The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 519

poaea of God had brought the unhappy man to a time a.nd position in which no action on hie part could rever8e the judgment impending. Too late I So is it in hum;in life still. Men may pereist in evil ways at home or in business till ruin of domestic peace and of prospects is inevitable, and no course is open for retrieval. The ques- tion of the jailor, "What must I do to be saved?" was opportune, and then, as gener- ally, it admitted of a blessed answer; but it is possible for men to ecom and despise Christ ao long that the other question may arise," How shall we escape if we neglect BO great salvation?" (cf. Heh. ii. 3; vi. p-7; x. 26-31). III. THE UNALTERABLE LAW OF LIFE. The whole of Saul's conduct during these closing days of his life was based on the ignorant supposition that by some device he could be sustained in the kingdom notwithstanding his former disobedience and continued impenitence. Conformity in act and spirit to the mind of God is the law of true prosperity in life. Israel's king rises or foils according to this law. As a eerv1mt called to perform an important pa.rt in unfolding Messianic purposes, Saul's hold on the kingdom was made to depend an charader. No plea, no consideration of personal misery, no device suggested by the living or the dead, could avail to give to a self-willed, impenitent man what is due to the obedient and holy. In all hie misery and desire for guidance there was not a trace of the broken or contrite heart which God accepts; there was only and always a blind effort to avert the passing away of the power which sin had forfeited. This law of life is never changed. Men struggle against it, seek to evade its action, crave for some relaxation of its pressure, J?ut it is unbending, unrelenting. Character determines destiny. The lines of experience in the future are the outcome of the present, and not disconnected. As we sow we reap. IV. THE MORAL INTERPRETATION OF EVENTS. No doubt there were hours when the revival of conscience would enable Saul to read the meaning of the troubles that had long befallen him; but generally, and especially at this juncture, he appears to have wondered at the miseries of his position. Men do bring on themselves manifold troubles, and then, forgetful of the conduct which gave rise to them, or not tracing them carefully back to their own former moral condition, they marvel at, and perhaps complain of, the sufferings endured. The visitant from the unseen world thre,,,- light on Saul's position by reference to conduct and character. Here was an inter- pretation, from a moral point of view, of a long succession of events in the political, physical, and mental spheres. We never estimate events in our life aright if we leaYe out the moral element. A vast accumulation of disasters in the history of nations anJ individuals, Churches and homes, is understandable in the light of what men have been and have done. Hence the value of the Bible, which comes as a visitant from the spiritual sphere, casting lig·ht on the matters that worry and distress the heart of man. Sinful men need a voice to tell them how to estimate the experi- ences of their life. V. THE VINDICATION OF Goo's SE\ J!:RITY. It seemed hard to Saul to be thus left of God, the m!;lre wreck of his forrrer self, and now exposed to a great disaster as commander of an army. Had casual observers, unacquainted with antecedent moral facts, looked on his miseries, they might pronounce the treatment severe. There is, however, in the conscience a£ even the most self-willed sinner that which recognises the majesty of right and echoes the voice of judgment. It was only for Samuel to refer to the deliberate disobedience of former days, and Saul saw at once the con- nection of all his woes with the depraved moral condition then manifested and sub- sequently cherished. Divine patience had borne with him during years of rebellion, content to let the natural outgrowth of his own acts bring on the judgment predicted, and, now that it was falling on him with crushing force, thi~ reminder of 1,rreat and continuous sin was even to the suffering king a full vindication of the course of Providence. Here is warning and instruction for us. Let us never suppose that we or others bear more than we deserve. We should avoid the bare thought that God ileals harshly with any of his creatures. The bitterest dement in the cup of suffer- Jig is that we put into it by our transgressions; for facts prove that overwhelm- ing material disosters, with a good conscience, are not the worst of evils, and become not only endL1rab1e but means of spiritual good. The hour may come to each when. 'by a voice full of 'truth, we shall be made to see how just are God's judgme~_ts on 1 SAM. M ll  630 THE FIHS1' BOOK OF SAl\tUEL. [cu. xxvm. 1-25.