{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39394/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39394","id":"gutenberg_39394","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39394","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Samuel, 1st -- Commentaries","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Produced by Marcia Brooks, Colin Bell, Nigel Blower and\nthe Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images\ngenerously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian\nLibraries)\n\n\n\n\n\n [Transcriber's Note:\n\n _Italic_ words have been enclosed in underscores.\n\n As the oe ligature cannot be included in this format, it has been\n replaced with the separate letters in \"coelo\" and \"Syrophoenician\".\n\n A few minor typographical errors have been silently corrected.\n\n The Table of Contents refers to original page numbers.]\n\n\n\n\n THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.\n\n EDITED BY THE REV.\n W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A.,\n _Editor of \"The Expositor.\"_\n\n THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL.\n\n BY\n W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D.\n\n TORONTO:\n WILLARD TRACT DEPOSITORY AND BIBLE DEPOT,\n CORNER OF YONGE AND TEMPERANCE STREETS.\n 1888.\n\n\n\n\n THE FIRST BOOK\n OF\n SAMUEL.\n\n BY THE REV. PROFESSOR\n W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D.,\n NEW COLLEGE, EDINBURGH.\n\n TORONTO:\n WILLARD TRACT DEPOSITORY AND BIBLE DEPOT,\n CORNER OF YONGE AND TEMPERANCE STREETS.\n 1888.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n PAGE\n CHAPTER I.\n HANNAH'S TRIAL AND TRUST 1\n\n CHAPTER II.\n HANNAH'S FAITH REWARDED 14\n\n CHAPTER III.\n HANNAH'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING 25\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n ELI'S HOUSE 37\n\n CHAPTER V.\n SAMUEL'S VISION 49\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n THE ARK OF GOD TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES 61\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES 73\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n REPENTANCE AND REVIVAL 85\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n NATIONAL DELIVERANCE--THE PHILISTINES SUBDUED 97\n\n CHAPTER X.\n THE PEOPLE DEMAND A KING 109\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n SAUL BROUGHT TO SAMUEL 121\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n FIRST MEETING OF SAMUEL AND SAUL 133\n\n CHAPTER XIII.\n SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL 145\n\n CHAPTER XIV.\n SAUL CHOSEN KING 157\n\n CHAPTER XV.\n THE RELIEF OF JABESH-GILEAD 169\n\n CHAPTER XVI.\n SAMUEL'S VINDICATION OF HIMSELF 181\n\n CHAPTER XVII.\n SAMUEL'S DEALINGS WITH THE PEOPLE 193\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.\n SAUL AND SAMUEL AT GILGAL 205\n\n CHAPTER XIX.\n JONATHAN'S EXPLOIT AT MICHMASH 217\n\n CHAPTER XX.\n SAUL'S WILFULNESS 229\n\n CHAPTER XXI.\n THE FINAL REJECTION OF SAUL 241\n\n CHAPTER XXII.\n DAVID ANOINTED BY SAMUEL 253\n\n CHAPTER XXIII.\n DAVID'S EARLY LIFE 265\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.\n DAVID'S CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH 278\n\n CHAPTER XXV.\n SAUL'S JEALOUSY--DAVID'S MARRIAGE 292\n\n CHAPTER XXVI.\n SAUL'S FURTHER EFFORTS AGAINST DAVID 305\n\n CHAPTER XXVII.\n DAVID AND JONATHAN 317\n\n CHAPTER XXVIII.\n DAVID AT NOB AND AT GATH 329\n\n CHAPTER XXIX.\n DAVID AT ADULLAM, MIZPEH, AND HARETH 341\n\n CHAPTER XXX.\n DAVID AT KEILAH, ZIPH, AND MAON 354\n\n CHAPTER XXXI.\n DAVID TWICE SPARES THE LIFE OF SAUL 366\n\n CHAPTER XXXII.\n DAVID AND NABAL 378\n\n CHAPTER XXXIII.\n DAVID'S SECOND FLIGHT TO GATH 391\n\n CHAPTER XXXIV.\n SAUL AT ENDOR 404\n\n CHAPTER XXXV.\n DAVID AT ZIKLAG 416\n\n CHAPTER XXXVI.\n THE DEATH OF SAUL 429\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n_HANNAH'S TRIAL AND TRUST._\n\n1 SAMUEL i 1-18.\n\n\nThe prophet Samuel, like the book which bears his name, comes in as a\nconnecting link between the Judges and the Kings of Israel. He belonged\nto a transition period. It was appointed to him to pilot the nation\nbetween two stages of its history: from a republic to a monarchy; from a\ncondition of somewhat casual and indefinite arrangements to one of more\nsystematic and orderly government. The great object of his life was to\nsecure that this change should be made in the way most beneficial for\nthe nation, and especially most beneficial for its spiritual interests.\nCare must be taken that while becoming like the nations in having a\nking, Israel shall not become like them in religion, but shall continue\nto stand out in hearty and unswerving allegiance to the law and covenant\nof their fathers' God.\n\nSamuel was the last of the judges, and in a sense the first of the\nprophets. The last of the judges, but not a military judge; not ruling\nlike Samson by physical strength, but by high spiritual qualities and\nprayer; not so much wrestling against flesh and blood, as against\nprincipalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world,\nand spiritual wickedness in high places. In this respect his function\nas judge blended with his work as prophet. Before him, the prophetic\noffice was but a casual illumination; under him it becomes a more steady\nand systematic light. He was the first of a succession of prophets whom\nGod placed side by side with the kings and priests of Israel to supply\nthat fresh moral and spiritual force which the prevailing worldliness of\nthe one and formalism of the other rendered so necessary for the great\nends for which Israel was chosen. With some fine exceptions, the kings\nand priests would have allowed the seed of Abraham to drift away from\nthe noble purpose for which God had called them; conformity to the world\nin spirit if not in form was the prevailing tendency; the prophets were\nraised up to hold the nation firmly to the covenant, to vindicate the\nclaims of its heavenly King, to thunder judgments against idolatry and\nall rebellion, and pour words of comfort into the hearts of all who were\nfaithful to their God, and who looked for redemption in Israel. Of this\norder of God's servants Samuel was the first. And called as he was to\nthis office at a transition period, the importance of it was all the\ngreater. It was a work for which no ordinary man was needed, and for\nwhich no ordinary man was found.\n\nVery often the finger of God is seen very clearly in connection with the\nbirth and early training of those who are to become His greatest agents.\nThe instances of Moses, Samson, and John the Baptist, to say nothing of\nour blessed Lord, are familiar to us all. Very often the family from\nwhich the great man is raised up is among the obscurest and least\ndistinguished of the country. The \"certain man\" who lived in some quiet\ncottage at Ramathaim-Zophim would never probably have emerged from his\nnative obscurity but for God's purpose to make a chosen vessel of his\nson. In the case of this family, and in the circumstances of Samuel's\nbirth, we see a remarkable overruling of human infirmity to the purposes\nof the Divine will. If Peninnah had been kind to Hannah, Samuel might\nnever have been born. It was the unbearable harshness of Peninnah that\ndrove Hannah to the throne of grace, and brought to her wrestling faith\nthe blessing she so eagerly pled for. What must have seemed to Hannah at\nthe time a most painful dispensation became the occasion of a glorious\nrejoicing. The very element that aggravated her trial was that which led\nto her triumph. Like many another, Hannah found the beginning of her\nlife intensely painful, and as a godly woman she no doubt wondered why\nGod seemed to care for her so little. But at evening time there was\nlight; like Job, she saw \"the end of the Lord;\" the mystery cleared\naway, and to her as to the patriarch it appeared very clearly that \"the\nLord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.\"\n\nThe home in which Samuel is born has some points of quiet interest about\nit; but these are marred by serious defects. It is a religious\nhousehold, at least in the sense that the outward duties of religion are\ncarefully attended to; but the moral tone is defective. First, there is\nthat radical blemish--want of unity. No doubt it was tacitly permitted\nto a man in those days to have two wives. But where there were two wives\nthere were two centres of interest and feeling, and discord must ensue.\n\nElkanah does not seem to have felt that in having two wives he could do\njustice to neither. And he had but little sympathy for the particular\ndisappointment of Hannah. He calculated that a woman's heart-hunger in\none direction ought to be satisfied by copious gifts in another. And as\nto Peninnah, so little idea had she of the connection of true religion\nand high moral tone, that the occasion of the most solemn religious\nservice of the nation was her time for pouring out her bitterest\npassion. Hannah is the only one of the three of whom nothing but what is\nfavourable is recorded.\n\nWith regard to the origin of the family, it seems to have been of the\ntribe of Levi. If so, Elkanah would occasionally have to serve the\nsanctuary; but no mention is made of such service. For anything that\nappears, Elkanah may have spent his life in the same occupations as the\ngreat bulk of the people. The place of his residence was not many miles\nfrom Shiloh, which was at that time the national sanctuary. But the\nmoral influence from that quarter was by no means beneficial; a decrepit\nhigh priest, unable to restrain the profligacy of his sons, whose vile\ncharacter brought religion into contempt, and led men to associate gross\nwickedness with Divine service,--of such a state of things the influence\nseemed fitted rather to aggravate than to lessen the defects of\nElkanah's household.\n\nInside Elkanah's house we see two strange arrangements of Providence, of\na kind that often moves our astonishment elsewhere. First, we see a\nwoman eminently fitted to bring up children, but having none to bring\nup. On the other hand, we see another woman, whose temper and ways are\nfitted to ruin children, entrusted with the rearing of a family. In the\none case a God-fearing woman does not receive the gifts of Providence;\nin the other case a woman of a selfish and cruel nature seems loaded\nwith His benefits. In looking round us, we often see a similar\narrangement of other gifts; we see riches, for example, in the very\nworst of hands; while those who from their principles and character are\nfitted to make the best use of them have often difficulty in securing\nthe bare necessaries of life. How is this? Does God really govern, or do\ntime and chance regulate all? If it were God's purpose to distribute His\ngifts exactly as men are able to estimate and use them aright, we should\ndoubtless see a very different distribution; but God's aim in this world\nis much more to try and to train than to reward and fulfil. All these\nanomalies of Providence point to a future state. What God does we know\nnot now, but we shall know hereafter. The misuse of God's gifts brings\nits punishment both here and in the life to come. To whom much is given,\nof them much shall be required. For those who have shown the capacity to\nuse God's gifts aright, there will be splendid opportunities in another\nlife. To those who have received much, but abused much, there comes a\nfearful reckoning, and a dismal experience of the \"the unprofitable\nservant's doom.\"\n\nThe trial which Hannah had to bear was peculiarly heavy, as is well\nknown, to a Hebrew woman. To have no child was not only a\ndisappointment, but seemed to mark one out as dishonoured by God,--as\nunworthy of any part or lot in the means that were to bring about the\nfulfilment of the promise, \"In thee and in thy seed shall all the\nfamilies of the earth be blessed.\" In the case of Hannah, the trial was\naggravated by the very presence of Peninnah and her children in the same\nhousehold. Had she been alone, her mind might not have brooded over her\nwant, and she and her husband might have so ordered their life as almost\nto forget the blank. But with Peninnah and her children constantly\nbefore her eyes, such a course was impossible. She could never forget\nthe contrast between the two wives. Like an aching tooth or an aching\nhead, it bred a perpetual pain.\n\nIn many cases home affords a refuge from our trials, but in this case\nhome was the very scene of the trial. There is another refuge from\ntrial, which is very grateful to devout hearts--the house of God and the\nexercises of public worship. A member of Hannah's race, who was\nafterwards to pass through many a trial, was able even when far away, to\nfind great comfort in the very thought of the house of God, with its\nsongs of joy and praise, and its multitude of happy worshippers, and to\nrally his desponding feelings into cheerfulness and hope. \"Why art thou\ncast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in\nGod, for I shall yet praise Him for the health of His countenance.\" But\nfrom Hannah this resource likewise was cut off. The days of high\nfestival were her days of bitter prostration.\n\nIt was the custom in religious households for the head of the house to\ngive presents at the public festivals. Elkanah, a kind-hearted but not\nvery discriminating man, kept up the custom, and as we suppose, to\ncompensate Hannah for the want of children, he gave her at these times a\nworthy or double portion. But his kindness was inconsiderate. It only\nraised the jealousy of Peninnah. For her and her children to get less\nthan the childless Hannah was intolerable. No sense of courtesy\nrestrained her from uttering her feeling. No sisterly compassion urged\nher to spare the feelings of her rival. No regard for God or His worship\nkept back the storm of bitterness. With the reckless impetuosity of a\nbitter heart she took these opportunities to reproach Hannah with her\nchildless condition. She knew the tender spot of her heart, and, instead\nof sparing it, she selected it as the very spot on which to plant her\nblows. Her very object was to give Hannah pain, to give her the greatest\npain she could. And so the very place that should have been a rebuke to\nevery bitter feeling, the very time which was sacred to joyous\nfestivity, and the very sorrow that should have been kept furthest from\nHannah's thoughts, were selected by her bitter rival to poison all her\nhappiness, and overwhelm her with lamentation and woe.\n\nAfter all, was Hannah or Peninnah the more wretched of the two? To\nsuffer in the tenderest part of one's nature is no doubt a heavy\naffliction. But to have a heart eager to inflict such suffering on\nanother is far more awful. Young people that sting a comrade when out of\ntemper, that call him names, that reproach him with his infirmities, are\nfar more wretched and pitiable creatures than those whom they try to\nirritate. It has always been regarded as a natural proof of the holiness\nof God that He has made man so that there is a pleasure in the exercise\nof his amiable feelings, while his evil passions, in the very play of\nthem, produce pain and misery. Lady Macbeth is miserable over the\nmurdered king, even while exulting in the triumph of her ambition. Torn\nby her heartless and reckless passions, her bosom is like a hell. The\ntumult in her raging soul is like the writhing of an evil spirit. Yes,\nmy friends, if you accept the offices of sin, if you make passion the\ninstrument of your purposes, if you make it your business to sting and\nto stab those who in some way cross your path, you may succeed for the\nmoment, and you may experience whatever of satisfaction can be found in\ngloated revenge. But know this, that you have been cherishing a viper\nin your bosom that will not content itself with fulfilling your desire.\nIt will make itself a habitual resident in your heart, and distil its\npoison over it. It will make it impossible for you to know anything of\nthe sweetness of love, the serenity of a well-ordered heart, the joy of\ntrust, the peace of heaven. You will be like the troubled sea, whose\nwaters cast up mire and dirt. You will find the truth of that solemn\nword, \"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.\"\n\nIf the heart of Peninnah was actuated by this infernal desire to make\nher neighbour fret, it need not surprise us that she chose the most\nsolemn season of religious worship to gratify her desire. What could\nreligion be to such a one but a form? What communion could she have, or\ncare to have, with God? How could she realize what she did in disturbing\nthe communion of another heart? If we could suppose her realizing the\npresence of God, and holding soul-to-soul communion with Him, she would\nhave received such a withering rebuke to her bitter feelings as would\nhave filled her with shame and contrition. But when religious services\nare a mere form, there is absolutely nothing in them to prevent, at such\ntimes, the outbreak of the heart's worst passions. There are men and\nwomen whose visits to the house of God are often the occasions of\nrousing their worst, or at least very unworthy, passions. Pride, scorn,\nmalice, vanity--how often are they moved by the very sight of others in\nthe house of God! What strange and unworthy conceptions of Divine\nservice such persons must have! What a dishonouring idea of God, if they\nimagine that the service of their bodies or of their lips is anything to\nHim. Surely in the house of God, and in the presence of God, men ought\nto feel that among the things most offensive in His eyes are a foul\nheart, a fierce temper, and the spirit that hateth a brother. While, on\nthe other hand, if we would serve Him acceptably, we must lay aside all\nmalice and all guile and hypocrisies, envies and all evil speakings.\nInstead of trying to make others fret, we should try, young and old\nalike, to make the crooked places of men's hearts straight, and the\nrough places of their lives plain; try to give the soft answer that\nturneth away wrath; try to extinguish the flame of passion, to lessen\nthe sum-total of sin, and stimulate all that is lovely and of good\nreport in the world around us.\n\nBut to return to Hannah and her trial. Year by year it went on, and her\nsensitive spirit, instead of feeling it less, seemed to feel it more. It\nwould appear that, on one occasion, her distress reached a climax. She\nwas so overcome that even the sacred feast remained by her untasted. Her\nhusband's attention was now thoroughly roused. \"Hannah, why weepest\nthou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I\nbetter to thee than ten sons?\" There was not much comfort in these\nquestions. He did not understand the poor woman's feeling. Possibly his\nattempts to show her how little cause she had to complain only\naggravated her distress. Perhaps she thought, \"When my very husband does\nnot understand me, it is time for me to cease from man.\" With the double\nfeeling--my distress is beyond endurance, and there is no sympathy for\nme in any fellow-creature--the thought may have come into her mind, \"I\nwill arise and go to my Father.\" However it came about, her trials had\nthe happy effect of sending her to God. Blessed fruit of affliction! Is\nnot this the reason why afflictions are often so severe? If they were of\nordinary intensity, then, in the world's phrase, we might \"grin and bear\nthem.\" It is when they become intolerable that men think of God. As\nArchbishop Leighton has said, God closes up the way to every broken\ncistern, one after another, that He may induce you, baffled everywhere\nelse, to take the way to the fountain of living waters. \"I looked on my\nright hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me; refuge\nfailed me, no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord; I said,\nThou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.\"\n\nBehold Hannah, then, overwhelmed with distress, in \"the temple of the\nLord\" (as His house at Shiloh was called), transacting solemnly with\nGod. \"She vowed a vow.\" She entered into a transaction with God, as\nreally and as directly as one man transacts with another. It is this\ndirectness and distinctness of dealing with God that is so striking a\nfeature in the piety of those early times. She asked God for a man\nchild. But she did not ask this gift merely to gratify her personal\nwish. In the very act of dealing with God she felt that it was His glory\nand not her personal feelings that she was called chiefly to respect. No\ndoubt she wished the child, and she asked the child in fulfilment of her\nown vehement desire. But beyond and above that desire there arose in her\nsoul the sense of God's claim and God's glory, and to these high\nconsiderations she desired to subordinate every feeling of her own. If\nGod should give her the man child, he would not be hers, but God's. He\nwould be specially dedicated as a Nazarite to God's service. No razor\nshould come on his head; no drop of strong drink should pass his lips.\nAnd this would not be a mere temporary dedication, it would last all\nthe days of his life. Eagerly though Hannah desired a son, she did not\nwish him merely for personal gratification. She was not to make herself\nthe end of her child's existence, but would sacrifice even her\nreasonable and natural claims upon him in order that he might be more\nthoroughly the servant of God.\n\nHannah, as she continued praying, must have felt something of that peace\nof soul which ever comes from conscious communion with a prayer-hearing\nGod. But probably her faith needed the element of strengthening which a\nkindly and favourable word from one high in God's service would have\nimparted. It must have been terrible for her to find, when the high\npriest spoke to her, that it was to insult her, and accuse her of an\noffence against decency itself from which her very soul would have\nrecoiled. Well meaning, but weak and blundering, Eli never made a more\noutrageous mistake. With firmness and dignity, and yet in perfect\ncourtesy, Hannah repudiated the charge. Others might try to drown their\nsorrows with strong drink, but she had poured out her soul before God.\nThe high priest must have felt ashamed of his rude and unworthy charge,\nas well as rebuked by the dignity and self-possession of this much-tried\nbut upright, godly woman. He sent her away with a hearty benediction,\nwhich seemed to convey to her an assurance that her prayer would be\nfulfilled. As yet it is all a matter of faith; but her \"faith is the\nsubstance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.\" Her\nburden is completely removed; her soul has returned to its quiet rest.\nThis chapter of the history has a happy ending--\"The woman went her way\nand did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.\"\n\nIs not this whole history just like one of the Psalms, expressed not in\nwords but in deeds? First the wail of distress; then the wrestling of\nthe troubled heart with God; then the repose and triumph of faith. What\na blessing, amid the multitude of this world's sorrows; that such a\nprocess should be practicable! What a blessed thing is faith, faith in\nGod's word, and faith in God's heart, that faith which becomes a bridge\nto the distressed from the region of desolation and misery to the region\nof peace and joy? Is there any fact more abundantly verified than this\nexperience is--this passage out of the depths, this way of shaking one's\nself from the dust, and putting on the garments of praise? Are any of\nyou tired, worried, wearied in the battle of life, and yet ignorant of\nthis blessed process? Do any receive your fresh troubles with nothing\nbetter than a growl of irritation--I will not say an angry curse? Alas\nfor your thorny experience! an experience which knows no way of blunting\nthe point of the thorns. Know, my friends, that in Gilead there is a\nbalm for soothing these bitter irritations. There is a peace of God that\npasseth all understanding, and that keeps the hearts and minds of His\npeople through Christ Jesus. \"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose\nmind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.\"\n\nBut let those who profess to be Christ's see that they are consistent\nhere. A fretful, complaining Christian is a contradiction in terms. How\nunlike to Christ! How forgetful such a one is of the grand argument, \"He\nthat spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall\nHe not with Him also freely give us all things?\" \"Be patient, brethren,\nfor the coming of the Lord draweth near.\" Amid the agitations of life\noften steal away to the green pastures and the still waters, and they\nwill calm your soul. And while \"the trial of your faith is much more\nprecious than of gold that perisheth, although it be tried with fire,\"\nit shall be \"found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of\nJesus Christ.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n_HANNAH'S FAITH REWARDED._\n\n1 SAMUEL i. 19-28.\n\n\nIn all the transactions recorded in these verses, we see in Hannah the\ndirecting and regulating power of the family; while Elkanah appears\nacquiescing cordially in all that she proposes, and devoutly seconding\nher great act of consecration,--the surrender of Samuel to the perpetual\nservice of God. For a moment it might be thought that Hannah assumed a\nplace that hardly belonged to her; that she became the leader and\ndirector in the house, while her proper position was that of a helpmeet\nto her husband. We are constrained, however, to dismiss this thought,\nfor it does not fit in to the character of Hannah, and it is not in\nkeeping with the general tone of the passage. There are two reasons that\naccount sufficiently for the part she took. In the first place, it was\nshe that had dealt with God in the matter, and it was with her too that\nGod had dealt. She had been God-directed in the earlier part of the\ntransaction, and therefore was specially able to see what was right and\nproper to be done in following up God's remarkable acknowledgment and\nanswer of her prayer. The course to be taken came to her as an\nintuition,--an intuition not to be reasoned about, not to be exposed to\nthe criticism of another, to be simply accepted and obeyed. As she gave\nno heed to those impulses of her own heart that might have desired a\ndifferent destination for her child, so she was disposed to give none to\nthe impulses of any other. The name, and the training, and the life-work\nof a child given so remarkably were all clear as sunbeams to her godly\nheart; and in such a matter it would have been nothing but weakness to\nconfer with flesh and blood.\n\nAnd in the second place, Elkanah could be in no humour to resist his\nwife, even if he had had any reason to do so. For he was in a manner\nreproved of God for not being more concerned about her sadness of\nspirit. God had treated her sorrow more seriously than he had. God had\nnot said to her that her husband was better to her than ten sons. God\nhad recognised the hunger of her heart for a son as a legitimate\ncraving, and when she brought her wish to Him, and meekly and humbly\nasked Him to fulfil it, He had heard her prayer, and granted her\nrequest. In a sense Hannah, in the depth of her sorrow, had appealed\nfrom her husband to a higher court, and the appeal had been decided in\nher favour. Elkanah could not but feel that in faith, in lofty\nprinciple, in nearness of fellowship with God, he had been surpassed by\nhis wife. It was no wonder he surrendered to her the future direction of\na life given thus in answer to her prayers. Yet in thus surrendering his\nright he showed no sullenness of temper, but acted in harmony with her,\nnot only in naming and dedicating the child, but in taking a vow on\nhimself, and at the proper moment fulfilling that vow. The three\nbullocks, with the ephah of flour and the bottle of wine brought to\nShiloh when the child was presented to the Lord, were probably the\nfulfilment of Elkanah's vow.\n\nBut to come more particularly to what is recorded in the text.\n\n1. We notice, first, the fact of the answer to prayer. The answer was\nprompt, clear, explicit. It is an important question, Why are some\nprayers answered and not others? Many a good man and woman feel it to be\nthe greatest trial that their prayers for definite objects are not\nanswered. Many a mother will say, Why did God not answer me when I\nprayed Him to spare my infant's life? I am sure I prayed with my whole\nheart and soul, but it seemed to make no difference, the child sank and\ndied just as if no one had been praying for him. Many a wife will say,\nWhy does God not convert my husband? I have agonized, I have wept and\nmade supplication on his behalf, and in particular, with reference to\nhis besetting infirmity, I have implored God to break his chain and set\nhim free; but there he is, the same as ever. Many a young person under\nserious impressions will say, Why does God not hear my prayer? I have\nprayed with heart and soul for faith and love, for peace in believing,\nfor consciousness of my interest in Christ; but my prayers seem directed\nagainst a wall of brass, they seem never to reach the ears of the Lord\nof hosts. In spite of all such objections and difficulties, we maintain\nthat God is the hearer of prayer. Every sincere prayer offered in the\nname of Christ is heard, and dealt with by God in such way as seems good\nto Him. There are good reasons why some prayers are not answered at all,\nand there are also good reasons why the visible answer to some prayers\nis delayed. Some prayers are not answered because the spirit of them is\nbad. \"Ye ask but receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume\nit upon your lusts.\" What is asked merely to gratify a selfish feeling\nis asked amiss. It is not holy prayer; it does not fit in with the\nsacred purposes of life; it is not asked to make us better, or enable us\nto serve God better, or make our life more useful to our fellows; but\nsimply to increase our pleasure, to make our surroundings more\nagreeable. Some prayers are not answered because what is asked would be\nhurtful; the prayer is answered in spirit though denied in form. A\nChristian lady, over the sick bed of an only son, once prayed with\nintense fervour that he might be restored, and positively refused to\nsay, \"Thy will be done.\" Falling asleep, she seemed to see a panorama of\nher son's life had he survived; it was a succession of sorrows, rising\ninto terrible agonies,--so pitiful a sight that she could no longer\ndesire his life to be prolonged, and gave up the battle against the will\nof God. Some prayers are not answered at the time, because a discipline\nof patience is needed for those who offer them; they have to be taught\nthe grace of waiting patiently for the Lord; they have to learn more\nfully than hitherto to walk by faith, not by sight; they have to learn\nto take the promise of God against all appearances, and to remember that\nheaven and earth shall pass away, but God's word shall not pass away.\n\nBut whatever be the reasons for the apparent silence of God, we may rest\nassured that hearing prayer is the law of His kingdom. Old Testament and\nNew alike bear witness to this. Every verse of the Psalms proclaims it.\nAlike by precept and example our Lord constantly enforced it. Every\nApostle takes up the theme, and urges the duty and the privilege. We may\nsay of prayer as St. Paul said of the resurrection--if prayer be not\nheard our preaching is vain, and your faith is vain. And what true\nChristian is there who cannot add testimonies from his own history to\nthe same effect? If the answer to some of your prayers be delayed, has\nit not come to many of them? Come, too, very conspicuously, so that you\nwere amazed, and almost awed? And if there be prayers that have not yet\nbeen answered, or in reference to which you have no knowledge of an\nanswer, can you not afford to wait till God gives the explanation? And\nwhen the explanation comes, have you not much cause to believe that it\nwill redound to the praise of God, and that many things, in reference to\nwhich you could at the time see nothing but what was dark and terrible,\nmay turn out when fully explained to furnish new and overwhelming\ntestimony that \"God is love?\"\n\n2. The next point is the name given by Hannah to her son. The name\nSamuel, in its literal import, does not mean \"asked of the Lord,\" but\n\"heard of the Lord.\" The reason assigned by Hannah for giving this name\nto her son is not an explanation of the word, but a reference to the\ncircumstances. In point of fact, \"heard of the Lord\" is more expressive\nthan even \"asked of the Lord,\" because it was God's hearing (in a\nfavourable sense), more than Hannah's asking, that was the decisive\npoint in the transaction. Still, as far as Hannah was concerned, he was\nasked of the Lord. The name was designed to be a perpetual memorial of\nthe circumstances of his birth. For the good of the child himself, and\nfor the instruction of all that might come in contact with him, it was\ndesigned to perpetuate the fact that before his birth a solemn\ntransaction in prayer took place between his mother and the Almighty.\nThe very existence of this child was a perpetual witness, first of all\nof the truth that God exists, and then of the truth that He is a\nprayer-hearing God. The very name of this child is a rebuke to those\nparents who never think of God in connection with their children, who\nnever thank God for giving them, nor think of what He would like in\ntheir education and training. Even where no such special transaction by\nprayer has taken place as in the case of Samuel's mother, children are\nto be regarded as sacred gifts of God. \"Lo, children are the heritage of\nthe Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.\" Many a child has had\nthe name Samuel given him since these distant days in Judaea under the\ninfluence of this feeling. Many a parent has felt what a solemn thing it\nis to receive from God's hands an immortal creature, that may become\neither an angel or a devil, and to be entrusted with the first stage of\na life that may spread desolation and misery on the one hand, or joy and\nblessing wherever its influence reaches. Do not treat lightly, O\nparents, the connection between God and your children! Cherish the\nthought that they are God's gifts, God's heritage to you, committed by\nHim to you to bring up, but not apart from Him, not in separation from\nthose holy influences which He alone can impart, and which He is willing\nto impart. What a cruel thing it is to cut this early connection between\nthem and God, and send them drifting through the world like a ship with\na forsaken rudder, that flaps hither and thither with every current of\nthe sea! What a blessed thing when, above all things, the grace and\nblessing of God are sought by parents for their children, when all the\nearnest lessons of childhood are directed to this end, and before\nchildhood has passed into youth the grace of God rules the young heart,\nand the holy purpose is formed to live in His fear through Jesus Christ,\nand to honour Him for evermore!\n\n3. Hannah's arrangements for the child. From the very first she had\ndecided that at the earliest possible period he should be placed under\nthe high priest at Shiloh. Hannah's fulfilment of her vow was to be an\nample, prompt, honourable fulfilment. Many a one who makes vows or\nresolutions under the pressure and pinch of distress immediately begins\nto pare them down when the pinch is removed, like the merchant in the\nstorm who vowed a hecatomb to Jupiter, then reduced the hecatomb to a\nsingle bullock, the bullock to a sheep, the sheep to a few dates; but\neven these he ate on the way to the altar, laying on it only the stones.\nNot one jot would Hannah abate of the full sweep and compass of her vow.\nShe would keep the child by her only till he was weaned, and then he\nshould be presented at Shiloh. It is said that Jewish mothers sometimes\nsuckled their children to the age of three years, and this was probably\nlittle Samuel's age when he was taken to Shiloh. Meanwhile, she resolved\nthat till that time was reached she would not go up to the feast. Had\nshe gone before her son was weaned she must have taken him with her, and\nbrought him away with her, and that would have broken the solemnity of\nthe transaction when at last she should take him for good and all. No.\nThe very first visit that she and her son should pay to Shiloh would be\nthe decisive visit. The very first time that she should present herself\nat that holy place where God had heard her prayer and her vow would be\nthe time when she should fulfil her vow. The first time that she should\nremind the high priest of their old interview would be when she came to\noffer to God's perpetual service the answer to her prayer and the fruit\nof her vow. To miss the feast would be a privation, it might even be a\nspiritual loss, but she had in her son that which itself was a means of\ngrace to her, and a blessed link to God and heaven; while she remained\nwith him God would still remain with her; and in prayer for him, and the\npeople whom he might one day influence, her heart might be as much\nenlarged and warmed as if she were mingling with the thousands of\nIsrael, amid the holy excitement of the great national feast.\n\n4. Elkanah's offering at Shiloh. When Elkanah heard his wife's plan with\nreference to Samuel, he simply acquiesced, bade her remain at Shiloh,\n\"only the Lord establish His word.\" What word? Literally, the Lord had\nspoken no word about Samuel, unless the word of Eli to Hannah \"The God\nof Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him\" could be\nregarded as a word from God. That word, however, had already been\nfulfilled; and Elkanah's prayer meant, The Lord bring to pass those\nfurther blessings of which the birth of Samuel was the promise and the\nprelude; the Lord accept, in due time, the offering of this child to His\nservice, and grant that out of that offering there may come to Israel\nall the good that it is capable of yielding.\n\nThe cordiality with which Elkanah accepted his wife's view of the case\nis seen further in the ample offering which he took to Shiloh--three\nbullocks, an ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine. One bullock would\nhave sufficed as a burnt-offering for the child now given for the\nservice of God, and in ver. 25 special mention is made of one being\nslain. The other two were added to mark the speciality of the occasion,\nto make the offering, so to speak, round and complete, to testify the\nungrudging cordiality with which the whole transaction was entered into.\nOne might perhaps have thought that in connection with such a service\nthere was hardly any need of a bloody sacrifice, A little child of two\nor three years old--the very type and picture of innocence--surely\nneeded little in the way of expiation. Not so, however, the view of the\nlaw of Moses. Even a newborn infant could not be presented to the Lord\nwithout some symbol of expiation. There is such a virus of corruption in\nevery human soul that not even infants can be brought to God for\nacceptance and blessing without a token of atonement. Sin has so\nseparated the whole race from God, that not one member of it can be\nbrought near, can be brought into the region of benediction, without\nshedding of blood. And if no member of it can be even accepted without\natonement, much less can any be taken to be God's servant, taken to\nstand before Him, to represent Him, to be His organ to others, to speak\nin His name. What a solemn truth for all who desire to be employed in\nthe public service of Jesus Christ! Remember how unworthy you are to\nstand before him. Remember how stained your garments are with sin and\nworldliness, how distracted your heart is with other thoughts and\nfeelings, how poor the service is you are capable of rendering. Remember\nhow gloriously Jesus is served by the angels that excel in strength,\nthat do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word. And when\nyou give yourselves to Him, or ask to be allowed to take your place\namong His servants, seek as you do so to be sprinkled with the blood of\ncleansing, own your personal unworthiness, and pray to be accepted\nthrough the merit of His sacrifice!\n\n5. And now, the bullock being slain, they bring the child to Eli. Hannah\nis the speaker, and her words are few and well chosen. She reminds Eli\nof what she had done the last time she was there. Generous and\ncourteous, she makes no allusion to anything unpleasant that had passed\nbetween them. Small matters of that sort are absorbed in the solemnity\nand importance of the transaction. In her words to Eli she touches\nbriefly on the past, the present, and the future. What occurred in the\npast was, that she stood there a few years ago praying unto the Lord.\nWhat was true of the present was, that the Lord had granted her\npetition, and given her this child for whom she had prayed. And what was\ngoing to happen in the future was (as the Revised Version has it), \"I\nhave granted him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he is granted to the\nLord.\"\n\nIt is interesting to remark that no word of Eli's is introduced. This\nNazarite child is accepted for the perpetual service of God at once and\nwithout remark. No remonstrance is made on the score of his tender\nyears. No doubt is insinuated as to how he may turn out. If Samuel's\nfamily was a Levitical one, he would have been entitled to take part in\nthe service of God, but only occasionally, and at the Levitical age. But\nhis mother brings him to the Lord long before the Levitical age, and\nleaves him at Shiloh, bound over to a lifelong service. How was she able\nto do it? For three years that child had been her constant companion,\nhad lain in her bosom, had warmed her heart with his smiles, had amused\nher with his prattle, had charmed her with all his engaging little ways.\nHow was she able to part with him? Would he not miss her too as much as\nshe would miss him? Shiloh was not a very attractive place, Eli was old\nand feeble, Hophni and Phinehas were beasts, the atmosphere was\noffensive and pernicious. Nevertheless, it was God's house, and if a\nlittle child should be brought to it, capable of rendering to God real\nservice, God would take care of the child. Already he was God's child.\nAsked of God, and heard of God, he bore already the mark of his Master.\nGod would be with him, as He had been with Joseph, as He had been with\nMoses--\"He shall call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him\nin trouble, I will be with him and honour him.\"\n\nNoble in her spirit of endurance in the time of trial, Hannah is still\nmore noble in the spirit of self-denial in the time of prosperity. It\nwas no common grace that could so completely sacrifice all her personal\nfeelings, and so thoroughly honour God. What a rebuke to those parents\nthat keep back their children from God's service, that will not part\nwith their sons to be missionaries, that look on the ministry of the\nGospel as but a poor occupation! What a rebuke, too, to many Christian\nmen and women who are so unwilling to commit themselves openly to any\nform of Christian service,--unwilling to be identified with religious\nwork! Yet, on the other hand, let us rejoice that in this our age, more\nperhaps than in any other, so many are willing, nay eager, for Christian\nservice. Let us rejoice that both among young men and young women\nrecruits for the mission-field are offering themselves in such numbers.\nAfter all, it is true wisdom, and true policy, although not done as a\nmatter of policy. It will yield far the greatest satisfaction in the\nend. God is not unrighteous to forget the work and labour of love of His\nchildren. And \"every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or\nsisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My\nname's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting\nlife.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n_HANNAH'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING._\n\n1 SAMUEL ii. 1-10.\n\n\nThe emotion that filled Hannah's breast after she had granted Samuel to\nthe Lord, and left him settled at Shiloh, was one of triumphant joy. In\nher song we see no trace of depression, like that of a bereaved and\ndesolate mother. Some may be disposed to think less of Hannah on this\naccount; they may think she would have been more of a true mother if\nsomething of human regret had been apparent in her song. But surely we\nought not to blame her if the Divine emotion that so completely filled\nher soul excluded for the time every ordinary feeling. In the very first\nwords of her song we see how closely God was connected with the emotions\nthat swelled in her breast. \"My heart rejoiceth _in the Lord_, mine horn\nis exalted _in the Lord_.\" The feeling that was so rapturous was the\nsense of God's gracious owning of her; His taking her into partnership,\nso to speak, with Himself; His accepting of her son as an instrument for\ncarrying out His gracious purposes to Israel and the world. Only those\nwho have experienced it can understand the overwhelming blessedness of\nthis feeling. That the infinite God should draw near to His sinful\ncreature, and not only accept him, but identify Himself with him, as it\nwere, taking him and those dearest to him into His confidence, and using\nthem to carry out His plans, is something almost too wonderful for the\nhuman spirit to bear. This was Hannah's feeling, as it afterwards was\nthat of Elizabeth, and still more of the Virgin Mary, and it is no\nwonder that their songs, which bear a close resemblance to each other,\nshould have been used by the Christian Church to express the very\nhighest degree of thankfulness.\n\nThe emotion of Hannah was intensified by another consideration. What had\ntaken place in her experience was not the only thing of this kind that\nhad ever happened or that ever was to happen. On the contrary, it was\nthe outcome of a great law of God's kingdom, which law regulated the\nordinary procedure of His providence. Hannah's heart was enlarged as she\nthought how many others had shared or would share what had befallen her;\nas she thought how such pride and arrogance as that which had tormented\nher was doomed to be rebuked and brought low under God's government; how\nmany lowly souls that brought their burden to Him were to be relieved;\nand how many empty and hungry hearts, pining for food and rest, were to\nfind how He \"satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul\nwith goodness.\"\n\nBut it would seem that her thoughts took a still wider sweep. Looking on\nherself as representing the nation of Israel, she seems to have felt\nthat what had happened to her on a small scale was to happen to the\nnation on a large; for God would draw nigh to Israel as He had to her,\nmake him His friend and confidential servant, humble the proud and\nmalignant nations around him, and exalt him, if only he endeavoured\nhumbly and thankfully to comply with the Divine will. Is it possible\nthat her thoughts took a more definite form? May not the Holy Spirit\nhave given her a glimpse of the great truth--\"Unto us a child is born,\nunto us a son is given\"? May she not have surmised that it was to be\nthrough one born in the same land that the great redemption was to be\nachieved? May she not have seen in her little Samuel the type and symbol\nof another Child, to be more wonderfully born than hers, to be dedicated\nto God's service in a higher sense, to fulfil all righteousness far\nbeyond anything in Samuel's power? And may not this high theme, carrying\nher far into future times, carrying her on to the end of the world's\nhistory, bearing her up even to eternity and infinity, have been the\ncause of that utter absence of human regret, that apparent want of\nmotherly heart-sinking, which we mark in the song?\n\nWhen we examine the substance of the song more carefully, we find that\nHannah derives her joy from four things about God:--1. His nature (vv.\n2-3); 2. His providential government (vv. 4-8); 3. His most gracious\ntreatment of His saints (v. 9); 4. The glorious destiny of the kingdom\nof His anointed.\n\n1. In the second and third verses we find comfort derived from (1) God's\nholiness, (2) His unity, (3) His strength, (4) His knowledge, and (5)\nHis justice.\n\n(1) The _holiness_, the spotlessness of God is a source of\ncomfort,--\"There is none holy as the Lord.\" To the wicked this attribute\nis no comfort, but only a terror. Left to themselves, men take away this\nattribute, and, like the Greeks and Romans and other pagans, ascribe to\ntheir gods the lusts and passions of poor human creatures. Yet to those\nwho _can_ appreciate it, how blessed a thing is the holiness of God! No\ndarkness in Him, no corruption, no infirmity; absolutely pure, He\ngoverns all on the principles of absolute purity; He keeps all up, even\nin a sinful, crumbling world, to that high standard; and when His\nschemes are completed, the blessed outcome will be \"the new heavens and\nthe new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.\"\n\n(2) His _unity_ gives comfort,--\"There is none besides Thee.\" None to\nthwart His righteous and gracious plans, or make those to tremble whose\ntrust is placed in Him. He doeth according to His will in the army of\nheaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His\nhand, or say unto Him, \"What doest Thou?\"\n\n(3) His _strength_ gives comfort,--\"Neither is there any rock like our\nGod.\" \"If God be for us, who can be against us?\" \"Hast thou not known,\nhast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of\nthe ends of the earth, fainteth not, nor is weary? There is no searching\nof His understanding? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that\nhave no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be\nweary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait on the\nLord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as\neagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not\nfaint.\"\n\n(4) His _knowledge_ gives comfort,--\"The Lord is a God of knowledge.\" He\nsees all secret wickedness, and knows how to deal with it. His eye is on\nevery plot hatched in the darkness. He knows His faithful servants, what\nthey aim at, what they suffer, what a strain is often put on their\nfidelity. And He never can forget them, and never can desert them, for\n\"the angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear Him, and\ndelivereth them.\"\n\n(5) His _justice_ gives comfort. \"By Him actions are weighed.\" Their\ntrue quality is ascertained; what is done for mean, selfish ends stands\nout before Him in all its native ugliness, and draws down the\nretribution that is meet. Men may perform the outward services of\nreligion with great regularity and apparent zeal, while their hearts are\nfull of all uncleanness and wickedness. The hypocrite may rise to\nhonour, the thief may become rich, men that prey upon the infirmities or\nthe simplicity of their fellows may prosper; but there is a God in\nheaven by Whom all evil devices are weighed, and Who in His own time\nwill effectually checkmate all that either deny His existence or fancy\nthey can elude His righteous judgment.\n\n2. These views of God's holy government are more fully enlarged on in\nthe second part of the song (vv. 3-8). The main feature of God's\nprovidence dwelt on here is the changes that occur in the lot of certain\nclasses. The class against whom God's providence bears chiefly is the\nhaughty, the self-sufficient, the men of physical might who are ready to\nuse that might to the injury of others. Those again who lie in the path\nof God's mercies are the weak, the hungry, the childless, the beggar.\nHannah uses a variety of figures. Now it is from the profession of\nsoldiers--\"the bows of the mighty are broken\"; and on the other hand\nthey that for very weakness were stumbling and staggering are girded\nwith strength. Now it is from the appetite for food--they that were full\nhave had to hire out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry are\nhungry no more. Now it is from family life, and from a feature of family\nlife that came home to Hannah--\"the barren hath borne seven, and she\nthat had many children is waxed feeble.\" And these changes are the doing\nof God, \"The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the\ngrave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, He bringeth\nlow and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth\nup the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make\nthem inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the\nLord's, and He hath set the world upon them.\" If nothing were taught\nhere but that there are great vicissitudes of fortune among men, then a\nlesson would come from it alike to high and low--let the high beware\nlest they glory in their fortune, let the low not sink into dejection\nand despair. If it be further borne in mind that these changes of\nfortune are all in the hands of God, a further lesson arises, to beware\nhow we offend God, and to live in the earnest desire to enjoy His\nfavour. But there is a further lesson. The class of qualities that are\nhere marked as offensive to God are pride, self-seeking,\nself-sufficiency both in ordinary matters and in their spiritual\ndevelopment. Your tyrannical and haughty Pharaohs, your high-vaunting\nSennacheribs, your pride-intoxicated Nebuchadnezzars, are objects of\nspecial dislike to God. So is your proud Pharisee, who goes up to the\ntemple thanking God that he is not as other men, no, nor like that poor\npublican, who is smiting on his breast, as well such a sinner may. It is\nthe lowly in heart that God takes pleasure in. \"Thus saith the high and\nlofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, and whose name is Holy: I dwell in\nthe high and in the holy place, but with him also that is of a humble\nand contrite heart; to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive\nthe heart of the contrite one.\"\n\nWhen we turn to the song of the Virgin we find the same strain--\"He hath\nshowed strength with His arm, He hath scattered the proud in the\nimagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their\nseats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with\ngood things, and the rich He hath sent empty away.\" Undoubtedly these\nwords have primary reference to the social conditions of men. Thanks are\ngiven that the highest privilege that God could bestow on a creature had\nbeen conferred not on any one rolling in luxury, but on a maiden of the\nlowest class. This meaning does not exhaust the scope of the\nthanksgiving, which doubtless embraces that law of the spiritual kingdom\nto which Christ gave expression in the opening words of the Sermon on\nthe Mount, \"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of\nheaven.\" Yet it is plain that both the song of Hannah and the song of\nMary dwell with complacency on that feature of providence by which men\nof low degree are sometimes exalted, by which the beggar is sometimes\nlifted from the dunghill, and set among princes to inherit the throne of\nglory. Why is this? Can God have any sympathy with the spirit which\noften prevails in the bosom of the poor towards the rich, which rejoices\nin their downfall just because they are rich, and in the elevation of\nothers simply because they belong to the same class with themselves? The\nthought is not to be entertained for a moment. In God's government there\nis nothing partial or capricious. But the principle is this. Riches,\nfulness, luxury are apt to breed pride and contempt of the poor; and it\npleases God at times, when such evil fruits appear, to bring down these\nworthless rich men to the dust, in order to give a conspicuous rebuke to\nthe vanity, the ambition, the remorseless selfishness which were so\nconspicuous in their character. What but this was the lesson from the\nsudden fall of Cardinal Wolsey? Men, and even the best of men, thanked\nGod for that fall. Not that it gave them pleasure to see a poor wretch\nwho had been clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously\nevery day, reduced to so pitiful a plight; but because they felt it a\nrighteous thing and a wholesome thing that so proud and so wicked a\ncareer should be terminated by a conspicuous manifestation of the\ndispleasure of God. The best instincts of men's nature longed for a\ncheck to the monstrous pride and wicked avarice of that man; and when\nthat check was given, and given with such tremendous emphasis, there was\nnot an honest man or woman in all England who did not utter a hearty\n\"Praise God!\" when they heard the terrible news.\n\nSo also it pleases God to give conspicuous proofs from time to time that\nqualities that in poor men are often associated with a hard-working,\nhumble career are well-pleasing in His sight. For what qualities on the\npart of the poor are so valuable, in a social point of view, as\nindustry, self-denying diligence, systematic, unwearying devotion even\nto work which brings them such scanty remuneration? By far the greater\npart of such men and women are called to work on, unnoticed and\nunrewarded, and when their day is over to sink into an undistinguished\ngrave. But from time to time some such persons rise to distinction. The\nclass to which they belong is ennobled by their achievements. When God\nwished in the sixteenth century to achieve the great object of punishing\nthe Church which had fallen into such miserable inefficiency and\nimmorality, and wrenching half of Europe from its grasp, he found his\nprincipal agent in a poor miner's cottage in Saxony. When he desired to\nsummon a sleeping Church to the great work of evangelising India, the\nman he called to the front was Carey, a poor cobbler of Northampton.\nWhen it was his purpose to present His Church with an unrivalled picture\nof the Christian pilgrimage, its dangers and trials, its joys, its\nsorrows, and its triumphs, the artist appointed to the task was John\nBunyan, the tinker of Elstow. When the object was to provide a man that\nwould open the great continent of Africa to civilisation and\nChristianity, and who needed, in order to do this, to face dangers and\ntrials before which all ordinary men had shrunk, he found his agent in a\npoor spinner-boy, who was working twelve hours a day in a cotton mill on\nthe banks of the Clyde. In all such matters, in humbling the rich and\nexalting the poor, God's object is not to punish the one because they\nare rich, or to exalt the other because they are poor. In the one case\nit is to punish vices bred from an improper use of wealth, and in the\nother to reward virtues that have sprung from the soil of poverty. \"Poor\n_and_ pious parents,\" wrote David Livingstone on the tombstone of his\nparents at Hamilton, when he wished to record the grounds of his\nthankfulness for the position in life which they held. \"I would not\nexchange my peasant father for any king,\" said Thomas Carlyle, when he\nthought of the gems of Christian worth that had shone out all the\nbrighter amid the hard conditions of his father's life. Riches are no\nreproach, and poverty is no merit; but the pride so apt to be bred of\nriches, the idleness, the injustice, the selfishness so often associated\nwith them, is what God likes to reprove; and the graces that may be\nfound in the poor man's home, the unwearied devotion to duty, the\nneighbourliness and brotherly love, and above all the faith, the hope,\nand the charity are what He delights to honour.\n\nIn the spiritual sense there is no more important ingredient of\ncharacter in God's sight than the sense of emptiness, and the conviction\nthat all goodness, all strength, all blessing must come from God. The\nheart, thus emptied, is prepared to welcome the grace that is offered to\nsupply its needs. Air rushes into an exhausted receiver. Where the idea\nprevails either that we are possessed of considerable native goodness,\nor that we have only to take pains with ourselves to get it, there is no\nwelcome for the truth that \"by grace are ye saved.\" Whoever says, \"I am\nrich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing,\" knows not that\n\"he is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.\"\nMiserable they who live and die in this delusion! Happy they who have\nbeen taught, \"In me dwelleth no good thing.\" \"All my springs are in\nThee.\" Jesus Christ \"is made to us of God wisdom and righteousness and\nsanctification and redemption.\" \"Out of His fulness have we all\nreceived, and grace for grace.\"\n\n3. The third topic in Hannah's song is God's very gracious treatment of\nHis saints. \"He will keep the feet of His saints.\" The term \"feet\" shows\nthe reference to be to their earthly life, their steps, their course\nthrough the world. It is a promise which others would care for but\nlittle, but which is very precious to all believers. To know the way in\nwhich God would have one to go is of prime importance to every godly\nheart. To be kept from wandering into unblest ways, kept from trifling\nwith temptation, and dallying with sin is an infinite blessing. \"Oh that\nmy ways were directed to keep Thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed\nwhen I have respect unto all Thy commandments.\" \"He will keep the feet\nof His saints.\"\n\n4. And lastly, Hannah rejoices in that dispensation of mercy that was\ncoming in connection with God's \"king, His anointed\" (v. 10). Guided by\nthe Spirit, she sees that a king is coming, that a kingdom is to be set\nup, and ruled over by the Lord's anointed. She sees that God's blessing\nis to come down on the king, the anointed, and that under him the\nkingdom is to prosper and to spread. Did she catch a glimpse of what was\nto happen under such kings as David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah?\nDid she see in prophetic vision the loving care of such kings for the\nwelfare of the people, their holy zeal for God, their activity and\nearnestness in doing good? And did the glimpse of these coming benefits\nsuggest to her the thought of what was to be achieved by Him who was to\nbe the anointed one, the Messiah in a higher sense? We can hardly avoid\ngiving this scope to her song. It was but a small measure of these\nblessings that her son personally could bring about. Her son seems to\ngive place to a higher Son, through whom the land would be blessed as no\none else could have blessed it, and all hungry and thirsty souls would\nbe guided to that living bread and living water of which whosoever ate\nand drank should never hunger or thirst again.\n\nWhat is the great lesson of this song? That for the answer to prayer,\nfor deliverance from trial, for the fulfilment of hopes, for the\nglorious things yet spoken of the city of our God, our most cordial\nthanksgivings are due to God. Every Christian life presents numberless\noccasions that very specially call for such thanksgiving. But there is\none thanksgiving that must take precedence of all--\"Thanks be unto God\nfor His unspeakable gift.\" \"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord\nJesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us\nagain unto a living hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,\nand that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by\nthe power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in\nthe last day.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n_ELI'S HOUSE._\n\n1 SAMUEL ii. 11-36.\n\n\nThe notices of little Samuel, that alternate in this passage with the\nsad accounts of Eli and his house, are like the green spots that vary\nthe dull stretches of sand in a desert; or like the little bits of blue\nsky that charm your eye when the firmament is darkened by a storm. First\nwe are told how, after Elkanah and Hannah departed, the child Samuel\nministered unto the Lord before Eli the priest (v. 11); then comes an\nugly picture of the wickedness practised at Shiloh by Eli's sons (vv.\n12-17); another episode brings Samuel again before us, with some details\nof his own history and that of his family (vv. 18-21); this is followed\nby an account of Eli's feeble endeavours to restrain the wickedness of\nhis sons (vv. 22-25). Once more we have a bright glimpse of Samuel, and\nof his progress in life and character, very similar in terms to St.\nLuke's account of the growth of the child Jesus (v. 26); and finally the\nseries closes with a painful narrative--the visit of a man of God to\nEli, reproving his guilty laxity in connection with his sons, and\nannouncing the downfall of his house (vv. 27-36). In the wickedness of\nEli's sons we see the enemy coming in like a flood; in the progress of\nlittle Samuel we see the Spirit of the Lord lifting up a standard\nagainst him. We see evil powerful and most destructive; we see the\ninstrument of healing very feeble--a mere infant. Yet the power of God\nis with the infant, and in due time the force which he represents will\nprevail. It is just a picture of the grand conflict of sin and grace in\nthe world. It was verified emphatically when Jesus was a child. How\nslender the force seemed that was to scatter the world's darkness, roll\nback its wickedness, and take away its guilt! How striking the lesson\nfor us not to be afraid though the apparent force of truth and goodness\nin the world be infinitesimally small. The worm Jacob shall yet thresh\nthe mountains; the little flock shall yet possess the kingdom; \"there\nshall be a handful of corn on the top of the mountains, the fruit\nthereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish\nlike grass of the earth.\"\n\nIt is mainly the picture of Eli's house and the behaviour of his family\nthat fills our eye in this chapter. It is to be noticed that Eli was a\ndescendant, not of Eleazar, the elder son of Aaron, but of Ithamar, the\nyounger. Why the high priesthood was transferred from the one family to\nthe other, in the person of Eli, we do not know. Evidently Eli's claim\nto the priesthood was a valid one, for in the reproof addressed to him\nit is fully assumed that he was the proper occupant of the office. One\nis led to think that either from youth or natural feebleness the proper\nheir in Eleazar's line had been unfit for the office, and that Eli had\nbeen appointed to it as possessing the personal qualifications which the\nother wanted. Probably therefore he was a man of vigour in his earlier\ndays, one capable of being at the head of affairs; and if so his loose\ngovernment of his family was all the more worthy of blame. It could not\nhave been that the male line in Eleazar's family had failed; for in the\ntime of David Zadok of the family of Eleazar was priest, along with\nAbiathar, of the family of Ithamar and Eli. From Eli's administration\ngreat things would seem to have been expected; all the more lamentable\nand shameful was the state of things that ensued.\n\n1. First our attention is turned to the gross wickedness and scandalous\nbehaviour of Eli's sons. There are many dark pictures in the history of\nIsrael in the time of the Judges,--pictures of idolatry, pictures of\nlust, pictures of treachery, pictures of bloodshed; but there is none\nmore awful than the picture of the high priest's family at Shiloh. In\nthe other cases members of the nation had become grossly wicked; but in\nthis case it is the salt that has lost its savour--it is those who\nshould have led the people in the ways of God that have become the\nringleaders of the devil's army. Hophni and Phinehas take their places\nin that unhonoured band where the names of Alexander Borgia, and many a\nhigh ecclesiastic of the Middle Ages send forth their stinking savour.\nThey are marked by the two prevailing vices of the lowest natures--greed\nand lechery. Their greed preys upon the worthy men who brought their\nofferings to God's sanctuary in obedience to His law; their lechery\nseduces the very women who, employed in the service of the place (see\nRevised Version), might have reasonably thought of it as the gate to\nheaven rather than the avenue of hell. So shameless were they in both\nkinds of vice that they were at no pains to conceal either the one or\nthe other. It mattered nothing what regulations God had made as to the\nparts of the offering the priest was to have; down went their fork into\nthe sacrificial caldron, and whatever it drew up became theirs. It\nmattered not that the fat of certain sacrifices was due to God, and that\nit ought to have been given off before any other use was made of the\nflesh; the priests claimed the flesh in its integrity, and if the\nofferer would not willingly surrender it their servant fell upon him and\nwrenched it away. It is difficult to say whether the greater hurt was\ninflicted by such conduct on the cause of religion or on the cause of\nordinary morality. As for the cause of religion, it suffered that\nterrible blow which it always suffers whenever it is dissociated from\nmorality. The very heart and soul is torn out of religion when men are\nled to believe that their duty consists in merely believing certain\ndogmas, attending to outward observances, paying dues, and \"performing\"\nworship. What kind of conception of God can men have who are encouraged\nto believe that justice, mercy, and truth have nothing to do with His\nservice? How can they ever think of Him as a Spirit, who requires of\nthem that worship Him that they worship Him in spirit and in truth? How\ncan such religion give men a real veneration for God, or inspire them\nwith that spirit of obedience, trust, and delight of which he ought ever\nto be the object? Under such religion all belief in God's existence\ntends to vanish. Though His existence may continue to be acknowledged,\nit is not a power, it has no influence; it neither stimulates to good\nnor restrains from evil. Religion becomes a miserable form, without\nlife, without vigour, without beauty--a mere carcase deserving only to\nbe buried out of sight.\n\nAnd if such a condition of things is fatal to religion, it is fatal to\nmorality too. Men are but too ready by nature to play loose with\nconscience. But when the religious heads of the nation are seen at once\nrobbing man and robbing God, and when this is done apparently with\nimpunity, it seems foolish to ordinary men to mind moral restraints.\n\"Why should we mind the barriers of conscience\" (the young men of Israel\nmight argue) \"when these young priests disregard them? If we do as the\npriest does we shall do very well.\" Men of corrupt lives at the head of\nreligion, who are shameless in their profligacy, have a lowering effect\non the moral life of the whole community. Down and down goes the\nstandard of living. Class after class gets infected. The mischief\nspreads like dry rot in a building; ere long the whole fabric of society\nis infected with the poison.\n\n2. And how did the high priest deal with this state of things? In the\nworst possible way. He spoke against it but he did not act against it.\nHe showed that he knew of it, he owned it to be very wicked; but he\ncontented himself with words of remonstrance, which in the case of such\nhardened transgression were of no more avail than a child's breath\nagainst a brazen wall. At the end of the day, it is true that Eli was a\ndecrepit old man, from whom much vigour of action could not have been\nexpected. But the evil began before he was so old and decrepit, and his\nfault was that he did not restrain his sons at the time when he ought\nand might have restrained them. Yes, but even if Eli was old and\ndecrepit when the actual state of things first burst on his view, there\nwas enough of the awful in the conduct of his sons to have roused him to\nunwonted activity. David was old and decrepit, lying feebly at the edge\nof death, when word was brought to him that Adonijah had been proclaimed\nking in place of Solomon, for whom he had destined the throne. But\nthere was enough of the startling in this intelligence to bring back a\nportion of its youthful fire to David's heart, and set him to devise the\nmost vigorous measures to prevent the mischief that was so ready to be\nperpetrated. Fancy King David sending a meek message to Adonijah--\"Nay,\nmy son, it is not on your head but on Solomon's that my crown is to\nrest; go home, my son, and do nothing more in a course hurtful to\nyourself and hurtful to your people.\" But; it was this foolish and most\ninefficient course that Eli took with his sons. Had he acted as he\nshould have acted at the beginning, matters would never have come to\nsuch a flagrant pass. But when the state of things became so terrible,\nthere was but one course that should have been thought of. When the\nwickedness of the acting priests was so outrageous that men abhorred the\noffering of the Lord, the father ought to have been sunk in the high\npriest; the men who had so dishonoured their office should have been\ndriven from the place, and the very remembrance of the crime they had\ncommitted should have been obliterated by the holy lives and holy\nservice of better men. It was inexcusable in Eli to allow them to\nremain. If he had had a right sense of his office he would never for one\nmoment have allowed the interest of his family to outweigh the claims of\nGod. What! Had God in the wilderness, by a solemn and deadly judgment,\nremoved from office and from life the two elder sons of Aaron simply\nbecause they had offered strange fire in their censers? And what was the\ncrime of offering strange fire compared to the crime of robbing God, of\nviolating the Decalogue, of openly practising gross and daring\nwickedness, under the very shadow of the tabernacle? If Eli did not take\nsteps for stopping these atrocious proceedings, he might rely on it\nthat steps would be taken in another quarter--God Himself would mark His\nsense of the sin.\n\nFor what were the interests of his sons compared with the credit of the\nnational worship? What mattered it that the sudden stroke would fall on\nthem with startling violence? If it did not lead to their repentance and\nsalvation it would at least save the national religion from degradation,\nand it would thus bring benefit to tens of thousands in the land. All\nthis Eli did not regard. He could not bring himself to be harsh to his\nown sons. He could not bear that they should be disgraced and degraded.\nHe would satisfy himself with a mild remonstrance, notwithstanding that\nevery day new disgrace was heaped on the sanctuary, and new\nencouragement given to others to practise wickedness, by the very men\nwho should have been foremost in honouring God, and sensitive to every\nbreath that would tarnish His name.\n\nHow differently God's servants acted in other days! How differently\nMoses acted when he came down from the mount and found the people\nworshipping the golden calf! \"It came to pass, as soon as he came nigh\nunto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing: and Moses' anger\nwaxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands and brake them\nbeneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt\nit in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water,\nand made the children of Israel drink of it.... And Moses stood in the\ngate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto\nme. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And\nhe said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his\nsword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate through the camp,\nand slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every\nman his neighbour.\" Do we think this too sharp and severe a retribution?\nAt all events it marked in a suitable way the enormity of the offence of\nAaron and the people, and the awful provocation of Divine judgments\nwhich the affair of the golden calf implied. It denoted that in presence\nof such a sin the claims of kindred were never for a moment to be\nthought of; and in the blessing of Moses it was a special commendation\nof the zeal of Levi, that \"he said unto his father, and to his mother, I\nhave not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his\nown children.\" It was the outrageous character of the offence in the\nmatter of the golden calf that justified the severe and abrupt\nprocedure; but it was Eli's condemnation that though the sin of his sons\nwas equally outrageous, he was moved to no indignation, and took no step\nto rid the tabernacle of men so utterly unworthy.\n\nIt is often very difficult to explain how it comes to pass that godly\nmen have had ungodly children. There is little difficulty in accounting\nfor this on the present occasion. There was a fatal defect in the method\nof Eli. His remonstrance with his sons is not made at the proper time.\nIt is not made in the fitting tone. When disregarded, it is not followed\nup by the proper consequences. We can easily think of Eli letting the\nboys have their own will and their own way when they were young;\nthreatening them for disobedience, but not executing the threat; angry\nat them when they did wrong, but not punishing the offence; vacillating\nperhaps between occasional severity and habitual indulgence, till\nby-and-bye all fear of sinning had left them, and they coolly calculated\nthat the grossest wickedness would meet with nothing worse than a\nreproof. How sad the career of the young men themselves! We must not\nforget that, however inexcusable their father was, the great guilt of\nthe proceeding was theirs. How must they have hardened their hearts\nagainst the example of Eli, against the solemn claims of God, against\nthe holy traditions of the service, against the interests and claims of\nthose whom they ruined, against the welfare of God's chosen people! How\nterribly did their familiarity with sacred things react on their\ncharacter, making them treat even the holy priesthood as a mere trade, a\ntrade in which the most sacred interests that could be conceived were\nonly as counters, to be turned by them into gain and sensual pleasure!\nCould anything come nearer to the sin against the Holy Ghost? No wonder\nthough their doom was that of persons judicially blinded and hardened.\nThey were given up to a reprobate mind, to do those things that were not\nconvenient. \"They hearkened not to the voice of their father, because\nthe Lord would slay them.\" They experienced the fate of men who\ndeliberately sin against the light, who love their lusts so well that\nnothing will induce them to fight against them; they were so hardened\nthat repentance became impossible, and it was necessary for them to\nundergo the full retribution of their wickedness.\n\n3. But it is time we should look at the message brought to Eli by the\nman of God. In that message Eli was first reminded of the gracious\nkindness shown to the house of Aaron in their being entrusted with the\npriesthood, and in their having an honourable provision secured for\nthem. Next he is asked why he trampled on God's sacrifice and offering\n(marg. Revised Version), and considered the interests of his sons above\nthe honour of God? Then he is told that any previous promise of the\nperpetuity of his house is now qualified by the necessity God is under\nto have regard to the character of his priests, and honour or degrade\nthem accordingly. In accordance with this rule the house of Eli would\nsuffer a terrible degradation. He (this includes his successors in\noffice) would be stript of \"his arm,\" that is, his strength. No member\nof his house would reach a good old age. The establishment at Shiloh\nwould fall more and more into decay, as if there was an enemy in God's\nhabitation. Any who might remain of the family would be a grief and\ndistress to those whom Eli represented. The young men themselves, Hophni\nand Phinehas, would die the same day. Those who shared their spirit\nwould come crouching to the high priest of the day and implore him to\nput them into one of the priest's offices, not to give them the\nopportunity of serving God, but that they might eat a piece of bread.\nTerrible catalogue of curses and calamities! Oh, sin, what a brood of\nsorrows dost thou bring forth! Oh, young man, who walkest in the ways of\nthine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes, what a myriad of distresses\ndost thou prepare for those whom thou art most bound to care for and to\nbless! Oh, minister of the gospel, who allowest thyself to tamper with\nthe cravings of the flesh till thou hast brought ruin on thyself,\ndisgrace on thy family, and confusion on thy Church, what infatuation\nwas it to admit thy worst foe to the sanctuary of thy bosom, and allow\nhim to establish himself in the citadel till thou couldst not get quit\nof him, so that thou art now helpless in his hands, with nothing but\nsadness for thy present inheritance, and for the future a fearful\nlooking for of judgment and fiery indignation!\n\nOne word, in conclusion, respecting that great principle of the kingdom\nof God announced by the prophet as that on which Jehovah would act in\nreference to His priests--\"Them that honour Me I will honour, but they\nthat despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.\" It is one of the grandest\nsayings in Scripture. It is the eternal rule of the kingdom of God, not\nlimited to the days of Hophni and Phinehas, but, like the laws of the\nMedes and Persians, eternal as the ordinances of heaven. It is a law\nconfirmed by all history; every man's life confirms it, for though this\nlife is but the beginning of our career, and the final clearing up of\nDivine providence is to be left to the judgment-day, yet when we look\nback on the world's history we find that those that have honoured God,\nGod has honoured them, while they that have despised Him have indeed\nbeen lightly esteemed. However men may try to get their destiny into\ntheir own hands; however they may secure themselves from this trouble\nand from that; however, like the first Napoleon, they may seem to become\nomnipotent, and to wield an irresistible power, yet the day of\nretribution comes at last; having sown to the flesh, of the flesh also\nthey reap corruption. While the men that have honoured God, the men that\nhave made their own interests of no account, but have set themselves\nresolutely to obey God's will and do God's work; the men that have\nbelieved in God as the holy Ruler and Judge of the world, and have\nlaboured in private life and in public service to carry out the great\nrules of His kingdom,--justice, mercy, the love of God and the love of\nman,--these are the men that God has honoured; these are the men whose\nwork abides; these are the men whose names shine with undying honour,\nand from whose example and achievements young hearts in every following\nage draw their inspiration and encouragement. What a grand rule of life\nit is, for old and young! Do you wish a maxim that shall be of high\nservice to you in the voyage of life, that shall enable you to steer\nyour barque safely both amid the open assaults of evil, and its secret\ncurrents, so that, however tossed you may be, you may have the assurance\nthat the ship's head is in the right direction, and that you are moving\nsteadily towards the desired haven; where can you find anything more\nclear, more fitting, more sure and certain than just these words of the\nAlmighty, \"Them that honour Me I will honour; but they that despise Me\nshall be lightly esteemed\"?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n_SAMUEL'S VISION._\n\n1 SAMUEL iii.\n\n\nIt is evident that Samuel must have taken very kindly to the duties of\nthe sanctuary. He was manifestly one of those who are sanctified from\ninfancy, and whose hearts go from the first with sacred duties. There\nwere no wayward impulses to subdue, no hankerings after worldly freedom\nand worldly enjoyment; there was no necessity for coercive measures,\neither to restrain him from outbursts of frivolity or to compel him to\ndiligence and regularity in his calling. From the first he looked with\nsolemn awe and holy interest on all that related to the worship of God;\nthat, to him, was the duty above all other duties, the privilege above\nall other privileges. God to him was not a mere idea, an abstraction,\nrepresenting merely the dogmas and services of religion. God was a\nreality, a personality, a Being who dealt very closely with men, and\nwith whom they were called to deal very closely too. We can easily\nconceive how desirous little Samuel would be to know something of the\nmeaning of the services at Shiloh; how scrupulous to perform every duty,\nhow regular and real in his prayers, and how full of reverence and\naffection for God. He would go about all his duties with a grave,\nsweet, earnest face, conscious of their importance and solemnity; always\nthinking more of them than of anything else,--thinking perhaps of the\nservice of the angels in heaven, and trying to serve God as they served\nHim, to do God's will on earth as it was done in heaven.\n\nAt the opening of this chapter he seems to be the confidential servant\nof the high priest, sleeping near to him, and in the habit of receiving\ndirections from him. He must be more than a child now, otherwise he\nwould not be entrusted, as he was, with the opening of the doors of the\nhouse of the Lord.\n\nThe evil example of Hophni and Phinehas, so far from corrupting him,\nseems to have made him more resolute the other way. It was horrid and\ndisgusting; and as gross drunkenness on the part of a father sometimes\nsets the children the more against it, so the profligacy of the young\npriests would make Samuel more vigilant in every matter of duty. That\nEli bore as he did with the conduct of his sons must have been a great\nperplexity to him, and a great sorrow; but it did not become one at his\ntime of life to argue the question with the aged high priest. This\nconduct of Eli's did not in any respect diminish the respectful bearing\nof Samuel towards him, or his readiness to comply with his every wish.\nFor Eli was God's high priest; and in engaging to be God's servant in\nthe tabernacle Samuel knew well that he took the high priest as his\nearthly master.\n\n1. The first thing that engages our special attention in this chapter is\nthe singular way in which Samuel was called to receive God's message in\nthe temple.\n\nThe word of God was rare in those days; there was no open vision, or\nrather no vision that came abroad, that was promulgated to the nation\nas the expression of God's will. From the tone in which this is referred\nto, it was evidently looked on as a want, as placing the nation in a\nless desirable position than in days when God was constantly\ncommunicating His will. Now, however, God is to come into closer contact\nwith the people, and for this purpose He is to employ a new instrument\nas the medium of His messages. For God is never at a loss for suitable\ninstruments--they are always ready when peculiar work has to be done. In\nthe selection of the boy Samuel as his prophet there is something\npainful, but likewise something very interesting. It is painful to find\nthe old high priest passed over; his venerable years and venerable\noffice would naturally have pointed to him; but in spite of many good\nqualities, in one point he is grossly unfaithful, and the very purpose\nof the vision now to be made is to declare the outcome of his\nfaithlessness. But it is interesting to find that already the child of\nHannah is marked out for this distinguished service. Even in his case\nthere is opportunity for verifying the rule, \"Them that honour Me I will\nhonour.\" His entire devotion to God's service, so beautiful in one of\nsuch tender years, is the sign of a character well adapted to become the\nmedium of God's habitual communications with His people. Young though he\nis, his very youth in one sense will prove an advantage. It will show\nthat what he speaks is not the mere fruit of his own thinking, but is\nthe message of God. It will show that the spiritual power that goes\nforth with his words is not his own native force, but the force of the\nHoly Spirit dwelling in him. It will thus be made apparent to all that\nGod has not forsaken His people, corrupt and lamentably wicked though\nthe young priests are.\n\nBoth Eli and Samuel sleep within the precincts of the tabernacle. Not,\nhowever, in the sanctuary itself, but in one of those buildings that\nopened into its courts, which were erected for the accommodation of the\npriests and Levites. Eli's sight was failing him, and perhaps the care\nof the lamp as well as the door was entrusted to Samuel. The lamp was to\nburn always (Exod. xxvii. 20), that is, it was to be trimmed and lighted\nevery morning and evening (Exod. xxx. 7, 8); and to attend to this was\nprimarily the high priest's duty. The lamp had doubtless been duly\ntrimmed, and it would probably continue burning through a good part of\nthe night. It was not yet out when a voice fell on the ears of Samuel,\nloud enough to rouse him from the profound slumber into which he had\nprobably fallen. Thinking it was Eli's, he ran to his side; but Eli had\nnot called him. Again the voice sounded, again Samuel springs to his\nfeet and hastens to the high priest; again he is sent back with the same\nassurance. A third time the voice calls; a third time the willing and\ndutiful Samuel flies to Eli's side, but this time he is sent back with a\ndifferent answer. Hitherto Samuel had not known the Lord--that is, he\nhad not been cognisant of His way of communicating with men in a\nsupernatural form--and it had never occurred to him that such a thing\ncould happen in his case. But Eli knew that such communications were\nmade at times by God, and, remembering the visit of the man of God to\nhimself, he may have surmised that this was another such occasion. The\nvoice evidently was no natural voice; so Samuel is told to lie down once\nmore, to take the attitude of simple receptiveness, and humbly invite\nGod to utter His message.\n\nThere are some lesser traits of Samuel's character in this part of the\ntransaction which ought not to be passed over without remark. The\nreadiness with which he springs from his bed time after time, and the\nmeekness and patience with which he asks Eli for his orders, without a\nword of complaint on his apparently unreasonable conduct, make it very\nclear that Samuel had learned to subdue two things--to subdue his body\nand to subdue his temper. It is not an easy thing for a young person in\nthe midst of a deep sleep to spring to his feet time after time. In such\ncircumstances the body is very apt to overcome the mind. But Samuel's\nmind overcame the body. The body was the servant, not the master. What\nan admirable lesson Samuel had already learned! Few parts of early\neducation are so important as to learn to keep the body in subjection.\nTo resist bodily cravings, whether greater or smaller, which unfit one\nfor duty; temptations to drink, or smoke, or dawdle, or lie in bed, or\nwaste time when one ought to be up and doing; to be always ready for\none's work, punctual, methodical, purpose-like, save only when sickness\nintervenes,--denotes a very admirable discipline for a young person, and\nis a sure token of success in life. Not less admirable is that control\nover the temper which Samuel had evidently acquired. To be treated by\nEli as he supposed that he had been, was highly provoking. Why drag him\nout of bed at that time of night at all? Why drag him over the cold\nstones in the chill darkness, and why tantalise him first by denying\nthat he called him and then by calling him again? As far as appears,\nSamuel's temper was in no degree ruffled by the treatment he appeared to\nbe receiving from Eli; he felt that he was a servant, and Eli was his\nmaster, and it was his part to obey his master, however unreasonable\nhis treatment might be.\n\n2. We proceed now to the message itself, and Samuel's reception of it.\nIt is substantially a repetition of what God had already communicated to\nEli by the man of God a few years before; only it is more peremptory,\nand the bearing of it is more fixed and rigid. When God denounced His\njudgment on Eli's house by the prophet, he seems to have intended to\ngive them an opportunity to repent. If Eli had bestirred himself then,\nand banished the young men from Shiloh, and if his sons in their\naffliction and humiliation had repented of their wickedness, the\nthreatened doom might have been averted. So at least we are led to\nbelieve by this second message having been superadded to the first. Now\nthe opportunity of repentance has passed away. God's words are very\nexplicit--\"I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's\nhouse shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.