Sermon 100: 1 Samuel 28:13-18

13. And the king said to her: Do not fear; what have you seen? And the woman said to Saul: I have seen gods ascending from the earth. 14. And he said to her: What is his form? She said: An old man is ascending, and he himself is clothed in a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel, and he bowed himself upon his face to the earth, and worshipped. 15. And Samuel said to Saul: Why have you disturbed me, by calling me up? To whom Saul said: I am in great distress, for the Philistines wage war against me, and God has departed from me, nor does he hear me any longer, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called upon you, that you may teach me what I am to do. 16. And Samuel said: Why do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you, and gone over to your rival? 17. For the Lord will do to you as he has spoken in my hand, and will tear the kingdom out of your hand, and give it to your neighbor David. 18. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, nor execute the wrath of his fury upon Amalek: therefore what you suffer, the Lord has done to you today.

We see Saul awaiting some pleasing reply from that pseudo-Samuel, by which he might in some way be refreshed from such great straits; nevertheless, he, against God's command, fled to a sorceress, and therefore, I ask, what outcome could he expect except grave damage and misfortune? But thus despisers of God are accustomed to fashion vain hopes for themselves, and to deceive themselves willingly, and to fabricate vain supports, as the prophet teaches. Nevertheless Saul, of his own accord blinded, promises himself something fortunate. He therefore asks the woman: What did she see? She replies that she saw gods ascending from the earth. From which words it appears that all those who set their mind on the devil's sleights are so disturbed in mind that they have an obscure or rather no knowledge of God. As an example, take this woman, descended from Abraham's stock, and therefore instructed in the law and in the true religion, and to whom that precept of the Lord ought to have been known: Israel, you shall have one only God — a doctrine which ought to have been known even to infants themselves. But how then did this old woman not know it? Of course, as I said before, in proportion as men depart from God's word, they are entangled in many errors, and are so bewitched by the devil that they have no certain religion. If anyone had asked this woman whether she thought there were many gods, she would have confessed that there is one supreme God; but meanwhile a multitude of lesser gods seems to her to be possible. Not otherwise today in the papacy do we see saints (male and female) distinguished by their grades, although God is acknowledged as superior to them all. Which confusion brings it about that God is at last scarcely recognized in that multitude and crowd of saints, but is mixed up with all the saints — a vice which we see has prevailed in all ages: for the heathen reckoned the angels to be a kind of demigods, even though one supreme parent [was acknowledged]; but nevertheless they wished thus to mix black with white, light with darkness, as they say, which nevertheless can in no way be done. But let us, on the contrary, so contemplate the one supreme God revealed to us by his word, that we renounce all errors, magical arts and diabolic illusions, just as the sacred Scripture teaches in many places, and especially the prophet says that the Lord will be exalted, but all idols will fall down, and the Lord will be known, while the gods of the heathen will fall and be hidden. It is therefore certain that until we attain to the true knowledge of God, and follow the purity and holiness of doctrine, we shall always be restless, and shall be deluded by vain superstitions, from which there is never any way out given. But on the contrary, if we acknowledge God's truth, and rely on it alone, and worship purely, we shall be free from all superstitions and ignorance. And so far concerning that expression: gods ascending from the earth.

But Saul on the contrary asked what the form was of the one ascending, although he knew very well that there was only one; whereupon the woman replied that an old man was ascending, who was clothed in a mantle, and that then Saul, recognizing that it was Samuel, bowed his face to the earth, and worshipped that specter with great honor. A specter, I say, since it is certain that it was not the true Samuel, for God would never have permitted his prophet to be subjected to such diabolic conjurations. For behold a sorceress calling up the dead from the lower regions: would anyone think God willed his prophet to be subjected to that ignominy, as if the devil had power over the bodies and souls of the saints, which are in God's keeping? For the souls of the saints are said to rest, and to live in God awaiting that blessed resurrection. Furthermore, I ask, did Samuel carry his mantle into the tomb? From which it appears that this was a mere specter, and that the senses of this woman were deluded, so that she thought she saw Samuel, who however was not there. But thus God is accustomed to allow loose reins to the devil, that he may strike the eyes and all the senses of all those who do not willingly submit themselves to God's truth, and prefer to follow falsehood. From this we can easily gather that those wretched sorcerers, of whom we see today a great supply, are vehemently deceived when they believe they enter the synagogue of the devil, and there indulge in dances and other such things, and are refreshed with food and drink. I confess indeed that they think these things to be true, and as it were apprehend them with their senses; but it is certain that this comes about by divine judgment, the devil being given power to blind them, because they have renounced the living God: and therefore they are worthy to dwell in darkness, and to be carried about rashly like Satan's slaves, ignorant of what they are doing or in what place they are. Nor ought it to seem strange that their senses are so

stupefied, that they persuade themselves of what is not, since it comes about by divine judgment that those who depart from his truth are punished with the just penalty of that blindness. We say therefore that it was a specter that appeared in the person of Samuel.

Furthermore, he addresses Saul thus: Why have you disturbed me by calling me up? For the Hebrew word signifies disturbance or commotion. Whatever it is, the devil so plays the person of Samuel that whatever Samuel could have said about himself, the devil also says, in order more easily to deceive Saul, and that what he answers may have greater weight with him. But meanwhile God here also plays his part. For just as the devil, the father of lies, only seeks to seduce men, and God permits him this power over unbelievers, to chastise them according to their merits: so also God for his part performs his work, and in this way wishes more and more to confirm the authority of his servant Samuel even after his death. So long as Samuel lived on earth, he had testimony and the most certain marks of a prophet, and he was the organ of the Holy Spirit, whose teaching had to be admitted as conformable to God's law of which he was the faithful interpreter: now after his death, although the devil puts on his person and the truth takes another form, God nevertheless preserves the dignity of his faithful servant, and brings it about that, whatever the devil contrives, it nevertheless appears that the dignity which Samuel once had while alive cannot be detracted from him when dead, but that he is and is held to be a true prophet of God. Behold by what means God turns Satan's frauds into the contrary, that the truth may shine forth more and more in place of the lie which he tries to introduce. As for Saul, he was indeed worthy to be deceived, and to be mocked by this apparition of Samuel, so that not only would it not be useful to him, but rather harmful, so much so that by God's just judgment he came into desperation. But, as we have touched on before, the devil so plays the person of Samuel as to feign what was probable, namely that Samuel was vehemently indignant at this calling-up, because injury was done to him when his manes were called forth from quiet and tranquility. Hence let us observe that the devil, in order more easily to persuade truth, often mingles falsehoods with it. For if he should appear as he is, and offer himself to be seen by men, it is most certain that he would be a horror to all, and would not have such a great faculty of seducing them. Therefore by these arts he deludes men, in order to propose some appearance of truth, and to inject some taste, that thus the keenness of the eyes and mind may be disturbed and grow blind, so that his lies may not be discerned from God's truth. So poisoners do not pour out simple poison, lest those to whom it is poured out, warned by the very taste, should abstain; but they mix some sweet taste with the poison, that thus they may oppress the unwary. So in John in Apocalypse abominations are said to be poured out in a golden chalice, to deceive and infect with poison all those who drink from it. These are the devil's frauds by which from of old

