2. That the heart of each of us lies open to the inspection of God: certainly, directly, completely, and constantly. He beholds its deepest motive, its supreme affection and ruling purpose. However we may deceive ourselves or others, we cannot deceive him (1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalms 44:21; Proverbs 15:11; Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah 17:10; Luke 16:15; Revelation 2:23).
3. That only a right state of heart can meet with his approval. It is the effect of his grace, and he cannot but take pleasure in his own work; but "the heart of the wicked is little worth" (Proverbs 10:20).
III. THE ENFORCEMENT Or DUTIES which ought to be diligently fulfilled in relation both to ourselves and others.
1. To seek supremely that our own hearts be set right; and kept right—by self-examination, self-restraint, and fervent prayer to him "who searcheth the reins and the hearts" (Psalms 51:10; Psalms 139:23, Psalms 139:24; Jeremiah 31:33).
2. To endure patiently the wrong judgments that others may form and utter concerning us. If we sometimes judge wrongly of them, need we wonder that they should judge wrongly of us? "Unto God would I commit my cause" (Job 5:8).
3. To judge charitably of their motives, character, and worth. A judgment must sometimes be formed (Matthew 7:15-20); but "let all your things be done with charity" (1 Corinthians 16:14).—D.
1 Samuel 16:14-16. (GIBEAH.)
Mental and moral effects of transgression.
The soul is an arena where light and darkness, good and evil, heaven and hell, strive for mastery. But it is not an unconscious scene or passive prize of the conflict. It is endowed with the power of freely choosing right or wrong, and, with every exercise of this power, comes more or less under the dominion of the one or the other. Saul was highly exalted, but by his wilful disobedience sank to the lowest point of degradation. His sin was followed by lamentable effects in his mental and moral nature, and (since soul and body are intimately connected, and mutually affect each other) doubtless also in his physical constitution. His malady has been said to be "the first example of what has been called in after times religious madness" (Stanley). His condition was, in many respects, peculiar; but it vividly illustrates the mental and moral effects which always, in greater or less degree, flow from persistent transgression, viz.:—
I. THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT. "And the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul" (1 Samuel 16:14; 1 Samuel 10:10).
1. His presence in men is the source of their highest excellence. What a change it wrought in Saul, turning him into "another man." It imparts enlightenment, strength, courage, order, harmony, and peace; restrains and protects; and, in the full measure of its influence, quickens, sanctifies, and saves (Isaiah 11:2; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:9).
2. His continuance in them depends on the observance of appropriate conditions. He is often compared with the wind, water, and fire, the most powerful forces of the natural world; and as there are conditions according to which they operate, so there are conditions according to which he puts forth his might. These are, humble and earnest attention to the word of the Lord, sincere endeavour to be true, just, and good, and believing and persevering prayer.
3. His departure is rendered necessary by the neglect of those conditions. "They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit," etc. (Isaiah 63:10; Acts 7:51; Ephesians 4:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). And with his departure the effects of his gracious influence also depart. Hence David prayed so fervently, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me."
II. SUBJECTION TO AN EVIL INFLUENCE. "And an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him." The expression is only used once before ( 9:23),—"God sent an evil spirit between the men of Abimelech and the men of Shechem" (producing discord, treachery, and strife),—and denotes a breath, influence, agency, or messenger (1 Kings 22:22) which—
1. Prevails only after the withdrawal of the Divine Spirit. When the soul ceases to be governed by God, it lies open to the power of evil, and comes under its dominion.
2. Is sent in just retribution for sin. "No man living needs a heavier chastisement from the Almighty than the letting his own passions loose upon him" (Delany). But the expression means more than this. "It is a spiritual agency of God, which brings to bear upon Saul the dark and fiery powers of Divine wrath which he has aroused by sin" (Delitzsch). Even that which is in itself good becomes evil to those who cherish an evil disposition. As the same rays of the sun which melt the ice harden the clay, so the same gospel which is "a savour of life unto life" in some is "a savour of death unto death" in others (2 Corinthians 2:16). And it is God who appoints and effectuates the forces of retribution. "The punitive justice of God is a great fact. It is stamped on all the darker phenomena of human life—disease, insanity, and death. It is in the nature of sin to entail suffering, and work itself, as an element of punishment, into all the complicated web of human existence" (Tulloch).
