them vnder whose shelter they liue but how vnnaturall is the villany of those miscreants that can be content to bee actors in the capitall wrongs offred to soueraigne authority It were a wonder if after the death of a Prince there should want some Pick-thanke to insinuate himselfe into his Successour An Amalekite young manrides post to Ziklag to find out Dauid whom euen common rumor had notified for the anoynted heyre to the Kingdome of Israel to bee the first messenger of that newes which hee thought could bee no other then acceptable the death of Saul and that the tydings might be so much more meritorious he addes to the report what he thinkes might carry the greatest retribution In hope of reward or honour the man is content to bely himselfe to Dauid It was not the speare but the sword of Saul that was the instrument of his death neither could this stranger finde Saul but dying since the Armour-bearer of Saul saw him dead ere he offred that violence to himselfe The hand of this Amalekite therfore was not guilty his tongue was Had not this messenger measur'd Dauids foot by his owne last hee had forborne this peece of the newes and not hoped to aduantage himselfe by this falshood Now he thinks The tydings of a Kingdome cannot but please None but Saul and Ionathan stood in Dauids way Hee cannot chuse but like to heare of their remouall Especially since Saul did so tyrannously persecute his innocence If I shall onely report the fact done by another I shall goe away but with the recompence of a lucky Post wheras if I take vpon mee the action I am the man to whom Dauid is beholden for the Kingdome he cannot but honour and requite me as the author of his deliuerance and happinesse Worldly mindes thinke no man can be of any other then their owne diet and because they finde the respects of selfe-loue and priuate profit so strongly preuailing with themselues they cannot conceiue how these should bee capable of a repulse from others How much was this Amalekite mocked of his hopes whiles he imagined that Dauid would now triumph and feast in the assured expectation of the Kingdome and possession of the Crowne of Israel hee findes him renting his clothes and wringing his hands and weeping and mourning as if all his comfort had been dead with Saul and Ionathan and yet perhaps he thought This sorrow of Dauid is but fashionable such as great heyres make shew of in the fatall day they haue longed for These teares will soone be dry the sight of a Crowne will soon breed a succession of other passions But this error is soon corrected For when Dauid had entertained this Bearer with a sad fast all the day he cals him forth in the euening to executiō How wast thou not afrayd saith he to put forth thy hand to destroy the Anoynted of the Lord Doubtlesse the Amalekite made many faire pleas for himselfe out of the grounds of his owne report Alas Saul was before falne vpon his owne speare It was but mercy to kill him that was halfe dead that he might die the shorter Besides his entreaty and importunate prayers moued mee to hasten him through those painfull gates of death had I striken him as an enemy I had deserued the blow I had giuen now I sent him the hand of a frend why am I punished for obeying the voyce of a King and for perfiting what himselfe begun and could not finish And if neither his own wound nor mine had dispatched him the Philistims were at his heeles ready to doe this same act with insultation which I did in fauour and if my hand had not preuented them wherehad been the Crowne of Israel which I now haue here presented to thee I could haue deliuered that to King Achish and haue beene rewarded with honour let mee not dye for an act well meant to thee how euer construed by thee But no pretence can make his owne tale not deadly Thy bloud bee vpon thine owne head for thine owne mouth hath testified against thee saying I haue slaine the Lords Anoynted It is a iust supposition that euery man is so great a Fauourer of himselfe that he will not mis-report his owne actions nor say the worst of himselfe In matter of confession men may without iniury be taken at their words If he did it his fact was capitall If he did it not his lye It is pittyany other recompence should befall those false flatterers that can be content to father a sinne to get thankes Euery drop of royall bloud is sacred For a man to say that he hath shed it is mortall Of how farre different spirits from this of Dauid are those men which suborne the death of Princes and celebrate and canonize the murtherers Into their secret let not my soule come my glory be thou not joyned to their assembly Abner and Joab HOw mercifull and seasonable are the prouisions of God Ziglag was now nothing but ruines and ashes Dauid might