from every age he has imposed and seduced the unwary peoples, mingling some truth with falsehood. And indeed all the species of idolatry which have prevailed in the world seem to have flowed from this source, namely that God indeed has been adored, but instead of the true and sincere worship something human has always been mixed in with it. For indeed I ask, how specious is the pretext of religion in the papacy today, namely God's will, the catholic faith, of holy mother church and of all Christendom. But the devil under these veils hides his horns, as they say, lest he be recognized. Therefore we ought to be more cautious lest we be unwarily deceived by such frauds. Moreover, as for Samuel's complaint that he was disturbed from his quiet, from this we gather that the faithful servants of God after death rest, and rejoice in God, certain of the possession of the eternal kingdom which God himself has promised them. This therefore is their tranquility and highest peace: that, having run the course of their life and being now beyond all peril, they enjoy quiet, having overcome all the difficulties with which we still must struggle in these lands; and accordingly that their quiet is disturbed when they are called up by men. Meanwhile however we see the devil wishing to confirm Saul in this false opinion, that by conjurations and sorceries the holy prophets can be called up, and the souls which are in God's power. But let us learn so to cling to the truth that we abominate whatever the devil mixes in, lest unwarily we be deceived by him. But since our senses are weak, let us pray God to adorn us with prudence and purity, and let us follow his word, which is like a most burning torch, which if we have followed shining in the darknesses of this world we shall never go astray. For although in many things we are blind, nevertheless if we have followed God's law we shall never be led into any errors: for it is sufficient to show the way in these darknesses, until we attain to the goal set before us. For not in vain does Paul teach that there is a way in which we ought to walk, when he commands us to walk in it and to be certain of our salvation.

Further, next Saul excuses himself before Samuel in these words: I am in great distress, for the Philistines wage war against me, and God has departed from me, nor does he hear me any longer, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called upon you, that you may teach me what I am to do. In which words it appears that Saul still retained certain vestiges of religion, since when he was pressed by powerful enemies, of whom he was afraid, he knew that he must flee to God, which is some sign of piety. You might say, then, that Saul was truly pious, since the invocation of the divine name is a most pleasing sacrifice to God, just as in Psalm 50 God teaches through the prophet: Call upon me in the day of necessity and I will hear you. Now therefore Saul, sufficiently conscious of his impotence and weakness, that he was not equal to resisting his enemies, attributes to God the power of granting victory to whom he will. Meanwhile, however, Saul is full of desperation, which is most clearly disclosed by the fact that, since God did not respond to him, he hardened himself in his malice; for the fact that God did not respond to him, we taught before, was a sign that Saul had departed from God. Nor indeed, if he had purely and candidly come to God having confessed his sins, would God have been wanting to his promise; but he would have responded to one invoking him with true faith and repentance. But since he invokes God without repentance, without faith, but with a double and disguised heart, therefore his prayers are vain and ineffectual, and he seeks God in vain. Therefore Saul, even unwilling, bears testimony against himself that he has hardened himself in malice, since without repentance, without faith, he seeks God. Moreover, Saul shows that he had not yet learned what it is to wait upon God: for faith is always joined with hope; and the nature of hope is such that, even if God does not respond to us at the very first time, we patiently nevertheless await his coming, for hope is as it were the nurse of faith. Therefore, although we have embraced God's promises by faith, often nevertheless God defers help, in order to test our faith and obedience. But we cannot be constant, nor patient, without faith, nor retain faith without hope. Saul therefore sufficiently testifies that he had come to God in despair, since he had no roots of true faith in his heart. By this example, then, let us learn to be wise: even if God when invoked by us has not responded, nor given any signs of his goodness, indeed has even on the contrary persecuted us, let us acknowledge that this happens because of our iniquities, that God does not respond, which separate him from us as it were by bars, and therefore we ought to confess our guilt, and pass sentence against ourselves, and exercise serious repentance for our sins. And this should be the use of afflictions: that from them as from indubitable testimonies we may know that God has departed from us and has been alienated; not indeed that we should come into desperation, but rather that, recognizing ourselves to be alienated from him by our sins and transgressions, by serious and not feigned repentance, our sins being condemned, we may be converted to him, and having begged pardon may not doubt that he will show himself ready for us, and respond to our prayers, and have mercy on us. And although God does not respond to us at the very first time, let us know nevertheless that we are not on that account to despair and flee to the devil, expecting help from him, but rather that we ought perseveringly to invoke God, until he has sufficiently tested us. Therefore prayers are never to be intermitted, but daily redoubled, until he is willing to turn away his anger from us, and to lead us out of those thick darknesses into which we were plunged, into the light, and to give no doubtful signs of his fatherly love toward us. Furthermore, Saul, complaining that God responded to him neither by prophets nor by dreams,

does not mention Urim or Thummim, although it was previously said that God did not respond to him neither by Thummim nor by Urim, as the sacred Scripture speaks, that is, neither by the high priest clothed in his sacred vestments, by which our Lord Jesus Christ was represented, nor by other modes. Of these, I say, Saul makes no mention: for he had killed the priests, and could not recall to memory that horrendous slaughter without being agitated by fury, and recognizing that he had been so bewitched and blinded by the devil that he had renounced the living God whose ministers they were. For this reason, then, he does not mention Urim, and in sum says that he had fled to Samuel to receive some response, since God when invoked had not responded to him. But he ought to have solicited God with continual prayers, and meanwhile to have removed the obstacle by which God was in some way separated from him, and his help was hindered. But this Saul does not do. Indeed that sentence which our Lord Jesus Christ uttered had not yet been delivered in writing: They have the law and the prophets; but nevertheless that ought to have been deeply fixed in the minds of men. That rich man among those below begged Abraham to indicate to his surviving brothers that they should not imitate him but do penance and return to better fruit while they were still in this life; to whom the answer was: They have the law and the prophets, as if it were said that no revelation is to be expected from the dead. Which sentence, when it is attributed to Abraham, this is taught: that men have had enough in the law of precepts for living life well, and therefore from the very beginning that precept was firm, that God's law suffices for living life well, and that no revelation is to be sought or awaited from the dead. Saul therefore, although God did not respond to him, was reproved by his own conscience that the dead were not to be called from the tombs, nor invoked, but that the law was a sufficiently splendid torch to guide his steps, until he should be more fully illuminated by God; and therefore he ought to have fled to the books of the law and the prophets, and touched with a true sense of his sins, suppliantly begged pardon from God; but on the contrary, in despair, he hardened himself in his former malice, and called up the dead Samuel against the express command of the Lord, and expected help from him as from a prophet of God. What else, I ask, was this than to wish to know what he was seeking against God's will? as if he were saying: You, God, do not wish to respond to me consulting you, but I will extort it from you against your will, and by sorceries and incantations I will bring it about that your prophet answers me, and I shall know from him what I must do. Behold to what impudence the wicked come: making war on God himself while they pretend to seek him most of all,

