that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid 2."

Nothing can be imagined more befitting the occasion than this is; nothing is left out, nor is there a word too much; and the whole shows Abigail to have been a woman of strong faith and great integrity, as well as of singular prudence and address. David was evidently in a state of mind which made it necessary for her to deal very circumspectly; but though wary, she is not afraid of him, and is as faithful as she is courteous; she sees his error, and, indeed, lets him know that she does, by implication at least, and honestly rebukes him for it. Yet she treats him with that respect and reverence which were his just due, admits that he had been grossly insulted, does not pretend to palliate the injustice done him, makes every allowance for the passion and impetuosity which he had himself exhibited, and, whilst she deprecates the effects which seemed likely to follow from it, gives him full credit for the general nobility and equity of his character, and makes it appear that she is actuated not merely by solicitude for the safety of her own household, but also by goodwill to himself, and a regard for his own true honour and real good. Nabal had railed on him as a runaway slave; she recognises him as the Lord's anointed, acknowledges her conviction that he was unjustly persecuted by Saul, prays for his safe deliverance, and expresses her belief that God will exalt him in due time, and give him the victory over all his foes. In the meanwhile she has brought a present for the relief of his temporary necessity; but she makes very slight mention of it, only begging that it may be given to his followers, as an expression of the respect she could

2 Ver. 23-31.

not but owe to one so honourable in himself, and so honoured of the God of Israel; and she concludes with the consideration which she was confident would have most weight with him, being the man she took him to be. If he would but listen to her, he would not invade God's prerogative by avenging himself; and of that she was sure he would be glad, when the present disturbance his mind was in should be ended, and he should have time in his state of peace and prosperity to reflect on what had passed.

"Re

Now, says Solomon, "A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool 3. prove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser." David's reply shows that Abigail had not mistaken him; and that those principles were indeed uppermost in him, and had the habitual ascendancy over him; which she supposed. For, though he accepts her present courteously, and no doubt thankfully, he does not speak like a person merely put into a good humour by having his own way conceded to him; but like a serious and godly man, thankful to have been brought to himself from a state of error, and to have been kept from sin when he had been in the road to it. He begins by giving honour to God, but he zealously owns his obligations also to her who called herself his handmaid: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel," he says, "which sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from avenging myself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been a man left unto Nabal by the morning light. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person

5 99

3 Prov. xvii. 10.

Prov. ix. 8, 9.

See 1 Sam. xxv. 32-35.

David has now quit himself like David, and the history returns to Nabal. Abigail had done her utmost to shield her husband from the consequences of his own folly, and she now came back to him. "And, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken." It would have been worse than useless to have attempted to do him any good whilst in this condition, "wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light"." But "As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool 7" "The end of that mirth is heaviness 8." And thus the account of Nabal finishes: "It came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone"."

With the effects of his wine, the drunkard's valour and insolence departed; he stood aghast and stupified when he heard of the danger to which he had exposed himself; and about ten days afterwards, God, either permitting the effects of his terror and debauchery to take their course, or visiting him with some direct judgment, "smote Nabal that he died.”

This David looked upon as God's decision in his own favour, and he gives Him thanks accordingly: "Blessed be the Lord," he says, "that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head." And then, the prudence and piety of Abigail having made deep impression upon David, he sent messengers, after the custom of those times, with proposals of marriage to her; and she, on the other hand, highly esteeming the character of David, and firmly believing that God would make good his promises to him, and set him on the throne of Israel, deemed his proposals very honourable to herself, and, notwithstanding his present difficulties, resolved to share his fortunes; and

6 Ver. 36.

8 Prov. xiv. 13.

7 Eccles. vii. 6.

9 1 Sam. xxv. 37.

66

accordingly she accepted his offer with much humility: "Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant," she says, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went with her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife'."

So the history concludes. I have made, as I proceeded, such remarks upon the particulars, as seemed necessary for the explanation of them. I will now ask your attention to a few practical observations of a more general nature, which are suggested by the circumstances and behaviour of the principal parties concerned.

And, first, look to Nabal: in his case you see exemplified the danger of prosperity. If it be not regarded as specially obliging to prayer and watchfulness, a man born in sin is sure to make his gold his god, and to use his means solely for his self-indulgence. Therefore, if you are in prosperous circumstances, wait not for a change before you think it necessary to call upon God for help and guidance: now is your time of need, and the Church puts a befitting prayer into your mouth: "In all time of our wealth, good Lord, deliver On the other hand, if you have not worldly prosperity, covet it not, for it is only asking for responsibility and danger; but covet earnestly the best gifts, the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which God, for Christ's sake, will give you.

us."

Further, let your worldly wealth be more or less, or none at all, take a warning from Nabal against drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Such things take away the heart, ruin the bodily frame, make people unfit for usefulness in this world, and incapable of doing any thing in preparation for the next. "The harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself" for them, " and opened her mouth without mea

1 Ver. 41,
42.

2 "

sure And what a thing will it be, my brethren, for those who have brought themselves to be past feeling here, to be awakened for the first time there!

Looking again at Nabal, consider also how usual a thing it is for habits of sensual self-indulgence to be accompanied with such churlishness and brutality of manners, as are calculated to make those around us afraid of speaking to us for our good, and with such uncharitable indifference to the concerns of our brethren, as makes us wholly forget our obligations to them, and so sets God Himself, whose they are, against us. "Be ye filled with the spirit," brethren; " seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," and all things that ye have shall be clean unto you; helps not hindrances. If you have those about you who truly love you, you will be capable of profiting by their faithful counsels; and if you have wealth, you will make yourselves friends of the unrighteous mammon, that when you fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Look next to Abigail. I have remarked upon her behaviour to David, and need not repeat what has been said; but her conduct to her husband is also well worthy to be noted. She did the best she could for him, and it was no fault of hers that she was not further successful. She saved Nabal, as far as David's wrath against him was concerned; but she could be of no final service to him, because he had filled up the measure of his sins against God. It would be well for society, for the present comfort of households, and for the souls of many, if the saying of Solomon were more considered : "A prudent wife is from the Lord" and again, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her. She will do him good all the days of his life." The Divine institution of marriage is wont to be treated with much levity in the idle talk of foolish people. But it is a serious thing; and were it so ac

2 Isa. v. 12. 14.

3

Prov. xix. 14. 4 Prov. xxxi. 10-12.