returne to the soyle where it stood to the roofes and walls he could not No sooner is he disapointed of that harbour then God prouides him Cities of Hebron Saul shall dye to giue him elbow-roome Now doth Dauid finde the comfort that his extremity sought in the Lord his God Now are his clowdes for a time passed ouer and the Sun breaks gloriously forth Dauid shall raigne after his sufferings So shall we if we indure to the end finde a Crowne of righteousnes which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall giue vs at that day But though Dauid well knew that his head was long before anoynted and had heard Saul himselfe confidently auouching his succession yet he will not stirre from the heapes of Ziglag till hee haue consulted with the Lord It did not content him that he had Gods warrant for the kingdome but hee must haue his instructions for the taking possession of it How safe and happie is the man that is resolued to do nothing without God Neither will generalities of direction be sufficient euen particular circumstances must looke for a word still is God a piller of fire and cloude to the eye of euery Israelite neither may there be any motion or stay but from him That action cannot but succeed which proceeds vpon so sure a warrant God sends him to Hebron a city of Iudah Neither will Dauid goe vp thither alone but he takes with him all his men with their whole housholds they shall take such part as himselfe As they had shared with him in his misery so they shall now in his prosperity Neither doth he take aduantage of their late mutinye which was yet fresh and greene to cashier those vnthankefull and vngracious followers but pardoning their secret rebellions he makes them partakers of his good successe Thus doth our heauenly leader whom Dauid prefigured take vs to raigne with him who haue suffered with him passing by our manyfold infirmities as if they had not
in offending is misplaced in disclosing of our offence Howeuer sure I am that God hath need euen of racks to draw out confessions and scarce in death it selfe are we wrought to a discouery of our errors There is no one thing wherin our folly shewes it selfe more then in these hurtfull concealements Contrary to the proceedings of humane Iustice it is with God Confesse and liue no sooner can Dauid say I haue sinned then Nathan infers The Lord also hath put away thy sin He that hides his sins shall not prosper but hee that confesseth and forsaketh them shall finde mercy Who would not accuse himselfe to be acquitted of God O God who would not tell his wickednes to thee that knowst it better then his owne heart that his heart may bee eased of that wickednesse which being not told killeth Since we haue sinned why should we be niggardly of that action wherein wee may at once giue glory to thee and releefe to our soules Dauid had sworne in a zeale of Iustice that the rich Oppressour for but taking his poore neighbours lambe should dye the death God by Nathan is more fauourable to Dauid then to take him at his word Thou shalt not dye O the maruellous power of repentance Besides adultery Dauid had shed the bloud of innocent Vriah The strict law was eye for tye tooth for tooth He that smiteth with the sword shall perish with the sword Yet as if a penitent confession had dispensed with the rigor of Iustice now God saies Thou shalt not dye Dauid was the voyce of the Law awarding death vnto sin Nathan was the voyce of the Gospell awarding life vnto the repentance for sin Whatsoeuer the sore bee neuer any soule applyed this remedy and dyed neuer any soule escaped death that applyed it not Dauid himselfe shall not dye for this fact but his mis-begotten childe shall dye for him He that sayd The Lord hath put away thy sin yet sayd also The sword shall not depart from thine house The same mouth with one breath pronounces the sentence both of absolution and death Absolution to the person death to the issue Pardon may well stand with temporall afflictions Where God hath forgiuen though he doe not punish yet he may chastize and that vnto bloud neither doth he alwaies forbeare correction where hee remits reuenge So long as he smites vs not as an angry Iudge wee may indure to smart from him as a louing father Yet euen this rod did Dauid deprecate with teares how faine would he shake off so easie a lode The childe is stricken the father fasts and prayes and weepes and lyes all night vpon the earth and abhors the noyse of comfort That childe which was the fruit and monument of his odious adultery whom hee could neuer haue looked vpon without a recognition of his sin in whose face he could not but haue still read the records of his own shame is thus mourned for thus sued for It is easie to obserue that good man ouer-passionately