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* Footnotes
- A.M. 2909.
*H And Samuel said to all Israel: Behold I have hearkened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.
Ver. 1. You. He speaks with the authority of a prophet, (C.) and takes this opportunity to draw from the whole people a confession of his integrity, that the kings might follow the pattern which he had set them. H.
*H And now the king goeth before you: but I am old and greyheaded: and my sons are with you: having then conversed with you from my youth until this day, behold here I am.
Ver. 2. Goeth, as your leader, according to your request. I am like a private man, (C.) willing to submit to his and the people's judgment, (H.) though it could not be required. M. — Grey-headed. This he might be at the age of sixty, which most chronologers allow him, (H.) as he had been at the head of affairs from his early years, in most difficult times. T. — With you. As soon as I heard of your complaints, I deprived them of their power, so that you cannot blame me for their misconduct. If they were guilty, they may stand their trial before the king. C.
*H Speak of me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whether I have taken any man's ox, or ass: if I have wronged any man, if I have oppressed any man, if I have taken a bribe at any man's hand: and I will despise it this day, and will restore it to you.
Ver. 3. Anointed, "Christ," as the anointing of kings prefigured that of the Messias, which, in Hebrew, has the same import as the word χριστος has in Greek. C. — Wronged. Lit. "by calumny," or by any other mode of oppression. H. — Despise. Heb. "hide my eyes," through confusion. C. — Prot. "to blind my eyes therewith." H. — Sept. have read nálim, "shoes," instead of anlim. C. — "Have I taken from the hand of any one a present, to render me favourable, so much as a shoe? (upodéma, or latchet) answer against me," &c. H.
*H And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord who made Moses and Aaron, and brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt.
Ver. 6. Made, and appointed them to rule the people. Jerem. xxxvii. 15. Le Clerc. — Egypt. Sept. add, "is witness;" and some Latin copies have, "is present." C.
*H Now, therefore, stand up, that I may plead in judgment against you before the Lord, concerning all the kindness of the Lord, which he hath shewn to you, and to your fathers:
Ver. 7. Stand up, like people cited to the bar. Having undergone his own trial with applause, Samuel shews that the people will not come off so well at the tribunal of God, whom they had treated with greater disrespect, injustice, and ingratitude than they had himself, as he convinced them by an astonishing and terrible storm. H. — Kindness. Sept. "justice," as the same Heb. word implies both. God had treated his people with mercy and with justice (C.) alternately. H.
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Genesis
46:5
And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath: and his sons took him up, with their children and wives in the wagons, which Pharao had sent to carry the old man,
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Judges
4:2
And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor: and he had a general of his army named Sisara, and he dwelt in Haroseth of the Gentiles.
*H And they forgot the Lord their God, and he delivered them into the hands of Sisara, captain of the army of Hasor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
Ver. 9. Hasor. See Judg. iv. 1. — Moab. Jephte delivered the people from the hands of the Ammonites, who claimed all that country. Judg. xi. 15. Eglon had been slain by Aod, before the Chanaanites enslaved Israel. C.
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Judges
6:14
And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go, in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.
*H And the Lord sent Jerobaal, and Badan, and Jephte, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt securely.
Ver. 11. Jerobaal and Badan. That is, Gedeon and Samson, called here Badan or Bedan, because he was of Dan. Ch. Chald. &c. W. — Others think that Jair, (Judg. x. 3. Junius, Usher,) or, according to the Sept. "Barac," are designated. Jair was a descendant of one Bedan, 1 Par. ii. 21. C. — But we do not read that Jair performed any great exploit. H. — Samuel. He speaks of himself as of any other man: as the interests of God were not to be betrayed by an unseasonable modesty. C. — Josephus only specifies Jephte and Gedeon. H. — The Israelites thought that they could dispose things better than God had done under the judges; and hence their sin is so often repeated. S. Greg. W.
*H Now, therefore, your king is here, whom you have chosen and desired: Behold the Lord hath given you a king.
