{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58017/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58017","id":"gutenberg_58017","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58017","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Samuel, 1st -- Commentaries","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1816 R. Thomas edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n                   [Picture: Public domain book cover]\n\n\n\n\n\n                                    A\n                               FEW REMARKS\n                                  ON THE\n                            Scripture History\n                                    OF\n                                  SAUL,\n                                   AND\n                          _THE WITCH OF ENDOR_,\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                              BY J. CHURCH,\n                           _SURRY TABERNACLE_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n              TRY THE SPIRITS WHETHER THEY BE OF GOD.\u2014John.\n\n       FOR SATAN TRANSFORMETH HIMSELF INTO AN ANGEL OF LIGHT.\u2014Paul.\n\n       WHAT WILL YE DO IN THE DAY OF YOUR VISITATION, WHERE WILL YE\n                          FLEE FOR HELP.\u2014Isaiah.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                           Sold in the Vestry.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                               _SOUTHWARK_;\n             PRINTED BY R. THOMAS, RED LION STREET, BOROUGH.\n\n                                  1816.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n\n\n\n_REMARKS_\nON THE SCRIPTURE HISTORY OF\nSAUL, &c.\n\n\n          \u201cWOE ALSO TO THEM WHEN I DEPART FROM THEM.\u201d  Hosea ix, 12.\n\n               \u201cGOD IS DEPARTED FROM ME, AND ANSWERETH ME NOT.\u201d\n                              1 Sam. xxviii. 15.\n\n       _To all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity_.\n\nBELOVED,\n\nIT is your mercy the divine Spirit is the glorifier of Jesus; that he has\nset him forth in his word as the Christ of God; what he is, what he has\ndone, and what he has graciously said to his people.  This is the work of\nour faith, to receive as we need, these things, all the way to heaven.\n\nThe person of Jesus is the delight of the Father, the glory of heaven,\nand the foundation of the Church, considered as God-man Mediator.\u2014The\nglories of his person is revealed in the word, but we must die to see\nthem in full perfection, and no doubt that will be an heaven worth dying\nfor: but blessed be God we are not wholly in the dark about these\nexcellencies, so runs the promise, _They __shall all know me_, _from the\nleast to the greatest_.\u2014His person is truly blessed; his love is\nimmutable; his work is honorable and glorious, exactly suited to all the\nnecessities, of his people.  His covenant engagements, his precious\noffices, his sweet titles and characters, the Father\u2019s gracious\nacceptance of the work he accomplished, and to which he had called and\nappointed him.  These, and a thousand more interesting points, are set\nforth as matters of our faith, and the food of our souls.  His\neverlasting righteousness is our justification, his precious\nblood-shedding is our atonement, and his prevalent intercession at the\nFather\u2019s right-hand, is the basis of our hope, and the ground of our\nacceptance.\u2014I say again, my dear friends in Jesus, what a mercy!  This is\nour refuge, our remedy, our joy, our triumph, our present and eternal\nall: and that we have the most important evidence of interest in these\ncapital blessings, by being led from every other refuge; and under a\nsense, a daily view of our need, we are enabled to fly for a refuge, to\nlay hold on this hope; nor can we have a pain, a sorrow, a cross, a\nmisery of any kind, from sin, Satan or the world, but the holy Spirit\ndesigns thereby really to endear the Lord Jesus to us, as he is revealed\nin the word.  There is another most blessed consideration for our faith,\nviz. What Jesus has graciously said to his people, in all the precious\ndeclarations of the Father\u2019s love; the evidence he has given of this in\nthe gift of the dear Son, to obey, suffer, and die\u2014the declarative\nevidence of his own love, in his willingness to accomplish the work of\nredemption; and blessing his people with the gift of the holy Spirit, as\nthe principal evidence of interest in his love and work.  His precious\ninvitations to poor, needy, helpless, lost, wandering, undone sinners,\nwho being in the least imaginable degree convinced of their state, they\nare invited to him, with the most comfortable assurance of salvation;\nwhich assurance _of_, and _to_ faith, will, in due time, produce the\ncomfortable assurance of sense.  