I. I AM TO OPEN A LITTLE, AND MAKE A FEW REMARKS UPON THE HISTORY WHICH GAVE OCCASION TO THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET.

1. How easily are people misled into disobedience by their present interest, or carnal inclinational how ready are these to mix themselves in all our actions, and to turn what was intended as an instance of obedience, into an act of impiety and transgression!

2. You may observe how natural it is for people, when challenged for any fault, to lay the blame of it upon others, even when there is little prospect of hiding their own guilt.

3. We may see it is an unusual thing for men to imagine they have been obedient to God even in that very action, by which they have in a remarkable manner shown their disobedience. True obedience is always humble, and sensible of the imperfections attending it. Ostentatious obedience, if it were for no other reason, is an abomination in the sight, of God. How often does it happen that the excuses for sin are the aggravations of it? It is very remarkable, though melancholy to reflect upon, that those excuses for sin which carry in them the most daring profanity, are commonly most stupifying to the conscience. Such is the state of all those who fortify themselves in an evil practice, by embracing loose principles, who, having first given way to unbridled inclination in the breach of God's laws, steel themselves against conviction and repentance, by a denial of His truth.

5. How great is the folly of men who hope to atone for their disobedience by any compensation, but particularly by religious rites!

II. I PROCEED TO SHOW IN WHAT RESPECTS IT IS THAT OBEDIENCE IS OPPOSED AND PREFERRED TO SACRIFICE, OR JUSTLY CALLED BETTER. It is not uncommon to hear this passage produced in order to prove the value of moral above positive precepts. Moral precepts, I suppose you know, are precepts of perpetual and unchangeable obligation, and positive, such as either have not, or do not seem to have, any intrinsic excellence in themselves, but depend upon the immediate and express institution of God. Now, though no doubt, if it is done with proper care, and upon legitimate principles, a distinction may be stated between these different kinds of duties; yet it is plain, that this cannot be the spirit of the passage before us.

1. Obedience is preferred to sacrifices, as they were uncommanded, free, and voluntary. If we attend to the sacrifices under the law, we shall find them of different kinds; particularly, we shall find them distinguished in this respect, that some of them were expressly and positively ordained, and others were left to the goodwill or spontaneous inclination of the offerer. The observation of the Sabbath, of circumcision, of the passover, the daily burnt offering, the annual sacrifice on the great day of expiation, the trespass offering, and many others, were so indispensably necessary, that no opposition was to be presumed or imagined between them and the moral law. Nay, the whole circumstances of these rites were precisely specified, and those who varied anything in the manner of their observation were to he cut off from their people. (Exodus 12:19; Exodus 31:14). I must further observe, that even with respect to voluntary or free-will offerings, though they were left at liberty whether they would offer such at all or not; yet if they did offer, the manner in which it behoved to be conducted, was appointed precisely. Now, nothing can be more plain, than that the sacrifices which Saul and his people had in view to offer, or at least pretended to have had in view, were voluntary or free-will offerings. When you remember this you will see with how great lustier and force the prophet opposes sacrifices of this kind to obeying the voice of the Lord: "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" As if he had said, "Can you imagine that God will be as well pleased with gifts of your own devising, as with a strict and punctual execution of the orders which Himself had given; especially when the very sacrifices you would offer to Him, are purchased by the breach of His express command?"

2. Obedience is opposed to sacrifices, as they are false and hypocritical. Even in those sacrifices that were most expressly appointed, and of the most indispensable obligation, there might be an essential defect, from the inward disposition not corresponding to the outward action. Reason, as well as scripture, teacheth us, that in all acts of worship the sincerity of the heart makes the chief ingredient.(1) Our sacrifices may be polluted by inconsistency or unsoundness in the character. This is the case where men are careful in attending upon the institutions of religion, but do not make conscience of keeping the commandments of God in their ordinary conversation.(2) The other kind of hypocrisy is, when men put on religion as a cloak and covering on their wickedness, and, without any inward regard or sense of duty to God, aim only at the praise of men.

