I AM HERE. Saul.

I have not written to you for some time and I would like to say only a few words, and these are: that in all the battles with the Amalakites, never did God help me or bring victory to me, as is set forth in the Old Testament. At the time, some of the prophets, like Samuel, might have thought this; yet, as I now know, it was not true. God was not the partial and particular patron of the Jews. It was just as sinful to Him for the Jews to commit murder and the other horrible crimes that are mentioned in the Old Testament, in connection with my life as king, as it would have been for the pagans to have done the same thing.

God is not the God of any race, but He is the God of every individual child who comes to Him in true supplication and prayer, seeking His Love and Help in his spiritual nature. God will respond and the individual surely will be helped. But should that individual come to Him seeking power and assistance to murder his fellowman, no matter how great an enemy he might be, God would not help him or approve of his desires. And, this being so, you can readily see that He would not help any nation to commit such acts and gain the victory.

I want to tell you here that God is not a God of nations, but of individuals only. And only as individuals compose the nations can He be said to be a God of nations. He wants not the praise of men or of nations because of victory that they might acquire through bloodshed and cruelties ascribed to His Help. Rather, He wants the praise of men only because their souls may have been awakened to His Love, and have acquired victory over sin and evil.

Nations rise and fall and disappear from the face of the earth. But the individuals who compose these nations never die, even though the physical bodies die. And He is interested in having the individual become victor over sin and the appetites of the flesh.

Of course, the individuals make the nation and give it its character and qualities. Hence, the nation will become sinful and cruel as the individuals that compose it become sinful and cruel. God does not deal with nations as such, but only with the small, but important, units that make the nation. Hence, for a nation to say, “God is our God,” or “God will help us to victory over our enemies,” is all wrong. When the individual gains the victory over his greatest enemy, himself, then he can claim that God is his God and give Him the praise. And when all the individuals of a nation have gained that victory, then that nation can proclaim that God is its God and render praise to Him for the victory. But only in such event is any nation justified in saying, “God is our God.”

And, here, let me say that no so-called “Christian” nation, as individuals, has yet attained to that condition of righteousness and victory over sin that it can claim to be God’s chosen nation.

And, so, I say that I, Saul, the king, before my alleged fall from the Grace of God, was no more helped by God than I was after that supposed event, and for the reason that, while outwardly I may have appeared to seek God’s Directions and listened to the advice of His prophets, yet, inwardly, I was no more in accord with Him, or reconciled to Him, than I was after the momentous event.

God never helped the Jews, as a nation, to any greater extent that He did any other nation; for, as individuals, they were no more in attunement with Him than were many individuals of what were called the pagan nations.

When I went to Samuel in my despair, as the Bible portrays, and felt the burden of the sins of my life, I became nearer to God than I had ever been before; and He was more my God than ever, though I did not realize it.

I merely write this to show men that they must not believe and rely on the statement that, because I was said to have observed God’s Will and obeyed His Commands before the time that I realized defeat was certain to be mine, God was any more my God then, directing and assisting me to overcome my enemies, than He was after that event.

I have written enough and will now stop.

So, with all my love, and the assurance that God is a God of the individual and not of the nation, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,

SAUL.