prophet had made no lasting impres~ion on his mind. There was nothing profound about. the ma;1. He had no ~ontrollmg reverence f?r God, no abiding faith. So ho ?cted from hu:n~elf, only callmg on God to help 1nm in_ what he was going to do, mstead of wmtmg to lmov.: what th~ Lord would have bun t? do, and acting as his servant. He bore the stram -0f anxiety for days, but not till the end of. the time appointed. The troops (if one may g·ive such a designation to hastily-collected and ill-armed le-vies) were faint-hearted, and but loosely attached to· the standard. of their king.. They wondered why the sacrifice was delayed. They feared that God would be displeased,_ and not fig-ht for them. Then Saul, impulsive and unwise, ordered that the sacrifice should proceed. Rather than wait a few hours more he violated the direction he had received from the prophet of the Lord, and betrayed once for all an unreliable character and presumptuous heart. II. THE LESRONS. 1. God rules men on large principles, but proves them by apes. cific tests. His law is great and equitable; the trial of obedience to it is sometimes quite minute. In the garden within the land of Eden man and woman were put unde': a rule _of univ~rsal obedience t? the voice of the Lord, and they were tested by thrn specific reqmrement, to abstam from the fruit of one of the trees in the garden: . Lot, his wife, and daug~ters were re~cuP:d by angels from o. doomed-city, and enJomed to flee to the mountams; "but !us wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt." Hezekiah, devoutly referring everything to. God: had great deliverances, and a prosperous reign ; but failing to _consult the Lord when a flattering embassy came to him from Babylon, he revealed vain-glory lurking in his heart, and broke down the wall of defence which his previous piety had reared round his throne. San! "\"!"US tested more than once, but this one trial at Gilgal was enough to pro,e his unfitness to rule over God's heritage. The fact is, that one act may show character as clearly and decisively as a score or a hundred could do; not, indeed, an incidental act of inadvertence or error, but a thing done after explicit instruction and warning. He who breaks through the line of obedience at one point, out of eelf-will, is not to be depended on at any point. He disentitles himself to confidence by one instance of misconduct, not because of its intrinsic importance, but on account of the key which it gives to his inward tone of character. 2. One action, hastily performed, may carry irremediable consequences. Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, and he could neYer reverse that fatal act. Cain struck down his brother; and was from that day a wanderer and an outlaw on the earth. Esau sold his birthright, and never could recover it. Moses erred once at the rock in Kadesh, and forfeited his entrance into the promised land. The sins of those who are penitent are forgiven ; but there are consequences of sinful habits, nay, even of one sinful act, which have no cure or correcti,e. It is well that this should be kept sternly before the eyes of men; for the moral nature of many is slippery and self-excusing, and they are too ready to count on impunity, or on finding some easy corrective for what they do amiss. The truth is, that one action may spoil a whole life, and, indeed, may hurt not oneself only, but many others also; just _as Saul's impatience at Gilgal injured not ·himself. alone, but the nation of Israel during all his unhappy reign. 3. He whom God will exalt must first learn patience. For want of this was Saul rejected fwm being king. By means of this was David educated .for the throne. The son of ,JP,sse was privately anointed by Samuel, as the son of Kish had been. Thereafter he came ir!to public notice by his promptitude and bravery against Goliath, just as Saul l,ad come into publie favour by similar qualities against Nahash. So far their paiths 1,1ay be said to have corresponded; but then they quite diverged. Saul, impatient, behaYed foolishly, and fell. David, when tried, "behaved himself wisely," made no l1aste to grasp the sceptre, waited patiently till God should lift him up. So when the time at last came for his elevation, he knew how to reign as God's king on the Lill of Zion. How beautiful is this in the Son of David, the meek and lowly One, who, because he patiently observed the will of God, has now a n~me above every name! Jesus pleased not himself. He always spoke and acted as m ~ehalf and_ by direction of his Father in heaven. Therefore has God highly exalted him. 4. It 1s 11 dangerous thing to ask for, or accept, a vicegerent of God on earth .. It b~trnrs unbelief ratlier than faith, and it entails tyranny and confusion. What a calamity 1t has beer. to the Latin Church to have an alleged vicar of Christ on earth I The arrangement CH. XIV, 1-35.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 243
quite falls in with the craving for a spiritual ruler who may be seen, and the uneasi- nesB of re.ally unspiritual men under the control of One who is invisible. So there is a Popedom, which began indeed with good intentions and impulses, as did the monarchy of Saul, but has long ngo fallen under God's displeasure through arrogance, and brought nothing but confusion and oppression on Christendom. We are a hun- dred times better without any such vicegerent. Enough in the spiritual sphere that the Lord is King. Our Divine Saviour, now unseen, but in due time to appear his !n glory, is the only as well as the blessed Potentate, Head of the Church, Captam of the host, Lord of alL-F.