The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 515

to speak so n.s not to be objects of suspicion. To say exactly what we mean and to act with singleness of purpose is to approximate towards the "simplicity that is in Christ" (cf. Rom. xii. 8; 2 Cor. i. 12; xi. .3). II. UNTIMELY TROUBLES. Troubles are in the way; at any time, but there are seasons when their presence is most inconvenient. It was annoying to David that war should break out between Israel and the Philistines just when he was, according to the ordinary judgment of men, under obligation to assist Achish; and it was especially inconvenient to Saul that this trouble of war should occur when, by reason of Samuel's. long discountenance of his reign, the gradual alienation of al:>le men, the loss to the kingdom of David's prowess, and his own private sorrows, it was not possible to gather adequate forces and act with wonted energy. Providence has a manifest tendency to allow troubles to cross the path of the wrong-doer just when, for his own purposes, it is desirable to have it quite clear. "Behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns," is a prediction likely to be fulfilled in the lives of rulers and nation& bent on a crooked course of conduct; nor can individuals escape the law of provi- dential vexation when they practise deceit or, like Saul, cherish an impenitent spirit. It is thus that the delusiveness of sin appears; for the ease and pleasure anticipated in doing one's sinful will vanish before events, which, like mists around a mountain, seem to come from we know not where. A man's sin will be sure to find rebuke in forms he could not foresee. It is very inconvenient to be on the wrong side in the moral conflicts of life. Good men can bear trouble in patience, knowing that it is as truly helpful to their highest interests as is joy; wicked men not only lose the sup- port of a clear conscience, but have to learn that the end for which they have striven will be frustrated (cf. Ps. vii. 9; xxxvii. 38; cxii. 10). III. THE OPERATION OF MORAL CAUSES. The troubles which thus came on David and Saul, producing in the one a questionable ambiguity of conduct, and in the other a sense of helplessness, were connected with a set of moral causes that had been in steady operation for a considerable period, and had interacted with the physical in producing the crisis. Taking the case of Saul, we see how his sin in the early part of bis reign, being unrepented, induced the line of conduct which drove David from the land, alienated the spiritual power and many of the ablest men, gradually drew around himself evil men, and created uneasineAR and distrust in the nation. Whatever reluctance on the part of the people to assemble in full force, and whatever want of nerve on the part of Saul to lead them on, might have been the immediate cause of his fear-these were the result of the moral defection which had slowly worked on ail departments of life. Besides this, the sin of Saul had had the effect of so with- drawing the Divine favour that Providence, by not restraining their will, permitted the attack of the Philistines. For moral reasons Saul's predicted doom was preparing, in spite of all his efforts to avoid it. It is one of the most striking characteristics of the Bible, 11s compared with other books, that it brings into prominence the moral causes that affect the present and future position of men. Assuming the orderly 11ction of physical laws, it impresses us with the truth that the mental and moral are above the physical, and that man by his conduct sets in motion moral forces which, by " subtle interaction, ultimately govern the bearing of the physical upon his con- dition. Moral causes are primary. In so far as we may imagine the Divine action in creation having a beginnmg, the moral cause of action was antecedent. The reason· of the exercise of power was moral. In our world's sad history moral causes have· been primary. The same is true of our personal life. They lie at the spring of our joy or woe. They are also silene and slow. Saul's sin and impenitence were not uttered and they worked on in silent, slow course all through his life. It seems to require' time for the higher moral laws to work out their legitimate consequences in the sphere of the physical. There are many illustrations of this in the lives of evil mon, as also of good. They are also invincible. No energy or cunning on the part of Saul could obviate the political and military weakness of his kingdom. No power can check the tendency to physical and political decay consequent on the sins of statesmen and peoples. The whole universe submits to the action of the mor~l force~ that are tending to bring men into judgment. The sea even will obey an~ g1,:e 1;1P its dea_d. General lessons :-1. In embarrassments brought on by ot r sms 1t 1s honounng '° God to speak the plain truth and trust to his care. 2. The affairs of life will be  526 THE flHST llOOK OF ::tDIUEL. [rn. xx1·111. 1--25,