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diff --git a/39394-8.txt b/39394-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..228b768 --- /dev/null +++ b/39394-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12082 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of +Samuel, by W. G. Blaikie + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of Samuel + +Author: W. G. Blaikie + +Editor: W. Robertson Nicoll + +Release Date: April 7, 2012 [EBook #39394] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE: FIRST SAMUEL *** + + + + +Produced by Marcia Brooks, Colin Bell, Nigel Blower and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian +Libraries) + + + + + + [Transcriber's Note: + + _Italic_ words have been enclosed in underscores. + + As the oe ligature cannot be included in this format, it has been + replaced with the separate letters in "coelo" and "Syrophoenician". + + A few minor typographical errors have been silently corrected. + + The Table of Contents refers to original page numbers.] + + + + + THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE. + + EDITED BY THE REV. + W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., + _Editor of "The Expositor."_ + + THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. + + BY + W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D. + + TORONTO: + WILLARD TRACT DEPOSITORY AND BIBLE DEPÔT, + CORNER OF YONGE AND TEMPERANCE STREETS. + 1888. + + + + + THE FIRST BOOK + OF + SAMUEL. + + BY THE REV. PROFESSOR + W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D., + NEW COLLEGE, EDINBURGH. + + TORONTO: + WILLARD TRACT DEPOSITORY AND BIBLE DEPÔT, + CORNER OF YONGE AND TEMPERANCE STREETS. + 1888. + + + + + CONTENTS. + PAGE + CHAPTER I. + HANNAH'S TRIAL AND TRUST 1 + + CHAPTER II. + HANNAH'S FAITH REWARDED 14 + + CHAPTER III. + HANNAH'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING 25 + + CHAPTER IV. + ELI'S HOUSE 37 + + CHAPTER V. + SAMUEL'S VISION 49 + + CHAPTER VI. + THE ARK OF GOD TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES 61 + + CHAPTER VII. + THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES 73 + + CHAPTER VIII. + REPENTANCE AND REVIVAL 85 + + CHAPTER IX. + NATIONAL DELIVERANCE--THE PHILISTINES SUBDUED 97 + + CHAPTER X. + THE PEOPLE DEMAND A KING 109 + + CHAPTER XI. + SAUL BROUGHT TO SAMUEL 121 + + CHAPTER XII. + FIRST MEETING OF SAMUEL AND SAUL 133 + + CHAPTER XIII. + SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL 145 + + CHAPTER XIV. + SAUL CHOSEN KING 157 + + CHAPTER XV. + THE RELIEF OF JABESH-GILEAD 169 + + CHAPTER XVI. + SAMUEL'S VINDICATION OF HIMSELF 181 + + CHAPTER XVII. + SAMUEL'S DEALINGS WITH THE PEOPLE 193 + + CHAPTER XVIII. + SAUL AND SAMUEL AT GILGAL 205 + + CHAPTER XIX. + JONATHAN'S EXPLOIT AT MICHMASH 217 + + CHAPTER XX. + SAUL'S WILFULNESS 229 + + CHAPTER XXI. + THE FINAL REJECTION OF SAUL 241 + + CHAPTER XXII. + DAVID ANOINTED BY SAMUEL 253 + + CHAPTER XXIII. + DAVID'S EARLY LIFE 265 + + CHAPTER XXIV. + DAVID'S CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH 278 + + CHAPTER XXV. + SAUL'S JEALOUSY--DAVID'S MARRIAGE 292 + + CHAPTER XXVI. + SAUL'S FURTHER EFFORTS AGAINST DAVID 305 + + CHAPTER XXVII. + DAVID AND JONATHAN 317 + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + DAVID AT NOB AND AT GATH 329 + + CHAPTER XXIX. + DAVID AT ADULLAM, MIZPEH, AND HARETH 341 + + CHAPTER XXX. + DAVID AT KEILAH, ZIPH, AND MAON 354 + + CHAPTER XXXI. + DAVID TWICE SPARES THE LIFE OF SAUL 366 + + CHAPTER XXXII. + DAVID AND NABAL 378 + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + DAVID'S SECOND FLIGHT TO GATH 391 + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + SAUL AT ENDOR 404 + + CHAPTER XXXV. + DAVID AT ZIKLAG 416 + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + THE DEATH OF SAUL 429 + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +_HANNAH'S TRIAL AND TRUST._ + +1 SAMUEL i 1-18. + + +The prophet Samuel, like the book which bears his name, comes in as a +connecting link between the Judges and the Kings of Israel. He belonged +to a transition period. It was appointed to him to pilot the nation +between two stages of its history: from a republic to a monarchy; from a +condition of somewhat casual and indefinite arrangements to one of more +systematic and orderly government. The great object of his life was to +secure that this change should be made in the way most beneficial for +the nation, and especially most beneficial for its spiritual interests. +Care must be taken that while becoming like the nations in having a +king, Israel shall not become like them in religion, but shall continue +to stand out in hearty and unswerving allegiance to the law and covenant +of their fathers' God. + +Samuel was the last of the judges, and in a sense the first of the +prophets. The last of the judges, but not a military judge; not ruling +like Samson by physical strength, but by high spiritual qualities and +prayer; not so much wrestling against flesh and blood, as against +principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, +and spiritual wickedness in high places. In this respect his function +as judge blended with his work as prophet. Before him, the prophetic +office was but a casual illumination; under him it becomes a more steady +and systematic light. He was the first of a succession of prophets whom +God placed side by side with the kings and priests of Israel to supply +that fresh moral and spiritual force which the prevailing worldliness of +the one and formalism of the other rendered so necessary for the great +ends for which Israel was chosen. With some fine exceptions, the kings +and priests would have allowed the seed of Abraham to drift away from +the noble purpose for which God had called them; conformity to the world +in spirit if not in form was the prevailing tendency; the prophets were +raised up to hold the nation firmly to the covenant, to vindicate the +claims of its heavenly King, to thunder judgments against idolatry and +all rebellion, and pour words of comfort into the hearts of all who were +faithful to their God, and who looked for redemption in Israel. Of this +order of God's servants Samuel was the first. And called as he was to +this office at a transition period, the importance of it was all the +greater. It was a work for which no ordinary man was needed, and for +which no ordinary man was found. + +Very often the finger of God is seen very clearly in connection with the +birth and early training of those who are to become His greatest agents. +The instances of Moses, Samson, and John the Baptist, to say nothing of +our blessed Lord, are familiar to us all. Very often the family from +which the great man is raised up is among the obscurest and least +distinguished of the country. The "certain man" who lived in some quiet +cottage at Ramathaim-Zophim would never probably have emerged from his +native obscurity but for God's purpose to make a chosen vessel of his +son. In the case of this family, and in the circumstances of Samuel's +birth, we see a remarkable overruling of human infirmity to the purposes +of the Divine will. If Peninnah had been kind to Hannah, Samuel might +never have been born. It was the unbearable harshness of Peninnah that +drove Hannah to the throne of grace, and brought to her wrestling faith +the blessing she so eagerly pled for. What must have seemed to Hannah at +the time a most painful dispensation became the occasion of a glorious +rejoicing. The very element that aggravated her trial was that which led +to her triumph. Like many another, Hannah found the beginning of her +life intensely painful, and as a godly woman she no doubt wondered why +God seemed to care for her so little. But at evening time there was +light; like Job, she saw "the end of the Lord;" the mystery cleared +away, and to her as to the patriarch it appeared very clearly that "the +Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." + +The home in which Samuel is born has some points of quiet interest about +it; but these are marred by serious defects. It is a religious +household, at least in the sense that the outward duties of religion are +carefully attended to; but the moral tone is defective. First, there is +that radical blemish--want of unity. No doubt it was tacitly permitted +to a man in those days to have two wives. But where there were two wives +there were two centres of interest and feeling, and discord must ensue. + +Elkanah does not seem to have felt that in having two wives he could do +justice to neither. And he had but little sympathy for the particular +disappointment of Hannah. He calculated that a woman's heart-hunger in +one direction ought to be satisfied by copious gifts in another. And as +to Peninnah, so little idea had she of the connection of true religion +and high moral tone, that the occasion of the most solemn religious +service of the nation was her time for pouring out her bitterest +passion. Hannah is the only one of the three of whom nothing but what is +favourable is recorded. + +With regard to the origin of the family, it seems to have been of the +tribe of Levi. If so, Elkanah would occasionally have to serve the +sanctuary; but no mention is made of such service. For anything that +appears, Elkanah may have spent his life in the same occupations as the +great bulk of the people. The place of his residence was not many miles +from Shiloh, which was at that time the national sanctuary. But the +moral influence from that quarter was by no means beneficial; a decrepit +high priest, unable to restrain the profligacy of his sons, whose vile +character brought religion into contempt, and led men to associate gross +wickedness with Divine service,--of such a state of things the influence +seemed fitted rather to aggravate than to lessen the defects of +Elkanah's household. + +Inside Elkanah's house we see two strange arrangements of Providence, of +a kind that often moves our astonishment elsewhere. First, we see a +woman eminently fitted to bring up children, but having none to bring +up. On the other hand, we see another woman, whose temper and ways are +fitted to ruin children, entrusted with the rearing of a family. In the +one case a God-fearing woman does not receive the gifts of Providence; +in the other case a woman of a selfish and cruel nature seems loaded +with His benefits. In looking round us, we often see a similar +arrangement of other gifts; we see riches, for example, in the very +worst of hands; while those who from their principles and character are +fitted to make the best use of them have often difficulty in securing +the bare necessaries of life. How is this? Does God really govern, or do +time and chance regulate all? If it were God's purpose to distribute His +gifts exactly as men are able to estimate and use them aright, we should +doubtless see a very different distribution; but God's aim in this world +is much more to try and to train than to reward and fulfil. All these +anomalies of Providence point to a future state. What God does we know +not now, but we shall know hereafter. The misuse of God's gifts brings +its punishment both here and in the life to come. To whom much is given, +of them much shall be required. For those who have shown the capacity to +use God's gifts aright, there will be splendid opportunities in another +life. To those who have received much, but abused much, there comes a +fearful reckoning, and a dismal experience of the "the unprofitable +servant's doom." + +The trial which Hannah had to bear was peculiarly heavy, as is well +known, to a Hebrew woman. To have no child was not only a +disappointment, but seemed to mark one out as dishonoured by God,--as +unworthy of any part or lot in the means that were to bring about the +fulfilment of the promise, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the +families of the earth be blessed." In the case of Hannah, the trial was +aggravated by the very presence of Peninnah and her children in the same +household. Had she been alone, her mind might not have brooded over her +want, and she and her husband might have so ordered their life as almost +to forget the blank. But with Peninnah and her children constantly +before her eyes, such a course was impossible. She could never forget +the contrast between the two wives. Like an aching tooth or an aching +head, it bred a perpetual pain. + +In many cases home affords a refuge from our trials, but in this case +home was the very scene of the trial. There is another refuge from +trial, which is very grateful to devout hearts--the house of God and the +exercises of public worship. A member of Hannah's race, who was +afterwards to pass through many a trial, was able even when far away, to +find great comfort in the very thought of the house of God, with its +songs of joy and praise, and its multitude of happy worshippers, and to +rally his desponding feelings into cheerfulness and hope. "Why art thou +cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in +God, for I shall yet praise Him for the health of His countenance." But +from Hannah this resource likewise was cut off. The days of high +festival were her days of bitter prostration. + +It was the custom in religious households for the head of the house to +give presents at the public festivals. Elkanah, a kind-hearted but not +very discriminating man, kept up the custom, and as we suppose, to +compensate Hannah for the want of children, he gave her at these times a +worthy or double portion. But his kindness was inconsiderate. It only +raised the jealousy of Peninnah. For her and her children to get less +than the childless Hannah was intolerable. No sense of courtesy +restrained her from uttering her feeling. No sisterly compassion urged +her to spare the feelings of her rival. No regard for God or His worship +kept back the storm of bitterness. With the reckless impetuosity of a +bitter heart she took these opportunities to reproach Hannah with her +childless condition. She knew the tender spot of her heart, and, instead +of sparing it, she selected it as the very spot on which to plant her +blows. Her very object was to give Hannah pain, to give her the greatest +pain she could. And so the very place that should have been a rebuke to +every bitter feeling, the very time which was sacred to joyous +festivity, and the very sorrow that should have been kept furthest from +Hannah's thoughts, were selected by her bitter rival to poison all her +happiness, and overwhelm her with lamentation and woe. + +After all, was Hannah or Peninnah the more wretched of the two? To +suffer in the tenderest part of one's nature is no doubt a heavy +affliction. But to have a heart eager to inflict such suffering on +another is far more awful. Young people that sting a comrade when out of +temper, that call him names, that reproach him with his infirmities, are +far more wretched and pitiable creatures than those whom they try to +irritate. It has always been regarded as a natural proof of the holiness +of God that He has made man so that there is a pleasure in the exercise +of his amiable feelings, while his evil passions, in the very play of +them, produce pain and misery. Lady Macbeth is miserable over the +murdered king, even while exulting in the triumph of her ambition. Torn +by her heartless and reckless passions, her bosom is like a hell. The +tumult in her raging soul is like the writhing of an evil spirit. Yes, +my friends, if you accept the offices of sin, if you make passion the +instrument of your purposes, if you make it your business to sting and +to stab those who in some way cross your path, you may succeed for the +moment, and you may experience whatever of satisfaction can be found in +gloated revenge. But know this, that you have been cherishing a viper +in your bosom that will not content itself with fulfilling your desire. +It will make itself a habitual resident in your heart, and distil its +poison over it. It will make it impossible for you to know anything of +the sweetness of love, the serenity of a well-ordered heart, the joy of +trust, the peace of heaven. You will be like the troubled sea, whose +waters cast up mire and dirt. You will find the truth of that solemn +word, "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." + +If the heart of Peninnah was actuated by this infernal desire to make +her neighbour fret, it need not surprise us that she chose the most +solemn season of religious worship to gratify her desire. What could +religion be to such a one but a form? What communion could she have, or +care to have, with God? How could she realize what she did in disturbing +the communion of another heart? If we could suppose her realizing the +presence of God, and holding soul-to-soul communion with Him, she would +have received such a withering rebuke to her bitter feelings as would +have filled her with shame and contrition. But when religious services +are a mere form, there is absolutely nothing in them to prevent, at such +times, the outbreak of the heart's worst passions. There are men and +women whose visits to the house of God are often the occasions of +rousing their worst, or at least very unworthy, passions. Pride, scorn, +malice, vanity--how often are they moved by the very sight of others in +the house of God! What strange and unworthy conceptions of Divine +service such persons must have! What a dishonouring idea of God, if they +imagine that the service of their bodies or of their lips is anything to +Him. Surely in the house of God, and in the presence of God, men ought +to feel that among the things most offensive in His eyes are a foul +heart, a fierce temper, and the spirit that hateth a brother. While, on +the other hand, if we would serve Him acceptably, we must lay aside all +malice and all guile and hypocrisies, envies and all evil speakings. +Instead of trying to make others fret, we should try, young and old +alike, to make the crooked places of men's hearts straight, and the +rough places of their lives plain; try to give the soft answer that +turneth away wrath; try to extinguish the flame of passion, to lessen +the sum-total of sin, and stimulate all that is lovely and of good +report in the world around us. + +But to return to Hannah and her trial. Year by year it went on, and her +sensitive spirit, instead of feeling it less, seemed to feel it more. It +would appear that, on one occasion, her distress reached a climax. She +was so overcome that even the sacred feast remained by her untasted. Her +husband's attention was now thoroughly roused. "Hannah, why weepest +thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I +better to thee than ten sons?" There was not much comfort in these +questions. He did not understand the poor woman's feeling. Possibly his +attempts to show her how little cause she had to complain only +aggravated her distress. Perhaps she thought, "When my very husband does +not understand me, it is time for me to cease from man." With the double +feeling--my distress is beyond endurance, and there is no sympathy for +me in any fellow-creature--the thought may have come into her mind, "I +will arise and go to my Father." However it came about, her trials had +the happy effect of sending her to God. Blessed fruit of affliction! Is +not this the reason why afflictions are often so severe? If they were of +ordinary intensity, then, in the world's phrase, we might "grin and bear +them." It is when they become intolerable that men think of God. As +Archbishop Leighton has said, God closes up the way to every broken +cistern, one after another, that He may induce you, baffled everywhere +else, to take the way to the fountain of living waters. "I looked on my +right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me; refuge +failed me, no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord; I said, +Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living." + +Behold Hannah, then, overwhelmed with distress, in "the temple of the +Lord" (as His house at Shiloh was called), transacting solemnly with +God. "She vowed a vow." She entered into a transaction with God, as +really and as directly as one man transacts with another. It is this +directness and distinctness of dealing with God that is so striking a +feature in the piety of those early times. She asked God for a man +child. But she did not ask this gift merely to gratify her personal +wish. In the very act of dealing with God she felt that it was His glory +and not her personal feelings that she was called chiefly to respect. No +doubt she wished the child, and she asked the child in fulfilment of her +own vehement desire. But beyond and above that desire there arose in her +soul the sense of God's claim and God's glory, and to these high +considerations she desired to subordinate every feeling of her own. If +God should give her the man child, he would not be hers, but God's. He +would be specially dedicated as a Nazarite to God's service. No razor +should come on his head; no drop of strong drink should pass his lips. +And this would not be a mere temporary dedication, it would last all +the days of his life. Eagerly though Hannah desired a son, she did not +wish him merely for personal gratification. She was not to make herself +the end of her child's existence, but would sacrifice even her +reasonable and natural claims upon him in order that he might be more +thoroughly the servant of God. + +Hannah, as she continued praying, must have felt something of that peace +of soul which ever comes from conscious communion with a prayer-hearing +God. But probably her faith needed the element of strengthening which a +kindly and favourable word from one high in God's service would have +imparted. It must have been terrible for her to find, when the high +priest spoke to her, that it was to insult her, and accuse her of an +offence against decency itself from which her very soul would have +recoiled. Well meaning, but weak and blundering, Eli never made a more +outrageous mistake. With firmness and dignity, and yet in perfect +courtesy, Hannah repudiated the charge. Others might try to drown their +sorrows with strong drink, but she had poured out her soul before God. +The high priest must have felt ashamed of his rude and unworthy charge, +as well as rebuked by the dignity and self-possession of this much-tried +but upright, godly woman. He sent her away with a hearty benediction, +which seemed to convey to her an assurance that her prayer would be +fulfilled. As yet it is all a matter of faith; but her "faith is the +substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Her +burden is completely removed; her soul has returned to its quiet rest. +This chapter of the history has a happy ending--"The woman went her way +and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad." + +Is not this whole history just like one of the Psalms, expressed not in +words but in deeds? First the wail of distress; then the wrestling of +the troubled heart with God; then the repose and triumph of faith. What +a blessing, amid the multitude of this world's sorrows; that such a +process should be practicable! What a blessed thing is faith, faith in +God's word, and faith in God's heart, that faith which becomes a bridge +to the distressed from the region of desolation and misery to the region +of peace and joy? Is there any fact more abundantly verified than this +experience is--this passage out of the depths, this way of shaking one's +self from the dust, and putting on the garments of praise? Are any of +you tired, worried, wearied in the battle of life, and yet ignorant of +this blessed process? Do any receive your fresh troubles with nothing +better than a growl of irritation--I will not say an angry curse? Alas +for your thorny experience! an experience which knows no way of blunting +the point of the thorns. Know, my friends, that in Gilead there is a +balm for soothing these bitter irritations. There is a peace of God that +passeth all understanding, and that keeps the hearts and minds of His +people through Christ Jesus. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose +mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." + +But let those who profess to be Christ's see that they are consistent +here. A fretful, complaining Christian is a contradiction in terms. How +unlike to Christ! How forgetful such a one is of the grand argument, "He +that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall +He not with Him also freely give us all things?" "Be patient, brethren, +for the coming of the Lord draweth near." Amid the agitations of life +often steal away to the green pastures and the still waters, and they +will calm your soul. And while "the trial of your faith is much more +precious than of gold that perisheth, although it be tried with fire," +it shall be "found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of +Jesus Christ." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +_HANNAH'S FAITH REWARDED._ + +1 SAMUEL i. 19-28. + + +In all the transactions recorded in these verses, we see in Hannah the +directing and regulating power of the family; while Elkanah appears +acquiescing cordially in all that she proposes, and devoutly seconding +her great act of consecration,--the surrender of Samuel to the perpetual +service of God. For a moment it might be thought that Hannah assumed a +place that hardly belonged to her; that she became the leader and +director in the house, while her proper position was that of a helpmeet +to her husband. We are constrained, however, to dismiss this thought, +for it does not fit in to the character of Hannah, and it is not in +keeping with the general tone of the passage. There are two reasons that +account sufficiently for the part she took. In the first place, it was +she that had dealt with God in the matter, and it was with her too that +God had dealt. She had been God-directed in the earlier part of the +transaction, and therefore was specially able to see what was right and +proper to be done in following up God's remarkable acknowledgment and +answer of her prayer. The course to be taken came to her as an +intuition,--an intuition not to be reasoned about, not to be exposed to +the criticism of another, to be simply accepted and obeyed. As she gave +no heed to those impulses of her own heart that might have desired a +different destination for her child, so she was disposed to give none to +the impulses of any other. The name, and the training, and the life-work +of a child given so remarkably were all clear as sunbeams to her godly +heart; and in such a matter it would have been nothing but weakness to +confer with flesh and blood. + +And in the second place, Elkanah could be in no humour to resist his +wife, even if he had had any reason to do so. For he was in a manner +reproved of God for not being more concerned about her sadness of +spirit. God had treated her sorrow more seriously than he had. God had +not said to her that her husband was better to her than ten sons. God +had recognised the hunger of her heart for a son as a legitimate +craving, and when she brought her wish to Him, and meekly and humbly +asked Him to fulfil it, He had heard her prayer, and granted her +request. In a sense Hannah, in the depth of her sorrow, had appealed +from her husband to a higher court, and the appeal had been decided in +her favour. Elkanah could not but feel that in faith, in lofty +principle, in nearness of fellowship with God, he had been surpassed by +his wife. It was no wonder he surrendered to her the future direction of +a life given thus in answer to her prayers. Yet in thus surrendering his +right he showed no sullenness of temper, but acted in harmony with her, +not only in naming and dedicating the child, but in taking a vow on +himself, and at the proper moment fulfilling that vow. The three +bullocks, with the ephah of flour and the bottle of wine brought to +Shiloh when the child was presented to the Lord, were probably the +fulfilment of Elkanah's vow. + +But to come more particularly to what is recorded in the text. + +1. We notice, first, the fact of the answer to prayer. The answer was +prompt, clear, explicit. It is an important question, Why are some +prayers answered and not others? Many a good man and woman feel it to be +the greatest trial that their prayers for definite objects are not +answered. Many a mother will say, Why did God not answer me when I +prayed Him to spare my infant's life? I am sure I prayed with my whole +heart and soul, but it seemed to make no difference, the child sank and +died just as if no one had been praying for him. Many a wife will say, +Why does God not convert my husband? I have agonized, I have wept and +made supplication on his behalf, and in particular, with reference to +his besetting infirmity, I have implored God to break his chain and set +him free; but there he is, the same as ever. Many a young person under +serious impressions will say, Why does God not hear my prayer? I have +prayed with heart and soul for faith and love, for peace in believing, +for consciousness of my interest in Christ; but my prayers seem directed +against a wall of brass, they seem never to reach the ears of the Lord +of hosts. In spite of all such objections and difficulties, we maintain +that God is the hearer of prayer. Every sincere prayer offered in the +name of Christ is heard, and dealt with by God in such way as seems good +to Him. There are good reasons why some prayers are not answered at all, +and there are also good reasons why the visible answer to some prayers +is delayed. Some prayers are not answered because the spirit of them is +bad. "Ye ask but receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume +it upon your lusts." What is asked merely to gratify a selfish feeling +is asked amiss. It is not holy prayer; it does not fit in with the +sacred purposes of life; it is not asked to make us better, or enable us +to serve God better, or make our life more useful to our fellows; but +simply to increase our pleasure, to make our surroundings more +agreeable. Some prayers are not answered because what is asked would be +hurtful; the prayer is answered in spirit though denied in form. A +Christian lady, over the sick bed of an only son, once prayed with +intense fervour that he might be restored, and positively refused to +say, "Thy will be done." Falling asleep, she seemed to see a panorama of +her son's life had he survived; it was a succession of sorrows, rising +into terrible agonies,--so pitiful a sight that she could no longer +desire his life to be prolonged, and gave up the battle against the will +of God. Some prayers are not answered at the time, because a discipline +of patience is needed for those who offer them; they have to be taught +the grace of waiting patiently for the Lord; they have to learn more +fully than hitherto to walk by faith, not by sight; they have to learn +to take the promise of God against all appearances, and to remember that +heaven and earth shall pass away, but God's word shall not pass away. + +But whatever be the reasons for the apparent silence of God, we may rest +assured that hearing prayer is the law of His kingdom. Old Testament and +New alike bear witness to this. Every verse of the Psalms proclaims it. +Alike by precept and example our Lord constantly enforced it. Every +Apostle takes up the theme, and urges the duty and the privilege. We may +say of prayer as St. Paul said of the resurrection--if prayer be not +heard our preaching is vain, and your faith is vain. And what true +Christian is there who cannot add testimonies from his own history to +the same effect? If the answer to some of your prayers be delayed, has +it not come to many of them? Come, too, very conspicuously, so that you +were amazed, and almost awed? And if there be prayers that have not yet +been answered, or in reference to which you have no knowledge of an +answer, can you not afford to wait till God gives the explanation? And +when the explanation comes, have you not much cause to believe that it +will redound to the praise of God, and that many things, in reference to +which you could at the time see nothing but what was dark and terrible, +may turn out when fully explained to furnish new and overwhelming +testimony that "God is love?" + +2. The next point is the name given by Hannah to her son. The name +Samuel, in its literal import, does not mean "asked of the Lord," but +"heard of the Lord." The reason assigned by Hannah for giving this name +to her son is not an explanation of the word, but a reference to the +circumstances. In point of fact, "heard of the Lord" is more expressive +than even "asked of the Lord," because it was God's hearing (in a +favourable sense), more than Hannah's asking, that was the decisive +point in the transaction. Still, as far as Hannah was concerned, he was +asked of the Lord. The name was designed to be a perpetual memorial of +the circumstances of his birth. For the good of the child himself, and +for the instruction of all that might come in contact with him, it was +designed to perpetuate the fact that before his birth a solemn +transaction in prayer took place between his mother and the Almighty. +The very existence of this child was a perpetual witness, first of all +of the truth that God exists, and then of the truth that He is a +prayer-hearing God. The very name of this child is a rebuke to those +parents who never think of God in connection with their children, who +never thank God for giving them, nor think of what He would like in +their education and training. Even where no such special transaction by +prayer has taken place as in the case of Samuel's mother, children are +to be regarded as sacred gifts of God. "Lo, children are the heritage of +the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward." Many a child has had +the name Samuel given him since these distant days in Judæa under the +influence of this feeling. Many a parent has felt what a solemn thing it +is to receive from God's hands an immortal creature, that may become +either an angel or a devil, and to be entrusted with the first stage of +a life that may spread desolation and misery on the one hand, or joy and +blessing wherever its influence reaches. Do not treat lightly, O +parents, the connection between God and your children! Cherish the +thought that they are God's gifts, God's heritage to you, committed by +Him to you to bring up, but not apart from Him, not in separation from +those holy influences which He alone can impart, and which He is willing +to impart. What a cruel thing it is to cut this early connection between +them and God, and send them drifting through the world like a ship with +a forsaken rudder, that flaps hither and thither with every current of +the sea! What a blessed thing when, above all things, the grace and +blessing of God are sought by parents for their children, when all the +earnest lessons of childhood are directed to this end, and before +childhood has passed into youth the grace of God rules the young heart, +and the holy purpose is formed to live in His fear through Jesus Christ, +and to honour Him for evermore! + +3. Hannah's arrangements for the child. From the very first she had +decided that at the earliest possible period he should be placed under +the high priest at Shiloh. Hannah's fulfilment of her vow was to be an +ample, prompt, honourable fulfilment. Many a one who makes vows or +resolutions under the pressure and pinch of distress immediately begins +to pare them down when the pinch is removed, like the merchant in the +storm who vowed a hecatomb to Jupiter, then reduced the hecatomb to a +single bullock, the bullock to a sheep, the sheep to a few dates; but +even these he ate on the way to the altar, laying on it only the stones. +Not one jot would Hannah abate of the full sweep and compass of her vow. +She would keep the child by her only till he was weaned, and then he +should be presented at Shiloh. It is said that Jewish mothers sometimes +suckled their children to the age of three years, and this was probably +little Samuel's age when he was taken to Shiloh. Meanwhile, she resolved +that till that time was reached she would not go up to the feast. Had +she gone before her son was weaned she must have taken him with her, and +brought him away with her, and that would have broken the solemnity of +the transaction when at last she should take him for good and all. No. +The very first visit that she and her son should pay to Shiloh would be +the decisive visit. The very first time that she should present herself +at that holy place where God had heard her prayer and her vow would be +the time when she should fulfil her vow. The first time that she should +remind the high priest of their old interview would be when she came to +offer to God's perpetual service the answer to her prayer and the fruit +of her vow. To miss the feast would be a privation, it might even be a +spiritual loss, but she had in her son that which itself was a means of +grace to her, and a blessed link to God and heaven; while she remained +with him God would still remain with her; and in prayer for him, and the +people whom he might one day influence, her heart might be as much +enlarged and warmed as if she were mingling with the thousands of +Israel, amid the holy excitement of the great national feast. + +4. Elkanah's offering at Shiloh. When Elkanah heard his wife's plan with +reference to Samuel, he simply acquiesced, bade her remain at Shiloh, +"only the Lord establish His word." What word? Literally, the Lord had +spoken no word about Samuel, unless the word of Eli to Hannah "The God +of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him" could be +regarded as a word from God. That word, however, had already been +fulfilled; and Elkanah's prayer meant, The Lord bring to pass those +further blessings of which the birth of Samuel was the promise and the +prelude; the Lord accept, in due time, the offering of this child to His +service, and grant that out of that offering there may come to Israel +all the good that it is capable of yielding. + +The cordiality with which Elkanah accepted his wife's view of the case +is seen further in the ample offering which he took to Shiloh--three +bullocks, an ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine. One bullock would +have sufficed as a burnt-offering for the child now given for the +service of God, and in ver. 25 special mention is made of one being +slain. The other two were added to mark the speciality of the occasion, +to make the offering, so to speak, round and complete, to testify the +ungrudging cordiality with which the whole transaction was entered into. +One might perhaps have thought that in connection with such a service +there was hardly any need of a bloody sacrifice, A little child of two +or three years old--the very type and picture of innocence--surely +needed little in the way of expiation. Not so, however, the view of the +law of Moses. Even a newborn infant could not be presented to the Lord +without some symbol of expiation. There is such a virus of corruption in +every human soul that not even infants can be brought to God for +acceptance and blessing without a token of atonement. Sin has so +separated the whole race from God, that not one member of it can be +brought near, can be brought into the region of benediction, without +shedding of blood. And if no member of it can be even accepted without +atonement, much less can any be taken to be God's servant, taken to +stand before Him, to represent Him, to be His organ to others, to speak +in His name. What a solemn truth for all who desire to be employed in +the public service of Jesus Christ! Remember how unworthy you are to +stand before him. Remember how stained your garments are with sin and +worldliness, how distracted your heart is with other thoughts and +feelings, how poor the service is you are capable of rendering. Remember +how gloriously Jesus is served by the angels that excel in strength, +that do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word. And when +you give yourselves to Him, or ask to be allowed to take your place +among His servants, seek as you do so to be sprinkled with the blood of +cleansing, own your personal unworthiness, and pray to be accepted +through the merit of His sacrifice! + +5. And now, the bullock being slain, they bring the child to Eli. Hannah +is the speaker, and her words are few and well chosen. She reminds Eli +of what she had done the last time she was there. Generous and +courteous, she makes no allusion to anything unpleasant that had passed +between them. Small matters of that sort are absorbed in the solemnity +and importance of the transaction. In her words to Eli she touches +briefly on the past, the present, and the future. What occurred in the +past was, that she stood there a few years ago praying unto the Lord. +What was true of the present was, that the Lord had granted her +petition, and given her this child for whom she had prayed. And what was +going to happen in the future was (as the Revised Version has it), "I +have granted him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he is granted to the +Lord." + +It is interesting to remark that no word of Eli's is introduced. This +Nazarite child is accepted for the perpetual service of God at once and +without remark. No remonstrance is made on the score of his tender +years. No doubt is insinuated as to how he may turn out. If Samuel's +family was a Levitical one, he would have been entitled to take part in +the service of God, but only occasionally, and at the Levitical age. But +his mother brings him to the Lord long before the Levitical age, and +leaves him at Shiloh, bound over to a lifelong service. How was she able +to do it? For three years that child had been her constant companion, +had lain in her bosom, had warmed her heart with his smiles, had amused +her with his prattle, had charmed her with all his engaging little ways. +How was she able to part with him? Would he not miss her too as much as +she would miss him? Shiloh was not a very attractive place, Eli was old +and feeble, Hophni and Phinehas were beasts, the atmosphere was +offensive and pernicious. Nevertheless, it was God's house, and if a +little child should be brought to it, capable of rendering to God real +service, God would take care of the child. Already he was God's child. +Asked of God, and heard of God, he bore already the mark of his Master. +God would be with him, as He had been with Joseph, as He had been with +Moses--"He shall call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him +in trouble, I will be with him and honour him." + +Noble in her spirit of endurance in the time of trial, Hannah is still +more noble in the spirit of self-denial in the time of prosperity. It +was no common grace that could so completely sacrifice all her personal +feelings, and so thoroughly honour God. What a rebuke to those parents +that keep back their children from God's service, that will not part +with their sons to be missionaries, that look on the ministry of the +Gospel as but a poor occupation! What a rebuke, too, to many Christian +men and women who are so unwilling to commit themselves openly to any +form of Christian service,--unwilling to be identified with religious +work! Yet, on the other hand, let us rejoice that in this our age, more +perhaps than in any other, so many are willing, nay eager, for Christian +service. Let us rejoice that both among young men and young women +recruits for the mission-field are offering themselves in such numbers. +After all, it is true wisdom, and true policy, although not done as a +matter of policy. It will yield far the greatest satisfaction in the +end. God is not unrighteous to forget the work and labour of love of His +children. And "every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or +sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My +name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting +life." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +_HANNAH'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING._ + +1 SAMUEL ii. 1-10. + + +The emotion that filled Hannah's breast after she had granted Samuel to +the Lord, and left him settled at Shiloh, was one of triumphant joy. In +her song we see no trace of depression, like that of a bereaved and +desolate mother. Some may be disposed to think less of Hannah on this +account; they may think she would have been more of a true mother if +something of human regret had been apparent in her song. But surely we +ought not to blame her if the Divine emotion that so completely filled +her soul excluded for the time every ordinary feeling. In the very first +words of her song we see how closely God was connected with the emotions +that swelled in her breast. "My heart rejoiceth _in the Lord_, mine horn +is exalted _in the Lord_." The feeling that was so rapturous was the +sense of God's gracious owning of her; His taking her into partnership, +so to speak, with Himself; His accepting of her son as an instrument for +carrying out His gracious purposes to Israel and the world. Only those +who have experienced it can understand the overwhelming blessedness of +this feeling. That the infinite God should draw near to His sinful +creature, and not only accept him, but identify Himself with him, as it +were, taking him and those dearest to him into His confidence, and using +them to carry out His plans, is something almost too wonderful for the +human spirit to bear. This was Hannah's feeling, as it afterwards was +that of Elizabeth, and still more of the Virgin Mary, and it is no +wonder that their songs, which bear a close resemblance to each other, +should have been used by the Christian Church to express the very +highest degree of thankfulness. + +The emotion of Hannah was intensified by another consideration. What had +taken place in her experience was not the only thing of this kind that +had ever happened or that ever was to happen. On the contrary, it was +the outcome of a great law of God's kingdom, which law regulated the +ordinary procedure of His providence. Hannah's heart was enlarged as she +thought how many others had shared or would share what had befallen her; +as she thought how such pride and arrogance as that which had tormented +her was doomed to be rebuked and brought low under God's government; how +many lowly souls that brought their burden to Him were to be relieved; +and how many empty and hungry hearts, pining for food and rest, were to +find how He "satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul +with goodness." + +But it would seem that her thoughts took a still wider sweep. Looking on +herself as representing the nation of Israel, she seems to have felt +that what had happened to her on a small scale was to happen to the +nation on a large; for God would draw nigh to Israel as He had to her, +make him His friend and confidential servant, humble the proud and +malignant nations around him, and exalt him, if only he endeavoured +humbly and thankfully to comply with the Divine will. Is it possible +that her thoughts took a more definite form? May not the Holy Spirit +have given her a glimpse of the great truth--"Unto us a child is born, +unto us a son is given"? May she not have surmised that it was to be +through one born in the same land that the great redemption was to be +achieved? May she not have seen in her little Samuel the type and symbol +of another Child, to be more wonderfully born than hers, to be dedicated +to God's service in a higher sense, to fulfil all righteousness far +beyond anything in Samuel's power? And may not this high theme, carrying +her far into future times, carrying her on to the end of the world's +history, bearing her up even to eternity and infinity, have been the +cause of that utter absence of human regret, that apparent want of +motherly heart-sinking, which we mark in the song? + +When we examine the substance of the song more carefully, we find that +Hannah derives her joy from four things about God:--1. His nature (vv. +2-3); 2. His providential government (vv. 4-8); 3. His most gracious +treatment of His saints (v. 9); 4. The glorious destiny of the kingdom +of His anointed. + +1. In the second and third verses we find comfort derived from (1) God's +holiness, (2) His unity, (3) His strength, (4) His knowledge, and (5) +His justice. + +(1) The _holiness_, the spotlessness of God is a source of +comfort,--"There is none holy as the Lord." To the wicked this attribute +is no comfort, but only a terror. Left to themselves, men take away this +attribute, and, like the Greeks and Romans and other pagans, ascribe to +their gods the lusts and passions of poor human creatures. Yet to those +who _can_ appreciate it, how blessed a thing is the holiness of God! No +darkness in Him, no corruption, no infirmity; absolutely pure, He +governs all on the principles of absolute purity; He keeps all up, even +in a sinful, crumbling world, to that high standard; and when His +schemes are completed, the blessed outcome will be "the new heavens and +the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." + +(2) His _unity_ gives comfort,--"There is none besides Thee." None to +thwart His righteous and gracious plans, or make those to tremble whose +trust is placed in Him. He doeth according to His will in the army of +heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His +hand, or say unto Him, "What doest Thou?" + +(3) His _strength_ gives comfort,--"Neither is there any rock like our +God." "If God be for us, who can be against us?" "Hast thou not known, +hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of +the ends of the earth, fainteth not, nor is weary? There is no searching +of His understanding? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that +have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be +weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait on the +Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as +eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not +faint." + +(4) His _knowledge_ gives comfort,--"The Lord is a God of knowledge." He +sees all secret wickedness, and knows how to deal with it. His eye is on +every plot hatched in the darkness. He knows His faithful servants, what +they aim at, what they suffer, what a strain is often put on their +fidelity. And He never can forget them, and never can desert them, for +"the angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear Him, and +delivereth them." + +(5) His _justice_ gives comfort. "By Him actions are weighed." Their +true quality is ascertained; what is done for mean, selfish ends stands +out before Him in all its native ugliness, and draws down the +retribution that is meet. Men may perform the outward services of +religion with great regularity and apparent zeal, while their hearts are +full of all uncleanness and wickedness. The hypocrite may rise to +honour, the thief may become rich, men that prey upon the infirmities or +the simplicity of their fellows may prosper; but there is a God in +heaven by Whom all evil devices are weighed, and Who in His own time +will effectually checkmate all that either deny His existence or fancy +they can elude His righteous judgment. + +2. These views of God's holy government are more fully enlarged on in +the second part of the song (vv. 3-8). The main feature of God's +providence dwelt on here is the changes that occur in the lot of certain +classes. The class against whom God's providence bears chiefly is the +haughty, the self-sufficient, the men of physical might who are ready to +use that might to the injury of others. Those again who lie in the path +of God's mercies are the weak, the hungry, the childless, the beggar. +Hannah uses a variety of figures. Now it is from the profession of +soldiers--"the bows of the mighty are broken"; and on the other hand +they that for very weakness were stumbling and staggering are girded +with strength. Now it is from the appetite for food--they that were full +have had to hire out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry are +hungry no more. Now it is from family life, and from a feature of family +life that came home to Hannah--"the barren hath borne seven, and she +that had many children is waxed feeble." And these changes are the doing +of God, "The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the +grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, He bringeth +low and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth +up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make +them inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the +Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them." If nothing were taught +here but that there are great vicissitudes of fortune among men, then a +lesson would come from it alike to high and low--let the high beware +lest they glory in their fortune, let the low not sink into dejection +and despair. If it be further borne in mind that these changes of +fortune are all in the hands of God, a further lesson arises, to beware +how we offend God, and to live in the earnest desire to enjoy His +favour. But there is a further lesson. The class of qualities that are +here marked as offensive to God are pride, self-seeking, +self-sufficiency both in ordinary matters and in their spiritual +development. Your tyrannical and haughty Pharaohs, your high-vaunting +Sennacheribs, your pride-intoxicated Nebuchadnezzars, are objects of +special dislike to God. So is your proud Pharisee, who goes up to the +temple thanking God that he is not as other men, no, nor like that poor +publican, who is smiting on his breast, as well such a sinner may. It is +the lowly in heart that God takes pleasure in. "Thus saith the high and +lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, and whose name is Holy: I dwell in +the high and in the holy place, but with him also that is of a humble +and contrite heart; to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive +the heart of the contrite one." + +When we turn to the song of the Virgin we find the same strain--"He hath +showed strength with His arm, He hath scattered the proud in the +imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their +seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with +good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away." Undoubtedly these +words have primary reference to the social conditions of men. Thanks are +given that the highest privilege that God could bestow on a creature had +been conferred not on any one rolling in luxury, but on a maiden of the +lowest class. This meaning does not exhaust the scope of the +thanksgiving, which doubtless embraces that law of the spiritual kingdom +to which Christ gave expression in the opening words of the Sermon on +the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of +heaven." Yet it is plain that both the song of Hannah and the song of +Mary dwell with complacency on that feature of providence by which men +of low degree are sometimes exalted, by which the beggar is sometimes +lifted from the dunghill, and set among princes to inherit the throne of +glory. Why is this? Can God have any sympathy with the spirit which +often prevails in the bosom of the poor towards the rich, which rejoices +in their downfall just because they are rich, and in the elevation of +others simply because they belong to the same class with themselves? The +thought is not to be entertained for a moment. In God's government there +is nothing partial or capricious. But the principle is this. Riches, +fulness, luxury are apt to breed pride and contempt of the poor; and it +pleases God at times, when such evil fruits appear, to bring down these +worthless rich men to the dust, in order to give a conspicuous rebuke to +the vanity, the ambition, the remorseless selfishness which were so +conspicuous in their character. What but this was the lesson from the +sudden fall of Cardinal Wolsey? Men, and even the best of men, thanked +God for that fall. Not that it gave them pleasure to see a poor wretch +who had been clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously +every day, reduced to so pitiful a plight; but because they felt it a +righteous thing and a wholesome thing that so proud and so wicked a +career should be terminated by a conspicuous manifestation of the +displeasure of God. The best instincts of men's nature longed for a +check to the monstrous pride and wicked avarice of that man; and when +that check was given, and given with such tremendous emphasis, there was +not an honest man or woman in all England who did not utter a hearty +"Praise God!" when they heard the terrible news. + +So also it pleases God to give conspicuous proofs from time to time that +qualities that in poor men are often associated with a hard-working, +humble career are well-pleasing in His sight. For what qualities on the +part of the poor are so valuable, in a social point of view, as +industry, self-denying diligence, systematic, unwearying devotion even +to work which brings them such scanty remuneration? By far the greater +part of such men and women are called to work on, unnoticed and +unrewarded, and when their day is over to sink into an undistinguished +grave. But from time to time some such persons rise to distinction. The +class to which they belong is ennobled by their achievements. When God +wished in the sixteenth century to achieve the great object of punishing +the Church which had fallen into such miserable inefficiency and +immorality, and wrenching half of Europe from its grasp, he found his +principal agent in a poor miner's cottage in Saxony. When he desired to +summon a sleeping Church to the great work of evangelising India, the +man he called to the front was Carey, a poor cobbler of Northampton. +When it was his purpose to present His Church with an unrivalled picture +of the Christian pilgrimage, its dangers and trials, its joys, its +sorrows, and its triumphs, the artist appointed to the task was John +Bunyan, the tinker of Elstow. When the object was to provide a man that +would open the great continent of Africa to civilisation and +Christianity, and who needed, in order to do this, to face dangers and +trials before which all ordinary men had shrunk, he found his agent in a +poor spinner-boy, who was working twelve hours a day in a cotton mill on +the banks of the Clyde. In all such matters, in humbling the rich and +exalting the poor, God's object is not to punish the one because they +are rich, or to exalt the other because they are poor. In the one case +it is to punish vices bred from an improper use of wealth, and in the +other to reward virtues that have sprung from the soil of poverty. "Poor +_and_ pious parents," wrote David Livingstone on the tombstone of his +parents at Hamilton, when he wished to record the grounds of his +thankfulness for the position in life which they held. "I would not +exchange my peasant father for any king," said Thomas Carlyle, when he +thought of the gems of Christian worth that had shone out all the +brighter amid the hard conditions of his father's life. Riches are no +reproach, and poverty is no merit; but the pride so apt to be bred of +riches, the idleness, the injustice, the selfishness so often associated +with them, is what God likes to reprove; and the graces that may be +found in the poor man's home, the unwearied devotion to duty, the +neighbourliness and brotherly love, and above all the faith, the hope, +and the charity are what He delights to honour. + +In the spiritual sense there is no more important ingredient of +character in God's sight than the sense of emptiness, and the conviction +that all goodness, all strength, all blessing must come from God. The +heart, thus emptied, is prepared to welcome the grace that is offered to +supply its needs. Air rushes into an exhausted receiver. Where the idea +prevails either that we are possessed of considerable native goodness, +or that we have only to take pains with ourselves to get it, there is no +welcome for the truth that "by grace are ye saved." Whoever says, "I am +rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing," knows not that +"he is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." +Miserable they who live and die in this delusion! Happy they who have +been taught, "In me dwelleth no good thing." "All my springs are in +Thee." Jesus Christ "is made to us of God wisdom and righteousness and +sanctification and redemption." "Out of His fulness have we all +received, and grace for grace." + +3. The third topic in Hannah's song is God's very gracious treatment of +His saints. "He will keep the feet of His saints." The term "feet" shows +the reference to be to their earthly life, their steps, their course +through the world. It is a promise which others would care for but +little, but which is very precious to all believers. To know the way in +which God would have one to go is of prime importance to every godly +heart. To be kept from wandering into unblest ways, kept from trifling +with temptation, and dallying with sin is an infinite blessing. "Oh that +my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed +when I have respect unto all Thy commandments." "He will keep the feet +of His saints." + +4. And lastly, Hannah rejoices in that dispensation of mercy that was +coming in connection with God's "king, His anointed" (v. 10). Guided by +the Spirit, she sees that a king is coming, that a kingdom is to be set +up, and ruled over by the Lord's anointed. She sees that God's blessing +is to come down on the king, the anointed, and that under him the +kingdom is to prosper and to spread. Did she catch a glimpse of what was +to happen under such kings as David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah? +Did she see in prophetic vision the loving care of such kings for the +welfare of the people, their holy zeal for God, their activity and +earnestness in doing good? And did the glimpse of these coming benefits +suggest to her the thought of what was to be achieved by Him who was to +be the anointed one, the Messiah in a higher sense? We can hardly avoid +giving this scope to her song. It was but a small measure of these +blessings that her son personally could bring about. Her son seems to +give place to a higher Son, through whom the land would be blessed as no +one else could have blessed it, and all hungry and thirsty souls would +be guided to that living bread and living water of which whosoever ate +and drank should never hunger or thirst again. + +What is the great lesson of this song? That for the answer to prayer, +for deliverance from trial, for the fulfilment of hopes, for the +glorious things yet spoken of the city of our God, our most cordial +thanksgivings are due to God. Every Christian life presents numberless +occasions that very specially call for such thanksgiving. But there is +one thanksgiving that must take precedence of all--"Thanks be unto God +for His unspeakable gift." "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord +Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us +again unto a living hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, +and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by +the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in +the last day." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +_ELI'S HOUSE._ + +1 SAMUEL ii. 11-36. + + +The notices of little Samuel, that alternate in this passage with the +sad accounts of Eli and his house, are like the green spots that vary +the dull stretches of sand in a desert; or like the little bits of blue +sky that charm your eye when the firmament is darkened by a storm. First +we are told how, after Elkanah and Hannah departed, the child Samuel +ministered unto the Lord before Eli the priest (v. 11); then comes an +ugly picture of the wickedness practised at Shiloh by Eli's sons (vv. +12-17); another episode brings Samuel again before us, with some details +of his own history and that of his family (vv. 18-21); this is followed +by an account of Eli's feeble endeavours to restrain the wickedness of +his sons (vv. 22-25). Once more we have a bright glimpse of Samuel, and +of his progress in life and character, very similar in terms to St. +Luke's account of the growth of the child Jesus (v. 26); and finally the +series closes with a painful narrative--the visit of a man of God to +Eli, reproving his guilty laxity in connection with his sons, and +announcing the downfall of his house (vv. 27-36). In the wickedness of +Eli's sons we see the enemy coming in like a flood; in the progress of +little Samuel we see the Spirit of the Lord lifting up a standard +against him. We see evil powerful and most destructive; we see the +instrument of healing very feeble--a mere infant. Yet the power of God +is with the infant, and in due time the force which he represents will +prevail. It is just a picture of the grand conflict of sin and grace in +the world. It was verified emphatically when Jesus was a child. How +slender the force seemed that was to scatter the world's darkness, roll +back its wickedness, and take away its guilt! How striking the lesson +for us not to be afraid though the apparent force of truth and goodness +in the world be infinitesimally small. The worm Jacob shall yet thresh +the mountains; the little flock shall yet possess the kingdom; "there +shall be a handful of corn on the top of the mountains, the fruit +thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish +like grass of the earth." + +It is mainly the picture of Eli's house and the behaviour of his family +that fills our eye in this chapter. It is to be noticed that Eli was a +descendant, not of Eleazar, the elder son of Aaron, but of Ithamar, the +younger. Why the high priesthood was transferred from the one family to +the other, in the person of Eli, we do not know. Evidently Eli's claim +to the priesthood was a valid one, for in the reproof addressed to him +it is fully assumed that he was the proper occupant of the office. One +is led to think that either from youth or natural feebleness the proper +heir in Eleazar's line had been unfit for the office, and that Eli had +been appointed to it as possessing the personal qualifications which the +other wanted. Probably therefore he was a man of vigour in his earlier +days, one capable of being at the head of affairs; and if so his loose +government of his family was all the more worthy of blame. It could not +have been that the male line in Eleazar's family had failed; for in the +time of David Zadok of the family of Eleazar was priest, along with +Abiathar, of the family of Ithamar and Eli. From Eli's administration +great things would seem to have been expected; all the more lamentable +and shameful was the state of things that ensued. + +1. First our attention is turned to the gross wickedness and scandalous +behaviour of Eli's sons. There are many dark pictures in the history of +Israel in the time of the Judges,--pictures of idolatry, pictures of +lust, pictures of treachery, pictures of bloodshed; but there is none +more awful than the picture of the high priest's family at Shiloh. In +the other cases members of the nation had become grossly wicked; but in +this case it is the salt that has lost its savour--it is those who +should have led the people in the ways of God that have become the +ringleaders of the devil's army. Hophni and Phinehas take their places +in that unhonoured band where the names of Alexander Borgia, and many a +high ecclesiastic of the Middle Ages send forth their stinking savour. +They are marked by the two prevailing vices of the lowest natures--greed +and lechery. Their greed preys upon the worthy men who brought their +offerings to God's sanctuary in obedience to His law; their lechery +seduces the very women who, employed in the service of the place (see +Revised Version), might have reasonably thought of it as the gate to +heaven rather than the avenue of hell. So shameless were they in both +kinds of vice that they were at no pains to conceal either the one or +the other. It mattered nothing what regulations God had made as to the +parts of the offering the priest was to have; down went their fork into +the sacrificial caldron, and whatever it drew up became theirs. It +mattered not that the fat of certain sacrifices was due to God, and that +it ought to have been given off before any other use was made of the +flesh; the priests claimed the flesh in its integrity, and if the +offerer would not willingly surrender it their servant fell upon him and +wrenched it away. It is difficult to say whether the greater hurt was +inflicted by such conduct on the cause of religion or on the cause of +ordinary morality. As for the cause of religion, it suffered that +terrible blow which it always suffers whenever it is dissociated from +morality. The very heart and soul is torn out of religion when men are +led to believe that their duty consists in merely believing certain +dogmas, attending to outward observances, paying dues, and "performing" +worship. What kind of conception of God can men have who are encouraged +to believe that justice, mercy, and truth have nothing to do with His +service? How can they ever think of Him as a Spirit, who requires of +them that worship Him that they worship Him in spirit and in truth? How +can such religion give men a real veneration for God, or inspire them +with that spirit of obedience, trust, and delight of which he ought ever +to be the object? Under such religion all belief in God's existence +tends to vanish. Though His existence may continue to be acknowledged, +it is not a power, it has no influence; it neither stimulates to good +nor restrains from evil. Religion becomes a miserable form, without +life, without vigour, without beauty--a mere carcase deserving only to +be buried out of sight. + +And if such a condition of things is fatal to religion, it is fatal to +morality too. Men are but too ready by nature to play loose with +conscience. But when the religious heads of the nation are seen at once +robbing man and robbing God, and when this is done apparently with +impunity, it seems foolish to ordinary men to mind moral restraints. +"Why should we mind the barriers of conscience" (the young men of Israel +might argue) "when these young priests disregard them? If we do as the +priest does we shall do very well." Men of corrupt lives at the head of +religion, who are shameless in their profligacy, have a lowering effect +on the moral life of the whole community. Down and down goes the +standard of living. Class after class gets infected. The mischief +spreads like dry rot in a building; ere long the whole fabric of society +is infected with the poison. + +2. And how did the high priest deal with this state of things? In the +worst possible way. He spoke against it but he did not act against it. +He showed that he knew of it, he owned it to be very wicked; but he +contented himself with words of remonstrance, which in the case of such +hardened transgression were of no more avail than a child's breath +against a brazen wall. At the end of the day, it is true that Eli was a +decrepit old man, from whom much vigour of action could not have been +expected. But the evil began before he was so old and decrepit, and his +fault was that he did not restrain his sons at the time when he ought +and might have restrained them. Yes, but even if Eli was old and +decrepit when the actual state of things first burst on his view, there +was enough of the awful in the conduct of his sons to have roused him to +unwonted activity. David was old and decrepit, lying feebly at the edge +of death, when word was brought to him that Adonijah had been proclaimed +king in place of Solomon, for whom he had destined the throne. But +there was enough of the startling in this intelligence to bring back a +portion of its youthful fire to David's heart, and set him to devise the +most vigorous measures to prevent the mischief that was so ready to be +perpetrated. Fancy King David sending a meek message to Adonijah--"Nay, +my son, it is not on your head but on Solomon's that my crown is to +rest; go home, my son, and do nothing more in a course hurtful to +yourself and hurtful to your people." But; it was this foolish and most +inefficient course that Eli took with his sons. Had he acted as he +should have acted at the beginning, matters would never have come to +such a flagrant pass. But when the state of things became so terrible, +there was but one course that should have been thought of. When the +wickedness of the acting priests was so outrageous that men abhorred the +offering of the Lord, the father ought to have been sunk in the high +priest; the men who had so dishonoured their office should have been +driven from the place, and the very remembrance of the crime they had +committed should have been obliterated by the holy lives and holy +service of better men. It was inexcusable in Eli to allow them to +remain. If he had had a right sense of his office he would never for one +moment have allowed the interest of his family to outweigh the claims of +God. What! Had God in the wilderness, by a solemn and deadly judgment, +removed from office and from life the two elder sons of Aaron simply +because they had offered strange fire in their censers? And what was the +crime of offering strange fire compared to the crime of robbing God, of +violating the Decalogue, of openly practising gross and daring +wickedness, under the very shadow of the tabernacle? If Eli did not take +steps for stopping these atrocious proceedings, he might rely on it +that steps would be taken in another quarter--God Himself would mark His +sense of the sin. + +For what were the interests of his sons compared with the credit of the +national worship? What mattered it that the sudden stroke would fall on +them with startling violence? If it did not lead to their repentance and +salvation it would at least save the national religion from degradation, +and it would thus bring benefit to tens of thousands in the land. All +this Eli did not regard. He could not bring himself to be harsh to his +own sons. He could not bear that they should be disgraced and degraded. +He would satisfy himself with a mild remonstrance, notwithstanding that +every day new disgrace was heaped on the sanctuary, and new +encouragement given to others to practise wickedness, by the very men +who should have been foremost in honouring God, and sensitive to every +breath that would tarnish His name. + +How differently God's servants acted in other days! How differently +Moses acted when he came down from the mount and found the people +worshipping the golden calf! "It came to pass, as soon as he came nigh +unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing: and Moses' anger +waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands and brake them +beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt +it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, +and made the children of Israel drink of it.... And Moses stood in the +gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto +me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And +he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his +sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate through the camp, +and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every +man his neighbour." Do we think this too sharp and severe a retribution? +At all events it marked in a suitable way the enormity of the offence of +Aaron and the people, and the awful provocation of Divine judgments +which the affair of the golden calf implied. It denoted that in presence +of such a sin the claims of kindred were never for a moment to be +thought of; and in the blessing of Moses it was a special commendation +of the zeal of Levi, that "he said unto his father, and to his mother, I +have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his +own children." It was the outrageous character of the offence in the +matter of the golden calf that justified the severe and abrupt +procedure; but it was Eli's condemnation that though the sin of his sons +was equally outrageous, he was moved to no indignation, and took no step +to rid the tabernacle of men so utterly unworthy. + +It is often very difficult to explain how it comes to pass that godly +men have had ungodly children. There is little difficulty in accounting +for this on the present occasion. There was a fatal defect in the method +of Eli. His remonstrance with his sons is not made at the proper time. +It is not made in the fitting tone. When disregarded, it is not followed +up by the proper consequences. We can easily think of Eli letting the +boys have their own will and their own way when they were young; +threatening them for disobedience, but not executing the threat; angry +at them when they did wrong, but not punishing the offence; vacillating +perhaps between occasional severity and habitual indulgence, till +by-and-bye all fear of sinning had left them, and they coolly calculated +that the grossest wickedness would meet with nothing worse than a +reproof. How sad the career of the young men themselves! We must not +forget that, however inexcusable their father was, the great guilt of +the proceeding was theirs. How must they have hardened their hearts +against the example of Eli, against the solemn claims of God, against +the holy traditions of the service, against the interests and claims of +those whom they ruined, against the welfare of God's chosen people! How +terribly did their familiarity with sacred things react on their +character, making them treat even the holy priesthood as a mere trade, a +trade in which the most sacred interests that could be conceived were +only as counters, to be turned by them into gain and sensual pleasure! +Could anything come nearer to the sin against the Holy Ghost? No wonder +though their doom was that of persons judicially blinded and hardened. +They were given up to a reprobate mind, to do those things that were not +convenient. "They hearkened not to the voice of their father, because +the Lord would slay them." They experienced the fate of men who +deliberately sin against the light, who love their lusts so well that +nothing will induce them to fight against them; they were so hardened +that repentance became impossible, and it was necessary for them to +undergo the full retribution of their wickedness. + +3. But it is time we should look at the message brought to Eli by the +man of God. In that message Eli was first reminded of the gracious +kindness shown to the house of Aaron in their being entrusted with the +priesthood, and in their having an honourable provision secured for +them. Next he is asked why he trampled on God's sacrifice and offering +(marg. Revised Version), and considered the interests of his sons above +the honour of God? Then he is told that any previous promise of the +perpetuity of his house is now qualified by the necessity God is under +to have regard to the character of his priests, and honour or degrade +them accordingly. In accordance with this rule the house of Eli would +suffer a terrible degradation. He (this includes his successors in +office) would be stript of "his arm," that is, his strength. No member +of his house would reach a good old age. The establishment at Shiloh +would fall more and more into decay, as if there was an enemy in God's +habitation. Any who might remain of the family would be a grief and +distress to those whom Eli represented. The young men themselves, Hophni +and Phinehas, would die the same day. Those who shared their spirit +would come crouching to the high priest of the day and implore him to +put them into one of the priest's offices, not to give them the +opportunity of serving God, but that they might eat a piece of bread. +Terrible catalogue of curses and calamities! Oh, sin, what a brood of +sorrows dost thou bring forth! Oh, young man, who walkest in the ways of +thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes, what a myriad of distresses +dost thou prepare for those whom thou art most bound to care for and to +bless! Oh, minister of the gospel, who allowest thyself to tamper with +the cravings of the flesh till thou hast brought ruin on thyself, +disgrace on thy family, and confusion on thy Church, what infatuation +was it to admit thy worst foe to the sanctuary of thy bosom, and allow +him to establish himself in the citadel till thou couldst not get quit +of him, so that thou art now helpless in his hands, with nothing but +sadness for thy present inheritance, and for the future a fearful +looking for of judgment and fiery indignation! + +One word, in conclusion, respecting that great principle of the kingdom +of God announced by the prophet as that on which Jehovah would act in +reference to His priests--"Them that honour Me I will honour, but they +that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." It is one of the grandest +sayings in Scripture. It is the eternal rule of the kingdom of God, not +limited to the days of Hophni and Phinehas, but, like the laws of the +Medes and Persians, eternal as the ordinances of heaven. It is a law +confirmed by all history; every man's life confirms it, for though this +life is but the beginning of our career, and the final clearing up of +Divine providence is to be left to the judgment-day, yet when we look +back on the world's history we find that those that have honoured God, +God has honoured them, while they that have despised Him have indeed +been lightly esteemed. However men may try to get their destiny into +their own hands; however they may secure themselves from this trouble +and from that; however, like the first Napoleon, they may seem to become +omnipotent, and to wield an irresistible power, yet the day of +retribution comes at last; having sown to the flesh, of the flesh also +they reap corruption. While the men that have honoured God, the men that +have made their own interests of no account, but have set themselves +resolutely to obey God's will and do God's work; the men that have +believed in God as the holy Ruler and Judge of the world, and have +laboured in private life and in public service to carry out the great +rules of His kingdom,--justice, mercy, the love of God and the love of +man,--these are the men that God has honoured; these are the men whose +work abides; these are the men whose names shine with undying honour, +and from whose example and achievements young hearts in every following +age draw their inspiration and encouragement. What a grand rule of life +it is, for old and young! Do you wish a maxim that shall be of high +service to you in the voyage of life, that shall enable you to steer +your barque safely both amid the open assaults of evil, and its secret +currents, so that, however tossed you may be, you may have the assurance +that the ship's head is in the right direction, and that you are moving +steadily towards the desired haven; where can you find anything more +clear, more fitting, more sure and certain than just these words of the +Almighty, "Them that honour Me I will honour; but they that despise Me +shall be lightly esteemed"? + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +_SAMUEL'S VISION._ + +1 SAMUEL iii. + + +It is evident that Samuel must have taken very kindly to the duties of +the sanctuary. He was manifestly one of those who are sanctified from +infancy, and whose hearts go from the first with sacred duties. There +were no wayward impulses to subdue, no hankerings after worldly freedom +and worldly enjoyment; there was no necessity for coercive measures, +either to restrain him from outbursts of frivolity or to compel him to +diligence and regularity in his calling. From the first he looked with +solemn awe and holy interest on all that related to the worship of God; +that, to him, was the duty above all other duties, the privilege above +all other privileges. God to him was not a mere idea, an abstraction, +representing merely the dogmas and services of religion. God was a +reality, a personality, a Being who dealt very closely with men, and +with whom they were called to deal very closely too. We can easily +conceive how desirous little Samuel would be to know something of the +meaning of the services at Shiloh; how scrupulous to perform every duty, +how regular and real in his prayers, and how full of reverence and +affection for God. He would go about all his duties with a grave, +sweet, earnest face, conscious of their importance and solemnity; always +thinking more of them than of anything else,--thinking perhaps of the +service of the angels in heaven, and trying to serve God as they served +Him, to do God's will on earth as it was done in heaven. + +At the opening of this chapter he seems to be the confidential servant +of the high priest, sleeping near to him, and in the habit of receiving +directions from him. He must be more than a child now, otherwise he +would not be entrusted, as he was, with the opening of the doors of the +house of the Lord. + +The evil example of Hophni and Phinehas, so far from corrupting him, +seems to have made him more resolute the other way. It was horrid and +disgusting; and as gross drunkenness on the part of a father sometimes +sets the children the more against it, so the profligacy of the young +priests would make Samuel more vigilant in every matter of duty. That +Eli bore as he did with the conduct of his sons must have been a great +perplexity to him, and a great sorrow; but it did not become one at his +time of life to argue the question with the aged high priest. This +conduct of Eli's did not in any respect diminish the respectful bearing +of Samuel towards him, or his readiness to comply with his every wish. +For Eli was God's high priest; and in engaging to be God's servant in +the tabernacle Samuel knew well that he took the high priest as his +earthly master. + +1. The first thing that engages our special attention in this chapter is +the singular way in which Samuel was called to receive God's message in +the temple. + +The word of God was rare in those days; there was no open vision, or +rather no vision that came abroad, that was promulgated to the nation +as the expression of God's will. From the tone in which this is referred +to, it was evidently looked on as a want, as placing the nation in a +less desirable position than in days when God was constantly +communicating His will. Now, however, God is to come into closer contact +with the people, and for this purpose He is to employ a new instrument +as the medium of His messages. For God is never at a loss for suitable +instruments--they are always ready when peculiar work has to be done. In +the selection of the boy Samuel as his prophet there is something +painful, but likewise something very interesting. It is painful to find +the old high priest passed over; his venerable years and venerable +office would naturally have pointed to him; but in spite of many good +qualities, in one point he is grossly unfaithful, and the very purpose +of the vision now to be made is to declare the outcome of his +faithlessness. But it is interesting to find that already the child of +Hannah is marked out for this distinguished service. Even in his case +there is opportunity for verifying the rule, "Them that honour Me I will +honour." His entire devotion to God's service, so beautiful in one of +such tender years, is the sign of a character well adapted to become the +medium of God's habitual communications with His people. Young though he +is, his very youth in one sense will prove an advantage. It will show +that what he speaks is not the mere fruit of his own thinking, but is +the message of God. It will show that the spiritual power that goes +forth with his words is not his own native force, but the force of the +Holy Spirit dwelling in him. It will thus be made apparent to all that +God has not forsaken His people, corrupt and lamentably wicked though +the young priests are. + +Both Eli and Samuel sleep within the precincts of the tabernacle. Not, +however, in the sanctuary itself, but in one of those buildings that +opened into its courts, which were erected for the accommodation of the +priests and Levites. Eli's sight was failing him, and perhaps the care +of the lamp as well as the door was entrusted to Samuel. The lamp was to +burn always (Exod. xxvii. 