*Read: shining (splendentem). and despairing of his help, attack him as it were with horns, and gnash their teeth: nor do they consider that a horrible and just punishment from the Lord hangs over their heads — such is the strength and power of the devil in blinding them. Let us learn from this: when God is testing our patience and deferring our help for many days, so that he may seem to be entirely unwilling to have mercy on us, that we should not investigate crooked methods of seeking God on that account, but persevere in calling upon him with ardent prayers, recognizing that God justly defers his help because we are unworthy of it. Moreover, we do not say that there is any worthiness in us that deserves to be heard by the Lord; but nonetheless, thus cast down before him and confessing our sins, we ought to hope that we, although unworthy, will be heard by him. For what else does God require from us than serious humility joined with true faith? For if we are so affected by the sense of our sins that, confused within ourselves, we nevertheless solicit God with prayers, awaiting his help, it is certain that we shall by no means seek counsel from the dead, nor call them out by conjurations from their tombs, but in God alone through faith and repentance shall we find rest.

And this very thing the pseudo-Samuel answers Saul with these words: 'If God is against you, why do you ask me?' As if to say: what business have you with God's ministers, when God himself has rejected you? A statement most worthy of observation. For although it proceeded from an impure mouth, namely Satan's, yet God willed it to be pronounced against Saul. For who does not know how God spoke through Balaam's ass, and accordingly that he can also speak through the devil and other seducers? — just as we read that Caiaphas himself prophesied. Therefore God, in order to confirm the authority of the dead prophet, willed so notable a sentence to be pronounced against Saul. By which we are taught that the world is grievously deceived when it is led to God by these roundabout ways, which is just as if those fleeing from him should hope that they will approach him. And what else, I ask, is the devotion of the papists today? For wishing to worship God devoutly, they ask this or that little priest what they should do; and they earnestly beg to be taught by him, and they spare no expense in acquiring knowledge of divine worship. But meanwhile they reject the law and the prophets, and do not admit their saving doctrine; which if anyone urges, they immediately boil over into rages, and are carried away against God himself, because they despise the benefit which he was offering with his own hand — deceived, namely, by vain illusions by which they falsely persuade themselves they can come to the height of knowledge; and so of their own accord, deceived as they are, they importune God with vain prayers. But do they err in this principle alone? Do they invoke him relying on the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to find grace before God? No, here there is no mention of him: but of certain saints whom they have invented as patrons and advocates for themselves before God. Who indeed has so bewitched and deluded these wretches, except that they themselves render themselves unworthy of God's grace? Why do they not acquiesce in God's promises? For God admits Christ our Lord alone as our advocate and intercessor, and in his name promises us grace and mercy, and that our prayers will be acceptable to him: which all of Scripture preaches to us throughout. But these wretched men, departing from God and obstinately clinging to malice, take refuge now with this saint, now with that, and direct vows to far-off regions to the relics of saints, erect many altars, many idols, and without end and without understanding mumble their little prayers. And indeed I admit that those many idols give no answer to those consulting them: but nevertheless on the last day a most true sentence will stand against these men, which we hear pronounced by the devil, but by God's will and authority. For they hate God, and meanwhile seek out his saints. But, I ask, on what reasoning? Do they think the saints will rise up against their Lord, or conspire against him? Indeed, if any servant lived familiarly with his master's enemy, would he not deservedly be considered unfaithful and be punished? What then would happen to the saints who are in paradise, if they were to conspire and unite with wicked men, so that men might flatter them and make them favorable to themselves, in order no longer to require God's help? But in this above all is the evil: that the unbelieving indeed desire God to be favorable to them, but do not seek the way of reconciling him to themselves; on the contrary they despoil him of his honor by joining associates to him, and they shudder at his majesty as judges, whose benevolence as that of a father they desire to experience. But what is the cause of these men? Surely their obstinacy and stubbornness. For if they were converted to God from the heart, there is no doubt that they would experience his mercy, and he would dispose his mind toward them to be invoked by prayers. But they wallow in the mire of their filth, so that they remain far from God, and approach him through long roundabout ways: and meanwhile they think God is bound to them by taking refuge with the saints, by whom they may obtain the things they vow and obtain pardon for their sins. But on the contrary let us know that God will be made favorable to us so that all created things may serve our salvation, and yield to our advantage and benefit, so that we may be moved away by nothing from his worship; rather let us be all the more stirred up by afflictions to his worship and to the invocation of his name, and let us constantly persevere. And on the contrary, when he is angry, let us know that all things will be turned to our destruction, so that nothing will remain except despair for those who lack his grace. Let us therefore not doubt that the prophets will be given to us by God as faithful leaders and admonishers, and good teachers, provided we show ourselves obedient disciples to him. Nor let us doubt that, imploring his help with true faith, he will have mercy on us and aid us with his help, and so protect us that nothing in the nature of things can harm us. Let us not doubt that, with the Lord answering us, all things will be favorable to us, and that God will demonstrate in fact his benevolence and love toward us.

