Bible Commentaries

The Choice Young Man

1 Samuel 9:9

So long as they both meant the same thing, what does it matter what they were called? If they did not always mean the same thing, then it signifies a great deal. We must not have old names with new meanings, nor must we invent new ideas to suit old terms. The parable of the old wine and the new bottles, the old bottles and the new wine, old ideas and new conceptions, afford a very tempting ground for fancy and invention and divers knavery. When we have a word, let us know exactly what its meaning is. When we change the word, publish the fact; do not let us have any vocal or verbal legerdemain; let us beware of trifling with terms, let us beware of meddling with the currency of the King's language.

"He that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer." Probably there was really no change of a vital kind, and therefore the change of terms resolved itself into the popular question, What's in a name? But there is a principle here; there is a great moral possibility just at this very point; let us have no verbal ambiguity or ambiguity in deed, and then tell others that we really meant in substance the same thing, when we did not. There is a morality of language, there is a currency of words; and we must not keep some little private mint in which we counterfeit the inscribed and superscribed glory of the heavenly realm. Let us apply this change of names to the circumstances in which we find ourselves in our own day.

I. That which is now called a Discovery was beforetime called a Revelation. I prefer the beforetime word; it is deeper, it holds more, it is intellectually and spiritually more capacious; it is ideally and imaginatively more poetical and ideal.

II. He that is now called an Agnostic was beforetime called a Blind Man. I prefer the beforetime description; it seems to get nearer the truth. It would be impossible, I think, to find a proud blind man. Did you ever in all your companionship and confidences find a proud blind fellow-creature? It would be difficult for a blind man to be proud, but it is the natural air of my lord the agnostic. You never found a humble agnostic; he could not be humble; he has eloquence enough to pretend to be humble, but in the soul of him, if he has a soul, he is as proud as Lucifer.

III. That which is now called an Accident was beforetime called Providence. I like the old term best; it covers more ground, it is nobler, it stands in a more royal majesty. I will not have any accidents in my little world; I have no room for accidents,—little broken pieces of china that nobody can patch together again. I have in my little world of imagining and experience a ruling, loving, watchful Providence.

IV. That which is now called a Better State of Things was beforetime called Regeneration. And I like it better. Oh for the old, old Regeneration!—the metaphysical, penetrating, all-including new birth. There are many dusters and sweepers in the world, persons who go about with little dusters, and rubbing things and saying, Now they are all right. It is one thing to have a Hyde-Park-Sunday-afternoon-demon-stration duster and another thing to have a Holy Ghost.

V. That which is now called the Continuity of Law was beforetime called the Sovereignty of God.

VI. That which is now called the Survival of the Fittest was beforetime called Predestination, election, foreordination: and these are the grand terms when properly defined and understood.

—Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. II. p202.

Stand Still Awhile

1 Samuel 9:27

Samuel had been entertaining Saul at a sumptuous meal, and would speak to Saul on a very important matter. So the two set off from the city. As they go a little from the centre of the town and approach the edge of the houses, Samuel bade Saul send his servant forward so that they might be private and alone. Samuel evidently felt the solemnity of the moment, he saw before him the man who should be the future King of Israel, and he knew that in the conduct of that king lay a great responsibility. And as the servant had passed onward, Samuel said to Saul: "Stand thou still awhile that I may show thee the Word of God".

There are two things here that I should like you to notice; the first is the attention which Samuel requires, and the second is the subject on which he spoke.

I. The Attention Required.—Samuel asked Saul to send his servant forward that he might—

(a) Forget his family affairs, his joys and sorrows, and to concentrate his attention on the subject. In our own case there are joys and sorrows, there are business affairs that sometimes invade the very sleep and rehearse themselves in the hour of night. By an effort of will they may be made to pass onward.

(b) Stand still awhile.—Samuel requested Saul to "Stand still awhile". Let us remember that when the body is quiet and restful it aids the mind in taking in spiritual truth. It is a very desirable thing when listening to the Word of God to let it have its full effect upon the mind; let it come down like rain into a fleece of wool. Is not this what the Word of God deserves? When God speaketh His Word let all be silent before Him. If God is speaking, we are to be still. It is desirable to get away from the city into the fields, and there to stand still awhile and to say with Samuel the words he said when he was a little boy: "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth". There are some who are so exceedingly careful about the things of this world that they scarcely give a thought to the things of God. Inform them how they may become rich and famous, and they will pay you a handsome price; inform them as to the undying things of God's Word, and perhaps they may pass on.

II. The Subject of the Message.—Look now at the second point. The Word of God which Samuel had on this occasion to speak to Saul.

(a) Mentioned a kingdom which Saul is going to possess and for which he must endeavour to fit himself. So to us the Word of God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" The Word of God by coming to us has made each one of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ a king. Are you so entirely occupied with the business of the present that you are unable to gaze on the throne of the kingdom that is prepared for you? God calls you to a nobler, higher destiny than can be found in any earthly kingdom.

(b) Predicted a change.—Samuel said that there should come a very great change upon Saul, and that that change should soon come about. Samuel said that he should journey and the Spirit of the Lord should come upon him. "Thou shalt join thyself to a company of prophets and shalt be turned into another man." Can you tell what God will do for you if you are willing and obedient? Lay hold of the propitiation offered by Christ and, in a higher sense than was possible for Saul, undergo a wonderful and remarkable change. It is the change which should come on account of the love of Christ born in the soul and the spirit of Christ coming to dwell in the heart. Listen to the words of the covenant: "I will put My spirit within you, I will take away the stony heart and give you a heart of flesh, and in that heart of flesh ye shall live and rejoice before God". Life is a tangled skein to those who do not seek the guidance of the Word of God, but to those who do it is not so.