her support, is either languishing on a bed of sickness, or wrested from her by resistless death ! In a word, see Job encircled ^^dth his family, and in the fullest possession of all that the world could give him : Ah! how fallen! how destitute! "What a complete picture of human misery, and of the vanity of all sublunary good!]
2. In relation to spiritual concerns —
[The most distressmg sight is that of one who once was hopeful as to the concerns of his soul, but has " left off to behave himself \\-isely," and launched forth into aU manner of dissipation: or, if a more pitiable object can present itself to our view, it is that of one, who, after attaining an eminence in the Christian life, has fallen into a state of mlful and habitual sin, and brought public disgrace upon his holy profession. David will here naturally occur to our minds. Look at him : " Is this Dand ?" the man so abhorrent of evil, that he would not suffer a person who should utter a falsehood to dwell in his sight? Ah! how fallen! hoAv unlike this murderer is to " the sweet singer of Israel," " the man after God's own heart! " And Solomon, too; Is this Solomon? that perfection of \\-is- dom, whom all proclaimed as the wisest of the hiunan race, now so infatuated, as to seek his happiness in a number of wives and concubines; and so impious, as both to gratify them, and to unite Arith them, in the most abominable idolatries^? Is this Solomon? I say: Who can believe it?
But must we go back to those distant ages for instances of human frailty and depra\'ity? Would to God that they were of such rare occurrence, that none had ever arisen in our own remembrance. But wherever the Gospel is preached, in- stances will be fomid of persons who "ran well for a season only," and who, though they " began in the Spirit, have ended in the flesh." Look at any such persons now, and see how unlike they are to their former selves! " How is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed!"]
But, that we may duly improve these occurrences, let us consider,
II. What feelings the contemplation of them should inspire —
We should not be uninterested spectators of such events: they should excite in us, 1. Sympathy —
[In no case should we exult over fallen greatness. ^S'e read, indeed, of the triumphant utterance of joy at the fall of
^ 1 Kings xi. 1 — 10.