for our warning and instruction, that we may be reminded that we too
are on trial, that we may be encouraged by the examples of those who
have stood their trial well and not fallen, and may be sobered and put
on our guard by the instances of others who have fallen under their
trial. Of these latter cases, Saul is one. Saul, of whom we have been
reading in the course of this service[1], is an instance of a man whom
God blessed and proved, as Adam before him, whom He put on his trial,
and who, like Adam, was found wanting.
Now the history, I say, of this melancholy and awful fall is contained
in the chapter which we have been reading, and from which the text is
taken; and I will now attempt to explain to you its circumstances.
Saul was not born a king, or the son of a great family; he was a man of
humble birth and circumstances, and he was raised by God's free grace
to be the ruler and king of His people Israel. Samuel, God's prophet,
revealed this to him, anointed him with oil, and after he became king,
instructed him in his duty: and, moreover, put him on his trial. Now
his trial was this. God's people, the Israelites, over whom Saul was
appointed to reign, had been very much oppressed and harassed by their
enemies round about; heathen nations, who hated the true God and His
worship, rose and fought against them; and of these nations the
Philistines were the chief at that time. They overran the country, and
brought the Israelites into captivity. They tyrannized over them, and
to make sure that they should never be free, they even took away from
them the means of forging weapons to fight with. "There was no smith
found through all the land of Israel," says the chapter, "for the
Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews (i.e. the Israelites) make them
swords or spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines,
to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his ax, and his
mattock." Saul was raised up to throw off this heavy yoke, and to
destroy the cruel oppressors of his people. He "chose him three
thousand men, and with a third of them Jonathan, his son, smote the
garrison of the Philistines which was in Geba."
Upon this, as was naturally to be supposed, these powerful enemies the
Philistines became highly incensed, and assembled together a great army
to chastise the insurgent people, their subjects as they would call
them, who were making head against them. They had "thirty thousand
chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on
the sea-shore in multitude." On the other hand, Saul on his part,
"blew the trumpet through all the land," and summoned all Israelites to
him. They came together to him at Gilgal. And the Philistines came
with their great host, and pitched over against him. Thus the two
armies remained in sight of each other, and then it was that Saul's
trial began.
Before Saul went to battle, it was necessary to offer a burnt sacrifice
to the Lord, and to beg of Him a blessing on the arms of Israel. He
could have no hope of victory, unless this act of religious worship was
performed. Now priests only and prophets were God's ministers, and
they alone could offer sacrifice. Kings could not, unless they were
specially commanded to do so by Almighty God. Saul had no leave to
offer sacrifice; yet a sacrifice must be offered before he could fight;
what must he do? He must wait for Samuel, who had said that he would
come to him for that purpose. "Thou shalt go down before me to
Gilgal," says Samuel to him, "and behold, I will come down unto thee,
to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace
offerings; seven days shalt thou tarry till I come unto thee, and show
thee what thou shalt do[2]." Saul, you see, was told to wait seven
days till Samuel came; but meanwhile this great trial came upon him.
The people he had gathered together to fight against the Philistines
were far inferior to them in military qualities. They were not even
soldiers; they were country-people brought together, rising against a
powerful enemy, who was used to rule, as they were used to subjection.
And, as I have already observed, they had no regular arms: "It came to
pass," says Scripture, "in the day of battle, that there was neither
sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with
Saul and Jonathan." No wonder, under these circumstances, that many
did not come to Saul's army at all; many hid themselves; many fled out
of the country; and of those who joined him, all were in a state of
alarm, and numbers began to desert. "When the men of Israel," says
Scripture, "saw that they were in a strait, then the people did hide
themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places,
and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of
Gad and Gilead; as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people
followed him trembling. And he tarried seven days, according to the
set time that Samuel had appointed; but Samuel came not to Gilgal, and
the people were scattered from him."
What a great trial this must have been! Here was a king who had been
made king for the express purpose of destroying the Philistines; he is
in presence of his powerful enemy, he is anxious to fulfil his
commission; he fears to fail; his reputation is at stake; he has at
best a most difficult task, as his soldiers are very bad ones, and are
all afraid of the enemy. His only chance, humanly speaking, is to
strike a blow; if he delays, he can expect nothing but total defeat;
the longer he delays, the more frightened his men will become. Yet he
is told to wait seven days; seven long days must he wait; he does wait
through them, and to his great mortification and despair, his soldiers
begin to desert; day after day more and more leave him: what will be
the end of this? Yet does he govern his feelings so far, as to wait
all through the seven days. So far he acquits himself well in the
trial; he was told simply to wait seven days, and in spite of the risk,
he does wait. Though he sees his army crumbling away, and the enemy
ready to attack him, he obeys God; he obeys His prophet; he does
nothing; he looks out for Samuel's coming.
