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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Samuel in Sackcloth: OR, A SERMON A&s;&s;aying to re&s;train Our Bitter Animo&s;ities, And commending a Spirit of MODERATION, and a Right Con&s;titution of <HI>SO&V;L</HI> and Behaviour towards Our BRETHREN.</P>
<P>Upon 1 SAMUEL 15. 35.</P>
<P>By S. S.</P>
<Q><P>If yee will not hear, my &s;oul &s;hall weep in &s;ecret places for your Pride,</P> <BIBL>Jeremiah 13. 17.</BIBL></Q>
<Q><P>Hearken unto mee (<HI>you men of</HI> England) that God may hearken, unto you,</P> <BIBL>Judges 9. 7.</BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>R. I.</HI> for <HI>Henry Mortlock</HI> at the Phoenix in St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, near the Little North-door. 1660.</P>
<PB REF="2">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD><FIGURE>
<Q LANG="frm">HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE</Q>
<FIGDESC>royal blazon flanked by the English lion and Tudor rose on one side and the Scottish unicorn and thistle on the other</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></HEAD>
<HEAD>TO THE WORSHIPFULL, AND HIS Honoured Friend, <HI>John Swynfen,</HI> of <HI>Swynfen</HI> in the COUNTY of <HI>STAFFORD,</HI> <ABBR>Esq</ABBR> <HI>The Author wi&s;heth all Grace and Peace.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WHen I had long &s;een, and &s;ighed for that bitter and vio|lent &s;pirit which hath acted the body of our Nation, and the &s;everal Members thereof (according as their intere&s;t was ad|vanced) it plea&s;ed God to direct mee to
<PB REF="3"> the &s;ight of gracious <HI>Samuel,</HI> who&s;e holy and &s;ober &s;pirit (acting upon the greate&s;t di&s;advantages) did much affect mee; And I could not but expre&s;&s;e to my Congrega|tion how much: And when I &s;aw the whole Nation as much need healing, as my own poor flock, I did command my more timorous di&s;po&s;ition, to adven|ture my conceptions to the view of all that &s;hall have lei&s;ure to peru&s;e them; knowing that the healing of one Ulcer in the heart of any man, would abundantly recompence the wounds that I may pro|bably have procured to my own Name: not caring my &s;elf to undergo any cen&s;ure, if I might po&s;&s;ibly cure the di&s;temper of cen&s;oriou&s;ne&s;&s;e in any. Standing upon this bold re&s;olution, to offer this unwor|thy mite to the world, your unde&s;erved love to, and care of mee; your known worth &s;hining out to all, in the rayes of piety, prudence, and learning; and a|bove all, that &s;ingular &s;obriety, mode|ration, and good compo&s;edne&s;&s;e of &s;oul, which I have alwaies admired in you, chal|lenged the Patronage of it. I profe&s;&s;e
<PB REF="3"> without the lea&s;t mixture of flattery or fal&s;hood, that I know not any man, who&s;e name might more ju&s;tly bee pre|fixed to a Sermon of this nature. And, as I pray you to accept of this poor obla|tion, &s;o I heartily pray God to give us more &s;uch &s;pirits as yours, who may bee able, not to comprize men and manners, per&s;ons and opinions, in one and the &s;ame dete&s;tation. Sir, I humbly beg your par|don, not daring further, &s;ave to profe&s;&s;e my &s;elf</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your mo&s;t affectionate and obliged Servant, <HI>S. S.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>Jan. 9. 1659.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>TO THE Chri&s;tian Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P><HI>_I</HI> Have oft, and &s;adly ob&s;erved the &s;trange fires, and extravagant heats which have raged in this our Na|tion, to the mutual incen&s;ing, I had almo&s;t &s;aid con&s;uming, of one ano|ther: Men are become Men-eaters, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Gal.</HI> 5. 15.</NOTE> if I may bee allowed to &s;peak after the Apo&s;tles rate. Is there any man of &s;o few eyes, any eyes of &s;o little &s;ight, that have not ob&s;erved that our many &s;trange changes, have been attended with as &s;trange behaviours? Hee that is above, thinking it the ju&s;t prerogative of his place, to trample upon him that is under; and the other, when hee gets up, thinking it but a peece of justice, to do the like by him. For my own part, I do not wonder, that God keeps our affairs from &s;ettling long to the contentment of any one intere&s;t, when a man, nay, any man (much more then, hee that &s;ees much more than all men) &s;ees the barbarous in|&s;ultings, unbounded animo&s;ities, and unchristian be|haviours, which tho&s;e that lay as great claim to civility, manners, moderation, &s;obriety, as any, have been
<PB REF="4"> found guilty of. Even tho&s;e that pretend highly to an healing &s;pirit, them&s;elves appear to have much of di|&s;tempered affections in them; and in&s;tead of mollifying, have inflamed the wounds of their brethren. Tho&s;e that preach, and pray for moderation, when their in|terest begins to &s;mart, will not &s;tick to revile them that have lanc'd it; and when it begins to bee their turn, will not boggle to magnifie their mouths as wide as <HI>E|dom.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Obad. v.</HI> 12.</NOTE> Now if <HI>the mo&s;t upright</HI> be thus <HI>&s;harp,</HI> thus cen|&s;orious, &s;upercilious, bitter, immoderate, in&s;olent, <HI>actum e&s;t de &s;piritu ver&egrave; Evangelico,</HI> where &s;hall wee hope to finde Chri&s;tian Moderation? If the&s;e heats proceed from the <HI>green Trees,</HI> what fires may wee expect from the <HI>dry?</HI> Can God no &s;ooner have &s;et us on hor&s;e back, but wee mu&s;t ride over all that is in our way? no &s;ooner have rai&s;ed us out of the dirt, but wee mu&s;t throw our brethren into it, and make &s;tepping-&s;tones of our fellow-creatures? O Barbari&s;m, which there is not in the na|ture of a Lion to parallel! Is it enough to make a man <NOTE PLACE="marg">Corpora magna|nimo &s;atis e&s;t prostra&s;&s;e leoni.