Sermon 42: 1 Samuel 12:12-18

12. Now when you saw that Nahash king of the children of Ammon had come against you, you said to me: Not at all, but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God reigned in you. 13. Now therefore your king is here, whom you have chosen and asked: behold, the Lord has given you a king. 14. If you fear the Lord... ...and serve him, and hear his voice, and do not provoke the mouth of the Lord, both you and the king who reigns over you shall be following the Lord your God. 15. But if you do not hear the voice of the Lord, but provoke his words, the hand of the Lord shall be upon you and upon your fathers. 16. But now stand and see this great thing which the Lord shall do in your sight. 17. Is it not the wheat harvest today? I shall call upon the Lord, and he shall give voices and rains, and you shall know and see that you have done a great evil to yourselves in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves. 18. And Samuel cried to the Lord, and the Lord gave voices and rains in that day: and all the people feared the Lord and Samuel exceedingly.

Samuel continues in the discourse he has begun, and convicts the people of their immense ingratitude, that when they had known by no doubtful signs that God was near to them to bring help in straitened circumstances, they were not content with His help, but sought new methods of safety. But experience is said to be the teacher of fools; for although some fall through imprudence at first, yet when they have afterwards known something by the very thing, ought they not be made more cautious even against their will, and confess what is most manifest? But this people of Israel had experienced the miraculous help of God, not once or twice, but as often as because of their sins they had fallen into various dangers and divine chastisements, so often, being converted, they had felt His mercy, and He had raised up extraordinary liberators for them, such as were Jephthah, Samson, Gideon, and others like them, of whom we have spoken above. But finally they had received Samuel from the Lord. Furthermore God so used these judges that they were leaders of the people, to whom He gave prosperous successes, that His power might appear in them: and these things were done in the sight of the people, and most known to all, so that the people could pretend no excuse for their contumacy when they pertinaciously demanded a king. For they seem to accuse God as if He had abandoned them without help, and they had suffered misfortune, or as if the dominion of the judges had not been such as it ought to have been: which if it were so, they would seem to have had some cause for desiring change. But from where, I ask, this appetite of not being able to bear that they should be ruled and governed by God, of whose blessing and favor toward them there were so many testimonies in so many prosperous successes? But Samuel here notes a certain circumstance, to convict them of rebellion and to render them inexcusable, namely the threatening of the Lord, with the enemy Nahash, king of the Ammonites, raised against them, as we have seen above. And thus God willed to convict them of folly, and crush their pride, as if to say: 'That very necessity will compel you to be quiet. You have before experienced that nothing is better than to lurk under my shadow; but I,' says Samuel, 'now indeed God exacts the penalties of your ingratitude, with an enemy raised up for you and sent to your gates, so that now you must be quiet, and men, when their affairs are tranquil, must not kick like an unbridled horse. For we know that they permit themselves much. But when storms and tempests have arisen, men are held back, and terrified flee to God.' But in this part the people displayed their madness, when not even with God's vengeance imminent on its own head did it flee to a remedy, namely to God's mercy: but rather went on in malice and wickedness, and was hardened more and more: surely its contumacy can rightly be said to have been incurable. From this place therefore let us learn to profit from all the benefits done to us by God, that by them, as by instruments, the faith and hope which we have conceived from His promises may be cherished and nourished in us: and that we may be daily confirmed in them, that in adversities we may flee to Him and confidently invoke Him, in no way doubting that we shall experience to the end His help which we have experienced before. Furthermore let us also observe this, that God threatens and shows the signs of His fury to recall us to Himself; for just as when enjoying tranquil and quiet things, we indulge our concupiscences, and behave intemperately, and are contumacious against God Himself, so it is necessary that we be beaten and tamed by His rods. But when God is chastening us, we must take the greatest care not to kick back, but rather to bear paternal corrections with calm and patient mind. And if for a time we come to such madness that we will not obey His will and acquiesce, let us return to a better mind, and show ourselves easy and docile to Him, that we may follow Him calling us, wherever He leads.

Next Samuel adds: 'Now therefore your king is here, whom you have chosen and asked, behold the Lord has given you a king,' as if to say: Although in respect of you it was an unjust demand and an unlawful manner, yet the king whom you asked you have received: that proceeded from a wicked desire. For you said: 'It will no longer be that we are governed thus by the Lord, but we want a king after the manner of other nations:' as if it behooved God to obey you yourselves. Yet the Lord, in His enormous mercy, has even thus far pardoned this fault, and wills you to receive a king as one sent by Him, whom He has therefore also adorned with kingly virtues, that he may be able to rule well and protect and defend you. By which words Samuel gives the people hope that the Lord, turning His eyes from the people's sins, will turn evil into good, that He will not impute that sin to them, but make place for His mercy, that what would have been to their detriment and ruin may be turned to their advantage. But he adds a certain condition, by which they may become partakers of this good: 'If you fear the Lord and serve Him...' ...and if you hear his voice, and do not provoke the mouth of the Lord, to show that God, although pardoning certain sins, does not however want them to be held in mockery, nor His patience and goodness to be drawn into an occasion of contumacy, so that men should be hardened in their sins, persevering in them, and turn God's patience and ease in pardoning into license to perpetrate whatever they please. Therefore, he says, take the greatest care lest you abuse the pardon you have obtained, and be enticed again to sin; but rather acknowledge that God in the present forgives you and patiently bears the offense brought against Him, that He may give you occasion to worship Him and to walk according to His will and word. For the following words, 'you shall be, and the king who reigns over you, following the Lord your God,' many so interpret as if he said that God would be their guardian and defender, and would procure their salvation more and more: so that the force of the word 'you shall be' is, as if he said, then you shall be following the Lord, that is, the Lord shall go before you, and Himself show the way, and show that He is your leader. But that mode of speaking would be too harsh, for in all Scripture 'to follow the Lord' is hardly taken otherwise than for to obey God. Therefore the sense of these words will be most simple, with the series of the discourse being continuous, and he says that they will follow the Lord, listening to His word and being obedient, and going wherever He calls. He therefore had already promised the people pardon from the Lord, when he said: Now your king is here.

