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1 Samuel
Chapter Ten
1 Samuel 10
Chapter Contents
Samuel anoints Saul. (1-8) Saul prophesies. (9-16) Saul
chosen king. (17-27)
Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:1-8
(Read 1 Samuel 10:1-8)
The sacred anointing
then used
pointed at the great
Messiah
or Anointed One
the King of the church
and High Priest of our
profession
who was anointed with the oil of the Spirit
not by measure
but
without measure
and above all the priests and princes of the Jewish church.
For Saul's further satisfaction
Samuel gives him some signs which should come
to pass the same day. The first place he directs him to
was the sepulchre of
one of his ancestors; there he must be reminded of his own mortality
and now
that he had a crown before him
must think of his grave
in which all his
honour would be laid in the dust. From the time of Samuel there appears to have
been schools
or places where pious young men were brought up in the knowledge
of Divine things. Saul should find himself strongly moved to join with them
and should be turned into another man from what he had been. The Spirit of God
changes men
wonderfully transforms them. Saul
by praising God in the
communion of saints
became another man
but it may be questioned if he became
a new man.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:9-16
(Read 1 Samuel 10:9-16)
The signs Samuel had given Saul
came to pass punctually;
he found that God had given him another heart
another disposition of mind. Yet
let not an outward show of devotion
and a sudden change for the present
be
too much relied on; Saul among the prophets was Saul still. His being anointed
was kept private. He leaves it to God to carry on his own work by Samuel
and
sits still
to see how the matter will fall.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:17-27
(Read 1 Samuel 10:17-27)
Samuel tells the people
Ye have this day rejected your
God. So little fond was Saul now of that power
which soon after
when he
possessed it
he could not think of parting with
that he hid himself. It is
good to be conscious of our unworthiness and insufficiency for the services to
which we are called; but men should not go into the contrary extreme
by
refusing the employments to which the Lord and the church call them. The
greater part of the people treated the matter with indifference. Saul modestly
went home to his own house
but was attended by a band of men whose hearts God
disposed to support his authority. If the heart bend at any time the right way
it is because He has touched it. One touch is enough when it is Divine. Others
despised him. Thus differently are men affected to our exalted Redeemer. There
is a remnant who submit to him
and follow him wherever he goes; they are those
whose hearts God has touched
whom he has made willing. But there are others
who despise him
who ask
How shall this man save us? They are offended in him
and they will be punished.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel》
1 Samuel 10
Verse 1
[1] Then
Samuel took a vial of oil
and poured it upon his head
and kissed him
and
said
Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his
inheritance?
Poured it —
Which Is was the usual rite in the designation
as of priests and prophets
so
also of kings
whereby was signified the pouring forth of the gifts of God's
spirit upon him
to fit him for the administration of his office. These sacred
unctions then used
pointed at the great Messiah
or anointed One
the King of
the church
and High-priest of our profession
who was anointed with the oil of
the spirit without measure
above all the priests and princes of the Jewish
church.
Kissed — As
a testimony of his sincere friendship and affection to him.
His inheritance —
That is
over his own peculiar people. Whereby he admonisheth Saul
that this
people were not so much his
as God's; and that he was not to rule them
according his own will
but according to the will of God.
Verse 2
[2] When thou art departed from me to day
then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's
sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee
The
asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and
lo
thy father hath left the
care of the asses
and sorroweth for you
saying
What shall I do for my son?
Rachel's sepulchre — In
the way to Bethlehem
which city was in Judah; her sepulchre might be either in
Judah
or in Benjamin; for the possessions of those two tribes were bordering
one upon another. The first place he directs him to was a sepulchre
the
sepulchre of one of his ancestors. There he must read a lecture of his own
mortality
and now he had a crown in his eye
must think of his grave
in which
all his honour would be laid in the dust.
Verse 3
[3] Then
shalt thou go on forward from thence
and thou shalt come to the plain of
Tabor
and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel
one
carrying three kids
and another carrying three loaves of bread
and another
carrying a bottle of wine:
Plain —
Not that at the foot of mount Tabor
which was far from these parts; but
another belonging to some other place.
Bethel —
Properly so called
which was in Ephraim
where there was a noted high-place
famous for Jacob's vision there
Genesis 28:19
where it is probable they offered
sacrifices
in this confused state of things
when the ark was in one place
and the tabernacle in another.
Verse 5
[5]
After that thou shalt come to the hill of God
where is the garrison of the
Philistines: and it shall come to pass
when thou art come thither to the city
that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with
a psaltery
and a tabret
and a pipe
and a harp
before them; and they shall
prophesy:
Prophets — By
prophets he understands persons that wholly devoted themselves to religious
studies and exercises. For the term of prophesying is not only given to the
most eminent act of it
foretelling things to come; but also to preaching
and
to the making or singing of psalms
or songs of praise to God. And they that
wholly attended upon these things
are called sons of the prophets
who were
commonly combined into companies or colleges
that they might more conveniently
assist one another in God's work. This institution God was pleased so far to
honour and bless
that sometimes he communicated unto those persons the
knowledge of future things.
Psaltery —
Such instruments of musick being then used by prophets and other persons
for
the excitation of their spirits in God's service.
Prophesy —
Either sing God's praises
or speak of the things of God
by a peculiar impulse
of his spirit.
Verse 6
[6] And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee
and thou shalt prophesy
with them
and shalt be turned into another man.
Will come — Heb.
will leap
or rush upon thee.
Another man —
That is
thou shalt be suddenly endowed with another spirit
filled with skill
of divine things
with courage
and wisdom
and magnanimity; and other
qualifications befitting thy dignity.
Verse 7
[7] And
let it be
when these signs are come unto thee
that thou do as occasion serve
thee; for God is with thee.
Thou do —
Heb. do what they hand findeth to do; that is
as thou shalt have a call and
opportunity. He doth not intend that he should take the kingly government upon
him
before his call to it was owned by the people
but that he should dispose
his mind to a readiness of undertaking any public service when he should be
called to his office.
Verse 8
[8] And
thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and
behold
I will come down unto
thee
to offer burnt offerings
and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings:
seven days shalt thou tarry
till I come to thee
and shew thee what thou shalt
do.
Till I come —
This
though now mentioned and commanded
was not immediately to be performed;
as is evident
partly from the whole course of the story
(which shews
that
Saul and Samuel
and the people
first met at Mizpeh
verse 17
etc. where Saul was chosen by God
and
accepted by the people as king; and afterwards went to Gilgal once before the
time here spoken of
chap. 11:14
15
) and partly
by comparing this place
with chap. 13:8
etc. where we find Saul charged with the
violation of this command
two years after the giving of it. It seems this is
given as a standing rule for Saul to observe while Samuel and he lived; that in
case of any great future difficulties
as the invasion of enemies
Saul should
resort to Gilgal
and call the people thither
and tarry there seven days
which was but a necessary time for gathering the people
and for the coming of
Samuel thither. And Gilgal was chosen for this purpose
because that place was
famous for the solemn renewing of the covenant between God and Israel
Joshua 4:19-24
and for other eminent instances
of God's favour to them
the remembrance whereof was a confirmation of their
faith; and because it was a very convenient place for he tribes within and
without Jordan to assemble
and consult
and unite their forces together upon
such occasions.
Verse 10
[10] And
when they came thither to the hill
behold
a company of prophets met him; and
the Spirit of God came upon him
and he prophesied among them.
Prophesied —
The accomplishment of the two former signs is supposed
and this only is expressed
because this was more eminent than the former; the other were only transient
acts
which passed in private between two or three persons meeting together;
but this was a more permanent and notorious sign
done in a more solemn manner
and before many witnesses.
Verse 11
[11] And
it came to pass
when all that knew him beforetime saw that
behold
he
prophesied among the prophets
then the people said one to another
What is
this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
Is Saul — A
man never instructed
nor exercised in
nor inclined to these matters.
Verse 12
[12] And
one of the same place answered and said
But who is their father? Therefore it
became a proverb
Is Saul also among the prophets?
Who is
… —
Who is the father of all these prophets
among whom Saul now is one? Who is it
that instructs and inspires them but God? They have it not from their parents
nor from their education
but by inspiration from God
who
when he pleaseth
can inspire Saul
or any other man with the same skill. And therefore wonder
not at this matter
but give God the glory of it.
A proverb —
Used when any strange
or unexpected thing happened.
Verse 13
[13] And
when he had made an end of prophesying
he came to the high place.
High place — Returning
thither with the prophets
to praise God for these wonderful favours
and to
beg counsel and help from God in this high business.
Verse 16
[16] And
Saul said unto his uncle
He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of
the matter of the kingdom
whereof Samuel spake
he told him not.
Told not — In
obedience to Samuel
who obliged him to secrecy: and from an humble modesty.
Verse 19
[19] And
ye have this day rejected your God
who himself saved you out of all your
adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him
Nay
but set a
king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes
and by your thousands.
Now therefore
… — He
puts them upon chusing their king by lot
that all might know God had chosen
Saul (for the disposal of the lot is of the Lord) and to prevent all dispute
and exception.
Verse 20
[20] And
when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near
the tribe of
Benjamin was taken.
Benjamin —
Which tribe was now preferred before Judah
because the kingdom was freely
promised by God to Judah
and was to be given to him in love; but now the
kingdom was in a manner forced from God
and given them in anger and therefore
conferred upon an obscure tribe.
Verse 22
[22]
Therefore they enquired of the LORD further
if the man should yet come
thither. And the LORD answered
Behold
he hath hid himself among the stuff.
Enquired —
Either by Urim or Thummim
which was the usual way of enquiry. Or
by Samuel
who by his prayer procured an answer.
Stuff —
Among the carriages or baggage of the people there assembled. This he probably
did
from a sense of his own unworthiness.
Verse 24
[24] And
Samuel said to all the people
See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen
that there
is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted
and said
God save the king.
None like him — As
to the height of his bodily stature
which was in itself
commendable in a
king
and some kind of indication of great endowments of mind.
God save the king —
Heb. let the king live; that is
long and prosperously. Hereby they accept him
for their king
and promise subjection to him. None will be losers in the end
by their humility and modesty. Honour
like the shadows
follows them that flee
from it
but flees from them that pursue it.
Verse 25
[25] Then
Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom
and wrote it in a book
and
laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away
every man to
his house.
Manner of the kingdom — The laws and rules by which the kingly government was to be managed;
agreeable to those mentioned Deuteronomy 17:16
etc.
Before the Lord —
Before the ark
where it was kept safe from depravation.
Verse 26
[26] And
Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men
whose
hearts God had touched.
Went home —
Not being actually inaugurated into his kingdom
he thought fit to retire to
his former habitation
and to live privately 'till he had an occasion to shew
himself in a more illustrious manner.
Then went — To
give him safe and honourable conduct to his house
though not to abide with him
there
which did not suit his present circumstance.
Verse 27
[27] But
the children of Belial said
How shall this man save us? And they despised him
and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
No presents — As
subjects in those times used to do to their kings. This was an evidence both of
his humility
and the mercifulness of his disposition. So Christ held his
peace
in the day of his patience. But there is a day of recompense coming.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Samuel》
10 Chapter 10
Verses 1-16
Verses 1-13
Then Samuel took a vial of oil.
The discipline of a promoted life
Men are not usually taken from the valley of ordinary toil
and
instantaneously placed
as by the flight of an angel
upon the cloud-wrapped
peak of national greatness. There must be a climbing process; its
accomplishment may be tedious
its progress slow
its experiences sorrowful
but such discipline is necessary. And as we climb the rugged path
exhilarating
breezes refresh
sweeping prospects gladden; and the soul thrilled by such
beauty
achieves fitness for the higher sphere of duty. Summer does not suddenly
come around us with its grandeur
touching nature into fragrance
but advances
gently through the frozen portals of winter and the uncalculated possibilities
of spring. So with the promotions of human life. God descends unknown to the
busy multitude
appropriates the Saul
and brings into contact with the
spiritual
that under its tuition he may be fitted for kingship. This promoted
life was--
I. Unostentatious
is its commencement. It might be accepted as an axiom that all great results
issue from small beginnings. Throughout this coronation the greatest simplicity
prevails. Only two are present--a ruddy youth
an aged man--both in the great
temple of nature
with God for witness. Consider the disciplinary nature of
this coronation.
1. Its simplicity would appear contradictory. It would seem unlikely
that the highest office of life should be introduced in such poor attire.
2. It would appear unauthenticated. There was no human witness
besides the two interested parties. They were alone. The only guarantee he had
was the reputation of the prophet; and if that failed
he had no refuge
for
his own word would not be sufficient to establish anything so unlikely. He
would
like Joseph
have been designated the Dreamer. This consideration would
impose silence even if disappointed.
3. Then the suggestion of promotion was interrogative. “Is it not
because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?” (1 Samuel 10:1). Thus we can easily
imagine how this coronation scene would test the character
try the patience
exercise the thought
and discipline the soul of this incipient king. This
promoted life was--
II. Confirmatory in
its progress. Moral discipline does not retain its darkness. Night clears away
and in the bright shining of morning
fear is dispelled and hope realised. So
with Saul
he has passed the midnight of preparation
and now departing from
the prophet
his claim to kingship will be vindicated by foretold events. Confirmed:--
1. By the restoration of lost property. The most trivial incidents
may prove confirmatory to the reality of Divine promotion. A shining star
authenticates the power of God as much as the solar system. So the finding of
asses on our homeward journey may stamp our elevation with truth
as much as
the mightiest catastrophe of history. Here also is seen the beneficence and
considerateness of the Divine plan. In that the missions of life are attested
by measures adapted to condition and want. Saul had been in search of the
asses; their restoration was used as the Divine indenture. Saul had to pass the
sepulchre of Rachel on his way home. Why? Was it not to solemnise him in his
transition to kingship? To remind him of his future destiny? The journey of life
is full of tombs
to hush the mirth of the traveller by the reflections of
another world. Here we see the wisdom of the Divine plan in that he makes the
monitors of life confirm its elevation. He was confirmed:--
2. By the manifestation of hospitality. These people were no doubt
going to worship
to sacrifice to God; and
being prompted by the Divine
Spirit
paid homage to their unknown but future king. Men often unconsciously
outstrip themselves. In ministering to the necessities of a man they sometimes
minister to a king. This scene in connection with Rachel’s tomb shows the
contrasts of life; that
while death is near
there is sufficient to keep in
life and comfort; that while there are tombs on our life road there is also a
sanctuary. The former representing the power of evil
the latter the power of
good. Past both the promoted one must walk
that
filled with sadness at the
grave
joy may come with stronger impulse at the sanctuary. Lastly
he was
confirmed:--
3. By the sympathetic power of prophecy. “And thou shalt prophesy
with them” (1 Samuel 10:6). The young king was
now to meet a band of students from the college of the prophets. This is a
typal of all life; it is full of the educational
and that educational is
spiritual in its nature. This company of prophets had instruments of music. So
a minister’s life
like a peal of bells
should give forth the choicest music
at the lightest touch. Who ought to carry the harp
the tabrets of life
if a
teacher of the highest music
the divinest harmony
does not?