3. Implies the domination of the kingdom of darkness. Josephus, speaking according to the common belief of a later age, attributes the malady of Saul to demoniacal agency. "It was probably a kind of possession, at least at times, and in its highest stage. As a punishment for having given himself willingly into the power of the kingdom of darkness, he was also abandoned physically to this power" (Henstenberg). How fearful is that realm of rebellion, evil, and disorder to which men become allied and subject by their sin!
III. THE EXPERIENCE OF UNCONTROLLABLE FEAR; "troubled him"—terrified, choked him.
1. In connection with the working of peculiar and painful thoughts: brooding over the secret of rejection, which might not be revealed to any one; the sense of disturbed relationship with God, and of his displeasure, the removal of which there was no disposition to seek by humble penitence and prayer.
2. In the darkening aspect of present circumstances and future prospects; suspicion and "royal jealousy, before which vanish at last all consistent action, all wise and moderate rule" (Ewald).
3. In occasional melancholy, despondency, and distress, irrational imaginations and terrors (Job 6:4), and fits of violent and ungovernable passion (1 Samuel 18:10, 1 Samuel 18:11). "There are few more difficult questions in the case of minds utterly distempered and disordered as his was than to determine where sin or moral disease has ended, and madness or mental disease has begun" (Trench). Sin not only disturbs the moral balance of the soul, but also disorders the whole nature of man. It is itself a kind of madness, from which the sinner needs to "come to himself" (Luke 15:17). "Madness is in their hearts," etc. (Ecclesiastes 9:3; 2 Peter 2:6).
IV. THE TENDENCY TO RAPID DETERIORATION.
1. In the case of the malady occasioned by sin there is no self-healing power in man, as in many bodily diseases, but it tends to become worse and worse.
2. Its fatal course may often be distinctly marked. "These attacks of madness gave place to hatred, which developed itself in full consciousness to a most deliberately planned hostility" (Keil). His courage gave place to weakness and cowardice; general fear and suspicion fixed on a particular object in envy and hatred, displayed at first privately, afterwards publicly, and becoming an all-absorbing passion. "The evil spirit that came upon him from or by permission of the Lord was the evil spirit of melancholy, jealousy, suspicion, hatred, envy, malice, and cruelty, that governed him all the after part of his life; to which he gave himself up, and sacrificed every consideration of honour, duty, and interest whatsoever" (Chandler).
3. It is, nevertheless amenable to the remedial influences which God, in his infinite mercy, has provided.
"All cures were tried: philosophy talked long
Of lofty reason's self-controlling power;
He frowned, but spake not. Friendship's silver tongue
Poured mild persuasions on his calmer hour:
He wept; alas! it was a bootless shower
As ever slaked the desert. Priests would call
On Heaven for aid; but then his brow would lower
With treble gloom. Peace! Heaven is good to all;
To all, he sighed, but one,—God hears no prayer for Saul.
At length one spake of Music" (Hankinson).
D.
1 Samuel 16:19, 1 Samuel 16:20. (BETHLEHEM.)
Setting out in life.
David, setting out from his father's house at Bethlehem to go to the court of Saul at Gibeah (a distance of about ten miles), presents a picture of many a youth leaving home for more public life—to enter a profession, learn a business, or occupy a responsible position. Notice—
I. THE PECULIAR CHARACTER of the step.
1. Some such step is necessary. A young man cannot always continue under the paternal roof. He must go forth into the world, be thrown on his own resources, and make his own way.
2. Its nature and direction are commonly determined by his ability and tastes, and the use he makes of early advantages (1 Samuel 16:18).
3. It is also greatly influenced by the wishes of others. David was sent for by Saul, and sent to him by his father.
4. It is ordered by Divine providence. This was plainly the case with David. And we are as truly the children of providence as he was. God has a purpose concerning each of us.
"There's a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough hew them as we will."