His promises are exceeding\nglorious\u2014hence the Church declared, after a beautiful, tho\u2019 enigmatical\ndescription of her Beloved, _His mouth is most sweet_.  The promises are\nvery precious, yea, the Apostle calls them _exceeding precious_\u2014they are\nexactly adapted to our cases, let them be what they may: if thirsting for\nthe consolations of the Spirit, Jesus says, _I will pour water on him_,\n_and floods on the dry ground_.  If ready to give up all, having waited\nlong to little purpose, he says, _The vision is for an appointed time_,\n_at the end it will speak_.  If a soul is groaning under guilt, he says,\n_I will he merciful to your unrighteousness_, _and your sins and\niniquities I will remember no more_.  If we feel our sins too strong for\nus, he promises he will subdue them.  If we are made sensible of our\nbacksliding, he says, _I will heal your backslidings_.  If in great\ndifficulties, and we know not which way to get out of them, he says, _I\nwill bring the blind by a way they __know not_: _I will guide thee with\nmine eye_.  If harrassed by the Devil, he promises to _bruise him under\nour feet shortly_.  If complaining of hardness of heart, he says, _I will\ngive you a new one_\u2014and if full of fears, he declares he will be _an\nhiding place in every storm_; and if we feel as if we were forsaken of\nGod; and are actually forsaken of friends, relatives, acquaintance, and\nboth professor and possessor shun us; and suppose every ray of sensible\ncomfort gone, yet, he cannot, will not leave or forsake you; for he hath\nsaid, _I will never_, _never_, _leave you_: _I will never_, _no_,\n_never_, _no never_, _forsake you_! for so the learned say it is in the\noriginal, not less than five times mentioned.  How sweet the thought!\u2014so\nthat we may confidently sing\u2014\n\n    The soul that on Jesus bath lean\u2019d for repose,\n    He can not, he will not forsake to his foes;\n    That soul though all Hell should endeavor to shake,\n    He\u2019ll never, no never, no never, forsake!\n\nAnd he is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he\nshould repent.  Let our faith plead these things, and may we rejoice in\nhim who is the faithful God\u2014he never can leave or forsake his dear\nChildren, his Bride, his jewels, his crown, his honour, his glory, his\nown flesh and blood.  This is our security and our triumph.  His love\ncannot change; his nature is immutable; his purposes cannot be broken;\nthe bond of union cannot be dissolved; he is one with them, he is in\nthem, and they are engraven on his heart, on his arms, and on the palms\nof his hands; and he has sworn, _Because_, or _As I live you shall live\nalso_.  Yet there may be some apparent forsakings, these are chiefly\nimaginary; yet they have caused these sad complaints\u2014_Why hidest thou thy\nface_, _O Lord_?  Zion said, _The Lord hath forsaken me\u2014my God hath\nforgotten me_!  The Lord may depart from his people, in the suspensions\nof his keeping hand; and the light of his countenance, the sense of his\nfavour, and the divine comforts of his spirit\u2014this may be seen in the sad\ntale of the fall, of the children of God, especially in the history of\nSampson, of whom it is written, that he went out to shake himself, as at\nother times, and he wist not that the Lord was departed from him: the\nLord may seem as if he had forsaken his people when he delays answering\nprayer; when the soul is shut up for a season; when sin prevails; when no\npower is felt under the word; when providences are dark; when temptations\nare strong; when the Church is under long persecution; and when distress\nabound.  Thus we may be partially forsaken; but faith can still triumph\nin this\u2014_What shall separate us from the love of Christ_?  David still\nloved his Absalom, though he refused him the sight of his face.  The loss\nof the light of God\u2019s countenance, loudly proclaims the direful effects\nof the believer\u2019s sin, sloth, and unbelief\u2014O! for grace to fly from sin\nas from the face of a Serpent\u2014O! for grace to cleave to Jesus\ncontinually.  But the Lord may be said to leave a man, when he withdraws\nhis sustaining, creative, providential hand, as in the case of some who\nare lunatic; of others who push into dreadful crimes, and suffer for\nthem; and of others, who are left to their own pride and despair, and who\nrush headlong, by their own hands, into an awful eternity.  It is a mercy\nfor a natural man to be kept by the almighty power of God, even as the\nGod of nature.  The Lord may be said to leave a people, when they have\nslighted the Gospel, rejected his servants, despised his ordinances, and\nwholly cast out his messages of love to his people.  