_Then Samuel took a vial of oil._
THE DISCIPLINE OF A PROMOTED LIFE
Men are not usually taken from the valley of ordinary toil, and
instantaneously placed, as by the flight of an angel, upon the
cloud-wrapped peak of national greatness. There must be a climbing
process; its accomplishment may be te... [ Continue Reading ]
_God gave him another heart._
ANOTHER HEART
But not a better heart. He found himself suddenly fitted for the new
place to which Providence had summoned him. In this there was nothing
magical or extraordinary. It is indeed said that God gave him another
heart, but we are not to understand the words... [ Continue Reading ]
_The spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them._
SAUL AMONG THE PROPHETS
Suppose, now, you had come to school, thinking only of being the child
of a cottager, and of earning your bread by hard labour all your days,
and one upon whose word you could firmly rely came in and told you y... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is Saul also among the prophets?_
A SAUL AMONG THE PROPHETS
So they said in the wild irregular season of his obscure youth, before
his accession to the throne, when the Spirit of the Lord, that bloweth
where it listeth, suddenly arrested the young Saul, in the midst of
his dissolute companions; t... [ Continue Reading ]
_He told him not._
AN INQUISITIVE MAN AND HOW TO TREAT HIM
Saul has now reached his home, and is determined to conceal the
history of the past few days from the knowledge of others. If the
Prophet’s communications were to become generally known they would
render Saul’s position most uncomfortable.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh._
THE PUBLIC RECOGNITION OF INCIPIENT KINGSHIP
Long enough had Saul been in the Divine studio, and fashioned by
heavenly forces, his nature comes forth in power to enter upon
life’s duty, and also to grapple with its difficulties. In t... [ Continue Reading ]
_He hath hid himself amongst the stuff._
RESPONSIBILITY
When Auxentius, the Arian Bishop of Milan, had expired, there was much
excitement among the Christians in that City. Both Catholics and
Arians had assembled in the principal church for the purpose of
electing a new bishop, and each party was e... [ Continue Reading ]
_There is none like him among the people._
THE CHOICE YOUNG MAN AND GOODLY
There are two forms in which the man who is steering his vessel over
the perilous ocean may ascertain the course which he should keep, and
receive admonition of the dangers which he should avoid. There may be
the well-known... [ Continue Reading ]
_And wrote it in a book._
VALUE OR A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
A written revelation is an incomparable blessing. Is not the cry of
subjects everywhere for a constitution, something written, the fights
and duties of sovereign and subject in black and white? The Bible is
to us like a written constitution... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched._
But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us.
PUBLIC OPINION IN REFERENCE TO THE NEW KING
I. The sympathy of Saul’s friends. There are times in the life of
man when the sympathy of a friend is of priceless value... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the children of Belial said._
THE SONS OF BELIAL
The word Belial is found but once in the New Testament (2 Corinthians
6:15). In the Hebrew of the Old Testament it is found twenty-seven
times. It is several times translated wicked (Deuteronomy 15:9; Job
34:18; Psalms 101:3; Nehemiah 1:11; Neh... [ Continue Reading ]