\" After\nthe previous warning, Eli seems to have gone on lamenting but not\nchastising. Hophni and Phinehas seem to have gone on sinning as before,\nand heedless of the scandal they were causing. In announcing to Samuel\nthe coming catastrophe, God shows Himself thoroughly alive to the\nmagnitude of the punishment He is to inflict, and the calamity that is\nto happen. It is such that the ears of every one that heareth it shall\ntingle. God shows also that, painful though it is, it has been\ndeliberately determined, and no relenting will occur when once the\nterrible retribution begins. \"In that day will I perform against Eli all\nthat I have spoken concerning his house; when I begin I will also make\nan end.\" But terrible though the punishment will be, there is only too\ngood cause for it. \"For I have told him that I will judge his house for\never, for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made\nthemselves vile, and he restrained them not.\" There are some good\nparents whose sons have made themselves vile, and they would fain have\nrestrained them but their efforts to restrain have been in vain. The\nfault of Eli was, that he might have restrained them and he did not\nrestrain them. In those times fathers had more authority over their\nfamilies than is given them now. The head of the house was counted\nresponsible for the house, because it was only by his neglecting the\npower he had that his family could become openly wicked. It was only by\nEli neglecting the power he had that his sons could have become so vile.\nWhere his sons were heirs to such sacred functions there was a double\ncall to restrain them, and that call he neglected. He neglected it at\nthe time when he might have done it, and that time could never be\nrecalled.\n\nSo, there is an age when children may be restrained, and if that age is\nallowed to pass the power of restraining them goes along with it. There\nare faults in this matter on the part of many parents, on the right hand\nand on the left. Many err by not restraining at all. Mothers begin while\ntheir children are yet infants to humour their every whim, and cannot\nbear to hold back from them anything they may wish. It is this habit\nthat is liable to have such a terrible reaction. There are other parents\nthat while they restrain do not restrain wisely. They punish, but they\ndo not punish in love. They are angry because their children have broken\ntheir rules; they punish in anger, and the punishment falls merely as\nthe blow of a stronger person on a weaker. It does not humble, it does\nnot soften. What awful consequences it often brings! What skeletons it\nlodges in many a house! God has designed the family to be the nurse of\nwhat is best and purest in human life, and when this design is crossed\nthen the family institution, which was designed to bring the purest joy,\nbreeds the darkest misery. And this is one of the forms of retribution\non wickedness which we see carried out in their fulness in the present\nlife! How strange, that men should be in any doubt as to God carrying\nout the retribution of wickedness to the bitter end! How singular they\nshould disbelieve in a hell! The end of many a career is written in\nthese words:--\"Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy\nbackslidings shall reprove thee; know therefore, and see that it is an\nevil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that\nMy fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.\"\n\n3. And now we go on to the meeting of Eli and Samuel. Samuel is in no\nhaste to communicate to Eli the painful message he has received. He has\nnot been required to do it, and he lies till the morning, awake we may\nbelieve, but staggered and dismayed. As usual he goes to open the doors\nof God's house. And then it is that Eli calls him. \"What is the thing\nthat He hath said unto thee?\" he asks. He adjures Samuel to tell him\nall. And Samuel does tell him all. And Eli listens in silence, and when\nit is over he says, with meek resignation, \"It is the Lord; let Him do\nwhat seemeth Him good.\"\n\nWe are touched by this behaviour of Eli. First we are touched by his\nbearing toward Samuel. He knows that God has conferred an honour on\nSamuel which He has not bestowed on him, but young though Samuel is he\nfeels no jealousy, he betrays no sign of wounded pride. It is not easy\nfor God's servants to bear being passed over in favour of others, in\nfavour of younger men. A feeling of mortification is apt to steal on\nthem, accompanied with some bitterness toward the object of God's\npreference. This venerable old man shows nothing of that feeling. He is\nnot too proud to ask Samuel for a full account of God's message. He will\nnot have him leave anything out, out of regard to his feelings. He must\nknow the whole, however painful it may be. He has learned to reverence\nGod's truth, and he cannot bear the idea of not knowing all. And Samuel,\nwho did not wish to tell him anything, is now constrained to tell him\nthe whole. \"He told him every whit, and hid nothing from him.\" He did\nnot shun to declare to him the whole counsel of God. Admirable example\nfor all God's servants! How averse some men are to hear the truth! And\nhow prone are we to try to soften what is disagreeable in our message to\nsinners--to take off the sharp edge, and sheathe it in generalities and\npossibilities. It is no real kindness. The kindest thing we can do is to\ndeclare God's doom on sin, and to assure men that any hopes they may\ncherish of His relenting to do as He has said are vain hopes--\"When I\nbegin,\" says God, \"I will also make an end.\"\n\nAnd we are touched further by Eli's resignation to God's will. The words\nof Samuel must have raised a deep agony in his spirit when he thought of\nthe doom of his sons. Feeble though he was, there might have arisen in\nhis heart a gust of fierce rebellion against that doom. But nothing of\nthe kind took place. Eli was memorable for the passive virtues. He could\nbear much, though he could dare little. He could submit, but he could\nnot fight. We find him here meekly recognizing the Divine will. God has\na right to do what He will with His own; and who am I that I should cry\nout against Him? He is the Supreme Disposer of all events; why should a\nworm like me stand in His way? He submits implicitly to God. \"The thing\nformed must not say to Him that formed him, Why hast Thou formed me\nthus\"? What God ordains must be right. It is a terrible blow to Eli, but\nhe may understand the bearings of it better in another state. He bows to\nthat Supreme Will which he has learned to trust and to honour above\nevery force in the universe.\n\nYes, we are touched by Eli's meekness and submission. And yet, though\nEli had in him the stuff that martyrs are often made of, his character\nwas essentially feeble, and his influence was not wholesome. He wanted\nthat resolute purpose which men like Daniel possessed. His will was too\nfeeble to control his life. He was too apprehensive of immediate\ntrouble, of present inconvenience and unpleasantness, to carry out firm\nprinciples of action against wickedness, even in his own family. He was\na memorable instance of the soundness of the principle afterwards laid\ndown by St. Paul: \"If a man know not how to rule his own house, how\nshall he take care of the Church of God?\" He greatly needed the\nexhortation which God gave to Joshua--\"Be strong and of a good courage.\"\nIt is true his infirmity was one of natural temperament. Men might say\nhe could not help it. Neither can one overcome temperament altogether.\nBut men of feeble temperament, especially when set over others, have\ngreat need to watch it, and ask God to strengthen them where they are\nweak. Divine grace has a wonderful power to make up the defects of\nnature. Timid, irresolute Peter was a different man after his fall.\nDivine grace turned him into a rock after all. The coward who had shrunk\nfrom before a maiden got courage to defy a whole Sanhedrim. In the\nministers of God's house the timid, crouching spirit is specially\nunseemly. They, at least, would need to rest on firm convictions, and to\nbe governed by a resolute will. \"Finally, brethren, be strong in the\nLord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that\nye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to\nstand.\"\n\n4. Samuel is now openly known to be the prophet of the Lord. \"Samuel\ngrew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to\nthe ground.\" Little didst thou think, Hannah, some twenty years ago,\nthat the child thou didst then ask of the Lord would ere long supersede\nthe high priest who showed so little tact and judgment in interpreting\nthe agitation of thy spirit! No, thou hast no feeling against the\nvenerable old man; but thou canst not but wonder at the ups and downs of\nProvidence; thou canst not but recall the words of thine own song, \"He\nbringeth low, and lifteth up.\" And Samuel has not to fight his way to\npublic recognition, or wait long till it come. \"All Israel, from Dan\neven to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of\nthe Lord.\"\n\nAnd by-and-bye other oracles came to him, by which all men might have\nknown that he was the recognized channel of communication between God\nand the people. We shall see in our next chapter into what trouble the\nnation was brought by disregarding his prophetic office, and recklessly\ndetermining to drag the ark of God into the battlefield. Meanwhile we\ncannot but remark what a dangerous position, in a mere human point of\nview, Samuel now occupied. The danger was that which a young man\nencounters when suddenly or early raised to the possession of high\nspiritual power. Samuel, though little more than a boy, was now\nvirtually the chief man in Israel. Set so high, his natural danger was\ngreat. But God, who placed him there, sustained in him the spirit of\nhumble dependence. After all he was but God's servant. Humble obedience\nwas still his duty. And in this higher sphere his career was but a\ncontinuation of what had been described when it was said, \"The child\nSamuel ministered to the Lord in Shiloh.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n_THE ARK OF GOD TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES._\n\n1 SAMUEL iv.\n\n\nWe are liable to form an erroneous impression of the connection of\nSamuel with the transactions of this chapter, in consequence of a clause\nwhich ought to belong to the last chapter, being placed, in the\nAuthorized Version, at the beginning of this. The clause \"And the word\nof Samuel came to all Israel\" belongs really to the preceding chapter.\nIt denotes that Samuel was now over all Israel the recognized channel of\ncommunication between the people and God. But it does not denote that\nthe war with the Philistines, of which mention is immediately made, was\nundertaken at Samuel's instance. In fact, the whole chapter is\nremarkable for the absence of Samuel's name. What is thus denoted seems\nto be that Samuel was not consulted either about the war or about the\ntaking of the ark into the battle. Whatever he may have thought of the\nwar, he would undoubtedly have been horrified at the proposal about the\nark. That whole transaction must have seemed to him a piece of\ninfatuation. Probably it was carried into effect in a kind of tumultuous\nfrenzy. But there can be no reasonable doubt that whatever Samuel could\nhave done to oppose it would have been done with the greatest\neagerness.\n\nThe history is silent about the Philistines from the days of Samson. The\nlast we have heard of them was the fearful tragedy at the death of that\ngreat Judge of Israel, when the house fell upon the lords and the\npeople, and such a prodigious slaughter of their great men took place.\nFrom that calamity they seem now to have revived. They would naturally\nbe desirous to revenge that unexampled catastrophe, and as Ebenezer and\nAphek are situated in the land of Israel, it would seem that the\nPhilistines were the aggressors. They had come up from the Philistine\nplain to the mountainous country of Israel, and no doubt had already\nsent many of the people to flight through whose farms they came. As the\nIsraelites had no standing army, the troops that opposed the Philistines\ncould be little better than an untrained horde. When they joined battle,\nIsrael was smitten before the Philistines, and they slew of the army\nabout four thousand men. In a moral point of view the defeat was\nstrange; the Philistines had made the attack, and the Israelites were\nfighting for their homes and hearths; yet victory was given to the\ninvaders, and in four thousand homes of Israel there was lamentation and\nwoe.\n\nBut this was not really strange. Israel needed chastening, and the\nPhilistines were God's instruments for that purpose. In particular,\njudgment was due to the sons of Eli; and the defeat inflicted by the\nPhilistines, and the mistaken and superstitious notion which seized on\nthe people that they would do well to take God's ark into the battle,\nwere the means by which their punishment came. How often Providence\nseems to follow a retrograde course! And yet it is a forward course all\nthe time, although from our point of view it seems backward; just as\nthose planets which are nearer the sun than the earth sometimes seem to\nus to reverse the direction of their movement; although if we were\nplaced in the centre of the system we should see very plainly that they\nare moving steadily forward all the time.\n\nThree things call for special notice in the main narrative of this\nchapter--1. The preparation for the battle; 2. The battle itself; and 3.\nThe result when the news was carried to Shiloh.\n\n1. The preparation for the battle was the sending for the ark of the\nLord to Shiloh, so that Israel might fight under the immediate presence\nand protection of their God.\n\nIt seemed a brilliant idea. Whichever of the elders first suggested it,\nit caught at once, and was promptly acted on. There were two great\nobjections to it, but if they were so much as entertained they certainly\nhad no effect given them. The first was, that the elders had no\nlegitimate control over the ark. The custody of it belonged to the\npriests and the Levites, and Eli was the high priest. If the rulers of\nthe nation at any time desired to remove the ark (as David afterwards\ndid when he placed it on Mount Zion), that could only be done after\nclear indications that the step was in accordance with the will of God,\nand with the full consent of the priests. There is no reason to suppose\nthat any means were taken to find out whether its removal to the camp\nwas in accordance with the will of God; and as to the mind of the\npriests, Eli was probably passed over as too old and too blind to be\nconsulted, and Hophni and Phinehas would be restrained by no scruples\nfrom an act which every one seemed to approve. The second great\nobjection to the step was that it was a superstitious and irreverent use\nof the symbol of God's presence. Evidently the people ascribed to the\nsymbol the glorious properties that belonged only to the reality. They\nexpected that the symbol of God's presence would do for them all that\nmight be done by His presence itself. And doubtless there had been\noccasions when the symbol and the reality went together. In the\nwilderness, in the days of Moses, \"It came to pass, when the ark set\nforward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be\nscattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee\" (Num. x. 35).\nBut these were occasions determined by the cloud rising and going before\nthe host, an unmistakable indication of the will of God (Num. ix.\n15-22). God's real presence accompanied the ark on these occasions, and\nall that was expressed in the symbol was actually enjoyed by the people.\nThere was no essential or inherent connection between the two; the\nactual connection was determined merely by the good pleasure of God. It\npleased Him to connect them, and connected they were. But the ignorant\nand superstitious elders forgot that the connection between the symbol\nand the reality was of this nature; they believed it to be inherent and\nessential. In their unthinking and unreasoning minds the symbol might be\nrelied on to produce all the effect of the reality. If only the ark of\nGod were carried into the battle, the same effect would take place as\nwhen Moses said in the wilderness, \"Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies\nbe scattered.\"\n\nCould anything show more clearly the unspiritual tendencies of the human\nmind in its conceptions of God, and of the kind of worship He should\nreceive? The idea of God as the living God is strangely foreign to the\nhuman heart. To think of God as one who has a will and purpose of His\nown, and who will never give His countenance to any undertaking that\ndoes not agree with that will and purpose, is very hard for the\nunspiritual man. To make the will of God the first consideration in any\nenterprise, so that it is not to be thought of if He do not approve, and\nis never to be despaired of if He be favourable, is a bondage and a\ntrouble beyond his ability. Yet even superstitious men believe in a\nsupernatural power. And they believe in the possibility of enlisting\nthat power on their side. And the method they take is to ascribe the\nvirtue of a charm to certain external objects with which that power is\nassociated. The elders of Israel ascribed this virtue to the ark. They\nnever inquired whether the enterprise was agreeable to the mind and will\nof God. They never asked whether in this case there was any ground for\nbelieving that the symbol and the reality would go together. They simply\nascribed to the symbol the power of a talisman, and felt secure of\nvictory under its shadow.\n\nWould that we could think of this spirit as extinct even in Christian\ncommunities! What is the Romish and the very High Church doctrine of the\nsacraments but an ascription to them, when rightly used, of the power of\na charm? The sacraments, as Scripture teaches, are symbols of very\nglorious realities, and wherever the symbols are used in accordance with\nGod's will the realities are sure to be enjoyed. But it has long been\nthe doctrine of the Church of Rome, and it is the doctrine of Churches,\nwith similar views, that the sacraments are reservoirs of grace, and\nthat to those who place no fatal obstacle in their way, grace comes from\nthem _ex opere operato_, from the very act of receiving them. It is the\nProtestant and scriptural doctrine that by stimulating faith, by\nencouraging us to look to the living Saviour, and draw from Him in whom\nall fulness dwells, the sacraments bring to us copious supplies of\ngrace, but that without the presence of that living Saviour they would\nbe merely as empty wells. The High Church view regards them as charms,\nthat have a magic virtue to bless the soul. The superstitious mother\nthinks if only her child is baptised it will be saved, the act of\nbaptism will do it, and she never thinks of the living Saviour and His\nglorious grace. The dying sinner thinks, if only he had the last\nsacraments, he would be borne peacefully and well through the dark\nscenes of death and judgment, and forgets that the commandment of\nScripture is not, Look unto the last sacraments, but, \"Look _unto Me_\nand be ye saved.\" Alas! what will men not substitute for personal\ndealings with the living God? The first book and the last book of the\nBible present sad proof of his recoil from such contact. In Genesis, as\nman hears God's voice, he runs to hide himself among the trees of the\ngarden. In Revelation, when the Judge appears, men call on the mountains\nto fall on them and hide them from Him that sitteth on the throne. Only\nwhen we see God's face, beautiful and loving, in Christ, can this\naversion be overcome.\n\nIf the presence of the ark in the field of battle did much to excite the\nhopes of the Israelites, it did not less to raise the fears of their\nopponents. The shout with which its arrival was hailed by the one struck\nsomething of consternation into the breasts of the other. But now, an\neffect took place on which the Israelites had not reckoned. The\nPhilistines were too wise a people to yield to panic. If the Hebrew God,\nthat did such wonders in the wilderness, was present with their\nopponents, there was all the more need for their bestirring themselves\nand quitting them like men. The elders of Israel had not reckoned on\nthis wise plan. It teaches us, even from a heathen point of view, never\nto yield to panic. Even when everything looks desperate, there may be\nsome untried resource to fall back on. And if this be a lesson to be\nlearnt from pagans, much more surely may it be thought of by believers,\nwho know that man's extremity is often God's opportunity, and that no\nperil is too imminent for God not to be able to deliver.\n\n2. And now the battle rages. The hope of misguided Israel turns out an\nillusion. They find, to their consternation, that the symbol does not\ncarry the reality. It pleases God to allow the ark with which His name\nis so intimately associated to be seized by the enemy. The Philistines\ncarry everything before them. The ark is taken, Hophni and Phinehas are\nslain, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen.\n\nCan we fancy the feelings of the two priests who attended the ark as the\ndefeat of the army of Israel became inevitable? The ark would probably\nbe carried near the van of the army, preceded by some of the most\nvaliant troops of Israel. No doubt it had been reckoned on that as soon\nas its sacred form was recognized by the Philistines, fear would seize\non them, and they would fly before it. It must have made the two priests\nlook grave when nothing of the kind took place, but the host of the\nPhilistines advanced in firm and intrepid phalanx to the fight. But\nsurely the first onset of the advanced guard will show with whose army\nthe victory is to lie. The advanced guards are at close quarters, and\nthe men of Israel give way. Was there conscience enough left in these\ntwo men to flash into their minds that God, whose Holy Spirit they had\nvexed, was turned to be their enemy, and was now fighting against them?\nDid they, in that supreme moment, get one of those momentary glimpses,\nin which the whole iniquities of a lifetime seem marshalled before the\nsoul, and the enormity of its guilt overwhelms it? Did they feel the\nanguish of men caught in their own iniquities, every hope perished,\ndeath inevitable, and after death the judgment? There is not one word,\neither in this chapter or in what precedes it, from which the slightest\ninference in their favour can be drawn. They died apparently as they had\nlived, in the very act of dishonouring God. With the weapons of\nrebellion in their hands, and the stains of guilt on their hearts, they\nwere hurried into the presence of the Judge. Now comes the right\nestimate of their reckless, guilty life. All the arts of sophistry, all\nthe refuges of lies, all their daring contempt of the very idea of a\nretribution on sin, are swept away in a moment. They are confronted with\nthe awful reality of their doom. They see more vividly than even Eli or\nSamuel the truth of one part, certainly, of the Divine rule--\"Them that\nhonour Me I will honour; but they that despise Me shall be lightly\nesteemed.\"\n\nThe time of guilty pleasure has passed for ever away; the time of\nendless retribution has begun. Oh, how short, how miserable, how\nabominable appears to them now the revelry of their evil life! what\ninfatuation it was to forswear all the principles in which they had been\nreared, to laugh at the puritanic strictness of their father, to sit in\nthe seat of the scorner, and pour contempt on the law of God's house!\nHow they must have cursed the folly that led them into such awful ways\nof sin, how sighed in vain that they had not in their youth chosen the\nbetter part, how wished they had never been born!\n\n3. But we must leave the field of battle and hasten back to Shiloh.\nSince the ark was carried off Eli must have had a miserable time of it,\nreproaching himself for his weakness if he gave even a reluctant assent\nto the plan, and feeling that uncertainty of conscience which keeps one\neven from prayer, because it makes one doubtful if God will listen. Poor\nold man of ninety-eight years, he could but tremble for the ark! His\nofficial seat had been placed somewhere on the wayside, where he would\nbe near to get tidings from the field of any one who might come with\nthem, and quite probably a retinue of attendants was around him. At last\na great shout of horror is heard, for a man of Benjamin has come in\nsight with his clothes rent and earth upon his head. It is but too\ncertain a sign of calamity. But who could have thought of the extent of\nthe calamity which with such awful precision he crowded into his answer?\nIsrael is fled before the Philistines--calamity the first; there hath\nbeen a great slaughter among the people--calamity the second; thy two\nsons, Hophni and Phinehas, are slain--calamity the third; and last, and\nmost terrible of all, the ark of God is taken! The ark of God is taken!\nThe Divine symbol, with its overshadowing cherubim and its sacred light,\ninto which year by year Eli had gone alone to sprinkle the blood of\natonement on the mercy-seat, and where he had solemnly transacted with\nGod on behalf of the people, was in an enemy's hands! The ark, that no\nCanaanite or Amalekite had ever touched, on which no Midianite or\nAmmonite had ever laid his polluted finger, which had remained safe and\nsure in Israel's custody through all the perils of their journeys and\nall the storms of battle, was now torn from their grasp! And there\nperishes with it all the hope of Israel, and all the sacred service\nwhich was associated with it; and Israel is a widowed, desolate, godless\npeople, without hope and without God in the world; and all this has come\nbecause they dragged it away from its place, and these two sons of mine,\nnow gone to their account, encouraged the profanation!\n\n\"And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he\nfell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck\nbrake, and he died; for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged\nIsrael forty years.\"\n\nThis was calamity the fifth; but even yet the list was not exhausted.\n\"His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be\ndelivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken,\nand that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself\nand travailed, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her\ndeath the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not, for thou hast\nborn a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she\nnamed the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel;\nbecause the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and\nher husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel; for the\nark of God is taken.\"\n\nPoor, good woman! with such a husband she had no doubt had a troubled\nlife. The spring of her spirit had probably been broken long ago; and\nwhat little of elasticity yet remained was all too little to bear up\nunder such an overwhelming load. But it may have been her comfort to\nlive so near to the house of God as she did, and to be thus reminded of\nHim who had commanded the sons of Aaron to bless the people saying, \"The\nLord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee\nand be gracious to thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and\ngive thee peace.\" But now the ark of God is taken, its services are at\nan end, and the blessing is gone. The tribes may come up to the feasts\nas before, but not with the bright eye or the merry shouts of former\ndays; the bullock may smoke on the altar, but where is the sanctuary in\nwhich Jehovah dwelt, and where the mercy-seat for the priest to sprinkle\nthe blood, and where the door by which he can come out to bless the\npeople? Oh, my hapless child, what shall I call thee, who hast been\nushered on this day of midnight gloom into a God-forsaken and\ndishonoured place? I will call thee Ichabod, for the glory is departed.\nThe glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.\n\nWhat an awful impression these scenes convey to us of the overpowering\ndesolation that comes to believing souls with the feeling that God has\ntaken His departure. Tell us that the sun is no longer to shine; tell us\nthat neither dew nor rain shall ever fall again to refresh the earth;\ntell us that a cruel and savage nation is to reign unchecked and\nunchallenged over all the families of a people once free and happy; you\nconvey no such image of desolation as when you tell to pious hearts that\nGod has departed from their community. Let us learn the obvious lesson,\nto do nothing to provoke such a calamity. It is only when resisted and\ndishonoured that the Spirit of God departs--only when He is driven away.\nOh, beware of everything that grieves Him--everything that interferes\nwith His gracious action on your souls. Beware of all that would lead\nGod to say, \"I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge\ntheir offence and seek My face.\" Let our prayer be the cry of\nDavid:--\"Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy\nSpirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me\nwith Thy free Spirit.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n_THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES._\n\n1 SAMUEL v., vi.\n\n\nAlthough the history in Samuel is silent as to the doings of the\nPhilistines immediately after their great victory over Israel, yet we\nlearn from other parts of the Bible (Psalm lxxviii. 60-64; Jeremiah vii.\n12, xxvi. 9) that they proceeded to Shiloh, massacred the priests,\nwrecked the city, and left it a monument of desolation, as it continued\nto be ever after. Probably this was considered an appropriate sequel to\nthe capture of the ark--a fitting mode of completing and commemorating\ntheir victory over the national God of the Hebrews. For we may well\nbelieve that it was this unprecedented feature of their success that was\nuppermost in the Philistines' mind. The prevalent idea among the\nsurrounding nations regarding the God of the Hebrews was that He was a\nGod of exceeding power. The wonders done by Him in Egypt still filled\nthe popular imagination (ch. vi. 6); the strong hand and the\noutstretched arm with which He had driven out the seven nations of\nCanaan and prepared the way for His people were not forgotten. Neither\nin more recent conflicts had any of the surrounding nations obtained the\nslightest advantage over Him. It was in His name that Barak and Deborah\nhad defeated the Canaanites; it was the sword of the Lord and of Gideon\nthat had thrown such consternation into the hearts of the Midianites.\nBut now the tide was completely turned; not only had the Hebrew God\nfailed to protect His people, but ruin had come on both Him and them,\nand His very sanctuary was in Philistine hands. No wonder the\nPhilistines were marvellously elated. Let us sweep from the face of the\nearth every trace and memorial of His worship, was their cry. Let us\ninflict such humiliation on the spot sacred to His name that never again\nshall His worshippers be able to regain their courage and lift up their\nheads, and neither we nor our children shall tremble any more at the\nmention of His terrible deeds.\n\nWe have not one word about Samuel in connection with all this. The news\nfrom the battlefield, followed by the death of Eli and of the wife of\nPhinehas, must have been a terrible blow to him. But besides being calm\nof nature (as his bearing showed after he got the message about Eli's\nhouse), he was habitually in fellowship with God, and in this habit\nenjoyed a great help towards self-possession and promptitude of action\nin sudden emergencies and perplexities. That the ill-advised scheme for\ncarrying the ark into battle implied any real humiliation of the God of\nIsrael, or would have any evil effect on the covenant sworn to Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob, he could not for a moment suppose. But the confusion\nand trouble that would arise, especially if the Philistines advanced\nupon Shiloh, was a very serious consideration. There was much left at\nShiloh which needed to be cared for. There were sacred vessels, and\npossibly national records, which must not be allowed to fall into the\nhands of the enemy. By what means Samuel was able to secure the safety\nof these; by what means he secured his own personal safety when \"the\npriests fell by the sword\" (Psalm lxxviii. 64), we cannot say. But the\nLord was with Samuel, and even in this hour of national horror He\ndirected his proceedings, and established upon him the work of his\nhands.\n\nThe fact to which we have drawn attention, that it was over the God of\nIsrael that the Philistines had triumphed, is the key to the\ntransactions recorded so minutely in the fifth and sixth chapters. The\ngreat object of these chapters is to show how God undeceived the\nPhilistines on this all-important point. He undeceived them in a very\nquiet, undemonstrative manner. On certain occasions God impresses men by\nHis great agencies,--by fire and earthquake and tempest, by \"stormy wind\nfulfilling His word.\" But these are not needed on this occasion.\nAgencies much less striking will do the work. God will recover His name\nand fame among the nations by much humbler forces. By the most trifling\nexertion of His power, these Philistines will be brought to their wit's\nend, and all the wisdom of their wisest men and all the craft of their\nmost cunning priests will be needed to devise some propitiation for One\nwho is infinitely too strong for them, and to prevent their country from\nbeing brought to ruin by the silent working of His resistless power.\n\n1. First of all, the ark is carried to Ashdod, where stood the great\ntemple of their God, Dagon. It is placed within the precincts of the\ntemple, in some place of subordination, doubtless, to the place of the\nidol. Perhaps the expectation of the Philistines was that in the\nexercise of his supernatural might their god would bring about the\nmutilation or destruction of the Hebrew symbol. The morning showed\nanother sight. It was Dagon that was humiliated before the ark--fallen\nto the ground upon his face. Next day a worse humiliation had befallen\nhim. Besides having fallen, his head and hands were severed from the\nimage, and only the stump remained. And besides this, the people were\nsuffering extensively from a painful disease, emerods or hemorrhoids,\nand this too was ascribed to the influence of the God of the Hebrews.\nThe people of Ashdod had no desire to prolong the contest. They gathered\nthe lords of the Philistines and asked what was to be done. The lords\nprobably concluded that it was a case of mere local ill-luck. But what\nhad happened at Ashdod would not happen elsewhere. Let the ark be\ncarried to Gath.\n\n2. To Gath, accordingly, the ark is brought. But no sooner is it there\nthan the disease that had broken out at Ashdod falls upon the Gittites,\nand the mortality is terrible. The people of Gath are in too great haste\nto call again on the lords of the Philistines to say what is to be done.\nThey simply carry the ark to Ekron.\n\n3. And little welcome it gets from the Ekronites. It is now recognised\nas the symbol of an angry God, whose power to punish and to destroy is\nunlimited. The Ekronites are indignant at the people of Gath. \"They have\nbrought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our\npeople.\" The destruction at Ekron seems to have been more awful than at\nthe other places--\"The cry of the city went up to heaven.\" The lords of\nthe Philistines are again convened, to deliberate over the failure of\ntheir last advice. There is no use trying any other place in the\ncountry. The idea of local ill-luck is preposterous. Let it go again to\nits own place! is the cry. Alas that we have destroyed Shiloh, for where\ncan we send it now? We can risk no further mistakes. Let us convene the\npriests and the diviners to determine how it is to be got quit of, and\nwith what gifts or offerings it is to be accompanied. Would only we had\nnever touched it!\n\nThe priests and the diviners give a full answer on all the points\nsubmitted to them. First, the ark when sent away must contain an\noffering, in order to propitiate the Hebrew God for the insults heaped\non Him. The offering was to be in the form of golden emerods and golden\nmice. It would appear that in addition to the disease that had broken\nout on the bodies of the people they had had in their fields the plague\nof mice. These field-mice bred with amazing rapidity, and sometimes\nconsumed the whole produce of the field. There is a slight difficulty\nabout numbers here. There are to be five golden emerods and five golden\nmice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines (vi. 3);\nbut it is said after (ver. 18) that the number of the golden mice was\naccording to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging\nto the five lords, both of fenced cities and country villages. It is\nsurmised, however, that (as in the Septuagint) the number _five_ should\nnot be repeated in the middle of the first passage (vi. 4, 5), but that\nit should run, \"five golden emerods, according to the number of the\nlords of the Philistines, and golden mice, images of the mice that\ndestroy the land.\" The idea of presenting offerings to the gods\ncorresponding with the object in connection with which they were\npresented was often given effect to by heathen nations. \"Those saved\nfrom shipwreck offered pictures of the shipwreck, or of the clothes\nwhich they had on at the time, in the Temple of Isis; slaves and\ncaptives, in gratitude for the recovery of their liberty, offered chains\nto the Lares; retired gladiators, their arms to Hercules; and in the\nfifth century a custom prevailed among Christians of offering in their\nchurches gold or silver hands, feet, eyes, etc., in return for cures\neffected in those members respectively in answer to prayer. This was\nprobably a heathen custom transferred into the Christian Church; for a\nsimilar usage is still found among the heathen in India\" (_Speaker's\nCommentary_).\n\n4. Next, as to the manner in which the ark was to be sent away. A new\ncart was to be made, and two milch cows which had never been in harness\nbefore were to be fastened to the cart. This was to be out of respect to\nthe God of Israel; new things were counted more honourable, as our Lord\nrode on a colt \"whereon never man had yet sat,\" and His body was laid in\na new sepulchre. The cows were to be left without guidance to determine\ntheir path; if they took the road to Judea, the road up the valley to\nBethshemesh, that would be a token that all their trouble had come from\nthe God of the Hebrews; but if they took any other road, the road to any\nplace in the Philistine country, that would prove that there had only\nbeen a coincidence, and no relation of cause and effect between the\ncapture of the ark and the evils that had befallen them. It was the\nprinciple of the lot applied to determine a grave moral question. It was\na method which, in the absence of better light, men were ready enough to\nresort to in those times, and which on one memorable occasion was\nresorted to in the early Christian Church (Acts i.). The much fuller\nlight which God has given men on moral and religious questions greatly\nrestricts, if it does not indeed abolish, the lawful occasions of\nresorting to such a method. If it be ever lawful, it can only be so in\nthe exercise of a devout and solemn spirit, for the apostles did not\nmake use of it by itself, but only after earnest prayer that God would\nmake the lot the instrument of making known His will.\n\nAt last the ark leaves the land of the Philistines. For seven terrible\nmonths it had spread among them anxiety, terror, and death. Nothing but\nutter ruin seemed likely to spring from a longer residence of the ark in\ntheir territories. Glad were they to get rid of it, golden emerods,\ngolden mice, new cart, milch kine, and all. We are reminded of a scene\nin Gospel history, that took place at Gadara after the devils drove the\nherd of swine over the cliff into the lake. The people of the place\nbesought Jesus to depart out of their coasts. It is a solemn truth that\nthere are aspects of God's character, aspects of the Saviour's\ncharacter, in which He is only a terror and a trouble. These are the\naspects in which God is seen opposed to what men love and prize, tearing\ntheir treasures away from them, or tearing them away from their\ntreasures. It is an awful thing to know God in these aspects alone. Yet\nit is the aspect in which God usually appears to the sinner. It is the\naspect in which our consciences present Him when we are conscious of\nhaving incurred His displeasure. And while man remains a sinner and in\nlove with his sin, he may try to disguise the solemn fact to his own\nmind, but it is nevertheless true that his secret desire is to get rid\nof God. As the apostle puts it, he does not like to retain God in his\nknowledge (Rom. i. 28). He says to God, \"Depart from us, for we desire\nnot the knowledge of Thy ways\" (Job xxi. 14). Nay, he goes a step\nfurther--\"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God\" (Ps. xiv.\n1). Where he still makes some acknowledgment of Him, he may try to\npropitiate Him by offerings, and to make up for the transgressions he\ncommits in some things by acts of will-worship, or voluntary humiliation\nin other things. But alas! of how large a portion even of men in\nChristian lands is it true that they do not love God. Their hearts have\nno yearning for Him. The thought of Him is a disturbing, uncomfortable\nelement. Heart communion with Him is a difficulty not to be overcome.\nForms of worship that leave the heart unexercised are a great relief.\nWorship _performed_ by choirs and instruments and aesthetic rules comes\nwelcome as a substitute for the intercourse and homage of the soul.\nCould anything demonstrate more clearly the need of a great spiritual\nchange? What but the vision of God in Christ reconciling the world to\nHimself can effect it? And even the glorious truths of redemption are\nnot in themselves efficacious. The seed needs to fall on good soil. He\nthat commanded the light to shine out of darkness must shine in our\nminds to give the light of the glory of God in the face of His Anointed.\nBut surely it is a great step towards this change to feel the need of\nit. The heart that is honest with God, and that says, \"O God Almighty, I\ndo not love Thee, I am not happy in Thy presence, I like life better\nwithout Thee; but I am convinced that this is a most wretched condition,\nand most sinful. Wilt Thou, in infinite mercy, have compassion on me?\nWilt Thou so change me that I may come to love Thee, to love Thy\ncompany, to welcome the thought of Thee, and to worship Thee in spirit\nand in truth?\"--such a heart, expressing itself thus, will surely not be\nforsaken. How long it may be ere its quest is granted we cannot tell;\nbut surely the day wall come when the new song shall be put in its\nmouth--\"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who\nforgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases; who\nredeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with\nloving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good\nthings, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.\"\n\n5. And now the ark has reached Bethshemesh, in the tribe of Judah. The\nlords of the Philistines have followed it, watching it, as Miriam\nwatched her infant brother on the Nile, to see what would become of it.\nNor do they turn back till they have seen the men of Bethshemesh welcome\nit, till they have seen the Levites take it down from the cart, till\nthey have seen the cart cleft, and the cows offered as a trespass\noffering, and till they have seen their own golden jewels, along with\nthe burnt-offerings and sacrifices of the people of Bethshemesh,\npresented in due form to the Lord.\n\nThus far all goes well at Bethshemesh. The ark is on Hebrew soil. The\npeople there have no fear either of the emerods or of the mice that so\nterribly distressed their Philistine neighbours. After a time of great\ndepression the sun is beginning to smile on Israel again. The men of\nBethshemesh are reaping their barley-harvest--that is one mercy from\nGod. And here most unexpectedly appears the sight that of all possible\nsights was the most welcome to their eyes; here, unhurt and unrifled, is\nthe ark of the covenant that had been given up for lost, despaired of\nprobably, even by its most ardent friends. How could Israel hope to gain\npossession of that apparently insignificant box except by an invasion of\nthe Philistines in overwhelming force--in such force as a nation that\nhad but lately lost thirty thousand men was not able to command? And\neven if such an overwhelming expedition were to be arranged, how easy\nwould it not be for the Philistines to burn the ark, and thus annihilate\nthe very thing to recover which the war was undertaken? Yet here is the\nark back without the intervention of a single soldier. No ransom has\nbeen given for it, no blow struck, nothing promised, nothing threatened.\nHere it comes, as if unseen angels had fetched it, with its precious\ntreasures and still more precious memories just as before! It was like a\nforeshadow of the return from the captivity--an experience that might\nhave found expression in the words, \"When the Lord turned again the\ncaptivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.\"\n\nHappy men of Bethshemesh, for whom God prepared so delightful a\nsurprise. Truly He is able to do in us exceeding abundantly above all\nthat we ask or think. How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways\npast finding out! Never let us despair of God, or of any cause with\nwhich He is identified. \"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;\"\n\"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought; He maketh the\ndevices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth\nfor ever, and the thoughts of His heart to all generations.\"\n\nBut alas! the men of Bethshemesh did not act according to the benefit\nreceived. Their curiosity prevailed above their reverence: they looked\ninto the ark of the Lord. As if the sacred vessel had not had enough of\nindignity in the din of battle, in the temples of the uncircumcised\nPhilistines, and in the cart drawn by the kine, they must expose it to a\nyet further profanation! Alas for them! their curiosity prevailed over\ntheir reverence. And for this they had to pay a terrible penalty. \"The\nLord smote of the men of Bethshemesh fifty thousand and three score and\nten men.\" It is the general opinion, however, that an error has slipped\ninto the text that makes the deaths amount to fifty thousand threescore\nand ten. Bethshemesh was never more than a village or little town, and\ncould not have had anything like so great a population. Probably the\nthreescore and ten, without the fifty thousand, is all that was\noriginally in the text. Even that would be \"a great slaughter\" in the\npopulation of a little town. It was a very sad thing that an event so\njoyous should be clouded by such a judgment. But how often are times and\nscenes which God has made very bright marred by the folly and\nrecklessness of men!\n\nThe prying men of Bethshemesh have had their counterparts many a time in\nmore recent days. Many men, with strong theological proclivities, have\nevinced a strong desire to pry into the \"secret things which belong to\nthe Lord our God.\" Foreknowledge, election, free will, sin's\npunishment--men have often forgot that there is much in such subjects\nthat exceeds the capacity of the human mind, and that as God has shown\nreserve in what He has revealed about them, so men ought to show a holy\nmodesty in their manner of treating them. And even in the handling of\nsacred things generally, in the way of theological discussion, a want of\nreverence has very often been shown. It becomes us all most carefully to\nbeware of abusing the gracious condescension which God has shown in His\nrevelation, and in the use which He designs us to make of it. It was an\nexcellent rule a foreign theologian laid down for himself, to keep up\nthe spirit of reverence--never to speak of God without speaking to God.\n\nGod has drawn very near to us in Christ, and given to all that accept of\nHim the place and privileges of children. He allows us to come very\nnear to Him in prayer. \"In everything,\" He says, \"by prayer and\nsupplication with thanksgiving make your requests known unto God.\" But\nwhile we gratefully accept these privileges, and while in the enjoyment\nof them we become very intimate with God, never let us forget the\ninfinite distance between us, and the infinite condescension manifested\nin His allowing us to enter into the holiest of all. Never let us forget\nthat in His sight we are \"as dust and ashes,\" unworthy to lift up our\neyes to the place where His honour dwelleth. To combine reverence and\nintimacy in our dealings with God,--the profoundest reverence with the\nclosest intimacy, is to realise the highest ideal of worship. God\nHimself would have us remember, in our approaches to Him, that He is in\nheaven and we on the earth. \"Thus saith the High and Lofty One that\ninhabiteth Eternity and whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy\nplace, but with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to\nrevive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the hearts of the\ncontrite ones.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n_REPENTANCE AND REVIVAL._\n\n1 SAMUEL vii. 1-9.\n\n\nWith the men of Bethshemesh the presence of the ark had become the same\nterror as it had been successively at Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. Instead\nof the savour of life to life, it had proved a savour of death to death.\nInstead of a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, it had become a stone\nof stumbling and a rock of offence. They sent therefore to their\nneighbours at Kirjath-jearim, and begged them to come down and remove\nthe ark. This they readily did. More timid men might have said, The ark\nhas brought nothing but disaster in its train; we will have nothing to\ndo with it. There was faith and loyalty to God shown in their readiness\nto give accommodation to it within their bounds. Deeming a high place to\nbe the kind of situation where it should rest, they selected the house\nof Abinadab in the hill, he being probably a Levite. To keep the ark\nthey set apart his son Eleazar, whose name seems to indicate that he was\nof the house of Aaron. They seem to have done all they could, and with\ndue regard to the requirements of the law, for the custody of the sacred\nsymbol. But Kirjath-jearim was not turned into the seat of the national\nworship. There is no word of sacrificial or other services being\nperformed there. There is nothing to indicate that the annual feasts\nwere held at this place. The ark had a resting-place there--nothing\nmore.\n\nAnd this lasted for twenty years. It was a long and dreary time. A rude\nshock had been given to the sacred customs of the people, and the comely\norder of the Divine service among them. The ark and the other sacred\nvessels were separated from each other. If, as seems likely (1 Sam.\nxxi.), the daily offerings and other sacred services ordained by Moses\nwere offered at this time at Nob, a sense of imperfection could not but\nbelong to them, for the ark of the covenant was not there.\nIncompleteness would attach to any public rites that might now be\ncelebrated. The service of Baal and Ashtaroth would have a less powerful\nrival than when the service of Jehovah was conducted in all due form and\nregularity at Shiloh. During these years the nation seems to have been\nsomewhat listless on the subject, and to have made no effort to remove\nthe ark to a more suitable place. Kirjath-jearim was not in the centre,\nbut on the very edge of the country, looking down into the territory of\nthe Philistines, not far from the very cities where the ark had been in\ncaptivity, a constant reminder to the Israelites of its degradation.\nThat Samuel was profoundly concerned about all this we cannot doubt. But\nhe seems to have made no effort to remedy it, most probably because he\nknew it to be God's order first to make the people sensible of their\nwickedness, and only thereafter to restore to them free access to\nHimself.\n\nWhat then was Samuel doing during the twenty years that the ark was at\nKirjath-jearim? We can answer that question only conjecturally, only\nfrom what we know of his general character. It cannot be doubted that\nin some way or other he was trying to make the nation sensible of their\nsins against God; to show them that it was to these sins that their\nsubjection to the Philistines was due; and to urge them to abandon their\nidolatrous practices if they desired a return to independence and peace.\nPerhaps he began at this period to move about from place to place,\nurging those views, as he moved about afterwards when he held the office\nof Judge (vii. 16). And perhaps he was laying the foundations of those\nschools of the prophets that afterwards were associated with his name.\nWhenever he found young men disposed to his views he would doubtless\ncultivate their acquaintance, and urge them to steadfastness and\nprogress in the way of the Lord. There is nothing said to indicate that\nSamuel was connected with the priestly establishment at Nob.\n\nThere are two great services for God and for Israel in which we find\nSamuel engaged in the first nine verses of this chapter: 1. In exhorting\nand directing them with a view to bring them into a right state before\nGod. 2. This being accomplished, in praying for them in their time of\ntrouble, and obtaining Divine help when the Philistines drew near in\nbattle.\n\n1. In the course of time the people appear to have come to feel how sad\nand desolate their national life was without any tokens of God's\npresence and grace. \"All the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.\"\nThe expression is a peculiar one, and some critics, not understanding\nits spiritual import, have proposed to give it a different meaning. But\nfor this there is no cause. It seems to denote that the people, missing\nGod, under the severe oppression of the Philistines, had begun to grieve\nover the sins that had driven Him away, and to long after Him, to long\nfor His return. These symptoms of repentance, however, had not shown\nthemselves in a very definite or practical form. Samuel was not\nsatisfied with the amount of earnestness evinced as yet. He must have\nmore decided evidence of sincerity and repentance. He insisted on it\nthat they must \"put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among them,\nand prepare their hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only.\"\n\nNow the putting away of the strange gods and Ashtaroth was a harder\ncondition than we at first should suppose. Some are inclined to fancy\nthat it was a mere senseless and ridiculous obstinacy that drew the\nIsraelites so much to the worship of the idolatrous gods of their\nneighbours. In reality the temptation was of a much more subtle kind.\nTheir religious worship as prescribed by Moses had little to attract the\nnatural feelings of the human heart. It was simple, it was severe, it\nwas self-denying. The worship of the pagan nations was more lively and\nattractive. Fashionable entertainments and free-and-easy revelries were\nsuperadded to please the carnal mind. Between Hebrew and heathen\nworship, there was something of the contrast that you find between the\nsevere simplicity of a Puritan meeting and the gorgeous and fashionable\nsplendour of a great Romish ceremonial. To put away Baalim and Ashtaroth\nwas to abjure what was fashionable and agreeable, and fall back on what\nwas unattractive and sombre. Was it not, too, an illiberal demand? Was\nit not a sign of narrowness to be so exclusively devoted to their own\nreligion that they could view that of their neighbours with no sort of\npleasure? Why not acknowledge that in other religions there was an\nelement of good, that the services in them were the expression of a\nprofound religious sentiment, and were therefore entitled to a measure\nof praise and approval? It is very certain that with this favourite view\nof modern liberalism neither Samuel nor any of the prophets had the\nslightest sympathy. No. If the people were in earnest now, they must\nshow it by putting away every image and every object and ornament that\nwas connected with the worship of other gods. Jehovah would have their\nhomage on no other terms. If they chose to divide it between Him and\nother gods, they might call on them for help and blessing; for it was\nmost certain that the God of Israel would receive no worship that was\nnot rendered to Him alone.\n\nBut the people were in earnest; and this first demand of Samuel was\ncomplied with. We are to remember that the people of Israel, in their\ntypical significance, stand for those who are by grace in covenant with\nGod, and that their times of degeneracy represent, in the case of\nChristians, seasons of spiritual backsliding, when the things of this\nworld are too keenly sought, when the fellowship of the world is\nhabitually resorted to, when the soul loses its spiritual appetite, and\nreligious services become formal and cold. Does there begin to dawn on\nsuch a soul a sense of spiritual poverty and loneliness? Does the spirit\nof the hymn begin to breathe from it--\n\n \"Return, O holy Dove, return,\n Sweet Messenger of rest!\n I hate the sins that made Thee mourn\n And drove Thee from my breast.\"\n\nThen the first steps towards revival and communion must be the forsaking\nof these sins, and of ways of life that prepare the way for them. The\nsorrow for sin that is working in the conscience is the work of the Holy\nGhost; and if the Holy Ghost be resisted in this His first operation--if\nthe sins, or ways toward sin, against which He has given His warning be\npersisted in, the Spirit is grieved and His work is stopped. The Spirit\ncalls us to set our hearts against these sins, and \"prepare them unto\nthe Lord.\"\n\nLet us mark carefully this last expression. It is not enough that in\nchurch, or at some meeting, or in our closet, we experience a painful\nconviction how much we have offended God, and a desire not to offend Him\nin like manner any more. We must \"prepare our hearts\" for this end. We\nmust remember that in the world with which we mingle we are exposed to\nmany influences that remove God from our thoughts, that stimulate our\ninfirmities, that give force to temptation, that lessen our power of\nresistance, that tend to draw us back into our old sins. One who has a\ntendency to intemperance may have a sincere conviction that his acts of\ndrunkenness have displeased God, and a sincere wish never to be drunk\nagain. But besides this he must \"prepare his heart\" against his sin. He\nmust resolve to turn away from everything that leads to drinking, that\ngives strength to the temptation, that weakens his power of resistance,\nthat draws him, as it were, within the vortex. He must fortify himself,\nby joining a society or otherwise, against the insidious approaches of\nthe vice. And in regard to all that displeases God he must order his\nlife so that it shall be abandoned, it shall be parted with for ever.\nYou may say this is asking him to do more than he can do. No doubt it\nis. But is not the Holy Spirit working in him? Is it not the Holy Spirit\nthat is urging him to do these things? Whoever is urged by the Holy\nSpirit may surely rely on the power of the Spirit when he endeavours to\ncomply with His suggestions. When God works in us to will and to do of\nHis good pleasure, we may surely work out our own salvation with fear\nand trembling.\n\nHaving found the people so far obedient to his requirements, Samuel's\nnext step was to call an assembly of all Israel to Mizpeh. He desired to\nunite all who were like-minded in a purpose of repentance and\nreformation, and to rouse them to a higher pitch of intensity by contact\nwith a great multitude animated by the same spirit. When the assembly\nmet, it was in a most proper spirit. They began the proceedings by\ndrawing water and pouring it out before the Lord, and by fasting. These\ntwo acts being joined in the narrative, it is probable they were acts of\nthe same character. Now as fasting was evidently an expression of\ncontrition, so the pouring out of the water must have been so too. It is\nnecessary to remark this, because an expression not unlike to our text,\nin Isa. xii., denotes an act of a joyful character, \"With joy shall ye\ndraw water out of the wells of salvation.\" But what was done on this\noccasion was to draw water and _pour it out before the Lord_. And this\nseems to have been done as a symbol of pouring out before God\nconfessions of sin drawn from the depths of the heart. What they said in\nconnection with these acts was, \"We have sinned against the Lord.\" They\nwere no longer in the mood in which the Psalmist was when he kept\nsilence, and his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day. They\nwere in the mood into which he came when he said, \"I will confess my\ntransgressions to the Lord.\" They humbled themselves before God in deep\nconvictions of their unworthiness, and being thus emptied of self they\nwere in a better state to receive the gracious visitation of love and\nmercy.\n\nIt is important to mark the stress which is laid here on the _public\nassembly_ of the people. Some might say would it not have answered the\nsame end if the people had humbled themselves apart--the family of the\nhouse of Levi apart, and their wives apart, every family apart, and\ntheir wives apart, as in the great mourning of Zechariah (Zech. xii.\n12-14)? We answer, the one way did not exclude the other; we do not need\nto ask which is best, for both are best. But when Samuel convened the\npeople to a public assembly, he evidently did it on the principle on\nwhich in the New Testament we are required not to forsake the assembling\nof ourselves together. It is in order that the presence of people\nlike-minded, and with the same earnest feelings and purposes, may have a\nrousing and warming influence upon us. No doubt there are other purposes\nconnected with public worship. We need constant instruction and constant\nreminding of the will of God. But the public assembly and the social\nprayer-meeting are intended to have another effect. They are intended to\nincrease our spiritual earnestness by the sight and presence of so many\npersons in earnest. Alas! what a difference there often is between the\nideal and the real. Those cold and passionless meetings that our\nchurches and halls often present--how little are they fitted, by the\nearnestness and warmth of their tone, to give those who attend them a\ngreat impulse heavenward! Never let us be satisfied with our public\nreligious services until they are manifestly adapted to this great end.\n\nThus did Samuel seek to promote repentance and revival among his people,\nand to prepare the way for a return of God's favour. And it is in this\nvery way that if we would have a revival of earnest religion, we must\nset about obtaining it.\n\n2. The next scene in the panorama of the text is--the Philistines\ninvading Israel. Here Samuel's service is that of an intercessor,\npraying for his people, and obtaining God's blessing. It is to be\nobserved that the alleged occasion for this event is said to have been\nthe meeting held at Mizpeh. \"When the Philistines heard that the\nchildren of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the\nPhilistines went up against Israel.\" Was not this most strange and\ndistressing? The blessed assembly which Samuel had convened only gives\noccasion for a new Philistine invasion! Trying to do his people good,\nSamuel would appear only to have done them harm. With the assembly at\nMizpeh, called as it was for spiritual ends, the Philistines could have\nno real cause for complaint. Either they mistook its purpose and thought\nit a meeting to devise measures to throw off their yoke, or they had an\ninstinctive apprehension that the spirit which the people of Israel were\nnow showing would be accompanied by some remarkable interposition on\ntheir behalf. It is not rare for steps taken with the best of intentions\nto become for a time the occasion of a great increase of evil,--just as\nthe remonstrances of Moses with Pharaoh led at first to the increase of\nthe people's burdens; or just as the coming of Christ into the world\ncaused the massacre of the babes of Bethlehem. So here, the first public\nstep taken by Samuel for the people's welfare was the occasion of an\nalarming invasion by their cruel enemies. But God's word on such\noccasions is, \"Be still and know that I am God.\" Such events are\nsuffered only to stimulate faith and patience. They are not so very\noverwhelming events to those who know that God is with them, and that\n\"none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.\" Though the\nIsraelites at this time were not far advanced in spiritual life, they\nbetrayed no consternation when they heard of the invasion of the\nPhilistines. They knew where their help was to be found, and recognizing\nSamuel as their mediator, they said to him, \"Cease not to cry unto the\nLord our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand of the\nPhilistines.\"\n\nWith this request Samuel most readily complies. But first he offers a\nsucking lamb as a whole burnt-offering to the Lord, and only after this\nare we told that \"Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him.\"\n\nThe lesson is supremely important. When sinners approach God to entreat\nHis favour, it must be by the new and living way, sprinkled with atoning\nblood. All other ways of access will fail. How often has this been\nexemplified in the history of the Church! How many anxious sinners have\nsought unto God by other ways, but have been driven back, sometimes\nfarther from Him than before. Luther humbles himself in the dust and\nimplores God's favour, and struggles with might and main to reform his\nheart; but Luther cannot find peace until he sees how it is in the\nrighteousness of another he is to draw nigh and find the blessing,--in\nthe righteousness of the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the\nworld. Dr. Chalmers, profoundly impressed with the sinfulness of his\npast life, strives, with the energy of a giant, to attain conformity to\nthe will of God; but he too is only tossed about in weary\ndisappointment until he finds rest in the atoning mercy of God in\nChrist. We may be well assured that no sense of peace can come into the\nguilty soul till it accepts Jesus Christ as its Saviour in all the\nfulness of His saving power.\n\nAnother lesson comes to us from Samuel's intercession. It is well to try\nto get God's servants to pray for us. But little real progress can be\nmade till we can pray for ourselves. Whoever really desires to enjoy\nGod's favour, be it for the first time after he has come to the sense of\nhis sins; or be it at other times, after God's face has been hid from\nhim for a time through his backsliding, can never come as he ought to\ncome without earnest prayer. For prayer is the great medium that God has\nappointed to us for communion with Himself. \"Ask and ye shall receive,\nseek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.\" If there\nbe any lesson written with a sunbeam alike in the Old Testament and in\nthe New, it is that God is the Hearer of prayer. Only let us take heed\nto the quality and tone of our prayer. Before God can listen to it, it\nmust be from the heart. To gabble over a form of prayer is not to pray.\nSaul of Tarsus had said many a prayer before his conversion; but after\nthat for the first time it was said of him, \"Behold, he prayeth.\" To\npray is to ask an interview with God, and when we are alone with Him, to\nunburden our souls to Him. Those only who have learned to pray thus in\nsecret can pray to any purpose in the public assembly. It is in this\nspirit, surely, that the highest gifts of Divine grace are to be sought.\nEmphatically it is in this way that we are to pray for our nation or for\nour Church. Let us come with large and glowing hearts when we come to\npray for a whole community. Let us plead with God for Church and for\nnation in the very spirit of the prophet: \"For Zion's sake I will not\nhold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the\nrighteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof\nas a lamp that burneth.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n_NATIONAL DELIVERANCE--THE PHILISTINES SUBDUED._\n\n1 SAMUEL vii. 10-17.\n\n\nIt must have been with feelings very different from those of their last\nencounter, when the ark of God was carried into the battle, that the\nhost of Israel now faced the Philistine army near Mizpeh. Then they had\nonly the symbol of God's gracious presence, now they had the reality.\nThen their spiritual guides were the wicked Hophni and Phinehas; now\ntheir guide was holy Samuel. Then they had rushed into the fight in\nthoughtless unconcern about their sins; now they had confessed them, and\nthrough the blood of sprinkling they had obtained a sense of\nforgiveness. Then they were puffed up by a vain presumption; now they\nwere animated by a calm but confident hope. Then their advance was\nhallowed by no prayer; now the cry of needy children had gone up from\nGod's faithful servant. In fact, the battle with the Philistines had\nalready been fought by Samuel on his knees. There can be no more sure\ntoken of success than this. Are we engaged in conflict with our own\nbesetting sins? Or are we contending against scandalous transgression in\nthe world around us? Let us first fight the battle on our knees. If we\nare victorious there we need have little fear of victory in the other\nbattle.\n\nIt was as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering that the Philistines\ndrew near to battle against Israel. There was an unseen ladder that day\nbetween earth and heaven, on which the angels of God ascended and\ndescended as in Jacob's vision at Bethel. The smoke of the\nburnt-offering carried up to God the confession and contrition of the\npeople, their reliance on God's method of atonement, and their prayer\nfor His pardon and His blessing. The great thunder with which God\nthundered on the Philistines carried down from God the answer and the\nneeded help. There is no need for supposing that the thunder was\nsupernatural. It was an instance of what is so common, a natural force\nadapted to the purpose of an answer to prayer. What seems to have\noccurred is this: a vehement thunderstorm had gathered a little to the\neast, and now broke, probably with violent wind, in the faces of the\nPhilistines, who were advancing up the heights against Mizpeh. Unable to\nface such a terrific war of the elements, the Philistines would turn\nround, placing their backs to the storm. The men of Israel, but little\nembarrassed by it, since it came from behind them, and gave the greater\nmomentum to their force, rushed on the embarrassed enemy, and drove them\nbefore them like smoke before the wind. It was just as in former\ndays--God arose, and His enemies were scattered, and they also that\nhated Him fled before Him. The storm before which the Philistines\ncowered was like the pillar of fire which had guided Israel through the\ndesert. Jehovah was still the God of Israel; the God of Jacob was once\nmore his refuge.\n\nWe have said that this thunderstorm may have been quite a natural\nphenomenon. Natural, but not casual. Though natural, it was God's answer\nto Samuel's prayer. But how could this have been? If it was a natural\nstorm, if it was the result of natural law, of atmospheric conditions\nthe operation of which was fixed and certain, it must have taken place\nwhether Samuel prayed or not. Undoubtedly. But the very fact that the\nlaws of nature are fixed and certain, that their operation is definite\nand regular, enables the great Lord of Providence to make use of them in\nthe natural course of things, for the purpose of answering prayer. For\nthis fact, the uniformity of natural law, enables the Almighty, who sees\nand plans the end from the beginning, to frame a comprehensive scheme of\nProvidence, that shall not only work out the final result in His time\nand way, but that shall also work out every intermediate result\nprecisely as He designs and desires. \"Known unto God are all His works\nfrom the beginning of the world.\" Now if God has so adjusted the scheme\nof Providence that the final result of the whole shall wonderfully\naccomplish His grand design, may He not, must He not, have so adjusted\nit that every intermediate part shall work out some intermediate design?\nIt is only those who have an unworthy conception of omniscience and\nomnipotence that can doubt this. Surely if there is a general\nProvidence, there must be a special Providence. If God guides the whole,\nHe must also guide the parts. Every part of the scheme must fall out\naccording to His plan, and may thus be the means of fulfilling some of\nHis promises.\n\nLet us apply this view to the matter of prayer. All true prayer is the\nfruit of the Holy Spirit working in the human soul. All the prayer that\nGod answers is prayer that God has inspired. The prayer of Samuel was\nprayer which God had inspired. What more reasonable than that in the\ngreat plan of providence there should have been included a provision for\nthe fulfilment of Samuel's prayer at the appropriate moment? The\nthunderstorm, we may be sure, was a natural phenomenon. But its\noccurrence at the time was part of that great scheme of Providence which\nGod planned at the beginning, and it was planned to fall out then in\norder that it might serve as an answer to Samuel's prayer. It was thus\nan answer to prayer brought about by natural causes. The only thing\nmiraculous about it was its forming a part of that most marvellous\nscheme--the scheme of Divine providence--a part of the scheme that was\nto be carried into effect after Samuel had prayed. If the term\nsupernatural may be fitly applied to that scheme which is the sum and\nsubstance of all the laws of nature, of all the providence of God, and\nof all the works and thoughts of man, then it was a miracle; but if not,\nit was a natural effect.\n\nIt is important to bear these truths in mind, because many have the\nimpression that prayer for outward results cannot be answered without a\nmiracle, and that it is unreasonable to suppose that such a multitude of\nmiracles as prayer involves would be wrought every day. If a sick man\nprays for health, is the answer necessarily a miracle? No; for the\nanswer may come about by purely natural causes. He has been directed to\na skilful physician; he has used the right medicine; he has been treated\nin the way to give full scope to the recuperative power of nature. God,\nwho led him to pray, foresaw the prayer, and in the original scheme of\nProvidence planned that by natural causes the answer should come. We do\nnot deny that prayer may be answered in a supernatural way. We would\nnot affirm that such a thing as supernatural healing is unknown. But it\nis most useful that the idea should be entertained that such prayer is\nusually answered by natural means. By not attending to this men often\nfail to perceive that prayer has been answered. You pray, before you set\nout on a journey, for protection and safe arrival at the end. You get\nwhat you asked--you perform the journey in safety. But perhaps you say,\n\"It would have been all the same whether I had prayed for it or not. I\nhave gone on journeys that I forgot to pray about, and no evil befell\nme. Some of my fellow-passengers, I am sure, did not pray for safety,\nyet they were taken care of as much as I was.\" But these are sophistical\narguments. You should feel that your safety in the journey about which\nyou prayed was as much due to God, though only through the operation of\nnatural causes, as if you had had a hairbreadth escape. You should be\nthankful that in cases where you did not pray for safety God had regard\nto the habitual set of your mind, your habitual trust in Him, though you\ndid not specially exercise it at these times. Let the means be as\nnatural as they may--to those who have eyes to see the finger of God is\nin them all the same.\n\nBut to return to the Israelites and the Philistines. The defeat of the\nPhilistines was a very thorough one. Not only did they make no attempt\nto rally after the storm had passed and Israel had fallen on them, but\nthey came no more into the coast of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was\nagainst them all the days of Samuel. And besides this, all the cities\nand tracts of land belonging to Israel which the Philistines had taken\nwere now restored. Another mercy that came to Israel was that \"there was\npeace between Israel and the Amorites\"--the Amorites being put here,\nmost likely, for the remains of all the original inhabitants living\namong or around Israel. Those promises were now fulfilled in which God\nhad said to Moses, \"This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and\nthe fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who\nshall hear report of thee, and shall tremble and be in anguish because\nof thee\" (Deut. ii. 25). \"There shall no man be able to stand before\nyou; for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of\nyou upon all the land ye shall tread upon, as He hath said to thee.\" It\nwas so apparent that God was among them, and that the power of God was\nirresistible and overwhelming, that their enemies were frightened to\nassail them.\n\nThe impression thus made on the enemies of Israel corresponds in some\ndegree to the moral influence which God-fearing men sometimes have on an\notherwise godless community. The picture in the Song of Solomon--\"Who is\nshe that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the\nsun, and _terrible as an army with banners_?\"--ascribes even to the fair\nyoung bride a terrifying power, a power not appropriate to such a\npicture in the literal sense, but quite suitable in the figurative.\nWherever the life and character of a godly man is such as to recall God,\nwherever God's image is plainly visible, wherever the results of God's\npresence are plainly seen, there the idea of a supernatural Power is\nconveyed, and a certain overawing influence is felt. In the great\nawakening at Northampton in Jonathan Edwards' days, there was a complete\narrest laid on open forms of vice. And whensoever in a community God's\npresence has been powerfully realized, the taverns have been emptied,\nthe gambling-table deserted, under the sense of His august majesty.\nWould only that the character and life of all God's servants were so\ntruly godlike that their very presence in a community would have a\nsubduing and restraining influence on the wicked!\n\nTwo points yet remain to be noticed: the step taken by Samuel to\ncommemorate this wonderful Divine interposition; and the account given\nof the prophet and his occupations in his capacity of Judge of Israel.\n\n\"Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the\nname of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.\"\n\nThe position of Shen is not known. But it must have been very near the\nscene of the defeat of the Philistines--perhaps it was the very spot\nwhere that defeat occurred. In that case, Samuel's stone would stand\nmidway between the two scenes of battle: the battle gained by him on his\nknees at Mizpeh, and the battle gained by the Israelites when they fell\non the Philistines demoralised by the thunderstorm.\n\n\"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.\" The characteristic feature of the\ninscription lies in the word \"hitherto.\" It was no doubt a testimony to\nspecial help obtained in that time of trouble; it was a grateful\nrecognition of that help; and it was an enduring monument to perpetuate\nthe memory of it. But it was more, much more. The word \"hitherto\"\ndenotes a series, a chain of similar mercies, an unbroken succession of\nDivine interpositions and Divine deliverances. The special purpose of\nthis inscription was to link on the present deliverance to all the past,\nand to form a testimony to the enduring faithfulness and mercy of a\ncovenant-keeping God. But was there not something strange in this\ninscription, considering the circumstances? Could Samuel have forgot\nthat tragic day at Shiloh--the bewildered, terrified look of the\nmessenger that came from the army to bring the news, the consternation\ncaused by his message, the ghastly horror of Eli and his tragic death,\nthe touching death of the wife of Phinehas, and the sad name which she\nhad with such seeming propriety given to her babe? Was _that_ like God\nremembering them? or had Samuel forgot how the victorious Philistines\nsoon after dashed upon Shiloh like beasts of prey, plundering,\ndestroying, massacreing, till nothing more remained to be done to\njustify the name of \"Ichabod\"? How can Samuel blot that chapter out of\nthe history? or how can he say, with that chapter fresh in his\nrecollection, \"_Hitherto_ hath the Lord helped us\"?\n\nAll that Samuel has considered well. Even amid the desolations of Shiloh\nthe Lord was helping them. He was helping them to know themselves,\nhelping them to know their sins, and helping them to know the bitter\nfruit and woful punishment of sin. He was helping them to achieve the\ngreat end for which he had called them--to keep alive the knowledge of\nthe true God and the practice of His worship, onward to the time when\nthe great promise should be realised,--when HE should come in whom all\nthe families of the earth were to be blessed. Samuel's idea of what\nconstituted the nation's glory was large and spiritual. The true glory\nof the nation was to fulfil the function for which God had taken it into\ncovenant with Himself. Whatever helped them to do this was a blessing,\nwas a token of the Lord's remembrance of them. The links of the long\nchain denoted by Samuel's \"hitherto\" were not all of one kind. Some were\nin the form of mercies, many were in the form of chastenings. For the\nhigher the function for which Israel was called, the more need was\nthere of chastening. The higher the destination of a silver vessel, the\ngreater is the need that the silver be pure, and therefore that it be\nfrequently passed through the furnace. The destination of Israel was the\nhighest that could have been. So Samuel does not merely give thanks for\nseasons of prosperity, but for checks and chastenings too.\n\nHappy they who, full of faith in the faithfulness and love of God, can\ntake a similar view of His dealings! Happy they who, when special\nmercies come, deem the occasion worthy to be commemorated by some\nspecial memorial, but who can embrace their whole life in the grateful\ncommemoration, and bracket joys and sorrows alike under their\n\"hitherto\"! It is not that sorrows are less sorrows to them than to\nothers; it is not that losses of substance entail less inconvenience, or\nbereavements penetrate less deeply; but that all are seen to be embraced\nin that gracious plan of which the final consummation is, as the apostle\nputs it, \"to present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot\nor wrinkle or any such thing.\" And well is it for us, both in individual\nlife and in Church and national life, to think of that plan of God in\nwhich mercies and chastenings are united, but all with a gracious\npurpose! It is remarkable how often in Scripture tears are wiped away\nwith this thought. Zion saying, \"The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God\nhath forgotten me,\" is assured, \"Behold, I have graven thee upon the\npalms of My hands, thy walls are continually before Me.\" Rachel weeping\nfor her children, and refusing to be comforted, is thus addressed,\n\"Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work\nshall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and thy children shall come again\nfrom the land of the enemy.\" \"Weep not,\" said our Lord to the woman of\nNain; and His first words after His resurrection were, \"Woman, why\nweepest thou?\" Vale of tears though this world is, there comes from\nabove a gracious influence to wipe them away; and the march Zionward has\nin it something of the tread and air of a triumphant procession, for\n\"the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and\neverlasting joy on their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and\nsorrow and sighing shall flee away.\"\n\nWe have yet to notice the concluding verses of the chapter (15-17),\nwhich give a little picture of the public life of Samuel. He judged\nIsrael all the days of his life. The office of judge had a twofold\nsphere, external and internal. Externally, it bore on the oppression of\nthe people by foreign enemies, and the judge became the deliverer of the\npeople. But in this sense there was now nothing for Samuel to do,\nespecially after the accession of Saul to the kingdom. The judge seems\nto have likewise had to do with the administration of justice, and the\npreservation of the peace and general welfare of the nation. It is very\nnatural to suppose that Samuel would be profoundly concerned to imbue\nthe people with just views of the purpose for which God had called them,\nand of the law and covenant which He had given them. The three places\namong which he is said to have made his circuit, Bethel, Gilgal and\nMizpeh, were not far from each other, all being situated in the tribes\nof Benjamin and Judah,--in that part of the land which afterwards\nconstituted the kingdom of the two tribes. To these three places falls\nto be added Ramah, also in the same neighbourhood, where was his house.\nIn this place he built an altar to the Lord. Whether this was in\nconnection with the tabernacle or not, we cannot say. We know that in\nthe time of David's wanderings \"the house of God\" was at Nob (Compare 1\nSam. xxi. 1 and Matt. xii. 4), but we have nothing to show us when it\nwas carried thither. All we can say is, that Samuel's altar must have\nbeen a visible memorial of the worship of God, and a solemn protest\nagainst any idolatrous rites to which any of the people might at any\ntime be attracted.\n\nIn this way Samuel spent his life like Him whose type he was, \"always\nabout his Father's business.\" An unselfish man, having no interests of\nhis own, full of zeal for the service of God and the public welfare;\npossibly too little at home, taking too little charge of his children,\nand thus at last in the painful position of one, \"whose sons walked not\nin his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and\nperverted judgment\" (ch. viii. 1). That Samuel attained the highest\nreputation for sanctity, intercourse with God and holy influence, is\nplain from various passages of Scripture. In Psalm xcix. 6, he is\ncoupled with Moses and Aaron, as having influence with God,--\"they\ncalled upon the Lord and He answered them.\" In Jeremiah xv. 1, his name\nis coupled with that of Moses alone as a powerful intercessor, \"Though\nMoses and Samuel stood before Me, yet My mind could not be toward this\npeople.\" His mother's act of consecration was wonderfully fulfilled.\nSamuel stands out as one of the best and purest of the Hebrew worthies.\nHis name became a perpetual symbol of all that was upright, pure and\nGodlike. The silent influence of his character was a great power in\nIsrael, inspiring many a young heart with holy awe, and silencing the\nflippant arrogance of the scoffer. Mothers, did not Hannah do well, do\nnobly, in dedicating her son to the Lord? Sons and daughters, was it not\na noble and honourable life? Then go ye and do likewise. And God be\npleased to incline many a heart to the service; a service, which with\nall its drawbacks, is the highest and the noblest; and which bequeaths\nso blessed a welcome into the next stage of existence: \"Well done, good\nand faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n_THE PEOPLE DEMAND A KING._\n\n1 SAMUEL viii.\n\n\nWhatever impression the \"Ebenezer\" of Samuel may have produced at the\ntime, it passed away with the lapse of years. The feeling that, in\nsympathy with Samuel, had recognized so cordially at that time the\nunbroken help of Jehovah from the very beginning, waxed old and vanished\naway. The help of Jehovah was no longer regarded as the palladium of the\nnation. A new generation had risen up that had only heard from their\nfathers of the deliverance from the Philistines, and what men only hear\nfrom their fathers does not make the same impression as what they see\nwith their own eyes. The privilege of having God for their king ceased\nto be felt, when the occasions passed away that made His interposition\nso pressing and so precious. Other things began to press upon them,\nother cravings began to be felt, that the theocracy did not meet. This\ndouble process went on--the evils from which God did deliver becoming\nmore faint, and the benefits which God did not bestow becoming more\nconspicuous by their absence--till a climax was reached. Samuel was\ngetting old, and his sons were not like himself; therefore they afforded\nno materials for continuing the system of judges. None of them could\never fill their father's place. The people forgot that God's policy had\nbeen to raise up judges from time to time as they were needed. But would\nit not be better to discontinue this hand-to-mouth system of government\nand have a regular succession of kings? Why should Israel contrast\ndisadvantageously in this respect with the surrounding nations? This\nseems to have been the unanimous feeling of the nation. \"All the elders\nof Israel gathered themselves together, and said to Samuel, Make us a\nking to judge us like all the nations.\"\n\nIt seems to us very strange that they should have done such a thing. Why\nwere they not satisfied with having God for their king? Was not the roll\nof past achievements under His guidance very glorious? What could have\nbeen more wonderful than the deliverance from Egypt, and the triumph\nover the greatest empire in the world? Had ever such victories been\nheard of as those over Sihon and Og? Was there ever a more triumphant\ncampaign than that of Joshua, or a more comfortable settlement than that\nof the tribes? And if Canaanites, and Midianites, and Ammonites, and\nPhilistines had vexed them, were not Barak and Deborah, Gideon and\nJephthah, Samson and Samuel, more than a match for the strongest of them\nall? Then there was the moral glory of the theocracy. What nation had\never received direct from God, such ordinances, such a covenant, such\npromises? Where else were men to be found that had held such close\nfellowship with heaven as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, and\nJoshua? What other people had had such revelations of the fatherly\ncharacter of God, so that it could be said of them, \"As an eagle\nstirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her\nwings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord did lead him,\nand there was no strange god with him.\" Instead of wishing to change the\ntheocracy, we might have expected that every Israelite, capable of\nappreciating solid benefits, would have clung to it as his greatest\nprivilege and his greatest honour.\n\nBut it was otherwise. Comparatively blind to its glories, they wished to\nbe like other nations. It is too much a characteristic of our human\nnature that it is indifferent to God, and to the advantages which are\nconferred by His approval and His blessing. How utterly do some leave\nGod out of their calculations! How absolutely unconcerned they are as to\nwhether they can reckon on His approval of their mode of life, how\nlittle it seems to count! You that by false pretences sell your wares\nand prey upon the simple and unwary; you that heed not what\ndisappointment or what pain and misery you inflict on those who believe\nyou, provided you get their money; you that grow rich on the toil of\nunderpaid women and children, whose life is turned to slavery to fulfil\nyour hard demands, do you never think of God? Do you never take into\nyour reckoning that He is against you, and that He will one day come to\nreckon with you? You that frequent the haunts of secret wickedness, you\nthat help to send others to the devil, you that say, \"Am I my brother's\nkeeper?