This we all know was\nthe case with the Jews, which is to be seen to this day: God has given\nthem up to their own blindness, pride, prejudice, and enmity; and no\ndoubt they will remain so till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.\nHence he has said, _I will drive them out of my house_.  _Yea_, _woe is\nto them when I depart from them_.  _Your sin remaineth_.  _Behold your\nhouse is left unto you desolate_, _until ye shall say_, _blessed is he\nthat cometh in the name of the Lord_.  But finally; the Lord has left\nsome individuals to themselves, who have come into a profession, and who\nhave, uncalled, claimed the Lord as theirs; who have been awfully proud,\narrogant, lovers of themselves, heady, high minded, and cruelly envious\nof others; whose hearts were never truly humbled; whose enmity was never\nslain; whose secret prejudice was never subdued; nor were such taught out\nof either the Law, the Gospel, or affliction: such may have wonderful\ntalents, but no love of God, of Christ, or the Spirit; no real love to\nthe word of God, the house of God, the people of God, or the operations\nof the grace of God.  Such may make a fair shew in the flesh, for a\nseason; may be useful in some external things to others, as the\nscaffolding to a building, which will be taken away when the building is\ncompleat; and if not immediately by death, yet will, sooner or later,\ntake offence and stumble at the word, leave their profession, find their\ngifts wither; hide that talent in a napkin; mount the scorner\u2019s chair; go\nfrom bad to worse; stab religion in its vitals, and are by and by, given\nup to a _fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation_.  Such\nawful characters there have been, and it would be well if the world did\nnot groan with many at the present time.  Such cannot be said to fall\nfrom grace received, alas, they had none\u2014but only from a presumptuous\nconfidence, a feigned faith, a false zeal, and an hypocritical hope; and\nsurely nobody in their right mind, can call these things Grace, however\nGod makes use of them for a season, and then leaves them to their own\nheart\u2019s pride and cruelty; and the awful source of such things is, in\ngeneral, _black despair_.  This was partly the sad case of SAUL, which I\nnow present to my friends, that the affecting story may excite fear, and\nself-examination; gratitude and praise for distinguishing grace and\nmercy.  Doubtless much has been and may be said, in commendation of some\nactions in Saul\u2019s life, but the review of his religious character is\ntruly sad, nor can any one suppose, for a single moment, he ever\npossessed the grace of God in truth; for surely that grace saves a soul\nfrom the curse of the Law, the guilt of sin, the damnation of hell, and\nthe power of Satan: converting grace saves us from the world, self, and a\nform of godliness; the grace of faith saves from damning unbelief; the\ngrace of hope from wretched despair; and the grace of love from the\ncarnal enmity of the heart; leads us to love God, Christ, and the Holy\nSpirit; teaches us to love his word and ways, and to love all that love\nJesus, who bear his image, and serve him in godly sincerity.  But none of\nthese marks of the elect were found in Saul: not _faith_, because he\ndaily manifested his intention to destroy the promised Messiah, who was\nDavid\u2019s offspring, as well as David\u2019s Lord; nor _hope_, for he died in\nawful despair: nor _love_, for his soul was filled with carnal entity\nagainst the love of God; nor access to God; nor a spirit of supplication;\nnor the grace of patience; nor humility; nor resignation to the will of\nGod; and being destitute of those things, his end was according to his\nworks.  He was a slave to his sin, but God\u2019s children are set at liberty\nfrom these things, that they should not serve sin; and can there be\ngreater sin in the sight of God than envy, hatred, and malice in the\nheart against the children of God? impossible!\n\nThis poor unhappy man was the son of Kish, a Benjamite.  The children of\nIsrael, to be like the nations around them, loudly called out for a King,\nwhich God gave in his anger and took away in his wrath.  Samuel was\nappointed to anoint Saul; he then assembled the Hebrews to receive their\nnew king; the people shouted, and wished him joy.  A spirit of prophecy\nfell on him at times, which astonished many, but it does not appear to\nhave been in a covenant way, so that no one appears to have reaped any\nbenefit from his talent.  Coming to the kingdom, God furnished him with\nnatural abilities for the government of the people.  