had lifted up a hand against him till the last extremity. They were blinded however by their own passion, and overlooked every thing for the gratification of it. Joab never once reflected on the baseness of the action he was about to perpetrate, nor on the loss which David and the whole nation would sustain, nor on the account which he should one day give of it to God; but with horrid treachery, and deliberate cruelty, plunged the dagger into the side of Abner.

Alas! alas! how awfully has this scene been renewed amongst us! It was no political animosity, but revenge alone, that instigated the murderer to the commission of his crime. Under the influence of that infernal passion he proceeded in the most deliberate manner to execute his cruel purpose. Thoughts of mercy and compassion found no place in his bosom. The injury that would be done to a fellow-creature, (who would in one instant be hurried into the presence of his God;) the bereavement that would be felt by all his family, and the loss that would be sustained by the whole nation, (a loss to all appearance irreparable;) seemed to him as nothing, when weighed against the gratifications of revenge: nay, the thought of his own account that he should have to give at the judgment-seat of Christ could interpose no bar to the execution of his design. Yea, after the perpetration of the deed, he justified his act, and, like Joab, continued impenitent to his dying-hour.

Ah! what an evil is revenge! What need have we to guard against the very thought of it rising in our hearts! Truly, we know not to what an extent the inundation may reach, when once the smallest breach is made in the dam that obstructs this currente.]

We all are called upon at this time to mourn on the sad occasion: for it is certain,

II. That the crimes of individuals will be imputed

to us as national, if they be not nationally reprobated and deplored

[Of this David was aware; and therefore he endeavoured to avert the guilt from the nation, by calling on them all to humble themselves before God, and to express in penitential sorrow their abhorrence of the crime. On this occasion he himself set them the example: he mourned, he wept, he fasted: he followed the corpse to the grave: he poured out the most pathetic lamentations over it; reflecting with just severity on the atrocity of the crime; and lamenting that he had not power to inflict punishment on the offenders: and it was greatly to

d 2 Sam. ii. 20-23.

f ver. 28, 29, 31.

e Prov. xvii. 14.

g ver. 33, 34, 35, 39.

the honour of his people that they participated so deeply in his affliction. All approbation of the crime was thus formally disavowed; and the guilt of it was made to rest on him who had committed it.

We rejoice that an universal abhorrence of the assassination has been expressed in our land: or, if there have been any so abandoned to all sense of duty both to God and man as to approve the deed, they have made themselves partakers of the crime, and contracted in the sight of God the guilt of murder. We would however remind you all, that this should be a season of deep humiliation amongst us, and of earnest prayer. We must mourn over the deed, and wash our hands in the blood of our great Sacrifice, if we would not have the guilt of blood imputed to us, or visited upon our land1.]

It is some consolation to us however to consider, III. That whatever obstructions arise, God's purposes shall surely be accomplished

[The establishment of David on the throne of Israel was now nearly completed; yet in the very moment of its completion, as it were, was it counteracted by this horrid crime; the influence that was to accomplish the measure was destroyed; and the rival monarch deterred from his purpose. No prospect now remained but that of continued war: and the very counsels of Heaven appear to have been defeated. But God's counsel shall stand, though the expected instrument of its accomplishment be taken out of the way, and the greatest obstacle to its accomplishment remain. Accordingly in an unlooked-for way the point was effected, and the promise made fifteen years before to David, was fulfilled.

We did hope, that by the elevation of him, whose loss we deplore, to the government of this country, God had designs of mercy toward us: and we have reason to adore our God for the benefits which through his instrumentality our nation has received. Such a character, all things considered, has rarely been seen at the head of our affairs; for piety is but a rare associate with political power. But, if the channel of God's mercy is withdrawn, the Fountain still is full; and if we plead with him to pour out his benefits upon us, he will yet find other channels through which to communicate them to our land. True it is, that this is a season of uncommon difficulty, and the political horizon is gloomy in the extremei: but we hope that our nation shall yet be preserved a blessing to the

h Deut. xxi. 1-9.

i No person being found to take the lead in our government; and new difficulties arising, by means of Russia being just about to be again involved in war with France.

world; and that all the efforts which are making for the enlarging of our Redeemer's kingdom, and which were sanctioned and aided by him whom we have lost, will yet be honoured with success. "The wall is to be built in troublous times:" "the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ:" and, though darkness should yet increase upon us, we hope and trust that "in the evening time it shall be light."]