</NOTE> guilty, that nature hath stopt his mouth, &s;o that hee cannot prove the contrary? Enough to prove a tenent erronious, becau&s;e hee that holds it hath lo&s;t his be&s;t Ar|gument? Is that come to pa&s;s which <HI>Bath&s;heba</HI> feared; that not to bee great mu&s;t bee interpreted to bee an <HI>Offen|der?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>King.</HI> 1. 21.</NOTE> I know wee have almo&s;t undone our &s;elves by mu|tual wars, and that tho&s;e wars have been fomented (if not created) by mutual heats, and burnings: And I fear wee &s;hall never &s;oder together kindly, unle&s;s the con|queror and the conquered agree mutually, the one to lay a&s;ide his pride and petulancy, and the other his malice and malignity; which I wi&s;h they may do, before <HI>fire come out from</HI> Abimelech, <HI>and devour the men of</HI> Shechem, <HI>and from the men of</HI> Shechem, <HI>and devour</HI> Abimelech.</P>
<PB REF="5">
<P> Whil&s;t I meditated, to my great grief, of the&s;e extra|vagancies, providence put into my hands the Chronicle, (I might &s;ay the Miracle) of <HI>Samuels</HI> Moderation; which, finding it to contain an excellent pre&s;ident, I preached to them, among&s;t whom I earne&s;tly de&s;ire to propagate &s;uch a &s;pirit: And being pre&s;t with the &s;en&s;e of the great want of it el&s;ewhere (every where) I have emboldened my &s;elf to adventure what I preach'd, to publick view, a&s;&s;u|ring my &s;elf to meet with that cen&s;oriou&s;ne&s;s about it, which in it I have laboured to meet with. Whether it may plea&s;e any that read it, or bee put in practice by any that are plea&s;ed with it, I know not. The former I am not &s;olicitous about, not much caring though that do di&s;|plea&s;e &s;ome, which was not &s;tudied to plea&s;e any; and wherein I have not alluded to any one intere&s;t, which I &s;ought to humour above other. The latter I humbly com|mit to God, who&s;e honour I humbly de&s;ire mainly to de|&s;ign, praying him to work a &s;pirit like unto that, which was in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, in thee, and mee, and to give us fewer <HI>Sauls</HI> that &s;hall need to bee mourned for, and more <HI>Sa|muels</HI> to mourn for tho&s;e that wee have in this our <HI>I&s;rael.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Jan.</HI> 9. 1659.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>Samuel in Sackcloth; OR, A Sermon a&s;&s;aying to re&s;train our bitter A|nimo&s;ities, and commending a &s;pirit of Modera|tion, and a right con&s;titution of &s;oul, and beha|viour towards our Brethren.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>1 SAMUEL 15. 35.</BIBL>
<Q>And Samuel came no more to &s;ee Saul till the day of his death: neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for <HI>Saul:</HI> and the Lord repented that he had made Saul King over I&s;rael.</Q>
<Q LANG="heb"><GAP DESC="foreign"></Q>
<Q>&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.&mdash;</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THis Chapter pre&s;ents us with the lively draught of a good Subject, and a faithful Mini&s;ter, appearing both with an excel|lent lu&s;tre, in one <HI>Samuel;</HI> concerning whom I cannot but note, and commend one thing by the way; And that is his remarkable, and indeed admirable humility, in letting go the Scepter out of his hands, and &s;tanding &s;till whil&s;t God &s;tript him of the Political Government; and afterwards hee behaved him&s;elf with as much quietne&s;s and faithful|ne&s;s, as though hee had lo&s;t nothing, or did not at all re&s;ent his lo&s;s. It appears that hee &s;ate not in the Throne of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> to keep him&s;elf warm, to plea&s;e his own ambitious &s;pirit, but to do the work of God, and
<PB N="2" REF="6"> &s;erve the nece&s;&s;ities of the people: for when God had provided him&s;elf otherwaies, he willingly re&s;ign|ed, and became as though hee had never &s;itten there.</P>
<P>In the Chapter, wee have this <HI>Samuel</HI> the Prophet and Servant of the Lord &s;ending <HI>Saul</HI> his anointed King of an Errand. 2 <HI>Saul</HI> going upon this Errand; but failing in the execution of it; in &s;paring what God had determined to the &s;word. 3 <HI>Samuel</HI> repro|ving and threatning <HI>Saul</HI> for his di&s;obedience. 4 <HI>Saul</HI> repenting and wor&s;hipping God. 5 <HI>Samuel</HI> executing what <HI>Saul</HI> had left undone. 6 <HI>Samuel</HI> and <HI>Saul</HI> parting, in the two la&s;t ver&s;es. <HI>Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his hou&s;e to Gibeah of Saul. And Sa|muel came no more to &s;ee Saul, until the day of his death: Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul; And the Lord repented that hee had made Saul King over I&s;rael.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Samuel went no more to vi&s;it Saul, until the day of his death; i. e.</HI> hee went no more on purpo&s;e to in&s;truct him, coun&s;el him, or advi&s;e him (for hee afterwards &s;aw him accidentally at <HI>Naioth</HI> in <HI>Ramah, chap.</HI> 19. 24.) whil&s;t hee lived. <HI>Until the day of his death, i, e.</HI> never, the day of his death being reckoned into the number of his daies.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Note."> I might here ob&s;erve by the way, <HI>That Gods Mi|ni&s;ters may prudentially ab&s;ent them&s;elves from the hou|&s;es of wicked and di&s;obedient per&s;ons, di&s;countenance them, and &s;hew &s;trangene&s;s towards them, that they may bee a&s;hamed of their evil waies, and repent, and return to God.</HI> Thus the Apo&s;tle exhorts the godly <HI>The&s;&s;ale|nians</HI> to e&s;trange them&s;elves from the di&s;obedient, that they might <HI>bee a&s;hamed,</HI> 2 The&s;. 3. 14. And <HI>Sa|muel</HI> here would not be familiar with him, from whom God had e&s;tranged him&s;elf; hee refu&s;ed to turn again