III. Preparatory in
its issue. Saul seems now to have reached the level of prophetic character;
from henceforth he is fit for the regal. He is prepared:--
1. By the impartation of a new nature. “God gave him another heart” (1 Samuel 10:9). What does this mean
but that Saul was converted? Are we told that it was a mere external fitness;
an intellectual foresight
or heroic courage
necessary for his office? Was it
merely the creation of a taste for the new sphere of duty? If so
it should
have said that God gave him another inclination. No! God gave him another
heart
swept of the past
filled with the seeds of a larger manhood.
2. By the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “And the Spirit of God came
upon him” (1 Samuel 10:10). Surely no king
commenced his rule with greater blessing or deeper fitness. But we shall yet
have to witness the tempestuous sunset of this great life. If kings now were
selected by God
and qualified by his Spirit
what a glory would enshrine our
national constitution! Lessons:--
Saul anointed by Samuel
There is a remarkable minuteness of detail in this and other
narratives in Samuel
suggesting the authenticity of the narrative
and the
authorship of one who was personally connected with the transactions.
Everything was planned to impress on Saul that his elevation to the royal
dignity was not to be viewed by him as a mere piece of good fortune. Both Saul
and the people must see the hand of God very plainly in Saul’s elevation
and
the king must enter on his duties with a profound sense of the supernatural
influences through which he had been elevated
and his obligation to rule the
people in the fear
and according to the will
of God. To be thus anointed by
God’s recognised servant
was to receive the approval of God Himself. Saul now
became God’s messiah--the Lord’s anointed. For the term messiah
as applied to
Christ
belongs to His kingly office. Though the priests likewise were
anointed
the title derived from that act was not appropriated by them
but by
the kings. It was counted a high and solemn dignity
making the king’s person
sacred
in the eyes of every God-fearing man. Yet this was not an indelible
character; it might be forfeited by unfaithfulness and transgression. The only
Messiah
the only Anointed One
who was incapable of being set aside
was He
whom the kings of Israel typified. It is evident that Saul was surprised at the
acts of Samuel. It was reasonable that Saul should be supplied with tangible
proofs that in anointing him as king Samuel had complied with the will of God.
These tangible proofs Samuel proceeded to give. We must try
first
to form
some idea of Saul’s state of mind in the midst of these strange events. The
thought of being king of Israel must have set his whole being vibrating with
high emotion. He was like a cloud surcharged with electricity; he was in that
state of nervous excitement which craves a physical outlet
whether in singing
or shouting
or leaping
--anything to relieve the brain and nervous system
which seem to tremble and struggle under the extraordinary pressure. But mingling
with these
there must have been another
and perhaps deeper
emotion at work
in Saul’s bosom. He had been brought into near contact with the Supernatural.
The thought of the Infinite Power that ordains and governs all had been stirred
very vividly within him. The three tokens of Divine ordination met with in
succession at Rachel’s tomb
in the plain of Tabor
and in the neighbourhood of
Gibeah
must have impressed him very profoundly. Probably he had never had any
very distinct impression of the great Supernatural Being before. It is always a
solemn thing to feel in the presence of God
and to remember that He is
searching us. At such times the sense of our guilt
feebleness
dependence
usually comes to us
full and strong. Must it not have been so with Saul? The
whole susceptibilities of Saul were in a state of high excitement; the sense of
the Divine presence was on him
and for the moment a desire
to render to God
some acknowledgment of all the mercy which had come upon him. When therefore he
met the company of prophets coming down the hill
he was impelled by the surge
of his feelings to join their company and take part in their song. But it was
an employment very different from what had hitherto been his custom. That utter
worldliness of mind which we have referred to us his natural disposition would
have made him scorn any such employment in his ordinary mood as utterly alien
to his feelings. Too often we see that worldly-minded men not only have no
relish for spiritual exercises
but feel bitterly and scornfully towards those
who affect them. The reason is not far to seek. They know that religious men
count them guilty of sin
of great sin
in so neglecting the service of God. To
be condemned
whether openly or not
galls their pride
and sets them to
disparage those who have so low an opinion of them. It is not said that Saul
had felt bitterly towards religious men previous to this time. But whether he
did so or not
he appears to have kept aloof from them quite as much as if he
had. And now in his own city he appears among the prophets
as if sharing their
inspiration
and joining with them openly in the praises of God. It is so
strange a sight that every one is astonished. “Saul among the prophets!” people
exclaim
“Shall wonders ever cease?” And yet Saul was not in his right place
among the prophets. Saul was like the stony ground seed in the parable of the
sower. He had no depth of root. His enthusiasm on this occasion was the result
of forces which did not work at the heart of his nature. It was the result of
the new and most remarkable situation in which he found himself
not of any new
principle of life
any principle that would involve a radical change.
Ordination to the ministry
or to any other spiritual office
solemnises one at
first
even though one may not
be truly converted
and nerves one with
strength and resolution to throw off many an evil habit. But the solemn
impression wanes with time
and the carnal nature asserts its claims. How
earnest and how particular men ought ever to be in examining themselves whether
their serious impressions are the effect of a true change of nature
or whether
they are not mere temporary experiences
the casual result of external
circumstances. Alas
Saul was like the young man also in the particular that
made all the rest of little effect--“One thing thou lackest.” (W. G.
Blaikie
D. D.)
The appointment
of Saul
A sovereign Lord has already determined the destination of the
crown. The royalty is to light on the head of Saul. Forthwith a wakeful Providence
works onward to this end. Let us mark its mysterious movements. See in this
transaction God’s absolute sovereignty. See also how its end is reached by the
confluence of two providential currents. An ordinary incident of rural life
summons Saul from his home--his wanderings lead him to the neighbourhood of
Samuel’s dwelling--his servant knows this--Saul consents to an interview. This
is one stream. The other meets it. Samuel is forewarned. It was a fair morning
this to a hopeful day. By this series of events
most powerful provision was
made for attaching the newly-appointed monarch to the service of God. His
selection was manifestly the result of a heavenly grace
which reposed on no
ground but its own sovereign will. And the manner in which the way to it had
been smoothed was well fitted to impress him with the nearness
penetrating
knowledge
and controlling power of God. But this great lesson is not yet
finished. Signs from heaven are granted. Saul’s excitement grows with the
occurrence of each new incident. And thus
no doubt
his mind was prepared for
that mysterious operation of the Spirit by which he joined the company of
prophets in their ardent utterances of sacred truth. His heart was not renewed.
But inspiration is different from regeneration. And if a Balaam’s worldly heart
were made a consecrated vehicle of truth
why might not
Saul’s? Elevated
conceptions and ardent enthusiasm of feeling on sacred subjects may dwell in
the neighbourhood of an icy heart
that has never returned in love the smile of
a forgiving God. Most direful anomaly! Our maimed and dislocated nature has
lost the power of interior transmission. Sunlight may glare on the
understanding
while chilly darkness nestles in the heart. But Saul’s true
character was not discerned. The first step has now been taken. But the
appointment must be made public. How rich was this opening period in
manifestations of an overruling Providence! The new and strong emotions
the
strange salutes and offerings of passing travellers
and the sacred welcome of
a company of prophets--the disposing of the lot to make it fall on him--the
divine disclosure of his hiding place--all these made up a crowded region of
miraculous interposition in which God treasured up mighty impulses to mould and
guide his future life. He is placed in the centre of scenes most touching
solemn
and memorable. In this small spot lie powers enough to move a lifetime.
These basement facts
like those of the national history
are fruitful of
mighty and lasting impulses. The vessel is launched
the anchor is weighed
the
breeze has filled her sails. If she founder at sea
we shall know where the
blame lies. (P. Richardson
B. A.)
King making
1. The lines of Providence are convergent and divergent. They come
from different points of the compass towards one centre
and radiate outwards
from unity into diversity. The chief events of four thousand years of human
history all tended to one grand consummation
and when God became incarnate
realised their end. From that event the lines of Providence have been diverging
ever since
and are designed to embrace in their benignant influences the wide
world and the various races of men. The Old Testament history all coiled into
Jesus of Nazareth; the New Testament history unrolls from him. Chronology is
all comprised in Before Christ and After Christ. This arrangement is common to
the providence of God. One series of events conspires to develop another. The
same Providence is seen in many periods of Hebrew history
and in none more
strikingly than in the influences which brought Saul and Samuel together
and
the issues that resulted from a monarchy in Israel. The outward circumstance
was striking
but the diversified providences had been divinely arranged to
further it. Infallible wisdom had guided these two men
and in their meeting
prepared for kingly rule in Israel. In the appearance of Saul at the time
appointed
Samuel had full testimony to the word of God. The event proved the
prediction and strengthened his faith in God. Every new evidence works
conviction in the believer
and does much to conform his mind to God. But there
was another person to be convinced of the Divine arrangement--Saul. The
evidence was vouchsafed in a manner fitted to impress
and so cumulative and
varied as to work conviction. Samuel’s conduct towards him
and the
circumstances that transpired on his way home
after he left the prophet
were
unmistakable signs that God was preparing some dignity for him among his
people. These three signs were designed to warrant his faith in the
announcement
to encourage his hope
and to prepare him to conform to the
arrangement of God for the government of His people
and to certain special
directions given by Samuel with reference to his coronation.
2. Whom God calls to any service He will make fit for it. If He
advance to another station
He will give another heart to those who sincerely
desire to serve Him with their power. Just as of old God endowed Bezaleel and
Aholiab with skill to design
and build
and carve the work of the tabernacle
of the wilderness
so did he endow Saul with the qualities of a kingly mind.
These were apart from the moral qualities that relate to the right service of
God. The latter are not so much endowments attached to a man
as the necessary
fruits of a thorough conversion and a new heart. Saul had the one
but he had
not the other. He had another heart
but
not a new heart. He gave evidence of
possessing the gifts of kingship
but none of the grace of holy living. While
he could henceforth command armies and practice diplomacy
he cared not for
keeping a conscience void of offence toward God and man. His heart was not
right with God. It is not enough to have natural endowments
or learned
attainments of skill or wisdom. What are the wit of Voltaire
the poetry of
Byron
the science of Halley
the philosophy of Hobbes
the command of
Napoleon
the statesmanship of Pitt
the eloquence of Sheridan
the taste of
Beckford
the learning of Michaelis
the common sense of Franklin
the
mechanical skill of Stephenson
the business talents of a Rothschild
if you
have not the grace of God to transform your heart and to make you holy? Gifts
may make you illustrious
and useful
and powerful among men
but they do not
make you fit for the fellowship of God
or prepare you for the holiness of
heaven. They are of value. Sanctified by grace
the highest gifts have their
place and their usefulness in the Church
Saul had striking evidences presented
to his mind of the prospect which Samuel opened up to his hope. The clear fulfilment
of all that had been foretold must have convinced him that he was designed for
dignity. He weighed it well
was persuaded of it
and waited for its
accomplishment.
3. The manner of the kingdom was written in a book for his study and
observance (1 Samuel 10:25). This was their
constitution--the covenant between monarch and subjects. The rights of the king
were specified therein
and so were the rights of the people. The government of
Israel was to be no absolute monarchy
nor was it to be a democracy. This was
also the case when David was made king of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3)
and when Joash was
proclaimed in Judah
after the despotic usurpation of Athaliah (2 Kings 11:17). It was as sinful in
the one to break the covenant as in the other. In the word of God there is a
clear recognition of the rights of the ruled as well as of the ruler. No man is
at liberty to tyrannise over another. The model people of the ancient world had
rules for kings such as no constitution has ever yet continued. The engagement
between God
king
and people
was laid up before the Lord
to be kept under
his eye
and to be a witness against monarch and subject should they break
their engagements. It is a solemn thought that all our engagements are laid up
before the Lord. They are held in all their integrity by him
and be never
fails to fulfil his part. Once entered into by us
we become bound
and are
responsible
and must render an account for the manner in which we bays kept
them. Your signature to a bill
given by impulse
cannot be nullified before a
court of law
it is binding
and you can be distrained for payment. In like
manner all solemn resolutions and spiritual pledges are binding
and are laid
up before the Lord. Under these mutual obligations Samuel sent king and people
to their several homes.
4. That was a happy day in Israel. Samuel had reason to be glad
and
king and people had abundant cause for joy. The monarchy had been established.
God had smiled on the first royal act of Saul. The nation had united in a
public service of gratitude. On a theatre so full of historic interest
they
all rejoiced greatly. Their difficulties now seemed ended
and their hearts
flowed over in exuberant joy. If they abode in the love and obedience of God
joy would possess their souls. (R. Steel.)
Verse 9
God gave him another heart.
Another heart
But not a better heart. He found himself suddenly fitted for the
new place to which Providence had summoned him. In this there was nothing
magical or extraordinary. It is indeed said that God gave him another heart
but we are not to understand the words as indicating a Divine operation
independent of outward means and natural influences
or at all distinguishable
in the consciousness of its subject
from the effects of external
circumstances. It is not more true that the man makes the place than that the
place makes the man. Both
indeed
are most pregnant and concerning truths.
