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"And

pletely expose his own perfidy and falsehood. he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but camest back, and hast eaten bread, and drunk water in the place of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers." My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." The proceedings of Divine justice in this case, accord not with our rash apprehensions. The deluded righteous man is immediately threatened with severe punishment; whilst the blasphemous deceiver who occasioned all the mischief is suffered to escape. God's meaning is explained to us by St. Paul, where, speaking of some Christians at Corinth, who profaned the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper by feasting as they would have done at a common meal, he says, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep";" that is, are cut off by death. "But," he adds, "when we are judged (that is, suffer the calamities just spoken of) we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." There is a judgment to come, wherein everlasting destruction shall light upon all those, who, like the blasphemous prophet of Beth-el, obstinately refuse to retain God in their knowledge, and delight in misleading his servants. Therefore, God often suffers them, like the tares among the wheat, to grow up and thrive in this world. But "those whom He loves He rebukes and chastens "." Sometimes because He would quicken their growth in grace, and make them more and more partakers of his holiness; at other times (as in the case before us) for the sake of displaying his own glory, and his abhorrence of sin, and for a warning to other men.

6 ""

"And it came to pass," the history proceeds, "after

* Isa. lv. 8.

5 1 Cor. xi. 30.

6 Rev. iii. 19.

he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he (that is, the prophet of Beth-el) saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him."

So

Such was the piteous end of this holy man. faithful a prophet as he was, so bold in God's cause, for one offence he dies as a criminal, whilst an old lying prophet lives at ease, and an idolatrous prince in pomp and power. "Thy way, O God, is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters." We cannot judge of men by their sufferings, nor of sins by their present punishment. But, assuredly, the Judge of all the earth doth right. If, then, his rebuke be so awful, what must his righteous vengeance be? "O, consider this, ye that forget God, lest He pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you "."

"And his carcase," so the history concludes, "was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. . . . And he went, and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. . . . And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!"

The death of the man of God, as I have said, was needful, in order to display God's impartial hatred of iniquity. The miraculous preservation of his dead body showed that it was not a chance which had happened unto him; but that even the wild beast who slew him acted by God's direction, and could not exceed his commission in the least. Though he had power to slay, he had not power to tear the body, or to injure the ass. Yea, the savage nature of the lion even was restrained, by miracle, in order to protect the

7 Ps. 1. 22.

sinful prophet of Beth-el, when he was employed in taking care of the body of God's beloved though offending servant; and by this means, his remains, though they came not into the sepulchre of his fathers, were nevertheless honourably buried. God" in his wrath remembered mercy;" and by this gracious act seemed to testify, that though He was angry with his servant, his anger was turned away; and that the punishment went no farther than death.

And now see that ye lay this history to heart, for doubtless it was recorded for your instruction.

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Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God." "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves "." Perhaps it may not happen, that you will be endangered by lying pretenders to new revelations; nevertheless, every age and nation has brought forth seers of visions, and dreamers of dreams, who have deceived many. "By their fruits ye shall know them." "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them'." Let God's written word, then, be at all times the guide of your feet; and remember the awful words with which Holy Scripture closes: "I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book ""

2

Though you may not fall in the way of false prophets, yet consider you are continually in the way of false interpreters of God's Holy Word: you live in a world that loves darkness; and a double portion of the spirit of the prophet of Beth-el has fallen upon thousands of worldly-minded men. There are few who will not

8

1 John iv. 1.

Isa. viii. 20.

9 Matt. vii. 15.

2 Rev. xxii. 18, 19.

take upon them to dispense with the righteous commands of God. In their daily conversations, men instruct each other to "put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Multitudes, who are quite ignorant of the first principles of Christ's religion, can yet very plausibly explain to such as love ungodliness in their heart, how the plain interpretation of a commandment is far too strict, how piety is enthusiasm, and the surrender of our bosom sin to Christ, righteousness overmuch. But watch and pray; and beware of every book, of every adviser, that would help you to make God's Word more agreeable to your own inclinations. You must go exactly the contrary way to work; you must beg of God to conform your inclinations to his Word; when this is done, the Bible, at least the preceptive part of it, is a very easy book.

There are two sorts of doctrine which divide the world. One, which convinces men of sin, and pulls down their pride; which sets forth eternal life as a free gift in Christ, and requires a surrender of the whole soul to God. This is the doctrine for the men "whose hearts the Lord hath touched."

But the doctrine, which, whilst it pampers human arrogance, can yet indulge man's licentiousness by showing him how little he need do, and yet be saved; the doctrine that fines down plain commandments by nice distinctions, that dispenses, limits, and makes exceptions; that permits unscriptural allowances, and cries, Peace, peace, when there is no peace: this is the doctrine that will be popular with the multitude; this is the doctrine which naturally we all love best; this is the doctrine, which at certain seasons (so sadly imperfect are we) is convenient to the wisest ; the doctrine by which, on too many occasions, all are willing to be deceived. The world is full of it: let Christians, therefore, remember the traitor in their bosom, and "walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise 3"

"Let no man deceive you with vain words:" neither 9 Eph, v. 15.

3

let your sinful appetites mislead your judgment, and tell you that this or that is a small commandment, and so may be broken with small offence to God. The thing cannot be. Though some sins doubtless are worse than others, yet it must be daring insolence in you to argue that any sin is a light matter, which the All-wise Almighty has seen it fitting to forbid. Whatever might be thought of you if your foot had slipped inadvertently, you are surely a daring rebel, if you can first weigh the evil of the sin in your own conscience, and decide that it is a trifle, and then transgress on that presumption.

Be at all times watchful. If, like the prophet whom God sent from Judah, you have been enabled manfully to overcome great temptations, do not become careless, do not act as if you thought it beneath you to guard against little trials. You can do all things through Christ strengthening you; but if He uphold you not, a straw can throw you down.

Consider how great a mercy it is to be preserved from sin; and how offensive all sin is to your Almighty Father. And if, through his grace, you have been supported through many conflicts, pray that you may grow in grace. Forgetting those things which are behind, reach forward to those which are before, and let a deep sense of obligation to the great Physician of your souls constrain you to persevere in following his wise directions.

Learn a lesson of godliness from the first part of the good prophet's history; a lesson of humility and selfdistrust from his fall.

Confess the Lord Jesus, and testify against profaneness as boldly as he did, whensoever you are called upon so to do. And when fools make a mock at sin, when religion is scoffed at, and you are likely to be scoffed at for adhering to it, consider that as the time for declaring that you are on the Lord's side.

Disregard the favours of ungodly men, and despise their threats as he did, whensoever they would either frighten you into a betraying of your trust, or bribe