20), that is, it was to be trimmed and lighted +every morning and evening (Exod. xxx. 7, 8); and to attend to this was +primarily the high priest's duty. The lamp had doubtless been duly +trimmed, and it would probably continue burning through a good part of +the night. It was not yet out when a voice fell on the ears of Samuel, +loud enough to rouse him from the profound slumber into which he had +probably fallen. Thinking it was Eli's, he ran to his side; but Eli had +not called him. Again the voice sounded, again Samuel springs to his +feet and hastens to the high priest; again he is sent back with the same +assurance. A third time the voice calls; a third time the willing and +dutiful Samuel flies to Eli's side, but this time he is sent back with a +different answer. Hitherto Samuel had not known the Lord--that is, he +had not been cognisant of His way of communicating with men in a +supernatural form--and it had never occurred to him that such a thing +could happen in his case. But Eli knew that such communications were +made at times by God, and, remembering the visit of the man of God to +himself, he may have surmised that this was another such occasion. The +voice evidently was no natural voice; so Samuel is told to lie down once +more, to take the attitude of simple receptiveness, and humbly invite +God to utter His message. + +There are some lesser traits of Samuel's character in this part of the +transaction which ought not to be passed over without remark. The +readiness with which he springs from his bed time after time, and the +meekness and patience with which he asks Eli for his orders, without a +word of complaint on his apparently unreasonable conduct, make it very +clear that Samuel had learned to subdue two things--to subdue his body +and to subdue his temper. It is not an easy thing for a young person in +the midst of a deep sleep to spring to his feet time after time. In such +circumstances the body is very apt to overcome the mind. But Samuel's +mind overcame the body. The body was the servant, not the master. What +an admirable lesson Samuel had already learned! Few parts of early +education are so important as to learn to keep the body in subjection. +To resist bodily cravings, whether greater or smaller, which unfit one +for duty; temptations to drink, or smoke, or dawdle, or lie in bed, or +waste time when one ought to be up and doing; to be always ready for +one's work, punctual, methodical, purpose-like, save only when sickness +intervenes,--denotes a very admirable discipline for a young person, and +is a sure token of success in life. Not less admirable is that control +over the temper which Samuel had evidently acquired. To be treated by +Eli as he supposed that he had been, was highly provoking. Why drag him +out of bed at that time of night at all? Why drag him over the cold +stones in the chill darkness, and why tantalise him first by denying +that he called him and then by calling him again? As far as appears, +Samuel's temper was in no degree ruffled by the treatment he appeared to +be receiving from Eli; he felt that he was a servant, and Eli was his +master, and it was his part to obey his master, however unreasonable +his treatment might be. + +2. We proceed now to the message itself, and Samuel's reception of it. +It is substantially a repetition of what God had already communicated to +Eli by the man of God a few years before; only it is more peremptory, +and the bearing of it is more fixed and rigid. When God denounced His +judgment on Eli's house by the prophet, he seems to have intended to +give them an opportunity to repent. If Eli had bestirred himself then, +and banished the young men from Shiloh, and if his sons in their +affliction and humiliation had repented of their wickedness, the +threatened doom might have been averted. So at least we are led to +believe by this second message having been superadded to the first. Now +the opportunity of repentance has passed away. God's words are very +explicit--"I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's +house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever." After +the previous warning, Eli seems to have gone on lamenting but not +chastising. Hophni and Phinehas seem to have gone on sinning as before, +and heedless of the scandal they were causing. In announcing to Samuel +the coming catastrophe, God shows Himself thoroughly alive to the +magnitude of the punishment He is to inflict, and the calamity that is +to happen. It is such that the ears of every one that heareth it shall +tingle. God shows also that, painful though it is, it has been +deliberately determined, and no relenting will occur when once the +terrible retribution begins. "In that day will I perform against Eli all +that I have spoken concerning his house; when I begin I will also make +an end." But terrible though the punishment will be, there is only too +good cause for it. "For I have told him that I will judge his house for +ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made +themselves vile, and he restrained them not." There are some good +parents whose sons have made themselves vile, and they would fain have +restrained them but their efforts to restrain have been in vain. The +fault of Eli was, that he might have restrained them and he did not +restrain them. In those times fathers had more authority over their +families than is given them now. The head of the house was counted +responsible for the house, because it was only by his neglecting the +power he had that his family could become openly wicked. It was only by +Eli neglecting the power he had that his sons could have become so vile. +Where his sons were heirs to such sacred functions there was a double +call to restrain them, and that call he neglected. He neglected it at +the time when he might have done it, and that time could never be +recalled. + +So, there is an age when children may be restrained, and if that age is +allowed to pass the power of restraining them goes along with it. There +are faults in this matter on the part of many parents, on the right hand +and on the left. Many err by not restraining at all. Mothers begin while +their children are yet infants to humour their every whim, and cannot +bear to hold back from them anything they may wish. It is this habit +that is liable to have such a terrible reaction. There are other parents +that while they restrain do not restrain wisely. They punish, but they +do not punish in love. They are angry because their children have broken +their rules; they punish in anger, and the punishment falls merely as +the blow of a stronger person on a weaker. It does not humble, it does +not soften. What awful consequences it often brings! What skeletons it +lodges in many a house! God has designed the family to be the nurse of +what is best and purest in human life, and when this design is crossed +then the family institution, which was designed to bring the purest joy, +breeds the darkest misery. And this is one of the forms of retribution +on wickedness which we see carried out in their fulness in the present +life! How strange, that men should be in any doubt as to God carrying +out the retribution of wickedness to the bitter end! How singular they +should disbelieve in a hell! The end of many a career is written in +these words:--"Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy +backslidings shall reprove thee; know therefore, and see that it is an +evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that +My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts." + +3. And now we go on to the meeting of Eli and Samuel. Samuel is in no +haste to communicate to Eli the painful message he has received. He has +not been required to do it, and he lies till the morning, awake we may +believe, but staggered and dismayed. As usual he goes to open the doors +of God's house. And then it is that Eli calls him. "What is the thing +that He hath said unto thee?" he asks. He adjures Samuel to tell him +all. And Samuel does tell him all. And Eli listens in silence, and when +it is over he says, with meek resignation, "It is the Lord; let Him do +what seemeth Him good." + +We are touched by this behaviour of Eli. First we are touched by his +bearing toward Samuel. He knows that God has conferred an honour on +Samuel which He has not bestowed on him, but young though Samuel is he +feels no jealousy, he betrays no sign of wounded pride. It is not easy +for God's servants to bear being passed over in favour of others, in +favour of younger men. A feeling of mortification is apt to steal on +them, accompanied with some bitterness toward the object of God's +preference. This venerable old man shows nothing of that feeling. He is +not too proud to ask Samuel for a full account of God's message. He will +not have him leave anything out, out of regard to his feelings. He must +know the whole, however painful it may be. He has learned to reverence +God's truth, and he cannot bear the idea of not knowing all. And Samuel, +who did not wish to tell him anything, is now constrained to tell him +the whole. "He told him every whit, and hid nothing from him." He did +not shun to declare to him the whole counsel of God. Admirable example +for all God's servants! How averse some men are to hear the truth! And +how prone are we to try to soften what is disagreeable in our message to +sinners--to take off the sharp edge, and sheathe it in generalities and +possibilities. It is no real kindness. The kindest thing we can do is to +declare God's doom on sin, and to assure men that any hopes they may +cherish of His relenting to do as He has said are vain hopes--"When I +begin," says God, "I will also make an end." + +And we are touched further by Eli's resignation to God's will. The words +of Samuel must have raised a deep agony in his spirit when he thought of +the doom of his sons. Feeble though he was, there might have arisen in +his heart a gust of fierce rebellion against that doom. But nothing of +the kind took place. Eli was memorable for the passive virtues. He could +bear much, though he could dare little. He could submit, but he could +not fight. We find him here meekly recognizing the Divine will. God has +a right to do what He will with His own; and who am I that I should cry +out against Him? He is the Supreme Disposer of all events; why should a +worm like me stand in His way? He submits implicitly to God. "The thing +formed must not say to Him that formed him, Why hast Thou formed me +thus"? What God ordains must be right. It is a terrible blow to Eli, but +he may understand the bearings of it better in another state. He bows to +that Supreme Will which he has learned to trust and to honour above +every force in the universe. + +Yes, we are touched by Eli's meekness and submission. And yet, though +Eli had in him the stuff that martyrs are often made of, his character +was essentially feeble, and his influence was not wholesome. He wanted +that resolute purpose which men like Daniel possessed. His will was too +feeble to control his life. He was too apprehensive of immediate +trouble, of present inconvenience and unpleasantness, to carry out firm +principles of action against wickedness, even in his own family. He was +a memorable instance of the soundness of the principle afterwards laid +down by St. Paul: "If a man know not how to rule his own house, how +shall he take care of the Church of God?" He greatly needed the +exhortation which God gave to Joshua--"Be strong and of a good courage." +It is true his infirmity was one of natural temperament. Men might say +he could not help it. Neither can one overcome temperament altogether. +But men of feeble temperament, especially when set over others, have +great need to watch it, and ask God to strengthen them where they are +weak. Divine grace has a wonderful power to make up the defects of +nature. Timid, irresolute Peter was a different man after his fall. +Divine grace turned him into a rock after all. The coward who had shrunk +from before a maiden got courage to defy a whole Sanhedrim. In the +ministers of God's house the timid, crouching spirit is specially +unseemly. They, at least, would need to rest on firm convictions, and to +be governed by a resolute will. "Finally, brethren, be strong in the +Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that +ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to +stand." + +4. Samuel is now openly known to be the prophet of the Lord. "Samuel +grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to +the ground." Little didst thou think, Hannah, some twenty years ago, +that the child thou didst then ask of the Lord would ere long supersede +the high priest who showed so little tact and judgment in interpreting +the agitation of thy spirit! No, thou hast no feeling against the +venerable old man; but thou canst not but wonder at the ups and downs of +Providence; thou canst not but recall the words of thine own song, "He +bringeth low, and lifteth up." And Samuel has not to fight his way to +public recognition, or wait long till it come. "All Israel, from Dan +even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of +the Lord." + +And by-and-bye other oracles came to him, by which all men might have +known that he was the recognized channel of communication between God +and the people. We shall see in our next chapter into what trouble the +nation was brought by disregarding his prophetic office, and recklessly +determining to drag the ark of God into the battlefield. Meanwhile we +cannot but remark what a dangerous position, in a mere human point of +view, Samuel now occupied. The danger was that which a young man +encounters when suddenly or early raised to the possession of high +spiritual power. Samuel, though little more than a boy, was now +virtually the chief man in Israel. Set so high, his natural danger was +great. But God, who placed him there, sustained in him the spirit of +humble dependence. After all he was but God's servant. Humble obedience +was still his duty. And in this higher sphere his career was but a +continuation of what had been described when it was said, "The child +Samuel ministered to the Lord in Shiloh." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +_THE ARK OF GOD TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES._ + +1 SAMUEL iv. + + +We are liable to form an erroneous impression of the connection of +Samuel with the transactions of this chapter, in consequence of a clause +which ought to belong to the last chapter, being placed, in the +Authorized Version, at the beginning of this. The clause "And the word +of Samuel came to all Israel" belongs really to the preceding chapter. +It denotes that Samuel was now over all Israel the recognized channel of +communication between the people and God. But it does not denote that +the war with the Philistines, of which mention is immediately made, was +undertaken at Samuel's instance. In fact, the whole chapter is +remarkable for the absence of Samuel's name. What is thus denoted seems +to be that Samuel was not consulted either about the war or about the +taking of the ark into the battle. Whatever he may have thought of the +war, he would undoubtedly have been horrified at the proposal about the +ark. That whole transaction must have seemed to him a piece of +infatuation. Probably it was carried into effect in a kind of tumultuous +frenzy. But there can be no reasonable doubt that whatever Samuel could +have done to oppose it would have been done with the greatest +eagerness. + +The history is silent about the Philistines from the days of Samson. The +last we have heard of them was the fearful tragedy at the death of that +great Judge of Israel, when the house fell upon the lords and the +people, and such a prodigious slaughter of their great men took place. +From that calamity they seem now to have revived. They would naturally +be desirous to revenge that unexampled catastrophe, and as Ebenezer and +Aphek are situated in the land of Israel, it would seem that the +Philistines were the aggressors. They had come up from the Philistine +plain to the mountainous country of Israel, and no doubt had already +sent many of the people to flight through whose farms they came. As the +Israelites had no standing army, the troops that opposed the Philistines +could be little better than an untrained horde. When they joined battle, +Israel was smitten before the Philistines, and they slew of the army +about four thousand men. In a moral point of view the defeat was +strange; the Philistines had made the attack, and the Israelites were +fighting for their homes and hearths; yet victory was given to the +invaders, and in four thousand homes of Israel there was lamentation and +woe. + +But this was not really strange. Israel needed chastening, and the +Philistines were God's instruments for that purpose. In particular, +judgment was due to the sons of Eli; and the defeat inflicted by the +Philistines, and the mistaken and superstitious notion which seized on +the people that they would do well to take God's ark into the battle, +were the means by which their punishment came. How often Providence +seems to follow a retrograde course! And yet it is a forward course all +the time, although from our point of view it seems backward; just as +those planets which are nearer the sun than the earth sometimes seem to +us to reverse the direction of their movement; although if we were +placed in the centre of the system we should see very plainly that they +are moving steadily forward all the time. + +Three things call for special notice in the main narrative of this +chapter--1. The preparation for the battle; 2. The battle itself; and 3. +The result when the news was carried to Shiloh. + +1. The preparation for the battle was the sending for the ark of the +Lord to Shiloh, so that Israel might fight under the immediate presence +and protection of their God. + +It seemed a brilliant idea. Whichever of the elders first suggested it, +it caught at once, and was promptly acted on. There were two great +objections to it, but if they were so much as entertained they certainly +had no effect given them. The first was, that the elders had no +legitimate control over the ark. The custody of it belonged to the +priests and the Levites, and Eli was the high priest. If the rulers of +the nation at any time desired to remove the ark (as David afterwards +did when he placed it on Mount Zion), that could only be done after +clear indications that the step was in accordance with the will of God, +and with the full consent of the priests. There is no reason to suppose +that any means were taken to find out whether its removal to the camp +was in accordance with the will of God; and as to the mind of the +priests, Eli was probably passed over as too old and too blind to be +consulted, and Hophni and Phinehas would be restrained by no scruples +from an act which every one seemed to approve. The second great +objection to the step was that it was a superstitious and irreverent use +of the symbol of God's presence. Evidently the people ascribed to the +symbol the glorious properties that belonged only to the reality. They +expected that the symbol of God's presence would do for them all that +might be done by His presence itself. And doubtless there had been +occasions when the symbol and the reality went together. In the +wilderness, in the days of Moses, "It came to pass, when the ark set +forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be +scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee" (Num. x. 35). +But these were occasions determined by the cloud rising and going before +the host, an unmistakable indication of the will of God (Num. ix. +15-22). God's real presence accompanied the ark on these occasions, and +all that was expressed in the symbol was actually enjoyed by the people. +There was no essential or inherent connection between the two; the +actual connection was determined merely by the good pleasure of God. It +pleased Him to connect them, and connected they were. But the ignorant +and superstitious elders forgot that the connection between the symbol +and the reality was of this nature; they believed it to be inherent and +essential. In their unthinking and unreasoning minds the symbol might be +relied on to produce all the effect of the reality. If only the ark of +God were carried into the battle, the same effect would take place as +when Moses said in the wilderness, "Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies +be scattered." + +Could anything show more clearly the unspiritual tendencies of the human +mind in its conceptions of God, and of the kind of worship He should +receive? The idea of God as the living God is strangely foreign to the +human heart. To think of God as one who has a will and purpose of His +own, and who will never give His countenance to any undertaking that +does not agree with that will and purpose, is very hard for the +unspiritual man. To make the will of God the first consideration in any +enterprise, so that it is not to be thought of if He do not approve, and +is never to be despaired of if He be favourable, is a bondage and a +trouble beyond his ability. Yet even superstitious men believe in a +supernatural power. And they believe in the possibility of enlisting +that power on their side. And the method they take is to ascribe the +virtue of a charm to certain external objects with which that power is +associated. The elders of Israel ascribed this virtue to the ark. They +never inquired whether the enterprise was agreeable to the mind and will +of God. They never asked whether in this case there was any ground for +believing that the symbol and the reality would go together. They simply +ascribed to the symbol the power of a talisman, and felt secure of +victory under its shadow. + +Would that we could think of this spirit as extinct even in Christian +communities! What is the Romish and the very High Church doctrine of the +sacraments but an ascription to them, when rightly used, of the power of +a charm? The sacraments, as Scripture teaches, are symbols of very +glorious realities, and wherever the symbols are used in accordance with +God's will the realities are sure to be enjoyed. But it has long been +the doctrine of the Church of Rome, and it is the doctrine of Churches, +with similar views, that the sacraments are reservoirs of grace, and +that to those who place no fatal obstacle in their way, grace comes from +them _ex opere operato_, from the very act of receiving them. It is the +Protestant and scriptural doctrine that by stimulating faith, by +encouraging us to look to the living Saviour, and draw from Him in whom +all fulness dwells, the sacraments bring to us copious supplies of +grace, but that without the presence of that living Saviour they would +be merely as empty wells. The High Church view regards them as charms, +that have a magic virtue to bless the soul. The superstitious mother +thinks if only her child is baptised it will be saved, the act of +baptism will do it, and she never thinks of the living Saviour and His +glorious grace. The dying sinner thinks, if only he had the last +sacraments, he would be borne peacefully and well through the dark +scenes of death and judgment, and forgets that the commandment of +Scripture is not, Look unto the last sacraments, but, "Look _unto Me_ +and be ye saved." Alas! what will men not substitute for personal +dealings with the living God? The first book and the last book of the +Bible present sad proof of his recoil from such contact. In Genesis, as +man hears God's voice, he runs to hide himself among the trees of the +garden. In Revelation, when the Judge appears, men call on the mountains +to fall on them and hide them from Him that sitteth on the throne. Only +when we see God's face, beautiful and loving, in Christ, can this +aversion be overcome. + +If the presence of the ark in the field of battle did much to excite the +hopes of the Israelites, it did not less to raise the fears of their +opponents. The shout with which its arrival was hailed by the one struck +something of consternation into the breasts of the other. But now, an +effect took place on which the Israelites had not reckoned. The +Philistines were too wise a people to yield to panic. If the Hebrew God, +that did such wonders in the wilderness, was present with their +opponents, there was all the more need for their bestirring themselves +and quitting them like men. The elders of Israel had not reckoned on +this wise plan. It teaches us, even from a heathen point of view, never +to yield to panic. Even when everything looks desperate, there may be +some untried resource to fall back on. And if this be a lesson to be +learnt from pagans, much more surely may it be thought of by believers, +who know that man's extremity is often God's opportunity, and that no +peril is too imminent for God not to be able to deliver. + +2. And now the battle rages. The hope of misguided Israel turns out an +illusion. They find, to their consternation, that the symbol does not +carry the reality. It pleases God to allow the ark with which His name +is so intimately associated to be seized by the enemy. The Philistines +carry everything before them. The ark is taken, Hophni and Phinehas are +slain, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen. + +Can we fancy the feelings of the two priests who attended the ark as the +defeat of the army of Israel became inevitable? The ark would probably +be carried near the van of the army, preceded by some of the most +valiant troops of Israel. No doubt it had been reckoned on that as soon +as its sacred form was recognized by the Philistines, fear would seize +on them, and they would fly before it. It must have made the two priests +look grave when nothing of the kind took place, but the host of the +Philistines advanced in firm and intrepid phalanx to the fight. But +surely the first onset of the advanced guard will show with whose army +the victory is to lie. The advanced guards are at close quarters, and +the men of Israel give way. Was there conscience enough left in these +two men to flash into their minds that God, whose Holy Spirit they had +vexed, was turned to be their enemy, and was now fighting against them? +Did they, in that supreme moment, get one of those momentary glimpses, +in which the whole iniquities of a lifetime seem marshalled before the +soul, and the enormity of its guilt overwhelms it? Did they feel the +anguish of men caught in their own iniquities, every hope perished, +death inevitable, and after death the judgment? There is not one word, +either in this chapter or in what precedes it, from which the slightest +inference in their favour can be drawn. They died apparently as they had +lived, in the very act of dishonouring God. With the weapons of +rebellion in their hands, and the stains of guilt on their hearts, they +were hurried into the presence of the Judge. Now comes the right +estimate of their reckless, guilty life. All the arts of sophistry, all +the refuges of lies, all their daring contempt of the very idea of a +retribution on sin, are swept away in a moment. They are confronted with +the awful reality of their doom. They see more vividly than even Eli or +Samuel the truth of one part, certainly, of the Divine rule--"Them that +honour Me I will honour; but they that despise Me shall be lightly +esteemed." + +The time of guilty pleasure has passed for ever away; the time of +endless retribution has begun. Oh, how short, how miserable, how +abominable appears to them now the revelry of their evil life! what +infatuation it was to forswear all the principles in which they had been +reared, to laugh at the puritanic strictness of their father, to sit in +the seat of the scorner, and pour contempt on the law of God's house! +How they must have cursed the folly that led them into such awful ways +of sin, how sighed in vain that they had not in their youth chosen the +better part, how wished they had never been born! + +3. But we must leave the field of battle and hasten back to Shiloh. +Since the ark was carried off Eli must have had a miserable time of it, +reproaching himself for his weakness if he gave even a reluctant assent +to the plan, and feeling that uncertainty of conscience which keeps one +even from prayer, because it makes one doubtful if God will listen. Poor +old man of ninety-eight years, he could but tremble for the ark! His +official seat had been placed somewhere on the wayside, where he would +be near to get tidings from the field of any one who might come with +them, and quite probably a retinue of attendants was around him. At last +a great shout of horror is heard, for a man of Benjamin has come in +sight with his clothes rent and earth upon his head. It is but too +certain a sign of calamity. But who could have thought of the extent of +the calamity which with such awful precision he crowded into his answer? +Israel is fled before the Philistines--calamity the first; there hath +been a great slaughter among the people--calamity the second; thy two +sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are slain--calamity the third; and last, and +most terrible of all, the ark of God is taken! The ark of God is taken! +The Divine symbol, with its overshadowing cherubim and its sacred light, +into which year by year Eli had gone alone to sprinkle the blood of +atonement on the mercy-seat, and where he had solemnly transacted with +God on behalf of the people, was in an enemy's hands! The ark, that no +Canaanite or Amalekite had ever touched, on which no Midianite or +Ammonite had ever laid his polluted finger, which had remained safe and +sure in Israel's custody through all the perils of their journeys and +all the storms of battle, was now torn from their grasp! And there +perishes with it all the hope of Israel, and all the sacred service +which was associated with it; and Israel is a widowed, desolate, godless +people, without hope and without God in the world; and all this has come +because they dragged it away from its place, and these two sons of mine, +now gone to their account, encouraged the profanation! + +"And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he +fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck +brake, and he died; for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged +Israel forty years." + +This was calamity the fifth; but even yet the list was not exhausted. +"His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be +delivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, +and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself +and travailed, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her +death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not, for thou hast +born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she +named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; +because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and +her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel; for the +ark of God is taken." + +Poor, good woman! with such a husband she had no doubt had a troubled +life. The spring of her spirit had probably been broken long ago; and +what little of elasticity yet remained was all too little to bear up +under such an overwhelming load. But it may have been her comfort to +live so near to the house of God as she did, and to be thus reminded of +Him who had commanded the sons of Aaron to bless the people saying, "The +Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee +and be gracious to thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and +give thee peace." But now the ark of God is taken, its services are at +an end, and the blessing is gone. The tribes may come up to the feasts +as before, but not with the bright eye or the merry shouts of former +days; the bullock may smoke on the altar, but where is the sanctuary in +which Jehovah dwelt, and where the mercy-seat for the priest to sprinkle +the blood, and where the door by which he can come out to bless the +people? Oh, my hapless child, what shall I call thee, who hast been +ushered on this day of midnight gloom into a God-forsaken and +dishonoured place? I will call thee Ichabod, for the glory is departed. +The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken. + +What an awful impression these scenes convey to us of the overpowering +desolation that comes to believing souls with the feeling that God has +taken His departure. Tell us that the sun is no longer to shine; tell us +that neither dew nor rain shall ever fall again to refresh the earth; +tell us that a cruel and savage nation is to reign unchecked and +unchallenged over all the families of a people once free and happy; you +convey no such image of desolation as when you tell to pious hearts that +God has departed from their community. Let us learn the obvious lesson, +to do nothing to provoke such a calamity. It is only when resisted and +dishonoured that the Spirit of God departs--only when He is driven away. +Oh, beware of everything that grieves Him--everything that interferes +with His gracious action on your souls. Beware of all that would lead +God to say, "I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge +their offence and seek My face." Let our prayer be the cry of +David:--"Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy +Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me +with Thy free Spirit." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +_THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES._ + +1 SAMUEL v., vi. + + +Although the history in Samuel is silent as to the doings of the +Philistines immediately after their great victory over Israel, yet we +learn from other parts of the Bible (Psalm lxxviii. 60-64; Jeremiah vii. +12, xxvi. 9) that they proceeded to Shiloh, massacred the priests, +wrecked the city, and left it a monument of desolation, as it continued +to be ever after. Probably this was considered an appropriate sequel to +the capture of the ark--a fitting mode of completing and commemorating +their victory over the national God of the Hebrews. For we may well +believe that it was this unprecedented feature of their success that was +uppermost in the Philistines' mind. The prevalent idea among the +surrounding nations regarding the God of the Hebrews was that He was a +God of exceeding power. The wonders done by Him in Egypt still filled +the popular imagination (ch. vi. 6); the strong hand and the +outstretched arm with which He had driven out the seven nations of +Canaan and prepared the way for His people were not forgotten. Neither +in more recent conflicts had any of the surrounding nations obtained the +slightest advantage over Him. It was in His name that Barak and Deborah +had defeated the Canaanites; it was the sword of the Lord and of Gideon +that had thrown such consternation into the hearts of the Midianites. +But now the tide was completely turned; not only had the Hebrew God +failed to protect His people, but ruin had come on both Him and them, +and His very sanctuary was in Philistine hands. No wonder the +Philistines were marvellously elated. Let us sweep from the face of the +earth every trace and memorial of His worship, was their cry. Let us +inflict such humiliation on the spot sacred to His name that never again +shall His worshippers be able to regain their courage and lift up their +heads, and neither we nor our children shall tremble any more at the +mention of His terrible deeds. + +We have not one word about Samuel in connection with all this. The news +from the battlefield, followed by the death of Eli and of the wife of +Phinehas, must have been a terrible blow to him. But besides being calm +of nature (as his bearing showed after he got the message about Eli's +house), he was habitually in fellowship with God, and in this habit +enjoyed a great help towards self-possession and promptitude of action +in sudden emergencies and perplexities. That the ill-advised scheme for +carrying the ark into battle implied any real humiliation of the God of +Israel, or would have any evil effect on the covenant sworn to Abraham, +Isaac, and Jacob, he could not for a moment suppose. But the confusion +and trouble that would arise, especially if the Philistines advanced +upon Shiloh, was a very serious consideration. There was much left at +Shiloh which needed to be cared for. There were sacred vessels, and +possibly national records, which must not be allowed to fall into the +hands of the enemy. By what means Samuel was able to secure the safety +of these; by what means he secured his own personal safety when "the +priests fell by the sword" (Psalm lxxviii. 64), we cannot say. But the +Lord was with Samuel, and even in this hour of national horror He +directed his proceedings, and established upon him the work of his +hands. + +The fact to which we have drawn attention, that it was over the God of +Israel that the Philistines had triumphed, is the key to the +transactions recorded so minutely in the fifth and sixth chapters. The +great object of these chapters is to show how God undeceived the +Philistines on this all-important point. He undeceived them in a very +quiet, undemonstrative manner. On certain occasions God impresses men by +His great agencies,--by fire and earthquake and tempest, by "stormy wind +fulfilling His word." But these are not needed on this occasion. +Agencies much less striking will do the work. God will recover His name +and fame among the nations by much humbler forces. By the most trifling +exertion of His power, these Philistines will be brought to their wit's +end, and all the wisdom of their wisest men and all the craft of their +most cunning priests will be needed to devise some propitiation for One +who is infinitely too strong for them, and to prevent their country from +being brought to ruin by the silent working of His resistless power. + +1. First of all, the ark is carried to Ashdod, where stood the great +temple of their God, Dagon. It is placed within the precincts of the +temple, in some place of subordination, doubtless, to the place of the +idol. Perhaps the expectation of the Philistines was that in the +exercise of his supernatural might their god would bring about the +mutilation or destruction of the Hebrew symbol. The morning showed +another sight. It was Dagon that was humiliated before the ark--fallen +to the ground upon his face. Next day a worse humiliation had befallen +him. Besides having fallen, his head and hands were severed from the +image, and only the stump remained. And besides this, the people were +suffering extensively from a painful disease, emerods or hemorrhoids, +and this too was ascribed to the influence of the God of the Hebrews. +The people of Ashdod had no desire to prolong the contest. They gathered +the lords of the Philistines and asked what was to be done. The lords +probably concluded that it was a case of mere local ill-luck. But what +had happened at Ashdod would not happen elsewhere. Let the ark be +carried to Gath. + +2. To Gath, accordingly, the ark is brought. But no sooner is it there +than the disease that had broken out at Ashdod falls upon the Gittites, +and the mortality is terrible. The people of Gath are in too great haste +to call again on the lords of the Philistines to say what is to be done. +They simply carry the ark to Ekron. + +3. And little welcome it gets from the Ekronites. It is now recognised +as the symbol of an angry God, whose power to punish and to destroy is +unlimited. The Ekronites are indignant at the people of Gath. "They have +brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our +people." The destruction at Ekron seems to have been more awful than at +the other places--"The cry of the city went up to heaven." The lords of +the Philistines are again convened, to deliberate over the failure of +their last advice. There is no use trying any other place in the +country. The idea of local ill-luck is preposterous. Let it go again to +its own place! is the cry. Alas that we have destroyed Shiloh, for where +can we send it now? We can risk no further mistakes. Let us convene the +priests and the diviners to determine how it is to be got quit of, and +with what gifts or offerings it is to be accompanied. Would only we had +never touched it! + +The priests and the diviners give a full answer on all the points +submitted to them. First, the ark when sent away must contain an +offering, in order to propitiate the Hebrew God for the insults heaped +on Him. The offering was to be in the form of golden emerods and golden +mice. It would appear that in addition to the disease that had broken +out on the bodies of the people they had had in their fields the plague +of mice. These field-mice bred with amazing rapidity, and sometimes +consumed the whole produce of the field. There is a slight difficulty +about numbers here. There are to be five golden emerods and five golden +mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines (vi. 3); +but it is said after (ver. 18) that the number of the golden mice was +according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging +to the five lords, both of fenced cities and country villages. It is +surmised, however, that (as in the Septuagint) the number _five_ should +not be repeated in the middle of the first passage (vi. 4, 5), but that +it should run, "five golden emerods, according to the number of the +lords of the Philistines, and golden mice, images of the mice that +destroy the land." The idea of presenting offerings to the gods +corresponding with the object in connection with which they were +presented was often given effect to by heathen nations. "Those saved +from shipwreck offered pictures of the shipwreck, or of the clothes +which they had on at the time, in the Temple of Isis; slaves and +captives, in gratitude for the recovery of their liberty, offered chains +to the Lares; retired gladiators, their arms to Hercules; and in the +fifth century a custom prevailed among Christians of offering in their +churches gold or silver hands, feet, eyes, etc., in return for cures +effected in those members respectively in answer to prayer. This was +probably a heathen custom transferred into the Christian Church; for a +similar usage is still found among the heathen in India" (_Speaker's +Commentary_). + +4. Next, as to the manner in which the ark was to be sent away. A new +cart was to be made, and two milch cows which had never been in harness +before were to be fastened to the cart. This was to be out of respect to +the God of Israel; new things were counted more honourable, as our Lord +rode on a colt "whereon never man had yet sat," and His body was laid in +a new sepulchre. The cows were to be left without guidance to determine +their path; if they took the road to Judea, the road up the valley to +Bethshemesh, that would be a token that all their trouble had come from +the God of the Hebrews; but if they took any other road, the road to any +place in the Philistine country, that would prove that there had only +been a coincidence, and no relation of cause and effect between the +capture of the ark and the evils that had befallen them. It was the +principle of the lot applied to determine a grave moral question. It was +a method which, in the absence of better light, men were ready enough to +resort to in those times, and which on one memorable occasion was +resorted to in the early Christian Church (Acts i.). The much fuller +light which God has given men on moral and religious questions greatly +restricts, if it does not indeed abolish, the lawful occasions of +resorting to such a method. If it be ever lawful, it can only be so in +the exercise of a devout and solemn spirit, for the apostles did not +make use of it by itself, but only after earnest prayer that God would +make the lot the instrument of making known His will. + +At last the ark leaves the land of the Philistines. For seven terrible +months it had spread among them anxiety, terror, and death. Nothing but +utter ruin seemed likely to spring from a longer residence of the ark in +their territories. Glad were they to get rid of it, golden emerods, +golden mice, new cart, milch kine, and all. We are reminded of a scene +in Gospel history, that took place at Gadara after the devils drove the +herd of swine over the cliff into the lake. The people of the place +besought Jesus to depart out of their coasts. It is a solemn truth that +there are aspects of God's character, aspects of the Saviour's +character, in which He is only a terror and a trouble. These are the +aspects in which God is seen opposed to what men love and prize, tearing +their treasures away from them, or tearing them away from their +treasures. It is an awful thing to know God in these aspects alone. Yet +it is the aspect in which God usually appears to the sinner. It is the +aspect in which our consciences present Him when we are conscious of +having incurred His displeasure. And while man remains a sinner and in +love with his sin, he may try to disguise the solemn fact to his own +mind, but it is nevertheless true that his secret desire is to get rid +of God. As the apostle puts it, he does not like to retain God in his +knowledge (Rom. i. 28). He says to God, "Depart from us, for we desire +not the knowledge of Thy ways" (Job xxi. 14). Nay, he goes a step +further--"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. xiv. +1). Where he still makes some acknowledgment of Him, he may try to +propitiate Him by offerings, and to make up for the transgressions he +commits in some things by acts of will-worship, or voluntary humiliation +in other things. But alas! of how large a portion even of men in +Christian lands is it true that they do not love God. Their hearts have +no yearning for Him. The thought of Him is a disturbing, uncomfortable +element. Heart communion with Him is a difficulty not to be overcome. +Forms of worship that leave the heart unexercised are a great relief. +Worship _performed_ by choirs and instruments and æsthetic rules comes +welcome as a substitute for the intercourse and homage of the soul. +Could anything demonstrate more clearly the need of a great spiritual +change? What but the vision of God in Christ reconciling the world to +Himself can effect it? And even the glorious truths of redemption are +not in themselves efficacious. The seed needs to fall on good soil. He +that commanded the light to shine out of darkness must shine in our +minds to give the light of the glory of God in the face of His Anointed. +But surely it is a great step towards this change to feel the need of +it. The heart that is honest with God, and that says, "O God Almighty, I +do not love Thee, I am not happy in Thy presence, I like life better +without Thee; but I am convinced that this is a most wretched condition, +and most sinful. Wilt Thou, in infinite mercy, have compassion on me? +Wilt Thou so change me that I may come to love Thee, to love Thy +company, to welcome the thought of Thee, and to worship Thee in spirit +and in truth?"--such a heart, expressing itself thus, will surely not be +forsaken. How long it may be ere its quest is granted we cannot tell; +but surely the day wall come when the new song shall be put in its +mouth--"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who +forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases; who +redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with +loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good +things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." + +5. And now the ark has reached Bethshemesh, in the tribe of Judah. The +lords of the Philistines have followed it, watching it, as Miriam +watched her infant brother on the Nile, to see what would become of it. +Nor do they turn back till they have seen the men of Bethshemesh welcome +it, till they have seen the Levites take it down from the cart, till +they have seen the cart cleft, and the cows offered as a trespass +offering, and till they have seen their own golden jewels, along with +the burnt-offerings and sacrifices of the people of Bethshemesh, +presented in due form to the Lord. + +Thus far all goes well at Bethshemesh. The ark is on Hebrew soil. The +people there have no fear either of the emerods or of the mice that so +terribly distressed their Philistine neighbours. After a time of great +depression the sun is beginning to smile on Israel again. The men of +Bethshemesh are reaping their barley-harvest--that is one mercy from +God. And here most unexpectedly appears the sight that of all possible +sights was the most welcome to their eyes; here, unhurt and unrifled, is +the ark of the covenant that had been given up for lost, despaired of +probably, even by its most ardent friends. How could Israel hope to gain +possession of that apparently insignificant box except by an invasion of +the Philistines in overwhelming force--in such force as a nation that +had but lately lost thirty thousand men was not able to command? And +even if such an overwhelming expedition were to be arranged, how easy +would it not be for the Philistines to burn the ark, and thus annihilate +the very thing to recover which the war was undertaken? Yet here is the +ark back without the intervention of a single soldier. No ransom has +been given for it, no blow struck, nothing promised, nothing threatened. +Here it comes, as if unseen angels had fetched it, with its precious +treasures and still more precious memories just as before! It was like a +foreshadow of the return from the captivity--an experience that might +have found expression in the words, "When the Lord turned again the +captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream." + +Happy men of Bethshemesh, for whom God prepared so delightful a +surprise. Truly He is able to do in us exceeding abundantly above all +that we ask or think. How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways +past finding out! Never let us despair of God, or of any cause with +which He is identified. "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;" +"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought; He maketh the +devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth +for ever, and the thoughts of His heart to all generations." + +But alas! the men of Bethshemesh did not act according to the benefit +received. Their curiosity prevailed above their reverence: they looked +into the ark of the Lord. As if the sacred vessel had not had enough of +indignity in the din of battle, in the temples of the uncircumcised +Philistines, and in the cart drawn by the kine, they must expose it to a +yet further profanation! Alas for them! their curiosity prevailed over +their reverence. And for this they had to pay a terrible penalty. "The +Lord smote of the men of Bethshemesh fifty thousand and three score and +ten men." It is the general opinion, however, that an error has slipped +into the text that makes the deaths amount to fifty thousand threescore +and ten. Bethshemesh was never more than a village or little town, and +could not have had anything like so great a population. Probably the +threescore and ten, without the fifty thousand, is all that was +originally in the text. Even that would be "a great slaughter" in the +population of a little town. It was a very sad thing that an event so +joyous should be clouded by such a judgment. But how often are times and +scenes which God has made very bright marred by the folly and +recklessness of men! + +The prying men of Bethshemesh have had their counterparts many a time in +more recent days. Many men, with strong theological proclivities, have +evinced a strong desire to pry into the "secret things which belong to +the Lord our God." Foreknowledge, election, free will, sin's +punishment--men have often forgot that there is much in such subjects +that exceeds the capacity of the human mind, and that as God has shown +reserve in what He has revealed about them, so men ought to show a holy +modesty in their manner of treating them. And even in the handling of +sacred things generally, in the way of theological discussion, a want of +reverence has very often been shown. It becomes us all most carefully to +beware of abusing the gracious condescension which God has shown in His +revelation, and in the use which He designs us to make of it. It was an +excellent rule a foreign theologian laid down for himself, to keep up +the spirit of reverence--never to speak of God without speaking to God. + +God has drawn very near to us in Christ, and given to all that accept of +Him the place and privileges of children. He allows us to come very +near to Him in prayer. "In everything," He says, "by prayer and +supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known unto God." But +while we gratefully accept these privileges, and while in the enjoyment +of them we become very intimate with God, never let us forget the +infinite distance between us, and the infinite condescension manifested +in His allowing us to enter into the holiest of all. Never let us forget +that in His sight we are "as dust and ashes," unworthy to lift up our +eyes to the place where His honour dwelleth. To combine reverence and +intimacy in our dealings with God,--the profoundest reverence with the +closest intimacy, is to realise the highest ideal of worship. God +Himself would have us remember, in our approaches to Him, that He is in +heaven and we on the earth. "Thus saith the High and Lofty One that +inhabiteth Eternity and whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy +place, but with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to +revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the hearts of the +contrite ones." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +_REPENTANCE AND REVIVAL._ + +1 SAMUEL vii. 1-9. + + +With the men of Bethshemesh the presence of the ark had become the same +terror as it had been successively at Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. Instead +of the savour of life to life, it had proved a savour of death to death. +Instead of a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, it had become a stone +of stumbling and a rock of offence. They sent therefore to their +neighbours at Kirjath-jearim, and begged them to come down and remove +the ark. This they readily did. More timid men might have said, The ark +has brought nothing but disaster in its train; we will have nothing to +do with it. There was faith and loyalty to God shown in their readiness +to give accommodation to it within their bounds. Deeming a high place to +be the kind of situation where it should rest, they selected the house +of Abinadab in the hill, he being probably a Levite. To keep the ark +they set apart his son Eleazar, whose name seems to indicate that he was +of the house of Aaron. They seem to have done all they could, and with +due regard to the requirements of the law, for the custody of the sacred +symbol. But Kirjath-jearim was not turned into the seat of the national +worship. There is no word of sacrificial or other services being +performed there. There is nothing to indicate that the annual feasts +were held at this place. The ark had a resting-place there--nothing +more. + +And this lasted for twenty years. It was a long and dreary time. A rude +shock had been given to the sacred customs of the people, and the comely +order of the Divine service among them. The ark and the other sacred +vessels were separated from each other. If, as seems likely (1 Sam. +xxi.), the daily offerings and other sacred services ordained by Moses +were offered at this time at Nob, a sense of imperfection could not but +belong to them, for the ark of the covenant was not there. +Incompleteness would attach to any public rites that might now be +celebrated. The service of Baal and Ashtaroth would have a less powerful +rival than when the service of Jehovah was conducted in all due form and +regularity at Shiloh. During these years the nation seems to have been +somewhat listless on the subject, and to have made no effort to remove +the ark to a more suitable place. Kirjath-jearim was not in the centre, +but on the very edge of the country, looking down into the territory of +the Philistines, not far from the very cities where the ark had been in +captivity, a constant reminder to the Israelites of its degradation. +That Samuel was profoundly concerned about all this we cannot doubt. But +he seems to have made no effort to remedy it, most probably because he +knew it to be God's order first to make the people sensible of their +wickedness, and only thereafter to restore to them free access to +Himself. + +What then was Samuel doing during the twenty years that the ark was at +Kirjath-jearim? We can answer that question only conjecturally, only +from what we know of his general character. It cannot be doubted that +in some way or other he was trying to make the nation sensible of their +sins against God; to show them that it was to these sins that their +subjection to the Philistines was due; and to urge them to abandon their +idolatrous practices if they desired a return to independence and peace. +Perhaps he began at this period to move about from place to place, +urging those views, as he moved about afterwards when he held the office +of Judge (vii. 16). And perhaps he was laying the foundations of those +schools of the prophets that afterwards were associated with his name. +Whenever he found young men disposed to his views he would doubtless +cultivate their acquaintance, and urge them to steadfastness and +progress in the way of the Lord. There is nothing said to indicate that +Samuel was connected with the priestly establishment at Nob. + +There are two great services for God and for Israel in which we find +Samuel engaged in the first nine verses of this chapter: 1. In exhorting +and directing them with a view to bring them into a right state before +God. 2. This being accomplished, in praying for them in their time of +trouble, and obtaining Divine help when the Philistines drew near in +battle. + +1. In the course of time the people appear to have come to feel how sad +and desolate their national life was without any tokens of God's +presence and grace. "All the house of Israel lamented after the Lord." +The expression is a peculiar one, and some critics, not understanding +its spiritual import, have proposed to give it a different meaning. But +for this there is no cause. It seems to denote that the people, missing +God, under the severe oppression of the Philistines, had begun to grieve +over the sins that had driven Him away, and to long after Him, to long +for His return. These symptoms of repentance, however, had not shown +themselves in a very definite or practical form. Samuel was not +satisfied with the amount of earnestness evinced as yet. He must have +more decided evidence of sincerity and repentance. He insisted on it +that they must "put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among them, +and prepare their hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only." + +Now the putting away of the strange gods and Ashtaroth was a harder +condition than we at first should suppose. Some are inclined to fancy +that it was a mere senseless and ridiculous obstinacy that drew the +Israelites so much to the worship of the idolatrous gods of their +neighbours. In reality the temptation was of a much more subtle kind. +Their religious worship as prescribed by Moses had little to attract the +natural feelings of the human heart. It was simple, it was severe, it +was self-denying. The worship of the pagan nations was more lively and +attractive. Fashionable entertainments and free-and-easy revelries were +superadded to please the carnal mind. Between Hebrew and heathen +worship, there was something of the contrast that you find between the +severe simplicity of a Puritan meeting and the gorgeous and fashionable +splendour of a great Romish ceremonial. To put away Baalim and Ashtaroth +was to abjure what was fashionable and agreeable, and fall back on what +was unattractive and sombre. Was it not, too, an illiberal demand? Was +it not a sign of narrowness to be so exclusively devoted to their own +religion that they could view that of their neighbours with no sort of +pleasure? Why not acknowledge that in other religions there was an +element of good, that the services in them were the expression of a +profound religious sentiment, and were therefore entitled to a measure +of praise and approval? It is very certain that with this favourite view +of modern liberalism neither Samuel nor any of the prophets had the +slightest sympathy. No. If the people were in earnest now, they must +show it by putting away every image and every object and ornament that +was connected with the worship of other gods. Jehovah would have their +homage on no other terms. If they chose to divide it between Him and +other gods, they might call on them for help and blessing; for it was +most certain that the God of Israel would receive no worship that was +not rendered to Him alone. + +But the people were in earnest; and this first demand of Samuel was +complied with. We are to remember that the people of Israel, in their +typical significance, stand for those who are by grace in covenant with +God, and that their times of degeneracy represent, in the case of +Christians, seasons of spiritual backsliding, when the things of this +world are too keenly sought, when the fellowship of the world is +habitually resorted to, when the soul loses its spiritual appetite, and +religious services become formal and cold. Does there begin to dawn on +such a soul a sense of spiritual poverty and loneliness? Does the spirit +of the hymn begin to breathe from it-- + + "Return, O holy Dove, return, + Sweet Messenger of rest! + I hate the sins that made Thee mourn + And drove Thee from my breast." + +Then the first steps towards revival and communion must be the forsaking +of these sins, and of ways of life that prepare the way for them. The +sorrow for sin that is working in the conscience is the work of the Holy +Ghost; and if the Holy Ghost be resisted in this His first operation--if +the sins, or ways toward sin, against which He has given His warning be +persisted in, the Spirit is grieved and His work is stopped. The Spirit +calls us to set our hearts against these sins, and "prepare them unto +the Lord." + +Let us mark carefully this last expression. It is not enough that in +church, or at some meeting, or in our closet, we experience a painful +conviction how much we have offended God, and a desire not to offend Him +in like manner any more. We must "prepare our hearts" for this end. We +must remember that in the world with which we mingle we are exposed to +many influences that remove God from our thoughts, that stimulate our +infirmities, that give force to temptation, that lessen our power of +resistance, that tend to draw us back into our old sins. One who has a +tendency to intemperance may have a sincere conviction that his acts of +drunkenness have displeased God, and a sincere wish never to be drunk +again. But besides this he must "prepare his heart" against his sin. He +must resolve to turn away from everything that leads to drinking, that +gives strength to the temptation, that weakens his power of resistance, +that draws him, as it were, within the vortex. He must fortify himself, +by joining a society or otherwise, against the insidious approaches of +the vice. And in regard to all that displeases God he must order his +life so that it shall be abandoned, it shall be parted with for ever. +You may say this is asking him to do more than he can do. No doubt it +is. But is not the Holy Spirit working in him? Is it not the Holy Spirit +that is urging him to do these things? Whoever is urged by the Holy +Spirit may surely rely on the power of the Spirit when he endeavours to +comply with His suggestions. When God works in us to will and to do of +His good pleasure, we may surely work out our own salvation with fear +and trembling. + +Having found the people so far obedient to his requirements, Samuel's +next step was to call an assembly of all Israel to Mizpeh. He desired to +unite all who were like-minded in a purpose of repentance and +reformation, and to rouse them to a higher pitch of intensity by contact +with a great multitude animated by the same spirit. When the assembly +met, it was in a most proper spirit. They began the proceedings by +drawing water and pouring it out before the Lord, and by fasting. These +two acts being joined in the narrative, it is probable they were acts of +the same character. Now as fasting was evidently an expression of +contrition, so the pouring out of the water must have been so too. It is +necessary to remark this, because an expression not unlike to our text, +in Isa. xii., denotes an act of a joyful character, "With joy shall ye +draw water out of the wells of salvation." But what was done on this +occasion was to draw water and _pour it out before the Lord_. And this +seems to have been done as a symbol of pouring out before God +confessions of sin drawn from the depths of the heart. What they said in +connection with these acts was, "We have sinned against the Lord." They +were no longer in the mood in which the Psalmist was when he kept +silence, and his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day. They +were in the mood into which he came when he said, "I will confess my +transgressions to the Lord." They humbled themselves before God in deep +convictions of their unworthiness, and being thus emptied of self they +were in a better state to receive the gracious visitation of love and +mercy. + +It is important to mark the stress which is laid here on the _public +assembly_ of the people. Some might say would it not have answered the +same end if the people had humbled themselves apart--the family of the +house of Levi apart, and their wives apart, every family apart, and +their wives apart, as in the great mourning of Zechariah (Zech. xii. +12-14)? We answer, the one way did not exclude the other; we do not need +to ask which is best, for both are best. But when Samuel convened the +people to a public assembly, he evidently did it on the principle on +which in the New Testament we are required not to forsake the assembling +of ourselves together. It is in order that the presence of people +like-minded, and with the same earnest feelings and purposes, may have a +rousing and warming influence upon us. No doubt there are other purposes +connected with public worship. We need constant instruction and constant +reminding of the will of God. But the public assembly and the social +prayer-meeting are intended to have another effect. They are intended to +increase our spiritual earnestness by the sight and presence of so many +persons in earnest. Alas! what a difference there often is between the +ideal and the real. Those cold and passionless meetings that our +churches and halls often present--how little are they fitted, by the +earnestness and warmth of their tone, to give those who attend them a +great impulse heavenward! Never let us be satisfied with our public +religious services until they are manifestly adapted to this great end. + +Thus did Samuel seek to promote repentance and revival among his people, +and to prepare the way for a return of God's favour. And it is in this +very way that if we would have a revival of earnest religion, we must +set about obtaining it. + +2. The next scene in the panorama of the text is--the Philistines +invading Israel. Here Samuel's service is that of an intercessor, +praying for his people, and obtaining God's blessing. It is to be +observed that the alleged occasion for this event is said to have been +the meeting held at Mizpeh. "When the Philistines heard that the +children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the +Philistines went up against Israel." Was not this most strange and +distressing? The blessed assembly which Samuel had convened only gives +occasion for a new Philistine invasion! Trying to do his people good, +Samuel would appear only to have done them harm. With the assembly at +Mizpeh, called as it was for spiritual ends, the Philistines could have +no real cause for complaint. Either they mistook its purpose and thought +it a meeting to devise measures to throw off their yoke, or they had an +instinctive apprehension that the spirit which the people of Israel were +now showing would be accompanied by some remarkable interposition on +their behalf. It is not rare for steps taken with the best of intentions +to become for a time the occasion of a great increase of evil,--just as +the remonstrances of Moses with Pharaoh led at first to the increase of +the people's burdens; or just as the coming of Christ into the world +caused the massacre of the babes of Bethlehem. So here, the first public +step taken by Samuel for the people's welfare was the occasion of an +alarming invasion by their cruel enemies. But God's word on such +occasions is, "Be still and know that I am God." Such events are +suffered only to stimulate faith and patience. They are not so very +overwhelming events to those who know that God is with them, and that +"none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate." Though the +Israelites at this time were not far advanced in spiritual life, they +betrayed no consternation when they heard of the invasion of the +Philistines. They knew where their help was to be found, and recognizing +Samuel as their mediator, they said to him, "Cease not to cry unto the +Lord our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand of the +Philistines." + +With this request Samuel most readily complies. But first he offers a +sucking lamb as a whole burnt-offering to the Lord, and only after this +are we told that "Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him." + +The lesson is supremely important. When sinners approach God to entreat +His favour, it must be by the new and living way, sprinkled with atoning +blood. All other ways of access will fail. How often has this been +exemplified in the history of the Church! How many anxious sinners have +sought unto God by other ways, but have been driven back, sometimes +farther from Him than before. Luther humbles himself in the dust and +implores God's favour, and struggles with might and main to reform his +heart; but Luther cannot find peace until he sees how it is in the +righteousness of another he is to draw nigh and find the blessing,--in +the righteousness of the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the +world. Dr. Chalmers, profoundly impressed with the sinfulness of his +past life, strives, with the energy of a giant, to attain conformity to +the will of God; but he too is only tossed about in weary +disappointment until he finds rest in the atoning mercy of God in +Christ. We may be well assured that no sense of peace can come into the +guilty soul till it accepts Jesus Christ as its Saviour in all the +fulness of His saving power. + +Another lesson comes to us from Samuel's intercession. It is well to try +to get God's servants to pray for us. But little real progress can be +made till we can pray for ourselves. Whoever really desires to enjoy +God's favour, be it for the first time after he has come to the sense of +his sins; or be it at other times, after God's face has been hid from +him for a time through his backsliding, can never come as he ought to +come without earnest prayer. For prayer is the great medium that God has +appointed to us for communion with Himself. "Ask and ye shall receive, +seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you." If there +be any lesson written with a sunbeam alike in the Old Testament and in +the New, it is that God is the Hearer of prayer. Only let us take heed +to the quality and tone of our prayer. Before God can listen to it, it +must be from the heart. To gabble over a form of prayer is not to pray. +Saul of Tarsus had said many a prayer before his conversion; but after +that for the first time it was said of him, "Behold, he prayeth." To +pray is to ask an interview with God, and when we are alone with Him, to +unburden our souls to Him. Those only who have learned to pray thus in +secret can pray to any purpose in the public assembly. It is in this +spirit, surely, that the highest gifts of Divine grace are to be sought. +Emphatically it is in this way that we are to pray for our nation or for +our Church. Let us come with large and glowing hearts when we come to +pray for a whole community. Let us plead with God for Church and for +nation in the very spirit of the prophet: "For Zion's sake I will not +hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the +righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof +as a lamp that burneth." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +_NATIONAL DELIVERANCE--THE PHILISTINES SUBDUED._ + +1 SAMUEL vii. 10-17. + + +It must have been with feelings very different from those of their last +encounter, when the ark of God was carried into the battle, that the +host of Israel now faced the Philistine army near Mizpeh. Then they had +only the symbol of God's gracious presence, now they had the reality. +Then their spiritual guides were the wicked Hophni and Phinehas; now +their guide was holy Samuel. Then they had rushed into the fight in +thoughtless unconcern about their sins; now they had confessed them, and +through the blood of sprinkling they had obtained a sense of +forgiveness. Then they were puffed up by a vain presumption; now they +were animated by a calm but confident hope. Then their advance was +hallowed by no prayer; now the cry of needy children had gone up from +God's faithful servant. In fact, the battle with the Philistines had +already been fought by Samuel on his knees. There can be no more sure +token of success than this. Are we engaged in conflict with our own +besetting sins? Or are we contending against scandalous transgression in +the world around us? Let us first fight the battle on our knees. If we +are victorious there we need have little fear of victory in the other +battle. + +It was as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering that the Philistines +drew near to battle against Israel. There was an unseen ladder that day +between earth and heaven, on which the angels of God ascended and +descended as in Jacob's vision at Bethel. The smoke of the +burnt-offering carried up to God the confession and contrition of the +people, their reliance on God's method of atonement, and their prayer +for His pardon and His blessing. The great thunder with which God +thundered on the Philistines carried down from God the answer and the +needed help. There is no need for supposing that the thunder was +supernatural. It was an instance of what is so common, a natural force +adapted to the purpose of an answer to prayer. What seems to have +occurred is this: a vehement thunderstorm had gathered a little to the +east, and now broke, probably with violent wind, in the faces of the +Philistines, who were advancing up the heights against Mizpeh. Unable to +face such a terrific war of the elements, the Philistines would turn +round, placing their backs to the storm. The men of Israel, but little +embarrassed by it, since it came from behind them, and gave the greater +momentum to their force, rushed on the embarrassed enemy, and drove them +before them like smoke before the wind. It was just as in former +days--God arose, and His enemies were scattered, and they also that +hated Him fled before Him. The storm before which the Philistines +cowered was like the pillar of fire which had guided Israel through the +desert. Jehovah was still the God of Israel; the God of Jacob was once +more his refuge. + +We have said that this thunderstorm may have been quite a natural +phenomenon. Natural, but not casual. Though natural, it was God's answer +to Samuel's prayer. But how could this have been? If it was a natural +storm, if it was the result of natural law, of atmospheric conditions +the operation of which was fixed and certain, it must have taken place +whether Samuel prayed or not. Undoubtedly. But the very fact that the +laws of nature are fixed and certain, that their operation is definite +and regular, enables the great Lord of Providence to make use of them in +the natural course of things, for the purpose of answering prayer. For +this fact, the uniformity of natural law, enables the Almighty, who sees +and plans the end from the beginning, to frame a comprehensive scheme of +Providence, that shall not only work out the final result in His time +and way, but that shall also work out every intermediate result +precisely as He designs and desires. "Known unto God are all His works +from the beginning of the world." Now if God has so adjusted the scheme +of Providence that the final result of the whole shall wonderfully +accomplish His grand design, may He not, must He not, have so adjusted +it that every intermediate part shall work out some intermediate design? +It is only those who have an unworthy conception of omniscience and +omnipotence that can doubt this. Surely if there is a general +Providence, there must be a special Providence. If God guides the whole, +He must also guide the parts. Every part of the scheme must fall out +according to His plan, and may thus be the means of fulfilling some of +His promises. + +Let us apply this view to the matter of prayer. All true prayer is the +fruit of the Holy Spirit working in the human soul. All the prayer that +God answers is prayer that God has inspired. The prayer of Samuel was +prayer which God had inspired. What more reasonable than that in the +great plan of providence there should have been included a provision for +the fulfilment of Samuel's prayer at the appropriate moment? The +thunderstorm, we may be sure, was a natural phenomenon. But its +occurrence at the time was part of that great scheme of Providence which +God planned at the beginning, and it was planned to fall out then in +order that it might serve as an answer to Samuel's prayer. It was thus +an answer to prayer brought about by natural causes. The only thing +miraculous about it was its forming a part of that most marvellous +scheme--the scheme of Divine providence--a part of the scheme that was +to be carried into effect after Samuel had prayed. If the term +supernatural may be fitly applied to that scheme which is the sum and +substance of all the laws of nature, of all the providence of God, and +of all the works and thoughts of man, then it was a miracle; but if not, +it was a natural effect. + +It is important to bear these truths in mind, because many have the +impression that prayer for outward results cannot be answered without a +miracle, and that it is unreasonable to suppose that such a multitude of +miracles as prayer involves would be wrought every day. If a sick man +prays for health, is the answer necessarily a miracle? No; for the +answer may come about by purely natural causes. He has been directed to +a skilful physician; he has used the right medicine; he has been treated +in the way to give full scope to the recuperative power of nature. God, +who led him to pray, foresaw the prayer, and in the original scheme of +Providence planned that by natural causes the answer should come. We do +not deny that prayer may be answered in a supernatural way. We would +not affirm that such a thing as supernatural healing is unknown. But it +is most useful that the idea should be entertained that such prayer is +usually answered by natural means. By not attending to this men often +fail to perceive that prayer has been answered. You pray, before you set +out on a journey, for protection and safe arrival at the end. You get +what you asked--you perform the journey in safety. But perhaps you say, +"It would have been all the same whether I had prayed for it or not. I +have gone on journeys that I forgot to pray about, and no evil befell +me. Some of my fellow-passengers, I am sure, did not pray for safety, +yet they were taken care of as much as I was." But these are sophistical +arguments. You should feel that your safety in the journey about which +you prayed was as much due to God, though only through the operation of +natural causes, as if you had had a hairbreadth escape. You should be +thankful that in cases where you did not pray for safety God had regard +to the habitual set of your mind, your habitual trust in Him, though you +did not specially exercise it at these times. Let the means be as +natural as they may--to those who have eyes to see the finger of God is +in them all the same. + +But to return to the Israelites and the Philistines. The defeat of the +Philistines was a very thorough one. Not only did they make no attempt +to rally after the storm had passed and Israel had fallen on them, but +they came no more into the coast of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was +against them all the days of Samuel. And besides this, all the cities +and tracts of land belonging to Israel which the Philistines had taken +were now restored. Another mercy that came to Israel was that "there was +peace between Israel and the Amorites"--the Amorites being put here, +most likely, for the remains of all the original inhabitants living +among or around Israel. Those promises were now fulfilled in which God +had said to Moses, "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and +the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who +shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble and be in anguish because +of thee" (Deut. ii. 25). "There shall no man be able to stand before +you; for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of +you upon all the land ye shall tread upon, as He hath said to thee." It +was so apparent that God was among them, and that the power of God was +irresistible and overwhelming, that their enemies were frightened to +assail them. + +The impression thus made on the enemies of Israel corresponds in some +degree to the moral influence which God-fearing men sometimes have on an +otherwise godless community. The picture in the Song of Solomon--"Who is +she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the +sun, and _terrible as an army with banners_?"--ascribes even to the fair +young bride a terrifying power, a power not appropriate to such a +picture in the literal sense, but quite suitable in the figurative. +Wherever the life and character of a godly man is such as to recall God, +wherever God's image is plainly visible, wherever the results of God's +presence are plainly seen, there the idea of a supernatural Power is +conveyed, and a certain overawing influence is felt. In the great +awakening at Northampton in Jonathan Edwards' days, there was a complete +arrest laid on open forms of vice. And whensoever in a community God's +presence has been powerfully realized, the taverns have been emptied, +the gambling-table deserted, under the sense of His august majesty. +Would only that the character and life of all God's servants were so +truly godlike that their very presence in a community would have a +subduing and restraining influence on the wicked! + +Two points yet remain to be noticed: the step taken by Samuel to +commemorate this wonderful Divine interposition; and the account given +of the prophet and his occupations in his capacity of Judge of Israel. + +"Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the +name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." + +The position of Shen is not known. But it must have been very near the +scene of the defeat of the Philistines--perhaps it was the very spot +where that defeat occurred. In that case, Samuel's stone would stand +midway between the two scenes of battle: the battle gained by him on his +knees at Mizpeh, and the battle gained by the Israelites when they fell +on the Philistines demoralised by the thunderstorm. + +"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." The characteristic feature of the +inscription lies in the word "hitherto." It was no doubt a testimony to +special help obtained in that time of trouble; it was a grateful +recognition of that help; and it was an enduring monument to perpetuate +the memory of it. But it was more, much more. The word "hitherto" +denotes a series, a chain of similar mercies, an unbroken succession of +Divine interpositions and Divine deliverances. The special purpose of +this inscription was to link on the present deliverance to all the past, +and to form a testimony to the enduring faithfulness and mercy of a +covenant-keeping God. But was there not something strange in this +inscription, considering the circumstances? Could Samuel have forgot +that tragic day at Shiloh--the bewildered, terrified look of the +messenger that came from the army to bring the news, the consternation +caused by his message, the ghastly horror of Eli and his tragic death, +the touching death of the wife of Phinehas, and the sad name which she +had with such seeming propriety given to her babe? Was _that_ like God +remembering them? or had Samuel forgot how the victorious Philistines +soon after dashed upon Shiloh like beasts of prey, plundering, +destroying, massacreing, till nothing more remained to be done to +justify the name of "Ichabod"? How can Samuel blot that chapter out of +the history? or how can he say, with that chapter fresh in his +recollection, "_Hitherto_ hath the Lord helped us"? + +All that Samuel has considered well. Even amid the desolations of Shiloh +the Lord was helping them. He was helping them to know themselves, +helping them to know their sins, and helping them to know the bitter +fruit and woful punishment of sin. He was helping them to achieve the +great end for which he had called them--to keep alive the knowledge of +the true God and the practice of His worship, onward to the time when +the great promise should be realised,--when HE should come in whom all +the families of the earth were to be blessed. Samuel's idea of what +constituted the nation's glory was large and spiritual. The true glory +of the nation was to fulfil the function for which God had taken it into +covenant with Himself. Whatever helped them to do this was a blessing, +was a token of the Lord's remembrance of them. The links of the long +chain denoted by Samuel's "hitherto" were not all of one kind. Some were +in the form of mercies, many were in the form of chastenings. For the +higher the function for which Israel was called, the more need was +there of chastening. The higher the destination of a silver vessel, the +greater is the need that the silver be pure, and therefore that it be +frequently passed through the furnace. The destination of Israel was the +highest that could have been. So Samuel does not merely give thanks for +seasons of prosperity, but for checks and chastenings too. + +Happy they who, full of faith in the faithfulness and love of God, can +take a similar view of His dealings! Happy they who, when special +mercies come, deem the occasion worthy to be commemorated by some +special memorial, but who can embrace their whole life in the grateful +commemoration, and bracket joys and sorrows alike under their +"hitherto"! It is not that sorrows are less sorrows to them than to +others; it is not that losses of substance entail less inconvenience, or +bereavements penetrate less deeply; but that all are seen to be embraced +in that gracious plan of which the final consummation is, as the apostle +puts it, "to present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot +or wrinkle or any such thing." And well is it for us, both in individual +life and in Church and national life, to think of that plan of God in +which mercies and chastenings are united, but all with a gracious +purpose! It is remarkable how often in Scripture tears are wiped away +with this thought. Zion saying, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God +hath forgotten me," is assured, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the +palms of My hands, thy walls are continually before Me." Rachel weeping +for her children, and refusing to be comforted, is thus addressed, +"Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work +shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and thy children shall come again +from the land of the enemy." "Weep not," said our Lord to the woman of +Nain; and His first words after His resurrection were, "Woman, why +weepest thou?" Vale of tears though this world is, there comes from +above a gracious influence to wipe them away; and the march Zionward has +in it something of the tread and air of a triumphant procession, for +"the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and +everlasting joy on their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and +sorrow and sighing shall flee away." + +We have yet to notice the concluding verses of the chapter (15-17), +which give a little picture of the public life of Samuel. He judged +Israel all the days of his life. The office of judge had a twofold +sphere, external and internal. Externally, it bore on the oppression of +the people by foreign enemies, and the judge became the deliverer of the +people. But in this sense there was now nothing for Samuel to do, +especially after the accession of Saul to the kingdom. The judge seems +to have likewise had to do with the administration of justice, and the +preservation of the peace and general welfare of the nation. It is very +natural to suppose that Samuel would be profoundly concerned to imbue +the people with just views of the purpose for which God had called them, +and of the law and covenant which He had given them. The three places +among which he is said to have made his circuit, Bethel, Gilgal and +Mizpeh, were not far from each other, all being situated in the tribes +of Benjamin and Judah,--in that part of the land which afterwards +constituted the kingdom of the two tribes. To these three places falls +to be added Ramah, also in the same neighbourhood, where was his house. +In this place he built an altar to the Lord. Whether this was in +connection with the tabernacle or not, we cannot say. We know that in +the time of David's wanderings "the house of God" was at Nob (Compare 1 +Sam. xxi. 1 and Matt. xii. 4), but we have nothing to show us when it +was carried thither. All we can say is, that Samuel's altar must have +been a visible memorial of the worship of God, and a solemn protest +against any idolatrous rites to which any of the people might at any +time be attracted. + +In this way Samuel spent his life like Him whose type he was, "always +about his Father's business." An unselfish man, having no interests of +his own, full of zeal for the service of God and the public welfare; +possibly too little at home, taking too little charge of his children, +and thus at last in the painful position of one, "whose sons walked not +in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and +perverted judgment" (ch. viii. 1). That Samuel attained the highest +reputation for sanctity, intercourse with God and holy influence, is +plain from various passages of Scripture. In Psalm xcix. 6, he is +coupled with Moses and Aaron, as having influence with God,--"they +called upon the Lord and He answered them." In Jeremiah xv. 1, his name +is coupled with that of Moses alone as a powerful intercessor, "Though +Moses and Samuel stood before Me, yet My mind could not be toward this +people." His mother's act of consecration was wonderfully fulfilled. +Samuel stands out as one of the best and purest of the Hebrew worthies. +His name became a perpetual symbol of all that was upright, pure and +Godlike. The silent influence of his character was a great power in +Israel, inspiring many a young heart with holy awe, and silencing the +flippant arrogance of the scoffer. Mothers, did not Hannah do well, do +nobly, in dedicating her son to the Lord? Sons and daughters, was it not +a noble and honourable life? Then go ye and do likewise. And God be +pleased to incline many a heart to the service; a service, which with +all its drawbacks, is the highest and the noblest; and which bequeaths +so blessed a welcome into the next stage of existence: "Well done, good +and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +_THE PEOPLE DEMAND A KING._ + +1 SAMUEL viii. + + +Whatever impression the "Ebenezer" of Samuel may have produced at the +time, it passed away with the lapse of years. The feeling that, in +sympathy with Samuel, had recognized so cordially at that time the +unbroken help of Jehovah from the very beginning, waxed old and vanished +away. The help of Jehovah was no longer regarded as the palladium of the +nation. A new generation had risen up that had only heard from their +fathers of the deliverance from the Philistines, and what men only hear +from their fathers does not make the same impression as what they see +with their own eyes. The privilege of having God for their king ceased +to be felt, when the occasions passed away that made His interposition +so pressing and so precious. Other things began to press upon them, +other cravings began to be felt, that the theocracy did not meet. This +double process went on--the evils from which God did deliver becoming +more faint, and the benefits which God did not bestow becoming more +conspicuous by their absence--till a climax was reached. Samuel was +getting old, and his sons were not like himself; therefore they afforded +no materials for continuing the system of judges. None of them could +ever fill their father's place. The people forgot that God's policy had +been to raise up judges from time to time as they were needed. But would +it not be better to discontinue this hand-to-mouth system of government +and have a regular succession of kings? Why should Israel contrast +disadvantageously in this respect with the surrounding nations? This +seems to have been the unanimous feeling of the nation. "All the elders +of Israel gathered themselves together, and said to Samuel, Make us a +king to judge us like all the nations." + +It seems to us very strange that they should have done such a thing. Why +were they not satisfied with having God for their king? Was not the roll +of past achievements under His guidance very glorious? What could have +been more wonderful than the deliverance from Egypt, and the triumph +over the greatest empire in the world? Had ever such victories been +heard of as those over Sihon and Og? Was there ever a more triumphant +campaign than that of Joshua, or a more comfortable settlement than that +of the tribes? And if Canaanites, and Midianites, and Ammonites, and +Philistines had vexed them, were not Barak and Deborah, Gideon and +Jephthah, Samson and Samuel, more than a match for the strongest of them +all? Then there was the moral glory of the theocracy. What nation had +ever received direct from God, such ordinances, such a covenant, such +promises? Where else were men to be found that had held such close +fellowship with heaven as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, and +Joshua? What other people had had such revelations of the fatherly +character of God, so that it could be said of them, "As an eagle +stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her +wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord did lead him, +and there was no strange god with him." Instead of wishing to change the +theocracy, we might have expected that every Israelite, capable of +appreciating solid benefits, would have clung to it as his greatest +privilege and his greatest honour. + +But it was otherwise. Comparatively blind to its glories, they wished to +be like other nations. It is too much a characteristic of our human +nature that it is indifferent to God, and to the advantages which are +conferred by His approval and His blessing. How utterly do some leave +God out of their calculations! How absolutely unconcerned they are as to +whether they can reckon on His approval of their mode of life, how +little it seems to count! You that by false pretences sell your wares +and prey upon the simple and unwary; you that heed not what +disappointment or what pain and misery you inflict on those who believe +you, provided you get their money; you that grow rich on the toil of +underpaid women and children, whose life is turned to slavery to fulfil +your hard demands, do you never think of God? Do you never take into +your reckoning that He is against you, and that He will one day come to +reckon with you? You that frequent the haunts of secret wickedness, you +that help to send others to the devil, you that say, "Am I my brother's +keeper?" when you are doing your utmost to confirm others in debauchery +and pollution, is it nothing to you that you have to reckon one day with +an angry God? Be assured that God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man +soweth, that shall he also reap; for he that soweth to the flesh shall +of the flesh reap corruption, while he that soweth to the Spirit shall +of the Spirit reap life everlasting. + +But the lesson of the text is rather for those who have the favour and +blessing of God, but are not content, and still crave worldly things. +You are in covenant with God. He has redeemed you, not with corruptible +things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. +You are now sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what you shall be. +There is laid up for you an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and +that fadeth not away. Yet your heart hankers after the things of the +world. Your acquaintances and friends are better off. Your bare house, +your homely furnishings, your poor dress, your simple fare distress you, +and you would fain be in a higher worldly sphere, enjoying more +consideration, and participating more freely in worldly enjoyments. Be +assured, my friends, you are not in a wholesome frame of mind. To be +depreciating the surpassing gifts which God has given you, and to be +exaggerating those which He has withheld, is far from being a wholesome +condition. You wish to be like the nations. You forget that your very +glory is not to be like them. Your glory is that ye are a chosen +generation, an holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, your +bodies temples of the Holy Ghost, your souls united to the Lord Jesus +Christ. + +Yet again, there are congregations, which though in humble +circumstances, have enjoyed much spiritual blessing. Their songs have +gone up, bearing the incense of much love and gratitude; their prayers +have been humble and hearty, most real and true; and the Gospel has come +to them not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in +much assurance. Yet a generation has grown up that thinks little of +these inestimable blessings, and misses fine architecture, and +elaborate music, and highly cultured services. They want to have a king +like the nations. However they may endanger the spiritual blessing, it +is all-important to have these surroundings. It is a perilous position, +all the more perhaps that many do not see the peril--that many have +little or no regard for the high interests that are in such danger of +being sacrificed. + +This then, was the request of all the elders of Israel to Samuel--"Give +us a king to judge us like all the nations." We have next to consider +how it was received by the prophet. + +"The thing displeased Samuel." On the very face of it, it was an affront +to himself. It intimated dissatisfaction with the arrangement which had +made him judge of the people under God. Evidently they were tired of +him. He had given them the best energies of his youth and of his +manhood. He had undoubtedly conferred on them many real benefits. For +all this, his reward is to be turned off in his old age. They wish to +get rid of him, and of his manner of instructing them in the ways of the +Lord. And the kind of functionary they wish to get in his room is not of +a very flattering order. The kings of the nations for the most part were +a poor set of men. Despotic, cruel, vindictive, proud--they were not +much to be admired. Yet Israel's eyes are turned enviously to them! +Possibly Samuel was failing more than he was aware of, for old men are +slow to recognise the progress of decay, and highly sensitive when it is +bluntly intimated to them. Besides this, there was another sore point +which the elders touched roughly. "Thy sons walk not in thy ways." +However this may have come about, it was a sad thought to their father. +But fathers often have the feeling that while they may reprove their +sons, they do not like to hear this done by others. Thus it was that +the message of the elders came home to Samuel, first of all, in its +personal bearings, and greatly hurt him. It was a personal affront, it +was hard to bear. The whole business of his life seemed frustrated; +everything he had tried to do had failed; his whole life had missed its +aim. No wonder if Samuel was greatly troubled. + +But in the exercise of that admirable habit which he had learned so +thoroughly, Samuel took the matter straight to the Lord. And even if no +articulate response had been made to his prayer, the effect of this +could not but have been great and important. The very act of going into +God's presence was fitted to change, in some measure, Samuel's estimate +of the situation. It placed him at a new point of view--at God's point +of view. When he reached that, the aspect of things must have undergone +a change. The bearing of the transaction on God must have come out more +prominently than its bearing on Samuel. And this was fully expressed in +God's words. "They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me." +Samuel was but the servant, God was the lord and king. The servant was +not greater than his lord, nor the disciple greater than his Master. The +great sin of the people was their sin against God. He it was to whom the +affront had been given; He, if any, it was that had cause to remonstrate +and complain. + +So prone are even the best of God's servants to put themselves before +their Master. So prone are ministers of the Gospel, when any of their +flock has acted badly, to think of the annoyance to themselves, rather +than the sin committed in the holy eyes of God. So prone are we all, in +our families, and in our Churches, and in society, to think of other +aspects of sin, than its essential demerit in God's sight. Yet surely +this should be the first consideration. That God should be dishonoured +is surely a far more serious thing than that man should be offended. The +sin against God is infinitely more heinous than the sin against man. He +that has sinned against God has incurred a fearful penalty--what if this +should lie on his conscience for ever, unconfessed, unforgiven? It is a +fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. + +Yet, notwithstanding this very serious aspect of the people's offence, +God instructs Samuel to "hearken to their voice, yet protest solemnly to +them, and show them the manner of the kingdom." There were good reasons +why God should take this course. The people had shown themselves +unworthy of the high privilege of having God for their king. When men +show themselves incapable of appreciating a high privilege, it is meet +they should suffer the loss of it, or at least a diminution of it. They +had shown a perpetual tendency to those idolatrous ways by which God was +most grievously dishonoured. A theocracy, to work successfully, would +need a very loyal people. Had Israel only been loyal, had it even been a +point of conscience and a point of honour with them to obey God's voice, +had they even had a holy recoil from every act offensive to Him, the +theocracy would have worked most beautifully. But there had been such a +habitual absence of this spirit, that God now suffered them to institute +a form of government that interposed a human official between Him and +them, and that subjected them likewise to many an inconvenience. Yet +even in allowing this arrangement God did not utterly withdraw His +loving-kindness from them. The theocracy did not wholly cease. Though +they would find that their kings would make many an exaction of them, +there would be among them some that would reign in righteousness, and +princes that would rule in judgment. The king would so far be approved +of God as to bear the name of "the Lord's anointed:" and would thus, in +a sense, be a type of the great Anointed One, the true Messiah, whose +kingdom, righteous, beneficent, holy, would be an everlasting kingdom, +and his dominion from generation to generation. + +The next scene in the chapter before us finds Samuel again met with the +heads of the people. He is now showing them "the manner of the +king"--the relation in which he and they will stand to one another. He +is not to be a king that gives, but a king that takes. His exactions +will be very multifarious. First of all, the most sacred treasures of +their homes, their sons and their daughters, would be taken to do hard +work in his army, and on his farms, and in his house. Then, their landed +property would be taken on some pretext--the vineyards and olive-yards +inherited from their fathers--and given to his favourites. The tenth +part of the produce, too, of what remained would be claimed by him for +his officers and his servants, and the tenth of their flocks. Any +servant, or young man, or animal, that was particularly handsome and +valuable would be sure to take his fancy, and to be attached for his +service. This would be ordinarily the manner of their king. And the +oppression and vexation connected with this system of arbitrary +spoliation would be so great that they would cry out against him, as +indeed they did in the days of Rehoboam, yet the Lord would not hear +them. Such was Samuel's picture of what they desired so much, but it +made no impression; the people were still determined to have their +king. + +What a contrast there was between this exacting king, and the true King, +the King that in the fulness of the time was to come to His people, meek +and having salvation, riding upon the foal of an ass! If there be +anything more than another that makes this King glorious, it is His +giving nature. "The Son of God," says the Apostle, "loved me, and gave +Himself for me." Gave Himself! How comprehensive the word! All that He +was as God, all that He became as man. As prophet He gave Himself to +teach, as priest to atone and intercede, as king to rule and to defend. +"The Good Shepherd _giveth_ His life for the sheep." "This is My body +which is _given_ for you." "If thou knewest the gift of God, and Who it +is that saith unto thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of +Him, and He would have _given_ thee living water." With what kingly +generosity, while He was on earth, He scattered the gifts of health and +happiness among the stricken and the helpless! "Jesus went about all +Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the +kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease +among the people." See Him, even as He hung helpless on the cross, +exercising His royal prerogative by giving to the thief at His side a +right to the Kingdom of God--"Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt +thou be with Me in Paradise." See Him likewise, exalted on His throne +"at God's right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give +repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." How different the +attributes of this King from him whom Samuel delineated! The one +exacting all that is ours; the other giving all that is His! + +The last scene in the chapter shows us the people deliberately +disregarding the protest of Samuel, and reiterating their wilful +resolution--"Nay, but we will have a king over us; that we also may be +like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before +us, and fight our battles." Once more, Samuel brings the matter to the +Lord--repeats all that he has heard; and once more the Lord says to +Samuel, "Hearken unto their choice and make them a king." The matter is +now decided on, and it only remains to find the person who is to wear +the crown. + +On the very surface of the narrative we see how much the people were +influenced by the desire to be "like all the nations." This does not +indicate a very exalted tone of feeling. To be like all the nations was +surely in itself a poor and childish thing, unless the nations were in +this respect in a better condition than Israel. Yet how common and +almost irresistible is this feeling! + +Singularity is certainly not to be affected for singularity's sake; but +neither are we to conform to fashion simply because it is fashion. How +cruel and horrible often are its behests! The Chinese girl has to submit +to her feet being bandaged and confined till walking becomes a living +torture, and even the hours of what should be rest and sleep, are often +broken by bitter pain. The women of Lake Nyassa insert a piece of stone +in their upper lip, enlarging it from time to time till speaking and +eating become most awkward and painful operations, and the very lip +sometimes is torn away. Our fathers had terrible experience of the +tyranny of the drinking customs of their day; and in spite of the +greater freedom and the greater temperance of our time, there is no +little tyranny still in the drinking laws of many a class among us. All +this is just the outcome of the spirit that made the Hebrews so desire +a king--the shrinking of men's hearts from being unlike others, the +desire to be like the world. What men dread in such cases is not +wrong-doing, not sin, not offending God; but incurring the reproof of +men, being laughed at, boycotted by their fellows. But is not this a +very unworthy course? Can any man truly respect himself who says, "I do +this not because I think it right, not even because I deem it for my +interest, but simply because it is done by the generality of people?" +Can any man justify himself before God, if the honest utterance of his +heart must be, "I take this course, not because I deem it well-pleasing +in Thy sight, but because if I did otherwise, men would laugh at me and +despise me?" The very statement of the case in explicit terms condemns +it. Not less is it condemned by the noble conduct of those to whom grace +has been given to withstand the voice of the multitude and stand up +faithfully for truth and duty. Was there ever a nobler attitude than +that of Caleb, when he withstood the clamour of the other spies, and +followed the Lord fully? or that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, +when alone among myriads, they refused to bow down to the image of gold? +or that of Luther when, alone against the world, he held unflinchingly +by his convictions of truth? + +Let the young especially ponder these things. To them it often seems a +terrible thing to resist the general voice, and hold by conscience and +duty. To confess Christ among a school of despisers, is often like +martyrdom. But think! What is it to _deny_ Christ? Can that bring any +peace or satisfaction to those who know His worth? Must it not bring +misery and self-contempt? If the duty of confessing Him be difficult, +seek strength for the duty. Pray for the strength which is made perfect +in your weakness. Cast your thoughts onward to the day of Christ's +second coming, when the opinion and practice of the world shall all be +reduced to their essential worthlessness, and the promises to the +faithful, firm as the everlasting hills, shall be gloriously fulfilled. +For in that day, Hannah's song shall have a new fulfilment: "He raiseth +up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar out of the +dunghill, to set them among princes, and make them inherit the throne of +glory." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +_SAUL BROUGHT TO SAMUEL._ + +1 SAMUEL ix. 1-14. + + +God's providence is a wonderful scheme; a web of many threads, woven +with marvellous skill; a network composed of all kinds of materials, +great and small, but so arranged that the very smallest of them is as +essential as the largest to the completeness of the fabric. + +One would suppose that many of the dramas of the Old Testament were +planned on very purpose to show how intimately things secular and things +sacred, as we call them, are connected together; how entirely the +minutest events are controlled by God, and at the same time how +thoroughly the freedom of man is preserved. The meeting of two convicts +in an Egyptian prison is a vital link in the chain of events that makes +Joseph governor of Egypt; a young lady coming to bathe in the river +preserves the life of Moses, and secures the escape of the Israelites; +the thoughtful regard of a father for the comfort of his sons in the +army brings David into contact with Goliath, and prepares the way for +his elevation to the throne; the beauty of a Hebrew girl fascinating a +Persian king saves the whole Hebrew race from massacre and +extermination. + +So in the passage now before us. The straying of some asses from the +pastures of a Hebrew farmer brings together the two men, of whom the one +was the old ruler, and the other was to be the new ruler of Israel. That +these two should meet, and that the older of them should have the +opportunity of instructing and influencing the younger, was of the +greatest consequence for the future welfare of the nation. And the +meeting is brought about in that casual way that at first sight seems to +indicate that all things happen without plan or purpose. Yet we find, on +more careful examination, that every event has been planned to fit in to +every other, as carefully as the pieces of a dissected map, or the +fragments of a fine mosaic. But of all the actors in the drama, not one +ever feels that his freedom is in any way interfered with. All of them +are at perfect liberty to follow the course that commends itself to +their own minds. + +Thus wonderfully do the two things go together--Divine ordination and +human freedom. How it should be so, it baffles us to explain. But that +it is so, must be obvious to every thoughtful mind. And it is because we +see the two things so harmonious in the common affairs of life, that we +can believe them to act harmoniously in the higher plane of redemption +and salvation. For in that sphere, too, all things fall out in +accordance with the Divine plan. "Known unto God are all His works from +the beginning of the world." Yet this universal predestination in no +degree interferes with the liberty of man. If men reject God's offers, +it is because they are personally unwilling to accept of them. If they +receive His offers, it is because they have been made willing to do so. +"Ye will not come unto Me that ye might have life," said our Lord to the +Jews. And yet it is ever true that "it is God that worketh in you both +to will and to do of His good pleasure." + +God having given the people permission to appoint a king, that king has +now to be found. What kind of person must the first king be--the first +to supersede the old rule of the Divinely-inspired judges, the first to +fulfil the cravings of the people, the first to guide the nation which +had been appointed by God to stand in so close a relation to Himself? + +It seemed desirable, that in the first king of Israel, two classes of +qualities should be united, in some degree contradictory to one another. +First, he must possess some of the qualities for which the people desire +to have a king; while at the same time, from God's point of view, it is +desirable that under him the people should have some taste of the evils +which Samuel had said would follow from their choice. + +To an Oriental people, a stately and commanding personality was +essential to an ideal king. They liked a king that would look well on +great occasions, that would be a commanding figure at the head of an +army, or in the centre of a procession; that would arrest the eye of +strangers, and inspire at first sight an involuntary respect for the +nation that had such a ruler at its head. Nor could any one have more +fully realized the wishes of the people in this respect than Saul. "A +choice young man and a goodly; there was not among the children of +Israel a goodlier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he was +higher than any of the people." + +Further, though his tribe was small in number, it was not small in +influence. And his family was of a superior caste, for Kish was "a +mighty man of power." And Saul's personal qualities were prepossessing +and promising. He showed himself ready to comply with his father's +order about the asses that had strayed, and to undertake a laborious +journey to look for them. He was interested in his father's business, +and ready to help him in his time of need. And the business which he +undertook he seems to have executed with great patience and +thoroughness. A foot journey over a great part of the territory of +Benjamin was no easy task. Altogether, he shows himself, as we say, a +capable man. He is not afraid to face the irksome; he does not consult +merely for his ease and pleasure; labour does not distress him, and +difficulties do not daunt him. + +All this was so far promising, and it seems to have been exactly what +the people desired. But on the other hand, there seems to have been, +from the very beginning, a great want in Saul. He appears from the very +first to have wanted all that was most conspicuous and most valuable in +Samuel. It is a circumstance not without its significance, that the very +name and work of Samuel do not seem to have been familiar or even known +to him. It was his servant that knew about Samuel, and that told Saul of +his being in the city, in the land of Zuph (ver. 6). This cannot but +strike us as very strange. We should have thought that the name of +Samuel would have been as familiar to all the people of Israel as that +of Queen Victoria to the people of Great Britain. But Saul does not +appear to have heard it, as in any way remarkable. Does not this +indicate a family living entirely outside of all religious connections, +entirely immersed in secular things, caring nothing about godly people, +and hardly ever even pronouncing their name? It is singular how utterly +ignorant worldly men are of what passes in religious circles, if they +happen to have no near relative, or familiar acquaintance in the +religious world to carry the news to them from time to time. And as Saul +thus lived outside of all religious circles, so he seems to have been +entirely wanting in that great quality which was needed for a king of +Israel--loyalty to the Heavenly King. Here it was that the difference +between him and Samuel was so great. Loyalty to God and to God's nation +was the very foundation of Samuel's life. Anything like self-seeking was +unknown to him. He had early undergone that momentous change, when God +is substituted for self as the pivot of one's life. The claims of the +great King were ever paramount in his eyes. What would please God and be +honouring to Him, was the first question that rose to his mind. And as +Israel was God's people, so the interest and the welfare of Israel were +ever dear to him. And thus it was that Samuel might be relied on not to +think of himself, not to think of his own wishes or interests, except as +utterly subordinate to the wishes and interests of his God and his +nation. It was this that gave such solidity to Samuel's character, and +made him so invaluable to his people. In every sphere of life it is a +precious quality. Whether as domestic servants, or clerks, or managers, +dependent on others, those persons are ever of priceless worth whose +hearts are thus set on objects outside themselves, and who are proof +against the common temptations of selfishness and worldliness. And when +they are the rulers of a nation, and are able to disregard their +personal welfare in their burning desire to benefit the whole people, +they rise to the rank of heroes, and after their death, their names are +enshrined in the memories of a grateful and admiring people. + +But in these high qualities, Saul seems to have been altogether wanting. +For though he was not selfish and self-indulgent at first, though he +readily obeyed his father in going to search for the strayed asses, he +had no deep root of unselfishness in his nature, and by-and-bye, in the +hour of temptation, the cloven foot unhappily appeared. And ere long the +people would learn, that as Saul had in him no profound reverence for +the will of God, so he had in him no profound and indefeasible regard +for the welfare of God's people. The people would come to see what a +fatal mistake they had made in selecting a king merely for superficial +qualities, and passing by all that would have allied him, as Samuel was +allied, to God himself. Now it seems to have been God's purpose that the +first king of Israel should be a man of this kind. Through him the +people were to learn that the king who simply fulfilled their notions, +was capable, when his self-will was developed, of dragging the nation to +ruin. No! it was not the superficial qualities of Saul that would be a +blessing to the nation. It was not a man out of all spiritual sympathy +with the living God that would raise the standing of Israel among the +kingdoms around, and bring them the submission and respect of foreign +kings. The intense and consistent godliness of Samuel was probably the +quality that was not popular among the people. In the worldliness of his +spirit, Saul was probably more to their liking. Yet it was this +unworldly but godly Samuel that had delivered them from the bitter yoke +of the Philistines, and it was this handsome but unspiritual Saul that +was to bring them again into bondage to their ancient foes. This was the +sad lesson to be learned from the reign of Saul. + +But God did not design altogether to abandon His people. When the +lesson should be learnt from Saul's history, He would guide them to a +king of a different stamp. He would give them a king after His own +heart--one that would make the will of God the great rule, and the +welfare of the people the great end of his government. David would +engrave in the history of the nation in deeper letters than even Samuel, +the all-important lesson, that for kings and countries as much as for +individuals, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;" that God +honours them that honour Him, while they that despise Him shall indeed +be lightly esteemed. + +But let us now come to the circumstances that led to the meeting of Saul +and Samuel. The asses of Kish had strayed. Very probably they had +strayed at a time when they were specially needed. The operations of the +farm had to be suspended for want of them perhaps at a season when any +delay would be especially inconvenient. In all ranks of life, men are +subject to these vexations, and he is a happy man who does not fret +under them, but keeps his temper calm, in spite of all the worry. +Especially is he a happy man who retains his equanimity under the +conviction that the thing is appointed by God, and that He who overruled +the loss of Kish's asses to such high events in the history of his son, +is able so to order all their troubles and worries that they shall be +found conducive to their highest good. At Kish's order, Saul and one of +the servants go forth to seek the asses. With the precise localities +through which they passed, we are not accurately acquainted, such places +as Shalim or Zuph not having yet been identified. But the tour must have +been an extensive one, extending over most of the territory of Benjamin; +and as it must have been necessary to make many a detour, up hill and +down dale, to this farm and to that, the labour involved must have been +very great. It was not a superficial but a thorough search. + +At last, when they came to the land of Zuph, they had been away so long +that Saul thought it necessary to return, lest his father should think +that some evil had befallen them. But the servant had another string to +his bow. Though Saul was not familiar with the name or the character of +Samuel, his servant was. What God hides from the wise and prudent, He +sometimes reveals to babes. It is an interesting thing in the history of +the Church, how often great people have been indebted to servants for +important guidance, perhaps even for their first acquaintance with +saving truth. The little captive maid that ministered in the house of +Naaman the Syrian was the channel through whom he came to know of the +prophet of Israel who was able to heal him. Many a distinguished +Christian has acknowledged, like the Earl of Shaftesbury, his +obligations to some pious nurse that when he was a child told him Bible +stories and pressed on his heart the claims of God. Happy those servants +who are faithful in these circumstances, and of whom it can be said, +"They have done what they could!" Of this servant of Saul's we know +nothing whatever, save that, in his master's dilemma, he told him of the +Lord's servant, and induced him to apply to him to extricate him from +his difficulty. + +It does not appear that the city was Samuel's usual place of abode. It +was a place to which he had come to hold a religious service, and the +occasion was evidently one of much importance. It is interesting to +observe how the difficulty was got over, of their having no present to +offer to the man of God, in accordance with the custom of the country. +Saul, though in comfortable circumstances, had absolutely no particle of +money with him. His servant had but a quarter of a shekel, not designed +apparently for spending purposes, but perhaps a little keepsake or kind +of amulet he carried about with him. But there was such hospitality in +those days that people going about the country had no need for money. So +it was when our Lord instructed the disciples when sending them out on +their missionary tour--"Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in +your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither +shoes, nor yet staves, for the labourer is worthy of his meat." Those +who have presumed on these instructions, holding that the modern +missionary does not need any sustenance to be provided for him, but may +safely trust to the hospitality of the heathen, forget how different was +the case and the custom among the Hebrew people. + +But now, as Saul and his servant came to the city, another providential +meeting takes place to help them to their object. "As they went up the +hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water." The +city was up the hill, and the water supply would naturally be at the +bottom. From the maidens that were going down to the fountain, they +obtained information fitted to quicken their movements. They learned +that the prophet had already arrived. The preparations for the sacrifice +which he was to offer were now going on. It was just the time to get a +word with him, if they had business to transact. Very soon he would be +going up to the high place, and then the solemn rites would begin, and +be followed by the feast, which would engross his whole attention. If +they would catch him at the proper moment they must "make haste." That +they did quicken their pace, we cannot doubt. And it was necessary; for +just as they reached the city Samuel made his appearance, about to go up +to the high place. If they had lost that moment, they would probably +have had no opportunity during the whole day. Nor is it likely that +Saul, who had no great desire for the company of the prophet, would have +waited till the sacrifice and the feast were over. The two men were +brought together just in the nick of time. And thus another essential +link of God's chain, bringing the old and the new ruler of Israel into +contact with each other, was happily adjusted, all through means to us +apparently accidental, but forming parts of the great scheme of God. + +From this part of the narrative we may derive two great lessons, the one +with reference to God, and the other with reference to man. + +First, as it regards God, we cannot but see how silently, secretly, +often slowly, yet surely, He accomplishes His purposes. There are +certain rivers in nature that flow so gently, that when looking at the +water only, the eye of the spectator is unable to discern any movement +at all. Often the ways of God resemble such rivers. Looking at what is +going on in common life, it is so ordinary, so absolutely quiet, that +you can see no trace whatever of any Divine plan. Things seem left to +themselves, and God appears to have no connection with them. And yet, +all the while, the most insignificant of them is contributing towards +the accomplishment of the mighty plans of God. By means of ten thousand +times ten thousand agents, conscious and unconscious, things are moving +on towards the grand consummation. Men may be instruments in God's +hands without knowing it. When Cyrus was moving his armies towards +Babylon, he little knew that he was accomplishing the Divine purpose for +the humbling of the oppressor and the deliverance of His oppressed +people. And in all the events of common life, men seem to be so +completely their own masters, there seems such a want of any influence +from without, that God is liable to slip entirely out of sight. And yet, +as we see from the chapter before us, God is really at work. Whether men +know it or not, they are really fulfilling the purposes of His will. +Calmly but steadily, like the stars in the silent heavens, men are +bringing to pass the schemes of God. His wildest enemies are really +helping to swell His triumphs. Oh, how vain is the attempt to resist His +mighty hand! The day cometh, when all the tokens of confusion and defeat +shall disappear, when the bearing even of the fall of a sparrow on the +plans of God shall be made apparent, and every intelligent creature in +earth and heaven shall join in the mighty shout--"Alleluiah, for the +Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." + +But again, there is a useful lesson in this chapter for directing the +conduct of men. You see in what direction the mind of Saul's servant +moved for guidance in the day of difficulty. It was toward the servant +of God. And you see likewise how, when Saul and he had determined to +consult the man of God, they were providentially guided to him. To us, +the way is open to God Himself, without the intervention of any prophet. +Let us in every time of trouble seek access to God. Have we not a +thousand examples of it in Bible history, and in other history too? Men +say it is not right we should trouble God with trifles. Nay, the living +God knows not what trouble is, and in His scheme there are no trifles. +There is no limit one way or other in the command, "_In everything_ by +prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made +known unto God." "Acknowledge Him in _all_ your ways, and He will direct +your steps." But above all, acknowledge Him with reference to the way of +life eternal. Make sure that you are in the way to heaven. Use well the +guide book with which you are furnished. Let God's word be a light to +your feet and a lamp to your path; and then your path shall itself "be +like the shining light, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect +day." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +_FIRST MEETING OF SAMUEL AND SAUL._ + +1 SAMUEL ix. 15-27. + + +The meeting between Samuel and Saul was preceded by previous meetings +between Samuel and God. God had prepared the prophet for his visit from +the future king of Israel, and the first thing brought before us in +these verses is the communication on this subject which had been made to +the prophet a day before. + +It is very interesting to observe how readily Samuel still lends himself +for any service he can render on behalf of his people, under the new +arrangement that God had permitted for their government. We have seen +how mortified Samuel was at first, when the people came to him with +their request for a king. He took it as a personal affront, as well as a +grave public error. Conscious as he was of having done his duty +faithfully, and of having rendered high service to the nation, and +reposing calmly, as he probably was, on the expectation that at least +for some time to come, Israel would move forward peacefully and happily +on the lines which he had drawn for them, it must have been a staggering +blow when they came to him and asked him to overturn all that he had +done, and make them a king. It must have been one of those bewildering +moments when one's whole life appears lost, and all one's dearest hopes +and hardest labours lie shattered, like the fragments of a potter's +vessel. We have seen how, in that sad moment, Samuel carried his sorrows +to the Lord, and learning thus to view the whole matter from God's point +of view, how he came to make comparatively little account of his own +disappointment, and to think only how he could still serve the cause of +God, how he could still help the people, how he could prevent the vessel +which he was no longer to steer from dashing against the hidden rocks he +saw so clearly ahead. It is impossible not to be struck with the beauty +and purity of Samuel's character in this mode of action. + +How many a good man takes offence when slighted or superseded by some +committee or other body, in connection with a political, social, or +religious cause which he has tried to help! If they won't have me, he +says, let them do without me. If they won't allow me to carry out the +course which I have followed, and which has been undoubtedly highly +beneficial, I'll have nothing more to do with them. He sulks in his tent +like Achilles, or goes over to the enemy like Coriolanus. Not so Samuel! +His love for the people is too deep to allow of such a course. They have +behaved badly to him, but notwithstanding he will not leave them. Like +an injured but loving wife, who labours with every art of patient +affection to reclaim the husband that has abused her and broken her +heart; like a long-suffering father, who attends with his own hands to +the neglected work of his dissipated son, to save him if possible from +the consequences of his folly--Samuel overlooks his personal slight, and +bears with the public folly of the people, in the endeavour to be of +some use to them in the important stage of their history on which they +are entering. He receives Divine communications respecting the man who +is to supersede him in the government of the people, and instead of +jealousy and dislike, shows every readiness to help him. It is +refreshing to find such tokens of magnanimity and disinterestedness. +However paltry human nature may be in itself, it can become very noble +when rehabilitated by the Spirit of God. Need we ask which is the nobler +course? You feel that you have not been treated perhaps by your church +with sufficient consideration. You fret, you complain, you stay away +from church, you pour your grievance into every open ear. Would Samuel +have done so? Is not your conduct the very reverse of his? Side by side +with his, must not yours be pronounced poor and paltry? Have you not +need to study the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and when you read +of the charity that "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth +all things, endureth all things," ask yourselves whether it might not be +said of you that you have neither part nor lot in this matter? + +The communication that God had made to Samuel was, that on the following +day He would send to him the man whom he was to anoint as captain over +Israel, that he might save them from the Philistines; for He had looked +upon His people, because their cry was come up to Him. There is an +apparent inconsistency here with what is said elsewhere. In chap. viii. +13 it is said, that "the Philistines came no more into the coast of +Israel, and that the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all +the days of Samuel." But probably "all the days of Samuel" mean only the +days when he exerted himself actively against them. As long as Samuel +watched and checked them, they were kept in restraint; but when he +ceased to do so, they resumed their active hostility. The concluding +verses of chap. xiii. (19-23) show that in Saul's time the Philistine +oppression had become so galling that the very smiths had been removed +from the land of Israel, and there was no right provision even for +sharpening ploughshares, or coulters, or axes, or mattocks. Undoubtedly +Saul removed this oppression for a time, and David's elegy shows how +beneficial his reign was in some other ways, although the last act of +his life was an encounter with the Philistines in which he was utterly +defeated. It is evident that before Saul's time the tyranny of their +foes had been very galling to the Israelites. The words of God, "their +cry is come up to Me," indicate quietly a very terrible state of +distress. They carry us back to the words uttered at the burning bush, +"I have seen, I have seen the affliction of My people which are in +Egypt, have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know +their sorrows." God speaks after the manner of men. He needs no cry to +come into His ears to tell Him of the woes of the oppressed. +Nevertheless He seems to wait till that cry is raised, till the appeal +is made to Him, till the consciousness of utter helplessness sends men +to His footstool. And a very blessed truth it is, that He sympathizes +with the cry of the oppressed. There is much meaning in the simple +expression--"their cry is come up to Me." It denotes a very tender +sympathy, a concern for all that they have been suffering, and a +resolution to interpose on their behalf. God is never impassive nor +indifferent to the sorrows and sufferings of His people. All are +designed to serve as chastenings with a view to ultimate good. The eye +of God is ever watching to see whether the chastening is sufficient, +and when it is so, to stop the suffering. In the Inquisitor's chamber, +the eye of God was ever on the boot and the thumbscrew, on the knife and +the pincers, on the furnace and all the other instruments of torture. In +the sick room, He watches the spent and struggling patient, knows every +paroxysm of pain, knows all the restlessness and tossing of the weary +night. He understands the anguish of the loving heart when one after +another of its treasures is torn away. He knows the unutterable distress +when a child's misconduct brings down grey heirs with sorrow to the +grave. Appearances may be all the other way, but "the Lord God is +merciful and gracious, slow to anger and of great compassion." The night +may be long and weary, but the dawn comes at the appointed time. "Ye +have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, +that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." + +But now Samuel and Saul have met. Saul is as unfamiliar with Samuel's +appearance as with his name; he goes up to him and asks where the seer's +house is. "I am the seer," replies Samuel; but at the moment Samuel was +not at liberty, and could not converse with Saul. He invites him to go +up with him to the high place, and take part in the religious service. +Then he invites him to the feast that was to follow the sacrifice. Next +day he is to deal with him as a prophet, making important communications +to him. But in regard to the matter which occupies him at the moment, +his father's asses, he need trouble himself no more on that head, for +the asses are found. Then he gives Saul a hint of what is coming. He +makes an announcement to him that he and his father's house are the +objects of the whole desire of Israel. It is not very apparent whether +or not Saul had any inkling of the meaning of this remark. It may be +that he viewed it as a mere expression of politeness, savouring of the +customary exaggeration of the East. At all events, his answer was +couched in those terms of extravagant humility which was likewise matter +of Eastern custom. "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes +of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of +Benjamin? Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?" + +The sacrifice next engages the attention of all. Samuel's first meeting +with Saul takes place over the symbol of expiation, over the sacrifice +that shows man to be a sinner, and declares that without shedding of +blood there is no remission of sin. No doubt the circumstance was very +impressive to Samuel, and would be turned to its proper use in +subsequent conversation with Saul, whether Saul entered into the spirit +of it or not. If it be asked, How could a sacrifice take place on the +height of this city, whereas God had commanded that only in the place +which He was to choose should such rites be performed?--the answer is, +that at that time Shiloh lay in ruins, and Mount Zion was still in the +possession of the Jebusites. The final arrangements had not yet been +made for the Hebrew ceremonial, and in the present provisional and +unsettled state of things, sacrifices were not limited to a single +place. + +After the sacrifice, came the feast. It was now that Samuel began to +give more explicit hints to Saul of the dignity to which he was to be +raised. The feast was held in "the parlour"--a room adjacent to the +place of sacrifice, to which Samuel had invited a large company--thirty +of the chief inhabitants of the town. First Saul and his servant are +complimented by having the place of honour assigned to them. Then they +are honoured by having a portion set before them which had been +specially set apart for them the day before. The speech concerning this +portion in ver. 24 is somewhat obscure if it be regarded as a speech of +Samuel's. It seems more natural to regard it as a speech of the cook's. +It will be observed that the word "Samuel" in the middle of the verse is +in italics, showing that it is not in the Hebrew, so that it is more +natural to regard the clause as having "the cook" for its nominative, +and indeed this talk about the portion is more suitable for the cook +than for Samuel. Servants were not forbidden to speak during +entertainments; nor did their masters disdain even to have serious +conversation with them (see Nehemiah ii. 2-8). There is another +correction of the Authorized Version that needs to be made. At the end +of ver. 24 the words "Since I said" are not a literal rendering. The +original is simply the word which is constantly rendered _saying_. It +has been suggested ("Speaker's Commentary") that a word or two should be +supplied to make the sense complete, and the verse would then +run:--"unto this time hath it been kept for thee [against the festival +of which Samuel spake], saying, I have invited the people." The part +thus reserved was the shoulder and its appurtenances. Why this part was +regarded as more honourable than any other, we do not know, nor is it of +any moment; the point of importance being, first, that by Samuel's +express instructions it had been reserved for Saul, and second, that +these instructions had been given as soon as Samuel made arrangements +for the feast. To honour Saul as the destined king of Israel was +Samuel's unhesitating purpose. Some men might have said, It will be +time enough to show this mark of respect when the man is actually chosen +king. Had there been the slightest feeling of grudge in the mind of +Samuel, this is what he would have thought. But instead of grudging Saul +his new dignity, he is forward to acknowledge it. There shall be no +holding back on his part of honour for the man whom the Lord delighted +to honour. + +If the words of ver. 24 were really spoken by the cook, they must have +added a new element of surprise and impression to Saul. It was apparent +that he had been expected to this feast. The cook had been warned that a +man of consequence was coming, and had therefore set apart that portion +to him. Saul must have felt both that a supernatural power had been at +work, and that some strange destiny--possibly the royal dignity--was in +reserve for him. To us, pondering the circumstances, what is most +striking is, the wonderful way in which the fixed purpose of God is +accomplished, while all the agents in the matter remain perfectly free. +That Saul and his servant should be present with Samuel at that feast, +was the fixed decree of heaven. But it was brought about quite +naturally. There was no constraint on the mind of Saul's servant, when, +being in the land of Zuph, he proposed that they should go into the +city, and try to make inquiry of the man of God. There was no constraint +on the damsels when at a certain time they went down to the fountain for +water, and on their way met Saul and his servant. There was no +constraint on Saul and his servant, save that created by common sense, +when they quickened their pace in order to meet Samuel on the way to the +sacrifice. Every one of these events fell out freely and naturally. Yet +all were necessary links in the chain of God's purposes. From God's +point of view they were necessary, from man's point of view they were +casual. Thus necessity and freedom harmonized together, as they always +do in the plans and operations of God. It is absurd to say that the +predestination of God takes away the liberty of man. It is unreasonable +to suppose that because God has predestinated all events, we need not +take any step in the matter of our salvation. Such an idea is founded on +an utter misunderstanding of the relation in which God has placed us to +Him. It overlooks the great truth, that God's ways are not our ways, nor +His thoughts our thoughts. The relation of the Infinite Will to the +wills of finite creatures is a mystery we cannot fathom; but the effect +on us should be to impel us to seek that our will may ever be in harmony +with God's, and that thus the petition in the Lord's prayer may be +fulfilled, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." + +The feast is over; Samuel and Saul return to the city, and there, on the +housetop, they commune together. The twenty-sixth verse seems to narrate +in detail what is summarily contained in the twenty-fifth. After +returning from the sacrifice and the feast, they seem to have committed +themselves to rest. In the early morning, about daybreak, they had their +conversation on the housetop, and thereafter Samuel sent Saul away, +convoying him part of the road. What the conversation on the housetop +was, we are not told; but we have no difficulty in conjecturing. Samuel +could not but communicate to Saul the treasured thoughts of his lifetime +regarding the way to govern Israel. He must have recalled to him God's +purpose regarding His people, beginning with the call of Abraham, +dwelling on the deliverance from Egypt, and touching on the history of +the several judges, and the lessons to be derived from each. We may +fancy the fervour with which he would urge on Saul, that the one thing +most essential for the prosperity of the nation--the one thing which +those in power ought continually to watch and aim at, was, loyalty by +the people to their heavenly King, and the faithful observance of His +law and covenant. He would dwell emphatically on the many instances in +which neglect of the covenant had brought disaster and misery, and on +the wonderful change in their outward circumstances which had come with +every return of fidelity to their King. Granted, they were soon to have +a king. They were to change their form of government, and be like the +rest of the nations. But if they changed their form of government, they +were not to surrender the palladium of their nation, they were not to +abandon their "gloria et tutamen." The new king would be tempted like +all the kings around him to regard his own will as his only rule of +action, and to fall in with the prevalent notion, that kings were above +the law, because the king's will was the law, and nothing could be +higher than that. What an infinite calamity it would be to himself and +to the nation, if the new king of Israel were to fall into such a +delusion! Yes, the king _was_ above the law, and the king's will _was_ +the law; but it was the King of kings alone who had this prerogative, +and woe to the earthly ruler that dared to climb into His throne, and +take into his puny hands the sceptre of the Omnipotent! + +Such, we may well believe, was the tenor of that first meeting of Samuel +and Saul. We cannot but carry forward our thoughts a little, and think +what was the last. The last meeting was at Endor, where in darkness and +utter despair, the king of Israel had thought of his early friend, had +perhaps recalled his gentle kindness on this first occasion of their +meeting, and wondered whether he might not be able and willing to throw +some light once more upon his path. But alas, the day of merciful +visitation was gone. The first conversation was in the brightness of +early morning; the last in midnight gloom. The time of day was +appropriate for each. On that sepulchral night, the worst evils that he +had dreaded, and against which he had doubtless warned him on that +housetop, had come to pass. Self-willed and regardless of God, Saul had +taken his own course, and brought his people to the very verge of ruin. +Differing, _toto coelo_, from Samuel in his treatment of his +successor, he had hunted David like a partridge on the mountains, and +stormed against the man who was to bring back to the nation the +blessings of which he had robbed it. Brought to bay at last by his +recklessness and passion, he could only reap the fruit of what he had +sown; "for God is not mocked; they that sow to the flesh shall of the +flesh reap corruption, and they that sow to the Spirit shall, of the +Spirit, reap life everlasting." Again there was to ring out the great +law of the kingdom,--"Them that honour Me, I will honour; while they +that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." + +The good words of Samuel fell not into good ground. He had not in Saul a +congenial hearer. Saul was too worldly a man to care for, or appreciate +spiritual things. Alas, how often for a similar reason, the best words +of the best men fail of their purpose! But how is this ever to be cured? +How is the uncongenial heart to become a fit bed for the good seed of +the Kingdom? I own, it is a most difficult thing. Those who are +afflicted with indifference to spiritual truth will not seek a remedy, +because the very essence of their malady is that they do not care. But +surely their Christian friends and relatives, and all interested in +their welfare, will care very much. Have you such persons--persons whose +worldly hearts show no sympathy with Divine truth--among your +acquaintances or in your families? Persons so steeped in worldliness +that the strongest statements of saving truth are as much lost upon them +as grains of the best wheat would be lost if sown in a heap of sand? O +how should you be earnest for such in prayer; there is a remedy, and +there is a Physician able to apply it; the Spirit of God if appealed to, +can repeat the process that was so effectual at Philippi, when "the Lord +opened the heart of Lydia, that she _attended_ to the things that were +spoken by Paul." "If ye then that are evil know how to give good things +unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven +give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +_SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL._ + +1 SAMUEL x. 1-16. + + +There is a remarkable minuteness of detail in this and other narratives +in Samuel, suggesting the authenticity of the narrative, and the +authorship of one who was personally connected with the transactions. +The historical style of Scripture is very characteristic; sometimes +great periods of time are passed over with hardly a word, and sometimes +events of little apparent importance are recorded with what might be +thought needless minuteness. In Genesis, the whole history of the world +before the flood is despatched in seven chapters, less than is occupied +with the history of Joseph. Enoch's biography is in one little verse, +while a whole chapter is taken up with the funeral of Sarah, and another +chapter of unusual length with the marrying of Isaac. Yet we can be at +no loss to discover good reasons for this arrangement. It combines two +forms of history--annals, and dramatic story. Annals are short, and +necessarily somewhat dry; but they have the advantage of embracing much +in comparatively short compass. The dramatic story is necessarily +diffuse; it occupies a large amount of space; but it has the advantage +of presenting a living picture--of bringing past events before the +reader as they happened at the time. If the whole history of the Bible +had been in the form of annals, it would have been very useful, but it +would have wanted human interest. If it had been all in the dramatic +form, it would have occupied too much space. By the combination of the +two methods, we secure the compact precision of the one, and the living +interest of the other. In the verses that are to form the subject of the +present lecture, we have a lively dramatic picture of what took place in +connection with the anointing of Saul by Samuel as king of Israel. The +event was a very important one, as showing the pains that were taken to +impress him with the solemnity of the office, and his obligation to +undertake it in full accord with God's sacred purpose in connection with +His people Israel. Everything was planned to impress on Saul that his +elevation to the royal dignity was not to be viewed by him as a mere +piece of good fortune, and to induce him to enter on the office with a +solemn sense of responsibility, and in a spirit entirely different from +that of the neighbouring kings, who thought only of their royal position +as enabling them to gratify the desires of their own hearts. Both Saul +and the people must see the hand of God very plainly in Saul's +elevation, and the king must enter on his duties with a profound sense +of the supernatural influences through which he has been elevated, and +his obligation to rule the people in the fear, and according to the +will, of God. + +Though the servant that accompanied Saul seems to have been as much a +companion and adviser as a servant, and to have been present as yet in +all Samuel's intercourse with Saul, yet the act of anointing which the +prophet was now to perform was more suitable to be done in private than +in the presence of another; consequently the servant was sent on before +(ch. ix. 27). It would seem to have been Samuel's intention, while +paying honour to Saul as one to whom honour was due, and thus hinting at +his coming elevation, not to make it public, not to anticipate the +public selection which would follow soon in an orderly way. It was right +that Saul himself should know what was coming, and that his mind should +be prepared for it; but it was not right at this stage that others +should know it, for that would have seemed an interference with the +choice of the people. It must have been in some quiet corner of the road +that Samuel took out his vial of sacred oil, and poured it on Saul to +anoint him king of Israel. The kiss which he gave him was the kiss of +homage, a very old way of recognizing sovereignty (Ps. ii. 12), and +still kept up in the custom of kissing the sovereign's hand after +elevation to office or dignity. To be thus anointed by God's recognised +servant, was to receive the approval of God Himself. Saul now became +God's messiah--the Lord's anointed. For the term messiah, as applied to +Christ, belongs to His kingly office. Though the priests likewise were +anointed, the title derived from that act was not appropriated by them, +but by the kings. It was counted a high and solemn dignity, making the +king's person sacred, in the eyes of every God-fearing man. Yet this was +not an indelible character; it might be forfeited by unfaithfulness and +transgression. The only Messiah, the only Anointed One, who was +incapable of being set aside, was He whom the kings of Israel typified. +Of Him Isaiah foretold: "Of the increase of His government and peace +there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to +order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from +henceforth even for ever." And in announcing the birth of Jesus, the +angel foretold: "He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of +His kingdom there shall be no end." + +It is evident that Saul was surprised at the acts of Samuel. We can +readily fancy his look of astonishment after the venerable prophet had +given him the kiss of homage,--the searching gaze that asked, "What do +you mean by that?" Samuel was ready with his answer: "Is it not because +the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over His heritage?" But in so +momentous a matter, involving a supernatural communication of the will +of God, an assurance even from Samuel was hardly sufficient. It was +reasonable that Saul should be supplied with tangible proofs that in +anointing him as king Samuel had complied with the will of God. These +tangible proofs Samuel proceeded to give. They consisted of predictions +of certain events that were about to happen--events that it was not +within the range of ordinary sagacity to foresee, and which were +therefore fitted to convince Saul that Samuel was in possession of +supernatural authority, and that the act of consecration which he had +just performed was agreeable to the will of God. + +The first of these proofs was, that when he had proceeded on his journey +as far as Rachel's tomb, he would meet with two men who would tell him +that the lost asses had been found, and that his father's anxiety was +now about his son. It must be owned that the localities here are very +puzzling. If the meeting with Samuel was near Ramah of Benjamin, Saul, +in returning to Gibeah, would not have occasion to go near Rachel's +tomb. We can only say he may have had some reason for taking this route +unknown to us. Here he would find a confirmation of what Samuel had told +him on the day before; and his mind being thus relieved of anxiety, he +would have more freedom to ponder the marvellous things of which Samuel +had spoken to him. + +The next token was to be found in the plain of Tabor, but this Tabor can +have no connection with the well-known mountain of that name in the +plain of Esdraelon. Some have conjectured that this Tabor is derived +from Deborah, Rachel's nurse, who was buried in the neighbourhood of +Bethel (Gen. xxxv. 8), but there is no probability in this conjecture. +Here three men, going up to Bethel to a religious festival were to meet +Saul; and they were to present him, as an act of homage, with two of +their three loaves. This was another evidence that God was filling men's +hearts with a rare feeling towards him. + +The third token was to be the most remarkable of any. It was to occur at +what is called "the hill of God." Literally this is "Gibeah of +God"--God's Gibeah. It seems to have been Saul's own city, but the name +Gibeah may have been given to the whole hill where the city lay. The +precise spot where the occurrence was to take place was at the garrison +of the Philistines. (Thus it appears incidentally that the old enemy +were again harassing the country.) Gibeah, which is elsewhere called +Gibeah of Saul, is here called God's Gibeah, because of the sacred +services of which it was the seat. Here Saul would meet a company of +prophets coming down from the holy place, with psaltery, and tabret, and +pipe, and harp, and here his mind would undergo a change, and he would +be impelled to join the prophets' company. This was a strange token, +with a strange result. + +We must try, first, to form some idea of Saul's state of mind in the +midst of these strange events. + +The thought of his being king of Israel must have set his whole being +vibrating with high emotion. No mind can take in at first all that is +involved in such a stroke of fortune. A tumult of feeling surges through +the mind. It is intoxicated with the prospect. Glimpses of this pleasure +and of that, now brought within reach, flit before the fancy. The whole +pulses of Saul's nature must have been quickened. A susceptibility of +impression formerly unknown must have come to him. He was like a cloud +surcharged with electricity; he was in that state of nervous excitement +which craves a physical outlet, whether in singing, or shouting, or +leaping,--anything to relieve the brain and nervous system, which seem +to tremble and struggle under the extraordinary pressure. + +But mingling with this, there must have been another, and perhaps +deeper, emotion at work in Saul's bosom. He had been brought into near +contact with the Supernatural. The thought of the Infinite Power that +ordains and governs all had been stirred very vividly within him. The +three tokens of Divine ordination met with in succession at Rachel's +tomb, in the plain of Tabor, and in the neighbourhood of Gibeah, must +have impressed him very profoundly. Probably he had never had any very +distinct impression of the great Supernatural Being before. The worldly +turn of mind which was natural to him would not occupy itself with any +such thoughts. But now it was made clear to him not only that there was +a Supernatural Being, but that He was dealing very closely with him. It +is always a solemn thing to feel in the presence of God, and to remember +that He is searching us and knowing us, knowing our sitting down and +our rising up, and comprehending all our thoughts afar off. At such +times the sense of our guilt, feebleness, dependence, usually comes on +us, full and strong. Must it not have been so with Saul? If the prospect +of kingly power was fitted to puff him up, the sense of God's nearness +to him was fitted to cast him down. What was he before God? An +insignificant worm, a guilty sinner, unworthy to be called God's son. + +The whole susceptibilities of Saul were in a state of high excitement; +the sense of the Divine presence was on him, and for the moment a desire +to render to God some acknowledgment of all the mercy which had come +upon him. When the company of prophets met him coming down the hill, +"the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied with them." When in +the Old Testament the Spirit of God is said to come on one, the meaning +is not always that He comes in regenerating and sanctifying grace. The +Spirit of God in Bezaleel, the son of Uri, made him cunning in all +manner of workmanship, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass. The +Spirit of God, when He came upon Samson, magnified his physical +strength, and fitted him for the most wonderful feats. So the Spirit of +God, when He came on Saul, did not necessarily regenerate his being; +alas! in Saul's future life, there is only too much evidence of an +unchanged heart! Still it might be said of Saul that he was changed into +another man. Elevated by the prospect before him, but awed at the same +time by a sense of God's nearness, he had no heart for the pursuits in +which he would have engaged on his return home had no such change +occurred. In the mood of mind in which he was now, he could not look at +anything frivolous: his mind soared to higher things. When therefore he +met the company of prophets coming down the hill, he was impelled by the +surge of his feelings to join their company and take part in their song. +They were returning from the high place where they had been engaged in +worship, and now they seem to have been continuing the service, sounding +out the high praises of God, and thankfully remembering His mercies. It +was the same God who had so wonderfully drawn near to Saul, and +conferred on him privileges which were as exalted as they were +undeserved. No wonder the heart of Saul caught the infection, and threw +itself for the time into the service of praise! No young man could well +have resisted the impulse. Had he not been chosen out of all the ten +thousands of Israel for an honour and a function higher than any +Israelite had ever yet enjoyed? Ought he not, must he not, in all the +enthusiasm of profoundest wonder, extol the name of Him from whom so +suddenly, so unexpectedly, yet so assuredly, this marvellous favour had +come? + +But it was an employment very different from what had hitherto been his +custom. That utter worldliness of mind which we have referred to as his +natural disposition would have made him scorn any such employment in his +ordinary mood as utterly alien to his feelings. Too often we see that +worldly-minded men not only have no relish for spiritual exercises, but +feel bitterly and scornfully toward those who affect them. The reason is +not far to seek. They know that religious men count them guilty of sin, +of great sin, in so neglecting the service of God. To be condemned, +whether openly or not, galls their pride, and sets them to disparage +those who have so low an opinion of them. It is not said that Saul had +felt bitterly toward religious men previous to this time. But whether +he did so or not, he appears to have kept aloof from them quite as much +as if he had. And now in his own city he appears among the prophets, as +if sharing their inspiration, and joining with them openly in the +praises of God. It is so strange a sight that every one is astonished. +"Saul among the prophets!" people exclaim. "Shall wonders ever cease?" +And yet Saul was not in his right place among the prophets. Saul was +like the stony ground seed in the parable of the sower. He had no depth +of root. His enthusiasm on this occasion was the result of forces that +did not work at the heart of his nature. It was the result of the new +and most remarkable situation in which he found himself, not of any new +principle of life, any principle that would involve a radical change. It +is a solemn fact that men may be worked on by outer forces so as to do +many things that seem to be acts of Divine service, but are not so +really. A man suddenly raised to a high and influential position feels +the influence of the change,--feels himself sobered and solemnized by +it, and for a time appears to live and act under higher considerations +than he used to acknowledge before. But when he gets used to his new +position, when the surprise has abated, and everything around him has +become normal to him, his old principles of action return. A young man +called suddenly to take the place of a most worthy and honoured father +feels the responsibility of wearing such a mantle, and struggles for a +time to fulfil his father's ideal. But ere long the novelty of his +position wears away, the thought of his father recurs less frequently, +and his old views and feelings resume their sway. Admission to the +fellowship of a Church which sustains a high repute may have at first +not only a restraining, but a stimulating and elevating effect, until, +the position becoming familiar to one, the emotions it first excited die +away. This risk is peculiarly incident to those who bear office in the +Church. Ordination to the ministry, or to any other spiritual office, +solemnizes one at first, even though one may not be truly converted, and +nerves one with strength and resolution to throw off many an evil habit. +But the solemn impression wanes with time, and the carnal nature asserts +its claims. How earnest and how particular men ought ever to be in +examining themselves whether their serious impressions are the effect of +a true change of nature, or whether they are not mere temporary +experiences, the casual result of external circumstances. + +But how is this to be ascertained? Let us recall the test with which our +Lord has furnished us. "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, +shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My +Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, +Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out +devils, and in Thy name have done many wonderful works? Then will I say +unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." The +real test is a changed will; a will no longer demanding that self be +pleased, but that God be pleased; a will yielding up everything to the +will of God; a will continually asking what is right and what is true, +not what will please me, or what will be a gain to me; a will +overpowered by the sense of what is due in nature to the Lord and Judge +of all, and of what is due in grace to Him that loved us and washed us +from our sins in His own blood. Have you thus surrendered yourselves to +God? At the heart and root of your nature is there the profound desire +to do what is well-pleasing in His sight? If so, then, even amid +abounding infirmities, you may hold that you are the child of God. But +if still the principle--silent, perhaps, and unavowed, but real--that +moves you and regulates your life be that of self-pleasing, any change +that may have occurred otherwise must have sprung only from outward +conditions, and the prayer needs to go out from you on the wings of +irrepressible desire, "Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a +right spirit within me." + +Two things in this part of the chapter have yet to be adverted to. The +first is that somewhat mysterious question (ver. 12) which some one +asked on seeing Saul among the prophets--"But who is their father?" +Various explanations have been given of this question; but the most +natural seems to be, that it was designed to meet a reason for the +surprise felt at Saul being among the prophets--viz. that his father +Kish was a godless man. That consideration is irrelevant; for who, asks +this person, is the father of the prophets? The prophetic gift does not +depend on fatherhood. It is not by connection with their fathers that +the prophetic band enjoy their privileges. Why should not Saul be among +the prophets as well as any of them? Such men are born not of blood, nor +of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. + +The other point remaining to be noticed is Saul's concealment from his +uncle of all that Samuel had said about the kingdom. It appears from +this both that Saul was yet of a modest, humble spirit, and perhaps that +his uncle would have made an unwise use of the information if he had got +it. It would be time enough for that to be known when God's way of +bringing it to pass should come. There is a time to speak and a time to +keep silence. Saul told enough to the uncle to establish belief in the +supernatural power of Samuel, but nothing to gratify mere curiosity. +Thus in many ways Saul commends himself to us in this chapter, and in no +way does he provoke our blame. He was like the young man in the Gospel +in whom our Lord found so much that was favourable. Alas, he was like +the young man also in the particular that made all the rest of little +effect--"One thing thou lackest." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +_SAUL CHOSEN KING._ + +1 SAMUEL x. 17-27. + + +When first the desire to have a king came to a height with the people, +they had the grace to go to Samuel, and endeavour to arrange the matter +through him. They did not, indeed, show much regard to his feelings; +rather they showed a sort of childlike helplessness, not appearing to +consider how much he would be hurt both by their virtual rejection of +his government, and by their blunt reference to the unworthy behaviour +of his sons. But it was a good thing that they came to Samuel at all. +They were not prepared to carry out their wishes by lawless violence; +they were not desirous to make use of the usual Oriental methods of +revolution--massacre and riot. It was so far well that they desired to +avail themselves of the peaceful instrumentality of Samuel. We have seen +how Samuel carried the matter to the Lord, and how the Lord yielded so +far to the wish of the nation as to permit them to have a king. And +Samuel having determined not to take offence, but to continue in +friendly relations to the people and do his utmost to turn the change to +the best possible account, now proceeds to superintend the business of +election. He summons the people to the Lord to Mizpeh; that is, he +convenes the heads of the various tribes to a meeting, which was not to +be counted a rough political convention, but a solemn religious +gathering in the very presence of the Lord. Either before the meeting, +or at the meeting, the principle must have been settled on which the +election was to be made. It was, however, not so much the people that +were to choose as God. The selection was to take place by lot. This +method was resorted to as the best fitted to show who was the object of +God's choice. There seems to have been no trace of difference of opinion +as to its being the right method of procedure. + +But before the lot was actually cast, Samuel addressed to the assembly +one of those stern, terrible exposures of the spirit that had led to the +transaction which would surely have turned a less self-willed and +stiff-necked people from their purpose, and constrained them to revert +to their original economy. "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I brought +up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the +Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that +oppressed you; and ye have this day rejected your God, who Himself saved +you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said +unto Him, Nay, but set a king over us." How _could_ the people, we may +well ask, get over this? How could they prefer an earthly king to a +heavenly? What possible benefit worth naming could accrue to them from a +transaction dishonouring to the Lord of heaven, which, if it did not +make Him their enemy, could not but chill His interest in them? + +Perhaps, however, we may wonder less at the behaviour of the Israelites +on this occasion if we bear in mind how often the same offence is +committed, and with how little thought and consideration, at the +present day. To begin with, take the case--and it is a very common +one--of those who have been dedicated to God in baptism, but who cast +their baptismal covenant to the winds. The time comes when the +provisional dedication to the Lord should be followed up by an actual +and hearty consecration of themselves. Failing that, what can be said of +them but that they reject God as their King? And with what want of +concern is this often done, and sometimes in the face of remonstrances, +as, for instance, by the many young men in our congregations who allow +the time for decision to pass without ever presenting themselves to the +Church as desirous to take on them the yoke of Christ! A moment's +thought might show them that if they do not actively join themselves to +Christ, they virtually sever themselves from Him. If I make a +provisional bargain with any one to last for a short time, and at the +end of that time take no steps to renew it, I actually renounce it. Not +to renew the covenant of baptism, when years of discretion have been +reached, is virtually to break it off. Much consideration must be had +for the consciousness of unworthiness, but even that is not a sufficient +reason, because our worthiness can never come from what we are in +ourselves, but from our faith in Him who alone can supply us with the +wedding garment. + +Then there are those who reject God in a more outrageous form. There are +those who plunge boldly into the stream of sin, or into the stream of +worldly enjoyment, determined to lead a life of pleasure, let the +consequences be what they may. As to religion, it is nothing to them, +except a subject of ridicule on the part of those who affect it. +Morality--well, if it fall within the fashion of the world, it must be +respected; otherwise let it go to the winds. God, heaven, hell,--they +are mere bugbears to frighten the timid and superstitious. Not only is +God rejected, but He is defied. Not only are His blessing, His +protection, His gracious guidance scorned, but the devil, or the world, +or the flesh is openly elevated to His throne. Yet men and women too can +go on through years of life utterly unconcerned at the slight they offer +to God, and unmoved by any warning that may come to them "Who is the +Almighty that we should serve Him? And what profit shall we have if we +bow down before Him?" Their attitude reminds us of the answer of the +persecutor, when the widow of his murdered victim protested that he +would have to answer both to man and to God for the deed of that day. +"To man," he said, "I can easily answer; and as for God, I will take Him +in my own hands." + +But there is still another class against whom the charge of rejecting +God may be made. Not, indeed, in the same sense or to the same degree, +but with one element of guilt which does not attach to the others, +inasmuch as they have known what it is to have God for their King. I +advert to certain Christian men and women who in their early days were +marked by much earnestness of spirit, but having risen in the world, +have fallen back from their first attainments, and have more or less +accepted the world's law. Perhaps it was of their poorer days that God +had cause to remember "the kindness of their youth and the love of their +espousals." Then they were earnest in their devotions, full of interest +in Christian work, eager to grow in grace and in all the qualities of a +Christlike character. But as they grew in wealth, and rose in the +world, a change came o'er the spirit of their dream. They must have fine +houses and equipages, and give grand entertainments, and cultivate the +acquaintance of this great family and that, and get a recognized +position among their fellows. Gradually their life comes to be swayed by +considerations they never would have thought of in early days. Gradually +the strict rules by which they used to live are relaxed, and an easier +and more accommodating attitude towards the world is taken up. And as +surely the glow of their spiritual feelings cools down; the charm of +their spiritual enjoyments goes off; the blessed hope, even the glorious +appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, fades away; and one scheme after +another of worldly advancement and enjoyment occupies their minds. What +glamour has passed over their souls to obliterate the surpassing glory +of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God? What evil spell has +robbed the Cross of its holy influence, and made them so indifferent to +the Son of God, who loved them and gave Himself for them? Is the gate of +heaven changed, that they no longer care to linger at it, as in better +times they used so fondly to do? No. But they have left their first +love; they have gone away after idols; they have been caught in the +snares of the god of this world. In so far, they have rejected their God +that saved them out of all their adversities and tribulations; and if +they go on to do so after solemn warning, their guilt will be like the +guilt of Israel, and the day must come when "their own wickedness shall +correct them, and their backslidings shall reprove them." + +But let us come back to the election. The first lot was cast between the +twelve tribes, and it fell on Benjamin. The next lot was cast between +the families of Benjamin, and it fell on the family of Matri; and when +they came to closer quarters, as it were, the lot fell on Saul, the son +of Kish. Again we see how the most casual events are all under +government, and conspire to accomplish the purpose of Him who worketh +all things after the counsel of His own will. "The lot is cast into the +lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." + +No doubt Saul had anticipated this consummation. He had had too many +supernatural evidences to the same effect to have any lingering doubt +what would be the result of the lot. But it was too much for him. He hid +himself, and could not be found. And we do not think the worse of him +for this, but rather the better. It is one of the many favourable traits +that we find at the outset of his kingly career. However pleasant it +might be to ruminate on the privileges and honours of royalty, it was a +serious thing to undertake the leadership of a great nation. In this +respect, Saul shared the feeling that constrained Moses to shrink back +when he was appointed to deliver Israel from Egypt, and that constrained +Jeremiah to remonstrate when he was appointed a prophet unto the +nations. Many of the best ministers of Christ have had this feeling when +they were called to the Christian ministry. Gregory Nazianzen actually +fled to the wilderness after his ordination, and Ambrose, Bishop of +Milan, in the civil office which he held, tried to turn the people from +their choice even by acts of cruelty and severity, after they had called +on him to become their bishop. + +But, besides the natural shrinking of Saul from so responsible an +office, we may believe that he was not unmoved by the solemn +representation of Samuel that in their determination to have a human +king the people had been guilty of rejecting God. This may have been +the first time that that view of the matter seriously impressed itself +on his mind. Even though it was accompanied by the qualification that +God in a sense sanctioned the new arrangement, and though the use of the +lot would indicate God's choice, Saul might well have been staggered by +the thought that in electing a king the people had rejected God. Even +though his mind was not a spiritual mind, there was something frightful +in the very idea of a man stepping, so to speak, into God's place. No +wonder then though he hid himself! Perhaps he thought that when he could +not be found the choice would fall on some one else. But no. An appeal +was again made to God, and God directly indicated Saul, and indicated +his place of concealment. The stuff or baggage among which Saul was hid +was the collection of packages which the people would naturally bring +with them, and which it was the custom to pile up, often as a rampart or +defence, while the assembly lasted. We can fancy the scene when, the +pile of baggage being indicated as the hiding-place, the people rushed +to search among it, knocking the contents asunder very unceremoniously, +until Saul was at length discovered. From his inglorious place of +retreat the king was now brought out, looking no doubt awkward and +foolish, yet with that commanding figure which seemed so suitable for +his new dignity. And his first encouragement was the shout of the +people--"God save the king!" How strange and quick the transition! A +minute ago he was safe in his hiding-place, wondering whether some one +else might not get the office. Now the shouts of the people indicate +that all is settled. King of Israel he is henceforward to be. + +Three incidents are recorded towards the end of the chapter as throwing +light on the great event of the day. In the first place, "Samuel told +the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid +it up before the Lord." This was another means taken by the faithful +prophet to secure that this new step should if possible be for good, and +not for evil. It was a new protest against assimilating the kingdom of +Israel to the other kingdoms around. No! although Jehovah was no longer +King in the sense in which He had been, His covenant and His law were +still binding, and must be observed in Israel to their remotest +generation. No change could repeal the law of the ten words given amid +the thunders of Sinai. No change could annul the promise to Abraham, "In +thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." No +change could reverse that mode of approach to a holy God which had been +ordained for the sinner--through the shedding of atoning blood. The +destiny of Israel was not changed, as the medium of God's communications +to the world on the most vital of all subjects in which sinners could be +interested. And king though he was, Saul would find that there was no +way of securing the true prosperity of his kingdom but by ruling it in +the fear of God, and with the highest regard to His will and pleasure; +while nothing was so sure to drive it to ruin, as to depart from the +Divine prescription, and plunge into the ways that were common among the +heathen. + +The next circumstance mentioned in the history is, that when the people +dispersed, and when Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, "there went +with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched." They were induced +to form a bodyguard for the new king, and they did so under no physical +constraint from him or any one else, but because they were moved to do +it from sympathy, from the desire to help him and be of service to him +in the new position to which he had been raised. Here was a remarkable +encouragement. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Could there have +been any time when Saul was more in need of friends? How happy a thing +it was that he did not need to go and search for them; they came to him +with their willing service. And what a happy start it was for him in his +new office that these helpers were at hand to serve him! A band of +willing helpers around one takes off more than half the difficulty of a +difficult enterprise. Men that enter into one's plans, that sympathize +with one's aims, that are ready to share one's burdens, that anticipate +one's wishes, are of priceless value in any business. But they are of +especial value in the Church of Christ. One of the first things our Lord +did after entering on His public ministry was to call to Himself the +twelve, who were to be His staff, His ready helpers wherever they were +able to give help. Is it not the joy of the Christian minister, as he +takes up his charge, if there go with him a band of men whose hearts God +has touched? How lonely and how hard is the ministry if there be no such +men to help! How different when efficient volunteers are there, in +readiness for the Sunday-school, and the Band of hope, and the +missionary society, and the congregational choir, and for visiting the +sick, and every other service of Christian love! Congregations ought to +feel that it cannot be right to leave all the work to their minister. +What kind of battle would it be if all the fighting were left to the +officer in command? Let the members of congregations ever bear in mind +that it is their duty and their privilege to help in the work. If we +wish to see the picture of a prosperous Apostolic Church, let us study +the last chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. The glory of the +primitive Church of Rome was that it abounded in men and women whose +hearts God had touched, and who "laboured much in the Lord." + +Do any of us shrink from such work? Are any willing to pray for God's +work, but unwilling to take part in it personally? Such a state of mind +cannot but suggest the question, Has the Lord touched your hearts? The +expression is a very significant one. It implies that one touch of God's +hand, one breathing of His Spirit, can effect such a change that what +was formerly ungenial becomes agreeable; a vital principle is imparted +to the heart. Life can come only from the fountain of life. Hearts can +be quickened only by the living Spirit of God. In vain shall we try to +serve Him until our hearts are touched by His Spirit. Would that that +Spirit were poured forth so abundantly that "one should say, I am the +Lord's, and another should call himself by the name of Jacob, and +another should subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname himself +with the name of Israel"! + +The last thing to be noticed is the difference of feeling toward Saul +among the people. While he was received cordially by most, there was a +section that despised him, that scorned the idea of his delivering the +nation, and, in token of their contempt, brought him no presents. They +are called the children of Belial. It was not that they regarded his +election as an invasion of the ancient constitution of the country, as +an interference with the sovereign rights of Jehovah, but that, in their +pride, they refused to submit to him; they would not have him for their +king. The tokens of Divine authority--the sanction of Samuel, the use +of the lot, and the other proofs that what was done at Mizpeh had been +ratified in heaven--made no impression upon them. We are told of Saul +that he held his peace; he would rather refute them by deeds than by +words; he would let it be seen, when the opportunity offered, whether he +could render any service to the nation or not. But does not this ominous +fact, recorded at the very threshold of Saul's reign, at the very time +when it became so apparent that he was the Lord's anointed, suggest to +our minds a corresponding fact, in reference to One who is the Lord's +Anointed in a higher sense? Is there not in many a disposition to say +even of the Lord Jesus Christ, "How shall this man save us"? Do not many +rob the Lord Jesus Christ of His saving power, reducing Him to the level +of a mere teacher, denying that He shed His blood to take away sin? And +are there not others who refuse their homage to the Lord from sheer +self-dependence and pride? They have never been convinced of their sins, +never shared the publican's feeling, but rather been disposed to boast, +like the Pharisee, that they were not like other men. And is not Christ +still to many as a root out of a dry ground, without form or comeliness +wherefore they should desire Him? Oh for the spirit of wisdom and +illumination in the knowledge of Him! Oh that, the eyes of our +understandings being enlightened, we might all see Jesus fairer than the +children of men, the chief among ten thousand, yea altogether lovely; +and that, instead of our manifesting any unwillingness to acknowledge +Him and follow Him, the language of our hearts might be, "Whom have we +in heaven but Thee? and there is none on the earth that we desire +besides Thee." "Entreat us not to leave Thee, nor to return from +following after Thee; for where Thou goest we will go, and where Thou +lodgest we will lodge; Thy people shall be our people," and Thou Thyself +our Lord and our God. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +_THE RELIEF OF JABESH-GILEAD._ + +1 SAMUEL xi. + + +Primitive though the state of society was in those days in Israel, we +are hardly prepared to find Saul following the herd in the field after +his election as king of Israel. We are compelled to conclude that the +opposition to him was far from contemptible in number and in influence, +and that he found it expedient in the meantime to make no demonstration +of royalty, but continue his old way of life. If we go back to the days +of Abimelech, the son of Gideon, we get a vivid view of the awful crimes +which even an Israelite could commit, under the influence of jealousy, +when other persons stood in the way of his ambitious designs. It is +quite conceivable that had Saul at once assumed the style and title of +royalty, those children of Belial who were so contemptuous at his +election would have made away with him. Human life was of so little +value in those Eastern countries, and the crime of destroying it was so +little thought of, that if Saul had in any way provoked hostility, he +would have been almost certain to fall by some assassin's hand. It was +therefore wise of him to continue for a time his old way of living, and +wait for some opportunity which should arise providentially, to +vindicate his title to the sceptre of Israel. + +Apparently he had not to wait long--according to Josephus, only a month. +The opportunity arose in a somewhat out-of-the-way part of the country, +where disturbance had been brewing previous to his election (comp. xii. +12). It was not the first time that the inhabitants of Gilead and other +dwellers on the east side of Jordan came to feel that in settling there +they had to pay dear for their well-watered and well-sheltered pastures. +They were exposed in an especial degree to the assaults of enemies, and +pre-eminent among these were their cousins, the Ammonites. Very probably +the Ammonites had never forgotten the humiliation inflicted on them by +Jephthah, when he smote them "from Aroer, even till thou come to +Minnith, even twenty cities, and till thou come to the plain of the +vineyards, with a very great slaughter." Naturally the Ammonites would +be desirous both to avenge these defeats and to regain their cities, or +at least to get other cities in lieu of what they had lost. We do not +know with certainty the site of Jabesh-Gilead, or the reasons why it was +the special object of attack by King Nahash at this time. But so it was; +and as the people of Jabesh-Gilead either knew not or cared not for +their real defence, the God of Israel, they found themselves too hard +bestead by the Ammonites, and, exhausted probably by the weary siege, +proposed terms of capitulation. + +This is the first scene in the chapter before us. "The men of Jabesh +said to Nahash, king of the Ammonites, Make a covenant with us, and we +will serve thee." The history of the Israelites in time of danger +commonly presents one or other of two extremes: either pusillanimous +submission, or daring defiance to the hostile power. In this case it was +pusillanimous submission, as indeed it commonly was when the people +followed the motions of their own hearts, and were not electrified into +opposition by some great hero, full of faith in God. But it was not mere +cowardice they displayed in offering to become the servants of the +Ammonites; there was impiety in it likewise. For of their relation to +God they made no account whatever. By covenant with their fathers, +ratified from generation to generation, they were God's servants, and +they had no right voluntarily to transfer to another master the +allegiance which was due to God alone. The proposal they made was +virtually a breach of the first commandment. And it was not a case of +necessity. Instead of humbling themselves before God and confessing the +sins that had brought them into trouble, they put God altogether aside, +and basely offered to become the servants of the Ammonites. Even the +remembrance of the glorious victories of their own Jephthah, when he +went to war with the Ammonites, in dependence on the God of Israel, +seems to have had no effect in turning them from the inglorious +proposal. We see here the sad effect of sin and careless living in +lowering men's spirits, sapping courage, and discouraging noble effort. +Oh, it is pitiable to see men tamely submitting to a vile master! Yet +how often is the sight repeated! How often do men virtually say to the +devil, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee"! Not indeed in +the open way in which it used to be believed that one of the popes, +before his elevation to the papal chair, formally sold his soul to the +devil in exchange for that dignity. Yet how often do men virtually give +themselves over to serve a vile master, to lead evil or at least +careless lives, to indulge in sinful habits which they know they should +overcome, but which they are too indolent and self-indulged to resist! +Men and women, with strong proclivities to sin, may for a time resist, +but they get tired of the battle; they long for an easier life, and they +say in their hearts, "We will resist no longer; we will become your +servants." They are willing to make peace with the Ammonites, because +they are wearied of fighting. "Anything for a quiet life!" They +surrender to the enemy, they are willing to serve sin, because they will +not surrender the ease and the pleasures of sin. + +But sin is a bad master; his wages are terrible to think of. The terms +which Nahash offered to the men of Jabesh-Gilead combined insult and +injury. "On this condition will I make a covenant with you: that I may +thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach unto all +Israel." "The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." There is nothing +in which the pernicious influence of paganism was more notorious in +ancient times--and indeed, we may say, is more notorious in all +times--than in the horrible cruelties to which it led. Barbarity was the +very element in which it lived. And that barbarity was often exemplified +in cruelly depriving enemies of those members and organs of the body +which are most needful for the comfort of life. The hands and the eyes +were especially the victims of this diabolical feeling. Just as you may +see at this day in certain African villages miserable creatures without +hands or eyes who have fallen under the displeasure of their chief and +received this revolting treatment, so it was in those early times. But +Nahash was comparatively merciful. He was willing to let the men of +Jabesh off with the loss of one eye only. But as if to compensate for +this forbearance, he declared that he would regard the transaction as a +reproach upon all Israel. The mutilated condition of that poor one-eyed +community would be a ground for despising the whole nation; it would be +a token of the humiliation and degradation of the whole Israelite +community. These were the terms of Nahash. His favour could be purchased +only by a cruel injury to every man's body and a stinging insult to +their whole nation. But these terms were just too humiliating. Whether +the men of Jabesh would have been willing to lose their eyes as the +price of peace we do not know; but the proposed humiliation of the +nation was something to which they were not prepared at once to submit. +The nation itself should look to that. The nation should consider +whether it was prepared to be thus insulted by the humiliation of one of +its cities. Consequently they asked for a week's respite, that it might +be seen whether the nation would not bestir itself to maintain its +honour. + +If we regard Nahash as a type of another tyrant, as representing the +tyranny of sin, we may derive from his conditions an illustration of the +hard terms which sin usually imposes. "The way of transgressors is +hard." Oh, what untold misery does one act of sin often bring! One act +of drunkenness, in which one is led to commit some crime of violence +that would never have been dreamt of otherwise; one act of dishonesty, +followed up by a course of deceit and double-dealing, that at last +culminates in disgrace and ruin; one act of unchastity, leading to loss +of character and to a downward career ending in utter darkness,--how +frightful is the retribution! But happy is the young person, when under +temptation to the service of sin, if there comes to him at the very +threshold some frightful experience of the hardness of the service, if, +like the men of Jabesh-Gilead, he is made to feel that the loss and +humiliation are beyond endurance, and to betake himself to the service +of another Master, whose yoke is easy, whose burden is light, and whose +rewards are more precious than silver and gold! + +With the activity of despair, the men of Jabesh now publish throughout +all Israel the terms that Nahash has offered them. At Gibeah of Saul a +deep impression is made. But it is not the kind of impression that gives +much hope. "All the people lifted up their voices and wept." It was just +the way in which their forefathers had acted at the Red Sea, when, shut +in between the mountains and the sea, they saw the chariots of Pharaoh +advancing in battle array against them; and again, it was the way in +which they spent that night in the wilderness after the spies brought +back their report of the land. It was a sorrowful sight--a whole mass of +people crying like babies, panic-stricken, and utterly helpless. But, as +in the two earlier cases, there was a man of faith to roll back the wave +of panic. As Moses at the Red Sea got courage to go forward, as Caleb, +the faithful spy, was able to resist all the clamour of his colleagues +and the people, so on this occasion the spirit that rises above the +storm, and flings defiance even on the strongest enemies, came mightily +on one man--on Saul. His conduct at this time is another evidence how +well he conducted himself in the opening period of his reign. "The +Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard the tidings, and his +anger was kindled greatly." The Spirit of the Lord evidently means here +that spirit of courage, of noble energy, of dauntless resolution, which +was needed to meet the emergency that had arisen. His first act was a +symbolical one, very rough in its nature, but an act of the kind that +was best fitted to make an impression on an Eastern people. A yoke of +oxen was hewn in pieces, and the bloody fragments were sent by +messengers throughout all Israel, with a thundering announcement that +any one failing to follow Saul would have his own oxen dealt with in a +similar fashion! It was a bold proclamation for a man to make who +himself had just been following his herd in the field. But boldness, +even audacity, is often the best policy. The thundering proclamation of +Saul brought an immense muster of people to him. A sufficient portion of +them would set out with the king, hastening down the passes to the +Jordan valley, and having crossed the river, would bivouac for the night +in some of the ravines that led up towards the city of Jabesh-Gilead. +Messengers had been previously pushed forward to announce to the people +there the approach of the relieving force. Long before daybreak, Saul +had divided his force into three, who were to approach the beleaguered +city by different roads and surprise the Ammonites by break of day. The +plan was successfully carried out. The assault on the Ammonite army was +made in the morning watch, and continued till midday. It was now the +turn for the Ammonites to fall under panic. Their assailants seem to +have found them entirely unprepared. There is nothing with which the +undisciplined ranks of an Eastern horde are less able to cope than an +unexpected attack. The defeat was complete, and the slaughter must have +been terrific; and "it came to pass that they which remained of them +were scattered, so that two of them were not left together." The men of +Jabesh-Gilead, who had expected to spend that night in humiliation and +anguish, would be sure to spend it in a very tumult of joy, perhaps +rather in a wild excitement than in the calm but intensely relieved +condition of men of whom the sorrows of death had taken hold, but whom +the Lord had delivered out of all their distresses. + +It is no wonder though the people were delighted with their king. From +first to last he had conducted himself admirably. He had not delayed an +hour in taking the proper steps. Though wearied probably with his day's +work among the herd, he set about the necessary arrangements with the +utmost promptitude. It was a serious undertaking: first, to rouse to the +necessary pitch a people who were more disposed to weep and wring their +hands, than to keep their heads and devise a way of escape in the hour +of danger; second, to gather a sufficient army to his standard; third, +to march across the Jordan, attack the foe, confident and well equipped, +and deliver the beleaguered city. But dangers and difficulties only +roused Saul to higher exertions. And now, when in one short week he has +completed an enterprise worthy to rank among the highest in the history +of the nation, it is no wonder that the satisfaction of the people +reaches an enthusiastic pitch. It would have been unaccountable had it +been otherwise. And it is no wonder that their thoughts revert to the +men who had stood in the way of his occupying the throne. Here is +another proof that the opposition was more serious and more deadly than +at first appears. These men were far from contemptible. Even now they +might be a serious trouble to the nation. Would it not be good policy to +get rid of them at once? Did they not deserve to die, and ought they not +at once to be put to death? It is not likely that if this question had +been mooted in the like circumstances in any of the neighbouring +kingdoms, there would have been a moment's hesitation in answering it. +But Saul was full of a magnanimous spirit--nay, it seemed at the time a +godly spirit. His mind was impressed with the fact that the deliverance +of that day had come from God. And it was impressed at the same time +with the grandeur and sublimity of the Divine power that had been +brought into operation on behalf of Israel. Saul perceived a tremendous +reality in the fact that "the Lord was their defence; the Holy One of +Israel was their King." If Israel was encircled by such a garrison, if +Israel's king was under such a Protector, what need he fear from a gang +of miscreants like these children of Belial? Why dim the glory of the +day by an act of needless massacre? Let forbearance to these misguided +villains be another proof of the respect the nation had to the God of +Jacob, as the Defender of Israel and Israel's King, and the certainty of +their trust that He would defend them. And so "Saul said, There shall +not a man be put to death this day; for to-day the Lord hath wrought +salvation in Israel." + +O Saul, Saul, how well for thee it would have been hadst thou maintained +this spirit! For then God would not have had to reject thee from being +king, and to seek among the sheepfolds of Bethlehem a man after His own +heart to be the leader of His people! And then thou wouldest have had no +fear for the security of thy throne; thou wouldest not have hunted thy +rival like a partridge on the mountains; and never, never wouldest thou +have been tempted, in thy difficulties, to seek counsel from a woman +with a familiar spirit, on the plea that God was departed from thee! + +As we are thinking how well Saul has acted on this occasion, we perceive +that an old friend has come on the scene who helps us materially to +understand the situation. Yes, he is all the better of Samuel's +guidance and prayers. The good old prophet has no jealousy of the man +who took his place as head of the nation. But knowing well the +fickleness of the people, he is anxious to turn the occasion to account +for confirming their feelings and their aims. Seeing how the king has +acknowledged God as the Author of the victory, he desires to strike +while the iron is hot. "Come," he says, "let us go to Gilgal, and renew +the kingdom there." Gilgal was the first place where the people had +encamped under Joshua on crossing the Jordan. It was the place where the +twelve stones taken from the empty bed of the river had been set up, as +a testimony to the reality of the Divine presence in the midst of them. +In some aspects, one might have thought that Samuel would invite them to +Ebenezer, where he had set up the stone of help, and that he would add +another testimony to the record that hitherto the Lord had helped them. +But Gilgal was nearer to Jabesh-Gilead, and it was memorable for still +higher traditions. To Gilgal accordingly they went, to renew the +kingdom. "And there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal, and +there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the Lord, and +there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly." + +The first election of Saul had been effected without any ceremonial, as +if the people had been somewhat afraid to have a public coronation when +it was obvious they had carried their point only by Divine sufferance, +not by Divine command. But now, unequivocal testimony has been borne +that, so long as Saul pays becoming regard to the heavenly King, the +blessing and countenance of the Almighty will be his. Let him then be +set apart with all due enthusiasm for his exalted office. Let his +consecration take place in the most solemn circumstances--let it be +"before the Lord in Gilgal;" let it be accompanied with those sacrifices +of peace-offerings which shall indicate respect for God's appointed +method of reconciliation; and let it be conducted with such devout +regard to Him and to His law, that when it is over, the Divine blessing +shall seem to fall on Saul in the old form of benediction, "The Lord +bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make His face to shine on thee and be +gracious to thee; the Lord lift up His countenance on thee and give thee +peace." Let the impression be deepened that "the God of Israel is He +that giveth strength and power unto His people." Saul himself will not +be the worse for having these feelings confirmed, and it will be of the +highest benefit to the people. + +And thus, under Samuel's guidance, the kingdom was renewed. Thus did +both Saul and the people give unto the Lord the glory due to His name. +And engaging in the ceremonial as they all did in this spirit, "both +Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly." It was, perhaps, the +happiest occasion in all the reign of Saul. What contributed the chief +element of brightness to the occasion was--the sunshine of Heaven. God +was there, smiling on His children. There were other elements too. +Samuel was there, happy that Saul had conquered, that he had established +himself upon the throne, and, above all, that he had, in a right noble +way, acknowledged God as the Author of the victory at Jabesh-Gilead. +Saul was there, reaping the reward of his humility, his forbearance, his +courage, and his activity. The people were there, proud of their king, +proud of his magnificent appearance, but prouder of the super-eminent +qualities that had marked the commencement of his reign. Nor was the +pleasure of any one marred by any ugly blot or unworthy deed throwing a +gloom over the transaction. + +For one moment, let us compare the joy of this company with the feelings +of men revelling in the pleasures of sin and sensuality, or even of men +storing a pile of gold, the result of some successful venture or the +legacy of some deceased relative. How poor the quality of the one joy +compared to that of the other! For what is there outside themselves that +can make men so happy as the smile of God? Or what condition of the soul +can be so full, so overflowing with healthy gladness, as when the heart +is ordered in accordance with God's law, and men are really disposed and +enabled to love the Lord their God with all their heart, and to love +their neighbours as themselves? + +Is there not something of heaven in this joy? Is it not joy unspeakable +and full of glory? + +One other question: Is it _yours_? + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +_SAMUEL'S VINDICATION OF HIMSELF._ + +1 SAMUEL xii. 1-5. + + +It was a different audience that Samuel had to address at Gilgal from +either that which came to him to Ramah to ask for a king, or that which +assembled at Mizpeh to elect one. To both of these assemblies he had +solemnly conveyed his warning against the act of distrust in God implied +in their wishing for a king at all, and against any disposition they +might feel, when they got a king, to pay less attention than before to +God's will and covenant. The present audience represented the army, +undoubtedly a great multitude, that had gone forth with Saul to relieve +Jabesh-Gilead, and that now came with Samuel to Gilgal to renew the +kingdom. As the audience now seems to have been larger, so it very +probably represented more fully the whole of the twelve tribes of +Israel. This may explain to us why Samuel not only returned to the +subject on which he had spoken so earnestly before, but enlarged on it +at greater length, and appealed with more fulness to his own past life +as giving weight to the counsels which he pressed upon them. Besides +this, the recognition of Saul as king at Gilgal was more formal, more +hearty, and more unanimous than at Mizpeh, and the institution of +royalty was now more an established and settled affair. No doubt, too, +Samuel felt that, after the victory at Jabesh-Gilead, he had the people +in a much more impressible condition than they had been in before; and +while their minds were thus so open to impression, it was his duty to +urge on them to the very uttermost the truths that bore on their most +vital well-being. + +The address of Samuel on this occasion bore on three things: 1 his own +personal relations to them in the past (vers. 1-5); 2 the mode of God's +dealing with their fathers, and its bearing on the step now taken (vers. +6-12); and 3 the way in which God's judgments might be averted and His +favour and friendship secured to the nation in all time coming (vers. +13-25). + +1. The reason why Samuel makes such explicit reference to his past life +and such a strong appeal to the people as to its blameless character is, +that he may establish a powerful claim for the favourable consideration +of the advice which he is about to give them. The value of an advice no +doubt depends simply on its own intrinsic excellence, but the _effect_ +of an advice depends partly on other things; it depends, to a great +extent, on the disposition of people to think favourably of the person +by whom the advice is given. If you have reason to suspect an adviser of +a selfish purpose, if you know him to be a man who can plausibly +represent that the course which he urges will be a great benefit to you, +while in reality he has no real regard for any interest but his own, +then, let him argue as he pleases, you do not allow yourselves to be +moved by anything he may say. But if you have good cause to know that he +is a disinterested man, if he has never shown himself to be selfish, but +uniformly devoted to the interests of others, and especially of +yourselves, you feel that what such a man urges comes home to you with +extraordinary weight. Now, the great object of Samuel in his reference +to his past life was to bring the weight of this consideration to bear +in favour of the advice he was to give to the people. For he could +appeal to them with the greatest confidence as to his absolute +disinterestedness. He could show that, with ever so many opportunities +of acting a selfish part, no man could accuse him of having ever been +guilty of crooked conduct in all his relations to the people. He could +establish from their own mouths the position that he was as thoroughly +devoted to the interests of the nation as any man could be. And +therefore he called on them to give their most favourable and their most +earnest attention to the advice which he was about to press on them, the +more so that he was most profoundly convinced that the very existence of +the nation in days to come depended on its being complied with. + +The first consideration he urged was, that he had listened to their +voice in making them a king. He had not obstructed nor baulked them in +their strong feeling, though he might reasonably enough have done so. He +had felt the proposal keenly as a reflection on himself, but he had +waived that objection and gone on. He had regarded it as a slur on the +Almighty, but the Almighty Himself had been pleased to forgive it, and +he had transacted with Him on their behalf in the same way as before. +Nothing that he had done in this matter could have an unfriendly aspect +put on it. He had made the best of an objectionable proposal; and now +they had not only got their wish, but along with it, objectionable +though it was, a measure of the sanction of God. "And now, behold, the +king walketh before you." + +In the next place, Samuel adverts to his age. "I am old and grey-headed; +and, behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my +childhood unto this day." You have had abundant opportunities to know +me, and my manner of life. You know how I began, and you know how I have +gone on, till now the circle of my years is nearly completed; a new +generation has grown up; my sons are your contemporaries; I am old and +grey-headed. You know how my childhood was spent in God's house in +Shiloh, how God called me to be His prophet, and how I have gone on in +that exalted office, trying ever to be faithful to Him that called me. +What Samuel delicately points to here is the uniformity of his life. He +had not begun on one line, then changed to another. He had not seesawed +nor zigzagged, one thing at one time, another at another; but from +infancy to grey hairs he had kept steadfastly to the same course, he had +ever served the same Master. Such steadiness and uniformity throughout a +long life genders a wonderful weight of character. The man that has +borne an honoured name through all the changes and temptations of life, +through youth and middle age, and even to hoar hairs, that has served +all that time under the same banner and never brought discredit on it, +has earned a title to no ordinary esteem. It is this that forms the true +glory of old age. Men instinctively pay honour to the hoary head when it +represents a career of uniform and consistent integrity; and Christian +men honour it all the more when it represents a lifetime of Christian +activity and self-denial. Examine the ground of this reverence, and you +will find it to be this: such a mature and consistent character could +never have been attained but for many a struggle, in early life, of duty +against inclination, and many a victory of the higher principle over +the lower, till at length the habit of well-doing was so established, +that further struggles were hardly ever needed. Men think of him as one +who has silently but steadily yielded up the baser desires of his nature +all through his life to give effect to the higher and the nobler. They +think of him as one who has sought all through life to give that honour +to the will of God in which possibly they have felt themselves sadly +deficient, and to encourage among their fellow-men, at much cost of +self-denial, those ways of life which inflict no damage on our nature +and bring a serene peace and satisfaction. Of such a mode of life, +Samuel was an admirable representative. Men of that stamp are the true +nobles of a community. Loyal to God and faithful to man; denying +themselves and labouring to diffuse the spirit of all true happiness and +prosperity; visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, +and keeping themselves unspotted by the world--happy the community whose +quiver is full of them! Happy the Church, happy the country, that +abounds in such worthies!--men, as Thomas Carlyle said of his peasant +Christian father, of whom one should be prouder in one's pedigree than +of dukes or kings, for what is the glory of mere rank or accidental +station compared to the glory of Godlike qualities, and of a character +which reflects the image of God Himself? + +The third point to which Samuel adverts is his freedom from all acts of +unjust exaction or oppression, and from all those corrupt practices in +the administration of justice which were so common in Eastern countries. +"Behold, here I am; witness against me before the Lord and before His +anointed; whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom +have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I +received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it +to you." It was no small matter to be able to make this challenge, which +is as fearless in tone as it is comprehensive in range, in the very +midst of such a sea of corruption as the neighbouring kingdoms of the +East presented. It would seem as if, down to this day, the people in +most of these despotic countries had never known any other _régime_ but +one of unjust exaction and oppression. We have seen, in an earlier +chapter of this book, how shamefully the very priests abused the +privilege of their sacred office to appropriate to themselves the +offerings of God. In the days of our Lord and John the Baptist, what was +it that rendered "the publicans" so odious but that their exactions went +beyond the limits of justice and decency alike? Even to this day, the +same system prevails as corrupt as ever. I have heard from an excellent +American missionary a tale of a court of justice that came within his +experience, even at a conspicuous place like Beirut, that shows that +without bribery it is hardly possible to get a decision on the proper +side. A claim had been made to a piece of land which he had purchased +for his mission, and as he refused to pay what on the very face of it +was obviously unjust, he was summoned before the magistrate. The delays +that took place in dealing with the case were alike needless and +vexatious, but the explanation came in a message from the authorities, +slily conveyed to him, that the wheels of justice would move much faster +if they were duly oiled with a little American gold. To such a proposal +he would not listen for a moment, and it was only by threatening an +exposure before the higher powers that the decision was at last given +where really there was not the shadow of a claim against him. From the +same source I got an illustration of the exactions that are made to this +day in the payment of taxes. The law provides that of the produce of the +land one tenth shall belong to the Government for the public service. +There is an officer whose duty it is to examine the produce of every +farm, and carry off the share that the Government are entitled to. The +farmer is not allowed to do anything with his produce till this officer +has obtained the Government share. After harvest the farmers of a +district will send word to the officer that their produce is ready, and +invite him to come and take his tenth. The officer will return word that +he is very busy, and will not be able to come for a month. The delay of +a month would entail incalculable loss and inconvenience on the farmers. +They know the situation well; and they send a deputation of their number +to say that if he will only come at once, they are willing to give him +two tenths instead of one, the second tenth being for his own use. But +this too they are assured that he cannot do. And there is nothing for +them but to remain with him higgling and bargaining, till at last +perhaps, in utter despair, they promise him a proportion which will +leave no more than the half available for themselves. + +And these are not exceptional instances--they are the common experiences +of Eastern countries, at least in the Turkish empire. When such +dishonest practices prevail on every side, it often happens that even +good men are carried away with them, and seem to imagine that, being +universal, it is necessary for them to fall in with them too. It was a +rare thing that Samuel was able to do to look round on that vast +assembly and demand whether one act of that kind had ever been +committed by him, whether he had ever deviated even an hairbreadth from +the rule of strict integrity and absolute honesty in all his dealings +with them. Observe that Samuel was not like one of many, banded together +to be true and upright, and supporting each other by mutual example and +encouragement in that course. As far as appears, he was alone, like the +seraph Abdiel, "faithful found among the faithless, faithful only he." +What a regard he must have had for the law and authority of God! How +rigidly he must have trained himself in public as in private life to +make the will of God the one rule of his actions! What was it to him +that slight peccadilloes would be thought nothing of by the public? What +was it to him that men would have counted it only natural that of the +money that passed through his hands a little should stick to his +fingers, provided he was faithful in the main? What was it to him that +this good man and that good man were in the way of doing it, so that, +after all, he would be no worse than they? All such considerations would +have been absolutely tossed aside. "Get thee behind me, Satan," would +have been his answer to all such proposals. Unbending integrity, +absolute honesty, unswerving truth, was his rule on every occasion. "How +can I do this wickedness," would have been his question--"How can I do +this great wickedness, _and sin against God_?" + +Is there nothing here for us to ponder in these days of intense +competition in business and questionable methods of securing gain? +Surely the rule of unbending integrity, absolute honesty, and unswerving +truth is as binding on the Christian merchant as it was on the Hebrew +judge. Is the Christian merchant entitled to make use of the plea of +general corruption around him in business any more than Samuel was? +Some say, How else are we to make a living? We answer, No man is +entitled even to make a living on terms which shut him out from using +the Lord's Prayer,--from saying, "Give us this day our daily bread." Who +would dare to say that bread obtained by dishonesty or deceit is +God-given bread? Who could ask God to bless any enterprise or +transaction which had not truth and honesty for its foundation? Better +let bread perish than get it by unlawful means. For "man doth not live +by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of +God." "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow +with it." Instead of Christian men accepting the questionable ways of +the world for pushing business, let them stand out as those who never +can demean themselves by anything so unprincipled. No doubt Samuel was a +poor man, though he might have been rich had he followed the example of +heathen rulers. But who does not honour him in his poverty, with his +incorruptible integrity and most scrupulous truthfulness, as no man +would or could have honoured him had he accumulated the wealth of a +Cardinal Wolsey and lived in splendour rivalling royalty itself? After +all, it is the true rule, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His +righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." + +But ere we pass from the contemplation of Samuel's character, it is +right that we should very specially take note of the root of this +remarkable integrity and truthfulness of his toward men. For we live in +times when it is often alleged that religion and morality have no vital +connection with each other, and that there may be found an "independent +morality" altogether separate from religious profession. Let it be +granted that this divorce from morality may be true of religions of an +external character, where Divine service is supposed to consist of +ritual observances and bodily attitudes and attendances, performed in +strict accordance with a very rigid rule. Wherever such performances are +looked on as the end of religion, they may be utterly dissociated from +morality, and one may be, at one and the same time, strictly religious +and glaringly immoral. Nay, further, where religion is held to be in the +main the acceptance of a system of doctrine, where the reception of the +doctrines of grace is regarded as the distinguishing mark of the +Christian, and fidelity to these doctrines the most important duty of +discipleship, you may again have a religion dissociated from moral life. +You may find men who glory in the doctrine of justification by faith and +look with infinite pity on those who are vainly seeking to be accepted +by their works, and who deem themselves very safe from punishment +because of the doctrine they hold, but who have no right sense of the +intrinsic evil of sin, and who are neither honest, nor truthful, nor +worthy of trust in the common relations of life. But wherever religion +is spiritual and penetrating, wherever sin is seen in its true +character, wherever men feel the curse and pollution of sin in their +hearts and lives, another spirit rules. The great desire now is to be +delivered from sin, not merely in its punishment, but in its pollution +and power. The end of religion is to establish a gracious relation +through Jesus Christ between the sinner and God, whereby not only shall +God's favour be restored, but the soul shall be renewed after God's +image, and the rule of life shall be to do all in the name of the Lord +Jesus. Now we say, You cannot have such a religion without moral +reformation. And, on the other hand, you cannot rely on moral +reformation being accomplished without a religion like this. But alas! +the love of sinful things is very deeply grained in the fallen nature of +man. + +Godlessness and selfishness are frightfully powerful in unregenerate +hearts. The will of God is a terrible rule of life to the natural man--a +rule against which he rebels as unreasonable, impracticable, terrible. +How then are men brought to pay supreme and constant regard to that +will? How was Samuel brought to do this, and how are men led to do it +now? In both cases, it is through the influence of gracious, Divine +love. Samuel was a member of a nation that God had chosen as His own, +that God had redeemed from bondage, that God dwelt among, protected, +restored, guided, and blessed beyond all example. The heart of Samuel +was moved by God's goodness to the nation. More than that, Samuel +personally had been the object of God's redeeming love; and though the +hundred-and-third Psalm was not yet written, he could doubtless say, +"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy +name. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, +who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with +loving-kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good +things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." It is the same +gracious Divine action, the same experience of redeeming grace and +mercy, that under the Christian dispensation draws men's hearts to the +will of God; only a new light has been thrown on these Divine qualities +by the Cross of Christ. The forgiving grace and love of God have been +placed in a new setting, and when it is felt that God spared not His own +Son, but delivered Him up for us all, a new sense of His infinite +kindness takes possession of the soul. Little truly does any one know of +religion, in the true sense of the term, who has not got this view of +God in Christ, and has not felt his obligations to the Son of God, who +loved him and gave Himself for him. And when this experience comes to be +known, it becomes the delight of the soul to do the will of God. "For +the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, +teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live +soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that +blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour +Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all +iniquity, and purify to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good +works." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +_SAMUEL'S DEALINGS WITH THE PEOPLE._ + +1 SAMUEL xii. 6-25. + + +2. Having vindicated himself (in the first five verses of this chapter), +Samuel now proceeds to his second point, and takes the people in hand. +But before proceeding to close quarters with them, he gives a brief +review of the history of the nation, in order to bring out the precise +relation in which they stood to God, and the duty resulting from that +relation (vers. 6-12). + +First, he brings out the fundamental fact of their history. Its grand +feature was this: "It is the Lord who advanced Moses and Aaron, and +brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt." The fact was as +indisputable as it was glorious. How would Moses ever have been induced +to undertake the task of deliverance from Egypt if the Lord had not sent +him? Was he not most unwilling to leave the wilderness and return to +Egypt? What could Aaron have done for them if the Lord had not guided +and anointed him? How could the people have found an excuse for leaving +Egypt even for a day if God had not required them? How could Pharaoh +have been induced to let them go, when even the first nine plagues only +hardened his heart, or how could they have escaped from him and his +army, had the Lord not divided the sea that His ransomed might pass +over? The fact could not be disputed--their existence as a people and +their settlement in Canaan were due to the special mercy of the Lord. If +ever a nation owed everything to the power above, Israel owed everything +to Jehovah. No distinction could even approach this in its singular +glory. + +And yet there was a want of cordiality on the part of the people in +acknowledging it. They were partly at least blind to its surpassing +lustre. The truth is, they did not like all the duties and +responsibility which it involved. It is the highest honour of a son to +have a godly father, upright, earnest, consistent in serving God. Yet +many a son does not realise this, and sometimes in his secret heart he +wishes that his father were just a little more like the men of the +world. It is the brightest chapter in the history of a nation that +records its struggles for God's honour and man's liberty; yet there are +many who have no regard for these struggles, but denounce their +champions as ruffians and fanatics. Close connection with God is not, in +the eyes of the world, the glorious thing that it is in reality. How +strange that this should be so! "O righteous Father," exclaimed Christ +in His intercessory prayer, "the world hath not known Thee." He was +distressed at the world's blindness to the excellence of God. "How +strange it is," Richard Baxter says in substance somewhere, "that men +can see beauty in so many things--in the flowers, in the sky, in the +sun--and yet be blind to the highest beauty of all, the fountain and +essence of all beauty, the beauty of the Lord!" Never rest, my friends, +so long as this is true of you. Is not the very fact that to you God, +even when revealed in Jesus Christ, may be like a root out of a dry +ground, having no form or comeliness or any beauty wherefore you should +desire Him--is not that, if it be a fact, alike alarming and appalling? +Make it your prayer that He who commanded the light to shine out of +darkness would shine in your heart, to give the light of the knowledge +of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. + +Having emphatically laid down the fundamental fact in the history of +Israel, Samuel next proceeds to reason upon it. The reasoning rests on +two classes of facts: the first, that whenever the people forsook God +they had been brought into trouble; the second, that whenever they +repented and cried to God He delivered them out of their trouble. The +prophet refers to several instances of both, but not exhaustively, not +so as to embrace every instance. Among those into whose hand God gave +them were Sisera, the Philistines, and the Moabites; among those raised +up to deliver them when they cried to the Lord were Jerubbaal, and +Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel. The name Bedan does not occur in the +history, and as the Hebrew letters that form the word are very similar +to those which form Barak, it has been supposed, and I think with +reason, that the word Bedan is just a clerical mistake for Barak. The +use the prophet makes of both classes of facts is to show how directly +God was concerned in what befell the nation. The whole course of their +history under the judges had shown that to forsake God and worship idols +was to bring on the nation disaster and misery; to return to God and +restore His worship was to secure abundant prosperity and blessing. This +had been made as certain by past events as it was certain that to close +the shutters in an apartment was to plunge it into darkness, and that to +open them was to restore light. Cause and effect had been made so very +plain that any child might see how the matter stood. + +Now, what was it that had recently occurred? They had had trouble from +the Ammonites. At ver. 11 the prophet indicates--what is not stated +before--that this trouble with the Ammonites had been connected with +their coming to him to ask a king. Evidently, the siege of Jabesh-Gilead +was not the first offensive act the Ammonites had committed. They had no +doubt been irritating the tribes on the other side of Jordan in many +ways before they proceeded to attack that city. And if their attack was +at all like that which took place in the days of Jephthah, it must have +been very serious and highly threatening. (See Judges x. 8, 9.) Now, +from what Samuel says here, it would appear that this annoyance from the +Ammonites was the immediate occasion of the people wishing to have a +king. Here let us observe what their natural course would have been, in +accordance with former precedent. It would have been to cry to the Lord +to deliver them from the Ammonites. As they had cried for deliverance +when the Ammonites for eighteen years vexed and oppressed all the tribes +settled on the east side of Jordan, and when they even passed over +Jordan to fight against Judah and Benjamin and Ephraim, and the Lord +raised up Jephthah, so ought they to have cried to the Lord at this +time, and He would have given them a deliverer. But instead of that they +asked Samuel to give them a king, that he might deliver them. You see +from this what cause Samuel had to charge them with rejecting God for +their King. You see at the same time how much forbearance God exercised +in allowing Samuel to grant their request. God virtually said, "I will +graciously give up My plan and accommodate myself to theirs. I will give +up the plan of raising up a special deliverer in special danger, and +will let their king be their deliverer. If they and their king are +faithful to My covenant, I will give the same mercies to them as they +would have received had things remained as they were. It will still be +true, as I promised to Abraham, that I will be their God and they shall +be My people." + +3. This is the third thing that Samuel is specially concerned to press +on the people; and this he does in the remaining verses (vers. 13-25). +They were to remember that their having a king in no sense and in no +degree exempted them from their moral and spiritual obligations to God. +It did not give them one atom more liberty either in the matter of +worship, or in those weightier matters of the law--justice, mercy, and +truth. It did not make it one iota less sinful to erect altars to Baal +and Ashtaroth, or to join with any of their neighbours in religious +festivities in honour of these gods. "If ye will fear the Lord, and +serve Him, and obey His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of +the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you +continue following the Lord your God; but if ye will not obey the voice +of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall +the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers." + +There is nothing very similar to this in the circumstances in which we +are placed. And yet it is often needful to remind even Christian people +of this great truth: that no change of outward circumstances can ever +bring with it a relaxation of moral duty, or make that lawful for us +which in its own nature is wrong. Nothing of moral quality can be right +for us on shipboard which is wrong for us on dry land. Nothing can be +allowable in India which could not be thought of in England or Scotland. +The law of the Sabbath is not more elastic on the continent of Europe +than it is at home. There is no such thing as a geographical religion or +a geographical Christianity. Burke used to say, looking to the humane +spirit that Englishmen showed at home and the oppressive treatment they +were often guilty of to the natives of other countries, that the +humanity of England was a thing of points and parallels. But a local +humanity is no humanity. Those who act as if it were, make public +opinion their god, instead of the eternal Jehovah. They virtually say +that what public opinion does not allow in England is wrong in England, +and must be avoided. If public opinion allows it on the continent of +Europe, or in India, or in Africa, it may be done. Is this not +dethroning God, and abrogating His immutable law? If God be our King, +His will must be our one unfailing rule of life and duty wherever we +are. Truly, there is little recognition of a mutable public opinion +affecting the quality of our actions, in that sublime psalm that brings +out so powerfully the omniscience of God,--the hundred and thirty-ninth, +"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from Thy +presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed +in hell, behold Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and +dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead +me and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall +cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness +hideth not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and +the light are both alike to Thee." + +It was Samuel's purpose, then, to press on the people that the change +involved in having a king brought no change as to their duty of +invariable allegiance to God. The lessons of history had been clear +enough; but they were always a dull-sighted people, and not easily +impressed except by what was palpable and even sensational. For this +reason Samuel determined to impress the lesson on them in another way. +He would show them there and then, under their very eyes, what agencies +of destruction God held in His hand, and how easily He could bring these +to bear on them and on their property. "Is it not wheat harvest to-day?" +You are gathering or about to gather that important crop, and it is of +vital importance that the weather be still and calm. But I will pray the +Lord, and He shall send thunder and rain, and you will see how easy it +is for Him in one hour to ruin the crop which you have been nursing so +carefully for months back. "So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord +sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the +Lord and Samuel. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy +servants unto the Lord thy God that we die not; for we have added unto +all our sins this evil: to ask us a king." It was an impressive proof +how completely they were in God's hands. What earthly thing could any of +them or all of them do to ward off that agent of destruction from their +crops? There were they, a great army, with sword and spear, young, +strong, and valiant, yet they could not arrest in its fall one drop of +rain, nor alter the course of one puff of wind, nor extinguish the blaze +of one tongue of fire. Oh, what folly it was to offer an affront to the +great God, who had such complete control over "fire and hail, snow and +vapours, stormy wind fulfilling His word"! What blindness to think they +could in any respect be better with another king! + +Thus it is that in their times of trial God's people in all ages have +been brought to feel their entire dependence on Him. In days of flowing +prosperity, we have little sense of that dependence. As the Psalmist +puts it in the thirtieth Psalm: "In my prosperity I said, I shall never +be moved." When all goes well with us, we expect the same prosperity to +continue; it seems stereotyped, the fixed and permanent condition of +things. When the days run smoothly, "involving happy months, and these +as happy years," all seems certain to continue. But a change comes over +our life. Ill-health fastens on us; death invades our circle; relatives +bring us into deep waters; our means of living fail; we are plunged into +a very wilderness of woe. How falsely we judged when we thought that it +was by its own inherent stability our mountain stood strong! No, no; it +was solely the result of God's favour, for all our springs are in Him; +the moment He hides His face we are most grievously troubled. Sad but +salutary experience! Well for you, my afflicted friend, if it burns into +your very soul the conviction that every blessing in life depends on +God's favour, and that to offend God is to ruin all! + +But now, the humble and contrite spirit having been shown by the people, +see how Samuel hastens to comfort and reassure them. Now that they have +begun to fear, he can say to them, "Fear not." Now that they have shown +themselves alive to the evils of God's displeasure, they are assured +that there is a clear way of escape from these evils. "Turn not aside +from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart." If God +be terrible as an enemy, He is glorious as a friend. No doubt you +offered a slight to Him when you sought another king. But it is just a +proof of His wonderful goodness that, though you have done this, He does +not cast you off. He will be as near to you as ever He was if you are +only faithful to Him. He will still deliver you from your enemies when +you call upon Him. For His name and His memorial are still the same: +"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and +abundant in goodness and in truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression +and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." + +Samuel, moreover, reminds them that it was not they that had chosen God; +it was God that had chosen them. "The Lord will not forsake His people, +for His great name's sake, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you +His people." This was a great ground of comfort for Israel. The eternal +God had chosen them and made them His people for great purposes of His +own. It was involved in this very choice and purpose of God that He +would keep His hand on them, and preserve them from all such calamities +as would prevent them from fulfilling His purpose. Fickle and +changeable, they might easily be induced to break away from Him; but, +strong and unchangeable, He could never be induced to abandon His +purpose in them. And if this was a comfort to Israel then, there is a +corresponding comfort to the spiritual Israel now. If my heart is in any +measure turned to God, to value His favour and seek to do His will, it +is God that has effected the change. And this shows that God has a +purpose with me. Till that purpose is accomplished, He cannot leave me. +He will correct me when I sin, He will recover me when I stray, He will +heal me when I am sick, He will strengthen me when I am weak; "I am +confident of this very thing: that He which hath begun a good work in me +will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ." + +Once more, in answer to the people's request that he would intercede +for them, Samuel is very earnest. "God forbid that I should sin against +the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." The great emphasis with which he +says this shows how much his heart is in it. "What should I do, if I had +not the privilege of intercessory prayer for you?" There is a wonderful +revelation of love to the people here. They are dear to him as his +children are dear to a Christian parent, and he feels for them as warmly +as he feels for himself. There is a wonderful deepening of interest and +affection when men's relation to God is realized. The warmest heart as +yet unregenerate cannot feel for others as the spiritual heart must do +when it takes in all the possibilities of the spiritual state--all that +is involved in the favour or in the wrath of the infinite God, in the +predominance of sin or of grace in the heart, and in the prospect of an +eternity of woe on the one hand or of glory, honour, and heavenly bliss +on the other. How is it possible for one to have all these possibilities +full in one's view and not desire the eternal welfare of loved ones with +an intensity unknown to others? We know from experience how hard it is +to get them to do right. Even one's own children seem sometimes to +baffle every art and endeavour of love, and go off, in spite of +everything, to the ways of the world. Entreaty and remonstrance are +apparently in vain. The more one pleads, the less perhaps are one's +pleas regarded. One resource remains--intercessory prayer. It is the +only method to which one may resort with full assurance of its ultimate +efficacy for attaining the dearest object of one's heart. Does the +thought of giving up intercessory prayer come to one from any quarter? +No wonder if the insinuation is met by a deep, earnest "God forbid"! + +"I bless God," said Mr. Flavel, one of the best and sweetest of the old +Puritan divines, on the death of his father--"I bless God for a +religious and tender father, who often poured out his soul to God for +me; and this stock of prayers I esteem the fairest inheritance on +earth." How many a man has been deeply impressed even by the very +thought that some one was praying for him! "Is it not strange," he has +said to himself, "that he should pray for me far more than I pray for +myself? What can induce him to take such an interest in me?" Every +Christian ought to think much of intercessory prayer, and practise it +greatly. It is doubly blessed: blessed to him who prays and blessed to +those for whom he prays. Nothing is better fitted to enlarge and warm +the heart than intercessory prayer. To present to God in succession, one +after another, our family and our friends, remembering all their wants, +sorrows, trials, and temptations; to bear before Him the interests of +this struggling Church and that in various parts of the world, this +interesting mission and that noble cause; to make mention of those who +are waging the battles of temperance, of purity, of freedom, of +Christianity itself, in the midst of difficulty, obloquy, and +opposition; to gather together all the sick and sorrowing, all the +fatherless and widows, all the bereaved and dying, of one's +acquaintance, and ask God to bless them; to think of all the children of +one's acquaintance in the bright springtide of life, of all the young +men and young women arrived or arriving at the critical moment of +decision as to the character of their life, and implore God to guide +them--O brethren, this is good for one's self; it enlarges one's own +heart; it helps one's self in prayer! And then what a blessing it is for +those prayed for! Who can estimate the amount of spiritual blessing +that has been sent down on this earth in answer to the fervent +intercessions of the faithful? Think how Moses interceded for the whole +nation after the golden calf, and it was spared. Think how Daniel +interceded for his companions in Babylon, and the secret was revealed to +him. Think how Elijah interceded for the widow, and her son was restored +to life. Think how Paul constantly interceded for all his Churches, and +how their growth and spiritual prosperity evinced that his prayer was +not in vain. God forbid that any Christian should sin against the Lord +in ceasing to pray for the Church which He hath purchased with His own +blood. And while we pray for the Church, let us not forget the world +that lieth in wickedness. For of all for whom the desires of the +faithful should go up to heaven, surely the most necessitous are those +who have as yet no value for heavenly blessings. What duty can be more +binding on us than to "pray for her that prays not for herself"? + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +_SAUL AND SAMUEL AT GILGAL._ + +1 SAMUEL xiii. + + +The first thing that claims our attention in connection with this +chapter is the question of dates involved in the first verse. In the +Authorized Version we read, "Saul reigned one year; and when he had +reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men." This +rendering of the original is now quite given up. The form of expression +is the same as that which so often tells us the age of a king at the +beginning of his reign and the length of his reign. The Revised Version +is in close, but not in strict, accord with the Hebrew. It runs, "Saul +was _thirty_ years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years +over Israel." A marginal note of the Revised Version says, "The Hebrew +text has, '_Saul was a year old_.' The whole verse is omitted in the +unrevised Septuagint, but in a later recension the number _thirty_ is +inserted." There can be no doubt that something has been dropped out of +the Hebrew text. Literally translated, it would run, "Saul was a year +old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel." A +figure seems to have dropped out after "Saul was" and another after "he +reigned." A blot of some kind may have effaced these figures in the +original manuscript, and the copyist not knowing what they were, may +have left them blank. The Septuagint conjecture of "thirty" as Saul's +age is not very felicitous, for at the beginning of Saul's reign his son +Jonathan was old enough to distinguish himself in the war. Judging from +probabilities, we should say that the original may have run thus: "Saul +was forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and +two years over Israel." This would make the length of Saul's reign to +correspond with the duration of Saul's dynasty as given in Acts xiii. +21. There it is said that God gave to the people Saul "by the space of +forty years." If to the thirty-two years which we suppose to have been +the actual length of Saul's reign we add seven and a half, during which +his son Ishbosheth reigned, we get in round numbers as the duration of +his dynasty forty years. This would make Saul about seventy-two at the +time of his death. + +The narrative in this chapter appears to be in immediate connection with +that of the last. The bulk of the army had gone from Jabesh-Gilead to +Gilgal, and there, under Samuel, they had renewed the kingdom. There +they had listened to Samuel's appeal, and there the thunderstorm had +taken place that helped so well to rivet the prophet's lessons. +Therefore the bulk of the army was disbanded, but two thousand men were +kept with Saul at Michmash and near Bethel, and one thousand with +Jonathan at Gibeah. These were necessary to be some restraint on the +Philistines, who were strong in the neighbourhood and eager to inflict +every possible annoyance on the Israelites. Saul, however, does not seem +to have felt himself in a position to take any active steps against +them. + +But though Saul was inactive, Jonathan did not slumber. Though very +young, probably under twenty, he had already been considered worthy of +an important command, and now, by successfully attacking a garrison of +the Philistines in Geba, he showed that he was worthy of the confidence +that had been placed in him. It is interesting to mark in Jonathan that +dash and daring which was afterwards so conspicuous in David, and the +display of which on the part of David drew Jonathan's heart to him so +warmly. The news of the exploit of Jonathan soon circulated among the +Philistines, and would naturally kindle the desire to retaliate. Saul +would see at once that, as the result of this, the Philistines would +come upon them in greater force than ever; and it was to meet this +expected attack that he called for a muster of his people. Gilgal was +the place of rendezvous, deep down in the Jordan valley; for the higher +part of the country was so dominated by the enemy that no muster could +take place there. + +So it seemed as if the brilliant achievement of Jonathan was going to +prove a curse rather than a blessing. In all kinds of warfare, we must +be prepared for such turns in the order of events. When one side shows a +great increase of activity, the other does the same. When one achieves +an advantage, the other rouses itself to restore the balance. It has +often happened in times of religious darkness that the bold attitude of +some fearless reformer has roused the enemy to activity and ferocity, +and thus brought to his brethren worse treatment than before. But such +reverses are only temporary, and the cause of truth gains on the whole +by the successful skirmishes of its pioneers. Many persons, when they +see the activity and boldness which the forces of evil manifest in our +day, are led to conclude that our times are sadly degenerate; they +forget that the activity of evil is the proof and the result of the +vitality and activity of good. No doubt there were faint-hearted persons +in the host of Israel who would bring hard accusations against Jonathan +for disturbing the equilibrium between Israel and the Philistines. They +would shake their heads and utter solemn truisms on the rashness of +youth, and would ask if it was not a shame to entrust a stripling with +such power and responsibility. But Jonathan's stroke was the beginning +of a movement which might have ended in the final expulsion of the +Philistines from the territories of Israel if Saul had not acted +foolishly at Gilgal. In this case, it was not the young man, but the +old, that was rash and reckless. Jonathan had acted with courage and +vigour, probably also with faith; it was Saul that brought disturbance +and disaster to the host. + +The dreaded invasion of the Philistines was not long of taking place. +The force which they brought together is stated so high, that in the +number of the chariots some commentators have suspected an error of the +copyist, 30,000 for 3,000, an error easily accounted for, as the extra +cipher would be represented by a slight mark over the Hebrew letter. +But, be this as it may, the invading host was of prodigiously large +dimensions. It was so large as to spread a thorough panic through the +whole community of Israel, for the people "hid themselves in caves, and +in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits." Not content +with such protection, some of them crossed the Jordan, and took refuge +in Gilead and in Dan, not far from Jabesh-Gilead, where another enemy +had been so signally defeated. Saul had remained in Gilgal, where he was +followed by a host of people, not in any degree impressed by what God +had done for them at Jabesh-Gilead, not trying to rally their courage by +the thought that God was still their King and Defender, but full of that +abject fear which utterly unnerves both mind and body, and prepares the +way for complete disaster. How utterly prostrated and helpless the +people were is apparent from that very graphic picture of their +condition which we find towards the end of the chapter: "There was no +smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, +Lest the Hebrews make to themselves swords or spears; but all the +Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, +and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock." It requires little +effort of imagination to see that the condition of the Israelites was, +humanly speaking, utterly desperate. An enormous array of warriors like +the Philistines, equipped with all the weapons of war, and confident in +their prowess and their power, pouring upon a land where the defenders +had not even swords nor spears, but only clubs and stones and suchlike +rude resources for the purposes of conflict, presented a scene the issue +of which could not have been doubtful on all human calculations. + +But surely the case was not a whit more desperate than that of their +forefathers had been, with the sea before them, the mountains on either +side, and the Egyptian army, in all its completeness of equipment, +hastening to fall upon their rear. Yet out of that terrible situation +their Divine King had delivered them, and a few hours after, they were +all jubilant and triumphant, singing to the Lord who had triumphed +gloriously, and had cast the horse and his rider into the sea. And no +one can fail to see that the very gravity of the situation at the +present time ought to have given birth to a repetition of that spirit +of faith and prayer which had animated Moses, as it afterwards animated +Deborah, and Gideon, and many more, and through which deliverance had +come. On every ground the duty incumbent on Saul at this time was to +show the most complete deference to the will of God and the most +unreserved desire to enjoy His countenance and guidance. First, the +magnitude of the danger, the utter disproportion between the strength of +the defending people and that of the invading host, was fitted to throw +him on God. Second, the fact, so solemnly and earnestly urged by Samuel, +that, notwithstanding the sin committed by the people in demanding a +king, God was willing to defend and rule His people as of old, _if only +they had due regard to Him and His covenant_, should have made Saul +doubly careful to act at this crisis in every particular in the most +rigid compliance with God's will. Thirdly, the circumstance, which he +himself had so well emphasized, that the recent victory at Jabesh-Gilead +was a victory obtained from God, should have led him direct to God, to +implore a similar interposition of His power in this new and still more +overwhelming danger. If only Saul had been a true man, a man of faith +and prayer, he would have risen to the height of the occasion at this +terrible crisis, and a deliverance as glorious as that which Gideon +obtained over the Midianites would have signalized his efforts. It was a +most testing moment in his history. The whole fortunes of his kingdom +seemed to depend on his choice. _There_ was God, ready to come to his +help if His help had been properly asked. _There_ were the Philistines, +ready to swallow them up if no sufficient force could be mustered +against them. But weighed in the balances, Saul was found wanting. He +did not honour God; he did not act as knowing that all depended on Him. +And this want of his would have involved the terrible humiliation and +even ruin of the nation if Jonathan had not been of a different temper +from his father, if Jonathan had not achieved the deliverance which +would not have come by Saul. + +Let us now examine carefully how Saul acted on the occasion, all the +more carefully because, at first sight, many have the impression that he +was justified in what he did, and consequently that the punishment +announced by Samuel was far too severe. + +It appears that Samuel had instructed Saul to wait seven days for him at +Gilgal, in order that steps might be properly taken for securing the +guidance and help of God. There is some obscurity in the narrative here, +arising from the fact that it was on the first occasion of their meeting +that we read how Samuel directed Saul to wait seven days for him at +Gilgal, till he should come to offer burnt-offerings and to show him +what he was to do (chap. x. 8). We can hardly suppose, however, that +this first direction, given by Samuel, was not implemented at an earlier +time. It looks as if Samuel had repeated the instruction to Saul with +reference to the circumstances of the Philistine invasion. But, be this +as it may, it is perfectly clear from the narrative that Saul was under +instructions to wait seven days at Gilgal, at the end, if not before the +end, of which time Samuel promised to come to him. This was a distinct +instruction from Samuel, God's known and recognized prophet, acting in +God's name and with a view to the obtaining of God's countenance and +guidance in the awful crisis of the nation. The seven days had come to +an end, and Samuel had not appeared. Saul determined that he would wait +no longer. "Saul said, Bring hither a burnt-offering to me, and +peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering." + +Now, it has been supposed by some that Saul's offence lay in his taking +on him the functions of priest, and doing that which it was not lawful +for any but priests to do. But it does not appear that this was his +offence. A king is often said to do things which in reality are done by +his ministers and others. All that is necessarily involved in the +narrative is, that the king caused the priests to offer the +burnt-offering. For even Samuel had no authority personally to offer +sacrifices, and had he been present, the priests would have officiated +all the same. + +The real offence of Saul was that he disregarded the absence of God's +prophet and representative, of the man who had all along been the +mediator between God and the king and between God and the people. And +this was no secondary matter. If Saul had had a real conviction that all +depended at this moment on his getting God's help, he would not have +disregarded an instruction received from God's servant, and he would not +have acted as if Samuel's presence was of no moment. The significant +thing in Saul's state of mind, as disclosed by his act, was that he was +not really bent on complying with the will of God. God was not a reality +to Saul. The thought of God just loomed vaguely before his mind as a +power to be considered, but not as the power on whom everything +depended. What he thought about God was, that a burnt-offering must be +offered up to propitiate Him, to prevent Him from obstructing the +enterprise, but he did not think of Him as the Being who alone could +give it success. It was substantially the carnal mind's view of God. It +says, no doubt there is a God, and He has an influence on things here +below; and to keep Him from thwarting us, we must perform certain +services which seem to please Him. But what a pitiful view it is of God! +As if the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity could be induced +to bestow or to withhold His favour simply by the slaughter of an +animal, or by some similar rite! + +But this was Saul's idea. "The sacrifice must be offered; the rite must +be gone through. This piece of outward homage must be paid to the power +above, but the way of doing it is of little moment. It is a sacred form, +no more. I am sorry not to have Samuel present, but the fault is not +mine. He was to be here, and he has not come. And now these frightened +people are stealing away from me, and if I wait longer, I may be left +without followers. Priests, bring the animal and offer the sacrifice, +and let us away to the war!" + +How different would have been the acting of a man that honoured God and +felt that in His favour was life! How solemnized he would have been, how +concerned for his own past neglect of God, and the neglect of his +people! The presence of God's prophet would have been counted at once a +necessity and a privilege. How deeply, in his sense of sin, would he +have entered into the meaning of the burnt-offering! How earnestly he +would have pleaded for God's favour, countenance, and blessing! If Jacob +could not let the angel go at Peniel unless he blessed him, neither +would Saul have parted from God at Gilgal without some assurance of +help. "If Thy presence go not with me," he would have said, "carry us +not up hence." Alas, we find nothing of all this! The servant of God is +not waited for; the form is gone through, and Saul is off to his work. +And this is the doing of the man who has been called to be king of +Israel, and who has been solemnly warned that God alone is Israel's +defence, and that to offend God is to court ruin! + +When Samuel came, Saul was ready with a plausible excuse. On the ground +of expediency, he vindicated his procedure. He could not deny that he +had broken his promise (it was a virtual promise) to wait for Samuel, +but there were reasons exceedingly strong to justify him in doing so. +Samuel had not come. The people were scattered from him. The Philistines +were concentrating at Michmash, and might have come down and fallen upon +him at Gilgal. All very true, but not one of them by itself, nor all of +them together, a real vindication of what he had done. Samuel, he might +be sure, would not be an hour longer than he could help. There were far +more people left to him than Gideon's band, and the God that gave the +victory to the three hundred would not have let him suffer for want of +men. The Philistines might have been discomfited by God's tempest on the +way to Gilgal, as they were discomfited before, on the way to Mizpeh. O +Saul, distrust of God has been at the bottom of your mind! The faith +that animated the heroes of former days has had no control of you. You +have walked by sight, not by faith. Had you been faithful now, and +honoured God, and waited till His servant sent you off with his +benediction, prosperity would have attended you, and your family would +have been permanently settled in the throne. But now your kingdom shall +not continue. Personally, you may continue to be king for many years to +come; but the penalty which God affixes to this act of unbelief, +formality, and presumption is, that no line of kings shall spring from +your loins. The Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the +Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people. + +What a solemn and impressive condemnation have we here, my friends, of +that far too common practice--deserting principle to serve expediency. I +don't like to tell a lie, some one may say, but if I had not done so, I +should have lost my situation. I dislike common work on the Sabbath day, +but if I did not do it, I could not live. I don't think it right to go +to Sunday parties or to play games on Sunday, but I was invited by this +or that great person to do it, and I could not refuse him. I ought not +to adulterate my goods, and I ought not to give false statements of +their value, but every one in my business does it, and I cannot be +singular. What do these vindications amount to, but just a confession +that from motives of expediency God's commandment may be set aside? +These excuses just come to this: It was better for me to offend God and +gain a slight benefit, than it would have been to lose the benefit and +please God. It is a great deal to lose a small profit in business, or a +small pleasure in social life, or a small honour from a fellow-man; but +it is little or nothing to displease God, it is little or nothing to +treasure up wrath against the day of wrath. Alas for the practical +unbelief that lies at the bottom of all this! It is the doing of the +fool who hath said in his heart, There is no God. Look at this history +of Saul. See what befell him for preferring expediency to principle. +Know that the same condemnation awaits all who walk in his +footsteps--all who are not solemnized by that awful, that unanswerable, +question, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and +lose his own soul?" + +Great offence has often been taken at the character here ascribed to the +man who was to fill the throne after Saul--"The Lord hath sought Him a +man after His own heart." Was David, the adulterer, the traitor, the +murderer, a man after God's own heart? But surely it is not meant to be +affirmed that David was such a man in every aspect, in every particular. +The point on which the emphasis should rest must surely be that David +was such a man in that feature in which Saul was so wanting. And +undoubtedly this was eminently true of him. That which stood out most +fully in the public character of David was the honour which he paid to +God, the constancy with which he consulted His will, the prevailing +desire he had to rule the kingdom in His fear and for His glory. If God +was but a form to Saul, He was an intense reality to David. If Saul +could not get it into his mind that he ought to rule for God, David +could not have got it out of his mind if he had tried. That David's +character was deformed in many ways cannot be denied; he had not only +infirmities, but tumours, blotches, defilements, most distressing to +behold; but in this one thing he left an example to all of us, and +especially to rulers, which it would be well for all of us to ponder +deeply: that the whole business of government is to be carried on in the +spirit of regard to the will of God; that the welfare of the people is +ever to be consulted in preference to the interests of the prince; that +for nations, as for individuals, God's favour is life, and His frown +ruin. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +_JONATHAN'S EXPLOIT AT MICHMASH._ + +1 SAMUEL xiv. 1-23. + + +It has sometimes been objected to the representation occurring at the +end of the thirteenth chapter of the utter want of arms among the +Hebrews at this time that it is inconsistent with the narrative of the +eleventh. If it be true, as stated there, that the Israelites gained a +great victory over the Ammonites, they must have had arms to accomplish +that; and, moreover, the victory itself must have put them in possession +of the arms of the Ammonites. The answer to this is, that the invasion +of the Philistines subsequent to this in such overwhelming numbers seems +to have been the cause of the miserable plight to which the Hebrews were +reduced, and of the loss of their arms. + +Whether we are to take the statement as quite literal that in the day of +battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the +people save Saul or Jonathan, or whether we are to regard this as just +an Oriental way of saying that these were the only two who had a +thorough equipment of arms, it is plain enough that the condition of the +Hebrew troops was very wretched. That in their circumstances a feeling +of despondency should have fallen on all save the few who walked by +faith, need not excite any surprise. + +The position of the two armies is not difficult to understand. Several +miles to the north of Jerusalem, a valley, now named Wady Suweinet, runs +from west to east, from the central plateau of Palestine down towards +the valley of the Jordan. The name Mûkmas, still preserved, shows the +situation of the place which was then occupied by the garrison of the +Philistines. Near to that place, Captain Conder[1] believes that he has +found the very rocks where the exploit of Jonathan occurred. On either +side of the valley there rises a perpendicular crag, the northern one, +called in Scripture Bozez, being extremely steep and difficult of +ascent. "It seems just possible that Jonathan, with immense labour, +might have climbed up on his hands and his feet, and his armour-bearer +after him." + +It is evident that Saul had no thought at this time of making any attack +on the Philistines. How could he, with soldiers so poorly armed and so +little to encourage them? Samuel does not appear to have been with him. +But in his company was a priest, Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, grandson of +Eli, perhaps the same as Ahimelech, afterwards introduced. Saul still +adhered to the forms of religion; but he had too much resemblance to the +Church of Sardis--"Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." + +The position of the army of Israel with reference to the Philistines +seems to have been very similar to what it was afterwards when Goliath +defied the army of the living God. The Israelites could only look on, in +helpless inactivity. But just as the youthful spirit of David was +afterwards roused in these circumstances to exertion, so on the present +occasion was the youthful spirit of Jonathan. It was not the first time +that he had attacked the garrison of the Philistines. (See xiii. 3.) But +what he did on the former occasion seems to have been under more equal +conditions than the seemingly desperate enterprise to which he betook +himself now. A project of unprecedented daring came into his mind. He +took counsel with no one about it. He breathed nothing of it to his +father. A single confidant and companion was all that he thought of--his +armour-bearer, or aide-de-camp. And even him he did not so much consult +as attach. "Come," said he, "and let us go over unto the garrison of +these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us; for there +is no restraint by the Lord to save by many or by few." No words are +needed to show the daring character of this project. The physical effort +to climb on hands and feet up a precipitous rock was itself most +difficult and perilous, possible only to boys, light and lithe of form, +and well accustomed to it; and if the garrison observed them and chose +to oppose them, a single stone hurled from above would stretch them, +crushed and helpless, on the valley below. But suppose they succeeded, +what were a couple of young men to do when confronted with a whole +garrison? Or even if the garrison should be overpowered, how were they +to deal with the Philistine host, that lay encamped at no great +distance, or at most were scattered here and there over the country, and +would soon assemble? In every point of view save one, the enterprise +seemed utterly desperate. But that exception was a very important one. +The one point of view in which there was the faintest possibility of +success was, that the Lord God might favour the enterprise. The God of +their fathers might work for them, and if He did so, there was no +restraint with Him to work by many or by few. Had He not worked by Ehud +alone to deliver their fathers from the Moabites? Had he not worked by +Shamgar alone, when with his ox goad he slew six hundred Philistines? +Had he not worked by Samson alone in all his wonderful exploits? Might +he not work that day by Jonathan and his armour-bearer, and, after all, +only produce a new chapter in that history which had already shown so +many wonderful interpositions? Jonathan's mind was possessed by the +idea. After all, if he failed, he could but lose his life. And was not +that worth risking when success, if it were vouchsafed, might rescue his +country from degradation and destruction, and fill the despairing hearts +of his countrymen with emotions of joy and triumph like those which +animated their fathers when on the shores of Sinai they beheld the horse +and his rider cast into the sea? + +It is this working of faith that must be regarded as the most +characteristic feature of the attempt of Jonathan. He showed himself one +of the noble heroes of faith, not unworthy to be enrolled in the +glorious record of the eleventh chapter of the Hebrews. He showed +himself pre-eminent for the very quality in which his father had proved +deficient. Though the earnest lessons of Samuel had been lost on the +father, they had been blessed to the son. The seed that in the one case +fell on stony places fell in the other on good ground. While Samuel was +doubtless disconsolate at the failure of his work with Saul, he was +succeeding right well, unknown perhaps to himself, with the youth that +said little but thought much. While in spirit perhaps he was uttering +words like Isaiah's, "Then said I, I have laboured in vain; I have spent +my strength for nought and in vain," God was using him in a way that +might well have led him to add, "Yet surely my judgment is with the +Lord, and my work with my God." And what encouragement is here for every +Christian worker! Don't despond when you seem to fail in your first and +most direct endeavour. In some quiet but thinking little boy or girl in +that family circle, your words are greatly regarded. And just because +that young mind sees, and seeing wonders, that father or mother is so +little moved by what you say, it is the more impressed. If the father or +the mother were manifestly to take the matter up, the child might +dismiss it, as no concern of his. But just because father or mother is +not taking it up, the child cannot get rid of it. "Yes, there _is_ an +eternity, and we ought all to be preparing for it. Sin is the soul's +ruin, and unless we get a Saviour, we are lost, Jesus _did_ come into +the world to save sinners; must we not go to Him? Yes, we must be born +again. Lord Jesus, forgive us, help us, save us!" Thus it is that things +hid from the wise and prudent are often revealed to babes; and thus it +is that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God perfects praise. + +But Jonathan's faith in God was called to manifest itself in a way very +different from that in which the faith of most young persons has to be +exercised now. Faith led Jonathan to seize sword and spear, and hurry +out to an enterprise in which he could only succeed by risking his own +life and destroying the lives of others. We are thus brought face to +face with a strange but fascinating development of the religious +spirit--military faith. The subject has received a new and wonderful +illustration in our day in the character and career of that great +Christian hero General Gordon. In the career of Gordon, we see faith +contributing an element of power, an element of daring, and an element +of security and success to a soldier, which can come from no other +source. No one imagines that without his faith Gordon would have been +what he was or could have done what he did. It is little to say that +faith raised him high above all ordinary fears, or that it made him +ready at any moment to risk, and if need be, to sacrifice his life. It +did a great deal more. It gave him a conviction that he was an +instrument in God's hands, and that when he was moved to undertake +anything as being God's will, he would be carried through all +difficulties, enabled to surmount all opposition, and to carry the point +in face of the most tremendous odds. And to a great extent the result +verified the belief. If Gordon could not be said to work miracles, he +achieved results that even miracles could hardly have surpassed. If he +failed in the last and greatest hazard of his life, he only showed that +after much success one may come to believe too readily in one's +inspiration; one may mistake the voice of one's own feeling for the +unfailing assurance of God. But that there is a great amount of reality +in that faith which hears God calling one as if with audible voice, and +goes forth to the most difficult enterprises in the full trust of Divine +protection and aid, is surely a lesson which lies on the very surface of +the life of Gordon, and such other lives of the same kind as Scripture +shows us, as well as the lives of those military heroes of whom we will +speak afterwards, whose battle has been not with flesh and blood, but +with the ignorance and the vice and the disorder of the world. + +One is almost disposed to envy Jonathan, with his whole powers of mind +and body knit up to the pitch of firmest and most dauntless resolution, +under the inspiration that moved him to this apparently desperate +enterprise. All the world would have rushed to stop him, insanely +throwing away his life, without the faintest chance of escape. But a +voice spoke firmly in his bosom,--I am not throwing away my life. And +Jonathan did not want certain tokens of encouragement. It was something +that his armour-bearer neither flinched nor remonstrated. But that was +not all. To encourage himself and to encourage his companion, he fixed +on what might be considered a token for them to persevere in one +alternative, and desist in another. The token was, that if, on observing +their attempt, the Philistines in the garrison should defy them, should +bid them tarry till they came to them, that would be a sign that they +ought to return. But if they should say, "Come up to us," that would be +a proof that they ought to persevere. Was this a mere arbitrary token, +without anything reasonable underlying it? It does not seem to have been +so. In the one case, the words of the Philistines would bear a hostile +meaning, denoting that violence would be used against them; in the other +case they would denote that the Philistines were prepared to treat them +peaceably, under the idea perhaps that they were tired of skulking and, +like other Hebrews (ver. 21), wishing to surrender to the enemy. In this +latter case, they would be able to make good their position on the rock, +and the enemy would not suspect their real errand till they were ready +to begin their work. It turned out that their reception was in the +latter fashion. Whether in the way of friendly banter or otherwise, the +garrison, on perceiving them, invited them to come up, and they would +"show them a thing." Greatly encouraged by the sign, they clambered up +on hands and feet till they gained the top of the rock. Then, when +nothing of the kind was expected, they fell on the garrison and began +to kill. So sudden and unexpected an onslaught threw the garrison into a +panic. Their arms perhaps were not at hand, and for anything they knew, +a whole host of Hebrews might be hastening after their leaders to +complete the work of slaughter. In this way, nearly twenty Philistines +fell in half an acre of ground. The rest of the garrison taking to +flight seems to have spread a panic among the host. Confusion and terror +prevailed on every side. Every man's sword was against his fellow. +"There was trembling in the host, in the field, and among the people; +the spoilers and the garrison, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; +so it was a very great trembling." Whether this implies that the terror +and discomfiture of the Philistines was increased by an earthquake, or +whether it means that there was so much motion and commotion that the +very earth seemed to quake, it is not very easy to decide; but it shows +how complete was the discomfiture of the Philistines. Thus wonderfully +was Jonathan's faith rewarded, and thus wonderfully, too, was the +unbelief of Saul rebuked. + +Seen from the watch-tower at Gibeah, the affair was shrouded in mystery. +It seemed as if the Philistine troops were retreating, while no force +was there to make them retreat. When inquiry was made as to who were +absent, Jonathan and his armour-bearer alone were missed. So perplexed +was Saul, that, to understand the position of affairs, he had called for +Ahiah, who had charge of the ark (the Septuagint reads, "the ephod"), to +consult the oracle. But before this could be done, the condition of +things became more plain. The noise in the host of the Philistines went +on increasing, and when Saul and his soldiers came on the spot, they +found the Philistines, in their confusion, slaughtering one another, +amid all the signs of wild discomfiture. Nothing loath, they joined in +harassing the retreating foe. And as the situation revealed itself +others hastened to take part in the fray. Those Hebrews that had come +for protection within the Philistine lines now turned against them, all +the more heartily perhaps because, before that, they had had to place +their feelings so much under restraint. And the Hebrews that lay hid in +caves and thickets and pits, when they saw what was going on, rushed +forth to join in the discomfiture of the Philistines. What a contrast to +the state of things that very morning--the Israelites in helpless +feebleness, looking with despair on the Philistines as they lay in their +stronghold in all the pride of security, and scattered defiant looks and +scornful words among their foes; now the Philistine garrison surprised, +their camp forsaken, their army scattered, and the only desire or +purpose animating the remnant being to escape at the top of their speed +from the land of Israel, and find shelter and security in their native +country. "So the Lord saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over +unto Beth-aven." + +And thus the faith of Jonathan had a glorious reward. The inspiration of +faith vindicated itself, and the noble self-devotion that had plunged +into this otherwise desperate enterprise, because there was no restraint +to the Lord to save by many or by few, led thus to a triumph more speedy +and more complete than even Jonathan could have ventured to dream of. +None of the judges had wrought a more complete or satisfactory +deliverance; and even the crossing of the Red Sea under Moses had not +afforded a more glorious evidence than this achievement of Jonathan's of +the power of faith, or given more ample testimony to that principle of +the kingdom of God, which our Lord afterwards enunciated, "If ye have +faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, +Remove hence unto yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall +be impossible unto you." + +This incident is full of lessons for modern times. First, it shows what +wide and important results may come from _individual conviction_. When +an individual heart is moved by a strong conviction of duty, it may be +that God means through that one man's conviction to move the world. +Modesty might lead a man to say, I am but a unit; I have no influence; +it will make very little difference what I do with my conviction, +whether I cherish it or stifle it. Yet it may be of just worldwide +importance that you be faithful to it, and stand by it steadfastly to +the end. Did not the Reformation begin through the steadfastness of +Luther, the miner's son of Eisleben, to the voice that spoke out so +loudly to himself? Did not Carey lay the foundation of the modern +mission in India, because he could not get rid of that verse of +Scripture, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every +creature"? Did not Livingstone persevere in the most dangerous, the most +desperate enterprise of our time, because he could not quench the voice +that called him to open up Africa or perish? Or to go back to Scripture +times. A Jewish maiden at the court of the great king of Persia becomes +the saviour of her whole nation, because she feels that, at the risk of +her life, she must speak a word for them to the king. Saul of Tarsus, +after his conversion, becomes impressed with the conviction that he must +preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, and through his faithfulness to that +conviction, he lays the foundation of the whole European Church. Learn, +my friends, every one, from this, never to be faithless to any +conviction given to you, though, as far as you know, it is given to you +alone. Make very sure that it comes from the God of truth. But don't +stifle it, under the notion that you are too weak to bring anything out +of it. Don't reason that if it were really from God, it would be given +to others too. Test it in every way you can, to determine whether it be +right. And if it stands these tests, manfully give effect to it, for it +may bear seed that will spread over the globe. + +Second, this narrative shows what large results may flow from +_individual effort_. The idea may not have occurred for the first time +to some one; it may have been derived by him from another; but it has +commended itself to him, it has been taken up by him, and worked out by +him to results of great magnitude and importance. Pay a visit to the +massive buildings and well-ordered institutions of Kaiserswerth, learn +its ramifications all over the globe, and see what has come of the +individual efforts of Fliedner. Think how many children have been +rescued by Dr. Barnardo, how many have been emigrated by Miss +Macpherson, how many souls have been impressed by Mr. Moody, how many +orphans have been cared for by Mr. Müller, how many stricken ones have +been relieved in the institutions of John Bost. It is true, we are not +promised that every instance of individual effort will bring any such +harvest. It may be that we are to be content with very limited results, +and with the encomium bestowed on the woman in the Gospel, "She hath +done what she could." But it is also true that none of us can tell what +possibilities there are in individual effort. We cannot tell but in our +case the emblem of the seventy-second Psalm may be verified, "There +shall be an handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains; +the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall +flourish like grass of the earth." + +Lastly, we may learn from this narrative that the true secret of all +spiritual success lies in our seeking to be instruments in God's hands, +and in our lending ourselves to Him, to do in us and by us whatever is +good in His sight. Thus it was eminently with Jonathan. "It may be that +the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save +by many or by few." It was not Jonathan that was to work with some help +from God; it was the Lord that was to work by Jonathan. It was not +Jonathan's project that was to be carried out; it was the Lord's cause +that was to be advanced. Jonathan had no personal ends in this matter. +He was willing to give up his life, if the Lord should require it. It is +a like consecration in all spiritual service that brings most blessing +and success. Men that have nothing of their own to gain are the men who +gain most. Men who sacrifice all desire for personal honour are the men +who are most highly honoured. Men who make themselves of no reputation +are the men who gain the highest reputation. Because Christ emptied +Himself, and took on Him the form of a servant, God highly exalted Him +and gave Him a name above every name. And those who are like Christ in +the mortifying of self become like Christ also in the enjoyment of the +reward. Such are the rules of the kingdom of heaven. "He that loveth his +life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep +it unto life eternal." