es, Gideon
marched against them with a small army, and victory, through the divine
interposition, decided in his favour. The Jews, elate with success,
and attributing it to the generalship of Gideon, proposed making him a
king, saying, RULE THOU OVER US, THOU AND THY SON AND THY SON'S SON.
Here was temptation in its fullest extent; not a kingdom only, but an
hereditary one, but Gideon in the piety of his soul replied, I WILL NOT
RULE OVER YOU, NEITHER SHALL MY SON RULE OVER YOU _THE LORD SHALL RULE
OVER YOU._ Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the
honour, but denieth their right to give it; neither doth he compliment
them with invented declarations of his thanks, but in the positive
style of a prophet charges them with disaffection to their proper
Sovereign, the King of heaven.

About one hundred and thirty years after this, they fell again into the
same error. The hankering which the Jews had for the idolatrous
customs of the Heathens, is something exceedingly unaccountable; but so
it was, that laying hold of the misconduct of Samuel's two sons, who
were entrusted with some secular concerns, they came in an abrupt and
clamorous manner to Samuel, saying, BEHOLD THOU ART OLD, AND THY SONS
WALK NOT IN THY WAYS, NOW MAKE US A KING TO JUDGE US, LIKE ALL OTHER
NATIONS. And here we cannot but observe that their motives were bad,
viz. that they might be LIKE unto other nations, i.e. the Heathens,
whereas their true glory laid in being as much UNLIKE them as possible.
BUT THE THING DISPLEASED SAMUEL WHEN THEY SAID, GIVE US A KING TO JUDGE
US; AND SAMUEL PRAYED UNTO THE LORD, AND THE LORD SAID UNTO SAMUEL,
HEARKEN UNTO THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE IN ALL THAT THEY SAY UNTO THEE,
FOR THEY HAVE NOT REJECTED THEE, BUT THEY HAVE REJECTED ME, _THAT I
SHOULD NOT REIGN OVER THEM._ ACCORDING TO ALL THE WORKS WHICH THEY
HAVE SINCE THE DAY THAT I BROUGHT THEM UP OUT OF EGYPT, EVEN UNTO THIS
DAY; WHEREWITH THEY HAVE FORSAKEN ME AND SERVED OTHER GODS; SO DO THEY
ALSO UNTO THEE. NOW THEREFORE HEARKEN UNTO THEIR VOICE, HOWBEIT,
PROTEST SOLEMNLY UNTO THEM AND SHEW THEM THE MANNER OF THE KING THAT
SHALL REIGN OVER THEM, I.E. not of any particular king, but the
general manner of the kings of the earth, whom Israel was so eagerly
copying after. And notwithstanding the great distance of time and
difference of manners, the character is still in fashion. AND SAMUEL
TOLD ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD UNTO THE PEOPLE, THAT ASKED