Morning, October 17
Go To Evening Reading
“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand
of Saul.”
1 Samuel 27:1
The thought of David’s heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God’s anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning
act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted his servant; he had
been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance
had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him.
The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had
not assumed one form only, but many—yet in every case he who sent the trial had also graciously ordained
a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in
his diary, and say of it, “Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me,” for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He
should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would be his defender still. But is it not
just in the same way that we doubt God’s help? Is it not mistrust without a cause ? Have we ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father’s goodness? Have not his lovingkindnesses been marvellous? Has he
once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not left us at any
time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone forth
amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our
head he has held aloft the shield of our defence. We have gone through
many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage;
and the conclusion from our past experience is, that he who has been
with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. What
we have known of our faithful God, proves that he will keep us to
the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we
ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our unbelief, and let the
dogs devour it.