Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads Joel 3:19-21 and introduces the message title 'The First Shot,' referencing the shot heard around the world on April 19, 1775.

Joel chapter 3. And we're going to be reading verses 19 through 21. Now, although I'm reading this text, and although I'm going to refer to this text, you will understand why shortly. I'm not going to be expounding this text at this time. I may do so a little bit later on, but it is in relationship to the message. The title of the message is "The First Shot." The first shot, S-H-O-T.

So I hope you're putting together in your mind now what this could possibly be about. I think you shall find out shortly. Look in Joel chapter 3, beginning there with verse 19:

Historical Context of Tyranny and War

Weaver explains that wars often arise from tyranny and despotism, citing the biblical example of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12 and the American Revolution.

And the answer comes back: the war happened because of tyranny and despotism. In fact, if you were to do a study on all the major wars that have occurred, usually they occur because of tyranny and despotism. They either want control of their own country or control of other countries, and therefore, because of that tyranny and despotism, it happens. You remember what happened in 1 Kings chapter 12 when Solomon died. Rehoboam, his son, was instituted as king. And of course, in that particular chapter, the people came to Rehoboam and said, "Now your father made our burdens very heavy. If you will make them a little bit lighter, we will serve you." So Rehoboam then turned to the old men and said, "What do you advise?" And they said, "Well, look, if you will be the servant or the slave to this people, they will be your servants or your slaves forever." In other words, you serve them, they will serve you. But he rejected the counsel of the old men, and he went to the counsel of the young men. And the young men said, "You tell those people that your little finger is going to be thicker than your father's loins, and your father beat them with whips, but you're going to beat them with scorpions." And so three days later, when the people came back, that's exactly what he said.

And Israel said, "To your tents, O Israel! What portion do we have in the house of David?" And they broke away. They left the confederation that was there. Rehoboam then thought that, you know, hey, things are all right. I'm going to still collect my taxes from them. And he and Adoram, the tax collector, went to collect taxes from Israel. And Adoram was stoned to death, and Rehoboam got in his chariot and fled as quickly as he could to Jerusalem.

So here's a whole incident that basically happened over tyranny and despotism. It's the same thing that happened in 1775. Do you realize all of my life, and probably all of your lives, you were taught that no one really knew who fired that first shot? In fact, the way it was presented to me when I was in school, it was almost like there was a melee and people were just kind of mixed together and somehow a shot went off and therefore the war basically started. Obviously, English General Thomas Gage, who had sent his troops to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams, as well as to confiscate and/or destroy the powder and lead in Lexington and Concord, he is the one that stated that the English troops were first fired upon by the colonists. The truth is, however, General Gage was not there. He did not know what happened.

General Gage's Report and Eyewitness Accounts

Weaver contrasts General Gage's secondhand report with firsthand testimonies from colonists, including Sylvanus Wood, Elijah Sanderson, and Captain John Parker, who assert the British fired first.

So, therefore, whatever he heard, he heard from his men, which would have been secondhand and of course considered hearsay. And of course, he also had a motive to vindicate his men. And therefore, he's going to say very obviously that they were fired upon. Let me just read you his brief report on April the 22nd, 1775. And by the way, you have to remember, General Gage was not only the governor, the royal governor of Massachusetts, he was also the Supreme Commander of the British Army in North America.

So several days after the fighting was over, he wrote to his two superiors, the Secretary of State, the Earl of Dartmouth, and of course, the Secretary of War, who was Viscount Barrington. And here is what he said. Listen carefully. And remember, as I read this, he was not there. He said this: "I have now nothing to trouble your lordship with, but an affair that happened here on the 19th instant. I, having intelligence of a large quantity of military stores being collected at Concord for the avowed purpose of supplying a body of troops to act in opposition to His Majesty's government, I got the grenadiers and light infantry out of town under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Smith of the 10th Regiment and Major Pitcairn of the Marines, with as much secrecy as possible on the 18th at night, and with orders to destroy said military stores, and supported them the next morning by eight companies, the fourth of the same number, the 23rd, 47th and Marines under the command of Lord Percy. It appears from the firing of alarm guns and ringing of bells that the march of Lt. Col. Smith was discovered, and he was opposed by a body of men within six miles of Concord, some few of whom first began to fire upon his advanced companies, which brought on a fire from the troops that dispersed the body opposed them, and they proceeded to Concord, where they destroyed all the military stores they could find.

The whole country was assembled in arms with surprising expedition, and several thousand are now assembled about this town, threatening an attack and getting up artillery, and we're now very busy making preparations to oppose them." So, here it is. He says very clearly that his troops were going just for the simple reason to confiscate or destroy all the powder and military stores that the colonists had, and he says that, well, they were fired upon first by the colonists. Well, the interesting thing is there were eyewitnesses. There were men who were present that were fighting. There were some who were present who were not fighting. There were eyewitnesses both from the English perspective and the American perspective as well. One such eyewitness was Pastor Jonas Clark himself. Now, if you've listened to my message on the Black Robed Regiment, which deals with the preachers of the American Revolution, you should remember the name Jonas Clark because he was pastor there at the church in Lexington. Pastor Clark not only left an eyewitness account of what happened on April the 19th, 1776, he preached a memorial message from the text of Joel chapter 3, verses 19 through 21. I don't have time today to discuss this message. However, I would encourage you to go online and read the message. It is available online. It is a very excellent message.

There were many patriot pastors in those days. For instance, there was one Dr. Naphtali Daggett. He was president of Yale College. And when a body of British troops arrived and started going toward his town, some of the college students, of course, went out to oppose the British. I mean, they were vastly outnumbered. And as they were marching out to oppose the British, here came old—and he was old—Dr. Naphtali Daggett.

He was 76 years of age. He went flying past them on his old black mare with a fowling piece in his hand, just a pistol-like and a rifle. And he got himself up on a little hill and began to snipe at the king's soldiers. And the interesting thing is, it became a little more severe as they got closer. And finally, they sent a troop of men up there, and they saw this old preacher. He was in a flowing black robe. And the lieutenant looked at him. He said, "Why, you old fool, what in the world do you think you're doing opposing His Majesty's troops?" And Dr. Daggett said, "Exercising the rights of war, son, exercising the rights of war," as he reloaded his pistol. Well, he said, "If I let you go, would you promise not to fire any more upon the king's troops?" He said, "There's nothing more likely, son. There's nothing more likely." So they arrested the old preacher and forced marched him back into town, from which he later died. So there was Dr. Daggett.

There was also Archibald Scott, William Brown, and John Brown, who were three Presbyterian preachers. When the English threatened their village, what they did was this: they gathered all the young men and all the old men together and withstood the English troops. And the reason they had to get the very young and the very old was because all the other men were already out fighting. And this little bit of pure patriotism so excited General Washington. Listen to what General Washington said. He said, "If I should be beaten by the British, I will retreat with my broken army to the Blue Ridge and call the boys of West Augusta around me, and there I will plant the flag of my country." So he said, if the British whip me, I'll come back to where there's nothing but young men and old men, and we will fight it out as well. Well, Jonas Clark was born in Newton, Massachusetts on December the 25th, 1730, and he died in Lexington, Massachusetts on the 15th of November, 1805. He graduated from Harvard in 1752, and he was the successor of Pastor Hancock at Lexington, Massachusetts. He succeeded him there on the 5th of November, 1755, and he remained at that one church until his death.

