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species of coal-lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite seems now to be clearly understood. All of it had a vegetable origin. The dense tropical forests that covered all parts of the globe in the earliest times, have become converted, in the course of ages, into this most useful substance. If a superior but finite being had beheld this world, while yet only a sparse population of animals of inferior grade inhabited it, he might have thought it strange that such a vast superfluity of vegetation should cover its surface. But God was thus providing for the wants of future and superior races of beings. When man should, in after times, be multiplied in all lands, and forests should be swept away to make room for him, a supply of other fuel than the existing vegetation would be necessary for his comfort, and the perfection of society.. God, therefore, provided beforehand for this exigency, by rendering the earth prolific in such vegetation as would be converted into coal by the slow processes of nature. He buried this treasure in the earth, by means of aqueous and volcanic agencies, and permitted these same agencies to place it within the reach of human industry against the proper time. Who can doubt but this is an example of divine prospective benevolence? We see in it the providence of a kind father, laying up a store for the support of his future offspring. And we learn from it, not to judge hastily of the ultimate designs of the Deity from present appearances. What seems superfluous now, or ill adapted to our present condition, may be intended for the comfort and happiness of other beings, millions of ages hence.

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idea of what we mean by the benevolent design of this mighty agency. If it be indeed true, as most geologists now admit, that even at this day the earth contains extensive accumulations of intensely heated matter, embracing perhaps all its central parts, then may it be literally true that volcanoes are the safety valves of the globe. For if such molten reservoirs do not occa sionally have vent, the vapour and gases generated within them, would burst the globe asunder. The phenomena of earthquakes admonish us of the consequences of closing these valves; for they are produced by the struggles of these vapours and gases to escape; and until they do escape through volcanic vents, they heave and fissure the solid strata over whole continents; and in past days they have been far more destructive to property and life than volcanoes. But so soon as the force is sufficient to lift the safety valve, that is, to uncap the volcano, the earthquake ceases. Let the valve be heavy enough, and the earth would ere long be blown to atoms. To prevent such a catastrophe, God has scattered more than two hundred of these safety valves over its surface.

"It will probably be asked why God could not have put in operation an agency that would have afforded the requisite security, unattended by that terrific waste of life and comfort which has followed in the track of volca noes? We see no reason, indeed, why he could not have secured the good without the evil. But the same difficulty meets the student of natural theology at every step of his progress. To solve it, is to do nothing else than to determine why God permits evil at all; a ques tion that has hitherto proved too deep for the human understanding. But in every case where any contriv. ance is adapted to produce more good than evil, we reasonably infer the benevolence of the design. And even in the case of volcanoes, no one can imagine that the occasional loss of a few lives is a matter of so much importance, as the security of the whole globe which is thereby obtained. When we can ascertain why God permits evil at all, we can answer the question, why in this case he does not afford the security without the attendant mischief?

"Finally, the adaptation of the natures of different past times, affords evidence of divine benevolence.

In human works, though laboured on with pain, A thousand movements scarce one object gain: In God's, one single can its end produce, Yet seems to second, too, some other use.' "The history of the formation of limestone conducts us to similar conclusions. For the most part this substance appears to be originally produced by marine animals; God having given them the power, either to obtain it by decomposing those salts of lime which the waters hold in solution, or by some unknown chemistry to form it anew out of more simple elements. the lime obtained in this mysterious manner, these animals construct their habitations; the most remark-groups of animals to the different states of the globe in able of which are the coral reefs which at present stretch over so many degrees of latitude and longitude, forming the basis of numerous islands in the Pacific Ocean, and are the work of certain minute polyparia. Forsaken at length by the animals, these coral structures become buried in the earth, and there, in the course of ages, are mixed with other substances and subjected sometimes to partial or complete fusion, whereby they become converted into the different varieties of limestone now found in the earth's crust. And it is a curious fact, that the quantity of limestone in the earth seems to have been gradually increasing from the earliest times; so that the accumulated store is now abundantly sufficient for the fullest population that the globe can sustain.