Saul
transplanted into a new station
brought into new relations to life and
society
felt the simultaneous upspringing within him of sentiments and
purposes suited to his position
and became conscious of capabilities which had
before lain dormant
and might have always remained so
but for this
transformation of his outward state. Made a king
he became kingly. His soul
expanded to the horizon of his new dignity and office. But
alas! there was no
spiritual element in his change
and
therefore
it yielded no happy fruit for
him
or to the church of God. It was but the direction of the same earthly mind
to larger objects
stander schemes
a wider range. We may properly take
occasion from this case
to discriminate between certain other changes to which
the spirit of man is subject
and that great spiritual change which alone
affects him savingly
planting in him the germ of holiness and immortal
felicity; or to point out the difference between another heart and a new heart.
1. And
first
I will direct your attention to the nature and effects
of spurious religious excitement. There is excitement almost necessarily in the
serious and earnest contemplation of religious truth. Its revelations are
fitted to stir the spirit of man deeply; the interests to which it pertains are
too momentous to be contemplated without emotion. The nature of men is
sympathetic. Hence feeling is contagious
and not only so
but excitement
where it exists already
rises
by the reacting influence of those who come
within its sphere and imbibe its infection. But excitement is bounded by limits
fixed in the constitution of our nature; and when these are reached a revulsion
takes place
which issues either in stagnation or in a new excitement of a
different description. And when these opposite emotions are produced by
religious causes they are thought to indicate a work of the Spirit and involve
conversion. It is quite remarkable
how little the moral and truly spiritual
nature of man may have to do with such a process
how little of anything else
there may be in it beside imagination and nervous sensibility. And yet
on the
strength of it
a man often accounts himself a new man; and
whether he be
right in that judgment or not
not infrequently
he thereupon becomes and
permanently remains another man. His life henceforward assumes a new bent. He
adopts new opinions
he talks a new language
he affects new associates
he
frequents new walks
he lends himself to the promotion of new interests. And
yet he is not new man. Only his outward life has taken a new impress
as Saul’s
did
in which the same worldly spirit finds a concealment and disguise.
2. There is another very different transformation to which men are
subject
which yet is at no greater value; and tends to no better results--that
which is brought about by the slow operation of time and the gradual alteration
of outward circumstances. The lesson of life is a sobering lesson. The fire of
youth burns out as the period of youth expires. Every day some leaf fails from
the flower he is seeking to grasp. Continually the stern hand of irresistible
Providence shuts up some avenue that allures his steps. But the worst
disappointment is that which waits upon success--the bitter pain of finding a
thing
when it is gotten
not worth the pains of getting. Sometimes there is
but a change of follies and vices
the substitution of a calmer and more
private form of sensuality or dissipation for another of a more boisterous and
public character; but the impress of sin and worldliness remains
and is too
visible to allow the supposition of any moral improvement. The result of time
upon human character is very various
yet it seldom fails in one way or another
to be evident and marked
and among persons whose course is not an abandoned
one
is generally distinguished by a nearer approximation to the apparent
effects of religion; and thus few men live on over the meridian of life without
coming to have another heart
one which
in many instances
it may not be very
difficult for themselves or others to mistake for a new and a better heart.
What I said may be wanting in either of these
is a spiritual element
and as
the absence of this fatally vitiates these cases
and every other ease where it
appears
so its presence in either of them
or in any other change which the
soul of man may undergo
declares the work to be of God
and furnishes a true
mark of meetness for life eternal. Let us then look a little at this as it
stands contradistinguished from all alterations
whose seat is either the
imagination or the outward deportment
whose affinity to religion is limited to
a certain accidental coincidence or similarity in some particulars
and whose
religious phases are confined to the inferior and superficial portion of human
nature.
Getting another heart
He had come home from college
the minister’s son. He had been a
wild
harum-scarum kind of boy before he went. Many a sore heart did the
minister get as the boisterous exploits of his wayward son oozed out to him
from all parts of the parish. But at length he has gone to college and has come
home now at the end of winter. The parish has heard of his shooting ahead of
his fellows in the college classes
and they were all proud of their minister’s
boy. He is in the study along with his old father
but he is not receiving this
time the usual parental little lecture. He is opening a tiny little case
while
his father’s eyes are dancing with gladness. It is the gold medal for the best
student of the year
and
as the looks of the father and son meet in
tenderness
the once careless lad whispers in his father’s ear what brings a
sob from the minister
but not a sob of sorrow: “I have got something else than
the gold medal this winter. I thought I would best tell it now. I have also got
the new heart.” There had been a revival that winter in the city
and many of
the students had been converted
and among them the gold medallist of the year
our minister’s brilliant boy. (John Robertson.)
Verse 10
The spirit of God came upon him
and he prophesied among them.
Saul among the prophets
Suppose
now
you had come to school
thinking only of being the
child of a cottager
and of earning your bread by hard labour all your days
and one upon whose word you could firmly rely came in and told you you were to
be king over a mighty nation--with what feelings would you leave the school
that day? Would not your thoughts and expectations be as entirely changed as if
you were another child? And if
as you were leaving
you were able to speak
as
it were
with a new tongue
and were endued with all wisdom and all knowledge
should we not be all ready to say you were another child? Thus was it with
Saul. God gave him many gifts
but I hear not that He gave him grace--He gave
him also another heart
but I read not that He gave him a heart renewed after
the image of Him that created him. “And when they came thither to the hill
behold
a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him
and
he prophesied among them.” There is something particularly solemn in this
verse
and calculated to lead to great searchings of heart. Many passages of
Scripture seem to point out that some poor sinners will have no idea of their
mistake till they appear at the very bar of their God. Those of whom you read
in Matthew 25:41-46
had no suspicion of
their danger
and would fain
even then
have justified themselves: but of all
the awfully self-deceived
those are the most so
who even think they have done
much for Christ
and come to claim a reward
and find that neither they nor
their works are acknowledged by Him. Those are not a few
but “many;” they had
prophesied--cast out devils--done many wonderful things--but had never
experienced that only saving wonder the being born again. Beware
there is
something infectious in the outside of religion; even the love of imitation may
lead to this
or a desire to keep in favour with a godly family; and I have
known some conclude
of course such an one must be good
because he lives among
such good people. Alas! alas! the secret tolling day shall disclose a different
tale
and the Sauls and the Balaams shall stand forth in their true colours
to
receive the due reward of their deeds (Helen Plumptre.)
Verse 11
Is Saul also among the prophets?
A Saul among the prophets
So they said in the wild irregular season of his obscure youth
before his accession to the throne
when the Spirit of the Lord
that bloweth
where it listeth
suddenly arrested the young Saul
in the midst of his
dissolute companions; they repeated their scornful outcry in after years
as
recorded in 1 Samuel 19:24
when the spirit of
repentance again seized the royal backslider
and brought him stripped and
abased to the earth before Samuel at Naloth. The saying rightly interpreted may
suggest some useful practical instruction.
I. What is meant
by being “among the prophets?” By “the company of prophets” in 1 Samuel 19:5
or “a company of
scribes
” says the Targum
are meant the scholars of the prophets
who were at that
period the only accredited teachers of religion. Mr. Harmer thinks the
following custom among the Mohammedans illustrates this passage: “When the
children have gone through the Koran their relations borrow a fine house and
furniture and carry them about the town in procession
with the book in their
hand
the rest of their companions following
and all sorts of music of the
country going before.” Eastern customs have little varied; they seem to abide
immutable
and identical
as their sunny climes
and very probably
the
procession of the school of the prophets in the context was on a similar
occasion.” “Is Saul also among the prophets?”--that is
is he turned psalm
singer and a supplicant? Is the rough
riotous herdsman of Benjamin become a
companion of prophets and an utterer of the solemn things of God? Are we to
have no more merry songs together
nor the light dance and jocund festival?
Saul
our old fellow reveller
become quaint and grim as a Levite? “What is
this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” That
this is the general meaning of prophesying in this place; see also the sense in
which the word is used in reference to the priests of Baal
1 Kings 18:29 : “And it came to
pass
when midday was put
and they prophesied until the time of the evening
sacrifice”--they prophesied
that is
were importunate in prayer to their God.
Thus the phrase
“Saul among the prophets
” is equivalent to what the angels
in a holier and more charitable spirit
said of the Saul of Tarsus
when the
Lord changed his heart
brought him to his knees
and they described his
conversion to the truth by the terms
“Behold he prayeth.” A similar
astonishment seized them who had known the apostle for a blasphemer and
persecutor
and when they heard that he preached the faith which he once
destroyed they too might have said
“Is Saul also amongst the prophets
” that
is
among the praying people
the people of God? There was in Saul
at
different times
the development of a different man
according as “the law in
his members
” or “the law in his mind
” obtained the mastery. Saul “did run
well
but suffered something to hinder him.” He began his reign in the Spirit
he ended it in the flesh. As a king he was weighed in the balances and found
wanting; as a man
Mercy might have interposed and turned the scale. It is no
unwarrantable stretch of Scriptural charity to imagine it possible that other
tongues than those of living men might have talked of the departed Saul
as
again “among the prophets.” I am not ashamed to think so of the man
whom the
inspired psalmist eulogised in his sepulchre. Only if it were so
his story
illustrates the apostle’s case of those “who are saved with difficulty pulling
them out of the fire.”
II. To the penitent
sinner and returning backslider.
1. To the penitent sinner. Imagine his repentance genuine. The
difference is so marked that his old companions scarcely recognise their former
hail fellow
and insinuate at once a charge of hypocrisy and a sneer of
contempt
whether or no in the scornful cry
“Is Saul also among the prophets?”
“Is so-and-so among the saints?” “Have they caught him with their psalm
singing?” or
“Is he playing upon them with his guile?” The penitent hears
this; it is meant he should hear it
they take care of that; and his first
feeling is
“This is a penalty for my former association with them; ‘Be sure
your sin will find you out;’ it has found me out
even since I left it.” “The way
of transgressors is hard
” even after they abandon it. It is but natural that
Satan should grumble at the loss of a servant
and his children only echo their
father’s sentiment. “They think it strange (and so it is) that ye run not with
them to the same excess of riot
speaking evil of you.” But you meet these
people day after day. If you are a workman
you meet them at your work; if one
of a higher class of the community
you meet them in business or society; and
they repeat their scornful insinuations. They don’t and they won’t believe you
to be sincere
for they are strangers to what has taken place within you
distinctly enough to your convictions
but a mystery to them. They hate you
as
Ahab hated Micaiah
because the sacred contrast of your life
always
however
unconsciously
prophesies evil things concerning them
and they would visit
as
the world always did
their anger at the prediction on the head of the prophet
and you will be called upon to bear many a heavy version of the contemptuous
proverb
“Is Saul also among the prophets?”
2. But
further
let us suppose you have failed in maintaining your
ground; that you did run well
but suffered something to hinder you; that you
had followed your Saviour
like the youthful John
up to the very moment of His
seizure for the crucifixion
but there your heart failed you
and like him you
turned and “fled away naked
” leaving behind you all your better convictions
and determinations. You have done this
and you have since lived a backslider;
and may we ask
“Is it well with thee?” Are you happy in your apostasy? (J.
B. Owen
M. A.)
One act does not make a saint
Saul was not a saint because he did once prophesy
nor is every
one a believer that talks of faith. (T. Adams.)
Transient reformations
The snow today covered all the ground
and the black soil looked
fair and white. It is thus with some men under transient reformations; they
look as holy
and as heavenly
and as pure as though they were saints; but when
the sun of trial arises
and a little heat of temptation cometh upon them
how
soon do they reveal their true blackness
and all their surface goodliness
melteth away! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 16
He told him not.
An inquisitive man and how to treat him
Saul has now reached his home
and is determined to conceal the
history of the past few days from the knowledge of others. If the Prophet’s
communications were to become generally known they would render Saul’s position
most uncomfortable. Many would discredit them; some would envy his promotion;
while others might devise measures to take his life
or prevent the realisation
of his hope.
I. This man’s
inquisitiveness. Human biography is so interesting that
touched by its spell
men instinctively stand to inquire.
1. The Interrogator. “Saul’s uncle.” People frequently presume upon
their relationship to ask any questions they think proper. And their kinship is
made a plea for unwelcome intrusions
or impudent interferences
totally
incompatible with manly etiquette.
2. The inquiries made. Some relatives are always inquiring into the
arrangements of other families. We can hardly move out of our doors but someone
must ask
either us or our neighbours
whither we went.
3. The sources of his expected information. “And Saul’s uncle said
unto him and to his servant” (1 Samuel 10:14). The uncle no doubt
thought that if he could not obtain the required information from Saul
that he
would have little difficulty in getting it from the servant. Servants are not
always the most trustworthy persons
and especially with news at all exciting
or of family interest.
II. The manner in
which it was treated. Some men have not sufficient power of character to
contend with inquisitive people; and the artful inquirer
without raising the
slightest suspicion
gains all the information required. It requires some
little art to deal successfully with such folk; and of this Saul was happily
possessed.
1. Saul’s reply was truthful. “He told us plainly that the asses were
found” (1 Samuel 10:16). We can never be
justified in telling lies
not even to silence inquisitive men. Saul recognised
this fact; and while speaking the truth
withheld part of the tidings.
2. Saul’s reply was discreet. “But of the matter of the kingdom
whereof Samuel spake
he told him not.”
3. Saul’s reply was modest. If such promotion had come to most young
men
they would have hurried to their friends
and in a fit of excitement have
communicated the whole story. But not so with Saul
he kept it in his own heart
until God should read it to an assembled nation.
4. Saul’s reply was short. He did not betray himself by a multitude
of words; he did not by some unthinking sentence excite the suspicion of his
uncle; but briefly told him about the asses. Here Saul displayed his common
sense.
Lessons:--
1. Never tell people all they wish to know.
2. Do not abuse the sanctity of family relationships by petty
intrusions.