affected to his children Who would not haue thought that Dauid might haue held himselfe well appayd that his soule escaped an eternall death his body a violent though God should punish his sin in that childe in whom hee sinned Yet euen against this crosse he bends his prayers as if nothing had been forgiuen him There is no childe that would be scourged if he might escape for crying No affliction is for the time other then greeuous neither is therfore yeelded vnto without some kinde of reluctation Far yet was it from the heart of Dauid to make any opposition to the will of God he sued he strugled not There is no impatience in entreaties He wel knew that the threats of tēporal euils ran commonly with a secret condition and therfore might perhaps bee auoyded by humble importunity If any meanes vnder Heauen can auert judgements it is our prayers God Could not chuse but like well the boldnesse of Dauids faith who after the apprehension of so heauy a displeasure is so far from doubting of the forgiuenesse of his sin that hee dares become a Sutor vnto God for his sicke childe Sinne doth not make vs more strange then faith confident But it is not in the power of the strongest faith to preserue vs from all afflictions After all Dauids prayers and teares the childe must dye The carefull seruants dare but whisper this sad newes They who had found their Master so auerse from the motion of comfort in the sicknesse of the childe feared him vncapable of comfort in his death Suspition is quick-witted Euery occasion makes vs misdoubt that euent which wee feare This secrecy proclaymes that which they were so loth to vtter Dauid perceiues his childe dead and now he rises vp from the earth whereon hee lay and washes himselfe and changeth his apparrell and goes first into Gods house to worship and then into his owne to eat now he refuses no comfort who before would take none The issue of things doth more fully shew the will of God then the prediction God neuer did any thing but what hee would hee hath sometimes foretold that for triall which his secret will intended not hee would foretell it hee would not effect it because hee would therfore foretell it that he might not effect it His predictions of outward euils are not alwayes absolute his actions are Dauid well sees by the euent what the decree of God was concerning his childe which now he could not striue against without a vaine impatience Till wee know the determinations of the Almighty it is free for vs to striue in our prayers to striue with him not against him when once wee know them it is our duty to sit downe in a silent contentation Whiles the childe was yet aliue I fasted and wept for I sayd Who can tell whether the Lord will bee gracious to mee that the childe may liue but now hee is dead Wherefore should I fast Can I bring him backe againe The greefe that goes before an euill for remedy can hardly bee too much but that which followes an euill past remedy cannot bee too little Euen in the saddest accident death we may yeeld something to nature nothing to impatience Immoderation of sorrow for losses past hope of recouery is more sullen then vse-full our stomach may be bewrayed by it not our wisdome Amnon and Tamar IT is not possible that any word of God should fall to the ground Dauid is not more sure of forgiuenesse then smart Three maine sins passed him in this businesse of Vriah Adultery murder dissimulation for all which he receiues present payment for adultery in the deflouring of his daughter Thamar for murder in the killing of his son Amnon for dissimulation in the contriuing of both Yet all this was but the beginning of euils Where the father of the family brings sinne home to the house it is not easily swept out Vnlawfull lust propagates it selfe by example How iustly is Dauid scourged
may not bee allowed it That roofe vnder which shee came with honor and in obedience and loue may not be lent her for the time as a shelter of her ignominy Neuer any sauage could be more barbarous Shechem had rauished Dinah his offence did not make her odious his affection so continued that he is willing rather to draw blood of himselfe and his people then forgoe her whom he had abused Amnon in one houre is in the excesse of loue and hate and is sicke of her for whom he was sicke She that lately kept the keyes of his hart is now lockt out of his doores Vnruly passions runne euer into extremities and are then best apayd when they are furthest off from reason and moderation What could Amnon thinke would be the euent of so foule a fact which as he had not the grace to preuent so he hath not the care to conceale If he lookt not so hie as heauen what could he imagine would follow herevpon but the displeasure of a father the danger