The woman appears to have been surprized when she saw Samuel.  To her, he was an unexpected visitor.  By his means she found out Saul, whom before she did not know in his disguise.—­Apostate spirits if they ever gave responses to those who consulted them, commonly flattered them in their crimes, or gave ambiguous answers to their inquiries; but not so the ghost which appeared on this occasion.  Most pointedly did it reprove the abandoned prince, who was adding iniquity to transgression, and hardening himself in the time of trouble!  And most expressly did it foretel the evils which were coming on the offending inquirer, his family and people!  Could an apostate spirit have done these things?  Or would he if he could?  God hath sometimes used wicked men to foretel future events, and compelled them to denounce his judgments; but have we any account of his making this use of fallen angels?  Of his making known his purposes to them, and enabling them to give the genuine proof of true prophets?  It is further observable, that part of the message related to taking the kingdom from Saul, and giving it to David—­“The Lord hath done to him as he spake by me,” is his language.  God had foretold this by Samuel; not by Satan, or a messenger of Satan.

There is every reason to believe that Samuel really appeared on this occasion—­that God sent him to deliver the sad message to the impious rebel, who instead of humbling himself in the time of his trouble, sinned yet more against the Lord.

If we attribute these divine communications to infernal agency, why not others?  If once we turn aside from the literal sense of scripture, where shall we stop?  But should we doubt whether in this instance, a departed saint was sent down to visit earth, and transact the business of HIM who is Lord of all, other instances may certainly be adduced —­if not in the Old Testament, yet beyond a doubt in the New.  But this will be the subject of another discourse.

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SERMON XXVII.

Departed Saints Fellow servants with those yet on Earth.

REVELATION xxii.

“I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets.”

That the saints do not remain insensible, while their bodies are in the dull, but become angels, * see and serve God and bear his messages, and minister to the heirs of salvation, hath been argued from several considerations, in the preceding discourse; but we chiefly depend on revelation.  The text and several other scriptures, we conceive to be our purpose, and sufficient to establish our theory, and that the same is illustrated and confirmed by sacred history, both of the Old and New Testament.  One instance of a departed saint, sent as a messenger from heaven to earth, hath been adduced from the Old Testament:  We now advert to the New.