Hence it is said,\n_God gave him another heart_\u2014not the new heart and the right spirit he\nhas promised his people, but a mind capable of managing the affairs of a\nkingdom.  Soon after this advancement, Saul distinguished himself in some\nvery great exploits, but fell an awful victim to his pride, which was\nmanifested in his envying David, whose fame began to spread among his\npeople.  _Who can stand before envy_?  After God had so particularly\nhonoured David, Saul\u2019s sun set at noon day, while light was rising on\nDavid, never to go dawn.  The enmity of Saul was great indeed, which set\nhim upon the awful act of murder; this infernal intention he prosecuted\ntill the last stage of his life, and finding David had taken shelter\namong the Philistines, he gave over thoughts of getting him destroyed.\nAbout the year of the world three thousand and forty nine, the\nPhilistines invaded his kingdom, and encamped in the very heart of it,\nperhaps at the very time he was troubling the afflicted David.  Saul now\nfell into the deepest distress of mind; his measure was now, nearly\nfilled up, and a righteous God was now about to take vengeance on him for\nhis disobedience in the matter of the Amalekites; his horrid cruelty in\nthe murder of the priests and their families; and his enmity to David, of\ncourse to David\u2019s God.  Despair seizing his soul and preying on his\nspirits, he first calls on God, but most probably not in the appointed\nway; nor did he wait God\u2019s answer, but fled from him in the pride of his\nheart, and applied to the devil and his daughter, the Witch of Endor, for\nrelief to his mind.  Sad refuge, miserable comforters indeed!  He wanted\nto see and speak with Samuel the Prophet, whom he had neglected and\ndisobeyed in his life time, and therefore as God was departed from him,\nnor would answer him, he was determined, in defiance of Jehovah, to seek\nredress, from the Devil.  The Witch, no doubt, retiring to another\napartment than that in which Saul was, used her spells and enchantments,\nto bring up the pretended Samuel, who first told her who her client was,\nwhich made her cry out, Thou art Saul, come to me in disguise.  After\nSaul had assured her no harm should come to her, of course she had\nnothing to fear from man, and no doubt much conversation took place,\nwhich is not recorded, between the Witch and Saul.  But he being in\nhaste, asked her what she saw when she had used her spells.  She answered\nand said, I saw gods ascending out of the earth: the learned say it is\nnot a plural, but ought to be rendered a god\u2014Angels, and Magistrates used\nto be so called.  This idea of the singular number is supported by the\nquestion, What form is _he_ of?  And the Witch said, An old man with a\nmantle.  She did not say she saw Samuel, nor did the Ghost say it was;\nand it is queried whether Saul saw the spectre at all; but he bowed\nhimself to the ground; perhaps to hear what the spectre had to say, as\ntheir speech was called muttering; or if Saul saw the figure, then the\nconversation that passed is recorded, at least part of it.  The spectre\npretends he was Samuel in a glorified state; and that Saul had disquieted\nhim.  He told him that Saul and his sons should be with him the next day.\nHe then brought up some of his sins, and charged them home to his\nconscience, in order to drive him into desperation: this made Saul faint\nin the house of the Witch, and he could scarcely be prevailed on to take\nany refreshment.  He then travelled all night to his troops.  When the\nbattle was fought, the Hebrews were routed, but they maintained a running\nfight till they came to Gilboa, where the enemy overpowered them; three\nof Saul\u2019s sons were slain; Saul being pressed by the enemy be begged his\nArmour-Bearer to run him through with his sword, which he refusing, Saul\ntook his owe sword and fell upon it, and went to his place.  The subject\nof enquiry is the Circumstance of his application to a Witch to raise up\nSamuel.  Many have been, and still are of opinion, that it was really\nSamuel the Prophet, the man of God; the principal reason why even some\ngood men are of this opinion is, simply, on account of the prophecy.  The\nquestion with them is, how could Satan foretel what would happen to Saul?\nI shall therefore shew the very important reasons why I think the\nappearance was not the true Samuel.  2ndly, shew the possibility of Satan\nknowing what would shortly befal Saul.  3rdly, produce the testimony of\nsome of the best writers on this subject.\n\nThe whole circumstance we find recorded in the first book of Samuel, 28th\nchap. which I humbly conceive, if attentively read, and well weighed in\nthe mind, it will appear evident that the spectre which appeared to Saul,\ncould _not_ be the true Samuel.  