The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Chronicles — Section 142

Ver.14 (with ver. 4).-Divine and human agency. In the last verse of this chapter 1hat event is ascribed to tbe hand of God which, in the fourth verse, is accounted for by the act of Saul. "He [the Lord] slew him" (ver. 14). "So Saul took a sword," etc. (ver. 4). As both statements are true, there must be a consistency between them. Evidently the one result was due to more than one agency. 'rhe Lord had something to do with Saul's death; Saul also bad much to do with it himself. We may see- I. SAUL'S AGENCY IN BRINGING ABOUT EIS END. He contributed to the final result by: 1. Acting in such wise as to make his death due to his folly. 2. Taking, generally, those steps which led to the final catastrophe. 3. Putting into play the physical causes which immediately effected it. He would not have died at the time and in the way he did, had he not been personally responsible in these three ways. II. Goo's DIVINE AGENCY IN DETERMINING TEE ISSUE. 1. It was in accordance with his Divine desire. He desires that righteousness should be fully vindicated, sin attended with its penalty as well as integrity with its reward, by the events which happen on the earth. Saul's death was desirable from the standpoint of the supr~me Judge. 2. He permitted it to occur. He saw no reason to interpose so that it should not be the last link in the chain of circumstances then being forged. 3. He so ordered events that this should be the issue. So for as he did touch the chain of human affairs with his intervening hand, he so touched it that this occurrence wonld take place. In some measure it was due, positively, to the outworking of his Divine hand. In regard to the great subject of Divine and human agency co-operating, as they do, to produce one result, we conclude: 1. That God might work out his designs by direct volition, but does use human instrumentality. 2. '!'hat what may seem to us, at the time, to be solely due to our agency may be the accomplishment of his pur- pose. His permitting, controlling, directing hand may be found to be much nearer than wa think, to have had a much larger share in the issue than we imagine. 3. That if the hand of God is in such events as this, we may be sure that it is present in things of another and higher order. If it could be said concerning a suicide," the Lgrd slew him," how much more may it be said concerning desirable, admirable, useful achievements, that God brings them about? If the evil which happens to the city come of him (Amos iii. 6), much more shall we say that he who builds aH things is God (Heb. iii. 4)? 'l'here- fure: (1) Let the perverse and impenitent beware. The observant eye of the Holy and the Just One is on them and upon their lives, and his retributive hand may show itself at any point in their career. (2) Let the righteous take heart and hope. God is with them· he is workincr for them and in them and through them. Ho will sanctify and use their efforts for"the outworking of his own gracious end, for the establishment of his holy kingdom.-C. Ver. 4.-.A great might-have-been : Saul, King of Israel. "So, Saui took a sword, and fell upon it." It is useful to study achievements for inspiration, and failures for warning. Here we have a great "might-have-been," or one of those cases in which everything conspired to make a noble future possible, and yet, through unfortunate misdirection, life ended darkly, and all better success of earlier stal(eS was clouded by adversity and failure. It is not death in battle, nor even defeat, which makes us lament him. Nelson died in battle, but in glory as well. And defeat is an incident that all armies may experience. It is that it is a dark close to a darker history. That begin- ning brightly, clouds gathered over his life, and deepened until they closed in night. Consider-(!) This might-have-been; and (2) its lessons to us, oB. x. 1-14.] THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONWLES. .,., 1•J•J