221 And David goeth thence, and is escaped unto the cave of Adullam, and his brethren hear, and all the house of his father, and go down unto him thither; 2 and gather themselves unto him do every man in distress, and every man who hath an exactor, and every man bitter in soul, and he is over them for head, and there are with him about four hundred men. 3 And David goeth thence to Mizpeh of Moab, and saith unto the king of Moab, 'Let, I pray thee, my father and my mother go out with you, till that I know what God doth for me;' 4 and he leadeth them before the king of Moab, and they dwell with him all the days of David's being in the fortress. 5 And Gad the prophet saith unto David, 'Thou dost not abide in a fortress, go, and thou hast entered for thee the land of Judah;' and David goeth and entereth the forest of Hareth.
6 And Saul heareth that David hath become known, and the men who 'are' with him, and Saul is abiding in Gibeah, under the grove in Ramah, and his spear 'is' in his hand, and all his servants standing by him. 7 And Saul saith to his servants who are standing by him, 'Hear, I pray you, ye Benjamites; also to all of you doth the son of Jesse give fields and vineyards! all of you he doth appoint heads of thousands and heads of hundreds! 8 for ye have conspired all of you against me, and there is none uncovering mine ear about my son's covenanting with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you grieving for me, and uncovering mine ear, that my son hath raised up my servant against me, to lie in wait as 'at' this day.' 9 And answer doth Doeg the Edomite, who is set over the servants of Saul, and saith, 'I have seen the son of Jesse coming in to Nob, unto Ahimelech son of Ahitub, 10 and he asketh for him at Jehovah, and provision hath given to him, and the sword of Goliath the Philistine hath given to him. 11 And the king sendeth to call Ahimelech son of Ahitub, the priest, and all the house of his father, the priests, who 'are' in Nob, and they come all of them unto the king; 12 and Saul saith, 'Hear, I pray thee, son of Ahitub;' and he saith, 'Here 'am' I, my lord.' 13 And Saul saith unto him, 'Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, by thy giving to him bread and a sword, and to ask for him at God, to rise against me, to lie in wait, as 'at' this day?' 14 And Ahimelech answereth the king and saith, 'And who among all thy servants 'is' as David—faithful, and son-in-law of the king, and hath turned aside unto thy council, and is honoured in thy house? 15 To-day have I begun to ask for him at God? far be it from me! let not the king lay anything against his servant, against any of the house of my father, for thy servant hath known nothing of all this, less or more.' 16 And the king saith, 'Thou dost surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all the house of thy father.' 17 And the king saith to runners, those standing by him, 'Turn round, and put to death the priests of Jehovah, because their hand also 'is' with David, and because they have known that he is fleeing, and have not uncovered mine ear;' and the servants of the king have not been willing to put forth their hand to come against the priests of Jehovah. 18 And the king saith to Doeg, 'Turn round thou, and come against the priests;' and Doeg the Edomite turneth round, and cometh himself against the priests, and putteth to death in that day eighty and five men bearing a linen ephod, 19 and Nob, the city of the priests, he hath smitten by the mouth of the sword, from man even unto woman, from infant even unto suckling, and ox, and ass, and sheep, by the mouth of the sword.
20 And there escapeth one son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, and his name 'is' Abiathar, and he fleeth after David, 21 and Abiathar declareth to David that Saul hath slain the priests of Jehovah. 22 And David saith to Abiathar, 'I have known on that day when Doeg the Edomite 'is' there, that he doth certainly declare 'it' to Saul; I have brought 'it' round to every person of the house of thy father; 23 dwell with me; fear not; for he who seeketh my life seeketh thy life; for a charge 'art' thou with me.'
231 And they declare to David, saying, 'Lo, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are spoiling the threshing-floors.' 2 And David asketh at Jehovah, saying, 'Do I go?—and have I smitten among these Philistines?' And Jehovah saith unto David, 'Go, and thou hast smitten among the Philistines, and saved Keilah.' 3 And David's men say unto him, 'Lo, we here in Judah are afraid; and how much more when we go to Keilah, unto the ranks of the Philistines?' 4 And David addeth again to ask at Jehovah, and Jehovah answereth him, and saith, 'Rise, go down to Keilah, for I am giving the Philistines into thy hand.' 5 And David goeth, and his men, to Keilah, and fighteth with the Philistines, and leadeth away their cattle, and smiteth among them—a great smiting, and David saveth the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 And it cometh to pass, in the fleeing of Abiathar son of Ahimelech unto David, to Keilah, an ephod came down in his hand.