3. Obedience is opposed to sacrifices, as they are dead and formal. I am not at this time to mention all the ends which an infinitely wise God intended to serve by the appointment of sacrifices: but everyone must be sensible, that they could be of no avail without taking in the principle from which they were bought, and the temper and disposition of the offerer. There was no doubt very much of outward form in the Mosaic economy; and the ritual practices bore so great bulk in it, that, by way of comparison with the spirituality of the gospel, it is called the law of a carnal commandment. But it would be mistaking it very much to suppose that God was fully satisfied with or desired that His people should rest in the outward form. This is plain from many passages of scripture (Psalm 5:7; Psalm 26:6; Psalm 51:16, 17). In opposition to this, however clear a dictate both of reason and scripture, it seems to have been the disease of ancient times, to imagine that the sacrifices were somehow necessary or useful to their Maker in themselves; and that He was pleased with the possession of the gift, independent of the disposition of the giver. This led both Jews and Gentiles to suppose that the more numerous and costly the victims the greater would be their influence (Micah 6:6). This conduct, so dishonourable to God and so inconsistent with the holiness and purity of His nature, had no sufficient excuse either among Jews or Heathens. But surely it is still more criminal among Christians. The gospel, as a dispensation of clearer light and greater purity is called the ministration of the Spirit. God is a spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

4. In the last place, obedience is opposed to sacrifices, as they are misplaced and unseasonable. In the ancient dispensation, time and place were as much ascertained as any circumstance that belonged to the temple service; and nothing could be more contrary to the spirit of that economy, than taking any liberty with the order which God Himself had established. The same general rule is to be observed at all times. We must attend to the intimations of Providence, and, as far as they can be clearly discerned, discharge those duties to which we are immediately called. Everything is beautiful in its place and season, and is then not only most acceptable to God, but most useful to men It is so far from being any disparagement of sacrifices, that it is their very excellence, to be confined to their time and place. And the maxim in the text will apply with equal propriety to every duty of the moral law. the most excellent of them may be misapplied True religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is, to visit the fatherless and the widow; and yet, if the time of Divine worship be unnecessarily chosen for that purpose, or if too much time be consumed in it by those whose presence cannot be useful, it is a rejected sacrifice.

III. I PROCEED NOW TO MAKE SOME PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT OF WHAT HAS BEEN SAID. From what has been said. you may learn what are the great characters of acceptable obedience; and, I think, they may be reduced to the three following: —

1. It must be an implicit obedience.

2. A second character of true obedience is, that it be self-denied and impartial, that it be not, directed or qualified by our present interest.

3. A third character of obedience is, that it be universal, without any exception. From what hath been said on this subject, you may see, that the true notion of obedience is inconsistent with the notion of merit, as if we could lay our Maker under some sort of obligation. You see how Saul justified himself, and said, "Yea, but I have obeyed the voice of the Lord." But, in the judgment of God, there was no consideration had of what bad been done, but a severe sentence of condemnation upon him for what he had neglected. True obedience is always considered, in this light, as a debt due to God, for the performance of which nothing can be claimed, but for the neglect of which a penalty is incurred.

(T. Witherspoon.)

II. IT MUST BE EXACT. When Saul said, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord," he meant it as certain loose and careless people count obedience It is not enough, however, for us to do fairly well When God says "Pay!" He means to the uttermost, farthing; when He says "Go to Nineveh," he means Nineveh and nowhere else "Whatsoever He saith onto you, do it."

