Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A37437
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Reflections upon the late great revolution written by a lay-hand in the country for the satisfaction of some neighbours.
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Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing D844; ESTC R9630
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42,486
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74
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takes them while they are in good Humour and says Come let us go up to Gilgal and there renew the Kingdom And the people went up to Gilgal and there they made Saul King before the Lord 1 Sam. 11.14 15. Which methinks seems to infer that Samuel thought the Peoples Approbation necessary for the Confirmation of the Kingdom to Saul for after that they all owned and obeyed him which they did not before And although this is a pretty clear Proof as to Saul yet those that I shall produce about David are I think more strong and pregnant for although David was by God Almighty design'd and declar'd King during Saul's Life-time and at Saul's Death was in a very good posture to have possest himself of that Kingdom to which he seem'd to have so good a Title for he had a Victorious Army with him with which he might certainly very easily have vanquish'd the small remainder of Saul's baffled Forces yet he does nothing like that but comes and settles himself and Family quietly at Hebron where the Text says he dwelt 2 Sam. 2.3 But how long he was there before the men of Judah came to make him their King the Story does not express but thither they came of their own accord it is to be supposed and there they make him King over the House of Judah 2 Sam. 2.4 But for all he had the same Title to the Crown of Israel God having promised him both yet he does not pretend to any Dominion over them till they themselves come and make him their King as you will find it 2 Sam. 5.3 and 1 Chron. 11.3 but that was not till Seven Years and an half after he was King of Judah So that it seems Israel took a fair time to consider of it for Ishbosheth reigning but Two Years it must be Five Years and an half after his Death and what Government was in that Interregnum is hard to say because the Scripture says nothing of it but what they did so many years after is yet call'd the fulfilling of Samuel's Prophecy to David for the Text tells you They anointed David King over Israel according to the Word of the Lord by Samuel 1 Chron. 11.3 From whence we infer That when God Almighty does the most directly and immediately raise a single Person or Family the People are his Instruments to do it and bring it about as is I think very apparent in this Case of David as also in that of Jeroboam for although the Prophet Ahijah had given him Ten Pieces to signifie the Ten Tribes he should reign over and had also told him 1 Kings 11.37 I will take thee and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth and shalt be King over Israel Yet for all these great Promises he was glad to run for it and play least in sight all Solomon's days so that he had no advantage by it but only great hopes till the People fulfill'd that which was but Prophecy before 1 Kings 12.20 And it came to pass that when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again that they sent and call'd him to the Congregation and made him King over all Israel So true is sometimes that saying Vox Populi est Vox Dei. But this last Instance does afford us another Observation which I think ought not to be past over in silence and that is That God does not tye himself to a Family or Line For if Jeroboam will serve God as David did he will build him as sure a house as he built for David 1 Kings 11.38 By which we may see that God is no Respecter of Persons and that Kings have no surer Tenor in Gods Favour than other People for his Promises are as conditional to them as to the meanest man and if they fail of their Duty God may and oftentimes does take the Forfeiture as we see here both in the Case of David and Jeroboam But when and how far those Forfeitures are to be taken ought to be left to that Almighty Wisdom and Providence that turns every thing to good But to return to the Story from which I think I have not much digrest as to the Matter though I may have a little Inverted the Order for according to that I should not have treated of Jeroboam before Solomon But the truth is I cannot say there is such Proofs of the Peoples setting up Solomon as for the Two preceding Kings and yet there are some Circumstances in the Story from whence one may infer something of that kind However it may prove something which may be of some use in our present Dispute and that is That a King may have a Successor even while he lives for David you see commanded Zadock the Priest and Nathan the Prophet to anoint Solomon King c. that as David says in the following Verse he may come and sit upon my throne for he shall be King in my stead 1 Kings 1.34 35. Now the occasion of this unusual way of proceeding I suppose was this David had a mind that Solomon should succeed him and finding that Adonijah had got a strong Party thought the best way to secure the Throne to Solomon was to put him in present Possession of it Although by the way it must be remarked that Adonijah was the Elder Brother and so according to our Rules of Succession had the better Title from whence it may be inferr'd That that Rule may sometimes be inverted without sin and 't is the more remarkable because that God had taken such particular care of the Right of the First born in private Families so that a Father had not power to make a Favourite-Child the Eldest nor to put by the Son of a hated Mother from that double Portion to which his Birth-right intitled him And yet the very first time that Succession to the Crown of Israel can be pretended that Order you see is inverted and Solomon the Youngest Son set up But to go on with our Story David on the former account finding it necessary to turn over the Crown to Solomon during his own Life yet thinks it fit to give the People an Account of his Proceedings and the Reasons of them for he tells them that God had chosen Judah to be the Ruler and of the house of Judah the house of my father and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me King over Israel And of all my sons for the Lord hath given me many sons he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel 1 Chron. 28.4 5. And after that David had given Instructions to Solomon about building the Temple and both the King and People had made their Oblations of what they had which was fit for the Work the Congregation of the People continuing yet together 't is said Chap. 29. ver 22. And they made Solomon the son of David King the second time and anointed him unto the Lord
