The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 163
SECT. CLXIII.
THE Children of Iſrael being at this time wonderfully tranſported with joy for their new King, and poſſibly flattering themſelves that God was well pleaſed with them for asking a King, ſeeing he had given them one by whom they had obtained ſo great a victory, Samuel thought fit to take this occaſion to make them ſenſible of their miſtake, and that they had grievouſly ſinned in asking a King, whereby they rejected God from reigning over them as their Soveraign, and himſelf as his Deputy and Vicegerent. Behold (ſays he) I have hearkened to your voice, and have according to your deſire (the Lord alſo permitting it) ſet a King over you. And now you have a King ſetled among you to govern you, and go before you as your General to war. And as for my ſelf I have very great cauſe to be well pleaſed (being old and gray-headed) that the burden of the Government is taken off from my ſhoulders. And as for my Sons, behold they are with you now not as rulers but as private men; they are before you to give account to you and your King of their former behaviour and carriage, and to make ſatisfaction (a)q. d. Filios meos habetis in poteſtate veſtra. Si quid dignum ſevero ſupplicio commiſe…int non ſubſtraham eòs legitimae ſatisfactioni. Si enim quid perperam in ſua gubernatione commiſerint id me praeceptore non didicerunt, ne que talia excuſabo.for any thing they have done amiſs whilſt they were in place of Government. And as for my ſelf I may truly ſay that I have endeavoured faithfully, and in the uprightneſs of my heart to perform the duties of my place in the ſight of you all, both in the ſervice of the Sanctuary in my younger days, (when I was a Levite) and in my riper age by adminiſtring juſtice ſince I was called to be a Judg. And ſeeing the Government is transferred from me to another you need not now fear to ſpeak your minds of me, and therefore if you can juſtly accuſe me of any evil, ſpeak it freely, and witneſs it againſt me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whoſe Ox *A rare precedent for ſuch to look upon as are in any publick place or office.(I pray you) or whoſe Aſſe have I wrongfully taken away? whom have I defrauded, or whom have I oppreſſed? of whom have I received bribes to blind mine eyes†See Deut. 16.19.? and to cauſe me to wreſt judgment? If any ſuch injurious dealing can be proved againſt me, here I am ready to make reſtitution, and to give ſatisfaction. The people anſwered, Thou haſt not defrauded or oppreſſed us at all, neither haſt thou taken ought of any mans hand to pervert juſtice. Well then (ſays he) let the Lord be witneſs, and let his anointed here preſent be witneſs that you acknowledg and declare that you have not found any injuſtice or injurious dealing in me. They anſwered let them be witneſſes. Poſſibly he deſired thus to juſtifie and clear himſelf as to the whole courſe of his Government (as Moſes likewiſe had done, Numb. 16.15.) both that he might be an example to their new King, and make him the more careful to avoid thoſe ways of injuſtice and oppreſſion which he had told them before the Kings of the earth were prone unto, ſee Ch. 8.11. As alſo that he might hereby convince them of their ſinful folly in rejecting him, and with him the upright and impartial Government of Judges, and chuſing to be under Kings, from many of whom they ſhould find but hard and oppreſſive uſage. Having thus juſtified himſelf, he goes on further to argue with them concerning Gods dealing with them, and their carriage towards him: Now therefore (ſays he) ſtand ſtill that I may reaſon with you concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, wherein he hath approved himſelf faithful, and hath performed his Covenant which he made with you, and your fathers, and hath given you help and deliverance out of the hands of your enemies; and therefore you are guilty of great ingratitude in not relying upon him, but diſtruſting him, and rejecting his Government. Recollect, I pray you, and call to your remembrance Gods former dealings with you, when Jacob was come into Egypt, and his poſterity exceedingly multiplied, they being grievouſly oppreſſed, cried unto the Lord for deliverance, he then made Moſes the Governour of his people, and Aaron the High-Prieſt, and ſent them to deliver your Fathers out of that bondage, which they accordingly did, and then they led them through the Wilderneſs, and brought them into the Land which the Lord had promiſed to give unto them. And Moſes put them in poſſeſſion of that part of the land which was without Jordan, and ſubſtituted Joſhua in his place who gave them poſſeſſion of the reſt. But they ſoon forgot the kindneſs of the Lord, and regarded not his Commandments. So he ſold them into the hand of Siſera Captain General to Jabin (who dwelt at Hazar) and into the hands of the Philiſtines, and into the hand of the King of Moab. And when they were in theſe diſtreſſes they cried unto him, and confeſſed their ſins, and how they had wickedly fallen to Idolatry, and had worſhipped Baalim and Aſhtaroth, and then humbly beſought him to help them, and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, and promiſed faithfully to ſerve him. The Lord being moved with compaſſion towards them, he ſent them ſeveral Saviours and Deliverers, particularly Jerubbaal, or Gideon, and Bedan (that is Samſon, ſo called becauſe he was of the Tribe of Dan) and Jephthah *He mentions not theſe Judges in the order of time in which they lived, and inſiſteth only on ſome of them to put them in mind of the reſt. V. 14. Eritis poſt Jehovam, i. e. Jehovah antecedet vos, & defendet vos. Piſc.. And to come down to your own times, I hope I may without vanity mention my ſelf alſo as one under whoſe conduct (by the bleſſing of