The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 149

F-:imurl's pain wa8 acnte and natural, and the concession made to tho discontented, 1lio11gh apparently a breach in the Divine order, was in keeping· with God's usual t rratnwnt of men. l. DISCONTENT 'l','JTH GoD's METHODS AND TIMES IS VARTOUBLY SHOWN. Men can ,l etcct and condemn faults in others which they either do not see or cond6ne in them- seh·es. It is possible for us, in the light of history, to dilate on the sin ilnd folly of I ,,·ael "'hile the same temper may be manifested by us in other forms. Discontent "·ith God's methods and times may appear in various relations. 1., The ge1ie-ral rr,n•ei"nment of tlie world. It is not often saul, that God has made a mistake in con- sti t11ting the moral and material universe in such a way that so much sin and suffering shonl_d be possible; but the feelin[J is_ often entertained that it would have been "·ell 1f some other course hnd been mstituted. There is more of this feeling lurking in some hearts thrm is supposed. Men dare not face certain of their mental operations. How far the feeling affects theology, philosophical theories, personal rest in God, and fitness for doing the best Christian work, demands serious consideration. 2. T!te manner and form in wliich revelation lias been conveyed to man. Many attacks on the Bible proceed from a discontent with what is conceived to be inadequate to the wants of the world ; and in some this feeling has generated the supposed discovery of reasons for discarding the book as a revelation from God at all. The very primi- ti-ve biographical notices ; outlines of tribal hi~tory interblended with singular per- sonal experiences; genealogies of uninteresting names; crude ideas and antique customs of strange people-all this in connection with a favoured people, and relieved by streaks of light suited to men of later times, does not seem to be a mode of re,el,ttion most likely to survive the advancing intelligence of the world. It is also not the most satisfactory thing for so precious a boon as a revelation to be given in detachetl portions, to be conveyed originally to men of one country, and to be characterised by a series of supernatural events. Men feel that God has imposed a hard task on them to hnve to defend and justify what seems open to assault from ~o many sides. They wish it had been his will to have given his light so unmixed with an ancient human history that the most keen antagonist would be compelled to recognise its presence. To some it really see·ms as though the form and 01igin of the contents of the Bible were a misfortune. Of course this discontent, silent or expressed, springs/rom an imperfect consideration of the real nature and J?itrp01·t of the revelation given, as well as of the inevitable conditions ,of any revelation that has to be coextensive with the wants of both the first and last ages of the world ; and that, moreover, has to be concentrated and verified in a Divine person duly attested by a contemporary evidence harmonious with a chain of antecedent proof. It would be useful to the Church if some one, dissatisfied with the way in which God is affirmed to have made known his will to succeeding ages, would prescribe the rig·ht way. 3. The method of saving men by atonement. That God does save souls by means of an atonement bearing, in some way, an objective relation to his govern• ment, as well as a moral relation to men's lives, is so clearly the natural teaching of the Bible that it can only be eliminated by the adoption of a forced, non-natural interpretation of fact and statement. The discontent which some feel with the atonement is the reason for what is manifestly a forced interpretafam of language. Entertaining the crude notion that the atonement is a transaction affecting three dis- tinct beings, forgetful of the pregnant fact that it was G_od in Christ who, by sacri- fice, effects redemption, and not considering well that all the pain and suffering, R11pposed to be imposed for the benefit of another, abide on any theory for tlte benefit of some one, they prefer a system in which pardon is based on the merits of a moral change brought on by a display of love in the shame and agonies of the cross I 4. The means of perfecting lwliness in character. The long and tedious process ~y which often the soul advances from one degree of purity to another awakens dis- satisfaction and fretfulness. Why should so blessed an issue as. sanctification be insured by sometimes loss of property, friends, and health? Is 1t not possible to secure elevation of character apart from tribulation? 5. Tlie mea~ used for the conversion of the world. There is not a more common form of. discontent than thiR. The Apostle Peter had to contend with it when he reminded l11s readers v_f _the thousand years being with God as one day. That a religion demon~trably D1vme, CH. VIII 1-22.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 147