loved him that made him. He set singers also before the altar, that by their voices they might make sweet melody, and daily sing praises in their songs. He beautified their feasts, and set in order the solemn times, until the end, that they might praise his holy name, and that the temple might sound from morning. The Lord took away his sins and exalted his horn for ever; he gave him a covenant of kings and a throne of glory in Israel." (Sir. xlvii. 9-13.)

From comparing 1 Sam. xvi. 17-19, with chap. xvii. 13, 14. 28, it appears that his hand was wont to strike the harp, when it was thought too weak for combat and war: he was feeding his father's sheep, while his elder brothers went out into the field. We have reason to think, that even at so tender an age he did not confine himself to accompanying the harp with the songs of others, but that the praise of God was the favourite theme of his own compositions. How great a testimony to the power and humility of his faith is furnished in the words of glorious renown, which the heroic youth addressed to the Philistine: "Thou comest to me with a sword, 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 mine hand; 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 hands." (1 Sam. xvii. 45-47.) Who can forbear to recognize in these words the humble power of faith, which resounds to us afterwards in the song of the aged man (Ps. xviii. xxx. xxxi.)? "For by thee I have run through a troop: and by my God have I leaped over a wall." "For who is a God, save the Lord? or who is a rock, save our God?" His playing of the harp was able to overcome the gloomy mind of Saul, because the Spirit of God influenced his playing and songs. Taken to the king's court, he forgot not his art. He practised it daily (1 Sam. xviii. 10,) and doubtless derived from it comfort in many a sad hour, for his chequered path began there. The king gave him his affection, and it is said of the royal prince, that "he loved him as his own soul." (1 Sam. xviii. 1.) But suspicion was lurking in the already darksome mind of Saul, when the people praised the shepherd youth's valour above his own, (1 Sam. xviii. 7,) and during an attack of melancholic passion he cast a javelin at the harmless singer. Saul regaining strength, and shrinking from a personal attack, appointed David to the post of a captain over a thousand, actuated by the same treacherous motive which David himself afterwards entertained against Uriah, viz. that the foe might kill him in the battle. (1 Sam. xviii. 25.) David married the king's daughter; their union, contrary to Eastern habit, was not entered upon by external necessity, but by

the bonds of love. (1 Sam. xviii. 20.) The hand of the Lord protected David in his campaigns: Saul fell so greatly, that he actually asked Jonathan and his servants to assassinate David: overcome by Jonathan's reasonings he yielded for a time to feelings of penitence; (1 Sam. xix. 6;) but David's fresh victories rekindled his displeasure. He cast another javelin at him, which again entered the wall. He sent murderers after him-but Michael's love and cleverness made a way for escape. It is natural that the courtiers of such a monarch should resemble him. The words of David, (in 1 Sam. xxiv. 10; xxvi. 19; Ps. vii.*) and the conduct of Doeg, (1 Sam. xxii. 9. 13,) show that they fanned the flame of suspicion, and accused the harmless young man of secret designs against the life and crown of the king. The expectation of the king's favour or of gain may have prompted them to falsehood; but there was yet another motive which came powerfully into play. Such was the jealousy of the tribe of the Benjaminites, to whom Saul belonged, against the youth of the tribe of Judah, whose ascension to the throne they feared might result in their being obliged to yield place to others. All the courtiers of Saul were Benjaminites; (1 Sam. xxii. 7;) so was Cush (Ps. vii.) and mocking Shimei. (2 Sam. xvi.)† Finally, we must not overlook that their enmity found ample fuel in the piety of David, for there were but few that could rightly appreciate it, and many who felt reproved by its exhibition. Obliged to flee from the court, he hastened to the school of the prophets on the plains (Najoth) near Ramah, between whom and himself there existed already spiritual sympathies. A brief interval of some kind of understanding with Saul seems then to have followed, since David was expected to take his place at the king's table. (1 Sam. xx. 25.) He knew, however, how little reliance was to be reposed in the changeable king, and Jonathan confirmed his first fears. Then commenced those days of exile, of which he sings in Psalm lvi. 9. tellest my wanderings; put thou my tears into thy bottle. they not in thy book?" His next place of refuge was Nob, close

Introd. to Psalm vii.

† Cf. Introd. to Psalms v. and lxxviii.

"Thou

Are

At the close of the narrative of the meeting of Jonathan and David, before his departure, we read, (1 Sam. xx. 42,) "And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city." Which city? Gibea, close to Ramah, the place of Saul's nativity, seems to have been his usual residence. (1 Sam. x. 26; xi. 4; xv. 34; xxiii. 19; xxvi. 1.) But it is said (1 Sam. xvii. 54,) that David took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, and from the immediate sequel one feels inclined to infer that Saul occasionally resided there. Once for all observe, that the idea of great distances respecting the places of Judea, referred to in David's history, should be abandoned. Gibea and Bethlehem were about four milesGibeon, the place of the tabernacle, (which according to Movers on the books of Chron. p. 293, etc., is identical with Gibea,) about seven miles—