of law the indignation of a brother the shame and out-cryes of the world All which hee might haue hoped to auoyd by secresie and plausible courses of satisfaction It is the iust iudgement of God vpon presumptuous offenders that they lose their wit together with their honesty and are either so blinded that they cannot fore-see the issue of their actions or so besotted that they doe not regard it Poore Thamar can but bewaile that which she could not keepe her virginty not lost but torne from her by a cruell violence She rends her princely robe and layes ashes on her head and laments the shame of anothers sinne and liues more desolate then a widdow in the house of her brother Absalom In the meane time what a corosiue must this newes needs be to the heart of good Dauid whose fatherly command had out of loue cast his daughter into the iawes of this Lyon What an insolent affront must hee needs construe this to bee offred by a Sonne to a father that the father should be made the Pandar of his owne daughter to his sonne He that lay vpon the ground weeping for but the sicknes of an infant how vexed doe wee thinke he was with the villany of his heyre with the rauishment of his daughter both of them worse then many deaths What reuenge can he thinke of for so haynous a crime lesse then death and what lesse then death is it to him to thinke of a reuenge Rape was by the law of God capitall how much more when it is seconded with incest Anger was not punishment enough for so hye an offence Yet this is all that I heare of from so indulgent a father sauing that he makes vp the rest with sorrow punishing his sons outrage in himselfe The better-naturd and more gracious a man is the more subiect he is to the danger of an ouer remissenesse and the excesse of fauour and mercy The milde iniustice is no lesse perilous to the common-wealth then the cruell If Dauid perhaps out of the conscience of his owne late offence will not punish this fact his sonne Absalom shall not out of any care of iustice but in a desire of reuenge Two whole yeares hath this slie Courtier smothered his indignation and fayned kindenesse els his inuitation of Amnon in speciall had beene suspected Euen gallant Absalom was a great sheep-master The brauery and magnificence of a Courtier must bee built vpon the grounds of frugality Dauid himselfe is bidden to this bloody sheep-shearing It was no otherwise meant but that the fathers eyes should be the witnesses of the tragicall execution of one son by another Only Dauids loue kept him from that horrible spectacle He is carefull not to be chargeable to that son who cares not to ouer-charge his fathers stomach with a feast of blood Amnon hath so quite forgot his sinne that hee dares goe to feast in that house where Tamar was mourning and suspects not the kindenes of him whom he had deserued of a brother to make an enemy Nothing is more vnsafe to be trusted then the faire looks of a festered hart Where true charity or iust satisfaction haue not wrought a sound reconciliation malice doth but lurk for the opportunity of an aduantage It was not for nothing that Absalom deferred his reuenge which is now so much the more exquisite as it is longer protracted What could be more feareful then when Amnons hart was merry with wine to be suddenly striken with death As if this execution had bene no lesse intended to the Soule then to the body How wickedly soeuer this was â—one by Absalom yet how iust was it with God that he whom in two yeares impunity would finde no leasure oâ— repentance â—â—ould now receiue a punishment without possibility of repentance O God thou art righteous to reckon for those sinnes which humane partiality or negligence hath omitted and whiles thâ—u punishest sinne with sin to punish sinne with death If either Dauid had called Amnon to account for this villany or Amnon had called himselfe the reuenge had not beene so desperate Happy is the man that by an vnfayned repentance acquits his soule from his known euils and improues the dayes of his peace to the preuention of future vengeance â—hiâ—h if it be not dâ—ne the hand of God shall as surely oueâ—â—ake vs in iudgement as the hand of Satan hath ouertaken vs in miscariage vnto sin Absaloms returne and conspiracy ONE act of iniustice drawes on another The iniustice of Dauid in not punishing the rape of Amnon procures the iniustice of Absalom in punishing Amnon with murder That which the father should haue iustly reuenged and did not the son reuenges vniustly The rape of a sister was no lesse worthy of death then the murder of a brother Yea this latter sin was therefore the lesse because that brother was worthy of death though by another hand whereas that sister was guilty of nothing but modest beauty yet he that