such a people as the Israelites. For the Israelites, being God's peculiar people, were bound to be always looking towards HIM with peculiar loyalty and obedience. All men are equally bound to love, serve, honour, and obey HIM as their God; but the children of Israel, with whom He had made an especial covenant, and to whom He had shown especial mercies, were bound to HIM besides, in a way of their own, as subjects are to their King. They were, to use His own words, a peculiar treasure to HIM above all nations; and were bound, therefore, to obey His directions, and submit to His will, with peculiar and entire Faith and Confidence,

But instead of this, they were always looking and longing after the customs and fancies of the other nations around them; right or wrong, it was a great object with them to follow their example. This foolish inclination had before led them, again and again, into absolute idolatry. They chose to be as the heathen, the families of the countries, even in serving wood and stone.

And now of late the same restless temper had inclined them, in spite of the warnings of GoD and His Prophet Samuel, under whom, if they would have been contented and obedient, they might have made sure of living happily ;-in spite of this, they had been induced to press eagerly for a king to judge them like all the nations, when the LORD their GoD was their King. This, it is most evident, was nothing else but want of faith and affection towards Gon. They were uneasy at not being like other people; they wanted to be allowed to take the same liberties that were common among the heathen; they did not like the thought of having God so very near them, and being so immediately subject to HIM.

God indulged them accordingly, and set Saul over them as king. He had him anointed by the Prophet Samuel, and took care in every way to make him fully understand that he was not king in his own right. He was not left to his own judgment, like the sovereigns of the nations around him, but was in all things to consult. GoD and His Prophets, and do whatever they bade him, how unlikely soever it might appear, by all human. calculation, to turn out well.

This being Saul's particular commission,-he being bound,

above all things, to put down that spirit of mistrust and rebellion which prevailed among his subjects; and having so great reason as he had to trust GOD, even for those of His promises which seemed most unlikely to be accomplished, and to be sure of His being always at hand;-he allowed himself, notwithstanding, to be run away with by mere heathen feelings, and to act like a mere heathen prince, on this and many other occasions.

To be sure, his situation was rather trying. The Philistines, a warlike nation, with "thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand on the sea-shore for multitude," were close upon him and the few Israelites who remained with him. They followed him trembling, and were daily falling away from him for dread. Indeed, no words can more aptly describe extreme terror prevailing in a country, than those which are used by the sacred writer on this occasion: " When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling."

It was not unnatural, that under such circumstances he should feel a little restless and impatient, should look out eagerly after Samuel, and wonder why he did not come. For till Samuel came, he was bound by GoD's commandment not to sacrifice ; and till he had sacrificed, nothing could be done against his enemies, his army and himself must keep still in their place. This made the men discontented, and they melted away one by one. A little anxiety might be excused on such an occasion; but a man who had the right spirit, the true faith in God, would soon have recollected himself, and considered, that HE saves not by many or by few, that the greater the danger the more glorious and certain the deliverance, provided only you take care to keep the ALMIGHTY your friend.

Saul forgot all this; or rather he acted in such a way as shewed that he was not used to think about it. As if he had been just like the rulers of other nations, who had no promise from God, nor knew of any reason to put especial trust in HIM, he looked only to what was necessary according to the rules

"What must I do to

of earthly politics. He asked himself, not, make sure of GOD's favour?" but, "What must I do to keep the people together?" and for fear of alarming them, he sacrificed, although he knew it would offend God.

He

It might be supposed that this was only the fear of the moment, pardonable in some sort from the greatness of the danger, and not any settled want of faith. But his conduct afterwards, in the case of the Amalekites, left him without any such excuse, and proved that he never could be depended upon to do right at the risk of displeasing the people. GoD commanded him to go against the Amalekites, and utterly destroy them for their sins: the people and all that they had, to their very cattle, were to be put to the edge of the sword. spared them, not out of a false humanity (which would have been no excuse when opposed to the express command of his Maker), but because it was against the rules of human policy, and contrary to the wishes of the people. This was exactly the same kind of transgression over again; and that after the most solemn warning, that it was impossible such conduct could stand with the favour of GOD. It was not, therefore, mere human weakness, and pardonable infirmity, but it was deliberate and habitual mistrust of ALMIGHTY GOD, which led him to do thus foolishly, and lost him the approbation of his Maker, and the kingdom of Israel.