3. That discretion is the only safety of a promoted life. (Joseph
S. Exell
M. A.)
Reticence
not indifference
Saul preserves a remarkable reticence on all that has transpired.
He first meets his uncle
who enquires how and whither he has fared.
1. Saul gives him half an answer. He tells him about the asses
but
says nothing of the anointing
or of the great spiritual change that had passed
upon hiself.
1. It is a lesson
first of all
in the inaccessibility of human
soul to soul. How little way Saul’s uncle saw into the depths of his real
consciousness. He was talking about asses
but he was thinking about
sovereignty. How much we are hidden from one another! Each man’s heart is a walled
enclosure. I am an unscaleable fortress
an insoluble enigma to you until I
choose to disclose myself
and you to me. This mutual inaccessibility is
sometimes almost maddening. The desire to cross the threshold of another’s
consciousness and see life from his standpoint is
at times
a passion. There
are occasions when we are tormented by the wish to know how another feels
or
how we look in that other’s eyes. But we might as well wish to exchange souls
with an inhabitant of Mars or Jupiter. Nothing in the universe is more
impossible than such a transition
such a transfer. How solemn a thing is
individuality! “The heart knoweth its own bitterness
and a stranger
intermeddleth not with its joys.” Responsibility is measured by idiosyncrasy.
The kingship was Saul’s own secret. The weight of his destiny presses upon his
own heart alone. In the meantime he cannot even tell it to another
though a
kinsman. Yes
it is a solemn thing that
do what we will
we cannot step in
between another and his destiny. Some would give worlds even to bear the hell
that is another’s for that other; but there is the inexorable law
the
impassable gulf between one consciousness and another. I do not know anything
in life harder to bear than that impatience of helplessness which we feel in
the presence of another’s sorrow or pain. We can look on at Gethsemane
but we
cannot lighten the struggle. “Every man shall bear his own burden.” And we feel
only less impatience at this same limitation with reference to the happiness of
others. We cannot cross the boundary of their Paradise any more than of their
Golgotha. If
then
none can tamper with my individuality
and it is my grand
instrument of service in the world
let me see to it that that individuality be
of the noblest
a power to lift men up
an attraction to draw them to the
highest.
2. But Saul’s silence on this occasion affords also a lesson in
prudential reserve. It was impolitic that it should be too freely canvassed.
There are times when it is the mark of a Divine wisdom to hold our tongues
even upon matters of supreme moment. Silence is sometimes the duty as well as
the policy of a leader. Even truth has been injured rather than furthered by
its premature and inopportune disclosure. It is not every man’s duty to tell to
the first man he meets all he knows and all he thinks. It is not always wise
for the political leader to show his hand. The religious teacher has to judge
when it is expedient to lift the veil from some larger outlook
when the
fitting moment has come for replacing the old by the new. Christ would not
reveal to the unfit. You cannot enlighten the world by flashes. The light must
dawn
and shine more and more unto the perfect day. The time must be chosen for
letting in the first ray. The development of truth may be hindered by
precipitancy. “There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.” Saul was wise
to say nothing in the meantime about the kingdom
and thus gave one evidence at
least of his fitness to become a king. The man who is to rule must be capable
of reticence and reserve; able to manage his tongue. Self-mastery is the grand
secret of lordship over others
and in nothing is that self-mastery more shown
than in the conduct of the lips.
3. Again
this incident suggests a caution against mistaking reticence
for indifference. The fact that a man is silent upon a subject may mean that he
is indifferent to it
but it does not necessarily mean it. Indeed
the reverse
is more true. Men are often reserved in proportion to the depth and intensity
of their emotions. We have a fine illustration of this in Shakespeare’s “King
Lear
” in the reticence of Cordelia’s love for her father--a love which
because it was so deep
could not find tongue--while the unnatural daughters of
the poor old king were voluble in their protestations of devotion. “Unhappy
that I am
I cannot heave my heart into my throat.” And yet how divine was her
love! It does not follow that because a man does not speak
therefore he does
not feel. Saul said nothing of the matter of the kingdom
but what else was
absorbing his thoughts
think you
all the while? We do not prate of our
deepest love to every passer-by. The things that are most sacred are often most
secret with us. We do not speak of them
because words are so poor and weak.
“The action of the soul
” says Emerson
“is oftener in that which is felt and
left unsaid than in that which is said in any conversation.” . . . “The soul
carries its choicest treasures with a kind of fastidious delicacy. The history
which lies inside of the soul is a history which will never be read until it is
read from God’s book. The very soul of the soul has never been spoken or
printed. It is inarticulate.” There is a profound reluctance in many persons
which should excite a respect as profound
to talk about their religious
experience. It is wickedly unjust to interpret this reluctance as showing
indifference to religion. No person has a right to ask me to unbosom myself to
any miscellaneous crowd. If he presumes to do so
I show my sense of his
indelicacy by retreating within the innermost keep of the castle of my own
personality
and letting down drawbridge and portcullis in the face of my
persecutor. Zeal for God is a noble principle
but the world is not going to be
saved by bad manners. Abraham Lincoln did not generally pass for a religious
man. “His religion was too far in
” it has been said
“too deep down
for many
words.” Talk may be religious without being about religion. One of the most
religious things you can do is to talk sensibly on all subjects. The Apostle
Paul was neither by nature nor by calling reticent on religious subjects
and
yet even he kept his deepest spiritual experiences to himself. There are not
always state reasons for silence on matters of the kingdom. And “for every idle
word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of
judgment.”
4. Again
let this incident put us on our guard
not only against our
misreading of our neighbours’ spiritual condition
but in our mutual judgments
in general. To anyone listening to Saul’s conversation
for the moment
how
frivolous he would have seemed. But he was not that! The kingdom was uppermost
in Paul’s mind
though his speech was of other things. We wrong men in reading
them from the surface only. There were those who read the divinest of all human
natures superficially
and how egregiously were they mistaken! Here was a
heart
the heart of the Son of Man
the depth of whose love
the passion of
whose pity
was infinite. Here was a life
the very fundamental notes of which were
enthusiasm and sacrifice. And yet His ignorant critics
unable to distinguish
between the accidental and the essential
said
“Behold a gluttonous man and a
wine bibber!” It was for the ears of the inner circle that He reserved the
story of His agony and His passion
His certainty of martyrdom
His forebodings
of the Cross
and His fixed resolution
notwithstanding
to go on unfalteringly
to the tragic end. But the world which did not hear these things
and for whose
ears they were not fit
misinterpreted His superficial gaiety of manner
and
winsomeness of disposition
as indicating a want of moral earnestness. Who of
us may not be misjudged after that? (J. Halsey.)
The piety and the modesty of Saul in his introduction to royal
dignity
etc
.
1. His piety appeareth (1 Samuel 10:13) no sooner were his
prophetic raptures over
but he resorts to the synagogue or place of Divine
worship
with his fellow prophets
both to praise God for His Divine call to
such an high advancement
and to pray unto Him for His protection and direction
therein
etc.
2. His modesty in his taciturnity and reservedness towards his uncle
who being there present
and observing this unexpected alteration in his nephew
made him the more inquisitive about his journey
suspecting something
extraordinary had happened to him that had caused this strange change. Saul
answers his uncle that Samuel told him the asses were found
but not a word of
his finding a kingdom (1 Samuel 10:14-16). Josephus renders
two very good reasons of Saul’s silence in this business.
Keeping a secret
When Lord Wellington was commander of an army in India
a certain
rich man offered him a hundred thousand pounds for some secret information on a
very important question. Wellington looked thoughtful for a few minutes
as if
he was weighing the temptation. But
he was not. He was only considering the
best way to answer his tempter. At length he said: “It appears that you can
keep a secret
sir?” “Certainly
” said the man
feeling sure that he had gained
his point. “So can I!” rejoined Wellington. “Good morning
sir!” And the man
went away with a crestfallen air. Thus Wellington was proof against
corruption. He rejected a bribe of £100
000.
Verses 17-27
Verses 17-25
And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh.
The public recognition of incipient kingship
Long enough had Saul been in the Divine studio
and fashioned by
heavenly forces
his nature comes forth in power to enter upon life’s duty
and
also to grapple with its difficulties. In this recognition of incipient
kingship we have--
I. A rejection of
the Divine. The last embers of the old Jewish Theocracy are smouldering into
extinction. The rejection of the Divine King:--
1. It was public. “And Samuel called the people together unto the
Lord to Mizpeh” (1 Samuel 10:17).
2. This rejection was ungrateful. “And ye have this day rejected your
God
who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations” (1 Samuel 10:19). Like the planets
nearest the sun
filled with light
and cheered with heat; so these Israelites
had been fixed in the moral heavens near to the Infinite Being
who had thrown
upon them the light of His finite mind
and given to them the sympathy of His
loving heart; and thus blessed they now openly reject His future help! What
ingratitude for a nation who had so frequently been delivered from imminent
peril
from national ruin
and even from slavery
thus to deny Him who had been
its refuge!
3. This rejection was wilful. “And ye have this day rejected your
God” (1 Samuel 10:19). It was not a mere
frantic impulse that had taken possession of the national heart; nor had the
petty orations of a renegade politician aroused the people to a temporary
revolution. It was a matter of fixed purpose.
4. This rejection was reprehensible. “Ye have this day rejected your
God.”
5. This rejection was tolerated. “Now therefore present yourselves
before the Lord by your tribes
and by your thousands” (1 Samuel 10:19). The Divine Being
frequently permits nations to have their own way
to pursue their own plans;
and thus throwing themselves out of the chart of Providence
they are soon
loosed on the wild ocean
until they are wrecked upon the predicted reefs.
II. A coronation of
the human.
1. The method according to which Saul was chosen. “And when Samuel
had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near
the tribe of Benjamin was
taken” (1 Samuel 10:20-21).
Why?
2. Saul’s modesty is worthy of observation. “And the Lord answered
Behold
he hath hid himself among the stuff” (1 Samuel 10:22). This shows the
effectiveness of the Divine discipline through which Saul had passed
and
proves that he was the fit man for the office of kingship
Few men would run
from kingship. Its pageantry would suit their pride too well; its sceptre would
meet their ambition
and its flattery would feed their weakness. But Saul
looked more at its responsibility than at its emolument. Some men
when called
to posts of authority
exhibit a mock modesty
and hide themselves behind the
stuff of life
but they take care to get where there are plenty of holes
through which they may be seen
lest their compeers should stop in the search.
Saul’s was genuine modesty
and modesty never loses anything by being real
for
it is in such request that men pray for its discovery (1 Samuel 10:22).
3. Saul’s reception by the people.
4. The sacredness of national history (1 Samuel 10:25).
5. The conduct of Samuel in this crisis.
Lessons:--
Saul chosen king
When first the desire to have a king came to a height with the
people
they had the grace to go to Samuel
and endeavour to arrange the matter
through him. But it was a good thing that they came to Samuel at all. They were
not prepared to carry out their wishes by lawless violence; they were not
desirous to make use of the usual Oriental methods of revolution--massacre and
riot. Samuel convenes the heads of the various tribes to a meeting
which was
not to be counted a rough political convention
but a solemn religious gathering
in the very presence of the Lord. But before the lot was actually cast
Samuel
addressed to the assembly one of those stern
terrible exposures of the spirit
that had led to the transaction. How could the people
we may well ask
get
over this? How could they prefer an earthly king to a heavenly?
1. Perhaps we may wonder less at the behaviour of the Israelites on
this occasion if we bear in mind how often the same offence is committed
and
with how little thought and consideration
at the present day. To begin with
take the case--and it is a very common one--of those who have been dedicated to
God in baptism
but who cast their baptismal covenant to the winds. The time
comes when the provisional dedication to the Lord should be followed up by an actual
and hearty consecration of themselves. Failing that
what can be said of them
but that they reject God as their King? Then there are those who reject God in
a more outrageous form. There are those who plunge boldly into the stream of
sin
or into the stream of worldly enjoyment
determined to lead a life of
pleasure
let the consequences be what they may. As to religion
it is nothing
to them
except a subject of ridicule on the part of those who affect it.
Morality--well
if it fall within the fashion of the world
it must be
respected; otherwise let it go to the winds. God
heaven
hell--they are mere
bugbears to frighten the timid and superstitious. Not only is God rejected
but
He is defied. But there is still another class against whom the charge of
rejecting God may be made. Not
indeed
in the same sense or to the same
degree
but with one element of guilt which does not attach to the others
inasmuch as they have known what it is to have God for their King. I advert to
certain Christian men and women who in their early days were marked by much
earnestness of spirit
but having risen in the world
have fallen back from
their first attainments
and have more or less accepted the world’s law. What
glamour has passed over their souls to obliterate the surpassing glory of Jesus
Christ
the image of the invisible God? What evil spell has robbed the Cross of
its holy influence
and made them so indifferent to the Son of God
who loved
them and gave Himself for them?
2. But let us come back to the election. No doubt Saul had
anticipated this consummation. He bad had too many supernatural evidences to
the same effect to have any lingering doubt what would be the result of the
lot. Gregory Nazianzen actually fled to the wilderness after his ordination
and Ambrose
Bishop of Milan
in the civil office which he held
tried to turn
the people from their choice even by acts of cruelty and severity
after they
had called on him to become their bishop. But
besides the natural shrinking of
Saul from so responsible an office
we may believe that he was not unmoved by
the solemn representation of Samuel that in their determination to have a human
king the people had been guilty of rejecting God. This may have been the first
time that that view of the matter seriously impressed itself on his mind. Even
though his mind was not a spiritual mind
there was something frightful in the
very idea of a man stepping
so to speak
into God’s place. No wonder
then
he
hid himself!
3. Three incidents are recorded towards the end of the chapter as
throwing light on the great event of the day.
