DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING

[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
IX.  THE MESSAGE OF THE ARROWS
F. B. MEYER

The general outline of this scheme was arranged within the palace; but there were confidences to be exchanged so intimate; words to be said so tender; a covenant to be entered into so pathetic; a means of communication to be arranged so secret -- that it seemed wiser to continue the conversation in some secluded spot, where only the living things of the woods, that can tell no tales, could behold the flowing tears, and hear the outbreak of those manly sobs that could not be choked down. There was indeed one other witness; for Jonathan was a deeply-religious man. It was his habit to live in the presence of the God of Israel; and to Him he made his appeal as he bared his heart to his friend, entreating him to deal truly with him, and pleading that in that certain future, when God had cut off David's enemies from the earth, he would not forget the claims of friendship, and cut off his kindness from his house.

Surely the fateful field of Gilboa was already casting a premonitory shadow over Jonathan's heart; and he felt the time would come when David would exercise supreme power, and might be tempted to stamp out the possibility of rivalry on the part of Jonathan's heirs by exterminating the royal house. In his anxiety he made him swear again, and afterwards proposed the ingenious and significant plan in which his art and directions to the little lad would express by a swift telegraphy the secret which would either lift David to peace and safety, or thrust him into the depths of despair.

It is impossible to read the story without thinking of the boys that carry the buff-coloured envelopes, so little conscious of what the messages may mean to those in whose hands they place them, here filling them with ecstasy, and there with bitter anguish. The arrows are flying still; the little lads are fulfilling their unconscious ministries with respect to them; often they fall short of the mark, then again they fly beyond it. How often they are beyond! O strong arm, why shoot them with so much energy? O wind, why carry them so lightly? Hearts are breaking as the bowstring twangs. Lives take their colour of light or shadow ever after, just because of a few yards less or more!


1. THE ARROWS TAUGHT THAT A STRONG AND NOBLE FRIEND WAS STANDING IN THE BREACH.

Jonathan was a jewel of the first water; unequalled in his use of arms, daring to recklessness on the field of battle, swifter than the eagle, stronger than the lion: yet tender as a woman; true to his friend; so capable of inspiring attachment, that his armour-bearer would face an army at his side; so tenacious of his principles, that he clung to his father's fallen fortunes, even though he had suffered from that father all that jealousy could suggest of bitter insult and murderous hate.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
IX.  THE MESSAGE OF THE ARROWS
F. B. MEYER

It was no child's play that he undertook in the sacred name of friendship; and probably he was quite prepared for the outburst that followed his manly protest for his absent friend. On the first feast day, Saul noticed David's absence, but said nothing; on the second, however, when his seat was still vacant, he turned sharply on his son Jonathan and asked the reason, "Why cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to-day?" Jonathan instantly made the preconcerted answer about David's desire to see his family, and made out that he had himself given permission for his absence. This identification of himself with David brought on Jonathan an outburst of ungovernable rage. Saul's fury knew no bounds: with stinging allusion to Jonathan's mother, his own wife, as the source of his son's perversity; with taunts that were intended to instil into Jonathan's heart the poison which was working in his own; with demands that David should be instantly fetched and put to death -- the monarch clearly showed his inveterate hatred and determination that the son of Jesse should no longer tarry above ground. Jonathan made one vain attempt to reason with the furious monarch; he might as well have tried to arrest the swelling of Jordan in the time of flood. In a paroxysm of ungovernable passion, the king cast his spear at him to smite him. Then Jonathan knew that they must prepare for the worst; and left the table in fierce anger, being grieved for his friend, because his father had done him shame.

Never be ashamed to own a friend. Do not count him your friend whose name you are ashamed to mention, and with whose lot you blush to be identified; but when you have entered into an alliance with another soul, whom you love as Jonathan loved David, dare to stand up for him at all cost to your comfort and relations with those who do not know your friend as you know him. "To be obscure, and poor, and out of court-favour?" -- that is the greater reason why you should take his part. It is a noble thing when a man or woman in some gay and frivolous circle, where fashion and pride rule, dares to take the part of some unpopular righteous cause, of some maligned but holy servant of God, of some unpolished but sterling associate. This stamps the confessor with the guinea-die of native worth. It is easier to storm a fort than to withstand the covert sneer, the contemptuous look.

