Samuels Encounter with Saul, Doctrine 23 – Doctrine 25
Doct. 23. The Hypocrite bewrayes himſelfe, euen in his beſt actions.
I will now proceed to the fourth and laſt poynt: hee did not ſhew himſelfe to bee the ſame he was before, I ſay therefore that Saul, euen in his confeſſion, ſhewed himſelfe an Hypocrite, and that by his own words, who was ſo accuſtomed to accuſe ſin, by hollow and ſlight dealing, that euen now, when he was at the beſt, and came moſt neere to repentance of all other times; yet euen now (I ſay) he could not be free from it.
For, leſt hee ſhould hauehave layd too great fault on himſelfe, in confeſſing his ſinne, therefore ſaying, I hauehave ſinned: therefore hee ſayd,The 12. note. I was afrayd, if I had not yeelded to them, contrary to Gods Commandement, to ſaue aliue the beſt of the cattle, that they would hauehave rebelled and hauehave riſen vp a gainſt me. Lo, this was the bladder without winde, and cloud without water, which appeared in Saul, when hee was at the beſt, I meane, brought to confeſſe his ſin, which was nothing but a lie, and a coloured excuſe. For, the Lord by the Prophet, in the 19 verſe, conuinced him of a couetous minde and diſobedient, that he himſelfe turned to the prey. So, that as hee was hardly brought thus farre, as to confeſſe his ſinne, ſo yet when hee did it, it was for feare of loſing his Kingdome: yet, euen this (which ſeemed good in him) was corrupt and naught: for beſides that, he bewrayed ſo much himſelfe, as I hauehave ſayd, by excuſing his fact, ſo doth the Spirit of God by Samuel, bewray the ſame in the next verſe, where he plainely ſheweth, that he did not accept, nor allow of it. What ſhall we ſay then, if it be thus?Hard for an hypocrite to leaue his trade. Truly this: that it is an hard thing for an hypocrite, to leaue and forgoe his trade of diſſembling, euen as it was for Demetrius, Acts 19.to forgoe his wicked gaine; and for the Blackmore to change his skin, by waſhing; which, though it bee true of all ſinnes leaning to manward; yet ſomewhat more it may be ſayd of the hypocrite, then of other ſinners: For an open offender (as Paul and the Iaylour were) when hee is pricked in conſcience, and troubled in minde, ſhall much eaſilier bee perſwaded, that it is in truth, and ſhall bee forgiuen then the hypocrite ſhall: not that I ſtint or reſtraine the worke of the Spirit, that it cannot bee as effectuall in one, as in another: but God ſo diſpoſeth ordinarily, that the hypocrite hauing ſinned more groſſely and greeuouſly, ſhall be harderly able to apply, and be perſwaded of Gods promiſes, then other ſinners; though they bee in a like manner deliuered to them both. Ordinarily, I ſay (though God may, when it pleaſeth him, doe otherwiſe) but hee ſhall long (for the moſt part) bee vnderunder the doctrine, before hee ſhall reſolue of his vprightneſſe.
Whereby it may be ſeen,A long time ere any great good be done by preaching. that wee, by our preaching and priuate conferring, may a long time trauell and labor with wicked perſons, before wee can bring them to ſee, and turne from their wicked liues, for the moſt will not bee brought to it (but hope they ſerue God, as well as others do) and when we hauehave preuailed ſo far with them, as to make them ſee and confeſſe, as Saul heere did ſomewhat; yet at times, we hauehave them in neuer the better caſe, for all that: but they deceiue vsus ſtill: yea, themſelues rather, & fruſtrate our hope, that we ſhall ſeeme to hauehave don no good, inwearying our ſelues about them: ſo that the propheſie is fulfilled:Ier. 6. 29. The bellows are burnt, the lead is conſumed in the fire, the Founder melteth in vaine, for the wicked are not taken away: as if hee ſhould ſay, that all the labour that is taken with them, is loſt: and is it not come to this ſame, or like point at this day? for, to ſay nothing of ſundry, yea, too many Miniſters, who are far from burning the bellowes with any great painetaking (who yet muſt know,Luke 19. that they were hired by the Maſter of the worke to labour, aud not to loyter, and to vſe their talent, and not to bury it in a napkin) how many diligent and faithful Paſtors,Mat. 11. 17 may make this complaint of the people: Wee hauehave piped vntounto yo…, and yee hauehave not danced: wee hauehave mour…ed to you, and yee hauehave not wept. All the day long hath the Lord ſtretched out his hand, Eſay 65. 2.but to a diſobedient and gaine-ſaying people: for, though they will heare vsus, yet they doe but as the people did to Ezechiel in his time:Ezek. 33. 32 they ſate and heard his words, but they did not after them.
