"I had much need of blessing, and 'Amen' stuck in my throat."

I suppose nothing could be more flattering for a king than to be hand-picked by God. Perhaps it is safe to say that by King James I, belief in divine despotism had been watered down some, what with the the Wars of the Roses (usurpers everywhere) and ensuing royal/religious strife. Following the Wars, Henry VIII changed God's rules to suit his purposes, an act of authority previously thought to be beyond the jurisdiction of any mortal. Following that was the reign of brutally Protestant Bloody Mary; and then her sister, Queen Elizabeth worked to quiet the waters by hybridizing the two warring Christian sects. I can only imagine that by King James, it must have been difficult for the English people to put much stock in the idea that God had much say over who sat in the throne room. So it makes sense that Macbeth, as a gift of homage to King James, tells the story of his ancestral lineage as if it was preordained despite evil pagan forces.

Banquo, a Norton footnote tells us, is the famous founder of the Stuart family, from which King James descends. He is also among the few characters who, alongside Malcolm and Donalbain, use religious diction in the play. "In the great hand of God I stand," he says in rallying support for the pursuit of Duncan's murderers (2.3.128), which recalls the image of a "hand-picked" king. By way of contrast, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth mention explicitly that they are no longer able to call on God after their bloody deeds. Macbeth laments, "But wherefore could not I pronounce 'Amen'?/ I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen'/ Stuck in my throat" (2.2.29-32). Even King Duncan's guards have clean enough consciences to speak to God. The best Macbeth can do is name the Devil (3.4.68).

In 4.3, we get an image of England and its "good King," who "solicits Heaven" in curing his people, as a place of security and piety--a Christendom, to use Malcolm's words. This entire scene is filled with religious diction: appeals to Heaven, the naming of sins, allusion to Hell. Such language helps build a good impression of Macduff and his band for the audience.

On the other side of the religious spectrum, we have Hecate and her following of witches. Hecate is a minor Greek goddess associated with magic, witches, and crossroads. The play, indeed, is about transitioning from ill fate and blood-letting to the stable reign of Banquo's progeny, so the evocation of crossroads is apt. I find it intriguing that though the witches throw all these foul, sinister, "ingredients" into their "broth," the end result of the prophecy they present to Macbeth is "firm and good." Perhaps this is to say that even evil forces cannot staunch divine intention. Or maybe it's just another paradox: the evil of one era will give rise to the goodness of another, and vice versa. Hecate and her witches, it seems, have no power over fate; they merely cause trouble by revealing it. Their only power, like the Fool or Madman, is rhetoric, which suggests that God is still calling the shots after all.