south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept with one another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn

both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the city.

Question.-Why did Jonathan give his robe and other garments, with his sword and bow, to David?

Answer.-In the east it has always been considered a great mark of honour for an eminent person to give to another the robe which has been worn by himself. When we come to the Book of Esther we shall see that the king, wishing to do great honour to the Jew Mordecai, directed that he should be clothed with the robes that he himself was in the habit of wearing. The gift by Jonathan to David was probably the highest honour he could confer.

Q-How are we to understand the words, "The evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied "?

A. This explanation has been given, "The evil, or melancholy, spirit was the spirit of God, as being His messenger or minister, sent by Him to execute His righteous purpose upon Saul." To prophesy does not always mean, as we generally understand it, to foretell future events, but to speak under a powerful spiritual influence. In this case it is, perhaps, meant that Saul spoke wildly and blasphemously.

Q-How was it that Saul, being so jealous of David, offered him his daughter for a wife?

A. As we have read, Saul had promised that the man who killed Goliath should not only have great riches, but should also marry the king's daughter. It does not seem that David had received the riches, for he speaks of himself as a poor man; but Saul pretended to keep one part of his promise, that of giving David his daughter, while secretly hoping it would prove the means of his destruction. It was the custom that the husband of a princess should give a dowry, or present; this David was unable to do, but Saul told him he would be satisfied instead, if David performed some extraordinary acts of valour against the Philistines, thinking that he would be led to attempt some very rash feat, and so lose his life.

Q.-It is said that when the princes of the Philistines "went forth," David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. How is this to be understood?

A.-Went forth, means arrayed themselves for battle; and by David behaving wisely we may understand that he acted with such courage and discretion that he proved himself abler than any of the king's generals.

Q. What was the image which Michal put into the bed in the place of David ?

A. It is supposed to have been a "teraphim," or one of those images which the heathen nations worshipped, and which some of the more ignorant Israelites preserved in their houses, and even idolatrously wor

shipped. Michal had, perhaps, kept it in secret, for it is not likely that David, who believed in the true God, would have permitted idolatrous practices. But the real meaning of the passage may be that Michal made a large figure, the size of a man, and put it in the bed, and if so, we need not suppose that she was in the habit of worshipping images.

Q.-Why did Saul tell the messenger to bring David in the bed?

A. He appears to have suspected that his daughter was attempting to deceive him, by saying that her husband was sick, and was, therefore, determined to see for himself whether David was in the house or not.

Q-Where was Naioth, where we read David dwelt with Samuel?

A.-There is no mention of any town of that name in any other part of Scripture. The word means "dwellings." We know from other passages that the prophets dwelt together in or near Ramah, and Naioth would appear to mean the houses occupied by them. Q.-What remarkable thing happened to the messengers who were sent to take David, and to Saul himself, when he also went to Ramah?

A.-The spirit of God came upon them and they prophesied, that is, were divinely influenced to praise God. It is said that Saul lay down naked, but the meaning, no doubt is, that he took off his royal robes and armour, as an expression of his unworthiness in the presence of Samuel and the prophets. The conduct of Saul and his messengers is another instance of the power of God in overruling the will of man. Balaam went to curse and remained to bless; Saul of Tarsus, who went forth to kill the believers in Jesus, finally became one of the greatest of the apostles; and we know that some of those who have most openly denied the power of God have been converted by the power of the Spirit.

Q.-Why did David flee from Naioth and go to Jonathan ?

A.-Saul had so frequently professed to repent and then returned to his evil state of mind, that probably neither Samuel nor David thought he could be depended on, and David went to Jonathan, in whose truth and friendship he had perfect confidence, to ask his advice. 2.-Why was David expected to appear at the

king's table on the occasion of the new moon? A.-The new moon, or the beginning of each month, was celebrated by solemn feasts, at which the king or the head of a family expected all belonging to his house to be present. Saul, perhaps, thought that by his professions of penitence, he should remove any fear that David might feel as to being present on that occasion, and so again get him into his power.

Q.-What was the meaning of Saul's words: “He is not clean; surely he is not clean"? 4.-The word clean, as we have repeatedly seen, refers to the ceremonial observances previous to taking part in any religious rite. The meat eaten at the new moon feasts was that given for peace offerings, and the feast therefore was of a ceremonial character. Saul did not think that David would willingly have been absent on such an occasion, and therefore supposed he must have failed to observe some of the rites of purification and could not take part in the feast.

Q. What is the meaning of the word "artillery," as here used?

A.-The word is now used only in connection with cannon, but it formerly applied to bows and arrows.

Q.-"Until David exceeded." What is meant by those words?

A.-David was overcome by the strength of his emotion at the kindness and affection of Jonathan. He was a man of strong feelings, and, persecuted and threatened as he had been, felt deeply the value of Jonathan's sympathy. Q.-Did Jonathan return to his home, although threatened by his father?

A. He did; "he went into the city." He knew that when Saul cast the javelin at him it was in one of the ungovernable fits of temper to which he was subject, and he forgave him. He did not allow the thought of danger to himself to stand in the way of his efforts to serve his friend David. Jonathan's was a very noble character.

THEN came

David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business. whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; so the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons

with me, because the king's business required haste. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands. And scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

David therefore departed thence, and

escaped to the cave Adullam and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.

And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.

When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him ;)

Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.

And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. And Saul said unto him, Why have ye .conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house? Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.

And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.

And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.

And Abiathar shewed David that