Ver. 13. Desired. S. Aug. (in Ps. li.) considers this as a kind of sarcasm. C. — You will see what advantages you will derive from your choice. M.
* Summa
*S Part 4, Ques 86, Article 4
[III, Q. 86, Art. 4]
Whether the Debt of Punishment Remains After the Guilt Has Been Forgiven Through Penance?
Objection 1: It would seem that no debt of punishment remains after the guilt has been forgiven through Penance. For when the cause is removed, the effect is removed. But the guilt is the cause of the debt of punishment: since a man deserves to be punished because he has been guilty of a sin. Therefore when the sin has been forgiven, no debt of punishment can remain.
Obj. 2: Further, according to the Apostle (Rom. 5) the gift of Christ is more effective than the sin of Adam. Now, by sinning, man incurs at the same time guilt and the debt of punishment. Much more therefore, by the gift of grace, is the guilt forgiven and at the same time the debt of punishment remitted.
Obj. 3: Further, the forgiveness of sins is effected in Penance through the power of Christ's Passion, according to Rom. 3:25: "Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in His Blood . . . for the remission of former sins." Now Christ's Passion made satisfaction sufficient for all sins, as stated above (QQ. 48, 49, 79, A. 5). Therefore after the guilt has been pardoned, no debt of punishment remains.
_On the contrary,_ It is related (2 Kings 12:13) that when David penitent had said to Nathan: "I have sinned against the Lord," Nathan said to him: "The Lord also hath taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die. Nevertheless . . . the child that is born to thee shall surely die," which was to punish him for the sin he had committed, as stated in the same place. Therefore a debt of some punishment remains after the guilt has been forgiven.
_I answer that,_ As stated in the Second Part (I-II, Q. 87, A. 4), in mortal sin there are two things, namely, a turning from the immutable Good, and an inordinate turning to mutable good. Accordingly, in so far as mortal sin turns away from the immutable Good, it induces a debt of eternal punishment, so that whosoever sins against the eternal Good should be punished eternally. Again, in so far as mortal sin turns inordinately to a mutable good, it gives rise to a debt of some punishment, because the disorder of guilt is not brought back to the order of justice, except by punishment: since it is just that he who has been too indulgent to his will, should suffer something against his will, for thus will equality be restored. Hence it is written (Apoc. 18:7): "As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her."
Since, however, the turning to mutable good is finite, sin does not, in this respect, induce a debt of eternal punishment. Wherefore, if man turns inordinately to a mutable good, without turning from God, as happens in venial sins, he incurs a debt, not of eternal but of temporal punishment. Consequently when guilt is pardoned through grace, the soul ceases to be turned away from God, through being united to God by grace: so that at the same time, the debt of punishment is taken away, albeit a debt of some temporal punishment may yet remain.
Reply Obj. 1: Mortal sin both turns away from God and turns to a created good. But, as stated in the Second Part (I-II, Q. 71, A. 6), the turning away from God is as its form while the turning to created good is as its matter. Now if the formal element of anything be removed, the species is taken away: thus, if you take away rational, you take away the human species. Consequently mortal sin is said to be pardoned from the very fact that, by means of grace, the aversion of the mind from God is taken away together with the debt of eternal punishment: and yet the material element remains, viz. the inordinate turning to a created good, for which a debt of temporal punishment is due.
Reply Obj. 2: As stated in the Second Part (I-II, Q. 109, AA. 7, 8; Q. 111, A. 2), it belongs to grace to operate in man by justifying him from sin, and to co-operate with man that his work may be rightly done. Consequently the forgiveness of guilt and of the debt of eternal punishment belongs to operating grace, while the remission of the debt of temporal punishment belongs to co-operating grace, in so far as man, by bearing punishment patiently with the help of Divine grace, is released also from the debt of temporal punishment. Consequently just as the effect of operating grace precedes the effect of co-operating grace, so too, the remission of guilt and of eternal punishment precedes the complete release from temporal punishment, since both are from grace, but the former, from grace alone, the latter, from grace and free-will.