\" when you are doing your utmost to confirm others in debauchery\nand pollution, is it nothing to you that you have to reckon one day with\nan angry God? Be assured that God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man\nsoweth, that shall he also reap; for he that soweth to the flesh shall\nof the flesh reap corruption, while he that soweth to the Spirit shall\nof the Spirit reap life everlasting.\n\nBut the lesson of the text is rather for those who have the favour and\nblessing of God, but are not content, and still crave worldly things.\nYou are in covenant with God. He has redeemed you, not with corruptible\nthings such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.\nYou are now sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what you shall be.\nThere is laid up for you an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and\nthat fadeth not away. Yet your heart hankers after the things of the\nworld. Your acquaintances and friends are better off. Your bare house,\nyour homely furnishings, your poor dress, your simple fare distress you,\nand you would fain be in a higher worldly sphere, enjoying more\nconsideration, and participating more freely in worldly enjoyments. Be\nassured, my friends, you are not in a wholesome frame of mind. To be\ndepreciating the surpassing gifts which God has given you, and to be\nexaggerating those which He has withheld, is far from being a wholesome\ncondition. You wish to be like the nations. You forget that your very\nglory is not to be like them. Your glory is that ye are a chosen\ngeneration, an holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, your\nbodies temples of the Holy Ghost, your souls united to the Lord Jesus\nChrist.\n\nYet again, there are congregations, which though in humble\ncircumstances, have enjoyed much spiritual blessing. Their songs have\ngone up, bearing the incense of much love and gratitude; their prayers\nhave been humble and hearty, most real and true; and the Gospel has come\nto them not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in\nmuch assurance. Yet a generation has grown up that thinks little of\nthese inestimable blessings, and misses fine architecture, and\nelaborate music, and highly cultured services. They want to have a king\nlike the nations. However they may endanger the spiritual blessing, it\nis all-important to have these surroundings. It is a perilous position,\nall the more perhaps that many do not see the peril--that many have\nlittle or no regard for the high interests that are in such danger of\nbeing sacrificed.\n\nThis then, was the request of all the elders of Israel to Samuel--\"Give\nus a king to judge us like all the nations.\" We have next to consider\nhow it was received by the prophet.\n\n\"The thing displeased Samuel.\" On the very face of it, it was an affront\nto himself. It intimated dissatisfaction with the arrangement which had\nmade him judge of the people under God. Evidently they were tired of\nhim. He had given them the best energies of his youth and of his\nmanhood. He had undoubtedly conferred on them many real benefits. For\nall this, his reward is to be turned off in his old age. They wish to\nget rid of him, and of his manner of instructing them in the ways of the\nLord. And the kind of functionary they wish to get in his room is not of\na very flattering order. The kings of the nations for the most part were\na poor set of men. Despotic, cruel, vindictive, proud--they were not\nmuch to be admired. Yet Israel's eyes are turned enviously to them!\nPossibly Samuel was failing more than he was aware of, for old men are\nslow to recognise the progress of decay, and highly sensitive when it is\nbluntly intimated to them. Besides this, there was another sore point\nwhich the elders touched roughly. \"Thy sons walk not in thy ways.\"\nHowever this may have come about, it was a sad thought to their father.\nBut fathers often have the feeling that while they may reprove their\nsons, they do not like to hear this done by others. Thus it was that\nthe message of the elders came home to Samuel, first of all, in its\npersonal bearings, and greatly hurt him. It was a personal affront, it\nwas hard to bear. The whole business of his life seemed frustrated;\neverything he had tried to do had failed; his whole life had missed its\naim. No wonder if Samuel was greatly troubled.\n\nBut in the exercise of that admirable habit which he had learned so\nthoroughly, Samuel took the matter straight to the Lord. And even if no\narticulate response had been made to his prayer, the effect of this\ncould not but have been great and important. The very act of going into\nGod's presence was fitted to change, in some measure, Samuel's estimate\nof the situation. It placed him at a new point of view--at God's point\nof view. When he reached that, the aspect of things must have undergone\na change. The bearing of the transaction on God must have come out more\nprominently than its bearing on Samuel. And this was fully expressed in\nGod's words. \"They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me.\"\nSamuel was but the servant, God was the lord and king. The servant was\nnot greater than his lord, nor the disciple greater than his Master. The\ngreat sin of the people was their sin against God. He it was to whom the\naffront had been given; He, if any, it was that had cause to remonstrate\nand complain.\n\nSo prone are even the best of God's servants to put themselves before\ntheir Master. So prone are ministers of the Gospel, when any of their\nflock has acted badly, to think of the annoyance to themselves, rather\nthan the sin committed in the holy eyes of God. So prone are we all, in\nour families, and in our Churches, and in society, to think of other\naspects of sin, than its essential demerit in God's sight. Yet surely\nthis should be the first consideration. That God should be dishonoured\nis surely a far more serious thing than that man should be offended. The\nsin against God is infinitely more heinous than the sin against man. He\nthat has sinned against God has incurred a fearful penalty--what if this\nshould lie on his conscience for ever, unconfessed, unforgiven? It is a\nfearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.\n\nYet, notwithstanding this very serious aspect of the people's offence,\nGod instructs Samuel to \"hearken to their voice, yet protest solemnly to\nthem, and show them the manner of the kingdom.\" There were good reasons\nwhy God should take this course. The people had shown themselves\nunworthy of the high privilege of having God for their king. When men\nshow themselves incapable of appreciating a high privilege, it is meet\nthey should suffer the loss of it, or at least a diminution of it. They\nhad shown a perpetual tendency to those idolatrous ways by which God was\nmost grievously dishonoured. A theocracy, to work successfully, would\nneed a very loyal people. Had Israel only been loyal, had it even been a\npoint of conscience and a point of honour with them to obey God's voice,\nhad they even had a holy recoil from every act offensive to Him, the\ntheocracy would have worked most beautifully. But there had been such a\nhabitual absence of this spirit, that God now suffered them to institute\na form of government that interposed a human official between Him and\nthem, and that subjected them likewise to many an inconvenience. Yet\neven in allowing this arrangement God did not utterly withdraw His\nloving-kindness from them. The theocracy did not wholly cease. Though\nthey would find that their kings would make many an exaction of them,\nthere would be among them some that would reign in righteousness, and\nprinces that would rule in judgment. The king would so far be approved\nof God as to bear the name of \"the Lord's anointed:\" and would thus, in\na sense, be a type of the great Anointed One, the true Messiah, whose\nkingdom, righteous, beneficent, holy, would be an everlasting kingdom,\nand his dominion from generation to generation.\n\nThe next scene in the chapter before us finds Samuel again met with the\nheads of the people. He is now showing them \"the manner of the\nking\"--the relation in which he and they will stand to one another. He\nis not to be a king that gives, but a king that takes. His exactions\nwill be very multifarious. First of all, the most sacred treasures of\ntheir homes, their sons and their daughters, would be taken to do hard\nwork in his army, and on his farms, and in his house. Then, their landed\nproperty would be taken on some pretext--the vineyards and olive-yards\ninherited from their fathers--and given to his favourites. The tenth\npart of the produce, too, of what remained would be claimed by him for\nhis officers and his servants, and the tenth of their flocks. Any\nservant, or young man, or animal, that was particularly handsome and\nvaluable would be sure to take his fancy, and to be attached for his\nservice. This would be ordinarily the manner of their king. And the\noppression and vexation connected with this system of arbitrary\nspoliation would be so great that they would cry out against him, as\nindeed they did in the days of Rehoboam, yet the Lord would not hear\nthem. Such was Samuel's picture of what they desired so much, but it\nmade no impression; the people were still determined to have their\nking.\n\nWhat a contrast there was between this exacting king, and the true King,\nthe King that in the fulness of the time was to come to His people, meek\nand having salvation, riding upon the foal of an ass! If there be\nanything more than another that makes this King glorious, it is His\ngiving nature. \"The Son of God,\" says the Apostle, \"loved me, and gave\nHimself for me.\" Gave Himself! How comprehensive the word! All that He\nwas as God, all that He became as man. As prophet He gave Himself to\nteach, as priest to atone and intercede, as king to rule and to defend.\n\"The Good Shepherd _giveth_ His life for the sheep.\" \"This is My body\nwhich is _given_ for you.\" \"If thou knewest the gift of God, and Who it\nis that saith unto thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of\nHim, and He would have _given_ thee living water.\" With what kingly\ngenerosity, while He was on earth, He scattered the gifts of health and\nhappiness among the stricken and the helpless! \"Jesus went about all\nGalilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the\nkingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease\namong the people.\" See Him, even as He hung helpless on the cross,\nexercising His royal prerogative by giving to the thief at His side a\nright to the Kingdom of God--\"Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt\nthou be with Me in Paradise.\" See Him likewise, exalted on His throne\n\"at God's right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give\nrepentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.\" How different the\nattributes of this King from him whom Samuel delineated! The one\nexacting all that is ours; the other giving all that is His!\n\nThe last scene in the chapter shows us the people deliberately\ndisregarding the protest of Samuel, and reiterating their wilful\nresolution--\"Nay, but we will have a king over us; that we also may be\nlike all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before\nus, and fight our battles.\" Once more, Samuel brings the matter to the\nLord--repeats all that he has heard; and once more the Lord says to\nSamuel, \"Hearken unto their choice and make them a king.\" The matter is\nnow decided on, and it only remains to find the person who is to wear\nthe crown.\n\nOn the very surface of the narrative we see how much the people were\ninfluenced by the desire to be \"like all the nations.\" This does not\nindicate a very exalted tone of feeling. To be like all the nations was\nsurely in itself a poor and childish thing, unless the nations were in\nthis respect in a better condition than Israel. Yet how common and\nalmost irresistible is this feeling!\n\nSingularity is certainly not to be affected for singularity's sake; but\nneither are we to conform to fashion simply because it is fashion. How\ncruel and horrible often are its behests! The Chinese girl has to submit\nto her feet being bandaged and confined till walking becomes a living\ntorture, and even the hours of what should be rest and sleep, are often\nbroken by bitter pain. The women of Lake Nyassa insert a piece of stone\nin their upper lip, enlarging it from time to time till speaking and\neating become most awkward and painful operations, and the very lip\nsometimes is torn away. Our fathers had terrible experience of the\ntyranny of the drinking customs of their day; and in spite of the\ngreater freedom and the greater temperance of our time, there is no\nlittle tyranny still in the drinking laws of many a class among us. All\nthis is just the outcome of the spirit that made the Hebrews so desire\na king--the shrinking of men's hearts from being unlike others, the\ndesire to be like the world. What men dread in such cases is not\nwrong-doing, not sin, not offending God; but incurring the reproof of\nmen, being laughed at, boycotted by their fellows. But is not this a\nvery unworthy course? Can any man truly respect himself who says, \"I do\nthis not because I think it right, not even because I deem it for my\ninterest, but simply because it is done by the generality of people?\"\nCan any man justify himself before God, if the honest utterance of his\nheart must be, \"I take this course, not because I deem it well-pleasing\nin Thy sight, but because if I did otherwise, men would laugh at me and\ndespise me?\" The very statement of the case in explicit terms condemns\nit. Not less is it condemned by the noble conduct of those to whom grace\nhas been given to withstand the voice of the multitude and stand up\nfaithfully for truth and duty. Was there ever a nobler attitude than\nthat of Caleb, when he withstood the clamour of the other spies, and\nfollowed the Lord fully? or that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,\nwhen alone among myriads, they refused to bow down to the image of gold?\nor that of Luther when, alone against the world, he held unflinchingly\nby his convictions of truth?\n\nLet the young especially ponder these things. To them it often seems a\nterrible thing to resist the general voice, and hold by conscience and\nduty. To confess Christ among a school of despisers, is often like\nmartyrdom. But think! What is it to _deny_ Christ? Can that bring any\npeace or satisfaction to those who know His worth? Must it not bring\nmisery and self-contempt? If the duty of confessing Him be difficult,\nseek strength for the duty. Pray for the strength which is made perfect\nin your weakness. Cast your thoughts onward to the day of Christ's\nsecond coming, when the opinion and practice of the world shall all be\nreduced to their essential worthlessness, and the promises to the\nfaithful, firm as the everlasting hills, shall be gloriously fulfilled.\nFor in that day, Hannah's song shall have a new fulfilment: \"He raiseth\nup the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar out of the\ndunghill, to set them among princes, and make them inherit the throne of\nglory.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n_SAUL BROUGHT TO SAMUEL._\n\n1 SAMUEL ix. 1-14.\n\n\nGod's providence is a wonderful scheme; a web of many threads, woven\nwith marvellous skill; a network composed of all kinds of materials,\ngreat and small, but so arranged that the very smallest of them is as\nessential as the largest to the completeness of the fabric.\n\nOne would suppose that many of the dramas of the Old Testament were\nplanned on very purpose to show how intimately things secular and things\nsacred, as we call them, are connected together; how entirely the\nminutest events are controlled by God, and at the same time how\nthoroughly the freedom of man is preserved. The meeting of two convicts\nin an Egyptian prison is a vital link in the chain of events that makes\nJoseph governor of Egypt; a young lady coming to bathe in the river\npreserves the life of Moses, and secures the escape of the Israelites;\nthe thoughtful regard of a father for the comfort of his sons in the\narmy brings David into contact with Goliath, and prepares the way for\nhis elevation to the throne; the beauty of a Hebrew girl fascinating a\nPersian king saves the whole Hebrew race from massacre and\nextermination.\n\nSo in the passage now before us. The straying of some asses from the\npastures of a Hebrew farmer brings together the two men, of whom the one\nwas the old ruler, and the other was to be the new ruler of Israel. That\nthese two should meet, and that the older of them should have the\nopportunity of instructing and influencing the younger, was of the\ngreatest consequence for the future welfare of the nation. And the\nmeeting is brought about in that casual way that at first sight seems to\nindicate that all things happen without plan or purpose. Yet we find, on\nmore careful examination, that every event has been planned to fit in to\nevery other, as carefully as the pieces of a dissected map, or the\nfragments of a fine mosaic. But of all the actors in the drama, not one\never feels that his freedom is in any way interfered with. All of them\nare at perfect liberty to follow the course that commends itself to\ntheir own minds.\n\nThus wonderfully do the two things go together--Divine ordination and\nhuman freedom. How it should be so, it baffles us to explain. But that\nit is so, must be obvious to every thoughtful mind. And it is because we\nsee the two things so harmonious in the common affairs of life, that we\ncan believe them to act harmoniously in the higher plane of redemption\nand salvation. For in that sphere, too, all things fall out in\naccordance with the Divine plan. \"Known unto God are all His works from\nthe beginning of the world.\" Yet this universal predestination in no\ndegree interferes with the liberty of man. If men reject God's offers,\nit is because they are personally unwilling to accept of them. If they\nreceive His offers, it is because they have been made willing to do so.\n\"Ye will not come unto Me that ye might have life,\" said our Lord to the\nJews. And yet it is ever true that \"it is God that worketh in you both\nto will and to do of His good pleasure.\"\n\nGod having given the people permission to appoint a king, that king has\nnow to be found. What kind of person must the first king be--the first\nto supersede the old rule of the Divinely-inspired judges, the first to\nfulfil the cravings of the people, the first to guide the nation which\nhad been appointed by God to stand in so close a relation to Himself?\n\nIt seemed desirable, that in the first king of Israel, two classes of\nqualities should be united, in some degree contradictory to one another.\nFirst, he must possess some of the qualities for which the people desire\nto have a king; while at the same time, from God's point of view, it is\ndesirable that under him the people should have some taste of the evils\nwhich Samuel had said would follow from their choice.\n\nTo an Oriental people, a stately and commanding personality was\nessential to an ideal king. They liked a king that would look well on\ngreat occasions, that would be a commanding figure at the head of an\narmy, or in the centre of a procession; that would arrest the eye of\nstrangers, and inspire at first sight an involuntary respect for the\nnation that had such a ruler at its head. Nor could any one have more\nfully realized the wishes of the people in this respect than Saul. \"A\nchoice young man and a goodly; there was not among the children of\nIsrael a goodlier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he was\nhigher than any of the people.\"\n\nFurther, though his tribe was small in number, it was not small in\ninfluence. And his family was of a superior caste, for Kish was \"a\nmighty man of power.\" And Saul's personal qualities were prepossessing\nand promising. He showed himself ready to comply with his father's\norder about the asses that had strayed, and to undertake a laborious\njourney to look for them. He was interested in his father's business,\nand ready to help him in his time of need. And the business which he\nundertook he seems to have executed with great patience and\nthoroughness. A foot journey over a great part of the territory of\nBenjamin was no easy task. Altogether, he shows himself, as we say, a\ncapable man. He is not afraid to face the irksome; he does not consult\nmerely for his ease and pleasure; labour does not distress him, and\ndifficulties do not daunt him.\n\nAll this was so far promising, and it seems to have been exactly what\nthe people desired. But on the other hand, there seems to have been,\nfrom the very beginning, a great want in Saul. He appears from the very\nfirst to have wanted all that was most conspicuous and most valuable in\nSamuel. It is a circumstance not without its significance, that the very\nname and work of Samuel do not seem to have been familiar or even known\nto him. It was his servant that knew about Samuel, and that told Saul of\nhis being in the city, in the land of Zuph (ver. 6). This cannot but\nstrike us as very strange. We should have thought that the name of\nSamuel would have been as familiar to all the people of Israel as that\nof Queen Victoria to the people of Great Britain. But Saul does not\nappear to have heard it, as in any way remarkable. Does not this\nindicate a family living entirely outside of all religious connections,\nentirely immersed in secular things, caring nothing about godly people,\nand hardly ever even pronouncing their name? It is singular how utterly\nignorant worldly men are of what passes in religious circles, if they\nhappen to have no near relative, or familiar acquaintance in the\nreligious world to carry the news to them from time to time. And as Saul\nthus lived outside of all religious circles, so he seems to have been\nentirely wanting in that great quality which was needed for a king of\nIsrael--loyalty to the Heavenly King. Here it was that the difference\nbetween him and Samuel was so great. Loyalty to God and to God's nation\nwas the very foundation of Samuel's life. Anything like self-seeking was\nunknown to him. He had early undergone that momentous change, when God\nis substituted for self as the pivot of one's life. The claims of the\ngreat King were ever paramount in his eyes. What would please God and be\nhonouring to Him, was the first question that rose to his mind. And as\nIsrael was God's people, so the interest and the welfare of Israel were\never dear to him. And thus it was that Samuel might be relied on not to\nthink of himself, not to think of his own wishes or interests, except as\nutterly subordinate to the wishes and interests of his God and his\nnation. It was this that gave such solidity to Samuel's character, and\nmade him so invaluable to his people. In every sphere of life it is a\nprecious quality. Whether as domestic servants, or clerks, or managers,\ndependent on others, those persons are ever of priceless worth whose\nhearts are thus set on objects outside themselves, and who are proof\nagainst the common temptations of selfishness and worldliness. And when\nthey are the rulers of a nation, and are able to disregard their\npersonal welfare in their burning desire to benefit the whole people,\nthey rise to the rank of heroes, and after their death, their names are\nenshrined in the memories of a grateful and admiring people.\n\nBut in these high qualities, Saul seems to have been altogether wanting.\nFor though he was not selfish and self-indulgent at first, though he\nreadily obeyed his father in going to search for the strayed asses, he\nhad no deep root of unselfishness in his nature, and by-and-bye, in the\nhour of temptation, the cloven foot unhappily appeared. And ere long the\npeople would learn, that as Saul had in him no profound reverence for\nthe will of God, so he had in him no profound and indefeasible regard\nfor the welfare of God's people. The people would come to see what a\nfatal mistake they had made in selecting a king merely for superficial\nqualities, and passing by all that would have allied him, as Samuel was\nallied, to God himself. Now it seems to have been God's purpose that the\nfirst king of Israel should be a man of this kind. Through him the\npeople were to learn that the king who simply fulfilled their notions,\nwas capable, when his self-will was developed, of dragging the nation to\nruin. No! it was not the superficial qualities of Saul that would be a\nblessing to the nation. It was not a man out of all spiritual sympathy\nwith the living God that would raise the standing of Israel among the\nkingdoms around, and bring them the submission and respect of foreign\nkings. The intense and consistent godliness of Samuel was probably the\nquality that was not popular among the people. In the worldliness of his\nspirit, Saul was probably more to their liking. Yet it was this\nunworldly but godly Samuel that had delivered them from the bitter yoke\nof the Philistines, and it was this handsome but unspiritual Saul that\nwas to bring them again into bondage to their ancient foes. This was the\nsad lesson to be learned from the reign of Saul.\n\nBut God did not design altogether to abandon His people. When the\nlesson should be learnt from Saul's history, He would guide them to a\nking of a different stamp. He would give them a king after His own\nheart--one that would make the will of God the great rule, and the\nwelfare of the people the great end of his government. David would\nengrave in the history of the nation in deeper letters than even Samuel,\nthe all-important lesson, that for kings and countries as much as for\nindividuals, \"the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;\" that God\nhonours them that honour Him, while they that despise Him shall indeed\nbe lightly esteemed.\n\nBut let us now come to the circumstances that led to the meeting of Saul\nand Samuel. The asses of Kish had strayed. Very probably they had\nstrayed at a time when they were specially needed. The operations of the\nfarm had to be suspended for want of them perhaps at a season when any\ndelay would be especially inconvenient. In all ranks of life, men are\nsubject to these vexations, and he is a happy man who does not fret\nunder them, but keeps his temper calm, in spite of all the worry.\nEspecially is he a happy man who retains his equanimity under the\nconviction that the thing is appointed by God, and that He who overruled\nthe loss of Kish's asses to such high events in the history of his son,\nis able so to order all their troubles and worries that they shall be\nfound conducive to their highest good. At Kish's order, Saul and one of\nthe servants go forth to seek the asses. With the precise localities\nthrough which they passed, we are not accurately acquainted, such places\nas Shalim or Zuph not having yet been identified. But the tour must have\nbeen an extensive one, extending over most of the territory of Benjamin;\nand as it must have been necessary to make many a detour, up hill and\ndown dale, to this farm and to that, the labour involved must have been\nvery great. It was not a superficial but a thorough search.\n\nAt last, when they came to the land of Zuph, they had been away so long\nthat Saul thought it necessary to return, lest his father should think\nthat some evil had befallen them. But the servant had another string to\nhis bow. Though Saul was not familiar with the name or the character of\nSamuel, his servant was. What God hides from the wise and prudent, He\nsometimes reveals to babes. It is an interesting thing in the history of\nthe Church, how often great people have been indebted to servants for\nimportant guidance, perhaps even for their first acquaintance with\nsaving truth. The little captive maid that ministered in the house of\nNaaman the Syrian was the channel through whom he came to know of the\nprophet of Israel who was able to heal him. Many a distinguished\nChristian has acknowledged, like the Earl of Shaftesbury, his\nobligations to some pious nurse that when he was a child told him Bible\nstories and pressed on his heart the claims of God. Happy those servants\nwho are faithful in these circumstances, and of whom it can be said,\n\"They have done what they could!\" Of this servant of Saul's we know\nnothing whatever, save that, in his master's dilemma, he told him of the\nLord's servant, and induced him to apply to him to extricate him from\nhis difficulty.\n\nIt does not appear that the city was Samuel's usual place of abode. It\nwas a place to which he had come to hold a religious service, and the\noccasion was evidently one of much importance. It is interesting to\nobserve how the difficulty was got over, of their having no present to\noffer to the man of God, in accordance with the custom of the country.\nSaul, though in comfortable circumstances, had absolutely no particle of\nmoney with him. His servant had but a quarter of a shekel, not designed\napparently for spending purposes, but perhaps a little keepsake or kind\nof amulet he carried about with him. But there was such hospitality in\nthose days that people going about the country had no need for money. So\nit was when our Lord instructed the disciples when sending them out on\ntheir missionary tour--\"Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in\nyour purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither\nshoes, nor yet staves, for the labourer is worthy of his meat.\" Those\nwho have presumed on these instructions, holding that the modern\nmissionary does not need any sustenance to be provided for him, but may\nsafely trust to the hospitality of the heathen, forget how different was\nthe case and the custom among the Hebrew people.\n\nBut now, as Saul and his servant came to the city, another providential\nmeeting takes place to help them to their object. \"As they went up the\nhill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water.\" The\ncity was up the hill, and the water supply would naturally be at the\nbottom. From the maidens that were going down to the fountain, they\nobtained information fitted to quicken their movements. They learned\nthat the prophet had already arrived. The preparations for the sacrifice\nwhich he was to offer were now going on. It was just the time to get a\nword with him, if they had business to transact. Very soon he would be\ngoing up to the high place, and then the solemn rites would begin, and\nbe followed by the feast, which would engross his whole attention. If\nthey would catch him at the proper moment they must \"make haste.\" That\nthey did quicken their pace, we cannot doubt. And it was necessary; for\njust as they reached the city Samuel made his appearance, about to go up\nto the high place. If they had lost that moment, they would probably\nhave had no opportunity during the whole day. Nor is it likely that\nSaul, who had no great desire for the company of the prophet, would have\nwaited till the sacrifice and the feast were over. The two men were\nbrought together just in the nick of time. And thus another essential\nlink of God's chain, bringing the old and the new ruler of Israel into\ncontact with each other, was happily adjusted, all through means to us\napparently accidental, but forming parts of the great scheme of God.\n\nFrom this part of the narrative we may derive two great lessons, the one\nwith reference to God, and the other with reference to man.\n\nFirst, as it regards God, we cannot but see how silently, secretly,\noften slowly, yet surely, He accomplishes His purposes. There are\ncertain rivers in nature that flow so gently, that when looking at the\nwater only, the eye of the spectator is unable to discern any movement\nat all. Often the ways of God resemble such rivers. Looking at what is\ngoing on in common life, it is so ordinary, so absolutely quiet, that\nyou can see no trace whatever of any Divine plan. Things seem left to\nthemselves, and God appears to have no connection with them. And yet,\nall the while, the most insignificant of them is contributing towards\nthe accomplishment of the mighty plans of God. By means of ten thousand\ntimes ten thousand agents, conscious and unconscious, things are moving\non towards the grand consummation. Men may be instruments in God's\nhands without knowing it. When Cyrus was moving his armies towards\nBabylon, he little knew that he was accomplishing the Divine purpose for\nthe humbling of the oppressor and the deliverance of His oppressed\npeople. And in all the events of common life, men seem to be so\ncompletely their own masters, there seems such a want of any influence\nfrom without, that God is liable to slip entirely out of sight. And yet,\nas we see from the chapter before us, God is really at work. Whether men\nknow it or not, they are really fulfilling the purposes of His will.\nCalmly but steadily, like the stars in the silent heavens, men are\nbringing to pass the schemes of God. His wildest enemies are really\nhelping to swell His triumphs. Oh, how vain is the attempt to resist His\nmighty hand! The day cometh, when all the tokens of confusion and defeat\nshall disappear, when the bearing even of the fall of a sparrow on the\nplans of God shall be made apparent, and every intelligent creature in\nearth and heaven shall join in the mighty shout--\"Alleluiah, for the\nLord God Omnipotent reigneth.\"\n\nBut again, there is a useful lesson in this chapter for directing the\nconduct of men. You see in what direction the mind of Saul's servant\nmoved for guidance in the day of difficulty. It was toward the servant\nof God. And you see likewise how, when Saul and he had determined to\nconsult the man of God, they were providentially guided to him. To us,\nthe way is open to God Himself, without the intervention of any prophet.\nLet us in every time of trouble seek access to God. Have we not a\nthousand examples of it in Bible history, and in other history too? Men\nsay it is not right we should trouble God with trifles. Nay, the living\nGod knows not what trouble is, and in His scheme there are no trifles.\nThere is no limit one way or other in the command, \"_In everything_ by\nprayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made\nknown unto God.\" \"Acknowledge Him in _all_ your ways, and He will direct\nyour steps.\" But above all, acknowledge Him with reference to the way of\nlife eternal. Make sure that you are in the way to heaven. Use well the\nguide book with which you are furnished. Let God's word be a light to\nyour feet and a lamp to your path; and then your path shall itself \"be\nlike the shining light, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect\nday.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n_FIRST MEETING OF SAMUEL AND SAUL._\n\n1 SAMUEL ix. 15-27.\n\n\nThe meeting between Samuel and Saul was preceded by previous meetings\nbetween Samuel and God. God had prepared the prophet for his visit from\nthe future king of Israel, and the first thing brought before us in\nthese verses is the communication on this subject which had been made to\nthe prophet a day before.\n\nIt is very interesting to observe how readily Samuel still lends himself\nfor any service he can render on behalf of his people, under the new\narrangement that God had permitted for their government. We have seen\nhow mortified Samuel was at first, when the people came to him with\ntheir request for a king. He took it as a personal affront, as well as a\ngrave public error. Conscious as he was of having done his duty\nfaithfully, and of having rendered high service to the nation, and\nreposing calmly, as he probably was, on the expectation that at least\nfor some time to come, Israel would move forward peacefully and happily\non the lines which he had drawn for them, it must have been a staggering\nblow when they came to him and asked him to overturn all that he had\ndone, and make them a king. It must have been one of those bewildering\nmoments when one's whole life appears lost, and all one's dearest hopes\nand hardest labours lie shattered, like the fragments of a potter's\nvessel. We have seen how, in that sad moment, Samuel carried his sorrows\nto the Lord, and learning thus to view the whole matter from God's point\nof view, how he came to make comparatively little account of his own\ndisappointment, and to think only how he could still serve the cause of\nGod, how he could still help the people, how he could prevent the vessel\nwhich he was no longer to steer from dashing against the hidden rocks he\nsaw so clearly ahead. It is impossible not to be struck with the beauty\nand purity of Samuel's character in this mode of action.\n\nHow many a good man takes offence when slighted or superseded by some\ncommittee or other body, in connection with a political, social, or\nreligious cause which he has tried to help! If they won't have me, he\nsays, let them do without me. If they won't allow me to carry out the\ncourse which I have followed, and which has been undoubtedly highly\nbeneficial, I'll have nothing more to do with them. He sulks in his tent\nlike Achilles, or goes over to the enemy like Coriolanus. Not so Samuel!\nHis love for the people is too deep to allow of such a course. They have\nbehaved badly to him, but notwithstanding he will not leave them. Like\nan injured but loving wife, who labours with every art of patient\naffection to reclaim the husband that has abused her and broken her\nheart; like a long-suffering father, who attends with his own hands to\nthe neglected work of his dissipated son, to save him if possible from\nthe consequences of his folly--Samuel overlooks his personal slight, and\nbears with the public folly of the people, in the endeavour to be of\nsome use to them in the important stage of their history on which they\nare entering. He receives Divine communications respecting the man who\nis to supersede him in the government of the people, and instead of\njealousy and dislike, shows every readiness to help him. It is\nrefreshing to find such tokens of magnanimity and disinterestedness.\nHowever paltry human nature may be in itself, it can become very noble\nwhen rehabilitated by the Spirit of God. Need we ask which is the nobler\ncourse? You feel that you have not been treated perhaps by your church\nwith sufficient consideration. You fret, you complain, you stay away\nfrom church, you pour your grievance into every open ear. Would Samuel\nhave done so? Is not your conduct the very reverse of his? Side by side\nwith his, must not yours be pronounced poor and paltry? Have you not\nneed to study the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and when you read\nof the charity that \"beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth\nall things, endureth all things,\" ask yourselves whether it might not be\nsaid of you that you have neither part nor lot in this matter?\n\nThe communication that God had made to Samuel was, that on the following\nday He would send to him the man whom he was to anoint as captain over\nIsrael, that he might save them from the Philistines; for He had looked\nupon His people, because their cry was come up to Him. There is an\napparent inconsistency here with what is said elsewhere. In chap. viii.\n13 it is said, that \"the Philistines came no more into the coast of\nIsrael, and that the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all\nthe days of Samuel.\" But probably \"all the days of Samuel\" mean only the\ndays when he exerted himself actively against them. As long as Samuel\nwatched and checked them, they were kept in restraint; but when he\nceased to do so, they resumed their active hostility. The concluding\nverses of chap. xiii. (19-23) show that in Saul's time the Philistine\noppression had become so galling that the very smiths had been removed\nfrom the land of Israel, and there was no right provision even for\nsharpening ploughshares, or coulters, or axes, or mattocks. Undoubtedly\nSaul removed this oppression for a time, and David's elegy shows how\nbeneficial his reign was in some other ways, although the last act of\nhis life was an encounter with the Philistines in which he was utterly\ndefeated. It is evident that before Saul's time the tyranny of their\nfoes had been very galling to the Israelites. The words of God, \"their\ncry is come up to Me,\" indicate quietly a very terrible state of\ndistress. They carry us back to the words uttered at the burning bush,\n\"I have seen, I have seen the affliction of My people which are in\nEgypt, have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know\ntheir sorrows.\" God speaks after the manner of men. He needs no cry to\ncome into His ears to tell Him of the woes of the oppressed.\nNevertheless He seems to wait till that cry is raised, till the appeal\nis made to Him, till the consciousness of utter helplessness sends men\nto His footstool. And a very blessed truth it is, that He sympathizes\nwith the cry of the oppressed. There is much meaning in the simple\nexpression--\"their cry is come up to Me.\" It denotes a very tender\nsympathy, a concern for all that they have been suffering, and a\nresolution to interpose on their behalf. God is never impassive nor\nindifferent to the sorrows and sufferings of His people. All are\ndesigned to serve as chastenings with a view to ultimate good. The eye\nof God is ever watching to see whether the chastening is sufficient,\nand when it is so, to stop the suffering. In the Inquisitor's chamber,\nthe eye of God was ever on the boot and the thumbscrew, on the knife and\nthe pincers, on the furnace and all the other instruments of torture. In\nthe sick room, He watches the spent and struggling patient, knows every\nparoxysm of pain, knows all the restlessness and tossing of the weary\nnight. He understands the anguish of the loving heart when one after\nanother of its treasures is torn away. He knows the unutterable distress\nwhen a child's misconduct brings down grey heirs with sorrow to the\ngrave. Appearances may be all the other way, but \"the Lord God is\nmerciful and gracious, slow to anger and of great compassion.\" The night\nmay be long and weary, but the dawn comes at the appointed time. \"Ye\nhave heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord,\nthat the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.\"\n\nBut now Samuel and Saul have met. Saul is as unfamiliar with Samuel's\nappearance as with his name; he goes up to him and asks where the seer's\nhouse is. \"I am the seer,\" replies Samuel; but at the moment Samuel was\nnot at liberty, and could not converse with Saul. He invites him to go\nup with him to the high place, and take part in the religious service.\nThen he invites him to the feast that was to follow the sacrifice. Next\nday he is to deal with him as a prophet, making important communications\nto him. But in regard to the matter which occupies him at the moment,\nhis father's asses, he need trouble himself no more on that head, for\nthe asses are found. Then he gives Saul a hint of what is coming. He\nmakes an announcement to him that he and his father's house are the\nobjects of the whole desire of Israel. It is not very apparent whether\nor not Saul had any inkling of the meaning of this remark. It may be\nthat he viewed it as a mere expression of politeness, savouring of the\ncustomary exaggeration of the East. At all events, his answer was\ncouched in those terms of extravagant humility which was likewise matter\nof Eastern custom. \"Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes\nof Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of\nBenjamin? Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?\"\n\nThe sacrifice next engages the attention of all. Samuel's first meeting\nwith Saul takes place over the symbol of expiation, over the sacrifice\nthat shows man to be a sinner, and declares that without shedding of\nblood there is no remission of sin. No doubt the circumstance was very\nimpressive to Samuel, and would be turned to its proper use in\nsubsequent conversation with Saul, whether Saul entered into the spirit\nof it or not. If it be asked, How could a sacrifice take place on the\nheight of this city, whereas God had commanded that only in the place\nwhich He was to choose should such rites be performed?--the answer is,\nthat at that time Shiloh lay in ruins, and Mount Zion was still in the\npossession of the Jebusites. The final arrangements had not yet been\nmade for the Hebrew ceremonial, and in the present provisional and\nunsettled state of things, sacrifices were not limited to a single\nplace.\n\nAfter the sacrifice, came the feast. It was now that Samuel began to\ngive more explicit hints to Saul of the dignity to which he was to be\nraised. The feast was held in \"the parlour\"--a room adjacent to the\nplace of sacrifice, to which Samuel had invited a large company--thirty\nof the chief inhabitants of the town. First Saul and his servant are\ncomplimented by having the place of honour assigned to them. Then they\nare honoured by having a portion set before them which had been\nspecially set apart for them the day before. The speech concerning this\nportion in ver. 24 is somewhat obscure if it be regarded as a speech of\nSamuel's. It seems more natural to regard it as a speech of the cook's.\nIt will be observed that the word \"Samuel\" in the middle of the verse is\nin italics, showing that it is not in the Hebrew, so that it is more\nnatural to regard the clause as having \"the cook\" for its nominative,\nand indeed this talk about the portion is more suitable for the cook\nthan for Samuel. Servants were not forbidden to speak during\nentertainments; nor did their masters disdain even to have serious\nconversation with them (see Nehemiah ii. 2-8). There is another\ncorrection of the Authorized Version that needs to be made. At the end\nof ver. 24 the words \"Since I said\" are not a literal rendering. The\noriginal is simply the word which is constantly rendered _saying_. It\nhas been suggested (\"Speaker's Commentary\") that a word or two should be\nsupplied to make the sense complete, and the verse would then\nrun:--\"unto this time hath it been kept for thee [against the festival\nof which Samuel spake], saying, I have invited the people.\" The part\nthus reserved was the shoulder and its appurtenances. Why this part was\nregarded as more honourable than any other, we do not know, nor is it of\nany moment; the point of importance being, first, that by Samuel's\nexpress instructions it had been reserved for Saul, and second, that\nthese instructions had been given as soon as Samuel made arrangements\nfor the feast. To honour Saul as the destined king of Israel was\nSamuel's unhesitating purpose. Some men might have said, It will be\ntime enough to show this mark of respect when the man is actually chosen\nking. Had there been the slightest feeling of grudge in the mind of\nSamuel, this is what he would have thought. But instead of grudging Saul\nhis new dignity, he is forward to acknowledge it. There shall be no\nholding back on his part of honour for the man whom the Lord delighted\nto honour.\n\nIf the words of ver. 24 were really spoken by the cook, they must have\nadded a new element of surprise and impression to Saul. It was apparent\nthat he had been expected to this feast. The cook had been warned that a\nman of consequence was coming, and had therefore set apart that portion\nto him. Saul must have felt both that a supernatural power had been at\nwork, and that some strange destiny--possibly the royal dignity--was in\nreserve for him. To us, pondering the circumstances, what is most\nstriking is, the wonderful way in which the fixed purpose of God is\naccomplished, while all the agents in the matter remain perfectly free.\nThat Saul and his servant should be present with Samuel at that feast,\nwas the fixed decree of heaven. But it was brought about quite\nnaturally. There was no constraint on the mind of Saul's servant, when,\nbeing in the land of Zuph, he proposed that they should go into the\ncity, and try to make inquiry of the man of God. There was no constraint\non the damsels when at a certain time they went down to the fountain for\nwater, and on their way met Saul and his servant. There was no\nconstraint on Saul and his servant, save that created by common sense,\nwhen they quickened their pace in order to meet Samuel on the way to the\nsacrifice. Every one of these events fell out freely and naturally. Yet\nall were necessary links in the chain of God's purposes. From God's\npoint of view they were necessary, from man's point of view they were\ncasual. Thus necessity and freedom harmonized together, as they always\ndo in the plans and operations of God. It is absurd to say that the\npredestination of God takes away the liberty of man. It is unreasonable\nto suppose that because God has predestinated all events, we need not\ntake any step in the matter of our salvation. Such an idea is founded on\nan utter misunderstanding of the relation in which God has placed us to\nHim. It overlooks the great truth, that God's ways are not our ways, nor\nHis thoughts our thoughts. The relation of the Infinite Will to the\nwills of finite creatures is a mystery we cannot fathom; but the effect\non us should be to impel us to seek that our will may ever be in harmony\nwith God's, and that thus the petition in the Lord's prayer may be\nfulfilled, \"Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.\"\n\nThe feast is over; Samuel and Saul return to the city, and there, on the\nhousetop, they commune together. The twenty-sixth verse seems to narrate\nin detail what is summarily contained in the twenty-fifth. After\nreturning from the sacrifice and the feast, they seem to have committed\nthemselves to rest. In the early morning, about daybreak, they had their\nconversation on the housetop, and thereafter Samuel sent Saul away,\nconvoying him part of the road. What the conversation on the housetop\nwas, we are not told; but we have no difficulty in conjecturing. Samuel\ncould not but communicate to Saul the treasured thoughts of his lifetime\nregarding the way to govern Israel. He must have recalled to him God's\npurpose regarding His people, beginning with the call of Abraham,\ndwelling on the deliverance from Egypt, and touching on the history of\nthe several judges, and the lessons to be derived from each. We may\nfancy the fervour with which he would urge on Saul, that the one thing\nmost essential for the prosperity of the nation--the one thing which\nthose in power ought continually to watch and aim at, was, loyalty by\nthe people to their heavenly King, and the faithful observance of His\nlaw and covenant. He would dwell emphatically on the many instances in\nwhich neglect of the covenant had brought disaster and misery, and on\nthe wonderful change in their outward circumstances which had come with\nevery return of fidelity to their King. Granted, they were soon to have\na king. They were to change their form of government, and be like the\nrest of the nations. But if they changed their form of government, they\nwere not to surrender the palladium of their nation, they were not to\nabandon their \"gloria et tutamen.\" The new king would be tempted like\nall the kings around him to regard his own will as his only rule of\naction, and to fall in with the prevalent notion, that kings were above\nthe law, because the king's will was the law, and nothing could be\nhigher than that. What an infinite calamity it would be to himself and\nto the nation, if the new king of Israel were to fall into such a\ndelusion! Yes, the king _was_ above the law, and the king's will _was_\nthe law; but it was the King of kings alone who had this prerogative,\nand woe to the earthly ruler that dared to climb into His throne, and\ntake into his puny hands the sceptre of the Omnipotent!\n\nSuch, we may well believe, was the tenor of that first meeting of Samuel\nand Saul. We cannot but carry forward our thoughts a little, and think\nwhat was the last. The last meeting was at Endor, where in darkness and\nutter despair, the king of Israel had thought of his early friend, had\nperhaps recalled his gentle kindness on this first occasion of their\nmeeting, and wondered whether he might not be able and willing to throw\nsome light once more upon his path. But alas, the day of merciful\nvisitation was gone. The first conversation was in the brightness of\nearly morning; the last in midnight gloom. The time of day was\nappropriate for each. On that sepulchral night, the worst evils that he\nhad dreaded, and against which he had doubtless warned him on that\nhousetop, had come to pass. Self-willed and regardless of God, Saul had\ntaken his own course, and brought his people to the very verge of ruin.\nDiffering, _toto coelo_, from Samuel in his treatment of his\nsuccessor, he had hunted David like a partridge on the mountains, and\nstormed against the man who was to bring back to the nation the\nblessings of which he had robbed it. Brought to bay at last by his\nrecklessness and passion, he could only reap the fruit of what he had\nsown; \"for God is not mocked; they that sow to the flesh shall of the\nflesh reap corruption, and they that sow to the Spirit shall, of the\nSpirit, reap life everlasting.\" Again there was to ring out the great\nlaw of the kingdom,--\"Them that honour Me, I will honour; while they\nthat despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.\"\n\nThe good words of Samuel fell not into good ground. He had not in Saul a\ncongenial hearer. Saul was too worldly a man to care for, or appreciate\nspiritual things. Alas, how often for a similar reason, the best words\nof the best men fail of their purpose! But how is this ever to be cured?\nHow is the uncongenial heart to become a fit bed for the good seed of\nthe Kingdom? I own, it is a most difficult thing. Those who are\nafflicted with indifference to spiritual truth will not seek a remedy,\nbecause the very essence of their malady is that they do not care. But\nsurely their Christian friends and relatives, and all interested in\ntheir welfare, will care very much. Have you such persons--persons whose\nworldly hearts show no sympathy with Divine truth--among your\nacquaintances or in your families? Persons so steeped in worldliness\nthat the strongest statements of saving truth are as much lost upon them\nas grains of the best wheat would be lost if sown in a heap of sand? O\nhow should you be earnest for such in prayer; there is a remedy, and\nthere is a Physician able to apply it; the Spirit of God if appealed to,\ncan repeat the process that was so effectual at Philippi, when \"the Lord\nopened the heart of Lydia, that she _attended_ to the things that were\nspoken by Paul.\" \"If ye then that are evil know how to give good things\nunto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven\ngive the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n_SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL._\n\n1 SAMUEL x. 1-16.\n\n\nThere is a remarkable minuteness of detail in this and other narratives\nin Samuel, suggesting the authenticity of the narrative, and the\nauthorship of one who was personally connected with the transactions.\nThe historical style of Scripture is very characteristic; sometimes\ngreat periods of time are passed over with hardly a word, and sometimes\nevents of little apparent importance are recorded with what might be\nthought needless minuteness. In Genesis, the whole history of the world\nbefore the flood is despatched in seven chapters, less than is occupied\nwith the history of Joseph. Enoch's biography is in one little verse,\nwhile a whole chapter is taken up with the funeral of Sarah, and another\nchapter of unusual length with the marrying of Isaac. Yet we can be at\nno loss to discover good reasons for this arrangement. It combines two\nforms of history--annals, and dramatic story. Annals are short, and\nnecessarily somewhat dry; but they have the advantage of embracing much\nin comparatively short compass. The dramatic story is necessarily\ndiffuse; it occupies a large amount of space; but it has the advantage\nof presenting a living picture--of bringing past events before the\nreader as they happened at the time. If the whole history of the Bible\nhad been in the form of annals, it would have been very useful, but it\nwould have wanted human interest. If it had been all in the dramatic\nform, it would have occupied too much space. By the combination of the\ntwo methods, we secure the compact precision of the one, and the living\ninterest of the other. In the verses that are to form the subject of the\npresent lecture, we have a lively dramatic picture of what took place in\nconnection with the anointing of Saul by Samuel as king of Israel. The\nevent was a very important one, as showing the pains that were taken to\nimpress him with the solemnity of the office, and his obligation to\nundertake it in full accord with God's sacred purpose in connection with\nHis people Israel. Everything was planned to impress on Saul that his\nelevation to the royal dignity was not to be viewed by him as a mere\npiece of good fortune, and to induce him to enter on the office with a\nsolemn sense of responsibility, and in a spirit entirely different from\nthat of the neighbouring kings, who thought only of their royal position\nas enabling them to gratify the desires of their own hearts. Both Saul\nand the people must see the hand of God very plainly in Saul's\nelevation, and the king must enter on his duties with a profound sense\nof the supernatural influences through which he has been elevated, and\nhis obligation to rule the people in the fear, and according to the\nwill, of God.\n\nThough the servant that accompanied Saul seems to have been as much a\ncompanion and adviser as a servant, and to have been present as yet in\nall Samuel's intercourse with Saul, yet the act of anointing which the\nprophet was now to perform was more suitable to be done in private than\nin the presence of another; consequently the servant was sent on before\n(ch. ix. 27). It would seem to have been Samuel's intention, while\npaying honour to Saul as one to whom honour was due, and thus hinting at\nhis coming elevation, not to make it public, not to anticipate the\npublic selection which would follow soon in an orderly way. It was right\nthat Saul himself should know what was coming, and that his mind should\nbe prepared for it; but it was not right at this stage that others\nshould know it, for that would have seemed an interference with the\nchoice of the people. It must have been in some quiet corner of the road\nthat Samuel took out his vial of sacred oil, and poured it on Saul to\nanoint him king of Israel. The kiss which he gave him was the kiss of\nhomage, a very old way of recognizing sovereignty (Ps. ii. 12), and\nstill kept up in the custom of kissing the sovereign's hand after\nelevation to office or dignity. To be thus anointed by God's recognised\nservant, was to receive the approval of God Himself. Saul now became\nGod's messiah--the Lord's anointed. For the term messiah, as applied to\nChrist, belongs to His kingly office. Though the priests likewise were\nanointed, the title derived from that act was not appropriated by them,\nbut by the kings. It was counted a high and solemn dignity, making the\nking's person sacred, in the eyes of every God-fearing man. Yet this was\nnot an indelible character; it might be forfeited by unfaithfulness and\ntransgression. The only Messiah, the only Anointed One, who was\nincapable of being set aside, was He whom the kings of Israel typified.\nOf Him Isaiah foretold: \"Of the increase of His government and peace\nthere shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to\norder it and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from\nhenceforth even for ever.\" And in announcing the birth of Jesus, the\nangel foretold: \"He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of\nHis kingdom there shall be no end.\"\n\nIt is evident that Saul was surprised at the acts of Samuel. We can\nreadily fancy his look of astonishment after the venerable prophet had\ngiven him the kiss of homage,--the searching gaze that asked, \"What do\nyou mean by that?\" Samuel was ready with his answer: \"Is it not because\nthe Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over His heritage?\" But in so\nmomentous a matter, involving a supernatural communication of the will\nof God, an assurance even from Samuel was hardly sufficient. It was\nreasonable that Saul should be supplied with tangible proofs that in\nanointing him as king Samuel had complied with the will of God. These\ntangible proofs Samuel proceeded to give. They consisted of predictions\nof certain events that were about to happen--events that it was not\nwithin the range of ordinary sagacity to foresee, and which were\ntherefore fitted to convince Saul that Samuel was in possession of\nsupernatural authority, and that the act of consecration which he had\njust performed was agreeable to the will of God.\n\nThe first of these proofs was, that when he had proceeded on his journey\nas far as Rachel's tomb, he would meet with two men who would tell him\nthat the lost asses had been found, and that his father's anxiety was\nnow about his son. It must be owned that the localities here are very\npuzzling. If the meeting with Samuel was near Ramah of Benjamin, Saul,\nin returning to Gibeah, would not have occasion to go near Rachel's\ntomb. We can only say he may have had some reason for taking this route\nunknown to us. Here he would find a confirmation of what Samuel had told\nhim on the day before; and his mind being thus relieved of anxiety, he\nwould have more freedom to ponder the marvellous things of which Samuel\nhad spoken to him.\n\nThe next token was to be found in the plain of Tabor, but this Tabor can\nhave no connection with the well-known mountain of that name in the\nplain of Esdraelon. Some have conjectured that this Tabor is derived\nfrom Deborah, Rachel's nurse, who was buried in the neighbourhood of\nBethel (Gen. xxxv. 8), but there is no probability in this conjecture.\nHere three men, going up to Bethel to a religious festival were to meet\nSaul; and they were to present him, as an act of homage, with two of\ntheir three loaves. This was another evidence that God was filling men's\nhearts with a rare feeling towards him.\n\nThe third token was to be the most remarkable of any. It was to occur at\nwhat is called \"the hill of God.\" Literally this is \"Gibeah of\nGod\"--God's Gibeah. It seems to have been Saul's own city, but the name\nGibeah may have been given to the whole hill where the city lay. The\nprecise spot where the occurrence was to take place was at the garrison\nof the Philistines. (Thus it appears incidentally that the old enemy\nwere again harassing the country.) Gibeah, which is elsewhere called\nGibeah of Saul, is here called God's Gibeah, because of the sacred\nservices of which it was the seat. Here Saul would meet a company of\nprophets coming down from the holy place, with psaltery, and tabret, and\npipe, and harp, and here his mind would undergo a change, and he would\nbe impelled to join the prophets' company. This was a strange token,\nwith a strange result.\n\nWe must try, first, to form some idea of Saul's state of mind in the\nmidst of these strange events.\n\nThe thought of his being king of Israel must have set his whole being\nvibrating with high emotion. No mind can take in at first all that is\ninvolved in such a stroke of fortune. A tumult of feeling surges through\nthe mind. It is intoxicated with the prospect. Glimpses of this pleasure\nand of that, now brought within reach, flit before the fancy. The whole\npulses of Saul's nature must have been quickened. A susceptibility of\nimpression formerly unknown must have come to him. He was like a cloud\nsurcharged with electricity; he was in that state of nervous excitement\nwhich craves a physical outlet, whether in singing, or shouting, or\nleaping,--anything to relieve the brain and nervous system, which seem\nto tremble and struggle under the extraordinary pressure.\n\nBut mingling with this, there must have been another, and perhaps\ndeeper, emotion at work in Saul's bosom. He had been brought into near\ncontact with the Supernatural. The thought of the Infinite Power that\nordains and governs all had been stirred very vividly within him. The\nthree tokens of Divine ordination met with in succession at Rachel's\ntomb, in the plain of Tabor, and in the neighbourhood of Gibeah, must\nhave impressed him very profoundly. Probably he had never had any very\ndistinct impression of the great Supernatural Being before. The worldly\nturn of mind which was natural to him would not occupy itself with any\nsuch thoughts. But now it was made clear to him not only that there was\na Supernatural Being, but that He was dealing very closely with him. It\nis always a solemn thing to feel in the presence of God, and to remember\nthat He is searching us and knowing us, knowing our sitting down and\nour rising up, and comprehending all our thoughts afar off. At such\ntimes the sense of our guilt, feebleness, dependence, usually comes on\nus, full and strong. Must it not have been so with Saul? If the prospect\nof kingly power was fitted to puff him up, the sense of God's nearness\nto him was fitted to cast him down. What was he before God? An\ninsignificant worm, a guilty sinner, unworthy to be called God's son.\n\nThe whole susceptibilities of Saul were in a state of high excitement;\nthe sense of the Divine presence was on him, and for the moment a desire\nto render to God some acknowledgment of all the mercy which had come\nupon him. When the company of prophets met him coming down the hill,\n\"the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied with them.\" When in\nthe Old Testament the Spirit of God is said to come on one, the meaning\nis not always that He comes in regenerating and sanctifying grace. The\nSpirit of God in Bezaleel, the son of Uri, made him cunning in all\nmanner of workmanship, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass. The\nSpirit of God, when He came upon Samson, magnified his physical\nstrength, and fitted him for the most wonderful feats. So the Spirit of\nGod, when He came on Saul, did not necessarily regenerate his being;\nalas! in Saul's future life, there is only too much evidence of an\nunchanged heart! Still it might be said of Saul that he was changed into\nanother man. Elevated by the prospect before him, but awed at the same\ntime by a sense of God's nearness, he had no heart for the pursuits in\nwhich he would have engaged on his return home had no such change\noccurred. In the mood of mind in which he was now, he could not look at\nanything frivolous: his mind soared to higher things. When therefore he\nmet the company of prophets coming down the hill, he was impelled by the\nsurge of his feelings to join their company and take part in their song.\nThey were returning from the high place where they had been engaged in\nworship, and now they seem to have been continuing the service, sounding\nout the high praises of God, and thankfully remembering His mercies. It\nwas the same God who had so wonderfully drawn near to Saul, and\nconferred on him privileges which were as exalted as they were\nundeserved. No wonder the heart of Saul caught the infection, and threw\nitself for the time into the service of praise! No young man could well\nhave resisted the impulse. Had he not been chosen out of all the ten\nthousands of Israel for an honour and a function higher than any\nIsraelite had ever yet enjoyed? Ought he not, must he not, in all the\nenthusiasm of profoundest wonder, extol the name of Him from whom so\nsuddenly, so unexpectedly, yet so assuredly, this marvellous favour had\ncome?\n\nBut it was an employment very different from what had hitherto been his\ncustom. That utter worldliness of mind which we have referred to as his\nnatural disposition would have made him scorn any such employment in his\nordinary mood as utterly alien to his feelings. Too often we see that\nworldly-minded men not only have no relish for spiritual exercises, but\nfeel bitterly and scornfully toward those who affect them. The reason is\nnot far to seek. They know that religious men count them guilty of sin,\nof great sin, in so neglecting the service of God. To be condemned,\nwhether openly or not, galls their pride, and sets them to disparage\nthose who have so low an opinion of them. It is not said that Saul had\nfelt bitterly toward religious men previous to this time. But whether\nhe did so or not, he appears to have kept aloof from them quite as much\nas if he had. And now in his own city he appears among the prophets, as\nif sharing their inspiration, and joining with them openly in the\npraises of God. It is so strange a sight that every one is astonished.\n\"Saul among the prophets!\" people exclaim. \"Shall wonders ever cease?\"\nAnd yet Saul was not in his right place among the prophets. Saul was\nlike the stony ground seed in the parable of the sower. He had no depth\nof root. His enthusiasm on this occasion was the result of forces that\ndid not work at the heart of his nature. It was the result of the new\nand most remarkable situation in which he found himself, not of any new\nprinciple of life, any principle that would involve a radical change. It\nis a solemn fact that men may be worked on by outer forces so as to do\nmany things that seem to be acts of Divine service, but are not so\nreally. A man suddenly raised to a high and influential position feels\nthe influence of the change,--feels himself sobered and solemnized by\nit, and for a time appears to live and act under higher considerations\nthan he used to acknowledge before. But when he gets used to his new\nposition, when the surprise has abated, and everything around him has\nbecome normal to him, his old principles of action return. A young man\ncalled suddenly to take the place of a most worthy and honoured father\nfeels the responsibility of wearing such a mantle, and struggles for a\ntime to fulfil his father's ideal. But ere long the novelty of his\nposition wears away, the thought of his father recurs less frequently,\nand his old views and feelings resume their sway. Admission to the\nfellowship of a Church which sustains a high repute may have at first\nnot only a restraining, but a stimulating and elevating effect, until,\nthe position becoming familiar to one, the emotions it first excited die\naway. This risk is peculiarly incident to those who bear office in the\nChurch. Ordination to the ministry, or to any other spiritual office,\nsolemnizes one at first, even though one may not be truly converted, and\nnerves one with strength and resolution to throw off many an evil habit.\nBut the solemn impression wanes with time, and the carnal nature asserts\nits claims. How earnest and how particular men ought ever to be in\nexamining themselves whether their serious impressions are the effect of\na true change of nature, or whether they are not mere temporary\nexperiences, the casual result of external circumstances.\n\nBut how is this to be ascertained? Let us recall the test with which our\nLord has furnished us. \"Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord,\nshall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My\nFather which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord,\nLord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out\ndevils, and in Thy name have done many wonderful works? Then will I say\nunto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.\" The\nreal test is a changed will; a will no longer demanding that self be\npleased, but that God be pleased; a will yielding up everything to the\nwill of God; a will continually asking what is right and what is true,\nnot what will please me, or what will be a gain to me; a will\noverpowered by the sense of what is due in nature to the Lord and Judge\nof all, and of what is due in grace to Him that loved us and washed us\nfrom our sins in His own blood. Have you thus surrendered yourselves to\nGod? At the heart and root of your nature is there the profound desire\nto do what is well-pleasing in His sight? If so, then, even amid\nabounding infirmities, you may hold that you are the child of God. But\nif still the principle--silent, perhaps, and unavowed, but real--that\nmoves you and regulates your life be that of self-pleasing, any change\nthat may have occurred otherwise must have sprung only from outward\nconditions, and the prayer needs to go out from you on the wings of\nirrepressible desire, \"Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a\nright spirit within me.\"\n\nTwo things in this part of the chapter have yet to be adverted to. The\nfirst is that somewhat mysterious question (ver. 12) which some one\nasked on seeing Saul among the prophets--\"But who is their father?\"\nVarious explanations have been given of this question; but the most\nnatural seems to be, that it was designed to meet a reason for the\nsurprise felt at Saul being among the prophets--viz. that his father\nKish was a godless man. That consideration is irrelevant; for who, asks\nthis person, is the father of the prophets? The prophetic gift does not\ndepend on fatherhood. It is not by connection with their fathers that\nthe prophetic band enjoy their privileges. Why should not Saul be among\nthe prophets as well as any of them? Such men are born not of blood, nor\nof the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God.\n\nThe other point remaining to be noticed is Saul's concealment from his\nuncle of all that Samuel had said about the kingdom. It appears from\nthis both that Saul was yet of a modest, humble spirit, and perhaps that\nhis uncle would have made an unwise use of the information if he had got\nit. It would be time enough for that to be known when God's way of\nbringing it to pass should come. There is a time to speak and a time to\nkeep silence. Saul told enough to the uncle to establish belief in the\nsupernatural power of Samuel, but nothing to gratify mere curiosity.\nThus in many ways Saul commends himself to us in this chapter, and in no\nway does he provoke our blame. He was like the young man in the Gospel\nin whom our Lord found so much that was favourable. Alas, he was like\nthe young man also in the particular that made all the rest of little\neffect--\"One thing thou lackest.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n_SAUL CHOSEN KING._\n\n1 SAMUEL x. 17-27.\n\n\nWhen first the desire to have a king came to a height with the people,\nthey had the grace to go to Samuel, and endeavour to arrange the matter\nthrough him. They did not, indeed, show much regard to his feelings;\nrather they showed a sort of childlike helplessness, not appearing to\nconsider how much he would be hurt both by their virtual rejection of\nhis government, and by their blunt reference to the unworthy behaviour\nof his sons. But it was a good thing that they came to Samuel at all.\nThey were not prepared to carry out their wishes by lawless violence;\nthey were not desirous to make use of the usual Oriental methods of\nrevolution--massacre and riot. It was so far well that they desired to\navail themselves of the peaceful instrumentality of Samuel. We have seen\nhow Samuel carried the matter to the Lord, and how the Lord yielded so\nfar to the wish of the nation as to permit them to have a king. And\nSamuel having determined not to take offence, but to continue in\nfriendly relations to the people and do his utmost to turn the change to\nthe best possible account, now proceeds to superintend the business of\nelection. He summons the people to the Lord to Mizpeh; that is, he\nconvenes the heads of the various tribes to a meeting, which was not to\nbe counted a rough political convention, but a solemn religious\ngathering in the very presence of the Lord. Either before the meeting,\nor at the meeting, the principle must have been settled on which the\nelection was to be made. It was, however, not so much the people that\nwere to choose as God. The selection was to take place by lot. This\nmethod was resorted to as the best fitted to show who was the object of\nGod's choice. There seems to have been no trace of difference of opinion\nas to its being the right method of procedure.\n\nBut before the lot was actually cast, Samuel addressed to the assembly\none of those stern, terrible exposures of the spirit that had led to the\ntransaction which would surely have turned a less self-willed and\nstiff-necked people from their purpose, and constrained them to revert\nto their original economy. \"Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I brought\nup Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the\nEgyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that\noppressed you; and ye have this day rejected your God, who Himself saved\nyou out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said\nunto Him, Nay, but set a king over us.\" How _could_ the people, we may\nwell ask, get over this? How could they prefer an earthly king to a\nheavenly? What possible benefit worth naming could accrue to them from a\ntransaction dishonouring to the Lord of heaven, which, if it did not\nmake Him their enemy, could not but chill His interest in them?\n\nPerhaps, however, we may wonder less at the behaviour of the Israelites\non this occasion if we bear in mind how often the same offence is\ncommitted, and with how little thought and consideration, at the\npresent day. To begin with, take the case--and it is a very common\none--of those who have been dedicated to God in baptism, but who cast\ntheir baptismal covenant to the winds. The time comes when the\nprovisional dedication to the Lord should be followed up by an actual\nand hearty consecration of themselves. Failing that, what can be said of\nthem but that they reject God as their King? And with what want of\nconcern is this often done, and sometimes in the face of remonstrances,\nas, for instance, by the many young men in our congregations who allow\nthe time for decision to pass without ever presenting themselves to the\nChurch as desirous to take on them the yoke of Christ! A moment's\nthought might show them that if they do not actively join themselves to\nChrist, they virtually sever themselves from Him. If I make a\nprovisional bargain with any one to last for a short time, and at the\nend of that time take no steps to renew it, I actually renounce it. Not\nto renew the covenant of baptism, when years of discretion have been\nreached, is virtually to break it off. Much consideration must be had\nfor the consciousness of unworthiness, but even that is not a sufficient\nreason, because our worthiness can never come from what we are in\nourselves, but from our faith in Him who alone can supply us with the\nwedding garment.\n\nThen there are those who reject God in a more outrageous form. There are\nthose who plunge boldly into the stream of sin, or into the stream of\nworldly enjoyment, determined to lead a life of pleasure, let the\nconsequences be what they may. As to religion, it is nothing to them,\nexcept a subject of ridicule on the part of those who affect it.\nMorality--well, if it fall within the fashion of the world, it must be\nrespected; otherwise let it go to the winds. God, heaven, hell,--they\nare mere bugbears to frighten the timid and superstitious. Not only is\nGod rejected, but He is defied. Not only are His blessing, His\nprotection, His gracious guidance scorned, but the devil, or the world,\nor the flesh is openly elevated to His throne. Yet men and women too can\ngo on through years of life utterly unconcerned at the slight they offer\nto God, and unmoved by any warning that may come to them \"Who is the\nAlmighty that we should serve Him? And what profit shall we have if we\nbow down before Him?\" Their attitude reminds us of the answer of the\npersecutor, when the widow of his murdered victim protested that he\nwould have to answer both to man and to God for the deed of that day.\n\"To man,\" he said, \"I can easily answer; and as for God, I will take Him\nin my own hands.\"\n\nBut there is still another class against whom the charge of rejecting\nGod may be made. Not, indeed, in the same sense or to the same degree,\nbut with one element of guilt which does not attach to the others,\ninasmuch as they have known what it is to have God for their King. I\nadvert to certain Christian men and women who in their early days were\nmarked by much earnestness of spirit, but having risen in the world,\nhave fallen back from their first attainments, and have more or less\naccepted the world's law. Perhaps it was of their poorer days that God\nhad cause to remember \"the kindness of their youth and the love of their\nespousals.\" Then they were earnest in their devotions, full of interest\nin Christian work, eager to grow in grace and in all the qualities of a\nChristlike character. But as they grew in wealth, and rose in the\nworld, a change came o'er the spirit of their dream. They must have fine\nhouses and equipages, and give grand entertainments, and cultivate the\nacquaintance of this great family and that, and get a recognized\nposition among their fellows. Gradually their life comes to be swayed by\nconsiderations they never would have thought of in early days. Gradually\nthe strict rules by which they used to live are relaxed, and an easier\nand more accommodating attitude towards the world is taken up. And as\nsurely the glow of their spiritual feelings cools down; the charm of\ntheir spiritual enjoyments goes off; the blessed hope, even the glorious\nappearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, fades away; and one scheme after\nanother of worldly advancement and enjoyment occupies their minds. What\nglamour has passed over their souls to obliterate the surpassing glory\nof Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God? What evil spell has\nrobbed the Cross of its holy influence, and made them so indifferent to\nthe Son of God, who loved them and gave Himself for them? Is the gate of\nheaven changed, that they no longer care to linger at it, as in better\ntimes they used so fondly to do? No. But they have left their first\nlove; they have gone away after idols; they have been caught in the\nsnares of the god of this world. In so far, they have rejected their God\nthat saved them out of all their adversities and tribulations; and if\nthey go on to do so after solemn warning, their guilt will be like the\nguilt of Israel, and the day must come when \"their own wickedness shall\ncorrect them, and their backslidings shall reprove them.\"\n\nBut let us come back to the election. The first lot was cast between the\ntwelve tribes, and it fell on Benjamin. The next lot was cast between\nthe families of Benjamin, and it fell on the family of Matri; and when\nthey came to closer quarters, as it were, the lot fell on Saul, the son\nof Kish. Again we see how the most casual events are all under\ngovernment, and conspire to accomplish the purpose of Him who worketh\nall things after the counsel of His own will. \"The lot is cast into the\nlap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.\"\n\nNo doubt Saul had anticipated this consummation. He had had too many\nsupernatural evidences to the same effect to have any lingering doubt\nwhat would be the result of the lot. But it was too much for him. He hid\nhimself, and could not be found. And we do not think the worse of him\nfor this, but rather the better. It is one of the many favourable traits\nthat we find at the outset of his kingly career. However pleasant it\nmight be to ruminate on the privileges and honours of royalty, it was a\nserious thing to undertake the leadership of a great nation. In this\nrespect, Saul shared the feeling that constrained Moses to shrink back\nwhen he was appointed to deliver Israel from Egypt, and that constrained\nJeremiah to remonstrate when he was appointed a prophet unto the\nnations. Many of the best ministers of Christ have had this feeling when\nthey were called to the Christian ministry. Gregory Nazianzen actually\nfled to the wilderness after his ordination, and Ambrose, Bishop of\nMilan, in the civil office which he held, tried to turn the people from\ntheir choice even by acts of cruelty and severity, after they had called\non him to become their bishop.\n\nBut, besides the natural shrinking of Saul from so responsible an\noffice, we may believe that he was not unmoved by the solemn\nrepresentation of Samuel that in their determination to have a human\nking the people had been guilty of rejecting God. This may have been\nthe first time that that view of the matter seriously impressed itself\non his mind. Even though it was accompanied by the qualification that\nGod in a sense sanctioned the new arrangement, and though the use of the\nlot would indicate God's choice, Saul might well have been staggered by\nthe thought that in electing a king the people had rejected God. Even\nthough his mind was not a spiritual mind, there was something frightful\nin the very idea of a man stepping, so to speak, into God's place. No\nwonder then though he hid himself! Perhaps he thought that when he could\nnot be found the choice would fall on some one else. But no. An appeal\nwas again made to God, and God directly indicated Saul, and indicated\nhis place of concealment. The stuff or baggage among which Saul was hid\nwas the collection of packages which the people would naturally bring\nwith them, and which it was the custom to pile up, often as a rampart or\ndefence, while the assembly lasted. We can fancy the scene when, the\npile of baggage being indicated as the hiding-place, the people rushed\nto search among it, knocking the contents asunder very unceremoniously,\nuntil Saul was at length discovered. From his inglorious place of\nretreat the king was now brought out, looking no doubt awkward and\nfoolish, yet with that commanding figure which seemed so suitable for\nhis new dignity. And his first encouragement was the shout of the\npeople--\"God save the king!\" How strange and quick the transition! A\nminute ago he was safe in his hiding-place, wondering whether some one\nelse might not get the office. Now the shouts of the people indicate\nthat all is settled. King of Israel he is henceforward to be.\n\nThree incidents are recorded towards the end of the chapter as throwing\nlight on the great event of the day. In the first place, \"Samuel told\nthe people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid\nit up before the Lord.\" This was another means taken by the faithful\nprophet to secure that this new step should if possible be for good, and\nnot for evil. It was a new protest against assimilating the kingdom of\nIsrael to the other kingdoms around. No! although Jehovah was no longer\nKing in the sense in which He had been, His covenant and His law were\nstill binding, and must be observed in Israel to their remotest\ngeneration. No change could repeal the law of the ten words given amid\nthe thunders of Sinai. No change could annul the promise to Abraham, \"In\nthee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.\" No\nchange could reverse that mode of approach to a holy God which had been\nordained for the sinner--through the shedding of atoning blood. The\ndestiny of Israel was not changed, as the medium of God's communications\nto the world on the most vital of all subjects in which sinners could be\ninterested. And king though he was, Saul would find that there was no\nway of securing the true prosperity of his kingdom but by ruling it in\nthe fear of God, and with the highest regard to His will and pleasure;\nwhile nothing was so sure to drive it to ruin, as to depart from the\nDivine prescription, and plunge into the ways that were common among the\nheathen.\n\nThe next circumstance mentioned in the history is, that when the people\ndispersed, and when Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, \"there went\nwith him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.\" They were induced\nto form a bodyguard for the new king, and they did so under no physical\nconstraint from him or any one else, but because they were moved to do\nit from sympathy, from the desire to help him and be of service to him\nin the new position to which he had been raised. Here was a remarkable\nencouragement. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Could there have\nbeen any time when Saul was more in need of friends? How happy a thing\nit was that he did not need to go and search for them; they came to him\nwith their willing service. And what a happy start it was for him in his\nnew office that these helpers were at hand to serve him! A band of\nwilling helpers around one takes off more than half the difficulty of a\ndifficult enterprise. Men that enter into one's plans, that sympathize\nwith one's aims, that are ready to share one's burdens, that anticipate\none's wishes, are of priceless value in any business. But they are of\nespecial value in the Church of Christ. One of the first things our Lord\ndid after entering on His public ministry was to call to Himself the\ntwelve, who were to be His staff, His ready helpers wherever they were\nable to give help. Is it not the joy of the Christian minister, as he\ntakes up his charge, if there go with him a band of men whose hearts God\nhas touched? How lonely and how hard is the ministry if there be no such\nmen to help! How different when efficient volunteers are there, in\nreadiness for the Sunday-school, and the Band of hope, and the\nmissionary society, and the congregational choir, and for visiting the\nsick, and every other service of Christian love! Congregations ought to\nfeel that it cannot be right to leave all the work to their minister.\nWhat kind of battle would it be if all the fighting were left to the\nofficer in command? Let the members of congregations ever bear in mind\nthat it is their duty and their privilege to help in the work. If we\nwish to see the picture of a prosperous Apostolic Church, let us study\nthe last chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. The glory of the\nprimitive Church of Rome was that it abounded in men and women whose\nhearts God had touched, and who \"laboured much in the Lord.\"\n\nDo any of us shrink from such work? Are any willing to pray for God's\nwork, but unwilling to take part in it personally? Such a state of mind\ncannot but suggest the question, Has the Lord touched your hearts? The\nexpression is a very significant one. It implies that one touch of God's\nhand, one breathing of His Spirit, can effect such a change that what\nwas formerly ungenial becomes agreeable; a vital principle is imparted\nto the heart. Life can come only from the fountain of life. Hearts can\nbe quickened only by the living Spirit of God. In vain shall we try to\nserve Him until our hearts are touched by His Spirit. Would that that\nSpirit were poured forth so abundantly that \"one should say, I am the\nLord's, and another should call himself by the name of Jacob, and\nanother should subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname himself\nwith the name of Israel\"!\n\nThe last thing to be noticed is the difference of feeling toward Saul\namong the people. While he was received cordially by most, there was a\nsection that despised him, that scorned the idea of his delivering the\nnation, and, in token of their contempt, brought him no presents. They\nare called the children of Belial. It was not that they regarded his\nelection as an invasion of the ancient constitution of the country, as\nan interference with the sovereign rights of Jehovah, but that, in their\npride, they refused to submit to him; they would not have him for their\nking. The tokens of Divine authority--the sanction of Samuel, the use\nof the lot, and the other proofs that what was done at Mizpeh had been\nratified in heaven--made no impression upon them. We are told of Saul\nthat he held his peace; he would rather refute them by deeds than by\nwords; he would let it be seen, when the opportunity offered, whether he\ncould render any service to the nation or not. But does not this ominous\nfact, recorded at the very threshold of Saul's reign, at the very time\nwhen it became so apparent that he was the Lord's anointed, suggest to\nour minds a corresponding fact, in reference to One who is the Lord's\nAnointed in a higher sense? Is there not in many a disposition to say\neven of the Lord Jesus Christ, \"How shall this man save us\"? Do not many\nrob the Lord Jesus Christ of His saving power, reducing Him to the level\nof a mere teacher, denying that He shed His blood to take away sin? And\nare there not others who refuse their homage to the Lord from sheer\nself-dependence and pride? They have never been convinced of their sins,\nnever shared the publican's feeling, but rather been disposed to boast,\nlike the Pharisee, that they were not like other men. And is not Christ\nstill to many as a root out of a dry ground, without form or comeliness\nwherefore they should desire Him? Oh for the spirit of wisdom and\nillumination in the knowledge of Him! Oh that, the eyes of our\nunderstandings being enlightened, we might all see Jesus fairer than the\nchildren of men, the chief among ten thousand, yea altogether lovely;\nand that, instead of our manifesting any unwillingness to acknowledge\nHim and follow Him, the language of our hearts might be, \"Whom have we\nin heaven but Thee? and there is none on the earth that we desire\nbesides Thee.