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] "Tent Work in Palestine." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +_SAUL'S WILFULNESS._ + +1 SAMUEL xiv. 24-52. + + +That Saul was now suffering in character under the influence of the high +position and great power to which he had been raised, is only too +apparent from what is recorded in these verses. No doubt he pays more +respect than he has been used to pay to the forms of religion. He +enjoins a fast on his people at a very inconvenient time, under the idea +that fasting is a proper religious act. He is concerned for the trespass +of the people in eating their food with the blood. He builds the first +altar he ever built to God. He consults the oracle before he will commit +himself to the enterprise of pursuing the retreating enemy by night. He +is concerned to find the oracle dumb, and tries to discover through +whose sin it is so. For a ceremonial offence, committed by Jonathan in +ignorance, he fancies that God's displeasure has come down on the +people, and he not only insists that Jonathan shall die for this +offence, but confirms his decision by a solemn oath, sworn in the name +of God. All this shows Saul plunging and floundering from one mistake to +another, and crowning his blunders by a proposal so outrageous that the +indignation of the people arrests his purpose. The idea that the work of +the day shall be wound up by the execution of the youth through whom +all the wonderful deliverance has come, and that youth Saul's own son, +is one that could never have entered into any but a distempered brain. +Reason seems to have begun to stagger on her throne; the sad process has +begun which in a more advanced stage left Saul the prey of an evil +spirit, and in its last and most humiliating stage drove him to consult +with the witch of Endor. + +But how are we to explain his increase of religiousness side by side +with the advance of moral obliquity and recklessness? Why should he be +more careful in the service of God while he becomes more imperious in +temper, more stubborn in will, and more regardless of the obligations +alike of king and father? The explanation is not difficult to find. The +expostulation of Samuel had given him a fright. The announcement that +the kingdom would not be continued in his line, and that God had found a +worthier man to set over His people Israel, had moved him to the quick. +There could be no doubt that Samuel was speaking the truth. Saul had +begun to disregard God's will in his public acts, and was now beginning +to reap the penalty. He felt that he must pay more attention to God's +will. If he was not to lose everything, he must try to be more +religious. There is no sign of his feeling penitent in heart. He is not +concerned in spirit for his unworthy behaviour toward God. He feels only +that his own interests as king are imperilled. It is this selfish motive +that makes him determine to be more religious. The fast, and the +consultation of the oracle, and the altar, and the oath that Jonathan +shall die, have all their origin in this frightened, selfish feeling. +And hence, in their very nature and circumstances, his religious acts +are unsuitable and unseemly. In place of making things better by such +services, he makes them worse; no peace of God falls like dew on his +soul; no joy is diffused throughout his army; discontent reaches a +climax when the death of Jonathan is called for; and tranquillity is +restored only by the rebellion of the people, rescuing their youthful +prince and hero. + +Alas, how common has this spirit been in the history of the world! What +awful tragedies has it led to, what slaughter of heretics, what +frightful excesses disgraceful to kings, what outrages on the common +feelings of humanity! Louis XIV. has led a most wicked and profligate +life, and he has ever and anon qualms that threaten him with the wrath +of God. To avert that wrath, he must be more attentive to his religious +duties. He must show more favour to the Church, exalt her dignitaries to +greater honour, endow her orders and foundations with greater wealth. +But that is not all. He must use all the arms and resources of his +kingdom for ridding the Church of her enemies. For twenty years he must +harass the Protestants with every kind of vexatious interference, +shutting up their churches on frivolous pretexts, compelling them to +bury their dead by night, forbidding the singing of psalms in worship, +subjecting them to great injustice in their civil capacity, and at last, +by the revocation of the edict that gave them toleration, sweeping them +from the kingdom in hundreds of thousands, till hardly a Protestant is +left behind. What the magnificent monarch did on a large scale, millions +of obscurer men have done on a small. It is a sad truth that terror and +selfishness have been at the foundation of a great deal of that which +passes current as religion. Prayers and penances and vows and charities +in cases without number have been little better than premiums of +insurance, designed to save the soul from punishment and pain. Nor have +these acts been confined to that Church which, more than any other, has +encouraged men to look for saving benefit to the merit of their own +works. Many a Protestant, roused by his conscience into a state of +fright, has resolved to be more attentive to the duties of religion. He +will read his Bible more; he will pray more; he will give more; he will +go to church more. Alas, the spring of all this is found in no +humiliation for sin before God, no grief at having offended the Father, +no humble desire to be renewed in heart and conformed to the image of +the First-born! And the consequence is, as in the case of Saul, that +things go, not from bad to better, but from bad to worse. There is no +peace of God that passeth all understanding; there is no general +rectification of the disordered faculties of the soul; there is no token +of heavenly blessing, blessing to the man himself and blessing to those +about him. A more fiery element seems to come into his temper; a more +bitter tone pervades his life. To himself it feels as if there were no +good in trying to be better; to the world it appears as if religion put +more of the devil into him. But it is all because what he calls religion +is no religion; it is the selfish bargain-making spirit, which aims no +higher than deliverance from pain; it is not the noble exercise of the +soul, prostrated by the sense of guilt, and helpless through +consciousness of weakness, lifting up its eyes to the hills whence +cometh its help, and rejoicing in the grace that freely pardons all its +sin through the blood of Christ, and in the gift of the Holy Spirit that +renews and sanctifies the soul. + +The first thing that Saul does, in the exercise of this selfish spirit, +is to impose on the people an obligation to fast until the day be over. +Any one may see that to compel fasting under such circumstances was +alike cruel and unwise. To fast in the solitude of one's chamber, where +there is no extra wear and tear of the bodily organs, and therefore no +special need for recruiting them, is comparatively safe and easy. But to +fast amid the struggles of battle or the hurry of a pursuit; to fast +under the burning sun and that strain of the system which brings the +keenest thirst; to fast under exertions that rapidly exhaust the thews +and sinews, and call for a renewal of their tissues--to fast in +circumstances like these involves an amount of suffering which it is not +easy to estimate. It was cruel in Saul to impose a fast at such a time, +all the more that, being commander-in-chief of the army, it was his duty +to do his utmost for the comfort of his soldiers. But it was unwise as +well as cruel; with energies impaired by fasting, they could not +continue the pursuit nor make the victory so telling. Perhaps he was +under the influence of the delusion that the more painful a religious +service is, the more is it acceptable to God. That idea of penance does +find a place in our natural notions of religion. Saul, as we have seen, +grew up with little acquaintance with religious persons and little +knowledge of Divine things; and now that perforce he is constrained to +attend to them, it is no wonder if he falls into many a serious error. +For he probably had no idea of that great rule of God's kingdom, "I will +have mercy, and not sacrifice." + +The folly of Saul's order became apparent when the army came to a wood, +where, as is common enough in the country, a stream of wild honey poured +out, probably from the trunk of a hollow tree. Stretching out his rod +or spear, Jonathan fixed it in a piece of the comb, which he transferred +with his hand to his mouth. Immediately "his eyes were enlightened;" the +dull feeling which settles on the eyes amid fatigue and hunger +disappeared; and with the return of clear vision to his eyes, there +would come a restoration of vigour to his whole frame. When told for the +first time of the order which his father had given, he showed no regret +at having broken it, but openly expressed his displeasure at its having +ever been imposed. "Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the +land. See, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I +tasted a little of this honey. How much more if haply the people had +eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found! for +had there not been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?" We +must bear in mind that Jonathan was a true man of God. He had set out +that morning in his wonderful exploit in the true spirit of faith and +full consecration to God. He was in far nearer fellowship with God than +his father, and yet so far from approving of the religious order to fast +which his father had given, he regards it with displeasure and distrust. +Godly men will sometimes be found less outwardly religious than some +other men, and will greatly shock them by being so. The godly man has an +unction from the Holy One to understand His will; he goes straight to +the Lord's business; like our blessed Lord, he finishes the work given +him to do; while the merely religious man is often so occupied with his +forms, that, like the Pharisees, he neglects the structure for which +forms are but the scaffolding; in paying his tithes of mint, anise, and +cummin, he omits the weightier matters--justice, mercy, and truth. + +But the evil caused by Saul's injudicious fast was not yet over. The +obligation to fast lasted only till sunset, and when the day was ended, +the people, faint and ravenous, flew upon the spoil--sheep, oxen, and +calves--and devoured them on the spot, without taking time or pains to +sever the blood from the flesh. To remedy this, Saul had a great stone +placed beside him, and ordered the people to bring every man his ox or +his sheep, and slay them on that stone, that he might see that the blood +was properly drained from the flesh. Then we gather from the marginal +reading of ver. 35 that he was proceeding to erect with the stone an +altar to God, but that he did not carry this purpose completely into +effect, because he determined to continue the pursuit of the +Philistines. He saw how much recruited his troops were by their food, +and he therefore determined to make a new assault. If it had not been +for the unwise order to fast given early in the day, if the people had +been at liberty to help themselves to the honey as they passed it, or to +such other refreshments as they found in their way, they would have been +some hours earlier in this pursuit, and it would have been so much the +more effectual. + +It would seem, however, that the priest who was in attendance on Saul +was somewhat alarmed at the abrupt and rather reckless way in which the +king was making his plans and giving his orders. "Let us draw near +hither unto God," said he. Counsel was accordingly asked of God whether +Saul should go down after the Philistines and whether God would deliver +them into the hand of Israel. But to this inquiry no answer was given. +It was natural to infer that some sin had separated between God and +Saul, some iniquity had caused God to hide His face from him. Here was +a state of things that might well make Saul pause and examine himself. +Had he done so in an honest spirit, he could hardly have failed to find +out what was wrong. God had given a wonderful deliverance that day +through Jonathan. Jonathan was as remarkable for the power of faith as +Saul for the want of it. Jonathan had been wonderfully blessed that day, +but now that Saul, through the priest, sought to have a communication +with God, none was given. Might he not have seen that the real cause of +this was that Saul wanted what Jonathan possessed? Besides, was Saul +doing justice to Jonathan in taking the enterprise out of his hands? If +Jonathan began it, was he not entitled to finish it? Would not Saul have +been doing a thing alike generous and just had he stood aside at this +time, and called on Jonathan to complete the work of the day? If the +king of England was justified in not going to the help of the Black +Prince, serious though his danger was, but leaving him to extricate +himself, and thus enjoy the whole credit of his valour, might not Saul +have let his son end the enterprise which he had so auspiciously begun? +In these two facts, in the difference between him and Jonathan as to the +spirit of faith, and in the way in which Saul displaced the man whom God +so signally countenanced in the morning, the king of Israel might have +found the cause of the silence of the oracle. And the right thing for +him would have been to confess his error, stand aside, and call on +Jonathan to continue the pursuit and, if possible, exterminate the foe. + +But Saul took a different course. He had recourse to the lot, to +determine the guilty party. Now, it does not appear that even the king +of Israel, with the priest at his side, was entitled to resort to the +lot to ascertain the mind of God except in cases where all natural +means of discovering it confessedly failed. But we have just seen that +in this case the natural means had not failed. Therefore there was no +obligation on God to order the lot supernaturally so as to bring out the +truth. In point of fact, the process ended so as to point to the very +last man in all the army to whom blame was due. It was, as +mathematicians say, a _reductio ad absurdum_. It is a proof that an +instrument is out of order if it brings out a result positively +ludicrous. If near the equator an instrument gives the latitude of the +polar circle, it is a proof that it is not working rightly. When the lot +pointed to Jonathan, it was a proof that it was not working rightly. Any +man might have seen this. And Saul ought to have seen it. And he ought +to have confessed that he was entirely out of his reckoning. Frankly and +cordially he should have taken the blame on himself, and at once +exonerated his noble son. + +But Saul was in no mood to take the blame on himself. Nor had he moral +sagacity enough to see what an outrage it would be to lay the blame on +Jonathan. Assuming that he was guilty, he asked him what he had done. He +had done nothing but eat a little honey, not having heard the king's +order to abstain. The justification was complete. At worst, it was but a +ceremonial offence, but to Jonathan it was not even that. But Saul was +too obstinate to admit the plea. By a new oath, he devoted his son to +death. Nothing could show more clearly the deplorable state of his mind. +In the eye of reason and of justice, Jonathan had committed no offence. +He had given signal evidence of the possession in a remarkable degree of +the favour of God. He had laid the nation under inconceivable +obligations. All these pleas were for him; and surely in the king's +breast a voice might have been heard pleading, Your son, your +first-born, "the beginning of your strength, the excellency of dignity, +and the excellency of power"! Is it possible that this voice was +silenced by jealousy, jealousy of his own son, like his after-jealousy +of David? What kind of heart could this Saul have had when in such +circumstances he could deliberately say, "God do so, and more also, for +thou shalt surely die, Jonathan"? + +But "the Divine right of kings to govern wrong" is not altogether +without check. A temporary revolution saved Jonathan. It was one good +effect of excitement. In calmer circumstances, the people might have +been too terrified to interfere. But now they were excited--excited by +their victory, excited by their fast followed by their meal, and excited +by the terror of harm befalling Jonathan. They had far clearer and more +correct apprehension of the whole circumstances than the king had. It is +especially to be noted that they laid great emphasis on the fact that +that day God had worked by Jonathan, and Jonathan had worked with God. +This made the great difference between him and Saul. "As the Lord +liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he +hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he +died not." + +The opportunity of inflicting further damage on the Philistines at this +time was thus lost through the moral obtuseness, recklessness, and +obstinacy of Saul. But in many a future campaign Saul as a warrior +rendered great service to the kingdom. He fought against all his enemies +on every side. On the east, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the +Edomites had to be dealt with; on the north, the kings of Zobah; on the +south, the Amalekites; and on the west, the Philistines. These campaigns +are briefly stated, but we may easily see how much of hard military work +is implied in connection with each. We may understand, too, with what +honesty David, in his elegy over Saul and Jonathan, might commemorate +their warlike prowess: "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the +mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul +returned not empty." Whether these military expeditions were conducted +in a better spirit than Saul shows in this chapter we cannot tell. +Whether further proofs were given of God's presence with Jonathan as +contrasted with his absence from Saul we do not know. It does not appear +that there was any essential improvement in Saul. But when Jonathan +again emerges from the obscurity of history, and is seen in a clear and +definite light, his character is singularly attractive--one of the +purest and brightest in the whole field of Scripture. + +Evidently the military spirit ruled in Saul, but it did not bring peace +nor blessing to the kingdom. "He gathered an host," surrounded himself +with a standing army, so as to be ready and have an excuse for any +expedition that he wished to undertake. After a brief notice of Saul's +family, the chapter ends by telling us that "there was sore war against +the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any strong man +or any valiant man, he took him unto him." The Philistines were far from +being permanently subdued; there were not even intervals of peace +between the two countries. There was bitter war, an open sore, +perpetually bleeding, a terror on every side, never removed. How +different it might have been had that one day been better spent! how +different it would certainly have been had Saul been a man after God's +own heart! One day's misdeeds may bring a whole generation of sorrow, +for "one sinner destroyeth much good." Once off the right rail, Saul +never got on it again; rash and restless, he doubtless involved his +people in many a disaster, fulfilling all that Samuel had said about +_taking_ from the people, fulfilling but little that the people had +hoped concerning deliverance from the hand of the Philistines. + +Who does not see what a fearful thing it is to leave God and His ways, +and give one's self up to the impulses of one's own heart? Fearful for +even the humblest of us, but infinitely fearful for one of great +resources and influence, with a whole people under him! How beautiful +some prayers in the Psalms sound after we have been contemplating the +wild career of Saul! "Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me in Thy paths. +Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; +on Thee do I wait all the day." "Oh that my ways were directed to keep +Thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all +Thy commandments." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +_THE FINAL REJECTION OF SAUL._ + +1 SAMUEL xv. + + +Here we find the second portion of God's indictment against Saul, and +the reason for his final rejection from the office to which he had been +raised. There is no real ground for the assertion of some critics that +in this book we have two accounts of Saul's rejection, contradictory one +of the other, because a different ground is asserted for it in the one +case from that assigned in the other. The first rejection (1 Sam. xiii. +13, 14) was the rejection of his house as the permanent dynasty of +Israel, but it did not imply either that Saul was to cease to reign, or +that God was to withdraw all countenance and co-operation with him as +king. The rejection we read of in the present chapter goes further than +the first. It does not indeed imply that Saul would cease to reign, but +it does imply that God would no longer countenance him as king, would no +longer make him his instrument of deliverance and blessing to Israel, +but would leave him to the miserable feeling that he was reigning +without authority. More than that, as we know from the sequel, it +implied that God was about to bring his successor forward, and thereby +exhibit both to him and to the nation the evidence of his degradation +and rejection. It is likely that the transactions of this chapter +occurred when Saul's reign was far advanced. If he had not been guilty +of fresh disregard of God's will, though David would still have been his +successor, he would have been spared the shame and misery of going out +and in before his people like one who bore the mark of Cain, the visible +expression of the Divine displeasure. + +Throughout the whole of this chapter, God appears in that more stern and +rigorous aspect of His character which is not agreeable to the natural +heart of man. Judgment, we are told, is His strange work; it is not what +He delights in; but it is a work which He cannot fail to perform when +the necessity for it arises. There is a gospel which is often preached +in our day that divests God wholly of the rigid, judicial character; it +clothes Him with no attributes but those of kindness and love; it +presents Him in a countenance ever smiling, never stern. It maintains +that the great work of Christ in the world was to reveal this paternal +aspect of God's character, to convince men of His fatherly feelings +towards them, and to divest their minds of all those conceptions of +indignation and wrath with which our minds are apt to clothe Him, and +which the theologies of men are so ready to foster. But this is a gospel +that says, Peace! peace! when there is no peace. The Gospel of Jesus +Christ does indeed reveal, and reveal very beautifully, the paternal +character of God; but it reveals at the same time that judicial +character which insists on the execution of His law. That God will +execute wrath on the impenitent and unbelieving is just as much a +feature of the Gospel as that He will bestow all the blessings of +salvation and eternal life on them that believe. What the Gospel reveals +respecting the sterner, the judicial, aspect of God's character is, +that there is no bitterness in His anger against sinners; there is +nothing in God's breast of that irritation and impatience which men are +so apt to show when their fellow-men have offended them; God's anger is +just. The calm, settled opposition of His nature to sin is the feeling +that dictates the sentence "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." The +Gospel is indeed a glorious manifestation of the love and grace of God +for sinners, but it is not an indiscriminate assurance of grace for all +sinners; it is an offer of grace to all who believe on God's Son, but it +is an essential article of the Gospel that without faith in Christ the +saving love and grace of God cannot be known. Instead of reducing the +character of God to mere good-nature, the Gospel brings His +righteousness more prominently forward than ever; instead of smoothing +the doom of the impenitent, it deepens their guilt, and it magnifies +their condemnation. Yes, my friends, and it is most wholesome for us all +to look at times steadily in the face this solemn attribute of God, as +the Avenger of the impenitent. It shows us that sin is not a thing to be +trifled with. It shows us that God's will is not a thing to be despised. +There are just two alternatives for thee, O sinner, who art not making +God's will the rule of thy life. Repent, believe, and be forgiven; +continue to sin, and be lost for ever. + +The transaction in connection with which Saul was guilty of a fresh +disregard of God's will was an expedition which was appointed for him +against the Amalekites. This people had been guilty of some very +atrocious treatment of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, the details of +which are not given. Nations having a corporate life, when they continue +to manifest the spirit of preceding generations, are held responsible +for their actions, and liable to the penalty. Saul was sent to inflict +on Amalek the retribution that had been due so long for his perfidious +treatment of Israel on the way to Canaan. In the narrative, various +places are mentioned as being in the Amalekite territory, but their +exact sites are not known; and indeed this matters little, all that it +is important to know being that the Amalekites were mainly a nomadic +people, occupying the fringe between Canaan and the desert on the south +border of Palestine, and doubtless subsisting to a large extent on the +prey secured by them when they made forays into the territories of +Israel. Saul gathered a great army to compass the destruction of this +bitter and hostile people. + +In reading of the instructions he received to exterminate them, to "slay +both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass," +we shudder to think of the fearful massacre which this involved. It was +an order similar to that which the Israelites received to exterminate +the inhabitants of Canaan, or that to destroy the Midianites, during the +lifetime of Moses. Though it seems very horrible to us in whose eyes +human life has become very sacred, it probably excited little feeling of +the kind in the breasts of the Israelites, accustomed as they were, and +as all Eastern nations were, to think very little of human life, and to +witness wholesale slaughter with little emotion. But there is one thing +in the order that we must not overlook, because it gave a complexion to +the transaction quite different from that of ordinary massacres. That +circumstance was, that the prey was to be destroyed as well as the +people. In the case of an ordinary massacre, the conquering people +abandon themselves to the licence of their passions, and hasten to +enrich themselves by appropriating everything of value on which they can +lay their hands. In the case of the Israelites, there was to be nothing +of the kind. They were to destroy the prey just as thoroughly as they +were to destroy the people. They were to enrich themselves in nothing. +Now, this was a most important modification of the current practice in +such things. But for this restriction, the extermination of the +Amalekites would have been a wild carnival of selfish passion. The +restriction appointed to Saul, like that which Joshua had imposed at +Jericho, bound the people to the most rigid self-restraint, under +circumstances when self-restraint was extremely difficult. The +extermination was to be carried into effect with all the solemnity of a +judicial execution, and the soldiers were to have no benefit from it +whatever, any more than the jailer or the hangman can have benefit from +the execution of some wretched murderer. + +Now, let it be observed that it was in entirely disregarding this +restriction that a chief part of Saul's disobedience lay. "Saul and the +people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of +the fatlings and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly +destroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they +destroyed utterly." The sparing of King Agag seems to have been a piece +of vanity with Saul, for a conqueror returning home with a royal +prisoner was greatly thought of in those Eastern lands. But the sparing +of the prey was a matter of pure greed. Observe how the character of the +transaction was wholly changed by this circumstance. Instead of wearing +the aspect of a solemn retribution on a sinful nation, on a people laden +with iniquity, all the more impressive because the ministers of God's +vengeance abstained from appropriating a vestige of the property, but +consigned the whole, like a plague-stricken mass, too polluted to be +touched, to the furnace of destruction--instead of this, it just +appeared like an ordinary unprincipled foray, in which the victorious +party slew the other, mainly to get them out of the way and enable them +without opposition to appropriate their goods. It was this consideration +that made the offence of Saul so serious, that made his breach of the +Divine order so guilty. Had he no knowledge of the history of his +people? Did he not remember what had happened at Jericho in the days of +Joshua, when Achan stole the wedge of gold and the Babylonian garment, +and, in spite of the fact that the rest of the people had behaved well +and that God's purpose in the main was amply carried out, Achan and all +his family were judicially stoned to death? How could Saul expect that +such a flagrant violation of the Divine command in the case of the +Amalekites, perpetrated not on the sly by a single individual, but +openly by the king and all the people, could escape the retribution of +God? + +Such then was Saul's conduct in the affair of Amalek. The next incident +in the narrative is the communication that took place regarding it +between the Lord and Samuel. Speaking after the manner of men, God said, +It repented Him that He had set up Saul to be king. That these words are +not to be explained in a strictly literal sense is evident from what is +said in ver. 29: "The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for He +is not a man that He should repent." The intimation to Samuel was +equivalent to this: that God was now done with Saul. He had been weighed +in the balances and found wanting. He had had his time of probation, +and he had failed. He was joined to his idols, and must now be let +alone. This last and very flagrant act of disobedience settled the +matter. "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." + +How did Samuel receive the announcement? "It grieved Samuel, and he +cried to the Lord all night." It is the same word as is translated in +Jonah, "It displeased Jonah." But there is nothing to show that Samuel +was displeased with God. The whole transaction was disappointing, +worrying, heart-breaking. Doubtless he had a certain liking for Saul. He +admired his splendid figure and many fine kingly qualities. It was a +terrible struggle to give him up. The Divine announcement threw his mind +into a tumult. All night he cried unto the Lord. Doubtless his cry was +somewhat similar to our Lord's cry in Gethsemane, "If it be possible, +let this cup pass." If it be possible, recover Saul. And observe, Samuel +had good cause to raise this cry on account of the man who would +naturally have been Saul's successor. He must have had great complacency +in Jonathan. If Saul was to be set aside, why should not Jonathan have +the crown? On whose head would it sit more gracefully? In whose hand +would the sceptre be held more suitably? But even this plea would not +avail. It was God's purpose to mark the offence of Saul with a deeper +stigma, and attach to it in the mind of the nation a more conspicuous +brand, by cutting off his whole family and transferring the crown to a +quite different line. It took the whole night to reconcile Samuel to the +Divine sentence. How very deeply and tenderly must this man's heart have +been moved by regard for Saul and for the people! In the morning, his +soul seems to have returned to its quiet rest. His mood seems now to +have been, "Not my will but Thine be done!" + +Next comes the meeting of Saul and Samuel. Samuel seems to have expected +to meet Saul at Carmel--the Carmel of Nabal (chap. xxv. 2)--but, perhaps +on purpose to avoid him, Saul hastened to Gilgal. And when they met +there, Saul, with no little audacity, claimed to have performed the +commandment of the Lord. That this plea was not advanced in simple +ignorance, as some have thought, is plain enough from Samuel's reception +of it and his rebuke. "What meaneth this bleating of sheep in mine ears +and the lowing of the oxen in my ears?" Facts are stubborn things, and +they make quick work of sophistry. Oh, says Saul, these are brought as a +sacrifice to the Lord thy God; they are an extra proof of my loyalty to +Him. Saul, Saul, is it not enough that thou didst allow the selfish +greed whether of thyself or of thy people to overbear the Divine +command? Must thou add the sin of hypocrisy, and pretend that it was a +pious act? And dost thou imagine that in so doing thou canst impose +either on Samuel, or on God? O sinners, you _do_ miscalculate fearfully +when you give to God's servants such false explanations of your sins! +How long, think you, will the flimsy material hold out? In the case of +Saul, it did not even enable him to turn the corner. It brought out a +fact which he must have trembled to hear: that Samuel had had a +communication about him from God the very night before, and that God had +spoken very plainly about him. And what had God said? God had proceeded +on the fact that Saul had disobeyed his voice, and had flown upon the +spoil to preserve what God had commanded him to destroy. "Nay," says +Saul, "it was not I that did that, but the people, and they did it to +sacrifice to the Lord thy God in Gilgal." The excuse hardly needed to be +exposed. Why did you let the people do so? Why did you not fulfil God's +command as faithfully as Joshua did at Jericho? Why did you allow +yourself, or the people either, to tamper with the clear orders given +you by your King and theirs? "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, +and to hearken than the fat of rams." Moral conduct is more than +ceremonial form. "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He +also hath rejected thee from being king." + +This terrible word pierces Saul to the quick. He is thoroughly alarmed. +He makes acknowledgment of his sin in so far as he had feared the people +and obeyed their words. He entreats Samuel to forgive him and turn again +with him that he may worship God. He shows no evidence of true, +heartfelt repentance. And Samuel refuses to return with him, and refuses +to identify himself with one whom God hath rejected from being king. But +Saul is deeply in earnest. He tries to detain Samuel by force. He takes +hold of his mantle, and holds it so firmly that it rends. It is a +symbol, says Samuel, of the rending of the kingdom of Israel from thee +this day, to be given by God to a neighbour of thine that is better than +thou. And this is God's irreversible sentence. Your day of grace is +expired, and the Divine sentence is beyond recall. One more appeal does +Saul make to Samuel. Again he owns his sin, but the request he makes +shows clearly that what he is most anxious about is that he should not +appear dishonoured before the people. It is his own reputation that +concerns him. "Honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my +people and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship +the Lord thy God." Samuel yields. The abject wretchedness of the man +seems to have touched him. But it is not said that Samuel worshipped +with him. Samuel would no doubt continue firm to his purpose not to +identify himself with Saul as king, or give him any moral support in his +attitude of disobedience. So far from that, Samuel openly superseded him +in dealing with Agag; he went out of his way, and did an act which could +not but appear a frightful one for a venerable prophet of the Lord. It +is the voice of the real king that sounds in the command, "Bring ye +hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites." We seem to see the royal +prisoner advancing cringingly before that imperial figure, in whose eye +there is a look, and in whose face and figure there is a determination, +that may well make him quail. "Surely," says Agag, imploringly, "the +bitterness of death is past." Spared by the king, I am not to fare worse +from the prophet. Samuel knew him a merciless destroyer. "As thy sword +hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among +women." And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. +"Cursed be he that doeth the work of God deceitfully, and cursed be he +that withholdeth his sword from shedding of blood." It is a scene of +terror. The swift retribution executed on the one king was but the sign +of the slower retribution pronounced upon the other. In the one case the +doom was rapid; in the other it was deferred; in both it was sure. And +have we not here a sad picture of that retribution which is sure to come +on the impenitent sinner, and in the procedure of Samuel a foreshadowing +of Him who cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, who will +one day speak to His enemies in His wrath and vex them in His hot +displeasure? Have we not here a foretaste of the opening of the sixth +seal, when the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, +and the chief captains, and the mighty men, shall say to the mountains +and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on +the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: _"for the great day of His +wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand"?_ + +And oh! how little in that day will those plausible excuses avail with +which men try to cover their sins to themselves, and it may be to +others. How will the hail sweep away the refuges of lies! How will the +real character of men's hearts, the true tenor of their lives, in +respect they have set aside God's will and set up their own, be revealed +in characters that cannot be mistaken! The question to be determined by +your life was, whether God or you was King. Which did you obey, God's +will or your own? Did you set aside God's will? Then you are certainly a +rebel; and never having repented, never having been washed, or +sanctified, or justified, your portion is with the rebels; the Father's +house is not for you! + +And now the breach between Samuel and Saul is final. "Samuel came no +more to visit Saul until the day of his death; nevertheless Samuel +mourned for Saul; and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over +Israel." + +Saul is cut off now from his best means of grace--he is virtually an +excommunicated man. Was it hard? Do our sympathies in any degree go with +him? To our compassion he is entitled in the highest degree, but to +nothing more. Saul's worst qualities had now become petrified. His +wilfulness, his selfishness, his passionateness, his jealousy, had now +got complete control, nor could their current be turned aside. The +threat of losing his kingdom--perhaps the most terrible threat such a +man could have felt--had failed to turn him from his wayward course. He +was like the man in the iron cage in the "Pilgrim's Progress," who gave +his history: "I left off to watch and be sober; I laid the reins upon +the neck of my lusts; I sinned against the light of the word and the +goodness of God; I have grieved the Spirit and He is gone; I tempted the +devil, and he is come to me; I have provoked God to anger and He has +left me; I have so hardened my heart that I cannot repent." + +It is a terrible lesson that comes to us from the career of Saul. If our +natural lusts are not under the restraint of a higher power; if by that +power we are not trained to watch, and check, and overpower them; if we +allow them to burst all restraint and lord it over us as they +will,--then will they grow into so many tyrants, who will rule us with +rods of iron; laugh at the feeble remonstrances of our conscience; scoff +at every messenger of God; vex His Holy Spirit, and hurl us at last to +everlasting woe! + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +_DAVID ANOINTED BY SAMUEL._ + +1 SAMUEL xvi. 1-13. + + +The rejection of Saul was laid very deeply to heart by Samuel. No doubt +there were many engaging qualities in the man Saul, which Samuel could +not but remember, and which fed the flame of personal attachment, and +made the fact of his rejection hard to digest. And no doubt, too, Samuel +was concerned for the peace and prosperity of the nation. He knew that a +change of dynasty commonly meant civil war--it might lead to the inward +weakening of a kingdom already weak enough, and its exposure to the +attacks of hostile neighbours that watched with lynx eyes for any +opportunity of dashing against Israel. Thus both on personal and on +public grounds the rejection of Saul was a great grief to Samuel, +especially as the rejection of Saul implied the rejection of Jonathan, +and the prophet might ask, with no small reason, where, in all the +nation, could there be found a better successor. + +It was not God's pleasure to reveal to Samuel the tragic events that +were to stretch Jonathan and his brothers among the dead on the same day +as their father; but it was His pleasure to introduce him to the man +who, at a future time, was to rule Israel according to the ideal which +the prophet had vainly endeavoured to press upon Saul. There is a +sharpness in God's expostulation with Samuel which implies that the +prophet's grief for Saul was carried to an excessive and therefore +sinful length. "How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have +rejected him from reigning over Israel?" Grief on account of others +seems such a sacred, such a holy feeling, that we are not ready to +apprehend the possibility of its acquiring the dark hue of sin. Yet if +God's children abandon themselves to the wildest excess for some sorrow +which bears to them the character of a fatherly chastening; if they +refuse to give effect in any way to God's purpose in the matter, and to +the gracious ends which He designs it to serve, they are guilty of sin, +and that sin one which is greatly dishonouring to God. It can never be +right to shut God out of view in connection with our sorrows, or to +forget that the day is coming--impossible though it may seem--when His +character shall be so vindicated in all that has happened to His +children, that all tears shall be wiped from their eyes, and it shall be +seen that His tender mercies have been over all His works. + +It was to Bethlehem, and to the family of Jesse, that Samuel was to go +to find the destined successor of Saul. The place was not so far distant +from Ramah as to be quite beyond the sphere of Samuel's acquaintance. Of +Jesse, one of the leading men of the place, he would probably have at +least a general knowledge, though it is plain he had not any personal +acquaintance with him, or knowledge of his family. Bethlehem had already +acquired a marked place in Hebrew history, and Samuel could not have +been ignorant of the episode of the young Moabite widow who had given +such a beautiful proof of filial piety, and among whose descendants +Jesse and his sons were numbered. The very name of Bethlehem was fitted +to recall how God honours those that honour Him, and might have rebuked +that outburst of fear which fell from Samuel, whose first thought was +that he could not go, because if Saul heard of it he would kill him. +Well, it is plain enough that, with all his glorious qualities as a +prophet, Samuel was but a man, subject to the infirmities of men. What +an honest book the Bible is! its greatest heroes coming down so often to +the human level and showing the same weaknesses as ourselves! But God, +who stoops to human weakness, who fortified the failing heart of Moses +at the burning bush, and the doubting heart of Gideon, and afterwards +the weary heart of Elijah and the trembling heart of Jeremiah, +condescends in like manner to the infirmity of Samuel, and provides him +with an ostensible object for his journey, which was not fitted to +awaken the jealous temper of the king. Samuel is to announce that his +coming to Bethlehem is for the purpose of a sacrifice, and the +circumstances connected with the anointing of a successor to Saul are to +be gone about so quietly and so vaguely that the great object of his +visit will hardly be so much as guessed by any. + +The question has often been raised, Was this diplomatic arrangement not +objectionable? Was it not an act of duplicity and deceit? Undoubtedly it +was an act of concealment, but it does not follow that it was an act of +duplicity. It was concealment of a thing which Samuel was under no +obligation to divulge. It was not concealment of which the object was to +mislead any one, or to induce any one to do what he would not have done +had the whole truth been known to him. When concealment is practised in +order to take an unfair advantage of any one, or to secure an unworthy +advantage over him, it is a detestable crime. But to conceal what you +are under no obligation to reveal, when some important end is to be +gained, is a quite different thing. "It is the glory of God to conceal a +thing;" providence is often just a vast web of concealment; the trials +of Job were the fruit of Divine concealment; the answers of our Lord to +the Syrophoenician woman were a concealment; the delay in going to +Bethany when He heard of the illness of Lazarus was just a concealment +of the glorious miracle which He intended by-and-bye to perform. One may +tell the truth, and yet not the whole truth, without being guilty of any +injustice or dishonesty. It was not on Saul's account at all that Samuel +was sent to anoint a king at Bethlehem. It was partly on Samuel's +account and partly on David's. If David was hereafter to fill the +exalted office of king of Israel, it was desirable that he should be +trained for its duties from his earliest years. Saul had not been called +to the throne till middle life, till his character had been formed and +his habits settled; the next king must be called at an earlier period of +life. And though the boy's father and brothers may not understand the +full nature of the distinction before him, they must be made to +understand that he is called to a very special service of God, in order +that they may give him up freely and readily to such preparation as that +service demands. This seems to have been the chief reason of the mission +of Samuel to Bethlehem. It could not but be known after that, that David +was to be distinguished as a servant of God, but no idea seems to have +been conveyed either to his brothers or to the elders of Bethlehem that +he was going to be king. + +The arrangements for the public worship of God in those times--while the +ark of God was still at Kirjath-jearim--seem to have been far from +regular, and it appears to have been not unusual for Samuel to visit +particular places for the purpose of offering a sacrifice. It would seem +that the ordinary, though not the uniform, occasion for such visits was +the occurrence of something blameworthy in the community, and if so this +will explain the terror of the elders of Bethlehem at the visit of +Samuel, and their frightened question, "Comest thou peaceably?" Happily +Samuel was able to set their fears at rest, and to assure them that the +object of his visit was entirely peaceable. It was a religious service +he was come to perform, such a service as may have been associated with +the other religious services he was accustomed to hold as he went round +in circuit in the neighbourhood of Ramah. For this sacrifice the elders +of Bethlehem were called to sanctify themselves, as were also Jesse and +his sons. They were to take the usual steps for freeing themselves of +all ceremonial uncleanness, and after the sacrifice they were to share +the feast. A considerable interval would necessarily elapse between the +sacrifice and the feast, for the available portions of the animal had to +be prepared for food, and roasted on the fire. It was during this +interval that Samuel made acquaintance with the sons of Jesse. First +came the handsome and stately Eliab. And strange it is that even with +the fate of the handsome and stately Saul full in his memory, Samuel +leapt to the conclusion that this was the Lord's anointed. Could he +wonder at God's emphatic No! Surely he had seen enough of outward +appearance coupled with inward unfitness. One trial of that criterion +had been enough for Israel. + +But alas, it is not merely in the choice of kings that men are apt to +show their readiness to rest in the outward appearance. To what an +infinite extent has this tendency been carried in the worship of God! +Let everything be outwardly correct, the church beautiful, the music +excellent, the sermon able, the congregation numerous and +respectable--what a pattern such a church is often regarded! Alas! how +little satisfactory it may be to God. The eye that searches and knows us +penetrates to the heart,--it is there only that God finds the genuine +elements of worship. The lowly sense of personal unworthiness, the +wondering contemplation of the Divine love, the eager longing for mercy +to pardon and grace to help, the faith that grasps the promises, the +hope that is anchored within the veil, the kindness that breathes +benediction all round, the love that beareth all things, believeth all +things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,--it is these things, +breathing forth from the hearts of a congregation, that give pleasure to +God. + +Or look at what often happens in secular life. See how intensely eager +some are about appearances. Why, it is one of the stereotyped rules of +society that it is necessary "to keep up appearances." Well-born people +may have become poor, very poor, but they must live to outward +appearance as if they were rich. Between rivals there may be a deadly +jealousy, but they must, by courtesy, keep up the form of friendship. +And in trade a substantial appearance must be given to goods that are +really worthless. And often, men who are really mean and unprincipled +must pose as persons very particular about the right and very indignant +at the wrong. And some, meaner than the common, must put on the cloak of +religion, and establish a character for sanctity. + +The world is full of idolatries, but I question if any idolatry has been +more extensively practised than the idolatry of the outward appearance. +If there be less of this in our day than perhaps a generation back, it +is because in these days of sifting and trial men have learned in so +many ways by hard experience what a delusion it is to lean on such a +broken reed. Yes, and we have had men among us who from a point of view +not directly Christian have exposed the shams and counterfeits of the +age,--men like Carlyle, who have sounded against them a trumpet blast +which has been echoed and re-echoed round the very globe. But surely we +do not need to go outside the Bible for this great lesson. "Thou +desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part Thou shalt +make me to know wisdom;" "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord +will not hear me." Or if we pass to the New Testament, what is the great +lesson of the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee? The Publican was +a genuine man, an honest, humble, self-emptied sinner. The Pharisee was +a silly puffed-up pretender. The world seems to think that all high +profession must be hollow. I need not say that such an opinion is +utterly untenable. The world would have you profess nothing, lest you +should not come up to it. Christ says, "Abide in Me, so shall ye bear +much fruit." It was on this principle that St. Paul professed so much +and did so much. "The life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith +of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." + +There is nothing to be said of the other sons of Jesse. Only the +youngest one remained, apparently too young to be at the feast; he was +in the field, keeping the sheep. "And Jesse sent and brought him in. Now +he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance" (_marg._ eyes), +"and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this +is he." Though goodly to look at, he was too young, too boyish to be +preferred on the score of "outward appearance." It was qualities unseen, +and as yet but little developed, that commended him. Greatly astonished +must Jesse and his other sons have been to see Samuel pouring on the +ruddy stripling the holy oil, and anointing him for whatever the office +might be. But it has often been God's way to find His agents in +unexpected places. Here a great king is found in the sheepfold. In +Joseph's time a prime minister of Egypt was found in the prison. Our +Lord found His chief apostle in the school of Gamaliel. The great +Reformer of the sixteenth century was found in a poor miner's cottage. +God is never at a loss for agents, and if the men fail that might +naturally have been looked for to do Him service substitutes for them +are not far to seek. Out of the very stones He can raise up children to +Abraham. + +But it was not a mere arbitrary arrangement that David should have been +a shepherd before he was king. There were many things in the one +employment that prepared the way for the other. In the East the shepherd +had higher rank and a larger sphere of duties than is common with us. +The duties of the shepherd, to watch over his flock, to feed and protect +them, to heal the sick, bind up the broken, and bring again that which +was driven away, corresponded to those which the faithful and godly +ruler owed to the people committed to his sceptre. It was from the time +of David that the shepherd phraseology began to be applied to rulers and +their people; and we hardly carry away the full lesson that the prophets +intended to teach in their denunciations of "the shepherds that fed +themselves and not the flock" when we apply these exclusively to the +shepherds of souls. So appropriate was the emblem of the shepherd for +denoting the right spirit and character of rulers, that it was +ultimately appropriated in a very high and peculiar sense to the person +and office of the Lord Jesus Christ. But long ere he appeared King David +had familiarised men's minds with the kind of benefits that flow from +the sceptre of a shepherd-ruler--the kind of blessings that were to flow +in their fulness from Christ. Never did he write a more expressive word +than this, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." On the +groundwork of his own earthly kingdom he had drawn the pattern of things +in heavenly places, for describing which in after times no language +could be found more suitable than that borrowed from his first +occupation. + +But in full harmony with the character of Old Testament typology, the +glory of the thing symbolized was infinitely greater than the glory of +the symbol. Much though the nation owed to the godly administration of +him whom God "took from the sheepfold, and brought from following the +ewes great with young, to feed Jacob His people and Israel His +inheritance," these benefits were shadows indeed when compared with the +blessings procured by the great "Shepherd of Israel," "the good Shepherd +that giveth His life for the sheep," whose shepherd care does not +terminate with the life that now is, but will be exercised in eternity +in feeding them and leading them by living fountains of water, where God +shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. + +There are other points of typical resemblance between David and Christ +that demand our notice here. If it was a strange-like thing for God to +find the model king of Israel in a sheepcot at Bethlehem, it was still +more so to find the Saviour of the world in a workshop at Nazareth. But +again; King David was chosen for qualities that did not fall in with the +ordinary conception of what was king-like, but qualities that commended +him to God; and in the same manner the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Elect, +in whom His soul delighted, was not marked by those attributes which men +might have considered suitable in one who was to gain the empire of the +world. "He shall grow up as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry +ground; He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him there +is no beauty that we should desire Him." In bodily form the Lord Jesus +would seem to have resembled David rather than Saul. There is no reason +to think that there was any great physical superiority in Christ, that +He was taller than the common, or that He was distinguished by any of +those physical features that at first sight captivate men. And even in +the region of intellectual and spiritual influence, our Lord did not +conform to the type that naturally commands the confidence and +admiration of the world. He had a still, quiet manner. His eloquence did +not flash, nor blaze, nor flow like a torrent. The power of His words +was due more to their wonderful depth of meaning, going straight to the +heart of things, and to the aptness of His homely illustrations. Our +Lord's mode of conquest was very remarkable. He conquered by gentleness, +by forbearance, by love, by sympathy, by self-denial. He impressed men +with the glory of sacrifice, the glory of service, the glory of +obedience, obedience to the one great authority--the will of God--to +which all obedience is due. He inspired them with a love of +purity,--purity of heart, purity after the highest pattern. If you +compare our blessed Lord with those who have achieved great conquests, +you cannot but see the difference. I do not mean with conquerors like +Alexander, or Cæsar, or Napoleon. Napoleon himself at St. Helena showed +in a word the vast difference between Christ and them. "Our conquests," +said he, "have been achieved by force, but Jesus achieved His by love, +and to-day millions would die for Him." But look at some who have +conquered by gentler means. Take such men as Socrates, or Plato, or +Aristotle. They achieved great intellectual conquests--they founded +intellectual empires. But the intellect of Jesus Christ was of another +order from theirs. He propounded no theory of the universe, He did not +affect to explain the world of reason, He did not profess to lay bare +the laws of the human mind, or prescribe conditions for the welfare of +states. What strikes us about Christ's method of influence is its quiet +homeliness. Yet quiet and homely though it was and is, how prodigious, +how unprecedented has been its power! What other king of men has wielded +a tithe of His influence? And that not with one class of society, but +with all; not only with the poor and uneducated, but with thinkers and +men of genius as well; not only with men and women who know the world, +and know their own hearts and all their wants, and apprehend the fitness +of Christ to supply them, but even with little children, in the simple +unconsciousness of opening years. For out of the mouths of babes and +sucklings He hath perfected praise. + +Now let us mark this also, in conclusion, that besides being a King +Himself Jesus makes all His people kings to God. Every Christian is +designed to be a ruler, an unconscious one it may be, but one who +exercises an influence in the same direction as Christ's. How can you +accomplish this? By first of all drinking into Christ's spirit, looking +out on the world as He did, with compassion, sympathy, self-sacrifice, +and an ardent desire for its renovation and its happiness. By walking +"worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called." Not by the +earthquake, or by the tempest, but by the still small voice. By quiet, +steady, persistent love, goodness, and self-denial. These are the true +Christian weapons, often little thought of, but really the armour of +God, and weapons mighty to the pulling down of strongholds and the +subjugation of the world to Christ. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +_DAVID'S EARLY LIFE._[2] + +1 SAMUEL xvi. 14-23. + + +Before we enter at large into the incident of which these verses form +the record it is desirable to settle, as far as we can, the order of +events in the early life of David. + +After being anointed by Samuel, David would probably return to his work +among the sheep. It is quite possible that some years elapsed before +anything else occurred to vary the monotony of his first occupation. The +only interruption likely to have occurred to his shepherd life would be, +intercourse with Samuel. It is rather striking that nothing is said, +nothing is even hinted, as to the private relations that prevailed in +youth between him and the venerable prophet who had anointed him with +the holy oil. But it cannot be supposed that Samuel would just return to +Ramah without any further communication with the youth that was to play +so important a part in the future history of the country. If Saul, with +all his promising qualities at the beginning, had greatly disappointed +him, he could only be the more anxious on that account about the +disposition and development of David. The fact that after David became +the object of the murderous jealousy of Saul, it was to Samuel he came +when he fled from the court to tell what had taken place, and to ask +advice (ch. xix. 18, 19), seems to indicate that the two men were on +intimate terms, and therefore that they had been much together before. +Whether David derived his views of government from Samuel, or whether +they were impressed on him directly by the Spirit of God, it is certain +that they were the very same as those which Samuel cherished so +intensely, and which he sought so earnestly to impress on Saul. God's +imperial sovereignty, and the earthly king's entire subordination to +him; the standing of the people as God's people, God's heritage, and the +duty of the king to treat them as such, and do all that he could for +their good; the infinite and inexhaustible privilege involved in this +relation, making all coquetting with false gods shameful, dishonouring +to God, and disastrous to the people,--were ruling principles with +Samuel and David alike. If David was never formally a pupil of Samuel's, +informally he must have been so to a large extent. Samuel lived in +David; and the complacency which the old prophet must have had in his +youthful friend, and his pleasure in observing the depth of his loyalty +to God, and his eager interest in the highest welfare of the people, +must have greatly mitigated his distress at the rejection of Saul, and +revived his hope of better days for Israel. + +As David grew in years, but before he ceased to be a boy, he might +acquire that local reputation as "a mighty valiant man and a man of war" +which his friend referred to when he first mentioned him to Saul. In him +as in Jonathan faith gendered a habit of dash and daring which could not +be suppressed in the days of eager boyhood. The daring insolence of the +Philistines, whose country lay but a few miles to the west of +Bethlehem, might afford him opportunities for deeds of boyish valour. +Jerusalem, the stronghold of the Jebusites, was but two hours distant +from Bethlehem, and on the part of its people, too, collisions with +Israelites were doubtless liable to occur. It may have been now, or +possibly a little later, that the contest occurred with the lion and the +bear. The country round Bethlehem was not a peaceful paradise, and the +career of a shepherd was not the easy life of lovesick swains which +poets dream. + +It was at this period of David's life that Saul's peculiar malady took +that form which suggested the use of music to soothe his nervous +irritation. His courtiers recommended that he should seek out a cunning +player on the harp, whose soothing strains would calm him in the +paroxysms of his ailment. Obviously, it was desirable that one who was +to be so close to a king so full of the military spirit as Saul should +have a touch of that spirit himself. David had become known to one of +the courtiers, who at once mentioned him as in all respects suitable for +the berth. Saul accordingly sent messengers to Jesse, bidding him send +to him David his son, who was with the sheep. And David came to Saul. +But his first visit seems to have been quite short. Saul's attacks were +probably occasional, and at first long intervals may have occurred +between them. When he recovered from the attack at which David had been +sent for, the cunning harper was needed no longer, and would naturally +return home. He may have been but a very short time with Saul, too short +for much acquaintance being formed. But it is the way of the historians +of Scripture, when a topic has once been introduced, to pursue it to its +issues without note of the events that came between. The writer having +indicated how David was first brought into contact with Saul, as his +musician, pursues the subject of their relation, without mentioning that +the fight with Goliath occurred between. Some critics have maintained +that in this book we have two accounts of David's introduction to Saul, +accounts which contradict one another. In the first of them he became +known to him first as a musician sent for in the height of his attack. +In the other it is as the conqueror of Goliath he appears before Saul. +It is the fact that neither Saul nor any of his people knew on this +occasion who he was that is so strange. According to our view the order +of events was this: David's first visit to Saul to play before him on +his harp was a very short one. Some time after the conflict with Goliath +occurred. David's appearance had probably changed considerably, so that +Saul did not recognize him. It was now that Saul attached David to +himself, kept him permanently, and would not let him return to his +father's house (ch. xviii. 2). And while David acted as musician, +playing to him on his harp in the paroxysms of his ailment (ch. xviii. +10), he went out at his command on military expeditions, and acquired +great renown as a warrior (ch. xviii. 5). Thus, to turn back to the +sixteenth chapter, the last two verses of that chapter record the +permanent office before Saul which David came to fill after the +slaughter of the Philistine. In fact, we find in that chapter, as often +elsewhere, a brief outline of the whole course of events, some of which +are filled up in minute detail in the chapter following. + +Having thus settled the chronology, or rather the order of events in +David's early history, it may be well now to examine more fully that +period of his life, in so far as we have any materials for doing so. + +According to the chronology of the Authorized Version, the birth of +David must have occurred about the year before Christ 1080. It was about +a hundred years later than the date commonly assigned to the Trojan war, +and therefore a considerable time before the dawn of authentic history, +at least among the Greeks or the Romans. The age of David succeeded what +might be called the heroic age of Hebrew history; in one sense, indeed, +it was a continuation of that period. Samson, the latest, and in some +sense the greatest of the Jewish heroes, had perished not very long +before; and the scene of his birth and of some of his most famous +exploits lay within a very few miles of Bethlehem. In David's boyhood +old men would still be living who had seen and talked with the Hebrew +Hercules, and from whose lips high-spirited boys would hear, with +sparkling eye and heaving bosom, the story of his exploits and the +tragedy of his death. The whole neighbourhood would swarm with songs and +legends illustrative of the deeds of those mighty men of valour, that +ever since the sojourn in Egypt had been conferring renown on the Hebrew +name. The mind of boyhood delights in such narratives; they rouse the +soul, expand the imagination, and create sympathy with all that is brave +and noble. We cannot doubt that such things had a great effect on the +susceptible temperament of the youthful David, and contributed some +elements of that manly and invincible spirit which remained so prominent +in his character. + +But a much more important factor in determining his character and +shaping his life was the religious awakening in which Samuel had so +prominent a share. Not a word is said anywhere of the manner in which +David's heart was first turned to God; but this must have been in his +earliest years. We think of David as we think of Samuel, or Jeremiah, or +Josiah, or John the Baptist, as sanctified to the Lord from his very +childhood. God chose him at the very outset in a more vital sense than +He afterwards chose him to be king. In the exercise of that mysterious +sovereignty which we are unable to fathom, God made his youthful heart a +plot of good soil, into which when the seed fell it bore fruit an +hundredfold. In strong contrast to Saul, whose early sympathies were +against the ways and will of God, those of David were warmly for them. +Samuel would find him an eager and willing listener when he spoke to him +of God and His ways. How strange are the differences of young persons, +in this respect, when they come first under the instructions of a +minister or other servant of God! Some so earnest, so attentive, so +impressed; so ready to drink in all that is said; treasuring it, hiding +it in their hearts, rejoicing in it like those that find great spoil. +Others so hard to bring into line, so glad of an excuse for absence, so +difficult to interest, so fitful and unconcerned. No doubt much depends +on the skill of the teacher in working upon anything in their minds that +gives even a faint response to the truth. And in no case is the aversion +of the heart beyond the power of the Holy Spirit to influence and to +change. But for all that, we cannot but acknowledge the mysterious +sovereignty which through causes we cannot trace makes one man so to +differ from another; which made Abel so different from Cain, Isaac from +Ishmael, Moses from Balaam, and David from Saul. + +Was David at any time a member of any of the schools of the prophets? We +cannot say with certainty, but when we ponder what we read about them +it seems very likely that he was. These schools seem to have enjoyed in +an eminent degree the gracious power of the Holy Spirit. The hearts of +the inmates seem to have burned with the glow of devotion; the emotions +of holy joy with which they were animated could not be restrained, but +poured out from them, like streams from a gushing fountain, in holy +songs and ascriptions to God; and such was the overpowering influence of +this spirit that for a time it infected even cold-hearted men like Saul, +and bore them along, as an enthusiastic crowd gathers up stragglers and +sweeps them onward in its current. It seems highly probable that it was +in connection with these institutions, on which so signal a blessing +rested, that the devotional spirit became so powerful in David +afterwards poured out so freely in his Psalms. For surely he could not +be in the company of men who were so full of the Spirit without sharing +their experience and pouring forth the feelings that stirred his soul. + +We all believe in some degree in the law of heredity, and find it +interesting to trace the features of forefathers, physical and +spiritual, in the persons of their descendants. The piety, the humanity, +and the affectionateness of Boaz and Ruth form a beautiful picture in +the early Hebrew history, and seem to come before us anew in the +character of David. Boaz was remarkable for the fatherly interest he +took in his dependants, for his generous kindness to the poor, and for a +spirit of gentle piety that breathed even through his secular life. Was +it not the same spirit that dictated the benediction, "Blessed is he +that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of +trouble"? Was it not the same interest in the welfare of dependants that +David showed when "he dealt among the people, even the whole multitude +of Israel, as well to the women as to the men, to every one a cake of +bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine? Ruth again was +remarkable for the extraordinary depth and tenderness of her affection; +her words to Naomi have never been surpassed as an expression of simple, +tender feeling: "Entreat me not to leave thee, nor to return from +following after thee; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou +lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my +God." Does not this extraordinary tenderness seem to have fallen +undiminished to the man who had such an affection for Jonathan, who +showed such emotion on the illness of his infant child, and poured out +such a flood of anguish on the death of Absalom? The history of Boaz and +Ruth would surely take hold very early of his mind. The very house in +which he lived, the fields where he tended his sheep, every object +around him, might have associations with their memory; aged people might +tell him stories of their benevolence, and pious people give him +traditions of their godliness, and thus an element would be contributed +to a character in which the tenderness of a woman and the piety of a +saint were combined with the courage and energy of a man. + +The birthplace of David, Bethlehem, is more remarkable for its moral +associations than its natural features. Well has it been said by Edward +Robinson of the place where both David and Jesus were born, "What a +mighty influence for good has gone forth from this little spot upon the +human race both for time and for eternity!" It was situated some six +miles to the south of Jerusalem, and about twice that distance to the +north of Hebron. The present town is built upon the north and north-east +slope of a long grey ridge, with a deep valley in front and another +behind, uniting at no great distance, and running down toward the Dead +Sea. The country around is hilly, but hardly beautiful; the limestone +rock gives a bare appearance to the hills, which is not redeemed by +boldness of form or picturesqueness of outline. The fields, though stony +and rough, produce good crops of grain; olive groves, fig-orchards, and +vineyards abound both in the valleys and on the gentler slopes; the +higher and wilder tracts were probably devoted to the pasturing of +flocks. The whole tract in which Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem are +situated is elevated nearly four thousand feet above the level of Jordan +and the Dead Sea on the one side, and between two and three thousand +feet above the Mediterranean on the other. Among these hills and valleys +David spent his youth, watching the flocks of his father. + +We have seen that the life of a shepherd in those scenes was not without +its times of danger, making great demands on the shepherd's courage and +affection. In the main, however, it was a quiet life, affording copious +opportunities for meditation and for quiet study. It was the great +privilege of David to see much of God in His works and to commune with +Him therein. The Psalms are full of allusions to the varied aspects of +nature--the mountains, the rocks, the rivers, the valleys, the forests, +the lightning, the thunder, the whirlwind. + +It is not easy to say how much of the written Word existed in David's +time, but at the most it could be but a fragment of what we now possess. +But if the mines of revelation were few, all the more eager was his +search for their hidden treasures. And David had the advantage of using +what we may call a pictorial Bible. When he read of the destruction of +Sodom he could see the dark wall of Moab frowning over the lake near to +which the guilty cities were consumed by the fire of heaven. When he +paused to think of the solemn transactions at Machpelah, he could see in +the distance the very spot where so much sacred dust was gathered. Close +by his daily haunts one pillar marked the place where God spake to +Jacob, and another the spot where poor Rachel died. In the dark range of +Moab yon lofty peak was the spot whence Moses had his view and Balaam +his vision. It was from that eminence the prophet from Pethor saw a star +come out of Jacob and a sceptre rise out of Israel that should smite the +corners of Moab and destroy all the children of Seth. The sympathy with +God fostered by these studies and meditations was of the closest kind; +an unusually clear and impressive knowledge seems to have been acquired +of the purpose of God concerning Israel; drinking in himself the lessons +of revelation, he was becoming qualified to become the instrument of the +Holy Spirit for those marvellous contributions to its canon which he was +afterwards honoured to make. + +And among these hills and valleys, too, David would acquire his +proficiency in the two very different arts which were soon to make him +famous--the use of the sling and the use of the harp. It seems to have +been his ambition, whatever he did, to do it in the best possible way. +His skill in the use of the sling was so perfect that he could project a +stone even at a small object with unerring certainty. His harp was +probably a very simple instrument, small enough to be carried about with +him, but in handling it he acquired the same perfect skill as in +handling his sling. In his hands it became a wonderfully expressive +instrument. And hence, when Saul required a skilful musician to soothe +him, the known gifts of the young shepherd of Bethlehem pointed him out +as the man. + +Of the influence of music in remedying disorders of the nerves there is +no want of evidence. "Bochart has collected many passages from profane +writers which speak of the medicinal effects of music on the mind and +body, especially as appeasing anger and soothing and pacifying a +troubled spirit" (_Speaker's Commentary_). A whole book was written on +the subject by Caspar Læscherus, Professor of Divinity at Wittenberg +(A.D. 1688). Kitto and other writers have added more recent instances. +It is said of Charles IX. of France that after the massacre of St. +Bartholomew his sleep was disturbed by nightly horrors, and he could +only be composed to rest by a symphony of singing boys. Philip V. of +Spain, being seized with deep dejection of mind that unfitted him for +all public duties, a celebrated musician was invited to surprise the +king by giving a concert in the neighbouring apartment to his majesty's, +with the effect that the king roused himself from his lethargy and +resumed his duties. We may readily believe that in soothing power the +harp was not inferior to any of the other instruments. + +Still, with all its success, it was but a poor method of soothing a +troubled spirit compared to the methods that David was afterwards to +employ. It dealt chiefly with man's physical nature, it soothed the +nervous system, and removed the hindrance which their disorder caused to +the action of the powers of the mind. It did not strike at the root of +all trouble--alienation from God; it did not attempt to create and apply +the only permanent remedy for trouble--trust in a loving Father's care. +It was a mere foreshadow, on a comparatively low and earthly ground, of +the way in which David, as the Psalmist, was afterwards to provide the +true "oil of joy for the mourner," and to become a guide to the downcast +soul from the fearful pit and the miry clay up to the third heaven of +joy and peace. The sounds of his harp could only operate by an influence +felt alike by saint and sinner in soothing an agitated frame; but with +the words of his Psalms, the Divine Spirit, by whose inspiration they +were poured out, was in all coming ages to unite Himself, and to use +them for showing the sin-burdened soul the true cause of its misery, and +for leading it by a holy path, sorrowing yet rejoicing, to the home of +its reconciled Father. + +It is a painful thing to see any one in overwhelming trouble; it is +doubly painful to see kings and others in high places miserable amid all +their splendours, helpless amid all their resources. Alas, O spirit of +man, what awful trials thou art subject to! Well mayest thou sometimes +envy the very animals around thee, which, if they have no such +capacities of enjoyment as thou hast, have on the other hand no such +capacities of misery. The higher our powers and position, the more awful +the anguish when anything goes wrong. Yet hast thou not, O man, a +capacity to know that thy misery cannot be remedied till the cause of it +is removed? Prodigal son, there is but one way to escape a miserable +life. Arise, go to thy Father. See how He is in Christ reconciling the +world to Himself, not imputing to men their trespasses. Accept His +offers and be at peace. Receive His Spirit and your disorder shall be +healed. I own that not even then can we assure you of freedom from +grievous sorrows. The best of men in this world have often most grievous +sufferings. But they are strengthened to bear them while they last; they +are assured that all things work together for good to them that love +God, to them that are the called according to His purpose; and they know +that when "the earthly house of their tabernacle is dissolved, they have +a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the +heavens." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[2] A few paragraphs on the Life of David are reproduced from the +author's book "David, King of Israel." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +_DAVID'S CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH._ + +1 SAMUEL xvii. + + +These irrepressible Philistines were never long recovering from their +disasters. The victory of Jonathan had been impaired by the exhaustion +of the soldiers, caused by Saul's fast preventing them from pursuing the +enemy as far, and destroying their force as thoroughly, as they might +have done. A new attack was organised against Israel, headed by a +champion, Goliath of Gath, whose height must have approached the +extraordinary stature of ten feet. Against this army Saul arrayed his +force, and the two armies fronted each other on opposite sides of the +valley of Elah. This valley has generally been identified with that +which now bears the name of Wady-es-Sumt--a valley running down from the +plateau of Judah to the Philistine plain, not more than perhaps eight or +ten miles from Bethlehem. The Philistine champion appears to have been a +man of physical strength corresponding to the massiveness of his body. +The weight of his coat of mail is estimated at more than one hundred and +fifty pounds, and the head of his spear eighteen pounds. Remembering the +extraordinary feats of Samson, the Philistines might well fancy that it +was now their turn to boast of a Hercules. Day after day Goliath +presented himself before the army of Israel, calling proudly for a +foeman worthy of his steel, and demanding that in default of any one +able to fight with him and kill him, the Israelites should abandon all +dream of independence, and become vassals of the Philistines. And +morning and evening, for nearly six weeks, had this proud challenge been +given, but never once accepted. Even Jonathan, who had faith enough and +courage enough and skill enough for so much, seems to have felt himself +helpless in this great dilemma. The explanation that has sometimes been +given of his abstention, that it was not etiquette for a king's son to +engage in fight with a commoner, can hardly hold water; Jonathan showed +no such squeamishness at Michmash; and besides, in cases of desperation +etiquette has to be thrown to the winds. Of the host of Israel, we read +simply that they were dismayed. Nor does Saul seem to have renewed the +attempt to get counsel of God after his experience on the day of +Jonathan's victory. The Israelites could only look on in grim +humiliation, sullenly guarding the pass by the valley into their +territories, but returning a silent refusal to the demand of the +Philistines either to furnish a champion or to become their servants. + +The coming of David upon the scene corresponded in its accidental +character to the coming of Saul into contact with Samuel, to be +designated for the throne. Everything seemed to be casual, yet those +things which seemed most casual were really links in a providential +chain leading to the gravest issues. It seemed to be by chance that +David had three brothers serving in Saul's army; it seemed also to be by +chance that their father sent his youthful shepherd son to inquire after +their welfare; it was not by design that as he saluted his brethren +Goliath came up and David heard his words of defiance; still less was +it on purpose to wait for David that Saul had sent no one out as yet to +encounter the Philistine; and nothing could have appeared more +ridiculous than that the challenge should wait to be answered by the +stripling shepherd, who, with his sling and shepherd's bag thrown over +his shoulder, had so little of the appearance of a man of war. It seemed +very accidental, too, that the only part of the giant's person that was +not thoroughly defended by his armour, his eyes and a morsel of his +forehead above them, was the only part of him on which a small stone +from a sling could have inflicted a fatal injury. But obviously all +these were parts of the providential plan by which David was at once to +confer on his country a signal boon, and to raise his name to the +pinnacle of fame. And, as usual, all the parts of this pre-arranged plan +fell out without constraint or interference; a new proof that Divine +pre-ordination does not impair the liberty of man. + +One cannot but wonder whether, in offering his prayers that morning, +David had any presentiment of the trial that awaited him, anything to +impel him to unwonted fervour in asking God that day to establish the +works of his hands upon him. There is no reason to think that he had. +His prayers that morning were in all likelihood his usual prayers. And +if he was sincere in the expression of his own sense of weakness, and in +his supplication that God would strengthen him for all the day's duties, +it was enough. Oh! how little we know what may be before us, on some +morning that dawns on us just as other days, but which is to form a +great crisis in our life. How little the boy that is to tell his first +lie that day thinks of the serpent that is lying in wait for him! How +little the girl that is to fall in with her betrayer thinks of the +snare preparing for her body and her soul! How little the party that are +to be upset in the pleasure boat and consigned to a watery grave think +how the day is to end! Should we not pray more really, more earnestly if +we did realise these possibilities? True, indeed, the future is hid from +us, and we do not usually experience the impulse to earnestness which it +would impart. But is it not a good habit, as you kneel each morning, to +think, "For aught I know, this may be the most important day of my life. +The opportunity may be given me of doing a great service in the cause of +truth and righteousness; or the temptation may assail me to deny my Lord +and ruin my soul. O God, be not far from me this day; prepare me for all +that Thou preparest for me!" + +The distance from Bethlehem being but a few hours' walk, David starting +in the morning would arrive early in the day at the quarters of the +army. When he heard the challenge of the Philistine he was astonished to +find that no one had taken it up. There was a mystery about this, about +the cowardice of his countrymen, perhaps about the attitude of Jonathan, +that he could not solve. Accordingly, with all that earnestness and +curiosity with which one peers into all the circumstances surrounding a +mystery, he asked, what encouragement there was to volunteer, what +reward was any one to receive who should kill this Philistine? Not that +he personally was caring about the reward, but he wished to solve the +mystery. It is evident that the consideration that moved David himself +was that the Philistine had defied the armies of the living God. It was +the same arrogant claim to be above the God of Israel, which had puffed +up their minds when they took possession of the ark and placed it in the +temple of their god. "You thought so that day," David might mutter, +"but what did you think next morning, when the mutilated image of your +god lay prostrate on the floor? Please God, your sensations to-morrow, +yea, this very forenoon, shall be such as they were then." The spirit of +faith started into full and high activity, and the same kind of +inspiration that had impelled Jonathan to climb into the garrison at +Michmash now impelled David to vindicate the blasphemed name of Jehovah. +Was it the flash of this inspiration in his eye, was it the tone of it +in his voice, was it the consciousness that something desperate was to +follow in the way of personal faith and daring, that roused the temper +of Eliab, and drew from him a withering rebuke of the presumption of the +stripling that dared to meddle with such matters? Eliab certainly did +not spare him. Elder brothers are seldom remiss in rebuking the +presumption of younger. "Why camest thou down hither? And with whom hast +thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the +naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see +the battle." Irritating though such language was, it was borne with +admirable meekness. "What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" "He +that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city." Eliab +showed himself defeated by his own temper, a most mortifying defeat; +David held his temper firmly in command. Which was the greater, which +the better man? And the short question he put to Eliab was singularly +apt, "Is there not a cause?" When all you men of war are standing +helpless and perplexed in the face of this great national insult, is +there not a cause why I should inquire into the matter, if, by God's +help, I can do anything for my God and my people? + +Undaunted by his brother's volley, he turned to some one else, and +obtained a similar answer to his questions. Inspiration is a rapid +process, and the course for him to pursue was now fully determined upon. +His indignant tone and confident reliance on the God of Israel, so +unlike the tone of every one else, excited the attention of the +bystanders; they rehearsed his words to Saul, and Saul sent for him. And +when he came to Saul, there was not the slightest trace of fear or +faintheartedness about him. "Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy +servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Brave words, but, as +Saul thinks, very foolish. "_You_ go and fight with the Philistine? you +a mere shepherd boy, who never knew the brunt of battle, and he a man of +war from his youth?" Yes, Saul, that is just the way for you to speak, +with your earthly way of viewing things; you, who measure strength only +by a carnal standard, who know nothing of the faith that removes +mountains, who forget the meaning of the name ISRA-EL, and never spent +an hour as Jacob spent his night at Peniel! Listen to the reply of +faith. "And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, +and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and +I went out after him and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; +and when he arose against me I caught him by his beard, and smote him +and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this +uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied +the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that +delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, +He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." + +Could there have been a nobler exercise of faith, a finer instance of a +human spirit taking hold of the Invisible; fortifying itself against +material perils by realizing the help of an unseen God; resting on His +sure word as on solid rock; flinging itself fearlessly on a very sea of +dangers; confident of protection and victory from Him? The only help to +faith was the remembrance of the encounter with the lion and the bear, +and the assurance that the same gracious help would be vouchsafed now. +But no heart that was not full of faith would have thought of that, +either as an evidence that God worked by him then, or as a sure pledge +that God would work by him now. How many an adventurer or sportsman, +that in some encounter with wild animals has escaped death by the very +skin of his teeth, thinks only of his luck, or the happiness of the +thought that led him to do so and so in what seemed the very article of +death? A deliverance of this kind is no security against a like +deliverance afterwards; it can give nothing more than a hope of escape. +The faith of David recognized God's merciful hand in the first +deliverance, and that gave an assurance of it in the other. What! would +that God that had helped him to rescue a lamb fail him while trying to +rescue a nation? Would that God that had sustained him when all that was +involved was a trifling loss to his father fail him in a combat that +involved the salvation of Israel and the honour of Israel's God? Would +He who had subdued for him the lion and the bear when they were but +obeying the instincts of their nature, humiliate him in conflict with +one who was defying the armies of the living God? The remembrance of +this deliverance confirmed his faith and urged him to the conflict, and +the victory which faith thus gained was complete. It swept the decks +clear of every vestige of terror; it went right to the danger, without +a particle of misgiving. + +There are two ways in which faith may assert its supremacy. One, +afterwards very familiar to David, is, when it has first to struggle +hard with distrust and fear; when it has to come to close quarters with +the suggestions of the carnal mind, grapple with these in mortal +conflict, strangle them, and rise up victorious over them. For most men, +most believing men, it is only thus that faith rises to her throne. The +other way is, to spring to her throne in a moment; to assert her +authority, free and independent, utterly regardless of all that would +hamper her, as free from doubt and misgiving as a little child in his +father's arms, conscious that whatever is needed that father will +provide. It was this simple, child-like, but most triumphant exercise of +faith that David showed in undertaking this conflict. Happy they who are +privileged with such an attainment! Only let us beware of despairing if +we cannot attain to this prompt, instinctive faith. Let us fall back +with patience on that other process where we have to fight in the first +instance with our fears and misgivings, driving them from us as David +had often to do afterwards: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why +art thou disquieted in me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him who is +the health of my countenance and my God." + +And now David prepared himself for the contest. Saul, ever carnal, and +trusting only in carnal devices, is fain to clothe him in his armour, +and David makes trial of his coat of mail; but he is embarrassed by a +heavy covering to which he is not accustomed, and which only impedes the +freedom of his arm. It is plain enough that it is not in Saul's panoply +that he can meet the Philistine. He must fall back on simpler means. +Choosing five smooth stones out of the brook, with his shepherd's staff +in one hand and his sling in the other, he drew near to the Philistine. +When Goliath saw him no words were bitter enough for his scorn. He had +sought a warrior to fight with; he gets a boy to annihilate. It is a +paltry business. "Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of +the air and to the beasts of the fields." "Thus saith the Lord, Let not +the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in +his might." Was ever such proof given of the sin and folly of boasting +as in the case of Goliath? And yet, as we should say, how natural it was +for Goliath! But pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit +before a fall. In the spiritual conflict it is the surest presage of +defeat. It was the Goliath spirit that puffed up St. Peter when he said +to his Master, "Lord, I will go with Thee to prison and to death." It is +the same spirit against which St. Paul gives his remarkable warning, +"Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Can it be +said that it is a spirit that Churches are always free from? Are they +never tempted to boast of the talents of their leading men, the success +of their movements, and their growing power and influence in the +community? And does not God in His providence constantly show the sin +and folly of such boasting? "Because thou sayest, I am rich and +increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that +thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." + +In beautiful contrast with the scornful self-confidence of Goliath was +the simplicity of spirit and the meek, humble reliance on God, apparent +in David's answer: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, +and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, +the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will +the Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take +thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the Philistines +this day to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, +that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this +assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for +the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hand." + +What a reality God was to David! He advanced "as seeing Him who is +invisible." Guided by the wisdom of God, he chose his method of attack, +with all the simplicity and certainty of genius. Conscious that God was +with him, he fearlessly met the enemy. A man of less faith might have +been too nervous to take the proper aim. Undisturbed by any fear of +missing, David hurls the stone from his sling, hits the giant on the +unprotected part of his forehead, and in a moment has him reeling on the +ground. Advancing to his prostrate foe, he seizes his sword, cuts off +his head, and affords to both friends and foes unmistakable evidence +that his opponent is dead. Rushing from their tents, the Philistines fly +towards their own country, hotly pursued by the Israelites. It was in +these pursuits of flying foes that the greatest slaughter occurred in +those Eastern countries, and the whole road was strewn with the dead +bodies of the foe to the very gates of Ekron and Gaza. In this pursuit, +however, David did not mingle. With the head of the Philistine in his +hands, he came to Saul. It is said that afterwards he took the head of +Goliath to Jerusalem, which was then occupied, at least in part, by the +Benjamites (Judges i. 21), though the stronghold of Zion was in the +hands of the Jebusites (2 Sam. v. 7). We do not know why Jerusalem was +chosen for depositing this ghastly trophy. All that it is necessary to +say in relation to this is, that seeing it was only the stronghold of +Zion that is said to have been held by the Jebusites, there is no ground +for the objection which some critics have taken to the narrative that it +cannot be correct, since Jerusalem was not yet in the hands of the +Israelites. + +It cannot be doubted that David continued to hold the same conviction as +before the battle, that it was not he that conquered, but God. We cannot +doubt that after the battle he showed the same meek and humble spirit as +before. Whatever surprise his victory might be to the tens of thousands +who witnessed it, it was no surprise to him. He knew beforehand that he +could trust God, and the result showed that he was right. But that very +spirit of implicit trust in God by which he was so thoroughly influenced +kept him from taking any of the glory to himself. God had chosen him to +be His instrument, but he had no credit from the victory for himself. +His feeling that day was the very same as his feeling at the close of +his military life, when the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of +all his enemies:--"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; +the God of my rock, in Him will I trust; He is my shield and the horn of +my salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my saviour; Thou savest me +from violence." + +While David was preparing to fight with the Philistine, Saul asked Abner +whose son he was. Strange to say, neither Abner nor any one else could +tell. Nor could the question be answered till David came back from his +victory, and told the king that he was the son of Jesse the +Bethlehemite. We have already remarked that it was strange that Saul +should not have recognized him, inasmuch as he had formerly given +attendance on the king to drive away his evil spirit by means of his +harp. In explanation it has been urged by some that David's visit or +visits to Saul at that time may have been very brief, and as years may +have elapsed since his last visit, his appearance may have so changed as +to prevent recognition. On the part of others, another explanation has +been offered. Saul may have recognized David at first, but he did not +know his family. Now that there was a probability of his becoming the +king's son-in-law, it was natural that Saul should be anxious to know +his connections. The question put to Abner was, Whose son is this youth? +The commission given to him was to enquire "whose son the stripling is." +And the information given by David was, "I am the son of thy servant +Jesse the Bethlehemite." It may be added that there is some difficulty +about the text of this chapter. It seems as if somehow two independent +accounts of David had been mixed together. And in one important version +of the Septuagint several passages that occur in the received text are +omitted, certainly with the result of removing some difficulties as the +passage stands. + +It is not possible to read this chapter without some thought of the +typical character of David, and indeed the typical aspect of the +conflict in which he was now engaged. We find an emblematic picture of +the conquest of Messiah and His Church. The self-confident boasting of +the giant, strong in the resources of carnal might, and incapable of +appreciating the unseen and invincible power of a righteous man in a +righteous cause, is precisely the spirit in which opposition to Christ +has been usually given, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away +their cords from us." The contempt shown for the lowly appearance of +David, the undisguised scorn at the notion that through such a stripling +any deliverance could come to his people, has its counterpart in the +feeling towards Christ and His Gospel to which the Apostle alludes: "We +preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the +Greeks foolishness." The calm self-possession of David, the choice of +simple but suitable means, and the thorough reliance on Jehovah which +enabled him to conquer, were all exemplified, in far higher measure, in +the moral victories of Jesus, and they are still the weapons which +enable His people to overcome. The sword of Goliath turned against +himself, the weapon by which he was to annihilate his foe, employed by +that very foe to sever his head from his body, was an emblem of Satan's +weapons turned by Christ against Satan, "through death he destroyed him +that had the power of death, and delivered them who all their lifetime +were subject to bondage." The representative character of David, +fighting, not for himself alone but the whole nation, was analogous to +the representative character of Christ. And the shout that burst from +the ranks of Israel and Judah when they saw the champion of the +Philistines fall, and the enemy betake themselves in consternation to +flight, foreshadowed the joy of redeemed men when the reality of +Christ's salvation flashes on their hearts, and they see the enemies +that have been harassing them repulsed and scattered--a joy to be +immeasurably magnified when all enemies are finally conquered, and the +loud voice is heard in heaven, "Now is come salvation, and strength, and +the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of +our brethren is cast down, that accused them before our God day and +night." + +Lastly, while we are instructed by the study of this conflict, let us be +animated by it too. Let us learn never to quail at carnal might arrayed +against the cause of God. Let us never fear to attack SIN, however +apparently invincible it may be. Be it sin within or sin without, sin in +our hearts or sin in the world, let us go boldly at it, strong in the +might of God. That God who delivered David from the paw of the wild +beast, and from the power of the giant, will make us more than +conquerors--will enable us to spoil "principalities and powers and +triumph openly over them." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +_SAUL'S JEALOUSY--DAVID'S MARRIAGE._ + +1 SAMUEL xviii. + + +The conqueror of Goliath had been promised, as his reward, the eldest +daughter of the king in marriage. The fulfilment of that promise, if not +utterly neglected, was at least delayed; but if David lost the hand of +the king's daughter, he gained, what could not have been promised--the +heart of the king's son. It was little wonder that "the soul of Jonathan +was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own +soul." Besides all else about David that was attractive to Jonathan as +it was attractive to every one, there was that strongest of all bonds, +the bond of a common, all-prevailing faith, faith in the covenant God of +Israel, that had now shown itself in David in overwhelming strength, as +it had shown itself in Jonathan some time before at Michmash. + +To Jonathan David must indeed have appeared a man after his own heart. +The childlike simplicity of the trust he had reposed in God showed what +a profound hold his faith had of him, how entirely it ruled his life. +What depths of congeniality the two young men must have discovered in +one another; in what wonderful agreement they must have found themselves +respecting the duty and destiny of the Hebrew people! That Jonathan +should have been so fascinated at that particular moment shows what a +pure heart he must have had. If we judge aright, David's faith had +surpassed Jonathan's; David had dared where Jonathan had shrunk; and +David's higher faith had obtained the distinction that might naturally +have been expected to fall to Jonathan. Yet no shadow of jealousy +darkens Jonathan's brow. Never were hands more cordially grasped; never +were congratulations more warmly uttered. Is there anything so beautiful +as a beautiful heart? After well-nigh three thousand years, we are still +thrilled by the noble character of Jonathan, and well were it for every +young man that he shared in some degree his high nobility. Self-seekers +and self-pleasers, look at him--and be ashamed. + +The friendship between David and Jonathan will fall to be adverted to +afterwards; meanwhile we follow the course of events as they are +detailed in this chapter. + +One thing that strikes us very forcibly in this part of David's history +is the rapidity with which pain and peril followed the splendid +achievement which had raised him so high. The malignant jealousy of Saul +towards him appears to have sprung up almost immediately after the +slaughter of Goliath. "When David was returned from the slaughter of the +Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and +dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments +of music. And the women answered one another as they played, saying, +Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was +very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have +ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but +thousands; and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed +David from that day and forward." This statement seems (like so many +other statements in Scripture narratives) to be a condensed one, +embracing things that happened at different times; it appears to denote +that as soon as David returned from killing Goliath his name began to be +introduced by the women into their songs; and when he returned from the +expeditions to which Saul appointed him when he set him over the men of +war, and in which he was wonderfully successful, then the women +introduced the comparison, which so irritated Saul, between Saul's +thousands and David's ten thousands. The truth is, that David's +experience, while Saul continued to be his persecutor, was a striking +commentary on the vanity of human life,--on the singularly tantalizing +way in which the most splendid prizes are often snatched from men's +hands as soon as they have secured them, and when they might reasonably +have expected to enjoy their fruits. The case of a conqueror killed in +the very moment of victory--of a Wolfe falling on the Plains of Quebec, +just as his victory made Britain mistress of Canada; of a Nelson +expiring on the deck of his ship, just as the enemy's fleet was +helplessly defeated,--these are touching enough instances of the +deceitfulness of fortune in the highest moments of expected enjoyment. +But there is something more touching still in the early history of +David. Raised to an eminence which he never courted or dreamt of, just +because he had such trust in God and such regard for his country; +manifesting in his new position all that modesty and all that +dutifulness which had marked him while his name was still unknown; +taking his life in his hand and plunging into toils and risks +innumerable just because he desired to be of service to Saul and his +country,--surely, if any man deserved a comfortable home and a tranquil +mind David was that man. That David should have become the worst treated +and most persecuted man of his day; that for years and years he should +have been maligned and hunted down, with but a step between him and +death; that the very services that ought to have brought him honour +should have plunged him into disgrace, and the noble qualities that +ought to have made him the king's most trusty counsellor should have +made him a fugitive and an outlaw from his presence,--all that is very +strange. It would have been a great trial to any man; it was a peculiar +trial to a Hebrew. For under the Hebrew economy the principle of +temporal rewards and punishments had a prominence beyond the common. Why +was this principle reversed in the case of David? Why was one who had +been so exemplary doomed to such humiliation and trial,--doomed to a +mode of life which seemed more suitable for a miscreant than for the man +after God's own heart? + +The answer to this question cannot be mistaken now. But that answer was +not found so readily in David's time. David's early years bore a close +resemblance to that period of the career of Job when the hand of God was +heavy upon him, and thick darkness encompassed one on whose tabernacle +the candle of the Lord had previously shone very brightly. It pleased +God, in infinite love, to make David pass through a long period of hard +discipline and salutary training for the office to which he was to be +raised. The instances were innumerable in the East of young men of +promising character being ruined through sudden elevation to supreme +unchallenged power. The case of Saul himself was a sad instance of this +doleful effect. It pleased God to take steps to prevent it from +happening in the case of David. It is said that when Alcibiades, the +distinguished Athenian, was young, Socrates tried hard to withhold him +from public life, and to convince him that he needed a long course of +inward discipline before he could engage safely and usefully in the +conduct of public affairs. But Alcibiades had no patience for this; he +took his own way, became his own master, but with the result that he +lost at once true loftiness of aim and all the sincerity of an upright +soul. We do not need, however, to illustrate from mere human history the +benefits that arise from a man bearing the yoke in his youth. Even our +blessed Lord, David's antitype, "though He was a Son, yet learned He +obedience by the things which He suffered." And how often has the lesson +been repeated! What story is more constantly repeated than, on the one +hand, that of the young man succeeding to a fortune in early life, +learning every wretched habit of indolence and self-indulgence, becoming +the slave of his lusts, and after a miserable life sinking into a +dishonoured grave? And on the other, how often do we find, in the +biography of the men who have been an honour to their race, that their +early life was spent amid struggles and acts of self-denial that seem +hardly credible, but out of which came their resolute character and +grand conquering power? O adversity, thy features are hard, thy fingers +are of iron, thy look is stern and repulsive; but underneath thy hard +crust there lies a true heart, full of love and full of hope; if only we +had grace to believe this, in times when we are bound with affliction +and iron; if only we had faith to look forward a very little, when, like +the patriarch Job, we shall find that, after all, He who frames our lot +is "very pitiful and of tender mercy"! + +In the case of David, God's purpose manifestly was to exercise and +strengthen such qualities as trust in God, prayerfulness, self-command, +serenity of temper, consideration for others, and the hope of a happy +issue out of all his troubles. His trials were indeed both numerous and +various. The cup of honour dashed from his lips when he had just begun +to taste it; promises the most solemn deliberately violated, and rewards +of perilous service coolly withheld from him; faithful services turned +into occasions of cruel persecution; enforced separation from beloved +friends; laceration of feelings from Saul's cruel and bloody treatment +of some who had befriended him; calumnious charges persisted in after +convincing and generous refutation; ungrateful treatment from those he +had benefited, like Nabal; treachery from those he had delivered, like +the men of Keilah; perfidy on the part of some he had trusted, like +Cush; assassination threatened by some of his own followers, as at +Ziklag,--these and many other trials were the hard and bitter discipline +which David had to undergo in the wilderness. + +And not only was David thus prepared for the great work of his future +life, but as a type of the Messiah he foreshadowed the deep humiliation +through which He was to pass on His way to His throne. He gave the Old +Testament Church a glimpse of the manner in which "it became Him, by +whom are all things and for whom are all things, in bringing many sons +unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through +suffering." + +The growth of the malignant passion of jealousy in Saul is portrayed in +the history in a way painfully graphic. First, it is simply a feeling +that steals occasionally into his bosom. It needs some outward occasion +to excite it. Its first great effort to establish itself was when Saul +heard the Hebrew women ascribing to David ten times as great a slaughter +as they ascribed to Saul. We cannot but be struck with the ruggedness of +the women's compliment. To honour David as more ready to incur risk and +sacrifice for his country, even in encounters involving terrible +bloodshed, would have been worthy of women, and worthy of good women; +but to make the standard of compliment the number of lives destroyed, +the amount of blood shed, indicated surely a coarseness of feeling, +characteristic of a somewhat barbarous age. But the compliment was quite +significant to Saul, who saw in it a proof of the preference entertained +for David, and began to look on him as his rival in the kingdom. The +next step in the history of Saul's jealousy is its forming itself into +an evil habit, that needed no outward occasion to excite it, but kept +itself alive and active by the vitality it had acquired. "And Saul eyed +David from that day and forward" (ver. 9). If Saul had been a good man, +he would have been horrified at the appearance of this evil passion in +his heart; he would have said, "Get thee behind me, Satan;" he would +have striven to the utmost to strangle it in the womb. Oh! what untold +mountains of guilt would this not have saved him in after life! And what +mountains of guilt, darkening their whole life, would the policy of +resistance and stamping out, when an evil lust or passion betrays its +presence in their heart, save to every young man and young woman who +find for the first time evidence of its vitality! But instead of +stamping it out, Saul nourished it; instead of extinguishing the spark, +he heaped fuel on the flame. And his lust, having been allowed to +conceive, was not long of bringing forth. Under a fit of his malady, +even as David was playing to him with his harp, he launched a javelin +at him, no doubt in some degree an act of insanity, but yet betraying a +very horrible spirit. Then, perhaps afraid of himself, he removes David +from his presence, and sends him out to battle as a captain of a +thousand. But David only gives fresh proofs of his wisdom and his +trustworthiness, and establishes his hold more and more on the +affections of the people. The very fact of his wisdom, the evidence +which his steady, wise, and faithful conduct affords of God's presence +with him, creates a new restlessness in Saul, who, with a kind of +devilish feeling, hates him the more because "the Lord is with him, and +is departed from Saul." + +The next stage in the career of jealousy is to ally itself with cunning, +under the pretence of great generosity. "Saul said to David, Behold my +elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant +for me, and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand +be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him." But +cunning and treachery are close connections, and when this promise ought +to have been fulfilled, Merab was given to Adriel the Meholathite to +wife. There remained his younger daughter Michal, who was personally +attached to David. "And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be +a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against +him." The question of dowry was a difficult one to David; but on that +point the king bade his servants set his mind at rest. "The king +desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to +be avenged of the king's enemies. And Saul thought to make David fall by +the hand of the Philistines." + +Alas! the history of Saul's malignant passion is by no means exhausted +even by these sad illustrations of its rise and progress. It swells and +grows, like a horrid tumour, becoming uglier and uglier continually. And +the notices are very significant and instructive which we find as to the +spiritual condition of Saul, in connection with the development of his +passion. We are told that the Lord was departed from him. When Saul was +reproved by Samuel for his transgression, he showed no signs of real +repentance, he continued consciously in a state of enmity with God, and +took no steps to get the quarrel healed. He preferred the kind of life +in which he might please himself, though he offended God, to the kind of +life in which he would have pleased God, while he denied himself. And +Saul had to bear the awful penalty of his choice. Living apart from God, +all the evil that was in his nature came boldly out, asserting itself +without let or hindrance, and going to the terrible length of the most +murderous and at the same time the meanest projects. Don't let any one +imagine that religion has no connection with morality! Sham religion, as +we have already seen, may exist side by side with the greatest +wickedness; but that religion, the beginning of which is the true fear +of God, a genuine reverential regard for God, a true sense of His claims +on us, alike as our Creator and our Redeemer,--_that_ religion lays its +hand firmly on our moral nature, and scares and scatters the devices of +the evil that still remains in the heart. Let us take warning at the +picture presented to us in this chapter of the terrible results, even in +the ordinary affairs of life, of the evil heart of unbelief that departs +from the living God. The other side of the case, the effect of a true +relation to God in purifying and guiding the life, is seen in the case +of David. God being with him in all that he does, he is not only kept +from retaliating on Saul, not only kept from all devices for getting rid +of one who was so unjust and unkind to himself, but he is remarkably +obedient, remarkably faithful, and by God's grace remarkably successful +in the work given him to do. It is indeed a beautiful period of David's +life--the most blameless and beautiful of any. The object of unmerited +hatred, the victim of atrocious plots, the helpless object of a despot's +mad and ungoverned fury, yet cherishing no trace of bitter feeling, +dreaming of no violent project of relief, but going out and in with +perfect loyalty, and straining every nerve to prove himself a laborious, +faithful, and useful servant of the master who loathed him. + +The question of David's marriage is a somewhat difficult one, appearing +to involve some contradictions. First of all we read that a daughter of +Saul, along with great riches, had been promised to the man who should +kill Goliath. But after David kills him, there is no word of this +promise being fulfilled, and even afterwards, when the idea of his being +the king's son-in-law is brought forward, there is no hint that he ought +to have been so before. Are we to understand that it was an unauthorized +rumour that was told to David (ch. xvii. 25-27) when it was said that +the victor was to get these rewards? Was it that the people recalled +what had been said by Caleb about Kirjath-sepher, a town in that very +neighbourhood, and inferred that surely Saul would give his daughter to +the conqueror, as Caleb had given his? This is perhaps the most +reasonable explanation, because when David came into Saul's presence +nothing of the kind was said to him by the king; and also because, if +Saul had really promised it, there was no reason at the time why he +should not have kept his promise; nay, the impulsive nature of the +king, and the great love of Jonathan toward David, and the love with +which David inspired women, would rather have led Saul to be forward in +fulfilling it, and in constituting a connection which would then have +been pleasant to all. If it be said that this would have been a natural +thing for Saul to do, even had there been no promise, the answer is that +David was such a stripling, and even in his father's household occupied +so humble a place, as to make it reasonable that he should wait, and +gain a higher position, before any such thing should be thought of. +Accordingly, when David became older, and acquired distinction as a +warrior, his being the king's son-in-law had become quite feasible. +First, Saul proposes to give him his elder daughter Merab. The murderous +desire dictates the proposal, for Saul already desires David's death, +though he has not courage himself to strike the blow. But when the time +came, for some reason that we do not know of Merab was given to Adriel +the Meholathite. David's action at an after period showed that he +regarded this as a cruel wrong (2 Sam. iii. 13). Saul, however, still +desired to have that hold on David which his being his son-in-law would +have involved, and now proposed that Michal his younger daughter should +be his wife. The proposal was accepted, but David could bring no dowry +for his wife. The only dowry the king sought was a hundred foreskins of +the Philistines. And the hundred foreskins David paid down in full tale. + +What a distressing view these transactions give us of the malignity of +Saul's heart! When parents have sacrificed the true happiness of their +daughters by pressing on them a marriage of splendid misery, the motive, +however selfish and heartless, has not usually been malignant. The +marriage which Saul urged between David and Michal was indeed a marriage +of affection, but as far as he was concerned his sin in desiring it, as +affording facilities for getting rid of him, was on that account all the +greater. For nothing shows a wickeder heart than being willing to +involve another, and especially one's own child, in a lifelong sorrow in +order to gratify some feeling of one's own. Saul was not merely trifling +with the heart and happiness of his child, but he was deliberately +sacrificing both to his vile passion. The longer he lives, Saul becomes +blacker and blacker. For such are they from whom the Spirit of the Lord +has departed. + +We may well contrast David and Saul at this period of their lives; but +what a strange thing it is that further on in life David should have +taken this leaf from Saul's book, and acted in this very spirit towards +Uriah the Hittite? Not that Uriah was, or was to be, son-in-law to the +king; alas! there was an element of blackness in the case of David which +did not exist in that of Saul; but it was in the very spirit now +manifested by Saul towards himself that David availed himself of Uriah's +bravery, of Uriah's faithfulness, of Uriah's chivalrous readiness to +undertake the most perilous expeditions--availed himself of these to +compass his death. What do we learn from this? The same seeds of evil +were in David's heart as in Saul's. But at the earlier period of David's +life he walked humbly with God, and God's Spirit poured out on him not +only restrained the evil seed, but created a pure, holy, devoted life, +as if there were nothing in David but good. Afterwards, grieving the +Holy Spirit, David was left for a time to himself, and then the very +evil that had been so offensive in Saul came creeping forth drew itself +up and claimed that it should prevail. It was a blessed thing for David +that he was not beyond being arrested by God's voice, and humbled by His +reproof. He saw whither he had been going; he saw the emptiness and +wickedness of his heart; he saw that his salvation depended on God in +infinite mercy forgiving his sin and restoring His Spirit, and for these +blessings he pled and wrestled as Jacob had wrestled with the angel at +Peniel. So we may well see that for any one to trust in his heart is to +play the fool; our only trust must be in Him who is able to keep us from +falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory +with exceeding joy. "_He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same +bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man +abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a root and withered, and men take +them and cast them into the fire and they are burned._" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +_SAUL'S FURTHER EFFORTS AGAINST DAVID._ + +1 SAMUEL xix. + + +A new stage of his wicked passion is now reached by Saul; he communes +with his servants, and even with his son, with a view to their killing +David. Ordinary conspirators are prone to confine their evil designs to +their own breasts; or if they do have confidants, to choose for that +purpose persons as vile as themselves, whom they bind to secrecy and +silence. Saul must have been sadly overpowered by his passion when he +urged his very son to become a murderer, to become the assassin of his +friend, of the man with whom God manifestly dwelt, and whom God +delighted to honour. It is easy to understand what line Saul would take +with Jonathan. Heir to the throne, he was specially affected by the +popularity of David; if David were disposed of, his seat would be in no +danger. The generous prince did his utmost to turn his father from the +horrid project: "He spake good of David unto Saul, and said unto him, +Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath +not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward +very good. For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, +and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it +and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, +to slay David without a cause?" For the moment the king was touched by +the intercession of Jonathan. Possibly he was rebuked by the burst of +generosity and affection,--a spirit so opposite to his own; possibly he +was impressed by Jonathan's argument, and made to feel that David was +entitled to very different treatment. For the time, the purpose of Saul +was arrested, and "David was in his presence as in times past." +"Ofttimes," says Bishop Hall, "wicked men's judgments are forced to +yield unto that truth against which their affections maintain a +rebellion. Even the foulest hearts do sometimes retain good notions; +like as, on the contrary, the holiest souls give way sometimes to the +suggestions of evil. The flashes of lightning may be discerned in the +darkest prison. But if good thoughts look into a wicked heart, they stay +not there; as those that like not their lodging, they are soon gone; +hardly anything distinguishes between good and evil but continuance. The +light that shines into a holy heart is constant, like that of the sun, +which keeps due times, and varies not his course for any of these +sublunary occasions." + +But, as the heathen poet said, "You may expel nature with a thunderbolt, +but it always returns." The evil spirit, the demon of jealousy, returned +to Saul. And strange to say, his jealousy was such that nothing was more +fitted to excite it than eminent service to his country on the part of +David. A new campaign had opened against the Philistines. David had had +a splendid victory. He slew them with a great slaughter, so that they +fled before him. We may be sure that in these circumstances the songs of +the women would swell out in heartier chorus than ever. And in Saul's +breast the old jealousy burst out again, and sprang to power. A fit of +his evil spirit was on him, and David was playing on his harp in order +to beguile it away. He sees Saul seize a javelin, he instinctively knows +the purpose, and springs aside just as the javelin flies past and lodges +in the wall. The danger is too serious to be encountered any longer. +David escapes to his house, but hardly before messengers from Saul have +arrived to watch the door, and slay him in the morning. Knowing her +father's plot, Michal warns David that if he does not make his escape +that night his life is sure to go. + +Michal lets him down through a window, and David makes his escape. Then, +to give him a sufficient start, and prolong the time a little, she has +recourse to one of those stratagems of which Rebecca, and Rahab, and +Jeroboam's wife, and many another woman have shown themselves +mistresses--she gets up a tale, and pretends to the messengers that +David is sick. The men carry back the message to their master. There is +a peculiar ferocity, an absolute brutality, in the king's next order, +"Bring him up to me in the bed that I may slay him." Evidently he was +enraged, and he either felt that it would be a satisfaction to murder +David with his own hand when unable to defend himself, or he saw that +his servants could not be trusted with the dastardly business. The +messengers enter the house, and instead of David they find an image in +the bed, with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster. When Michal is +angrily reproached by her father for letting him escape, she parries the +blow by a falsehood--"He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill +thee?" + +On this somewhat mean conduct of hers a light is incidentally shed by +the mention of the image which she placed in the bed in order to +personate David. What sort of image was it? The original shows that it +was one of the class called "teraphim"--images which were kept and used +by persons who in the main worshipped the one true God. They were not +such idols as represented Baal or Ashtoreth or Moloch, but images +designed to aid in the worship of the God of Israel. The use of them was +not a breach of the first commandment, but it was a breach of the +second. We see plainly that David and his wife were not one in religion; +there was discord there. The use of the images implied an unspiritual or +superstitious state of mind; or at least a mind more disposed to follow +its own fancies as to the way of worshipping God than to have a severe +and strict regard to the rule of God. It is impossible to suppose that +David could have either used, or countenanced the use of these images. +God was too much a spiritual reality to him to allow such material media +of worship to be even thought of. He knew too much of worship inspired +by the Spirit to dream of worship inspired by shapes of wood or stone. +When we read of these images we are not surprised at the defects of +character which we see in Michal. That she loved David and had pleasure +in his company there is no room to doubt. But their union was not the +union of hearts that were one in their deepest feelings. The sublimest +exercises of David's soul Michal could have no sympathy with. +Afterwards, when David brought the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount +Zion, she mocked his enthusiasm. How sad when hearts, otherwise +congenial and loving, are severed on the one point on which congeniality +is of deepest moment! Agreement in earthly tastes and arrangements, but +disagreement in the one thing needful--alas, how fatal is the drawback! +Little blessing can they expect who disregard this point of difference +when they agree to marry. If the one that is earnest does so in the +expectation of doing good to the other, that good is far more likely to +be done by a firm stand at the beginning than by a course which may be +construed to mean that after all the difference is of no great moment. + +If the title of the fifty-ninth Psalm can be accepted as authentic, it +indicates the working of David's mind at this period of his history. It +is called "Michtam of David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house +to kill him." It is not to be imagined that it was composed in the +hurried interval between David reaching his house and Michal sending him +away. That David had a short time of devotion then we may readily +believe, and that the exercises of his heart corresponded generally to +the words of the psalm, which might be committed afterwards to writing +as a memorial of the occasion. From the words of the psalm it would +appear that the messengers sent by Saul to apprehend him were men of +base and cowardly spirit, and that they were actuated by the same +personal hatred to him that marked Saul himself. No doubt the piety of +David brought to him the enmity, and the success of David the rivalry, +of many who would be emboldened by the king's avowed intention, to pour +out their insults and calumnies against him in the most indecent +fashion. Perhaps it is to show the estimate he formed of their spirit, +rather than to denote literally their nationality, that the Psalmist +calls on God to "awake to visit all _the heathen_." Prowling about the +city under cloud of darkness, coming and going and coming again to his +house, "they return at evening; they make a noise like a dog, and go +about the city. Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in +their lips; for who, say they, doth hear?" Thus showing his estimate of +his enemies, the Psalmist manifests the most absolute reliance on the +protection and grace of God. "But Thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them; +Thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. Because of his strength +will I wait upon Thee; for God is my defence. The God of my mercy shall +prevent me; God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies." He does +not ask that they may be slain, but he asks that they may be +conspicuously dishonoured and humbled, and made to go about the city +like dogs, in another sense--not like dogs seeking to tear upright men +in pieces, but like those starved, repulsive, cowardly brutes, familiar +in Eastern cities, that would do anything for a morsel of food. His own +spirit is serene and confident--"Unto Thee, O my strength, will I sing; +for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy." + +It may be that the superscription of this psalm is not authentic, and +that the reference is either to some other passage in David's life, or +in the life of some other psalmist, when he was especially exposed to +the ravings of a murderous and calumnious spirit, and in the midst of +unscrupulous enemies thirsting for his life. The psalm is eminently +fitted to express the feelings and experiences of the Church of Christ +in times of bitter persecution. For calumny has usually been the +right-hand instrument of the persecutor. To justify himself, he has +found it necessary to denounce his victim. Erroneous opinions, it is +instinctively felt, are no such offence as to warrant the wholesale +spoliation and murder which vehement persecution calls for. Crimes of a +horrible description are laid to the charge of the persecuted. And even +where the sword of persecution in its naked form is not employed, but +opposition and hatred vent themselves on the more active servants of God +in venomous attacks and offensive letters, it is not counted enough to +denounce their opinions. They must be charged with meanness, and double +dealing, and vile plots and schemes to compass their ends. They are +spoken of (as St. Paul and his companions were) as the offscourings of +the earth, creatures only to be hunted out of sight and spoiled of all +influence. Happy they who can bear all in the Psalmist's tranquil and +truthful spirit; and can sum up their feelings like him--"I will sing of +Thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for Thou +hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble." + +But let us return to David. Can we think of a more desolate condition +than that in which he found himself after his wife let him down through +a window? It is night, and he is alone. Who could be unmoved when place +in such a position? Forced to fly from his home and his young wife, just +after he had begun to know their sweets, and no prospect of a happy +return! Driven forth by the murderous fury of the king whom he had +served with a loyalty and a devotion that could not have been surpassed! +His home desolated and his life threatened by the father of his wife, +the man whom even nature should have inspired with a kindly interest in +his welfare! What good had it done him that he had slain that giant? +What return had he got for his service in ever so often soothing the +nerves of the irritable monarch with the gentle warblings of his harp? +What good had come of all his perilous exploits against the Philistines, +of the hundred foreskins of the king's enemies, of the last great +victory which had brought so unprecedented advantage to Israel? Would it +not have been better for him never to have touched a weapon, never to +have encountered a foe, but kept feeding that flock of his father's, and +caring for those irrational creatures, who had always returned his +kindness with gratitude, and been far more like friends and companions +than that terrible Saul? Such thoughts might perhaps hover about his +bosom, but certainly they would receive no entertainment from him. They +might knock at his door, but they would not be admitted. A man like +David could never seriously regret that he had done his duty. He could +never seriously wish that he had never responded to the call of God and +of his country. But he might well feel how empty and unprofitable even +the most successful worldly career may become, how maddening the changes +of fortune, how intolerable the unjust retributions of men in power. His +ill-treatment was so atrocious that, had he not had a refuge in God, it +might have driven him to madness or to suicide. It drove him to the +throne of grace, where he found grace to help him in his time of need. + +It was no wonder that the fugitive thought of Samuel. If he could get +shelter with him Saul would surely let him alone, for Saul could have no +mind to meddle with Samuel again. But more than that; in Samuel's +company he would find congenial fellowship, and from Samuel's mature +wisdom and devotion to God's law learn much that would be useful in +after life. We can easily fancy what a cordial welcome the old prophet +would give the youthful fugitive. Was not David in a sense his son, +seeing that he had chosen him from among all the sons of Jesse, and +poured on him the holy oil? If an old minister has a special interest +in one whom he has baptized, how much more Samuel in one whom he had +anointed! And there was another consideration that would have great +effect with Samuel. Old Christians feel very tenderly for young +believers who have had hard lines in serving God. It moves them much +when those on whom they have very earnestly pressed God's ways have +encountered great trials in following them. Gladly would they do +anything in their power to soothe and encourage them. Samuel's words to +David would certainly be words of exceeding tenderness. They must have +fallen like the dew of Hermon on his fevered spirit. Doubtless they +would tend to revive and strengthen his faith, and assure him that God +would keep him amid all his trials, and at last set him on high, because +he had known his name. + +From Ramah, his ordinary dwelling-place, Samuel had gone with David to +Naioth, perhaps under the idea that they would elude the eye of Saul. +Not so, however. Word of David's place of abode was carried to the king. +Saul was deeply in earnest in his effort to get rid of David,--surely a +very daring thing when he must have known God's purpose regarding him. +Messengers were accordingly sent to Naioth. It was the seat of one of +the schools of the prophets, and David could not but be deeply +interested in the work of the place, and charmed with its spirit. Here, +under the wing of Samuel, he did dwell in safety; but his safety did not +come in the way in which perhaps he expected. Saul's purpose was too +deeply seated to be affected by the presence of Samuel. Nay, though +Samuel in all likelihood had told him how God had caused him to anoint +David as his successor, Saul determined to drag him even from the hands +of Samuel. But Saul never counted on the form of opposition he was to +encounter. The messengers went to Naioth, but their hearts were taken +hold of by the Spirit who was then working in such power in the place, +and from soldiers they were turned into prophets. A second batch of +messengers was sent, and with the same result. A third batch followed, +and still the same miraculous transformation. Determined not to be +baffled, and having probably exhausted the servants whom he could trust, +Saul went himself to Ramah. But Saul was proof no more than his servants +against the marvellous spiritual force that swept all before it. When he +came to Ramah, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he went on and +prophesied all the way from Ramah to Naioth. And there, stripping +himself of his royal robes and accoutrements, he prophesied before +Samuel in like manner, and lay down, just as one of the prophets, and +continued so a whole day and night. It was a repetition of what had +taken place at "the hill of God" when Saul returned from his search +after the asses (1 Sam. x. 10, 11), and it resuscitated the proverb that +had been first used on that occasion, is Saul also among the prophets? +Transformed and occupied as Saul was now, he was in no mood to carry out +his murderous project against David, who in the view of this most +unexpected form of deliverance might well sing, "My safety cometh from +the Lord, who made heaven and earth." + +The question cannot but press itself on us, What was the character of +the influence under which Saul was brought on this remarkable occasion? +Observe the phenomena so far as they are recorded. In the first place, +nothing is said of any appeal to Saul's reason and conscience. In the +second place, no such conduct followed this experience as would have +followed it, had his reason and conscience been impressed. He was +precisely the same wicked man as before. In the third place, there is no +evidence of anything else having taken place than a sort of contagious +impression being produced on his physical nature, something +corresponding to the effect of mesmerism or animal magnetism. In earnest +religious movements of a very solid character, it has been often +remarked that another unusual experience runs alongside of them; in some +persons in contact with them a nervous susceptibility is developed, +which sometimes causes prostration, and sometimes a state of trance; and +it has been found that many persons are liable to the state of trance +whose hearts and lives are in no way transformed by the religious +impression. It seems to have been some such experience that befell Saul. +He was entranced, but he was not changed. He was for the time another +man, but there was no permanent change; after a time, his old spirit +returned. Evidently he was a man of great nervous susceptibility, and it +is plain from many things that his nerves had become weakened. He fell +for the time under the strong influence of the prophetic company; but +David did not trust him, for he fled from Naioth. + +And yet, even if this was all that happened to Saul, there was something +providential and merciful in it that might have led on to better +results. Was it not in some sense a dealing of God with Saul? Was it not +a reminder of that better way which Saul had forsaken, and in forsaking +which he had come to so much guilt and trouble? Was it not a gracious +indication that even yet, if he would return to God, though he could not +get back the kingdom he might personally be blessed? Whatever of this +kind there might be in it, it was trampled by Saul under foot. He had +made his bed, and, thorny though it was, he was determined to lie on it. +He would not change his life; he would not return to God. + +Does not God, in His merciful providence, often deal with transgressors +as he dealt with Saul, placing them in circumstances that make it +comparatively easy for them to turn from their sins and change their +life? Your marriage, a death in your circle, a change of residence, a +change of fortune, forming a new acquaintance, coming under a new +ministry,--oh! friends, if there be in you the faintest dissatisfaction +with your past life, the faintest desire for a better, take advantage of +the opportunity, and turn to God. Summon courage, break with your +associates in sin (the loss will be marvellously small), give up your +dissipated pleasures, betake yourselves to the great matters that +concern your welfare evermore. Mark in the providence that gave you the +opportunity, the kind hand of a gracious Father, sadly grieving over +your erring life, and longing for your return. Harden not your heart as +in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Don't +drive the angel out of your way, who stands in your path, as he stood in +Balaam's, to stop your progress in the ways of sin. Who knows whether +ever again you shall have the same opportunity? And even if you have, is +it not certain that the disinclination you feel now will be stiffer and +stronger then? Be a man, and face the irksome. Whatever you do, +determine to do right. It is childish to stand shivering over a duty +which you know ought to be done. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do +it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor +wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +_DAVID AND JONATHAN._ + +1 SAMUEL xx. + + +We have no means of determining how long time elapsed between the events +recorded in the preceding chapter and those recorded in this. It is not +unlikely that Saul's experience at Naioth led to a temporary improvement +in his relations to David. The tone of this chapter leads us to believe +that at the time when it opens there was some room for doubt whether or +not Saul continued to cherish any deliberate ill-feeling to his +son-in-law. David's own suspicions were strong that he did; but Jonathan +appears to have thought otherwise. Hence the earnest conversation which +the two friends had on the subject; and hence the curious but crooked +stratagem by which they tried to find out the truth. + +But before we go on to this, it will be suitable for us at this place to +dwell for a little on the remarkable friendship between David and +Jonathan--a beautiful oasis in this wilderness history,--one of the +brightest gems in this book of Samuel. + +It was a striking proof of the ever mindful and considerate grace of +God, that at the very opening of the dark valley of trial through which +David had to pass in consequence of Saul's jealousy, he was brought +into contact with Jonathan, and in his disinterested and sanctified +friendship, furnished with one of the sweetest earthly solaces for the +burden of care and sorrow. The tempest suddenly let loose on him must +have proved too vehement, if he had been left in Saul's dark palace +without one kind hand to lead him on, or the sympathy of one warm heart +to encourage him; the spirit of faith might have declined more seriously +than it did, had it not been strengthened by the bright faith of +Jonathan. It was plain that Michal, though she had a kind of attachment +to David, was far from having a thoroughly congenial heart; she loved +him, and helped to save him, but at the same time bore false witness +against him (chap. xix. 17). In his deepest sorrows, David could have +derived little comfort from her. Whatever gleams of joy and hope, +therefore, were now shed by human companionship across his dark +firmament, were due to Jonathan. In merciful adaptation to the +infirmities of his human spirit, God opened to him this stream in the +desert, and allowed him to refresh himself with its pleasant waters; but +to show him, at the same time, that such supplies could not be +permanently relied on, and that his great dependence must be placed, not +on the fellowship of mortal man, but on the ever-living and ever-loving +God, Jonathan and he were doomed, after the briefest period of +companionship, to a lifelong separation, and the friendship which had +seemed to promise a perpetual solace of his trials, only aggravated +their severity, when its joys were violently reft away. + +In another view, David's intercourse with Jonathan served an important +purpose in his training. The very sight he constantly had of Saul's +outrageous wickedness might have nursed a self-righteous +feeling,--might have encouraged the thought, so agreeable to human +nature, that as Saul was rejected by God for his wickedness, so David +was chosen for his goodness. The remembrance of Jonathan's singular +virtues and graces was fitted to rebuke this thought; for if regard to +human goodness had decided God's course in the matter, why should not +Jonathan have been appointed to succeed his father? From the +self-righteous ground on which he might have been thus tempted to stand, +David would be thrown back on the adorable sovereignty of God; and in +deepest humiliation constrained to own that it was God's grace only that +made him to differ from others. + +Ardent friendships among young men were by no means uncommon in ancient +times; many striking instances occurred among the Greeks, which have +sometimes been accounted for by the comparatively low estimation in +which female society was then held. "The heroic companions celebrated by +Homer and others," it has been remarked, "seem to have but one heart and +soul, with scarcely a wish or object apart, and only to live, as they +are always ready to die, for one another.... The idea of a Greek hero +seems not to have been thought complete without such a brother in arms +by his side."[3] + +But there was one feature of the friendship of Jonathan and David that +had no parallel in classic times,--it was friendship between two men, of +whom the younger was a most formidable rival to the older. It is +Jonathan that shines most in this friendship, for he was the one who had +least to gain and most to lose from the other. He knew that David was +ordained by God to succeed to his father's throne, yet he loved him; he +knew that to befriend David was to offend his father, yet he warmly +befriended him; he knew that he must decrease and David increase, yet no +atom of jealousy disturbed his noble spirit. What but divine grace could +have enabled Jonathan to maintain this blessed temper? What other +foundation could it have rested on but the conviction that what God +ordained must be the very best, infinitely wise and good for him and for +all? Or what could have filled the heart thus bereaved of so fair an +earthly prospect, but the sense of God's love, and the assurance that He +would compensate to him all that He took from him? How beautiful was +this fruit of the Spirit of God! How blessed it would be if such +clusters hung on every branch of the vine! + +Besides being disinterested, Jonathan's friendship for David was of an +eminently holy character. Evidently Jonathan was a man that habitually +honoured God, if not in much open profession, yet in the way of deep +reverence and submission. And thus, besides being able to surrender his +own prospects without a murmur, and feel real happiness in the thought +that David would be king, he could strengthen the faith of his friend, +as we read afterwards (chap. xxiii. 16): "Jonathan, Saul's son, arose +and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God." At +the time when they come together in the chapter before us, Jonathan's +faith was stronger than David's. David's faltering heart was saying, +"There is but a step between me and death" (ver. 3), while Jonathan in +implicit confidence in God's purpose concerning David was thus looking +forward to the future,--"Thou shalt not only while yet I live show me +the kindness of the Lord that I die not; but also thou shalt not cut +off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when the Lord hath cut +off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth." There +has seldom, if ever, been exhibited a finer instance of triumphant +faith, than when the prince, with all the resources of the kingdom at +his beck, made this request of the helpless outlaw. What a priceless +blessing is the friendship of those who support and comfort us in great +spiritual conflicts, and help us to stand erect in some great crisis of +our lives! How different from the friendship that merely supplies the +merriment of an idle hour, at the expense, perhaps, of a good +conscience, and to the lasting injury of the soul! + +But let me now briefly note the events recorded in this chapter. It is a +long chapter, one of those long chapters in which incidents are recorded +with such fulness of detail, as not only to make a very graphic +narrative, but to supply an incidental proof of its authenticity. + +First of all, we have the preliminary conversation between David and +Jonathan, as to the real feeling of Saul toward David. Incidentally, we +learn how much Saul leant on Jonathan: "My father will do nothing, +either great or small, but he will show it me,"--a proof that Jonathan +was, like Joseph before him, and like Daniel after him, eminently +trustworthy, and as sound in judgment as he was noble in character. +Guileless himself, he suspected no guile in his father. But David was +not able to take so favourable a view of Saul. So profound was his +conviction to the contrary, that in giving his reason for believing that +Saul had concealed from his son his real feeling in the matter, and the +danger in which he was, he used the solemn language of adjuration: "As +the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me +and death." Viewed from the human point, this was true; viewed from +under the Divine purpose and promise, it could not be true. Yet we +cannot blame David, knowing as he did what Saul really felt, for +expressing his human fears, and the distress of mind to which the +situation gave birth. + +Next, we find a device agreed on between David and Jonathan, to +ascertain the real sentiments of Saul. It was one of those deceitful +ways to which, very probably, David had become accustomed in his +military experiences, in his forays against the Philistines, where +stratagems may have been, as they often were, a common device. It was +probable that David would be missed from Saul's table next day, as it +was the new moon and a feast; if Saul inquired after him, Jonathan was +to pretend that he had asked leave to go to a yearly family sacrifice at +Bethlehem; and the way in which Saul should take this explanation would +show his real feeling and purpose about David. In the event of Saul +being enraged, and commanding Jonathan to bring David to him, David +implored Jonathan not to comply; rather kill him with his own hand than +that; for there was nothing that David dreaded so much as falling into +the hands of Saul. Jonathan surely did not deserve that it should be +thought possible for him to surrender David to his father, or to conceal +anything from him that had any bearing on his welfare. But inasmuch as +David had put the matter in the form he did, it seemed right to Jonathan +that a very solemn transaction should take place at this time, to make +their relation as clear as day, and to determine the action of the +stronger of them to the other, in time to come. + +This is the third thing in the chapter. Jonathan, takes David into the +field, that is, into some sequestered Wady, at some distance from the +town, where they would be sure to enjoy complete solitude; and there +they enter into a solemn covenant. Jonathan takes the lead. He begins +with a solemn appeal to God, calling on Him not as a matter of mere form +or propriety, but of real and profound significance. First, he binds +himself to communicate faithfully to David the real state of things on +the part of his father, whether it should be for good or for evil. And +then he binds David, whom by faith he sees in possession of the kingly +power, in spite of all that Saul may do against him, first to be kind to +himself while he lived, and not cut him off, as new kings so often +massacred all the relations of the old; and also after his death to show +kindness to his family, and never cease to remember them, not even when +raised to such a pitch of prosperity that all his enemies were cut off +from the earth. One knows not whether most to wonder at the faith of +Jonathan, or the sweetness of his nature. It is David, the poor outlaw, +with hardly a man to stand by him, that appears to Jonathan the man of +power, the man who can dispose of all lives and sway all destinies; +while Jonathan, the king's son and confidential adviser, is somehow +reduced to helplessness, and unable even to save himself. But was there +ever such a transaction entered into with such sweetness of temper? The +calmness of Jonathan in contemplating the strange reverse of fortune +both to himself and to David, is exquisitely beautiful; nor is there in +it a trace of that servility with which mean natures worship the rising +sun; it is manly and generous while it is meek and humble; such a +combination of the noble and the submissive as was shown afterwards, in +highest form, in the one perfect example of the Lord Jesus Christ. + +Next comes a statement of the way in which Jonathan was to announce to +David the result. It might not be safe for him to see David personally, +but in that case he would let him know what had transpired about him +through a preconcerted signal, in reference to the place where he would +direct an attendant to go for some arrows. As it happened, a personal +interview was obtained with David; but before that, the telegraphing +with the arrows was carried out as arranged. + +On the first day of the feast, David's absence passed unnoticed, Saul +being under the impression that he had acquired ceremonial uncleanness. +But as that excuse could only avail for one day, Saul finding him absent +the second day, asked Jonathan what had become of him. The excuse agreed +on was given. It excited the deepest rage of Saul. But his rage was not +against David so much as against Jonathan for taking his part. Saul did +not believe in the excuse, otherwise he would not have ordered Jonathan +to send and fetch David. If David was at Bethlehem, Saul could have sent +for him himself; if he lay concealed in the neighbourhood, Jonathan +alone would know his hiding-place, therefore Jonathan must get hold of +him. If this be the true view, the stratagem of Jonathan had availed +nothing; the plain truth would have served the purpose no worse. As it +was, Jonathan's own life was in the most imminent danger. Remonstrating +with his father for seeking to destroy David, he narrowly escaped his +father's javelin, even though, a moment before, in his jealousy of +David, Saul had professed to be concerned for the interests of Jonathan. +"Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast +chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and to the confusion of +thy mother's nakedness?" What strange and unworthy methods will not +angry men and women resort to, to put vinegar into their words and make +them sting! To try to wound a man's feelings by reviling his mother, or +by reviling any of his kindred, is a practice confined to the dregs of +society, and nauseous, to the last degree, to every gentle and +honourable mind. In Saul's case, the offence was still more infamous +because the woman reviled was his own wife. Surely if her failings +reflected on any one, they reflected on her husband rather than her son. +But that it was any real failing that Saul denounced when he called her +"the perverse rebellious woman," we greatly doubt. To a man like Saul, +any assertion of her rights by his wife, any refusal to be his abject +slave, any opposition to his wild and wicked designs against David, +would mean perversity and rebellion. We are far from thinking ill of +this nameless woman because her husband denounced her to her son. But +when we see Saul in one breath trying to kill his son with a javelin and +to destroy his wife's character by poisoned words, and at the same time +thirsting for the death of his son-in-law, we have a mournful exhibition +of the depth to which men are capable of descending from whom the Spirit +of the Lord hath departed. + +No wonder that Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did +eat no meat the second day of the month. One wonders how the feast went +on thereafter, but one does not envy the guests. Did Saul drown his +stormy feelings in copious draughts of wine, and turn the holy festival +into a bacchanalian rout, amid whose boisterous mirth and tempestuous +exhilaration the reproaches of conscience would be stifled for the +hour? + +The third day has come, on which, by preconcerted agreement, Jonathan +was to reveal to David his father's state of mind. David is in the +agreed-on hiding-place; and Jonathan, sallying forth with his servant, +shoots his arrows to the place which was to indicate the existence of +danger. Then, the lad having gone back to the city, and no one being on +the spot to observe them or interrupt them, the two friends come +together and have an affecting meeting. When Jonathan parted from David +three days before, he had not been without hopes of bringing to him a +favourable report of his father. David expected nothing of the kind; but +even David must have been shocked and horrified to find things so bad as +they were now reported. In an act of unfeigned reverence for the king's +son, David bowed himself three times to the ground. In token of much +love they kissed one another; while under the dark cloud of adversity +that had risen on them both, and that now compelled them to separate, +hardly ever again (as it turned out) to see one another in the flesh, +"they wept one with another until David exceeded." + + "They wept as only strong men weep, + When weep they must, or die." + +One consolation alone remained, and it was Jonathan that was able to +apply it. "Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have +sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me +and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever." Yes, even in that +darkest hour, Jonathan could say to David, "Go _in peace_." What peace? +"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, +because he trusteth in Thee." "The angel of the Lord encampeth about +them that fear Him, and delivereth them." "Many are the afflictions of +the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all." + +We cannot turn from this chapter without adding a word on the +friendships of the young. It is when hearts are tender that they are +most readily knit to each other, as the heart of Jonathan was knit to +the heart of David. But the formation of friendships is too important a +matter to be safely left to casual circumstances. It ought to be gone +about with care. If you have materials to choose among, see that you +choose the best. At the foundation of all friendship lies congeniality +of heart--a kindred feeling of which one often becomes conscious by +instinct at first sight. But there must also be elements of difference +in friends. It is a great point to have a friend who is above us in some +things, and who will thus be likely to draw us up to a higher level of +character, instead of dragging us down to a lower. And a friend is very +useful, if he is rich in qualities where we are poor. As it is in _In +Memoriam_-- + + "He was rich where I was poor, + And he supplied my want the more + As his unlikeness fitted mine." + +But surely, of all qualities in a friend or companion who is to do us +good, the most vital is, that he fears the Lord. As such friendships are +by far the most pleasant, so they are by far the most profitable. And +when you have made friends, stick by them. Don't let it be said of you +that your friend seemed to be everything to you yesterday, but nothing +to-day. And if your friends rise above you in the world, rejoice in +their prosperity, and banish every envious feeling; or if you should +rise above them, do not forget them, nor forsake them, but, as if you +had made a covenant before God, continue to show kindness to them and to +their children after them. Pray for them, and ask them to pray for you. + +Perhaps it was with some view to the friendship of Jonathan and his +father that Solomon wrote, "There is a friend that sticketh closer than +a brother." Jonathan was such a friend to David. But the words suggest a +higher friendship. The glory of Jonathan's love for David fades before +our Lord's love for His brethren. If Jonathan were living among us, who +of us could look on him with indifference? Would not our hearts warm to +him, as we gazed on his noble form and open face, even though _we_ had +never been the objects of his affection? In the case of Jesus Christ, we +have all the noble qualities of Jonathan in far higher excellence than +his, and we have this further consideration, that for us He has laid +down His life, and that none who receive His friendship can ever be +separated from His love. And what an elevating and purifying effect that +friendship will have! In alliance with Him, you are in alliance with all +that is pure and bright, all that is transforming and beautifying; all +that can give peace to your conscience, joy to your heart, lustre to +your spirit, and beauty to your life; all that can make your garments +smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; all that can bless you and make +you a blessing. And once you are truly His, the bond can never be +severed; David had to tear himself from Jonathan, but you will never +have to tear yourselves from Christ. Your union is cemented by the blood +of the everlasting covenant; and by the eternal efficacy of the prayer, +"Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given me be with me where +I am." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3] Thirlwall's "History of Greece." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +_DAVID AT NOB AND AT GATH._ + +1 SAMUEL xxi. + + +We enter here on a somewhat painful part of David's history. He is not +living so near to God as before, and in consequence his course becomes +more carnal and more crooked. We saw in our last chapter the element of +distrust rising up somewhat ominously in that solemn adjuration to +Jonathan, "Truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is +but a step between me and death." These words, it is true, gave +expression to an undoubted and in a sense universal truth, a truth which +all of us should at all times ponder, but which David had special cause +to feel, under the circumstances in which he was placed. It was not the +fact of his giving solemn expression to this truth that indicated +distrust on the part of David, but the fact that he did not set over +against it another truth which was just as real,--that God had chosen +him for His service, and would not allow him to perish at the hand of +Saul. When a good man sees himself exposed to a terrible danger which he +has no means of averting, it is no wonder if the contemplation of that +danger gives rise for the moment to fear. But it is his privilege to +enjoy promises of protection and blessing at the hand of the unseen God, +and if his faith in these promises be active, it will not only +neutralize the fear, but raise him high above it. Now, the defect in +David's state of mind was, that while he fully realized the danger, he +did not by faith lay hold of that which was fitted to neutralize it. It +was Jonathan rather than David who by faith realized at this time +David's grounds of security. All through Jonathan's remarks in chapter +xx. you see him thinking of God as David's Protector,--thinking of the +great purposes which God meant to accomplish by him, and which were a +pledge that He would preserve him now,--thinking of David as a coming +man of unprecedented power and influence, whose word would determine +other men's destinies, and dispose of their fortunes. David seems to +have been greatly indebted to Jonathan for sustaining his faith while he +was with him; for after he parted from Jonathan, his faith fell very +low. Time after time, he follows that policy of deceit which he had +instructed Jonathan to pursue in explaining his absence from the feast +in Saul's house. It is painful in the last degree to see one whose faith +towered to such a lofty height in the encounter with Goliath, coming +down from that noble elevation, to find him resorting for +self-protection to the lies and artifices of an impostor. + +We cannot excuse it, but we may account for it. David was wearied out by +Saul's restless and incessant persecution. We read in Daniel of a +certain persecutor that he should "wear out the saints of the Most +High," and it was the same sad experience from which David was now +suffering. It does not appear that he was gifted naturally with great +patience, or power of enduring. Rather we should suppose that one of +such nimble and lively temperament would soon tire of a strained and +uneasy attitude. It appears that Saul's persistency in injustice and +cruelty made David at last restless and impatient. All the more would he +have needed in such circumstances to resort to God, and seek from Him +the oil of grace to feed his patience, and bear him above the +infirmities of his nature. But this was just what he seems not to have +done. Carnal fear therefore grew apace, and faith fell into a state of +slumber. The eye of sense was active, looking out on the perils around +him; the eye of faith was dull, hardly able to decipher a single +promise. The eye of sense saw the vindictive scowl of Saul, the javelin +in his hand, and bands of soldiers sent out on every side to seize David +or slay him; the eye of faith did not see--what it might have seen--the +angel of the Lord encamping around him and delivering him. It was God's +purpose now to allow David to feel his own weakness; he was to pass +through that terrible ordeal when, tossed on a sea of trials, one feels +like Noah's dove, unable to find rest for the sole of one's foot, and +seems on the very eve of dropping helpless into the billows, till the +ark presents itself, and a gracious hand is put forth to the rescue. +Left to himself, tempted to make use of carnal expedients, and taught +the wretchedness of such expedients; learning also, through this +discipline, to anchor his soul more firmly on the promise of the living +God, David was now undergoing a most essential part of his early +training, gaining the experience that was to qualify him to say with +such earnestness to others, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: +blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." + +On leaving Gibeah, David, accompanied with a few followers, bent his +steps to Nob, a city of the priests. The site of this city has not been +discovered; some think it stood on the north-eastern ridge of Mount +Olivet; this is uncertain, but it is evident that it was very close to +Jerusalem (see Isa. x. 32). Its distance from Gibeah would therefore be +but five or six miles, much too short for David to have had there any +great sense of safety. It appears to have become the seat of the sacred +services of the nation, some time after the destruction of Shiloh. +David's purpose in going there seems to have been simply to get a +shelter, perhaps for the Sabbath day, and to obtain supplies. Doeg, +indeed, charged Ahimelech, before Saul, with having inquired of the Lord +for David, but Ahimelech with some warmth denied the charge.