1 Samuel 12

AND Samuel said unto all Israel Whilst they were Assembled together in Gilgal. And this is another instance of Samuels great Wisdom and Integrity. He would not reprove the people for their Sin, in desiring a King, whilst Saul was raw, and unweak, and unsettled in his Kingdome, and in the Peoples hearts; lest through their accustomed levity, they should as hastily cast off their King, as they had passionately desired him, and so add one Sin to another; and therefore he chuseth this Season for it; partly, because Saul's Kingdome was now confirmed and illustrated by an eminent Victory, and so the danger of rejecting him was out of doors; which circumstance was also considerable for Samuel's Vindication, that it might appear, that his following Reproof did not proceed from any selfish respects or desires, which he might be supposed to have of retaining the power in his own hands, but merely from the Conscience of his Duty, and a Sincere desire of all their good; and partly, because the People rejoyced greatly, as is said in the next foregoing Verse; and upon this occasion applauded themselves for their desires of a King; and Interpreted the success which God had now given them, as a Divine Approbation of those desires; whereby they were like to be hardened in their impenitency, and might be drawn to many other inconveniencies: Samuel therefore thinks fit to temper their excessive joys, and to excite them to that Repentance and Holy Fear, which he saw wanting in them, and which he knew to be absolutely necessary, to prevent the Curse of God upon their new King, and the whole Kingdom., Behold, I have hearkned unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.

And now, behold, the king walketh before you Goeth out and cometh in before you; i. e. Ruleth over you, as that Phrase signifies, Numb. 27. 16. Deut. 31. 2. 2 Chron. 1. 10. To him I have fully resigned all my Power and Authority, and do hereby renounce it, and own my self for a private Person, and one of his Subjects.: and I am old and gray-headed And therefore unable to bear the burden of Government, and feel my self greatly at ease to see it cast upon other Shoulders; and therefore do not speak what I am about to say, from envy of Saul's Advancement, or from discontent at the Diminution of my own Power., and behold, my sons are with you Or, among you, in the same State and Place, private Persons, as you are; if they have injured any of you in their Government, as you once complained, the Law is now open against them; any of you may accuse them, your King can punish them, I do not intercede for them, I have neither Power nor Will to keep them from receiving the just Fruits of their Misdemeanours.: and I have walked before you i. e. Been your Guide and Governor; partly, as a Prophet; and partly, as a Judge. from my childhood unto this day.

Behold, here I am, witness against me I here present my self before the Lord, and before your King, being ready to give an account of all my Administrations, and to make satisfaction for any Injuries that I have done. And this Protestation Samuel makes of his Integrity, not out of Ostentation or Vain glory; but partly, for his own just Vindication, that the People might not hereafter for the Defence of their own Irregularities, reproach his Government; partly, that being publickly acquitted from all faults in his Government, he might more freely and boldly reprove the sins of the People, and particularly, that sin of theirs in desiring a King, when they had so little reason for it, and they had so just a Governor, from whom they might bave promised themselves an effectual Redress of his Sons mal-administrations, if they had acquainted him therewith; and partly, that by his Example he might tacitly Admonish Saul of his Duty, and prevent his misunderstanding of what he had formerly said, chap. 8. v. 11, &c. and mistake that for the Rule of his just Power, which was only a Prediction of his Evil Practices. before the LORD, and before his anointed: Whose ox have I taken? or whose asse have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed Whom have I wronged, either by Fraud and false Accusation, or by Might and Violence?? or of whose hand have I received any bribe Heb. Prince of Redemption, given to Redeem an unjust and lost Cause or Person, from that Righteous Sentence which they deserved. to blind mine eyes therewith That I should not discern what was right and just, or dissemble it as if I did not see it. Or, that I should hide or cover mine eyes (i. e. wilfully wink at the plain truth) for it, i. e. for the Bribe; or, for him, i. e. for his sake.? and I will restore it you. k Or, and I will cover mine eyes for him, i. e. I will take shame to my self, and cover my face as one ashamed to look upon him.

And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any mans hand.

And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you To wit, if you shall at any time hereafter reproach my Government or Memory. Or rather, against you, that I gave you no cause to be weary of Gods Government of you by Judges, or to desire a change of the Government; and therefore the blame of it wholly rest upon your selves. But this was only insinuated, and therefore the People did not fully understand his drift in it., and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought i. e. Any thing which I have gotten by Bribery or Oppression. in my hand: And they answered Heb. he answered; i. e. the whole People, who are here spoken of as one Person, because they Answered thus with one consent., He is witness.

