Sermon 35: 1 Samuel 10:14-21

14. And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant: 'Where did you go?' And they answered: 'To look for the donkeys; and when we did not find them, we went to Samuel.' 15. And his uncle said to him: 'Tell me what Samuel said to you.' 16. And Saul said to his his uncle: He told us that the donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom he did not tell him what Samuel had spoken to him. 17. And Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18. And he said to the children of Israel: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you. 19. But you today have rejected the Lord your God, who alone saved you from all your evils and tribulations, and you said: By no means; but set a king over us. Now therefore stand before the Lord by your tribes and by your families. 20. And Samuel brought near the tribes of Israel, and the lot fell upon the tribe of Benjamin. 21. And he brought near the tribe of Benjamin and its clans, and the lot fell upon the family of Matri, and it came down to Saul, the son of [Kish].

Here again we are taught how patiently and calmly Saul waited until God's decree concerning the kingdom to be handed over to him would be revealed and publicly proclaimed; and indeed that he was by no means swollen with ambition and arrogance. For if he had been similar to many in character, he could never have concealed what he had received from Samuel, but would have declared it to anyone he met. But he kept silence and was entirely quiet, until God himself revealed the matter and, as it were, placed him by his own hand into possession of the kingdom. And from this a useful doctrine is to be drawn for us: namely that when God elevates us above others and sets us before them, we should not nevertheless be insolently puffed up, nor be deceived by the vanity of empty glory, but should commit ourselves entirely to God, so that even though raised to some degree of dignity, we nevertheless keep ourselves within the bounds of modesty, so that we never advance anything except at God's command and doing, lest we seem to want to anticipate God's decree, not waiting until he himself accomplishes the matter. If we have learned this doctrine well, we will have truly made great progress today. For such is the rashness of men that they think they will never arrive quickly enough at the rank of honor to which they aspire, and therefore they cannot rest until they rush headlong. But we are taught by this example of Saul that, although God has given us hope of attaining some dignity, we must nevertheless be held in modesty and sobriety, rashly usurping and attempting nothing that belongs properly to God. Here, moreover, a certain question arises: whether Saul, when asked about what he had heard from Samuel, by concealing what Samuel had predicted about the kingdom, might seem to have sinned with some appearance of lying. But the solution is easy. For it is one thing to pass over something in silence, and quite another to say something falsely; or to not indicate something done by one's silence, compared to adulterating it in some way. Saul therefore cannot rightly be accused because he made no mention of the kingdom, not having been asked about it. Nevertheless, it should be observed that those who conceal a matter often become guilty of lying before God. For one must not pay so much attention to the words as to the merit of the speaker. For example: if someone does business and contracts with another, and when asked about matters on which one must deal in good faith, he conceals something, even though he is not openly a liar, he is nevertheless guilty of lying before God. Why so? Because he concealed the truth and endeavored to adulterate it, and had the intent to deceive. Indeed, if the matter had concerned the advantage or disadvantage of Saul's uncle, it is certain that Saul would have been guilty of lying before God. But because it was of no concern to his uncle, and God had secretly revealed to him what was to happen concerning the kingdom, and therefore he knew it should be declared to no one, it was accordingly permitted for him to keep silent about it with his uncle and to mention only the donkeys. Thus in Luke we see the virgin Mary commended because she had kept and pondered in her heart the revelation she had received from the angel. While our Lord Jesus Christ was still an infant, God made sufficiently clear by unmistakable signs that he was his unique Son and the Redeemer of the world; but it seemed incredible, and even though Mary had proclaimed it openly to all, it would not have been accepted. Therefore she kept it in her heart, until God wished that secret to be revealed by his own testimony. Therefore Saul did nothing in this matter except what was praiseworthy, in that, free from all ambition, he was quiet and committed himself entirely to God, showing no sign that the kingdom was sought by him.

It follows that Samuel called the people together at Mizpah to the Lord. We have already taught before about this place, that it was notable for the victories that God had granted his people there; therefore that place ought to have recalled to the people the memory of God's benefits toward them, by which he had sufficiently demonstrated himself to be the savior and guardian God of the children of Abraham. There is no doubt therefore that Samuel chose that place so that the people would be more moved by the sanctity and reverence of the place, and so that the memory of divine help would represent the divine presence before their eyes, as it were in a living image, so that having God as it were present there, they would tremble before his majesty, and would compose themselves with fear to obedience to him, and would acknowledge that nothing they did there would not come before God's sight. Indeed I confess that wherever we may go, even if we flee to the lowest parts of the earth and the darkest caves, we do not escape God's eyes, for it is most certain that God's eyes survey all things, and see whatever we do, indeed that whatever lies hidden in the more remote recesses of our heart is known to him, and recorded in the tablets of his judgment; as the prophet says in the Psalms: Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your face? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; or if I make my bed in the grave, behold you are present. If I take the wings of the dawn, to dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even there your hand would lead me, and your right hand would hold me. If I should say, surely the darkness will cover me as twilight: yet the night is as light around me. For God, as I have said, is everywhere; and so we must seek no hiding places by which we might escape God's sight and withdraw ourselves from his presence. For he knows our words; indeed he knows even our thoughts hidden in the deepest recesses of our heart. Nevertheless, since we are still crude and earthly, it is necessary that we sometimes be reminded and stirred up by certain external signs concerning God's presence, so that we may be more deeply affected, as though approaching closer to him, and apprehend his majesty as if he had chosen his seat in our midst. For example, this place in which we all gather is dedicated to public prayers, and to making confession of faith, and to hearing doctrine, as if it proceeded from God's own mouth. Although indeed any place is sanctified by God's word, as the prophet says, nevertheless we must consider that God, out of regard for our weakness, wills that a certain place be chosen in which we gather, in which he himself presides and dwells in our midst, because we have assembled in his name. And therefore the people are said specifically to have gathered at Mizpah to the Lord. Therefore we must strive to use the aids that God offers us, and by which he draws us to himself, in such a way that when we are about to conduct our business, we always rise up to him, and compose our minds according to his will, so that we neither say, nor do, nor think anything of which we do not make him witness and judge. But those words should be carefully noted, when the people are said to be summoned to the Lord: from which we learn that when peoples assemble, God must be the president. So the Psalmist himself says of the assembly of judges that God stands in the assembly of the mighty God, and judges among the magistrates. But truly you may often see without doubt many councils and many assemblies in which there is no reverence for God, indeed in which not only is no place left for him, but from which he is even driven far away. For how many wicked counsels, how many perverse machinations do many devise, which they hope to accomplish either against God's will or with him sent far away from them? But on the contrary, when the gathering is holy, it must be evident that God presides there. This will be accomplished if we allow ourselves to be taught and governed by him, and make the glory of his name the goal of all our counsels. For so we see our Lord Jesus Christ promise that where two or three are gathered in his name, he will be there in their midst. Therefore those who gather in his name must adopt this mindset: to commit themselves entirely to him and depend upon him, and direct all their counsels to his glory, expecting a happy outcome of their counsels from him. For he promises his aid to those who seek him in truth, and a happy outcome of counsels, so that it may become manifest that they have in fact been helped by his power.

