The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 453

,d,ich ProYidcnce was working out great issues for Israel and all mankind but also 1rnggest seYeral topics of far wider range than the individual life of David'. Cm:es, from Machpelah, the centre o_f ~olemn and tender interests (Gen. xxiii. 1-9; xxv. 9; xxxY. 2~ ;_ I. 1~), on to the h1~mg-pla?e of a ~,eary-_hearted prophet (1 Kings xix. 9), to Plato s 1magmary scene for 11lustratmg the hmttat10ns of human knowledge and the hiding-places of persecuted saints (Heh. xii. 38), have figured in human affairs and the cave of Engerli certainly merits attention. It reminds us of- ' . I. THE D0MI~ANCE OF AN EVIL PASSION. In reply to the inquiry, How is it that the km~ of I~rael 1s here away from his ordinary seat of_ goYernment, and exposed to pen!. ~f hfe? t~e an~wer must be, Becaus~ the _pass10n of cruel envy has gained d<?mm1on over his entire nature. Any cons1derat10ns of policy or prudence where- ·:nth he may have sought to justify his conduct in pursuing David were mere fictions <:i:eated by a pen:erted will under the control of a masterful envy of one better than lumself. The history traces the growth of this feeling. The dire evil, like a repressed to:rent, seemed to gain force by the check given by Samuel and the pro- phets ( eh. x1x. 18-24), until at last it gained such ascendancy over Saul's life that the entire en~rgy of ~is mind and the ordinary administration of his kingdom were mnde subordmate to its expression. He was the slave of an evil once consisting in a sudden feeling of ill-will, which, had it been dealt with as every unhallowed feeling should the moment it appears, might ha..-e been crushed in the germ. The case oj Saul is not unlike that of manJ/ men, although the governing feeling may be different. Men are more entirely dominated by some powerful disposition than they, in their neglect of introspection and consequent lack of self-knowledge, imagine. Tl1e reality is seen in the instance of persons given up to intemperance, dissolute- ness of life, and cruelty; and ordinary observers may be able to trace the process from slight indulgence in the sin to its complete mastery over the life. Others, who look at life more closely and estimate its value by the Scriptural standard, can also see the same enslaYement, brought on by degrees, in the instance of persons. who pursue wealth, worldly fame, or personal enjoyment as the chief end of life. The Pharisees thought it shocking to have killed the prophets, and were not disposed to admit their own enslavement to evil feelings deadly in character. The positive antagonism of men to Christ means the gradual growth in them of aversion to bis l10ly restraints until they become its slaves. There is a proud but delusive sense of i11d~pendence attaching to this enslavement to evil. "We were never in bondage to :cm· man" (John viii. 33). It is a device of the devil to make his captives content ,·citl, their chains or to blind them to their reality. "Are we blind also?" (John ix. 40). And as in the case of Saul the domination of the evil only drew him on and 011 to deeper trouble, till at last all was lost, so, unless our ruling evils are destroyed by prompt submission of will to Christ's yoke, and con~equent subjection of the life to l,is purifying grace, sin will "bring forth death." 11. THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN FEELING IN 'J'IIE INTERPRETATION W,HICH MEN PUT t:J•O~ REVELATION AND PROVIDENCE. Different opinions may be entertained as to tl1e sense attached to the words of David's men (ver. 4), and accordingly the prac- tical lessons deducible will vary with the choice we make. (1) On the supposition that they were here quoting a specifk communication conveyed to David through Samuel or Gad, and probably divulged in course of conversation with them, we have raised the question of, the fact of revelations having been made in past ages t~ holy men which, serving for their personal guidance and comfort, have not been mcor- porated in the ordinary records, wl,ich conserve only what bas been deemed ne?es- sary to the connected history of redemption and the general instru.c~ion of ma~kmd. If this be so, it is obvious obscurities might cease to be obscunties to us did we but know what those immediately concerned in the events recorded may have been familiar with. (2) On the supposition that the lang·uage of these men was t~e inter- pretation which they put upon the predictions contained__ in eh. x~. 28; XVI; 1,_ 12, and on the avowed beliefs of Jonathan ( eh. xx. 15; xxin. 17), wluch by this time may have become current, we have raised the question of the infl1;1ence o~ a cherished -state of feeling-its extent and legitimacy-on the interpretat10n wluch '?en put upon the teachings of Scripture in refocence to doctrine, history, and worslup. (3) ·On the supposition that their words were simply intended to be the sense they put •CH. XXIV. 1-22.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 463