5. It opens a wider field for the exercise of natural or acquired abilities, and the attainment of desired objects.
6. It determines in most instances, the subsequent course of life. It is like the commencement of a river; or like the rolling of a stone down the mountain side, the course of which is determined by the direction and impulse which it first receives.
II. THE PROPER SPIRIT in which it should be taken.
1. Due consideration; not thoughtlessly or rashly.
2. Lowly and loyal obedience to rightful claims.
3. Cheerful anticipation of new scenes, duties, and enjoyments.
4. Not unmingled with misgiving and self-distrust at the prospect of new difficulties and trials, and watchfulness against new and strong temptations.
5. Simple trust in God and fervent prayer for his guidance.
6. Firm determination to be true to oneself faithful to God, and useful to men.
"Now needs thy best of man;
For not on downy plumes, nor under shade
Of canopy reposing, fame is won;
Without which whosoe'er consumes his days
Leaveth such vestige of himself on earth
As smoke in air, or foam upon the wave"
(Dante, 'Inferno,' 24.).
Consider—
1. That life itself is a setting out in a course which will never terminate.
2. That the manner in which this step is taken will decide your future destiny.—D.
1 Samuel 16:23. (GIBEAH.)
The soothing influence of music.
All men, with rare exceptions, are susceptible to the influence of music; some men peculiarly so. It was thus with Saul (1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:23); and on this account, perhaps, his servants suggested the sending for a skilful musician to soothe his melancholy. The visit of David had the desired effect, and he "went and returned" (was going and returning) "to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem" (1 Samuel 17:15, 1 Samuel 17:55-58; 1 Samuel 16:21, 1 Samuel 16:22—a general, and to some extent prospective, summary of his early relations with Saul). Consider the soothing influence of music as—
I. PROVIDED BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE. It is one of the manifold indications of the goodness of God in the adaptation of man to his surroundings so as to derive enjoyment from them. The world is full of music. In trouble and agitation especially it soothes and cheers. "It brings a tone out of the higher worlds into the spirit of the hearer" (Koster). Its direct influence is exerted upon the nervous system, which is intimately connected with all mental activity. As the condition of the brain and nerves is affected by it, so also it affects the state of the mind.
"There is in souls a sympathy with sounds;
Some chord in unison with what we hear
Is touched within us, and the heart replies" (Cowper).
"Pythagoras quieted the perturbations of the mind with a harp" (Seneca, 'On Anger'). Elisha, when chafed and disturbed in spirit, called for a minstrel, and was prepared by the soothing strains of his harp for prophetic inspiration (2 Kings 3:5). Divine providence ordered the visit of David to Saul, over whom mercy still lingered. He was not only freed from the immediate pressure of fear and despondency, but also restored to a mental condition which was favourable to repentance and return to God. Music is a means of grace, and when rightly used conveys much spiritual benefit to men. It is "one of the fairest and most glorious gifts of God, to which Satan is a bitter enemy; for it removes from the heart the weight of sorrow and the fascination of evil thoughts" (Luther). "It is a language by itself, just as perfect in its way as speech, as words; just as Divine, just as blessed. All melody and all harmony, all music upon earth, is beautiful in as far as it is a pattern and type of the everlasting music which is in heaven" (C. Kingsley).
II. PRODUCTIVE OF EXTRAORDINARY EFFECTS. "Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." "The music was more than a mere palliative. It brought back for the time the sense of a true order, a secret, inward harmony, an assurance that it is near every man, and that he may enter into it" (Maurice).
"He is Saul, ye remember in glory,—ere error had bent
The broad brow from the daily communion; and still, though much spent
Be the life and the bearing that front you, the same, God did choose,
To receive what a man may waste, desecrate, never quite lose"
(Browning, 'Saul').
Many other instances of a similar nature, both in ancient and modern times, have been recorded. One of the most noteworthy is that of Philip V. of Spain, who was restored from profoundest melancholy by the magical voice of Farinelli (see Bochart; Burton, 'Anat. of Mel.;' Kitto, 'D.B. Illus.;' Jacox, 'Script. Texts Illus.;' Bate, 'Cyc. of Illus.'). "Psalmody is the calm of the soul, the repose of the spirit, the arbiter of peace. It silences the wave and conciliates the whirlwind of our passions. It is an engenderer of friendship, a healer of dissension, a reconciler of enemies. It repels the demons, lures the ministry of angels, shields us from nightly terrors, and refreshes us in daily toil" (Basil).