<PB N="3" REF="6"> with him to wor&s;hip, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 26. he vi&s;ited him no more, <HI>ver&s;. ult. Samuel came no more to &s;ee Saul until the day of his death&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P>In which words ob&s;erve
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 An Action, <HI>Mourned.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2 The Agent, <HI>Samuel.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3 The Object, <HI>Saul.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4 The Modification of the Action, expre&s;t in the word <HI>[Neverthele&s;s] Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Before I di&s;cour&s;e particularly of the parts of the Text, I mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily an&s;wer a Que&s;tion, upon the An&s;wer to which the whole following di&s;cour&s;e mu&s;t depend, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>Que&s;t.</LABEL> <HI>Whether Samuel did well or ill in mourning for Saul?</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;w.</LABEL> To which I an&s;wer, Hee did well in it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Argum."> But then will &s;ome &s;ay, Why did God forbid him to do it, as wee finde hee did? <HI>chap.</HI> 16. 1. <HI>And the Lord &s;aid to Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul?</HI> Will God forbid the doing of that which is well done?</P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;w.</LABEL> 1 It is unque&s;tionably lawful to mourn for others; Nay, it is a duty &s;o to do, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12. 15. <HI>Weep with them that weep.</HI> God would not have his people walk by the Rule of the <HI>Stoicks,</HI> who condemned all kind of affection and &s;ympathy: Hee who is a God of bowels, would not have his people to bee without all bowels of compa&s;&s;ion. Nay, it is lawful to mourn o|ver the wicked, the enemies of God; as appears in the example of holy <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 35. 13, 14. <HI>As for mee, when they were &s;ick</HI> (meaning the wicked, as ap|pears by the 11, and 12, <HI>ver&s;es) My cloathing was &s;ack-cloth, I humbled my &s;oul with fa&s;ting, I bowed down hea|vily,</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="7"> <HI>as one that mourneth for his Mother.</HI> And the Learned <HI>Ravanellus (in voce Luctus)</HI> &s;aying, that wee ought to mourn for the mi&s;eries of others, commends this of <HI>Samuel</HI> for an example, who mourned for <HI>Saul,</HI> as it is in my Text:<HI>&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;w.</LABEL> 2 God doth not ab&s;olutely forbid <HI>Samuel</HI>'s mourning for <HI>Saul,</HI> but his immoderation, his exce&s;s; Hee doth not &s;ay, why do&s;t thou mourn for <HI>Saul,</HI> but how long wilt thou mourn for him? It appears by this, that God had long &s;uffered <HI>Samuel</HI> to mourn; but now hee thought hee had mourned enough, therefore hee takes him off, <HI>How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?</HI> God would not indeed have us exceed in our mourn|ing, &s;o as thereby to make our &s;pirits unfit for the du|ties of our callings. E&s;pecially <HI>Samuel</HI> mu&s;t take heed of this exce&s;s, who was the Prie&s;t and Prophet of the Lord, and a publick per&s;on, upon the right frame of who&s;e &s;pirit much did depend. And therefore (if wee ob&s;erve it) God &s;eems to take him off from mourning, that hee might be fit to go about his work, <HI>chap.</HI> 16. 1. <HI>Fill thine horn with Oyl, go, I will &s;end thee, &amp;c.</HI> And happily this might be one rea&s;on, why God forbade the Prie&s;ts, e&s;pecially the High Prie&s;ts, to make any mourning for the dead, as &s;ome Annotators do hint, upon <HI>Levit.</HI> 21. 1, 2, 3. <HI>Samuel</HI> is not forbidden here to mourn, but to mourn long: Hee went to his hou&s;e, and mourned: But hee mu&s;t not make his hou&s;e an <HI>hou&s;e of mourning,</HI> hee mu&s;t not dwell in &s;orrow, <HI>How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;w.</LABEL> 3 God doth in &s;ome particular ca&s;es forbid the doing of things that are otherwi&s;e lawful, the performance of things that are in them&s;elves duties.
<PB N="5" REF="7"> Hee doth not only forbid many things which are in them&s;elves indifferent, as 1 <HI>King.</HI> 13. 17. <HI>Act.</HI> 15. 29. But it is al&s;o his prerogative to di&s;pence with his own commands, and to forbid (upon occa&s;ion) the perfor|mance of Moral duties. As for example, prayer is a duty, nay the Apo&s;tle exhorts, that <HI>prayer and inter|ce&s;sion bee made for all men,</HI> 1 Tim. 2. 1. And yet in a particular ca&s;e God forbids the Prophet to pray for the people, <HI>Jer.</HI> 7. 16. 11. 14. &amp; 14. 11. The like pro|hibition hee gives <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> Exod. 32. 10. To repay what is borrowed, is a moral duty, <HI>Rom.</HI> 13. 8. <HI>Owe no man any thing, &amp;c.</HI> And yet upon occa&s;ion God di&s;pen&s;es with this duty, and commands the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> to borrow Jewels of the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> and not to re&s;tore them, <HI>Exod.</HI> 3. 22. Not that wee may di&s;pen&s;e with our du|ties at our own plea&s;ure, but God hath the preroga|tive to give di&s;pen&s;ations. And therefore <HI>Jeremiah</HI> did pray for the people till God forbade him: The <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> dur&s;t not to have &s;poiled the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> but that God bade them; And <HI>Samuel</HI> here mourned for <HI>Saul,</HI> till God di&s;charged him, &s;aying, <HI>How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?</HI></P>
