now wrecked. It was succeeded by fault after fault of wayward" rebellion," and of wilful "stubbornness" (1 Sam. xv. 23), of alleged "fear of the people" and craving to be" honoured" before them (1 Sam. xv. 24, 30), till the ominous knell is heard, and bis conversion "by the Spirit of the Lord" is reversed, when "the Spirit of the Lord departed" from him (1 Sam. xvi. 14). The sequel is too well known. Jealousy of bis successor, fierco fits of passion and fits of brief repentance, outbursts of short-lived affectio11 a)ld visitations of remorse, unattended by any single symptom of real refor- mation, argued the torn, distracted, disordered spirit within. He is brave in war; he is cowardly in the massacre of the priests; he is high in spirit and high-handed ; he is mor- bidly sensitive to disgrace. He seals the Spirit's departure and final forsaking of him when, with a formal, faithless, professional inquiry of the Lord, he really makes his inquiry of the witch, and fills up the measure of his iniquities. It is hard to say whether the manner of his death ( on the field of flight rather than of battle) expressed most aptly his better or worse quality, but anyway it was not altogether deficient in self-devotion or spirit, such as the circumstances would allow. Yet whP.t a commentary the barest facts now utter forth! He who had often conquered the Philistines and other hostile nations, with little of material help, fell before them, because he had guiltily forfeited the Divine help. He had presumed on himself-it brings him to make an end of himself! As repentance had been the stranger of his company, so now despair is the bosom friend he hugs. And trace as best we may the course he ran, his character, and the end of a life which ha,l opened in providence so abundant and so encouraging, the skilled pen of Scripture guides our last thought, and reveals the just conclusion of the whole matter: "Saul died for his transgressions which he committed against the Lord, even against the Word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also foc asking . . . of . . . a familiar spirit, to inquire 'thereof, and he inquired not of the Lord ''-this low-lying epitaph, i~ beacon of warning set up aloft to all time.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AU'l'HORS. Vers. 6, 13.-" The mighty fallen 1" The death of Saul and Jonathan, upon the heights of Gilboa, is one of the grandest and most awful episodes in Hebrew history. Behold the chosen of God, the hero and the idol of Israel, wounded by the archers, supplicating death from his armour-bearer, falling in despair upon his sword I Princes and warriors, " swifter than eagles, stronger than lions ; " Saul and Jonathan " are slain in the high places." "The shields of the mighty am vilely cast away!" The king's sons and his body-guards and the flower of his army perish with him on this awful day. "How are the mighty fallen I" But let us turn from the dramatic, the tragic side of this incident, to ponder its spiritual lessons. I. Saul's appalling fate reminds us of GREAT POWERS MISUSED. The gigantic stature and amazing strength of the son of Kish naturally impressed all beholders, and con- ciliated-almost commanded-the respect and confidence of the people. But he was more than an athlete, he was a general who had delivered his country and gained many victories over his enemies. He appears to have possessed great qualities, not only of body, but of mind. All this gl\ve Saul great advantages. If be had but used these aright, he would have retained the regard of his subjects and the allcgianco ot' t~e brave, and he might have lived to old age, in possession of the dignity and power of kmgship. But his moody, wilfnl spirit gave a wrong bias to his energies. His was a wonderful but a wasted life. The valour and skill which had defeated the Philistines in his early days might have defeated them now. But Saul was not the same man as of old. Even so many, whom God has richly endowed with gifts of body and of mind, have proved themselves unworthy of these gifts, have misused them in such manner t~at it had been better for them that they had never been born. To whom God has given much, of them he requires the more. II. We observe here A LOFTY VOOATION ILL UNDERSTOOD AND ILL FULFILLED. Saul was the first of Israel's kings. Anointed by Samuel, chosen by lot, elected by the acclamation of the people, he entered upon the kingly office with every omen and every prospect of success. CBlled to be, not, like one of the judges, the chief of a tribe or ~ temporary deliverer, but the ruler of a nation and B king for life, Saul might have L CHRONICLES, K 130 THE FIRST IlOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. [CH. X, 1-14,