\" \"Entreat us not to leave Thee, nor to return from\nfollowing after Thee; for where Thou goest we will go, and where Thou\nlodgest we will lodge; Thy people shall be our people,\" and Thou Thyself\nour Lord and our God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n_THE RELIEF OF JABESH-GILEAD._\n\n1 SAMUEL xi.\n\n\nPrimitive though the state of society was in those days in Israel, we\nare hardly prepared to find Saul following the herd in the field after\nhis election as king of Israel. We are compelled to conclude that the\nopposition to him was far from contemptible in number and in influence,\nand that he found it expedient in the meantime to make no demonstration\nof royalty, but continue his old way of life. If we go back to the days\nof Abimelech, the son of Gideon, we get a vivid view of the awful crimes\nwhich even an Israelite could commit, under the influence of jealousy,\nwhen other persons stood in the way of his ambitious designs. It is\nquite conceivable that had Saul at once assumed the style and title of\nroyalty, those children of Belial who were so contemptuous at his\nelection would have made away with him. Human life was of so little\nvalue in those Eastern countries, and the crime of destroying it was so\nlittle thought of, that if Saul had in any way provoked hostility, he\nwould have been almost certain to fall by some assassin's hand. It was\ntherefore wise of him to continue for a time his old way of living, and\nwait for some opportunity which should arise providentially, to\nvindicate his title to the sceptre of Israel.\n\nApparently he had not to wait long--according to Josephus, only a month.\nThe opportunity arose in a somewhat out-of-the-way part of the country,\nwhere disturbance had been brewing previous to his election (comp. xii.\n12). It was not the first time that the inhabitants of Gilead and other\ndwellers on the east side of Jordan came to feel that in settling there\nthey had to pay dear for their well-watered and well-sheltered pastures.\nThey were exposed in an especial degree to the assaults of enemies, and\npre-eminent among these were their cousins, the Ammonites. Very probably\nthe Ammonites had never forgotten the humiliation inflicted on them by\nJephthah, when he smote them \"from Aroer, even till thou come to\nMinnith, even twenty cities, and till thou come to the plain of the\nvineyards, with a very great slaughter.\" Naturally the Ammonites would\nbe desirous both to avenge these defeats and to regain their cities, or\nat least to get other cities in lieu of what they had lost. We do not\nknow with certainty the site of Jabesh-Gilead, or the reasons why it was\nthe special object of attack by King Nahash at this time. But so it was;\nand as the people of Jabesh-Gilead either knew not or cared not for\ntheir real defence, the God of Israel, they found themselves too hard\nbestead by the Ammonites, and, exhausted probably by the weary siege,\nproposed terms of capitulation.\n\nThis is the first scene in the chapter before us. \"The men of Jabesh\nsaid to Nahash, king of the Ammonites, Make a covenant with us, and we\nwill serve thee.\" The history of the Israelites in time of danger\ncommonly presents one or other of two extremes: either pusillanimous\nsubmission, or daring defiance to the hostile power. In this case it was\npusillanimous submission, as indeed it commonly was when the people\nfollowed the motions of their own hearts, and were not electrified into\nopposition by some great hero, full of faith in God. But it was not mere\ncowardice they displayed in offering to become the servants of the\nAmmonites; there was impiety in it likewise. For of their relation to\nGod they made no account whatever. By covenant with their fathers,\nratified from generation to generation, they were God's servants, and\nthey had no right voluntarily to transfer to another master the\nallegiance which was due to God alone. The proposal they made was\nvirtually a breach of the first commandment. And it was not a case of\nnecessity. Instead of humbling themselves before God and confessing the\nsins that had brought them into trouble, they put God altogether aside,\nand basely offered to become the servants of the Ammonites. Even the\nremembrance of the glorious victories of their own Jephthah, when he\nwent to war with the Ammonites, in dependence on the God of Israel,\nseems to have had no effect in turning them from the inglorious\nproposal. We see here the sad effect of sin and careless living in\nlowering men's spirits, sapping courage, and discouraging noble effort.\nOh, it is pitiable to see men tamely submitting to a vile master! Yet\nhow often is the sight repeated! How often do men virtually say to the\ndevil, \"Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee\"! Not indeed in\nthe open way in which it used to be believed that one of the popes,\nbefore his elevation to the papal chair, formally sold his soul to the\ndevil in exchange for that dignity. Yet how often do men virtually give\nthemselves over to serve a vile master, to lead evil or at least\ncareless lives, to indulge in sinful habits which they know they should\novercome, but which they are too indolent and self-indulged to resist!\nMen and women, with strong proclivities to sin, may for a time resist,\nbut they get tired of the battle; they long for an easier life, and they\nsay in their hearts, \"We will resist no longer; we will become your\nservants.\" They are willing to make peace with the Ammonites, because\nthey are wearied of fighting. \"Anything for a quiet life!\" They\nsurrender to the enemy, they are willing to serve sin, because they will\nnot surrender the ease and the pleasures of sin.\n\nBut sin is a bad master; his wages are terrible to think of. The terms\nwhich Nahash offered to the men of Jabesh-Gilead combined insult and\ninjury. \"On this condition will I make a covenant with you: that I may\nthrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach unto all\nIsrael.\" \"The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.\" There is nothing\nin which the pernicious influence of paganism was more notorious in\nancient times--and indeed, we may say, is more notorious in all\ntimes--than in the horrible cruelties to which it led. Barbarity was the\nvery element in which it lived. And that barbarity was often exemplified\nin cruelly depriving enemies of those members and organs of the body\nwhich are most needful for the comfort of life. The hands and the eyes\nwere especially the victims of this diabolical feeling. Just as you may\nsee at this day in certain African villages miserable creatures without\nhands or eyes who have fallen under the displeasure of their chief and\nreceived this revolting treatment, so it was in those early times. But\nNahash was comparatively merciful. He was willing to let the men of\nJabesh off with the loss of one eye only. But as if to compensate for\nthis forbearance, he declared that he would regard the transaction as a\nreproach upon all Israel. The mutilated condition of that poor one-eyed\ncommunity would be a ground for despising the whole nation; it would be\na token of the humiliation and degradation of the whole Israelite\ncommunity. These were the terms of Nahash. His favour could be purchased\nonly by a cruel injury to every man's body and a stinging insult to\ntheir whole nation. But these terms were just too humiliating. Whether\nthe men of Jabesh would have been willing to lose their eyes as the\nprice of peace we do not know; but the proposed humiliation of the\nnation was something to which they were not prepared at once to submit.\nThe nation itself should look to that. The nation should consider\nwhether it was prepared to be thus insulted by the humiliation of one of\nits cities. Consequently they asked for a week's respite, that it might\nbe seen whether the nation would not bestir itself to maintain its\nhonour.\n\nIf we regard Nahash as a type of another tyrant, as representing the\ntyranny of sin, we may derive from his conditions an illustration of the\nhard terms which sin usually imposes. \"The way of transgressors is\nhard.\" Oh, what untold misery does one act of sin often bring! One act\nof drunkenness, in which one is led to commit some crime of violence\nthat would never have been dreamt of otherwise; one act of dishonesty,\nfollowed up by a course of deceit and double-dealing, that at last\nculminates in disgrace and ruin; one act of unchastity, leading to loss\nof character and to a downward career ending in utter darkness,--how\nfrightful is the retribution! But happy is the young person, when under\ntemptation to the service of sin, if there comes to him at the very\nthreshold some frightful experience of the hardness of the service, if,\nlike the men of Jabesh-Gilead, he is made to feel that the loss and\nhumiliation are beyond endurance, and to betake himself to the service\nof another Master, whose yoke is easy, whose burden is light, and whose\nrewards are more precious than silver and gold!\n\nWith the activity of despair, the men of Jabesh now publish throughout\nall Israel the terms that Nahash has offered them. At Gibeah of Saul a\ndeep impression is made. But it is not the kind of impression that gives\nmuch hope. \"All the people lifted up their voices and wept.\" It was just\nthe way in which their forefathers had acted at the Red Sea, when, shut\nin between the mountains and the sea, they saw the chariots of Pharaoh\nadvancing in battle array against them; and again, it was the way in\nwhich they spent that night in the wilderness after the spies brought\nback their report of the land. It was a sorrowful sight--a whole mass of\npeople crying like babies, panic-stricken, and utterly helpless. But, as\nin the two earlier cases, there was a man of faith to roll back the wave\nof panic. As Moses at the Red Sea got courage to go forward, as Caleb,\nthe faithful spy, was able to resist all the clamour of his colleagues\nand the people, so on this occasion the spirit that rises above the\nstorm, and flings defiance even on the strongest enemies, came mightily\non one man--on Saul. His conduct at this time is another evidence how\nwell he conducted himself in the opening period of his reign. \"The\nSpirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard the tidings, and his\nanger was kindled greatly.\" The Spirit of the Lord evidently means here\nthat spirit of courage, of noble energy, of dauntless resolution, which\nwas needed to meet the emergency that had arisen. His first act was a\nsymbolical one, very rough in its nature, but an act of the kind that\nwas best fitted to make an impression on an Eastern people. A yoke of\noxen was hewn in pieces, and the bloody fragments were sent by\nmessengers throughout all Israel, with a thundering announcement that\nany one failing to follow Saul would have his own oxen dealt with in a\nsimilar fashion! It was a bold proclamation for a man to make who\nhimself had just been following his herd in the field. But boldness,\neven audacity, is often the best policy. The thundering proclamation of\nSaul brought an immense muster of people to him. A sufficient portion of\nthem would set out with the king, hastening down the passes to the\nJordan valley, and having crossed the river, would bivouac for the night\nin some of the ravines that led up towards the city of Jabesh-Gilead.\nMessengers had been previously pushed forward to announce to the people\nthere the approach of the relieving force. Long before daybreak, Saul\nhad divided his force into three, who were to approach the beleaguered\ncity by different roads and surprise the Ammonites by break of day. The\nplan was successfully carried out. The assault on the Ammonite army was\nmade in the morning watch, and continued till midday. It was now the\nturn for the Ammonites to fall under panic. Their assailants seem to\nhave found them entirely unprepared. There is nothing with which the\nundisciplined ranks of an Eastern horde are less able to cope than an\nunexpected attack. The defeat was complete, and the slaughter must have\nbeen terrific; and \"it came to pass that they which remained of them\nwere scattered, so that two of them were not left together.\" The men of\nJabesh-Gilead, who had expected to spend that night in humiliation and\nanguish, would be sure to spend it in a very tumult of joy, perhaps\nrather in a wild excitement than in the calm but intensely relieved\ncondition of men of whom the sorrows of death had taken hold, but whom\nthe Lord had delivered out of all their distresses.\n\nIt is no wonder though the people were delighted with their king. From\nfirst to last he had conducted himself admirably. He had not delayed an\nhour in taking the proper steps. Though wearied probably with his day's\nwork among the herd, he set about the necessary arrangements with the\nutmost promptitude. It was a serious undertaking: first, to rouse to the\nnecessary pitch a people who were more disposed to weep and wring their\nhands, than to keep their heads and devise a way of escape in the hour\nof danger; second, to gather a sufficient army to his standard; third,\nto march across the Jordan, attack the foe, confident and well equipped,\nand deliver the beleaguered city. But dangers and difficulties only\nroused Saul to higher exertions. And now, when in one short week he has\ncompleted an enterprise worthy to rank among the highest in the history\nof the nation, it is no wonder that the satisfaction of the people\nreaches an enthusiastic pitch. It would have been unaccountable had it\nbeen otherwise. And it is no wonder that their thoughts revert to the\nmen who had stood in the way of his occupying the throne. Here is\nanother proof that the opposition was more serious and more deadly than\nat first appears. These men were far from contemptible. Even now they\nmight be a serious trouble to the nation. Would it not be good policy to\nget rid of them at once? Did they not deserve to die, and ought they not\nat once to be put to death? It is not likely that if this question had\nbeen mooted in the like circumstances in any of the neighbouring\nkingdoms, there would have been a moment's hesitation in answering it.\nBut Saul was full of a magnanimous spirit--nay, it seemed at the time a\ngodly spirit. His mind was impressed with the fact that the deliverance\nof that day had come from God. And it was impressed at the same time\nwith the grandeur and sublimity of the Divine power that had been\nbrought into operation on behalf of Israel. Saul perceived a tremendous\nreality in the fact that \"the Lord was their defence; the Holy One of\nIsrael was their King.\" If Israel was encircled by such a garrison, if\nIsrael's king was under such a Protector, what need he fear from a gang\nof miscreants like these children of Belial? Why dim the glory of the\nday by an act of needless massacre? Let forbearance to these misguided\nvillains be another proof of the respect the nation had to the God of\nJacob, as the Defender of Israel and Israel's King, and the certainty of\ntheir trust that He would defend them. And so \"Saul said, There shall\nnot a man be put to death this day; for to-day the Lord hath wrought\nsalvation in Israel.\"\n\nO Saul, Saul, how well for thee it would have been hadst thou maintained\nthis spirit! For then God would not have had to reject thee from being\nking, and to seek among the sheepfolds of Bethlehem a man after His own\nheart to be the leader of His people! And then thou wouldest have had no\nfear for the security of thy throne; thou wouldest not have hunted thy\nrival like a partridge on the mountains; and never, never wouldest thou\nhave been tempted, in thy difficulties, to seek counsel from a woman\nwith a familiar spirit, on the plea that God was departed from thee!\n\nAs we are thinking how well Saul has acted on this occasion, we perceive\nthat an old friend has come on the scene who helps us materially to\nunderstand the situation. Yes, he is all the better of Samuel's\nguidance and prayers. The good old prophet has no jealousy of the man\nwho took his place as head of the nation. But knowing well the\nfickleness of the people, he is anxious to turn the occasion to account\nfor confirming their feelings and their aims. Seeing how the king has\nacknowledged God as the Author of the victory, he desires to strike\nwhile the iron is hot. \"Come,\" he says, \"let us go to Gilgal, and renew\nthe kingdom there.\" Gilgal was the first place where the people had\nencamped under Joshua on crossing the Jordan. It was the place where the\ntwelve stones taken from the empty bed of the river had been set up, as\na testimony to the reality of the Divine presence in the midst of them.\nIn some aspects, one might have thought that Samuel would invite them to\nEbenezer, where he had set up the stone of help, and that he would add\nanother testimony to the record that hitherto the Lord had helped them.\nBut Gilgal was nearer to Jabesh-Gilead, and it was memorable for still\nhigher traditions. To Gilgal accordingly they went, to renew the\nkingdom. \"And there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal, and\nthere they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the Lord, and\nthere Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.\"\n\nThe first election of Saul had been effected without any ceremonial, as\nif the people had been somewhat afraid to have a public coronation when\nit was obvious they had carried their point only by Divine sufferance,\nnot by Divine command. But now, unequivocal testimony has been borne\nthat, so long as Saul pays becoming regard to the heavenly King, the\nblessing and countenance of the Almighty will be his. Let him then be\nset apart with all due enthusiasm for his exalted office. Let his\nconsecration take place in the most solemn circumstances--let it be\n\"before the Lord in Gilgal;\" let it be accompanied with those sacrifices\nof peace-offerings which shall indicate respect for God's appointed\nmethod of reconciliation; and let it be conducted with such devout\nregard to Him and to His law, that when it is over, the Divine blessing\nshall seem to fall on Saul in the old form of benediction, \"The Lord\nbless thee and keep thee; the Lord make His face to shine on thee and be\ngracious to thee; the Lord lift up His countenance on thee and give thee\npeace.\" Let the impression be deepened that \"the God of Israel is He\nthat giveth strength and power unto His people.\" Saul himself will not\nbe the worse for having these feelings confirmed, and it will be of the\nhighest benefit to the people.\n\nAnd thus, under Samuel's guidance, the kingdom was renewed. Thus did\nboth Saul and the people give unto the Lord the glory due to His name.\nAnd engaging in the ceremonial as they all did in this spirit, \"both\nSaul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.\" It was, perhaps, the\nhappiest occasion in all the reign of Saul. What contributed the chief\nelement of brightness to the occasion was--the sunshine of Heaven. God\nwas there, smiling on His children. There were other elements too.\nSamuel was there, happy that Saul had conquered, that he had established\nhimself upon the throne, and, above all, that he had, in a right noble\nway, acknowledged God as the Author of the victory at Jabesh-Gilead.\nSaul was there, reaping the reward of his humility, his forbearance, his\ncourage, and his activity. The people were there, proud of their king,\nproud of his magnificent appearance, but prouder of the super-eminent\nqualities that had marked the commencement of his reign. Nor was the\npleasure of any one marred by any ugly blot or unworthy deed throwing a\ngloom over the transaction.\n\nFor one moment, let us compare the joy of this company with the feelings\nof men revelling in the pleasures of sin and sensuality, or even of men\nstoring a pile of gold, the result of some successful venture or the\nlegacy of some deceased relative. How poor the quality of the one joy\ncompared to that of the other! For what is there outside themselves that\ncan make men so happy as the smile of God? Or what condition of the soul\ncan be so full, so overflowing with healthy gladness, as when the heart\nis ordered in accordance with God's law, and men are really disposed and\nenabled to love the Lord their God with all their heart, and to love\ntheir neighbours as themselves?\n\nIs there not something of heaven in this joy? Is it not joy unspeakable\nand full of glory?\n\nOne other question: Is it _yours_?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n_SAMUEL'S VINDICATION OF HIMSELF._\n\n1 SAMUEL xii. 1-5.\n\n\nIt was a different audience that Samuel had to address at Gilgal from\neither that which came to him to Ramah to ask for a king, or that which\nassembled at Mizpeh to elect one. To both of these assemblies he had\nsolemnly conveyed his warning against the act of distrust in God implied\nin their wishing for a king at all, and against any disposition they\nmight feel, when they got a king, to pay less attention than before to\nGod's will and covenant. The present audience represented the army,\nundoubtedly a great multitude, that had gone forth with Saul to relieve\nJabesh-Gilead, and that now came with Samuel to Gilgal to renew the\nkingdom. As the audience now seems to have been larger, so it very\nprobably represented more fully the whole of the twelve tribes of\nIsrael. This may explain to us why Samuel not only returned to the\nsubject on which he had spoken so earnestly before, but enlarged on it\nat greater length, and appealed with more fulness to his own past life\nas giving weight to the counsels which he pressed upon them. Besides\nthis, the recognition of Saul as king at Gilgal was more formal, more\nhearty, and more unanimous than at Mizpeh, and the institution of\nroyalty was now more an established and settled affair. No doubt, too,\nSamuel felt that, after the victory at Jabesh-Gilead, he had the people\nin a much more impressible condition than they had been in before; and\nwhile their minds were thus so open to impression, it was his duty to\nurge on them to the very uttermost the truths that bore on their most\nvital well-being.\n\nThe address of Samuel on this occasion bore on three things: 1 his own\npersonal relations to them in the past (vers. 1-5); 2 the mode of God's\ndealing with their fathers, and its bearing on the step now taken (vers.\n6-12); and 3 the way in which God's judgments might be averted and His\nfavour and friendship secured to the nation in all time coming (vers.\n13-25).\n\n1. The reason why Samuel makes such explicit reference to his past life\nand such a strong appeal to the people as to its blameless character is,\nthat he may establish a powerful claim for the favourable consideration\nof the advice which he is about to give them. The value of an advice no\ndoubt depends simply on its own intrinsic excellence, but the _effect_\nof an advice depends partly on other things; it depends, to a great\nextent, on the disposition of people to think favourably of the person\nby whom the advice is given. If you have reason to suspect an adviser of\na selfish purpose, if you know him to be a man who can plausibly\nrepresent that the course which he urges will be a great benefit to you,\nwhile in reality he has no real regard for any interest but his own,\nthen, let him argue as he pleases, you do not allow yourselves to be\nmoved by anything he may say. But if you have good cause to know that he\nis a disinterested man, if he has never shown himself to be selfish, but\nuniformly devoted to the interests of others, and especially of\nyourselves, you feel that what such a man urges comes home to you with\nextraordinary weight. Now, the great object of Samuel in his reference\nto his past life was to bring the weight of this consideration to bear\nin favour of the advice he was to give to the people. For he could\nappeal to them with the greatest confidence as to his absolute\ndisinterestedness. He could show that, with ever so many opportunities\nof acting a selfish part, no man could accuse him of having ever been\nguilty of crooked conduct in all his relations to the people. He could\nestablish from their own mouths the position that he was as thoroughly\ndevoted to the interests of the nation as any man could be. And\ntherefore he called on them to give their most favourable and their most\nearnest attention to the advice which he was about to press on them, the\nmore so that he was most profoundly convinced that the very existence of\nthe nation in days to come depended on its being complied with.\n\nThe first consideration he urged was, that he had listened to their\nvoice in making them a king. He had not obstructed nor baulked them in\ntheir strong feeling, though he might reasonably enough have done so. He\nhad felt the proposal keenly as a reflection on himself, but he had\nwaived that objection and gone on. He had regarded it as a slur on the\nAlmighty, but the Almighty Himself had been pleased to forgive it, and\nhe had transacted with Him on their behalf in the same way as before.\nNothing that he had done in this matter could have an unfriendly aspect\nput on it. He had made the best of an objectionable proposal; and now\nthey had not only got their wish, but along with it, objectionable\nthough it was, a measure of the sanction of God. \"And now, behold, the\nking walketh before you.\"\n\nIn the next place, Samuel adverts to his age. \"I am old and grey-headed;\nand, behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my\nchildhood unto this day.\" You have had abundant opportunities to know\nme, and my manner of life. You know how I began, and you know how I have\ngone on, till now the circle of my years is nearly completed; a new\ngeneration has grown up; my sons are your contemporaries; I am old and\ngrey-headed. You know how my childhood was spent in God's house in\nShiloh, how God called me to be His prophet, and how I have gone on in\nthat exalted office, trying ever to be faithful to Him that called me.\nWhat Samuel delicately points to here is the uniformity of his life. He\nhad not begun on one line, then changed to another. He had not seesawed\nnor zigzagged, one thing at one time, another at another; but from\ninfancy to grey hairs he had kept steadfastly to the same course, he had\never served the same Master. Such steadiness and uniformity throughout a\nlong life genders a wonderful weight of character. The man that has\nborne an honoured name through all the changes and temptations of life,\nthrough youth and middle age, and even to hoar hairs, that has served\nall that time under the same banner and never brought discredit on it,\nhas earned a title to no ordinary esteem. It is this that forms the true\nglory of old age. Men instinctively pay honour to the hoary head when it\nrepresents a career of uniform and consistent integrity; and Christian\nmen honour it all the more when it represents a lifetime of Christian\nactivity and self-denial. Examine the ground of this reverence, and you\nwill find it to be this: such a mature and consistent character could\nnever have been attained but for many a struggle, in early life, of duty\nagainst inclination, and many a victory of the higher principle over\nthe lower, till at length the habit of well-doing was so established,\nthat further struggles were hardly ever needed. Men think of him as one\nwho has silently but steadily yielded up the baser desires of his nature\nall through his life to give effect to the higher and the nobler. They\nthink of him as one who has sought all through life to give that honour\nto the will of God in which possibly they have felt themselves sadly\ndeficient, and to encourage among their fellow-men, at much cost of\nself-denial, those ways of life which inflict no damage on our nature\nand bring a serene peace and satisfaction. Of such a mode of life,\nSamuel was an admirable representative. Men of that stamp are the true\nnobles of a community. Loyal to God and faithful to man; denying\nthemselves and labouring to diffuse the spirit of all true happiness and\nprosperity; visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction,\nand keeping themselves unspotted by the world--happy the community whose\nquiver is full of them! Happy the Church, happy the country, that\nabounds in such worthies!--men, as Thomas Carlyle said of his peasant\nChristian father, of whom one should be prouder in one's pedigree than\nof dukes or kings, for what is the glory of mere rank or accidental\nstation compared to the glory of Godlike qualities, and of a character\nwhich reflects the image of God Himself?\n\nThe third point to which Samuel adverts is his freedom from all acts of\nunjust exaction or oppression, and from all those corrupt practices in\nthe administration of justice which were so common in Eastern countries.\n\"Behold, here I am; witness against me before the Lord and before His\nanointed; whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom\nhave I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I\nreceived any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it\nto you.\" It was no small matter to be able to make this challenge, which\nis as fearless in tone as it is comprehensive in range, in the very\nmidst of such a sea of corruption as the neighbouring kingdoms of the\nEast presented. It would seem as if, down to this day, the people in\nmost of these despotic countries had never known any other _regime_ but\none of unjust exaction and oppression. We have seen, in an earlier\nchapter of this book, how shamefully the very priests abused the\nprivilege of their sacred office to appropriate to themselves the\nofferings of God. In the days of our Lord and John the Baptist, what was\nit that rendered \"the publicans\" so odious but that their exactions went\nbeyond the limits of justice and decency alike? Even to this day, the\nsame system prevails as corrupt as ever. I have heard from an excellent\nAmerican missionary a tale of a court of justice that came within his\nexperience, even at a conspicuous place like Beirut, that shows that\nwithout bribery it is hardly possible to get a decision on the proper\nside. A claim had been made to a piece of land which he had purchased\nfor his mission, and as he refused to pay what on the very face of it\nwas obviously unjust, he was summoned before the magistrate. The delays\nthat took place in dealing with the case were alike needless and\nvexatious, but the explanation came in a message from the authorities,\nslily conveyed to him, that the wheels of justice would move much faster\nif they were duly oiled with a little American gold. To such a proposal\nhe would not listen for a moment, and it was only by threatening an\nexposure before the higher powers that the decision was at last given\nwhere really there was not the shadow of a claim against him. From the\nsame source I got an illustration of the exactions that are made to this\nday in the payment of taxes. The law provides that of the produce of the\nland one tenth shall belong to the Government for the public service.\nThere is an officer whose duty it is to examine the produce of every\nfarm, and carry off the share that the Government are entitled to. The\nfarmer is not allowed to do anything with his produce till this officer\nhas obtained the Government share. After harvest the farmers of a\ndistrict will send word to the officer that their produce is ready, and\ninvite him to come and take his tenth. The officer will return word that\nhe is very busy, and will not be able to come for a month. The delay of\na month would entail incalculable loss and inconvenience on the farmers.\nThey know the situation well; and they send a deputation of their number\nto say that if he will only come at once, they are willing to give him\ntwo tenths instead of one, the second tenth being for his own use. But\nthis too they are assured that he cannot do. And there is nothing for\nthem but to remain with him higgling and bargaining, till at last\nperhaps, in utter despair, they promise him a proportion which will\nleave no more than the half available for themselves.\n\nAnd these are not exceptional instances--they are the common experiences\nof Eastern countries, at least in the Turkish empire. When such\ndishonest practices prevail on every side, it often happens that even\ngood men are carried away with them, and seem to imagine that, being\nuniversal, it is necessary for them to fall in with them too. It was a\nrare thing that Samuel was able to do to look round on that vast\nassembly and demand whether one act of that kind had ever been\ncommitted by him, whether he had ever deviated even an hairbreadth from\nthe rule of strict integrity and absolute honesty in all his dealings\nwith them. Observe that Samuel was not like one of many, banded together\nto be true and upright, and supporting each other by mutual example and\nencouragement in that course. As far as appears, he was alone, like the\nseraph Abdiel, \"faithful found among the faithless, faithful only he.\"\nWhat a regard he must have had for the law and authority of God! How\nrigidly he must have trained himself in public as in private life to\nmake the will of God the one rule of his actions! What was it to him\nthat slight peccadilloes would be thought nothing of by the public? What\nwas it to him that men would have counted it only natural that of the\nmoney that passed through his hands a little should stick to his\nfingers, provided he was faithful in the main? What was it to him that\nthis good man and that good man were in the way of doing it, so that,\nafter all, he would be no worse than they? All such considerations would\nhave been absolutely tossed aside. \"Get thee behind me, Satan,\" would\nhave been his answer to all such proposals. Unbending integrity,\nabsolute honesty, unswerving truth, was his rule on every occasion. \"How\ncan I do this wickedness,\" would have been his question--\"How can I do\nthis great wickedness, _and sin against God_?\"\n\nIs there nothing here for us to ponder in these days of intense\ncompetition in business and questionable methods of securing gain?\nSurely the rule of unbending integrity, absolute honesty, and unswerving\ntruth is as binding on the Christian merchant as it was on the Hebrew\njudge. Is the Christian merchant entitled to make use of the plea of\ngeneral corruption around him in business any more than Samuel was?\nSome say, How else are we to make a living? We answer, No man is\nentitled even to make a living on terms which shut him out from using\nthe Lord's Prayer,--from saying, \"Give us this day our daily bread.\" Who\nwould dare to say that bread obtained by dishonesty or deceit is\nGod-given bread? Who could ask God to bless any enterprise or\ntransaction which had not truth and honesty for its foundation? Better\nlet bread perish than get it by unlawful means. For \"man doth not live\nby bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of\nGod.\" \"The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow\nwith it.\" Instead of Christian men accepting the questionable ways of\nthe world for pushing business, let them stand out as those who never\ncan demean themselves by anything so unprincipled. No doubt Samuel was a\npoor man, though he might have been rich had he followed the example of\nheathen rulers. But who does not honour him in his poverty, with his\nincorruptible integrity and most scrupulous truthfulness, as no man\nwould or could have honoured him had he accumulated the wealth of a\nCardinal Wolsey and lived in splendour rivalling royalty itself? After\nall, it is the true rule, \"Seek first the kingdom of God and His\nrighteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.\"\n\nBut ere we pass from the contemplation of Samuel's character, it is\nright that we should very specially take note of the root of this\nremarkable integrity and truthfulness of his toward men. For we live in\ntimes when it is often alleged that religion and morality have no vital\nconnection with each other, and that there may be found an \"independent\nmorality\" altogether separate from religious profession. Let it be\ngranted that this divorce from morality may be true of religions of an\nexternal character, where Divine service is supposed to consist of\nritual observances and bodily attitudes and attendances, performed in\nstrict accordance with a very rigid rule. Wherever such performances are\nlooked on as the end of religion, they may be utterly dissociated from\nmorality, and one may be, at one and the same time, strictly religious\nand glaringly immoral. Nay, further, where religion is held to be in the\nmain the acceptance of a system of doctrine, where the reception of the\ndoctrines of grace is regarded as the distinguishing mark of the\nChristian, and fidelity to these doctrines the most important duty of\ndiscipleship, you may again have a religion dissociated from moral life.\nYou may find men who glory in the doctrine of justification by faith and\nlook with infinite pity on those who are vainly seeking to be accepted\nby their works, and who deem themselves very safe from punishment\nbecause of the doctrine they hold, but who have no right sense of the\nintrinsic evil of sin, and who are neither honest, nor truthful, nor\nworthy of trust in the common relations of life. But wherever religion\nis spiritual and penetrating, wherever sin is seen in its true\ncharacter, wherever men feel the curse and pollution of sin in their\nhearts and lives, another spirit rules. The great desire now is to be\ndelivered from sin, not merely in its punishment, but in its pollution\nand power. The end of religion is to establish a gracious relation\nthrough Jesus Christ between the sinner and God, whereby not only shall\nGod's favour be restored, but the soul shall be renewed after God's\nimage, and the rule of life shall be to do all in the name of the Lord\nJesus. Now we say, You cannot have such a religion without moral\nreformation. And, on the other hand, you cannot rely on moral\nreformation being accomplished without a religion like this. But alas!\nthe love of sinful things is very deeply grained in the fallen nature of\nman.\n\nGodlessness and selfishness are frightfully powerful in unregenerate\nhearts. The will of God is a terrible rule of life to the natural man--a\nrule against which he rebels as unreasonable, impracticable, terrible.\nHow then are men brought to pay supreme and constant regard to that\nwill? How was Samuel brought to do this, and how are men led to do it\nnow? In both cases, it is through the influence of gracious, Divine\nlove. Samuel was a member of a nation that God had chosen as His own,\nthat God had redeemed from bondage, that God dwelt among, protected,\nrestored, guided, and blessed beyond all example. The heart of Samuel\nwas moved by God's goodness to the nation. More than that, Samuel\npersonally had been the object of God's redeeming love; and though the\nhundred-and-third Psalm was not yet written, he could doubtless say,\n\"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy\nname. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases,\nwho redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with\nloving-kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good\nthings, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.\" It is the same\ngracious Divine action, the same experience of redeeming grace and\nmercy, that under the Christian dispensation draws men's hearts to the\nwill of God; only a new light has been thrown on these Divine qualities\nby the Cross of Christ. The forgiving grace and love of God have been\nplaced in a new setting, and when it is felt that God spared not His own\nSon, but delivered Him up for us all, a new sense of His infinite\nkindness takes possession of the soul. Little truly does any one know of\nreligion, in the true sense of the term, who has not got this view of\nGod in Christ, and has not felt his obligations to the Son of God, who\nloved him and gave Himself for him. And when this experience comes to be\nknown, it becomes the delight of the soul to do the will of God. \"For\nthe grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men,\nteaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live\nsoberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that\nblessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour\nJesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all\niniquity, and purify to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good\nworks.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n_SAMUEL'S DEALINGS WITH THE PEOPLE._\n\n1 SAMUEL xii. 6-25.\n\n\n2. Having vindicated himself (in the first five verses of this chapter),\nSamuel now proceeds to his second point, and takes the people in hand.\nBut before proceeding to close quarters with them, he gives a brief\nreview of the history of the nation, in order to bring out the precise\nrelation in which they stood to God, and the duty resulting from that\nrelation (vers. 6-12).\n\nFirst, he brings out the fundamental fact of their history. Its grand\nfeature was this: \"It is the Lord who advanced Moses and Aaron, and\nbrought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.\" The fact was as\nindisputable as it was glorious. How would Moses ever have been induced\nto undertake the task of deliverance from Egypt if the Lord had not sent\nhim? Was he not most unwilling to leave the wilderness and return to\nEgypt? What could Aaron have done for them if the Lord had not guided\nand anointed him? How could the people have found an excuse for leaving\nEgypt even for a day if God had not required them? How could Pharaoh\nhave been induced to let them go, when even the first nine plagues only\nhardened his heart, or how could they have escaped from him and his\narmy, had the Lord not divided the sea that His ransomed might pass\nover? The fact could not be disputed--their existence as a people and\ntheir settlement in Canaan were due to the special mercy of the Lord. If\never a nation owed everything to the power above, Israel owed everything\nto Jehovah. No distinction could even approach this in its singular\nglory.\n\nAnd yet there was a want of cordiality on the part of the people in\nacknowledging it. They were partly at least blind to its surpassing\nlustre. The truth is, they did not like all the duties and\nresponsibility which it involved. It is the highest honour of a son to\nhave a godly father, upright, earnest, consistent in serving God. Yet\nmany a son does not realise this, and sometimes in his secret heart he\nwishes that his father were just a little more like the men of the\nworld. It is the brightest chapter in the history of a nation that\nrecords its struggles for God's honour and man's liberty; yet there are\nmany who have no regard for these struggles, but denounce their\nchampions as ruffians and fanatics. Close connection with God is not, in\nthe eyes of the world, the glorious thing that it is in reality. How\nstrange that this should be so! \"O righteous Father,\" exclaimed Christ\nin His intercessory prayer, \"the world hath not known Thee.\" He was\ndistressed at the world's blindness to the excellence of God. \"How\nstrange it is,\" Richard Baxter says in substance somewhere, \"that men\ncan see beauty in so many things--in the flowers, in the sky, in the\nsun--and yet be blind to the highest beauty of all, the fountain and\nessence of all beauty, the beauty of the Lord!\" Never rest, my friends,\nso long as this is true of you. Is not the very fact that to you God,\neven when revealed in Jesus Christ, may be like a root out of a dry\nground, having no form or comeliness or any beauty wherefore you should\ndesire Him--is not that, if it be a fact, alike alarming and appalling?\nMake it your prayer that He who commanded the light to shine out of\ndarkness would shine in your heart, to give the light of the knowledge\nof the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.\n\nHaving emphatically laid down the fundamental fact in the history of\nIsrael, Samuel next proceeds to reason upon it. The reasoning rests on\ntwo classes of facts: the first, that whenever the people forsook God\nthey had been brought into trouble; the second, that whenever they\nrepented and cried to God He delivered them out of their trouble. The\nprophet refers to several instances of both, but not exhaustively, not\nso as to embrace every instance. Among those into whose hand God gave\nthem were Sisera, the Philistines, and the Moabites; among those raised\nup to deliver them when they cried to the Lord were Jerubbaal, and\nBedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel. The name Bedan does not occur in the\nhistory, and as the Hebrew letters that form the word are very similar\nto those which form Barak, it has been supposed, and I think with\nreason, that the word Bedan is just a clerical mistake for Barak. The\nuse the prophet makes of both classes of facts is to show how directly\nGod was concerned in what befell the nation. The whole course of their\nhistory under the judges had shown that to forsake God and worship idols\nwas to bring on the nation disaster and misery; to return to God and\nrestore His worship was to secure abundant prosperity and blessing. This\nhad been made as certain by past events as it was certain that to close\nthe shutters in an apartment was to plunge it into darkness, and that to\nopen them was to restore light. Cause and effect had been made so very\nplain that any child might see how the matter stood.\n\nNow, what was it that had recently occurred? They had had trouble from\nthe Ammonites. At ver. 11 the prophet indicates--what is not stated\nbefore--that this trouble with the Ammonites had been connected with\ntheir coming to him to ask a king. Evidently, the siege of Jabesh-Gilead\nwas not the first offensive act the Ammonites had committed. They had no\ndoubt been irritating the tribes on the other side of Jordan in many\nways before they proceeded to attack that city. And if their attack was\nat all like that which took place in the days of Jephthah, it must have\nbeen very serious and highly threatening. (See Judges x. 8, 9.) Now,\nfrom what Samuel says here, it would appear that this annoyance from the\nAmmonites was the immediate occasion of the people wishing to have a\nking. Here let us observe what their natural course would have been, in\naccordance with former precedent. It would have been to cry to the Lord\nto deliver them from the Ammonites. As they had cried for deliverance\nwhen the Ammonites for eighteen years vexed and oppressed all the tribes\nsettled on the east side of Jordan, and when they even passed over\nJordan to fight against Judah and Benjamin and Ephraim, and the Lord\nraised up Jephthah, so ought they to have cried to the Lord at this\ntime, and He would have given them a deliverer. But instead of that they\nasked Samuel to give them a king, that he might deliver them. You see\nfrom this what cause Samuel had to charge them with rejecting God for\ntheir King. You see at the same time how much forbearance God exercised\nin allowing Samuel to grant their request. God virtually said, \"I will\ngraciously give up My plan and accommodate myself to theirs. I will give\nup the plan of raising up a special deliverer in special danger, and\nwill let their king be their deliverer. If they and their king are\nfaithful to My covenant, I will give the same mercies to them as they\nwould have received had things remained as they were. It will still be\ntrue, as I promised to Abraham, that I will be their God and they shall\nbe My people.\"\n\n3. This is the third thing that Samuel is specially concerned to press\non the people; and this he does in the remaining verses (vers. 13-25).\nThey were to remember that their having a king in no sense and in no\ndegree exempted them from their moral and spiritual obligations to God.\nIt did not give them one atom more liberty either in the matter of\nworship, or in those weightier matters of the law--justice, mercy, and\ntruth. It did not make it one iota less sinful to erect altars to Baal\nand Ashtaroth, or to join with any of their neighbours in religious\nfestivities in honour of these gods. \"If ye will fear the Lord, and\nserve Him, and obey His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of\nthe Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you\ncontinue following the Lord your God; but if ye will not obey the voice\nof the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall\nthe hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.\"\n\nThere is nothing very similar to this in the circumstances in which we\nare placed. And yet it is often needful to remind even Christian people\nof this great truth: that no change of outward circumstances can ever\nbring with it a relaxation of moral duty, or make that lawful for us\nwhich in its own nature is wrong. Nothing of moral quality can be right\nfor us on shipboard which is wrong for us on dry land. Nothing can be\nallowable in India which could not be thought of in England or Scotland.\nThe law of the Sabbath is not more elastic on the continent of Europe\nthan it is at home. There is no such thing as a geographical religion or\na geographical Christianity. Burke used to say, looking to the humane\nspirit that Englishmen showed at home and the oppressive treatment they\nwere often guilty of to the natives of other countries, that the\nhumanity of England was a thing of points and parallels. But a local\nhumanity is no humanity. Those who act as if it were, make public\nopinion their god, instead of the eternal Jehovah. They virtually say\nthat what public opinion does not allow in England is wrong in England,\nand must be avoided. If public opinion allows it on the continent of\nEurope, or in India, or in Africa, it may be done. Is this not\ndethroning God, and abrogating His immutable law? If God be our King,\nHis will must be our one unfailing rule of life and duty wherever we\nare. Truly, there is little recognition of a mutable public opinion\naffecting the quality of our actions, in that sublime psalm that brings\nout so powerfully the omniscience of God,--the hundred and thirty-ninth,\n\"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from Thy\npresence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed\nin hell, behold Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and\ndwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead\nme and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall\ncover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness\nhideth not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and\nthe light are both alike to Thee.\"\n\nIt was Samuel's purpose, then, to press on the people that the change\ninvolved in having a king brought no change as to their duty of\ninvariable allegiance to God. The lessons of history had been clear\nenough; but they were always a dull-sighted people, and not easily\nimpressed except by what was palpable and even sensational. For this\nreason Samuel determined to impress the lesson on them in another way.\nHe would show them there and then, under their very eyes, what agencies\nof destruction God held in His hand, and how easily He could bring these\nto bear on them and on their property. \"Is it not wheat harvest to-day?\"\nYou are gathering or about to gather that important crop, and it is of\nvital importance that the weather be still and calm. But I will pray the\nLord, and He shall send thunder and rain, and you will see how easy it\nis for Him in one hour to ruin the crop which you have been nursing so\ncarefully for months back. \"So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord\nsent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the\nLord and Samuel. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy\nservants unto the Lord thy God that we die not; for we have added unto\nall our sins this evil: to ask us a king.\" It was an impressive proof\nhow completely they were in God's hands. What earthly thing could any of\nthem or all of them do to ward off that agent of destruction from their\ncrops? There were they, a great army, with sword and spear, young,\nstrong, and valiant, yet they could not arrest in its fall one drop of\nrain, nor alter the course of one puff of wind, nor extinguish the blaze\nof one tongue of fire. Oh, what folly it was to offer an affront to the\ngreat God, who had such complete control over \"fire and hail, snow and\nvapours, stormy wind fulfilling His word\"! What blindness to think they\ncould in any respect be better with another king!\n\nThus it is that in their times of trial God's people in all ages have\nbeen brought to feel their entire dependence on Him. In days of flowing\nprosperity, we have little sense of that dependence. As the Psalmist\nputs it in the thirtieth Psalm: \"In my prosperity I said, I shall never\nbe moved.\" When all goes well with us, we expect the same prosperity to\ncontinue; it seems stereotyped, the fixed and permanent condition of\nthings. When the days run smoothly, \"involving happy months, and these\nas happy years,\" all seems certain to continue. But a change comes over\nour life. Ill-health fastens on us; death invades our circle; relatives\nbring us into deep waters; our means of living fail; we are plunged into\na very wilderness of woe. How falsely we judged when we thought that it\nwas by its own inherent stability our mountain stood strong! No, no; it\nwas solely the result of God's favour, for all our springs are in Him;\nthe moment He hides His face we are most grievously troubled. Sad but\nsalutary experience! Well for you, my afflicted friend, if it burns into\nyour very soul the conviction that every blessing in life depends on\nGod's favour, and that to offend God is to ruin all!\n\nBut now, the humble and contrite spirit having been shown by the people,\nsee how Samuel hastens to comfort and reassure them. Now that they have\nbegun to fear, he can say to them, \"Fear not.\" Now that they have shown\nthemselves alive to the evils of God's displeasure, they are assured\nthat there is a clear way of escape from these evils. \"Turn not aside\nfrom following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.\" If God\nbe terrible as an enemy, He is glorious as a friend. No doubt you\noffered a slight to Him when you sought another king. But it is just a\nproof of His wonderful goodness that, though you have done this, He does\nnot cast you off. He will be as near to you as ever He was if you are\nonly faithful to Him. He will still deliver you from your enemies when\nyou call upon Him. For His name and His memorial are still the same:\n\"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and\nabundant in goodness and in truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression\nand sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.\"\n\nSamuel, moreover, reminds them that it was not they that had chosen God;\nit was God that had chosen them. \"The Lord will not forsake His people,\nfor His great name's sake, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you\nHis people.\" This was a great ground of comfort for Israel. The eternal\nGod had chosen them and made them His people for great purposes of His\nown. It was involved in this very choice and purpose of God that He\nwould keep His hand on them, and preserve them from all such calamities\nas would prevent them from fulfilling His purpose. Fickle and\nchangeable, they might easily be induced to break away from Him; but,\nstrong and unchangeable, He could never be induced to abandon His\npurpose in them. And if this was a comfort to Israel then, there is a\ncorresponding comfort to the spiritual Israel now. If my heart is in any\nmeasure turned to God, to value His favour and seek to do His will, it\nis God that has effected the change. And this shows that God has a\npurpose with me. Till that purpose is accomplished, He cannot leave me.\nHe will correct me when I sin, He will recover me when I stray, He will\nheal me when I am sick, He will strengthen me when I am weak; \"I am\nconfident of this very thing: that He which hath begun a good work in me\nwill perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.\"\n\nOnce more, in answer to the people's request that he would intercede\nfor them, Samuel is very earnest. \"God forbid that I should sin against\nthe Lord in ceasing to pray for you.\" The great emphasis with which he\nsays this shows how much his heart is in it. \"What should I do, if I had\nnot the privilege of intercessory prayer for you?\" There is a wonderful\nrevelation of love to the people here. They are dear to him as his\nchildren are dear to a Christian parent, and he feels for them as warmly\nas he feels for himself. There is a wonderful deepening of interest and\naffection when men's relation to God is realized. The warmest heart as\nyet unregenerate cannot feel for others as the spiritual heart must do\nwhen it takes in all the possibilities of the spiritual state--all that\nis involved in the favour or in the wrath of the infinite God, in the\npredominance of sin or of grace in the heart, and in the prospect of an\neternity of woe on the one hand or of glory, honour, and heavenly bliss\non the other. How is it possible for one to have all these possibilities\nfull in one's view and not desire the eternal welfare of loved ones with\nan intensity unknown to others? We know from experience how hard it is\nto get them to do right. Even one's own children seem sometimes to\nbaffle every art and endeavour of love, and go off, in spite of\neverything, to the ways of the world. Entreaty and remonstrance are\napparently in vain. The more one pleads, the less perhaps are one's\npleas regarded. One resource remains--intercessory prayer. It is the\nonly method to which one may resort with full assurance of its ultimate\nefficacy for attaining the dearest object of one's heart. Does the\nthought of giving up intercessory prayer come to one from any quarter?\nNo wonder if the insinuation is met by a deep, earnest \"God forbid\"!\n\n\"I bless God,\" said Mr. Flavel, one of the best and sweetest of the old\nPuritan divines, on the death of his father--\"I bless God for a\nreligious and tender father, who often poured out his soul to God for\nme; and this stock of prayers I esteem the fairest inheritance on\nearth.\" How many a man has been deeply impressed even by the very\nthought that some one was praying for him! \"Is it not strange,\" he has\nsaid to himself, \"that he should pray for me far more than I pray for\nmyself? What can induce him to take such an interest in me?\" Every\nChristian ought to think much of intercessory prayer, and practise it\ngreatly. It is doubly blessed: blessed to him who prays and blessed to\nthose for whom he prays. Nothing is better fitted to enlarge and warm\nthe heart than intercessory prayer. To present to God in succession, one\nafter another, our family and our friends, remembering all their wants,\nsorrows, trials, and temptations; to bear before Him the interests of\nthis struggling Church and that in various parts of the world, this\ninteresting mission and that noble cause; to make mention of those who\nare waging the battles of temperance, of purity, of freedom, of\nChristianity itself, in the midst of difficulty, obloquy, and\nopposition; to gather together all the sick and sorrowing, all the\nfatherless and widows, all the bereaved and dying, of one's\nacquaintance, and ask God to bless them; to think of all the children of\none's acquaintance in the bright springtide of life, of all the young\nmen and young women arrived or arriving at the critical moment of\ndecision as to the character of their life, and implore God to guide\nthem--O brethren, this is good for one's self; it enlarges one's own\nheart; it helps one's self in prayer! And then what a blessing it is for\nthose prayed for! Who can estimate the amount of spiritual blessing\nthat has been sent down on this earth in answer to the fervent\nintercessions of the faithful? Think how Moses interceded for the whole\nnation after the golden calf, and it was spared. Think how Daniel\ninterceded for his companions in Babylon, and the secret was revealed to\nhim. Think how Elijah interceded for the widow, and her son was restored\nto life. Think how Paul constantly interceded for all his Churches, and\nhow their growth and spiritual prosperity evinced that his prayer was\nnot in vain. God forbid that any Christian should sin against the Lord\nin ceasing to pray for the Church which He hath purchased with His own\nblood. And while we pray for the Church, let us not forget the world\nthat lieth in wickedness. For of all for whom the desires of the\nfaithful should go up to heaven, surely the most necessitous are those\nwho have as yet no value for heavenly blessings. What duty can be more\nbinding on us than to \"pray for her that prays not for herself\"?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n_SAUL AND SAMUEL AT GILGAL._\n\n1 SAMUEL xiii.\n\n\nThe first thing that claims our attention in connection with this\nchapter is the question of dates involved in the first verse. In the\nAuthorized Version we read, \"Saul reigned one year; and when he had\nreigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men.\" This\nrendering of the original is now quite given up. The form of expression\nis the same as that which so often tells us the age of a king at the\nbeginning of his reign and the length of his reign. The Revised Version\nis in close, but not in strict, accord with the Hebrew. It runs, \"Saul\nwas _thirty_ years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years\nover Israel.\" A marginal note of the Revised Version says, \"The Hebrew\ntext has, '_Saul was a year old_.' The whole verse is omitted in the\nunrevised Septuagint, but in a later recension the number _thirty_ is\ninserted.\" There can be no doubt that something has been dropped out of\nthe Hebrew text. Literally translated, it would run, \"Saul was a year\nold when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel.\" A\nfigure seems to have dropped out after \"Saul was\" and another after \"he\nreigned.\" A blot of some kind may have effaced these figures in the\noriginal manuscript, and the copyist not knowing what they were, may\nhave left them blank. The Septuagint conjecture of \"thirty\" as Saul's\nage is not very felicitous, for at the beginning of Saul's reign his son\nJonathan was old enough to distinguish himself in the war. Judging from\nprobabilities, we should say that the original may have run thus: \"Saul\nwas forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and\ntwo years over Israel.\" This would make the length of Saul's reign to\ncorrespond with the duration of Saul's dynasty as given in Acts xiii.\n21. There it is said that God gave to the people Saul \"by the space of\nforty years.\" If to the thirty-two years which we suppose to have been\nthe actual length of Saul's reign we add seven and a half, during which\nhis son Ishbosheth reigned, we get in round numbers as the duration of\nhis dynasty forty years. This would make Saul about seventy-two at the\ntime of his death.\n\nThe narrative in this chapter appears to be in immediate connection with\nthat of the last. The bulk of the army had gone from Jabesh-Gilead to\nGilgal, and there, under Samuel, they had renewed the kingdom. There\nthey had listened to Samuel's appeal, and there the thunderstorm had\ntaken place that helped so well to rivet the prophet's lessons.\nTherefore the bulk of the army was disbanded, but two thousand men were\nkept with Saul at Michmash and near Bethel, and one thousand with\nJonathan at Gibeah. These were necessary to be some restraint on the\nPhilistines, who were strong in the neighbourhood and eager to inflict\nevery possible annoyance on the Israelites. Saul, however, does not seem\nto have felt himself in a position to take any active steps against\nthem.\n\nBut though Saul was inactive, Jonathan did not slumber. Though very\nyoung, probably under twenty, he had already been considered worthy of\nan important command, and now, by successfully attacking a garrison of\nthe Philistines in Geba, he showed that he was worthy of the confidence\nthat had been placed in him. It is interesting to mark in Jonathan that\ndash and daring which was afterwards so conspicuous in David, and the\ndisplay of which on the part of David drew Jonathan's heart to him so\nwarmly. The news of the exploit of Jonathan soon circulated among the\nPhilistines, and would naturally kindle the desire to retaliate. Saul\nwould see at once that, as the result of this, the Philistines would\ncome upon them in greater force than ever; and it was to meet this\nexpected attack that he called for a muster of his people. Gilgal was\nthe place of rendezvous, deep down in the Jordan valley; for the higher\npart of the country was so dominated by the enemy that no muster could\ntake place there.\n\nSo it seemed as if the brilliant achievement of Jonathan was going to\nprove a curse rather than a blessing. In all kinds of warfare, we must\nbe prepared for such turns in the order of events. When one side shows a\ngreat increase of activity, the other does the same. When one achieves\nan advantage, the other rouses itself to restore the balance. It has\noften happened in times of religious darkness that the bold attitude of\nsome fearless reformer has roused the enemy to activity and ferocity,\nand thus brought to his brethren worse treatment than before. But such\nreverses are only temporary, and the cause of truth gains on the whole\nby the successful skirmishes of its pioneers. Many persons, when they\nsee the activity and boldness which the forces of evil manifest in our\nday, are led to conclude that our times are sadly degenerate; they\nforget that the activity of evil is the proof and the result of the\nvitality and activity of good. No doubt there were faint-hearted persons\nin the host of Israel who would bring hard accusations against Jonathan\nfor disturbing the equilibrium between Israel and the Philistines. They\nwould shake their heads and utter solemn truisms on the rashness of\nyouth, and would ask if it was not a shame to entrust a stripling with\nsuch power and responsibility. But Jonathan's stroke was the beginning\nof a movement which might have ended in the final expulsion of the\nPhilistines from the territories of Israel if Saul had not acted\nfoolishly at Gilgal. In this case, it was not the young man, but the\nold, that was rash and reckless. Jonathan had acted with courage and\nvigour, probably also with faith; it was Saul that brought disturbance\nand disaster to the host.\n\nThe dreaded invasion of the Philistines was not long of taking place.\nThe force which they brought together is stated so high, that in the\nnumber of the chariots some commentators have suspected an error of the\ncopyist, 30,000 for 3,000, an error easily accounted for, as the extra\ncipher would be represented by a slight mark over the Hebrew letter.\nBut, be this as it may, the invading host was of prodigiously large\ndimensions. It was so large as to spread a thorough panic through the\nwhole community of Israel, for the people \"hid themselves in caves, and\nin thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.\" Not content\nwith such protection, some of them crossed the Jordan, and took refuge\nin Gilead and in Dan, not far from Jabesh-Gilead, where another enemy\nhad been so signally defeated. Saul had remained in Gilgal, where he was\nfollowed by a host of people, not in any degree impressed by what God\nhad done for them at Jabesh-Gilead, not trying to rally their courage by\nthe thought that God was still their King and Defender, but full of that\nabject fear which utterly unnerves both mind and body, and prepares the\nway for complete disaster. How utterly prostrated and helpless the\npeople were is apparent from that very graphic picture of their\ncondition which we find towards the end of the chapter: \"There was no\nsmith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said,\nLest the Hebrews make to themselves swords or spears; but all the\nIsraelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share,\nand his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.\" It requires little\neffort of imagination to see that the condition of the Israelites was,\nhumanly speaking, utterly desperate. An enormous array of warriors like\nthe Philistines, equipped with all the weapons of war, and confident in\ntheir prowess and their power, pouring upon a land where the defenders\nhad not even swords nor spears, but only clubs and stones and suchlike\nrude resources for the purposes of conflict, presented a scene the issue\nof which could not have been doubtful on all human calculations.\n\nBut surely the case was not a whit more desperate than that of their\nforefathers had been, with the sea before them, the mountains on either\nside, and the Egyptian army, in all its completeness of equipment,\nhastening to fall upon their rear. Yet out of that terrible situation\ntheir Divine King had delivered them, and a few hours after, they were\nall jubilant and triumphant, singing to the Lord who had triumphed\ngloriously, and had cast the horse and his rider into the sea. And no\none can fail to see that the very gravity of the situation at the\npresent time ought to have given birth to a repetition of that spirit\nof faith and prayer which had animated Moses, as it afterwards animated\nDeborah, and Gideon, and many more, and through which deliverance had\ncome. On every ground the duty incumbent on Saul at this time was to\nshow the most complete deference to the will of God and the most\nunreserved desire to enjoy His countenance and guidance. First, the\nmagnitude of the danger, the utter disproportion between the strength of\nthe defending people and that of the invading host, was fitted to throw\nhim on God. Second, the fact, so solemnly and earnestly urged by Samuel,\nthat, notwithstanding the sin committed by the people in demanding a\nking, God was willing to defend and rule His people as of old, _if only\nthey had due regard to Him and His covenant_, should have made Saul\ndoubly careful to act at this crisis in every particular in the most\nrigid compliance with God's will. Thirdly, the circumstance, which he\nhimself had so well emphasized, that the recent victory at Jabesh-Gilead\nwas a victory obtained from God, should have led him direct to God, to\nimplore a similar interposition of His power in this new and still more\noverwhelming danger. If only Saul had been a true man, a man of faith\nand prayer, he would have risen to the height of the occasion at this\nterrible crisis, and a deliverance as glorious as that which Gideon\nobtained over the Midianites would have signalized his efforts. It was a\nmost testing moment in his history. The whole fortunes of his kingdom\nseemed to depend on his choice. _There_ was God, ready to come to his\nhelp if His help had been properly asked. _There_ were the Philistines,\nready to swallow them up if no sufficient force could be mustered\nagainst them. But weighed in the balances, Saul was found wanting. He\ndid not honour God; he did not act as knowing that all depended on Him.\nAnd this want of his would have involved the terrible humiliation and\neven ruin of the nation if Jonathan had not been of a different temper\nfrom his father, if Jonathan had not achieved the deliverance which\nwould not have come by Saul.\n\nLet us now examine carefully how Saul acted on the occasion, all the\nmore carefully because, at first sight, many have the impression that he\nwas justified in what he did, and consequently that the punishment\nannounced by Samuel was far too severe.\n\nIt appears that Samuel had instructed Saul to wait seven days for him at\nGilgal, in order that steps might be properly taken for securing the\nguidance and help of God. There is some obscurity in the narrative here,\narising from the fact that it was on the first occasion of their meeting\nthat we read how Samuel directed Saul to wait seven days for him at\nGilgal, till he should come to offer burnt-offerings and to show him\nwhat he was to do (chap. x. 8). We can hardly suppose, however, that\nthis first direction, given by Samuel, was not implemented at an earlier\ntime. It looks as if Samuel had repeated the instruction to Saul with\nreference to the circumstances of the Philistine invasion. But, be this\nas it may, it is perfectly clear from the narrative that Saul was under\ninstructions to wait seven days at Gilgal, at the end, if not before the\nend, of which time Samuel promised to come to him. This was a distinct\ninstruction from Samuel, God's known and recognized prophet, acting in\nGod's name and with a view to the obtaining of God's countenance and\nguidance in the awful crisis of the nation. The seven days had come to\nan end, and Samuel had not appeared. Saul determined that he would wait\nno longer. \"Saul said, Bring hither a burnt-offering to me, and\npeace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering.\"\n\nNow, it has been supposed by some that Saul's offence lay in his taking\non him the functions of priest, and doing that which it was not lawful\nfor any but priests to do. But it does not appear that this was his\noffence. A king is often said to do things which in reality are done by\nhis ministers and others. All that is necessarily involved in the\nnarrative is, that the king caused the priests to offer the\nburnt-offering. For even Samuel had no authority personally to offer\nsacrifices, and had he been present, the priests would have officiated\nall the same.\n\nThe real offence of Saul was that he disregarded the absence of God's\nprophet and representative, of the man who had all along been the\nmediator between God and the king and between God and the people. And\nthis was no secondary matter. If Saul had had a real conviction that all\ndepended at this moment on his getting God's help, he would not have\ndisregarded an instruction received from God's servant, and he would not\nhave acted as if Samuel's presence was of no moment. The significant\nthing in Saul's state of mind, as disclosed by his act, was that he was\nnot really bent on complying with the will of God. God was not a reality\nto Saul. The thought of God just loomed vaguely before his mind as a\npower to be considered, but not as the power on whom everything\ndepended. What he thought about God was, that a burnt-offering must be\noffered up to propitiate Him, to prevent Him from obstructing the\nenterprise, but he did not think of Him as the Being who alone could\ngive it success. It was substantially the carnal mind's view of God. It\nsays, no doubt there is a God, and He has an influence on things here\nbelow; and to keep Him from thwarting us, we must perform certain\nservices which seem to please Him. But what a pitiful view it is of God!\nAs if the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity could be induced\nto bestow or to withhold His favour simply by the slaughter of an\nanimal, or by some similar rite!\n\nBut this was Saul's idea. \"The sacrifice must be offered; the rite must\nbe gone through. This piece of outward homage must be paid to the power\nabove, but the way of doing it is of little moment. It is a sacred form,\nno more. I am sorry not to have Samuel present, but the fault is not\nmine. He was to be here, and he has not come. And now these frightened\npeople are stealing away from me, and if I wait longer, I may be left\nwithout followers. Priests, bring the animal and offer the sacrifice,\nand let us away to the war!\"\n\nHow different would have been the acting of a man that honoured God and\nfelt that in His favour was life! How solemnized he would have been, how\nconcerned for his own past neglect of God, and the neglect of his\npeople! The presence of God's prophet would have been counted at once a\nnecessity and a privilege. How deeply, in his sense of sin, would he\nhave entered into the meaning of the burnt-offering! How earnestly he\nwould have pleaded for God's favour, countenance, and blessing! If Jacob\ncould not let the angel go at Peniel unless he blessed him, neither\nwould Saul have parted from God at Gilgal without some assurance of\nhelp. \"If Thy presence go not with me,\" he would have said, \"carry us\nnot up hence.\" Alas, we find nothing of all this! The servant of God is\nnot waited for; the form is gone through, and Saul is off to his work.\nAnd this is the doing of the man who has been called to be king of\nIsrael, and who has been solemnly warned that God alone is Israel's\ndefence, and that to offend God is to court ruin!\n\nWhen Samuel came, Saul was ready with a plausible excuse. On the ground\nof expediency, he vindicated his procedure. He could not deny that he\nhad broken his promise (it was a virtual promise) to wait for Samuel,\nbut there were reasons exceedingly strong to justify him in doing so.\nSamuel had not come. The people were scattered from him. The Philistines\nwere concentrating at Michmash, and might have come down and fallen upon\nhim at Gilgal. All very true, but not one of them by itself, nor all of\nthem together, a real vindication of what he had done. Samuel, he might\nbe sure, would not be an hour longer than he could help. There were far\nmore people left to him than Gideon's band, and the God that gave the\nvictory to the three hundred would not have let him suffer for want of\nmen. The Philistines might have been discomfited by God's tempest on the\nway to Gilgal, as they were discomfited before, on the way to Mizpeh. O\nSaul, distrust of God has been at the bottom of your mind! The faith\nthat animated the heroes of former days has had no control of you. You\nhave walked by sight, not by faith. Had you been faithful now, and\nhonoured God, and waited till His servant sent you off with his\nbenediction, prosperity would have attended you, and your family would\nhave been permanently settled in the throne. But now your kingdom shall\nnot continue. Personally, you may continue to be king for many years to\ncome; but the penalty which God affixes to this act of unbelief,\nformality, and presumption is, that no line of kings shall spring from\nyour loins. The Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the\nLord hath commanded him to be captain over His people.\n\nWhat a solemn and impressive condemnation have we here, my friends, of\nthat far too common practice--deserting principle to serve expediency. I\ndon't like to tell a lie, some one may say, but if I had not done so, I\nshould have lost my situation. I dislike common work on the Sabbath day,\nbut if I did not do it, I could not live. I don't think it right to go\nto Sunday parties or to play games on Sunday, but I was invited by this\nor that great person to do it, and I could not refuse him. I ought not\nto adulterate my goods, and I ought not to give false statements of\ntheir value, but every one in my business does it, and I cannot be\nsingular. What do these vindications amount to, but just a confession\nthat from motives of expediency God's commandment may be set aside?\nThese excuses just come to this: It was better for me to offend God and\ngain a slight benefit, than it would have been to lose the benefit and\nplease God. It is a great deal to lose a small profit in business, or a\nsmall pleasure in social life, or a small honour from a fellow-man; but\nit is little or nothing to displease God, it is little or nothing to\ntreasure up wrath against the day of wrath. Alas for the practical\nunbelief that lies at the bottom of all this! It is the doing of the\nfool who hath said in his heart, There is no God. Look at this history\nof Saul. See what befell him for preferring expediency to principle.\nKnow that the same condemnation awaits all who walk in his\nfootsteps--all who are not solemnized by that awful, that unanswerable,\nquestion, \"What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and\nlose his own soul?\"\n\nGreat offence has often been taken at the character here ascribed to the\nman who was to fill the throne after Saul--\"The Lord hath sought Him a\nman after His own heart.\" Was David, the adulterer, the traitor, the\nmurderer, a man after God's own heart? But surely it is not meant to be\naffirmed that David was such a man in every aspect, in every particular.\nThe point on which the emphasis should rest must surely be that David\nwas such a man in that feature in which Saul was so wanting. And\nundoubtedly this was eminently true of him. That which stood out most\nfully in the public character of David was the honour which he paid to\nGod, the constancy with which he consulted His will, the prevailing\ndesire he had to rule the kingdom in His fear and for His glory. If God\nwas but a form to Saul, He was an intense reality to David. If Saul\ncould not get it into his mind that he ought to rule for God, David\ncould not have got it out of his mind if he had tried. That David's\ncharacter was deformed in many ways cannot be denied; he had not only\ninfirmities, but tumours, blotches, defilements, most distressing to\nbehold; but in this one thing he left an example to all of us, and\nespecially to rulers, which it would be well for all of us to ponder\ndeeply: that the whole business of government is to be carried on in the\nspirit of regard to the will of God; that the welfare of the people is\never to be consulted in preference to the interests of the prince; that\nfor nations, as for individuals, God's favour is life, and His frown\nruin.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n_JONATHAN'S EXPLOIT AT MICHMASH._\n\n1 SAMUEL xiv. 1-23.\n\n\nIt has sometimes been objected to the representation occurring at the\nend of the thirteenth chapter of the utter want of arms among the\nHebrews at this time that it is inconsistent with the narrative of the\neleventh. If it be true, as stated there, that the Israelites gained a\ngreat victory over the Ammonites, they must have had arms to accomplish\nthat; and, moreover, the victory itself must have put them in possession\nof the arms of the Ammonites. The answer to this is, that the invasion\nof the Philistines subsequent to this in such overwhelming numbers seems\nto have been the cause of the miserable plight to which the Hebrews were\nreduced, and of the loss of their arms.\n\nWhether we are to take the statement as quite literal that in the day of\nbattle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the\npeople save Saul or Jonathan, or whether we are to regard this as just\nan Oriental way of saying that these were the only two who had a\nthorough equipment of arms, it is plain enough that the condition of the\nHebrew troops was very wretched. That in their circumstances a feeling\nof despondency should have fallen on all save the few who walked by\nfaith, need not excite any surprise.\n\nThe position of the two armies is not difficult to understand. Several\nmiles to the north of Jerusalem, a valley, now named Wady Suweinet, runs\nfrom west to east, from the central plateau of Palestine down towards\nthe valley of the Jordan. The name Mukmas, still preserved, shows the\nsituation of the place which was then occupied by the garrison of the\nPhilistines. Near to that place, Captain Conder[1] believes that he has\nfound the very rocks where the exploit of Jonathan occurred. On either\nside of the valley there rises a perpendicular crag, the northern one,\ncalled in Scripture Bozez, being extremely steep and difficult of\nascent. \"It seems just possible that Jonathan, with immense labour,\nmight have climbed up on his hands and his feet, and his armour-bearer\nafter him.\"\n\nIt is evident that Saul had no thought at this time of making any attack\non the Philistines. How could he, with soldiers so poorly armed and so\nlittle to encourage them? Samuel does not appear to have been with him.\nBut in his company was a priest, Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, grandson of\nEli, perhaps the same as Ahimelech, afterwards introduced. Saul still\nadhered to the forms of religion; but he had too much resemblance to the\nChurch of Sardis--\"Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.\"\n\nThe position of the army of Israel with reference to the Philistines\nseems to have been very similar to what it was afterwards when Goliath\ndefied the army of the living God. The Israelites could only look on, in\nhelpless inactivity. But just as the youthful spirit of David was\nafterwards roused in these circumstances to exertion, so on the present\noccasion was the youthful spirit of Jonathan. It was not the first time\nthat he had attacked the garrison of the Philistines. (See xiii. 3.) But\nwhat he did on the former occasion seems to have been under more equal\nconditions than the seemingly desperate enterprise to which he betook\nhimself now. A project of unprecedented daring came into his mind. He\ntook counsel with no one about it. He breathed nothing of it to his\nfather. A single confidant and companion was all that he thought of--his\narmour-bearer, or aide-de-camp. And even him he did not so much consult\nas attach. \"Come,\" said he, \"and let us go over unto the garrison of\nthese uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us; for there\nis no restraint by the Lord to save by many or by few.\" No words are\nneeded to show the daring character of this project. The physical effort\nto climb on hands and feet up a precipitous rock was itself most\ndifficult and perilous, possible only to boys, light and lithe of form,\nand well accustomed to it; and if the garrison observed them and chose\nto oppose them, a single stone hurled from above would stretch them,\ncrushed and helpless, on the valley below. But suppose they succeeded,\nwhat were a couple of young men to do when confronted with a whole\ngarrison? Or even if the garrison should be overpowered, how were they\nto deal with the Philistine host, that lay encamped at no great\ndistance, or at most were scattered here and there over the country, and\nwould soon assemble? In every point of view save one, the enterprise\nseemed utterly desperate. But that exception was a very important one.\nThe one point of view in which there was the faintest possibility of\nsuccess was, that the Lord God might favour the enterprise. The God of\ntheir fathers might work for them, and if He did so, there was no\nrestraint with Him to work by many or by few. Had He not worked by Ehud\nalone to deliver their fathers from the Moabites? Had he not worked by\nShamgar alone, when with his ox goad he slew six hundred Philistines?\nHad he not worked by Samson alone in all his wonderful exploits? Might\nhe not work that day by Jonathan and his armour-bearer, and, after all,\nonly produce a new chapter in that history which had already shown so\nmany wonderful interpositions? Jonathan's mind was possessed by the\nidea. After all, if he failed, he could but lose his life. And was not\nthat worth risking when success, if it were vouchsafed, might rescue his\ncountry from degradation and destruction, and fill the despairing hearts\nof his countrymen with emotions of joy and triumph like those which\nanimated their fathers when on the shores of Sinai they beheld the horse\nand his rider cast into the sea?\n\nIt is this working of faith that must be regarded as the most\ncharacteristic feature of the attempt of Jonathan. He showed himself one\nof the noble heroes of faith, not unworthy to be enrolled in the\nglorious record of the eleventh chapter of the Hebrews. He showed\nhimself pre-eminent for the very quality in which his father had proved\ndeficient. Though the earnest lessons of Samuel had been lost on the\nfather, they had been blessed to the son. The seed that in the one case\nfell on stony places fell in the other on good ground. While Samuel was\ndoubtless disconsolate at the failure of his work with Saul, he was\nsucceeding right well, unknown perhaps to himself, with the youth that\nsaid little but thought much. While in spirit perhaps he was uttering\nwords like Isaiah's, \"Then said I, I have laboured in vain; I have spent\nmy strength for nought and in vain,\" God was using him in a way that\nmight well have led him to add, \"Yet surely my judgment is with the\nLord, and my work with my God.\" And what encouragement is here for every\nChristian worker! Don't despond when you seem to fail in your first and\nmost direct endeavour. In some quiet but thinking little boy or girl in\nthat family circle, your words are greatly regarded. And just because\nthat young mind sees, and seeing wonders, that father or mother is so\nlittle moved by what you say, it is the more impressed. If the father or\nthe mother were manifestly to take the matter up, the child might\ndismiss it, as no concern of his. But just because father or mother is\nnot taking it up, the child cannot get rid of it. \"Yes, there _is_ an\neternity, and we ought all to be preparing for it. Sin is the soul's\nruin, and unless we get a Saviour, we are lost, Jesus _did_ come into\nthe world to save sinners; must we not go to Him? Yes, we must be born\nagain. Lord Jesus, forgive us, help us, save us!\" Thus it is that things\nhid from the wise and prudent are often revealed to babes; and thus it\nis that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God perfects praise.\n\nBut Jonathan's faith in God was called to manifest itself in a way very\ndifferent from that in which the faith of most young persons has to be\nexercised now. Faith led Jonathan to seize sword and spear, and hurry\nout to an enterprise in which he could only succeed by risking his own\nlife and destroying the lives of others. We are thus brought face to\nface with a strange but fascinating development of the religious\nspirit--military faith. The subject has received a new and wonderful\nillustration in our day in the character and career of that great\nChristian hero General Gordon. In the career of Gordon, we see faith\ncontributing an element of power, an element of daring, and an element\nof security and success to a soldier, which can come from no other\nsource. No one imagines that without his faith Gordon would have been\nwhat he was or could have done what he did. It is little to say that\nfaith raised him high above all ordinary fears, or that it made him\nready at any moment to risk, and if need be, to sacrifice his life. It\ndid a great deal more. It gave him a conviction that he was an\ninstrument in God's hands, and that when he was moved to undertake\nanything as being God's will, he would be carried through all\ndifficulties, enabled to surmount all opposition, and to carry the point\nin face of the most tremendous odds. And to a great extent the result\nverified the belief. If Gordon could not be said to work miracles, he\nachieved results that even miracles could hardly have surpassed. If he\nfailed in the last and greatest hazard of his life, he only showed that\nafter much success one may come to believe too readily in one's\ninspiration; one may mistake the voice of one's own feeling for the\nunfailing assurance of God. But that there is a great amount of reality\nin that faith which hears God calling one as if with audible voice, and\ngoes forth to the most difficult enterprises in the full trust of Divine\nprotection and aid, is surely a lesson which lies on the very surface of\nthe life of Gordon, and such other lives of the same kind as Scripture\nshows us, as well as the lives of those military heroes of whom we will\nspeak afterwards, whose battle has been not with flesh and blood, but\nwith the ignorance and the vice and the disorder of the world.