God) you have had great deliverances, and have enjoyed great tranquillity and ſafety. But when ye underſtood that Nahaſh King of the Ammonites was coming againſt you, nothing then would ſatisfie you but to have a King ſet over you, whereas the Lord your God was your King, and held in his own hands the right of governing you, and ruled over you by Judges as his Subſtitutes and Deputies. And with his Government you ſhould have been well contented, and ſatisfied, till he was pleaſed to alter it. And now behold ſeeing nothing elſe would content you, he hath ſet a King over you. But though you have greatly offended him and deſerve to be rejected of him, and caſt off from being his people, as you have rejected him from being your King, yet if you will fear him, and ſerve him, and obey his voice, the Lord will not forſake you, but will be to you and your King a Leader, Guide and Protector, and you ſhall continue to be his people, following of him as dutiful children do their father, which will be a great honour and advantage to you. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, his hand will be againſt you, as it was againſt your Fathers, whom for their diſobedience he cauſed to fall in the Wilderneſs. But poſſibly you will think that all that I have ſaid unto you in blaming you for deſiring a King, are but the words of a weak old man, but ye ſhall know that I ſpeak to you from the Lord who hath ſent me unto you as his Prophet and Ambaſſadour; and ſeeing you are ſo difficult to believe me in this thing, except my words be confirmed by Miracles, you ſhall ſee a Miracle to confirm you; Is not this a fair and bright day as the days uſe to be in Wheat-harveſt *Their Wheat-harveſt in thoſe dry Countries of Syria and Canaan was in the heat of Summer, which dried up the vapours and exhalations that are the cauſes of thunder; at that time eſpecially when the day on which Samuel ſpake to them was fair, there was no likelihood of ſuch weather. Tonitru illud tempore meſſis praeter naturam fuit, id…oque mirabile propterea quod vere tan…um & autumno fiunt tonitrua. Cujus rei cauſa eſt quod concitantur ex conflictu calidi & frigidi; qui conflictus neque hyeme, ſuperante frigore, neque aeſtate, ſuperante aeſtu fieri poteſt, praeſertim in aeſtuoſis terris qualis Syria eſt. Caſtalio.? you know we uſe to have no rain or thunder at this time of the year, [ſee Prov. 26.] you ſee now no ſign of any approaching tempeſt; yet ye ſhall ſee me at this time by my prayer obtain both rain and thunder from God, by which you may be convinced that your wickedneſs is great in deſiring a King, and thereby rejecting the Lord (who is ſo powerful a Protector, and hath thunder and rain, heaven and earth at his command; and is able to deſtroy all his and his peoples enemies, as you have had lately experience, Ch. 7.10.) as alſo in rejecting me his Prophet, who by my prayers can procure thunder and rain from heaven. Samuel accordingly prayed unto the Lord that day, and immediately the Lord ſent thunder and rain in a very extraordinary manner, inſomuch that the people were not only convinced thereby that they had heinouſly ſinned in deſiring a King, but alſo were much afraid that by this terrible tempeſt they ſhould be deſtroyed. They hereupon deſired Samuel to pray for them, ſaying they had added to all their former ſins this alſo in asking a King (a)They failed in the manner of asking him: 1. Asking him very unſeaſonably, not waiting Gods time. 2. They askt him with impetuous impatience, brooking no delay. 3. Proudly, they would be like other Nations. 4. Diſtruſtfully, reſting more on their King than on Gods power and promiſes. 5. Rebelliouſly, ſhaking off Gods Government as weary of it, and deſiring to exchange it for that of a King, and caſting off his holy Prophet Samuel, a moſt innocent and upright Judge.. Samuel encouraged them, and bad them not deſpair of Gods mercy towards them, provided they turned not aſide from following of him, but ſerved him ſincerely, and with all their heart. And though they had committed a great wickedneſs, yet the Lord would be gracious unto them if they ceaſed from ſinning, and following after Idols, which cannot profit them, nor deliver them; for they are vain, and have nothing of power or vertue in them, [ſee 1 Cor. 8.4. Deut. 32.21.] Nay, are ſo far from being able to help them, that their following after them would moſt certainly bring down Gods wrath upon them. However he bids them be of good comfort, for the Lord would not forſake his people upon whom his name is called, ſeeing of his free grace, and not for any merits in them he had choſen them to be his people, and therefore being in Covenant with him, it would not ſtand with his glory to leave them, or caſt them off(b)V. 22. Verba negantia pro contrariis affirmantibus per quandam foreign ſaepius ponuntur. Glaſſ., except they did firſt reject and caſt off him; for other Nations would then be apt to ſay God was unfaithful in his promiſes, or not able to perform them, which would highly tend to his diſhonour. And as for me (ſays he) though the unkindneſs you have expreſſed towards me may make you afraid, I will not regard you, and the thunder I have prayed for and obtained, may ſeem to argue ſome diſpleaſure conceived in my mind againſt you, yet God forbid that I ſhould ſo far ſin againſt him as to neglect my duty in praying for you, and faithfully inſtructing you. No, aſſure your ſelves I will ſtill pray for you, and teach you the good and right way; only be you careful to fear the Lord, and to ſerve him in truth and ſincerity, remembring what great things he hath done for you. But if ye and your King ſhall do wickedly, remember what I ſay unto you, you will be both of you conſumed and deſtroyed, neither will my prayers do you any good.
1 Sam. Ch. 12. whole Chapter.