And let this suffice concerning that assembly at Mizpah. Next follows that Samuel reproached them with God's benefits and their ungrateful spirit toward him, in these words: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you. But you today have rejected the Lord your God, who alone saved you from all your evils and tribulations, and you said: By no means; but set a king over us. By these words Samuel accuses them of arrogance, because they had stubbornly demanded a king and had given no place to admonitions, but rather had responded: By no means, but set a king over us — as if they would lay down the law to God. Indeed an intolerable and detestable obstinacy, of which Samuel rightly holds them guilty. Nevertheless he adds that God would have mercy on them and would give them the king they had demanded, and he carries out the whole matter by lot. Although the Jews say this was done by divine revelation through the Urim and Thummim which were placed upon the ephod. Now the ephod was a certain type of garment with which the high priest was clothed. For over his robe he wore a certain breastplate, which was fastened with golden chains, in which twelve precious stones were set, and the names of the twelve tribes were engraved; to which were attached the Urim and Thummim, notable stones upon the shoulders, according to God's own prescription. Indeed I acknowledge that God often revealed his will through the Urim and Thummim, by which terms the same thing is signified as light and perfection. For it was the light of God because there God made his power visible; and holiness and perfection, because the high priest, bearing holiness before him, represented the person of the true Messiah. But what the Rabbis imagine — that the stone in which the name of the tribe of Benjamin was engraved shone with great and extraordinary splendor, and that God thus revealed his will — these are mere trifles. And we know how bold the Jews were in fabricating such fables and trifles, and how much they indulged themselves and their foolish imaginations. And indeed they can be openly refuted here. For granted that the family of Benjamin was indicated by the brilliance of that stone in which the name of the tribe of Benjamin was engraved, how would the elders have accepted Saul? How would they have submitted themselves to that rustic and ignoble man without complaint? Therefore their error and reckless boldness in fabricating such fables is sufficiently evident here. Therefore it is far more probable that lots were cast, which can easily be gathered from a similar passage in which we read that Achan was punished when he had been detected by lot. And so when the individual tribes had assembled and the lots were cast, God showed that he had chosen the tribe of Benjamin from among the rest. Then it came down to the family of Matri, and finally to Saul himself from the house of Kish. Thus God published his decree and confirmed it with such clear proofs that no one could call Saul's election into question, because God, as though present in person, confirmed it with his own vote and offered him, seized by the hand as it were, to the people; as he revealed through Samuel, as if he himself addressed the people with these words: Behold the one whom I have set over you as king, to whom I want you to be subject, and disposed to obedience — whom it was fitting they should bear as Lord. And these

Now let us consider that reproach and complaint of Samuel. To what end did it aim, except that the people might be brought to repentance, so that they would no longer resist God as they had done before? Then also, that they might acknowledge that, although they were unworthy of God's mercy on account of their stubborn and hardened spirit, God nevertheless proved himself beneficent, contending by his goodness and clemency against their malice. He also warns them not to indulge their own counsels in the future, even if Saul's kingdom should prosper — as though they had advised themselves well by obtaining a king. Lest therefore the people, puffed up by the prosperous course of events under Saul's reign, should attribute the favorable outcomes to their own industry and counsel, they are specifically rebuked for having rejected the Lord their God, and therefore having incurred the greatest punishments; and since God does not exact these according to their deserts, this should be attributed to his supreme clemency and kindness, and they should acknowledge that God took no account of their stubbornness, but rather passed over it as though buried, in order to reveal his fatherly affection toward them. This therefore is the aim of that rebuke; from which we must learn that the greater God's benefits toward us have been, the heavier the punishments awaiting us unless we acknowledge how much we owe him, and compose ourselves entirely to his obedience, and render him due honor.

And indeed I confess that no one among mortals will be found who is not guilty of eternal death before God's tribunal on account of supreme ingratitude. For creation alone ought to carry enough weight to incite us to his worship and honor. But the greater God's beneficence and generosity toward men, the greater is our ingratitude unless we respond to his generosity. And this is clear from those words when he says: The Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt and rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. For the memory of that singular benefit ought to have restrained the people in their duty as with a certain bridle. For as often as they thought about that benefit — and they ought always to have thought about it — they should have acknowledged themselves debtors to God, and bound to give God immortal thanks and compose themselves entirely to his obedience, since by his singular mercy he had redeemed them from the hand of their enemies, and snatched them from the tyranny of the kings who oppressed them; and therefore they were not free to give place to their desires and foolish imaginations, and to walk according to them, but their thoughts ought to have been in God's power. But we today, although we have not been liberated from the land of Egypt, nevertheless have a far more excellent redemption by which we are more bound to God, since he brought us out of the jaws of hell and from the eternal curse into which we were plunged by nature. What then shall we consider our part to be here, except to consecrate ourselves entirely to him in acknowledgment of so great and inestimable a good, with which he in his generosity has blessed us who were unworthy? To that special benefit was added when he led us out of the darkness of errors and called us to the knowledge of the gospel. For since salvation is not obtained by all, we become partakers of it when God unites us to his only Son and makes us members of his body through the bond of faith. How many wretched people do we see everywhere, abandoned and utterly alienated and rejected from the hope of eternal life? Why is this? Because they are detained in the deep darkness of errors, and have no knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, so as to embrace him by faith and place all their trust in him, to obtain eternal life secured for us through him and be united to him. But God has bestowed that benefit upon us, and assures us of his goodwill toward us, and wants us to be persuaded that he wishes us to enjoy that benefit, and truly to feel that we have been redeemed by him, so that we may be counted among the number of his children. And that his adoption is sealed in our hearts, so that we may confidently call upon him as Father, with the Spirit of God testifying together with our spirit that we are children of God. Therefore since his benefits toward us are so great, all the more intolerable will our ingratitude be unless we walk in his fear and show ourselves obedient to him, and unless we are so caught up in his love that we forget the world and press toward heaven, in which we may peacefully enjoy our inheritance and our most precious possession acquired for us at great cost.