But there is something still nobler, when one dares in any company to avow his loyalty to the Lord Jesus. Like David, He is now in obscurity and disrepute; his name is not popular; his gospel is misrepresented; his followers are subjected to rebuke and scorn. These are days when to stand up for anything more than mere conventional religion must cost something; and for this very reason, let us never flinch, but as we trust that He will confess our name before his Father and the angels, let us not be ashamed of his. Jonathan's arrows showed that he did not hesitate to stand alone for David; let our words assure Him, who is just now hidden, that we will bear scorn, obloquy, and death, for his dear name.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
IX.  THE MESSAGE OF THE ARROWS
F. B. MEYER

Never be ashamed to speak up for the cause of Truth. How often the spirit of expediency whispers in our ear, "Let it pass; wait till the dinner is done; do not make a gazing-stock of yourself; take an opportunity of private remonstrance; sit still, be pleasant, we will see what can be done presently." Jonathan took the nobler course. The dainties were on his plate, but he would not touch them; the cup was in his hand, but he would not place it to his lips; his father was before him, with his claims on his reverence and respect, the king, with the power of life and death in his mouth; but he dared not hold his peace. Had it been simply a question of his own position or respect, of mere politeness, civility, courtesy due to age -- he would have been the first to put his hand upon his mouth, and be silent. But it was a question of Truth, Righteousness, Justice; and if he were to be still, the very stones in the wall would cry out against him, and he would forfeit the respect of his own conscience.

But it may be asked, Is it not unseemly to obtrude opinions amongst those who are older and more learned than ourselves? Yes; but there is all the difference in the world between opinions spun like cobwebs from the brain, or caught up at second-hand, and those great basic principles of Truth, Morality, and Right, which are witnessed to by conscience. And when you stand up for these, you do not seek to exalt your own goodness, or win an advantage; but simply to lift the standard from being trampled in the mud. Let the arrows witness to the simplicity and fervour of your allegiance to whatever is lovely and of good report.


2. THE ARROWS SPOKE OF IMMINENT DANGER.

"Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death." As the lad ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him: "And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place towards the 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." There was no need for Jonathan to enter into explanations, David knew that "the Lord had sent him away."
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
IX.  THE MESSAGE OF THE ARROWS
F. B. MEYER

"The arrows are beyond thee." You have hoped against hope; you have tried to keep your position; you have done your duty, pleaded your cause, sought the intercession of your friends, prayed, wept, agonized: but it is all in vain; the arrow's flight proves that you must go whither you may. Behind you is the sunny morning, before you a louring sky; behind you the blessed enjoyment of friendship, wife, home, royal favour and popular adulation, before you an outcast's life. The heart clings to the familiar and beloved. But the message of those arrows cannot be resisted. There is no alternative but to tear yourself away, take your life in your hand, and go forth, though you know not whither. But take these thoughts for your comfort.

(1) There are things we never leave behind. David had an inalienable possession in the love of his friend, in the devotion of the people, in the memory of God's goodness, in his experience of his delivering care, in the sense of the Divine presence which was ever beside Him, in the Psalms which he had already made for himself, as well as for the world. There are threads woven into the fabric of our life which can never be extracted or obliterated.

(2) There is a divine purpose determining our course. To the lad there was but royal caprice in the flight of the arrow. "What are you doing, my little fellow? .... I am picking up the prince's arrows; we generally go for game, but he is playing at it to-day." That was all he knew; how little did he divine the purpose of his master, and still less realize that each flitting arrow was, so to speak, taken from God's quiver and directed by his hand. There is no chance in a good man's life. Let us recognize the providence of the trifle. Let us believe that behind the arrow's flight there is the loving purpose of our Heavenly Father. He is sending us away.