III. PERFECTED BY SPECIAL ENDOWMENTS possessed by the musician. David's harp was the accompaniment of his voice as he sang "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (see Josephus), expressive of the sympathy, confidence, hope, and joy of his soul; "the prelude to the harpings and songs which flowed from the harp of the future royal singer." His musical and poetic gifts were great, and they were consecrated (as all such gifts should be) to the glory of God and the good of men. "Did the music banish the demon? Not so. But the high frame of mind into which the king was brought by it sufficed to limit at least the sphere of the operation of the evil spirit within him; while the full, clear, conscious life of faith on the part of Saul would have altogether destroyed the power of the wicked one. Besides, the silent intercessions of David sent up to heaven on the wings of the music of his harp must have contributed not a little to the results with which his melodies were crowned" (Krummacher). "The Lord was with him" (1 Samuel 16:18).
IV. PARTIAL AND TEMPORARY IN ITS WHOLESOME POWER. Saul was not completely cured of his malady. A breathing space was afforded him for seeking God, and if he had faithfully availed himself of it he might have been permanently preserved from its return. But he failed to do so. On the indulgence of envy, "the evil spirit from God came upon him" again (1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Samuel 19:10) with greater power than before (Matthew 12:45), and that which formerly calmed and gladdened him now excited him to demoniacal frenzy and murderous passion. "It is said that the evil spirit departed, but not that the good spirit returned. Saul's trouble was alleviated, but not removed. The disease was still there. The results of David's harp were negative and superficial. So is it with the sinner still. There are many outward applications which act like. spiritual chloroform upon the soul. They soothe and calm and please, but that is all; they do not go below the surface, nor touch the deep seated malady within. Our age is full of such appliances, literary and religions, all got up for the purpose of soothing the troubled spirits of men. Excitement, gaiety, balls, theatres, operas, concerts, ecclesiastical music, dresses, performances, what are all these but man's appliances for casting out the evil spirit and healing the soul's hurt without having recourse to God's remedy" (Bonar, 'Thoughts and Themes').
Learn—
1. That the excellent gift of music should excite our admiration of the Giver, "the First Composer," and our devout thankfulness to him.
2. That it ought not to be perverted from its proper intention, and employed, as it too frequently is, in the service of sin (Isaiah 5:12; Amos 6:5).
3. That the soothing and elevating effect of a "concord of sweet sounds" must not be mistaken for the peace and joy of true religion.
4. That nothing but the gospel of Christ and the power of his Spirit can effect the moral and spiritual renewal of man, and restore him to "his fight mind" (Mark 5:15).—D.
HOMILIES BY D. FRASER
1 Samuel 16:12, 1 Samuel 16:13
The chosen one.
The Lord is never without resource. If Saul fail, the God of Israel has another and a better man in training for the post which Saul discredited. This new personage now appears on the page of history, and he will occupy many pages. It is David, the hero, the musician, the poet, the warrior, the ruler, a many-sided man, a star of the first magnitude.
1. Not chosen according to the thoughts of men. Samuel, who at first hesitated to go to Bethlehem on so dangerous an errand as the Lord prescribed to him? when he did go was inclined to be over hasty. Assuming that a new king who should supplant Saul ought to be not inferior to him in stature and strength, the prophet at once fixed on Eliab, the eldest son in Jesse's family, as the one who should be the Lord's anointed. Here was a man able to cope with, or worthy to succeed, the almost gigantic son of Kish. But the Lord corrected his servant's mistake. The time was past for choosing a leader on the score of "outward appearance." The Lord sought for the regal position a man whose heart would be true and obedient. Now Eliab's heart, as the next chapter shows, was small, though his body was large; his temper was vain and overbearing. So he had to pass; and all his brothers who were present at the feast had to pass. Not one of them had such a heart as the Lord required; and it is a significant fact that we never read of any of these men in after years as playing any honourable or memorable part in the history of their country, unless the Septuagint reading of 1 Chronicles 27:18 be right, and the Eliab here mentioned held the office of a tribal chief under his royal brother.
