The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-08-21
DAVID IS AMOUNTED KING.
LESSON VIII, THIRD QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIEs,. AUG. rs.

Text Of the Lesson, Sam. xvi, 1-13-Com-
NIT Verses 11-13+Golden Text, Sam.
wi, 7-Commentary by the Rev. d. N.
Stearns. ...'
compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per
mission of b. 8. Hoffman, publisher, Philadet
phia.J
I. "And the Lord said uTo Samuel, How
long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing have
rejected him from reigning over Israel" So
difficult is it for Us to side with God, regard
less Of our own thoughts or feelings or prefer
ences, that even the great and good Samuel
is here seen clinging In his heart for he went
not near him, chap XIV, 35) to Saul after the
Lord had rejected him. We must remember
that the Lord did not reject Saul until Saul
had persistently rejected and disobeyed the
Lord Chaps xiii, Is, ID; xv, 26, so that Saul
had no one to blame but himself for the loss
of his position. - ..,
81 will send thee 70 Jesse, the Bethlehem
tie, for I have provided me king among his
sons" So it is written in the Psalms, "He
chose David also His servant and took him
from the sheepfolds;" and again, 81 have
found David my servant; with my holy oil
have Ianointed him" Ps. lHviii, 70; lxxix,
2.) promotion cometh neither from the
east, nor from the west, nor from the south,
but God is the judge; BE putteth down one
and setteth up another" Ps. h1v, g. Let
the children tell how Bethlehem the house OF
bread had already become famous In Bible
history in connection with Rachel and Ben
janin, Boaz and Ruth; and let the older
scholars ponder the deep things in these Incl
dents. -.'...
Q. "How can I got If Saul hear it, he will
kill me.n This does not sound like the utter
ance Of a faithful, fearless follower Of the
Lord Godof Hosts. It might be said to Sam
uel, "Who art thou that thou shouldest be
afraid Of man that shall die, and
forgettest the Lord thy MakerP' Qsa. Ii, 2,
13) ..
g. IT will show thee what thou shalt do;
and thou shalt anoint unto Me him whom
name unto thee" The servant Of the Lord
has only to move forward calmly and in per-
feet confidence In his captain and heis always
promised sure guidance ~ will instruct thee
and teach thee In the way which thou shalt
60" 'aThine ears shall hear word behind
thee saying, this is the way" ut shall be
told thee what thou must do" "It shall be
given you what ye shall speak" Ps. xxxii,
s; lisa. nx, 81; Acts ix, 9; Matt. <, 19)5
4. Sand Samuel did that which the Lord
spake." This is now as 1t should be, the word
Of the Lord prevails, and the servant is SIM
ply obedient and comes to Bethlehem leaving
God to carry out His own plans and manage
fpo,r To- n{o xUou Whpn
we are thus passive and also obedient in His
hands, all will be well and Bis purpose un-
hindered. 'tThe elders Of the town trem-
bled.n Here is another Indication Of lack Of
fellowship with God, for if their hearts were
right and their conduct right there would
have been rejoicing instead of trembling at
visit from the Lords servant; but probably
they, too, were clinging to the disobedient
king. God is the God Of Peace, and Jesus
the Prince Of Peace; it is only where there is
persistent enmity to God that there Is need
for sword instead Of peace.
8. 81 am come to sacrifice unto the Lord u
He uses the very words which he was told to
use ". q, and that Is always the right thing
to do. Jesus Himself said only what the
Father told Him John Xii, 40; Jeremiah and
Ezekiel were to speak only the Lords words
Jer. /, TO; Eek. lii, 4, 10, ii, ~; and when
we as messengers Of the Lord confne our
selves to the Lords message, rather than give
our thoughts about it, surely we shall be most
pleasing to Him. a...,
6,7. 1.-THE Lord, ,looksth ON the heart" As
the first Of Jesse's sons stood before Samuel,
there was something about him which caused
Samuel to think that he was the Lords an.
ointed; but how solemn the word Of the Lord,
II have refused him" Let US again repeat
that in the matter Of salvation the Lord re-
fuses none who come to Him; but this Is
matter Of special service, and it is not stature
nor fair conntenance he seeks, but heart
right with Himself, "a man after his own
heart" tchap. xiii, ~.
$40. "Jesse made seven Of his sons to pass
before Samuel; and Samuel said unto jesse
the lord hath not chosen these" Here
then, is an apparent failure; the Lord had
said to Samuel that He had provided ling
from among Jesse's sons, and yet here are al
the sons whom Jesse had thought it necessary
to bring; and for this special service, this
place Of honor, all are set aside, the right
man has not appeared. Gods thoughts and
ways are as much higher than ours as heaven
is higher than earth; and how few seem to
know His thoughts or understand Els coun-
sell ... .. 49,. ...
II. "Send and fetch him, for We win not
sit down till he come hither.n So everything
has to stand still till the slighted son Is
brought. In reply to Samuel's question as to
whether these seven were all his sons Jesse
replied that the youngest was at home keep,
ing the sheep, and it was for him that they
were now sending and waiting. If we judge
from chap. xvii, %, it would seem that some
Of Davids older brothers didnot accept cheer.
fully their being rejected, nor did they soon
forget it, but were Jealous Of him. Only the
grace of God, and abundance of it, can enable
us to act upou tho rlrecepts, "In honor pre-