<P>So that notwith&s;tanding God did afterwards pro|hibit <HI>Samuel</HI> to mourn for <HI>Saul,</HI> yet wee may &s;afely conclude, that till then, hee did well to mourn for him. Therefore in my di&s;cour&s;e I &s;hall look upon <HI>Sa|muel</HI> as performing a duty in &s;o doing, and &s;hall pro|pound him as a pattern for us, that wee may <HI>go and do likewi&s;e. Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1 Let us con&s;ider the Agent, <HI>Samuel.</HI> And wee may con&s;ider him under the&s;e notions.</P>
<P N="1">1 <HI>Samuel,</HI> an <HI>holy, gracious man,</HI> a man full of the Spirit of God, mourned. Some new lights, men pre|tending
<PB N="6" REF="8"> to a great Go&s;pel-Spirit, preach nothing but priviledges, practi&s;e nothing but joy and &s;piritual re|joycing, &s;aying, It is for low &s;pirits, weak, puny Chri|&s;tians to lye mourning, and weeping, and filling their &s;ouls with heavine&s;s. But holy <HI>Samuel</HI> here was either yet below their &s;pirits (which I cannot think he was) or be&s;ide their mind; And &s;o indeed hee was, for hee mourned for <HI>Saul.</HI> Hee was be&s;ide their mind, and I doubt they be&s;ides them&s;elves: For I am &s;ure our Saviour pronounces a ble&s;&s;ing upon Go&s;pel-mour|ners, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5. 4. And I al&s;o know, that the mo&s;t gra|cious &s;pirits, have been ever the mo&s;t tender, and &s;ym|pathizing, and mo&s;t mournful over the &s;ins, and &s;uf|ferings of others. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> the familiar friend of God, who was <HI>faithful in all his hou&s;e,</HI> though of a great and gracious &s;pirit, mourned over the &s;tiff-necked, hard|hearted, and rebellious <HI>I&s;raelites. Jo&s;iah</HI> was a man of &s;ingular piety, and yet of &s;ingular tenderne&s;s. <HI>Elijah</HI> was a man full of the Spirit of the Lord, and yet full of complaints for the Idolatry and back&s;lidings of the people, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 19. 10. <HI>David</HI> was a man after Gods own heart, and yet much in tears, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119. 28. 136, <HI>&amp;c. Jeremiah</HI> was a man that found grace in the eyes of God, a man much of Gods mind, and hee was one of a mournful &s;pirit: Hee wrings his hands, and fqueezes his eyes, nay, and drains his very &s;oul too for tears, all up and down his Prophecie, e&s;pecially, <HI>chap.</HI> 4. 19. 9. 1, 2. 13. 17. Nay, hee mourns bitterly for the de&s;olation of <HI>Moab,</HI> a rebellious, uncircumci&s;ed people, <HI>Jer.</HI> 48. 31, 32. <HI>Paul</HI> a man of a Go&s;pel-&s;pirit, and otherwi&s;e of a great and undaunted &s;pirit, thinks, that mourning for the &s;inful and impenitent, was a du|ty &s;uitable enough to his &s;pirit, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. <HI>ult.</HI> Wee
<PB N="7" REF="8"> may learn from the example of holy <HI>Samuel</HI> mour|ning for <HI>Saul,</HI> that <HI>mourning is not an exerci&s;e unbecom|ing the mo&s;t gracious &s;pirits.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>Samuel a man mighty in prayer,</HI> mourned for <HI>Saul.</HI> Hee was &s;o mighty in prayer with God, that when God would expre&s;s a man prevalent in prayer, hee u|&s;es <HI>Samuels</HI> name, to &s;ignifie him by, <HI>Jer.</HI> 15. 1. <HI>Though Mo&s;es and Samuel stood before mee, yet could not my mind bee towards this people.</HI> Yet <HI>Samuel</HI> did not improve his intere&s;t at the Throne of grace again&s;t <HI>Saul,</HI> did not implore God for his ruine, but betook him&s;elf to his tears; <HI>Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Note."> It is ob&s;ervable, That the &s;ervants of God who have been mo&s;t &s;trong in prayer, have rarely improv'd their intere&s;t at the Throne of grace again&s;t any, no not their enemies. <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> when hee was &s;leighted and &s;et at nought by the people, and threatned al&s;o, yet did not pray for their ruine, but for their relief rather, <HI>Exod.</HI> 17. 4. Such a &s;pirit was holy <HI>David</HI> of, as you may &s;ee in his behaviour upon occa&s;ion of <HI>Shimei</HI>'s cur&s;ing, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 16. 10. This was the &s;pirit of holy <HI>Stephen,</HI> who was &s;o <HI>full of the Holy Gho&s;t, Act.</HI> 7. 60. In&s;tead of putting up imprecations of wrath again&s;t them, hee depre|cates the wrath that might ju&s;tly have fallen upon them, &s;aying, <HI>Lord lay not this &s;in to their charge.</HI> This &s;pirit was in our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, <HI>Mat.</HI> 26. 53, 54. <HI>Luk.</HI> 23. 34. and 9. 54, 55. And this &s;pirit hee commends to all his, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5. 44. True indeed, &s;ometimes wee finde the &s;ervants of God ready to pray again&s;t their enemies, in Scripture; But then it was either out of weakne&s;s, as the two Di&s;ciples, <HI>Luk.</HI> 9. 54. or being acted by an extraordinary, prophetical &s;pirit, as <HI>Eli|jah,</HI> 2 King. 1. and <HI>David</HI> oft-times in the P&s;alms; or
