David marching with the Philistines is dismissed.

1 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.

3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?

4 And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?

5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day nevertheless the lords favour thee not.

7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. 8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.

11 So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. LECTURE 500.

Of our natural fondness for deceit.

Here was a fresh difficulty, brought upon David, by his taking refuge with the king of Gath. For "Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men;" and this, when "the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel." Ch. 28. 1. And David made answer, as if he designed really to fight against the Israelites;

saying, "Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do." Whilst the confidence, which Achish was disposed to put in him, appears from this reply, "Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever." Ch. 28. 2. From this difficulty David was delivered by the utterly undeserved mercy of God, through means of the jealousy of the lords of the Philistines. "What do these Hebrews here?" is their enquiry. And when Achish in his answer commended David highly, they remembered, that he had already been the cause of death to great numbers of their countrymen. And they suggested, that he would be under a great temptation to make his peace with Saul, by betraying those on whose side he was now preparing to fight. When all things are considered, this was no unreasonable suspicion. For we can hardly think it possible, that David really meant to help the Philistines against the people of the Lord. And if he said in one thing the opposite to that which he meant, it is to be feared that he must have meant in other things the opposite to that which he said. A miserable consequence of deceit, important to be noted by the way, that he who has been once found capable of deceiving is ever after apt to be suspected.

And if David really had any such design for reconciling himself to Saul, by proving once more, in a very important instance, that he was not his enemy but his friend, or if he were merely designing to desert to Saul, as the only way of escaping from the necessity of otherwise fighting against Israel; what a reproach ought he to have felt it in his treachery towards Achish, when the unsuspecting king declared, "Surely as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright!" And what a relief ought he to have found it when Achish added, "return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines!" Why then does he protest against this dismissal? Why does he plead for leave to go and fight against the enemies of the king? Was this only to gloss over his treacherous intentions? Or was it that he still hoped to compass his treachery? In either case it is in strict consistency with that deceitfulness, and love of falsehood, in the heart, of which many a man will still find, on close examination, abundant proof within himself. Who that has ever told one falsehood, has not also felt tempted to prop it up by another? Who that has ever planned deceit, has not been vexed to be thwarted in deceiving? Who must not acknowledge with shame, that according to our corrupted nature, we love a lie rather than abhor it? Who shall not give thanks to God with joy, that in our nature, as renewed by grace, one character is this, rejoicing "in the truth?" 1 Cor. 13. 6.

The Amalekites having spoiled Ziklag are pursued by David. 1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.

3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.

8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail

recover all.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;

12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.

14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.

LECTURE 501.

Our way to succeed is to pursue as God would have us. We cannot be sure, unless it were told us in God's word, that the burning of Ziklag was a judgment from God on David and

his men, for consenting, either in earnest or in guile, to fight on the side of Achish against Israel. But if they acted herein wickedly, we cannot doubt that their sin must have been forcibly brought to their remembrance, when they returned and found their houses burnt with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters taken captives. "Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep." An affecting description of the anguish of their hearts; proving at least how much they felt under affliction, though it may be they felt more for their loss than for their sin. And this is apt to be the case with most men. Most men would be overpowered with excess of grief, if they were to find on returning to their homes, that their houses were reduced to ashes, and their wives and children lost. But these same persons will often wear a countenance of cheerfulness, and be also merry in their hearts, although if they could but see the truth of their own case, the blackness of their ingratitude to God, and the amount of joy and glory they are losing by living in indifference to his Gospel, they would find cause to lift up their voice and weep, until they could weep no more.

The people carried their resentment to such a height against David, whom they considered answerable for their loss, that they "spake of stoning him." This looks as if they had no compunction towards God, and shews us how chastisement, if it fail to soften the heart, is apt even to harden it. "But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." This leads us to think, that he at least had felt some touch of godly sorrow; drawing him to repentance, and exercising him in patience and in faith. His affliction turned his thoughts towards the Lord. And he called for the priest and for the ephod; that he might learn what in this emergency the Lord would have him to do. How encouraging was the answer he received, "Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all!" An answer full of comfort for the dejected Christian, who in his deep affliction by reason of his sins, mourns for the loss of graces once attained, and consolations of the Spirit once enjoyed, but now owing to his backslidings taken from him, and withheld.

To such an one there is comfort in this favourable answer from the Lord to David, and also in the favourable result which followed. Pursuit, adopted in compliance with God's counsel, soon brought David and his company to a deserted servant of the Amalekites, who knew the course which the spoilers would take, and undertook to guide David to their camp. We have but to follow God's counsel, and we shall assuredly succeed. Whatever we may have lost by falling back from grace given, we may yet recover all; if we do but this one thing, "Pursue." Whatever we may have missed, by having hitherto made no progress in faith and duty, we need not despair of overtaking those who are already well advanced in their Christian course, if we do but this one thing, "Pursue."

David recovereth and distributeth the spoil.

16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.

18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.

19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.

20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. 21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.

22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his

wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.

24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.

25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;

27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,

28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,

29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,

30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach,

31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.