1 Samuel 17

Verses 4-21. Description of Goliath, and his challenge to the armies of Israel. David sent by Jesse to carry provisions to his three eldest brethren.

17 1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and they were gathered together at Socoah, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Socoah and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

Verses 28-30. Eliab’s scornful words and David’s quiet reply.

31. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep; and when

35 there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, 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 36 beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear : and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the 37 living God. And David said, 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. And Saul said 38 unto David, Go, and the LORD shall be with thee. And Saul clad David with his apparel, and 39 he put an helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go ; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these ; for I have not proved them. And David put them off 40 him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his scrip ; and his sling was in his 41 hand : and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto 42 David ; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him : for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a 43 fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me 44 with staves ? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the 45 field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin : but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies 46 of Israel, which thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand ; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from off thee ; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth ; that all 47 the earth may know that there is a God in Israel : and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear : for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you 48 into our hand. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to 49 meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his 50 forehead ; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, 51 and slew him ; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they 52 fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell 53 down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel 54 returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their camp. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem ; but he put his armor in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth ? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I 56, 57 cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul 58 with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man ? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite. 59 1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jon- 2 athan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul 3 took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. Then Jonathan 4 and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his 5 sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely : and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

The Septuagint Version in its oldest form as preserved in the Vatican MS. (B) differs considerably erably from the present Hebrew text in chaps. 17 and 18. It does not contain the following passages : 17 : 12-31, 41, 48 (partly), 50, 55-58 ; 18 : 1-5, and the greater part of 6, 9-11, 17-19.

29 b, 30. There are besides a few minor variations. Some of these passages are wanting in a few other MSS. beside B: in the Alexandrine (A) and most other MSS. they have been inserted: but it is clear that at least 17: 12-31 was not in the archetype from which A was copied, and the style of the version proves conclusively that it is no part of the original Septuagint, but derived from some other source, perhaps the version of Theodotion, which was executed in the second century A.D. The result of these omissions is a straightforward and consistent narrative free from the difficulties of the Hebrew text. David, in virtue of his appointment as armor-bearer (16: 21), has accompanied Saul into the valley of Elah; he challenges and slays Goliath, and on his return at the close of the campaign is welcomed by the songs of the women of Israel: by his further military successes he wins the affections of the people and the love of Michal. Three stages in the development of Saul’s enmity are clearly marked: (a) 18: 12 “he was afraid of him;” (b) verse 15, “he stood in awe of him,” and endeavored indirectly to get rid of him; (c) verse 29, 19: 1, “he was yet more afraid of David,” and gave orders for his murder.

The Hebrew text, on the other hand, presents serious internal difficulties, and appears to combine two inconsistent accounts of David’s introduction to the court of Saul. The most probable conclusion appears to be that the Septuagint preserves the text of these chapters in the form in which it was originally published, and that at some subsequent date the additions now found in the Hebrew text were made from a different source, either documentary or traditional. It may seem to some readers rash to doubt the integrity of the Hebrew text. But it must be borne in mind that the Septuagint is by far the most ancient evidence we possess for the text of the Old Testament, the oldest known Hebrew MS. not being earlier than the tenth (or possibly ninth) century A.D., and that though the additions to the Hebrew text were doubtless made before the Christian era, the Greek Scriptures used by the Evangelists and Apostles in all probability did not contain the passages of which the genuineness is suspected. A. F. K.

On the whole, we are inclined to the opinion that, while the narrative itself is strictly authentic, the text, as we possess it, is seriously corrupted in some of the expressions, especially in the concluding verses of the sixteenth chapter. A. E.—The difficulties which appear on the comparison of the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters of Samuel, as they stand in our text, may arise from the interweaving of different narratives in an order not strictly chronological. There is an evident reason for placing the departure of Jehovah’s spirit from Saul in immediate contrast with its descent on David. F. S.—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 (18: 2). And while David acted as musician, playing to him on his harp in the paroxysms of his ailment (18: 10), he went out at his command on military expeditions, and acquired great renown as a warrior (18: 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. W. G. B.