"We regard the existence of volcanoes as evidential of divine benevolence. We have already pointed out incidentally, several important objects that have been accomplished in past ages by volcanic power, in the elevation of continents, the formation of valleys, and protrusion to the surface of useful minerals. But we refer now to active and not extinct volcanoes. And these, we are aware, are almost universally regarded as exhibitions of the displeasure of God, rather than of his benevolence. It is indeed true, that they are often terrific exhibitions of his power; and when he employs them as penal inflictions, they signally manifest the sterner features of the divine character. Yet we maintain that the design of volcanoes is to preserve and not to destroy. They have been denominated the safety valves of our globe;' and this quaint expression conveys a forcible

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"So peculiar was the structure, and in many cases so enormous was the size of the animals found in a fossil state, that we are apt to regard them as excep tions to the usual beauty and proportion of nature, a sort of half-formed and monstrous creation, correspond ing rather to the ancient opinions of chaos than to the order and harmony of the existing world. The alliga tors and crocodiles of our times are mere piguies when compared with the plesiosaurus, the ichthyosaurus, the megalosaurus, and the iguanodon of the ancient world. Imagine an animal of the lizard tribe,' says Mr Mantell, three or four times as large as the largest crocodile, having jaws, with teeth equal in size to the incisors of the rhinoceros, and crested with horns;such a creature must have been the iguanodon! Nor were the inhabitants of the waters much less wonderful; witness the plesiosaurus, which only required wings to be a flying dragon.' Yet one of the most distinguished anatomists of the present day, says on this subject, that the animals of the antediluvian world were not monsters; there was no lusus or extravagance. Hideous as they appear to us, and like the phantoms of a dream, they were adapted to the condition of the earth when they existed.' Judging by these indications of the habits of the animals, we acquire a knowledge of the condition of the earth during their period of existence; that it was suited at one time to the scaly tribe of the lacertae, with languid motion; at another, to animals of higher organization, with more varied and lively habits; and finally, we learn, that at

any period previous to man's creation, the surface of the earth would have been unsuitable to him.'

، Here then, do we see, the overflowing benevolence of the Deity. He was fitting up this world for the future residence of intellectual and moral beings; and he chose to do it, not by a miracle, but by the sole But must the world, during agency of natural causes. this immense period, remain an uninhabited waste? Benevolence could not permit it; and infinite power put forth its energies, under the guidance of infinite wisdom, to create, we know not how many myriads of beings, with natures adapted to the semi-chaotic condition of the earth; and when that condition had become so altered that the first group of animals could no longer flourish or be happy upon it, he suffered them to become extinct, and put forth again the creative energies of the Godhead, to produce a second and more perfect race; then succeeded a third, and probably a fourth, more and more perfect in their organization, until at last man, with the existing inferior tribes, was brought into being; because creation around him had assumed such a condition as was fitted to their natures.

"Such are the beautiful displays of divine benevolence, that meet us in that ancient field of geological research, which scepticism has heretofore described as covered over with the formless monuments of blind chance and fate; and which piety has supposed to be consecrated to atheism!"

118

KITTY SMITH;

"

OR, "THEY THAT SEEK ME EARLY, SHALL FIND ME.' "CATHARINE SMITH was a native of Pabay, a small island in Loch Roag, where dwell seven families. From their insular situation and poverty, it has not been in the power of the parents to educate their children; but little Kitty is an example of the truth that all God's children are taught of him, for when only two years old she was observed to lay aside her playthings, and clasp her little hands with reverence during family worship; and at the age of three she was in the habit of repeating the 23d Psalm, with such relish and ferYour as showed that she looked to the Good Shepherd in the character of a lamb of his flock. Her parents taught her also the Lord's Prayer, which she repeated duly, not only at her stated times, but often in the She frequently pressed the duty of silence of night. prayer, not only on the other children, but on her parents, and she told her father that, in their absence, when she would ask a blessing on the food left for the children, her brothers and sisters would mock at, and At another time, when she beat her for doing so. was probably about six years old, she was out with her companions herding cattle, when she spoke to them of the comeliness of Christ. They, probably to tempt her, said he was black. She left them, and returned home much east down, and said, 'The children vexed me very much to-day. I will not go with them, for they said that Christ was black, and that grieved my spirit. Her parents asked her what she replied to that. I told them,' she said, that Christ is white and glorious in his apparel.'

