The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 431

Samuel; we, in our private or public sphere, have, as the business of our life, fre maintenance of a theocracy more blessed and wide in its influence than that for which David lived; the Divine truth for our instruction and admonition embraces more than he was wont to meditate on by day and night ; and it is our privilege to wait on the Lord daily for both strength and wisdom. A nature less capacious than that of David's, an"d called to a department of service for God less conspicuons to the public eye, may, by corrP.sponding diligence in self-culture, attain to a sym- metry of Christian excellence akin to that of David, and embracing all the qualities we have just sketched. Every man is a well-developed Christian when such a nature as he happens to possess is brought, in all its tendencies and developments, entirely under the sway of the Christian spirit. A knowledge of our constitutional tendencies should be accompanied by special guarding of those forms of tempera- ment which imperil symmetry of character. Occasional reviews of our vows and of the goodness and mercy of our God will prompt to a renewed and fuller consecra- tion, which will not fail to develop patience in worse trials possibly than those of David, and confidence in God despite the most adverse of circumstances. Ver. 6-12.-Misinterpretation and miscalculation. Tl1e facts are-1. The moral position of David at Keilah is strengthened by the presence of Abiathar with the ephod. 2. Saul, believing David to be shut up in the city, prepares a force to lay siege to Keilah. 3. David, aware of this, has recourse to the ephod, and asks through Abiathar whether Saul was really coming, and whether, in case be came, the men of Keilah would give him up to Saul 4. He receives an affirmative reply to each inquiry. We have here two men moving in opposite lines and under totally diverse principles, yet each making reference to Goel in relation to his own conduct-a fair illustration of the intelligent and the ignorant use made of religious language and sentiments in human affairs. And while David in the deep earnestness of his soul seeks throngh the appointed means to know the will of Goel, ancl. Saul in his infatnation con- cludes God to be on his side, the Eternal reveals his knowledge of the secret tendencies nf men and his tender regard for the upright in heart. The actual conduct of S rnl and the hypothetical conduct of the men of Keilah suggest the rnisinterpretatio,1 of condnct and the miscalculation consequent thereon. No doubt the action of an energetic man at the head of a band of followers might cause uneasiness tc> a monarch whose hold on the people was not very strong, and consequently the move- ment of David, viewed at a distance and considered irrespective of his known c 11a- racter, might suggest the thought of an attempt to ingratiate himself with the nation, and gain a position from which a blow might, with greater chance of succJss, be struck at the throne. Saul's interpretation of the attack on the Philistines, and consequent entry into Keilah, was either that David was carrying on a freebooting expedition from mere love of plunder and exploit, or that, under cover of aiding the oppressed, he was entering upon active hostilities against himself. He could not conceive of such an act as compatible with friendliness to himself, and called forth by pure regard for the honour and freedom of Israel, patriotic hostility to the national foe, generous sympathy for the weak, and readiness to benefit sufferers, evm though in so doing a man should pursue a course open to the possibility of being misunderstood. The Saul of this date was not the Saul who once (eh. xi. 1-8), with large-hearted patriotism and generous impulse, rescued the men of Jabesh from the power of Nahash the Ammonite. Hence his misinterpretation of David's conduct. But thought and action are closely allied, and a false view of things is the basis of a miscalculation of the results of action when we proceed to carry out a purpose. So reversely did Saul now read all the lessons of the past few years in the life of David and himself as to comfort himself with the belief that God, in the order of his providence, was now shutting up David in a city in order that Saul might take and slay him. This phenomenon of a morally cl.iseased nature is worthy the study of Christian men, and may well make the resolutely impenitent to stand aghast at their possible madness. Quem Deus vitlt perdere. Misernbly did Saul miscalculate the course of events. God does not act for men because their wishes are made a substi- tute for knowledge. Generalising the truth invohe<l in the case of Saul and Daviil, we may notice-  THE FIRST BOOK OF SA;11UEL [en. XXIII. 1-18.