Sermon 46: 1 Samuel 13:8-14

And let us know that the proper use of our faith consists in this: that the help which seems to delay does not do so in vain, and that we cast the administration of times and opportunities into his providence. For it is certain that God, for his part, having the timeliness of occasions in his hand, will never fail us, not even for a moment. But with respect to us, our impatience is so great that unless he comes running at the very moment we wish, our affairs seem desperate. Therefore our emotions must be restrained, as if by reins, so that we leave him room to work according to his will, as we have learned that it is useful and expedient for us; and lest by our fervor and impatience we outrun him. And as we taught yesterday, Saul is set before us as a notable example of this matter. For at first sight he might seem excusable, since he had waited until the seventh day, and the time prescribed by the prophet had already passed; and therefore he might seem to have the liberty to offer sacrifice. Furthermore, he seems to have been moved not by his own impulse, nor by ambition, nor in mockery and contempt of God's worship; but because the people were scattering and dispersing from him, and he would therefore be left alone by his own people. Therefore, since he thought nothing remained for his safety, he fled to this last refuge. But Samuel severely rebukes him for this deed and says that he acted foolishly -- indeed, that he was insane and out of his mind. For such is the force of that word. Samuel could certainly have come sooner; but God wished by that delay to test Saul's obedience and his perseverance to the end. For without perseverance all that is past is vain and useless. God therefore wanted Samuel to delay somewhat, in order to test whether Saul would conduct himself steadfastly in the greatest dangers and afflictions and temptations. For indeed it is easy when things are prosperous and favorable to obey God, and when nothing solicits us to the contrary -- therefore it will not be of great

HOMILY XLVI. 8. And he waited seven days, according to the appointment of Samuel, and Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people slipped away from him. 9. Then Saul said, Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings; and he offered the burnt offering. 10. And when he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, to greet him. 11. And Samuel said to him: What have you done? And Saul replied: Because I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and you did not come within the appointed days, and moreover the Philistines had gathered at Michmash, 12. I said: Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord. Compelled by necessity I offered a burnt offering to the Lord. 13. And Samuel said to Saul: You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandments of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For if you had not done this, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14. But now your kingdom shall no longer stand. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded.

In yesterday's sermon we learned that the proper use of our faith is placed in this: that we patiently wait for the help God has promised. For it is certain that God, for his part, having the timeliness of occasions in his hand, will never fail us, not even for a moment. But with respect to ourselves, our impatience is so great that unless he comes running at the very moment we wish, our affairs seem desperate. Therefore our emotions must be restrained, as if by reins, so that we leave him room to work according to his will, as we have learned that it is useful and expedient for us -- lest by our fervor and impatience we outrun him. And as we taught yesterday, Saul is set before us as a notable example of this matter. credit to obey God's commands when everything flows and succeeds according to our desire, but when some greater force presses upon us, then all our senses must be restrained and we must fight against ourselves, and our emotions must be held in check, so that we may nonetheless sincerely honor and worship God, rendering him his due honor. And that is the testing of our faith, when in the greatest dangers and temptations we retain constancy and cast our hope on God alone.

Saul therefore has no excuse. Therefore let us learn in general from this example to be wise, and so to rely on God alone and his providence that we impose the law on ourselves, not on him; and let us not bind his help to this or that day, but being persuaded that God is faithful, let us rest in him; and let us not doubt that, though he comes later than we expected, he will always arrive in good time. For God is not like created and mortal things, from which opportunities slip away and can never afterward be recovered; but God always has his own means of accomplishing what he has decreed, and what we hope for from him relying on his Word.

Certainly many sin here through impatience and error. This is made evident by the example of Sarah, the mother of the faithful, who led even her husband Abraham into the same error as herself. For Abraham had received the promise of future offspring. But he was already of advanced age, and Sarah was barren and past the age of conceiving. Yet without offspring no hope of salvation remained for them. For they were not only expecting children to possess the land they had received from the Lord as an inheritance, but they desired that holy and blessed seed from which Christ, the salvation of the whole world, was to come. Sarah therefore is pressed here by the greatest difficulties, and out of impatience devises a plan contrary to God's Word. For she joins to Abraham, against God's law, another wife -- namely, a handmaid -- in marriage. And so she brings it about that the order which should have been inviolable is transgressed. But what finally comes of it? Namely, an illegitimate offspring by which Abraham's entire family is disturbed, so that he himself is compelled to cast out his own flesh, as it were, because he had been too hasty; and he was not unworthy of such a penalty, because he had not wholly rested in God. The same was Sarah's fall, who too hastily anticipated God's grace, not waiting for the time that God himself had fixed. They did not understand that God was keeping them in suspense so that by faith they might overcome that objection: What will become of us wretched ones without offspring? No hope of that promise appears. But God's Word ought to have had greater weight with them, and they should have persuaded themselves that even if heaven and earth with all the elements conspired against them, God would nevertheless fulfill his promises.

Since these things are so, they ought today to serve as a lesson for us, and from them we should learn in God's school not to give place to our emotions, and not to boil with impatience and intemperance, but to follow what God sets before us, and to use what Scripture so often urges and repeats -- namely: Wait, endure, bear patiently. And indeed if we attend to the force and efficacy of this vice innate in us -- I mean haste and precipitancy -- we shall find this doctrine not only not superfluous but most necessary, especially in our present time, when the greatest confusion of affairs everywhere overwhelms the faithful, whom it is nevertheless fitting to retain this modesty and prudence: that they not move even a finger without God's nod and will. For by Saul's example we learn what it is to go beyond the boundaries set for us. Many indeed, if they obtain some leisure and tranquility from God, think they are triumphing, and rashly undertake whatever reason dictates, so that their folly, joined with ambition, betrays itself everywhere. But God shows those who are triumphing most that their efforts are futile and that they are rather going backwards like crabs than making progress. Therefore this doctrine must be more diligently inscribed on our minds, so that we undertake nothing except what God prescribes by his Word, since otherwise our effort will be futile and vain, and the outcome of what we have rashly undertaken according to our own judgment will be attended by the greatest confusion.

Let us pass to what follows, in which it is said that Saul sacrificed, and before he had finished Samuel arrived, and Saul went to meet him to bless him. From this it appears how great was the honor with which Saul treated God's prophet. For although he was a king now confirmed over the entire people, he nevertheless strives to honor the one whom God had placed over him, and had appointed as his guide and leader. Moreover, that word 'to bless' means the same as to greet and wish well, as we are accustomed to wish someone a good day or good health, because when meeting one another we ought to pray to God for their welfare. There are indeed various such greetings, but the purpose of them all is that we invoke God's name over those to whom we wish well -- prayers such as are customary among us: I wish you a good day; God bless you; God grant you health; and the like -- by which we demonstrate that we expect happiness from God alone. But here very many sin frequently, who by courtesy and a kind of civility and custom rather than by a spirit of prayer rashly take God's name, little considering what they are asking of God by those prayers. Indeed, many often sin in speech who order greetings to be given in their name, as if it were in the power of men to give someone a good day. That is surely mere folly, indeed exceedingly impudent arrogance. But this must be fixed in our minds, so that when we meet one another, it may come to mind who and what sort of persons we are, and how necessary it is for us to be commended to God's mercy, without whose help and goodness we cannot advance even a step, nor accomplish anything successfully. But let these things be said in passing; let us proceed to the rest.