Saul chosen
king
The Jewish people lived under several different forms of
government. At first they were under the primitive patriarchal form. After this
came the theocratic government of the wilderness. This merged into the
government by judges and became at times little better than anarchy. Then came
the kingdom under Saul
David
and Solomon
followed by the divided monarchy
under Rehoboam and Jeroboam and their successors. After this came the exile
and
after the restoration
a government with limited powers under control
first of Persia
then of Greece
Egypt
and Syria
and finally
after a period
of independence under the Maccabees
under the Roman government. Each of these
forms of government gave some form or colour to the theology of the nation
but
none so deeply and permanently affected it as the monarchy. Figures borrowed
from it were prominent in the preaching of Christ and of the apostles; and the
Christian Church looks and prays for the coming of the kingdom of which this
was a type.
I. We are
interested in noticing the proposed kingdom as it affected Samuel. The step was
a great disappointment to him and also a personal insult. Much of his life work
seemed to him wasted unless the form of government under which he had brought
the land to prosperity continued. Many a faithful minister well past “the dead
line of fifty
” but with heart full of the Spirit of Christ
has the same
mingling of righteous and personal sorrow when the congregation
“to please the
young people
” begin suggesting that a younger man could do better the work of
the church. There was another personal sorrow to Samuel in the choice. The
people in their demand for a king had told him in the bluntest possible manner
of the unfitness of his own sons to be their leaders
and he was forced to
acknowledge publicly the sad truth which his aching heart was reluctant to
admit even to himself (1 Samuel 8:5).
II. We are much
instructed by the fact that God did not immediately desert the people after
their wrong choice. Good men sometimes feel constrained thus to act; but if God
had withheld help from all religious and political enterprises which fell below
absolute righteousness
the world would have been in perdition long ago. A
Christian is sometimes at a loss to know how far his cooperation with what
seems to him the best policy possible to succeed
but which still falls below
his ideal
makes him responsible for the defects of the policy or system. There
are many excellent people who fail to cooperate with others for the reason that
their plans seem in part a concession to evil that for the present cannot be
cured. The question whether a Christian may hold stock in a railroad
on the
whole righteously managed but with some wrong features of administration; the
question whether a Christian may visit the World’s Fair if it open on Sunday;
the question whether a Christian may patronise a hotel having a bar--these and
many others sometimes puzzle good people. Paul was able to discriminate
carefully and to determine whether eating meats offered to idols would involve
a seeming endorsement of idolatry. In like manner must we discriminate between
systems fundamentally evil and systems in which
though having features that
are wrong
the evil is incidental. Perhaps there is not in the Old Testament an
incident more clearly illustrative of God’s attitude towards such systems than
is afforded by this lesson.
III. We are
interested in the light which this lesson throws upon the better nature of
Saul. Well may the words of Samuel have made the young leader tremble for his
own future in the position which he must occupy. In this day young men are
called out as never before into responsible positions. Because of this fact
they are coming to expect it and perhaps to seek it. This is natural
but
usually not necessary. The right man is not likely to be so hidden in the stuff
but that he can be found for the place which God has anointed him to fill. The
man with his back to the sunrise
when the king was to be chosen
first saw it
as it lit up the western hill tops. The best way for the young man who feels
himself fitted for a higher place than he now occupies is to make himself so
conspicuously useful where he is that when the people begin searching among the
stuff they will find him head and shoulders above his companions. The hiding of
good men grows increasingly difficult. The member of the House of Commons who
sneered at an opponent
“You blacked my father’s boots!” received an answer
that well may have been given with honest pride: “Yes
and did it well.” Far
from disqualifying him
the humble work may have added important qualifications
for the higher service. Now
Saul is warmhearted and dignified and sincere. No
wonder the people admire him
for the words of Samuel are true and there is
none like him whom the Lord hath chosen among all the people.
IV. It is
interesting to notice in the closing verses an illustration of the familiar
truth that a good thing wrongly obtained does not satisfy. The people have had
their own way
and God has helped them to secure just what they had been
demanding. When they saw him
they shouted their approval of his selection. But
“the children of Belial
” or the worthless ones who undoubtedly had been
foremost in demanding a king
despised him. It is ever so. No man more heartily
condemns sin than the sinner who commits it. At the last all sin bites like a
serpent. But before this the stolen fruit is found less sweet than the sinner
anticipated
and the self-loathing because of it makes it bitter to our taste.
The lesson that most forcibly recurs to us is that which appears again and
again in our study of the history of the Jewish people--God’s faithfulness even
to the unfaithful
His changelessness even to those who were constantly
changing and so often for the worse
His goodness even to the undeserving. He
is kind to the unthankful. (William E. Barton.)
Saul chosen king
The interest of the scene at Mizpeh concenters in the
representative of the old regime and the new
the venerable judge and the young
king. In the example of each we may find instruction.
I. The conduct of
Samuel at Mizpeh sets before us the wisdom of timely concession. The change was
inevitable. No personal influence could prevent or long hinder it. The wisdom
of Samuel in his mediation between the old system and the new is now apparent.
Of such men as Samuel
Dean Stanley has said
they “are the silent healers who
bind up the wounds of their age in spite of itself; they are the good
physicians who knit together the dislocated bones of a disjointed time; they
are the reconcilers who turn the hearts of the children to the fathers
or of
the fathers to the children.”
II. The example of
Samuel further illustrates the nobility of self-renunciation. He was called to
depose himself and to invest another with his authority. How the story of his
own life came up before him as he pondered the change! Yet above all these
natural feelings Samuel rose victorious. Chagrin
if he felt it
was quickly
overcome. Personal humiliation was lost in the desire to save Israel from the
full consequences of her sin. A noble freedom from jealousy
like that of John
the Baptist when he looked upon his successor
and like that of Paul in view of
his rivals at Philippi
but the like of which the world has not often see
now
marked his course. Hitherto he had been a wise ruler
a sagacious and righteous
judge
but not more famous than other judges. By self-renunciation he now
became great.
III. The career of
Samuel suggests to us the strength which comes from conscious obedience to the
will of God. It was known to him that
in yielding to the people and anointing
a king
he was doing God’s will. His obedient spirit led him to look upon the
change in its relation to God’s purposes
and not as affecting his own
interests. The cause which had failed was God’s cause. In taking sides with God
in this matter
he was assured that he was not suffering final defeat. To find
one’s self wholly opposed to prevailing currents of thought and feeling is to
become helpless and despondent
except as the soul rests upon the clear
revelation of the will of God. Such a revelation had come to Samuel. Obedience
is a lofty virtue. The best fruit to be gathered from the study of the life of
Samuel is this: that constant and consistent obedience to the will of God is an
unfailing source of strength and stability. Laying aside all thought of the
long darkening tragedy of Saul’s later life
we may study the scene at Mizpeh
as it presents him to us. We note:
1. His humility.
2. His self-control.
The young manhood of King Saul wins our hearts. But its brightness
and beauty was of short duration. The sun arose in unveiled splendour
but long
ere midday was lost in gathering
darkening clouds. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Saul chosen king
We shall best bring out the significance of this lesson
as part
of the great revolution which established monarchy in Israel
by considering
separately the respective parts in it of God
Samuel
and Saul.
1. One great purpose shaping the details of the story is to make
clear and emphatic that Saul was chosen by God. Now this fact that God chose
Saul is full of instruction
when taken in conjunction with two things--Israel’s
sin in desiring a king
and Saul’s swift decadence and ultimate fall. But God
permitted this sinful wish to have its way. Is that difficult to understand? Is
it not in accord with His constant dealings? If we will not walk in His ways
He often leaves us to our own. He grants us the things that we whimper for
though our crying shows that we have shaken off His rule
and lets experience
teach us the lessons of our folly. Wishes are often best cured by being
fulfilled. Saul soon proved unworthy. The man chosen by God was a failure. Was
then
the choice a mistake? No. What he was chosen to do
he did. He saved
Israel “out of the hand of the Philistines.” God chooses men for tasks
and is
ready to fit them for their work
but He does not magically preserve them from
the temptation of their positions
unless they keep themselves in touch with
Him; and if they reject His help
and are made worse by their exaltation
it is
not God who has erred in His choice
but men who have fallen beneath their
vocation by their own sin.
2. Samuel’s part in the transaction is clearly marked. Only a man of
ripened wisdom
and
still more necessary
of manifest disinterestedness
could
have presided over so far-reaching a change. But a heart that keeps near to God
is fitted for delicate duties
and a leader who evidently has no personal ends
can sway men almost as he will. Well is it for nations and churches when the
representatives of the old order are willing to pour the anointing oil on the
young head of the embodiment of the new
and to give the stalwart warrior the
benediction of a kiss from aged lips.
3. Saul’s part in this incident brings into view chiefly two points
both of them excellences. The lesson for all
especially for the young
is
do
the small duties of today
and be sure that doing them is the best preparation
for wider spheres
and that when you are ready for these
they will be
accessible to you. The reward of work is more work. Little tasks may be great
if done from great motives; and
if we fill the corner where we are with light
we shall sooner or later be set on a candlestick high enough for the light that
is in us. Simplicity and modesty marked the young Saul. He feels himself
unworthy of the great destiny dimly marked out for him (1 Samuel 10:21). Such a temper
becomes untried youth
though its opposite is often a characteristic of early
life. It usually takes a good many hard knocks to beat youthful self-conceit
out of a man. It is time enough to boast when we are putting off the armour
and law of us have much inclination to do so then. But when we are putting it
on
and have made no proof of our prowess
the less we brag or think of
ourselves the better. It will do us no harm to remember the wise saying of a
Cambridge don
“Gentlemen
none of us
not even the youngest
is infallible.” (A.
Maclaren
D. D.)
Verse 22
He hath hid himself amongst the stuff.
Responsibility
When Auxentius
the Arian Bishop of Milan
had expired
there was
much excitement among the Christians in that City. Both Catholics and Arians
had assembled in the principal church for the purpose of electing a new bishop
and each party was eager that some priest who held the same views as itself
should be appointed to the vacant see. When the words of the governor had
ceased to reverberate through the lofty arches of the church
the clear voice
of a little child broke the silence which succeeded
repeating the words
“Ambrose Bishop--Ambrose Bishop.” At once the cry was caught up by that vast
assemblage. In vain did Ambrose protest that he was only a Catechumen
that he
had not even been baptised; in vain did he urge that the sacred office of a
bishop was one utterly foreign to his previous thoughts and studies (for he had
been educated as a lawyer); the people would take no denial; and so
at last
he fled from their presence
in order to escape consecration to the Bishopric of
Milan. This is no solitary instance. We read in the history of the Christian
Church of many similar shrinkings from responsibility on the part of those who
were elected to high office in that church; of many who
when called to assume
the care of some diocese
or even the sacred office of the priesthood
endeavoured
like Saul the Benjamite
to go and hide themselves among the
stuff. Now what was the cause of this strange behaviour: what was the cause of
that flight of S. Ambrose
when elected to the Bishopric of Milan? Was it not a
sort of nervous fear: was it not what may be called shamefacedness
or as it is
better rendered in the revised version of the New Testament “shamefastness”? We
can see countless instances of its disastrous effects in the Christian Church
of the present day. But let us not be too ready to condemn our timid brethren.
S. Ambrose became a mighty pillar of the Church: Saul
for many years
made an
excellent king
and proved himself a courageous warrior after he had been drawn
forth from his inglorious retreat. It is a hard thing to lead a holy life in a
world given to unrighteousness. Our Lord told His disciples that the world
would hate them and persecute them
just as it had hated and persecuted Him. It
is the public declaration of our loyalty to Christ which forms the difficulty
with most of us. And so this shamefastness leads men to live two lives--one in
the Church and one in the family circle: another in the office or in the club.
If we investigate the causes of this lack of helpers
what do we find? We find
hundreds of young men and women attending our churches: many of them regular
communicants--all at least making some outward profession of Christianity--all
at least hoping to be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You implore
them to labour in some one of those many fields which lie fallow for want of a
sower
and they respond but too frequently with that parrot cry that “charity
begins at home.” They are asked to join some society
to teach in some Sunday
School; the call of God comes to them in a hundred different ways to come forth
boldly and testify in His name; but
alas
when they are thus summoned
they
flee like Saul the son of Kish
and hide themselves among the stuff and baggage
of such excuses as they can drag together to conceal their lack of courage. We
read day after day in the public journals
that
as each regiment embarks for
service at the seat of war
not a man is found wanting when the muster roll is
called--none of the soldiers of our Queen are evading the call of duty--none
are hiding themselves among the stuff. And shall we
the soldiers of Christ
suffer such a reproach to be cast at us
shall we suffer it to be said that our
Christianity is pure selfishness
that all we care for is to save our souls;
and that we care not to come forward and make public avowal
to take up this or
that public duty which Christ calls upon us to perform for the love which we
profess to bear Him? (Patrick Wilson.)
Among the stuff
For the fulfilment of high offices in Church and State men need
the fellowship of those whose experience will impart a new impulse to life as
well as a new education.
1. Men hide themselves among feeling arising from a sense of
unworthiness. Such a sentiment must be cherished
but not elevated above the
call of God. We have a large number of good people who withhold their persons
and their influence from the Church of Christ
because they are unfit. Poor
stuff! Come to your own coronation
God is calling. Your first fitness is
obedience to the call. Be ruled by a sense of the greatness of the Saviour.
2. Men hide themselves among their good intentions. Intentions are
good when they are followed by actions
but they are bad when they are mere
substitutes. Some lives are made up of intentions
and
like castles in the
air
they are blown down by the rough winds of circumstances. Many would be
rich without work
wise without learning
and famous without a passport. Very
many people sincerely hope to become serious and religious some day.
3. Men hide themselves among their doubts and unbeliefs. Those who
set themselves up as harmonisers of the Divine method and fail are not a few.
No vessel anchors in fogs on the Banks of Newfoundland
but every one drives
through. To live in doubt is to anchor in a fog. Every one knows something of
the perplexities of belief. The unrest of the soul calls for the rest of faith;
but
he who rests in the unrest of doubt is condemned already.
4. Men hide themselves among worldly cares and anxieties. The motto
of many is
“Business must be attended to.” Certainly
and religion must be
attended to likewise.
