MEDITATIONS Upon 1 Sam. 26.19 Humbly presented to the COMMON-COUNCEL OF LONDON For their serious rumination By their servant for their good HENRY BURTON ROM 15.4 Whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning ISAI 9.16 The leaders of this people cause them to erre and they that are led of them are destroyed If ye know these things happie are ye if ye do them LONDON Printed for Giles Calvert 1647. To the Right Honourable the Lord Maior with the Right Worshipful the Aldermen and the rest of the Common Councel of the City of London Grace Mercy and Wisdom be multiplied SIRS THat I of so small acquaintance with you yet to you all not altogether unknown should present you with any such service as this though it may seem to some too much presumption yet not to any I hope either arrogancy or importunate impertinency at this time as being not unseasonable for Truth at least to the wise no not in this so idolized adulatory Age which as a mel dew hath so much blasted both our blossoms with blacknesse and our fruit with barrennesse And though for some respects I may worst do it yet having by the good Providence of Heaven spent the best part of my life in this famous City and that also as an unworthy Watch-man therein and not having at any time been negligent within my narrow Sphere to give warning when apparent danger approached I should judge my self very unfaithful if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 last being neer the time of giving up my account to my righteous Judge I should be silent especially when I see a storm hanging over this City from an angry heaven and while there is yet some hope left of preventing of it For if the Egyptians at Moses his warning of the next morrows hideous storm of hail did many of them forthwith withdraw themselves and cattle into their houses for preservation then much more should Christians be wise in this point and especially when not a Moses yet the meanest Messenger is sent with a Message from God no lesse true and certain then that of Moses was because Gods Word it self And for the truth of what is here brought unto you and how far or how neer or how truely it concerneth you all in the application I leave to your maturest and most Christian wisdom to judge And when this comes to be applied either as a Preservative or a Corrosive if it be with patience endured it is a hopeful signe of cure if otherwise yet in endeavouring the good I wish you I have herein * Ezek. 3.17 to 21. freed mine own soul Nor durst I forbear this duty at this time in a matter of so high importance if well weighed as wherein the weal or we of this Body in reference to the righteous Judge of all is so much concerned Consider what is said and the Lord give you understanding in all things Which is the humble and earnest Prayer of Your faithful servant in the Lord HENRY BURTON Meditations upon 1 Sam. 26.19 in these words Now therefore I pray thee let my Lord the King hear the words of his servant If the Lord hath stirred thee up against me let him accept an offering but if they be the children of men cursed be they before the Lord for they have driven me this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord saying Go serve other gods THese words spake David at a good distance of ground to King Saul when he was pursuing him and newly after he had now again saved Sauls life as he had done but a little before in the cave 1 Sam. 24. And they are a part of his answer to Saul who awaking from his dead sleep while David took him napping with all his guard about him so as Abishai at Davids command took onely Sauls spear and pot of water at his head having as good a will to have taken his life and hearing Davids voice said unto him Is this thy voice my son David Who said It is my voice my Lord O King Wherefore doth my Lord thus pursue after his servant For what have I done or what evil is in my hand Now therefore I pray thee let my Lord the King hear the words of his servant c. So as vers 18. David pleads his innocency towards Saul also his humility also his fidelity and integrity though the Lord had now the second time closed this persecuting tyrant into his hand so as it was in his power to be revenged on him for all his murderous hatred and insatiable malice in seeking and pursuing his life And whereas David asks him here What evil have I done he might as well have said What good have I not done that thou shouldst thus requite me I could but now have smitten thee with thine own spear where with formerlâ— thou * 1 Sam. 19. attemptedst to smite me to the wall when thou hadst bound thy self with an oath not to slay me yea â—nd then also when I had again made a great slaughter of the Philistines thine enemies whereby both thou and thy people were delivered Thou callest me thy son but hast from the beginning used this relation as a snare to destroy me and that by those very enemies the Philistines from whâ—m through my God I have so often delivered both thee and all Israel Now therefore * 1 Sam. 24.12 the Lord judge between me and thee and the Lord avenge me of thee but my band shall not be upon thee And besides all this thou mayst remember how thou didst confesse unto me with tears when before I spared thy life * 1 San. 14.17 19. 