Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-06-21
From The New York Independent.
Case Of The People VS.. Saul.
ny REV. GEO. n. cHEEvER.

! One Of the most Instructive instances of
| disObpdignce 10 iululman aud unrightcous
law, is To be found ia the case of the Pcuple
u.s. Saul, iu behalf of Jonathan. The ponu-
lar adjudication oi this case, simply hy united
moral power, aud the peaceful victory OF
equity over unrighleOIis law, are recorded Ia
the l4th chapter OF the LIST book OF Samuel.
The monarch had commanded thai through
ont the day Oi battle, no food should he eaten
I'LL the evening. Jonathan heard not when
his father c!iargcd the people with this oath;
aud when they encountered quantity OF
honey in their march, Inc put forth his hand
aud eat of il ; and when the. people informed
him of the curse, then said Jonathan. Nm
father hath troubled The idad. Nevertheless,
thus Tar, though the rxaciun was severe and
injurious, the people obeyed, each one pa
,ienty enduring Tor himself lhe personal in.
convenience.
But when it came to an immortality rednir-
cd OF them, or To their consent demanded TO
an act of injustice aud cruelty against an in.
norcnt peraOn, they uniedIy aud rcsuluiely
refused obedience. When un inquest was
held ms to the proceedings of the day, then
the King swOrc n great oath, that in whose.
| ever the sin had been found that day, though
it were in Jonathan himself, he should sure
ly die. But there was not a man among all
the people who answered him. They only
Snid IN calm determination, Go Oh with thy
trial MS seemeth good unto thee. So when the
truth was known, Saul answered, Cop do 50,
and more also, for thou shat surely die, Jonathan.
But now was the peoples turn; aud with
ms united aud resOlntG II personal diSoJeiicnce,
when this inhunanty was required OF them,
as the patient obedience which they had cX-
ercisrd when the thing required of ihcm was
simply their own abstinence from food, they
declared, one and all, that this should not he
As they had nbstained from food in Chewing
| the Kings commandment, 40 NOW they
would abstain from sin ngninst Con, and dis
obey II. IL was plain case of law against
morality, aud morality against law. And
the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan
| die, who has wrought this great salvation in
| Israeli God forbid! As the Lord Iiyeth,
| there shall not one hair OF his head fall TO
the ground; for he bath wrought with God
this day. So The people rescued Joadihln, that
he died not.
Now this is not n mere common cnsc of
disObedience TO u civil statute, but il wns
! flat, downright, peaceable mutiny. 1t was n
| martial law Hs well as civil, under which
they were held at SauI's supreme con,rnnnd.
hoth as King and General; bur, if in any
particular, Saul commanded what was uii-
Just before God, their duty was to dsohey il.
Every one oi them, without exception, pro-
wing faithful 10 God, Saul could do nothing
NJ ali with them. He could not find single
individual to execute his unjust command /;
aud this being the case, seeing so calm, uni
vcrsal, and reSOntc disobedcncc, he dared
not attempt to execute it himself. The peo-
pie needed nothing ia such n case, for yicto-
ry OF the right, but simple disobedience TO
the wrong. No violence was requisite, nor
any appeal 10 il. Their united will was e.
nOugh 10 make the execution ofthe mandate
Of the tyrant impossible. 1t was peaceful,
triumphant victory, oi equity over unrighieous
Law, 10y simple diSobedience, by simply rer-
slug To obey man when he required that
which was contrary to God.
Now il this spirit everywhere prevailed. if
It were well known that men would not obey
unjust law, aud that mems consriences could
not he bought or corrupted, 10 be Instruments
III executing It, such thing rs unjust law
would soon cease out of existence. The
most tyrannicnl government would be shorn
OF its power; for even Nero could not have
imprisoned or bcheadod the whole people of
ROME, supposing they all, TO n man, dsohey-
ed an nnrighteons edict. Simple disobe-
dirnce, for conscience.sake, when il becomes
general, palses the arm Of unrighteous pow
er. II is the mOsl perfect security of liberty
IT is better than millions of soldiers, stronger
Than ten thousand navies.