_NATIONAL DELIVERANCE--THE PHILISTINES SUBDUED._
1 SAMUEL vii. 10-17.
It must have been with feelings very different from those of their last
encounter, when the ark of God was carried into the battle, that the
host of Israel now faced the Philistine army near Mizpeh. Then they had
only the symbol of God's gracious presence, now they had the reality.
Then their spiritual guides were the wicked Hophni and Phinehas; now
their guide was holy Samuel. Then they had rushed into the fight in
thoughtless unconcern about their sins; now they had confessed them, and
through the blood of sprinkling they had obtained a sense of
forgiveness. Then they were puffed up by a vain presumption; now they
were animated by a calm but confident hope. Then their advance was
hallowed by no prayer; now the cry of needy children had gone up from
God's faithful servant. In fact, the battle with the Philistines had
already been fought by Samuel on his knees. There can be no more sure
token of success than this. Are we engaged in conflict with our own
besetting sins? Or are we contending against scandalous transgression in
the world around us? Let us first fight the battle on our knees. If we
are victorious there we need have little fear of victory in the other
battle.
It was as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering that the Philistines
drew near to battle against Israel. There was an unseen ladder that day
between earth and heaven, on which the angels of God ascended and
descended as in Jacob's vision at Bethel. The smoke of the
burnt-offering carried up to God the confession and contrition of the
people, their reliance on God's method of atonement, and their prayer
for His pardon and His blessing. The great thunder with which God
thundered on the Philistines carried down from God the answer and the
needed help. There is no need for supposing that the thunder was
supernatural. It was an instance of what is so common, a natural force
adapted to the purpose of an answer to prayer. What seems to have
occurred is this: a vehement thunderstorm had gathered a little to the
east, and now broke, probably with violent wind, in the faces of the
Philistines, who were advancing up the heights against Mizpeh. Unable to
face such a terrific war of the elements, the Philistines would turn
round, placing their backs to the storm. The men of Israel, but little
embarrassed by it, since it came from behind them, and gave the greater
momentum to their force, rushed on the embarrassed enemy, and drove them
before them like smoke before the wind. It was just as in former
days--God arose, and His enemies were scattered, and they also that
hated Him fled before Him. The storm before which the Philistines
cowered was like the pillar of fire which had guided Israel through the
desert. Jehovah was still the God of Israel; the God of Jacob was once
more his refuge.
We have said that this thunderstorm may have been quite a natural
phenomenon. Natural, but not casual. Though natural, it was God's answer
to Samuel's prayer. But how could this have been? If it was a natural
storm, if it was the result of natural law, of atmospheric conditions
the operation of which was fixed and certain, it must have taken place
whether Samuel prayed or not. Undoubtedly. But the very fact that the
laws of nature are fixed and certain, that their operation is definite
and regular, enables the great Lord of Providence to make use of them in
the natural course of things, for the purpose of answering prayer. For
this fact, the uniformity of natural law, enables the Almighty, who sees
and plans the end from the beginning, to frame a comprehensive scheme of
Providence, that shall not only work out the final result in His time
and way, but that shall also work out every intermediate result
precisely as He designs and desires. "Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning of the world." Now if God has so adjusted the scheme
of Providence that the final result of the whole shall wonderfully
accomplish His grand design, may He not, must He not, have so adjusted
it that every intermediate part shall work out some intermediate design?
It is only those who have an unworthy conception of omniscience and
omnipotence that can doubt this. Surely if there is a general
Providence, there must be a special Providence. If God guides the whole,
He must also guide the parts. Every part of the scheme must fall out
according to His plan, and may thus be the means of fulfilling some of
His promises.
Let us apply this view to the matter of prayer. All true prayer is the
fruit of the Holy Spirit working in the human soul. All the prayer that
God answers is prayer that God has inspired. The prayer of Samuel was
prayer which God had inspired. What more reasonable than that in the
great plan of providence there should have been included a provision for
the fulfilment of Samuel's prayer at the appropriate moment? The
thunderstorm, we may be sure, was a natural phenomenon. But its
occurrence at the time was part of that great scheme of Providence which
God planned at the beginning, and it was planned to fall out then in
order that it might serve as an answer to Samuel's prayer. It was thus
an answer to prayer brought about by natural causes. The only thing
miraculous about it was its forming a part of that most marvellous
scheme--the scheme of Divine providence--a part of the scheme that was
to be carried into effect after Samuel had prayed. If the term
supernatural may be fitly applied to that scheme which is the sum and
substance of all the laws of nature, of all the providence of God, and
of all the works and thoughts of man, then it was a miracle; but if not,
it was a natural effect.