2. Chosen according to the thoughts of God. When the young shepherd, being sent for by his father, entered the chamber with his bright hair and fair countenance, fresh from the fields, the Lord bade Samuel anoint him. "This is he." The selection of the youngest son is in keeping with what we find in many Bible stories. Divine choice traversed the line of natural precedence. The Lord had respect to Abel, not to Cain; to Jacob rather than to Esau; to Joseph above his eider brethren. Ephraim was blessed above Manasseh; Moses was set over Aaron; Gideon was the youngest in his father's house. In this there is something so pleasing to the imagination that it has passed into the tales and legends of many nations. Of three brothers, or seven brothers, it is always the youngest who surpasses everyone, accomplishes the difficult task, and rises to be a king. David's superiority to his brothers was intrinsic, and the result not of luck, but of grace. The Lord had drawn his heart to himself in the days of youth. Accordingly, where such men as Saul and Eliab were weak David was strong. He revered and loved the Lord, and could therefore be depended on to do God's will. "To whom also," says Stephen, "he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, who shall fulfil all my will." The last clause in this extract shows what is intended by the one which goes before. David was a man after the Lord's heart in loyally doing his will. He was not without fault; he certainly displeased God more than once; but he thoroughly apprehended what Saul never could understand—that a king of Israel must not be an autocrat, but should without question or murmur carry out the paramount will of God. In this respect David never failed. He had many trials and temptations, afflictions that might have made him discontented, and successes that might have made him proud; but he continued steadfast in his purpose of heart to be the Lord's, to consult the Lord about everything, and carry out his revealed will.
3. Prepared in retirement for future eminence. There is a sort of augury of his career in his father's words, "Behold, he keepeth the sheep." Saul first came before us going hither and thither in search of asses that were astray, and not finding them. So, as a king, he went up and down, restless and disappointed. But David kept the flock intrusted to him, and, as a king, he shepherded the flock of God. "So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands."
4. Anointed without and within. Samuel anointed the youth outwardly, pouring oil over his head; Jehovah anointed him inwardly, for "the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." The old prophet is a figure of John the Baptist, another Nazarene, and one who came to prepare the way of the King. David suggests Another, a descendant of his own, born in the same Bethlehem, and, like himself, lightly esteemed. As Samuel poured oil on the head of David, so John poured water on the head of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Then Samuel retired from view. So John too retired, and made way for him whom he had baptized. "He must increase, but I must decrease." The parallel goes still further. David had been a child of grace, but on that day the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he got what Samuel could not impart—a Divine qualification for the work and dignity to which he was destined. Jesus had been holy, harmless, and undefiled from his mother's womb; but on the day of his baptism the Spirit, as a dove, descended and rested upon him, and he got what John could not impart—the Divine qualification of his humanity for the work and dignity to which he was destined as the Christ, the Lord's Anointed. "Now know I that the Lord sayeth his anointed." Therefore He will save us who follow the King. Only let the name of the King be our watchword, his righteousness our righteousness, his strength our strength, his mind our mind, his anointing our anointing. So shall we see him and be with him in his kingdom and glory.—F.
1 Samuel 16:23
The king and the minstrel.
I. THE COMPLICATION OF MENTAL AND MORAL DISORDER. Saul was the victim of cerebral disease, but not an innocent victim. His unhingement of mind was due in large measure to causes for which he was morally responsible. The expression, "an evil spirit from the Lord was upon him," is just an Old Testament way of saying that the state into which he fell, as a result mainly of his own misconduct, bore the character of a Divine retribution. From the beginning there seems to have been a morbid tendency in the mind of Saul. He was at once very impulsive and very obstinate; and as his troubles and anxieties increased, the original weakness or unhealthiness of his brain became more and more apparent.
