Jonathan soundeth Saul's mind; parteth with David. 24 So David hid himself in the field and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side,and David's place was empty. 26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 27 And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? 28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem. 29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table. 30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. 34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. 36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? 38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gaup the arrows, and came to his master. thered 39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 42 And Jonathan said to David, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went Go in peace, forasmuch as we LECTURE 485. That Christ is the bond of union among Christians. In this part of their plan, these two faithful friends neglected to take God into their counsels; or the one would not have suggested, nor would the other have uttered, these words of pure invention, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem." And this was the only occasion, on which Saul's angry passions burst forth against the life of his son. When we consider, that under the dispensation of the Law, sin was usually punished, through God's special providence, by immediate suffering, we shall see in Saul's violence towards Jonathan a visitation for Jonathan's departure from the truth. And when we observe that this particular falsehood was used, with no intent to injure Saul, and not so much with an intention to deceive him by the statement, as with a view to try in what temper he would take it, see ver. 7, we shall be the more deeply impressed with the conviction, that no lies are, as some are apt to call them, innocent. In any case they are an abuse of God's gift of speech. In any case they argue a forgetfulness of God's being always present, hearing all we say. And in any case they are spoken in defiance of our Saviour's warning, "that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12. 36. But though Jonathan fell into one very common error, and committed, in his zeal for his friend, one very inexcusable sin, he was faithful and true at heart notwithstanding. He was true and faithful in the main to his father, as well as to his friend, and we may hope also true and faithful unto God. He went out the next morning, and made the signal with David, saying to the lad who waited on him, "Is not the arrow beyond thee?" This was to signify that David might not safely stay. See ver. 22. And yet he could not let him go without some parting words, and tears, and salutations, and without reminding him of the covenant made between them "in the name of the Lord." In that name these two friends both put their trust. By that name they had sworn this solemn engagement, "The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever." Such is the bond which ties all true Christians to each other, and all their posterity to the end of time. The Lord is between us; and He only. We are as near as possible to each other, except that we are more near to Christ. He is our bond of union. He is our surety of peace. For his sake we never do each other wrong. For his sake we ever do each other good. And because of his loving us, and our therefore loving Him, we ever love each other "with a pure heart fervently." 1 Pet. 1. 22. David fleeth to Nob; 1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2. And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. 5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and, the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herd and thence to Gath. men that belonged to Saul. 8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste. 9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. 10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And 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? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house? LECTURE 486. Against all manner of deceitfulness. Though the ark was still with Aminadab at Kirjath-jearim, we may suppose that Saul had set up the tabernacle at Nob, in order to have it within the borders of the tribe of Benjamim. See Nehem. 11. 32. Or indeed Nob might be another name for Kirjathjearim; just as the priest who is here called Ahimelech, seems to be the same as the one mentioned by our Lord, under the name of "Abiathar the high priest." Mark 2. 26. Our Lord, referring to this event, certainly speaks of David as having been justified by urgent necessity in eating of the shewbread. But this by no means excuses him in deceiving Ahimelech, as to the reason of his coming to Nob without a company of attendants, such as became the son in law of the king. In this instance, as in many others, where God's faithful servants err, the Scriptures tell us of the fact as it happened, and make no comment. Nor does it become us, in such cases, to be extreme, in marking what is done amiss. We ought rather to note the good deeds of these holy men of old, for our instruction in righteousness, than to dwell on their deeds of evil for our warning; lest we seem to find fault with those, whom God is pleased upon the whole to praise. Still if it be well for "him that thinketh he standeth to take heed lest he fall," 1 Cor. 10. 12, it is profitable for us to observe how they that stood have fallen. And if some have been too anxious to excuse the failings of good men, it is well to bear in mind that sin is always inexcusable. And moreover when we see how often even the best men fall, we shall be the more inclined to feel a deep conviction, that "there is none good but one, that is God;" Matt. 19. 17; we shall be more disposed to say to Him, with heartfelt adoration, Thou only art holy, Thou only art the Lord. It was probably the sight of Doeg which determined David not to stay at Nob; for he must have well known the disposition of this Edomite, who was sure to tell Saul of his being there. He seems to have at once formed the plan of taking refuge with Achish king of Gath. And it is not improbable, that he was glad to take the sword of Goliath, which must have been too unwieldy for his constant use, as an acceptable present to Achish. Here again however he became alarmed. And here again we must observe with regret, he practised deceit. As if it had not been safer to put his trust in God, in saying, and doing only that which was true, than to seek for safety in feigning himself mad! As if God, who had delivered him out of the hand of the giant, would not also have delivered him out of the hand of the king! Let us never feign ourselves to be other than we are. Let us be aware that such deceitfulness is seldom our best way of present safety. And let us be assured, that to run any risk, rather than deceive, is our only way of safety in the end. 1 David at Adullam, and at Hareth. Saul at Gibeah. David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And 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. were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him ;) 3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. 4 And he brought them before the king of Moab and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. 5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. 7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, 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 ; 8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth 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 sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. LECTURE 487. 6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that Encouragements and consolations under suffering. In this portion of David's history we see what a variety of afflictions he endured, by way of preparing him, in the order of God's providence, for his office of reigning over Israel. And we may consider, as we read of the mortifications heaped upon him, how well it is for those who are about to be exalted, first to be brought low and humbled. If then we expect to wear a heavenly crown, let us not be surprised that here on earth we suffer pain, or are exposed to disappointment, are wronged, or are reviled, are unjustly used, or unkindly spoken of. And when our spirits are apt to sink under such vexations, let us turn our thoughts towards the history of God's most faithful servants; and in the afflictions which they oftentimes endured, let us see precedents of what we must be prepared to endure ourselves. |