And so much for these matters: there follow other words of Samuel by which he confirms the same sentence: 'For the Lord has done to you as he spoke through me: because the Lord has torn this kingdom from your hand, that he may give it to your neighbor David: because you did not hearken to the voice of the Lord, nor did you execute his wrath kindled against the Amalekite.' These words contain a certain confirmation of that prophetic sentence, as I said before. For this Samuel, that is, the impure spirit appearing under the person of Samuel, throws back at Saul that counsel of his of consulting the dead, as if he wished to make God himself contrary to and at odds with himself; and he teaches that the Lord's sentence pronounced through his ministry will stand fast, namely, that he was to be stripped of his kingdom. He therefore says that God cannot change his sentence, and what he has once foretold through the prophets must stand fast. For this reason the holy apostle Paul, about to confirm that he himself is a true apostle, says in the second epistle to the Corinthians that the word of God ought not to be Yes and No, but Yes in the Lord, so that without contradiction it is firm — namely in Christ our Lord, who is the foundation of all the divine promises. Since therefore Samuel had executed the office laid upon him by the Lord, what he had foretold had to be fulfilled entirely. Even Balaam himself, although, as I said before, a false prophet, nevertheless had to confess that God is not like mortals, that he can lie or change his sentence: but that his word must obtain its effect, so that no one can contradict him. And if we see Balaam, contrary to the word of God, nevertheless compelled to speak thus about God, what do we think must be determined about Saul, whom the very law of God was making more certain about the certainty of his decree? But indeed he seeks a new revelation: he wishes God himself to renounce himself and to change his nature. But although we are unbelieving, as the apostle warns, God nevertheless is always like himself, and remains faithful forever. Hence then we sufficiently perceive what is the nature of all unbelievers: although their conscience reproves them, and they seem to wish to incline their mind to reconciling God to themselves, yet they want him to be subjected to themselves and shaped according to their judgment, so that he may change his will and decree at their pleasure — in short, they want to make him a liar, as they themselves are. Behold with how great audacity unbelievers attempt to transform God into various forms, that he may become like themselves. And this Samuel declares with these words: 'The Lord has done as he spoke to you through me,' as if to say: Did I not in the name of God command you to do this, and had I not received the command from the Lord? Therefore it must stand fast. Hence then let us learn not to put our trust in evasions, but when God has spoken, let us know that he will fulfill his decree. And accordingly if he has promised us anything, let us receive it with firm faith: nor let us, like reeds, be tossed about into this part or that by every wind of doctrine; but rather let us determine that what God has once promised will stand fast, and let us rest in that. For this is the certitude of faith which all the faithful must have. On the contrary, when God has threatened anything, let us not pretend that we have to do with a child whose anger we appease, as they say, by offering an apple: but let us tremble at his threats, and cast ourselves down before him, lest we heap up for ourselves a treasure of wrath and vengeance. Rather, let us so dread his wrath that, like men convicted of crime and wickedness, we may flee as suppliants to his mercy: and let us so detest our sins that we may never fall back into them, lest one day they come into his sight and bring upon us final destruction.

There follow these words: 'The kingdom given to David,' by which Saul is more grievously stung. For Saul might have objected: that he had not kicked against the Lord, nor laid hands on the prophet bringing forth that threatening in the name of God, nor pursued him: but that he had grieved and taken it ill that he was being stripped of royal dignity. But he says that these excuses are vain once and for all, and that he had waged war against God himself: since God had foretold that David was to reign, that decree was irrevocable. Why therefore did he persecute innocent David with such great hatred, as if he could break God's authority? Therefore in persecuting David he resisted God himself and waged war against him. But would not, with David slain, God's promise seem to be made void? And all these things this spirit appearing in Samuel's likeness reproached Saul with. Let us learn from this to recognize the nature of mortals, and to turn this example to our advantage. For men always play the sophists, and with I know not what rhetorical artifices defend their cause, as if they could impose upon God. But by this method they bring upon themselves greater destruction and at last the highest disgrace, when they deal with the Lord by crooked ways and reasonings. For whatever in the end we may bring forth with the mouth, if the matter stands otherwise, we are sufficiently convicted before God. Saul indeed is accused as if he had risen up against God himself, not indeed by speaking evil with the mouth, but by persecuting David. For he who resists the word of God with all his strength, that it may not obtain its effect, such a one wages war against God himself, and despises him, and as far as he is able diminishes his authority. Therefore there is here no place for evasions and excuses, when one's life will testify the contrary, and the deed itself will demonstrate that we have not acquiesced in God's word. Now let us next examine the cause why God rejected Saul, namely because he did not execute God's wrath against the Amalekites. A grave cause indeed, by which God being provoked stripped Saul of royal authority. For although Saul was held guilty before God of many other crimes, such as that horrible slaughter of which we made mention before, by which he had taken away the priests, which made him forever abominable and rendered him unworthy of royal dignity — especially when he had cut himself off from the church as a rotten member — nevertheless he is accused of one crime, namely that he did not execute the wrath of the Lord, that is, vengeance, against the Amalekites. Namely because he had committed this first sin more grievously, from which as from a source and spring the rest flowed: and accordingly, although he had previously sinned grievously, yet God restrained him with words and threats, until, this sin of rebellion having been committed, he was deservedly stripped of his kingdom. Moreover, we have approached this history above in chapter fifteen: in which it was said to Saul, that having received the command to destroy all the Amalekites with one slaughter, he spared the king and reserved the fattest cattle for triumph, although God had ordered both beasts and men to be exterminated, because that people of the Amalekites was accursed. Therefore, when the Lord's command was so express, why should Saul have borne his contumacy with impunity? Did he hope he could break God's decree? And indeed, I admit, the pretext of humanity was specious, especially toward the king, which humanity seemed about to excuse him with all. As to the fattest cattle, although he hoped to enrich himself from them as from rich plunder along with the people, yet that affection was covered with the honest pretext of divine worship, namely that those cattle were being reserved for sacrifices. But the prophet answered Saul: obedience is better than sacrifice. And to depart even a little from God's voice, and not to execute his commands, is sorcery. Surely, if anyone weigh Saul's deed by the capacity and rule of human understanding, he will not judge it so great and so atrocious a crime that God should so severely avenge it. For what, they say, did Saul commit here of crime? For he is not accused of the slaughter of the priests — although afterwards he polluted his hands with their blood; but the sentence brought against him rests only on this article, namely that he did not exterminate the Amalekites, both men and women, and the very animals, but used mercy and humanity toward the king, and preserved the fattest cattle for sacrifice. This is Saul's whole offense. But, I ask, has God subjected himself to kings, or shared his authority with them and divided it?

