December 5

I Samuel xii. — 1. And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.

2. And now, behold, the king walketh before you; and I am old and gray-headed; and, behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

3. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

4. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us; neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.

5. And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

8. When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

9. And, when they forgot the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of

the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

10. And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth; but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

11. And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Bedan, and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelt safe.

12. And, when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Aminon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king.

13. Now, therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired; and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you.

14. If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you, continue following the Lord your God.

15. But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you as it was against your fathers.

The public officer, who, like Samuel, can challenge the most rigid scrutiny of his life, and can appeal to all the world for a verdict of his integrity, has a promise to come than office could bestow, and a richer inheritance for his children than all the spoils of office could yield. But alas, for the times when it comes to be the rare and distinctive recommendation of a judge, that he will not accept a bribe; or of a financial officer, that he will not steal!

The experiment of governing a people through their direct allegiance to Jehovah, by the agency of judges and prophets who gave proof of inspiration, had proved a failure. The pure theocracy contemplated in the laws of Moses was above

the faith and the morality of the Israelites. The promise was that God would protect and prosper them while they should serve and trust him. But they fell away into impiety and idolatry; and when, as a scourge for this, they were overrun by surrounding nations, they demanded a king, as a military leader who should put them on a footing to cope with their enemies. Saul was anointed the first king over Israel; and, with the upright and dignified administration of Samuel, the simplicity of the early theocracy passed away; the divine republic was merged in an earthly monarchy; yet this remained a type of that inner spiritual kingdom which came to its development in the Church of Christ, the Son of David.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 28, 138, 154.

O God! we are sinners, and of a sinful race; but great is thy mercy. Accept our thanks and praise.

For our creation and preservation; for our sleep last night, and our safety this morning; for the comforts of this world, and the hopes of the world to come, — we bless thee, good Lord.

For our stations and occupations in life; for our dear relations and friends; for all that reminds us of thee, and all opportunities of glorifying thee, — we bless thee, good Lord.

For thy love in our redemption; for thy free bestowal of thine only-begotten Son; for thine unspeakable gift of the Holy Spirit, — above all we bless thee, good Lord.

We give thee thanks for home and country; for

knowledge and freedom; for the favor of thy providence upon our land; for the tokens of thy mercy in thy Church. We beseech thee, O Lord! to continue the favor which thou hast shown unto us as a family. [May these children grow up in the knowledge and love of thy truth! May they always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way! May they be kept from the evil that is in the world, and be the followers of the Lord Jesus!] Dwell by thy good Spirit in the homes of all whom we love. Bless this community, our State, our nation, with good things, temporal and spiritual. Have mercy, we beseech thee, upon an evil and ungodly world. Oh! bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end; and do good, in thy loving-kindness, unto all men, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.