The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 428

into our act\1al ~ec?s and temper. T~1ere is abundant scope for this habitual defer- ence to Gods _will m !he dcman_ds winch co~ne upon us from all quarters. Dy reason uf tl1e strong rnteract10n of vanous tendencies within us. and the opposing claims of wlia! seem to b_e_ bene,·ol~n~e and prn~ence, we may, like David, find ourselves in ar m:1b1guo~s po~1t10n, and 1t 1s at such Junctures especially that the habitual deferencs will m11mfest its val!rnble presence. ~he d_ifference between a really good man and one of forma! godln:ess comes out m tins, that the one always feels as though nn_other and higher ~-111 was present and supreme over his own, while the other only thmks of _that s_upenor will on. special occasions when painful events fill him with foar. This hah1tual deference 1s partly owing to the fact that a correct view is taken of life. Davi~ understood his vocation in the world. He had a part to perform in the great l\fos~rnn!c p~1r12ose. Although his vision of the future unfoldings of that purpose_, varymg 111 d1stir;ctness at di~er~nt periods (Ps. ii.; cf. Ps. lxxii. ), was not u~ ~etails, yet he had f,uth e_nough m its reality and grandeur to induce the con- Y1ct_10n _that enr)'. st~p of Ins daily course was in some way associated with its reahsat10n •. ~nd m hk~ ma!1ner the humblest Christian is permitted to believe that he has a similar vocatwn m the world, as a member of Christ's mystical body. Hence we, as men'.bers of (?hrist's body, have no raison d'etre apart from habitual deference to the ~-III of Chnst. And as,. by the varied experience of life, this defer- ence deepens, so its effect on our general character is more conspicuous. It induces a sobriety of judgment, for haste and rashness are due to self-will·1 it creates a refined susceptibility of spirit by which moral perfections are quick ened and the existence of evil is discerned from afar; and it gives zest and carefulness in use of means to ascertain, in cases of difficulty, what is the perfect will of God. II. THE MANIFEST APPROVAL OF Gon IN ANY CASE OF DIFFICULTY OR PERIL IS L'I ALL- SUFFICIENT ENCOURAGEMENT TO A SINCERE MAN. David's position was still one of embarrassment and danger. He was potentially king·, but could not avow it. He was loyal to Saul, though strongly tempted by his persecutions to rise in open rebellion. He was assured by the anointing and by Samuel's sanction and encouragement that a great future was awaiting him, and yet, like many since his time, he had to bear all the pains and sorrows of the outcast. The agony cf feeling expressed in the Psalms can be understood only as we remember his call to a holy work and the consciousness of innocence. The recent experience at Nob caused him to feel how incidentally others might be compromised in bis procedure, even when undertaking useful service. But all fear, all sorrow, ernry feeling of uneasiness as to consequences, disappeared when God recognised Lim by an answer to the official inquiry of Gad or Abiathar. The fact of the inquiry on his behalf is very important (Num. xxvii. 18-21 ; Judges xx. 26-28). That one or both of these after the slaughter of Nob sought counsel for David was n declaration in most emphatic form that he was the coming king. God thus by his servants openly sanctioned him, and hence his soul was encouraged to brave any danger, to bear any consequences, so long as God approved (Ps. lvi. 11). It is the assured approval of God, obtained in diverse ways according to the nature of the case, that emboldens Christians in courses of extreme difficulty and peril. The apostles feared not Jewish or Roman power when they had, after the ascension of Christ received the inward and outward testimony of the Holy Spirit of the Divine chara~ter of the cause they professed. The same spirit is created in others when called to go forth to heathen lands, or to wage war with fearful evils at home. Let the youth, the sire, the statesman, the parent, the merchant, and the pastor only hear -the word" go," at once the soul may take courage and assert its strength. !II. THE MEANS BY WHICH GOD AIJ'FORDS GUIDANCE TO HIS PEOPLE VARY IN DIFIJ'ERENT AGES. David now is guided in his public capacity as the coming king b.y prophet or by priest using the ephod. As a private man he depE>nde~ for the_ ordinary cour~e of life on the more private and unexpressed guidance which Go.d msures to all ~IS faithful children. The means by which his public course was directed were unhke the more ancient and the more modern. From the beginning of human history we have to distinguish between the communications which God may have given to men f~r their personal comfort and use and that which was designed to reveal the fact of his purposes of mercy to the world and gradually unfold their scope, although in aome ,(JH. XXIII. 1-13.] THE FIIlST DOOK Oli' SAMUEL. 435