Contemplations vpon the principall passages of the holy story. The fourth volume. By Ios. Hall

Samuels contestation.

EVERY one can be a frend to him that prospereth; By this victory hath Saul as welll conquered the obstinacie of his owne people: Now there is no Israelite, that reioyceth not in Sauls kingdome. No sooner haue they done obiecting to Saul, then Samuel begins to ex∣postulate with them: The same day, wherein they began to be pleased, God shewes himselfe an∣gry; All the passages of their proceedings offended him, hee

deferd to let them know it till now, that the kingdom was set∣led, and their hearts lifted vp; Now doth God coole their cou∣rage and ioy, with a backe reck∣ning for their forwardnes. God will not let his people run away with the arrerages of their sins, but when they least thinke of it, calls them to an account: All this while was God angry with their reiection of Samuel; yet (as fi there had beene nothing, but peace) hee giues them a victory ouer their enemies, hee giues way to their ioy in their election, now hee lets them know, that after their peace-offerings, hee hath a quarrell with them. God may be angry

enough with vs, whiles we out∣wardly prosper: It is the wis∣dome of God to take his best aduantages; He suffers vs to go on, till we should come to enioy the fruit of our sinne, till wee seeme past the danger, either of conscience, or punishment; then (euen when we begin to be past the feeling of our sinne) we shall begin to feele his displeasure for our sinnes: This is onely where he loues, where he would both forgiue, and reclaime; He hath now to doe with his Israel: But where hee meanes vtter ven∣gance, he lets men harden them∣selues to a reprobate senselessnes, and make vp their owne mea∣sure without contradiction, as

purposing to reckon with them but once for euer.

SAMVEL had disswaded them before, he reproues them not, vntill now: If he had thus bent himselfe against them, ere the setling of the election, he had troubled Israel in that, which God tooke occasion by their sin to establish; His opposition would haue sauoured of respects to himselfe, whom the wrong of this innovation chiefly con∣cerned: Now therefore, when they are sure of their King, and their King of them, when hee hath set euen termes betwixt them mutually, he lets them see, how they were at odds with God: We must euer dislike sins,

we may not euer show it; Dis∣cretion in the choice of seasons for reprouing, is no lesse com∣mendable and necessarie, then zeale and faithfulnes in repro∣uing: Good Physitians vse not to euacuate the body in extre∣mities of heat or cold; wise ma∣riners do not hoyse sailes in eue∣ry winde.

FIRST doth Samuel begin to cleare his owne innocence, ere he dare charge them with their sinne: He that will cast a stone at an offender must be free him∣selfe, otherwise he condemnes, and executes himselfe in another person: The conscience stops the mouth of the guilty man, and chokes him with that sinne,

which lyes in his owne brest, and hauing not come forth by a penitent confession, cannot find the way out in a reproofe; or if he do reproue, he doth more shame himselfe, then reforme an∣other. He that was the Iudge of Israel, would not now iudge himselfe, but would be iudged by Israel; Whose oxe haue I taken? whose asse haue I taken? or to whom haue I done wrong? No doubt Sa∣muel found himselfe guilty be∣fore God of many priuate infir∣mities, but for his publike cari∣age, hee appeales to men: A mans heart can best iudge of himselfe; others can best iudge of his actions. As another mans conscience & approbation can

not beare vs out before God; so cannot our owne before men: For oft-times that action is cen∣sured by the beholders, as wrong full, wherein wee applaud our own iustice. Happy is that man, that can be acquited by himself in priuate, in publike by others, by God in both; standers by may see more: It is very safe for a man to looke into himselfe by others eyes; In vaine shall a mans heart absolue him, that is condemned by his actions.

IT was not so much the try∣all of his cariage, that Samuel appealed for, as his iustification, not for his owne comfort, so much as their conviction: His innocence hath not done him

seruice enough, vnlesse it shame them, and make them confesse themselues faulty. In so many yeeres wherein Samuel iudged Israel, it cannot be, but many thousand causes passed his hands, wherein both parties could not possibly bee plea∣sed; yet so cleare doth he finde his heart, and hands, that he dare make the greeued part iudges of his iudgment: A good consci∣ence will make a man vndaun∣tedly confident, and dare put him vpon any tryall; where his owne heart strikes him not, it bids him challeng all the world, and take vp all commers: How happy a thing is it for a man to be his owne frend, and patron?

He needs not to feare forraine broiles, that is at peace at home: Contrarily, he that hath a false and foule heart, lyes at euery mans mercy; liues slauishly, and is faine to dawbe vp a rotten peace with the basest conditi∣ons. Truth is not afraid of any light, and therefore dare suffer her wares to be caried from a dim shop-bord vnto the street dore: Perfect gold will be but the purer with trying, whereas falshood being a worke of dark∣nes, loues darknes, and therefore seeks, where it may worke clo∣sest.

THIS very appellation clea∣red Samuel, but the peoples atte∣station cleared him more: In∣nocency

& vprightnes becomes euery man well, but most pub¦lique persons, who shall be else obnoxious to euery offender. The throne and the pulpit (of all places) call for holines, not more for example of good, then for li∣berty of controlling euill: All Magistrates sweare to doe that, which Samuel protesteth hee hath done; if their oath were so verified, as Samuels protesta¦tion, it were a shame for the State not to be happy: The sinnes of our Teachers are the teachers of sinne; the sins of gouernors do both command, and counte¦nance euill This very acquiting of Samuel was the accusation of themselues: For how could it be

but faulty to cast off a faultlesse gouernor? If he had not taken away an oxe, or an asse from them, why do they take away his authoritie? They could not haue thus cleared Saul at the end of his raigne, It was iust with God, since they were wea∣ry of a iust ruler, to punish them with an vniust.

HE that appealed to them for his owne vprightnes, durst not appeale to them for their owne wickednes, but appeales to heauen from them. Men are commonly flatterers of their owne cases: It must be a strong euidence, that will make a sinner convicted in himselfe; Nature hath so many shifts to cosen it

selfe in this spirituall verdict, that vnlesse it be taken in the manner, it will hardly yeeld to a truth; either shee will denie the fact, or the fault, or the measure; And now in this case they might seeme to haue some faire preten∣ces: For though Samuel was righteous, yet his sonnes were corrupt. To cut of all excuses therefore, Samuel appeales to God (the highest Iudge) for his sentence of their sin, and dares trust to a miraculous convi∣ction. It was now their wheat haruest: The hot and dry ayre of that climate did not wont to afford in that season so much moist vapour, as might raise a cloud, either for raine, or thun∣der:

He that knew God could, and would do both these, with∣out the helpe of second causes, puts the tryall vpon this issue. Had not Samuel before consul∣ted with his Maker, and receiued warrant for his act, it had bin presumption and tempting of God, which was now a noble improuement of faith: Rather then Israel shall go cleare away with a sinne, God will accuse and arraigne them from heauen. No sooner hath Samuels voice ceased, then Gods voice begins: Euery cracke of thunder spake iudgment against the rebellious Israelites, and euery drop of raine was a witnesse of their sin, and now they found they had dis∣pleased

him, which ruleth in the heauen, by rejecting the man that ruled for him on earth: The thundring voice of God, that had lately in their sight con∣founded the Philistims, they now vnderstood to speake feare∣full things against them. No maruell, if now they fell vpon their knees, not to Saul, whom they had chosen, but to Samuel, who being thus cast off by them, is thus coun∣tenanced in hea∣uen.