And Samuel said
In reply to Saul:
hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of the Lord?
no, certainly, the one being merely ceremonial, the other moral;
the one supposes sin committed, for which sacrifice is offered;
the other moral, and is a compliance with the will of God, and is
neither sinful, nor supposes anything sinful, and therefore must
be the more acceptable:
behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken
than the fat
of rams;
which always was claimed by the Lord as his right and due; or the
fattest rams or best sacrifices, of whatever sort, whether burnt
offerings, or sin offerings, or peace offerings; for had man
obeyed the will of God, and not sinned, there would have been no
need of sacrifice; and that was only acceptable to God when
offered with a heart truly sensible of sin, and penitent for it,
and in the faith of the great sacrifice of Christ, of which all
sacrifices under the law were typical, and led unto.