Both the preparation of the Philistines to invade the Hebrews, and of Saul to oppose the Philistines, were after David’s first introduction to and dismissal from Saul, and his three brethren’s going into the army; and must require some considerable space of time. Suppose it was two or three years; what is there improbable that a youth, who had been so little with Saul, should, after a year or two’s absence, not even be remembered by him in person, at first view; especially as Saul had himself been engaged in a multiplicity of important affairs since his first interview with David, had seen such a variety of different persons, and had been greatly disordered by the melancholy turn of his own mind? But it is still less to be wondered at that he should not remember his parentage, as that could then be of no importance to him; which is the only thing the sacred historian affirms. Chandler.

Chap. 17: 1-37. A story graphically told, among the few Old Testament incidents which takes and holds possession of childhood’s attention and memory. The Philistines were a powerful people, with cities of considerable size, dwelling on the southern sea coast plain of Canaan. Though victories had been gained over them under the judges, especially by Shamgar and Samson, and under Samuel, they were still a numerous and warlike nation, only brought into subjection after this period by David. Now again, as repeatedly during the four preceding centuries, they sought to subjugate and oppress Israel. The two armies were encamped, in hostile array, on either ridge rising from the vale of Elah. “The ridges on each side rise to the height of about 500 feet, and have a uniform slope, so that the armies ranged along them could see the combat in the valley. The distance between the armies was about a mile.” Goliath’s gigantic appearance (nine feet high), the enormous size and weight of his armor, and his natural confidence of victory in single combat, are fully described in verses 4-10. And then occurs the very natural event—i.e., the Providence, which brings David upon the scene, and subsequently into Saul’s presence again, after an interval possibly of about two or three years (verses 12-31). The envious anger of Eliab against David, and David’s meekness and yet firm defence of his righteous indignation against this giant defier of Israel, form an instructive episode in this part of the narrative. The colloquy between Saul and David, too, is full of suggestion. Indeed, you read here the secret and inspiration of the after defiance, combat, and victory of David. “Let no man’s heart fail,” he said to Saul. “Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And when Saul would dissuade him because of his youth and lack of training (not of stature or vigor), there came from his believing and therefore courageous soul, the response which is the key to all that follows: “The Lord that delivered me from the lion and the bear, He will deliver me from this Philistine.” B

1. 2. The whole scene of the defiance of David by Goliath lies here before us. As Azekah lies on the south side of a wide and not very deep valley, Sochoh, or Socoh (now Suweikeh), commands the valley on the north side, retired about a mile from its centre. The valley is the Vale of Elah or “the terebinth,” now Wady Sumt—i.e., “of the acacia.” The name of a different tree, equally characteristic of the district, has been adopted; but still the butm, or terebinth, grows, and the celebrated butm of es Sumt is probably the largest tree of the kind in Palestine. A little way below Suweikeh, or Socoh, two other wadys fall into it, the whole forming an open space covered with fields, opposite which, probably, the Philistines encamped on the south side, at Ephes-dammim, now Damün. In the centre is a pebbly torrent bed, “smooth stones of the brook,” and stunted acacias growing here and there. The Israelites were camped nearer Socoh, on the north side. On the intervening open space the unequal contest took place between the champion of the Philistines and the youthful hero. Tristram.

11. Taking into account the enormous stature of this man and his dreadful clanking tramp under two hundred weight of metal, it is scarcely wonderful that the very sight of him filled the Israelites with terror, and that no one was found ready to engage in the single combat with him, which with terrible shouts and thundering voice he invited, as a mode of settling the contest between the two nations. Kit.

