The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1908-07-10
SAUL CHOSEN
KING
Sunday School Lesson Tor July II. 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper

LESSON TEXT. Samuel 1o17-27.
Memory Verse, "a.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of
God"-2 Sam. 2S:3.
TIME.-Immediately following the last
lesson, B. C. about 1904 Usshsr).
COUNTRY.-Southern Ephraim and
Benjamin. / Sam. ga; 81.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
DR.. Newman, one of the subtlest and
acutest of preachers, after attempting
three times to preach on Saul, is COM
PEELED to confess that Saul's character
continues to be obscure to him, and
ingly cautious while considering Sauls
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
uated between the two greatest d.
visions, Ephraim and Judah, which
facts removed all grounds of jealousy.
His rejection by some. even after his
election q Sam. 10:27), 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 goodlier person than he; from
his 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 certain
lurid grandeur about them also."-Al-
exander Whyte. Before the invention
of firearms, personal strength was es-
sential in leader, as indeed it 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 a 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 conceited. He had the mill
tary instinct, a capacity for generalship,
a shrewd mind, patience that could
wait, 1.-The unflinching nerves, the
quick eagle eye, the generosity to I'M
worthy opponents which makes sue
cess so graceful and imperial COM
mand so easy to endure. "-Wilber-
force. And he had that indescribable
personal magnetism which made him
popular idol.
He was specially prepared by the
influences of Gods spirit. After Sam
uel had anointed Saul to the kingdom,
we come upon this very obscure Scrip
tnre: And it 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. 10:1O). He
was turned into another man" Il
Sam. 1870. 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" Belial Is
not proper name. 1t means worth.
lessness" or "wickedness" (Cheyne).
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
craftsmanship 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; it will brush off much better
when it is dry" The young man
waited, and the very next day the in
sulting 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 a hearty national confirma-
ton of the step taken at Mizpeh by
the national assembly. The prophet
therefore called the people together at
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
a year after he became king.
Here the previously divided and I'm.
certain people, with one voice con.
frmed 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 Samuel. He thus entered upon a
career that might have ended in un-
told usefulness and blessedness. 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.
most cloudless.
Practical Points.
God calls all men TO his service In
much the same way as he called Saul
There is a secret call, manifested in
the nature and inherent fitness of the
man. There Is also the outward
call of opportunity, vacant situation,
an invitation from an employer, what
the world calls "a good chance" But
it is not chance, though it seems so:
it Is all of Gods ordering.
There will come time to everyone