and the bear, he would also deliver him out of the hand of the Philistine. Saul, encouraged by the humble fortitude of this brave youth, said to him, Go, and the Lord be with thee. Not being accustomed to armour, he chose to go in his shepherd's dress, took his staff in one hand, put five smooth stones in his shepherd's bag, and, with his sling in the other, drew near to the Philistine; who, when he saw David, disdained him, as he was but a youth, and of a ruddy, fair countenance, that had not been at all changed by the fatigues of war, and 1 Sam. xvii. cries out to him with indignation, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with stones? Then he cursed him by his gods, and, sure of victory, says to him, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. 43. Ver. 44. .... Alitibus linquere feris. VIRG. Æn. X. 559. What a rash boy did this gigantic Philistine think David to be, thus to come against him with a pouch of stones and a sling! But what says the man after God's own heart to this Ver. 45-47. gigantic blasphemer? I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto 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 hands. Cannot every one see here how the Spirit of the Lord came upon our young shepherd? especially when he considers the issue of the engagement. For, upon the Philistine's drawing near to David, David ran to meet him, and putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone, slang it, smote the Philistine in his forehead, and levelled the proud boaster to the ground. He then ran, stood upon his body, drew the Philistine's own sword, and bravely severed his head from his body. Jacet ingens littore truncus, Avulsumque humeris caput, et sine nomine corpus. VIRG. Æn. II. 557. He then presented his head to Saul, afterwards carried it to quence was the entire rout and slaughter of the Philistine army, the taking of their baggage, and the plunder of their campe. How unjustly is this action of our youthful hero styled a rash undertaking, though stamped with a more respectable name! What in the nature of the thing could be a more brave and gallant oned? I will not insist on it, that David's confidence in God might be offered to take away the charge of rashness from this bold and valorous action. But, considering it in the view of probability, I see no character of rashness in it, but really think David had the advantage of the two. The huge bulk of the giant made him a fair mark for the stripling; his armour was heavy and unwieldy, the sword, the spear, and the shield; David, though young, was nimble and active, quite safe whilst he kept the stalking monster at a distance from him, and had this peculiar advantage over him, that he could strike him at a distance, and when, if he had missed once, he had four more chances of hitting, and from whom at last he could easily have run away; whereas the sword, the spear, and shield of his enemy were wholly insignificant and useless, as they could only be employed against him in a close encounter. David was dexterous at his sling, and knew that he could scarce fail of his blow; and as the sling was an offensive weapon used in war, it was reckoned an exceeding useful qualification for a soldier to be expert in it. They were brought up toe, fre © The decision of national controversies by the duels of the chiefs was frequent enough in ancient times. That between the Horatii and Curiatii every one knows; and even before that, Romulus and Aruns king of the Ceninenses ended their national quarrel by the like method, Romulus killing his adversary, taking his capital, and dedicating the spoils to Jupiter Ferretrius. Val. Max. VIII. ii. 3. d There is in some of the Greek Psalteries added after the last or 150th Psalm, a psalm ascribed to David on his victory over Goliah. And it is also turned into heroic verse by Apollinarius, in his interpretation of the Psalms, and placed as the last of them. But as it is not in any of the Hebrew copies, nor in the Septuagint version of the e It is no wonder they were extremely dexterous, and certainly hit the mark they aimed at, since no boy, amongst some nations, was to receive any food from his mother without first striking it in the place where she had laid it: Certos esse quis miretur ictus, quum hæc sola genti arma sint, id unum ab infantia studium? Cibum puer a matre non accipit, nisi quem, ipsa monstrante, percusserit. Flor. iii. 9: Bell. Balear. Livy tells us that the slingers, which the inhabitants of Sama in Cephallenia hired for their defence against the Romans, a pueris more quodam gentis-funda, mare apertum inces I Chron. xii. Judg.xx.16. quently exercised in it, and attained to such an amazing dexterity in the use of it as that they could sling stones at an hair's breadth, and not miss. 2; 2 Chron. xxvi. 14. I Sam. xvii. 55-58. But the Scripture history takes notice, that when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner his general, Whose son is this youth? Abner said he could not tell. Saul ordered him to inquire whose son he was; and when David presented him with the head of the Philistine, Saul asked him, Whose son art thou, young man? David answered him that he was the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. That he knew David's name and person is certain, as nothing can be more absurd than to imagine that David's words should be reported to Saul, that Saul should send for him, and have a long conversation with him upon one of the most important affairs that could offer, without so much as asking or being told his name. Had he been ignorant of this, he would have ordered Abner to inquire his name as well as his parentage; santes, exercebantur-et non capita lel with this account of David and The consequence was, that the sling carrying the stone further than the bow its arrow, Pyraechmes slew his adversary, and gained the victory. Μετὰ σφενδόνης καὶ πήρας λίθων, Strab. Geog. viii. p. 548. edit. Amstel. So, 'ExpaTaiwσev