He did marry John Hancock's cousin. So there was a relation there between John Hancock and Pastor Jonas Clark, as was common in those days. Pastor Clark not only preached, but he was also a farmer. He cultivated about 60 acres of land. Of course, he was an ardent patriot. And I want you to listen very carefully. As pastor of the church at Lexington, he typically preached four sermons a week, both written and orally presented. Over 2,200 sermons in his lifetime. And his discourses

were all over an hour long. So you see, I'm not alone. He preached for over an hour as well. But he was a very excellent preacher. He was very ardent. He was very hot. He was very emphatic. He was very dogmatic. He was a Calvinist. He was a Trinitarian. And he was not only that, but he was an extremely godly man. He applied the principles of the Word of God to his life. And he also applied the principles of the Word of God to his congregation. Thus, he had a very exemplary life. It's amazing that God allowed that war to break out in Lexington, and you're going to find out exactly, I believe, why God allowed that.

Edward Everett had this to say about Pastor Clark. Listen carefully. "Mr. Clark was of a class of citizens who rendered services second to none, enlightening and animating the popular mind on the great questions at issue. He well understood the state of the question between the colonies and the mother country, and from 1762 till 1776 drew up a series of papers giving instructions to the representatives sent by the town to the General Court. These papers are still among the Lexington town records and are conceived in a manly yet calm and respectful spirit. Mr. Clark was noted for his hospitality and was entertaining John Hancock and Samuel Adams at his house on the night of April the 18th, 1775, when Paul Revere warned him of the approach of the expedition sent out by Gage, one of whose objects was to surprise and capture Hancock and Adams. When Pastor Clark was asked by his guests, that is, Hancock and Adams, whether the people would fight, he replied that he had trained them for this very hour. They would fight and, if need be, die too under the shadow of the house of God."

Now, just stop and think about that for a moment here. The pastor is answering this question: "Will the people fight?" And he said, "I've trained them for this very hour. They will not only fight, they are willing to die if need be under the shadow of the house of God." And it was but a—I'm quoting now from Mr. Everett still—"It was but a few rods from Mr. Clark's house that the first blood of the revolution was shed on the following day, April the 19th, 1775. And the men that fell were his parishioners or members of his church." Now, when he says "a few rods," that term is probably foreign to us, but a rod was five and a half yards. So you're talking about a few rods, you're talking about 10 to 15 yards. That is where the battle actually started. You see, what we tend to forget is this, that Lexington Green was basically under the shadow of the church. It was basically, you could consider it the churchyard.

Yes, it was right in front. But it was under the shadow of the house of God. Now, Lexington had lawfully created the militia. The militia, as I'll point out a little bit later, was under the authority of the Continental Congress. Also, the captain of the militia was a deacon in the church of Jonas Clark. Jonas Clark was there. He was the pastor. So the men that were there at Lexington Green that day were under civil authority as well as spiritual authority as well. Well, the town chose to set up a militia. They even used the words from Pastor Clark, and here is what they said in their resolve.

"We shall be ready to sacrifice our estates and everything dear in life, yea, and life itself in support of the common cause." Do you realize that one of our problems today is we can't get people together over anything? And yet, here's a group of people who were determined that they were willing to lose their property, they were willing to lose their lives and everything dear to them for the common cause. You just stop and think how divided real genuine Christians really are. And you think how divided preachers really are. When you stop and think about that, the average pastor will not cooperate in anything unless he has the final say or unless he has authority over it. And that's amazing. And yet here, these people had a common cause, and his church members proved these words on the morning of the 19th of April. For the pastor performed eight funerals for his own men. Here's how it happened. On April the 19th, 1775, about 4 a.m., Pastor Jonas Clark and Deacon John Parker led the Lexington Minutemen out to face the invaders. By the way, I'm going to point this out a little bit later, but I don't want you to think that there's a discrepancy here. There is not.

Really and truly, the militia had been called out earlier and the English did not show up earlier that same night. There were about 150 militiamen. But since the English did not show up, they allowed them to go back. And this is the second call about 4 a.m. And here's what he said. As the British approached the Minutemen, they cried out, "In the name of the King of England, throw down your arms." The response rang out from the colonists: "We recognize no sovereign but God and no king but Jesus." Then Captain Parker said to his men, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless you're fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." And of course, the first shot that was fired is known as "the shot that was heard around the world."

Now, there's a wonderful book and it's available today. It was written by J.T. Headley, Joel Headley, and the title of the book is "The Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution." And you will find wonderful accounts of all of these men who were really responsible in teaching their people the truths of resistance to unlawful authority. But here is what Headley wrote in his book. He said, "There they found Pastor Clark who had arrived before them." Isn't that interesting? "The roll was called and 150 answered to their names. The church, the pastor, and his congregation, thus standing together in the dim light waiting for the British soldiers."

Now this was the first call. 150 men of his congregation. The British did not appear at that first alarm, and the people returned home. At the subsequent alarm, they reassembled around 60 to 80, and once the sound of the battle subsided, some 18 Americans lay on the Lexington Green. Eight were dead, all from Pastor Clark's church. Headley, therefore, concluded, and listen to this: "The teachings of the pulpit of Lexington caused the first blow to be struck for American independence." And historian James Adams added that "the patriotic preaching of the Reverend Jonas Clark primed those guns." I wonder where the preachers are today that will teach on the limited nature of civil government, the right of self-defense. William Ware of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a little bit later, wrote this, and I think this is very appropriate. He said, "It can be regarded only as a singular happy circumstance that as Lexington was to be the place where resistance to the power of England was first to occur, and the great act of a declaration of war first be made by the act of the people in the blood to be there shed, making the place forever famous in history, the minister of Lexington should have been a man of the principles, character, courage, and energy of Mr. Clark.

He was eminently a man produced by his times, more than equal to them, rather a guide and leader. As his previous life, his preachings, his conversation among his people had been but a continued and most effectual preparation for the noble stand taken by the people on the morning of April the 19th, 1775. The militia on the Common that morning were the same who filled the pews of the Meeting House on the Sunday before. And the same who hung upon the rear of the retreating enemy in the forenoon and throughout the day. They were only carrying the preaching of many previous years into practice." He goes on, he says, "It would not be beyond the truth to assert that there was no person at that time in that vicinity, not only no clergyman, but no other person of whatever calling or profession who took a firmer stand for the liberties of the country or was more ready to perform

the duties and endure the sacrifices of a patriot than the minister Jonas Clark of Lexington. When the struggle actually commenced, the people ready for it, thoroughly acquainted with the reasons on which the duty of resistance was founded and prepared to discharge the duties at every hazard. No population within the compass of the colonies were better prepared for the events of April the 19th than the people of Lexington. No people to whom the events of that day could more safely have been entrusted, none more worthy of the duties that fell to their lot, or who better deserve the honors which have followed the fateful performance of them." "No single individual probably did as much to educate the people up to that point of intelligence, firmness, and courage as their honored and beloved pastor. It was a heavy day to Pastor Clark, who on the retreat of the British saw 18 of his men lying on the Lexington Green. Eight of them were dead, the others wounded. Captain John Parker of the Lexington Militia was a deacon in Pastor Clark's church. In addition to being a believer submitted to the Bible, his militia was also under the authority not only of the city of Lexington, but also the Continental Congress."

