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David Anointed King APRIL 11, 1915. LESSON II. 1 Samuel 16:4-13. (Commit vs. 12, 13.) G olden T ext : “Man looketh on the outward appearance but the LORD looketh on th* heart.”—1 Sam. 16:7.- DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Mon., Apr. 5—1 Sam. 16:1-13. Tues., Apr. 6—1 Sam. 16:14-23.
Wed., Apr. 7—Psa. 89:1-9.. Thurs., Apr. 8—Psa. 89:18-29. Fri., Apr. 9—Psa. 139:1-12. Sat., Apr. 10—1 Chron. 16:7-22. Sun., Apr. 11—1 Chron. 16:23-34. | e x p o s it io n a n d p r a c t ic a l a p p l ic a t io n s
and useless lamentations over them. When it is clear that God has rejected any one- from a place, as much as we may be grieved over their rejection, the thing for us to do is not to spend our timé in lamentations but to rise and go forward to the duties, however disagreeable, that their sins may entail upon us. Saul was a king whom God had provided for the people (ch. 9:16), a king according to their own choice (1 Sam. 12:13). He was not so much a king whom God had chosen as the king whom the people had chosen. Consequently, he had proved a failure and now God chooses a king to take his place, a man after His own heart (ch. 13:14). God disclosed His purpose to His servant Samuel, not all at once but .little by little: in. ch. 13:14 he shows that He has sought out and appoint ed this king, in the first verse of this chapter, He tells Samuel that this king is the son of Jesse, but not until the 12th verse does He point out which son of Jesse. Hundreds of years before it, had been prophesied that the sceptre should fall to Judah (Gen. 49:10) and now this old prophecy is being fulfilled. Samuel, for all his excellencies of character, was human and fallible; when God said “Go” (v. 1) he did not start off at once, but began to ask questions (v. 2), like so many others in the Bible (Ex. 3:11; 4:10; Jer, 1 :5, 6). And like so many others out ot tire Bible, yes, like ourselves, he hesitated to under-
v. 4. “Samuel did that which the LORD spake.’’ This was the keynote of Sam uel’s whole life, he listened to know what Jehovah told him to do and then as a rule he did it at once. Did not Samuel’s readi ness to obey God so often exhibited (cf. v. 13)'have something to do with that power in prayer for which he became famous (1 John 3:22) ? The task given him in the present instance was not agreeable to him, Samuel loved Saul and mourned over his fault and over his rejection (v. 1). It speaks well for his generosity that he did, if he had been like the majority of us, he would have taken a secret, if not an out spoken, delight in the fact that the man for whom they had rejected him had turned out so poorly, but Samuel was of a nobler mould than that, and grief, not exultation, filled his heart at the folly and ruin of his rival and successor. But while it was right and commendable that he should be grieved and not pleased at the sin and consequent rejection of Saul, it was not right that he should spend his time in idle mourning. So Jehovah .came to him with the searching question, “How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?” (v. 1). If God had rejected him being king, another king must be sought out and consecrated to fill his place. God never wishes us to be crushed with the sins of the world, and be cause crushed to spend our time in morbid
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