Reply Obj. 3: Christ's Passion is of itself sufficient to remove all debt of punishment, not only eternal, but also temporal; and man is released from the debt of punishment according to the measure of his share in the power of Christ's Passion. Now in Baptism man shares the Power of Christ's Passion fully, since by water and the Spirit of Christ, he dies with Him to sin, and is born again in Him to a new life, so that, in Baptism, man receives the remission of all debt of punishment. In Penance, on the other hand, man shares in the power of Christ's Passion according to the measure of his own acts, which are the matter of Penance, as water is of Baptism, as stated above (Q. 84, AA. 1, 3). Wherefore the entire debt of punishment is not remitted at once after the first act of Penance, by which act the guilt is remitted, but only when all the acts of Penance have been completed. _______________________
FIFTH
*H If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not provoke the mouth of the Lord: then shall both you, and the king who reigneth over you, be followers of the Lord your God.
Ver. 14. Of the Lord, causing him to look upon you and treat you with indignation. C. — Sept. "and do not contend with the mouth," or against the orders of the Lord, which cannot fail to excite his displeasure. M. — If you prove faithful under this new form of government, though it be less agreeable to God, he will still protect you. H.
*H But if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord, but will rebel against his words, the hand of the Lord shall be upon you, and upon your fathers.
Ver. 15. Fathers. Sept. "king," v. 25. Superiors (W.) are often styled fathers. Syr. &c. "as upon your fathers," (C.) which is adopted by the Prot. "as it was against," &c. H.
*H Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain: and you shall know, and see that you yourselves have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord, in desiring a king over you.
Ver. 17. Wheat-harvest. At which time of the year it never thunders or rains in those countries. Ch. — The wheat-harvest is towards the end of June. The usual seasons for rain are only spring and autumn. S. Jerom in Amos iv. 7, &c. — Thunder. Lit. "voices." Ps. xvii. 14. C. — See. Being fully convinced by the miracle, which declares the will of God in the clearest manner. Though God was pleased thus to manifest his displeasure, at the people's assuming to themselves the right of changing the established form of government, by insisting so much upon having a king at this time, we cannot hence infer, as Paine and some late seditious writers have done, that the regal power is in itself an evil. It might be contrary to a theocracy, and still might suit the manners of some nations better than any other form. To determine precisely what sort of government is the best, would be an arduous task. We admire our own constitution; yet our ally, the prince of the Brazils, has lately forbidden any panegyric of it to be printed in his dominions. All innovations are, generally, attended with the most serious inconveniences. H.
*H And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel: Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.
Ver. 19. And Samuel, at whose prayer the Lord had sent such a storm, lest he should punish them as they deserved. But the prophet alleviates their fears, and teaches them to refrain from idolatry, and he will still continue to perform his duty in praying for them, and giving them good advice. Salien. — The fear of God is increased by that which the people shew for his servants.
*H And Samuel said to the people: Fear not, you have done all this evil: but yet depart not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
Ver. 20. Following, as that would imply despair. To come boldly before him would argue presumption. Therefore, S. Mary Magdalene keeps at the feet of Jesus Christ. W.
*H And turn not aside after vain things, which shall never profit you, nor deliver you, because they are vain.
Ver. 21. Vain and wicked idols. Heb. thohu, full of "confusion" and disorder.
*H And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because the Lord hath sworn to make you his people.
Ver. 22. Sake. This motive often proved the salvation of Israel. Ex. xxxii. 12. The Scriptures wholly tend to impress upon our minds, a sense of our own weakness, and of God's infinite glory and perfection. C. — We may all say, "Our hope to rise is all from Thee—our ruin's all our own." Austin.
*H And far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you: and I will teach you the good and right way.
Ver. 23. The Lord. For a pastor to neglect instruction, is not only detrimental to the people, but injurious to God. H. — Way. None contributed more than Samuel to keep the people within due bounds, during the reign of Saul. C.
*H But if you will still do wickedly: both you and your king shall perish together.
Ver. 25. Together. Sept. "shall be rejected." Saul soon experienced the effect of this prophetic menace; and the Jews were, at last, also cast away. H.