I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. Our American forefathers were not rebels. For the vast majority of those who resisted British tyranny had been taught the biblical doctrine of interposition by their pastors. I'm sure that most of you do not remember, but I have one single sermon on the doctrine of interposition. The doctrine of interposition just simply says this, for instance—don't laugh. I'm not trying to be funny, but I'm just pointing out what should be. The president of the United States should lead us back to God and the Constitution. If he will not, the vice president should. If he will not, the Speaker of the House should. If he will not, then it keeps coming on down, and you get not only off the national level, but the state level, and then the county level. And finally, you get to the spiritual magistrates, which are the preachers.

In other words, the doctrine of interposition says, if Ron happens to be the supreme leader of the country and he's doing wrong, and Jim is under him, Jim has the authority to step in under him and say, "You're wrong. We're not going to do this." That's where states' rights come in. The states are to protect their people from the abuses of the federal government. That's the doctrine of interposition. So what I'm trying to show you is this, that the lawful way to resist tyranny is to do so under constituted authority. There must be some authority. If you try to just simply resist individually, that is rebellion. There has to be either some civil or some spiritual authority.

Do you know what our forefathers did when George III kept sending his royal governors? They rejected those royal governors and then elected and chose their own governors to lead them. In other words, they were not without authority. They chose authority and they submitted themselves to that particular authority. So when Captain Parker said originally, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. If they have a war, if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

Now, notice what he said. "Don't fire unless fired upon." What was he saying? Ours is going to be a defensive war. They will fire first. Now, usually when we talk about a just war, we talk about a defensive war. There are times in the Bible when an offensive war is a just war. For instance, and you don't have to turn there, but you remember that God ordained an offensive war against the Midianites in Numbers chapter 31. Now, the Midianites had formerly caused the people of Israel to sin. And God said, "I remember what they did. Now I want you to go and avenge for me the Midianites." And then the same thing in 1 Samuel chapter 15, where Samuel came to Saul and said, "God said, go and take care of the Amalekites." That was an offensive war. And by the way, most of the wars of Canaan were offensive wars as well. Now, I realize that Og and Sihon attacked Israel and they defended themselves and defeated Og and Sihon. I understand that.

But when they got into the land, Jericho was not attacking the Israelites. None of those other cities as well. God had given them that land. Now, the only thing I'm trying to show you is this. Wherever there is a just offensive war, you will find that the word of God came expressly to his preachers or his prophets. And they said, "This is what God designs. This is what God wants." And that's exactly what they did. So let's come back to this question. Who fired first? Was the American Revolution, the American War for Independence, was it a defensive war?

And the answer is yes. Now, I'm going to give you Pastor Jonas Clark's own testimony a little bit later. But you would be astounded at the eyewitness testimonies that you can find in regard to who fired first. I'm going to just give you several of these, okay? I'm not going to bore you with a lot of them, but here are just three or four. The first one is 23-year-old Sylvanus Wood. He was in the Lexington militia who answered the call that morning. And a little bit later in his life, when he was 74, by the way, he swore an affidavit before a justice of the peace in 1858, and here is his testimony. "I, Sylvanus Wood of Woburn, that is Woburn, Massachusetts, in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, age 74 years, do testify and say that on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, I was an inhabitant of Woburn living with Deacon Obadiah Kendall, that about an hour before the break of day on said morning, I heard the Lexington bell ring, and fearing there was difficulty there, I immediately rose, took my gun, and with Robert Douglas went in haste to Lexington, which was about three miles distance.

When I arrived there, I inquired of Captain Parker, the commander of the Lexington Company, what was the news. Parker told me he did not know what to believe, for a man had come up about a half hour before and informed him that the British troops were not on the road. But while we were talking, a messenger came up and told the captain that the British troops were within a half a mile. Parker immediately turned to his drummer, William Dimmon, and ordered him to beat to arms, which was done. Captain Parker then asked me if I would parade with the company. I told him I would. Parker then asked me if the young man with me would parade. I spoke to Douglas, and he said he would follow the captain and me."

"By this time, many of the company had gathered around the captain at the hearing of the drum, where we stood, which was about halfway between the meeting house, that is the church, and Buckman's Tavern. Parker says to his men, 'Every man of you who is equipped, follow me. And those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting house, that is the church house, and furnish yourself from a magazine and immediately join the company.'" Now, I want you to stop. I'm going to break into his testimony because I want you to turn to a scripture with me. Okay, I want you to go to 2 Kings chapter 11. 2 Kings chapter 11. So here's what the head of the militia said: if you're already armed, you follow me; if you're equipped, if not, you go into the meeting house or the church house and furnish yourself with a magazine and immediately join the company. Look in 2 Kings chapter 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 3.

You remember Athaliah was a wicked, wicked woman. She murdered all of her grandchildren except one, Joash. He was hidden, and she didn't get him. So watch this. Joash is going to be made king. Watch this. 2 Kings 11 verse 3:

—who happened to be the high priest, by the way—

"And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house; And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king." Watch. "And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in."

"And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest." Watch, "And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple." I want you to note, if you would, he armed them with weaponry that was in the temple. This is why there were magazines—rifle, shot, powder, lead, whatever—in the meeting house. So Captain Parker said—I'm going back to my quote now—"Every man of you who is equipped, follow me. And those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting house and furnish yourselves from the magazine and immediately join the company." Parker led those of us who were equipped to the north end of Lexington Common near the Bedford Road.

"and formed us in a single file. Now, listen to what he said. I was stationed about in the center of the company. While we were standing, I left my place and went from one end of the company to the other and counted every man who was paraded. And the whole number was 38 and no more." So now I'm not finished this testimony. But, you know, there was 150 that assembled the first time, but they were sent home.

Now the drum has been beaten, the bells have been rung, and men are gathering, but at this particular point, he says, there were only 38 colonists there. He says, "Just as I'd finished and got back to my place, I perceived that the British troops had arrived on the spot between the meeting house and Buckman's, near where Captain Parker stood when he first led off his men. Those British troops immediately wheeled so as to cut off those who had gone into the meeting house. The British troops approached us rapidly in platoons, with a general officer on horseback at their head. The officer came up to within about two rods"—we're talking about 10 yards—"of the center of the company where I stood. The first platoon being about three rods"—15 yards distance—"there they halted. The officer then swung his sword and said, 'Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you're all dead men. Fire!' Some guns were fired by the British at us from the first platoon, but no person was killed or hurt.

Being probably charged only with powder, it could have probably missed as well. Just at that time, Captain Parker—of course, you're going to see why. Why, of course, initially he said, 'Stand your ground.' Now Captain Parker is going to give them an order to disperse, and you're going to find out why in just a moment. "Just at this time, Captain Parker ordered every man to take care of himself." "The company immediately dispersed, and while the company was dispersing and leaping over the wall, the second platoon of the British fired and killed some of our men. There was not a gun fired by any of Captain Parker's company within my knowledge. I was so situated that I must have known it had anything of the kind been taking place before a total dispersion of our company. I've been intimately acquainted with the inhabitants of Lexington and particularly with those of Captain Parker's company, and with one exception, I've never heard of any of them say or pretend that there was any firing at the British from Parker's company or any individual until within a year or two. One member of the company told me many years since that after Parker's company had dispersed"—this would have been after they were fired upon—"and as he was at some distance, he gave them the guts of his gun." In other words, one man fired back after they'd been fired upon.