knew this rape passed ouer whole two yeeres with impunity dares not trust the mercy of a father in the pardon of his murder but for threeyeers hides his head in the Court of his Grand-father the King of Geshur Doubtlesse that heathenish Prince gaue him a kinde welcome for so meritorious a reuenge of the dishonour done to his owne loynes No man can tell how Absalom should haue sped from the hands of his otherwise ouer-indulgent Father if he had beene apprehended in the heat of the fact Euen the largest loue may bee ouer-strayned and may giue a fall in the breaking These fearefull effects of lenity might perhaps haue whetted the seuerity of Dauid to shut vp these outrages in bloud Now this displeasure was weakned with age Time and thoughts haue digested this hard morsell Dauids heart told him that his hands had a share in this offence that Absalom did but giue that stroke which himselfe had wrongfully forborne that the vnrecouerable losse of
and their glory were only to be represented to his imagination the valley would haue serued If to the outward sence no hill could suffice Circular bodyes though smal cannot be seene at once This show was made to both diuers kingdomes lying round about Iudea were represented to the eye The glory of them to the imagination Satan meant the eye could tempt the fancy no lesse then the fancy could tempt the will How many thousand soules haue dyed of the wound of the eye If we doe not let in sinne at the window of the eye or the dore of the eare it cannot enter into our hearts If there bee any pompe maiesty pleasure brauery in the world where should it be but in the Courts of Princes whom God hath made his Images his deputies vpon earth There is soft rayment sumptuous feasts rich Iewels honorable attendance glorious triumphs royall state these Satan laies out to the fairest show But oh the craft of that old Serpent Many a care attends greatnesse No creature is without thornes High seats are neuer but vneasie all those infinite discontentments which are the shaddow of earthly soueraignety he hides out of the way nothing may bee seene but what may both please and allure Satan is still and euer like himselfe If tentations might be but turnd about and showne on both sides the kingdome of darknesse would not be so populous Now whensoeuer the Tempter sets vpon any poore soule all sting of conscience wrath iudgement torment is concealed as if they were not Nothing may appeare to the eye but pleasure profit and a seeming happinesse in the inioying our desires those other wofull obiects are reserued for the farewell of sinne that our misery may bee seene and felt at once When we are once sure Satan is a Tyrant till then he is a Parasite There can be no safety if we do not view as well the backe as the face of tentations But oh presumption and impudence that hell it selfe may be asham'd of The Diuell dares say to Christ All these will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship mee That beggerly spirit that hath not an inch of earth can offer the whole world to the maker to the owner of it The slaue of God would be adord of his Creator How can we hope he should be sparing of false boasts and of vnreasonable promises vnto vs when hee dares offer kingdomes to him by whom kings raigne Tentations on the right hand are most dangerous how many that haue bene hardned with feare haue melted with honor There is no doubt of that soule that will not bite at the golden hooke False lyers and vaineglorious boasters see the top of their pedigree If I may not rather say that Satan doth borrow the vse of their tongues for a time Whereas faithfull is he that hath promised who will also doe it Fidelity and truth is the issue of heauen If Idolatry were not a deare sinne to Satan he would not be so importunate to compasse it It is miserable to see how hee drawes the world insensibly into this sin which they professe to detest Those that would rather hazard the furnace then worship gold in a statue yet doe adore it in the stampe and finde no fault with themselues If our hearts be drawne to stoope vnto an ouer-high respect of any creature wee are Idolaters O God it is no maruell if thy ielousie be kindled at the admission of any of thine owne works into a competition of honor with their Creator Neuer did our Sauiour say Auoid Satan till now It is a iust indignation that is conceiued at the motion of a riuality with God Neither yet did Christ exercise his diuine power in this command but by the necessary force of Scripture driues away that impure Tempter It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serue The rest of our Sauiours answers were more full and direct then that they could admit of a reply but this was so flat and absolute that it