21-26. At this critical juncture a new sort of hero appeared on the Hebrew side. The youthful shepherd of Bethlehem, sent by his father Jesse with army supplies for his three older brethren in Saul’s army, happened there just at the moment when this Goliath strode down the hill for his morning challenge. His ear caught the taunting tones and words; his quick eye noted the panic which shook the Hebrew lines, and his soul was stirred within him. He soon learned the pending issues—the call for some hero to dare the single-handed fight in behalf of Israel; and he felt—what no one else had seemed to feel—the insult offered to Israel’s God, and the inspiration of a sublime confidence that their own Jehovah would surely avenge his own honor and wipe out this reproach, if only some one would go forth in his name to this conflict. H. C.

28. Eliab seems to have become a great man afterward. We read of him as a prince of the tribe of Judah, and of his daughter or his granddaughter as the queen of Rehoboam. But we find him here exhibiting the contrary character to Samuel’s and David’s, and saying and doing exactly what Saul might have done. It is an instance of envy, of harsh, uncharitable judgment. Abp. Benson.

29. The strong faith by which he was actuated was attended with a meek temper and a forbearing heart. “And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” No railing returned for railing, when his noble spirit of self-sacrifice met with this undeserved abuse. This admirable spirit of self-command already marked out David as a ruler of men. W. G. B.—If David had wanted spirit, he had not been troubled with the insult of a Philistine. If he had a spirit to match Goliath, how doth he so calmly receive the affront of a brother? It was a brother that wronged him, and that his eldest; neither was it time to quarrel with his brother while the Philistines’ swords were drawn and Goliath was challenging. This conquest is not less glorious than the following. He is fit to be God’s champion, that hath learned to be victor of himself. Bp. H.

34-37. This relation of David’s is admirable for the united dignity and humility of mind which it displays. David’s temperance and modesty in reciting his own praises are remarkable. He describes his combat with the lion in the shortest and simplest narration that ever was made of such a combat, and says no more of his combat with the bear than that he slew him; and as if this had been too much, he concludes all in the style of a man who had been delivered by God, not who had conquered by his own prowess. Delaney.—David does not boast or talk of his strength and courage in killing the lion and the bear; for he knew that the strength and courage came from God, not from himself; therefore he says that the Lord delivered him from them. He knew that he had been only doing his duty in facing them when they attacked his father’s sheep, and that it was God’s mercy which had protected him in doing his duty. C. Kingsley.

David saw God upon the scene. Israel saw nothing but that tower of brass. He saw also the arm of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. They compared themselves with Goliath. He contrasted Goliath with Jehovah. They heard nothing but the derisive boasts of their adversary and the voice of their own misgivings. He heard only the promise of the faithful God: “Be strong, . . . be not afraid, for the Lord thy God is with thee.” And David had experience of Jehovah’s faithfulness. The God who protected him when he fought for his father’s sheep he knew would not forsake him when he fought for God’s own fold. And David’s confidence in God was reasonable from another point of view. He might well ask, “Is there not a cause?” The interest of Israel, the honor of Jehovah, were at stake: it was reasonable, therefore, to believe that he would not be left to fight alone. It was reasonable to believe that God had not brought him there to leave him helpless or to have him turn his back and flee. That faith which we first draw from the promises of God may get confirmation from his providence, until doubt is banished and we advance without a fear. This is not fanaticism; it is the right blending of reason and faith. Mitchell.

38, 39. Saul puts his own armor upon David, but David puts it off. The putting on of Saul’s armor shows that David, though youthful, was a full-sized man, or it shows Saul as acting absurdly, with David’s consent. And David’s reason for putting off, confirms the former alalternative statement “I have not proved” the armor. He had had no practice or training in the use of helmet, coat of mail, or sword. But while this reason was valid and just, there was another motive, far deeper and more powerful, which actuated him in declining the armor of a warrior. It was the faith in his heart, afterward openly declared, that this was the Lord’s battle, and not his, in behalf of Israel. The Spirit of the Lord which was upon him, the Spirit, who first wrought a righteous indignation in David when listening to the blasphemous defiance of the Philistine, now led him to a simple dependence upon God for success in the combat. Here is the golden truth and lesson of this story, the same, one truth that runs alike through Old Testament and New, that the heart’s trust in God secures God’s alliance, and ensures success and triumph. But faith must use means when means it has; must fight or act or work when God bids it. So we read,

