~hould be thus immortal and immutable, i• matter for joy and thankfulness. He ncede not, like DRvid, the plans and efforts of his servante to preserve him; but we can nnd should rejoice that he lives and reigns, and "must reio-n till he hath put all enemice under his feet" (1 <Jor. xv. 25). 2. Devoted loya,lt_,/' t,o him even unto death. 'l'he readi~ess with which David's friends h11za1·ded and gave up their lives for him, nay, the ~1m1lar devotedness of many a common 110ldi.er, may well put most Christians to the blu~h. 3. Contentment in 'l!iet.D of the enormoua sacrifice of human lives which luu bttfl; "';ade .for hU1 sake. It is not waste; the willing deaths of martyrs, missionaries, Chnstian workers of all grades, have not been unreasonable. He and his cause are worthy of it all. 4. Confidence in 'NJspect to ultimate victory over all his foes. With such a King and Captain, final defeat is impossible. 6. .Assurance of ample recompense for whatever we 1ose, tnertJ it life itself, in his ~,·vice. 6. Concern to be on tlie side of Christ rather tlmn of a multitude in OJ?position to liim. We are tempted to follow the crowd, and (with or without thinking) to esteem that to be the right course which t.he greater number pursue. But truth goes not necessarily, or even ordinarily, with the majority. With the one Person, t.he Lord Jesus Christ, are truth, safety, victory, ultime.te gain. His judgment is worth more than that of" ten thousand" others; his favour of infinitely more value than theirs. If adherence to him were to lead to the separation from us of all besides, and we were to find ourselves alone, we might .say af1<>1· his manner, "I am not alone, because the Master is with me" (John xvi. 3:.l). -G.W. Ver. 13.-Dealing falsely against our lives. "I should have wrought fl\lsehood against my own life." Another reading, preferred by the Old Testament Revisers, substitutes " his" for " my own;" but they place in the margin that adopted in the Authorized Version. Taking the passage, then, as it stands in the Authorized Version, the meaning of the speaker is that if he had slain Absalom, he would have brought death upon himself, since the king would have been made acquainted with the deed, and would have sentenced him to death. The form of the expression is worthy of notice. Doing what would have cost him his life is called working falsehood against it. A man's life is entrusted to him to guard and nourish. When he does -this, he acts truly towards it; when he does what injures or destroys his life, he acts falsely towards it; he violates his trust. Every roan virtually professes to be concerned for the safety and well-being of his life; when he does what endangers or. terminates it, he may be said to deal falsely with it, to &et treacherously towards it. This is the case with those who put themselves to death, or shorten their days by intemperance or licentiousness; or who, by crime, bring themselves to the ii;allows (see homily on eh. xvii. 23). But we may take the words as suggesting that there are persons who work falsehood against their Jives in the higher sense, as beings immortal, and capable of that life which is life indeed,-the life everla!!ting. .• I. Bow DO KE}q COMMIT THIB em? 1. By taking the course which swrely leads to death. In violating the Jaws of God they bring on themselves the sentence of death, and separate themselns from God, in whose favour is life. 2. By refusing the new life which is proffered them in the gospel,. Life under the Law having become impossible through sin, God has interposed with another method of imparting life. His Son came to be our Life. He died that we might live. He lives evermore to bestow life on all who l,elieve on him. "He that bath the Son bath life," etc. (1 John v. 12); "Be tl,at belie'l'eth on the Son bath everlasting life," etc. (John iii. 36). To reject him is to reject life. It is to deal falsely with our own lives, our own souls. 3. By neglecting tlte means by which the life of the soul ill presf/f'tJed and nourished. Reading of the Word, meditation, prayer, watchfulness, ordinances of public worship, union and com- munion with Christians, etc., whatever is intended and adapted to keep the soul in vital union with him who is "the Life" (John xiv. 6). IL 1TB UNNATURALNESS .il."D WICKEDNEBB. The man implied that to deal falsely with his own life was a thing utterly inadmissible. So it ought to be in respect to the life of the souL For: 1. It ill the life which ill concerned. It is not a mere question of more or Jess health, comfort, or other subordinate good. "It is not a vain thing for you, because it is iyour life" (Deut. xxxii. 47). 2. It ill tlie most prllCUYUB lcind of life, U'uspeako.bly more important than the life of the body, or even of th11 niind, or of any ott. xvm. 1-38.] THr, SECOND :BOOK OF SAMUET,,
or tho principles nnd nfJections which relate us to the family or society. Because of (l) its nat~re, (2) ils blessedness, (3) its dara~ion. 3. It is our own life. Which ehot1ld be specmlly dear to us, and has been Apec1ally entrusted to us: which we are therefore especially bound to care for and conserve. 4. To imperil or sacrifice it is to deal falsely against it and against God. We are under a covenant to care for it. Nature binrls us, and Scripture, and perhaps religious vows, voluntarily made and often repeated. 6. Such a course will bring vpon us the Divine displeasure. \Ve shall not only lose our souls, but shall find oureelves involved in awful penalties for doing so; not only shall we fail of" eternal life," but shall "go away into eternal punishment" (Matt. xxv. 46). 'fhe words may be a safeguard against temptation, "In doinu0 this thing I should deal falsely against my own life."~G. W.