vin,lica!ion of justice and the maintenance of order. Moral weakness was the sin of Eli. The imperious claims of God, of public welfare, of religious purity appealed to the sense of duty in vain, because of some personal sentiment or laclc' of resolu- tion. (?ases oft?~ arise_ in nat_ional affai_rs, Church discipline, home life, where duty comes mto collision with pnvate sentiments and personal affection. Sometimes .~s with Nathan in a~cusing :1)avid, and Ambrose. in pl~cing Theodosius under th~ ban, moral strength 1s conspicuous. Often, as with Eh, Jonah, and David in one insta!1ce, sense of duty yields to inferior impulses. Ti·ue moral coitrage is a quality of ligll order. It ~onfers &Teat honour on those in whom it appears, and is a most important element m securmg the welfare of the individual the home and the P'.1bli?. Its pr~sence in most peifect Christian form may be ~scribed to 'the com- b~~at101; of v~nous elements. (~) A natural sense of justice-a psychological con- d1t101? m wlnch moral perceptions have more prompt influence than transitory tmot10ns. (b) A careful culture of the conscience through early years, and in relation to the ri:iinutire of life .. (c) !ntellif!ent faitli_in, the inviolability of moral law. (d) F~rm_at10n of _the Aabit of immediate submission to moral dictates, on the general prmc1ple that m morals first thoughts are truest. (e) Strength of will to endure pr_e- sen_t suff~ri:n[!, as not being the ;worst of ~v\ls .. (f) A nat11:re brought fully under the qui,ckening i11jluence of practical Christianity, as consisting in radical renewal, obedience to the precepts of Christ, fellowship with a holy God, and perpetual aspira- tion after holiness. There are instances still in which failure in moral courage is the one great blot on an otherwise excellent life. Where such occur sin flourishes, and the righteous mourn. The severe hand of justice is frequently the hand of true kindness. Favouritism and subordination of righteousness to personal ends, in public and domestic life, cause iniquity to abound, and sooner or later these will be ,isited by the judgment of God. . III. DITINE ABANDONMENT. The sons of Eli were g·iven up by God to their deserved doom. They heeded not remonstrance, for they had gone so far into sin as to be left destitute of that gracious influence from God, without which the soul is l1eld fast in the cords of its iniquity. The outward fact of despising the father's warn- ing was evidence to the historian that God had judicially abandoned them. • "They hearkened not, because the Lord would slay them." The solemn truth is clear that nien may persist in sin so utterly as to be given up by God without mercy to all its consequences. 1. The evidence of this is full. (a) Men are sometimes smitten with deatli as a consequence of persistent sin, as in case of Sodom, and the rebellion of Korah, all means of repentance being judicially cut off. (b) The New Testa- ment references to the sin against the Holy Ghost, and the apostasy of counting the blood of Christ an "unclean thing." (c) The fact that at the end of life the impeni- tent are given over to look for "tribulation and anguish." 2. The rationale of this is partly discoverable. It is not mere arbitrariness, nor is it the effect of imperfect benevolence. (a) It is consonant with the working of natural law. Physiology o.nd psychology prove that there is a tendency to permanence of character in all. This is especio.lly true of those who persist in strong unhallowed desires. (b) There ~re transgressions even in society which admit of no restoration to society. (c) In a wise and endlessly ramified moral government which rests on an eternal right, there can be no proof that a moral Ruler, whose existence is boun_d up with rig:ht an_d ord_er, is obli,ged to cover the past of free beings who have. deliberately persisted ui evil, by giving them a new power which shall make them different from what they prefer to be. ( d) The jiulicial abandonment of the intensely sinful acts as a wlwlcsome i/eter- rent on the moral universe, by vindicating the holiness of God, and tl)e claim _of universal society on the pure, loving life of each of its constituents, and this too wlule giving to free beings only what they prefer. . . . Practical lessons :-1. The importance of guarding against firs~ tendencies_ to deviate from the path of pcrity and truth, 2. The value of early habits of devotion, re"ard for right and purity, as a preventive of habits of a reverse character. 3. The extreme danger to the Church of a professional religion in alliance with a ~endency to unsual indulgence, and the need of watching closely against such a P?Ss1ble corn• bination. 4. The value of an early training of the moral sense, and its constant culture, as against the inferior elements of our life. 5. The use of the lessons of OH. II. 11-26.] THE FlnST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 51
history, ns illustrating the terrible power of sin, and the damage done to society and the Church by defective discipline.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS.