Bible Commentaries
1 Samuel 19

Verse 22

"Where are Samuel and David?" 1 Samuel 19:22 .

A time comes when we ask for old friends and guides. Whilst they are with us we are apt to under-estimate our need of them and their influence upon us. Sometimes our old friends are sought for purposes of revenge, as Saul in this case sought for David. The passage may be used however for the purpose of exciting our thoughts in the direction of inquiry for old kings, and old prophets, and old friends, who have ruled over our spirits, influenced our lives, and ennobled the whole level of our being. The time will come when there will be no answers to such questions. The prophets die, the fathers are withdrawn by death, the most venerable ministries cease their action upon the mind. Whilst our opportunities endure, let us avail ourselves of them to the utmost extent. Gratitude to the teacher will enable that teacher to be more effective in his ministry. There will come a time when our riches will be in our recollections; we shall think of the men we have known, of the hearts with which we have communed, of the gentle and mighty ministries that have operated upon our thought and feeling; we shall be able to recall the great, who from their urns still rule and direct our spirits. Blessed will he be who in old age can construct a whole gallery of living portraits on which he can gaze with admiration, and affection, and gratitude. Pictures of this kind lie within the reach of the poorest. All men are not able to buy canvas, and art, and gilded frames, but the poorest soul can cherish its memories, and live upon them in such a way as to make solitude impossible, and thanklessness a sin. We never can be so indebted to any man as to the religious teacher. This is difficult to realise when all things are flourishing around us, though we may come to its recognition when the sky darkens, when the day dips towards evening, and when all our lights are going out.