to honour the Lord by the confidence which he evinced in the sufficiency of his protection. But it was not so. He began to look to the matter in its simply human points of view; and then he began to despair-to be afraid. He who had subdued the lion and the bear, he who had stood up against the giant, whose very presence had dismayed the armies of Israel,—he now at last quailed at the fear of Saul; and having lost his shield of faith, he became, like the shorn Samson, 'weak as other men,' and has left us a memorial of what the best of men may become when left to themselves.

This is the view we take of the transactions now immediately before us. We have indeed met with elaborate and ingenious vindications of David's proceedings throughout, in which very learned and worthy men have laboured to show in what degree it is lawful to lie and to deceive-thereby compromising the sacred interests of truth and righteousness, in order to vindicate the character of Jesse's son. Now, the character of David is very dear to us, and he has ever been the object of our sympathy, our admiration, and our love. But truth is dearer still than even the character of David; and we must not consent to call evil good, and to put darkness for light, because the evil was David's, and the darkness David's. If we were to set about proving that all David did was right, and the best that could be done, we should not only contradict the Scripture, but have work enough upon our hands. Far be it from us to claim for him that which belongs to One only of all who ever walked the earth. Let us admit the errors and weaknesses of David, as they occur, and our task grows easy, and his history becomes consistent and clear; but let us uphold him through good and evil, through the sweet and the bitter,' and we soon find ourselves in wandering mazes lost,' and our perceptions of the broad landmarks between truth and error very painfully disordered.

We regard David, then, as under a spiritual cloud from the time he left Jonathan, onward to a point which we shall indicate in the proper place. This cloud, we first trace distinctly in his declaration to Jonathan, that there was but ‘a step

between him and death.' Now there were as many steps between him and death then as at any other time; but an excessive fear had come upon him, which for the time made him forgetful of God, and urged him to seek his safety by any feasible means, whether right or wrong.

So, first he comes to Nob, with not only one lie, but with a whole nest of lies, in his mouth-the more heinous when we consider the place in which, and the person to whom, they were uttered, and when we recollect the danger into which they were calculated to bring that friendly and venerable person, and did bring him and his, even unto death; whereas, had he been sincere and candid, there can be little doubt that the high priest would have found means of discharging the duties of hospitality and assistance, without any apparent compromise of his duty to his sovereign. As it was, David, aware that the priest would be astonished to see a person of his rank arrive alone—without the guard and attendants, with whom he had usually been seen at that place-prepared an ingenious tale to delude the pontiff. He told him that he was upon most urgent and private business for the king, citing the very words which, as he said, Saul had used in intrusting this secret mission to him; and his servants, he alleged, had been directed to meet him at a certain place. This, of course, left the high priest to understand, that whatever aid was rendered to him, would be advancing the king's service.

The unsuspecting high priest, whose name was Ahimelech, finding that David wanted bread, went so far as to give him some of that which had just been taken (at the commencement of the Sabbath-day) from the table of the shew-bread in the tabernacle, when the new bread had been laid on, and which, in strictness, it was not lawful for any but the priests to eat. There was no other; and we might be surprised at this, did we not know that bread was prepared from day to day. On any other day, bread might have been baked to meet any want that arose; but this could not be done on the Sabbath, and there was hence no bread to be had but the shew-bread, which would have sufficed for the use of the priests themselves on that day.

VOL. III.

R

Having been furnished with bread, David intimated that in his haste he had left the court without a sword, and expressed a wish that one might be provided for him. He was told there was no sword but that of Goliath, which was wrapped up in a cloth, and laid up in the tabernacle. This David claimed, and it was given to him. This fact seems to prove, that in Israel swords were not worn even by military men when not on actual service or on a journey.

David was not the only person detained at Nob over the Sabbath-day. There was also present one Doeg, a proselyte of Edom, high in the confidence of Saul, and holding the post of chief herdsman, that is, having the management of this branch of the king's property. He was arrested, by the arrival of the Sabbath, on his way to Gibeah, and was not therefore aware of the recent occurrences, nor did he find any ground for question or interference. He knew, however, that David was in growing disfavour with his master, and he watched narrowly all that passed. David was well acquainted with the malignant temper of this man, and confessed afterwards, that while he was misleading the high priest, he was aware that the attention shown to him at Nob, would, through the presence of Doeg, bring them to ruin. 'I knew it,' he says, with bitter remorse, 'I knew it that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul; I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.' Yes, it was no less. They did perish. When Saul was inquiring about David, and was lamenting that none would or could tell whither he had gone, Doeg related that he had seen him cherished by the priests at Nob, but he did not state the representations from David under which that assistance had been given. On hearing this, the king sent for all the priests, and on their arrival vehemently accused Ahimelech of being in a conspiracy with David against him. The high priest repelled the charge with dignity and force, declaring that he was, at the time, utterly ignorant of there being any cause of complaint against him. But the king would not be convinced; and his dreadful words were, • Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou and all thy father's house.'

And forthwith he ordered the guard to fall upon them, condescending to give a reason, 'Because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me.' But for once he was not obeyed. No hand moved against the priests of the Lord. If the king had been wise, he would have seen from this the danger of proceeding with this horrid purpose. But he was not wise; he would not be instructed. In his obstinate ferocity he told Doeg to execute his purpose; and that person, assisted probably by his men, and not awed by the considerations which weighed upon the minds of native Israelites, turned upon them, and slew in that one day no fewer than four score and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.'

The

From that day Saul was a doomed and ruined man. atrocious massacre filled every humane and religious mind with disgust and horror, while it made the priestly body throughout the whole land, and in all its departments, inveterately hostile, and led them to look towards the son of Jesse as the instrument of their security and vengeance. Abiathar, the son, and virtual successor, of the murdered high priest, escaped to David, and by his presence, possessing as he did the means of officially consulting the Lord, gave weight and dignity to his position, so that the public attention became more and more directed to him; while Saul declined daily in public estimation, and sunk more and more into the deepest glooms of horror and despair.

The site of Nob has at length been discovered. Gibeah, as is well known, stood upon a conical hill about three miles north of Jerusalem. A mile south of Gibeah is another conical hill. On its summit and sides are traces of a small but very ancient town. There are large cut stones, cisterns hewn in the rock, and old foundations. The name appears to be lost; but the site corresponds exactly to that of Nob, being south of Gibeah, not far distant from it, and commanding a view of Jerusalem, as indicated by Isaiah (x. 28).

It appears that, after the fall of Shiloh, the national sanctuary was set up at Nob. A colony of priests gathered round it. Eighty

five persons ministered there in white linen, and their families occupied the houses of the town. David's visit was a fatal one to them. Saul, in his fierce wrath, massacred them all, with one solitary exception. There is not in the whole scope of history a more wanton act of savage cruelty than this: 'And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.'

Though Gibeah and Nob were in full view of each other, there lay between them a deep rocky glen. In it doubtless took place that tender and romantic interview between David and Jonathan. I saw as I stood in it many a high rock and projecting cliff, behind which David might lie concealed while Jonathan shot the arrows, and gave the preconcerted signal which told him that he must leave for ever the court of Saul.

Thirty-fourth Week—Fourth Day.

DAVID AT GATH. -I SAMUEL XXI. 10-15.

THE step which David took on leaving Nob, seems to us equally objectionable with his conduct there, and was equally the result of the unworthy fears which now oppressed his spirit. He WENT OVER TO THE PHILISTINES. He probably argued that there was no safety for him in the dominions of Saul, unless he assumed an attitude of self-defence, which would look like hostility and rebellion. He must therefore leave the country. But whither was he to go? The neighbouring states were at peace with Saul, and would not probably provoke his anger by affording shelter to one whom he regarded as his enemy. The Philistines being at war with Israel, would not be likely to give him up. But he should also have considered what aspect the act would bear in the eyes of Israel on the one side, and of the Philistines on the other. The Israelites could not but view it as a desertion of their great general to the enemy, whose protection could only be secured by services. against his own country. The Philistines, on their side, if they