The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 93

Eli's sons, nnd tl,c cnptnre by the Philistines of the ark of Goel. 'l'h<'re can he no doubt bnt that. the will of God is hcing wronght out in the trinmpl,s ai,cl disasters of nntionn1 life throngh all time. The laws by which men are govcrnC'd are 1111iform. They are often slow and subtle in operation, and it requires that the whole life of a people be known before we can see the smc working- out of the laws that determine success or ruin. It is an ndnrnfage to the world th•1t in sacred history "·c have rcYealed to us, in concrete form, the principles on which God rules men. The uisnsterA that fell upon Israel in the early years of Samuel's life furnish us with much instruction. "-c learn that- I. There is for a PEOPLE A STATE OF PROSPERITY l'OR WRICH THEY ARE ORIGINALLY DE~IGNED,_AN~ AFTER WHH'H IT ~s NAT~RAL FOR THEM T~ ASPIRE. Israel,as a people, was constitutionally fitted to enJoy a !ugh degree of national well-being. There are material blessing·s proper to all nationalities, and especially were these included in the lot promised to Israel th_rough M~ses_ (Deut. xxviii. 1-13). It was quite natural, therefore, for the people m Samuel s time to seek freedom from a foreign yoke 1 and to strive to regain political influence and internal prosperity. There stands1 mo re or less clear, before the mind of nations and individuals, an ideal of what th ey ought to attain to. The vision of good, though remote, is a powerful infirrence in life. Before every State, Church, and home there lies u condition of freedom, peace and inflnence for which it is designed by Providence, and which should ever be the' goa1 of effort. JI. The DIVINE FAVOUR IS REQUISITE FOB TRUE SUCCESS IN THE EFFORT 'fO ATTAIN TO TTIE GOAL. Israel could not obtain the national blessings_so eagerly sought unless 1lie favour of God be secured. This is the record of their entire history. It is the '· blessing of the Lord that maketh rich." The life of a nation extends possibly over centuries; and as during the few years of a man's life he may be allowed to strive on witl:out God to the end before disaster is apparent, so the course of centuries alone m"y reveal wl,ether it is possible for true, enduring success to be realised apart from 1he favour of God. The favour of God means a co-working of the Divine energy with his creatures, so as to secure a convergence of all physical, mental, and social forces towards their welfare. That he should do this without dislocations of nature is ns reasonable as that our spirit should, in its measure and mode, strike in on the external forces of matter, and, without violating their laws, cause them to subsen·e its purposes. III. The REVEALED C0!\'DJTION Oil' INSURING Goo's FAVOUR IS CONFORMITY TO HIS WILL. Israel could not expect that God would, as a matter of course, prosper their endeavours after the goal of life. The evils from wl,ich the nation suffered were the result of non-conformity to the will of God. It is clear that God discriminates between men, and although it may be that God's energy works along lines fixed and unifonn, yet, inasmuch as all the lines are his creation, and are coincident with his great law of blessing the good and chastising the bad, it turns out, in every case, that Lis favour, in specific act~ and issues, goes with conformity to his will. Moreover, is there not a very true seuse in which it may be said that the whole being of God is in immediate and constant contact with every subtle element in existence? They are all ministers that do his pleasure. God has not banished himself from all spheres of actiun, so as to be the only powerless Power in the universe. IY. CoNl'ORMITY TO 'J'Hf, WILL OF Goo LIES IN TWO THINGS :-1. EXERTION. 2. 11-Ior:AL CHARACTER. The natural craving of Israel for natio~~l ~rosperity could only be s:1tisfied by making strenuous efforts to shake off the Pluhstmes yoke and develop all tl,e resources of the land, and, futther, by the possession of a moral character such as Goel delights in. It is the will of God that if men will enjoy whatever enters into 11,c conception of a well-de,·eloped, prosperous life, they must work for it. But that i., only one side of duty. We are not only bound to act, t~ wor_k, but are bound to DE; a11d it depends on thP kind of persons we are as to the d1rect10n_ and force o~ our acts. Jsrnel in Samuel's time had a moral character, but not accordmg to the will of God. Every nation and every individual bears a moral cl1arac~er before the eye of God. It is only when 011r 11,oral condition is a reflex of the righteousness of God that we can be said to !,an, the confonnity to his will wliich is eqsential to the favour U-,nt insures real success tu 'ife's effort. CIT. IV. 1--22.) THE F'IltS'l' IfOOK OF SAMUEL.