(3) The going forth is necessary to secure greater happiness than we leave. Had David fingered in the palace, his life would have been forfeited, and he would have missed all the glory and bliss with which his cup ran over in after years. This was the way to the throne. Only thus could the sentence whispered in his ear by Samuel years before be realized. This mountain pass, with its jagged flints, was the path to the happy valley. The nest was stirred up that he might acquire powers of flight; the precious wine of his life was emptied from vessel to vessel to lose its strong flavour of must; the trellis-work was taken down that the plant might stand alone.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
IX.  THE MESSAGE OF THE ARROWS
F. B. MEYER

Follow the arrow's flight then, beyond the warm circle in which you have so long been sheltered; beyond the south-land to the icy north; beyond the known to the unknown. Like another Abraham, go into the land which God will show thee; like another Columbus, turn thy prow in the wake of the setting sun. Let David's assurance be yours:

"Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades,
Neither wilt Thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption:
Thou wilt show me the path of life."

3. THE ARROWS TAUGHT THAT HUMAN LOVE MUST SUFFER SEPARATION.

This was the last meeting of these two noble hearts for a long time. Indeed, the friends only met once more, shortly before Jonathan's death. They had realized that this must be so. The soul of Jonathan, especially, seems to have been overcast with the impression that their happy intercourse would never again be renewed; therefore he pledged David with that pathetic vow, to be faithful to his seed, and to remember their love when all his enemies had been cut off. "Go in peace," Jonathan said, finally, as though he could no longer bear the awful anguish of that parting. Forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, "The Lord shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, for ever." Then David arose and departed to become a fugitive and an outlaw, liable at any moment to capture and violent death; whilst Jonathan returned thoughtfully and sadly to the palace, where he must spend the rest of his life in contact with one who had no sympathy for his noble sentiments, who had outraged his tenderest sensibilities.

These are the hours that leave scars on hearts, and whiten the hair. The world in its rush is so unconscious of all the tragedies which are taking place around. Young hearts suffer till they can suffer no more; aged ones cannot forget; and years after some scene like this, eyes will film with tears as it is recalled. But Christ comes to us in these dark moments, as of old to the disciples, on whom had broken the full import of their Master's approaching departure. "Let not your heart be troubled . . . trust in Me." There is no comfort like this. To believe that He is ordering each detail; to know that love is prompting each action of his hand, each thought of his mind; to lie back on his bosom and utterly trust Him -- there is nothing like this to bridge the yawning gulf of separation, with its turbid, rushing stream beneath.

TO BE CONTINUED....
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
X.  ALMOST GONE
F. B. MEYER

(1 Samuel 21:1-15; Psalms 56:1-13.)

"But oh, whatever of worst ill betide, Choose not this manner to evade your woe: Be true to God; on Him in faith abide, And sure deliverance you at length shall know It may be that some path his hand will show To your dear earthly homes; or He will shape For you at length a way of glad escape."
TRENCH.

IT is not easy to walk with God. The air that beats around the Himalaya heights of Divine fellowship is rare, and hard to breathe; human feet fire after a little: and faith, hard put to it, is inclined to give up the effort of keeping step with the Divine pace. So David found it; and there came in his experience a terrible lapse, the steps and consequences of which, together with his recovery, must engage us for a space.


1. THE STEPS OF DAVID'S DECLENSION.

The first sign of what was impending was his remark to Jonathan, that there was but a step between himself and death (1 Samuel 20:3). Evidently his faith was beginning to falter; for nothing could have been more definite than the Divine assurances that he was to be king. He looked at God through the mist of circumstances, which certainly to the eye of sense were sufficiently threatening, instead of looking at circumstances through the golden haze of God's very present help. The winds and waves were more daunting than the promise of God was inspiring. The javelin of Saul intercepted the remembrance of the hour, now rapidly receding into the distance, when he had received the anointing oil at the hand of Samuel. The apostle John says, that it is not enough to receive the anointing once, it must abide on us: and this was characteristic of our Lord, that the baptism saw the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him. But perchance David relied too absolutely on what he had received, and neglected the daily renewal of the heavenly unction (John 1:33-34; 1 John 3:24).
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
X.  ALMOST GONE
F. B. MEYER

Next, he adopted a subterfuge, which was not worthy of him, nor of his great and mighty Friend. This was a further descent from the high place of heavenly fellowship and testimony. God is light, and light is truth; and those who walk with Him must put off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, walking as children of the day.

