A. M. 2888, &c. or 4301. Ant. 3. "He had no legislative authority, which every king then had, but which no viceroy Chris could possibly have. David and Solomon indeed appointed the courses of the priests; 1116, &c. but the latter is said to have done so according to the order of the former, who is _expressly styled (a) the man of God,' who therefore acted under the direction of the Holy Spirit. or 1110. 4. "The king was placed and displaced by God at pleasure, of which, as viceroy, we see the perfect fitness; but as sovereign, by the people's choice or by any other right, we cannot easily account for. No doubt God is by inherent right the sovereign disposer of all things both in heaven and in earth; but in the establishing of the government of Israel, he appears to have treated with that people, as men equally independent treat with each other, and to have left it at first to their own option, whether they would have himself for their King. 5. "The very same punishment was ordained for cursing the king as for blaspheming God, namely, stoning to death; and the reason is intimated in these words of Abishai to David-Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD's ANOINTED? the common title of the kings of Israel and Judah. 6. "The throne and kingdom of Judea is all along expressly de lared to be God's throne and God's kingdom. Thus in the first book of Chronicles, it is said, that Solomon sat on the THRONE OF THE LORD as king, instead of David his father. And the queen of Sheba, who had doubtless been informed by Solomon of the true nature of his kingdom, compliments him in these words-Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on HIS THRONE, TO BE KING FOR THE LORD THY GOD. In like manner Ahijah says to the house of Israel, on their defection from Rehoboam; and now ye think to withstand the KINGDOM OF THE LORD in the hands of the sons of David (b). 7. "The penal laws against idolatry were still in force during their kings, and put in execution by their best rulers; which alone is a demonstration of the subsistence of the theocracy; because such laws would be absolutely unjust under any other form of government (c). 8. "It appears that a certain degree of inspiration was vouchsafed to their several kings, or at least to the first of each dynasty of kings, to enable them to discharge properly the duties of God's vicegerents, and that this gift was not withdrawn till they were rejected from their high office, or had rendered themselves unworthy of it. Thus, when Saul was anointed to be captain over the LORD's inheritance, as soon as he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart, and turned him into a new man,' (d) to qualify him, as Bishop Patrick observes, for the government of his people; but when he had rendered himself, by his rebellions against his Divine Sovereign, unworthy of the office, that Spirit was withdrawn from him, and conferred on David who was anointed to succeed him (e). In like manner, when Solomon succeeded to the kingdom, God bestowed on him a wise and understanding heart to enable him to govern and judge the people,' who are expressly called-not Solomon's-but God's people (ƒ). It is justly observed by Warburton, that had the people's demand of a king been complied with in the sense and to the extent that they meant it, the equal and extraordinary Providence rewarding piety and virtue in this world, and punishing idolatry and vice, must have been withdrawn from them; and that they could not then have supported themselves under an ordinary Providence, in which "all things here come alike to all," surrounded as they were by exasperated enemies more powerful than themselves. But it is of more importance perhaps to consider the equal and extraordinary Providence as necessary, at that period, and long afterwards, to check their propensities (c) Div. Leg. book v. sect. iik (ƒ) 2 Sam. iii. 5—15. to idolatry, and to prepare them gradually for the reception of that future Messiah, pro- From 1 Sam. mised to their forefathers, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. A i. to the end long succession of prophets was accordingly sent to open up gradually the nature of that dispensation, which Moses had taught them to expect from a prophet to be raised up among them like unto him; and to remove, by little and little, the shadows of their law, as they became more and more able to bear the splendour of the light within. This splendour, however, the nation at large was never fully able to bear; and therefore the extraordinary Providence was never wholly withdrawn from them till some time after their return from their Babylonish captivity, by which they appear to have been completely cured of their propensities to polytheism, and led to turn their attention more steadily to the prospect of that future state, which had been presented to them by some of their later prophets. During the captivity, Bishop Warburton supposes (a) that the administration of the theocracy lay, as it were, in abeyance; but it appears that the Jews were there permitted to live as far as possible, i. e. to regulate their own private concerns by their own. laws; and we are sure, that they were protected, by a miraculous interposition of Providence, from the tyranny of those who attempted to compel them to worship idols or to neglect the worship of their own God (b). On their return to their own country, however, the theocratic government was again administered, as is evident from the declaration of the Almighty, by the prophet Haggai: "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech the high priest; and be strong all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work; for I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts: ACCORDING TO THE WORD THAT I COVENANTED WITH YOU, WHEN YOU CAME OUT OF EGYPT, SO MY SPIRIT REMAINETH AMONGST YOU: fear ye not (c)." "What was that covenant, asks the Bishop? That Israel should be his people, and he their God and King. It cannot barely mean, that he would be their God, and they should be his people; for this was but part of the covenant. Nor can it mean that they should be conducted by an extraordinary Providence, as at their coming out of Egypt, and during the first periods of the theocracy; for this was but the effect of the covenant, which soon ceased after their re-establishment in their own country." Then indeed the extraordinary Providence