things?" (2 Cor, ii. 16). (3) Oare as to what they teach. That it may bo the very mosS11go of God. "Preach the preaching that I bid thee" (Jonah iii. 2). (4) Care as to the spirit and aim of their teaching. Not to exl\lt or enrich themselves, or merely ploaso men, but to glorify God and promote the salvation of their hearers (John vii.18; Gal. i. 10; Col. i. 28). (5) Faith and hope. That he whose messengers they are will gui<lo and support them, give ,success to their endeavours, and amply reward them. 8. Hearers should recognize the position of their ministers. Snch recognition will: (l) Regulate their expectations from them. They will not expect them to flatter, or merely entertain, or to suppress unwelcome truths. They will desire them to be faithful to their convictions as to the message God would have them deliver. (2) Induce them to give earnest heed to their instructions and admonitions. Their attitude will be that of Cornelius and his friends (Acts x. 33): "Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God;" and, when the words addressed to them are perceived to be Divine truth, they will receive them "not as the word of men, but as the Word of God" (1 Tbess. ii.13), with faith and obedience. (For the opposite spirit and practice, see Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32.) II. THE ALTERNATIVES THEY PRESENT. Happily they ha.ve not, like Gad, to offer a choice of fearful calamities, but of: 1. On the one hand, eternal life; commencing now in the enjoyment of pardon and peace, holiness a.nd hope; a.nd perfected in heaven. This to be secured by faith in the Son of God as Saviour and Lord, with corresponding love and obedience. 2. And, on the other, eternal punishment; "indignation and wrath, tribulation and· ·anguish" (Rom. ii. 8, 9); to be assuredly secured by rejection of Christ, and of God in him. These solemn alternatives must not, cannot, be kept out of view by a faithful messenger of God; and the thought of them will give earnest- ness to bis ministrations, and to the treatment of them by bis hearers (comp. Deut. xxx. 15-19). III. THE ANSWER FOB WHICH THEY PBEBB. Christian ministers should endeavour as far as possible privately to urge individuals to consider wba.t answer they will give to the Divine message, what choice they will make between the alternatives presented to them. This cannot be always done; but in their public addresses they ought to be urgent in pressing their bearers to definite consideration and decision. They should. show them : •1. That an answer has to be given, and that to God, who searches the heart. That, in fact, they are ever giving a reply; ever choosing the evil, if not the good. 2. That their answer should be the result of careful consideration. "Advise, and see;" consider and determine. A great point is gained when men are induced to consider the claims of God a.nd their souls. 3. That such consideration should be prompt. It is both sinful and perilous to delay. To put off attention to God's message is insulting to him, and may end in his deciding suddenly and unexpectedly for us which of the two alternatives shall be ours. 4. That they are themselves intensely concerned that the answer given should be that which is alone wise and good -the hearty acceptance of Christ and salvation. " As though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. v. 20).-G. W.
Ver. 14.-God's treatment preferred to man's. David had good reasons for the choice he made. He knew well, from his own treatment of defeated enemies (eh. xii. 31; 1 Chron. xx. 3), how fearfully cruel were conquerors in war in those days, what an awful scourge to his subjects would be the ravages of a victorious invading army. He also doubtless dreaded the disgrace and permanent damage to the kingdom which would be thus wrought, and the dis'honour, in the view of the heathen, which would he cast on the Name of Jehovah its God (see Josh. vii. 8, 9). Taking the words in a wider application, they express what will be the natural preference of good men. J. GROUN DB OF THE PREFERENCE HERE EXPRESSED, 1. The great mercy of God and the unmercifulness, or limited merC'IJ, of men. 2. The righte()tl,Sness nf God, and the unrighteousness of men. We can never be sure that in a particular ca.se righteous- ness will guide human proceedings; we know that the Divine are always thus guided. Many men are utterly regardless of what is right where their own interests, inclina- tions, or passions are concerned ; and even the best men are liable to fail in respect tc, pure and con3tant ro~ard for rectitude. 3. The knowledge ana wisdom of God, and the ignorance and folly of men. Much of the misconduct and untrustworthiness ot 628 '!'BE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. [en. XXIV, 1-26,