Sermon 50: 1 Samuel 14:41-52

41. And Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, give holiness. And Jonathan and Saul were caught, but the people went free. 42. And Saul said: Cast lots between me and between Jonathan my son, and Jonathan was caught. 43. And Saul said to Jonathan: Tell me what you have done, and Jonathan told him, and said: Tasting I tasted with the tip of the rod that was in my hand a little honey, and behold I die. 44. And Saul said, God do this to me, and add this, for you shall surely die, Jonathan. 45. And the people said to Saul: Shall then Jonathan die, who made this great salvation in Israel, this is a wicked thing. As the Lord lives, if a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, because he has worked with God today. The people therefore rescued Jonathan so that he did not die. 46. And Saul withdrew, and did not pursue the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their places. 47. And Saul, having confirmed his reign over Israel, fought all around against all his enemies, against Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and Edom, and the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines, and wherever he turned, he prevailed. 48. And having gathered his army, he struck Amalek, and rescued Israel from the hand of its plunderers. 49. And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua, and the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn, Merab, and the name of the younger, Michal. 50. And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz, and the name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's cousin. 51. Furthermore Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner, son of Abiel. 52. And there was powerful war against the Philistines all the days of Saul, for whomever Saul saw who was a strong man and fit for battle, he joined him to himself.

For those following the thread of the history that has been begun, it should be observed that Saul was disappointed in his hope, since when lots were cast he himself with his son was caught, but the people were absolved from guilt, by which God had been provoked against the people. Moreover there is no doubt that God thus wished to chastise Saul, so that he would not enjoy a full victory over the enemies, even though they were routed with great slaughter. For although God had mercy on the Israelites, and granted them a notable victory, it was nevertheless imperfect, on account of Saul's sin, that he had been too hasty in offering the sacrifice, without waiting for Samuel. From which it appears that God sometimes spares those who have sinned, but in such a way that he reserves a certain correction, even though he does not deal with them by strict justice, nor immediately when the sin is committed: but although he defers judgment, he does not remove the punishment so that they do not feel some part of the divine judgment. And so we ought to trace God's judgments farther back than we usually do. For such is the perversity of men that unless divine judgments strike their eyes most manifestly, they are utterly blind, and never think about impending punishments, and cannot persuade themselves that they have to deal with God: but what is far worse, they try with all their might to flee his presence, and entangle themselves in many snares, being blind in those very things in which they ought to have been most clear-sighted. For example, if God defers for one or two days the correction of someone who has fallen in some matter, he will persuade himself that God has forgotten that sin, and that he will never render an account before him. But if after some time God afflicts the same person, he will by no means allow himself to be persuaded that this is God's correction: but will either say it is some chance occurrence, or will speak against God. Behold how men are accustomed to abuse God's patience. Yet God, by deferring punishments, gives us leisure to return to him, and to humble ourselves before him, so that our condition may be better when he himself relaxes his severity. But on the contrary, men take from this an occasion for persisting in sins: and when God, as it were, plucks their ear, and rouses them from the slumber of sins, and admonishes them by certain signs to learn to detest their vices, they chew and gnaw their bit, and gnash their teeth, and greatly agitated they fall into various complaints: Alas! Wretched me, what will happen? From where have these things befallen me? Am I more unfortunate than all others? Why does God not snatch me suddenly from such great evils? Does he delight in driving me to despair? Therefore the present history must be meditated upon all the more carefully, in which we see that God permitted Jonathan to sin against his father's execration, so that the father, with his son called into danger, might be punished more harshly. For Jonathan was afterwards indeed rescued from the peril of death, because God restrained Saul's fury as with a bridle, with the people interceding and opposing Saul's efforts: but nevertheless Saul had to be held back from pursuing the enemy Philistines as if an impediment were thrown in his way, and his victory had to be rendered imperfect and, as it were, halved, because he had gravely offended God by sacrificing too hastily.