Aavid év tŷ σφενδόνῃ καὶ ἐν τῷ λίθῳ. Vers. τῶν LXX. 1 Sam. xvii. 50. Thus also Virgil's Mezentius, laying by his armour, with a piece of lead from his sling killed the son of Aruns : Stridentem fundam, positis Mezentius armis, Ipse ter adducta circum caput egit ha bena; of which, however, the Scripture history mentions not a wordf. The reputation which this gallant action procured to David f And yet Mr. B.'s critical note C is founded on this mistaken supposition, that Saul did not know David; which he thinks "very strange, because the young man had played on musical instruments several times in his presence, to calm the melancholy vapours that tormented him;" and on this he observes, that "if such a narration as this was found in Thucydides or Livy, all the critics would unanimously conclude that the transcribers had transposed the pages, put one thing in this place, repeated it in another, and inserted some unconnected passages in the author's work." Critics, that audax hominum genus, are too often very rash in censuring, and making alteration in passages they do not understand, or the connection and sense of which they mistake. Mr. B., with other writers, has wrongly supposed that Saul did not know David, then wonder at the reason why he did not, and then conclude that the history is confused, and wants the amendment of the critics. Hence it is that some of them pretend that the affair of David's duel with Goliah was previous to his playing on the harp before Saul. But this is contrary to what the Scripture history expressly asserts, 1 Sam. xvii. 15, that David had left Saul after his first playing before him, and returned again from his father to fight in single combat with Goliah. The true and full solution of the difficulty is: Non inquirere Saulem, quis sit David, sed cujus filius; quia ejus intererat scire, cujus familiae esset is adolescens, cui filiam suam promiserat se uxorem daturum, si vinceret Philistaeum. Houbig. in loc. That "Saul did not inquire who David was, but whose son; because it was of importance to him to know of what family he was, as he had promised to give him his own daughter to wife, if he should conquer the Philistine." How long the space of time was between David's first and second introduction to Saul is not particularly mentioned in the history. Mr. Bayle censures the Abbé de Chosi for saying that Saul had not seen David for several years after he first left him upon the cure of his melancholy. But I think there must have been some considerable period between the one and the other. Josephus says it was χρόνοις ὕστερον οὐ oλλoîs, Ant. Jud. VI. ix. init., “not many years after;" thereby plainly intimating there were several. 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 dismission from Saul, and his three brethren's going into the army, and must require some considerable space of time. Suppose it was a year or two, what is there improbable, that a youth who had been so little with Saul, and who, though one of his armour-bearers, had never been employed in any command by him, should, after a year or two's absence, not even be remembered by him in person at first view; especially as he was now in his shepherd's habit, and not in that of Saul's guards; and when Saul had himself been engaged in a multiplicity of important affairs since his first interview with David, seen such a variety of different persons, and had been greatly disordered by the melancholy turn of his own mind? Viderat eum, et genus ejus audierat Saul jam ante, c. xvii. 20. Sed facile talium oblivio subit reges, in tantis negotiis, in tanta eum adeuntium multitudine, praesertim si et morbi accedunt. Grot. in loc. 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, and that I am concerned to clear up. 5. soon gained him advancement in the army. Saul would no 1 Sam.xviii. more suffer him to go to his father's house, set him over the men of war, with whom he went out whithersoever Saul sent him, so that he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. Saul at first kept him near his own person, and by his wise behaviour he gained universal affection and esteem. And it should be remarked, that David made use of no dishonourable and base arts to advance himself in the court or camp of Saul; but that his whole preferment was entirely owing to his singular modesty, prudence, courage, and merit. Amongst other fortunate consequences of this victory to David was the friendship of Jonathan, the king's eldest son, to which he owed his life, and which was never interrupted till death. For as he could not but admire his courage and prudence in his victory over Goliah, he was so charmed with his person, and the manner of his address to Saul when he was admitted into his presence after the defeat of the Philistines, as that he conVer. 1, 2. ceived the highest affection for him, The soul of Jonathan was tied fast to the soul of David, so that-Jonathan loved him as his own soul; and as the proof of it, took off his own robe that he wore, and put it on David, as also his other garments, together with his sword, his bow, and his military girdle, that hereby he might appear as a king's son, and be known and honoured as his own intimate friend. David entered cordially into this friendship, and fully proved the sincerity of it through the whole of his life. CHAP. III. The rise of Saul's enmity to David. HITHERTO every thing went as David's own heart could have wished. He was in high favour with Saul, who seems determined to have given him his eldest daughter after he had made some further trial of his valour and prudence. But an accident happened that raised the incurable jealousy of Saul, and made him resolve the destruction of David. The Philistines had encamped in the territories of the tribe of Judah, and not far from Jerusalem, where Saul seems to have continued some time after the rout of their army, and where David received the first fruits of his favour. But as Saul was re |