Now there follows a grave threat: 'But if you do not hear the voice of the Lord, but provoke His words, the hand of God shall be upon you,' and therefore He will no longer bear with you as before. For when He has patiently borne with you for a time, He will bring suit against you about all your transgressions, which He will heap as into a bundle, and will crush your malice with greater punishments, because you have held His patience and goodness in mockery. This therefore is the force of Samuel's words. In which the goodness of God reveals itself even to a miracle, since, as we have said, God converts the evil deeds of His own to salvation, which is contrary to nature, and so works, as Paul says, that He brings forth good from evil and light from darkness. Furthermore it is to be observed that Samuel joins the fear of God with His worship, then prescribes the norm of true fear and worship, namely, to hear the voice of God, which is to be diligently noted. For first we are taught that true wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And indeed from this one must begin, in order to institute our life well. For otherwise we shall indeed bear before men some appearance of virtue, and according to their judgment: but unless they rest on that foundation, they will go up in smoke and be empty. Therefore if we wish the whole course of our life to be approved by God, let us lay the fear of God as the foundation of the building, let us seek His honor and glory, let us refer all our words and deeds and thoughts to His glory, and let that be our scope and only zeal: and since we are His, let Him calmly enjoy us: and let us by the very fact testify that we revere Him as master, lord, and father, when we so cleave to His will. And by this distinction the unbelievers, who exhibit a great show of virtues but empty, are distinguished from the truly faithful, adorned with true virtues. For unbelievers indeed bear before them a great virtue, and are in great esteem: one will be held strong and great-souled, another liberal, another wise and prudent, and will be held in price among men: but yet those virtues will be like leaves immediately falling and withering from the tree, unless they rest on the fear of God, from which as from their true root they spring. But it is certain that the fear of God is not generated in us otherwise than by hearing His word. For if place is given to the imagination of men, and whatever flows from their fancy is admitted, it will come about that they recede far from the goal. For they so praise their good intentions, that they seem to themselves to be admitted by God without contradiction, and besides reach such impudence that they complain about God if He does not admit their imaginations and hold them gratifying. But Sacred Scripture teaches the contrary, namely that we shall never walk before God as is fitting, and that what we offer shall never be acceptable to God, unless we are taught by His word. True religion therefore must rest on the certainty of the word of God: and therefore how greatly those wretched blind men hallucinate, and into how great confusion they fall, who rely solely on their good intentions and on opinion alone, is from this conspicuous. We therefore must then most of all be kindled to God's worship, having received from Him the great benefit that He has revealed what worship is grateful to Him, and opened His will. If we shall follow this preceding torch, and walk in that way, it is certain that we shall be outside all danger of error, since God will never deceive us. But if on the contrary that condition is lacking, we shall be borne headlong into bypaths, and the more we labor, the more we shall recoil from the true goal. As therefore we have said, the beginning of our wisdom and perfection is to fear God, to consecrate ourselves to Him and glorify Him: so also, since by nature we are blind, and do not know how to discern evil from good, care must be taken that we listen to the word of the Lord, that with our ears we may draw in knowledge for governing ourselves. For it is most certain that until we have lent an attentive ear to God to receive the testimony of His power, we shall always be uncertain and doubtful, and wavering and fluctuating to either side, and recoiling from the right way, and tossed here and there, we shall come into the greatest... ...confusion. But on the contrary, hearing the word of God and following it as the norm of all our actions, we shall be sure that our worship and obedience are grateful to Him. Therefore Samuel, in order to demonstrate how great moment that admonition had, adds: 'Do not provoke the mouth of the Lord.' Having spoken of the word or voice of God, he also makes mention of His mouth, in the same sense. But yet so that he may make plain how great is men's stubbornness and proclivity to evil, unless with all care, labor, and zeal they subject their senses to God, and compose them to His obedience. For no one is unaware how great folly is innate in men, that of course they seem wise to themselves, and endowed with reason which they follow as a leader by nature in their actions. To this folly is added boldness, which adds courage to carry out what they have once conceived in mind, so that, since they seem good to themselves, we seem to wish in some way to compel God to approve them. And indeed with boldness pertinacity is joined, the heap of all evils. Then again our minds always bring forth something new, so that there is never an end of new things and new worships, by which, fluctuating here and there, we waver, and without end shaken from this side and that by perverse inventions, we totter: nor is it a matter of small moment to submit our minds to God, and to compose them entirely to His obedience. See therefore why Samuel says not only that the voice of God must be heard, but also makes mention of His mouth, when he admonishes them not to provoke the mouth of the Lord. Otherwise it is sufficiently plain that the expression is metaphorical, since the Lord spoke not with His own mouth, which He does not have, but through Moses, and gave the law: and afterwards through the prophets as witnesses of His will He taught the people, and instructed them in His ways. From which we learn that those who wish to be true disciples of God ought not to be carried above the clouds, nor to descend into the deep abyss to fish out God's will: but the word of God uttered through His servants, and even familiarly, is to be listened to. The prophets therefore and teachers are in the church of God as the very mouth of God. Therefore if anyone object that he would willingly obey God, but that he has not received the voice of God, that angels were not sent by Him, that they have not descended to us, nor appeared in His true glory: every such pretext and occasion of excuse is removed by these words, in which the mouth of God is mentioned, since God reveals Himself to us by the prophets. Thus through Moses He promulgated His law, and familiarly expounded it: thus finally through men He has taught His church in continuous succession: as He even today does. For besides the written Gospel we have the gift of prophecy, by which we learn that Sacred Scripture is to be applied to our instruction and use. Therefore if we are too dainty, and cannot taste and digest the doctrine set before us, surely we resist God Himself. And although we testify a thousand times to the contrary, we are guilty before God whenever we despise His word and account it of little.

