But such a plea could not be accepted. A king must rule, or abdicate. He must teach the people what is right and also get the right thing done. “Vote-catching” will not do for God. “I feared the people,” says Saul (1 Sam 15:24), “and obeyed their voice.” The chief priests and elders feared the people in our Lord's day (Matt. 21:23-27). All such persons, by their own confession, are utterly unfit for the seat of power. David in his “last words” describes the ideal king thus: “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (2 Sam. 23:3). In the matter of Jonathan eating the honey, we have the people withstanding the king and insisting upon what was comely and right (1 Sam. 14:41); now to Samuel he complains that they constrained him to do what was disobedient and wrong. How deeply humiliating for an anointed king! The perfect ruler will not be seen on earth until the Man at God's right hand comes forth in all His majesty and power. But shall we not seek meanwhile to walk in the fear of God, and seek above all things to do that which is well-pleasing in His sight? “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso trusteth in the Lord shall be safe” (Prov. 29:25).