I ſpeake not this, as if I did heereby goe about, to perſwade that all doe ſo, and that there is no fruite of our miniſtrie and labours, where they are faithfully and reuerendly beſtowed, for then I ſhould be too vnthankefull, who confeſſe that I know euen in our parts, where I am beſt acquainted, that God hath bleſſed the labours of ſundry, who hauehave ſought and deſired it: and in many places men hauehave been turned from their euill wayes, and to ſuch as ſate in darkenes, and in the ſhadow of death, light is riſen vp: And it is credible, that if the miniſters generally and throughout, ſought the things that are Chriſts, more then their owne, and counted it their ioy, & that wherin they might glory at the comming of the Lord, to winne many: I ſay it is very credible, and little to be feared that an 100. fold more fruitfull harueſt, might bee reaped by their paines and trauell, them now may, or is to be looked for: But yet to ſpeake of the multitude and greateſt number, euen where there is faithfull labouring, yet there is ſmall profiting: for, though many come to confeſſing of their ſinne (as they did in the time of Iohn Baptiſt, many then came from Iudea, and the Region round about Iordan, and were baptized of him, confeſſing their ſinnes: yet ſundry of them being Phariſies and Scribes repented not.) Euen yet here are too many of them, who do not ſo lay their ſinnes to heart, as that they turne from them indeed; comming to the oath and the couenant, as the people did in Nehemiahs time, that ſo they may bring forth fruit, worthy amendment of life: wheras we would think, that when they are brought ſo far, the worſt were now paſt, and there were no more danger, or feare of condemnation.
And what hindreth or is the cauſe why it is not ſo?The cauſe heereof. Euen their falſe heart, and the deceitfulnes of ſinne; which hath blindfolded and hardned them: that wee may learne, what a bondage it is to ſerue ſinne, and for men to giuegive ouer themſelues to the allurements thereof: Whereas if we hauehave not obtained this at Gods hands, I meane to ſhake off that which we knowe will be our ouerthrowe; what hauehave we to reioycein? I denie not, but that the experiencedſt Chriſtians, hauehave enough to doe, to hold vnderunder their rebellious hearts, and ſin cauſeth them oft to cry out, ob wretched men that wee are! but yet for all that, they giuegive not place to the luſts therof, but riſe againe if they bee fallen, and cannot be well in themſelues, till they returne vnderunder Gods gouernment, where alone they count it good, being to remaine.
But when men come to know,Cantic. 5. 3. there is no peace to the vngodly, and namely, whilſt they lye in any knowne ſin, and when they hauehave confeſſed and profeſſed againſt it; yet become ſlaues to it againe, this is in no wiſe tolerable: ſuch by cuſtome, and long lying therein, prouide, that when they would ſhew themſelues beſt of all; yet they cannot then deale plainely, but they ſhall bewray themſelues, to ſuch as can iudge, that they doe but halt, and deale hollowly, as Saul here did. For, what doth more bewray them, then their own words, when they ſhall bee ready to alledge, being vrged to vprightneſſe and care; they hope there is reaſon in all things, an they cannot bee Saints, they ſay, in this life, and they are ſure all are ſinners, with ſuch like.
And as this may be obſerued to bee an vſuall thing,A returne to the doctrine: & fuller cleering of it. with men of little conſcience, throughout their whole courſe, that though they acknowledge themſelues to bee ſinners, euen in thoſe things, which ſometime they would defend, and maintaine to bee no faults; yet they forſake them not, neither abandon them vtterly: ſo yee may ſee it to bee with them, euen in time of affliction,Note well. to wit, that they bee but hollow, as wee muſt thinke it now to hauehave beene with Saul, when in Gods diſpleaſure, hee ſent the Prophet to tell him, that hee ſhould loſe the beſt thing hee had, euen his kingdome.
And yet who would not thinke, that at ſuch times, men would bee ready to yeeld to any condition, ſo that they might bee deliuered from ſuch troubles, as oppreſſe them? And much, I grant, they will yeeld and promiſe,Examples. then for feare: but (as yee hauehave heard of him) not heartily, nor in truth. God had ſo acquainted Pharaoh, with his puniſhing of his treachery and diſobedience, that hee brought him oft to confeſſe his fault, and to couenant the contrary: but euer, when hee ſhould performe and keepe his couenant, hee went from it, and dealt falſly: whereupon, all ſuch hollow and dodble dealing, was called Pharaohs ſinne.