1 Sam. 18.28 that I had rewarded thee good for evil and that thou knewest well that the Lord was with me and that I should surely be king wherefore then fightest thou against God in thus hunting after a flea in the wildernesse But come we to Davids words here He prays his pursuer and persecutor saying Let my Lord the King hear the words of his servant His preface for attention imports weight in his words being also spoken to a King and as his speech came from an humble heart so it was full of charity earnestly seeking if possible Sauls sound repentance at length after so many backslidings from his solemn promises and hypocritical protestations Nor did David thus speak for Saul onely to deter him but for all those who either counselled or instigated or assisted him either with their power or with their * As the Zâ—phites chap. 26.1 23.19 20. officiousnesse in carrying tales to Saul where David hid himself from his fury or through ungratefulnesse would betray him into Sâ—uls hand whofe City he had but a few days before * As the men of Keilah cha 23 12. delivered from the Philistines And now ye noble Citizens let a better spirit move you to hearken to Davids words here then was in Saul at least in case you shall finde your selves no
they differ from you though they have hazarded their lives for you which as it is a high breach of charity and an unsampled ingratitude so it is most odious and abominable before God whose Justice and Wrath if not appeased by faith in Christ accompanied with syncere Repentance and publike Humiliation will undoubtedly if Gods Word be true concerning Saul and other in the like case break forth upon you and your Councellours yea upon City and Kingdom For * Gal. 6. God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap In King Davids time 2 Sam. 21. a famine of three â—â—â—rs was in the Land For what cause David enquires of the Lord and the Lord answered It is for Saul and for his bloody house because be slew the Gibeonites Why Saul was now dead and doth the Lord now under Davids Raign punish Israel for Sauls sin Yes Gods forbearance is no forgivenesse his patience is no payment And though Saul was dead yet Israel being accessory to Sauls sin God punisheth them And because Saul slew the Posterity of the Gibeonites God now requires it at the hands of Sauls Posterity The Gibeonites demand of David seven of Sauls sons to be hanged which is granted But why should all this ado be for the Gibeonites for these Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel but a remnant of the Amorites I but the children of Israel had sworn unto them Now observe it well As Saul in his zeal for the children of Israel slew the Gibeonites so the Lord now in his zeal both punisheth the children of Israel with three yeers famine and slayeth seven of Sauls sons for satisfaction to the Gibeonites Now if the Lord were so zealous and exact in his Justice in so punishing Sauls sinful zeal and avenging the slaughter of the Gibeonites though aliens in Israel what impunity can they look for at the hands of the righteous God who out of what zeal soever be it for those new lords to be set over them as the peoples zeal was to have Saul for their King rather then the Lord 1 Sam. 8.7 are so extremely injurious and oppressive and that to their brethren their own natural Country-men yea perhaps kindsmen too and that which is above all other relations their preservers and deliverers from utter ruine and destruction of them and theirs and that with the extreme hazard of their own lives interposing their bodies between the City and utmost imminent mortal destructive danger and that in a juncture of time when the enemy was in the top of his strength and in the ruff of his jollity fully resolving the day was his before it dawned and on the other side our Army consisting of raw Souldiers and no lesse raw Offices was at the lowest ebbe and given for lost as men that durst not engage and whom the enemy supposed would rather flee then fight so injurious I say as to go about in stead of putting at least Lawrel Crowns upon their heads to make them level with the Gibeonites to purchase their lives with being hewers of wood and drawers of water to the whole Nation as glad that they may but breathe in the common air and live of a morsel of bread to lengthen their miserable lives so much worse then death by how much these are men of a more noble and heroick spirit then so dearly to prize a most ignominious life after so many large proffers of their dearest blood to purchase a most glorious death No greater injury nor indignity can be done to well-deserving Vertue then to recompence it with impious Scorn David would not suffer those Worthies of his to be sent back with disgrace 1 Sam. 10. with their beards half shaven and their garments cut off to their huttocks by Hanun the Ammonite to whom he had sent to congratulate his new Crown 2 Sam. 12 26-31 but to revenge such an indignity gathered an Army wherewith he brought under the proud Ammonite so as he took his Royal City and the Crown from his head and put the people under sawes and under harrows of iron and made them passe thorow the brick-kiln and thus did he to all the Cities of the children of Ammon and all this I say for one disgrace put upon Davids servants though new garments and their new grown beards might seem to heal all again And will not our David Jesus Christ trow you avenge such horrible indignities as your Remonstrances and Representations have cast upon his Worthies and such as have done more for you then a complement and so much the more when the disgraces put upon them reflect upon himself whose power and goodnesse hath by them as his servants and instruments atchieved so great things for you the City Kingdom Parliament Could any thing have been invented more dishonourable to Christ and more darkening the bright beams of his glory shining forth in those famous acts of his wrought by this Army then thuâ— not onely to bury