So here's an eyewitness that says, very obviously, they fired first. Here's Elijah Sanderson. Sanderson was a 24-year-old farmer who was living in Lexington in 1775. And after the battle, the magistrates then interviewed him and some other men, and they gave their affidavit, and here's what Elijah Sanderson said. In fact, there were several of them. "We, Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loring, and Elijah Sanderson, all of lawful age and of Lexington and the county of Middlesex and the colony of Massachusetts Bay in New England, do testify and declare that on the evening of the 18th of April instant, being on the road between Concord and Lexington, all of us mounted on horses, we were about ten o'clock suddenly surprised by nine persons, whom we took to be regular officers"—that is, English officers—"who rode up to us mounted and armed, each having a pistol in his hand, and after putting the pistols to our breasts and seizing the bridle of our horses, they swore that if we stirred another step, we should all be dead men, upon which we surrendered ourselves. They detained us until two o'clock the next morning, in which time they searched and greatly abused us, having first inquired about the magazine at Concord, whether any guards were posted there, and whether the bridges were up, and said four or five regiments of regulars would be in possession of the stores very soon."

"They then brought us back to Lexington, cut the horses' bridles and girths, and turned them loose and left us." So these nine British soldiers then just captured these men. By the way, this was not an isolated incident. This was happening all over at that time of night. Now, you remember John Parker was the captain of the militia. Here's what he said. And by the way, Parker had some military experience from the French and Indian War. But he held his commission, of course, from the government usually, but at this time, the men actually had elected John Parker to be their captain. So, here is Parker's one-paragraph testimony. And I want you to listen. Wow. "I, John Parker, of lawful age and commander of the militia in Lexington, do testify and declare that on the nineteenth instant in the morning, about one o'clock, being informed that there were a number of regular officers riding up and down the road, stopping and insulting people as they passed the road, and also was informed that a number of regular troops were on their march from Boston in order to take the province stores at Concord, ordered our militia to meet on the Common in said Lexington to consult what to do." Now listen, "and concluded not to be discovered, nor meddle or make with the regular troops if they should approach, unless they should insult or molest us upon their sudden approach."

So here's Captain Parker saying, our plans were not to attack the British. We were there, and unless they mess with us, we were not going to mess with them. Now listen to what he said. "I immediately ordered"—when he saw them, and you will understand why—"I immediately ordered our militia to disperse and not to fire. Immediately, the English troops made their appearance and rushed furiously, fired upon, and killed eight of our party without receiving any provocation therefor from us." So Parker said, I ordered them to disperse when I saw what was going on. You're going to find out why he ordered to disperse after he said initially stand your ground. Now, here's one other.

Pastor Jonas Clark's Role and Testimony

Weaver details Pastor Clark's leadership, his eyewitness account of the battle, and his sermon 'The Fate of Bloodthirsty Oppressors,' emphasizing the church's role in preparing the militia.

One such eyewitness was Pastor Jonas Clark himself. Now, if you've listened to my message on the Black Robed Regiment, which deals with the preachers of the American Revolution, you should remember the name Jonas Clark because he was pastor there at the church in Lexington. Pastor Clark not only left an eyewitness account of what happened on April the 19th, 1776, he preached a memorial message from the text of Joel chapter 3, verses 19 through 21. I don't have time today to discuss this message. However, I would encourage you to go online and read the message. It is available online. It is a very excellent message.

There were many patriot pastors in those days. For instance, there was one Dr. Naphtali Daggett. He was president of Yale College. And when a body of British troops arrived and started going toward his town, some of the college students, of course, went out to oppose the British. I mean, they were vastly outnumbered. And as they were marching out to oppose the British, here came old—and he was old—Dr. Naphtali Daggett.

He was 76 years of age. He went flying past them on his old black mare with a fowling piece in his hand, just a pistol-like and a rifle. And he got himself up on a little hill and began to snipe at the king's soldiers. And the interesting thing is, it became a little more severe as they got closer. And finally, they sent a troop of men up there, and they saw this old preacher. He was in a flowing black robe. And the lieutenant looked at him. He said, "Why, you old fool, what in the world do you think you're doing opposing His Majesty's troops?" And Dr. Daggett said, "Exercising the rights of war, son, exercising the rights of war," as he reloaded his pistol. Well, he said, "If I let you go, would you promise not to fire any more upon the king's troops?" He said, "There's nothing more likely, son. There's nothing more likely." So they arrested the old preacher and forced marched him back into town, from which he later died. So there was Dr. Daggett.

There was also Archibald Scott, William Brown, and John Brown, who were three Presbyterian preachers. When the English threatened their village, what they did was this: they gathered all the young men and all the old men together and withstood the English troops. And the reason they had to get the very young and the very old was because all the other men were already out fighting. And this little bit of pure patriotism so excited General Washington. Listen to what General Washington said. He said, "If I should be beaten by the British, I will retreat with my broken army to the Blue Ridge and call the boys of West Augusta around me, and there I will plant the flag of my country." So he said, if the British whip me, I'll come back to where there's nothing but young men and old men, and we will fight it out as well. Well, Jonas Clark was born in Newton, Massachusetts on December the 25th, 1730, and he died in Lexington, Massachusetts on the 15th of November, 1805. He graduated from Harvard in 1752, and he was the successor of Pastor Hancock at Lexington, Massachusetts. He succeeded him there on the 5th of November, 1755, and he remained at that one church until his death.

He did marry John Hancock's cousin. So there was a relation there between John Hancock and Pastor Jonas Clark, as was common in those days. Pastor Clark not only preached, but he was also a farmer. He cultivated about 60 acres of land. Of course, he was an ardent patriot. And I want you to listen very carefully. As pastor of the church at Lexington, he typically preached four sermons a week, both written and orally presented. Over 2,200 sermons in his lifetime. And his discourses

were all over an hour long. So you see, I'm not alone. He preached for over an hour as well. But he was a very excellent preacher. He was very ardent. He was very hot. He was very emphatic. He was very dogmatic. He was a Calvinist. He was a Trinitarian. And he was not only that, but he was an extremely godly man. He applied the principles of the Word of God to his life. And he also applied the principles of the Word of God to his congregation. Thus, he had a very exemplary life. It's amazing that God allowed that war to break out in Lexington, and you're going to find out exactly, I believe, why God allowed that.

Edward Everett had this to say about Pastor Clark. Listen carefully. "Mr. Clark was of a class of citizens who rendered services second to none, enlightening and animating the popular mind on the great questions at issue. He well understood the state of the question between the colonies and the mother country, and from 1762 till 1776 drew up a series of papers giving instructions to the representatives sent by the town to the General Court. These papers are still among the Lexington town records and are conceived in a manly yet calm and respectful spirit. Mr. Clark was noted for his hospitality and was entertaining John Hancock and Samuel Adams at his house on the night of April the 18th, 1775, when Paul Revere warned him of the approach of the expedition sent out by Gage, one of whose objects was to surprise and capture Hancock and Adams. When Pastor Clark was asked by his guests, that is, Hancock and Adams, whether the people would fight, he replied that he had trained them for this very hour. They would fight and, if need be, die too under the shadow of the house of God."

