The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 257

thongh o~en in ignorance, cries out for ~he living God (Prov. xvi. 9; Jer. x. 23). 2. T,lier~ is a rnet~od_ at hand._ The ~nm was not far ~rom Saul. By a study of God s will ns seen m Ins word, Ins providence, the yearnings of a sanctified heart. and the voice of his people, we may gain guidance in addition to that private iiln- mination ~-hi~~ unquestionably c?m~s in answer to true prayer. Nop,lie, can be laid down f~ir md1n?uals. Each days c1rc~1mstances must su~rgest the me11ns .we use t.o • asce:tam the will of ~od. 3. Th~re is. reason for loohng for a response to. our seel-,,,ng. It was a tacit understanding with Saul on the settlement of the kingdom ( eh. ix. 25-27; x. 24, 25) that he might count on the guidance of God. Samuel's exh~rta~ions and instructions all ~hrough proceede_d on this assumption. Nor.w~ God s silence on the present occas10n contrary to this ; for it was of itself a signifl,0 c-ant indication of the mind of God. Saul knew its meaning. The exhortatiom to us to "seek_ the L_ord," the distinct promises that he will "hear," the many instances on record m which men sought and followed the Lord, raise an assurance that the se~d of Ja cob shall not se~k l1is face_ in vain (Isa. xix. 1 ). , Tl!e answ!lr -may come m unlooked-for forms,-m the clearing of our moral perceptions the secret bent given to the purified heart, the opening up of courses of actfon, or a ~oncurrence· of events and influences,-but come it will some time if we are sincere and earnest. 4. The absence of response is often accountable. We know why Saul's seeking for counsel was in vain. There are frequent instances in which the silence of God is conspicuous. He was silent when the Psalmist cr_ied unto _hiII\. to ".awakell (Ps. mv. 22-24); when defiled men cried unto hini (Isa. i. 12-15); when amid~t t,he_ a storm men were in fear (Matt. viii. 24-26) ; when in presence of wounded heart. he would not heed captious men (John viii. 6, 7); and when questioned by pne wh1> had no right to assume a tone of authority (John xix. 9). Even though our holiness, of life, or at least consistency, be real, and our supposed need be urgent,it i11.possible that the discipline of faith and patience is the reason for no response. . .. , II. KEEPING ONE'S WORD. Saul felt bound in honour to keep his word, even iit. the cost of his son's life. He found himself in an awkward position, for it would reveal an irresolution unfavourable to authority if he- should overlook his _son's deed under a plea of ignorance which any one might make; and, on the.other hand, as the people did believe Jonatban's plea, and held him to be the real victor of the day, it would expose Saul's folly and injustice if he should take away so valuable a life. Such was Saul's sense of the importance of keeping his word, that all must be sacri- ficed to it. l. There is afictitwus truthfulness. The bare doing as he had said, and merely because be had said it, was Saul's ideal of truthfulness, , Here, then, was a vague apprehension of a grand >'irtue, and a crude presentation of moral obliquity as being identical with it. Truth is a virtue entering into the depths of life; and had Saul been really a man of truth, he would have considered Jonathan's case on its own merits, have honestly admitted the folly and sin of bis own rash declaration, and have sacrificed his own repute to the general inter.eats of rig·hteousne~. There iii-muckfictitwus truthfulness in the world. Some men, by sheer obstinacy of dispo- sition, will do as they say simply because they said it, heedless of the injury it may do. To keep to what one has acknowledged to be binding is supposed to be truth- fulness in act, and yet many will be rigorous in the observance of some moral obligations and careless of others. To avoid theft and murder is coincident with deeds of lying and selfishness. A similar fictitious truthfulness is seen in the careful ( outward observance of days without cherishing the spirit in accordance with them, and in the performance of acts of worship as a substitute for the homage of the soul. 2. Real truthfulness is a quality of extrerne importance. Saul confessed this in his zeal for the fictitious ; as do all men in their devices to secure an appearance of it, and their instinctive homage to the reality when presented in word or deed .. Real truthfulness does not apply merely to correspondence of statement with occurrence. It is another name for reality in thought, feeling, life; and it applies to our relation both to man and God. The conformity of our nature with what is befitting a crea- ture of the Holy One is the real truthfulness. Hence, nothing enters the New Jerusalem that " maketh a lie." Hence, regeneration is a renewal "in the image of l1im" who created us. Hence, also, in so far as we are like unto him who is "the Trutl1/' all our relations to men are pure, lovely, honest-the natural outcome of Oil. XIV. 36-52.] TllE FlHST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 259·