C"om·ey the idea rather of ,exation with him- for which act God, he affirms will protect self than of sorrow for his maliciousness, yet· his life. Ver. 24 would be bett:ir translated in one point there is a sign of better things, cc And. behold! as tl~y lifo WII.S great (i~ He bids Da,id return, evidently with refer- value) m my sight this day, so shall my life ence to the grief expressed with such genuine be great (in value) in the sight of Jehovah, feeling by David at being driven away from and he shall deliver me out of every strait," Jehovah's land. It was of course impossible, every narrowness end difficulty into which as Saul had gfren David's wife to another, Saul's persecution might drive him. e.nd Da,:id had himself married two other Ver. 25.-Thou shalt both do, &c. Better, women, but at least it expressed a right and cc Thon shalt both do mightily, and thou kindly feeling. shalt surely prevail." The words are very Vers. 22-24. -Behold the king's spear. general as compared with those in eh. xxiv. Rather, " Behold the spear, 0 king." The 20, 21, where Saul expressed his conviction other is au unnecessary correction of the Kri. that David would be king, and intrusted Having restored to Saul this ensign of his his family to bis care. The poverty of sen- authority, Dand prays that Jehovah may timent here, and the mere vexation expressed render to every man his righteousness, in ver. 21, justify Keil's remark that Saul's i. e. may requite David for his upright con- character had deteriorated in the interval, duct towards Saul, and by implication and that he was more hardened now than on punish Saul himself for his unjust conduct. the previous occasion. And so they parted- And awo his faithfulness, his fidelity, and David still leading the life of a fugitive, for steady allegiance. This refers exclusively to Saul's return in ver. 21 was the most evan- • Dand, who gives as proof of bis faithfulness escent of good purposes, while the king went to his king that he had spared his life when back to his place, his home at Gibeah. it \Yas delivered into his power. In return
HOMILETICS. i' ers. 1-12.-The moral use of Biblical dijfh:-ulties. The facts are-1. .At the re- q nest of the Ziphites, Saul goes out in pursuit of David, who by spies ascertains his true position. 2. David, observing Saul's camp. goes to it by night with Abishai while all are asleep. 3. Abishai urges David to seize the opportunity to slay Saul, but is rebuked by the declaration that if Saul dies it shall be in such way as God may ordain, and not by the self-chosen hand of David. 4. David carries off Saul's spear and cruse of water. Expositors raise the question as to whether this narrative is identical in point of time and main circumstance with that of eh. xxiii. 19-26; xxfr. 1-15. That question is dealt with elsewhere. Our business is with the fact of the difficulty and with the teaching it involves. We may therefore consider- I. THE MORAL USE OF BrnLJCAL DIFFJCULTIES. The difficulty raised in reference to this section is only one of a class on which for ages much ingenuity and learning have been spent, and which have been the occasion of no little trotible and anxiety to certain minds in consequence of their ~upposed bearing on the reality of revela- tion and the authority of Scripture. The enemies of Christianity have not been slow to take advantage of any apparent discrepancies or confused statements. The following c-onsiderations may be of service from a practical point of view :-1. These various difficulties teacli us the vanity of our wisdom in relation to the unfolding of the purposes of God. God bas certainly revealed his will to mankind, and wrought out a merciful purpose in Christ. None but those who reject plainest evidence can doubt that lie has been pleased to give this revelation concerning his merciful purpose in the Bible as we have it. The presence of variations in narrative, as here and in Gen. i. and ii., and in the Gospels, is the fact which causes great perplexity. Now had we the construction of a vehicle of revelation intended for man, our wisdom would have suggested its freedom from all such difficulties to its recept_ion: Is not this the real feeling of many? Man would have left no room for hes1tat1on. All should have been so clear that no adverse criticism should be possible. Facts, how- ever, are against this wisdom. It is shown to be inadequate to deal with _the v~st problems of universal life. God's ways are not our ways. 2,- These d1flicult1es enable us io believe in tile !tonesty of tile writers of the sacred history. !1-s soon as our wisdom is assessed we discern in the variations and free representations of the eame or nimilar events clear evidence that the book could not have been the work of OH. XXVI. 1-25.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SA11UEL. bOl