7 And it is declared to Saul that David hath come in to Keilah, and Saul saith, 'God hath made him known for my hand, for he hath been shut in, to enter into a city of doors and bar.' 8 And Saul summoneth the whole of the people to battle, to go down to Keilah, to lay siege unto David and unto his men. 9 And David knoweth that against him Saul is devising the evil, and saith unto Abiathar the priest, 'Bring nigh the ephod.' 10 And David saith, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, Thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul is seeking to come in unto Keilah, to destroy the city on mine account. 11 Do the possessors of Keilah shut me up into his hand? doth Saul come down as Thy servant hath heard? Jehovah, God of Israel, declare, I pray Thee, to Thy servant.' And Jehovah saith, 'He doth come down.' 12 And David saith, 'Do the possessors of Keilah shut me up, and my men, into the hand of Saul?' And Jehovah saith, 'They shut 'thee' up.' 13 And David riseth—and his men—about six hundred men, and they go out from Keilah, and go up and down where they go up and down; and to Saul it hath been declared that David hath escaped from Keilah, and he ceaseth to go out.
14 And David abideth in the wilderness, in fortresses, and abideth in the hill-country, in the wilderness of Ziph; and Saul seeketh him all the days, and God hath not given him into his hand. 15 And David seeth that Saul hath come out to seek his life, and David 'is' in the wilderness of Ziph, in a forest. 16 And Jonathan son of Saul riseth, and goeth unto David to the forest, and strengtheneth his hand in God, 17 and saith unto him, 'Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father doth not find thee, and thou dost reign over Israel, and I am to thee for second, and also so knoweth Saul my father.' 18 And they make a covenant both of them before Jehovah; and David abideth in the forest, and Jonathan hath gone to his house.
19 And the Ziphites go up unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, 'Is not David hiding himself with us in fortresses, in the forest, in the height of Hachilah, which 'is' on the south of the desolate place? 20 And, now, by all the desire of thy soul, O king, to come down, come down, and ours 'is' to shut him up into the hand of the king.' 21 And Saul saith, 'Blessed 'are' ye of Jehovah, for ye have pity on me; 22 go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his foot is; who hath seen him there? for 'one' hath said unto me, He is very subtile. 23 And see and know of all the hiding-places where he hideth himself, and ye have turned back unto me prepared, and I have gone with you, and it hath been, if he is in the land, that I have searched him out through all the thousands of Judah.' 24 And they rise and go to Ziph before Saul, and David and his men 'are' in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain, at the south of the desolate place. 25 And Saul and his men go to seek, and they declare to David, and he goeth down the rock, and abideth in the wilderness of Maon; and Saul heareth, and pursueth after David 'to' the wilderness of Maon. 26 And Saul goeth on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain, and David is hastened to go from the face of Saul, and Saul and his men are compassing David and his men, to catch them. 27 And a messenger hath come in unto Saul, saying, 'Haste, and come, for the Philistines have pushed against the land.' 28 And Saul turneth back from pursuing after David, and goeth to meet the Philistines, therefore they have called that place 'The Rock of Divisions.' 29 And David goeth up thence, and abideth in fortresses 'at' En-gedi.