Furthermore, Samuel does not reproach the people with only one act of deliverance, by which he openly testified himself to be their savior: He rescued you, he says, from the hand of the Egyptians. Nor was this enough for him, but how many kings, how many tyrants, how many enemies conspired against you, who harassed you with many insults, who plundered you, who tore you apart with every cruelty, from whom, had God not exercised his avenging hand, you would have been utterly destroyed? From this we are reminded that if God does not grow weary of doing good to us, but always heaps new benefits upon us, we in turn should gratefully and mindfully acknowledge them, and serve him with all our strength. Therefore let us examine ourselves carefully here, for it is certain that God has not only completed the work he began in us when, having led us out of darkness and hell, he called us to the possession of his kingdom, but also that he never ceases heaping and adorning us with his benefits — otherwise we would miserably perish daily. For example, let us suppose that God has made it known to all of us that he truly wishes us to become partakers of all the benefits that Christ has brought us. What, I ask, would become of us wretched ones if we were left in this state and abandoned to ourselves? Indeed we would constantly stumble and be deceived, and would strip ourselves of all those benefits. And truly at every moment we provoke God's wrath against us and deserve that he continually deprive us of his graces. Therefore it is necessary that God sustain us with his inestimable goodness and bear with our weakness, lest we stumble, indeed lest we fall completely, and that he govern us by the power of his Spirit. Therefore experience itself teaches us that God has not only conferred many benefits upon us but makes no end of increasing them, and that our obligation is daily increased and renewed; so that we must strive with all the greater care and zeal, since God's benefits toward us are so great and he does not cease doing good to us according to his goodness, that we in turn devote ourselves to his worship with all care and labor, and constantly persevere in it, and so run the course of our life that we know we must live and die for him, since he gave us this earthly life for the purpose of dedicating it to his worship; and thus, aspiring with all our hearts to the life promised us, let us testify by our deeds that we are his children.

Therefore come, engrave this doctrine upon your hearts: that God is not generous and beneficent toward us in one thing only, but that he himself makes no end of heaping benefit upon benefit, in order to draw us to himself and keep us in the fear of his name.

There follows: But you today have rejected the Lord your God who alone saved you from all your evils and tribulations. We have already taught before how the people are said to have rejected God — namely, that such talk was certainly not on the lips of the common people. For if anyone had charged them with contempt or rejection of God, they would have openly testified to the contrary. And there is no doubt that they sought some excuse; but God accepts no such excuses from men, nor admits the evasions and sophistical frauds by which men persuade themselves they will escape God's judgment; rather he requires simplicity and integrity in men. For example: if God has shown by unmistakable signs that he requires some particular obedience from us, and we have not satisfied his will, it is exactly as if we despise him. Yet no one would allow himself to be called a despiser of the divine name on that account. But those empty excuses avail us nothing, nor do they prevent us from being rightly accused of rebellion before God.

So today the Lord commands us to receive his word without contradiction, and teaches that his will is contained in the prophetic writings, the law, and the gospel, and commands us to rest in it. But if we despise the Scriptures, we worship God falsely and simulate obedience and submission. For there is his royal scepter, there his tribunal, there his worship; there he tests our obedience and submission. What else therefore is it to reject the gospel than to want to dethrone God? For God has commanded his gospel to be set forth to us, and us to gather in his name; this gift he left to his church; by this sole means he willed that we be ruled and governed. But if someone objects that he accepts the gospel, that he was baptized in the church, and yet does not live holily, it is certain that such a person rejects and despises God — not indeed because he freely confesses God, but because the confession of one convicted of wickedness is not to be trusted, since he seeks nothing but evasions to avoid punishment. But there is no reason to seek hiding places by which we might escape God's presence and indignation; for such ridiculous evasions will never help our cause before him. In short, whatever excuse we may bring before men, unless it is examined according to God's will, it is certain that we will always be guilty before his majesty of having despised and rejected God.

And let the same judgment apply to those who today rise up against magistrates, stirring up seditions and disturbances against them. For we know what power they have received from the Lord, since he has set them over peoples to govern in his name. If anyone presumes to abolish this civil order, it is certain that war is being waged against God himself. Furthermore, if any who reject the rule of worship prescribed by God as the test of our obedience are guilty of contempt of God, what do we think will become of those who despise Christ the Lord himself? For those who bear the name of God openly, whose confession rebounds upon their own heads rather than being a help — and this often occurs in the sacred writings, and specifically in John: He who does not have the Son does not have the Father. And: No one knows the Father who does not know the Son. Therefore we must know that in order to obey God and be grateful to him, we must accept the doctrine of salvation which is proclaimed through his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and we must bend our knees before his majesty, from whom we have the freedom, according to the will of the Father, to come to him. Then let us know that our Lord Jesus Christ is to be contemplated in the law and the gospel, and let us come offering ourselves to him as a sacrifice. For he does not dwell and live among us today in some visible manner, but he wills to be recognized in his word. Therefore if we wish to be counted among his people, let us learn to submit ourselves to his word and give ourselves to be governed by it. And since he willed his word to be preached through the ministers of the gospel, and that those to whom this office has been committed be heard as bearing the message of salvation in his name, let us willingly allow ourselves to be taught by them. And in turn, those who wish to be considered pastors and teachers should be in reality what they wish to be regarded as, if they wish to accept our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as their master. These things therefore are to be retained in this place, when the people of Israel are said to have rejected God because they had rejected Samuel. Why so? Because Samuel had not arrogated that dignity to himself but had received it from the Lord. The people therefore, in resisting him, seem to reject God and refuse his authority and deny him obedience. We must therefore take care that we do not rise up against God and shake off the yoke he has placed upon our necks, but rather walk calmly in the calling to which he has called us and serve him. In this way the path will be increasingly prepared for him to do us good and to heap grace upon grace.

