and that the Amalekite was a Liar as to that particular Nor doth this opinion want its Reasons For in the last Chapter of the First Book of Samuel where the manner of Sauls Death is related no mention is made of the Amalekite but the Text saith that Saul took a Sword and fell upon it v. 4. On the other side Josephus and some more tell us that Saul had not the Onely hand in the case but that the Amalekite was the Principal actor Nor doth this opinion want its Reasons neither For the Amalekites were as much Enemies to Israel as the Philistines were and this Amalekite was on Mount Gilboa when Saul fell and he did not only post away to David as a Messenger of the Fact but persisted in the story as an Agent that had been concern'd in it and persisted to the end too without owning his Folly or excusing his Lye which probably he would have done when he saw that a Sentence of Death against himself was the Onely Welcome and Reward that he was to receive Now for the Solution of this doubt there seem to be some grounds for a Third opinion yet which will make the whole story to Agree viz. that Saul and this Amalekite did Both of them jointly Concurr in the carrying of this Sad Tragedy on For that Saul fell upon his Sword and so gave himself his Deaths-wound is clear That his Armour-bearer might look upon him as Dead though indeed he was not may be Probable That being incumbered with his Arms and So some understand that place agreeable to what we find in the Margin of our Bibles v. 9. Inclusus teneor vestibus Armis ut gladius in quem rui non potuerit me perdere Coat of Mail he did not dispatch himself Fully is not incredible And then 't is likely enough both that Saul did beg a Bloudy Kindness of the Amalekite for fear of falling alive into the hands of the Philistines and that this Amalekite did readily gratify him in hopes of a Richer booty than the price of the Crown and the Bracelet came to But it is not much material whether this Amalekite was Really Guilty or had a mind only to Father the action We will now as David did take his own Word for it and Suppose him to have spoken Truth For none can be better believed then he that confesseth against Himself Every man will be sure to make the best of his own story and though an Evidence may Swear away other mens Lives he will be tender of his own and beware of being his own Accuser though he deposeth to a Lye We will not therefore contrast the Credit of his own Testimony but acquiesce in what he said and look upon him as a Criminal and proceed to 2. The second thing which is most pertinent to the business of this day Davids deep Resentment of this Amalekites relation it was a Dreadful story a most Horrible and Fearful thing in the account of this good man How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord 's Anointed Had it not been a Sin of a most Horrid nature and a clamorous voice He who was so near the Throne would at least have forgiven the man that did so readily help him to the actual possession of it especially being an Heir that had waited with so much Suffering and been provoked by Saul with so many Indignities But King-Killing is a Crime that is Odious and Abominable in the eyes even of those that fare well by the Regicide To which purpose the Learned Grotius has rightly observed out of one of the Roman Tacit. Hist lib. 1. Histories that when the Emperor Galba was Murder'd Vitellius though Humanly speaking he had reason enough to be glad of the Fact having thereby got the power into his hands yet out of a due sense he had of the Horridness of the Villany he commanded those Traitors who had served his turn to be slain all of them when they had the confidence to Address for a Reward An instance not much unlike King David's dealing with this Amalekite when he brought Saul's Bloud upon his own head because he had stretched forth his hand to destroy the Lord 's Anointed Those Words the Lord 's Anointed denote the great nay the Sole thing which we find here and in other places to have made such a deep and continual Impression upon David's Spirit So that when he had cut off the skirt of Saul's robe his Heart Smote him When he was tempted to Kill him in the Cave he abhorr'd the very thoughts of it when Abishai would have destroyed him at one blow as he was asleep David with-held him with a strong hand When Abner was so careless of his Masters safety as to let him fall into David's power David reprehended him And at last when this Amalekite had smote him him who had so long hunted after David's Soul He presently smote the Amalekite all this was grounded upon this Great and Weighty consideration that Saul was the Lord's Anointed A King is said to be the Lord 's Anointed in a Two-fold respect 1. In respect of that outward Ceremonial Unction whereby for Sate-sake he is by the Priest separated from the People or rather Declared Notified