Then Samuel goes on, and says toward the end of the verse: 'You shall be, and the king who reigns over you, following the Lord your God.' To follow the Lord, as I said before, is to acknowledge God as our head, in such a way that we are not ashamed willingly to subject ourselves to Him; and that all our glory is to serve Him, and willingly to defer to Him all authority and rule over us. These things generate in us that fear of which we spoke before, and the docility and obedience which we render to His word. God therefore commands us to cleave to Him. But how, I pray? Namely, that we walk behind Him, and follow Him going before. And in these things we see the example of all perfection and sanctity, that all our intentions be borne toward God, that we may serve Him from the heart, venerate Him and worship Him, drawing the true manner of His worship from His word, since by our nature we are wretchedly blinded, and are without all judgment and reason, until we are taught by His mouth, and willingly follow Him going before. But on the other hand the opposite threat follows. Truly when God invites us to Himself by the easiness and gentleness of His word, we ought to be satisfied, especially since He teaches us that we are not playing useless work, and that our hope is not empty: and therefore we ought to be roused by this voice of His alone to our duty. But so great is our negligence and contumacy that we are not even by this goodness of God enticed to our duty, since we can have no true taste of it on this earth. Or so great is our sluggishness that we do not think of God's worship, and do not remember that we are bound to Him, until He Himself draws us forcibly to Himself. He therefore deals with us in the same way as creditors deal with bad debtors, whom, fleeing and meditating fraud, they try to induce by good words to pay their debts: 'Beware,' they say, 'and willingly repay what you owe, lest you be forced to experience something harsher, and be dragged into court.' But nothing is gained by admonitions, which they shake out of their ears, and laugh at the creditors among themselves. So we conduct ourselves toward God. For when God by gentle and benevolent words has not ceased to entice us to Himself and by promises of future blessing to invite us to do our duty, and observes that He gains nothing by humanity and gentleness, but that we, on the contrary, resist and as it were make a noise against Him, finally, turning to severity, He declares that we have gained nothing by resisting, but must be compelled even unwillingly to our duty. Therefore when we see God adding threats to His promises, the occasion offered to us of being more and more... [ought to be the proof of] our depraved nature, that we should be incited and compelled into His obedience by the single voice of God, even if He promises nothing? Are we not His work? Or do we think a father commanding his son to do this or that ought to be obligated by some compensation? Is it not right for the son to obey his father's commands without contradiction? But God Himself, observing our sluggishness and slowness, even accommodates Himself so far to us that He invites us to His worship by the hope of a proposed reward. But when we are not even moved by these things, and compel God to use threats and severity, so that He should as it were appoint a day for us before His tribunal, and show the future condemnation there, must we not confess that we are three times wretched and depraved? Without doubt from this we have great occasion to humble ourselves before Him, and to deplore the depravity of our nature, and to cast and humble ourselves more and more before Him. Therefore care must be taken that, since we know God is bound to us in nothing, and we are slower to accept His word, we may at least be admonished and stimulated by His promises: which if they have not enough weight to move us, at least let His threats engender in us terror, and shake out of us that stupor and lethargy in which we snore and are hardened in vices and rebellion, when we shall see Him armed to take vengeance on us, and shall feel various afflictions, which, if we shall have done what we ought, and confessing our sins shall have returned to a better mind, will turn out for our good and benefit. This doctrine therefore is to be drawn from Samuel's discourse, by which Samuel rouses the people to serve God, to worship and venerate Him, partly by promises of supreme felicity and prosperity, partly also by threats of punishments, if having abused His patience he should promise himself impunity. Finally here it is to be observed, that God bearing with us for a time invites us to penance, as Paul teaches in the epistle to the Romans, and grants time, that thinking seriously about our sins we may withdraw from them. But if, having become more stupid and dull, we proceed in our sins, it is certain that so many exhortations of God, so many also threats and corrections, against which we shall have been more hardened, witnesses of our contumacy and rebellion, will at last bring a heavier judgment and punishment. And on the contrary even if He has long borne with us in patience, which we have abused, He will deal far more severely with us in the future.

Moreover Samuel, in order to gain authority for his doctrine, ratifies it by a miracle; for he says: 'But now stand and see this great thing which the Lord shall do in your sight.' 'Is it not the wheat harvest today?' 'I shall call upon the Lord, and He shall give voices and rains, and you shall know that you have done a great evil to yourselves in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.' 'And Samuel cried to the Lord, and the Lord gave voices and rains in that day; and all the people feared the Lord and Samuel exceedingly.' As to the miracle, let us know that it happened on account of the rudeness of that people, who had to be governed and confirmed in this way. For the doctrine was not yet such as we now have, but had much obscurity. But now we have come to the fullness of times, as Sacred Scripture says, and to perfection. For whatever was required for salvation has been fulfilled. We have the torch of the Gospel illuminating us as the sun illuminates the lands at noon. Nor are we any longer bound by those legal shadows, no longer do we make sacred things from brute animals, no longer are we bound to a material temple and similar things. But we have the substance and truth of all those things in our Lord Jesus Christ: He has so opened to us the kingdom of heaven that we may openly contemplate God's glory. And many miracles were done, by which the doctrine which we received from Him was confirmed: and so sufficiently sealed that it is beyond all doubt and controversy. Therefore miracles at this time are not only not necessary, but not even useful, as they were to the ancient people: for so much would be derogated from the authority and certainty of the evangelical doctrine, in which God has fully revealed Himself to us. Yet today we still behold many wonderful works of God, in which we feel His immense power: but those extraordinary miracles, by which we may be taught what pertains to His worship, we do not have today, nor is it expedient: which, as I said, are not useful today. But at that time the old people had to be confirmed by these signs. And therefore God then sent thunders and rains, that the people might acknowledge their sin, that they had not asked a king from the Lord with moderate affection. But when God speaks to us with paternal voices, must this not be of greater moment among us His sons, than any thunders? And indeed when in Psalm 29 the voice of God is said to be terrifying, that it strikes great terror into the wild beasts, shakes the deer and all the elements, we are taught that thunder is the voice of God, by which each created thing must be vehemently moved, since in thunders He has engraved His majesty, and therefore since that voice is so dreadful, it ought to bring fear to us. But when at the end of the Psalm it is added that God's people meanwhile rejoice in His temple, and speak forth His glory, we see that the word of God has far greater weight in the faithful than any thunders. For although thunders bring stupor and horror, yet they do not instruct concerning God's will. But on the contrary, when God so distinctly, so familiarly proposes His word to us, and in it... ...explains His will, and reveals our adoption, of which we have so evident and undoubted a testimony in our Lord Jesus Christ, whom He delivered to death for our reconciliation, and daily fulfills the part of a good father, and omits nothing necessary to our salvation, finally when He so kindly invites us to Himself, is it not most fair that we lend Him most attentive ears? But this people had to be roused, because of unbelief, by the voices of thunder, and impelled to hearing by a certain fear. They ought indeed to have been moved more by the law of God which they had received from Moses and the rest of the prophecies than by thunders: but thus God is wont to deal with stupid and foolish men: as in the prophet Isaiah by name the Lord threatens that He will speak to the people in a foreign and unknown tongue, which the people, because they have become stupid, will not understand: nor even if taught the first elements of the alphabet can they be instructed: but they always return to the same, and persevere in the same ignorance. By which words God sharply rebukes the Jewish people, that, although He had openly enough revealed His will to them in His word and law, yet on account of their malice and hardness of heart they comprehended nothing of it: and therefore He threatens that an exotic tongue will speak to them, to their greater condemnation. Here however God is said to have thundered after He had addressed the people. And why so? Namely because His word, which ought to be received with all reverence and honor, they would nevertheless commit to oblivion: and so it was necessary for God to compel them by some other foreign means, like beasts which are terrified by storms; since the voice of men would have no authority among them, but would be useless. God therefore shows that this people was unworthy that He should address them with His own mouth, and rule them by Samuel's ministry: since a people of such hard neck could not by that method be brought to their duty: and therefore He uttered thunders. From which we learn that, when God grants us this grace of speaking kindly to us, and proposing to us a clear exposition of His will, and as it were of putting pre-chewed food into our mouth, that we may digest it better, care must be taken that, accounting so great a goodness of God of great worth as we should, we apply all our senses to perceiving His doctrine, that we may make great progress in His school: and that His word may have such weight with us that we need no other supports: that we always assent to God speaking, and approve without contradiction whatever He has taught. And this above all is to be learned from this place. Then it is to be observed that God, thundering and sending lightnings, wishes by these as instruments to engrave His word in our hearts. Therefore if perhaps God strikes the lands with hail, by which the crops are taken away by some great calamity, let us acknowledge that this happens because we have not shown ourselves docile to God. And because we have brought deaf ears to His word, therefore it is necessary that He rain, thunder, flash lightning to rouse us: since by the gentle rain of His word our hearts have not been watered, and softened to receive His grace offered, as often as God acts as master and teacher to teach us.