5. Men hide themselves among the pleasures of life. The pleasure
seeker is everywhere
and is catered for most extensively
but it is poor
stuff. (T. Davies.)
We should not shrink from the path of duty
Joan of Arc is a striking example of strong resolve and lofty
purpose conquering a naturally timid disposition. When convinced that she was
called of God to deliver France from English rule
the timid village maiden
became a leader in battlefields and sieges
and unawed by the presence of the
highest personages in the land. The conviction of her mission made her strong.
Verse 24
There is none like him among the people.
The choice young man and goodly
There are two forms in which the man who is steering his vessel
over the perilous ocean may ascertain the course which he should keep
and
receive admonition of the dangers which he should avoid. There may be the
well-known sea mark
reared near the treacherous rocks
speaking its language
of caution
and yet at the same time affording its tranquilising assurance
that so long as that caution is followed
there will be safety. But there is another
beacon which the sailor sometimes discovers
whose warnings are conveyed in a
still more emphatic form. It is not the lighthouse which the hand of science
directed by kindness
has reared--it is not the buoy that floats over the
treacherous sand; but it is the shattered vessel which has come too near the
point of danger--its timbers breaking
its stores floating
its passengers
lost. Now
what these two forms of admonition are to those who “go down upon
the deep and do business in the great waters
” the precepts of God’s holy word
on the one hand
and its historic warnings on the other
are to those who are
voyaging over life’s ocean to the haven of eternity. The language of God’s
precepts is kindly admonitory: these say enough to keep us right; but we are
apt to get so used to their teachings
as that they lose their power--used to
them
as the sailor is to the beacon on the rock
or to the buoy floating over
the sand. We want something more. We want something that shall tell upon our
security and heedlessness more vividly
and with more realised impression; and
we have it
we find it in the historic warnings of God’s word--in wrecks--the
wreck of peace--the wreck of character--the wreck of comfort--the wreck of
hope--in the cases of those who have trifled with the voice of Divine precepts
and have refused the blessings of heavenly direction. Such is the spectacle
which is presented to us in the history before us--it is a wreck
and one of no
ordinarily distressing character. But among the spectators of a vessel driven
on the rocks
and dashed to pieces by the violence of the surge
none would be
so much moved as those to whom it might have occurred to see that very barque
when it was launched. To spectators who could recur to past hopes thus excited
the effect of beholding the wreck would be additionally distressing; the
contrast between what had been
and what was then before the eye would be
telling in the extreme. And this enhancement of melancholy interest undoubtedly
attaches to our present theme. Nothing could be more auspicious
nothing more
attractive
than the commencement of that career which terminates in a moral
wreck. There were actual manifestations of conduct on his part which looked
like promise of the brightest future. We particularise two.
I. The first was
his dutifulness as a son and the consequent regard in which his father held
him. In these respects
he really stands before the young as an example and a
model. The Spirit of God
who has recorded the perversity of Eli’s sons
and
the unworthiness of Samuel’s sons
has brought into notice the immediate and
ready obedience of the son of Kish (1 Samuel 9:3-4). We are not
surprised to find
as another part of this interesting history
the regard
which Saul’s father entertained for him
as evinced in the incident
recorded 1 Samuel 10:2
that when Saul and
his servant were departed from Samuel
and had reached Rachel’s sepulchre
in
the border of Benjamin
at Zelzah
two men met them
who having announced that
the lost property was found
added (and with what naturalness and simplicity
does the addition fall upon our ears)
“Lo
thy father hath left the care of
the asses
and sorroweth for you
saying
What shall I do for my son?” The loss
of his property was considerable; but the loss of his son was a far greater
privations. “A wise son maketh a glad father;” and now that the father missed
the son who had often made him glad
he could not help exclaiming
in his deep
solicitude
“What shall I do?” Saul occupied at home a place of important
interest in his parent’s view
and now that his place was vacant the blank was
painful. It is painful to see children outliving the esteem of their own
parents. We cannot read the varied references which Scripture makes to the
parental relationship
and not feel that the test which Saul applied in
ascertaining the course of duty is one which God often and urgently demands
that we should employ. “The joy of a father
” or “the heaviness of a mother
”
are considerations of vast moment with God; and are
therefore
matters which
cannot safely be trifled with by children
even of elder growth. “Will this rob
my father of rest; will this add to my mother’s sorrow?”--let this be the
question before you take your course
and shape your plan and purpose.
II. Besides the
particular point which we have reviewed there was in Saul’s character a large
amount of right-mindedness under circumstances which might have proved a strong
temptation to manifestations of an opposite kind. Sometimes we see
among our
fellow creatures
great excellences overborne by great and lamentable defects.
We hear it said of a young man
“Yes
he is a good son; but when you have said
that
you have said all. He is so conceited
so upstart
so perverse towards
all but his own immediate friends
that you lose many a time the recollection
of his excellence in the personal inconvenience which you suffer from the other
features of his conduct.” No such thoughts as these
however
are suggested by
the narrative of Saul.
1. There would appear to have existed
in his case
what might have
been a considerable temptation to personal vanity; and yet
in the earlier portion
of the narrative
there cannot be traced the slightest approach to it in his
demeanour. To be vain on the ground of personal charms is to act a senseless
part
for these imply no merit
and promise no long duration. The winger of age
must be contemplated
as well as the spring tide of youth and the summer of
manhood and womanhood. Besides
it is the mind that gives value to the man: and
what is the casket if it be empty? However beautiful its exterior
it
disappoints if there be no gem within.
2. If Saul’s appearance did not lift him up
neither does he at first
seem to have been rendered vain nor to have been unduly elated by his new
circumstances. There is nothing more difficult to bear than a change from a
lower position to one which is several grades above it. There are some
beautiful instances
indeed
in which men have stood the trial well
and have
carried into an elevated sphere all the humility and simplicity which marked
them in the ordinary walks of life. But these are rather the exceptions than
the rule. With many a man the very day of his transition to a higher path in
outward condition has been the period from which is to be dated his pitiful
absurdness--his perfect uselessness--his moral fall.
3. He manifested the same right mindedness in bearing without
restraint conduct which was intended to irritate him
and which was very much
calculated to produce that effect. “The men of Belial said
How shall this man
save us? And they despised him
and brought him no presents” (chap. 10:27). And
how did Saul act? With what significance the sacred writer adds
“But he held
his peace.” Now it was much to be so quiet where human nature--as we
perhaps
know from experience--is very apt to be excited. But the secret of this silence
is to be found in that characteristic which we have just been considering. If
he had attached an overweening importance to himself
you would have seen a
very different course of conduct. But it was the absence of this which saved
him. Such are the representations afforded by Scripture of the character of
Saul at the time at which he was called to the throne. And from all we have
said
what might not have been hoped for in regard to the future? Yet our hopes
are destined to be disappointed. Be all that Saul was when he set out in life
but secure the same endowments of character from a higher source than mere
nature. Seek them from God
as the result of His Spirit’s teaching--His
Spirit’s operation in the heart. This will be the great security against that
disappointment which arises from such a deterioration of character as a little
later we have before us in the history of Saul. (J. A. Miller.)
A royal mien
James I of England was joyfully acclaimed king on Elizabeth’s
death
and began his royal procession from Scotland to his new capital in great
state. The nation
was bitterly disappointed
however
to find him mean looking
and ungainly
whilst his manner was common
uncouth
and utterly wanting in
personal dignity. So weak and cowardly was he that the eight of a drawn sword made
him shudder. A severer contrast between King James I and Saul it would be hard
to conceive
and the different impressions produced upon their people were
quite in keeping with the diverse characters of the two men.
And all the people
shouted
and said
God save the King.
God save the king
!--Our text tells of the first time
in Scripture
that this great
shout of loyalty was raised. Illustrating this old cry briefly from the
circumstances noted in Samuel
and applying if
to cur own time
we may
observe:--
I. How God is to
be acknowledged as the fountain of life and of authority. In this first prayer
for royalty
there is the acknowledgment of God as the fountain of life and
authority. This grand truth of religion is not forgotten in the original tongue
of this verse
which expresses the people’s wish
“Let the King live!” The same
truth is implied in the form of words now usual
“God save the King!” Of such
authority how often is the Almighty declared to be the author and the defender;
and Jesus Christ Himself
the first-begotten of the dead
is declared to be the
Prince of the kings of the earth. Let none of us forget that
because of such
truth
the Coronation
at which the outward symbols of dominion are entrusted
to the monarch
is a distinctively religious service; far more so than anything
else. Thus it was in those old times to which our text refers
so it has been
ever since; and so it is still throughout Christian countries
even throughout
heathen countries
with a few exceptions
all down through the ages.
II. Prayer for the
King:--The Almighty is to be acknowledged: the King is to be prayed for; why
and how? In the light especially of his high position and of his vast
responsibility. While for rulers in general we are to intercede
for our own King
there are many special causes for so doing with sacred enthusiasm. On the
occasion of our text
the people shouted with ardour unrestrained. In some
ways
perhaps
our civilisation is more subdued
and sometimes
perhaps
restrains too much the utterance of natural affection. Although in the present
instance so far chastened
let not our loyal feelings be too much repressed.
Let them not be shut up as in an icehouse
but rather be expanded with
something of that summer heat
which we love and long for. Finally
in our
loyalty thus honouring the King
we shall in piety be fearing God who hath
given us this command. (G. G. Gillan
D. D.)
The King
It does not need a great deal of historical acumen to see that the
Coronation of King Edward VII of England will stand out even in our remarkable
national history as an event of peculiar and pathetic importance. We have been
accused by a friendly
if somewhat cynical
critic of applying to ourselves as
a nation all the promises of favour and the dignity of responsibility which God
bestowed on His chosen people
the Jews
in the days of their faithfulness and
trial It would be strange if we had reaped no benefit from our national study
of and veneration for the Bible. What then does the person of the King
represent to us
clothed with all the insignia and majesty of supreme glory.
I. The King is the
representative and embodiment of certain personal and important principles and
among these we reckon first in the person of the King the majesty and dignity
of law. He is the fountain of a nation’s law
the supreme embodiment of its
liberty and privileges based on law. In looking back over our chequered history
we see the fierce nature of the conflict which has raged round this conception
of the regal office. Our King does not reign as a despot in defiance of his
people’s rights
but as the living embodiment of all that they most venerate
and cling to. As children we were accustomed to read history with an eye to the
stirring events of the battlefields
and the struggles of kings and people in
all the moving incidents of the public tragedies which surround a nation’s
growth
and as we get older we shall find that these struggles lose none of
their interest. They gain in importance
as the conflict of liberty with
oppression
of order with disorder
now on this side
now on that. We mark in
them the gradual evolution of a clearer idea of what is meant by a monarch
in
his supreme character as the guardian and fountain of law; we see the
diminution by slow degrees of the idea
of personal irresponsible power
and
the quenching of the lust of greed and oppression
and the emerging of the
figure of dignity and religion
under which a nation venerates the figure of
her liberty. Have we learned yet all the beauty and grandeur which lie
expressed in that sacred name--law? When the old Greeks looked out on this
magnificent universe in which all things perform their ordered functions
they
called the world by a name which signified order
as if that were the main end
pervading characteristic which was stamped upon its Divine mechanism. The reign
of law
of perfect
unswerving law
excited their veneration and awe; and it
was magnificent
it was Divine. And so we are accustomed still in most intimate
and hidden ways to trace the action of the Holy Spirit in the regions of order
and discipline within the soul. The Spirit of God which once moved upon the
face of the waters when order emerged from chaos still rules over the hearts
and lives of those who give themselves up to His gentle guidance. While we
honour this great principle of law and order in the person of our King
whom we
crown and consecrate
let us see to it that we honour every manifestation of it
in our own lives. It is a sorry thing to contend for the liberty of the
subject
sad maintain the long conflict for the integrity of our laws
if at
the same time we are living the life of slaves
in a voluntary subjection to
the tyranny of evil. The struggles of the nation for freedom and for liberty
are paralleled in the life of many a man today
with a very diverse issue of
the conflict. The supremacy of law
within the circle of his own life
is the
inherent birthright of every man. We are born free
but the issue of life’s
struggle too often leaves us slaves. Let us at least venerate the fount of law
as those who know the blessings of law in our inmost selves. It is a turbulent
kingdom which God has called upon you to rule. There are fierce passions which
were designed to serve under your kingship
which are only too ready to rise in
rebellion and oust the ruler from his throne. Not many hundred yards from this
cathedral there once existed that strange region known as Alsatia
with which
the pen of the novelist and the brilliant pages of Macaulay have made us
familiar
that region in which the king’s writ did not run
the abode of
criminal disorder and vice. So many a man has elevated his besetting sins into
an Alsatia
an abode of privileged misdeeds
where the will gives no order
and
the law of God makes no appeal. I appeal for a larger and more whole-hearted
veneration for law and order within the kingdom of our own lives. Let us have
no Alsatias
no privileged sins
no times
no places
or moods which are
outside the beneficent rule of law. Let us bring into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ.