Furthermore, Samuel specifically reproaches the people with their lack of self-control in demanding a king, which they did not need, because God had brought them aid by another means in their distress. For indeed God is tempted when the manner of helping and of hearing prayers is prescribed to him according to human judgment. Indeed we have experienced up to now that God, although he has not responded to all our wishes, has nevertheless brought us help at the opportune time. For example: by what means, I ask, did God deliver us into freedom? Indeed he did not employ human forces, but accomplished our salvation in weakness, so that we ought to marvel at so miraculous a deliverance, which God's power alone wrought, and which surpassed the comprehension of all our senses. Therefore we should never be moved from this anchor: that God, just as he has delivered us into freedom until now, will do the same in the future, and will increase his graces in us, provided we place all our trust in him. But if, led by some fickleness and desire for novelty, we presume to prescribe to God what seems useful to us for salvation, and stir up something unlawful against God, it is certain that he will pay us the wages we deserve.

Nor do I deny, however, that today we may have certain supports for life that we did not have before; but I say that if we place our hope in them and rely on our own strength and counsels, we tempt God and are insulting toward his benefits, and as far as lies in us we trample them underfoot. From this therefore let us learn, when God heaps various benefits upon us, to rest content in them, eagerly desiring nothing else, nor seeking any change, as if what has been useful to us until now will be of no benefit in the future; but rather acknowledging that God will continue and perpetuate the supports of life by which we have been aided until now, provided we do not hinder his grace by our ingratitude.

Samuel continues to reveal to the people the beneficence of God who had mercy on them even though they were unworthy. But that first rebuke should have called them to repentance; yet they were hardened. And therefore Samuel reveals God's mercy to them, so that they may know that if in the future they enjoy prosperous success under Saul's leadership and auspices, and obtain victory over their enemies from the Lord, they should not on that account be puffed up and boast as if they had anticipated God; but that they ought to be mindful of his mercy, by which alone he was moved to turn their evil into good.

And therefore Samuel amplifies their iniquity and stubbornness with this circumstance: that they had said: By no means; but we demand a king. For by that word "By no means" we see the pride of the people more fully expressed, and the venom conceived in their heart, in that they had responded so boldly and insolently to God. For who, I ask, what servant would dare respond thus to his master? What son would say to his father that he will by no means do what is commanded? Or what subject would say this to his lord? Indeed not only is it not permitted for any of them to respond thus, but they must submit and obey those who command without exception. Who then would tolerate those wretched little men and God's worthless creatures, worms of the earth, rising up against their Creator who has all power over them, and indeed one so beneficent toward them, and responding: By no means shall it be done — and not acknowledging the hand of God, by whose help they had so often been snatched from the greatest distress? Therefore Samuel, by throwing these words back at them, wished to call them to shame and utterly confound them, expressing the diabolical rage by which they dared to rise up against God himself.

Here we should observe that it is not enough if we pray to God to graciously bestow upon us what we desire, but that he should so restrain and check our appetites that they are brought into conformity with his obedience. For the people had not said at the first impulse that they wanted a king, or that they would choose whatever one pleased them, but had asked Samuel to obtain and appoint a king for them from the Lord. They ask therefore; but how do they ask? They do it just as if someone were to demand alms with weapon in hand, as the saying goes. For they arrogantly demand that what they want be given to them. Therefore we must take care that in all our petitions we maintain moderation and keep our appetites as with a bridle in check, lest we importune God insolently, or indulge our depraved passions in the same way as those people did; but if we wish our prayers to be heard, let us conform them to his will. Therefore Paul exhorts the Philippians with these words: Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And so he commands them to take refuge in God in their distresses, and to acquiesce in his will, and to accept with equanimity whatever he does. In short, let us know that this modesty must be observed in praying: that we do not allow ourselves to prescribe a law to God, or to arrogantly demand from him whatever comes to mind. But attending to his good pleasure, let us subject all our petitions to his will, and depend upon his will without murmuring or complaint. Therefore let us learn wisdom from the example of that people, whom we rightly see rebuked for having asked a king from the Lord, when they ought rather to have considered whether it was lawful to ask a king from the Lord, and not to have so insolently and boldly wished to lay down the law to God.

Nevertheless, Samuel here teaches that God, overlooking past offenses, had mercy on those who by every means showed themselves unworthy of God's mercy. From which we must learn that God often hears our prayers, even when we have provoked him to anger, and when we have brought the utmost confusion upon our own heads, he nevertheless patiently bears with us. But does this give us license to provoke and challenge him? On the contrary, let us learn not to be puffed up by prosperity. For it often happens that, becoming insolent in prosperity, we neglect him, or worship him perfunctorily, and do not easily persuade ourselves that we are heard by him, and therefore pray carelessly. And if some recollection of him comes to mind, we do not deal seriously with him. For we will confess that we are sinners; but because we enjoy prosperity, we therefore imagine that all our actions are approved by God, and so we forget our God and fashion for ourselves as many idols as each person praises and proclaims his own industry, another his labor, another his diligence, and yet another even boasts of his frauds. And so the wretched do not only become puffed up by their virtues but even grow insolent in their vices. For if they have offended God, they even glory that they do not immediately pay the penalty for their crime. But certain punishment awaits them.

Therefore this passage must be attended to all the more carefully, from which we learn that God, often concealing the sins by which we have brought his judgment upon our heads, bears with us for a time. If therefore prosperous things happen to us, let us not sacrifice to our net and attribute the cause of that prosperity to ourselves; but on the contrary, let us carefully consider what great evil we would have brought upon ourselves had God not taken pity on us, by whose goodness it has come about that the evil which hung over our necks has been driven away and we have obtained good.

