QUESTIONS.-Where were Saul and David? How had they come there? To whom did David call? Why to Abner and not to Saul? What did David say? How did the King know who was speaking? How did he

address David? Give the conversation that followed. Explain "cursed be they before the Lord;" "as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains." How did the interview end? Was Saul sincere ?

INTRODUCTION.-This Lesson consists of two parts: the first describes David's settlement in Ziklag; the second expresses what we may suppose to have been his feelings while there.

DAVID IN ZIKLAG.-1 Sam. xxvii. 1-7. What promise did Saul make to David in our last Lesson ? Evidently he did not keep it, as David began to despair of escaping his persistent search. He thought, if I remain here, I must perish; there is but one hope, I must take refuge with the Philistines. Was David right? Why not? He should have trusted in the protection of Jehovah. Once before he had fled to this very Achish. What happened to him then? See Morning Lesson for August 30th. This time Achish receives him more favourably there can be no doubt he is hated by and has suffered from the King of Israel; he will be a valuable subject to the monarch of Gath. For a while David and his six hundred men dwell in Gath. He is not happy there, and begs that some provincial town may be assigned him. Ziklag is chosen. Once it belonged to Simeon, was captured by the Philistines, was probably uninhabited when it was presented to David. It lay somewhere to the south-west of Judah. There the chosen King of God's people stayed for sixteen months, in the midst of an idolatrous nation, enemies to Jehovah and to Israel. We see

A warning against despondency.— When David began to despair, he sinned. Let Satan never persuade you you must do wrong, you cannot resist the temptation. Remember, no can make you do wrong, if you will not. Faith and courage are companions.

one

PSALM CXLI.- This Psalm, like many others, opens with a petition for a hearing. Mark the two similes;

He

incense is pleasing, fragrant; David desires that his prayer may be acceptable to God, Rev. v. 8. The meat-offering formed the principal part of the evening sacrifice; it was supposed to be symbolical of good works. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice; it is RIGHT in us to pray. David's first request, after the introductory supplication, is that God would preserve him from sinning with his tongue, ver. 3. He was an exile; he might be tempted to complain that the Lord was treating him harshly, was not fulfilling His promise to him. was suffering wrong, he might be tempted to revile his persecutors. Then he dwelt in a heathen court; how difficult always to speak as became a servant of Jehovah! It is easier to control deeds than words. Words drop out when we hardly mean to utter them. They can only be refrained from by perpetual watchfulness. But our watching is insufficient; we must beg God to watch as well. This David did. How helpless we are! how humble should we be! Without Divine aid, we are not masters even of our tongues. But words are the expression of thoughts. good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit;" a pure fountain cannot send forth impure water. So David prays, Incline not my heart to any evil thing,i.e., let not my heart be inclined; compare" Lead us notinto temptation." Remember, again, the Psalmist was surrounded by wicked men. He feared lest their example and influence should corrupt him; not only his words but his conduct might be wicked. prays that his heart may never be inclined to follow their bad example; and adds, let me not eat of their dainties. Sin is often pleasurable, David desires never to experience the pleasures of

"A

He

thou? She replies, I saw gods ascending out of the earth,-the word rendered "gods," means celestial or spiritual beings. To Saul's question, What form is he of? she answers, An old man, etc.-Samuel had assumed this shape that he might be the more readily known. Hitherto Saul has not seen the apparition; now it is visible, the King recognises it in a moment, and bows down before it reverently. Yes; Samuel and Saul have met again! God had permitted the prophet who had mourned for the rejection of the King (ch. xv. 35) to give him one last warning. Why hast thou disquieted me ?-brought me from my rest, back to earth again. Can anything be more piteous than Saul's reply? God has departed from him, what must he do? "When living prophets gave no answer, he thought that a dead one might be called up, as if a dead one were less dependent upon God than the living, or that, even in opposition to the will of God, he might reply through the arts of a conjuring woman. Truly, if he perceived that God was hostile to him, he ought to have been all the more afraid, lest His enmity should be increased by this breach of His laws. But fear and superstition never reason." Clericus. In this strain Samuel speaks, Wherefore, etc.,— then he pronounces his message, And the Lord hath done to him (rather, for Himself) as He spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David. (Ch. xv. 28.) Notice the perfects, hath rent, given; God's purpose was absolute, as certain of performance as though it were actually accomplished. The reason assigned has been assigned before, ch. xv. 23. As to the morrow, his army should be defeated, himself and his son slain. One faint ray of hope shines out of the darkness, the risen prophet does not declare the King's final, irreversible condemnation. He says simply, tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me-in the spirit-world. Their doom there is undetermined; if Saul repent of his rebellion, he may yet find mercy for his soul; but the hour of his death is certain and very near. To add to the bitterness of his grief, he is informed that his family and nation

will be involved in his calamity. Now Saul knows the worst. By unlawful means he has looked into the future, to perceive naught but the anger of Jehovah against him.