vtterly daunted the courage of Satan and put him to a shamefull flight and made him for the time weary of his trade The way to bee rid of the troublesome solicitations of that wicked one is continued resistance Hee that forcibly droue the tempter from himselfe takes him off from vs and will not abide his assaults perpctuall It is our exercise and triall that hee intends not our confusion Simon called AS the Sun in his first rising drawes all eâ—es to it So did this Sun of righteousnes when hee first shone forth into the world His miraculous cures drew Patients his diuine doctrine drew Auditors both together drew the admiring multitude by troopes after him And why doe wee not still follow thee ô Sauiour thorow deserts and mountaines ouer land and seas that wee may bee both healed and taught It was thy word that when thou wert lift vp thou wouldst draw all men vnto thee Behold thou art lift vp long since both to the tree of shame and to the throne of heauenly glory Draw vs and we shall run after thee Thy word is still the same though proclaimed by men thy vertue is still the same though exercised vpon the spirits of men Oh giue vs to hunger after both that by both our soules may be satisfied I see the people not onely following Christ but pressing vpon him euen very vnmannerlinesse findes here both excuse and acceptation They did not keepe their distances in an awe to the Maiesty of the Speaker whiles they were rauished with the power of the speech yet did not our Sauiour checke their vnreuerent thronging but rather encourages their forwardnesse Wee cannot offend thee ô God with the importunity of our desires It likes thee well that the Kingdom of Heauen should suffer violence Our slacknesse doth euer displease theee neuer our vehemence The throng of Auditors forced Christ to leaue the shore and to make Peters ship his Pulpit Neuer were there such nets cast out of that fisher-boat before whiles hee was vpon the land he healed the sicke bodies by his touch now that he was vpon the sea he cured the sicke soules by his doctrine and is purposely seuered from the multitude that hee may vnite them to him Hee that made both sea and land causeth both of them to conspire to the opportunities of doing good Simon was busie washing his nets Euen those nets that caught nothing must bee washed no lesse then if they had sped well The nights toyle doth not excuse his dayes work Little did Simon thinke of leauing those nets which hee so carefully washed and now Christ interrupts him with the fauour and blessing of his gracious presence Labour in our callings how homely soeuer makes vs capable of diuine benediction The honest Fisher-man when hee saw the people flocke after Christ and heard him speake with such power could not but conceiue a generall confuse apprehension of some excellent worth
counterfait Samuel he had not beene strook downe on the ground with words Now his beleefe made him desperate Those actions which are not sustained by hope must needs languish and are only promoted by outward compulsion Whiles the minde is vncertaine of successe it relieues it selfe with the possibilities of good in doubts there is a comfortable mixture but when it is assured of the worst euent it is vtterly discouraged and deiected It hath therefore pleased the wisdome of God to hide from wicked men his determination of their finall estate that their remainders of hope may harten them to good In all likelyhood on selfe-same day saw Dauid a victor ouer the Amalakites and Saul discomfited by the Philistims How should it bee otherwise Dauid consulted with God and preuailed Saul with the Witch of Endor and perisheth The end is commonly answerable to the way It is an idle iniustice when we do ill to look to speed well The slaughter of Saul and his sonnes was not in the first scene of this Tragicall field that was rather reserued by God for the last act that Saules measure might be full God is long ere he strikes but when he doth it is to purpose First Israel flees and falls downe wounded in mount Gilboa They had their part in Sauls sinne they were actors in Dauids persecution Iustly therfore doe they suffer with him whom they had seconded in offence As it is hard to be good vnder an euill Prince so it is as rare not to be enwrapped in his iudgements It was no small addition to the anguish of Sauls death to see his sonnes dead to see his people fleeing and slaine before him They had sinned in their King and in them is their King punished The rest were not so worthy of pittie but whose heart would it not touch to see Ionathan the good Sonne of a wicked Father inuolued in the common destruction Death is not partiall All dispositions all merits are alike to it If valour if holines if syncerity of heart