III. IT SHOULD BE UNQUESTIONING. If ever a man was excusable for "wanting to know," it was Saul when commanded to exterminate Amalek. Was the requirement just? Was it humane? Was it politic? But that was God's affair God must be permitted to justify Himself. There was no uncertainty as to the Voice

IV. OUR OBEDIENCE SHOULD BE CHEERFUL. We make too much of duty and obligation, and too little of the joy and privilege of service Let us come up from the association of mercenaries and galley slaves to the high level of filial devotion. We are sons and daughters of God, brethren of Christ. He was once "sent" upon a painful, toilsome errand; His obedience was prompt, exact, unquestioning, and joyous." "In the volume of the book it is written, 'I rejoice to do Thy will.'" Let the mind that was in Christ; Jesus be also in us.

(Homiletic Review.)

1. If the Creator prescribes a method in which He will be honoured and served, it is not for the creature to substitute any other method of his own. Every religious service derives its value from its accordance with the will of God: all other services will be disowned and rejected. For instance, the Almighty has ordained, that His blessings shall be obtained by prayer: it is not for us to say, that He knows our wants already, better than we can detail them; and that therefore it is useless to pray. The value and efficacy of sacrifices resulted entirely from the appointment of God; and they could not possibly be acceptable, unless as offered in obedience to Him. Had Saul offered thousands of sheep and oxen, not of the spoils of Amalek, but from his own flocks and herds, in an impenitent and self-confident disposition, the Lord would have abhorred them all; how much more then, when the animals had been spared in direct, disobedience to His positive command. But so it was, that the people were always resting on the outward form, and overlooking the thing signified; mindful of the service, but regardless of the heart. And for a plain reason: because the service itself was easy, and satisfied the deluded conscience, and left the offender in quiet possession of the sinful habits in which he delighted: and because the submission of the heart was irksome and painful, and required a discipline, a humiliation, a change of character and of life, which the offender was little disposed to undergo.

2. Without a sincere and humble spirit of subjection, without a holy and obedient heart, all our prayers and all our services are nothing in the sight of God; are founded in hypocrisy; are no better than a mockery of his name. Submission to the authority and will of God must ever be essential to true religion under every dispensation; and few persons there are, who doubt this as a speculative truth. But there is a vast difference between the outward submission of an unrepentant and ungodly heart, and the inward submission of the penitent and the pious! It is the subjection of mind, the surrender of the affections to the will and law of God, which constitutes an acceptable service. Pardon is graciously promised to all who truly repent, and the word of God assures us, that it will be extended to none besides: upon what ground then can the unrepentent sinner presume to ask forgiveness? And how can that man dare to implore of God the grace to repent, who has no intention and no real desire of repenting? He is but adding insult to his sin. How can the wilful sinner who lives, and is yet determined to live, in any course of guilt, really pray for deliverance from the bondage of sin? Does he expect that a miracle will be wrought to deliver him against his will? So far from resolving, he does not even wish to be changed from sin to holiness, from the world to God. In truth, it is not prayer at all; it is but the semblance and pretence of prayer.

3. Let us look well to the root and to the fruit of our sacrifices: see that they are all offered in an humble and obedient spirit, that we feel and desire what we say in the awful presence of a holy God: see that the submission of our lives is consistent with the submission of our persons before Him; that whatsoever we do, we do out of respect for His authority, out of love for His law, and obedience to His command.

(J. Slade, M. A.)

I. WHO HAVE MADE A PROFESSION OF YOUR FAITH IN HIM. Probably, there are some of you who may be living in the neglect of some known duty. It is no new thing for Christians to know their duty, and yet to neglect it. If you are failing to keep the least of one of Christ's commands to his disciples. I pray you be disobedient no longer. It may be that some of you, though you are professed Christians, are living in the prosecution of some evil trade, and your conscience has often said, "Get out of it." You are not in the position that a Christian ought to be in; but then you hope that you will be able to make a little money, and you will retire and do a world of good with it. Ah! God cares nothing for this rams' fat of yours; he asks not for these sacrifices which you intend to make. Possibly, too, there may be some evil habit in which you are indulging, and which you excuse by the reflection, "Well, I am always at the prayer meeting; I am constantly at communion, and I give so much of my substance to the support of the Lord's work." I pray you give up that sin! To obey is better than sacrifice in the matter of caring for the sick and needy of all classes. We rejoice in the number of hospitals which adorn our cities. These are the princely trophies of the power of our holy religion. There are no nobler words in our language than those inscribed on so many walls — "Supported by voluntary contributions." We glory in them. Rome's monuments, Grecian trophies, Egyptia's mighty tombs, and Assyria's huge monoliths, are dwarfed into petty exhibitions of human pride and vanity before the sublime majesty of these exhibitions of a God-given love to our fellow men; but all these homes of mercy and healing become evils to ourselves though they are blessings to the distressed, if we contribute of our wealth to their exchequer and neglect personally to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, to feed the hungry, to care for the sick, and do not, like the Master, go about doing good Give as God has given to you; but remember God acts as well as gives. "Go thou and do likewise." Sacrifice, but also obey.