And enough of these matters. Next follows that Samuel commanded the individual tribes to present themselves in order before the Lord for the casting of lots. From this it is evident that God wished to adorn Saul's kingdom and make it more august. For although the people had already acquiesced in Samuel's commands and each had gone home, waiting until the new king was appointed — not without murmuring and indignation on the part of many, to be sure — nevertheless, if someone had been designated by him thereafter, he would have been sent away. For that people was prone to seditions, so that it would not easily have accepted any king offered to it; as below, with God's permission, we shall hear their murmurings when Saul, designated by God, was presented to the people, even though by unmistakable signs God had revealed that the election proceeded from him, not from men. What then do we think would have happened if Samuel had simply reported to the people that he had a commission from revelation to set Saul over the people? There is no doubt that they would have contended among themselves with various disputes and would have provoked God's just vengeance upon themselves. Therefore we see that God, to whom their fierce and wicked spirits were well known, wished to meet that great evil in good time, and wished to make them certain about Saul's election, of which he himself was the author. Therefore he wished lots to be cast among the individual tribes, and indeed for this purpose: that the people might acknowledge that, although they had gravely offended God, they would nevertheless obtain better things from God's mercy, who would turn all things to their good, so that they would be humbled before God and be displeased with themselves, and embrace the offered grace all the more eagerly, and glorify God.

Now then, come, etc.

14. Saul's uncle asked him and his servant: 'Where did you go?' They answered: 'To look for the donkeys. When we did not find them, we went to Samuel.' 15. His uncle said: 'Tell me what Samuel said to you.' 16. Saul said to his uncle: 'He told us the donkeys had been found.' But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had spoken to him. 17. Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18. He said to the people of Israel: 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kings who oppressed you.' 19. 'But today you have rejected the Lord your God, who alone saved you from all your evils and troubles, and you said: No — set a king over us. Now therefore stand before the Lord by your tribes and by your families.' 20. Samuel brought the tribes of Israel near, and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin. 21. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the lot fell on the family of Matri, and it came down to Saul, the son of Kish.

Here again we see how patiently and calmly Saul waited for God's decree concerning the kingdom to be publicly revealed and proclaimed. He showed no signs of being swollen with ambition or arrogance. If he had been like many people in character, he could never have kept quiet about what he had received from Samuel — he would have told everyone he met. But he kept silent and remained entirely still, until God Himself revealed the matter and, as it were, placed him by His own hand into possession of the kingdom. A useful lesson must be drawn from this: when God elevates us above others, we must not be arrogantly puffed up or taken in by empty glory. We must commit ourselves entirely to God — so that even when raised to some degree of dignity, we keep ourselves within the bounds of modesty, never pressing forward except at God's command, lest we seem to want to anticipate His decree rather than wait for Him to bring it about. If we have genuinely learned this, we will have made real progress today. Such is human rashness: people feel they can never arrive quickly enough at the rank of honor they desire, and so they cannot rest until they have rushed headlong into it. But Saul's example teaches us that even when God has given us hope of attaining some dignity, we must still hold ourselves in modesty and sobriety — rashly seizing nothing that properly belongs to God. A question also arises here: by concealing what Samuel had predicted about the kingdom, did Saul sin in a way that amounts to lying? The answer is straightforward. There is a clear difference between staying silent about something and saying something false — between not disclosing a matter and actively misrepresenting it. Saul cannot rightly be faulted for not mentioning the kingdom, since he had not been asked about it. That said, it should be noted that those who conceal something can sometimes become guilty of lying before God. What matters is not merely the words but the intent of the speaker. For example: if someone does business with another, and when asked about matters in which good faith is required, he conceals something relevant — even if he says nothing technically false, he is still guilty of lying before God. Why? Because he concealed the truth and intended to mislead. If the matter had concerned his uncle's interests — his advantage or disadvantage — then certainly Saul would have been guilty before God. But since it was of no concern to his uncle, and God had revealed to Saul privately what was to happen about the kingdom — and therefore Saul understood it was not to be disclosed to anyone — it was entirely lawful for him to remain silent with his uncle and speak only of the donkeys. We see the same principle in Luke, where the Virgin Mary is commended for keeping and pondering in her heart the revelation she had received from the angel. When our Lord Jesus Christ was still an infant, God had made clear by unmistakable signs that He was His unique Son and the Redeemer of the world — but it seemed unbelievable, and even if Mary had proclaimed it openly, no one would have accepted it. She therefore kept it in her heart until God was pleased to reveal that secret through His own testimony. Saul therefore did nothing in this matter but what was praiseworthy — free from all ambition, he kept quiet and committed himself entirely to God, giving no indication that he was reaching for the kingdom.

The text continues: Samuel called the people together at Mizpah before the Lord. We have already noted that this place was significant for the victories God had granted His people there. The location itself should have called to the people's minds the memory of God's benefits — through which He had demonstrated, clearly enough, that He was the Savior and guardian God of Abraham's descendants. Samuel therefore chose this place so that the people would be more moved by its sacred associations — so that the memory of God's past help would set His presence before their eyes, as if in a living image. Standing there, they would tremble before His majesty, compose themselves in reverence and obedience, and recognize that nothing done in that place was hidden from God's sight. I grant that wherever we go — even if we flee to the lowest depths of the earth or the darkest caves — we do not escape God's eyes. It is certain that God's eyes survey all things, see whatever we do, and that even what lies hidden in the deepest recesses of our hearts is known to Him and recorded in the ledger of His judgment. As the psalmist says: 'Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your face? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold You are present. If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. If I say, surely the darkness will cover me — yet even the night is as light around me.' God is everywhere, as I have said, and we must seek no hiding places to escape His sight or withdraw from His presence. He knows our words — and He knows even the thoughts buried in the deepest chambers of our hearts. Nevertheless, since we are still earthly and dull, we sometimes need to be reminded and stirred up by certain outward means concerning God's presence, so that we may be more deeply affected as though drawing closer to Him, and apprehend His majesty as if He had placed His seat in our midst. For example, the place where we gather for public worship is set apart for prayer, for confessing our faith, and for hearing doctrine as though it comes directly from God's own mouth. Although any place is made holy by God's Word, as the prophet says, we must still recognize that God, out of consideration for our weakness, has ordained that a particular place be chosen for gathering — a place where He Himself presides and dwells in our midst, because we have assembled in His name. For this reason the people are said specifically to have gathered at Mizpah before the Lord. We must therefore make good use of the helps God provides — the means by which He draws us to Himself — in such a way that whenever we conduct our business, we always lift our minds to Him, composing ourselves according to His will, so that we say nothing, do nothing, and think nothing without making Him our witness and judge. The words 'summoned before the Lord' deserve careful attention: from them we learn that when a people assembles, God must be the presiding authority. The psalmist himself says of the assembly of judges that God stands in the congregation of the mighty and judges among the magistrates. Yet you will often see councils and assemblies in which there is no reverence for God — indeed, from which God is not merely absent but actively driven away. How many wicked schemes and perverse plans do people devise — plans they hope to carry out either against God's will or with Him deliberately pushed aside! But when an assembly is truly holy, God must be visibly present in it. This will be true when we allow ourselves to be taught and governed by Him, and make the glory of His name the goal of all our deliberations. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself promises that where two or three are gathered in His name, He will be there in their midst. Therefore those who gather in His name must come with this mindset: to commit themselves entirely to Him, depend on Him, and direct all their counsels to His glory — expecting the right outcome of their deliberations from Him. For He promises His aid to those who seek Him in truth and a good outcome of their counsels, so that it becomes evident in the result that they were indeed helped by His power.