II. The King
once
more is the representative to us of our national traditions. The history of the
nation hangs round it like a necklace
studded with glorious jewels
which
represent the traditions which have been worked out of its long and chequered
careers. There are memories of struggles at home and abroad
of some of which
we are ashamed
of most of which we are proud. We remember how
in the very
place where we are standing
the expiring struggle of heathenism
the advancing
powers of Christianity
the bitterness of religious and civil strife have all
left their mark on history. Nelson and Wellington lie buried in our crypt
to
remind us of the European struggle which made such an impression on our
national sentiment and showed England the great destiny she was called upon to
fulfil. And we thank God that while seldom free from some form of war in some
part of our vast Empire
God has mercifully shielded us from the horrors of war
in our own island. The battle of Sedgemoor
in Somerset
fought in the
rebellion of Monmouth in the days of James II
is generally regarded as the
last serious battle fought in our own land; for which we may
indeed
thank
God
when we see what war means--as
for instance
to the sunny plains of France
in the awful struggle of 1870
or in South Africa in the horrors and
destruction of the war now happily and gloriously concluded. Through long
centuries of struggle
of blessings received and warnings given
we do feel
that there has emerged a great; tradition which we are pledged to maintain
and
of which our crowned king is the personal representative. We do not as a nation
care much for glory; it is an evanescent and intoxicating sentiment which is
foreign to our character. We seem
on the contrary
to be almost cynically
indifferent to the hostile criticism of our national actions
which we are at
the same time powerless to avert. But
thank God
there has emerged as the
permanent tradition of our race
and as the prevailing symbolism of our
national flag
the sense of duty. However we fail in its practical application
however imperfect may be our realisation of our responsibilities
still it is
something to feel that it is the great tradition of our race
that England
expects that
every man should do his duty
and that greed and injustice
where
and if they exist
exist only in defiance of our most cherished national
traditions. Every man is better for a tradition in his life. The novelist has
traced for us with merciless accuracy the career of a man who fell from bad to
worse
largely because he had no tradition in his life; who never could
remember the time when he was not indolent and self-pleasing; who had no
battlefields of struggle
no records of victory to help him with the strength
of a tradition
or the memories of outlived sorrow. And so he fell
as one who
is alone when he falls
and who has nothing to keep him up
or anything of
which he should say
“God forbid that I should be false to my better self
or
betray my nobler past.” Under the name of principle we all of us recognise with
an instinctive homage a tradition
which it is only honourable for a man to
maintain. A temptation to a degraded sensuality loses half its malignity when
it comes to a man
not as an isolated experience in a multiform career
but as
a blow aimed at a cherished principle of life and a uniform course of action.
It is an immense strength for a man to be able to say to the enticer
“I never
have yielded to that kind of temptation yet
and I am not going to begin now.”
It is an immense support to a life of integrity
to be able to meet the
specious appeal to a supposed profit in dishonesty by an honest repudiation
which can say
“I have never done a dishonest action yet
nor told a lie
and
it would be contrary to all my principles to do so.” One of the greatest
national treasures is the glorious tradition which is the heritage of our race
and therefore once more
as the depositary of that tradition
and as the
upholder of its integrity
we say of him whose coronation we acclaim today
“God save the King.”
III. But we must not
forget that human nature being what it is
and our English nation being what it
is
there has gathered round the best tradition of our loyalty a depth of
personal feeling for the person of the sovereign. Not officially only
but
personally
out of respect and affection for the reigning monarch; where that
has not been made impossible
we have loved to say
“God save the King.” We
none of us
are likely to forget the great personal devotion which all classes
of English men and English women displayed towards our late Queen. Her throne
if any
was reared up in the hearts of her people. Nor is this a merely
sentimental affection. In crowning our King
we crown the majesty of law
we
crown the greatness of our tradition
and the glory of our race
but we also
crown one
who has mounted the steps of the throne
straight from the shaping
tenderness of the loving hand of God. And
therefore
with all our hearts we
say
“God save the King.” (W. C. E. Newbolt
M. A.)
Verse 25
And wrote it in a book.
Value or a written constitution
A written revelation is an incomparable blessing. Is not the cry
of subjects everywhere for a constitution
something written
the fights and
duties of sovereign and subject in black and white? The Bible is to us like a
written constitution; we can take it home
we can consult it when we please
quote from it
appeal to it God graciously binds Himself by it. Of all the
modern heresies
none is more contrary to human experience than the rejection
of a written word
and the proposed substitution of human conscience and the
moral sentiments as our guide. (N. Adams.)
Verse 26-27
And there went with him a band of men
whose hearts God had
touched.
But the children of Belial said
How shall this man save us.
Public opinion in reference to the new King
I. The sympathy of
Saul’s friends. There are times in the life of man when the sympathy of a
friend is of priceless value. At critical junctures of our history
in times of
sorrow or in seasons of joy
it is most acceptable.
1. This sympathy was human. “There went with him a band of men.”
Potent as are spiritual influences to sustain us in duty
is it not welcome to
feel the pressure of the hand
to hear the love which speaks in the quivering
voice
and to see the eye of compassion looking upon us?
2. This sympathy was collective. “A band of men.”
3. This sympathy was practical. “They went with him.”
4. This sympathy was fervent. “Whose hearts.” They did not merely
follow Saul as a bodyguard of soldiers
who were to be paid for their work.
There was some deep power within that bound them to the new King; and therefore
we cannot wonder at their sympathy taking a practical form.
5. This sympathy was divinely called forth. “Whose hearts God had
touched.” Yes! all hearts are in the Divine hand
and when we are placed by
Providence in circumstances of trial
it can influence the most potent so that
they become our friends.
II. That antipathy
of Saul’s enemies. “But the children of Belial said
How shall this man save
us? And they despised him
and brought him no presents.”
1. This antipathy was envious. “This man save us.” They thought
themselves far more worthy for the position of king than Saul; they considered
his social rank beneath theirs
and his valour far inferior to their chivalry.
Envy always makes men blind.
2. This antipathy was sarcastic. “This man.”
3. This antipathy was presumptuous. Why should they place themselves
in opposition to such a potent and even holy authority.
4. The antipathy was unconcealed.
III. The suggestive
conduct of Saul in reference to the hatred of his enemies. “But he held his
peace.”
1. His conduct was dignified.
2. His conduct was discreet.
3. His conduct was magnanimous.
Lessons:--
1. The considerateness of Divine Providence in giving us the aid of
our companions in the trying circumstances of life.
2. That the efforts of national opinion are often misdirected.
3. That envy is often the secret of much political opposition.
4. That silence is the best method of treating such contemptible
opposition. (Joseph S. Exell
M. A.)
Helpers and Hinderers
In one of his most perilous experiences
in the midst of a wild
and savage mob
John Wesley was attended by four devoted followers
three men
and a woman
who were fully prepared to die with their teacher and friend if
God so willed. At the critical moment the leader of the mob turned to Mr.
Wesley and said
“Sir
I will spend my life for you. Follow me
and none shall
hurt a hair of your head.” With two companions this man conducted the preacher
to a place of safety. So
in our lowlier and commonplace walks of life and
duty
we shall find both hinderers and helpers.
A God-touched band
Another king whose circumstances illustrated by Saul’s--one Jesus.
Look at Him. Israel refused. Why? Is not this the carpenter? etc. God touched
the hearts of a few. He went forth and seeing Matthew said
“Follow me!” Peter
James and John. So now I ask you to look at:--
I. Christ’s kingly
office.
1. Foundation upon which His kingship rests. We are not referring to
His Divine kingship solely. As God He is the King immortal
invisible
etc. But
we are viewing Him as deity enshrined in humanity seated upon a throne. And the
question naturally arises
what claim has He to be so seated? It rests upon His
atoning work. Some crowns are now worn by earthly monarchs which have been won
for them by the blood of others
but Christ’s crown has been won by His own
blood.
2. His kingdom
twofold; heaven where angels worship
earth where
believers love and serve.
3. His government
righteous
holy in self
acts
benevolent. Merciful
both in grace and providence. Even dark providence is mercy.
4. His conquests. The world to be converted.
II. His followers.
Many have the badge but not real. Text reminds us of:--
1. Their former state. Their position is one of sympathetic
affection
and contrasts with their former state which was like that of those
who derided
disliked.
2. The change. One of affection. How accomplished? God touched
them--Must be Divine power!
3. A “band” has one view
one feeling
one purpose.
III. Learn from this
subject:--
1. The fearful consequences to those who reject Christ. Elizabeth’s
frown killed Sir Christopher Herren. What will it be to bear the lack of
approval from Christ.
2. How to recruit Christ’s band. Seek to convert the young. The
Sabbath School is the place. There the ranks must be filled up. (G. Rigby.)
Hearts touched of God
Saul went home to Gibeah
but not alone
for “there went with him
a band of men
whose hearts God had touched.” Perhaps this Divine touch
involved much more than some of us may have supposed. The heart
in Holy
Scripture
frequently means the whole spiritual nature
including the
understanding
the affections
the conscience
and the will. Their
understanding was touched
enabling them to discern their own duty and the true
interest of Israel. Their affections were touched
powerfully attracting them
to “him whom the Lord had appointed to be captain of their inheritance
” and
inspiring them with due respect and confidence Their conscience was touched
compelling them to acknowledge the Divine hand in the whole matter
and their
own obligation to acquiesce in the appointment of the Most High
and to sustain
with all their force the man who had been set over them. Their will was
touched
re-enforcing with Divine grace their purpose practically to carry out
the resolution they had formed; so that
whatever others might do
they would
adhere to the king
and go with him to Gibeah
ready to protect his person
support his prerogatives
avenge all insults offered to him
and serve him in any
emergency that might arise
in any capacity that might be required. True
there
was much in Saul to attract. All this had its effect in winning their love and
confidence; yet there was also a manifest supernatural power working within
them. And still
by His Holy Spirit
through His gospel
His sacraments
and
His providences
God graciously touches the hearts of men. Without this Divine
agency
none would ever be saved. True
there are means and ministries
employed
but these without God were fruitless and inefficient. This Divine
touch--what is its nature? and what are its effects?
1. It is the touch of a light that illumines. Here begins all true
conversion. It may be as the morning dawn
shining more and more unto the
perfect day; or as the lightning flash
smiting the sinner blind till some
Ananias comes to open his eyes; but in either case
it is God that toucheth the
heart with the living light of His grace.
2. It is the touch of an owner that claims. As a man lays his hand
upon his lost or stolen property
saying
“This is mine;” so God lays His hand
upon the human heart
alienated from Him by sin
and demands it as His own. It
has been captured and kept from Him
but He will not relinquish His claim.
3. It is the touch of a weapon that wounds. The heart is in
rebellion
and must be conquered. The two-edged sword of the Spirit must pierce
and cleave it
before it can be cleansed and cured.
4. It is the touch of a hammer that breaks. Edward the First was
called “the Hammer of the Scots.” God saith
by His prophet--“Is not my word a
hammer
that breaketh the flinty rock in pieces?” What is that flinty rock
but
the obdurate heart of His people
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin
harder than adamant
or the nether millstone? Oh! the flinty heart
that cannot
feel
and will not relent! What hope can we have of its improvement? God has
graciously smitten the stone
and turned it to flesh; and now He binds up the
broken heart
and heals the contrite spirit.
5. It is the touch of a fire that dissolves. “God maketh my heart
soft
” saith Job
“and the Almighty troubleth me.” How dreary is the Northern
world in winter
the fountains frozen up
and the mountains wrapped in their
robes of snow! But when the vernal sun shines forth in his strength
the fetters
of ice are dissolved
the streams released flow through the valleys
and all
nature puts on its gay and festive attire. Still greater is the change wrought
in the heart by the Sun of righteousness. A rough and shapeless lump of gold is
cast into the furnace
and soon it becomes a beautiful ornament
fit for the
brow of a king. So the touch of God can melt the hardest heart
and change it
into a crown jewel for the King of kings.
6. It is the touch of a key that opens. Was it not the Lord that
“opened the heart of Lydia to receive the things spoken of Paul?” The heart is
closed against Him by sin and selfishness.
7. It is the touch of a spirit that quickens. “And you hath He
quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins.” And dead in trespasses and
sins are we all
till touched by the quickening Spirit of God. The affections
are dead
the conscience is dead
and the will is dead; and none but He who
breathed into the first human form the breath of life
can make man once more
“a living soul”--“alive to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
8. It is the touch of a Healer that restores.
9. It is the touch of a Fountain that cleanses.
10. It is the touch of a magnet that attracts. God is love
and the
heart He touches must gravitate towards Him. When Elijah passed Elisha
ploughing in the field
and threw his mantle over the ploughman’s shoulders
the latter instantly left his oxen standing in the furrow
and hastened after
the prophet
and never left him till a chariot of fire took him up from his
side to heaven. So the touch of the Divine Galilean drew the fisherman from his
nets and boats
the publican from the receipt of custom
etc. (J. Cross
D.
D)
A Godly band of men
Accommodating this statement
without perverting it
we are
naturally led to describe the subjects of Christ under a two-fold aspect.
I. Their personal
character. They are men whose hearts God has touched.
1. An internal change has passed upon them Their heart has been
touched. This is an observation which strikes at the root of a very common and destructive
error. Born and educated amid all the decencies of a civilised and Christian
community
many amongst us are insensibly moulded into the mere form and
fashion of the age. This is particularly the case with the young. If the young
therefore
are to be ranked among the people of the living God
they must
follow the Lord heartily.
2. The author of this internal change is God--their hearts are
touched by Him. This statement also corrects another very serious mistake in
regard to the production of a religions character. If there are multitudes that
place religion in outward forms
while it springs from an inward change
so
there are not a few who trust to human power for its production
and not to the
power of God. It is the besetting sin of fallen man
and especially of the
young who have not yet proved by failure the utter weakness of man to magnify
their ability
and depreciate the agency of the Holy Spirit. They imagine they
have power at any given point of their sinful career
to arrest their progress
repent
believe
and be saved.
3. The influence of this internal change is to make the subjects of
Christ cherish warm affection
and practice dutiful obedience towards their
King. It was because the hearts of this band were touched by God
that they
encircled Saul as their monarch Divinely chosen. And mingling religion with
loyalty
gave their conscience to God
and their sword to their sovereign. In a
similar manner
every heart renewed by the Holy Ghost loves
and honours
and
obeys the King of Zion.
II. Passing from
the consideration of their personal character
let us next consider the
subjects of Christ in their associated condition. They are a band. This
suggests three ideas--union
mutual affection
and joint cooperation.
1. They are united. A life of solitary seclusion is enjoined by no
part of revelation. Monks and hermits were the produce of an ignorant and
barbarous age. In opposition to this selfish and seclusive spirit there is
something uniting and comprehensive about the spirit of the Gospel. The sacred
writers delight to represent the followers of Jesus under the figurative
emblems of a flock of sheep--of a family--of an army; all of which
representations embody the idea of numbers
and of numbers united by the
strongest and closest ties.