It is important to bear these truths in mind, because many have the
impression that prayer for outward results cannot be answered without a
miracle, and that it is unreasonable to suppose that such a multitude of
miracles as prayer involves would be wrought every day. If a sick man
prays for health, is the answer necessarily a miracle? No; for the
answer may come about by purely natural causes. He has been directed to
a skilful physician; he has used the right medicine; he has been treated
in the way to give full scope to the recuperative power of nature. God,
who led him to pray, foresaw the prayer, and in the original scheme of
Providence planned that by natural causes the answer should come. We do
not deny that prayer may be answered in a supernatural way. We would
not affirm that such a thing as supernatural healing is unknown. But it
is most useful that the idea should be entertained that such prayer is
usually answered by natural means. By not attending to this men often
fail to perceive that prayer has been answered. You pray, before you set
out on a journey, for protection and safe arrival at the end. You get
what you asked--you perform the journey in safety. But perhaps you say,
"It would have been all the same whether I had prayed for it or not. I
have gone on journeys that I forgot to pray about, and no evil befell
me. Some of my fellow-passengers, I am sure, did not pray for safety,
yet they were taken care of as much as I was." But these are sophistical
arguments. You should feel that your safety in the journey about which
you prayed was as much due to God, though only through the operation of
natural causes, as if you had had a hairbreadth escape. You should be
thankful that in cases where you did not pray for safety God had regard
to the habitual set of your mind, your habitual trust in Him, though you
did not specially exercise it at these times. Let the means be as
natural as they may--to those who have eyes to see the finger of God is
in them all the same.
But to return to the Israelites and the Philistines. The defeat of the
Philistines was a very thorough one. Not only did they make no attempt
to rally after the storm had passed and Israel had fallen on them, but
they came no more into the coast of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was
against them all the days of Samuel. And besides this, all the cities
and tracts of land belonging to Israel which the Philistines had taken
were now restored. Another mercy that came to Israel was that "there was
peace between Israel and the Amorites"--the Amorites being put here,
most likely, for the remains of all the original inhabitants living
among or around Israel. Those promises were now fulfilled in which God
had said to Moses, "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and
the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who
shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble and be in anguish because
of thee" (Deut. ii. 25). "There shall no man be able to stand before
you; for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of
you upon all the land ye shall tread upon, as He hath said to thee." It
was so apparent that God was among them, and that the power of God was
irresistible and overwhelming, that their enemies were frightened to
assail them.
The impression thus made on the enemies of Israel corresponds in some
degree to the moral influence which God-fearing men sometimes have on an
otherwise godless community. The picture in the Song of Solomon--"Who is
she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the
sun, and _terrible as an army with banners_?"--ascribes even to the fair
young bride a terrifying power, a power not appropriate to such a
picture in the literal sense, but quite suitable in the figurative.
Wherever the life and character of a godly man is such as to recall God,
wherever God's image is plainly visible, wherever the results of God's
presence are plainly seen, there the idea of a supernatural Power is
conveyed, and a certain overawing influence is felt. In the great
awakening at Northampton in Jonathan Edwards' days, there was a complete
arrest laid on open forms of vice. And whensoever in a community God's
presence has been powerfully realized, the taverns have been emptied,
the gambling-table deserted, under the sense of His august majesty.
Would only that the character and life of all God's servants were so
truly godlike that their very presence in a community would have a
subduing and restraining influence on the wicked!
Two points yet remain to be noticed: the step taken by Samuel to
commemorate this wonderful Divine interposition; and the account given
of the prophet and his occupations in his capacity of Judge of Israel.
"Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the
name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."
The position of Shen is not known. But it must have been very near the
scene of the defeat of the Philistines--perhaps it was the very spot
where that defeat occurred. In that case, Samuel's stone would stand
midway between the two scenes of battle: the battle gained by him on his
knees at Mizpeh, and the battle gained by the Israelites when they fell
on the Philistines demoralised by the thunderstorm.
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." The characteristic feature of the
inscription lies in the word "hitherto." It was no doubt a testimony to
special help obtained in that time of trouble; it was a grateful
recognition of that help; and it was an enduring monument to perpetuate
the memory of it. But it was more, much more. The word "hitherto"
denotes a series, a chain of similar mercies, an unbroken succession of
Divine interpositions and Divine deliverances. The special purpose of
this inscription was to link on the present deliverance to all the past,
and to form a testimony to the enduring faithfulness and mercy of a
covenant-keeping God. But was there not something strange in this
inscription, considering the circumstances? Could Samuel have forgot
that tragic day at Shiloh--the bewildered, terrified look of the
messenger that came from the army to bring the news, the consternation
caused by his message, the ghastly horror of Eli and his tragic death,
the touching death of the wife of Phinehas, and the sad name which she
had with such seeming propriety given to her babe? Was _that_ like God
remembering them? or had Samuel forgot how the victorious Philistines
soon after dashed upon Shiloh like beasts of prey, plundering,
destroying, massacreing, till nothing more remained to be done to
justify the name of "Ichabod"? How can Samuel blot that chapter out of
the history? or how can he say, with that chapter fresh in his
recollection, "_Hitherto_ hath the Lord helped us"?