was wholly withdrawn from the Jews, among whom, as among other nations, there was thenceforth" one event, in this world, to the righteous and to the wicked," whose prosperity or adversity appeared no longer to be the result, as formerly, of their righteousness or their sins. Still, however, their government continued to be a theocracy; for they were governed by laws which, as they were given by God, none but God could repeal or change. If then, as all writers on political philosophy agree, every government receives its denomination from the supreme or sovereign power of the state; and if no power can be supreme, but that in which resides the power of legislation, it is obvious, that the government or constitution of the Jewish state continued to be a theocracy till the coming of that prophet, who was to be a lawgiver like unto Moses; for none else had, or could have, authority to repeal, or in any way change those laws, which they had received from God by his ministry. Jesus the promised Messiah erected indeed a new and spiritual kingdom to be governed by a new and spiritual law; and proved the Divine origin of that kingdom, by miracles equally numerous and stupendous with those by which the theocracy had been originally established; whilst he completely abolished the Mosaic dispensation, by rendering it impossible to administer even the forms of the theocratic government †.] (a) Divine Legation, book v. sect. 3. (b) Daniel iii. and vi. (c) Haggai ii. 4, 5. I had written this dissertation, before Smith's translation of Michaeles's Commentaries on the MoVOL. II. saic laws came under my notice. I have now read DISSERTATION III. OF SAMUEL'S APPEARING TO SAUL AT THE WITCH OF ENDOR'S. A. M. 2888, How long the profession of necromancy, or the art of raising up the dead, in order &c. or 4301. Ant. Chris. 1116, &c. or 1110. to pry into future events, or to be informed of the fate of the living, has obtained in the world, we have no indications from history. We perceive no footsteps of it in the ages before the flood, and yet it is strange, that a people, abandoned to all kind of wickedness in a manner, could keep themselves clear of this: but our account of these times is very short. The first express mention that we meet with of magicians and sorcerers is almost in the beginning of the book of Exodus, where Moses is soliciting the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt; and therefore Egypt, which affected to be the mother of most occult sciences, is supposed to have been the inventress of this. From Egypt it spread itself into the neighbouring countries, and soon infected all the east: for as it undertook to gratify man's inquisitiveness, and superstitious curiosity, it could not long want abettors. From Egypt it is certain that the Israelites brought along with them no small inclination to these detestable practices, and were but too much addicted to them, notwithstanding all the care that the state had taken to suppress them, and the provision which God had made, by establishing a method of consulting him, to prevent their hankering after them. The injunction of the law is very express.-(a)" When thou art come into the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any that useth divination or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a * consulter with familiar spi What our English translation makes a "familiar spirit," the Septuagint and Vulgate render the spirit of Python, but the Hebrew calls it the spirit of Ob. The word Ob, or Oboth, in its primary signification, is a bottle, or vessel of leather, wherein liquors were put; and it is not unlikely that this name was given to witches and wizards, because, when they were in their fits of enthusiasm, they swelled in their bellies like a bottle. The occasion of this swelling is said by some to proceed from a dæmon's entering into the sorceress per partes genitales, and so ascending to the bottom of her stomach, from whence, at that time, she uttered her predictions; and for this reason the Latins call such persons ventriloqui, and the Greeks Eyyzoτęıvla, i. e. people who speak out of their bellies. That there have been such people as these, might be shewn by several examples both in ancient and modern history; but at present, we shall content ourselves with one taken from Cælius Rhodiginus, (Lecti. Antiq. lib. 8. c. 10.) His words are to this effect:— "While I am writing, says he, concerning ventriloquous persons, there is, in my own country, a woman of a mean extract, who has an unclean spirit in her belly, from whence may be heard a voice, not very strong indeed, but very articulate and intelligible. Multitudes of people have heard this voice, as well as myself, and all imaginable precaution has been used in examinining into the truth of this fact: Quando futuri avida portentus mens, sæpe accersitum ventriloquam, ac exutam amictu, nequid fraudis occultaret, inspectare et audire concupivit.' This demon (as our author adds) is called Cincinnatulus, and when the woman calls upon him by his name, he immediately answers her." In like manner several ancient writers have informed us, that in the times of Paganism, evil spirits had communion with these ventriloquæ per partes secretiores; but at present, we shall only take notice of a remarkable passage in St Chrysostom, which we chuse to give the reader in Latin: "Traditur Pythia fæmina fuisse, que in Tripodes sedens expansa malignum spiritum per interna immissum, et i. to the end. rits, or a wizard, or a necromancer; for all that do these things are an abomination to the From 1 Sawa. Lord" And therefore their punishment was this :-(a)" A man, or a woman, that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death. Thou shall stone them with stones, their blood shall be upon them." Nor was it only the practisers of such vile arts, but those likewise that resorted to them upon any occasion, were liable to the same punishment; for (b)" the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people, saith the Lord." Such was the severity of the Jewish laws against those who either practised, or encouraged, any manner of magical arts; and it must be said in Saul's commendation, that he had put the laws in execution against such vile people; he had destroyed and drove away (c) "those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land;" and yet, (observe the weakness as well as the wickedness of the man!) when himself fell into distress, and had abundant reason to believe that God had forsaken him, he flees to one of these creatures for relief, and requests of her to raise up his old friend Samuel, as expecting very probably some advice from him: But whether this was really done or no, or if done, in what manner it was effected, are points that have so much exercised the heads and pens, both of ancient and modern, both of Jewish and Christian writers, that little or nothing new can be said upon them; and therefore all that I shall endeavour to do, will be to reduce their several sentiments into as narrow a compass, and to state them in as fair a light, as I can, by enquiring into these three particulars. 