40. David takes his own simple but “proved” weapons. All ancient Eastern nations, especially the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, and the Hebrews, used the sling as a weapon of war. The tribe of Benjamin was noted for its skilful left-handed slingers. With this familiar and long-proved instrument, David was by no means unarmed in his encounter with Goliath. On some accounts the advantage was his. He could make the first assault long before his adversary could use sword or even spear. And no protection of helmet would avail against a missile so small, and hurled with such force and precision into the open outlet for vision. More than this, because of his freedom from all harness, David could have easily kept at a desired distance, and made a second attack had that been needed. All this, Goliath seems to have had no thought of; indeed he neither saw David’s sling, which was covered by the hand, nor the five smooth stones hidden in his shepherd’s bag. The staff, in David’s other hand, was all the weapon he saw, the sight of which enraged him to the cursing of David. B.

David’s sling had been with him in many a day of shepherd life; he knew how to put a smooth stone from the brook straight and swift to its mark. And however thoroughly shielded by his helmet and coat of mail Goliath might be, he could not fight without eyes nor see without exposing them somewhat to such a missile as a small smooth stone. How much space adjacent to the eye was exposed does not appear; not much was needful for David’s mark. So the thing was done. H. C.

They were “chosen” stones, each one selected, picked with the nicest eye for the smoothness which should send it straight and true. And there were five. Faith, if it shall fail at first, does not intend to turn and flee. In work for God much may depend even on the weight and smoothness of a word. A word fitly spoken, a word in season,—everything may turn on that. We have need to seek for discrimination and for skill as well as to pray for nerve. The spiritual marksman must not rely on chance, and then call his indolence by the name of faith. An eye well trained chose for David that serviceable stone, and then it was the drill of years which drove it whistling to its mark. Mitchell.

He drew near to the Philistine. So strong and clear (as expressed) was his faith that he could not doubt the issue of this conflict. He went out to it with no trepidation of doubt or fear. His eye was never more clear nor his right arm more true. We must, therefore, assume that this faith had become the quiet habit of his mind. Out on the hills of Bethlehem, caring for his flock by day or by night, he had walked with God. Those days or months or years which intervened between his first meeting with Samuel and this meeting with Goliath were full of discipline and exercise to his faith in Israel’s God. Out of communion with God in prayer, there is wont to come forth at length such easy achievements as these on this great day of Jehovah’s triumphs through the hand of the youthful but prayerful David. H. C.

41-44. The haughty, boastful greeting of Goliath. We can almost see and hear the man, so graphic is the account. A giant champion, magnificently and terribly panoplied, doubly armed for offence with huge sword and enormous spear, and attended by a shield-bearer; first deliberately examining this youthful opponent, and disdaining him because without armor of brass or iron, defensive or offensive; then discerning only the shepherd’s rod, his pride takes offence, and he curses, as we have said; and following this, manifesting his utter contempt of David, and his absolute reliance upon his own might, by the boast “I will give thy flesh unto the fowls and to the beasts.” B.—The last words that ever the Philistine shall speak are curses and brags. Seldom ever was there a good end of ostentation. Presumption is, at once, the presage and cause of ruin. Bp. H.

45-47. David’s sublime recognition of the supreme might of the Lord of Hosts. God’s ever indwelling, controlling Providence in human affairs, His personal rule in men’s actual lives, especially His interposition when needful, to honor His own name, to carry out His own purposes, and to protect His own trusting servants; these are the grounds of David’s responding defiance and bold assurance. These are the grand truths he affirms when, avowedly speaking as the Lord’s champion, he says, “All this assembly shall know that the battle is the Lord’s.” B.—Verily, David had ideas and had words—grand ideas and fitting words—as well as courage of soul and a trusty sling. H. C.