<PB N="8" REF="9"> in pa&s;&s;ion, as <HI>Jer.</HI> 20. 15, 16. But you &s;hall never hear any &s;uch thing from them, unle&s;s they were be&s;ides them&s;elves (in pa&s;&s;ion) and &s;o they mu&s;t not bee imi|tated, or above them&s;elves (extraordinarily&punc; acted) and &s;o wee cannot imitate them. But alas, how few &s;uch &s;pirits, how little &s;uch moderation is to be found among&s;t us! If many hot &s;pirits had as much &s;trength with God, and intere&s;t in the Throne of grace, as <HI>Sa|muel</HI> had, wee &s;hould quickly have fire upon our heads; whereas <HI>Samuel,</HI> who was <HI>greater in power and might,</HI> improved not his might again&s;t <HI>Saul,</HI> but mourned for him. Nay, it is mo&s;t &s;ad of all, to hear Gods people groaning in prayer one again&s;t another; In&s;omuch that if the wi&s;e God, were not merciful to them in denying their prayers &s;ometimes, they would &s;et the world on fire; whereas they ought ra|ther to mourn for one another, as <HI>Samuel</HI> here, who was otherwi&s;e &s;trong in prayer even to a Proverb.</P>
<P N="3">3 <HI>Samuel a man as much hating Saul</HI>'s <HI>manners, as any man,</HI> yet mourned for his condition. It is a hard thing to bee di&s;plea&s;ed at a mans manners, and yet nor to hate his per&s;on, nor to rejoyce in the evil that be|falls him. Commonly when wee are di&s;plea&s;ed with a mans actings, wee are proportionably plea&s;ed with his &s;ufferings. To di&s;tingui&s;h between a mans condi|tions, and his condition, &s;o as to abbor the one, and yet to commi&s;erate the other, is a great art; and &s;uch a one as <HI>David</HI> may &s;eem &s;ometimes not to have very well learnt, when hee rejoyced in the death of chur|li&s;h <HI>Nabal,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 25. 39. Unle&s;s wee chu&s;e rather to &s;ay, that <HI>David</HI> rejoyced, not that <HI>Nabal</HI> was dead, but that hee did not kill him, which yet doth not &s;eem to bee all. However at any other time hee &s;hews him|&s;elf
<PB N="9" REF="9"> an arti&s;t in this art to the life, as may appear to him that reads, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 35. 11, 12, 13, 14. Oh admirable &s;oul! oh wonderful &s;elf-denying frame of &s;pirit! ready to dye for thine enemy that is &s;ick? go in &s;ack-cloth for the affliction of an unkinde adver&s;ary? Oh ble&s;&s;ed &s;oul! every one will admire thee, but who can imitate thee? oh labour wee all to bee a&s;hamed of our &s;elves, that one and the &s;ame hatred is &s;o apt to comprehend the man with the manners; and for the future to imitate holy <HI>David,</HI> who although hee was offended at a per&s;ecuting <HI>Saul,</HI> yet lamented a dying <HI>Saul;</HI> and good <HI>Samuel,</HI> who although hee re|jected <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 1. 17.</NOTE> a &s;inning <HI>Saul, ver&s;.</HI> 26. yet mourned for a re|jected <HI>Saul, ver&s;.</HI> 35.<HI>&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P>So much for the Agent, <HI>Samuel,</HI> and what may be gathered from him.</P>
<P N="2">2 The Action, <HI>Mourned, Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1 Wee may ob&s;erve that hee did <HI>not rejoyce</HI> in <HI>Sauls</HI> rejection, much le&s;s in his &s;in, but mourned for him. It is the unkinde and &s;inful property of many men to make them&s;elves merry with others mi&s;ery, to re|joyce in their ruine, and to bee made light&s;ome by their heavine&s;s; whereby they add weight to their burden, affliction to their bonds, and bitterne&s;s to their wormwood. This <HI>David</HI> is &s;tudious to prevent, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 1. 20. <HI>Tell it not in Gath, publi&s;h it not in the &s;treets of Askelon, le&s;t the daughters of the Phili&s;tins rejoyce, le&s;t the daughters of the uncircumci&s;ed triumph.</HI> Thus did not holy <HI>Samuel,</HI> this did not compa&s;&s;io|nate <HI>David,</HI> as you &s;aw in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 35. 13, 14. Thus do not you; Rejoyce not in the evil that befalls any: Although you are offended with his &s;inful life, yet
<PB N="10" REF="10"> rejoyce not at his &s;ad death; although you like him not &s;tanding, yet pity him falling, mourn for his fall: Although you bee troubled at his manners, yet de|light not in his troubles. But this I touch'd upon be|fore. Therefore</P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>Samuel did not in&s;ult ever Saul,</HI> but mourned for him. It is the manner of many ignoble, unchri&s;tian, and impotent &s;pirits, to trample upon a man when God hath him down, to tread upon him whom provi|dence hath laid low: Thus did the Phili&s;tins in&s;ult o|ver captive <HI>Samp&s;on, Judg.</HI> 16. 25. <HI>Call for Samp&s;on, and let him make us &s;port.</HI> Thus did <HI>Edom</HI> to <HI>Jacob</HI> in the day of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI>'s vi&s;itation, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 137. 7. <HI>Obad. ver&s;.</HI> 12. Thus God knew that the enemies of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> would do, if hee &s;hould &s;catter his people into corners, <HI>Deut.</HI> 32. 27. But thus did not <HI>Samuel</HI> here: Hee looked not on the day of <HI>Saul,</HI> hee behaved not him|&s;elf proudly, hee magnified not his mouth again&s;t him; But <HI>Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI> Hath God made our enemies to &s;toop to us? let us not tread upon them; hath hee conquered them? let not us triumph imperiou&s;ly, and in&s;ult over them: But rather, the more God humbles a man by afflicting him, the more let us humble our &s;elves for his affliction, as <HI>David</HI> did, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 35. 13. and as <HI>Samuel</HI> did here, <HI>Samuel mour|ned for Saul.</HI> He did not in&s;ult over him, hee did not taunt and reproach him, as the mo&s;t malicious Jews did our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, hanging upon the cro&s;s, <HI>(Mat.</HI> 27. 41, <HI>&amp;c.)</HI> who fed their greedy eyes with his &s;uffe|rings, and their revengeful natures with his blood, but hee mourned for <HI>Saul.</HI> Go wee and do likewi&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3 Hee did <HI>not blaze and divulge his mi&s;carriages,</HI> but bewailed them. Oh gracious &s;pirit, and far different