A moſt liuely patterne of this,Pſal. 38. 34 Dauid ſetteth downe, of the people of Iſrael, out of former hiſtories, ſaying: When he ſlue & plagued them, then they ſought him, and they returned, and ſought God early, and they remembred that God was their ſtrength, and the moſt high God, their Redeemer: but they flattered him with their mouth, and diſſembled with him, with their tongue: for their heart was not vpright with him, neither were they faithfull in his couenant: whereby may bee gathered moſt cleerely, that though they ſought to God, for feare of puniſhment; yet ſuch was their falſhood, that in their hearts they loued him not: and therefore, could not meane well and truely, not hauing due conſideration, in their good ſpeeches, what they ſaid: And yet this is the beſt dealing, that ſuch deceiuers and diſſemblers can afford him: for, as Traytours ſet on the racke, doe vtter much, who yet louelove not the Magiſtrate, who racks them: ſo ſinners confeſſe much vnderunder the croſſe; but by conſtraint and violence, not willingly and humbly to iuſtiſie God in his puniſhing of them, nor for that they are perſwaded hee loueth them, and therefore they can ſhew none to him againe. And therefore, if men can doe no more, but ſo, ideſt, confeſſe in theit afflictions, ſome faults to God, as the boy vnderunder the rod: if neither before their afflictions, they gaue true teſtimonies of their repentance, nor after, bring forth fruits of amendment. They are in no better account with God, then they, who neuer made any profeſſion, or proteſtation of amendment, at all.
Queſt. If yee aske, why God ſuffered them to come thus far, as to accuſe and finde fault with themſelues, if they bee neuer the better, nor neerer ſaluation?
Anſw. I anſwer, there are many cauſes,Reaſons why God vrgeth the bad to confeſſion, although bootleſſe. why God doth bring them thus far, as to confeſſe againſt themſelues, though they bee neuer the better for it. One is in reſpect of his faithfull people,1. that while he holdeth the wicked vnderunder the croſſe,Note. the faithfull may hauehave more freedome and liberty to ſerue him; as the people of Iſrael had, while Pharaoh was plagued. For, as many breaches in the ſea bankes, may bee repaired while the ſea goeth away: and much corne in the inconſtant weather, may bee reaped by the husbandman, while the day is faire and cleere: ſo the godly may edifie, and build vp themſelues in faith, feare and the knowledge of God, while he putteth his hooke in the noſtrils of the wicked, and bridles them from rage, by ſuch a forcing of them to confeſſe it to bee good and holy to liue ſo: and themſelues to be held vnderunder, with feare of Gods iudgements, is a righteous thing in the ſight of God, and the godly are more incouraged thereto, when they heare the way of godlineſſe to bee commended by them, who were wont to ſpeake euill of it, & to perſecute thoſe, which were the zealouſeſt embracers of it: As, who doth not know what an emboldening it was, to the poore Diſciples at Damaſcus, and round about it, when they heard that Saul their Archenemy, who brought letters from the high Preiſts to impriſon them, was conſtrained by the mighty power of God, to renounce and cry out of his doing, and to confeſſe his cruelty againſt the Saints, and to iuſtifie them; yea, when it was not known to them, that he had repented; neither durſt they, as yet, truſt to him, that he was truely conuerted.
And this is one cauſe, why God doth ſuffer the bad, ſometime to confeſſe their ſins, and accuſe themſelues, although they ſhould not come to true repentance, and this is done, as all may ſee, for the Faithfuls ſake.
Another cauſe is, in reſpect of the wicked themſelues, and that is this, that while they are forced to iuſtifie and allow of the ſincere courſe of the ſeruants of God, and to cry out of their owne, they condemne their former wayes, when they lay in ſin, and purſued thoſe that were better then themſelues, and they doe thereby giuegive ſentence againſt themſelues, if euer they doe the like againe. And thus much of the painted ſhew of repentance in hypocrites, by occaſion of Sauls confeſſion. And this be ſaid of Sauls hypocriſie, the laſt of the ſoure things concerning his confeſſion.
Now to goe forward, ſeeing Saul ſaid alſo beſides in this verſe, that hee had done againſt the words that Samuel ſpake to him, and ſaid moreouer, that he feared the people; therefore of both theſe a little. For the firſt: the words that Samuel ſpake to Saul, were the reprouing of his ſinne, and the conuincing him of it, and the aggrauating thereof, as God had commanded him to do. All which words wee hauehave heard, how boldly Saul waſhed them off, and was nothing moued at the hearing of any of them.
How is it then, that hee now acknowledgeth, that he had ſore offended, in ſetting ſo light by the ſame? I grant, that his words were but froth, and that it was but a ſudden pang, that cauſed him to vtter them: but yet wee ſee, God forced him thereto; to the end that hee might thereby bewray his hypocriſie, when it might be ſeene that hee amended not for all that, and alſo to leaue good inſtruction thereby, to all poſteritie in time to come.