Now let us examine the remaining details individually. And first, the very great reverence of this people toward the king appears, with each one consenting to Saul's edict. For although that sentence was most severe, that he would not spare even his own son: the people nevertheless assented to his words, and no one from the whole people objected. Indeed in such a great multitude of people, there had to be the greatest respect toward the king, for that edict to be received so peacefully, by which he ordered all the corners of the people to come forward. By 'corners' are sometimes understood the leaders of the people, because they are, as it were, its strength. And thus this word 'corners' is customarily used in scripture, either for the strength of the people, or for the whole body: an example of which usage is found in Judges 20. But here by 'corners' the extremities seem to be indicated, as if you would say, from one extreme to the other. From which it appears that the whole multitude of the people was gathered together no differently than if only one or two persons had been present: and what is more remarkable, no one objected or answered Saul, but peacefully acquiesced, until at last, God impelling, the people rescued Jonathan from the peril of death. Indeed whatever happens here, all the punishment of this sin falls back upon Saul: whom God honors in part, but for whom even that honor is turned to the greatest disgrace. Moreover, Saul, caught together with his son Jonathan, and the people being freed, nevertheless persists in his plan, and orders lots to be cast between himself and his son Jonathan. In which it appears how much those who hold authority among peoples sin most often through stubbornness, and heap sins upon sins, wishing to flee the mark of levity and rashness: and therefore persist in what has been begun, whether well or badly. Indeed those who sit at the helm and occupy the first seats ought to exercise prudence in their counsels, lest they rashly say or do anything which they may afterwards regret. Therefore mature deliberation is needed before they undertake anything. But if that moderation which was required has not been observed, should the evil admitted through thoughtlessness therefore be covered up by stubbornness, and should one sin twice or three times against God and men, so that one lapse may be concealed? We see Saul doing this in this place: Therefore those who sit at the helm should look upon this example, and as in a mirror observe how great a sin rashness is, so that by the example of another they may learn not to undertake anything rashly. And if they have sinned through thoughtlessness, let them acknowledge that they are men, and therefore let it not shame them to sing a recantation. Indeed this doctrine also pertains to individuals of every order and rank. For few do not sin through rash counsels: and if they wish to defend them stubbornly, and not depart from their purpose by changing their mind, it is certain that they will bring upon themselves various divine judgments and chastisements, and God will punish that pride and arrogance with heavy penalties. Therefore let us learn, if ever we have strayed from the right way, to return to God who calls us, so that we may be led back by him into the right way. Meanwhile Saul testifies to some sign of the fear of God by that prayer: Lord God of Israel, give a whole result, that is, make it so that the innocent is acquitted: give true lots, or lots of perfection. There is certainly no doubt that Saul was well persuaded that the lot-casting between himself and his son Jonathan and the people would be approved by God: indeed it is easy to judge that he was impelled to this by God. For he could have thought that the people's transgression that day was very great, since they had polluted themselves by eating flesh mixed with blood, against God's express law. Therefore Saul ought to have seriously considered that violation of the law. But he does not remember that crime: rather he himself with his son was separated on one side, and the people on the other: clearly he thought the lots cast would fall on the people. Here therefore it appears that this whole matter was conducted by the admirable counsel and providence of God: indeed that even Saul's tongue was governed by God's own Spirit. Therefore that prayer of Saul was not rash nor fictitious: as most people are accustomed to petition God with prayers, but with feigned and rash ones: indeed they would rather obscure the will of God himself. But Saul did not utter rash words, but rested on a firm foundation: persuaded of the very thing which was afterwards committed to writing by Solomon, that lots are cast into the lap, but their entire governance is from the Lord: by which words Solomon indicates that a lot which is cast either into the bosom or into an urn seems indeed to be random, but that its judgment and outcome depends on the Lord, whose providence is admirable and ineffable. This therefore Saul recognized and embraced. Which was certainly his greatest virtue: especially since it was a matter of capital punishment and his own life, which he voluntarily subjects to the lots, no less than the lives of others. Therefore he asks God to make it whole, that is to bring forth the truth, and to complete the whole matter, so that the innocent may not pay penalties for the guilty: but that the just may be acquitted, and the guilty condemned. A virtue certainly praiseworthy in a king. And yet he did not notice other far graver vices. Therefore let us learn from this that we must think about ourselves all the more carefully, because we fall so easily. For often, led by the best zeal in certain matters, we are nevertheless blind in others: and if we have done something good in one respect, we profane God's name with our follies: which nevertheless we will think are all pleasing and acceptable to him. But we must not rest in external appearance, nor is it enough to follow the right way in one part, and from another indulge our corruptions: but diligent caution must be applied, and all flattery must be avoided, lest we deceive ourselves by adulterating. Therefore let us acknowledge that God's Spirit wishes to teach us here in the person of Saul, and to demonstrate in him, as in a mirror, the fragility of our nature. For we are inclined to evil, even though we mix in something good: and specious pretexts are not lacking by which we veil the truth: for we never embrace what is just and right unless compelled by a certain force. Here therefore the Lord makes manifest to us what is praiseworthy in Saul, and what is blameworthy: since even though some virtue appears in him, yet many vices lay hidden, which afterwards come to light. Yet God spares him for a time: so that in him we may behold the mercy and patience of God, who does not always punish at the very moment when sin is committed: that we may be brought to the recognition of our sins. Therefore when God has, so to speak, only plucked our ear, or moved his finger to strike us, let us acknowledge that he has been provoked to anger by us, and submitting ourselves to him, and abhorring our sins, let us turn to him.

What next follows, that Saul, after Jonathan was caught, asked what he had done, and Jonathan told him the whole matter as it was, testifies to Jonathan's great simplicity and integrity: even though he does not acknowledge that he had sinned. Nevertheless it should be known that even though Saul overstepped the bounds of what was right and just, binding the people with an execration against anyone who violated his command: God nevertheless willed that that execration should fall and retain its force upon Jonathan, Saul's son: which was the reason why God willed him to be caught by lot as though guilty. Here therefore we must adore the inscrutable judgments of God, which are higher than our senses. For if we were too anxiously to investigate the reasons why God condemned Jonathan, since we saw earlier that Jonathan had testified that he did not know what his father had prohibited: and that he had not sinned from malice, but that what he did, he did for the salvation of the people: indeed we would gravely sin against God's judgments: which are a most profound abyss, and into which we must not inquire too curiously. By this example therefore let us learn to be wise to sobriety, and not to investigate too anxiously or curiously things of which we have no knowledge. However, it may rightly seem possible to object here that a sentence pronounced by an unjust judge against an innocent person is always to be dreaded: and the papists especially abuse this passage to establish the thunderbolts of their excommunications. For they say that when they have hurled the lightning of their excommunication against some innocent person, their authority is so great and so sacrosanct that if anyone is offended, he is to be condemned immediately as most guilty. But such arguments are horned: because things which God once willed to happen are not to be drawn into a precedent. For this is a singular event concerning Jonathan, which God permitted so that Saul might pay the penalties for his rashness. And often, I confess, kings, inspired by the majesty of God, speak, even though they do not know what they are saying: which we see happened to Caiaphas the high priest. For he uttered a prophecy about Christ, although he was an enemy of God and of the truth. But from where, I ask, came that gift of prophecy? For God made valid the judgment pronounced by pontifical authority, that one man should die for the whole people: so that it might be known to all that the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ would be the redemption of all. Therefore God impelled the tongue of Caiaphas to one act: and if anyone wished to draw this into a general rule, indeed he would have mocked God and his prophecy with vain superstition. Thus the papists betray their ignorance in this place: when they protect themselves with that pontifical dignity, as with a great shield, and conclude that the pope, who has succeeded the high priest, cannot speak except when inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. But it is not said that Caiaphas always prophesied: only once in his whole life did he utter that prophecy, and he blasphemed more than a hundred thousand times. Shall that singular event then be drawn into a general rule? This is done too arrogantly by those people. Therefore let us observe that God, in order to punish Saul for his rashness, willed to make valid the sentence pronounced by him: as if he were saying: You are king: your mouth ought to be sacred in this respect, as an instrument of the Holy Spirit: you therefore pronounced a sentence which I will to be valid: but adverse to you, to your own harm. Therefore it does not follow from this that God approved and accepted that execration by which he had bound the whole people, nor that whatever Saul had said was rashly willed by God to be valid. Not at all. But on the contrary God made valid that sentence which he would turn back against Saul: You, he says, will pay me the penalty; you bound my people with an execration: but I myself will turn it back against you. Therefore there is no doubt that God allowed him loose reins, so that he might blurt these things out. For nothing was unknown to God; he had the outcomes of all things well known to him. Therefore God willed that Saul, because he had already sinned so rashly and inconsiderately, should fall back into the same sin, so that he might pay the penalty: and carry back the reward worthy of his deeds, and learn to submit himself to God.

