But further, submitting to every ordinance includes, not only offering no resistance to the civil authority, but also _giving it our assistance and support_. Those cannot be said to submit to every ordinance of man, who, when a spirit of rebellion is abroad in a land, use no exertions to suppress it. Many are apt to think that, if they sit quietly at home, and take no part in what is going on amiss, they are free from blame, and are fulfilling their duty; and certainly, as far as shewing no disposition to join in any acts of rebellion goes, they are right. "Meddle not," says the wise man, "with them that are given to change."[7] But more is required of the Christian, especially in troublous times, than this. "He that is not with me," saith the Saviour, "is against me, and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad."[8] Those, _i. e._ who stand neuter in the cause of Christ, professing to take neither one side nor the other, are reckoned as his enemies; for by their indifference they add strength to his enemy's cause. It is the same, then, with regard to the king, and the governors sent by him. Those that are not with them are against them; those that refuse to support their authority, that do not willingly come forward, at whatever risk to themselves, to assist them in enforcing the laws, are in reality giving countenance and strength to the rebellious. It was on this very ground that that bitter curse was pronounced against the inhabitants of Meroz, which we find recorded in the song of Deborah, Judges v. 23. They were quiet, peaceable inhabitants of a little town,[9] on the borders of Canaan, and the only fault that we hear of them, was, that, when the Israelites, the chosen people of God, were engaged under his guidance, in destroying the Canaanites, they remained at home, without declaring themselves either for or against them: but, saith the angel of the Lord to Deborah, "Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." Whence it is evident, that the Lord requires of his people a decision of character and conduct suited to the circumstances in which he places them. It is not enough for them "to cease from doing evil," they must "learn to do well."[10] There must be activity toward that which is right, as well as an abhorrence for that which is wrong. There must not be a sitting still, like the inhabitants of Meroz, but an avowing ourselves on the Lord's side. And this applies with as much force to the precept of the text, as to any which the Scriptures contain. Would we submit ourselves to every ordinance of man, we must not only stand aloof from those that oppose themselves, but we must cast in our lot with those that support them: we must be as zealous in the defence of our governors, and as ready to aid them in the execution of the laws, as others are to weaken and destroy their authority; and this leads me to observe, further,