At length the seven days are gone and over, those weary wearing days,
that long trial of a week, through every hour of which he was tempted
to advance against the enemy, yet every hour had to restrain his fierce
and impatient spirit. Now then is the time for Samuel to come; he said
he would come at the end of seven days, and the days are ended. Now at
length is the time for Saul to be relieved. For seven days the
Philistines, for some cause or other, have not attacked him; a
wonderful chance it is; he may breathe freely; every hour, every minute
he expects to hear that Samuel has joined the camp. But now, when his
trial seemed over, behold a second trial--Samuel comes not. The
prophet of God said he would come, the prophet of God does not come as
he said.
Why Samuel did not come, we are not informed; except that we see it was
God's will to try Saul still further; however, he did not come, and now
let us observe what was Saul's conduct.
Hitherto he had acquitted himself well; he had obeyed to the letter the
command of God by His prophet. He had waited in faith though in fear;
he feared the Philistines, but had faith in God. Oh that he had
continued in his faith! but his faith gave way when his trial was
prolonged.
When Samuel did not come, there was no one of course to offer
sacrifice; what was to be done? Saul ought to have waited still
longer, till Samuel did come. He had had faith in God hitherto, he
should have had faith still. He had hitherto trusted that God would
save him from the enemy, though his army was scattered, in God's own
way. God fights not with sword and bow; He can give victory to whom He
will, and when He will; "with His own right hand, and His holy arm,"
can He accomplish His purposes. Saul was God's servant, and therefore
he might securely trust in God. He had trusted for seven days; he
might go on trusting for eight, nine, or ten. And let it be observed,
that this fresh trial was hardly a greater trial than before, for this
reason--that his faith hitherto had met with its reward. Though the
Philistines were in his front, and his own men were deserting, yet,
strange to say, the Philistines had not attacked him. Thus he had had
proof that God could defend him from them. He who had kept him so
safely for seven days, why should He not also on the eighth? however,
he did not feel this, and so he took a very rash and fatal step.
That step was as follows: since Samuel had not come, he determined to
offer the burnt sacrifice instead of him; he determined to do what he
could not do without a great sin; viz. intrude into a sacred office to
which he was not called; nay, to do what he really could not do at all;
for he might call it a sacrifice, but it would not be really such,
unless a priest or prophet offered it. You know how great a crime it
is for persons now to become teachers and preachers, or to baptize or
administer the Lord's Supper without authority; this was Saul's crime,
he determined on sacrificing, without being an appointed minister of
God. This is a crime often denounced in Scripture, as in the case of
Korah, and Jeroboam, and Uzziah. Korah was swallowed up by the earth
on account of it; Jeroboam had his hand withered, and was punished in
his family; and Uzziah was smitten with leprosy. Yet this was Saul's
sin. "And Saul said," in the words of the text, "Bring hither a burnt
offering to me, and peace offerings; and he offered the burnt
offering." Now observe what happened immediately afterwards. "And it
came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he
might salute him." You see, if he had waited but one hour more, he
would have been saved this sin; in other words, he would have succeeded
in his trial instead of failing. But he failed, and the consequence
was, he lost God's favour, and forfeited his kingdom.
Let us observe what Samuel said to him, and what he answered; "And
Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that
the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the
days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together
to Michmash; therefore, said I, The Philistines will come down now upon
me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced
myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering." Such was his excuse;
and now hear what Samuel thought of it: "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou
hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy
God, which He commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established
thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not
continue: the Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the
Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people, because thou
hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee." Such was the end of
Saul's trial: he fell; he was not obedient; and in consequence he
forfeited God's favour.
How much is there in this melancholy history which applies to us, my
brethren, at this day, though it happened some thousand years ago! Man
is the same in every age, and God Almighty is the same; and thus what
happened to Saul, the king of Israel, is, alas! daily fulfilled in us,
to our great shame. We all, as Saul, have been raised by God to great
honour and glory; not, indeed, glory of this world, but unseen
spiritual glory. We were born in sin, and the children of wrath; and
He has caused us to be baptized with water and the Spirit in the Name
of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and as Saul, by being anointed with oil
by Samuel, was made king of Israel, so we, by baptism, are made kings,
not kings of this world, but kings and princes in the heavenly kingdom
of Christ. He is our head, and we are His brethren; He has sat down on
His throne on high, and has been crowned by His Eternal Father as Lord
and Christ; and we, too, by being made His brethren, partake His
unseen, His heavenly glory. Though we be poor in this world, yet, when
we were baptized, we, like Saul, were made strong in the Lord, powerful
princes, with Angels to wait upon us, and with a place on Christ's
throne in prospect. Hence, I say, we are, like Saul, favoured by God's
free grace; and in consequence we are put on our trial like Saul--we
are all tried in one way or another; and now consider how many there
are who fall like Saul.