[4] The +privilege of consulting the Urim and Thummim seems to have been confined +to the chief ruler of the nation; if with the sanction of the priest +David had done so now, he might have justly been charged with treason; +probably it was because he believed Doeg rather than Ahimelech, and +concluded that this royal privilege had been conceded by the priests to +David, that Saul was so enraged, and inflicted such dreadful retribution +on them. Afterwards, when Abiathar fled to David with the high priest's +ephod, through which the judgment of Urim and Thummim seems to have been +announced, David regarded that circumstance as an indication of the +Divine permission to him to make use of the sacred oracle. + +But what shall we say of the untruth which David told Ahimelech, to +account for his coming there without armed attendants? "The king hath +commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know +anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have +commanded thee; and I have commanded my servants to such and such a +place." Here was a statement not only not true, but the very opposite of +the truth; spoken too to God's anointed high priest, and in the very +place consecrated to God's most solemn service; everything about the +speaker fitted to bring God to his mind, and to recall God's protection +of him in time past; yet the first thing he did on entering the sacred +place was to utter a falsehood, prompted by distrust, prompted by the +feeling that the pledged protection of the God of truth, before whose +shrine he now stood, was not sufficient. How plain the connection +between a deficient sense of God's truthfulness, and a deficient regard +to truth itself! What could have tempted David to act thus? According to +some, it was altogether an amiable and generous desire to keep Ahimelech +out of trouble, to screen him from the responsibility of helping a known +outlaw. But considering the gathering distrust of David's spirit at the +time, it seems more likely that he was startled at the fear which +Ahimelech expressed when he saw David coming alone, as if all were not +right between him and Saul, as if the truce that had been agreed on +after the affair of Naioth had now come to an end. Probably David felt +that if Ahimelech knew all, he would be still more afraid, and do +nothing to help him; moreover, the presence of Doeg the Edomite was +another cause of embarrassment, for Saul had once ordered all his +servants to kill David, and if the fierce Edomite were told that David +was now simply a fugitive, he might be willing enough to do the deed. +Anyhow, David now lent himself to the devices of the father of lies. And +so the brave spirit that had not quailed before Goliath, and that had +met the Philistines in so many terrific encounters, now quailed before a +phantom of its own devising, and shrank from what, at the moment, was +only an imaginary danger. + +David succeeded in getting from Ahimelech what he wanted, but not +without difficulty. For when David asked for five loaves of bread, the +priest replied that he had no common bread, but only shewbread; he had +only the bread that had been taken that day from off the table on which +it stood before the Lord, and replaced by fresh bread, according to the +law. The priest was willing to give that bread to David, if he could +assure him that his attendants were not under defilement. It will be +remembered that our Lord adverted to this fact, as a justification of +His own disciples for plucking the ears of corn and eating them on the +Sabbath. The principle underlying both was, that when a ceremonial +obligation comes into collision with a moral duty, the lesser obligation +is to give place to the heavier. The keeping of the Sabbath free from +all work, and the appropriation of the shewbread to the use of the +priests alone, were but ceremonial obligations; the preservation of life +was a moral duty. It is sometimes a very difficult thing to determine +duty, when moral obligations appear to clash with each other, but there +was no difficulty in the collision of the moral and the ceremonial. Our +Lord would certainly not have sided with that body of zealots, in the +days of conflict between the Maccabees and the Syrians, who allowed +themselves to be cut in pieces by the enemy, rather than break the +Sabbath by fighting on that day. + +David had another request to make of Ahimelech. "Is there not here under +thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my +weapons with me, because the king's business required haste." It was a +strange place to ask for military weapons. Surely the priests would not +need to defend themselves with these. Yet it happened that there was a +sword there which David knew well, and which he might reasonably +claim,--the sword of Goliath. "Give it me," said David; "there is none +like that." We read before, that David carried Goliath's head to +Jerusalem. Nob was evidently in the Jerusalem district, and as the sword +was there, there can be little doubt that it was at Nob the trophies had +been deposited. + +So far, things had gone fairly well with David at Nob. But there was a +man there "detained before the Lord,"--prevented probably from +proceeding on his journey because it was the Sabbath day,--whose +presence gave no comfort to David, and was, indeed, an omen of evil. +Doeg, the Edomite, was the chief of the herdmen of Saul. Why Saul had +entrusted that office to a member of a nation that was notorious for its +bitter feelings towards Israel, we do not know; but the herdman seems to +have been like his master in his feelings towards David; he would +appear, indeed, to have joined the hereditary dislike of his nation to +the personal dislike of his master. Instinctively, as we learn +afterwards, David understood the feelings of Doeg. It would have been +well for him, when a shudder passed over him as he caught the scowling +countenance of the Edomite, had his own conscience been easier than it +was. It would have been well for him had he been ruled by that spirit of +trust which triumphed so gloriously the day he first got possession of +that sword. It would have been well for him had he been free from the +disturbing consciousness of having offended God by borrowing the devices +of the father of lies and bringing them into the sanctuary, to pollute +the air of the house of God. No wonder, though, David was restless +again! "And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to +Achish the king of Gath." + +How different his state and prospects now from what they had been a +little time before! Then the world smiled on him; fame and honour, +wealth and glory, flowed in on him; God was his Father; conscience was +calm; he hardly knew the taste of misery. But how has his sky become +overcast! A homeless and helpless wanderer, with scarcely an attendant +or companion; in momentary fear of death; fain to beg a morsel of bread +where he could get it; a creature so banned and cursed that kindness to +him involved the risk of death; his heart bleeding for the loss of +Jonathan; his soul clouded by distrust of God; his conscience troubled +by the vague sense of unacknowledged sin! And yet he is destined to be +king of Israel, the very ideal of a good and prosperous monarch, and the +earthly type of the Son of God! Like a lost sheep, he has gone astray +for a time, but the Good Shepherd will leave the ninety-and-nine and go +among the mountains till He find him; and his experience will give a +wondrous depth to that favourite song of young and old of every age and +country, "_He restoreth my soul_: He leadeth me in the paths of +righteousness, for His name's sake." + +And now we must follow him to Gath, the city of Goliath. Down the slope +of Mount Olivet, across the brook Kedron, and past the stronghold of +Zion, and probably through the very valley of Elah where he had fought +with the giant, David makes his way to Gath. It was surely a strange +place to fly to, a sign of the despair in which David found himself! +What reception could the conqueror of Goliath expect in his city? What +retribution was due to him for the hundred foreskins, and for the deeds +of victory which had inspired the Hebrew singers when they sang of the +tens of thousands whom David had slain? + +It will hardly do to say that he reckoned on not being recognised. It is +more likely that he relied on a spirit not unknown among barbarous +princes towards warriors dishonoured at home, as when Themistocles took +refuge among the Persians, or Coriolanus among the Volscians. That he +took this step without much reflection on its ulterior bearings is well +nigh certain. For, granting that he should be favourably received, this +would be on the understanding that his services would be at the command +of his protector, or at the very least it would place him under an +obligation of gratitude that would prove highly embarrassing at some +future time. Happily, the scheme did not succeed. The jealousy of the +Philistine nobles was excited. "The servants of Achish said unto him, Is +not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another +of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his +ten thousands?" David began to feel himself in a false position. He laid +up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish. The misery +of his situation and the poverty of his resources may both be inferred +from the unworthy device to which he resorted to extricate himself from +his difficulty. He feigned himself mad, and conducted himself as madmen +commonly do. "He scrabbled on the door of the gate, and let his spittle +fall down upon his beard." But the device failed. "Have I need of +madmen," asked the king, "that ye have brought this fellow to play the +madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?" A Jewish +tradition alleges that both the wife and daughter of Achish were mad; he +had plenty of that sort of people already: no need of more! The title of +the thirty-fourth Psalm tells us, "he drove him away, and he departed." + +Have any of you ever been tempted to resort to a series of devices and +deceits either to avoid a danger or to attain an object? Have you been +tempted to forsake the path of straightforward honesty and truth, and to +pretend that things were different with you from what they really were? +I do not accuse you of that wickedness which they commit who +deliberately imprison conscience, and fearlessly set up their own will +and their own interests as their king. What you have done under the +peculiar circumstances in which you found yourselves is not what you +would ordinarily have done. In this one connection, you felt pressed to +get along in one way or another, and the only available way was that of +deceit and device. You were very unhappy at the beginning, and your +misery increased as you went on. Everything about you was in a +constrained, unnatural condition,--conscience, temper, feelings, all out +of order. At one time it seemed as if you were going to succeed; you +were on the crest of a wave that promised to bear you to land, but the +wave broke, and you were sent floundering in the broken water. You were +obliged to go from device to device, with a growing sense of misery. At +last the chain snapped, and both you and your friends were confronted +with the miserable reality. But know this: that it would have been +infinitely, worse for you if your device had succeeded than that it +failed. If it had succeeded, you would have been permanently entangled +in evil principles and evil ways, that would have ruined your soul. +Because you failed, God showed that He had not forsaken you. David +prospering at Gath would have been a miserable spectacle; David driven +away by Achish is on the way to brighter and better days. + +For, if we can accept the titles of some of the Psalms, it would seem +that the carnal spell, under which David had been for some time, burst +when Achish drove him away, and that he returned to his early faith and +trust. It was to the cave of Adullam that he fled, and the hundred and +forty-second Psalm claims to have been written there. So also the +thirty-fourth Psalm, as we have seen, bears to have been written "when +he changed his behaviour" (feigned madness) "before Abimelech" +(Achish?), "who drove him away, and he departed." So much uncertainty +has been thrown of late years on these superscriptions, that we dare not +trust to them explicitly; yet recognising in them at least the value of +old traditions, we may regard them as more or less probable, especially +when they seem to agree with the substance of the Psalms themselves. +With reference to the thirty-fourth, we miss something in the shape of +confession of sin, such as we should have expected of one whose lips had +_not_ been kept from speaking guile. In other respects the psalm fits +the situation. The image of the young lions roaring for their prey might +very naturally be suggested by the wilderness. But the chief feature of +the psalm is the delightful evidence it affords of the blessing that +comes from trustful fellowship with God. And there is an expression that +seems to imply that that blessing had not been _always_ enjoyed by the +Psalmist; he had lost it once; but there came a time when (ver. 4) "I +sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my +fears." And the experience of that new time was so delightful that the +Psalmist had resolved that he would always be on that tack: "I will +bless the Lord _at all times_; His praise shall _continually_ be in my +mouth." How changed the state of his spirit from the time when he +feigned madness at Gath! When he asks, "What man is he that desireth +life and loveth many days that he may see good?" (ver. 12)--what man +would fain preserve his life from harassing anxiety and bewildering +dangers?--the prompt reply is, "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips +from speaking guile." Have nothing to do with shifts and pretences and +false devices; be candid and open, and commit all to God. "O taste and +see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O +fear the Lord, _ye His saints_" (for you too are liable to forsake the +true confidence), "for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young +lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not +lack any good thing. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and +delivereth them out of all their troubles.... Many are the afflictions +of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth them out of them all." + +"The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon +me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord: +O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and +righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple; I +was brought low, and He helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for +the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee" (Psalm cxvi. 3-7). + +FOOTNOTES: + +[4] See 1 Sam. xxii. 15:--"Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for +him? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his +servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth +nothing of all this, less or more" (R.V.) To deny beginning to do a +thing is much the same as to deny doing it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +_DAVID AT ADULLAM, MIZPEH, AND HARETH._ + +1 SAMUEL xxii. + + +The cave of Adullam, to which David fled on leaving Gath, has been +placed in various localities even in modern times; but as the Palestine +Exploration authorities have placed the town in the valley of Elah, we +may regard it as settled that the cave lay there, not far indeed from +the place where David had had his encounter with Goliath. It was a +humble dwelling for a king's son-in-law, nor could David have thought of +needing it on the memorable day when he did such wonders with his sling +and stone. These "dens and caves of the earth"--effects of great +convulsions in some remote period of its history--what service have they +often rendered to the hunted and oppressed! How many a devout saint, of +whom the world was not worthy, has blessed God for their shelter! With +how much purer devotion and loftier fellowship, with how much more +sublime and noble exercises of the human spirit have many of them been +associated, than some of the proudest and costliest temples that have +been reared in name--often little more--to the service of God! + +If David at first was somewhat an object of jealousy to his own family, +in this the day of his trials they showed a different spirit. "When his +brethren and all his father's house heard of it, they went down thither +to him." As the proverb says, "Blood is thicker than water," and often +adversity draws families together between whom prosperity has been like +a wedge. If our relations are prospering while we are poor, we think of +them as if they had moved away from us; but when their fortunes are +broken, and the world turns its back on them, we get closer, our +sympathy revives. We think all the better of David's family that when +they heard of his outlaw condition they all went down to him. Besides +these, "every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, +and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and +he became a captain over them; and there were with him about four +hundred men." The account here given of the circumstances of this band +is not very flattering, but there are two things connected with it to be +borne in mind: in the first place, that the kind of men who usually +choose the soldier's calling are not your men of plodding industry, but +men who shrink from monotonous labour; and, in the second place, that +under the absolute rule of Saul there might be many very worthy persons +in debt and discontented and in distress, men who had come into that +condition because they were not so ready to cringe to despotism as their +ruler desired. Mixed and motley therefore though David's troop may have +been, it was far from contemptible; and their adherence was fitted +greatly to encourage him, because it showed that public feeling was with +him, that his cause was not looked on as desperate, that his standard +was one to which it was deemed safe and hopeful to resort. + +But if, at the first glance, the troop appeared somewhat disreputable, +it was soon joined by two men, the one a prophet, the other a priest, +whose adherence must have brought to it a great accession of moral +weight. The prophet was Gad (ver. 5), who next to Samuel seems to have +stood highest in the nation as a man of God, a man of holy counsel, and +elevated, heavenly character. His open adherence to David (which seems +to be implied in ver. 5) must have had the best effects both on David +himself and on the people at large. It must have been a great blessing +to David to have such a man as Gad beside him; for, with all his +personal piety, he seems to have required a godly minister at his side. +No man derived more benefit from the communion of saints, or was more +apt to suffer for want of it; for, as we have seen, he had begun to +decline in spirituality when he left Samuel at Naioth, and still more +when he was parted from Jonathan. When Gad joined him, David must have +felt that he was sent to him from the Lord, and could not but be full of +gratitude for so conspicuous an answer to his prayers. It would seem +that Gad remained in close relation to David to the close of his life. +It was he that came from the Lord to offer him his choice between three +forms of chastisement after his offence in numbering the people; and +from the fact of his being called "David's seer" (2 Sam. xxiv. 11) we +conclude that he and David were intimately associated. It was he also +that instructed David to buy the threshing-floor of Araunah the +Jebusite, and thus to consecrate to God a spot with which, to the very +end of time, the most hallowed thoughts must always be connected. + +The other eminent person that joined David about this time was Abiathar +the priest. But before adverting to this, we must follow the thread of +the narrative and especially note the tragedy that occurred at Nob, the +city of the priests. + +From the mode of life which David had to follow and the difficulty of +obtaining subsistence for his troop at one place for any length of time, +he was obliged to make frequent changes. On leaving the cave of Adullam, +which was near the western border of the tribe of Judah, he traversed +the whole breadth of that tribe, and crossing the Jordan, came to the +territories of Moab. He was concerned for the safety of his father and +mother, knowing too well the temper of Eastern kings, and how they +thirsted for the blood, not only of their rivals, but of all their +relations. He feared that they would not be let alone at Bethlehem or in +any other part of Saul's kingdom. But what led him to think of the king +of Moab? Perhaps a tender remembrance of his ancestress Ruth, the damsel +from Moab, who had been so eminent for her devotion to her +mother-in-law. Might there not be found in the king of Moab somewhat of +a like disposition, that would look with pity on an old man and woman +driven from their home, not indeed, like Naomi, by famine, but by what +was even worse, the shameful ingratitude and murderous fury of a wicked +king? If such was David's hope, it was not without success; his father +and his mother dwelt with the king of Moab all the time that David was +in the hold. + +But it was not God's purpose that David should lurk in a foreign land. +The prophet Gad directed him to return to the land of Judah. It was +within the boundaries of that tribe, accordingly, that the rest of +David's exile was spent, with the exception of the time at the very end +when he again resorted to Philistine territory. His first hiding-place +was the forest of Hareth. + +While David was here, Saul, encamped in military state at Gibeah, +delivered an extraordinary speech to the men of his own tribe. "Hear +now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields +and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of +hundreds; that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none +that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, +and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or that showeth me that +my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this +day?" It would have been difficult for any other man to condense so much +that was vile in spirit into the dimensions of a little speech like +this. It begins with a base appeal to the cupidity of his countrymen, +the Benjamites, among whom he was probably in the habit of distributing +the possessions of his enemies, as, for instance, the Gibeonites, who +dwelt near him, and whom he slew, contrary to the covenant made with +them by Joshua (2 Sam. xxi. 2). It accuses his people of having +conspired against him, because they had not spoken to him of the +friendship of his son with David, although that fact must have been +notorious. It accuses the noble Jonathan of having stirred up David +against Saul, while neither Jonathan nor David had ever lifted a little +finger against him, and both the one and the other might have been +trusted to serve him with unflinching fidelity if he had only given them +a fair chance. It indicates that nothing would be more agreeable to Saul +than any information about David or those connected with him that would +give him an excuse for some deed of overwhelming vengeance. Did ever man +draw his own portrait in viler colours than Saul in this speech? + +There was one bosom--let us hope only one--in which it awoke a response. +It was that of Doeg the Edomite. He told the story of what he had seen +at Nob, adding thereto the unfounded statement that Ahimelech had +inquired of the Lord for David. Ahimelech and the whole college of +priests were accordingly sent for, and they came. The charge brought +against him was a very offensive one; in so far, it was a statement of +facts, but of facts placed in an odious light, of facts coloured with a +design which Ahimelech never entertained. Oh, how many an innocent man +has suffered in this way! Even in courts of justice, by pleaders whose +interest is on the other side, and sometimes by judges (like Jeffreys) +steeped in hatred and prejudice, how often have acts that were quite +innocent been put to the account of treason, or put to the account of +malice, or cunningly forged into a chain, indicating a deliberate design +to injure another! It can never be too earnestly insisted on that to be +just to a man you must not merely ascertain the real facts of his case, +but you must put the facts in their true light, and not colour them with +prejudices of your own or with suppositions which the man repudiates. + +The conduct of Ahimelech was manly and straightforward, but indiscreet. +He admitted the facts, with the exception of the statement that he had +inquired of the Lord for David. He vindicated right manfully the +faithful, noble services of David, services that ought to have excluded +the very idea of treason or conspiracy. He protested that he knew +nothing of any ground the king had against David, or of any cause that +could have led him to believe that in helping him he was offending Saul. +But just because Ahimelech's defence was so true and so complete, it was +most offensive to Saul. What is there a despot likes worse to hear than +that he is entirely in the wrong? What words irritate him so much as +those which prove the entire innocence of some one with whom he is +angry? Saul was angry both with David and with Ahimelech. Ahimelech had +the great misfortune to prove to him that in both cases there was no +shadow of ground for his anger. In proportion as Saul's reason should +have been satisfied, his temper was excited. What an uncontrollable +condition that temper must have been in when the death of Ahimelech was +decreed, and all his father's house! We do not wonder that no one could +be found in his bodyguard to execute the order. Did this not stagger and +sober the king? Far from it. His fit of rage was so hot and imperious +that he would not be baulked. Turning to Doeg, he commanded him to fall +on the priests. And this vile man had the brutality to execute the +order, and to plunge his sword into the heart of fourscore and five +unarmed persons that wore the garments which even in heathen nations +usually secured protection and safety. And as if it were not enough to +kill the men, their city, Nob, was utterly destroyed. Men and women, +children and sucklings, oxen and asses and sheep--a thorough massacre +was made of them all. Had Nob been a city of warriors that had resisted +the king's armies with haughty insolence, harassed them by sorties, +entrapped them by stratagems, and exasperated them by hideous cruelty to +their prisoners, but at last been overpowered, it could not have had a +more terrible doom. And had Saul never committed any other crime, this +would have been enough to separate him from the Lord for ever, and to +bring down on him the horrors of the night at Endor and of the day that +followed on Mount Gilboa. + +This cruel and sacrilegious murder must have told against Saul and his +cause with prodigious effect. There could not have been a single priest +or Levite throughout the kingdom whose blood would not boil at the news +of the massacre, and whose sympathies would not be enlisted, more or +less, on behalf of David, now openly proclaimed by Saul as his rival, +and probably known to have been anointed by Samuel as his successor. Not +only the priests and Levites, but every rightminded man throughout the +land would share in this feeling, and many a prayer would be offered for +David that God would protect him, and spare him to be a blessing to his +country. The very presence in his camp of Abiathar, the son of +Ahimelech, who escaped the massacre, with his ephod,--an official means +of consulting God in all cases of difficulty,--would be a visible proof +to his followers and to the community at large, that God was on his +side. And when the solemn rites of the national worship were performed +in his camp, and when, at each turn of public affairs, the high priest +was seen in communication with Jehovah, the feeling could not fail to +gain strength that David's cause was the cause of God, and the cause of +the country, and that, in due time, his patient sufferings and his noble +services would be crowned with the due reward. + +But if the news of the massacre would tend on the whole to improve +David's position with the people, it must have occasioned a terrible +pang to David himself. There was, indeed, one point of view in which +something of the kind was to be looked for. Long ago, it had been +foretold to Eli, when he tolerated so calmly the scandalous wickedness +of his sons, "Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm, and +the arm of thy father's house, but there shall not be an old man in +thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in My habitation, in all the +wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in +thy house for ever." Ahimelech was a grandson of Eli, and the other +massacred priests were probably of Eli's blood. Here, then, at last, was +the fulfilment of the sentence announced to Eli; doomed as his house had +been, their subsistence for years back was of the nature of a respite; +and here, at length, was the catastrophe that had been so distinctly +foretold. + +That consideration, however, would not be much, if any, consolation to +David. If the falsehood which he had told to Ahimelech was really +dictated by a desire to save the high priest from conscious implication +with his affairs--with the condition of one who was now an outlaw and a +fugitive, it had failed most terribly of the desired effect. The issue +of the lie only served to place David's duplicity in a more odious +light. There is one thing in David, when he received the information, +that we cannot but admire--his readiness to take to himself his full +share of blame. "I have occasioned the death of all thy father's house." +And more than that, he did not even protest that it was impossible to +have foreseen what was going to happen. For at the very time when he was +practising the falsehood on Ahimelech, he owns that he had a +presentiment of mischief to follow, "I knew it that day, when Doeg the +Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul." Nor did he excuse +himself on the ground that the massacre was the fulfilment of the +longstanding sentence on Eli's house. He knew well that that +circumstance in no degree lessened his own guilt, or the guilt of Doeg +and Saul. Though God may use men's wicked passions to bring about His +purposes, that in no degree lessens the guilt of these passions. It +seems as if David never could have forgiven himself his share in this +dreadful business. And what a warning this conveys to us! Are you not +sometimes tempted to think that sin to you is not a very serious matter, +because you will get forgiveness for it, the atoning work of the Saviour +will cleanse you from its guilt? Be it so; but what if your sin has +involved others, and if no atoning blood has been sprinkled on them? +What of the youth whom your careless example first led to drink, and who +died a miserable drunkard? What of the clerk whom you instructed to tell +a lie? What of the companion of your sensuality whom you drove nearer to +hell? Alas, alas! sin is like a network, the ramifications of which go +out on the right hand and on the left, and when we break God's law, we +cannot tell what the consequences to others may be! And how can we be +ever comforted if we have been the occasion of ruin to any? It seems as +if the burden of that feeling could never be borne; as if the only way +of escape were, to be put out of existence altogether! + +The superscription of the fifty-second Psalm bears--"Maschil of David; +when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, David is come to the house of +Ahimelech." There is not much in this title to recommend it, as the +information that was given by Doeg to Saul is not stated accurately. We +might have expected, too, that if Doeg was alone in the Psalmist's eye, +the atrocious slaughter of the priests would have had a share of +reprobation, as well as the sharp, calumnious, mischievous tongue which +is the chief object of denunciation. And though Doeg, as the chief of +Saul's bondmen, might be a rich man, that position would hardly have +entitled him to be called a mighty man, nor to assume the swaggering +tone of independence here ascribed to him. Whoever was really the object +of denunciation in this psalm, seems however to have belonged to the +same class with Doeg, in respect of his wicked tongue and love of +mischief. It is indeed a wretched character that is delineated: the +Psalmist's enemy is at once mischievous and mighty; and not only is he +mischievous, but he boasts himself in it. He is shameless and without +conscience, bent on doing all the evil that he can. Let him only have a +chance of bringing a railing accusation against God's servants, and he +does it with delight. But his conduct is senseless as it is wicked. God +is unchangeably good, and His goodness is a sure defence to His servants +against all the calumnious devices of the greatest and strongest of men. +It is the tongue of this evil man that is his instrument of mischief. It +is utterly unscrupulous, sharp as a razor, cunning, devouring. A liar is +a serious enemy, one who is utterly unprincipled, clever withal, and who +trains himself with great skill to do mischief with his tongue. It is +painful to be at the mercy of a calumniator who does not launch against +you a clumsy and incredible calumny, but one that has an element of +probability in it, only fearfully distorted. Especially when the +calumniator is one that _deviseth_ mischief, who loves evil more than +good, to whom truth is too tame to be cared for, who delights in +falsehood because it is more piquant, more exciting. To those who have +learned to regard it as the great business of life to spread light, +order, peace, and joy, such men appear to be monsters, and indeed they +are; but it is a painful experience to lie at their mercy. + +To this class belonged Doeg, a monster in human form, to whom it was no +distress, but apparently a congenial employment, to murder in cold blood +a very hecatomb of men consecrated to the service of God. No doubt it +would appal David to think that such a man was now leagued with Saul as +his bitter and implacable enemy. But his faith saw him in the same +prostrate position in which his faith had seen Goliath. Men cannot defy +God in vain. Men dare not defy that truth and that mercy which are +attributes of God. "God shall likewise destroy thee for ever: He shall +take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee +out of the land of the living. The righteous also shall see, and fear, +and shall laugh at him." + +What became of Doeg we do not know. The historian does not introduce his +name again. Before David came to power, he had probably received his +doom. Had he still survived, we should have been likely again to fall in +with his name. The Jews have a tradition that he was Saul's +armour-bearer at the battle of Gilboa, and that the sword by which he +and his master fell, was no other than that which had slain the priests +of the Lord. As for the truth of this we cannot say. But even supposing +that no special judgment befell him, we cannot fancy him as other than a +most miserable man. With such a heart and such a tongue, with the load +of a guilty life lying heavy on his soul, and that life crowned by such +an infamous proceeding as the massacre of the priests, we cannot think +of him as one who enjoyed life, but as a man of surly and gloomy nature, +to whom life grew darker and darker, till it was extinguished in some +miserable ending. In contrast with such a career, how bright and how +much to be desired was David's anticipated future:--"I am like a green +olive-tree in the house of my God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever +and ever. I will praise Thy name for ever, because Thou hast done it: +and I will wait on Thy name, for it is good before Thy saints." + +"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he that trusteth in the Lord, +mercy shall compass him about." + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +_DAVID AT KEILAH, ZIPH, AND MAON._ + +1 SAMUEL xxiii. + + +The period of David's life shortly sketched in this chapter, must have +been full of trying and exciting events. If we knew all the details, +they would probably be full of romantic interest; many a tale of +privation, disease, discomfort, on the one hand, and of active conflicts +and hairbreadth escapes on the other. The district which he frequented +was a mountainous tract, bordering on the west coast of the Dead Sea, +and lying exposed more or less to the invasions of the neighbouring +nations. In the immediate neighbourhood of Ziph, Maon, and Carmel, the +country--a fine upland plain--is remarkably rich and fertile; but +between these places and the Dead Sea it changes to a barren wilderness; +the rocky valleys that run down to the margin of the sea, parched by the +heat and drought, produce only a dry stunted grass. Innumerable caves +are everywhere to be seen, still affording shelter to outlaws and +robbers. But at Engedi (now Ain-Jidy, "the fountain of the goat"), the +last place mentioned in this chapter, the traveller finds a little plain +on the shore of the Dead Sea, where the soil is remarkably rich; a +delicious fountain fertilizes it; shut in between walls of rock, both +its climate and its products are like those of the tropics; it only +wants cultivation to render it a most prolific spot. + +By what means did David obtain sustenance for himself and his large +troop in these sequestered regions? Bayle, in the article in his famous +Dictionary on "David,"--an article which gave the cue to much that has +been said and written against him since,--speaks of them as a troop of +robbers, and compares them to the associates of Catiline, and even Dean +Stanley calls them "freebooters." Both expressions are obviously +unwarranted. The only class of persons whom David and his troop regarded +as enemies were the open enemies of his country,--that is, either +persons who lived by plunder, or the tribes on whom Saul, equally with +himself, would have made war. That David regarded himself as entitled to +attack and pillage the Hebrew settlers in his own tribe of Judah is +utterly inconsistent with all that we know both of his character and of +his history. If David had a weakness, it lay in his extraordinary +partiality for his own people, contrasted with his hard and even harsh +feelings towards the nations that so often annoyed them. Nothing was too +good for a Hebrew, nothing too severe for an alien. In after life, we +see how his heart was torn to its very centre by the judgment that fell +upon his people after his offence in numbering the people (2 Sam. xxiv. +17); while the record of his severity to the Ammonites cannot be read +without a shudder (2 Sam. xii. 31). Besides, in this very narrative, in +the account of his collision with Nabal (1 Sam. xxv. 7), we find David +putting in the very forefront of his message to the churl the fact that +all the time he and his troop were in Carmel the shepherds of Nabal +sustained no hurt, and his flocks no diminution. Instead of fleecing +his own countrymen, he sent them presents when he was more successful +than usual against their common foes (1 Sam. xxx. 26). Unquestionably +therefore such terms as "robbers" and "freebooters" are quite +undeserved. + +One chief source of support would obviously be the chase--the wild +animals that roamed among these mountains, the wild goat and the coney, +the pigeon and the partridge, and other creatures whose flesh was clean. +Possibly, patches of soil, like the oasis at Engedi, would be +cultivated, and a scanty return obtained from the labour. A third +employment would be that of guarding the flocks of the neighbouring +shepherds both from bears, wolves, and lions, and from the attacks of +plundering bands, for which service some acknowledgment was certainly +due. At the best, it was obviously a most uncomfortable mode of life, +making not a little rough work very necessary; an utter contrast to the +peaceful early days of Bethlehem, and rendering it infinitely more +difficult to sing, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." + +Acting as guardian to the shepherds in the neighbourhood, and being the +avowed foe of all the Arab tribes who were continually making forays +from their desert haunts on the land of Judah, David was in the very +midst of enemies. Hence probably the allusions in some of the psalms. +"Consider mine enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with cruel +hatred." "Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for there be many that +fight against me, O Thou Most High." "My soul is among lions, and I lie +even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth +are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword." Could we know all +his trials and difficulties, we should be amazed at his tranquillity. +One morning, an outpost brings him word that Saul is marching against +him. He hastily arranges a retreat, and he and his men clamber over the +mountains, perhaps under a burning sun, and reach their halting-place at +night, exhausted with thirst, hunger, and fatigue. Scarcely have they +lain down, when an alarm is given that a body of Bedouins are plundering +the neighbouring sheepfolds. Forgetful of their fatigues, they rush to +their arms, pursue the invaders, and rescue the prey. Next morning, +perhaps, the very men whose flock he had saved, refuse to make him any +acknowledgment. Murmurs rise from his hungry followers, and a sort of +mutiny is threatened if he will not allow them to help themselves. To +crown all, he learns by-and-bye, that the people whom he has delivered +have turned traitors and are about to give him up to Saul. Wonderful was +the faith that could rise above such troubles, and say, "Mine eyes are +ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net." + +In illustration of these remarks let us note first what took place in +connection with Keilah. This was a place of strength and importance not +far from the land of the Philistines. A rumour reaches him that the +Philistines are fighting against it and robbing the threshing-floors. +The first thing he does, on hearing this rumour, is to inquire of God +whether he should go and attack the Philistines. It is not a common +case. The Philistines were a powerful enemy; probably their numbers were +large, and it was a serious thing for David to provoke them when he had +so many enemies besides. This was evidently the feeling of his +followers. "Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we +go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" But David is in an +admirable frame of mind, and his only anxiety is about knowing +precisely the will of God. He inquires again, and when he gets his +answer he does not hesitate an instant. It was about this time that +Abiathar the son of Ahimelech came to him, bringing an ephod from Nob, +perhaps the only sacred thing that in the hurry and horror of his flight +he was able to carry away. And now, in his time of need, David finds the +value of these things; he knows the privilege of fearing God, and of +having God at his right hand. The fears of his men appear now to be +overcome; he goes to Keilah, attacks the Philistines, smites them with a +very great slaughter, brings away their cattle and rescues the people. +It is a great deliverance, and David, with peace and plenty around him, +and the benedictions of the men of Keilah, breathes freely and praises +God. + +But his sense of ease and tranquillity was of short duration. Saul hears +of what has taken place, and hears that David has taken up his quarters +within the town of Keilah. He chuckles over the news with fiendish +satisfaction, for Keilah is a fortified town; he will be able to shut up +David within its walls and lay siege to the place, and when he has taken +it, David will be at his mercy. But Saul, as usual, reckons without his +host. David has received information that leads him to suspect that Saul +is meditating mischief against him, and it looks as if he had come to +Keilah only to fall into a trap,--to fall into the hands of Saul. But +though a new danger has arisen, the old refuge still remains. "Bring +hither the ephod," he says to Abiathar. And communication being again +established with Heaven, two questions are asked: Will Saul come down to +Keilah, to destroy the city for David's sake? Yes, he will. Will the men +of Keilah whom David has saved from the Philistines distinguish +themselves for their gratitude or for their treachery? They will become +traitors; they will deliver David up to Saul. So there is nothing for it +but for David to escape from Keilah. The worst of it is, he has no other +place to go to. He goes forth from Keilah, as his father Abraham went +forth from Ur of the Chaldees, not knowing whither. He and his followers +went "whithersoever they could go." Treachery was a new foe, and when +the treachery was on the part of those on whom he had just conferred a +signal benefit, it was most discouraging; it seemed to indicate that he +could never be safe. + +Flying from Keilah, he takes refuge in a part of the wilderness near +Ziph. Being very rocky and mountainous, it affords good opportunities +for hiding; but in proportion as it is advantageous for that purpose, it +is unfavourable for getting sufficient means of subsistence. A wood in +the neighbourhood of Ziph afforded the chance of both. In this wood +David enjoys the extraordinary privilege of a meeting with Jonathan. +What a contrast to his treatment from the men of Keilah! If, on turning +his back on them, he was disposed to say, "All men are liars," the +blessed generosity of Jonathan modifies the sentiment. In such +circumstances, the cheering words of his friend and the warmth of his +embrace must have come on David with infinite satisfaction. They were to +him what the loving words of the dying thief were to the Saviour, amid +the babel and blasphemy of Calvary. Who, indeed, does not see in the +David of this time, persevering in his work under such fearful +discouragements, under the treachery of men with hearts like Judas +Iscariot, experiencing the worst treatment from some whom he had +benefited already, and from others whom he was to benefit still +more--who can fail to see the type of Christ, patiently enduring the +cross at the hands and in the stead of the very men whom by His +sufferings He was to save and bless? For David, like our blessed Lord, +though not with equal steadfastness, drinks the cup which the Father has +given him; he holds to the work which has been given him to do. + +The brief note of Jonathan's words to David in the wood is singularly +beautiful and suggestive. "Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David +into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, +Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou +shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and that also +Saul my father knoweth." To begin with the last of Jonathan's words, +what a lurid light they throw on the conduct of Saul! He was under no +misapprehension as to the Divine destiny of David. He must have known +therefore that in fighting against David, he was fighting against God. +It looks unaccountable madness; yet what worse is it than a thousand +other schemes in which, to carry out their ends, men have trampled on +every moral precept, as if there were no God, no lawgiver, ruler, or +judge above, no power in hell or heaven witnessing their actions to +bring them all into judgment? + +In his words to David the faith and piety of Jonathan were as apparent +as his friendship. He strengthened his hand in God. Simple but beautiful +words! He put David's hand as it were into God's hand, in token that +they were one, in token that the Almighty was pledged to keep and bless +him, and that when he and his God were together, no weapon formed +against him would ever prosper. Surely no act of friendship is so true +friendship as this. To remind our Christian friends in their day of +trouble of their relation to God, to encourage them to think of His +interest in them and His promises to them; to drop in their ear some of +His assurances--"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,"--is surely +the best of all ways to encourage the downcast, and send them on their +way rejoicing. + +And what a hallowed word that was with which Jonathan began his +exhortation--"Fear not." The "fear not's" of Scripture are a remarkable +garland. All of them have their root in grace, not in nature. They all +imply a firm exercise of faith. And Jonathan's "fear not" was no +exception. If David had not been a man of faith, it would have sounded +like hollow mockery. "The hand of Saul my father shall not find thee." +Was not Saul with his well-equipped force, at that very moment, within a +few miles of him, while he, with his half-starved followers was at his +very wits' end, not knowing where to turn to next? "Thou shalt be king +over Israel." Nay, friend, I should be well pleased, David might have +said, if I were again feeding my father's flocks in Bethlehem, with all +that has happened since then obliterated, reckoned as if it had never +been. "And I shall be next unto thee." O Jonathan, how canst thou say +that? Thou art the king's eldest son, the throne ought to be thine, +there is none worthier of it; the very fact that thou canst say that to +me shows what a kingly generosity is in thy bosom, and how well entitled +thou art to reign over Israel! Yes, David, but does not the very fact of +Jonathan using such words show that he is in closest fellowship with +God? Only a man pervaded through and through by the Spirit of God could +speak thus to the person who stands between him and what the world +would call his reasonable ambition. In that spirit of Jonathan there is +a goodness altogether Divine. Oh what a contrast to his father, to Saul! +What a contrast to the ordinary spirit of jealousy, when some one is +like to cut us out of a coveted prize! Some one at school is going to +beat you at the competition. Some one in business is going to get the +situation for which you are so eager. Some one is going to carry off the +fair hand to which you so ardently aspire. Where, oh where, in such +cases, is the spirit of Jonathan? Look at it, study it, admire it; and +in its clear and serene light, see what a black and odious spirit +jealousy is; and oh, seek that _you_, by the grace of God, may be, not a +Saul, but a Jonathan! + +It would appear that Saul had left the neighbourhood of Ziph in despair +of finding David, and had returned to Gibeah. But the distance was +small--probably not more than a long day's journey. And after a time, +Saul is recalled to Ziph by a message from the Ziphites. "Then came up +the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with +us in strong holds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on +the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all +the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver +him into the king's hand." The men of Keilah had not gone the length of +treachery, for when they were thinking of it, David escaped; but even if +they had, they would have had something to say for themselves. Was it +not better to give up David and let him suffer, than to keep him in +their city, and let both him and them and their city share the fate, as +they would have been sure to do, of Ahimelech and the city of Nob,--that +is, be utterly destroyed? But the men of Ziph were in no such dilemma. +Their treachery was simple meanness. They no doubt wished to ingratiate +themselves with Saul. They had no faith either in David, or in God's +promises regarding him. Disbelieving God, they acted inhumanly to man. +They let Saul know his best opportunity, and when he came on the spot, +apparently of a sudden, David and his troop were surrounded, and their +escape seemed to be cut off. Here was a strange commentary on the strong +assurance of Jonathan, "Saul my father shall not find thee." Has he not +found me, only to too good purpose? But man's extremity is God's +opportunity. When Saul seems ready to pounce on David, a messenger +arrives, "Haste thee, and come, for the Philistines have invaded the +land." The danger was imminent, and Saul could not afford to lose an +hour. And thus, on the very eve of seizing the prey he had been hunting +for years, he is compelled to let it go. + +It is edifying to observe all the different ways in which the Divine +protection toward David had been shown, all the time that he had been +exposed to the hostility of Saul. First of all, when Saul spoke to his +servants and to Jonathan that they should kill David, Jonathan was +raised up to take his side, and by his friendly counsels, arrested for +the time the murderous purpose of Saul. Next, when Saul hurled a javelin +at David, a rapid movement saved his life. The third time, he was let +down through a window by his wife, in time to escape. The fourth time, +the messengers that were sent to apprehend him were filled with the +Spirit of God, and even Saul, determined to make up for their lack of +service, underwent the same transformation. The fifth time, when he was +in Keilah, he was supernaturally warned of the unkind treachery of the +men of Keilah, and thus escaped the snare. And now, a sixth escape is +effected, in the very article of death, so to speak, by a Philistine +invasion. Thus was illustrated that wonderful diversity of plan that +characterises the ways of God, that "variety in unity" which we may +trace alike in the kingdom of nature, of providence, and of grace. A +similar variety is seen in His deliverances of Israel. At one time the +sea is divided, at another the sun stands still; Gideon delivers by +lamps and pitchers, Shamgar by his ox-goad, Samson by the jawbone of an +ass, Jephthah by his military talents, David by his sling and stone, +Daniel by his skill in dreams, Esther by her beauty and power of +fascination. To remember such things ought to give you confidence in +times of perplexity and danger. If it be God's purpose to deliver you, +He has thousands of unseen methods, to any one of which He may resort, +when, to the eye of sense, there seems not the shadow of a hope. And one +reason why He seems at times to doom His children to inevitable ruin, is +that He may call their faith and their patience into higher exercise, +and teach them more impressively the sublime lesson--"Stand still, and +see the salvation of God." + +The fifty-fourth Psalm bears an inscription that would refer it to this +occasion. There are some expressions in the psalm that hardly agree with +this reference; but the general situation is quite in keeping with it. +"Save me, O God," the Psalmist cries, "by Thy name, and judge me by Thy +strength." The danger from which he needs to be saved comes from +strangers that are risen up against him, and opposers that seek after +his soul; persons "that have not set God before them." To be saved by +God's _name_ is to be saved through attributes which are manifestly +Divine; to be judged by God's _strength_, is to be vindicated, to be +shown to be under God's favour and protection, by the manifest exercise +of His power. The petitions are such as David might well have made after +his conversation with Jonathan. The psalm is evidently the song of one +whose hand had been "strengthened in God." Its great central truth is, +"God is mine helper; the Lord is with them who (like Jonathan) uphold my +soul." And there comes after that a happy exercise of the spirit of +trust, enabling the Psalmist to say, "He hath delivered me out of all +trouble." This result is wonderful and beautiful. How remarkable that in +that wilderness of Judah, amid a life of hardship, exposure, and peril, +with a powerful king thirsting for his blood, and using his every device +to get hold of him, he should be able to say of God, "He hath delivered +me out of all trouble." It is the faith that removes mountains: it is +the faith that worked so wonderfully when the lad with the sling and +stones went out so bravely against the giant. What wonders cannot faith +perform when it gets clear of all the entanglements of carnal feeling, +and stands, firm and erect, on the promise of God! How infinitely would +such a faith relieve and sustain us in the common troubles and anxieties +of life, and in deeper perplexities connected with the cause of God! +Take this short clause as marking out the true quality and highest +attainment of simple faith, and resolve that you will not rest in your +own endeavours till your mind reaches the state of tranquillity which it +describes so simply,--"He hath delivered me out of all trouble." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +_DAVID TWICE SPARES THE LIFE OF SAUL._ + +1 SAMUEL xxiv., xxvi. + + +The invasion of the Philistines had freed David from the fear of Saul +for a time, but only for a time. He knew full well that when the king of +Israel had once repelled that invasion he would return to prosecute the +object on which his heart was so much set. For a while he took refuge +among the rocks of Engedi, that beautiful spot of which we have already +spoken, and which has been embalmed in Holy Writ, as suggesting a fair +image of the Beloved One--"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of +camphire in the vineyards of Engedi" (Song of Solomon i. 14). The +mountains here and throughout the hill country of Judea are mostly of +limestone formation, abounding, like all such rocks, in caverns of large +size, in which lateral chambers run off at an angle from the main +cavity, admitting of course little or no light, but such that a person +inside, while himself unseen, may see what goes on at the entrance to +the cave. In the dark sides of such a cave, David and his men lay +concealed when Saul was observed by him to enter and lie down, probably +unattended, to enjoy the mid-day sleep which the heat of the climate +often demands. We cannot fail to remark the singular providence that +concealed from Saul at this time the position of David. He had good +information of his movements in general; the treacherous spirit which +was so prevalent, greatly aided him in this; but on the present +occasion, he was evidently in ignorance of his situation. If only he had +known, how easy it would have been for him with his three thousand +chosen men to blockade the cave, and starve David and his followers into +surrender! + +The entrance of the king being noticed by David's men, they urged their +master to avail himself of the opportunity of getting rid of him which +was now so providentially and unexpectedly presented to him. We can +hardly think of a stronger temptation to do so than that under which +David now lay. In the first place, there was the prospect of getting rid +of the weary life he was leading,--more like the life of a wild beast +hunted by its enemies, than of a man eager to do good to his fellows, +with a keen relish for the pleasures of home and an extraordinary +delight in the services of God's house. Then there was the prospect of +wearing the crown and wielding the sceptre of Israel,--the splendours of +a royal palace, and its golden opportunities of doing good. Further, +there was the voice of his followers urging him to the deed, putting on +it a sacred character by ascribing to it a Divine permission and +appointment. And still further, there was the suddenness and +unexpectedness of the opportunity. Nothing is more critical than a +sudden opportunity of indulging an ardent passion; with scarcely a +moment for deliberation, one is apt to be hurried blindly along, and at +once to commit the deed. With all his noble nature, Robert the Bruce +could not refrain from plunging his dagger into the heart of the +treacherous Comyn, even in the convent of the Minorite friars. The +discipline of David's spirit must at this time have been admirable. Not +only did he restrain himself, but he restrained his followers too. He +would neither strike his heartless enemy, nor suffer another to strike +him. On the first of the two occasions of his sparing him--recorded in +the twenty-fourth chapter--he might naturally believe that his +forbearance would turn Saul's heart and end the unjust quarrel. On the +second occasion of the same sort--recorded in the twenty-sixth +chapter--he could have had no hope of the kind. It was a pure sense of +duty that restrained him. He acted in utter contempt of what was +personal and selfish, and in deepest reverence for what was holy and +Divine. How different from the common spirit of the world! Young people, +who are so ready to keep up a sense of wrong, and wait an opportunity of +paying back your schoolfellows, study this example of David. Ye grown +men, who could not get such-a-one to vote for you, or to support your +claim in your controversy, and who vowed that you would never rest till +you had driven him from the place, how does your spirit compare with +that of David? Ye statesmen, who have received an affront from some +barbarous people, utterly ignorant of your ways, and who forthwith issue +your orders for your ships of war to scatter destruction among their +miserable villages, terrifying, killing, mutilating, no matter how many +of the wretches that have no arms to meet you in fair fight--think of +the forbearance of David. And think too of many passages in the New +Testament that give the idea of another treatment and another species of +victory:--"Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, +give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his +head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." + +The special consideration that held back the arm of David from killing +Saul was that he was the Lord's anointed. He held the office of king by +Divine appointment,--not merely as other kings may be regarded as +holding it, but as God's lieutenant, called specially, and selected for +the office. For David to remove him would be to interfere with the +Divine prerogative. It would be so much the more inexcusable as God had +many other ways of removing him, any one of which He might readily +employ. "David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall +smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into +battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine +hand against the Lord's anointed." + +Let us briefly follow the narrative on each of the two occasions. + +First, when David saw Saul asleep at the entrance of the cave near +Engedi, he crept towards him as he lay, and removed a loose piece of his +garment. When Saul rose up and proceeded on his way, David boldly +followed him, believing that after sparing the king's life he was safe +from attack either from him or his people. His respectful salutation, +drawing the king's attention, was followed by an act of profound +obeisance. David then addressed Saul somewhat elaborately, his address +being wholly directed to the point of disabusing the king's mind of the +idea that he had any plot whatever against his life. His words were very +respectful but at the same time bold. Taking advantage of the act of +forbearance which had just occurred, he demanded of the king why he +listened to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt. He +protested that for himself nothing would induce him to stretch forth his +hand against the Lord's anointed. That very day, he had had the chance, +but he had forborne. His people had urged him, but he would not comply. +_There_ was the skirt of his garment which he had just cut off: it would +have been as easy for him, when he did that, to plunge his sword into +the heart of the king. Could there be a plainer proof that Saul was +mistaken in supposing David to be actuated by murderous or other sinful +feelings against him? And yet Saul hunted for his life to take it. +Rising still higher, David appealed to the great Judge of all, and +placed the quarrel in His hands. To vary the case, he quoted a proverb +to the effect that only where there was wickedness in the heart could +wickedness be found in the life. Then, with the easy play of a versatile +mind, he put the case in a comical light: did it become the great king +of Israel to bring his hosts after one so insignificant--"after a dead +dog, after a flea"? Was ocean to be tossed into tempest "to waft a +feather or to drown a straw"? Once more, and to sum up the whole case, +he appealed solemnly to God, virtually invoking His blessing on whoever +was innocent in this quarrel, and calling down His wrath and destruction +on the party that was really guilty. + +The effect on Saul was prompt and striking. He was touched in his +tenderest feelings by the singular generosity of his opponent. He broke +down thoroughly, welcomed the dear voice of David, "lifted up his voice +and wept." He confessed that he was wrong, that David had rewarded him +good and he had rewarded David evil. David had given him that day a +convincing proof of his integrity; though it seemed that the Lord had +delivered him into his hand, he killed him not. He had reversed the +principle on which men were accustomed to act when they came upon an +enemy, and had him in their power. And all these acknowledgments of +David's superior goodness Saul made, while knowing well and frankly +owning that David should be the king, and that the kingdom should be +established in his hand. One favour only Saul would beg of David in +reference to that coming time--that he would not massacre his family, or +destroy his name out of his father's house--a request which it was easy +for David to comply with. Never would he dream of such a thing, however +common it was in these Eastern kingdoms. David sware to Saul, and the +two parted in peace. + +How glad David must have been that he acted as he did! Already his +forbearance has had a full reward. It has drawn out the very best +elements of Saul's soul; it has placed Saul in a light in which we can +think of him with interest, and even admiration. How can this be the man +that so meanly plotted for David's life when he sent him against the +Philistines? that gave him his daughter to be his wife in order that he +might have more opportunities to entangle him? that flung the murderous +javelin at his head? that massacred the priests and destroyed their city +simply because they had shown him kindness? Saul is indeed a riddle, all +the more that this generous fit lasted but a very short time; and soon +after, when the treacherous Ziphites undertook to betray David, Saul and +his soldiers came again to the wilderness to destroy him. + +It has been thought by some, and with reason, that something more than +the varying humour of Saul is necessary to account for his persistent +efforts to kill David. And it is believed that a clue to this is +supplied by expressions of which David made much use, and by certain +references in the Psalms, which imply that to a great extent he was the +victim of calumny, and of calumny of a very malignant and persistent +kind. In the address on which we have commented David began by asking +why Saul _listened to men's words_, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy +life? And in the address recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter (ver. 19) +David says very bitterly, "If they be the children of men that have +stirred thee up against me, cursed be they before the Lord; for they +have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, +saying, Go, serve other gods." Turning to the seventh Psalm, we find in +it a vehement and passionate appeal to God in connection with the bitter +and murderous fury of an enemy, who is said in the superscription to +have been Cush the Benjamite. The fury of that man against David was +extraordinary. Deliver me, O Lord, "lest he tear my soul like a lion, +rending it in pieces when there is none to deliver." It is plain that +the form of calumny which this man indulged in was accusing David of +"rewarding evil to him that was at peace with him," an accusation not +only not true, but outrageously contrary to the truth, seeing he had +"delivered him that without cause was his enemy." It is not unlikely +therefore that at Saul's court David had an enemy who had the bitterest +enmity to him, who never ceased to poison Saul's mind regarding him, who +put facts in the most offensive light, and even after the first act of +David's generosity to Saul not only continued, but continued more +ferociously than ever to inflame Saul's mind, and urge him to get rid of +this intolerable nuisance. What could have inspired Cush, or indeed any +one, with such a hatred to David we cannot definitely say; much of it +was due to that instinctive hatred of holy character which worldly men +of strong will show in every age, and perhaps not a little to the +apprehension that if David did ever come to the throne, many a wicked +man, now fattening on the spoils of the kingdom through the favour of +Saul, would be stript of his wealth and consigned to obscurity. + +It would seem, then, that had Saul been left alone he would have left +David alone. It was the bitter and incessant plotting of David's enemies +that stirred him up. Jealousy was only too active a feeling in his +breast, and it was easy to work upon it, and fill him with the idea +that, after all, David was a rebel and a traitor. These things David +must have known; knowing them, he made allowance for them, and did not +suffer his heart to become altogether cold to Saul. The kindly feelings +which Saul expressed when he dismissed from his view all the calumnies +with which he had been poisoned, and looked straight at David, made a +deep impression on his rival, and the fruit of them appeared in that +beautiful elegy on Saul and Jonathan, which must seem a piece of +hypocrisy if the facts we have stated be not kept in view: "Saul and +Jonathan were pleasant and lovely in their lives, and in their death +they were not divided." + +In the second incident, recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter, when David +again spared the life of Saul, not much more needs to be said. Some +critics would hold it to be the same incident recorded by another hand +in some earlier document consulted by the writer of 1 Samuel, containing +certain variations such as might take place at the hand of a different +historian. But let us observe the differences of the two chapters. (1) +The scene is different; in the one case it is near Engedi, in the other +in the wilderness, near the hill Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon. +(2) The place where Saul was asleep is different; in the one case a +cave; in the other case a camp, protected by a trench. (3) The trophy +carried off by David was different; in the one case the skirt of his +garment, in the other a spear and cruse of water. (4) The position of +David when he made himself known was different; in the one case he went +out of the cave and called after Saul; in the other he crossed a gully +and spoke from the top of a crag. (5) His way of attracting attention +was different; in the one case he spoke directly to Saul, in the other +he rallied Abner, captain of the host, for failing to protect the person +of the king. But we need not proceed further with this list of +differences. Those we have adverted to are enough to repel the assertion +that there were not two separate incidents of the same kind. And surely +if the author was a mere compiler, using different documents, he might +have known if the incidents were the same. If it be said that we cannot +believe that two events so similar could have happened, that this is too +improbable to be believed, we may answer by referring to similar cases +in the Gospels, or even in common life. Suppose a historian of the +American civil war to describe what took place at Bull Run. First he +gives an account of a battle there between the northern and southern +armies, some incidents of which he describes. By-and-bye he again speaks +of a battle there, but the incidents he gives are quite different. Our +modern critics would say it was all one event, but that the historian, +having consulted two accounts, had clumsily written as if there had been +two battles. We know that this fancy of criticism is baseless. In the +American civil war there were two battles of Bull Run between the same +contending parties at different times. So we may safely believe that +there were two instances of David's forbearance to Saul, one in the +neighbourhood of Engedi, the other in the neighbourhood of Ziph. + +And all that needs to be said further respecting the second act of +forbearance by David is that it shines forth all the brighter because it +was the second, and because it happened so soon after the other. We may +see that David did not put much trust in Saul's profession the first +time, for he did not disband his troop, but remained in the wilderness +as before. It is quite possible that this displeased Saul. It is also +possible that that inveterate false accuser of David from whom he +suffered so much would make a great deal of this to Saul, and would +represent to him strongly that if David really was the innocent man he +claimed to be, after receiving the assurance he got from him he would +have sent his followers to their homes, and returned in peace to his +own. That he did nothing of the kind may have exasperated Saul, and +induced him to change his policy, and again take steps to secure David, +as before. Substantially, David's remonstrance with Saul on this second +occasion was the same as on the first. But at this time he gave proof of +a power of sarcasm which he had not shown before. He rated Abner on the +looseness of the watch he kept of his royal master, and adjudged him +worthy of death for not making it impossible for any one to come +unobserved so near the king, and have him so completely in his power. +The apology of Saul was substantially the same as before; but how could +it have been different? The acknowledgment of what was to happen to +David was hardly so ample as on the last occasion. David doubtless +parted from Saul with the old conviction that kindness was not wanting +in his personal feelings, but that the evil influences that were around +him, and the fits of disorder to which his mind was subject, might +change his spirit in a single hour from that of generous benediction to +that of implacable jealousy. + +But now to draw to a close. We have adverted to that high reverence for +God which was the means of restraining David from lifting up his hand +against Saul, because he was the Lord's anointed. Let us now notice more +particularly what an admirable spirit of self-restraint and patience +David showed in being willing to bear all the risk and pain of a most +distressing position, until it should please God to bring to him the +hour of deliverance. The grace we specially commend is that of waiting +for God's time. Alas! into how many sins, and even crimes, have men been +betrayed through unwillingness to wait for God's time! A young man +embarks in the pursuits of commerce; but the gains to be derived from +ordinary business come in far too slowly for him; he makes haste to be +rich, engages in gigantic speculation, plunges into frightful gambling, +and in a few years brings ruin on himself and all connected with him. +How many sharp and unhandsome transactions continually occur just +because men are impatient, and wish to hurry on some consummation which +their hearts are set on! Nay, have not murders often taken place just to +hasten the removal of some who occupied places that others were eager to +fill? And how often are evil things done by those who will not wait for +the sanction of honourable marriage? + +But even where no act of crime has been committed, impatience of God's +time may give rise to many an evil feeling that does not go beyond one's +own breast. Many a son who will succeed to an inheritance on the death +of his father, or of some other relative, is tempted to wish, more or +less consciously, for an event the last to be desired by a filial heart. +You may say, it is human nature; how could any one help it? The example +of David shows how one may help it. The heart that is profoundly +impressed with the excellence of the Divine will, and the duty and +privilege of loyally accepting all His arrangements, can never desire to +anticipate that will in any matter, great or small. For how can any good +come in the end from forcing forward arrangements out of the Divine +order? If, for the moment, this brings any advantage in one direction, +it is sure to be followed by far greater evils in another. Do we all +realize the full import of our prayer when we say, "Thy will be done on +earth as it is in heaven"? Of one thing you may be very sure, there is +no impatience in heaven for a speedier fulfilment of desirable events +than the will of God has ordained. There is no desire to force on the +wheels of Providence if they do not seem to be moving fast enough. So +let it be with us. Let us fix it as a first principle in our minds, as +an immovable rule of our lives, that as God knows best how to order His +providence, so any interference with Him is rash and perilous, and +wicked too; and with reference both to events which are not lawfully in +our hands, and the time at which they are to happen, let us realize it +as alike our duty and our interest to say to God, in the spirit of full +and unreserved trust--"Not our will, but Thine be done." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +_DAVID AND NABAL._ + +1 SAMUEL xxv. + + +We should be forming far too low an estimate of the character of the +people of Israel if we did not believe that they were very profoundly +moved by the death of Samuel. Even admitting that but a small proportion +of them are likely to have been in warm sympathy with his ardent +godliness, he was too remarkable a man, and he had been too conspicuous +a figure in the history of the nation, not to be greatly missed, and +much spoken of and thought of, when he passed away. + +Cast in the same mould with their great leader and legislator Moses, he +exerted an influence on the nation only second to that which stood +connected with the prophet of the Exodus. He had not been associated +with such stirring events in their history as Moses; neither had it been +his function to reveal to them the will of God, either so +systematically, or so comprehensively, or so supernaturally; but he was +marked by the same great spirituality, the same intense reverence for +the God of Israel, the same profound belief in the reality of the +covenant between Israel and God, and the same conviction of the +inseparable connection between a pure worship and flowing prosperity on +the one hand, and idolatrous defection and national calamity on the +other. + +No man except Moses had ever done more to rivet this truth on the minds +and hearts of the people. It was the lifelong aim and effort of Samuel +to show that it made the greatest difference to them in every way how +they acted toward God, in the way of worship, trust, and obedience. He +made incessant war on that cold worldly spirit, so natural to us all, +that leaves God out of account as a force in our lives, and strives to +advance our interests simply by making the most of the conditions of +material prosperity. + +No doubt with many minds the name of Samuel would be associated with a +severity and a spirituality and a want of worldliness that were +repulsive to them, as indicating one who carried the matter, to use a +common phrase, too far. But at Samuel's death even these men might be +visited with a somewhat remorseful conviction that, if Samuel had gone +too far, they had not gone half far enough. There might come from the +retrospect of his career a wholesome rebuke to their worldliness and +neglect of God; for surely, they would feel, if there be a God, we ought +to worship Him, and it cannot be well for us to neglect Him altogether. + +On the other hand, the career of Samuel would be recalled with intense +admiration and gratitude by all the more earnest of the people. What an +impressive witness for all that was good and holy had they not had among +them! What a living temple, what a Divine epistle, written not in tables +of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart! What glory and honour had +not that man's life been to the nation,--so uniform, so consistent, so +high in tone! What a reproof it carried to low and selfish living, what +a splendid example it afforded to old and young of the true way and end +of life, and what a blessed impulse it was fitted to give them in the +same direction, showing so clearly "what is good, and what doth the Lord +require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly +with thy God." + +By a remarkable connection, though perhaps not by design, two names are +brought together in this chapter representing very opposite phases of +human character--Samuel and Nabal. In Samuel we have the high-minded +servant of God, trained from infancy to smother his own will and pay +unbounded regard to the will of his Father in heaven; in Nabal we see +the votary of the god of this world, enslaved to his worldly lusts, +grumbling and growling when he is compelled to submit to the will of +God. Samuel is the picture of the serene and holy believer, enjoying +unseen fellowship with God, and finding in that fellowship a blessed +balm for the griefs and trials of a wounded spirit; Nabal is the picture +of the rich but wretched worldling who cannot even enjoy the bounties of +his lot, and is thrown into such a panic by the mere dread of losing +them that he actually sinks into the grave. Under the one picture we +would place the words of the Apostle in the third chapter of +Philippians--"Whose god is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, +who mind earthly things;" under the other the immediately following +words, "Our conversation is in heaven." Such were the two men to whom +the summons to appear before God was sent about the same time; the one +ripe for glory, the other meet for destruction; the one removed to +Abraham's bosom, the other to the pit of woe; each to the master whom he +served, and each to the element in which he had lived. Look on this +picture and on that, and say which you would be like. And as you look +remember how true it is that as men sow so do they reap. The one sowed +to the flesh, and of the flesh he reaped corruption; the other sowed to +the Spirit, and of the Spirit he reaped life everlasting. The continuity +of men's lives in the world to come gives an awful solemnity to that +portion of their lives which they spend on earth:--"He that is unjust, +let him be unjust still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: +and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is +holy, let him be holy still." + +There is another lesson to be gathered from a matter of external order +before we proceed to the particulars of the narrative. This chapter, +recording David's collision with Nabal, and showing us how David lost +his temper, and became hot and impetuous and impatient in consequence of +Nabal's treatment, comes in between the narrative of his two great +victories over the spirit of revenge and impatience. It gives us a very +emphatic lesson--how the servant of God may conquer in a great fight and +yet be beaten in a small. The history of all spiritual warfare is full +of such cases. In the presence of a great enemy, the utmost vigilance is +maintained; every effort is strained, every stimulus is applied. In the +presence of a small foe, the spirit of confidence, the sense of +security, is liable to leave every avenue unguarded, and to pave the way +for signal defeat. When I am confronted with a great trial, I rally all +my resources to bear it, I realize the presence of God, I say, "Thou God +seest me"; but when it is a little trial, I am apt to meet it unarmed +and unguarded, and I experience a humiliating fall. Thus it is that men +who have in them the spirit of martyrs, and who would brave a dungeon +or death itself rather than renounce a testimony or falter in a duty, +often suffer defeat under the most ordinary temptations of everyday +life,--they lose their temper on the most trifling provocations; almost +without a figure, they are "crushed before the moth." + +Whether the death of Samuel brought such a truce to David as to allow +him to join in the great national gathering at his funeral we do not +know with certainty; but immediately after we find him in a region +called "the wilderness of Paran," in the neighbourhood of the Judean +Carmel. It was here that Nabal dwelt. This Carmel is not to be +confounded with the famous promontory of that name in the tribe of +Asher, where Elijah and the priests of Baal afterwards had their +celebrated contest; it was a hill in the tribe of Judah, in the +neighbourhood of the place where David had his encampment. A descendant +of the lion-hearted Judah and of the courageous Caleb, this Nabal came +of a noble stock; but cursed with a narrow heart, a senseless head, and +a grovelling nature, he fell as far below average humanity as his great +ancestors had risen above it. With all his wealth and family connection, +he appears to us now as poor a creature as ever lived,--a sort of +"golden beast," as was said of the Emperor Caligula; and we cannot think +of him without reflecting how little true glory or greatness mere wealth +or worldly position confers,--how infinitely more worthy of honour are +the sterling qualities of a generous Christian heart. It is plain that +in an equitable point of view Nabal owed much to David; but what he owed +could not be enforced by an action at law, and Nabal was one of those +poor creatures that acknowledge no other obligation. + +The studied courtesy and modesty with which David preferred his claim is +interesting; it could not but be against the grain to say anything on +the subject; if Nabal had not had his "understanding blinded" he would +have spared him this pain; the generous heart is ever thinking of the +services that others are rendering, and will never subject modesty to +the pain of urging its own. "Ye shall greet him in my name," said David +to his messengers; "and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in +prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace to thy house, and peace be +to all that thou hast" No envying of his prosperity--no grudging to him +his abundance; but only the Christian wish that he might have God's +blessing with it, and that it might all turn to good. It was the time of +sheep-shearing, when the flocks were probably counted and the increase +over last year ascertained; and by a fine old custom it was commonly the +season of liberality and kindness. A time of increase should always be +so; it is the time for helping poor relations (a duty often strangely +overlooked), for acknowledging ancient kindnesses, for relieving +distress, and for devising liberal things for the Church of Christ. +David gently reminded Nabal that he had come at this good time; then he +hinted at the services which he and his followers had done him; but to +show that he did not wish to press hard on him, he merely asked him to +give what might come to his hand; though, as the anointed king of +Israel, he might have assumed a more commanding title, he asked him to +give it to "thy son, David." So modest, gentle, and affectionate an +application, savouring so little of the persecuted, distracted outlaw, +savouring so much of the mild self-possessed Christian +gentleman,--deserved treatment very different from what it received. +The detestable niggardliness of Nabal's heart would not suffer him to +part with anything which he could find an excuse for retaining. But +greed so excessive, even in its own eyes, must find some cloak to cover +it; and one of the most common and most congenial to flinty hearts +is--the unworthiness of the applicant. The miser is not content in +simply refusing an application for the poor, he must add some abusive +charge to conceal his covetousness--they are lazy, improvident, +intemperate; or if it be a Christian object he is asked to +support,--these unreasonable people are always asking. Any excuse rather +than tell the naked truth, "We worship our money; and when we spend it, +we spend it on ourselves." Such was Nabal. "Who is David? and who is the +son of Jesse? There be many servants now-a-days that break away every +man from his master. Shall I then take _my_ bread, and _my_ water, and +_my_ flesh that I have killed for _my_ shearers, and give it unto men, +that I know not whence they be?" + +As often happens, excessive selfishness overreached itself. Insult added +to injury was more than David chose to bear; for once, he lost +self-command, and was borne along by impetuous passion. Meek men, when +once their temper is roused, usually go to great extremes. And if +David's purpose had not been providentially arrested, Nabal and all that +belonged to him would have been swept before morning to destruction. + +With the quickness and instinctive certainty of a clever woman's +judgment, Abigail, Nabal's wife, saw at once how things were going. With +more than the calmness and self-possession of many a clever woman, she +arranged and despatched the remedy almost instantaneously after the +infliction of the wrong. How so superior a woman could have got yoked +to so worthless a man we can scarcely conjecture, unless on the vulgar +and too common supposition that the churl's wealth and family had +something to do with the match. No doubt she had had her punishment. But +luxury had not impaired the energy of her spirit, and wealth had not +destroyed the regularity of her habits. Her promptness and her prudence +all must admire, her commissariat skill was wonderful in its way; and +the exquisite tact and cleverness with which she showed and checked the +intended crime of David--all the while seeming to pay him a +compliment--could not have been surpassed. "Now therefore, my lord, as +the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord _hath +withholden thee_ from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself +with thine own hand, now let thine enemies and they that seek evil to my +lord be as Nabal." But the most remarkable of all her qualities is her +faith; it reminds us of the faith of Rahab of Jericho, or of the faith +of Jonathan; she had the firm persuasion that David was owned of God, +that he was to be the king of Israel, and that all the devices men might +use against him would fail; and she addressed him--poor outlaw though he +was--as one of whose elevation to sovereign power, after what God had +spoken, there could not be the shadow of a doubt. Her liberality, too, +was very great. And there was a truthful, honest tone about her. Perhaps +she spoke even too plainly of her husband, but the occasion admitted of +no sort of apology for him; there was no deceit about her, and as little +flattery. Her words had a wholesome honest air, and some of her +expressions were singularly happy. When she spoke of the soul of my lord +as "bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God," she seemed to +anticipate the very language in which the New Testament describes the +union of Christ and His people, "Your life is hid with Christ in God." +She had a clear conception of the "sure mercies of David," certainly in +the literal, and we may hope also in the spiritual sense. + +The revengeful purpose and rash vow of David were not the result of +deliberate consideration; they were formed under the influence of +excitement,--most unlike the solemn and prayerful manner in which the +expedition at Keilah had been undertaken. God unacknowledged had left +David to misdirected paths. But if we blame David, as we must, for his +heedless passion, we must not less admire the readiness with which he +listens to the reasonable and pious counsel of Abigail. With the ready +instinct of a gracious heart he recognises the hand of God in Abigail's +coming,--this mercy had a heavenly origin; and cordially praises Him for +His restraining providence and restraining grace. He candidly admits +that he had formed a very sinful purpose; but he frankly abandons it, +accepts her offering, and sends her away in peace. "Blessed be the Lord +God of Israel, which sent thee this day to me; and blessed be thy +advice, and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to +shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand." It is a mark +of sincere and genuine godliness to be not less thankful for being kept +from sinning than from being rescued from suffering. + +And it was not long before David had convincing proof that it is best to +leave vengeance in the hands of God. "It came to pass, about ten days +after, that the Lord smote Nabal that he died." Having abandoned himself +at his feast to the beastliest sensuality, his nervous system underwent +a depression corresponding to the excitement that had accompanied the +debauch. In this miserable state of collapse and weakness, the news of +what had happened gave him a fright from which he never recovered. A few +days of misery, and this wretched man went to his own place, there to +join the great crowd of selfish and godless men who said to God, "Depart +from us," and to whom God will but echo their own wish--"Depart from +Me!" + +When David heard of his death, his satisfaction at the manifest +interposition of God on his behalf, and his thankfulness for having been +enabled to conquer his impetuosity, overcame for the time every other +consideration. Full of this view, he blessed God for Nabal's death, +rejoicing over his untimely end more perhaps than was altogether +becoming. We, at least, should have liked to see David dropping a tear +over the grave of one who had lived without grace and who died without +comfort. Perhaps, however, we are unable to sympathize with the +earnestness of the feeling produced by God's visible vindication of him; +a feeling that would be all the more fervent, because what had happened +to Nabal must have been viewed as a type of what was sure to happen to +Saul. In the death of Nabal, David by faith saw the destruction of all +his enemies--no wonder though his spirit was lifted up at the sight. + +If it were not for a single expression, we should, without hesitation, +set down the thirty-seventh Psalm as written at this period. The +twenty-fifth verse seems to connect it with a later period; even then it +seems quite certain that, when David wrote it, the case of Nabal (among +other cases perhaps) was full in his view. The great fact in providence +on which the psalm turns is the sure and speedy destruction of the +wicked; and the great lesson of the psalm to God's servants is not to +fret because of their prosperity, but to rest patiently on the Lord, who +will cause the meek to inherit the earth. Many of the minor expressions +and remarks, too, are quite in harmony with this occasion: "Trust in the +Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily _thou +shalt be fed_." "Cease from _anger_, and forsake _wrath_; fret not +thyself in any wise to do evil." "The _meek_ shall inherit the earth." +"The mouth of the righteous speaketh _wisdom_,"--unlike Nabal, a fool by +name and a fool by nature. The great duty enforced is that of waiting on +the Lord; not merely because it is right in itself to do so, but because +"He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as +the noonday." + +The chapter ends with Abigail's marriage to David. We are told, at the +same time, that he had another wife, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and that +Michal, Saul's daughter, had been taken from him, and given to another. +These statements cannot but grate upon our ear, indicating a laxity in +matrimonial relations very far removed from our modern standard alike of +duty and of delicacy. We cannot acquit David of a want of patience and +self-restraint in these matters; undoubtedly it is a blot in his +character, and it is a blot that led to very serious results. It was an +element of coarseness in a nature that in most things was highly +refined. David missed the true ideal of family life, the true ideal of +love, the true ideal of purity. His polygamy was not indeed imputed to +him as a crime; it was tolerated in him, as it had been tolerated in +Jacob and in others; but its natural and indeed almost necessary effects +were not obviated. In his family it bred strife, animosity, division; +it bred fearful crimes among brothers and sisters; while, in his own +case, his unsubdued animalism stained his conscience with the deepest +sins, and rent his heart with terrible sorrows. How dangerous is even +one vulnerable spot--one unsubdued lust of evil! The fable represented +that the heel of Achilles, the only vulnerable part of his body, because +his mother held him by it when she dipped him in the Styx, was the spot +on which he received his fatal wound. It was through an unmortified lust +of the flesh that nearly all David's sorrows came. How emphatic in this +view the prayer of the Apostle--"I pray God that your whole spirit and +soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord." And +how necessary and appropriate the exhortation, "Put on the _whole_ +armour of God"--girdle, breastplate, sandals, helmet, sword--all; leave +no part unprotected, "that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, +and having done all to stand." + +Thus, then, it appears, that for all that was beautiful in David he was +not a perfect character, and not without stains that seriously affected +the integrity and consistency of his life. In that most important part +of a young man's duty--to obtain full command of himself, yield to no +unlawful bodily indulgence, and do nothing that, directly or indirectly, +can tend to lower the character or impair the delicacy of women,--David, +instead of an example, is a beacon. Greatly though his early trials were +blessed in most things, they were not blessed in all things. We must +not, for this reason, turn from him as some do, with scorn. We are to +admire and imitate the qualities that were so fine, especially in early +life. Would that many of us were like him in his tenderness, his +godliness, and his attachment to his people! His name is one of the +embalmed names of Holy Writ,--all the more that when he did become +conscious of his sin, no man ever repented more bitterly; and no man's +spirit, when bruised and broken, ever sent more of the fragrance as "of +myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +_DAVID'S SECOND FLIGHT TO GATH._ + +1 SAMUEL xxvii.; xxviii. 