Furthermore, when Samuel says: 'Is it not the wheat harvest today?' the diversity of regions must be observed. For if the region of the Jews had been in everything similar to those in which we live, it would not have been a new and unusual thing to hear thunders at harvest time. For at that time of year thunders are usually frequent: and therefore the thunders that arose then would have been ascribed to nature, not to a miracle. Therefore let us know that that region at harvest time was not subject to either rains or thunders, so that the harvest of the fruits of the earth might be more easily gathered. That it had rained after sowing, to bring the seed forth more easily from the earth: then also that it had rained to help the ripening of the fruits, is certain: but that there should be rain or thunders at harvest time we easily perceive to have been a thing unusual and unheard of. For there is no doubt that Samuel here bids the people expect from the Lord something new and unusual, by which it might be terrified and snatched up in admiration, since it would be a wonderful work. Furthermore, here it can be asked why Samuel prays against the people, that they may be reproved by the Lord, when he ought rather to have been mediator and intercessor for the people before the Lord, as we shall see him afterwards do. But, as we have already taught, if those whom God has willed to be ministers of His word are zealous for the salvation and benefit of their hearers, and desire to promote it, they ought not to flatter their hearers, and nourish them in vices: but rather, that they may scratch and lacerate them more often, and apply severity, by which they may move sinners to a sense of their vices, in which they would otherwise perish snoring. As therefore they must denounce God's judgments to those who need it: so also they must add threats, and be ministers of divine chastisements when they are not heard, and the place for their doctrine is none left. Surely Elijah's affection was not cruel, beyond controversy, in procuring the people's confusion, although he burned with ardent zeal for honoring God: but rather, that as charity commanded him, he was solicitous for the common utility of the whole people: nevertheless we see heaven shut up by his prayers, and rain denied for so many years, with nothing standing in the way that all things should perish and be destroyed by famine. Which we see Elijah did, on account of the people's hardness and rebellion; since there was no other way of recalling the people to penance: as also afterwards...

...he returned to a better mind. In which matter the solicitude and care which Elijah had for the people becomes also conspicuous. For when he had again prayed God, fertility was restored to the people, and they were refreshed with the goods of the earth and an abundant produce. So it must be noted that Samuel praying God to stir up thunders and send rains had remitted nothing of his zeal and excellent will toward the people, whose earthly comforts he no less than the salvation of the soul had cared for, and would have procured to the best of his powers, provided the people had willingly subjected itself to the Lord's will, and sought His tranquility and quiet. But when he asked that the people be chastened, it was done for their highest good. For who could say that a father hates his son whom he beats with rods? Is he not rather impelled to that coercion by paternal love? Thus we see that Elijah and Samuel loved the people no less when they used such severity against them. Indeed the same may be contemplated in Paul. For we know that Paul was the most patient of all men, the most easy, and the most zealous for the church of God, and the most prone to procure the advantage and benefit of each. Yet he, observing his calling despised, and coming into contempt, and his doctrine lying as if dead: because it bore nothing magnificent before it, but the highest fragility and weakness, says: 'What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with charity?' which voice is yet metaphorical, as if to say: 'I have so far used all easiness and gentleness toward you to lead you to the Lord; I have addressed you with smooth and honeyed speeches, that is, with kindly exhortations and friendly voices. Now however, since I see you refractory and contumacious, and that the word of God is despised by you, what else remains for me, but that I come to you with a staff?' Furthermore the word of God and His worship and the servants of God are despised when men do not willingly subject themselves to their doctrine. From this then we must learn that, when God gives us testimony of His will, and as a father familiarly addresses sons, we ought to be attentive and so to receive His doctrine that it may be to us as a rule, by which we may regulate our life: otherwise it is to be feared lest He come with rod and staff, and send His tempests, thunders, hails, and lightnings, and show that severity which we deserve, that we may be smitten with His judgments. But if it should happen that we are chastened by God, and God procures authority for His word from heaven by thundering, let us at least imitate what is said here. For although here mention is made of a contumacious and incorrigible people, yet it is said that having heard the thunder, they feared the Lord and Samuel, because he had foretold those events. It is certain however that Samuel did not utter those things rashly, but when he prayed God, had a revelation that this miracle was to come to pass. In which two things are to be observed by us: first that nothing is to be undertaken rashly and attempted beyond our powers: as many fanatics are wont to boast of certain miracles, and predict certain things to come: which rashness God mocks, and chastises with the brand of disgrace. Therefore let us learn not to go beyond the limits of our calling and the bounds of moderation. Furthermore, Samuel by his example teaches that those who have been made certain about God's will should nonetheless pray God. For he had received from revelation that God willed to send both thunders and rains, and yet with great ardor he prays God, and earnestly asks Him to fulfill what he had foretold. From which it appears that, although we have been made certain about God's will, we ought not to be languid and remiss in praying. Finally, the people are said to have feared Jehovah and Samuel: that we may be taught by their example what will happen to us if we do not hear God's voice. For if a people so contumacious and wicked was at last tamed by God's hand, what do we think will happen to us, unless we hear God addressing us, and even coercing with threats, and showing by the very thing that He addresses us, although not indeed with His own mouth, but through the mouth of His servants, and through other creatures? Therefore as often as God touches our ear with such signs and proofs, let us not persevere in rebellion and contumacy, but let us undergo the yoke, and afflicted with shame let us subject ourselves: and let us so learn to fear Him that we also fear and honor those whom He has sent. For not without cause is it said here that the people feared Jehovah and Samuel: as also in another place it is said that they feared Jehovah and Moses. Not at all as if Moses and Samuel were to be feared in themselves, but because they rendered faithful service to God in ruling the people, and the people belonged not to them, but to the Holy Spirit.