All that Samuel has considered well. Even amid the desolations of Shiloh
the Lord was helping them. He was helping them to know themselves,
helping them to know their sins, and helping them to know the bitter
fruit and woful punishment of sin. He was helping them to achieve the
great end for which he had called them--to keep alive the knowledge of
the true God and the practice of His worship, onward to the time when
the great promise should be realised,--when HE should come in whom all
the families of the earth were to be blessed. Samuel's idea of what
constituted the nation's glory was large and spiritual. The true glory
of the nation was to fulfil the function for which God had taken it into
covenant with Himself. Whatever helped them to do this was a blessing,
was a token of the Lord's remembrance of them. The links of the long
chain denoted by Samuel's "hitherto" were not all of one kind. Some were
in the form of mercies, many were in the form of chastenings. For the
higher the function for which Israel was called, the more need was
there of chastening. The higher the destination of a silver vessel, the
greater is the need that the silver be pure, and therefore that it be
frequently passed through the furnace. The destination of Israel was the
highest that could have been. So Samuel does not merely give thanks for
seasons of prosperity, but for checks and chastenings too.
Happy they who, full of faith in the faithfulness and love of God, can
take a similar view of His dealings! Happy they who, when special
mercies come, deem the occasion worthy to be commemorated by some
special memorial, but who can embrace their whole life in the grateful
commemoration, and bracket joys and sorrows alike under their
"hitherto"! It is not that sorrows are less sorrows to them than to
others; it is not that losses of substance entail less inconvenience, or
bereavements penetrate less deeply; but that all are seen to be embraced
in that gracious plan of which the final consummation is, as the apostle
puts it, "to present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing." And well is it for us, both in individual
life and in Church and national life, to think of that plan of God in
which mercies and chastenings are united, but all with a gracious
purpose! It is remarkable how often in Scripture tears are wiped away
with this thought. Zion saying, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God
hath forgotten me," is assured, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of My hands, thy walls are continually before Me." Rachel weeping
for her children, and refusing to be comforted, is thus addressed,
"Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work
shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and thy children shall come again
from the land of the enemy." "Weep not," said our Lord to the woman of
Nain; and His first words after His resurrection were, "Woman, why
weepest thou?" Vale of tears though this world is, there comes from
above a gracious influence to wipe them away; and the march Zionward has
in it something of the tread and air of a triumphant procession, for
"the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy on their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
We have yet to notice the concluding verses of the chapter (15-17),
which give a little picture of the public life of Samuel. He judged
Israel all the days of his life. The office of judge had a twofold
sphere, external and internal. Externally, it bore on the oppression of
the people by foreign enemies, and the judge became the deliverer of the
people. But in this sense there was now nothing for Samuel to do,
especially after the accession of Saul to the kingdom. The judge seems
to have likewise had to do with the administration of justice, and the
preservation of the peace and general welfare of the nation. It is very
natural to suppose that Samuel would be profoundly concerned to imbue
the people with just views of the purpose for which God had called them,
and of the law and covenant which He had given them. The three places
among which he is said to have made his circuit, Bethel, Gilgal and
Mizpeh, were not far from each other, all being situated in the tribes
of Benjamin and Judah,--in that part of the land which afterwards
constituted the kingdom of the two tribes. To these three places falls
to be added Ramah, also in the same neighbourhood, where was his house.
In this place he built an altar to the Lord. Whether this was in
connection with the tabernacle or not, we cannot say. We know that in
the time of David's wanderings "the house of God" was at Nob (Compare 1
Sam. xxi. 1 and Matt. xii. 4), but we have nothing to show us when it
was carried thither. All we can say is, that Samuel's altar must have
been a visible memorial of the worship of God, and a solemn protest
against any idolatrous rites to which any of the people might at any
time be attracted.
In this way Samuel spent his life like Him whose type he was, "always
about his Father's business." An unselfish man, having no interests of
his own, full of zeal for the service of God and the public welfare;
possibly too little at home, taking too little charge of his children,
and thus at last in the painful position of one, "whose sons walked not
in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and
perverted judgment" (ch. viii. 1). That Samuel attained the highest
reputation for sanctity, intercourse with God and holy influence, is
plain from various passages of Scripture. In Psalm xcix. 6, he is
coupled with Moses and Aaron, as having influence with God,--"they
called upon the Lord and He answered them." In Jeremiah xv. 1, his name
is coupled with that of Moses alone as a powerful intercessor, "Though
Moses and Samuel stood before Me, yet My mind could not be toward this
people." His mother's act of consecration was wonderfully fulfilled.
Samuel stands out as one of the best and purest of the Hebrew worthies.
His name became a perpetual symbol of all that was upright, pure and
Godlike. The silent influence of his character was a great power in
Israel, inspiring many a young heart with holy awe, and silencing the
flippant arrogance of the scoffer. Mothers, did not Hannah do well, do
nobly, in dedicating her son to the Lord? Sons and daughters, was it not
a noble and honourable life? Then go ye and do likewise. And God be
pleased to incline many a heart to the service; a service, which with
all its drawbacks, is the highest and the noblest; and which bequeaths
so blessed a welcome into the next stage of existence: "Well done, good
and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."