God through the prophet had ordered Saul to pursue the Amalekites with war, and that with the men also women, infants even hanging at the breasts, and the beasts themselves should be destroyed with one slaughter. Such was God's decree. Shall we then raise controversy about God's judgments, and put forward many things? For Solomon did not say in vain, that he who does not punish the criminal is no less guilty than he who condemns the innocent. And, I ask, if some corrupt judge condemn one to capital punishment, but dismiss another guilty of the same crime unpunished, who will excuse him, and not deservedly accuse him of partiality (prosopolepsia)? Such was Saul. Hence then let us learn to persuade ourselves of nothing rashly, nor to do anything unlawful. Although today you may see many greatly puffing themselves up, and proclaiming their authority, when nevertheless they are nothing. What (I ask) would these little men do if they were kings? But what rather would happen to those wretches? If Saul, the king of so numerous a people, was nevertheless judged and condemned because he did not obey God the King of kings, what shall happen to those who have no power? Indeed God will severely punish the contumacy of those who arrogate to themselves any authority against his command, and will condemn them eternally. For if God did not spare Saul, nor leave his contumacy unavenged, let us know that the same God reigns today, and has not changed nor will change his nature and counsel: and accordingly all who exalt themselves will fall by a heavier fall, the higher they have ascended; and that God will never leave contempt of himself unavenged. Let us therefore learn to hate evil both in ourselves and in all others in such a way that under no pretext do we ever cover it but rather condemn it, and let us glorify God, and strive to follow his commands exactly to the line, and to rest in him alone, and when God speaks to be silent, lest by foolish objections, or rather by contumacy, we draw down his wrath upon us. Therefore, since we must once stand before his tribunal, when in the person of the Son he will proceed to judgment, let us with ardent prayers invite him, that he himself may rule us, and let us bring our actions, words, thoughts to his will prescribed by his word: nor let us flatter ourselves: but let us firmly cleave to God, and retain firm hope, until at last we have completed the course of our life: and let us know that nothing can be approved by him except what he has commanded by his word, which is the rule of all righteousness.

Now then come, etc.

## HOMILIA CI.

13. The king said to her: Do not be afraid. What did you see? The woman said to Saul: I saw a spirit coming up out of the earth. 14. He said to her: What is his appearance? She said: An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage. 15. Samuel said to Saul: Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Saul answered: I am in desperate straits, for the Philistines are making war against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do. 16. Samuel said: Why do you ask me, since the Lord has turned away from you and has become your adversary? 17. The Lord has done to you as He spoke through me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18. As you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not execute His fierce anger on Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you today.

We see Saul waiting for some comforting reply from that counterfeit Samuel — something that might give him relief from his desperate situation. Yet he had gone to a sorceress in defiance of God's command. What outcome could he expect from that, other than greater harm and misery? This is how those who despise God behave: they construct empty hopes for themselves, willingly deceive themselves, and build their confidence on foundations that do not exist, as the prophet says. Yet Saul, blinded by his own choices, expects something good. He asks the woman: what did she see? She replies that she saw spirits ascending from the earth. This language reveals that everyone who gives their mind to the devil's tricks becomes so confused that they have only a dim understanding of God — or none at all. Consider this woman: she was descended from Abraham's line, instructed in the law and true religion, and the Lord's command should have been known to her: Israel, you shall have one God alone — a teaching that even children were expected to know. So how did this woman not know it? As I said before: in proportion as people depart from God's Word, they become entangled in many errors and are so captivated by the devil that they have no firm religious foundation. If anyone had asked this woman whether she believed in many gods, she would have said there is one supreme God — yet she still imagined a multitude of lesser gods was possible. We see the same confusion in the papacy today, where male and female saints are arranged in various ranks, even though God is acknowledged as above them all. This confusion results in God being barely distinguishable in the crowd of saints — He is mixed in with all the others. This error has appeared in every age: the pagans reckoned the angels as a kind of lesser gods, while still acknowledging one supreme Father. Yet they insisted on mixing black with white, light with darkness — which is simply impossible. Let us instead so fix our gaze on the one supreme God revealed to us in His Word that we renounce all errors, magical arts, and diabolical illusions — just as Scripture teaches in many places, and just as the prophet says: the Lord will be exalted, but all idols will fall; the Lord will be known, while the gods of the nations will collapse and be swept away. It is certain that until we attain the true knowledge of God and pursue the purity and integrity of sound doctrine, we will remain restless, deluded by empty superstitions from which there is never a way out. But if we hold to God's truth, rely on it alone, and worship Him purely, we will be free from all superstition and ignorance. That is enough on the expression 'spirits ascending from the earth.'

Saul went on to ask what the appearance of the one ascending was — even though he obviously knew there could only be one. The woman replied that an old man was coming up, dressed in a robe, and at that Saul recognized it as Samuel. He bowed his face to the ground and worshiped that specter with great reverence. A specter, I say — because it is certain this was not the true Samuel. God would never have permitted His prophet to be subjected to such diabolical conjuring. Think about it: a sorceress calling up the dead from below — would anyone believe God willed His prophet to suffer that indignity? As if the devil had power over the bodies and souls of the saints, who are kept safe in God's care? Scripture says the souls of the saints rest and live in God, awaiting the blessed resurrection. Besides — did Samuel carry his robe into the grave? From this it is clear this was nothing but a specter, and that this woman's senses were deceived into thinking she saw Samuel, when Samuel was not there. But this is how God sometimes gives the devil a loose rein — to strike the eyes and all the senses of those who refuse to submit to God's truth and prefer to follow falsehood. From this we can easily see that the miserable sorcerers we find in abundance today are badly deceived when they believe they are going to the devil's assembly, dancing there and other such things, and taking food and drink. I grant that they believe these things are real and seem to perceive them with their own senses. But it is certain this happens by God's judgment — the devil being given power to blind them because they have renounced the living God. They therefore deserve to dwell in darkness, tossed about recklessly as Satan's slaves, unaware of what they are doing or even where they are. Nor should it seem strange that their senses are so

numbed that they believe things that are not real — for it is God's just judgment that those who depart from His truth are punished with the fitting penalty of that blindness. We therefore conclude that what appeared in the form of Samuel was a specter.

The specter addresses Saul: 'Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' The Hebrew word here means disturbance or upheaval. Whatever the exact word, the devil plays Samuel's role so convincingly — saying what Samuel himself might have said — in order to deceive Saul more effectively and give his answers greater weight. But God also plays His part here. The devil, the father of lies, seeks only to seduce people, and God permits him this power over unbelievers as a punishment they have earned. But God is also doing His own work: He uses even this to confirm more and more the authority of His servant Samuel, even after death. As long as Samuel lived on earth, he had clear testimony and sure marks of a prophet — he was the instrument of the Holy Spirit, whose teaching was recognized as faithful to God's law, of which he was a trustworthy interpreter. Now after his death, although the devil puts on Samuel's person and truth takes a strange form, God still preserves the dignity of His faithful servant. Whatever the devil schemes, the result is that Samuel's dignity as a true prophet of God — which he held while alive — cannot be taken from him in death. See how God turns Satan's frauds to the opposite purpose: instead of the lie Satan tries to introduce, the truth shines out all the more. As for Saul — he deserved to be deceived and mocked by this apparition of Samuel, gaining from it not benefit but only harm, until by God's just judgment he was driven into complete despair. As we have touched on before, the devil plays Samuel's role convincingly by imitating what was plausible: portraying Samuel as deeply disturbed at being called up, as if injury were being done to him by dragging him from peace and rest. From this we should observe that the devil, in order to persuade more effectively, often mixes falsehoods with the truth. If the devil appeared as he truly is and showed himself to people as he is, he would terrify everyone and would have no power to seduce them. So he employs these tricks — presenting some appearance of truth and injecting a bit of plausibility — in order to blur the eyesight and the mind, so that his lies cannot be distinguished from God's truth. Poisoners don't serve up undisguised poison, knowing that the taste itself would warn the victim. Instead they mix something sweet with the poison so the unsuspecting victim drinks it down without realizing. So in Revelation, abominations are said to be poured out in a golden cup, to deceive and poison everyone who drinks from it. These are the devil's methods by which from ancient times