<PB N="11" REF="10"> from that of cur&s;ed <HI>Ham,</HI> who <HI>&s;aw his Fathers naked|ne&s;s, and went and told his two brethren without,</HI> Gen. 9. 22. But <HI>Samuel</HI> when hee &s;aw that God had &s;tript <HI>Saul</HI> of his royal Robes, and made him naked, took another way; Hee went home to his hou&s;e, and mourned for him. It is much the &s;in of this genera|tion, even cen&s;oriou&s;ne&s;s, and that con&s;tant prone|ne&s;s, which wee &s;ee in all men almo&s;t, to proclaim, divulge, and depredicate the infirmities, and blaze the failings of others, e&s;pecially Mini&s;ters, and men of publick place. In&s;tead of relieving a brother that is overtaken with a fault (according to the Apo&s;tles coun&s;el, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6. 1.) wee are apt to report his faults, and tell our <HI>brethren without,</HI> to make him vile, to &s;to|ry out his infirmities, in&s;tead of re&s;toring him. As for Mini&s;ters, you are not ignorant how precious the ointment of their good names ought to bee, and of what concernment it is that their credits &s;hould bee pre&s;erved entire and &s;potle&s;s; you cannot bee igno|rant, how tender the Apo&s;tle commands men to bee of the &s;ame, charging <HI>Timothy</HI> not to <HI>receive an accu&s;a|tion again&s;t an Elder, but before two or three witne&s;&s;es,</HI> 1 Tim. 5. 19. which tenderne&s;s it appears that <HI>Con|&s;tantine</HI> was largely indued withall, who would have thrown his own royal Robe over an adulterous Bi&s;hop, if hee had &s;een him in the evil act. And as for Magi|&s;trates, and men of &s;ecular dignity, <HI>Solomon</HI> charges to u&s;e them with a &s;ingular tenderne&s;s, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 10. 20. <HI>Cur&s;e not the King, no not in thy con&s;cience:</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> in that hee makes this a character of the mo&s;t de&s;perate pre&s;umption, to <HI>&s;peak evil of dig|nities,</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 10. <HI>They are not afraid to &s;peak evil of dignities.</HI> But alas, the impudence of this generation,
<PB N="12" REF="11"> and their pre&s;umption, is &s;uch, that if a brother bee overtaken in a fault, all the world mu&s;t know it: Men do not only receive, but even rai&s;e and report accu&s;a|tions again&s;t Elders; and &s;peak mo&s;t virulently, and ignominiou&s;ly of <HI>the Rulers of the people.</HI> To this evil and impudent generation, I only &s;ay, that the Lord will certainly execute judgement upon them; and e|ven cau&s;e them to eat tho&s;e hard &s;peeches, which they &s;peak again&s;t him. For they that &s;peak reproach|fully of Gods Vicegerents, and Emba&s;&s;adors, do re|proach God him&s;elf, who&s;e repre&s;entative they are. Learn wee all to have a &s;ingular tenderne&s;s towards all men; tell not their faults abroad with <HI>Ham,</HI> but go home and mourn over them with holy <HI>Samuel.&mdash;Ne|verthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4 Hee did <HI>not &s;tir up &s;edition,</HI> nor rai&s;e an in&s;urre|ction again&s;t <HI>Saul,</HI> but mourned for him. Although hee carried him&s;elf &s;infully, and managed his people fooli&s;hly, yet di&s;contented <HI>Samuel</HI> &s;tirred not up his own &s;pleen, nor the peoples rage again&s;t him, but went home and mourned for him. Of &s;uch a King, &s;aith learned <HI>Cartwright,</HI> are tho&s;e words, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 10. 20. to bee under&s;tood, as though one &s;hould &s;ay (in allu&s;ion to the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 18.) not only of the <HI>good and gentle, but al&s;o of the froward,</HI> and fooli&s;h. <MILESTONE UNIT="Note."> This is al&s;o to bee con&s;idered, that <HI>Samuel</HI> at this time knew that God had in his decree rejected <HI>Saul</HI> from being King; and al&s;o that <HI>Samuel</HI> was a man of migh|ty power and intere&s;t in the <HI>I&s;raeliti&s;h</HI> hearts; And upon the&s;e accounts hee had a great advantage to have made an in&s;urrection, and a fair pretence at hand, wherewithall to cover and excu&s;e it, when hee had done: Yet a <HI>David</HI> &s;ometimes &s;pared him, &s;o <HI>Sa|muel</HI>
<PB N="13" REF="11"> here pitied him, <HI>Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P>This may at lea&s;t teach us to u&s;e a &s;ingular tender|ne&s;s to the per&s;ons, and powers of con&s;tituted Magi|&s;trates, and to take heed how wee vilifie the one, or weaken the other, <GAP DESC="foreign">, le&s;t hap|pily wee bee found to fight again&s;t God, as <HI>Gamaliel</HI> &s;aid in another ca&s;e; but rather to mourn over them with <HI>Samuel&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P>So much for the Action, and the con&s;iderables in it.</P>
<P N="3">3 The Object of this mourning. Who was it that this <HI>Samuel</HI> thus mourned for? hee mourned for <HI>Saul, Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI> Now we may con&s;ider <HI>Saul</HI> under the&s;e notions among&s;t others.</P>
