triumph; and reminds them of the beneficence of Saul in distributing among them the spoils of war gained in hie former nctories. 1. The benefits conferred by an able and successful ruler upon his people are great, and deserve a grateful recognition. 2. The Talue of those benefits is seldom fully appreciated until they oan be no longer bestowed. 3. Public mourning i8 as appropriate in its season as public rejoicing (1 Sam. xiii. 7). It expre11888 and deepens the general sorrow, and is a testimony to departed worth. The chorus is here repeated. " This recnrrence of the same idea is perfectly congenial to the nature of elegy, since grief is fond of dwelling upon the particular object.II of the paesion, and frequently repeating them" (Lowth). VJ. A OOVMEM:ORATION OF THE LOVE OF A FRIEND. "0 Jonathe.n, on thy high places slain I Woe is me for thee, my brother Jonathan! Lovely wast thou to me exoeedingly, Marvellous (was) thy love to me beyond the love of woman. AW ! jaUcn are the heroea, And perished the instrument.a of battle." (Vere. 26, 27.) ".Ai this culmination of grief the lament again sounds the key-note of the whole, and returns in conclusion to its chief object, the sorrow for the hero-glory of Israel .aestroyed in Saul and Jonathan." David's expression of sorrow manifests his deep love to his friend; still more, commemorates the " wonderful" love of his friend to him. "And in that love which he had borne towards him, there was something 'separate from all beside,' • miraculou&,' like a special work of God (this is the force of the word), more singular, undivided, and devoted than the love of women-even of Micha.I, of Ahinoam, of .Abigail" (Stanley). 1. Pure, fervent, self-denying love is the chief excellence of human character. It is the greatest of all itreat things (1 Cor. xiii. 13; Col. iii. 14; J as. ii. 8 ; 1 Pet. i. 22). 2. It is exalted and glorified in our view by means of death. 3. The memory of those in whom it dwells in an eminent degree is worthy of being perpetuated to all ages. (For translations and paraphrases of this lament eee Lowth; Horsley, • Bibi. Crit.;' Geo. Sandys: 1636; J. Oldham: 1677.)-D. Ver. 19.-" Bow are the mighty fal,len I" This expression suggests numerous reflec- tions on- L Tm: VA.1'TI'Y OF MAN in the glory of his might. He is proud of his exalted state, his wisdom, strength, or riches; and he is admired and envied by others. But: 1. How precarious hi6 position I He stands on "slippery places." All his grandeur rests on life, than which nothlng is more unsubstantial or uncertain. 2. How futile his pur~ fJ08t!S ! Formed in ignorance, weakness, and presumption, they are defeated and" broken off." "There is no king saved by the multitude of a host," etc.. (Ps. xxxiii.16). 3. How unsatisfying his possessions! They afford no solid peace in life or death. "Vanity of vanities," etc. (Eccles. i. 1). 4. How transient his dwration I "Man is like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away" (P11. cxliv. 4). 5. How signal his -town- faJl ! "How are they brought into desolation as in a moment I" (Ps. lxxiii. 19). 0. How evanescent his fame! " Your renown Is as the herb, whose hne doth come and go; And his might withers it, by whom it Bpraug Crude from the lap of earth." (Dante, ' Purg.,' xi.) 7. How complete his liumiliation ! Tbe sword of Saul is cast away, his shield covered with blood and rust, his sceptre 1?roken, his diadem and bracelet pilfered, hi~ head placed in the temple of Dagon, his body fastened on the wall of Bethshan, his sons slain, and his dynasty destroyed. "Man t,hat is in honour, and understa.ndeth not, is like the beasts that perish" (Ps. xlix. 20; :nxix. 5; Dan. iv. 31 ; .Acts xii. 23). "The last act is sanguinary, beautiful as is all the rest of the play, Dust is C&Bt upon the head, and there is an end and for ever" (Pascal). "FarewelL a long farewell, to all my greatness I Thill ii the Btate of man : To-day he puttetb forth OR, I, l-•27,] 1'I1E SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 29
The tender loBvos of hope; to-morrow bloseome, And benre hie blushing honours thick upon him: The third clBy comes B frost. e. killing frost; And,-when he thinks, good ee.sy me.n, fnll surely Hie greBtness is e.--ripening,-nipe his root, And then he fe.lls, e.s I do." (Sbe.keepeere, 'Henry VIII.') II. Tm: PROVIDENCE OF GoD in the fall of the mighty. "If there be a God, the world must be governed by Proviclence" (1 Sam. ii. 1-10; ix. 1-25). 1. How evident its err:istence I "The Lord reigneth." It is not only declared in the Scriptnres, but also plainly shown by the facts of history and daily observation. Of Saul it is said "The Lord slew him" (1 Chron. x. 14). 2. How great its power! "He bringeth the princes to nothiag; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity" (Isa.. xl. 23; Dan. iv. 25). 3. How vast its domain I All space, a.II time, all orders of being and all events the least as well as the greatest (Matt. x. 29). Even the actions of free and •espon~ible creatures, of individuals an~ nations, the Philistines ~ well as the Israe_lites, .he e·vn as well as the good, are encircled and pervaded by 1t; foreseen, permitted, directed, controlled, restrained, or overruled. The course of Saul was foreseen lit his appointment; yet he was not thereby placed under the necessity of acting as he did "Contingency, whose verge extendeth not Beyond the te.blet of yolll' mortal mold, Is all depictured in the eternal sight; But hence deriveth not necessity, More than the te.11 ship, hurried down the flood, Is dl'iven by the eye that looks on it." (' Par.,' xvii) 4. How manifold its operations! What skilful adaptations it makes! What endless instrumentalities it employs! What varied issues it evolves! 5. How mysterious its methods! The fact is certain, the mode unknown. Its ways are obscure, perplexing, completely hidden for a while, and then made apparent and fully justified. "We know bi part." 6. How righteous its administration! (Ps. xxxi. 23; xxxvii 1-11; xcvii. 2). • "Saul died for his transgression," and Israel (whose self-will he reflected) was chastised through the man of their own choice. 7. How beneficent its aims! The l'epression of sin, the salvation of men, the glory of God. The fall of Israel's first king was overruled for the good of the nation ; the fall of Israel, in subsequent ages, was " the riches of the world." " Oh the depth," etc. ! (Rom. xi. 33--36). ' IMPROVEMENT. 1. Glory not in any earthly good, but only in the Lord. 2. Be ambitious to serve rather than to rule. 3. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." 4. Strive for the crown and kingdom that will endure for ever.-D.