that it Rhonld be carefully reserved for him went down from the high place, anrl having (ver. 24). He now orders it to be set before entered the city, proceeJed to Samuel's dwell- Saul, with the.t which we.a upon it, i. e. all ing, where he communed with Saul upon the the flesh and tho fat not appointed to be top of the house. The Septuagint has a. burnt upon the altar. very probable reading, namely, " And they Ver. 24.-And Samuel ea.id. Samuel's spread a bed for Saul upon the roof, and he name is not given in the Hebrew, and lay down ; " but the Syriac and Chaldee agree though inserted by the Septuagint and Vul- with the Hebrew. Without communicating gate, it is RO only 1-iy a manifest error. The to Saul that he was to be king, which was Syriac and Chaldee, like the Hebrew, make not revealed to him till the next day (eh. x. the cook the speaker. The right translation 1), Samt!el might be anxious to impress on is, " And the cook lifted up the shoulder Saul's mind the gre,at principles of the theo- with that which was upon it, and set it cratic government, and also the nature of before Saul, and said, ' Behold, that which the remedies necessary for Israel's recovery hath been reserved is set (a participle, and from its present misery. not the imperative) before tb.ee; eat, for it Vers. 26, 27.-It came to pass a.bout the hath· been kept for thee unto the appointed spring of the de.y. This is not a separate time of which he (i. e. Samuel) spake, saying, act from they arose early ; for the A. V. I have invited the people.'" The word trans- is wrong in translating the next clause, lated in the A. V. since I said is one which "Samuel called Saul to the top of the house." means saying, and nothing else ; and as Saul had slept there, and, wearied out with what goes before contains no verb to which his long wanderings and the excitement of saying can refer, it is plain that there is an the previous day, was fast asleep when Samuel ellipse. But if the cook be the speaker, the came to him. The Hebrew is, "And they meaning is plain, as follows :-When on the rose early; for at the spring of the day previous day the revelation was made to Samuel called to Saul upon the house-top, Samuel that Israel's future king would pre- saying," &c. And no sooner had Saul risen sent himself on the morrow, the prophet at than they started upon his journey home, on~e made preparations to receive him with and as soon as they had left the city, at some due solemnity, and for this purpose arranged fitting spot, Samuel bade the servant go a sacrifice, and invited thirty of the chief forward, and as soon as he and Saul were citizens of Ramah to assemble at the high alone he spake unto him the word of God. place, and sit at the bnnquet with him. And And by that Divine word he whc had left then it was, when telling thu cook of his his father's house in search of lost asses invitation, that he gave orders that the por- was summoned to a post which, if one of the tion of honour should be carefully reserved, greatest dignity, was full also of danger, and to be set at the fitting time before the stranger. burdened with solemn responsibility. And The chat of the cook is entirely after the while on the human side Saul proved not manner of ancient times, and would show unworthy or a royal crown, in his relation Saul how completely his coming had been towards God he failed, because he let self- foreseen and provided for. will and earthly policy prevail in his heart Ver. 26.-When the feast was over they over obedience and trust in God.
HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-10.-Divine consideration. The facts are-1. Saul the son of Kish, a wealthy Benjamite, and remarkable for stature and goodliness, seeks his father's asses. 2. Not finding them, he fears lest his father should be anxious about his own safety, and suggests a return home. 3. His servant advises a recourse to a distinguished man of God then in those parts. 4. Obtaining a small present, Saul resoh·es to con- sult the man of God concerning the lost asses. A great crisis has come in which the dangerous elements at work in Israel's heart might lead to much mischief. The chief motive for desiring a king being a craving for outward display, and a corresponding distrust and dislike of God's more unseen and immediate direction of national affairs, it was evidently possiblii for steps to be taken which would ruin Israel's prosperity. The narrative relates to us a series of Divinely-governed events, apparently trivial, which prevented that calamity and insured the nationul safety. I. Goo's REGULATION OF IMPERFF.CT DESIRES AND DANGEROUS ASPIRATIONS. There is no harm in desire for monarchy per se; but the form it assumed in this instance was defective, and it revealed a moral tendency which, if fed by appropriate nourishme11t, would lead to u frustration of Israel's true work in the world. The saving feature in their conduct was their deference to Samuel. The instruction rom·eyed to him l<• } BAM. Ill 162 nrn FIRST DOOK OF SAMUEL. [en. 1x. 1-27.