he has in every age deceived and misled the unsuspecting, mixing some truth in with the falsehood. Indeed all the forms of idolatry that have spread through the world seem to have come from this same source: God is worshiped, but instead of true and sincere worship, something human is always mixed in. Consider how plausible the religious pretense in the papacy sounds today — appealing to God's will, the catholic faith, the holy mother church, and all of Christendom. But the devil hides his horns under these veils, as they say, so as not to be recognized. We must therefore be all the more careful not to be caught off guard by such deceptions. Furthermore, from Samuel's complaint that he was disturbed from his rest, we learn that God's faithful servants after death rest and rejoice in God, certain of the eternal kingdom He has promised them. This is their tranquility and highest peace: having run the course of their lives and now beyond all danger, they enjoy rest, having overcome all the difficulties we still face in this world. Their rest is therefore disturbed when they are conjured up by people. Meanwhile we see the devil trying to confirm Saul in the false belief that through conjuring and sorcery the holy prophets can be summoned — souls who are in God's safekeeping. Let us hold so firmly to the truth that we reject whatever the devil mixes in, so that we are not caught off guard by him. But since our senses are weak, let us ask God to equip us with wisdom and soundness of mind, and let us follow His Word — which is like a blazing torch. If we follow it shining in the darkness of this world, we will never go astray. Even in many things where we are blind, if we have followed God's law we will never be led into error — for His Word is sufficient to show the way through this darkness until we reach the goal set before us. Not for nothing does Paul teach that there is a way in which we are to walk — commanding us to walk in it and to be certain of our salvation.

Next Saul excuses himself before Samuel with these words: 'I am in desperate straits, for the Philistines are making war against me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or through dreams. So I called on you to tell me what I should do.' From these words it appears that Saul still retained some traces of religion: when pressed by powerful enemies whom he feared, he knew he must turn to God — and this is some evidence of piety. You might argue, then, that Saul was genuinely devout, since calling on God's name is a most pleasing sacrifice to Him, as God says through the prophet in Psalm 50: 'Call on Me in the day of trouble and I will rescue you.' Indeed Saul, fully aware of his own weakness and inability to stand against his enemies, acknowledges that God has the power to give victory to whomever He chooses. Yet at the same time, Saul is full of despair — and this is most clearly revealed by the fact that when God did not answer him, he hardened himself in his wickedness. As we taught before, God's silence was a sign that Saul had departed from God. If Saul had come to God honestly, confessing his sins in sincerity, God would not have failed His promise — He would have answered the one who called on Him with true faith and repentance. But Saul invokes God without repentance, without faith, with a divided and disguised heart. Therefore his prayers are empty and ineffective, and he searches for God in vain. Even against his own will, then, Saul testifies against himself that he has hardened himself in wickedness — for he seeks God without repentance and without faith. Saul also shows that he had not learned what it means to wait on God. Faith is always joined with hope, and hope by its very nature means that even when God does not answer us immediately, we patiently keep waiting for Him — for hope is the nurse of faith, so to speak. Although we have embraced God's promises by faith, He often delays help in order to test our faith and obedience. But we cannot be constant or patient without faith, and we cannot hold on to faith without hope. Saul therefore shows plainly enough that he came to God in despair, for he had no genuine roots of faith in his heart. From this example, then, let us learn to be wise. Even if God has not answered when we called, has given no signs of His goodness, or has even seemingly turned against us — let us acknowledge that God's silence is caused by our own iniquities, which cut us off from Him as if with bars. We must therefore confess our guilt, pass judgment on ourselves, and practice genuine repentance for our sins. This should be the effect afflictions produce in us: from them, as from unmistakable signs, we recognize that God has withdrawn from us and is estranged — not so we fall into despair, but so that, recognizing we have been separated from Him by our sins and transgressions, we turn back to Him through true and heartfelt repentance, condemning our sins and begging pardon — with full confidence that He will show Himself ready to hear us, will answer our prayers, and will have mercy on us. And even when God does not answer immediately, let us not conclude that we should despair and run to the devil for help. Instead, let us keep calling on God persistently, until He has tested us sufficiently. Therefore, prayer must never be abandoned — it should be doubled every day, until He is willing to turn His anger from us, bring us out of the thick darkness into which we were plunged, and give us clear and unmistakable signs of His fatherly love. Furthermore, when Saul complains that God answered him neither through prophets nor through dreams,

Saul does not mention the Urim or the Thummim, even though Scripture previously said God did not answer him by the Thummim or Urim — that is, neither through the high priest clothed in his sacred vestments (who represented our Lord Jesus Christ) nor by any other means. Of these, I say, Saul makes no mention. He had slaughtered the priests, and he could not call that horrific massacre to mind without being overtaken by anguish, recognizing that he had been so captivated and blinded by the devil that he had effectively renounced the living God whose ministers they were. For this reason he leaves out any mention of the Urim, and says simply that he fled to Samuel to receive some answer, since God when called upon had not responded. But he should have continued to press God with unceasing prayer, and in the meantime removed the obstacle that was separating him from God and blocking God's help. This, however, Saul does not do. True, the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ had not yet been committed to writing: 'They have the law and the prophets.' But it should have been deeply fixed in the minds of people even then. The rich man in torment begged Abraham to send a warning to his surviving brothers, urging them not to follow his example but to repent and turn to better ways while there was still time. The answer was: 'They have the law and the prophets' — as much as to say, no revelation from the dead is to be expected. When this answer is attributed to Abraham, it teaches that people have always had sufficient instruction in the law for living life well. From the very beginning, therefore, this principle held firm: God's law is sufficient to guide life, and no revelation is to be sought from or awaited from the dead. Saul, then, even though God did not answer him, was rebuked by his own conscience that the dead were not to be called from their graves or invoked. The law was a bright enough lamp to guide his steps until God gave him further light. He should have turned to the books of the law and the prophets, and touched with genuine awareness of his sins, humbly begged God for pardon. Instead, in despair, he hardened himself in his former wickedness, called up the dead Samuel in direct defiance of God's express command, and expected help from him as from a prophet of God. What was this, I ask, but wanting to know against God's will what he was seeking? It was as if he were saying: 'You, God, refuse to answer me when I consult You — but I will force it out of You against Your will, and by sorceries and incantations I will make Your prophet answer me, and I will learn from him what to do.' See how far the wicked go in their presumption — making war on God Himself while pretending above all else to be seeking Him,