Meanwhile if anyone asks whether it was consistent with God's justice to have cast the wretched and innocent Jonathan into such straits that he came into mortal danger: certainly it is fitting: but such is the force of God's providence that it brings salvation in desperate situations, and so arranges all things that when the ultimate destruction seems to be imminent, salvation appears. Which happened to Jonathan himself. However, it should be observed that when God permits the innocent to be afflicted, no wrong is done to them by him. For there is no stain of evil in God. Therefore if God sends adversities, let us not speak against him, but rather shut our mouths. Indeed those who are afflicted can profess that they are innocent, that they are punished without cause, that they are not conscious of any wrongdoing, and are guilty of no crime — but before God, not before earthly judges: since God has his own reasons for afflicting us: and he will always be judged to act most justly. Therefore our lips must be restrained and pressed with a finger, since although we can defend our innocence in some matter, in a thousand other things, even those unknown to us, we shall be convicted. And if we have proved our case in some matter, God will nevertheless produce six hundred other charges against us, by which we will be proved most guilty. Therefore let us not think that any wrong was done to Jonathan, even though he was innocent and fell through thoughtlessness into his father's execration of which he knew nothing, from which he could therefore rightly have been absolved. For although before men the excuse may seem sufficient, God nevertheless knew the matter well enough: and therefore Jonathan, thrown into such straits and even condemned to death, through God's grace and mercy experienced deliverance in the greatest peril. Furthermore, here we should observe the inclination of men to sin, who not restraining their passions continually heap sins upon sins and increase them daily. Let Saul be an example: who first confirmed his judgment with that oath, As the Lord lives, the meaning of which words we explained before: then he added, The Lord who preserves Israel: and he attached a third as well, he shall surely die. Therefore when he says, The Lord who preserves Israel, it is as if he swore by him who rescued his people from danger: as if he were saying: Not only do I present myself before God, whose justice is eternal: but especially the one whose power was conspicuous in delivering his people from the tyranny by which we were pressed by our enemies, into liberty, so that he showed himself to be our savior. I wish therefore to be punished twice as severely by him unless I carry out the sentence I have pronounced. Then finally he adds a third oath: God do thus to me, and thus continue: by which phrase, customary in the scriptures, the same thing is signified as if someone were to say: I pray God to punish me in this world and in the next, unless, etc. When the various kinds of chastisements are piled up, so that God may punish by this or that means, there is a place for such an imprecation: Thus may God do to me. And this is the force of that phrase, although the words seem broken off and interrupted: so that a measure may be maintained in swearing, lest, as most have as their habit, they be more inclined to various and horrible execrations. For how many today do you see so insolent that they vomit forth dire execrations, at which hearers ought wholly to shudder, as if they wanted to strike God himself in the face, when they imagine for themselves various monsters, and fabricate seats in the underworld and similar things? But, as I said, in the scriptures the words of oaths appear cut off and broken, so that we may learn that men ought to tremble at the name of God whenever they are about to swear by it. For this reason Saul says in this place: Lord, do thus to me, etc. From which we are taught that men ought not to permit themselves the license of swearing, in which they are accustomed to sin too much in this regard: but rather to be held back as if by a certain bridle. Although we see Saul here ascending step by step to the summit, and heaping penalties upon penalties: for he spoke more modestly at first, then more violently: and finally most gravely when he says: God do thus to me and continue, and so he prayed that evils be heaped upon evils and penalties upon penalties: which must be diligently observed: since it almost always happens to us that we persist in evils, and stick in our filth, and grow more and more wanton in them, until we arrive at the summit of iniquity, unless we are deterred from them as if by an imposed bridle.

Next follow the words of Jonathan, by which he complains of the injustice done to him: I only tasted with the tip of my staff a little honey: behold me, should I die? By which he accuses his father's cruelty, because God in that vengeance of the execration combines mere injustice with cruelty. Nevertheless Saul does not hear the defense of his innocence: because he is utterly blinded in his rash oath. And there is no doubt that he wished to acquire a name for himself beyond cruelty: and that he was laboring with ambition, and was trying to demonstrate that a word proceeding from the king was irrevocable: so that by this means he might inspire greater fear, as one who always spoke seriously and irrevocably. Therefore Jonathan's excuse is not admitted by his father, though it rested on the greatest equity, but which Saul's pride would not accept. From this let those who have been raised to the highest honors learn to beware lest by their arrogance they reject admonitions made to them even by the unskilled or by men of low condition: for it is certain that the greatest part of corruption in judgments occurs from this, when judges are so blinded by pride and arrogance that they do not hear the complaints or admonitions of wretched men.

Next it is said that the people, even swearing an oath contrary to Saul's execration, affirmed that Jonathan would by no means die. Thus far we have heard the great obedience of this people, or rather a certain stupor, by which it happened that no one from the whole people dared answer Saul. But when they saw that Jonathan's life was in danger, and that this matter was being pursued seriously by Saul, then they openly opposed the king's efforts, and confirmed with an oath that Jonathan would not die. Certainly there is no doubt that the people, impelled by God, thus bound themselves by oath to rescue Jonathan from death, so that Saul might pay the penalties of his arrogance: so that if perhaps his oath should prevail, it might be impeded by a contrary oath, and the people might prevail by their multitude. Namely so that they might say that they had all sworn, and therefore could not descend to his judgment: because he alone could do nothing against them all: and thus provision would be made for Jonathan so that he would not be deprived of life. Furthermore, one may ask whether the people acted rightly by opposing Saul's oath with a contrary oath. To which question the answer must be that men are blind in divine matters: and therefore when it concerns the hidden counsels of God, they must put their finger to their mouth, and be content with those things which God reveals to us in his word. For when God by a certain admirable counsel of his has produced such examples for our instruction, it does not therefore follow that men doing these things do not deviate from the right path, even though God uses their work to carry out his counsel. But the law of the Lord always remains whole and unimpaired: therefore such questions should be left as vain and useless, indeed impious, if anyone wishes to abuse them to seek escape, whether the people acted rightly or wrongly. Let it suffice for us that God by this means wished Jonathan to be snatched from the peril of death, when, already destined for death, he seemed to be hanging over the grave, so that Saul's tyranny might be punished in this way. However, the people add a specious reason, that Jonathan had made a great salvation in Israel, and had worked with God that day. By these words the people indicate that the injury would redound against God himself, if severity were shown against the one whose work he had used to bring salvation to the people. Indeed it often happens that certain persons accomplish great deeds worthy of remembrance, who nevertheless fall into crimes that must be expiated by death: even though they may otherwise be distinguished by great virtues. But the people speak about things that are connected: for they ask why the one who brought salvation to the people should die for tasting a little honey with the tip of his staff. For how did this happen to him? Was it not while he was pursuing the enemies, and he himself, as leader, was adding courage to others by his own example to rout the enemies? In short, as God's standard-bearer and ensign, throwing himself into the midst of the enemies? Indeed God impelled that man, and exerted his power in him, as if he had led him by his own hand. Moreover, while he does his duty and follows God as leader, he tasted a little honey: and he did not do this out of malice or stubbornness. Therefore he did not sin against the king: unless perhaps ignorance of the edict should be imputed to him as a crime. Therefore if he were punished capitally, would we not be wronging God himself, and obscuring his grace which he manifested in Jonathan? From this we learn to examine individually the deeds that come into controversy, about which judgment must be made and sentence must be passed. For if such deeds are ones that are condemned by God's word and by natural equity, they are beyond all doubt, as being unpardonable. But if on the contrary some deed has occurred that is neither wicked nor absolutely condemned by God, but rests only on the imagination of men, not confirmed by any word of God, it is certain that we who do wrong to someone who is not conscious of any evil to himself, will be wronging God himself, and that he will indeed be the avenger and punisher of that wrong. Therefore the greater caution must be applied by us here, lest we rashly pass sentence on things we do not know, or condemn by our own judgment what can nevertheless be excused or approved: lest we seem to wish to wage war against God himself: to whom at last, whatever we may allege, an account of our rashness will have to be rendered.