Now, just stop and think about that for a moment here. The pastor is answering this question: "Will the people fight?" And he said, "I've trained them for this very hour. They will not only fight, they are willing to die if need be under the shadow of the house of God." And it was but a—I'm quoting now from Mr. Everett still—"It was but a few rods from Mr. Clark's house that the first blood of the revolution was shed on the following day, April the 19th, 1775. And the men that fell were his parishioners or members of his church." Now, when he says "a few rods," that term is probably foreign to us, but a rod was five and a half yards. So you're talking about a few rods, you're talking about 10 to 15 yards. That is where the battle actually started. You see, what we tend to forget is this, that Lexington Green was basically under the shadow of the church. It was basically, you could consider it the churchyard.

Yes, it was right in front. But it was under the shadow of the house of God. Now, Lexington had lawfully created the militia. The militia, as I'll point out a little bit later, was under the authority of the Continental Congress. Also, the captain of the militia was a deacon in the church of Jonas Clark. Jonas Clark was there. He was the pastor. So the men that were there at Lexington Green that day were under civil authority as well as spiritual authority as well. Well, the town chose to set up a militia. They even used the words from Pastor Clark, and here is what they said in their resolve.

"We shall be ready to sacrifice our estates and everything dear in life, yea, and life itself in support of the common cause." Do you realize that one of our problems today is we can't get people together over anything? And yet, here's a group of people who were determined that they were willing to lose their property, they were willing to lose their lives and everything dear to them for the common cause. You just stop and think how divided real genuine Christians really are. And you think how divided preachers really are. When you stop and think about that, the average pastor will not cooperate in anything unless he has the final say or unless he has authority over it. And that's amazing. And yet here, these people had a common cause, and his church members proved these words on the morning of the 19th of April. For the pastor performed eight funerals for his own men. Here's how it happened. On April the 19th, 1775, about 4 a.m., Pastor Jonas Clark and Deacon John Parker led the Lexington Minutemen out to face the invaders. By the way, I'm going to point this out a little bit later, but I don't want you to think that there's a discrepancy here. There is not.

Really and truly, the militia had been called out earlier and the English did not show up earlier that same night. There were about 150 militiamen. But since the English did not show up, they allowed them to go back. And this is the second call about 4 a.m. And here's what he said. As the British approached the Minutemen, they cried out, "In the name of the King of England, throw down your arms." The response rang out from the colonists: "We recognize no sovereign but God and no king but Jesus." Then Captain Parker said to his men, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless you're fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." And of course, the first shot that was fired is known as "the shot that was heard around the world."

Now, there's a wonderful book and it's available today. It was written by J.T. Headley, Joel Headley, and the title of the book is "The Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution." And you will find wonderful accounts of all of these men who were really responsible in teaching their people the truths of resistance to unlawful authority. But here is what Headley wrote in his book. He said, "There they found Pastor Clark who had arrived before them." Isn't that interesting? "The roll was called and 150 answered to their names. The church, the pastor, and his congregation, thus standing together in the dim light waiting for the British soldiers."

Now this was the first call. 150 men of his congregation. The British did not appear at that first alarm, and the people returned home. At the subsequent alarm, they reassembled around 60 to 80, and once the sound of the battle subsided, some 18 Americans lay on the Lexington Green. Eight were dead, all from Pastor Clark's church. Headley, therefore, concluded, and listen to this: "The teachings of the pulpit of Lexington caused the first blow to be struck for American independence." And historian James Adams added that "the patriotic preaching of the Reverend Jonas Clark primed those guns." I wonder where the preachers are today that will teach on the limited nature of civil government, the right of self-defense. William Ware of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a little bit later, wrote this, and I think this is very appropriate. He said, "It can be regarded only as a singular happy circumstance that as Lexington was to be the place where resistance to the power of England was first to occur, and the great act of a declaration of war first be made by the act of the people in the blood to be there shed, making the place forever famous in history, the minister of Lexington should have been a man of the principles, character, courage, and energy of Mr. Clark.

He was eminently a man produced by his times, more than equal to them, rather a guide and leader. As his previous life, his preachings, his conversation among his people had been but a continued and most effectual preparation for the noble stand taken by the people on the morning of April the 19th, 1775. The militia on the Common that morning were the same who filled the pews of the Meeting House on the Sunday before. And the same who hung upon the rear of the retreating enemy in the forenoon and throughout the day. They were only carrying the preaching of many previous years into practice." He goes on, he says, "It would not be beyond the truth to assert that there was no person at that time in that vicinity, not only no clergyman, but no other person of whatever calling or profession who took a firmer stand for the liberties of the country or was more ready to perform

the duties and endure the sacrifices of a patriot than the minister Jonas Clark of Lexington. When the struggle actually commenced, the people ready for it, thoroughly acquainted with the reasons on which the duty of resistance was founded and prepared to discharge the duties at every hazard. No population within the compass of the colonies were better prepared for the events of April the 19th than the people of Lexington. No people to whom the events of that day could more safely have been entrusted, none more worthy of the duties that fell to their lot, or who better deserve the honors which have followed the fateful performance of them." "No single individual probably did as much to educate the people up to that point of intelligence, firmness, and courage as their honored and beloved pastor. It was a heavy day to Pastor Clark, who on the retreat of the British saw 18 of his men lying on the Lexington Green. Eight of them were dead, the others wounded. Captain John Parker of the Lexington Militia was a deacon in Pastor Clark's church. In addition to being a believer submitted to the Bible, his militia was also under the authority not only of the city of Lexington, but also the Continental Congress."

I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. Our American forefathers were not rebels. For the vast majority of those who resisted British tyranny had been taught the biblical doctrine of interposition by their pastors. I'm sure that most of you do not remember, but I have one single sermon on the doctrine of interposition. The doctrine of interposition just simply says this, for instance—don't laugh. I'm not trying to be funny, but I'm just pointing out what should be. The president of the United States should lead us back to God and the Constitution. If he will not, the vice president should. If he will not, the Speaker of the House should. If he will not, then it keeps coming on down, and you get not only off the national level, but the state level, and then the county level. And finally, you get to the spiritual magistrates, which are the preachers.

In other words, the doctrine of interposition says, if Ron happens to be the supreme leader of the country and he's doing wrong, and Jim is under him, Jim has the authority to step in under him and say, "You're wrong. We're not going to do this." That's where states' rights come in. The states are to protect their people from the abuses of the federal government. That's the doctrine of interposition. So what I'm trying to show you is this, that the lawful way to resist tyranny is to do so under constituted authority. There must be some authority. If you try to just simply resist individually, that is rebellion. There has to be either some civil or some spiritual authority.

Do you know what our forefathers did when George III kept sending his royal governors? They rejected those royal governors and then elected and chose their own governors to lead them. In other words, they were not without authority. They chose authority and they submitted themselves to that particular authority. So when Captain Parker said originally, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. If they have a war, if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

Now, notice what he said. "Don't fire unless fired upon." What was he saying? Ours is going to be a defensive war. They will fire first. Now, usually when we talk about a just war, we talk about a defensive war. There are times in the Bible when an offensive war is a just war. For instance, and you don't have to turn there, but you remember that God ordained an offensive war against the Midianites in Numbers chapter 31. Now, the Midianites had formerly caused the people of Israel to sin. And God said, "I remember what they did. Now I want you to go and avenge for me the Midianites." And then the same thing in 1 Samuel chapter 15, where Samuel came to Saul and said, "God said, go and take care of the Amalekites." That was an offensive war. And by the way, most of the wars of Canaan were offensive wars as well. Now, I realize that Og and Sihon attacked Israel and they defended themselves and defeated Og and Sihon. I understand that.