II. BUT MY MAIN BUSINESS IS WITH THE UNCONVERTED.

1. God has given to you in the gospel dispensation a command. It is a command in the obeying of which there is eternal life, and the neglect of which will be and must be your everlasting ruin. That command is this: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

2. Now, this first point being clear, that God has given a command, the second remark is that the most of men, instead of obeying God, want to bring Him sacrifice. They suppose that their own way of salvation is much better than any that the Almighty can have devised, and therefore they offer their fat of rams. This takes different forms, but it is always the same principle. One man says, "Well now, I will give up my pleasures; you shall not discover me in low company; I will give up all the things that my heart calls good, and will not that save us? "No, it will not. When you have made all this sacrifice, all I shall or can say of it is, "To obey is better than sacrifice." "Well, but suppose I begin to attend a place of worship?" Remember therefore that all that you can do in the way of outward religion is nothing but the sacrifice of the fat of rams; and "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." "Yes," says another, "but suppose I punish myself a good deal for all that I have done? I will abstain from this, I will deny myself that, I will mortify myself in this passion, I will give up that evil." Friend, if thou hast any evil give it up; but when thou hast done so do not rely upon that, for this oughtest thou to have done, and not to have left the other undone. God's command is "Believe!"

3. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." And now I have to show that it is so. It is better in itself. It shows that you are more humble. It is really a more holy thing. It is a holier and a better thing to do one's duty than to make duties for one's self and then set about them. But not obeying and not hearkening to the gospel, sinner, you must perish. There is the way of salvation, and thou mush trust Christ or perish; and there is nothing hard in it that thou shouldst perish if thou dost not.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. It is an exhibition of nobler qualities. A fanatic or even a hypocrite may sacrifice but it is only the true man who obeys. Robbers and murderers have presented oblations to the gods and even to the professed servants of the One only God, but vain all such acts in the absence of obedience to the Divine moral code.

2. Obedience is a higher service than sacrifice. A better set of forces are put in motion by obedience. Sacrifices are external, obedience is internal. Sacrifices are part of a carnal ordinance, obedience is of the essence of spirituality. The one looks earthward, the other heavenward. Sacrifices may be an accommodation to a party and jealousy for the honour, of a sect, obedience is loyalty to truth. Sacrifices may have an ear for the praise of man, obedience for the glory of God.

3. Obedience is more akin to the conditions of heaven. Sacrifices can play no part in the services of the celestial temple, while obedience is the secret of heaven's harmony and peace. The true heart is more capacious than the largest band The body is at best but a poor instrument with which to actualise thought and holy purpose. What, we must do is to bring every thought into line with God's will. We must obey Him by first giving Him our heart.

(M. Brokenshire.)

II. IT IS A FALSE OBEDIENCE WHICH IS REGARDED AS JUSTIFYING OR EXCUSING DISOBEDIENCE IN CERTAIN MATTERS AND IN OCCASIONAL INSTANCES. Many claim for themselves what has been justly termed a dispensing power. On the ground of their general good conduct, general attention to religious duties, general obedience to the Divine law, they hold themselves excused, or warranted in occasional departures.

