Now Abigail, by the grace of God, delivered David from the unhappy influence of the _present_, by leading his soul onward into the _future_: we learn this from her exquisite address to him. "And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be; and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now, therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself _with thine own hand_, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal; ... for _the Lord wilt certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord_, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul; _but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God_; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, _when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel_, that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself; but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid." We can hardly conceive anything more touching than this address; every point in it was calculated to touch the heart. She presents to him the evil of seeking to avenge himself; the weakness and folly of the object of his revenge,--she reminds him of his proper occupation, viz., "fighting _the Lord's battles_." This must have brought home to his heart the humiliating circumstances in which Abigail met him, even rushing on to fight _his own_ battle.
However, the reader will perceive that the leading point in this address is the special reference to the future. "The Lord _will_ certainly make my lord a sure house." "The soul of my lord _shall_ be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God." "When the Lord _shall_ have done to my lord," etc.; "and _shall_ have appointed thee ruler over Israel." All these allusions to David's future blessing and glory were eminently calculated to withdraw his heart from his present grievance. The sure house, the bundle of life, and the kingdom, were far better than Nabal's flocks and herds; and in the view of these glories, David could well afford to leave him to his portion, and his portion to him. To the heir of a kingdom, a few sheep could have but little attraction; and one who knew that he had the anointing oil of the Lord upon his head might easily bear to be called a runaway servant. All these things Abigail knew--knew as matters of faith. She knew David, and knew his high destinies. By faith she recognized in the despised outcast the future king of Israel. Nabal knew not David. He was a man of the world, swallowed up with present things. With him there was nothing more important, nothing more influential, than "_my_ bread, _my_ flesh, _my_ shearers;" it was all self; there was no room for David or his claims. This might be expected from such an one; but surely it was not for David to go down from his elevation to grapple with a poor worldling about his perishable possessions. Ah, no; the kingdom should have filled his eye, and engaged his thoughts, and lifted his spirit above all lower influences. Look at the Master Himself, as He stood at the bar of a poor worm,--the creation of His own hand,--how did He conduct Himself? Did He call upon His little band of followers to gird on every man his sword? Did He say of the man who dared to sit as His judge, "In vain have I imparted unto this fellow all he is, and all he has?" No; He looked above and beyond Pilate, Herod, the chief priests, and scribes. He could say, "The cup which MY FATHER hath given ME, shall I not drink it?" This kept His spirit tranquil, while, at the same time, He could look forward into the future, and say, "HEREAFTER shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Here was real power over present things. The millennial kingdom, with all its untold joys, with all its heights and depths of glory, glistened in the distance with everlasting light and brilliancy, and the eye of the Man of Sorrows rested upon it, in that dark hour when the scoffs and sneers, the taunts and reproaches of guilty sinners were falling upon His blessed person.