Finally Saul is said to have withdrawn from pursuing the Philistines: this is the end of all those things which we have explained thus far: namely that God indeed wished to deliver his people into liberty, and to reveal himself as the defender and protector of his people, and to free them from the tyranny of the Philistines, which they had long suffered: but not to grant Saul a full and perfect victory over the enemies: since he was undoubtedly more worthy of the greatest confusion and disgrace, because he had not patiently waited for Samuel. Therefore God, throwing this impediment in the way of his victory, chastises him in such a way that he wills him to still suffer something from the Philistines, who will perpetually torment him, not for one or two years, but as long as he holds the kingdom, which he held for forty years: and therefore he had perpetual conflicts with the Philistines, and indeed things came to such a pass that he himself with his son Jonathan was finally killed by the Philistines and fell in battle, his sins having greatly increased, when he ought most of all to have been turned to God and composed to obedience to God. But he on the contrary, heaping sins upon sins, and totally immersed in them, also brought ultimate destruction upon himself. For this reason it is said here that Saul withdrew from pursuing the enemies.

Next follows a summary of two matters: first indeed that everything went prosperously for Saul as he held the kingdom: and wherever he led his forces he carried back victory from the enemies: then a certain repetition of his genealogy. For although we had already seen that Saul traced his origin from Kish, nevertheless it is repeated here, and the names of his sons and daughters are also expressed: indeed honorable mention is made of Abner the commander of his army, and of Ner, Saul's cousin. Now this is the manner and style of sacred scripture, that when it mentions those who held some dignity among men for a long time, it presents them in such a way that it then covers them, as if with a drawn veil, so that they may no longer be found in human memory. For example, we see the offspring of Cain thus commemorated, and that of Ishmael, and also of Esau, because God in the grace of Abraham had poured out his favor upon those two later families. But they are mentioned only in passing in scripture, so that they may afterwards be enveloped in a certain oblivion. From which we must learn to look farther than the present world: lest we be among those of whom the prophet speaks in the Psalm, who seek honors in these lands and want their name to be spread far and wide: lest, I say, we burn with such a foolish desire for honor: but let it suffice for us that our names are written in the book of life, and that we are counted among the number of God's children. To this therefore our minds should be directed, namely to that eternal inheritance prepared for us. Therefore let us not envy those whom we see, elevated to great honors for a time, triumphing in the world, and favored by favorable fortune, and blessed with the desired outcome of all things. For it will happen that at a moment that felicity collapses. Furthermore, it becomes clear from this that even these earthly and temporal benefits of God ought to be held in honor: although compared with spiritual and eternal things, they are of little importance. Yet no benefit of God, however small, in this fleeting and transitory life is to be regarded lightly: but rather is to be held in the highest honor, so that God's name may always be glorified in his gifts. And so much for Saul's genealogy.

As for Abner, we must deal with him more extensively later: and what was the outcome of his governance and administration: but that discussion is to be deferred to its proper place. Moreover, what is said that Saul was occupied with continual wars as long as he held the kingdom, it must first be observed by what means God exercised his people, even when he gave unmistakable signs of his goodness toward them. Previously we saw that the people had suffered an intolerable servitude for many years, and had been sent under the harshest yoke like miserable cattle, without any defense. For what sort of servitude was it, I ask, not to have even the instruments necessary for cultivating the land except from the enemy? Now God professes himself to be the defender and protector of his people, yet not in such a way as to give them great ease, since they are often exercised by new attacks of the enemy. Saul is indeed a great bulwark for them, with God giving him prosperous successes: but nevertheless they are constantly harassed by new invasions of the enemy. From which we learn that God never gives his people perfect rest and tranquility in this life: lest, when they must struggle with various difficulties, they gnaw the bit and gnash their teeth against him. For we must not think that in this earthly and not enduring little dwelling place, God wishes to give us an earthly paradise, or to provide delights. But we must be content with this one thing, that our perfect happiness is placed in heaven: and that God will never fail us in the greatest dangers, but will bring timely help. But in turn we must also know that God, exercising us with various afflictions, wishes thereby to give us a greater reason to invoke him: and to call us away from all carnal affections, lest we be intoxicated by them: to which we are all too inclined, and all too often deceived by them, as experience itself testifies. Therefore when we hear of the victories of Saul in this place, let us also remember the miserable condition with which God's people struggled, being frequently attacked by new assaults of the enemy.