<P N="1">1 <HI>Saul a King, Samuel</HI> mourned for King <HI>Saul. Saul</HI> was the annointed of God, the rightful King of <HI>I&s;|rael,</HI> cho&s;en by Gods appointment and direction. And although <HI>Samuel</HI> was at fir&s;t again&s;t the office of a King, yet when God had appointed a King over them, and &s;ettled him among&s;t them, hee was a loyal &s;ubject, a faithful coun&s;ellor, &s;o as no man more, nor indeed like him. The be&s;t men are the be&s;t for any purpo&s;e; the be&s;t in every relation; the be&s;t Kings, the be&s;t &s;ubjects, the be&s;t Ma&s;ters, the be&s;t &s;ervants, the be&s;t every thing. <MILESTONE UNIT="Note."> It is worth ob&s;erving, that as God hath been ever careful to give commands con|cerning his Magi&s;trates and Vicegerents, &s;o the be&s;t men have been alwaies mo&s;t careful to ob&s;erve tho&s;e commands, have carried it mo&s;t tenderly, reverently, and ob&s;equiou&s;ly towards them. <HI>Samuel</HI> here had &s;till a &s;ecret re&s;pect for Gods annointed,<HI>&mdash;Neverthe|le&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI> Con&s;ider what was &s;aid under the la&s;t particular.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="14" REF="12"> 2 <HI>Saul an enemy.</HI> In probability <HI>Saul</HI> was by this time become <HI>Samuels</HI> enemy. There is a pa&s;&s;age in the <HI>fourth ver&s;e</HI> of the 26^t^h. <HI>chapter,</HI> that may &s;eem to &s;trengthen this conjecture. When <HI>Samuel</HI> came to <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> it is &s;aid, that <HI>the Elders of the Town trem|bled at his coming, and &s;aid, come&s;t thou peaceably?</HI> whereupon the <HI>Dutch Annotations</HI> &s;uppo&s;e, that the <HI>Bethlehemites</HI> heard that <HI>Saul</HI> was provoked again&s;t <HI>Samuel,</HI> becau&s;e hee had pronounced him a man re|jected of God, and therefore thought that <HI>Samuel</HI> had fled from <HI>Saul.</HI> It &s;eems to appear al&s;o that <HI>Sa|muel</HI> &s;u&s;pected him, that hee had no great confidence in his friend&s;hip, by the <HI>&s;econd ver&s;e</HI> of the &s;ame <HI>chap|ter.</HI> And indeed, if wee con&s;ider the carnal ambiti|ous, revengeful frame of <HI>Saul</HI>'s &s;pirit, wee may ju&s;tly conclude, that it was almo&s;t impo&s;&s;ible that he &s;hould bee any other than an enemy to <HI>Samuel.</HI> Yet <HI>Samuel</HI> mourned for this <HI>Saul,</HI> this enemy. And &s;o did <HI>Da|vid</HI> for them that <HI>per&s;ecuted</HI> and <HI>&s;poiled</HI> him, <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 35. Our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, who wept over per&s;ecuting <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> and bewailed it with ingeminations, doth &s;et us a copy to write after; that wee al&s;o &s;hould <HI>pray for them that per&s;ecute us,</HI> bewail the &s;ins and &s;ufferings of. them that hate us; Their &s;ins wee mu&s;t bewail, be|cau&s;e they intrench upon the honour of God, and en|danger their own &s;ouls, which ought to bee dear unto us: Their &s;ufferings wee mu&s;t bewail out of Chri|&s;tian and brotherly compa&s;&s;ion, as <HI>Samuel</HI> did here.<HI>&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 <HI>Saul a wicked man,</HI> a di&s;obedient man: <HI>Samuel</HI> mourned for this <HI>Saul;</HI> nay, becau&s;e <HI>Saul</HI> was this, therefore hee mourned for him. Do yee &s;ee a wicked, prophane, and &s;inful wretch? &s;ome will be
<PB N="15" REF="12"> ready to laugh at him, others to neglect him, &s;ome perhaps in an over-hot zeal to cur&s;e him. Oh but do you admoni&s;h him, labour to reform him, pray for him: If all this prove ineffectual, yet pity him, mourn over him. Is the Name of the great God di&s;|honoured, his commandements broken, his waies de|&s;pi&s;ed? is the precious &s;oul of thy brother indanger|ed, and hee ready to go to Hell headlong? Oh who can chu&s;e but mourn, who would not bee a <HI>Sa|muel</HI> here? A wicked man is the greate&s;t, the fit|te&s;t object of pity in the world, and that upon the ac|count of his wickedne&s;s. The prophanene&s;s of beg|gars had more need of pity, than their wants; their Ignorance and Athei&s;m cries louder for our prayers and tears, than their poverty for our alms. When <HI>Je|remiah</HI> thought of the afflictions of the Jews, hee calls to his eyes, <HI>Jer.</HI> 9. 1. But when hee thought of their ob&s;tinacy, and perver&s;ene&s;s, hee calls to his &s;oul for tears, <HI>Jer.</HI> 13. 17. When hee &s;peaks of their capti|vity, his <HI>eye ran down with tears:</HI> But when hee thought of their impiety, his <HI>&s;oul wept in &s;ecret,</HI> as you may &s;ee him, as it were purpo&s;ely, varying the phra&s;e in that place. But when &s;in and mi&s;ery meet together in a man, then let the eyes and the &s;oul con&s;pire together to bewail him. When <HI>Saul</HI> hath rejected the Commandements of God, and God hath rejected <HI>Saul</HI> too, then <HI>Samuel</HI> goes home, and mews up him&s;elf in mourning,<HI>&mdash;Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P>To this I might add al&s;o, that <HI>Samuel</HI> mour|ned for <HI>Saul,</HI> who &s;ucceeded him in the Govern|ment of the Nation, even his own eyes looking on. Men are u&s;ually apt to bee glad of the reje|ction of a competitor, of one that &s;tands between
<PB N="16" REF="13"> them and preferment, of one who&s;e election was their exclu&s;ion: But &s;o did not <HI>Samuel</HI> here; which al&s;o commends in him, and commends to us a &s;elf-denying, humble, gracious di&s;po&s;ition of mind. Thus much for the Object, <HI>Saul,</HI> and what may bee con&s;idered in him.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, Let us con&s;ider the Modification of the Action, expre&s;t in the word <HI>[Neverthele&s;s]</HI> which doth nece&s;&s;arily &s;uppo&s;e &s;omething: For being a <HI>Conjunction Redditive,</HI> it mu&s;t have one <HI>Ad|ver&s;ative</HI> or more.</P>
