standing chanting their glorious hymns together, and the venerable Samuel, with his long white hair and linen ephod, leading them, their spirits were overcome by the Divine Spirit, and they too joined in the hymns of praise. Even Saul, when he came in person in pursuit of David, felt the force and overpowering influence of that holy place of song; and, as when his own anointing was fresh upon him, he too made himself one of them. He threw off his royal robes, and lay down in the simple garment beneath, and again the saying went round, “Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Meantime David left Ramah, and, coming back to Gibeah, held counsel with Jonathan. Perhaps he wanted to understand whether the pursuit was the mere passing effect of madness, or whether he had really given such serious offence that he must flee, and live as an outlaw, instead of retaining his place at Court. Jonathan declared that his father could not, in his right senses, entertain any design of killing David without telling him; but David thought that Saul might be keeping it from him because of their friendship, and the two began to arrange a scheme for finding out whether Saul meant to persecute David in his moments of sanity as well as in his frenzy. On the day of the new moon, the priests were wont to blow their silver trumpets (Numb. x.), and a feast with peace-offerings was held by each family unto the Lord. Now David, as the King's son-inlaw, and as a great officer at Court, had his place at Saul's festal table, but he durst not occupy it; and when he should be missed, Jonathan was to account for his absence by saying he was gone to a feast of the family of Jesse at Bethlehem. If Saul accepted the answer, he might be supposed to have no ill intentions; but if he showed himself offended or suspicious, it would be plain that David could not safely re-assume his place in the Court, and he conjured Jonathan, by the solemn oath of friendship between them, to tell him truly hów matters stood. Jonathan promised, and then David suggested, "What if thy father answer thee roughly?" that is, if he be so violent as to forbid our meeting again; a question Jonathan would not answer in the house, where he might be overheard by Doeg or Cush, or the other secret enemies of David, who were whispering against him as false witnesses afterwards whispered against the Son of David.

LESSON LXXI.

SAUL'S NEW-MOON FEAST.

B.C. 1060.-I SAM. xx. II-34.

And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to-morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee;

The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:

But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.

And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him : for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

Then Jonathan said to David, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.*

And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.

If I

And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.

But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way for the LORD hath sent thee away.

And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.

So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.

And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.

Which showeth the way.

Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday nor to-day? And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem :

And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there : and now, it I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.

Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion?

For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto

me, for he shall surely die.

And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?

And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.

So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

COMMENT.-Out in the open field, secure from listeners, the two faithful friends arranged their plan. Jonathan began (in a sentence the exact translation of which is difficult, though the general drift is plain enough) by taking a solemn oath that he would keep David informed of all designs against him, if David would, on the other hand, show mercy and kindness to himself and his children in the day of that triumph over his father's house which he so plainly foresaw and so meekly accepted. The covenant was made with the earnestness of the two true hearts that loved one another as their own soul, rivals though they were in a manner forced to be.

The plan, then, was that David should go for three days to the feast of the house of Jesse at Bethlehem, and then return and hide himself by a stone that served as a landmark in a hollow that he had used as an ambush before-perhaps when attacking the Philistines; while Jonathan, who might be watched and followed, should make his favourite practice of archery an excuse for coming out to the spot, and should contrive by the directions he gave his attendant to convey to David whether the King were favourably disposed or otherwise.

So we may conclude David went to Bethlehem, and returned in due time to his hiding-place. Meanwhile, Saul feasted with his Court about him, his chief captain Abner by his side, and his sons and chieftains arranged in their due order. When he at first missed David, the King supposed him to be absent because of some chance accident which might have rendered him legally unclean for a day or two; but when, on the second day, his place was again empty, Saul's passion began to rise, and when Jonathan made the answer that had been agreed upon, it was treated as an insult. That Jonathan should permit the King's son-in-law to prefer the festival of his own family to the royal one, put Saul in a fury, in which, in the true Eastern fashion of violence, he included Jonathan's mother as well as himself in the abuse, declared that the family would never be safe so long as the son of Jesse lived, and at last, on the calm and respectful reply of his son, launched a javelin at him, as before at David. So grew the frenzy to which he had delivered himself over. And all this did the true-hearted Jonathan endure; always as good a son as he was a faithful friend.

LESSON LXXII.

THE SHEWBREAD.

B.C. 1060.-1 SAM. xx. 35-xxi. 9.

And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.

And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?

And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the

matter.

And Jonathan gave his artillery* unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.

And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the

* Weapons.

south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times : and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the city.

Then came David to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee; and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread.

So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that: give it me.

COMMENT. In the morning of the third day, according to the concerted plan, Jonathan went out as if to practise with his bow; the token of the King's enmity was given, and then Jonathan, being more free from spies than he had perhaps expected, was able to send away the lad who alone was with him, and give himself one more meeting with the friend he loved so well. Never was parting more touching than this-David, the anointed, weeping too bitterly to utter a word over the broken ties and bitter separation; and Jonathan, the dethroned heir, striving to comfort him and bid him go in peace, but with a voice broken with sobs, so that he could not finish his sentence. So they parted, only to meet again for one stolen interview. And where was David to go-outcast and wanderer as he had become? He durst not go to Bethlehem; it was the first place whither Saul would have sent for him. But he and