_Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel._ NATIONAL SINS AND NATIONAL PUNISHMENTS We turn from Saul to the case of those against whom he was sent. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he... [ Continue Reading ]
_It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king._ SAUL REJECTED The story is graphic and pathetic. This is Saul’s victory and also his defeat. Our defeats are often wrapped up in our victories. Some of our most dismal failures are hidden from us by the glare of a partial and disastrous success.... [ Continue Reading ]
_What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears._ HYPOCRISY 1_._I learn, first, from the subject that God will expose hypocrisy. A hypocrite is one who pretends to be what he is not, or to do what he does not. Saul was only a type of a class. There are a great many churches that have two... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me._ SAUL’S OBEDIENCE We invite your attention to some features of Saul’s character, as drawn out by the way in which he obeyed the Divine command. 1. First, let us notice the zeal and alacrity with which Saul pro... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice._ OBEDIENCE AND SACRIFICE Saul’s misconduct supplied the occasion for the announcement of an absolute and eternal truth. I. That sacrifice is only circumstantially necessary, but obedience is essentially so. 1. Sacrifice is either an atonement for offenc... [ Continue Reading ]
_Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft._ REBELLION AGAINST GOD ALL MALIGNANT AS WITCHCRAFT To rebel against the clearest light and most express declaration of the will of God: this is an action of the like malignity, even as the sin of witchcraft. When a crime is said to be “as the sin of witchcraf... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have sinned._ TEMPORARY RELIGIOUS FEELING “Some are frightened into a little religiousness in their straits and deep necessities, but it is poor work and superficial work. They are like an ice in thawing weather, soft at top and hard at bottom.” They melt, but to no very great extent. It is upon... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee._ ONE SIN TOO MANY The whole story affords an extensive illustration of sin in almost all of its phases of manifestation as judged by the righteous law of God. 1. We discover the simple nature of sin: it is disobedience of... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people._ TRUE AND FALSE REPENTANCE How may we discriminate between a merely seeming repentance and genuine penitence? There is hardly a passage of Scripture which could render us mere decided assistance than that portion of Sa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Surely, the bitterness of death is passed._ DEATH AN ADVANTAGE So cried Agag, and the only objection I have go this text is that a bad man uttered it. Nevertheless, it is true, and in a higher sense than that in which it was originally uttered. We talk about the shortness of life, but if we exerc... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal._ THE VINDICTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD God, who viewed Agag as an enemy to Himself and to His people, would not release him from the punishment he deserved; but inspired Samuel to give him a just recompense of reward. This striking instance of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death._ SAMUEL’S WITHDRAWAL FROM SAUL Very few bad persons are without some “redeeming quality,” as it is called; and “redeeming qualities” are usually precisely of that kind by which we are most fascinated. The “redeeming qualities” of a wicke... [ Continue Reading ]