Now then, etc.

12. 'When you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites had come against you, you said to me: "No, but a king shall reign over us" — even though the Lord your God was your king. 13. Now here is the king you chose and asked for. Behold, the Lord has given you a king. 14. If you will fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will be following the Lord your God. 15. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16. Now then, stand still and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. 17. Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.' 18. So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

Samuel continues in the address he has begun, convicting the people of their enormous ingratitude: though they had seen by unmistakable signs that God was near to help them in their distress, they were not content with His help and sought other means of safety. Experience is said to be the teacher of fools — even those who stumble through carelessness at first should, after learning something by hard experience, become more cautious, even against their will, and acknowledge what is perfectly obvious. But this people of Israel had experienced God's miraculous help not once or twice, but repeatedly: as often as their sins had brought them into danger and under God's discipline, they had turned back and experienced His mercy, and He had raised up extraordinary deliverers for them — Jephthah, Samson, Gideon, and others like them whom we have discussed above. And finally God had given them Samuel. Furthermore, God used these judges as leaders of the people — giving them prosperous outcomes so that His power would be visible through them. All of this was done in full view of the people, and was well known to everyone. The people therefore had no excuse for their stubborn demand for a king. By demanding a king they seemed to be accusing God of having abandoned them without help — as if He had let them suffer misfortune, or as if the rule of the judges had been inadequate. If that had been the case, they might have had some reason for wanting change. But why, then, this craving to escape being ruled and governed by God — when His blessing and favor toward them had been demonstrated by so many prosperous outcomes? Samuel here notes a particular detail in order to convict them of rebellion and leave them without excuse: the threat posed by the enemy Nahash, king of the Ammonites, whom we read about above. God intended this to expose their foolishness and crush their pride — as if to say: 'That very danger will compel you to be quiet. You have experienced before that there is nothing better than sheltering under My shadow. But now,' says Samuel, 'God is exacting the penalty for your ingratitude — He has raised up an enemy and sent him to your gates. Now you must be still. When things are going well, people kick like unbroken horses and allow themselves every license. But when storms and tempests arise, they are brought up short and flee to God in fear.' But in this moment the people showed their madness: even with God's judgment bearing down on them, they did not flee to the only remedy — God's mercy. Instead they pressed on in wickedness and hardened themselves further. Their stubbornness could rightly be called incurable. From this let us learn to make good use of every blessing God has given us — using them as instruments by which the faith and hope we have received from His promises may be nourished and kept alive in us, so that we are daily confirmed in them. In adversity, let us flee to Him and call on Him with confidence, in no way doubting that we will experience to the end the same help we have experienced before. Let us also observe that God threatens and displays signs of His anger precisely in order to call us back to Himself. When we enjoy peace and prosperity, we indulge our passions, live without restraint, and grow defiant even toward God — and so it is necessary that He beat and tame us with His rod. When God is disciplining us, we must take the greatest care not to resist — but to bear His fatherly correction with a calm and patient mind. And if for a time we are overtaken by such stubbornness that we refuse to obey His will and submit, let us return to a better frame of mind, and show ourselves teachable and responsive to Him — so that we may follow wherever He leads us.

Samuel adds: 'Now here is the king you chose and asked for. Behold, the Lord has given you a king.' The meaning is: Even though your demand was unjust and your manner of making it unlawful, you have still received the king you asked for — a king who came from a wicked desire. For you said: 'We will no longer be governed by the Lord in this way — we want a king like other nations,' as if God were obligated to do your bidding. Yet the Lord, in His immense mercy, has even so pardoned this offense. He wills you to receive a king as one sent by Him — a king whom He has also equipped with royal qualities, so that he may govern well and protect and defend you. By these words Samuel gives the people hope that the Lord, overlooking the people's sins, will turn evil into good — that He will not hold that sin against them, but will make room for His mercy, so that what might have been their ruin becomes their benefit. But he adds a condition on which they may receive this good: 'If you fear the Lord and serve Him...' ...and if you hear His voice and do not rebel against His command. This shows that God, though pardoning certain sins, does not want His patience and goodness to be treated with contempt — or turned into an occasion for stubbornness, so that people harden themselves in their sins, persist in them, and make God's patience and readiness to forgive into a license to do as they please. Therefore, Samuel says, take the greatest care not to abuse the pardon you have received, and not to be drawn back into sin. Instead, acknowledge that God has forgiven you here and now, and is patiently bearing the offense against Him — so that He might give you occasion to worship Him and walk according to His will and Word. The words 'then you and the king who reigns over you will be following the Lord your God' are interpreted by some as meaning that God would be their guardian and defender and would continually secure their salvation — as if 'you shall be following the Lord' meant 'the Lord will go before you, show you the way, and act as your leader.' But that reading is strained. Throughout all of Scripture, 'to follow the Lord' means simply to obey God. The plainest reading of these words, then, following the natural flow of Samuel's speech, is that they will follow the Lord by listening to His Word, obeying Him, and going wherever He calls. He had already promised the people God's pardon when he said: 'Now here is your king.'