It follows therefore that Samuel, having been so greeted by Saul, asked him what he had done. Here we should observe that Samuel, before passing sentence on Saul, gives him the opportunity to defend his action. This is indeed the best form of right judgment: that the fact is first established, and then judgment is rendered. For Samuel could have rebuked Saul at their very first meeting and reproached him for his madness. But when he asks him what he has done, he bids him bring forward whatever defense he may have; and then, having heard it, he condemns the man nonetheless.

Now we must inquire here in what Saul sinned. Many think that he sinned by usurping the office of the priest, which did not befit him. And indeed if this were so, that crime deserved severe punishment. For it is well known what penalty afterward befell King Uzziah when he burned incense at the altar -- namely, the leprosy with which he was suddenly struck. Why was this? Because, not content with the royal dignity he had obtained from the Lord, he wished to confuse two offices that the Lord had distinguished, and to burn incense with his own hand against the commandment of the divine law. And so he was struck with leprosy and stripped and deposed from his royal dignity, and separated from the rest like other lepers, he spent a miserable life joined with the greatest disgrace and ignominy.

But it is not credible that Saul himself offered the sacrifice without a priest, whose office it was to perform the sacred rites by God's command. Nor could Samuel himself rightly offer and burn sacrifice according to the law's prescription; otherwise he would have sinned no less than Saul. Therefore those who think Saul usurped an office not his own, which was not permitted him by God's law, and that he should have waited for Samuel who was a priest, are mistaken. For Samuel was not of the priestly order; he was only a Levite, and therefore it was not lawful for him to arrogate to himself the office of priests. And moreover, in the following chapter we shall see that the legitimate priest Ahijah was present, from the tribe of Levi, descended from the posterity of Eli the high priest, of whom mention was made at the beginning of this book -- namely, the son of Phinehas, one of the sons of Eli, who had performed the priestly duties while his father was alive. That priest therefore was acceptable to God, and he was in the battle line with Saul, and is specifically said to have carried the ephod, that is, the sacred tunic, from which it appears that he was as a mediator between God and men -- which was a figure and image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sole Savior. Moreover, the ephod was a kind of garment that was used for consulting God in straitened and doubtful circumstances.

Therefore Saul's sin is sufficiently manifest in this: not indeed that he invaded an office not his own, namely the priestly office, but that he was too hasty and did not wait for the time appointed by the Lord. And therefore he should by no means be accused as if he had sacrificed with his own hand. But he sinned more gravely in this: that although he had a remedy at hand, he did not use it. For when he saw the people scattering and, struck with fear, going home, why did he not call on Ahijah, as he later did, and inquire of the mouth of the Lord? For God had promised that he would be present to all who invoke him in faith and truth. And Ahijah, since he had the ephod, exhibited, as it were, Christ present, in whose name familiar access to God lies open. Therefore, since Saul neglected so great a benefit when it was at hand, he is rightly condemned.

For first, that excessive haste was contrary to faith and joined with rebellion; to which was added ingratitude, in rejecting the remedy offered, if only he had noticed it. But it is certain that Saul did not reject this benefit out of contempt or disdain, but that he was so struck with terror and fear that he remembered neither the ephod nor the priest. From all of which the doctrine brought forward above shines forth more clearly: that all our emotions must be restrained and bridled, so that we compose ourselves entirely for God's obedience and persevere in true faith in him. And if perhaps God seems to hide himself and we are reduced to the greatest straits, let us nevertheless be persuaded of his excellent will toward us, expecting his help to be present always at the opportune time, provided we persevere in calling upon him. And whatever events may come, let us cast the outcome of all our affairs into his providence and find rest in him alone. And let us take the greatest care not to arrogate too much to ourselves, nor to presume to prescribe to God the manner of governing us.

Then we must learn from this passage that when fear dominates in us and occupies all our senses, it drives out reason and judgment, so that whatever dangers press upon us, we immediately lose heart. For in prosperous and favorable circumstances we cast our faith upon God and regard him as our sole helper in straitened and difficult situations; in short, everyone preaches and greatly praises the confidence that should be placed in God alone. But when it comes to reality and we fall into adversities by which we are pressed, we are so struck with fear that judgment departs from our mind, and God's promises, about which we were so greatly rejoicing and boasting a little before, slip away. We cannot approve God's will, nor meditate on his power; in short, so great a disturbance occupies our minds that we do not know where to turn. Therefore if we wish to submit ourselves to be governed by God's Word, we must fight against these violent emotions and passions, by which we are so seized and driven that it is uncertain whether we are beasts or men. Therefore this doctrine is most useful, by which we are taught that we shall never be composed for God's obedience unless we have learned to restrain and bridle our emotions. And so if any danger threatens, let us fear, but not so as to burst apart with horror and terror; rather, restraining our emotions, let us modestly cast our hope upon God. If any sadness invades us, let us not be inflamed with the desire for revenge, but let us compose ourselves according to the rule of the divine Word. If any occasion of joy presents itself, let us not bear ourselves insolently, but let us keep ourselves within the bounds of modesty prescribed by the divine Word. In short, we shall never worship God as we ought unless we fight against our own emotions.

And here above all the arts of the devil are to be feared, who is always devising new ways to cast us down, and if possible to drag us to destruction. For now with immoderate joy, now with immense sadness, now with great fear, now in various other ways he attacks us, so that unless we stand on a firm foundation, he will soon overturn us. And therefore it is necessary that we be well fortified against his assaults and prepared to resist all emotions voluntarily, lest by them we be turned from God's worship and shrink from our duty.

And enough about these things. Moreover, it is not likely that Saul was rebellious against God out of contumacy, or rejected the grace offered to him. For he was driven to sacrifice by the necessity he imagined for himself, and it is clear enough that he was free in this deed from all ambition or arrogance, and from all contempt of the priestly dignity, as we said before. But nevertheless no room for excuse was left for him. Therefore let us learn that all our excuses will be useless and vain before God if by whatever means we transgress what he himself has prescribed, and that no pretext can cover our disobedience before God. For he values obedience so highly that neither heaven nor earth, nor indeed the whole world, can justify before God those who sin by disobedience, whatever pretext they may offer for themselves.

For what more plausible excuse could be offered than that by which Saul defended himself before Samuel: 'I waited for you seven days, and yet you did not come'? Indeed, 'I would have waited for you even ten years, but when I noticed the terrified people gradually slipping away, I was in the greatest distress.' The Hebrew word means 'I restrained myself,' so that the sense is, 'I was very much constrained.' As if he were saying: 'I certainly would have preferred not to sacrifice, nor to be compelled to sacrifice; but when I noticed the present danger I was as if constrained and reduced to straits, so that even unwillingly I was forced to sacrifice.' Saul's excuse therefore appears: 'I waited for you,' he says, 'the seven days within which you had promised to come, and meanwhile I saw enemies gathered in great number against me, making an incursion and prepared to attack and crush me; but the people on the other hand, struck with terror, were seeking safety in flight. What then was I to do? What would you have done in these straits? I knew that my help was placed in God; and therefore I did not know how not to invoke him and consult him in these straits. But I could not do so without a sacrifice. And so I was driven by necessity to sacrifice; for I wished to invoke God in these difficulties, and I undertook nothing rashly. For it was not lawful for me, without consulting God, to lead troops against the enemy and make an attack without a divine command and without a testimony of his will, which I wished to ascertain in the usual way -- namely, by offering sacrifice.'

