Israelite wherein Israel now must not be wanting neither but doe as Israel did and as their Brethren in Scotland have done of late and in ancient Times DAvid greatly distressed has encouraged himselfe in The LORD his GOD then enquiring of The LORD is commanded to pursue after his enemies and assured without faile to recover all His army is but in an ill case for service six hundred in all two hundred so faint that they could not go Notwithstanding GOD who hangs the greatest waights upon the weakest wyers does the greatest matters by the weakest instruments has done His worke by these weake men But yet that all Israel may attest Davids innocency and secure him from Sauls and his Edomites insolencies GOD sends them all-in now to help David And in they come with a blessing in their mouths Peace peace be unto thee and peace be unto thine belpers for thy GOD helpeth thee 1 Chro. 12.18 Here is a grave question now touching the manner of resistance If the Tribes come-in not to resist Saul Obj but as affirmed before his private will or spirit like a strong man keeping possession in Sauls heart and holding his tenure therein more firmly by the activity and effectuall working of the evill spirit which came upon Saul and never left him to the day of his death If so Then me thinkes this kinde should have beene cast forth by Prayer and Fasting The meaning is Israel should not have taken Bow and Arrowes Shield and Buckler into their hands but have fallen downe upon their knees and have prayed for their Master and so by mighty-wrastlings have dispossessed Saul of his own spirit so by mighty in him This had been according to the Rule and word of The LORD Christ Matth. 17.21 This kind is not cast forth but by Prayer and Fasting To this I reply first and doe grant 1. That this kinde while it does act as a spirit is to be resisted by the spirit of Prayer and so alwayes has beene cast forth But when his actings are more open and visible upon any person as upon that Lunatick there Then if there had beene force enough to resist him the father of the childe would not have called it a Resistance of his childe which was but the restraining of the childe from falling into the fire and into the water So we see in this case There might have been a resisting of the divell which had had an affiance and good agreement with duty Much more then had this Lunaticke Person played the Edomite flourished with his sword slaine all he met man woman and childe sucklings too beasts also made Cities ruinous heaps Should Israel goe to prayer now Pray the divell to be quiet So they might have beene killed upon their knees Israel knew the divell well enough and the Edomite too That the more they prayed them the fiercer they would be as Rabshakeh cried the louder in the Jewish language the more he was prayed to speake in the Syriacke tongue 2 Kin. 18.28 When the divell has put a sword into an Edomites hand we must not use supplications but put force to force and conjure-out the divell with the Sword If the divell make you bleed try a conclusion whether you cannot make the divell bleed which is very poffible sayes Zanchie and he has a large discourse upon it and touching the methods of Satan The divell acts now by the hand of an Edomite he must be resisted by the hand of an Israelite This first I affirm 2. That Israel Priests and People there went by their Rule doubtlesse they had used all fair means before they tooke the sword in hand They had prayed for Saul and to make their prayer the more fervent they fasted for him also But here was a sad case you read it before Saul has murthered those Priests who were the likeliest men in all Judah to pray and fast for him he murthered them Indeed it was as sad a case as I thinke is imaginable for whereas he might have had groanes and Prayers put up to the throne of grace in his behalfe from the Priests mouth he makes the good Priests groane because of his oppression The good Priests would have cryed for him spake good for him before his and their LORD night and day Saul regards not that he has shed their bloud and now their bloud cries against him night and day How long LORD how long â—er thou doest avenge our bloud that is shed Truely this is an heavie case certainly Israel went by rule they prayed for their King they were not wanting in that point Indeed there is one thing touching this matter which seemed strange to me All this time which Soul has cast away and worse then lost in persecution of David I heare not one word of counsell or Prayer from Samuels mouth that good old Prophet It is true before this persecution begun we read Samuel came no more to see Saul 1 Sam. 15 35. till the day of his death Yet me thinkes it is very cleare and expresse though not in words that Samuel prayed for Sauâ— Neverthelesse Samuel mourned for Saul sayes the Text Then he prayed for him sure 1 Ioâ—n 5.16 There is a sin unto death sayes Saint