I\·. That ALTHOUGH rnrERFECT MORAL CONDUCT MAY SUDSERVE THE IN'rEREB'l'B 01' Go1i"s SERYANTS, IT NEVERTHELESS IS lllSRONOURING TO THEM. Michal acted a lie ,11,d also told deliberate lies, in order to shield David nnd then herself. The issu~ ,rns advantageous to David, as it put a wide distance between him and his ·pursuers '\'he statern~nt of the facts in Scripture is by no means identical _with approval of 1,1em. Gods p~rposes have some~nnes been furthered by the actions of. imperfect ~nrn, but ~he act10ns have been th~ir own, and never have had Divine upproval.,: It 1s true still that many a_ defective "~arthen ':'essel '' is the instrument of, good. Indeed, were God to refram from working· oui Ins blessed purposes of mercy till' we were all pure as the angels, the prospects of the world would be dark enough. The sa~e rule is "not t~ do evil ~hat_ good ~ay c~me." Good. does coll;1e often in spite .of cnl, as when ~od ~ trutl_1 1s diffused Ill spite of the mixed motives and strifes of tl!ose engaged m bis service, and when comfort and joy flow to the poor from money g·1ven even for purposes far from benevolent. The command of God is " Lie not one to an?ther' '. (Levit. xix .. 11_). ~t is not fo_r us to say tha~ dangers will be avoided by occa_1nonal lies. The prii:ic1ple mvolved m truth-speakmg is of vast importance in all time~ and _places, and 1s worth the ~acrifice of much for its vindication, Suppose a man 1s slam rather than utter a he, does not his martyrdom for truth in the enduring moral sphere, bring greater good to moral beings and himself th;n co.uld have come from trampling on a sacred principle for a present advantage? . God moreover, does not leave bis servants when they do rig·ht. Had Michal s.tated th; facts she would have saved her husband from slander, and there were ten thousand ways by which God could have frustrated the purpose of the men and sbi~lde.4 Dand. Our duty is to be true and leave consequences to God. God does not. lie- we are children of God; Christ did not lie-we are followers of Christ. We may i;>e sure that permanent good must ensue on our being conformed to Christ, the image of God. There is a gain which is loss, and a loss which is gain (Ps. xxxviL 3-8, 27, 28; Mark viii. 36; Ephes. v. 9; vi. 14). , General lessons :-1. The influence of Christians may restrain the development of sin in some of its grosser forms, but it is an imperfect Christianity which rests in that. 2. The "wrath of man" is made to praise God, in that persecutions issue in greater spirituality of mind and fitness for permanent service (Rom. v, 3-5 ). 3, We need not fret and be uneasy about the snares of the wicked if only we are in. God's service, as time is on our side (Pa. mvii.). 4. Christians should strive to put down all practical forms of falsehood prevalent in society, and train children in a severe love of truth at any cost. •
Vere. 18-24.-Saintly refuge and spiritual restraint. The facts are-1'. David takes refuge with Samuel at Naioth in Ramah. 2. The messengers sent by Saul. to take David are restrained in the presence of Samuel and the prophets, and themselves begin to prophesy. 3. Other messengers come under the same influence. _4. V~n- turing io go himself, he, on approaching the place, also falls under the pro_phetic influence and is utterly overcome by it in the presence of Samuel. Human wisdom may be ;!most confounded by the prominent facts of this section, but this must not be taken as proof of our infallibility, nor of the unfitness of the event with the order ,,[ Divine providence. Had it been left to man to invent and regulate the process l,r "-hich the earth and life upon it arrived at the forms now familiar to us, would l,e have introduced some of those ancient physical conditions and changes which rnuBt have been so utterly unlike what now prevail? The convulsions, the trans- fornrntionB, the climatic conditions, the huge forms of life of some past ages are as muc:h unlike the present facts as the spiritual manifestations of the prophetic schools ;,re unlike the orderly course of Christian influence. It is only of late years that lllen have in some degree traced the naturalness of the physical process, and even !JOW there is diversity of opinion on the subject. It is not to be wonder~d at,. t)lere- fore, if, in man's comparative ignorance of the unseen spiritual sphere m which the great development of God's purpose in Christ really occurs, he should not be able to supply all the links connecting the spiritual manifestations of the era of Samuel with the rigid legal era of Moses and the more calm and orderly methods of the :Jhriatian dispensation. OB. XIX. 1-24.) THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 36'1