1. Whether there was a real apparition. 2. What this apparition (if real) was: and, 3. By what means, and for what purposes, it was effected. 1. It cannot be denied indeed, but that those who explode the reality of the apparition, and make it to be all nothing but a cheat and juggle of the sorceress, have found out some arguments that at first sight make a tolerable appearance. They tell us, (d) that the sacred history never once makes mention of Saul's seeing Samuel with his own eyes. It informs us indeed, that Saul knew him by the description which the woman gave, and that he held for some considerable time a conversation with him; but since it is no where said that he really saw him, "Why might not the woman counterfeit a voice, and pretend it was Samuel's? when Saul asked her to per genitales partes subeuntem excipiens, furore repleretur, ipsaque resolutis crinibus baccharetur, ex ore spumam emittens, et sic furoris verba loquebatur, &c." Saurin, vol. 4. dissert. 36. (a) Lev. xx. 27. (b) Ibid. ver. 6. (c) 1 Sam. xxviii. 3. What forms of inchantment were anciently used in the practice of necromancy, we are at a loss to know, because we read of none that the Pythoness of Endor employed; but this might probably happen, because the ghost of Samuel came upon her sooner than she expected, and before she had begun her incantations. That however there were several rites, spells, and invocations used upon these occasions, we may learn from almost every ancient author, but from none more particulary than from Lucan, who brings in Erictho animating a dead body, in order to tell young Pompey the fate of the civil war. The ceremonies she uses for this purpose are thus described by our excellent translator of that poet: This said she runs the mangled carcase o'er, raise him up Samuel, i. e. to disturb Now with hot blood the frozen breast she warms, Ant. Chris. or 1110. A. M. 2888, the ghost of so great a prophet, she might think he was no common man; and when (a) &c. or 4301. he sware unto her by the Lord, that he would defend her from all danger, he gave her 1116, &c. intimation enough that he was the king. (b) The crafty woman therefore having picked up the knowledge of this, might retire into her closet or cell, and there having her familiar, i. e. some cunning artful man, to make proper responses in a different voice, might easily impose upon one who was distracted with anxious thoughts, and had already shewn sufficient credulity, in thinking there was any efficacy in magical opera. tions to evocate the dead. "The controversy between Saul and David every one knew; nor was it now become a secret, that the crown was to devolve upon the latter; and therefore that part of the discourse which passed between Saul and Samuel, any man of a common genius might have hit off without much difficulty. Endor was not so far distant from Gilboa or Shunem, but that the condition of the two armies might easily be known, and that the Philistines were superior both in courage and numbers; and therefore his respondent, without all peradventure, might prognosticate Saul's defeat; and though there was some hazard in the last conjecture, viz. that he and his sons would die in battle; yet there was this advantage on the side of the guess, that they were all men of known and experienced valour, who would rather sacrifice their lives than turn their backs upon their enemies." Upon the whole therefore, the maintainers of this hypothesis conclude, that as there is no reason, so there was no necessity for any miraculous interposition in this affair, since this is no more than what any common gipsy, with another in confederacy to assist her, might do to any credulous person, who came to consult her. They who undertake to oppose this opinion, lay it down for a good rule in the interpretation of Scripture,-That we should, as far as we can, adhere to the primary sense of the words, and never have recourse to any foreign or singular explication, but where the literal is inconsistent either with the dictates of right reason or the analogy of faith. Let any indifferent person then, say they, take into his hand the account of Saul's consulting this sorceress, and upon the first reading it, he must confess, that the notion which it conveys to his mind is that of a real apparition; and since the passages that both precede and follow it, are confessedly to be taken in their most obvious meaning, why should a strange and forced construction be put upon this? (c) Have we not as much reason to entertain a good opinion of the author of this history, his ability, his integrity, his knowledge of what he wrote about, and his undesigning to deceive us, as we can have of any critic or commentator upon it; and therefore, when he gives us to understand that the woman saw Samuel, upon what presumption are we led to disbelieve it? Saul and his companions might possibly be deceived by an impostor in Samuel's guise; but was the sacred historian therefore deceived, or did he mean to deceive us, when he gives us this plain account of an apparition? Saul was a bold man, and too sagacious to become a dupe to a silly woman. He and his two attendants came upon her by night, and before she was prepared to act any juggle or imposture. They were too well acquainted with the voice, and stature, and figure of Samuel, for any other to personate him, without being detected. But admitting the cheat passed up Chaos, the world's and form's eternal foe! And thou sole arbiter of all below, In everlasting hunger still must wait! (a) 1 Sam. xxviii. 10. Pharsalia, lib. vi. (b) Vid. Le Clerc's Comment. in 1 Sam. xxviii. passim. (c) The History of the Life of King David, Vol. i. |