Moreover, when Kish, Ner, Abner are mentioned here, and mention is also made of the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and the rest against whom Saul waged perpetual war, it should be observed that all these were descendants of Abraham, who nevertheless fought against the Israelites with perpetual hatred. And indeed the Edomites were descended from the other son of Isaac, Esau, the brother of Jacob: who nevertheless were the most deadly enemies of the Israelites, and waged continual wars against them. But what is this? That brothers should exercise such hatreds among themselves? Indeed this is as if the members of one and the same body were piercing each other with mutual wounds. Therefore let us learn from this not to be surprised if those who ought to protect and defend us, who, I say, call themselves protectors of the catholic faith, are our most hostile enemies: since this was the blemish of all times. Thus we see the Israelites waged war not only against the Philistines: but against their own brothers, who provoked them with frequent battles, whom they ought rather to have helped when oppressed by others. But these things ought to redound to our benefit today: for it is not fitting that we enjoy greater privileges than our fathers. And there is no doubt that the condition and living image of the church is represented for us in this history: so that if it happens that we are pressed and afflicted in some way by those with whom we are joined either by blood or by some bond of kinship, it should not seem new and strange to us, nor should we bear it badly, since this has been the custom of all ages. Moreover, observe here that God fulfilled his promises when he chose Saul and set him as king over his people, namely that he would be the champion of the people. For even though that kingdom of Saul was not what God had decreed, as we shall see later: yet he partly made it valid, when he blessed it and turned evil into good. For the insolence of the people deserved that Saul should exercise tyranny over them, and that some horrible confusion should result. But God, by his admirable and inestimable goodness, willed Saul to deal kindly and gently with the people, until he raised up David, the true king destined by him: to show that the people was truly inscribed in the book of life, and called to the hope of that eternal kingdom, which was revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let us bow down, etc.

Verse 41: Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, 'Give a perfect answer.' Jonathan and Saul were identified by lot, but the people were cleared. Verse 42: Saul said: 'Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan.' Jonathan was caught. Verse 43: Saul said to Jonathan: 'Tell me what you did.' Jonathan told him: 'I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff in my hand. And now I must die for it.' Verse 44: Saul said: 'May God do so to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.' Verse 45: The people said to Saul: 'Should Jonathan die — Jonathan who accomplished this great victory for Israel? Never! As the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God today.' So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die. Verse 46: Saul withdrew and did not pursue the Philistines, and the Philistines returned to their own land. Verse 47: Once Saul had established his rule over Israel, he fought on every side against all his enemies — against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he was victorious. Verse 48: He assembled his forces and struck Amalek, and he rescued Israel from the hand of those who plundered them. Verse 49: Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab the firstborn and Michal the younger. Verse 50: Saul's wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's cousin. Verse 51: Kish was Saul's father, and Ner the father of Abner, both sons of Abiel. Verse 52: There was fierce war against the Philistines throughout all of Saul's days. Whenever Saul saw a strong man who was fit for battle, he added him to his forces.

For those following the thread of this account, it should be noted that Saul was disappointed — when the lots were cast, he and his son were identified as guilty, while the people were cleared of the offense by which God had been provoked. There is no doubt that God intended to punish Saul in this way, preventing him from enjoying a complete victory over the enemy even though they had been routed with great slaughter. Although God had shown mercy to the Israelites and granted them a notable victory, that victory was made incomplete on account of Saul's sin in offering the sacrifice too hastily without waiting for Samuel. This shows that God sometimes spares those who have sinned — but reserves a certain correction, even when He does not immediately deal with them by the strictest justice. He may defer judgment, but He does not remove punishment entirely — some portion of His judgment will be felt. We should therefore trace God's judgments further back than we usually do. Such is human perversity that unless God's judgments strike our eyes with the most obvious clarity, we are completely blind — never thinking about impending punishment, unable to persuade ourselves that we are dealing with God. And worse still, we try with all our strength to flee from His presence and tangle ourselves in many snares, blindest precisely in those matters where we most need clear sight. For example, if God delays correcting someone who has sinned by a day or two, that person will convince himself that God has forgotten the sin and will never call him to account. But if God afflicts the same person some time later, he will refuse to accept that it is God's correction — he will call it mere coincidence, or speak against God. This is how people abuse God's patience. Yet God, by deferring punishment, gives us time to return to Him and humble ourselves before Him — so that our condition may be better when He does at last relax His severity. But people take the delay as an excuse to persist in their sins. When God, so to speak, pulls their ear and rouses them from the sleep of sin — warning them by clear signs to detest their vices — they chew and gnaw at the bit, gnash their teeth, and in great agitation break into complaints: 'Alas, wretched me! What is going to happen? Where did all this come from? Am I more unfortunate than everyone else? Why does God not rescue me from such great evils? Does He delight in driving me to despair?' The present account therefore deserves our most careful attention: God permitted Jonathan to violate his father's oath — so that the father, with his own son brought into peril, might be more severely punished. Jonathan was afterward rescued from the danger of death, because God restrained Saul's fury through the people's intercession and resistance. But Saul was still stopped short — prevented from pursuing the Philistines as though a barrier had been thrown in his path, and his victory was left incomplete and halved — because he had gravely offended God by sacrificing without authorization.

