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shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priest's offices, that I may eat a piece of bread."1

This heavy denunciation is repeated again to Samuel, as we read in the following chapter, and Eli obliges the child to repeat to him the words of the Lord. The poor old man, convinced too late of his unfaithfulness, can only submit to the just chastisement appointed for it. "And he said, It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good." 2

Shortly after we find Hophni and Phinehas profanely removing the ark of God from its place, and carrying it into the midst of the army, where it is taken by the Philistines, and they are both slain. These grievous tidings are carried hastily to the aged Eli, and are the cause of his melancholy end." And when he (the messenger) came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety and eight years old, and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came

1 1 Sam. ii. 27-36.

21 Sam. iii. 18.

out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.'

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Shall not "the ears of all those" who read this history tingle? Shall they not ask themselves, Am I, like Eli, sparing correction to my children, because my self-love makes me shun the painful task? And if conscience answers, Yes: let the fall of Eli teach them to beware betimes, lest they fall into the same condemnation."

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1 1 Sam. iv. 13-18.

GOD HAS DECLARED

THAT

A CURSE SHALL DESCEND

ON

THE CHILDREN OF UNBELIEVERS.

THE children of ungodly parents are not only deprived of the blessings promised to the seed of believers, but are subjected to a curse. This curse is sometimes only temporal in its nature, but sometimes it is spiritual.

Exod. xx. 5. "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." Exod. xxxiv. 7. Numb. xiv. 18. Deut. v. 9.

Deut. xi. 2, 6. And know ye this day, what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; how the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel." Numb. xvi. 1-35.

Deut. xxviii. 15. "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments, and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. (Verse 18.) Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body. (Verse 45.) Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed. (Verse 46.) And they shall be upon thee, for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. (Verse 59.) The Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance; and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance."

Job xxi. 17-21. "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and how oft cometh their destruction upon them? God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. God layeth up his iniquity for his children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst."

Psalm cix. 2. "The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me. (Verse 9.) Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Lot his children be continually

vagabonds, and beg. Let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. (Verses 12-14.) Let there be none to extend mercy unto him, neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following, let their names be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out."

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Isaiah xiv. 20. "The seed of evildoers shall never be renowned."

Jer. xviii. 19-21. "Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Therefore, deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword, and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death."

Jer. xxix. 30-32.

"Then came the word of

the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Send to all them

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