Next comes a serious warning: 'But if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against His command, the hand of God will be upon you.' He will no longer bear with you as He has before. After bearing patiently with you for a time, He will call you to account for all your transgressions — gathering them up as into a bundle — and will crush your wickedness with greater punishment, because you have treated His patience and goodness with contempt. Such is the force of Samuel's words. In all this, God's goodness is revealed as almost miraculous: as we have said, God turns His people's evil deeds to salvation — which is contrary to nature. He works, as Paul says, bringing good out of evil and light out of darkness. We must also observe that Samuel joins the fear of God with the worship of God, and then defines the true standard of both: it is to hear the voice of God. This deserves careful attention. First, we are taught that the fear of the Lord is true wisdom. We must begin there if we wish to order our lives well. Otherwise we may display before people some appearance of virtue that impresses them — but unless these virtues rest on that foundation, they will evaporate and prove empty. So if we want the whole course of our lives to be approved by God, let us lay the fear of God as the foundation. Let us seek His honor and glory. Let us refer all our words, deeds, and thoughts to His glory — and let that be our aim and our only zeal. Since we are His, let Him dwell peacefully in us, and let us show by our very conduct that we revere Him as our master, Lord, and Father, by clinging to His will. This is the distinction between unbelievers — who display a great outward show of virtue but an empty one — and the truly faithful, who are adorned with genuine virtue. Unbelievers can carry a great reputation for virtue and be highly regarded: one is considered courageous and great-hearted, another generous, another wise and prudent. But those virtues are like leaves that quickly fall and wither from the tree — they cannot last unless they are rooted in the fear of God, from which as from their true root they must spring. And the fear of God is generated in us only through hearing His Word. If instead we give free rein to human imagination and accept whatever people's fancy produces, the result is that people wander far from the true goal. They praise their good intentions so highly that they think God must receive them without objection — and they grow so bold that they even complain against God if He does not approve of their inventions and find them acceptable. But Scripture teaches the opposite: we will never walk before God as we should, and what we offer will never be acceptable to God, unless we are instructed by His Word. True religion therefore must rest on the certainty of God's Word. From this we can see how badly those who rely only on their good intentions and their own opinions have gone astray, and into what confusion they fall. We must therefore be all the more stirred to worship God — having received the great benefit that He has revealed what worship is acceptable to Him and opened His will to us. If we follow this guiding light and walk in that way, we will certainly be free from all danger of error, since God will never deceive us. But if that condition is lacking, we will be driven headlong into wrong paths, and the more we labor, the further we will drift from the true goal. As we have said, then, the beginning of our wisdom and perfection is to fear God, to consecrate ourselves to Him, and to glorify Him. And since by nature we are blind and unable to tell good from evil, we must take care to listen to God's Word — so that through our ears we draw in the knowledge needed to govern ourselves. It is most certain that until we have lent an attentive ear to God and received the testimony of His power, we will always be uncertain and wavering — tossed back and forth, drifting from the right way, and tumbling into the greatest confusion. On the other hand, by hearing God's Word and following it as the rule of all our actions, we can be certain that our worship and obedience are acceptable to Him. Therefore Samuel, to show how weighty his admonition is, adds: 'Do not rebel against the command of the Lord.' Having spoken of God's voice and word, he also speaks of His mouth — both referring to the same thing. He uses this language to make plain how great is the human tendency to stubbornness and evil, unless with all care, effort, and zeal people subject their minds to God and conform them to His obedience. Everyone knows the foolishness that is innate in us: we think ourselves wise, and naturally follow our own reason as our guide in all our actions. To this foolishness is added boldness — which gives us the audacity to carry out what we have conceived, since we find ourselves good in our own eyes, and we effectively try to compel God to approve. And to boldness is added stubbornness — the culmination of all evils. Beyond that, our minds are constantly generating something new — there is no end to new ideas and new forms of worship, by which we are tossed about endlessly, unsteady and shaken by one perverse invention after another. It is no small matter to submit our minds to God and shape them entirely to His obedience. This is why Samuel not only says that God's voice must be heard, but also speaks of His mouth — when he warns them not to rebel against the mouth of the Lord. It is clear enough that this is figurative language, since the Lord spoke not through His own mouth — which He does not have in a bodily sense — but through Moses, through whom He gave the law, and afterwards through the prophets as witnesses of His will, by whom He taught and instructed the people. From this we learn that those who truly wish to be God's disciples should neither fly above the clouds nor plunge into the deep seeking out God's will by extraordinary means. The Word of God, spoken through His servants and communicated in an accessible way, is what must be heard. The prophets and teachers in the church of God are, as it were, God's own mouth. Therefore if anyone objects that they would gladly obey God, but that they have not received His voice directly — that angels were not sent, that God has not appeared in His glory — all such pretexts and excuses are removed by these words, which speak of God's mouth, since God reveals Himself through the prophets. Thus through Moses He proclaimed His law and explained it plainly. Through human ministers He has taught His church in an unbroken succession — as He does even today. For beyond the written Gospel, we have the gift of prophecy, through which we learn how Scripture is to be applied to our instruction and use. Therefore if we are too fastidious and cannot receive and take in the teaching set before us, we are resisting God Himself. And though we protest to the contrary a thousand times, we stand guilty before God whenever we despise His Word and treat it as of little value.

