Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1908-07-09
SAUL CHOSEN
KING
Sunday School Lesson Tor July IL. 1903
Specially Prepared for This Papsg

Memory Verse. -
GOLDEN TEXT.-'Hs that ruieth over
men must be Just. ruling In the fear OF
Gods sam. ma
TiME--ImmsdIRteiy following the last
lesson. b. C. about 1904 Cusshsr).
couNTRY.-sOuthern Ephraim ana
Benjamin. I Sam. %: Oil.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
DR.. Newman. one OF the subtlest and
acutest OF preachers, after attempting
three times to preach on Saul, 10 com.
PEELED to confess that Saul's character
continues TO be obscure to him, and
he warns us that we must be exceed.
ingly cautious while considering Sauls
so obscure character" And yet the
story Is a truor mirror Of human ma
ture.
His Native Pride.-He belonged to
one Of the smallest tribes, at one time
nearly extinct Judges 20), but sit.
nated between the two greatest di.
visions. Ephralm and judah. which
facts remo-ed all grounds Of Jealousy
His rejection by some. even after his
election q Sam. l0:27), shows how
great the danger was, especially from
Ephriam or Judah. the rival tribes.
His Personal Fitness.-Saul was a
choice young man In the height OF his
personal attractions for a leader
There was not among the children Of
Israel a goodller person than he: from
his shoulders upward he was higher
than any OF the people. He had a
splendid body and stately gait, and
the very sins OF his soul had certain
lurid grandeur about them o."--Al.
exander Whyte. Before the invention
OF firearms. personal strength was es-
sential in leader, as indeed Il Is still
among the Arabs. Int. Crit. Com.
We see the same need in some OF our
sports, as, for instance. football. Saul
was every inch n king"
Saul had the natural characteristics
which made It possible for him to be
a great and useful king. He possessed
self.restraint. he was master OF him.
self, the first essential. He was mod.
est, not concelted. He had the mill.
tary instinct. capacity for generalshlp.
a shrewd mind. patience that could
walt, the unfiinching nerves, the
quick eagle eye. the generosity to un.
worthy opponents which makes sue.
cess SO graceful and imperial com.
mand so easy to endure. "-Wilber-
force And he had that indescribaole
personal magnetism which made him a
popular idol.
He was specially prepared by the
Influences ~
uel had anointed Saul to the kingdom,
we come upon this very obscure Scrip
ture: "And II was so that when Saul
had turned his back to go from Sam.
uel, God gave Saul another heart, and
the Spirit OF God came upon Saul. and
he prophesied" Il Sam. 1910. He
was turned into another man" q
Sam. 1850. And he Immediately
Joined himself TO the religious
guild OF his people. and had the out.
ward form at least OF prophecy In It's
wilder and more ecstatic moods, such
as sometimes occurs now to certain
temperaments in times Of great ex.
element.
The children Of BelIal." BeliaI Is
|
lessness" or "wIckedness" (Chsyne).
They were the rabble. the wicked. the
base. These treated Saul with con-
tempt, as an inexperienced young man
from the country. unframed In both
statesmanship and war. He held his
peace" He was wise. self-controlled
and patient.
How to Treat Insults.-A young man
who had been badly insulted came to
Father Graham hot with anger and
bent on immediate revenge. wait"
said Father Graham; IAN insult is like
mud; II will brush on much better
when It is dry" The young man
waited. and the very next day the In.
Sultins person came to beg his for
giveness.
The Coronation.-After HIS victory
over the Ammonites, Saul's popular.
ity among the people was very great
and Samuel saw that the time was
ripe for q hearty national confirma,
ton OF the step taken at Mizpeh by
the national assembly. The prophet
therefore called the people together al
GIlgal, between Jericho and the Jor
dan. This ancient center Of the He
brew religion was the most suitable
place for the coronation of Saul and
the ratification Of the kingdom. Thus
Edward VII. was crowned more than
q year after he became king.
Here the previously divided and un
certain people. with one voice con
firmed the new king IN his authority
and the New Era OF the United King
dom was begun.
He still had the advice and counsel
OF samss. He thus entered upon q
career that might have ended in un
told usefulness and blessednesE. Won
derful and beautiful possibilities
were spread out before him. like the
promised land before Moses on Pisgah
The morning OF his kingdom rose al