and then, despairing of His help, attacking Him with horns and gnashing their teeth — not even considering that a terrible and just punishment from the Lord hangs over their heads. Such is the strength and power of the devil in blinding them. Let us learn from this: when God is testing our patience and withholding help for a long time — so long that He may seem entirely unwilling to have mercy on us — we must not resort to roundabout or forbidden methods of seeking God. Instead, let us persevere in calling on Him with earnest prayer, acknowledging that God justly defers His help because we are unworthy of it. I do not mean that there is any worthiness in us that earns God's hearing — but even so, throwing ourselves before Him and confessing our sins, we should hope that He will hear us though we are unworthy. What else does God require from us but genuine humility joined with true faith? For if we are so moved by a real sense of our sins that — even though confused and ashamed — we still cry out to God and await His help, then we will certainly not seek counsel from the dead or call them out of their graves by conjuring. In God alone, through faith and repentance, we will find rest.

This is exactly what the counterfeit Samuel says to Saul: 'If God is against you, why are you asking me?' In other words: what business do you have with God's ministers when God Himself has rejected you? A statement well worth noting. Though it came from an impure source — Satan — God willed that this sentence be pronounced against Saul. After all, who does not know how God spoke through Balaam's donkey? He can likewise speak through the devil and other deceivers — just as we read that Caiaphas himself prophesied. Therefore, God willed this notable verdict to be pronounced against Saul in order to confirm the authority of His dead prophet. By this we are taught that the world is badly deceived when it tries to reach God by roundabout paths — as if those running away from Him could expect to draw near to Him. And what is the devotion of the Roman Catholics today, if not exactly this? Wanting to worship God devoutly, they ask this or that priest what they should do, earnestly seek to be taught by him, and spare no expense in acquiring knowledge of how to worship God. But all the while they reject the law and the prophets and refuse their saving teaching. If anyone presses them on this, they immediately erupt in anger and turn against God Himself — because they despise the gift He was offering with His own hand. They are deceived by empty illusions, persuading themselves they are reaching the height of knowledge, when in fact they pester God with vain and empty prayers. But is this their only error? When they invoke God, do they rely on the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to find favor before God? No — there is no mention of Him. Instead they appeal to certain saints whom they have invented as their own patrons and advocates before God. Who has so captivated and deceived these people, except that they have made themselves unworthy of God's grace? Why do they not rest in God's promises? God acknowledges Christ our Lord alone as our advocate and intercessor — and in His name promises us grace and mercy, assuring us that our prayers will be acceptable to Him. All of Scripture proclaims this throughout. But these miserable people, departing from God and stubbornly clinging to their error, take refuge now with this saint, now with that one, directing vows to distant places in search of saints' relics, erecting many altars and idols, and endlessly and mindlessly muttering their little prayers. I grant that those many idols give no answer to those who consult them. Nevertheless, on the last day a most truthful verdict will stand against these people — the very verdict we hear pronounced by the devil here, but by God's will and authority. They hate God and yet seek out His saints. On what logic, I ask? Do they think the saints will rise up against their Lord or conspire against Him? If any servant were found keeping close company with his master's enemy, would he not rightly be considered disloyal and be punished? What then would become of the saints in paradise if they were to conspire with wicked people — letting themselves be flattered and won over so that people no longer had to seek help from God? But here is the deepest problem: unbelievers want God to be favorable to them but do not pursue the way of being reconciled to Him. Instead they strip Him of His honor by assigning associates to Him, while trembling before His majesty as judge — yet longing to experience His fatherly love. What is the cause of all this? Simply their own obstinacy and stubbornness. If they turned to God from the heart, there is no doubt they would experience His mercy and He would incline His heart to hear their prayers. Instead they wallow in the mud of their own corruption, staying far from God and approaching Him through endless detours — all while thinking God is somehow obligated to them because they seek out saints, through whom they hope to obtain what they ask and receive pardon for their sins. Let us understand the opposite: when God is favorable to us, all created things serve our salvation and work for our benefit — and nothing should pull us away from His worship. On the contrary, let afflictions drive us all the more earnestly to worship Him and call on His name, persevering steadily. And when He is angry, let us understand that everything will turn against us — so that nothing remains but despair for those who lack His grace. Let us therefore not doubt that God will give us the prophets as faithful guides and instructors, provided we show ourselves to be obedient disciples to Him. Let us not doubt that when we call on His help with true faith, He will have mercy on us and come to our aid, protecting us so that nothing in all creation can harm us. Let us not doubt that when the Lord answers us, all things will work in our favor, and God will demonstrate in fact His goodness and love toward us.

That is enough on those matters. There follow further words from Samuel that confirm the same verdict: 'The Lord has done to you as He spoke through me, for the Lord has torn this kingdom from your hand to give it to your neighbor David — because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out His fierce anger against Amalek.' These words confirm the prophetic verdict I mentioned before. This Samuel — that is, the evil spirit appearing in Samuel's person — throws Saul's attempt to consult the dead back in his face, as if Saul wanted to pit God against Himself. The spirit declares that the verdict the Lord pronounced through his ministry will stand: Saul will be stripped of his kingdom. He therefore says that God cannot change His verdict — what He has once foretold through the prophets must stand firm. For this reason the apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, affirms that the Word of God must not be Yes and No but only Yes in the Lord — firm and without contradiction — namely in Christ our Lord, who is the foundation of all God's promises. Since Samuel had faithfully carried out the office entrusted to him by the Lord, what he had foretold had to be fulfilled completely. Even Balaam himself — though a false prophet, as I said before — was compelled to confess that God is not like mortals: He cannot lie or reverse His verdict. His Word must take effect, and no one can contradict Him. If Balaam, who was opposed to God's Word, was nevertheless compelled to speak this way about God, what must we conclude about Saul — who had God's own law making the certainty of His decree even clearer to him? Yet Saul seeks a new revelation: he wants God to renounce Himself and change His nature. But even when we are faithless, as the apostle warns, God remains always the same — faithful forever. From this we see clearly what is true of all unbelievers: though their conscience rebukes them and they seem to want to come back to God, they also want God to submit to them — to be shaped by their judgment, to change His will and decree according to their pleasure. In short, they want to make Him a liar, just as they themselves are. See with what audacity unbelievers try to reshape God into whatever form suits them — to make Him in their own image. This is exactly what Samuel declares: 'The Lord has done as He spoke to you through me' — as if to say: Did I not command this to you in the name of God, and had I not received that command from the Lord? Therefore it must stand. From this, then, let us learn not to rely on excuses or evasions. When God has spoken, let us know He will carry out His decree. And so, whatever He has promised us, let us receive it with firm faith. Let us not be like reeds, blown about by every wind of doctrine. Let us instead be settled: what God has once promised will stand, and let us rest in that. This is the certainty of faith that all believers must have. On the other hand, when God has threatened something, let us not treat Him like a child whose anger can be calmed with a small gift. Let us tremble at His warnings and throw ourselves before Him — lest we pile up for ourselves a treasure of wrath and vengeance. Rather, let us fear His wrath so deeply that — like people convicted of crime and wickedness — we flee as suppliants to His mercy. And let us detest our sins so thoroughly that we never fall back into them, lest they one day rise before God and bring final destruction upon us.