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in him' whom her soul loved, that they should de-
sire him.' Perhaps no Christian character is truly con-
firmed in faith and patience, without some trial of per-
secution, which both shows to the heart its own corrup-
tion, by the irritating effects of gainsaying, and affords an
opportunity of proving that we are not ashamed of the
Gospel of Christ. This dear child had her trial adapt-
ed to her age and sphere, and came forth on the Lord's
side holding fast the word of life, in as firm a way as a
much more experienced Christian might have done.
The Rev. J. Macdonald of Farintosh having preach-
ed in the parish of Uig, Kitty's parents were among
On their return
the many who went to hear him.
they mentioned what he had said about the formality
of much that is called prayer, and the ignorance of many
as to its spirituality; they stated, according to their re-
collection of the sermon, that many had old useless
prayers, and greatly needed to learn to pray with the
Spirit. The child observed this, and two days after,
said to her mother, it is time for me to give over my
Her mother replied, 'neither you
old form of prayer."

nor your prayers are old;' but she rejoined, 'I must
After this she withdrew to retired spots
give them over, and use the prayers which the Lord will
teach me.'
for prayer.
At one time her younger sister returned
without her, and on being asked where she had left
Kitty, she said, 'I left her praying.' Her father says that
he has often sat up in bed listening to her sweet young
voice, presenting this petition with heartfelt earnestness,
Oh, redeem me from spiritual and eternal death.'

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"From the remoteness of her dwelling, Kitty had
never attended any place of public worship-but the
Sabbath was her delight, and often would she call in
her brothers and sisters from the play in which they
were thoughtlessly engaged, asking them to join in
and other devout exercises, and warning them,
prayer
that if they profaned the day, and disliked God's wor-
ship, they must perish. Her mother observing the in-
She replied, “I am
tent gaze with which she looked on a large fire, en-
quired what she saw in that fire?
into that fire, even though I should be immediately
seeing that my state would be awful if I were to fali
taken out; but wo is me, those who are cast into hell
fire will never come out thence.' Another day, when
walking by the side of a precipice, and looking down,
she exclaimed to her mother, how fearful would our

state be if we were to fall down this rock, even though
we should be lifted up again; but they who are cast into
the depths of hell will never be raised therefrom.'

Her

"One day her mother found her lying on a bench with a sad countenance, and addressed some jocular words to her with a view to cheer her. But the child's heart was occupied with solemn thoughts of eternity; and instead of smiling, she answered gravely, 40, mother, you are vexing my spirit, I would rather hear you praying. In truth, eternity was very near her, and the she got up one morning, she said, 'O, are we not Spirit of God was preparing her for entering it. As wicked creatures who have put Christ to death.' mother, curious to hear what one so young could say on such a subject, replied, “ Christ was put to death, Kitty, long before we were born.' The child, speaking with an understanding heart, said, “ Mother, I am "It is probable that Kitty was sufficiently enlight-younger than you, but my sins were crucifying him.' ened to discern the moral comeliness of the gracious Redeemer, while her thoughtless comrades did not They extend their ideas beyond personal beauty. would have said any thing that might produce the effect of provoking their playfellow, whose more intelligent spirit grieved for them that they saw no beauty •The above remarks by Professor Hitchcock, of Amherst College, America, are extracted from the "Cabinet Library of Useful Tracts," published by Thomas Clark, Edinburgh;-a work in which the pieces selected for republication are, with one or two exceptions, very judicious; and the public, we conceive, owe a debt of gratitude to the spirited publisher, for thus bringing into notice a number of valuable fragments which would otherwise have been lost.

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After a pause, she added, What a wonder that Christ
could be put to death when he himself was God, and
had power to kill every one; indeed, they only put him
to death as man, for it is impossible to kill God.' She
used often to repeat passages from Peter Grant's spi-
ritual songs, such as, 'It is the blood of the Lamb that
precious is.'

When she came to the conclusion of the
verse, It is not valued according to its worth,' she
would in touching terms, lament the sad truth, that
His blood is so lightly thought of. Being present when
some pious persons spoke of those in Rev. vii. who

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have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, she said, is it not wonderful that, while other blood stains what is dipped in it, this

cleanses and makes white?'

"Murdoch Macleod being engaged in the valuable duties of a Scottish elder in the little island of Pabay, Kitty wished much to hear him, but from bashfulness was ashamed to enter the house where he was employed in worship; she therefore climbed up to the window and sat there till all was over. Being asked what she had heard, she said she was amazed to hear that Christ offered himself as a Saviour to many in our land who rejected him, and that he was now going to other and more remote quarters to win souls. She then added with the pathos of a full heart, O, who knows but he may return here again.'