to Jerusalem, (vide ad. Ps. lix,) where the tabernacle was at that time; he there went to Ahimelech, the high priest, the descendant of Eli. (1 Sam. xxii. 11; xiv. 3.) The close intimacy of the youthful David with the sons of the prophets, and his warm friendship with the high priest, furnish a striking testimony to his great attachment for the sanctuary and its officers. "Who is," said Ahimelech to the king, "so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house? Did I then (to-day) begin to inquire of God for him?" After Doeg had slain that man, David immediately took his son under his protection. (1 Sam. xxii. 23.) He next thinks of a place of refuge out of his native country, remote from the power of Saul. He resorted accordingly to Gath of the Philistines; but recognized and led before Achish, it was only by a stratagem that he was able to escape the vengeance of that king. (Vide ad. Ps. lvi.) On returning into Saul's kingdom, he first looked for an asylum in the tribe of Judah, then removed to the more distant regions of the Dead Sea to Kejilah, near Hebron, and then still further towards the South to the most inaccessible mountain heights along the borders of the Dead Sea, into the wilderness of Ziph, of Mahon, and Engedi-into moun tain passes which are expressly called "the rocks of the wild goats," (1 Sam. xxiv. 3,) at an altitude of fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. (Vide ad. Ps. lvii.) The southernmost point is the wilderness of Pharan. On his retreat he had, however, not remained alone. Four hundred and soon six hundred men, ruined in their affairs, and hoping to better their condition through David,* had joined him. (1 Sam. xxii. 2; xxiii. 13.) Nothing, however, was more remote from his thoughts than to lead them in rebellion against whom he knew to be "the anointed of the Lord;" he only employed them in skirmishes against foreign tribes. Saul, who was twice delivered into his hands, he twice treated with a generosity that touched his fierce persecutor and caused him to exclaim, "Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee

Ramah nine miles-Jericho twenty-four miles-the Dead Sea (which is, however, sixty-six miles in length) about thirty-six miles from Jerusalem. The greatest extent of the whole country did not exceed the distance from Berlin to Halle, i. e. from Sidon to Sodom one hundred and thirty-two miles, the greatest breadth from Rabbath Ammon to Joppa eighty-four miles. And yet according to 2 Samuel xxiv. the population of the country amounted, in the reign of David, to 1,300,000 valiant men that drew the sword; hence since the total population of a country generally equals four times the number of adult males-to about five millions. Still more diminutive appears the size of the kingdom of Judah-one day's journey on foot-i. e. sixty miles in length, and forty-two in breadth.

* Many of them probably entertained views of David's future similar to those of Abigail. (1 Sam. xxv. 28–30.)

evil. And thou hast showed this day, how thou hast dealt well with me; forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? Wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now, therefore, unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house." (1 Sam. xxiv. 17-21.) David's words on this occasion, and on his second encounter with Saul (chap. xxvi.) should be well noticed; they exhibit so distinct an agreement between the mind of David and the sentiments which pervade many of his psalms, that their very expression bears a strong resemblance. (Vide ad. Psalms xi. and xvi.) "The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee; but mine hand shall not be upon thee." "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." "If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering; but if they be the children of men, 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." "And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation."

The continuous reference in the Psalms to multitudes of enemies, to fraud, deceit, and persecution, to desire of revenge and thirst for blood, to David's repeatedly calling himself one innocently persecuted, to his escape into the mountains, to the abandonment of all earthly hopes, to persecutors set upon him like wild beasts; (Psalms xxii. lvii. v. etc.) all these produce but poor impressions on such minds, who only listen to the voice of the poet, and perceive in them poetic forms only. We should bring the history of David to them, to perceive that such passages express the much-stirred life of a much-tried man. Although the historic basis for the understanding of the Psalms, furnished in the books of Samuel, could be desired more extensive, it is nevertheless sufficient for enabling us to recognize the fundamental traits of the events and conditions of mind, to which allusion is made in the Psalms.

Even the generous conduct of David had not yet cured Saul of his suspicion; the former preferred, tired of his long wanderings on mountains and plains, once more to try his fortune with the Philistines. No longer alone, but heading six hundred warriors, and a heroic fame for his precursor, he might expect a good reception with Achish, on offering his services to him. He met

one, and engaged in expeditions against the Amalekites and other nations, continued there until at last his loyalty was put to a severe test, when the Philistines made preparations for war against Saul. He manifested on that occasion the same sagacity of which he had furnished the evidence in other junctures. Foreseeing the result, he responded in undivided terms to the call of Achish: (1 Sam. xxviii. 2:) he next joined, accompanied by his people, the van of the army, and found his anticipations realized. The misgivings of the Philistine captains as to the propriety of permitting this Hebrew to march against his countrymen, effected his being sent back. (1 Sam. xxix.) His wanderings had now reached their termination. After Saul was killed in that battle, the tribe of Judah chose David for their king. It had been a time of much-tried waiting, covering not less than ten years. David had stood the test with persevering faith. How noble the generosity which, after the death of Saul, caused him to rear a standing memorial to his valour in his song, "Of the bow," where he sings "Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil." How warmly flows the expression of his gratitude to those who had buried Saul. (2 Sam. ii. 5, 6.) As he had sworn to Saul at their meeting, (1 Sam. xxiv. 22,) he showed kindness to his descendants: (2 Sam. iv. 5-12, and ix. 3, etc.) though afterwards, to perform an imagined piece of necessary justice, he suffered himself to be misguided to deliver seven of Saul's sons into the hands of the Gibeonites. (2 Sam. xxi.)

How touchingly he expresses (Psalm xviii.) the deep gratitude that filled his heart after he had overcome his time of trial, when he forcibly describes how the hand of God had visibly been stretched out from heaven, and drawn him out of great waters.

He did not at once obtain the government of the entire nation: his own tribe (Judah) alone acknowledged him, (which in numbers, however, nearly equalled the rest,*) and he ruled it at Hebron for seven years and a half, while the other eleven tribes remained under the descendants of Saul. After that period they, too, rendered him homage. One of his first acts was the arrangement of the priestly worship, and the removal of the ark to Zion. In

*Cf. the data of the census, 2 Sam. xxiv. 9, from which, however, the Chronicles and Josephus deviate a little. The number of the tribe of Judah is, indeed, disproportionately great, especially as we find (1 Kings xii. 21,) the army of the kingdom of Judah and Benjamin limited to one hundred and eighty thousand men. According to Numb. i. 27, the tribe of Judah was stronger than all the rest.