, Peter Martyr, in locum, defendeth thus: 'I say it was done by the law of God; for, Deut. xviii. 20. God decerned that the false prophet should die; and chap. xvii. the same is said of private men and women, who would worship idols; but, chap. xiii. not only is death threatened against a seducing prophet, but a command is added, That no man should spare his brethren.—3dly, It is commanded, that the whole city, when it becometh idolatrous, should be cut off by fire and sword:' And, Lev. xxiv. 14. 16. it is statute, that the blasphemer should not live: 'to which we may add the law or equity of taliation: for these prophets of Baal caused Jezebel and Ahab kill the servants of the Lord.' See Jus pop. cap. 20. pag. 425. Upon this also Mr. Mitchel defends his fact, as above,—'Also Elijah, by virtue of that precept, Deut. xiii. gave commandment to the people to destroy Baal's priests, contrary to the command of the seducing magistrate, who was not only remiss and negligent in executing justice, but became a protector and defender of the seducers; then and in that case, I suppose the Christians duty not to be very dark.'

9. This idolatrous and tyrannical house was afterwards condignly punished by Jehu, 2 Kings ix. x. chap. who destroyed all the idolaters, who were before encouraged and protected by that court, chap. x. 25. This extraordinary fact was not justified by his magistratical authority; for that was as extraordinary as the fact itself, and conferred as a mean to accomplish the fact. He had no authority by the people's suffrages, nor was he acknowledged as such by the court or body of the people, only the Lord gave it extraordinarily. But it is not the imitation of his assumption of authority that is here pleaded for, but the imitation of his fact in extraordinary cases, when not only tyrants and idolaters pass unpunished, but their insolency in murdering the innocent is intolerable. Mr. Knox vindicates this at length, as before, and shews, that it had the ground of God's ordinary judgment, which commands the idolater to die the death; and that though we must not indeed follow extraordinary examples, if the example repugn to the law, but where it agrees with and is the execution of the law, an example uncondemned stands for a command; for God is constant, and will not condemn in ages subsequent what he hath approved in his servants before. See the Testimony of Period 3. above, and Jus pop. cap. 20. pag. 418.

10. When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, had tyrannized six years, at length Jehoiada, with others, made a conspiracy against her, to depose her, and make Joash king; which when it was discovered, she cried treason, treason, as indeed it would have been so, if she had been the lawful magistrate; for it was an attempt of subjects against her that had the possession of the sovereign power. But Jehoiada commanded the captains to heave her forth without the ranges, and him that followeth her kill with the sword; and they laid hands on her, and she was slain, 2 Kings xii. 14,—16. That this is imitable in the punishment of tyrants, is cleared above. If therefore it be lawful for subjects to kill usurping tyrants, and such as follow them to help them, under whom nevertheless people might have a life; then it must be lawful for private persons to put forth their hand against their cut-throat emissaries, in a case of necessity, when there is no living for them.

11. When Amaziah turned idolater and tyrant, after the time that he turned away from the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent to Lachish after him and slew him there, Chron. xxv. 37. This fact is before vindicated by Mr. Knox, Period 3. afterward Head 2. and Head 5.

12. When Esther made suit to reverse Haman's letters, the king granted the Jews in every city, not only to gather themselves together, and to stand for their lives, but also to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women,—and to avenge themselves on their enemies. And accordingly in the day that their enemies hoped to have power over them, the Jews gathered themselves to lay hand on such as sought their hurt, and smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, Esth. viii. 11, 13, chap. ix, 1-5, &c. They had indeed that law of nature fortified by the king's accessary authority, as Valentinian, by his edict, granted the like liberty, to resist any unjust invader to depopulate the lands of his subjects, that he might be forthwith liable to a deserved punishment, and suffer that death which he threatned.—And the like of Arcadius is extant, in the Justinian Cod. Tit. How it may be lawful for every man to vindicate himself and the public, without the concurrence of a judge. But that doth not exclude the lawfulness of such resistances in case of necessity, without public authority; so here, it was not the king's commandment that made the Jews avenging themselves lawful, if it had not been lawful before and without it; it gave them only liberty to improve that privilege, which they had from God and nature. Surely their power of resisting did not depend on the king's commandment, as is proven, Head 5. Ergo, neither their power of avenging themselves, to prevent their murder by their enemies, which they could and were obliged to do, if there had been no such authority: Ergo, it was not only suspended upon the king's authority. And as for Haman's sons and adherents, being Agagites, they were obliged, by a prior command, to avenge themselves on them, on all occasions, by that command to destroy Amalek: therefore it must be lawful, even without public authority, in some cases of necessity, to prevent the murder of public enemies, by laying hands on them that seek the hurt of all the people of God.

Secondly, There are some precepts from which the same may be concluded.