could haue beene any defence against mortality Ionathan had suruiued Now by their wounds and death no man can discerne which is Ionathan The soule only findes the difference which the body admitteth not Death is the cōmon gate both to heauen and hell we all passe that ere our turning to either hand The sword of the Philistims fetcheth Ionathan through it with his fellowes no sooner is his foot ouer that threshold then God conducteth him to glory The best cannot bee happy but through their dissolution Now therefore hath Ionathan no cause of complaint he is by the rude and cruel hand of a Philistim but remoued to a better Kingdome then hee leaues to his brother and at once is his death both a temporall affliction to the Sonne of Saul and an entrance of glory to the frend of Dauid The Philistim-archers shot at random God directs their arrowes into the body of Saul Least the discomfiture of his people and the slaughter of his sonnes should not bee griefe enough to him hee feeles himselfe wounded and sees nothing before him but horror and death and now as a man forsaken of all hopes hee begs of his armor-bearer that deaths-blow which els he must to the doubling of his indignation receiue from a Philistim Hee begs this bloody fauour of his seruant and is denyed Such an awefulnes hath God placed in soueraigntie that no intreaty no extremity can moue the hand against it What mettall are those men made of that can suggest or resolue and attempt the violation of maiesty Wicked men care more for the shame of the world then the danger of their soule Desperate Saul will now supply his armor-bearer and as a man that bore armes against himselfe hee falls vpon his owne sword What if he had dyed by the weapon of a Philistim So did his Son Ionathan and lost no glory These conceites of disreputation preuaile with carnall hearts aboue all spirituall respects There is no greater murderer then vain-glory Nothing more argues an heart voyd of grace then to be transported by ydle popularity into actions preiudiciall to the Soule Euill examples especially of the great neuer escaped imitation the armour-bearer of Saul followes his master and dares do that to himselfe which to his King he durst not as if their owne swords had beene more familiar executioners they yelded vnto them what they grudged to their pursuers From the beginning was Saul euer his owne enemy neither did any hands hurt him but his owne and now his death is sutable to his life his owne hand payes him the reward of all his wickednesse The end of hypocrites and enuious men is commonly fearefull Now is the blood of Gods Priests which Saul shed and of Dauid which he would haue shed required requited The euil spirit had said the euening before To morrow thou shalt be with mee and now Saul hasteth to make the diuell no lyer rather then fayle he giues himselfe his own mittimus Oh the wofull extremities of a dispayring Soule plundging him euer into a greater mischiefe to auoyd the lesse Hee might haue beene a patient in anothers violence and faultlesse now whiles hee will needs act the Philistims part vpon himselfe hee liued and dyed a murderer The case is deadly when the prisoner breakes the Iayle and will not stay for his deliuery though wee may not passe sentence vpon such a Soule yet vpon the fact we may the Soule may possibly repent in the parting the act is haynous and such as without repentance kills the Soule It was the next day ere the Philistims knew how much they were victors then finding the dead corpes of Saul and his Sonnes they begin their triumphs The head of King Saul is cut off in lieu of Goliahs and now all their Idoll temples ring of their successe Foolish Philistims If they had not beene more beholden to Sauls sinnes then their Gods they had neuer carryed away the honor of those trophees In steed of magnifying the iustice of the true God who punished Saul with deserued death they magnifie the power of the false Superstition is extemely iniurious to God It is no better then theft to ascribe vnto the second causes that honor which is due vnto the first but to giue Gods glory to those things which neither act nor are it is the highest degree of spirituall robbery Saul was none of the best Kings yet so impatient are his subiects of the indignity offered to his dead corps that they will rather leaue their owne bones amongst the Philistims then the carcasse of Saul Such a close relation there is betwixt a Prince and subiect that the dishonor of either is inseparable from both How willing should wee bee to hazard our bodyes or substance fo the vindication either of the person or name of a good King whiles he liues to the benefit of our protection It is an vniust ingratitude in those men which can endure the disgrace of