Moft writers fuppofe it to have ended with the JUDGES; but fcarce any bring it lower than the CAPTIVITY. On the contrary, I hold that, in ftrict truth and propriety, it ended not 'till the coming of CHRIST.

1. That it ended not with the Judges appears evident for these reasons:

i. Tho' indeed the People's purpose, in their clamours for a King, was to live under a gentile Monarchy like their idolatrous neighbours; (for fo it is reprefented by God himself, in his reproof of their impiety) yet in compaffion to their blindnefs, he, in this inftance, as in many others, indulged their prejudices, without expofing them to the fatal confequence of their project: which, if complied with, in the fenfe they formed it, had been the withdrawing of his extraordinary protection from them, at a time when they could not fupport themselves without it. He therefore gave them a King; but fuch an one as was only his VICEROY or Deputy; and who, on that account, was not left to the People's election, as he left his own Regality; but was chosen by himself: the only difference between God's appointment of the Judges and of Saul being this, that They were chofen by internal impulse; He, by Lots, or external defigna

tion.

2. This king had an unlimited executive power; as God's Viceroy muft needs have.

3. He had no legislative power: which a Viceroy could not poffibly have.

f

I SAM. viii. 7.

VOL. IV.

4. He

4. He was placed and difplaced by God at pleafure of which, as Viceroy, we fee the perfect fitnefs; but as Sovereign by the people's choice, one cannot easily account for; because God did not chufe to fuperfede the natural Rights of his People, as appears by his leaving it, at first, to their own option whether they would have God himself for their King.

5. The very fame punishment was ordained for curfing the King as for blafpheming God, namely, ftoning to death; and the reafon is intimated in these words of Abishai to David, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he curfed the LORD'S ANOINTED? This was the common title of the Kings of Ifrael and Judah, and plainly denoted their office of Viceroyalty: Improperly, and superftitiously transferred, in these latter ages, to chriftian Kings and Princes.

From this further circumftance, a Viceroyalty is neceffarily inferred: The throne and kingdom of Judea is all along exprefly declared to be God's throne and God's kingdom. Thus, in the first book of Chronicles, it is faid that Solomon fat on the THRONE OF THE LORD, as King, instead of David his father. And the queen of Sheba, who vifited Solomon, to be inftructed in his wifdom, and doubtless had been informed by him of the true nature of his kingdom, compliments him in these words: Bleffed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to fet thee on HIS THRONE, TO BE KING FOR THE LORD THY GOD. In like manner Abijah fpeaks to the house of Ifrael, on their

2 SAM. xix. 21. h Chap. xxix. ver. 23. 1 2 CHRON.

defection

k

defection from Rehoboam: And now ye think to withstand the KINGDOM OF THE LORD in the hands of the fons of David *. And to the fame purpose, Nehemiah: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments, and thy teftimonies wherewith thou didst teftify against them. For they have not ferved thee in THEIR KINGDOM' The fenfe, I think, requires that the Septuagint reading fhould be here preferred, which fays EN ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑ ΣΟΥ, IN THY KINGDOM. And this the Syriac and Arabic verfions follow. As Judea is always called bis kingdom, fo he is always called the King of the Jews. Thus the Palmift: Thine Altars, O Lord of Hofts, my KING and my God". And again: Let Ifrael rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their KING". And thus the Prophet Jeremiah: The KING, whofe name is the Lord of Hofts.

7. The penal Laws against idolatry were still in force during their Kings; and put in execution by their best rulers, and even by men infpired. Which, alone, is a demonftration of the fubfiftence of the THEOCRACY; because fuch laws are abfolutely unjuft under every other form of Government.

As to the title of King given to thefe Rulers, this will have small weight with those who reflect that Mofes likewife, who was furely no more than God's deputy, is called King: Mofes commanded us a Law; even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was KING in Jeshurun, when

k

1 2 CHRON. xiii. 8. Chap. ix, ver. 35. n PSALM Cxlix. 2, lxxxiv. 3.

the beads of the people, and the tribes of Ifrael were gathered together o.

Let us now see what the celebrated M. Le Clerc fays in defense of the contrary opinion, which fuppofeth the THEOCRACY to have ended with the Judges. Father Simon of the Oratory had said, that the republic of the Hebrews never acknowledged any other CHIEF than God alone, who continued to govern in that quality, even during the time in which it was Subject to Kings. This was enough to make his learned adverfary take the other fide of the queftion; who being piqued at Simon's contemptuous flight of his offered affistance, in the project for a new Polyglott, revenged himself upon him in thofe licentious Letters, intitled, Sentimens de quelques Theologiens de Hollande, where his only bufinefs is to pick a quarrel. He therefore maintains against Simon, That the Theocracy ceafed on eftablishing the throne in the race of David'. What

P DEUT. XXXIII. 4 and 5.

he

La Republique des Hebreux differre en cela de tous les autres états du monde, qu'elle n'a jamais reconnu pour chef que Dieu feul, qui a continué de la gouverner en cette qualité dans les tems mêmes qu'elle a été foûmise à des rois. Hiftoire Crit. 7 de Vieux Teft. p. 15. Ed. Rotterd. 1685.

I call them licentious, principally, for the extravagant Reafonings concerning the authority of the Pentateuch, and the divine infpiration of Scripture. The first he retracted and confuted, when the fpirit of contradiction had given way to better principles; the other (which he had inferted into the Letters as the work of another man) he never, that I know of, attoned for, by any retractation whatsoever.

Il paroît au contraire par l'Ecriture, que Dieu n'a gouverné la republique des Hebreux, en qualité de chef politique, que pendant qu'ils n'avoient point des rois, & peut-être au commence

ment

he hath of argument to fupport this opinion is but little; and may be fummed up in the following obfervation, That God did not PERSONALLY interfere with his directions, nor discharge the functions of a Magiftrate after the establishment of the Kings as he had done before. But this, instead of proving the abolition of the Theocracy, only fhews that it was administered by a Viceroy. For in what confists the office of a Viceroy but to discharge the functions of his Principal? He had been a cipher, had God ftill governed immediately as before. Mr. Le Clerc could fee that God acted by the ministry of the Judges". If then the Theocratic function could be discharged by deputation, why might it not be done by Kings as well as Judges? The difference, if any, is only from lefs to more, and from occafional to conftant. No, fays our Critic, the ceffion was in confequence of his own declaration to Samuel: For they have not rejected thee, but they have REJECTED ME, that I should not reign over them. This only declares the sense God had of their mutinous requeft; but does not at all imply

ment que les rois furent etablis, avant que la famille de David fut affermie fur le trône d'Ifrael. Sentimens, &c. p. 78.

t

- Pendant tout ce temps-la, Dieu fit les fonctions de roi, Il jugeoit des affaires-il repondoit par l'oracle- il regloit la marche de l'armée-il envoyoit même quelquefois un ange On n'étoit obligé d'obeïr aveuglement, qu'aux feuls ordres de Dieu. Mais lors qu'il y eut des rois en Ifrael, & que le royaume fut attaché à la famille de David, les rois furent maîtres abfolus, & Dieu ceffa de faire leurs fonctions. p. 78, 79.

-au lieu qu'auparavant Dieu lui-même la faifoit, par le miniftere des Juges, qu'il fufcitoit de temps en temps au milieu d'Ifraël. Def. des Sent. p. 121.

- C'eft pour cela que Dieu dit à Samuel, lors qu' Ifraël voulut avoir un roi pour le juger à la maniére de toutes les nations: ce n'eft pas toi qu'ils ont rejetté, mais moi, afin que je ne regne point fur eux, I SAM. viii. 7.

Q3

that