COMMENT.-The next retreat chosen by David was a beautiful ravine in the hills of Judah, opening over the Dead Sea, about the middle of the western side. It slopes very gently down, in soft green pasture, from the foot of the steep cliffs which enclose it and which are particularly lofty and steep to the north. A clear spring of water leaps down from the cliff, and it is therefore called Engaddi, “the fountain of the wild goat." The rocks are limestone, and contain huge caverns, for shelter or concealment; so that it seemed as if a better home for the persecuted could not be found than among the shepherds who folded their flocks within the mouth of the caverns and fed them on the rich grass.

Thither, however, Saul soon pursued him with three thousand picked men ; but when David with his band retreated into the dark recesses of the winding cave, they were completely invisible, although they, looking outwards to the light, could perfectly well observe their enemies.

Here, then, they saw Saul enter the cave, through the sheepfolds, while they themselves lay unseen, and they urged their leader to take advantage of the opportunity and seize or slay him. David stole gently towards him in the dark, but he could not strike a treacherous blow, above all against the anointed of the Lord. He only cut off the train of the long royal robe, as an evidence that Saul's life had been in his power; and even for this his conscience smote him; and he not only kept back his followers from making any attack upon the King, but he followed him out of the cave, and called on him, showing him both in word and gesture even more than his wonted honour and respect, pleading with him that it was now proved that the accusation of treason was unfounded. "Yet," he says, "thou huntest my soul to take it." The Lord would judge; but, let Saul do his worst, David would never lift a hand against his consecrated person. There was an old saying “ Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked"-which he repeated, meaning that if Saul went on in his present violent course evil would befall him, but it should come from a wicked person, not from David! And was it worth while, then, to come with an army against any one so insignificant-"a dead dog"-one single flea, as he even termed himself?

Saul was touched and overpowered by the perception of his

recent peril, of David's forbearance, and of his present meek humility. He burst into tears, and owned himself to blame and David faithful; and he even confessed his assurance that David must sit on his throne, and only entreated for mercy to his children —a promise that David readily gave and confirmed with an oath. So did David not only show perfect loyalty and nobleness, but, instead of being "overcome of evil, overcame evil with good." The 57th Psalm is his joyous thanksgiving for his deliverance. There he recounts how his enemy came to take him, and fell himself into the pit he had prepared, and in a full flood of joyous praise he sings

Awake up, my glory;

Awake, psaltery and harp :

I myself will awake early.

I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people :

I will sing unto thee among the nations.

For thy mercy is great unto the heavens,

And thy truth unto the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens :
Let thy glory be above all the earth.

To us this is an Easter Sunday psalm, for it is fully true only of the Son of David, who came forth from His rocky sepulchre to pardon and to reign.

LESSON LXXIX.

THE CHURLISHNESS OF NABAL.

B.C. 1059.-1 SAM. xxv. 1-19.

And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

And David arose,

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel ; * and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful

* The Park.

countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name :

And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carinel.

Wherefore let the young

Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. men find favour in thine eyes for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David."

And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff. *

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were conversant + with them, when we were in the fields:

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him.

Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles § of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

COMMENT.-The holy prophet, Levite, and Nazarite, who had raised Israel up from her worst depths of degradation and distress,

* Remained to protect the baggage.

Man of nothing.

+ Had to do with them.

§ Skins.

died, and was mourned by all Israel. He had not seen his work of reformation fully done. It had been shattered and broken off by Saul's self-will, then by his frenzy and persecution of David; but it had been only deferred, not ruined. Neither of the two kings whom Samuel had anointed came to his burial, as it appears. Saul had altogether broken off with all Divine control when he slew the priests, and David could not safely venture into the neighbourhood of Gibeah.

David had gone further south, even into the wilderness of Paran, where the later wanderings of Israel had been, and bordering upon another tract, called Maon, belonging to Judah. In Maon, about six miles from Hebron, lay a place called Carmel,—not the famous Mount Carmel that is on the coast of the Mediterranean, much further north, but, like it, called by a name meaning "the park," or "the well-wooded;" and here dwelt a man named Nabal, of great wealth in cattle. He is called a Calebite, a descendant of the great old champion Caleb, whose possessions had lain near Hebron; but Caleb also meant "a dog," and some have thought that it means that Nabal was dog-like, of a currish, snarling nature. It appears that when the flocks and herds were sent out to pasture far from home, in places exposed to the robberies of the Amalekites and other robber tribes, David and his men became their protectors, and expected in return to receive contributions for their support, which were fairly earned by their guardianship. Sheep-shearing is one of the favourite festivals of an Eastern farm-when all the flocks are gathered in from all quarters, with the whole tribes of servants who keep them, and there is universal plenty and enjoyment; and David sent a most courteously expressed message, with the true Oriental humility of expression, entreating Nabal to send a gift in acknowledgment of the services of his followers.

But Nabal's answer was churlish and rude even to brutality, and so irritating, that his servants, who well knew under what obligations they lay to David, and had seen how brave and well-ordered his men were, came in alarm to Abigail, Nabal's wise and beautiful wife, and told her that their master had shown such ingratitude to David, and insulted him so grossly, that revenge would certainly be taken unless she could prevent it. They bore high testimony to

the discipline of that band of hungry outlaws, for nothing had been missed all the time they were at hand, but they had rather been a wall of protection day and night. Yet Nabal was such a man of Belial, so foolish, obstinate, and worthless, that they durst not explain matters to him! In the time of our feasting and rejoicing, does the Greater than David never knock at our door, by the hands of His poor and needy, and do we never return a churlish denial?

LESSON LXXX.

ABIGAIL'S INTERCESSION.

B.C. 1059.-1 Sam. xxv. 20—44.

And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert* of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him and he hath requited me evil for good.

So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any man of his house.

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, † and hear the words of thine handmaid.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal : for as his name is, so is he; Nabal + is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine Landmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

Fool, a weak silly man.