of Saul. We confess that we are simple and old-fashioned enough to think that the apparition was Samuel himself, raised, not by the magical arts of the woman, but by an immediate interposition of divine power wholly unlooked for on her part. We suppose, that the sorceress contemplated nothing more than to impose on the credulity of her visitant, and that she was herelf both surprised and alarmed at the actual appearance of him, whose spirit she was affecting to call "from the vasty deep." In behalf of this opinion, it may be remarked, that the incident is related by the sacred historian as a reality, and that to explain the passage in any other way, is to palter with the plain and obvious meaning of language. Another argument, and certainly one of considerable force, arises from the clearness and truth of the prediction uttered by the apparition: "The Lord also will deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me." Thus unambiguously did the voice that spoke, foretell the rout of Saul's army, and the death of himself and his sonsa prediction which was most fully verified. Now, this circumstance, we cannot help thinking, will strike the reflecting mind as evidence almost conclusive, in favour of the idea that the prophet was personally present, and conversed with Saul. It may be added, that this was the opinion generally adopted by the ancient Jews. That it was held by Josephus, will be seen by any one who inspects his account of the transaction. There is, likewise, a passage in the apocryphal book called Ecclesiasticus, which may serve to show what were the notions on the subject prevalent at the period in which it was penned. The writer in reference to Samuel, says, “And after his death he prophesied, and showed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy to blot out the wickedness of the people."

We consider it as certain, then, that Samuel himself appeared on this occasion, wrapt in the same well-known mantle which he was wont to wear prior to his deceasea mantle, the recollection of which could not be very grateful to Saul, since it was marked by that ominous rent, which portended the removal of the kingdom from his own family.... To the anxiously inquiring monarch the apparition replied in language of which our text is the introductory sentence: "Wherefore dost thou ask of me, secing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy ?"

It has been thought by some, that this language is not such as the prophet himself would have held in addressing Saul. They conceive, that, had it been really Samuel who spoke, he would not have sought to drive the king to final despair, by telling him, that the Lord had departed from him, and become his enemy; but would rather have exhorted him to repent of his sins, and prepare for his approaching fate. There may be a degree of plausibility in this argument. And yet we apprehend, that Samuel, under the circumstances of the case, might, without impropriety, have uttered the words attributed to him in the passage before us. Let it be observed, that he appeared on this occasion, not as an ordinary minister of God, but as a special messenger from the world of spirits, to premonish the inquiring monarch of the doom which awaited him. He was not instructed to urge the duty of repentance upon Saul. Indeed, he knew, that such an exhortation must be unavailing, when addressed to one whom Heaven had abandoned to destruction.

The text, then, may be regarded as one among many passages of sacred writ, which teach us, that there may occur a crisis even in the earthly career of impenitent sinners, after which their salvation becomes morally impossible.

We know, that there are those who, while they would not absolutely deny this truth, are extremely reluctant to yield to it their assent, and think that it should be rarely -never indeed-insisted on from the pulpit. But when we observe how distinctly and prominently the doctrine in question is exhibited in the Bible, and when we further reflect, that it is peculiarly fitted to arrest and alarm careless transgressors, we are persuaded, that the preacher who neglects to bring it frequently and emphatically before his hearers, is awfully remiss in his duty to the Master whom he serves, and may have to answer for the blood of some, whom a different line of conduct on his part might have saved from eternal ruin.

Allow us, then, brethren, to assure you, that the individual who has long persisted in the misimprovement and abuse of distinguished advantages, is in an almost hopeless state. Such an one has reason to apprehend, that the Lord may soon depart from him, and become his enemy. The course which he pursues is calculated to blunt the religious sensibilities of the soul, and to bring on a condition of utter callousness, in which nothing short of a miraculous exertion of Almighty power can arrest him in bis degenerate career, and reclaim him from everlasting perdition. Such, as we have seen, was the case with Saul. Such, too, was the case with Pharaoh, when the Lord hardened his heart, or, in other words, abandoned him to the domination of his own depraved nature. And such, moreover, was the case with those in respect to whom our Redeemer himself declared, that the things which belonged to their peace were hidden from their eyes. But why do we go back to such instances, when it is more than probable, that the experience of some ia this very assembly will lend its testimony in corroboration of the truth on which we are insisting? We only

ask you, dear hearers, to cast a retrospective glance over your past history. Can you not recollect the period, when you had far more sensibility on the subject of religion, than you now have?-when you listened with a livelier interest to the preaching of the gospel, and even began to indulge the hope, that its truths were taking a salutary hold in your hearts? Tell us, merchant, was there not a time, when you occasionally thought of God amid the most pressing concernments of your store and counting room? Is it not so, politician, that you were once accustomed to consider, how it would profit you nothing to gain the whole world, and lose your own soul? Will you deny, aspirant after literary distinction, that there were moments of sober reflection, in which you felt how insufficient would be the breath of human applause to sustain and to cheer you amid the solemnities of death, and the realities of eternity? And will you hesitate to admit, votary of pleasure, that, in former days you scarcely ever returned from a scene of dissipation, without thinking, that enjoyments more solid and enduring than those of which you had just partaken, were necessary to sate the high and expanded appetites of the ethereal and immortal mind? But, alas! thoughts and feelings such as these rarely visit your bosom at present. Now, this fact, we would have you know, is a fearful indication, that the Lord is on the point of departing from you, and becoming your enemy. It shows, that unless a change speedily ensues, you are irretrievably undonethat you are fast approaching that dread crisis in your moral history, which shall determine your character and destiny for ever. Yes, the harvest may soon be past—the summer soon ended-and you not saved. Would to God, that we were capable of sounding in your ears such a note of alarm, as should penetrate the deepest recesses

of your soul, lend the keenest pungency to the goadings of conscience, and constrain you to resort, for safety and peace, to the strong-hold of the gospel!

We have represented the text as implying, that there may occur a crisis in the earthly career of those who have long enjoyed, without improving, the means of grace, after which it becomes morally impossible for them to be saved. By this representation we would not circumscribe, in any irreverent manner, the power of Jehovah. It is only our object to say, that such is the constitution of the human mind-such the nature of that moral government which the Deity exercises over it—that the possession, for a considerable length of time of distinguished religious privileges, by one who is not duly affected and benefited by them, contributes to harden his heart, to stupify his conscience, and, of course, to render his ultimate deliverance from sin and misery an extremely unlikely occurrence. It is one of the laws of our being, that familiarity with any object, physical or moral, tends to lessen the interest with which we contemplate it, and to weaken its influence over us. He whose native habitation is near the cataract of Niagara, looks without emotion on one of the sublimest of nature's spectacles, simply because he has been used to the scene from his boyhood days; and when he lies down to rest at night, the tremendous roar of the mighty torrent cannot prevent nor disturb the slumber of one whose cradle was rocked amid its loudest din. And so the man of middle and of old age, who has contemplated the truths of Christianity and listened to the sound of the gospel, from his earliest youth, may become, at last, almost utterly indifferent to all that the Bible reveals, and all that the preacher proclaims. We accordingly find, that the faithful minister of Jesus who takes up his residence in some of the remote