1. There is a command, and the first penal statute against murderers, we read, Gen. ix. 6. 'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' Here the command is given in general to punish capitally all murderers; but there may be some that no magistrate can punish, who are not here exempted, to wit, they that are in supreme authority, and turn murderers, as was said above. Again, the command is given in general to man involving all the community (where the murderer is) in guilt, if his blood be not shed; as we find in the scripture, all the people were threatned and punished because judgment was not executed; and when it was executed even by these who were no magistrates, the wrath of God was turned away, whereof there are many examples above. Further, if the command to shed the blood of murderers be given before the institution of magistracy, then, in case of necessity, to stop the course of murderers, it may be obeyed, when there is no magistrate to execute it: but here it is given before the first institution of magistracy, when now there was no government in the world, but family government, as Grotius on the place saith, 'When this law was given, public judgment was not yet constitute, therefore the natural right and law of taliation is here held forth, which when mankind was increased and divided into several nations, was justly permitted only to judges, some cases excepted, in which that primeve right did remain.' And if in any, then in this case in question. Hence, Lex Rex answereth the p. prelate, essaying to prove, that a magistracy is established in the text denies that Ba Adam, by man, must signify a magistrate, for then there was but family government, and cites Calvin, of the same mind, that the magistrate is not spoken of here. Though this command afterwards was given to the magistrate, Numb. xxxv. 30. yet in a case of necessity, we must recur to the original command.

2. This same command of punishing murdering enemies, is even, after the institution of magistrates, in several cases not astricted to them, but permitted to the people, yea enjoined to them. As, (1.) Not only magistrates, but the people, are commanded to avenge themselves on their public enemies, as the Israelites, after their being ensnared in the matter of Peor, are commanded to vex the Midianites, and smite them, because they beguiled them, and brought a plague upon them, Numb. xxv. 17, 18. and Numb. xxxi. 2. to avenge themselves on them, and for this end to arm themselves, and go against them, and avenge the Lord of Midian: which they executed with the slaughter of all the males. So likewise are they commanded to destroy Amalek. It is true these commands are given primarily and principally to magistrates, as there to Moses, and afterwards to Saul: yet afterwards we find others than magistrates, upon this moral ground, having the call of God, did execute judgment upon them, as Gideon and David, before they were magistrates, did avenge themselves and the Lord upon them, as is before cleared. It is also true, that there was some holy severity then to be extended against particular nations as such, peculiar to that dispensation, which is not pleaded as imitable; but the ground was moral, and the right of a people's saving themselves by the destruction of their enemies; when there is no other way for it, is natural. And this is all we plead for here. If people may vex their enemies, and avenge themselves against them, even without public authority, when ensnared by their craftiness; much more may they put a stop to their insolency, by cutting off their principle and most pernicious instruments, in case of necessity, when invaded by their cruelty; but here a people is commanded to vex their enemies, and avenge themselves on them, and accordingly Gideon and David did so, without public authority, and that upon a ground which is moral and natural: Ergo—(2.) The execution of the punishment of murderers is committed to the people: 'The revenger of blood, himself shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him, he shall slay him,' Numb. xxxv. 19, 21. So that if he met him before he got into any city of refuge, he might lawfully slay him, and if he did flee to any, he was to be rendered up to the avengers hands, Deut. xix. 12. that the guilt of innocent blood may be put away from Israel, ver. 23. This revenger of blood was not the magistrate: for he was the party pursuing, Numb. xxxv. 24. Between whom and the murderer the congregation was to judge: he was only the next in blood or kindred. In the original he is called Goel, the redeemer, or he to whom the right of redemption belongs, and very properly so called, both because he seeks redemption and compensation for the blood of his brother, and because he redeems the land from blood guiltiness, in which otherwise it would be involved. I do not plead that this is always to be imitated, as neither it was always practised in Israel; but if a private man, in a hot pursuit of his brother's murderer, might be his avenger, before he could be brought to judgment, then much more may this power be assumed, in a case of necessity, when there is no judgment to be expected by law, and when not only our brethren have been murdered by them that profess a trade of it, but others also and ourselves are daily in hazard of it, which may be prevented in cutting them off. I do not see what is here merely judicial, so as to be rejected as Judaical: for sure murderers must be slain now as well as then, and there is the same hazard of their escaping now as then: murder involves the land in guilt, now as well as then, and in this case of necessity especially, that law that gives a man right to preserve himself, gives him also right to be his own avenger, if he cannot otherwise defend himself. (3.) Not only the execution, the decision of matters of life and death, is committed to them; as in the case of blasphemy and cursing, 'All that heard were to lay their hands upon his head, and all the congregation was to stone him,' Lev. xxiv. 14, 16. 'The man-slayer was to stand before the congregation in judgment. Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and avenger of blood,' Numb. xxxv. 12, 24. The people claimed the power of life and death, in seeking to execute judgment upon those that had spoken treason against Saul, Bring the men (say they) that we may put them to death, 1. Sam. xi. 12. Especially in the case of punishing tyrants, as they did with Amaziah. Certainly this is not so judicial or judaical, as that in no case it may be imitated; for that can never be abrogated altogether, which in many cases is absolutely necessary; but that the people, without public authority, should take the power of life and death, and of putting a stop to the insolency of destroyers, by putting them to death, is in many cases absolutely necessary; for without this they cannot preserve themselves against grassant tyrants, nor the fury of public enemies or firebrands within themselves, in case they have no public authority, or none but such as are on their destroyers side. (4.) Not only the power of purging the land, by divine precept, is incumbent on the people, that it may not ly under blood guiltiness; but also the power of reforming the courts of kings, by taking course with their wicked abetters and evil instruments, is committed to him, with a promise that if this be done, it shall tend to the establishment of their throne; which is not only a supposition in case it be done, but a supposed precept to do it, with an insinuation of the necessity and expediency of it, that it is as suitable as the taking away of the dross from silver, in order to the production of a vessel, Prov. xxv. 4, 5. 'Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness;' which is not only there given to kings, for then it would be in the second person spoken to them, but to the people to do it before them, as the people did with Baal's prophets from before Ahab. And our progenitors many times have done with wicked counsellors, as may be seen in the foregoing representation, and more fully in the history of the Douglasses, and in Knox's and Calderwood's histories. Hence, if it be duty to reform the court, and to take away a king's wicked sycophants, counsellors, agents, and instigators to tyranny; then it must be lawful, in some cases of necessity, to restrain their insolency, and repress their tyranny, in executing judgment upon such of them as are most insupportable, who are made drunk with the blood of innocents; but the former is true: therefore——(5.) For the omission of the executing of this judgment on oppressors and murderers, involving the whole land in blood guiltiness, which cannot be expiated but by the blood of them that are so criminal; not only magistrates, but the whole people have been plagued. As for Saul's murdering the Gibeonites, the whole land was plagued, until the man that consumed them, and devised against them to destroy them, seven of his sons were delivered unto them, to be hanged up before the Lord, 2 Sam. xxi. 5, 6. So also for the sins of Manasseh. The reason was, because if the magistrate would not excute judgment, the people should have done it: for not only to the king, but also to his servants, and to the people that entered in by the gates, the command is, excute ye judgment, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, Jer. xxii. 2, 3. though it be true, this is to be done by every one in their station, justice and order being preserved, and according to the measure of their office, and it chiefly belongs to judges and magistrates: yet this is no wrong to justice, nor breach of order, nor sinful transgression of people's vocation, not only to hinder the shedding of innocent blood, to prevent God's executing of what he there threatens, but also to execute judgment on the shedders, to prevent their progress in murdering villany, when inferior as well as superior magistrates are oppressing and tyrannizing: therefore this seeking, and doing, and executing judgment, is so often required of the people, in such a case, when princes are rebellious and companions of thieves, and in the city where judgment used to be, now murderers bear sway, Isa. i. 17. 21. the Lord is displeased where there is none, Isa. lix. 15, 16. Jer. v. 1. See this vindicated in Lex Rex, quest. 34. p. 367. and in Jus popul. cap. 10. p. 237.