Let us now examine the remaining details one by one. First, note the remarkable respect this people showed the king: everyone consented to Saul's decree without a word of objection. Even though the sentence was extremely harsh — that he would not spare even his own son — the people quietly accepted his words, and not one person from the entire crowd objected. For such a large multitude to receive that kind of order so calmly showed extraordinary deference to the king. The word 'corners' here sometimes refers to the leaders of the people, who are its strength — and the word is used this way in Judges 20. But here it seems to indicate the extremities: from one end of the people to the other. The entire assembly gathered as readily as if only one or two people had been present — and what is more remarkable, no one answered back or objected to Saul, but all quietly acquiesced, until God finally moved the people to rescue Jonathan from the danger of death. Whatever else is happening here, all the punishment for this sin falls back on Saul: God honors him in some degree, but even that honor is turned to his greatest disgrace. Saul, identified by lot along with Jonathan — while the people were cleared — nevertheless presses on with his plan and orders lots to be cast between himself and Jonathan. This shows how often those in positions of authority sin through stubbornness — adding sin to sin because they want to avoid looking reckless and rash. So they persist in what they have started, whether it was right or wrong. Those who hold the helm and occupy positions of leadership must exercise careful judgment in their decisions, lest they say or do something rashly that they will later regret. Mature deliberation is required before they undertake anything. But if the required restraint was not observed — should the error made through thoughtlessness be covered up by stubbornness? Should one sin twice or three times against God and men just to conceal a single mistake? This is exactly what we see Saul doing here. Those who hold authority should look at this example and see in it, as in a mirror, how great a sin rashness is — and learn from another's example not to act rashly. And if they have sinned through thoughtlessness, let them acknowledge that they are human — and not be ashamed to retract what was wrongly said. This teaching applies to individuals of every rank and condition. Very few people avoid sinning through rash decisions — and if they then want to defend those decisions stubbornly and refuse to change course, they will certainly bring various divine judgments and chastisements upon themselves. God will punish that pride and arrogance with heavy penalties. Let us therefore learn, whenever we have strayed from the right path, to turn back to God when He calls us, that He may lead us back into the right way. Meanwhile, Saul's prayer here shows some sign of the fear of God: 'Lord God of Israel, give a whole result' — that is, make it so the innocent is cleared; give true lots, perfect lots. There is no doubt that Saul was genuinely convinced that the lot-casting between himself, Jonathan, and the people would be confirmed by God. It is easy to judge that God moved him to do this. He might have thought that the people's transgression that day was severe — since they had polluted themselves by eating flesh with blood, against God's express law. Saul should have seriously weighed that violation. But he forgot that crime. Instead he separated himself and Jonathan on one side and the people on the other — clearly expecting the lots to fall on the people. In all of this we can see the remarkable counsel and providence of God at work — indeed, even Saul's tongue was directed by God's Spirit. Saul's prayer was not rash or pretended — as most people petition God with hollow and careless prayers, really hoping to obscure God's will rather than seek it. Saul spoke from a firm foundation: he was persuaded of what Solomon afterward put in writing — that lots are cast into the lap, but their whole outcome is from the Lord. By those words Solomon indicates that a lot cast into the lap or an urn appears random, but its judgment and result depend on the Lord, whose providence is admirable and beyond understanding. Saul recognized this and built on it. That was surely his greatest virtue here — especially since the matter involved a capital offense and his own life, which he voluntarily placed under the lots along with others' lives. So he asked God to make it whole — to bring the truth to light and complete the whole matter, so that the innocent would not pay for the guilty, but the just would be cleared and the guilty condemned. A commendable virtue in a king. And yet he failed to notice other far more serious vices. Let us learn from this to examine ourselves all the more carefully — because we fall so easily. We are often led by the best intentions in some matters, yet blind in others. We do something good in one area and then profane God's name with foolish behavior in another — all while thinking everything we do is pleasing and acceptable to Him. We must not rest in outward appearances. It is not enough to walk in the right way in one respect while indulging our corrupt tendencies in another. Careful watchfulness is required — we must avoid all self-flattery, lest we deceive ourselves by mixing the good with the bad. Let us therefore acknowledge that God's Spirit is teaching us through Saul's example, showing us in him, as in a mirror, the frailty of our nature. We tend toward evil even when we mix in something good. We are never short of plausible excuses for disguising the truth, and we rarely embrace what is right and just without some external force compelling us. The Lord is therefore showing us here, in Saul, both what is praiseworthy and what is blameworthy — for even though some virtue appears in him, many vices lay hidden, waiting to come to light afterward. Yet God spares him for a time, so that in him we may see the mercy and patience of God — who does not always punish the very moment sin is committed, but gives us space to come to the recognition of our sins. So when God merely, as it were, pulls our ear or moves a finger to touch us lightly, let us acknowledge that He has been provoked to anger by us — and submitting ourselves to Him and abhorring our sins, let us turn back to Him.

What follows next — that Saul, after Jonathan was caught, asked what he had done, and Jonathan gave him a full and honest account — shows Jonathan's great simplicity and integrity, even though Jonathan does not acknowledge having sinned. It should nevertheless be understood that even though Saul had clearly overstepped the bounds of right and justice in binding the people under a curse against whoever violated his command, God willed that the curse should come down and take effect on Jonathan, Saul's own son. This was the reason God permitted Jonathan to be identified by lot as though guilty. Here we must therefore bow before the inscrutable judgments of God, which are higher than our understanding. If we were to press too anxiously into the reasons why God condemned Jonathan — especially knowing, as we saw, that Jonathan had not heard his father's prohibition and had not acted out of malice but for the good of the people — we would be sinning gravely against God's judgments. Those judgments are a most profound abyss that we must not pry into with excessive curiosity. From this example let us learn to be wise within proper limits — not investigating too anxiously or curiously the things that lie beyond our knowledge. One might fairly raise an objection here: that a sentence pronounced by an unjust judge against an innocent person should always be dreaded. The papists especially abuse this passage to defend their excommunications, arguing that when they hurl their thunderbolts of excommunication against someone — even an innocent person — their authority is so great and so sacred that anyone who is troubled by it is immediately to be condemned as most guilty. But such arguments carry their own refutation — because events that God willed to happen once are not to be turned into permanent rules. This was a singular event concerning Jonathan, which God permitted in order to make Saul pay the penalty for his rashness. I acknowledge that kings, moved by the majesty of God, sometimes speak things they do not fully understand — as we see happened with Caiaphas the high priest. Caiaphas uttered a prophecy about Christ even though he was an enemy of God and of the truth. Where did that gift of prophecy come from? God validated the judgment that pontifical authority pronounced — that one man should die for the whole people — so that all might know that the death and suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ would be the redemption of everyone. God therefore moved the tongue of Caiaphas on that one occasion. If someone tried to turn this into a general rule, he would be mocking God and His prophecy with empty superstition. This is precisely the mistake the papists make: sheltering behind that example of pontifical dignity as though it were a great shield, concluding that the pope — as the successor of the high priest — cannot speak except when inspired by the Holy Spirit. But it is not said that Caiaphas always prophesied. He uttered that one prophecy once in his entire life — and he blasphemed far more times than that. Shall that one singular event be drawn into a permanent general rule? Those who do this are guilty of extraordinary arrogance. Let us therefore understand: God, in order to punish Saul for his rashness, willed to make his sentence take effect — as if saying: You are king; your words ought in this respect to serve as an instrument of the Holy Spirit. You therefore pronounced a sentence that I will cause to stand — but it will stand against you, to your own harm. It does not follow from this that God approved and endorsed the curse by which Saul had bound the whole people — or that God willed that whatever Saul rashly said should take effect. Not at all. On the contrary, God made the sentence take effect in order to turn it back against Saul. God was saying, in effect: 'You will pay Me the penalty. You bound My people under a curse — but I will turn it back against you.' There is no doubt that God gave Saul loose reins so that he would blurt these things out. Nothing was unknown to God — He had the outcome of everything clearly before Him. God therefore willed that Saul, having already sinned so rashly and thoughtlessly, should fall into the same sin again — so that he would pay the penalty, receive the reward worthy of his deeds, and learn to submit himself to God.