such glory under an infamous act of eternal oblivion but to brand those servants of his with the Thracian notes of perpetual villainage Nor do I but the thing it self speak and proclaim this Your Remonstrance and Repreientation are extant to all the world But what might be the cause of all this calamity A monstrous conception sure that brings forth such a monstrous birth Why the reason is were there any reason at all in it that those Worthies of the Army do not in all things concur in their judgements with you I would say with your Teachers whose judgement is yours about the things controverted at this day touching Christs Spiritual Kingdom while they would rack mens Consciences to conform to such a Church-Government as they are never able for all their titular Jus divinum to make out from Scripture-evidence So as such forcing of the Conscience otherwise informed and perswaded by the Word of God as it is a horrible violation of our late Solemn Covenant for a Reformation in all things according to the Word of God so it is no lesse Antichristian Tyranny over mens souls then that which the Pope and Prelates have exercised over us if not worse Jer. 28.13 when the woodden yokes of the Prelates being broken seem now to be turned and multiplied into many thousand yokes of iren Consider therefore ye worthy Citizens whether it was not the very spirit of Antichrist breathed upon you by those who have changed the name but not the nature of Prelatical Usurpation that hath thus imposed upon your facile Credulity begotten of your high opinion of them to undertake such a horrid attempt for the perpetual enthralling and vassalizing of both souls and bodies of those who have been your Deliverers and who have abundantly proved themselves to be next under God the best and faithfullest friends that either you or the City or our native Country of England have in all the world at this day Therefore most dear Citizens and Country-men Acts 3.13 14 15 17. let me use the Apostle's words to you which he did to those that had through the subornation of their Synedrion the Priests and Pharisees by their lond Vote Crucifigs Crucifige killed the Prince of life saying Now brethren I wot that through ignorance ye did it as did also your Rulers And certainly I affirm it again and again never could your own genius being ingenuous men and of a generous breeding and education ever have led you into such a miserable Maze had not your over-credulous hearkning to some other's Counsel ensnared your over-confident presuming on some supposed good in it as Eve through the Serpents subtilty supposed to be in the eating of the forbidden tree so leading your harmlesse intentions captive at their will to be the instruments of serving their ungodly unnatural designe Let me therefore adde and apply to you as the most soveraign and onely remedy to cure the wound of your conscience before God and of your honour with men that exhortation of the Apostle Acts 3.19 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sin may be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Make your peace with God and so with your own conscience as well as with men and for that end petition the Parliament for a Solemn and Publike Fast-day wherein your humble and syncere confession before all may stop the mouth of so crying a sin that God may have his glory and you his mercy and both Parliament City and Country impunity especially whose spirits shall sympaâ—hize and bear a part with you and chiefly those who have had the prime share with you in the sin either in counselling you to it or not deterring you from it for either of these ways the sin is theirs Ezek. 3.18 19. Matth. 5.19 that so they may be the first to share in the shame and your selves not the last FINIS
lesse in some measure concerned in them For here we have David for a type of Christ as Davids Kingdom was a type of Christs Kingdom And here we have Saul a persecuter of David for his Kingdoms sake a type of all persecuring tyrants and that under the name of King of Israel under the name of Christian or Protestant Religion persecuting the spiritual Kingdom and free-born subjects * Revel 1.6 yea the Kings and Priests of Jesus Christ and all to uphold a tyraâ—nical worldly and transitory kingdom This tyrannical King Saul according to Samuels prediction and description of him 1 Sam. 8. with his servile and enslaved people so persecute David and his from place to place that they could now here rest or breathe in their own native Country but were driven to seek refuge even among their enemies the Philistines and that also at Gath whose champion they had not yet forgotten to have been vanquished by David and their Army routed and themselves from time to time still put to the worst by David whose very name was dreadful in all the land of the Philistines So as it must needs be extreme necessity that should drive David and his men to such dâ—ngerous exigences as these Or suppose that Saul and his did not seek to take away Davids life nor the life of those Worthies with him but threatned them onely and were content they should live and breathe in their own land Josh 9. but in the same condition with the Gibeonites to be bewers of wood and drawers of water to all the Congregation but to be cashiered and for ever abandoned from and made incapable of all Offices of trust or credit either in the Civil or Ecclesiastical State and so to be made the vilest and basest of men even the * 1 Cor. 4.13 filth of the world and the off soouting of all things Were not a life upon such conditions infinitely more bitter and intolerable then the