III. IT IS A FALSE OBEDIENCE WHEN DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD IN ANY FORM AND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES IS REGARDED AS A TRIFLING THING. It seemed a light matter to Saul to act as he did But we can easily see that his slight disobedience involved great principles.

1. It assailed and dishonoured the character of God. To spare Agag was to charge God with partiality, was to give to His decree as iniquitous character.

2. It degraded the whole transaction. When Israel and Saul went forth to battle they were invested with the awful dignity of executing a Divine judgment. But Saul's conduct would have made it simply a vulgar marauding expedition.

3. It involved a degradation of religion God is regarded as One who might overlook the disobedience if only He is made a sharer in the spoil.

(Homiletic Magazine.)

II. WHAT, THEN, MAY WE CONCLUDE WERE THE PROPHET'S REASONS FOR THIS ASSERTION?

1. That obedience of which he speaks, that inward submission of the heart to God, that habitual disposition of the soul to fear and serve Him, is the one grand requisite in religion. That man has most religion who has most piety; who in his soul most constantly realises the presence, most humbly bows to the will, most sincerely desires the favour, and most devoutly longs for the glory of God. And hence it is that the fear of God, as comprehending all these constituent parts of true piety, is so frequently used in Scripture for the whole of religion.

2. Another reason was this: The end of sacrifice itself was but to promote and secure obedience. It is true that the greater part of these institutions were of a typical nature, and had a typical meaning. This was their immediate design; but their ultimate object in all this design was to lead men to holiness and to teach them to worship God in spirit and in truth. And now let us apply it to our own case, and see how far we are concerned in the conclusions to which this discussion has led. In the first place, then, let us remember that true religion under every dispensation is the same. The internal and spiritual part of religion is the same now as it has always been. There is as great a propensity among many who are called Christians, unduly to appreciate and exalt the external and ceremonial part of religion, to the neglect and injury of the internal and spiritual part of it as there ever was among the people of Israel. I will produce some few instances in proof and illustration of this remark. Some, like Saul of old, act as if they thought that an attention to the positive institutions of religion would excuse, or even justify the disobedient and unhumbled state of their heart. Again, there are others who act like those Pharisees of old, whom our Lord condemned for their hypocrisy and iniquity; who "paid tithe of mint, anise, and cumin, but omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." They are mere formalists in religion. Further, there are still other persons, who regard and use the positive institutions of religion with a superstitious regard. They think that the very attendance on them communicates a portion of sanctity to the soul, and secures an interest in the blessings and privileges of the Gospel. These are some of the ways in which persons unduly appreciate and exalt the external and ceremonial part of religion, to the prejudice of real spiritual Christianity. I would wish you to go from the performance of these outward duties with your affections more weaned from the world, and more set on things above; with your faith strengthened, your hops increased, your love inflamed, your desires after spiritual things enlarged, and more ardent.

(E. Cooper.)

1. The moral element in religion, to which obedience belongs, is in the Scriptures exalted high above the ceremonial of which sacrifice is a part.

2. Obedience is of the essence and spirit of religion, whereas sacrifice is one of its forms. Our religious forms and services draw their meaning and value from the spirit of obedience in which they are rendered.

3. Obedience is itself an end in religion. whereas sacrifice is simply the means to that end. To train His people in obedience, to set, up and enthrone this great principle in their natures, God instituted the whole round of sacrifice and service in the old dispensation.

4. Obedience is continuous and eternal, whereas sacrifice is intermittent, and may cease.Apply this principle to two cases:

1. To those who are willing to serve God, but only in their own way. Religious service is a matter of personal assertion. It is far easier to indulge our own impulses and fulfil our own energy of will in methods of our own, than to work where and as God has appointed, in daily self-denial.

2. To those who imagine that they can cover moral failures by religious gifts and services, who act as though the faults of daily life could be covered by large gifts to religion, and diligent attention to its forms. God will never accept sacrifice in the place of obedience. The sacrifice of the cross draws its value and merit from the perfect obedience, the complete submission of the Incarnate Son.