That is enough about the assembly at Mizpah. Next, Samuel confronted them with God's benefits and their own ingratitude toward Him in these words: 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you. But today you have rejected the Lord your God, who alone saved you from all your evils and troubles, and you said: No — set a king over us.' By these words Samuel charges them with arrogance — because they had stubbornly insisted on a king, refused to listen to any warning, and responded with: 'No — set a king over us,' as though they were laying down the law to God. It was an intolerable and detestable stubbornness, which Samuel rightly lays at their charge. Nevertheless, he adds that God would have mercy on them and give them the king they had demanded — and he carried out the whole matter by lot. The Jews say this was done by divine revelation through the Urim and Thummim, which were set on the ephod. The ephod was a specific garment worn by the high priest. Over his robe he wore a breastplate fastened with golden chains, in which twelve precious stones were set, with the names of the twelve tribes engraved on them. The Urim and Thummim — notable stones on the shoulders — were attached to this, all according to God's own prescription. I acknowledge that God often revealed His will through the Urim and Thummim, which together signify light and perfection. The light of God was made visible through them, and the holiness and perfection of the high priest bearing them represented the true Messiah. But what the rabbis imagine — that the stone engraved with the name of Benjamin shone with extraordinary brilliance, by which God revealed His will — is mere fabrication. We know how bold the Jews were in making up such fables and how freely they indulged their own imagination. They can be plainly refuted here. Even granting that the tribe of Benjamin was indicated by the shining of that particular stone — how would the elders have accepted Saul, a rustic and obscure young man, without objection? Their rashness in making up such stories is sufficiently exposed by this. It is far more likely that lots were cast, which can easily be inferred from a parallel passage where we read that Achan was exposed through the casting of lots. So when the individual tribes had assembled and the lots were cast, God showed that He had chosen the tribe of Benjamin from among the rest. The lot then narrowed to the family of Matri, and finally to Saul himself from the house of Kish. In this way God published His decree and confirmed it with such clear evidence that no one could question Saul's election. God, as though present in person, confirmed it with His own vote and, as it were, took Saul by the hand and presented him to the people — revealing through Samuel, as if He were addressing the people directly: Behold the one I have set over you as king, to whom I want you to be subject and obedient — the one it is right for you to honor as your lord.

Now let us consider the purpose of Samuel's rebuke and complaint. What was it aimed at, if not to bring the people to repentance — so that they would no longer resist God as they had done before? It also aimed to make them acknowledge that, although they were unworthy of God's mercy because of their stubbornness and hardened hearts, God nevertheless proved Himself gracious — meeting their wickedness with His goodness and compassion. Samuel also warned them not to indulge their own wisdom in the future, even if Saul's reign should go well — as though they had given themselves sound advice by insisting on a king. Lest the people, emboldened by the prosperous reign of Saul, should credit the good outcomes to their own wisdom and planning, they are specifically rebuked for having rejected the Lord their God and for thereby deserving the severest punishments. Since God did not exact those punishments as they deserved, they must attribute that to His supreme kindness and mercy — acknowledging that God overlooked their stubbornness and passed over it as if it were buried, in order to reveal His fatherly affection toward them. This is the purpose of the rebuke. From it we must learn that the greater God's benefits toward us have been, the heavier the punishment awaiting us if we fail to acknowledge our debt to Him, conform ourselves to His obedience, and render Him the honor He deserves.

I grant that no one among mortals will be found who is not guilty of supreme ingratitude before God's judgment seat. The fact of our creation alone ought to be more than enough to move us to worship and honor Him. But the greater God's generosity and kindness toward people, the greater our ingratitude if we fail to respond. This is evident in God's words: 'The Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt and rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians.' The memory of that singular benefit should have kept the people bound to their duty as if by a bridle. Every time they reflected on it — and they should always have been reflecting on it — they should have recognized themselves as debtors to God, obligated to give Him undying thanks and to conform themselves entirely to His obedience. He had redeemed them from the hand of their enemies by His singular mercy and snatched them from the tyranny of oppressing kings. They were therefore not free to follow their own desires and foolish ideas — their thoughts and plans were to be under God's authority. We today have not been delivered from Egypt, and yet we have a far more excellent redemption that binds us even more deeply to God — He has brought us out of the jaws of hell and from the eternal curse into which we were plunged by nature. What then must we consider our part to be, except to consecrate ourselves entirely to Him in acknowledgment of so great and beyond-price a good, with which He in His generosity has blessed us who were utterly unworthy? To that special benefit is added another: He has led us out of the darkness of error and called us to the knowledge of the Gospel. Since salvation is not given to all, we become partakers of it when God unites us to His only Son and makes us members of His body through the bond of faith. How many wretched people do we see everywhere — abandoned, utterly alienated, and cut off from all hope of eternal life? Why is this? Because they are held in the deep darkness of error, having no knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ so as to embrace Him by faith, place all their trust in Him, and obtain through Him the eternal life secured for us. But God has bestowed that benefit on us. He assures us of His goodwill toward us and wants us to be persuaded that He wills us to enjoy it — to truly experience that we have been redeemed by Him, so that we may be counted among the number of His children. And He has sealed that adoption in our hearts, so that we may confidently call upon Him as Father, with God's Spirit testifying together with our spirit that we are children of God. Since His benefits toward us are so great, our ingratitude will be all the more intolerable unless we walk in His fear and show ourselves obedient to Him — unless we are so captivated by His love that we forget the world and press toward heaven, where we may peacefully enjoy our inheritance and our most precious possession, secured for us at immeasurable cost.