SAUL "SORE Troubled.”—V. 20—25. These verses describe the King's great grief at Samuel's words. He fell straightway all along on the earth.-After much persuasion he eats; then returns to his camp. What terrible thoughts must have passed through his mind! Of the new heart God had once given him, of his repeated disobediences, of his many warnings, of the morrow and the other world he must speedily enter. Illustrate: the criminal condemned to death; how he feels between sentence and execution.

SO

REFLECTIONS.-1. It is possible to be forsaken of God,-Saul was.

2. The suffering of those who are thus forsaken, suffering here; if they repent not, the earnest of suffering hereafter.

3. They may be forsaken of God who have once known and loved Him.

4. Sin repeated and cherished, warn ings despised, the Holy Spirit resisted, all are precursors of the being forsaken of God.

5. Let us pray, then, "From hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy Word and Commandment, Good Lord, deliver us!"

6. God never forsakes men willingly, never those who believe and obey Him.

"Me for Thine own Thou lov'st to take,
In time and in eternity:
Thou never, never wilt forsake

A helpless worm that trusts in Thee."

7. When God forsakes a man, there is no other to whom he can turn for help.

8. Our Lesson contains a conclusive proof of the conscious existence of the soul after death. What is it?

QUESTIONS.-How had Saul treated those who dealt in witchcraft? Was he right! Where did the Philistines encamp? where Saul? The situation of the places! How did Saul feel at the sight of the Philistine army! why? What did he do? What answer did God give him? What was his next step! When did he go to Endor? What did he ask! Why did the woman object? How was she satisfied? Whom did Saul ask to see? What happened then? In what form did Samuel appear? Did Saul see him at first? When

he did see him, what did he do? What question did Samuel put to him? Saul's reply? What did Samuel say then? Explain “shalt thou and thy sons be with me." How

125

did Saul receive the message? What lessons about being forsaken of God have you learnt? What proof have you in the Lesson of a world of spirits?

INTRODUCTION.-Read ch. xxviii. 1, 2. What a situation for. David to be in. He could not fight against his own countrymen, the people over whom he was himself to reign; yet he owed obedience to Achish, who had sheltered him and bestowed on him a town to dwell in. He answers the summons of his protector ambiguously, "Surely thou shalt know," etc.-Achish interprets it as a promise of service, for he says, "Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever,"-thou and thy men shalt be my body-guard. How will David be relieved from his dilemma? It seems as though he must sin either against Israel or against Achish.

DAVID AND ACHISH PART.-1 Sam. xxix. The first verse indicates the camping-ground of the Philistines and of Israel. It is the same as that described in ch. xxviii. 4. Aphek was close to Shunem; the fountain which is in Jezreel lay in the northeast of Gilboa. The lords of the Philistines-the five kings or princes, ch. vi. 17-were marching toward Aphek with their troops, arranged in companies of a hundred or a thousand each. Achish's contingent brought up the rear. David and his band were with Achish. Picture David's feelings as he marched with his country's foes, as the time of battle drew nearer and nearer. Doubtless he prayed earnestly, though silently, that God would make some way of escape for him. The five princes have met, are taking counsel together, perhaps are reviewing their array. As soon as they see David's company, they demand of Achish angrily, What do these Hebrews here?— what business have they among us? Achish replies, Is not this David? etc.so long as he has been with me, I have found him a faithful servant and ally. But the lords of the Philistines will not trust him. In the heat of the battle he might be as treacherous to them as they thought him to have been to Saul. What more likely than that

he should try to reconcile himself to Saul by attacking the Philistines at some critical moment? Besides, was he not that inveterate enemy of the Philistines whose exploits the women of Israel had celebrated in song?When? The princes were wise. It is never safe to trust a traitor. He who has been false to others will probably be false to you. Achish communicates to David the decision of the lords; he, the king, is but one, they are four; he relies on David implicitly, but they doubt him. And David said unto Achish, But what have I done?-He speaks thus partly to vindicate himself against the suspicion of treachery, partly because he fears Achish is trying him to see whether he is trustworthy or not. But Achish is sincere. After another expression of his confidence, he tells David again that the determination of the princes is final; he must leave the camp as soon as it is light enough to travel. Thy master,-Saul. All David's men were Saul's subjects. Thus is David delivered from his difficulty. Glad at heart, he starts in the morning for Ziklag.