(Homiletic Magazine.)

(G. Dawson, M. A.)

(H. Goodwin, M. A.)

(H. Alford, B. D.)

1. Obedience. Obedience to God becomes the best educator of man's moral faculties. And obedience will prompt and rightly estimate material sacrifice.

2. In such material sacrifice as is the pure and simple correspondence of an obedient heart. Material bulk is not necessarily moral wealth. Material things are hardly wealth at all in this relation. Truth has no mechanical measurement. Love is worthier than the fat of rams.

3. All true sacrifice, then, is moral in ire essence and beginning. The spirit of obedience will prompt the acceptable deed.

II. SAUL'S FATAL DISREGARD OF GOD'S COMMAND. Note several particulars: — He did not seriously realise the circumstances of the case. He forgot who Amalek was, and what he had done in the past to Israel. The prophecy of Balaam (Numbers 24:20) had doubtless never really impressed him. The success of the sword had made him forget the word.

1. A man in such a state of wilful inattention is most liable to disobey. From scant attention will spring moral obliqueness He has hardly reflected what obedience demands. He is filled more with the spirit of selfish conceit than as anxious endeavour to do God's will.

2. Disobedience is loss of God's favour. "Ill-gotten gains breed weary pains, and one wrong act a life-long fact. The wrong step of a king will ruin bring."

III. SAMUEL'S IMPASSIONED REBUKE. This rebuke was thus aflame for several reasons,

1. Because specific direction had been given, and reasons for the attack.

2. Because from the first Samuel himself had ever desired to listen unto God; but Saul was not seriously attentive.

3. Because of the flagrant disobedience of Saul.

4. Because of Saul's untruthfulness.

5. Because of his feeble attempt to evade both the questioning of Samuel and the inevitable issue which he knew must ensue. Obedience is honour; disobedience disgrace. And obedience is the devotion of the heart, without which material sacrifices, however costly, are worthless.

(Homiletic Magazine.)

1. Learn, first, that whenever God's commands are plain we are not to question or alter them so as to suit our inclinations, but implicitly to obey them. Have we no Sauls among God's professing people at this day — persons who perform some duties, and neglect others equally imperative upon them? Is our obedience thus partial? Are there some sins in which we live continually, some duties which we constantly neglect? Think not that the discharge of one duty will be any excuse for the neglect of another; nay, rather be assured that this itself proves your heart not to be right with God.

2. Learn from this subject that if we would have our sins forgiven, we must be deeply sensible of the evil of them, and confess them heartily unto God. Such was far from being the case with Saul. Hear him represent his own cause, and you can scarcely find anything wrong, even in those transactions in which you are sure there must be great blame.

3. Learn, again, from the narrative to be solicitous for the honour that cometh from God, and not for that of men. We see that Saul, when convicted by Samuel of having so imperfectly executed the commission God had given him, is far more anxious that he should pay him respect before the elders and the people than that be should pray, to God for him that his sin might be pardoned. And such is the case with formalists in general: they are anxiously sensitive to the opinion of their fellow creatures; comparatively careless about the estimation in which they may be held by the great Ruler of heaven and earth.

4. Learn. lastly, from this account, that, though Almighty God bear with much long-suffering the conduct of sinners, He will at length execute righteous judgment; and that be forgets neither the injuries nor the benefits done to his people. The Amalekites had unjustly opposed Israel on their departure out of Egypt: their descendants imitated the conduct of their fathers, and now God determined their destruction. "It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels." (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10)

(J. Grantham.)

1. Worship is unacceptable when the form is used for the spirit. How much of this spiritless worship pollutes our sanctuaries! How much of empty form is in our professed devotion! Is it a prayer? "It is all title page without contents." Is it praise? Is it only music without the heart? A soulless instrument would be as expressive.