The contrasts of character, of motive and ground of action, are extreme in the two men. The one is proud, self-reliant, arrogantly assured of his own strength and sufficiency, saying, “I will give thy flesh,” etc. The other is humble, resting upon God, a God who has already proven his might and his willingness to deliver. One represents man as man is by nature, without recognition of God, much less any spirit of obedience or trust toward God, a god to himself, especially worshipping the very gifts of the living God, as strength or beauty of intellect or person, wealth, or place and power. So pride, boasting, self-reliance are gendered, and the soul goes down in life’s battle, for this battle is man’s, not the Lord’s. The other represents man in possession and control of the Spirit of the Lord—man as he becomes by grace, trusting, hoping, resting in the Lord, in His wisdom and might, able to utter and evermore singing as his own the Christian Psalm of life, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leadeth me! Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life!”

48-51. David’s assault and instant victory. In proof of his plainly expressed reliance upon the Lord who saveth not with sword and spear, instantly enacting the prophet-like and priest-like spirit in which he had spoken, stirred by the presence of that vast assemblage, and by the greatness of the issues involved, and in all and above all, his courage and faith inspired directly by the Spirit of the Lord, he hastened toward the Philistine, and as he hastened hurled the smiting stone, which struck and sunk into the forehead of Israel’s deder. No time or opportunity had the smitten champion for assault or defence, for the Lord of Hosts had responded to the appeal of His champion and guided as well as nerved the arm of David. So the sling and stone prevailed against sword and spear and shield and mailed person. Then followed the completion of David’s bold prophecy. With the Philistine’s own sword David slew and beheaded him as he lay fallen to the earth, and the army of Israel pursuing the flying hosts of Philistia, destroyed them in vast numbers, and their bodies were given “to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the earth.”

The same humility, the same simple-hearted modesty which had characterized David thus far, is evinced in the sequel of this incident. Only because called to action by the Spirit of God, he had put himself forward to do God’s will. In God’s name, for God’s honor and the deliverance of His people, David had wrought for God. The issue was signal, and the benefits great and lasting. Yet with no sign of personal elation, no thought of display nor attempt to turn the event to his own advantage, with only the rewarding consciousness of God’s blessing, he goes back to his lowly avocation in his father’s house, and calmly waits God’s time and further summons. B.—At the end of the fight, all the army of Israel shouted, but one hears no shout from David—sees no vaunting in him, for a man who walks or fights in faith can never boast himself as they do who walk or fight after the flesh. D. F.

This event was a turning-point in the history, and marked David as the true king of Israel, ready to take up the Philistine challenge of God and of His people, to kindle in Israel a new spirit, and, in the might of the living God, to bring the contest to victory. A. E.—This first heroic deed of David was of the greatest importance to him and all Israel, for it was his first step on the way to the throne to which Jehovah had resolved to raise him. Keil.—Raised by the nation, he raised and glorified it in return; and, standing at the crowning point of the history of the nation, he concentrates in himself all its brilliance, and becomes the one man of greatest renown in the whole course of its existence. Ewald.

55-58. What is recorded here could have taken place only after the pursuit of the Philistines was over, and these verses should be united with ch. 18, as their object is to introduce the account of the love of Jonathan for David. Starting then with the inquiry made by the king of Abner, asking for fuller information as to the young man’s parentage, the historian then tells how after the chase he was brought before Saul, and then, in ch. 18 : 1, that the result of their conversation was the warm love that henceforward knit together these two kindred souls. R. P. S.

Ch. 18. A third character is here introduced into the personal history, one of singular beauty and attractiveness. The son of Saul, his eldest—about the age of David—stands forth in marked contrast of spirit and conduct with the father. The lesson which God had just now so signally taught,—that the fewest and feeblest, in alliance with Him, should be victorious against the most numerous and mightiest of the common enemy,—Saul has not learned, for he is past considering any good lesson. But Jonathan has read this lesson anew; as before he had learned it, in his own similar experience of believing courage, when he matched himself, with only his like-minded armor-bearer, against a garrisoned army of the Philistines at Michmash, and with like success. The extreme contrast of feeling and action in the two, father and son, concentrated upon the same person, presents one of the cardinal facts comprised in the chapter. The affectionate and kind spirit, and the wise behavior of David in response to the contrasted treatment of Jonathan and Saul, presents the other principal fact.

