The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-07-15

Subject: Samuel Warns Saul n the
People. 4 Samuel 12-Golden
Text, 1 Sam. 12:24-Commit
Verses %, PFC .nentary.
TIME.--10s9 B. C. PLACE
Gilgal.
EXPOSITION.-I. Obey the voice
of the LORD, 1915. Samuel lad
spent a little time in dwelling upon
his W fidelity Tvs. 2-5), but had
quickly passed to a recital Of the mer-
sies of Jehovah Tvs. 6-12). God had i.
given them a king only because they
had demanded n Tvs. ~, 10. IL,
49,. 1t was not Gods first and best
choice for them. Now Samuel calls
them to look upon the king whom
they had chosen and whom God had
given. The king they were called
upon to gaze upon was a fine speci-
men of.a man (ch. 1929, but how
poor a substitute for God, and how
bitter was the disappointment and
defeat Israel was to experience in
him. So will it always be with those
who desire an arm Of flesh instead OF
God to lean upon (Jer. 17:5, 81. But
God is long-suffering, and even yet
there was mercy and help for them.
in these verses we have the whole
secret of having the Lord for us or
against us. To have the Lord with
is, and consequently to have 1t we'll
with US, all that Is necessary is t1):&
fear the Lord" 1. e., hold Him in
that ~reverent regard that leads to a
prompt and constant obedience to His
will as expressed in His word prov.
3:13; 1876; CT. 1 Jno. 5:3). (2)
Serve Him" go "Hearken unto
His voice" "a Rebel not against
His commandment" 50 BE fol-
towers Of the Lord your Cod. (cf.
Eph. SD If on the other hand we
will not hearken to the voice Of
Jehovah" the hand Of Jehovah shall
,e against us. There a be no great
er calamity than to have the hand OF
Jehovah against us. Samuel pointed
hem to the whole history Of Israel
IS a confirmation of his words (cf. v.
81. For a comment upon VS.. II, 15ss
urn to Lev. 26:1-39; Deu. 2S:1-68;
lisa. 1:16-20. g
II. Samuel Prays and God: An-
,wers, 1919. Samuel sees the need
that the people be brought to a deep
realization Of their sin. A sign Is
needed and he has faith in God that
He will give it. He acted under Gods
Erection, hence the outcome. He
,alls upon the people to stand still
and see the great thing the Lord will
TO-" The Lord is always ready to do
great and wonderful things for those
who call upon Him with an intelli-
rent faith Ger. 33:3)!. In Palestine
rains were almost unknown at the
Time Of wheat harvest (ef. Prov.
26:1). But God gave thunder and
,ain in answer to Samuel's prayer (cf.
sh. .7:9, 10; Josh. 1912; Jas. 5:16-
18). There are some who are too
wise to believe such stories as this.
out their wisdom is a wisdom born Of
ignorance and prejudice. No n who
eandidly stuAies the evidence, both
In the Bible and outside of IT, can
doubt that Coz does give rain, as well
as do many other wonderful things,
IN direct answer to prayer. To doubt
1t is not scientific; for 1t ignores In
questionable facts. The Lord did pre-
aisely as Samuel had counted upon
His doing, and as he had said that He
would do. The result was that the
people greatly feared the Lord and
Samuel" Nothing makes God more
real to men than a direct answer to
prayer, and no man is more feared
than the man whom the world knows
has the ear of God. But the world
soon forgets FPS. 106:12a33. The
sign was effective, the people saw
II a-ocn1uAo nc oroof cfnnnro dap0rufnO
to die. That Is the way in which we
all need to see ourselves. That Is the
way in which we shall see ourselves
when we are brought, as Israel was,
face to face with God. They did not
feel fit to pray for themselves, but
felt the need of Samuel's prayers.
iii. Fear Not, the Lord Will Not
Forsake His People, 2O-25. Gods
oft-repeated message to His people is,
"Fear not" Here He says it to His
people even when they have greatly
sinned. But they had just made con-
fession of their sin. There was par
don for them still. The devil de-
lights to use our past sin to discour-
age us. God says, Though you have
Anned greatly in the past, fear not
and turn not aside from following the
Lord" (cf. Josh. 1855; Ps. 40:4).
Though we may have sfnned griev-
ously in the past, still it is entirely
possible for us to serve the Lord with
all our heart in the future. How true
it is of the things of this world, after
which the hearts Of men gOastray from
the Lord, that they cannot profit nor
deliver" If our salvation depended
upon anything in us we should never
be saved; but because it depends n
tirely upon Him, it is always sure. 1t
was the Lords good pleasure to make
Israel " a people unto Himself" (cf.
Deu. IT, s; Matt. 1925; Ro. 9:13-
1S; Jno. 1910. 1t is the Lords
good pleasure to-day to make all who
Jesus as their Saviour and
their Lord, a people unto Himself (cf.
l Pet. 2:9, 10, R. W. For Samuel
to cease to pray for Gods people
be for Samuel to sin against
the Lord" There are many pro-
Christians in our day who are
against the Lord in this very
way (cf. Ro. 10; Col. 10; l Thess.
$40; SID. But Samuel would not
only pray, he would also teach. Note
we'll what he would teach, 1.-The good
and the right way" The way of
obedience to God is not only the right
way, it is also the good way.
Cow With a Tin Hat.