to be a follower of Christ lends an unusual sanctity to everything In llrti. The Apostle Peter has suggested "what mRnner of persons" we ought to be by virtue of our holy profession, and our Lord himself expects more of his followers thnn cu.n be look~d for from others (Matt., v. 43---48). We should not forget that we may compromi8e the honour of our Lord in our words and deeds. IX. 'l'HE CONFLICTING OF PUBLIC OBLIGATIONS WITH PRIVATE F.NGAGEMENTS, D,wld acting according to t,he light and usage of the age, felt bound to givt! up the mal~ members of the house of Saul; but he had made a personal promise to Jonathan (1 Sam. xx. 14-17; xxiii. 16-18) to spare the members of his house, and had e8pecially taken Mephibosheth under his care out of love for his father. Here, then, wns a con- flict of opposing obligl\tions. The solution was obvious. He hl\d kept his promiso, and had not, as kings too often wcreaccustomed to do with the families of rivals, cut off the house of Saul on ascending the throue. If he gave them up now it wns not n personal act, but an act in the administration of law. .But, further, he seems to hu.ve regarded the oath to Jonath,m as relating to his own immediate descendl\nts, and hence he spa.red Mephibosheth in order to keep his kingly promise while making acknowledgment for the sin of Saul. Rulers are bound to he true to national obligations, though at the cost of much foeling, and sometimes it will require more than mere casuistry to be true to private sectiments and obligations while discharging public duties. Self is never to be degraded in public affairs. If in nation or Church the rulei•s cannot conscientiously discharge obligations involved in the office, the proper alt~rnative i~ to vacate the office. X. TnE HOS-OUR DUE TO MORTAL RKMAINli. The conduct of Rizpa.h in keeping off birds and beasts of prey from the corpses, and of David in collecting the bones and placing the remains of Saul and Jonathan in their family burying-place, was worthy of their character; it indicated a refined feeling, a reverence for the del\d, a deep sense of the sanctity of all that pertains to human life and human destiny. The mortal remains of friend and foe are touchingly suggestive of the greatness and littleness of man, or his checkered lot on earth, and the strange unknown experience on which his higher nature enters while his perishable remains abide with us.
Vers. 15-22.-The difficulty of establuhinq the kingdom of God in the world. The facts arc: 1. In one of his wars with the Philistines David waxes faint in personal conflict with a giant, and is succoured by the intervention of Abishai. 2. Observing the failing strength of the ldng, his people deprecate his going forth with them to battle, lest by personal failure he should be a means of general discouragement. 3. On each of three subsequent occasions of batt.le, a Philistine giant is slain re9pectively by Sibbechai, Elhanan, and Jonathan son of Shimeah. 1t is of no moment as to what precise period in David's life the battles with the Philistines belonged. The first impression on readina the narrative and, at the same timP, remembering the promise that Israel was to s~bdue and hold the land, is the tediousness of the process by which the complete subjugation of the heathen wns effected, and the imperfection of the result even at this late period in the national history. Israel all along hRd repre- sented the principles of true religion as against idolatry, and the i;pecial object of David's wars was to render the caw;e he represented triumphant over all enemies, and so establish the theocracy on an enduring basis. The difficulties of achieving the encl in view are suggested by the necessity of these successive conflicts_ with a most act~ve and stubborn foe. In general outline we have here au analogy with the work which the Christian Church has in hand, and the difficulties attending its speedy and com- plete accomplishment. The difficulties attending the ~u~jugatio!1 of all _opposing for~II to the kingdom of Christ, and so permanently eetabhshmg a reign of nghteousue3B Ill the earth, may be indicated as follows. 1. '!'HERE 18 A WIDESPREAD AND TENACIOUS PREOCCUPATION BY EVIL. The Philistines were a numerow; people, spread over a considerable area of country, bold, resolute, powerful, and therefore very tenacious of their possessions and of their local influence. They did not always wait to be subdued, but became active_ in their assaults on the kinadom ordained of God . .As compared with them, the Israelites were not so hardy, so desperate in fi:i;hting, and so strongly influenced by the thought of ancient pre-eminence. It is not surprising that the conflict should extend through long and ,yeary years .. Anu is there not some resemblance here to modern facts? The earth 18 preoccupied by oH. xxr. 1-22.J 'fHE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.