This is yet more evident, when we consider the manner in which he answers, when his faults are discovered and reproved by Samuel. He is never without something to excuse and palliate his offence. In the present instance, "Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt-offering." Again, observe the process when he was found guilty of that other disobedience, with regard to the Amalekites. "When Samuel came to meet him, he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, 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." Which excuse he was weak enough to repeat afterwards, as if it were a sufficient answer to God Himself reproving our faults by His Prophet, to say, "The people would have it so:" or, "All my neighbours do it,"

But the thing to be observed just now is, how completely Saul's way of excusing himself proves his heart to have been in the wrong; to have been, indeed, utterly destitute of the sincere love of God. Compare it with David's behaviour when he was called to account for his sins. He never goes about to excuse himself, but owns his fault at once, and throws himself on the mercy of GoD. "I have sinned greatly in that I have done: now therefore, O LORD, take away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly." He is more sorry to have displeased his good GOD and FATHER, than for all the punishment he has reason to fear. It was far otherwise with Saul. For all that we can see, if he might but have preserved his kingdom, the loss of God's approbation would have made little or no difference to him.

We see, then, that the ALMIGHTY did not reject this his first chosen deputy, the first anointed king of his people, for any slight fault, but for going habitually and repeatedly wrong in that very respect, which was of most consequence to the due execution of his office, We see also, that the temptation which led him wrong was his regarding the praise and favour of the people more than the praise and favour of Gop.

Now, is there any one among ourselves who is free from this temptation; who can say that he has nothing to blame himself for on account of a like undue respect for human judgments and popular opinions? Consider how much of people's time is spent in talking about one another, how eagerly most of us are on the look out to know what is said and thought of us by our neighbours, how quickly judgments of that sort travel, and how wildly and inconsiderately, with how little regard to truth and

religion, men pass sentence in general, one upon another; and you cannot doubt, that we are all of us in very great danger of sinning in this way.

How is it that people, who have long gone on in habits of sin, especially in sins of omission, leaving undone what ought to be done-how is it that such persons in general make themselves easy, without amending what they know to be so very wrong? They will tell you, they wish in earnest to reform, but they know not how to set about it, their neighbours and acquaintance will think it so very strange, For instance: what is it that leads so many Christians into useless and inordinate expences? why do they go on, year after year, indulging themselves in all sorts of unnecessary things, to the neglect often both of charity and justice? It is because they cannot bear the idea of not doing as other people do. They fancy their life must be miserable if they have not the good word of all the vain talkers around them; much more, if they become at all ridiculous in their eyes. They have not so much steady and active confidence in GOD, as to venture upon what He will approve, without fearing or caring for the laughter of fools.

This I apprehend it is, even more than the eagerness of passion, which carries many young people so far, and detains them so long, in whatever vicious pleasures are fashionable, whether among rich or poor. A man is tired, for instance, of bad company and drinking, and willing enough to give it up; but he cannot make up his mind to the laughter and abuse of his worthless associates. Every body sees the mischief in this case: but there are a thousand others in which, though not quite so bad as this, we are however more or less the worse for regarding too much what the world will say of us. Our good actions are less good than they ought to be, and would be, from our having an eye to the praise of men when we ought to be thinking of GOD. We are too much pleased with flattery, too much annoyed by ignorant and unjust censure.

We may think it strange that Saul, who had been brought so near GoD, and knew himself to be under an especial Providence, should have trembled so at every idle notion of the people's disliking or forsaking him: but let us only compare our own real feelings with regard to secret and to open sins. Is it not too often