We may easily believe that to one so fond as David, it was no matter of regret to find himself bound by the obligation of an oath, to do that, which, had the law permitted, he would long since have done, viz., given permission for Absalom's return to Jerusalem. "The king said unto Joab, behold, now, I have done this thing: go, therefore, bring the young man Absalom again:" limiting this act of grace, only by the restrictions of protracted banishment from the royal palace and table.

If we pause to inquire, was it well done in the wise woman of Tekoah, to lend herself a willing tool to the instances of Joab on this occasion? we shall not find much difficulty in ascertaining that it was not well done. Were it safe to judge of an action by its consequences, (which it is not) then was the chain of evil, so mysteriously linked to this one partial act of Israel's sovereign, conclusive proof against it. Absalom's return was followed by irritation on his part against his father, consequent upon his exclusion from the royal presence; and this cause of discontent was no sooner removed, than he made use of his privilege of access to the palace, to turn its porch of judgment into a hall of conspiracy against the throne of which he was a subject, and against the life from whence he derived his own. Had Absalom remained in perpetual exile at Gerai ; then had the tribes been spared their first great lesson in rebellion; and then perhaps, had Joab himself, and Ahithophel, and Shimei, and Amasa, gone down to the grave in peace; and then, too, had twenty thousand men of Israel escaped a bloody death at the hands of their brethren and fellow-countrymen. But to the law and to the testimony, as to

the only standard by which human deeds must be measured; what was the bearing of the law of God upon this matter?

The divinely-attested law of Israel, was express against affording any sanctuary to a murderer. Not only was he prohibited from seeking protection within those walls where the manslayer might hope to dwell in safety; but the very sanctity of the tabernacle itself was insufficient to afford him the least hope of refuge: "thou shalt take him from my altar, that he may die." Whatever, then, might have been the wishes of the people; who doubtless regarded Absalom as a deeply injured party, and therefore in some degree excusable for the dark revenge he had taken on his brother; still, the law of God, both in the spirit and in the letter, forbad altogether that species of amnesty of which the wise woman of Tekoah was the advocate. Besides, the return of Absalom, was in the eyes of the people, only a precursory step ensuring to him the reversion of the crown at David's death and this also, was in direct opposition to the divine choice, which had, by the hand of a prophet, nominated Solomon as successor to the throne. In neither case, therefore, does it seem to have entered into the consideration of the wise woman of Tekoah, whether the matter she was selected to negociate, was in accordance with the divine word and will. There was much indeed to recommend it on the surface the king's grief for his son's banishment, in which every loyal heart in the land would sympathize (more especially the wise woman herself whose very influence over the minds of her contemporaries, proves her to have been highly susceptible of that tenderness of feeling which enables its possessor to

comprehend instinctively all the touching and delicate points of another's sorrow): the pride of Israel in their accomplished young prince, and their natural desire, that he should sit on the throne of his fathers: the reconcilement of an offended parent to a supposed penitent child; and the restoration of a banished Israelite to the inheritance of God: all this would have weight with her who was appointed to be the mouthpiece of the nation: all must have served to blind the skilful tactician to the true nature of the mission he had undertaken; which, whatever might be its show of reason and virtue; was, in fact, none other than a perversion of the rules of eternal justice in favor of an ennobled transgressor; and in opposition to the enactments of the law; which said, "ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not honour the person of the mighty but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty and a terrible, which regardeth not persons."

It is notorious, that to this day, on every occasion of local or state polity, the influence of women is eagerly sought after and turned to account by the very persons, who on other occasions would be foremost in forbidding its lawful exercise; and in affecting to doubt its efficiency. And perhaps there is no greater snare to a Christian woman, than to find herself in a position which ensures to her on the one hand, courtly solicitations of superiors; and on the other, calls into a kind of display those influential talents, which, in order to be safely and beneficially exercised; should be cautiously veiled in their action from the subjects of their sway. They, who are by

nature endowed with qualities which give them a reputation above their sex, are not always those whose judgment and prudence are proof against any incitement of vanity and display. They are, not seldom, those, whose fervor of feeling, and vivacity of imagination, win for them the hearts of friends and strangers, and a tribute of golden opinions from the community in which they dwell. Such women are peculiarly liable to be led away by appeals to their natural feelings; by schemes which have a show of benevolence and virtue on their surface, although perhaps, in their consequences, subversive of law and religion; and bold designing men, know well, that if they can enlist such in their cause, the issue will not be doubtful. And thus it comes to pass, that evil ends are accomplished by means of those, who, with eloquence and persuasion on their lips, and the image of virtue in their hearts, are but tools in the hands of others to loosen the bands of justice and equity; instruments, used to inflict wounds upon the commonwealth which they fondly think they serve and please, while, in fact, they are but giving indulgence to kindly feelings unchastened by righteous subjection to the law of God; or exposing to public notice, their possession of a power, which, in order to be really beneficent, should work like the operations of nature, silently and imperceptibly; and not be shown up, like the juggleries of the magician, to the gaze of ignorant wonder.

Before we can use a talent well, we must be conscious of possessing it. If we know not that we have it, we shall be in danger of wasting or neglecting it or we shall be liable to be defrauded of its

rightful increase, by others who will artfully turn it to their own account. If we are not all "wise;" we are all influential; and she whose sphere of influence extends not beyond husband, brothers, or children, has a weighty talent to account for, which needs instruction in the divine oracles to direct and sanctify its use, and to guard it from perversion. But, for those who have an influence beyond this circle of home; those whose rank or wealth, or accomplishments, or wisdom, render them fit objects of the designs of party zeal, or fit agents to compass the ends of political intrigue; how much greater need have they to consult with minutest care the unchanging axioms of divine verity; that they be not misled by a false show of goodness and mercy, to break down barriers divinely appointed to restrain the overflowings of ungodliness; or to be the means of assisting to introduce disorder and anarchy into the civil or religious institutions of a land. It is written, "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." How often are the talents of influence, of eloquence and persuasion, snares to those who possess them: how often do they become mere tools for the designing and unscrupulous; while their possessor, flattered by the seeming importance of the part assigned to her; pauses not to investigate the first principles of the cause she advocates, or the consequences to which they will lead; and triumphing in her successful agency, reflects not upon that chain of evil, which will gradually unfold itself, till contention and misrule reign, where pacification and order was expected to follow. But the law of God "gives subtilty to the simple; the wise will hear it, and will increase learning, and will know wisdom