But when they got into the land, Jericho was not attacking the Israelites. None of those other cities as well. God had given them that land. Now, the only thing I'm trying to show you is this. Wherever there is a just offensive war, you will find that the word of God came expressly to his preachers or his prophets. And they said, "This is what God designs. This is what God wants." And that's exactly what they did. So let's come back to this question. Who fired first? Was the American Revolution, the American War for Independence, was it a defensive war?

And the answer is yes. Now, I'm going to give you Pastor Jonas Clark's own testimony a little bit later. But you would be astounded at the eyewitness testimonies that you can find in regard to who fired first. I'm going to just give you several of these, okay? I'm not going to bore you with a lot of them, but here are just three or four. The first one is 23-year-old Sylvanus Wood. He was in the Lexington militia who answered the call that morning. And a little bit later in his life, when he was 74, by the way, he swore an affidavit before a justice of the peace in 1858, and here is his testimony. "I, Sylvanus Wood of Woburn, that is Woburn, Massachusetts, in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, age 74 years, do testify and say that on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, I was an inhabitant of Woburn living with Deacon Obadiah Kendall, that about an hour before the break of day on said morning, I heard the Lexington bell ring, and fearing there was difficulty there, I immediately rose, took my gun, and with Robert Douglas went in haste to Lexington, which was about three miles distance.

When I arrived there, I inquired of Captain Parker, the commander of the Lexington Company, what was the news. Parker told me he did not know what to believe, for a man had come up about a half hour before and informed him that the British troops were not on the road. But while we were talking, a messenger came up and told the captain that the British troops were within a half a mile. Parker immediately turned to his drummer, William Dimmon, and ordered him to beat to arms, which was done. Captain Parker then asked me if I would parade with the company. I told him I would. Parker then asked me if the young man with me would parade. I spoke to Douglas, and he said he would follow the captain and me."

"By this time, many of the company had gathered around the captain at the hearing of the drum, where we stood, which was about halfway between the meeting house, that is the church, and Buckman's Tavern. Parker says to his men, 'Every man of you who is equipped, follow me. And those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting house, that is the church house, and furnish yourself from a magazine and immediately join the company.'" Now, I want you to stop. I'm going to break into his testimony because I want you to turn to a scripture with me. Okay, I want you to go to 2 Kings chapter 11. 2 Kings chapter 11. So here's what the head of the militia said: if you're already armed, you follow me; if you're equipped, if not, you go into the meeting house or the church house and furnish yourself with a magazine and immediately join the company. Look in 2 Kings chapter 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 3.

You remember Athaliah was a wicked, wicked woman. She murdered all of her grandchildren except one, Joash. He was hidden, and she didn't get him. So watch this. Joash is going to be made king. Watch this. 2 Kings 11 verse 3:

—who happened to be the high priest, by the way—

"And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house; And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king." Watch. "And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in."

"And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest." Watch, "And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple." I want you to note, if you would, he armed them with weaponry that was in the temple. This is why there were magazines—rifle, shot, powder, lead, whatever—in the meeting house. So Captain Parker said—I'm going back to my quote now—"Every man of you who is equipped, follow me. And those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting house and furnish yourselves from the magazine and immediately join the company." Parker led those of us who were equipped to the north end of Lexington Common near the Bedford Road.

"and formed us in a single file. Now, listen to what he said. I was stationed about in the center of the company. While we were standing, I left my place and went from one end of the company to the other and counted every man who was paraded. And the whole number was 38 and no more." So now I'm not finished this testimony. But, you know, there was 150 that assembled the first time, but they were sent home.

Now the drum has been beaten, the bells have been rung, and men are gathering, but at this particular point, he says, there were only 38 colonists there. He says, "Just as I'd finished and got back to my place, I perceived that the British troops had arrived on the spot between the meeting house and Buckman's, near where Captain Parker stood when he first led off his men. Those British troops immediately wheeled so as to cut off those who had gone into the meeting house. The British troops approached us rapidly in platoons, with a general officer on horseback at their head. The officer came up to within about two rods"—we're talking about 10 yards—"of the center of the company where I stood. The first platoon being about three rods"—15 yards distance—"there they halted. The officer then swung his sword and said, 'Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you're all dead men. Fire!' Some guns were fired by the British at us from the first platoon, but no person was killed or hurt.

Being probably charged only with powder, it could have probably missed as well. Just at that time, Captain Parker—of course, you're going to see why. Why, of course, initially he said, 'Stand your ground.' Now Captain Parker is going to give them an order to disperse, and you're going to find out why in just a moment. "Just at this time, Captain Parker ordered every man to take care of himself." "The company immediately dispersed, and while the company was dispersing and leaping over the wall, the second platoon of the British fired and killed some of our men. There was not a gun fired by any of Captain Parker's company within my knowledge. I was so situated that I must have known it had anything of the kind been taking place before a total dispersion of our company. I've been intimately acquainted with the inhabitants of Lexington and particularly with those of Captain Parker's company, and with one exception, I've never heard of any of them say or pretend that there was any firing at the British from Parker's company or any individual until within a year or two. One member of the company told me many years since that after Parker's company had dispersed"—this would have been after they were fired upon—"and as he was at some distance, he gave them the guts of his gun." In other words, one man fired back after they'd been fired upon.

So here's an eyewitness that says, very obviously, they fired first. Here's Elijah Sanderson. Sanderson was a 24-year-old farmer who was living in Lexington in 1775. And after the battle, the magistrates then interviewed him and some other men, and they gave their affidavit, and here's what Elijah Sanderson said. In fact, there were several of them. "We, Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loring, and Elijah Sanderson, all of lawful age and of Lexington and the county of Middlesex and the colony of Massachusetts Bay in New England, do testify and declare that on the evening of the 18th of April instant, being on the road between Concord and Lexington, all of us mounted on horses, we were about ten o'clock suddenly surprised by nine persons, whom we took to be regular officers"—that is, English officers—"who rode up to us mounted and armed, each having a pistol in his hand, and after putting the pistols to our breasts and seizing the bridle of our horses, they swore that if we stirred another step, we should all be dead men, upon which we surrendered ourselves. They detained us until two o'clock the next morning, in which time they searched and greatly abused us, having first inquired about the magazine at Concord, whether any guards were posted there, and whether the bridges were up, and said four or five regiments of regulars would be in possession of the stores very soon."

"They then brought us back to Lexington, cut the horses' bridles and girths, and turned them loose and left us." So these nine British soldiers then just captured these men. By the way, this was not an isolated incident. This was happening all over at that time of night. Now, you remember John Parker was the captain of the militia. Here's what he said. And by the way, Parker had some military experience from the French and Indian War. But he held his commission, of course, from the government usually, but at this time, the men actually had elected John Parker to be their captain. So, here is Parker's one-paragraph testimony. And I want you to listen. Wow. "I, John Parker, of lawful age and commander of the militia in Lexington, do testify and declare that on the nineteenth instant in the morning, about one o'clock, being informed that there were a number of regular officers riding up and down the road, stopping and insulting people as they passed the road, and also was informed that a number of regular troops were on their march from Boston in order to take the province stores at Concord, ordered our militia to meet on the Common in said Lexington to consult what to do." Now listen, "and concluded not to be discovered, nor meddle or make with the regular troops if they should approach, unless they should insult or molest us upon their sudden approach."