1. How many are there who, when in distress of any kind, in want of
means, or of necessaries, forget, like Saul, that their distress,
whatever it is, comes from God; that God brings it on them, and that
God will remove it in His own way, if they trust in Him: but who,
instead of waiting for His time, take their own way, their own bad way,
and impatiently hasten the time, and thus bring on themselves judgment!
Sometimes, telling an untruth will bring them out of their
difficulties, and they are tempted to do so. They make light of the
sin; they say they cannot help themselves, that they are forced to it,
as Saul said to Samuel; they make excuses to quiet their conscience;
and instead of bearing the trial well, enduring their poverty, or
whatever the trouble may be, they do not shrink from a deliberate lie,
which God hears. Or, again, in like circumstances, they are tempted to
steal; and they argue that they are in greater want than the person
they injure, or that he will never miss what they take; and that they
would not take it, were not their distress so great. Thus they act
like Saul, and thus they tempt God in turn to deprive them of their
heavenly inheritance. Or further, perhaps, they both steal and lie
also; first steal, and then lie in order to hide their theft.
2. Again, how many are there who, when in unpleasant situations, are
tempted to do what is wrong in order to get out of them, instead of
patiently waiting God's time! They have, perhaps, unkind parents, and
they are so uncomfortable at home, that they take the first opportunity
which presents itself of getting away. They marry irreligious persons,
not asking themselves the question whether they are irreligious, merely
from impatience to get out of their present discomfort; "Any thing but
this," they say. What is this but to act like Saul? _he_ had very
little peace or quiet all the time he remained in presence of the
enemy, with his own people falling away from him; and he, too, took an
unlawful means to get out of his difficulty. And so, again, when
persons have harsh masters and employers, or troublesome neighbours, or
are engaged in employments which they do not like, they often forget
that all this is from God's providence, that to Him they must look up,
that He who imposed it can take it away, can take it away in His good
time, and without their sin. But they, like Saul, are impatient, and
will not wait. And, again, are not some of us tempted to be impatient
at the religious disadvantages we lie under; and instead of waiting for
God's time, and God's prophet, take the matter into our own hand, leave
the place where God has put us, and join some other communion, in order
(as we hope) to have clearer light and fuller privileges?
3. Again, how many are there who, though their hearts are not right
before God, yet have some sort of religiousness, and by it deceive
themselves into an idea that they are religious! Observe, Saul in his
way was a religious man; I say, in _his_ way, but not in God's way; yet
His very disobedience _he_ might consider an act of religion. He
offered sacrifice _rather_ than go to battle without a sacrifice. An
openly irreligious man would have drawn up his army and fallen upon the
Philistines without any religious service at all. Saul did not do
this; no, he wished that an act of worship and prayer should precede
the battle; he desired to have God's blessing upon him; and perversely,
while he felt that blessing to be necessary, he did not feel that the
only way of gaining it was seeking it _in the way_ which God had
appointed; that, whereas God had not made him His minister, he could
not possibly offer the burnt offering acceptably. Thus he deceived
himself; and thus many men deceive themselves now; not casting off
religion altogether, but choosing their religion for themselves, as
Saul did, and fancying they can be religious without being obedient.
4. Again, how many are there, who bear half the trial God puts on them,
but not the whole of it; who go on well for a time, and then fall away!
Saul bore on for seven days, and fainted not; on the eighth day his
faith failed him. Oh may we persevere to the end! Many fall away.
Let us watch and pray. Let us not get secure. Let us not think it
enough to have got through one temptation well; through our whole life
we are on trial. When one temptation is over, another comes; and,
perhaps, our having got through one well, will be the occasion of our
falling under the next, if we be not on our guard; because it may make
us secure and confident, as if we had already conquered, and were safe.
5. Once more, how many are there, who, in a narrow grudging
cold-hearted way, go by the letter of God's commandments, while they
neglect the spirit! Instead of considering what Christ wishes them to
do, they take His words one by one, and will only accept them in their
bare necessary meaning. They do not throw their hearts upon Scripture,
and try to consider it as the voice of a Living and Kind Lord and
Master speaking to them, but they take it to mean as little as it can.
They are wanting in love. Saul was told to wait seven days--he _did_
wait seven days; and then he thought he might do what he chose. He, in
effect, said to Samuel, "I have done just what you told me." Yes, he
fulfilled Samuel's directions literally and rigidly, but not in the
spirit of love. Had he loved the Word of God, he would not have been
so precise and exact in his reckoning, but would have waited still
longer. And, in like manner, persons now-a-days, imitating him, too
often say, when taxed with any offence, "Why is it wrong? Where is it
so said in Scripture? Show us the text:" all which only shows that
they obey carnally, in the letter, and not in the spirit.