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"Soon after she had completed her seventh year she was attacked by that sickness which opened her way

God, by the hand of Moses, had led his people
out of Egypt, the Amalekites opposed their pro-
hatred and detestation.
gress, and shewed towards them every mark of
The Jewish lawgiver

duals motives by which they were never influenced, magnifying virtues, or exaggerating errors. In the Word of God, the infirmities which cleave even to the best are not extenuated or concealed, and the crimes of the wicked are plainly and faithfully narrated. There, too, we obtain views of the sentiments, feelings, and conduct of a class of human beings, whose history is fraught with lessons of the most important practical instruction: men not truly virtuous nor completely vi cious; not destitute of religious conviction or holy impression, yet seldom yielding to their salutary impulse; maintaining a form of godliness, yet detruths of Religion, yet violating its most sacred innying its power; professing faith in the great junctions. Of this number was Saul the king of to the kingdom of Heaven. When her father asked who she pitied most of those she would leave behind, Israel; a portion of whose melancholy, yet inshe replied that she pitied every one whom she left instructive history, now claims our attention. When a Christless state. She suffered much from thirst during her illness, and her mother, reluctant to give her so much cold water as she longed for, fell upon the evil expedient of telling her that the well was dried up. The following day, when she saw water brought in for household purposes, poor Kitty's heart was grieved, and she said, 'O, mother dear, was it not you who told the great lie yesterday, when you said the well was dry -O, never do so again, for it angers God.' During her illness, she was enabled almost literally to obey the command, pray without ceasing,' and was often interceding with the Lord to look down and visit her native place. On the morning of her last day on earth, her father said, there is reason for thankfulness, that we see another day. Kitty opened her eyes, and said, 'O, Holy One of Israel save me from death, a petition often used when in perfect health, and evi-layed the execution of their merited punishment dently referring to spiritual and eternal death. Through out the day she was generally silent, when her father remarked, saying, I do not hear you praying as usual;' to which she replied, dear father, I pray without ceasing, though not because you desire me to do so.' In her last moments she was heard to say, O, redeem me from death.' Her father, leaning over her, said, Kitty, where are you now?' To which the reply was, I am on the shore;' and immediately her soul was launched into the great occan of eternity. In December 1829, this lowly child was carried from her poor native island to the blessed region where the redeemed of the Lord find their home, and her name has left a sweet perfume behind it.'

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thus recals to the memory of the Israelites the conduct of the Amalekites in the last address which he delivered to them. "Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt: how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God." Jehovah had long declared his determination to destroy this wicked and depraved people, yet he de

till the measure of their iniquities had become full. Four hundred years had passed away, and the Amalekites still existed as a nation; their evil habits and sinful passions had increased by their experience of the divine forbearance, but the sen tence of vengeance was written in the book of God's decrees, and it was now about to be carried into execution. That Being who rules with equal authority over the elements of nature and the actions of his intelligent offspring; who sometimes destroys the guilty nation by earthquake, famine, and pestilence, had determined upon this occasion to render the very people whom the Amalekites had oppressed, the executioners of his wrath, and the instruments of inflicting upon them misery and death. Samuel the prophet announced to Saul the command of the Most High " to go and smite Amalek, and utterly to destroy all that they had, and to spare them not; but to slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." The inspired historian informs us, that Saul and his people destroyed the Amalekites with the edge of the sword, but that they spared Agag their king, and the best of the sheep and all that was good, and would not utterly deand of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, stroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Now, it is to fessed to fulfil the divine injunctions, that my the conduct which Saul pursued, while he protext relates; and it opens up a train of moral

reflections which may be of the greatest advantage in enabling us to detect our own secret faults, and to shun those errors which proved the ruin of the Israelitish monarch.