¶ And Samuel said unto the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron That for your sakes raised, constituted, and exalted Moses and Aaron, to that great Power and Reputation which they had, and used, to deliver you., and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you Since God has laid so great Obligations upon you, let us a little consider whether you have Answered them. before the LORD, of all the righteous acts Heb. the Righteousnesses, i. e. Mercies or Benefits; for so that word is oft used, as Psal. 24. 5. and 36. 10. Prov. 10. 2. and 11. 4. and that is the chief Subject of the following Discourse; some of their Calamities being but briefly named, and that for the illustration of Gods Mercy in their Deliverances. of the LORD, which he did to you and your fathers.

When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place In this Land: in which Moses and Aaron are said to settle them; partly, because they brought them into, and seated them in part of it, to wit, that without Iordan; partly, because they were, under God, the Principal Authors of their entring into the Land of Canaan; inasmuch as they brought them out of Egypt, conducted them thorough the Wilderness; and there by their Prayers to God, and Counsel to them, preserved them from utter ruin, and gave Command and Direction from God for the distribution of the Land among them, and incouraged them to enter into it by promises and assurances of Success. And lastly, Moses substituted Ioshua in his stead, and commanded him to carry them thither, and seat them there, which also he did..

And when they forgat the LORD their God i. e. They revolted from him, as it is explained v. 10. and carried themselves as ungratefully and unworthily towards God, as if they had wholly forgotten his great and innumerable Favours, and their infinite Obligations to him. Forgetting of God, is oft put for all manner of wickedness, whereof indeed that is the true cause. See Isa. 17. 10. Ier. 3. 21. Ezek. 22. 12. This he says, partly, to Answer an Objection, That the reason why they desired a King, was because in the time of the Judges they were at great uncertainties, and oft times exercised with sharp afflictions: to which he Answereth by Concession that they were so; but adds, by way of Retortion, that they themselves were the cause of it, by their forgetting of God: so that it was not the fault of that kind of Government, but their transgressing the Rules of it; and partly, to mind them, that this their ungrateful carriage towards God, was no new or strange thing, but an hereditary and inveterate Disease, that so they might more easily believe their own Guilt herein, and be more deeply humbled, both for their own, and for their Parents Sins., he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them To wit, with success, and subdued them..

And they cryed unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim, and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan This certainly is one of the Judges; and because there is no Judge so called in the Book of Iudges, it is reasonably concluded, that this was one of the Judges there mentioned, having two Names, as was very frequent. And this was, either, First, Sampson, as most Interpreters believe, who is called Bedan; i. e. in Dan, or of Dan, or the Son Dan, one of that Tribe, to signifie that they had no reason to distrust that God, who could, and did, raise so eminent a Saviour out of so obscure a Tribe. Or, Secondly, Iair the Gileadite, of whom Iudg. 10. 3. which may seem best to agree, First, With the Time and Order of the Judges; for Iair was before Iepthah, but Sampson was after him. Secondly, With other Scriptures: for among the Sons of a more Ancient, and a Famous Iair, of whom see Numb. 32. 41. we meet with one called Bedan, 1 Chron. 7. 17. which Name seems here given to Iair the Judge, to distinguish him from that first Iair. Thirdly, With the following words, which show that this Bedan was one of those Judges who delivered them out of the hand of their Enemies on every side, and made them to dwell safely; which seems not so properly to agree to Sampson, who did only begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines; as was foretold of him, Iudg. 13. 5. as to Iair, who kept them in peace and safety, in the midst of all their Enemies, as may be gathered from Iudg. 10. 3, 4, 5, 6. And so did all the rest of the Judges here mentioned., and Jephthah, and Samuel He speaks of himself in the Third Person, which is frequent in the Hebrew Tongue, as Gen. 4. 23. Psal. 132. 1, 10, 11. Dan. 1. 6. Isa. 1. 1. And he mentions himself not through vain ostentation, but for his own just and necessary vindication, and for the justification and inforcement of his following Reproof, to show that he had not degenerated from his Predecessors, nor had been so inconsiderable and unprofitable to them, as to give them any occasion to contrive or desire this change of Government in his days., and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe So that it was no necessity, but mere wantonness, that made you desire a change..

And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us See the Notes on Chapter 11. 1., when the LORD your God was your king i. e. When God was your immediate King and Governor, who was both able and willing to deliver you, if you had cried to him, whereof you and your Ancestors have had plentiful experience; so that you did not at all need any other King; and your desire of another, was a manifest reproach against God, as if he were either grown Impotent, or Unfaithful, or Unmerciful to you..

Now therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen Though God chose him by Lot, yet the People are said to choose him; either generally, because they chose that Form of Government: or particularly, because they approved of Gods choice, chap. 10. 24. and confirmed it, chap. 11. 15., and whom ye have desired: and behold, the LORD has set a king over you He has yielded to your inordinate desire..

