The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1903-07-24
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ", THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JULY 20.
Text Of the Lesson. I Sam. Nv, 1923.
Memory Verses, 2O-22-GoIden Text.
Sam. Nv, 22-Commentary Prepar-
ed by Rev. ID. VI. Stearns.


said unto him: Blessed be thou Of the
! Lord. | have performed the command
ment OF the Lord.
In our previous studies in this por-
| ton of Scripture, i'm 1889 and 1898, we
began at verse 10; now we are advised
TO study from verse 10, SO ii is prac-
| tically the same. Concerning the
| Lords repentings verses 1850 note
verse %. The strength Of Israel will
not lie nor repent" and Num- xiii. 10,
God is not a man that He should lie,
nor the Son of Man that He should re-
! pent" God never changes His mind.
but always does just what He knew
from all eternity that He would do.
He knew how Saul would turn out,
how long He would have to bear with
him, and when He would put David in
his place. He comes TO place always
| foreseen when He changes His line
pent. Man. on the contrary, repents
when he changes his mind and does
what he had not intended to do. In
chapter xiii we see how Saul began TO
DO foolishly and 10y disobedience for
feited the kingdom (XiI, -, IA
IA. Is. The people spared the best of the
sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto
the Lord thy God, and the rest we have
utterly destroyed
The command was to utterly destroy
all verse b, yet for professedly a good
object he puts his own construction on
it and disobeys the plain command
All things are naked and open to the
eyes Of Him with whom we have to do
and all sin. unless confessed forsaken
and forgiven, will be sure TO find us
ont Heb. iv, Is; Nun. xxi, %;
Chron. xviii, 81. Saul did not seem to
understand that God wants nothing
from the enemy either for service or
sacrifice.
16. IT, Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay
and l will tell thee what the Lord hath
said to me- this night. And he said unto
him, Say on.
Then he reminded him how when little
in his own sight the Lord had anointed
him king over Israel. 1t is a good thing
always to be little in ones own estima-
ton, for we remember how Uzziah was
marvelously helped till he was strong,
but then he fell GI ChrOn. XVI, 10, 80.
Our highest place is lying low at our
Redeemer's feet that the Lord alone
may be exalted What a blessed man
was Samuel, who talked with God and
with whom God talked and who sought
only TO know the mind Of God and do
It, Why not say just now and stand to
it, My Father, | will, by Thy grace.
seek henceforth in all things TO know
Thy will, and do as Thou hast said?"
Why should not all believers in daily
life thus walk with God?
IS 10. Wherefore then didst thou not
obey the voice of the Lord but didst fly
upon the spoil and didst evil in the sight
of the Lord
The Lord sent him and told him
what TO do and ii was his not TO rea-
son, but obey. The reason of the com
mand given 10 Saul Is found in Elk.
xvii, SIG, but being long suffering and
not willing that any should perish He
had given them 400 years in which TO
repent. Mercy always precedes judg-
ment. All the failures in the Lords
service set before us in strong contrast
Him who never failed and who loved
TO say SO often, The Father sent me-"
He could also truly say, Il do always
those things that please Him John
viii, l6, Is, 2G. 29). 1t is our privilege,
as ii was Gideon's, TO 20 day by day in
the strength Of these words: Have not
l sent thee? Surely | will be with
thee (Judg. vi, II, 16). And ii is for
us simply and cheerfully TO obey with
out questioning lisa. /, Is 49,.
20, q. And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea,
l have obeyed the voice Of the Lord,
- but the people took of the spoil - .
to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in
Gngal.
He confeSses to have saved the king,
who was certainly included in the or
der to destroy, and yet insists that he
had obeyed the voice Of the Lord. Ii
is the old story, SO common today, Of
perverting the word of the Lord der
xiii, 80 and of thinking that He does
not mean just what He says. Happy
would ii be for all Bible students and
teachers if they would take the word
VI NOh " lutdH just w udl IL say >, anu
in the light of fulfilled prophecy read
prophecy yet unfulfiled and be obedi-
ent. Gods thoughts are as far above
ours as heaven is above the earth, and
all our thoughts must be brought into
captivity to the obedience of Christ
Qsa. w, :, 9; III Cor. Y, -.
%. Behold. 10 obey Is better than sacri-
fee and to hearken than the fat of rams.
The first thought in sacrifice is not
our giving something to God, but God
giving something to us, as in the insti-
tuition of sacrifice at Eden Gen. iii, 2D
when the Lord God by a sacrifice
which pointed on to the great sacrifice
on Calvary taught Adam and Eve the
way of redemption. Mans thought,
which is from the adversary. is that
we must first give TO God TO propitiate
Him, whereas we can give Him moth
ing until we first accept His gift to us.
We must first receive His mercy, then