But though God's counsel shall stand, we are not the less accountable to him for our actions; nor can we doubt but,

IV. That however men may escape punishment in this world, their sins shall be recompensed in

the world to come

[To that tribunal David looked forward, when he saw that "the sons of Zeruiah were too hard for him;" and he found consolation in the thought, that "the Lord would reward the doer according to his wickedness." It was a misfortune to him to have a subject so powerful, that he could set the laws at defiance. Through the goodness of God, the laws of our land are enforced; and the atrocious act that has been committed has met with its deserved recompence. But there are sins of a less heinous nature, which are committed daily with impunity. Let us not however suppose that they will be unnoticed by the Judge of quick and dead. The vindictive thought will there be noticed, as well as the vindictive act; yea, and the impure desire also, as well as adultery itself: for God will bring into judgment every secret thing, whether it be good or evil. Nor will there be any respect of persons with him. Now there is a kind of partiality in favour of the rich and great; evils are allowed in them, which, if committed by persons of the lower class, would be reprobated and abhorred: but the high and the low will hereafter be equally tried by the unerring standard of God's law, and be judged "according to what they have done in the body, whether it be good or evil." Let not the hope of impunity therefore encourage any man to sin; for God has warned us, that "though hand join in hand," (yea, though earth and hell should unite for the protection of any,) "the wicked shall not pass unpunished."]

CCCXI.

UZZAH'S PUNISHMENT FOR TOUCHING THE ARK.

2 Sam. vi. 6-9. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?

THE noblest use of power is to exert it for God. So David thought: for no sooner had he attained the quiet possession of the throne of Israel, than he determined to bring up the ark of God from Kirjathjearim, where it had remained in obscurity perhaps for seventy years, and to place it in Jerusalem, where it might receive the honour due unto it. But, as persons striving in the Grecian games "were not crowned except they strove lawfully," and conformed to the rules prescribed for them, so neither can they be accepted who exert their influence for God, except they use it agreeably to the dictates of His revealed will. Accordingly in this very act David met with a repulse: the person whom he employed to bring up the ark was struck dead upon the spot; and the whole measure was disconcerted: yea the very frame of David's mind also was changed, from joyous exultation, to vexation, sorrow, and despondency.

Let us contemplate,

I. The punishment inflicted on Uzzah

Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, having long had the charge of the ark in their father's house, undertook to drive the cart whereon it was to be conveyed to Jerusalem. Ahio went before to prepare the way, and Uzzah drove the oxen: but, when they were arrived at the threshing-floor of Nachon, the oxen by some means shook the ark; and Uzzah,

apprehensive it would fall, put forth his hand to keep it steady: and for this offence he was struck dead upon the spot.

Now at first sight it appears as if this punishment was exceedingly disproportionate to the offence: but we shall be of a very different opinion, if we consider,

1. The offence committed

[This was of a complicated nature: it was the offence, not of Uzzah only, but of David, and of the whole nation. As it related to Uzzah, it was highly criminal: for God, in the orders he had given respecting the removal of the ark from place to place, had directed that the priests only should touch the ark, or any thing belonging to it; and that the Levites should carry it: and so strict was this order, that it was enforced by the penalty of death: "The sons of Kohath shall bear it (by its long staves;) but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die." Now Uzzah was not a priest; and therefore he should on no account have presumed to touch the ark. It may well be supposed, that this violation of God's command was the fruit of an habitual irreverence, which a long familiarity with the ark had nourished in his mind: and therefore God took this occasion of punishing his presumption.

But David, also, and all the nation were to blame for the very accident that occasioned Uzzah to put forth his hand, arose from their criminal neglect. God had given plain directions about his ark; and had ordered that it should be carried on the shoulders of the Levites. The other articles belonging to the tabernacle were large and cumbersome; and for the conveyance of them God had given waggons and oxen; but "to the sons of Kohath he had given none; because the service belonging to them was, to bear the ark upon their shoulders"." Why then was this forgotten? Why did David and all the priests and people presume to substitute another way, different from that which God had prescribed? The Philistines, it is true, had sent home the ark in this way: but they knew nothing of the directions given in the law, nor had they any of the sons of Aaron with them to employ in that service. Were these ignorant heathens a fit pattern for David to follow, in direct opposition to the commands of God? If David did not know what God had commanded in relation to the ark, should he not have examined; or should he not have inquired of the Lord, as he had so recently and so successfully done in reference to his conflicts with the Philistines? This neglect