If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you, continue following the LORD Heb. then shall—ye—be, (i. e. walk, or go) after the Lord; i. e. God shall still go before you, as he has hitherto done, as your Leader or Governor, to Direct, Protect, and Deliver you; and he will not forsake you, as you have given him just cause to do. Sometimes this Phrase of going after the Lord, signifies a Mans Obedience to God; but here it is otherwise to be understood (as it is no new thing, for the same Phrase in several places, to be understood in quite differrent Sences); and it Notes not a Duty to be performed, but a promise of a Priviledge to be received upon the performance of their Duty; because it is opposed to a threatning denounced in case of Disobedience, in the next Verse. your God.

But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers Who lived under the Judges; and you shall have no advantage in that point by the change of Government, nor shall your Kings be able to Protect you against Gods Displeasure..

¶ Now therefore stand He intends not the posture of their Bodies, but the consistency of their Minds, by serious and fixed Consideration., and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes.

Is it not wheat-harvest to day At which time it was a rare thing in those parts to have Thunder or Rain, as the Scripture oft implies; and St. Ierom affirms, who was an Eye-witness of it; the weather being more constant and certain in its Seasons there, and in divers other parts, than it is with us who live in Islands, as all Travellers inform us.? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder, and rain That by this unseasonable and pernicious Storm you may understand that God is displeased with you; and also how Foolishly and Wickedly you have done in rejecting the Government of that God, at whose command are all things both in Heaven and in Earth., that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

So Samuel called unto the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD, and Samuel Who had such great Power and Favour with God..

And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants For so we shall still own our selves to be, though we have got another Master. unto the LORD thy God Whom thou hast so great an Interest in, and canst so easily prevail with for any Mercy, whilst we are ashamed and afraid to call him our God, because we have so highly offended him., that we die not That this terrible Storm may be taken away, lest our Persons and the Fruits of the Earth be all Destroyed.: for we have added unto all our sins, this evil, to ask us a king So horribly were they biassed with their prejudices and passions, that nothing but a Miracle could convince them of this particular Sin..

¶ And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not To wit, with a Servile and Desponding Fear, as if there were no hope left for you.: (ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart:

And turn ye not aside To wit, after Idols; as they had often done before; and, notwithstanding this warning, did afterwards., for then should ye go Or, should ye turn aside; which words are easily to be understood out of the foregoing Branch, such Ellipses being most frequent in Scripture, as Deut. 1. 4. 1 King. 14. 14. 2 King. 9. 27. after vain things So Idols are called, Deut. 32. 21. Ier. 2. 5. and so they are, being mere nothings, 1 Cor. 8. 4. having no Divinity nor Power in them, no Influence upon us, nor use or benefit to us., which cannot profit nor deliver i. e. Which will not only be unprofitable, but highly pernicious to you; the contrary Affirmative being understood undet the Negative, as Exod. 20. 7. Numb. 21. 23. Deut. 2. 30., for they are vain.)

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great Names sake i. e. For his own Honour, which would seem to suffer much among men, if he should not preserve and deliver his People in eminent Dangers; as if he were grown feeble, or forgetful, or inconstant, or unfaithful, or regardless of Human affairs, or unkind to those who own and Worship him, when all the rest of the World forsake him. Hence this Argument has been oft pleaded with God, not without good success, as Exod. 32. 12. Numb. 14. 13, &c. And this reason God here alledgeth to take them off from all conceit of their own merit; and to assure them, that if they did truly repent of all their sins, and served God with all their heart, which is here supposed; yet even in that case their Salvation would not be due to their Merits; but only the effect of Gods Free Mercy.: because it has pleased the LORD to make you his people To wit, out of his own Free Grace, without any desert of yours, as he says, Deut. 7. 7. and 9. 5. and therefore he will not easily forsake you, except you thrust him away..

Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD, in ceasing to pray for you Think not that because you have so highly Disobliged and Rejected me, that I will revenge my self, by neglecting to pray for you, or by Praying against you, as I have now done for your Conviction and Humiliation, and so for your Preservation; I am sensible it is my Duty, as I am a Man, an Israelite, a Minister, a Prophet, to Pray for you.: but I will teach you Heb. and I will, &c. i. e. I will not only Pray for you, which is one Branch of my Duty; but will also Teach and Instruct you, which is the other Branch of it. And though you have cast me off from being your Judge and Ruler, yet I will not cease to be your Instructor and Monitor, to keep you from Sin and Destruction. the good and the right way.

Only fear the LORD, and serve him Otherwise neither my Prayer nor Counsels will stand you in any stead. in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he has done for you Or, among you, both at this time and formerly..

But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.