Late in the afternoon of the day preceding the weekly Sabbath, the king's son-in-law arrived, with a mere handful of followers at the little town of Nob, situated among the hills about five miles to the south of Gibeah. It was a peaceful secluded spot, apart from the highways of commerce and war, as became the character and calling of its inhabitants, who were engaged in the service of the sanctuary. Four score and six persons that wore the linen ephod dwelt there with their wives, their children and sucklings, their oxen, asses, and sheep. Into the tranquil course of existence in that holy and retired spot hardly a ripple came from the storms that swept the outer world. There was at least no provision made to repel invading footsteps; for no weapon was found there but the sword of Goliath, deposited years before as a trophy by the youthful champion. Probably the great annual convocations had fallen into disuse, and the path to the simple sanctuary was only trodden by occasional visitors, such as Doeg, who came to pay their vows, or be cleansed from ceremonial pollution. There was, evidently, no attempt made to prepare for large numbers; the hard fare of the priests only just sufficed for them, and the presence of two or three additional strangers completely overbalanced the slender supply; there were not five loaves of common bread to spare.

It was necessary to answer the questions, and allay the suspicions of the priest; and David did this by pleading the urgency of the mission on which his royal master had sent him. He led Ahimelech to suppose that his young attendants and himself had been at least three days on this expedition; that the king had specially insisted on privacy and secrecy; and that a large escort awaited him at a distance. But a chill struck to his heart whilst making these excuses to the simple-minded priest, and enlisting his willing co-operation in the matter of provisions and arms, as he saw the dark visage of Doeg, the Edomite, "the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul." He knew that the whole story would be mercilessly retailed to the vindictive and vengeful monarch. Uneasiness for his unsuspecting host and fear for himself filled his heart; and as soon as the Sabbath was over, he left the spot, and with all haste struck across the hills in a south-westerly direction until he cut the deep depression of the valley of Elah, where he had achieved the great victory of his life. Its aspect was strangely altered, its only tenants then being the wild things of earth and sky. Ten miles beyond, lay the proud Philistine city of Gath, which at that time had sent its champion forth in all the pride of his stature and strength. Behind, David had left an implacable foe. What worse fate could await him at Gath, than that which threatened him each hour he fingered within the limits of Judah! He therefore resolved to make the plunge, probably hoping that the shepherd lad of years ago would not be recognized in the mature warrior, or that the Philistines would be glad to have his aid in their wars against his countrymen.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
X.  ALMOST GONE
F. B. MEYER

Not a little to his dismay, and perhaps on account of Goliath's sword hanging at his belt, he was instantly recognized; and the servants of Achish recalled the refrain, which had already awoke the jealousy of Saul. He was instantly regarded with hatred, as having slain his ten thousands. His hands had been embrued in Philistine blood; his fortunes reared from the dust, at the expense of bereaved hearts and homes throughout the Philistine territory. Here, however, was an easy opportunity of avenging all. By some means David became aware of the evil impression at court, and saw the immense peril in which he stood of imprisonment or execution. He saved himself by descending to the unworthy subterfuge of counterfeiting the behaviour of a madman, drumming on the leaves of the city gate, and allowing his spittle to fall down upon his beard. His device succeeded; and Achish dismissed him with the humorous remark to his servants that he had already madmen enough around him, and had no need of another. This certainly was one of the least dignified episodes in David's varied life, very unworthy of God's anointed; and the shame was that there would have been no need for it, if he had not departed through unbelief from the living God.


2. THE PSALM OF THE SILENT DOVE.

At first sight we are startled with the apparently irreconcilable discrepancy between the scenes we have just described and the 56th Psalm, the inscription of which associates it with them. But there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of that ancient note, which is probably due to David's hand and is at least as old as the first arrangement of the Psalter, in the days of Solomon.