2. Worship is unacceptable when the right form is accompanied with a wrong life. Saul intended to perform a great religious service to the Lord with the gains of his successful warfare. If the worshipper is living in wilful transgression of God's Word, his exercises of devotion are no service of God.

3. The disobedience of the heart is the only acceptable worship. "To obey is better than sacrifice." The heart must act in accordance with the Divine will. The motive must be right. "God," says an old divine, "weighs not the affections of His people to Him by their actions, so much as their actions by their affections." When Abraham offered up his son it was the submission of his soul to the word from heaven that pleased God. Every part of Divine worship must be in accordance with the will of God. He has revealed His word as our directory. The test of worship is the Scripture. Whatever rites are inconsistent with that word are to be repudiated. The voice of the Lord hath spoken, and it sanctions no sacrifice now since Christ became our propitiation. The voice of the Lord has spoken, and it commands that nothing be added to the revelation of God.

(R. Steel.)

I. OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS THE TRUTH OF SACRIFICE. The ceremonial law was not to be divorced from the moral, they were mutually explicative and helpful. This is "reasonable service."

1. The principle common to both. This was found in surrender to God. The sacrifice was an acknowledgment that all that a man has is God's; and as representing this "all," of which it was but a small part, it was a valid and acceptable offering, analogous to a "peppercorn rent," or the fanciful services exacted of crown-landlords, sinecurists, etc., in feudal times.

2. Consequent identifications (verse 23). There is nothing corresponding to "as" in the Hebrew. It is a simple, bold equation: "For the sin of witchcraft is rebellion, and idols and teraphim is stubbornness." A great gain in such analogies; the outward ritual is shown to be accompanied by a spiritual attitude, of which it is the outcome; and as such it ceases to be trifling. The lustful man is a worshipper of "nothing," i.e., idols, as the term used in the Hebrew implies; the disobedient is an idolater of self. A similar gain to science was realised when the "correlation of physical forces" was discovered, and men spoke of "heat as a mode of motion," etc.

3. The spiritual expression of this principle is superior to the ceremonial. Besides being constant and self-evident, it is more immediately associated with our life. As involving will in its offering, it involves that which is most essential to our personality. The will has been called "the inner man." It more directly and consciously contains in it our self-hood. Yet both are imperfect. The spiritual worshipper is conscious that his obedience is not complete; that he himself is incapable of the sacrifice of which he nevertheless can conceive. So his gaze is drawn to Calvary and concentrated there. In Christ the ideal of sacrifice, and yet, not more than that which God requires, is presented. By appropriating that, identifying ourselves with it, we realise "the obedience of faith."

II. OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS THE SOURCE OF REAL AUTHORITY OVER MEN. "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath rejected thee from being king." All true kingship and efficient government is rooted in God. The ruler who ignores or defies the principles of morality signs his own death warrant. The secret of the "unstable equilibrium" of the governments of the world lies in their failure to recognise this. The true leaders of men are those who in the first instance obey conscience. A moral principle is in the end mightier than a parliament. Writers, public leaders, etc., would do well to lay to heart the fate of Saul. Had he denied "self," he would have kept his throne.

(St. John A. Frere, M. A.)

1. A disinclination to render a full and complete obedience to God's expressed will.

2. A proneness to render that to God which He does not require, and withholding that which He demands.

3. In the excuses he makes for his disobedience. The paramount importance of obedience will appear from the following remarks: —

I. ALL THINGS ARE CONSIDERED BY THE ALMIGHTY AS SUBORDINATE TO HIS LAW.

II. EVERY INFRINGEMENT OF LAW ENTAILS PUNISHMENT.

1. Punishment will certainly follow sin, as pain and suffering follow an infringement of the material laws of the universe.

2. The protracting of the punishment is no proof of its abandonment.

3. The final punishment of the disobedient will be eternal in its effect. Saul's posterity lost the throne of Israel forever.

