Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	david_n	good_a	saul_n	976	5	9.2797	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42629	The defence of the Parliament of England in the case of James the II, or, A treatise of regal power and of the right of the people drawn from ancient councils ... and more especially the ordinances of the doctors of the Church of Rome ... : wherein is demonstrated that the Holy Scriptures are so far from being contrary, that they do even assent thereto / written in Latin by P. Georgeson, Kt. ; translated by S. Rand.	Georgeson, P., Sir.; Rand, S.	1692 (1692)	Wing G533; ESTC R18626	44,763	42

Prophet Samuel of those things Kings would do preter contra officium besides and contrary to their Duty and not altogether without precedent yet they did not for all that alter their mind at length God wearied by their improbrious Demands granted them Saul for their King I cannot imagine what advantage the Parasites of Tyrants can infer from hence that can in any wise justifie and authorize their Cause Salmasius is not ashamed to assert that by those Admonitions whereby he tried to reduce them to better obedience and to reclaim them from their erronious Practices to a sound mind did intimate and point at Regal Power which was not known to the Israelites As if God should ordain the immoral and irregular Lusts of Princes to be the Standard of governing and had a mind that they should be exempted from his Law and unaccountable for what they did To what purpose did he then establish a proper and peculiar Law for Kings as we described before by which ●aw they were commanded to have Moses's Law near them to apply themselves carefully to the learning of it to turn it over and over again continually and to that intent it came to pass Samuel delivered the Law written to Saul then chosen to be King which he punctually observed threatning him no less than he did the People with utter destruction if he should depart from it For he spoke to Israel in these words Behold God hath set him a King over you obey and serve God ye and the King who is set over you otherwise you and your King shall perish which doubtless put these words in King James the I. his mou●h when he drew up Instructions for his Son Whom saith he does the reading and searching of the Scriptures more nearly concern than Kings themselves forasmuch as in that portion of Scripture which makes first mention of the most excellent Kings of Israel we find that they were not only invited and perswaded but expressly enjoyned to be diligent in reading of and meditating upon the Holy Scriptures Alas how sew of the Kings and ' Queens except William and Mary did ever think this Duty incumbent upon them Yet Grotius behaves himself much more modestly than doth Salmasius for he owns that those intimations and warnings of Samuel were so many Predictions of future Events and not a description of Regal Right For although Divine Providence did more tenderly indulge and encourage the Israelitish Kingdom than other Kingdoms for the Messiah's sake who was to spring from the Royal Stock of Israel yet that other Kingdoms should be ordered according to the same Model would by no means follow from hence Salmasius doth not stick to say That Saul and David were immediately ordained and appointed of God that other Kings were but mediately only Therefore nobody should wonder why they were more sacred and more inviolable than other Kings But if we consider this well this distinction will be of little force nor can any Argument drawn from hence serve their turn for God granted them such a King as they required and they demand a King like to the Kings of other Nations and not a King of a new institution as I may so say such an one as never was in the world before God therefore grants them such an one as they desire If then Kings of other Nations could be dethroned no body can reasonably question but that the Kings of Israel might be so likewise Therefore the matter must come again to be tryed by the Law both of Nature and Nations neither did the two Tribes at all doubt of it when in Rehoboham's time they shook off the Yoke and placed Jeroboham over themselves neither did their Crime so much consistin that as togetherwith rejecting Rehoboham they forsook also the Temple and Worship of God neither was any other thing in the mind of those forty who betook themselves to the Cave of Engedi with David nay they pretended to have a more desperate design in their heads as touching this matter than had the two Tribes for they perswaded him to make use of the opportunity put into his hand to rid himself from the persecution of the Son of Kis by making him away Of the same opinion was also Abishai one of David's Worthi●s and Brother to Joab who stealing privily into Saul's Tent with David who found Saul sleeping within the Trench and his Speer sticking in the Ground at his Bolster took it up and offered his service to David saying Let me smite him I pray the with the Spear even to the Earth at once and I will not smite him the second time Now if any one shall narrowly examine the History of Saul and David he will undoubtedly find that the so strenuous Assertors of Tyranny have read the Scriptures whereunto they so confidently appeal but very carelesly and cursorily for even Saul himself never took himself inviolable or not to be medled withall for after this manner spoke he to David producing a piece of the Skirt of his Robe Thou art more righteous than I for thou hast rewarded me good whereas I have rewarded thee evil thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me for as much as when the Lord had delivered me into thy hand thou killedst me not For if a man find his Enemies will he let them go away free wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day Neither did Saul boast of or value himself upon his Unction nor much insist upon his inviolability nay he ingeniously confesseth that he was subject to the fate of other Mortals and that he had saved his life he owned this wholly to the magnanimous clemency and kindness of David and not to his own Majesty and Dignity Now had the Royal Power as a peculiar ●adge and Characteristical mark of distinction secured Saul from all attempts upon his Person how chanced it that the four hundred and Abishai understood nothing of that Prerogative only David by his prophetical Spirit was able to pry into that business nor in truth could Saul have this Prerogative whatsoever it was either from the Law of Nature or of Nations for then it would have been made known to all but he had it only by a Special Grant and Favour which in all probability was revealed to David by God alone Now the Son of Jesse had plainly signified that the life of the Son of Kis was in his hand and that he was at his mercy for thus spake he unto him The Lord delivered thee unto me nor did I lay hands upon thee He s●il●s him indeed the Anointed of the Lord and confesseth that in consideration of this Unction he was induced to spare his life Yet it does not therefore follow that he was inviolable for if any one will refuse or delay upon any account to put a thing in execution you must by no means infer from

