587 signals set against him, thus entering a region of danger, one already occupied, perhaps, by an onrushing train, auto matically calls into play a contrivance which derails the offending train, gent ly piling it into the ditch, out of harm’s way. So disobedience to God puts us off the track of success and derails us in life. Golden Text illustration. Saul rejected the Word of Jehovah, the only source of wisdom and strength for the soul. An expedition in crossing Australia was reduced to eating what is known as nardoo bread. It tastes and looks like bread, but lacks all nourish ing quality. As a result, the travelers did not feel the pangs of hunger, but one after another perished from sheer exhaustion. How many are feeding on everything else but the living Word of God! v. 9. Saul and the people spared Agag. Partial obedience spells dis obedience.— Sel. Some judge many things in their lives and yet spare the Agag which God COMMENTS PROM h a s especially MANY SOURCES conde m n e d. — Keith J j . Brooks Davis. W o u l d not utterly de stroy them. The wholesale destruction of life makes us shudder but we are not to question the reality of the divine command nor His right to give it. The massacre was a direct divine judgment and removed wholly from the region of ferocious warfare. His judgments strike the innocent with the guilty. He slays and He can make alive.—Mac- laren. They were directed to destroy the prey just as thoroughly as they were the people. They were to enrich them selves in nothing. This was a most im portant modification of the current prac tice in such things. It was in disre garding this restriction that the chief part of Saul’s disobedience lay.— Blaikie. v. 13. Saul said, Blessed be thou. The guilty conscience often lets out loud hallelujahs.— Torrey. Saul was either blinded by a delusive self love or he was acting the part of a bold and artful
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S to me of the Saviour, and now I’m dying.” Wrong ambition brought fail ure. Selfishness brings failure. A friend of mine has a bicycle, the tire of which has been punctured dozens of times. One day I saw the tire taken off and noticed that the patches put on the tube to mend it spoiled the whole appearance of the tire inside. So do the bad deeds we do, the sharp words we utter, the bad thoughts we keep in our minds. Be careful in your course, look out for these sharp stones of unkindness, ill- temper and selfishness that Would let out the power that Would make you a help in the world. Who is to blame for failure? Most often ourselves. Sometimes we receive a letter all marred and torn and dirty. Across the top is stamped, “ Re ceived in this condition.” The mail of ficials are not to blame. God is not to blame for our failures. Here is a girl who breaks down in college. She was just able to take her final examinations and receive her diploma with honor but she has to go home on the verge of that dread disease, “ nervous prostration.” She. was never taught at home to dress wisely, eat properly, sleep regularly, or take care of her health in any way. Her school days have simply continued this home neglect, and the physical breakdown is the penalty. Why a man couldn’t find work. A man was arrested in Atlantic City, N. J., charged with begging. To arouse sympathy he had made use of a queer card, worded thus: “ I never smile”— “ I never close my eyes”— “ I never close my lips”— “ I am in need of funds until a position can be secured.” Who wants to hire a man who never smiles, who does not sleep, who never closes his mouth but talks too much? No won der he failed to get a job. Disobedience caused Saul to fail. Some of the railroads have installed a device which, if an engineer runs by
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