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and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day nor all the night.

And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.

Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.

But he refused and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.

And the woman had a fat calf in the house, and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof.

And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

The terror which Saul suffered at the sight of the Philistine army was very natural to a 'guilty mind: had he kept to his duty, he would have had no cause to tremble, for in that case he might, with the utmost confidence, have enquired the will of the LORD. "But how could he who had murdered the priests, consult the holy oracle? and after having slighted the admonitions of Samuel, how could he expect to be answered by prophets? neither could he hope for direction by a Henry's Annotations,

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dream from GOD, for he had forfeited all the aids of the Holy Spirit." He had also by his cruel persecutions driven David away, and many brave officers; the flower of Saul's army had with him joined the enemy, so that his situation was truly deplorable; but he was the author of his own wretchedness; he ought therefore to have humbled himself, and implored the mercy of GOD; instead of doing so, Saul had recourse to an expedient which he could not be ignorant was an unlawful one; for he had in the beginning of his reign, from a full conviction that diabolical arts were abominable to the LORD, destroyed all those who were known to practise them.

Saul had lived in a continued course of presumptuous sin; he therefore deserved to be rejected of God, who had shewn so much forbearance towards him. His disobedience in respect to Agag and the Amalekites, made him unfit to be any longer captain of the LORD's inheritance; David had been anointed in his stead, and the promise of the kingdom was at the same time given him, for the LORD knew that Saul would not repent: but David was not permitted to dethrone Saul, who might have enjoyed a peaceable reign by his assistance, had he humbly submitted to the just punishment that was inflicted on him (as Moses did to his disappointment in respect to the land of Canaan, and Eli to the preference given to Samuel.) But when Saul learnt that another was preferred before him, and perceived that the Spirit of the LORD was on David, from which he concluded him to be the man, he resolved to oppose the purposes of GOD, by putting David to death. His cruel designs proved ineffectual, and finding himself and his kingdom n he most imminent danger, his spirits sunk to the depth of despair, he was solicitous to

know what would really be the event of the battle, therefore made use of the usual ceremonies for learning the will of the LORD; but as his heart was not right towards GOD, they were to no purpose. Saul now lamented the loss of Samuel, and formed a desperate resolution of trying whether he could bring him from the dead by magic spells; for this purpose he went in the night to the witch of Endor.

Witches, wizards, sorcerers, &c. so frequently mentioned in scripture, were persons who pretended to hold intercourse with spirits, and by their means to foretel future events: it is supposed that they made use of a number of superstitious ceremonies, in order to engage the assistance of evil beings in mischievous practices and the discovery of hidden things. Superstition is very credulous; therefore people, who had more curiosity than religion, were led to suppose, from the strange words these persons uttered, that they were really possessed of supernatural knowledge, and could converse with souls in a state of separation from the body; but we must not believe that evil spirits can reveal, or any human being possibly discover, what it pleases God to conceal; that any arts can prevail to bring spirits into this world; or that departed souls can assume bodies when they please, and become visible to mortal sight: for they are no more able to come to us, than we to go to them. The CREATOR of all things certainly could clothe the soul of Samuel with a visible form, in order that he might repeat and confirm the sentence he had formerly been commanded to denounce against Saul, and to assure him that it was going to be put immediately into execution: or we may suppose, with some degree of probability, that this sorceress might be commanded to utter these words, as Balaam was to pro

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phesy in favour of Israel. However, as we cannot come to a certainty about it, let us read the story with humility of mind, and rest assured, that whether Samuel appeared or not, the whole transaction was ordered by the LORD, to awaken Saul to a sense of his sin, that he might spend the last hours of his life in repentance; but though we read, that when Saul found there was no hopes of success remaining, he threw himself on the ground in agonies of distress, we do not find, that he expressed either sorrow or contrition for the crimes that had reduced him to this miserable state; he cer tainly thought that Samuel had spoken to him; we are therefore taught by his example, that if sinners are not to be reformed by the revealed will of GoD declared by Moses and the prophets, neither will they be converted if one comes to them from the dead. We should not be led from this account of Samuel to be fearful of ghosts, as no spirit can appear but by the miraculous power of GOD, which the present state of religion does not require to be exerted; for this reason, we may be sure, that all the foolish stories of apparitions, that are told by superstitious people, have no foundation in truth, but are the product of a weak imagination; never therefore "let us give way to gloomy presages and terrors of mind, nor indulge a desire to pry into futurity; but fortify our souls against them, by securing the friendship and protection of that Being, who disposes of events and governs futurity. When we lie down to sleep, let us recommend ourselves to His care: when we awake, let us give ourselves up to His direction. Amidst all the evils that threaten us, let us look up to Him for help, and doubt not but He will either

→ Spectator, Vol. i, No. 7.

avert them, or turn them to our advantage. Though we know neither the time nor manner of our death, nor what will befal us in this life, let us not be solicitous about it; because we may be sure that God knows all, for he views the whole of our existence, not only what is passed, but what is to come, and will not fail to comfort and support us on all occasions."

SECTION LXXXVI.

THE BATTLE OF GILBOA-THE DEATH OF SAUL AND JONATHAN.

From 1 Samuel, Chap. xxxi.-1 Chron. Chap. x.

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers.

Then said Saul to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it: and when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword and died.

So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together..

And

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