Samuel continues and says toward the end of this verse: 'Then you and the king who reigns over you will be following the Lord your God.' To follow the Lord, as I said before, is to acknowledge God as our head — to willingly submit to Him without shame, to count serving Him as our highest honor, and to defer all authority and rule over us entirely to Him. This is what produces in us that fear we spoke of earlier, along with the teachableness and obedience we render to His Word. God therefore commands us to cleave to Him. But how? By walking behind Him — by following as He goes before. In this we see the standard of all perfection and holiness: all our desires directed toward God, so that we serve Him from the heart, honor and worship Him, and draw the true form of His worship from His Word alone — since by our nature we are wretchedly blind and without sound judgment or reason, until He has taught us from His mouth and we willingly follow His leading. On the other side comes the opposite threat. When God calls us to Himself by the gentleness and kindness of His Word, we ought to be satisfied — especially since He assures us that our labor is not in vain and our hope is not empty. His voice alone should be enough to rouse us to our duty. But our negligence and defiance are so great that we are not even drawn to our duty by His goodness — since we have no true capacity to taste it here on earth. Or our laziness is so deep that we simply do not think about worshipping God or remember our obligation to Him — until He drags us forcibly to Himself. He therefore deals with us the way creditors deal with bad debtors who are trying to flee and avoid payment. They try first to win them over with kind words: 'Please, pay what you owe willingly — before you have to face something harder and be dragged into court.' But the warnings accomplish nothing. The debtors shake them off and laugh among themselves about the creditor. We conduct ourselves toward God in precisely the same way. When God by gentle and kind words has not ceased to draw us to Himself and invite us to our duty with promises of future blessing — and when He sees that kindness gains nothing, and that we instead resist and effectively push back against Him — He turns to severity and declares that our resistance has accomplished nothing, and that we will be compelled to our duty even against our will. When we see God adding threats to His promises, we ought to recognize the evidence of our own corrupt nature. Should we not be moved into His obedience by His voice alone — even without any promise attached? Are we not His creation? Would we think a father who commands his son to do something is obligated to compensate the son for it? Is it not right for a son to obey his father's commands without argument? Yet God — seeing our laziness and slowness — even condescends to invite us to His worship by holding out the hope of a reward. But when we are not even moved by that, and force God to resort to threats and severity — as if He must formally summon us before His tribunal and display our coming condemnation before us — must we not confess that we are beyond measure wretched and corrupt? Without doubt this gives us powerful reason to humble ourselves before Him, to grieve over the depravity of our nature, and to cast ourselves down before Him all the more. We must therefore take care that, knowing God owes us nothing and knowing how slow we are to receive His Word, we allow ourselves at least to be moved and stirred by His promises. And if His promises do not carry enough weight to move us, let His threats at least strike fear into us and rouse us from the stupor and spiritual sleep in which we snore away, hardened in our sins and defiance — until, when we see Him armed for vengeance and feel His various afflictions, we finally do what we should and, confessing our sins, return to a better mind. Then those very afflictions will turn out for our good. This, then, is the doctrine to be drawn from Samuel's address: Samuel rouses the people to serve, worship, and honor God — partly through the promise of great blessing and prosperity, and partly through the threat of punishment for those who abuse His patience and presume on impunity. We must finally observe that God, bearing with us for a time, is calling us to repentance — as Paul teaches in Romans — giving us time to think seriously about our sins and turn away from them. But if we grow more hardened and stupid and press on in our sins, it is certain that all of God's exhortations, all His threats, all His corrections — which we have only hardened ourselves against — will stand as witnesses of our stubbornness and will at last bring a heavier judgment and punishment. And even if He has long been patient with us, and we have abused that patience, He will deal all the more severely with us in the end.

Samuel, in order to confirm his teaching with authority, ratifies it with a miracle. He says: 'Now then, stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.' 'Is it not the wheat harvest today?' 'I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, and you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.' 'So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.' Regarding the miracle itself: we must understand that it happened because of the stubbornness of that people, who had to be governed and confirmed in this manner. The revelation they had then was not what we now have — it still contained much obscurity. But now we have come to the fullness of time, as Scripture says — to completion. Everything necessary for salvation has been fulfilled. We have the torch of the Gospel illuminating us like the sun shining at noon. We are no longer bound by the shadows of the law — we no longer offer animals in sacrifice, no longer tied to a material temple or similar external things. We have the substance and reality of all those things in our Lord Jesus Christ. He has opened the kingdom of heaven to us so that we may openly behold God's glory. Many miracles were performed to confirm the teaching we received from Him — and that teaching is sealed so sufficiently that it is beyond all doubt and controversy. Therefore miracles at this time are not only unnecessary but actually less useful than they were for the ancient people. To insist on them would detract from the authority and certainty of the Gospel — in which God has fully revealed Himself to us. We do still behold many wonderful works of God today, in which we experience His immense power. But those extraordinary miracles — by which we might be taught what pertains to His worship — are not given today, nor would they be appropriate: they are, as I said, not what is needed now. But in that earlier time the ancient people had to be confirmed by such signs. God therefore sent thunder and rain so that the people would acknowledge their sin in having demanded a king not with moderate and obedient hearts, but from stubborn self-will. But when God speaks to us with the gentle voice of a Father, should this not carry far greater weight with us — as His sons — than any thunder? Indeed, Psalm 29 declares that the voice of God in thunder is so awe-inspiring that it strikes terror into wild animals, shakes the deer, and moves all the elements — we are thus taught that thunder is, in a sense, God's voice, by which every created thing ought to be deeply moved, since He has engraved His majesty in it. That terrifying voice ought to produce in us a reverent fear. But at the end of that psalm it is added that God's people, meanwhile, rejoice in His temple and declare His glory — showing us that God's Word carries far greater weight with the faithful than any thunder. For though thunder produces shock and awe, it does not instruct us about God's will. But when God so clearly and personally sets before us His Word — explaining His will in it, revealing our adoption, of which we have such unmistakable testimony in our Lord Jesus Christ whom He delivered to death for our reconciliation — and when He daily fulfills the role of a good Father, leaving out nothing necessary for our salvation, and so kindly invites us to Himself — is it not entirely right that we should give Him our most attentive ears? But this people, because of their unbelief, had to be roused by the sound of thunder and driven to listen by a kind of fear. They should in fact have been moved far more by the law of God they received from Moses and by the rest of the prophecies than by any thunder. But this is how God deals with stubborn and foolish people — as the prophet Isaiah records: the Lord threatens that He will speak to the people in a foreign tongue they cannot understand, because they have become so dull. Though they were taught the very alphabet of God's truth, they comprehended nothing — they always return to the same state and persist in the same ignorance. By these words God sharply rebukes the Jewish people: though He had revealed His will plainly enough in His Word and law, they grasped nothing of it because of their hardness of heart. He therefore threatens that a foreign tongue will speak to them — to their greater condemnation. Here God is said to have thundered after He had already addressed the people. Why? Because His Word, which ought to have been received with all reverence and honor, they were going to consign to oblivion. God therefore had to compel them by some extraordinary external means — as animals are frightened by storms — since the voice of His servants carried no authority with them and fell on deaf ears. God showed by this that the people were unworthy to be addressed by His own mouth and governed through Samuel's ministry — since a people of such a hard neck could not be brought to their duty that way. He therefore spoke in thunder. From this we learn that when God grants us the grace of speaking to us kindly — setting before us a clear explanation of His will, as it were placing pre-digested food in our mouths so we may receive it more readily — we must take great care to value this immense goodness as it deserves. We must apply all our faculties to receiving His teaching and making real progress in His school. His Word must carry such weight with us that we need no other supports. We must always assent to God when He speaks, and approve without objection whatever He has taught. This above all is to be learned from this passage. We must also observe that when God thunders and sends lightning, He uses even these as instruments to engrave His Word in our hearts. Therefore if God strikes the land with hail and a great calamity destroys the harvest, let us acknowledge that this happens because we have not shown ourselves teachable toward God. Because we have brought deaf ears to His Word, He must thunder and send rain and lightning to rouse us — since the gentle rain of His Word has not watered and softened our hearts to receive the grace He offers, each time He acts as our master and teacher.

