fully use them and perfecute them. I conclude with the words of the apostle Jude, ver. 24, 25, "Now unto him "that is able to keep you from falling, and to prefent you "faultlefs before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wife God, our Saviour, be glory and majefty, dominion and power, both now and ever. "Amen."

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Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken, than the fat of

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THA

HAT obedience is due to God from all his intelligent creatures, I fuppofe none here prefent will deny. It is the original unchangeable law of creation, which every after discovery served not to undetermine, but to fupport and confirm. It was the religion of man in his primitive ftate of innocence; and it fhall be the religion of heaven, when we shall see our Maker as he is. The very excellence of truth itself lies in its influence on holiness, and the very purpose of every facred inftitution is to form our minds to a habit of obedience and fubjection to the will of God.

In the mean time it is of the utmoft moment, that we have clear and juft conceptions of the nature and principles of obedience, and that we guard against the errors that are often committed on this fubject. Some, from a partial or exceffive attachment to one branch of duty, are apt to disparage another; and fome are apt to make a merit of their zeal and diligence in one duty, as if it would procure indulgence for them in the wilful neglect of another. From the language in the remarkable paffage of fcripture which I have chofen for my text, it is plain, that

facrifices, or the outward worship of God, are fometimes made a cover for the neglect of obedience. Nor are there wanting other paffages where complaints are brought against the fame mistake. On the other hand, this passage where the text lies, and another expreffion a-kin to it in the gofpel, "I will have mercy, and not facrifice," have been grofsly mifapplied, to bring contempt upon every pofitive inflitution, and even upon the whole exercises of piety; and that by fuch perfons as do very little honor either to themfelves or their opinions, by the perfection of their obedience. I have chofen thefe words, with a view to the information and conviction of both thefe forts of perfons, and for the inftruction and edification of thofe who defire to walk in the flraight path of duty, without turning to the right hand or to the left. In difcourfing further upon them, I propofe,

I. To open a little, and make a few remarks on the hiftory which gave occafion to the words of the prophet.

II. To fhew in what refpect it is, that obedience is oppofed and preferred to facrifice, or juftly called better, as in the words of the text.

III. In the laft place, To make fome application of the fubject.

I. FIRST, then, I am to open a little, and make a few remarks upon the hiftory which gave occafion to the words of the prophet. This will be the more proper, that the fetting this part of the facred story in a clear light, will both afford us fome excellent inftructions, and alfo obviate the cavils of unreafonable men. The people called Amalekites were derived, and had their name, from one Amalek, the fon of Efau's eldeft fon Eliphaz, by a concubine. (Gen. xxxvi. 12.) The first mention we have made of them as a people, was their being engaged in a very unjuft war with the children of Ifrael. (Ex. xvii. 8.) This provoked God to determine, or at leaft upon this occafion he was pleafed to intimate, their being devoted to utter deftruction; as Exod. xvii. 14, 15, 16. "And the Lord "faid unto Mofes, Write this for a memorial in a book, "and rehearse it in the ears of Jofhua: for I will utterly

put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. "And Mofes built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nifli. For he faid, Because the Lord hath fworn, "that the Lord will have war with Amalek from genera"tion to generation."

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The injuftice and impiety of this action of the Amalekites, which provoked God, not only to threaten, but to fwear their deftruction, may be learned from the account of this matter given us in Deut. xxv. 17, 18, 19. "Re"member what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt: how he met thee by "the way, and finote the hindmoft of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou waft faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it fhall be, when "the Lord thy God hath given thee reft from all thine "enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy "God giveth thee for an inheritance to poffefs it, that "thou fhalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from "under heaven; thou fhalt not forget it." From this it appears, that the Amalekites attacked the Ifraelites unprovoked, and without any caufe; for the Ifraelites neither intended to poffefs themselves of their country, nor were they fo much as paffing by their borders, which might have given them fome caufe of fufpicion. Without any thing of this fort, they came out of their own country to attack the Ifraelites in the wildernefs, either in confequence of the old grudge between Efau and Jacob, or from a principle of covetoufnefs, to feize upon the riches which they heard the children of Ifrael had brought out of Egypt.

It is further obferved, that they cut off thofe that were faint and weary, when the diftreffed condition of that people feemed rather to call for compaffion and help. This was unjust and cruel; and difcovers them to have been a favage and profligate people; efpecially if one circumstance more be taken notice of, that they did all this in open defiance and contempt of God. They had no doubt heard, that he interested himself in a particular manner in the prefervation of the Ifraelites, and was, in a literal fenfe, their king and governor; and therefore it is faid

particularly, ver. 18, of the laft cited paffage, that the Amalekites "feared not God." Is there any thing abfurd or unfuitable to the majefty of the King of kings, in his declaring he would have war with fuch a people from generation to generation, and at laft deftroy them, as he certainly foreknew that they would not grow better, but worfe and worse ?

Let us not omit to obferve the long-fuffering and patience of God. It was not till fome hundreds of years afterwards, that orders were issued out to put the sentence in execution against that people, when they had filled up the measure of their iniquities, and were ripe for judgment. This appears evidently from the hints of their character given in the chapter where the text lies. They are called, verfe 18, "the finners the Amalekites," by way of emphasis, to fhew, that they were eminently wicked above all other people. It is no lefs evident, that their king that ruled over them was a bloody cruel man, from the words of Samuel to him, verfe 33, "As thy fword hath "made women childlefs, fo fhall thy mother be childless among women." These circumstances make it highly probable, that this prince and his people were commonly employed in the trade of war, in plundering and murdering fuch of their neighbors as they were able to fubdue. Now, how groundless are all the tragical outcries of unbelievers against this part of the hiftory of the Bible! Is not God the fupreme difpofer of every event? Is not the fate of nations decided by his righteous will? Is he not known by the exercise of this his holy prerogative, "Vengeance " is mine; I will repay?" It is inconteftable, from many undoubted facts in the hiftory of Providence, that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." Oh! that this were confidered in time by many who are bold enough to impeach the conduct of their Maker, to whom one part of the character of the Amalekites feems very applicable, "They fear not God."

It will perhaps be expected, that I should take particular notice of that part of the command given to Saul to deftroy the "infants and fucklings," together with thofe who were come to age. On On this you may obferve, that it