I state my reason to those friends of\nmine who are not clear in their judgments on this subject, and request\ntheir attention to the following observations:\n\n_First_, that it is believed that the woman at Endor was really a Witch;\nthis is not doubted by any; and surely every person who is conversant\nwith their Bible, must remember that Jehovah forbid, on pain of Death,\nthe practice of Witchcraft, Divination, Necromancy, or consulting the\ndead.  Hence the command, _Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live_.  As\nthey rejected the Most High, and sought to devils, the sworn foes of God\nand his Saints; therefore it is absurd to suppose that God would\ncountenance such a practice in Saul\u2019s case.\u2014_Second_, It is evident God\nhas absolutely refused to answer Saul, and if he got any answer from the\nother world at all, God did _not_ send it; then Satan _must_ either send\nit, or come himself.\u2014_Third_, It is declared God would not answer him by\nProphets; and we all know Samuel was a Prophet; then it could be no true\nprophet of God.\u2014_Fourth_, The scriptures declare that Saul died for his\ntransgressions, which he committed against the Lord; and also for asking\ncounsel of one that hath a familiar spirit, to enquire of it, and\nenquired not of the _Lord_, therefore he slew him.\u20141st Chron. 10th\nchapter.  Let this divine testimony suffice that he did not enquire of\nthe Lord\u2014then he must have enquired of the Devil.\u2014_Fifth_, We have no\nauthority to believe that it ever was in the power of the Devil, or his\nDaughter, a Witch, to disturb a Saint in heaven; or to raise up a body\nfrom the grave.\u2014_Sixth_, To take them out of the hands of Christ, or the\nbosom of his felicity.\u2014_Seventh_, Had it been the true Samuel, he would\nnot have said he came up from the earth, but rather that he came from\nabove.\u2014_Eighth_, No Believer can for a single moment, admit that a\nglorified saint could be subject to hellish enchantment.\u2014_Ninth_, Nor is\nit reasonable to suppose that God would answer Saul by a dead prophet,\nwhen he refused to answer him by a living one; or that God would send a\nProphet from heaven upon such an errand as this at the motion of a\nWitch.\u2014_Tenth_, Nor would Samuel, the true Prophet, have admitted such\nworship and homage to be paid to him as the Devil did.\u2014_Eleventh_, If it\nhad been the true Prophet, he would have reproved him for the sin of\nasking counsel of a Witch, as well as other sins he accused him\nof.\u2014_Twelfth_, Had it been the true Samuel he would have advised him to\ngo by humble confession to the Lord, and wait on him for pardoning mercy.\n\nFrom these observations, I think, it cannot be reasonably supposed to be\nSamuel, the true Prophet of God.  That there have been appearances of\nspectres I doubt not, but I cannot suppose for a moment, that they are\nthe real souls of the departed, but either their guardian angels or\ninfernal spirits, sent on errands we know nothing of in this lower world;\nbut this I leave, and only remark that in this case of the wretched,\ndespairing Saul, that Satan, with whom the Witch of Endor was very\nfamiliar, could easily transform himself into a grave old man, with a\nmantle, when the scriptures declare he can transform himself into an\nAngel of Light, which must be a greater work.  It is evident he is now,\nand has been for many years, worshipped by Heathens, in many forms,\nwitness the idols which are made and adored abroad, in which form, no\ndoubt, Satan has often appeared to his familiars.  As to his being called\nSamuel, many who have been possessed of the devil are called prophets, as\nwell as many who are destitute of grace have been called christians; but\nwhat appears to stagger some of my friends the most is, how Satan could\nknow future events, and predict them to Saul.  But surely there was no\nsuch a great mystery in this, when it was well known the evil spirits, in\nthe oracles of the heathen, and in others, have told future events.\nBesides, Satan well knew the numbers and strength of the enemies that\ncame up against Saul\u2019s army.  No doubt Satan has much to do in a field of\nBattle.  Likewise Satan well knew that God had left Saul, and could then\neasily tell that it must go bad with him and his armies.  There wanted no\nconjurer to tell that, nor need Samuel come from heaven to predict it.\nBalaam, the wizard, who went several times to consult the devil about\ncursing the children of Israel, was obliged to turn Prophet, and foretold\nthe coming of Christ, and the glories of his kingdom; the destruction of\nthe enemies of the Church, and his own awful end, _I shall see him_, _but\nnot now_\u2014(that is, when he comes to judgment.)  _I shall behold him_,\n_but not nigh_\u2014(when he lifted up his eyes in hell).  Besides, God often\npermits Satan, as the Prince of the Power of the Air, to foresee the ruin\nof men, as in the case of Ahab.  See 1st. Kings, 22nd Chap. xx, xxii\nverses; and Satan, in a man, may predict his own ruin, or the ruin of\nothers.  This may be seen in the case of Haman, in the book of Esther,\n6th Chap. xiii, xiv verses.  But what was the prediction of the Devil in\nSamuel\u2019s appearance?  _Thou and thy sons shall be with me to-morrow_.  If\nthis was the Soul of the true Samuel, he never could have said this, for\nSaul could not associate with the Lord\u2019s children in heaven, seeing he\nlived and died a murderer; nor could his son, Jonathan have been with him\nin heaven, seeing he was a lover of the truth, and a servant of the Lord;\nand though they both died in the same field, they could not go to the\nsame place.  So that this spectre\u2019s prediction was wrong; and if it was\nsupposed to be Samuel\u2019s body brought up from the grave, and the Prophecy\nwas, he should be in the grave to-morrow; neither was this true, for the\nbattle was not fought for some days after, and it was a considerable time\nbefore Saul was buried in the grave, as you will find in the close of the\n31st Chap.  Besides, Samuel was buried at Ramah, and Saul was buried at\nJabesh.  Thus the prediction of the Devil was not true; nor did all\nSaul\u2019s sons die together, for some lived along time after his death.\n\nI shall now produce the testimony of some learned and pious men, whose\nopinions appear to be truly scriptural.\n\nBishop _Hall_ remarks on this subject: \u201cWhy should God answer that man by\ndreams, who had resisted him waking?  Why should he answer him by Urim,\nthat had slain his Priests?  Why should he answer him by Prophets, who\nhated the Father of Prophets?  Unto what mad spirit are men driven by\ndespair!\u2014if you will not answer _Satan_ shall.  Could Saul be so ignorant\nas to think that magic had power over God\u2019s deceased saints, either to\nraise them up, or call them down from their rest?\u201d\n\nDr. _Smith_, who published his comment on the Bible in 1735, observes,\n\u201cMany controversies have been about Samuel\u2019s apparition, but I am\nentirely of opinion that it was neither in the Devil\u2019s, or the Witch\u2019s\npower to raise up the true Samuel, to make him appear there; it was\nnothing but mere deceit and collusion of the Devil, whom God sometimes\npermits to do strange actions, for the ruin and destruction of those who\ngive credit thereto.\u201d\n\nThe truly learned Mr. _Poole_, in his works remarks on the 13th verse of\nthe chapter\u2014\u201cAnd the king said unto her, Be not afraid, for what sawest\nthou?  And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the\nearth\u2014or a god, a divine person, glorious, and full of majesty, exceeding\nnot only mortal men, but common ghosts.  She useth the plural number,\neither after the manner of the Hebrew language, which commonly useth that\nword of one person, or after the language and custom of the heathens; but\nthe whole coherence shews that it was but one, for Saul desired but one;\nand he enquires for, and the woman answers only of one, as if it came\nfrom the place of the dead.  The woman pretended, and Saul, upon her\nsuggestion believed indeed, that it was Samuel, and so many Popish and\nother writers conceived; but that it was _not_ Samuel, is sufficiently\nevident.\u201d  The argument of this good man I have interspersed in a\nforegoing page.\n\nMr. _Matthew Henry\u2019s_ opinion may be ascertained from the few remarks\nextracted from his notes on this chapter.\u2014\u201cSince Saul can discern no\ncomfort, neither in heaven or earth, he resolves to knock at the gates of\nhell, and see if any there will befriend him and give him advice.  Saul\n(who we may suppose was kept at a distance in the next room) bid her not\nto be afraid of him, but go on with the operation, and enquired, What she\nsaw?  O, saith the woman, _I saw gods ascending out of the earth_; _i.e._\na spirit\u2014angels were called gods, because they were spiritual beings.\nPoor gods that ascend out of the earth.  But she speaks the language of\nthe Heathen, who had their infernal deities, and had them in veneration.\nSaul came in disguise to Satan, and Satan knew him well.  Satan came in\ndisguise to Saul, but Saul could not discern him.\u2014It was cold comfort\nthis evil spirit gave to Saul, and is manifestly intended to drive him to\ndespair and self murder.  He upbraided him with three things, tho\u2019 he had\nbeen the seducer; and then he foretold his approaching ruin, which any\nbody could have done as well as Satan.