From all of which it appears that Saul in his rebellion wished to appear more obedient than many who simulate obedience to God with humility. Indeed, Saul could not have been commended with a more plausible title of virtue before men than when, having waited for Samuel, he invoked God by offering sacrifice. For if he had not sacrificed, he would have been accused by many in their talk: that although he would have known the enemy's forces were growing every hour, he sat idle, and if he had persisted in waiting for Samuel as prescribed, pretending hope in God's help, he would not have noticed the enemy being able to attack them unprepared and crush them. For daily their forces were growing, and when necessity demanded, he would be left without help and counsel because he had not duly invoked God. 'Why then did he not duly consult the Lord and inquire of his mouth? Why did he sit idle and sluggish? Where was his former valor?' By these or similar voices Saul could have been pressed by many if he had persisted in waiting for Samuel as he had prescribed. And therefore his haste and sacrifice might be valued highly by those who dare to judge divine things according to their own reason.

But this must be kept in mind: that all pretexts and excuses will be vain unless we attend to the sentence that God himself pronounced through Samuel, and that we shall always be guilty of contumacy and rebellion. For what do these things avail Saul? He awaited Samuel's arrival for seven days; the prescribed time had elapsed; when it elapsed he made the solemn sacrifice; he was by no means arrogating to himself a function not his own, nor seeking favor and authority by that act, nor attempting something foreign to himself out of foolish curiosity, but was driven by necessity. For he is constrained on every side -- on one side by the enemies, on the other by the people deserting him. What then should the wretch do here? What counsel remains for him in such narrow circumstances, except to flee to God and seek help from him? But how can he seek it without offering sacrifice? Therefore he seeks God and testifies that he depends upon him and waits for his help. In short, you would say that Saul here displays an angelic virtue. But in truth, though we bring forward our excuses and good intentions adorned with fine words, God nevertheless pronounces in one word that he will not accept sacrifices made contrary to his command; and we must absolutely acquiesce in this sentence. Therefore here we learn not to seek evasions when we are reproved by God's Word, lest we heap evil upon evil. Indeed, we must take the greatest care not to be deceived by the appearance of those excuses, since men are accustomed to cover and paint over with fine colors what they do from their own judgment and will, contrary to God's will. For example, are not those papist superstitions and illusions, which they call the worship of God, supported by plausible arguments of wisdom? Indeed, Paul speaks thus, since already in his time certain imaginary superstitions were being introduced into God's worship -- some retaining legal ceremonies by abstaining from foods prohibited by God's law, others devising this or that rite from their own judgment -- all of which he says have the appearance of wisdom and humility. For those who abstained from this or that thing seemed to be taming their flesh in so many ways.

And this is the doctrine of the papists today, who praise that Lenten fast as a necessary remedy for taming and restraining the flesh. As if the way to tame the flesh were that distinction between meats and fish, and the religion of abstaining from a morsel of pork, while at the same time permission is given to stuff the belly and abdomen with other more delicate foods to the point of nausea -- in all of which they parade great wisdom through human precepts. But Paul warns the faithful about these things, that they may learn to flee the inventions of men, because they are vain and futile and go up in smoke.

Therefore, although by human judgment Saul might be said to have acted prudently when he offered sacrifice to consult God and to invoke him in straitened circumstances, the opposite nevertheless appears from the response of the prophet Samuel, when he addresses Saul in God's name and with his authority: You have acted foolishly. Therefore let us recognize that whatever pleases us without God's command will not only be foolishness before God but also an abomination, as the Lord says in Luke: what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. And yet such is men's folly that they persuade themselves that whatever they have conceived in their mind ought to be pleasing to God. But I ask, what agreement is there between God and men -- God, I say, the almighty, and wretched little men crawling on the earth like worms? The same agreement, indeed, as between fire and water. For God demands from us earnest zeal in his worship, and that we worship and revere him without hypocrisy and pretense, according to the prescription of his will. But we are carnal and full of pretense, as the apostle says. Then such is the audacity of men and so foolish their arrogance that they thrust and intrude themselves into things they ought not. But will God therefore accept whatever we offer him because we are rash and arrogant? Though the whole world should lead us into this foolish opinion, God will nevertheless show that our effort is vain.

For this must stand firm: that those who depart from the prescription of the Lord's ways will always be condemned by this voice of Samuel: You have acted foolishly. For though you devise a good cause for yourself, God will nevertheless judge far otherwise. Hence let us learn in general not to seek excuses by which to cover our deeds, nor to weigh and examine them by our own measure or scales or standard when the distinction between good and evil must be judged. For nothing but falsehood and empty illusion will be discovered in all our inventions, and unfaithfulness will appear in our works. Therefore we must take the greatest care not to give place here to our false weights and scales in distinguishing good from evil, but to depend on God's Word alone and to measure all our deeds and words by it as the sole standard.

And these are the things we must retain from the rebuke of Saul. Moreover, we should observe in turn Samuel's modesty in correcting Saul. For although the king himself greets him respectfully, he nevertheless does not withdraw from his duty, but courageously executes his office and sternly rebukes Saul, as the situation demanded and God himself commanded. Here therefore a notable example is set forth for all teachers and ministers of the divine Word to imitate -- namely, that they be deterred from their duty by neither threats nor flattery, but discharge their office; and if they are driven by either hatred or contempt, they nevertheless persevere in their calling with brave and resolute spirit, making light of men's malice and going against it all the more boldly. But if on the other hand they are softened by honors or blandishments, let them know that God must be served first of all, and that the welfare of those whose care has been committed to them by the Lord must be attended to, even if they must treat them rather harshly, and irritate their sore spots, in no way sparing vices whenever the occasion presents itself, lest they seem to betray their salvation and cast them into ultimate destruction.

But conversely, let those who are reproved by God's Word take care not to bear it with displeasure, but to adopt the Pauline doctrine -- namely, to have such composed behavior that when unbelievers enter into the assembly of Christians, they may be convicted and compelled to give God's Word its due honor. For if Paul said these things about unbelievers and wretched men who had had no previous sense of the divine majesty, immersed in the densest darkness of ignorance, how much more should it have effect on those who profess themselves hearers of the divine Word and sheep of the divine flock? Therefore let us learn, when admonished and more sternly rebuked for our sins, not to be indignant or to talk back and answer again, but modestly and calmly to accept the correction that, made by pastors or others, tends to our good and benefit. Indeed, Saul did not accept Samuel's reproof, for he began then to seek subterfuges. And hereafter we shall also see him withdraw further from his duty, offended by Samuel's sharp rebuke, having withdrawn. But let us beware lest we imitate his haste, and much less the rebellion and contumacy into which he threw himself headlong. For a terrible confusion afterward fell upon his head and his posterity. Therefore whenever God rebukes us more sharply, let us learn to bring teachable minds; for it is done for our own benefit, so that God may deal with us in the highest right -- namely, that we may be acquitted and not fall into that ultimate condemnation prepared for all who are contumacious and harden themselves in their sins.

There follows next the more serious punishment that Samuel teaches awaits Saul in these words: Surely the Lord would have established your kingdom over the Israelites forever; but now your kingdom will not stand. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, whom he has commanded to be ruler over his people. Thus God has decreed, and the decree of the Lord is settled.

