Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1908-07-09
SAUL CHOSEN
KING

Specially Prepared for This Paper

o''i' . AN. E1.o.
T1ME.-lmmcdlately following the last
lesson. r. e. about loa4 trssher).
COtNTRY.-Southcrn Ephraim ana
Benjamin. 1 Sam. %; 81.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
DR.. Newman, one Of the subtlest and
acutest Of preachers. after attempting
three times to preach OF Saul, is com.
PEELED to confess that Saul's character
continues to be obscure to him, and
he warns us that we must be exceed.
iDgly cautious while considering Saul's
so obscure character And yet the
story is a truer 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.
uatcd between the two greatest di.
visions, Ephraim and Judah, which
facts removed all grounds Of jealousy.
HIS rejection by some. ven after his
election Il Sam. l0:2O, shows how
great the danger was, especially from
Ephrlam or Judah, the rival tribes.
His Personal Fitness.-Saul was q
choice young man in the height OF his
personal attractions for a leader.
There was not among the children Of
Israel a goodlier person than he; from
has shoulders upward he was higher
than any Of the people. He had a
splendid body and a stately gait, and
the very sins Of his soul had a certain
!urid grandeur about them also."--Al.
cxander Whyte. Before the invention
OF firearms, personal strength was es.
scntial in a leader, as indeed 1t Is still
among the A~rabs."-Int. Crit. Com.
We see the same need in some OF our
sports, as, for instance, football. Saul
was every inch a king"
Saul had the natural characteristics
which made it possible for him to be
a great and useful king. He possessed
self rrSfraint, he vas master Of him.
self, the first essential. He was mod.
cSf, not c%Onceitcd. He had the mill.
'ary instinct, a capacity for g%eneralship,
n shrcwd mind. patience that could
wait, the u~nfiinching. nerves, the
quick eagle eye, the generosity to uh.
worthy opponents which makes sue.
c"8s so graceful and imperial com.
mand 20 easy to cndnre."--Wilber-
force. And ne had that indescribablc
personal magnetism which made him a
popular idol.
II" was specially prepared by the
Influences Of Gods spirit. After Sam.
vel had anointcd Saul to the kingdom,
We come upon this very obscure Scrip.
turc: And IL was so that when Saul
had turned his back to 90 from Sam.
ucl, God gave Saul another heart, and
tho Spirit Of God came upon Saul, and
h" p~roph"si"d' Il Sam. 1910. He
was turned into another man Il
Sam 1850. And he Immediately
Joined himself to the religious
guild of his people. and had the out.
ward form al least of prophecy in its
wilder and more ecsiatic moods, such
as sometimes occurs now to certain
tcmpcramcntS in times Of great cx.
element.
The children Of Bciial." Belial Is
not a proper name. 1t means worth.
lcssnoSS' Or "wickedncss" (Cheyne),
They were the rabblc, the wicked, the
base. These treated Saul with ron.
tempt, az an inexperienced young man
from the country. unframed in both
craftsmanship and war. 'IIe held his
peace He was wise, self,controlled
and patient.
How to Treat Insults.-A young man
u1l,n bod hnan lnIIy io.,1t,l =, ~
Father Graham hot with anger and
bent on immediate revenge. Wait"
said Father Graham: IAN insult Is like
mud; It will brush off much better
when It IL dry" The young mar
waited, and the very next day the in
sulting person came to beg his for
g%ivcness.
The Coronation.-After his victory
over the Ammonites, Saul's popular
iiy among the people was very great,
and Samuel saw that the time was
ripe for a hearty nstional contirma
ton Of the step taken at Mizreh by
tho national assembly. The prophet
therefore called the people together at
Gilgal, between Jericho and the Jor
dan. This ancient center OF the He.
brew rcligio6 was the most suitable
place for the coronation OF Saul and
the ratification OF the kingdom. Thus
Edward VII. was crowned more than
a year after he became king.
Here the previously divided and un
certain people, with n voice con
Grmed the new king in his authority
and the New Fra Of the United King
dom vas begun.
L., ctiti b,J Aha odvjoo ,nd ,ouo,o'