LET: judgment of heaven, upon themselves. XVI. There is no ground for fuppofing

that David treated them worse than they would have treated the Hebrews, or than prisoners of war were treated in those times: and Dr. Chandler, it is apprehended, has given very good reasons why the paffage fhould be rendered in the manner following--"He brought forth the inhabitants, "and put them to the faw, and to iron mines, and iron axes, and "tranfported them to the brick-kiln,” or rather "to the brick-frame, and hod,

to make and carry bricks," that is, he reduced them to flavery, and put them to the moft fervile employments. See Chandler's Life of David, vol. 11. P. 227---a book, which fhould be carefully perufed by thofe who are difpofed to favour us with any fresh difquifi.

difquifitions on the fubject of it. LET. But we must proceed to David's fen- XVI. tence on the Amalekite.

The two accounts of the manner of Saul's death, one given in the course of the hiftory, at the close of the first book of Samuel, the other by the Amalekite, at the beginning of the fecond, are fo different, that "one of them (the infidels fay, P. 26.) "must be false." Very well; fuppose it fo to be, and what then? Why then, they put the following refolution of the difficulty into the mouth of their Tom Fool of a Chriftian, as they call him. "To this we can only answer, "as it becomes the faithful in all fuch "cafes of feeming contradiction ;

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namely, that they were both writ"ten by the pen of Inspiration, confequently must both be true, how

66 ever

LET.

XVI.

ever contradictory or abfurd they may feem to mere human reason." -Well faid, Tom!

But let me ask these gentlemen, what mortal, befides themselves, Tom's elder brethren, ever imagined the Amalekite to have been infpired, when he told his ftory to David?-An idle pickthank fellow, who ftripped Saul of his diadem and bracelets, and ran away full fpeed with them to David, to let him know that all was fafe, his old enemy was fallen, and he had put him out of his pain! David faw through the character of the man, and, from his forward officiousness in the affair, probably concluded, he had taken fome undue advantage of Saul in his wounded state, and flain him, on purpose that he might find favour with his fucceffor in the king

dom,

dom, by bringing him all this good LET. news. "As the Lord liveth who hath XVI. "redeemed my foul out of all adverfity (fays he upon another occafion)

when one told me faying, Behold "Saul is dead (thinking to have brought

good tidings) I took hold of him,

" and flew him in Ziklag, who thought "that I would have given him a re"ward for his tidings."

But whether David fufpected it, or not, as the narrative of Saul's death given in the course of the hiftory is true, the story told by the Amalekite is certainly false in fome particulars, which are inconfiftent with that narrative. Nay, it is not probable, if indeed it be poffible, that the main circumftance of all fhould have been true. Saul defires his armour-bearer

LET. to kill him, who refufes; he falls upon XVI. his fword; and the fervant, feeing

his mafter dead, does the fame. Now, where is the interval, or opening, for the scene between Saul and the Amalekite to take place? Or would the armour-bearer, who refused to kill Saul, ftand by, and fuffer an Amalekite to kill him?-But though David judged this man unworthy to be his friend, he may make a very good figure in the unbelievers' catalogue of faints, and I would recommend him to occupy a nich in that temple.

Let us, however, for a moment, fuppofe, that David had judged otherwife; that he had rewarded him handfomely, and promoted him to honour. What would have been faid, then? Why, that poor Saul had escaped the fword of the Philiftines, but "this "ruffian"