Closer inspection will reveal many resemblances between the singer's circumstances and his touching words: and we are reminded that beneath much which is unworthy and contemptible there may burn a true devotion, an eager yearning after God, a soul of good amid things evil. The cursory spectator would not have supposed that this dissembling madman was meditating thoughts which were to express for all generations the most implicit faith, the sincerest trust. But so it was.

The major part of this exquisite psalm consists of two stanzas, which culminate in the same refrain; the remainder is full of hope and praise, and expression of the joy with which the Psalmist anticipates walking before God in the light of life.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
X.  ALMOST GONE
F. B. MEYER

First Stanza (1-4). -- He turns to God from man; to the Divine mercy from the serried ranks of his foes, who, surging around him, threaten to engulf and swallow him up; he counts himself as a lonely dove far from its native woods; his heart trembles and misgives, amid the many that fight proudly against him; yet he contrasts fear with faith, arguing with himself as to the baselessness of his dread, and contrasting man's fleshy might with God's supreme power. Thus he climbs up out of the weltering waves, his feet on a rock, a new song in his mouth, the burden of which is, "I will not be afraid." Oh, happy soul, who hast learnt to take thy stand on God as thy Rock and Fortress!

Second Stanza (5-9). -- Again, he is in the depths. The returning wave has sucked him back. His boast changed to a moan, his challenge to complaint. Never a moment of intermission from the wrestling of his words; not a glint of respite from the hostility of their thoughts; not a step which is not watched by the scrutiny of those who lie in wait for his soul. He wanders fitfully from shelter to shelter; his tears fall thick and fast; his enemies are numerous as the hairs of his head. Ah, soul! is this thy voice which but a moment ago was resonant with praise? Alas for thee! Yet as we condone, we hear the voice of faith again ringing out the positive assurance, "I know that God is for me," and again the old refrain comes back:

"In God will I praise his word,
In the Lord will I praise his word;
In God have I put my trust,
I will not be afraid,
What can man do unto met"

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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
X.  ALMOST GONE
F. B. MEYER

Third Stanza (10-13). -- There is no further relapse. His heart is fixed, trusting the Lord; the vows of God are upon his head. He looks back upon the dark abyss into which his soul had well-nigh gone, and knows that he is delivered from it for ever. As the morning breaks he sees the mark of his footprints to the edge of the precipice, and recognises the Divine power and grace which has delivered his feet from falling. And now, as once again he regains the sunny uplands, which he had so shamefully renounced in his flight from Gibeah to Nob, from Nob to Gath, from Gath to feigned insanity, he is sure that henceforth he will walk before God in the light of life. Truth, purity, joy, shall be the vesture of his soul.

In the extreme anguish of those hours at Gath, when he thought that the torch of his life would go out in the dark waters of Philistine hatred, the backslider had returned to God, had caught the rope by which to spring from the abyss into the light, and once again sat, as a child at home, anointed with oil, with a table spread before him in the presence of his enemies.


3. THE CONSEQUENCES TO AHIMELECH.

A child of God may be forgiven and restored, yet the consequences of his sin may involve sufferings to many innocent lives. So it was in this instance. It happened shortly after, when Saul was sitting under the tamarisk tree in Ramah with his spear in his hand, and his servants around him. He was endeavouring to excite their sympathy by enumerating the supposed wrongs he had suffered at the hand of David, and Doeg took the opportunity of ingratiating himself in the royal favour, by narrating what he had seen at Nob. He carefully withheld the unsuspecting innocence and ignorance of the priest, and so told the tale as to make it appear that he and his house were accomplices with David's action, and perhaps bent on helping David to gain supreme power. It was in vain that Ahimelech protested his innocence, enumerated David's services, referred to the many occasions on which David had sought his help, persisted in the avowal of his unconsciousness of the quarrel between Saul and his son-in-law -- before night fell the white vesture of the priests was soaked with their blood, and every living thing in the little mountain town was smitten with the edge of the sword. By one ruthless act, the entire priestly community was exterminated.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
X.  ALMOST GONE
F. B. MEYER

There was but one survivor, for Abiathar escaped, carrying the ephod in his hands; and one day, to his horror, David beheld the dishevelled, blood-smeared form of the priest, as he sped breathless and panic-stricken up the valley of Elah, to find shelter with the outlaw band in the Cave of Adullam. We shall hear of him again.

