one in thi8 respect. And the living Church of Christ iA the assertor of Messianic truth-claiming to hold what Christ has given, pointing to the spiritual reign of Christ over every heart and home as the goal of all effort and the hope of the world ; and the witness-bearer, calling upon rulers to observe in their administration the prin- ciples of righteousness, truth, and benevolent regard, which God alone will honour with his blessing. . III. CIVIL IlULERS ARE BOUND TO ACT IN HARMONY WITH THE WITNESS-BEARING OF THE CHURCH. Saul was bound, morally, and as a condition of stability to his throne, to recognise Samuel in his capacity as prophet of God, working, with all the devout, for Messianic purposes. He must not ignore the spiritual power, and thus dishonour God (ver. 8; cf. eh. xiii. 8-10); nor must he arrogate its functions. His duty lay in administering government on the principles of righteousness, and S) :is not to bar the way to the realisation of the Messianic purpose. And knowing as "·e do that in the truth given by Christ, and borne witness to by the living Church, tli'·re are all the sound principles of human progress as well as of personal salvation, ever_v government is morally bound to act on them, and is guilty of fearful presumption if it professes to supplant them by creations of its own. As surely as decay at t!,e- root of a tree will issue in its fall, so surely will every government pfrish which act;i. on other principles than those asserted by the living Church of God. No govern- ment can successfully wage war with the one living Church, which, by example, word, and deed, preaches righteousness, and claims the right to do so. IV. The CHunCH IS BOUND TO CONFINE ATTENTION TO HER OWN PROPER FUNCT:ONS. Samuel left Saul to "do as occasion" might "serve" (ver. 7). He simply claimed that there was another power in the development of Israel's life beside the civil, and that Saul must recognise this. The exercise of the power had reference to general principles of conduct, and the securing of Messianic purposes. The Church of Christ is bound to avoid everything that would be inharmonious with her spiritual nature and uses. To be the educator of the state conscience, to assert her own independ- ence as a spiritual community for spiritual purposes, this is the function of the Church in relation to the civil power, as illustrated in the conduct of Samuel, involved in the spiritual nature of Christ's body, and confirmed by the adversities and pros- perities of history. General considerations :-1. How far the controversies connected with spiritual supremacy are the result of a deviation from the simplicity of purpose characteristic of apostolic times. 2. To what extent calamities have befallen the world by the professing Church being more concerned for the assertion of power than for th~ preaching and practising of righteousness. 3. Whether history does not show that an earnest Church, solely bent on preaching the gospel, and enforcing it by example, exercises more real power over the destinies of nations than a Church ever watchful to limit the powers of civil rulers.
Vera. 9-17.-The reasonableness of incongruities. The facts are-1. Saul ex- periences the truth of all that Samuel had told him. 2. Being met by a company of. prophets, Saul, under an inspiration from God, also prophesies. 3. The peopl11 remark on the incongruity of Saul's being among the prophets. 4. Saul's uncle, beinw too inquisitive in the matter of Samuel's intercourse with him, is not gratified. The general reader of the Bible is struck with the incongruity between Saul's antecede:.ts and his sudden participation in the gifts of prophecy; and men generally have sym- pathised with tho surprise which expressed itself in the proverb, "Is Saul among the prophets?" Too frequently the event here recorded is left us one of the strang-e. unaccountable things scattered over the page of sacred history, furnishing to the mind more of perplexity and embarr_nssment than of instruction and aid to faith. It will, however, be found tha.t in the course of Providence the seeming incongruities pluy an important part, that they are not essentially unreasonable, and are all reducible to a common principle. T The COURSE OF PROVIDENCi!: PilESENTS NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF STRIKING INC0:-1- 0RUITY. Whatever the precise definition of incongruity, the thing itself may be fonn l in the form of conduct, association, relation, and means. Leaving out all instances resulting from human folly and eccentricity, we may notice a few in the ord,•r of 182 THE l<'InSl' BOOK OF SAMUEL. [ell. X. 1-Jii,