thence that it was not lawsull for him so to doe who knows not that Holy men fearing God do oftentimes forbear doing some things which otherwise might be permitted to any one whatsoever You know it is sometimes a great sign of generosity towards an Enemy not to take advantage of him but Saul was not affected with the same reverence and respect to David's Unction for he persecuted him with such inveterate malice because he knew that the Son of Jesse was anointed for King of Israel taking no notice at all of Saul's other Sons Again Absolom did not look upon his Father's Unction as sacred who endeavoured might and main to wrest the Sc●pter out of his hand Nor did Hushai that wise and prudent Counsellor to Absolom go about to deter him from his enterprize by magnifying to him David's Unction but by magnifying his and his Mens valour and resoluteness which he pretended was not adviseable to be engaged without a pretty considerable stout Party But some may reply that David durst not venture to lay violent hands upon the Lord 's Anointed how bitter an Enemy soever and raging against him with a bloud thirsty mind nor can this seem strange to any one that shall observe the signal and distinguishing dispensation of God's Providence in this History for without God's permission Saul had not entered into the Cave wherein David whom he sorely persecuted together with the forty Men of his Life-Guard lay hid and it was because God would have it so that David saw Saul and that Saul was seen by him that Saul should not hear the least noise or whispering of those four hundred and forty Men some of whom communed with David Last of all it was not without the special providence of God that the Son of Jesse should cut off the Skirt of the Son of Kis's Robe and he never perceive it Doth not the Holy Scripture make mention that God caused a dead sleep to seize Saul and his Guard when David accompanied with Abishai slipt unawares into Saul's Tent. It is more than probable that all these things were disposed and foreordained of God to give the Children of Israel to understand the constant goodness and the meekness of the man so dear to him and as the Scriptures declare one after his own heart and who by his valour and magnanimity was to be an illustrious Tipe of the Messiah from whose Loins the very Messiah himself commonly stiled the Son of David was to spring if a man can indeed suppose any thing of Man in that sweet and gracious deportment of David towards Saul Was it not David's prudence who being the Anointed of the Lord as well as Saul to secure his own life from the conspiracies of the People by sparing the life of Saul as the Lord 's Anointed Looking over the History of the first King of the Israelites I find a notable Circumstance which might have stopt the mouth of the pleaders for Absolute Power if they had b●t made the least Reflection upon it The business was thus The Philistians having been put to the rout and totally defeated by Jonathan Saul desirous of pursuing and gaining an entire victory over these uncircumcised Philistians gave a strict charge to all his Soldiers not to touch any Victuals until the Evening Jonathan being hot upon the pursuit was not present when the Prohibition was made and consequently ignorant of the same now finding himself very much harassed and half famish'd at his return into the Camp having light upon some Honey by chance dipt the end of the Rod that was in his hand in it and did but taste of it Now Saul consulting with the Lord whether he should continue the pursuit of the Enemy the Lord gave him no answer whereupon the King having a mind to know the reason of God's silence cast the Lot which fell upon Jonathan who presently confessed the Fact the King his Father swore he should suffer for it and Jonathan began to submit to this cruel unnatural Sentence and prepared himself for death When the people to whom Jonathan had much endeared himself by his eminent Qualifications and who had so well deserved of the Nation by his fresh Victory over these Philistians did oppose his intent and withall swore that an Hair of his Head should not fall to the ●●ound since that if there were any fault it was committed meerly ou● of ignorance behold how the will of the People does clash with the Kings and how the Peoples will prevailed o●e● his and reason good it should nay and all this passed in a peac●full manner without the least Sedition on the Peoples part and without the least muttering or complaint of the King that there was any Violence offered him or any atempt or incroa●hment upon his Authority Neither does the Power of Ahab appear very much absolute no more than that of the former King forasmuch as he could not possess himself of Naboth's Vineyard but by the fraud of cursed Jezabel such as was scarce ever thought of by the basest of men or by the worst of women Of Jezabel I say who first suggested it nor could he devise any other means to seize of this piece of Land but in raising up and suborning False-Witnesses against this gracious Man and in causing him to be put to death as a Blasphemer The Tr●nsactions of the Kings of Judah and of Israel do confirm this verity where you may see that they drew by their example their Subjects into Idolatry and all kind of wickedness according as they were bygotted and given to it themselves and did ●eclaim them and hindred them from falling foul upon these Rocks according as they kept themselves aloof from them What was David's sense of his own proper Dignity Royal is in the next place to be enquired into Scripture informs us that he was anointed by Samuel as Successor to Saul howbeit Saul being gathered to his Fathers Abner Captain of the Guard to Saul placed Ishbosheth youngest Son of the deceased upon the Throne of Israel What does David hereupon Why he wageth war with Ishbosheth under the notion of Competitor not as an Usurper for he never impeached Abner of High-Treason for taking the Usurper's part yea he even solemnized his Obs●quies condoles his being put to death by Joab because he slew Azael Joab's Brother with Tears and Praises Nor did David look upon Ishhosheth as guilty of Usurpation but pronounced him clear and blameless yea and revenged his Death too tho none of the King 's Anointed by taking off the Murtherers From all which I cannot choose but wonder how ever it could enter into the thoughts of those who stand for Tyranny to seek refuge for their case in the History of Saul and David But the chief Master-Piece of Fawning-Courtiers on which they lay the greatest stress seems to be this that the Israelites never ejected or ever called any of their Kings to an account in a Court of Judicature