Meanwhile, let children of God beware! Sin is bitter to the conscience of the sinner, and in its consequences upon others. Let us walk circumspectly, watchfully, prayerfully, exercising our consciences repeatedly to see if there be any swerving from the path of strict integrity; lest seeds be scattered beyond recovery, to bear bitter harvests in the lives of those who, through their mysterious union with ourselves, are inextricably involved in the consequences of our deeds.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
XI.  THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
F. B. MEYER

(1 Samuel 22; Psalm 34)

"For good ye are and bad, and like to coins
Some true, some light; but every one of you
Stamp'd with the image of the king."
TENNYSON.

LEAVING Gath, with a very thankful heart for God's delivering mercy, David hastily recrossed the frontier, and found himself again in the kingdom of Saul. His life, however, was in great jeopardy, and he did not dare to expose himself to the royal jealousy. To return to court was impossible; and he did not care to incur the risk of involving his relatives in his troubles by seeking shelter at Bethlehem. There was apparently no alternative but to adopt the life of a fugitive and wanderer amid the hills of Judah, with which his shepherd life had made him so familiar.

Two miles up the valley of Elah from Gath there is a labyrinth of hills and valleys, deeply honey-combed with caves; one of these, near the ancient Canaanitish city of Adullam, and called after it, afforded David for a considerable period the shelter of which he was in search. It is described as a dark vault, the entrance of which is a low window in the perpendicular face of the cliff; and its position made it possible for him to cross from one country to another, as occasion required. Thither fled his whole family, dreading, no doubt, the violence of Saul's hatred; and thither also came every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, and he became captain over them.

We need not now enlarge on David's filial love, which traversed the entire distance from Adullam to Moab to secure an asylum for his father and mother, who were probably too aged to stand the hardships and dangers of his fugitive life. Suffice it to say that his petition was readily granted by the king of Moab, perhaps on account of some pride in the Moabite blood that flowed in the veins of the young Hebrew warrior. But that double journey, first to secure the shelter, and then to escort the aged couple thither, evinces a pleasing trait in David's character. There was no lack of obedience to the first commandment with promise. It is, however, with the cave and the more motley group of his adherents that we have now to do.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
XI.  THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
F. B. MEYER

1. THE CAVE AND ITS LESSONS.

There can be no doubt that the Holy Ghost, in the minute narration of these experiences in David's life, desires us to trace an analogy between his history and that of the Lord Jesus, in his present rejection and banishment from the throne of the world. The parallel is as minute as it is instructive.

A rejected king was on the throne. Though anointed by Samuel, Saul by disobedience had forfeited his right to reign; and had, so to speak, nullified the effect of the sacred unction -- as we may do also. The sentence of deposition had been pronounced, and was awaiting execution at the appropriate moment. Similarly, the dark fallen spirit, Satan, was once an anointed cherub, set on the holy mountain of God, and perfect in his ways from the day that he was created, till unrighteousness was found in him. Not improbably he derives the title which our Lord gave him of "prince of this world" from his original appointment as God's vicegerent and representative; but in his fall he forfeited his glorious position, and man was created as his substitute to take his place. "What is man? . . . Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands." That power is not yet exercised by man; "we see not yet all things put under him": but it will be in the person of the Son of Man, who is already "crowned with glory and honour."