Meanwhile, if anyone asks whether it was consistent with God's justice to have cast the wretched and innocent Jonathan into such danger that he came to the edge of death — it certainly is consistent. For such is the force of God's providence that it brings salvation even in the most desperate situations, arranging all things so that when ultimate destruction seems imminent, deliverance appears. This is exactly what happened to Jonathan. It should also be noted that when God permits the innocent to be afflicted, He does them no wrong. There is no taint of evil in God. So when God sends adversity, let us not speak against Him — let us shut our mouths. Those who are afflicted may genuinely profess their innocence before earthly judges — that they are being punished without cause and are conscious of no crime. But before God, it is a different matter. God has His own reasons for afflicting us, and He will always be found to have acted with perfect justice. Our lips must therefore be restrained, pressed shut with a finger — for even when we can defend our innocence in one matter, in a thousand others, even those unknown to us, we would be found guilty. Even if we have cleared ourselves in some particular charge, God could produce six hundred other counts against us that would prove us most guilty. Let us not therefore think any injustice was done to Jonathan — even though he was innocent and stumbled unknowingly into his father's curse, from which he could rightly have been cleared. For although his excuse might seem fully sufficient before men, God knew the matter thoroughly — and Jonathan, thrown into such extremity and even condemned to death, experienced through God's grace and mercy a complete deliverance in his greatest danger. We should also notice here the tendency of people to pile sin on sin, continually adding to their transgressions. Let Saul be the example: first he confirmed his judgment with the oath 'As the Lord lives' — the meaning of which we explained before. Then he added 'The Lord who saves Israel.' And then he attached a third oath as well: 'He shall surely die.' When he says 'The Lord who saves Israel,' it is as if he swore by the One whose power was on full display in delivering His people from their enemies — as if saying: 'I am placing myself before the God whose saving power the whole nation has witnessed. I pray He punish me twice over unless I carry out the sentence I have pronounced.' Then he added a third oath: 'God do so to me and more also' — a phrase common in Scripture meaning: I pray God to punish me in this world and the next, unless, etc. When various kinds of punishment are piled up, calling on God to punish by this means or that, that is the force of such an oath formula. This is what the phrase means, even though the words appear cut off and broken — to maintain a certain restraint in swearing, rather than letting people, as most tend to do, slide into ever more extreme and horrible curses. How many today are so insolent that they vomit out terrible curses at which listeners ought to shudder — as though they wanted to strike God Himself in the face, inventing elaborate monstrous imagery and fabricating scenes of the underworld? But as I said, the words of oaths in Scripture appear cut off and incomplete — to teach us that people ought to tremble at God's name whenever they are about to swear by it. For this reason Saul says here: 'God do so to me, etc.' From this we are taught that people must not give themselves free rein in swearing — an area in which they are far too accustomed to sinning. They must rather be restrained, as if by a bridle. We also see Saul here escalating step by step, heaping penalty upon penalty — speaking more moderately at first, then more forcefully, and finally most gravely: 'God do this to me and continue' — calling for evils to be piled on evils and punishments on punishments. This must be carefully observed, since it almost always happens to us that when we persist in evils and wallow in them, we grow more and more reckless until we reach the summit of wickedness — unless we are stopped, as if by a bridle forced upon us.

Jonathan's words follow, in which he complains of the injustice done to him: 'I only tasted a little honey with the tip of my staff — and for this I must die?' He is accusing his father's cruelty, because God in that punishment of the curse combines simple injustice with cruelty. Yet Saul does not hear his innocence defended — he is completely blinded by his rash oath. No doubt Saul wanted to make a name for himself as a man of iron severity — driven by ambition to demonstrate that a word once spoken by the king was irrevocable, so that by this means he might inspire greater fear, appearing as someone who always spoke with finality and force. So Jonathan's defense — as just and reasonable as it was — was rejected by his father. Saul's pride would not accept it. Let those who have been raised to the highest positions of honor learn from this to guard against dismissing admonitions made to them — even by unskilled or lowly men. It is certain that the greatest corruption in judgment occurs precisely when leaders are so blinded by pride and arrogance that they will not hear the pleas or warnings of ordinary people.

We are then told that the people swore an oath directly contrary to Saul's curse, declaring that Jonathan would by no means die. We have heard up to this point about the great obedience of this people — or rather a kind of stupor that prevented anyone from daring to answer Saul. But when they saw that Jonathan's life was genuinely at stake and that Saul was pressing the matter in earnest, they openly resisted the king and confirmed under oath that Jonathan would not die. There is no doubt that the people, moved by God, bound themselves by oath to rescue Jonathan from death — so that Saul might pay the penalty for his arrogance. If Saul's oath were going to prevail, it would be blocked by a contrary oath, with the people's numbers giving them the advantage. In effect, they were saying: all of us have sworn, and therefore we cannot submit to his judgment — he alone cannot stand against all of us — and so provision was made for Jonathan's life. One may ask whether the people acted rightly by opposing Saul's oath with a contrary oath. The answer is that people are blind in divine matters — and therefore when it touches the hidden counsels of God, we must put our finger to our lips and be content with what God reveals in His Word. When God by a remarkable counsel of His produces such examples for our instruction, it does not follow that those who took those actions were necessarily walking in the right way — even though God used their actions to carry out His purposes. The law of the Lord always remains whole and unimpaired. Such questions should therefore be left as empty and useless — even impious, if anyone tries to exploit them to seek an escape, asking whether the people acted rightly or wrongly. Let it be enough for us that God by this means chose to snatch Jonathan from the danger of death — when he was already condemned and seemingly hanging over the grave — and thereby to punish Saul's tyranny in this way. The people added a compelling reason: Jonathan had accomplished a great victory for Israel and had worked with God that day. By these words the people were saying that if Saul showed such severity toward the man whose work God had used to bring salvation to the people, the injury would rebound against God Himself. It does happen, I admit, that certain people accomplish great and memorable deeds, yet afterward fall into crimes that deserve death — even when they are otherwise distinguished by great virtues. But the people here are talking about things that are directly connected: why should the man who brought salvation to the people die for tasting a little honey with the tip of his staff? How did this happen? Was it not while he was pursuing the enemies — throwing himself into the midst of them, strengthening others by his own example, acting as God's standard-bearer? God had indeed moved that man and exerted His power through him, as if leading him by His own hand. And while doing his duty and following God as his commander, he tasted a little honey — not out of malice or defiance. He had not sinned against the king — unless ignorance of the edict is to be counted a crime. To punish him with death would be to do wrong to God Himself and to obscure the grace God had manifested through Jonathan. From this let us learn to examine carefully the individual deeds that come under judgment before passing sentence. If such deeds are clearly condemned by God's Word and by natural fairness, they are beyond doubt unpardonable. But if a deed has occurred that is neither wicked nor clearly condemned by God — if it rests only on human invention and is confirmed by no word of God — then to do wrong to someone who is not conscious of any evil is to do wrong to God Himself, who will be the avenger and punisher of that wrong. Let us therefore exercise great caution — lest we rashly pass sentence on things we do not understand, or condemn by our own judgment what could rightly be excused or approved — lest we find ourselves waging war against God Himself, to whom we will finally have to give an account of our rashness.