Iâ—hn I doe not say that be shall pray for it But sayes another If thou maist not pray for him yet maist thou grieve Si non ores gema tamen sortassis gemitus tuas penetâ—et quo oratio non pâ—aesumat tendere and â—â—â—urne for him perhaps thy sighes groanes and in urnings of thy sâ—irit may ascend thither where thy prayer presumes not to come Samuel MOVRNED for Saul That was a servent prayer And certainly the LORD answered Samuels Prayer touching Saul though not as Samuel desired yet as best pleased the Lord. He answered him and in a very effectuall way and manner of answering for thus we read So David fled and escaped the hands of Saul and came to Ramih 1 Sam. 19 18. and told him all that Saul had done to him all Sauls ungodly deeds and hard words committed against David he told Samuel all and they dwelt together at Naioth Saul heares of this thing and where Davids abode is and he sent messengers to take David GOD prevented them Verse 20. and made a change of them quickly no sooner came they thither but they doe for the time as others did they prophesie Saul heares all this he will have his Will sends more Messengers and thither they came and it was with them as it was with the former Ver. 21. they prophesie also Then Saul went himselfe to Ramah for he will have David whether GOD will or no But when he comes thither he is changed for that season and does as all his messengers befâ—re him and then it became a Proverbe How was this sudden change made in Sauls messengers and in himselfe It is answered The Spirit of GOD came upon them That is true
confidences and how their hearts departed from their GOD for so much as the heart drawes and inclines to the creature so much and by the very same steps and degrees it withdrawes from GOD so much of the world as comes-in so much of heaven goes-out This were excellent matter to dilate upon but every good mans spirit is fitted for such a worke selfe-searching and triall what spirit he is of and how it has been discovered to himselfe all this time O the murmurings of his spirit how many have they been what haste has he made If he be not delivered now he shall be tyred and can follow GOD in His way no longer It is not necessary nay nor possible to set downe the murmurings warpings hastinesses of the best mans spirit but he will confesse he has in his HASTE limited the Holy One of Israel and tyed GOD like a creature to his owne time and way A man would doe it at such a time and by such meanes Therefore GOD must doe so too GOD must worke like a man This argueth a great distemper of spirit and must be corrected Alas shall David be delivered at this present time It cannot be the Servant of the Lord must be instructed first to a constancy of spirit so as he can come to this Period and stop there David shall be delivered the fittest time and after such a manner as shall most gloriously exalt GODS Name and Davids comfort and that I hope will best content and so he will conclude Therefore he will doe his worke and let GOD alone to perfect His and he will let GOD alone to His owne Time and to His owne Way in confident assurance That if Davids deliverance be delayed there is mighty Reason why it is so and the prime Reason is that David may be discovered his owne spirit made fully manifest to himselfe Secondly That Davids adversaries every one may be discovered too all the Right-men his true Enemies and false friends all their fine designes all their horrid hellish machinations that all may be discovered and layed open before all Israel and before the Sun David thought GOD was slack touching His Promise He was indeed as we count slicknesse when things are not done and deliverance wrought by the very same meanes and at the very nicke of time which we in our haste have concluded upon GOD was not slacke nor is he slacke towards David He is working wonders for David and we shall see it anon Davids deliverance stayes a little Why That all Davids enemies may be discovered how wicked how pernicious they are how mightily they fight against GOD and His servant David The enemy must be clearly convinced too we will take this and Davids adversaries in order and proceed upon discovery First Sauls most malignant spirit shall be made as manifest and naked to Israels eye as his body was in the day he was born He made shewes of love to David all his shewes shall shrinke-up to nothing or prove reall hatred Saul would have it told David That the King delighted in him Does â—e so Heare what Saul sayes and tell your selfe Saul blesseth the Ziphites those Murtherers 1 Sam. 23.19 Blessed be ye of the LORD Why blessed Because they undertooke Davids destruction in designe in the manner as they did at Bristoll London Lincolne To deliver David into Sauls hands that he might doe to him according to all the desire of his soule What desire was that To sheath his sword in Davids bowels Will the Ziphites give such a price