1. The source and basis of Jonathan’s devoted affection for David. The occasion which brought out this love was David’s whole bearing and behavior with reference to the combat with Goliath. At this period, as we have seen, though carrying in his countenance the bloom of youth, David was of full stature, of remarkable maturity in wisdom and self-control, and possessed of a deep, fervid faith in God. His physical and mental vigor, and not less his spiritual life, had been harmoniously developed by the severe training and thoughtful quietude of his shepherd years. These years had furnished occasions for watchful protection and courageous defence of the flock, and had also afforded abundant opportunity for devout musing upon the works and ways of Jehovah. And it was the one signal result of this Providential training under culture of the Divine Spirit, apparent in his great exploit before the assembled hostile armies, it was the wonderful combination of assured faith in God and manifest courage of soul, joined with his subsequent unaffected simplicity of behavior, it was this that wrought so powerfully in the responsive soul of Jonathan, kindling a love to David that “was wonderful, passing the love of women.” For the same spirit of sublime faith and courage, the same simple-hearted fidelity had previously characterized this noble son of Saul. And it was this congeniality of spiritual temper and trust in Jehovah, which drew them together and knit their souls in a friendship whose beauty and force has been transmitted as a type and an example through all succeeding ages of human history. B.

It is no disparagement of David to say that Jonathan shines most in this friendship, because it was he that had least to gain, and most to lose in connection with it. Tender as a woman, and yet true as steel, overflowing with generous kindness, utterly devoid of selfishness, trusting as much as he was trusted, with a heart that reflected David’s, as face answereth to face in water, Jonathan was the paragon and perfect pattern of a friend. Guthrie.

3. Jonathan and David made a covenant.** We are not to suppose that this happened immediately. David continued on friendly terms with Saul for a considerable period, during which he went on many expeditions, and grew in military renown. And thus the love which began with admiration of David’s prowess grew deeper and more confirmed by constant intercourse, till this solemn bond of mutual friendship was entered into by the two youthful heroes, by which they bound themselves under all circumstances to be true and faithful to one another. How nobly Jonathan kept the bond the history proceeds immediately to tell us; nor was David subsequently unmindful of it. R. P. S.

5. David’s advancement, and faithful service to Saul.** From the day of the combat, Saul had taken David into his palace. He made him his armor-bearer, and for a time “loved him greatly.” Advancing him to higher place and authority, Saul made him military leader, still retaining him near his own person. For a considerable period David enjoyed the affection of father and son, and was a favorite alike with the courtiers in the palace and the people among whom he was sent. In him we have one instance of high advancement and universal popularity without any elation of spirit or change of behavior. With no thought of selfish ambition, he preserved his unaffected modesty of bearing, “behaved himself wisely,” was faithful to every trust, obediently “went out whithersoever Saul sent him,” leading the forces of Israel in various expeditions against the still hostile Philistines, always carrying himself valiantly and prudently, and achieving great successes in the continuous warfare. So wise in behavior, so modest in bearing, so popular with court and people, and so successful in achievement, because “the Lord was with him.” And it was this very favor and success which brought about a change in Saul, because “the Lord had departed from him.” B.—It was certainly a great instance of the power of God’s grace in David, that he was able to bear all this respect and honor flowing in upon him of a sudden, without being lifted up above measure. Those that climb so fast, have need of good heads and good hearts; it is harder to know how to abound, than how to be abased. H.

SAUL’S MALICIOUS HATRED. MICHAL GIVEN TO DAVID. DAVID’S RENEWED SUCCESSES, AND SAUL’S MURDEROUS PURSUIT. DAVID ESCAPES TO SAMUEL. SAUL’S MESSENGERS AND SAUL CONSTRAINED TO PROPHESY.