Samuel does not reproach the people with only a single act of deliverance — though that alone was a clear testimony that God was their Savior. 'He rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians,' he says. But Samuel presses further: How many kings, how many tyrants, how many enemies conspired against you, harassing you with every insult, plundering you, tearing you apart with every cruelty — from all of whom, if God had not extended His avenging hand, you would have been completely destroyed? From this we are reminded: if God never tires of doing us good but constantly heaps new benefits upon us, we in turn must gratefully and mindfully acknowledge them and serve Him with all our strength. Let us examine ourselves carefully here. It is certain that God has not only begun His work in us — bringing us out of darkness and hell and calling us to possession of His kingdom — He also never ceases to pile His benefits upon us and enrich us with them. Without this, we would miserably perish every single day. For example: suppose God has made plain to all of us that He truly wishes us to become partakers of all the benefits Christ has brought. What, I ask, would become of us wretched creatures if we were left to ourselves in this condition? We would constantly stumble and be deceived and would strip ourselves of all those benefits. At every moment we provoke God's wrath against us and deserve to have Him continually withdraw His grace from us. It is therefore necessary that God sustain us by His incomprehensible goodness, bear with our weakness so that we do not stumble — or worse, fall completely — and govern us by the power of His Spirit. Experience itself therefore teaches us that God has not only conferred many benefits on us but makes no end of increasing them — so that our obligation to Him is daily increased and renewed. We must therefore strive with all the greater earnestness and devotion, since God's benefits toward us are so great and He never ceases doing us good, to devote ourselves to His worship with all care and effort, to persevere in it constantly, and to run the course of our lives in the awareness that we are to live and die for Him — since He gave us this earthly life for the purpose of consecrating it to His worship. Aspiring with all our hearts to the life promised us, let us show by our conduct that we are truly His children.

Come then — engrave this teaching upon your hearts: that God is not generous and kind toward us in one thing only, but that He makes no end of heaping benefit upon benefit, in order to draw us to Himself and keep us in the fear of His name.

The text continues: 'But today you have rejected the Lord your God, who alone saved you from all your evils and troubles.' We have already explained how the people are said to have rejected God — for this language was certainly not on the lips of the common people themselves. If anyone had accused them of despising or rejecting God, they would have openly denied it. No doubt they had their excuses — but God does not accept such excuses from people, nor does He permit the evasions and clever maneuvers by which people convince themselves they will escape His judgment. He requires simplicity and integrity. For example: if God has made clear by unmistakable signs that He requires a particular obedience from us, and we have not rendered it, that is exactly the same as despising Him. No one would accept being called a despiser of God's name on that basis. But those empty excuses are worthless and do not prevent us from being rightly charged with rebellion before God.

So today the Lord commands us to receive His Word without contradiction. He declares that His will is contained in the prophetic writings, the law, and the Gospel, and He commands us to rest in it. If we despise the Scriptures, we worship God falsely and simulate obedience and submission. There lies His royal scepter. There is His tribunal. There is His worship. It is there that He tests our obedience and submission. What is rejecting the Gospel, then, if not wanting to dethrone God? God commanded His Gospel to be proclaimed to us and us to gather in His name. This is the gift He left to His church, and the sole means by which He willed us to be ruled and governed. If someone objects that he accepts the Gospel, that he was baptized in the church, yet lives no holy life — it is certain that such a person rejects and despises God. Not because he verbally confesses God, but because the confession of someone convicted of wickedness carries no weight — he is looking only for ways to escape punishment. But there is no hiding place from God's presence and indignation. Such ridiculous evasions will never help our case before Him. In short, whatever excuse we bring before other people — unless it holds up before God's will — we will always stand guilty before His majesty of having despised and rejected Him.

The same judgment applies to those who today rise up against governing authorities, stirring up rebellion and disorder against them. We know what power they have received from the Lord — He has set them over peoples to govern in His name. Whoever presumes to tear down this civil order is waging war against God Himself. Furthermore, if those who reject the pattern of worship God has prescribed — as the test of our obedience — are guilty of despising God, what shall we say about those who despise Christ the Lord Himself? For those who carry God's name openly but whose profession turns back on their own heads rather than helping them — this theme appears often in Scripture, and specifically in John: 'He who does not have the Son does not have the Father.' And: 'No one knows the Father who does not know the Son.' We must therefore understand that in order to obey God and be grateful to Him, we must receive the teaching of salvation proclaimed through His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ — and bow before His majesty, through whom the Father has given us free access. Let us know that our Lord Jesus Christ is to be found in the law and the Gospel, and let us come offering ourselves to Him. He does not dwell among us today in any visible form, but He wills to be known in His Word. Therefore, if we wish to be counted among His people, let us learn to submit ourselves to His Word and allow ourselves to be governed by it. And since He willed His Word to be preached through the ministers of the Gospel — and intended that those commissioned with this task be heard as bearing the message of salvation in His name — let us willingly receive their teaching. In turn, those who wish to be regarded as pastors and teachers should be in reality what they wish to appear to be — if they truly accept our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as their master. This is what must be kept in mind when the people of Israel are said to have rejected God by rejecting Samuel. Why? Because Samuel had not claimed that dignity for himself but had received it from the Lord. Therefore, by resisting Samuel, the people were effectively rejecting God and refusing to submit to His authority. Let us therefore take care not to rise up against God and shake off the yoke He has placed on our necks, but to walk quietly in the calling to which He has called us and serve Him. In this way the path will be increasingly prepared for Him to do us good and to heap grace upon grace.