1, 2; xxix. + + +We are not prepared for the sad decline in the spirit of trust which is +recorded in the beginning of the twenty-seventh chapter. The victory +gained by David over the carnal spirit of revenge, shown so signally in +his sparing the life of Saul a second time, would have led us to expect +that he would never again fall under the influence of carnal fear. But +there are strange ebbs and flows in the spiritual life, and sometimes a +victory brings its dangers, as well as its glory. Perhaps this very +conquest excited in David the spirit of self-confidence; he may have had +less sense of his need of daily strength from above; and he may have +fallen into the state of mind against which the Apostle warns us, "Let +him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." + +In his collision with Nabal we saw him fail in what seemed one of his +strong points--the very spirit of self-control which he had exercised so +remarkably toward Saul; and now we see him fail in another of his strong +points--the spirit of trust toward God. Could anything show more clearly +that even the most eminent graces of the saints spring from no native +fountain of goodness within them, but depend on the continuance of their +vital fellowship with Him of whom the Psalmist said, "All my springs +are in Thee"? (Psalm lxxxvii. 7). Carelessness and prayerlessness +interrupt that fellowship; the supply of daily strength ceases to come; +temptation arises, and they become weak like other men. "_Abide_ in Me," +said our Lord, with special emphasis on the need of permanence in the +relation; and the prophet says, "They that wait on the Lord," as a +habitual exercise, "shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with +wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk +and not faint." + +The most strange thing about David's new decline is, that it led him to +try a device which he had tried before, and which had proved a great +failure. We see him retreating before an enemy he had often conquered; +retreating, too, by a path every foot of which he had traversed, and +with whose bitter ending he was already familiar. Just as before, his +declension begins with distrust; and just as before, dissimulation is +the product of the distrustful spirit. He is brought into the most +painful dilemma, and into experience of the most grievous disaster; but +God, in His infinite mercy, extricates him from the one and enables him +to retrieve the other. It is affliction that brings him to his senses +and drives him to God; it is the returning spirit of prayer and trust +that sustains him in his difficulties, and at last brings to him, from +the hand of God, a merciful deliverance from them all. + +Our first point of interest is the growth and manifestation of the +spirit of distrust. "David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day +by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should +speedily escape into the land of the Philistines." We find it difficult +to account for the sudden triumph of this very despondent feeling. It +is hardly enough to say that David could have had no confidence in +Saul's expressions of regret and declared purposes of amendment. That +was no new feature of the case. Perhaps one element of the explanation +may be, that Saul, with his three thousand men, had not only become +familiar with all David's hiding-places, but had stationed troops in +various parts of the district that would so hamper his movements as to +hem him in as in a prison. Then also there may have been some new +outbreak of the malignant fury of Cush the Benjamite, and other enemies +who were about Saul, rousing the king to even more earnest efforts than +ever to apprehend him. There is yet another circumstance in David's +situation, that has not, we think, obtained the notice it deserves, but +which may have had a very material influence on his decision. David had +now two wives with him, Abigail the widow of Nabal, and Ahinoam the +Jezreelitess. He would naturally be desirous to provide them with the +comforts of a settled home. A band of young men might put up with the +risks and discomforts of a roaming life, which it would not be possible +for women to bear. The rougher sex might think nothing of midnight +removals, and attacks in the dark, and scampers over wild passes and +rugged mountains at all hours of the day and night, and snatches of food +at irregular times, and all the other experiences which David and his +men had borne patiently and cheerfully in the earlier stages of their +outlaw history. But for women this was unsuitable. It is true that this +alone would not have led David to say, "I shall one day perish by the +hand of Saul." But it would increase his sense of difficulty; it would +make him feel more keenly the embarrassments of his situation; it would +help to overwhelm him. And when he was thus at his wit's end, the sense +of danger from Saul would become more and more serious. The tension of a +mind thus pressed on every side is something terrible. Pressed and +tortured by invincible difficulties, David gives way to despair--"I +shall one day perish by the hand of Saul." + +Let us observe the manner in which this feeling grew to such strength as +to give rise to a new line of conduct. It got entrance into _his heart_. +It hovered about him in a somewhat loose form, before he took hold of +it, and resolved to act upon it. It approached him in the same manner in +which temptation approaches many a one, first presenting itself to the +imagination and the feelings, trying to get hold of them, and then +getting possession of the will, and turning the whole man in the desired +direction. Like a skilful adversary who first attacks an outpost, +apparently of little value, but when he has got it erects on it a +battery by which he is able to conquer a nearer position, and thus +gradually approaches, till at last the very citadel is in his hands,--so +sin at first hovers about the outposts of the soul. Often it seems at +first just to play with the imagination; one fancies this thing and the +other, this sensual indulgence or that act of dishonesty; and then, +having become familiar with it there, one admits it to the inner +chambers of the soul, and ere long the lust bringeth forth sin. The +lesson not to let sin play even with the imagination, but drive it +thence the moment one becomes conscious of its presence, cannot be +pressed too strongly. Have you ever studied the language of the Lord's +Prayer?--"Lead us not _into_ temptation." You are being led into +temptation whenever you are led to think, with interest and half +longing, of any sinful indulgence. Wisdom demands of you that the +moment you are conscious of such a feeling you resolutely exclaim, "Get +thee behind me, Satan!" It is the tempter trying to establish a foothold +in the outworks, meaning, when he has done so, to advance nearer and +nearer to the citadel, till at last you shall find him in strong +possession, and your soul entangled in the meshes of perdition. + +The conclusion to which David came, under the influence of distrust, as +to the best course for him to follow shows what opposite decisions may +be arrived at, according to the point of view at which men take their +stand. "There is nothing better for me than that I should escape +speedily into the land of the Philistines." From a more correct point of +view, nothing could have been worse. Had Moses thought of his prospects +from the same position, he would have said, "There is nothing better for +me than to remain the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and enjoy all the good +things to which Providence has so remarkably called me;" but standing on +the ground of faith, his conclusion was precisely the opposite. Looking +abroad over the world with the eye of sense, the young man may say, +"There is nothing better for me than that I should rejoice in my youth, +and that my heart should cheer me in the days of my youth, and that I +should walk in the ways of mine heart and in the sight of mine eyes." +But the eye of faith sees ominous clouds and gathering storms in the +distance, which show that there could be nothing worse. + +As usual, David's error was connected with the omission of prayer. We +find no clause in this chapter, "Bring hither the ephod." He asked no +counsel of God; he did not even sit down to deliberate calmly on the +matter. The impulse to which he yielded required him to decide at once. +The word "speedily" indicates the presence of panic, the action of a +tumultuous force on his mind, inducing him to act as promptly as one +does in raising one's arm to ward off a threatened blow. Possibly he had +the feeling that, if God's mind were consulted, it would be contrary to +his desire, and on that ground, like too many persons, he may have +shrunk from honest prayer. How different from the spirit of the +psalm--"Show me Thy ways, O Lord, teach me Thy paths; lead me in Thy +truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I +wait all the day." Dost thou imagine, David, that the Lord's arm is +shortened that it cannot save, and His ear heavy that it cannot hear? +Would not He who delivered you in six troubles cause that in seven no +evil should touch thee? Has He not promised that thou shalt be hid from +the scourge of the tongue, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction +when it cometh? Dost thou not know that thy seed shall be great and +thine offspring as the grass of the earth? Thou shalt come to thy grave +in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. + +So "David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were +with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath." It is thought by +some that this was a different king from the former, the name Achish +like the name Pharaoh being used by all the kings. At first the +arrangement seemed to succeed. Achish appears to have received him +kindly. "David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with +his household, even David with his two wives." The emphasis laid on the +household and the wives shows how difficult it had been to provide for +them before. And Saul, at last, gave up the chase, and sought for him no +more. Of course, in giving him a friendly reception, Achish must have +had a view to his own interest. He would calculate on making use of him +in his battles with Saul, and very probably give an incredulous smile if +he heard anything of the scruples he had shown to lift up his hand +against the Lord's anointed. + +Availing himself of the favourable impression made on Achish, David now +begs to have a country town allotted to him as his residence, so as to +avoid what appeared the unseemliness of his dwelling in the royal city +with him. There was much common sense in the demand, and Achish could +not but feel it. Gath was but a little place, and Achish, if he was but +lord of Gath, was not a very powerful king. The presence in such a place +of a foreign prince, with a retinue of soldiers six hundred strong, was +hardly becoming. Possibly Achish's own body guard did not come up in +number and in prowess to the troop of David. The request for a separate +residence was therefore granted readily, and Ziklag was assigned to +David. It lay near the southern border of the Philistines, close to the +southern desert. At Ziklag he was away from the eye of the lords of the +Philistines that had always viewed him with such jealousy; he was far +away from the still greater jealousy of Saul; and with Geshurites, and +Gezrites, and Amalekites in his neighbourhood, the natural enemies of +his country, he had opportunities of using his troop so as at once to +improve their discipline and promote the welfare of his native land. + +There was another favourable occurrence in David's experience at this +time. From a parallel passage (1 Chron. xii.) we learn that during his +residence among the Philistines he was constantly receiving important +accessions to his troop. One set of men who came to him, Benjamites, of +the tribe of Saul, were remarkably skilful in the use of the bow and the +sling, able to use either right hand or left with equal ease. The men +that came to him were not from one tribe only, but from many. A very +important section were from Benjamin and Judah. At first David seemed to +have some suspicion of their sincerity. Going out to meet them he said +to them, "If ye be come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be +knit unto you; but if ye be come to betray me to my enemies, seeing +there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look thereon and +rebuke it." The answer was given by Amasai, in the spirit and rhythmical +language of prophecy: "Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of +Jesse; peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy +God helpeth thee." Thus he was continually receiving evidence of the +favour in which he was held by his people, and his band was continually +increasing, "until it was a great host, like the host of God." It +seemed, up to this point, as if Providence had favoured his removal to +the land of the Philistines, and brought to him the security and the +prosperity which he could not find in the land of Judah. But it was +ill-gained security and only mock-prosperity; the day of his troubles +drew on. + +The use which, as we have seen, he made of his troop was to invade the +Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites. In taking this step David +had a sinister purpose. It would not have been so agreeable to the +Philistines to learn that the arms of David had been turned against +these tribes as against his own countrymen. When therefore he was asked +by Achish where he had gone that day, he returned an answer fitted, and +indeed intended, to deceive. Without saying in words, "I have been +fighting against my own people in the south of Judah," he led Achish to +believe that he had, and he was pleased when his words were taken in +that sense. Achish, we are told, believed David, believed that he had +been in arms against his countrymen. "He hath made his people Israel +utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever." Could +there have been a more lamentable spectacle? one of the noblest of men +stained by the meanness of a false insinuation; David, the anointed of +the God of Israel, ranged with the common herd of liars! + +Nor was this the only error into which his crooked policy now led him. +To cover his deceitful course he had recourse to an act of terrible +carnage. It was deemed by him important that no one should be able to +carry to Achish a faithful report of what he had been doing. To prevent +this he made a complete massacre, put to death every man, woman, child +of the Amalekites and other tribes whom he now attacked. Such massacres +were indeed quite common in Eastern warfare. The Bulgarian and other +massacres of which we have heard in our own day show that even yet, +after an interval of nearly three thousand years, they are not foreign +to the practice of Eastern nations. In point of fact, they were not +thought more of, or worse of, than any of the other incidents of war. +War was held to bind up into one bundle the whole lives and property of +the enemy, and give to the conqueror supreme control over it. To destroy +the whole was just the same in principle as to destroy a part. If the +destruction of the whole was necessary in order to carry out the objects +of the campaign, it was not more wicked to perpetrate such destruction +than to destroy a part. + +True, according to our modern view, there is something mean in falling +on helpless, defenceless women and children, and slaughtering them in +cold blood. And yet our modern ideas allow the bombardment or the +besieging of great cities, and the bringing of the more slow but +terrible process of starvation to bear against women and children and +all, in order to compel a surrender. Much though modern civilisation has +done to lessen the horrors of war, if we approve of all its methods we +cannot afford to hold up our hands in horror at those which were judged +allowable in the days of David. Yet surely, you may say, we might have +expected better things of David. We might have expected him to break +away from the common sentiment, and to show more humanity. But this +would not have been reasonable. For it is very seldom that the +individual conscience, even in the case of the best men, becomes +sensible at once of the vices of its age. How many good men in this +country, in the early part of this century, were zealous defenders of +slavery, and in America down to a much later time! There is nothing more +needful for us in studying history, even Old Testament history, than to +remember that very remarkable individual excellence may be found in +connection with a great amount of the vices of the age. We cannot +attempt to show that David was not guilty of a horrible carnage in his +treatment of the Amalekites. All we can say is, he shared in the belief +of the time that such carnage was a lawful incident of war. We cannot +but feel that in the whole circumstances it left a stain upon his +character; and yet he may have engaged in it without any consciousness +of barbarity, without any idea that the day would come when his friends +would blush for the deed. + +The Philistines were now preparing a new campaign under Achish against +Saul and his kingdom, and Achish determined that David should go with +him; further, that he should go in the capacity of "keeper of his head," +or captain of his body guard, and that this should not be a temporary +arrangement, but permanent--"for ever." It is difficult for us to +conceive the depth of the embarrassment into which this intimation must +have plunged David. We must bear in mind how scrupulous and sensitive +his conscience was as to raising his hand against the Lord's anointed; +and we must take into account the horror he must have felt at the +thought of rushing in deadly array against his own dear countrymen, with +most of whom he had had no quarrel, and who had never done him any harm. +When Achish made him head of his body guard he paid a great compliment +to his fidelity and bravery; but in proportion as the post was +honourable it was disagreeable and embarrassing. For David and his men +would have to fight close to Achish, under his very eye; and any +symptoms of holding back from the fray--any inclination to be off, or to +spare the foe, which natural feeling might have dictated in the hour of +battle, must be resisted in presence of the king. Perhaps David reckoned +that if the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines he might be able +to make better terms for them--might even be of use to Saul himself, and +thus render such services as would atone for his hostile attitude. But +this was a wretched consolation. David was entangled so that he could +neither advance nor retreat. Before him was GOD, closing His path in +front; behind him was MAN, closing it in rear; and we may well believe +he would have willingly given all he possessed if only his feet could +have been clear and his conscience upright as before. + +Still, he does not appear to have returned to a candid frame of mind, +but rather to have continued the dissimulation. He had gone with Achish +as far as the battlefield, when it pleased God, in great mercy, to +extricate him from his difficulty by using the jealousy of the lords of +the Philistines as the means of his dismissal from the active service of +King Achish. But instead of gladly retiring when he received intimation +that his services were dispensed with, we find him (chap. xxix. 8) +remonstrating with Achish, speaking as if it were a disappointment not +to be allowed to go with him, and as if he thirsted for an opportunity +of chastising his countrymen. It is sad to find him continuing in this +strain. We are told that the time during which he abode in the country +of the Philistines was a full year and four months. It was to all +appearance a time of spiritual declension; and as distrust ruled his +heart, so dissimulation ruled his conduct. It could hardly have been +other than a time of merely formal prayers and comfortless spiritual +experience. If he would but have allowed himself to believe it, he was +far happier in the cave of Adullam or the wilderness of Engedi, when the +candle of the Lord shone upon his head, than he was afterwards amid the +splendour of the palace of Achish, or the princely independence of +Ziklag. + +The only bright spot in this transaction was the very cordial testimony +borne by Achish to the faultless way in which David had uniformly served +him. It is seldom indeed that such language as Achish employed can be +used of any servant--"I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel +of God." Achish must have been struck with the utter absence of +treachery and of all self-seeking in David. David had shown that +singular, unblemished trustworthiness that earned such golden opinions +for Joseph in the house of Potiphar and from the keeper of the prison. +In this respect he had kept his light shining before men with a clear, +unclouded lustre. Even amid his spiritual backsliding and sad distrust +of God, he had never stained his hands with greed or theft, he had in +all these respects kept himself unspotted of the world. + +The chapter of David's history which we have now been pursuing is a very +painful one, but the circumstances in which he was placed were extremely +difficult and trying. It is impossible to justify the course he took. +By-and-bye we shall see how God chastised him for it, and by chastising +him brought him to Himself. But to those who are disposed to be very +severe on him we might well say, He that is without sin among you, let +him first cast a stone at him. Who among you have not been induced at +times to try carnal and unworthy expedients for extricating yourselves +from difficulty? Who, in days of boyhood or girlhood, never told a +falsehood to cover a fault? Who of you have been uniformly accustomed to +carry to God every difficulty and trial, with the honest, immovable +determination to do simply and solely what might seem to be agreeable to +God's will? Have we not all cause to mourn over conduct that has +dishonoured God and distressed our consciences? May He give all of us +light to see wherein we have come short in the past, or wherein we are +coming short in the present. And from the bottom of our hearts may we be +taught to raise our prayer, From all the craft and cunning of Satan; +from all the devices of the carnal mind; from all that blinds us to the +pure and perfect will of God--good Lord, deliver us. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +_SAUL AT ENDOR._ + +1 SAMUEL xxviii. 3-25. + + +For a considerable time Saul had been drifting along like a crippled +vessel at sea, a melancholy example of a man forsaken of God. But as his +decisive encounter with the Philistines drew on, the state of +helplessness to which he had been reduced became more apparent than +ever. He had sagacity enough to perceive that the expedition which the +Philistines were now leading against him was the most formidable that +had ever taken place in his day. It was no ordinary battle that was to +be fought; it was one that would decide the fate of the country. The +magnitude of the expedition on his part is apparent from an expression +in the fourth verse--"Saul gathered all Israel together." The place of +encounter was not any of the old battle-fields with the Philistines. +Usually the engagements had taken place in some of the valleys that ran +down from the territories of Dan, or Benjamin, or Judah into the +Philistine plain, or on the heights above these. But such places were +comparatively contracted, and did not afford scope for great bodies of +troops. This time the Philistines chose a wider and more commanding +battlefield. Advancing northwards along their own maritime plain, and +beyond it along the plain of Sharon, they turned eastwards into the +great plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, and occupied the northern side of +the plain. The troops of Saul were encamped on the southern side, +occupying the northern slope of Mount Gilboa. There the two armies faced +each other, the wide plain stretching between. + +It was a painful moment for Saul when he got his first view of the +Philistine host, for the sight of it filled him with consternation. It +would appear to have surpassed that of Israel very greatly in numbers, +in resources, as it certainly did in its confident spirit. Yet, if Saul +had been a man of faith, none of these things would have moved him. Was +it not in that very neighbourhood that Barak, with his hasty levies, had +inflicted a signal defeat on the Canaanites? And was it not in that very +plain that the hosts of Midian lay encamped in the days of Gideon, when +the barley cake rolling into their camp overturned and terrified the +host, and a complete discomfiture followed? Why should not the Lord work +as great a deliverance now? If God was with them, He was more than all +that could be against them. Might not this be another of the days +foretold by Moses, when one should chase a thousand, and two put ten +thousand to flight? + +Yes, _if_ God was with them. All turned upon that _if_. And Saul felt +that God was not with them, and that they could not count on any such +deliverance as, in better times, had been vouchsafed to their fathers. + +And why, O Saul, when you felt thus, did you not humble yourself before +God, confess all your sins, and implore Him to show you mercy? Why did +you not cry, "Return, O Lord, how long? And let it repent Thee +concerning Thy servants"? Would you have found God inexorable? Would His +ear have been heavy that it could not hear? Don't you remember how +Moses said that when Israel, in sore bondage, should cry humbly to God, +the Lord would hear his cry, and have mercy on him? Why, O Saul, do you +not fall in the dust before Him? + +Somehow Saul felt that he could not. Among other effects of sin and +rebellion, one of the worst is a stiffening of the soul, making it hard +and rigid, so that it cannot bend, it cannot melt, it cannot change its +course. The long career of wilfulness that Saul had followed had +produced in him this stiffening effect; his spirit was hardened in its +own ways, and incapable of all exercise of contrition or humiliation, or +anything essentially different from the course he had been following. +There are times in the life of a deeply afflicted woman when the best +thing she could do would be to weep, but that is just the thing she +cannot do. There are times when the best thing an inveterate sinner +could do would be to fling himself before God and sob for mercy, but +fling himself before God and sob he cannot. Saul was incapable of that +exercise of soul which would have saved him and his people. Most +terrible effect of cherished sin! It dries up the fountains of +contrition and they will not flow. It stiffens the knees and they will +not bend. It paralyses the voice and it will not cry. It blinds the eyes +and they see not the Saviour. It closes the ears and the voice of mercy +is unheard. It drives the distressed one to wells without water, to +refuges of lies, to trees twice dead, to physicians who have no +medicines, to gods who have no salvation; all he feels is that his case +is desperate, and yet somewhere or other he must have help! + +Saul did not neglect the outward means by which in other days God had +been accustomed to direct the nation. He tried every authorized way he +could think of for getting guidance from above. He believed in a +heavenly power, and he asked its guidance and its help. But God took no +notice of him. He answered him neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by +prophets. Men, though in heart rebellious against God's will, will go +through a great deal of mechanical service in the hope of securing His +favour. It is not their muscles that get stiffened, but their souls. +What a strange conception they must have of God when they fancy that +mere external services will please Him! How little Saul knew of God when +he supposed that, overlooking all the rebellion of his heart, God would +respond to a mechanical effort or efforts to communicate with Him! Don't +you know, O Saul, that your iniquities have separated between you and +your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not +hear? Nothing will have the least effect on Him till you own your sin. +"I will go and return unto My place, until they acknowledge their +offence and seek My face." And this is just what you will not, cannot +do! How infinitely precious would one tear of genuine repentance have +been in that dark hour! It would have saved thousands of the Israelites +from a bloody death; it would have saved the nation from defeat and +humiliation; it would have removed the obstacle to fellowship with the +Hope of Israel, who would have stood true to His ancient +character,--"the Saviour thereof in time of trouble." + +But Saul's day of grace was over, and accordingly we find him driven to +the most humbling expedient to which a man can stoop--seeking counsel +from a quarter against which, in his more prosperous days, he had +directed his special energies, as a superstitious, demoralizing agency. +He had been most zealous in exterminating a class of persons, abounding +in Eastern countries, who pretend to know the secrets of the future, and +to have access to the inhabitants of the unseen world. Little could he +have dreamt in those days of fiery zeal that a time would come when he +would rejoice to learn that one poor wretch had escaped the vigilance of +his officers, and still carried on, or pretended to carry on, a +nefarious traffic with the realms of the departed! It shows how little +man is acquainted with the inner feelings of other men--how little he +knows even himself. Doubtless he thought, in the days of exterminating +zeal, that it was sheer folly and drivelling superstition that +encouraged these sorcerers, and that by clearing them away he would be +ridding the land of a mass of rubbish that could be of service to no +one. He did not consider that there are times of wretchedness and +despair when the soul that knows not God will seek counsel even of men +with a familiar spirit--he little dreamt that such would be the case +with himself. "Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing?" he +would have asked with great indignation in those early days, if it had +been insinuated that he would ever be tempted to resort to such +counsellors. "What better could I ever be of anything they could tell +me? Surely it would be wiser to meet any conceivable danger full in the +face than to seek after such counsel as they could give!" He did not +consider that when man's spirit is overwhelmed within him, and his +craving for help is like the passion of a madman, he will clutch like a +drowning man at a straw, he will even resort to a woman with a familiar +spirit, if, peradventure, some hint can be got to extricate him from his +misery. + +But to this complexion it came at last. With dreadful sacrifice of +self-respect, Saul had to ask his advisers to seek out for him a woman +of this description. They were able to tell him of such a woman residing +at Endor, about ten miles from where they were. With two attendants he +set out after nightfall, disguised, and found her. Naturally, she was +afraid to do anything in the way of business in the face of such +measures as the king had taken against all of her craft, nor would she +stir until she had got a solemn promise that she would not be molested +in any way. Then, when all was ready, she asked whom she should call up. +"Call up Samuel," said Saul. To the great astonishment of the woman +herself, she sees Samuel rising up. A shriek from her indicates that she +is as much astonished and for the moment frightened as anyone can be. +Evidently she did not expect such an apparition. The effect was much too +great for the cause. She sees that in this apparition a power is +concerned much beyond what she can wield. Instinctively she apprehends +that the only man of importance enough to receive such a supernatural +visit must be the head of the nation. "Why did you deceive me?" she +said, "for thou art Saul." "Never mind that," is virtually Saul's reply; +"but tell me what you have seen." The Revised Version gives her answer +better than the older one--"I saw a god arise out of the earth." "What +is his appearance?" earnestly asks Saul. "He is an old man, and he is +covered with a mantle." And Saul sees that it is really Samuel. + +But what was it that really happened, and how did it come about? That +the woman was able, even if she really had the aid of evil spirits, to +bring Samuel into Saul's presence we cannot believe. Nor could she +believe it herself. If Samuel really appeared--and the narrative assumes +that he did--it must have been by a direct miracle, God supernaturally +clothing his spirit in something like its old form, and bringing him +back to earth to speak to Saul. In judgment it seemed good to God to let +Saul have his desire, and to give him a real interview with Samuel. "He +gave him his request, but sent leanness to his soul." So far from having +his fears allayed and his burden removed, Saul was made to see from +Samuel's communication that there was nothing but ruin before him; and +he must have gone back to the painful duty of the morrow staggering +under a load heavier than before. + +Samuel begins the conversation; and he does so by reproaching Saul for +having disquieted him, and brought him back from his peaceful home above +to mingle again in the strife and turmoil of human things. Nothing can +exceed the haggard and weird desolation of Saul's answer. "I am sore +distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed +from me and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams: +therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I +shall do." Was ever a king in such a plight? Who would have thought, +when Samuel and Saul first came together, and Saul listened so +respectfully to the prophet counselling him concerning the kingdom, that +their last meeting should be like this? In all Saul's statement there is +no word that carries such a load of meaning and of despair as this--"God +is departed from me." It is the token of universal confusion and +calamity. And Saul felt it, and as no one understood these things like +Samuel, he had sought Samuel to counsel his wayward son, to tell him +what to do. + +It is not every sinner that makes the discovery in this life what awful +results follow when God is departed from him. But if the discovery does +not dawn on one in this life, it will come on him with overwhelming +force in the life to come. Men little think what they are preparing for +themselves when they say to God, "Depart from us, for we desire not the +knowledge of Thy ways." The service of God is irksome; the restraints of +God's law are distressing; they like a free life, freedom to please +themselves. And so they part company with God. The form of Divine +service may be kept up or it may not: but God is not their God, and +God's will is not their rule. They have left God's ways, they have +followed their own. And when conscience has sometimes given them a +twinge, when God has reminded them by the silent monitor of His claims, +their answer has been, Let us alone, what have we to do with Thee? +Depart from us, leave us in peace. Ah! how little have you considered +that the most awful thing that could happen to you is just for God to +depart from you! If we could conceive the earth a sensitive being, and +somehow to get a dislike for the sun, and to pray the sun to depart from +her, how awful would be the fulfilment! Losing all the genial influences +that brighten her surface, that cover her face with beauty and enrich +her soil with abundance, all the foul and slimy creatures of darkness +would creep out, all the noxious influences of dissolution and death +would riot in their terrible freedom! And is not this but a poor faint +picture of man forsaken by God! O sinner, if ever thy wish should be +fulfilled, how wilt thou curse the day in which thou didst utter it! +When vile lusts rise to uncontrollable authority--when those whom you +love turn hopelessly wicked, when you find yourselves joyless, helpless, +hopeless, when you try to repent and cannot repent, when you try to pray +and cannot pray, when you try to be pure and cannot be pure--what a +terrible calamity you will then feel it that God is departed from you! +Trifle not, O man, with thy relation to God; and let not thy history be +such that it shall have to be written in the words of the prophet--"But +they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit; therefore He was turned to be +their enemy and He fought against them" (Isaiah lxiii. 10). + +There was no comfort for Saul in Samuel's reply, but much the contrary. +Why should he have asked advice of the Lord's servant, when he owned +that he was forsaken by the Lord Himself? What could the servant do for +him if the Master was become his enemy? What can a priest or a minister +do for any man if God has turned His face away from him? Can he make God +deny Himself, and become favourable to one who has scorned or sinned +away His Holy Spirit? Saul was experiencing no more than he had just +reason to expect since that fatal day when he had first deliberately set +up his own will above God's will in the affair of Amalek. In the course +which he began then, he had persistently continued, and God was now just +executing the threatenings which Saul had braved. And next day would +witness the last of his sad history. The Lord would deliver Israel into +the hands of the Philistines; in the collision of the armies he and his +sons would be slain; disaster to his arms, death to himself, and +destruction to his dynasty would all come together on that miserable +day. + +It is no wonder that Saul was utterly prostrated: "He fell straightway +all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of +Samuel; and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all +the day, nor all the night." He could not have expected that the +interview with Samuel would be a pleasant one, but he never imagined +that it would announce such awful calamities. Have you not known +sometimes the terrible sensation when you had heard there was something +wrong with some of your friends, and on going to inquire, discovered +that the calamity was infinitely worse than you had ever dreamt of? A +momentary paralysis comes over one; you are stunned and made helpless by +the tidings. We may even be tempted to think that surely Samuel was too +hard on Saul; might he not have tempered his awful message by some +qualifying word of hope and mercy? The answer is, Samuel spoke the +truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We are all prone to +the thought that when evil men get their doom there will surely be +something to modify or mitigate its rigour. Samuel's words to Saul +indicate no such relaxation. Moral law will vindicate itself as natural +law vindicates itself--"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also +reap." + +The last incident in the chapter is interesting and pleasing. We might +have thought that such a calling as that followed by the witch of Endor +would have destroyed all the humanities in her nature; that she would +have looked on the king's distress with a cold, stoical eye, and that +her only concern would be to obtain for herself a fee adapted to the +occasion. But she shows much of the woman left in her after all. When +she rehearses her service, and the peril of her life at which it has +been rendered, to prepare the way for her asking a favour, the favour +which she does ask is not for herself at all,--it is on Saul's own +behalf, that she might be permitted the honour of preparing for him a +meal. Saul's mind is too much occupied and too much agitated to care +for anything of the kind. Still prostrate on the ground he says, "I will +not eat." Men overwhelmed by calamity hate to eat, they are too excited +to experience hunger. It was only when his servants, thinking how much +he had gone through already, how much more he had to go through on the +morrow, and how utterly unfit his exhausted body was for the strain--it +was then only that he yielded to the request of the woman. And the woman +showed that, for all her sinister business, she was equal to the +occasion of entertaining a king. The "fat calf in the house" +corresponded to the "fatted calf" in the parable of the prodigal son. It +was not the custom even in families of the richer class to eat meat at +ordinary meals; it was reserved for feasts and extraordinary occasions; +and in order to be ready for any emergency a calf was kept close to the +house, whose flesh, from the delicate way in which it was reared and +fed, was tender enough to be served even at so hasty a meal. With cakes +of unleavened bread, this dish could be presented very rapidly, and, +unlike the hasty meals which are common among us, was really a more +substantial and nourishing entertainment than ordinary. It is touching +to mark these traces of womanly feeling in this unhappy being, reminding +us of the redeeming features of Rahab the harlot. What effect the whole +transaction had on the woman we are not told, and it would be vain to +conjecture. + +And now Saul retraces his dark and dreary way southward to the heights +of Gilboa. We can hardly exaggerate his miserable condition. He had much +to think of, and he would have needed a clear, unclouded mind. We can +think of him only as miserably distracted, and unable to let his mind +settle on anything. It would have needed his utmost resources to +arrange for the battle of to-morrow, a battle in which he knew that +defeat was coming, but which he might endeavour, nevertheless, to make +as little disastrous as possible. Moreover, he knew it was to be the +last day of his life, and troubled thoughts could not but steal in on +him as to what should happen when he stood before God. No doubt, too, +there were many sad thoughts about his sons, who were to be involved in +the same fate as himself. Was there no way of saving any of them? The +arrangement of his temporal effects, too, would claim attention, for, +restless and excitable as he had been, it was not likely that his +private affairs would be in very good order. Anon his thoughts might +wander back to his first interview with Samuel, and bitter remorse would +send its pang through him as he thought how differently he might have +left the kingdom if he had faithfully followed the counsels of the +prophet. Possibly amid all these gloomy thoughts one thought of a +brighter order might steal into his mind--how thoroughly David, who +would come to the throne after him, would retrieve his errors and +restore prosperity, and make the kingdom what it had never been under +him, a model kingdom, worthy to shadow forth the glories of Messiah's +coming reign. Poor distracted man, he was little fitted either to fight +a battle with the Philistines or to encounter the last enemy on his own +account. What a lesson to be prepared beforehand! On a deathbed, +especially a sudden one, distractions can hardly fail to visit us--this +thing and the other thing needing to be arranged and thought of. Happy +they who at such a moment can say, "I am now ready to depart." "Into Thy +hands I commend my spirit, for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of +truth." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +_DAVID AT ZIKLAG._ + +1 SAMUEL xxx. + + +After David had received from King Achish the appointment of captain of +his body guard, he had with his troops accompanied the Philistine army, +passing along the maritime plain to the very end of their journey--to +the spot selected for battle, close to "the fountain which is in +Jezreel." It seems to have been only after the whole Philistine host +were ranged in battle array that the presence of David and his men, who +remained in the rear to protect the king, arrested the attention of the +lords of the Philistines, and on their remonstrance they were sent away. +It is probable that David's return to Ziklag, and the expedition in +which he had to engage to recover his wives and his property, took place +at or about the very time when Saul made his journey to Endor, and when +the fatal battle of Gilboa was raging. We have seen that though David +never, like Saul, threw off the authority of God, he had been following +ways of his own, ways of deceit and unfaithfulness. He too had been +exposing himself to the displeasure of God, and on him, as on Saul, some +retribution behoved to fall. But in the two cases we see the difference +between judgment and chastisement. In the case of Saul it was judgment +that came down; his life and his career were terminated avowedly as the +punishment of his offence. In the case of David the rod was lifted to +correct, not to destroy; to bring him back, not to drive him for ever +away; to fit him for service, not to cut him asunder, or appoint him his +portion with the hypocrites. There is every reason to believe that the +awful disaster that befell David on his return to Ziklag was the means +of restoring him to a trustful and truthful frame. + +It appears from the chapter now before us that, in the absence of David +and his troop, severe reprisals had been taken by the Amalekites for the +defeat and utter destruction which they had lately inflicted on a +portion of their tribe. We must remember that the Amalekites were a +widely dispersed people, consisting of many tribes, each living +separately from the rest, but so related that in any emergency they +would readily come to one another's help. News of the extermination of +the tribes whom David had attacked, and whom he had utterly destroyed +lest any of them should bring word to Achish of his real employment, had +been brought to their neighbours; and these neighbours determined to +take revenge for the slaughter of their kinsmen. The opportunity of +David's absence was taken for invading Ziklag, for which purpose a large +and well-equipped expedition had been got together; and as they met with +no opposition, they carried everything before them. Happily, however, as +they found no enemies they did not draw the sword; they counted it +better policy to carry off all that could be transported, so as to make +use of the goods, and sell the women and children into slavery, and as +they had a great multitude of beasts of burden with them (ver. 17) there +could be no difficulty in carrying out this plan. It seems very strange +that David should have left Ziklag apparently without the protection of +a single soldier; but what seems to us folly had all the effect of +consummate wisdom in the end; the passions of the Amalekites were not +excited by opposition or by bloodshed; their destructive propensities +were satisfied with destroying the town of Ziklag, and every person and +thing that could be removed was carried away unhurt. But for days to +come David could not know that their expedition had been conducted in +this unusually peaceful way; his imagination and his fears would picture +far darker scenes. + +It must have been an awful moment to David--hardly less so than to Saul +when he saw the host of the Philistines near Jezreel--to reach what had +been recently so peaceful a home and find it a mass of smoking ruins. If +he had been disposed to congratulate himself on the success of the +policy which had dictated his escape from the land of Judah, and his +settling at Ziklag under protection of King Achish, how in one moment +must the rottenness of the whole plan have flashed upon him, and how +awed must he have been at the proof now so clearly afforded that the +whole arrangement had been frowned on by the God of heaven! What an +agony of suspense and distress he must have been in till more definite +news could be obtained; and what a burst of despair must have been heard +through the camp when it became known to his followers that the worst +that could be conceived had happened--that their houses were all +destroyed, their property seized, and their wives and children carried +off, to be disgraced, or sold, or butchered, as might suit the fancy of +their masters! And then, that remorseless massacre that they had lately +inflicted on the kinsmen of their invaders, how likely it would be to +exasperate their passions against them! What mercy would they show +whose neighbours had received no mercy? What a dreadful fate would these +helpless women and children be now experiencing! + +It was probably one of the bitterest of the many bitter hours that David +ever spent. First there was the natural feeling of disappointment, after +a long and weary march, when the comforts of home had been so eagerly +looked forward to, and each man seemed already in the embrace of his +family, to find home utterly obliterated, and its place marked by +blackened ruins. Then there was the far more intense pang to every +affectionate heart, caused by the carrying off of the members of their +families; this, it appears, was the predominant feeling of the camp: +"the soul of the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his +daughters." And somehow David was the person blamed, partly perhaps +through that hasty but unjust feeling that blames the leader of an +expedition for all the mishaps attending it, and partly also, it may be, +because Ziklag had been left utterly undefended. "What business had he +to march us all at the heels of these uncircumcised Philistines, as if +we ought to make common cause with them, only to march us back again +just as we came, to gain nothing there and to lose everything here!" To +all this was added a further element of excitement: it was not merely +calamities known and seen that worked in the minds of the people; the +gloom of dreaded but uncertain horrors helped to excite them still more. +Imagination would quickly supply the place of evidence in picturing the +situation of their wives and children. The feelings of the troops were +so fearfully excited against David that they spoke of stoning him. The +very men that had lately approached him with the beautiful salutation, +"Peace, peace be to thee, and peace be to thine helpers, for thy God +helpeth thee," now spoke of stoning him. How like the spirit and the +conduct of their descendants a thousand years later, shouting at one +time, "Hosanna to the Son of David," and but a few days after, "Crucify +Him, crucify Him." The state of David's feelings must have been all the +more terrible for the uneasy conscience he had in the matter, for he had +too much cause to feel that the dissembling policy which he had been +pursuing had caused another massacre, more frightful than that of the +priests after his visit to Nob. + +It is probable that at this awful moment the mind of David was visited +by a blessed influence from above. The wail of woe that spread through +his camp, and the dismal ruins that covered the site of his recent home, +seem to have spoken to him in that tone of rebuke which the words of the +prophet afterwards conveyed, "Thou art the man!" Under great excitement +the mind works with great rapidity, and passes almost with the speed of +lightning from one mood to another. It is quite possible that under the +same electric shock, as we may call it, that brought David to a sense of +his sin he was guided back to his former confidence in the mercy and +grace of his covenant God. In one instant, we may believe, the miserable +hollowness of all those carnal devices in which he had been trusting +would flash upon his mind, and God--his own loving Father and covenant +God--would appear waiting to be gracious and longing for his return. And +now the prodigal son is in his Father's arms, weeping, sobbing, +confessing, but at the same time feeling the luxury of forgiveness, +rejoicing, trusting and delighting in His protection and blessing. + +It may indeed be objected that we are proceeding too much on mere +imagination in supposing that David's return to a condition of holy +trust in God was effected in this rapid way. The view may be wrong, and +we do not insist on it. What we found on is the very short interval +between his last act of dissimulation in professing to desire to +accompany Achish to battle, and his manifest restoration to the spirit +of trust, evinced in the words, applied to him when the people spoke of +stoning him, "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (ver. +6). These words show that he has got back to the true track at last, and +from that moment prosperity returns. What a blessed thing it was for him +that in that hour of utmost need he was able to derive strength from the +thought of God,--able to think of the Most High as watching him with +interest, and still ready to deliver him! + +It was a somewhat similar incident, though not preceded by any such +previous backsliding--a similar manifestation of the magical power of +trust--that took place in the life of a more modern David, one who in +serving God and doing good to man had to encounter a life of wandering, +privation, and danger seldom surpassed--the African missionary and +explorer, David Livingstone. In the course of his great journey from St. +Paul de Loanda on the west coast of Africa to Quilimane on the east, he +had to encounter many an angry and greedy tribe, whom he was too poor to +be able to pacify by the ordinary method of valuable presents. On one +occasion, in the fork at the confluence of the river Loangwa and the +river Zambesi, he found one of those hostile tribes. It was necessary +for him to have canoes to cross--they would lend him only one. In other +respects they showed an attitude of hostility, and the appearances all +pointed to a furious attack the following day. Livingstone was troubled +at the prospect,--not that he was afraid to die, but because it seemed +as if all his discoveries in Africa would be lost, and his sanguine +hopes for planting commerce and Christianity among its benighted and +teeming tribes knocked on the head. But he remembered the words of the +Lord Jesus Christ, "Go ye therefore into all the world, and preach the +gospel unto every creature, and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the +end of the world." On this promise he rested, and steadied his +fluttering heart. "It is the word of a gentleman," he said, "the word of +one of the most perfect honour. I will not try, as I once thought, to +escape by night, but I will wait till to-morrow, and leave before them +all. Should such a man as I be afraid? I will take my observations for +longitude tonight, though it should be my last. My mind is now quite at +rest, thank God." He waited as he had said, and next morning, though the +arrangements of the natives still betokened battle, he and his men were +allowed to cross the river in successive detachments, without +molestation, he himself waiting to the last, and not a hair of their +heads being hurt. It was a fine instance of a believing Christian +strengthening himself in his God. When faith is genuine, and the habit +of exercising it is active, it can remove mountains. + +The first result of the restored feeling of trust in David was his +giving honour to God's appointed ordinance by asking counsel of Him, +through Abiathar the priest, as to the course he should follow. It is +the first time we read of him doing so since he left his own country. At +first one wonders how he could have discontinued so precious a means of +ascertaining the will of God and the path of duty. But the truth is, +when a man is left to himself he cares for no advice or direction but +his own inclination. He is not desirous to be led; he wishes only to go +comfortably. Indifference to God's guidance explains much neglect of +prayer. + +David has now made his application, and he has got a clear and decided +answer. He can feel now that he is treading on solid ground. How much +happier he must have been than when driving hither and thither, scheming +and dissembling, and floundering from one device of carnal wisdom to +another! As for his people, he can think of them now with far more +tranquillity; have they not been all along in God's keeping, and is it +not true that He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps? + +We need not dwell at great length on the incidents that immediately +followed. No events could have fallen out more favourably. One-third of +his troops was indeed so exhausted that they had to be left at the brook +Besor. With the other four hundred he set out in search of the foe. The +special providence of God, so clearly and frequently displayed on this +occasion, provided a guide for David in the person of an Egyptian slave, +who, having fallen sick, had been abandoned by his master, and had been +three days and nights without meat or drink. Careful treatment having +resuscitated this young man, and a solemn assurance having been given +him that he would neither be killed nor given back to his master (the +latter alternative seems to have been as terrible as the other), he +conducts them without loss of time to the camp of the Amalekites. Each +day's journey brought them nearer and nearer to the great wilderness +where, some five or six hundred years before, their fathers had +encountered Amalek at Rephidim, and had gained a great victory over +them, after not a few fluctuations, through the uplifted arms of Moses, +the token of reliance on the strength of God. Through the same good hand +on David, the Amalekites, surprised in the midst of a time of careless +and uproarious festivity, were completely routed, and all but destroyed. +Every article they had stolen, and every woman and child they had +carried off, were recovered unhurt. Such a deliverance was beyond +expectation. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Ziklag, they +were like men that dream. + +The happy change of circumstances was signalized by David by two +memorable acts, the one an act of justice, the other an act of +generosity. The act of justice was his interfering to repress the +selfishness of the part of his troops who were engaged in the fight with +Amalek, some of whom wished to exclude the disabled portion, who had to +remain at the brook Besor, from sharing the spoil. The objectors are +called "the wicked men and the men of Belial." It is a significant +circumstance that David had been unable to inspire all his followers +with his own spirit--that even at the end of his residence in Ziklag +there were wicked men and men of Belial among them. No doubt these were +the very men that had been loudest in their complaints against David, +and had spoken of stoning him when they came to know of the calamity at +Ziklag. Complaining men are generally selfish men. They objected to +David's proposal to share the spoil with the whole body of his +followers. Their proposal was especially displeasing to David at a time +when God had given them such tokens of undeserved goodness. It was of +the same sort as the act of the unforgiving servant in the parable, who, +though forgiven his ten thousand talents, came down with unmitigated +ferocity on the fellow-servant that owed him an hundred pence. + +The act of generosity was his distribution over the cities in the +neighbourhood of the spoil which he had taken from the Amalekites. If he +had been of a selfish nature he might have kept it all for himself and +his people. But it was "the spoil of the enemies of the Lord." It was +David's desire to recognise God in connection with this spoil, both to +show that he had not made his onslaught on the Amalekites for personal +ends, and to acknowledge, in royal style, the goodness which God had +shown him. That it was an act of policy as well as a recognition of God +may be readily acknowledged. Undoubtedly David was desirous to gain the +favourable regard of his neighbours, as a help toward his recognition +when the throne of Israel should become empty. But we may surely admit +this, and yet recognise in his actions on this occasion the generosity +as well as the godliness of his nature. He was one of those men to whom +it is more blessed to give than to receive, and who are never so happy +themselves as when they are making others happy. The Bethel mentioned in +ver. 27 as first among the places benefited can hardly be the place +ordinarily known by that name, which was far distant from Ziklag, but +some other Bethel much nearer the southern border of the land. The most +northerly of the places specified of whose situation we are assured was +Hebron, itself well to the south of Judah, and soon to become the +capital where David reigned. The large number of places that shared his +bounty was a proof of the royal liberality with which it was spread +abroad. + +And in this bounty, this royal profusion of gifts, we may surely +recognise a fit type of "great David's greater Son." How clearly it +appeared from the very first that the spirit of Jesus Christ exemplified +His own maxim which we have just quoted, "It is more blessed to give +than to receive." Once only, and that in His infancy, when the wise men +laid at His feet their myrrh, frankincense, and gold, do we read of +anything like a lavish contribution of the gifts of earth being given to +Him. But follow Him through the whole course of His earthly life and +ministry, and see how just was the image of Malachi that compared Him to +the sun--"the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings." What a +gloriously diffusive nature He had, dropping gifts of fabulous price in +every direction without money and without price! "Jesus went about in +all Galilee" (it was now the turn of the north to enjoy the benefit), +"teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, +and healing all manner of diseases and all manner of sickness among the +people." Listen to the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount; what a +dropping of honey as from the honeycomb we have in those beatitudes, +which so wonderfully commend the precious virtues to which they are +attached! Follow Jesus through any part of His earthly career, and you +find the same spirit of royal liberality. Stand by Him even in the last +hour of His mortal life, and count His deeds of kindness. See how He +heals the ear of Malchus, though He healed no wounds of His own. Listen +to Him deprecating the tears of the weeping women, and turning their +attention to evils among themselves that had more need to be wept for. +Hear the tender tones of His prayer, "Father, forgive them, for they +know not what they do." Observe the gracious look He casts on the thief +beside Him in answer to his prayer--"Verily I say unto thee, this day +shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." Mark how affectionately He provides +for His mother. See Him after His resurrection saying to the weeping +Mary, Woman, why weepest thou? Count that multitude of fishes which He +has brought to the nets of His disciples, in token of the riches of +spiritual success with which they are to be blessed. And mark, on the +day of Pentecost, how richly from His throne in glory He sheds down the +Holy Spirit, and quickens thousands together with the breath of +spiritual life. "Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity +captive, Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, +that the Lord God might dwell among them." + +It is a most blessed and salutary thing for you all to cherish the +thought of the royal munificence of Christ. Think of the kindest and +most lavish giver you ever knew, and think how Christ surpasses him in +this very grace as far as the heavens are above the earth. What +encouragement does this give you to trust in Him! What a sin it shows +you to commit when you turn away from Him! But remember, too, that Jesus +Christ is the image of the invisible God. Remember that He came to +reveal the Father. Perhaps we are more disposed to doubt the royal +munificence of the Father than that of the Son. But how unreasonable is +this! Was not Jesus Christ Himself, with all the glorious fulness +contained in him, the gift of God--His unspeakable gift? And in every +act of generosity done by Christ have we not just an exhibition of the +Father's heart? Sometimes we think hardly of God's generosity in +connection with His decree of election. Leave that alone; it is one of +the deep things of God; remember that every soul brought to Christ is +the fruit of God's unmerited love and infinite grace; and remember too +what a vast company the redeemed are, when in the Apocalyptic vision, an +early section of them--those that came out of "the great +tribulation"--formed a great multitude that no man could number. +Sometimes we think that God is not generous when He takes away very +precious comforts, and even the most cherished treasures of our hearts +and our homes. But that is love in disguise; "What I do thou knowest not +now, but thou shalt know hereafter." And sometimes we think that He is +not generous when He is slow to answer our prayers. But He designs only +to encourage us to perseverance, and to increase and finally all the +more reward our faith. Yes, truly, whatever anomalies Providence may +present, and they are many; whatever seeming contradictions we may +encounter to the doctrine of the exceeding riches of the grace of God, +let us ascribe all that to our imperfect vision and our imperfect +understanding. Let us correct all such narrow impressions at the cross +of Christ. Let us reason, like the Apostle: "He that spared not His own +Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also +freely give us all things?" And let us feel assured that when at last +God's ways and dealings even with this wayward world are made plain, the +one conclusion which they will go to establish for evermore is--that GOD +IS LOVE. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +_THE DEATH OF SAUL._ + +1 SAMUEL xxxi. + + +The plain of Esdraelon, where the battle between Saul and the +Philistines was fought, has been celebrated for many a deadly encounter, +from the very earliest period of history. Monuments of Egypt lately +deciphered make it very plain that long before the country was possessed +by the Israelites the plain had experienced the shock of contending +armies. The records of the reign of Thotmes III., who has sometimes been +called the Alexander the Great of Egypt, bear testimony to a decisive +fight in his time near Megiddo, and enumerate the names of many towns in +the neighbourhood, most of which occur in Bible history, of which the +spoil was carried to Egypt and placed in the temples of the Egyptian +gods. Here, too, it was afterwards that Barak encountered the +Canaanites, and Gideon the Midianites and Amalekites; here "Jehu smote +all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great +men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left none +remaining;" here Josiah was slain in his great battle with the +Egyptians; here was the great lamentation after Josiah's death, +celebrated by Zechariah, "the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of +Megiddo;" in short, in the words of Dr. Clarke, "Esdraelon has been the +chosen place of encampment in every great contest carried on in the +country, until the disastrous march of Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt +into Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Crusaders, Egyptians, Persians, +Druses, Turks, Arabs, and French, warriors out of every nation which is +under heaven, have pitched their tents upon the plains of Esdraelon, and +have beheld their banners wet with the dews of Tabor and Hermon." So +late as 1840, when the Pacha of Egypt had seized upon Syria, he was +compelled to abandon the country when the citadel of Acre, which guards +the entrance of the plain of Esdraelon by sea, was bombarded and +destroyed by the British fleet. It is no wonder that in the symbolical +visions of the Apocalypse, a town in this plain, Ar-Mageddon, is +selected as the battlefield for the great conflict when the kings of the +whole earth are to be gathered together unto the battle of the great day +of Almighty God. As in the plains of Belgium, the plains of Lombardy, or +the carse of Stirling, battle after battle has been fought in the space +between Jezreel and Gilboa, to decide who should be master of the whole +adjacent territory. + +The Philistine host are said to have gathered themselves together and +pitched in Shunem (chap. xxviii. 4), and afterwards to have gathered all +their hosts to Aphek, and pitched by the fountain which is in Jezreel +(xxix. 1). That is to say, they advanced from a westward to a northward +position, which last they occupied before the battle. Saul appears from +the beginning to have arranged his troops on the northern slopes of +Mount Gilboa, and to have remained in that position during the battle. +It was an excellent position for fighting, but very unfavourable for a +retreat. Apparently the Philistines began the battle by moving +southwards across the plain till they reached the foot of Gilboa, where +the tug of war began. Notwithstanding the favourable position of the +Hebrews, they were completely defeated. The archers appear to have done +deadly execution; as they advanced nearer to the host of Israel, the +latter would move backward to get out of range; while the Philistines, +gaining confidence, would press them more and more, till the orderly +retreat became a terrible rout. So utterly routed was the Israelite army +that they do not appear to have tried a single rally, which, as they had +to retreat over Mount Gilboa, it would have been so natural for them to +do. Panic and consternation seem to have seized them very early in the +battle; that they would be defeated was probably a foregone conclusion, +but the attitude of a retreating army seems to have been assumed more +quickly and suddenly than could have been supposed. If the Philistine +army, seeing the early confusion of the Israelites, had the courage to +pour themselves along the valleys on each side of Gilboa, no way of +retreat would be left to their enemy except over the top of the hill. +And when that was reached, and the Israelites began to descend, the +arrows of the pursuing Philistines would fall on them with more deadly +effect than ever, and the slaughter would be tremendous. + +Saul seems never to have been deficient in personal courage, and in the +course of the battle he and his staff were evidently in the very +thickest of the fight. "The Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon +his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and +Melchi-shua, the sons of Saul." Saul himself was greatly distressed in +his flight by reason of the archers. Finding himself wounded, and being +provided with neither chariot nor other means of escape, a horror +seized him that if once the enemy got possession of him alive they would +subject him to some nameless mutilation or horrible humiliation too +terrible to be thought of. Hence his request to his armour-bearer to +fall on him. When the armour-bearer refused, he took a sword from him +and killed himself. + +It may readily be allowed that to one not ruled habitually by regard to +the will of God this was the wisest course to follow. If the Philistine +treatment of captive kings resembled the Assyrian, death was far rather +to be chosen than life. When we find on Assyrian monuments such +frightful pictures as those of kings obliged to carry the heads of their +sons in processions, or themselves pinned to the ground by stakes driven +through their hands and feet, and undergoing the horrible process of +being flayed alive, we need not wonder at Saul shrinking with horror +from what he might have had to suffer if he had been taken prisoner. + +But what are we to think of the moral aspect of his act of suicide? That +in all ordinary cases suicide is a daring sin, who can deny? God has not +given to man the disposal of his life in such a sense. It is a daring +thing for man to close his day of grace sooner than God would have +closed it. It is a reckless thing to rush into the presence of his Maker +before His Maker has called him to appear. It is a presumptuous thing to +calculate on bettering his condition by plunging into an untried +eternity. No doubt one must be tender in judging of men pressed hard by +real or imaginary terrors, perhaps their reason staggering, their +instincts trembling, and a horror of great darkness obscuring +everything. Yet how often, in his last written words, does the suicide +bear testimony against himself when he hopes that God will forgive him, +and beseeches his friends to forgive him. Does not this show that in +his secret soul he is conscious that he ought to have borne longer, +ought to have quitted himself more like a man, and suffered every +extremity of fortune before quenching the flame of life within him? + +The truth is, that the suicide of Saul, as of many another, is an act +that cannot be judged by itself, but must be taken in connection with +the course of his previous life. We have said that to one not habitually +ruled by regard to the will of God, self-destruction at such a moment +was the wisest course. That is to say, if he merely balanced what +_appeared_ to be involved in terminating his life against what was +involved in the Philistines taking him and torturing him, the former +alternative was by far the more tolerable. But the question comes +up,--if he had not habitually disregarded the will of God, would he ever +have been in that predicament? The criminality of many an act must be +thrown back on a previous act, out of which it has arisen. A drunkard in +a midnight debauch quarrels with his father, and plunges a knife into +his heart. When he comes to himself he is absolutely unconscious of what +he has done. He tells you he had no wish nor desire to injure his +father. It was not his proper self that did it, but his proper self +over-mastered, over-thrown, brutalized by the monster drink. Do you +excuse him on this account? Far from it. You excuse him of a deliberate +design against his father's life. But you say the possibility of that +deed was involved in his getting drunk. For a man to get drunk, to +deprive himself for the time of his senses, and expose himself to an +influence that may cause him to commit a most horrible and unnatural +crime, is a fearful sin. Thus you carry back the criminality of the +murder to the previous act of getting drunk. So in regard to the +suicide of Saul. The criminality of that act is to be carried back to +the sin of which he was guilty when he determined to follow his own will +instead of the will of God. It was through that sin that he was brought +into his present position. Had he been dutiful to God he would never +have been in such a dilemma. On the one hand he never would have been so +defeated and humiliated in battle; and on the other hand he would have +had a trust in the Divine protection even when a bloody enemy like the +Philistines was about to seize him. It was the true source alike of his +public defeat and of his private despair that he indicated when he said +to Samuel, "God is departed from me;" and he might have been sure that +God would not have departed from him if he had not first departed from +God. + +It is a most important principle of life we thus get sight of, when we +see the bearing that one act of sin has upon another. It is very seldom +indeed that the consequences of any sin terminate with itself. Sin has a +marvellous power of begetting, of leading you on to other acts that you +did not think of at first, of involving you in meshes that were then +quite out of your view. And this multiplying process of sin is a course +that may begin very early. Children are warned of it in the hymn--"He +that does one fault at first, and lies to hide it, makes it two." A sin +needs to be covered, and another sin is resorted to in order to provide +the covering. Nor is that all. You have a partner in your sin, and to +free yourself you perhaps betray your partner. That partner may be not +only the weaker vessel, but also by far the heavier sufferer, and yet, +in your wretched selfishness, you deny all share of the sin, or you +leave your partner to be ruined. Alas! alas! how terrible are the ways +of sin. How difficult it often is for the sinner to retrace his steps! +And how terrible is the state of mind when one says, I must commit this +sin or that--I have no alternative! How terrible was Saul's position +when he said, "I must destroy myself." Truly sin is a hard, unfeeling +master--"The way of transgressors is hard." He only that walketh +uprightly walketh surely. "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, that +walk in the law of the Lord." + +The terrible nature of the defeat which the Israelites suffered on this +day from the Philistines is apparent from what is said in the seventh +verse--"And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the +valley, and they that were beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel +fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities +and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them." The plain of +Esdraelon is interrupted, and in a sense divided into two, by three +hills--Tabor, Gilboa, and Little Hermon. On the eastern side of these +hills the plain is continued on to the Jordan valley. The effect of the +battle of Gilboa was that all the rich settlements in that part of the +plain had to be forsaken by the Israelites and given up to the +Philistines. More than that, the Jordan valley ceased to afford the +protection which up to this time it had supplied against enemies from +the west. For the most part, the trans-Jordanic tribes were exposed to +quite a different set of enemies. It was the Syrians from the north, the +Moabites and the Ammonites from the east, and the Midianites and +Amalekites from the remoter deserts, that were usually the foes of +Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. But on this occasion a new foe assailed them. +The Philistines actually crossed the Jordan, and the rich pastures of +Gilead and Bashan, with the flocks and herds that swarmed upon them, +became the prey of the uncircumcised. Thus the terror of the +Philistines, hitherto confined to the western portion of the country, +was spread, with all its attendant horrors, over the length and breadth +of Israel. We get a vivid view of the state of the country when David +was called to take charge of it. And we get a vivid view of the worse +than embarrassment, the fatal crime, into which David would have been +led if he had remained in the Philistine camp and taken any part in this +campaign. + +How utterly crushed the Philistines considered the Israelites to be, and +how incapable of striking any blow in their own defence, is apparent +from the humiliating treatment of the bodies of Saul and his sons, the +details of which are given in this chapter and in the parallel passage +in 1 Chronicles (chap. x.). If there had been any possibility of the +Israelites being stung into a new effort by the dishonour done to their +king and princes, that dishonour would not have been so terribly +insulting. But there was no such possibility. The treatment was doubly +insulting. Saul's head, severed from his body, was put in the temple of +Dagon (1 Chron. x.); his armour was hung up in the house of Ashtaroth; +and his body was fastened to the wall of Beth-shan. The same treatment +seems to have been bestowed on his three sons. The other part of the +insult arose from the idolatrous spirit in which all this was done. The +tidings of the victory were ordered to be carried to the house of their +idols as well as to their people (1 Sam. xxxi. 9). The trophies were +displayed in the temples of these idols. The spirit of vaunting, which +had so roused David against Goliath because he defied the armies of the +living God, appeared far more offensively than ever. Not only was Israel +defeated, but in the view of the Philistines Israel's God as well. Dagon +and Ashtaroth had triumphed over Jehovah. The humiliation suffered in +the days when the ark of God brought such calamities to them and their +gods was now amply avenged. The image of Dagon was not found lying on +its face, all shattered save the stump, after the heads of Saul and his +sons had been placed in his temple. Yes, and the nobles at least of the +Philistines would boast that the slaughter of Goliath by David, and the +placing of his head and his armour near Jerusalem--probably in the holy +place of Israel--were amply avenged. Well was it for David, we may say +again, that he had no share in this terrible battle! Henceforth +undoubtedly there would be no more truce on his part towards the +Philistines. Had they not dishonoured the person of his king? had they +not insulted the dead body of Jonathan his noble friend? had they not +hurled new defiance against the God of Israel? had they not spread +robbery and devastation over the whole length and breadth of the +country, and turned every happy family into a group of cowering slaves? +Were this people to be any longer honoured with his friendship? "O my +soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, +be not thou united!" + +The only redeeming incident, in all this painful narrative, is the +spirited enterprise of the men of Jabesh-gilead, coming to Beth-shan by +night, removing the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, and +burying them with all honour at Jabesh. Beth-shan was a considerable +distance from Gilboa, where Saul and his sons appear to have fallen; +but probably it was the largest city in the neighbourhood, and therefore +the best adapted to put the remains of the king and the princes to open +shame. Jabesh-gilead was somewhere on the other side of the Jordan, +distant from Beth-shan several miles. It was highly creditable to its +people that, after a long interval, the remembrance of Saul's first +exploit, when he relieved them from the cruel threats of the Ammonites, +was still strong enough to impel them to the gallant deed which secured +honourable burial for the bodies of Saul and his sons. We are conscious +of a reverential feeling rising in our hearts toward this people as we +think of their kindness to the dead, as if the whole human race were one +family, and a kindness done nearly three thousand years ago were in some +sense a kindness to ourselves. + +That first exploit of Saul's, rescuing the men of Jabesh-gilead, seems +never to have been surpassed by any other enterprise of his reign. As we +now look back on the career of Saul, which occupies so large a portion +of this book, we do not find much to interest or refresh us. He belonged +to the order of military kings. He was not one of those who were devoted +to the intellectual, or the social, or the religious elevation of his +kingdom. His one idea of a king was to rid his country of its enemies. +"He fought," we are told, "against all his enemies on every side, +against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and +against the king of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and +whithersoever he turned himself he vexed them. And he did valiantly and +smote Amalek, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled +them." That success gave him a good name as king, but it did not draw +much affection to him; and it had more effect in ridding the people of +evil than in conferring on them positive good. Royalty bred in Saul what +it bred in most kings of the East, an imperious temper, a despotic will. +Even in his own family he played the despot. And if he played the despot +at home he did so not less in public. All that we can say in his favour +is, that he did not carry his despotism so far as many. But his jealous +and in so far despotic temper could not but have had an evil effect on +his people. We cannot suppose that when jealousy was so deep in his +nature David was the only one of his officers who experienced it. The +secession of so many very able men to David, about the time when he was +with the Philistines, looked as if Saul could not but be jealous of any +man who rose to high military eminence. That Saul was capable of +friendly impulses is very different from saying that his heart was warm +and winning. The most vital want in him was the want of godliness. He +had little faith in the nation as God's nation, God's heritage. He had +little love for prophets, or for men of faith, or for any who attached +great importance to moral and spiritual considerations. His persecution +of David and his murder of the priests are deep stains than can never be +erased. And that godless nature of his became worse as he went on. It is +striking that the last transaction in his reign was a decided failure in +the very department in which he had usually excelled. He who had gained +what eminence he had as a military king, utterly failed, and involved +his people in utter humiliation, in that very department. His abilities +failed him because God had forsaken him. The Philistines whom he had so +often defeated crushed him in the end. To him the last act of life was +very different from that of Samson--Samson conquering in his death; +Saul defeated and disgraced in his. + +Need we again urge the lesson? "Them that honour Me I will honour; but +they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." You dare not leave GOD +out in your estimate of the forces that bear upon your life. You dare +not give to Him a secondary place. God must have the first place in your +regards. Are you really honouring Him above all, prizing His favour, +obeying His will, trusting in His word? Are you even trying, amid many +mortifying failures, to do so? It is not the worst life that numbers +many a failure, many a confession, many a prayer for mercy and for grace +to help in time of need, provided always your heart is habitually +directed to God as the great end of existence, the Pole Star by which +your steps are habitually to be directed, the Sovereign whose holy will +must be your great rule, the Pattern whose likeness should be stamped on +your hearts, the God and Father of your Lord Jesus Christ, whose love, +and favour, and blessing are evermore the best and brightest inheritance +for all the children of men. + + + + + END OF VOL. 1. + + + Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expositor's Bible: The First Book +of Samuel, by W. G. 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