\n\nOne is almost disposed to envy Jonathan, with his whole powers of mind\nand body knit up to the pitch of firmest and most dauntless resolution,\nunder the inspiration that moved him to this apparently desperate\nenterprise. All the world would have rushed to stop him, insanely\nthrowing away his life, without the faintest chance of escape. But a\nvoice spoke firmly in his bosom,--I am not throwing away my life. And\nJonathan did not want certain tokens of encouragement. It was something\nthat his armour-bearer neither flinched nor remonstrated. But that was\nnot all. To encourage himself and to encourage his companion, he fixed\non what might be considered a token for them to persevere in one\nalternative, and desist in another. The token was, that if, on observing\ntheir attempt, the Philistines in the garrison should defy them, should\nbid them tarry till they came to them, that would be a sign that they\nought to return. But if they should say, \"Come up to us,\" that would be\na proof that they ought to persevere. Was this a mere arbitrary token,\nwithout anything reasonable underlying it? It does not seem to have been\nso. In the one case, the words of the Philistines would bear a hostile\nmeaning, denoting that violence would be used against them; in the other\ncase they would denote that the Philistines were prepared to treat them\npeaceably, under the idea perhaps that they were tired of skulking and,\nlike other Hebrews (ver. 21), wishing to surrender to the enemy. In this\nlatter case, they would be able to make good their position on the rock,\nand the enemy would not suspect their real errand till they were ready\nto begin their work. It turned out that their reception was in the\nlatter fashion. Whether in the way of friendly banter or otherwise, the\ngarrison, on perceiving them, invited them to come up, and they would\n\"show them a thing.\" Greatly encouraged by the sign, they clambered up\non hands and feet till they gained the top of the rock. Then, when\nnothing of the kind was expected, they fell on the garrison and began\nto kill. So sudden and unexpected an onslaught threw the garrison into a\npanic. Their arms perhaps were not at hand, and for anything they knew,\na whole host of Hebrews might be hastening after their leaders to\ncomplete the work of slaughter. In this way, nearly twenty Philistines\nfell in half an acre of ground. The rest of the garrison taking to\nflight seems to have spread a panic among the host. Confusion and terror\nprevailed on every side. Every man's sword was against his fellow.\n\"There was trembling in the host, in the field, and among the people;\nthe spoilers and the garrison, they also trembled, and the earth quaked;\nso it was a very great trembling.\" Whether this implies that the terror\nand discomfiture of the Philistines was increased by an earthquake, or\nwhether it means that there was so much motion and commotion that the\nvery earth seemed to quake, it is not very easy to decide; but it shows\nhow complete was the discomfiture of the Philistines. Thus wonderfully\nwas Jonathan's faith rewarded, and thus wonderfully, too, was the\nunbelief of Saul rebuked.\n\nSeen from the watch-tower at Gibeah, the affair was shrouded in mystery.\nIt seemed as if the Philistine troops were retreating, while no force\nwas there to make them retreat. When inquiry was made as to who were\nabsent, Jonathan and his armour-bearer alone were missed. So perplexed\nwas Saul, that, to understand the position of affairs, he had called for\nAhiah, who had charge of the ark (the Septuagint reads, \"the ephod\"), to\nconsult the oracle. But before this could be done, the condition of\nthings became more plain. The noise in the host of the Philistines went\non increasing, and when Saul and his soldiers came on the spot, they\nfound the Philistines, in their confusion, slaughtering one another,\namid all the signs of wild discomfiture. Nothing loath, they joined in\nharassing the retreating foe. And as the situation revealed itself\nothers hastened to take part in the fray. Those Hebrews that had come\nfor protection within the Philistine lines now turned against them, all\nthe more heartily perhaps because, before that, they had had to place\ntheir feelings so much under restraint. And the Hebrews that lay hid in\ncaves and thickets and pits, when they saw what was going on, rushed\nforth to join in the discomfiture of the Philistines. What a contrast to\nthe state of things that very morning--the Israelites in helpless\nfeebleness, looking with despair on the Philistines as they lay in their\nstronghold in all the pride of security, and scattered defiant looks and\nscornful words among their foes; now the Philistine garrison surprised,\ntheir camp forsaken, their army scattered, and the only desire or\npurpose animating the remnant being to escape at the top of their speed\nfrom the land of Israel, and find shelter and security in their native\ncountry. \"So the Lord saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over\nunto Beth-aven.\"\n\nAnd thus the faith of Jonathan had a glorious reward. The inspiration of\nfaith vindicated itself, and the noble self-devotion that had plunged\ninto this otherwise desperate enterprise, because there was no restraint\nto the Lord to save by many or by few, led thus to a triumph more speedy\nand more complete than even Jonathan could have ventured to dream of.\nNone of the judges had wrought a more complete or satisfactory\ndeliverance; and even the crossing of the Red Sea under Moses had not\nafforded a more glorious evidence than this achievement of Jonathan's of\nthe power of faith, or given more ample testimony to that principle of\nthe kingdom of God, which our Lord afterwards enunciated, \"If ye have\nfaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,\nRemove hence unto yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall\nbe impossible unto you.\"\n\nThis incident is full of lessons for modern times. First, it shows what\nwide and important results may come from _individual conviction_. When\nan individual heart is moved by a strong conviction of duty, it may be\nthat God means through that one man's conviction to move the world.\nModesty might lead a man to say, I am but a unit; I have no influence;\nit will make very little difference what I do with my conviction,\nwhether I cherish it or stifle it. Yet it may be of just worldwide\nimportance that you be faithful to it, and stand by it steadfastly to\nthe end. Did not the Reformation begin through the steadfastness of\nLuther, the miner's son of Eisleben, to the voice that spoke out so\nloudly to himself? Did not Carey lay the foundation of the modern\nmission in India, because he could not get rid of that verse of\nScripture, \"Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every\ncreature\"? Did not Livingstone persevere in the most dangerous, the most\ndesperate enterprise of our time, because he could not quench the voice\nthat called him to open up Africa or perish? Or to go back to Scripture\ntimes. A Jewish maiden at the court of the great king of Persia becomes\nthe saviour of her whole nation, because she feels that, at the risk of\nher life, she must speak a word for them to the king. Saul of Tarsus,\nafter his conversion, becomes impressed with the conviction that he must\npreach the Gospel to the Gentiles, and through his faithfulness to that\nconviction, he lays the foundation of the whole European Church. Learn,\nmy friends, every one, from this, never to be faithless to any\nconviction given to you, though, as far as you know, it is given to you\nalone. Make very sure that it comes from the God of truth. But don't\nstifle it, under the notion that you are too weak to bring anything out\nof it. Don't reason that if it were really from God, it would be given\nto others too. Test it in every way you can, to determine whether it be\nright. And if it stands these tests, manfully give effect to it, for it\nmay bear seed that will spread over the globe.\n\nSecond, this narrative shows what large results may flow from\n_individual effort_. The idea may not have occurred for the first time\nto some one; it may have been derived by him from another; but it has\ncommended itself to him, it has been taken up by him, and worked out by\nhim to results of great magnitude and importance. Pay a visit to the\nmassive buildings and well-ordered institutions of Kaiserswerth, learn\nits ramifications all over the globe, and see what has come of the\nindividual efforts of Fliedner. Think how many children have been\nrescued by Dr. Barnardo, how many have been emigrated by Miss\nMacpherson, how many souls have been impressed by Mr. Moody, how many\norphans have been cared for by Mr. Mueller, how many stricken ones have\nbeen relieved in the institutions of John Bost. It is true, we are not\npromised that every instance of individual effort will bring any such\nharvest. It may be that we are to be content with very limited results,\nand with the encomium bestowed on the woman in the Gospel, \"She hath\ndone what she could.\" But it is also true that none of us can tell what\npossibilities there are in individual effort. We cannot tell but in our\ncase the emblem of the seventy-second Psalm may be verified, \"There\nshall be an handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains;\nthe fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall\nflourish like grass of the earth.\"\n\nLastly, we may learn from this narrative that the true secret of all\nspiritual success lies in our seeking to be instruments in God's hands,\nand in our lending ourselves to Him, to do in us and by us whatever is\ngood in His sight. Thus it was eminently with Jonathan. \"It may be that\nthe Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save\nby many or by few.\" It was not Jonathan that was to work with some help\nfrom God; it was the Lord that was to work by Jonathan. It was not\nJonathan's project that was to be carried out; it was the Lord's cause\nthat was to be advanced. Jonathan had no personal ends in this matter.\nHe was willing to give up his life, if the Lord should require it. It is\na like consecration in all spiritual service that brings most blessing\nand success. Men that have nothing of their own to gain are the men who\ngain most. Men who sacrifice all desire for personal honour are the men\nwho are most highly honoured. Men who make themselves of no reputation\nare the men who gain the highest reputation. Because Christ emptied\nHimself, and took on Him the form of a servant, God highly exalted Him\nand gave Him a name above every name. And those who are like Christ in\nthe mortifying of self become like Christ also in the enjoyment of the\nreward. Such are the rules of the kingdom of heaven. \"He that loveth his\nlife shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep\nit unto life eternal.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] \"Tent Work in Palestine.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n_SAUL'S WILFULNESS._\n\n1 SAMUEL xiv. 24-52.\n\n\nThat Saul was now suffering in character under the influence of the high\nposition and great power to which he had been raised, is only too\napparent from what is recorded in these verses. No doubt he pays more\nrespect than he has been used to pay to the forms of religion. He\nenjoins a fast on his people at a very inconvenient time, under the idea\nthat fasting is a proper religious act. He is concerned for the trespass\nof the people in eating their food with the blood. He builds the first\naltar he ever built to God. He consults the oracle before he will commit\nhimself to the enterprise of pursuing the retreating enemy by night. He\nis concerned to find the oracle dumb, and tries to discover through\nwhose sin it is so. For a ceremonial offence, committed by Jonathan in\nignorance, he fancies that God's displeasure has come down on the\npeople, and he not only insists that Jonathan shall die for this\noffence, but confirms his decision by a solemn oath, sworn in the name\nof God. All this shows Saul plunging and floundering from one mistake to\nanother, and crowning his blunders by a proposal so outrageous that the\nindignation of the people arrests his purpose. The idea that the work of\nthe day shall be wound up by the execution of the youth through whom\nall the wonderful deliverance has come, and that youth Saul's own son,\nis one that could never have entered into any but a distempered brain.\nReason seems to have begun to stagger on her throne; the sad process has\nbegun which in a more advanced stage left Saul the prey of an evil\nspirit, and in its last and most humiliating stage drove him to consult\nwith the witch of Endor.\n\nBut how are we to explain his increase of religiousness side by side\nwith the advance of moral obliquity and recklessness? Why should he be\nmore careful in the service of God while he becomes more imperious in\ntemper, more stubborn in will, and more regardless of the obligations\nalike of king and father? The explanation is not difficult to find. The\nexpostulation of Samuel had given him a fright. The announcement that\nthe kingdom would not be continued in his line, and that God had found a\nworthier man to set over His people Israel, had moved him to the quick.\nThere could be no doubt that Samuel was speaking the truth. Saul had\nbegun to disregard God's will in his public acts, and was now beginning\nto reap the penalty. He felt that he must pay more attention to God's\nwill. If he was not to lose everything, he must try to be more\nreligious. There is no sign of his feeling penitent in heart. He is not\nconcerned in spirit for his unworthy behaviour toward God. He feels only\nthat his own interests as king are imperilled. It is this selfish motive\nthat makes him determine to be more religious. The fast, and the\nconsultation of the oracle, and the altar, and the oath that Jonathan\nshall die, have all their origin in this frightened, selfish feeling.\nAnd hence, in their very nature and circumstances, his religious acts\nare unsuitable and unseemly. In place of making things better by such\nservices, he makes them worse; no peace of God falls like dew on his\nsoul; no joy is diffused throughout his army; discontent reaches a\nclimax when the death of Jonathan is called for; and tranquillity is\nrestored only by the rebellion of the people, rescuing their youthful\nprince and hero.\n\nAlas, how common has this spirit been in the history of the world! What\nawful tragedies has it led to, what slaughter of heretics, what\nfrightful excesses disgraceful to kings, what outrages on the common\nfeelings of humanity! Louis XIV. has led a most wicked and profligate\nlife, and he has ever and anon qualms that threaten him with the wrath\nof God. To avert that wrath, he must be more attentive to his religious\nduties. He must show more favour to the Church, exalt her dignitaries to\ngreater honour, endow her orders and foundations with greater wealth.\nBut that is not all. He must use all the arms and resources of his\nkingdom for ridding the Church of her enemies. For twenty years he must\nharass the Protestants with every kind of vexatious interference,\nshutting up their churches on frivolous pretexts, compelling them to\nbury their dead by night, forbidding the singing of psalms in worship,\nsubjecting them to great injustice in their civil capacity, and at last,\nby the revocation of the edict that gave them toleration, sweeping them\nfrom the kingdom in hundreds of thousands, till hardly a Protestant is\nleft behind. What the magnificent monarch did on a large scale, millions\nof obscurer men have done on a small. It is a sad truth that terror and\nselfishness have been at the foundation of a great deal of that which\npasses current as religion. Prayers and penances and vows and charities\nin cases without number have been little better than premiums of\ninsurance, designed to save the soul from punishment and pain. Nor have\nthese acts been confined to that Church which, more than any other, has\nencouraged men to look for saving benefit to the merit of their own\nworks. Many a Protestant, roused by his conscience into a state of\nfright, has resolved to be more attentive to the duties of religion. He\nwill read his Bible more; he will pray more; he will give more; he will\ngo to church more. Alas, the spring of all this is found in no\nhumiliation for sin before God, no grief at having offended the Father,\nno humble desire to be renewed in heart and conformed to the image of\nthe First-born! And the consequence is, as in the case of Saul, that\nthings go, not from bad to better, but from bad to worse. There is no\npeace of God that passeth all understanding; there is no general\nrectification of the disordered faculties of the soul; there is no token\nof heavenly blessing, blessing to the man himself and blessing to those\nabout him. A more fiery element seems to come into his temper; a more\nbitter tone pervades his life. To himself it feels as if there were no\ngood in trying to be better; to the world it appears as if religion put\nmore of the devil into him. But it is all because what he calls religion\nis no religion; it is the selfish bargain-making spirit, which aims no\nhigher than deliverance from pain; it is not the noble exercise of the\nsoul, prostrated by the sense of guilt, and helpless through\nconsciousness of weakness, lifting up its eyes to the hills whence\ncometh its help, and rejoicing in the grace that freely pardons all its\nsin through the blood of Christ, and in the gift of the Holy Spirit that\nrenews and sanctifies the soul.\n\nThe first thing that Saul does, in the exercise of this selfish spirit,\nis to impose on the people an obligation to fast until the day be over.\nAny one may see that to compel fasting under such circumstances was\nalike cruel and unwise. To fast in the solitude of one's chamber, where\nthere is no extra wear and tear of the bodily organs, and therefore no\nspecial need for recruiting them, is comparatively safe and easy. But to\nfast amid the struggles of battle or the hurry of a pursuit; to fast\nunder the burning sun and that strain of the system which brings the\nkeenest thirst; to fast under exertions that rapidly exhaust the thews\nand sinews, and call for a renewal of their tissues--to fast in\ncircumstances like these involves an amount of suffering which it is not\neasy to estimate. It was cruel in Saul to impose a fast at such a time,\nall the more that, being commander-in-chief of the army, it was his duty\nto do his utmost for the comfort of his soldiers. But it was unwise as\nwell as cruel; with energies impaired by fasting, they could not\ncontinue the pursuit nor make the victory so telling. Perhaps he was\nunder the influence of the delusion that the more painful a religious\nservice is, the more is it acceptable to God. That idea of penance does\nfind a place in our natural notions of religion. Saul, as we have seen,\ngrew up with little acquaintance with religious persons and little\nknowledge of Divine things; and now that perforce he is constrained to\nattend to them, it is no wonder if he falls into many a serious error.\nFor he probably had no idea of that great rule of God's kingdom, \"I will\nhave mercy, and not sacrifice.\"\n\nThe folly of Saul's order became apparent when the army came to a wood,\nwhere, as is common enough in the country, a stream of wild honey poured\nout, probably from the trunk of a hollow tree. Stretching out his rod\nor spear, Jonathan fixed it in a piece of the comb, which he transferred\nwith his hand to his mouth. Immediately \"his eyes were enlightened;\" the\ndull feeling which settles on the eyes amid fatigue and hunger\ndisappeared; and with the return of clear vision to his eyes, there\nwould come a restoration of vigour to his whole frame. When told for the\nfirst time of the order which his father had given, he showed no regret\nat having broken it, but openly expressed his displeasure at its having\never been imposed. \"Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the\nland. See, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I\ntasted a little of this honey. How much more if haply the people had\neaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found! for\nhad there not been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?\" We\nmust bear in mind that Jonathan was a true man of God. He had set out\nthat morning in his wonderful exploit in the true spirit of faith and\nfull consecration to God. He was in far nearer fellowship with God than\nhis father, and yet so far from approving of the religious order to fast\nwhich his father had given, he regards it with displeasure and distrust.\nGodly men will sometimes be found less outwardly religious than some\nother men, and will greatly shock them by being so. The godly man has an\nunction from the Holy One to understand His will; he goes straight to\nthe Lord's business; like our blessed Lord, he finishes the work given\nhim to do; while the merely religious man is often so occupied with his\nforms, that, like the Pharisees, he neglects the structure for which\nforms are but the scaffolding; in paying his tithes of mint, anise, and\ncummin, he omits the weightier matters--justice, mercy, and truth.\n\nBut the evil caused by Saul's injudicious fast was not yet over. The\nobligation to fast lasted only till sunset, and when the day was ended,\nthe people, faint and ravenous, flew upon the spoil--sheep, oxen, and\ncalves--and devoured them on the spot, without taking time or pains to\nsever the blood from the flesh. To remedy this, Saul had a great stone\nplaced beside him, and ordered the people to bring every man his ox or\nhis sheep, and slay them on that stone, that he might see that the blood\nwas properly drained from the flesh. Then we gather from the marginal\nreading of ver. 35 that he was proceeding to erect with the stone an\naltar to God, but that he did not carry this purpose completely into\neffect, because he determined to continue the pursuit of the\nPhilistines. He saw how much recruited his troops were by their food,\nand he therefore determined to make a new assault. If it had not been\nfor the unwise order to fast given early in the day, if the people had\nbeen at liberty to help themselves to the honey as they passed it, or to\nsuch other refreshments as they found in their way, they would have been\nsome hours earlier in this pursuit, and it would have been so much the\nmore effectual.\n\nIt would seem, however, that the priest who was in attendance on Saul\nwas somewhat alarmed at the abrupt and rather reckless way in which the\nking was making his plans and giving his orders. \"Let us draw near\nhither unto God,\" said he. Counsel was accordingly asked of God whether\nSaul should go down after the Philistines and whether God would deliver\nthem into the hand of Israel. But to this inquiry no answer was given.\nIt was natural to infer that some sin had separated between God and\nSaul, some iniquity had caused God to hide His face from him. Here was\na state of things that might well make Saul pause and examine himself.\nHad he done so in an honest spirit, he could hardly have failed to find\nout what was wrong. God had given a wonderful deliverance that day\nthrough Jonathan. Jonathan was as remarkable for the power of faith as\nSaul for the want of it. Jonathan had been wonderfully blessed that day,\nbut now that Saul, through the priest, sought to have a communication\nwith God, none was given. Might he not have seen that the real cause of\nthis was that Saul wanted what Jonathan possessed? Besides, was Saul\ndoing justice to Jonathan in taking the enterprise out of his hands? If\nJonathan began it, was he not entitled to finish it? Would not Saul have\nbeen doing a thing alike generous and just had he stood aside at this\ntime, and called on Jonathan to complete the work of the day? If the\nking of England was justified in not going to the help of the Black\nPrince, serious though his danger was, but leaving him to extricate\nhimself, and thus enjoy the whole credit of his valour, might not Saul\nhave let his son end the enterprise which he had so auspiciously begun?\nIn these two facts, in the difference between him and Jonathan as to the\nspirit of faith, and in the way in which Saul displaced the man whom God\nso signally countenanced in the morning, the king of Israel might have\nfound the cause of the silence of the oracle. And the right thing for\nhim would have been to confess his error, stand aside, and call on\nJonathan to continue the pursuit and, if possible, exterminate the foe.\n\nBut Saul took a different course. He had recourse to the lot, to\ndetermine the guilty party. Now, it does not appear that even the king\nof Israel, with the priest at his side, was entitled to resort to the\nlot to ascertain the mind of God except in cases where all natural\nmeans of discovering it confessedly failed. But we have just seen that\nin this case the natural means had not failed. Therefore there was no\nobligation on God to order the lot supernaturally so as to bring out the\ntruth. In point of fact, the process ended so as to point to the very\nlast man in all the army to whom blame was due. It was, as\nmathematicians say, a _reductio ad absurdum_. It is a proof that an\ninstrument is out of order if it brings out a result positively\nludicrous. If near the equator an instrument gives the latitude of the\npolar circle, it is a proof that it is not working rightly. When the lot\npointed to Jonathan, it was a proof that it was not working rightly. Any\nman might have seen this. And Saul ought to have seen it. And he ought\nto have confessed that he was entirely out of his reckoning. Frankly and\ncordially he should have taken the blame on himself, and at once\nexonerated his noble son.\n\nBut Saul was in no mood to take the blame on himself. Nor had he moral\nsagacity enough to see what an outrage it would be to lay the blame on\nJonathan. Assuming that he was guilty, he asked him what he had done. He\nhad done nothing but eat a little honey, not having heard the king's\norder to abstain. The justification was complete. At worst, it was but a\nceremonial offence, but to Jonathan it was not even that. But Saul was\ntoo obstinate to admit the plea. By a new oath, he devoted his son to\ndeath. Nothing could show more clearly the deplorable state of his mind.\nIn the eye of reason and of justice, Jonathan had committed no offence.\nHe had given signal evidence of the possession in a remarkable degree of\nthe favour of God. He had laid the nation under inconceivable\nobligations. All these pleas were for him; and surely in the king's\nbreast a voice might have been heard pleading, Your son, your\nfirst-born, \"the beginning of your strength, the excellency of dignity,\nand the excellency of power\"! Is it possible that this voice was\nsilenced by jealousy, jealousy of his own son, like his after-jealousy\nof David? What kind of heart could this Saul have had when in such\ncircumstances he could deliberately say, \"God do so, and more also, for\nthou shalt surely die, Jonathan\"?\n\nBut \"the Divine right of kings to govern wrong\" is not altogether\nwithout check. A temporary revolution saved Jonathan. It was one good\neffect of excitement. In calmer circumstances, the people might have\nbeen too terrified to interfere. But now they were excited--excited by\ntheir victory, excited by their fast followed by their meal, and excited\nby the terror of harm befalling Jonathan. They had far clearer and more\ncorrect apprehension of the whole circumstances than the king had. It is\nespecially to be noted that they laid great emphasis on the fact that\nthat day God had worked by Jonathan, and Jonathan had worked with God.\nThis made the great difference between him and Saul. \"As the Lord\nliveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he\nhath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he\ndied not.\"\n\nThe opportunity of inflicting further damage on the Philistines at this\ntime was thus lost through the moral obtuseness, recklessness, and\nobstinacy of Saul. But in many a future campaign Saul as a warrior\nrendered great service to the kingdom. He fought against all his enemies\non every side. On the east, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the\nEdomites had to be dealt with; on the north, the kings of Zobah; on the\nsouth, the Amalekites; and on the west, the Philistines. These campaigns\nare briefly stated, but we may easily see how much of hard military work\nis implied in connection with each. We may understand, too, with what\nhonesty David, in his elegy over Saul and Jonathan, might commemorate\ntheir warlike prowess: \"From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the\nmighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul\nreturned not empty.\" Whether these military expeditions were conducted\nin a better spirit than Saul shows in this chapter we cannot tell.\nWhether further proofs were given of God's presence with Jonathan as\ncontrasted with his absence from Saul we do not know. It does not appear\nthat there was any essential improvement in Saul. But when Jonathan\nagain emerges from the obscurity of history, and is seen in a clear and\ndefinite light, his character is singularly attractive--one of the\npurest and brightest in the whole field of Scripture.\n\nEvidently the military spirit ruled in Saul, but it did not bring peace\nnor blessing to the kingdom. \"He gathered an host,\" surrounded himself\nwith a standing army, so as to be ready and have an excuse for any\nexpedition that he wished to undertake. After a brief notice of Saul's\nfamily, the chapter ends by telling us that \"there was sore war against\nthe Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any strong man\nor any valiant man, he took him unto him.\" The Philistines were far from\nbeing permanently subdued; there were not even intervals of peace\nbetween the two countries. There was bitter war, an open sore,\nperpetually bleeding, a terror on every side, never removed. How\ndifferent it might have been had that one day been better spent! how\ndifferent it would certainly have been had Saul been a man after God's\nown heart! One day's misdeeds may bring a whole generation of sorrow,\nfor \"one sinner destroyeth much good.\" Once off the right rail, Saul\nnever got on it again; rash and restless, he doubtless involved his\npeople in many a disaster, fulfilling all that Samuel had said about\n_taking_ from the people, fulfilling but little that the people had\nhoped concerning deliverance from the hand of the Philistines.\n\nWho does not see what a fearful thing it is to leave God and His ways,\nand give one's self up to the impulses of one's own heart? Fearful for\neven the humblest of us, but infinitely fearful for one of great\nresources and influence, with a whole people under him! How beautiful\nsome prayers in the Psalms sound after we have been contemplating the\nwild career of Saul! \"Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me in Thy paths.\nLead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation;\non Thee do I wait all the day.\" \"Oh that my ways were directed to keep\nThy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all\nThy commandments.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n_THE FINAL REJECTION OF SAUL._\n\n1 SAMUEL xv.\n\n\nHere we find the second portion of God's indictment against Saul, and\nthe reason for his final rejection from the office to which he had been\nraised. There is no real ground for the assertion of some critics that\nin this book we have two accounts of Saul's rejection, contradictory one\nof the other, because a different ground is asserted for it in the one\ncase from that assigned in the other. The first rejection (1 Sam. xiii.\n13, 14) was the rejection of his house as the permanent dynasty of\nIsrael, but it did not imply either that Saul was to cease to reign, or\nthat God was to withdraw all countenance and co-operation with him as\nking. The rejection we read of in the present chapter goes further than\nthe first. It does not indeed imply that Saul would cease to reign, but\nit does imply that God would no longer countenance him as king, would no\nlonger make him his instrument of deliverance and blessing to Israel,\nbut would leave him to the miserable feeling that he was reigning\nwithout authority. More than that, as we know from the sequel, it\nimplied that God was about to bring his successor forward, and thereby\nexhibit both to him and to the nation the evidence of his degradation\nand rejection. It is likely that the transactions of this chapter\noccurred when Saul's reign was far advanced. If he had not been guilty\nof fresh disregard of God's will, though David would still have been his\nsuccessor, he would have been spared the shame and misery of going out\nand in before his people like one who bore the mark of Cain, the visible\nexpression of the Divine displeasure.\n\nThroughout the whole of this chapter, God appears in that more stern and\nrigorous aspect of His character which is not agreeable to the natural\nheart of man. Judgment, we are told, is His strange work; it is not what\nHe delights in; but it is a work which He cannot fail to perform when\nthe necessity for it arises. There is a gospel which is often preached\nin our day that divests God wholly of the rigid, judicial character; it\nclothes Him with no attributes but those of kindness and love; it\npresents Him in a countenance ever smiling, never stern. It maintains\nthat the great work of Christ in the world was to reveal this paternal\naspect of God's character, to convince men of His fatherly feelings\ntowards them, and to divest their minds of all those conceptions of\nindignation and wrath with which our minds are apt to clothe Him, and\nwhich the theologies of men are so ready to foster. But this is a gospel\nthat says, Peace! peace! when there is no peace. The Gospel of Jesus\nChrist does indeed reveal, and reveal very beautifully, the paternal\ncharacter of God; but it reveals at the same time that judicial\ncharacter which insists on the execution of His law. That God will\nexecute wrath on the impenitent and unbelieving is just as much a\nfeature of the Gospel as that He will bestow all the blessings of\nsalvation and eternal life on them that believe. What the Gospel reveals\nrespecting the sterner, the judicial, aspect of God's character is,\nthat there is no bitterness in His anger against sinners; there is\nnothing in God's breast of that irritation and impatience which men are\nso apt to show when their fellow-men have offended them; God's anger is\njust. The calm, settled opposition of His nature to sin is the feeling\nthat dictates the sentence \"The soul that sinneth, it shall die.\" The\nGospel is indeed a glorious manifestation of the love and grace of God\nfor sinners, but it is not an indiscriminate assurance of grace for all\nsinners; it is an offer of grace to all who believe on God's Son, but it\nis an essential article of the Gospel that without faith in Christ the\nsaving love and grace of God cannot be known. Instead of reducing the\ncharacter of God to mere good-nature, the Gospel brings His\nrighteousness more prominently forward than ever; instead of smoothing\nthe doom of the impenitent, it deepens their guilt, and it magnifies\ntheir condemnation. Yes, my friends, and it is most wholesome for us all\nto look at times steadily in the face this solemn attribute of God, as\nthe Avenger of the impenitent. It shows us that sin is not a thing to be\ntrifled with. It shows us that God's will is not a thing to be despised.\nThere are just two alternatives for thee, O sinner, who art not making\nGod's will the rule of thy life. Repent, believe, and be forgiven;\ncontinue to sin, and be lost for ever.\n\nThe transaction in connection with which Saul was guilty of a fresh\ndisregard of God's will was an expedition which was appointed for him\nagainst the Amalekites. This people had been guilty of some very\natrocious treatment of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, the details of\nwhich are not given. Nations having a corporate life, when they continue\nto manifest the spirit of preceding generations, are held responsible\nfor their actions, and liable to the penalty. Saul was sent to inflict\non Amalek the retribution that had been due so long for his perfidious\ntreatment of Israel on the way to Canaan. In the narrative, various\nplaces are mentioned as being in the Amalekite territory, but their\nexact sites are not known; and indeed this matters little, all that it\nis important to know being that the Amalekites were mainly a nomadic\npeople, occupying the fringe between Canaan and the desert on the south\nborder of Palestine, and doubtless subsisting to a large extent on the\nprey secured by them when they made forays into the territories of\nIsrael. Saul gathered a great army to compass the destruction of this\nbitter and hostile people.\n\nIn reading of the instructions he received to exterminate them, to \"slay\nboth man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass,\"\nwe shudder to think of the fearful massacre which this involved. It was\nan order similar to that which the Israelites received to exterminate\nthe inhabitants of Canaan, or that to destroy the Midianites, during the\nlifetime of Moses. Though it seems very horrible to us in whose eyes\nhuman life has become very sacred, it probably excited little feeling of\nthe kind in the breasts of the Israelites, accustomed as they were, and\nas all Eastern nations were, to think very little of human life, and to\nwitness wholesale slaughter with little emotion. But there is one thing\nin the order that we must not overlook, because it gave a complexion to\nthe transaction quite different from that of ordinary massacres. That\ncircumstance was, that the prey was to be destroyed as well as the\npeople. In the case of an ordinary massacre, the conquering people\nabandon themselves to the licence of their passions, and hasten to\nenrich themselves by appropriating everything of value on which they can\nlay their hands. In the case of the Israelites, there was to be nothing\nof the kind. They were to destroy the prey just as thoroughly as they\nwere to destroy the people. They were to enrich themselves in nothing.\nNow, this was a most important modification of the current practice in\nsuch things. But for this restriction, the extermination of the\nAmalekites would have been a wild carnival of selfish passion. The\nrestriction appointed to Saul, like that which Joshua had imposed at\nJericho, bound the people to the most rigid self-restraint, under\ncircumstances when self-restraint was extremely difficult. The\nextermination was to be carried into effect with all the solemnity of a\njudicial execution, and the soldiers were to have no benefit from it\nwhatever, any more than the jailer or the hangman can have benefit from\nthe execution of some wretched murderer.\n\nNow, let it be observed that it was in entirely disregarding this\nrestriction that a chief part of Saul's disobedience lay. \"Saul and the\npeople spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of\nthe fatlings and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly\ndestroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they\ndestroyed utterly.\" The sparing of King Agag seems to have been a piece\nof vanity with Saul, for a conqueror returning home with a royal\nprisoner was greatly thought of in those Eastern lands. But the sparing\nof the prey was a matter of pure greed. Observe how the character of the\ntransaction was wholly changed by this circumstance. Instead of wearing\nthe aspect of a solemn retribution on a sinful nation, on a people laden\nwith iniquity, all the more impressive because the ministers of God's\nvengeance abstained from appropriating a vestige of the property, but\nconsigned the whole, like a plague-stricken mass, too polluted to be\ntouched, to the furnace of destruction--instead of this, it just\nappeared like an ordinary unprincipled foray, in which the victorious\nparty slew the other, mainly to get them out of the way and enable them\nwithout opposition to appropriate their goods. It was this consideration\nthat made the offence of Saul so serious, that made his breach of the\nDivine order so guilty. Had he no knowledge of the history of his\npeople? Did he not remember what had happened at Jericho in the days of\nJoshua, when Achan stole the wedge of gold and the Babylonian garment,\nand, in spite of the fact that the rest of the people had behaved well\nand that God's purpose in the main was amply carried out, Achan and all\nhis family were judicially stoned to death? How could Saul expect that\nsuch a flagrant violation of the Divine command in the case of the\nAmalekites, perpetrated not on the sly by a single individual, but\nopenly by the king and all the people, could escape the retribution of\nGod?\n\nSuch then was Saul's conduct in the affair of Amalek. The next incident\nin the narrative is the communication that took place regarding it\nbetween the Lord and Samuel. Speaking after the manner of men, God said,\nIt repented Him that He had set up Saul to be king. That these words are\nnot to be explained in a strictly literal sense is evident from what is\nsaid in ver. 29: \"The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for He\nis not a man that He should repent.\" The intimation to Samuel was\nequivalent to this: that God was now done with Saul. He had been weighed\nin the balances and found wanting. He had had his time of probation,\nand he had failed. He was joined to his idols, and must now be let\nalone. This last and very flagrant act of disobedience settled the\nmatter. \"My Spirit shall not always strive with man.\"\n\nHow did Samuel receive the announcement? \"It grieved Samuel, and he\ncried to the Lord all night.\" It is the same word as is translated in\nJonah, \"It displeased Jonah.\" But there is nothing to show that Samuel\nwas displeased with God. The whole transaction was disappointing,\nworrying, heart-breaking. Doubtless he had a certain liking for Saul. He\nadmired his splendid figure and many fine kingly qualities. It was a\nterrible struggle to give him up. The Divine announcement threw his mind\ninto a tumult. All night he cried unto the Lord. Doubtless his cry was\nsomewhat similar to our Lord's cry in Gethsemane, \"If it be possible,\nlet this cup pass.\" If it be possible, recover Saul. And observe, Samuel\nhad good cause to raise this cry on account of the man who would\nnaturally have been Saul's successor. He must have had great complacency\nin Jonathan. If Saul was to be set aside, why should not Jonathan have\nthe crown? On whose head would it sit more gracefully? In whose hand\nwould the sceptre be held more suitably? But even this plea would not\navail. It was God's purpose to mark the offence of Saul with a deeper\nstigma, and attach to it in the mind of the nation a more conspicuous\nbrand, by cutting off his whole family and transferring the crown to a\nquite different line. It took the whole night to reconcile Samuel to the\nDivine sentence. How very deeply and tenderly must this man's heart have\nbeen moved by regard for Saul and for the people! In the morning, his\nsoul seems to have returned to its quiet rest. His mood seems now to\nhave been, \"Not my will but Thine be done!\"\n\nNext comes the meeting of Saul and Samuel. Samuel seems to have expected\nto meet Saul at Carmel--the Carmel of Nabal (chap. xxv. 2)--but, perhaps\non purpose to avoid him, Saul hastened to Gilgal. And when they met\nthere, Saul, with no little audacity, claimed to have performed the\ncommandment of the Lord. That this plea was not advanced in simple\nignorance, as some have thought, is plain enough from Samuel's reception\nof it and his rebuke. \"What meaneth this bleating of sheep in mine ears\nand the lowing of the oxen in my ears?\" Facts are stubborn things, and\nthey make quick work of sophistry. Oh, says Saul, these are brought as a\nsacrifice to the Lord thy God; they are an extra proof of my loyalty to\nHim. Saul, Saul, is it not enough that thou didst allow the selfish\ngreed whether of thyself or of thy people to overbear the Divine\ncommand? Must thou add the sin of hypocrisy, and pretend that it was a\npious act? And dost thou imagine that in so doing thou canst impose\neither on Samuel, or on God? O sinners, you _do_ miscalculate fearfully\nwhen you give to God's servants such false explanations of your sins!\nHow long, think you, will the flimsy material hold out? In the case of\nSaul, it did not even enable him to turn the corner. It brought out a\nfact which he must have trembled to hear: that Samuel had had a\ncommunication about him from God the very night before, and that God had\nspoken very plainly about him. And what had God said? God had proceeded\non the fact that Saul had disobeyed his voice, and had flown upon the\nspoil to preserve what God had commanded him to destroy. \"Nay,\" says\nSaul, \"it was not I that did that, but the people, and they did it to\nsacrifice to the Lord thy God in Gilgal.\" The excuse hardly needed to be\nexposed. Why did you let the people do so? Why did you not fulfil God's\ncommand as faithfully as Joshua did at Jericho? Why did you allow\nyourself, or the people either, to tamper with the clear orders given\nyou by your King and theirs? \"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,\nand to hearken than the fat of rams.\" Moral conduct is more than\nceremonial form. \"Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He\nalso hath rejected thee from being king.\"\n\nThis terrible word pierces Saul to the quick. He is thoroughly alarmed.\nHe makes acknowledgment of his sin in so far as he had feared the people\nand obeyed their words. He entreats Samuel to forgive him and turn again\nwith him that he may worship God. He shows no evidence of true,\nheartfelt repentance. And Samuel refuses to return with him, and refuses\nto identify himself with one whom God hath rejected from being king. But\nSaul is deeply in earnest. He tries to detain Samuel by force. He takes\nhold of his mantle, and holds it so firmly that it rends. It is a\nsymbol, says Samuel, of the rending of the kingdom of Israel from thee\nthis day, to be given by God to a neighbour of thine that is better than\nthou. And this is God's irreversible sentence. Your day of grace is\nexpired, and the Divine sentence is beyond recall. One more appeal does\nSaul make to Samuel. Again he owns his sin, but the request he makes\nshows clearly that what he is most anxious about is that he should not\nappear dishonoured before the people. It is his own reputation that\nconcerns him. \"Honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my\npeople and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship\nthe Lord thy God.\" Samuel yields. The abject wretchedness of the man\nseems to have touched him. But it is not said that Samuel worshipped\nwith him. Samuel would no doubt continue firm to his purpose not to\nidentify himself with Saul as king, or give him any moral support in his\nattitude of disobedience. So far from that, Samuel openly superseded him\nin dealing with Agag; he went out of his way, and did an act which could\nnot but appear a frightful one for a venerable prophet of the Lord. It\nis the voice of the real king that sounds in the command, \"Bring ye\nhither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.\" We seem to see the royal\nprisoner advancing cringingly before that imperial figure, in whose eye\nthere is a look, and in whose face and figure there is a determination,\nthat may well make him quail. \"Surely,\" says Agag, imploringly, \"the\nbitterness of death is past.\" Spared by the king, I am not to fare worse\nfrom the prophet. Samuel knew him a merciless destroyer. \"As thy sword\nhath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among\nwomen.\" And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.\n\"Cursed be he that doeth the work of God deceitfully, and cursed be he\nthat withholdeth his sword from shedding of blood.\" It is a scene of\nterror. The swift retribution executed on the one king was but the sign\nof the slower retribution pronounced upon the other. In the one case the\ndoom was rapid; in the other it was deferred; in both it was sure. And\nhave we not here a sad picture of that retribution which is sure to come\non the impenitent sinner, and in the procedure of Samuel a foreshadowing\nof Him who cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, who will\none day speak to His enemies in His wrath and vex them in His hot\ndispleasure? Have we not here a foretaste of the opening of the sixth\nseal, when the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,\nand the chief captains, and the mighty men, shall say to the mountains\nand rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on\nthe throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: _\"for the great day of His\nwrath is come; and who shall be able to stand\"?_\n\nAnd oh! how little in that day will those plausible excuses avail with\nwhich men try to cover their sins to themselves, and it may be to\nothers. How will the hail sweep away the refuges of lies! How will the\nreal character of men's hearts, the true tenor of their lives, in\nrespect they have set aside God's will and set up their own, be revealed\nin characters that cannot be mistaken! The question to be determined by\nyour life was, whether God or you was King. Which did you obey, God's\nwill or your own? Did you set aside God's will? Then you are certainly a\nrebel; and never having repented, never having been washed, or\nsanctified, or justified, your portion is with the rebels; the Father's\nhouse is not for you!\n\nAnd now the breach between Samuel and Saul is final. \"Samuel came no\nmore to visit Saul until the day of his death; nevertheless Samuel\nmourned for Saul; and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over\nIsrael.\"\n\nSaul is cut off now from his best means of grace--he is virtually an\nexcommunicated man. Was it hard? Do our sympathies in any degree go with\nhim? To our compassion he is entitled in the highest degree, but to\nnothing more. Saul's worst qualities had now become petrified. His\nwilfulness, his selfishness, his passionateness, his jealousy, had now\ngot complete control, nor could their current be turned aside. The\nthreat of losing his kingdom--perhaps the most terrible threat such a\nman could have felt--had failed to turn him from his wayward course. He\nwas like the man in the iron cage in the \"Pilgrim's Progress,\" who gave\nhis history: \"I left off to watch and be sober; I laid the reins upon\nthe neck of my lusts; I sinned against the light of the word and the\ngoodness of God; I have grieved the Spirit and He is gone; I tempted the\ndevil, and he is come to me; I have provoked God to anger and He has\nleft me; I have so hardened my heart that I cannot repent.\"\n\nIt is a terrible lesson that comes to us from the career of Saul. If our\nnatural lusts are not under the restraint of a higher power; if by that\npower we are not trained to watch, and check, and overpower them; if we\nallow them to burst all restraint and lord it over us as they\nwill,--then will they grow into so many tyrants, who will rule us with\nrods of iron; laugh at the feeble remonstrances of our conscience; scoff\nat every messenger of God; vex His Holy Spirit, and hurl us at last to\neverlasting woe!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n_DAVID ANOINTED BY SAMUEL._\n\n1 SAMUEL xvi. 1-13.\n\n\nThe rejection of Saul was laid very deeply to heart by Samuel. No doubt\nthere were many engaging qualities in the man Saul, which Samuel could\nnot but remember, and which fed the flame of personal attachment, and\nmade the fact of his rejection hard to digest. And no doubt, too, Samuel\nwas concerned for the peace and prosperity of the nation. He knew that a\nchange of dynasty commonly meant civil war--it might lead to the inward\nweakening of a kingdom already weak enough, and its exposure to the\nattacks of hostile neighbours that watched with lynx eyes for any\nopportunity of dashing against Israel. Thus both on personal and on\npublic grounds the rejection of Saul was a great grief to Samuel,\nespecially as the rejection of Saul implied the rejection of Jonathan,\nand the prophet might ask, with no small reason, where, in all the\nnation, could there be found a better successor.\n\nIt was not God's pleasure to reveal to Samuel the tragic events that\nwere to stretch Jonathan and his brothers among the dead on the same day\nas their father; but it was His pleasure to introduce him to the man\nwho, at a future time, was to rule Israel according to the ideal which\nthe prophet had vainly endeavoured to press upon Saul. There is a\nsharpness in God's expostulation with Samuel which implies that the\nprophet's grief for Saul was carried to an excessive and therefore\nsinful length. \"How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have\nrejected him from reigning over Israel?\" Grief on account of others\nseems such a sacred, such a holy feeling, that we are not ready to\napprehend the possibility of its acquiring the dark hue of sin. Yet if\nGod's children abandon themselves to the wildest excess for some sorrow\nwhich bears to them the character of a fatherly chastening; if they\nrefuse to give effect in any way to God's purpose in the matter, and to\nthe gracious ends which He designs it to serve, they are guilty of sin,\nand that sin one which is greatly dishonouring to God. It can never be\nright to shut God out of view in connection with our sorrows, or to\nforget that the day is coming--impossible though it may seem--when His\ncharacter shall be so vindicated in all that has happened to His\nchildren, that all tears shall be wiped from their eyes, and it shall be\nseen that His tender mercies have been over all His works.\n\nIt was to Bethlehem, and to the family of Jesse, that Samuel was to go\nto find the destined successor of Saul. The place was not so far distant\nfrom Ramah as to be quite beyond the sphere of Samuel's acquaintance. Of\nJesse, one of the leading men of the place, he would probably have at\nleast a general knowledge, though it is plain he had not any personal\nacquaintance with him, or knowledge of his family. Bethlehem had already\nacquired a marked place in Hebrew history, and Samuel could not have\nbeen ignorant of the episode of the young Moabite widow who had given\nsuch a beautiful proof of filial piety, and among whose descendants\nJesse and his sons were numbered. The very name of Bethlehem was fitted\nto recall how God honours those that honour Him, and might have rebuked\nthat outburst of fear which fell from Samuel, whose first thought was\nthat he could not go, because if Saul heard of it he would kill him.\nWell, it is plain enough that, with all his glorious qualities as a\nprophet, Samuel was but a man, subject to the infirmities of men. What\nan honest book the Bible is! its greatest heroes coming down so often to\nthe human level and showing the same weaknesses as ourselves! But God,\nwho stoops to human weakness, who fortified the failing heart of Moses\nat the burning bush, and the doubting heart of Gideon, and afterwards\nthe weary heart of Elijah and the trembling heart of Jeremiah,\ncondescends in like manner to the infirmity of Samuel, and provides him\nwith an ostensible object for his journey, which was not fitted to\nawaken the jealous temper of the king. Samuel is to announce that his\ncoming to Bethlehem is for the purpose of a sacrifice, and the\ncircumstances connected with the anointing of a successor to Saul are to\nbe gone about so quietly and so vaguely that the great object of his\nvisit will hardly be so much as guessed by any.\n\nThe question has often been raised, Was this diplomatic arrangement not\nobjectionable? Was it not an act of duplicity and deceit? Undoubtedly it\nwas an act of concealment, but it does not follow that it was an act of\nduplicity. It was concealment of a thing which Samuel was under no\nobligation to divulge. It was not concealment of which the object was to\nmislead any one, or to induce any one to do what he would not have done\nhad the whole truth been known to him. When concealment is practised in\norder to take an unfair advantage of any one, or to secure an unworthy\nadvantage over him, it is a detestable crime. But to conceal what you\nare under no obligation to reveal, when some important end is to be\ngained, is a quite different thing. \"It is the glory of God to conceal a\nthing;\" providence is often just a vast web of concealment; the trials\nof Job were the fruit of Divine concealment; the answers of our Lord to\nthe Syrophoenician woman were a concealment; the delay in going to\nBethany when He heard of the illness of Lazarus was just a concealment\nof the glorious miracle which He intended by-and-bye to perform. One may\ntell the truth, and yet not the whole truth, without being guilty of any\ninjustice or dishonesty. It was not on Saul's account at all that Samuel\nwas sent to anoint a king at Bethlehem. It was partly on Samuel's\naccount and partly on David's. If David was hereafter to fill the\nexalted office of king of Israel, it was desirable that he should be\ntrained for its duties from his earliest years. Saul had not been called\nto the throne till middle life, till his character had been formed and\nhis habits settled; the next king must be called at an earlier period of\nlife. And though the boy's father and brothers may not understand the\nfull nature of the distinction before him, they must be made to\nunderstand that he is called to a very special service of God, in order\nthat they may give him up freely and readily to such preparation as that\nservice demands. This seems to have been the chief reason of the mission\nof Samuel to Bethlehem. It could not but be known after that, that David\nwas to be distinguished as a servant of God, but no idea seems to have\nbeen conveyed either to his brothers or to the elders of Bethlehem that\nhe was going to be king.\n\nThe arrangements for the public worship of God in those times--while the\nark of God was still at Kirjath-jearim--seem to have been far from\nregular, and it appears to have been not unusual for Samuel to visit\nparticular places for the purpose of offering a sacrifice. It would seem\nthat the ordinary, though not the uniform, occasion for such visits was\nthe occurrence of something blameworthy in the community, and if so this\nwill explain the terror of the elders of Bethlehem at the visit of\nSamuel, and their frightened question, \"Comest thou peaceably?\" Happily\nSamuel was able to set their fears at rest, and to assure them that the\nobject of his visit was entirely peaceable. It was a religious service\nhe was come to perform, such a service as may have been associated with\nthe other religious services he was accustomed to hold as he went round\nin circuit in the neighbourhood of Ramah. For this sacrifice the elders\nof Bethlehem were called to sanctify themselves, as were also Jesse and\nhis sons. They were to take the usual steps for freeing themselves of\nall ceremonial uncleanness, and after the sacrifice they were to share\nthe feast. A considerable interval would necessarily elapse between the\nsacrifice and the feast, for the available portions of the animal had to\nbe prepared for food, and roasted on the fire. It was during this\ninterval that Samuel made acquaintance with the sons of Jesse. First\ncame the handsome and stately Eliab. And strange it is that even with\nthe fate of the handsome and stately Saul full in his memory, Samuel\nleapt to the conclusion that this was the Lord's anointed. Could he\nwonder at God's emphatic No! Surely he had seen enough of outward\nappearance coupled with inward unfitness. One trial of that criterion\nhad been enough for Israel.\n\nBut alas, it is not merely in the choice of kings that men are apt to\nshow their readiness to rest in the outward appearance. To what an\ninfinite extent has this tendency been carried in the worship of God!\nLet everything be outwardly correct, the church beautiful, the music\nexcellent, the sermon able, the congregation numerous and\nrespectable--what a pattern such a church is often regarded! Alas! how\nlittle satisfactory it may be to God. The eye that searches and knows us\npenetrates to the heart,--it is there only that God finds the genuine\nelements of worship. The lowly sense of personal unworthiness, the\nwondering contemplation of the Divine love, the eager longing for mercy\nto pardon and grace to help, the faith that grasps the promises, the\nhope that is anchored within the veil, the kindness that breathes\nbenediction all round, the love that beareth all things, believeth all\nthings, hopeth all things, endureth all things,--it is these things,\nbreathing forth from the hearts of a congregation, that give pleasure to\nGod.\n\nOr look at what often happens in secular life. See how intensely eager\nsome are about appearances. Why, it is one of the stereotyped rules of\nsociety that it is necessary \"to keep up appearances.\" Well-born people\nmay have become poor, very poor, but they must live to outward\nappearance as if they were rich. Between rivals there may be a deadly\njealousy, but they must, by courtesy, keep up the form of friendship.\nAnd in trade a substantial appearance must be given to goods that are\nreally worthless. And often, men who are really mean and unprincipled\nmust pose as persons very particular about the right and very indignant\nat the wrong. And some, meaner than the common, must put on the cloak of\nreligion, and establish a character for sanctity.\n\nThe world is full of idolatries, but I question if any idolatry has been\nmore extensively practised than the idolatry of the outward appearance.\nIf there be less of this in our day than perhaps a generation back, it\nis because in these days of sifting and trial men have learned in so\nmany ways by hard experience what a delusion it is to lean on such a\nbroken reed. Yes, and we have had men among us who from a point of view\nnot directly Christian have exposed the shams and counterfeits of the\nage,--men like Carlyle, who have sounded against them a trumpet blast\nwhich has been echoed and re-echoed round the very globe. But surely we\ndo not need to go outside the Bible for this great lesson. \"Thou\ndesirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part Thou shalt\nmake me to know wisdom;\" \"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord\nwill not hear me.\" Or if we pass to the New Testament, what is the great\nlesson of the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee? The Publican was\na genuine man, an honest, humble, self-emptied sinner. The Pharisee was\na silly puffed-up pretender. The world seems to think that all high\nprofession must be hollow. I need not say that such an opinion is\nutterly untenable. The world would have you profess nothing, lest you\nshould not come up to it. Christ says, \"Abide in Me, so shall ye bear\nmuch fruit.\" It was on this principle that St. Paul professed so much\nand did so much. \"The life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith\nof the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.\"\n\nThere is nothing to be said of the other sons of Jesse. Only the\nyoungest one remained, apparently too young to be at the feast; he was\nin the field, keeping the sheep. \"And Jesse sent and brought him in. Now\nhe was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance\" (_marg._ eyes),\n\"and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this\nis he.\" Though goodly to look at, he was too young, too boyish to be\npreferred on the score of \"outward appearance.\" It was qualities unseen,\nand as yet but little developed, that commended him. Greatly astonished\nmust Jesse and his other sons have been to see Samuel pouring on the\nruddy stripling the holy oil, and anointing him for whatever the office\nmight be. But it has often been God's way to find His agents in\nunexpected places. Here a great king is found in the sheepfold. In\nJoseph's time a prime minister of Egypt was found in the prison. Our\nLord found His chief apostle in the school of Gamaliel. The great\nReformer of the sixteenth century was found in a poor miner's cottage.\nGod is never at a loss for agents, and if the men fail that might\nnaturally have been looked for to do Him service substitutes for them\nare not far to seek. Out of the very stones He can raise up children to\nAbraham.\n\nBut it was not a mere arbitrary arrangement that David should have been\na shepherd before he was king. There were many things in the one\nemployment that prepared the way for the other. In the East the shepherd\nhad higher rank and a larger sphere of duties than is common with us.\nThe duties of the shepherd, to watch over his flock, to feed and protect\nthem, to heal the sick, bind up the broken, and bring again that which\nwas driven away, corresponded to those which the faithful and godly\nruler owed to the people committed to his sceptre. It was from the time\nof David that the shepherd phraseology began to be applied to rulers and\ntheir people; and we hardly carry away the full lesson that the prophets\nintended to teach in their denunciations of \"the shepherds that fed\nthemselves and not the flock\" when we apply these exclusively to the\nshepherds of souls. So appropriate was the emblem of the shepherd for\ndenoting the right spirit and character of rulers, that it was\nultimately appropriated in a very high and peculiar sense to the person\nand office of the Lord Jesus Christ. But long ere he appeared King David\nhad familiarised men's minds with the kind of benefits that flow from\nthe sceptre of a shepherd-ruler--the kind of blessings that were to flow\nin their fulness from Christ. Never did he write a more expressive word\nthan this, \"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.\" On the\ngroundwork of his own earthly kingdom he had drawn the pattern of things\nin heavenly places, for describing which in after times no language\ncould be found more suitable than that borrowed from his first\noccupation.\n\nBut in full harmony with the character of Old Testament typology, the\nglory of the thing symbolized was infinitely greater than the glory of\nthe symbol. Much though the nation owed to the godly administration of\nhim whom God \"took from the sheepfold, and brought from following the\newes great with young, to feed Jacob His people and Israel His\ninheritance,\" these benefits were shadows indeed when compared with the\nblessings procured by the great \"Shepherd of Israel,\" \"the good Shepherd\nthat giveth His life for the sheep,\" whose shepherd care does not\nterminate with the life that now is, but will be exercised in eternity\nin feeding them and leading them by living fountains of water, where God\nshall wipe away all tears from their eyes.\n\nThere are other points of typical resemblance between David and Christ\nthat demand our notice here. If it was a strange-like thing for God to\nfind the model king of Israel in a sheepcot at Bethlehem, it was still\nmore so to find the Saviour of the world in a workshop at Nazareth. But\nagain; King David was chosen for qualities that did not fall in with the\nordinary conception of what was king-like, but qualities that commended\nhim to God; and in the same manner the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Elect,\nin whom His soul delighted, was not marked by those attributes which men\nmight have considered suitable in one who was to gain the empire of the\nworld. \"He shall grow up as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry\nground; He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him there\nis no beauty that we should desire Him.\" In bodily form the Lord Jesus\nwould seem to have resembled David rather than Saul. There is no reason\nto think that there was any great physical superiority in Christ, that\nHe was taller than the common, or that He was distinguished by any of\nthose physical features that at first sight captivate men. And even in\nthe region of intellectual and spiritual influence, our Lord did not\nconform to the type that naturally commands the confidence and\nadmiration of the world. He had a still, quiet manner. His eloquence did\nnot flash, nor blaze, nor flow like a torrent. The power of His words\nwas due more to their wonderful depth of meaning, going straight to the\nheart of things, and to the aptness of His homely illustrations. Our\nLord's mode of conquest was very remarkable. He conquered by gentleness,\nby forbearance, by love, by sympathy, by self-denial. He impressed men\nwith the glory of sacrifice, the glory of service, the glory of\nobedience, obedience to the one great authority--the will of God--to\nwhich all obedience is due. He inspired them with a love of\npurity,--purity of heart, purity after the highest pattern. If you\ncompare our blessed Lord with those who have achieved great conquests,\nyou cannot but see the difference. I do not mean with conquerors like\nAlexander, or Caesar, or Napoleon. Napoleon himself at St. Helena showed\nin a word the vast difference between Christ and them. \"Our conquests,\"\nsaid he, \"have been achieved by force, but Jesus achieved His by love,\nand to-day millions would die for Him.\" But look at some who have\nconquered by gentler means. Take such men as Socrates, or Plato, or\nAristotle. They achieved great intellectual conquests--they founded\nintellectual empires. But the intellect of Jesus Christ was of another\norder from theirs. He propounded no theory of the universe, He did not\naffect to explain the world of reason, He did not profess to lay bare\nthe laws of the human mind, or prescribe conditions for the welfare of\nstates. What strikes us about Christ's method of influence is its quiet\nhomeliness. Yet quiet and homely though it was and is, how prodigious,\nhow unprecedented has been its power! What other king of men has wielded\na tithe of His influence? And that not with one class of society, but\nwith all; not only with the poor and uneducated, but with thinkers and\nmen of genius as well; not only with men and women who know the world,\nand know their own hearts and all their wants, and apprehend the fitness\nof Christ to supply them, but even with little children, in the simple\nunconsciousness of opening years. For out of the mouths of babes and\nsucklings He hath perfected praise.\n\nNow let us mark this also, in conclusion, that besides being a King\nHimself Jesus makes all His people kings to God. Every Christian is\ndesigned to be a ruler, an unconscious one it may be, but one who\nexercises an influence in the same direction as Christ's. How can you\naccomplish this? By first of all drinking into Christ's spirit, looking\nout on the world as He did, with compassion, sympathy, self-sacrifice,\nand an ardent desire for its renovation and its happiness. By walking\n\"worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called.\" Not by the\nearthquake, or by the tempest, but by the still small voice. By quiet,\nsteady, persistent love, goodness, and self-denial. These are the true\nChristian weapons, often little thought of, but really the armour of\nGod, and weapons mighty to the pulling down of strongholds and the\nsubjugation of the world to Christ.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n_DAVID'S EARLY LIFE._[2]\n\n1 SAMUEL xvi. 14-23.\n\n\nBefore we enter at large into the incident of which these verses form\nthe record it is desirable to settle, as far as we can, the order of\nevents in the early life of David.\n\nAfter being anointed by Samuel, David would probably return to his work\namong the sheep. It is quite possible that some years elapsed before\nanything else occurred to vary the monotony of his first occupation. The\nonly interruption likely to have occurred to his shepherd life would be,\nintercourse with Samuel. It is rather striking that nothing is said,\nnothing is even hinted, as to the private relations that prevailed in\nyouth between him and the venerable prophet who had anointed him with\nthe holy oil. But it cannot be supposed that Samuel would just return to\nRamah without any further communication with the youth that was to play\nso important a part in the future history of the country. If Saul, with\nall his promising qualities at the beginning, had greatly disappointed\nhim, he could only be the more anxious on that account about the\ndisposition and development of David. The fact that after David became\nthe object of the murderous jealousy of Saul, it was to Samuel he came\nwhen he fled from the court to tell what had taken place, and to ask\nadvice (ch. xix. 18, 19), seems to indicate that the two men were on\nintimate terms, and therefore that they had been much together before.\nWhether David derived his views of government from Samuel, or whether\nthey were impressed on him directly by the Spirit of God, it is certain\nthat they were the very same as those which Samuel cherished so\nintensely, and which he sought so earnestly to impress on Saul. God's\nimperial sovereignty, and the earthly king's entire subordination to\nhim; the standing of the people as God's people, God's heritage, and the\nduty of the king to treat them as such, and do all that he could for\ntheir good; the infinite and inexhaustible privilege involved in this\nrelation, making all coquetting with false gods shameful, dishonouring\nto God, and disastrous to the people,--were ruling principles with\nSamuel and David alike. If David was never formally a pupil of Samuel's,\ninformally he must have been so to a large extent. Samuel lived in\nDavid; and the complacency which the old prophet must have had in his\nyouthful friend, and his pleasure in observing the depth of his loyalty\nto God, and his eager interest in the highest welfare of the people,\nmust have greatly mitigated his distress at the rejection of Saul, and\nrevived his hope of better days for Israel.\n\nAs David grew in years, but before he ceased to be a boy, he might\nacquire that local reputation as \"a mighty valiant man and a man of war\"\nwhich his friend referred to when he first mentioned him to Saul. In him\nas in Jonathan faith gendered a habit of dash and daring which could not\nbe suppressed in the days of eager boyhood. The daring insolence of the\nPhilistines, whose country lay but a few miles to the west of\nBethlehem, might afford him opportunities for deeds of boyish valour.\nJerusalem, the stronghold of the Jebusites, was but two hours distant\nfrom Bethlehem, and on the part of its people, too, collisions with\nIsraelites were doubtless liable to occur. It may have been now, or\npossibly a little later, that the contest occurred with the lion and the\nbear. The country round Bethlehem was not a peaceful paradise, and the\ncareer of a shepherd was not the easy life of lovesick swains which\npoets dream.\n\nIt was at this period of David's life that Saul's peculiar malady took\nthat form which suggested the use of music to soothe his nervous\nirritation. His courtiers recommended that he should seek out a cunning\nplayer on the harp, whose soothing strains would calm him in the\nparoxysms of his ailment. Obviously, it was desirable that one who was\nto be so close to a king so full of the military spirit as Saul should\nhave a touch of that spirit himself. David had become known to one of\nthe courtiers, who at once mentioned him as in all respects suitable for\nthe berth. Saul accordingly sent messengers to Jesse, bidding him send\nto him David his son, who was with the sheep. And David came to Saul.\nBut his first visit seems to have been quite short. Saul's attacks were\nprobably occasional, and at first long intervals may have occurred\nbetween them. When he recovered from the attack at which David had been\nsent for, the cunning harper was needed no longer, and would naturally\nreturn home. He may have been but a very short time with Saul, too short\nfor much acquaintance being formed. But it is the way of the historians\nof Scripture, when a topic has once been introduced, to pursue it to its\nissues without note of the events that came between. The writer having\nindicated how David was first brought into contact with Saul, as his\nmusician, pursues the subject of their relation, without mentioning that\nthe fight with Goliath occurred between. Some critics have maintained\nthat in this book we have two accounts of David's introduction to Saul,\naccounts which contradict one another. In the first of them he became\nknown to him first as a musician sent for in the height of his attack.\nIn the other it is as the conqueror of Goliath he appears before Saul.\nIt is the fact that neither Saul nor any of his people knew on this\noccasion who he was that is so strange. According to our view the order\nof events was this: David's first visit to Saul to play before him on\nhis harp was a very short one. Some time after the conflict with Goliath\noccurred. David's appearance had probably changed considerably, so that\nSaul did not recognize him. It was now that Saul attached David to\nhimself, kept him permanently, and would not let him return to his\nfather's house (ch. xviii. 2). And while David acted as musician,\nplaying to him on his harp in the paroxysms of his ailment (ch. xviii.\n10), he went out at his command on military expeditions, and acquired\ngreat renown as a warrior (ch. xviii. 5). Thus, to turn back to the\nsixteenth chapter, the last two verses of that chapter record the\npermanent office before Saul which David came to fill after the\nslaughter of the Philistine. In fact, we find in that chapter, as often\nelsewhere, a brief outline of the whole course of events, some of which\nare filled up in minute detail in the chapter following.\n\nHaving thus settled the chronology, or rather the order of events in\nDavid's early history, it may be well now to examine more fully that\nperiod of his life, in so far as we have any materials for doing so.\n\nAccording to the chronology of the Authorized Version, the birth of\nDavid must have occurred about the year before Christ 1080. It was about\na hundred years later than the date commonly assigned to the Trojan war,\nand therefore a considerable time before the dawn of authentic history,\nat least among the Greeks or the Romans. The age of David succeeded what\nmight be called the heroic age of Hebrew history; in one sense, indeed,\nit was a continuation of that period. Samson, the latest, and in some\nsense the greatest of the Jewish heroes, had perished not very long\nbefore; and the scene of his birth and of some of his most famous\nexploits lay within a very few miles of Bethlehem. In David's boyhood\nold men would still be living who had seen and talked with the Hebrew\nHercules, and from whose lips high-spirited boys would hear, with\nsparkling eye and heaving bosom, the story of his exploits and the\ntragedy of his death. The whole neighbourhood would swarm with songs and\nlegends illustrative of the deeds of those mighty men of valour, that\never since the sojourn in Egypt had been conferring renown on the Hebrew\nname. The mind of boyhood delights in such narratives; they rouse the\nsoul, expand the imagination, and create sympathy with all that is brave\nand noble. We cannot doubt that such things had a great effect on the\nsusceptible temperament of the youthful David, and contributed some\nelements of that manly and invincible spirit which remained so prominent\nin his character.\n\nBut a much more important factor in determining his character and\nshaping his life was the religious awakening in which Samuel had so\nprominent a share. Not a word is said anywhere of the manner in which\nDavid's heart was first turned to God; but this must have been in his\nearliest years. We think of David as we think of Samuel, or Jeremiah, or\nJosiah, or John the Baptist, as sanctified to the Lord from his very\nchildhood. God chose him at the very outset in a more vital sense than\nHe afterwards chose him to be king. In the exercise of that mysterious\nsovereignty which we are unable to fathom, God made his youthful heart a\nplot of good soil, into which when the seed fell it bore fruit an\nhundredfold. In strong contrast to Saul, whose early sympathies were\nagainst the ways and will of God, those of David were warmly for them.\nSamuel would find him an eager and willing listener when he spoke to him\nof God and His ways. How strange are the differences of young persons,\nin this respect, when they come first under the instructions of a\nminister or other servant of God! Some so earnest, so attentive, so\nimpressed; so ready to drink in all that is said; treasuring it, hiding\nit in their hearts, rejoicing in it like those that find great spoil.\nOthers so hard to bring into line, so glad of an excuse for absence, so\ndifficult to interest, so fitful and unconcerned. No doubt much depends\non the skill of the teacher in working upon anything in their minds that\ngives even a faint response to the truth. And in no case is the aversion\nof the heart beyond the power of the Holy Spirit to influence and to\nchange. But for all that, we cannot but acknowledge the mysterious\nsovereignty which through causes we cannot trace makes one man so to\ndiffer from another; which made Abel so different from Cain, Isaac from\nIshmael, Moses from Balaam, and David from Saul.\n\nWas David at any time a member of any of the schools of the prophets? We\ncannot say with certainty, but when we ponder what we read about them\nit seems very likely that he was. These schools seem to have enjoyed in\nan eminent degree the gracious power of the Holy Spirit. The hearts of\nthe inmates seem to have burned with the glow of devotion; the emotions\nof holy joy with which they were animated could not be restrained, but\npoured out from them, like streams from a gushing fountain, in holy\nsongs and ascriptions to God; and such was the overpowering influence of\nthis spirit that for a time it infected even cold-hearted men like Saul,\nand bore them along, as an enthusiastic crowd gathers up stragglers and\nsweeps them onward in its current. It seems highly probable that it was\nin connection with these institutions, on which so signal a blessing\nrested, that the devotional spirit became so powerful in David\nafterwards poured out so freely in his Psalms. For surely he could not\nbe in the company of men who were so full of the Spirit without sharing\ntheir experience and pouring forth the feelings that stirred his soul.\n\nWe all believe in some degree in the law of heredity, and find it\ninteresting to trace the features of forefathers, physical and\nspiritual, in the persons of their descendants. The piety, the humanity,\nand the affectionateness of Boaz and Ruth form a beautiful picture in\nthe early Hebrew history, and seem to come before us anew in the\ncharacter of David. Boaz was remarkable for the fatherly interest he\ntook in his dependants, for his generous kindness to the poor, and for a\nspirit of gentle piety that breathed even through his secular life. Was\nit not the same spirit that dictated the benediction, \"Blessed is he\nthat considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of\ntrouble\"? Was it not the same interest in the welfare of dependants that\nDavid showed when \"he dealt among the people, even the whole multitude\nof Israel, as well to the women as to the men, to every one a cake of\nbread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine? Ruth again was\nremarkable for the extraordinary depth and tenderness of her affection;\nher words to Naomi have never been surpassed as an expression of simple,\ntender feeling: \"Entreat me not to leave thee, nor to return from\nfollowing after thee; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou\nlodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my\nGod.\" Does not this extraordinary tenderness seem to have fallen\nundiminished to the man who had such an affection for Jonathan, who\nshowed such emotion on the illness of his infant child, and poured out\nsuch a flood of anguish on the death of Absalom? The history of Boaz and\nRuth would surely take hold very early of his mind. The very house in\nwhich he lived, the fields where he tended his sheep, every object\naround him, might have associations with their memory; aged people might\ntell him stories of their benevolence, and pious people give him\ntraditions of their godliness, and thus an element would be contributed\nto a character in which the tenderness of a woman and the piety of a\nsaint were combined with the courage and energy of a man.\n\nThe birthplace of David, Bethlehem, is more remarkable for its moral\nassociations than its natural features. Well has it been said by Edward\nRobinson of the place where both David and Jesus were born, \"What a\nmighty influence for good has gone forth from this little spot upon the\nhuman race both for time and for eternity!\" It was situated some six\nmiles to the south of Jerusalem, and about twice that distance to the\nnorth of Hebron. The present town is built upon the north and north-east\nslope of a long grey ridge, with a deep valley in front and another\nbehind, uniting at no great distance, and running down toward the Dead\nSea. The country around is hilly, but hardly beautiful; the limestone\nrock gives a bare appearance to the hills, which is not redeemed by\nboldness of form or picturesqueness of outline. The fields, though stony\nand rough, produce good crops of grain; olive groves, fig-orchards, and\nvineyards abound both in the valleys and on the gentler slopes; the\nhigher and wilder tracts were probably devoted to the pasturing of\nflocks. The whole tract in which Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem are\nsituated is elevated nearly four thousand feet above the level of Jordan\nand the Dead Sea on the one side, and between two and three thousand\nfeet above the Mediterranean on the other. Among these hills and valleys\nDavid spent his youth, watching the flocks of his father.\n\nWe have seen that the life of a shepherd in those scenes was not without\nits times of danger, making great demands on the shepherd's courage and\naffection. In the main, however, it was a quiet life, affording copious\nopportunities for meditation and for quiet study. It was the great\nprivilege of David to see much of God in His works and to commune with\nHim therein. The Psalms are full of allusions to the varied aspects of\nnature--the mountains, the rocks, the rivers, the valleys, the forests,\nthe lightning, the thunder, the whirlwind.\n\nIt is not easy to say how much of the written Word existed in David's\ntime, but at the most it could be but a fragment of what we now possess.\nBut if the mines of revelation were few, all the more eager was his\nsearch for their hidden treasures. And David had the advantage of using\nwhat we may call a pictorial Bible. When he read of the destruction of\nSodom he could see the dark wall of Moab frowning over the lake near to\nwhich the guilty cities were consumed by the fire of heaven. When he\npaused to think of the solemn transactions at Machpelah, he could see in\nthe distance the very spot where so much sacred dust was gathered. Close\nby his daily haunts one pillar marked the place where God spake to\nJacob, and another the spot where poor Rachel died. In the dark range of\nMoab yon lofty peak was the spot whence Moses had his view and Balaam\nhis vision. It was from that eminence the prophet from Pethor saw a star\ncome out of Jacob and a sceptre rise out of Israel that should smite the\ncorners of Moab and destroy all the children of Seth. The sympathy with\nGod fostered by these studies and meditations was of the closest kind;\nan unusually clear and impressive knowledge seems to have been acquired\nof the purpose of God concerning Israel; drinking in himself the lessons\nof revelation, he was becoming qualified to become the instrument of the\nHoly Spirit for those marvellous contributions to its canon which he was\nafterwards honoured to make.\n\nAnd among these hills and valleys, too, David would acquire his\nproficiency in the two very different arts which were soon to make him\nfamous--the use of the sling and the use of the harp. It seems to have\nbeen his ambition, whatever he did, to do it in the best possible way.\nHis skill in the use of the sling was so perfect that he could project a\nstone even at a small object with unerring certainty. His harp was\nprobably a very simple instrument, small enough to be carried about with\nhim, but in handling it he acquired the same perfect skill as in\nhandling his sling. In his hands it became a wonderfully expressive\ninstrument. And hence, when Saul required a skilful musician to soothe\nhim, the known gifts of the young shepherd of Bethlehem pointed him out\nas the man.\n\nOf the influence of music in remedying disorders of the nerves there is\nno want of evidence. \"Bochart has collected many passages from profane\nwriters which speak of the medicinal effects of music on the mind and\nbody, especially as appeasing anger and soothing and pacifying a\ntroubled spirit\" (_Speaker's Commentary_). A whole book was written on\nthe subject by Caspar Laescherus, Professor of Divinity at Wittenberg\n(A.D. 1688). Kitto and other writers have added more recent instances.\nIt is said of Charles IX. of France that after the massacre of St.\nBartholomew his sleep was disturbed by nightly horrors, and he could\nonly be composed to rest by a symphony of singing boys. Philip V. of\nSpain, being seized with deep dejection of mind that unfitted him for\nall public duties, a celebrated musician was invited to surprise the\nking by giving a concert in the neighbouring apartment to his majesty's,\nwith the effect that the king roused himself from his lethargy and\nresumed his duties. We may readily believe that in soothing power the\nharp was not inferior to any of the other instruments.\n\nStill, with all its success, it was but a poor method of soothing a\ntroubled spirit compared to the methods that David was afterwards to\nemploy. It dealt chiefly with man's physical nature, it soothed the\nnervous system, and removed the hindrance which their disorder caused to\nthe action of the powers of the mind. It did not strike at the root of\nall trouble--alienation from God; it did not attempt to create and apply\nthe only permanent remedy for trouble--trust in a loving Father's care.\nIt was a mere foreshadow, on a comparatively low and earthly ground, of\nthe way in which David, as the Psalmist, was afterwards to provide the\ntrue \"oil of joy for the mourner,\" and to become a guide to the downcast\nsoul from the fearful pit and the miry clay up to the third heaven of\njoy and peace. The sounds of his harp could only operate by an influence\nfelt alike by saint and sinner in soothing an agitated frame; but with\nthe words of his Psalms, the Divine Spirit, by whose inspiration they\nwere poured out, was in all coming ages to unite Himself, and to use\nthem for showing the sin-burdened soul the true cause of its misery, and\nfor leading it by a holy path, sorrowing yet rejoicing, to the home of\nits reconciled Father.\n\nIt is a painful thing to see any one in overwhelming trouble; it is\ndoubly painful to see kings and others in high places miserable amid all\ntheir splendours, helpless amid all their resources. Alas, O spirit of\nman, what awful trials thou art subject to! Well mayest thou sometimes\nenvy the very animals around thee, which, if they have no such\ncapacities of enjoyment as thou hast, have on the other hand no such\ncapacities of misery. The higher our powers and position, the more awful\nthe anguish when anything goes wrong. Yet hast thou not, O man, a\ncapacity to know that thy misery cannot be remedied till the cause of it\nis removed? Prodigal son, there is but one way to escape a miserable\nlife. Arise, go to thy Father. See how He is in Christ reconciling the\nworld to Himself, not imputing to men their trespasses. Accept His\noffers and be at peace. Receive His Spirit and your disorder shall be\nhealed. I own that not even then can we assure you of freedom from\ngrievous sorrows. The best of men in this world have often most grievous\nsufferings. But they are strengthened to bear them while they last; they\nare assured that all things work together for good to them that love\nGod, to them that are the called according to His purpose; and they know\nthat when \"the earthly house of their tabernacle is dissolved, they have\na building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the\nheavens.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[2] A few paragraphs on the Life of David are reproduced from the\nauthor's book \"David, King of Israel.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n_DAVID'S CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH._\n\n1 SAMUEL xvii.