and Acknowledg'd to be a Sacred person Now this is not the great thing considerable because it is but a Rite and Form that is not absolutely necessary For many Princes at this day are not thus Anointed at all I know not whether this Unction was ever used to Pagan Kings who yet were Gods Ministers and had Gods Authority as well as others it was a long time before it came to be used even in the Christian World anciently and originally it was a rite peculiar to the Jews alone and among them it was not used constantly neither but when the Succession was broken or a dispute arose about a Successors Title commonly one of a Family was Anointed for all his Posterity and Issue and even then the man was not made King because he was Anointed but he was Anointed because he was King Though there be neither Horn nor Cruse of Oyl in the case yet he is Gods Anointed nevertheless and that upon an Higher and more Noble account viz 2. In respect of that inward and essential Unction which he receives at the very first minute of his Kingship and by which he is Sanctified and set apart and above all others in that very Article of time and which from that day forward is inseparable from his Person Now this Unction consisteth in that Supreme Power which is given unto him in that Sacred Authority which is vested in him in that inviolable Majesty which is inseparable from him in that Divine Image and Impress whereby he bears a different and singular Character and becomes Hallowed And because he receives all this at the hands of God alone because he oweth all this neither to Priest nor People but to God
alone because this Power Authority Majesty Image and Character is given him by the Lord only therefore he is called The Lord 's Anointed that is a Person made so Sacred by God by the Communication of his own Authority that now he cannot be treated with rudeness or violence without Dishonouring God's own Majesty and striking at the Face of God himself To this purpose we are to observe what God said of King Cyrus an Heathen an Infidel a Foreigner no more related unto him than a Philistine or an Amalekite Prince yet all this notwithstanding he calls him his Anointed Is 45. Thus saith the Lord to his Anointed to Cyrus whose right hand I have holden or strengthned with Power v. 1. I have even called thee by thy name I have surnamed thee though thou hast not known me v. 4. This was Prophetically spoken for at this time Cyrus was not so much as Born And when he came to be King of Persia he was no more Anointed there than Nero was at Rome and yet as the Prophet calls the former God's Anointed so the Apostle calls the latter the Minister of God the Ordained of God and both Isaiah and St. Paul spake so upon these grounds because all Lawful Princes are endued with God's Power and Authority whereof the Material and Ceremonial Unction among the Jews was a Signification and Argument only Now do but compare all this with what is recorded of Saul whom David speaks of in my Text and styles him The Lord 's Anointed Not very long after he came to the Crown out of Timorousness and Infidelity he offered up Sacrifice himself in Samuels 1 Sam. 13. absence and therein he was an Vsurper of the Priestly Office Afterwards he spared the King of Amalek c. 15. and the best of the spoil contrary to what he was required to do and therein he was a Rebel against Gods Commands After this he sought the life of c. 18. David the best Subject that ever any Prince had and would have struck him to the wall with a Javelin and all this for David's good Service therein he was a Tyrant After this he unjustly Kills at once 85 of the Lord's Priests besides the Men and Women Children c. 22. and Sucklings that were in Nob and therein he was a Murderer After this he forsaketh the Lord for the Devil and consulteth a Witch at Endor and therein c. 28. he was an Apostate And after all this last of all as if he could not perish by any impurer hands than his own he rusheth on the point of his Sword endeavours c. 31. deavours and attempts his own final Destruction and therein he was a Self-Homicide Notwithstanding all these Sins he was the Lord's Anointed still and David own'd treated rever'd and in the end vindicated him as the Lord 's Anointed He distinguish't between the Sinner and the Prince He look't upon his Personal Crimes with one eye and upon his Holy Vnction with another And if the Scripture may be allowed to bear us out in any conclusion we have warrant enough to infer hence that the Worst of Kings supposing him to be a Lawful King hath a Divine and Indelible Character for the sake whereof he ought to be accounted and Honoured as the Lord 's Anointed and consequently as a Sacred and Dread Soveraign Nor will it avail us to consider how or by what means he came to his Soveraignty whether by Inheritance or otherwise A Lawful Prince is the Lord 's Anointed