der worldly parents; who set an unprofitable example in their own conduct, and place before the minds of their children no great and worthy objects: for it must be a very bad mind. indeed that gives the preference to this world, when it has been taught the value of the other. And we have in this Ahithophel a man who was in no want of a capacity to learn; he was not ignorant for want of an understanding; on the contrary, he had obtained the repute of great wisdom: The counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God. It is often found too true by experience, that persons of superior penetration and wisdom are of bad intentions: they see further than other men, and are under a temptation to turn their minds to the overreaching of others, and effecting mischief: their ability in accomplishing wickedness is a snare and a temptation to them: they find they can do it, and therefore are ready and willing to do it. The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light: they study causes and effects as to things of this life, and can conjecture what will be, and what will not be, with more precision than whose minds are employed upon persons higher things. If any man was at a loss in a

difficult

difficult case, here was the man who could tell him how to act for the best; he was like an oracle; his judgment was never under a mistake: but he made a great mistake in one respect; as we may learn from his own case. We may suppose he would be as exact for himself, as for any other person; but when he calculated for himself, it appears, that he left God out of the question. Providence made no part of his plan. He considered with great sagacity how he was to act; but he never considered how God would act: and therefore all his wise designs must have been very defective. "I will act so and so," says the man of the world but he never asks himself, "how will God act?" The rich man said, "I shall want room for my stores; I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and then I can do as I please." But the gospel calls him a fool, for not considering that God might call him out of the world that night, and that then all his schemes of happiness and prosperity would die with him. Such is he who is wise without God; and such was this Ahithophel. He had no regard either to the ways of God or the laws of God; for he advised Absalom to commit such horrible wickedness against his ther's house as could never be forgiven, that

the

the people might be sure there could never be a reconciliation between them, and thereby might be confirmed in their rebellion. Al this he did without scruple, as a wise politician; and his advice, though very wicked in itself, was good advice for promoting the ends he had in view. A politician may be a good man: but then, I am afraid, he will be a bad politician; because there are cases, in these evil days, in which a man of nice virtue will be apt to miscarry. So practically and experimentally true is it, as we said before, that the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

But now we proceed to consider, that this wise man was soon after under great mortification and disappointment. His pride, his vanity, his ambition, were all disappointed. He knew he had given the best advice for the destruction of the king and his party; but he found that the worse advice was preferred, and foresaw that it would be the ruin of Absalom and of his cause. He had entered into the conspiracy with a persuasion that his advice would be taken; that he should continue to be the great oracle he had hitherto been: but his purpose was frustrated; that hurt his pride; and when the worse counsel was preferred to

the

the better, that opened a dreadful prospect; for in case of a miscarriage, which he now considered as unavoidable, all his golden hopes were blasted. His ambition had promised itself wealth and honour; instead of which, the disgrace, infamy, and punishment, due to his treason, presented themselves to his mind. And perhaps he now began to see for the first time, that as he had been against God, God was against him, and, according to the prayer of David, was turning his counsel into foolishness. Under this calamity, what had he to support him? Nothing but that policy of a wicked man, which never supported any body long. It may work for a time, and may seem to prosper: but when it falls, it falls to rise no more. In the trouble of a righteous man there is hope; but in the trouble of the wicked there is none: he had no courage to make any further trial, but giving the whole matter up for lost; to avoid an ignominious death, which he knew was what he merited, he went home to put an end to his life, as many others have since done under the like circumstances.

It was a severe misfortune to him that he kept bad company, that he associated with rsons of that description and character, which

from

from time to time have helped to bring ruin A leader of sedition, let upon many a man. him be ever so wise, has bad designs: to the execution of bad designs bad people are necessary, and, therefore, such a sort of person soon finds himself in the midst of them; they encou rage him, and he makes his use of them, and so they work together to fulfil some wise ends of Providence, which it is hard for us to understand, till it pleases God to bring the authors of evil to destruction. "That which is now is that which hath been." Look at any leader of rebellion in these days, and you will find him an ungodly man, a man of no principles; and who are they that follow him? Are they not in general as bad as himself? No man that has the fear of God will unite himself with such a party his conscience will keep him from it; but if that were not sufficient, the expectation of wrath and vengeance, which (however slow its approach) certainly comes at last, would deter him from the undertaking. He that joins the wicked will come to the end of the wicked; and, of late days, we have been witness to many strange examples of this: we have seen party after party, in a neighbouring country, rising up, one after another, and triumphing for a while in murder and oppres