I. I begin then by observing, that Saul yielded a certain measure of obedience to the divine command. We have seen that the Almighty had enjoined him to destroy the inhabitants of Amalek, and to spread the hand of utter desolation over the country which they inhabited. The monarch hesitated not a single moment to fulfil the duties of the tremendous office with which he was invested. We find him immediately collecting his people together, commanding them to arm for combat, leading them into the field of battle, inflicting death with an unsparing hand, and literally destroying all the people, except the king of the Amalekites, and a very small portion of their number, who by flight eluded their utmost vigilance, and whom they were unable to overtake. Hitherto the conduct of Saul was marked by diligence, alacrity, and zeal. His own wishes, and those of his people, were probably entirely in unison with the command which they had received from on high. They were warlike in disposition and habit, and desired conquest; they remembered the injuries which had been inflicted upon them, and longed for vengeance; and they probably looked forward with pleasure to the prospect of enriching themselves by a portion of the spoil of the Amalekites, although this had been expressly forbidden by God. Men are ever ready to obey the precepts of Religion, as long as that obedience is calculated to gratify their own inclination, or to promote their worldly interests; and they put down entirely to the account of piety, actions which are in no small degree influenced by motives of a far less pure and exalted origin. Still, however, it is highly probable that the king of Israel was by no means uninfluenced in the outset of his course by a desire to comply with the will of God. He was well instructed in the great principles of religious truth; he knew that Jehovah was invested with supreme authority, that he was omnipotent in power, inflexible in justice, and spotless in holiness; and while he loved him not, he yet dreaded the awful effects of his wrath, and trembled to rebel against his righteous authority.

It is the fear of an unknown but dread futurity, which induces the votary of superstition daily to repeat a round of unmeaning ceremonies, and to submit to acts of the most irksome self-denial and rigid penance. And it is the same principle which we perceive powerfully influencing the individual who neglects every religious ordinance, and almost every moral duty, and who, in his general conduct, seems neither to reverence God nor regard man, yet who often dares not utter a false oath, or imprecate Heaven's vengeance on his own guilty head. It were easy to multiply instances of this kind, but they must immediately suggest themselves to every one who hears me. There is no man, however unprincipled his conduct, who has not in the moments of calm and quiet retirement, on the bed of pain, or in the house of mourning, trembled at the thought of appearing before that God who can cast both soul and body into hell fire, and resolved to act a wiser and better part than he has hitherto done. These resolutions have not unfrequently, in a certain measure, been carried into effect, leading him for a time to abstain from some sins to which he was addicted, or to practise some duties which he had formerly neglected. Amid the awful ruins of the fall, we still perceive memorials of the primeval dignity of our nature; and while the corruption of the will and affections have fearfully contributed to debase the understanding of man, reason still teaches us the existence of a Superior Power, and conscience reminds us, that we are bound to bend in devout submission to his will, and cheerfully to execute his holy commands.

II. But, in the second place, the obedience of Saul to the authority of the Most High, is like that of every unregenerated man, partial and defective in its nature. There was no ambiguity in the divine declaration with regard to the conduct which the king of Israel was to pursue in his treatment of the Amalekites. A sentence of universal destruction was issued, and the Israelites were not permitted to retain the smallest portion of the spoil. The reasons on which this injunction was founded, it was not necessary that they should be able to ascertain. The voice of Jehovah had uttered the severe, but righteous decree, and it was their province implicitly to obey. Yet many of the purposes of heaven were obWe perceive the same feelings influencing the vious, even to their limited capacity. A just and conduct of unsanctified man in every age and holy God was about to punish those who, for country. There is a conviction of the existence ages, had been the oppressors of his people; and and agency of a Superior Power, which even all he was thus to vindicate his own authority, to the ignorance and depravity prevailing in the strike terror into the hearts of his enemies, and world have not been able completely to obliterate. to teach his chosen heritage that obedience was The creature feels himself to be dependent upon their only safety, their highest bliss. The prohihis Creator, bound to obey his mandate, and liable bition to the Israelites to appropriate the spoil to to punishment for transgression. Fear ever finds their own use, was calculated to repress that spirit a genial soil in the heart of man, until it is extir- of vain glory which is ever ready to spring up in pated or regulated by the holier emotion of love. the minds of a victorious people, to check their It is fear which causes the idolater to offer in sa- desire of worldly grandeur, to preserve their pucrifice the most costly victim, and even the ob-rity, and to keep them in remembrance that it ject of his fondest affection, to appease the wrath was not by the might of their own arm, but by and to propitiate the favour of his offended Deity. the outstretched hand、 God, that they were in