Moreover, here arises a considerable question: how can Samuel say that Saul's kingdom, if he had observed what he was commanded, would have been established in perpetuity -- since we saw above that this kingdom had not been approved by the Lord, because it rested on no just foundation, and because the people wished to shake off the yoke imposed on them by the Lord? Furthermore, since God is always the same and immutable, men's deeds cannot change his will and decree. But the scepter had to be raised and confirmed in the tribe of Judah, as the Holy Spirit had foretold many ages before through the mouth of Jacob. How then could it happen that the scepter would be raised and established in the family and tribe of Benjamin, which had received no promises, and God would seem to have changed his purpose and to be changeable? Since these things cannot stand, it also appears that the kingdom could not have been established and stabilized in Saul's family and tribe, without either the truth of God being destroyed, or inconstancy and mutability being attributed to God, which would be too absurd and cannot even be thought without blasphemy.

To resolve this difficulty, we must observe that God does not always reveal to us his secret and incomprehensible counsel, which is not without reason called an immense abyss by the prophet; but on account of our weakness and dullness he keeps us in the realm of lower causes. For since we cannot ascend to his unspeakable counsel, nor bear his majesty, God, taking account of our weakness, accommodates himself to us and sets forth a manner by which he makes known his will to us. Therefore when God threatens someone, he calls him to repentance by those threats, and if he turns from his former life and vices to better ways, God says he in turn will be turned. Indeed, God does not change as men change, nor does he depend on men's repentance, nor does he take counsel from men's deeds. For human repentance cannot change what is to come; for men are mobile and inconstant, and change from hour to hour, which variability and mutability cannot apply to God, to whom all future things are present. Therefore he cannot repent.

But God speaks in this way with respect to our weakness. So then the prophet Samuel rebukes Saul when he says that the Lord would have established his kingdom among the Israelites if he had been obedient to God's command. And it would indeed have been true, if Saul had observed the condition attached. But these things must be weighed so that we do not too curiously scrutinize God's counsels and incomprehensible secrets. For if Saul had continued performing the office of king without stumbling, he would have been heaped with God's blessings and always enriched with new gifts; for God is always the same.

But here we should also observe that God, to make way for his secret, eternal, and incomprehensible decree, often uses intermediate lower causes. And so it happened that Saul strayed from the right way, so that God might raise up the kingdom of David in the tribe of Judah and put David in possession of it. Therefore Saul's fall was the intermediate or lower cause of David's election. So Paul, speaking of the fall of the Jews, says their lapse and ruin is the cause of our life and salvation. For because they became estranged from God, it came about that we were reconciled to God to obtain the promise of salvation. But if the Jews had persevered in the fear and law of God, we would not for that reason have ceased to be joined to God together with them, as the prophet once said, that seven unbelievers would take hold of the garment of one believer, saying, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.' But since the Jews made themselves unworthy of that privilege, what happened next? 'They provoked me,' says the Lord, 'by their rebellions and contumacies, and in turn I will provoke them. For I will raise up peoples who will be my children.' Indeed, before we came to the knowledge of the gospel, we were like wretched cattle; and we have been substituted in the place of that holy seed which by its own fault fell into a curse. From all of which it appears that by divine providence all things are so disposed that we may not grasp God's counsel, which surpasses our understanding and intellect; but from the lower causes it appears that God accomplishes what he has decreed within himself, and so works that what he has pronounced with his mouth he always fulfills.

So at the beginning of this history we saw that God wished to kill the sons of Eli. Why? Because he had already decreed to destroy that family and line. Therefore he so ordered the intermediate causes that they perished. So when he wished to bless the people, he raised up men whom he furnished with the gifts necessary for sustaining the duties of so great an office. On the other hand, when he wished to take note of the people's sins and punish the people more severely, he placed bad leaders over them. So we see that when David hardened his heart to count and muster the people against the express commandment of the law, it was God's counsel that the people should be punished. David, however, was sinning through ambition, and he alone appeared guilty of this deed. And it is specifically said that God impelled David's heart. Indeed. But God knows his own secret counsel.

From all of which it appears that God has his own admirable counsel, which is never changed or altered, and yet he uses intermediate lower means by which he brings his counsel to its appointed end. But what means, I ask? He certainly seems to follow crooked paths, wandering randomly here and there -- indeed, paths utterly contrary to the end and goal at which he aims. But that is according to our judgment. Let us hold, however, that this is so, lest we be too wise in our own eyes, and rather let us be blind to those secrets insofar as God sees fit. Let us be blind, I say, in those divine counsels -- but not so as to inquire into things that surpass the powers of our understanding. For we must not be blind when his will is to be known, so that we may direct our ways according to it and measure all our deeds, words, and thoughts by it.

Therefore, when Scripture here says that the kingdom would have been established in Saul's hand if he had obeyed God's commands, this is absolutely true. But in turn, God used Saul's contumacy as an intermediate cause to make way for David's election and for the fulfillment of the divine oracles. God therefore had subordinated this fall of Saul to his own decree. And so when Saul fell, he was deposed and driven from the royal dignity; and rightly so. For who would dare to object to God's counsels and cast some blame for his own sin upon God, when we are compelled to condemn Saul, who was convicted by his own conscience and pressed by his own confession? Indeed, if Saul himself is forced to confess his offense and acknowledge himself guilty, every mouth must be shut and all murmuring must cease, lest anyone object or make noise against God; and we must confess that the irrevocable kingdom that was owed to David could not have been established in Saul's hand. But let us know that the intermediate cause that falls within our perception and is well enough known -- Saul's fall, I say -- was the cause of the kingdom being taken from Saul and transferred to David.

And so much for these things. Therefore from them let us learn to look up to and adore God's eternal counsels when they surpass the grasp of our senses, and abstaining from all curious inquiry, let us worship and adore God soberly and with fear and reverence. And if God uses means we have never thought of, let us know that he wishes us to consider in them his justice and his admirable goodness, incomprehensible to us; and let us always retain this axiom and principle: that God has his own secret counsel that the sharpness of our mind cannot apprehend.

Indeed, if we keep ourselves within the bounds of this modesty, we shall be far different from those fanatic men who spew forth their blasphemies with full cheeks and rage against this doctrine because they cannot grasp it with their senses and mental powers. Indeed, to our senses God's will seems variable and self-contradictory, just as Paul also calls God's wisdom 'manifold.' Hence it happens that we are blind to it and stand astonished at that immense abyss of the Lord's ways. But nevertheless God's will is one and simple. And what our senses now cannot attain, we shall see when we have been transformed into his glory and shall see God as he is. For now we know in part and in obscurity; therefore it is necessary for us to wait for the day of full revelation, in which we shall comprehend the things that now by infinite degrees surpass all our senses and are hidden. For God has so disposed these things.

And so much about that proposed question of how the kingdom is said to have been going to endure and be established in the hand and family of Saul, if he had shown himself obedient to God's Word. For God wished him to fall, so that he might raise David to the royal dignity and put him in possession of the kingdom. Therefore it is said that God found a man after his own heart; by which words Samuel shows that Saul was rightly rejected. For he does not refer to that eternal decree by which God through his prophet foretold that the scepter would never depart from the tribe of Judah. But he says he has found a man after his own heart, because Saul by his own fault was deposed -- because he was not approved by God on account of his sin, but rejected. And for this reason his kingdom was not long-lasting.

