1 Samuel 10:26-27 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.… Accommodating this statement, without perverting it, we are naturally led to describe the subjects of Christ under a two-fold aspect. I. THEIR PERSONAL CHARACTER. They are men whose hearts God has touched. 1. An internal change has passed upon them Their heart has been touched. This is an observation which strikes at the root of a very common and destructive error. Born and educated amid all the decencies of a civilised and Christian community, many amongst us are insensibly moulded into the mere form and fashion of the age. This is particularly the case with the young. If the young, therefore, are to be ranked among the people of the living God, they must follow the Lord heartily. 2. The author of this internal change is God — their hearts are touched by Him. This statement also corrects another very serious mistake in regard to the production of a religions character. If there are multitudes that place religion in outward forms, while it springs from an inward change, so there are not a few who trust to human power for its production, and not to the power of God. It is the besetting sin of fallen man, and especially of the young who have not yet proved by failure the utter weakness of man to magnify their ability, and depreciate the agency of the Holy Spirit. They imagine they have power at any given point of their sinful career, to arrest their progress, repent, believe, and be saved. 3. The influence of this internal change is to make the subjects of Christ cherish warm affection, and practice dutiful obedience towards their King. It was because the hearts of this band were touched by God, that they encircled Saul as their monarch Divinely chosen. And mingling religion with loyalty, gave their conscience to God, and their sword to their sovereign. In a similar manner, every heart renewed by the Holy Ghost loves, and honours, and obeys the King of Zion. II. Passing from the consideration of their personal character, let us next consider THE SUBJECTS OF CHRIST IN THEIR ASSOCIATED CONDITION. They are a band. This suggests three ideas — union, mutual affection, and joint cooperation. 1. They are united. A life of solitary seclusion is enjoined by no part of revelation. Monks and hermits were the produce of an ignorant and barbarous age. In opposition to this selfish and seclusive spirit there is something uniting and comprehensive about the spirit of the Gospel. The sacred writers delight to represent the followers of Jesus under the figurative emblems of a flock of sheep — of a family — of an army; all of which representations embody the idea of numbers, and of numbers united by the strongest and closest ties. 2. The subjects of Christ cherish towards each other mutual affection. The Church of Christ is united, and united by love. 3. The subjects of Christ cooperate together. Kings long ago, knew how to levy soldiers, train armies, subordinate immense masses of human being to military discipline, and bring them forward, in regular order, upon one point, for the sake of conquest. With the exception of the mad attempt of united Christendom to wrest from the Turks the holy sepulchre, we read of no combined enterprise, on the part of the Church, during hundreds of years, for the advancement of religion. Bible Societies and Missionary Institutions, combining simplicity of plan with nobleness of effort, are the inventions of a period comparatively late. Here, every one does a little, and all their efforts bear upon some great undertaking. (Gavin Struthers.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. |
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