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pure

endeavours to silence his suggestions, and if he is
unable to convince him that his conduct is
and spotless, he at least strives, and often suc-
cessfully, to extenuate his errors, and to magnify
his virtues. And this leads me to remark,

spired with courage in the season of danger, and
crowned with success. The inconsiderate and
guilty monarch of Israel, however, in the hour
of victory, either completely forgot or utterly dis-
regarded the command of his God. Agag, the
king of Amalek, is preserved amid the general
devastation, to swell the triumphs of the con-
queror. All that is valuable in the flocks and
herds of the enemy is saved. The desire of gain
is cherished and increased in the minds of the
people. Wealth is poured in rich abundance,
on Israel, and her monarch rejoices in the glory
of their achievements, and in the riches which
they had been enabled to amass. They think
not of that Being whose eyes are as a flame of
fire, who rejects the homage of insincerity, and who
requires implicit submission to his will from the
creatures whom he has formed. Open, my brethren,
the page of sacred history, and innumerable simi-
lar examples of a compromise between God and
Mammon, between sin and righteousness, present
themselves to your view. Achan joined not him-
self with the enemies of God's ancient people,
yet, in defiance of the divine authority, he secretly
concealed the Babylonish garment, and the she-
kels of silver and gold, which had been seized
from the enemy. King Herod, we are told, lis-
tened with attention to the instructions of John
the Baptist, and performed gladly many things
which he enjoined, yet he would not relinquish
his illicit connection with his brother's wife. And
our Lord, in the parable of the sower, tells us of
some who heard the Word of God, who received
it with joy, and who seemed for a time to con-
tinue stedfast in the profession and practice of
Christianity; yet the cares, the riches, and the
pleasures of the world choked the good seed, and
they became unfruitful. Cast your eyes around
you, my brethren, or examine into the inmost re-
cesses of your own minds, and you will perceive
that spiritual religion is an object of deep aver-
sion to man, until he is brought under the saving
energy of divine grace. It may be that he will
not unite with the infidel in denying the divine
authority of the faith of Jesus. He will not
blaspheme the blessed name of his Redeemer.
He is ready to pay a decent attention to the or-
dinances of Christianity. He reverences its mo-
rality, and yields obedience to many of its pre-cess.
cepts. But still, if a miser, he will not relinquish
his wealth; if ambitious, his schemes of distinc-
tion; or, if the votary of pleasure, the scenes of
unhallowed mirth. Whatever the man's beset-
ting sin is, to it he clings with the fondest affec-
tion. He is the bond-slave of Satan, and yet
he desires to be considered the free-born son

of Zion. He strives to unite two things which
can never amalgamate together-the love of God,
and the love of the world that lieth in wicked-
ness. Conscience, however, has not ceased to be
a reprover at times; she reminds the man who
thus halts between two opinions, that he must
render a solemn account of his conduct before the
divine tribunal; but the great deceiver carefully

III. The arts by which Saul endeavoured to satisfy his own mind, and to persuade the prophet Samuel that he had acted in a justifiable manner. He approaches not the messenger of God with the accents of contrition, but with the language of pride and self-gratulation; "I have performed the commandment of the Lord." And when Samuel enquires, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" He boldly replies, "They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed." Here, we observe, that no allusion is made to the preserving the life of Agag; that the destruc tion of a part of the spoil is represented as the united act of himself and his people; that the sparing of the best of the cattle, which was contrary to the divine injunction, is spoken of as emanating not from him but from the people alone, and the holy end which they had in view is held up as sanctifying their violation of the strict letter of the injunction which they had received. Had such an apology for disobedience been offered by another, its absurdity and arro gance would at once have presented itself to the view of Saul. He was the vicegerent of God, and he had listened to the command of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, delivered to him by the mouth of his holy prophet; he was ap pointed to reign over the Israelites, and they were enjoined to yield obedience to his authority. No order had been issued by him for the entire destruction of the spoil of the enemy; the language of murmur and rebellion had not been uttered by his people; and even if he dreaded the loss of their affections, by preventing them from the acquisition of the gain which they desired, b» might have reposed with unshaken confidence in that Omnipotent Being who had so often protected him in the season of danger, and who had so lately crowned his arms with such signal sucIt is probable, too, that the real motives which led the people to retain the spoil, and their monarch to sanction their conduct, were very different from those which they avowed. They might, indeed, design to offer a few of their sheep and oxen on the altar of Jehovah, but the greater number would in all likelihood be retain ed to minister to their own gratifications. And. at all events, they were dealing deceitfully with God, and substituting a Religion of their own devising, in place of the plain and authoritative injunctions of their divine lawgiver. And yet, shallow as these excuses were, they were possess ed of sufficient power to suppress the voice of the monitor within, and to lead the king of Israel to call evil good.

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