Moreover, it is most true that David very gravely offended God in many things -- indeed, far more gravely than Saul in this deed. For he was driven neither by terror nor by any more violent fear to murder Uriah, or to expose the divine majesty, as far as it was in his power, to the blasphemous voices and attacks of the impious, or to commit such foul and shameful adultery. By which vices he sinned far more gravely before God. But God saw fit to pardon those sins, and out of his pure grace wished to bring what he had once decreed to its end, and to raise up and confirm the kingdom in the tribe of Judah and the family of David, until that King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ, should come.

And this is the force of those words: that the Lord sought for himself a man after his own heart. Moreover, it does not follow from this that David did or thought anything good before this decree of the Lord, by which he might move the Lord, as we shall see hereafter. But God had chosen him and destined him for this purpose, though he was unaware of it. So we see the Lord addressing the prophet Jeremiah: 'Before you came forth from your mother's womb, I chose and appointed you to this calling.' 'I chose and destined you.' And so Paul speaks of himself in the Epistle to the Galatians. Therefore Samuel was so commanded to address Saul because it had been thus established in God's eternal decree; and afterward this was confirmed by actual experience.

Now let us prostrate ourselves, etc.

We must understand that genuine faith works this way: when help seems to be delayed, the delay is not in vain, and we must leave the timing and the management of events in God's hands. It is certain that God, who holds all timing and opportunity in His hand, will never fail us — not even for a moment. But from our side, our impatience is so great that unless He comes the very instant we want, we conclude that all is lost. We must therefore hold our emotions in check, as if by reins, leaving God room to work as He will — as we have learned it is good and necessary for us. We must not let our fervor and impatience race ahead of Him. As we saw yesterday, Saul is set before us as a striking example of this. At first glance Saul might seem excusable: he had waited until the seventh day, the time Samuel had set had apparently passed, and he might seem to have had the freedom to offer sacrifice. Furthermore, he does not appear to have acted out of personal ambition or contempt for God's worship — his reason was that the people were scattering and he was about to be left completely alone. With nothing left to secure his safety, he fled to this last resort. But Samuel rebukes him sharply and says he acted foolishly — that he had been insane and out of his mind. That is the force of the word Samuel uses. Samuel could indeed have come sooner — but God intended the delay to test Saul's obedience and his perseverance to the end. Without perseverance, everything that came before is wasted. God therefore wanted Samuel to delay, in order to test whether Saul would hold firm through the greatest dangers, pressures, and temptations. It is easy to obey God when things are going well and nothing is pressing us in the other direction — there is not much credit in that. But when a greater force presses upon us, that is when all our senses must be reined in and we must fight against ourselves, holding our emotions in check so that we still sincerely honor and worship God and render Him His due. That is the real test of faith: when we retain constancy in the greatest dangers and temptations, and cast our hope on God alone.

Sermon 46. Verse 8: He waited seven days, as Samuel had told him, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to scatter from him. Verse 9: Saul said, 'Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.' And he offered the burnt offering. Verse 10: Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Verse 11: Samuel said, 'What have you done?' Saul replied: 'I saw that the people were scattering from me, and you did not come within the appointed days, and the Philistines had assembled at Michmash.' Verse 12: 'I thought the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord. So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.' Verse 13: Samuel said to Saul: 'You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. If you had, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.' Verse 14: 'But now your kingdom will not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and He has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.'

In yesterday's sermon we established that the proper exercise of faith involves patiently waiting for the help God has promised. It is certain that God, who holds all timing and opportunity in His hand, will never fail us — not even for a moment. But from our side, our impatience is so great that unless He comes running the very moment we wish, we conclude that everything is hopeless. We must therefore hold our emotions in check, as if by reins — leaving Him room to work as He will, as we have learned is good and necessary for us — and not let our fervor and impatience race ahead of Him. As we taught yesterday, Saul stands before us as a vivid example of this. It is easy to obey God's commands when everything is flowing smoothly and succeeding according to our wishes. But when a greater pressure comes, then all our senses must be restrained — we must fight against ourselves, hold our emotions in check — so that we still sincerely honor and worship God, giving Him the honor He is due. That is the test of faith: maintaining constancy in the greatest dangers and temptations, and casting our hope on God alone.

Saul therefore has no excuse. Let us learn from this example to be wise in a general way: to rely on God and His providence so fully that we impose the law on ourselves, not on Him. We must not bind His help to a specific day or deadline, but, being persuaded that God is faithful, rest in Him — not doubting that even if He comes later than we expected, He will always arrive in good time. God is not like earthly and mortal things, where opportunities slip away and can never be recovered. God always has His own means of accomplishing what He has decreed and what we hope for from Him on the basis of His Word.

Many people fall into sin here through impatience and error. The example of Sarah, mother of the faithful, makes this plain — she led even her husband Abraham into the same mistake. Abraham had received the promise of future children. But he was already old, and Sarah was barren and well past childbearing age. Without children, they had no hope of the promised inheritance. They were not simply hoping for children to possess the land God had given them — they were longing for the holy and blessed seed from whom Christ, the salvation of the whole world, would come. Pressed by these desperate circumstances, Sarah lost patience and devised a plan that went against God's Word. She gave Abraham another wife — her own servant — in violation of God's law. The result? An illegitimate child who threw Abraham's entire household into turmoil, so that Abraham was eventually forced to cast out his own flesh and blood. He was not unworthy of this consequence, because he had not fully rested in God. Sarah fell in the same way — by rushing ahead of God's grace and not waiting for the time God Himself had set. They had not understood that God was holding them in suspense precisely so that by faith they could overcome the objection: 'What will become of us without children? There is no sign this promise will ever be fulfilled.' But God's Word should have carried more weight with them. They should have been persuaded that even if heaven and earth and all the elements conspired against them, God would still fulfill His promises.

These things should serve as a lesson for us today. From them we should learn, in God's school, not to give way to our emotions — not to boil over with impatience and rashness — but to follow what God sets before us and embrace what Scripture urges and repeats so often: wait, endure, be patient. If we honestly reckon with the power of this vice that is native to us — I mean haste and impulsiveness — we will find this teaching not only useful but urgently necessary. This is especially true in our own time, when enormous confusion presses upon the faithful on every side. Yet even in such times, believers must maintain this restraint and wisdom: not to move a single finger without God's nod and will. Saul's example shows us what happens when we overstep the boundaries God has set. Many people, if they enjoy some period of peace and stability from God, think they are triumphant and rashly take on whatever their own reason dictates — and their folly, mixed with ambition, exposes itself everywhere. But God shows those who are most triumphant that their efforts are futile — that they are going backward like crabs, not making progress. This lesson must therefore be more deeply inscribed on our minds: we must undertake nothing except what God prescribes in His Word. Otherwise our effort will be wasted and futile, and whatever we rashly attempt on our own judgment will end in the greatest disorder.