So here's Captain Parker saying, our plans were not to attack the British. We were there, and unless they mess with us, we were not going to mess with them. Now listen to what he said. "I immediately ordered"—when he saw them, and you will understand why—"I immediately ordered our militia to disperse and not to fire. Immediately, the English troops made their appearance and rushed furiously, fired upon, and killed eight of our party without receiving any provocation therefor from us." So Parker said, I ordered them to disperse when I saw what was going on. You're going to find out why he ordered to disperse after he said initially stand your ground. Now, here's one other.

In fact, I've got two others before I get to Jonas Clark's. 34 men from the Lexington company. "We, Nathaniel Mulligan, Philip Russell, and 32 other men, all of lawful age, inhabitants of Lexington in the county of Middlesex, do testify and declare that on the 19th in the morning, being informed that a body of regulars were marching from Boston towards Concord, we were alarmed and having met at the place of our company's parade, were dismissed by our captain, John Parker, for the present with orders to be ready to attend at the beat of the drum. We further testify and declare that about five o'clock in the morning, hearing our drum beat, we proceeded towards the parade and soon found that a large body of troops were marching toward us. Some of our company were coming to the parade and others had reached it, at which time the company began to disperse. While our backs were turned on the troops, we were fired upon by them, and a number of our men were instantly killed and wounded. Not a gun was fired by any person in our company on the regulars, to our knowledge, before they fired on us and continued firing until we had made our escape."

So here are 34 men saying, they fired on us when our backs were turned. John Robbins was also a militiaman at Lexington. He said this: "I, John Robbins, being of lawful age, do testify and say that on the 19th instant, the company under the command of Captain John Parker being drawn up sometime before sunrise on the Green or Common, and I being in the front rank, there suddenly appeared a number of the King's troops, about a thousand." I hope you're understanding why all of a sudden Captain Parker's telling his men to disperse. You've got 30 to 40, maybe 50 or 60 men facing a thousand well-trained soldiers. Listen to what he said. Oh, this is interesting. "Suddenly appeared a number of the King's troops, about a thousand, as I thought, at the distance of about 60 or 70 yards from us, huzzahing!" Have you ever heard the word "huzzah"? The word "huzzah" is "Yoo-hoo! Hooray!" I mean, it's, you know, an exclamation. It's happiness. We're here at it. So here they are yahooing because they've come on this little group. He said, "they were huzzahing on a quick pace from us with three officers in their front on horseback with full gallop toward us, the foremost which cried, 'Throw down your arms, you villains, you rebels,' upon which said company dispersing, the foremost of the three officers ordered their men saying, 'Fire, by God, fire.'

"At that moment we received a very heavy and close fire from them, at which instance I being wounded fell, and several of our men shot dead by one volley. Captain Parker's men had not then fired a gun. And further that opponent saith not." So here, and I could multiply these here, all these men testifying, they did not fire. Because Captain Parker had given them an order upon seeing nearly a thousand British troops to disperse. And to take care of themselves. You're going to find out what the British actually did just momentarily. But here's what Pastor Jonas Clark wrote. There is a book available. It's "The Battle of Lexington, an Eyewitness Narrative of That Day" by Jonas Clark. The book has been put together. It also includes the sermon that he preached on April the 19th, 1776. So Pastor Clark says this, that "the militia of Lexington was alarmed and ordered to meet on the usual place of parade, not with any design of commencing hostilities upon the King's troops, but to consult what might be done for our own and the people's safety, and also to be ready for whatever service Providence might call us out to upon this alarming occasion, in case overt acts of violence or open hostility should be committed by the British." Now listen to what he says. "Alarm guns were fired, and the drums beat to arms, and the militia was collecting together, some to the number of about 50 or 60.

Do you remember they said some were there? Well, Sanderson, I think, said he counted 38, but others were coming in. Others were going into the church building to supply themselves. So he says there were about 50 or 60, possibly more, were on the parade. Others were coming toward it. "In the meantime, the British troops, having stolen a march upon us, seemed to come determined for murder and bloodshed, and that whether provoked to it or not.

When within about a half of a quarter of a mile of the meeting house they halted, and the command was given to prime and load, which being done, they marched on till they came inside of our militia. Immediately upon their appearing so suddenly and so nigh, and so great a number I might add," he goes on to say, "the Captain John Parker who commanded the militia company ordered the men to disperse and to take care of themselves and not to fire. Upon this our men dispersed, but many of them not so speedily as they might have done, not having the most distant idea of such brutal barbarity and more than savage cruelty from the troops of a British king, as they immediately experienced. For no sooner did they come in sight of our company, but one of them, supposed to be an officer of rank, was heard to say to the troops, 'Damn them, we will have them,' upon which the troops shouted aloud, 'Huzzah,' and rushed furiously toward our men. About that time three officers advanced on horseback to the front of the body, and one of them cried out, 'You villains, you rebels, disperse, damn you, disperse,' or words to that effect.

One of them said, 'Lay down your arms, damn you, why don't you lay down your arms?' The second of these officers about that time fired a pistol toward our militia as it was dispersing. The foremost, who was in a few yards of our men, brandishing his sword, and then pointing it toward them with a loud voice said to his troops, 'Fire, by God, fire,' which was instantly followed by a discharge of arms from the said troops, succeeded by a very close and heavy fire upon our party, dispersing so long as any of them were within reach. Eight were left dead upon the ground, ten were wounded. The rest of the company, through divine goodness, according to a miracle, were preserved unhurt in this murderous action."

The Doctrine of Interposition and Lawful Resistance

Weaver explains the biblical doctrine of interposition, arguing that resistance to tyranny must be under constituted authority, as the colonists did under the Continental Congress.

I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. Our American forefathers were not rebels. For the vast majority of those who resisted British tyranny had been taught the biblical doctrine of interposition by their pastors. I'm sure that most of you do not remember, but I have one single sermon on the doctrine of interposition. The doctrine of interposition just simply says this, for instance—don't laugh. I'm not trying to be funny, but I'm just pointing out what should be. The president of the United States should lead us back to God and the Constitution. If he will not, the vice president should. If he will not, the Speaker of the House should. If he will not, then it keeps coming on down, and you get not only off the national level, but the state level, and then the county level. And finally, you get to the spiritual magistrates, which are the preachers.

In other words, the doctrine of interposition says, if Ron happens to be the supreme leader of the country and he's doing wrong, and Jim is under him, Jim has the authority to step in under him and say, "You're wrong. We're not going to do this." That's where states' rights come in. The states are to protect their people from the abuses of the federal government. That's the doctrine of interposition. So what I'm trying to show you is this, that the lawful way to resist tyranny is to do so under constituted authority. There must be some authority. If you try to just simply resist individually, that is rebellion. There has to be either some civil or some spiritual authority.

Do you know what our forefathers did when George III kept sending his royal governors? They rejected those royal governors and then elected and chose their own governors to lead them. In other words, they were not without authority. They chose authority and they submitted themselves to that particular authority. So when Captain Parker said originally, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. If they have a war, if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

Just War and Self-Defense

Weaver discusses the distinction between offensive and defensive wars, asserting that the American Revolution was a defensive war consistent with biblical principles of self-defense.

