Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-09-03
A KINGS DEATH AND WORSE.
The International Sunday School Les.
son for Sept. 6 is, "Sau and
Jonathan Slain in Battle"
Samuel 81.
BY William T. Ellis.

luSlS are WOISt ldlSS llleill DclllS
dead. Some men know the terrors OF
an existence emptied of honor and
| joy and self-respect King Saul living
was sadder spectacle than King Saul
dead, even though his death was ig-
noble. A king without kingliness, a
man without manliness. an anoint.
ed servant of God without goodness
few more tragic figures than he
walk through the pages of history,
When first we met him he stood. fair
and noble, head taller than his fell
lows; now, as we leave him, we find
him lying in shameful death, the con-
tortions of fear still showing in his
limbs-and the head by which he was
taller than other men carried off to
adorn heather idols temple.
There are various kinds and de-
grees Of moral failure; Saul repre-
sents the worst. man who has lost
his grip on God. In some respects
he resembles Judas, in that he had
relinquished his religious faith, and
become a wilful devotee of his own
selfish ends, until at. last his terrors
and torments are ended, for this life,
by the cowardly crime of a suicide.
Attention is centered in the Sunday
schools this week upon Saul PROSTATE
in death upon the battle field; far
more significant is his grovelling in
terror before the Witch of Endor. He
was slain in spirit before he slew him
self in body His alternate spasms
of kingliness and foolishness, strength
and weakness, magnanimity and con-
suming jealousy, are interesting evil
dences of the effect upon character
of the loss Of it's religion. The great
est of all tragedies is the loss of
faith. The worst, and most express
sive, of all that can be said Of Israel's
first king is that the spirit of God
had abandoned him.
The Artesan Well at Sea.
To put the teaching Of this bio
graphy into paragraph, 1t is that q
child of God should guard his spirit
ual sensitiveness above his life. There
is nothing else so vital as to keep at
tuned to God. Even as Saul observed
the outward state cf royalty even aft
er he had been rejected from the
i throne by Jehovah, SO 1t is possible
for one to maintain the appearance
and form Of goodness, while not pos
sessing the power thereof This may
for time deceive the world; but
what matters the worlds opinion
when ones spiritual life is at stake ?
"a conscience void of offense toward
God" is better than all the reputation
that can be heaped up. The deeper,
hidden springs of life are what count.
A few years ago, on one of the
long piers that stretch out into the
ocean at Atlantic City, saw an ar
tesian well being sunk. Down, down,
down beneath the surging tides, be-
meath the sandy bottom of the ocean,
the shaft had gone until it had found
the sweet springs of water underlying
: the sea. 1t was surprise to know
that pure, fresh water so much as ex-
listed there; even as the world won
ders at the vital verities of spiritual
ity. The incident pictured life; some
persons, like Saul, elect to live only
on the rough, unstable and storm-vis-
tied surface of life, where there is
naught to satisfy the souls thirst;
others, like the driver of the artesian
well, and like David go down to the
deep sources of spiritual power, sus-
tanning their spirits by delicious
draughts from Gods refreshing
springs. Out of the years that made
Saul a wreck and a suicide, David
won king1y character and produced
immortal psalms.
In the Final Fight.
The final fight Of the giant Saul
now defeated in spirit before he
buckled on his armor-occurred on
Israel's greatest battle-ground, the
Plain of Esdraelon. The opposing
foe was Israels historic enemy, the
Philistines (from whom by strange
irony, the Palestine Of today gets it's
name). David had been driven, by
the kings persecution. into the en-
emy's country. 1t was bad states
manship on Saul's part to let his
greatest warrior co. because Of per-
sonal spite. N addition to this loss
suffered by the king was the greater
one of self-control and confidence,
and, greatest of all, the loss of the
cooperation of Jehovah; one who has
ever fought in partnership with God
cannot hope to win without him.
. The last stand was made on the
slope of Mount Gilboa. The Israelites
were utterly routed. The king him
self was sorely wounded, and his
three sons, Jonathan, Abinadab and
Malchishua were slain. The remain
ing son, Ishbosheth, apparently was
not in the battle, and survived for
two troubled years, then to be treach-
erously murdered. Instead of meet
ing death like solder, the wounded
king was terror stricken lest he
should be slain by the enemy, and
his body abused; so he entreated his
armor-bearer to thrust him through.
The latter refused, and Saul took his
own sword, and fell upon it, The
armor-bearer then followed his ex-
ample.
The death of the king completed
the route Of his army, and the Philis-
tines had only to come and loot the
camp. They cut of Sauls head, strip
ped his armor for temple offering,
and hung his body to the wall of
Bethshan, thus inflicting the ignomin-
) les which the king had hoped to es.
CAPE While the Philistines were, in
a sense, the agent Of ,aul's death, he
really died, we are told because of