into Sauls hand that he may doe to David according to all the desire of his soule will they so Blessed are ye of the Lord O strange Nay it was not strange it was ordinary with Saul to blesse his Right-men Murtherers and no others Blessed are ye of the Lord. O monstrous what abominable words are these Saul blesseth the Ziphites I ask againe Why does he so Because the Ziphites have a fine designe upon David as our Right-men upon Bristoll c. as was said to deliver him into Sauls hand that Saul may doe to David as we understood before The Ziphites have that in designe and Saul blesseth them for it and so his wickednesse is shewne before the whole congregation Prov. 26. For that is GODS designe too Saul shall not couzen the world any longer but GOD will turne Sauls blessings into curses Saul blesseth Murtherers GOD curseth them a treacherous and a murtherous Generation though they curse yet blesse thou So GOD will and curse them whom Saul blesseth Saul applauds their designes GOD abhorres them and their designes too and the Hang-man is appointed to give them their wages for their worke Observe further the Evill spirit of the man must be made more manifest for he saith ye have compassion on me What ye or who were they The same men who would lay a City waste so they might gratifie Saul in the destruction of David and this Saul calls compassion O blindnesse O desperate wickednesse he counts that a COMPASSION to his soule the working his will upon David which will destroy Sauls life here and his soule for ever Who is there that understands this and does not pray Lord leave me not in the lap of my owne will to run mine owne way and to accomplish my owne desire Does not many a man now-a-dayes count the granting of that a Compassion to his soule which being granted and effected to his hearts desire will destroy body and soule both eternally But I forbeare Here was a full discovery of Sauls spirit But let me speake a word for Saul for truely he had good things in him which must be remembred though the Evill spirits the Divell and his owne Spirit perverted all the contrary way Sauls good spirit was discovered too we fâ—â—de him weeping in one place and blessing David in another True But the Text sayes David would not trust him for all that Saul gave David good words and Blessings too and there was an Oath betwixt them and doubtlesse All was done heartily Saul did not treat with David and in the meane time carry on a fine designe to take away Davids life No doubtlesse Saul spake as he thought and meant to performe 1 Sam 24.22 But sayes the Text David would not trust Saul he and his Men got them up into the hold And the Reason was David knew an Evill Spirit haunted Saul an Edomite besides still at his Elbow and Saul had his foot entred into bloud up to the ankles David would not trust him Had Saul shed but a bottle of Bloud he might have bethought himselfe upon cold bloud as we say and repented and he might shew favour to an Edomite being his Herdsman But Saul has filled Nob with bloud from Corner to Corner And now that the Edomite is declared to be the Chiefe Malignant to Israel that ever was in Israels Land Saul approves of him the more The more bloud he hath shed the
better Subject he is and friend both and more right for Sauls designes the more he declares himselfe an enemy to David Why now David cannot trust Saul All his sweet words are lost if he be melting a little the Evill spirit and the Edomite will harden him againe So David will to his Strong-hold and is resolved upon the question To go to GATH out of Sauls reach else he could not avoid Sauls bloody hand he thought which pursued him so far even till he had driven David from out of the Inheritance of the Lord And so Sauls Evill spirit is fully discovered now and manifest He must be convinced also non-plussed and put to silence The Evill spirit shall bee convinced that he shall not be able to say a word but in way of acknowledgement and honest confession from a sound conviction That he is a lyar a murtherer and has erred exceedingly See how convincing Truth is from Davids mouth and how ingenuous Saul is in his confession 1 Sam. 26.21 I have played the foole and erred exceedingly He had indeed Saul Davids grand enemy is fully discovered convinced also yet David is not delivered no. though all Sauls Right men the Edomites implacable adversaries his false friends Keilites and Ziphites are made manifest too yet David is not delivered no not yet we shall see more reason for it anon first we must bring-this-up-to our time GOD delayes his Churches deliverances now for the same reason sure That the adversaries thereof might be fully manifest to all Israel The actings of the evill spirit President over the Kings Councell were not manifest enough sixe yeares agoe when they thrust a cursed Booke upon the Scots and after that the sword Nor when they called a Parliament in England not to ease the yokes but to ingage the Kingdome in that warre which would have â—ashed the people one against the other even the father and the son together Ierem. 