The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 222

l. THE SOYF:REIGNTY ov Gon (ver. 8). "It bath pleased the Lord to mnke you hi~ people" (,:er. 22). Of his own free and gracious_ ,y.ill, always founded in perfect wrndom, he raises up a people from the lowest cond1t10n, confers upon them special blessings and prfrileges, and exalts them to the most eminent place among the nations of the earth (Dent. xxxii. 8; Acts xvii. 26, 27). As it was with -·Isre:el so has it been with other peoples. His right so to deal with men cannot be questio~ed his power therein is manifested, his undeserved goodness should be acknowledged' and the gifts bestowed employed not for selfish• ends, but for his glory and th~ welfare of mankind. II. THE SINFULNESS OF MEN. "They forgat the Lord their God" (ver. 9). -So constantly and universally have men departed from God and goodness as to make it evident that there is in human nature an inherited tendency-to sin. "It is -that tendency to sinful passions or unlawful propensities which is perceived in ·man whenever objects of desire are placed before him, and laws laid upon him." As often as God in his great goodness has exalted him to honour, so often has he fallen away from his service; and left to himself, without the continual help of Divine grace, his course is downward. "In times past the Divine nature flourished in men, but at length, being mixed with mortal custom, it fell into ruin; hence an inundation of evils in the race" (Plato. See other testimonies quoted by Bushnell in 'Nature rnd the Supernatural'). '1 There is nothing in the whole earth -that does·not·prove rither the misery of man or the compassion ·of God; either his powerlessness with- •iut, or his power with God" (Pascal). III. THE CEBTA.lNTY OF RETRIBUTION. "He sold tliem into the hand of' Sisera," &c. (ver. 9). " The sword of Heaven is not'in haste to smite, Nor yet doth linger, save unto.his seeming Wbo, in desire or fear, doth'look for it."-(Dante, 'Par.' xxii).· "Morning by morning doth be bring his judgment to light; he faileth •not" (Zeph. iii. 5). " History is a voice for ever sounding across the centuries the law1t of right and wrong. Op.inions alter, mu.nners change; creeds rise• and fall,· but the moral law is written on the tablets of eternity. For every false word or unrighteous deed, for crnelty and oppression, for lust or vanity; the price has to be paid at' last; not always by the chief offenders, but paid by some one.- Justice and truth alone endure and live. Injustice and falsehood may be long-lived, but -doomsday comes at last to them in French revolutions and other terrible woes" (Froude, ·' Shott Studies'). IV. THE llENEFICENCE OF BUFFERING. "And they cried· unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned," &c. (ver. 10). Underneath what is in itself an evil, and. a result of the violation of law, physical or moral, there is evcel' working a Divine power which makes it the means of convincing ·men of,.sin, tuming them from it, and improving their character and condition. A state of deepest humiliation• often precedes one of highest honour- It,is only those who refuse to submit to discipline (Job xxxvi. 10) and harden themselves in iniquity that sink into hopeless ruin. V. THE .EFFICACY OF PRAYER. "And the Lord sent . . . and delivered· you," &c. (ver. 11). "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and be delivered them out of their distresses" (Ps. cvii. 6, 13, 19, 28). As it was with Israel throughout their history, so bas it been with others, even those who have had but little knowledge of "the Hearer of prayer." ,· " In even savage bosoms There are longings, yearnings, strivings For the good they comprehend not, And the feeble hands and helpless, Groping blindly in the darkness, Touch God's right hand in that darkness, And are lifted up and strengthened" (' The Song of Hiawatha '). VI. THE PREVALENCE OF MEDIATION. "Then the Lord sent M.oses and Aaron·• (ver. 8). "And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, •md Samuel•~  'l'llh l!"II:ST BOOK 01'' SA!\IL"EL. 223,