\n\n\nThese irrepressible Philistines were never long recovering from their\ndisasters. The victory of Jonathan had been impaired by the exhaustion\nof the soldiers, caused by Saul's fast preventing them from pursuing the\nenemy as far, and destroying their force as thoroughly, as they might\nhave done. A new attack was organised against Israel, headed by a\nchampion, Goliath of Gath, whose height must have approached the\nextraordinary stature of ten feet. Against this army Saul arrayed his\nforce, and the two armies fronted each other on opposite sides of the\nvalley of Elah. This valley has generally been identified with that\nwhich now bears the name of Wady-es-Sumt--a valley running down from the\nplateau of Judah to the Philistine plain, not more than perhaps eight or\nten miles from Bethlehem. The Philistine champion appears to have been a\nman of physical strength corresponding to the massiveness of his body.\nThe weight of his coat of mail is estimated at more than one hundred and\nfifty pounds, and the head of his spear eighteen pounds. Remembering the\nextraordinary feats of Samson, the Philistines might well fancy that it\nwas now their turn to boast of a Hercules. Day after day Goliath\npresented himself before the army of Israel, calling proudly for a\nfoeman worthy of his steel, and demanding that in default of any one\nable to fight with him and kill him, the Israelites should abandon all\ndream of independence, and become vassals of the Philistines. And\nmorning and evening, for nearly six weeks, had this proud challenge been\ngiven, but never once accepted. Even Jonathan, who had faith enough and\ncourage enough and skill enough for so much, seems to have felt himself\nhelpless in this great dilemma. The explanation that has sometimes been\ngiven of his abstention, that it was not etiquette for a king's son to\nengage in fight with a commoner, can hardly hold water; Jonathan showed\nno such squeamishness at Michmash; and besides, in cases of desperation\netiquette has to be thrown to the winds. Of the host of Israel, we read\nsimply that they were dismayed. Nor does Saul seem to have renewed the\nattempt to get counsel of God after his experience on the day of\nJonathan's victory. The Israelites could only look on in grim\nhumiliation, sullenly guarding the pass by the valley into their\nterritories, but returning a silent refusal to the demand of the\nPhilistines either to furnish a champion or to become their servants.\n\nThe coming of David upon the scene corresponded in its accidental\ncharacter to the coming of Saul into contact with Samuel, to be\ndesignated for the throne. Everything seemed to be casual, yet those\nthings which seemed most casual were really links in a providential\nchain leading to the gravest issues. It seemed to be by chance that\nDavid had three brothers serving in Saul's army; it seemed also to be by\nchance that their father sent his youthful shepherd son to inquire after\ntheir welfare; it was not by design that as he saluted his brethren\nGoliath came up and David heard his words of defiance; still less was\nit on purpose to wait for David that Saul had sent no one out as yet to\nencounter the Philistine; and nothing could have appeared more\nridiculous than that the challenge should wait to be answered by the\nstripling shepherd, who, with his sling and shepherd's bag thrown over\nhis shoulder, had so little of the appearance of a man of war. It seemed\nvery accidental, too, that the only part of the giant's person that was\nnot thoroughly defended by his armour, his eyes and a morsel of his\nforehead above them, was the only part of him on which a small stone\nfrom a sling could have inflicted a fatal injury. But obviously all\nthese were parts of the providential plan by which David was at once to\nconfer on his country a signal boon, and to raise his name to the\npinnacle of fame. And, as usual, all the parts of this pre-arranged plan\nfell out without constraint or interference; a new proof that Divine\npre-ordination does not impair the liberty of man.\n\nOne cannot but wonder whether, in offering his prayers that morning,\nDavid had any presentiment of the trial that awaited him, anything to\nimpel him to unwonted fervour in asking God that day to establish the\nworks of his hands upon him. There is no reason to think that he had.\nHis prayers that morning were in all likelihood his usual prayers. And\nif he was sincere in the expression of his own sense of weakness, and in\nhis supplication that God would strengthen him for all the day's duties,\nit was enough. Oh! how little we know what may be before us, on some\nmorning that dawns on us just as other days, but which is to form a\ngreat crisis in our life. How little the boy that is to tell his first\nlie that day thinks of the serpent that is lying in wait for him! How\nlittle the girl that is to fall in with her betrayer thinks of the\nsnare preparing for her body and her soul! How little the party that are\nto be upset in the pleasure boat and consigned to a watery grave think\nhow the day is to end! Should we not pray more really, more earnestly if\nwe did realise these possibilities? True, indeed, the future is hid from\nus, and we do not usually experience the impulse to earnestness which it\nwould impart. But is it not a good habit, as you kneel each morning, to\nthink, \"For aught I know, this may be the most important day of my life.\nThe opportunity may be given me of doing a great service in the cause of\ntruth and righteousness; or the temptation may assail me to deny my Lord\nand ruin my soul. O God, be not far from me this day; prepare me for all\nthat Thou preparest for me!\"\n\nThe distance from Bethlehem being but a few hours' walk, David starting\nin the morning would arrive early in the day at the quarters of the\narmy. When he heard the challenge of the Philistine he was astonished to\nfind that no one had taken it up. There was a mystery about this, about\nthe cowardice of his countrymen, perhaps about the attitude of Jonathan,\nthat he could not solve. Accordingly, with all that earnestness and\ncuriosity with which one peers into all the circumstances surrounding a\nmystery, he asked, what encouragement there was to volunteer, what\nreward was any one to receive who should kill this Philistine? Not that\nhe personally was caring about the reward, but he wished to solve the\nmystery. It is evident that the consideration that moved David himself\nwas that the Philistine had defied the armies of the living God. It was\nthe same arrogant claim to be above the God of Israel, which had puffed\nup their minds when they took possession of the ark and placed it in the\ntemple of their god. \"You thought so that day,\" David might mutter,\n\"but what did you think next morning, when the mutilated image of your\ngod lay prostrate on the floor? Please God, your sensations to-morrow,\nyea, this very forenoon, shall be such as they were then.\" The spirit of\nfaith started into full and high activity, and the same kind of\ninspiration that had impelled Jonathan to climb into the garrison at\nMichmash now impelled David to vindicate the blasphemed name of Jehovah.\nWas it the flash of this inspiration in his eye, was it the tone of it\nin his voice, was it the consciousness that something desperate was to\nfollow in the way of personal faith and daring, that roused the temper\nof Eliab, and drew from him a withering rebuke of the presumption of the\nstripling that dared to meddle with such matters? Eliab certainly did\nnot spare him. Elder brothers are seldom remiss in rebuking the\npresumption of younger. \"Why camest thou down hither? And with whom hast\nthou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the\nnaughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see\nthe battle.\" Irritating though such language was, it was borne with\nadmirable meekness. \"What have I now done? Is there not a cause?\" \"He\nthat ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.\" Eliab\nshowed himself defeated by his own temper, a most mortifying defeat;\nDavid held his temper firmly in command. Which was the greater, which\nthe better man? And the short question he put to Eliab was singularly\napt, \"Is there not a cause?\" When all you men of war are standing\nhelpless and perplexed in the face of this great national insult, is\nthere not a cause why I should inquire into the matter, if, by God's\nhelp, I can do anything for my God and my people?\n\nUndaunted by his brother's volley, he turned to some one else, and\nobtained a similar answer to his questions. Inspiration is a rapid\nprocess, and the course for him to pursue was now fully determined upon.\nHis indignant tone and confident reliance on the God of Israel, so\nunlike the tone of every one else, excited the attention of the\nbystanders; they rehearsed his words to Saul, and Saul sent for him. And\nwhen he came to Saul, there was not the slightest trace of fear or\nfaintheartedness about him. \"Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy\nservant will go and fight with this Philistine.\" Brave words, but, as\nSaul thinks, very foolish. \"_You_ go and fight with the Philistine? you\na mere shepherd boy, who never knew the brunt of battle, and he a man of\nwar from his youth?\" Yes, Saul, that is just the way for you to speak,\nwith your earthly way of viewing things; you, who measure strength only\nby a carnal standard, who know nothing of the faith that removes\nmountains, who forget the meaning of the name ISRA-EL, and never spent\nan hour as Jacob spent his night at Peniel! Listen to the reply of\nfaith. \"And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep,\nand there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and\nI went out after him and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth;\nand when he arose against me I caught him by his beard, and smote him\nand slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this\nuncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied\nthe armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that\ndelivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear,\nHe will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.\"\n\nCould there have been a nobler exercise of faith, a finer instance of a\nhuman spirit taking hold of the Invisible; fortifying itself against\nmaterial perils by realizing the help of an unseen God; resting on His\nsure word as on solid rock; flinging itself fearlessly on a very sea of\ndangers; confident of protection and victory from Him? The only help to\nfaith was the remembrance of the encounter with the lion and the bear,\nand the assurance that the same gracious help would be vouchsafed now.\nBut no heart that was not full of faith would have thought of that,\neither as an evidence that God worked by him then, or as a sure pledge\nthat God would work by him now. How many an adventurer or sportsman,\nthat in some encounter with wild animals has escaped death by the very\nskin of his teeth, thinks only of his luck, or the happiness of the\nthought that led him to do so and so in what seemed the very article of\ndeath? A deliverance of this kind is no security against a like\ndeliverance afterwards; it can give nothing more than a hope of escape.\nThe faith of David recognized God's merciful hand in the first\ndeliverance, and that gave an assurance of it in the other. What! would\nthat God that had helped him to rescue a lamb fail him while trying to\nrescue a nation? Would that God that had sustained him when all that was\ninvolved was a trifling loss to his father fail him in a combat that\ninvolved the salvation of Israel and the honour of Israel's God? Would\nHe who had subdued for him the lion and the bear when they were but\nobeying the instincts of their nature, humiliate him in conflict with\none who was defying the armies of the living God? The remembrance of\nthis deliverance confirmed his faith and urged him to the conflict, and\nthe victory which faith thus gained was complete. It swept the decks\nclear of every vestige of terror; it went right to the danger, without\na particle of misgiving.\n\nThere are two ways in which faith may assert its supremacy. One,\nafterwards very familiar to David, is, when it has first to struggle\nhard with distrust and fear; when it has to come to close quarters with\nthe suggestions of the carnal mind, grapple with these in mortal\nconflict, strangle them, and rise up victorious over them. For most men,\nmost believing men, it is only thus that faith rises to her throne. The\nother way is, to spring to her throne in a moment; to assert her\nauthority, free and independent, utterly regardless of all that would\nhamper her, as free from doubt and misgiving as a little child in his\nfather's arms, conscious that whatever is needed that father will\nprovide. It was this simple, child-like, but most triumphant exercise of\nfaith that David showed in undertaking this conflict. Happy they who are\nprivileged with such an attainment! Only let us beware of despairing if\nwe cannot attain to this prompt, instinctive faith. Let us fall back\nwith patience on that other process where we have to fight in the first\ninstance with our fears and misgivings, driving them from us as David\nhad often to do afterwards: \"Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why\nart thou disquieted in me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him who is\nthe health of my countenance and my God.\"\n\nAnd now David prepared himself for the contest. Saul, ever carnal, and\ntrusting only in carnal devices, is fain to clothe him in his armour,\nand David makes trial of his coat of mail; but he is embarrassed by a\nheavy covering to which he is not accustomed, and which only impedes the\nfreedom of his arm. It is plain enough that it is not in Saul's panoply\nthat he can meet the Philistine. He must fall back on simpler means.\nChoosing five smooth stones out of the brook, with his shepherd's staff\nin one hand and his sling in the other, he drew near to the Philistine.\nWhen Goliath saw him no words were bitter enough for his scorn. He had\nsought a warrior to fight with; he gets a boy to annihilate. It is a\npaltry business. \"Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of\nthe air and to the beasts of the fields.\" \"Thus saith the Lord, Let not\nthe wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in\nhis might.\" Was ever such proof given of the sin and folly of boasting\nas in the case of Goliath? And yet, as we should say, how natural it was\nfor Goliath! But pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit\nbefore a fall. In the spiritual conflict it is the surest presage of\ndefeat. It was the Goliath spirit that puffed up St. Peter when he said\nto his Master, \"Lord, I will go with Thee to prison and to death.\" It is\nthe same spirit against which St. Paul gives his remarkable warning,\n\"Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\" Can it be\nsaid that it is a spirit that Churches are always free from? Are they\nnever tempted to boast of the talents of their leading men, the success\nof their movements, and their growing power and influence in the\ncommunity? And does not God in His providence constantly show the sin\nand folly of such boasting? \"Because thou sayest, I am rich and\nincreased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that\nthou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.\"\n\nIn beautiful contrast with the scornful self-confidence of Goliath was\nthe simplicity of spirit and the meek, humble reliance on God, apparent\nin David's answer: \"Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear,\nand with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts,\nthe God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will\nthe Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take\nthine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the Philistines\nthis day to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth,\nthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this\nassembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for\nthe battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hand.\"\n\nWhat a reality God was to David! He advanced \"as seeing Him who is\ninvisible.\" Guided by the wisdom of God, he chose his method of attack,\nwith all the simplicity and certainty of genius. Conscious that God was\nwith him, he fearlessly met the enemy. A man of less faith might have\nbeen too nervous to take the proper aim. Undisturbed by any fear of\nmissing, David hurls the stone from his sling, hits the giant on the\nunprotected part of his forehead, and in a moment has him reeling on the\nground. Advancing to his prostrate foe, he seizes his sword, cuts off\nhis head, and affords to both friends and foes unmistakable evidence\nthat his opponent is dead. Rushing from their tents, the Philistines fly\ntowards their own country, hotly pursued by the Israelites. It was in\nthese pursuits of flying foes that the greatest slaughter occurred in\nthose Eastern countries, and the whole road was strewn with the dead\nbodies of the foe to the very gates of Ekron and Gaza. In this pursuit,\nhowever, David did not mingle. With the head of the Philistine in his\nhands, he came to Saul. It is said that afterwards he took the head of\nGoliath to Jerusalem, which was then occupied, at least in part, by the\nBenjamites (Judges i. 21), though the stronghold of Zion was in the\nhands of the Jebusites (2 Sam. v. 7). We do not know why Jerusalem was\nchosen for depositing this ghastly trophy. All that it is necessary to\nsay in relation to this is, that seeing it was only the stronghold of\nZion that is said to have been held by the Jebusites, there is no ground\nfor the objection which some critics have taken to the narrative that it\ncannot be correct, since Jerusalem was not yet in the hands of the\nIsraelites.\n\nIt cannot be doubted that David continued to hold the same conviction as\nbefore the battle, that it was not he that conquered, but God. We cannot\ndoubt that after the battle he showed the same meek and humble spirit as\nbefore. Whatever surprise his victory might be to the tens of thousands\nwho witnessed it, it was no surprise to him. He knew beforehand that he\ncould trust God, and the result showed that he was right. But that very\nspirit of implicit trust in God by which he was so thoroughly influenced\nkept him from taking any of the glory to himself. God had chosen him to\nbe His instrument, but he had no credit from the victory for himself.\nHis feeling that day was the very same as his feeling at the close of\nhis military life, when the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of\nall his enemies:--\"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;\nthe God of my rock, in Him will I trust; He is my shield and the horn of\nmy salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my saviour; Thou savest me\nfrom violence.\"\n\nWhile David was preparing to fight with the Philistine, Saul asked Abner\nwhose son he was. Strange to say, neither Abner nor any one else could\ntell. Nor could the question be answered till David came back from his\nvictory, and told the king that he was the son of Jesse the\nBethlehemite. We have already remarked that it was strange that Saul\nshould not have recognized him, inasmuch as he had formerly given\nattendance on the king to drive away his evil spirit by means of his\nharp. In explanation it has been urged by some that David's visit or\nvisits to Saul at that time may have been very brief, and as years may\nhave elapsed since his last visit, his appearance may have so changed as\nto prevent recognition. On the part of others, another explanation has\nbeen offered. Saul may have recognized David at first, but he did not\nknow his family. Now that there was a probability of his becoming the\nking's son-in-law, it was natural that Saul should be anxious to know\nhis connections. The question put to Abner was, Whose son is this youth?\nThe commission given to him was to enquire \"whose son the stripling is.\"\nAnd the information given by David was, \"I am the son of thy servant\nJesse the Bethlehemite.\" It may be added that there is some difficulty\nabout the text of this chapter. It seems as if somehow two independent\naccounts of David had been mixed together. And in one important version\nof the Septuagint several passages that occur in the received text are\nomitted, certainly with the result of removing some difficulties as the\npassage stands.\n\nIt is not possible to read this chapter without some thought of the\ntypical character of David, and indeed the typical aspect of the\nconflict in which he was now engaged. We find an emblematic picture of\nthe conquest of Messiah and His Church. The self-confident boasting of\nthe giant, strong in the resources of carnal might, and incapable of\nappreciating the unseen and invincible power of a righteous man in a\nrighteous cause, is precisely the spirit in which opposition to Christ\nhas been usually given, \"Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away\ntheir cords from us.\" The contempt shown for the lowly appearance of\nDavid, the undisguised scorn at the notion that through such a stripling\nany deliverance could come to his people, has its counterpart in the\nfeeling towards Christ and His Gospel to which the Apostle alludes: \"We\npreach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the\nGreeks foolishness.\" The calm self-possession of David, the choice of\nsimple but suitable means, and the thorough reliance on Jehovah which\nenabled him to conquer, were all exemplified, in far higher measure, in\nthe moral victories of Jesus, and they are still the weapons which\nenable His people to overcome. The sword of Goliath turned against\nhimself, the weapon by which he was to annihilate his foe, employed by\nthat very foe to sever his head from his body, was an emblem of Satan's\nweapons turned by Christ against Satan, \"through death he destroyed him\nthat had the power of death, and delivered them who all their lifetime\nwere subject to bondage.\" The representative character of David,\nfighting, not for himself alone but the whole nation, was analogous to\nthe representative character of Christ. And the shout that burst from\nthe ranks of Israel and Judah when they saw the champion of the\nPhilistines fall, and the enemy betake themselves in consternation to\nflight, foreshadowed the joy of redeemed men when the reality of\nChrist's salvation flashes on their hearts, and they see the enemies\nthat have been harassing them repulsed and scattered--a joy to be\nimmeasurably magnified when all enemies are finally conquered, and the\nloud voice is heard in heaven, \"Now is come salvation, and strength, and\nthe kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of\nour brethren is cast down, that accused them before our God day and\nnight.\"\n\nLastly, while we are instructed by the study of this conflict, let us be\nanimated by it too. Let us learn never to quail at carnal might arrayed\nagainst the cause of God. Let us never fear to attack SIN, however\napparently invincible it may be. Be it sin within or sin without, sin in\nour hearts or sin in the world, let us go boldly at it, strong in the\nmight of God. That God who delivered David from the paw of the wild\nbeast, and from the power of the giant, will make us more than\nconquerors--will enable us to spoil \"principalities and powers and\ntriumph openly over them.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n_SAUL'S JEALOUSY--DAVID'S MARRIAGE._\n\n1 SAMUEL xviii.\n\n\nThe conqueror of Goliath had been promised, as his reward, the eldest\ndaughter of the king in marriage. The fulfilment of that promise, if not\nutterly neglected, was at least delayed; but if David lost the hand of\nthe king's daughter, he gained, what could not have been promised--the\nheart of the king's son. It was little wonder that \"the soul of Jonathan\nwas knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own\nsoul.\" Besides all else about David that was attractive to Jonathan as\nit was attractive to every one, there was that strongest of all bonds,\nthe bond of a common, all-prevailing faith, faith in the covenant God of\nIsrael, that had now shown itself in David in overwhelming strength, as\nit had shown itself in Jonathan some time before at Michmash.\n\nTo Jonathan David must indeed have appeared a man after his own heart.\nThe childlike simplicity of the trust he had reposed in God showed what\na profound hold his faith had of him, how entirely it ruled his life.\nWhat depths of congeniality the two young men must have discovered in\none another; in what wonderful agreement they must have found themselves\nrespecting the duty and destiny of the Hebrew people! That Jonathan\nshould have been so fascinated at that particular moment shows what a\npure heart he must have had. If we judge aright, David's faith had\nsurpassed Jonathan's; David had dared where Jonathan had shrunk; and\nDavid's higher faith had obtained the distinction that might naturally\nhave been expected to fall to Jonathan. Yet no shadow of jealousy\ndarkens Jonathan's brow. Never were hands more cordially grasped; never\nwere congratulations more warmly uttered. Is there anything so beautiful\nas a beautiful heart? After well-nigh three thousand years, we are still\nthrilled by the noble character of Jonathan, and well were it for every\nyoung man that he shared in some degree his high nobility. Self-seekers\nand self-pleasers, look at him--and be ashamed.\n\nThe friendship between David and Jonathan will fall to be adverted to\nafterwards; meanwhile we follow the course of events as they are\ndetailed in this chapter.\n\nOne thing that strikes us very forcibly in this part of David's history\nis the rapidity with which pain and peril followed the splendid\nachievement which had raised him so high. The malignant jealousy of Saul\ntowards him appears to have sprung up almost immediately after the\nslaughter of Goliath. \"When David was returned from the slaughter of the\nPhilistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and\ndancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments\nof music. And the women answered one another as they played, saying,\nSaul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was\nvery wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have\nascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but\nthousands; and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed\nDavid from that day and forward.\" This statement seems (like so many\nother statements in Scripture narratives) to be a condensed one,\nembracing things that happened at different times; it appears to denote\nthat as soon as David returned from killing Goliath his name began to be\nintroduced by the women into their songs; and when he returned from the\nexpeditions to which Saul appointed him when he set him over the men of\nwar, and in which he was wonderfully successful, then the women\nintroduced the comparison, which so irritated Saul, between Saul's\nthousands and David's ten thousands. The truth is, that David's\nexperience, while Saul continued to be his persecutor, was a striking\ncommentary on the vanity of human life,--on the singularly tantalizing\nway in which the most splendid prizes are often snatched from men's\nhands as soon as they have secured them, and when they might reasonably\nhave expected to enjoy their fruits. The case of a conqueror killed in\nthe very moment of victory--of a Wolfe falling on the Plains of Quebec,\njust as his victory made Britain mistress of Canada; of a Nelson\nexpiring on the deck of his ship, just as the enemy's fleet was\nhelplessly defeated,--these are touching enough instances of the\ndeceitfulness of fortune in the highest moments of expected enjoyment.\nBut there is something more touching still in the early history of\nDavid. Raised to an eminence which he never courted or dreamt of, just\nbecause he had such trust in God and such regard for his country;\nmanifesting in his new position all that modesty and all that\ndutifulness which had marked him while his name was still unknown;\ntaking his life in his hand and plunging into toils and risks\ninnumerable just because he desired to be of service to Saul and his\ncountry,--surely, if any man deserved a comfortable home and a tranquil\nmind David was that man. That David should have become the worst treated\nand most persecuted man of his day; that for years and years he should\nhave been maligned and hunted down, with but a step between him and\ndeath; that the very services that ought to have brought him honour\nshould have plunged him into disgrace, and the noble qualities that\nought to have made him the king's most trusty counsellor should have\nmade him a fugitive and an outlaw from his presence,--all that is very\nstrange. It would have been a great trial to any man; it was a peculiar\ntrial to a Hebrew. For under the Hebrew economy the principle of\ntemporal rewards and punishments had a prominence beyond the common. Why\nwas this principle reversed in the case of David? Why was one who had\nbeen so exemplary doomed to such humiliation and trial,--doomed to a\nmode of life which seemed more suitable for a miscreant than for the man\nafter God's own heart?\n\nThe answer to this question cannot be mistaken now. But that answer was\nnot found so readily in David's time. David's early years bore a close\nresemblance to that period of the career of Job when the hand of God was\nheavy upon him, and thick darkness encompassed one on whose tabernacle\nthe candle of the Lord had previously shone very brightly. It pleased\nGod, in infinite love, to make David pass through a long period of hard\ndiscipline and salutary training for the office to which he was to be\nraised. The instances were innumerable in the East of young men of\npromising character being ruined through sudden elevation to supreme\nunchallenged power. The case of Saul himself was a sad instance of this\ndoleful effect. It pleased God to take steps to prevent it from\nhappening in the case of David. It is said that when Alcibiades, the\ndistinguished Athenian, was young, Socrates tried hard to withhold him\nfrom public life, and to convince him that he needed a long course of\ninward discipline before he could engage safely and usefully in the\nconduct of public affairs. But Alcibiades had no patience for this; he\ntook his own way, became his own master, but with the result that he\nlost at once true loftiness of aim and all the sincerity of an upright\nsoul. We do not need, however, to illustrate from mere human history the\nbenefits that arise from a man bearing the yoke in his youth. Even our\nblessed Lord, David's antitype, \"though He was a Son, yet learned He\nobedience by the things which He suffered.\" And how often has the lesson\nbeen repeated! What story is more constantly repeated than, on the one\nhand, that of the young man succeeding to a fortune in early life,\nlearning every wretched habit of indolence and self-indulgence, becoming\nthe slave of his lusts, and after a miserable life sinking into a\ndishonoured grave? And on the other, how often do we find, in the\nbiography of the men who have been an honour to their race, that their\nearly life was spent amid struggles and acts of self-denial that seem\nhardly credible, but out of which came their resolute character and\ngrand conquering power? O adversity, thy features are hard, thy fingers\nare of iron, thy look is stern and repulsive; but underneath thy hard\ncrust there lies a true heart, full of love and full of hope; if only we\nhad grace to believe this, in times when we are bound with affliction\nand iron; if only we had faith to look forward a very little, when, like\nthe patriarch Job, we shall find that, after all, He who frames our lot\nis \"very pitiful and of tender mercy\"!\n\nIn the case of David, God's purpose manifestly was to exercise and\nstrengthen such qualities as trust in God, prayerfulness, self-command,\nserenity of temper, consideration for others, and the hope of a happy\nissue out of all his troubles. His trials were indeed both numerous and\nvarious. The cup of honour dashed from his lips when he had just begun\nto taste it; promises the most solemn deliberately violated, and rewards\nof perilous service coolly withheld from him; faithful services turned\ninto occasions of cruel persecution; enforced separation from beloved\nfriends; laceration of feelings from Saul's cruel and bloody treatment\nof some who had befriended him; calumnious charges persisted in after\nconvincing and generous refutation; ungrateful treatment from those he\nhad benefited, like Nabal; treachery from those he had delivered, like\nthe men of Keilah; perfidy on the part of some he had trusted, like\nCush; assassination threatened by some of his own followers, as at\nZiklag,--these and many other trials were the hard and bitter discipline\nwhich David had to undergo in the wilderness.\n\nAnd not only was David thus prepared for the great work of his future\nlife, but as a type of the Messiah he foreshadowed the deep humiliation\nthrough which He was to pass on His way to His throne. He gave the Old\nTestament Church a glimpse of the manner in which \"it became Him, by\nwhom are all things and for whom are all things, in bringing many sons\nunto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through\nsuffering.\"\n\nThe growth of the malignant passion of jealousy in Saul is portrayed in\nthe history in a way painfully graphic. First, it is simply a feeling\nthat steals occasionally into his bosom. It needs some outward occasion\nto excite it. Its first great effort to establish itself was when Saul\nheard the Hebrew women ascribing to David ten times as great a slaughter\nas they ascribed to Saul. We cannot but be struck with the ruggedness of\nthe women's compliment. To honour David as more ready to incur risk and\nsacrifice for his country, even in encounters involving terrible\nbloodshed, would have been worthy of women, and worthy of good women;\nbut to make the standard of compliment the number of lives destroyed,\nthe amount of blood shed, indicated surely a coarseness of feeling,\ncharacteristic of a somewhat barbarous age. But the compliment was quite\nsignificant to Saul, who saw in it a proof of the preference entertained\nfor David, and began to look on him as his rival in the kingdom. The\nnext step in the history of Saul's jealousy is its forming itself into\nan evil habit, that needed no outward occasion to excite it, but kept\nitself alive and active by the vitality it had acquired. \"And Saul eyed\nDavid from that day and forward\" (ver. 9). If Saul had been a good man,\nhe would have been horrified at the appearance of this evil passion in\nhis heart; he would have said, \"Get thee behind me, Satan;\" he would\nhave striven to the utmost to strangle it in the womb. Oh! what untold\nmountains of guilt would this not have saved him in after life! And what\nmountains of guilt, darkening their whole life, would the policy of\nresistance and stamping out, when an evil lust or passion betrays its\npresence in their heart, save to every young man and young woman who\nfind for the first time evidence of its vitality! But instead of\nstamping it out, Saul nourished it; instead of extinguishing the spark,\nhe heaped fuel on the flame. And his lust, having been allowed to\nconceive, was not long of bringing forth. Under a fit of his malady,\neven as David was playing to him with his harp, he launched a javelin\nat him, no doubt in some degree an act of insanity, but yet betraying a\nvery horrible spirit. Then, perhaps afraid of himself, he removes David\nfrom his presence, and sends him out to battle as a captain of a\nthousand. But David only gives fresh proofs of his wisdom and his\ntrustworthiness, and establishes his hold more and more on the\naffections of the people. The very fact of his wisdom, the evidence\nwhich his steady, wise, and faithful conduct affords of God's presence\nwith him, creates a new restlessness in Saul, who, with a kind of\ndevilish feeling, hates him the more because \"the Lord is with him, and\nis departed from Saul.\"\n\nThe next stage in the career of jealousy is to ally itself with cunning,\nunder the pretence of great generosity. \"Saul said to David, Behold my\nelder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant\nfor me, and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand\nbe upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.\" But\ncunning and treachery are close connections, and when this promise ought\nto have been fulfilled, Merab was given to Adriel the Meholathite to\nwife. There remained his younger daughter Michal, who was personally\nattached to David. \"And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be\na snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against\nhim.\" The question of dowry was a difficult one to David; but on that\npoint the king bade his servants set his mind at rest. \"The king\ndesireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to\nbe avenged of the king's enemies. And Saul thought to make David fall by\nthe hand of the Philistines.\"\n\nAlas! the history of Saul's malignant passion is by no means exhausted\neven by these sad illustrations of its rise and progress. It swells and\ngrows, like a horrid tumour, becoming uglier and uglier continually. And\nthe notices are very significant and instructive which we find as to the\nspiritual condition of Saul, in connection with the development of his\npassion. We are told that the Lord was departed from him. When Saul was\nreproved by Samuel for his transgression, he showed no signs of real\nrepentance, he continued consciously in a state of enmity with God, and\ntook no steps to get the quarrel healed. He preferred the kind of life\nin which he might please himself, though he offended God, to the kind of\nlife in which he would have pleased God, while he denied himself. And\nSaul had to bear the awful penalty of his choice. Living apart from God,\nall the evil that was in his nature came boldly out, asserting itself\nwithout let or hindrance, and going to the terrible length of the most\nmurderous and at the same time the meanest projects. Don't let any one\nimagine that religion has no connection with morality! Sham religion, as\nwe have already seen, may exist side by side with the greatest\nwickedness; but that religion, the beginning of which is the true fear\nof God, a genuine reverential regard for God, a true sense of His claims\non us, alike as our Creator and our Redeemer,--_that_ religion lays its\nhand firmly on our moral nature, and scares and scatters the devices of\nthe evil that still remains in the heart. Let us take warning at the\npicture presented to us in this chapter of the terrible results, even in\nthe ordinary affairs of life, of the evil heart of unbelief that departs\nfrom the living God. The other side of the case, the effect of a true\nrelation to God in purifying and guiding the life, is seen in the case\nof David. God being with him in all that he does, he is not only kept\nfrom retaliating on Saul, not only kept from all devices for getting rid\nof one who was so unjust and unkind to himself, but he is remarkably\nobedient, remarkably faithful, and by God's grace remarkably successful\nin the work given him to do. It is indeed a beautiful period of David's\nlife--the most blameless and beautiful of any. The object of unmerited\nhatred, the victim of atrocious plots, the helpless object of a despot's\nmad and ungoverned fury, yet cherishing no trace of bitter feeling,\ndreaming of no violent project of relief, but going out and in with\nperfect loyalty, and straining every nerve to prove himself a laborious,\nfaithful, and useful servant of the master who loathed him.\n\nThe question of David's marriage is a somewhat difficult one, appearing\nto involve some contradictions. First of all we read that a daughter of\nSaul, along with great riches, had been promised to the man who should\nkill Goliath. But after David kills him, there is no word of this\npromise being fulfilled, and even afterwards, when the idea of his being\nthe king's son-in-law is brought forward, there is no hint that he ought\nto have been so before. Are we to understand that it was an unauthorized\nrumour that was told to David (ch. xvii. 25-27) when it was said that\nthe victor was to get these rewards? Was it that the people recalled\nwhat had been said by Caleb about Kirjath-sepher, a town in that very\nneighbourhood, and inferred that surely Saul would give his daughter to\nthe conqueror, as Caleb had given his? This is perhaps the most\nreasonable explanation, because when David came into Saul's presence\nnothing of the kind was said to him by the king; and also because, if\nSaul had really promised it, there was no reason at the time why he\nshould not have kept his promise; nay, the impulsive nature of the\nking, and the great love of Jonathan toward David, and the love with\nwhich David inspired women, would rather have led Saul to be forward in\nfulfilling it, and in constituting a connection which would then have\nbeen pleasant to all. If it be said that this would have been a natural\nthing for Saul to do, even had there been no promise, the answer is that\nDavid was such a stripling, and even in his father's household occupied\nso humble a place, as to make it reasonable that he should wait, and\ngain a higher position, before any such thing should be thought of.\nAccordingly, when David became older, and acquired distinction as a\nwarrior, his being the king's son-in-law had become quite feasible.\nFirst, Saul proposes to give him his elder daughter Merab. The murderous\ndesire dictates the proposal, for Saul already desires David's death,\nthough he has not courage himself to strike the blow. But when the time\ncame, for some reason that we do not know of Merab was given to Adriel\nthe Meholathite. David's action at an after period showed that he\nregarded this as a cruel wrong (2 Sam. iii. 13). Saul, however, still\ndesired to have that hold on David which his being his son-in-law would\nhave involved, and now proposed that Michal his younger daughter should\nbe his wife. The proposal was accepted, but David could bring no dowry\nfor his wife. The only dowry the king sought was a hundred foreskins of\nthe Philistines. And the hundred foreskins David paid down in full tale.\n\nWhat a distressing view these transactions give us of the malignity of\nSaul's heart! When parents have sacrificed the true happiness of their\ndaughters by pressing on them a marriage of splendid misery, the motive,\nhowever selfish and heartless, has not usually been malignant. The\nmarriage which Saul urged between David and Michal was indeed a marriage\nof affection, but as far as he was concerned his sin in desiring it, as\naffording facilities for getting rid of him, was on that account all the\ngreater. For nothing shows a wickeder heart than being willing to\ninvolve another, and especially one's own child, in a lifelong sorrow in\norder to gratify some feeling of one's own. Saul was not merely trifling\nwith the heart and happiness of his child, but he was deliberately\nsacrificing both to his vile passion. The longer he lives, Saul becomes\nblacker and blacker. For such are they from whom the Spirit of the Lord\nhas departed.\n\nWe may well contrast David and Saul at this period of their lives; but\nwhat a strange thing it is that further on in life David should have\ntaken this leaf from Saul's book, and acted in this very spirit towards\nUriah the Hittite? Not that Uriah was, or was to be, son-in-law to the\nking; alas! there was an element of blackness in the case of David which\ndid not exist in that of Saul; but it was in the very spirit now\nmanifested by Saul towards himself that David availed himself of Uriah's\nbravery, of Uriah's faithfulness, of Uriah's chivalrous readiness to\nundertake the most perilous expeditions--availed himself of these to\ncompass his death. What do we learn from this? The same seeds of evil\nwere in David's heart as in Saul's. But at the earlier period of David's\nlife he walked humbly with God, and God's Spirit poured out on him not\nonly restrained the evil seed, but created a pure, holy, devoted life,\nas if there were nothing in David but good. Afterwards, grieving the\nHoly Spirit, David was left for a time to himself, and then the very\nevil that had been so offensive in Saul came creeping forth drew itself\nup and claimed that it should prevail. It was a blessed thing for David\nthat he was not beyond being arrested by God's voice, and humbled by His\nreproof. He saw whither he had been going; he saw the emptiness and\nwickedness of his heart; he saw that his salvation depended on God in\ninfinite mercy forgiving his sin and restoring His Spirit, and for these\nblessings he pled and wrestled as Jacob had wrestled with the angel at\nPeniel. So we may well see that for any one to trust in his heart is to\nplay the fool; our only trust must be in Him who is able to keep us from\nfalling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory\nwith exceeding joy. \"_He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same\nbringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man\nabide not in Me, he is cast forth as a root and withered, and men take\nthem and cast them into the fire and they are burned._\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\n_SAUL'S FURTHER EFFORTS AGAINST DAVID._\n\n1 SAMUEL xix.\n\n\nA new stage of his wicked passion is now reached by Saul; he communes\nwith his servants, and even with his son, with a view to their killing\nDavid. Ordinary conspirators are prone to confine their evil designs to\ntheir own breasts; or if they do have confidants, to choose for that\npurpose persons as vile as themselves, whom they bind to secrecy and\nsilence. Saul must have been sadly overpowered by his passion when he\nurged his very son to become a murderer, to become the assassin of his\nfriend, of the man with whom God manifestly dwelt, and whom God\ndelighted to honour. It is easy to understand what line Saul would take\nwith Jonathan. Heir to the throne, he was specially affected by the\npopularity of David; if David were disposed of, his seat would be in no\ndanger. The generous prince did his utmost to turn his father from the\nhorrid project: \"He spake good of David unto Saul, and said unto him,\nLet not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath\nnot sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward\nvery good. For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine,\nand the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it\nand didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood,\nto slay David without a cause?\" For the moment the king was touched by\nthe intercession of Jonathan. Possibly he was rebuked by the burst of\ngenerosity and affection,--a spirit so opposite to his own; possibly he\nwas impressed by Jonathan's argument, and made to feel that David was\nentitled to very different treatment. For the time, the purpose of Saul\nwas arrested, and \"David was in his presence as in times past.\"\n\"Ofttimes,\" says Bishop Hall, \"wicked men's judgments are forced to\nyield unto that truth against which their affections maintain a\nrebellion. Even the foulest hearts do sometimes retain good notions;\nlike as, on the contrary, the holiest souls give way sometimes to the\nsuggestions of evil. The flashes of lightning may be discerned in the\ndarkest prison. But if good thoughts look into a wicked heart, they stay\nnot there; as those that like not their lodging, they are soon gone;\nhardly anything distinguishes between good and evil but continuance. The\nlight that shines into a holy heart is constant, like that of the sun,\nwhich keeps due times, and varies not his course for any of these\nsublunary occasions.\"\n\nBut, as the heathen poet said, \"You may expel nature with a thunderbolt,\nbut it always returns.\" The evil spirit, the demon of jealousy, returned\nto Saul. And strange to say, his jealousy was such that nothing was more\nfitted to excite it than eminent service to his country on the part of\nDavid. A new campaign had opened against the Philistines. David had had\na splendid victory. He slew them with a great slaughter, so that they\nfled before him. We may be sure that in these circumstances the songs of\nthe women would swell out in heartier chorus than ever. And in Saul's\nbreast the old jealousy burst out again, and sprang to power. A fit of\nhis evil spirit was on him, and David was playing on his harp in order\nto beguile it away. He sees Saul seize a javelin, he instinctively knows\nthe purpose, and springs aside just as the javelin flies past and lodges\nin the wall. The danger is too serious to be encountered any longer.\nDavid escapes to his house, but hardly before messengers from Saul have\narrived to watch the door, and slay him in the morning. Knowing her\nfather's plot, Michal warns David that if he does not make his escape\nthat night his life is sure to go.\n\nMichal lets him down through a window, and David makes his escape. Then,\nto give him a sufficient start, and prolong the time a little, she has\nrecourse to one of those stratagems of which Rebecca, and Rahab, and\nJeroboam's wife, and many another woman have shown themselves\nmistresses--she gets up a tale, and pretends to the messengers that\nDavid is sick. The men carry back the message to their master. There is\na peculiar ferocity, an absolute brutality, in the king's next order,\n\"Bring him up to me in the bed that I may slay him.\" Evidently he was\nenraged, and he either felt that it would be a satisfaction to murder\nDavid with his own hand when unable to defend himself, or he saw that\nhis servants could not be trusted with the dastardly business. The\nmessengers enter the house, and instead of David they find an image in\nthe bed, with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster. When Michal is\nangrily reproached by her father for letting him escape, she parries the\nblow by a falsehood--\"He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill\nthee?\"\n\nOn this somewhat mean conduct of hers a light is incidentally shed by\nthe mention of the image which she placed in the bed in order to\npersonate David. What sort of image was it? The original shows that it\nwas one of the class called \"teraphim\"--images which were kept and used\nby persons who in the main worshipped the one true God. They were not\nsuch idols as represented Baal or Ashtoreth or Moloch, but images\ndesigned to aid in the worship of the God of Israel. The use of them was\nnot a breach of the first commandment, but it was a breach of the\nsecond. We see plainly that David and his wife were not one in religion;\nthere was discord there. The use of the images implied an unspiritual or\nsuperstitious state of mind; or at least a mind more disposed to follow\nits own fancies as to the way of worshipping God than to have a severe\nand strict regard to the rule of God. It is impossible to suppose that\nDavid could have either used, or countenanced the use of these images.\nGod was too much a spiritual reality to him to allow such material media\nof worship to be even thought of. He knew too much of worship inspired\nby the Spirit to dream of worship inspired by shapes of wood or stone.\nWhen we read of these images we are not surprised at the defects of\ncharacter which we see in Michal. That she loved David and had pleasure\nin his company there is no room to doubt. But their union was not the\nunion of hearts that were one in their deepest feelings. The sublimest\nexercises of David's soul Michal could have no sympathy with.\nAfterwards, when David brought the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount\nZion, she mocked his enthusiasm. How sad when hearts, otherwise\ncongenial and loving, are severed on the one point on which congeniality\nis of deepest moment! Agreement in earthly tastes and arrangements, but\ndisagreement in the one thing needful--alas, how fatal is the drawback!\nLittle blessing can they expect who disregard this point of difference\nwhen they agree to marry. If the one that is earnest does so in the\nexpectation of doing good to the other, that good is far more likely to\nbe done by a firm stand at the beginning than by a course which may be\nconstrued to mean that after all the difference is of no great moment.\n\nIf the title of the fifty-ninth Psalm can be accepted as authentic, it\nindicates the working of David's mind at this period of his history. It\nis called \"Michtam of David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house\nto kill him.\" It is not to be imagined that it was composed in the\nhurried interval between David reaching his house and Michal sending him\naway. That David had a short time of devotion then we may readily\nbelieve, and that the exercises of his heart corresponded generally to\nthe words of the psalm, which might be committed afterwards to writing\nas a memorial of the occasion. From the words of the psalm it would\nappear that the messengers sent by Saul to apprehend him were men of\nbase and cowardly spirit, and that they were actuated by the same\npersonal hatred to him that marked Saul himself. No doubt the piety of\nDavid brought to him the enmity, and the success of David the rivalry,\nof many who would be emboldened by the king's avowed intention, to pour\nout their insults and calumnies against him in the most indecent\nfashion. Perhaps it is to show the estimate he formed of their spirit,\nrather than to denote literally their nationality, that the Psalmist\ncalls on God to \"awake to visit all _the heathen_.\" Prowling about the\ncity under cloud of darkness, coming and going and coming again to his\nhouse, \"they return at evening; they make a noise like a dog, and go\nabout the city. Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in\ntheir lips; for who, say they, doth hear?\" Thus showing his estimate of\nhis enemies, the Psalmist manifests the most absolute reliance on the\nprotection and grace of God. \"But Thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them;\nThou shalt have all the heathen in derision. Because of his strength\nwill I wait upon Thee; for God is my defence. The God of my mercy shall\nprevent me; God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.\" He does\nnot ask that they may be slain, but he asks that they may be\nconspicuously dishonoured and humbled, and made to go about the city\nlike dogs, in another sense--not like dogs seeking to tear upright men\nin pieces, but like those starved, repulsive, cowardly brutes, familiar\nin Eastern cities, that would do anything for a morsel of food. His own\nspirit is serene and confident--\"Unto Thee, O my strength, will I sing;\nfor God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.\"\n\nIt may be that the superscription of this psalm is not authentic, and\nthat the reference is either to some other passage in David's life, or\nin the life of some other psalmist, when he was especially exposed to\nthe ravings of a murderous and calumnious spirit, and in the midst of\nunscrupulous enemies thirsting for his life. The psalm is eminently\nfitted to express the feelings and experiences of the Church of Christ\nin times of bitter persecution. For calumny has usually been the\nright-hand instrument of the persecutor. To justify himself, he has\nfound it necessary to denounce his victim. Erroneous opinions, it is\ninstinctively felt, are no such offence as to warrant the wholesale\nspoliation and murder which vehement persecution calls for. Crimes of a\nhorrible description are laid to the charge of the persecuted. And even\nwhere the sword of persecution in its naked form is not employed, but\nopposition and hatred vent themselves on the more active servants of God\nin venomous attacks and offensive letters, it is not counted enough to\ndenounce their opinions. They must be charged with meanness, and double\ndealing, and vile plots and schemes to compass their ends. They are\nspoken of (as St. Paul and his companions were) as the offscourings of\nthe earth, creatures only to be hunted out of sight and spoiled of all\ninfluence. Happy they who can bear all in the Psalmist's tranquil and\ntruthful spirit; and can sum up their feelings like him--\"I will sing of\nThy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for Thou\nhast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.\"\n\nBut let us return to David. Can we think of a more desolate condition\nthan that in which he found himself after his wife let him down through\na window? It is night, and he is alone. Who could be unmoved when place\nin such a position? Forced to fly from his home and his young wife, just\nafter he had begun to know their sweets, and no prospect of a happy\nreturn! Driven forth by the murderous fury of the king whom he had\nserved with a loyalty and a devotion that could not have been surpassed!\nHis home desolated and his life threatened by the father of his wife,\nthe man whom even nature should have inspired with a kindly interest in\nhis welfare! What good had it done him that he had slain that giant?\nWhat return had he got for his service in ever so often soothing the\nnerves of the irritable monarch with the gentle warblings of his harp?\nWhat good had come of all his perilous exploits against the Philistines,\nof the hundred foreskins of the king's enemies, of the last great\nvictory which had brought so unprecedented advantage to Israel? Would it\nnot have been better for him never to have touched a weapon, never to\nhave encountered a foe, but kept feeding that flock of his father's, and\ncaring for those irrational creatures, who had always returned his\nkindness with gratitude, and been far more like friends and companions\nthan that terrible Saul? Such thoughts might perhaps hover about his\nbosom, but certainly they would receive no entertainment from him. They\nmight knock at his door, but they would not be admitted. A man like\nDavid could never seriously regret that he had done his duty. He could\nnever seriously wish that he had never responded to the call of God and\nof his country. But he might well feel how empty and unprofitable even\nthe most successful worldly career may become, how maddening the changes\nof fortune, how intolerable the unjust retributions of men in power. His\nill-treatment was so atrocious that, had he not had a refuge in God, it\nmight have driven him to madness or to suicide. It drove him to the\nthrone of grace, where he found grace to help him in his time of need.\n\nIt was no wonder that the fugitive thought of Samuel. If he could get\nshelter with him Saul would surely let him alone, for Saul could have no\nmind to meddle with Samuel again. But more than that; in Samuel's\ncompany he would find congenial fellowship, and from Samuel's mature\nwisdom and devotion to God's law learn much that would be useful in\nafter life. We can easily fancy what a cordial welcome the old prophet\nwould give the youthful fugitive. Was not David in a sense his son,\nseeing that he had chosen him from among all the sons of Jesse, and\npoured on him the holy oil? If an old minister has a special interest\nin one whom he has baptized, how much more Samuel in one whom he had\nanointed! And there was another consideration that would have great\neffect with Samuel. Old Christians feel very tenderly for young\nbelievers who have had hard lines in serving God. It moves them much\nwhen those on whom they have very earnestly pressed God's ways have\nencountered great trials in following them. Gladly would they do\nanything in their power to soothe and encourage them. Samuel's words to\nDavid would certainly be words of exceeding tenderness. They must have\nfallen like the dew of Hermon on his fevered spirit. Doubtless they\nwould tend to revive and strengthen his faith, and assure him that God\nwould keep him amid all his trials, and at last set him on high, because\nhe had known his name.\n\nFrom Ramah, his ordinary dwelling-place, Samuel had gone with David to\nNaioth, perhaps under the idea that they would elude the eye of Saul.\nNot so, however. Word of David's place of abode was carried to the king.\nSaul was deeply in earnest in his effort to get rid of David,--surely a\nvery daring thing when he must have known God's purpose regarding him.\nMessengers were accordingly sent to Naioth. It was the seat of one of\nthe schools of the prophets, and David could not but be deeply\ninterested in the work of the place, and charmed with its spirit. Here,\nunder the wing of Samuel, he did dwell in safety; but his safety did not\ncome in the way in which perhaps he expected. Saul's purpose was too\ndeeply seated to be affected by the presence of Samuel. Nay, though\nSamuel in all likelihood had told him how God had caused him to anoint\nDavid as his successor, Saul determined to drag him even from the hands\nof Samuel. But Saul never counted on the form of opposition he was to\nencounter. The messengers went to Naioth, but their hearts were taken\nhold of by the Spirit who was then working in such power in the place,\nand from soldiers they were turned into prophets. A second batch of\nmessengers was sent, and with the same result. A third batch followed,\nand still the same miraculous transformation. Determined not to be\nbaffled, and having probably exhausted the servants whom he could trust,\nSaul went himself to Ramah. But Saul was proof no more than his servants\nagainst the marvellous spiritual force that swept all before it. When he\ncame to Ramah, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he went on and\nprophesied all the way from Ramah to Naioth. And there, stripping\nhimself of his royal robes and accoutrements, he prophesied before\nSamuel in like manner, and lay down, just as one of the prophets, and\ncontinued so a whole day and night. It was a repetition of what had\ntaken place at \"the hill of God\" when Saul returned from his search\nafter the asses (1 Sam. x. 10, 11), and it resuscitated the proverb that\nhad been first used on that occasion, is Saul also among the prophets?\nTransformed and occupied as Saul was now, he was in no mood to carry out\nhis murderous project against David, who in the view of this most\nunexpected form of deliverance might well sing, \"My safety cometh from\nthe Lord, who made heaven and earth.\"\n\nThe question cannot but press itself on us, What was the character of\nthe influence under which Saul was brought on this remarkable occasion?\nObserve the phenomena so far as they are recorded. In the first place,\nnothing is said of any appeal to Saul's reason and conscience. In the\nsecond place, no such conduct followed this experience as would have\nfollowed it, had his reason and conscience been impressed. He was\nprecisely the same wicked man as before. In the third place, there is no\nevidence of anything else having taken place than a sort of contagious\nimpression being produced on his physical nature, something\ncorresponding to the effect of mesmerism or animal magnetism. In earnest\nreligious movements of a very solid character, it has been often\nremarked that another unusual experience runs alongside of them; in some\npersons in contact with them a nervous susceptibility is developed,\nwhich sometimes causes prostration, and sometimes a state of trance; and\nit has been found that many persons are liable to the state of trance\nwhose hearts and lives are in no way transformed by the religious\nimpression. It seems to have been some such experience that befell Saul.\nHe was entranced, but he was not changed. He was for the time another\nman, but there was no permanent change; after a time, his old spirit\nreturned. Evidently he was a man of great nervous susceptibility, and it\nis plain from many things that his nerves had become weakened. He fell\nfor the time under the strong influence of the prophetic company; but\nDavid did not trust him, for he fled from Naioth.\n\nAnd yet, even if this was all that happened to Saul, there was something\nprovidential and merciful in it that might have led on to better\nresults. Was it not in some sense a dealing of God with Saul? Was it not\na reminder of that better way which Saul had forsaken, and in forsaking\nwhich he had come to so much guilt and trouble? Was it not a gracious\nindication that even yet, if he would return to God, though he could not\nget back the kingdom he might personally be blessed? Whatever of this\nkind there might be in it, it was trampled by Saul under foot. He had\nmade his bed, and, thorny though it was, he was determined to lie on it.\nHe would not change his life; he would not return to God.\n\nDoes not God, in His merciful providence, often deal with transgressors\nas he dealt with Saul, placing them in circumstances that make it\ncomparatively easy for them to turn from their sins and change their\nlife? Your marriage, a death in your circle, a change of residence, a\nchange of fortune, forming a new acquaintance, coming under a new\nministry,--oh! friends, if there be in you the faintest dissatisfaction\nwith your past life, the faintest desire for a better, take advantage of\nthe opportunity, and turn to God. Summon courage, break with your\nassociates in sin (the loss will be marvellously small), give up your\ndissipated pleasures, betake yourselves to the great matters that\nconcern your welfare evermore. Mark in the providence that gave you the\nopportunity, the kind hand of a gracious Father, sadly grieving over\nyour erring life, and longing for your return. Harden not your heart as\nin the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Don't\ndrive the angel out of your way, who stands in your path, as he stood in\nBalaam's, to stop your progress in the ways of sin. Who knows whether\never again you shall have the same opportunity? And even if you have, is\nit not certain that the disinclination you feel now will be stiffer and\nstronger then? Be a man, and face the irksome. Whatever you do,\ndetermine to do right. It is childish to stand shivering over a duty\nwhich you know ought to be done. \"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do\nit with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor\nwisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\n_DAVID AND JONATHAN._\n\n1 SAMUEL xx.\n\n\nWe have no means of determining how long time elapsed between the events\nrecorded in the preceding chapter and those recorded in this. It is not\nunlikely that Saul's experience at Naioth led to a temporary improvement\nin his relations to David. The tone of this chapter leads us to believe\nthat at the time when it opens there was some room for doubt whether or\nnot Saul continued to cherish any deliberate ill-feeling to his\nson-in-law. David's own suspicions were strong that he did; but Jonathan\nappears to have thought otherwise. Hence the earnest conversation which\nthe two friends had on the subject; and hence the curious but crooked\nstratagem by which they tried to find out the truth.\n\nBut before we go on to this, it will be suitable for us at this place to\ndwell for a little on the remarkable friendship between David and\nJonathan--a beautiful oasis in this wilderness history,--one of the\nbrightest gems in this book of Samuel.\n\nIt was a striking proof of the ever mindful and considerate grace of\nGod, that at the very opening of the dark valley of trial through which\nDavid had to pass in consequence of Saul's jealousy, he was brought\ninto contact with Jonathan, and in his disinterested and sanctified\nfriendship, furnished with one of the sweetest earthly solaces for the\nburden of care and sorrow. The tempest suddenly let loose on him must\nhave proved too vehement, if he had been left in Saul's dark palace\nwithout one kind hand to lead him on, or the sympathy of one warm heart\nto encourage him; the spirit of faith might have declined more seriously\nthan it did, had it not been strengthened by the bright faith of\nJonathan. It was plain that Michal, though she had a kind of attachment\nto David, was far from having a thoroughly congenial heart; she loved\nhim, and helped to save him, but at the same time bore false witness\nagainst him (chap. xix. 17). In his deepest sorrows, David could have\nderived little comfort from her. Whatever gleams of joy and hope,\ntherefore, were now shed by human companionship across his dark\nfirmament, were due to Jonathan. In merciful adaptation to the\ninfirmities of his human spirit, God opened to him this stream in the\ndesert, and allowed him to refresh himself with its pleasant waters; but\nto show him, at the same time, that such supplies could not be\npermanently relied on, and that his great dependence must be placed, not\non the fellowship of mortal man, but on the ever-living and ever-loving\nGod, Jonathan and he were doomed, after the briefest period of\ncompanionship, to a lifelong separation, and the friendship which had\nseemed to promise a perpetual solace of his trials, only aggravated\ntheir severity, when its joys were violently reft away.\n\nIn another view, David's intercourse with Jonathan served an important\npurpose in his training. The very sight he constantly had of Saul's\noutrageous wickedness might have nursed a self-righteous\nfeeling,--might have encouraged the thought, so agreeable to human\nnature, that as Saul was rejected by God for his wickedness, so David\nwas chosen for his goodness. The remembrance of Jonathan's singular\nvirtues and graces was fitted to rebuke this thought; for if regard to\nhuman goodness had decided God's course in the matter, why should not\nJonathan have been appointed to succeed his father? From the\nself-righteous ground on which he might have been thus tempted to stand,\nDavid would be thrown back on the adorable sovereignty of God; and in\ndeepest humiliation constrained to own that it was God's grace only that\nmade him to differ from others.\n\nArdent friendships among young men were by no means uncommon in ancient\ntimes; many striking instances occurred among the Greeks, which have\nsometimes been accounted for by the comparatively low estimation in\nwhich female society was then held. \"The heroic companions celebrated by\nHomer and others,\" it has been remarked, \"seem to have but one heart and\nsoul, with scarcely a wish or object apart, and only to live, as they\nare always ready to die, for one another.... The idea of a Greek hero\nseems not to have been thought complete without such a brother in arms\nby his side.\"[3]\n\nBut there was one feature of the friendship of Jonathan and David that\nhad no parallel in classic times,--it was friendship between two men, of\nwhom the younger was a most formidable rival to the older. It is\nJonathan that shines most in this friendship, for he was the one who had\nleast to gain and most to lose from the other. He knew that David was\nordained by God to succeed to his father's throne, yet he loved him; he\nknew that to befriend David was to offend his father, yet he warmly\nbefriended him; he knew that he must decrease and David increase, yet no\natom of jealousy disturbed his noble spirit. What but divine grace could\nhave enabled Jonathan to maintain this blessed temper? What other\nfoundation could it have rested on but the conviction that what God\nordained must be the very best, infinitely wise and good for him and for\nall? Or what could have filled the heart thus bereaved of so fair an\nearthly prospect, but the sense of God's love, and the assurance that He\nwould compensate to him all that He took from him? How beautiful was\nthis fruit of the Spirit of God! How blessed it would be if such\nclusters hung on every branch of the vine!\n\nBesides being disinterested, Jonathan's friendship for David was of an\neminently holy character. Evidently Jonathan was a man that habitually\nhonoured God, if not in much open profession, yet in the way of deep\nreverence and submission. And thus, besides being able to surrender his\nown prospects without a murmur, and feel real happiness in the thought\nthat David would be king, he could strengthen the faith of his friend,\nas we read afterwards (chap. xxiii. 16): \"Jonathan, Saul's son, arose\nand went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.\" At\nthe time when they come together in the chapter before us, Jonathan's\nfaith was stronger than David's. David's faltering heart was saying,\n\"There is but a step between me and death\" (ver. 3), while Jonathan in\nimplicit confidence in God's purpose concerning David was thus looking\nforward to the future,--\"Thou shalt not only while yet I live show me\nthe kindness of the Lord that I die not; but also thou shalt not cut\noff thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when the Lord hath cut\noff the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.\" There\nhas seldom, if ever, been exhibited a finer instance of triumphant\nfaith, than when the prince, with all the resources of the kingdom at\nhis beck, made this request of the helpless outlaw. What a priceless\nblessing is the friendship of those who support and comfort us in great\nspiritual conflicts, and help us to stand erect in some great crisis of\nour lives! How different from the friendship that merely supplies the\nmerriment of an idle hour, at the expense, perhaps, of a good\nconscience, and to the lasting injury of the soul!\n\nBut let me now briefly note the events recorded in this chapter. It is a\nlong chapter, one of those long chapters in which incidents are recorded\nwith such fulness of detail, as not only to make a very graphic\nnarrative, but to supply an incidental proof of its authenticity.\n\nFirst of all, we have the preliminary conversation between David and\nJonathan, as to the real feeling of Saul toward David. Incidentally, we\nlearn how much Saul leant on Jonathan: \"My father will do nothing,\neither great or small, but he will show it me,\"--a proof that Jonathan\nwas, like Joseph before him, and like Daniel after him, eminently\ntrustworthy, and as sound in judgment as he was noble in character.\nGuileless himself, he suspected no guile in his father. But David was\nnot able to take so favourable a view of Saul. So profound was his\nconviction to the contrary, that in giving his reason for believing that\nSaul had concealed from his son his real feeling in the matter, and the\ndanger in which he was, he used the solemn language of adjuration: \"As\nthe Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me\nand death.\" Viewed from the human point, this was true; viewed from\nunder the Divine purpose and promise, it could not be true. Yet we\ncannot blame David, knowing as he did what Saul really felt, for\nexpressing his human fears, and the distress of mind to which the\nsituation gave birth.\n\nNext, we find a device agreed on between David and Jonathan, to\nascertain the real sentiments of Saul. It was one of those deceitful\nways to which, very probably, David had become accustomed in his\nmilitary experiences, in his forays against the Philistines, where\nstratagems may have been, as they often were, a common device. It was\nprobable that David would be missed from Saul's table next day, as it\nwas the new moon and a feast; if Saul inquired after him, Jonathan was\nto pretend that he had asked leave to go to a yearly family sacrifice at\nBethlehem; and the way in which Saul should take this explanation would\nshow his real feeling and purpose about David. In the event of Saul\nbeing enraged, and commanding Jonathan to bring David to him, David\nimplored Jonathan not to comply; rather kill him with his own hand than\nthat; for there was nothing that David dreaded so much as falling into\nthe hands of Saul. Jonathan surely did not deserve that it should be\nthought possible for him to surrender David to his father, or to conceal\nanything from him that had any bearing on his welfare. But inasmuch as\nDavid had put the matter in the form he did, it seemed right to Jonathan\nthat a very solemn transaction should take place at this time, to make\ntheir relation as clear as day, and to determine the action of the\nstronger of them to the other, in time to come.\n\nThis is the third thing in the chapter. Jonathan, takes David into the\nfield, that is, into some sequestered Wady, at some distance from the\ntown, where they would be sure to enjoy complete solitude; and there\nthey enter into a solemn covenant. Jonathan takes the lead. He begins\nwith a solemn appeal to God, calling on Him not as a matter of mere form\nor propriety, but of real and profound significance. First, he binds\nhimself to communicate faithfully to David the real state of things on\nthe part of his father, whether it should be for good or for evil. And\nthen he binds David, whom by faith he sees in possession of the kingly\npower, in spite of all that Saul may do against him, first to be kind to\nhimself while he lived, and not cut him off, as new kings so often\nmassacred all the relations of the old; and also after his death to show\nkindness to his family, and never cease to remember them, not even when\nraised to such a pitch of prosperity that all his enemies were cut off\nfrom the earth. One knows not whether most to wonder at the faith of\nJonathan, or the sweetness of his nature. It is David, the poor outlaw,\nwith hardly a man to stand by him, that appears to Jonathan the man of\npower, the man who can dispose of all lives and sway all destinies;\nwhile Jonathan, the king's son and confidential adviser, is somehow\nreduced to helplessness, and unable even to save himself. But was there\never such a transaction entered into with such sweetness of temper? The\ncalmness of Jonathan in contemplating the strange reverse of fortune\nboth to himself and to David, is exquisitely beautiful; nor is there in\nit a trace of that servility with which mean natures worship the rising\nsun; it is manly and generous while it is meek and humble; such a\ncombination of the noble and the submissive as was shown afterwards, in\nhighest form, in the one perfect example of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nNext comes a statement of the way in which Jonathan was to announce to\nDavid the result. It might not be safe for him to see David personally,\nbut in that case he would let him know what had transpired about him\nthrough a preconcerted signal, in reference to the place where he would\ndirect an attendant to go for some arrows. As it happened, a personal\ninterview was obtained with David; but before that, the telegraphing\nwith the arrows was carried out as arranged.\n\nOn the first day of the feast, David's absence passed unnoticed, Saul\nbeing under the impression that he had acquired ceremonial uncleanness.\nBut as that excuse could only avail for one day, Saul finding him absent\nthe second day, asked Jonathan what had become of him. The excuse agreed\non was given. It excited the deepest rage of Saul. But his rage was not\nagainst David so much as against Jonathan for taking his part. Saul did\nnot believe in the excuse, otherwise he would not have ordered Jonathan\nto send and fetch David. If David was at Bethlehem, Saul could have sent\nfor him himself; if he lay concealed in the neighbourhood, Jonathan\nalone would know his hiding-place, therefore Jonathan must get hold of\nhim. If this be the true view, the stratagem of Jonathan had availed\nnothing; the plain truth would have served the purpose no worse. As it\nwas, Jonathan's own life was in the most imminent danger. Remonstrating\nwith his father for seeking to destroy David, he narrowly escaped his\nfather's javelin, even though, a moment before, in his jealousy of\nDavid, Saul had professed to be concerned for the interests of Jonathan.\n\"Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast\nchosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and to the confusion of\nthy mother's nakedness?\" What strange and unworthy methods will not\nangry men and women resort to, to put vinegar into their words and make\nthem sting! To try to wound a man's feelings by reviling his mother, or\nby reviling any of his kindred, is a practice confined to the dregs of\nsociety, and nauseous, to the last degree, to every gentle and\nhonourable mind. In Saul's case, the offence was still more infamous\nbecause the woman reviled was his own wife. Surely if her failings\nreflected on any one, they reflected on her husband rather than her son.\nBut that it was any real failing that Saul denounced when he called her\n\"the perverse rebellious woman,\" we greatly doubt. To a man like Saul,\nany assertion of her rights by his wife, any refusal to be his abject\nslave, any opposition to his wild and wicked designs against David,\nwould mean perversity and rebellion. We are far from thinking ill of\nthis nameless woman because her husband denounced her to her son. But\nwhen we see Saul in one breath trying to kill his son with a javelin and\nto destroy his wife's character by poisoned words, and at the same time\nthirsting for the death of his son-in-law, we have a mournful exhibition\nof the depth to which men are capable of descending from whom the Spirit\nof the Lord hath departed.\n\nNo wonder that Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did\neat no meat the second day of the month. One wonders how the feast went\non thereafter, but one does not envy the guests. Did Saul drown his\nstormy feelings in copious draughts of wine, and turn the holy festival\ninto a bacchanalian rout, amid whose boisterous mirth and tempestuous\nexhilaration the reproaches of conscience would be stifled for the\nhour?\n\nThe third day has come, on which, by preconcerted agreement, Jonathan\nwas to reveal to David his father's state of mind. David is in the\nagreed-on hiding-place; and Jonathan, sallying forth with his servant,\nshoots his arrows to the place which was to indicate the existence of\ndanger. Then, the lad having gone back to the city, and no one being on\nthe spot to observe them or interrupt them, the two friends come\ntogether and have an affecting meeting. When Jonathan parted from David\nthree days before, he had not been without hopes of bringing to him a\nfavourable report of his father. David expected nothing of the kind; but\neven David must have been shocked and horrified to find things so bad as\nthey were now reported. In an act of unfeigned reverence for the king's\nson, David bowed himself three times to the ground. In token of much\nlove they kissed one another; while under the dark cloud of adversity\nthat had risen on them both, and that now compelled them to separate,\nhardly ever again (as it turned out) to see one another in the flesh,\n\"they wept one with another until David exceeded.\"\n\n \"They wept as only strong men weep,\n When weep they must, or die.\"\n\nOne consolation alone remained, and it was Jonathan that was able to\napply it. \"Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have\nsworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me\nand thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.\" Yes, even in that\ndarkest hour, Jonathan could say to David, \"Go _in peace_.\" What peace?\n\"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee,\nbecause he trusteth in Thee.\" \"The angel of the Lord encampeth about\nthem that fear Him, and delivereth them.\" \"Many are the afflictions of\nthe righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.\"\n\nWe cannot turn from this chapter without adding a word on the\nfriendships of the young. It is when hearts are tender that they are\nmost readily knit to each other, as the heart of Jonathan was knit to\nthe heart of David. But the formation of friendships is too important a\nmatter to be safely left to casual circumstances. It ought to be gone\nabout with care. If you have materials to choose among, see that you\nchoose the best. At the foundation of all friendship lies congeniality\nof heart--a kindred feeling of which one often becomes conscious by\ninstinct at first sight. But there must also be elements of difference\nin friends. It is a great point to have a friend who is above us in some\nthings, and who will thus be likely to draw us up to a higher level of\ncharacter, instead of dragging us down to a lower. And a friend is very\nuseful, if he is rich in qualities where we are poor. As it is in _In\nMemoriam_--\n\n \"He was rich where I was poor,\n And he supplied my want the more\n As his unlikeness fitted mine.\"\n\nBut surely, of all qualities in a friend or companion who is to do us\ngood, the most vital is, that he fears the Lord. As such friendships are\nby far the most pleasant, so they are by far the most profitable. And\nwhen you have made friends, stick by them. Don't let it be said of you\nthat your friend seemed to be everything to you yesterday, but nothing\nto-day. And if your friends rise above you in the world, rejoice in\ntheir prosperity, and banish every envious feeling; or if you should\nrise above them, do not forget them, nor forsake them, but, as if you\nhad made a covenant before God, continue to show kindness to them and to\ntheir children after them. Pray for them, and ask them to pray for you.\n\nPerhaps it was with some view to the friendship of Jonathan and his\nfather that Solomon wrote, \"There is a friend that sticketh closer than\na brother.\" Jonathan was such a friend to David. But the words suggest a\nhigher friendship. The glory of Jonathan's love for David fades before\nour Lord's love for His brethren. If Jonathan were living among us, who\nof us could look on him with indifference? Would not our hearts warm to\nhim, as we gazed on his noble form and open face, even though _we_ had\nnever been the objects of his affection? In the case of Jesus Christ, we\nhave all the noble qualities of Jonathan in far higher excellence than\nhis, and we have this further consideration, that for us He has laid\ndown His life, and that none who receive His friendship can ever be\nseparated from His love. And what an elevating and purifying effect that\nfriendship will have! In alliance with Him, you are in alliance with all\nthat is pure and bright, all that is transforming and beautifying; all\nthat can give peace to your conscience, joy to your heart, lustre to\nyour spirit, and beauty to your life; all that can make your garments\nsmell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; all that can bless you and make\nyou a blessing. And once you are truly His, the bond can never be\nsevered; David had to tear himself from Jonathan, but you will never\nhave to tear yourselves from Christ. Your union is cemented by the blood\nof the everlasting covenant; and by the eternal efficacy of the prayer,\n\"Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given me be with me where\nI am.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[3] Thirlwall's \"History of Greece.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n_DAVID AT NOB AND AT GATH._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxi.\n\n\nWe enter here on a somewhat painful part of David's history. He is not\nliving so near to God as before, and in consequence his course becomes\nmore carnal and more crooked. We saw in our last chapter the element of\ndistrust rising up somewhat ominously in that solemn adjuration to\nJonathan, \"Truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is\nbut a step between me and death.\" These words, it is true, gave\nexpression to an undoubted and in a sense universal truth, a truth which\nall of us should at all times ponder, but which David had special cause\nto feel, under the circumstances in which he was placed. It was not the\nfact of his giving solemn expression to this truth that indicated\ndistrust on the part of David, but the fact that he did not set over\nagainst it another truth which was just as real,--that God had chosen\nhim for His service, and would not allow him to perish at the hand of\nSaul. When a good man sees himself exposed to a terrible danger which he\nhas no means of averting, it is no wonder if the contemplation of that\ndanger gives rise for the moment to fear. But it is his privilege to\nenjoy promises of protection and blessing at the hand of the unseen God,\nand if his faith in these promises be active, it will not only\nneutralize the fear, but raise him high above it. Now, the defect in\nDavid's state of mind was, that while he fully realized the danger, he\ndid not by faith lay hold of that which was fitted to neutralize it. It\nwas Jonathan rather than David who by faith realized at this time\nDavid's grounds of security. All through Jonathan's remarks in chapter\nxx. you see him thinking of God as David's Protector,--thinking of the\ngreat purposes which God meant to accomplish by him, and which were a\npledge that He would preserve him now,--thinking of David as a coming\nman of unprecedented power and influence, whose word would determine\nother men's destinies, and dispose of their fortunes. David seems to\nhave been greatly indebted to Jonathan for sustaining his faith while he\nwas with him; for after he parted from Jonathan, his faith fell very\nlow. Time after time, he follows that policy of deceit which he had\ninstructed Jonathan to pursue in explaining his absence from the feast\nin Saul's house. It is painful in the last degree to see one whose faith\ntowered to such a lofty height in the encounter with Goliath, coming\ndown from that noble elevation, to find him resorting for\nself-protection to the lies and artifices of an impostor.\n\nWe cannot excuse it, but we may account for it. David was wearied out by\nSaul's restless and incessant persecution. We read in Daniel of a\ncertain persecutor that he should \"wear out the saints of the Most\nHigh,\" and it was the same sad experience from which David was now\nsuffering. It does not appear that he was gifted naturally with great\npatience, or power of enduring. Rather we should suppose that one of\nsuch nimble and lively temperament would soon tire of a strained and\nuneasy attitude. It appears that Saul's persistency in injustice and\ncruelty made David at last restless and impatient. All the more would he\nhave needed in such circumstances to resort to God, and seek from Him\nthe oil of grace to feed his patience, and bear him above the\ninfirmities of his nature. But this was just what he seems not to have\ndone. Carnal fear therefore grew apace, and faith fell into a state of\nslumber. The eye of sense was active, looking out on the perils around\nhim; the eye of faith was dull, hardly able to decipher a single\npromise. The eye of sense saw the vindictive scowl of Saul, the javelin\nin his hand, and bands of soldiers sent out on every side to seize David\nor slay him; the eye of faith did not see--what it might have seen--the\nangel of the Lord encamping around him and delivering him. It was God's\npurpose now to allow David to feel his own weakness; he was to pass\nthrough that terrible ordeal when, tossed on a sea of trials, one feels\nlike Noah's dove, unable to find rest for the sole of one's foot, and\nseems on the very eve of dropping helpless into the billows, till the\nark presents itself, and a gracious hand is put forth to the rescue.\nLeft to himself, tempted to make use of carnal expedients, and taught\nthe wretchedness of such expedients; learning also, through this\ndiscipline, to anchor his soul more firmly on the promise of the living\nGod, David was now undergoing a most essential part of his early\ntraining, gaining the experience that was to qualify him to say with\nsuch earnestness to others, \"O taste and see that the Lord is good:\nblessed is the man that trusteth in Him.\"\n\nOn leaving Gibeah, David, accompanied with a few followers, bent his\nsteps to Nob, a city of the priests. The site of this city has not been\ndiscovered; some think it stood on the north-eastern ridge of Mount\nOlivet; this is uncertain, but it is evident that it was very close to\nJerusalem (see Isa. x. 32). Its distance from Gibeah would therefore be\nbut five or six miles, much too short for David to have had there any\ngreat sense of safety. It appears to have become the seat of the sacred\nservices of the nation, some time after the destruction of Shiloh.\nDavid's purpose in going there seems to have been simply to get a\nshelter, perhaps for the Sabbath day, and to obtain supplies. Doeg,\nindeed, charged Ahimelech, before Saul, with having inquired of the Lord\nfor David, but Ahimelech with some warmth denied the charge.[4] The\nprivilege of consulting the Urim and Thummim seems to have been confined\nto the chief ruler of the nation; if with the sanction of the priest\nDavid had done so now, he might have justly been charged with treason;\nprobably it was because he believed Doeg rather than Ahimelech, and\nconcluded that this royal privilege had been conceded by the priests to\nDavid, that Saul was so enraged, and inflicted such dreadful retribution\non them. Afterwards, when Abiathar fled to David with the high priest's\nephod, through which the judgment of Urim and Thummim seems to have been\nannounced, David regarded that circumstance as an indication of the\nDivine permission to him to make use of the sacred oracle.