ever beholding to God alone for his Power and Authority Succession or Conquest or Election may be the Instrument to convey the Title but the Deed is Gods and the Soveraign Power is a Donative and Estate which the King holdeth in Fee of God and of God alone whether it be by Nature that the Man is brought forth or whether it be by the Sword that he cuts his way or whether it be by the Consent of Men that he is pitch't upon still these are but the means the ways and the methods of a Nation whereby a Prince is brought to the Throne 'T is God that gives him his Commission to Reign in it the Right of Governing the Authority he hath over his People the Power of Life and Death the Crown and Scepter the Regalities and Prerogatives of a King however he may diminish or give some of them away they are owing only to the Courtesie of Heaven In this case 't is necessary for us to distinguish between the Power it self and the Choice or Application of the Person to that Power Now the Power is God's by whom Kings Reign But under God there may be divers Subordinate Instrumental and Ministerial hands to give a man a Right to that Power Anciently and first of all Monarchical Soveraignty went by Lineal Descent and Proximity of Bloud and this was the Regular and best way But in after Ages the Wickedness of a few Nations altered this course and Monarchies came to be Elective And though a Prince be chosen by the Suffrages of the People yet this is but a Qualification of him to use that Power and to exercise that Authority which is given by the King of Kings Nay though they Anoint and Crown him yet in all this they are the only Masters of the Ceremonies to declare their Obligations to Obey and to Assist in the Prince's Investitures still the Authority whereby he acteth the Substantial and Essential Unction is from above They may put on his Robes and gird him with the Sword and place him in his Imperial Chair and cover his Head with a Royal Diadem but when he is in his Throne 't is by a Superior Authority that he strikes with his Sword and by a Divine Commission that he Commandeth Governeth and Ministreth Justice unto the People which he is set over And so Valentinian told his Soldiers when they had chosen him Emperor and asked him something which he did not like It was in your Power to chuse me to rule over you said he but since you have chosen me what you desire dependeth not upon yoru pleasure but mine Your business is as my Subjects to obey me and my business is as your Prince to order what you are to do Though Valentinian was taken from among the Souldiery yet his Power was not derived from the Camp but it was from God as King Soul 's was when he was fetch 't from among the Stuff 1 Sam. 10. Things are best understood when they are illustrated by familiar Instances Take then 1. an Instance in an Ecclesiastical matter Judas the Traitor being Dead the Eleven think of Substituting some other in his Room and by lot they Elected Matthias Act. 1. But Matthias was not their Delegate nor did he Act by their Commission or in their Name or by their Power but his Authority was from Christ as the rest of the Apostles was They indeed pitch't upon the Man but his Apostleship his Ministerial Character his Power
come to the Crown 3. That when the Men were come David used them rather as a Friendly Retinue then as a Formidable Army to secure his own Life from the hands of Pick-thanks who otherwise might be ready to shed his Bloud to curry favour with Saul and without Saul's Order and Commission 4. That when David imployed his Retinue to Military purposes and after a Military manner it was against those People who were Enemies to Israel and who by the Command of God were to be destroyed and even then too David acted under King Achish as his chief Commissioner and General 5. That from the beginning to the end of the whole matter though David had so many Swords at his command yet he never once Resisted his own Dread Soveraign but only Fled from him and Fled with more security then he could have done otherwise Nay though David had two the fairest opportunities of making Saul his Prisoner and of taking away his Life one in the Cave at Engedi 1 Sam. 24. and another on the Hill of Hachilah 1 Sam. 26. yet still he forbore all manner of violence at both times using this Heroick and Loyal Expression The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my Master the Lord 's Anointed to stretch forth mine hand against him seeing he is the Anointed of the Lord. 2. Whence I proceed to the next conclusion that the Destruction of the Lord 's Anointed the stretching forth the hand to Invade his Life is of all other acts of violence the most Fearful and Horrid Crime The Lord forbid that I should do this thing saith David for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord 's Anointed and be guiltless As he said to Abishai 1 Sam. 26. 