their necessary tendency to promote his welfare and happiness. They well knew how useful to their own views and interests it would be to persuade him that religion, virtue, and morality, were one and the same, or, at least, intimately and inseparably connected; the credulity of man gave credit to the imposture without examination, and the uniform experience of above 2,000 years has not hitherto been sufficient to undeceive him. Unhappy man! destined for ever to be the dupe of his own credulity, in opposition to the testimony of his experience, and the evidence of his senses. Does not the history of all ages show, that the most religious nations have always been, and still are, the most vicious and immoral ! Another most formidable evil necessarily results from such a system of superstition, that is, a state of civil slavery, which is always found its universal concomitant. Whenever the human mind is debased and degraded by a system of gross superstition, it becomes incapable of any one manly, liberal, or independent sentiment; every energy of the mind is lost, reason is surrendered, virtue, the chief support, if not the sole foundation of freedom, is banished, and man is fitted to receive the abject yoke of slavery; tyranny and despotism make an easy conquest of him, and the priest is ever ready to rivet his chains, and perpetuate his bondage, by the pretended sanction of Heaven. The power and influence of the priest and the tyrant is ever in proportion to the debasement of man; they have a common interest, have ever made a common cause against him, and have constantly erected their common throne on the ruins of his freedom, his welfare, and his happiness. Let us not, therefore, be deterred from unmasking to the view of mankind that immense mass of vice and depravity which constitute the foundation of the Jewish superstition; let no blind veneration for that hideous idol deter us from exposing its deformity; let us cultivate that which is truly good and useful; let reason assume her just empire over the mind of man, and credulity, ignorance, and folly, abdicate their usurped dominion: then shall we soon behold the galling fetters of vice and superstition broken by the irre sistible power of virtue, morality, and truth. THE LIFE OF DAVID. THE first establishment of regal government among the Hebrews, was occasioned by the corrupt administration of Joel and Abiah, the two sons of Samuel, whom he had deputed to judge Israel in the decline of his life. The people, exasperated at the oppression they laboured under, applied to Samuel for redress, tes tifying a desire to experience a different mode of government, by peremptorily demanding a king.† At this, however, Samuel was greatly displeased: not that his sons had tyrannized over the people, for of that he takes no manner of notice, neither exculpating them, nor promising the people redress; his chagrin arose from this violent resumption of the supreme magistracy out of the hands of his family; a circumstance for which he expresses great resentment. He consults the Lord, and not knowing else how the insurrection might terminate, in his name yields to their desires; promising them a king with vengeance to them.§ For," says the Lord," they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." The people, nevertheless, resolving to free themselves from present oppression, at the hazard of the threatened judgments, obstinately persisted in their demand, and dispersed not without a promise of compliance. 66 Samuel, to all outward appearance, chose the most impartial method of choosing a king, which was by lot, * 1 Sam. viii. 3. † Ver. 5. ‡ Ver. 6, &c. § Ver. 11, &c., ¶ Ver 7, compared with chap, ix. 16. chap. x. 1. C from among the people assembled by tribes; but pradently pitches upon his man, previous to the election; the whole tenor of his conduct manifesting, that he intended to give them a king in name, but still to retain the supreme authority in his own hands, by choosing one who should continue subordinate to his dictates. Opportunely for his purpose, a young countryman, named Saul, having rambled about to seek his father's asses, which had strayed, and finding all search after them vain, applied to Samuel as a prophet,* with a fee in his hand, to gain intelligence of his beasts. We gather from several passages in Jewish history, that there were seminaries of prophets, i. e. the univerversities of the times, where youth were trained up to the mystery of prophesying. We find there were false prophets, nonconformists, not of the establishment; we find that even the true ones were liable to be imposed on by their brethren ;† and we find moreover, by this instance, that prophets did not disdain to give assistance in their prophetical character, concerning domestic matters, for reasonable gratuities. A chief among the prophets, one who had been a judge over Israel, is applied to in a pecuniary way, for intelligence concerning lost cattle. * 1 Sam. ix. 7, 8. Kings, xiii. 18. Josephus in loco. Pretensions to divinations continue to this day, though, in the opinion of reformed churches, all prophesying and miracles have long since ceased. These modern prophets are drolly ridiculed by our facetious countryman, Butler, in the person of Sydrophel, a dealer It has been said, that this is the only instance recorded of a prophet being applied to for purposes of this nature; but it appears that it was usual for men to have recourse to prophets, and that the phrase was, “Come, and let us go to the seer;"* and that prophetical intelligence was paid for, is evident from the inquiry between Saul and his servant, concerning their ability to gratify him.† But, to proceed: Saul not only found his asses, but a kingdom into the bargain; and had the spirit of the Lord given to him; which we find taken away § again, when he proved untractable: though it seems somewhat odd, how he could possibly prove disobedient, while he acted under the influence of this Divine Spirit! For, the possibility being admitted, the advantage of inspiration is difficult to be conceived. After Samuel had in private || anointed Saul king, and told him his asses were already found, he dismissed him for the present. He then assembled the people for the election of a king: at which assembly, behold, the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin; and in that, on the family of Matri; and finally, on Saul, the son of Kish. An election somewhat resembling consistorics for the appointment of bishops; where the person being previously fixed on, God is solemnly prayed to for a direction of their choice. It is not intended here to give a detail of the reign of king Saul; the notice hitherto taken of him being merely because the life of David could not be properly introduced without mentioning the alteration of government, and the manner in which monarchy was cs When yeast and outward means do fail, * 1 Sam, ix. 9.. † Ver. 7, 8. Ch. x. 6. $ Ch. xvi. 19. ↑ Ch. x. 20, 21. |