In the meanwhile, Satan still holds the throne of the world. He has many a time cast his javelin at the King after God's own heart. In the Temptation and in Gethsemane he would fain have pinned Him to the wall. All through the present age he has been doing his worst to exterminate the incipient hidden Kingdom of Jesus, though he knows that God has destined it to take the place of his own. But all his attempts must fail. As Saul fell on the field of Gilboa, so the prince of darkness shall be finally cast into the bottomless pit.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
XI.  THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
F. B. MEYER

David's kingdom was hidden. It was a true kingdom, though in mystery, veiled in the darkness of Adullam's Cave, and concealed in the labyrinth of valleys and hills. He had fallen into the ground to die, that he might not abide alone, but bring forth much fruit. It is a mysterious process through which the little seed-corn passes in the winter, when it surrenders itself to the destructive forces that lie in wait in the red mould, and seize on its tender fabric. "Exposed to wintry winds, trodden under the feet of those who drive the rake and harrow over it; buried out of sight and left alone, as if cast out by God and man to endure the slow process of a daily dissolution; then melted by rains and heats until its form is marred, and it seems useless to either God or man." Such was the experience of David: and it was also the experience of that Divine King, who fell into the mystery of forsakenness on the Cross, and the mystery of rejection in the grave; and whose. person and kingdom are now altogether hidden from the world of men.

The day is not far distant when the Lord, who is hidden until the time of the restitution of all things, shall be manifested with his saints, and take to Himself his great power and reign. The pearl which He won from the ocean-caves shall be worn on his brow; the treasure for which He bought the field of the world shall be spread forth for the admiration of the universe; the army which He has constituted from such unpromising materials shall follow Him on white horses in radiant array. In the meanwhile, his kingdom is "in mystery."

David and his followers were in separation. Driven without the camp of Israel, they had no alternative. With the feasts and pageants, the counsels and decisions, the home-politics and foreign wars of Saul, they had no immediate connection; though the Cave of Adullam could not but exert an important indirect influence on the whole realm. The lot of an exile, the path of the wanderer and stranger, were meted out to David and those who were willing to share his lot. His way to the throne lay through multiplied difficulties and sorrows; and although he must have prized the freer air, the sense of liberty, the deliverance from the heartless and godless etiquette of the palace, there must have been a perpetual sadness and loneliness in his soul.

The true King of men is still outside human politics and society. We cannot have Him and them. Those who desire to be his subjects, and to share the rewards and glories of those coming days, when He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, must go out to Him without the camp, willing to forsake all that they have, and be counted the off-scouring of all things.
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[nChrist]

DAVID SHEPHERD, PSALMIST, KING
XI.  THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
F. B. MEYER

David was content to await God's time. Whatever provocation Saul gave, he never retaliated. However easy the opportunity of gaining an advantage over his vindictive pursuer, he never availed himself of it. He was prepared to wait God's time, and to receive supreme power in God's way. He quieted himself as a weaned child. His perpetual refrain is recorded in his own words: "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." It was as though he sat down in patience and submission till God made his foes the footstool of his feet, and set him as his king on his holy hill of Zion. It is thus, through these passing centuries, that our Saviour is waiting. Now is the time of the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ; here is the patience of the saints; whilst the eager expectation and yearning of the whole creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For by hope were we saved; but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.


2. THE CAVE AND ITS INMATES.

The tidings of David's return to Judah, and of his retreat in the shelter of the cave, spread swiftly and mysteriously throughout the whole land; and those who were sorely pressed by misery, poverty, and bitterness of soul began to flock around him. The young leader soon found himself at the head of four hundred men, a very motley crew! For the few who were loyal to him, there were preponderating multitudes who were full of their own grievances, and eager only for their redress. The sacred historian says that their faces were like the faces of lions, and that they were as swift as roes upon the mountains; but their tempers were probably turbulent and fierce, requiring all the grace and tact and statesmanship of which the young ruler was capable, to reduce them to discipline and order. It was surely no small feat so to organize such materials, that they became the nucleus of the greatest army of their time, and carried the standard of Israel to the fullest limits it ever reached.

We must not think of David at this time of his career as a bandit or freebooter chief; but rather as improvising a frontier guard to defend the land against the Amalekites and Philistines, who were perpetually raiding it at the time of harvest, sweeping away the results of the farmers' toils. Thus he became the benefactor and defender of his people, though exiled from them. In the common talk of the time his men and he were described as a wall to the great sheep masters and agriculturists of southern Judah, "both by night and day" (1 Samuel 25:16).
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