2. The subjects of Christ cherish towards each other mutual
affection. The Church of Christ is united
and united by love.
3. The subjects of Christ cooperate together. Kings long ago
knew
how to levy soldiers
train armies
subordinate immense masses of human being
to military discipline
and bring them forward
in regular order
upon one
point
for the sake of conquest. With the exception of the mad attempt of
united Christendom to wrest from the Turks the holy sepulchre
we read of no
combined enterprise
on the part of the Church
during hundreds of years
for
the advancement of religion. Bible Societies and Missionary Institutions
combining simplicity of plan with nobleness of effort
are the inventions of a
period comparatively late. Here
every one does a little
and all their efforts
bear upon some great undertaking. (Gavin Struthers.)
Godly comrades
With what glowing prospects does this new-crowned king begin his
reign; chosen by God Himself; gifted with a splendid physical presence; filled
with the spirit of God; accepted and supported by all the people
and
especially surrounded by such a noble bodyguard.
I. God
in
touching the hearts of these men
filled them:
1. With reverence for the cause of which he was representative.
2. With devotion to him as that representative.
3. With a commendable zeal in service to that cause.
4. With wisdom and ability as counsellors.
5. With personal unselfishness in their service.
II. Every chosen
servant of God needs today as a bodyguard
“a band of men whose hearts God has
touched.”
1. With the seal of pardon and acceptance.
2. With a sanctified zeal in God’s service.
3. With a burning desire for the salvation of souls.
4. With a mighty faith in God as to the results of the work. (Homiletic
Review.)
God touching human hearts
It is interesting to observe that
although the people were so
bent on having a king
they still were willing to have God decide who their
king should be. They had not “waited patiently for the Lord
” content with the
administration of their national affairs which He had instituted until He
should see fit to order a change; yet they did not wish to break wholly away
from His control. They desired their king to be chosen by Him and kept under
His guidance. They did not dare take their new departure without the counsel
and benediction of Samuel
“the man of God.” As a people
although faulty
they
were still the sincere people of God
adhering still to the purpose which an
earlier generation avowed to Joshua. “We will serve Jehovah
” although so far
from perfection of fidelity in that service. From that inauguration scene “Saul
went home to Gibeah”--went
no doubt
to serious and earnest thought and
deliberation--and (how beautifully it is added!) “there went with him a band of
men whose hearts God had touched.” There is infinite poetry in that expression
in that thought--God touching a man
the invisible
spiritual God touching the
hearts of men. The contact of material bodies
which that word primarily
signifies
is a very simple and a very familiar fact. But in living bodies it
suggests much more than that primary fact. It is connected with vivid
sensation. To touch is to feel--to be touched is to be made to feel. And then
with what facility do our minds pass from feeling as bodily sensation to feeling
as mental emotion! The effect of a blow upon our flesh is expressed by the same
word as the effect of a sorrow or a disappointment upon our souls; we feel it
it touches us. We are in no danger of misunderstanding the word touch when
applied to God. When the afflicted patriarch of Uz exclaims
“Have pity upon
me
have pity upon me
O ye my friends
for the hand of God hath touched me” (Job 19:21)
no one gets the idea of bodily
form or members as belonging to God--members which could be brought into
contact with the bodies of men. It is only a vivid mode of expressing Job’s
devout belief that all which he suffered was sent on him by God. “He toucheth
the hills and they smoke” (Psalms 104:32)
is the Psalmist’s poetic
utterance of his sentiment that the sublimest volcanic phenomena are easy
products of almighty Divine agency. It is the parallel
in thought as in form
of the other phrase
“He looketh on the earth
and it trembleth.” When we read
of our divine-human High Priest that He can be “touched with the feeling of our
infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15)
we readily understand Him
to be capable of quick sympathy
feeling with us whatever painfully affects us.
There were some disloyal
some “sons of Belial”--wild
reckless
unprincipled
men--who did not hesitate to manifest their contempt for the new monarch. Over
against these in the Scripture picture we see “a band of men whose hearts God
had touched
” whose behaviour showed that they were acting under a Divine
influence--that their minds were decisively affected by Divine power. What was
the behaviour which showed this? It is very simply related in the context. They
“went with him.” Were you ever in circumstances in which simply to go with you
was the kindest
and the bravest thing that any friend could do for you
including and pledging every other kind and generous and courageous thing which
there might yet be occasion to do? Did you ever stand among an angry crowd
tossing your name about with ribald scoffs and glaring on you with ferocious
faces? Have you known the comfort in such a situation of having honourable
citizens and reputable ladies come quietly to your side and show themselves
determined to stand with you
and to take with you whatever insults or whatever
injuries might come? How came they to have this generous disposition and this
loyal spirit? They were “a band of men whose hearts God had touched.” Does this
dependence on God for such good influence remove from men all responsibility
for the state of their minds? To affirm this or to think this would imply an
utter misapprehension of the character of that Divine influence and its
relations to human activity
human responsibility and human character. The
influence which He exerted in touching their hearts to make them feel and act
rightly cannot have been inconsistent with such righteous exercise of His
judgment upon their conduct
and upon the state of mind which their conduct
made manifest. The relation of Divine influence upon men to men’s voluntary
action
and to their character
and to God’s just judgment of them
is one of the
most difficult problems of theology. The different attempted solutions of it
have had much to do with the classifications of theologians under the names of
great theological leaders
as of Calvin and Arminius
or into parties
as Old
School and New School
for example. How human character can be determined by
Divine influence
and still be character
retaining all the elements of
responsibility
no one has yet so explained as to satisfy all other equally
candid and clear-minded persons. For myself
I propose to be content without
such explanation until
by God’s mercy
I may stand on a higher point of view
and may look with a more clarified vision than I expect to have in this world.
We can never justify or excuse our wrong conduct or our disobedient or unlovely
or unholy dispositions by ascribing them to God’s withholding from us the
influence which would have begotten right dispositions. The “sons of Belial”
who scoffed at Saul and turned away contemptuously from him were wicked men in
so doing. Saul could not help blaming them; you cannot; God cannot. Are any of
you painfully sensible of failure to be and to do what God reasonably demands
of you? It certainly is not best for you simply to lash yourselves up to
frantic endeavour or hasty resolution to do better. You will not do better
without an influence from God moving and helping you thereto. Seek that
influence in simple
frequent
persistent prayer. Every influence of which any
of you are conscious
impelling you in any direction which you know to be
right
to any service of usefulness which you honestly regard as work for
God
--be assured that that influence is Divine. That is God touching your
heart. Turn not away. (H. A. Nelson
D. D.)
Unity in Christian labour
The idea that I gather from the incident is
that
not alone
but
with those whom God sent
Saul now undertook
and afterwards discharged
the
momentous duties of his high office. And without pressing the analogy too far
I think this fact supplies several lessons suited to our present circumstances.
The position of the ministry is one
than which
even that of the monarch
is
not more important. The subject then that I shall notice
as suggested by our
text
is Unity in Christian labour. And concerning it we observe:--
I. It is a
desirable thing. We feel its desirability when we remember:--
1. That it secures Church concord. By Church concord
I mean that
genuine kindredness of sympathy
that oneness of heart
that binds every
individual of the Church
and of all Churches
very closely to each other; that
will lead all to feel that they are members of one body. For concord in the
Church there must be no rigidness of thought
no monotony of feeling
but a
blending of the varied sympathies
mingling of the thoughts
and a harmony of
the hearts of all.
2. It secures Church attraction. As all men
with but a few pitiable
exceptions
love true music
are attracted to it
and spell bound by it
so the
harmony of Christians will attract and over-awe the world.
3. It will secure Church power. Bind together threads
condense
steam
focalise light
and you give even to these things an unimagined
strength. Unite souls
weld together hearts
and who will dare defy their
power? Concerning unity in Christian labour
I notice:--
II. It as a
practicable thing. Such a unity as has been described is then desirable but can
it be obtained? There are three things requisite to this unity
and the mere
statement of them will show practicability.
1. Are we agreed in aim? It is only when one purpose directs the
sinewy efforts of all the crew
that their united endeavours rescue from peril
the storm tossed ship; at is only when every heart is fired with the same
desire
that victory crowns the struggles of an united army And so with us With
one aim ruling we shall be one.
2. But are we agreed as to the means by which this end is to be
obtained? It is said
that the Emperor Constantine
in one of his campaigns
saw in the heavens the sign of a cross
and under it the words
“By this
conquer
” and that henceforth that was his motto. Have we been to Calvary
and
seen there the cross and Him that hung on it. Pointing to it
is our watchword.
“By this conquer?”
3. Are we agreed as to the spirit in which we will work? Is it our
earnest vow in God’s strength
never to exalt ourselves
never to use His work
as a ladder to reach our own purposes
never to labour for God
as many do
in
a spirit more fitting the service of Satan? Can we say “The love of Christ
constraineth us?” The question
how can we obtain them
leads me to notice
concerning
this unity of Christian labour:--
III. it is a Divine
thing. “Whose heart God had touched.” God’s influence on the heart alone can
produce that unity of which we have been speaking. I observe:--
1. That an entire change of heart is necessary to this unity.
Self-seeking in the world
bigotry
and sectarianism
which are but other forms
of self-seeking
in the Church; these are the too prevalent spirit among men.
As long as there is sin reigning in our hearts they cannot be united. Robertson
has strikingly said
“A dreadful loneliness is the result of sinning; the heart
severed from God
feels severed from all other hearts; goes alone as if it had
neither part nor lot with other men; itself a shadow among shadows.” To get
unity then there must be a thorough purification
a radical change Instead of
injuring men
delighting in sin
idolising self
and serving Satan
we must
bless men
rejoice in holiness
crucify self
and love God.
2. That this change is accomplished by the touch of God. Three of the
ways in which God touches our hearts
are like the ways in which we generally
touch each other
but He has also other ways possessed by Him alone. He touches
the heart by a look. As when “Peter went out and wept bitterly
” and Hagar
uttered her dread conviction
“Thou God seest me.” He touches the heart by acts
of kindness In the gifts of His Providence; and far above all in the life and
death of His only begotten Son. He touches our heart by His word. The word of
warning counsel
promise
and welcome. So we can touch each other by looks
actions
and words But God has avenues to the heart that are unknown to us
for
His hands are upon secret springs of our nature. He touches us by the direct
influence of His Spirit. (U. R. Thomas.)
Unsociable Christians
“The Egyptians
in their hieroglyphics
expressed the
unprofitableness of a solitary man by a single millstone
which
being alone
grindeth no meal
though with its fellows it would be exceedingly profitable
for that purpose.” Let this serve as a symbol to those unsociable Christians
who endeavour to walk alone
and refuse to enter into the fellowship of the
saints. They are comparatively useless. The Lord hath made us dependent upon
each other for usefulness. Our attainments are not put to their right use till
they supply the deficiencies of others: this is one aide of our necessity for
fellowship--we need to associate with the weak
that we may find a sphere in
which to trade with our talents
by helping them. On the other hand
our
infirmities and deficiencies are means to draw us into association with
stronger brethren
from whom we may receive help. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Advantages of unity
To separate ourselves from our brethren is to lose power.
Half-dead brands heaped close will kindle one another
and flame will sparkle
beneath the film of white ashes on their edges. Fling them apart
and they go
out. Rake them together
and they glow. Let us try not to be little
feeble
tapers
stuck in separate sockets
and each twinkling struggling rays over some
inch or so of space; but draw near to our brethren
and be workers together. (A.
Maclaren
D. D.)
The holy band
The ancient Thebans had in their armies a band of men that were
called “the holy band
” consisting of such from the various regiments and
battalions as were joined together in a bond of love
and were sworn to live
and die together in the service of their country. These men were reckoned of
great value. They were esteemed the strength of the army
and in time of
special danger or alarm were looked to as the nation’s hope. (W. Denton.)
Verse 27
But the children of Belial said.
The sons of Belial
The word Belial is found but once in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:15). In the Hebrew
of the Old Testament it is found twenty-seven times. It is several times
translated wicked (Deuteronomy 15:9; Job 34:18; Psalms 101:3; Nehemiah 1:11; Nehemiah 1:15). It is also rendered
ungodly (Proverbs 16:17; Proverbs 19:28). It is twice rendered
ungodly men (2 Samuel 22:5; Psalms 18:4). In Psalms 12:8
it is rendered evil
and in Proverbs 6:12
naughty. In all other
places it is simply transferred from the original to the common version; and so
we read of a man of Belial
men of Belial
a son of Belial
the sons of Belial
and children of Belial. As a designation of character the word always points to
the vile--those who draw iniquity with a cart rope. Indeed
the word Belial
itself seems to mean worthlessness
nothingness
or destruction. That vile men
are worthless
and can at last be put to no good purpose
but to be burned
is
argued at length in Ezekiel 15:1-8. See Proverbs 10:20; Matthew 25:30; Romans 3:12; Romans 3:16. A man of Belial is one who
destroys much good
but he restores nothing; scatters much wretchedness
but makes
no one happy
and is dead while he lives
because he lives to himself. He is a
vain
naughty
worthless
wretched being. The Anakims are an extinct race; but
the sons of Belial live on
and are many. This is strange
for but few of them
live out half their days. Their vices are very wasting. But still they are
numerous. David speaks of floods of them in his time. Where wicked laws prevail
and wicked men are in power
they are spawned by the thousand. When Ahab and
Jezebel have sway the dogs will be licking up the blood of innocent men. (W.
L. Plumer
D. D.)
The importance of self-command in a leader
Said Napoleon concerning his success as a military leader: “My
extreme youth when I took command of the army of Italy made it necessary for me
to evince great reserve of manner
and the utmost severity of morals. This was
indispensable to enable me to sustain authority over men so greatly superior in
age and experience. I pursued a line of conduct in the highest degree
irreproachable and exemplary. In spotless morality I was a Cato
and must have
appeared such to all. I was a philosopher and a sage. My supremacy could be
retained only by proving myself a better man than any other in the army. Had I
yielded to human weaknesses
I should have lost my power.”
──《The Biblical Illustrator》