\n\nBut what shall we say of the untruth which David told Ahimelech, to\naccount for his coming there without armed attendants? \"The king hath\ncommanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know\nanything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have\ncommanded thee; and I have commanded my servants to such and such a\nplace.\" Here was a statement not only not true, but the very opposite of\nthe truth; spoken too to God's anointed high priest, and in the very\nplace consecrated to God's most solemn service; everything about the\nspeaker fitted to bring God to his mind, and to recall God's protection\nof him in time past; yet the first thing he did on entering the sacred\nplace was to utter a falsehood, prompted by distrust, prompted by the\nfeeling that the pledged protection of the God of truth, before whose\nshrine he now stood, was not sufficient. How plain the connection\nbetween a deficient sense of God's truthfulness, and a deficient regard\nto truth itself! What could have tempted David to act thus? According to\nsome, it was altogether an amiable and generous desire to keep Ahimelech\nout of trouble, to screen him from the responsibility of helping a known\noutlaw. But considering the gathering distrust of David's spirit at the\ntime, it seems more likely that he was startled at the fear which\nAhimelech expressed when he saw David coming alone, as if all were not\nright between him and Saul, as if the truce that had been agreed on\nafter the affair of Naioth had now come to an end. Probably David felt\nthat if Ahimelech knew all, he would be still more afraid, and do\nnothing to help him; moreover, the presence of Doeg the Edomite was\nanother cause of embarrassment, for Saul had once ordered all his\nservants to kill David, and if the fierce Edomite were told that David\nwas now simply a fugitive, he might be willing enough to do the deed.\nAnyhow, David now lent himself to the devices of the father of lies. And\nso the brave spirit that had not quailed before Goliath, and that had\nmet the Philistines in so many terrific encounters, now quailed before a\nphantom of its own devising, and shrank from what, at the moment, was\nonly an imaginary danger.\n\nDavid succeeded in getting from Ahimelech what he wanted, but not\nwithout difficulty. For when David asked for five loaves of bread, the\npriest replied that he had no common bread, but only shewbread; he had\nonly the bread that had been taken that day from off the table on which\nit stood before the Lord, and replaced by fresh bread, according to the\nlaw. The priest was willing to give that bread to David, if he could\nassure him that his attendants were not under defilement. It will be\nremembered that our Lord adverted to this fact, as a justification of\nHis own disciples for plucking the ears of corn and eating them on the\nSabbath. The principle underlying both was, that when a ceremonial\nobligation comes into collision with a moral duty, the lesser obligation\nis to give place to the heavier. The keeping of the Sabbath free from\nall work, and the appropriation of the shewbread to the use of the\npriests alone, were but ceremonial obligations; the preservation of life\nwas a moral duty. It is sometimes a very difficult thing to determine\nduty, when moral obligations appear to clash with each other, but there\nwas no difficulty in the collision of the moral and the ceremonial. Our\nLord would certainly not have sided with that body of zealots, in the\ndays of conflict between the Maccabees and the Syrians, who allowed\nthemselves to be cut in pieces by the enemy, rather than break the\nSabbath by fighting on that day.\n\nDavid had another request to make of Ahimelech. \"Is there not here under\nthy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my\nweapons with me, because the king's business required haste.\" It was a\nstrange place to ask for military weapons. Surely the priests would not\nneed to defend themselves with these. Yet it happened that there was a\nsword there which David knew well, and which he might reasonably\nclaim,--the sword of Goliath. \"Give it me,\" said David; \"there is none\nlike that.\" We read before, that David carried Goliath's head to\nJerusalem. Nob was evidently in the Jerusalem district, and as the sword\nwas there, there can be little doubt that it was at Nob the trophies had\nbeen deposited.\n\nSo far, things had gone fairly well with David at Nob. But there was a\nman there \"detained before the Lord,\"--prevented probably from\nproceeding on his journey because it was the Sabbath day,--whose\npresence gave no comfort to David, and was, indeed, an omen of evil.\nDoeg, the Edomite, was the chief of the herdmen of Saul. Why Saul had\nentrusted that office to a member of a nation that was notorious for its\nbitter feelings towards Israel, we do not know; but the herdman seems to\nhave been like his master in his feelings towards David; he would\nappear, indeed, to have joined the hereditary dislike of his nation to\nthe personal dislike of his master. Instinctively, as we learn\nafterwards, David understood the feelings of Doeg. It would have been\nwell for him, when a shudder passed over him as he caught the scowling\ncountenance of the Edomite, had his own conscience been easier than it\nwas. It would have been well for him had he been ruled by that spirit of\ntrust which triumphed so gloriously the day he first got possession of\nthat sword. It would have been well for him had he been free from the\ndisturbing consciousness of having offended God by borrowing the devices\nof the father of lies and bringing them into the sanctuary, to pollute\nthe air of the house of God. No wonder, though, David was restless\nagain! \"And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to\nAchish the king of Gath.\"\n\nHow different his state and prospects now from what they had been a\nlittle time before! Then the world smiled on him; fame and honour,\nwealth and glory, flowed in on him; God was his Father; conscience was\ncalm; he hardly knew the taste of misery. But how has his sky become\novercast! A homeless and helpless wanderer, with scarcely an attendant\nor companion; in momentary fear of death; fain to beg a morsel of bread\nwhere he could get it; a creature so banned and cursed that kindness to\nhim involved the risk of death; his heart bleeding for the loss of\nJonathan; his soul clouded by distrust of God; his conscience troubled\nby the vague sense of unacknowledged sin! And yet he is destined to be\nking of Israel, the very ideal of a good and prosperous monarch, and the\nearthly type of the Son of God! Like a lost sheep, he has gone astray\nfor a time, but the Good Shepherd will leave the ninety-and-nine and go\namong the mountains till He find him; and his experience will give a\nwondrous depth to that favourite song of young and old of every age and\ncountry, \"_He restoreth my soul_: He leadeth me in the paths of\nrighteousness, for His name's sake.\"\n\nAnd now we must follow him to Gath, the city of Goliath. Down the slope\nof Mount Olivet, across the brook Kedron, and past the stronghold of\nZion, and probably through the very valley of Elah where he had fought\nwith the giant, David makes his way to Gath. It was surely a strange\nplace to fly to, a sign of the despair in which David found himself!\nWhat reception could the conqueror of Goliath expect in his city? What\nretribution was due to him for the hundred foreskins, and for the deeds\nof victory which had inspired the Hebrew singers when they sang of the\ntens of thousands whom David had slain?\n\nIt will hardly do to say that he reckoned on not being recognised. It is\nmore likely that he relied on a spirit not unknown among barbarous\nprinces towards warriors dishonoured at home, as when Themistocles took\nrefuge among the Persians, or Coriolanus among the Volscians. That he\ntook this step without much reflection on its ulterior bearings is well\nnigh certain. For, granting that he should be favourably received, this\nwould be on the understanding that his services would be at the command\nof his protector, or at the very least it would place him under an\nobligation of gratitude that would prove highly embarrassing at some\nfuture time. Happily, the scheme did not succeed. The jealousy of the\nPhilistine nobles was excited. \"The servants of Achish said unto him, Is\nnot this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another\nof him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his\nten thousands?\" David began to feel himself in a false position. He laid\nup these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish. The misery\nof his situation and the poverty of his resources may both be inferred\nfrom the unworthy device to which he resorted to extricate himself from\nhis difficulty. He feigned himself mad, and conducted himself as madmen\ncommonly do. \"He scrabbled on the door of the gate, and let his spittle\nfall down upon his beard.\" But the device failed. \"Have I need of\nmadmen,\" asked the king, \"that ye have brought this fellow to play the\nmadman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?\" A Jewish\ntradition alleges that both the wife and daughter of Achish were mad; he\nhad plenty of that sort of people already: no need of more! The title of\nthe thirty-fourth Psalm tells us, \"he drove him away, and he departed.\"\n\nHave any of you ever been tempted to resort to a series of devices and\ndeceits either to avoid a danger or to attain an object? Have you been\ntempted to forsake the path of straightforward honesty and truth, and to\npretend that things were different with you from what they really were?\nI do not accuse you of that wickedness which they commit who\ndeliberately imprison conscience, and fearlessly set up their own will\nand their own interests as their king. What you have done under the\npeculiar circumstances in which you found yourselves is not what you\nwould ordinarily have done. In this one connection, you felt pressed to\nget along in one way or another, and the only available way was that of\ndeceit and device. You were very unhappy at the beginning, and your\nmisery increased as you went on. Everything about you was in a\nconstrained, unnatural condition,--conscience, temper, feelings, all out\nof order. At one time it seemed as if you were going to succeed; you\nwere on the crest of a wave that promised to bear you to land, but the\nwave broke, and you were sent floundering in the broken water. You were\nobliged to go from device to device, with a growing sense of misery. At\nlast the chain snapped, and both you and your friends were confronted\nwith the miserable reality. But know this: that it would have been\ninfinitely, worse for you if your device had succeeded than that it\nfailed. If it had succeeded, you would have been permanently entangled\nin evil principles and evil ways, that would have ruined your soul.\nBecause you failed, God showed that He had not forsaken you. David\nprospering at Gath would have been a miserable spectacle; David driven\naway by Achish is on the way to brighter and better days.\n\nFor, if we can accept the titles of some of the Psalms, it would seem\nthat the carnal spell, under which David had been for some time, burst\nwhen Achish drove him away, and that he returned to his early faith and\ntrust. It was to the cave of Adullam that he fled, and the hundred and\nforty-second Psalm claims to have been written there. So also the\nthirty-fourth Psalm, as we have seen, bears to have been written \"when\nhe changed his behaviour\" (feigned madness) \"before Abimelech\"\n(Achish?), \"who drove him away, and he departed.\" So much uncertainty\nhas been thrown of late years on these superscriptions, that we dare not\ntrust to them explicitly; yet recognising in them at least the value of\nold traditions, we may regard them as more or less probable, especially\nwhen they seem to agree with the substance of the Psalms themselves.\nWith reference to the thirty-fourth, we miss something in the shape of\nconfession of sin, such as we should have expected of one whose lips had\n_not_ been kept from speaking guile. In other respects the psalm fits\nthe situation. The image of the young lions roaring for their prey might\nvery naturally be suggested by the wilderness. But the chief feature of\nthe psalm is the delightful evidence it affords of the blessing that\ncomes from trustful fellowship with God. And there is an expression that\nseems to imply that that blessing had not been _always_ enjoyed by the\nPsalmist; he had lost it once; but there came a time when (ver. 4) \"I\nsought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my\nfears.\" And the experience of that new time was so delightful that the\nPsalmist had resolved that he would always be on that tack: \"I will\nbless the Lord _at all times_; His praise shall _continually_ be in my\nmouth.\" How changed the state of his spirit from the time when he\nfeigned madness at Gath! When he asks, \"What man is he that desireth\nlife and loveth many days that he may see good?\" (ver. 12)--what man\nwould fain preserve his life from harassing anxiety and bewildering\ndangers?--the prompt reply is, \"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips\nfrom speaking guile.\" Have nothing to do with shifts and pretences and\nfalse devices; be candid and open, and commit all to God. \"O taste and\nsee that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O\nfear the Lord, _ye His saints_\" (for you too are liable to forsake the\ntrue confidence), \"for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young\nlions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not\nlack any good thing. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and\ndelivereth them out of all their troubles.... Many are the afflictions\nof the righteous; but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.\"\n\n\"The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon\nme; I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord:\nO Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and\nrighteous; yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple; I\nwas brought low, and He helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for\nthe Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee\" (Psalm cxvi. 3-7).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[4] See 1 Sam. xxii. 15:--\"Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for\nhim? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his\nservant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth\nnothing of all this, less or more\" (R.V.) To deny beginning to do a\nthing is much the same as to deny doing it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\n_DAVID AT ADULLAM, MIZPEH, AND HARETH._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxii.\n\n\nThe cave of Adullam, to which David fled on leaving Gath, has been\nplaced in various localities even in modern times; but as the Palestine\nExploration authorities have placed the town in the valley of Elah, we\nmay regard it as settled that the cave lay there, not far indeed from\nthe place where David had had his encounter with Goliath. It was a\nhumble dwelling for a king's son-in-law, nor could David have thought of\nneeding it on the memorable day when he did such wonders with his sling\nand stone. These \"dens and caves of the earth\"--effects of great\nconvulsions in some remote period of its history--what service have they\noften rendered to the hunted and oppressed! How many a devout saint, of\nwhom the world was not worthy, has blessed God for their shelter! With\nhow much purer devotion and loftier fellowship, with how much more\nsublime and noble exercises of the human spirit have many of them been\nassociated, than some of the proudest and costliest temples that have\nbeen reared in name--often little more--to the service of God!\n\nIf David at first was somewhat an object of jealousy to his own family,\nin this the day of his trials they showed a different spirit. \"When his\nbrethren and all his father's house heard of it, they went down thither\nto him.\" As the proverb says, \"Blood is thicker than water,\" and often\nadversity draws families together between whom prosperity has been like\na wedge. If our relations are prospering while we are poor, we think of\nthem as if they had moved away from us; but when their fortunes are\nbroken, and the world turns its back on them, we get closer, our\nsympathy revives. We think all the better of David's family that when\nthey heard of his outlaw condition they all went down to him. Besides\nthese, \"every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt,\nand every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and\nhe became a captain over them; and there were with him about four\nhundred men.\" The account here given of the circumstances of this band\nis not very flattering, but there are two things connected with it to be\nborne in mind: in the first place, that the kind of men who usually\nchoose the soldier's calling are not your men of plodding industry, but\nmen who shrink from monotonous labour; and, in the second place, that\nunder the absolute rule of Saul there might be many very worthy persons\nin debt and discontented and in distress, men who had come into that\ncondition because they were not so ready to cringe to despotism as their\nruler desired. Mixed and motley therefore though David's troop may have\nbeen, it was far from contemptible; and their adherence was fitted\ngreatly to encourage him, because it showed that public feeling was with\nhim, that his cause was not looked on as desperate, that his standard\nwas one to which it was deemed safe and hopeful to resort.\n\nBut if, at the first glance, the troop appeared somewhat disreputable,\nit was soon joined by two men, the one a prophet, the other a priest,\nwhose adherence must have brought to it a great accession of moral\nweight. The prophet was Gad (ver. 5), who next to Samuel seems to have\nstood highest in the nation as a man of God, a man of holy counsel, and\nelevated, heavenly character. His open adherence to David (which seems\nto be implied in ver. 5) must have had the best effects both on David\nhimself and on the people at large. It must have been a great blessing\nto David to have such a man as Gad beside him; for, with all his\npersonal piety, he seems to have required a godly minister at his side.\nNo man derived more benefit from the communion of saints, or was more\napt to suffer for want of it; for, as we have seen, he had begun to\ndecline in spirituality when he left Samuel at Naioth, and still more\nwhen he was parted from Jonathan. When Gad joined him, David must have\nfelt that he was sent to him from the Lord, and could not but be full of\ngratitude for so conspicuous an answer to his prayers. It would seem\nthat Gad remained in close relation to David to the close of his life.\nIt was he that came from the Lord to offer him his choice between three\nforms of chastisement after his offence in numbering the people; and\nfrom the fact of his being called \"David's seer\" (2 Sam. xxiv. 11) we\nconclude that he and David were intimately associated. It was he also\nthat instructed David to buy the threshing-floor of Araunah the\nJebusite, and thus to consecrate to God a spot with which, to the very\nend of time, the most hallowed thoughts must always be connected.\n\nThe other eminent person that joined David about this time was Abiathar\nthe priest. But before adverting to this, we must follow the thread of\nthe narrative and especially note the tragedy that occurred at Nob, the\ncity of the priests.\n\nFrom the mode of life which David had to follow and the difficulty of\nobtaining subsistence for his troop at one place for any length of time,\nhe was obliged to make frequent changes. On leaving the cave of Adullam,\nwhich was near the western border of the tribe of Judah, he traversed\nthe whole breadth of that tribe, and crossing the Jordan, came to the\nterritories of Moab. He was concerned for the safety of his father and\nmother, knowing too well the temper of Eastern kings, and how they\nthirsted for the blood, not only of their rivals, but of all their\nrelations. He feared that they would not be let alone at Bethlehem or in\nany other part of Saul's kingdom. But what led him to think of the king\nof Moab? Perhaps a tender remembrance of his ancestress Ruth, the damsel\nfrom Moab, who had been so eminent for her devotion to her\nmother-in-law. Might there not be found in the king of Moab somewhat of\na like disposition, that would look with pity on an old man and woman\ndriven from their home, not indeed, like Naomi, by famine, but by what\nwas even worse, the shameful ingratitude and murderous fury of a wicked\nking? If such was David's hope, it was not without success; his father\nand his mother dwelt with the king of Moab all the time that David was\nin the hold.\n\nBut it was not God's purpose that David should lurk in a foreign land.\nThe prophet Gad directed him to return to the land of Judah. It was\nwithin the boundaries of that tribe, accordingly, that the rest of\nDavid's exile was spent, with the exception of the time at the very end\nwhen he again resorted to Philistine territory. His first hiding-place\nwas the forest of Hareth.\n\nWhile David was here, Saul, encamped in military state at Gibeah,\ndelivered an extraordinary speech to the men of his own tribe. \"Hear\nnow, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields\nand vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of\nhundreds; that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none\nthat showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse,\nand there is none of you that is sorry for me, or that showeth me that\nmy son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this\nday?\" It would have been difficult for any other man to condense so much\nthat was vile in spirit into the dimensions of a little speech like\nthis. It begins with a base appeal to the cupidity of his countrymen,\nthe Benjamites, among whom he was probably in the habit of distributing\nthe possessions of his enemies, as, for instance, the Gibeonites, who\ndwelt near him, and whom he slew, contrary to the covenant made with\nthem by Joshua (2 Sam. xxi. 2). It accuses his people of having\nconspired against him, because they had not spoken to him of the\nfriendship of his son with David, although that fact must have been\nnotorious. It accuses the noble Jonathan of having stirred up David\nagainst Saul, while neither Jonathan nor David had ever lifted a little\nfinger against him, and both the one and the other might have been\ntrusted to serve him with unflinching fidelity if he had only given them\na fair chance. It indicates that nothing would be more agreeable to Saul\nthan any information about David or those connected with him that would\ngive him an excuse for some deed of overwhelming vengeance. Did ever man\ndraw his own portrait in viler colours than Saul in this speech?\n\nThere was one bosom--let us hope only one--in which it awoke a response.\nIt was that of Doeg the Edomite. He told the story of what he had seen\nat Nob, adding thereto the unfounded statement that Ahimelech had\ninquired of the Lord for David. Ahimelech and the whole college of\npriests were accordingly sent for, and they came. The charge brought\nagainst him was a very offensive one; in so far, it was a statement of\nfacts, but of facts placed in an odious light, of facts coloured with a\ndesign which Ahimelech never entertained. Oh, how many an innocent man\nhas suffered in this way! Even in courts of justice, by pleaders whose\ninterest is on the other side, and sometimes by judges (like Jeffreys)\nsteeped in hatred and prejudice, how often have acts that were quite\ninnocent been put to the account of treason, or put to the account of\nmalice, or cunningly forged into a chain, indicating a deliberate design\nto injure another! It can never be too earnestly insisted on that to be\njust to a man you must not merely ascertain the real facts of his case,\nbut you must put the facts in their true light, and not colour them with\nprejudices of your own or with suppositions which the man repudiates.\n\nThe conduct of Ahimelech was manly and straightforward, but indiscreet.\nHe admitted the facts, with the exception of the statement that he had\ninquired of the Lord for David. He vindicated right manfully the\nfaithful, noble services of David, services that ought to have excluded\nthe very idea of treason or conspiracy. He protested that he knew\nnothing of any ground the king had against David, or of any cause that\ncould have led him to believe that in helping him he was offending Saul.\nBut just because Ahimelech's defence was so true and so complete, it was\nmost offensive to Saul. What is there a despot likes worse to hear than\nthat he is entirely in the wrong? What words irritate him so much as\nthose which prove the entire innocence of some one with whom he is\nangry? Saul was angry both with David and with Ahimelech. Ahimelech had\nthe great misfortune to prove to him that in both cases there was no\nshadow of ground for his anger. In proportion as Saul's reason should\nhave been satisfied, his temper was excited. What an uncontrollable\ncondition that temper must have been in when the death of Ahimelech was\ndecreed, and all his father's house! We do not wonder that no one could\nbe found in his bodyguard to execute the order. Did this not stagger and\nsober the king? Far from it. His fit of rage was so hot and imperious\nthat he would not be baulked. Turning to Doeg, he commanded him to fall\non the priests. And this vile man had the brutality to execute the\norder, and to plunge his sword into the heart of fourscore and five\nunarmed persons that wore the garments which even in heathen nations\nusually secured protection and safety. And as if it were not enough to\nkill the men, their city, Nob, was utterly destroyed. Men and women,\nchildren and sucklings, oxen and asses and sheep--a thorough massacre\nwas made of them all. Had Nob been a city of warriors that had resisted\nthe king's armies with haughty insolence, harassed them by sorties,\nentrapped them by stratagems, and exasperated them by hideous cruelty to\ntheir prisoners, but at last been overpowered, it could not have had a\nmore terrible doom. And had Saul never committed any other crime, this\nwould have been enough to separate him from the Lord for ever, and to\nbring down on him the horrors of the night at Endor and of the day that\nfollowed on Mount Gilboa.\n\nThis cruel and sacrilegious murder must have told against Saul and his\ncause with prodigious effect. There could not have been a single priest\nor Levite throughout the kingdom whose blood would not boil at the news\nof the massacre, and whose sympathies would not be enlisted, more or\nless, on behalf of David, now openly proclaimed by Saul as his rival,\nand probably known to have been anointed by Samuel as his successor. Not\nonly the priests and Levites, but every rightminded man throughout the\nland would share in this feeling, and many a prayer would be offered for\nDavid that God would protect him, and spare him to be a blessing to his\ncountry. The very presence in his camp of Abiathar, the son of\nAhimelech, who escaped the massacre, with his ephod,--an official means\nof consulting God in all cases of difficulty,--would be a visible proof\nto his followers and to the community at large, that God was on his\nside. And when the solemn rites of the national worship were performed\nin his camp, and when, at each turn of public affairs, the high priest\nwas seen in communication with Jehovah, the feeling could not fail to\ngain strength that David's cause was the cause of God, and the cause of\nthe country, and that, in due time, his patient sufferings and his noble\nservices would be crowned with the due reward.\n\nBut if the news of the massacre would tend on the whole to improve\nDavid's position with the people, it must have occasioned a terrible\npang to David himself. There was, indeed, one point of view in which\nsomething of the kind was to be looked for. Long ago, it had been\nforetold to Eli, when he tolerated so calmly the scandalous wickedness\nof his sons, \"Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm, and\nthe arm of thy father's house, but there shall not be an old man in\nthine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in My habitation, in all the\nwealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in\nthy house for ever.\" Ahimelech was a grandson of Eli, and the other\nmassacred priests were probably of Eli's blood. Here, then, at last, was\nthe fulfilment of the sentence announced to Eli; doomed as his house had\nbeen, their subsistence for years back was of the nature of a respite;\nand here, at length, was the catastrophe that had been so distinctly\nforetold.\n\nThat consideration, however, would not be much, if any, consolation to\nDavid. If the falsehood which he had told to Ahimelech was really\ndictated by a desire to save the high priest from conscious implication\nwith his affairs--with the condition of one who was now an outlaw and a\nfugitive, it had failed most terribly of the desired effect. The issue\nof the lie only served to place David's duplicity in a more odious\nlight. There is one thing in David, when he received the information,\nthat we cannot but admire--his readiness to take to himself his full\nshare of blame. \"I have occasioned the death of all thy father's house.\"\nAnd more than that, he did not even protest that it was impossible to\nhave foreseen what was going to happen. For at the very time when he was\npractising the falsehood on Ahimelech, he owns that he had a\npresentiment of mischief to follow, \"I knew it that day, when Doeg the\nEdomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul.\" Nor did he excuse\nhimself on the ground that the massacre was the fulfilment of the\nlongstanding sentence on Eli's house. He knew well that that\ncircumstance in no degree lessened his own guilt, or the guilt of Doeg\nand Saul. Though God may use men's wicked passions to bring about His\npurposes, that in no degree lessens the guilt of these passions. It\nseems as if David never could have forgiven himself his share in this\ndreadful business. And what a warning this conveys to us! Are you not\nsometimes tempted to think that sin to you is not a very serious matter,\nbecause you will get forgiveness for it, the atoning work of the Saviour\nwill cleanse you from its guilt? Be it so; but what if your sin has\ninvolved others, and if no atoning blood has been sprinkled on them?\nWhat of the youth whom your careless example first led to drink, and who\ndied a miserable drunkard? What of the clerk whom you instructed to tell\na lie? What of the companion of your sensuality whom you drove nearer to\nhell? Alas, alas! sin is like a network, the ramifications of which go\nout on the right hand and on the left, and when we break God's law, we\ncannot tell what the consequences to others may be! And how can we be\never comforted if we have been the occasion of ruin to any? It seems as\nif the burden of that feeling could never be borne; as if the only way\nof escape were, to be put out of existence altogether!\n\nThe superscription of the fifty-second Psalm bears--\"Maschil of David;\nwhen Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, David is come to the house of\nAhimelech.\" There is not much in this title to recommend it, as the\ninformation that was given by Doeg to Saul is not stated accurately. We\nmight have expected, too, that if Doeg was alone in the Psalmist's eye,\nthe atrocious slaughter of the priests would have had a share of\nreprobation, as well as the sharp, calumnious, mischievous tongue which\nis the chief object of denunciation. And though Doeg, as the chief of\nSaul's bondmen, might be a rich man, that position would hardly have\nentitled him to be called a mighty man, nor to assume the swaggering\ntone of independence here ascribed to him. Whoever was really the object\nof denunciation in this psalm, seems however to have belonged to the\nsame class with Doeg, in respect of his wicked tongue and love of\nmischief. It is indeed a wretched character that is delineated: the\nPsalmist's enemy is at once mischievous and mighty; and not only is he\nmischievous, but he boasts himself in it. He is shameless and without\nconscience, bent on doing all the evil that he can. Let him only have a\nchance of bringing a railing accusation against God's servants, and he\ndoes it with delight. But his conduct is senseless as it is wicked. God\nis unchangeably good, and His goodness is a sure defence to His servants\nagainst all the calumnious devices of the greatest and strongest of men.\nIt is the tongue of this evil man that is his instrument of mischief. It\nis utterly unscrupulous, sharp as a razor, cunning, devouring. A liar is\na serious enemy, one who is utterly unprincipled, clever withal, and who\ntrains himself with great skill to do mischief with his tongue. It is\npainful to be at the mercy of a calumniator who does not launch against\nyou a clumsy and incredible calumny, but one that has an element of\nprobability in it, only fearfully distorted. Especially when the\ncalumniator is one that _deviseth_ mischief, who loves evil more than\ngood, to whom truth is too tame to be cared for, who delights in\nfalsehood because it is more piquant, more exciting. To those who have\nlearned to regard it as the great business of life to spread light,\norder, peace, and joy, such men appear to be monsters, and indeed they\nare; but it is a painful experience to lie at their mercy.\n\nTo this class belonged Doeg, a monster in human form, to whom it was no\ndistress, but apparently a congenial employment, to murder in cold blood\na very hecatomb of men consecrated to the service of God. No doubt it\nwould appal David to think that such a man was now leagued with Saul as\nhis bitter and implacable enemy. But his faith saw him in the same\nprostrate position in which his faith had seen Goliath. Men cannot defy\nGod in vain. Men dare not defy that truth and that mercy which are\nattributes of God. \"God shall likewise destroy thee for ever: He shall\ntake thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee\nout of the land of the living. The righteous also shall see, and fear,\nand shall laugh at him.\"\n\nWhat became of Doeg we do not know. The historian does not introduce his\nname again. Before David came to power, he had probably received his\ndoom. Had he still survived, we should have been likely again to fall in\nwith his name. The Jews have a tradition that he was Saul's\narmour-bearer at the battle of Gilboa, and that the sword by which he\nand his master fell, was no other than that which had slain the priests\nof the Lord. As for the truth of this we cannot say. But even supposing\nthat no special judgment befell him, we cannot fancy him as other than a\nmost miserable man. With such a heart and such a tongue, with the load\nof a guilty life lying heavy on his soul, and that life crowned by such\nan infamous proceeding as the massacre of the priests, we cannot think\nof him as one who enjoyed life, but as a man of surly and gloomy nature,\nto whom life grew darker and darker, till it was extinguished in some\nmiserable ending. In contrast with such a career, how bright and how\nmuch to be desired was David's anticipated future:--\"I am like a green\nolive-tree in the house of my God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever\nand ever. I will praise Thy name for ever, because Thou hast done it:\nand I will wait on Thy name, for it is good before Thy saints.\"\n\n\"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he that trusteth in the Lord,\nmercy shall compass him about.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\n_DAVID AT KEILAH, ZIPH, AND MAON._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxiii.\n\n\nThe period of David's life shortly sketched in this chapter, must have\nbeen full of trying and exciting events. If we knew all the details,\nthey would probably be full of romantic interest; many a tale of\nprivation, disease, discomfort, on the one hand, and of active conflicts\nand hairbreadth escapes on the other. The district which he frequented\nwas a mountainous tract, bordering on the west coast of the Dead Sea,\nand lying exposed more or less to the invasions of the neighbouring\nnations. In the immediate neighbourhood of Ziph, Maon, and Carmel, the\ncountry--a fine upland plain--is remarkably rich and fertile; but\nbetween these places and the Dead Sea it changes to a barren wilderness;\nthe rocky valleys that run down to the margin of the sea, parched by the\nheat and drought, produce only a dry stunted grass. Innumerable caves\nare everywhere to be seen, still affording shelter to outlaws and\nrobbers. But at Engedi (now Ain-Jidy, \"the fountain of the goat\"), the\nlast place mentioned in this chapter, the traveller finds a little plain\non the shore of the Dead Sea, where the soil is remarkably rich; a\ndelicious fountain fertilizes it; shut in between walls of rock, both\nits climate and its products are like those of the tropics; it only\nwants cultivation to render it a most prolific spot.\n\nBy what means did David obtain sustenance for himself and his large\ntroop in these sequestered regions? Bayle, in the article in his famous\nDictionary on \"David,\"--an article which gave the cue to much that has\nbeen said and written against him since,--speaks of them as a troop of\nrobbers, and compares them to the associates of Catiline, and even Dean\nStanley calls them \"freebooters.\" Both expressions are obviously\nunwarranted. The only class of persons whom David and his troop regarded\nas enemies were the open enemies of his country,--that is, either\npersons who lived by plunder, or the tribes on whom Saul, equally with\nhimself, would have made war. That David regarded himself as entitled to\nattack and pillage the Hebrew settlers in his own tribe of Judah is\nutterly inconsistent with all that we know both of his character and of\nhis history. If David had a weakness, it lay in his extraordinary\npartiality for his own people, contrasted with his hard and even harsh\nfeelings towards the nations that so often annoyed them. Nothing was too\ngood for a Hebrew, nothing too severe for an alien. In after life, we\nsee how his heart was torn to its very centre by the judgment that fell\nupon his people after his offence in numbering the people (2 Sam. xxiv.\n17); while the record of his severity to the Ammonites cannot be read\nwithout a shudder (2 Sam. xii. 31). Besides, in this very narrative, in\nthe account of his collision with Nabal (1 Sam. xxv. 7), we find David\nputting in the very forefront of his message to the churl the fact that\nall the time he and his troop were in Carmel the shepherds of Nabal\nsustained no hurt, and his flocks no diminution. Instead of fleecing\nhis own countrymen, he sent them presents when he was more successful\nthan usual against their common foes (1 Sam. xxx. 26). Unquestionably\ntherefore such terms as \"robbers\" and \"freebooters\" are quite\nundeserved.\n\nOne chief source of support would obviously be the chase--the wild\nanimals that roamed among these mountains, the wild goat and the coney,\nthe pigeon and the partridge, and other creatures whose flesh was clean.\nPossibly, patches of soil, like the oasis at Engedi, would be\ncultivated, and a scanty return obtained from the labour. A third\nemployment would be that of guarding the flocks of the neighbouring\nshepherds both from bears, wolves, and lions, and from the attacks of\nplundering bands, for which service some acknowledgment was certainly\ndue. At the best, it was obviously a most uncomfortable mode of life,\nmaking not a little rough work very necessary; an utter contrast to the\npeaceful early days of Bethlehem, and rendering it infinitely more\ndifficult to sing, \"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.\"\n\nActing as guardian to the shepherds in the neighbourhood, and being the\navowed foe of all the Arab tribes who were continually making forays\nfrom their desert haunts on the land of Judah, David was in the very\nmidst of enemies. Hence probably the allusions in some of the psalms.\n\"Consider mine enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with cruel\nhatred.\" \"Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for there be many that\nfight against me, O Thou Most High.\" \"My soul is among lions, and I lie\neven among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth\nare spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.\" Could we know all\nhis trials and difficulties, we should be amazed at his tranquillity.\nOne morning, an outpost brings him word that Saul is marching against\nhim. He hastily arranges a retreat, and he and his men clamber over the\nmountains, perhaps under a burning sun, and reach their halting-place at\nnight, exhausted with thirst, hunger, and fatigue. Scarcely have they\nlain down, when an alarm is given that a body of Bedouins are plundering\nthe neighbouring sheepfolds. Forgetful of their fatigues, they rush to\ntheir arms, pursue the invaders, and rescue the prey. Next morning,\nperhaps, the very men whose flock he had saved, refuse to make him any\nacknowledgment. Murmurs rise from his hungry followers, and a sort of\nmutiny is threatened if he will not allow them to help themselves. To\ncrown all, he learns by-and-bye, that the people whom he has delivered\nhave turned traitors and are about to give him up to Saul. Wonderful was\nthe faith that could rise above such troubles, and say, \"Mine eyes are\never toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.\"\n\nIn illustration of these remarks let us note first what took place in\nconnection with Keilah. This was a place of strength and importance not\nfar from the land of the Philistines. A rumour reaches him that the\nPhilistines are fighting against it and robbing the threshing-floors.\nThe first thing he does, on hearing this rumour, is to inquire of God\nwhether he should go and attack the Philistines. It is not a common\ncase. The Philistines were a powerful enemy; probably their numbers were\nlarge, and it was a serious thing for David to provoke them when he had\nso many enemies besides. This was evidently the feeling of his\nfollowers. \"Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we\ngo to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?\" But David is in an\nadmirable frame of mind, and his only anxiety is about knowing\nprecisely the will of God. He inquires again, and when he gets his\nanswer he does not hesitate an instant. It was about this time that\nAbiathar the son of Ahimelech came to him, bringing an ephod from Nob,\nperhaps the only sacred thing that in the hurry and horror of his flight\nhe was able to carry away. And now, in his time of need, David finds the\nvalue of these things; he knows the privilege of fearing God, and of\nhaving God at his right hand. The fears of his men appear now to be\novercome; he goes to Keilah, attacks the Philistines, smites them with a\nvery great slaughter, brings away their cattle and rescues the people.\nIt is a great deliverance, and David, with peace and plenty around him,\nand the benedictions of the men of Keilah, breathes freely and praises\nGod.\n\nBut his sense of ease and tranquillity was of short duration. Saul hears\nof what has taken place, and hears that David has taken up his quarters\nwithin the town of Keilah. He chuckles over the news with fiendish\nsatisfaction, for Keilah is a fortified town; he will be able to shut up\nDavid within its walls and lay siege to the place, and when he has taken\nit, David will be at his mercy. But Saul, as usual, reckons without his\nhost. David has received information that leads him to suspect that Saul\nis meditating mischief against him, and it looks as if he had come to\nKeilah only to fall into a trap,--to fall into the hands of Saul. But\nthough a new danger has arisen, the old refuge still remains. \"Bring\nhither the ephod,\" he says to Abiathar. And communication being again\nestablished with Heaven, two questions are asked: Will Saul come down to\nKeilah, to destroy the city for David's sake? Yes, he will. Will the men\nof Keilah whom David has saved from the Philistines distinguish\nthemselves for their gratitude or for their treachery? They will become\ntraitors; they will deliver David up to Saul. So there is nothing for it\nbut for David to escape from Keilah. The worst of it is, he has no other\nplace to go to. He goes forth from Keilah, as his father Abraham went\nforth from Ur of the Chaldees, not knowing whither. He and his followers\nwent \"whithersoever they could go.\" Treachery was a new foe, and when\nthe treachery was on the part of those on whom he had just conferred a\nsignal benefit, it was most discouraging; it seemed to indicate that he\ncould never be safe.\n\nFlying from Keilah, he takes refuge in a part of the wilderness near\nZiph. Being very rocky and mountainous, it affords good opportunities\nfor hiding; but in proportion as it is advantageous for that purpose, it\nis unfavourable for getting sufficient means of subsistence. A wood in\nthe neighbourhood of Ziph afforded the chance of both. In this wood\nDavid enjoys the extraordinary privilege of a meeting with Jonathan.\nWhat a contrast to his treatment from the men of Keilah! If, on turning\nhis back on them, he was disposed to say, \"All men are liars,\" the\nblessed generosity of Jonathan modifies the sentiment. In such\ncircumstances, the cheering words of his friend and the warmth of his\nembrace must have come on David with infinite satisfaction. They were to\nhim what the loving words of the dying thief were to the Saviour, amid\nthe babel and blasphemy of Calvary. Who, indeed, does not see in the\nDavid of this time, persevering in his work under such fearful\ndiscouragements, under the treachery of men with hearts like Judas\nIscariot, experiencing the worst treatment from some whom he had\nbenefited already, and from others whom he was to benefit still\nmore--who can fail to see the type of Christ, patiently enduring the\ncross at the hands and in the stead of the very men whom by His\nsufferings He was to save and bless? For David, like our blessed Lord,\nthough not with equal steadfastness, drinks the cup which the Father has\ngiven him; he holds to the work which has been given him to do.\n\nThe brief note of Jonathan's words to David in the wood is singularly\nbeautiful and suggestive. \"Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David\ninto the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him,\nFear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou\nshalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and that also\nSaul my father knoweth.\" To begin with the last of Jonathan's words,\nwhat a lurid light they throw on the conduct of Saul! He was under no\nmisapprehension as to the Divine destiny of David. He must have known\ntherefore that in fighting against David, he was fighting against God.\nIt looks unaccountable madness; yet what worse is it than a thousand\nother schemes in which, to carry out their ends, men have trampled on\nevery moral precept, as if there were no God, no lawgiver, ruler, or\njudge above, no power in hell or heaven witnessing their actions to\nbring them all into judgment?\n\nIn his words to David the faith and piety of Jonathan were as apparent\nas his friendship. He strengthened his hand in God. Simple but beautiful\nwords! He put David's hand as it were into God's hand, in token that\nthey were one, in token that the Almighty was pledged to keep and bless\nhim, and that when he and his God were together, no weapon formed\nagainst him would ever prosper. Surely no act of friendship is so true\nfriendship as this. To remind our Christian friends in their day of\ntrouble of their relation to God, to encourage them to think of His\ninterest in them and His promises to them; to drop in their ear some of\nHis assurances--\"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,\"--is surely\nthe best of all ways to encourage the downcast, and send them on their\nway rejoicing.\n\nAnd what a hallowed word that was with which Jonathan began his\nexhortation--\"Fear not.\" The \"fear not's\" of Scripture are a remarkable\ngarland. All of them have their root in grace, not in nature. They all\nimply a firm exercise of faith. And Jonathan's \"fear not\" was no\nexception. If David had not been a man of faith, it would have sounded\nlike hollow mockery. \"The hand of Saul my father shall not find thee.\"\nWas not Saul with his well-equipped force, at that very moment, within a\nfew miles of him, while he, with his half-starved followers was at his\nvery wits' end, not knowing where to turn to next? \"Thou shalt be king\nover Israel.\" Nay, friend, I should be well pleased, David might have\nsaid, if I were again feeding my father's flocks in Bethlehem, with all\nthat has happened since then obliterated, reckoned as if it had never\nbeen. \"And I shall be next unto thee.\" O Jonathan, how canst thou say\nthat? Thou art the king's eldest son, the throne ought to be thine,\nthere is none worthier of it; the very fact that thou canst say that to\nme shows what a kingly generosity is in thy bosom, and how well entitled\nthou art to reign over Israel! Yes, David, but does not the very fact of\nJonathan using such words show that he is in closest fellowship with\nGod? Only a man pervaded through and through by the Spirit of God could\nspeak thus to the person who stands between him and what the world\nwould call his reasonable ambition. In that spirit of Jonathan there is\na goodness altogether Divine. Oh what a contrast to his father, to Saul!\nWhat a contrast to the ordinary spirit of jealousy, when some one is\nlike to cut us out of a coveted prize! Some one at school is going to\nbeat you at the competition. Some one in business is going to get the\nsituation for which you are so eager. Some one is going to carry off the\nfair hand to which you so ardently aspire. Where, oh where, in such\ncases, is the spirit of Jonathan? Look at it, study it, admire it; and\nin its clear and serene light, see what a black and odious spirit\njealousy is; and oh, seek that _you_, by the grace of God, may be, not a\nSaul, but a Jonathan!\n\nIt would appear that Saul had left the neighbourhood of Ziph in despair\nof finding David, and had returned to Gibeah. But the distance was\nsmall--probably not more than a long day's journey. And after a time,\nSaul is recalled to Ziph by a message from the Ziphites. \"Then came up\nthe Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with\nus in strong holds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on\nthe south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all\nthe desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver\nhim into the king's hand.\" The men of Keilah had not gone the length of\ntreachery, for when they were thinking of it, David escaped; but even if\nthey had, they would have had something to say for themselves. Was it\nnot better to give up David and let him suffer, than to keep him in\ntheir city, and let both him and them and their city share the fate, as\nthey would have been sure to do, of Ahimelech and the city of Nob,--that\nis, be utterly destroyed? But the men of Ziph were in no such dilemma.\nTheir treachery was simple meanness. They no doubt wished to ingratiate\nthemselves with Saul. They had no faith either in David, or in God's\npromises regarding him. Disbelieving God, they acted inhumanly to man.\nThey let Saul know his best opportunity, and when he came on the spot,\napparently of a sudden, David and his troop were surrounded, and their\nescape seemed to be cut off. Here was a strange commentary on the strong\nassurance of Jonathan, \"Saul my father shall not find thee.\" Has he not\nfound me, only to too good purpose? But man's extremity is God's\nopportunity. When Saul seems ready to pounce on David, a messenger\narrives, \"Haste thee, and come, for the Philistines have invaded the\nland.\" The danger was imminent, and Saul could not afford to lose an\nhour. And thus, on the very eve of seizing the prey he had been hunting\nfor years, he is compelled to let it go.\n\nIt is edifying to observe all the different ways in which the Divine\nprotection toward David had been shown, all the time that he had been\nexposed to the hostility of Saul. First of all, when Saul spoke to his\nservants and to Jonathan that they should kill David, Jonathan was\nraised up to take his side, and by his friendly counsels, arrested for\nthe time the murderous purpose of Saul. Next, when Saul hurled a javelin\nat David, a rapid movement saved his life. The third time, he was let\ndown through a window by his wife, in time to escape. The fourth time,\nthe messengers that were sent to apprehend him were filled with the\nSpirit of God, and even Saul, determined to make up for their lack of\nservice, underwent the same transformation. The fifth time, when he was\nin Keilah, he was supernaturally warned of the unkind treachery of the\nmen of Keilah, and thus escaped the snare. And now, a sixth escape is\neffected, in the very article of death, so to speak, by a Philistine\ninvasion. Thus was illustrated that wonderful diversity of plan that\ncharacterises the ways of God, that \"variety in unity\" which we may\ntrace alike in the kingdom of nature, of providence, and of grace. A\nsimilar variety is seen in His deliverances of Israel. At one time the\nsea is divided, at another the sun stands still; Gideon delivers by\nlamps and pitchers, Shamgar by his ox-goad, Samson by the jawbone of an\nass, Jephthah by his military talents, David by his sling and stone,\nDaniel by his skill in dreams, Esther by her beauty and power of\nfascination. To remember such things ought to give you confidence in\ntimes of perplexity and danger. If it be God's purpose to deliver you,\nHe has thousands of unseen methods, to any one of which He may resort,\nwhen, to the eye of sense, there seems not the shadow of a hope. And one\nreason why He seems at times to doom His children to inevitable ruin, is\nthat He may call their faith and their patience into higher exercise,\nand teach them more impressively the sublime lesson--\"Stand still, and\nsee the salvation of God.\"\n\nThe fifty-fourth Psalm bears an inscription that would refer it to this\noccasion. There are some expressions in the psalm that hardly agree with\nthis reference; but the general situation is quite in keeping with it.\n\"Save me, O God,\" the Psalmist cries, \"by Thy name, and judge me by Thy\nstrength.\" The danger from which he needs to be saved comes from\nstrangers that are risen up against him, and opposers that seek after\nhis soul; persons \"that have not set God before them.\" To be saved by\nGod's _name_ is to be saved through attributes which are manifestly\nDivine; to be judged by God's _strength_, is to be vindicated, to be\nshown to be under God's favour and protection, by the manifest exercise\nof His power. The petitions are such as David might well have made after\nhis conversation with Jonathan. The psalm is evidently the song of one\nwhose hand had been \"strengthened in God.\" Its great central truth is,\n\"God is mine helper; the Lord is with them who (like Jonathan) uphold my\nsoul.\" And there comes after that a happy exercise of the spirit of\ntrust, enabling the Psalmist to say, \"He hath delivered me out of all\ntrouble.\" This result is wonderful and beautiful. How remarkable that in\nthat wilderness of Judah, amid a life of hardship, exposure, and peril,\nwith a powerful king thirsting for his blood, and using his every device\nto get hold of him, he should be able to say of God, \"He hath delivered\nme out of all trouble.\" It is the faith that removes mountains: it is\nthe faith that worked so wonderfully when the lad with the sling and\nstones went out so bravely against the giant. What wonders cannot faith\nperform when it gets clear of all the entanglements of carnal feeling,\nand stands, firm and erect, on the promise of God! How infinitely would\nsuch a faith relieve and sustain us in the common troubles and anxieties\nof life, and in deeper perplexities connected with the cause of God!\nTake this short clause as marking out the true quality and highest\nattainment of simple faith, and resolve that you will not rest in your\nown endeavours till your mind reaches the state of tranquillity which it\ndescribes so simply,--\"He hath delivered me out of all trouble.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\n_DAVID TWICE SPARES THE LIFE OF SAUL._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxiv., xxvi.\n\n\nThe invasion of the Philistines had freed David from the fear of Saul\nfor a time, but only for a time. He knew full well that when the king of\nIsrael had once repelled that invasion he would return to prosecute the\nobject on which his heart was so much set. For a while he took refuge\namong the rocks of Engedi, that beautiful spot of which we have already\nspoken, and which has been embalmed in Holy Writ, as suggesting a fair\nimage of the Beloved One--\"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of\ncamphire in the vineyards of Engedi\" (Song of Solomon i. 14). The\nmountains here and throughout the hill country of Judea are mostly of\nlimestone formation, abounding, like all such rocks, in caverns of large\nsize, in which lateral chambers run off at an angle from the main\ncavity, admitting of course little or no light, but such that a person\ninside, while himself unseen, may see what goes on at the entrance to\nthe cave. In the dark sides of such a cave, David and his men lay\nconcealed when Saul was observed by him to enter and lie down, probably\nunattended, to enjoy the mid-day sleep which the heat of the climate\noften demands. We cannot fail to remark the singular providence that\nconcealed from Saul at this time the position of David. He had good\ninformation of his movements in general; the treacherous spirit which\nwas so prevalent, greatly aided him in this; but on the present\noccasion, he was evidently in ignorance of his situation. If only he had\nknown, how easy it would have been for him with his three thousand\nchosen men to blockade the cave, and starve David and his followers into\nsurrender!\n\nThe entrance of the king being noticed by David's men, they urged their\nmaster to avail himself of the opportunity of getting rid of him which\nwas now so providentially and unexpectedly presented to him. We can\nhardly think of a stronger temptation to do so than that under which\nDavid now lay. In the first place, there was the prospect of getting rid\nof the weary life he was leading,--more like the life of a wild beast\nhunted by its enemies, than of a man eager to do good to his fellows,\nwith a keen relish for the pleasures of home and an extraordinary\ndelight in the services of God's house. Then there was the prospect of\nwearing the crown and wielding the sceptre of Israel,--the splendours of\na royal palace, and its golden opportunities of doing good. Further,\nthere was the voice of his followers urging him to the deed, putting on\nit a sacred character by ascribing to it a Divine permission and\nappointment. And still further, there was the suddenness and\nunexpectedness of the opportunity. Nothing is more critical than a\nsudden opportunity of indulging an ardent passion; with scarcely a\nmoment for deliberation, one is apt to be hurried blindly along, and at\nonce to commit the deed. With all his noble nature, Robert the Bruce\ncould not refrain from plunging his dagger into the heart of the\ntreacherous Comyn, even in the convent of the Minorite friars. The\ndiscipline of David's spirit must at this time have been admirable. Not\nonly did he restrain himself, but he restrained his followers too. He\nwould neither strike his heartless enemy, nor suffer another to strike\nhim. On the first of the two occasions of his sparing him--recorded in\nthe twenty-fourth chapter--he might naturally believe that his\nforbearance would turn Saul's heart and end the unjust quarrel. On the\nsecond occasion of the same sort--recorded in the twenty-sixth\nchapter--he could have had no hope of the kind. It was a pure sense of\nduty that restrained him. He acted in utter contempt of what was\npersonal and selfish, and in deepest reverence for what was holy and\nDivine. How different from the common spirit of the world! Young people,\nwho are so ready to keep up a sense of wrong, and wait an opportunity of\npaying back your schoolfellows, study this example of David. Ye grown\nmen, who could not get such-a-one to vote for you, or to support your\nclaim in your controversy, and who vowed that you would never rest till\nyou had driven him from the place, how does your spirit compare with\nthat of David? Ye statesmen, who have received an affront from some\nbarbarous people, utterly ignorant of your ways, and who forthwith issue\nyour orders for your ships of war to scatter destruction among their\nmiserable villages, terrifying, killing, mutilating, no matter how many\nof the wretches that have no arms to meet you in fair fight--think of\nthe forbearance of David. And think too of many passages in the New\nTestament that give the idea of another treatment and another species of\nvictory:--\"Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst,\ngive him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his\nhead. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.\"\n\nThe special consideration that held back the arm of David from killing\nSaul was that he was the Lord's anointed. He held the office of king by\nDivine appointment,--not merely as other kings may be regarded as\nholding it, but as God's lieutenant, called specially, and selected for\nthe office. For David to remove him would be to interfere with the\nDivine prerogative. It would be so much the more inexcusable as God had\nmany other ways of removing him, any one of which He might readily\nemploy. \"David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall\nsmite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into\nbattle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine\nhand against the Lord's anointed.\"\n\nLet us briefly follow the narrative on each of the two occasions.\n\nFirst, when David saw Saul asleep at the entrance of the cave near\nEngedi, he crept towards him as he lay, and removed a loose piece of his\ngarment. When Saul rose up and proceeded on his way, David boldly\nfollowed him, believing that after sparing the king's life he was safe\nfrom attack either from him or his people. His respectful salutation,\ndrawing the king's attention, was followed by an act of profound\nobeisance. David then addressed Saul somewhat elaborately, his address\nbeing wholly directed to the point of disabusing the king's mind of the\nidea that he had any plot whatever against his life. His words were very\nrespectful but at the same time bold. Taking advantage of the act of\nforbearance which had just occurred, he demanded of the king why he\nlistened to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt. He\nprotested that for himself nothing would induce him to stretch forth his\nhand against the Lord's anointed. That very day, he had had the chance,\nbut he had forborne. His people had urged him, but he would not comply.\n_There_ was the skirt of his garment which he had just cut off: it would\nhave been as easy for him, when he did that, to plunge his sword into\nthe heart of the king. Could there be a plainer proof that Saul was\nmistaken in supposing David to be actuated by murderous or other sinful\nfeelings against him? And yet Saul hunted for his life to take it.\nRising still higher, David appealed to the great Judge of all, and\nplaced the quarrel in His hands. To vary the case, he quoted a proverb\nto the effect that only where there was wickedness in the heart could\nwickedness be found in the life. Then, with the easy play of a versatile\nmind, he put the case in a comical light: did it become the great king\nof Israel to bring his hosts after one so insignificant--\"after a dead\ndog, after a flea\"? Was ocean to be tossed into tempest \"to waft a\nfeather or to drown a straw\"? Once more, and to sum up the whole case,\nhe appealed solemnly to God, virtually invoking His blessing on whoever\nwas innocent in this quarrel, and calling down His wrath and destruction\non the party that was really guilty.\n\nThe effect on Saul was prompt and striking. He was touched in his\ntenderest feelings by the singular generosity of his opponent. He broke\ndown thoroughly, welcomed the dear voice of David, \"lifted up his voice\nand wept.\" He confessed that he was wrong, that David had rewarded him\ngood and he had rewarded David evil. David had given him that day a\nconvincing proof of his integrity; though it seemed that the Lord had\ndelivered him into his hand, he killed him not. He had reversed the\nprinciple on which men were accustomed to act when they came upon an\nenemy, and had him in their power. And all these acknowledgments of\nDavid's superior goodness Saul made, while knowing well and frankly\nowning that David should be the king, and that the kingdom should be\nestablished in his hand. One favour only Saul would beg of David in\nreference to that coming time--that he would not massacre his family, or\ndestroy his name out of his father's house--a request which it was easy\nfor David to comply with. Never would he dream of such a thing, however\ncommon it was in these Eastern kingdoms. David sware to Saul, and the\ntwo parted in peace.\n\nHow glad David must have been that he acted as he did! Already his\nforbearance has had a full reward. It has drawn out the very best\nelements of Saul's soul; it has placed Saul in a light in which we can\nthink of him with interest, and even admiration. How can this be the man\nthat so meanly plotted for David's life when he sent him against the\nPhilistines? that gave him his daughter to be his wife in order that he\nmight have more opportunities to entangle him? that flung the murderous\njavelin at his head? that massacred the priests and destroyed their city\nsimply because they had shown him kindness? Saul is indeed a riddle, all\nthe more that this generous fit lasted but a very short time; and soon\nafter, when the treacherous Ziphites undertook to betray David, Saul and\nhis soldiers came again to the wilderness to destroy him.\n\nIt has been thought by some, and with reason, that something more than\nthe varying humour of Saul is necessary to account for his persistent\nefforts to kill David. And it is believed that a clue to this is\nsupplied by expressions of which David made much use, and by certain\nreferences in the Psalms, which imply that to a great extent he was the\nvictim of calumny, and of calumny of a very malignant and persistent\nkind. In the address on which we have commented David began by asking\nwhy Saul _listened to men's words_, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy\nlife? And in the address recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter (ver. 19)\nDavid says very bitterly, \"If they be the children of men that have\nstirred thee up against me, cursed be they before the Lord; for they\nhave driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord,\nsaying, Go, serve other gods.\" Turning to the seventh Psalm, we find in\nit a vehement and passionate appeal to God in connection with the bitter\nand murderous fury of an enemy, who is said in the superscription to\nhave been Cush the Benjamite. The fury of that man against David was\nextraordinary. Deliver me, O Lord, \"lest he tear my soul like a lion,\nrending it in pieces when there is none to deliver.\" It is plain that\nthe form of calumny which this man indulged in was accusing David of\n\"rewarding evil to him that was at peace with him,\" an accusation not\nonly not true, but outrageously contrary to the truth, seeing he had\n\"delivered him that without cause was his enemy.\" It is not unlikely\ntherefore that at Saul's court David had an enemy who had the bitterest\nenmity to him, who never ceased to poison Saul's mind regarding him, who\nput facts in the most offensive light, and even after the first act of\nDavid's generosity to Saul not only continued, but continued more\nferociously than ever to inflame Saul's mind, and urge him to get rid of\nthis intolerable nuisance. What could have inspired Cush, or indeed any\none, with such a hatred to David we cannot definitely say; much of it\nwas due to that instinctive hatred of holy character which worldly men\nof strong will show in every age, and perhaps not a little to the\napprehension that if David did ever come to the throne, many a wicked\nman, now fattening on the spoils of the kingdom through the favour of\nSaul, would be stript of his wealth and consigned to obscurity.\n\nIt would seem, then, that had Saul been left alone he would have left\nDavid alone. It was the bitter and incessant plotting of David's enemies\nthat stirred him up. Jealousy was only too active a feeling in his\nbreast, and it was easy to work upon it, and fill him with the idea\nthat, after all, David was a rebel and a traitor. These things David\nmust have known; knowing them, he made allowance for them, and did not\nsuffer his heart to become altogether cold to Saul. The kindly feelings\nwhich Saul expressed when he dismissed from his view all the calumnies\nwith which he had been poisoned, and looked straight at David, made a\ndeep impression on his rival, and the fruit of them appeared in that\nbeautiful elegy on Saul and Jonathan, which must seem a piece of\nhypocrisy if the facts we have stated be not kept in view: \"Saul and\nJonathan were pleasant and lovely in their lives, and in their death\nthey were not divided.\"\n\nIn the second incident, recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter, when David\nagain spared the life of Saul, not much more needs to be said. Some\ncritics would hold it to be the same incident recorded by another hand\nin some earlier document consulted by the writer of 1 Samuel, containing\ncertain variations such as might take place at the hand of a different\nhistorian. But let us observe the differences of the two chapters. (1)\nThe scene is different; in the one case it is near Engedi, in the other\nin the wilderness, near the hill Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon.\n(2) The place where Saul was asleep is different; in the one case a\ncave; in the other case a camp, protected by a trench. (3) The trophy\ncarried off by David was different; in the one case the skirt of his\ngarment, in the other a spear and cruse of water. (4) The position of\nDavid when he made himself known was different; in the one case he went\nout of the cave and called after Saul; in the other he crossed a gully\nand spoke from the top of a crag. (5) His way of attracting attention\nwas different; in the one case he spoke directly to Saul, in the other\nhe rallied Abner, captain of the host, for failing to protect the person\nof the king. But we need not proceed further with this list of\ndifferences. Those we have adverted to are enough to repel the assertion\nthat there were not two separate incidents of the same kind. And surely\nif the author was a mere compiler, using different documents, he might\nhave known if the incidents were the same. If it be said that we cannot\nbelieve that two events so similar could have happened, that this is too\nimprobable to be believed, we may answer by referring to similar cases\nin the Gospels, or even in common life. Suppose a historian of the\nAmerican civil war to describe what took place at Bull Run. First he\ngives an account of a battle there between the northern and southern\narmies, some incidents of which he describes. By-and-bye he again speaks\nof a battle there, but the incidents he gives are quite different. Our\nmodern critics would say it was all one event, but that the historian,\nhaving consulted two accounts, had clumsily written as if there had been\ntwo battles. We know that this fancy of criticism is baseless. In the\nAmerican civil war there were two battles of Bull Run between the same\ncontending parties at different times. So we may safely believe that\nthere were two instances of David's forbearance to Saul, one in the\nneighbourhood of Engedi, the other in the neighbourhood of Ziph.\n\nAnd all that needs to be said further respecting the second act of\nforbearance by David is that it shines forth all the brighter because it\nwas the second, and because it happened so soon after the other. We may\nsee that David did not put much trust in Saul's profession the first\ntime, for he did not disband his troop, but remained in the wilderness\nas before. It is quite possible that this displeased Saul. It is also\npossible that that inveterate false accuser of David from whom he\nsuffered so much would make a great deal of this to Saul, and would\nrepresent to him strongly that if David really was the innocent man he\nclaimed to be, after receiving the assurance he got from him he would\nhave sent his followers to their homes, and returned in peace to his\nown. That he did nothing of the kind may have exasperated Saul, and\ninduced him to change his policy, and again take steps to secure David,\nas before. Substantially, David's remonstrance with Saul on this second\noccasion was the same as on the first. But at this time he gave proof of\na power of sarcasm which he had not shown before. He rated Abner on the\nlooseness of the watch he kept of his royal master, and adjudged him\nworthy of death for not making it impossible for any one to come\nunobserved so near the king, and have him so completely in his power.\nThe apology of Saul was substantially the same as before; but how could\nit have been different? The acknowledgment of what was to happen to\nDavid was hardly so ample as on the last occasion. David doubtless\nparted from Saul with the old conviction that kindness was not wanting\nin his personal feelings, but that the evil influences that were around\nhim, and the fits of disorder to which his mind was subject, might\nchange his spirit in a single hour from that of generous benediction to\nthat of implacable jealousy.\n\nBut now to draw to a close. We have adverted to that high reverence for\nGod which was the means of restraining David from lifting up his hand\nagainst Saul, because he was the Lord's anointed. Let us now notice more\nparticularly what an admirable spirit of self-restraint and patience\nDavid showed in being willing to bear all the risk and pain of a most\ndistressing position, until it should please God to bring to him the\nhour of deliverance. The grace we specially commend is that of waiting\nfor God's time. Alas! into how many sins, and even crimes, have men been\nbetrayed through unwillingness to wait for God's time! A young man\nembarks in the pursuits of commerce; but the gains to be derived from\nordinary business come in far too slowly for him; he makes haste to be\nrich, engages in gigantic speculation, plunges into frightful gambling,\nand in a few years brings ruin on himself and all connected with him.\nHow many sharp and unhandsome transactions continually occur just\nbecause men are impatient, and wish to hurry on some consummation which\ntheir hearts are set on! Nay, have not murders often taken place just to\nhasten the removal of some who occupied places that others were eager to\nfill? And how often are evil things done by those who will not wait for\nthe sanction of honourable marriage?\n\nBut even where no act of crime has been committed, impatience of God's\ntime may give rise to many an evil feeling that does not go beyond one's\nown breast. Many a son who will succeed to an inheritance on the death\nof his father, or of some other relative, is tempted to wish, more or\nless consciously, for an event the last to be desired by a filial heart.\nYou may say, it is human nature; how could any one help it? The example\nof David shows how one may help it. The heart that is profoundly\nimpressed with the excellence of the Divine will, and the duty and\nprivilege of loyally accepting all His arrangements, can never desire to\nanticipate that will in any matter, great or small. For how can any good\ncome in the end from forcing forward arrangements out of the Divine\norder? If, for the moment, this brings any advantage in one direction,\nit is sure to be followed by far greater evils in another. Do we all\nrealize the full import of our prayer when we say, \"Thy will be done on\nearth as it is in heaven\"? Of one thing you may be very sure, there is\nno impatience in heaven for a speedier fulfilment of desirable events\nthan the will of God has ordained. There is no desire to force on the\nwheels of Providence if they do not seem to be moving fast enough. So\nlet it be with us. Let us fix it as a first principle in our minds, as\nan immovable rule of our lives, that as God knows best how to order His\nprovidence, so any interference with Him is rash and perilous, and\nwicked too; and with reference both to events which are not lawfully in\nour hands, and the time at which they are to happen, let us realize it\nas alike our duty and our interest to say to God, in the spirit of full\nand unreserved trust--\"Not our will, but Thine be done.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\n_DAVID AND NABAL._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxv.\n\n\nWe should be forming far too low an estimate of the character of the\npeople of Israel if we did not believe that they were very profoundly\nmoved by the death of Samuel. Even admitting that but a small proportion\nof them are likely to have been in warm sympathy with his ardent\ngodliness, he was too remarkable a man, and he had been too conspicuous\na figure in the history of the nation, not to be greatly missed, and\nmuch spoken of and thought of, when he passed away.\n\nCast in the same mould with their great leader and legislator Moses, he\nexerted an influence on the nation only second to that which stood\nconnected with the prophet of the Exodus. He had not been associated\nwith such stirring events in their history as Moses; neither had it been\nhis function to reveal to them the will of God, either so\nsystematically, or so comprehensively, or so supernaturally; but he was\nmarked by the same great spirituality, the same intense reverence for\nthe God of Israel, the same profound belief in the reality of the\ncovenant between Israel and God, and the same conviction of the\ninseparable connection between a pure worship and flowing prosperity on\nthe one hand, and idolatrous defection and national calamity on the\nother.\n\nNo man except Moses had ever done more to rivet this truth on the minds\nand hearts of the people. It was the lifelong aim and effort of Samuel\nto show that it made the greatest difference to them in every way how\nthey acted toward God, in the way of worship, trust, and obedience. He\nmade incessant war on that cold worldly spirit, so natural to us all,\nthat leaves God out of account as a force in our lives, and strives to\nadvance our interests simply by making the most of the conditions of\nmaterial prosperity.\n\nNo doubt with many minds the name of Samuel would be associated with a\nseverity and a spirituality and a want of worldliness that were\nrepulsive to them, as indicating one who carried the matter, to use a\ncommon phrase, too far. But at Samuel's death even these men might be\nvisited with a somewhat remorseful conviction that, if Samuel had gone\ntoo far, they had not gone half far enough. There might come from the\nretrospect of his career a wholesome rebuke to their worldliness and\nneglect of God; for surely, they would feel, if there be a God, we ought\nto worship Him, and it cannot be well for us to neglect Him altogether.\n\nOn the other hand, the career of Samuel would be recalled with intense\nadmiration and gratitude by all the more earnest of the people. What an\nimpressive witness for all that was good and holy had they not had among\nthem! What a living temple, what a Divine epistle, written not in tables\nof stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart! What glory and honour had\nnot that man's life been to the nation,--so uniform, so consistent, so\nhigh in tone! What a reproof it carried to low and selfish living, what\na splendid example it afforded to old and young of the true way and end\nof life, and what a blessed impulse it was fitted to give them in the\nsame direction, showing so clearly \"what is good, and what doth the Lord\nrequire of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly\nwith thy God.\"\n\nBy a remarkable connection, though perhaps not by design, two names are\nbrought together in this chapter representing very opposite phases of\nhuman character--Samuel and Nabal. In Samuel we have the high-minded\nservant of God, trained from infancy to smother his own will and pay\nunbounded regard to the will of his Father in heaven; in Nabal we see\nthe votary of the god of this world, enslaved to his worldly lusts,\ngrumbling and growling when he is compelled to submit to the will of\nGod. Samuel is the picture of the serene and holy believer, enjoying\nunseen fellowship with God, and finding in that fellowship a blessed\nbalm for the griefs and trials of a wounded spirit; Nabal is the picture\nof the rich but wretched worldling who cannot even enjoy the bounties of\nhis lot, and is thrown into such a panic by the mere dread of losing\nthem that he actually sinks into the grave. Under the one picture we\nwould place the words of the Apostle in the third chapter of\nPhilippians--\"Whose god is their belly, whose glory is in their shame,\nwho mind earthly things;\" under the other the immediately following\nwords, \"Our conversation is in heaven.\" Such were the two men to whom\nthe summons to appear before God was sent about the same time; the one\nripe for glory, the other meet for destruction; the one removed to\nAbraham's bosom, the other to the pit of woe; each to the master whom he\nserved, and each to the element in which he had lived. Look on this\npicture and on that, and say which you would be like. And as you look\nremember how true it is that as men sow so do they reap. The one sowed\nto the flesh, and of the flesh he reaped corruption; the other sowed to\nthe Spirit, and of the Spirit he reaped life everlasting. The continuity\nof men's lives in the world to come gives an awful solemnity to that\nportion of their lives which they spend on earth:--\"He that is unjust,\nlet him be unjust still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still:\nand he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is\nholy, let him be holy still.\"\n\nThere is another lesson to be gathered from a matter of external order\nbefore we proceed to the particulars of the narrative. This chapter,\nrecording David's collision with Nabal, and showing us how David lost\nhis temper, and became hot and impetuous and impatient in consequence of\nNabal's treatment, comes in between the narrative of his two great\nvictories over the spirit of revenge and impatience. It gives us a very\nemphatic lesson--how the servant of God may conquer in a great fight and\nyet be beaten in a small. The history of all spiritual warfare is full\nof such cases. In the presence of a great enemy, the utmost vigilance is\nmaintained; every effort is strained, every stimulus is applied. In the\npresence of a small foe, the spirit of confidence, the sense of\nsecurity, is liable to leave every avenue unguarded, and to pave the way\nfor signal defeat. When I am confronted with a great trial, I rally all\nmy resources to bear it, I realize the presence of God, I say, \"Thou God\nseest me\"; but when it is a little trial, I am apt to meet it unarmed\nand unguarded, and I experience a humiliating fall. Thus it is that men\nwho have in them the spirit of martyrs, and who would brave a dungeon\nor death itself rather than renounce a testimony or falter in a duty,\noften suffer defeat under the most ordinary temptations of everyday\nlife,--they lose their temper on the most trifling provocations; almost\nwithout a figure, they are \"crushed before the moth.\"\n\nWhether the death of Samuel brought such a truce to David as to allow\nhim to join in the great national gathering at his funeral we do not\nknow with certainty; but immediately after we find him in a region\ncalled \"the wilderness of Paran,\" in the neighbourhood of the Judean\nCarmel. It was here that Nabal dwelt. This Carmel is not to be\nconfounded with the famous promontory of that name in the tribe of\nAsher, where Elijah and the priests of Baal afterwards had their\ncelebrated contest; it was a hill in the tribe of Judah, in the\nneighbourhood of the place where David had his encampment. A descendant\nof the lion-hearted Judah and of the courageous Caleb, this Nabal came\nof a noble stock; but cursed with a narrow heart, a senseless head, and\na grovelling nature, he fell as far below average humanity as his great\nancestors had risen above it. With all his wealth and family connection,\nhe appears to us now as poor a creature as ever lived,--a sort of\n\"golden beast,\" as was said of the Emperor Caligula; and we cannot think\nof him without reflecting how little true glory or greatness mere wealth\nor worldly position confers,--how infinitely more worthy of honour are\nthe sterling qualities of a generous Christian heart. It is plain that\nin an equitable point of view Nabal owed much to David; but what he owed\ncould not be enforced by an action at law, and Nabal was one of those\npoor creatures that acknowledge no other obligation.\n\nThe studied courtesy and modesty with which David preferred his claim is\ninteresting; it could not but be against the grain to say anything on\nthe subject; if Nabal had not had his \"understanding blinded\" he would\nhave spared him this pain; the generous heart is ever thinking of the\nservices that others are rendering, and will never subject modesty to\nthe pain of urging its own. \"Ye shall greet him in my name,\" said David\nto his messengers; \"and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in\nprosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace to thy house, and peace be\nto all that thou hast\" No envying of his prosperity--no grudging to him\nhis abundance; but only the Christian wish that he might have God's\nblessing with it, and that it might all turn to good. It was the time of\nsheep-shearing, when the flocks were probably counted and the increase\nover last year ascertained; and by a fine old custom it was commonly the\nseason of liberality and kindness. A time of increase should always be\nso; it is the time for helping poor relations (a duty often strangely\noverlooked), for acknowledging ancient kindnesses, for relieving\ndistress, and for devising liberal things for the Church of Christ.\nDavid gently reminded Nabal that he had come at this good time; then he\nhinted at the services which he and his followers had done him; but to\nshow that he did not wish to press hard on him, he merely asked him to\ngive what might come to his hand; though, as the anointed king of\nIsrael, he might have assumed a more commanding title, he asked him to\ngive it to \"thy son, David.\" So modest, gentle, and affectionate an\napplication, savouring so little of the persecuted, distracted outlaw,\nsavouring so much of the mild self-possessed Christian\ngentleman,--deserved treatment very different from what it received.\nThe detestable niggardliness of Nabal's heart would not suffer him to\npart with anything which he could find an excuse for retaining. But\ngreed so excessive, even in its own eyes, must find some cloak to cover\nit; and one of the most common and most congenial to flinty hearts\nis--the unworthiness of the applicant. The miser is not content in\nsimply refusing an application for the poor, he must add some abusive\ncharge to conceal his covetousness--they are lazy, improvident,\nintemperate; or if it be a Christian object he is asked to\nsupport,--these unreasonable people are always asking. Any excuse rather\nthan tell the naked truth, \"We worship our money; and when we spend it,\nwe spend it on ourselves.\" Such was Nabal. \"Who is David? and who is the\nson of Jesse? There be many servants now-a-days that break away every\nman from his master. Shall I then take _my_ bread, and _my_ water, and\n_my_ flesh that I have killed for _my_ shearers, and give it unto men,\nthat I know not whence they be?\"\n\nAs often happens, excessive selfishness overreached itself. Insult added\nto injury was more than David chose to bear; for once, he lost\nself-command, and was borne along by impetuous passion. Meek men, when\nonce their temper is roused, usually go to great extremes. And if\nDavid's purpose had not been providentially arrested, Nabal and all that\nbelonged to him would have been swept before morning to destruction.\n\nWith the quickness and instinctive certainty of a clever woman's\njudgment, Abigail, Nabal's wife, saw at once how things were going. With\nmore than the calmness and self-possession of many a clever woman, she\narranged and despatched the remedy almost instantaneously after the\ninfliction of the wrong. How so superior a woman could have got yoked\nto so worthless a man we can scarcely conjecture, unless on the vulgar\nand too common supposition that the churl's wealth and family had\nsomething to do with the match. No doubt she had had her punishment. But\nluxury had not impaired the energy of her spirit, and wealth had not\ndestroyed the regularity of her habits. Her promptness and her prudence\nall must admire, her commissariat skill was wonderful in its way; and\nthe exquisite tact and cleverness with which she showed and checked the\nintended crime of David--all the while seeming to pay him a\ncompliment--could not have been surpassed. \"Now therefore, my lord, as\nthe Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord _hath\nwithholden thee_ from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself\nwith thine own hand, now let thine enemies and they that seek evil to my\nlord be as Nabal.\" But the most remarkable of all her qualities is her\nfaith; it reminds us of the faith of Rahab of Jericho, or of the faith\nof Jonathan; she had the firm persuasion that David was owned of God,\nthat he was to be the king of Israel, and that all the devices men might\nuse against him would fail; and she addressed him--poor outlaw though he\nwas--as one of whose elevation to sovereign power, after what God had\nspoken, there could not be the shadow of a doubt. Her liberality, too,\nwas very great. And there was a truthful, honest tone about her. Perhaps\nshe spoke even too plainly of her husband, but the occasion admitted of\nno sort of apology for him; there was no deceit about her, and as little\nflattery. Her words had a wholesome honest air, and some of her\nexpressions were singularly happy. When she spoke of the soul of my lord\nas \"bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God,\" she seemed to\nanticipate the very language in which the New Testament describes the\nunion of Christ and His people, \"Your life is hid with Christ in God.\"\nShe had a clear conception of the \"sure mercies of David,\" certainly in\nthe literal, and we may hope also in the spiritual sense.\n\nThe revengeful purpose and rash vow of David were not the result of\ndeliberate consideration; they were formed under the influence of\nexcitement,--most unlike the solemn and prayerful manner in which the\nexpedition at Keilah had been undertaken. God unacknowledged had left\nDavid to misdirected paths. But if we blame David, as we must, for his\nheedless passion, we must not less admire the readiness with which he\nlistens to the reasonable and pious counsel of Abigail. With the ready\ninstinct of a gracious heart he recognises the hand of God in Abigail's\ncoming,--this mercy had a heavenly origin; and cordially praises Him for\nHis restraining providence and restraining grace. He candidly admits\nthat he had formed a very sinful purpose; but he frankly abandons it,\naccepts her offering, and sends her away in peace. \"Blessed be the Lord\nGod of Israel, which sent thee this day to me; and blessed be thy\nadvice, and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to\nshed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.\" It is a mark\nof sincere and genuine godliness to be not less thankful for being kept\nfrom sinning than from being rescued from suffering.