107.4 [on~~»pilllions-x. Mu£ L be~an his acquaintancewith C?od ~arly,a?dcoritinuedit long: He beg:m 1t m h1s long Coats, an? con(laued to h1s gray haires: (Hee judged lfrael all thcdayes ofh1shfc.) Gad doth not uti: ro caft offhis old Servants; their ageindeareth them to him the more 1 If we benot unfairhfull to him, he cannot be uncon!bor t.o us. At Iaa his decayed A age met with ill pattoers,his Sonnes for Deputies,and Sa11/foraKing;The wicktdnelfe ofhis Sonnesgave the occaiionofa change: Pethaps lfrad had never thought ofaKing1 if Samucfs Sonnes had not beenc unlike their Father: Who can promife B bimfdfholy children,when the loynes ofa Samuel, and the education in the Temple,yeelded monfters~ lt is not likdy,that goodSamut/ was faulty in that indulgence for which his owne mouth had denounced Gods judgements again~·If<lr , yet this holyman fucceeds Rely mh1s croffe,as weltas hiS placo,though norm his fin- and is ~ffiil!t_ed with awicked fucceflion: God will let us finde,thatgraceis bygift,~ot by tnhemance. lfeare Samuel was too pattiall to nature in the furrogation ofhis Sons, I doe not heare ofGods allowance to this act: Ifthis bad beenGods choyce,:l6 wellas his,lr had been like to have received more bldling. Now all Ifrael had caufe to rue that thefewerethe Sons of S amuti, for nowthe qucllion wasnot oftheir vcttues butof their bloud;not oftheirworthineffe,buttheir birch;even the beft heartmay be blin. c d~d withaffection. Who caO marvell at thefe errors ofParents love, when he that fo bolily judged lfrael all his life, mif-judgedofhis owne Sons. It w:tS Godsancient purpofeto raife up aKing to his people:Howdoth hetakeoccafion to perfot'me it,but by the unruly defires oflfrael~ even aswe fay ofhuma proceedings,rhat ill_ mannersbeget goad la~ves. That,M.onarchy is the be~ forme of government, there1s no q~eft1on. Good thmgs may be 1ll deftred, fo was this of!f. rael; Ifan itching defire ot alteration had not poffeffed them, why did they not ra. rherfuefor a ~formation oftheir Governours, then for a change of government~ Were9ar'l:utls fons fo defperately evill,that therewas no poflibility ofamendment? / Orifthey were pafi hope, weretherenotfomeothers to have fucceeded the jutlice of SAmMel,no ldT'e then thefe did his perfon~ Whatneeded s •mud to be thruft ourof D place~ what neededtheancient formeof adminillrarionto be altred ~ He that raifec\urrheir Jndgc:s, would have found time to raifethem up Kings: Theircurious and. .inconftant new-f:mgleneffe,will not abide roftay it,butwith an heady impottu~ nity labours to over-hafien the paceofGad.Where there is a fetled courfeofgoad government (howfoeverblemifhed with fome we;tkneffes) it is not fafe to be overfohv.ard to a change,tho_ugh it fhould be to the berter._He, by whom Kings reigne, fayes1 They have call h1m away that he fhould not wgne over them becaufe they deiiteaKingtoxeigne over them: J~ges were his owne intlitution to his people, as l'et'iGngs were \lOt ; after that Kings were fetled, to defire the government of Judgeilhad bin·amuch more feditious inconftancy:God bath not appointed roeverytimemld place thofe forms,which are fi'?plybeft !n themfolves,~ut thofe,which E are'11cfi,td'rllemlunfowhom theyareappomted;which we may netther alter,till he beginl,nbr recall,,~hen he hathaltred. · This bufineffe f~emed perfonally to concern S•m•el,yet he fo dealesin ir,not as a patty not asa Judge ofhis own Cafe,butas a Prophet ofGod, asafriend ofhis oppoftt~ 1 Hepraies to•God for advice, he.foretels rhe llate and courfesof thtit furure King.Wilfull menareblind toall dangers,are deafe to all g~JOdcouofels.Ifrael mull: have a King though they pay never fo deare for the1r loogmg: The va1n atfeC!auon ofconformity to other Nations overcomesall d1fcouragemmts; there is no readier way to error then to make others examples the rule ofourdefires,or atlions.Ifevery man have~ot grounds of his owne,whereonto fiaod, there can be no ftability in his refolutions or proceedings. Since
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