Let us move to what follows — where Saul is said to have sacrificed, and just as he finished, Samuel arrived and Saul went out to greet him. This shows how highly Saul honored God's prophet. Even as a king now confirmed over the whole people, he still sought to honor the one God had placed over him as his guide and leader. The word 'to bless' here means the same as to greet and wish well — just as we are in the habit of wishing someone a good day or good health. When people meet one another, they ought to be calling on God's blessing for the other person's welfare. There are many kinds of such greetings, but their purpose is all the same: to call on God's name over those to whom we wish good — prayers such as: 'I wish you a good day,' 'God bless you,' 'God grant you health' — which express that we expect all happiness from God alone. But many people sin here frequently: they use God's name in these greetings out of mere politeness and social habit rather than with any spirit of real prayer, scarcely giving a thought to what they are actually asking God to do. Many also sin in speech when they send greetings in their own name, as if it were within human power to give someone a good day. That is pure foolishness — indeed, outrageous arrogance. Instead, when we meet one another, we should stop and think about who we are, what kind of people we are, and how desperately we need God's mercy — without whose help and kindness we cannot take a single step or accomplish anything successfully. But let these things be said in passing. Let us move on.

After Saul greeted him, Samuel asked what he had done. We should note here that before passing judgment on Saul, Samuel gives him the opportunity to defend himself. This is the right way to judge: first establish the facts, then render a verdict. Samuel could have rebuked Saul the moment they met and charged him with his folly. Instead, by asking what he had done, he invited Saul to present whatever defense he could — and then, having heard it, condemned him anyway.

We must now ask: what exactly was Saul's sin? Many argue that he sinned by usurping the priest's office — something that did not belong to him. If that is so, the offense deserved severe punishment. We know very well the penalty that later fell on King Uzziah when he burned incense at the altar: he was immediately struck with leprosy. Why? Because, not content with the royal dignity God had given him, he tried to merge two offices that God had kept separate — burning incense with his own hand, in direct violation of God's law. He was struck with leprosy, stripped of his royal dignity, cut off from the rest of the community like other lepers, and spent the rest of his life in misery, shame, and disgrace.

But it is not believable that Saul personally performed the sacrifice with his own hands — that was the office of the priest, appointed by God's command. Nor could Samuel himself rightly perform the sacrifice according to the law's prescription — if he had, he would have sinned just as much as Saul. Those who argue that Saul usurped a priestly office that was forbidden to him by God's law, and that he should have waited for Samuel who was supposedly a priest, are mistaken. Samuel was not of the priestly line — he was only a Levite, and it was not lawful for him to take on the priest's office. In the next chapter we will see that the legitimate priest Ahijah was present — from the tribe of Levi, descended from Eli the high priest, whose family was mentioned at the beginning of this book. Ahijah was the son of Phinehas, one of Eli's sons, who had performed priestly duties while his father was still alive. This priest was acceptable to God and stood in the battle line with Saul. He is specifically said to have carried the ephod — the sacred vestment — which marked him as the mediator between God and the people, a figure and image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sole Savior. The ephod was a garment used for consulting God in difficult and uncertain situations.

Saul's sin is therefore clear enough: not that he invaded an office that was not his — the priestly office — but that he was too hasty and did not wait for the time the Lord had set. He should not be accused of having sacrificed with his own hand. His deeper sin was this: he had a remedy right in front of him and did not use it. When he saw the people scattering and heading home in fear, why did he not call on Ahijah — as he later did in another situation — and inquire of the Lord? God had promised to be present to all who call on Him in faith and truth. Ahijah, because he carried the ephod, represented Christ as present — in whose name free and direct access to God is open. Saul had this great benefit right at hand and neglected it entirely. He is rightly condemned.

His excessive haste was contrary to faith and joined with rebellion. To this was added the ingratitude of rejecting the remedy that was available, had he only thought to reach for it. It is clear that Saul did not reject this remedy out of contempt or disdain — he was so overwhelmed by terror and fear that he simply forgot about the ephod and the priest entirely. All of this makes the teaching we raised above shine forth even more clearly: all our emotions must be restrained and brought under control, so that we shape ourselves entirely to God's obedience and persevere in true faith in Him. Even when God seems to hide Himself and we are brought to the most desperate straits, we must still be convinced of His good will toward us — expecting His help to come at the right time, as long as we keep calling on Him. Whatever events come, let us cast the outcome of all our affairs into His providence and find our rest in Him alone. And let us take great care not to demand too much of ourselves on our own terms, or presume to dictate to God how He should govern us.

This passage also teaches us something important: when fear takes over and floods all our senses, it drives out reason and judgment — so that whatever danger presses on us, we immediately lose heart. In times of ease and prosperity, we readily cast our faith on God and acknowledge Him as our only help in times of difficulty. Everyone preaches about the confidence that should be placed in God alone — in theory. But when we actually fall into adversity and are pressed by real troubles, we are so seized by fear that sound judgment flees our mind. God's promises — the very ones we were rejoicing in and boasting about just moments before — slip away. We cannot receive God's will or meditate on His power. Our minds are in such turmoil that we do not know which way to turn. If we want to be governed by God's Word, we must fight against these violent emotions and impulses — the ones that seize and drive us so completely that we act more like animals than human beings. This teaching is therefore most valuable: we will never be ready to obey God unless we have learned to restrain and rein in our emotions. So if danger threatens, let us be afraid — but not so overwhelmed with horror that we are paralyzed. Let us hold our emotions in check and quietly cast our hope on God. If sorrow comes upon us, let us not be consumed with desire for revenge, but let us compose ourselves according to the rule of God's Word. If some occasion for joy presents itself, let us not become arrogant, but keep ourselves within the bounds of modesty that God's Word prescribes. In short, we will never worship God as we should unless we fight against our own emotions.

Here, above all, we must be on guard against the strategies of the devil, who is always devising new ways to bring us down and, if possible, drag us to destruction. He attacks us with unrestrained joy, then with deep sorrow, then with great fear, then in countless other ways — so that unless we are standing on a firm foundation, he will quickly topple us. We must therefore be well fortified against his assaults and prepared to resist all such emotions willingly, lest they turn us from God's worship and cause us to shrink from our duty.

Enough on these matters. It is also unlikely that Saul acted out of deliberate defiance against God or contempt for the grace offered to him. He was driven to offer sacrifice by the emergency he perceived, and it is clear that in this act he was free from all ambition, arrogance, and contempt for the priestly dignity — as we said earlier. But none of that left any room for excuse. Let us therefore learn that all our excuses will be useless and worthless before God if we transgress what He has prescribed — by whatever reasoning we offer. No pretext can cover disobedience before God. He values obedience so highly that neither heaven nor earth nor the whole world together can justify before God those who sin through disobedience, no matter what defense they might put forward.

What more plausible excuse could there be than the one Saul offered Samuel: 'I waited for you seven days, and still you did not come'? In effect he was saying: 'I would have waited for you ten years — but when I saw the terrified people gradually slipping away, I was in a desperate situation.' The Hebrew word means 'I constrained myself' — the sense being, 'I was under enormous pressure.' He is saying: 'I truly would have preferred not to sacrifice and not to be compelled to do so — but when I saw the danger in front of me, I felt as though I was trapped and forced into it, even against my own will.' Saul's defense is this: 'I waited for you the full seven days within which you had promised to come. Meanwhile I watched enemies gathering in great numbers against me, ready to attack and destroy us. And on the other side, the people were fleeing in terror. What was I supposed to do? What would you have done in such a situation?' 'I knew my only help was in God — and I knew I had to invoke Him and seek His direction in this crisis. But I could not do that without a sacrifice.' 'So I was driven by necessity to sacrifice. I wanted to call on God in this desperate hour, and I was not acting rashly. It would not have been right for me to lead troops against the enemy and attack without first consulting God and obtaining a sign of His will — which I sought in the customary way, by offering sacrifice.'