\n\nAnd it was not long before David had convincing proof that it is best to\nleave vengeance in the hands of God. \"It came to pass, about ten days\nafter, that the Lord smote Nabal that he died.\" Having abandoned himself\nat his feast to the beastliest sensuality, his nervous system underwent\na depression corresponding to the excitement that had accompanied the\ndebauch. In this miserable state of collapse and weakness, the news of\nwhat had happened gave him a fright from which he never recovered. A few\ndays of misery, and this wretched man went to his own place, there to\njoin the great crowd of selfish and godless men who said to God, \"Depart\nfrom us,\" and to whom God will but echo their own wish--\"Depart from\nMe!\"\n\nWhen David heard of his death, his satisfaction at the manifest\ninterposition of God on his behalf, and his thankfulness for having been\nenabled to conquer his impetuosity, overcame for the time every other\nconsideration. Full of this view, he blessed God for Nabal's death,\nrejoicing over his untimely end more perhaps than was altogether\nbecoming. We, at least, should have liked to see David dropping a tear\nover the grave of one who had lived without grace and who died without\ncomfort. Perhaps, however, we are unable to sympathize with the\nearnestness of the feeling produced by God's visible vindication of him;\na feeling that would be all the more fervent, because what had happened\nto Nabal must have been viewed as a type of what was sure to happen to\nSaul. In the death of Nabal, David by faith saw the destruction of all\nhis enemies--no wonder though his spirit was lifted up at the sight.\n\nIf it were not for a single expression, we should, without hesitation,\nset down the thirty-seventh Psalm as written at this period. The\ntwenty-fifth verse seems to connect it with a later period; even then it\nseems quite certain that, when David wrote it, the case of Nabal (among\nother cases perhaps) was full in his view. The great fact in providence\non which the psalm turns is the sure and speedy destruction of the\nwicked; and the great lesson of the psalm to God's servants is not to\nfret because of their prosperity, but to rest patiently on the Lord, who\nwill cause the meek to inherit the earth. Many of the minor expressions\nand remarks, too, are quite in harmony with this occasion: \"Trust in the\nLord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily _thou\nshalt be fed_.\" \"Cease from _anger_, and forsake _wrath_; fret not\nthyself in any wise to do evil.\" \"The _meek_ shall inherit the earth.\"\n\"The mouth of the righteous speaketh _wisdom_,\"--unlike Nabal, a fool by\nname and a fool by nature. The great duty enforced is that of waiting on\nthe Lord; not merely because it is right in itself to do so, but because\n\"He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as\nthe noonday.\"\n\nThe chapter ends with Abigail's marriage to David. We are told, at the\nsame time, that he had another wife, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and that\nMichal, Saul's daughter, had been taken from him, and given to another.\nThese statements cannot but grate upon our ear, indicating a laxity in\nmatrimonial relations very far removed from our modern standard alike of\nduty and of delicacy. We cannot acquit David of a want of patience and\nself-restraint in these matters; undoubtedly it is a blot in his\ncharacter, and it is a blot that led to very serious results. It was an\nelement of coarseness in a nature that in most things was highly\nrefined. David missed the true ideal of family life, the true ideal of\nlove, the true ideal of purity. His polygamy was not indeed imputed to\nhim as a crime; it was tolerated in him, as it had been tolerated in\nJacob and in others; but its natural and indeed almost necessary effects\nwere not obviated. In his family it bred strife, animosity, division;\nit bred fearful crimes among brothers and sisters; while, in his own\ncase, his unsubdued animalism stained his conscience with the deepest\nsins, and rent his heart with terrible sorrows. How dangerous is even\none vulnerable spot--one unsubdued lust of evil! The fable represented\nthat the heel of Achilles, the only vulnerable part of his body, because\nhis mother held him by it when she dipped him in the Styx, was the spot\non which he received his fatal wound. It was through an unmortified lust\nof the flesh that nearly all David's sorrows came. How emphatic in this\nview the prayer of the Apostle--\"I pray God that your whole spirit and\nsoul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord.\" And\nhow necessary and appropriate the exhortation, \"Put on the _whole_\narmour of God\"--girdle, breastplate, sandals, helmet, sword--all; leave\nno part unprotected, \"that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,\nand having done all to stand.\"\n\nThus, then, it appears, that for all that was beautiful in David he was\nnot a perfect character, and not without stains that seriously affected\nthe integrity and consistency of his life. In that most important part\nof a young man's duty--to obtain full command of himself, yield to no\nunlawful bodily indulgence, and do nothing that, directly or indirectly,\ncan tend to lower the character or impair the delicacy of women,--David,\ninstead of an example, is a beacon. Greatly though his early trials were\nblessed in most things, they were not blessed in all things. We must\nnot, for this reason, turn from him as some do, with scorn. We are to\nadmire and imitate the qualities that were so fine, especially in early\nlife. Would that many of us were like him in his tenderness, his\ngodliness, and his attachment to his people! His name is one of the\nembalmed names of Holy Writ,--all the more that when he did become\nconscious of his sin, no man ever repented more bitterly; and no man's\nspirit, when bruised and broken, ever sent more of the fragrance as \"of\nmyrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.\n\n_DAVID'S SECOND FLIGHT TO GATH._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxvii.; xxviii. 1, 2; xxix.\n\n\nWe are not prepared for the sad decline in the spirit of trust which is\nrecorded in the beginning of the twenty-seventh chapter. The victory\ngained by David over the carnal spirit of revenge, shown so signally in\nhis sparing the life of Saul a second time, would have led us to expect\nthat he would never again fall under the influence of carnal fear. But\nthere are strange ebbs and flows in the spiritual life, and sometimes a\nvictory brings its dangers, as well as its glory. Perhaps this very\nconquest excited in David the spirit of self-confidence; he may have had\nless sense of his need of daily strength from above; and he may have\nfallen into the state of mind against which the Apostle warns us, \"Let\nhim that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\"\n\nIn his collision with Nabal we saw him fail in what seemed one of his\nstrong points--the very spirit of self-control which he had exercised so\nremarkably toward Saul; and now we see him fail in another of his strong\npoints--the spirit of trust toward God. Could anything show more clearly\nthat even the most eminent graces of the saints spring from no native\nfountain of goodness within them, but depend on the continuance of their\nvital fellowship with Him of whom the Psalmist said, \"All my springs\nare in Thee\"? (Psalm lxxxvii. 7). Carelessness and prayerlessness\ninterrupt that fellowship; the supply of daily strength ceases to come;\ntemptation arises, and they become weak like other men. \"_Abide_ in Me,\"\nsaid our Lord, with special emphasis on the need of permanence in the\nrelation; and the prophet says, \"They that wait on the Lord,\" as a\nhabitual exercise, \"shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with\nwings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk\nand not faint.\"\n\nThe most strange thing about David's new decline is, that it led him to\ntry a device which he had tried before, and which had proved a great\nfailure. We see him retreating before an enemy he had often conquered;\nretreating, too, by a path every foot of which he had traversed, and\nwith whose bitter ending he was already familiar. Just as before, his\ndeclension begins with distrust; and just as before, dissimulation is\nthe product of the distrustful spirit. He is brought into the most\npainful dilemma, and into experience of the most grievous disaster; but\nGod, in His infinite mercy, extricates him from the one and enables him\nto retrieve the other. It is affliction that brings him to his senses\nand drives him to God; it is the returning spirit of prayer and trust\nthat sustains him in his difficulties, and at last brings to him, from\nthe hand of God, a merciful deliverance from them all.\n\nOur first point of interest is the growth and manifestation of the\nspirit of distrust. \"David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day\nby the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should\nspeedily escape into the land of the Philistines.\" We find it difficult\nto account for the sudden triumph of this very despondent feeling. It\nis hardly enough to say that David could have had no confidence in\nSaul's expressions of regret and declared purposes of amendment. That\nwas no new feature of the case. Perhaps one element of the explanation\nmay be, that Saul, with his three thousand men, had not only become\nfamiliar with all David's hiding-places, but had stationed troops in\nvarious parts of the district that would so hamper his movements as to\nhem him in as in a prison. Then also there may have been some new\noutbreak of the malignant fury of Cush the Benjamite, and other enemies\nwho were about Saul, rousing the king to even more earnest efforts than\never to apprehend him. There is yet another circumstance in David's\nsituation, that has not, we think, obtained the notice it deserves, but\nwhich may have had a very material influence on his decision. David had\nnow two wives with him, Abigail the widow of Nabal, and Ahinoam the\nJezreelitess. He would naturally be desirous to provide them with the\ncomforts of a settled home. A band of young men might put up with the\nrisks and discomforts of a roaming life, which it would not be possible\nfor women to bear. The rougher sex might think nothing of midnight\nremovals, and attacks in the dark, and scampers over wild passes and\nrugged mountains at all hours of the day and night, and snatches of food\nat irregular times, and all the other experiences which David and his\nmen had borne patiently and cheerfully in the earlier stages of their\noutlaw history. But for women this was unsuitable. It is true that this\nalone would not have led David to say, \"I shall one day perish by the\nhand of Saul.\" But it would increase his sense of difficulty; it would\nmake him feel more keenly the embarrassments of his situation; it would\nhelp to overwhelm him. And when he was thus at his wit's end, the sense\nof danger from Saul would become more and more serious. The tension of a\nmind thus pressed on every side is something terrible. Pressed and\ntortured by invincible difficulties, David gives way to despair--\"I\nshall one day perish by the hand of Saul.\"\n\nLet us observe the manner in which this feeling grew to such strength as\nto give rise to a new line of conduct. It got entrance into _his heart_.\nIt hovered about him in a somewhat loose form, before he took hold of\nit, and resolved to act upon it. It approached him in the same manner in\nwhich temptation approaches many a one, first presenting itself to the\nimagination and the feelings, trying to get hold of them, and then\ngetting possession of the will, and turning the whole man in the desired\ndirection. Like a skilful adversary who first attacks an outpost,\napparently of little value, but when he has got it erects on it a\nbattery by which he is able to conquer a nearer position, and thus\ngradually approaches, till at last the very citadel is in his hands,--so\nsin at first hovers about the outposts of the soul. Often it seems at\nfirst just to play with the imagination; one fancies this thing and the\nother, this sensual indulgence or that act of dishonesty; and then,\nhaving become familiar with it there, one admits it to the inner\nchambers of the soul, and ere long the lust bringeth forth sin. The\nlesson not to let sin play even with the imagination, but drive it\nthence the moment one becomes conscious of its presence, cannot be\npressed too strongly. Have you ever studied the language of the Lord's\nPrayer?--\"Lead us not _into_ temptation.\" You are being led into\ntemptation whenever you are led to think, with interest and half\nlonging, of any sinful indulgence. Wisdom demands of you that the\nmoment you are conscious of such a feeling you resolutely exclaim, \"Get\nthee behind me, Satan!\" It is the tempter trying to establish a foothold\nin the outworks, meaning, when he has done so, to advance nearer and\nnearer to the citadel, till at last you shall find him in strong\npossession, and your soul entangled in the meshes of perdition.\n\nThe conclusion to which David came, under the influence of distrust, as\nto the best course for him to follow shows what opposite decisions may\nbe arrived at, according to the point of view at which men take their\nstand. \"There is nothing better for me than that I should escape\nspeedily into the land of the Philistines.\" From a more correct point of\nview, nothing could have been worse. Had Moses thought of his prospects\nfrom the same position, he would have said, \"There is nothing better for\nme than to remain the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and enjoy all the good\nthings to which Providence has so remarkably called me;\" but standing on\nthe ground of faith, his conclusion was precisely the opposite. Looking\nabroad over the world with the eye of sense, the young man may say,\n\"There is nothing better for me than that I should rejoice in my youth,\nand that my heart should cheer me in the days of my youth, and that I\nshould walk in the ways of mine heart and in the sight of mine eyes.\"\nBut the eye of faith sees ominous clouds and gathering storms in the\ndistance, which show that there could be nothing worse.\n\nAs usual, David's error was connected with the omission of prayer. We\nfind no clause in this chapter, \"Bring hither the ephod.\" He asked no\ncounsel of God; he did not even sit down to deliberate calmly on the\nmatter. The impulse to which he yielded required him to decide at once.\nThe word \"speedily\" indicates the presence of panic, the action of a\ntumultuous force on his mind, inducing him to act as promptly as one\ndoes in raising one's arm to ward off a threatened blow. Possibly he had\nthe feeling that, if God's mind were consulted, it would be contrary to\nhis desire, and on that ground, like too many persons, he may have\nshrunk from honest prayer. How different from the spirit of the\npsalm--\"Show me Thy ways, O Lord, teach me Thy paths; lead me in Thy\ntruth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I\nwait all the day.\" Dost thou imagine, David, that the Lord's arm is\nshortened that it cannot save, and His ear heavy that it cannot hear?\nWould not He who delivered you in six troubles cause that in seven no\nevil should touch thee? Has He not promised that thou shalt be hid from\nthe scourge of the tongue, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction\nwhen it cometh? Dost thou not know that thy seed shall be great and\nthine offspring as the grass of the earth? Thou shalt come to thy grave\nin a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.\n\nSo \"David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were\nwith him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.\" It is thought by\nsome that this was a different king from the former, the name Achish\nlike the name Pharaoh being used by all the kings. At first the\narrangement seemed to succeed. Achish appears to have received him\nkindly. \"David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with\nhis household, even David with his two wives.\" The emphasis laid on the\nhousehold and the wives shows how difficult it had been to provide for\nthem before. And Saul, at last, gave up the chase, and sought for him no\nmore. Of course, in giving him a friendly reception, Achish must have\nhad a view to his own interest. He would calculate on making use of him\nin his battles with Saul, and very probably give an incredulous smile if\nhe heard anything of the scruples he had shown to lift up his hand\nagainst the Lord's anointed.\n\nAvailing himself of the favourable impression made on Achish, David now\nbegs to have a country town allotted to him as his residence, so as to\navoid what appeared the unseemliness of his dwelling in the royal city\nwith him. There was much common sense in the demand, and Achish could\nnot but feel it. Gath was but a little place, and Achish, if he was but\nlord of Gath, was not a very powerful king. The presence in such a place\nof a foreign prince, with a retinue of soldiers six hundred strong, was\nhardly becoming. Possibly Achish's own body guard did not come up in\nnumber and in prowess to the troop of David. The request for a separate\nresidence was therefore granted readily, and Ziklag was assigned to\nDavid. It lay near the southern border of the Philistines, close to the\nsouthern desert. At Ziklag he was away from the eye of the lords of the\nPhilistines that had always viewed him with such jealousy; he was far\naway from the still greater jealousy of Saul; and with Geshurites, and\nGezrites, and Amalekites in his neighbourhood, the natural enemies of\nhis country, he had opportunities of using his troop so as at once to\nimprove their discipline and promote the welfare of his native land.\n\nThere was another favourable occurrence in David's experience at this\ntime. From a parallel passage (1 Chron. xii.) we learn that during his\nresidence among the Philistines he was constantly receiving important\naccessions to his troop. One set of men who came to him, Benjamites, of\nthe tribe of Saul, were remarkably skilful in the use of the bow and the\nsling, able to use either right hand or left with equal ease. The men\nthat came to him were not from one tribe only, but from many. A very\nimportant section were from Benjamin and Judah. At first David seemed to\nhave some suspicion of their sincerity. Going out to meet them he said\nto them, \"If ye be come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be\nknit unto you; but if ye be come to betray me to my enemies, seeing\nthere is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look thereon and\nrebuke it.\" The answer was given by Amasai, in the spirit and rhythmical\nlanguage of prophecy: \"Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of\nJesse; peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy\nGod helpeth thee.\" Thus he was continually receiving evidence of the\nfavour in which he was held by his people, and his band was continually\nincreasing, \"until it was a great host, like the host of God.\" It\nseemed, up to this point, as if Providence had favoured his removal to\nthe land of the Philistines, and brought to him the security and the\nprosperity which he could not find in the land of Judah. But it was\nill-gained security and only mock-prosperity; the day of his troubles\ndrew on.\n\nThe use which, as we have seen, he made of his troop was to invade the\nGeshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites. In taking this step David\nhad a sinister purpose. It would not have been so agreeable to the\nPhilistines to learn that the arms of David had been turned against\nthese tribes as against his own countrymen. When therefore he was asked\nby Achish where he had gone that day, he returned an answer fitted, and\nindeed intended, to deceive. Without saying in words, \"I have been\nfighting against my own people in the south of Judah,\" he led Achish to\nbelieve that he had, and he was pleased when his words were taken in\nthat sense. Achish, we are told, believed David, believed that he had\nbeen in arms against his countrymen. \"He hath made his people Israel\nutterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.\" Could\nthere have been a more lamentable spectacle? one of the noblest of men\nstained by the meanness of a false insinuation; David, the anointed of\nthe God of Israel, ranged with the common herd of liars!\n\nNor was this the only error into which his crooked policy now led him.\nTo cover his deceitful course he had recourse to an act of terrible\ncarnage. It was deemed by him important that no one should be able to\ncarry to Achish a faithful report of what he had been doing. To prevent\nthis he made a complete massacre, put to death every man, woman, child\nof the Amalekites and other tribes whom he now attacked. Such massacres\nwere indeed quite common in Eastern warfare. The Bulgarian and other\nmassacres of which we have heard in our own day show that even yet,\nafter an interval of nearly three thousand years, they are not foreign\nto the practice of Eastern nations. In point of fact, they were not\nthought more of, or worse of, than any of the other incidents of war.\nWar was held to bind up into one bundle the whole lives and property of\nthe enemy, and give to the conqueror supreme control over it. To destroy\nthe whole was just the same in principle as to destroy a part. If the\ndestruction of the whole was necessary in order to carry out the objects\nof the campaign, it was not more wicked to perpetrate such destruction\nthan to destroy a part.\n\nTrue, according to our modern view, there is something mean in falling\non helpless, defenceless women and children, and slaughtering them in\ncold blood. And yet our modern ideas allow the bombardment or the\nbesieging of great cities, and the bringing of the more slow but\nterrible process of starvation to bear against women and children and\nall, in order to compel a surrender. Much though modern civilisation has\ndone to lessen the horrors of war, if we approve of all its methods we\ncannot afford to hold up our hands in horror at those which were judged\nallowable in the days of David. Yet surely, you may say, we might have\nexpected better things of David. We might have expected him to break\naway from the common sentiment, and to show more humanity. But this\nwould not have been reasonable. For it is very seldom that the\nindividual conscience, even in the case of the best men, becomes\nsensible at once of the vices of its age. How many good men in this\ncountry, in the early part of this century, were zealous defenders of\nslavery, and in America down to a much later time! There is nothing more\nneedful for us in studying history, even Old Testament history, than to\nremember that very remarkable individual excellence may be found in\nconnection with a great amount of the vices of the age. We cannot\nattempt to show that David was not guilty of a horrible carnage in his\ntreatment of the Amalekites. All we can say is, he shared in the belief\nof the time that such carnage was a lawful incident of war. We cannot\nbut feel that in the whole circumstances it left a stain upon his\ncharacter; and yet he may have engaged in it without any consciousness\nof barbarity, without any idea that the day would come when his friends\nwould blush for the deed.\n\nThe Philistines were now preparing a new campaign under Achish against\nSaul and his kingdom, and Achish determined that David should go with\nhim; further, that he should go in the capacity of \"keeper of his head,\"\nor captain of his body guard, and that this should not be a temporary\narrangement, but permanent--\"for ever.\" It is difficult for us to\nconceive the depth of the embarrassment into which this intimation must\nhave plunged David. We must bear in mind how scrupulous and sensitive\nhis conscience was as to raising his hand against the Lord's anointed;\nand we must take into account the horror he must have felt at the\nthought of rushing in deadly array against his own dear countrymen, with\nmost of whom he had had no quarrel, and who had never done him any harm.\nWhen Achish made him head of his body guard he paid a great compliment\nto his fidelity and bravery; but in proportion as the post was\nhonourable it was disagreeable and embarrassing. For David and his men\nwould have to fight close to Achish, under his very eye; and any\nsymptoms of holding back from the fray--any inclination to be off, or to\nspare the foe, which natural feeling might have dictated in the hour of\nbattle, must be resisted in presence of the king. Perhaps David reckoned\nthat if the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines he might be able\nto make better terms for them--might even be of use to Saul himself, and\nthus render such services as would atone for his hostile attitude. But\nthis was a wretched consolation. David was entangled so that he could\nneither advance nor retreat. Before him was GOD, closing His path in\nfront; behind him was MAN, closing it in rear; and we may well believe\nhe would have willingly given all he possessed if only his feet could\nhave been clear and his conscience upright as before.\n\nStill, he does not appear to have returned to a candid frame of mind,\nbut rather to have continued the dissimulation. He had gone with Achish\nas far as the battlefield, when it pleased God, in great mercy, to\nextricate him from his difficulty by using the jealousy of the lords of\nthe Philistines as the means of his dismissal from the active service of\nKing Achish. But instead of gladly retiring when he received intimation\nthat his services were dispensed with, we find him (chap. xxix. 8)\nremonstrating with Achish, speaking as if it were a disappointment not\nto be allowed to go with him, and as if he thirsted for an opportunity\nof chastising his countrymen. It is sad to find him continuing in this\nstrain. We are told that the time during which he abode in the country\nof the Philistines was a full year and four months. It was to all\nappearance a time of spiritual declension; and as distrust ruled his\nheart, so dissimulation ruled his conduct. It could hardly have been\nother than a time of merely formal prayers and comfortless spiritual\nexperience. If he would but have allowed himself to believe it, he was\nfar happier in the cave of Adullam or the wilderness of Engedi, when the\ncandle of the Lord shone upon his head, than he was afterwards amid the\nsplendour of the palace of Achish, or the princely independence of\nZiklag.\n\nThe only bright spot in this transaction was the very cordial testimony\nborne by Achish to the faultless way in which David had uniformly served\nhim. It is seldom indeed that such language as Achish employed can be\nused of any servant--\"I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel\nof God.\" Achish must have been struck with the utter absence of\ntreachery and of all self-seeking in David. David had shown that\nsingular, unblemished trustworthiness that earned such golden opinions\nfor Joseph in the house of Potiphar and from the keeper of the prison.\nIn this respect he had kept his light shining before men with a clear,\nunclouded lustre. Even amid his spiritual backsliding and sad distrust\nof God, he had never stained his hands with greed or theft, he had in\nall these respects kept himself unspotted of the world.\n\nThe chapter of David's history which we have now been pursuing is a very\npainful one, but the circumstances in which he was placed were extremely\ndifficult and trying. It is impossible to justify the course he took.\nBy-and-bye we shall see how God chastised him for it, and by chastising\nhim brought him to Himself. But to those who are disposed to be very\nsevere on him we might well say, He that is without sin among you, let\nhim first cast a stone at him. Who among you have not been induced at\ntimes to try carnal and unworthy expedients for extricating yourselves\nfrom difficulty? Who, in days of boyhood or girlhood, never told a\nfalsehood to cover a fault? Who of you have been uniformly accustomed to\ncarry to God every difficulty and trial, with the honest, immovable\ndetermination to do simply and solely what might seem to be agreeable to\nGod's will? Have we not all cause to mourn over conduct that has\ndishonoured God and distressed our consciences? May He give all of us\nlight to see wherein we have come short in the past, or wherein we are\ncoming short in the present. And from the bottom of our hearts may we be\ntaught to raise our prayer, From all the craft and cunning of Satan;\nfrom all the devices of the carnal mind; from all that blinds us to the\npure and perfect will of God--good Lord, deliver us.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV.\n\n_SAUL AT ENDOR._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxviii. 3-25.\n\n\nFor a considerable time Saul had been drifting along like a crippled\nvessel at sea, a melancholy example of a man forsaken of God. But as his\ndecisive encounter with the Philistines drew on, the state of\nhelplessness to which he had been reduced became more apparent than\never. He had sagacity enough to perceive that the expedition which the\nPhilistines were now leading against him was the most formidable that\nhad ever taken place in his day. It was no ordinary battle that was to\nbe fought; it was one that would decide the fate of the country. The\nmagnitude of the expedition on his part is apparent from an expression\nin the fourth verse--\"Saul gathered all Israel together.\" The place of\nencounter was not any of the old battle-fields with the Philistines.\nUsually the engagements had taken place in some of the valleys that ran\ndown from the territories of Dan, or Benjamin, or Judah into the\nPhilistine plain, or on the heights above these. But such places were\ncomparatively contracted, and did not afford scope for great bodies of\ntroops. This time the Philistines chose a wider and more commanding\nbattlefield. Advancing northwards along their own maritime plain, and\nbeyond it along the plain of Sharon, they turned eastwards into the\ngreat plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, and occupied the northern side of\nthe plain. The troops of Saul were encamped on the southern side,\noccupying the northern slope of Mount Gilboa. There the two armies faced\neach other, the wide plain stretching between.\n\nIt was a painful moment for Saul when he got his first view of the\nPhilistine host, for the sight of it filled him with consternation. It\nwould appear to have surpassed that of Israel very greatly in numbers,\nin resources, as it certainly did in its confident spirit. Yet, if Saul\nhad been a man of faith, none of these things would have moved him. Was\nit not in that very neighbourhood that Barak, with his hasty levies, had\ninflicted a signal defeat on the Canaanites? And was it not in that very\nplain that the hosts of Midian lay encamped in the days of Gideon, when\nthe barley cake rolling into their camp overturned and terrified the\nhost, and a complete discomfiture followed? Why should not the Lord work\nas great a deliverance now? If God was with them, He was more than all\nthat could be against them. Might not this be another of the days\nforetold by Moses, when one should chase a thousand, and two put ten\nthousand to flight?\n\nYes, _if_ God was with them. All turned upon that _if_. And Saul felt\nthat God was not with them, and that they could not count on any such\ndeliverance as, in better times, had been vouchsafed to their fathers.\n\nAnd why, O Saul, when you felt thus, did you not humble yourself before\nGod, confess all your sins, and implore Him to show you mercy? Why did\nyou not cry, \"Return, O Lord, how long? And let it repent Thee\nconcerning Thy servants\"? Would you have found God inexorable? Would His\near have been heavy that it could not hear? Don't you remember how\nMoses said that when Israel, in sore bondage, should cry humbly to God,\nthe Lord would hear his cry, and have mercy on him? Why, O Saul, do you\nnot fall in the dust before Him?\n\nSomehow Saul felt that he could not. Among other effects of sin and\nrebellion, one of the worst is a stiffening of the soul, making it hard\nand rigid, so that it cannot bend, it cannot melt, it cannot change its\ncourse. The long career of wilfulness that Saul had followed had\nproduced in him this stiffening effect; his spirit was hardened in its\nown ways, and incapable of all exercise of contrition or humiliation, or\nanything essentially different from the course he had been following.\nThere are times in the life of a deeply afflicted woman when the best\nthing she could do would be to weep, but that is just the thing she\ncannot do. There are times when the best thing an inveterate sinner\ncould do would be to fling himself before God and sob for mercy, but\nfling himself before God and sob he cannot. Saul was incapable of that\nexercise of soul which would have saved him and his people. Most\nterrible effect of cherished sin! It dries up the fountains of\ncontrition and they will not flow. It stiffens the knees and they will\nnot bend. It paralyses the voice and it will not cry. It blinds the eyes\nand they see not the Saviour. It closes the ears and the voice of mercy\nis unheard. It drives the distressed one to wells without water, to\nrefuges of lies, to trees twice dead, to physicians who have no\nmedicines, to gods who have no salvation; all he feels is that his case\nis desperate, and yet somewhere or other he must have help!\n\nSaul did not neglect the outward means by which in other days God had\nbeen accustomed to direct the nation. He tried every authorized way he\ncould think of for getting guidance from above. He believed in a\nheavenly power, and he asked its guidance and its help. But God took no\nnotice of him. He answered him neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by\nprophets. Men, though in heart rebellious against God's will, will go\nthrough a great deal of mechanical service in the hope of securing His\nfavour. It is not their muscles that get stiffened, but their souls.\nWhat a strange conception they must have of God when they fancy that\nmere external services will please Him! How little Saul knew of God when\nhe supposed that, overlooking all the rebellion of his heart, God would\nrespond to a mechanical effort or efforts to communicate with Him! Don't\nyou know, O Saul, that your iniquities have separated between you and\nyour God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not\nhear? Nothing will have the least effect on Him till you own your sin.\n\"I will go and return unto My place, until they acknowledge their\noffence and seek My face.\" And this is just what you will not, cannot\ndo! How infinitely precious would one tear of genuine repentance have\nbeen in that dark hour! It would have saved thousands of the Israelites\nfrom a bloody death; it would have saved the nation from defeat and\nhumiliation; it would have removed the obstacle to fellowship with the\nHope of Israel, who would have stood true to His ancient\ncharacter,--\"the Saviour thereof in time of trouble.\"\n\nBut Saul's day of grace was over, and accordingly we find him driven to\nthe most humbling expedient to which a man can stoop--seeking counsel\nfrom a quarter against which, in his more prosperous days, he had\ndirected his special energies, as a superstitious, demoralizing agency.\nHe had been most zealous in exterminating a class of persons, abounding\nin Eastern countries, who pretend to know the secrets of the future, and\nto have access to the inhabitants of the unseen world. Little could he\nhave dreamt in those days of fiery zeal that a time would come when he\nwould rejoice to learn that one poor wretch had escaped the vigilance of\nhis officers, and still carried on, or pretended to carry on, a\nnefarious traffic with the realms of the departed! It shows how little\nman is acquainted with the inner feelings of other men--how little he\nknows even himself. Doubtless he thought, in the days of exterminating\nzeal, that it was sheer folly and drivelling superstition that\nencouraged these sorcerers, and that by clearing them away he would be\nridding the land of a mass of rubbish that could be of service to no\none. He did not consider that there are times of wretchedness and\ndespair when the soul that knows not God will seek counsel even of men\nwith a familiar spirit--he little dreamt that such would be the case\nwith himself. \"Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing?\" he\nwould have asked with great indignation in those early days, if it had\nbeen insinuated that he would ever be tempted to resort to such\ncounsellors. \"What better could I ever be of anything they could tell\nme? Surely it would be wiser to meet any conceivable danger full in the\nface than to seek after such counsel as they could give!\" He did not\nconsider that when man's spirit is overwhelmed within him, and his\ncraving for help is like the passion of a madman, he will clutch like a\ndrowning man at a straw, he will even resort to a woman with a familiar\nspirit, if, peradventure, some hint can be got to extricate him from his\nmisery.\n\nBut to this complexion it came at last. With dreadful sacrifice of\nself-respect, Saul had to ask his advisers to seek out for him a woman\nof this description. They were able to tell him of such a woman residing\nat Endor, about ten miles from where they were. With two attendants he\nset out after nightfall, disguised, and found her. Naturally, she was\nafraid to do anything in the way of business in the face of such\nmeasures as the king had taken against all of her craft, nor would she\nstir until she had got a solemn promise that she would not be molested\nin any way. Then, when all was ready, she asked whom she should call up.\n\"Call up Samuel,\" said Saul. To the great astonishment of the woman\nherself, she sees Samuel rising up. A shriek from her indicates that she\nis as much astonished and for the moment frightened as anyone can be.\nEvidently she did not expect such an apparition. The effect was much too\ngreat for the cause. She sees that in this apparition a power is\nconcerned much beyond what she can wield. Instinctively she apprehends\nthat the only man of importance enough to receive such a supernatural\nvisit must be the head of the nation. \"Why did you deceive me?\" she\nsaid, \"for thou art Saul.\" \"Never mind that,\" is virtually Saul's reply;\n\"but tell me what you have seen.\" The Revised Version gives her answer\nbetter than the older one--\"I saw a god arise out of the earth.\" \"What\nis his appearance?\" earnestly asks Saul. \"He is an old man, and he is\ncovered with a mantle.\" And Saul sees that it is really Samuel.\n\nBut what was it that really happened, and how did it come about? That\nthe woman was able, even if she really had the aid of evil spirits, to\nbring Samuel into Saul's presence we cannot believe. Nor could she\nbelieve it herself. If Samuel really appeared--and the narrative assumes\nthat he did--it must have been by a direct miracle, God supernaturally\nclothing his spirit in something like its old form, and bringing him\nback to earth to speak to Saul. In judgment it seemed good to God to let\nSaul have his desire, and to give him a real interview with Samuel. \"He\ngave him his request, but sent leanness to his soul.\" So far from having\nhis fears allayed and his burden removed, Saul was made to see from\nSamuel's communication that there was nothing but ruin before him; and\nhe must have gone back to the painful duty of the morrow staggering\nunder a load heavier than before.\n\nSamuel begins the conversation; and he does so by reproaching Saul for\nhaving disquieted him, and brought him back from his peaceful home above\nto mingle again in the strife and turmoil of human things. Nothing can\nexceed the haggard and weird desolation of Saul's answer. \"I am sore\ndistressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed\nfrom me and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams:\ntherefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I\nshall do.\" Was ever a king in such a plight? Who would have thought,\nwhen Samuel and Saul first came together, and Saul listened so\nrespectfully to the prophet counselling him concerning the kingdom, that\ntheir last meeting should be like this? In all Saul's statement there is\nno word that carries such a load of meaning and of despair as this--\"God\nis departed from me.\" It is the token of universal confusion and\ncalamity. And Saul felt it, and as no one understood these things like\nSamuel, he had sought Samuel to counsel his wayward son, to tell him\nwhat to do.\n\nIt is not every sinner that makes the discovery in this life what awful\nresults follow when God is departed from him. But if the discovery does\nnot dawn on one in this life, it will come on him with overwhelming\nforce in the life to come. Men little think what they are preparing for\nthemselves when they say to God, \"Depart from us, for we desire not the\nknowledge of Thy ways.\" The service of God is irksome; the restraints of\nGod's law are distressing; they like a free life, freedom to please\nthemselves. And so they part company with God. The form of Divine\nservice may be kept up or it may not: but God is not their God, and\nGod's will is not their rule. They have left God's ways, they have\nfollowed their own. And when conscience has sometimes given them a\ntwinge, when God has reminded them by the silent monitor of His claims,\ntheir answer has been, Let us alone, what have we to do with Thee?\nDepart from us, leave us in peace. Ah! how little have you considered\nthat the most awful thing that could happen to you is just for God to\ndepart from you! If we could conceive the earth a sensitive being, and\nsomehow to get a dislike for the sun, and to pray the sun to depart from\nher, how awful would be the fulfilment! Losing all the genial influences\nthat brighten her surface, that cover her face with beauty and enrich\nher soil with abundance, all the foul and slimy creatures of darkness\nwould creep out, all the noxious influences of dissolution and death\nwould riot in their terrible freedom! And is not this but a poor faint\npicture of man forsaken by God! O sinner, if ever thy wish should be\nfulfilled, how wilt thou curse the day in which thou didst utter it!\nWhen vile lusts rise to uncontrollable authority--when those whom you\nlove turn hopelessly wicked, when you find yourselves joyless, helpless,\nhopeless, when you try to repent and cannot repent, when you try to pray\nand cannot pray, when you try to be pure and cannot be pure--what a\nterrible calamity you will then feel it that God is departed from you!\nTrifle not, O man, with thy relation to God; and let not thy history be\nsuch that it shall have to be written in the words of the prophet--\"But\nthey rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit; therefore He was turned to be\ntheir enemy and He fought against them\" (Isaiah lxiii. 10).\n\nThere was no comfort for Saul in Samuel's reply, but much the contrary.\nWhy should he have asked advice of the Lord's servant, when he owned\nthat he was forsaken by the Lord Himself? What could the servant do for\nhim if the Master was become his enemy? What can a priest or a minister\ndo for any man if God has turned His face away from him? Can he make God\ndeny Himself, and become favourable to one who has scorned or sinned\naway His Holy Spirit? Saul was experiencing no more than he had just\nreason to expect since that fatal day when he had first deliberately set\nup his own will above God's will in the affair of Amalek. In the course\nwhich he began then, he had persistently continued, and God was now just\nexecuting the threatenings which Saul had braved. And next day would\nwitness the last of his sad history. The Lord would deliver Israel into\nthe hands of the Philistines; in the collision of the armies he and his\nsons would be slain; disaster to his arms, death to himself, and\ndestruction to his dynasty would all come together on that miserable\nday.\n\nIt is no wonder that Saul was utterly prostrated: \"He fell straightway\nall along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of\nSamuel; and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all\nthe day, nor all the night.\" He could not have expected that the\ninterview with Samuel would be a pleasant one, but he never imagined\nthat it would announce such awful calamities. Have you not known\nsometimes the terrible sensation when you had heard there was something\nwrong with some of your friends, and on going to inquire, discovered\nthat the calamity was infinitely worse than you had ever dreamt of? A\nmomentary paralysis comes over one; you are stunned and made helpless by\nthe tidings. We may even be tempted to think that surely Samuel was too\nhard on Saul; might he not have tempered his awful message by some\nqualifying word of hope and mercy? The answer is, Samuel spoke the\ntruth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We are all prone to\nthe thought that when evil men get their doom there will surely be\nsomething to modify or mitigate its rigour. Samuel's words to Saul\nindicate no such relaxation. Moral law will vindicate itself as natural\nlaw vindicates itself--\"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also\nreap.\"\n\nThe last incident in the chapter is interesting and pleasing. We might\nhave thought that such a calling as that followed by the witch of Endor\nwould have destroyed all the humanities in her nature; that she would\nhave looked on the king's distress with a cold, stoical eye, and that\nher only concern would be to obtain for herself a fee adapted to the\noccasion. But she shows much of the woman left in her after all. When\nshe rehearses her service, and the peril of her life at which it has\nbeen rendered, to prepare the way for her asking a favour, the favour\nwhich she does ask is not for herself at all,--it is on Saul's own\nbehalf, that she might be permitted the honour of preparing for him a\nmeal. Saul's mind is too much occupied and too much agitated to care\nfor anything of the kind. Still prostrate on the ground he says, \"I will\nnot eat.\" Men overwhelmed by calamity hate to eat, they are too excited\nto experience hunger. It was only when his servants, thinking how much\nhe had gone through already, how much more he had to go through on the\nmorrow, and how utterly unfit his exhausted body was for the strain--it\nwas then only that he yielded to the request of the woman. And the woman\nshowed that, for all her sinister business, she was equal to the\noccasion of entertaining a king. The \"fat calf in the house\"\ncorresponded to the \"fatted calf\" in the parable of the prodigal son. It\nwas not the custom even in families of the richer class to eat meat at\nordinary meals; it was reserved for feasts and extraordinary occasions;\nand in order to be ready for any emergency a calf was kept close to the\nhouse, whose flesh, from the delicate way in which it was reared and\nfed, was tender enough to be served even at so hasty a meal. With cakes\nof unleavened bread, this dish could be presented very rapidly, and,\nunlike the hasty meals which are common among us, was really a more\nsubstantial and nourishing entertainment than ordinary. It is touching\nto mark these traces of womanly feeling in this unhappy being, reminding\nus of the redeeming features of Rahab the harlot. What effect the whole\ntransaction had on the woman we are not told, and it would be vain to\nconjecture.\n\nAnd now Saul retraces his dark and dreary way southward to the heights\nof Gilboa. We can hardly exaggerate his miserable condition. He had much\nto think of, and he would have needed a clear, unclouded mind. We can\nthink of him only as miserably distracted, and unable to let his mind\nsettle on anything. It would have needed his utmost resources to\narrange for the battle of to-morrow, a battle in which he knew that\ndefeat was coming, but which he might endeavour, nevertheless, to make\nas little disastrous as possible. Moreover, he knew it was to be the\nlast day of his life, and troubled thoughts could not but steal in on\nhim as to what should happen when he stood before God. No doubt, too,\nthere were many sad thoughts about his sons, who were to be involved in\nthe same fate as himself. Was there no way of saving any of them? The\narrangement of his temporal effects, too, would claim attention, for,\nrestless and excitable as he had been, it was not likely that his\nprivate affairs would be in very good order. Anon his thoughts might\nwander back to his first interview with Samuel, and bitter remorse would\nsend its pang through him as he thought how differently he might have\nleft the kingdom if he had faithfully followed the counsels of the\nprophet. Possibly amid all these gloomy thoughts one thought of a\nbrighter order might steal into his mind--how thoroughly David, who\nwould come to the throne after him, would retrieve his errors and\nrestore prosperity, and make the kingdom what it had never been under\nhim, a model kingdom, worthy to shadow forth the glories of Messiah's\ncoming reign. Poor distracted man, he was little fitted either to fight\na battle with the Philistines or to encounter the last enemy on his own\naccount. What a lesson to be prepared beforehand! On a deathbed,\nespecially a sudden one, distractions can hardly fail to visit us--this\nthing and the other thing needing to be arranged and thought of. Happy\nthey who at such a moment can say, \"I am now ready to depart.\" \"Into Thy\nhands I commend my spirit, for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of\ntruth.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV.\n\n_DAVID AT ZIKLAG._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxx.\n\n\nAfter David had received from King Achish the appointment of captain of\nhis body guard, he had with his troops accompanied the Philistine army,\npassing along the maritime plain to the very end of their journey--to\nthe spot selected for battle, close to \"the fountain which is in\nJezreel.\" It seems to have been only after the whole Philistine host\nwere ranged in battle array that the presence of David and his men, who\nremained in the rear to protect the king, arrested the attention of the\nlords of the Philistines, and on their remonstrance they were sent away.\nIt is probable that David's return to Ziklag, and the expedition in\nwhich he had to engage to recover his wives and his property, took place\nat or about the very time when Saul made his journey to Endor, and when\nthe fatal battle of Gilboa was raging. We have seen that though David\nnever, like Saul, threw off the authority of God, he had been following\nways of his own, ways of deceit and unfaithfulness. He too had been\nexposing himself to the displeasure of God, and on him, as on Saul, some\nretribution behoved to fall. But in the two cases we see the difference\nbetween judgment and chastisement. In the case of Saul it was judgment\nthat came down; his life and his career were terminated avowedly as the\npunishment of his offence. In the case of David the rod was lifted to\ncorrect, not to destroy; to bring him back, not to drive him for ever\naway; to fit him for service, not to cut him asunder, or appoint him his\nportion with the hypocrites. There is every reason to believe that the\nawful disaster that befell David on his return to Ziklag was the means\nof restoring him to a trustful and truthful frame.\n\nIt appears from the chapter now before us that, in the absence of David\nand his troop, severe reprisals had been taken by the Amalekites for the\ndefeat and utter destruction which they had lately inflicted on a\nportion of their tribe. We must remember that the Amalekites were a\nwidely dispersed people, consisting of many tribes, each living\nseparately from the rest, but so related that in any emergency they\nwould readily come to one another's help. News of the extermination of\nthe tribes whom David had attacked, and whom he had utterly destroyed\nlest any of them should bring word to Achish of his real employment, had\nbeen brought to their neighbours; and these neighbours determined to\ntake revenge for the slaughter of their kinsmen. The opportunity of\nDavid's absence was taken for invading Ziklag, for which purpose a large\nand well-equipped expedition had been got together; and as they met with\nno opposition, they carried everything before them. Happily, however, as\nthey found no enemies they did not draw the sword; they counted it\nbetter policy to carry off all that could be transported, so as to make\nuse of the goods, and sell the women and children into slavery, and as\nthey had a great multitude of beasts of burden with them (ver. 17) there\ncould be no difficulty in carrying out this plan. It seems very strange\nthat David should have left Ziklag apparently without the protection of\na single soldier; but what seems to us folly had all the effect of\nconsummate wisdom in the end; the passions of the Amalekites were not\nexcited by opposition or by bloodshed; their destructive propensities\nwere satisfied with destroying the town of Ziklag, and every person and\nthing that could be removed was carried away unhurt. But for days to\ncome David could not know that their expedition had been conducted in\nthis unusually peaceful way; his imagination and his fears would picture\nfar darker scenes.\n\nIt must have been an awful moment to David--hardly less so than to Saul\nwhen he saw the host of the Philistines near Jezreel--to reach what had\nbeen recently so peaceful a home and find it a mass of smoking ruins. If\nhe had been disposed to congratulate himself on the success of the\npolicy which had dictated his escape from the land of Judah, and his\nsettling at Ziklag under protection of King Achish, how in one moment\nmust the rottenness of the whole plan have flashed upon him, and how\nawed must he have been at the proof now so clearly afforded that the\nwhole arrangement had been frowned on by the God of heaven! What an\nagony of suspense and distress he must have been in till more definite\nnews could be obtained; and what a burst of despair must have been heard\nthrough the camp when it became known to his followers that the worst\nthat could be conceived had happened--that their houses were all\ndestroyed, their property seized, and their wives and children carried\noff, to be disgraced, or sold, or butchered, as might suit the fancy of\ntheir masters! And then, that remorseless massacre that they had lately\ninflicted on the kinsmen of their invaders, how likely it would be to\nexasperate their passions against them! What mercy would they show\nwhose neighbours had received no mercy? What a dreadful fate would these\nhelpless women and children be now experiencing!\n\nIt was probably one of the bitterest of the many bitter hours that David\never spent. First there was the natural feeling of disappointment, after\na long and weary march, when the comforts of home had been so eagerly\nlooked forward to, and each man seemed already in the embrace of his\nfamily, to find home utterly obliterated, and its place marked by\nblackened ruins. Then there was the far more intense pang to every\naffectionate heart, caused by the carrying off of the members of their\nfamilies; this, it appears, was the predominant feeling of the camp:\n\"the soul of the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his\ndaughters.\" And somehow David was the person blamed, partly perhaps\nthrough that hasty but unjust feeling that blames the leader of an\nexpedition for all the mishaps attending it, and partly also, it may be,\nbecause Ziklag had been left utterly undefended. \"What business had he\nto march us all at the heels of these uncircumcised Philistines, as if\nwe ought to make common cause with them, only to march us back again\njust as we came, to gain nothing there and to lose everything here!\" To\nall this was added a further element of excitement: it was not merely\ncalamities known and seen that worked in the minds of the people; the\ngloom of dreaded but uncertain horrors helped to excite them still more.\nImagination would quickly supply the place of evidence in picturing the\nsituation of their wives and children. The feelings of the troops were\nso fearfully excited against David that they spoke of stoning him. The\nvery men that had lately approached him with the beautiful salutation,\n\"Peace, peace be to thee, and peace be to thine helpers, for thy God\nhelpeth thee,\" now spoke of stoning him. How like the spirit and the\nconduct of their descendants a thousand years later, shouting at one\ntime, \"Hosanna to the Son of David,\" and but a few days after, \"Crucify\nHim, crucify Him.\" The state of David's feelings must have been all the\nmore terrible for the uneasy conscience he had in the matter, for he had\ntoo much cause to feel that the dissembling policy which he had been\npursuing had caused another massacre, more frightful than that of the\npriests after his visit to Nob.\n\nIt is probable that at this awful moment the mind of David was visited\nby a blessed influence from above. The wail of woe that spread through\nhis camp, and the dismal ruins that covered the site of his recent home,\nseem to have spoken to him in that tone of rebuke which the words of the\nprophet afterwards conveyed, \"Thou art the man!\" Under great excitement\nthe mind works with great rapidity, and passes almost with the speed of\nlightning from one mood to another. It is quite possible that under the\nsame electric shock, as we may call it, that brought David to a sense of\nhis sin he was guided back to his former confidence in the mercy and\ngrace of his covenant God. In one instant, we may believe, the miserable\nhollowness of all those carnal devices in which he had been trusting\nwould flash upon his mind, and God--his own loving Father and covenant\nGod--would appear waiting to be gracious and longing for his return. And\nnow the prodigal son is in his Father's arms, weeping, sobbing,\nconfessing, but at the same time feeling the luxury of forgiveness,\nrejoicing, trusting and delighting in His protection and blessing.\n\nIt may indeed be objected that we are proceeding too much on mere\nimagination in supposing that David's return to a condition of holy\ntrust in God was effected in this rapid way. The view may be wrong, and\nwe do not insist on it. What we found on is the very short interval\nbetween his last act of dissimulation in professing to desire to\naccompany Achish to battle, and his manifest restoration to the spirit\nof trust, evinced in the words, applied to him when the people spoke of\nstoning him, \"But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God\" (ver.\n6). These words show that he has got back to the true track at last, and\nfrom that moment prosperity returns. What a blessed thing it was for him\nthat in that hour of utmost need he was able to derive strength from the\nthought of God,--able to think of the Most High as watching him with\ninterest, and still ready to deliver him!\n\nIt was a somewhat similar incident, though not preceded by any such\nprevious backsliding--a similar manifestation of the magical power of\ntrust--that took place in the life of a more modern David, one who in\nserving God and doing good to man had to encounter a life of wandering,\nprivation, and danger seldom surpassed--the African missionary and\nexplorer, David Livingstone. In the course of his great journey from St.\nPaul de Loanda on the west coast of Africa to Quilimane on the east, he\nhad to encounter many an angry and greedy tribe, whom he was too poor to\nbe able to pacify by the ordinary method of valuable presents. On one\noccasion, in the fork at the confluence of the river Loangwa and the\nriver Zambesi, he found one of those hostile tribes. It was necessary\nfor him to have canoes to cross--they would lend him only one. In other\nrespects they showed an attitude of hostility, and the appearances all\npointed to a furious attack the following day. Livingstone was troubled\nat the prospect,--not that he was afraid to die, but because it seemed\nas if all his discoveries in Africa would be lost, and his sanguine\nhopes for planting commerce and Christianity among its benighted and\nteeming tribes knocked on the head. But he remembered the words of the\nLord Jesus Christ, \"Go ye therefore into all the world, and preach the\ngospel unto every creature, and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the\nend of the world.\" On this promise he rested, and steadied his\nfluttering heart. \"It is the word of a gentleman,\" he said, \"the word of\none of the most perfect honour. I will not try, as I once thought, to\nescape by night, but I will wait till to-morrow, and leave before them\nall. Should such a man as I be afraid? I will take my observations for\nlongitude tonight, though it should be my last. My mind is now quite at\nrest, thank God.\" He waited as he had said, and next morning, though the\narrangements of the natives still betokened battle, he and his men were\nallowed to cross the river in successive detachments, without\nmolestation, he himself waiting to the last, and not a hair of their\nheads being hurt. It was a fine instance of a believing Christian\nstrengthening himself in his God. When faith is genuine, and the habit\nof exercising it is active, it can remove mountains.\n\nThe first result of the restored feeling of trust in David was his\ngiving honour to God's appointed ordinance by asking counsel of Him,\nthrough Abiathar the priest, as to the course he should follow. It is\nthe first time we read of him doing so since he left his own country. At\nfirst one wonders how he could have discontinued so precious a means of\nascertaining the will of God and the path of duty. But the truth is,\nwhen a man is left to himself he cares for no advice or direction but\nhis own inclination. He is not desirous to be led; he wishes only to go\ncomfortably. Indifference to God's guidance explains much neglect of\nprayer.\n\nDavid has now made his application, and he has got a clear and decided\nanswer. He can feel now that he is treading on solid ground. How much\nhappier he must have been than when driving hither and thither, scheming\nand dissembling, and floundering from one device of carnal wisdom to\nanother! As for his people, he can think of them now with far more\ntranquillity; have they not been all along in God's keeping, and is it\nnot true that He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps?\n\nWe need not dwell at great length on the incidents that immediately\nfollowed. No events could have fallen out more favourably. One-third of\nhis troops was indeed so exhausted that they had to be left at the brook\nBesor. With the other four hundred he set out in search of the foe. The\nspecial providence of God, so clearly and frequently displayed on this\noccasion, provided a guide for David in the person of an Egyptian slave,\nwho, having fallen sick, had been abandoned by his master, and had been\nthree days and nights without meat or drink. Careful treatment having\nresuscitated this young man, and a solemn assurance having been given\nhim that he would neither be killed nor given back to his master (the\nlatter alternative seems to have been as terrible as the other), he\nconducts them without loss of time to the camp of the Amalekites. Each\nday's journey brought them nearer and nearer to the great wilderness\nwhere, some five or six hundred years before, their fathers had\nencountered Amalek at Rephidim, and had gained a great victory over\nthem, after not a few fluctuations, through the uplifted arms of Moses,\nthe token of reliance on the strength of God. Through the same good hand\non David, the Amalekites, surprised in the midst of a time of careless\nand uproarious festivity, were completely routed, and all but destroyed.\nEvery article they had stolen, and every woman and child they had\ncarried off, were recovered unhurt. Such a deliverance was beyond\nexpectation. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Ziklag, they\nwere like men that dream.\n\nThe happy change of circumstances was signalized by David by two\nmemorable acts, the one an act of justice, the other an act of\ngenerosity. The act of justice was his interfering to repress the\nselfishness of the part of his troops who were engaged in the fight with\nAmalek, some of whom wished to exclude the disabled portion, who had to\nremain at the brook Besor, from sharing the spoil. The objectors are\ncalled \"the wicked men and the men of Belial.\" It is a significant\ncircumstance that David had been unable to inspire all his followers\nwith his own spirit--that even at the end of his residence in Ziklag\nthere were wicked men and men of Belial among them. No doubt these were\nthe very men that had been loudest in their complaints against David,\nand had spoken of stoning him when they came to know of the calamity at\nZiklag. Complaining men are generally selfish men. They objected to\nDavid's proposal to share the spoil with the whole body of his\nfollowers. Their proposal was especially displeasing to David at a time\nwhen God had given them such tokens of undeserved goodness. It was of\nthe same sort as the act of the unforgiving servant in the parable, who,\nthough forgiven his ten thousand talents, came down with unmitigated\nferocity on the fellow-servant that owed him an hundred pence.\n\nThe act of generosity was his distribution over the cities in the\nneighbourhood of the spoil which he had taken from the Amalekites. If he\nhad been of a selfish nature he might have kept it all for himself and\nhis people. But it was \"the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.\" It was\nDavid's desire to recognise God in connection with this spoil, both to\nshow that he had not made his onslaught on the Amalekites for personal\nends, and to acknowledge, in royal style, the goodness which God had\nshown him. That it was an act of policy as well as a recognition of God\nmay be readily acknowledged. Undoubtedly David was desirous to gain the\nfavourable regard of his neighbours, as a help toward his recognition\nwhen the throne of Israel should become empty. But we may surely admit\nthis, and yet recognise in his actions on this occasion the generosity\nas well as the godliness of his nature. He was one of those men to whom\nit is more blessed to give than to receive, and who are never so happy\nthemselves as when they are making others happy. The Bethel mentioned in\nver. 27 as first among the places benefited can hardly be the place\nordinarily known by that name, which was far distant from Ziklag, but\nsome other Bethel much nearer the southern border of the land. The most\nnortherly of the places specified of whose situation we are assured was\nHebron, itself well to the south of Judah, and soon to become the\ncapital where David reigned. The large number of places that shared his\nbounty was a proof of the royal liberality with which it was spread\nabroad.\n\nAnd in this bounty, this royal profusion of gifts, we may surely\nrecognise a fit type of \"great David's greater Son.\" How clearly it\nappeared from the very first that the spirit of Jesus Christ exemplified\nHis own maxim which we have just quoted, \"It is more blessed to give\nthan to receive.\" Once only, and that in His infancy, when the wise men\nlaid at His feet their myrrh, frankincense, and gold, do we read of\nanything like a lavish contribution of the gifts of earth being given to\nHim. But follow Him through the whole course of His earthly life and\nministry, and see how just was the image of Malachi that compared Him to\nthe sun--\"the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings.\" What a\ngloriously diffusive nature He had, dropping gifts of fabulous price in\nevery direction without money and without price! \"Jesus went about in\nall Galilee\" (it was now the turn of the north to enjoy the benefit),\n\"teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,\nand healing all manner of diseases and all manner of sickness among the\npeople.\" Listen to the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount; what a\ndropping of honey as from the honeycomb we have in those beatitudes,\nwhich so wonderfully commend the precious virtues to which they are\nattached! Follow Jesus through any part of His earthly career, and you\nfind the same spirit of royal liberality. Stand by Him even in the last\nhour of His mortal life, and count His deeds of kindness. See how He\nheals the ear of Malchus, though He healed no wounds of His own. Listen\nto Him deprecating the tears of the weeping women, and turning their\nattention to evils among themselves that had more need to be wept for.\nHear the tender tones of His prayer, \"Father, forgive them, for they\nknow not what they do.\" Observe the gracious look He casts on the thief\nbeside Him in answer to his prayer--\"Verily I say unto thee, this day\nshalt thou be with Me in Paradise.\" Mark how affectionately He provides\nfor His mother. See Him after His resurrection saying to the weeping\nMary, Woman, why weepest thou? Count that multitude of fishes which He\nhas brought to the nets of His disciples, in token of the riches of\nspiritual success with which they are to be blessed. And mark, on the\nday of Pentecost, how richly from His throne in glory He sheds down the\nHoly Spirit, and quickens thousands together with the breath of\nspiritual life. \"Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity\ncaptive, Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also,\nthat the Lord God might dwell among them.\"\n\nIt is a most blessed and salutary thing for you all to cherish the\nthought of the royal munificence of Christ. Think of the kindest and\nmost lavish giver you ever knew, and think how Christ surpasses him in\nthis very grace as far as the heavens are above the earth. What\nencouragement does this give you to trust in Him! What a sin it shows\nyou to commit when you turn away from Him! But remember, too, that Jesus\nChrist is the image of the invisible God. Remember that He came to\nreveal the Father. Perhaps we are more disposed to doubt the royal\nmunificence of the Father than that of the Son. But how unreasonable is\nthis! Was not Jesus Christ Himself, with all the glorious fulness\ncontained in him, the gift of God--His unspeakable gift? And in every\nact of generosity done by Christ have we not just an exhibition of the\nFather's heart? Sometimes we think hardly of God's generosity in\nconnection with His decree of election. Leave that alone; it is one of\nthe deep things of God; remember that every soul brought to Christ is\nthe fruit of God's unmerited love and infinite grace; and remember too\nwhat a vast company the redeemed are, when in the Apocalyptic vision, an\nearly section of them--those that came out of \"the great\ntribulation\"--formed a great multitude that no man could number.\nSometimes we think that God is not generous when He takes away very\nprecious comforts, and even the most cherished treasures of our hearts\nand our homes. But that is love in disguise; \"What I do thou knowest not\nnow, but thou shalt know hereafter.\" And sometimes we think that He is\nnot generous when He is slow to answer our prayers. But He designs only\nto encourage us to perseverance, and to increase and finally all the\nmore reward our faith. Yes, truly, whatever anomalies Providence may\npresent, and they are many; whatever seeming contradictions we may\nencounter to the doctrine of the exceeding riches of the grace of God,\nlet us ascribe all that to our imperfect vision and our imperfect\nunderstanding. Let us correct all such narrow impressions at the cross\nof Christ. Let us reason, like the Apostle: \"He that spared not His own\nSon, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also\nfreely give us all things?\" And let us feel assured that when at last\nGod's ways and dealings even with this wayward world are made plain, the\none conclusion which they will go to establish for evermore is--that GOD\nIS LOVE.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI.\n\n_THE DEATH OF SAUL._\n\n1 SAMUEL xxxi.\n\n\nThe plain of Esdraelon, where the battle between Saul and the\nPhilistines was fought, has been celebrated for many a deadly encounter,\nfrom the very earliest period of history. Monuments of Egypt lately\ndeciphered make it very plain that long before the country was possessed\nby the Israelites the plain had experienced the shock of contending\narmies. The records of the reign of Thotmes III., who has sometimes been\ncalled the Alexander the Great of Egypt, bear testimony to a decisive\nfight in his time near Megiddo, and enumerate the names of many towns in\nthe neighbourhood, most of which occur in Bible history, of which the\nspoil was carried to Egypt and placed in the temples of the Egyptian\ngods. Here, too, it was afterwards that Barak encountered the\nCanaanites, and Gideon the Midianites and Amalekites; here \"Jehu smote\nall that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great\nmen, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left none\nremaining;\" here Josiah was slain in his great battle with the\nEgyptians; here was the great lamentation after Josiah's death,\ncelebrated by Zechariah, \"the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of\nMegiddo;\" in short, in the words of Dr. Clarke, \"Esdraelon has been the\nchosen place of encampment in every great contest carried on in the\ncountry, until the disastrous march of Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt\ninto Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Crusaders, Egyptians, Persians,\nDruses, Turks, Arabs, and French, warriors out of every nation which is\nunder heaven, have pitched their tents upon the plains of Esdraelon, and\nhave beheld their banners wet with the dews of Tabor and Hermon.\" So\nlate as 1840, when the Pacha of Egypt had seized upon Syria, he was\ncompelled to abandon the country when the citadel of Acre, which guards\nthe entrance of the plain of Esdraelon by sea, was bombarded and\ndestroyed by the British fleet. It is no wonder that in the symbolical\nvisions of the Apocalypse, a town in this plain, Ar-Mageddon, is\nselected as the battlefield for the great conflict when the kings of the\nwhole earth are to be gathered together unto the battle of the great day\nof Almighty God. As in the plains of Belgium, the plains of Lombardy, or\nthe carse of Stirling, battle after battle has been fought in the space\nbetween Jezreel and Gilboa, to decide who should be master of the whole\nadjacent territory.\n\nThe Philistine host are said to have gathered themselves together and\npitched in Shunem (chap. xxviii. 4), and afterwards to have gathered all\ntheir hosts to Aphek, and pitched by the fountain which is in Jezreel\n(xxix. 1). That is to say, they advanced from a westward to a northward\nposition, which last they occupied before the battle. Saul appears from\nthe beginning to have arranged his troops on the northern slopes of\nMount Gilboa, and to have remained in that position during the battle.\nIt was an excellent position for fighting, but very unfavourable for a\nretreat. Apparently the Philistines began the battle by moving\nsouthwards across the plain till they reached the foot of Gilboa, where\nthe tug of war began. Notwithstanding the favourable position of the\nHebrews, they were completely defeated. The archers appear to have done\ndeadly execution; as they advanced nearer to the host of Israel, the\nlatter would move backward to get out of range; while the Philistines,\ngaining confidence, would press them more and more, till the orderly\nretreat became a terrible rout. So utterly routed was the Israelite army\nthat they do not appear to have tried a single rally, which, as they had\nto retreat over Mount Gilboa, it would have been so natural for them to\ndo. Panic and consternation seem to have seized them very early in the\nbattle; that they would be defeated was probably a foregone conclusion,\nbut the attitude of a retreating army seems to have been assumed more\nquickly and suddenly than could have been supposed. If the Philistine\narmy, seeing the early confusion of the Israelites, had the courage to\npour themselves along the valleys on each side of Gilboa, no way of\nretreat would be left to their enemy except over the top of the hill.\nAnd when that was reached, and the Israelites began to descend, the\narrows of the pursuing Philistines would fall on them with more deadly\neffect than ever, and the slaughter would be tremendous.\n\nSaul seems never to have been deficient in personal courage, and in the\ncourse of the battle he and his staff were evidently in the very\nthickest of the fight. \"The Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon\nhis sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and\nMelchi-shua, the sons of Saul.\" Saul himself was greatly distressed in\nhis flight by reason of the archers. Finding himself wounded, and being\nprovided with neither chariot nor other means of escape, a horror\nseized him that if once the enemy got possession of him alive they would\nsubject him to some nameless mutilation or horrible humiliation too\nterrible to be thought of. Hence his request to his armour-bearer to\nfall on him. When the armour-bearer refused, he took a sword from him\nand killed himself.\n\nIt may readily be allowed that to one not ruled habitually by regard to\nthe will of God this was the wisest course to follow. If the Philistine\ntreatment of captive kings resembled the Assyrian, death was far rather\nto be chosen than life. When we find on Assyrian monuments such\nfrightful pictures as those of kings obliged to carry the heads of their\nsons in processions, or themselves pinned to the ground by stakes driven\nthrough their hands and feet, and undergoing the horrible process of\nbeing flayed alive, we need not wonder at Saul shrinking with horror\nfrom what he might have had to suffer if he had been taken prisoner.\n\nBut what are we to think of the moral aspect of his act of suicide? That\nin all ordinary cases suicide is a daring sin, who can deny? God has not\ngiven to man the disposal of his life in such a sense. It is a daring\nthing for man to close his day of grace sooner than God would have\nclosed it. It is a reckless thing to rush into the presence of his Maker\nbefore His Maker has called him to appear. It is a presumptuous thing to\ncalculate on bettering his condition by plunging into an untried\neternity. No doubt one must be tender in judging of men pressed hard by\nreal or imaginary terrors, perhaps their reason staggering, their\ninstincts trembling, and a horror of great darkness obscuring\neverything. Yet how often, in his last written words, does the suicide\nbear testimony against himself when he hopes that God will forgive him,\nand beseeches his friends to forgive him. Does not this show that in\nhis secret soul he is conscious that he ought to have borne longer,\nought to have quitted himself more like a man, and suffered every\nextremity of fortune before quenching the flame of life within him?\n\nThe truth is, that the suicide of Saul, as of many another, is an act\nthat cannot be judged by itself, but must be taken in connection with\nthe course of his previous life. We have said that to one not habitually\nruled by regard to the will of God, self-destruction at such a moment\nwas the wisest course. That is to say, if he merely balanced what\n_appeared_ to be involved in terminating his life against what was\ninvolved in the Philistines taking him and torturing him, the former\nalternative was by far the more tolerable. But the question comes\nup,--if he had not habitually disregarded the will of God, would he ever\nhave been in that predicament? The criminality of many an act must be\nthrown back on a previous act, out of which it has arisen. A drunkard in\na midnight debauch quarrels with his father, and plunges a knife into\nhis heart. When he comes to himself he is absolutely unconscious of what\nhe has done. He tells you he had no wish nor desire to injure his\nfather. It was not his proper self that did it, but his proper self\nover-mastered, over-thrown, brutalized by the monster drink. Do you\nexcuse him on this account? Far from it. You excuse him of a deliberate\ndesign against his father's life. But you say the possibility of that\ndeed was involved in his getting drunk. For a man to get drunk, to\ndeprive himself for the time of his senses, and expose himself to an\ninfluence that may cause him to commit a most horrible and unnatural\ncrime, is a fearful sin. Thus you carry back the criminality of the\nmurder to the previous act of getting drunk. So in regard to the\nsuicide of Saul. The criminality of that act is to be carried back to\nthe sin of which he was guilty when he determined to follow his own will\ninstead of the will of God. It was through that sin that he was brought\ninto his present position. Had he been dutiful to God he would never\nhave been in such a dilemma. On the one hand he never would have been so\ndefeated and humiliated in battle; and on the other hand he would have\nhad a trust in the Divine protection even when a bloody enemy like the\nPhilistines was about to seize him. It was the true source alike of his\npublic defeat and of his private despair that he indicated when he said\nto Samuel, \"God is departed from me;\" and he might have been sure that\nGod would not have departed from him if he had not first departed from\nGod.\n\nIt is a most important principle of life we thus get sight of, when we\nsee the bearing that one act of sin has upon another. It is very seldom\nindeed that the consequences of any sin terminate with itself. Sin has a\nmarvellous power of begetting, of leading you on to other acts that you\ndid not think of at first, of involving you in meshes that were then\nquite out of your view. And this multiplying process of sin is a course\nthat may begin very early. Children are warned of it in the hymn--\"He\nthat does one fault at first, and lies to hide it, makes it two.\" A sin\nneeds to be covered, and another sin is resorted to in order to provide\nthe covering. Nor is that all. You have a partner in your sin, and to\nfree yourself you perhaps betray your partner. That partner may be not\nonly the weaker vessel, but also by far the heavier sufferer, and yet,\nin your wretched selfishness, you deny all share of the sin, or you\nleave your partner to be ruined. Alas! alas! how terrible are the ways\nof sin. How difficult it often is for the sinner to retrace his steps!\nAnd how terrible is the state of mind when one says, I must commit this\nsin or that--I have no alternative! How terrible was Saul's position\nwhen he said, \"I must destroy myself.\" Truly sin is a hard, unfeeling\nmaster--\"The way of transgressors is hard.\" He only that walketh\nuprightly walketh surely. \"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, that\nwalk in the law of the Lord.\"\n\nThe terrible nature of the defeat which the Israelites suffered on this\nday from the Philistines is apparent from what is said in the seventh\nverse--\"And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the\nvalley, and they that were beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel\nfled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities\nand fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.\" The plain of\nEsdraelon is interrupted, and in a sense divided into two, by three\nhills--Tabor, Gilboa, and Little Hermon. On the eastern side of these\nhills the plain is continued on to the Jordan valley. The effect of the\nbattle of Gilboa was that all the rich settlements in that part of the\nplain had to be forsaken by the Israelites and given up to the\nPhilistines. More than that, the Jordan valley ceased to afford the\nprotection which up to this time it had supplied against enemies from\nthe west. For the most part, the trans-Jordanic tribes were exposed to\nquite a different set of enemies. It was the Syrians from the north, the\nMoabites and the Ammonites from the east, and the Midianites and\nAmalekites from the remoter deserts, that were usually the foes of\nReuben, Gad, and Manasseh. But on this occasion a new foe assailed them.\nThe Philistines actually crossed the Jordan, and the rich pastures of\nGilead and Bashan, with the flocks and herds that swarmed upon them,\nbecame the prey of the uncircumcised. Thus the terror of the\nPhilistines, hitherto confined to the western portion of the country,\nwas spread, with all its attendant horrors, over the length and breadth\nof Israel. We get a vivid view of the state of the country when David\nwas called to take charge of it. And we get a vivid view of the worse\nthan embarrassment, the fatal crime, into which David would have been\nled if he had remained in the Philistine camp and taken any part in this\ncampaign.\n\nHow utterly crushed the Philistines considered the Israelites to be, and\nhow incapable of striking any blow in their own defence, is apparent\nfrom the humiliating treatment of the bodies of Saul and his sons, the\ndetails of which are given in this chapter and in the parallel passage\nin 1 Chronicles (chap. x.). If there had been any possibility of the\nIsraelites being stung into a new effort by the dishonour done to their\nking and princes, that dishonour would not have been so terribly\ninsulting. But there was no such possibility. The treatment was doubly\ninsulting. Saul's head, severed from his body, was put in the temple of\nDagon (1 Chron. x.); his armour was hung up in the house of Ashtaroth;\nand his body was fastened to the wall of Beth-shan. The same treatment\nseems to have been bestowed on his three sons. The other part of the\ninsult arose from the idolatrous spirit in which all this was done. The\ntidings of the victory were ordered to be carried to the house of their\nidols as well as to their people (1 Sam. xxxi. 9). The trophies were\ndisplayed in the temples of these idols. The spirit of vaunting, which\nhad so roused David against Goliath because he defied the armies of the\nliving God, appeared far more offensively than ever. Not only was Israel\ndefeated, but in the view of the Philistines Israel's God as well. Dagon\nand Ashtaroth had triumphed over Jehovah. The humiliation suffered in\nthe days when the ark of God brought such calamities to them and their\ngods was now amply avenged. The image of Dagon was not found lying on\nits face, all shattered save the stump, after the heads of Saul and his\nsons had been placed in his temple. Yes, and the nobles at least of the\nPhilistines would boast that the slaughter of Goliath by David, and the\nplacing of his head and his armour near Jerusalem--probably in the holy\nplace of Israel--were amply avenged. Well was it for David, we may say\nagain, that he had no share in this terrible battle! Henceforth\nundoubtedly there would be no more truce on his part towards the\nPhilistines. Had they not dishonoured the person of his king? had they\nnot insulted the dead body of Jonathan his noble friend? had they not\nhurled new defiance against the God of Israel? had they not spread\nrobbery and devastation over the whole length and breadth of the\ncountry, and turned every happy family into a group of cowering slaves?\nWere this people to be any longer honoured with his friendship? \"O my\nsoul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour,\nbe not thou united!\"\n\nThe only redeeming incident, in all this painful narrative, is the\nspirited enterprise of the men of Jabesh-gilead, coming to Beth-shan by\nnight, removing the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, and\nburying them with all honour at Jabesh. Beth-shan was a considerable\ndistance from Gilboa, where Saul and his sons appear to have fallen;\nbut probably it was the largest city in the neighbourhood, and therefore\nthe best adapted to put the remains of the king and the princes to open\nshame. Jabesh-gilead was somewhere on the other side of the Jordan,\ndistant from Beth-shan several miles. It was highly creditable to its\npeople that, after a long interval, the remembrance of Saul's first\nexploit, when he relieved them from the cruel threats of the Ammonites,\nwas still strong enough to impel them to the gallant deed which secured\nhonourable burial for the bodies of Saul and his sons. We are conscious\nof a reverential feeling rising in our hearts toward this people as we\nthink of their kindness to the dead, as if the whole human race were one\nfamily, and a kindness done nearly three thousand years ago were in some\nsense a kindness to ourselves.\n\nThat first exploit of Saul's, rescuing the men of Jabesh-gilead, seems\nnever to have been surpassed by any other enterprise of his reign. As we\nnow look back on the career of Saul, which occupies so large a portion\nof this book, we do not find much to interest or refresh us. He belonged\nto the order of military kings. He was not one of those who were devoted\nto the intellectual, or the social, or the religious elevation of his\nkingdom. His one idea of a king was to rid his country of its enemies.\n\"He fought,\" we are told, \"against all his enemies on every side,\nagainst Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and\nagainst the king of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and\nwhithersoever he turned himself he vexed them. And he did valiantly and\nsmote Amalek, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled\nthem.\" That success gave him a good name as king, but it did not draw\nmuch affection to him; and it had more effect in ridding the people of\nevil than in conferring on them positive good. Royalty bred in Saul what\nit bred in most kings of the East, an imperious temper, a despotic will.\nEven in his own family he played the despot. And if he played the despot\nat home he did so not less in public. All that we can say in his favour\nis, that he did not carry his despotism so far as many. But his jealous\nand in so far despotic temper could not but have had an evil effect on\nhis people. We cannot suppose that when jealousy was so deep in his\nnature David was the only one of his officers who experienced it. The\nsecession of so many very able men to David, about the time when he was\nwith the Philistines, looked as if Saul could not but be jealous of any\nman who rose to high military eminence. That Saul was capable of\nfriendly impulses is very different from saying that his heart was warm\nand winning. The most vital want in him was the want of godliness. He\nhad little faith in the nation as God's nation, God's heritage. He had\nlittle love for prophets, or for men of faith, or for any who attached\ngreat importance to moral and spiritual considerations. His persecution\nof David and his murder of the priests are deep stains than can never be\nerased. And that godless nature of his became worse as he went on. It is\nstriking that the last transaction in his reign was a decided failure in\nthe very department in which he had usually excelled. He who had gained\nwhat eminence he had as a military king, utterly failed, and involved\nhis people in utter humiliation, in that very department. His abilities\nfailed him because God had forsaken him. The Philistines whom he had so\noften defeated crushed him in the end. To him the last act of life was\nvery different from that of Samson--Samson conquering in his death;\nSaul defeated and disgraced in his.\n\nNeed we again urge the lesson? \"Them that honour Me I will honour; but\nthey that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.\" You dare not leave GOD\nout in your estimate of the forces that bear upon your life. You dare\nnot give to Him a secondary place. God must have the first place in your\nregards. Are you really honouring Him above all, prizing His favour,\nobeying His will, trusting in His word? Are you even trying, amid many\nmortifying failures, to do so? It is not the worst life that numbers\nmany a failure, many a confession, many a prayer for mercy and for grace\nto help in time of need, provided always your heart is habitually\ndirected to God as the great end of existence, the Pole Star by which\nyour steps are habitually to be directed, the Sovereign whose holy will\nmust be your great rule, the Pattern whose likeness should be stamped on\nyour hearts, the God and Father of your Lord Jesus Christ, whose love,\nand favour, and blessing are evermore the best and brightest inheritance\nfor all the children of men.\n\n\n\n\n END OF VOL. 1.\n\n\n Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.","title":"The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of Samuel","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":132889}