The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 526

forces of society nnd of nature seemed to go against him, and meanwhile the God of hie youth and enrly manhood was silent and apparently far away. Our only interpre- to.t)on of the faote is that God allows hie servants sometimes to be brought very low. He does not give them the immunity from pain e.nd peril which their relative goodness and fidelity would seem to warrant. Yet this is not the result of mere arbitrariness or neglect, It is part of e.n educational purpose, and inseparable from a government of men free in their deeds of wrong. The latent qualities of the righteous and their powers for future use can often be beet developed by means of adverse events which throw them more.absolutely on God than under smooth and easy conditions they ever could be. We need not be surprised if we fall into manifold trials (1 Pet. iv. 12). II. THE EXTBE!IUTIEB OF LIFE DEVELOP THE FULL STRENGTH OF PRAYER. David had been accustomed, like a.II pious men, to pray, but now he cried unto God. There WO.!! a reserve store of prayer in him which now became developed. He realized as never .before bis need of God, his helplessness, apart from pure Divine interposition and aid, to accomplish the purpose for which he had been selected by Samuel. There was more faith in him than he had been aware of, and now it was brought into exercise. This wa~ the firf!t gain. in the educational process. In the spiritual life, as in the physical and mental, our capacities become atrophied if not well used, and circum- stances that draw them forth in unusual degree enrich us with a permanent legacy of increased power. There is a natural tendency to inertia, which the stress of our environment.urges us to overcome. How great is the power placed in our hands by the privilege of prayer, who cnn tell? There are indications of its greatness in particular instances recorded in the Bible and known io modern life. It availetb much. It is the human agency by which the exercise of the Almighty Power has conditioned its own exercise. How seldom do we cry unto God as though we really wanted him nnd his aid I III. THE INTERPOSITION OF Gon ON BEHAll' OF HIS PEOPLE IS A REALITY JN LIFE. David contrasts ii~ thought his position and that of his enemies. He was apparently left alone by God and man ; they were prosperous, numerous, strong, and eager as rolling wa'l',es. D!!ath was before and behind him, so that he could not move; they were free to act, and no one to put them in peril. But a change came; the cry of distress had entered into the very ear of God, and, as though there were a sudden change in the Divine _relationship to human forces, rescue came. To David the interposition was as real as the previous peril e.nd agony. It was not mere faint-heartedness in Saul, not accidental diversion of his thoughts, not a simple refusal of his men to go further in pursuit of the victim of his malice; it was God who had somehow so acted on men and things as to bring about deliverance. The strong figures used by Da,id in vers. 8-12 express the conviction that God had ·come to his help, not simply by the action of normal laws, but by the invisible contact of the eternal energy with those la.ws, wondrously subordinating them to a special design. The true believer still sees God in his great deliverances. 'l'he answer to.prayer is a great realit.y. God can and does get at his suffering children. Men see not the invisible band, but those who cry to God recognize it. The profoundest matters of life are objects of faith, and in faith, as in intention, there is a transcendent knowledge passing all demonstration and all communication. IV. A REVIEW OF DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS BRINGS OUT TO THE EYE OF FAITH THEIR STRONG 0HABA0TERISTICS. David here reflects on the deliverances wrought for him in answer to earnest prayer, and their oharacteristics appear to him to be best represe~ted by the bold and vigorous language in vers. &-16. Among these we may notice : 1 . ...4. twofold revelation-to himself, as the God of power actually stooping to his help, and holding in his hand the most terrible and most subtle forces of nature; and to .his enemies, as the great God causing his voice so to be heard in the course of things as to r!lveal his wrath ao,d impress men with a sense of his greatness and majesty. 2. ...4.n assurance blended with uncertainty. The coming do'l'lln and the Divine bright- ness brought assuran~e unmistakable; but the darkness and mystery of his move- )nents indicated that his methods of working out a saving purpose were beyond human penetration. 3. Use of appropriate agencies for frustrating wicked purposes'. The . Divine "arrows" were so directed l>y unerring wisdom as to scatter those who hitherto were bent on pursuit, 4. Thwoughnosa in clearing away all natural obstacles to the  'l'H! SlroOND BOOK ap SAMUHL. (<lit, xtn.1~1.