The didactic value of this Lesson is derived mainly from its contrast with the last. The same night that Saul consulted the witch of Endor and heard that Jehovah was become his enemy, He in Whose hands are the hearts of the children of men, saved David from a difficulty out of which it seemed impossible for him to escape without sin. We have seen in a previous Lesson that David was wrong in taking refuge in Gath his dilemma was a direct consequence of his wrong-doing; yet God did not forsake him, because he still strove to serve and please God. Let us learn that "the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations;" that He will deliver us always; when no way of escape is open, He will make a way,-i.e., if we ask and trust Him. Satan may

:

attempt to persuade us that our very temptation is our own fault; that if we had acted differently our situation would be different. That may be quite true; but let us never draw Satan's. inference, that therefore God will not hear our prayer and help us.

QUESTIONS.-In what difficulty was David at the beginning of this Lesson? How had he of the Philistines"? How did they take come into it? Who are meant by "the lords David's presence in their army? What did Achish say? What answer did they make? What did Achish say to David? David's reply? How did Achish answer? Whither did David go? The Philistines?

NOVEMBER 1.

INTRODUCTION.-Recall and if need be read again the passages of Scripture at the close of the previous Lesson. Question thereon: what did Jesus speak of as real slavery? as real freedom? Who gives it? when? How is the sense of it breathed into the heart? God's Word is a lamp. We return to the court where Paul stands before Agrippa. We are going to look for fetters. The light falls first upon

:

MEN FREE, YET BOUND.

:

FESTUS.-Let us look at his bonds, 1. High position: had he been lower down, the Gospel might have appeared very different to him; as to the Philippian gaoler, or to that centurion who perhaps at that very time was in the court, Matt. xix. 23; 1 Cor. i. 26. 2. Heathen ignorance: not gross, but philosophic there were questions with which he knew not how to deal a Saviour foretold, incarnate, crucified, risen again. Such ignorance not yours. The Bible tells you of these things. Deal with them by study and prayer. Be not bound like a heathen. 3. Inconsistency of conduct: ch. xxv. 9, 10, 25. He knew Paul's innocence, ought to have released him; did not, to please the Jews; now Paul must go to Rome; no accusation to send with him. Paul released, might have been sought as a teacher; Paul bound unjustly, is a difficulty, not to be looked at pleasantly, or disposed of easily. How often has soul-liberty been hindered by a slip of conduct 4. Pride of intellect. See how he makes himself a judge, ver. 24. Paul in solitude, he supposes, has

brooded over books and religious questions till his brain has turned. We know who was wise. So Festus was not free; no liberty, Godward, Christward, heavenward.

AGRIPPA.-Look at his fetters. 1.

Formality: see what Paul says of him, ver. 3. He was "expert," i.e., experienced in the rites and hopes of Israel; made a boast of his patriotism, devoted especially to the temple: must have been conscious of his own inner

character, of his wicked life; hoped

28.

that his externalism would be his salvation. 2. Insincerity, ver. 27. A true faith in the heart of a bad man; he dared not openly follow it out. Was he free? No, a criminal bound until God's judgment, Rom. i. 18. 3. Indecision: "Almost," ver. "Just a little:" he held then the beginning of the line which would have led him through the mazes of sin in which he was imprisoned, out into the sunlight of God's face. He threw it from him. If you would be free, be real, true, decided.

BERNICE.-Beauty, vanity, pleasure, passion; these were her bonds; silken, yet strong as iron to keep the soul a slave. How many young people twist just such silken fetters for themselves!

Now let us turn the lamp upon

A MAN BOUND, YET FREE. Paul is bound: Yet (1) his words and bearing breathe of freedom. Note the promptitude with which he accepts the opportunity of speech, ver. 1, 2; the dignity of his reply to Festus, ver. 25; the daring appeal to Agrippa, ver. 27.