3. That command concludes the same against idolaters, apostates, and enticers thereunto, Deut. xiii. 6. &c. 'If thy brother——or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, let us go and serve other gods——thou shalt not spare nor conceal him, but thou shalt surely kill him——because he sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God——And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and do no more any such wickedness.' And ver. 13. &c. 'If thou shall hear say in one of thy cities——saying, Certain men the children of Belial, are gone out——and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, let us go to serve other gods——Then shalt thou enquire——and behold if it be truth, and the thing certain——thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly.'——This cause of the open enticers to idolatry was not brought to the judges, as common idolaters, and such who were enticed to serve other gods, and worship them, were to be brought to the gates, and to be stoned first by the hands of witnesses, and afterwards by all the people, Deut. xvii. 3, 5, 7. But this is another law; of which the Jewish antiquaries, and particularly Grotius out of Philo and the Rabb. upon the place, saith, 'Whereas in other crimes the guilty used to be kept after the sentence a night and a day, that if he could say any more for himself he might, these were excepted from this benefit; and not only so, but it was permitted to any to execute judgment upon them (viz. Enticers to idolatry) without waiting for a judge. The like was used against sacrilegious robbers of the temple, and priests who sacrificed when they were polluted, and those who cursed God by the name of an idol, and those who lay with an idolatress: chiefly those who denied the divine authority of the law: and this behoved to be before the people, at least ten, which in Hebrew they called Hheda.——Neither is this to be admitted in so grievous a crime, when even the man-slayer without the place of refuge might have been killed by the kinsman of the defunct.' And upon Numb. xv. 30. the punishment of presumptuous blasphemers, he says, 'But here these are to be understood thus, that the guilty shall not be brought to the judges, but be killed by them that deprehended them in the crime, as Phinehas did to Zimri;' and proves it out of Maimonides, Pool. Synop. Critic. on the place. And it must be so; for in this case no mention is made either of judges, or witnesses, or further judgment about it, than that he that was tempted by the enticer should fall upon him, and let the people know it, that they might lay hands on him also; otherwise evil men might pretend such a thing when it was not true.