\u201d\n\nBishop _Patrick_ observes, \u201cIt is not in the power of witches, to disturb\nthe rest of good men, or bring them back into the world when they please;\nnor would the true Samuel have acknowledged such a power in magical\nhearts, but to Saul this was a proper device of Satan, to draw veneration\nfrom him, to possess him with an opinion of the divination, and so to\nrivet him in the Devil\u2019s interests.\u201d\n\nDr. _Haweis_ also remarks\u2014\u201cIt is incredible that the Devil should have\nany power over the souls of the righteous; nor can we conceive God would,\nto countenance such an abomination, suffer the holy Prophet to appear:\nthe soul which was in heaven could not come up out of the earth, nor the\nglorified spirit be troubled as this apparition pretended, much less\ncould Samuel say, Saul should be with him to-morrow, whose impenitent\nend, gives no hope of his happiness.\u201d\n\nMr. _Mason_, a very spiritual writer, expresses himself thus concerning\nSaul\u2019s conduct; \u201cSee how a sin-hardened soul acts\u2014not like David, who\ngoes to the Lord with an humbled heart, a broken spirit, a sorrowful cry,\n_O Lord pardon mine iniquity_, _for it is great_!\u2014But like Saul, who\napplied to the Devil for relief, for the Lord was departed from him.\u201d\n\nMr. _Brown_, in his Self-interpreting Bible, says, \u201cAnd when the woman\nsaw Samuel, that is, the Devil in his likeness.  Satan hath no power over\nthe souls of glorified saints.  God would never give him any to\ncountenance consulting of Devils.  Samuel\u2019s soul had not to come out of\nthe earth, nor would he have said that Saul should be with him to-morrow,\nfor it is not probable the battle was fought on that day\u201d.\n\nThe able and learned Dr. _Gill_ observes, on the 15th verse, \u201cAnd Samuel\nsaid to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?  This makes it\na clear case that this was not the true Samuel\u2014his soul was at rest in\nAbraham\u2019s bosom, and it was not in the power of men or devils to disquiet\nit\u2014nor would he have talked of his being brought up, but rather of his\ncoming down, had it been really he, much less would he have acknowledged\nthat he was brought up by Saul, by means of a Witch, and the help of the\nDevil.\u201d\n\nThe late truly deep-taught scriptorian, Mr. _W. Huntington_, in his\nEpistles of Faith, acknowledges this history had once puzzled him, as\nmany professors had told him it was really Samuel the Prophet, that the\nWitch of Endor raised; but adds, For my part I cannot believe it, for God\nhas promised that his people shall be gathered in peace, and that their\nbodies shall rest in their beds; and I cannot think that it is in the\npower of the Devil to break the promise of God; for the wicked _cease_\nfrom troubling, and in that state, the weary are at rest.  If Satan can\nbring a soul out of Paradise, who departed in the faith, and raise a body\nout of the grave, who was once a temple of the Holy Ghost, he is not only\nthe God of this world, but a rifler of the next.  However, Jesus Christ\nis the resurrection and the life, and he is too jealous of his honour to\ngive it to an enemy.  The woman cried out, _I see gods ascending_, when\nshe saw the Devil come up, as an angel of light\u2014and I do not wonder at\nit, for I dare say she had never seen her sweet-heart in the rays of an\nangel, or with the gravity of a Prophet before.  Be not offended at the\nword sweet-heart, God says they sacrificed to devils, and went a whoring\nafter devils.  See 37th Deut. and 17th Levit.\n\nOne of our best and most evangelical preachers and writers, (I mean the\nexcellent Dr. _Hawker_) in his notes on this chapter, remarks, \u201cThe great\nenemy of souls might be permitted to personate the departed Prophet, as\nsuch he appears to Saul\u2019s view like Samuel.  That it could not be Samuel\nhimself, is I think, evident from other considerations.  Neither Satan\nnor his instruments can have power over glorified saints; neither could\nthe soul of Samuel be said to come up out of the earth, when we know that\nthe spirits of just men made perfect, are with the Lord.  Neither, had it\nbeen Samuel, would he have told him of the awful event about to take\nplace, without following it up with advice to repent, instead of driving\nhim to despair, and thereby forming a temptation to self-murder.\u201d\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  FINIS.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                  Thomas, Printer, Red Lion Street, Boro","title":"A Few Remarks on the Scripture History of Saul and the Witch of Endor","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":5662}