Saul's jealousies, his quarrels with David, and all his misdeeds, as well as bravery, may be read by those that feel an interest in the matter. He finally committed suicide by falling on his own sword, and the next day the Philistines cut his and his sons' heads off, and deposited them before their idols, Dagon, etc. Where was God? Can it be possible that our Christian neighbors believe that the life and conduct of Saul was directed by any supreme power? That God directed Saul to do so many foolish, barbarous, and murderous acts? We shall probably be more interested in David, the man after God's own heart. David, like Saul, was judiciously selected by Samuel. David's acts and David's conduct were no different from the acts and conduct of any other man in his position and possessing his characteristics. He combined a good deal of philosophy with his bravery; if the Psalms were written by him we have before us a higher type of brain culture, a mind that has undergone some training, is capable of analyzing its own feelings and giving expression to them. His comparisons never extend beyond that--beyond what he knows. He appeals to the higher qualities of men--their good acts, their virtues, their just conduct, their self-restraint, their passions, emotions, faults, and weaknesses. He recognizes them in others, and sees them reflected clearly in himself. His distress and his fears, his gladness and his joys, his trust in an unseen power, are all poetic, some sweet and sentimental. He speaks of his Lord, of his God, as of the pleasant recollections of a dream. Jehova had long since lost the stern reality of Moses, and had changed with the changes the nation had undergone. The formalities had been kept up, the priestly luxuries had increased, the ceremonies were more formal and business-like, but the central power, the centralized government of the people, the mantle of authority, had been shifted from high priest to king. The God, Jehova, was no longer the guide, the power it had been. For twenty-two years after the death of Samuel, Saul had conducted his government and fought his battles without God, ark, or priest, and sought advice and counsel from other and human sources. Skeptics even at this early period began to doubt the existence of a God, "The fool saith in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. xiv, 1). The theocratic period of 395 years from Exodus to Saul had already developed corruption in the church and licentiousness in the Temple. The priestly power received a terrible blow at the hands of Saul when he slaughtered the priest, Abimelech, and his family, thus showing that the representative of God no longer inspired terror; that the priest was nothing more than any other man; that neither God, Jehova, ark, nor any other sanctified paraphernalia could protect him, nor miracle interfere for his preservation.