He had an evil conscience because of his disobedience to Divine commands, and though faithfully reproved by the prophet Samuel, he does not appear to have ever sought pardon or healing. Thus the purpose of God to give the kingdom to another and a better man weighed on him as a dreadful secret, and his native melancholy deepened. The thing preyed on his mind till he became wretchedly suspicious and jealous, and at times gave way to homicidal mania. For considerable periods, as during the active struggle with the Philistines, this evil spirit left the king; but he fell back into his passionate gloom. As we trace his course, the better lines of his character fade away, and the worse become deeper and more obvious.
II. THE REMEDY APPLIED—ITS SUCCESS AND ITS FAILURE. In so far as there was mental disease, the case called for medical treatment; in so far as it was complicated with and grounded on moral disorder, it needed a moral corrective. But even if there had been any scientific treatment of insanity known at the period, it would have been difficult to apply it to King Saul, and it occurred to his attendants to try the soothing charm of music. This might be the opiate to assuage the anguish of the spirit—
"The soft insinuating balsam, that
Can through the body reach the sickly soul."
So David was brought to the court to allay, if he could not cure, the malady of the king by his skilful minstrelsy. It was a wise experiment. From the readiness of Saul to catch the fervour and join in the strains of the sons of the prophets, and from the fact that in his frenzy he "prophesied in the midst of the house," we infer that his temperament was peculiarly open to musical impression, and are not surprised that the sounds of David's lyre and voice, especially when chanting some Divine and lofty theme, affected and in some degree controlled the unhappy king. As he listened his spirit became more tranquil, and wicked thoughts and jealousies lifted from off him, as clouds lift from a mountain for a while, even though they gather again. The refining and calming effect of music and song no wise man will disparage. It is not religion, but it may legitimately and powerfully conduce to moral and religious feeling. Elisha called for a minstrel, that his mind might be attuned and prepared to receive the prophetic impulse. Martin Luther found the inspiration of courage in the same manner. "Next to theology," he said, "I give the first place and the greatest honour to music." Milton, too, delighted in such musical service
"As may with sweetness, through mine ear,
Dissolve me into ecstasies,
And bring all heaven before mine eyes."
David sang before the clouded face of Saul, and "played with his hand." So let sweet and sacred minstrelsy confront the sin and sorrow of the world. It is better than the fabled power of Orpheus, who, when he touched his lyre, moved the very trees and rocks, and gathered the beasts of the forest to listen to his notes. Another myth regarding Orpheus has indeed a noble meaning beneath the surface of the story. When the Argonauts passed the island of the sirens, Orpheus, on board their ship, loudly chanted the praises of gods and heroes, so as to drown the voices from the shore, and so he and his comrades passed the fatal spot in safety. The moral is obvious. The sirens represent pleasures of sense, which begin with blandishment, but end in cruel destruction; and a powerful resistance to sensual temptation is to be found in preoccupation of mind and heart with holy and heroic song. Yet the moral power thus exerted has its limit, and we see this clearly in the case of Saul. The king was acutely sensitive to the influence of David's minstrelsy, but he was only charmed, not cured; and even while the youth played before him he attempted his life in a paroxysm of jealousy. So is many a man thrilled with delight by sacred music wedded to holy words in an oratorio or in Church service who is not delivered thereby from some evil spirit or base passion that has mastered him. Alas, how many men of musical taste and sensibility, some of them of poetic capacity also, have been quite unable to shake off the yoke of that most conspicuous evil spirit of our time and nation, the love of strong drink! This infatuation may be quieted or checked for a time, but it is not expelled by music ever so good and true. The harp, even David's harp, cannot subdue the power of sin. This requires the power of David's God. There is need of a prayer of David, such as Saul seems never to have offered up: "Create in me a clean heart; Lord, renew a right spirit within me." There is need to apply to the Son of David, who cast out unclean spirits by his word, and brought men to their right mind, and now in the power of the Holy Spirit not only controls, but corrects and cures all the evils which prey on the mind or defile the heart of man. The blackness of envy, the foulness of hatred, the demons of deceit, avarice, intemperance, and cruelty are expelled by nothing less than the grace of Christ.
"And his that gentle voice we hear,
Soft as the breath of even,
That checks each fault, that calms each fear,
And speaks of heaven."—F.
1 Samuel
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