From all of this it is clear that Saul, in his disobedience, wanted to appear more obedient than many who merely simulate obedience with outward humility. In fact, by waiting for Samuel and then invoking God through sacrifice, Saul could hardly have put a more convincing face of virtue on his actions before human eyes. If he had not sacrificed, many would have talked: that even as the enemy's forces were growing by the hour, he sat doing nothing; that by pretending to wait for Samuel and trust in God's help, he had neglected to see the enemy closing in on them unprepared. Every day the enemy's forces were growing, and when the moment of crisis arrived, he would be left without guidance because he had not duly sought God. 'Why did he not properly consult the Lord and inquire of His will? Why did he sit idle and passive? Where was his former courage?' If Saul had kept waiting as Samuel prescribed, he would have faced exactly this kind of criticism from many people. So his haste and his sacrifice might have looked quite admirable to those who judge divine matters by their own human reason.

But this must be kept firmly in mind: all pretexts and excuses are worthless unless we attend to what God Himself pronounced through Samuel. If we do not, we will always remain guilty of stubborn disobedience. What good does it do Saul that he waited seven days; that the prescribed time had run out; that when it expired he performed the sacrifice; that he was not arrogating any office to himself, seeking personal advantage through the act, or doing something strange out of foolish curiosity — but was driven by necessity? He was pressed from every side: enemies on one side, deserting soldiers on the other. What was the poor man to do in such a tight spot? What option remained except to flee to God and seek His help? And how could he seek it without a sacrifice? So he sought God and declared his dependence on Him and his trust in His help. In short, you might think Saul here displayed something close to angelic virtue. But in truth, however fine our excuses and however well-intentioned they sound, God says in one word that He will not accept sacrifice offered in violation of His command — and we must fully accept that verdict. We must learn here not to look for escape routes when God's Word rebukes us, lest we add evil to evil. We must also be very careful not to be deceived by the attractiveness of such excuses — because people are accustomed to dress up and paint over with fine colors what they do according to their own will, in defiance of God's. Consider the superstitions and inventions of the papists, which they call the worship of God — are they not supported by seemingly reasonable arguments? Already in Paul's time, certain made-up religious practices were being introduced into God's worship: some retained Old Testament food laws, others invented their own rituals — and Paul says all of these have the appearance of wisdom and humility. Those who abstained from certain foods seemed to be disciplining their bodies in a pious way.

This is the teaching of the papists today, who praise Lenten fasting as a necessary remedy for subduing and restraining the flesh. As if subduing the flesh meant distinguishing between meats and fish — as if refusing a bite of pork while freely gorging on other, more delicate foods to the point of excess were genuine self-discipline. Through rules like these they parade great wisdom, but it is merely human tradition. Paul warns the faithful about all such things — that they must learn to flee from human inventions, because they are empty, worthless, and will come to nothing.

So although by human judgment Saul might seem to have acted wisely — offering sacrifice to seek God and call on Him in a crisis — the prophet Samuel's response shows the opposite. Speaking in God's name and with His authority, Samuel says: 'You have acted foolishly.' Let us therefore recognize that whatever pleases us apart from God's command will not only be folly before God but an abomination — as the Lord says in Luke: 'What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.' Yet such is human folly that people convince themselves that whatever they have conceived in their own minds must be pleasing to God. But what common ground is there between God — the almighty God — and wretched little human beings crawling on the earth like worms? About as much as between fire and water. God demands from us genuine, earnest devotion in His worship — that we worship and revere Him without hypocrisy or pretense, according to what He has prescribed. But we are worldly and full of pretense, as the apostle says. And such is the audacity of people, and such is their foolish arrogance, that they push and force themselves into things they have no right to. Will God accept whatever we offer Him simply because we are bold enough to offer it? Though the whole world might lead us into that foolish opinion, God will show that our effort is worthless.

This must stand firm: those who depart from what the Lord has prescribed will always face this verdict from Samuel: 'You have acted foolishly.' Even if you build a good case for yourself, God will judge it very differently. Let us therefore learn in general not to reach for excuses to cover our actions, and not to weigh our deeds by our own standards when the question of right and wrong must be decided. Nothing but falsehood and empty illusion will be found in all our inventions, and unfaithfulness will appear in our works. We must take the greatest care not to use our own false weights and measures when distinguishing good from evil, but to depend on God's Word alone and to measure all our words and deeds by it as the only reliable standard.

These are the lessons to take from Samuel's rebuke of Saul. We should also note Samuel's boldness in carrying out the correction. Although the king himself had greeted him respectfully, Samuel did not shrink from his duty. He executed his office courageously and rebuked Saul sharply, as the situation demanded and God Himself required. This sets a notable example for all teachers and ministers of God's Word — that they must not be turned from their duty by either threats or flattery, but fulfill their calling. Even when driven by the hatred or contempt of others, they must press on with a brave and resolute spirit, making light of human opposition and all the more boldly confronting it. And if they are softened by honors or smooth words, let them remember that God must come first — and that the wellbeing of those entrusted to their care must be their concern, even if it means treating them sharply and pressing on their sore spots. They must never spare vice when the occasion demands it, lest they betray the salvation of their people and hand them over to ruin.

On the other side, those who are rebuked by God's Word must take care not to receive it with resentment. They should follow Paul's teaching — conducting themselves with such an open and composed spirit that even unbelievers who enter a Christian assembly are convicted and compelled to give God's Word its due honor. If Paul said this about unbelievers — people who had no previous sense of God's majesty and were sunk in the deepest darkness of ignorance — how much more should it apply to those who profess themselves hearers of God's Word and members of His flock? When we are admonished and rebuked sharply for our sins, let us learn not to be offended or to answer back and make excuses, but to receive the correction — whether it comes from a pastor or from someone else — with calm and humble spirits, recognizing it is for our own good. Saul did not receive Samuel's rebuke this way. He immediately began looking for escape routes. In what follows we will see him pull further and further away from his duty, provoked by Samuel's sharp correction. Let us beware of imitating his hastiness — and even more, the open rebellion and stubborn defiance into which he plunged headlong. A terrible ruin came upon him and his descendants as a result. Whenever God rebukes us sharply, therefore, let us bring teachable hearts — knowing it is for our own benefit, so that God may deal with us in His greatest mercy: that we may be acquitted and not fall into the ultimate condemnation prepared for all who are stubbornly hardened in their sins.

Samuel then announces the more serious punishment awaiting Saul: 'Surely the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not stand. The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, whom He has commanded to be ruler over His people.' God has decreed it, and His decree is settled.

A significant question arises here: how can Samuel say that Saul's kingdom would have been established permanently if he had obeyed — when we noted earlier that this kingdom was never truly approved by God in the first place, since it rested on no legitimate foundation and arose from the people's desire to throw off God's rule? Furthermore, since God is always the same and does not change, human actions cannot change His will and decree. The scepter had to be raised and established in the tribe of Judah — as the Holy Spirit had foretold through Jacob's mouth many ages earlier. How then could it have happened that the scepter would be established in the family and tribe of Benjamin, which had received no such promise? Would God not appear to have changed His purpose — and thereby shown Himself to be inconsistent and changeable? Since these things cannot be reconciled, it also appears that the kingdom could never actually have been permanently established in Saul's family and tribe — for to say so would either destroy God's truth or attribute to God an inconstancy and mutability that would be completely absurd and cannot even be thought without blasphemy.