When Samuel says, 'Is it not the wheat harvest today?' we must take note of the different climate of that region. If the land of the Jews were similar in every way to the regions in which we live, thunder at harvest time would have been nothing unusual. In our climate, thunderstorms are common in summer — and so thunder at harvest time might simply have been attributed to nature, not to a miracle. But we must understand that in that region, the harvest season was not subject to rains or thunder, precisely so the harvest could be gathered more easily. Rain fell after sowing, to help the seed sprout from the ground, and it rained again during the growing season to aid ripening — but thunder and rain at harvest time were unheard of. There is no doubt that Samuel was calling the people to expect from the Lord something new and extraordinary — something that would both frighten them and fill them with wonder, because it would be a marvelous work. A question can also be raised here: why does Samuel pray against the people — calling down reproof from the Lord — when he should rather be acting as mediator and intercessor for them, as we will in fact see him do later? But as we have already taught: those whom God has appointed as ministers of His Word, if they are genuinely concerned for the salvation and benefit of their hearers, must not flatter them or feed them in their vices. Instead, they must at times cut and wound, applying severity to move sinners to feel the weight of their sins — sins in which they would otherwise sleep on and perish. Just as ministers must declare God's judgments to those who need to hear them, so they must also add threats and serve as instruments of divine discipline when their teaching is not received and there is no longer any room for their word alone. Elijah's zeal in bringing down confusion on the people was not cruelty — it burned with ardent desire to honor God and, as genuine love demanded, to promote the welfare of the whole people. Yet we see him praying that heaven be shut up and rain be withheld for years, so that everything was at risk of perishing in famine. Elijah did this on account of the people's hardness and rebellion — because there was no other way to bring them back to repentance. As also afterwards...

...Elijah returned to a better mind toward the people. In this the care and concern Elijah had for the people is also made clear. For when he prayed again, God restored fertility to the land and refreshed the people with an abundant harvest. So it must be understood that Samuel, in praying for God to send thunder and rain, had not set aside any part of his zeal and love toward the people. He cared for their earthly welfare no less than for the salvation of their souls, and would have worked for their comfort and peace with all his strength — if only the people had willingly submitted to the Lord's will and sought His tranquility. But when he asked that the people be disciplined, it was for their ultimate good. Who could say that a father hates a son whom he disciplines with a rod? Is he not rather driven to that correction by parental love? We see the same in Elijah and Samuel — their severity did not mean they loved the people any less. The same can be seen in Paul. Paul was the most patient of all men, the most gentle, the most zealous for the church of God, and the most eager to seek the benefit of every person. Yet when he saw his calling despised and his teaching treated as worthless — as if it had nothing impressive about it, but only great weakness and fragility — he said: 'What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love?' This is a figurative expression, as if he were saying: 'I have up to now used every gentleness and kindness to lead you to the Lord — I have addressed you with sweet and encouraging words, with friendly exhortations and warm appeals. 'But now, seeing you resistant and defiant, and God's Word despised by you — what else is left for me but to come to you with a staff?' God's Word and worship and His servants are despised whenever people refuse to willingly submit to their teaching. From this we must learn: when God gives us testimony of His will and, like a Father, speaks familiarly to us as children, we ought to be attentive and receive His teaching as a rule by which we govern our lives. Otherwise we must fear that He will come with rod and staff — sending His storms, thunder, hail, and lightning, and displaying the severity we deserve by striking us with His judgments. But if it does happen that God disciplines us and establishes the authority of His Word from heaven through thunder, let us at least imitate what is recorded here. Though this was a stubborn and unteachable people, it is said that when they heard the thunder, they feared the Lord and Samuel — because he had foretold these events. It is certain that Samuel did not say these things rashly. When he prayed, he had received a revelation that this miracle was to take place. Two things are to be observed from this: first, nothing should be undertaken rashly or attempted beyond the limits of one's calling. Many presumptuous people boast of certain miracles and predict coming events — a rashness that God mocks and brands with disgrace. Let us therefore learn to stay within the limits of our calling and the boundaries of proper restraint. Second, Samuel's example teaches us that even those who have been made certain of God's will must still pray. He had received by revelation that God intended to send both thunder and rain — yet he prayed to God with great earnestness and asked Him to fulfill what he had foretold. From this we see that even when we have been made certain of God's will, we must not become slack or careless in prayer. Finally, the people are said to have feared the Lord and Samuel — so that by their example we may understand what will happen to us if we do not hear God's voice. For if a people so stubborn and wicked was at last brought into submission by God's hand, what do we think will happen to us if we refuse to hear God speaking to us — even when He uses threats and shows by the very events that He is addressing us, though not with His own voice but through the mouths of His servants and through other created means? Therefore whenever God touches our ears with such signs and proofs, let us not persist in rebellion and stubbornness. Let us take up the yoke, and, humbled and ashamed, submit ourselves. Let us learn to fear Him in such a way that we also fear and honor those He has sent. It is not without reason that it is said here the people feared the Lord and Samuel — just as elsewhere it is said they feared the Lord and Moses. Not that Moses and Samuel were to be feared for their own sake, but because they rendered faithful service to God in governing the people — and the people did not belong to them, but to the Holy Spirit.

Now then, etc.