There follow these words: 'The kingdom has been given to David' — which stings Saul all the more sharply. Saul might have objected that he had not directly attacked the Lord, had not laid hands on the prophet who brought that verdict in God's name, had not pursued him — but had simply grieved and resented being stripped of royal dignity. But the answer dismisses all such excuses at once: in fact, Saul had waged war against God Himself. Because God had decreed that David would reign, that decree was irrevocable. Why then had he persecuted the innocent David with such intense hatred, as if he could break God's authority? In persecuting David, he was resisting God Himself and making war against Him. After all — if David had been killed, would not God's promise have appeared to be made void? All of this the spirit appearing in Samuel's likeness laid before Saul. Let us learn from this to understand human nature, and turn this example to our benefit. People always play the sophist — with some rhetorical cleverness or another they defend their cause, as if they could deceive God. But by this method they only bring greater destruction on themselves and end in the deepest disgrace, when they deal with the Lord through crooked arguments and evasions. For no matter what we produce with our mouths in the end, if the reality is otherwise, we stand fully convicted before God. Saul is accused here of rising up against God Himself — not by speaking evil with his mouth, but by persecuting David. Whoever resists God's Word with all his strength, trying to prevent it from taking effect, wages war against God Himself, despises Him, and diminishes His authority as far as he is able. There is therefore no room for evasions and excuses when a person's own life testifies to the contrary and the deeds themselves show that he has not submitted to God's Word. Now let us examine the specific reason God rejected Saul: he did not carry out God's anger against the Amalekites. This was a serious offense — one that provoked God to strip Saul of royal authority. Although Saul was guilty before God of many other crimes — including that horrific slaughter of the priests we mentioned earlier, which made him permanently abominable and unworthy of royal dignity, especially since by it he had cut himself off from the church like a rotten limb — he is charged here with one specific offense: he did not execute the Lord's wrath, that is, His vengeance, against the Amalekites. The reason is that this first sin was the most serious, and from it all the others flowed like streams from a source. And so, although Saul had sinned grievously before, God held back and only used words and warnings — until this sin of rebellion was committed, at which point he was rightly stripped of his kingdom. We dealt with this history earlier in chapter fifteen, where Saul received the command to destroy all the Amalekites in a single stroke. He spared their king and saved the finest cattle for himself as spoils of victory, even though God had commanded that both people and animals be completely destroyed — because that whole nation of the Amalekites had been placed under a curse. When the Lord's command was so explicit, how could Saul have expected to carry out his disobedience without consequence? Did he think he could overturn God's decree? True, I admit the pretext of mercy appeared compelling — especially toward the king — and it seemed like the kind of compassionate act that would win approval from everyone. As for the best livestock: although he hoped to enrich himself and the people through this rich plunder, that motive was covered with the respectable pretext of divine worship — claiming the animals were being kept for sacrifices. But the prophet answered Saul: obedience is better than sacrifice. To depart even slightly from God's voice and fail to carry out His commands is, in effect, sorcery. Certainly, if anyone evaluates Saul's deed by the standard of human understanding, he might not judge it such a terrible crime that God should punish it so severely. What exactly did Saul do wrong here, they might ask? He is not charged with the slaughter of the priests — though he later stained his hands with their blood. The verdict against him rests entirely on this one point: that he did not exterminate the Amalekites — men, women, and even the animals — but showed mercy and humanity toward their king and reserved the best livestock for sacrifice. That is Saul's entire offense. But I ask: has God submitted Himself to kings, or shared and divided His authority with them?

Through the prophet, God had ordered Saul to make war on the Amalekites — and that not only the men but also the women, even infants at the breast, along with the animals, were to be destroyed in a single stroke. Such was God's decree. Should we then raise objections to God's judgments and multiply arguments against them? Solomon was not wrong when he said that the one who does not punish a criminal is no less guilty than the one who condemns the innocent. And I ask: if a corrupt judge condemns one person to death but lets another guilty of the same offense go free, who will excuse him? Would he not rightly be accused of partiality? That was Saul. From this, then, let us learn not to presume rashly on our own thinking, nor to do anything unlawful. Today you may see many people puffing themselves up and proclaiming their authority — when they are in fact nothing. What would these small men do, I ask, if they were kings? But more to the point — what would become of them? If Saul, king of so great a people, was judged and condemned because he did not obey God the King of kings, what will happen to those who hold no power at all? God will severely punish the stubbornness of those who claim any authority against His command, and will condemn them eternally. For if God did not spare Saul and did not leave his defiance unavenged, let us recognize that the same God reigns today — He has not changed and will not change His nature and counsel. Therefore all who exalt themselves will fall with a crash all the harder for how high they have climbed, and God will never leave contempt of Himself unanswered. Let us therefore learn to hate evil — both in ourselves and in all others — so that under no pretext do we ever cover it, but rather condemn it. Let us glorify God, strive to follow His commands precisely, rest in Him alone, and when God speaks, be silent — lest by foolish objections or open defiance we draw His wrath down on ourselves. Since we must one day stand before His tribunal, when He comes to judgment in the person of the Son, let us earnestly invite Him now to rule our lives. Let us bring our actions, words, and thoughts into conformity with the will He has prescribed in His Word. Let us not flatter ourselves, but hold firmly to God and maintain steadfast hope until we have finished the course of our lives — knowing that nothing can be approved by Him except what He has commanded in His Word, which is the rule of all righteousness.

Now then come, etc.

## HOMILIA CI.