vilest and cruellest death especially to noble and heroick spirits and who had been so prodigal of their dearest blood for the saving of their Couâ—try from Philistian Lordly domination God for bid you will say that Saul and his should ever have been so ingrateful and bâ—â—tishly minded so to reward such Worthies that had so higâ—ly deserved of their native Country and * Heb. 11.38 whom the world was not worthy of Certainly most wontby Citizens I am perswaded that not even in that 〈◊〉 modelled Common-Councel of London out of which so many honest godly conscientious men have been lately sequestred yet any one is to be found therein that would approve of Sauls practices against faithful David that fought so gloriously for Israel but that such a one must needs be bereft and stript of his very naturals and principles of humanity having the * Dan. heart of a beast with his brains crackt so void of all hope or imagination were it to finde the least atome of grace Religion or conscience other then desperate atheism in such a monster as being void of common reason should he not be voided out of Common Councel But I leave it to your more sad consideration and proceed to the matter of Davids speech to Saul Which matter confists of two branches 1. Concerning the Lord 2. Concerning men The first is in these words If the Lord have stirred thee up against me let him accept an offering The second in these But if they be the children of men cursed be they before the Lord for c. For the former of these The Scripture teacheth us that when Gods children as David are persecuted by wicked men as Saul it is the Lord that stirreth up those men against his people Thus did the Lord stir up Pharaoh and the Egyptians against Israel Rom. 9.17 Exod. 9 16. Bsal 105.25 And in so doing the Lord useth the wicked as his rod or sword or staff or sawe or suchlike instrument wherewith to chastise his people as Isa 10.15 when those wicked in the mean time are immediately set on by their own malice And the Lord in so delivering his people into the hand of the wicked as he doth it for the good of his children so he doth it in wrath to their persecutors It is the greatest judgement in the world for men to be given up to the power of their own wills to afflict and oppresse Gods people Gen. 15.13.14 Exod. 9.16 Isa 10.15 16. Obj. But hath not the Lord a disposing and over-ruling hand in all things that are done Is there evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it How then is it said here If the Lord hath stirred thee up Or is there a time wherein the Lord may be said not to stir up And if so when may the Lord be said to stir up wicked men to afflict his people or when not Ans It is true that at no time do the wicked lift up their hand of Gods people Isai 10.15 but Gods hand stirs them up to the action as the Ax cannot hew unlesse it be acted by the hand Yet sometimes God is not said to stir up as at other times And that is when there appears no external immediate cause moving a man to this or that action then the Lord comes in for the immediate moving cause of it and not man as Exod. 21.13 And therefore in this place the question is put If the Lord stirred up Saul or If the children of men did it If the children of men were the immediate moving cause in stirring up Saul to persecute David then the Lord cannot be said to be the immediate moving cause Where then there appears no other external cause moving then is God the mover and owns the action as here both in relation to Saul in judgement and to David for chastisement And therefore David addeth here If the Lord bath stirred thee up against me let him accept an offering As if he should have said Though thou Saul hast no cause thus to pursue me yet true it is if the Lord shall strictly examine my carriage towards him he may finde matter to provoke him to set thee on as a fierce lion to tear me in pieces But if so that he have a quarrel against me let him accept a * Weich was a Levitical expiation typing out the true Sacrifice of Christ the one Propitiatory for sin 1 Joh. 2.2 sacrifice or offering at my hand But against thee O King I have not transgressed that I should ask pardon of the Lord for it but herein I appeal to his justice to * Psal 7.8 see the title of the Psalm in reference to Sauls quarrel against David judge me according to my righteousnesse and according to mine innocency that is in me Now touching the second branch But if they be the children of men that have stirred thee up against me cursed be they before the Lord. Children of men are so named here as being opposers and oppressours of
the children of God So David complained when he fled from Saul Psal 57.4 Such children of men then as either stir up others or do themselves persecute the children of God they shew themselves to be therein no other then the children of men not the children of God Nor doth this excuse Saul that he was egged to this by any of his Doegs or flattering sycophantizing Courtiers Kings will never want bad Councellours if they be bad themselves If a Ruler hearken to lyes Prov. 29.12 all his servants are wicked If Saul were led by bad Councellours he might thank himself that either his example led them to it or that he was led by them Ahab followed Jezebels counsel to get Naboths life and vineyard and that by an hypocritical way of a Fast But both he and she and their house and Kingdom paid dearly for it Adam lays the fault on his wife and she on the Serpent the Serpent is cursed but they escaped not scot-free so as the earth became accursed for their sakes So here is a curse imprecated upon those