parted from the city †, not knowing whither to turn himself. AND here, methinks, is an event, that will cafily folve that hard question in the schools, about the confiftency of the divine prescience with human free-will. A GOOD politician, that was let into the courfe of Saul's fecret practices with the men of Keilah, and had fair opportunities of fifting their difpofitions upon the point, might fairly pronounce upon the event: How much more then that All-feeing GOD, who fearcheth the fecrets of the heart, and feeth the thought afar off! feeth them in all their fecret workings, tendencies, and temptations, and through all their mazes and masks! WHEN Saul heard of David's escape from Keilah, having no further intelligence of his measures, he forbore to purfue him. THE treachery of the men of Keilah to David hath given the critics occafion to observe, how much more honourable the behaviour of the Athenians was to their guardians, their orators! whom no threats could oblige them to give up to the refentments of Alexander, Now is it that his men were increased to fix hundred; which grounds a conjecture, that the reputation of his bravery and conduct in this laft expedition, added to that acceffion of wealth, which he had gained by the spoil of the Philifiines, now attached a confiderable number of men, all chofen warriors, to his intereft, CHAP. David flies to the Wilderness of Ziph, where he hath an Interview with Jonathan. The Ziphites inform Saul of bis Haunts, who eagerly pursues him. THEN David and his men departed from Keilah, the text tells us, that they went whitherfoever they could go. So that, had he been asked, where he intended to fhelter himfelf, he might have answered, as Luther did to the fame queftion, when profcribed by the emperor, and excommunicated by the pope, Sub cœlo, Somewhere under the cope of heaven. BLESSED be GOD, his protection is not to be precluded by profcriptions, nor confined by excommunications! I mean, such as are wicked and unjust. Let the finner, nevertheless, beware of the righteous fentence, that shuts him out from the divine ordinances. This I am fure of, that David often laments his exclufion from them, though altogether involuntary and unavoidable. AFTER David and his men had shifted for fome time from place to place, (we cannot say how long) they took up their refidence in the mountainous wilderness of Ziph; of which we know no more, than that it was within the precincts of the tribe of Judah, (for there, as it was natural, David thought himself most in safety) and and upon the confines of Edom*. It is fuppofed to have had its name from the Hebrew word Zepheth, pitch, with which it is faid to have abounded †; and it had the advantage of fome woods and strong holds. SAUL Continually fent out parties, and at last went out himself in fearch of him: but to no purpofe; for GOD, as the text most properly expreffes it, delivered him not into his hand. WHEN David was fhut up in Keilah, Saul confidently pronounced, God hath delivered him into mine hand. And here the facred penman, to fhew the vanity of that ill-grounded confidence, exprefly declares, that GOD delivered him not into his hand; though the text affures us, that Saul fought him every day. BUT though Saul could not find him, Jonathan could; and took this opportunity of his father's absence to go in queft of his friend, to commune with him, to confole and to fupport him, the best he could, in his afflictions, to give him new affurances and pledges of his affection, and to confirm him by a new ratification of their former covenant; for love delights as much to iterate affurances of fidelity, as doubt or diftruft can do. As the interview with David could not be brought about without the greatest danger to Jonathan's life, there is no doubt but they took the greatest precautions to keep it well concealed. * Josh. xv. 24. This is the more probable, if, as fome place it, it was fituate. in the confines of the lake Asphaltites. They met in a wood; and we may be well af fured, that the time, the place, and the mutual danger, fuggefted, to fuch friends as they were, a thousand fresh occasions of renewing, and, jf poffible, increafing their endearments. As they now once more renewed the folemn and facred covenant they had long fince entered into, it is probable, that, for more folemnity, as well as mutual fatisfaction, they did this in the presence of Abiathar the priest, and Gad the prophet of GOD; and it is to be prefumed, they had few, if any other, witneffes of their conference. THIS adventure, in the hands of a profane author, would make a moft delightful episode! When we hear of two fuch men, meeting at fuch a place, and on fuch an occafion, our curiofity is raised to the height, and our imaginations are at work; and no writer could be fo infenfible and unanimated, as not to take delight in indulging both himself and us, if he were not tied down to a ftrict and inviolable adherence to the truth. And hence it is, that, as the facred penman, probably, knew no more than he related, and would relate only what he knew, we know no more of this conference, than what David could not but report, both in prudence, and in justice to his friend, that he ftrengthened his hand in God; that is, comforted and confirmed him in the affurance of the divine protection and deliverance, and exaltation to the kingdom in the end: Fear not (said he); the hand of Saul my father fhall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Ifrael, and I fhall be next unto thee, and that alfo Saul my father knoweth*. # IT were hard to determine, which we ought moft to admire upon this occafion, the moderation, the friendship, the piety, or the unexampled generofity of Jonathan. To be able to refign a kingdom with that calmnefs, that franknefs, that tender love and inviolable fidelity to his rival, and that steady fubmiffion to the will of GOD, feems to have fomething in it infinitely beyond all the other praises of heroifm. How concisely, and yet how completely, are the characters of two fuch men as Saul and Jonathan, fummed up in that juft reflection of Hecuba, in Euripides! Ο μὲν πονηρὸς δὲν ἄλλο πλὴν κακὸς ἀπ The malice-blasted man is wholly bad; 1 Sam xxiv. 20. Though this matter never came to a trial, yet I own, I cannot help being in fome pain for the continuance of this union, in fuch a fubordination; though there are inftances (but few indeed) of the continuance of fuch an union, where, perhaps, it is lefs to be expected, in an equal participation of power. Such, or fomething like it, was that of Adrian and Antoninus Pius; as alfo that of Frederic and John, dukes of Saxony, quoted by the learned Dr. Trapp from Exner; who, as they dwelt both in one and the fame houfe, fo their mutual love, grew to the laft, in utriufque periculis, & graviffimis deliberationibus, dum omnia in republica communicatis fententiis conftituebant. WHEN |