13.14 This evill spirit was not manifest enough yet for wickednesse may bee established by a Law in Scotland and yet pretence very faire To establish True Religion Lawes and Liberties here in England And goodly and sweet words were spoken that way and much done touching Bishops and their Courts And all this while the evill spirit was as an Angell of light And his Actings more indiscernable then before But then the Designe touching the Army in the North changed the Divels colour quite and made him looke as black as soot as he is an Angel of darknesse But let the evill spirit alone he can cleare up himselfe againe he will not be made manifest yet No not when he prevailed by the evill Counsell To remove the Lieutenant of the Tower in whom all Israel could confide and placed a Murtherer there in that Strong-hold notwithstanding the evill spirit was not manifest enough No nor when he counselled the King to desert the Parliament No nor when he perswaded the King to call all Israel to war against David and all that had their hand with David under pretence of taking a guard to his person Nor when he made the Edomite Generall in the field MANAGER of all the Kings affaires here in Israels Land notwithstanding the evill spirit was not manifest enough yet But now we know what spirit they are of and who rules them For the Land is filled with bloud from corner to corner Zeph. 3.3 The Princes within her are roaring Lyons reade-on her Iudges are evening Wolves never such violences acted by Tartars Caniballs as by these Princes Surely I cannot tell what shall be done unto them these murtherers GOD knowes And that they have broken all the lawes of Heaven and Earth Divine and Humane such Children of Belial they are Iob 31.3 I cannot tell what strange punishment shall befall these workers of iniquity Doth not the LORD see their wayes and count all their steps We will leave them in His Hands Who has put a bridle in their lips But this I can tell What an execution The LORD would have done upon those who had wrought villany in Israel joyning themselves unto BAAL-PEOR Num. 25.3 as these unto as abominable an Idol as was that But they had not shed bloud in the defence of that Idol These Princes in name have filled the Land with bloud from corner to corner Yet hearken what The LORD sayes unto those who joyned themselves unto Baal-Peor as these to the Idol of Rome Take all the heads of the people Vers 4 and hang them up before the LORD against the Sun that the fierce anger of The LORD may be turned away from Israel We will wait Gods time for then they shall be made manifest indeed before Israel and before the Sun In the mean time the evil spirit is discovered and discerned plaine enough for by his meere motion he has prevailed with the King to seale a Commission to his Edomites To kill and to slay his good people to lay a City waste even a Mother in Israel And if they will doe so to their power They shall approve themselves in so doing his best subjects and truest friends so he blesseth murtherers whom GOD will lay if they repent not in the lowest hell They have compassion on their King why they Because they will to their power destroy a mother City in Israel They would have a whole Kingdome wasted Blessed be ye of the LORD ye have compassion on me does the King say Blessed be The LORD The discovering GOD Who has had compassion on His poore people trusting in His Name and on His dwelling place Blessed be GOD The Spirit that rules the King and his Councell is discovered the Edomites also those bitter enemies the Keilites and the Ziphites too those false and treacherous friends Take them in order The Edomites first Those called SPIRITVALL Lords They must be discovered how full of spirit they were Their spirit was not sufficiently discovered eight yeares ago when they forced a cursed Paper to be read in all the Churches there to publish a Declaration for Sports and Passe-times on The LORDS DAY Their spirit was not discovered by all this for this the people liked reasonably well They had an Advouson for liberty To riot on the LORDS DAY and they were glad of that The people had a grant from the Bishops The Bishops from the Archbishop he from the King and that should be sufficient warrant for them and every one of them to riot on the LORDS DAY And for every Minister from the Pulpit GODS mouth there To command the people so to do O abominable Yes they have justified the Heathen at this point And yet these Bishops are not discovered yet They are in their white Robes yet we shall see them in Scarlet by and by And yet not manifest to all the Christian world say they how spirituall they were when with the Scarlet Whore they would have rode in the bloud of Scotland up even unto their horses bridles by the