<P N="1">1 <HI>Although Samuel and his Coun&s;el was rejected of Saul, Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul. Sa|muel</HI> had been at much pains with <HI>Saul,</HI> to in&s;truct him in his duty, to coun&s;el him in his affairs, to re|prove him for his faults, and behaved him&s;elf in all things as though hee had been his guardian; And yet found no &s;ucce&s;s of his pains; his in&s;tru|ctions were not followed, his coun&s;el was di&s;obey|ed, his reproofs de&s;pi&s;ed, and all his indeavours made un&s;ucce&s;&s;eful. And yet this <HI>Samuel</HI> thus re|jected, mourned for <HI>Saul,</HI> which doth commend in him an excellent &s;pirit of patience and lenity, and reproves the impatience and &s;pleeni&s;hne&s;s of the mo&s;t in the world, who think if they bee at pains to fore-warn, coun&s;el, or reprove their bro|ther, and hee do not hearken to them, they have &s;ufficiently di&s;charged their duty, they need do no more. Of this mind was not holy <HI>Samuel;</HI> hee though that after hee had done this, and more than this, it was his duty to mourn for <HI>Saul.</HI> The good example of this good man, may ex|hort us all to do the like; e&s;pecially it may teach
<PB N="17" REF="13"> Gods Mini&s;ters their duty, after all di&s;courage|ments, and contempts that they meet with in the world, from ob&s;tinate and unthankful per|&s;ons. Are their people froward, dull, carele&s;s, ignorant, idle? Is their coun&s;el &s;corned, their re|proofs &s;leighted, their words made wind of, all their importunate pains, and ince&s;&s;ant prayers un&s;ucce&s;&s;eful? why yet &s;omething remains to bee done, and that is all they can do, even to mourn for them. See the re&s;olution of the tender-hearted Prophet <HI>Jeremiah, Jer.</HI> 13. 17. <HI>If yee will not hear;</HI> what then? will hee cur&s;e them, revenge him&s;elf upon them? No. But will hee not at lea&s;t de&s;i&s;t, leave them, ca&s;t off all further care of them? No. What then? why, <HI>My &s;oul &s;hall weep in &s;ecret places for your pride.</HI> Oh that men had betaken them&s;elves to their eyes, to their <HI>preces</HI> and <HI>lachry|mae,</HI> to the wringing of their hands, when they be|took them&s;elves to the arming of their hands to revenge them&s;elves upon their brethren; our in|te&s;tine confu&s;ions had yet been to begin, whereas now they are not at an end, and God knows when they will bee: If wee had &s;hed as much tears, as wee have done blood, wee had not had &s;o much guilt abiding upon us, nor &s;o much mi&s;ery among&s;t us, and it had been a Sacrifice the more plea&s;ing to God of the two. And as for Mini&s;ters, if they preach well, pray well, exhort well, reprove well, yet if they do not mourn well too, they have not di&s;charged their duty well; not &s;o well as <HI>Samuel</HI> did here,<HI>&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>Although Saul and his authority was rejected of God, yet Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI> Many men when
<PB N="18" REF="14"> they &s;ee God hath ca&s;t a man down, are ready to ca&s;t him off too, and all care of him, all thoughts of him; <HI>per&s;ecute and take him, for God hath for&s;aken him.</HI> If a Viper do but &s;tick upon a mans hand, if God &s;hall bani&s;h him, impoveri&s;h him, or any way afflict him, they conclude him to bee <HI>a murderer</HI> (with the <HI>Barbarians, Act.</HI> 28. 4.) or an hypocrite (with <HI>Job</HI>'s friends, <HI>Job</HI> 4. 7. and 8. 6.) they pa&s;s &s;en|tence upon him pre&s;ently, and never look more af|ter him. But bee it &s;o, that God hath indeed re|jected and ca&s;t off a per&s;on, or a people, yet the gra|cious &s;oul cannot chu&s;e but bee affected, afflicted with it, and pity them. A good man, a right <HI>Samuel,</HI> is &s;o much a friend to Gods ju&s;tice, that hee cannot but approve Gods &s;entence pa&s;&s;ing upon man; and yet hee is &s;o full of bowels, that hee cannot but la|ment the execution of it upon his brother, as <HI>Sa|muel</HI> did here,<HI>&mdash;Neverthele&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 <HI>Although Samuel went not to &s;ee Saul,</HI> yet <HI>Samuel mourned for Saul. Samuel</HI> out of prudence ab&s;ented him&s;elf from <HI>Saul;</HI> But yet out of piety and pity he mourned for <HI>Saul.</HI> Di&s;cretion may &s;ometimes per|&s;wade us to &s;ome di&s;couraging &s;trangene&s;s towards wicked men, yet compa&s;&s;ion will not &s;uffer the god|ly man to e&s;trange his bowels from them; <HI>Sa|muel mourned for Saul; Samuel</HI> would not be&s;tow his eyes to &s;ee <HI>Saul,</HI> but hee would employ them to weep over him. The like &s;weet mixture of the&s;e two eminent graces, <HI>di&s;cretion,</HI> and <HI>compa&s;sion,</HI> wee may &s;ee in <HI>David</HI> not &s;uffering <HI>Ab&s;olom</HI> to &s;ee him, <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 13.</NOTE> and yet full of bowels towards him, as wee &s;ee here in <HI>Samuel</HI> not going to &s;ee <HI>Saul,</HI> but yet lamenting
<PB N="19" REF="14"> him; the one &s;eeming to imitate the other; oh that wee could imitate either! All love doth not con|&s;i&s;t in frequent vi&s;its: For as I may bee vi&s;ited, and yet hated, &s;o I may bee neglected, and yet pitied. And they are better friends, that &s;tay at home, and mourn for you, than they that vi&s;it you, to cor|rupt, and en&s;nare you. Every man will bee prone enough to bee a &s;tranger to a man in anger, even malice it &s;elf will take the fir&s;t part of the ver&s;e, will bee a <HI>Samuel</HI> there: but withall hee mourned for him, whom hee had no more any rea&s;on to vi&s;it; Oh that wee were all <HI>Samuels</HI> here! Thus you &s;ee the Modification of the action. Although God had rejected <HI>Saul,</HI> and <HI>Samuel</HI> had rejected <HI>Saul,</HI> and <HI>Saul</HI> had rejected both God and <HI>Samuel, Neverthe|le&s;s Samuel mourned for Saul.</HI></P>
<P>Having all along mixed doctrine and application, (I pray God it may prove more &s;ucce&s;&s;efully, than it is methodically) nothing remains further, but that (which I commit to God to work) wee all <HI>go, and do likewi&s;e.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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