How will all excuses, which sinners now make to blind and deaden their
consciences, fail them in the Last Day! Saul had his excuses for
disobedience. He did not confess he was wrong, but he argued; but
Samuel with a word reproved, and convicted, and silenced, and sentenced
him. And so in the Day of Judgment all our actions will be tried as by
fire. The All-knowing, All-holy Judge, our Saviour Jesus Christ, will
sit on His throne, and with the breath of His mouth He will scatter
away all idle excuses on which men now depend; and the secrets of men's
hearts will be revealed. Then shall be seen who it is that serveth
God, and who serveth Him not; who serve Him with the lips, who with the
heart; who are hypocrites, and who are true.
God give us grace to be in the number of those whose faith and whose
love is without hypocrisy or pretence; who obey out of a pure heart and
a good conscience; who sincerely wish to know God's will, and who do it
as far as they know it!
[1] Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
[2] 1 Sam. x. 8.
SERMON IV.
The Call of David.
"_So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a
stone._"--1 Samuel xvii. 50.
These words, which are taken from the chapter which you heard read just
now in the course of the Service[1], declare the victory which David,
the man after God's own heart, gained over Goliath, who came out of the
army of the Philistines to defy the Living God; and they declare the
manner of his gaining it. He gained it with a sling and with a stone;
that is, by means, which to man might seem weak and hopeless, but which
God Almighty blessed and prospered. Let no one think the history of
David's calling, and his victory over Goliath, of little importance to
himself; it is indeed interesting to read for its own sake; it raises
the mind of the Christian to God, shows us His power, and reminds us of
the wonderful deliverances with which He visits His Church in every
age; but besides all this, this history is useful to us Christians, as
setting before us our own calling, and our conflict with the world, the
flesh, and the devil; as such I shall now briefly consider it.
David, the son of a man in humble life, and the youngest of his
brethren, was chosen by Almighty God to be His special servant,--to be
a prophet, a king, a psalmist; he was anointed by Samuel to be all
this; and in due time he was brought forward by Almighty God, and as a
first act of might, slew the heathen giant Goliath, as described in the
text. Now let us apply all this to ourselves.
1. David was the son of a Bethlehemite, one among the families of
Israel, with nothing apparently to recommend him to God; the youngest
of his brethren, and despised by them. He was sent to feed the sheep;
and his father, though doubtless he loved him dearly, yet seems to have
thought little of him. For when Samuel came to Jesse at God's command,
in order to choose one of his sons from the rest as God might direct
him, Jesse did not bring David before him, though he did bring all his
other children. Thus David seemed born to live and die among his
sheep. His brothers were allowed to engage in occupations which the
world thinks higher and more noble. Three of them served as soldiers
in the king's army, and in consequence looked down upon David; on his
asking about Goliath, one of them said to him in contempt, "With whom
hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?" Yet God took him
from the sheepfolds to make him His servant and His friend. Now this
is fulfilled in the case of all Christians. They are by nature poor,
and mean, and nothing worth; but God chooses them, and brings them near
unto Himself. He looks not at outward things; He chooses and decrees
according to His will, and why He chooses these men, and passes over
those, we know not. In this country many are chosen, many are not, and
why some are chosen, others not, we cannot tell. Some men are born
within the bounds of holy Church, and are baptized with her baptism;
others are not even baptized at all. Some are born of bad parents,
irreligious parents, and have no education, or a bad one. We, on the
contrary, my brethren, are born in the Church; we have been baptized by
the Church's ministers; and why this is our blessedness, and not the
blessedness of others, we cannot tell. Here we differ from David. He
was chosen above his brethren, because he was better than they. It is
expressly said, that when Samuel was going to choose one of his elder
brethren, God said to him, "I have refused him; for the Lord seeth not
as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart[2];" implying, that David's heart was in a better
state than his brother's whom Samuel would have chosen. But this is
not our case; we are in nowise better by nature than they whom God does
not choose. You will find good and worthy men, benevolent, charitable,
upright men, among those who have never been baptized. God hath chosen
all of us to salvation, not for our righteousness, but for His great
mercies. He has brought us to worship Him in sacred places where His
saints have worshipped for many hundred years. He has given us the aid
of His ministers, and His Sacraments, and His Holy Scriptures, and the
Ancient Creed. To others, Scripture is a sealed book, though they hold
it in their hands; but to us it is in good measure an open book,
through God's mercy, if we but use our advantages, if we have but
spiritual eyes and ears, to read and hear it faithfully. To others,
the Sacraments and other rites are but dead ordinances, carnal
ceremonies, which profit not, like those of the Jewish Law, outward
forms, beggarly elements, as they themselves often confess; but to us,
if we have faith, they are full of grace and power. Thus all we have
been chosen by God's grace unto salvation, in a special way, in which
many others around us have not been chosen, as God passed over David's
seven brethren, and chose him.