September 4

ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. "Behold, now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation."

SEPTEMBER 4.—"And David was greatly distressed."—1 Samuel 30:6.

In a fit of despondency and imprudence, having resolved to escape into the land of the Philistines, David went to Achish, king of Gath. After dwelling some time in the royal city, he requested the king to give him some place in the country for his residence: and Achish gave him Ziklag. After dwelling there a full year and four months, war broke out between the Philistines and the Israelites, and he was called upon by Achish to accompany him to battle, and was made the commander of his body guard. Here he was thrown into the utmost perplexity. He found himself under obligation to Achish; yet could not serve him without violating his conscience. If he fought against Israel, where were his patriotism and piety? And if he turned against the Philistines where were his fidelity to his master, and his gratitude to his benefactor? God, who is always better to us than our fears, and has all hearts under his controul, extricated him from this dilemma, through the jealousy of the lords of the Philistines, who insist on his being sent back. But while exulting in his escape from one difficulty another befals him: and we need not wonder at his being "greatly distressed" when we glance at the ingredients and circumstances of the affliction.

For when he arrived at Ziklag the "Amalekites had smitten it and burnt it with fire." It is never safe to boast of to-morrow; for we know not what a day may bring forth. Little can we imagine, when at any time we leave our home, what may occur before we return. It is a mercy if no evil befals us, and no plague comes nigh our dwelling, and we find our tabernacle in peace. But Naomi, when her neighbours were congratulating her upon her return, exclaimed, "Call me not Naomi, call me Marah; for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty." And David, when he returned to his residence, found his house and all his property consumed to ashes! Nor was this all—

They had taken away the women and the children captives. Persons may be tried not only in their circumstances, but in their connections; and relative distress is frequently keener than even personal. Some of us have been bereaved, but it was in the course of nature. The objects of our attachment died in peace. We watched their bed of languishing with tenderness; we closed their eyes; we laid them in the grave; and have often repaired to the spot that contains their endeared dust. But David's family was carried off by an infamous and cruel banditti to be sold or used as slaves. Yea, he knew not at the time but they had been degraded, violated, tortured, or even put to death.

The complicated calamity was also perfectly unthought of—"For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." After a march of three days, cheered by every step that

brought him nearer home, and rejoicing in the eager hope of finding rest in his dwelling, and delight in the embraces and hailings of his household, all this mass of misery meets him like a spectre instantly rising up in the road. He knew, he suspected nothing of the whole, till his eyes told him by the ruins, and his ears by the tale of the roofless sufferers, of the captivity of his family. We are prepared for what comes on gradually, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. But what befalls us unawares often upsets the mind, and we have hardly the power of reflection, through which alone religion can operate. When the sky is lowering, and the waves begin to curl, and rise, and roll, the mariner takes in the sail: but here the storm burst without a signal.

In addition to all this, he had to bear the reproaches and menaces of his attendants and townsmen: "for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man in his sons and in his daughters." We can excuse their grief, but what can we say of the brutality of their purpose? How unenviable are the situations of public and official characters! If ever they sleep, it is seldom on beds of roses: or if they do, the roses retain their thorns, and the fragrance ill pays for the piercings. Is good accomplished or a glory gained? They divide it with others, or share it with chance. Does disaster or calamity occur? All is imputed to them, even to the result of pure accident. They are made answerable, not only for wisdom and diligence, but for success, for events, yea, for the seasons and elements themselves. How often did the Jews talk of stoning Moses! If they wanted bread, or water, or met with any difficulty, he was the cause or the occasion of it. Vulgar and ignorant minds must always have some object at hand against which to vent their feelings.

Finally, we see the deep impression the catastrophe made upon the mind of David—"Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no power to weep." He wept thus though a brave man: true courage is always tender. And he wept thus though a good man: grace does not deprive a man of sensibility: resignation and patience cannot be exercised without much feeling. The degree of grief is not always to be judged of by cries and tears. In general noisy sorrow is superficial, as the deeper stream is the more silent. But it was otherwise here—"David was greatly distressed"—

Yet he was a man after God's own heart. If it were a rare thing for the godly to suffer, we might draw from our sufferings suspicions concerning our relation to God. But what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Since through much tribulation the heirs of glory must enter the kingdom, these trials should rather be viewed as way marks. They are really the effects and tokens of love. We shall see this hereafter; we should believe it now: and till we walk by sight we should be concerned to walk by faith.

"They all are most needful; not one is in vain."

They are to try our trust, to exercise and strengthen our principles, and to bring us to the throne of the heavenly grace. And well will it be if we are led to follow the example of David, as it will