and laid it up before the Lord. For had God designed that the King's Will should have been his only Law it had I 'm sure been a very superfluous if not an impossible Task for Samuel to have writ that down And besides the laying it up before the Lord does infer somethign of extraordinary weight and sacredness in that Book that was to be placed in that holy Repository with the Records of that Covenant which God himself had vouchsafed to make with his People Now upon these Considerations I think I may safely call this the Original Contract that was between the Kings and People of Israel But we may guess it was not an Absolute Arbitrary Power such as our Neighbour-Prince pretends to over his Subjects that was by this made over to Saul for altho he saw many of his new Subjects did despise him yet he was glad to hold his peace or as the Margin says He was as tho he had been deaf 1 Sam. 10.27 So that it seems Samuel thought it necessary the People should be farther obliged than at present they thought themselves and therefore proposes their going up to Gilgal there to renew the Kingdom 1 Sam. 11.15 And all the people went to Gilgal and there they that is certainly the People made Saul King before the Lord in Gilgal and there they sacrificed Sacrifices of Peace-Offerings before the Lord. And that the joining in a Sacrifice and both Parties eating and partaking of the same Sacrifice or at least eating together at what they called a Feast was both the most usual and solemn way of making Covenants in those days both among Jews and Gentiles is a thing so well known that I need not insist on it else both Sacred and Profane Story would furnish us with Proofs enough were it necessary But the Agreement which I suppose was then made between King and People begot such a mutual Kindness and Confidence in one another that the Text adds There Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly and from that time we never find any Dispute between them And so I shall proceed to his next Successor David and the Proofs of his making such a Covenant with the People of Israel are as clear and full as can be desired Upon what Terms the Men of Judah first admitted him is not so plainly set down but it being their own voluntary Act to make him King we may suppose that they would take care to see their own Interest secured But 't is very apparent that after Abner designed to revolt to David he will make his Conditions with him first And Abner sent Messengers to David saying Make thy League with me and behold my hand shall be with thee to bring about all Israel to thee And he said Well I will make a League with thee c. So Abner came to David to Hebron and twenty Men with him And David made Abner and the Men which were with him a Feast 2 Sam. 3.12 13 20. at which I suppose the Bargain was made of both sides for as I before observ'd few Contracts were concluded without the Ceremony of Eating and Drinking together And after that Abner says I will arise and go and gather all Israel to my Lord the King for now he owns him to be so altho he would not call him so before that they may make a League with thee and that thou maist reign over all that thy Heart desireth as it follows in Verse 21. So that it seems the King's making a Covenant with the People was to precede his Reigning over them altho David had been both chosen by God and Anointed by Samuel so many years before And when upon Abner's death that first Treaty with the Men of Israel was broken off we do not find that David pretended to any Authority over Israel till of their own accords about five years and a half after All the Elders of Israel came to the King to Hebron and King David made a Covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord and they Anointed David King over Israel 2 Sam. 5.3 And yet as I said before if ever any King could pretend to be Jure Divino it must be David but for all that he is content to come to the Crown like other Men and does not assume it to himself till given him by the People There is another thing also that I desire may be observed which is That the Phrase before the Lord both in this place and 1 Sam. 11.15 is indifferently apply'd both to King and People For here 't is said the King made a Covenant with the People before the Lord and there that the people made Saul King before the Lord. From whence I think we may collect that being mutual the Promise was as obliging as it was solemn of both sides for both are exprest in the same words And we may also conclude that when we meet with that Phrase of eating and drinking before the Lord and making King unto or before the Lord as 't is 1 Chron. 29.22 it is designed to signifie the mutual stipulation between King and People So that we may infer that Solomon did take the Crown upon the same Terms his Father David did altho the word League or Covenant is not exprest And if the three first Kings did thus receive the Crown from and oblige themselves to the People we may safely suppose that their Successors did the same thing although it is not particularly affirm'd of every one Nor do we find any more mention of it till King Joash's coming to the Crown And when the Kingdom was restored after the Usurpation or Interregnum shall I call it of Athaliah all the old Rights and Customs are both mentioned and repeated as you may find it 2 Kings 11.4 17. How Jehoiada brought Joash into the House of the Lord to the People and made a Covenant with them and took an Oath of them in the House of the Lord and in the 17. Verse And Jehoiada made a Covenant between the Lord and the King and the People that they should be the Lords people between the King also and the People all which you will find repeated 2 Chron. 23.3 16. And if this is not a pregnant Proof of the Truth of what I have said that the Kings of Israel and Judah were not Absolute but were under Obligations and Conditions to their People as well as subjected to the Laws of God if this Instance I say with the rest before mentioned may not be allow'd for Proofs I shall dispair of bringing a Proof either for this or any thing else out of the Bible but if these will pass I suppose they may be sufficient to convince any impartial Reader therefore shall presume it would be superfluous to multiply Quotations in so plain a Case And now I have gone through the three things I proposed to clear out of Scripture How well I have perform'd my undertaking I shall leave to better Judgments and that