Samuel also specifically rebukes the people for their lack of restraint in demanding a king — which they did not need, because God had been providing them help by another means in their distress. God is truly tested when people presume to dictate to Him the manner in which He must help them and answer their prayers. We have seen up to now that God, even when He did not respond to all our wishes, has still brought us help at the right time. Consider: by what means did God deliver us into freedom? He did not use human forces — He accomplished our salvation through weakness, so that we should marvel at so miraculous a deliverance, wrought by God's power alone, surpassing all our comprehension. We should therefore never be moved from this anchor: that God, just as He has brought us to freedom until now, will do the same in the future, and will increase His grace in us, provided we place all our trust in Him. But if, led by fickleness and a desire for something new, we presume to prescribe to God what seems useful to us for salvation, and stir up something unlawful against Him, it is certain that He will pay us exactly what we deserve.

I do not deny that today we may have certain provisions for life that we did not have before. But I do say that if we place our hope in them and rely on our own strength and plans, we are tempting God and insulting His benefits — and as far as we are able, trampling them underfoot. From this let us learn that when God heaps various benefits upon us, we should rest content with them and not restlessly desire something different or look for a change — as if what has been helpful to us until now will be of no use in the future. Rather, let us acknowledge that God will continue and sustain the provisions by which He has helped us, provided we do not block His grace through ingratitude.

Samuel continues to show the people how God had been merciful toward them even though they were unworthy. The first rebuke should have brought them to repentance — yet they remained hardened. Samuel therefore reveals God's mercy to them, so that if in the future they enjoy prosperity under Saul's leadership and win victories over their enemies, they will not become arrogant and boast as though they had gotten what they deserved. Instead, they must remain mindful of God's mercy — the mercy alone that moved Him to turn their evil into good.

Samuel emphasizes their iniquity and stubbornness by quoting their own words: 'By no means — we demand a king.' That phrase 'By no means' reveals the pride of the people more fully — the venom in their hearts — in that they had responded so boldly and insolently to God. What servant would dare answer his master that way? What son would tell his father he absolutely will not do what is commanded? What subject would say this to his lord? Not only is such a response impermissible — those in such relationships must submit and obey without exception. Who then could tolerate these wretched, insignificant creatures — mere worms of the earth — rising up against their Creator who holds all power over them, and who had been so generous toward them, and answering: 'By no means shall it be done' — without even acknowledging the hand of God by whose help they had so often been rescued from the worst distress? By throwing these words back in their faces, Samuel was shaming them and utterly confounding them — exposing the diabolical pride by which they dared to defy God Himself.

Here we should observe that it is not enough to ask God graciously for what we desire — He must also so curb and restrain our appetites that they are brought into conformity with His will. The people had not initially said in a passing moment that they wanted a king or that they would choose whoever pleased them. They had asked Samuel to obtain and appoint a king for them from the Lord. They asked — but how did they ask? Like someone demanding alms with a weapon in hand, as the saying goes. They arrogantly demanded that their wish be granted. We must therefore take care that in all our requests we maintain modesty and keep our appetites in check — lest we importune God insolently or indulge our corrupt desires as that people did. If we want our prayers to be heard, we must shape them to His will. Paul urges the Philippians with these words: 'Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.' He commands them to take refuge in God in their troubles, to accept His will, and to receive with equanimity whatever He does. In short, let us know that this modesty must mark all our praying: we must not presume to lay down the law to God or arrogantly demand from Him whatever comes to mind. Attending to His pleasure, let us submit all our petitions to His will and depend on it without murmuring or complaint. Let us therefore learn wisdom from that people's example — rightly rebuked for having demanded a king from the Lord, when they should have first asked whether it was lawful to make such a request, instead of so boldly and insolently trying to tell God what to do.

Nevertheless, Samuel declares here that God, overlooking their past offenses, had mercy on those who by every measure had shown themselves unworthy of it. From this we must learn that God often hears our prayers even when we have provoked Him to anger — and when we have brought the worst confusion on ourselves, He still patiently bears with us. But does this give us license to provoke and challenge Him? On the contrary, let us learn not to be puffed up by prosperity. It often happens that when we are prosperous, we become arrogant and neglect God — worshipping Him casually, failing to persuade ourselves that He truly hears us, and therefore praying carelessly. When some memory of Him does come to mind, we do not deal seriously with Him. We will confess that we are sinners — but since we are enjoying prosperity, we assume that all our actions are approved by God. So we forget Him and fashion for ourselves as many idols as we have claims to self-credit: one person praises his own cleverness, another his hard work, another his diligence, and yet another even boasts of his fraud. And so the wretched do not only grow proud of their virtues but become arrogant in their very vices. If they have offended God, they even boast that they did not immediately pay the penalty for it. But certain punishment awaits them.

This passage therefore deserves all the more careful attention — it shows us that God often conceals the sins by which we have brought His judgment on ourselves and bears with us for a time. If prosperity comes our way, let us not sacrifice to our own net and take credit for it ourselves. Instead, let us seriously consider what great evil we would have brought on ourselves had God not taken pity on us — and acknowledge that it is by His goodness alone that the danger hanging over our heads has been turned away and we have received good.

That is enough on those matters. Samuel then commanded the individual tribes to present themselves before the Lord in order for the casting of lots. From this it is clear that God wished to honor Saul's kingdom and make it more solemn and authoritative. Although the people had already submitted to Samuel's direction and each had gone home to wait for the new king to be appointed — not without grumbling and resentment from many, to be sure — nevertheless, if Samuel had simply designated someone on his own, that person would have been rejected. That people was prone to rebellion, and would not easily have accepted any king merely put forward by a man. We will hear their murmurings below when Saul was presented to the people — even though God had revealed by unmistakable signs that the election came from Him, not from human choice. What then would have happened if Samuel had merely told the people that he had received a private revelation commanding him to set Saul over them? There is no doubt they would have fallen into bitter disputes and would have provoked God's just judgment upon themselves. We see therefore that God — who knew well their fierce and stubborn spirits — wished to head off that great evil in time, and to make them certain about Saul's election, of which He Himself was the author. He therefore wished lots to be cast among the individual tribes — and for this specific purpose: that the people might acknowledge that, although they had seriously offended God, they would nonetheless receive better things through His mercy, which would turn all things to their good. The aim was that they would be humbled before God, be displeased with themselves, embrace the grace offered to them all the more eagerly, and give glory to God.

Now then, come, etc.