Saul is finally said to have withdrawn from pursuing the Philistines — and this is the outcome of all that we have been explaining. God willed to deliver His people into freedom, to reveal Himself as the defender and protector of His people, and to free them from the Philistine tyranny they had long endured — but not to give Saul a full and complete victory. For Saul was far more deserving of shame and disgrace, since he had not patiently waited for Samuel. God therefore threw this impediment in the path of Saul's victory and punished him by allowing the Philistines to continue troubling him — not for one or two years, but for as long as he held the kingdom, which was forty years. He had perpetual conflicts with the Philistines, and things finally reached the point where Saul himself, along with his son Jonathan, was killed by the Philistines and fell in battle — his sins having greatly multiplied, at a time when he above all should have turned to God and shaped himself to God's obedience. Instead, he piled sin on sin, sinking deeper into them, and finally brought ultimate destruction upon himself. For this reason the text says here that Saul withdrew from pursuing the enemies.

The passage then gives a brief summary of two matters: first, that everything went well for Saul as he held the kingdom, and wherever he led his forces he returned with victory. Second, there is a repetition of his genealogy. Although we already knew that Saul traced his origin from Kish, it is repeated here, along with the names of his sons and daughters. Honorable mention is also made of Abner, commander of his army, and of Ner, Saul's cousin. This is the characteristic style of Scripture: when it mentions those who held some dignity among men for a long time, it presents them in a way that then draws a veil over them, so that they recede from human memory. We see the same done with the offspring of Cain, of Ishmael, and of Esau — because God had poured His favor through Abraham's grace upon those two later families. But they are mentioned only in passing in Scripture, to be wrapped in a kind of obscurity afterward. From this let us learn to look beyond the present world — lest we be among those the psalmist describes who seek honors on earth and want their names spread far and wide. Let us not burn with such a foolish desire for worldly fame. Let it be enough that our names are written in the book of life and that we are counted among God's children. Let our minds be directed toward the eternal inheritance prepared for us. Let us not envy those we see elevated to great honors for a time, triumphant in the world, favored by fortune, and blessed with the success of everything they desire. That happiness will collapse in a moment. At the same time, this passage also shows that God's earthly and temporal blessings ought to be honored — even though compared to spiritual and eternal things they are of little weight. No benefit of God in this brief and passing life is to be dismissed, however small — but rather treasured highly, so that God's name may always be glorified in His gifts. So much for Saul's genealogy.

We will need to address Abner more fully later — including the outcome of his service and administration. That discussion belongs in its proper place. As for what is said about Saul being occupied with continual wars throughout his reign, we must first observe the means by which God exercised His people even while giving them unmistakable signs of His goodness toward them. We saw earlier that the people had endured intolerable slavery for many years, driven under the harshest yoke like miserable animals with no defense. What kind of servitude is it, I ask, when you cannot even obtain the tools needed to farm without going to your enemy? Now God declares Himself the defender and protector of His people — yet not in such a way as to grant them great ease, for they are constantly tested by fresh enemy attacks. Saul is indeed a powerful wall of protection for them, with God granting him success — yet the people are still perpetually harassed by new invasions. From this we learn that God never gives His people perfect rest and tranquility in this life — lest, when they struggle with various difficulties, they gnaw at the bit and gnash their teeth against Him. We must not think that in this brief earthly dwelling place, God intends to provide an earthly paradise or to surround us with comfort. We must be content with this one thing: that our perfect happiness is placed in heaven, and that God will never fail us in the greatest dangers but will bring timely help. But we must also understand that God, exercising us with various afflictions, intends by this to give us greater reason to call on Him — and to draw us away from all earthly attachments, lest we become intoxicated by them. We are far too prone to this, and far too often deceived by it, as experience shows. So when we read of Saul's victories in this passage, let us also remember the difficult condition in which God's people still struggled — repeatedly attacked by fresh assaults from the enemy.

When the text mentions Kish, Ner, and Abner here — and also names the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and other peoples against whom Saul waged constant war — we should observe that all of these were descendants of Abraham, yet they fought against the Israelites with relentless hostility. The Edomites in particular descended from Esau, the other son of Isaac and Jacob's own brother — yet they were among Israel's deadliest enemies, waging continual war against them. How is this possible? That brothers could harbor such hatred toward each other? It is as though the members of a single body were tearing each other apart with mutual wounds. Let us learn from this not to be surprised when those who call themselves defenders of the faith — those who ought to protect and defend us — turn out to be our most hostile enemies. This has been the mark of every age. We see here that Israel fought not only against the Philistines but against their own brothers, who provoked them with repeated attacks — when those brothers should instead have helped them when they were oppressed by others. But these things are recorded for our benefit today. We are not entitled to greater privileges than our fathers enjoyed. There is no doubt that this history presents us with a living image of the church in every age. If we are pressed and afflicted by those to whom we are joined by blood or by some bond of kinship, we should not find it new or strange — this has been the pattern throughout all generations. Notice also that God fulfilled His promises when He chose Saul and set him as king over His people — namely, that the king would be the champion and defender of the people. Even though Saul's kingdom was not what God had ultimately decreed, as we will see later, God nevertheless partially validated it by blessing it and turning evil into good. The people's arrogance deserved that Saul would exercise tyranny over them and that some terrible disorder would result. Yet by His wonderful and boundless goodness, God willed that Saul would deal kindly and gently with the people — until He raised up David, the true king He had appointed — to show that the people were truly written in the book of life and called to the hope of that eternal kingdom, which was revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let us bow down, etc.