children of men that stirred up Saul to persecute David But did not this Curse involve Saul too Did not the Lord forsake him No Samuel now to pray for him being before his death * 1 Sam. 16.1 forbid any longer to mourn for him as being rejected of God And henceforth he proceeds from evil to worse and worse Now the * Vers 14. Spirit of the Lord for the government of his kingdom departeth from him and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him Now * 1 Sam. 28.6 when he enquired of the Lord the Lord answered him not neither by dreams nor by Vrim nor by Prophets Then * Vers 7. he sends to seek out a Witch to enquire of her And all along he stands to none of his promises and oathes made to David but pursues him continually to make an end of him And in the end he falls by the Army of the uncircumcised Philistines and being sore wounded he desperately fell upon his own sword and so died Object But David was a Prophet and so might imprecate such a curse which upon like occasions we have not the like warrant so to do Answ Nor need we This curse is not taken off the file but stands in force still and is recorded to admonish us upon whom the ends of the world are come If we counsel others to evil or if we follow others counsel to do evil both fall under the same curse under the same condemnation But now what or whom doth all this concern Or what is it to this famous City as to those whose Body Representative as themselves hold the Common Councel this should be inscribed Certainly much every manner of way Shall I deal clearly Surely I must Otherwise I should neither fear God nor love you nor desire the honour and safety of this City Which God forbid It was said of old of Judah * Jer. 17.1 The sin of Judah is with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond O that it might not be said so of London But is not the sin of London written published and made conspicuous in the eyes of all the world I beseech you consider what you have done Read over again and ponder well those frequent pressings importune Petitions Remonstrances Representations what daily pursuance of them to the Two Houses of Parliament wherein among many good things you were so importunate to have those Worthies of our Nation whose endeavours God hath crowned with so many glorious Victories over potent enemies to be trampled under feet abased disgraced cast out of all Places of honour credit or trust either in Church or Common-weal and to be for ever disabled and made uncapable thereof who have from the first to this day all along shewed themselves so faithful affectionate valiant and prodigal of their dearest lives and all to deliver this City and Kingdom from becoming a spoil and prey to those who had long ago in their enlarged and insatiable desires swallowed up London at a morsel And your casting out of Common-Councel and Militia sundry honest men for no other known cause but because honest as a leading case to the Parliament to do the like is of the same nature with the former But whence is this or what heathen stories or Turkish histories can furnish us with any such examples as these Certainly the Grecian * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Law by votes or little shells put into a pot for the banishment of their most famous Worthies for ten yeers as Aristides Camillus c. Ostracismon is no way parallel being a Law to banish some one in the City eminent for his vertues as Aristides for ten yeers How is it possible then that such things should proceed from men professing to be Christians Certainly they could not come from men that had but humane Principles much lesse from the Common-Councel of so famous a City as London is 'T is true indeed and is not denied that you have acted these things and have owned them But I beseech you were there no children of men that have stirred you up to these things No nocturnal Conclaves whence these counsels sprung Certainly whoever they be and you know best though they be in as high esteem with you as if they were Angels of light or Oracles from heaven yet by thiâ— Scripture cursed they are before the Lord because they have instigated you to remonstrate and represent the faithful in the Land and the Preservers of Israel such as David was odious and vile to the Parliament thereby to bring that Body Representative and so the whole Body of the Land under a most damnable guilt of unnatural ingratitude and diabolical malice in driving those our brethren and benefactors from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord 1 Sam. 16.19 as Saul with his children of men did David which wrapped them all in the Curse Now what is to be done that if possible this curse may be removed and the sin expiated Some perhaps will say that no doubt those concerned in the said Remonstrance or Representation are now well satisfied the City and Army do well accord together and do both joyntly stand for Justice and the Common-Councel hath in a late Petition desired that satisfaction being made by Delinquents an Act of Amnestia or Oblivion may be passâ—d and confirmed for an utter abolition and final reconcilement of all parties and differences for setling of peace love and unity among the subjects of this Kingdom A blessed Petition But dear Christians there is one thing remains to be done besides this peace love and unity among our selves and with men and that is our peace with God otherwise as Jehu said to Jehoram What Peace Certainly God requires this of you the Common-Councel of London for that which you have done against your brethren in the Army and elsewhere onely because in point of judgement