III. IN ORDER TO ATONE FOR THE GUILT OF MEN WHO HAVE INFRINGED THE LAW OF GOD, THE GREATEST SACRIFICE HAS BEEN OFFERED. All the sacrifices under the old dispensation were to illustrate and honour law. Christ appeared in our nature to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

(T. D. Jones.)

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     5196   voice
     5830   delight
     5858   fat
     5874   happiness
     6027   sin, remedy for
     6603   acceptance, divine
     6616   atonement, in OT
     7021   church, OT anticipations
     7322   burnt offering
     7328   ceremonies
     8315   orthodoxy, in OT
     8330   receptiveness
     8454   obedience, to God
     8617   prayer, effective
     8625   worship, acceptable attitudes
     8628   worship, hindrances
     8737   evil, responses to
     8784   nominal religion

1 Samuel 15:1-23

     8752   false worship

1 Samuel 15:12-26

     5926   rebuke

1 Samuel 15:19-22

     8774   legalism

1 Samuel 15:20-22

     5856   extravagance
     7435   sacrifice, in OT

1 Samuel 15:22-23

     5381   law, letter and spirit
     6222   rebellion, against God
     7316   blood, OT sacrifices

Letter iv to the Prior and Monks of the Grand Chartreuse
To the Prior and Monks of the Grand Chartreuse He commends himself to their prayers. To the very dear Lord and Reverend father Guigues, Prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and to the holy brethren who are with him, Brother Bernard of Clairvaux offers his humble service. In the first place, when lately I approached your parts, I was prevented by unfavourable circumstances from coming to see you and to make your acquaintance; and although my excuse may perhaps be satisfactory to you, I am not able, I confess, …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Confession of Sin --A Sermon with Seven Texts
The Hardened Sinner. PHARAOH--"I have sinned."--Exodus 9:27. I. The first case I shall bring before you is that of the HARDENED SINNER, who, when under terror, says, "I have sinned." And you will find the text in the book of Exodus, the 9th chap. and 27th verse: "And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." But why this confession from the lips of the haughty tyrant? He was not often wont to …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Obedience
Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments.' Deut 27: 9, 10. What is the duty which God requireth of man? Obedience to his revealed will. It is not enough to hear God's voice, but we must obey. Obedience is a part of the honour we owe to God. If then I be a Father, where is my honour?' Mal 1: 6. Obedience carries in it the life-blood of religion. Obey the voice of the Lord …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

That the Ruler Should Be, through Humility, a Companion of Good Livers, But, through the Zeal of Righteousness, Rigid against the vices of Evildoers.
The ruler should be, through humility, a companion of good livers, and, through the zeal of righteousness, rigid against the vices of evil-doers; so that in nothing he prefer himself to the good, and yet, when the fault of the bad requires it, he be at once conscious of the power of his priority; to the end that, while among his subordinates who live well he waives his rank and accounts them as his equals, he may not fear to execute the laws of rectitude towards the perverse. For, as I remember to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Truth of God
The next attribute is God's truth. A God of truth and without iniquity; just and right is he.' Deut 32:4. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.' Psa 57:10. Plenteous in truth.' Psa 86:15. I. God is the truth. He is true in a physical sense; true in his being: he has a real subsistence, and gives a being to others. He is true in a moral sense; he is true sine errore, without errors; et sine fallacia, without deceit. God is prima veritas, the pattern and prototype …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Blessed are they that Mourn
Blessed are they that mourn. Matthew 5:4 Here are eight steps leading to true blessedness. They may be compared to Jacob's Ladder, the top whereof reached to heaven. We have already gone over one step, and now let us proceed to the second: Blessed are they that mourn'. We must go through the valley of tears to paradise. Mourning were a sad and unpleasant subject to treat on, were it not that it has blessedness going before, and comfort coming after. Mourning is put here for repentance. It implies …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The New Covenant.
"Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a High-priest, Who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high-priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this High-priest also have somewhat to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a Priest at all, seeing there are those who offer …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament