The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 375

ledge of their friendship and its effect on his methods, Jonathan expresses readiness to do whatever David may suggest. 4. Thereupon David suggests a means hy which Saul's disposition towards him can be ascertained. 5. He further pleads, on the ground of their strong friendship, that Jonathan should slay or aid to deliver him. It is not improbable that the coming of the prophetic spirit on Saul was, among· other reasons, designed to help him once more to a due consideration of his course. But by this time David appears to have awakened to the convic- tion that the recent attempts on his life were not to be ascribed to fitful outbursts of madness, but to a fixed purpose, for reasons he could not surmise. As then he had sought refuge with Samuel from the hand of pas-sionate violence, so now he naturally turnij to his beloved friend Jonathan to ascertain from one presumably in his .father's secrets the causes of this persistent attempt- on his life, and to demand of him th~ offices of true friendship. A triple consciousness pervades this appeal of DaTid : namely, of integrity, of danger, of duty of self-preservation. I . .A MAN CONSCIOUS OF INTEGRITY OF LIFE. It would appear that David ,vas quite unaware of the secret of Saul's conduct. It is probable that he knew nothing of. that fearful doom pronounced by Samuel (eh. xv. 28'-29) which had operated so disastrously on the guilty mind of Saul. With the innocence of an unworldly man, he could not imagine that a monarch reigning over the people of God could ever de.vise dest_ruction against a subject unless he believed that subject to have com- mitted some crime worthy of death. Possibly the king might be under an unfounded impression; and as Jonathan was heir to the throne and in his father's confidence, be w~uld surely inform bis friend. At all events, so far as be knew his own heart, he was conscious only of integ1ity. "What have I done? What is mine iniquity?" In dealing with the important matter involved in these questions, let us observe that -1. Integritp is to be souglit in every man. David was correct in the assumption underlying Ins inquiry-that every one ought to be characterised by integrity of life, and that on its existence alone can we justly claim exemption from scorn, suffering, abandonment, and a right to respect, enjoyment of life, and personal protection. There is in every man a voice unceasingly demanding of him uprightness, moral soundness. The eye with which we look on one another is guided by this conviction. And it is in the universal recognition of the truth that integrity is to be sought in every one that we find a basis of appeal in the name of righteousness, and a rational place for the doctrines of atonement and regeneration. 2. Integrity is to be regarded in a twofold aspect. It will be observed that David simply raises the question as to. what he had done in relation to Saul or his kingdom. He distinguished between integrity in his relations to man and integrity in his relations to God. .All moral relations to man involve moral relations to God, but the reverse is not true. Man's relations to God are wider than those to his fellow-men. Religious morality is not identical with secular morality. The spiritual embraces obligations transcending the humanly moral. Integrity in relation to man lies in the faithful discharge of all obligations dne to man, qnder the influence of pure motives in detail, and a supreme sense of justice in general. But integrity in relation to God me!lns perfect rightness of spirit, manifesting itself in perfect love of God, perfect obedience to God, perfeet purity of thought-in fact, conformity in every secret and open movement of will with the holy will of God. This soundness, this health, is certain to insure integrity in relation to man, but the reverse is not true. This distinction is of great importance to the understanding of Scripture and the regulation of life (cf. 2 Chron. vi. 36-39; Job xv. 14; Ps. xv.; Isa. xxxiii. 15, 16; Rom. iii. 23-28; James v. 16; 1 John i. 8). 3. Integrity in its lmman relation is, ·in ordinary life, maintained W'ithout self- assertion. During the months of D,wid's service, from the day he entered into con- flict with Goliath till his flight to Naioth, he had been a trne, sincere man, doing his duty. But all this time he was not conscious of anything remarkable. The beauty of integrity of life lies in the naturalness which suggests no reflection upon itself. True virtue excludes self-admiration, and, when in exercise, self-consciousness. Our Saviour never refers to his goodness us a praise to himself. The sun needs only to shine, the truth only to be (Matt. vi. 1-4; Luke xviii. 12). 4. Integrity may b!,- asserted w!ten challenged by detractors, or when wron[J is done to one's interests. David's uprightness of life would have gone on without self-introspection and self-  980 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. [r:1-1. XX. l-23.