9. For Subjects to draw Bloud out of the Sacred Heart of their Prince to cut his Head off as though he had not been Anointed with Oyl to Invade the Life of Gods Vice-gerent and especially to do it as did the Regicides of this day not in a Cave but before the Face of the Sun and at his own Palace door and all this with the utmost Pomp of Villany under colour of Justice by formal Proceedings after a Judicial manner with an unheard of Pageantry of Conscience and Religion After they had taken off his Crown and as it were cut off his Hands after they had Hunted him from his House to the Camp and from Field to Field at last to Arraign the best of Kings as a Malefactor to Condemn him as a Tyrant to Dragg him to the Scaffold as a Traitor and there to cut off his Neck as a Dog Blessed Jesu Since the foundations of the World were laid the like instance with all its circumstances was never known no Humane History can afford us a Parallel nothing that can come near it unless it be that instance lately observed of Conradine the King of Naples who after such a manner but upon different pretensions was Dr. Turners's Sermon before the King 1680 1. Arraigned and Murdered in his own City upon a Scaffold And as that was done by pretending Catholicks so this was done by pretending Protestants They set the Copy and these took it out and in as Bloudy a Character so true is that observation that there was hardly so much as a pair of Sheers between theâ— no more difference indeed than between Judas and Iscariot When David had privily cut off the skirt of Saul's robe though it was only with a design to let him see that he had been in his Power his Heart soon Smote him as if he had made a Breach upon Gods Law and had been guilty of a very Vnworthy and Disloyal Act for the Oyl upon a Kings Head like the Ointment upon the Head of Aaron that descended upon his skirts makes even his Vestments Sacred But with what Agonies and Convulsions would his Soul have been Tortured had the King of Israel been mocked by such a Juncto of Jews as on this day Butcher'd the King of England and in the name of the Lord vied for Wickedness with all the Devils in Hell The story of Saul's Death is a very sad relation all the Parts and Appurtenances thereof together with Saul's own Guilt and the Sin of his Armour-bearer and this Amalekite being rightly considered But yet there are some passages in the story which it may not be amiss for us to observe 1. Concerning the Armour-bearer Saul Commanded him to draw his Sword and to thrust him through therewith being desirous rather to Dye by the hands of his own Servant than to be Abused by the Uncircumcised Philistines But notwithstanding the Kings own Command the Armour-bearer refused to hearken in that particular he durst not obey the King to the Destruction of Majesty he was sore afraid saith the Text 1 Sam. 31. 4. Read on now to the next v. and you will find that this Armour-bearer feared not to Kill himself though he was sore afraid to Kill his Soveraign By which instance it is clear not only that he valued his Prince his Life far above his own but also that he thought it much a more pardonable Sin to be a self Murderer than to be a Regicide though tempted to be so by his Soveraigns Command Doubtless for a Man to Kill himself is a very Horrid Sin because it is his last Act whereby in Humane probability he hurryeth himself off the Earth into Hell Yet this Armour-bearer chose rather to Dye with the Guilt of his own Bloud upon his hands than to Live Guilty of the Bloud of the Lord 's Anointed and before he would be such a Traitor ran a sad venture of being Damned for ever by being Felo de se 2. And then as for the Amalekite that did effectually help on the Destruction of Saul though he did it not of Malice but upon Saul's intreaty though he did it when Saul was now half breathless and when he was sure otherwise to be Killed by the Philistines though he did it to rid him of his present Fear and Pains and struck him more like a Friend than an Enemy doing no other than what Saul himself had already done in part yet this Regicides Conscience seems to have been troubled presently at an excessive rate His breast was filled with Remorse and Anguish and Bitterness of Spirit so that he could not but put on a Mournful and Penitential Habit for he ran to David with his Clothes Rent and with Earth upon his Head Confessing by his Actions that he had committed an Abominable Crime when his Lying Tongue pretended that he had done a meritorious Act. And yet which is observable this Regicide was no Subject of Saul's but a Stranger an Alien from the Common-wealth of Israel an Amalekite Lord What Soul is able I do not say to Aggravate but to Measure the Guilt of the Regicides of this day Regicides that acted not only without any pretended Commands or Allowance of Just Authority though all the Powers on