241 And it cometh to pass when Saul hath turned back from after the Philistines, that they declare to him, saying, 'Lo, David 'is' in the wilderness of En-gedi.' 2 And Saul taketh three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and goeth to seek David and his men, on the front of the rocks of the wild goats, 3 and he cometh in unto folds of the flock, on the way, and there 'is' a cave, and Saul goeth in to cover his feet; and David and his men in the sides of the cave are abiding. 4 And the men of David say unto him, 'Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;' and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which 'is' on Saul—gently. 5 And it cometh to pass afterwards that the heart of David smiteth him, because that he hath cut off the skirt which 'is' on Saul, 6 and he saith to his men, 'Far be it from me, by Jehovah; I do not do this thing to my lord—to the anointed of Jehovah—to put forth my hand against him, for the anointed of Jehovah he 'is'.' 7 And David subdueth his men by words, and hath not permitted them to rise against Saul; and Saul hath risen from the cave, and goeth on the way; 8 and David riseth afterwards, and goeth out from the cave, and calleth after Saul, saying, 'My lord, O king!' And Saul looketh attentively behind him, and David boweth—face to the earth—and doth obeisance.
9 And David saith to Saul, 'Why dost thou hear the words of man, saying, Lo, David is seeking thine evil? 10 Lo, this day have thine eyes seen how that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and 'one' said to slay thee, and 'mine eye' hath pity on thee, and I say, I do not put forth my hand against my lord, for the anointed of Jehovah he 'is'. 11 'And, my father, see, yea see the skirt of thine upper robe in my hand; for by cutting off the skirt of thy upper robe, and I have not slain thee, know and see that there is not in my hand evil and transgression, and I have not sinned against thee, and thou art hunting my soul to take it! 12 'Jehovah doth judge between me and thee, and Jehovah hath avenged me of thee, and my hand is not on thee; 13 as saith the simile of the ancients, From the wicked goeth out wickedness, and my hand is not on thee. 14 'After whom hath the king of Israel come out? after whom art thou pursuing?—after a dead dog! after one flea! 15 And Jehovah hath been for judge, and hath judged between me and thee, yea, he seeth and pleadeth my cause, and doth deliver me out of thy hand.'
16 And it cometh to pass, when David completeth to speak these words unto Saul, that Saul saith, 'Is this thy voice, my son David?' and Saul lifteth up his voice, and weepeth. 17 And he saith unto David, 'More righteous thou 'art' than I; for thou hast done me good, and I have done thee evil; 18 and thou hast declared to-day how that thou hast done good with me, how that Jehovah shut me up into thy hand, and thou didst not slay me, 19 and that a man doth find his enemy, and hath sent him away in a good manner; and Jehovah doth repay thee good for that which thou didst to me this day. 20 'And, now, lo, I have known that thou dost certainly reign, and the kingdom of Israel hath stood in thy hand; 21 and, now, swear to me by Jehovah—thou dost not cut off my seed after me, nor dost thou destroy my name from the house of my father.' 22 And David sweareth to Saul, and Saul goeth unto his house, and David and his men have gone up unto the fortress.
121 At which time the myriads of the multitude having been gathered together, so as to tread upon one another, he began to say unto his disciples, first, 'Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy; 2 and there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known; 3 because whatever in the darkness ye said, in the light shall be heard: and what to the ear ye spake in the inner-chambers, shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops.
4 'And I say to you, my friends, be not afraid of those killing the body, and after these things are not having anything over to do; 5 but I will show to you, whom ye may fear; Fear him who, after the killing, is having authority to cast to the gehenna; yes, I say to you, Fear ye Him. 6 'Are not five sparrows sold for two assars? and one of them is not forgotten before God, 7 but even the hairs of your head have been all numbered; therefore fear ye not, than many sparrows ye are of more value.
8 'And I say to you, Every one—whoever may confess with me before men, the Son of Man also shall confess with him before the messengers of God, 9 and he who hath denied me before men, shall be denied before the messengers of God, 10 and every one whoever shall say a word to the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven to him, but to him who to the Holy Spirit did speak evil, it shall not be forgiven. 11 'And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye may reply, or what ye may say, 12 for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that hour what it behoveth 'you' to say.'
13 And a certain one said to him, out of the multitude, 'Teacher, say to my brother to divide with me the inheritance.' 14 And he said to him, 'Man, who set me a judge or a divider over you?' 15 And he said unto them, 'Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because not in the abundance of one's goods is his life.' 16 And he spake a simile unto them, saying, 'Of a certain rich man the field brought forth well; 17 and he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where I shall gather together my fruits? 18 and he said, This I will do, I will take down my storehouses, and greater ones I will build, and I will gather together there all my products and my good things, 19 and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry. 20 'And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare—to whom shall they be? 21 so 'is' he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God.'
