Jonathan's victory over the Philistines.
1 Sam. xiv. 6. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these jmcircumcised: it may he that the Lord zvill ivork for lis : for there is no restraint to the Lord to save hy many or hy few.
SO frequent are the wonders recorded in the Scripture, that we scarcely notice them ; yet so great are they, that it is rather owing to our inatten- tion, than to any real exercise of faith, that we do not reject them as altogether incredible and fabulous. This account of Jonathan is inferior to few, either in the strangeness of his feats, or the magnitude of their results. That we may have a clear view of the matter, we shall shew, I. The state to which the Israelites were reduced —
The consequences of their choice began now plainly to appear —
[They had desired a king, and had persisted in their request, notwithstanding all the expostulations of Samuel; and God had complied with their request. But Saul had not possessed the throne of Israel two years, before his kingdom
was overcome by the Philistines, and brought into a state of the basest servitude. The Phihstines would not so much as suffer the Israelites to have a smith of their own, lest he should make arms for them : so determined were they to keep the Israelites in the lowest state of subjection. Yet whilst they were in this state, Saul was imprudent enough to smite a garrison of the Philistines, and thereby to give his enemies a plea for utterly destroying the whole nation. Accordingly the Philistines called all their forces together, " thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and foot soldiers as the sands on the sea-shore for number ; " whilst Saul had but six hundred men, and not a single sword to be found amongst them all. To make their situation still more deplorable, Saul presumed to invade the priestly office, and to offer sacrifices to God without waiting the full time for Samuel that he had been expressly enjoined to wait; and thus he provoked God to take away from him the kingdom, and to transfer it to a person who should prove more worthy of it. Thus speedily was the nation reduced to ruin under that government which they had been so anxious to obtain.]
And such consequences may justly be apprehended by all who are bent upon their own wishes, in oppo- sition to the uiind and will of God —
[There is the same self-will in all of us : we do not like that God should choose for us : we think that we can contrive better for ourselves than he has done. If we feel any evil in existing circumstances, we do not so much consider how we may obtain his favour, as how we may ward off the effects of his displeasure. But inordinate desire of any kind will bring its own punishment along with it : and we shall all find at last, tiiat our truest happiness consists, not in the accomplishment of our own will, or the gratification of our own desires, but in
the favour and protection of Almighty God Perhaps
there is not a man to be found, who mvist not after mature reflection acknowledge, that, if God had suffered him in some particular instance to attain his own wishes, or execute his own desires, he would have rendered himself the most miser- able of the human race ]
But, if we see God's hand in their punishment, much more do we in their deliverance. Let us therefore consider,
II. The means by which their deliverance was effected — When nothing but utter destruction could be ex- pected, God was pleased to interpose for them. He
296.1 Jonathan's victory over the Philistines. 181
stirred up the minds of Jonathan and his armour- bearer to go and attack a garrison, that, humanly speaking, was invincible even by a considerable force ; and that too even in open day. They climbed up the rock in the very sight of their enemies, slew about twenty of them on the spot, spread terror through the whole camp of the Philistines, gave an opportunity for Saul and his adherents to pursue the fugitives, and would have utterly destroyed the whole Philistine army, if the rashness of Saul had not deprived his men of that refreshment which their exhausted strength required.