Now, notice what he said. "Don't fire unless fired upon." What was he saying? Ours is going to be a defensive war. They will fire first. Now, usually when we talk about a just war, we talk about a defensive war. There are times in the Bible when an offensive war is a just war. For instance, and you don't have to turn there, but you remember that God ordained an offensive war against the Midianites in Numbers chapter 31. Now, the Midianites had formerly caused the people of Israel to sin. And God said, "I remember what they did. Now I want you to go and avenge for me the Midianites." And then the same thing in 1 Samuel chapter 15, where Samuel came to Saul and said, "God said, go and take care of the Amalekites." That was an offensive war. And by the way, most of the wars of Canaan were offensive wars as well. Now, I realize that Og and Sihon attacked Israel and they defended themselves and defeated Og and Sihon. I understand that.

But when they got into the land, Jericho was not attacking the Israelites. None of those other cities as well. God had given them that land. Now, the only thing I'm trying to show you is this. Wherever there is a just offensive war, you will find that the word of God came expressly to his preachers or his prophets. And they said, "This is what God designs. This is what God wants." And that's exactly what they did. So let's come back to this question. Who fired first? Was the American Revolution, the American War for Independence, was it a defensive war?

And the answer is yes. Now, I'm going to give you Pastor Jonas Clark's own testimony a little bit later. But you would be astounded at the eyewitness testimonies that you can find in regard to who fired first. I'm going to just give you several of these, okay? I'm not going to bore you with a lot of them, but here are just three or four. The first one is 23-year-old Sylvanus Wood.

The British Retreat and Atrocities

Weaver recounts Pastor Clark's description of British atrocities during their retreat, including plundering, burning homes, and murdering innocents.

You know they went on to Concord and of course at that particular time they were able to get in there and do some damage but some of the other colonies coming together drove them away. So here is what he says happened during the retreat. "In the retreat of the King's troops from Concord to Lexington they ravaged and plundered as they had opportunity, more or less in most houses that were upon the road. But after they were joined by Percy's brigade in Lexington, it seemed as if all the little remains of humanity had left them and rage and revenge had taken the reins and they knew no bounds. Clothing, furniture, provisions, goods, plundered, broken, carried off or destroyed. Buildings, especially dwelling houses, abused, defaced, battered, shattered and almost ruined. And as if this had not been enough, numbers of them doomed to flames. They burned them down. Three dwelling houses, two shops and a barn were laid in ashes in Lexington.

Many others were set on fire in this town, in Cambridge and others, and must have shared the same fate had not the close pursuit of the provincials of the colonies prevented and the flames been seasonably quenched. Add to this the unarmed, the aged and infirm who were unable to flee or inhumanely stabbed and murdered in their habitations. Yea, even women in childbed with their helpless babes in their arms do not escape the horrid alternative of either being cruelly murdered in their beds, burnt in their habitations, or turned into the streets to perish with cold, nakedness, and distress. But I forbear. Words are too insignificant to express the horrid barbarities of that distressing day." Isn't that amazing? So as they retreated, they tried to destroy and to kill even innocent people.

Applications for Today

Weaver applies the lessons of Lexington to modern Christians, emphasizing the biblical right of self-defense, the covenantal nature of government, and the duty to resist tyranny.

But he said for the principle for which they fought and died, he was more than glad and more than happy that they were willing to stand for truth. Let me make some applications. The first one is this one. I hope everyone in this room knows and understands that self-defense is biblical. It is lawful. And it is biblical to defend oneself, one's family, one's town, one's state, one's nation. It's lawful to defend your neighbor. It's lawful to defend anyone who happens to be in danger. And do you understand, it is impossible to deny one aspect of this without denying all others. If I do not have the right to defend my life, if I do not have the right to defend my family, why would we have a right to defend our state? Why would we have a right to defend our nation?

Why not just let anybody come in, take over and steal, and pillage and plunder and murder and rape and kill? You see, you cannot deny one aspect without denying all the other aspects. You remember the positive side of the sixth commandment. The sixth commandment is "Thou shalt not kill." The positive is "Thou shalt preserve life." We have a duty. We have a responsibility. We have an obligation to preserve life, even our own life. Secondly, in order to acquire a full understanding of the justification for the war for independence, I would encourage you to go back and read the first two chapters in my book, "The Christian Civil Government." Because there I talk about the covenantal nature of government. And if you don't read the book, get the tapes where I preached on the covenantal nature of government. You will understand that it was George III who violated the covenant. He violated the constitutions and the agreements that he had with the American colonists. So I'm just trying to tell you that the war for independence was indeed a just and lawful war.

Thirdly, pursuant to orders, Lexington's militiamen were in fact dispersing when the British fired upon them. I want you to listen carefully. They were dispersing. But they were not laying down their arms. What did the British say? "Lay down your arms, you rebels, you villains." Their commander had commanded them to disperse and take care of themselves. They were dispersing. But they were not laying down their arms. In other words, they were not going to resign their moral

and legal rights or authority. I want you to listen. They understood that 60 to 80 men could not fight successfully against a thousand or twelve hundred. And so they dispersed. And what did they do later on that day? They gathered other men. Because they did not lay down their arms and successfully drove the British away. Are you listening? We can never lay down our arms. We can never forego our God-given right of self-defense, never.

When we do, and if we do, we'll be slaves. I want you to look in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Samuel chapter 13. 1 Samuel chapter 13. Look at it. 1 Samuel chapter 13. And notice verse 19. 1 Samuel 13 verse 19.

Notice what the Word of God says. 1 Samuel 13, verse 19.

So the Philistines had conquered them. Watch verse 20:

—that is, when Saul and his folks were fighting—watch,

In other words, the only two that had a sword or spear were Saul and Jonathan. Why? The Philistines had conquered them, had confiscated their weaponry, and they were enslaved to the Philistines. Here's another principle.

When those British soldiers were saying, "Lay down your arms, you rebels, you villains," you must understand that unlawful authority is null and void. Any order, any law, any statute that violates God-given rights is to be resisted and disobeyed. Men do not have ultimate authority. God is sovereign and God has all authority. You remember when Peter and the rest of the apostles were ordered and commanded to do that which God did not want them to do? When those in authority told them, "You shall not preach any more in the name of Jesus," what did they say? "We ought to obey God rather than man."

Our thinking and our attitude should be the same. We must understand that God has never ordained tyranny or despotism as a legitimate form of government. You can read Romans 13. You can read all through the Bible and you can find the kind of government that God has ordained and why He ordained it. God has never ordained a tyrannical or despotic type of government. Never. He never has. He never will. Because a tyrannical and despotic form of government is anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-Bible. It's man-centered and it's against God. It's against His law.

I want to give you a quote. And then I'm going to tell you who said it. And when. And as I read this quote, I want you to think in your mind and guess. Here's the quote: "The time is now near at hand, which must probably determine whether Americans are to be free or slaves. Whether they're to have any property that they can call their own. Whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed. And they consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them.

The fate of unborn millions will now depend under God on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance or the most abject submission. That is all we can expect. We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die."

That was said by General George Washington to his troops before the Battle of Long Island. Is it not the same today? You would almost think that this came from 2012. April the 19th should never be forgotten. And the first shot was the shot heard around the world, but the Americans did not fire that first shot. The British fired. Because of the tyranny and despotism of King George. And when Americans are attacked and killed and pillaged and plundered today, it is because of the tyranny and despotism of our own government. May we stay vigilant and stay armed with the courage and determination to never, ever surrender our God-given rights.