To resolve this difficulty, we must observe that God does not always reveal to us His secret and incomprehensible counsel — which the prophet rightly calls an immense abyss. Because of our weakness and slowness, God keeps us in the realm of lower, visible causes. Since we cannot ascend to His unspeakable counsel, nor bear the weight of His full majesty, God — taking our weakness into account — accommodates Himself to us and sets forth a way of making His will known to us. When God threatens someone, He uses those threats to call that person to repentance. If the person turns from his former life and vices to a better way, God says He in turn will relent. But God does not change the way people change — He does not depend on human repentance, and He does not take His direction from human actions. Human repentance cannot change what is to come. People are mobile and inconsistent, changing from hour to hour — but that kind of variability and change cannot apply to God, to whom all future things are already present. He cannot repent in the way we do.

But God speaks this way out of accommodation to our weakness. So when Samuel tells Saul that the Lord would have established his kingdom among the Israelites if he had obeyed God's command — this was genuinely true, given the condition attached. These things must be weighed carefully, however, so that we do not pry too deeply into God's unsearchable counsels and hidden purposes. If Saul had continued faithfully in the office of king without stumbling, God would have continued blessing him and enriching him with new gifts — for God is always the same.

We should also observe here that God, in order to carry out His secret, eternal, and incomprehensible decree, often works through intermediate, lower causes. So it happened that Saul went astray from the right path — so that God could raise up David's kingdom in the tribe of Judah and put David in possession of it. Saul's fall was the intermediate, lower cause of David's election. Paul speaks in the same way about the fall of the Jewish people: their stumbling and failure became the occasion of our life and salvation. Because they became estranged from God, we were reconciled to God and received the promise of salvation. But if the Jews had persevered in the fear and law of God, we would not therefore have been excluded — we would have been joined to God together with them, as the prophet once said: that seven unbelievers would take hold of the garment of one believer, saying, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.' But since the Jews made themselves unworthy of that privilege, what happened? 'They provoked me,' says the Lord, 'with their rebellions and stubbornness, and in turn I will provoke them. For I will raise up peoples who will be my children.' Before we came to the knowledge of the Gospel, we were like wretched, wandering cattle — and we have been placed in the position of that holy people who, by their own fault, fell under a curse. All of this shows that by divine providence everything is arranged in such a way that we cannot grasp God's counsel — it surpasses our understanding entirely. But from the lower, visible causes we can see that God accomplishes what He has decreed, and always fulfills what He has spoken.

We saw this earlier in this history: God willed to destroy the sons of Eli — because He had already decreed to bring that family and lineage to an end. So He arranged the intermediate causes in such a way that they perished. When He wished to bless the people, He raised up men equipped with the gifts necessary for carrying such a great office. When He wished to take note of the people's sins and punish them more severely, He placed bad leaders over them. We see the same thing when David hardened his heart and numbered the people against the express command of the law — it was God's purpose that the people should be punished. David was sinning through ambition, and he alone was visibly guilty of the act. Yet it is specifically said that God moved David's heart. So it was. But God knows His own secret counsel.

From all of this it is clear that God has His own remarkable counsel — a counsel that is never changed or altered — yet He uses intermediate, lower means to bring that counsel to its appointed end. And what means does He use? To our eyes, He sometimes seems to take crooked paths, wandering here and there — paths that appear completely contrary to the goal He is aiming for. But that is according to our judgment. Let us hold firmly to this: we must not be too wise in our own eyes, but let us remain content to be in the dark about those secret purposes, as far as God sees fit. Let us be in the dark about divine counsels — but not in the sense of prying into what surpasses our understanding. We must not be blind to God's revealed will — the will by which we are to direct our ways and measure all our deeds, words, and thoughts.

So when Scripture says that the kingdom would have been established in Saul's hand if he had obeyed God's commands — this is entirely true. But at the same time, God used Saul's stubbornness as an intermediate cause to make way for David's election and for the fulfillment of the divine promises. God had subordinated Saul's fall to His own decree. When Saul fell, he was rightly deposed and removed from the kingship. Who would dare to object to God's counsels and try to blame God for their own sin, when Saul himself was convicted by his own conscience and pressed by his own confession? If Saul himself was forced to confess his offense and acknowledge his guilt, then every mouth must be shut and all murmuring must cease — no one may object or grumble against God. We must confess that the lasting kingdom that was promised to David could never have been established in Saul's hand. But let us recognize the intermediate cause within our perception — Saul's fall — as the visible cause by which the kingdom was taken from Saul and transferred to David.

So much for these matters. From them let us learn to look up to and adore God's eternal counsels when they surpass the grasp of our minds — refraining from all prying curiosity, and worshipping and adoring God with a sober, reverent, and humble spirit. And if God uses means we never expected, let us recognize that He wishes us to see in them His justice and His remarkable goodness, which is beyond our comprehension. Let us always hold to this principle: God has His own secret counsel that the sharpness of our minds cannot reach.

If we keep ourselves within the bounds of this humility, we will be very different from those fanatical men who spew out their blasphemies with great force and rage against this teaching because they cannot grasp it with their senses or reason. To our senses, God's will can seem variable and even self-contradictory — just as Paul calls God's wisdom 'many-sided.' So we stand blinded and astonished before what the prophet calls the immense abyss of the Lord's ways. Yet God's will is one and simple. What our senses cannot attain now, we will see when we have been transformed into His glory and will see God as He is. For now we know in part and in shadows — so we must wait for the day of full revelation, when we will understand the things that now, by an infinite distance, exceed all our senses and remain hidden. God has arranged it this way.

So much for that question of how the kingdom could be said to have been going to endure in Saul's hand and family if he had obeyed God's Word. God wished Saul to fall so that He might raise David to the kingship and put him in possession of the kingdom. Samuel therefore says that God has found a man after His own heart — and by these words he shows that Saul was rightly rejected. Samuel is not pointing to the eternal decree by which God had foretold through His prophet that the scepter would never depart from the tribe of Judah. He says God found a man after His own heart because Saul was deposed through his own fault — he was not approved by God but rejected on account of his sin. That is why his kingdom did not last.

It is also entirely true that David offended God very seriously in many ways — indeed, far more seriously than Saul in this particular act. David was driven by neither terror nor any violent pressure when he murdered Uriah, when he exposed God's majesty — as far as it was in his power — to the blasphemous attacks of the ungodly, or when he committed such shameful and vile adultery. In these things he sinned far more gravely before God. But God chose to pardon those sins, and out of His pure grace resolved to carry to completion what He had once decreed: to raise up and confirm the kingdom in the tribe of Judah and the family of David, until the King of kings — our Lord Jesus Christ — should come.

This is the meaning of those words: 'The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart.' This does not mean that David had done or thought anything good beforehand by which he moved the Lord to choose him — as we will see confirmed in what follows. Rather, God had chosen and appointed David for this purpose even while David himself knew nothing about it. We see the same thing in the Lord's words to Jeremiah: 'Before you came forth from your mother's womb, I chose you and appointed you to this calling.' 'I chose and destined you.' Paul says the same of himself in his letter to the Galatians. So Samuel was commanded to address Saul in this way because it had been established in God's eternal decree — and that decree was afterward confirmed by the actual course of events.

Now let us prostrate ourselves, etc.