Doct. 24. The moſt careleſſe hearers, ſhall one day condemne themſelues
For thereby we may ſee and learne that how little regard ſoeuer men hauehave of good leſſons, exhortations, and admonitions, for the time when they receiue them (as too commonly we ſee it to be ſo) yet ſo much the more they ſhewe themſelues to be deſtitute of the feare of God, and bewray themſelues to be farre from a teachable minde who doe ſo, for the time ſhall come, in which they ſhall finde great fault with themſelues, for their ſo doing, and for their ſleeueleſſe regard that they hauehave had thereof, euen as we ſee that Saul here did; or elſe they ſhal ſhew themſelues, to bee in worſe caſe toward God, then if they did ſo.
The many Sermons that are ſleightly heard and little regarded, euen as if they were alſo as little worth their looſe and negligent hearing of them, ſhall one day be cryed out of as faſt, and the committers of the ſinne, ſhall caſt it vp, as vnſauoury morſells, which men ſhall wiſh moſt hartily, that they had neuer taken them in: euen ſo they ſhall wiſh a thouſand times, that they had neuer committed the ſinne. For ſuch may not thinke that the remembring of a ſinne afterward, when God ſhall loade the offenders, with it, ſhall be like the time wherin it was committed: which ought worthily to vexe the conſcience of ſuch as can ruſh violently into many ſinnes, but are troubled for few: and lay on loade vponupon another, but caſt off none, who if they iudge not themſelues before the Lord iudge them, the burden will preſſe them downe ſo,1. Cor. 11. and in ſuch wiſe, as they ſhall not be able to beare it. And it ſhall bee as much to the comfort of thoſe, who with honeſt and good harts, heare and receiue the word now, while it is preached to them, and feare their owne frailtie, that they may not offend. They ſhall not hauehave ſuch after reckonings brought againſt them, as Saul heere had when he ſaid to Samuell, I hauehave tranſgreſſed againſt thy words: and as many other hauehave, who hoard vp ſorrow againſt themſelues for long time after, becauſe they would not receiue inſtruction a long time before.
And this of the firſt of the two ſpeaches which Saul vttred, when hee (beſide the confeſſion of his ſin againſt God) ſaid alſo to Samuell, I hauehave tranſgreſſed againſt thy words.
Doct. 25. The leaſt hope of concealement hardens the hypocrite in ſinne.
The ſecond followeth which was this: [I was affraid of the people] How he bewrayed his hypocriſie in theſe words, euen when hee confeſſed his ſinne, I hauehave ſhewed before. The thing that I note out of them here, is this: that he thinking Samuell could not finde out this that he alleadged, to wit, that hee feared the people, whither hee did ſo or no: he did therefore ſtand ſtiffely vponupon that, although it was an vntruth that he ſpake. But heerein is liuely bewrayed a common ſinne among vsus, namely this: that if an offender thinke and be reſolued that his fault be hidden from men, no perſwaſion can cauſe him to confeſſe it. The reaſon heereof in ſuch is, partly, ſeeing if it be not wrung from them (which they moſt deſired:) and partly ſeeing they thinke themſelues as ſafe as in a caſtle, if it bee not knowne, (ſuch is their blindenes and hardnes of heart,) whereas both the Lord hath a thouſand wayes to bring it to light, if hee ſee it expedient ſo to doe; and yet they are in no ſuch ſafetie while they conceale it, as they imagaine, but rather in farre greater danger, both toward God, and the world alſo; to God ſeeing while they hide their ſinne, they cannot proſper, neither repent while they harden their hart: and while they doe neither of both, what is their life worth, but the increaſing of ſinne, and heaping of iudgement? And it is worſe for them to menward, becauſe if it euer after come to light, they vtterly looſe their credit among men, without which, it were better for them to be baniſhed from their ſociety, then to liue with them: And if it come not to light, yet they who hauehave committed it, walke among men, either wounded or hardned, but the leaſt of both is miſerable. Ananias and Saphira his wife may exemplifie this more cleerely, and Gehazai with many others.
VERSE. 25.
Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my ſin, and turne againe with me, that I may worſhip the LORD.
Now it is time to paſſe frō Saules confeſſiō;The words cleared. let vsus heare of the other good things, which are heere ſaid to hauehave beene in him. The one was that he asked after Gods mercy, and the forgiuenes of his ſinne; and would hauehave Samuel go with him to worſhip God: But before I goe further, let vsus firſt ſee what his meaning was, in bidding Samuell take away his ſinne: ſeeing no man (as the ſcripture teacheth) can forgiue ſins but God only.Mat. 8. The which being graunted, it is not like that hee meant as the words import, that Samuell ſhould take away his ſinne, but hee either willed him that hee ſhould pray to God for him) [as he was deſired before to doe for the people of Iſrael] that he would forgiue him, or elſe that hee would as Gods mouth and miniſter, pronounce him pardoned. For theſe two wayes, the Prophet might then, and the true miniſters may now as inſtruments, be ſaid to forgiue and take away ſinnes. And whether of theſe two it was he meant, is not materiall.