22 And he said unto his disciples, 'Because of this, to you I say, Be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat; nor for the body, what ye may put on; 23 the life is more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing. 24 'Consider the ravens, that they sow not, nor reap, to which there is no barn nor storehouse, and God doth nourish them; how much better are ye than the fowls? 25 and who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit? 26 If, then, ye are not able for the least—why for the rest are ye anxious? 27 'Consider the lilies, how do they grow? they labour not, nor do they spin, and I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these; 28 and if the herbage in the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow into an oven is cast, God doth so clothe, how much more you—ye of little faith? 29 'And ye—seek not what ye may eat, or what ye may drink, and be not in suspense, 30 for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father hath known that ye have need of these things; 31 but, seek ye the reign of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
(Read Luke 12:1-12)
A firm belief of the doctrine of God's universal providence, and the extent of it, would satisfy us when in peril, and encourage us to trust God in the way of duty. Providence takes notice of the meanest creatures, even of the sparrows, and therefore of the smallest interests of the disciples of Christ. Those who confess Christ now, shall be owned by him in the great day, before the angels of God. To deter us from denying Christ, and deserting his truths and ways, we are here assured that those who deny Christ, though they may thus save life itself, and though they may gain a kingdom by it, will be great losers at last; for Christ will not know them, will not own them, nor show them favour. But let no trembling, penitent backslider doubt of obtaining forgiveness. This is far different from the determined enmity that is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall never be forgiven, because it will never be repented of.
(Read Luke 12:13-21)
Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world. Christianity does not meddle with politics; it obliges all to do justly, but wordly dominion is not founded in grace. It does not encourage expectations of worldly advantages by religion. The rewards of Christ's disciples are of another nature. Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealth of this world. The things of the world will not satisfy the desires of a soul. Here is a parable, which shows the folly of carnal worldling while they live, and their misery when they die. The character drawn is exactly that of a prudent, worldly man, who has no grateful regard to the providence of God, nor any right thought of the uncertainty of human affairs, the worth of his soul, or the importance of eternity. How many, even among professed Christians, point out similar characters as models for imitation, and proper persons to form connexions with! We mistake if we think that thoughts are hid, and thoughts are free. When he saw a great crop upon his ground, instead of thanking God for it, or rejoicing to be able to do more good, he afflicts himself. What shall I do now? The poorest beggar in the country could not have said a more anxious word. The more men have, the more perplexity they have with it. It was folly for him to think of making no other use of his plenty, than to indulge the flesh and gratify the sensual appetites, without any thought of doing good to others. Carnal worldlings are fools; and the day is coming when God will call them by their own name, and they will call themselves so. The death of such persons is miserable in itself, and terrible to them. Thy soul shall be required. He is loth to part with it; but God shall require it, shall require an account of it, require it as a guilty soul to be punished without delay. It is the folly of most men, to mind and pursue that which is for the body and for time only, more than that for the soul and eternity.
(Read Luke 12:22-40)
Christ largely insisted upon this caution not to give way to disquieting, perplexing cares, Matthew 6:25-34. The arguments here used are for our encouragement to cast our care upon God, which is the right way to get ease. As in our stature, so in our state, it is our wisdom to take it as it is. An eager, anxious pursuit of the things of this world, even necessary things, ill becomes the disciples of Christ. Fears must not prevail; when we frighten ourselves with thoughts of evil to come, and put ourselves upon needless cares how to avoid it. If we value the beauty of holiness, we shall not crave the luxuries of life. Let us then examine whether we belong to this little flock. Christ is our Master, and we are his servants; not only working servants, but waiting servants. We must be as men that wait for their lord, that sit up while he stays out late, to be ready to receive him. In this Christ alluded to his own ascension to heaven, his coming to call his people to him by death, and his return to judge the world. We are uncertain as to the time of his coming to us, we should therefore be always ready. If men thus take care of their houses, let us be thus wise for our souls. Be ye therefore ready also; as ready as the good man of the house would be, if he knew at what hour the thief would come.
